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The John Carroll Society presents The 73rd Annual Red Mass | 10/5/2025 |...

 

The John Carroll Society presents The 73rd Annual Red Mass | 10/5/2025 | Washington, D.C., USA



Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington

Scheduled for Oct 5, 2025 #Catholic #JohnCarrollSociety #RedMass

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and The John Carroll Society invite you to join us via Livestream for the 73rd Annual Red Mass on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at 9:00 AM EDT from The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in NW Washington, DC, USA. Robert Cardinal McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, will serve as the Principal Celebrant and Homilist. 

Before the Mass, at 8:40 AM EDT, Preeya Noronha Pinto, 2nd Vice President of the John Carroll Society, will detail the history of the John Carroll Society. 

Music will then be provided by the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle's Schola Cantorum choir, who will sing throughout the Mass. You can follow along with today's readings here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/reading... 

The Red Mass is celebrated annually at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, traditionally on the Sunday before the first Monday in October, which marks the opening of the Supreme Court’s annual term. Its purpose is to invoke God’s blessings and guidance on those responsible for the administration of justice as well as on all public officials, and is a tradition that dates back many centuries to Rome, Paris and London. The name comes from the color of the vestments worn by the celebrants and the color of fire, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. 

Immediately following the Mass, The John Carroll Society will honor several individuals and law firms for their pro bono support of the Catholic Charities Legal Network. 

To learn more about the history of The Red Mass and The John Carroll Society, visit: https://www.johncarrollsociety.org/me...

SPECIAL REPORT: McCarrick's Heir in D.C.

Incoming DC Archbishop McElroy says he has no plans to meet with Trump but spoke at length with Biden

Cardinal McElroy revealed that he ‘had a lengthy call with President Biden the other day,’ though the left-wing, heterodox prelate said that he is not currently planning to see President Trump after his installation as archbishop of Washington, D.C.

Robert McElroy, Donald Trump

Alberto Pizzoli/AFP vis Getty Images, Somodevilla/Getty Images

Doug Mainwaring

Fri Feb 28, 2025 - 11:51 am EST

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Robert McElroy indicated that he has no plans to meet President Donald Trump after his installation as the new archbishop of Washington, D.C., next month, yet he recently had a “lengthy” conversation with former President Joe Biden.

McElroy, currently the bishop of San Diego, is set to succeed Cardinal Wilton Gregory as head of the Archdiocese of Washington on March 11.


“I’m going to Washington as the Archbishop of Washington, which is a pastoral role,” McElroy said at a news conference on Thursday. “That is, my role is the leadership of the Catholic community of Washington and all that brings with it.”

A few minutes later, however, McElroy let it drop that he had “had a lengthy call with President Biden the other day” during which the two reportedly spoke about Pope Francis’ current health crisis.

READ: Pope Francis’ new cardinal pick has a horrifying record on homosexuality and abortion

“Some may see the contrast between spurning Trump while chatting casually with Biden as consistent with McElroy’s reputation, seen as a close ally of Pope Francis and one of the nation’s more progressive prelates,” Crux’s John Lavenburg wrote.

“Pope Francis put McElroy in as Cardinal Archbishop of DC to slight Trump and bark at him,” conservative Catholic commentator Taylor Marshall said in January. “So obvious.”

Bishop Joseph Strickland also did not mince words concerning the appointment of yet another heterodox, anti-conservative prelate in the nation’s capital, arguably one of the most important dioceses in the United States and the world.

“The blatant corruption of Pope Francis and the U.S. Cardinals is on full display with the appointment of a McCarrick clone to the same archdiocese where his evil reigned 20 years ago,” Bishop Strickland said. “All of us who love Jesus Christ and His Church must speak out against these wolves of the hierarchy. We cannot remain silent in the face of this blatant corruption.”

 

“Once again I call on my brother bishops to speak up and say NO to this constant undermining of the Truth that is Jesus Christ,” he added. “We all need the voice of St. John the Baptist as we call out the brood of vipers in the Vatican, ‘Repent and believe in the Gospel.’ We must not remain silent as another flock in the Church is burdened with a corrupt hireling for a shepherd.”


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Chip Roy Throws Down The Gauntlet In Furious House Floor Speech

DC Metro bans religion from Christmas ads, Catholics sue

by Paul Bedard | Nov 28, 2017, 12:34 PM 

Washington's Metro system has rejected Catholic bus ads over their depiction of religion. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)



Washington’s Metro has rejected a Catholic ad campaign that promotes “spiritual giving” instead of presents, arguing that the image of stars, shepherds and sheep promotes religion, a violation of the transit system’s rules.

The Archdiocese of Washington told Secrets that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority turned down a request to promote its “Find the Perfect Gift” initiative because the image “depicts a religious scene and thus seeks to promote religion,” although it does not include a manger scene, Christ figure or even a cross.

As a result, the Archdiocese Tuesday filed suit challenging Metro’s ad guidelines.

More: Archdiocese of Washington files lawsuit against WMATA after Christmas ad rejected

“The rejected ad conveys a simple message of hope, and an invitation to participate in the Christmas season. Yet citing its guidelines, WMATA’s legal counsel said the ad ‘depicts a religious scene and thus seeks to promote religion,’” said Ed McFadden, secretary for communications for the Archdiocese of Washington.

“To borrow from a favorite Christmas story, under WMATA’s guidelines, if the ads are about packages, boxes or bags — if Christmas comes from a store -- then it seems WMATA approves. But if Christmas means a little bit more, WMATA plays Grinch,” he added.

The Archdiocese also hoped to place the ads in bus kiosks.

