June 30, 2006
Economy Zips Ahead at a 5.6 Percent Pace
Jun 29 WASHINGTON -- The economy zipped ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 5.6 percent pace, the fastest in 2 1/2 years and even stronger than previously thought.
The new snapshot of gross domestic product for the January-to-March period exceeded the 5.3 percent growth rate estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The upgraded reading - based on more complete information - matched economists' forecasts.
The stronger GDP figure mostly reflected an improvement in the country's trade deficit, which was much less of a drag than previously estimated.
Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the country's economic fitness.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ECONOMY?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-06-29-08-45-40
Sales of New Homes Increase Unexpectedly
Jun 26 ...Sales of new homes rose in May, surprising economists who had been forecasting that housing would slow down because of rising mortgage rates.
The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes increased by 4.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.234 million units...Analysts are still looking for sales of both new and existing homes to fall by around 10 percent this year as rising mortgage rates crimp demand. The lowest mortgage rates in four decades helped to propel sales to five straight annual records.
The 4.6 percent increase in sales pushed the sales rate to the highest level since last December and followed increases of 5.9 percent in April and 7.3 percent in March...
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/26/D8IFVM7G0.html
Government Says Stolen VA Laptop Recovered
The government has recovered the stolen laptop computer and hard drive containing sensitive data for up to 26.5 million veterans and military personnel, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said Thursday.
Nicholson said law enforcement officials were still investigating to determine whether data from the equipment, which included names, birth dates and Social Security numbers, had been duplicated or utilized in any way.
So far, he said there have been no reports of identity theft stemming from the May 3 burglary at a VA employee's Maryland home...
http://www.townhall.com/news/ap/online/gov/cabinet-state-pentagon/D8I4451G0.html
Who is North Korean leader Kim Jong Il?
from a 2004 article: SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) --North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ...was hailed as "the sun of the 21st century" and "the most prominent statesman in the present world" at official birthday celebrations in Pyongyang on Monday, while people from Nepal to Peru were marking the day with films and parties, state media said.
...North Korean publications describe Kim Jong Il as a renaissance man who has flown fighter aircraft, written operas and shot 11 holes-in-one in his first try at golf.
Despite Kim's reputed brilliance, his years in power have coincided with precipitous economic decline and deadly food shortages. About a third of all North Koreans are dependent on outside food aid, which is at risk of drying up…
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/02/16/kim.birthday.reut/
Judge bemoans lack of drivers ed for illegal who killed man
6-28-06 A Salem woman whose longtime friend and tenant was killed by an illegal alien driving without a license says she is shocked a judge not only reduced the man’s sentence, but took time to lament the lack of driver’s training for illegals during the sentencing.
...Judge Robert Cornetta used the occasion to decry the fact that illegal immigrants don’t have access to driver training, saying it raised public policy concerns. (uh oh, expect a judge to mandate tax payers pay for driver’s education for illegals soon…)
“What we will never know is whether Mr. Costa had some kind of driver training, if perhaps this tragedy would never have occurred,” the judge said, according to the Salem News. He could not be reached last night. (umm, people who have had drivers ed still have accidents)
Mullen, 68, who took in Golin (the deceased) as a boarder 20 years ago, was outraged over Cornetta’s comments.
“He’s not even supposed to be in this country,” an exasperated Mullen said about Costa.
She said Golin was a beloved neighborhood figure. “My mother lived to be 106 and a half and she loved Richie. He used to say ‘Hi Girdie,’ and she’d say ‘Hi Richie.’ She never forgot his name.”
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=145928
I suspect numbers are probably not much different for Protestants...
Study Reports More Bibles, Less Religious Literacy
Surveyed Catholics in France , Spain and Italy
ROME, JUNE 29, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Despite the increasing number of Bibles in circulation, knowledge of the Scriptures and the Church is weak among Catholics in three European countries, reports the Universal Biblical Alliance.
In a three-year study conducted by professor Luca Diotallevi, of the University of Rome Three, some 650 Catholics in Spain, France and Italy revealed low levels of Mass attendance and general religious knowledge.
The study, commissioned by the Universal Biblical Alliance, and carried out by Eurisko, also conducted in-depth interviews with leaders of the Catholic Church in the three countries.
Diotallevi, presenting the report at a press conference on Monday in Rome , said that in the 40 years following the Second Vatican Council, the Bible "entered massively in the families of many Christians, in homes where it had not been kept before. The pity is that in many cases it remains closed, a sacred object instead of a sacred book."
