US Report Lists Religious-Freedom Troubles Worldwide

From Catholic World News

An annual report on religious freedom throughout the world, released by the US State Department, "sends a signal to the worst offenders that the world is watching,” according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But a former State Department official charges that the Obama administration has done little to promote religious freedom. 

Thomas Farr, the director of Georgetown’s Religious Freedom project and a former director of the State Department office, said that while the report lists various “dialogues” with representatives of other governments, “there is very little evidence of a unified US strategy to advance religious freedom.” The State Department report lists 8 “countries of particular concern” on the issue of religious freedom: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan. (The same 8 countries composed the same list for last year’s report.) The report notes that the “Arab Spring” protests raised expectations of greater freedom in some countries, notably in Egypt, but subsequent developments have shown that religious minorities still face grave dangers. 

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• International Religious Freedom Report for 2011 (US State Department)
• Expert finds Clinton's religious freedom report not backed by action (CNA)

"Mr. Bean" Displays His Class and Smarts on the World Stage

Romney aide tells reporters to ‘shove it,’ ‘kiss my ass’

From National Post

By Josh Visser

WARSAW, POLAND - JULY 31: U.S. Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, prepares to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on July 31, 2012 in Warsaw, Poland. After visiting London, Israel, and the polish city of Gdansk, Romney traveled to Warsaw to meet with the Polish President and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.

At least it wasn’t Mitt Romney who said it.

After an international tour highlighted by the Republican presidential nominee being verbally spanked by British Prime Minister David Cameron and then being accused of making “racist” comments in the Middle East, the last thing Romney needed was another flare-up in the media.

But a top Romney aide provided that Tuesday in Warsaw, Poland when he told reporters to “shove it” and “kiss my ass” as they hurled questions about the gaffes on the trip.

Cardinal George Responds to Rahm Emanuel's "Chicago Values"

By Francis Cardinal George, OMI

Recent comments by those who administer our city seem to assume that the city government can decide for everyone what are the “values” that must be held by citizens of Chicago.  I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval.  Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city?  Is the City Council going to set up a “Council Committee on Un-Chicagoan Activities” and call those of us who are suspect to appear before it?  I would have argued a few days ago that I believe such a move is, if I can borrow a phrase, “un-Chicagoan.”

The value in question is espousal of “gender-free marriage.”  Approval of state-sponsored homosexual unions has very quickly become a litmus test for bigotry; and espousing the understanding of marriage that has prevailed among all peoples throughout human history is now, supposedly, outside the American consensus.  Are Americans so exceptional that we are free to define “marriage” (or other institutions we did not invent) at will?  What are we re-defining?

Colosseum in Rome is Leaning, Officials Say

The Colosseum in Rome. Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex Features

From The Guardian 

The ancient Colosseum in Rome is slanting about 40cm lower on the south side than on the north, and authorities are investigating whether it needs urgent repairs.

Experts first noticed the incline about a year ago and have been monitoring it for the past few months, Rossella Rea, director at the 2,000-year-old monument, said in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Republicans Not Seeking to Block HHS Contraceptive Mandate?

From Catholic World News

Although Republican political leaders have denounced President Obama for imposing a contraceptive mandate as part of his health-care reform, the Republican leadership has not taken action to overturn the regulation, Politico notes. 

House Speaker John Boehner said that the contraceptive mandate “must not stand and will not stand.” But no vote to block the mandate has been scheduled in the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a majority. 

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• GOP may let contraception rule take effect without a fight (Politico)

In the Long Run, Is the GOP Dead?

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Since 1928, only Dwight Eisenhower and George W. Bush have won the presidency while capturing both houses of Congress for the GOP.

 

In his 49-state landslide, Richard Nixon failed to take either House. In his two landslides, Ronald Reagan won back only the Senate. Yet Mitt Romney is even money to pull off the hat trick.

 

With this hopeful prospect, why the near despair among so many Republicans about the long term?