A Metro spokeswoman said the policy banning ads with religious themes took effect two years ago. "In 2015, WMATA changed its advertising policy to prohibit issue-oriented advertising, including political, religious and advocacy advertising. The ad in question was declined because it is prohibited by WMATA’s current advertising guidelines," said Sherri Ly, manager of media relations.

Two lawyers working for the church said its First Amendment rights were being challenged.

“We believe rejection of this ad to be a clear violation of fundamental free speech and a limitation on the exercise of our faith,” said Kim Fiorentino, the Archdiocese of Washington’s Chancellor and General Counsel.

WMATA’s rejection of the Archdiocese’s speech amounts to a violation of the First Amendment, plain and simple. We are bringing this complaint to vindicate the basic principle that the government may not allow a wide variety of speech in a forum and then turn around and deny the Archdiocese access because of the religious nature of its speech,” said Paul Clement of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, who is serving as counsel to the Archdiocese in this case.

In court documents, the church said that the goal of its “Find the Perfect Gift” campaign is to encourage people to give to the needy and attend Christmas mass.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com

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Weird Washington Monument History

Great Escapes


05.12.14


From indignation over a bare-chested statue of Washington to a gift from the pope tossed in the Potomac, here are 10 interesting facts about the newly reopened Washington Monument.

After being damaged by an earthquake nearly three years ago and then closed for repairs, the Washington Monument will reopen to the public on Monday.


On August 23, 2011, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake opened cracks in the monument wide enough for light to shine through, damaged the elevator, and broke off stone. To repair the damage and to prevent further damage, 2.7 miles of new sealant was placed between stones, and 53 stainless steel saddle anchors were bolted into the monument. In addition, stone rescued from the steps of Baltimore townhouses was used to replaced loose chunks of marble on the monument. The repairs cost an estimated $15 million, but the price tag was cut in half by a donation from David M. Rubenstein. During the repairs, 500 feet of scaffolding covered the monument—however, the remaining distance to the top was only reachable by ladder.

In honor of the restoration of this iconic memorial, here are 10 interesting facts you may not have known.

It was not the first memorial to George Washington in the capital.

Upon the 100th anniversary of the founder’s birth, it became quite conspicuous that no major memorial existed to honor Washington. So, in 1832, Congress commissioned Horatio Greenough for a statue of the first president, which was to be located in the Capitol rotunda. When it was finished and installed in 1841, the 11-foot-high statue of Washington called “Enthroned Washington,” inspired by Phidias’s Zeus Olympios, all bare-chested and wearing sandals, was so unpopular it was moved outside in 1842, and then eventually dropped in the Smithsonian’s lap to hide away in a museum. It was once described as “the most reviled public statue ever erected” in the U.S. The statue now belongs to the American Art Museum and is, according to the museum’s website, not currently on view. It turns out this was not Greenough’s only run-in with controversy. His other major work that was supposed to be displayed in the Capitol, “The Rescue,” (more popularly known as “Daniel Boone Protects His Family”) was also removed and placed in storage in 1958 for being seen as a justification for Indian removal. It depicted a white settler, assumed to be Boone, protecting a white mother and child from a nearly naked Indian about to whack them with a tomahawk.

So get the government out of the way.

It turns out the genesis of the current Washington Monument began with a private group, not the government. In 1833, the Washington National Monument Society was founded to finance a monument to the founder that would be “unparalleled in the world.” Chief Justice John Marshall was the society’s first president, and was succeeded upon his death in 1835 by former President James Madison. After a decade-long fund drive and a design competition, they picked a winning design by Robert Mills in 1845.

The original design was a lot fancier than what we have today.

Robert Mills, the man who won the commission, was a man of ambition. He had already designed a major 178-foot monument to Washington in Baltimore (the oldest surviving one) two decades prior. He had also just been designated Architect of Public Buildings for Washington, D.C., and would design the General Post Office (now the Hotel Monaco), Old Patent Office Building (American Art Museum), and the Treasury Building.

His original design, however, called for a circular temple with 30 columns, each 12 feet wide, ringing the obelisk at its base, and on top of the temple a statue of Washington in a chariot. Inside the colonnade there were supposed to be statues of 30 famous Revolutionary War heroes.

It had quite the kick-off.

The monument got off to a great start. Congress donated 37 acres for the project, President James K. Polk, Dolley Madison, Betsey Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton’s widow), George Washington Parke Custis, and future presidents James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson all showed up on July 4, 1848 for the laying of the cornerstone. The Speaker of the House, Robert C. Winthrop, gave a two-hour speech.

But the coolest part may have been what was placed inside a zinc case in the cornerstone. Allegedly included were copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, a portrait of George Washington, all national coins then in circulation including the $10 gold eagle, the American flag, and newspapers from 14 states. Historic items also got a spot, such as the bylaws of Powhatan Tribe No. 1 and a copy of the constitution of the first organized temperance society in America.

The cornerstone itself was laid by the Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of D.C, Benjamin French, who wore George Washington’s Masonic apron and sash, as well as the Masonic gavel Washington used on the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. And in case you aren’t familiar with Masonic rituals, French tipped vials of corn, wine, and oil on the stone, which are the traditional Masonic symbols.

Unfortunately, by 1854, construction came to a halt as the money dried up. The architect, Mills, died in 1855. Congress initially allocated $200,000 to finish the work, but then rescinded the appropriations before it was spent.

People got a little crazy with the stones.

In the original plan from Mills, he wrote that the monument’s “material is intended to be wholly American, and to be of marble and granite brought from each state, that each state may participate in the glory of contributing material as well as in funds to its construction.” However, to cut costs—and to increase its prominence—the Washington National Monument Society accepted stones from Native American tribes, companies, foreign countries, and professional organizations. Evidently the opportunity for advertising was too enticing for some. The Templars of Honor and Temperance, for instance, had theirs inscribed “We will not buy, sell, or use as a beverage, any spiritous or malt liquors, Wine, Cider, or any other Alcoholic Liquor.”

