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This "liturgical order" is characterized by the dominance of Protestant material, and the one-sided praise for the Reformation while nothing at all is said about -- or taken from -- the distinctive elements of Catholic history, theology and heritage. The Reformation and Martin Luther are repeatedly extolled, while the Counter-Reformation and the Popes and Saints of the 16th century are passed over in total silence.

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-ted-cruz-donald-trump-president-supporters-20160114-story.html

If we compare where Clinton is now in the Real Clear Politics polling average, the 2016 picture and the 2008 picture aren't really all that similar. Nationally, she was doing much better in 2008 than she is right now, perhaps in part because the anti-Clinton vote in 2008 was still split between two people -- Barack Obama and John Edwards -- instead of just one. But that recent trend line, a function of two new national polls that were close after a bit of a lull, is not very good news.

“You’ve convinced me [of the need to pass the Dream Act].” [NBC Latino, 8/22/13] "I hate the concept of it, but on a humanitarian basis with what’s happening, you have to [bring in Syrian refugees]." [Interview with Bill O’Reilly, 9/8/15] Regarding Kim Davis: “Because we had a ruling from the Supreme Court and we are a country of laws and you have to do what the Supreme Court ultimately, whether you like the decision or not, and it was a 5-4 decision, whether you like the decision or not, you have to go along with the Supreme Court. That’s the...

Nowadays Ann has had to metamorphose from provocateur to the punditry equivalent of "your mama" jokes with a side of bullying. For that's what happens to you when you start uttering complete nonsensical tripe like the following and call it a "hot take": "It doesn't matter how liberal Donald Trump is as long as he's right on immigration." Ladies, let me holler at you first. Does the guy who promises to be faithful to you, if you overlook everything else about him that sets your warning bells off, ever keep that promise? Of course not. As the father of two...

Ted Cruz told reporters, who once again asked about the Trumped-up phony eligibility claims, that Trump is disturbed that conservatives are rallying behind him, and that he’s only attacking him because he’s losing in Iowa:Cruz: Trump is worried because he's trailing in Iowa (Video)It’s so true that Trump is disturbed. Remember when Ben Carson was leading in Iowa? Trump told Iowans they were stupid for supporting Carson and accused Carson of having some ‘pathological condition’. When Trump is a desperate man he’ll say anything to win, no matter how ridiculous and dishonest. And his fervent Trumpers will follow right along,...

The Washington Post has an interesting interview this week with William Merideth, the Kentucky businessman who famously took a shotgun and introduced a terminal malfunction to a camera equipped drone hovering over his property last year. The case, while providing some amusement to the public initially, has raised vexing questions about property rights, privacy, and the limits of the government (under the auspices of the Federal Aviation Administration) to control the airspace over your property. It’s been mostly settled law for quite some time that property owners control the mineral rights and other resources under their land, but how much...

Critics of Maine Gov. Paul LePage failed to muster enough support to require a vote Thursday on an independent investigation that could have led to impeachment for alleged abuse of power. Instead, House lawmakers voted 96-52 to indefinitely postpone debate after Republican leader Ken Fredette introduced a motion to pre-empt any action on the impeachment order. A group led by Democratic Rep. Ben Chipman of Portland wanted to punish the brash and outspoken Republican governor for pressuring a school operator into rescinding a job offer to Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves. ...

It was only a little less than two years ago when Donald Trump introduced Sen. Ted Cruz at a Lincoln Day dinner in Palm Beach, Florida with nothing but gushing accolades for the Texas Senator. Of course, times have changed. Today, Trump is unleashing a timely and stealthy attack on Cruz ahead of the Iowa primary where the two GOP candidates are in a head-to-head dogfight to win the state. Planting big, disruptive, unrelenting seeds of doubt about foreign-born Cruz's eligibility to become president, Trump is hoping to deal a death-blow to the campaign of his biggest rival - and...

https://videos.files.wordpress.com/lBwdmWFM/trump-links-ny-values-to-911_dvd.mp4 "When you wanna knock New York, you gotta go through me."

