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FORT WORTH — A former North Side High School teacher who recently resigned after being caught with a 16-year-old student in a park was arrested Friday night, accused of having sex with the boy. Emily Elizabeth Housley, who turns 29 today, was arrested at her mother’s Saginaw home shortly before 8:30 p.m., police said. Housley, who is married and has two children, was being booked into jail Friday night, police said. She faces a charge of sexual assault of a child.

We spend so much time saving a few bucks on Black Friday. Maybe we should be just as diligent to spent time saving dollars in other dealings in our lives.

Father for Priests Matthew 23:1-12  [1] Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, [2] saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. [3] Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. [4] They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. [5] All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels....

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Dec. 20, 2007 – As the holiday season approaches, many soldiers would like more than anything to receive just one simple present. Army 1st Lt. Adam Samiof, executive officer for Headquarters, Headquarters Company, Task Force 12, wears a Santa hat as he helps other Task Force 12 soldiers decorate a tree for the holidays. The tree was donated to them by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Photo by Sgt. Brandon Little, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. It isn’t a video game system, an MP3 player, or a new digital anything -- it’s the chance...

Dear Ellen, Christmas is disgusting. It’s all pagan worship. Even most Christians don’t realize that all their decorations and traditions come from ancient Babylon. Our family doesn’t cave in to all this stuff and I tell friends at church they shouldn’t either. Signed, Ms. Christian Grinch Dear Ms. Grinch, By saying “all this stuff,” I assume we’re talking Christmas trees, mistletoe, hasty pudding, Yule logs, etc.? I grant that Christmas choices are a matter of personal conscience. I had a similar e-mail conversation with another Christian killjoy last month so I retrieve and relate to you my comments to him....

Brightly wrapped packages, eggnog, turkey with all the trimmings, and gathering with family and friends. We all do things during the holiday season that we have come to look at as our own traditions. But how did some Christmas traditions come to be? http://www.socyberty.com/Holidays/Christmas-Traditions-and-Where-They-Began.63403

Look through the photo albums of any family in America--or on their walls or fireplace mantels. In many cases, you'll find a picture of a young Soldier mixed in with other cherished images. A young man with wide eyes and determined face (and freshly shorn head) of someone in the midst of Basic Training. A young woman standing or sitting in front of the American flag, shoulders square in her union. A just-married man in dress blues, taking his first steps with his bride under the proud protection of sabers upheld by friends-at-arms. My eyes rest on a picture of...

ROME (Reuters) - A decree this month by Pope Benedict allowing wider use of the old Latin mass has spawned a veritable cottage industry in helping Roman Catholic priests learn how to celebrate the centuries-old rite. A Web site, helpline, DVDs and a training course at Oxford are among resources springing up for priests who want to celebrate the old-style mass but aren't sure which vestments to wear or where to get them, when to genuflect, how deep to bow, or how to clasp their hands in prayer. "There will be priests who will say: 'Oh my God, I want...

With their love of tradition and their formal dress code (no shorts even for children, and covered heads for women), the members of Mater Ecclesiae Church in Berlin Township can seem a tight-laced congregation of Roman Catholics. But on Sunday they were ringing bells, popping corks and slicing cake, and - mirabile visu! - some were even smoking cigars. Mirabile visu? Isn't that Latin? Graceful, dignified, formal and obscure, Latin is the language of choice at Mater Ecclesiae, one of the only Catholic churches in the nation where all the liturgies are conducted according to the centuries-old Tridentine rite. Its...

Shrove Tuesday is the term used in United Kingdom,, Ireland, and Australia to refer to the day after Collop Monday and before Ash Wednesday (the liturgical season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday). In these countries, this day is also known as Pancake Day, because it is customary to eat pancakes on this day. The reason that pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent is that it was the start of the traditional 40 days of Lent liturgical fasting, during which only the plainest foodstuffs were eaten. Therefore, rich ingredients such as eggs, milk, sugar and flour are disposed...

On Christmas Eve the house must be thoroughly cleaned, all the bed linens changed and all family members must bathe and don clean clothes before the evening meal. For the Christmas Eve dinner, the table is prepared as follows: a handfull of fine hay is spread evenly on the table. This is a reminder that Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger on hay. The table is then covered with a pure white tablecloth, set with plates and decorated with candles and fir boughs. Live flowers are inappropriate for the table, in particular red or white...