But the real insanity came with a memorial stone of marble donated by Pope Pius IX. The anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant American Party, aka the “Know-Nothings,” went berserk, stealing the stone and reportedly throwing it into the Potomac in protest. Then, to make sure the monument stayed “American,” the Know-Nothings took over the Washington National Monument Society through fraudulent elections in 1853, which was the impetus behind Congress rescinding the appropriations. The group remained in power until 1858, during which time they added 13 courses to the monument, all of which had to be removed when construction began again years later.

It has suffered its share of indignities.

During the Civil War, the grounds of the now stubby Washington Monument—described by Mark Twain as looking like “a hollow, over-sized chimney”—were used as a cattle pen for the Union Army. There was also a slaughterhouse behind the monument. It became known as the “Washington National Monument Cattle Yard.”

After the war, it became known as “Murderer’s Row,” as it became the destination of escapees and deserters.

No, the monument isn’t two different colors.

It’s actually three.

Decades after Congress seized control of the project, in 1876, on the centennial, Congress appropriated $2 million for the completion of the monument, and turned over the project to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Unfortunately, the Maryland quarry where the stone had originally come from was no longer available, so the builders imported stone from Massachusetts. After several courses were added using this stone, the builders proved unhappy with the color (it’s brownish color is still visible) and quality, and switched instead to another quarry in Maryland for the final two-thirds of the monument. Thus the three shades.

It was once the tallest structure in the world.

Washington, D.C., today may be known for its incredibly flat skyline, but when the Washington Monument opened on February 21, 1885 (one day before Washington’s birthday), it was the tallest structure in the world. Rising 555 feet and 5.125 inches, it passed the Cologne Cathedral to claim the record, only to be surpassed by the Eiffel Tower in 1889.

Today, there is some controversy of its title as the world’s tallest freestanding masonry structure, as both the Anaconda Copper Mine smokestack and the San Jacinto Monument outside Houston are both taller.

Its once high-end top has become worthless.

While plentiful and cheap today, aluminum was once an extremely valuable metal. On the top of the obelisk is a 100-ounce aluminum cap, which acts as a lightning rod. At the time, the capstone was the largest single piece of cast aluminum, and was put on exhibit at Tiffany’s in New York City before being delivered to Washington. While at Tiffany’s, the cap was placed on the floor so people could jump over it and say they jumped over the top of the Washington Monument. On the western side of the capstone is the history of the construction. On the other side, it reads “LAUS DEO,” meaning “Praise be to God.” The capstone was set on December 6, 1884.

It’s been a magnet for some intense stories

Since opening to the public, the Washington Monument has managed to attract its fair share of public incidents.

In 1982, anti-nuclear weapons activist Norman Mayer was shot and killed by U.S. Park Police after he drove a white van that he claimed was loaded with 1,000 pounds of TNT to the base of the Washington Monument. Eight tourists were trapped inside until Mayer let them out, and buildings in the area were evacuated. Hours into negotiations, Mayer attempted to drive off. He was shot and killed—and no explosives were found in his van.

In 1908, Washington Senators catcher Gabby Street attempted to catch a ball being dropped from the top of the Washington Monument. After letting 12 balls slam into the ground and bounce, Street, who caught for notorious flamethrower Walter Johnson, managed to catch and hold onto the 13th.

Finally, on October 15, 1923, a mother fell through the guardrail for the elevator shaft trying to prevent her 3-year-old child from falling. The child was found on the 400-foot level, bruised and crying, but alive. The mother died after falling all the way to the 270-foot level. It was the third death at the monument before safety screens were introduced. A man had killed himself by jumping out the window at the top, while a woman had done so by jumping down the elevator shaft.

The Washington Monument re-opened to the public for tours on Monday,
May 9
May 12, 2014.

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Shut Down, Lock Down, and Shelter in Place...

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Maya Angelou says memorial makes MLK look ‘arrogant’

By Liz Goodwin | The Lookout – 5 hrs ago

MLK memorial (AP)

Poet and author Maya Angelou says a recently unveiled monument to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is inscribed with a quote taken out of context that makes the preacher seem "arrogant."

I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness, the inscription on the 30-foot-tall statue of King reads.

"The quote makes Dr. Martin Luther King look like an arrogant twit," Angelou told The Washington Post's Gene Weingarten, and added that she thinks it should be changed. "He was anything but that. He was far too profound a man for that four-letter word to apply."

The quote was taken from a sermon King gave shortly before his death, where he imagined what his own eulogy would sound like.

"If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice," King said. "Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."

Angelou, who read a poem at Bill Clinton's first inauguration, told Weingarten that taking out the "if clause" at the beginning of the quote makes King sound conceited, as if he were praising himself for no reason.

Angelou was on a committee of historians who helped choose the inscriptions, and the memorial's chief architect, Ed Jackson Jr., said that she didn't attend any of those meetings. But it also appears that the historians chose the entire quote, not the shortened version memorial officials eventually selected due to space constraints.

The Washington Post's Rachel Manteuffel expanded on Angelou's criticism, noting that King's original sermon was actually "about the desire in the human spirit to be great without doing any great, difficult things. To be at the front of the pack, drawing all the attention. This is folly, King says." King admits in the sermon that he is also prone to this weakness like everyone else, but hopes that he will be remembered for fighting for noble causes and helping others, not for seeking attention. The shortened quote conveys none of that interpretive context.

