Barbie Banned in West Virginia

Barbie dolls maybe banned in West Virginia because they make girls think they need to be beautiful.

What's next? No movies allowed because all of the actresses are beautiful? Or Catalogs with women models showing off the items they want others to buy? Or...

Sounds like Dekker's Sinner

With this fear by the Christian broadcasters, it feels like the contents of Ted Dekker's novel, Sinner is coming to pass

Banks balk

Certainly is nice to see that executives would balk at low interest money because their pay is going to be capped at $500,000 when most Americans make less then $50,000. It also is nice to see them not caring how this will effect the economy and how they won't use the money the way it was intended to get the economy going again.

The Sale of Children's Books to be Banned

Got this in an email from a friend. This is beyond absurd.

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Oh, how I wish this were a joke! But it is a grim and looming, almost Orwellian, reality.

Effective February 10th, in the United States, the sale of all children's books (books intended for children ages 12 and under) is to be PROHIBITED. Every single book printed prior to the ruling is affected, whether new or used. New books in production are required to include a "lead-free" certification and will be the only books that are legal to offer for sale.

What does this mean to the homeschooling family?

Well, for one, curriculum fairs across the country will be cancelled as book vendors scramble to figure out how to comply with the new ruling. Complete book inventories will have to be destroyed -- the ruling even prohibits giving away the books! Local thrift stores will be hard hit -- most will likely have to close their doors -- yes, even Goodwill and Salvation Army.

Clothing, toys and books -- even CDs and DVDs are included in the ruling. Thrift stores will no longer be able to accept or process anything (including clothing) that would be intended for a child.

No more library sales. Libraries will not be permitted to give away or sell book donations. It is unsure yet, however, how the libraries' shelves themselves will be impacted (the ruling doesn't explicitly mention "loaning" books, just selling or giving them away). The key word, however, is "distribution" -- libraries may well be required to destroy books from their shelves.

(The ruling that originally passed was about toys, but the EPA has since made a statement that clothing, books and media are included in "children's toys".)

Just how serious is this new law?

Amazon.com has already notified all vendors of their need to comply. No book can be sold at the Amazon site that was printed prior to compliance. And the "compliance" must be coordinated at the manu- facturing stage. At the time of this article there is no clause to be able to grandfather-in older books or even rare out-of-print books. It can cost between $500 and $1500 to test a book for lead.

I happen to own a children's bookstore specializing in living books from the 1950s and '60s. My punishment for selling a book after February 10th? Up to $100,000 and 5 years in jail. And yes, it is a felony charge. For selling a SINGLE book.

(Although I don't think the S.W.A.T. team scenario would become a reality overnight, at the same time I would be leery of blatantly violating Federal law.)

So what can you do to help save your local used bookstore that sells children’s books? Or that homeschool curriculum business? Or your EBay business selling children's items?

ACT NOW before the quickly approaching deadlines:

1) Email or call the CPSIA - the office of the CPSC ombudsman at 888-531-9070. http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/newleg.aspx

Comments on Component Parts Testing accepted through January 30, 2009. Or email: Sec102ComponentPartsTesting@cpsc.gov

2) Contact your local representatives. For their contact informa-tion, just enter your zip code. http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/dbq/officials/

3) Make your voice heard by voting on this issue! The top 3 in each category will be presented to President-elect Obama. http://change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

4) Sign the petition.

http://ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html

5) Spread the word! Forward this article. Send an email. Write about this on your blog. Tell others about this issue and encourage them to do the same.

---

For the complete story, read the following links:

http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Consumer Product Safety Commission Summaries on Legislation Index page for Children's Products Containing Lead; Lead Paint Rule and other rulings

http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/legislation.html#summaries

Office of the General Counsel FAQ on retroactive inventory require- ments -- The use of forward effective dates appears to force current inventories to adhere to the ruling on February 10th, 2009

http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/summaries/101brief.html

Specific FAQ on their interpretation of books and other media to be

included in the testing of lead based products

http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/101faq.html

Effective Date: Lead content limit of 600 ppm becomes effective 180

days after enactment. An advisory opinion regarding the application

of the new lead limit to inventory existing at the effective date

can be found on our web site at

http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/advisory/317.pdf

Getting the Lead out: There is no lead in children's books

http://news.bookweb.org/news/5695.html

There is no lead in Children's books: From a Pedtrician

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/childhealth/3955/is-there-lead-in-baby-books

/

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Do you have comments to share? Please do!

Send your emails to: mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net

Militant's rockets kill Two Palestinian girls

A crude rocket fired by Palestinian militants fell short of its target in Israel on Friday, striking a house in the northern Gaza Strip and killing two schoolgirls.

The attack came as Israel sent mixed signals over its plans to respond to continuing Palestinian rocket fire. Israeli defense officials say politicians have approved a large-scale incursion into the territory once rainy conditions clear. But at the same time, Israel appeared receptive to international pressure against an invasion, opening the Gaza border Friday to allow in deliveries of humanitarian aid.

None of Gaza's militant factions claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the house in Beit Lahiya. Gaza Health Ministry official Dr. Moiaya Hassanain said the two victims, ages 5 and 12, were cousins. Three other children were wounded, he said.

The girls were the first Palestinian civilians inadvertently killed by militants since their truce with Israel began collapsing six weeks ago. Family members and medics said they were killed by rocket fire.

You know this has to be Israel's fault somehow. Maybe they forced the militants to fire short. After all everything that goes wrong in the Middle East has to be blamed on Israel somehow.

Islam taught in Texas School

Pastor Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, is just one of those angry over a presentation by two female representatives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that students at the Friendswood Junior High School were forced to attend two weeks ago.

"The specific details, as we were given by the students, included teachings that Adam, Noah, and Jesus were all prophets like Mohammed; the basic tenets of Islam; the process of how to pray five times a day; again, the pillars of Islam. These were specific, religious instructions," Welch explains.

Welch says Principal Robin Lowe explained to parents, who initially complained, that the assembly was held to deal with comments some students had made that were insensitive to Arab students. "This was not just cultural issues of the manners and ways of Arab culture. This was Islamic teaching," says the Houston pastor. "That was the issue that, obviously, raised great concern. This was forced religious instruction and [what we call] Islamic ... 'indoctrination.'"

Even more egregious, Welch says, is the fact that the principal was allegedly ordered by the superintendent of the school district not to allow the pro-Islam assembly, but did so anyway.

I wonder what the ACLU would have to say if the assembly was saying that "Jesus is God", "Jesus is the only way to Eternal Life", "God is Trinitarian", ect...

Something tells me there would be shouts of bloody murder.

Marriage protection initiative qualifies for CA ballot

An initiative that would again protect traditional marriage in California has qualified for the November ballot, the Secretary of State announced Monday.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen said a random check of signatures submitted by the measure's sponsors showed that they had gathered enough names for it to be put to voters.

The measure would amend the state constitution to "provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

100,000 Bible to U.S. Troops in 100 days

Several large Christian organizations kicked off a campaign Sunday that aims to give 100,000 Bibles to U.S. troops worldwide over the course of 100 days.

US soldiers observe a moment of silence during a citizenship ceremony at the U.S. base in Bagram north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday May 26, 2008. Afghanistan has seen a sharp rise in violence in the last year, even as the U.S. and NATO have poured thousands of new troops into the country. The U.S. now has some 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, the most ever.The Operation Worship Bible, a special edition of the New Living Translation, was made available exclusively at Christian Booksellers Association retailers on June 1 for customers to buy and write a personal message of encouragement to an active-duty member of the military.

Stealing Michigan Delegates

At one point, Mr. Ickes implied that Mr. Obama had his name removed from the Michigan ballot to "curry favor" with participants in Iowa's first-in-the nation caucuses on Jan. 3, which he won.

Allan Katz, a committee member from Florida who was wearing an Obama pin during the hearings, said no one should compare the current dispute with Florida's 2000 recount mess.

"That election was stolen," he said, citing a common refrain among state Democrats who believe former Vice President Al Gore defeated then Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

Yet they don't see the same thing occuring when someone that wasn't voted for gets nearly half the delegates. He wasn't on the ballot because he took his name off the ballot on his free will and now gets the delegates anyway. Must be nice having special rules just for you when you run for office.

What is a Speical?

Superdelegate IQ must be very small

Polls showed voters drifting toward Hillary Rodham Clinton before crucial
Democratic primary votes next week

so naturally the Superdelegates...

were falling increasingly in line behind Barack Obama.

Am I missing something? If people are rejecting Obama because of his associations, wouldn't it seem logical to NOT go buddy buddy with him at this time?

Nice Logic: Jane Spahr and Performing Marriages

So if the constitution says you cannot do something but you do it, there's nothing that can be done to you because you cannot do it so there's no penalty. I wonder how well our society would do with the same logic.

