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The Phantom Stranger #0 is published today – I mentioned it earlier, but there was one point I wanted to highlight separately.The comic does not mention Judas or Jesus by name. But it is very clear who is meant to be who. Middle Eastern characters two thousand years ago, Judas’ suicide, the thirty pieces of silver, his appeal to be forgiven as “he” would forgive, it’s a blatant as it can be without actually naming names.And while we know about the thirty pieces of silver round his neck, and how that becomes a motivating for for him in The Phantom...

Conservatives around the country may be regretting Chief Justice John Roberts’ appointment to the Supreme Court after Thursday’s ruling upholding [Alleged] President Barack Obama’s health care law, but Mitt Romney‘s campaign website still holds him up as the paradigm of a Supreme Court justice. “As president, Mitt will nominate judges in the mold of Chief Justice Roberts...

A Brazilian actor has died after accidentally hanging himself while playing Judas in an Easter Passion play. Tiago Klimeck, 27, was enacting the suicide of Judas during the performance on Good Friday in the city of Itarare. The actor was hanging for four minutes before fellow performers realised something was wrong. Klimeck was taken to hospital suffering from cerebral hypoxia but died on Sunday. The Passion play was being performed in Itarare, 345km (214 miles) west of Sao Paulo. Klimeck was re-enacting the scene in which Judas commits suicide in repentance for his betrayal of Jesus Christ. Police are investigating...

They hugged each other backstage in a full embrace like old friends. She grabbed his arm and whispered in his left ear. She kept talking as he bent to listen, and he kept saying “Uh, huh. Uh, huh.” Huh? “I don’t know if what she was giving him was a sucker punch, but he didn’t put his arm down while she was talking to him,” said the Sneed source.

Mitch McConnell is right now talking about making a historic capitulation. So fearful of being blamed for a default, McConnell is proposing a compromise that lets Barack Obama raise the debt ceiling without making any spending cuts at all. Consider sending McConnell a weasel as testament to his treachery. His address is 601 W. Broadway, Room 630, Louisville, KY 40202 and the phone number is (502) 582-6304. McConnell’s idea is to make the debt ceiling automatic unless Congress, by a 2/3 vote blocks the increase. Oh yes, he put a salve on it by dressing it up in tough talk...

This is what progressives do. Grow power in the executive, at the expense of other branches. Once again, you have the republican establishment snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory and putting defeat right back front and center. It's time to light up McConnell's office, no matter what part of the country you're from. One of the headlines regarding what McConnell just said is this: McConnell Proposal Gives Obama Power to Increase Debt Limit And that's exactly the kind of thing that's going to get tea partiers to form a third party. That's the last thing we need. And...

Michele Bachmann's efforts in 2007-8 to have Drug Dealer and Money Launderer Frank Vennes pardoned for his 1987 convictions have begun to receive some light scrutiny in the media. Some embarrassing details have emerged, including the fact that, while Bachmann was lobbying hard to secure a pardon for him from President Bush, Vennes himself was engaged in a brand new, massive $3.65 billion ponzi scheme, for which he was recently indicted by a Federal Grand Jury. Worse yet, Vennes and his family had donated money to Bachmann--a lot of money--in the 2006 and 2008 campaign cycles, $27,400 to be exact,...

As NewsBusters has been reporting since Monday's Republican presidential debate, MSNBC's Chris Matthews is suddenly a big fan of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's (R-Minn.). On Saturday's "Fox News Watch," syndicated columnist Cal Thomas said, "Chris Matthews praises her, which is sort of like getting a civil rights affirmation from David Duke" (video follows with transcript and commentary): JON SCOTT, HOST: That's new Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann striking a cord at a Republican debate earlier this week. Cal, she got some pretty good reviews from the mainstream press, and yet many of those same members of the press were trying to...

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said Friday that it's her sense that Republican voters are "very satisfied" with the field of presidential candidates. Following Monday's debate in New Hampshire, Bachmann said voters were happier with their options. "I think people, especially after the debate on Monday night, were very satisfied with what they saw with the candidates," she said on Fox News. [...] She passed, though, both at the debate and on Fox, at leveling tough criticism at former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) state healthcare law. [...] Rather, Bachmann suggested she's more likely to train her sights on President Obama...

Michelle Bachmann's new top consultant, Ed Rollins, began his tenure with scathing criticism of potential Bachmann rival Sarah Palin. "Sarah has not been serious over the last couple of years," Rollins told Brian Kilmeade on his radio show, Kilmeade and friends. "She got the Vice Presidential thing handed to her, she didn't go to work in the sense of trying to gain more substance, she gave up her governorship." He suggested that the contrast would favor Bachmann. "Michele Bachmann and others [have] worked hard, she has been a leader of the Tea Party which is a very important element here,...

