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Statistics released Nov. 24 by the FBI show hate crimes against religious groups increased by 9% from 2007 to 2008.USA Today reported that in 2008, there 1,519 incidents against people based on their religion, the statistics show.The figures reveal that while anti-Jewish attacks made up the highest percentage of the attacks (17%), there was an increase in hate crimes against Catholics — 75, up from 61 in 2007.Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said the increase may be due to the Church becoming more vocal on life issues such as abortion and homosexual unions.As...

Washington – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today responded to the “Manhattan Declaration” produced and released by 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders indicating that they will not cooperate with laws that conflict with their beliefs, including those recognizing same-sex couples. The document also references the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) as a threat to religious liberty. Yet ENDA – which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity – broadly exempts religious organizations. The declaration also argues that religious groups that receive public funds...

I'm a movie guy. I love going to the movies. Don't get there often but I still check out all the trailers online and plot strategy to get out of the house for those movies I really want to see. So I just saw the trailer to the new movie 2012. When I first clicked on it my first thought was aren't we all getting tired of big budget disaster porn but then I paid attention to what I was seeing in the preview and something seemed a little...well you decide: At the 20 second mark we've got the arms...

Republicans will enact the health reform proposal they unveiled this week if they take back the House, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) pledged Thursday. Appearing on the Republican National Committee's (RNC) online town hall, Boehner and other House and Senate leaders said they sensed momentum behind GOP efforts to halt Democratic health reform legislation, which is set for a vote on Saturday. "If we get in the majority after the election, I plan to enact our healthcare plan," Boehner said during the town hall.

Amid scrutiny from numerous decision makers in the NFL community, Dave Checketts released a statement on Wednesday announcing Rush Limbaugh has been dropped from the group seeking to purchase the St. Louis Rams. When it was revealed Limbaugh was part of the group to buy the Rams last week, several people, including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, stated their ambivalence with the conservative radio personality having stock in the league. Checketts, also the owner of the St. Louis Blues, has decided to move forward on the bid without Limbaugh in the mix, according to the St. Louis Post- Dispatch, seemingly as...

DO NOT GO TO THE CARS.GOV WEBSITE! You will not believe what will happen to your computer if you do. This will explain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWs12ccbOiE

I want to wait until after Independence Day was over before I posted this. Obama didn't do much in the way of appearances today -- but he did send an email to his 'supporters.' He "rewrites" history in the following email. "Friend -- This weekend, our family will join millions of others in celebrating America. We will enjoy the glow of fireworks, the taste of barbeque, and the company of good friends. As we all celebrate this weekend, let's also remember the remarkable story that led to this day. Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, our nation was born when...

THE Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to make an important and far-reaching decision this year that will affect more than 500 million gasoline engines powering everything from large pickups to family cars to lawn mowers: whether to grant the ethanol industry’s request to raise the maximum amount of ethanol that can be added to gasoline. ... Specifically, ethanol producers are asking that the maximum ethanol content in the most common blend of gasoline be increased from 10 percent — a limit set about three decades ago — to as much as 15 percent. The blend the industry hopes will become...

Bob Hunter commentary: NHL hidden in plain sight on Versus Tuesday, May 12, 2009 3:09 AM By Bob Hunter THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Unless you know exactly where to look on your cable-TV lineup, it probably has been easy to miss much of the NHL's postseason. Unless you know exactly where to look on your cable-TV lineup, it probably has been easy to miss much of the NHL's postseason. Tuesday, May 12, 2009 In the spring, I usually make a point of asking people if they are watching the NHL playoffs. For some reason, the negative responses always surprise me. Last...

When she's not cutting hair at her hair salon, Hair Masters 2000, Owner Estela Farjardo's attention is turned to the news, but some recent developments haven't settled well with her. "Everything we do is wrong basically. You're doing this, taking the jobs; I mean basically everything, any way you look at it. We're never good for the community," she said.

Well the letters it seems has stooped. I told him I don't want to hear anymore of Normalais' BS so I blocked him. Not once did he give any intellectual arguments. All he did was scream, "YOU CONSERVATIVES SUCK! BLAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" I told him if socialism was so good for the economy that he should explain why Maine and Michigan are the worst places in America for jobs. His response was that the economy in Maine was great and that it was one of the richest in the nation. He couldn't have been more wrong. Maine has the worst business economy...

