Friday, April 12, 2013

This puts the P in NPR



As I turned on the radio this morning to listen to the latest news... I was dumbfounded when I heard a couple of consciousness raising stories within minutes from each other.  What I heard on the local NPR station astonished me. Yet, what I hear on the headlines nowadays, especially on NPR, never ceases to amaze me since they take a New Age-ish, illogical approach to most topics they cover. However, this morning's two  diametrically opposed 'stories', take the cake.  One of the segments featured a father (one of 2 fathers in a same sex union) speaking to his son;  and the other report mentioned that this month - April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The man tells the child: "Poppa and I are gay".

Poppa - Prevention - Predators

Are these people serious?

The first story has a homosexual man asking a child questions about what he will do when he grows up, and the next segment spoke about the Bradford County Sheriff placing signs outside the residences of Sexual Predators (identifying them as such), as a service to their communities in Florida.


I believe this really puts the icing on the cake.  I have heard it all now!


I think I now know what the P in NPR stands for. Is isn't it peculiar?

Perplexing? Pertinacious? Pernicious; presumptuous;  perfidious; perturbing?

Is it pervasive, perverse, or perverted?

Perhaps, in their minds NPR may think they are providing progressive, prim and proper, perfectly pure, programming?

But, I believe the most appropriate description for their Hegelian Dialectic agenda, in my opinion is perverted.

That's what the P stands for:

NPR (National Public Radio)= National Perverted Radio



Arsenio
``````  

“What are some of your dreams?”




John Curtis and his husband, David Wikeira, have two sons.

The couple adopted their first child from Vietnam when he was a baby.

Eleven years later, John Curtis sat down with that son, John Wikeira, for a conversation at StoryCorps.

0.9474632511846721



Recorded in Rochester, NY.

MORE PHOTOS





Source

COUNTERPOINT


child abuse prevention month

Afternoon News in 90: April 9, 2013

By Wade Millward on April 9th, 2013 | Last updated: April 9, 2013 at 2:30 pm


HOURLY NEWS UPDATE

To listen to podcast of this story go to link here

NOW PLAYING ON 89.1 FM HD1



The Perils of the Last Days Are Upon Us



The Perils of the Last Days Are Upon Us



Claudiamthompson

Published on Apr 9, 2013


This video is about the 1,260 Year Time Prophecy of Daniel and Revelation.

The prophecy has been fulfilled and is proof that we are now living in the 'Time of the End'.

The prophecy is mentioned 7 times in the Bible, in both Daniel and Revelation.

Scriptures:

Daniel 7:25
Daniel 12:7
Revelation 11:2
Revelation 11:3
Revelation 12:6
Revelation 12:14
Revelation 13:5
.

The U.S. Air Force as you know it no longer exists: beginning today, 17 combat units grounded


April 9, 2013

Posted by David Cenciotti


According to internal documents obtained by Air Force Times, beginning on Apr. 9, 2013, the U.S. Air Force will begin grounding front line combat units as a consequence of sequestration and the need to deal with budget cuts.

Seventeen squadrons belonging to the various U.S. Air Force commands are going to be affected by the stand down order.

The grounding is aimed to save the 44,000 flying hours (worth 591 million USD) through September.

The funded 241,496 flying hours will be distributed to those squadrons that will remain combat ready or are expected to keep a reduced readiness level called “basic mission capable” until the end of the Fiscal Year 2013.

Whilst some squadron will be immediately grounded, others will be forced down as soon as they come back from their overseas deployment. Among them, the 94th Fighter Squadron from Langley, whose F-22 Raptor stealth fighters currently deployed to Kadena, Okinawa and Osan airbase amid Korean Peninsula crisis, or 354th Fighter Squadron, 12 A-10C of which are currently returning to Davis Monthan after being deployed to Afghanistan.




Other grounded units include the Thunderbirds demo team, 555th Fighter Squadron from Aviano airbase, Italy; 77th Fighter Squadron from Shaw AFB, South Carolina; 492nd and 494th Fighter Squadrons from RAF Lakenheath, UK; 18th Aggressor Squadron from Eielson AFB, Alaska; B-52 squadrons belonging to the 2nd Bomb Wing from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and 5th Bomb Wing from Minot AFB, North Dakota; as well as B-1 squadrons from both 2nd and 7th Bomb Wing from Dyess AFB, Texas.





Anyway, here’s the detailed list of involved squadrons by airframes prepared by Air Force Times.
F-22

94th Fighter Squadron — Grounded April 9

27th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through September

3rd Fighter Wing — Two squadrons combat mission ready through September

15th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September

49th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
F-15 C/D

67th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through September

44th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through July, then Combat mission ready through September

48th Fighter Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
F-15E

336th Fighter Squadron — Grounded April 9

335th Fighter Squadron — Combat mission ready through September

48th Fighter Wing — Two squadrons stand down April 9

391st Fighter Squadron — Stands down April 9
F-16 C/D

8th Fighter Wing — Two squadrons combat mission ready through September

77th Fighter Squadron — Stands down April 9

55th Fighter Squadron — Combat mission ready through September

79th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through July, then combat mission ready through September

555th Fighter Squadron — Stands down April 9

510th Fighter Squadron — Combat mission ready through September

13th Fighter Squadron — Combat mission ready through September

14th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through September

51st Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September

57th Wing — One squadron (Thunderbirds) stands down April 9

158th Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9

169th Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9

187th Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9

354th Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9

4th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable until redeployment

421st Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through September
A-10C

75th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through July, then combat mission ready through September

51st Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September

52nd Fighter Wing — Closing

442nd Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9

917th Wing — One squadron stands down April 9
HH-60G

18th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September

48th Fighter Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
B-1B

7th Bomb Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September

2nd Bomb Wing — Two squadrons stand down April 9
B-2

509th Bomb Wing — Two squadrons combat mission ready through September
B-52

2nd Bomb Wing — One squadron stand down April 9

5th Bomb Wing — Two combat squadrons combat mission ready through September
E-3B/C/G

2nd Bomb Wing — Basic mission capable through September

18th Wing — One squadron basic mission capable through September

552nd Air Control Wing — One squadron basic mission capable through September
SE-4B

55th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
EC-130H

55 Electronic Combat Group — One squadron combat mission ready through September
OC-135B

55th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
RC-135S

55th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
RC-135U

55th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
RC-135V/W

55th Wing — One squadron basic mission capable through September
TC-135W

55th Wing (training) — One squadron basic mission capable through September
WC-135C/W

55th Wing. — One squadron combat mission ready through September


Source
.

