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Eleven militant Palestinian groups based in Syria warned on Sunday against a "concession and compromise" policy ahead of a possible round of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The message from the groups, which include Gaza rulers Hamas as well as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine factions, appeared directed at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Snip) The U.S. and the "Zionists," the statement said, were "aiming to wipe out the national rights of the Palestinians and to cover up the practices of the occupation, settlement expansion and

The Charles Rangel saga gave Washington whiplash on Thursday. The 20-term congressman is trying to save his name and legacy, while avoiding a messy, public trial for ethics violations. CBS 2 HD spent much of Thursday monitoring the back-and-forth. Rangel isn't the only one with whiplash because within minutes of congressional Republicans rejecting his tentative deal, lawyers for the House Ethics Committee were giving it a second look. This can mean only one thing: a potential compromise may be in the offing. For both Democrats and Republicans, the case of Congressman Rangel presents a sticky wicket: On the one hand...

The Doctrine of Balaam by Bill Randles Pt 5 of the Balaam series Nevertheless I have a few things against you, for you have there those who hold to the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel,To eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication…Rev 2:14 By the end of the fourth ‘parable’ of Balaam, both He and Balak the King were full aware of God’s purposes for Israel. The utter impossibility of using any kind of divination against Israel was now obvious to the badly shaken King, and to...

1Samuel 13:5: And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for...

On Healthcare Reform, it's Dinner with Lucrezia by John F. Di Leo, for Illinois Review Some coworkers are going out for dinner, and they’ve invited you to come along. Okay, you’re not exactly pals, but it wouldn’t hurt to bond a little with the colleagues, so you say “Sure, why not?” What do you feel like? You’re thinking pizza… a steaming hot, loaded, deluxe Chicago deep dish pizza… every food group covered. You’ve got your veggies, your cheese, your meats, your bread… a little fattening maybe, so it’s not perfect, but otherwise, a tasty, nutritious meal. So you ask: what...

Leave it to third-string, has-been quarterbacks of the Republican Party to throw an interception at the precise moment conservatives are about to turn the game around. What is wrong with people like former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Senator Alan Simpson and Senator Orrin Hatch? I am sorely tempted to use one of those phrases made famous by Rahm Emanuel. One would get the impression that Republicans simply sit back and say "no" to all the noble, but slightly flawed, ideas proposed by Democrats. One would think that Republicans never have ideas, but that coming to a table...

Five Mainstream Republican Resolutions for 2010 by John F. Di Leo Individuals like to make the most of New Year's Day, by taking the opportunity of a calendar-based fresh start, for one's career, one's household, one's personal relationships. We vow to lose weight, to write a book, to remodel the attic, to change jobs. Public companies do this as well. That's what annual reports and fourth quarter stockholder guidance reports are, at the core: evaluations of the past year, and promises to investors and potential investors (and the SEC, while they're at it) of what they intend to do in...

Two key senators criticized the most recent healthcare compromise Sunday, saying the policies replacing the public option are still unacceptable. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) both said a Medicare "buy-in" option for those aged 55-64 was a deal breaker.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – South Africa will not sign any deal that would compromise the country's economic development chances at the upcoming climate change conference in Copenhagen, the environment minister said Tuesday. "All negotiators are there to pursue national interests ... and South Africa is no different in this regard. If a deal is going to compromise our national interest we are not going to support it 100 percent," Buyelwa Sonjica told journalist. In the lead up to the crucial climate summit in December which hopes to thrash out a new climate treaty, Sonjica said it was unrealistic for developing countries...

WASHINGTON – Even as liberals urge President Barack Obama to demand bold, far-reaching changes to the nation's health care system, the White House signaled openness Thursday to compromises that might attract moderate congressional Democrats as well as some Republicans. Obama believes in "fundamental principles" about overhauling health care, top presidential adviser David Axelrod told The Associated Press, but "he's not dogmatic about how we get there." Axelrod's comments did not definitively answer how hard Obama will push for the most ambitious parts of his proposal, including health insurance for virtually all Americans and a government-run plan to compete with private...

