Month: May 2013

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Prayer Requests 5-2-13

Who can we pray for today?

Psalm 24

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

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Life Matters 5-2-13

Here’s an update on the Gosnell trial. From LifeNews

“The jury in the Kermit Gosnell murder trial deliberated for a second day today and ended the day with no verdict. However, member of the jury actively informed themselves of laws that are applicable to the case and asked for information and assistance from the judge.”

“Under Pennsylvania law, all 12 of the jurors must reach a unanimous verdict on any of the murder counts Gosnell faces for him to be convicted on any of them. Each of the elements of a charged crime must be proven to each juror beyond reasonable doubt for that juror to vote to convict on that count and one reluctant juror could lead to a mistrial on any of the first-degree murder charges.

Since prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty in the case, the jury will only be deciding whether Gosnell is guilty related to the charges. If convicted, a second jury will be impaneled to determine sentencing under the penalty phase of the trial. During this phase, the judge has already instructed jurors to only consider guilt or innocence.

Given the number of charges Gosnell faces, and the fact that Gosnell has a co-defendant the jury is considering for conviction as well, the jury make take a longer period of time to arrive at a verdict on each of the 250-plus charges.”

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According to this report Gosnell has been placed into solitary confinement for his own protection. It seems some prisoners frown on his methods. From LifeNews 

“He is currently in solitary confinement pending the verdict and his expected sentencing. That’s because, according to one local reporter in Philadelphia, fellow prisoners don’t take his crimes of killing babies in infanticides too kindly.”

“Should Gosnell be convicted and face a prison term, he would likely remain in solitary or in a sensitive needs population for the duration of his time in prison term.”

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This next one is heartbreaking. It sounds like this woman regrets her decision to abort, and her selection of Gosnell to do it.

CONTENT WARNING!!!  because some of her child’s remains were among the trophies he kept in his office, and it’s hard to read.  From LifeSiteNews

“When 20-year-old Desiree Hawkins was contacted by a Drug Enforcement agent this year, she was completely unprepared for what she had to tell her: that the abortionist she had visited in 2009 for a traumatic abortion had kept the severed feet of her unborn baby in a jar in his clinic.”

“Hawkins was slated to testify in rebuttal against Gosnell during his recently concluded trial. But because Gosnell never took the stand, Hawkins never had the chance to tell the jury her story. But that doesn’t mean she is remaining silent.

In a video released this week by the creators of the documentary 3801 Lancaster, Desiree and her mother are sharing the details of Desiree’s nightmare experience at Gosnell’s clinic, and their repentance for their part they each played in the death of Desiree’s unborn child.”

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While the FDA may have approved over the counter sales of the morning after pill to girls as young as 15, the American College of Pediatricians continues to oppose the move. From LifeSiteNews

“The American College of Pediatricians continues to oppose the over-the-counter distribution of “emergency contraceptive” medication to children as recently mandated by the court and approved by the FDA.

The potency of these medications demands physician oversight, and equally important their over-the-counter availability circumvents parental involvement and may facilitate adolescent abuse. Health professionals need to encourage good parent-child communication, teach minors the benefits of delaying sexual activity until marriage, and teach them how to avoid situations resulting in coerced sex and premature/promiscuous consensual sex.

Increased access to “emergency contraception” (EC) does not result in lower pregnancy rates among adolescents and young adults, while it is associated with an increased incidence of sexually transmitted infections. Despite self-reports denying it, “ready access” to EC appears to increase adolescent sexual activity. Increased sexual activity is a known risk factor for depression, suicide, poor school performance, more lifetime sexual partners, and an increased divorce rate.”

The full statement from the ACP is here.

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News/Politics 5-2-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread, as always.

Here’s a few to start.

Some of the Benghazi whistleblowers are bringing their whistles to the House next Wednesday. From TheHill

“Eyewitnesses with potentially damaging information on the Obama  administration’s handling of last year’s terror attack on the U.S. mission in  Benghazi will testify at a hearing next week, Republicans said.

The House oversight committee is holding a hearing next week that will “expose new facts and details that the Obama administration has tried to  suppress,” oversight chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Wednesday.

Two of Issa’s lieutenants said the witnesses at the hearing would include  federal employees with direct knowledge of the attack that killed Ambassador  Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya.”

