Is Britain Dying?

Hat Tip to Gates of Vienna and Beer N Sandwiches for the following video showing the suicidal depravity of the multiculturalism and political correctness that are destroying Great Britain and other western nations. In Britain we see a nation that has lost the moorings of its Christian heritage, and forgotten its own rich history and the patrimony it has shared with the world.

Having had a maternal grandfather who was English, and having spent many beautiful summer days on the North Sea coast of Norfolk, it is shocking how quickly this disease of self-loathing and self-destruction has permeated British life. One would like to think that a new government would be enough to change the course of things. Unfortunately, the problem is not merely one of policy, but of spirit. Let us pray that God in His mercy will change hearts and save a nation that has given the world so much.

An eleventh century Archbishop of Canterbury offered a sure path for the people of his time and ours. In The Proslogian St. Anselm wrote:

I will seek you by desiring you, and desire you in seeking you.
I will find you by loving you, and love you in finding you.
I praise and give thanks to you that you have made me in your image,
so that I can remember you, think of you, love you,
But so darkened is your image in me by the smoke of my sins,
that it is useless unless you restore it.
I do not seek, O Lord, to search out your depths, but only in some measure to understand your truth, which my heart believes and loves.
I do not seek to understand so that I may believe, but believe that I may understand.
For this I know to be true: that unless I first believe I shall not understand.

Evangelicals Warn Against Romney On Ticket

From The Washington Times
By Ralph Z. Hallow

Prominent evangelical leaders are warning Sen. John McCain against picking former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as his running mate, saying their troops will abandon the Republican ticket on Election Day if that happens.

They say Mr. Romney lacks trust on issues such as outlawing abortion and opposing same-sex marriage and because he is a Mormon. Opposition is particularly powerful among those who supported former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the Republican presidential primaries earlier this year.

"McCain and Romney would be like oil and water," said evangelical novelist Tim LaHaye, who supported Mr. Huckabee. "We aren't against Mormonism, but Romney is not a thoroughgoing evangelical and his flip-flopping on issues is understandable in a liberal state like Massachusetts, but our people won't understand that."

The Rev. Rob McCoy, pastor of Calvary Chapel in Thousand Oaks, Calif., who speaks at evangelical events across the country, told The Washington Times, "I will vote for McCain unless he does one thing. You know what that is? If he puts Romney on the ticket as veep.

"It will alienate the entire evangelical community - 62 million self-professing evangelicals in this country, half of them registered to vote, are going to be deeply saddened," Mr. McCoy added.

Mr. Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, was the favorite of evangelical voters in the Republican presidential nomination contest earlier this year and won more delegates per dollar spent than any other candidate in either party.

Other well-placed Christian conservatives say that although many evangelical leaders could accept and work for a McCain-Romney ticket, Mr. Huckabee's supporters tend to be "rabid" in their views against Mr. Romney because of his faith: They do not regard Mormonism as a Christian denomination.

The McCain campaign will say officially only that the choice hasn't been made and that the wealthy former governor of Massachusetts is just one of several options for the Republican ticket.

In conversations with The Times, several Republican officials close to the McCain campaign also played down anti-Romney sentiment among conservative evangelicals. They cited an online poll of evangelicals by 2000 presidential primary candidate Gary Bauer that found Mr. Romney is the top vice-presidential choice of born-again Christians.

But in an interview with The Times, Mr. Bauer, who was a domestic policy adviser in the Reagan administration, described the results of his poll as more ambiguous than that.

"In our online poll, Romney won a plurality, and Mike Huckabee ran a strong second," said Mr. Bauer, who also told The Times that he does not think Mr. Romney ought to be a drag on the ticket. "But a lot of the Huckabee supporters said if Romney is McCain's choice, they would bail out in November."

An evangelical leader who, though he has close ties to Mr. McCain, confided to The Times that polling suggests that putting Mr. Romney on the ticket likely would cost Mr. McCain 7 percent to 10 percent of the evangelical vote - enough to spell defeat for Mr. McCain in a close race with Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

White evangelicals have become the Republican bedrock in recent elections, providing President Bush with 35 percent of his votes in 2004. Even in 2006, white evangelicals backed Republicans overwhelmingly - by a margin of 70 percent to 28 percent. Depending on the survey and the precise wording of the question, polls typically show that evangelical or "born-again" Christians make up between 30 percent and 40 percent of the U.S. population.

David Barton, a former vice president of the Republican Party of Texas, said, "The key for Mr. McCain is to pick someone who opposes abortion but doesn't alienate any part of the general Republican voting coalition" as Mr. Romney does.

Longtime social-conservative leaders such as Phyllis Schlafly, Phil Burress, Donald P. Hodel and Mathew Staver said earlier this month that they can rally their voters around Mr. McCain largely on the issues of abortion and the judiciary, as long as they are confident that the vice-presidential candidate is pro-life. They are skeptical about Mr. Romney's views.

Mr. Barton, founder of the national pro-life group WallBuilders, said the downside for picking either Mr. Romney or Mr. Huckabee is that evangelicals still would vote for Mr. McCain on Nov. 4 - given the alternative of Mr. Obama - but not work as hard organizing and getting out the vote.

"Romney would bring to the ticket as much enthusiasm from supporters as Huckabee would bring, but Romney's would be from fiscal conservatives and Huckabee's would be evangelicals," he said.

Similarly, a Huckabee choice would leave fiscal conservatives voting for Mr. McCain but otherwise sitting on their hands. Mr. Romney has long been a successful fundraiser - a skill needed because Mr. Obama is expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

Republican strategists close to the Romney camp are promoting the former presidential contender behind the scenes.

"Romney really doesn't think he will be chosen, and that there are far better veep choices for McCain. But in my view, Mitt checks a lot of boxes: He's vetted, he's a Washington outsider, he's conservative, he's a proven vote-getter in Michigan, and he can raise a ton of cash fast for the McCain campaign. He can be the economic voice for the McCain campaign," a conservative Republican strategist close to the Romney organization told The Times.

• Donald Lambro contributed to this report.

Say It Isn't So, Barack

From The Cascade Policy Institute

By Matt Wingard

Presidential candidate Barack Obama promises voters that he is a different kind of politician. There hasn’t been much proof of that yet, but Obama did hint early on that education reform might be the issue where voters actually would see "Change."

It would have been a perfect fit for Obama. As an African-American, he would know better than most whites just how poorly America’s inner-city school districts perform. The national dropout rate for African-Americans is 45 percent.

In addition, African-Americans (Obama’s strongest constituency) support school choice at a rate higher than any other ethnic group. A recent Harvard poll showed 67% of blacks support school choice for low-income students and 52% support vouchers for all children in failing public schools.

One would think that Obama, as an African-American, has some room to break from the education special interest groups on this issue. It would be hard for white liberals who support the status quo to criticize a black presidential candidate championing the right of every black child in America to get a decent education. The statistics and the emotional rhetoric would appear to provide candidate Obama a great deal of political cover.

So imagine the disappointment in the African-American community in Washington, D.C. when Barack Obama recently refused to stand up for their voucher program as Congress threatened to end it. Nineteen hundred students and their families were facing the prospect of having to leave the schools where they were succeeding and being forced to return to one of the worst performing inner-city school districts in the country.

Public pressure from many African-American leaders has saved the program for one more year (although with reduced funding), but Barack Obama was not one of those who stood up. Bear in mind that the primary fight with Hillary Clinton was over, and Obama was free to take positions that might upset those on the political Left.

In fact, he put out a statement opposing the program. According to ABC News (June 16, 2008):

On the same day that he was extolling the need to shake up the "status quo" in education, Obama also defended his opposition to school vouchers.

"We don’t have enough slots for every child to go into a parochial school or a private school. And what you would see is a huge drain of resources out of the public schools," Obama said… .

"But what I don’t want to do is to see a diminished commitment to the public schools to the point where all we have are the hardest-to-teach kids with the least involved parents with the most disabilities in the public schools," he said. "That’s going to make things
worse, and we’re going to lose the commitment to public schools that I think have been so important to building this country."

Barack Obama’s "commitment" to public schools might seem sincere if it weren’t for the fact that his two daughters attend a very exclusive private school, the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where elementary tuition is $17-20,000 per child per year.

On the issue of educational choice, Obama is a hypocrite and, as it turns out, not a very different kind of politician at all.

Matt Wingard is Director of the School Choice Project at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market think tank.

"If That Is Not Faith...”: An Eyewitness Report From Zimbabwe

An eyewitness from Zimbabwe, who for safety reasons must remain anonymous, has sent the following report to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN):

"Two weeks ago we celebrated the opening of the Year of Saint Paul in our parish with a solemn Holy Mass -- at exactly the same time as the Holy Father was celebrating the Vespers of the vigil of the feast in the Church of Saint Paul's-Outside-the-Walls in Rome. As always in Africa, the Mass was very well attended, and despite the immense transport difficulties, the Catholic faithful had travelled from far and wide, some overnight on open trucks, in a biting cold wind. Needless to say, we also prayed for Zimbabwe. During his sermon, the priest told how shortly before, a woman had been snatched from a church during the middle of Mass. After Mass, he went looking for her and found her lying in a ditch just a few hundred yards away. She is now lying in a coma.

It almost seems to me that on such occasions, in praying and singing, the people are able to forget not only their worries but even their aching limbs and open wounds, at least for a few hours. After Mass, I met an acquaintance, a young woman somewhere in her mid-20s. Just a few days before, she had been brutally beaten up in her own home by ZANU PF thugs. Two of her fingers were broken, as she attempted to protect her head and her face from the blows of the clubs, and several of her ribs were cracked. Her back and legs were covered in black angry bruises. But despite her pain, she was determined to attend the Mass, and she did in fact come -- barefoot and limping on one foot, because her feet were so swollen that she could not even get them into her very wide, worn pair of sandals. If that is not faith... I thought to myself that evening that St. Paul himself would have been very pleased and proud if he could have seen and heard what these Christians have made of his words and how they are quite literally living out what he taught.

Yesterday they buried a young man. He had originally wanted to become a religious and a priest, but then changed his mind. He was very active in the Catholic youth movements and most recently he worked as a driver for the opposition party. Just about four weeks ago he was abducted at night time. Ten days ago they found his body, maimed and burned, on a farm belonging to an army general. He had obviously been horribly tortured before his death. They had put out both his eyes and poured burning plastic over his back. Photographs of his body were shown to Gordon Brown during the G8 summit in Japan, and he showed them to the other heads of state at the summit. If these pictures have contributed to the summit statement on Zimbabwe, then the death of this courageous young Christian will not have been entirely in vain. Despite this, the people here are very, very angry.

It is not easy to describe the situation in Zimbabwe. Alongside the unbelievable violence of the past few weeks, there are the countless absurdities of daily life which lead one to suspect that the end is near. Take the exchange rate last Friday, for example, when one Euro was worth 165 billion Zimbabwe dollars -- and in a week it will be worth three times this. The result is that commercial companies like our Internet service provider ZOL will no longer accept Zimbabwe dollars, because they are worthless. At the same time they will not accept US dollars either, because they are not allowed to, but only Old Mutual shares -- which we don't have -- or diesel coupons -- which we somehow have to find on the black market...

Still more ludicrous are the absurdities of the political situation. Now that Robert Mugabe has had himself crowned once more as president, following the second round of voting on 27 June, and with Bible in hand and the invocation of divine assistance on his lips has promised to observe the constitution and laws and to serve the people as a good president, the barbaric political cleansing campaign continues. (Mugabe himself likes to use the word "barbaric" when speaking of his terror campaign, while at the same time blaming it on the opposition). A British reporter, who tried to elicit details about the run-off election at the African Union summit in Egypt a week ago, was actually physically attacked by our president. Here, too, one can see the very dangerous side of this man, who now only breathes violence, talks violence, does violence -- so compulsively that for a brief moment he himself can forget his dignity as a head of state – for the sake of which he has after all declared war on his own people. This unpredictability, accompanied by an almost total lack of scruple, marks out almost all the decisions to which the people here are so defenselessly exposed. Since yesterday even Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, has spoken of the real possibility of a civil war. Anyone who lives here knows that the civil war has already begun, three months ago. Many people have failed to notice it merely because it is only one side that has the clubs, the knives and the guns. But for all that, and despite the madness around us, life continues -- somehow."

Iran: Sixteen Christian Converts Arrested

From Adnkronos

Sixteen Iranians who converted from Islam to Christianity were arrested on Tuesday in Malakshahr, on the outskirts of the central Iranian city of Isfahan.

The six women, eight men and two adolescents who were arrested were assisting in a conversion ceremony and baptism of three new members of the church at a private house that had been transformed into an evangelical church.

The owners of the home, an elderly couple, were allegedly beaten up before they were locked up in an unmarked lorry.

In April, 10 Christian converts were arrested in Shiraz.

The official evangelical churches in Isfahan received orders not to allow any Muslims to attend their ceremonies and not to facilitate in any way the conversions.

Iranian law does not stipulate any punishment for those who convert from Islam to other faiths, even if the converts are subject to repression.

A few months ago, the government presented a bill which is currently being discussed in parliament, to include in the penal code the crime of "Ertedad" which is the act of abandoning the Muslim faith.

If the parliament does approve the law, the punishment for abandoning Islam will be the death penalty.

North American Union on the Run

By Tom DeWeese

Take a look at this important article by Jerome Corsi on the effect our efforts are having in the fight to stop the North American Union.

Efforts by thousands around the nation are getting the message out about the North American Union. The perpetrators of this treason did not want the general public to know of their plans. They wanted to operate in secret.

But we have blown the whistle on them. We have alerted Americans. And we are throwing a massive monkey wrench into their well laid plans. And it is having an effect. They started with denials and escalated to calling us names – lunatic fringe; liars; scare mongers. They refuse to debate the issue. They hide behind a curtain of secrecy. But it’s not working. And that fact is having an effect on their plans. There is a feeling of despair growing in the ranks of the SPP.

Back in January, Jerome Corsi reported on an article written by a reporter for the Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail. The reporter, John Ibbitson was actually participating in an SPP meeting, presenting a paper. So he was on the inside.

He was basically shocked by the attitudes of the participants. Here are the people who seem to have everything under control. The people you and I fear the most. Yet, he found them exhibiting an overwhelming feeling of despair that their well-laid plans for a North American Union were in trouble. Said Ibbitson, “public exposure has stalled SPP efforts.” He concluded that the Security and Prosperity Partnership is “DEAD.”

Other SPP leaders, while disagreeing with Ibbitson about that, admit that the “public awareness” of the SPP and some of its features will trigger changes. Stuart Trew, a researcher and writer for the Council of Canadians wrote “The opposition in all three countries has exposed the SPP North American Integration agenda.”

Several other attendees to an SPP meeting in Mexico confirmed that public exposure has been a hindrance to the progress of the SPP program.

Ibbitson hinted that Bush and Canadian Prime Minster Harper were reluctant to spend any more political capital in the SPP effort. And that was one reason why the SPP meeting in New Orleans in April was more about public relations than substance. They are trying to regain ground that they’ve lost to us.

Now, I don’t believe for a second that this fight is anywhere near over. But, I tell you this because I want you to understand that your fight is having an effect. Notice how many times they used the word “exposure.”

The fact is this. We do not live in a vacuum. Things don’t just happen. Actions have consequences. Our actions have an effect. Now is the time to keep the pressure on the SPP efforts. Go to the American Policy Center’s website and sign our petitions against the NAU and print out our NAU Fact Sheet to pass around to friends and neighbors so all Americans can know the facts. WE can finally kill this horrible policy and take America back!


For over 31 years Tom DeWeese has been a businessman, grassroots activist, writer and publisher. As such, he has always advocated a firm belief in man’s need to keep moving forward while protecting Constitutionally-guaranteed rights of property and individual freedom.

Tom DeWeese is the publisher/editor of The DeWeese Report. Founder of Freedom21.com and the President of the American Policy Center , a activist think tank headquartered in Warrenton, Virginia.

Deconstructing Obama

From American Thinker

By Kyle-Anne Shiver

Deconstruction, I'm told, is still all the rage on college campuses throughout the Land. Part of the broader movement of postmodernism which has attempted to tear down the old certainties upon which Western Culture is founded.

The academics' pet theory of the past 30 years has touched numerous facets of our society. These thorny deconstructionists have managed to convince many an American college student to sacrifice his God-given common sense and Judeo/Christian values on the altar of presumed white male privilege, from which these students are admonished they now must actively disengage. After all, say the deconstructionists and their postmodernist, post-colonialist allies, every single good in Western civilization has been irrevocably tainted by the despicable, ill-gotten-gain methods of those nasty, imperialist, white, male, chauvinist-pig founders, warriors, inventors, builders, landowners, writers, jurists et al. How dare we, as modern day white Westerners, reap the ill-gotten benefits of such a despicable, greedy, imperialistic lot.