Many members of the clergy must be using the Bible like the old Sears catalogue – for toilet paper – because they obviously don't read it. Last week, another once-great church succumbed to the relentless, media-savvy campaign of determined homosexuality. "Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America voted to lift the ban that prohibited sexually active gay and lesbian people from serving as ministers," reported the Associated Press. In July, the Episcopal House of Bishops and laity approved liturgies for same-sex couples and endorsed the right to elect gay bishops. Lutherans and Episcopalians join other denominational giants, Unitarians and...

Don't look now, but post-partisanship is making a comeback. Nobody is celebrating, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers have just demonstrated again that it's possible to bridge the deep partisan divide that has frozen California's Legislature in a condition of near perpetual gridlock. Last week, for the second time in five months, Schwarzenegger cobbled together a difficult budget plan and joined lawmakers from both parties to support the compromises necessary to pull the state back from the brink of insolvency. In February, he got fellow Republicans to raise taxes temporarily. And now he has persuaded Democrats to make deep...

Dr. Howard Dean’s fans come out for the big Democratic summer shindig As Tom Andrews, the director of the leading national antiwar coalition, began his speech at the Maine Democrats’ big outdoor summer shindig in Falmouth, John Baldacci signaled his bodyguard/driver to move the large, dark SUV up the driveway. The vehicle soon hid in the trees, its engine quietly humming. At first, the governor seemed to be paying attention as Andrews, the former First District congressman, launched into rousing tales of how the country, under President George W. Bush, had gone "from peace and prosperity to war and recession."...

If you are a California Resident, let the state party know that you won't give them ANY money or votes if any member of the party votes to endorse the reported $4bil in additional "Revenue Enhancements" to "balance" the budget.No money, no votes.info@cagop.org

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--An anti-abortion Democrat on Monday said he is negotiating a compromise aimed at resolving concerns that House health-care legislation would allow federal funding of abortions. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said he is in talks with Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on the language. Stupak said his and Waxman's staff discussed the issue over the weekend and suggested that a compromise could be voted on this week as an amendment to a health-care bill under consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Stupak represents an important vote on the health-care measure, which already faces possible opposition...

An Open Letter to Pastor Rick Warren By Jan Markell On July 5 the Washington Times online reported that Pastor Rick Warren told his Islamic audience, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA,) that he envisions "a coalition of faith." Whether Pastor Warren knows this or not, this is just another term for the coming one-world religion outlined in Revelation 13. It is further outlined in Revelation 17. I have not taken on the issue of Rick Warren all that often, but after reading what the Washington Times has to say about his message to a group of spiritually lost...

"It is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." (From this week's Torah portion, Balak, Numbers 23:9) Currently, Israel's very essence is its unrequited ambition to be reckoned among the nations. Official Israel does all in its power to be "normal -" in other words, to be like the nations of the world. Israel yearns to be accepted, to "belong," to enjoy the patronage of the nations. It will settle for almost anything. As long as it will not have to dwell alone. Jewish home in outpost. Sign says "G-d is King." But...

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If you've spent any time at all on Internet message boards or in college debate class you'll have seen the rafters vibrate with righteous condemnation against the "slippery slope argument." It is claimed that a worst case, ultimate extrapolation of a thing is a bad argument because it isn't necessarily a truism. Supporters of the Second Amendment, for instance, are scolded by liberals when the supporter says that any new gun law is "one more step to banning guns." The gun restricter says that the gun supporter is employing a "slippery slope" argument and that it is idiotic to claim...

In the face-off between Mahmoud (Achmadinijad), Hussein (Obama) and Bibi, the first two can chalk up a major victory even before the game begins. Mahmoud doesn't have a bomb yet, but Netanyahu is already running to drive Jews from their homes and destroy their villages. Hussein Obama, who released the trial balloon called Bushehr in exchange for Yitzhar can also congratulate himself on two big wins. Netanyahu paid lip service to a strong, independent Israel, but his actions show that he has accepted Obama's Bushehr for Yitzhar principle. He also accepted another of Obama's principles: that the right of Israel...