 

"All People That On Earth Do Dwell"

A 1960 BBC Interview with Novelist Evelyn Waugh

"If politicians and scientists were lazier, how much happier we should all be."

 

100 Proof Southern Manners Endure at Tennessee's Jack Daniels

Jack Daniel's has sent what has been described as perhaps the world's most polite cease and desist letter, after the front cover of a new novel looked suspiciously like their famous black and white label. 

Read the rest of this entry at The Telegraph >>

Chicago Plays Chicken With Christians

By George Neumayr

The Obama Left places believing Christians in the same moral category as racists. The bullying has escalated to the point that prominent liberal mayors, such as Chicago's Rahm Emanuel, now openly say that Christians are unworthy of even running a fast food chain in the public square.

"Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago values. They're not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if you're gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values," said Emanuel, backing alderman Joe Moreno's goal of preventing the chicken restaurant from opening its doors in the Logan Square neighborhood.

This is a stunning doubling down in the left's war on Christianity by a prominent Democrat. Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff, has in effect told the religious across the country, in an election year no less, that traditional Christian values are not American values.

Reagan Foundation's Medal of Honor Event: Lessons of Personal Bravery and Self-Sacrifice

For more information on the ongoing works of President Reagan's Foundation, please visit http://www.reaganfoudnation.org

US Church Remains in 'Coma' Despite Cataclysmic Events in Middle East, Says Watchdog

The church in America is no longer simply in a slumber when it comes to its lack of awareness about the persecuted church in the Middle East; it is in a "diabetic coma," says the leader of a persecution watchdog group in the U.S.

"For years we've said wake up and strengthen what remains," Open Doors USA President and CEO Dr. Carl Moeller told The Christian Post in an exclusive interview. "We would think of the American church as a napping church and that we would elbow it and it would wake up and rouse itself and do something.

"In my mind today, the picture I have is a church in a diabetic coma that has gorged itself on the sweets of affluence, materialism, and the idolatry of worshipping the materialistic world. That diabetic coma is now life threatening. We as a church are at the point of death – not the church in the Middle East. We are the ones who can no longer rouse ourselves to even pray for an hour on behalf of things that God would have us pray for."

Read the rest of this entry at The Christian Post >>

Obama's Traitorous Record

Looking back thru the past 4 years, many "Whens" pop up. Read them all to better understand where we are going as a country.

WHEN - he refused to disclose who donated money to his election campaign, as other candidates had done, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he received endorsements from people like Louis Farrakhan, Muramar Kaddafi and Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - it was pointed out that he was a total newcomer and had absolutely no experience at anything except community organizing, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he chose friends and acquaintances such as Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn who were revolutionary radicals, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - his voting record in the Illinois Senate and in the U.S. Senate came into question, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he refused to wear a flag lapel pin and did so only after a public outcry, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - people started treating him as a Messiah and children in schools were taught to sing his praises, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he stood with his hands over his groin area for the playing of the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he surrounded himself in the White House with advisors who were pro-gun control, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage and wanting to curtail freedom of speech to silence the opposition, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he said he favors sex education in kindergarten, including homosexual indoctrination, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - his personal background was either scrubbed or hidden and nothing could be found about him, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - the place of his birth was called into question, and he refused to produce a birth certificate, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he had an association in Chicago with Tony Rezco - a man of questionable character and who is now in prison and had helped Obama to a sweet deal on the purchase of his home - people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - it became known that George Soros, a multi-billionaire Marxist, spent a ton of money to get him elected, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he started appointing White House Czars that were radicals, revolutionaries, and even avowed Marxist /Communists, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he stood before the Nation and told us that his intentions were to "fundamentally transform this Nation" into something else, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - it became known that he had trained ACORN workers in Chicago and served as an attorney for ACORN, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed cabinet members and several advisers who were tax cheats and socialists, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed a Science Czar, John Holdren, who believes in forced abortions, mass sterilizations and seizing babies from teen mothers, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Cass Sunstein as Regulatory Czar who believes in "Explicit Consent," harvesting human organs without family consent and allowing animals to be represented in court, while banning all hunting, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Kevin Jennings, a homosexual and organizer of a group called Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network as Safe School Czar and it became known that he had a history of bad advice to teenagers, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Mark Lloyd as Diversity Czar who believes in curtailing free speech, taking from one and giving to another to spread the wealth, who supports Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - Valerie Jarrett, an avowed Socialist, was selected as Obama's Senior White House Advisor, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - Anita Dunn, White House Communications Director, said Mao Tse Tung was her favorite philosopher and the person she turned to most for inspiration, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Carol Browner, a well known socialist as Global Warming Czar working on Cap and Trade as the nation's largest tax, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Van Jones, an ex-con and avowed Communist as Green Energy Czar, who since had to resign when this was made known, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary could not be confirmed because he was a tax cheat, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - as President of the United States , he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, people said it didn't matter..

