Muppet Movie 1979 camera test

Jun 29, 2012

The banter is so hilariously improvised.

Seven more TEC bishops charged with misconduct

Support for ACNA pleading is grounds for discipline complaint alleges
June 30, 2012
By George Conger

Seven bishops have been charged with misconduct for having endorsed a friend of the court brief prepared by the Anglican Communion Institute in the Diocese of Fort Worth case.

On 28 June 2012, the Rt Rev Maurice M. Benitez, retired Bishop of Texas, the Rt Rev John W. Howe, retired Bishop of Central Florida, the Rt Rev Paul E. Lambert. Suffragan Bishop of Dallas, the Rt Rev William H. Love, Bishop of Albany, the Rt Rev D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana, the Rt Rev Daniel H. Martins, Bishop of Springfield, and the Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas were informed they had been charged with misconduct.

“As the Intake Officer for the Church, I am obliged to inform you that a complaint has been received against you for your action in filing of Amicus Curiae Brief in the pending appeal in the Supreme Court of Texas in opposition to The Episcopal Diocese of Texas and The Episcopal Church. In the next few weeks, I will initiate a disciplinary process according to Title IV Canon 6 Sec. 3 & 4 of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church,” Bishop F. Clayton Matthews wrote to the seven bishops.

The bishops have not been notified with violation of the canons they have committed, but Bishop Matthews’ notice refers to the pleading they endorsed in the Diocese of Fort Worth case presently before the Texas Supreme Court.

In an amicus brief filed on 23 April 2012 the seven bishops and three scholars from the ACI – the Rev. Christopher R. Seitz, the Very Rev. Philip W. Turner, and the Very Rev. Ephraim Radner -- argued a Tarrant County, Texas trial court misconstrued the church’s constitutions and canons by holding that the Episcopal Church was a hierarchical body with ultimate power vested in the General Convention.

The 29-page brief stated that attorneys for that national Episcopal Church sought “to establish an alternative authority to that of the diocesan bishop” in their pleadings, which they said was contrary to the church’s Constitution and Canons. Attorneys for the national church have argued the Episcopal Church possesses a unitary polity, where dioceses are creatures of the General Convention. the rest

Bishops Salmon, Beckwith, and MacPherson charged with misconduct

A.S. Haley: Stalinist Tactics Deployed to Silence ECUSA Bishops in Court

Exodus International Rejects Reparative Therapy for Gays

By Jeff Schapiro
June 29, 2012

Exodus International President Alan Chambers addressed the crowd at the 37th annual Freedom Conference on Wednesday in order to share why the organization will no longer use reparative therapy to help those who struggle with same-sex attraction (SSA), and will use a model that focuses more on discipleship instead.

Chambers told The Christian Post on Thursday that reparative therapy, which seeks to "cure" SSA through activities like counseling and prayer, sets the person seeking therapy up for failure by giving him or her unrealistic expectations.

"As the president of Exodus International and, even more than that, as a Christian leader who is out in front of people all the time, it is my responsibility to lead honestly and transparently and to share with people that, just because you become a Christian,...your struggles don't always go away," he said. "You don't get to a place where you're never going to be tempted again." the rest

Dr. Robert Gagnon: Time for a Change of Leadership at Exodus?

Dreams, Visions Moving Muslims to Christ

by Chris Mitchell and Julie Stahl
June 30 2012

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Several years ago, Ali took the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca known as Hajj.

"Of course when I went to Mecca I was going there in order to pay hommage to the Kabba and to fulfill the requirements in Islam," he recalled.

But the trip became more of a spiritual journey than he could ever imagine.

"That night I saw Jesus in a dream. First, Jesus touched my forehead with his finger. And after touching me, He said, 'You belong to me,'" Ali recalled.

"And then He touched me above my heart," he continued. "'You have been saved, follow me. You belong to me,' he said."

Ali's story in Mecca was told and dramatized in a DVD called "More Than Dreams."

