ARIZONA DEPUTY SHOT BY DRUG RUNNERS

So when do you think we'll hear the outcry about this deputy's civil rights being violated? How many will be in the streets marching to defend him?

This is the reason Arizona is going to defend it's borders.

"A Pinal County Sheriff's deputy was shot in the stomach Friday by an undocumented immigrant off Interstate 8, according sheriff's officials.

Lt. Tami Villar told 12 News that the search and rescue deputy was investigating a load of marijuana in the desert and was confronted by five suspects. She also said the wounded deputy is expected to survive.

Deputies believe at least two people were armed with long guns and at least one handgun. The deputy, whose name was not released, was patrolling alone in what is considered a high-traffic drug and human-smuggling corridor.

Villar said the deputy radioed dispatch about 4:30 p.m. to say he had been shot off Interstate 8 and Arizona 84, but he could not be found when authorities arrived at the scene.

The deputy was located more than an hour later and taken to the Casa Grande Medical Center for treatment.

His condition was not available."
AZ Central

CCX, CAP AND TRADE AND THE SELLING OF AMERICA

PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW

"Let's call it as we see it...Share
Today at 9:41am
Christiane Batson

It's time to start calling it as you see them, people. I believe that our President is a Marxist, disguised as a democrat. Our Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, is a Communist, disguised as a democrat. And you can go down the line, even with Republicans. Most of the politicians and lobbyists up there are SOCIALISTS. Quit hyjacking liberal, progressive, and democrat labels to refer to them. They are just words to hide the real truth underneath, as they are Marxists/Communists/Socialists. Pay attn to the groups and people that they associate with, it's true. Look it up for yourselves.

These people aren't interested in defending us, as they are looking to soften the sanctions on Iran (check out the article about it in the Washington Times). WHY?? That country wants to "wipe Israel off the map." They are constantly saying "death to Americans." Do we really want them to have the ability to follow through? Does that make sense?? I understand that some people believe that each nation should be able to have the right to have nuclear weapons. I happen to disagree, when that country is A THREAT TO THE ENTIRE WORLD. The radicals that are in charge of that government are wanting to instigate the END OF THE WORLD. They are looking to actually start Armageddon. Again, DO WE REALLY WANT THAT????!!!! I, for one, DO NOT!

Their true objective: they are interested in "re-distributing the wealth" around the world (while pocketing a hefty amount at the same time). aka: stealing from us to give to other countries and line their pockets. How, you ask, could they really get away with that?? Cap and Trade is the SCAM that they are going to use to do it. They are trying to convince us that we need to buy the air in other countries in order to "save the planet." How is Cap and Trade really going to "save the planet?" There will still be the SAME EMISSIONS, it just COSTS more.

So, where is the money going, you might be asking?? Chicago's (currently voluntary) CCX. It is the Carbon exchange market that will be flooded with money (the CEO forecasts that it could be a $10 TRILLION market) after Cap and Trade passes. It turns a currently voluntary system (you have the choice) to a MANDATORY system (you have no choice). Why is that so bad, you might ask?? Well, let's see who the people are behind it. Our esteemed President, along with Valarie Jarrett, funneled money from the Joyce Foundation to the CCX, which funded establishing the exchange. They did this while in Chicago's notoriously corrupt political system. That gives our President, and his "closest advisor," a stake in that exchange.

Who else might be investors in the exchange? Goldman Sachs. WOW, they are getting grilled by congress at the moment, to put "financial reform" out front. HMMM... who else?? Oh yeah, a British Company that happens to have our former VP, and current "Global Warming" alarmist, Al Gore. That might not be surprising to you, but the next one might.... FANNIE MAE. Why Fannie Mae? They bought the technology that makes running the exchange (remember, we're buying air) possible. Why did Fannie buy that technology, since they are supposed to be about mortgages? Look into that. Fannie and Freddie were MORE RESPONSIBLE for the bundling of the mortgages that lead to the housing collapse. WHY AREN'T THOSE CEO'S BEING GRILLED? Just a question....

Keep following the money trail, and it all leads back to the same set of people that are currently high up in these groups: Apollo Alliance, AFL-CIO, SEIU, The New Party (they actually endorsed President Obama-- go read about them. WOW), ACORN, Emerald Cities, Enterprise... the list goes on. They have the same people in common: President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Van Jones, George Soros, and other marxist/communist/socialists.

WHY ISN'T THIS ALL OVER THE NEWS? These people are actually setting up a Mafia style government to suck us all dry, and the media is ALLOWING it to go unchecked. Check out the facts about this. It truly is amazing how it all ties together. By focusing on the more divisive issues, they are keeping your eyes off the bigger picture.

So, like I said in the beginning of this, TIME TO CALL THEM AS YOU SEE THEM. Don't be afraid to point out the truth. The democratic party, once a true blue American party, has been hyjacked by Marxists/communists/socialists. The republican party, that once stood on fiscal responsibility and our founding principles, has also seen an invasion of the same. That is why you feel like you're not getting much of a choice at the polls. Different parties, SAME SOCIALIST POSITIONS. They want that, so it doesn't matter which party wins.... THEY ARE STILL IN CONTROL. Congress is no longer our police against the bad guys, THEY HAVE BECOME THE BAD GUYS THEMSELVES. That is why you feel that there is nothing you can do about it.

Got news for you, though. There is something you can do about it. GET INFORMED before you go to the polls. Don't vote them in. Make them fear the thought of being exposed for what they are. Any Marxist/communist/socialist knows that the American people will reject them if they are out in the open. We have the concept of freedom born into us, but they have been leading us astray. Call them what they are, not what they want to be called. You can't make an educated, smart, informed decision UNLESS YOU KNOW THE TRUTH.

I know that there are some of my friends that may be tired of my rants and posts on the government. I'm truly sorry if it bothers you, but I feel like my country is going down in flames... and no one is listening to me call "FIRE!!!" I'm not asking you to just believe me, I'm asking for you to actually look for the facts so you can decide for yourself. Some may believe that socialism is the way to go. If so, it makes me sad. ONLY because you are willing, and willing for your kids and grandkids, to give up your God given rights and freedoms granted from our Constitution. Socialism is SLAVERY to the government. Freedom is knowing that we are all EQUAL to our government.

I'm praying for our future, and the future of our children. I hope that our country chooses freedom over slavery."
Missouri Political News Service

DO THE RIGHT THING

I'm posting this because American Catholics need to be reminded, or in some cases hear for the first time, that Communion in the hand and eating meat on Fridays are not the norms. Both are exceptions to the laws of the Church. We are still supposed to take Communion on the tongue and abstain from meat on Fridays. Those are the universal laws of the Church.

Just like so many other things, we've taken the exceptions and made them the rules. As the Church splits here in America I believe one of the signs that this is happening will be that Rome will require the exceptions to be done away with. Many won't accept this return to traditional Catholicism and will move to form their own church. I believe the current Pope was chosen to lead the Church back to its future and cleanse it of the abuses foisted upon it by the agents of evil that have slithered their way in over the past fifty years.

There's going to be a lot of unhappy "Catholics" in America in the very near future.

"Americans have the option of receiving the Holy Eucharist on the tongue or in the hand. The Vatican granted us the option of receiving on the hand in 1977. This was accomplished by an indult, a lifting of the law, so we may receive either way, on the tongue or in the hand. The indult was granted because the American Bishops told the Vatican that their parishioners were clamoring for it. “We can feed ourselves” was one of the specious arguments put forward.

...The universal Church law, which requires Holy Eucharist to be distributed to the faithful on their tongues, remains in force; it remains the law. However the indult has the effect of making the law inapplicable where in force.