Hamas leader offers truce if Israel withdraws from 1967 lands

DAMASCUS, Syria - The leader of Hamas says his Palestinian militant group is offering Israel a 10-year truce if it withdraws from all lands it seized in the 1967 war.
Khaled Mashaal says he made the offer to former President Carter in talks on Saturday.

Mashaal says Hamas would accept a Palestinian state limited to the lands Israel seized in 1967 — an implicit acceptance that Israel would exist alongside that state.

But Mashaal says the group would never outright formally recognize Israel.

Wow! Ten whole years to give them everything they lost for attacking Israel! What a deal! Give us the land and we'll leave you alone for TEN WHOLE years.

Lawsuit Against Teacher's Anti-Christian Remarks Goes to Trial

"I believe there's a plausible case," U.S. District Court Judge James Selna said in a Santa Ana, Calif., courtroom, according to The Orange County Register. "What we face at trial and summary judgment is a different matter."

Dan Spradlin, attorney for Advanced Placement European history teacher James Corbett, had asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the teacher's former student. After Monday's ruling, however, the lawsuit will go to trial.

Chad Farnan, sophomore at Capistrano Valley High School and a Christian, and his parents sued the history teacher in December, alleging that the educator had fostered hostility toward Christians and promoted "irreligion over religion," violating the Establishment Clause.

Court documents cite statements tape recorded by Farnan during Corbett's lectures, such as “When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can’t see the truth."

"Aristotle argued there has to be a God. Of course that's nonsense" and "We do not invoke the supernatural every time we get stymied. It's okay for religious people to do that, or magicians. There might not be a distinction. What was it that Mark Twain said? He said that religion was invented when the first con man met the first fool."

Qualifications or Fairness

Is it fair that a blind person cannot conduct a medical operation? Is it fair when a high school dropout is not hired for a position that requires a higher degree? Is it fair when a deaf person is not hired to take dictation?

Its not a question of fairness. Its a question of qualifications.

Someone must be able to see to conduct a medical operation
Someone must have the degree for certain jobs
Someone must be able to hear to take down someone's words accurately

So why when the qualifications for Biblical ministry are clearly spelled out in Timothy does it suddenly become a question of fairness?

I Timothy 3:1-13

Qualifications for Overseers

1The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Therefore an overseer£ must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,£ sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Qualifications for Deacons

8Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,£ not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11Their wives£ likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Titus 1:6-9

Qualifications for Elders

5This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—6if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,£ and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7For an overseer,£ as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound£ doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Navy succeeds in first attempt to hit the satelite

The first opportunity for the Navy to shoot down the satellite came about 10:30 p.m. ET Wednesday. The plan included firing a missile from the USS Lake Erie in the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii to destroy the satellite.

"A network of land-, air-, sea- and space-based sensors confirms that the U.S. military intercepted a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite which was in its final orbits before entering the Earth's atmosphere," a Department of Defense statement said.

"At approximately 10:26 p.m. EST today, a U.S. Navy AEGIS warship, the USS Lake Erie, fired a single modified tactical Standard Missile-3, hitting the satellite approximately 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles) over the Pacific Ocean as it traveled in space at more than 17,000 mph."

It was unknown whether the missile hit its precise target -- the satellite's full fuel tank. The Department of Defense said it won't know for 24 hours whether the fuel tank had been hit.

"Debris will begin to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere immediately," the department said. "Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days."

However, even if the missile didn't score a direct hit, "any kind of hit provides a much better outcome than doing nothing at all," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

I must admit to being very surprised they were successful at hitting the satelite. I imagined it vering off and getting us into some real trouble.

McCain calls out Obama on Funding

Obama is raising as much as $1 million day, generating a big money advantage over both McCain and Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in what is expected to be the costliest U.S. presidential election ever.

Obama, an Illinois senator, pledged in February last year to accept public financing and its accompanying spending limit of an estimated $85 million in the general election race if he wins the nomination and his Republican opponent agreed to limits too.

"I committed to public financing," McCain told a news conference. "He committed to public financing. It is not more complicated than that ... I'll keep my word. I want him to keep his."

As he has scored back-to-back wins in nominating contests, Obama has refused to recommit while moving steadily ahead of Clinton in the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee in the election.

Considering he also vowed to not run for president when he ran for the Senate, you really can't believe anything that comes out of his mouth. Good talker and he really doesn't care what he says as long as it sounds good at the moment.

Obama does it again

Comes and drives off Clinton again from the networks this time. Last time it was McCain. That is just a classless move and its a shame the sheep of this country are falling into line for his eloquent voice that says nothing. Except Change change change change. No explanation to what we're going to change to. Just change. Don't define it. Don't add any substance. Just call for change. And the mindless sheep fall into place.

US Recognizes independent Kosovo

The United States officially recognized Kosovo -- the Balkan state which split from Serbia on Sunday -- as an independent nation on Monday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a written statement.

"We congratulate the people of Kosovo on this historic occasion," Rice said. "President Bush has responded affirmatively to a request from Kosovo to establish diplomatic relations between our two countries."

I wonder what the response would be from the US if Vermont declares its independence next week. They are a bit of a secedist bunch up there after all. And what would Britain do if Wales or Scotland says we're independent tomorrow?

Local PCUSA church looks to be checking out the EPC

While driving home from the seminary tonight I noticed on their marque outside that they have a meeting to discuss the EPC. I know that they were members of the Confessing Church movement inside the PCUSA.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Called to quit

Last week the Archbishop made the ludicrous suggestion that Sharia law should be allowed in parts of Britain. If they did that, they might as well split up the British Isles right now. It would be a return to the Feudal system of old which were in control when the Dark Ages occurred. And it would be a new dark age with the always civilized hand cutting, heading cutting, and other wonderful Muslim punishments.

He should be called to resign. And if he doesn't he should be forced out. He is an ignorant bafoon who embarrasses his church every time he opens his mouth.

Intelligent Design Professor Loses Appeal for Tenure

The Iowa Board of Regents rejected on Thursday an appeal by a professor who said he was wrongfully denied tenure by Iowa State University because of his views supporting intelligent design.

While ISU officials have maintained that their decision last spring on Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez 's bid for tenure had nothing to do with intelligent design, e-mails exchanged by ISU faculty – who voted against his tenure and statements in Gonzalez’s tenure file – suggest otherwise.

Gonzalez, assistant professor of astronomy and physics, has written papers on intelligent design and has asserted his views in a book which was published in 2004. He is also a senior fellow at Discovery Institute, the nation's leading think tank on intelligent design.

Isn't it grand the freedom of academia to question all truths? Everything is up for study and debate. Wait a minute...

Can the Media's pro Obama bias be any plainer

The title of the article: Obama leads Clinton by only 2 delegates

Obama won 796 delegates in Tuesday's contests, to 794 for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to an analysis of voting results by The Associated Press.

Note that they are talking about the voting on Tuesday.

But the overall totals are:

Clinton has 1,055 delegates, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates. Obama has 998.

Think the title is a bit misleading? I do. Media lovefests always turn me off and this is making me hope Clinton beats Obama for the nomination. This is a complete 180 for me since I originally hoped Clinton wouldn't win a state. And I especially want him to disappear since he never says anything when he speaks with that eloquent voice.

Women being beheaded in Iraq

The images in the Basra police file are nauseating: Page after page of women killed in brutal fashion -- some strangled to death, their faces disfigured; others beheaded. All bear signs of torture.

The women are killed, police say, because they failed to wear a headscarf or because they ignored other "rules" that secretive fundamentalist groups want to enforce.

"Fear, fear is always there," says 30-year-old Safana, an artist and university professor.

"We don't know who to be afraid of. Maybe it's a friend or a student you teach. There is no break, no security. I don't know who to be afraid of."

Her fear is justified. Iraq's second-largest city, Basra, is a stronghold of conservative Shia groups. As many as 133 women were killed in Basra last year -- 79 for violation of "Islamic teachings" and 47 for so-called honor killings, according to IRIN, the news branch of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

One glance through the police file is enough to understand the consequences. Basra's police chief, Gen. Abdul Jalil Khalaf, flips through the file, pointing to one unsolved case after another. Watch Khalaf show evidence of the brutality »

"I think so far, we have been unable to tackle this problem properly," he says. "There are many motives for these crimes and parties involved in killing women, by strangling, beheading, chopping off their hands, legs, heads."

"When I came to Basra a year ago," he says, "two women were killed in front of their kids. Their blood was flowing in front of their kids, they were crying. Another woman was killed in front of her 6-year-old son, another in front of her 11-year-old child, and yet another who was pregnant."

The killers enforcing their own version of Islamic justice are rarely caught, while women live in fear.

Boldly splattered in red paint just outside the main downtown market, a chilling sign reads: "We warn against not wearing a headscarf and wearing makeup. Those who do not abide by this will be punished. God is our witness, we have notified you."