Late night subliminal 'entertainment' in America


Molto divertente! 
(very funny)
Ha ha ha! Laughing all the way to the BANK (BankofAmerica).

Defense Department classifies Catholics, evangelicals as extremists



associated press photographs


By Lachlan Markay - The Washington Free Beacon



Friday, April 5, 2013


The Defense Department came under fire Thursday for a U.S. Army Reserve presentation that classified Catholics and Evangelical Protestants as “extremist” religious groups alongside al Qaeda and the Ku Klux Klan.

The presentation detailed a number of extremist threats within the U.S. military, including white supremacist groups, street gangs, and religious sects.

The presentation identified seventeen religious organizations in a slide titled “religious extremism.” They include al Qaeda, Hamas, the Filipino separatist group Abu Sayyaf, and the Ku Klux Klan, which the slide identifies as a Christian organization.

“Religious extremism is not limited to any single religion, ethnic group, or region of the world,” the slide explains, in language that closely resembles the text of a Wikipedia page on “extremism.”



Read more

.

Of Chaos and Confusion: The Modern Church




Of Chaos and Confusion: The Modern Church (Full Film)

Paul Flynn

Published on Sep 14, 2012


A Megiddo Films Production
Produced, Written and Directed by Paul Flynn
Running Time: 2.5 hours
Copyright 2012 Paul Flynn.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

To support the making of other planned future films you can donate here at:
http://megiddofilms.org/donations/

Megiddo Radio
Paul Flynn talks about his new film which is now out online called "Of Chaos and Confusion: The Modern Church"
http://megiddofilms.podomatic.com/ent...

.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Rev. Jeremiah Wright's daughter, Jeri Wright, indicted for alleged money laundering, report says

April 11, 2013 4:45 PM





Rev. Jeremiah Wright / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via CBS Chicago (CBS) CHICAGO - The daughter of President Barack Obama's former pastor was indicted Wednesday on charges of money laundering and lying to the feds, CBS Chicago reports.

Jeri L. Wright, daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is accused of participating in a fraud scheme allegedly orchestrated by former Country Club Hills Police Chief Regina Evans and her husband involving a $1.25 million state grant, the station says.

Jeri Wright, 47, of Hazel Crest, Ill., is charged with two counts of money laundering, two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement officers and seven counts of giving false testimony before a grand jury.


.

Walter Veith - Interview on Election of Jesuit Pope




7701 - Interview on Election of Jesuit Pope - Walter Veith


OfficialADTVChannel

Published on Apr 2, 2013


Walter Veith's insights on the new Jesuit Pope Francis I elected in March 13, 2013.
http://amazingdiscoveries.tv/media/12...

.

Gay Games 2018 has potential to be in Orlando



By Bethany Dickens

Contributing Writer


Published: Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Updated: Thursday, April 11, 2013 08:04





Courtesy of Federation of Gay Games

Sports for the Gay Games include traditional events such as cycling, swimming & track and field, as well as categories such as cheer, darts and bodybuilding.

If you were playing a word association game with the phrase “Olympic athlete,” you might come up with the following adjectives: strength, power and excellence. And you may be less likely to go with participation, inclusion and personal best.

Converge Orlando, Inc. is hoping to change that — at least for those in the Central Florida area. The company has put in a bid to make Orlando the site of the 2018 Gay Games. This unique sporting and cultural event promotes respect and social awareness in athletes, instead of bulging muscles and aerobic endurance. The sporting events are flexible, with participants determining what should be included. Local sports — gator wrestling, anyone? — are highlighted. Niche activities can be enjoyed by athletes at any level of fitness.

While this feel-good description makes the games sound lightweight, participants actually pack a hefty economic punch. The Gay Games is the largest sporting event of its kind. Ann Gynn, director of marketing and communications for Gay Games 9 in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, said the games will bring $57 million dollars to the region. This information is quite meaningful, considering Florida’s near-absolute reliance on tourism, which became evident following the 2008 recession. The Federation of Gay Games has expressed concern that Florida may not prove as inclusive as the games themselves. But given the popularity and revenues of Disney’s Gay Days, Florida’s history of conservatism will probably not prove much of an obstacle.

Nicholas Simons, UCF’s OUTreach Advocacy Board student director, agreed with this perspective. He will soon be the director of the new Pride Coalition, which facilitates educational programming that promotes diversity and inclusiveness on campus, according to the Pride Coalition website.

Simons said Orlando could be a viable destination for the 2018 Gay Games.