I'd like to hear about the different Christmas Day and Eve traditions of freepers. We always vow not to repeat Thanksgiving Day, but usually end up with the whole roasted turkey and trimmings event -- plus some fresh Florida seafood, more desserts than usual, etc.

NEW YORK - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton got into the holiday spirit Wednesday, describing her family's Christmas traditions, as well as the political mood, hinting it might be time for a mom to occupy the Oval Office. "We've never had a mother who ever ran for or held that position," the former first lady told the all-female cast of ABC's "The View." Clinton appeared on the show to promote the rerelease of "It Takes a Village," the book she penned a decade ago on the importance of community involvement in raising children. The New York lawmaker, who tops every national...

Countdown: One week left for Christmas… and Hanukkah begins today at sunset. Many have been ready for months. Many haven’t started preps. Many will have NO preps but just go out elsewhere. For those last minute gifts….last minute food prep… last minute decorating… Let’s share our ideas. Gifts Gift cards, gift certificates are ALWAYS great. For gasoline, Malls, specialty shops, book stores, food stores etc. People really like to pick out their own stuff. They really do. Budget tight? Homemade is so nice..or make your own “gift certificates”.. Good for one(or more)..back-rubs, foot-rubs, car washes, window cleaning, car cleaning,...

In August of A.D. 258, the emperor Valerian ordered that all deacons, priests, and Bishops be put to death. Tradition via the Golden Legend tells us that Pope Sixtus II met with Lawrence, saying to him: "I shall not leave thee, my son, but greater strifes and battles be due to thee for the faith of Jesu Christ. We, as old men, have taken more lighter battle, and to thee as to a young man shall remain a more glorious battle of which thou shalt triumph and have victory of the tyrant, and shalt follow me within three days...

Traditions related to Palm Sunday Father Weiser gives a short lesson on the liturgy and history of traditions related to Palm or Passion Sunday. DIRECTIONSLITURGY — As soon as the Church obtained her freedom in the fourth century, the faithful in Jerusalem re-enacted the solemn entry of Christ into their city on the Sunday before Easter, holding a procession in which they carried branches and sang the "Hosanna" (Matthew 21, 1-11). In the early Latin Church, people attending Mass on this Sunday would hold aloft twigs of olives, which were not, however, blessed in those days. The rite of the...

I am sure I grew up with many of the same memories as many of you. Christmas was magical. The music and lights of the season made my heart leap with love, excitement, and anticipation. We remember the food, relatives, and traditions. I can still feel the hope I felt as a child. You know, that swell in your soul that made you want to do cartwheels for no reason other than utter joy of the season. I recall those mornings when one of us awoke and ran through the house, “Wake up! Santa came! Santa came!” The whole family...

I have excerpted this from the long, meritorious article by Roger Sandall called Tribal Yearnings: The Enemies of Society Today. The total paper includes a fine discussion of why traditions are necessary including Karl Popper and Friederich Hayek. I have excerpted the Hayek portion of the article authored Gerald Vouga and published in 2004. If Friedrich Hayek were alive today he would have no difficulty explaining these paradoxes. Famous for his The Road to Serfdom, he is usually associated with free market economics. What is less well known is that his later life was devoted to cultural studies and the...

"Police told to respect traditions," from the Herald Sun, with thanks to Terry: POLICE are being advised to treat Muslim domestic violence cases differently out of respect for Islamic traditions and habits. Officers are also being urged to work with Muslim leaders, who will try to keep the families together. Women's groups are concerned the politically correct policing could give comfort to wife bashers and keep their victims in a cycle of violence. The instructions come in a religious diversity handbook given to Victorian police officers that also recommends special treatment for suspects of Aboriginal, Hindu and Buddhist background... Police...

Terror Sanitized After the terror attacks in London, a few TV commentators said they would go after those in the media who want to sanitize terrorism. Such bravado may be admirable, but it is a bravado that does not recognize how terrorism has already been sanitized. The leaders of Western democracies have sanitized terrorism because they cannot publicly admit they are helpless to prevent more attacks. Most analysts who study the so-called war on terror could have told you a year ago that there would be a terrorist attack targeting the London subway. Likewise, there are those who will tell...

The upcoming Supreme Court vacancy resulting from Justice Sandra O’Connor’s retirement, when considered in conjunction with the ongoing terror war, highlights the pivotal times in which Western Civilization finds itself. On the one hand, the slaughter of innocent civilians is the chosen weapon that Islamists ruthlessly employ to subjugate their enemies. Among liberals, it is by the iron-fisted use of judicial power that they intend to further their cause. Certainly, nobody is suggesting that liberals engage in terrorist bombings, beheadings, or the torture of their political enemies. Although, the left regularly makes just such accusations against the United States military,...