PARISI: Democrats' call for civility 8 years late Peter J. Parisi THE WASHINGTON TIMES February 4, 2009 ANALYSIS/OPINION:The day before Barack Obama's inauguration as president, "Purple Nation" columnist Lanny Davis pleaded on this page for a return to civility in our nation's politics. Mr. Davis, a proudly self-professed liberal Democrat, announced his co-founding of what he is calling the Civility Project in a bid "to change the polarizing, attack-oriented political culture that has become all too common in recent years and, instead, to bring civility back as the staple of American politics and life." Sorry, Lanny, as worthy as your...

Rock star Bruce Springsteen has said it was a "mistake" to exclusively release an album with US retail giant Wal-Mart. The musician told the New York Times: "Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one." Some fans complained about the deal, saying claims made against Wal-Mart's labour practices conflicted with Springsteen's principles on the issue. He is due to perform during the interval at Sunday's Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. 'Done different' "We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it kind of came down and, really, we didn't vet it the way...

What is Washington waiting for? The inauguration is less than five weeks away: At the rate we’ve been going, another 500,000 jobs will be lost by then. The downward spiral is deepening and accelerating: Congress and the president must act now. American families have lost about $11 trillion in net worth as securities and home values have plummeted. This translates into about $400 billion less annual consumer spending, net of government safety-net funding. Exports won’t grow to make this up, as the dollar has strengthened with investors worldwide clamoring for its relative security. Investments won’t make up the gap either,...

Michael Keller has worked on five continents during his 15 years in the foreign service. He's been in Germany, where the standard of living is pretty good, and the Central African Republic and Cambodia, where he could only hope that his three children suffered nothing more than bumps and bruises because of poor medical care. He likes his work, but he's always confronted with a big source of frustration -- the overseas pay gap. When State Department diplomats are posted abroad, they lose locality pay. That's the amount added to a federal worker's salary based on where they work. Since...

Memo TO: John McCain SUBJECT: Be yourself In case you haven’t noticed, Senator, you are losing the argument to be the next president of the United States. And you are doing it all on your own. Recent trends and polls show that Americans are shedding their discomfort with Barack Obama, and women and independents are breaking in his direction. For your part, you are doing nothing to persuade people to do otherwise. Time to shed the over-handling and carefulness and go at it. A movement is brewing in this country: Americans are looking for a leader. Bush is devoid of...

This came down as an "alert" from the AP...the latest whine from the Drive Bys. Palin, while in New York, is meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The meetings are scheduled for Tuesday. The press was told photogs and a camera crew could go in, but no so-called journalists who pretend to be reporters. Can someone post the crybaby picture?

ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, in a video interview with Newsweek posted on YouTube, discussed the coverage of Sen. Hillary Clinton. In an interview that appears to have taken place during the Democratic primary, Palin criticizes Clinton for her response to media scrutiny she received while on the campaign trail. Palin says, "When I hear a statement like that coming from a woman candidate with any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism or you know maybe a sharper microscope put on her I say man that doesn’t do us any good. Women in politics,...

Did Palin Call Hillary Clinton a Whiner? September 02, 2008 2:15 PM ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, in a video interview with Newsweek posted on YouTube, discussed the coverage of Sen. Hillary Clinton. In an interview that appears to have taken place during the Democratic primary, Palin criticizes Clinton for her response to media scrutiny she received while on the campaign trail. Palin says, "When I hear a statement like that coming from a woman candidate with any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism or you know maybe a sharper microscope put on her...

The Democrats have titled their party platform, "Renewing America's Promise." A more honest and accurate title would be, "We'll Give You More." The soul of the Democratic philosophy is summed up in this passage from the platform: "For decades, Americans have been told to act for ourselves, by ourselves, on our own. Democrats reject this recipe for division and failure." Note the disdain for the ethos of self-responsibility. Democrats do not merely regard it as insufficient. Instead they regard the idea that people should provide for themselves as divisive. Even more significantly, Democrats regard self-responsibility as a "recipe for failure."...

Thar’s a conspiracy a bubblin’ out in the land-of-the-tubes… Well, there’s two. But one has to do with the alleged finding of Bigfoot. One conspiracy at a time… Seems that when John McCain was supposed to be in a soundproof vault Saturday night or as Saddleback church pastor Rick Warren put it, a “cone of silence,” he was actually in his motorcade. The deal going in to the high-profile first meeting of the two candidates was that while Barack Obama was being questioned by the best-selling author, John McCain would be in a disclosed - but soundproof - location in...