Foreseeing the demand for the indult coming, the Sacred Office for Divine Worship sent a letter to the presidents of the bishops’ conferences to advise them how they may implement this option if granted. The letter spoke about reverence for the Holy Eucharist being the number one priority. With this in mind, the letter went into great detail trying to explain this crucial concern. The letter contained the following specifics.

Communion on the hand is an option; it is not the primary way of receiving. Catholics must be catechized to understand this important point. No one is to be forced to receive on the hand.

When receiving the Body of Christ on the hand, the faithful must be aware of the fact that each and every particle, no matter how small, is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Therefore no particle should ever be discarded or treated with less than total respect due to the Body of Christ.

The faithful must also be reminded that their hands must be clean to receive our Lord, Jesus Christ."

Spirit Daily

DON'T WE USUALLY WAIT 'TIL THEY'VE RETIRED, AT LEAST?

Dear Leader may have a movie made about him. This country is feeling more and more like a banana republic with each passing day.

Fidel would be sooo proud.

"Open TV and Film, the London-based production company, is developing a TV mini-series based on Barack Obama’s days on the campaign trail. ITV Studios USA is co-developing the project. Simon Shaps, chairman of Open, has optioned Newsweek journalist Richard Woolfe’s book Renegade: The Making of a President. The author was granted unique access to Obama during the campaign. Shaps – who used to be ITV’s director of television -- told me: “It is early days, but we are sure there will no shortage of ideas for who plays the President.”
Deadline

GOOD TIMES KEEP ON ROLLIN'

Read the story below and them look at the chart. This chart was generated by the Federal Reserve in Philadelphia. Only one state has seen improvement in economic activity year over year.

How can you reconcile this with all the happy, happy talk from the media and our government about the depression being over and the economy rebounding?

What else are they lying about?

"49 out of 50 U.S. states are still showing less economic activity than a year ago, based on February 2010 coincident economic indicators from the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia. The chart below is organized from top to bottom, from the most growth in economic activity to the largest declines in economic activity.

States like West Virginia (WV), Maryland (MD), Idaho (ID), and Wyoming (WY) are the worst off year over year. Their February 2010 economic activity remained 13.5%, 6.3%, 6.3%, and 6.2% lower year over year. Thus their economies, along with those of another 45 states, all the red ones, are all underwater on an annual basis.

North Dakota (ND) is the only state to currently have a higher level of economic activity year over year. Its February 2010 economic activity was 1.1% higher than February 2009, as shown by the green dot in the chart below.

Moreover, 28 out of 50 states even exhibited less economic activity in February 2010 than just three months earlier (not directly shown below). This means they have been deteriorating most recently as well.

In fact, the chart below is organized from left to right by the change in economic activity in the last three months (February 2010 vs. November 2009).

Thus West Virginia (WV), Maryland (MD), Montana (MT), and Delaware (DE), have seen their economic activity fall since November 2009 the most, given that they are the left-most dots. For example, West Virginia's economic activity fell 3.1% vs. November 2009 (percentage not shown). In contrast, Michigan has done the best most recently, given that it is the right-most dot, rising 1.5% vs. November 2009 (percentage not shown).

Net-net what this tells us is that 49 out of 50 state economies are still underwater on a one year basis, and 28 out of 50 are even still falling vs. November."

Business Insider

DRED SCOTT AND THE COLLAPSE OF EUROPE

Everyone I know always looks at me like I'm an idiot (I've grown used to it) when I talk about the parallels between today and all that led up to the American Civil War (The War of Northern Aggression, but that's a debate for a different time).

Study history to understand current events. It goes 'round and 'round.

"Never underestimate the impact of supreme court rulings. The plan by a quartet of German professors to freeze the EU bail-out for Greece and block the European Central Bank’s back-door rescue through lax lending has epochal implications.

As I reported in this morning’s story after talking to two of the four, Wilhelm Hankel and Karl Albrecht Schachtschneider, the complaint is primed and ready to go to the Verfassungsgericht (constitutional court) in Karlsrühe days after the rescue mechanism is activated.

I have been scratching my head thinking about precedents and suddenly the light bulb went on: the Dred Scott case, the ruling by the US Supreme Court in 1857 that brought the simmering conflict over slavery out into the open. The [decision] forced resolution one way or another."
Telegraph

"Just reported: Greece will not cut public salaries or there wll be civil war.

There's the gauntlet folks. It means that no "assistance" can actually succeed, because it is not possible to get the fiscal situation under control without significant cuts in public spending.

This, incidentally, is the same problem we have in the US, and why attempts to deal with our fiscal situation at both state and federal levels is going to end up in the same place eventually. The majority of our budget is comprised of handouts of one form or another, whether they be Social Security, Medicare, or public-sector salaries.

The "unified opposition" by public-sector employee unions (just look at what Florida teachers ran when their pension handouts and tenure were threatened) says everything you need to know.

Greece has to be cut loose. The best way to do it is for Germany to walk away from the Euro and return to the Mark for its currency, leaving the rest of Europe to twist in the wind.

I see no other solution. Threats of civil war, which are effectively what the public sector unions here in the US have also threatened repeatedly since 2008 (and to which we have responded by refusing to cut their salaries and benefits) mean that we have the irresistible force meeting the immovable object.

All such governments who refuse to take on these bullies and meet that threat with immediate charges of inciting overthrow of the government by force (in the US this charge is known as seditious conspiracy) will fail.

We have refused to make clear that such threats will result in charges of this sort - and so have other nations such as Greece. Yet unless this is made crystal clear and this sort of approach by these unions is put down immediately all nations beset by this sort of action will fail both politically and economically.

Simply put the artificial support proffered to the financial sector should have never been put forward, but having done so, the public must now bear the cost, here, today, and immediately.

Those are the only choices folks. Greece, and indeed the entire European Union, will ultimately disintegrate (as will America) if this is not done."
Market Ticker

RACISM OR COMMON SENSE?

Arizona passes a law to try and control its borders and all we hear are charges of racism. Is it racist to look across the border, see what's happening and say, "Not here!"? Just because the Mexicans that are involved in the wholesale slaughter of other Mexicans in the name of drug profits happen to be Mexican, is it racist to think that Mexicans may be part of the problem?

This isn't racism; it's common sense.

My guess is that the Mexicans that have come here legally don't want this violent insanity to follow them. Furthermore, and this is just a guess, most legal Mexican immigrants will be willing to put up with a little inconvenience to make sure they and their families remain safe.

No one wants to have to deal with the police any more than necessary and most don't like the idea of needing to carry identification with them everywhere they go. It just rubs Americans the wrong way. And it should and will continue to.

Sometimes though, for a short period, we have to do things we don't like to accomplish a greater goal. In this case, to secure our borders and keep our citizens and those that have come here legally safe from the hell that is playing out just across the border.

"Gunmen ambushed two police vehicles at a busy intersection in Ciudad Juarez on Friday, killing seven officers and a 17-year-old girl who was passing by, authorities said.

Chihuahua state spokesman Enrique Torres Valadez said six of the police officers were federal, and one was municipal. Authorities said the police officers in the vehicles were distracted by someone selling items on the street when the gunmen opened fire. The assailants then fled in three vehicles.

Investigators said they don't know why the officers were shot, although they don't believe they were targeted because of any recent arrests they had made.

No one has been arrested but police said they have recovered two of the three cars used in the shooting.

Ciudad Juarez is one of the world's deadliest cities, and a two-year turf battle between drug cartels has left more than 5,000 people dead.

...In the western state of Michoacan, a mayor of a drug-plagued town arrested last year for alleged ties drug traffickers was released from prison late Friday.

Genaro Guisar Valencia, who was stripped by lawmakers of his post as mayor of Apatzingan because of his arrest, told reporters outside the prison in the state capital of Morelia that he would ask the state's legislature to revert its decision.