The attacks on the women of Basra have intensified since British forces withdrew to their base at the airport back in September, police say. Iraqi security forces took over after British troops pulled back, but are heavily infiltrated by militias.

And tracking the perpetrators of these crimes is nearly impossible, Khalaf says, adding that he doesn't have control of the thousands of policemen and officers.
"We're trying to trace crimes carried out by an anonymous enemy," he says.

Amnesty International has raised concern about the increasing violence toward women in Iraq, saying abductions, rapes and "honor killings" are on the rise.

"Politically active women, those who did not follow a strict dress code, and women [who are] human rights defenders were increasingly at risk of abuses, including by armed groups and religious extremists," Amnesty said in a 2007 report.

How much worse will it be when the US withdraws like many want? And each death is on the US's head since Saddam Hussein controlled these militants by his brutal rule.

Obama shows his class tonight

When he decides to come out while another candidate is speaking so the cameras split on the news channels. I guess it would have killed him to allow McCain to finish his speech for the networks before he came out.

Party of tomorrow eh? I guess its the party of rudeness.

The Greed of the NFL knows no bounds

For years, as many as 200 members of Immanuel Bible Church and their friends have gathered in the church's fellowship hall to watch the Super Bowl on its six-foot screen. The party featured hard hitting on the TV, plenty of food -- and prayer.

But this year, Immanuel's Super Bowl party is no more. After a crackdown by the National Football League on big-screen Super Bowl gatherings by churches, the Springfield church has sacked its event. Instead, church members will host parties in their homes.

Immanuel is among a number of churches in the Washington area and elsewhere that have been forced to use a new playbook to satisfy the NFL, which said that airing games at churches on large-screen TV sets violates the NFL copyright.

Ministers are not happy.

"There is a part of me that says, 'Gee, doesn't the NFL have enough money already?'" said Steve Holley, Immanuel's executive pastor. He pointed out that bars are still allowed to air the game on big-screens TV sets. "It just doesn't make sense."

So the league is cracking down on churches that show the game with their big screens. Isnt that a great idea?

The NFL points to the disclaimer at the end of the game which they say is well known.

Plus the NFL is thinking of getting out of the collective bargaining agreement with the players for some reason. Its given the NFL the most prosperity of any league. But apparently they want more prosperity.

I hope it backfires and their popularity falls to the level of the NHL.

12 Pittsburgh Episcopal Clergy tell Bishop they will stay in Episcopal Church

In a letter mailed to the diocese's 66 churches on Tuesday, the 12 conservative clergy said they have "determined to remain within" The Episcopal Church rather than realign out of it, according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Some of the clergy met Monday with Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, who is discontent with the national church's liberal direction on Scripture and homosexuality, to inform him they will be going public.

The announcement comes after the Pittsburgh diocese overwhelmingly voted last November to leave The Episcopal Church. A second and final vote of approval for secession is expected later this year at the annual Pittsburgh convention.

Apparently they prefer being in a denomination that doesn't care what they think.

Episcopol Church Counciled to table action against Pittsburgh Bishop

"In brief, I would urge TEC (The Episcopal Church) and other Anglican bishops to pray for and take action so that this process pauses indefinitely," the Rev. Ephraim Radner said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Episcopal Church's three senior bishops stopped short of banning Duncan from his religious duties last week when the presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, sought to inhibit him. Duncan was, however, certified as having "abandoned the Communion of this Church" and Episcopal bishops are expected to vote on a final decision later this year.

The charge essentially means that the bishop has effectively left the church.

Duncan has been leading his Pittsburgh diocese toward a split with The Episcopal Church over its liberal direction on Scripture and homosexuality. The Pittsburgh bishop has expressed little hope that the national church would get back in line with Anglican tradition and is currently planning to form a separate orthodox Anglican body in the United States with other conservative bishops.

The Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of Anglicanism, widened rifts in the Anglican Communion when it consecrated openly gay bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire in 2003.

Radner urged the Episcopal bishops to vote to table the matter of Duncan's status and discipline "indefinitely." He believes the national church is not in a position to judge anything especially during a time of confusion and discernment.

I doubt this advice will be followed.

Thinking of buying a domain name?

Don't do a search with Network Solutions to see if the name is taken because then the name will be taken if you don't immediately register it.

After weeks of testing, Network Solutions LLC began this week to grab names that people search for on its Web site but don't immediately register.

The name is locked up for about four days, during which the person who made the search can buy it directly from the company for $35 a year - a few times more than what many of its rivals charge. After that, the name returns to the pool and can be registered by anyone through any registration company.

So want to pay $35 or $10 for the same name?

My suggestion is to buy the domain from a Godaddy affiliate: Here That affiliate is a friend of mine who hosts my site. If you don't want to buy from him then go directly to GoDaddy.com

Israeli fuel cuts cause hardship in Gaza

Human rights groups condemned the fuel cutoff.

The British group Oxfam called it "ineffective as well as unlawful." Gisha, an Israeli group that has fought the fuel cutbacks in Israel's Supreme Court, said "punishing Gaza's 1.5 million civilians does not stop the rocket fire; it only creates an impossible 'balance' of human suffering on both sides of the border."

Call me odd but when this

The army said five rockets were fired on Sunday, down from 53 in the two previous days.

is in there. It sounds like its being effective. And where exactly is there a law that one state must suppoly fuel to another state? Particularly a state that seeks the destruction of the supplying state. Which is the real unlawful act.

UpdateAppears that Yahoo has decided to change the article since Israel has decided to open the border.

SF Presbytery may as well burn the BIbles

Yet while Holy Scripture is necessary to faith and authoritative in our
lives, “to lead a life in obedience to Scripture sets the authority of Scripture above the authority of Christ and returns us to life under the law.

No it doesn't. The Word is from Christ. It is not above his authority. It is his authority.

And we never were out from under the law. We are to live according to the Law as best we can. We fail. But through the merciful gift of God, believers are forgiven for their sins. Not one letter from the law has been removed by Christ and it is the Law which believers are to follow as their conscience. And they are to be repentant when they fail to follow the law.

What does it mean to be repentant? It means you recognize that you were in the wrong. You do not try to justify your actions. You do not try to make it ok. You condemn your action and you attempt to stop your sinful nature. You do not relish it. You do not center your life around it. You do not continue to live in sin on purpose. You try to change your behavior to follow the Law of God which is the Law of Christ.

Romney double speak

"People are saying they want to see Washington change, and John McCain is not a candidate of change," Romney argued Friday. He also cast the Arizona senator as disloyal for breaking with President Bush on tax cuts and from GOP hard-liners on immigration.

So Romney wants change in Washington but he wants to attack McCain for not going along with Washington...

Makes sense.

Clinton in the lead in NH

I really don't get it. Why does anyone want the same families running this country? Eight Years of the Clintons is enough. Twelve years of Bushes is too much. While I have always despised term limits, I'm beginning to think there should be term limits on families. Otherwise in eight years we'll have the Bush from Flordia and then eight years later it will be Chelsea's turn.

McCain being in the lead has suddenly not annoyed me nearly as it once did. He has redeemed himself from his blind Bush backing. Somehow. I really don't know when it happened. Maybe because the rest of the field of candidates is just so subpar. The only one I like is Huckabee because he believes what he says but his tax plan scares me.

Hypocrisy

I'm sure you've heard of the Huckabee negative ad that Huckabee decided against using. Well it turns out that he didn't cancel the ad soon enough and so it was shown three times in Iowa. Now I would say its proof that Huckabee is telling the truth that he was going to use the ad but decided at the last minute to recall it. So what's the Romney response:

The Romney camp pounced on the revelation. "Governor Huckabee pulled a stunt that didn't fool the media or the Iowa people," Romney spokesman Matt Rhoades said. "The more Governor Huckabee's record has been exposed, the more nasty and negative his campaign has gotten. It's the height of hypocrisy that in the end his ad would still run on the air."

I'd say the true hypocrisy is that a campaign that only runs negative ads would complain about its competition running a negative ad.

California pro-Gay bill taking effect

California legislation that will ban grade school textbooks and teachers from including any instruction that "reflects or promotes bias against" homosexuality, transgenders, bisexuals or those with perceived gender issues will take effect next month and opponents are circulating referendum petitions to place the measure before voters.

SB-777 was introduced to the House on May 24 was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Oct. 14. The bill will affect textbooks and instructional materials for students in kindergarten and grades 1-12 and will change the typical concept of family, conservative groups argue.

“This reverse discrimination is an outright attack on the religious and moral beliefs of California citizens,” says Karen England, executive director of the pro-family group Capitol Resource Institute (CRI).

This is what happens when you depend on the government for anything. Everyone should take their children out of public school and enroll them in private schools that are safe from agenda driven legislation.

