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The U.S. Coast Guard says an explosion took place on a platfrom near West Cote Blanche around 9 a.m. today. Four people were put on medivac transport and taken out of the area, and are now hospitalized. Two people remain missing. Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally, a spokesman for the Coast Guard, did not immediately have information on the conditions of those taken to hospitals. Lally says two helicopters, an airplane and small boats were sent to the area. The Coast Guard has now confirmed that the fire is out on the platform. The production platform is owned by...

Springfield, Ill., Sep 27, 2012 / 02:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Drawing particular attention to the Democratic Party platform’s support for “intrinsic evils” like abortion and “same-sex marriage,” Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Ill. has said Catholics need to “think and pray very carefully” about their votes in the upcoming election. “My job is not to tell you for whom you should vote. But I do have a duty to speak out on moral issues,” Bishop Paprocki said in his Sept. 23 column for the Catholic Times diocesan paper. “I would be abdicating this duty if I remained silent out...

Democrats are pretending that flaws in their party's platform, which excluded much pro-Israel language and any reference to God, are the result of "technical oversight." The truth is that the Democrats' draft platform was the result of a meticulous process handled by Newark mayor Cory Booker, and passed unanimously on August 11th. Booker insisted that the platform be perfected in all its details, asking the platform committee for "an all-encompassing resolution, ensuring that this is a grammatically tight document." No oversights were noted. "There was almost no debate, and very little rancor," observed National Public Radio reporter Sonari Glinton, who...

Of course the delegates didn’t want any mention of God in the platform, because their worldview, and thus the policies they espouse and support, is godless. This is a consistent pattern in today’s modern Democrat Party. They can’t get elected by showing everyone who they really are. Thus, it is imperative that they hide their true belief system and their agenda from mainstream America (with a great assist from the media), so they can gain and hold onto power. This is why the platform had to be changed – for political expediency only. This is why Obama and many other...

God has returned to the Democratic Party platform, a move some atheists say is a step backward in tolerance for nonbelievers. “We’re disappointed,” Teresa MacBain, spokeswoman for American Atheists, told POLITICO. “What appeared to be a bold move by the Democrats to be inclusive has been pulled away. It sends a mixed message. Many, many people who are nonbelievers fall in the lines of the Democrats.” The party was criticized for removing “God” and “Jerusalem” from its platform. It reversed the decision earlier Wednesday to reflect President Barack Obama’s views. Republicans, not to mention some Democrats, had criticized the party...

Tonight, the Democratic National Committee suspended the rules of the convention and inserted language regarding God and the State of Israel back to its platform. They had to vote three times to do it – and they had to lie to deem it passed, even though it was clear that the measure did not pass a voice vote in the chamber. The original 2012 Democratic Party platform had excised all mention of God and Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.

Earlier today, the Democrats rushed in a couple of new amendments to the official party platform to acknowledge god and to say that Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of Israel. The vote to insert the new amendments was close, and though they technically needed 2/3rds approval from the floor, (Snip) When the interview (which was awkward) ended, and the shot went back to Anderson Cooper (in studio at CNN) his only reply was that she must be in an alternate universe.

CHARLOTTE - Following what Obama campaign officials said was the personal intervention of President Barack Obama, the Democratic National Committee reversed itself and altered their platform Wednesday afternoon to include language identifying Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. COMMENTS (60) SHARE: Share on twitter Twitter Share on reddit Reddit Bookmark and Share More... After defending their decision to keep such language out of the platform as recently as this afternoon, convention leaders today proposed two amendments to the platform adopted on Tuesday, one to add a mention of God and one to add a mention of Jerusalem. "Jerusalem is and...

The amazing conclusion to yesterday’s snafu involving the Democratic platform’s language on Israel. After an evening of bad press they decided to reinsert the language about Jerusalem being the capital of Israel, along with some language about God after people noticed that the phrase “God-given” in the 2008 platform had been dropped in the new one. Simple process, in theory: Have someone from the floor propose adding the new language, then let the delegates approve it via a voice vote. The result? A trainwreck so awful that even Paul Begala didn’t try to spin it. As you’ll see, Villaraigosa’s astonishment...