Another gold another world record!

Spoiled rotten It's a meme we've hit before. Americans have it so good, we don't even know how good we have it anymore.We hit the topic hard in What a bunch of whiners we are! and What a bunch of whiners we are, Part 2. We also hit a related theme in a thorough essay on the perils of jealousy in I really don't care if someone has more money than I do.These themes cannot be stressed enough. If you're sick of 'em . . . if you already "get it," then forward them on to someone who still needs...

In large measure our wealth isn’t the product of capitalism, it is capitalism. It’s an old story. Loving parents provide a generous environment for their offspring. Kids are given not only ample food, clothing and shelter, but the emotional necessities as well: encouragement, discipline, self-reliance, the ability to work with others and on their own. And yet, in due course, the kids rebel. Some even say their parents never loved them, that they were unfair, indifferent, cruel. Often, such protests are sparked by parents’ refusal to be even more generous. I want a car, demands the child. Work for it,...

McCain Adviser, Phil Gramm, Leaves Campaign NEW YORK (CBS) ― Phil Gramm, a top adviser to presidential candidate John McCain, is resigning from the role as campaign co-chairman after his comments that the United States had become a "nation of whiners" who constantly complain about the state of the economy. The former U.S. senator from Texas and past presidential candidate made the remarks earlier this month. McCain immediately distanced himself from the comments, but they have been criticized constantly as McCain tries to show he can help steer the country past its current financial troubles. Gramm had also suggested that...

"Nation of whiners"? I don't know how you flesh out with mathematical exactitude ex-Sen. Phil Gramm's famous assertion of last week concerning how we talk about the economy. I'll say this: There's a lot of whining go on, and if, as Phil avers, he was "talking about our leaders," not our people in general, he makes a serious point with something of the blunt force requisite to the task. Alas for him! The glory of the First Amendment to the Constitution is that it lets you say practically anything about practically everything. The fly in the buttermilk is you can't...

It says a lot about the current state of affairs in America – and nothing good – that people get offended and outraged when someone tries to tell us things are really not so bad. Former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas has apparently lived too long and done too much to care. We need more people like this. It would be fantastic if the presidential candidate Gramm is advising – John McCain – would think and talk like this. (He isn’t. Oh well.) In an interview last week with the Washington Times, Gramm said what needs to be said...

It’s always awkward when presidents and candidates are embarrassed by the words and behavior of their own friends. And such was the case when McCain supporter and surrogate speaker Phil Gramm stated earlier this week that America has become a nation of “whiners.” Speaking with a small group of media professionals, the former U.S. Senator (and former Presidential Candidate) from Texas spoke about current economic conditions, saying "you've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession." He went on to note that, despite all the rhetoric about hard times in America, our economy still produced a growth rate of...

Gramm was right about the recession and stood by his recession comments on Thursday. A recession is two consecutive quarters in which the economy shrinks, and last quarter it grew. But no matter. Voters feel they are in a recession, and so they are, at least according to Campaign Econ.

Gramm calls slowdown 'mental' By: Mike Allen July 10, 2008 10:01 AM EST Former senator Phil Gramm, a top economic adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), referred to the economic slowdown as "a mental recession," and referred to the United States as “a nation of whiners.” The comments, in an interview with The Washington Times, could hurt the campaign’s efforts to convince working-class Americans that McCain feels their pain. Democrats immediately condemned the remarks as “callous,” and quickly began working to gain widespread attention for them. The Democratic National Committee issued a statement titled: “Out of Touch Much, Phil.”

In his radio address [Saturday] morning, President Bush went after the Democrats on energy: The fundamental problem behind high gas prices is that the supply of oil has not kept up with the rising demand across the world. One obvious solution is for America to increase our domestic oil production. So my Administration has repeatedly called on Congress to open access to new oil exploration here in the United States. Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal. Now Americans are paying the price at the pump for this obstruction. So this week, I asked Democratic congressional leaders...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Texas mayors and business leaders filed a class-action lawsuit Friday alleging Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff hoodwinked landowners into waiving their property rights for construction of a fence along the Mexican border. Members of the Texas Border Coalition said Chertoff did not fairly negotiate compensation with landowners for access to their land for six-month surveys to choose fence sites. The coalition of mayors and business and community leaders is seeking an injunction to block work on the fence. They also want a federal judge to rescind all the agreements with landowners and to order Chertoff to start...

