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David Fate was dozing on a rust-colored couch inside a trailer in rural South Carolina when a loud voice pierced his slumber yesterday morning. "Wake up!" The 24-year-old Fate opened his eyes to see about a half-dozen law enforcement officers filling the cramped space before him. They were all pointing guns at him. "When he woke up, he looked at me like I was Casper the ghost, and then he realized the jig was up," Inspector Danny Potucek of the U.S. Marshals Service said. Following a trail of armed robberies that culminated in the slaying of a 29-year-old gas station...

“Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust” and “Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies,” A Critique by Carl E. Braaten Introduction My critique of the first “Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality” prepared by the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality, written and disseminated in April, 2008, offered this conclusion: “This ‘Draft’ fails to take seriously distinctive Lutheran principles of theology and ethics regarding human sexuality. Either the Task Force is woefully ignorant of the Lutheran confessional tradition regarding theological ethics, or it willfully ignores it to reach some pre-conceived conclusions for ideological reasons.” My criticisms included the following assertions: 1)...

3/3/2009 The two predecessors Barack Obama reveres the most are Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt.  Obama has already taken the opportunity to follow FDR’s lead with the New Deal 2.0, better known as the Stimulus Package.  Aside from the similarity that Obama and Lincoln share by being elected President after serving the State of Illinois (as Senator and Representative, respectively), I have wondered what else does Obama aspire to do as Lincoln did?  It is understandable why Obama wants to emulate Abraham Lincoln since he is consistently ranked as the greatest president for holding together the union and ensuring the...

3/3/2009 The two predecessors Barack Obama reveres the most are Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt.  Obama has already taken the opportunity to follow FDR’s lead with the New Deal 2.0, better known as the Stimulus Package.  Aside from the similarity that Obama and Lincoln share by being elected President after serving the State of Illinois (as Senator and Representative, respectively), I have wondered what else does Obama aspire to do as Lincoln did?  It is understandable why Obama wants to emulate Abraham Lincoln since he is consistently ranked as the greatest president for holding together the union and ensuring the...

[video] Yes, we hate the media, so we love mistakes on the news. C’mon, admit it. You love those live TV screw-ups as much as we do. We have to give this Barbie credit – she kept her composure better than we would have.

Here is video of Daniel Mitchell of the Cato Institute talking with Glenn Beck today about British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's talks with President Barack Obama about a "Global New Deal" that would have the United States and European Nations in concert implementing tax and regulatory policies simultaneously that he describes as a "cartel of governments" to "rip off their taxpayers." The result would be the U.S. giving up it's sovereignty to European Institutions to determine our tax and monetary policies. . . . . . . (Watch Video)

WASHINGTON - D.C. police say McGruff the crime dog, who urges children to "take a bite out of crime," became a victim Saturday when a bus driver punched him in the face as he handed fliers to children. The popular crime-fighting dog has been around since 1980 as a cartoon character and as a furry mascot known by children and parents alike. Police say the Metro bus driver, 38-year-old Shawn Brim, climbed off the bus at the corner of 14th Street and Spring Street, adjusted both sideview mirrors and then swung at Officer Tyrone Hardy, who was dressed as McGruff....

Oklahoma City -- A local church hosted a demonstration of peace and love to counter the demonstration put on by members of the Westboro Baptist Church held at Moore High School. Westboro members protested in Oklahoma on Monday for various reasons. Members of Beth Haven Baptist Church held a prayer vigil at the same time the Westboro demonstration took place. Pastor Rick Carter says they wanted to spread what they feel is the true message of the bible. He says God doesn't likes sinners, but that he has nothing but love, not hate, for people. Carter also says many people...

"Good evening. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Lt. Governor, Madam Chief Justice and members of the court, members of the Cabinet, members of the Legislature, honored guests, and my fellow Floridians. Good evening to you all. "I want to recognize my family seated in the gallery, my beautiful wife Carole, my mother and my father. Thank you for your support. I love you all very much. "I begin tonight by honoring Chief Warrant Officer Jolly Harper and Major Julio Acosta for their service to the people of Florida and to our nation. Whether serving in Afghanistan as these men have or...

AFTER the loss of more than 200 lives and almost a month of fear and grief, the Black Saturday bushfires have at last been tamed and the dark crisis is over. But it has taken nature to overcome the overwhelming. Cooler weather offers enormous relief for communities and firefighters. While four major fires remain burning, the forecasts for the next few weeks allowed firefighters breathing room, Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin said today. "We see a very bright light at the end of the tunnel now, we see that this weather is over," he said. "The pressure has been in...

Here is Ben Stein talking with Glenn Beck today about the dangers of the coming "Cap and Trade" Policy that President Obama will seek to impose on the United States. This policy will be imposed under the guise of combating "Climate Change," but according to Stein it will be an elaborate scam to enrich those who are doing the trading of carbon offsets. . . . . (Watch Video)

“History reminds us,” President Barack Obama told both houses of the US Congress on Tuesday night, “that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas.” By “the nation”, Mr Obama means “the government”. We can tell by the episodes he uses to make his point: the establishment of universal public education, the GI Bill of Rights and – alluded to but not named – the Highway Act of 1956, at the time of its passage the largest public works project in US history. Mr Obama’s praise for the Highway Act...

President-elect Barack Obama intends to nominate his technology adviser, Julius Genachowski, to head the Federal Communications Commission, a Democratic source close to the Obama transition team said.

Lets all send our Senators and Congresspeople our empty billfolds as a protest of their spendthrift ways....

General Motors said on Tuesday that its European arm could run out of money by as early as next month, putting up to 300,000 jobs on the continent at risk. Fritz Henderson, the struggling Detroit carmaker’s chief operating officer, said that GM would face a liquidity crunch “early in the second quarter” if emergency funds from European countries did not materialize. “We would try to stay alive, but there’s no guarantee we could stay alive,” Mr Henderson told reporters on Tuesday at the Geneva motor show. “We would become insolvent at that point.” Drawing a direct line between its pleas...

President Obama intends to repeal a Bush administration rule that has become a flash point in the debate over a doctor's right not to perform abortions. The regulation, instituted in the last days of the Bush administration, strengthened job protections for doctors and nurses who refuse to provide a medial service because of moral qualms. A Health and Human Services official said Friday the administration will publish notice of its plans early next week, opening a 30-day comment period for advocates on both sides, medical groups and the public. But Republicans are already voicing strong opposition. "I will do nothing...

Warm welcome: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton receives a bouquet and a kiss from Israeli President Shimon Peres as she arrives in Jerusalem today

What's sauce for the banks is sauce for Treasury Secretary Geithner. If you really want to understand the nature of the budget proposals and President Obama's new economic policies, try the 140-page summary budget document released last Thursday. Labeled "A New Era of Responsibility," the administration underscored military savings, economic growth and tax revenues but forgot economic responsibility. To meet the challenge of increasing spending while lowering the deficit, the president's budget finds new government revenue from savings on defense spending and tax hikes on all Americans. The greatest amount in early years comes from budget savings from reducing the...

All minorities living within the Arab world are under siege. Tunisian human rights activist Muhammad Bechri has traced this to the "twin fascisms" - his term - that dominate the Arab world, Islamism and pan-Arabism. The first promotes murderous intolerance of religious minorities. It helps explain why Christians are under siege across the Arab world and why Sudan enjoyed broad Arab support as it killed some two million non-Muslim blacks in the south of the country. Pan-Arabism translates into endorsement of murderous policies toward Muslim but non-Arab groups and accounts for Arab support for Saddam Hussein as he slaughtered 200,000...

Ahmed fails again. He couldn't light his nuke.