Deconstructionists have attempted to remake society around a new set of power relations. In their philosophical re-do, they imperiously take the advantage away from white males and hand it over, lock, stock and barrel to all non-white males and females of all varieties. And presto-change-o the world is still unfair, but it is unfair in a different direction. A more "fair" form of unfairness, or so say the deconstructionists.

Sadly, we have all seen the results of deconstructionist machinations in our schools, our workplaces, our literature, our legal system and just about every other place one dares to look. Why, the deconstructionists have deconstructed just about everything Western, save the old kitchen sink. In some spheres, the results of this attempt at re-ordering our society is called "affirmative action." In others, it's called a "quota system." Then there is the omnipresent "sensitivity training," what communists blithely refer to as "reeducation camp."

Unfortunately, we now must assume, after 30 years of this theory's preeminence, that those of us who do not ascribe to deconstructionist tenets, must actually deconstruct much of what we used to be able to take for granted.

University degrees are no longer objectively standardized, bona fide credentials; they are subjective instruments that could mean just about anything. Job titles are no longer a guarantee of accomplishment; they could just as easily be token positions. And on and on and on this list could go, but there isn't time here.

Perhaps nowhere outside academia itself have the deconstructionists had more powerful sway than within the once-august body that calls itself the Democratic Party. I have, myself, for years now refused to bestow the adjective, democratic, upon the Democrat Party. It has been so thoroughly infiltrated since the early 70s by leftist deconstructionists that it has become a thoroughly undemocratic institution, giving heaps of advantage to everyone other than white males, and has thusly reduced itself to a committee dictatorially run by a rainbow proletariat.

The dictatorship of the minorities. How democratic is that?

Because the deconstructionists have thoroughly taken over the Democratic Party in America, it is now incumbent upon us, the citizenry, to deconstruct the candidate they are promoting for President, the not-even-through-his-first-term Senator, Barack Obama.

Deconstructing the Democratic Party Brand

Sadly, we can no longer assume that anyone promoted by the Democratic Party has been properly vetted for disqualifying scandalous behavior, or even on the most fundamental level of actually possessing barely minimal qualifications for public office.

As many have noted during this protracted Democrat primary race, the rules for nominating a Presidential candidate under this Party's label are mystifying in their complexity. Prior to 1968, the Democrats used, by and large, the same winner-take-all formula for primaries that the Republican Party still uses.

This formula is not unlike the wisdom of our Electoral College, which ingeniously allows for majority votes to count by localities and states. It's simple, uncomplicated, clean-cut. Under this old, tried-and-true system the majority rules and life goes on without a whole heap of fuss, which has allowed this Republic of ours to transfer power without bloodshed, uninterrupted for going on three centuries.

Of course, as anyone with a lick of political, historical knowledge already knows, the Democratic Party's system had for the last few decades taken a low-road, backroom approach to party politics that favored insiders and machine bosses over the will of ordinary voters. Their system was already primed for the comeuppance it got in 1968.

The Democratic National Convention of 1968 was a quite raucous and bloody affair, with mobs of young leftist agitators rioting in the streets of Chicago, demanding their way. These home-grown Marxist revolutionaries, many of whom went on to become domestic terrorists and bombers and universal nihilists of all variety, didn't get their way that year. But they did make enough of a dent in the bastions of Democratic Party authority to rewrite the nominating rules around what they considered more egalitarian principles. What resulted from the radical changes to the nominating process is the convoluted mess that formed the basis for this year's slugfest between two affirmative-action candidates.

To be sure, a great many journalists have already tiptoed through this affirmative-action mine field upon which I am about to brazenly march, but so far their dainty ruminations have had scanty effect upon polling numbers.

Actually, that may be a bit understated, since it seems nearly miraculous that the Republican candidate, John McCain, is within shouting distance of the Democrat after a full eight years of leftist press bombardment aimed at the Republican brand, effectively polarizing a sitting Republican President. I personally believe McCain's strong showing so far is owed not to racism, as has been suggested, but due to the obvious affirmative-action nature of the Democrats' candidate, Barack Obama.

The truth is that neither of the Democrat front-runners for the nomination this year would have ever been considered for the highest office in the Land had they not received the benefit of 30 years' worth of postmodernist/deconstructionist machinations that gave them undue advantage owing to their presumed mantle of past grievances on account of race and gender.

One woman who unabashedly leapfrogged her way into the Senate on the back of a still-sitting President, her husband. And the other frontrunner, Obama, has absolutely nothing on his resume but stints in academia, political organizing, a do-nothing state senate gig, and the office of a Senator, which he has shamefully used as nothing more than a launch pad for his audacious attempted catapult into the White House.

By offering us two nominees and a presumed candidate whose demographic background outweighs considerations of experience and merit, the Democratic Party is undermining, deconstructing really, its own brand, traditionally built on the pose of championing the little guy.

Deconstructing Obama

We, the citizenry, are being asked at this juncture to literally turn our time-tested demand for a presidential resume check completely on its ear. We are asked to give advantages to Barack Obama on account of his racial mix that we would never give to a white male, and as some have surmised even to a white female, in the same position.

We are being asked to deconstruct the most powerful political position in the world.

One of the pet "methods" of deconstruction, I'm told, is the critique of binary oppositions. It's proposed by deconstructionists that there are classic dualities in Western thought, which give privileged position to one term over the other, the favored position always going to the meaning most associated with the phallus. Puh-lease.

But, okay, let's play along. A few of the most oft noted binary oppositions in Western thought are: fullness over emptiness, meaning over meaninglessness, identity over difference and life over death.

And, yes, as a mere product of my wholly Western thought, I do tend quite naturally to give a positive weight to fullness over emptiness, meaning over meaninglessness, identity over difference and life over death. Mere common sense would seem to dictate these positive connotations, in my own mind, whether one is Western, Eastern or anything else.

But according to the deconstructionists, if I want to throw my full support to candidate Obama, then I must literally force myself to go completely athwart these Western tendencies, and opt to reverse them.

I must accept that Obama's nearly empty resume for the Presidency is actually better than McCain's full resume.

I must accept that Obama's meaningless, non-defined rhetoric is actually better than McCain's meaningful, painstakingly defined rhetoric and plans.

I must accept that Obama's difference, in terms of his racial makeup is actually better than McCain's common identity with my own. Whatever happened to Martin Luther King's insistence on a colorblind society?

So far, Obama's only plans worth noting are to disarm America and turn over vast amounts of our wealth to refortify failing dictatorships in third-world countries. If accomplished, this will amount to nothing less than handing over our sovereignty and liberty in favor of bondage to international consensus.

I must accept that Obama's death plan for America, the Land that I love, is actually better than McCain's life plan to preserve and protect our liberty.

I might as well go a bit further with the deconstructionists and throw in another purely Western assumption. Liberty over bondage. Yes, it's true. Color me prejudiced to the core of my being.

I actually will prefer to my dying day, with the last breath I draw, as God is my witness, liberty over bondage.

I'm hopelessly, irretrievably, to the marrow of my bones, an American. And I will not give my one vote, earned by the precious sacrifice of millions before me, to a deconstructionist, affirmative-action candidate. The Presidency of the United States of America is not now, nor should it ever be, an entitlement.

Whatever precautions you take so the photograph will look like this or that, there comes a moment when the photograph surprises you. It is the other's gaze that wins out and decides.

- Jacques Derrida, Father of Deconstructionist Theory

Millions of dollars, lots of great minds, many slick branding tricks, slogans and sales pitches have gone into creating the "photograph" of Barack Obama's public persona. But in the end, on election day, it will be we "gazers," the voters, who will decide whether the image truly fits the man.

If this were American Idol, Barack would be a shoe-in. But for the most powerful political position in the world?

Kyle-Anne Shiver is an independent journalist and a frequent contributor to American Thinker. She welcomes your comments at kyleanneshiver.com.

Al-Qaeda Video Urges Saudi Monarch's Killing for Dialogue with Pope

From Adnkronos International

Al-Qaeda Number 3, Abu Yahya al-Libi has issued a new video urging the killing of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah for his moves towards inter-faith dialogue with Pope Benedict XVI.

"They want to spawn a new religion on the Arabian Peninsula and that is bringing religions closer together," al-Libi warns in the video message posted to Islamist websites on Monday.

The video strongly criticises the inter-faith dialogue conference held earlier this month in the Spanish capital, Madrid, under King Abdullah's patronage and organised by the Muslim World League.

The three-day conference closed with a declaration that cited terrorism as a major obstacle to mutual understanding.

The conference brought together representatives from the three main monotheistic faiths, Islam, Christianity and Judaism, as well as Buddhism.

A photo of King Abdullah and Benedict XVI taken during Abdullah's historic visit to the Vatican last November has been posted with the video to publicise it on Islamist websites.

A caption beneath the photo repeats part of al-Libi's video message. It reads: "He (Abdullah) has made religion a joke and has done so in public with Jews, Christians and Muslims.

"He has thrown those fighting for Islamism into jail...and has fraternised with those who have offended the Prophet, notably the adulator of the Cross, the Vatican's Pope."

Al-Libi also attacks Muslim religious leaders, claiming they have colluded in inter-religious dialogue by sitting alongside exponents of other faiths.

"The Prophet ordered us to drive unbelievers from the Arabian Peninsula. Today, the Saudi royal family is destroying our Islamic tenets by showing Muslims it is possible to spread Christian principles."

"By sitting side by side in public, they are taking part in the Crusader campaign. They are helping them, giving information to their secret services, all in order to spread their culture and religion."

Al-Libi concludes the message with a call to kill King Abdullah for having betrayed Islam.

The Libyan-born militant is believed to have fought alongside al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan.

Barack Obama: The Child - The Messiah - The Obamessiah

The President Sets A Record

The White House presented its Mid-Session Review of the Fiscal Year 2009 budget today, and with it announced a new record -- a budget deficit of $490 billion. That is quite a record indeed, considering that during the President's first year in office the nation enjoyed a budget surplus of $236 billion.

Much was made of record deficits during the Reagan Administration, but the worst of those, in 1983, was $208 billion. That was a time when defense spending was high in what was ultimately a triumphant showdown with the Soviet Union.

President Bush, on the other hand, has presided over a 60% growth in the size of the federal government.

While the budget figures were being presented to the media, the President enjoyed an expensive lunch with the Prime Minister of Pakistan -- $115 million plus tip in promised aid to the country harboring Osama Bin Laden.

Melanie Phillips on "Swooning Over Princess Obama"

Melanie Phillips, the author of Londonistan and other best-selling books, is also one of Britain's finest columnists. In her most recent column, Swooning Over Princess Obama, she applies a much needed pinprick to the hyperinflated rhetoric and media hype surrounding the one who has promised to "rebuild the world" and "declared his presidency would be seen as ‘the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.'"

Music of Paradise - Music for the Soul - Cistercian Abbey Stift Heiligenkreuz

Best Thing On His Resume

Paul Weyrich on the Best Bushie

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao

By Stephen Dinan

With so many thinking so much has gone wrong in the Bush administration, conservative icon Paul Weyrich has asked an interesting question: Who in the administration has done the best at living up to the Bush promises of 2000?

His answer is Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, the only cabinet official to go from start to finish (so far) with the president.

"[She] has promulgated regulations which have made the transparency of union expenditures a cornerstone of her efforts. Although she is known for fairness, labor unions despise her. Yet she has handled herself in such a way that she has avoided most direct confrontation. In 1959 one-third of all American workers belonged to a labor union. By 1980 under a quarter of the workforce held a union card. Today that number stands at only 12.1%. If government workers are taken out of the equation the number stands at just 7.5%. Accordingly, Mrs. Chao considers herself Secretary of all workers and not just of those who belong to unions.

The unions are spending a record amount of their employees’ money this year to help elect Senator Barack H. Obama to the Presidency and to elect what they hope will be a veto-proof House of Representatives and Senate. If they achieve their objectives they have pledged to undo all of the reforms Mrs. Chao has been successful in enacting through legislation and regulation. That would be unfortunate because for the first time ever a union member can go to a website and see exactly how his dues money is spent."

Who else can you offer up?

A lot of folks in the attorney general's office and the Defense and State departments are disqualified because of uncertainty surrounding the war and terrorist detention. The Department of Homeland Security, which didn't even exist when President Bush took office, has struggled with immigration and became the symbol of mismanagement for Hurricane Katrina. The Education Department has tried to press forward with No Child Left Behind, but those on both sides of the aisle balk at the way it's been carried out. There have been scandals at Veterans and HUD, as well as Education.

It's clear President Bush is out of the running because he failed to meet many of his promises, both those he made in 2000 (remember no nation-building?) and along the way (remember his pledge not to sign a campaign finance bill that he disagreed with, then his signing one even as he said it had constitutional questions?).

Does Ms. Chao win by dint of being the longest-serving major official?

Stephen Dinan is the national political correspondent for The Washington Times

Calling Evil By Its Proper Name

From National Review Online
By Andy McCarthy

Bravo Pete Hoekstra for Defunding the Government's Jihad on "Jihad"

I've had a number of things to say about the intelligence community's attempted language purge, the effort to inculcate an aversion to calling jihadists jihadists, to bleach the Islam out of Islamic terror, and so on. (See, e.g., here, here and here if interested.) Well, I'm happy to report that Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI and ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee), whose been fighting the effort for some time (see Robert Spencer's post here), has seen his efforts bear fruit.

Rep. Hoekstra added an amendment to the Intelligence Bill that denies funding to this ill-conceived propaganda campaign (aptly referred to as "McCarthyism in reverse"). Despite the predictable opposition of Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat leadership, 55 Democrats joined Republicans to pass it by a whopping 249-180 margin.

CAIR, natch, is up in arms — you always know you're doing the right thing if all the right people are in a snit. [H/T, again, to Mr. Spencer & the invaluable Jihad Watch.]

Bob Barr on the Mortgage Bailout

Dear Friend,

You may have heard or read media reports about actions yesterday in Congress to deal with the housing debt crisis and to bail out two private lenders known as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The bill passed the House of Representatives and will be taken up in the Senate and once through that pork factory, President Bush has said he will sign it. If I were your President I would veto it so fast, heads would spin.

The bill - and that's exactly what it is - is a bill you are going to be expected to pay! It's for an estimated $400,000,000,000. That is, of course, $400 Billion that we don't have, so more borrowing is ahead. Your share of this expense? About $1,300.

And that's on top of the more than $31,000 you already owe!

In 2001, the national debt crossed $6 Trillion. Today, it is closing in on $10 Trillion. Our debt is growing faster than at any time in our nation's history and there is no end in sight. Yesterday I issued a statement to the media blasting their actions. Today I ask your help in getting out the message that President Bush and Senators Obama and McCain are wrong for bankrupting our future with more and more debt.

First I ask that you forward this email to as many of your friends as possible. The average American doesn't understand what's going on. They have a sincere, but misguided, desire to help people less fortunate than themselves at this time of economic crisis. But this bailout only rewards people who made bad decisions and bails out those who profited from them.

Second, please consider a campaign contribution to help fund our daily operations. Your gift of $5 or as much as the legal limit of $2,300 will make a difference.

I thank you for your consideration.

Bob Barr


P.S. - You may also want to call your U.S. Senators to tell them to vote no on the big-bank bail out. And remember, if I were your President, this bill would be dead on arrival at the White House. Please help me change government. Thanks again.

Only Huckabee Can Save McCain

From what I have observed, John McCain only consults conservative voices in the Republican Party to ensure he is working against their interests. It may be the result of the drugs and brain washing that Soviet doctors applied during his imprisonment in Vietnam. Nevertheless, some conservative leaders are making one last attempt to salvage the 2008 presidential election. The following was reported by Right Wing Watch, published by People for the American Way.

A few weeks ago, we wrote several posts about the meeting in Colorado where a large group of right-wing leaders finally decided to support John McCain. At the time, all we had were second-hand accounts that those in attendance had decided that Barack Obama would “decimate [the] moral values” they hold dear and, as such, collectively decided to support McCain as the lesser of two evils.

Glossed over in the press coverage was the fact that their support for McCain seemed to rest heavily on his choice of candidate for Vice President, with those in attendance making their preference known that they really want him to pick Mike Huckabee:

Those in attendance also reached a consensus that they would send a letter to McCain, R-Ariz., encouraging him to consider former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as his choice for vice president.

"It's not a demand; it's a request," said [Mat] Staver, who couldn't say when McCain would be contacted about Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist pastor who resonated with some evangelical voters during the Republican primaries.

