DeMint: ‘Big Business Is No Friend of Conservatism’

Former Sen. Jim DeMint, the president of the Heritage Foundation, writes in his new book—“Falling in Love With America Again”—about the cozy relationship between big business and big government.

“Almost all big corporations benefit from, advocate for, and downright like big government,” DeMint writes.

In an interview with CNSNews.com, DeMint explained his view that a corollary to this principle is that big business and conservatism are not on the same team.

Read more at Cybercast News Service >>

 

Patrick J. Buchanan: Whose Side Is God on Now?

By Patrick J. Buchanan 

In his Kremlin defense of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Vladimir Putin, even before he began listing the battles where Russian blood had been shed on Crimean soil, spoke of an older deeper bond. 

Crimea, said Putin, “is the location of ancient Khersones, where Prince Vladimir was baptized. His spiritual feat of adopting Orthodoxy predetermined the overall basis of the culture, civilization and human values that unite the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.”

Russia is a Christian country, Putin was saying. 

The Choir of King's College, Cambridge - "Surely, He Hath Borne Our Griefs" - Handel

Father Robert Barron at Elmhurst College: Evangelizing the Culture

An acclaimed author, speaker and theologian, Robert Barron is a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the founder of the global ministry Word on Fire. He is the creator and host of the 10-part TV series Catholicism, and serves as the Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein.

In 2012, Father Barron presented the annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin lecture at Elmhurst College, a comprehensive, private, liberal arts college in Elmhurst, Illinois which is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.

 

How Do You Prepare for the Storm?

By John Horvat II

One of the major presuppositions of the book, Return to Order, is that we are facing a crisis that will seriously affect the nation. To use the book’s opening metaphor, our situation is like that of a ship facing a threatening storm.

The natural tendency is to take measures and especially stock up on supplies. People sense the essential need to have some degree of self-sufficiency just in case something happens. Still others feel the need to withdraw from society in the hopes of avoiding the problem all together. Yet others are so overwhelmed by the vastness of the crisis or the threat of big government that they simply don’t know what to do. Several readers have asked if there is a Return to Order perspective on how to prepare for the storm.

North Carolina Reports Massive Voter Fraud in State's 2012 Election

North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) and Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) issued a joint statement Wednesday in response to more alarming evidence of voter error and fraud discovered by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Initial findings from the Board presented to the Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee on Wednesday show:

• 765 voters with an exact match of first and last name, DOB and last four digits of SSN were registered in N.C. and another state and voted in N.C. and the other state in the 2012 general election.
• 35,750 voters with the same first and last name and DOB were registered in N.C. and another state and voted in both states in the 2012 general election.
  
• 155,692 voters with the same first and last name, DOB and last four digits of SSN were registered in N.C. and another state – and the latest date of registration or voter activity did not take place within N.C.
  

These findings only take into account data from the 28 states who participated in the 2014 Interstate Crosscheck, leaving out potential voter error and fraud in the 22 states that do not participate in the consortium.

Additionally, during an audit of death records from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Board discovered:

• 50,000 new death records that had not previously been provided to the State Board of Elections.
  
• 13,416 deceased voters on the voter rolls in October 2013.
  
• 81 deceased voters that had voter activity after they died.
  

The findings were made possible by a new election reform law passed by the North Carolina General Assembly last year, which called on the Board to improve the accuracy of voter registration lists and combat potential fraud by cross checking information on voting records with those of other states.
 

“While we are alarmed to hear evidence of widespread voter error and fraud, we are encouraged to see the common-sense law passed to ensure voters are who they say they are is working,” said Tillis and Berger. “These findings should put to rest ill-informed claims that problems don’t exist and help restore the integrity of our elections process. We appreciate the State Board of Elections bringing this critical information to light.” 

Sunlit Uplands has learned that South Carolina participates in the Interstate Crosscheck.  We have been in touch with the South Carolina Election Commission and we will report their findings in coming days.

Pope to Queen: Pray for Me!

From The Telegraph

Queen Elizabeth II has paid a private call on Pope Francis at the Vatican, making him the fifth pontiff she has met.

The Queen arrived on Thursday afternoon wearing a lilac-coloured spring coat and matching hat that are almost the same colour as the wisteria blooming over much of the Italian capital. 

The Queen and Prince Philip were ushered into a small room near the Vatican's public audience hall for the 30-minute meeting. 

Previously, the Queen, who is the head of the Church of England, has met four pontiffs, beginning with Pius XII in 1951, a year before her accession to the throne. 

Earlier in the day, The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had lunch with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano at the Quirinal palace.