Angelou isn't the only one who has found fault with the four-acre, $120 million monument, which sits on the National Mall alongside monuments to Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Much of the criticism centers around the statue of King, which was controversially designed by a Chinese artist and built by Chinese workers. (Critics said an African-American artist should be chosen.)

Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer objects to the 30-foot-tall statue, which was sculpted by Lei Yixin, an artist from China who has also sculpted monuments of Chairman Mao. "His flat, rigid, socialist realist King does not do justice to the supremely nuanced, creative, humane soul of its subject," Krauthammer says.

The New York Times' Edward Rothstein writes that the imposing statue and choice of quotations turns "the minister into a warrior or a ruler."

"The mound's isolation from any other tall objects, its enormity and Dr. King's posture all conspire to make him seem an authoritarian figure, emerging full-grown from the rock's chiseled surface, at one with the ancient forces of nature, seeming to claim their authority as his," Rothstein writes.

The Economist writes that it's disappointing "that a man who fought so intransigently, bravely, and beautifully for equality, of all things, has been set up for worship as a towering idol, more mountain than man."

"The image that we chose is one that, from our point of view, presents Dr. King as a philosopher of ideas, someone who was strong in his belief of what America stood for and where America should be going," the architect, Jackson, told The Root. "The goals he set have not been reached, but we have a memorial that allows us to champion his message, so that we don't forget to pick up where he left off in trying to make the world a better place."

Correction: Due to an editing error, Angelou was incorrectly referred to as the former poet laureate of the United States.

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The "Heat Dome" Is Here

Thursday, Jul 21, 2011 | Updated 7:19 PM EDT

Dangerously high temperatures in the D.C. area kept emergency room workers busy Thursday. As Jackie Bensen reports, even those accustomed to working outdoors in the summer were overcome by the extreme heat.

You probably saw this coming, too. Three straight days of 100 degrees have been in the forecast all week, so why not three straight days of excessive heat warnings?

A warning has been issued for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Furthermore, today's warning has been extended two hours to 10 p.m., and Friday's warning has been expanded by four hours and will be in effect from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.

News4 Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer doesn't expect any record high temps, but highs of 100 three days in a row has only happened three times before in D.C. history.

We didn't quite get there Thursday, at least not at Reagan National Airport, where the high reached 99 degrees and the heat index 112.

By 2:30 p.m. Thursday, the heat index had reached 120 in Calvert County, Md., and 125 in Fredericksburg and Warrenton in Virginia, Kammerer reported. Late Thursday afternoon, the heat index was at 118 in LaPlata and 119 in Huntingtown.

Friday will be worse, Kammerer said. He again expects a possible high of 101 Friday and triple digits again Saturday before we see any relief from a cold front expected to move in Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

Along with the heat and humidity, the region also has to deal with poor air quality. The breeze helped out Thursday, but it will not hang around for Friday, meteorologist Chuck Bell reported. A Code Red air quality alert will be in effect Friday. Everyone should limit strenuous outdoor activity because the air is unhealthy to breathe. Turn off as many lights and appliances as possible, don't drive if you don't have to, do not apply chemicals to your lawn or garden, and avoid mowing.

Stay indoors if you can, but if you have to go out, keep your physical activity to a minimum. Stay hydrated and look out for the elderly and pets.

In the midst of the skyrocketing temps, one of the old standbys for staying cool -- the Warwick Pool in Alexandria, Va. -- temporarily closed due to a telephone outage, because health department guidelines insist a public pool can't be open without a working landline. The pool had reopened before 3 p.m.

Maryland State Police are on the look out for stranded drivers to help them in the heat. Troopers are directed to help drivers with disabled vehicles as quickly as possible through Friday, police said. Drivers should be sure to carry plenty of water and a working cell phone and, of course, should not leave a child or pet in a car alone.

Virginia State Police also are on heightened alert for disabled vehicles. They're asking motorists to make sure their vehicles are in top shape, their gas tanks and other fluids filled, and their tire air pressure checked. But if you do need to fill your gas tank, try to do it early or late when the heat isn't so bad because of the air quality.

The Maryland Transit Administration is taking steps to protect MARC trains, equipment and passengers during the heat wave, saying the severe heat pushes equipment to the limit. The agency will aggressively address issues as they occur and resolve them as quickly as possible.

In June 2010, hundreds of passengers were stranded for two hours on a broken-down MARC. Several were treated for heat-related issues.

At Union Station in Washington, water coolers will be provided.

Metro riders should remember that the transit agency is often dealing with air conditioning problems, so if you wind up on a hot car, get off at the next stop, walk down two cars and get back on. Metro railcars operate as pairs so every two cars share the same problem.

Power companies are preparing to deal with outages. Pepco and Baltimore Gas & Electric say the region's power supply is expected to be enough to meet demand, but the utilities are advising customers to take steps to save energy. Pepco and BGE are staffing to quickly address any equipment issues that may arise from heat or potential storms resulting from the heat.

Set air-conditioning thermostats at 78 degrees and use an electric fan, which doesn’t require as much energy, and the air will seem cooler without sacrificing comfort.
Keep window shades, blinds, or drapes closed to block the sunlight during the hottest part of the day and retain cooler air inside your home or business.
Limit the use of electrically heated water and turn off non-essential appliances and as many lights as possible.
Limit opening refrigerator or freezer doors.
Postpone using high-energy appliances like electric stoves, washing machines, dishwashers and dryers until the evening.