Guisar Valencia was among 12 Mexican mayors arrested last year in an unprecedented roundup of elected officials accused of protecting drug traffickers in the state of Michoacan.

He's the ninth mayor released for lack of evidence.

An estimated 22,700 people have been killed in Mexico's drug war since December 2006."
Washington Post

IT'S LEGAL TO ACT LEGALLY IN VIRGINIA

"Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, has reversed a policy barring state troopers from referring to Jesus Christ in public prayers, The Washington Post reports.

The decision returns Virginia to a previous policy in which state troopers taking part in a volunteer chaplain program may pray in accordance with their respective faiths, the newspaper quotes a governor's spokesman as saying.

"The governor does not believe the state should tell chaplains of any faith how to pray," McDonnell spokesman Tucker Marin is quoted as saying in the Post. "Religious officials of all faiths should be allowed to pray according to the dictates of their own conscience, and in accordance with their faith traditions, while being respective of the faith traditions of others."
USA Today

I applaud the Governor and his reversal of this bizarre policy. Bizarre, in light of this:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
U.S. Constitution

I'm just a simple carpenter and I don't understand all the subtle nuance and complexities of the law, but really, you don't have to be a brain surgeon, or an attorney, to see what the Founders intended. Why does anyone need special dispensation from the state to pray anyway they want to?

GREECE, PORTUGAL AND NOW-SPAIN!

The dominoes continue to tumble.

"Europe's debt crisis spread its contagion to another country Wednesday when a major agency downgraded Spain's credit rating, even as Germany grudgingly moved closer to bailing out Greece from imminent collapse.

Greece and Portugal -- up to now the focus of alarm -- are relative economic minnows. But Spain's economy, at four times the size of Greece, is considered by many too big to rescue.

At stake is the threat of higher borrowing costs that could crimp government spending for years and undermine the once-mighty euro."
Yahoo Finance

IMMIGRANT PROTESTS PLANNED FOR MAY DAY

"Protest organizers said on Wednesday outrage over the Arizona law -- which seeks to drive illegal immigrants out of the state bordering Mexico -- has galvanized Latinos and would translate into a higher turnout for May Day rallies in more than 70 U.S. cities.

"The marches and demonstrations are going to be far more massive than they otherwise would have been," said Juan Jose Gutierrez, a Los Angeles rally organizer who runs an immigration assistance company."
Reuters

May Day. Why does that sound so familiar?

"Lubyanka Square was swamped in red. The countless silk, velvet and other banners, embroidered with sequins and glass beads were quite dazzling to the eye. One focus of attention was the metal workers vehicle, draped in red material and bearing a huge globe with a portrait of Marx on it.

The vehicles of the workers' collective were also striking. On one a band played, while the other was covered in greenery and flowers arranged in the shape of an arch.

Another wonderful spectacle was the Sokolniki District lorry, decked out from top to bottom in flowers. Invalids walked on crutches behind the maimed soldiers' lorry.

Next came the machine-gunners, on foot with their guns loaded onto horses. They were followed by the Alexandrovsky College Training School. A detachment of sailors, smartly dressed in black, marched past, followed by firemen and then a float displaying emblems of agricultural work. Children paraded past all holding little red flags. ... Detachment after detachment of the army of labour, the army of the Revolution....

Speeches were given and a series of meetings held on Skobelev Square in front of the Moscow Soviet. [This square, with the former Dresden Hotel, was decorated by a group of artists under A. I. Ivanov.] The column of the stage workers' trade union was particularly interesting; on the front lorry, beneath a poster reading 'Free Worker', representatives of the most important kinds of labour stood at their machines; on the second lorry was a band, and behind it an allegorical group depicting Russia heralding peace to all peoples.

There were performers in the costumes of all nationalities, a peasant woman with a sheaf of rye in her arms, boys holding rakes and sickles, and nearby the courageous figures of soldiers holding red banners. And above them all stood Russia with a palm sprig in her hands.

In front of the Moscow Soviet, the participants in these pictures sang the 'Internationale', the 'Marseillaise' and other revolutionary songs to the accompaniment of the band."
Marxists.org

All last year we had Tea Party protests, culminating in over a million people in Washington D.C. on one day with no arrests. So, how do you think these coming demonstrations will compare? And I wonder, will we see men wearing the Roman collar in the middle of it?

IMMIGRANT ABUSE RAMPANT-IN MEXICO

To Archbishop Doaln and the rest at the USCCB; may I suggest you cast your gaze just a bit further South?

"Amnesty International called the abuse of migrants in Mexico a major human rights crisis Wednesday, and accused some officials of turning a blind eye or even participating in the kidnapping, rape and murder of migrants.

The group's report comes at a sensitive time for Mexico, which is protesting the passage of a law in Arizona that criminalizes undocumented migrants.

The Interior Department acknowledged in a statement that the mainly Central American migrants who pass through Mexico on their way to the United States suffer abuses, but attributed the problem to criminal gangs branching out into kidnapping and extortion of migrants.
Rupert Knox, Amnesty's Mexico researcher, said in the report that the failure by authorities to tackle abuses against migrants has made their trip through Mexico one of the most dangerous in the world.

"Migrants in Mexico are facing a major human rights crisis leaving them with virtually no access to justice, fearing reprisals and deportation if they complain of abuses," Knox said.

Central American migrants are frequently pulled off trains, kidnapped en masse, held at gang hideouts and forced to call relatives in the U.S. to pay off the kidnappers. Such kidnappings affect thousands of migrants each year in Mexico, the report says.

Many are beaten, raped or killed in the process."
Yahoo

ARCHBISHOP DOLAN- THE PEOPLE OF ARIZONA ARE HOOD WEARING NAZI EUGENICISTS

"Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan has criticized Arizona legislation targeting illegal immigrants as “mean-spirited” and “counterproductive and harmful.” Viewing the measure as a manifestation of historic American nativism, he said immigrants should be welcomed and their legalization and citizenship should be advanced.

Writing in an April 27 entry on his blog “The Gospel in the Digital Age,” Archbishop Dolan said at times of social turmoil the immigrant “unfailingly becomes the scapegoat.”

He then listed what he described as “periodic spasms” of anti-immigrant “fever”: the Nativists of the 1840s who led mobs to torch Irish homes and Catholic churches; the Know-Nothings of the 1850s; the American Protective Association of the late 19th century who feared the arrival of immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Germany; the Ku Klux Klan who fomented hate against blacks, Jews, Catholics and foreigners; and the eugenics movement."
Catholic News Agency

To Archbishop Dolan and all the other apologists for illegal activities; we do welcome immigrants to this country. Legal immigrants.

Somehow suddenly, in the minds of American Church leadership, asking someone from another country to follow our laws has become synonymous with Nazism and eugenics.

1897 "Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as is necessary to work and care for the good of all."
By "authority" one means the quality by virtue of which persons or institutions make laws and give orders to men and expect obedience from them.

1898 Every human community needs an authority to govern it.16 The foundation of such authority lies in human nature. It is necessary for the unity of the state. Its role is to ensure as far as possible the common good of the society.

1899 The authority required by the moral order derives from God: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment."
Catechism of the catholic Church

The question, as far as the bishops should be concerned, is whether or not the elected government in America is legitimate? Because if it is then it has the authority to create laws protecting its citizens and the citizens have the responsibility to obey those laws. Not just the citizens but anyone on American soil.

1903 Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned and if it employs morally licit means to attain it. If rulers were to enact unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not be binding in conscience. In such a case, "authority breaks down completely and results in shameful abuse."
Catechism of the Catholic Church

So now I see the reason for the name calling; the bishop is creating a straw man argument, trying to paint the law as unjust so he can argue for disobedience. But is it? All Arizona is asking is that if a person comes to Arizona from another country they come through legal channels and have their paperwork in order. Is this unjust? Is it unjust to arrest someone that has broken the law if the law itself isn't unjust?

