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RECIFE, Brazil, July 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - This morning, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, the metropolitan archbishop of Olinda and Recife. The pope appointed Bishop Fernando Antonio Saburido as his successor. Pro-life activists around the world are very familiar with Archbishop Cardoso for his heroic defense of the unborn despite criticism he received even from Archbishop Salvatore (Rino) Fisichella, the President of Pontifical Academy for Life. The acceptance of his resignation at this time has raised many questions; however, there is no evidence to indicate that it was undertaken as...

Three years ago, City Hall approved giving $5.3 million in taxpayer funding to a labor organization so it could buy land from a client of Ald. Edward M. Burke's law firm. Burke (14th) was among 49 aldermen who approved the deal that allowed the Chicago Construction and General Laborers' Council to buy the 24-acre site from since-indicted Chicago developer Calvin Boender. Boender made a 37 percent profit on the land, which he had owned for about six years, city records show. Now, a federal investigation has the deal in the spotlight.

Black swans really didn’t swim into global consciousness until the late summer of 2008 when the frazzled pieces of the global economy completely frayed, like the rope holding a piano dangling above a busy city street in an old silent film. But, Nassim Taleb had spotted the creature in 2007, writing about how sudden, outlying events affect the financial markets in Black Swan, the Impact of the Highly Improbable. He mentions September 11 and stock market crashes as Black Swan-type events. Whether any of the events were truly unpredictable–or just extremely complex, isn’t the point of this piece. What intrigues...

The latest Youtube video excerpt from Savage.

snip Nineteen years later, they will see another long-awaited increase beginning this month, bringing a subsidy for a typical family of three to $321 a month, from $291, city and state officials said. For a family of four, the subsidy will rise to $413.70 a month, from $375.70. The increase was a small line in Gov. David A. Paterson’s budget this year, but a hard-fought victory by advocates for the poor, who have long argued that the welfare subsidy was too low. “It was way overdue,” said Mark Dunlea, the executive director of the Hunger Action Network of New York...

It was forty years ago, on Wednesday, August 16, 1967, that the discovery of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon occurred. As I have looked back over the intervening four decades, I have enjoyed seeing how far this idea has come and how many people have contributed to its development. To document the events of 1967, I have gone back through my missionary letters, notes, and records, and I have reminisced with my missionary companions to relive that extraordinary experience. I still remember it vividly. I am grateful for each opportunity to share the story of that discovery.To set the...

Why Catholics Should Oppose Sotomayor The confirmation of nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court justice is almost a certainty. She's a woman, a Hispanic, and the pick of a popular president who leads the party that controls the Senate. Democratic leadership in the Senate is determined to complete hearings before the Judiciary Committee and get a confirmation vote before Congress adjourns in August. Thus far, Republicans have not voiced much opposition to the nomination, perhaps thinking it better to save their ammunition for an easier battle. It's a mistake, however, to allow such a nominee to take a seat...

The boys in green are coming as the Environment Agency sets up a squad to police companies generating excessive CO2 emissions. The agency is creating a unit of about 50 auditors and inspectors, complete with warrant cards and the power to search company premises to enforce the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which comes into effect next year. Decked out in green jackets, the enforcers will be able to demand access to company property, view power meters, call up electricity and gas bills and examine carbon-trading records for an estimated 6,000 British businesses. Ed Mitchell, head of business performance and regulation...

At times Barack Obama has compared himself and his policies to that of FDR, the President during the Great Depression.That is turning out to be a very valid and frightening comparison. The traditional social studies text book view is that Herbert Hoover turned a recession into the great depression, by sitting on his hind quarters doing nothing. Actually that is a result of political propaganda of Roosevelt and his administration. The Truth is that both Herbert Hoover and then FDR turned the recession into a depression by OVER-tinkering with the economy. They were like the Tim Allen character on Home...

WASHINGTON — Whether it's over health care, climate change or most other big Washington battles this year, Congress keeps debating the same underlying issue: Is the federal government getting too big and intrusive? The subject bitterly divides Republicans from Democrats, and the public's mood seems ambivalent. Polls show public majorities think the government's rapidly growing cost is worrisome. Most want better health care and curbs on global warming — but they're wary of giving government too much power to do either.