“You have UCF. You have the Disney area. I think generally Orlando is an accepting city, especially because we have support from the city of Orlando as well as Orange County, which both have anti-discrimination protections and domestic partnership registries,” he said.

Converge Orlando project manager Gabrielle Shulruff wrote in an email that Orlando offers “world-renowned venues, boundless hospitality experience and thriving LGBT and allied communities.”

Orlando will face off against London, which is also bidding to host Gay Games 10.

Shulruff said London is steeped in history, but she feels Orlando’s variety of travel options makes it an ideal location. According to its website, one of Converge’s goals has been to take a percentage of these tourism dollars for Orlando.

The Gay Games’ chosen location is not exclusively about glitz and glamour, however. Gynn said the 2014 Gay Games are being held in the Cleveland/Akron area in part due to its “reputation in the LGBT community as a great destination” and its strategic position “in America’s heartland.”

“Cleveland and Akron are the smallest regions to ever host the games,” Gynn said. “The Gay Games will require the entire community to work together.”

And Orlando has at least one community known for coming together for special events. When asked if UCF students would want to participate in the 2018 event, Nicholas Simons said absolutely. Shulruff said she would like to see UCF students be more active during the event, and that the games will offer a chance for UCF students to become involved in a number of ways, including internships.

If the Gay Games are held in Orlando in 2018, UCF’s LGBTQ community would have the opportunity to participate in games and help raise awareness for diversity and respect. Pride Coalition and LGBTQ Student Services have been actively involved in the community, and the Gay Games would provide a new and exciting opportunity for outreach.

Shulruff said Orlando does not have the equality enjoyed by some other cities in the running, and hosting the Gay Games could help change that.

“We are on the cusp of equality,” she said. “This could really push us over the edge.”

UCF students should take note as Converge continues to pursue its bid for making Orlando the site for Gay Games 10.

While 2018 is a long way off, Simons agreed partnerships would be possible. After all, the Gay Games’ effect comes in more than dollars, and its purpose is more than providing a fun outlet for oddball sports. When it comes to celebrating history for the LGBTQ community, tourist dollars are temporal in comparison with the exciting opportunities the games will offer. These include community collaboration, opportunities for UCF students, and, of course, participation, inclusion and personal best.


.

Ben Carson steps down as Johns Hopkins commencement speaker after controversial comments




Published April 11, 2013

FoxNews.com


Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who faced criticism for controversial comments about same-sex marriage, stepped down Wednesday as the commencement speaker for the university.

Carson sent medical school Dean Paul Rothman a letter saying that he didn’t want to “distract from the celebratory nature of the day,” reported The Baltimore Sun.

In the past few weeks, Carson has backtracked on comments he made about gay marriage. In an interview on Fox News, he had said "no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality ... they don't get to change the definition" of marriage.

Carson, who has become a rising conservative star after publicly questioning Obama's health care overhaul earlier this year, later apologized.

On Friday, Rothman released a statement calling Carson’s comments “offensive” and said the university recognizes “that tension now exists in our community because hurtful, offensive language was used by our colleague, Dr. Ben Carson, when conveying a personal opinion. Dr. Carson’s comments are inconsistent with the culture of our institution.”

Carson also stepped down as the speaker for the Johns Hopkins University School of Education diploma ceremony.

“Given all the national media surrounding my statements as to my belief in traditional marriage, I believe it would be in the best interest of the students for me to voluntarily withdraw as your commencement speaker this year,” Carson wrote.

It is unknown at this time who will replace Carson. Calls and emails to Johns Hopkins were not immediately returned.


Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/11/ben-carson-steps-down-as-hopkins-commencement-speaker/#ixzz2QAAPJli4
.

Adventist-Catholics






As prophesied by E. G. White, God's messenger to the SDA Church.

The CROSS in your church was not a coincidence
It did not happen by chance.

Prophecy:
“That night I dreamed that I was in Battle Creek looking out from the side glass at the door and saw a company marching up to the house, two and two. They looked stern and determined. I knew them well and turned to open the parlor door to receive them, but thought I would look again. The scene was changed. The company now presented the appearance of a Catholic procession. One bore in his hand a cross, another a reed. And as they approached, the one carrying a reed made a circle around the house, saying three times: "This house is proscribed. The goods must be confiscated. They have spoken against our holy order." Terror seized me, and I ran through the house, out of the north door, and found myself in the midst of a company, some of whom I knew, but I dared not speak a word to them for fear of being betrayed. I tried to seek a retired spot where I might weep and pray without meeting eager, inquisitive eyes wherever I turned. I repeated frequently: "If I could only understand this! If they will tell me what I have said or what I have done!" Testimonies for The Church Vol. 1 p. 578, January 29, 1867

Fulfillment:
“You've waited more than 150 years for the Church to adopt an official, worldwide corporate identity. Fortunately, there is no need to wait any longer for your sign.”
“Positive ID is the officially licensed supplier for the Seventh-day Adventist logo accessories so we can guarantee that your signage complies with the strict global identity standards required by the General Conference.” Ministry Magazine July 1997 {back cover].

“The years 1996 and 1997 will go down in Seventh-day Adventist church history as the era during which our church adopted and Implemented a unified corporate image.” Ministry Magazine p. 31, July 1997. Actually the portrayal of a cross in an engraved gold medallion as a symbol of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and was given to the pope did already exist in 1977.
“The book presented was the Adventist missionary book Faith in Action, and the medallion was a gold-covered symbol of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The medallion is an engraved witness to the Adventist faith in Christ as Creator, Redeemer, and soon-coming Lord, in the cross and Bible…” Adventist Review August 11, 1977. But it was not until 1996 when it was finally implemented and adopted as a world wide, corporate identity.
