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WASHINGTON - As the clock runs on Congress' short-term extension of the Patriot Act, President Bush met with federal prosecutors Tuesday and contended that the domestic anti-terror law is vital to keeping Americans safe. Many key provisions of the law were to expire Dec. 31. Amid a debate over whether the act sufficiently protects civil liberties, most Senate Democrats and a few Republicans united against legislation that would have renewed several provisions permanently while extending others for four years. In a move the White House adamantly opposed but later accepted, Congress approved a one-month extension of the law in its...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The militant group Hamas said Wednesday it would not renew an informal 9-month-old truce, which expires at the end of the year, after Israel killed one of its leading activists in an airstrike in Gaza. The truce was brokered by Egypt, which is expected to invite militant groups, including Hamas, to Cairo in the coming weeks to discuss extending the agreement. In the past nine months, violence has dropped sharply, and Hamas refrained from carrying out suicide bombings in Israel. But it has repeatedly fired rockets from Gaza at Israeli towns, in what it said...

October 05 2005 The Rev. William Klock: "The Life of Renewal" From the Rev. William Klock of Christ Church REC in Oregon, we have the sermon The Life of Renewal, based on Ephesians 4:17-32 and St. Matthew 9:1-8. Rev. Klock does his usual excellent work in exegeting these passages, and I like what he writes here about the passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew:Our Gospel lesson illustrates the renewal that St. Paul writes about in the Epistle. Look again at St. Matthew?s gospel: And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And...

One thing I always get from the story of Saint Francis is a lesson on renewal in the Church. The authorities of a corrupt church, like authorities everywhere, tend to worry about structures and organizations and control and property.

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, SEPT. 16, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI believes that the recovery of the practice of "lectio divina," prayerful meditation of Scripture, will bring a "new spiritual springtime" for the Church. When meeting today with more than 400 experts attending a congress in Rome on "Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church," the Holy Father recommended this ancient practice which literally means "divine reading." "Assiduous reading of sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer makes that intimate dialogue possible in which, through reading, one hears God speaking, and through prayer, one responds with a confident opening of the heart," the...

If England had had a Patriot Act enacted, the London police may have been able to prevent the subway bombing. Since 2001, the Patriot Act has helped to protect America and has caused many sleeper cells to be broken up and their members arrested. And yet, there are still people who are trying to keep it from being renewed. We know why some Democrats don’t like it. It may help strengthen President Bush. We can also surmise why the terrorists and criminals want in abolished. I am amazed, however, that there are some conservatives or libertarians who do not want...

Should the Patriot Act be renewed and its provisions extended into permanent law? Yes, we're more secure with it. 39 (25%) No, it's more dangerous than the dangers it's supposed to counter. 95 (60%) Maybe with modifications. 22 (14%) No opinion. 3 (2%) Total Votes: 159

About this time of year I start to feel like crap. The holidays arrive, and along with hideous plastic illuminated Santas and creepy blue icicle lights returns the painful memory of Grandpa’s last Christmas. I remember it well. You see, I wasn’t there. I volunteered to work at the newspaper that day because a) I needed extra money, b) I wanted to score bonus points with the boss and c) I figured no one would miss me. Back then, in my early 20s, family gatherings seemed more an obligation than times to be treasured. How I wish I’d gone. It’s...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

MIAMI - Along with their destructive force, hurricanes can have beneficial effects as part of the rhythm of nature. Storms that erode beaches, uproot trees and flatten wildlife habitats may also refresh waterways, revive dry areas and bulk up barrier islands with redistributed sand. "What we see is the damage it does to our structures, but it can actually renew areas," said Karen Westphal, a coastal scientist at Louisiana State University's School of the Coast and Environment. Hurricane Frances could help the Everglades, which is already undergoing a $8.4 billion environmental restoration. "Hurricanes are a vital part of the natural...

St. Thomas the Apostle Church, the 1907 Harlem landmark that closed last year because of low membership, will be torn down, and a home for the elderly will be built in its place, church officials said yesterday. The Archdiocese of New York said it was planning a 57-unit building on the site of the church, which closed last summer after it could no longer afford to pay for repairs. A spokesman for the archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling, said he did not know when the church would be demolished, but said construction on the new building would begin late next year. The...