Now if Arizona really was run by Nazis and all illegals were immediately rounded up and taken to death camps, truthfully, I'd have to side with Archbishop Dolan. But that's not the case, is it? So is this law based on race? No. The fact is that the problems along the border are being caused by Mexican nationals, who surprisingly tend to be overwhelmingly Mexican. My guess is that if a Norwegian is caught in Arizona living illegally he'll be treated the same way. Of course, I doubt that there are too many Norwegians living in Arizona illegally. And even fewer of them will be involved with gangs in the drug trade, killing ranchers and making Phoenix the city with the second greatest number of kidnappings in the world.

So what's in this for the Church? Increased membership? Certainly possible. Most Mexicans are Catholics. But does that justify disobedience and working against the common good of a free society?

Is it because of "social justice"? Do the Progressive members of the Church believe that moving this distortion of true Catholic teaching forward justifies demonizing a state and its citizens? Do the ends always justify the means?

I don't know the answers to these questions. What I do know is that something is wrong with this public stance of the Church in America. And it is causing scandal among the faithful. And confusion.

Do the ends justify the means?

ARIZONA SAYS IT'S ILLEGAL TO BREAK THE LAW-HOW DARE THEY!

Now, I'll admit I'm not often accused of being the sharpest pencil in the box but, to my simple mind anyway, it appears that the bishops are upset because Arizona has made it illegal to break the law.

Besides, wasn't it already a crime to be in the state illegally?

"In a statement released April 27, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) denounced a recently signed law in Arizona which criminalizes undocumented immigrants, calling the legislative move “draconian” and saying it “could lead to the wrongful questioning and arrest of U.S. citizens.”

Writing on behalf of the USCCB, Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. bishops' committee on Migration noted that he joins the Arizona bishops in “strongly opposing” the implementation of SB 1070, which was signed into law by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer last Friday.

According to ABC news, the new Arizona law makes it a crime to be in the state illegally and allows police to arrest and question suspected individuals about their status without a warrant. It also criminalizes transporting illegal immigrants anywhere in Arizona, even if by family members.

“This new law, although limited to the State of Arizona, could have impact throughout the nation, in terms of how members of our immigrant communities are both perceived and treated,” Bishop Wester said."
Catholic News Agency

STATES RIGHTS AND THE MEXICAN INVASION

"Mexicans in Arizona should carry documentation and “act carefully” after the state passed a law requiring local police to determine the immigration status of anyone suspected of being in the country illegally, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said."
Bloomberg

I'd be the first to admit I'm not a world traveler but I'm thinking; isn't carrying your passport and acting carefully good advice for anyone traveling abroad?

...“There is an adverse political environment for migrant communities and all Mexican visitors,” Mexico’s ministry said. “It’s important to act carefully and respect the local laws.”

From people that I've talked to that do travel quite a bit, the same could be said to an American traveling in France, or Quebec, for that matter.

..."Mexican President Felipe Calderon said April 26 that his country’s citizens are “angered and saddened” by the Arizona law, which he said “doesn’t adequately guarantee respect for people’s fundamental rights.”

Well, President Calderon, Americans are angry and saddened that you can't stop the drug cartels from crossing our borders and killing our citizens. We're also a little pissed that you send slaves to our country to take our jobs from us. Killing us and taking our work doesn't show a whole bunch of respect for our basic human rights, either.

"...Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said during congressional testimony in Washington today that her agency has “deep concerns” about the law and that it will “detract from and siphon resources that we need to focus on those in the country illegally who are committing serious crimes.” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said today that the Justice Department may go to court to challenge the statue."

If the laws aren't worth enforcing then why do we have them on the books?

The Congress shall have Power To...provide for the common Defence;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization;
To define and punish...Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.
United States Constitution

While I see nothing in the Constitution authorizing the federal government's involvement in health care, cap and trade or bailing out the "too big to fails", there is a whole lot said about it's responsibility to control the borders. Yet, while our political leaders plot to take our freedoms through unconstitutional programs, the thought of actually fulfilling their Constitutional duties, you know, the one's they swore to uphold, doesn't seem to cross their minds. Perhaps if they had done their duty, we wouldn't be having to see the states pick up the ball.

Because the states are formed by the people and represent them, the states have the same right to self defense as that possessed by their citizens. When the Constitution was written to form the federal government the states authorized giving the federal government power to protect them in Article 1, Section 8. In so doing they did not abrogate their own rights and authority to defend themselves if the federal government refuses to act.

Arizona is defending itself against invasion because the federal government won't.

Just because the people form a police force for the common defense doesn't mean I don't have the right to shoot you if you enter my home without my permission. It's no different for the states.

MARXIST MANIPULATION ON PARADE

"Thousands of New Jersey high school students walked out of class Tuesday to protest budget cuts, a statewide event organized through text messages and social networking websites.

Students at Rancocas Valley High School in Burlington County left school just before 8 a.m. to show their support for teachers in light of Governor Chris Christie's proposed education cuts in the state budget.

...The NJEA says students are "engaging in civil disobedience" but shouldn't walk out of classes.

Governor Christie's office responded with the following statement: "First, students belong in the classroom, and we hope all efforts were made to curtail student walkouts. It is also our firm hope that the students were motivated by youthful rebellion or spring fever – and not by encouragement from any one-sided view of the current budget crisis in New Jersey. Students would be better served if they were given a full, impartial understanding of the problems that got us here in the first place and why dramatic action was needed."
CBS3

There is no way that these kids decided to walk out on their own, unless, of course, they saw this as a way to miss a few hours of class. This was organized by the union. Maybe not explicitly but I'd be willing to bet enough was said in the classroom to spark this.

For all the breathless reporting this isn't a story of righteous anger but a story of blatant manipulation of children. These kids don't have a stake in the fight. They don't pay taxes and, truth be told, really don't care how much their teachers earn or have any idea how to relate wages to real life.

Now, what would be a story is if these urchins were told that, to offset the additional taxation necessary to pay the wages and benefits of the union teachers, the kids would have to sacrifice their cell phones, i-pods and video game players, and they agreed. But, the fact of the matter is that if the kids had to foot the bill they'd sing a different tune. If they were faced with a decision like the ones their parents are faced with everyday, and had to balance the bloated salaries of teachers against paying for the necessities of life, this march would have been in favor of the governor's plan.

This is just another example of union and media manipulation of a story to suit a political agenda. It's a shame they are using kids to meet their ends.

The end justifies the means.

HOPE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

So, if you voted for Obama tell me, is this the change you voted for? Is this any change at all? Or is it just business as usual in our thoroughly corrupt political system?

Our freedom is being sold for the profit of the connected.

DOMINOES

It's just a matter of time now. Sure, Germany will make overtures and promises to bail Greece out but it won't happen. The German people are against it and why set a precedent that will lead to their own collapse? The EU is coming apart; our turn is coming up shortly.

"Greece’s credit rating was cut three steps to junk by Standard and Poor’s, the first time a euro member has lost its investment grade since the currency’s 1999 debut. The euro weakened and stock markets throughout the region plunged.

Greece was lowered to BB+ from BBB+ by S&P, which also warned that bondholders could recover as little as 30 percent of their initial investment if the country restructures its debt. The move, which puts Greek debt on a par with bonds issued by Azerbaijan and Egypt, came minutes after the rating company reduced Portugal by two steps to A- from A+."
Bloomberg

"When ratings agencies downgrade the country's credit rating - it means they think it is now a riskier place to invest. If it reaches junk status, a country loses its investment grade status. Some financial institutions have rules prohibiting them from investing in "junk" bonds.
Greece's 2-year government bond yield surged to almost 15% on Tuesday, making it highly expensive for the country to borrow from the debt market.