WHEN - he traveled around the world criticizing America and never once talking of her greatness, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - his actions concerning the Middle East seemed to support the Palestinians over Israel, our long time ally, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took American tax dollars to resettle thousands of Palestinians from Gaza to the United States, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he upset the Europeans by removing plans for a missile defense system against the Russians, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he played politics in Afghanistan by not sending troops early-on when the Field Commanders said they were necessary to win, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he started spending us into a debt that was so big we could not pay it off, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took a huge spending bill under the guise of stimulus and used it to pay off organizations, unions, and individuals that got him elected, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took over insurance companies, car companies, banks, etc., people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took away student loans from the banks and put it through the government, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he designed plans to take over the health care system and put it under government control, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he claimed he was a Christian during the election and tapes were later made public that showed Obama speaking to a Muslim group and 'stating' that he was raised a Muslim, was educated as a Muslim, and is still a Muslim, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he set into motion a plan to take over the control of all energy in the United States through Cap and Trade, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he finally completed his transformation of America into a Socialist State , people woke up--- but it was too late. Add these up one by one and you get a phenomenal score that points to the fact that Barrack Hussein Obama is determined to turn America into a Marxist-Socialist society.

All of the items in the preceding paragraphs have been put into place. All can be documented very easily. 

The last paragraph alone is not yet cast in stone. You and I will write that paragraph when we vote.

Will it read as above or will it be a more happy ending for most of America ?

Don't just belittle the opposition. Search for the truth. We all need to pull together or watch the demise of a free democratic society. Pray for Americans to seek the truth and take action, for it will keep us FREE. Our biggest enemy is not China, Russia, North Korea or Iran. Our biggest enemy is a contingent of politicians in Washington, DC . The government will not help, so we need to do it ourselves.

Mitt Romney's Embarrassing Lack of Savoir-Faire

Mitt Romney's rude and inappropriate questioning of British readiness for the Olympics, while a guest in that country, is yet another example of how very ill-equipped he is for the presidency of the United States.  The boorish lack of class reminds one of the incumbent president America is so eager to replace. 

The Republican Party has far better than Romney among its ranks, and under party rules delegates are free to vote their consciences on the first and all ballots at the convention.  It is not too late for GOP leaders to intervene and ensure that, in a time of crisis, the very best choice is offered to the American people.

David Cameron hits back at Mitt Romney over London 2012 doubts

Prime minister says Olympics have brought the UK together to put on a 'friendly Games' for international visitors

David Cameron with Lord Coe at the Olympic Park. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

The prime minister has hit back at comments from the US presidential candidate Mitt Romney querying Britain's readiness for the Olympics, urging the country to "put its best foot forward" and ensure they are remembered as "the friendly Games".

On a visit to the Olympic Park with the London 2012 organising committee chairman, Lord Coe, before Friday's opening ceremony, Cameron said the Games were an opportunity to promote Britain despite the gloomy economic backdrop.

"This is a time of some economic difficulty for the nation, everyone knows that. But look at what we're capable of achieving even at a difficult economic time. Look at this extraordinary Olympic Park, built from nothing in seven years," he said.

