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Polish police detained a 58-year-old man Sunday after he threw vials of black paint at the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, an ancient Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary believed to work miracles. (SNIP) Every August, thousands of Poles make a spiritual journey to the monastery, a tradition that goes back to 1711 when the bubonic plague decimated Warsaw's population. When the epidemic suddenly ended, a brotherhood of knights trekked from the capital to the monastery to offer thanks to the Virgin Mary. The relic has since enjoyed a cult following at home, and its international reputation was boosted by the...

….”robberies and a rowdy brawl went down“, that’s what the reporter said. Another said “this video is alarming“…. “the 44th street crew, gangs up on two female passengers to steal their iphones“… The thugs took trophy video of the assault/robbery and posted it for bragging rights and “street cred” on their FaceBook page. Watch how the media make particular attention to avoid the obvious. The attackers were all black, and the two women attacked were white….. Hmmm? The knock out game – Thrill kills - Flash mobs – Subway passengers pushed onto the tracks - Street cred - Violence –...

Former President Bill Clinton told a group of pharmacists in Las Vegas on Dec. 3 that white Americans who lack high school diplomas, and who have seen their life expectancy diminish in recent years, are “dying of a broken heart.” … Clinton was discussing a New York Times article on a study about the life expectancy of whites in the United States, which noted that life expectancy had risen steadily for all groups except non-Hispanic whites without a high school degree. …

With all the talk about taxing the rich, we hear very little talk about taxing the poor. Yet the marginal tax rate on someone living in poverty can sometimes be higher than the marginal tax rate on millionaires. While it is true that nearly half the households in the country pay no income tax at all, the apparently simple word "tax" has many complications that can be a challenge for even professional economists to untangle. If you define a tax as only those things that the government chooses to call a tax, you get a radically different picture from what...

Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 30, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Iran “exports terrorism” in a global fashion that “stretches from Mexico to Thailand. “We already know very well that the Iranian regime already exports terrorism, not only to Israel’s doorstep, but across the world,” Clinton said. “If we had a map I could put up there, I could show you what we track and plot on that map.” …

So let's take a step back, and look at Switzerland's unique gun laws and culture. "While traveling around Switzerland on Sundays, everywhere one hears gunfire, but a peaceful gunfire: this is the Swiss practicing their favorite sport, their national sport. They are doing their obligatory shooting, or practicing for the regional, Cantonal or federal shooting festivals, as their ancestors did it with the musket, the arquebus or the crossbow. Everywhere, one meets urbanites and country people, rifle to the shoulder, causing foreigners to exclaim: 'You are having a revolution!'" These words were written by General Henri Guisan, commander in chief...

Evangelical pastor and author John MacArthur said that the Democratic Party has “adopted the sins of Romans 1 as their platform." “And as you know,” MacArthur told his Southern California congregation on Sept. 30, “I’m not one to talk about politics as such, but I was essentially amazed that one of the historic parties here in the United States adopted the sins of Romans 1 as their platform. This is a new day in our country. Parties which used to differ on economics now differ dramatically on issues that invade the realm of God’s law and morality.” …

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal grand jury is investigating the awarding of the $38 million contract to run the District of Columbia lottery, a process that raises further questions about corruption in a city government already beleaguered by criminal prosecutions. Although no one has yet been charged in the lottery probe, authorities are looking for evidence of crimes including bribery and illegal steering of contracts, and numerous officials are under scrutiny, according to several people familiar with the probe. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they've been instructed not to impede the ongoing investigation. Regardless of the outcome of...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lawyer and environmental activist, told the Huffington Post that the “right-wing” controls the media in the United States and as a result has “divided our country” in a way not seen since the Civil War. … “95 percent of talk radio in our country is right-wing,” he said. “And you need—according to Pew [Research Center] survey—and so you have whole sections of our country that’s what they are hearing from when they wake up in the morning to when they go to bed at night. Twenty-two percent of Americans say their primary news source is...

Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker says the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), which spent $80.4 billion in fiscal 2012, is “not a government handout.” “I hope and understand that people are getting a better recognition that this is a program that really helps America, helps families in need,” Booker said on Friday, while describing his fourth day of living on a SNAP budget. "It’s not a government handout,” he said. “If anything, it’s a safety net that helps people through difficult times and bridges them towards stability.” …

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Did you see where John Boehner and Obama met at the White House face-to-face for the first time in 23 days? I wonder if Boehner had to wear one of those cheesy name tags. "Hi, I'm John Boehner, Speaker of the House." It's been so long since he's been there. No word on whether Boehner took a white flag with him or not. Well, what can you say here, folks? Fiscal cliff negotiations proving once again that Obama is never worried about trying to fix the problem. All he's trying to do is fix the blame. Now,...

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is an important scientific society. It includes many earth science disciplines and publishes numerous journals. Unfortunately the organization has been co-opted by global warming extremists. The great majority of the scientists who study the Earth's climate don't have an extremist position on climate change. However, true believers of the "imminent catastrophe" school tend to be activists. These are the people who stay to the end of every meeting, get appointed to committees, and generally punch above their weight in organization politics. The true believers don't waver in the face of contradictory facts or data. For...

The report, issued by the National Intelligence Council, talks of "inevitable" decline as a large reason for the shift. A new report by the intelligence community projects that the United States will no longer be the world's only superpower by 2030."In terms of the indices of overall power - GDP, population size, military spending and technological investment - Asia will surpass North America and Europe combined," the report concludes."Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds" - prepared by the office of the National Intelligence Council of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence - projects that the "unipolar" world that emerged...

A government report finds median pay for nearly 2,000 senior managers at government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exceeded $200,000 last year. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the two mortgage giants, also did an inadequate job monitoring pay, according to the report released Monday from the inspector general for the FHFA. The median figure means that half the managers received salaries above $200,000 and half received less. Compensation for senior managers at the companies cost about $455 million in 2011, according to the report. Taxpayers so far have paid roughly $170 billion to rescue Fannie and Freddie, which...

Nikki Haley is one of the most unpopular Governors in the country. Only 42% of voters approve of the job she's doing to 49% who disapprove. Out of 43 sitting Governors PPP has polled on, that ranks her 35th in popularity. Haley has pretty solid numbers within her own party. 70% of Republicans approve of the job she's doing to 22% who disapprove. But with Democrats (15/78 approval) and independents (28/57) her numbers are pretty woeful. There is a path back to popularity for Haley though: appointing Stephen Colbert to replace Jim DeMint in the Senate. Colbert tops the wish...

".... likely in concert with the White House — and to the chagrin of many HHS employees — Sebelius and other senior HHS officials decided that word could too easily get out about the firewall project. If it did, it would alert people to UnitedHealth Group’s having gained a potentially huge competitive advantage — a political concern for the White House on the cusp of the election, especially in light of the crony capitalism charges that have plagued this administration. Therefore, HHS, under Sebelius’s leadership, suspended work on the firewall and told United-Health Group not to alert the SEC to...

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Outgoing Secretary of State Hillary has been nominated for this year’s Tipperary International Peace Award. … Previous winners of the prestigious Irish prize include former South African President Nelson Mandela, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, and former President Bill Clinton. …

Survey reveals stunning attitudes about surviving in catastrophe Editor’s note: This is another in a series of “WND/WENZEL POLLS” conducted exclusively for WND by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies. Nearly half of Americans would expect serious, sustained life-threatening civil unrest within two weeks of a major catastrophe, such as an EMP attack that would destroy electronics, according to a new poll. Another huge percentage say they would expect further deterioration after two weeks, but for many, that development would be irrelevant, because they expect they would be dead by then. The sobering the new poll by...

Famous justice has had 'serious questions' about birth certificate A longstanding eligibility case challenging Barack Obama’s presence in the White House soon could be headed to the state Supreme Court in Alabama, where one justice already in a court filing has questioned the authenticity of Obama’s documentation, and the incoming chief justice is a dyed-in-the-wool Constitution supporter with little tolerance for those who want to bypass the document. The move is pending in an eligibility challenge brought by Hugh McInnish and others against the Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman. The case most recently was turned down by a state...