Greek 5-year yields hit 10.6%, higher than many emerging market economies, including Ecuador at 10.5% and Ukraine at 7.1%.

The 2-year Portuguese bond yield jumped to 5.23% from 4.16%."
BBC

"Greece was pushed to the brink of a financial abyss and started dragging another eurozone country - Portugal - down with it Tuesday, fueling fears of a continent-wide debt meltdown.

Stocks around the world tanked when ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Greek bonds to junk status and downgraded Portugese bonds two notches, showing investors that Greece's financial contagion is spreading.

Major European exchanges fell more than 2.5 percent, and on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average finished down more than 200 points. The euro slid more than 1 percent to nearly an eight-month low.

"We have the makings of a market crisis here," said Neil Mackinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital."
Washington Post

CAN WE MAKE IT TO NOVEMBER?

I'm posting this article from Examiner.com because I think that it's important to have all the information. The article was written by Anthony G. Martin. He has a blog named The Liberty Sphere.

I realize that many of Mr. Martin's assertions probably can't be proven and that they draw a conclusion based on circumstantial evidence. That being said, I've looked at this same information over the last year and have had to ask they same question,
"Why?".

I have to say, and it pains me to do so, that I wouldn't take anything off the table as far as the powers behind this administration go. The forces of Marxism have worked tirelessly to achieve their ends and the finish line is in sight here in America. They will not go peacefully into the night this November.

I don't know what, or how. I just know, I can feel it in my bones, that something will happen to stop or corrupt the coming elections if the Marxists believe they will lose. Some emergency will arise that will necessitate the postponement or cancellation of the elections, retaining power for the forces of Marxism.

My guess is, and I have no way to prove it, these 80,000 troops have been put in place for just such an "emergency". The question is, will they follow orders and go against their fellow citizens? Again, this is just a guess, based on many conversations I've had over the last year with retired and active members of the military, some will follow the orders of a corrupt government but the majority will honor the oath they took to defend the Constitution.

How does this play out? I don't know. Which is why I've posted the article below. We need to be aware of the possibilities we face in the coming months. We need to prepare for the worst while we pray for the best.

Special army unit ready to be deployed on American soil just before Nov. elections (Update)

Note: An update has been posted at the end of the article.

In October of this year, one month prior to the November midterm elections, a special army unit known as 'Consequence Management Response Force' will be ready for deployment on American soil if so ordered by the President.

The special force, which is the new name being given to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry, has been training at Fort Stewart, Georgia and is composed of 80,000 troops.

According to the Army Times,

'They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.'

The key phrase is 'may be called upon to help with civil unrest.'

This afternoon a local radio talk show host reported that he had been in contact with a member of the military. This military source stated that the armed forces have been alerted to the strong possibility that civil unrest may occur in the United States this summer, prior to the midterm elections of 2010.

The source described this as 'our long, hot summer of discontent' that could be eerily reminiscent of the summer of 1968 when riots broke out in many of our largest cities.

However, the summer of 2010 could well be much worse due to the players involved. In 1968 the major players were war protesters. This time, the outrage simmering beneath the surface of American society involves a broad cross-section of the heartland, and most of them are heavily armed.

It is highly unlikely that these citizens would ever initiate armed conflict of any kind. In their view, gun rights are for self-defense--and for defense against tyrannical government, which our Founders regarded as the most dangerous force on earth.

However, it has become clear that other groups may well initiate violence in order to start an 'incident' that would give Obama and a rogue Congress a reason to implement martial law, confiscate the citizens' guns, enforce curfews, and suspend all future elections until such time as it is deemed 'safe' to proceed with human liberty as encapsulated in the right to vote.

Tea Party members, for example, have been warned in recent days that members of Andy Stern's SEIU union and members of the organization formerly known as ACORN plan to infiltrate Tea Party gatherings in order to incite some sort of incident that could result in armed conflict.

In addition, all indications point to a humiliating defeat for the Democrats and Obama in November. Not only will the House in all likelihood transfer to Republican control, but it is increasingly possible for the Democrats to lose the Senate as well.

And there are Leftwing groups in this country that would use whatever means necessary to prevent that from happening.

ACORN has already gone underground, changing its name so as to fly beneath the radar screen. How many people will the group register to vote illegally?

And with Obama's plan to naturalize between 10 and 20 million illegal aliens, a brand new voter base for the Democrats will be in place prior to November.

Add to this the growing unrest over continued high unemployment, the coming spike in interest rates and inflation, and the still-boiling outrage over the manner in which Obama and the Democrats shoved ObamaCare down the throats of the citizens, and all of the ingredients are present for a major F-5 tornado to sweep across the heartland.

To what extent would soldiers use deadly force during such 'civil unrest' should the Consequence Management Response Team be utilized? During the anti-war riots of the 1960s they killed student protesters. What about now?

The military source cited by the radio host today was asked this very question. He would merely say that the culture of the U.S. military is changing--half support Obama and the other half are dead-set against him.

His conclusion? There is no way to know for sure if they would obey an order to open fire on ordinary citizens.

Update: The Cato Institute published this warning when the program was launched in its first phase in 2008 (the program has been updated and expanded since 2008). The Founders insisted that standing armies were never to be used against American citizens on our own soil, no matter what violations of this principle have occurred in the years following. In the spirit of the Patriots and of real journalists government must be questioned constantly and held to intense scrutiny in order to preserve liberty.

THINK AND ACT LOCALLY

My friend Ioannes posted an article at his website this morning entitled "Too Big to Fail". It's a reprint of an article posted by Dr. Jerry Pournelle at Chaos Manner. I replied at Ioannes' website with a rather lengthy bit of rambling that I'm reposting here. Since I went to all the trouble of writing it I figure I might as well use it.

I'm sorry for getting all geeky here but I've been thinking about this subject quite a bit. I believe that the only way out of the economic mess the world finds itself in today is to restore the "Mom and Pop" economy that has served us so well over the last 400 years or so. Mega businesses serve the ends of their owners, society be damned. These "too big to fails" really are and that cannot be allowed to stand. Not that they can't fail or that they shouldn't but because of their size their failure will take the rest of the economy down with them. They have become too efficient and too powerful.

A healthy economy requires competition and only small business can supply it. We need some regulation, but not the kind being considered in Congress today. It will be influenced by the "too big to fails" and will be designed to concentrate even more power in their hands. We need "just enough" regulation to break the stranglehold these mega companies have on the economy. A little "trust busting", if you will.

Since we can't rely on our compromised government we must take matters into our own hands. We have to start shopping and spending money locally, supporting the small businesses in our communities, even if the cost is slightly higher. That money stays in the community, creating wealth for all, not just for some far removed corporate giant. The local business owner has a stake in the community. He'll make decisions with the community in mind because a healthy community helps him. To a small business owner, his company means more than just profit at the expense of all else. His company is part of him and a reflection of his character. He cares what people think of him and his business so he'll generally do what's right.

The times are changing; they're returning back to a simpler way of life. Our future is in our communities, not in the world economy. To preserve our freedom and our way of life we must begin to think and act locally.

Thomas Jefferson would be so proud.

What we need is just "enough" regulation.

Pournelle is right. Let's take Walmart as an example. The efficiency that Walmart brings to the table is a good thing for the economy as a whole. It forces other less efficient businesses to become more efficient to survive, benefiting everyone. However, if Walmart is so efficient that at some point it dominates the marketplace, destroying all it's competition then the free market ceases to exist and Walmart can call the tune.

I relate this to human free will. While we have free will we do not have the freedom to do evil. To say that we do is to distort the whole concept of good and bad, right and wrong. We would deny the existence of evil and begin to believe, along with our friend Machiavelli, and the Marxists in our government, that the ends justify the means.