"I decided I'm not going to finish the Hajj, the pilgrimage. Whatever it takes, I'm going to follow that voice," he explained. the rest

NZ: Anglican debate on gays risks splitting church

By David Fisher
Saturday Jun 30, 2012

Proposals being considered by the Anglican Church could see gay marriage services carried out in churches by gay priests.

Bishops and priests are to vote on proposals covering the blessing of same-sex civil unions, the church's response to requests to marry those couples, and ordination of gay priests.

The debate, to be heard next week at a meeting of the church's ruling body, the General Synod, has created concern it could divide parishes in New Zealand and - if adopted - cause a schism with the international faith. the rest

Mark Levin: Obamacare Decision 'Absolutely Lawless'

June 28, 2012

Anglican Unscripted Episode 44 (One Year Anniversary)

Jun 29, 2012

In this week's Anglican Unscripted Kevin and George discuss the Arab Apocalypse and the effects on the Anglican Church in Egypt. Also, the two June Birthday boys discuss General Convention and the illogical musings of Rowan Williams. Alan Haley delves into the mess we call the Supreme Court and special guest Bishop Dan Martins gives us a sneak peak on GC2012.

A.S. Haley: Supreme Court Does the Unexpected

Dutch monk may have killed psychiatric patients in 1950s

June 28, 2012

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Thirty-seven boys who died in the early 1950s in a Dutch psychiatric hospital run by the Catholic Church were probably killed by a monk in charge of their care, prosecutors said on Thursday.

It was the latest in a string of scandals to hit the church in the Netherlands, where an independent commission found last year up to 20,000 minors were sexually abused in Catholic orphanages, boarding schools and seminaries between 1945 and 1981.

In a report released on Thursday, prosecutors said the boys who died between 1952 and 1954 in St Joseph's psychiatric hospital in the southeastern town of Heel had likely been given morphine overdoses by Brother Andreas. the rest

Multiple deaths at boys’ home were no accident

World's first genetically modified babies born

by MICHAEL HANLON
posted June 29, 2012

The world's first genetically modified humans have been created, it was revealed last night.

The disclosure that 30 healthy babies were born after a series of experiments in the United States provoked another furious debate about ethics.

So far, two of the babies have been tested and have been found to contain genes from three 'parents'.

Fifteen of the children were born in the past three years as a result of one experimental programme at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of St Barnabas in New Jersey.

The babies were born to women who had problems conceiving. Extra genes from a female donor were inserted into their eggs before they were fertilised in an attempt to enable them to conceive.

Genetic fingerprint tests on two one-year- old children confirm that they have inherited DNA from three adults --two women and one man.  the rest

Wesley J. Smith: I Was Right: Obamacare Upheld

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Wesley J. Smith

It appears that the Supremes have rewritten the law in order to uphold it. They simply call a penalty a tax, even though it was expressly stated not to be a tax. Why? Precisely for the reasons I predicted:

The Supreme Court has vastly expanded the power of the federal government since the 1930s. In so doing, the justices have often based their decisions as much on policy as on law—and then fashioned legal justifications to back up their decisions (which, in turn, become springboards for further federal expansion). Some call this phenomenon “judicial legislation,” but we won’t get into that here. Moreover, the justices generally come from what is sometimes called the “ruling class,”—people who graduated Yale, Harvard, Princeton, etc.—people who have faith in “experts” and technocratic solutions to societal problems. The rulings of the Court on controversial social and political issues often reflect the views of this subset of Americans more than those of the general population (not that the opinions of either should be relevant). While polls generally show a majority of Americans opposing Obamacare, the ruling class tends to support it.

With the above in mind, I believe the majority of the Supreme Court will rule that Obamacare’s purposes are laudable, that universal coverage is equitable and necessary for the country’s future, and that since the mandate is a necessary element of making the new law work, it is constitutional. That may sound like bootstrapping, but there it is.

Never doubt me.