This NOAA animation shows the predicted high temperatures through Thursday:




Source
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ALERT: HARRY REID SCHEDULES FIRST OBAMA-CARE VOTE FOR 1 A.M. MONDAY

By Sarah Foster


Posted 1:00 AM Eastern


December 21, 2009© 2009 NewsWithViews.com



Watch Live: U.S. Senate Debates Health Care Insurance Overhaul



WASHINGTON – Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled 1 a.m. Monday for the first of several votes he needs to get his ObamaCare health bill passed by the Senate by Christmas Eve.
That’s “shortly after Sunday Night Football ends and most Americans are in bed,” says Dan Holler at the Heritage Foundation's blog, The Foundry.



Introduced Saturday morning, the senators will have had less than 38 hours to understand the 383-page manager's amendment to H.R. 3590: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which Holler reports introduces several new concepts into the health care debate. For starters:

Read whole article:

http://www.newswithviews.com/NWV-News/news179.htm

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Storm Cuts Power, Snarls Traffic Along East Coast

Sarah Karush


AP WASHINGTON (Dec. 19) - A blizzard-like storm rocked the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Saturday, crippling travel across the region and leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power.

Five deaths appeared to have been caused by the storm system, which stretched from the Carolinas north to New England and also spread into some Midwestern states. The 14 inches of snow that fell at Reagan National Airport outside Washington was the most ever recorded for a single December day, while about 9 inches had fallen in Philadelphia.

Those who did venture out were treated to nearly desolate stores on what is usually one of the busiest shopping days of the year. There were virtually no lines to get a picture with a mall Santa on the last weekend before Christmas.

The National Guard used Humvees to rescue stranded motorists in Virginia and some 500 people had sought warmth and refuge in emergency shelters.

Photo (courtesy) http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BI0LF20091220

"The snow has not stopped falling, the storm isn't over, and folks should not think this is crying wolf," said Laura Southard, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

More than two feet of snow fell in some areas since Friday, and the nation's capital was under a blizzard warning. Public transportation nearly ground to a halt, but it wasn't enough to keep senators from staying in session to debate health care reform.

The slow-moving storm was headed to the Northeast, where forecasters said parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts could see more than 16 inches by Sunday night. Forecasters expected the storm to drop as many as 10 inches on New York City.

Snowplows cleared the runway at Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Washington as President Barack Obama returned from climate talks in Copenhagen. The White House said Obama rode in a motorcade back to the White House, instead of taking his helicopter, because of the conditions.

The region was virtually a sea of white. The Smithsonian Institution closed its museums, and the National Mall, which normally would be swarming with tourists, instead was the scene of snowball fights and cross-country skiers.

For Chris and Kelly Fitzpatrick, who were visiting from Clearwater, Fla., the winter wonderland came at the perfect time.

"It's her fault that we're out so long. She wants to walk and walk and walk," said Chris Fitzpatrick, 38.

In western Virginia, officials said several hundred motorists became stranded and had to be rescued by four-wheel-drive vehicles.

"Some folks have decided to stay in vehicles, others have been taken to shelters," said Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman Bob Spieldenner. "We're definitely trying to keep people off the roads."

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said traffic was moving, though slowly. There were reports of jackknifed tractor-trailers and some semis on their sides. Troopers had responded to more than 4,000 traffic crashes and disabled vehicles.

One person in Virginia was killed in a traffic accident caused by slick roads, and authorities said the weather may have contributed to another traffic death. A third death is believed to have been caused by exposure. In Ohio, two people were killed in accidents on snow-covered roads hit by the same storm system.

At Crump's Store at the intersection of two country roads outside Richmond, Va., owner Suzanne Rudd stood with a man dressed as Santa and waved to the few motorists who dared to hit the slick roads. Rudd said only a few children had come to visit with Santa.

"Normally we'd have a long line here but people are having a hard time getting out," Rudd said.

The same was true at the Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey, which would typically be a place where down-to-the-wire Christmas shoppers would create a mob scene. Instead, parking spots were plentiful.

Inside, there was no line for a picture with Santa.

"It was fantastic," said Chris Bailey, who got pictures of his 4-year-old daughter Olivia.

Mayors in Washington and Philadelphia declared snow emergencies and forecasters said the conditions could worsen. Governors in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Delaware declared states of emergency.

"It's going to be an all day thing. It's going to be on and off," said National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Witt in Sterling, Va.

Most of the flights at Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport were canceled, creating a ripple effect of delays across the country. By Saturday night, the runways at both airports were closed until at least 6 a.m. Sunday. BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport also closed Saturday afternoon to allow crews to clear snow from the runways and travelers who tried to reach their destinations by train also faced long delays and threats of cancellations.

"It's going to be very challenging for people who weren't able to get out today to rebook on flights this week," said Tara Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Joy Rood, 20, played solitaire as she waited at Reagan for a flight to visit family in Los Angeles with her husband, who was asleep at a table outside an airport cafe.

"We had a canceled flight at Dulles at 6 yesterday because the plane had difficulties," she said. "So they cabbed us over here to - uh, what airport am I at?"

Washington's Union Station was full of travelers, some of them sprawled on the floor. Other travelers were stuck on the tracks. A train with 255 passengers was stopped near Alexandria, Va., for five hours Saturday while workers tried to fix a frozen track switch, said Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham. She expected the train to arrive in Washington sometime Saturday night but declined to give a more specific estimate of when.

Delays were also reported for trains between Washington and Boston. At Union Station, Imke and Mike Jandreau were hoping to get on a train to Boston after their flight to Maine was canceled.

"I was on hold for almost seven hours with the airline, so we gave up and came here," Imke Jandreau, 25, said.

Forecasters said the storm system was expected to generate winds up to 35 miles per hour, which could cause near-whiteout conditions.

At a Walmart in the Richmond, Va., area, Nnika White took advantage of the few shoppers, buying a drum set for her 2½ year old son. White, dressed in a toboggan, scarf and flannel-like jacket, said she works long hours at the law firm she owns and doesn't get much time to shop.

