Trinity College Choir - Advent Carol Service

Recently voted the fifth best choir in the world in Gramophone magazine's "20 Greatest Choirs", The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge comprises around thirty Choral Scholars and two Organ Scholars, all of whom are ordinarily undergraduates of the College.

The College’s choral tradition dates back to the all-male choir of the fourteenth century, when former Chapel Royal choristers studied in King’s Hall which later became part of Trinity College. Directors of Music have included Charles Villiers Stanford, Alan Gray, Raymond Leppard and Richard Marlow. Female voices were introduced in the 1980s by Richard Marlow, in a new departure for Cambridge choral music. Stephen Layton has been Director of Music since 2006.

Prelude on Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen (Brahms)
The Advent Matins Responsory (Richard Marlow)
Creator of the stars of night (Plainsong)
Hymn: Of the Father's heart begotten (arr Willcocks)
Hymn: Come, thou Redeemer of the earth (arr Willcocks)
There is no rose (Anon arr Stevens)
Hymn: O come, O come, Emmanuel (arr Willcocks)
Bogoróditse Djévo (Part)
Ave Maria (Parsons)
Hymn: On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry (arr Ledger)
Wachet auf! (Nicolai arr Bach)
E'en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come (Paul Manz)
Hymn: Come, thou long-expected Jesus
Seek him that maketh the seven stars (Jonathan Dove)
Hymn: Lo, he comes with clouds descending
Puer natus est (Plainsong)
Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht (Bach)
Organ voluntary: Prelude and Fugue in G, BWV 541 (Bach)
 

New Video Calls Out America's Lawless President

Thanksgiving Day Proclamation by President George Washington

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:" 

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us. 

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. 

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789. 

Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Economic Productivity

CASEY MULLIGAN, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1993. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard University and Clemson University, and is affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research, the George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State, and the Population Research Center. He has written for the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and is the author of three books, including Side Effects: The Economic Consequences of the Health Reform.

The following is adapted from a speech by Casey Mulligan delivered on October 24, 2014, at a Hillsdale College Free Market Forum in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The topic of my talk today is the economic side effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sometimes referred to as Obamacare. Since most of the economy has to do with labor and work, that’s where I’ll start. But, first a caveat. I’m an economist, and I’m going to talk about some parts of this complex law that have an impact on the labor market. Other parts of it relate to health and medicine, and because I’m not a doctor or a biologist, I’m not going to speak to those parts. From an economic or labor-market perspective, I’m going to explain how the costs of the ACA outweigh its benefits. But I can’t measure or estimate its effects on health care. I leave that to others.

Daniel Hannan: What Does It Mean to Be Conservative?

From The Telegraph

By Daniel Hannan

The cleverest living Englishman

Some years ago, while canvassing for his wife in a local election in Wiltshire, Roger Scruton was asked on the doorstep, “What is conservatism, anyway?” The voter had unwittingly put the question to the man who, more than any other, has defined what conservatism is; the man who has as good a claim as any to be the cleverest living Englishman.

If he were on the Left, Roger Scruton would be recognised as one of our towering public intellectuals; but it’s a peculiarity of our age that conservative thinkers occupy a space beyond the mental horizons of most commissioning editors. There will always be Rightist columnists of the Richard Littlejohn variety, I’m delighted to say; but a Rightist professor whose writings range from German philosophy to the oddities of common law, from religious art to country sports, is likely to be regarded as an eccentric class traitor.

Still, Roger will be read and remembered when many of the prominent literary figures of our day are footnotes – partly for the keenness of his intelligence and partly for the consistency of his vision, but mainly for the grandeur of his prose. He can ennoble almost any subject – economics, cooking, telephone boxes – by his gentle logic and his courteous insistence on treating readers as his intellectual equals.

Pope Francis Doesn't Really Understand This Economics Thing, Does He?