That’s the ballgame folks. Even if the Republicans win big in November, the law will not be repealed. The era of limited government is over. We are now a full fledged technocracy. Here

Pelosi on Obamacare: I Knew Ted Kennedy ‘Would Go to Heaven and Help Us Pass the Bill’

The Constitutional Importance of the ObamaCare Ruling
...In sum, Chief Justice Roberts arguably followed a circuitous route to reach the wrong result with regard to the constitutionality of the Obamacare individual mandate. However, whether or not the political process eventually sweeps Obamacare away, the limitations on the Commerce Clause that Chief Justice Roberts used his opinion to clearly articulate will endure and may serve as a brake on future progressive initiatives that go too far.

Kraft defends rainbow-stuffed gay pride Oreo as ‘reflection of our values’

by Kathleen Gilbert
Wed Jun 27, 2012

Kraft Foods, the company behind the Oreo cookie, has defended a promotional image of the cookie stuffed with rainbow filling as “a fun reflection of our values,” even as the gay rights endorsement triggered boycott threats within hours of appearing on the Internet.

The Photoshopped image of “America’s favorite cookie” caused a stir on the brand’s Facebook page Monday evening when it appeared with the caption, “Proudly support love!”

The image had garnered nearly 220,000 Facebook “likes” by Wednesday morning, 66,600 shares, and 35,850 comments fueling an unending flame war over the cookie’s stand in favor of the homosexual movement. the rest

Kraft Foods owns a number of brands, including Capri Sun, Nabisco, Philadelphia cream cheese, Ritz, Baker’s chocolate, Triscuit, Cool Whip, Grey Poupon, and Wheat Thins.

The Dennis Canon – updated

By George Conger
posted June 27, 2012

In 2007 I wrote an article for the Living Church magazine reporting on the controversies surrounding the passage of the Dennis Canon at the 1979 General Convention. In that article I reported that it could not be shown that the Dennis Canon had passed the convention, but the balance of probabilities made it more than likely that it did.

In the five years since I wrote that article I have done further research on this question, and in light of these researches I have revised my conclusions.

As stated in the pleading below, I believe:

Although I hereby express no opinion as to the legal significance of my findings set forth above regarding the documentation relating to the Dennis Canon of the 1979 General Convention, I believe that the Dennis Canon was not properly adopted. In that regard, I affirm those findings: (1) that documentation relating to the Dennis Canon of the 1979 General Convention is missing from the archives and therefore that it cannot be verified that the canon was lawfully adopted by the Convention; (2) that no evidence exists in the archives that shows notice as required by Canon V.1 Section 5a was given to the wider church; (3) that no evidence exists in the archives that shows a motion to suspend the rules was offered to the House of Deputies under Rule VI.22 to permit the resolution to be considered out of time or that two-thirds of the deputies voted for such a suspension.

In recent years I have been engaged as an expert witness in a number of court cases concerning the Episcopal Church’s property cases. I am not a canon law expert, but an expert in the Episcopal Church’s history and polity, which includes the history of Episcopal canon law, Episcopal church properties and how they were historically acquired and held, and on the evolution and growth of the Episcopal Church’s national structures in relation to its parishes and dioceses. the rest

American Muslims Stone Christians in Dearborn, MI

Joe Newby
June 26, 2012

A disturbing video posted Tuesday by The United West shows a small group of sign-carrying Christians attacked and stoned at the 2012 Arab Festival in Dearborn, Michigan.

Worse yet, the police took no action against the attackers, telling the Christians they were the problem, instead of the mob who engaged in numerous acts of assault and battery.

The 22-minute video shows a number of attacks made against the Christians by adults and children repeatedly hurling profanities in addition to rocks, garbage, water bottles and crates.

According to the United West, Wayne County Deputy Chief Mike Jaafar "summed up his situational awareness of the 2012 Dearborn Arab Festival in the Dearborn Patch by stating, 'No official arrests were made, and Jaafar said his team was pleased with the overall outcome.'” the rest

American Muslims Stone Christians in Dearborn, Michigan

AU: The terminators: using abortion as a form of contraception

SARAH BERRY
26 Jun, 2012

Grace* 31, was 18 when she had her first abortion. Since then, she has had five.