The White House would like to remind you that it was a long time ago. 🙄

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Here’s an update on the military’s assault against Christians. And yes, Mikey Weinstein wants proselytizing to be a court-martial offense. From FoxNews

“Religious liberty groups have grave concerns after they learned the Pentagon is vetting its guide on religious tolerance with a group that compared Christian evangelism to “rape” and advocated that military personnel who proselytize should be court martialed.”

“The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is calling on the Air Force to enforce a regulation that they believe calls for the court martial of any service member caught proselytizing.

President Mikey Weinstein and others from his organization met privately with Pentagon officials on April 23. He said U.S. troops who proselytize are guilty of sedition and treason and should be punished – by the hundreds if necessary – to stave off what he called a “tidal wave of fundamentalists.””

““Someone needs to be punished for this,” Weinstein told Fox News. “Until the Air Force or Army or Navy or Marine Corps punishes a member of the military for unconstitutional religious proselytizing and oppression, we will never have the ability to stop this horrible, horrendous, dehumanizing behavior.””

A Hat Tip to Pastor Roy

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I told you about the creative new accounting trick the govt will now use to boost the GDP numbers. But the “real” jobless rate remains over 10% in most states according to CNBC

“Two months from now, revised government estimates are likely to show that the economy is even bigger than the currently stated $15 trillion.

And while the numbers may make some blink or gasp, the mere size of gross domestic product won’t hide the reality that in terms of actual growth, this is also the worst economy in 83 years.

GDP growth is in the midst of its longest sub-3 percent annual growth rate since 1929, the beginning of the Great Depression, according to Bespoke Investment Group. The economy hasn’t topped 3 percent since 2005—before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took over—and is unlikely to do so this year.”

“Though employment has risen by 1.3 million over the past year, unemployment that counts the discouraged and underemployed, as well as the jobless (often called the “real” unemployment rate) has remained stubbornly high, at 13.8 percent of the workforce, according to the most recent count.”

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And ObamaCare isn’t just costing you more for healthcare coverage through rising premiums. Other benefits are falling because of it as well. From InvertorsBusinessDaily

“Employer spending on benefits rose at the slowest pace on record in the first  quarter, as companies began bracing for higher health costs with next year’s launch of ObamaCare.

Total benefits, such as insurance and pension contributions, rose just 0.1%  vs. the end of last year, the smallest gain in Labor Department data going back to 2001. By comparison, payroll employment grew by a half-million, or 0.4%, in  Q1. So benefits-per-worker declined.

Total employee benefits provided outside of government jobs declined outright.”

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Reid admits it’s rollout is turning into a train wreck, but they could fix it if they had more money. I won’t put on my shocked face because I’m not. From TheHill

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says he shares colleagues’ concerns  that the Affordable Care Act could become a “train wreck” if it’s not  implemented properly.

Reid warned that people will not be able to choose  health insurance plans on government health exchanges if federal authorities  lack the resources to set them up and educate the public.”

“Reid warned the federal government is not spending enough money to implement the  law because of Republican opposition to ObamaCare.”

“The shortage of funding to implement the law has forced President Obama to shift  funds from other parts of the law.”

As expected, it’s already costing more than estimated, and that’s with next to nothing being paid out yet. FAIL.

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Our Daily Thread 5-1-13

Good Morning! 🙂

Can you believe it’s May 1st already?

Well on this day in 1867 Reconstruction in the South began with black voter registration.

In 1877 U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes withdrew all Federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.

In 1922 Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect no-hit, no-run game against the Detroit Tigers. The Sox won 3-0.

In 1931 the Empire State Building in New York was dedicated and opened.

In 1961 Fidel Castro announced there would be no more elections in Cuba.

In 1986 Bill Elliott set a stock car speed record with his Ford Thunderbird in Talladega, AL. Awesome Bill from Dawsonville reached a speed of 212.229 mph. Wow that’s fast.

And on May 1st in 2011, President Obama announced that U.S. soldiers had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

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Quote of the Day

“It was considered the most dangerous route in the Hills, but as my reputation as a rider and quick shot was well known, I was molested very little, for the toll  gatherers looked on me as being a good fellow, and they knew that I never missed  my mark.”

Calamity  Jane

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Well I pretty much have to put these up after that quote. 🙂

And this one always cracks me up.

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Who has a QoD for us today?

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Prayer Requests 5-1-13

Who has a request or praise today?