Pop provocateur Lady Gaga has managed to outrage and insult many Catholics by leaking her new song, “Judas” just two days before the start of Holy Week. "It's always edgy and always (about) our religion," Bill Donohue, spokesperson for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said about frequent pop culture attacks on the Church. "(And) all during Holy Week." In “Judas,” Lady Gaga sings about her love for Judas, the infamous apostle who betrayed Jesus. "Jesus in my virtue and Judas is the demon I cling to...I'm just a holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel, but I'm...

Chico Supporter Stirs Controversy, Calls Emanuel “Judas”UPDATED 2/16/11 7:32 p.m. CHICAGO (CBS) – A key supporter of mayoral candidate Gery Chico has raised some eyebrows by saying something about Rahm Emanuel that the Emanuel campaign called blatantly ugly. Jim Sweeney, head of of Operating Engineers Local 150, was endorsing Chico Tuesday night at a labor rally when he called Emanuel a “Wall Street Judas.” **SNIP** Emanuel’s campaign didn’t like any of it. In a statement Wednesday, Emanuel – who is Jewish – said “I have absolute confidence that the people of the city of Chicago will see this comment for...

A La Mesa karate instructor, out on bail while facing chargers of molesting a teenage boy, was back in court Thursday for a bail review. According to prosecutors, Eric Protas, 38, has been spending time on the Internet, posting comments to a Facebook page comparing himself to Jesus and his teen accuser to Judas. Protas is accused of sexually abusing a former student over a one-year period. Prosecutors allege that Protas had sexual contact with the victim 300 times in the past year and a half. Prosecutors asked the judge to increase bail based on the Facebook activity and comments...

When the governor's away, the lite gov will play ... the role of governor. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was wheels up for Asia yesterday, where he's spending six days promoting California's trade partnerships in China, Japan and South Korea. While Schwarzenegger is out of the country, Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado gets the job of acting governor. And act he will. Today, Maldonado will put his John Hancock on legislation providing school funding and a land agreement touted as a job creator.

Judas and Matthias Pope Benedict XVI The betrayer and his replacement teach us many life lessons, including to make sure that our own witness as followers of Jesus is clear and spotless At the General Audience on Wednesday, 18 October, the Holy Father continued to reflect on the Church's Apostolic Ministry for those gathered in St. Peter's Square by speaking of the Apostles Judas Iscariot and Matthias. The following is a translation of his Catechesis in Italian.Dear Brothers and Sisters,Today, concluding our walk through the portrait gallery of the Apostles called directly by Jesus during his earthly life, we...

Obtuse Rangel: Charlie seems to have forgotten his Sunday school lessonsSaturday, April 3rd 2010, 4:00 AM These are rough days for Rep. Charlie Rangel. He talks and some amazing things burst forth from his mouth. None of them more astonishing and hilarious than his great big oopsie Friday. There he was on Holy Thursday, the eve of the most solemn day of the Christian calendar, the day that marks the crucifixion of Christ after history's most notorious betrayal, that of Judas Iscariot. At a political rally, union big Chris Shelton branded Rep. Mike McMahon of Staten Island a "Judas" for...

(April 5) -- The U.S. Geological Survey is blaming day-to-day seismological changes for Sunday's 7.2 earthquake along the U.S.-Mexico border. But Deepak Chopra, the famed alternative-medicine practitioner and transcendental meditation guru, is pretty sure he knows what really happened. "Had a powerful meditation just now -- caused an earthquake in Southern California," Chopra wrote to his nearly 179,000 Twitter followers shortly after the quake. And then, to clarify: "Was meditating on Shiva mantra & earth began to shake," he tweeted. "Sorry about that."

I offer this message for sermon fodder for pastors as Holy Week is upon us, but also to all of the Body-of-Christ-at-large for their edification from this most unusual and surprising source: Judas. But does Judas have anything to teach us from Scripture? Do the thirty shekels and the insincere kiss of diabolical betrayal have any lessons from the Lord for the people of God? Open your Bibles and read on.The Judas According to the Gospels: A Maundy Thursday Message from Matthew 10.1-4; Matthew 26.6-16; John 12.4-6; Luke 22.1-6; Matthew 26.20-25; Mark 14.43-46 Michael A. Milton, Ph.D., President and The James...

As horrifying as it is to hear it and to speak it, the entire Christian world will once again witness the unfolding drama of the Passion during Holy Week. For many of us, this time will be one of sincere repentance and deep reflection. For some, it will be just another week marking the gentle return to spring. But for others, it will be the perfect time to deny, discredit and attempt to destroy the Truth.This last group consists of people who ally themselves with the forces marshaled by the Adversary himself. These are the ones who propagate the tradition...

This time last week, Representative Bart Stupak (D – Michigan) was the hero of social conservatives who were anxious to secure binding language banning federal funding of abortion in the health care legislation. Stupak’s resolve in the face of immense party pressure was commendable – a testament to his unwavering commitment to protecting the unborn despite the political risks. We at the Center for a Just Society shared in Rep. Stupak’s disappointment with those in his party who promoted federally-funded abortion as a means of cutting health care costs. Not surprisingly, Rep. Stupak’s 11th-hour change of heart and subsequent vote...