The Heartless Presbytery

After they decided to send the pastor to the unemployment line right before Christmas because his church decided to vote to leave the PCUSA, and they decided that the minority needed to keep the buildings, they have taken over the old building and sent out this lovely messenger

The goal: to raise $500,000 by January 31, 2008. Three members of the congregation have already committed $250,000 – IF their $250,000 contribution can be matched by the January 31, 2008 deadline. A heartfelt “thank you” is extended to Don and Eunice Wilbur and Diana Lee – who have committed $100,000 each, and to Lee and Mari Tetwiler, who have committed $50,000.

So what happens to the money collected when it doesn't quite match 250,000? Say the 12 families only manage to raise $1,000? Does the presbytery go: oh well. and pocket the $1,000 while the church is foreclosed on?

And demands for matching gifts always impresses me. Could there be a more selfish way to give? And I wonder what the New Testament says of proclaiming your "good" deeds for the rest to see. Somewhere there seems like there's a passage about things done in secret are looked upon with far more respect by God then the one that walks around with a sign proclaiming their good deeds. But I am an Old Testament student so I could be completely off track. I've only had like two classes on the NT.

Most idiotic Dissertation ever conceived

First posted over at the Reformed Pastor

A doctoral researcher at Hebrew University discovered that the Israeli army rape less Palestinian women then other armies in similar situations. So instead of concluding the Israelis must be more moral then the other armies, the researcher argues:

that the lack of IDF rapes of Palestinian women is designed to serve a political purpose.

The abstract of the paper, authored by doctoral candidate Tal Nitzan, notes that the paper shows that “the lack of organized military rape is an alternate way of realizing [particular] political goals.”

Could this be any more ridiculous? That someone earns a degree with this utter garbage? Could it be any more plain that the researcher just hates Jews? And if she herself is a Jew that that this is an example of self hatred?

This is like these fools that wont procreate because it harms the planet.

One thing about that at least it means they won't be raising a kid with their wacko beliefs. To bad there can't be something done about stupid dissertations that have no merit.

Bhutto assassinated at rally

Pakistan's former prime minister was assassinated at a rally by a sucide bomber today.

Bhutto's supporters erupted in anger and grief after her death, attacking police and burning tires and election campaign posters in several cities. At the hospital where she died, some smashed glass and wailed, chanting slogans against President Pervez Musharraf.

Musharraf has responded by convening a meeting to discuss postponing elections again. Of course, this benefits Musharraf since his popularity is terrible. Instead of blaming Musharraf, some are trying to place the blame on militants aligned with the Taliban and Al Queda.

I think the blame can be squarely placed on Musharraf but then I've always thought Bin Laden was in the room next door to Musharraf.

Real Tree vs. Fake Tree

You've heard the argument: Fake trees are more environmental friendly and you aren't killing a tree.

But how many trees would not have been planted if they weren't destined to be Christmas trees? How many fewer trees will be planted as the Christmas tree business goes south? I know just down the road, a Christmas tree farm closed up shop five years ago. They aren't planting new trees anymore. How many more will go bankrupt thanks to this "green" philosophy?

American Indians rediscover the Buffalo

Despite their considerable heft -- some weigh a ton or more -- buffalo are agile creatures capable of bounding over 6-foot-high tension steel fences that otherwise keep them from roaming away from the ranch. They also can quickly build up a 35-mph head of steam to destroy a truck in their path if they want to.

The roundup started with a bribe of "candy corn" -- a mixture of molasses, corn and oats to lure the buffalo from one large pasture to a pasture closer to where they were to be vaccinated. (Buffalo also have a keen sense of smell.) The annual roundup occurs in December to avoid additional stress on the animals from hot weather. The Ho-Chunk use tractors and trucks because their horses aren't trained to herd buffalo. Otherwise, they have little contact with the buffalo, to keep them wild.

Dozens of people watched the animals being moved from the holding pen into the chute, including tribal members young and old who had never seen a buffalo up close.

This herd started in 1997 with four animals and grew to 385 a few years ago, Mr. Snake said. It provides naturally raised meat free of charge to tribal elderly meal sites and to Ho-Chunk community and ceremonial programs. "In our traditional way of life, we hold the buffalo in high esteem," said Tribal Chief Clayton Winneshiek. "It is recognized as a spirit blessed by our creator and given to us to use."

The Ho-Chunk are restoring native prairie grasses in pastures where the buffalo roam. The Muscoda ranch is on 642 acres that the 6,600-member tribe, formerly known as the Winnebago, purchased in 1994 with profits from tribal casinos.

The Ho-Chunk's aboriginal territory once covered several million acres in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Tribal leaders are anxiously awaiting the return of 1,550 aboriginal acres from the former Badger Army Ammunition plant near Baraboo, declared surplus by the Army after almost 25 years of inactivity. Indian mounds also are believed to have been built there by ancestors of the Ho-Chunk.

The Ho-Chunk hope to establish a herd of about 1,000 buffalo on the Baraboo land within the next several years to produce more meat for the people, and to possibly sell it commercially outside the tribe.

Queen Elizabeth II becomes Britain's oldest monarch

"This is just another normal working day for the queen," a royal spokeswoman told AFP

I'm sure she has LOTS of work to do every day. I'm so sure. [note sarcasm]

She surpasses her great grandmother Queen Vicoria who had an entire era named after her. I wonder if this era will be known as Elizabethan. Somehow I doubt it.

Germany puts Zimbabwe in spotlight over abuse

Addressing the meeting in Lisbon attended by Mugabe, Merkel said the world could not stand by while human rights were "trampled underfoot."

And what exactly are they going to do to stop it? After all they didn't want to do anything with Iraq. They don't want to do anything with Iran. Or North Korea. Are they going to sit down and beg them to stop? And they will say we have done no such thing and nothing will be achieved. If you're going to make bold statements like that you should be willing to back them up. I don't see Germany doing that. Do you?

Calvinism on the rise in Southern Baptist

The number of gradates who affirmed Calvinism rose steadily between students who graduated in 1998 and those who graduated in 2004, Stetzer said.

"It would be difficult to say that Calvinism is not a growing influence in SBC life – and certainly a growing influence in the graduates of our seminaries," he told the conference crowd.

However, the steady growth may be a growing issue for Southern Baptists.

"I recently read that one key Southern Baptist leader was quoted as saying the two biggest problems in Southern Baptist life are contemporary churches and Calvinists," Stetzer said. "So there is obviously a growing concern but we're here to talk and build some bridges."

“Calvinism has generated a lot of interest in recent years in Southern Baptist life,” Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Seminary, noted. “Unfortunately we have often talked at and not with one another. Unhealthy rhetoric and misrepresentations from all directions have led to confusion and even ill will among brothers and sisters in Christ."

That last bit sounds famliar.

Deer visits Polar Bears at Pittsburgh Zoo

A deer jumped into the polar bear exibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo. The bears chased it around for a few minutes until the zoo keepers could lure them into holding.

The deer went into shock and had to be euthanized.

One of these days I'm going to go down to the zoo now that I'm not that far away from it.

UK Establishes PC Dictatorship

Link

Students and teachers at a primary school in England were forced to dress up as Muslims to celebrate a belated Muslim festival although most were Christians.

All 257 students and 41 teachers at Rufford primary school in Lye, England, were ordered to wear traditional Muslim dress in an effort to promote multi-culturalism, reported the U.K.-based Daily Mail newspaper on Wednesday.

It is said that in the entire school only two staffs were Muslims – a part-time teacher and an assistant teacher.

“Staff have got to go along with it – or let’s face it, they would be branded racist,” reportedly said a relative of one of the staff, according to British tabloid The Sun.

“Who would put their job on the line?” the relative added. “They have been told they have to embrace the day to show their diversity. But they are not all happy.”

The Muslim dress up was in observance of Eid, the end of Ramadan. The school held a morning assembly to mark the event and an afternoon party only for women – in adherence with the Muslim tradition of wives not mixing with other men.

Perhaps next, women can be forced to stay at home and when there are house parties, the woman of the house can go into the inner workings of the house where only female relatives can talk to her.

Pittsburgh Episcopols say: We're outta here

Link

Members of the Pittsburgh Episcopal Diocese have voted overwhelmingly to break away from the denomination in the United States and align with an Anglican province in another country.

In today's vote at the 142nd diocesan convention, the laity approved the measure 118-58 with one abstention. The clergy vote was 109-24 in favor of breaking away.

For the break to occur, the diocese must pass the same measure next year and select which Anglican province to join.

Its ridiculous they have to go through this again next year since this gives the idiots a year to think up all kinds of wonderful things to do to the Pittsburgh diocese.

Episcopal Church threatens Pittsburgh Diocese

Link

In a letter to Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan on the eve of his diocesan convention, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has warned that she will take "disciplinary action" if he persists, and the convention approves, a resolution that would permit the diocese to leave the American church and come under the aegis of a foreign, and more conservative, Anglican province.

