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“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill toward men.” Luke 2:14 Christmas is here again. Tonight and tomorrow, Americans will gather and share presents. Christmas traditions of various types will be shared. As we share our presents, gather as families, go to Christmas services, we all have our wishes for Christmas. Our kids want toys. Adults want other things. I have my list of Christmas wishes. For Christmas, I want peace. Peace is not the freakish “kumbya” moment liberals always envision. It is not simply the absence of conflict. There is an absence of conflict...

While visiting the lovely island of Cozumel, Mexico, Mr. Dragon and I rented a car and went around the island to one of our favorite places Señor Iguana's. This is a local place (not a chain) and they have great margaritas, excellent food and the view is one of the most beautiful of the ocean waves. As we sat down and gave our drink order to Rudy (a nice young man that we visit with every year), we noticed a table near the view, that had 4 people sitting at it. On one side, was a Muslim male, and on...

More frightening than any particular beliefs or policies is an utter lack of any sense of a need to test those beliefs and policies against hard evidence. Mistakes can be corrected by those who pay attention to facts but dogmatism will not be corrected by those who are wedded to a vision. One of the most pervasive political visions of our time is the vision of liberals as compassionate and conservatives as less caring. It is liberals who advocate "forgiveness" of loans to Third World countries, a "living wage" for the poor and a "safety net" for all. But these...

WASHINGTON -- The imam behind the plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero surfaced yesterday far from the controversy -- in Bahrain, where he's on a taxpayer-funded trip to the Middle East to spread good will. Appearing in public for the first time in weeks, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, speaking at a mosque near Bahrain's capital of Manama, said he wants to "Americanize" Islam -- but dodged questions about the uproar over his planned mosque and community center. Rauf spoke against fanaticism, saying, "This issue of extremism is something that has been a national-security issue -- not only for...

Watch a report from WGAL in Harrisburg, where a $17,000.00 diamond ring (2.6 carat) was donated and will be auctioned off on Goodwill’s site. It is being recorded as a donation, and is the largest Goodwill donation ever in the Pennsylvania area. WATCH $17K ANTIQUE RING DONATED to GOODWILL...

HARRISBURG, Pa.- Officials with Goodwill thrift stores said a 2.6-carat diamond ring appraised at $17,600 was donated to a Pennsylvania store and will be auctioned online. Goodwill Industries Keystone Area spokeswoman Jennifer Ross said the ring was discovered by Barry Landis, a retired jeweler employed to sort through donations at the Harrisburg distribution center, the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News reported Tuesday. "It could have ended up with a price tag of $5.99," she said of the find among the various pieces of costume jewelry donated to area stores. "It makes me think about what treasures might be out there in some...

We're following up on a story tonight that shows one good turn deserves another. Sunday night, we told you about a missing backpack in Kalispell. It contained a laptop and $6,000 that belonged to the former president of Burger King. Russ Klein thought he put it in his rental car. As it turns out, the vehicle was someone else's. We ran the story Sunday night. The next morning, the car's owner took the bag, the laptop and the cash to Kalispell Police. Klein offered a reward, but the good samaritan turned it down. So, Klein and his wife gave the...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Aug. 24, 2009 – Along with their Iraqi counterparts, U.S. soldiers from the 17th Fires Brigade and the 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team handed out food and supplies to residents of Faddaqhryah and Bahar, Iraq, Aug. 18. Army Cpl. Dale L. Comella, a medic with 17th Fires Brigade’s personnel security detachment, speaks with Iraqi children during a humanitarian aid drop coordinated by the Iraqi army, 17th Fires Brigade and the 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Aug. 18, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Maurice A. Galloway   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

When our founders created the federal government, I’m pretty sure they didn’t anticipate having its power reach into their carriage houses. Thanks to a particularly asinine piece of legislation called the Consumer Protection Safety Improvement Act, though, we now have federal inspectors threatening to start investigating yard sales and church bazaars. They say they’re just going to focus on thrift stores and Craigslist … for now: If you’re planning a garage sale or organizing a church bazaar, you’d best beware: You could be breaking a new federal law. As part of a campaign called Resale Roundup, the federal government is...

Thrift-driven Americans are fixing up, making do and reusing so much to cope with the recession that the drop in throwaways means less fill for landfills. To deal with the drop-off in dropoffs, landfills are laying off workers, reducing hours of operation and hiking disposal fees, with the increases passed along to cities, businesses and consumers. "You can look at waste and see what the economy is doing," said Tom Houck, manager at the Defiance County Landfill in northwest Ohio. He's watched the amount of trash arriving at the landfill plunge 30 percent in the past year. With consumers cutting...