Until now, the content and signatories of that letter remained unknown. But recently Clark Vandeventer, founder and CEO of World Changers, Inc, who reportedly attended the meeting and signed the letter, posted it on a blog called Veritas Rex and it seems clear that they were not so much “requesting” that McCain pick Huckabee as his Vice President as outright warning him that doing so is “necessary for [his] success”:

We believe that a pro-life, pro-family Vice Presidential running mate is critical to confirm to our constituents that you will take affirmative steps to protect these values. Your selection of a pro-life, pro-family running mate will be one of the first and most important opportunities to communicate your commitment to such values, since we believe that personnel is policy.

As citizens who love this country and as leaders who communicate collectively with millions of values voters, we met this week in Denver to discuss our shared moral values and the need to support your campaign. As a sincere expression of what we believe is necessary for your success, we strongly agreed to respectfully urge you to select former Governor Mike Huckabee as your running mate.

We believe putting Gov. Huckabee on your ticket will immediately excite, mobilize, and activate a key grassroots constituency that is essential to your success and the advancement and defense of the values we share. We have heard this message so clearly and consistently from our constituencies that we believe it is our duty to respectfully share it with you -- not as a demand or condition of our support -- but as an honest communication of what we believe to be the surest way to immediately activate millions of social conservative voters and activists nationwide in support of your candidacy.

Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,

Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Mathew Staver,Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel
Gary Glenn, President, American Family Association of Michigan
David Barton, Wall Builders
Bill and Deborah Owens
Clark Vandeventer, Chief Executive Officer, World Changers Inc.
Kelly Shackelford, Esq., President, Liberty Legal institute
John Stemberger, Florida Attorney and Pro Family Advocate
Dr. Beverly LaHaye, Concerned Women for America
Dr. Tim F. LaHaye, Tim LaHaye Ministries
Paul E. Rondeau
Rick Scarborough, President of Vision America Action
Johnnie Moore,
 Campus Pastor, Liberty University
Jim Garlow, California Pastors Rapid Response Team
Steve Strang, publisher, Charisma magazine
Kenneth L. Connor, Wilkes & McHugh, P.A.
Clint Cline
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman, American Family Association
Randy Thomasson, President
Campaign for Children and Families
Rebecca Kiessling
Joshua Straub, American Association of Christian Counselors
Sandy Rios, President of Culture Campaign
Deryl Edwards, President, Liberty Alliance
Linda Harvey, Mission America
Diane Gramley, President, American Family Association of Pennsylvania
David N. Cutchen
Micah Clark, Executive Director, American Family Association of Indiana
Don McClure
Alex Harris, Founder and Chairman, Huck's Army and Director, The Rebelution
Brett Harris, Founder and Chairman, Huck's Army and Director, The Rebelution

The Time for Liberty

World Youth Day: Beauty Personified On Our Streets

From The Sydney Morning Herald
By Miranda Devine

For those who had been to previous World Youth Days in Rome, Manila, Toronto and Cologne, the unqualified success of Sydney's turn was no surprise. The joy and sweetness of thousands of young Catholic pilgrims who flooded into the city, in the words of Cardinal George Pell, simply "overwhelmed" the rancid negativity of sections of our sex-fixated media, and those aggressive secularists who regard religion as an irrational threat to their way of living.

In the end, pilgrims from across the globe melted a cynical city's heart, from the bus drivers who finished their shifts and then took it on themselves to ferry home nuns and others they spotted stranded near Central station one cold night, to the suburban families who spontaneously offered their showers to visitors camping in local schools.

Catholic or not, most people want love and goodness in their lives and the contrast between the radiant faces of the pilgrims and the strained masks of their most strident condom-waving detractors was striking. Beauty was not just in the eye of the beholder.

For many Sydneysiders, even jaded priests, it showcased a new generation of young people who shocked them with their social conservatism. This wasn't the fabled youth of binge drinking, drug abuse and rampant sexually transmitted diseases, but a group of gregarious, sophisticated people unashamedly embracing the 21st-century revival in orthodox religious faith.

The genius of a World Youth Day is to tap into the desire of a technologically connected global generation for mass human interaction.

"Youth in every corner of Australia are working and trying to build up their faith," said Annaliese Wursthorn, 25, a speech pathologist from Melbourne who spent the last six months travelling around the country with the World Youth Day cross. "But when you begin to realise you're not the only one [searching for answers] it fills you with such excitement and such reassurance you can come out and be a bit more open about your faith."

Of her first World Youth Day, in Rome, when she was 17, Wursthorn recalls: "I was so surprised by how many other Catholics from my own city were there. I had been worried the church was dying because so many people tell you it is, but it isn't."

For anyone despairing that the nihilism of Big Brother and Dolly magazine represents Australian youth, World Youth Day was the antidote. "It was so wonderful as a young person to show people we're not all like that. We're just working hard to be good people and trying to be the best we can be," Wursthorn said.

Cath Smibert, 28, who worked for Vatican media in Rome for seven years before returning this year to hometown Sydney, says World Youth Day is proof that "young people are rebelling against relativity and nothingness, and are excited about a voice that is consistent and proven over generations, and which cares enough about them to be consistent".

The World Youth Day generation, as the national German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has described it, "is united by a consciousness fundamentally different from that of the 1968 generation and their children". It is rebelling against the do-whatever-you-want culture spawned by the 1960s social revolution. It has experienced first hand the consequences of the four-decade-long experimentation with false freedom, the broken marriages and damaged children, and a sense that there are many truths and no immutable moral rules.

In a world of moral relativism, the World Youth Day generation hungers for certainty and absolute truths, the stock in trade of Pope Benedict XVI.

"Life … is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful," he told the pilgrims at the Hungry Mile last week. "It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom."

While pantheistic followers of Al Gore were heartened by what they saw as the Pope's nod to environmentalism, and played up a pretend rift between him and Cardinal George Pell on climate change, the Pope's message was more crafty. If we are concerned about the poisoning of the natural environment, so we should be "equally alert" to the poisoning of the social environment, he said; to "the signs of turning our back on the moral structure with which God has endowed humanity".

We should be alert to "a poison which threatens to corrode what is good, reshape who we are, and distort the purpose for which we have been created".

He cited alcohol and drug abuse, violence and sexual degradation, "often presented through television and the internet as entertainment", and finally, abortion: "How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred human space - the womb - has become a place of unutterable violence?"

More popular concerns with which the secular and religious worlds find agreement, the Pope said - such as non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment - "are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death."

These more difficult and controversial battles are those which the new World Youth Day generation is showing itself willing to take on.

I watched a lot of the festivities from Rome, revelling in the cultural treasures and iconography that make the modern irreligious city a mecca for pilgrims of the tourist kind. In the Pope's home, admiring Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, I was reminded by our young tour guide, Paul Encinias, an American doctoral student with degrees in archeology, art history and philosophy, of the Renaissance attitude to beauty as an absolute concept, able to be defined mathematically as expressly as it is in nature, where the "golden ratio" is present in the spacing of flower petals as much as it is in the symmetry of a marble statue or da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.

Living in an era when faith and reason, art and mathematics, were inextricably linked, Renaissance artists would regard modern relativistic notions of beauty as ludicrous.

The idea there is no absolute beauty or absolute truth was as alien to the devout 23-year-old genius who carved the Pieta and later painted the roof of the Sistine Chapel, as we hope it is to the new World Youth Day generation.

Guns, Foreign Courts, and the Moral Consensus of the International Community

From The Acton Institute
By Jordan Ballor

In a landmark decision that will impact the future of gun regulation in the United States, late last month the Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in Washington, D.C. In District of Columbia etal. v. Heller (No. 07–290) a slim 5-4 majority found the D.C. ban to violate the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reads, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Over the last few years observers of the Supreme Court have noticed a trend among some of the justices to cite the decisions of foreign courts as part of the relevant precedent in deciding the cases before them. In 2005, justices Scalia and Breyer engaged in a rare public conversation on this very topic, “Constitutional Relevance of Foreign Court Decisions.” In the recently-decided D.C. v. Heller neither of the two dissenting opinions, written by justices Stevens and Breyer respectively, make substantial reference to foreign court decisions. But the growing phenomena of reference to foreign judgments as precedents raises the question of what the justices might have found if they had consulted such materials.

This tendency to invoke foreign jurisprudence is becoming more troubling as it becomes clearer that the moral consensus that once united Western nations has almost entirely broken down. A few years ago a pastor I know, as part of his duties as a representative of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC), took part in an inter-church dialogue with a member of the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (GKN), a grouping of Reformed congregations in the Netherlands. The GKN sent what they considered to be a moderate pastor to participate in this conversation about moral issues. In the course of the discussion, the GKN moderate asserted that it was more evil to own a gun than to have an abortion.

At this, the CRC representative was only able to respond that their discussion was effectively over. The CRC’s official position on abortion is that the church “condemns the wanton or arbitrary destruction of any human being at any stage of its development from the point of conception to the point of death.” As any rhetorician knows, argument can only proceed where there is some basic level of agreement, and the ethical opinion expressed by the GKN pastor was so far removed from the sensibilities of the CRC that there was effectively no point of contact for continuing dialogue. The GKN has since joined a number of other Protestant denominations in the Netherlands, including other Lutheran and Reformed denominations, to form the Protestantse Kerk in Nederland (PKN).

While this is a relatively minor anecdote, it serves well to illustrate the conflicting moral values placed on issues of life by the mainstream culture in Europe and the United States. No doubt there are those on either side of the Atlantic who would take issue with the dominant cultural judgment, but the national and international legal documents underscore the real differences. Where the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights singles out the right of the people to keep and bear arms, proposed European Union constitutional documents make no such mention. And as a recent Washington Times article relates, “many in Western Europe and Japan see U.S. gun ownership rates and gun violence as a clear mark of difference with other industrial countries.”

But the difference has not always been so stark. Indeed, the preamble to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written in 1948, recognized the possibility of “rebellion against tyranny and oppression” as “a last resort,” an option that ideally could be avoided by protections according to the rule of law.

On the question of abortion, part of what derailed adoption of the EU Constitution in 2004 was concern by nations like Poland and Ireland that the vague constitutional provisions about “dignity” and “integrity” of the human person would require the repeal of national anti-abortion laws. The Treaty of Lisbon, successor to the failed EU Constitution, was rejected by Ireland last month, in part over similar concerns by pro-life advocates that adoption of the treaty “would threaten the Irish constitutional protection for the unborn, given the almost universal acceptance and promotion of abortion at the EU level.”

Upon reflection, then, the ethical judgment expressed by the GKN pastor seems to represent fairly well the mainstream EU attitude toward moral issues like guns and abortion. If part of what characterizes a civilization is a consensus on moral issues, then the idea of a unified Western civilization encompassing Europe and the United States is an illusion. A consensus that diverges on such fundamental questions of the right to life and responsibilities of self-defense is simply no consensus at all.

Jordan J. Ballor is associate editor at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty in Grand Rapids, Mich., and a contributor to the Acton Institute PowerBlog.

Elvis Llives: in 2,000-Year-Old Carving

From the towering quiff, to the come-to-bed eyes and seductive pout, the resemblance of this carving to Elvis Presley is striking.

From The Telegraph
By Laura Clout

But the sculpture was created around 1,800 years before 'The King' ever crooned his first song.

The Roman ornament, called an acroterion, is carved in marble on the corner of a sarcophagus dating from the second century AD.

It is among a collection of ancient art owned by the Melbourne-based dealer Graham Geddes, which is estimated to sell for more than £1m.

Mr Geddes' collection, which includes more than 50 classical Greek vases and 30 pieces of marble sculpture, will be auctioned by Bonhams in October.

Many of these items will sell for up to £90,000 each, and the bust, which even the collector has nicknamed 'Elvis', is estimated to make between £25,000 and £30,000.

A spokesman for Bonhams said: "Fans of the King of Rock 'n Roll, seeing this face from the distant past will be forgiven for thinking that their idol may well have lived a previous life in Rome.

"Looking at this face with its Elvis-like quiff, strong jaw and nose, one is inevitably led to the thought that the human face for all is diversity and subtlety has after all an ability to repeat itself."

The Power of Choice

New data from Milwaukee's Parental Choice Program

show even 'charity vouchers' can help public schools improve

As some educators and school choice advocates begin to question whether school vouchers can reform public education, a new study of Milwaukee's pioneering voucher program -- the nation's oldest and largest city-specific program -- concludes it has had a positive effect on the city's public schools and will become even more influential in the near future.

The study, "Can Vouchers Reform Public Schools? Lessons from the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program," was released today by The Heartland Institute, a national nonprofit research organization. It finds that most voucher programs are not universal programs but simply "rescue" efforts that offer a life-line to poor parents with children in struggling school systems, what Nobel Prize laureate Milton Friedman characterized as "charity" vouchers.

"Since existing voucher programs are limited largely to charity vouchers, or rescue efforts, it is not surprising that they have produced no dramatic improvement in the public schools," writes author George A. Clowes, Ph.D., a senior fellow for education studies for The Heartland Institute. "Before writing off universal vouchers, it would seem prudent first to actually try them."

Clowes shows how competition from voucher schools in Milwaukee, despite being hobbled by legal challenges, a voucher amount that is less than half the public school's per-pupil spending, and enrollment caps, has prompted the Milwaukee Public Schools to implement a long list of reforms, including before- and after-school programs, more Montessori schools, improved teacher selection procedures, decentralization of budgeting authority to local schools, and greater influence of parents in local school councils.

According to Clowes, the voucher program gave school reformers including public school officials considerable clout in their negotiations with public school system interest groups. The results include a high school graduation rate that improved from 49 percent in 2002-03 to 58 percent in 2006-07. Black and Hispanic graduation rates during this period increased more than the white graduation rate. This was accomplished despite rising minority and low-income enrollments as a share of total MPS enrollment.

Critics of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, says Clowes, overlook the fact that steadily increasing voucher school enrollment had little apparent effect on MPS because of growing K-12 enrollment during most of the program's history. Since 2003-04, however, MPS enrollment has been falling while voucher school enrollment has continued to rise by an average of 1,500 students a year. Public schools are finally being exposed to serious competition for students.

"The next few years are likely to reveal the reforming power of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program on the Milwaukee Public Schools, since only now is the success of voucher schools posing a genuine competitive threat to existing public schools. The city's public schools may begin to improve more rapidly in response to this enhanced competitive environment," Clowes concludes.

"Can Vouchers Reform Public Schools? Lessons from the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program" is available for free online at http://www.heartland.org/article.cfm?artId=23540. The printed report is available for $19.95 by calling The Heartland Institute at 312/377-4000.

---

Editors: Report author George A. Clowes, Ph.D., a senior fellow with The Heartland Institute and founding managing editor of School Reform News between November 1996 and January 2005, is available for comment on this study. To communicate with him, please contact Dan Miller, Heartland's executive vice president, at 312/377-4000 or by email at dmiller@heartland.org.

The Heartland Institute is a 24-year-old national nonprofit organization based in Chicago, Illinois.

Widow Blames San Francisco Sanctuary Policy for Murder of Husband, Two Sons

“We must not only have a free flow of goods and services, but also start working for a free flow of people.”

-- Dr. Juan Hernandez, McCain Hispanic Outreach Director

From Numbers USA

Danielle Bologna is calling for changes in San Francisco’s sanctuary policy after charges were filed against an illegal alien gang member for the murder of her husband and two sons. In an appearance on FOX News last night, she said "It should have been resolved at the beginning, when this guy had done more than one crime in the city…I want justice. I want the people to see: If my family wasn’t safe, what makes you think yours will be?"

Edwin Ramos, a member of the MS-13 street gang and El Salvador native, has been charged with three counts of murder for the heinous killing of Bologna family members, who were returning home after a family picnic on June 22 when they were murdered. Ramos, now 21, was eligible for deportation after several felony convictions as a minor. But federal officials were never notified because of San Francisco’s sanctuary policy.

Ramos was convicted of assaulting a man on a bus in 2003, and placed in a city shelter. A few days after his release in 2004, he assaulted a pregnant woman. He was again sent to a city facility after conviction. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that in both instances, San Francisco did not consider Ramos’ immigration status when sentencing him so federal officials were never notified of his eligibility for deportation.

San Francisco police stopped Ramos last March after seeing his car lacked a front license plate. A passenger in the car ran away, and tried to dispose of a gun, which was later linked to a double murder. Ramos was arrested, but not prosecuted by the local District Attorney. In this instance, police checked Ramos' immigration status and notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that he was deportable. Because ICE did not put a hold on him, Ramos was released.

