Anonymous Donor Gives 200,000$ Baseball Card To A Bunch Of Nuns

                              By: Don Caldwell


What do you normally give to your church / charity?


Excerpts italicized:


Other than the rare heartless scoundrel out there, everyone loves stories about regular folks who stumble upon rare baseball cards and stand to make huge profits from their sale


An order of nuns in Baltimore stands to make $150,000-$200,000 from the auction of a 100-year-old (or so) Honus Wagner T206 card. And even better, the card was an unexpected donation.


It's expected to fetch that much, despite its beat-up condition, because only 60 of the T206 Wagners are known to exist. A contemporary of Ty Cobb and Cy Young, Wagner was a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Well, you could knock over Sister Virginia Mueller with a feather.

"It just boggles your mind," Muller told The Associated Press. "I can't remember a time when we have received anything like this."

The brother of a nun who died in 1999 left all his possessions to the order when he died earlier this year. The man's lawyer told Muller he had a Honus Wagner card in a safe-deposit box.

When they opened the box, they found the card, with a typewritten note: "Although damaged, the value of this baseball card should increase exponentially throughout the 21st century!"

A near-mint Wagner at auction in 2008 went for $2.8 million, the highest price ever for a baseball card.


This particular card — apparently owned by the nun's brother since 1936 — is in relatively poor condition; three of its borders have been cut off, it has a large crease and it was laminated. It probably endured a few thousand revolutions in someone's bicycle spokes, too.


The proceeds will go to the School Sisters of Notre Dame, which has ministries in 35 countries around the world


If you gave such a big gift to the church, would it by anonymous? Would you want others to know that you were the one? Could you give something this valuable? I think I would be afraid that the nuns would not know how valuable it is and throw it out …lol

(ORIGINAL LINK) Nuns stand to profit from auction of rare Honus Wagner card - Big League Stew - MLB  - Yahoo! Sports

Woman Faces Civil Rights Complaint for Wanting a Christian Roommate

                                       By: Don Caldwell


Do you have the right to choose a roommate?


Excerpts italicized:


A civil rights complaint has been filed against a woman in Grand Rapids, Mich., who posted an advertisement at her church last July seeking a Christian roommate.


The ad "expresses an illegal preference for a Christian roommate, thus excluding people of other faiths,” according to the complaint filed by the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan.


"It's a violation to make, print or publish a discriminatory statement," Executive Director Nancy Haynes told Fox News. 


"There are no exemptions to that.".


Haynes said the unnamed 31-year-old woman’s case was turned over to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Depending on the outcome of the case, she said, the woman could face several hundreds of dollars in fines and “fair housing training so it doesn’t happen again.”.


Harold Core, director of public affairs with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, told the Grand Rapids Press that the Fair Housing Act prevents people from publishing an advertisement stating their preference of religion, race or handicap with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling.


"It's really difficult to say at this point what could potentially happen," he told the newspaper, noting that there are 
exemptions in the law for gender when there is a shared living space.


Christians shouldn't live in fear of being punished by the government for being Christians. It is completely absurd to try to penalize a single Christian woman for privately seeking a Christian roommate at church -- an obviously legal and constitutionally protected activity.".


Haynes said the person who filed the initial complaint saw the ad on the church bulletin board and contacted the local fair housing organization.


The ad included the words, "Christian roommate wanted," along with the woman's contact information. Had the ad not included the word "Christian," Haynes said, it would not have been illegal.


"The First Amendment guarantees us Freedom of Religion," he said. "And we have the right to live with someone of the same faith. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights is denying her rights by pursuing this complaint.".


Should you have the right to choose who you live with at your own home? Is there a difference between the government having a preference and an individual? Did having an advertisement open to the public change that? Do people have the right to have personal preferences if this was not advertised in the paper? The sex / age of a person is grounds for discrimination but not religion. Is one’s faith important enough?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Michigan Woman Faces Civil Rights Complaint for Seeking a Christian Roommate - FoxNews.com

Mom Killed 4 Of Her Babies, Kept Bones Hidden, Nobody Notices For Years.