The study revealed that dissemination and knowledge of the Bible text takes place mainly at Sunday Mass, but less than half of all Catholics attend Mass regularly.
Some 49% of Spanish Catholics answered that they fulfill their Sunday obligation, followed by 29% of Italian and 26% of French Catholics.
Of those who attend Sunday Mass, the study said, barely half do outside reading of the Bible.
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=91776
the previous article reminds me of a good old Gospel song...
DUST ON THE BIBLE
by: J. Bailes & W. Bailes
1. I went into a home one day to see some friends of mine
Of all the books and magazines, not a Bible could I find.
I asked them for the Bible. When they brought it, what a shame!
For the dust was covered o'er it, not a fingerprint was plain.
CHORUS:
CHORUS: Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word.
The word of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.
2. Oh, you can read your magazines of love and tragic things
And not one word of Bible verse, not a scripture do you know.
When it is the very truth, and it's contents good for you.
Dust on the Bible will doom your poor soul.
CHORUS: Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word.
The word of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.
Court Agency Bans Prayers At 4-H MeetingsJune 26, 2006 CROWN POINT , Ind. -- Prayer has been banned at 4-H meetings in Lake County , Ind.
A memorandum issued last month by the Lake County Cooperative Extension Service said prayer is forbidden at all times, including to "begin or close meetings, fundraisers, camp sessions, including meals, and/or award ceremonies."
Stan Sims, the county extension director, said he issued the directive because: "We want to respect peoples' beliefs and be inclusive." (Really? Who complained? Bubba Mohamed?)
No single incident prompted his note. (oh, I guess no one complained...)
The formal prayers had been a tradition at various events, including 4-H, which has more than 800 youth members in Lake County ...
http://www.theindychannel.com/family/9427356/detail.html
State Agency Launches Probe After NY Rink Advertises 'Christian Skate'
June 28, 2006 (AgapePress) - The New York State Division of Human Rights has begun a probe of a privately owned skating rink that recently advertised a "Christian Music Skate" party. The agency is investigating Len Bernardo and his wife Terry, owners of Skate Time 209 in Accord, New York , apparently because the rink plays Christian music during certain designated hours.
The Division of Human Rights has warned the rink, which also advertises Christian skating on Sunday afternoons, that it may be violating anti-discrimination laws. The agency also threatened to charge a local weekly newspaper that published the rink's advertisement of its Christian music skate with "aiding and abetting" unlawful discrimination. However, pro-family supporters of the rink and its proprietors contend that if anyone is violating the law, it is the government agency.
More at http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/282006b.asp
Baseball Strikes Out in Reacting to Guillen's Comment, Says Family Activist
June 28, 2006 (AgapePress) - A pro-family activist in Illinois is criticizing Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig over his decision to require the manager of the Chicago White Sox to undergo "sensitivity training."
White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen was recently fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball (MLB) and ordered to attend sensitivity training for using the word "fag" to refer to Chicago Sun Times columnist Jay Mariotti. Selig said "the use of slurs embarrasses the individual, the club, and the game." Guillen told the Chicago Tribune this week that he intends to complete the training before the All-Star Game on July 11.
Pete LaBarbera, who heads the Illinois Family Institute, believes MLB went overboard.
"The fact that they're going to require this man to undergo sensitivity training -- pro-homosexual training, which will likely violate his moral and his religious beliefs -- is just astonishing," exclaims LaBarbera. "We're coming to the point in America now where people of faith can have their rights and their beliefs trampled over in the name of supporting the gay agenda..."I think it's astonishing to see the media in Chicago and maybe across the country bending so easily to this idea of when you say this word, which I don't say -- I don't say the word f-a-g -- but the idea that this is a slur analogous to racism is just ridiculous," says LaBarbera. "The fact is that Ozzie Guillen said something he shouldn't have said," he acknowledges, "but should he be going through re-education and having his religious beliefs trampled over in support of the homosexual agenda because he said this remark? No way."
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/282006c.asp
Bill Would Drop Lawyer Fee Damages in Religious Battles
The "Christmas tree wars," fought each year over public religious displays often end up in court, but congressional legislation taken up recently by a House Judiciary subcommittee would prohibit damages and attorney fees from being awarded to plaintiffs in such First Amendment cases….
…If PERA is not enacted, Staver said frivolous litigation by the ACLU will drain the funds that the federal government needs to spend on infrastructure and education.
Rees Lloyd, a former ACLU employee who went on to work as a judge advocate for the American Legion, also testified in favor of the bill; his written testimony stated that there is no need for the ACLU to have its attorney fees paid in religious display cases it challenges in court.
