Scrolling around...September 5, 2013

Video: Al-Qaeda Attacks Two Syrian Churches to Cries of ‘Allahu Akbar!’
More information on yesterday’s al-Qaeda led attack on the Christian village of Maaloula near Damascus, Syria. Not only did they firebomb the village, and threaten to slaughter all Christians once the U.S. helps “liberate” Syria, but they also fired missiles and mortars at two ancient churches, St. Alias Church and St. Grace Church, while spraying the entrances of the churches with bullets...

Christian Airman Claims He Was Fired by Lesbian Commander for Gay Marriage Stance  ...Mateer says this incident is part of a pattern emerging throughout the military under President Obama. Mateer says many service members do not “come forward publicly due to fear of retribution, which would destroy their military careers.” Mateer explains that these instances are increasingly widespread, but most service members feel constrained not to speak out because they want to keep serving their country and also need to provide for their families.

Breitbart News has reported in recent months about serious threats to religious liberty—especially for observant Christians—in the military. As previously reported, the Obama-Hagel Pentagon held a series of meetings with an anti-Christian activist with a record of making shockingly-offensive statements against service members of traditional faith, and recently an ordained Christian chaplain was officially censored for merely quoting the old adage that there are no atheists in fox holes...

Pope Emeritus's Unexpected Homily on Humility
Although the full text has yet to appear, Benedict XVI’s homily during Mass for his former students on Sunday is one of wisdom and truth.

Essentially a treatise on humility, his words come as a welcome surprise, especially as the world wasn’t expecting to see or hear from the Pope Emeritus after his retirement.

He began by saying that "everyone is looking for a good place in history, and each wants to find his right place in life. The only question is: which place is good and which is right? The word of the Lord from last Sunday’s Gospel comes to mind: The first shall be last and the last shall be first. A seemingly good place can be a very bad place, and we know that this happens not only at the Last Judgment, but often in the midst of this world. We have seen it ourselves in the last decades, how the first have suddenly fallen and what appeared to be a good place proved to be a misguided place."

Whoever calls himself a Christian, Benedict said, must be “the last in the opinion of the world.”...

Christ in the Capital of the World
On a brisk October Saturday in 2012, hundreds of teenagers, young adults, and youth leaders gathered at Battery Park in Manhattan. In earlier days, the historic public park facing New York Harbor was the first place to receive immigrants from Europe and elsewhere. But this morning, it received members of black and Latino Pentecostal churches nestled throughout Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. The crowd donned T-shirts and jerseys proclaiming God Belongs in My City (GBIMC). They were embarking on a rolling prayer meeting that would make its way from the southern tip of Manhattan up to Times Square.

The youth were not tourists. They did not gape at architectural landmarks like the Flatiron and Empire State along the way. Instead, they sang and laughed as they walked and talked, texted, and tweeted about their journey. Many stopped to scribble GBIMC and John 3:16 in chalk on the sidewalks. They walked the city with purpose and possibility. They knew where they were going.

They intermittently bowed their heads and lifted their arms, blessing and praying for "this great city," for "the unity of the church and the city," for "the government and leadership," and for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. They prayed for public officials and city employees, especially for teachers, firefighters, and police...

Interview With Russian Enamelist Evgeny Baranov
-the pictures alone are worth checking out the link -PD
More here

Report: Health Insurance Premiums to Increase 24%, on Average, Under 'Obamacare'
...The analysis is preliminary and will be updated as more state's data become available. Of the 13 for which data is available, nine will have rate increases and four will have rate decreases.

New Mexico is, so far, expected to have the largest rate increase at a whopping 130 percent. Maine residents could enjoy the largest rate decrease with a 71 percent drop.

The other four states that will see rate increases are Vermont (97 percent), South Dakota (83 percent) and Connecticut (59 percent). The other three states that will see rate decreases are Colorado (34 percent), Ohio (30 percent) and New York (27 percent)...

Obama's Proposal to Limit Tax Deductions for High-Income Donors Would Undermine Charitable Giving  ...President Obama’s budget proposals have contemplated reducing the top rate for charitable deductions (and all itemized deductions) to 28%. Because America’s largest donors are those in the highest marginal tax brackets, efforts to limit deductibility of charitable donations could have a chilling effect on charitable giving...

Coalition of the not quitting: Group demands answers year after Benghazi  A coalition of pro-military organizations and leaders has launched a campaign to honor the four Americans who died in last year's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

The group's slogan is "Remember the Benghazi Four,” which is named for Ambassador Christopher Stevens, former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, and information officer Sean Smith...

NYT: Brutality of Syrian Rebels
...The moment the poem ended, the commander, known as “the Uncle,” fired a bullet into the back of the first prisoner’s head. His gunmen followed suit, promptly killing all the men at their feet...

Obama: I didn’t draw the red line on Syria, world did
“I didn’t set a red line, the world set a red line,” Obama said. “My credibility’s not on the line. The international community’s credibility is on the line. And America and Congress’s credibility’s on the line."

Owner Forced to Pay $400,000 to Weirdos He Asked to Leave His Club
...A bar owner has been ordered to pay $400,000 to a group of cross-dressers he banned from his club last year.

The Bureau of Labor and Industries civil rights division imposed the penalty against Chris Penner, owner of the Twilight Room Annex, also known as the P Club, on North Lombard Street [in Portland, Oregon]....

Doctors in Belgium to Prey on Disabled, Euthanize Them to Harvest Their Organs
...Did you get that? One set of doctors killed the patient, stepped out of the room, and another set of doctors entered for the harvest.

Now, the hunt is on for mentally ill and patients with disabling conditions such as MS to become “euthanasia organ donors.”...

Bakery Closes after Refusing to Make Wedding Cake for Gay Couple Constant protests and death threats have forced the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, a Gresham, Ore., family bakery whose refusal to make a wedding cake for a gay couple triggered a state investigation, to close its doors....