“A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away.” --Barry Goldwater “The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’.” --Ronald Reagan As a young black conservative, I am happy to see more black people taking an interest in or switching to the Republican Party. It’s a party of inclusion for people of all races. If you like to work hard to achieve your dreams and you are conservative in your views, you will find a place in the Republican...

July 4th is more than a time to celebrate America’s birthday by grilling hot dogs and buying on credit. It is an opportunity to reflect upon the deeds of our founding fathers and to consider the means by which we might continue to guard those essential freedoms that we associate with happiness. Over two centuries ago, these men sacrificed their lives, their families, their homes to create conditions by which every American has a chance to better himself, to determine his own fate, to pursue happiness on his own terms, and most importantly, or simply to be left alone. In...

The other night Ann Coulter asked my boss, Chris Ruddy how old I am. That got me thinking that since late next week I'll be having a birthday, it might be instructive to recall not how old I am chronologically, but how old I am to be able to remember a whole lot of stuff. My friend Michael Reagan, no spring chicken himself, was kind enough the other day to tell me that I am as old as dirt, and suggested that I had been around long enough to have been baptized by John the Baptist. That's not quite true,...

If Democrats like Dick Durbin believe the vicious attacks they so relentlessly spew against America and America’s military then I wouldn’t blame them for hating this country and seeking its overthrow. After all, if America were truly led by Adolph Hitler (as the Democrats repeatedly call George W. Bush) and our soldiers were “only following orders,” like the Nazis that Durbin compared them to, and the American people not only solidly returned Hitler to power but did so with even more support at every level of government, all good people should seek its demise. What is more likely, however, is...

Naval Academy Next Target For ADL After success with Air Force, effort to stop imposed prayers at Annapolis. Stewart Ain - Staff Writer After receiving assurances last week from the superintendent of the Air Force Academy that religious intolerance on campus will end, the Anti-Defamation League is now setting its sights on the mandatory mealtime prayer recited at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Abraham Foxman, the ADL’s national director, said he plans to go to Washington next week to meet with members of the armed forces committees of the House and Senate to discuss religious coercion at both the...

It is at this time of the year that some sentimental Americans reflect on the greatness of the Founding Fathers. Albeit, in the face of “political Correctness,” the “pop culture” mindset, and a government school system that has abandoned American history, the numbers who ponder such topics is shrinking. Nevertheless, several profound essays have been written on the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and their fates in the wake of that momentous occasion. It is worthwhile to consider just a few from among those perhaps greatest of Americans, how their examples spoke to the nation at its inception, and...

In a recent appearance at the Heritage Foundation, an author who has written many great histories gave some insight as to why the Ivory Tower produces such, at best, lackluster ones. "Many people say, 'Why bother with history?,' and unfortunately many of them are in education," best-selling writer David McCullough said at the Heritage Foundation last Friday. McCullough has penned best-selling historical biographies of American Presidents John Adams and Harry S. Truman. "Why is it possible that an otherwise intelligent person does not know that the original 13 colonies were on the East Coast or who George Marshall was," McCullough...

The old media is on the ropes. Newspaper circulations are at an all time low and still slipping. Network news is having trouble competing with PBS for ratings, having lost many of their viewers to cable news, notably - the much hated and loved Fox. Once respected news journals like Time and Newsweek now share rack space with other sensationalized headline merchants like The Globe and The Enquirer, which sell better because their headlines are more reliable. Even the household term old media itself describes the fading glory of a once mainstream news establishment turned tabloid rag, now permanently engaged...

With each passing day, the Democrats prove once again that they are primarily interested in furthering their efforts to hurt the President of the United States. In doing so they seem totally indifferent to the fact that such efforts hurt America period! Who can argue that Democrats are continuing to politicize a war on terror that took our troops to Afghanistan and ultimately to Iraq, or that this politicization is not only making the war more difficult for those troops, but also emboldening America’s enemies to continue the fight worldwide? Our country is in no way immune to further attacks...

Being a member of congress used to be a part-time job held by our society’s most successful individuals who wanted to preserve the free society they so enjoyed. Now it is a life long career for people who can’t do anything else, the proverbial brass ring, like hitting the lottery. No matter how humble your beginnings, once elected, you are forever rich, forever powerful and forever respected, at least by some. Overseeing our nation’s security interests, our infrastructure, protecting and defending our Constitution and way of life, these things do not demand the full-time attention of our elected officials, nor...

