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Posted on August 24, 2019August 23, 2019 by Msgr. Charles Pope Sober and Serious about Salvation—Homily Notes for the 21st Sunday of the Year In the readings this Sunday, the Lord describes a danger: our tendency to make light of judgment and not be sober that one day we must account for our actions. In the first reading (from Isaiah), the Lord sets forth His desire to save us, but we must understand that our will, our assent, is essential to our salvation. In the second reading (from the Letter to the Hebrews), God sets forth a plan whereby,...

Hundreds of bicyclists have been caught with their pants down — and their shirts and underwear off, too. The cyclists gathered in a Philadelphia park on Saturday to disrobe before saddling up and setting off on the annual Philly Naked Bike Ride. About 3,000 riders pedal a 10-mile (16-kilometer) course around the City of Brotherly Love while taking in sights including Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, organizers say. Some riders wear their birthday suits while others flaunt their underwear or sport just a splash of body paint and glitter... The Philly Naked Bike Ride used to be held in...

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar mocked Republican Rep. Mo Brooks Friday after he said that more Muslims in office is leading to more anti-Semitism. “Oh it’s fine, it’s just a Republican who says something bigoted!” the Minnesota congresswoman tweeted. In a follow up tweet, she wrote, “Also, if they are losing their minds over three Muslims in a body of 535, wonder what happens when there is 20 or more.”

Scientists hail it as perhaps the best-preserved dinosaur specimen ever uncovered. You can’t even see its bones. That’s because, 110 million years later, those bones remain covered by the creature’s intact skin and armor.

[Catholic Caucus] Priest Blames Catholic Theology for Lack of Faith h2 class="grey-subtitle" style="margin-bottom:12px;">Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese: 'Mass is not about adoring Jesus' After a survey found that few U.S. Catholics believe in the Real Presence, a Jesuit priest says the Church's own theology is to blame. Father Thomas Reese said in an Aug. 19 opinion piece, "The Mass is not about adoring Jesus or even praying to Jesus." "Ultimately, the Mass is more about us becoming the body of Christ than it is about the bread becoming the body of Christ." Father Reese's article was a response to recent survey results showing...

LARGO — A jury found Michael Drejka guilty of manslaughter late Friday in the 2018 shooting death of Markeis McGlockton in a convenience store parking lot. The conviction came after 6½ hours of deliberations by the jury of five men and one woman. It was read aloud at 10:41 p.m. Drejka stared straight ahead, standing beside his lawyers. He could face up to 30 years in prison. In the front row of the gallery, McGlockton’s girlfriend, Britany Jacobs threw up her hands and clapped. A woman broke into sobs. McGlockton’s father pressed his elbows into his knees as supporters squeezed...

Due to the recent mass shootings, there is a major push for so-called “red flag” gun laws at both the state and federal levels. These laws are the latest tool for gun control advocates to confiscate guns from people based upon only tips and suspicion. No crime has to be committed to trigger an investigation or confiscation. Red flag laws violate multiple rights protected by our constitution. The Hill has an excellent article on how red flag laws violate more than the 2nd Amendment, including: What could possibly go wrong? Story at zerohedgefund.com

Bill Kristol has at least found a candidate who has held elected office: Walsh served a single term in the House of Representatives, from 2011 to 2013. But in every other respect, Walsh is a worse candidate and man than either of Kristol’s previous no-chance candidates. At this point, Kristol might consider posting a Craigslist ad for President, then choosing someone at random; he would still likely end up with a more suitable candidate. The push for Joe Walsh represents more than the last gasp of the #NeverTrump movement. It is a manifestation of their desperation — and their contempt...

The first thing you should know about me is my town: New Bern, North Carolina. It’s a lazy town, just 10 minutes from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and 20 minutes from Camp Lejeune, NC—so yeah, we love the Marine Corps and the US Military. The second thing you should know: I have stage four colorectal cancer. I am dying. I had nothing in common with Donald J. Trump. Yet I couldn’t help but trust the man. In late 2015, when Donald J. Trump took that now-famous escalator ride, I didn’t notice. I had my candidate picked out: Dr....