From Forbes

By Tim Worstall

Pope Francis has told us all that we’re really very naughty indeed to allow food to become a product like any other, a product in which people can speculate and profit. Which leads to a rather sad observation about Il Papa‘s understanding of basic economics: he doesn’t, essentially, he doesn’t understand basic economics. It is indeed an outrage that there are still 800 million or more of our fellow human beings who are malnourished. Appalling that while the world grows the calories to feed all not all get fed. But once we’ve noted those points, decided (as we damn well should) to do something about them, the interesting question becomes, well, what? At which point we might note that it’s the places with well functioning markets, subject to all that horrible speculation and profit making, that have the people who are not malnourished and not starving. Something Pope Francis might have considered before he said this: 

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Saint Mary's Cathederal Choir - "Hail Redeemer King Divine"

Wayne Allyn Root: Obama Appears to Hate Everyone

Pat Buchanan: Rogue President

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Asserting a legal and constitutional authority he himself said he did not have, President Obama is going rogue, issuing an executive amnesty to 4 to 5 million illegal aliens.

He will order the U.S. government not to enforce the law against these 5 million, and declare that they are to be exempt from deportation and granted green cards.

Where did Obama get his 4-5 million figure, not 2-4 million, or 5-7 million? Nowhere in law, but plucked out of his own mind, as to what he can get away with. Barack Obama just felt it was about right.

Thus does our constitutional law professor-president “faithfully execute” the laws of the United States he has twice swore to uphold?

Schlafly: Obama Could Launch Another Civil War

 “I think he lies about everything”

President Obama’s looming executive action on immigration reform represents a Fort Sumter-type moment, according to conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly.

Schlafly at first considered comparing the Obama amnesty to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor but decided that Obama’s plan is much more subtle.

“With Pearl Harbor, the American people knew what was happening,” she said.

But Fort Sumter, where the opening shots of the Civil War were fired, represented the beginning of a ruinous conflict, and Schlafly, like fellow conservative luminary Richard Viguerie, speculates that an executive amnesty might touch off a sort of modern-day conflagration.

Read more at WND >>

Dear GOP, Do Your Damned Job

From Conservative Review

By Steve Deace 

November 17, 2014

Dear Republican Party,

On November 4^th the American people spoke with a resounding voice, and voted “no” to President Obama’s Marxist Progressive agenda/tactics. The numbers show the American people gave you a definitive mandate as well.

• Democrats are now at their lowest numbers in state legislatures nationwide in 86 years, and Republicans now control more than two-thirds of the state legislative chambers across the country. 
• Republicans have the most seats in the U.S. House of Representatives since before the Great Depression.
• Republicans posted one of the top five election year swings in the U.S. Senate in the past 70 years.
• For the first time in 58 years there will be Republican governors in Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts at the same time. 
• Over 80% of U.S. geography is now represented by Republicans.

The depth and extent of GOP gains were unforeseen by every pollster and pundit that correctly predicted the outcome of the 2014 election. That’s because they failed to see two things:

1)    The willingness of the conservative base you’ve been battling in recent years to still turn out and turn the tide in several key races.

2)    The American people were far angrier with Obama than they were with Republicans; disregarding the fact your 42% approval rating in the latest Gallup poll is the same as the president’s.

Despite claims from liberal media pundits on election night, 2014 was not an anti-incumbent election. Almost all of the Republican incumbents won. In fact, the only Republican governor who lost was the one who raised the gas tax.

However, defiant as ever, the president has reacted to the 2014 election results by threatening anti-constitutional executive amnesty for illegal aliens, appointing an Eric Holder clone to succeed him at his renegade Justice department, and to essentially create an Obamacare for the internet.

Even Obama’s chosen architect for his signature legislation has been caught on camera admitting Obamacare wouldn’t have passed without a lack of transparency from Democrats, and the stupidity of the American people. The Obama Regime is nothing if not shameless.

In spite of this president’s repeated efforts to thwart the rule of law, this is still a representative republic. On November 4^th the American people did all they can lawfully do to save themselves from Obamaism. They more then went out of their way to change the direction of the country, even electing Republicans to positions of prominence within deep blue states like the president’s own home. There is nothing more the American people can lawfully do that they haven’t already done.

Now it’s up to you to lead.

See, the American people weren’t just sending a message to Obama, they were also sending a message to you. And if you refuse to act upon that message, then you will be guilty of defying the will of the people every bit as much as the Marxist Progressive in the White House.

The message from the American people is clear – stop Obama.