Once upon a time, not too awfully long ago, America was known as the ‘shining city on the hill.’ America, the most radical experiment in the history of the world, was the only nation to which people oppressed and repressed by old world systems of social classes and castes could be free of the stifling bindings engendered by those man created constraints. She was a Judao-Christian nation where God of the bible, and not an elite ruling class, was sovereign over all. America was the land of hope, promise and opportunity, where not only all men were equal before God’s...

A left-leaning group called the Interfaith Alliance is protesting the influence of Christianity in U.S. history. A liberal action group has challenged the views of a well-known conservative who points in detail to the influence Christianity has had on U.S. history. David Barton, founder of Wallbuilders, regularly gives tours of the U.S. Capitol to spotlight the faith-based underpinnings of key moments in American history. But the Interfaith Alliance—a group from the religious left—recently objected to a Barton excursion, accusing him of revising history. The tour in question was for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, but the alliance didn't complain to...

Published In: New Coalition News & Views Publication Date: January 1, 2005 Publisher: The New Coalition for Economic and Social Change On October 2, 2004, Lee H. Walker addressed The Philadelphia Society’s fall meeting. This year’s topic was “Black History and Conservative Principles.” His remarks were made during a panel discussion, which he moderated, and were delivered as follows. Black conservatism has been an overlooked aspect of American history since the collapse of Reconstruction. Any comprehensive history of black American thought that ignores or isolates the conservative influence will be lopsided. Conferences like this are usually held during the month...

Please make a plan for action and prayer without ceasing. Christians and Jews have two American traditions for defeating tyranny. Armed warfare against all odds and peaceful protest. Today, political action and civil disobedience moving The People is the greater means to resist. Christians and Jews created the United States of America in a revolution against tyranny. Christian ministers lead their congregations to fight. Patriots proclaimed, “We have no king, but Jesus.” The tiny Jewish congregations risked everything against the greatest military empire on earth. The fight was about who had the right to tax us. Yet, America became the...

SANTA ANA, Calif. - (KRT) - Mike Salta had no idea he was so cutting-edge.His only child, Jonathan, was turning 13 on July 12. So just about two months before the big birthday, Salta turned to his wife and said, "He's becoming a teenager. Let's give him a special one." And with that, Salta became one of the growing legion of parents throwing elaborate parties for their children's 13th birthdays. It's a celebration that has become known as the faux mitzvah - "faux" because the feted child isn't Jewish.The event is a takeoff on the Jewish tradition of the bar...

The History of Lent For our traditional Italian Roman Catholic family, Lent is a very special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation of the celebration of Easter. I have searched the internet researching the various ways that this wonderfully religious season is celebrated from it's earliest biblical beginnings. Since the earliest times of the Church, there is evidence of some kind of Lenten preparation for Easter. It starts with Ash Wednesday, when Catholics had their foreheads marked with ash crosses, a symbol of penance signaling the start of Lent. During the 40 days leading up...

America is unsettled over the case of Terri Schiavo. Fifteen years ago, she suffered brain damage that left her totally dependent on others for basic care, including nourishment. Pursuant to a court order, this nourishment is scheduled to end March 18, when Michael Schiavo, her estranged husband and guardian, will have her feeding tube removed.1 Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri’s parents, have been battling in the courts to prevent their daughter’s death by starvation. Terri Schiavo’s Condition Food and water are all Terri needs to stay alive. Reliable health care specialists testify that she is not comatose and can improve...

STAUNTON, Va. — When Heather and Logan Ward's son entered public kindergarten this fall, they were shocked to discover that pupils were taken from class to a nearby church for weekly Bible lessons. The Wards moved to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley (search) from New York four years ago, and were unaware of the tradition that has remained in Staunton and other rural schools for more than 60 years. "My reaction is exactly like the reaction of those who come here from a different place — shock and disbelief that we have Bible (search) classes in public schools," Heather Ward said. Now...

STAUNTON, Va. — Heather and Logan Ward moved from New York to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley four years ago because they wanted a simpler life. Like many recent transplants, the Wards were pleased to discover Staunton's grand Victorian architecture, a vibrant downtown and "a lot of open-minded, progressive people." But when their son entered public kindergarten this past fall, they discovered that pupils leave classrooms for weekly Bible lessons, a tradition in Staunton and other communities in rural Virginia for more than 60 years.