Romney said the fallout from the G4S security fiasco and a threatened strike by immigration officials were "disconcerting" and questioned whether British people would get behind the Games.

America Needs No More Neo-Imperial Nonsense

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Triumphant in the first Gulf war, George H.W. Bush, in October 1991, went before the UN to declare that the US's goal was now to build a "New World Order".

 

Rejecting this as Wilsonian utopianism, my 1992 presidential campaign called for an end to US military intervention where no vital interest was imperilled, for federal action to secure our southern border and for a halt to the outsourcing of US manufacturing jobs.

 

The Church and the End of the Welfare State

"A new generation of bishops is not quite as sure as its predecessors that 'social justice' always equals 'government program.'"

From First Things

By George Weigel

Throughout the post-Vatican II years, the U.S. bishops’ conference has typically defended the welfare state and not infrequently urged its expansion. Everyone familiar with the situation knows that this has had far more to do with the political predilections of certain conference staff members than with the settled judgment of the American episcopate—or with a careful application of the principles of Catholic social doctrine. But things are changing.

A new generation of bishops is not quite as sure as its predecessors that “social justice” always equals “government program.” The rise of aggressive secularism within both state and federal social welfare agencies has also been a sobering experience, as bishops across the country have found that the Church’s success in foster care or work with sex-trafficked women doesn’t count in the eyes of government bureaucrats determined to impose the LGBT and abortion-on-demand agendas with the funding tools at their disposal. 

Read the rest of this entry at First Things >>

Vatican Strips Peru University of 'Catholic' Title

Once again, thank you, Holy Father, for pruning the dead branches, purging corruption and restoring a Church that strives to be worthy of its founder.  For the sake of "truth in advertising," we hope Georgetown University is next.

From BBC News

The Vatican has stripped one of Latin America's top universities of the right to call itself Catholic or Pontifical.

It says the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru has damaged the interests of the church.

The Vatican has been locked in a decades-long struggle with the institution, which it accuses of drifting from its Catholic origins.

The university in the Peruvian capital Lima has long been identified with liberal, progressive thinking.

It was founded in 1917 and formally established as a Catholic institution by the Vatican in 1942.

However, the university has changed its statutes numerous times over the past few decades, angering the Catholic establishment in Rome.

One aspect of the dispute is that the Vatican wants the university to give the conservative archbishop of Lima a seat on its governing board.

The university refused him a post, despite a Peruvian court having ruled in 2010 that he had the right to one.

Peru's current and former presidents are both graduates of the university.

Gustavo Gutierrez, the priest considered the founder of the Liberation Theology movement, also taught there for years.

Another Doctored Image Deepens Obama Mystery

Filmmaker claims black man removed from 2012 campaign Facebook image

 

Does a family photograph of a young Barack Obama posted on the president’s Facebook campaign page offer a clue to the identity of his real father?

A professional graphic artist who examined the 1973 photo believes the image of Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, was airbrushed into the scene to cover up an African-American man who was standing next to Obama at the Honolulu airport.

Filmmaker Joel Gilbert, who commissioned the analysis, told WND there’s substantial evidence that the man in the original photograph was Frank Marshall Davis, the Communist Party member, pro-Soviet propagandist and pornographer who played a fatherly role in Obama’s teen years.

Read the rest of this entry at WorldNetDaily >>

Gary Glenn's Withdrawal from the Michigan Race for US Senate

During the past year and through an exhaustive vetting process, thousands of grassroots Michigan patriots came to recognize in Gary Glenn an extraordinary love of country, sense of history, devotion to duty and abundant gifts of leadership and communication.  Unfortunately, not enough of our fellow citizens take their civic responsibilities as seriously as the dedicated men and women of nearly fifty Michigan TEA Party organizations.  For most Michiganders, like most Americans, political decisions are based on the best, most persuasive and often negative TV ads.  Such a system, unfortunately, favors incumbents and those with significant financial resources.  Thus, despite a zealous network of dedicated volunteers, it was not possible for Gary to combat the TV ads of a longtime establishment political figure and a monied corporate executive.

