Newsflash: Stalin liberates Normandy

Call it another Twilight Zone moment, another ignominious contribution to the “you-can’t-make-this-up” category. First, Mao Zedong was honored by oblivious New Yorkers last October, with their Empire State Building aglow in red and yellow to commemorate the birth of People’s Republic of China. Mao’s nearest rival for the trophy for top mass murderer in history was Joseph Stalin. Perhaps other clueless Americans could find a way to honor Stalin, too – maybe closer to Washington, the nation’s capital. View Full Article

Deficits, Debt, and Self-Deception

It passed almost unnoticed, but in late July the Obama Administration raised the Federal Government’s budget deficit forecast for fiscal year 2011 to $1.4 trillion. That’s up from February’s forecast of $1.267 trillion. In July alone, the Federal Government’s deficit was $165 billion, of which $20 billion was for interest-payments on debt. View Full Article

Voters rebuke Obama on health care

On one of the hottest days in Missouri, voters showed up in droves Tuesday, showing more interest in casting their ballot for or against Proposition C, than to vote for primary election candidates.
The end result: Missourians resoundingly supported Proposition C – which rejects President Obama’s new health care law’s “individual mandate,” requiring all Americans to purchase health insurance. View Full Article

RI governor's veto on redefining hate crimes

Hawaii governor vetoes civil union bill

In a highly anticipated announcement, Hawaii’s Governor Linda Lingle vetoed the civil union bill, as the definition of a union it contains was too similar to that of marriage.  The law would have allowed gay and lesbian-identified couples the same rights and privileges of married couples.

In her veto message, Lingle stated that an issue as contentious as this should not be up to one person to decide.

$17,000 tax bill hits South Dakota church

As cash-strapped cities and municipalities try to find creative ways to generate revenue, some are setting a dangerous precedent when they look to churches as a targeted source.
Joe Infranco, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), has seen a marked increase in the number of cases handled by ADF’s 1,800 allied attorneys, who represent churches free of charge.
“Whether out of ignorance or malice, (municipalities) are slowly chipping away at the Church’s tax exemption when and where they are able,” said Infranco. “This is a very dangerous trend.” View Full Article

News shorts from around the country

Legislative trend may attract educational grants
EP News View Full Article

Health news around the country

Naples Planned Parenthood Abortion Emergency?
This past May, a patient was rushed to a nearby Naples hospital after having a “procedure” performed at the Collier County Planned Parenthood. Transported via ambulance, little information was given about the patient’s condition. Cherie Wilson-Watson, who is a spokesperson for Emergency Medical Services in Collier County, stated that, “We received a medical call and transported someone to the hospital for evaluation.” View Full Article

Majority of teens are abstinent

Not everyone is having sex in high school, according to a government report.  The 2006-8 National Survey of Family Growth shows that 60 percent of unmarried teens in the U.S. have not had sex, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

God and country: foundations of faith

Sitting in the cockpit of an F/A-18 Hornet on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier at night can be an awe-inspiring experience. You can see the determination on the faces of the support crews as they ensure your bird is ready to fly.

‘Proof’ helps missionary for kids

Squeezed between the Harlem River and the old Yankee Stadium lies the mostly-forgotten neighborhood of Mott Haven. For decades, this South Bronx community has borne the brunt of crime, drugs and poverty, against the back-drop of a city that is home to the luxuriously rich and the desperately poor.

Despite controversy, National Day of Prayer

The 2010 National Day of Prayer (NDP), despite generating more controversy than in recent years, went off mostly without a hitch on May 6.

Even with a controversial court ruling the previous week, Americans turned out in droves to pray for their leaders and to ask for God’s blessing.