Contrary to the cynical claims of the Obama Regime, the American people are not stupid. Therefore, you cannot run ads nationwide reminding voters Obamacare was on the ballot this year and then not do everything you can to save them from it. You cannot send Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) all over the country to rally a wary conservative base to use this election as a means to stop Obama’s illegal executive amnesty scheme, and then not do so.

Despite your lackluster record, we are trusting you again because the future of the country is at stake and you were our only viable alternative. Sometimes you have to fight wars with the soldiers you have.

It is your solemn duty to come up with the remedies that honor the faith the American people have placed in you, not to mention that upholds your sworn oaths of office to defend the Constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic.

For Obama cannot unilaterally act lawlessly in our system of government. The separation of powers requires fecklessness on your part to permit it to happen.

Forget what your consultants tell you is politically possible. You’re up against an opponent who doesn’t care about possible, let alone legal. And if this is how this president operates when he had to pretend to care what the American people thought, imagine what boundaries he’ll push these final two years when he does not.

You will not be able to outmaneuver or outlast a Progressive who is hell-bent – literally – on winning a Marxist argument with history. You will have to face him and defeat him. This isn’t about the technocratic tactics you too often obsess over. This is about the only tactic that matters now—survival.

Your courage of conviction is required. History is calling on you to hold the line on American Exceptionalism, so there’s enough liberty left for the next president to hopefully start turning the country back to the vision of the Founding Fathers.

Do your damned job, or you may be the generation Ronald Reagan once warned us about. The one who will have to explain to their children and grandchildren what it was once like here when people were still free.

Steve Deace is a nationally-syndicated talk show host and also the author of the new book “Rules for Patriots: How Conservatives Can Win Again.” You can “like” him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @SteveDeaceShow.)  

Mark Levin on Worthless RINOs, Government Shutdowns and the Power of the Purse

In our view, there is no more articulate defender of the United States Constitution and the need for Congress to use their power of the purse to stop a tyrannous President, intent on tearing up the Constitution, than Mark Levin.  Levin understands, as too many Republican leaders do not, that the many new Republican members of Congress were elected to STOP the Marxist thug in the White House, not to "work with him."

Listen to "the great one" in his own words:

Hoover Institution: The 2014 Congressional Elections in Historical Perspective

David Brady, Hoover deputy director and the Davies Family Senior Fellow, compares congressional elections from the 1880s to the present, emphasizing eras of uncertainty, party parity, and surges in independent voters. His primary theme is the importance of distinguishing between party sorting versus party polarization and the widespread effects of party sorting on several aspects of the elections, including incumbency and election financing in the House and the Senate; local parties, nationalization, and split tickets; and polling discrepancies with final election results. He ends by applying these concepts to predictions on the upcoming general elections.

Support for Obamacare Hits New Low

From Gallup

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the Affordable Care Act's second open enrollment period begins, 37% of Americans say they approve of the law, one percentage point below the previous low in January. Fifty-six percent disapprove, the high in disapproval by one point.

Americans were slightly more positive than negative about the law around the time of the 2012 election, but they have consistently been more likely to disapprove than approve of the law in all surveys that have been conducted since then. Approval has been in the low 40% or high 30% range after a noticeable dip that occurred in early November 2013. This was shortly after millions of Americans received notices that their current policies were being canceled, which was at odds with President Barack Obama's pledge that those who liked their plans could keep them. The president later said, by way of clarification, that Americans could keep their plans if those plans didn't change after the ACA was passed.

The current 37% reading comes on the heels of last week's midterm elections, in which Republicans won full control of both houses of Congress. Already, party leaders are discussing efforts to repeal the unpopular law.

Repeal is highly unlikely, given Obama's veto power, but the law's new low in approval -- and new high in disapproval (56%) -- could potentially have an impact on its future. The president himself has acknowledged he will consider modifications to the law, which could include repealing the tax on medical devices.

Approval Among Independents at 33%

Approval of the law continues to diverge sharply by party, with 74% of Democrats and 8% of Republicans approving of it. Independents have never been particularly positive toward the law, with approval ranging between 31% and 41%. Currently, 33% of independents approve.

Nonwhites, who disproportionately identify as Democrats, have maintained majority approval since the ACA's inception, now at 56%. Though this is still about double the level of approval among whites (29%), it is the first time nonwhites have fallen below the 60% mark.