Nevertheless, those thousands who heard Gary Glenn speak from the heart of his love of country and determination to save it from socialists forcing greater government control over every aspect of our lives, will not soon forget this principled, conservative patriot.  As our national crisis continues and deepens, Americans will look more and more to people like Gary Glenn to restore America to her Constitutional mooring and its safeguards of liberty and justice for all.

We have no doubt that Gary's withdrawal from the Michigan Senate race is a temporary setback for him and for the cause of freedom.  If America is to be saved, God has a great plan for dutiful servants like Gary Glenn.

The Call of Beauty

Cardinal Raymond Burke on bringing the traditional Latin Mass back in our churches.

Southwark Cathedral Congregation - "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"

The US Army Band, "Pershing's Own," in Oslo for the Norwegian Military Tattoo

The United States Army Band, "Pershing's Own," traveled to Oslo, Norway in May 2012 to participate in the Norwegian Military Tattoo.  The videos and links below not only provide an enjoyable sampling from this very illustrious military band, but a wonderful look at Oslo and a day by day look behind the scenes at one of the world's great military tattoos.  The videos were produced by MSG Les Owen.

Day 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7  

and the Finale of the Norwegian Military Tattoo 2012:

The Chickens of Globalization Come Home to Roost

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Mitt Romney is today the beneficiary of some desperate counsel from alarmed Republicans on how to escape the snare in which he has found himself.

 

Democrats are charging that Mitt was still chairman and CEO of Bain Capital between 1999 and 2002, when the company was advising some of America's premier outsourcers.

 

The facts are in dispute. But the evidence seems on the side of the Romney camp -- that Mitt did not run Bain after he went off to fix the Salt Lake City Olympics. Yet the matter raises a larger question.

 

A Blow to the Patriotic Association: the Bishop of Shanghai a Prophet and Hero

From AsiaNews.it

By Bernardo Cervellera

Bishop Ma Daqin, by refusing the imposition of hands from an excommunicated bishop and quitting the Patriotic Association, is upholding the very religious freedom that the Chinese constitution guarantees, but that is betrayed by religious regulations. His rejection of the Patriotic Association has theological reasons (the PA is "incompatible with Catholic doctrine"), but also pastoral and social. For months, pastors are kept at a distance from their dioceses, on a tour of government sponsored banquets while their faithful have to face poverty. The "opportunist" bishops are like tasteless salt. The value of the lay faithful in reconciliation with the pope.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - A prophet and a hero, this is how many Chinese Catholics - and we with them - define the first steps of the newly elected auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, Msgr. Ma Thaddeus Daqin. In just one day, the day of his consecration on July 7, he rejected the imposition of hands by an excommunicated bishop; did not drink from the same cup of the illicit bishop; publicly resigned from the Patriotic Association (PA), considering this an obstacle to his "pastoral and evangelization work."

The Religious Affairs Bureau did not like this perfectly aimed blow and has confined him to house arrest in the Sheshan seminary, for a forced period of "rest".

Romney Invested in Medical-Waste Firm That Disposed of Aborted Fetuses, Government Documents Show

Alan Keyes has summed up the 2012 presidential election as "a choice between Satan and Beelzebub."  Were Christians to choose between these two evils, would we differ morally from either the communist intent on destroying America, or the hollow, culture of death profiteer?

From Mother Jones 

By David Corn 

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Zuma

Earlier this year, Mitt Romney nearly landed in a politically perilous controversy when the Huffington Post reported that in 1999 the GOP presidential candidate had been part of an investment group that invested $75 million in Stericycle, a medical-waste disposal firm that has been attacked by anti-abortion groups for disposing aborted fetuses collected from family planning clinics. Coming during the heat of the GOP primaries, as Romney tried to sell South Carolina Republicans on his pro-life bona fides, the revelation had the potential to damage the candidate's reputation among values voters already suspicious of his shifting position on abortion.