The Father and Jesus are well known - both have starred in movies and have been the subjects of countless books, paintings and music compositions. What about the third member of the Trinity? The Holy Spirit does lots of heavy lifting in the Bible by providing supernatural strength, direction and courage to scriptural heroes. When the world was created, when Jesus was conceived, when he was crucified, the Holy Spirit was there. When Saul was converted, when John baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit was there. When the early Christian church was founded on the Day of Pentecost nearly 2,000 years...

On Saturday, March 20th, a thirteen-member jury of Pacific Northwest clergy members found their colleague, The Reverend Karen Dammann, not guilty of the charge of "practices declared by The United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian teaching". The Reverend Dammann had disclosed to her Bishop in writing that she was in a covenanted homosexual relationship with her partner. The jury¹s verdict "sustained the specification that The Reverend Karen Dammann is a self-avowed practicing homosexual" but voted not to sustain the complaint against her. By the action of this jury, representing the clergy of The Pacific Northwest Conference, this Conference...

BIDDEFORD, Maine — Nineteen Maine police chiefs and two county sheriffs have urged U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to back renewal of the ban on assault weapons. The law enforcement officers also called on the senators to tighten gun laws by requiring instant background checks for all firearms sales at gun shows. Collins´ office said she supports continuation of the assault weapon ban and backs the institution of background checks at gun shows as long as they are completed in 24 hours. Snowe would not say how she intends to vote, an aide said. Most of the chiefs...

Covenant Renewal Service Adapted from that of John Wesley And First Published in 1780 (*Adaptation) PASTOR: "Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant which will never be forgotten" (Jer. 50:5). PASTOR: Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your holy name through Christ our Lord. Amen. PASTOR and PEOPLE: The Lord’s Prayer THE SCRIPTURE LESSON: John 15:1-8 INTRODUCTION PASTOR: My dear friends,...

RETIRED BISHOP BLASTS RENEWAL GROUPS Retired Bishop Dale White made a blistering attack on renewal groups within United Methodism, alleging that they have a “polarizing style” and “intimidating tactics” that are “calculated to spread fear” and “impugn the motives of others.”   He warned against their “dirty tricks politics” and “right-wing ideology.”  White made his remarks a First United Methodist Church in Schenectady, New York on October 26 as part of its Carl Lecture Series.  The bishop named the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), Good News, and the Confessing Movement among the groups that he was criticizing.  “They aren’t...

WASHINGTON – If Congress allows the nation's decade-old assault-weapons ban to expire next year – which seems likely – then the prospect raises an important question: What would a world without an assault-weapons ban look like? Brace yourself: It won't look much different. That's the opinion of many experts about the 1994 ban that enraged gun supporters, elated gun-control advocates, created high drama in Congress and arguably led to the Election Day defeat of some who supported it. Gun manufacturers have created legal weapons nearly identical to those that were outlawed, and federal studies indicate the law had little...

Washington - A decade ago, Senate Democrat Russ Feingold backed the assault weapon ban signed into law by President Clinton. But today his vote to preserve the ban is uncertain. "I'm going to give it a fresh look," Feingold said in an interview last week, noting the complaints he hears about the law from some Wisconsin gun owners. "You can't assume I would vote for it." That's only one sign of the political cloud hanging over the weapons ban, which expires next year unless Congress votes to extend it. While President Bush says he supports an extension, House GOP leaders...

Bush Supports New Extension of Assault-Weapons Ban By Shannon McCaffrey Knight Ridder News Service     WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is bucking the National Rifle Association and supporting a renewal of the assault-weapons ban, set to expire just before the presidential election.     "The president supports the current law, and he supports reauthorization of the current law," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told Knight Ridder.     Tossing out the ban on semiautomatic weapons is a top priority for the NRA. President Bush said during his presidential campaign that he supported the current ban, but it was less clear whether he...

By Kieren McCarthy Posted: 07/18/2002 at 02:01 EST VeriSign is attempting to push through a proposal which will effectively see one company control .com and .net Internet domain names, despite huge opposition from everyone else in the market. Under its proposals, a new domain "wait listing service" (WLS) will be set up that supersedes all other domain renewal services and run by one company, SnapNames, with which Verisign has a close relationship. Under the plan, anyone will be able to pay SnapNames $35 to "reserve" a particular .com or .net domain name were it not to be renewed. VeriSign claims...