Most proponents of the free market do just that. Profit is the goal and any means of achieving it is deemed fair. "It's not personal, just business." Winning has become the highest sacrament in their religion of competition, relegating sportsmanship to the dustbin.

In this respect competition has to be treated as a right (I know, it's easy to bandy that word around) with fair play its corresponding responsibility. When rights are divorced from responsibility they become burdens on someone. They no longer work to benefit the individual and the whole but instead become of benefit to the individual alone. And strangely, or maybe not, the one benefiting from the right then will try to deny that same right to others. This is because it has ceased to be a right, which is a spiritual gift with no limit on it's availability and has become a privilege, which like any other commodity can be controlled by the people in power.

This is why the market needs just "enough" regulation. Efficiency is good; hyper efficiency will destroy it.

You're the engineer so correct me where I'm wrong because I'm doing this from memory. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that all processes start with as much power as they will have and then begin to deteriorate. Without the addition of some source of power they will eventually cease to exist. Further, if my memory serves me, there is an addendum to this law that states that all systems will find the most efficient way to exhaust their power.

This applies to the free market. When one company become so efficient that it destroys all competition then it will lead to a rapid end of the free market. On the other hand, if additional energy is added to the system through the creation of new business that sparks healthy competition; it becomes less efficient but that very inefficiency works to prolong the life of the system as a whole.

What big companies and most proponents of free market capitalism just don't understand (or just don't care about) is that their application of efficiency and winner take all capitalism is destroying the very free market they claim to believe in.

The small business represents the energy needed to sustain the system. Without it, the mega companies will not survive because the market will not survive.

So the amount of regulation the market needs is just enough to insure that no one company can dominate; that new competition has room to start and expand. Without water the garden will die. Without real competition of the sort that welcomes others to take risk, the free market will die, too.

LET THE PEOPLE ARM THEMSELVES

So Chicago, how's that gun ban working out for you? There are only two states in the nation that do not allow their citizens to carry weapons; Illinois is one of them.

"Two state representatives called on Gov. Pat Quinn Sunday to deploy the Illinois National Guard to safeguard Chicago's streets.

Chicago Democrats John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford said they want Quinn, Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis to allow guardsmen to patrol streets and help quell violence. Weis said he did not support the idea because the military and police operate under different rules.

"Is this a drastic call to action? Of course it is," Fritchey said. "Is it warranted when we are losing residents to gun violence at such an alarming rate? Without question. We are not talking about rolling tanks down the street or having armed guards on each corner."
Chicago Breaking News

RIOTING IN ARIZONA

The media is always writing and talking about the Tea Party violence, yet they never produce any verifiable evidence, just hearsay and rumor. At the same time we have, on film, incident after incident of violence coming from the Progressives. Why don't they report on this with the same sense of moral indignation that they present in the case of rumor and lies about the Tea Party? Or the beat down of Kenneth Gladney here in St. Louis by union thugs from SEIU? Or Bill rice, the 65 year old that had his finger bitten off by a supporter of the health care bill last September?

Why all the screaming about the Patriot Act under Bush yet nothing about Net Neutrality from Obama? Why was the war front page news with constantly updated body counts under Bush yet barely a mention is made now?

The Obama administration wants access to your cell phones and they want to use the signal to locate you. The Library of Congress is going to archive every tweet since sometime in 2006. The Senate is considering a bill that will require biometric ID cards for each American. Why? Where is the outcry? We aren't disengaging from the Middle East, we are about to go to war with Iran. Is that OK, you war protesting, hippie wannabe's?

All of you that screamed about the Bush administration and its abuses, WHERE ARE YOU!!

You are useful idiots, being used by the Marxists in the same way the Moral Majority was used by the Fascists.

Both sides, Republican and Democrat are out to get us. Quit playing their games. Look at these tools in Arizona, rioting for what? To protect criminals? All in the name of "social justice", that great and lofty god of the Progressive movement, child of Marxism and reason to enslave us.

Get out of this system and stop looking at life through the prisms constructed by the political parties. Start to think like Americans, not European Socialists. The freedom to win and the freedom to FAIL made this country what it is.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As long as your actions don't hurt another, do as you please. Get government out of the way. Get rid of all entitlements and corporate welfare. Get rid of all laws and regulations at the federal level that aren't authorized by the Constitution, as it was written, not as some living document that can be bent to suit the needs of whoever is in power at the time.

Give us back our liberty; it isn't yours to take. Our rights come from God and we lend them to the government, at our pleasure and our discretion.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." Declaration of Independence

It is time to right this government and demand redress for our grievances. It is our right and our obligation."

FORCED STERILIZATION AND THE WONDERS OF MAO

This is for all the useful idiots in America and the world, the ones that wear the Mao tee shirts and extol the virtues of government run health care and socialism in general.

Is this what you want? Because if so I need to rethink my opinion of you. I always thought that you were just misguided, ignorant of history and blinded by youthful idealism. However, if you truly understand the system you are supporting, if you believe that the ends justify the means, if you think that the individual should sacrifice all for the collective, then YOU ARE EVIL!

There are those in our government that support this abusive, evil system, those like Anita Dunn, who said:

"The third lesson and tip actually comes from two of my favorite political philosophers: Mao Tse-tung and Mother Theresa -- not often coupled with each other, but the two people I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point which is 'you're going to make choices; you're going to challenge; you're going to say why not; you're going to figure out how to do things that have never been done before."

It looks as though her friends in the Communist Chinese government are willing to try many new and wonderful things. How long will it be before those in our government, the ones that lionize evil, decide that the heath bill or some other new law, or more importantly, some new regulation enacted by a faceless bureaucrat, gives them the authority to act as their mentors in China have?

"...Chinese family planning authorities ordered the detentions as part of a campaign to sterilize 10,000 men and women suspected of attempting to violate the country's strict limits on the size of families, The Times of London reported.

Puning said it launched the 20-day campaign April 7 after many couples left their homes for factory jobs and exceeded the limits on family size, the Nanfang newspaper said.

As part of the campaign, parents of those who refuse voluntary sterilization or try to elude authorities have been detained, the newspaper said.

Those being held included the 64-year-old father of Huang Ruifeng, who has three daughters. "Several days ago, a village official called me and asked me or my wife to return for the surgery. Otherwise, they would take away my father," Huang told the Chinese daily."
UPI

"HUNDREDS of people in a southern China city, mostly senior citizens, have been confined in dozens of government-owned offices and kept from leaving until their sons or daughters who have violated the nation's family planning policy agreed to accept sterilization.

Those elderly people were taken from home by family planning staff in Puning City of Guangdong Province to be "concentrated for class," a local newspaper quoted a Puning family planning official as saying.

By Sunday, 1,377 people in Puning had been taken to the offices, the Nanfang Rural News reported yesterday.

At one of Puning's townships, nearly 100 people, including babies, were forced to crowd into a 200-square-meter room watched by three unidentified men, the newspaper said.

Without space to lie down, some had to stand or squat. They breathed filthy air in the damp room and had to huddle in the cold because of a shortage of quilts, said the newspaper.

They were taken to the room because their sons or daughters, working out of town, bore too many children."
Shanghai Daily

"The twenty-day campaign, launched April 7, is well along in achieving its goal of 9,559 sterilizations. “A doctor in Daba village said that his team was working flat out, beginning sterilizations every day at 8 am and working straight through until 4 am the following day.” What’s the hurry? Officials in Puning may fail in their bid for promotion to a second tier county “if they cannot meet all quotas,” according to The London Times.

Sterilization quotas? Perhaps this is the reason that Puning Authorities are sterilizing people like 64-year-old Huang Ruifeng, as reported by The Telegraph.