Earlier this month, San Francisco changed its sanctuary policy somewhat after news reports exposed the fact that the city was underwriting the costs of sending illegal alien drug dealers back to their home countries. The city now faces renewed pressure for more changes in its dangerous sanctuary policy in the wake of the Bologna murders, allegedly at the hands of a multiple-felon illegal alien who benefited from that policy.

Help A Persecuted Christian in Cuba

From Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Dear Friends,

Yesterday, on Sunday, July 20, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet celebrated his 47th birthday in the Combinado del Este Prison in Guanabacoa, Cuba.

Dr. Biscet is now in his fifth year of a 25 year prison sentence, handed down during a massive crackdown on human rights and democracy activists in Cuba during what is now referred to as Cuba’s Black Spring. He had previously served a three-year prison sentence and was free for only a month before his detention, which took place when he tried to organise a human rights discussion group.

Through his imprisonments, Dr. Biscet has suffered from ill health and has repeatedly been denied medical treatment. He has also, on occasion, had his Bible and other religious materials confiscated. At the moment, however it appears that he is able to keep them with him.

Prison conditions, particularly for political prisoners, are generally very bad in Cuba and Dr. Biscet has frequently been forced to share a cell with prisoners convicted of committing violent crimes or has been sent to solidarity confinement in cells with no light or running water. He has also regularly been denied the right to pastoral and family visits. However, his faith, according to his wife, Elsa Morejon, remains strong.

Many of you have prayed for and written to Dr. Biscet and his family for many years. We would encourage you to consider sending him a birthday card or letter to remind him, and those responsible for his imprisonment, that although physically he may have celebrated his birthday alone, there were and are, in spirit, many people around the world celebrating another year of his life.

Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet
Prisión Combinado del Este
Carretera Monumental

del Cotorro, Guanabacoa CUBA

For additional guidance on letter writing do consult Connect & Encourage our address book for the persecuted church at http://www.csw.org.uk/writetothepersecuted.htm

Thank you,

CSW Advocacy Team

Banned at the Basilica of the National Shrine

As I have mentioned on these pages here, here, and here, The Faithful Departed, by Philip F. Lawler is the most important book on the Church's sex abuse scandal. Anyone interested in understanding the roots of one of the worst scandals in the Church's history needs to read Lawler's book -- which may be precisely why the U. S. bishops don't want anyone to read it. The following is excerpted from a story by Christopher Manion in the June 26, 2008 issue of The Wanderer.

'Phil Lawler, author of The Faithful Departed, the excellent book chronicling the decline and fall of the Church in Boston ... is getting the censorship treatment from, of all places, the bookstore of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. There, Lawler's book has been selling so well that the bookstore scheduled a book- signing event on June 26. Once the announcements went up, however, higher-ups demanded that the book be removed from the shelves. Lawler was notified that his book signing was cancelled, no reason given.

'What could the bishops object to in Mr. Lawler's book? Perhaps these observations in his final chapter:

'Only a small minority of American priests — 2–3 percent, by most calculations — were ever accused of sexual abuse, whereas the vast majority of bishops were involved in the cover-up efforts. . . . With the [2002 Dallas] Charter in place, the bishops could and did answer all questions by saying that they were following the policies set by the USCCB. The Dallas norms were designed not so much to deter abuse of children as to deflect criticism from bishops. . . . The arrogance of the USCCB in presuming to instruct students about sexual abuse was breathtaking. For years, trusting parents had sent their children into Catholic parishes and schools, confidently assuming the church leaders would protect them. Now the same church leaders who had betrayed the trust presumed to instruct the parents and the innocent children about the dangers that children might face. Rather than ensuring the innocence of young students, these programs were designed to put the burdens of reporting on the children. . . .' (pp. 191- 193)

'Perhaps the ban was occasioned by the book's treatment of Cardinal Law's departure from Boston. But Mr. Lawler once worked closely with Cardinal Law for two years as editor of the archdiocesan newspaper. Lawler is a gentleman, and his treatment of the cardinal is almost serene. But some bishops still have ruffled feathers.... Whatever his reasons for banning Lawler's book, Msgr. Rossi, the rector of the Shrine — who works for the bishops, and not for the laity — will not explain them. The good monsignor obviously doesn't want to take any chances — or any calls from the Wanderer, either: we left several messages with his secretary, but have yet to hear from him....'

When Governor Frank Keating submitted his resignation as chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' National Review Board, examining sex abuse by Catholic priests, he compared the American hierarchy to the Mafia, saying: "To resist Grand Jury subpoenas, to suppress the names of offending clerics, to deny, to obfuscate, to explain away; that is the model of a criminal organization, not my church."

I think Governor Keating's remarks were overly harsh and unfair -- to the Mafia!

Irish 'No' Vote Architect Plans Europe-Wide 'Referendum' On Lisbon Treaty

The man who delivered an historic "No" vote in Ireland against the EU's Lisbon Treaty has revealed far-reaching plans to give voters throughout Europe a peoples' referendum on the handover of power to Brussels.

By Tim Shipman

Declan Ganley is planning to field more than 400 candidates in next June's European Parliament elections, in the 26 countries – including Britain – where voters have had no direct say on the treaty.

The energy and rhetoric of Mr Ganley, a multimillionaire businessman, was widely credited with persuading the Irish to reject the treaty, even though every leading Irish political party apart from Sinn Fein was urging voters to say "Yes".

Now he wants to give British voters a chance to deliver a bloody nose to both the Brussels establishment and to Gordon Brown, whose party first promised and then refused a referendum in Britain.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Ganley disclosed that he was starting to raise £75 million from online donations to run candidates in all 12 of Britain's European Parliament constituencies, and in seats throughout the EU.

He will turn his pressure group, Libertas, into a party with just one policy: to fight the Lisbon Treaty, which many see as the rejected European Constitution by the back door.

"We will tell people that Libertas is the box you put your X in if you want to vote 'No' to the Lisbon Treaty. It's clear, it's simple," he said.

"The message will be: we are now giving you a referendum and it's going to take place in June of next year at the European elections.

"People across Europe will have the chance to send the same resounding clear message that Brussels cannot continue with this treaty that the Irish people have rejected. For this to provide a meaningful opportunity for this to be a referendum, you'd have to run at least 400 candidates across Europe."

Mr Ganley spoke as the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, prepared for a visit to Ireland to assess the fall-out from June's rejection vote. The French leader, who will arrive in Dublin tomorrow, is a key supporter of the treaty and has already infuriated Irish euro-sceptics by suggesting that they "will have to vote again". Yesterday Mr Sarkozy said he would listen to Irish objections to the treaty, but added that the views of the 23 countries that had adopted the treaty already could not be overlooked.

Mr Ganley has previously flirted with the idea of expanding his campaign. But he has never before disclosed his ambition to run so many candidates in what could in effect be a Europe-wide "people's referendum" on the treaty.

He accused Mr Brown of ratifying the document without the referendum Labour once indicated it would offer: "It's not just undemocratic, it's anti-democratic," he said.

"It's an absolute disgrace that the British Government offered a referendum and then took it away. Power belongs to all the citizens of the UK and you loan that power on the condition that it is used wisely. You don't lend it to politicians to give away to someone who never has to ask you for a vote. That is what Gordon Brown has just done in just ratifying this treaty."

His plans will unsettle the Brussels establishment, which was at first dismissive of his efforts and then humiliated by his success in Ireland.

Mr Ganley, 39, made his fortune in the telecoms industry, but now runs Rivada Networks, a defence contractor with offices in Ireland and America, which supplies emergency response equipment to the military. A devout Catholic and teetotaller, who is said to work 18-hour days, he was born in London to Irish parents, but has returned to his family's roots in Co Galway, where he now lives in the former home of the folk singer Donovan with his American-born wife Delia and four children.

Mr Ganley said that campaigning on a single issue would enable voters to deliver "a clear, unequivocal message" that Europe's elites would not be able to misinterpret. In the past, EU leaders have claimed that "No" votes on the constitution in France and the Netherlands were the consequence of domestic political issues.

Mr Ganley hopes to win more than 80 seats in Strasbourg, creating a Europe-wide voting bloc which would have a strong mandate to block passage of the treaty. "There's no national party that can provide that sort of punching power in the European Parliament. The voters will have mandated candidates to go in and ensure that there will be no attempts to resuscitate the Lisbon Treaty."

Unlike many Tory eurosceptics, Mr Ganley says he supports the European Union but objects to the 287-page treaty document – which he says is far too long and complicated to be comprehensible.

The Crisis Is Upon Us

From LewRockwell.com
By Ron Paul

I have, for the past 35 years, expressed my grave concern for the future of America. The course we have taken over the past century has threatened our liberties, security and prosperity. In spite of these long-held concerns, I have days – growing more frequent all the time – when I'm convinced the time is now upon us that some Big Events are about to occur. These fast-approaching events will not go unnoticed. They will affect all of us. They will not be limited to just some areas of our country. The world economy and political system will share in the chaos about to be unleashed.

Though the world has long suffered from the senselessness of wars that should have been avoided, my greatest fear is that the course on which we find ourselves will bring even greater conflict and economic suffering to the innocent people of the world – unless we quickly change our ways.

America, with her traditions of free markets and property rights, led the way toward great wealth and progress throughout the world as well as at home. Since we have lost our confidence in the principles of liberty, self-reliance, hard work and frugality, and instead took on empire building, financed through inflation and debt, all this has changed. This is indeed frightening and an historic event.

The problem we face is not new in history. Authoritarianism has been around a long time. For centuries, inflation and debt have been used by tyrants to hold power, promote aggression, and provide “bread and circuses” for the people. The notion that a country can afford “guns and butter” with no significant penalty existed even before the 1960s when it became a popular slogan. It was then, though, we were told the Vietnam War and the massive expansion of the welfare state were not problems. The seventies proved that assumption wrong.

Today things are different from even ancient times or the 1970s. There is something to the argument that we are now a global economy. The world has more people and is more integrated due to modern technology, communications, and travel. If modern technology had been used to promote the ideas of liberty, free markets, sound money and trade, it would have ushered in a new golden age – a globalism we could accept.

Instead, the wealth and freedom we now enjoy are shrinking and rest upon a fragile philosophic infrastructure. It is not unlike the levies and bridges in our own country that our system of war and welfare has caused us to ignore.

I'm fearful that my concerns have been legitimate and things may even be worse than I first thought. They are now at our doorstep. Time is short for making a course correction before this grand experiment in liberty goes into deep hibernation.

There are reasons to believe this coming crisis is different and bigger than any the world has ever experienced. Instead of using globalism in a positive fashion, it's been used to globalize all of the mistakes of the politicians, bureaucrats and central bankers.

Being an unchallenged sole superpower was never accepted by us with a sense of humility and respect. Our arrogance and aggressiveness have been used to promote a world empire backed by the most powerful army of history. This type of globalist intervention creates problems for all citizens of the world and fails to contribute to the well-being of the world's populations. Just think how our personal liberties have been trashed here at home in the last decade.

The financial crisis, still in its early stages, is apparent to everyone: gasoline prices over $4 a gallon; skyrocketing education and medical-care costs; the collapse of the housing bubble; the bursting of the NASDAQ bubble; stock markets plunging; unemployment rising; massive underemployment; excessive government debt; and unmanageable personal debt. Little doubt exists as to whether we'll get stagflation. The question that will soon be asked is: When will the stagflation become an inflationary depression?

There are various reasons that the world economy has been globalized and the problems we face are worldwide. We cannot understand what we're facing without understanding fiat money and the long-developing dollar bubble.

There were several stages. From the inception of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 to 1933, the Central Bank established itself as the official dollar manager. By 1933, Americans could no longer own gold, thus removing restraint on the Federal Reserve to inflate for war and welfare.

By 1945, further restraints were removed by creating the Bretton-Woods Monetary System making the dollar the reserve currency of the world. This system lasted up until 1971. During the period between 1945 and 1971, some restraints on the Fed remained in place. Foreigners, but not Americans, could convert dollars to gold at $35 an ounce. Due to the excessive dollars being created, that system came to an end in 1971.

It's the post Bretton-Woods system that was responsible for globalizing inflation and markets and for generating a gigantic worldwide dollar bubble. That bubble is now bursting, and we're seeing what it's like to suffer the consequences of the many previous economic errors.

Ironically in these past 35 years, we have benefited from this very flawed system. Because the world accepted dollars as if they were gold, we only had to counterfeit more dollars, spend them overseas (indirectly encouraging our jobs to go overseas as well) and enjoy unearned prosperity. Those who took our dollars and gave us goods and services were only too anxious to loan those dollars back to us. This allowed us to export our inflation and delay the consequences we now are starting to see.

But it was never destined to last, and now we have to pay the piper. Our huge foreign debt must be paid or liquidated. Our entitlements are coming due just as the world has become more reluctant to hold dollars. The consequence of that decision is price inflation in this country – and that's what we are witnessing today. Already price inflation overseas is even higher than here at home as a consequence of foreign central banks' willingness to monetize our debt.

Printing dollars over long periods of time may not immediately push prices up – yet in time it always does. Now we're seeing catch-up for past inflating of the monetary supply. As bad as it is today with $4 a gallon gasoline, this is just the beginning. It's a gross distraction to hound away at “drill, drill, drill” as a solution to the dollar crisis and high gasoline prices. It's okay to let the market increase supplies and drill, but that issue is a gross distraction from the sins of deficits and Federal Reserve monetary shenanigans.

This bubble is different and bigger for another reason. The central banks of the world secretly collude to centrally plan the world economy. I'm convinced that agreements among central banks to “monetize” U.S. debt these past 15 years have existed, although secretly and out of the reach of any oversight of anyone – especially the U.S. Congress that doesn't care, or just flat doesn't understand. As this “gift” to us comes to an end, our problems worsen. The central banks and the various governments are very powerful, but eventually the markets overwhelm them when the people who get stuck holding the bag (of bad dollars) catch on and spend the dollars into the economy with emotional zeal, thus igniting inflationary fever.

This time – since there are so many dollars and so many countries involved – the Fed has been able to “paper” over every approaching crisis for the past 15 years, especially with Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, which has allowed the bubble to become history's greatest.

The mistakes made with excessive credit at artificially low rates are huge, and the market is demanding a correction. This involves excessive debt, misdirected investments, over-investments, and all the other problems caused by the government when spending the money they should never have had. Foreign militarism, welfare handouts and $80 trillion entitlement promises are all coming to an end. We don't have the money or the wealth-creating capacity to catch up and care for all the needs that now exist because we rejected the market economy, sound money, self-reliance and the principles of liberty.

Since the correction of all this misallocation of resources is necessary and must come, one can look for some good that may come as this “Big Event” unfolds.

There are two choices that people can make. The one choice that is unavailable to us is to limp along with the status quo and prop up the system with more debt, inflation and lies. That won't happen.

One of the two choices, and the one chosen so often by government in the past is that of rejecting the principles of liberty and resorting to even bigger and more authoritarian government. Some argue that giving dictatorial powers to the President, just as we have allowed him to run the American empire, is what we should do. That's the great danger, and in this post-911 atmosphere, too many Americans are seeking safety over freedom. We have already lost too many of our personal liberties. Real fear of economic collapse could prompt central planners to act to such a degree that the New Deal of the 30's might look like Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.

The more the government is allowed to do in taking over and running the economy, the deeper the depression gets and the longer it lasts. That was the story of the 30s and the early 40s, and the same mistakes are likely to be made again if we do not wake up.

But the good news is that it need not be so bad if we do the right thing. I saw “Something Big” happening in the past 18 months on the campaign trail. I was encouraged that we are capable of waking up and doing the right thing. I have literally met thousands of high school and college kids who are quite willing to accept the challenge and responsibility of a free society and reject the cradle-to-grave welfare that is promised them by so many do-good politicians.

If more hear the message of liberty, more will join in this effort. The failure of our foreign policy, welfare system, and monetary policies and virtually all government solutions are so readily apparent, it doesn't take that much convincing. But the positive message of how freedom works and why it's possible is what is urgently needed.

One of the best parts of accepting self-reliance in a free society is that true personal satisfaction with one's own life can be achieved. This doesn't happen when the government assumes the role of guardian, parent or provider, because it eliminates a sense of pride. But the real problem is the government can't provide the safety and economic security that it claims. The so-called good that government claims it can deliver is always achieved at the expense of someone else's freedom. It's a failed system and the young people know it.

Restoring a free society doesn't eliminate the need to get our house in order and to pay for the extravagant spending. But the pain would not be long-lasting if we did the right things, and best of all the empire would have to end for financial reasons. Our wars would stop, the attack on civil liberties would cease, and prosperity would return. The choices are clear: it shouldn't be difficult, but the big event now unfolding gives us a great opportunity to reverse the tide and resume the truly great American Revolution started in 1776. Opportunity knocks in spite of the urgency and the dangers we face.