"As a former ACLU attorney, I know to a certainty that the ACLU's litigation is carried out by staff attorneys, or by pro bono attorneys who are in fact precluded from receiving fees under the ACLU's own policies," said Lloyd…
….Lloyd also cited the Redlands , Calif. , City Council, which voted to remove the cross in 2005 from its City Seal because the ACLU threatened to sue. Lloyd said the only reason given for the vote was the fear that court-awarded attorney fees would take away taxpayer funds needed for city services.
Because the city could not afford to change all of the seals, employees who had badges -- police, fire, emergency services -- were called in and had holes drilled through the crosses of their badges to comply with the ACLU's demands….
…Staver added that "some government officials will back down whenever they are threatened by the ACLU, even though they are right, simply because the law is confusing and they don't want to risk having to pay the ACLU's attorney fees."
entire article at: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200606/CUL20060626a.html
How to reduce CO2?
Put a cork in Al Gore !!!
AP INCORRECTLY CLAIMS SCIENTISTS PRAISE GORE’S MOVIE
June 27, 2006 -The June 27, 2006 Associated Press (AP) article titled “Scientists OK Gore’s Movie for Accuracy” by Seth Borenstein raises some serious questions about AP’s bias and methodology.
AP chose to ignore the scores of scientists who have harshly criticized the science presented in former Vice President Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth.”
In the interest of full disclosure, the AP should release the names of the “more than 100 top climate researchers” they attempted to contact to review “An Inconvenient Truth.” AP should also name all 19 scientists who gave Gore “five stars for accuracy.” AP claims 19 scientists viewed Gore’s movie, but it only quotes five of them in its article. AP should also release the names of the so-called scientific “skeptics” they claim to have contacted…
… Former University of Winnipeg climatology professor Dr. Tim Ball reacted to Gore’s claim that there has been a sharp drop-off in the thickness of the Arctic ice cap since 1970.
"The survey that Gore cites was a single transect across one part of the Arctic basin in the month of October during the 1960s when we were in the middle of the cooling period. The 1990 runs were done in the warmer month of September, using a wholly different technology,” –Tim Ball said, according to the Canadian Free Press…
Entire article at http://www.epw.senate.gov/pressitem.cfm?party=rep&id=257909
The Truth about Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba561/
Jun 29 WASHINGTON -- The economy zipped ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 5.6 percent pace, the fastest in 2 1/2 years and even stronger than previously thought.
The new snapshot of gross domestic product for the January-to-March period exceeded the 5.3 percent growth rate estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The upgraded reading - based on more complete information - matched economists' forecasts.
The stronger GDP figure mostly reflected an improvement in the country's trade deficit, which was much less of a drag than previously estimated.
Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the country's economic fitness.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ECONOMY?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-06-29-08-45-40
Sales of New Homes Increase Unexpectedly
Jun 26 ...Sales of new homes rose in May, surprising economists who had been forecasting that housing would slow down because of rising mortgage rates.
The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes increased by 4.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.234 million units...Analysts are still looking for sales of both new and existing homes to fall by around 10 percent this year as rising mortgage rates crimp demand. The lowest mortgage rates in four decades helped to propel sales to five straight annual records.
The 4.6 percent increase in sales pushed the sales rate to the highest level since last December and followed increases of 5.9 percent in April and 7.3 percent in March...
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/26/D8IFVM7G0.html
Government Says Stolen VA Laptop Recovered
The government has recovered the stolen laptop computer and hard drive containing sensitive data for up to 26.5 million veterans and military personnel, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said Thursday.
Nicholson said law enforcement officials were still investigating to determine whether data from the equipment, which included names, birth dates and Social Security numbers, had been duplicated or utilized in any way.
So far, he said there have been no reports of identity theft stemming from the May 3 burglary at a VA employee's Maryland home...
http://www.townhall.com/news/ap/online/gov/cabinet-state-pentagon/D8I4451G0.html
Who is North Korean leader Kim Jong Il?
from a 2004 article: SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) --North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ...was hailed as "the sun of the 21st century" and "the most prominent statesman in the present world" at official birthday celebrations in Pyongyang on Monday, while people from Nepal to Peru were marking the day with films and parties, state media said.
...North Korean publications describe Kim Jong Il as a renaissance man who has flown fighter aircraft, written operas and shot 11 holes-in-one in his first try at golf.