                                 By: Don Caldwell


Was this evil? Should she have sought out abortions instead?


Excerpts italicized:


A woman who secretly conceived several children through an extramarital affair killed at least four of her newborns, then kept their remains in coolers or encased in concrete in her closet until family members found them this year, authorities said Monday.


Michele Kalina, 44, of Reading, hid at least six pregnancies from her husband and longtime boyfriend, according to officials in Berks County, where a homicide charge was filed against the home-health aide.


DNA tests show the bones found in a locked closet came from five babies, at least four of whom were born alive, authorities said. The boyfriend fathered three and possibly four of the victims. Tests on the fifth baby were inconclusive.


Kalina has been in custody since August on abuse-of-corpse charges and is being held without bail after she was arraigned Monday on one count of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and related charges. Additional counts may be filed before trial, Adams said.


Kalina also bore a daughter from the same affair in 2003 but gave the baby up for adoption, authorities said. She and her husband, Jeffrey, have a 19-year-old daughter and had a 13-year-old son with cerebral palsy who died in 2000. That death is not suspicious, Adams said.


The husband and daughter found the infant remains this summer in a closet in several coolers, one of which was filled with cured cement, police said. At least four of the babies were born at or near term, then killed in a manner consistent with asphyxia, poisoning or neglect, authorities determined.


With only scant information from Kalina herself, investigators have no idea where the babies were born or how they died, making the case a tough circumstantial one to prove.


Jeffrey Kalina had suspected at least once that his wife was pregnant, police said. The boyfriend, who was not identified, said he did not, although he said he noticed her abdomen growing after they began dating in 1996.


How the heck can you hide that many pregnancies for so long?
Do you think this is horrible? Would it still be so horrible if she had the babies aborted instead? What is the difference? The current address (in or out of the womb) of the baby? The age? If the baby is wanted or not? I would think that most would feel this to be horrifying than if she had these babies aborted by a professional (doctor). Why is that? Are we just used to the idea of abortions? Is it that hard to love a baby? Was it that hard to love you as a baby?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Police: Pennsylvania Mom Killed 4 Infants, Kept Bones Hidden - FoxNews.com

Baby Shaken To Death After Interrupting Mom's Facebook Game (Farmville)

                            By: Don Caldwell


Do we spend too much time wasting our time???


Excerpts italicized:


A north Florida mother has pleaded guilty to shaking her baby to death after the boy's crying interrupted her game on Facebook


The Florida Times-Union reports that she told investigators she was angered because the boy was crying while she was playing the game FarmVille.


The paper also reports that she told investigators she shook the boy, smoked a cigarette to compose herself and then shook him again.


She will be sentenced in December.




Are your children important to you? Are they more important than Facebook? Do you spend more time interacting with your children or on Facebook? How about watching TV, or the Internet? This is obviously an extreme case, but it is a symptom of a society hooked on easy entertainment. It takes work to be with your family, and one could say that they are the most fruitful form of entertainment. When talking with your friends do you spend more time talking about your kids or celebrity / gossip / TV / news? Can that show where your priorities really are?

(ORIGINAL LINK) FoxNews.com - Baby Killed After Interrupting Mom's Facebook Time

4-Year-Old Can Be Sued For Negligence For Accidentally Hitting Woman While Riding Bike.

                                 By: Don Caldwell


Sometimes you just know that things have gone too far, legal or not.


Excerpts Italicized:


Citing cases dating back as far as 1928, a judge has ruled that a young girl accused of running down an elderly woman while racing a bicycle with training wheels on a Manhattan sidewalk two years ago can be sued for negligence.


The ruling by the judge, Justice Paul Wooten of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, did not find that the girl was liable, but merely permitted a lawsuit brought against her, another boy and their parents to move forward.


The suit that Justice Wooten allowed to proceed claims that in April 2009, Juliet Breitman and Jacob Kohn, who were both 4, were racing their bicycles, under the supervision of their mothers, Dana Breitman and Rachel Kohn, on the sidewalk of a building on East 52nd Street. At some point in the race, they struck an 87-year-old woman named Claire Menagh, who was walking in front of the building and, according to the complaint, was “seriously and severely injured,” suffering a hip fracture that required surgery. She died three months later of unrelated causes.