Let's make “Something Big Is Happening” be the discovery that freedom works and is popular and the big economic and political event we're witnessing is a blessing in disguise.

Choir of King's College - "I Was Glad" By Sir Hubert Parry

Pope To World Youth Day Pilgrims: "Transform Your Lives By Accepting The Holy Spirit"

VATICAN CITY, 19 JUL 2008 (VIS) - Shortly before 7 p.m. today, Benedict XVI arrived at Randwick Racecourse, the largest in Australia, where he presided at the World Youth Day prayer vigil with thousands of young people. The site, which has capacity for 300,000 people, has also hosted events with Paul VI (in 1970) and John Paul II (in 1986). The beatification ceremony Sr. Mary MacKillop, presided by John Paul II, was also held here in 1995.

The prayer vigil began with the racecourse in darkness, gradually illuminated by torches borne by dancers on the podium, representing the opening to the Holy Spirit. Subsequently, the World Youth Day cross and flag were positioned on the stage in anticipation of the Pope's arrival, who entered accompanied by 12 pilgrims while the assembly sang the hymn "Our Lady of the Southern Cross".

An indigenous woman lit the candles carried by the 12 pilgrims, who in their turn lit those of the assembly and of the bishops. Seven young people then invoked the Holy Spirit through the intercession of the patrons of WYD.

"Tonight we focus our attention on how to become witnesses", the Pope told the young people in his address. "You are already well aware that our Christian witness is offered to a world which in many ways is fragile. The unity of God's creation is weakened by wounds which run particularly deep when social relations break apart, or when the human spirit is all but crushed through the exploitation and abuse of persons. Indeed, society today is being fragmented by a way of thinking that is inherently short-sighted, because it disregards the full horizon of truth, the truth about God and about us. By its nature, relativism fails to see the whole picture. It ignores the very principles which enable us to live and flourish in unity, order and harmony".

"Unity and reconciliation cannot be achieved through our efforts alone. God has made us for one another and only in God and His Church can we find the unity we seek. Yet, in the face of imperfections and disappointments - both individual and institutional - we are sometimes tempted to construct artificially a 'perfect' community. That temptation is not new. The history of the Church includes many examples of attempts to bypass or override human weaknesses or failures in order to create a perfect unity, a spiritual utopia".

Yet, the Pope went on, "such attempts to construct unity in fact undermine it. To separate the Holy Spirit from Christ present in the Church's institutional structure would compromise the unity of the Christian community, which is precisely the Spirit's gift! ... Unfortunately the temptation to 'go it alone' persists. Some today portray their local community as somehow separate from the so-called institutional Church, by speaking of the former as flexible and open to the Spirit and the latter as rigid and devoid of the Spirit.

"Unity is of the essence of the Church", he added, "it is a gift we must recognise and cherish. Tonight, let us pray for the resolve to nurture unity: contribute to it! resist any temptation to walk away! For it is precisely the comprehensiveness, the vast vision, of our faith - solid yet open, consistent yet dynamic, true yet constantly growing in insight - that we can offer our world".

"Be watchful! Listen!" the Holy Father told his audience. "Through the dissonance and division of our world, can you hear the concordant voice of humanity?" he asked them. What emerges, he said, is "the same human cry for recognition, for belonging, for unity. Who satisfies that essential human yearning to be one, to be immersed in communion, ... to be led to truth? The Holy Spirit! This is the Spirit's role: to bring Christ's work to fulfilment. Enriched with the Spirit's gifts, you will have the power to move beyond the piecemeal, the hollow utopia, the fleeting, to offer the consistency and certainty of Christian witness!"

"The Holy Spirit has been in some ways the neglected person of the Blessed Trinity. A clear understanding of the Spirit almost seems beyond our reach", said Pope Benedict, going on to explain, however, that St. Augustine comes to our aid with his three "particular insights" about the Holy Spirit "as the bond of unity within the Blessed Trinity: unity as communion, unity as abiding love, and unity as giving and gift".

St. Augustine affirms, Benedict XVI recalled, "that the two words 'Holy' and 'Spirit' refer to what is divine about God; in other words what is shared by the Father and the Son: their communion. So, if the distinguishing characteristic of the Holy Spirit is to be what is shared by the Father and the Son, Augustine concluded that the Spirit's particular quality is unity".

"True unity could never be founded upon relationships which deny the equal dignity of other persons. Nor is unity simply the sum total of the groups through which we sometimes attempt to 'define' ourselves. In fact, only in the life of communion is unity sustained and human identity fulfilled: we recognise the common need for God, we respond to the unifying presence of the Holy Spirit, and we give ourselves to one another in service".

Augustine's second insight concerns love, the Pope explained. "Ideas or voices which lack love - even if they seem sophisticated or knowledgeable - cannot be 'of the Spirit'", he said. "Furthermore, love has a particular trait: ... to abide. By its nature love is enduring". Thus "we catch a further glimpse of how much the Holy Spirit offers our world: love which dispels uncertainty; love which overcomes the fear of betrayal; love which carries eternity within; the true love which draws us into a unity that abides!"

As for the third insight, "the Holy Spirit as gift", Benedict XVI said: "The Holy Spirit is God eternally giving Himself; like a never-ending spring He pours forth nothing less than Himself. In view of this ceaseless gift, we come to see the limitations of all that perishes, the folly of the consumerist mindset. We begin to understand why the quest for novelty leaves us unsatisfied and wanting. Are we not looking for an eternal gift? The spring that will never run dry?"

"Dear young people, we have seen that it is the Holy Spirit Who brings about the wonderful communion of believers in Jesus Christ. True to His nature as giver and gift alike, He is even now working through you. Inspired by the insights of St. Augustine: let unifying love be your measure; abiding love your challenge; self-giving love your mission!"

"Let us invoke the Holy Spirit: He is the artisan of God's works", the Pope concluded. "Let His gifts shape you! Just as the Church travels the same journey with all humanity, so too you are called to exercise the Spirit's gifts amidst the ups and downs of your daily life. Let your faith mature through your studies, work, sport, music and art. Let it be sustained by prayer and nurtured by the Sacraments. ... In the end, life is not about accumulation. It is much more than success. To be truly alive is to be transformed from within, open to the energy of God's love. In accepting the power of the Holy Spirit you too can transform your families, communities and nations. Set free the gifts! Let wisdom, courage, awe and reverence be the marks of greatness!"

A Response To Ross Shealy

Once again the author of an odious South Carolina blog has taken it upon himself to vet nominees for the Education Oversight Committee. Mr. Ross Shealy has reported that its newest member, Julie Hershey, once signed a petition of the Alliance for the Separation of School and State.

Having coordinated a New Jersey statewide campaign for public school reform and parental choice in education, I have had some experience with the Alliance and its founder, Mr. Marshall Fritz. He is an engaging, affable, persuasive and persistent man, who makes the compelling argument that just as Americans would never condone government ownership of the print or broadcast media because of their influence over what Americans think, so too should government not control the very formation and intellectual development of children during the twelve most formative years of their lives. It is a powerful argument that Mr. Fritz delivers with the zeal of an evangelist.

In our statewide campaign for the right of parents to seek out the schools they believe can best serve the way their children learn, we argued that competition and an array of schools catering to the diverse ways children learn, would be a vast improvement on the “one-size-fits-all” schools that are typical of most public school districts. The few places that have actually experimented with choice in education have demonstrated that school choice does improve public schools. Eighteen years after the Milwaukee school choice program was implemented, Milwaukee has an array of high quality public schools that serve more students than they did before parents were free to walk away. Parents are eager to support their neighborhood schools, provided they work.

Nevertheless, while we were making the argument that school choice improves public education, we began to notice that some of our most important coalition members had also signed Mr. Fritz’ petition, undercutting our claims that the campaign was not only in the best interest of children, but also in the best interest of quality public schools. When we contacted these petition “signers” we found again and again, that our coalition leaders had a cordial conversation with Mr. Fritz, had found that they agreed with many of the persuasive arguments he makes, but were not ready to abandon public schools and were surprised to learn that their names had been added to his list of petition signers. Like Mrs. Hershey and Mrs. Iacovelli before her, many requested that their names be removed.

In a state that ranks among the last in SAT scores, and where approximately half of all students entering high school drop out, Mr. Shealy should be pleased that the Education Oversight Committee includes public servants like Mrs. Hershey, those who think outside the box and want radical improvements to a system that is failing so many South Carolina children. Does Mr. Shealy really want to subject his own children to a system where they will have a fifty percent chance of graduating? Will he want them to know that he stood in the doorway, blocked parents seeking something better for their children, and defended a system that has thwarted the potential and ruined the lives of so many millions of students?

Renee Fleming sings "Panis Angelicus" by Cesar Franck

HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL OF TONY SNOW

Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, C.M.

President

The Catholic University of America

Delivered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Washington, D.C.

July 17, 2008

Archbishop Wuerl, President and Mrs. Bush, Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, Mrs. Snow, Kendall, Robbie, Kristi and members of the Snow family, my sisters and brothers all:

What is the measure of a man? This question has been asked over and again from the beginning of time by philosophers and theologians, poets and writers, statesmen and common folk, believers and atheists --- in short, by all of those who share our human mortality. What is the measure of a man? It is a good question; an important question; an enduring question; an ultimate question when we face the death of someone we know and love. Someone like Tony Snow.

In his case, our answers to the question are immediate. He was a loving husband to his wife Jill and an adoring father to his children Kendall, Robbie and Kristi. He was a wonderful son to his father and step-mother and a great brother. The measure of a man can certainly be found in the love of family: love given and love received.

In Tony’s case that loved spilled over to touch and include many others, part of an extended family, and they are here today in this magnificent Church. Friends who grew up with Tony or who shared moments of his life --- both personal and professional, both great and small, both joyful and difficult --- people who became his companions on life’s journey. The measure of a man can also certainly be found in such people: those who made up his every day.

And his every day was lived to the full. It was only last year, on the steps of this Basilica, that Tony --- sharing his own experience --- advised the graduating class of The Catholic University of America: “Live boldly. Live a whole life.”

No one of us among his family or friends believes that Tony’s life was long enough. And, yet --- in the face of its brevity --- we respond in faith, as believers, that the measure of a man is not found, as the Book of Wisdom comforts us today, “in terms of years (Wisdom 4:8).” It is, indeed, our faith that reminds us: “the just man, though he die early, shall be at rest. For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time. He who pleased God was loved (and) … having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career; for his soul was pleasing to the Lord (Wisdom 4: 7-14).” For people of faith, people who believe, the true measure of a man lies in his efforts to please God.

Tony shared that conviction of faith. He believed, as St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans affirms, that “no one lives for oneself” and “no one dies for oneself (Romans 14: 7),” that we live and we die for the Lord, that we are his. And to the Lord, above all and alone, we shall give an accounting for our life.

And what a life he lived! From his earliest years growing up in Cincinnati, Tony Snow “lived a whole life.” He excelled in school and athletics and it should come as no surprise that he was on the debate team. He attended Davidson College and loved to tell stories about his brief days as a self-described “socialist.” At graduation, Tony was not sure what he wanted to do with his life --- perhaps become a social worker or a teacher. After graduate studies at the University of Chicago, his career path emerged: he would become a journalist, a decision that shaped the rest of his life and that, eventually, introduced him to his wife and brought him here to Washington. It was here that the whole world would come to know him. An editor, columnist, broadcaster, analyst, presidential speechwriter, member of a rock band, White House press secretary and news commentator, Tony Snow was destined to live a “whole life” and in the process, to do great things. And, yet, the measure of this man’s life was never his job or title or even the long list of accomplishments in the public eye, as impressive as they all were. The measure of this man’s life can be found in his character, in his optimism, in his joy and humor, in his courage, in his passion for what was good and right and true, in his love for God and family and neighbor and country. Tony Snow did not need a long life for us to measure. It was, rather, we who needed his life to be longer.

"I don’t know why I have cancer,” Tony wrote in Christianity Today last year, “and I don’t much care.” He continued, “We don’t know how the narrative of our lives will end but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face to face … those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main and faith to live --- no matter how their days may be numbered.” Those words are for all of us to hear.

The passing of anyone we love moves us to question: what is the measure of a man? Whatever our answer may be, we can be sure that the measure of a man is not found in words or titles or length of days but, rather, in deeds done, in a life lived, in a love shared and in the beliefs that made it so. The Gospel of St. Matthew tells us today: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, clean of heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted, the just (Matthew 5: 1-12) … these are the measure of a Christian man. For Tony Snow, these were the ways he embraced to “live boldly” and to “live a whole life."

When he spoke to the graduates of Catholic University last spring, Tony shared an especially poignant and profound thought about his latest battle with cancer. He reflected that “While God doesn’t promise tomorrow, he does promise eternity."

For Tony Snow, that promise has now been fulfilled. Amen.

Address of Pope Benedict XVI -- World Youth Day Welcome

Dear Young People,

What a delight it is to greet you here at Barangaroo, on the shores of the magnificent Sydney harbour, with its famous bridge and Opera House. Many of you are local, from the outback or the dynamic multicultural communities of Australian cities. Others of you have come from the scattered islands of Oceania, and others still from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Some of you, indeed, have come from as far as I have, Europe! Wherever we are from, we are here at last in Sydney. And together we stand in our world as God’s family, disciples of Christ, empowered by his Spirit to be witnesses of his love and truth for everyone!

I wish firstly to thank the Aboriginal Elders who welcomed me prior to my boarding the boat at Rose Bay. I am deeply moved to stand on your land, knowing the suffering and injustices it has borne, but aware too of the healing and hope that are now at work, rightly bringing pride to all Australian citizens. To the young indigenous - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - and the Tokelauans, I express my thanks for your stirring welcome. Through you, I send heartfelt greetings to your peoples.
Cardinal Pell and Archbishop Wilson, I thank you for your warm words of welcome. I know that your sentiments resonate in the hearts of the young gathered here this evening, and so I thank you all. Standing before me I see a vibrant image of the universal Church. The variety of nations and cultures from which you hail shows that indeed Christ’s Good News is for everyone; it has reached the ends of the earth. Yet I know too that a good number of you are still seeking a spiritual homeland. Some of you, most welcome among us, are not Catholic or Christian. Others of you perhaps hover at the edge of parish and Church life. To you I wish to offer encouragement: step forward into Christ’s loving embrace; recognize the Church as your home. No one need remain on the outside, for from the day of Pentecost the Church has been one and universal.
This evening I wish also to include those who are not present among us. I am thinking especially of the sick or mentally ill, young people in prison, those struggling on the margins of our societies, and those who for whatever reason feel alienated from the Church. To them I say: Jesus is close to you! Feel his healing embrace, his compassion and mercy!

Almost two thousand years ago, the Apostles, gathered in the upper room together with Mary and some faithful women, were filled with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14; 2:4). At that extraordinary moment, which gave birth to the Church, the confusion and fear that had gripped Christ’s disciples were transformed into a vigorous conviction and sense of purpose. They felt impelled to speak of their encounter with the risen Jesus whom they had come to call affectionately, the Lord. In many ways, the Apostles were ordinary. None could claim to be the perfect disciple. They failed to recognize Christ (cf. Lk 24:13-32), felt ashamed of their own ambition (cf. Lk 22:24-27), and had even denied him (cf. Lk 22:54-62). Yet, when empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were transfixed by the truth of Christ’s Gospel and inspired to proclaim it fearlessly. Emboldened, they exclaimed: repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:37-38)! Grounded in the Apostles’ teaching, in fellowship, and in the breaking of the bread and prayer (cf. Acts 2:42), the young Christian community moved forward to oppose the perversity in the culture around them (cf. Acts 2:40), to care for one another (cf. Acts 2:44-47), to defend their belief in Jesus in the face of hostility (cf Acts 4:33), and to heal the sick (cf. Acts 5:12-16). And in obedience to Christ’s own command, they set forth, bearing witness to the greatest story ever: that God has become one of us, that the divine has entered human history in order to transform it, and that we are called to immerse ourselves in Christ’s saving love which triumphs over evil and death. Saint Paul, in his famous speech to the Areopagus, introduced the message in this way: "God gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone … so that all nations might seek God and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. In fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17: 25-28).