“The explanation of the church's corporate (logo) identity is on our web site at www.adventist.org. It was voted several years ago (1996) by the Executive Committee of the General Conference during its Annual Council. It expresses our beliefs and has been discussed by several focus groups before it was taken for a decision… Nobody required anybody to do what we did. Representatives from the world church, in council, discussed the logo, which, by the way, includes a full name of the church, and agreed that this is what we will do.” Letter of Ray Dabrowski, Communication Director of SDA Church World Headquarters, Wed, 27 June 2001.

There it is, the exact fulfillment of Ellen G. White's dream in Testimonies for the Church Volume 1, page 578 ( 1867 ). That this [SDA Church] will carry or raise-up the standard of Rome that portrays a pagan cross thus following the track of Romanism. Please see also Testimonies to Ministers page 362.

Is the cross a Christian symbol?

“Papists place crosses upon their churches, upon their altars, and upon their garments. Everywhere is seen the insignia of the cross. Everywhere it is outwardly honored and exalted.” Great Controversy page 568

“The cross was associated with the power of Rome.” Desire of Ages page 416

“The badge of Christianity is not an outward sign, not the wearing of a cross or a crown, but it is that which reveals the union of man with God.” Ministry of Healing page 470

“The cross is recognized as one of the most important symbols of the Roman Catholic Church. It is displayed on top of roofs and towers. It is seen on altars, furnishings, and ecclesiastical garments. The floor plan of the majority of Catholic churches is laid out in the shape of the cross. Catholic homes, hospitals, and schools have the cross adorning the walls. Everywhere the cross is outwardly honored and adored – hundreds of ways!” Babylon Mystery of Religion pages 39-40

What is Roman Catholic Church's power?" QUESTION: How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holy days?

ANSWER: By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of and therefore, they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church.

QUESTION: How prove you that?

ANSWER: Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the Church's power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin."

The Douay Cathechism, page 59.

What is Christ's badge according to the SDA church?"His (Christ's) badge was a cross, not crown." Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, Apr-May-June 2005, page 76, Teachers Edition.

“…As is the mother so is her daughter …” Ezekiel 16:44

“But Babylon the harlot is the mother of daughters who follow her example of corruption. Thus are represented those churches that cling to the doctrines and traditions of Rome and follow her worldly practices…” Spirit of Prophecy Vol. 4 p. 233

“In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the privileges and advantages that she has had. If her spiritual experience does not correspond to the advantages that Christ, at infinite cost, has bestowed on her, if the blessings conferred have not qualified her to do the work entrusted to her, on her will be pronounced the sentence: “Found wanting.”… What stronger delusion can beguile the mind than the pretense that you are building on the right foundation and that God accepts your works, when in reality you are working out many things according to worldly policy and are sinning against Jehovah? … Who can truthfully say: “Our gold is tried in the fire; our garments unspotted by the world”? I saw our Instructor pointing to the garments of so-called righteousness. Stripping them off, He laid bare the defilement beneath. Then He said to me: Can you not see how they have pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? ‘How is the faithful city become an harlot? My Father's house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the DIVINE PRESENCE AND GLORY HAVE DEPARTED!” Testimonies for the Church Vol. 8 p. 247-250, April 21, 1903

“A virtuous woman represents a pure church, a vile woman an apostate church. Babylon is said to be harlot...” Spirit of Prophecy Vol. 4 p. 233

Mrs. White said in 1893, “at the present time,” do not call the church Babylon (Testimonies to Ministers, page 50). That was in 1893. But 10 years later, in 1903 the church became a harlot or Babylon. In 1893 it was a man [AW Stanton] who said that the church is Babylon, but in 1903 it was God through EG White who said that the SDA church is harlot or Babylon .

“Are we hoping to see the whole church revived? THAT TIME WILL NEVER COME.” Selected Messages Vol. 1 p. 122

“And thou, Capernaum [Seventh day Adventist, who have had great light], which are exalted unto heaven [in point of privilege], SHALT BE BROUGHT DOWN TO HELL…” Review and Herald p. 69, August 1, 1893

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4

“Likewise greet the church that is in their house.” Romans 16:5



.

David Mould on The Adventist Controversy

David Mould on Religious Hardtalk
The Adventist Controversy
Aired: 2/19/2013

Watch the video here

..

Masonic States Of America - Secret Societies the String Pullers.



Secret Societies the String Pullers? - Masonic States Of America [720p Full]

 

DifferentStringsBBD

Uploaded on May 26, 2011


Are the Members of these Brotherhoods the Innocent Victims of Mud-Slinging Conspiracy Theorists or are they Untouchable Elitists who Control the World?

This video does not necessarily reflect the up-loaders opinion.
.

The Best Enemy Money Can Buy




By
Antony C. Sutton


TABLE OF CONTENTS



Chapter I:




Chapter II:




Chapter III:




Chapter IV:




Chapter V:




Chapter VI:




Chapter VII:




Chapter VIII:




Chapter IX:




Chapter X:




Chapter XI:




Chapter XII:




Chapter XIII:




CONCLUSIONS:




APPENDIX A:



APPENDIX B:

of the Platform at Miami Beach, Florida, August 15, 
1972, at 2:30 P.M.