To many, this figure is shocking, but she is not alone in having aborted multiple foetuses.

The Daily Mail recently reported that Britain's National Health Service is spending around £1 million a week on repeat abortions. The paper revealed that the latest figures show some 189,000 abortions took place in the UK in 2010. Of these, more than 64,000 terminations were on women who had already had at least one abortion.

"Abortion is an unpleasant and harrowing experience for women and to hear it is happening repeatedly makes your hair stand on end," Josephine Quintavalle, of the UK's Pro-Life Alliance, told the Daily Mail. "These figures show that sadly, abortion is being seen by many as a form of contraception."

The figures for abortion in Australia are unclear, partly because abortion and miscarriage are given the same medicare number. However, in 2006 there were an estimated 71,773. the rest

The Vatican Bank: The Most Secret Bank In the World

By Avi Jorisch
6/26/2012

Italian prosecutors have now detained the former head of the Vatican’s bank after searching his home and former office for suspected criminal behavior. Catholics and followers of the Holy See will be disappointed to learn that the Vatican’s bank appears to be embroiled in yet another financial scandal.

After a number of very embarrassing episodes in recent years, the Pope pledged to comply with international standards on illicit finance and clean up the bank’s image. The European Union has an important role to play in helping the Vatican mitigate risk and come into full compliance; the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), set up by the G-7 to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, has a responsibility as well.

The Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), commonly referred to as the Vatican Bank, is a privately held financial institution located inside Vatican City. Founded in 1942, the IOR’s role is to safeguard and administer property intended for works of religion or charity. The bank accepts deposits only from top Church officials and entities, according to Italian legal scholar Settimio Caridi. It is run by a president but overseen by five cardinals who report directly to the Vatican and the Vatican’s secretary of state. Because so little is known about the bank’s daily operations and transactions, it has often been called “the most secret bank in the world.” the rest

Christianity on the Decline in Australia; Eastern Faiths Increasing

By Stoyan Zaimov
June 21, 2012

A national census has revealed that while most Australians profess Christianity as a belief, the religion as a whole in the country has been on a steady decline, while the number adherents of Eastern faiths like Buddhism and Hinduism has grown.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently revealed its first set of findings for 2011, which showed that Christianity remains the dominant religion among Australia's 21,507,717 population, and was claimed as the faith of practice by 61.1 percent of respondents – although that figure was down by almost 3 percent from 63.9 percent in 2006.

Of those Christians, 25.3 percent identified themselves as Catholic, 17.1 percent as Anglicans, 5 percent as Uniting Church (a union of the Congregational Union of Australia, the Methodist Church of Australasia and the Presbyterian Church of Australia) and 2.8 percent as Presbyterian and Reformed – meaning that every major Christian denomination in Australia has suffered a decline in membership from 2006. the rest

Military Gay Pride: Behavior Once Grounds for Court Martial Now Celebrated

By Alex Murashko
June 26, 2012

The U.S. Department of Defense's recognition of Gay Pride Month less than a year after the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) is the new "stark reality" that behavior once considered by the military as grounds for court martial is now celebrated, says the director of a chaplain alliance group.

"For the first time ever, the Department of Defense is making a positive event over behavior (sodomy) that had been a court martial offense a year ago," Chaplain (Col.) Ron Crews, USAR retired, executive director for the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, told The Christian Post on Monday. "Now the DoD is wanting to honor that behavior. That's the stark reality that we're living in now."

The Pentagon announced it will hold its first-ever Gay Pride event Tuesday. Plans for the event include a keynote speech by the DoD's lead lawyer, Jeh Johnson, followed by a panel discussion called "The value of open service and diversity," according to CNN.

Crews said the chaplain alliance is concerned about a couple of areas inside the U.S. military since the repeal of DADT, a transition period he calls the "new environment." the rest

Obama Plugs Birth Control and Planned Parenthood in Speech at High School

 By Fred Lucas
June 26, 2012

(CNSNews.com) – Listing the reasons why Americans should vote for him, President Barack Obama told an audience at a high school in New Hampshire on Monday that failure to subsidize abortions and contraception is the same as “restricting access” to those services.