"It's nice because no one's here. For shopping, it's great, but the roads are very, very bad," she said.

Snow, ice and freezing rain also hit western North Carolina on Friday, knocking out power to almost 60,000 customers around the Asheville area.

After a warm start to the ski season that delayed openings of many resorts, the storm arrived just in time for West Virginia, dumping more than 20 inches on some slopes, said Joe Stevens, a spokesman for the area's ski association.

"These are midseason conditions," he said. "The storm couldn't have come at a better time."

The storm came from the Gulf and drenched South Florida with rain starting late Thursday, leaving flooded homes and stranded drivers.



Associated Press writers Dena Potter in Chesterfield, Va.; Jacob Jordan in Atlanta; Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, N.J., and photographer Jacquelyn Martin in Arlington, Va.,contributed to this report.

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Source: http://www.sphere.com/nation/article/blizzard-like-storm-cuts-power-snarls-traffic-along-east-coast/19287245

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D.C.’s ‘invisible army’ for Christ

The Family, a little-known religious group, has been getting some unwanted publicity. What do they believe?
Briefing•Friday, July 31, 2009

Mark Sanford: Answers to a higher authority (Corbis)

BY
What is the Family?

It’s the most well-connected religious organization that no one talks about. Formed in 1935 by an itinerant preacher, Norwegian immigrant Abraham Vereide, the Family has grown into “a veritable underground of Christ’s men all through government,” in the words of Family member and evangelical minister Charles Colson, the convicted Watergate conspirator. The Washington-based group counts many prominent politicians, mostly conservative Republicans, among its flock, and several members of Congress pay $600 a month to rent rooms in the group’s townhouse on C Street, near the U.S. Capitol. There are Family “prayer cells” in many federal agencies, including the Pentagon and the Justice Department. The Family tries to maintain a low profile (see below), but was thrust into the headlines in recent weeks when it emerged that three politicians embroiled in sex scandals—South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Nevada Sen. John Ensign, and former Mississippi Rep. Chip Pickering—are longtime members. Pickering, in fact, last week was accused in court papers of having trysts with his mistress in the C Street house.

Are all members politicians?
No. While members include Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, former Secretary of State James Baker, and former Attorney General Edwin Meese, many business leaders and military officers are also involved. “We work with power where we can,” Doug Coe, 81, the group’s leader since 1969, said in a rare interview in 2002, “and build power where we can’t.” The Family’s only high-profile endeavor is the National Prayer Breakfast, at which world leaders gather each year in Washington for a morning of nondenominational worship; but the Family always stays in the background, and many participants have no idea that the group is even involved.

What does the Family believe?
Its theology is vague, elastic, and focused on power. The basic precepts came to Vereide in a vision in 1935, according to the group’s literature. Living in Seattle, he came to believe that union organizing in the city was communist-inspired. Jesus appeared to him in the form of the president of U.S. Steel, who told him to gather “key men”—prominent businessmen and political leaders—to beat back the unions in His name. Vereide’s recruiting efforts spread eastward, and in 1941 he arrived in Washington, where he began cultivating friendships with powerful people and setting up prayer groups. By then, Vereide was convinced that conventional Christianity had it backwards: Instead of ministering to the down-and-out, Jesus wanted believers to tend to the “up-and-out”—members of America’s elite who lacked intimacy with Jesus. In Vereide’s worldview, free-market capitalism is divinely ordained, and unions and regulations are a form of blasphemy.

What about personal morality?
It’s not the most important consideration. “The people involved in this association are the worst and the best,” Coe says. “Some are total despots, some are totally religious.” The mere fact that they are powerful means they have God’s favor, argues Coe, citing a line from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans: “The powers that be are ordained of God.” Scholar Jeff Sharlet, author of the authoritative book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, explains the theology this way: As long as the powerful develop a close relationship with Jesus, “then they will dispense blessings to those underneath them. It’s a sort of trickle-down fundamentalism.” The theology stems from Vereide’s belief than only “key men” can change the world, and only with Jesus’ guidance will they change it for the better. The Family believes in a “total Jesus,” who pervades every thought and action.

Does the Family excuse adultery and other sins?
Not exactly, but it considers the powerful to be accountable only to God and their peers, not to their constituents or the Constitution. Coe speaks often of the biblical King David, who slept with another man’s wife, then ordered the cuckolded husband into battle, effectively sentencing him to death. Yet despite his personal failings, David was one of God’s chosen, and his reign was a blessing to the Israelites. When Gov. Sanford invoked King David to explain why he wouldn’t resign over his adulterous relationship with an Argentine woman, “you could almost hear Doug’s voice,” says Sharlet, who considers the Family’s disregard for conventional morality “potentially very dangerous,” because it “leads you away from accountability to the public.”

Is the Family a threat?
Few in Washington seem too worried. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has taken part in Family activities despite her liberal politics, and has called Coe “a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God.” The first President Bush called Coe an “ambassador of faith.” Supporters also note that Family members helped convince President Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat, and Menachem Begin to call for a worldwide day of prayer to usher in the Camp David Peace Accords. And members helped broker a 2001 peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Such successes, Family members say, demonstrate the group’s good intentions. “There’s nothing sinister here, no dark secrets,” says former Rep. Tony Hall of Ohio. “It’s the exact opposite of what Washington is about.”