London has put more armed police officers on the streets - a direct consequence of the attacks on a nightclub and restaurants in Paris last year. Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said Thursday that the Metropolitan police will train 600 more firearms officers, increasing the number of armed officers to around 2,800. The police will also double the number of armed response vehicles - giving authorities the ability to respond quickly to any attack. ...

Hardline conservatives should be celebrating the Republican response speech to the State of the Union, offered by Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina. The speech was a testament to how far the party is willing to go to cater to the putrid racism of the conservative base, as Haley, using her own background as the child of Indian immigrants, demonized immigrants and refugees fleeing war, and, in a particularly odious display, used the murder of nine people at the hands of a racist to scold Black Lives Matter protesters for speaking out. But the right just ain't having it, it...

A group of lawmakers says British authorities are failing transgender people, who suffer routine discrimination and are disproportionately likely to attempt suicide. [...] In a report published Thursday, the (House of Commons Women and Equalities C)ommittee said gender identity should no longer be treated as a mental health issue, and official recognition of gender should be based on individual self-declaration. It said people should be able to record their gender as "X" rather than male or female on a passport. ...

I would like to watch the Republican debate tonight but do not have disc and only have basic cable. What website will be presenting this debate on the internet? Thanks in advance.

A former senior adviser to the Joint Chiefs told me that the document was an ‘all-source’ appraisal, drawing on information from signals, satellite and human intelligence, and took a dim view of the Obama administration’s insistence on continuing to finance and arm the so-called moderate rebel groups. Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, director of the DIA between 2012 and 2014, confirmed that his agency had sent a constant stream of classified warnings to the civilian leadership about the dire consequences of toppling Assad. The jihadists, he said, were in control of the opposition. Turkey wasn’t doing enough to stop the smuggling...

Thursday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," host Joe Scarborough, former Obama "car czar" Steve Rattner and Bloomberg's Mark Halperin all weighed in on a story in The Wall Street Journal alleging Sen. Ted Cruz, a candidate for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, didn't properly disclose loans he received for his 2012 senatorial bid. According to Rattner, it is "a little bit of a foot fault," but it also contradicts the claim he put every penny of his liquid net worth into that 2012 campaign. "What he did, as best we could tell from the papers today is he essentially got a...

Israel's 92-year-old former President Shimon Peres suffered a "mild" heart attack Thursday but was in "excellent" condition following a heart procedure, his personal physician said. Peres was rushed to a hospital near Tel Aviv from his home on Thursday morning after he fell ill with chest pains and a check-up found an irregular heart rate, his spokeswoman Ayelet Frisch told Israeli Army Radio. His personal physician Raphi Walden said Peres had a "mild heart attack" but that "his condition is excellent" following a successful cardiac catheterization. ...

Will the Bush family legacy be the primary victim of Jeb's campaign? There is another Republican debate tonight and Jeb Bush will participate despite his lagging campaign and poll numbers. The Real Clear Politics average of polls has Bush at 4.7 percent. Jeb's message never caught on despite plenty of media attention and financial backing. It didn't help that he is an establishment candidate or that he's viewed by many as a legacy candidate like Hillary Clinton. Bush has tried to jump start his campaign by attacking Donald Trump numerous times but that has backfired and worked in Trump's favor....

Tyler DurdenJanuary 14,2016 Last weekend, some 1,700 Germans turned out for a PEGIDA rally in Cologne to protest the wave of sexual assaults that unfolded in the city on New Year’s Eve in the town center. PEGIDA nearly faded into obscurity early last year when then-leader Lutz Bachmann posted a picture of himself dressed as Hitler on Facebook with the caption “He’s Back”, but thanks to the 1.1 million Mid-East asylum seekers that poured across Germany’s borders in 2015, the anti-immigrant group has seen something of a resurgence over the past six or so months. While the group claims to...

An illegal immigrant has confessed to killing American artist Ashley Olsen in her Italian apartment, who was punched and strangling her with a USB cord in a jealous 'drug-fueled' frenzy. Cheik Tidiane Diaw, 25, told officers he strangled Olsen after the pair had sex when she told him he had to leave because her boyfriend was coming back. The Senegalese man was caught because of DNA evidence from a used condom and cigarette found in the toilet - which he had tried to flush away unsuccessfully. Italian police said they had to swoop on him quickly because they feared he...