Despite Kim's reputed brilliance, his years in power have coincided with precipitous economic decline and deadly food shortages. About a third of all North Koreans are dependent on outside food aid, which is at risk of drying up…
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/02/16/kim.birthday.reut/
Judge bemoans lack of drivers ed for illegal who killed man
6-28-06 A Salem woman whose longtime friend and tenant was killed by an illegal alien driving without a license says she is shocked a judge not only reduced the man’s sentence, but took time to lament the lack of driver’s training for illegals during the sentencing.
...Judge Robert Cornetta used the occasion to decry the fact that illegal immigrants don’t have access to driver training, saying it raised public policy concerns. (uh oh, expect a judge to mandate tax payers pay for driver’s education for illegals soon…)
“What we will never know is whether Mr. Costa had some kind of driver training, if perhaps this tragedy would never have occurred,” the judge said, according to the Salem News. He could not be reached last night. (umm, people who have had drivers ed still have accidents)
Mullen, 68, who took in Golin (the deceased) as a boarder 20 years ago, was outraged over Cornetta’s comments.
“He’s not even supposed to be in this country,” an exasperated Mullen said about Costa.
She said Golin was a beloved neighborhood figure. “My mother lived to be 106 and a half and she loved Richie. He used to say ‘Hi Girdie,’ and she’d say ‘Hi Richie.’ She never forgot his name.”
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=145928
I suspect numbers are probably not much different for Protestants...
Study Reports More Bibles, Less Religious Literacy
Surveyed Catholics in France , Spain and Italy
ROME, JUNE 29, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Despite the increasing number of Bibles in circulation, knowledge of the Scriptures and the Church is weak among Catholics in three European countries, reports the Universal Biblical Alliance.
In a three-year study conducted by professor Luca Diotallevi, of the University of Rome Three, some 650 Catholics in Spain, France and Italy revealed low levels of Mass attendance and general religious knowledge.
The study, commissioned by the Universal Biblical Alliance, and carried out by Eurisko, also conducted in-depth interviews with leaders of the Catholic Church in the three countries.
Diotallevi, presenting the report at a press conference on Monday in Rome , said that in the 40 years following the Second Vatican Council, the Bible "entered massively in the families of many Christians, in homes where it had not been kept before. The pity is that in many cases it remains closed, a sacred object instead of a sacred book."
The study revealed that dissemination and knowledge of the Bible text takes place mainly at Sunday Mass, but less than half of all Catholics attend Mass regularly.
Some 49% of Spanish Catholics answered that they fulfill their Sunday obligation, followed by 29% of Italian and 26% of French Catholics.
Of those who attend Sunday Mass, the study said, barely half do outside reading of the Bible.
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=91776
the previous article reminds me of a good old Gospel song...
DUST ON THE BIBLE
by: J. Bailes & W. Bailes
1. I went into a home one day to see some friends of mine
Of all the books and magazines, not a Bible could I find.
I asked them for the Bible. When they brought it, what a shame!
For the dust was covered o'er it, not a fingerprint was plain.
CHORUS:
CHORUS: Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word.
The word of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.
2. Oh, you can read your magazines of love and tragic things
And not one word of Bible verse, not a scripture do you know.
When it is the very truth, and it's contents good for you.
Dust on the Bible will doom your poor soul.
CHORUS: Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word.
The word of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.
Court Agency Bans Prayers At 4-H MeetingsJune 26, 2006 CROWN POINT , Ind. -- Prayer has been banned at 4-H meetings in Lake County , Ind.
A memorandum issued last month by the Lake County Cooperative Extension Service said prayer is forbidden at all times, including to "begin or close meetings, fundraisers, camp sessions, including meals, and/or award ceremonies."
Stan Sims, the county extension director, said he issued the directive because: "We want to respect peoples' beliefs and be inclusive." (Really? Who complained? Bubba Mohamed?)
No single incident prompted his note. (oh, I guess no one complained...)
The formal prayers had been a tradition at various events, including 4-H, which has more than 800 youth members in Lake County ...
http://www.theindychannel.com/family/9427356/detail.html
State Agency Launches Probe After NY Rink Advertises 'Christian Skate'
June 28, 2006 (AgapePress) - The New York State Division of Human Rights has begun a probe of a privately owned skating rink that recently advertised a "Christian Music Skate" party. The agency is investigating Len Bernardo and his wife Terry, owners of Skate Time 209 in Accord, New York , apparently because the rink plays Christian music during certain designated hours.
The Division of Human Rights has warned the rink, which also advertises Christian skating on Sunday afternoons, that it may be violating anti-discrimination laws. The agency also threatened to charge a local weekly newspaper that published the rink's advertisement of its Christian music skate with "aiding and abetting" unlawful discrimination. However, pro-family supporters of the rink and its proprietors contend that if anyone is violating the law, it is the government agency.