The letter from Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was sent late Wednesday.

"If your course does not change," the letter read, "I shall regrettably be compelled to see that appropriate canonical steps are promptly taken to consider whether you have abandoned the Communion of this Church...and whether you have committed canonical offenses that warrant disciplinary action."

Isn't it amazing that the only offfenses that warrant disciplinary actions for the liberals seems to be if a church or diocese or presbytery decides to leave and take their money to another group. Otherwise you can pretty much do whatever you want as long as the money keeps flowing into the denomination's national offices. Who cares if you don't really believe anything as long as you pay your dues?

And if you pay your dues, you can pretty much tell the world that you don't care if God himself appears on your back porch and tells you you're wrong on an issue. Because you're quite capable of making your own decisions and God can mind his own business.

Jury awards father $11M in funeral case

Link

A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals out of a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

Albert Snyder of York, Pa., sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.

The jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It returned in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress.

Snyder's attorney, Craig Trebilcock, had urged jurors to determine an amount "that says don't do this in Maryland again. Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again."

Church members routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags."

I hope they have to sell everything and spend the rest of their lives paying this.

Democrats mad about Blackwater immunity

Link

Democrats criticized the Bush administration Tuesday for giving immunity to Blackwater USA bodyguards, calling the move a failure to hold the security contractors responsible for the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians.

The State Department, whose investigators initially promised to shield the bodyguards' statements in the criminal inquiry of the Sept. 16 shootings, maintained that any lawbreakers "must be held to account" as a result of the inquiry that has since been taken over by the Justice Department and FBI.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, who sits on two Senate panels that oversee the State Department and the Justice Department, called the immunity deal an example of "the amnesty administration."

I suppose they prefer the people being garded are shot dead next time because the bodyguards shouldn't shoot someone in a warzone.

And nothing like using foreign affairs for political gain.

If you live in a warzone, move or learn how to duck. Stop being human shields for terrorists.

Gas sold as Kerosene

Link

McKeesport police today warned consumers that a shipment of 1,000 gallons of gasoline was mistakenly placed into a kerosene storage tank this month at a service station in that city.

The mistake occurred at Gas USA at Lysle Boulevard and Walnut Street.

At least 35 gallons of gas was sold to consumers who believed it to be kerosene.

Those consumers should return the fuel to Gas USA.

Lets see... Kerosene costs less then gasoline. Gasoline has been gouging consumers for all their worth for the last few years. Who thinks the owners of the 35 gallons is going to return it to the station instead of keeping it and using it next summer in their lawn mowers?

State Department to force Diplomats to go to Iraq

Link

Facing staff shortages in Iraq, the U.S. State Department announced on Friday that diplomats would have no choice but to accept one-year postings in the hostile environment or face losing their jobs.

In what is likely to be an unpopular move with staff, State Department human resources director Harry Thomas said about 250 "prime candidates" for vacant Iraqi posts would be notified on Monday of the decision.

So I wonder if this will make it harder to find good diplomats. "Oh by the way, we don't care if you have a family or not, they're staying in the US and you can go spend a few years in Iraq. Alone." Oh yeah this sounds like a great idea for recruiting the best people to the state department.

I know what my response would be if I was working for the state department and got this summons: Resumes going out...

Israel sets thing in motion to cut electricity and fuel to Gaza

Link

The hardline Islamist movement Hamas slammed the move. It seized control of the Gaza Strip in a bloody takeover in June, prompting Israel to declare the territory "hostile" in September to pave the way for sanctions.

"This is part of the collective punishment meeted out by the occupation government against Palestinian residents in Gaza. This is a new crime against the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in Gaza," Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu said.

Maybe since Gaza wants "freedom", maybe Gaza should try building its own power plants instead of relying on their evil "occupiers"

NCC Upset about SCHIP Veto

Link

“In the Gospel of Matthew 18:6 Jesus said: ‘If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.’”

Funny that scripture doesn't really seem to me to be talking about government entitlement programs. It seems based on the context to be talking about sin. And causing the little ones to sin

Matthew 18:7-8

Mt 18:7 “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.

Seems almost to be like causing little ones to believe that John 14:6

John 14:6-7

Jn 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know2 my Father as well.

doesn't indicate that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven and all other religions are false.

Or that Acts 15:20, 29, 21:25, Romans 13:13, 1 Corinthians 5:1-11, 6:13-18, 10:8, 2 Corinthians 12:21, Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 5:3, Colossians 3:5, 1 Thessolonians 4:3, and Jude 1:7 do not condemn homosexuality as sin.

But an excellent passage to be quoted by the NCC. Maybe it will open their eyes. I doubt it.

Spains seizes treasure ship

Link

On Tuesday, patrol boats from Spain's maritime police intercepted the 76m Odyssey Explorer, owned by underwater salvage firm Odyssey Marine International, three miles off the coast of Gibraltar. It was ordered to the Spanish port of Algeciras for inspection.

Spain's Guardia Civil has been keeping a close eye on the company's vessel since a Spanish judge ordered that it be detained and searched if it left port in Gibraltar.

The company says its recovery vessel has been effectively blockaded since the ruling in June. Spain believes it could provide clues to the identity and location of the wreck that yielded half-a-million colonial era silver and gold coins.

It suspects that a Spanish galleon is being secretly plundered - or that the wreck lies in Spanish waters.

Odyssey Marine Explorations - which became the most famous deep water treasure hunting company when it announced the discovery last May - says it is keeping the location of the wreck secret, to protect the site from looters.

All it is saying is that the wreck - codenamed Black Swan - is somewhere in the Atlantic.

And in Spain, Odyssey's activities have been painted as modern-day piracy.

That's funny. I wonder how the Aztecs and Incas thought of their gold being stolen from them centuries ago and taken on this and other ships. As well as their land, cities, and nations being destroyed so the Spaniards could claim the land. Oh and then there's the little thing of massacring the natives.

Clinton Health Care plan will not cover illegals

Link

Why is this even a topic? Illegals are here illegally. They shouldn't have access to anything. Not jobs. Not education. Not health care. Not housing. Not Constitutional Rights. All of that is for Citizens and those here legally. All illegals should be shown to the door.

Alabama adopts Bible Textbook for schools

Link

has become the first state to approve a Bible textbook for statewide adoption, makers of ”The Bible and Its Influence” announced Monday.

Enlarge this Image
(Photo: Bible Literacy Project / Handout)The Bible Literacy Project, an interfaith group that released the book in September 2005, said the decision by the Alabama State Board of Education last Wednesday also makes ”The Bible and Its Influence” the first textbook for academic study of the Bible to be adopted statewide.

“This is major news in the field of education,” stated Bible Literacy Project Chairman Chuck Stetson. “While academic study of the Bible is legal in all 50 states, this decision means that any school in the state of Alabama can purchase our textbook with state-provided funds until 2013.”

According to standards set forth by the Alabama School Board, the approval declares the textbook, which is intended for use in high schools, as "sufficient to be used as the sole textbook/program for a particular grade or course and meet[s] 80% or more of the standards outlined in the state course of study and/or is sufficient to be used as the sole textbook for an elective course.”

Stetson reported that 543 high schools in Alabama will soon receive a list of approved curricula.

Currently, there are 163 high schools in 35 states that have adopted the 387-page, full-color textbook, which covers the Old Testament and New Testament, for semester-long or full-year courses.

So who thinks this will be ignored by the so called American Civil Liberties Union? The same organization that sees nothing wrong with public school students before forced to take Muslim names and follow Muslim practices for a day. Or a public university having a Muslim foot washing pool.

Brad Pitt plays Jesse James

Link

As a cousin of Jesse James, I truly think its about time Hollywood shared the wealth on these James movies with the relatives of Jesse James.

Churches cancel Sunday Service for Faith in Action

Link

This Sunday, churches across the country are shutting their doors and taking their worship outside to demonstrate one of the most principal mandates in Scripture – faith in action.

Faith in Action Sunday is the culmination of a four-week churchwide campaign that aims to get Christians out of the pews and onto the streets to raise the value of social justice and compassion, serving as Jesus served the church, says one spokesman

Wouldn't it serve a better purpose to get Christians to do this EVERY DAY. Not just Sunday. This is like be nice on Sunday and who cares what you do or what you campaign for on Monday thru Saturday.

Sunday is for worshipping God. Monday thru Saturday is for Serving and glorifying God.

PSU reactor threat not a threat to people

Link

University officials have said that the leak in the 71,000-gallon pool that shields the core's radiation and cools the reactor poses no risk to students, employees, the community or the environment.

Do you believe them?

I don't.

But then I'm one of those people that thinks its insane to use a source of power that if something goes wrong, the area is uninhabitable for the next 10,000 years. And also there's the problem of what to do with the waste. And the waste always faces the NIMBY problem. So they force Nevada to take it. Funny how its one of the furthest point away from Washington DC in the continental U.S.