Secrecy by design
Family members quickly learn that the first rule of the Family is not to talk about it. In 1966, Vereide, who referred to his following as an “invisible army,” decreed that the Family should “submerge the institutional image” of the group—a policy maintained by Coe. As Coe once said in a sermon, “the Family functions invisibly like the Mafia. The more you can make your organization invisible, the more influence it will have.” Family members organize themselves into small “cells” that are, in the group’s own words, “publicly invisible and privately identifiable.” Coe has expressed admiration for the way such leaders as Adolf Hitler, Ho Chi Minh, and Osama bin Laden organized followers into small groups that shared a “covenant.” With a covenant, he says, “two or three people can do anything.” Where those leaders went wrong, he says, was in not making their covenants in Jesus’ name.

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Source: http://www.theweek.com/article/index/98841/DCs_invisible_army_for_Christ#comments

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In Georgetown Speech, Obama Offers Cautious Optimism

By Michael D. Shear and William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, April 14, 2009; 12:36 PM

President Obama today laid out a vision for a new era of U.S. economic prosperity and called on the nation to "get serious" about reforming entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security -- reform that he said starts with overhauling the American health care system.


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In Georgetown Speech, Obama Offers Cautious Optimism

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"Make no mistake: health care reform is entitlement reform," Obama said in a speech at Georgetown University in Washington. "That's one of the reasons why I firmly believe we need to get health care reform done this year." This will bring down costs "across the system, including in Medicare and Medicaid," he said.

Linking health care to broader economic problems, Obama said, "The key to dealing with our deficit and debt is to get a handle on out-of-control health care costs -- not to stand idly by as the economy goes into free fall."

But efforts to tackle this thorny problem and address other basic weaknesses in the U.S. economy are hampered by "a fundamental weakness in our political system," Obama said. He pointed to what he said was a proclivity in Washington to postpone hard decisions.

"There's been a tendency to score political points instead of rolling up sleeves to solve real problems," Obama said. "There is also an impatience that characterizes this town -- an attention span that has only grown shorter with the 24-hour news cycle and insists on instant gratification in the form of immediate results or higher poll numbers. When a crisis hits, there's all too often a lurch from shock to trance, with everyone responding to the tempest of the moment . . . instead of confronting the major challenges that will shape our future in a sustained and focused way."

Obama warned, "This can't be one of those times. The challenges are too great. The stakes are too high. I know how difficult it is for members of Congress in both parties to grapple with some of the big decisions we face right now. . . . But we have been called to govern in extraordinary times, and that requires an extraordinary sense of responsibility."

In his speech, Obama generally offered an optimistic assessment of efforts to revive the economy but warned that tough times are still ahead as the nation rebuilds its financial system.

Aides to the president billed the speech as a major effort to speak broadly about the state of the recovery, but it offered no new policies.

Speaking at the nation's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, Obama referred repeatedly to a parable from the Sermon on the Mount to describe the challenge that confronts Americans as they recover from the recession. He compared the recovery to the story of two men, one of whom builds his house on sand, the other on rock.

"We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand," Obama said. "We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity -- a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest, where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad."

In the speech, Obama continued what has become a series of moderately hopeful comments about the success of a variety of recovery efforts, saying, "Taken together, these actions are starting to generate signs of economic progress."

But he also sounded more than a note of caution.

"It does not mean that hard times are over," he said. This year "will continue to be a difficult year for America's economy. The severity of this recession will cause more job loss, more foreclosures and more pain before it ends. The market will continue to rise and fall. Credit is still not flowing nearly as easily as it should."

With "much more work to be done," the president pledged "an unrelenting, unyielding, day-by-day effort from this administration to fight for economic recovery on all fronts."

Obama's appearance at Georgetown came as new indicators paint a mixed picture of the nation's economy. Retail sales fell by 1.1 percent in March, an unexpectedly sharp decline that was the steepest in three months and worse than analysts had predicted. But at the same time, the economy received new evidence that it has little to fear from inflation, as wholesale prices fell sharply last month.

In a separate speech being delivered this afternoon at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben. S. Bernanke reports "tentative signs that the sharp decline in economic activity may be slowing," according to the text of his remarks.

Bernanke adds: "A leveling out of economic activity is the first step toward recovery. To be sure, we will not have a sustainable recovery without a stabilization of our financial system and credit markets."

Obama emphasized "the progress we've made" in righting the economy after nearly three months in office but also cautioned Americans "about the pitfalls that may lie ahead."

He presented a vision of "a future where prosperity is fueled not by excessive debt, reckless speculation and fleeting profit, but is instead built by skilled, productive workers -- by sound investments that will spread opportunity at home and allow this nation to lead the world in the technologies, innovations and discoveries that will shape the 21st century."


Obama said a solid foundation for the U.S. economy must be built on five pillars: new rules for Wall Street, new investments in education, renewable energy and health care and new federal budget savings to reduce debt.

Reiterating the optimism he has expressed in recent days, Obama said: "There is no doubt that times are still tough. By no means are we out of the woods just yet. But from where we stand, for the very first time, we are beginning to see glimmers of hope."

He envisioned "way off in the distance" a transformed nation, one "teeming with new industry and commerce, humming with new energy and discoveries . . . a place where anyone from anywhere with a good idea or the will to work" can live the American dream.


Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/14/AR2009041401183_2.html?sid=ST2009041401324

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Historic inauguration preserves tradition of prayer

[Photo ANN Files]

Historic inauguration preserves tradition of prayer

U.S. Senate chaplain on spirituality of nation's leaders; an Adventist's privilege

January 20, 2009 Washington, D.C., United States

Elizabeth Lechleitner/ANN

As spiritual guide for members of the U.S. Senate, Chaplain Barry C. Black says he's impressed by the level of spirituality present on Capitol Hill. Black will deliver a prayer for the traditional luncheon immediately following today's inaugural ceremonies.