Unfortunately, the Puning sterilization campaign is not an isolated incident. According to the 2009 Report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, “Violators of the [one child] policy are routinely punished with fines, and in some cases, subjected to forced sterilization, forced abortion, arbitrary detention, and torture.” The State Department 2009 Country Report on China states, “In the case of families that already had two children, one parent was often pressured to undergo sterilization.”

Not only does the Chinese Communist Party forcibly sterilize women. It also forcibly aborts women who get pregnant without a government-issued “birth permit.” These abortions can occur up to the ninth month of pregnancy, and can be so violent that they sometimes result in the death of the women."
Cypress Times

THANK YOU, BROTHERS

Despite our vast theological differences it's time for all people of faith in the God of Abraham, Moses, the prophets and the Church to draw together in common defense. Our differences are substantial and important; they need to be discussed in the light of truth. Later.

Right now Christianity is under attack unlike anytime in its modern history. Any Christian that is honest with himself must recognize the importance of the Catholic Church. She is the Mother Church to all the different forms of Christianity that have come after Her. If the forces of evil manage to destroy, or at least significantly weaken Her, the other branches of Christianity will be next. And in all honesty, if evil can take the Catholic Church off the stage of history, what chance do the Baptists, Methodist or Lutherans, much less a tiny storefront Pentecostal church have?

So circle the wagons, boys. We'll drink a beer and argue the finer points of theology later. Right now we have a common enemy that we must defeat if we intend to survive. We have to put aside our differences and stand shoulder to shoulder in our common belief in the power of Jesus Christ and defeat the forces of evil.

Or we will be destroyed; all of us together.

"The misdeeds of a few priests who have committed “atrocities” should not overshadow the “great deeds” done by priests and religious of the Catholic Church, two leading African American ministers from St. Louis have said.

Writing in the St. Louis American were Pentecostal Bishop Alphonso Scott of the Lively Stone Church of God and Bishop Jesse Battle of the House of Deliverance Church. They are respectively president and vice-president of the Ecumenical Leadership Council, which represents hundreds of predominantly African American churches in Missouri.

Noting the headlines about sexual misconduct and abuse by Catholic priests, they said those truly convicted of “such atrocities” should at minimum no longer serve in any clerical capacity.

“However, while emotions are rightfully vested in anger, the membership of the Ecumenical Leadership Council would ask the public to remember that the Catholic Church has been a leader in relieving pain and suffering in the world, and in St. Louis,” they continued.

“Their worldwide generosity has all too frequently been the difference between a significant number of the world’s poor going hungry and homeless, and having a warm meal and secure shelter.

“We believe that the misdeeds of a few should not be allowed to cast a shadow on the great deeds done daily by the priests and nuns of the Catholic Church.”

The two Protestant bishops noted that Catholic Charities had raised $82 million last year to help the less fortunate in St. Louis. They reported that the Catholic Archbishop of St. Louis Robert J. Carlson has reached out to bridge racial divides through dialogue with organizations like the Ecumenical Leadership Council.

“We strongly support the healing that obviously must occur in the Catholic Church. We acknowledge the alleged abuses of imperfect priests; however, we also know that imperfection is a human condition to which all humans are susceptible.”

The two clergymen said they look forward to working with Archbishop Carlson and the Catholic clergy of St. Louis to continue their missions of spiritual guidance and leadership for worshipers of their respective faiths."
Catholic News Agency

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

Oops! Bet you didn't see this one coming!

This is another example of the Chaos Theory in action. The majority of those that supported the health care bill also support abortion "rights". They did not intend for the bill to fuel the fires of anti-abortion activities but God works in mysterious ways.

So what other effects will we see from the bill, regardless of the intentions of its writers?

"Dozens of states are passing or debating new restrictions on abortion, a trend fueled in part by passage of the nation's new health care law.

Both sides of the hot-button issue are seeing new approaches to reduce abortions.

...A debate in Congress over abortion coverage through insurance sold in future government-run health marketplaces — called exchanges — nearly derailed passage of the health care law. Even though President Obama issued an executive order stating that no public funds would go for abortions, several states are seeking to ban abortion coverage from plans sold through their exchanges.

Tennessee lawmakers last week passed a bill that would ban abortion coverage in any plan sold through its exchange. It applies even if premiums were paid with private funds because public funds would help run the exchange, said the bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Diane Black. Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana and Oklahoma are considering similar bills. "I think you'll see a lot more next year," said Spaulding Balch."
USA Today

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

"To pray or not to pray? That's the issue government leaders across the country are facing after a federal judge ruled that the National Day of Prayer set for May 6th is unconstitutional.

But the ruling can not take effect until all appeals are exhausted.

The Obama administration is challenging the ruling and about two dozen members of Congress condemned the ruling and called for a repeal."
WFMJ

For all of the atheists, agnostics and others that would claim that prayer in the public square is somehow something to be considered unconstitutional and antithetical to the American way of life I present the following for your edification and consternation:

"By the President of the United States of America

A PROCLAMATION

AS the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and blessing of Almighty God; and the national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indispensable duty which the people owe to Him,

but a duty whose natural influence is favorable to the promotion of that morality and piety, without which social happiness cannot exist, nor the blessings of a free government be enjoyed; and as this duty, at all times incumbent, is so especially in seasons of difficulty and of danger, when existing or threatening calamities, the just judgments of God against prevalent iniquity are a loud call to repentance and reformation; and as the United States of America are at present placed in a hazardous and afflictive situation, by the unfriendly disposition, conduct and demands of a foreign power, evinced by repeated refusals to receive our messengers of reconciliation and peace, by depredations on our commerce, and the infliction of injuries on very many of our fellow citizens, while engaged in their lawful business on the seas: —Under these considerations it has appeared to me that the duty of imploring the mercy and benediction of Heaven on our country, demands at this time a special attention from its inhabitants.


I HAVE therefore thought it fit to recommend, that Wednesday, the 9th day of May next be observed throughout the United States, as a day of Solemn Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer; That the citizens of these states, abstaining on that day from their customary worldly occupations, offer their devout addresses to the Father of Mercies, agreeably to those forms or methods which they have severally adopted as the most suitable and becoming: That all religious congregations do, with the deepest humility, acknowledge before GOD the manifold sins and transgressions with which we are justly chargeable as individuals and as a nation; beseeching him, at the same time, of his infinite Grace, through the Redeemer of the world, freely to remit all our offences, and to incline us, by his holy spirit, to that sincere repentance and reformation which may afford us reason to hope for his inestimable favor and heavenly benediction; That it be made the subject of particular and earnest supplication, that our country may be protected from all the dangers which threaten it; that our civil and religious privileges may be preserved inviolate, and perpetuated to the latest generations; that our public councils and magistrates may be especially enlightened and directed at this critical period; that the American people may be united in those bonds of amity and mutual confidence, and inspired with that vigor and fortitude by which they have in times past been so highly distinguished, and by which they have obtained such invaluable advantages: That the health of the inhabitants of our land may be preserved, and their agriculture, commerce, fisheries, arts and manufactures be blessed and prospered: That the principles of genuine piety and sound morality may influence the minds and govern the lives of every description of our citizens; and that the blessings of peace, freedom, and pure religion, may be speedily extended to all the nations of the earth.

And finally I recommend, that on the said day; the duties of humiliation and prayer be accompanied by fervent Thanksgiving to the bestower of every good gift, not only for having hitherto protected and preserved the people of these United States in the independent enjoyment of their religious and civil freedom, but also for having prospered them in a wonderful progress of population, and for conferring on them many and great favours conducive to the happiness and prosperity of a nation.

Given under my hand and seal of the United States of America, at Philadelphia, this twenty-third day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the said States the twenty-second.