So... what would they say if the employees/students faced enough that they were going to die next month, or next year? Would they really announce everyone is going to die? Or would they do the same thing they always do when something happens. "It's not dangerous. Every thing's fine."

Sort a like using a chain to keep King Kong off the Empire State building...

Christian schools ransacked in India by Hindus

Link

"Missionary schools declare holidays during Western festivals, but they don't respect Hindu festivals,” commented Kishore Kothari, leader of Dharma Sena (Religion Army), a Hindu fundamentalist group supported by the VHP.

“If my son goes to school on 'Pitramoksha Day,' how can he learn our traditional rituals?" he asked the local Indian Express.

Call me crazy but... If you want him to learn traditional rituals, then I guess you shouldn't send him to a Christian school. You should send him to a Hindu school.

Kothari further warned that "[i]f missionary school managements don't mend their attitude, more protests will take place,"

Do it our way or else? This sounds familiar.

Episcopal Head says church will continue with its agenda

Link

She says that the church will not step back. They will continue to reach out to the Homosexual community.

"Jesus hung out with people on the margins. He hung out with people who were unacceptable to the Judaism of his time," she pointed out. "I think that's what it means to follow Jesus."

Jefferts Schori happened to be in San Francisco on the day of the deadline set by Anglican leaders for The Episcopal Church – the U.S. branch of Anglicanism – to roll back support for same-sex unions and homosexual ordination. There, she confirmed that the U.S. church would not retreat but are willing to "pause."

Jesus also called sin sin and to stop living in sin.

John 8:7-11 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin."

Will the Episcopal church do they same? Tell its candidates for ministry and bishopships and members to leave their life of sin? None who willfully continue in their life of sin are living as Jesus instructed. Everyone falls short but they MUST TRY.

Conservative Episcopalians to form new Conservative group

Link

Tired of fighting a losing cause, conservative Episcopalians have agreed to form a new group. It includes many churches that either have fled or are in the process of fleeing the liberal dominated Episcopal Church. It includes the CANA group of churches led by the Nigerian Anglican Bishop.

The founders are a mix of groups with varying ties to the Episcopal Church and the world Anglican Communion. Among the members will be Episcopal dioceses and parishes that have broken away or plan to split from the national church, congregations that have never been part of the Episcopal Church and fellowships that are considered schismatic by the Anglican Communion.

Bishop Duncan said that forming a separate North American church structure for conservatives is "necessary because of the drift of the church in the West."

Orwellian Chicago

Link

A car circles a high-rise three times. Someone leaves a backpack in a park.

Such things go unnoticed in big cities every day. But that could change in Chicago with a new video surveillance system that would recognize such anomalies and alert authorities to take a closer look.

On Thursday, the city and IBM Corp. are announcing the initial phase of what officials say could be the most advanced video security network in any U.S. city. The City of Broad Shoulders is getting eyes in the back of its head.

"Chicago is really light years ahead of any metropolitan area in the U.S. now," said Sam Docknevich, who heads video-surveillance consulting for IBM.

Back when I was working in sales, I'd go around the block about eight times looking for the exact address. With people on your bumper, people walking in front of the car, and cars slamming on their brakes in front of you, it isn't always easy to find the exact address. They're nuts if they're going to check on someone simply because they circled the block three times.

Nuns Excommunicated

Link

They believe they are following the reincarnated Mary who is supposedly in the body of Marie Paule Giguere. She founded this heresy in 1971 and the church has excommunicated all followers of this group.

Dionne said she does not know if Giguere is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary, but said she believes God communicates through the sect's founder.

"She is doing only what God and Mary tells her to do," Dionne said.

Mary elevated the the level of God...

Diplomats certainly act like children

Link

When Ahmadinejad was ushered to the podium of the General Assembly to speak, the U.S. delegation walked out, leaving only a low-ranking note-taker to listen to his speech, which indirectly accused the United States and Israel of major human rights violations.

This a day after the Cuban Delegation left the room because Bush called Castro a dictator.

Walking out make as much sense as boycotting elections so the opposition wins.

Vick won't be serving 40 years

Link

While indicting him on some charges, the grand jury passed on the eight animal cruelty charges that would have seen Vick serving 5 years for each offense. If there was ever a time a jury should be compelled to explain its decision this is it. Vick should not get out of jail until he is a very old man. I don't buy his apology. The only thing he is sorry about is he was caught.

Heartland Presbytery decides once in, always in

Link

An administrative commission established by Heartland Presbytery has rejected the requests of two Kansas congregations – one that sought to be dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to the smaller Evangelical Presbyterian Church and another that sought be dismissed to join the New Wineskins/EPC Transitional Presbytery – even though both congregations previously had voted overwhelmingly in favor of those actions.

On June 10, Hillsdale Presbyterian Church in Hillsdale voted 77-5 to request dismissal from the PCUSA in order to join the New Wineskins/EPC Transitional Presbytery. On June 24, First Presbyterian Church in Paola voted 200-81 to request dismissal with its property from the PCUSA in order to join the EPC.

What a difference from the attitude taken by a truly Christian presbytery like Beaver-Butler. The Heartland Presbytery should be ashamed but instead they are probably gloating. They should read over the Gospels and Epistles and determine who they are most like.

In response, the session of First Presbyterian Church, in a letter to the congregation signed by Clerk Pro-Tem Stacy Boan, wrote that:

"The Heartland Presbytery administrative commission met with the elders (session) of First Presbyterian Church on Sunday night, Sept. 9. We had hoped this meeting, our first face-to-face contact, would be a time to share the details of our current ministry and heart for Christ, to ask and answer questions about our mission, ministry goals and reasons for seeking dismissal to the EPC. We hoped to spend time considering the needs of all the members of the church in light of the understandable duties of the presbytery. Instead, we discovered that the administrative commission had already made up their mind - they had already reached a decision and had come to meet with us to tell us what they had decided.

There are times where I think the best thing to do would be to follow the Mexican bandit in Joe Kidd, "One day there was a fire."

Unemployment applications drop unexpectedly

Link

The number of laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in seven weeks, an unexpected sign of improvement for the jobs market.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications for unemployment benefits totaled 311,000 last week, a drop of 9,000 from the previous week. It marked the lowest level for jobless claims since July 28.

The decline came as a surprise for economists who had been forecasting a rise in claims of around 6,000.

Perhaps its because some people, like me, have no idea how to apply for unemployment or welfare benefits. Or perhaps its because businesses, like the one I used to work for, threaten to take people to court to fight the unemployment claims and argue that the claimees weren't doing their jobs and failed to meet benchmarks. It didn't matter how hard someone worked, they still were lazy bums when it came to unemployment court fights.

Fanatical Islam is a Result of Defamation of Islam?

Link

a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) written by U.N. Special Rapporteur Doudou Diene, who recommended that the international human rights covenants be “reinterpreted and amended” to deal with Islamophobia.

According to Diene, the "defamation" of Islam generates dangerous Islamophobia, which leads to the repression of Muslim rights and in turn drives Muslims to extremism.

He believes that Islamophobia should be defined as ”a baseless hostility and fear vis-avis Islam, and as a result a fear of and aversion towards all Muslims or the majority of them ….”

I guess the fact that its founder was rejected by Mecca and then surrounded himself with a hoard of men and robbed and killed people along the caravan trail to Mecca has nothing to do with the ease that Muslim fanatics have at killing people.

Or that once he had starved Mecca economically and they surrendered to him, he established his rule there and then began to spread Islam out with the sword to other areas doesn't have anything to do with it either.

Languages disappearing

Link

While there are an estimated 7,000 languages spoken around the world today, one of them dies out about every two weeks, according to linguistic experts struggling to save at least some of them.

Losing languages means losing knowledge, says K. David Harrison, an assistant professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College.

"When we lose a language, we lose centuries of human thinking about time, seasons, sea creatures, reindeer, edible flowers, mathematics, landscapes, myths, music, the unknown and the everyday."

As many as half of the current languages have never been written down, he estimated.

That means, if the last speaker of many of these vanished tomorrow, the language would be lost because there is no dictionary, no literature, no text of any kind, he said.

If its never been written down then there isn't a whole lot that can be researched. And does anyone really think one speaker of the language knows all the myths, knowledge, ect... that was known in the that language?

No written records equals useless language.

Peters Creek Church votes to leave PCUSA

Link

At a standing room only church service this morning, the congregation of Peters Creek Presbyterian Church voted 273-86 to be dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) into the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Thats a 76% majority if my math is right. I think if it hadn't been 75% the church would have faced the administrative committee taking over the congregation. So that was a close vote.

Mattel to recall third batch of China made toys

Link

Part of me says serves them right for sending jobs overseas. Another part of me says serves them right for having no morals at all by using what amounts to slave labor. I just can't decide which one to condemn them more for.