Her estate sued the children and their mothers, claiming they had acted negligently during the accident. In a response, Juliet’s lawyer, James P. Tyrie, argued that the girl was not “engaged in an adult activity” at the time of the accident — 
“She was riding her bicycle with training wheels under the supervision of her mother” — and was too young to be held liable for negligence.


In legal papers, Mr. Tyrie added, “Courts have held that an infant under the age of 4 is conclusively presumed to be incapable of negligence.”


But Justice Wooten declined to stretch that rule to children over 4. On Oct. 1, he rejected a motion to dismiss the case because of Juliet’s age, noting that she was three months shy of turning 5 when Ms. Menagh was struck, and thus old enough to be sued.


Mr. Tyrie “correctly notes that infants under the age of 4 are conclusively presumed incapable of negligence,” Justice Wooten wrote in his decision, referring to the 1928 case. “Juliet Breitman, however, was over the age of 4 at the time of the subject incident. For infants above the age of 4, there is no bright-line rule.”


“A parent’s presence alone does not give a reasonable child carte blanche to engage in risky behavior such as running across a street,” the judge wrote. He added that any “reasonably prudent child,” who presumably has been told to look both ways before crossing a street, should know that dashing out without looking is dangerous, with or without a parent there. The crucial factor is whether the parent encourages the risky behavior; if so, the child should not be held accountable.


Are individuals responsible for their actions? At what age are we responsible for our own actions? Should different standards be held for small children? Is a 4 year old girl at criminally negligent for hitting someone as she raced across the stet? Is she CRIMINALLY at fault? We allow minors to get away with murder, attempted murder, and any number of other crimes. Should we, as a people, condone this? Given how much trouble our kids can get into / cause, would we think twice about letting them go outside if they / we could be sued for it? Is this about justice or about money? Just because it is the law does not mean that it is moral and just.

(ORIGINAL LINK) 4-Year-Old Can Be Sued, Judge Rules in Bike Case - NYTimes.com

Judge Lets Pregnant Teen Marry Without Consent After Bride Says Parents Would Force Abortion

                             By: Don Caldwell


In a word, awesome.


Excerpts italicized:


An Ohio judge allowed a pregnant 17-year-old to get married without her parents' consent after the bride-to-be said she could be forced to have an abortion if she stayed at home.


The Columbus Dispatch reports the couple, who each turn 18 in a few months, got married Tuesday after a hearing.
Ohio law requires parents to sign off on the marriage of anyone younger than 18, but judges can waive the requirement. The bride's mother says she's outraged the judge did so without hearing from her or her husband. She also denies pushing her daughter toward abortion.


The groom's father tells The Dispatch that his daughter-in-law felt that she in was an unsafe environment.
The Franklin County judge involved, Alan Acker, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail sent Saturday.


Imagine how hard it must have been for her to have fought her parents on this. And imagine how determined she was to keep her baby alive. Think about how her boyfriend both supported her and wanted to marry her to save the baby. And a LAWYER (judge), going the extra mile and granting a waiver to let them marry. Happy ending.

(ORIGINAL LINK) Ohio Judge Lets Pregnant Teen Marry Without Consent After Bride Says Parents Would Force Abortion - FoxNews.com

US and Canada have the most expensive cell phone plans in the world.

By: Don Caldwell


Do you think you pay too much for your cell phone service?


Excerpts italicized:


Mobile users in the US and Canada tend to pay more for a complete cell phone package than anyone else in the world, according to a new report from the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative (OTI). The foundation examined the different types of mobile packages in various countries in order to determine the minimum cost for voice minutes, texting, and data, and found that—surprise!—countries with more competition and more regulation tended to have the best pricing.


OTI examined prepaid, unlimited, and postpaid plans in 11 countries in order to determine the best rates in each. Overall, the foundation said that mobile users in the US need to pay at least $59.99 for a complete cell phone package that includes voice, text, and data (which we'll break down in a minute). Comparatively, users in Canada must pay US$67.50—making Canada the only country to top the US.