And it’s Wednesday, so please remember to pray for Gambia and it’s workers. 🙂

Psalm 23

1  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

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News/Politics 5-1-13

UPDATE!!!

From NBCNews

“Three college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are under arrest, suspected of removing items from his dorm room after the April 15 attack, sources said Wednesday.

Two of the pals were detained April 20 on immigration charges and a third has now been taken into custody, sources said. They are expected to face obstruction of justice charges, the sources said.

There was no indication the three University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth students had any prior knowledge of the bombing.

Police are alleging the 3 removed fireworks and explosives from the dorm room.

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What’s interesting in the news today?

We’ll start with this one. Sad, but hardly surprising. After all, this is Obama’s FDA. From Reuters

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said it would allow the Plan B One-Step contraceptive to be sold without a prescription to girls as young as 15 years of age.

The announcement partially reverses a December 2011 decision that prevented the sale of the emergency contraceptive to all females of reproductive age, which was also overturned by a U.S. district judge in New York on April 5. The FDA said its approval was not related to the judge’s ruling.”

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This one….. I just can’t believe they’re gonna do it. Bad idea. From TheWaPo

“President Obama is preparing to send lethal weaponry to the Syrian opposition and has taken steps to assert more aggressive U.S. leadership among allies and partners seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, according to senior administration officials.

The officials emphasized that supplying arms is one of several options under consideration and that political negotiation remains the preferred option. To that end, the administration has launched an effort to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin that the probable use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government — and the more direct outside intervention that could provoke — should lead him to reconsider his support of Assad.”

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It seems that Pres. Obama and Democrats in the Senate have finally started creating some jobs. Totally by accident of course. It turned out to be an unintended consequence of their gun ban push. And they’re making evil capitalists rich too.  🙂

From Reuters

“Gunmaker Sturm Ruger & Co Inc. reported record quarterly sales after fears of new gun controls spurred demand, and the company said it was scouting for a third factory to boost production.”

“Sales jumped about 39 percent to $155.9 million in the first quarter from a year earlier. It rose 10 percent from the fourth quarter.

Gun demand has been boosted in part by attempts to ban the sale of certain high capacity rifles and ammunition in the wake of the shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in December.”

Doh! 🙂

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How about we lighten things up with some football news?

Or not. 😯  From TheWaPo

“A D.C. Council member is preparing to introduce a resolution calling on the Washington Redskins to change its name, perhaps to the Washington Redtails.

Council member David Grosso, an independent elected last year, said he plans to pursue his non-binding resolution because the current name is “a derogatory, racist name.”

““It’s been a long time that we’ve had this name associated with Washington, and I think its time we take a stand and change it,” Grosso said.”

Now I’m sure the owner will finally cave, but at least someone points out that this is just PC stupidity. ‘Course, he gets attacked for it too…. From Twitchy

“Late last year, ESPN’s Rob Parker blanched at the idea that Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III might be a “cornball brother,” aka a black Republican. So, we can only imagine what Parker’s thinking after seeing this tweet from Griffin:

Robert Griffin III        ✔@RGIII

In a land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness”

He should have put….

bazinga

at the end of his Tweet.

🙂 Hey, what do I care if they’re distracted by non-football issues……

I’m a Giants fan. 🙂

Uh-oh. I just realized some tall people might get upset about that whole “Giant” thing and then they’ll be after NY too. 😦

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And on a more serious note this is troubling, but not really surprising. More unintended consequences. From TheDailyMail

“How anti-racism lessons INCREASE pupil intolerance by ‘causing animosity to  other cultures”

  • Dutch study finds discussing sensitive  ethnic concerns can be counter-productive
  • Education Secretary Michael Gove under fire  over plans to stop teaching teenagers about multicultural topics

“Children who are given anti-racism lessons in  school are more likely to be intolerant outside the classroom, a major study  found yesterday.

It said accusing white pupils of racism  causes animosity, and discussing sensitive ethnic concerns such as honour  killings paints minority group children in a bad light.”

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And Rasmussen has a new poll out on what the public thinks about college professors. From Rasmussen

“Full-time college professors are generally regarded as politically liberal by most Americans, and only one-in-four think most professors favor the values of American society.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 25% of U.S. Adults believe most full-time college professors share the values of American society. Forty percent (40%) think most full-time professors oppose American values. A sizable number (34%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Now what can we do about it?

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