Bottom Line

Americans have never been overly positive toward the ACA, at best showing a roughly equal division between approval and disapproval early on in the law's implementation. The percentage of Americans who approve of the law represents a new numerical low, which could indicate a loss of faith in the law amid the aftermath of the 2014 midterms. Although the ACA, also called Obamacare, was not as dominant an issue in this year's congressional elections as it was in 2010, the issue was part of Republicans' campaign efforts to oppose the president's agenda overall. In doing that, many of the party's candidates were successful.

Though the law's implementation suffered setbacks last fall, government officials have greater optimism for the health insurance website's usability this time around. Importantly, though, approval of the law has remained low throughout the year even as it has had obvious success in reducing the uninsured rate. And with approval holding in a fairly narrow range since last fall, it may be that Americans have fairly well made up their minds about the law, and even a highly successful second open enrollment period may not do much to boost their approval.

Read more at Gallup >>

 

Choir and Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper - "De Profundis Clamavi" - W. A. Mozart

From the depths, I have cried out to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplication.
If you, Lord, were to mark iniquities, who, O Lord, shall stand?
For with you is forgiveness; and because of your law, I stood by you, Lord.
My soul has stood by his word.
My soul has hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch, even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

The Oil Weapon in America’s Hands

By Patrick J. Buchanan

In July of 1941, after Japan occupied French Indochina, the Roosevelt administration froze Japan’s assets in the United States.

Denied hard cash, Japan could not buy the U.S. oil upon which the empire depended for survival. Seeing the Dutch East Indies as her only other source, Japan prepared to invade.

But first she had to eliminate the sole strategic threat to her occupation of the East Indies — the U.S. battle fleet at Pearl Harbor.

Sainsbury's Official Christmas 2014 Ad and the Christmas Day Truce of 1914

Britain's largest chain of supermarkets, Sainsbury's, has created a beautiful Christmas ad with the theme "Christmas is for sharing". Made in partnership with The Royal British Legion, it commemorates the  Christmas Day Truce of 1914, when the guns fell silent and two armies met in no-man’s land, sharing gifts – and even playing football together.

Democratic Party Favorable Rating Falls to Record Low

From Gallup

By Andrew Dugan

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After the midterm elections that saw the Democratic Party suffer significant losses in Congress, a record-low 36% of Americans say they have a favorable opinion of the party, down six percentage points from before the elections. The Republican Party's favorable rating, at 42%, is essentially unchanged from 40%. This marks the first time since September 2011 that the Republican Party has had a higher favorability rating than the Democratic Party.

Father Emil Kapuan - The Most Highly Decorated Chaplain in U.S. Military History

Chris Stefanick tells the incredible story of the most highly decorated chaplain in U.S. military history, Father Emil Kapaun, who gave his life in the Korean War.

Veterans Day and American Presidents in Uniform

Thank Cardinal Burke for His Vatican Service

We are very pleased to be among thousands who have signed an Internet petition thanking Cardinal Raymond Burke for his exceptional Vatican service and leadership in the Church.  

Cardinal Burke has been a staunch defender of the Church's unchangeable teachings on the family and the sanctity of life.  As Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, and previously as Archbishop of St. Louis, Cardinal Burke has been unfailing in preaching the Word "in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2).

We thank St. John Paul the Great and our beloved Pope Benedict XVI for recognizing the faith, brilliance and leadership of this great man of God, and we are particularly proud to be his fellow alumnus of The Catholic University of America.

Please join us in thanking Cardinal Burke for his exceptional service to God and to the Church.

Scott Walker Hints at Presidential Run: Governors Make Better Presidents

Governor Scott Walker

Fresh off a re-election victory, Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker hinted Sunday that he might be ready to seek the nation's highest office in two years.

"I said my plan was for four years. I've got a plan to keep going for the next four years, but, certainly, I care deeply not only for my state, but my country, and we'll see what the future holds," Walker told "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd.

Todd asked whether Walker would defer if his friend, Wisconsin Sen. Paul Ryan, sought the nomination again as he did in 2012.

Walker said that if former Secretary of State and Senator Hillary Clinton seeks the Democratic nomination as expected, the Republican Party should paint her as a Washington insider and part of what's wrong with D.C. politics. That would call for a governor, such as himself, to counter her, he said.