More at http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/282006b.asp
Baseball Strikes Out in Reacting to Guillen's Comment, Says Family Activist
June 28, 2006 (AgapePress) - A pro-family activist in Illinois is criticizing Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig over his decision to require the manager of the Chicago White Sox to undergo "sensitivity training."
White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen was recently fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball (MLB) and ordered to attend sensitivity training for using the word "fag" to refer to Chicago Sun Times columnist Jay Mariotti. Selig said "the use of slurs embarrasses the individual, the club, and the game." Guillen told the Chicago Tribune this week that he intends to complete the training before the All-Star Game on July 11.
Pete LaBarbera, who heads the Illinois Family Institute, believes MLB went overboard.
"The fact that they're going to require this man to undergo sensitivity training -- pro-homosexual training, which will likely violate his moral and his religious beliefs -- is just astonishing," exclaims LaBarbera. "We're coming to the point in America now where people of faith can have their rights and their beliefs trampled over in the name of supporting the gay agenda..."I think it's astonishing to see the media in Chicago and maybe across the country bending so easily to this idea of when you say this word, which I don't say -- I don't say the word f-a-g -- but the idea that this is a slur analogous to racism is just ridiculous," says LaBarbera. "The fact is that Ozzie Guillen said something he shouldn't have said," he acknowledges, "but should he be going through re-education and having his religious beliefs trampled over in support of the homosexual agenda because he said this remark? No way."
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/282006c.asp
Bill Would Drop Lawyer Fee Damages in Religious Battles
The "Christmas tree wars," fought each year over public religious displays often end up in court, but congressional legislation taken up recently by a House Judiciary subcommittee would prohibit damages and attorney fees from being awarded to plaintiffs in such First Amendment cases….
…If PERA is not enacted, Staver said frivolous litigation by the ACLU will drain the funds that the federal government needs to spend on infrastructure and education.
Rees Lloyd, a former ACLU employee who went on to work as a judge advocate for the American Legion, also testified in favor of the bill; his written testimony stated that there is no need for the ACLU to have its attorney fees paid in religious display cases it challenges in court.
"As a former ACLU attorney, I know to a certainty that the ACLU's litigation is carried out by staff attorneys, or by pro bono attorneys who are in fact precluded from receiving fees under the ACLU's own policies," said Lloyd…
….Lloyd also cited the Redlands , Calif. , City Council, which voted to remove the cross in 2005 from its City Seal because the ACLU threatened to sue. Lloyd said the only reason given for the vote was the fear that court-awarded attorney fees would take away taxpayer funds needed for city services.
Because the city could not afford to change all of the seals, employees who had badges -- police, fire, emergency services -- were called in and had holes drilled through the crosses of their badges to comply with the ACLU's demands….
…Staver added that "some government officials will back down whenever they are threatened by the ACLU, even though they are right, simply because the law is confusing and they don't want to risk having to pay the ACLU's attorney fees."
entire article at: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200606/CUL20060626a.html
How to reduce CO2?
Put a cork in Al Gore !!!
AP INCORRECTLY CLAIMS SCIENTISTS PRAISE GORE’S MOVIE
June 27, 2006 -The June 27, 2006 Associated Press (AP) article titled “Scientists OK Gore’s Movie for Accuracy” by Seth Borenstein raises some serious questions about AP’s bias and methodology.
AP chose to ignore the scores of scientists who have harshly criticized the science presented in former Vice President Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth.”
In the interest of full disclosure, the AP should release the names of the “more than 100 top climate researchers” they attempted to contact to review “An Inconvenient Truth.” AP should also name all 19 scientists who gave Gore “five stars for accuracy.” AP claims 19 scientists viewed Gore’s movie, but it only quotes five of them in its article. AP should also release the names of the so-called scientific “skeptics” they claim to have contacted…
… Former University of Winnipeg climatology professor Dr. Tim Ball reacted to Gore’s claim that there has been a sharp drop-off in the thickness of the Arctic ice cap since 1970.
"The survey that Gore cites was a single transect across one part of the Arctic basin in the month of October during the 1960s when we were in the middle of the cooling period. The 1990 runs were done in the warmer month of September, using a wholly different technology,” –Tim Ball said, according to the Canadian Free Press…
Entire article at http://www.epw.senate.gov/pressitem.cfm?party=rep&id=257909
The Truth about Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba561/
posted by David Bennett | 6:06 PM
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