Read the rest of this entry at Mother Jones >>

A Discussion of "The Presidents' Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity"

This is a fascinating conversation about a must read book.  Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy discuss with Peter Robinson their new book The Presidents' Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity.  It reveals the extraordinarily complex roles, contributions and inter-relationships of America's former Presidents.

Wheaton College, Catholic University Jointly Sue Over Birth Control Mandate

From The Christian Post

By Napp Nazworth

(Photo: The Catholic University of America/Ed Pfueller)

At the foot of the Thomas Jefferson memorial, President John Garvey (CUA), President Philip Ryken (Wheaton), President Bill Mumma (Becket Fund).

Wheaton College, an evangelical institution, joined forces Wednesday with Catholic University of America to sue the government for requiring that it provide health insurance coverage for some abortifacient drugs to its employees and students.

Wheaton's main reason for filing suit, Dr. Philip Ryken, president of Wheaton College, explained in a Wednesday conference call with reporters, is that the pro-life institution opposes the use of abortifacient drugs and would be forced to violate its religious beliefs.

"This insurance mandate is against our conscience and against our Christian convictions. We have no recourse now but to file suit," Ryken said.

Ryken added that Wheaton and Catholic University also wanted to demonstrate cross-denominational solidarity on the issue of religious freedom.

"We have a respect for Roman Catholic institutions and in this case we recognize we have common cause with Catholic University of America and other Catholic institutions in defending religious liberty. We're, in effect, co-belligerents in this fight against government action. I think the fact that evangelicals and Catholics are coming together on this issue ought to be a sign to all Americans that something really significant for religious liberty is at stake."

Read the rest of this entry at The Christian Post >>

For the First Time, Canadians Now Richer Than Americans

The average Canadian household is worth about $40,000 more than their American counterparts

While Americans might enjoy throwing politically-charged barbs at their neighbors to the north, Canadians now have at least one reason to be smug.

For the first time in recent history, the average Canadian is richer than the average American, according to a report cited in Toronto's Globe and Mail.

And not just by a little. Currently, the average Canadian household is more than $40,000 richer than the average American household. The net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202, compared to around $320,000 for Americans.

 Read the rest of this entry at U.S. News & World Report >>

Glenn Radio Ad Slams Hoekstra Record On Wall Street Bailout, Spending, Unions

MIDLAND, MI -- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gary Glenn, who is endorsed by a statewide coalition of over 40 local TEA Party groups, Wednesday will launch a statewide radio buy that touts the TEA Party movement and slams former nine-term Congressman Pete Hoekstra's support for the Wall Street bailout, increased federal debt, and forced unionization of state and local government employees.

"When TEA Party and other conservative Republican primary voters learn about Congressman Hoekstra's big-spending, Big Labor voting record," Glenn said Tuesday, "they'll know he's not the candidate we can trust to hold Debbie Stabenow accountable for her record on those issues."

Sheriff's Investigators: “President's Long Form Birth Certificate is Undoubtedly a Fraud

Hawaii immigration loophole could pose national security concern, Sheriff Joe Arpaio says

 

FOX 10 News - Phoenix, AZ | KSAZ-TV

(Phoenix, AZ) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, along with Cold Case Posse Lead Investigator Mike Zullo, held a news conference today regarding information stemming from an exhaustive examination into President Obama’s long form birth certificate.

Zullo told reporters that the information he developed confirms that the document presented to the American public by the White House in April 2011 is undoubtedly fraudulent.

Scholars Publish Study of College Summer Reading Assignments

Beach Books: What do colleges and universities want students to read outside of class?

By Michael R. Cook

The National Association of Scholars publishes an annual study of college summer reading assignments.  The NAS study is quite revealing -- and provides disturbing evidence that the traditional aim of higher education, the pursuit of truth, has been replaced by a dubious amalgam of moral relativism and political correctness.

The NAS study lists and categorizes the books assigned as summer reading to incoming college freshmen.  Almost invariably, the books assigned in these common reading programs are recent works of questionable quality.  These books seem to be selected primarily on the basis of the "values" (i.e., political messages) they impart. 