APPENDIX C:

Letter from William C. Norris, Chairman of Control Data
Corporation to Congressman Richard T. Hanna, 1973


APPENDIX D:

Letter from Fred Schlafly to friends and supporters of
American Council for World Freedom, dated April 
1978, asking to mail "Yellow Cards" of protest to
William Norris

Card Sender," dated May 5, 1978

Letter (Protocol) of Intent dated 19 October 1973
(English version) between State Committee of the USSR
Council of Ministers for Science and Technology and
the Control Data Corporation

English version of Agreement between State Committee
of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Science
and Technology and Control Data Corporation (signed
by Robert D. Schmidt), dated 19 October 1973


APPENDIX E:

Fred Bucy on dangers of trading technology to the Soviets


APPENDIX F:



APPENDIX G:

Company (J. Irwin Miller) and Financing of Marxist
Revolutionary Activities Within the United States.


APPENDIX H:



APPENDIX I:





Foreword by
Gary North, Ph.D.


*****

Dedicated to the memory of those who died in
Korea and Vietnam – victims of our
own technology and greed.



This business of lending blood money is one of the most thoroughly sordid, cold blooded, and criminal that was ever carried on, to any considerable extent, amongst human beings. It is like lending money to slave traders, or to common robbers and pirates, to be repaid out of their plunder. And the man who loans money to governments, so called, for the purpose of enabling the latter to rob, enslave and murder their people, are among the greatest villains that the world has ever seen.

LYSANDER SPOONER, No Treason (Boston, 1870)


*****

Copyright 2000





This work was created with the permission of Antony C. Sutton.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in connection with a review.


HTML version created in the United States of America by Studies in Reformed Theology



.

IRS claims it can read your e-mail without a warrant



The ACLU has obtained internal IRS documents that say Americans enjoy "generally no privacy" in their e-mail messages, Facebook chats, and other electronic communications.

April 10, 2013 8:18 AM PDT


The IRS continued to insist on warrantless e-mail access, internal documents obtained by the ACLU show, even after a federal appeals court said the Fourth Amendment applied.(Credit: Getty Images)

The Internal Revenue Service doesn't believe it needs a search warrant to read your e-mail.

Newly disclosed documents prepared by IRS lawyers says that Americans enjoy "generally no privacy" in their e-mail, Facebook chats, Twitter direct messages, and similar online communications -- meaning that they can be perused without obtaining a search warrant signed by a judge.

That places the IRS at odds with a growing sentiment among many judges and legislators who believe that Americans' e-mail messages should be protected from warrantless search and seizure. They say e-mail should be protected by the same Fourth Amendment privacy standards that require search warrants for hard drives in someone's home, or a physical letter in a filing cabinet.

An IRS 2009 Search Warrant Handbook obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union argues that "emails and other transmissions generally lose their reasonable expectation of privacy and thus their Fourth Amendment protection once they have been sent from an individual's computer." The handbook was prepared by the Office of Chief Counsel for the Criminal Tax Division and obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Nathan Wessler, a staff attorney at the ACLU's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, said in a blog post that the IRS's view of privacy rights violates the Fourth Amendment:


Let's hope you never end up on the wrong end of an IRS criminal tax investigation. But if you do, you should be able to trust that the IRS will obey the Fourth Amendment when it seeks the contents of your private emails. Until now, that hasn't been the case. The IRS should let the American public know whether it obtains warrants across the board when accessing people's email. And even more important, the IRS should formally amend its policies to require its agents to obtain warrants when seeking the contents of emails, without regard to their age.



The IRS continued to take the same position, the documents indicate, even after a federal appeals court ruled in the 2010 case U.S. v. Warshak that Americans have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their e-mail. A few e-mail providers, including Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Facebook, but not all, have taken the position that Warshak mandates warrants for e-mail.

The IRS did not immediately respond to a request from CNET asking whether it is the agency's position that a search warrant is required for e-mail and similar communications.

Before the Warshak decision, the general rule since 1986 had been that police could obtain Americans' e-mail messages that were more than 180 days old with an administrative subpoena or what's known as a 2703(d) order, both of which lack a warrant's probable cause requirement.

The rule was adopted in the era of telephone modems, BBSs, and UUCP links, long before gigabytes of e-mail stored in the cloud was ever envisioned. Since then, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Warshak, technology had changed dramatically: "Since the advent of e-mail, the telephone call and the letter have waned in importance, and an explosion of Internet-based communication has taken place. People are now able to send sensitive and intimate information, instantaneously, to friends, family, and colleagues half a world away... By obtaining access to someone's e-mail, government agents gain the ability to peer deeply into his activities."

A March 2011 update to the IRS manual, published four months after the Warshak decision, says that nothing has changed and that "investigators can obtain everything in an account except for unopened e-mail or voice mail stored with a provider for 180 days or less" without a warrant. An October 2011 memorandum (PDF) from IRS senior counsel William Spatz took a similar position.

A phalanx of companies, including Amazon, Apple, AT&T, eBay, Google, Intel, Microsoft, and Twitter, as well as liberal, conservative, and libertarian advocacy groups, have asked Congress to update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act to make it clear that law enforcement needs warrants to access private communications and the locations of mobile devices.

In November, a Senate panel approved the e-mail warrant requirement, and last month Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat whose district includes the heart of Silicon Valley, introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives. The Justice Department indicated last month it will drop its opposition to an e-mail warrant requirement.


.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

James Meeks: It starts with the family



How to save a lost generation of black males




More needs to be done to save the lives of young black males, the Rev. James Meeks says. (Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune / March 14, 2012)

By James Meeks

April 10, 2013



In 1956, the year I was born, 75 percent of all homes in the African-American community were two-parent households. Today, only 25 percent of all homes in the black community are two-parent households. In the 1960s and the '70s, African-Americans fought to send their kids to better schools and for an end to segregation. Communities and churches united for change. Of course, back then, guns and drugs weren't readily available on street corners, as they are now. A teenager getting hold of a gun and firing into a crowd of his peers was unthinkable.