And ever since, men and women have set out to tell the same story, witnessing to Christ’s truth and love, and contributing to the Church’s mission. Today, we think of those pioneering Priests, Sisters and Brothers who came to these shores, and to other parts of the Pacific, from Ireland, France, Britain and elsewhere in Europe. The great majority were young - some still in their late teens - and when they bade farewell to their parents, brothers and sisters, and friends, they knew they were unlikely ever to return home. Their whole lives were a selfless Christian witness. They became the humble but tenacious builders of so much of the social and spiritual heritage which still today brings goodness, compassion and purpose to these nations. And they went on to inspire another generation. We think immediately of the faith which sustained Blessed Mary MacKillop in her sheer determination to educate especially the poor, and Blessed Peter To Rot in his steadfast resolution that community leadership must always include the Gospel. Think also of your own grandparents and parents, your first teachers in faith. They too have made countless sacrifices of time and energy, out of love for you. Supported by your parish priests and teachers, they have the task, not always easy but greatly satisfying, of guiding you towards all that is good and true, through their own witness - their teaching and living of our Christian faith.

Today, it is my turn. For some of us, it might seem like we have come to the end of the world! For people of your age, however, any flight is an exciting prospect. But for me, this one was somewhat daunting! Yet the views afforded of our planet from the air were truly wondrous. The sparkle of the Mediterranean, the grandeur of the north African desert, the lushness of Asia’s forestation, the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, the horizon upon which the sun rose and set, and the majestic splendour of Australia’s natural beauty which I have been able to enjoy these last couple of days; these all evoke a profound sense of awe. It is as though one catches glimpses of the Genesis creation story - light and darkness, the sun and the moon, the waters, the earth, and living creatures; all of which are "good" in God’s eyes (cf. Gen 1:1 - 2:4). Immersed in such beauty, who could not echo the words of the Psalmist in praise of the Creator: "how majestic is your name in all the earth?" (Ps 8:1).

And there is more – something hardly perceivable from the sky – men and women, made in nothing less than God’s own image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). At the heart of the marvel of creation are you and I, the human family "crowned with glory and honour" (Ps 8:5). How astounding! With the Psalmist we whisper: "what is man that you are mindful of him?" (Ps 8:4). And drawn into silence, into a spirit of thanksgiving, into the power of holiness, we ponder.

What do we discover? Perhaps reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth: erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world’s mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption. Some of you come from island nations whose very existence is threatened by rising water levels; others from nations suffering the effects of devastating drought. God’s wondrous creation is sometimes experienced as almost hostile to its stewards, even something dangerous. How can what is "good" appear so threatening?
And there is more. What of man, the apex of God’s creation? Every day we encounter the genius of human achievement. From advances in medical sciences and the wise application of technology, to the creativity reflected in the arts, the quality and enjoyment of people’s lives in many ways are steadily rising. Among yourselves there is a readiness to take up the plentiful opportunities offered to you. Some of you excel in studies, sport, music, or dance and drama, others of you have a keen sense of social justice and ethics, and many of you take up service and voluntary work. All of us, young and old, have those moments when the innate goodness of the human person - perhaps glimpsed in the gesture of a little child or an adult’s readiness to forgive - fills us with profound joy and gratitude.

Yet such moments do not last. So again, we ponder. And we discover that not only the natural but also the social environment – the habitat we fashion for ourselves – has its scars; wounds indicating that something is amiss. Here too, in our personal lives and in our communities, we can encounter a hostility, something dangerous; a poison which threatens to corrode what is good, reshape who we are, and distort the purpose for which we have been created. Examples abound, as you yourselves know. Among the more prevalent are alcohol and drug abuse, and the exaltation of violence and sexual degradation, often presented through television and the internet as entertainment. I ask myself, could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation "explain" that these tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered merely "entertainment"?

There is also something sinister which stems from the fact that freedom and tolerance are so often separated from truth. This is fuelled by the notion, widely held today, that there are no absolute truths to guide our lives. Relativism, by indiscriminately giving value to practically everything, has made "experience" all-important. Yet, experiences, detached from any consideration of what is good or true, can lead, not to genuine freedom, but to moral or intellectual confusion, to a lowering of standards, to a loss of self-respect, and even to despair.

Dear friends, life is not governed by chance; it is not random. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed and given a purpose (cf. Gen 1:28)! Life is not just a succession of events or experiences, helpful though many of them are. It is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy. Do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth.

Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the "way" which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. This is the life of the Church. And the entrance to this life, to the Christian way, is Baptism.

This evening I wish therefore to recall briefly something of our understanding of Baptism before tomorrow considering the Holy Spirit. On the day of your Baptism, God drew you into his holiness (cf. 2 Pet 1:4). You were adopted as a son or daughter of the Father. You were incorporated into Christ. You were made a dwelling place of his Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19). Baptism is neither an achievement, nor a reward. It is a grace; it is God’s work. Indeed, towards the conclusion of your Baptism, the priest turned to your parents and those gathered and, calling you by your name said: "you have become a new creation" (Rite of Baptism, 99).

Dear friends, in your homes, schools and universities, in your places of work and recreation, remember that you are a new creation! Not only do you stand before the Creator in awe, rejoicing at his works, you also realize that the sure foundation of humanity’s solidarity lies in the common origin of every person, the high-point of God’s creative design for the world. As Christians you stand in this world knowing that God has a human face - Jesus Christ - the "way" who satisfies all human yearning, and the "life" to which we are called to bear witness, walking always in his light (cf. ibid., 100).

The task of witness is not easy. There are many today who claim that God should be left on the sidelines, and that religion and faith, while fine for individuals, should either be excluded from the public forum altogether or included only in the pursuit of limited pragmatic goals. This secularist vision seeks to explain human life and shape society with little or no reference to the Creator. It presents itself as neutral, impartial and inclusive of everyone. But in reality, like every ideology, secularism imposes a world-view. If God is irrelevant to public life, then society will be shaped in a godless image, and debate and policy concerning the public good will be driven more by consequences than by principles grounded in truth.

Yet experience shows that turning our back on the Creator’s plan provokes a disorder which has inevitable repercussions on the rest of the created order (cf. 1990 World Day of Peace Message, 5). When God is eclipsed, our ability to recognize the natural order, purpose, and the "good" begins to wane. What was ostensibly promoted as human ingenuity soon manifests itself as folly, greed and selfish exploitation. And so we have become more and more aware of our need for humility before the delicate complexity of God’s world.
.But what of our social environment? Are we equally alert to the signs of turning our back on the moral structure with which God has endowed humanity (cf. 2007 World Day of Peace Message, 8)? Do we recognize that the innate dignity of every individual rests on his or her deepest identity - as image of the Creator - and therefore that human rights are universal, based on the natural law, and not something dependent upon negotiation or patronage, let alone compromise? And so we are led to reflect on what place the poor and the elderly, immigrants and the voiceless, have in our societies. How can it be that domestic violence torments so many mothers and children? How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred human space – the womb – has become a place of unutterable violence?

My dear friends, God’s creation is one and it is good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable. Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. This is the work of the Holy Spirit! This is the hope held out by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to bear witness to this reality that you were created anew at Baptism and strengthened through the gifts of the Spirit at Confirmation. Let this be the message that you bring from Sydney to the world!

The President's "Cash for Access" Fundraiser

The Sunday Times (UK) has reported that a Washington lobbyist who sits on the US Homeland Security Advisory Council and enjoys close ties to the Bush administration has been exposed for selling access to high Bush administration officials in return for six-figure fees for his firm, Worldwide Strategic Partners, and contributions to the Bush Presidential Library.

Stephen Payne who, according to The Sunday Times has raised more than $1 million for the Republican Party in recent years, was filmed (see above) offering to arrange meetings with Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, "and other senior officials in return for a payment of $250,000 toward the library in Texas" and fees totaling "somewhere between $600,000 and $750,000."

Payne was asked by an undercover investigator to arrange the meetings for an exiled former central Asian president.

World Youth Day 2008 - Sydney: "Witness the Spirit"

The Life of Riley

Hat Tip to Leonardo's Notebook By Mattheus Mei for this very interesting and inspiring story about the world's oldest blogger, who died this past Saturday at age 108. Olive Riley embraced the Internet at 106, and her blog, The Life of Riley, and its "heart warming collection of memories, thoughts, opinions of a centenarian" expressed in over 70 posts, became internationally famous.

Legislation Introduced in Congress to Account for American Children in Radical Islamic Madrassas in Pakistan

Congress Responds to the Release of the "Karachi Kids" Documentary

In follow-up to our earlier posts regarding American children studying at radical Islamic madrassas in Pakistan, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) has introduced legislation seeking an accounting of how many American children are being held in those institutions. H. Res. 1336 encourages "the United States Secretary of State to work with the government of Pakistan to secure the return to the United States of all American children being educated in madrassas in Pakistan."

The legislation was introduced as a response to the release of the film the "Karachi Kids," a documentary of American children in a Taliban-backed madrassa in Karachi, Pakistan. The former deputy director of counterterrorism at the FBI said the film also raised the "antennae of the FBI."

Funeral Arrangements for Tony Snow

Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, C.M., President of The Catholic University of America,

presents 2007 CUA commencement speaker Tony Snow with an honorary degree.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for Tony Snow at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, July 17, at 10 A.M. The Archbishop of Washington, The Most Reverend Donald Wuerl, will preside, and the President of The Catholic University of America, Very Reverend David O'Connell, will be the Celebrant and Homilist at the Mass in the Shrine's Great Upper Church. President and Mrs. Bush will attend and the Mass will be open to the public.

In May of 2007, Tony Snow gave Catholic University's commencement address from the steps of the Basilica from which he will be buried.

Has America Lost Her Will to be Free?

From Canada Free Press
By Rod Ewart

We wonder why Americans have lost their will to fight a battle, or right a wrong, or defend their freedom and liberty? We allow hordes of illegal aliens to invade our country every day and say we can’t do anything about it because we must be compassionate, without acknowledging the dire consequences that misplaced compassion will inflict upon us.

We allow our government to slap chains on our wrists and ankles with a million regulations, without so much as a whimper. We allow socialism and radical environmentalism to tear down the very foundation of our freedom while we look the other way. We allow our children to be indoctrinated and brainwashed with the new social order and environmental extremism and say we don’t have the time to get involved. We have allowed special-interest groups to replace the consent of the governed, even though our in-action leads to our enslavement. We have allowed a fourth branch of government to grow and prosper that answers to no one, in the rising stench of out-of-control bureaucracies.

We allow waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, negligence and incompetence to thrive in our government institutions and don’t demand that the perpetrators be summarily fired, fined, or jailed. We stand back and do nothing while they get promoted and ask for money to do their job “right”. We allow government contracts for mega projects and military hardware to escalate into cost overruns that exceed original estimates by several factors. Millions grow to billions and then trillions and not even a ho-hum is uttered. We have allowed entitlements to grow and grow to the point where one day, the piper will have to be paid and government will take our very souls to retire the debt, or some foreign country that holds the debt will confiscate our major assets because we can’t pay. Some say our unfunded liability now stands in excess of $50 Trillion dollars and yet our candidates for president are offering more of the same that will only make matters worse and increase our debt beyond any capability of paying it. We will, for all intent and purposes, go broke, if we stay on the same path.

We shrink in fear and horror when we must send our brave men and women into harm’s way to protect our interests. We place a greater value on capitulation and appeasement rather than on strength and victory, in spite of the lessons that history has taught us. We allow our government to cut deals with other countries that violate our very sovereignty and we do nothing. As we write this, our government is planning a union with Canada and Mexico that seeks to dismantle what’s left of our Constitutional Republic. Soon the North American Union will spring to life and the shining beacon of American freedom will grow dimmer.

We allow the government to force us to tag every one of our animals with a micro chip and notify the government of any movements of those animals, as well as letting them know where we live by GPS coordinates, under the U. S. Agriculture Department’s National Animal Index System (NAIS). How soon will it be before every American citizen is required to have a micro chip inserted under their skin? A requirement that will be sanctioned by both parties in the name of our security. How is this any different than the numbers that were tattooed on the arms of Jews in World War II, in the Nazi death camps?

We allow presidents to codify UN social and environmental policies into law by executive order, without ratification by the U. S. Congress, in violation of our constitution. We allow our courts to subvert the meaning of the words in our constitution and fabricate out of thin air, government rights and powers that don’t exist. We have become so soft that we have allowed the government to convince us that our security is more necessary than our liberty.

But even worse, we have allowed the entertainment industry to redefine our standards of decency. It has become acceptable to call women, bitches and ho’s. We spit on the rule of law in rap and hip hop, as well as film. Swear words, once banned, are now common on TV and radio.

It is now Ok to demean personal achievement as being, trying to be better than anyone else. We have allowed common courtesy to go out the window. Our children are exposed daily to the worst within us, instead of the best. While, with science, we have eradicated many diseases that were fatal to us, we have allowed honesty, integrity and honor to be almost erased from our culture. We have allowed depravity and bad behavior to define our values, instead of demanding good behavior from ourselves and those around us. In other words, almost anything goes today and we find it acceptable! In the end, lowering the bar of decency could very well be our undoing as a free society. It has happened before.

We cannot say the words to help you understand a clear and present danger, if you will not listen. We cannot reach into your heart and instill courage if you are determined to cloak yourself in cowardice. We cannot convince you that your enemy draws near, if you choose to ignore reality. We cannot tap you on the shoulder and say join with us to confront that enemy, if material comfort and instant gratification are your only reasons for living. We cannot ask you to take up arms in the defense of freedom, if you continue to consort with that very same enemy, when it has been proven beyond any doubt that that enemy’s goal is to rob you of that freedom by any means. We cannot incite your anger, if you see no reason for alarm and believe that all is well. But we can assure you that all is not well.

This was America, the land of the free, before we decided to become too civil, too compassionate, too cowardly, too politically correct and too depraved. The result of our folly is to have lost our will to confront the twin enemies of freedom, socialism and radical environmentalism, while we seek earthly pleasures.

Everyone cries out for solutions but that solution will never come until we act as one in the defense of the document that secures our individual rights and freedom, our Constitution, no matter what the price or the consequences. We will not be free so long as we allow the worst in us to define who we are. Our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to give birth to this great Nation and our freedom. How on Earth can we dishonor their sacrifice by standing by and letting what they built, descend into the sewer of abject socialism?

If you do not believe in your heart that all creatures cry out for freedom, you do not understand nature. If you are not aware that your government is doing everything within its power to strip you of your freedom, your eyes are not open, or you choose not to see. If you do see and do nothing, some may call you a coward. If you do not know that freedom has a price that you must pay, you are naïve and lack wisdom. If you stand by and watch while others take up the “sword” of freedom, your soul shall find no peace and your children and grand children shall bear the scars of your inaction. The government’s only hold on you is that they assume you will be law abiding citizens. But what if the laws are wrong and unconstitutional? What then is your duty to obey the law?

In spite of the negatives we outline here, we are still a great people and there remains a core of courage and wisdom in us to act. Join with us in this fight for freedom, it being the noblest of all causes. We are individual Americans and we cannot be defeated, unless we decide that security and mindless compassion, at any price, trumps liberty. Let the goodness within us replace the evil that has overtaken us and let that goodness direct us to the great heights that American can still attain, but only under freedom.

Be there not man among you who will rise up against government tyranny that is coming at us from all directions? Let us show the rest of the world that we are still free people and are willing to do whatever it takes to defend that freedom. Let us show the politicians and the bureaucrats that we have a spine and that we are mad as Hell and we aren’t going to take it any more? We need to march on City Halls, all across the country and demand that government stays within the limits of our constitutions. If we do nothing, government will not hear us and do exactly as it pleases. And it is.

Has America lost her will to be free? Some of us haven’t, but It would appear that way too many of us have. The question is, will it take a revolution to restore the greatest experiment with freedom that ever existed on planet Earth? Or will we restore freedom by peaceful means, before revolution becomes the only solution?

”Your individual, natural, God-given rights, are only as good as the depth of your willingness and courage to defend them.” Ron Ewart

Ron Ewart is President of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RURAL LANDOWNERS, an organization dedicated to re-establishing, preserving, protecting and defending property rights.

Lady Thatcher To Be Honored With State Funeral

The following story concerns a matter we hope is a long, long way off. But what an extraordinary acknowledgment of Lady Thatcher's monumental contributions, when a Labour government must acquiesce to the wishes of the Crown and public opinion and grant an honor only accorded to the likes of Nelson, Wellington, Gladstone and Churchill.

From The Daily Mail
By Katie Nicholl and Simon Walters

Margaret Thatcher is to be given the ultimate accolade of a State funeral when she reaches the end of her days – the first British Prime Minister since Winston Churchill to be afforded such an honour.