There doesn't seem to be an answer even from the Democrats, so I'll field a guess... 

Guess what? God’s name has been removed from the Democratic National Committee platform. This is the paragraph that was in the 2008 platform: “We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.” Now the words “God-given” have been removed. The paragraph has been restructured to say this: “We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work...

Homeowners InsuranceHomeowners Insurance Covering Fire, Flood, Theft & More. Instant Quote! www.WesternMutual.com/Homeowners The health care plank of the Democratic Party’s platform, released on Monday ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., praises President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care reform law, but admits, “No law is perfect.” A 15-person committee prepared the draft platform. Last year Obama signed into law a repeal of section 1099 of the reform law, which would have increased tax-reporting requirements for businesses. The Republican-led House of Representatives has repeatedly voted to repeal or defund the law. Notable planks in the party’s 2012 platform include...

Democrats released their approved platform last night, a curious Labor Day exercise considering the results. With unemployment the chief concern of voters in this election, how often does the word "unemployment" appear in the DNC document? BuzzFeed's Andrew Kaczynski counted, and found only three mentions abortion got four. What other terms outplay the biggest issue in this election? Andrew finds a few interesting comparisons in his pictorial: Joe Biden -- 1 timeOsama bin Laden -- 4 timesRomney -- 22 timesAuto -- 15 timesJobs -- 77 timesObama -- 111 times Here are a couple that Andrew missed: Fair share – 9...

“We support the fundamental right to self-defense wherever a law abiding citizen has a legal right to be, and we support federal legislation that would expand the exercise of that right by allowing those with state-issued carry permits to carry firearms in any state that issues such permits to its own residents. Gun ownership is responsible citizenship, enabling Americans to defend their homes and communities. We condemn frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers and oppose federal licensing or registration of law-abiding gun owners. We oppose legislation that is intended to restrict our Second Amendment rights by limiting the capacity of clips...

TAMPA, August 29, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Sarah Palin has said a third party may emerge if the Republican Party’s leaders abandon conservative principles. Asked if the GOP’s increasing fractiousness may lead to a new party taking its place, Palin replied, “If history is an indication it is a possibility – if the Republicans don’t remember what the planks in the platform represent.” “Look what happened in the mid-1800’s. The Whig Party went away and the Republican Party surfaced, because the electorate got sick and tired of the party fighting for power and not doing the will of the people,” Palin...

House Speaker John Boehner--who two years ago led House Republicans in releasing the 48-page “A Pledge to America” to tell voters what Republicans would do if they won control of the House--mocked the national platform produced by the delegates to the Republican National Convention by telling a group of reporters in Tampa on Monday that the document should have been restricted to "one sheet of paper" if the delegates wanted anybody to read it. “Have you ever met anybody who read the party platform?” Boehner said at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. “I’ve not met ever anybody.”...

Rep Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is Co-Chair and conducting the session at the Tampa Marriot Waterside Hotel. LIVE VIDEO

America's Party ratified its 2012 Platform in national convention yesterday, making an already-great conservative document even better, with the expansion of its solid property rights plank and the addition of the Equal Protection for Posterity Resolution as its primary pro-life language. Text included below for your consideration.

As Perry's representative spoke, everyone was quiet, respectful and listened. When she stepped down, there was applause. Then the speaker for Ron Paul stood and talked for a couple of minutes. Again, everyone was quiet and respectful. The group listened, and when the representative stopped talking, they clapped again. Some candidates, like Michele Bachmann, had no speaker. The chairman asked if anyone would like to talk for her. A gentleman said he would speak about Bachmann and gave a very nice pep talk on her behalf. Everyone applauded, and so it went until all but Huntsman was represented.