The escalating gun violence in Chicago is a symptomatic failure of all of the above, specifically as it relates to black men and boys. Ironically, black communities were safer back then, and black males had a better shot at a good education and a decent job at a time when black people were waging war against U.S. policies that were designed to hold us back.

Today, though we enjoy hard-won freedoms, our schools are separate and unequal by ZIP code. The drug and gun culture in our cities has proliferated, despite strict laws and sentencing guidelines to stop it. No disrespect to single mothers, but for African-American males, growing up in a fatherless home without other positive male role models has a negative impact on their psyche. Sadly, the majority of young African-American men in the inner city fit this description. Many become drug addicted. They lack clear pathways to an economic future. Combined with a proliferation of firearms, by age 15 you have a dangerous product of the street.

To reverse the culture of violence that is leaving a trail of bodies across the city, innocents and perpetrators alike, we must target the inherent social and economic disparities disproportionately impacting African-American men and boys. The numbers bear this out. According to analysis of police data, of the more than 500 reported homicides in Chicago last year, 361 of the victims were African-American males; 287 were ages 15 to 35.

Recently, more than 100 churches and clergy across Chicagoland organized a night of prayer, targeting neighborhoods and street corners where lives were lost to gun violence in 2012. Concerned parents and residents lined city blocks by the hundreds. It was a demonstration borne out of frustration and sadness designed to build strength and unity around a concerted effort to take back our streets and save our young men. It must now be followed up with a red-hot level of community engagement, like we did back in the day, so that we don't again fall into complacency.

We're dealing with a generation that's been lost to the streets, steered down errant paths largely due to circumstances beyond their control. The issue has been politicized, but the problems young black men are facing cannot be viewed solely through a political lens. If we look back 40 years, we'll see that this demographic group has suffered socially and economically as a direct result of the backlash to hard-won civil rights laws. Without street alternatives, these marginalized young men aren't destined to become the breadwinners I remember from my generation. Their educational advancement has been systemically eclipsed. In Chicago, about 40 percent graduate from Chicago Public Schools. They top the ranks of the unemployed, and our penal system is overflowing with them. They are released back onto the streets without identification and additionally carry the stigma of being an ex-con, making it harder to get a job.

Now, barely a generation removed from the civil rights era, the fear factor is missing among them. They're not afraid of prison; some aren't even afraid of dying. That's how low their expectations have plummeted.

On April 18, I will convene fellow members of the clergy to finalize a program targeting African-American males ages 15 to 35 to, among several initiatives, help them attain GEDs, find jobs and kick their drug addictions.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy recently announced a campaign to invest in after-school programs. They also said they want to toughen laws for gun violations. As citizens, we cannot let the buck stop there. Speaking as a former Illinois state senator, I know the problem won't be solved strictly by politicians and policies. Take our failing schools, for example. The quality of education in poor, urban communities has been a highly politicized issue, culminating recently with an announcement to close 53 so-called underutilized elementary schools and one high school program in Chicago. The quality of our schools is a problem with no quick fix. We can't afford to wait on it.

The mayor and police superintendent might hold sway over politics and policies. But what goes on inside households is beyond their reach. And therein lies the solution: It's going to take a focused, integrative, intentional effort by lawmakers, pastors and church folk, community leaders and educators to stem the tide of violence robbing our city of its bright future.

The Rev. James Meeks, pastor of the House of Hope at Salem Baptist Church of Chicago, is a former member of the Illinois Senate.


.

MSNBC Ad - Melissa Harris-Perry: "Kids belong to whole communities"



FBI probes Ashley Judd tape at McConnell's request


Catalina Camia, USA TODAY12:11a.m. EDT April 10, 2013

The McConnell campaign team alleges "Watergate-style tactics," as actress denounces "politics of personal destruction."



(Photo: Jeff Franko, USA TODAY)



STORY HIGHLIGHTS
"Mother Jones" magazine obtained tape of McConnell campaign team meeting
Opposition research on Ashley Judd's mental health and political views are discussed
McConnell team alleged campaign headquarters were bugged



WASHINGTON — The FBI said Tuesday it is investigating whether Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's Louisville campaign office was bugged after aides were caught on tape discussing possible political attacks on Ashley Judd.

The tape was posted by Mother Jones, a liberal magazine that created a stir last year when it published a secretly taped video of Mitt Romney.

"We can confirm that Sen. McConnell's office reported this matter to us and we are looking into it," said Paul Bresson, an FBI spokesman. "We are reviewing the tape to determine if any federal laws were violated."

On the recording, McConnell's aides discuss Judd and her struggles with depression and views on several topics, including religion. The actress-activist, who flirted with a Senate bid in Kentucky, said in late March that she would not run for the Democratic nomination in 2014 to take on McConnell.

McConnell, the top Senate Republican, alleged to reporters on Capitol Hill that liberals were behind the recording. "Last month, they were attacking my wife's ethnicity. And unbeknownst to me, they were bugging my headquarters in Nixonian fashion," he said. "That what the political left does these days."

McConnell is married to former Labor secretary Elaine Chao, a Taiwanese American.

Earlier in the day, McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton said in a statement: "We've always said the left would stop at nothing to attack Sen. McConnell, but Watergate-style tactics to bug campaign headquarters are above and beyond."

Benton said: "Obviously a recording device of some kind was placed in Sen. McConnell's office without consent. By whom and how that was accomplished presumably will be the subject of a criminal investigation." Benton said the McConnell campaign also contacted the U.S. Attorney's Office in Louisville at the FBI's request.