JOHN ADAMS

By the President,
TIMOTHY PICKERING, Secretary of State"
Wall Builders

THE VISIONS AT MEDJUGORE

"This holy grace of revelation as to where we stand in the judgment of God has generally been called "The Warning" or "The Illumination of the soul." Whatever one wishes to call it, it only makes sense that it is also one of the ten secrets the Blessed Virgin Mary has given to the visionaries of Medjugorje. It can be further stated that it is conceivably one of the three warnings that will be given at Medjugorje after the apparitions cease to occur, to let the world know that this event is from God and that He is real. The first three secrets are in fact the warnings. Since it has been revealed by way of personal messages received by the visionaries in the early days of the apparitions what two of the warnings are-even if purposely ambiguous-this could conceivably be the other.

The Illumination of the Soul will be like a spiritual x-ray that will reveal to each individual which path they are on: the path to damnation or the path to salvation. Man-kind will then have the free will to decide to follow the path to God or the path to Satan. Sadly, as the Blessed Virgin Mary has stated in her messages to various seers, some will still follow the path to damnation, even though they will know without doubt that God exists and that He loves every creature.

The credibility of the Illumination of the Soul (or The Warning) comes from a number of supernatural events. It was foretold to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 (at Rue du BAC in Paris, France place of the Miraculous medal), to St. Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s (Divine Mercy Kracow, Poland), and to the four young seers of Garabandal, Spain, to whom Our Lady appeared many times from 1961-1965. Other visionaries have since spoken of it and there is general agreement that, as a result of this happening, millions of sinners will repent and be restored to grace. With the nearly 29 years of daily apparitions at Medjugorje and the thousands of messages of calling for repentance now, the battle lines between good and evil are more clearly drawn than ever before.

According to the visionaries of Garabandal, within one year of the Warning, or Illumination, a great miracle will occur in the skies over Garabandal involving a sign that they say can be seen and photographed but cannot be touched. The same has been related by the visionaries of Medjugorje. A permanent sign is to be left on Podbrdo Hill (Apparition Hill as we call it) where the apparitions of Medjugorje began. As at Garabandal, it can not be touched; does that mean it physically can not be touched or that it is forbidden to be touched? We do not know.

This permanent sign, they say, is the third warning, or the third secret of Medjugorje. They go a step further to report that the Virgin stated that the first warning, or secret, will be a great upheaval somewhere in the world. Again, there is no revelation as to whether it will be geographic, political or something else. Regardless, if a soul is not converted to God by this time, it will be too late."
Medjugore Handmade

THE VISIONS AT GARBANDAL

You can find more infromation about the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Garabandal here.

The Warning

"First, a World-Wide Warning that will happen in the sky...like the collision of two stars that do not fall down... it will frighten all humanity regardless of where one happens to be at the time... it will be a thousand times worse than earthquakes... like a fire that will not burn our flesh ... it will last a very short time, although to us it will seem to be a very long time ... no one can prevent it from happening ... It will be recognized as coming from God... it will resemble a punishment ... it is meant to be a purification ... like the revelation of our sins and what we will feel in our hearts will be worse than sorrow. It will not kill us, if we die it will be caused by the emotion within us. The date was not revealed only that it will happen before the announcement of the miracle."

The Miracle

"Second, A miracle is to occur in Garabandal within 12 months after the Warning... It will be on a Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on a feast-day of a martyred Saint for the Eucharist ...( not a feast-day of Our Lady or Our Lord) ... it will happen in the month of April... between the 7th and the 17th of the month but not the 7th or the 17th... it will be seen by looking up over the area of the Pines and will be visible from all the surrounding mountainside which will serve as a "natural" amphitheater. (Note: millions of people could easily fit around the mountain area.)The sick will be cured...the unbelievers will be converted...
Conchita knows the nature of the great miracle as well as the exact date and she will announce the date eight days before it happens. The means of communicating the date to the world will be a miracle in itself. It will be able to be filmed, photographed and televised.

Third , a Permanent Sign will remain at Garabandal in memory of the miracle as visible proof of our Blessed Mother's love for all humanity. It will be a "thing" never before seen upon the earth. It can be photographed by not touched."

The Punishment

"The Fourth prophecy depends on whether or not mankind has heeded the message of our lady... the vision of this "conditional punishment" brought terror and tears to the children... If it happens it will be more terrible than anything we can possibly imagine because it will be the result of the direct intervention of God. It will have nothing to do with wars, revolutions or the hardness of men's hearts. Conchita says, "If the punishment comes, and I believe it will come, it will come after the promised miracle."

A bit more detail:

A Greater Miracle to Come
Conchita has clearly said that Our Lady has promised a greater miracle in Garabandal so that all may believe the apparitions and be obedient to the message. "As the punishment which we deserve for the sins of the world is great, the miracle must also be a great one, for the world needs it." It will occur on a Thursday on the feast day of a saint devoted to the Eucharist, at 8:30 in the evening, and will last for about one quarter of an hour. It will also coincide with a great event in the Church. The sick who come to Garabandal on that day will be cured, unbelievers will be converted. There will remain a permanent sign at "The Pines" as a proof of Our Lady's tremendous love for all her children.

"The sign that will remain," says Conchita, "will be able to be seen, photographed and televised but it will not be able to be touched. It will appear clearly that it is something not of this world, but of God."

Conchita has been granted permission by Our Lady to announce the date of the miracle eight days in advance. With the present means of communication and travel, eight days are sufficient for people around the world to gather. The day of The miracle may be the last opportunity given us by God and may be also Our Lady's last effort to save the world from the punishment already threatened.

Some time ago Conchita wrote, "The Blessed Virgin will not allow me to reveal the nature of The miracle although I already know it. Neither can I reveal the date of it, which I know, until eight days before it is to happen." Before The miracle takes place Our Lady has said that all mankind will receive a warning from heaven.

The Warning
Conchita wrote: "The warning comes directly from God and will be visible to the whole world and from any place where anyone many happen to be. It will be like the revelation of our sins and it will be seen and felt by everyone, believer and unbeliever alike irrespective of whatever religion he may belong to. It will be seen and felt in all parts of the world and by every person."

It will happen in the sky, no one can prevent it form happening. We will even prefer to be dead rather than to pass through this Warning It will not kill us. It will be a "correction" of our conscience. It will cause great fear and will make us reflect within ourselves on the consequences of our own personal sins. It will be like a warning of the punishment to come. In this way the world will be offered a means of purification to prepare itself for the extraordinary grace of the Great Miracle.

Jacinta was told by Our Blessed Mother "that the warning would come when conditions were at their worst." The date was not revealed to the visionaries, however Mari-Loli does know the year; and she said that The Miracle will happen within one year after The Warning.

The Punishment
If we do not pay attention to the message, the punishment announced by Our Lady will be visited on the whole world after The miracle. During one of their ecstasies the girls were heard praying for the innocent children but, nevertheless, they shed tears at the same time. Since the day they learned about the punishment they have developed a great spirit of sacrifice. They pray very much for sinners and for priests. They often say that if priests are not what they should be many souls will be lost.

Conchita has written: "I cannot reveal what kind of punishment it is except that it will be a result of the direct intervention of God, which makes it more terrible and fearful than anything we can imagine. It will be less painful for innocent babies to die a natural death than for those babies to die because of the punishment. All Catholics should go to confession before the punishment and the others should repent of their sins. When I saw IT (the punishment), I felt a great fear even though at the same time I was seeing Our Blessed Mother. The punishment, if it comes, will come after the miracle"

When Our Lady spoke to the girls of the punishment, her face assumed a look of great sadness. The girls revealed: "We have never seen her look so serious. When she said the words 'The cup is already filling', she spoke in a very low voice."