Barack Obama accused President Bush of "a false political attack" Thursday after Bush warned in Israel against appeasing terrorists — early salvos in a general election campaign that's already blazing even as Obama tries to sew up his party's nomination. The White House denied Obama was Bush's target, but the Democratic presidential contender said the Republican president's intent was clear. John McCain, the likely GOP nominee, jumped in, too, using the opportunity to argue that Obama was showing "naivete and inexperience and lack of judgment" in his willingness to meet with U.S. foes. ...As the workday began stateside, Bush gave...

Both Hillary and Obama have explicitly stated that we need to "tax the rich" so each pays "their fair share". I recently came across a report titled DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL TAX LIABILITIES BY INCOME CLASS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2000, as Prepared by the Staff of the JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION. The following table from that publication is interesting. Income Category...................Individual Income Tax ................................................Income......Percent Less than $10,000.......................-5.........-0.6% 10,000 to 20,000........................-7........ -0.8% 20,000 to 30,000........................10..........1.1% 30,000 to 40,000........................30..........3.4% 40,000 to 50,000........................39..........4.4% 50,000 to 75,000.......................114.........12.9% 75,000 to 100,000......................113.........12.8% 100,000 to 200,000.....................213.........24.1% 200,000 and over...................... 377.........42.7% Highest 10%........................... 587.........66.4% Highest 5%.............................478.........54.0% Highest 1%.............................297.........33.6%...

Clinton, Obama complain about complaining By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 24 minutes ago Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are complaining about which candidate is the biggest complainer. The issue is their treatment in debates. Obama is objecting to the questions posed this week in one moderated by ABC News. Many of the toughest questions were targeted at Obama, the front-runner for the nomination, and he's said too much time was spent on political divisions instead of issues that matter to Americans. Clinton said Friday that if Obama thinks the debate was tough, it pales in...

A lot of emailers have been taking a look at the Obamas' tax returns from 2000 to 2006, just released by the campaign. Several are pointing out the couple's charitable contributions prior to Barack Obama's big book-related payday — in 2002, the Obamas contributed $1,050 from an adjusted gross income of $259,394, and in 2001 they gave $1,470 from an adjusted gross income of $272,759. They contributed far more in Obama's big earning year, 2005, when they gave $77,315 on an adjusted gross income of $1,655,106. Something else that strikes me about the returns is their relation to Michelle Obama's...

TORONTO In from the cold they come, gangly young men and graying grandfathers alike, filling a downtown church with the kind of polite anticipation more befitting an afternoon wedding than an antiwar rally. ...Across Canada, the remnants of a lost counterculture are rising up again as hundreds of aging draft dodgers reluctantly leave the quiet comforts of their anonymous lives to help an estimated 200 Iraq war deserters who fled north with no promise of asylum...."You're being stop-lossed!"Phil McDowell tried to absorb his wife's frantic news in June 2006 that the Army was rescinding his discharge. Iraq had left him...

There's a movement afoot by prominent pro-Clinton diarists at Dailykos.com. Writes Alegre, in what is now the featured post on the site, one of the founding sound boards of the Democratic netroots movements:"We are going on strike and taking our writing elsewhere. When and if our beloved community is once more a focal point for Democratic election discussions, we will gladly return." Alegre has set up "The American Federation of Concerned Bloggers (AFCB)" and has enlisted at least three dozen bloggers.He writes:.....Daily Kos and Markos himself no longer adhere to this purpose of electing Democrats. Daily Kos has become an...

Not content to let the civility that reigned at last night's debate carry on through another news cycle, the Florida front-runners had some tough words for one another today. Talking to reporters aboard his bus this morning, McCain went first, unleashing some of his campaign's oppo research on Romney. "He raised taxes by $730 million, and the flight of manufacturing jobs was double that of the national average," McCain said of the former Massachusetts governor, according to AP. "His health care plan, we now find, is $245 million in the red, according to the Boston Globe yesterday." But it was...

MISS MANNERS It's best to ignore strangers who shout their prejudices Judith Martin Miss Manners November 8, 2007 Dear Miss Manners: This evening I found myself waiting in line with two young men who proceeded loudly to proclaim at least five different countries they would like to bomb, and advocated reintroducing the draft so that everyone else would have to share their "sacrifice." They then loudly branded several political figures they disapproved of with a crude word. I bit my tongue and waited quietly. Then the people in front of me joined in and, incredibly, they all complained about how...