India and Hong Kong came in with the cheapest complete plans, at $12.90 and $13.50 respectively


(source: New America Foundation / Arstechnica.com)


What will it take for cell phone plan prices to come down? Is it a failure of the government to regulate of big telecom companies? Are the big telecom companies engaged in anti-competitive practices?

(ORIGINAL LINK) US, Canada have priciest cell phone plans in the world

Everyone hates the national debt / deficit, but likes the spending.

By: Don Caldwell

Do you think we pay too much in taxes?


Excerpts italicized:


It's the deficit, all $1.47 trillion of it,  that has most people worried. Many of them are angry.
That's the issue that gave birth to the tea party movement and compels thousands to show up at rallies across the country with signs saying such things as "I'm Not Your ATM."


That's what has put the Democrats' congressional majorities in jeopardy, and has left Republicans poised for big gains. Yet there's more than a little contradiction in the position politicians and voters alike seem to be taking. We invited Yahoo! readers to give their views on federal spending in Ask America, a nonscientific polling forum, and many expressed concern -- in some cases outrage -- about the deficit. At the same time, however, many also focused as much on what not to cut as they did on the hard choices that must be made.


The bottom line with the candidates — as well as with many Ask America readers — seems to be: Cut spending, but not if it takes money from what's nearest and dearest to me.


User Donald voted for cutting back, with this caveat:  "Unless of course you intend to cut back on anything my family needs. … This is an easy position to take until it impacts you." Another Yahoo! user commented, "Why not start by cutting some of the free housing in every town in America for the deadbeats along with Medicaid, utility assistance, free dental, free health, etc. Leave my SS alone"


"It's a question of what do you get for your taxes," said Evans Witt, CEO of Princeton Survey Research Associates International, an independent research firm. "People are angry because they don't see a connection between what they're paying and what they're getting out of it."


That's what Tasha seemed to be saying in this Ask America comment: "I am tired of being in the half of U.S. citizens paying for the other half. Cut the entitlements"


(above – a visual guide to where all our taxes go…save or open in new tab to see full size.)


We all want a whole bunch of government service / guarantees, such as: social security, health care, public schools, utilities, mass transit, food stamps, affirmative action programs, job training, the military, DYFYS, or law enforcement
Most of us can pick a few of the programs listed above that we think could be cut. Was it the military (If you feel safe enough not to need it)? Healthcare (if you already have it)? Public schools (if you don’t have kids in private schools)? Mass Transit (if you don’t use it)? Affirmative action programs (if you are part of the majority)? Job training programs (if you have a job)? DYFS (if you don’t abuse your children)? Social Security (if you are young and know you are paying into a system you will never benefit from)?
The fact is that all of our government programs cost more than all the taxes we pay and then some. Too much for the American public to pay, yet what do we / can we cut? Are we ready to go back to a system where we take more of the responsibility of taking care of ourselves? Can we? Do we even remember how? Can the people of this country agree on anything that needs to be cut? Or will we face these questions when our deficits and debt become so high that we have no choice? Will it be too late then?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Everyone hates the deficit — but likes the spending - Yahoo! News

Judge Jails Lawyer After Refusing to Say Pledge In Court. Proves Judge Has A Pair.

By: Don Caldwell

I bet this judge is close to retirement, and does not care what others may think :o)


Excerpts italicized:


A Mississippi judge again asked everyone in his courtroom to stand and pledge allegiance to the flag, despite an uproar over whether he has the right to make such a request.


The furor began Wednesday when an attorney with a reputation for fighting free speech battles stayed silent as everyone else recited the patriotic oath. The lawyer was jailed.


A day later, Judge Talmadge Littlejohn continued to ask those in his courtroom to say the pledge.
"I didn't expect the Pledge of Allegiance, but he asked me to do it, so I did it," said Melissa Adams, 41, who testified in a child custody case that was closed to the public.