STAUNTON, Va. -- Lunch is over and some classes already are at recess when a group of schoolchildren at McSwain Elementary stands up, puts on coats, walks 200 feet across the playground and files into Memorial Baptist Church. Over the next half-hour, the Bible shapes the lesson plan. Jack Hinton helps third-graders Brian Smith, left, and Noah Balsley with an assignment during their Bible class in Staunton, Va. (Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post) The children pray, sing and play games with a Christian theme...(snip)... Then they don their coats again, leave the church and trek back to rejoin the...

The most comprehensive site on Catholic practices on the Internet.

Something occurred to me as a result of leftover November buzz (what happened in November?) about the American youth, that much-hyped group who were meant to have blown this election (oh that) out of the water. One question? Why did this youth vote necessarily ally itself with the challenger – why did that word, “youth,” send shivers down the spine of the incumbent? Why did their slogan, “Vote or Die” necessarily attach itself to the sly “Vote for Change”? Well, so here’s what occurred to me – there’s a disconnect somewhere in this formula, and there is, more importantly and...

I honestly don’t know what is so threatening about Christmas to some. No matter how you spend your Christmas Season, if you belong to the vast majority of believing Americans, you spent it, well, somehow. When I was a kid, the rule was we could not open the presents under the tree until my dad had his first cup of coffee. One year, when my mother’s younger brother was visiting, I convinced him to make coffee at about two o’clock in the morning. It didn’t change the rule in later years, but, I think, it made my uncle a little...

One December a few years back, I was in Santa Claus, Indiana, and went to the Post Office - a popular destination thanks to its seasonal postmark. "Merry Christmas!" I said provocatively. But Postmistress Sandy Colyon was ready for me. "A week ago," she said, "I'd have had to say 'Happy Holidays', but we've been given a special dispensation from the Postmaster-General allowing us to say 'Merry Christmas'. So Merry Christmas!" That's "Christmas" at the dawn of the third millennium - a word you have to get a special memo from head office authorising the use thereof. In America, most...

Nobel facts The following are true facts and verified statistics: The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000, or 20% of the world population. They received the following Nobel Prizes: Literature 1988 - Najib Mahfooz. Peace: 1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat 1994 - Yasser Arafat Physics: 1990 - Elias James Corey 1999 - Ahmed Zewail Medicine: 1960 - Peter Brian Medawar 1998 - Ferid Mourad The Global Jewish population is aproximately 14,000,000 or about 0.02% of the world population. They received the following Nobel Prizes: Literature: 1910 - Paul Heyse 1927 - Henri Bergson 1958 - Boris Pasternak 1966 - Shmuel...

They say that if you stack the US Tax Code one page upon another, the pile of paper will reach into the heavens. I’m sure that’s true, for two very simple reasons. First, like most laws written in Washington, those seeking special consideration in the code have lobbied for language that addresses their individual concerns, and nearly everyone is seeking special consideration these days. Second, if “we the people” knew exactly what Washington was doing with all of our hard earned money, there would be a lynch mob on the steps of congress before sundown…so keeping the details buried in...

Americans who hold to traditional values are expressing outrage this Christmas over the blatant double standards with which the enemies of this country’s Judeo-Christian heritage seek to completely expunge any vestige of it from their midst. Almost everywhere they look, Believers are confronted with legal actions of zealous individuals in authority positions, displaying outright hostility towards Biblical symbols of the Christmas season, while simultaneously encouraging every possible alternative, whether secular or otherwise. The very manner in which traditional America now seeks to defend itself, not on the basis that these actions result from a grotesque distortion of the First Amendment,...

Twas weeks before Christmas, and across this great country, ACLU lawyers were busy, stuffing their pockets with money. Filing law suits everywhere, intended to frighten, those who believe, but no one is bitin’. In the name of tolerance, they attack our foundation, spreading the word, of their own revelation. That Christmas is not, about Christ anymore, our country, not about freedom or liberty, for sure. No longer appropriate, is One Nation Under God, in a country so blessed, now isn’t that odd. As most of America, plans celebration, the ACLU, plots its own form of salvation. Their hope is to...

Safeway Inc. yesterday said that for the first time, it will open many of its supermarkets on Christmas Day, a move that triggered an angry protest from the union representing the grocer's Washington area employees. Safeway will become the region's first -- and only -- major supermarket chain to operate stores on Christmas, one of the last holidays observed by U.S. grocers, which now routinely open on Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.