Here's an odd photo to article combination

Link

The article is about former ISraelii PM Sharon and his unchanged condition since suffering a stroke 2 years ago. And we have a photo of Rice in her typical snarling at anyone nearby pose.

I wonder if he had not had the stroke and was still PM if the Palestinian-Israel battleground would be better or worse. I personally don't think giving land for "peace" will work since the more you give, the more they'll want.

Florida Democrats to be left out of Democrat Primary

Link

Florida Democrats would forfeit their votes in selecting a presidential nominee unless they delay their state election by at least a week, the national party said in a stern action Saturday meant to discourage others from leapfrogging ahead to earlier dates.

The Florida party has 30 days to submit an alternative to its planned Jan. 29 primary or lose its 210 delegates to the nominating convention in Denver next summer.

Isn't that great? I wonder if Flordians will remember this for the general election.

Party rules say states cannot hold their 2008 primary contests before Feb. 5, except for Iowa on Jan. 14, Nevada on Jan. 19, New Hampshire on Jan. 22 and South Carolina on Jan. 29.

So basically the national Democratic party likes to discriminate with stupid rules? My suggestion would be for the national Democratic party to run its own elections, pay for their own polling machines, and set their own date. Otherwise shut up and let the people paying for the election make up their own minds when to hold it.

PCUSA Minister found Guilty

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A veteran Presbyterian minister was found guilty of violating church law for officiating the weddings of two lesbian couples, the minister's defense team said Friday.

A regional judicial committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) ruled 6-2 that while the Rev. Jane Spahr of San Rafael "acted with conscience and conviction," her actions were still at odds with the church's constitution, her defense team said in a statement.

The ruling, which was delivered late Thursday by certified mail to lawyers for Spahr and the church, reverses a lower court's decision in March 2006 that she acted within her rights as an ordained minister when she married two lesbian couples in 2004 and 2005.

Is calling God Allah wrong for Christians?

Link

Not in the Arab world because in Arabic, the word allah means god and many Christian Arabs use the word to refer to God.

Now for the rest of the world, the word allah means nothing so calling God Allah makes little or no sense.

And if someone is going to argue that Christians deciding to change from God to Allah would somehow lesson tensions with Muslims, then one has to point to the fact that Christians in these Arabs countries are not teated well. Look at our great friends Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Look at Iraq where the Christians that have lived there are being driven out or Gaza which has Christians flooding out because of Islamic threats on their life. All these Christians call God Allah because they are Arabs or speak Arabic. They are also second class citizens who are brutally treated and under constant threat of attack.

For the west to start using a meaningless word to them is absurd. And for anyone to suggest it, it shows how uttlerly out of touch they are.

New Jersey threatens to seize control of church property for refusing to allow civil union

Link

New Jersey officials are threatening to declare a historic United Methodist Church a public place because it refuses to allow a civil union in its facilities. Civil Unions are not allowed to be performed according to the United Methodist Constitution but the lesbians that want to get married in the church went to the state. Now the state is threatening the church

The church has replied by suing the state to prevent them from seizing the property which has been owned by the church since 1870.

Certainly is nice watching the country become a totalitarian regime. Right or Left really doesn't matter. They both seem to think you should live their way or its the highway.

Sometimes I wonder

Link

In Iraq there was a largescale attack by the Sunni militia on a group called the Yazidis. When it was over, 250 Yazidis were killed in multiple truck bombs. The Post Gazette has an editorial on it. In the editorial it mentions,

The Yazidis are a largely peaceful religious minority, concentrated in the Kurdish north of Iraq, an area that since 2003 has been less troubled by attacks than the rest of the country.

Ok that makes the attack all the worse.

But then it mentions a little further:

The Yazidis recently quarreled with the Sunnis, who killed 23 Yazidi men after Yazidis had stoned to death a woman who had a relationship with a Sunni man.

I for one have trouble labeling any group peaceful that would stone a woman for dating someone. Now if the Yazidis largely condemned the stoning, then ok. But if they didn't utter a single protest then I'm afraid they don't qualify as peaceful.

Just saw on KDKA my Alma Mater has a Problem

Geneva College is overflowing with people that want to attend. They now have a waiting list for those that want to attend but the college doesn't have room for. What a great problem for a great college to have.

I recommend Geneva to anyone that wants a great education.

In my perfect world scenario, I would be hired at Geneva to teach Biblical Studies someday.

Egyptian Doctor and Christian finally freed from Saudi Arabia

Link

One of our so called allies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, has been holding a Christian doctor hostage because he would not convert to Islam after Muslims coworkers pressured him to do so. He finally said he was a Christian and wouldn't be converting. So he was taunted and accused of being a missionary and held for 6 months.

Unfortunately, he returns to Egypt which is just about as hostile to Christians as Saudi Arabia. Presently there is a court case being heard from someone that wants to convert to Christianity but the government won't allow him. The public response has been to call for his death. How these two countries can be allies to the United States is beyond be. Both are at the top of list of abusers of freedoms.

Neither country should receive a dime in aid from the United States.

MegaChurch being Harassed

Link

A Texas Megachurch is being harassed after backing out of hosting a funeral for a member's brother. The member is mentally handicapped and worked as a janitor for the church.

They received photos from the family to be put in a presentation that showed a man grasping his genitals. The family also wanted there to be an open microphone so that anyone could speak. Since it became apparent that the funeral was going to be an openly homosexual service that celebrated and emphasized homosexuality, they did not want it hosted in their church.

So now they are getting harassed in email.

American Bible Society defends newspaper Bibles

Link

The International Bible Society's new initiative to distribute New Testament Bibles with newspapers has been criticized by Christians because they fear the Bibles will be thrown out. The American Bible Society has issued a response to this outcry in support of the International Bible Society's plans

I also like these plans. My only concern is the Old Testament is left out.

After all, what do you suppose happens to many Bibles that are handed out to students on campuses across the nation. Many undoubtedly also end up in the trash but some plant seeds in the students and begin to grow. How much greater will the harvest be on the grander scale of newspaper distribution?

Perhaps its time for the New Republic to close its doors

Link

First Steven Glass creates fictional stories for the magazine over the course of three years. And now they just print the ramblings of a wannabee fictional writer as true events in Iraq. When I originally read about this soldier, I failed to recognize this magazine as the one that allowed the Glass fiasco.

Why would anyone bother with this magazine after not once but twice they've printed fiction as fact?

Atheist Group loses court case

Link

An atheist group tried to prevent the city of Detroit from reimbursing a church the money it used to make itself look good for the Superbowl that the PITTSBURGH STEELERS won. The city decided it needed to improve its looks and promised to pay for part of the renovations. Well after the church did its part, the atheists group went to court to prevent the city from paying the church the promised money.

But the federal court said that churches can't be treated like second class citizens and that they can take part in community renovation programs.

Could this be a turn to fairness?

Kids prefer McDonalds wrappers

Link

Preschoolers preferred the taste of burgers and fries when they came in McDonald's wrappers over the same food in plain wrapping, U.S. researchers said, suggesting fast-food marketing reaches the very young.

They were offered five pairs of foods and asked if they tasted the same or to point to the one that tasted better.

The food -- taken from the same order -- was wrapped in either McDonald's packaging or unbranded packages in the same color and style.

In about 60 percent of the tastings, the kids preferred food in the McDonald's wrapper.

Personally I prefer the Burger King wrapper. Flame broiled yum...

Bad Thai cops to endure Kitty shame

Link

Thai police officers who break rules will be forced to wear hot pink armbands featuring "Hello Kitty," the Japanese icon of cute, as a mark of shame, a senior officer said Monday.
Police officers caught littering, parking in a prohibited area, or arriving late — among other misdemeanors — will be forced to stay in the division office and wear the armband all day, said Police Col. Pongpat Chayaphan. The officers won't wear the armband in public.
"(Hello) Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It's not something macho police officers want covering their biceps," Pongpat said.

So I guess Thailand police are acting like high school kids eh?

VA Episcopal Bishop fires Priests who already resigned and joined the CANA

Link

The wonderful Bishop Peter James Lee, of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, "depose[d] clergy who were barred in January from performing priestly duties in the diocese. The clergy, however, have already quit, noted Jim Oakes, vice chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV) - an association of conservative Anglican congregations."

Congregations from 15 churches voted overwhelmingly in December to sever ties with The Episcopal Church, citing the denomination's departure from Anglican tradition and Christian orthodoxy. They essentially removed themselves from the Episcopal ministry and placed themselves under the authority of the Church of Nigeria.

Maybe next week the Pope can excommunicate the breakaway priests.

Egyptian Woman beaten for converting to Christianity

Link

While walking through a fair, a woman was taken into protective custody by the Egyptian police. She was then tortured, transferred around to different stations and finally turned over to her father, uncle, and brother who had threatened to kill her. She had converted in 2003 and married a Christian. She is also 26 years old and a legal adult.