But the possibility of a formal procession could be jeopardised by fears that there are insufficient troops available to line the route because the Armed Forces are so overstretched in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Although Lady Thatcher is currently in good health – she was with the Queen at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday – The Mail on Sunday has learned that plans are under way for her funeral, when the time eventually comes, to take place at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Highest honour: Lady Thatcher, pictured at this year's Wimbledon, will have a State funeral

The Queen and Gordon Brown are both in discussions with Lady Thatcher’s private office concerning the arrangements. This does not reflect any concern over Lady Thatcher’s health, but simply the prudent long-term planning necessary for any event involving the Queen.

It has not yet been decided whether the 82-year-old former Conservative leader will lie in state in Westminster Hall. To date the only Prime Minister in the 20th and 21st centuries to be given this honour was Churchill.

There were four non-Royal State funerals in the 19th century – Nelson, Wellington, Palmerston and Gladstone.

Opulent: St Paul's Cathedral, chosen by Lady Thatcher as funeral venue

St Paul’s was chosen at Lady Thatcher’s request. The Queen is expected to be among the many world leaders, Royals and other dignitaries who would be in attendance.

Overall arrangements for the funeral are being led by Sir Malcolm Ross, the Queen’s former Master of the Royal Household, who has managed every Royal funeral since 1997, including those of Princess Diana and the Queen Mother.

A source said: ‘Sir Malcolm has been brought in because he has an excellent track record and is considered the best man for the job.’

Sir Malcolm is renowned for his discretion and kept the plans for the Queen Mother’s funeral in his briefcase for 17 years. It is hoped that those for Lady Thatcher will also not be needed for many years.

His plans have also been discussed with Lady Thatcher’s daughter Carol and son Mark in conjunction with Mark Worthington, her senior adviser.

In a separate proposal, the Queen has also given her permission for Lady Thatcher to lie in the Chapel of St Mary’s Undercroft immediately beneath Westminster Hall on the night before her funeral. Family friends and VIPs would be able to visit the chapel to pay their last respects.

Informed sources last night confirmed that the Queen and Gordon Brown had given their blessing to the preparation of funeral arrangements for Lady Thatcher in recognition both of her achievements and for being Britain’s first woman Prime Minister.

She led the country from 1979 to 1990, winning three Elections and the Falklands War, and was credited with reversing the nation’s post-Second World War decline.

Despite her age, Lady Thatcher is in good health, although she has suffered a series of mini-strokes which resulted in short-term memory loss. Earlier this year she appeared frail when she was photographed with the Queen aboard the QE2 for Her Majesty’s final visit to the liner.

But a close friend said last night: ‘Lady T has been on fine form lately. She was with the Queen at a Buckingham Palace garden party on Tuesday, had lunch with a friend on Wednesday and is greatly looking forward to going on holiday in the French Alps with friends soon.’

A senior official involved in the funeral plans told The Mail on Sunday: ‘What’s in place at the moment is a contingency plan for a State funeral.

‘It is yet to be decided whether Lady Thatcher will lie in state. They won’t decide on the finer details until the actual time. There might be a new Prime Minister in place which could change things.

‘Ultimately it’s a call for the Government as to whether Lady Thatcher will lie in state.

One of the implications for a State funeral is that the Government meets the costs.

‘Another aspect is that there would usually be a long procession from Westminster Hall to St Paul’s Cathedral which involves the Armed Forces lining the route and marching through the streets of London.

Flashback: Sir Winston Churchill's 1965 State funeral

‘There is an enormous pressure on our already stretched Forces and how many servicemen and women will be available is a serious consideration. It won’t be the case of bringing troops back home, but they are a long way from deciding on the finer details.

‘Whatever happens, the process will involve the Queen and the Ministry of Defence. It’s quite normal for a State funeral to be planned in advance. These things deserve forethought and planning; they can’t be conjured up over night.

‘Obviously everyone involved wants things to be as smooth as possible.’

State funerals are generally reserved for monarchs, but may, by order of the reigning monarch, be granted to other national heroes, such as Lord Nelson.

By tradition a State funeral for someone who is not a Royal is attended by the Monarch.

In addition, there is a lying in state and a military procession. But they are not all the same.

Hundreds of thousands of people filed past Churchill’s coffin during a three-day lying in state in Westminster Hall in 1965. By contrast, the public was not admitted during Gladstone’s lying in state in 1898.

Although the Queen Mother was Queen, she chose a Royal Ceremonial funeral.

However, her lying in state took place over three days and vast numbers queued to pay their respects.

Princess Diana also had a Royal Ceremonial funeral, a break with protocol since she was neither a consort to the Monarch nor heir to the throne. In other respects, it had all the trappings of a State funeral.

The funerals of other post-war Prime Ministers were considerably more modest than the plans being made for Lady Thatcher. No tickets were required to attend the Salisbury Cathedral funeral of her predecessor as Tory leader, Sir Edward Heath.

There was a simple ceremony on the Scilly Isles for Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Former Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was buried in a quiet Sussex churchyard after a private service near his family home.

Lady Thatcher’s private office was unavailable for comment, and when contacted by The Mail on Sunday Sir Malcolm Ross declined to comment.

"What Price Democracy, Mr. Sarkozy?"

Nigel Farage is one of the most articulate and impressive young leaders in Britain. He is a founder of the eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party, and a member of the European Parliament for South East England. We're unabashed anglophiles here at Sunlit Uplands, and we think you will see in the following exchange between Farage and French President Sarkozy, how freedom loving Britons have routed the French in every conflict from Agincourt to the present day.

The New Learning That Failed

The New Criterion recently published a thoughtful article on the decline of classical learning and the core liberal arts curriculum in the university. For those who would like to understand the "dumbing down" of our elementary and secondary schools and the coarsening of our culture, this article probes the root causes.

Victor Davis Hanson is a military historian, columnist, former classics professor, and author of A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War.

Aled Jones - "Deep Peace"

The Real Conservative Candidate is Gaining

Hat Tip to the excellent blog, GOP Catholics, which reports that "the real conservative candidate," Bob Barr, is polling above 5% in 19 states. In New Hampshire he is already drawing 10% of the vote. The polling data is from Zogby.

The following numbers will be even better when voters recognize that Barr is a Reaganite running against three dangerous liberals -- John McCain, Barack Hussein Obama, and Ralph Nader.

New Hampshire - 10%

Oklahoma - 9%

New Mexico - 9%

Nevada - 9%

Georgia - 8%

Colorado - 8%

Minnesota - 8%

Iowa - 8%

Arizona - 7%

Ohio - 7%

Indiana - 7%

Tennessee - 7%

Texas - 6%

Florida - 6%

Missouri - 6%

Oregon - 6%

Michigan - 6%

Maryland - 6%

South Carolina - 6%

Tony Snow Has Died of Cancer at 53

The Associated Press

Saturday, July 12, 2008

WASHINGTON: Tony Snow, a conservative writer and commentator who cheerfully sparred with reporters in the White House briefing room during a stint as President Bush's press secretary, has died of colon cancer, Fox News reported Saturday. Snow was 53 years old.

Snow, who served as the first host of the television news program "Fox News Sunday" from 1996 to 2003, would later say that in the Bush administration he was enjoying "the most exciting, intellectually aerobic job I'm ever going to have."

Snow was working for Fox News Channel and Fox News Radio when he replaced Scott McClellan as press secretary in May 2006 during a White House shake-up. Unlike McClellan, who came to define caution and bland delivery from the White House podium, Snow was never shy about playing to the cameras.

With a quick-from-the-lip repartee, broadcaster's good looks and a relentlessly bright outlook — if not always a command of the facts — he became a popular figure around the country to the delight of his White House bosses.

He served just 17 months as press secretary, a tenure interrupted by his second bout with cancer. In 2005 doctors had removed his colon and he began six months of chemotherapy. In March 2007 a cancerous growth was removed from his abdominal area and he spent five weeks recuperating before returning to the White House.

He resigned as Bush's chief spokesman six months later, in September 2007, citing not his health but a need to earn more than the $168,000 a year he was paid in the government post. In April, he joined CNN as a commentator.

In that year and a half at the White House, Snow brought partisan zeal and the skills of a seasoned performer to the task of explaining and defending the president's policies. During daily briefings, he challenged reporters, scolded them and questioned their motives as if he were starring in a TV show broadcast live from the West Wing.

Critics suggested that Snow was turning the traditionally informational daily briefing into a personality-driven media event short on facts and long on confrontation. He was the first press secretary, by his own accounting, to travel the country raising money for Republican candidates.

Although a star in conservative politics, as a commentator he had not always been on the president's side. He once called Bush "something of an embarrassment" in conservative circles and criticized what he called Bush's "lackluster" domestic policy.

Most of Snow's career in journalism involved expressing his conservative views. After earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Davidson College in North Carolina in 1977 and studying economics and philosophy at the University of Chicago, he wrote editorials for The Greensboro (N.C.) Record, and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk.

He was the editorial page editor of The Newport News (Va.) Daily Press and deputy editorial page editor of The Detroit News before moving to Washington in 1987 to become editorial page editor of The Washington Times.

Snow left journalism in 1991 to join the administration of President George H.W. Bush as director of speechwriting and deputy assistant to the president for media affairs. He then rejoined the news media to write nationally syndicated columns for The Detroit News and USA Today during much of the Clinton administration.

Robert Anthony Snow was born June 1, 1955, in Berea, Ky., and spent his childhood in the Cincinnati area. Survivors include his wife, Jill Ellen Walker, whom he married in 1987, and three children.

STATEMENT OF IMRAN RAZA REGARDING RELEASE OF AMERICAN CHILDREN FROM PAKISTANI TALIBAN MADRASSA

Since we informed Sunlit Uplands readers two days ago about a new documentary disclosing that American children are receiving training in a Taliban-backed madrassa in Pakistan, two children have been returned to their homes in Atlanta.

Imran Raza, the director and executive producer of the documentary "Karachi Kids" who discovered up to 80 American children in a Taliban-backed madrassa in Pakistan released the following statement regarding the return of two American children:

I am grateful for the safe return of the two American children from Atlanta from a Taliban- backed madrassa but the mullah claims to have up to 78 more in his institution. The headmaster comes to the United States once a year and personally recruits American children to enroll in his madrassa.

The remaining 78 children must be returned to the United States. This pipeline to jihad must be closed.

Let me be clear - these children do not learn math, or science, or liberal arts. They learn one thing - they memorize over the course of seven years every verse of the Koran coupled with the radical interpretation of their teachers.

This is just the first step in integrating these children back to American society. I am proud we did our part so we could say 'Welcome Home."

It is imperative that Members of Congress and the State Department undertake an accounting of just how many Americans are in the other 20,000 madrassas in Pakistan. Hundreds remain behind.

The Karachi Kids is a documentary about American children in the Jamia Binoria madrassa in Karachi Pakistan. A trailer of the film is available at www.karachikids.com.

U.S. To Send Largest International Pilgrim Group To World Youth Day In Sydney

From The US Conference of Catholic Bishops

The United States will send 15,000 young people to World Youth Day, the international event convened by Pope Benedict XVI, scheduled to take place in Sydney, Australia, from July 15 through 20. According to U.S. organizers, this will be the largest delegation representing any country outside of Australia. The young pilgrims will be joined by 50 U.S. bishops, including Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The young people, most of whom are in their late teens and young adult years, are traveling to Australia in 1,140 groups that range in varying sizes up to 520 individuals. Typically, the groups are organized by dioceses, parishes, religious associations and schools, though some groups are families who have chosen to make the journey on their own.

The gathering in Sydney marks the tenth international celebration of World Youth Day. The international celebration has occurred every two or three years since Pope John Paul II established it in 1985. In 1993, the international celebration of World Youth Day took place in Denver.

For the first time at World Youth Day the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will sponsor a Mass for all U.S. groups in Sydney. Cardinal George will preside and deliver the homily on Saturday morning, July 19, at an outdoor location in the center of Sydney. Concelebrating with him will be other U.S. bishops who will also use the opportunity to meet with young people from their dioceses. Musicians from Oregon Catholic Press and World Library Publications will give a concert prior to the Mass.

Young people from the United States will also take prominent roles in other aspects of the World Youth Day events. Armando Cervantes from the Diocese of Orange will be among 12 young adults from all parts of the world who will have lunch with the Holy Father on Friday, July 18, in Sydney. In addition, Juan Martinez from the Diocese of Austin, Texas will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation from Pope Benedict along with other young people at the closing Mass of World Youth Day on Sunday, July 20.

Annalee Moyer, from the Archdiocese of Washington and Leonardo Jaramillo, from the Archdiocese of Atlanta, were selected to be members of a two hundred-person group known as the International Liturgy Group. Members take leading parts in all the major events of World Youth Day including the papal ceremonies and liturgies. They function as a representative group for all the World Youth Day pilgrims.

“I am truly blessed by this opportunity to experience the universal Church in such a unique way with my peers from around the world,” said Moyer.

Australian organizers expect approximately 100,000 youths from their own country and 125,000 international visitors to make the World Youth Day pilgrimage to Sydney this month.

Poll Shows Most Oklahomans Don’t Prefer Public Schools

From The Tulsa Beacon

Results from a new public opinion survey taken in Oklahoma in late April indicate that more than 4 of 5 voters - 83 percent - would send their children to private, charter or virtual schools or educate their children in a home school setting. The survey was released today by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) and the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, along with eight other co-sponsors.

The survey touched on such issues as tax-credit scholarships, public school funding, and school choice. The results of the poll - the first of its kind conducted in the state - indicate divided public opinion on the quality of Oklahoma’s public school system. Forty-one percent rated the public schools as poor or fair, while 40 percent indicated the schools were good or excellent. Nineteen percent were undecided.

According to Paul DiPerna, director of the Friedman Foundation’s School Choice Survey in the State, “Oklahoma’s K-12 system does not fulfill parents’ schooling preferences. If tuition were portable to both public and private schools, it seems as though families and students would sort and match themselves across school types much differently than is allowed in the current system.”

The survey results indicate majority support for tax credits for both businesses and individuals who contribute money to nonprofit organizations which distribute private school scholarships. Fifty-four percent of those polled support tax credits for businesses, while 57 percent support tax credits for individuals. A larger majority, 58 percent, supported legislation creating a tax-credit scholarship system for students in low performing schools.

This past session the Oklahoma legislature failed to pass a bill that would create tax incentives for businesses that donated to private school scholarships. The measure passed the Oklahoma Senate but failed to make it past the Republican controlled House.

The scientifically representative poll of 1,200 likely Oklahoma voters was conducted April 25-27 by Strategic Vision, an Atlanta-based public affairs agency whose polls have been used by Newsweek, Time Magazine, BBC, ABC News, and USA Today among others. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In addition to the Friedman Foundation and the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, other sponsors of the poll include the Department of Catholic Education-Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Americans for Prosperity-Oklahoma, American Legislative Exchange Council, Black Alliance for Educational Options, Center for Education Reform, Connections Academy, Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, and the National Catholic Educational Association.

Anglo-Catholics Must Now Decide

By the Rt. Rev. Andrew Burnham

So we are to have a code of practice. Traditional Anglo-Catholics must now decide whether to stay in the Church of England in what, for a while, will be a protected colony - where the sacramental ministry of women bishops and priests is neither acknowledged nor received - or to leave.

Leaving isn't quite so easy as it sounds. You don't become a Catholic, for instance, because of what is wrong with another denomination or faith. You become a Catholic because you accept that the Catholic Church is what she says she is and the Catholic faith is what it says it is. In short, some Anglo-Catholics will stay and others will go. It is quite easy to think of unworthy reasons for staying - and there are no doubt one or two unworthy reasons for leaving.

There are also honourable reasons for staying. Like the Anglican clergy who wouldn't swear allegiance to William and Mary at the end of the 17th century and the Catholic clergy who wouldn't swear allegiance to the French Revolutionary government a century later, the "non-jurors" of the present day will soldier on and die out but they will be faithful to what they have believed and history will honour them for their faithfulness.

Recent history teaches us that those who stay on - for instance, in similar circumstances in North American and Scandinavia - are not left alone for long. The pressure of secular culture bears down on them to ensure conformity with secular values.

As for those who choose to go, like in the early 1990s these will include some of the finest Anglican clergy.

Most of them are not motivated in the least by gender issues but by a keenness to pursue Catholic unity and truth.

For them, the decision of the Church of England to proceed to the ordination of women bishops without providing adequately for traditionalists renders the claims of the Church of England to be part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church shaky or simply untenable.

Codes of practice are shifting sands. The sacramental life of the Church must be built on rock.

How could we trust a code of practice to deliver a workable ecclesiology if every suggestion we have made for our inclusion has been turned down flat?

How could we trust a code of practice when those who are offering it include those who have done most to undermine and seek to revoke the code of practice in force for these last 14 years?