“In this election, on every single challenge that we face, you’ve got the final say,” Obama told the crowd at Oyster River High School in Durham, N.H.  the rest

Statement by Bishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt

RE: The First Islamist President of Egypt
June 24, 2012
By George Conger

Dear friends,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ! The majority of Egyptians have been holding their breath over the last few days. They were eagerly awaiting the announcement of the first president after the 25th of January Revolution. It was announced this afternoon, the 24th of June, that Mohammed Mursi won 51.7 percent of the votes, while his opponent Ahmed Shafiq won 48.3 percent.

By this close margin, Mursi became the first Islamist President in Egypt. Mursi, 60 years of age, was born in the Nile Delta. He is married and has five children and three grandchildren. He has a doctorate degree in space engineering from the University of Southern California. He has been an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood movement for many years. The Muslim Brotherhood is a political Islamic movement that started in Egypt in 1928, and is now an international network. Mursi became the President of the Muslim Brotherhood party, called the Freedom and Justice Party, which was established after the Revolution. He was arrested and imprisoned several times for short periods during Mubarak’s time. The last time was on the 28th of January 2011, and he was released by unknown people who opened the prison two days later.

Mursi promised to be a president for all Egyptians, to appoint a prime minister who is not from the Muslim Brotherhood, and moreover he promised to appoint a Christian vice-president. He made these promises to calm the widespread anxiety of the moderate Muslims and the Christians, who were hoping for a secular government. It is worth mentioning that over the last eight months, the Muslim Brotherhood has lost a lot of support because when they became the biggest party in the Egyptian parliament, they tried to dominate the committee which was responsible for writing the constitution. In addition, the Muslim Brotherhood promised that they would not nominate a presidential candidate; however they changed their mind and nominated Mursi. They also did not give any attention over the last year to the hardships of the Christians in Egypt. All of these reasons were behind the narrow margin in today’s election results.

The fear now is that Mursi will not fulfill his promises, and will try to control the government, the police and the upcoming parliamentary elections. If Egypt became an Islamic state, this will mean that Christians will be marginalized. It is true that today he withdrew from the Muslim Brotherhood Party; however he will continue to be influenced by their ideology. Some writers express their fears that if the Muslim Brotherhood gained control of Egypt, they will stay in power for more than 100 years. the rest

A.S. Haley: Supreme Court Healthcare Decision This Thursday

June 25, 2012

[IMPORTANT UPDATE 06/25/2012: The Court's decision in the Arizona immigration case had not been published for more than five hours before the Obama administration announced that it is suspending all cooperation with Arizona law enforcement to determine the status of illegal immigrants. This is lawlessness at the highest level of our country. The question is whether or not we are too polarized to do anything about it. See more below.]

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court announced a decision in three of the cases pending before it. It summarily reversed (i.e., without hearing arguments or having additional briefs), by a vote of 5-4, the Montana Supreme Court's decision refusing to apply the U.S. Court's previous holding in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. Here is the decision announced today, in its entirety:

PER CURIAM.A Montana state law provides that a “corporation may not make . . . an expenditure in connection with a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party.” Mont. Code Ann. §13– 35–227(1) (2011). The Montana Supreme Court rejected petitioners’ claim that this statute violates the First Amendment. 2011 MT 328, 363 Mont. 220, 271 P. 3d 1. In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, this Court struck down a similar federal law, holding that “political speech does not lose First Amendment protection simply because its source is a corporation.” 558 U. S. ___, ___ (2010) (slip op., at 26) (internal quotation marks omitted). The question presented in this case is whether the holding of Citizens United applies to the Montana state law. There can be no serious doubt that it does. See U. S. Const., Art. VI, cl. 2. Montana’s arguments in support of the judgment below either were already rejected in Citizens United, or fail to meaningfully distinguish that case.

The petition for certiorari is granted. The judgment of the Supreme Court of Montana is reversed.

It is so ordered. the rest