Government officials and United States citizens who have gathered in the nation's Capitol today for the inauguration of president-elect Barack Obama will celebrate many firsts, but they'll also rely on a framework preserved for more than 200 years, bolstered by such standbys as the inaugural prayer, says United States Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black.

A prayer isn't something to take a red pen to, he says. Unlike speeches, prayers are not "another act in the drama," says Black, a Seventh-day Adventist and former U.S. Navy chaplain. Rather, prayers ought to be reflective and deeply sincere. "I would be very concerned if someone or some committee was standing by to scrutinize what someone had passionately felt compelled to say to God on behalf of the people for a particular occasion," Black says.

Black, who will deliver the invocation for the traditional inaugural luncheon immediately following today's inauguration, says those on Capitol Hill have heard him pray enough -- he opens every session of Senate with a prayer -- to be assured he won't say anything "out in left field."

Plus, Black says, the vetting process for hiring a chaplain or, in the case of Rick Warren and Joseph Lowry -- both of whom are offering prayers during today's inaugural ceremony -- is "sufficiently rigorous that you have confidence that the individual will offer an appropriate prayer."

Black says some might argue that prayer during state events, such as inaugurations, is little more than a formality or tradition -- George Washington initiated the first such prayer after he was sworn in by a chaplain who used the Book of Common Prayer. Others have gone so far as to claim that an inaugural prayer is unconstitutional and violates the separation of church and state.

However, Black says the country's need for prayer is as crucial as ever. "The Framers, despite their commitment to keep church and state separate, recognized the need for a spiritual dimension of government." Black's position itself was established in 1789, at the suggestion of Framers such as Benjamin Franklin, who Black says is credited with saying that it was "highly unlikely" for a nation to rise without God's assistance if a "sparrow cannot fall without [His] notice."

The post of Senate chaplain continued a tradition established during the first Continental Congress in 1774. Today, the chaplain's duties include providing spiritual care and counseling for senators, their families and their staffs, as well as opening each day's session with prayer.

The acknowledgement of God's leading in the rise and fall of nations still echoes in the chambers of the U.S. Congress today, Black says.

"I think what Paul says in Philippians 4 -- 'They're saints in Caesar's household' -- could be said of many working on Capitol Hill," Black says, adding that as many as 35 of the country's 100 senators -- from both sides of the aisle -- regularly attend weekly prayer breakfasts and Bible studies. Among those who attend are Obama and vice president-elect Joseph Biden, both of whom Black says are "very spiritual individuals." The former chief of Navy chaplains say's he's had the opportunity to interact on a regular basis with Obama, whom he considers a friend. The then senator from Illinois provided an endorsement for the back cover of Black's 2006 book, From the Hood to the Hill.

Working on Capitol Hill, "particularly the ponderous, deliberative nature" of the legislative process and the significance of handling that level of responsibility, can be draining, leaving senators "spiritually vulnerable," Black says. "Whatever level of spirituality you bring to the job is doubled, I think, as you discover an intense need to nurture that connection [with God]."

During his years as a spiritual guide to the nation's leaders, Black says he has observed the impossibility of completely separating "the spirituality of an individual from the work that he or she does." Certainly, he adds, in certain circumstances Senators must vote against their personal convictions for the good of their constituents, but "the spirituality that so many of our lawmakers possess permeates them sufficiently enough that it's going to impact their judgment, their worldview and how they go about making decisions."

Black, whose office overlooks the National Mall, says the "awe-inspiring" view contributes to the "sense of wonder" he experiences each time he enters the nation's Capitol.

"I have the opportunity to interact with some of the brightest people I know of, and they're interested in my opinions on the ethical dimensions of the issues they're debating in the chamber. That privilege -- that responsibility -- is sobering, and very, very exciting," Black says.

"Source: Adventist News Network"

Source: http://news.adventist.org/data/2009/1232464109/index.html.en

Senate Passes Bill to Delay Transition to Digital Television

(Photo: Bebeto Matthews/AP)

Senate Passes Bill to Delay Transition to Digital Television


By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 27, 2009; Page D01

The Senate last night approved a four-month delay in the nation's transition to all-digital television to give consumers more time to prepare for the switch.

Broadcasters are scheduled to stop airing analog broadcasts Feb. 17. Consumers with an analog television will need a converter box to get broadcasts. People with digital televisions or cable or satellite service will not lose programming.

President Obama earlier this month urged Congress to postpone the transition, citing evidence that many consumers are not ready. The Nielsen Co. said last week that more than 6.5 million U.S. households are not prepared and could see their television sets go dark next month.

But some Republicans say that changing the date would further confuse consumers and create additional costs for broadcasters who have made extensive preparations to switch next month. Wireless companies and public safety agencies also are waiting for airwaves that will be freed by the transition.

It is unclear if the House will immediately pass the Senate's version of the bill, which does not specify how the costs of a delay would be covered. The House could add its own provisions, which would require further Senate action. It could also waive budget rules and seek funds in the stimulus package.

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W. Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, urged the House to pass the bill, which would push the transition back to June 12.

"Delaying the upcoming DTV switch is the right thing to do," Rockefeller said. "I firmly believe that our nation is not yet ready to make this transition at this time. The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process."

PBS chief executive Paula Kerger said yesterday that a delay would cost public broadcasters $22 million. She said she hoped lawmakers would provide funds to PBS if they proceed with a delay.

The bill would allow broadcasters to turn off analog signals before the June 12 deadline, and public safety agencies would be allowed to use those airwaves as soon as they are available. The bill would also allow consumers with expired coupons for converter boxes to re-apply for new ones.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is running the coupon program, has hit its $1.34 billion funding limit. More than 3 million consumers are on the waiting list for coupons, which will come available as already issued coupons expire.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/26/ST2009012602438.html