The synodical process for traditional Anglo-Catholics is over. Some will try to draw new lines in the sand. But what the General Synod of the Church of England demonstrated on 7/7 (2008) is that, as on 11/11 (1992), it has decided that it is unilaterally competent to alter Holy Order. At one stage in the late 1990s it even had a go at changing the Creed. Here at work is a democratic Magisterium which at York this week showed that it values the advice of archbishops and bishops' prolocutors less than it does the outcome of a show of hands.

What we must humbly ask for now is for magnanimous gestures from our Catholic friends, especially from the Holy Father, who well understands our longing for unity, and from the hierarchy of England and Wales. Most of all we ask for ways that allow us to bring our folk with us.

Meanwhile we retreat into the wilderness and watch and pray.


The Rt. Rev. Andrew Burnham is the Bishop of Ebbsfleet and has been one of two "flying bishops" in the province of Canterbury. He is currently in discussion with the Vatican about ways to allow traditionalist Anglicans to become Catholic en masse.

American Children Indoctrinated Against Their Will in Taliban-Backed Madrassa in Pakistan

Up to 80 Americans Instructed by Taliban

"Karachi Kids" Documentary Highlights Their Plight

A Muslim father, a taxi driver in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States on a green card, flew his American born-boys against their will to Saudi Arabia, and then to the a radical, Taliban-backed Jamia Binoria madrassa in Karachi, Pakistan with instructions to the head master for his sons to memorize the entire Koran before returning to America. This is their story.

Children in the documentary film "The Karachi Kids" describe beatings and human rights violations for those who reject the radical teachings of their Taliban masters. Children from California and Georgia are interviewed in the film from inside the madrassa and discuss coming back to the United States to spread extremism within our borders.

The trailer of the documentary can be seen at www.KarachiKids.com.

Film producer Imran Raza, a Southern California native, discovered the children and captures on film the hard-core Islamic indoctrination and radical transformation of these kids. "American children are being indoctrinated by a radical and violent Islamic sect," Raza said. "Kids as young as five live in an Islamic version of the walled compound of religious radicals with little contact with their parents or any information not allowed inside the walls," Raza said. "I hope release of 'The Karachi Kids' will help end the abuse and sever the pipeline between Jihadists who want war on the values of freedom and American children who are being trained to spread radicalism back home."

There are now, according to the founder of the madrassa, between 70 and 80 other American children at the Jamia Binoria madrassa - and more than 100 Americans have already graduated from this diet of 24/7 Koran.

Raza said "This is a not only personal tragedy for the children but a new and dangerous national security question." In a chilling interview for the documentary, the headmaster of the madrassa -- who visits the United States to personally recruit American children during Ramadan -- tells Raza: "We work on altering the mindset of the students we are training, so when they return to their home countries, their mindset is such that they will work on altering the minds of others. That is why I'm appealing to you that at least 1000 to 2000 boys come to us so we can train them.

C of E Bishop Will Lead Anglicans To Rome

From The Telegraph
By Damian Thompson

The Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, is to lead his fellow Anglo-Catholics from the Church of England into the Roman Catholic Church, the Catholic Herald will reveal this week.

Bishop Burnham, one of two "flying bishops" in the province of Canterbury, has made a statement asking Pope Benedict XVI and the English Catholic bishops for "magnanimous gestures" that will allow traditionalists to become Catholics en masse.

He is confident that this will happen, following talks in Rome with Cardinal Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Kasper, the Vatican's head of ecumenism. He was accompanied on his visit by the Rt Rev Keith Newton, Bishop of Richborough, the other Canterbury "flying bishop", who is expected to follow his example.

Bishop Burnham hopes that Rome will offer special arrangements whereby former Anglicans can stay worshipping in parishes under the guidance of a Catholic bishop. Most of these parishes already use the Roman liturgy, but there may be provision for Anglican prayers if churches request it.

Anglican priests who are already married will not be barred from ordination as priests, though Bishop Burnham would not be able to continue in episcopal orders, as he is married and there is an absolute bar on married bishops in the Roman and Orthodox Churches.

In his statement, Bishop Burnham explains why he is rejecting the code of practice offered to traditionalists by the General Synod last night.

"How could we trust a code of practice to deliver a workable ecclesiology if every suggestion we have made for our inclusion has been turned down flat?" he asks. "How could we trust a code of practice when those who are offering it include those who have done most to undermine and seek to revoke the code of practice in force for these last 14 years? ...

"What we must humbly ask for now is for magnanimous gestures from our Catholic friends, especially from the Holy Father, who well understands our longing for unity, and from the hierarchy of England and Wales. Most of all we ask for ways that allow us to bring our folk with us."

Hunger Summit Dines on 18 Courses

President Bush and world leaders meeting at the G8 Summit in Japan are discussing world food shortages and policies that have resulted in famine in some parts of the world and runs on staples at your local Costco.

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the above photo showing the leaders and their spouses dining at the Windsor Hotel Toya in the lakeside resort of Toyako, northern Japan's main island of Hokkaido Monday, July 7, 2008.

Out of concern for public relations, and because lavish dinners at other world summits to discuss hunger have been criticized, the G8 dinner was scaled down to the following 18 courses. Just your basic comfort food.

New Gingrich: "I'm Deeply Worried"

Day of Reckoning for Anglicans Amid Split Over Women Bishops

From The Times (UK)
By Ruth Gledhill

The Church of England will today be plunged into one of the fiercest debates in its 400-year history as traditionalists go head-to-head with liberals over women bishops. Church leaders will attempt to avert new splits with a compromise plan for “super bishops” to minister to traditionalists who oppose women bishops.

Liberals will fiercely resist the plan, which is being seen as an attempt to appease traditionalists in order to get women bishops consecrated.

Campaigners for women's ordination will respond with an all-or-nothing proposal to consecrate women that includes no safeguards or concessions at all for opponents.

More than 1,300 clergy have threatened to walk out if the Church goes ahead with approving the consecration of women bishops without statutory provision to safeguard the traditionalists' place in the Church.

Women and liberals insist that they would rather not have women bishops at all than have a new, extra-geographical diocese legally established as a safe haven for Anglo-Catholics.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu, are understood to favour a compromise that would avoid an exodus of the Church's Catholic wing, but they do not want the consecration of women jettisoned altogether because of the difficulties in appeasing both sides.

Dr Williams yesterday described the “agonies and complexities” facing the Church as it struggles with the issues of homosexual priests and women bishops. Preaching to members of the General Synod at York Minster, he said that, were Jesus present in the debate, he would be with every faction of the Church, including traditionalists.

“He will be with those in very different parts of the landscape who feel that things are closing in, that their position is under threat and their liberties are being taken away by those anxious and eager to enforce new ideologies in the name of Christ,” he said.

“He will be with those who feel that their liberty of questioning is under threat, he will be with gay clergy who wonder what their future is in a Church so anxious and tormented about this issue.”

His sermon, which left some worshippers close to tears, restored some faith in its mission as a Christian Church to a Synod meeting where the misery has been almost palpable, as different factions struggle to remain in communion with each other while staying true to their beliefs.

In a last-minute rescue attempt, a senior bishop will urge the Church's governing body to placate traditionalists by considering the appointment of three senior clerics to lead a “Church within a Church”. The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Right Rev John Packer, will propose an amendment that would allow the creation of complementary or “super bishops”. Traditionalist parishes would be allowed to opt into the care of the super bishops - as they can do now with flying bishops, who were set up when women were first ordained.

He is seeking a delay of eight months before the Church makes up its mind. His amendment will also allow the Church to fall back on straightforward legislation, with a code of practice, if the concept of super bishops cannot be made to work.

Dr Miranda Thelfall-Holmes, chaplain at Durham and representing the universities on the General Synod, will put down a rival amendment designed to remove altogether any protection for traditionalists and to have women consecrated by a simple measure or law allowing them to become bishops.

Christina Rees, of the lobby group Watch, which has campaigned for women bishops and who will speak in support of Dr Threlfall-Holmes's amendment, criticised Bishop Packer's proposal as unnecessary. She said: “We do not need further time. Synod is ready to make up its mind about how it wants to proceed. I am in favour of simple statutory arrangements to allow women to be bishops. Anything that muddles this and makes it more complex or changes the nature of what it means to be a bishop in the Church should be resisted.”

Under the compromise tabled by Bishop Packer, the new super bishops would have powers similar to flying bishops but with more authority. He said the proposal meant that the Church would not be divided. “The parishes that put themselves under the care of a complementary bishop would still be part of the local deanery and diocese and would continue to be funded through the diocese and to be in a structure of fellowship with their neighbours.”

The super bishops would care for traditionalist bishops and congregations in the same way flying bishops have done to date, but would also perform consecrations as well as ordinations and other pastoral duties for Anglo-Catholic parishes. This means that, in the eyes of Anglo-Catholics, the “apostolic” ministry would not be “tainted” by the hands of a woman. Traditionalists believe that the actions of Jesus in appointing 12 men as His disciples - as well as centuries of Church tradition - mean that women bishops go against Church order.

The move for a compromise came as a senior Roman Catholic priest cast doubt over claims of high-level consultations that are said to have taken place between Church of England bishops and Vatican officials in Rome. Monsignor Andrew Faley, ecumenical officer to the 22 Catholic bishops of England and Wales and the Catholic observer at the General Synod, said that no information had reached him or his bishops about such a meeting, although informal meetings took place regularly between bishops and lay members of both churches.

Bishops from both the Church of England's evangelical and Catholic wings are said to have held a secret meeting in Rome to discuss the Church's difficulties over women and gays. Up to six bishops, who have not been named, bypassed leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain to hold the consultation with officials from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican.

King's College Choir - "In Paradisum" (Faure)

In paradisum deducant te angeli,
in tuo adventu
suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te
in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
aeternam habeas requiem.

May the angels lead you into paradise,
May the martyrs receive you
In your coming,
And may they guide you
Into the holy city, Jerusalem.
May the chorus of angels receive you
And with Lazarus once poor
May you have eternal rest.

Jesse Helms: A Man of Courage and Principle

Jesse Helms played a decisive role in the great social, political and foreign policy struggles during his thirty year career in the United States Senate.

A man of courage, conviction and integrity, he was the greatest champion of the conservative movement in Congress. When President Ford and Secretary Kissinger feared offending the Soviet Union by meeting with Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Jesse Helms rolled out the red carpet for him in the United States Senate. When others would compromise and avoid contentious battles, Jesse Helms stood on principle -- whether it was foreign aid, UN dues, third world tyrants, reforming the State Department, or opposing a bad ambassadorial nomination. He paved the way for Ronald Reagan, and as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was a critical ally in applying the pressure that ultimately broke asunder the evil empire.

I had the privilege of working with Senator Helms many times during his thirty years in the United States Senate, but I first met him when he was first elected to the Senate and I was a student working in a U.S. Senate patronage job, running an elevator in the Senate wing of the Capitol. He treated the Senate elevator operators with the same gentlemanly kindness, respect and courtesy that he showed his Senate colleagues and foreign heads of state.

One always recognized his deep sense of mission and service to a cause far greater than himself. The conservative movement and the nation have lost a great champion of liberty and constitutional principles. I extend my deepest sympathy to his family and all the dedicated people on his Senate staff that served him so well over the years.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

A Blessed and Happy Fourth of July to All!

More Of Those Satan-Worshipping Democrats

Joshua Gross has an item on his great blog, Columbia Conservative, that my readers will find interesting. It's about two Satan-worshipping Democrat Party officials in North Carolina "charged with rape, kidnapping and assault."

Wouldn't you like to see who's in their Rolodex? And who did they support in the primaries?

No, this isn't my usual hyperbole. Check it out!

Transalpine Redemptorists United With Rome

Last September I posted a beautiful video about the Transalpine Redemptorist monks and the remote, new monastery they are building on the island of Papa Stronsay, in the Orkneys off the northern coast of Scotland.

They are a zealous, fast growing community, drawing vocations from all over the world. However, at the time the video was made, they were part of the breakaway, traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Pope Benedict XVI has made enormous strides in healing the thousand year old divisions between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. With his Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, facilitating widespread use of the traditional Latin Mass, he is also healing the modern fissures resulting from the Second Vatican Council. This "new springtime" in the life of the Church was wonderfully evident when the Transalpine Redemptorists recently petitioned Rome to be reunited with the Church, and when they were received back into full communion with the Successor of St. Peter.

We are richly blessed to have these good monks in communion with us. Deo Gratias and welcome home!

Yesterday, they posted the wonderful news on their community's blog:

1 July, 2008
Feast of the Precious Blood

My dear friends,

I am happy to inform you that last June 18th, before Cardinal Castrillon and the members of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei in Rome, I humbly petitioned the Holy See on my own behalf and on behalf of the monastery council for our priestly suspensions to be lifted.

On June 26th I received word that the Holy See had granted our petition. All canonical censures have been lifted.

Our community now truly rejoices in undisputed and peaceful posession of Communion with the Holy See because our priests are now in canonical good standing.

We are very grateful to our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI for issuing, last July, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum which called us to come into undisputed and peaceful Communion with him.

Now we have that undisputed communion! It is a pearl of great price; a treasure hidden in the field; a sweetness that cannot be imagined by those who have not tasted it or who have not known it, now for many years. Its value cannot be fully expressed in earthly language and therefore we hope that all traditional priests who have not yet done so, will answer Pope Benedict's call to enjoy the grace of peaceful and undisputed communion with him. Believe us, the price to pay is nothing; even all the angry voices that have shouted against us and calumniated us are as nothing when weighed in the scales against undisputed communion with the Vicar of Christ; others have died for it; what are raucous voices?

We publicly thank all those souls who have prayed for us over the last months; some of you have truly stormed heaven for us. You have kept us afloat. We are deeply grateful. Especially we thank that priest who was unknown to us, until June 16th when he wrote in fraternal support. Where did he come from? Why us? But he told us of the number of Masses, Offices, prayers and sacrifices he had personally said for us; he had also enlisted the prayers of contemplatives and Third Order societies and had a great number of people fervently praying for us with an abundance of prayers. We were amazed! Thank you Father! Thank you also to that brave person who, so kindly wrote to us to say that if he said any more prayers for us he would be floating! What wonderful people! Thank you!

Looking to the future, the next stage will be to have our community canonically erected. So please, dear friends, keep praying for us, there will be many crosses to bear; but they will be yokes sweetened by the grace of these last days.

We assure you all of our very best wishes.
Your devoted servant,

Fr. Michael Mary, C.SS.R.
Vicar General

An Independence Day Reflection

A Sunlit Uplands reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, has submitted the following Fourth of July reflection:

As we approach the anniversary of our Nation's Declaration of Independence and remember our founding fathers' struggle for freedom, I had a thought-provoking incident during the morning train commute.

A young woman wearing a head scarf and chic casual business attire boarded the train. She appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent. This theory was validated when I saw that she wore a large button on the strap of her leather bag with the words "Arab American and I vote" emblazoned on it.

My first thought, as we near the July 4th holiday was: "what a great country we live in where anyone, including members of a population group where large segments would have America blown up into oblivion, can exercise suffrage and influence the political future of our local and national governments."

My second thought was: "I wonder how freely women can vote in Arab/Islamic majority countries?"

This led to an internet search that yielded the following excerpt from a 2002 World Bank Forum:

GENDER AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE ARAB REGION:

The diverse forms of governance that characterize the Arab world, from monarchic or dynastic rule, to centralized one party systems, to fledgling multiparty democracies play a critical role in shaping the opportunities and mechanisms for political and civic participation for both men and women. Nonetheless, as recent empirical evidence shows, women everywhere suffer from what (has been referred) to as a 'double jeopardy'. This is fundamentally because in all Arab countries, the relationship between the State and women is not a direct one, rather it is mediated by a male kinsman (father, brother, husband). For the average Arab women in many countries, basic citizenship rights such as the right to vote, to issue an identity card or a passport, to access social protection schemes and entitlements, to send their children to school, to marry, to travel, to pass on citizenship to their children, are either lacking, or are granted through the mediation of a male family member. Given the accepted definition of citizenship as a direct relationship to the State, (what) does that say about the applicability of the concept to women in the Arab world?

Which led to a third thought....What if my non-Muslim daughters lived in an Arab/Islamic-dominated state? What rights and freedoms would they enjoy? Could they wear a button proclaiming their heritage and walk in peace?

For all its faults, the influence of Greco-Roman civilization (e.g., the notion of democracy) and Judeo-Christian values (e.g., the sanctity of life, the basic dignity of all human beings created in the image and likeness of God, and the potential for eternal salvation secured at a "Great Price") in our European heritage still make America...a "light on the hill" to ALL People, of goodwill, on Earth.

God Bless America and a Happy Fourth!