A picture is worth a thousand words 

The Cherokee Nation announced Thursday that it intends to appoint a delegate to the US House of Representatives, asserting for the first time a right promised to the tribe in a nearly 200-year-old treaty with the federal government. It was a historic step for the Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation and its nearly 370,000 citizens, coming about a week after Chuck Hoskin Jr. was sworn in as principal chief of the tribe. The Cherokee Nation says it's the largest tribal nation in the US and one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes. The move raises questions about what that representation in Congress...

The dispute is over a brief submitted to the justices by several Democratic senators. The case involves a New York gun law that was challenged and eventually withdrawn by the city. The court case still is pending and some fear the court could establish a nationwide precedent they may not like. Already, Harvard professor Laurence Tribe has scolded the senators for threatening the justices. The senators' brief said the court is not well, and unless it heals itself they may have to resort to stacking the court with more justices who are amenable to the Democrats' ideology.

Stanford University is pushing a separate physics course for minorities in hopes that it will result in more diversity among physics majors. A 2016 survey revealed Stanford’s physics department to be one of the “least diverse” departments within the institution, and the university has since embarked on a mission to resolve that supposed concern, according to a university news release. “Creation of special curricula and support services for ethnic minority groups and women...textbook examples of unequal treatment” Tweet This One step Stanford has taken is promoting a modified version of the standard Mechanics course, a requirement for physics majors, boasting...

The Amazon has made headlines this month as fires rip across the region. While this is the dry season for the area, during which fires are common, fires have nonetheless reached unprecedented highs this season — up 80 percent compared to last year. As the Amazon burns, the world has lit up with despair and outrage, with hashtags such as #PrayForTheAmazon going viral. As the fires and emotional uproar continue, one naturally wonders "who is to blame?" Of course, the obvious cause is "human ignition," as these fires are mostly due to farmers and ranchers using flames to clear forests...

It's no secret that President Donald J. Trump's ex-White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci now hates the president...or at least says he does so that CNN will show him some love with TV screentime. But, if he doesn't support President Trump in 2020, then who will he vote for? According to the Washington Examiner, he's been checking out former Vice President Joe Biden. "The Mooch" appeared at one of Biden's swanky campaign stops in the Hamptons.Kerry Picket reports that Scaramucci told the Washington Examiner, "I'm a registered Republican. I haven't switched my support to Vice President Biden, but I will...

One of the great debates of the 2020 campaign will be whether the key date in defining America is 1619 or 1776. The left will assert that America is a terrible country and that its defining moment was the introduction of slavery. Most Americans will see that as a racist definition of history in its own right and will continue to believe in the exceptionalism created in 1776 by the Declaration of Independence and implemented in 1787 by the Constitution. This debate is being created by The New York Times’ determination to replace its failed crusade about President Trump and...

SABATON bassist Pär Sundström recently spoke with France's United Rock Nations. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow... On SABATON's lyrics: Pär: "War is not really black-and-white. War always has a very gray color, because war is conceived by different sides for whatever [reasons] they have. In all conflicts, there are a lot of losers and a lot of people who have their different inputs and think that, 'We are the good guys. They are the bad.' For SABATON, it's not about taking a stand. We write the songs from different kinds of angles all the...

Today's Quotefall Puzzle features a quote by Carly Fiorina. Click puzzle (or click here) for full size rendition, then use your browser's print command to print puzzle. Carly Fiorina was chief executive of Hewlett Packard and former presidential and vice-presidential candidate for the Republican 2016 primary election process. All hints, along with the answer, are provided in the first reply comment below, using filtered font to prevent accidental spoilers. Please refrain from disclosing the full answer in comments to prevent spoilers.To solve the puzzle: Enter the letters in the top half (letter columns) of the puzzle into the white squares on the...

The White House on Sunday said the only regret President Trump has about the escalating trade war with China is not jacking up tariffs even higher, clarifying comments the president made earlier during a meeting with world leaders in France. ?”This morning in the bilat with the UK, the President was asked if he had ‘any second thought on escalating the trade war with China?.’ His answer has been greatly misinterpreted. President Trump responded in the affirmative – because he regrets not raising the tariffs higher?,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said ? ?in a statement. ? ?Trump in...

This is an analysis of the body language during an interview of Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne at Fox. I found it to be very interesting. There is no transcript.