"Paul Ryan may be the only exception to that rule, but, overall, I think governors make much better presidents than members of Congress," Walker said.

Read more at Newsmax >> 

 

Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance 2014

In the presence of Her Majesty the Queen and members of the royal family, Huw Edwards presents the Royal British Legion's annual Festival of Remembrance, which pays tribute to all victims of war and conflict. 

Pat Buchanan: The Kumbaya Temptation

Nov. 4 was a national vote of no confidence in Barack Obama.

Had a British prime minister received a vote like this, he would have resigned by now.

The one issue on which all Republicans agreed, and all ran, was the rejection of Obama. And by fleeing from him, some even refusing to admit they voted for him, Democrats, too, were conceding that this election was about Obama, and that they were not to blame for his failures.

Yet, though this was a referendum on Obama and his policies, and though both were repudiated, some pundits are claiming that America voted for an “end to gridlock” and a new era of compromise and conciliation.

The Mid-Term Election: Is Obama Still Relevant?

From The Center for Vision & Values, Grove City College

By Paul G. Kengor

Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Fox News.

“Today I had a chance to speak with John Boehner and congratulated Mitch McConnell on becoming the next Senate majority leader,” said Barack Obama in the opening of his White House press conference following the Democrats’ Tuesday massacre. “And I told them both that I look forward to finishing up this Congress’s business and then working together for the next two years to advance America’s business.” The president is looking forward to “working together to deliver for the American people.”

Obama struck an optimistic, cooperative tone. Of course, he better. If he wants to have any relevance going forward, what choice does he have but to play nice with Republicans, or at least talk nice?

This begs the trillion-dollar question: Is Obama still relevant? Given the truly historic proportion of this Republican victory, is Barack Obama about to become the lamest of lame-ducks?

Republican Tsunami: We Need a Morally Coherent Presidential Candidate

From BARBWIRE

By Deacon Keith Fournier

Like millions in the United States of America I am tired today. After an evening of ministry in Church on November 4, 2014, I returned home and watched network television. I also utilized my mobile device to stay abreast of the election returns. It was a long night.

The facts speak for themselves. This was not simply a Republican wave, it was a Tsunami. What will follow in its wake is up to us.

The importance of the midterm election cannot be overstated. It was not about political parties. It was about buying some time to hold back the collapse of a culture spinning out of control. The loss of our national moral compass is at the root of every other problem, economic, international, or social. There is a moral foundation to a free society. 

Pat Buchanan: Against Obama, But for What?

By Patrick J. Buchanan

After billions in attack ads that turned the approval ratings of almost every candidate, in both parties, upside down, Republicans appear primed to take control of Congress.

 

Why are Democrats falling like dominoes?

 

Easy. Theirs is the Party of Government. And government is failing. And their leader Obama projects diffidence and incompetence.

 

National surveys also show that large majorities believe America is heading in the wrong direction, that our children will not have it as good as we did, and that the United States is in a long-term decline.

 

Measuring the performance of Obama against the promise, America is voting for another change in leadership and direction.

 

But where does she wish to go? And whom does she wish to lead her? The country is voting against Obama, but voting for what?

 

Congress Makes History: This Is a Big Deal … Congress Has Cut Spending Two Consecutive Years

From The Center for Vision & Values, Grove City College

By Dr. Paul G. Kengor

Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared in USA Today.

I recently attended a political event where a Republican congressman was making a re-election pitch. It was the usual stump speech. But one thing he said especially struck me. “This Congress has cut spending—yes, actually cut spending—each of the last two years,” he asserted. “And how rare is that?”

Well, it would be extremely rare. So rare, in fact, that I frankly didn’t believe the man. I made a mental note to check the data when I got home.

I delayed doing that. My incredulity got the best of me. Surely, the congressman was exaggerating. It’s the political season, after all. I moved on.

Two Tap-Dancing American Priests Face-Off in Rome

The Rector's Dinner, a fundraising event for the North American College in Rome, was the scene for a must-see dance-off between two American priests, Father David Rider, 29, of Hyde Park, New York, and Father John Gibson, 28, of Milwaukee.  Father Rider, the first one to take the stage, was a professional tap-dancer and during his college years toured with the Broadway show "42nd Street".

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed - Requiem Aeternam