The classic works of literature, history, philosophy, and science are almost never assigned.

The NAS study is worth reviewing in its entirety, but pages 1-5 (Executive Summary) and 22-23 (The Fall of Literature) are especially interesting. 

Also worth noting is a list of books the NAS recommends as alternatives to the drivel that colleges currently assign in their summer reading programs.  The NAS list, which begins on page 78 of the study, includes the kinds of works one supposes students will read during their college careers (but one shouldn't hold one's breath!). 

Every year the NAS offers such a list, and every year the colleges ignore it.

The NAS study highlights the lamentable fact that the "great books" -- along with the great ideas -- have for the most part been banished from college curricula, in favor of a politicized patchwork of courses emphasizing race, class, and gender grievances.

Surely this cannot be what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he founded the University of Virginia.

College tuition, room and board is fast approaching $60,000 per year at elite private institutions.  But our colleges and universities -- including the elite ones -- seem to be pursuing the educational mission with less and less seriousness.

Beach Books: What Do Colleges Want Students to Read Outside Class

Chivalry Is Very Much Alive

From TFP Student Action

By Gabriel Jordan

As author Paul Claudel aptly put it, “youth was made not for pleasure, but for heroism.”

With this spirit, dozens of young men attended the eleventh annual Call to Chivalry Camp in Louisiana sponsored by TFP—Louisiana.  Each year a specific historic theme is woven into the event, providing real life examples of virtue to follow.  The valiant Saints and crusaders of Poland and Lithuania offered ample inspiration this time.

Get more information about future camps here

Presentations brought history to life

A talk about the Siege of Vienna demonstrated how King Jan Sobieski and his courageous winged-hussar knights, although outnumbered, found fortitude in their Catholic faith and repulsed the Turkish invaders at the gates of Vienna on September 11, 1683.

A Choice Between Satan and Beelzebub

From RenewAmerica

By Alan Keyes

Recently, I heard a friend of mine echo the sentiment former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker expressed in an interview with WND: "I would vote for the devil himself over Barack Obama." People say this to make clear how deeply they abhor Obama and all his works. Sadly, for them and for America, their passionate hatred of Obama puts them exactly where the devil wants them to be. The Father of Lies chuckles with satisfaction. He gloats triumphantly at the fact that their hatred of his appearance in one form has maneuvered them into supporting his triumph in another.

"My Lady's Knight": Charles Untz

Terry Nelson's Abbey Roads is one of the most edifying and interesting blogs to be found. He very kindly granted us permission to repost the following. It is a powerful reminder that great saints still walk among us.

Charles Untz once wrote to one of his friends, "Don't take God's mercy for granted because death will come you when you least expect it, so make sure you are as blameless as possible when that time comes."*

The Scapular kid.

Charles Anthony Francis Untz, killed by a driver who did not see him, right in front of his family's home, as Charles set out on his short walk to work.  Charles died that day, March 20, 2000 at the age of eighteen.

On his college application, Charles wrote, "I go to Eucharistic Adoration and Mass almost every morning before school. I think that this sets a better mood for the day. "

Charles enjoyed country living, the horses and other animals, and his job across the street at the turkey farm. He especially enjoyed his scouting experiences. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout on July 8, 1998. For his Eagle project he wrote an altar server handbook for Epiphany Catholic Church, Coon Rapids, MN, and directed the training of the new servers.

Before moving west, he and his family mowed the lawn, and shoveled and plowed the walks and parking lot of St. John Bosco Church, Stamford, VT. Charles also mowed the lawn at St. Francis of Assisi Church, North Adams, MA. Both projects were done as a volunteer.

Charles became an altar server when he was eight. He was the only server at the small parish of St. John Bosco, where he served for 5 years. His family transferred to St. Francis of Assisi where he served for two years. In 1996, the family moved to Andover, Minnesota; and he served at Epiphany Church until his birth into eternal life in 2000. He had that "presence" about him when he was serving that can’t be taught. One could see that he truly believed that Jesus was present.