Mother Jones said it obtained the recording of a Feb. 2 meeting last week from a source who requested anonymity. David Corn, the story's author, said in a statement that the magazine was "not involved in the making of the tape" and rejected the characterization of "Watergate-style" tactics.

A McConnell aide is heard on the tape saying about Judd that "she's clearly, this sounds extreme, but she is emotionally unbalanced. I mean it's been documented. Jesse can go in chapter and verse from her autobiography about, you know, she's suffered some suicidal tendencies. She was hospitalized for 42 days when she had a mental breakdown in the 90s."

McConnell is heard on the tape at the beginning of the meeting, in which a wide variety of opposition research on Judd is discussed. USA TODAY has not independently verified the tape.

Among other things, McConnell's aides are heard talking about Judd's support for President Obama, her opposition to coal mining, support for an energy policy known as "cap and trade," and her views on abortion and religion. One McConnell aide says Judd is critical of "traditional Christianity," according to the tape and transcript posted by the magazine.

"This is yet another example of the politics of personal destruction that embody Mitch McConnell and are pervasive in Washington, D.C.," Judd's spokeswoman, Cara Tripicchio, said in a statement.

"We expected nothing less from Mitch McConnell and his camp than to take a personal struggle such as depression, which many Americans cope with on a daily basis, and turn it into a laughing matter," the Judd statement continued. "Every day it becomes clearer how much we need change in Washington from this kind of rhetoric and actions."

Corn said he and the magazine are still waiting for McConnell to comment on the "substance of the story." He said he contacted McConnell's Senate and campaign offices and, specifically, Benton and received no response.

"As the story makes clear, we were recently provided the tape by a source who wished to remain anonymous," Corn said. "We were not involved in the making of the tape, but we published a story on the tape due to its obvious newsworthiness. It is our understanding that the tape was not the product of a Watergate-style bugging operation. We cannot comment beyond that."

Some of the research on Judd came from her 2011 memoir, All That is Bitter and Sweet, in which she wrote about her struggle with depression and how she had contemplated suicide in sixth grade. In 2006, she entered a 42-day treatment program at a rehab facility in Texas.

"I would have died without it," Judd told People magazine in 2011.

The McConnell's team sought to capitalize on the leaked tape and turned its existence into a fundraising pitch by early Tuesday afternoon. They posted a message on their website that read in part: "Breaking: Liberals wiretap McConnell office."

Mother Jones created a splash in the 2012 presidential campaign when it obtained a secretly taped video of Romney, in which the GOP nominee tells donors that 47% of Americans are dependent on the federal government for assistance and would not vote for him in any case. Romney, who apologized repeatedly for what he called an "unfortunate" statement, has said the tape "hurt and did real damage" to his campaign.

Democrats have yet to find a top-tier candidate to run against McConnell in 2014. Judd has vowed she would help the party's eventual nominee in the campaign to defeat the GOP leader, who is seeking a sixth term.

Contributing: Gregory Korte


.

Exclusive Rand Paul Says America Needs A Spiritual Cleansing





tjwalker


Published on Apr 10, 2013


Exclusive Rand Paul Says America Needs A Spiritual Cleansing

http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/arc...

TJ Walker Video Commentaries now available to websites through OneScreen Syndication http://www.tjwalker.com/2013/01/28/th...

TJ Walker is the #1 rated Daily Internet-only liberal news video pundit (viewed at http://www.tjwalker.com). Walker is also a regular contributor to Forbes.com, Daily Kos, and the Reuters Insider Network. Walker is also a USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Business Week best-selling author. A frequent network news analyst, Walker has made more than 1000 national TV and radio guest appearances on CBS, ABC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, Bloomberg TV, Al Jazeera, NBC, Fox Business, Russia Today, HLN, TrueTV, Comedy Central, Sirius and NPR. In 2009, Walker entered the Guinness Book Of World Records for most talk show appearances ever in a 24 hour period. (http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com)http://www.twitter.com/tjwalker)
http://www.twitter.com/tjwalker
..

Poor, South Korea!





I rest my case.
.

With Pope Francis, It's Prime Time for Jesuits






By RACHEL ZOLL AP Religion Writer
NEW YORK April 7, 2013 (AP)



For decades, the Society of Jesus has faced the same struggles to find priests that have plagued the wider Roman Catholic Church. The Rev. Chuck Frederico, one of the priests who evaluate Jesuit applicants, says he usually heard from five a week, or fewer.

Then, last month, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica — the first Jesuit to be elected pope.

The number of queries jumped to four or five each day.

"Some guys who made contact in the past weeks are serious candidates," said Frederico, vocations director for the region from Maine to Georgia. "This election of the Holy Father has given them reason to examine this more fully."

Jesuits have only started absorbing the novelty of one of their own leading the church. Most were so shocked, they Googled to confirm the connection before they dared to celebrate. Robert Wassmann, an instructor at Washington Jesuit Academy, a middle school, told the Archdiocese of Washington newspaper he ran down the hall shouting: "He's a Jesuit! He's a Jesuit!"

But members of the order have also started thinking ahead, to the potential impact of this pontificate on their many ministries, colleges and overall future. Pope Francis could inspire new recruits and wider regard for the society. But he could also feel compelled to intervene in the inner workings of the order, which has had sometimes tense relations with the Vatican over the centuries.




"In the context of young men and women considering a religious vocation and calling, it has to have an impact," said the Rev. Thomas Gaunt, a Jesuit and analyst at Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. "And that impact will be at least a blip on the screen and could be more."

Bergoglio was more than a rank-and-file member of the Society of Jesus. He held the order's most trusted positions in Argentina.