French amateur archaeologist Bruno Tassan fights to preserve a neglected 2,000-year-old ancient interstate in southern Provence At first glance, it didn't appear that impressive: a worn limestone pillar, six feet high and two feet wide, standing slightly askew beside a country road near the village of Pélissanne in southern France. "A lot of people pass by without knowing what it is," Bruno Tassan, 61, was saying, as he tugged aside dense weeds that had grown over the column since he last inspected it. Tassan was showing me a milliaire, or milestone, one of hundreds planted along the highways of Gaul...

...snip....TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Already volatile Honduras slid toward greater instability after soldiers blocked an airport runway to keep ousted President Manuel Zelaya from returning, and protests that had remained largely peaceful yielded their first death. ...snip...Critics feared Zelaya might try to extend his rule and cement presidential power in ways similar to what his ally Chavez has done in Venezuela — though Zelaya denied that. But instead of prosecuting him or trying to defeat him at the ballot box, masked soldiers flew the president out of the country at gunpoint, and Congress installed Micheletti in his place. ...snip..."This is a...

[C]omparisons do a disservice to Reagan, who not only served two full terms as governor of California, but also spent decades studying the issues and immersing himself in conservative philosophy. His writings and radio commentaries make this abundantly clear. He proved people wrong because they objectively were wrong. This does not mean that whenever the media writes off or attacks a conservative politician that he or she is the next Reagan **** to win and govern effectively you have to do more than "galvanize the party base" and "convince conservatives" -- you also have to convince independents and even some...

GREENSBORO -- A buck-a-day -- that's the incentive being offered to young girls to keep them from getting pregnant, WXII-TV reported. The group College-Bound Sisters was founded at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro by Hazel Brown, a maternity nurse who thought too many teens were having babies. Brown said she hopes the program, which pays $1 each day to 12-to-18-year-old girls, will keep them from getting pregnant. In addition to remaining pregnancy-free, the girls must also attend weekly meetings. The program is funded by a four-year grant from the state. "Our three goals are that they avoid pregnancy,...

...But trouble may be brewing for Republicans in Florida, where the Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group, is seriously considering running ads in the Republican primary race against Gov. Charlie Crist for supporting higher state taxes and President Obama's $800 billion economic stimulus spending plan. Mr. Crist's opponent for the Republican Senate nomination next year is former state Speaker of the House Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a young, up-and-coming party leader running on cutting government spending and taxes. This is where Mr. Crist may be especially vulnerable... "There are stark differences between the candidates on...

The flap with Shannyn Moore is over remarks the liberal blogger made about why Palin is quitting her job as governor ... Palin, through her lawyer, on Saturday threatened to explore "legal options" against Moore and media outlets that choose to republish like-minded "false and defamatory allegations" about Palin's resignation. Lawyer Thomas Van Flein said that soon after Palin's surprise announcement, several unscrupulous people "asserted false and defamatory" allegations. Moore is the only person named specifically.

U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama take part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Russian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia, July 6, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (RUSSIA POLITICS)

TV and Obama: mutual love affair By David Bauder July 6, 2009 Reporting from New York -- Even President Obama, a gleam in his eye as he talked at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Assn. dinner two weeks ago, seemed to recognize the special relationship he's forged with TV networks in the opening months of his administration. "A few nights ago, I was up tossing and turning and trying to figure out exactly what to say," he said. "Finally, when I couldn't get back to sleep, I rolled over and asked Brian Williams what he thought." The reference to the...

OUR OPINION: President Obama promised transparency but often sides with secrecy As a candidate for president, Sen. Barack Obama vowed to run an open government. He reiterated that pledge on Inauguration Day: ''Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency,'' he said. Nearly six months later, advocates of open government are still waiting for the president to fulfill this promise. Compared to the Bush presidency, this administration is doing better. But what President Obama has done, compared to what he said he would do, are two different things, thanks in part to the unequivocal language...

Amazingly, neither Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev) nor Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif) want to give Congress or the public much time to read the upcoming Healthcare bills they are rushing through their respective chambers before forcing a "yes" or "no" vote on them. In a recent interview, Senator Reid was asked if he'd commit to giving the Senate and the public a week to digest any healthcare "reform" bill before he brought the bill up for a vote. Reid however, refused to make such a commitment. Reid allowed less than two days before forcing...