Charles began praying the Liturgy of the Hours regularly when he was eleven. At the same time, he started serving as a Youth 2000 New England volunteer. He designed the web page, maintained the mailing list, and designed flyers and nametags. During the retreats he was an altar server and sacristan, and the general gopher for whatever was needed. For Youth 2000 Minnesota, he maintained the mailing list, designed the nametags, served at the altar, and was available to help behind the scenes whenever needed.

Charles had a great devotion to Mary. He designed and made his own brown scapular on his Mom’s embroidery machine. On one side was "My Lady" and the other side was "Mary" with twelve stars around it. In 1999, he also made a Mother’s Day card for Mary (this was discovered after his death).

On his "Ambition and Life Purpose" sheet for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, Charles Anthony Francis Untz wrote, "My life purpose is to do the will of God. My ambition in life is to become a saint. There is nothing harder to achieve than this, but I will continue to strive for it. " - Source

Source

Pray for us Charles, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

More on Charles Untz

Young Knights...

Westminster Abbey Choir - "Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation" - Henry Purcell

The above is from the Ecumenical Celebration in Westminster Abbey during Pope Benedict's Apostolic Journey to the United Kingdom, September 16-19, 2010.

Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
Words: Latin, c7th--8th century, translated by John Mason Neale
Music: Henry Purcell
Sung by: Westminster Abbey Choir

Text:
Christ is made the sure foundation,
and the precious corner-stone,
who, the two walls underlying,
bound in each, binds both in one,
holy Sion's help for ever,
and her confidence alone.

All that dedicated city,
dearly loved by God on high,
in exultant jubilation
pours perpetual melody,
God the One, in threefold glory,
singing everlastingly.

To this temple, where we call thee,
come, O Lord of hosts, today;
with thy wonted loving-kindness,
hear thy people as they pray;
and thy fullest benediction
shed within its walls for ay.

Here vouchsafe to all thy servants
gifts of grace by prayer to gain;
here to have and hold for ever,
those good things their prayers obtain,
and hereafter, in thy glory,
with thy blessèd ones to reign.

Laud and honour to the Father;
laud and honour to the Son,
laud and honour to the Spirit,
ever Three, and ever One,
One in love, and One in splendour,
while unending ages run. Amen.

A Star in the Darkness of Night

From CNA

By Joe Tremblay

St. Benedict, father of the West

In 1947, seeing that Western Civilization was weighed down by a long and exhausting world war, Pope Pius XII penned a wonderful encyclical on St. Benedict.

Contained within this letter to the Church are shafts of light that have the potential, if we just lay hold of it, to illuminate the moral and spiritual darkness which envelopes our public institutions. Using St. Benedict as an example, he recounts what it means to forsake all for Christ only to "receive a hundred times more now in this present age." (Mark 10:30)

What was accomplished in the fifth century can be revived and brought to bear upon the trying circumstances which challenge America's future. "St. Benedict," as Pius XII reminds us, "reclaimed the uncultured tribes from their wild life to civic and Christian culture; directing them to the practice of virtue, industry and the peaceful arts and literature, he united them in the bonds of fraternal affection and charity." And the Church herself, always needing an infusion of Christ's eternal youth, can also benefit from St. Benedict's sanctity and teachings.

Joseph Pearce: The Catholic Literary Revival in England

An excellent overview by author Joseph Pearce at the 2003 Coming Home Network Conference.

 

Pearce is an English-born writer, and as of 2012 Writer-in-Residence and Professor of Humanities at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, NH.  He is known for a number of literary biographies, many of Catholic figures. Formerly aligned with the National Front, a white nationalist political party, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1989, repudiated his earlier views, and now writes from a Catholic perspective. He is a co-editor of the St. Austin Review and editor-in-chief of Sapientia Press. He also teaches Shakespearian literature for Homeschool Connections, an online Catholic curriculum provider.