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 3, 2009 – As U.S. forces and their NATO counterparts here were thinking recently about ways to win the trust and cooperation of local people in their fight against radical insurgents, village elders suggested a way to come together in common interest: a sporting event. Two do-rah teams battle it out while an Afghan police officer pulls security during a goodwill tournament of the traditional Afghan game in the Deh Rawood district of Oruzgan province, Afghanistan, Feb. 20, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Joseph A. Wilson.   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Such was...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2009 – Even as military efforts increase in Afghanistan, coalition forces reach out to Afghan civilians with humanitarian aid, job training and other supportive efforts. Jose Garzon, left, and Ted Whittenberger, right, both with the U.S. Agency for International Development, pose in front of the Konar Construction Center honor graduates with Gov. Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi of Afghanistan’s Konar province, Jan. 18, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Russell Gilchrest  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. U.S. soldiers distributed more than 300 backpacks filled with clothes, shoes, school supplies and hygiene items to high school students near...

An Iraqi policeman from the Maysan province distributes first aid kits to the families of Abu Rummanah during a combined humanitarian operation with Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cav. Division in Amarah Jan. 23. Photo by Pfc. Todd Rogers. FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARRY OWEN — Iraqi Police from the Al Hussein Station, assisted by Soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, joined forces during Operation Goodwill to send a positive message to the citizens in Amarah Jan. 23. “We have a lot of things to coordinate between us and...

Barack Obama's money machine is fueled by the likes of Martha Murphy, a grandmother who has donated 104 times for a total of $2,475.34. Murphy has used her credit card to donate in amounts as small as $10. "It is amazing how it adds up," she said. Obama has revolutionized campaign fundraising, deploying the Internet to tap into more donors than any candidate in history. The campaign has reported $160 million in contributions from supporters who donated $200 or less, more than a third of the $458 million raised. But as Obama sets records, his fundraising has come under scrutiny....

The Obama campaign has shattered all fund-raising records, raking in $458 million so far, with about half the bounty coming from donors who contribute $200 or less. Aides say that's an illustration of a truly democratic campaign. To critics, though, it can be an invitation for fraud and illegal foreign cash because donors giving individual sums of $200 or less don't have to be publicly reported. Consider the cases of Obama donors "Doodad Pro" of Nunda, N.Y., who gave $17,130, and "Good Will" of Austin, Texas, who gave more than $11,000—both in excess of the $2,300-per-person federal limit. In two...

The Republican National Committee wants the Federal Election Commission to investigate the source of thousands of small contributions to the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, a committee lawyer said yesterday. The RNC's chief counsel, Sean Cairncross, said that there is mounting evidence that the Obama campaign was so hungry for donations it "looked the other way" as contributions piled up from suspicious donors, and possibly even from overseas, which would be illegal. "We believe that the American people should know first and foremost if foreign money is pouring into a presidential election," Cairncross said. He pointed to a report...

The Obama campaign has shattered all fund-raising records, raking in $458 million so far, with about half the bounty coming from donors who contribute $200 or less. Aides say that's an illustration of a truly democratic campaign. To critics, though, it can be an invitation for fraud and illegal foreign cash because donors giving individual sums of $200 or less don't have to be publicly reported. Consider the cases of Obama donors "Doodad Pro" of Nunda, N.Y., who gave $17,130, and "Good Will" of Austin, Texas, who gave more than $11,000—both in excess of the $2,300-per-person federal limit.

Obama doesn't weed out illegal cash, GOP says Sun Oct 5, 2008 5:15pm EDT By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican Party on Sunday said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had not done enough to screen out illegal campaign contributions and asked U.S. election officials to look into the matter. Citing news reports, the Republican National Committee said Obama had accepted contributions from foreigners and taken more than the $2,300 maximum from donors who give in small increments. The Obama campaign denied the charges. The RNC said it will ask the Federal Election Commission to examine Obama records in...

WHO is "Will, Good"? Mr. Good Will - who lists his employer as "Loving" and his profession as "You" - has contributed 1,000 times to the Barack Obama campaign. All the contributions have been in amounts of $25 or less. But they add up to $17,375 - far more than the legal limit of $4,600. That's $2,300 each for the primary and general election campaigns. Kenneth Timmerman, a reporter for NewsMax, a conservative Web site, discovered Mr. Good Will when he reviewed 1.4 million individual contributions in the latest Federal Elections Commission master file for the Obama campaign. Mr. Good...

A lawyer for the Republican National Committee today said the party will ask the Federal Election Commission to look into the source of thousands of small-dollar contributions to the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama. The RNC is alleging that the Obama campaign was so hungry for donations it "looked the other way" as contributions piled up from suspicious, and possibly even illegal foreign donors. "We believe that the American people should know first and foremost if foreign money is pouring into a presidential election," said RNC Chief Counsel Sean Cairncross. Cairncross alleged there was mounting evidence of this, and...