Chesla Flood couldn't believe her eyes. A hangman's noose circled the neck of a black-hooded, jeans-clad dummy suspended from the chimney of a house in Madison.

PALMDALE - Carrying signs and chanting, about 60 people protested in front of Knight High School on Friday over the arrests of three students and a parent after a scuffle with school security officers over a spilled birthday cake. One security guard twisted the arm of 16-year-old Pleajhai Mervin behind her back and slammed her against a lunch table, fracturing her wrist, parents said. "I want justice," said Mervin's mother, Latrisha Majors, who also was arrested. "I want justice for my daughter. I want the guards to be held accountable for their actions." Majors and her daughter were arrested in...

Special Visas for Illegal Aliens Who Become Crime Victims By Susan Jones CNSNews.com Senior Editor September 06, 2007 (CNSNews.com) - People who come into the United States illegally and then become victims of crime may get special protection from the U.S. government. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Wednesday announced an interim final rule that grants "temporary immigration benefits" to crime victims who assist government officials in investigating or prosecuting the criminal activity. The goal is to bring crime victims out of the shadows where they tend to hide if they fear deportation. The new rule offers protection...

Is your boss a nightmare? Not just annoying, but so completely lacking in people skills as to possibly be a sociopath? There may now be more you can do than simply renting "Office Space" for the 11th time. The Los Angeles Times reports that lawmakers across the country are considering legislation that would give workers grounds to sue their superiors "for being, basically, jerks." The specific standards for behavior that would justify such lawsuits are still being worked out. At least four state legislatures, including those in New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Washington, are considering such a measure

Thompson faces election complaint By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer 14 minutes ago A liberal blogger has filed a federal complaint against former Sen. Fred Thompson, the actor and unannounced Republican candidate for president, accusing him of violating election laws as he ponders his entry into the race. The blogger, Lane Hudson, submitted his complaint to the Federal Election Commission on Monday saying Thompson has raised far more money than he needs to explore whether to run for president. Federal law allows potential candidates to raise money to travel, conduct polls and pay for other expenses related to "testing the...

MENLO PARK, Calif. —Today's New York Times has an article about people who are worth millions and are still complaining:Silicon Valley is thick with those who might be called working-class millionaires — nose-to-the-grindstone people like Mr. Steger who, much to their surprise, are still working as hard as ever even as they find themselves among the fortunate few. Their lives are rich with opportunity; they generally enjoy their jobs. They are amply cushioned against the anxieties and jolts that worry most people living paycheck to paycheck.But many such accomplished and ambitious members of the digital elite still do not think...

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit. The complaint: "Question of the day for Luke Air...

Democrats Blame Republicans and Bush for Low Approval By Nathan Burchfiel CNSNews.com Staff Writer July 20, 2007 Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday blamed the Republican minority for sinking congressional approval ratings, calling recent poll results "a referendum on Republican obstructionism." Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blamed President Bush. Schumer told reporters that Republicans - who earlier this week blocked a Democratic amendment that would have mandated a troop withdrawal from Iraq, and who in June blocked a comprehensive immigration reform bill - are frustrating Americans who are hungry for change. A Zogby telephone poll...

Helen Thomas: This meaner U.S. Supreme Court sets back the country Helen Thomas Article Last Updated: 07/04/2007 04:02:47 PM MDT WASHINGTON - The new Supreme Court is more conservative than it has been in decades. It's also meaner. It is a dream come true for Republican presidencies dating back to the ''strict constructionist'' court aspirations of President Richard Nixon and now made possible by the conservative George W. Bush. Before closing down for the summer last month, the high court tossed out a flurry of decisions that overturned or reinterpreted long-standing liberal precedents.

Raleigh, N.C. (AP) -- Elizabeth Edwards pleaded Tuesday with Ann Coulter to "stop the personal attacks," a day after the conservative commentator said she wished Edwards' husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, had been killed by terrorists. "The things she has said over the years, not just about John but about other candidates, lowers the political dialogue at precisely the time we need to raise it," Edwards said by phone on MSNBC's "Hardball" program, where Coulter was a guest. Elizabeth Edwards said she did not consult her husband before confronting Coulter on the air, adding that she felt the pundit's...