Soon after he was ordained, he was appointed novice master, in charge of training the newest recruits. He went on to become provincial, or national leader, before joining the church hierarchy as a bishop in Buenos Aires. Francis has chosen a papal coat of arms featuring the Jesuit seal: a sunburst containing a red cross and the "IHS" abbreviation for Jesus Christ.

In pure marketing terms, it's the ultimate branding opportunity.

Many Jesuit-run colleges, such as Georgetown, are already prominent and a top draw for applicants, although most of the order's 3,700-plus schools worldwide are smaller and many are struggling.

The Rev. Tom Smolich, president of the Jesuit Conference USA, said some are half-jokingly wondering about a papal version of the "Flutie effect," a reference to Doug Flutie, quarterback for Jesuit-run Boston College whose last-second "Hail Mary" pass won a 1984 game against Miami. In the aftermath, BC's applications increased.

Mostly, though, the society is hoping for what the Rev. Matt Malone, editor of the Jesuit magazine America, called "a moment of reconciliation." Previous popes have disciplined Jesuit theologians over liberal teachings. In 2008, Benedict XVI sent a letter asking the order's worldwide members to pledge "total adhesion" to Catholic doctrine, including on divorce and homosexuality.

"That the cardinals would even consider choosing a Jesuit now, I thought, marked a new beginning in that relationship," Malone wrote.

Recognized by the church in 1540, the order was founded by Basque soldier Inigo de Loyola. Jesuits swear an oath of obedience to the papacy and have been dubbed "God's Soldiers" for their readiness to evangelize anywhere the pontiff sent them. Jesuits brought Christianity to 16th-century Japan. A 19th-century Belgian Jesuit was a peace negotiator between the U.S. government and Sioux Indians.

But depending on the era, the society could be viewed with as much suspicion as respect.

Their growing influence sometimes generated resentment. Anti-clerical European monarchs pressured Pope Clement XIV to abolish the society in 1773 — a suppression that wasn't lifted until 1814. Still, Jesuits remained a target for anti-Catholic conspiracy theorists who believed the priests were scheming to overthrow foreign governments.

The order has become known more recently for academic rigor seen in the universities they built in the U.S. and around the world. Jesuit scientists have made so many advances in astronomy, physics and math that 35 moon craters have been named in their honor. But partly because of these intellectual achievements, claims of elitism often surround the society.

The Rev. Joseph McShane, president of the Jesuit Fordham University, opened a recent event with a quip playing on the order's reputation and Francis' no-frills papacy. The pope has kept the simple, iron-plated pectoral cross he used as bishop and living in the Vatican guesthouse rather than the grand papal apartment.

"A humble Jesuit? An oxymoron. A Jesuit pope? An impossibility. A humble Jesuit pope? A miracle," McShane said.

In the 1970s, when the church was debating how it should relate to the modern world, the order's General Congregation, or legislative body, decreed that "the service of faith" and "the promotion of justice" would be the focus of every Jesuit ministry. This coincided with a period of high-profile — detractors would say notorious — activist Jesuits, including the Rev. Daniel Berrigan, a founder of the anti-nuclear Plowshares Movement.

In Latin America, the Jesuit emphasis on helping the poorest peoples often drew the society into political upheaval, including the cause of liberation theology, a Latin American-inspired view that Jesus' teachings imbue followers with a duty to fight for social and economic justice. U.S. Jesuit James Carney was killed in 1983 serving as chaplain to a rebel column from Honduras.

Pope John Paul II, hoping to re-direct the religious order, took the extraordinary step in 1981 of replacing the Jesuit's chosen leader with his own representative. The society encompasses a range of outlooks, including tradition-minded men. Still, conservative Catholics often view Jesuits as a band of disloyal liberals. The day after Francis was elected, George Weigel, a John Paul biographer, wrote in the conservative National Review magazine that the pope "just might take in hand the reform of the Jesuits" that Weigel argued was never finished. (Smolich rejects any suggestion that the order isn't faithful to the church or its teachings.)

It's too early to say how these past conflicts could influence Francis and his relationships with the society. He had disavowed liberation theology as a misguided strain of Catholic tenets, while still maintaining a focus on the economic failings of Western-style capitalism and the need to close the divide between rich and poor.

Jesuits also worry that the religious order could suffer in the spotlight. Maybe the new pope will keep his distance from the society, for fear of giving an appearance of favoritism. Or, he could use his new authority to become — from their perspective — too involved in the society, like John Paul. And they wonder if Jesuits would somehow be blamed for any of Francis' decisions that prove unpopular.

Jesuits were already at a crossroads when Francis was elected. Although the order remains the largest in the church for men, membership has dropped by more than half since peaking in 1965, Gaunt said.

The decline came mostly in the West. But In South Asia and India, Christianity, and Catholicism specifically, have been growing, and so too have the numbers of Jesuits in those areas. Gaunt calls it "the changing Jesuit geography." India now has the largest national group of Jesuits with just over 3,900 members, followed by the U.S., with just under 2,500. About one-third of the world's 17,287 Jesuits came from developing countries, a figure that is expected to rise in coming years.

For U.S. Jesuits, this has meant a long season of wondering where they go from here. The order is restructuring in the U.S., merging their 10 smaller provinces into four larger ones.

Lay people now staff most Jesuit schools and ministries, so the order has started Jesuit spirituality retreats and instruction for lay faculty and staff to help maintain the religious identity of what they've built. Among the newer Jesuit initiatives are high schools or middle schools in poor communities, and programs that bring online college-level classes to refugees in Africa and elsewhere.

Whatever is ahead, Jesuits are aware this is a signal moment.

Francis has visited with and exchanged letters and visited with the Jesuit superior general, the Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, with both pledging to work together as brothers. A photo of the two embracing is circulating around the Jesuit world.

———

Source
.