YWAM Worker in India Attacked amid Anti-Christian Propaganda

Link

A local source reported to Washington-based International Christian Concern (ICC) that YWAM member Kamal Kanta was beaten up on Monday by at least four VHP supporters in the presence of his wife and two children while they were in Kullu, the capital town of the Kullu District in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. .

"Kanta, along with his family, was attending a prayer meeting in a believer's house when four unidentified people came to the house and asked him to come out. As he came out with them, they all began beating and abusing him, accusing him of conversions," said the source to ICC.

You know, maybe this is what Christians need to start doing in the west. Maybe then the ACLU and the like would protect Christian rights as vigorously as they protect Muslims and other violent faiths.

Power Outage

You know... I'd think a power outage that is encompassing South Beaver Township, Darlington, Chippewa and who knows how much further since that's as far as I checked would be worth mentioning on the local news. But the Beaver Falls radio station decided it wasn't even worth mentioning while it was going on since we listened to the entire broadcast waiting to find out what happened. And now... its back on and I look at the Post-Gazette website, then the local paper website, the power company's... and nothing.

Wonder why it was off for 8 hours...

Campaign 08: A curious thought

I wonder what would happen if the time leading up to the primaries was run like Survivor with weekly specials voting a candidate off the campaign trail. And would it leave anybody left for the actual primary.

Link

Not that I have two in mind for the vote off already or anything.

Europeans returning to God

Link

As state run left leaning churches are floundering, evangelical churches are springing up and flourishing. One of the biggest comebacks ever.

Wherever churches are a little more energetic and competitive, you've got more people going to church,"

I wonder if this sounds familiar to certain churches that have lost millions of members over the last decade or so

After World War II, the Church of Sweden followed the leftward direction of Swedish political life. The Ecclesiastical Department, the ministry that supervised the church, was headed for years by a prominent atheist. Liberal theology triumphed. Church attendance plummeted.

No of course not.

Where is the ACLU when...

Link

the University of Michigan decided to fund $25,000 worth of ritual foot-washers for Islamic students wishing to pray... After all, it is a public institution, receiving federal and state taxes

The Byron Union school district in California has decided that its public schools should set aside days and assignments where all students choose a Muslim name, recite passages from the Koran, and periodically give up certain comforts as “forms of fasting” that correspond to Ramadan

No where to be seen but...

In Pittsburgh they demand[ed] that a municipal parking lot be off limits to those parking there to visit a local Christmas display at a nearby church

Or if a valedictorian tries to thank God? Or if a student dares to read a Bible at school? Or writes a religious essay? Or a Christmas scene on public property?

Always quick to act in the courts.

But force students to take a Muslim name and fast and allow Muslim foot washing is OK.

HYPOCRITES

Is Muslim support for violence lessening?

Link

Foxnews is saying so.

Muslims around the world increasingly reject suicide bombings and other violence against civilians, according to a new international poll dealing with how the world's population judges their lives, countries and national institutions.

A wide ranging survey of international attitudes in 47 countries by the Pew Research Center also reported that in many of the countries where support for suicide attacks has declined, there has also has been decreasing support for Al Qaeda leader Usama Bin Laden.

The 95-page survey found that surging economic growth in many developing countries has encouraged people in these countries to express satisfaction with their personal lives, family income and national conditions, said Andrew Kohut, the center's director.

Except in the Palestinian controlled land. There support is high.

Islamic Rage Boy Responds to Western Bloggers

Link

"I am not happy with people joking about me or making me into a cartoon, but I have more important things to think about. My protests are for those Muslims who cannot go out onto the streets to cry out against injustice. This is my duty and I believe Allah has decided this for me."

There are Muslims that can't go out on the streets and protest? Could have fooled me.

And the picture in the link... doesn't it seem almost hypnotic?

Dobson renounces Harry Potter

Link

The reason the ministry leader is against the material is obvious given the presence of magical characters (witches, wizards, ghosts, goblins, werewolves, poltergeists and so on) in the Harry Potter stories.

I have never read Harry Potter; however I like DragonLance novels and they have wizards, ghosts, goblins, ect... so his criticism of Harry Potter also effects DL.

Instead of “Harry Potter,” Colson recommends parents to introduce other fantasy books such as “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Lord of the Rings,” because they have more of a Christian framework.

Um... what about Gandolph? He's a wizard. And Soleyman, the evil wizard? Seems more like someone's wanting a double standard.

Well Raistlin is my favorite fictional character of all time so I'm going to have to disagree and continue to read my Dragonlance novels.

Ex-Terrorist Thoughts on Terrorism and Islam

Link

“I remember how we used to laugh whenever people on TV proclaimed that the cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombing, and 7/7, was Western foreign policy. What this does is help to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.”

“Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all MidEast terrorists are certain to be Muslims. So if Islam produces them, then Islam is the problem."

“By refusing to challenge centuries-old theological arguments, the tensions between Islamic theology and the modern world grow larger every day.”

One reason why the Catholic Church is not the TRUE Church either

As long as Pope Benedict wants to determine who is and who is not the true church, I think it opens up the door to expressing what is wrong with the Catholic Church. First, I want to say that I welcome this stance that he has publically taken. I am tired of the all is good philosophy that has been prevalient lately. I think a denomination has to believe that it is correct otherwise why does the denomination exist? That doesn't mean that there aren't saved Christians in all denomination. But one should believe that their denomination is the one truest to the Bible and the others are defective in some way.

One of the things that I feel is wrong about the Catholic Church is the order of nuns. They claim to get this from the 1 Timothy 5:9 and 1 Corinthians 7.

1 Timothy 5:9 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband,£ 10and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

Note how it specifically mentions widows? That indicates that these women were married before. And they had children and were known for being good mothers. They were not eighteen year olds being taken from their families. These are women who were married before. But you get even more context when you include 1 Timothy 5:3-8

1 Timothy 5:3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. 8If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

This indicates that this list is supposed to be a welfare system for old women who have no one to take care of them.

So why does the church go after young girls? Lets continue with 1 Timothy:

1 Timothy 5: 11As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. 12Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. 14So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

So essentially the Church is not supposed to go after the young women at all.

And to add another nail let's look at 1 Timothy 5:16

16If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.

Not only are they not supposed to go after the younger women but if someone can take care of the older women then they should so the church is not burdened. This certainly does not sound like support for the Nuns as a group of virgins.

And this is the chapter that the Catholic Church itself looks to support the order of nuns.

The other book they often quote is 1 Corinthians chapter 7:32-35

1 Corinthians 7:32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—34and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

But earlier in the chapter it says this in verse 25:

1 Corinthians 7:25Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.

So the order of nuns of young women was not God ordained. It was Paul's opinion people would be happier single. And they could devote themselves to the Lord more easily then married people.

Does this sound like he meant there to be an order? With rituals and what not. I don't think so.

I think the order of nuns of young virgins sounds a lot more like the pagan Vestal Virgins

La. bans Partial Birth Abortion

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"Under the Louisiana legislation, doctors face fines of between $1,000 and $10,000, and jail terms of between one and 10 years."

I like how "planned parenthood" campaigned against this in legislative chambers and "only a handful of legislators voted against the bill." Its about time someone stood up to these lobbyists. A late term abortion like this fails under planned parenthood. If it was because of an unplanned pregnancy, the woman should have aborted way before this late in the pregnancy.

In addition to this, "the Democratic governor on Monday signed legislation requiring that all women seeking an abortion be notified that fetuses can feel pain by 20 weeks gestation, and doctors who perform the procedure to discuss the availability of painkillers for fetuses."

Reformed Chicks Blabbing: The Miss NJ Scandal#links

Reformed Chicks Blabbing: The Miss NJ Scandal#links

After seeing the above post, I of course had to go find these photos. After all I am single and this is a beauty queen aka Ms. New Jersey. So of course I clicked on the first link and was disappointed. So I went back and clicked on the second link.

So we go to that link and click on this link and lo and behold just as Michelle said are some of the mildest photos ever to cause a controversey. To put it mildly, there's nothing NOTHING N O T H I N G there. Not even a bathing suit for crying out loud(which was what I was hoping for). The first one shows her (in a sweatshirt) going to spank some guy with a chair. Oh horror. And the second one shows some guy(possibly her boyfriend gasp) sucking on her breast through her tank top. Lets call out the police here. We have a Janet Jackson wannabe... except this looks to be a private party and not on tv... and you see NOTHING. Well unless you think seeing a woman's shoulder's is provocative.... for some reason I don't.

I've seen cartoon characters more provacative than that. Catwoman on Batman Adventures, Harley Quinn in the Batman Comic, The spider robot who's name escapes me on Beast Wars. Jessica in Who Framed Roger Rabbit... Any bloody Wonder Woman comic...

Good grief.

Next time, I'm just going to listen when someone says mild photos...