Attorney Danny Lampley spent about five hours behind bars before Littlejohn set him free so that the lawyer could work on another case. Lampley told The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal he respected the judge but wasn't going to back down


The Supreme Court ruled nearly 70 years ago that schoolchildren couldn't be forced to say the pledge, a decision widely interpreted to mean no one could be required to recite it


Littlejohn is in his mid-70s and has been a chancery judge for eight years, presiding mainly over divorces and child custody disputes. He was a state lawmaker, prosecutor and city judge before then. He's also a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church of New Albany and is known for running an orderly, professional courtroom


In 1943, the Supreme Court ruled that children in public schools could not be forced to salute the flag and say the pledge. In 1954, the words "under God" were added to the pledge, when members of Congress at the time said they wanted to set the United States apart from "godless communists."


In March, an appellate court upheld references to God on U.S. currency and in the Pledge of Allegiance, rejecting arguments they violate the constitutional separation of church and state.


Is the pledge necessary? Outdated? Has become a battleground between the left and the right for the sake of it? Is it constitutional? Could anyone be offended by it? Should they be? And of course (last but not least), are you a pink-o commie?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Miss. Judge Again Asks Courtroom to Say Pledge After Jailing Lawyer for Refusing - FoxNews.com

2012 End of the World Prediction May Be Off By Decades.

By: Don Caldwell

Wow, that was close. I almost sold all my possessions preparing for the 2012 end of the world thing :o)


Excerpts italicized:


It's a good news/bad news situation for believers in the 2012 Mayan apocalypse. The good news is that the Mayan "Long Count" calendar may not end on Dec. 21, 2012 (and, by extension, the world may not end along with it). The bad news for prophecy believers? If the calendar doesn't end in December 2012, no one knows when it actually will - or if it has already.


A new critique, published as a chapter in the new textbook "Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World" (Oxbow Books, 2010), argues that the accepted conversions of dates from Mayan to the modern calendar may be off by as much as 50 or 100 years. That would throw the supposed and overhyped 2012 apocalypse off by decades and cast into doubt the dates of historical Mayan events. (The doomsday worries are based on the fact that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, much as our year ends on Dec. 31.)


Aldana doesn't have any answers as to what the correct calendar conversion might be, preferring to focus on why the current interpretation may be wrong. Looks like end-of-the-world theorists may need to find another ancient calendar on which to pin their apocalyptic hopes.


How often do you hear about the 2012 thing? Does a part of you suspect there may be truth in it? Anyone who reads enough history knows that the past 1000 years has been full of “End of the world” predictions. Most notably, perhaps, was the belief that the world would end at the year 1000 (There was real fear in the medieval world), or even Y2K. Are we in such a rush to see the world end? Do we fear that it may be? What are you afraid of losing? If the world was in fact going to end 2 years from now, what would you do differently in life? Why could you not do that anyway?

(ORIGINAL LINK) End of the Earth Postponed - Yahoo! News

Christian Leaders On Yoga: It Is Not Christianity

By: Don Caldwell

Do the ends justify the means?


Excerpts italicized:


A Southern Baptist leader who is calling for Christians to avoid yoga and its spiritual attachments is getting plenty of pushback from enthusiasts who defend the ancient practice.


Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert Mohler says the stretching and meditative discipline derived from Eastern religions is not a Christian pathway to God.


Mohler said he objects to "the idea that the body is a vehicle for reaching consciousness with the divine."
"That's just not Christianity," Mohler told The Associated Press.


"I'm really surprised by the depth of the commitment to yoga found on the part of many who identify as Christians," Mohler said.


Yoga fans say their numbers have been growing in the U.S. A 2008 study by the Yoga Journal put the number at 15.8 million, or nearly 7 percent of adults. About 6.7 percent of American adults are Southern Baptists, according to a 2007 survey by the Pew Research Center Forum on Religion & Public Life.


Mohler argued in his online essay last month that Christians who practice yoga "must either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace of yoga."
Other Christian leaders have said practicing yoga is incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. Pat Robertson has called the chanting and other spiritual components that go along with yoga "really spooky." California megachurch pastor John MacArthur called yoga a "false religion." Muslim clerics have banned Muslims from practicing yoga in Egypt, Malaysia and Indonesia, citing similar concerns.


Yoga proponents say the wide-ranging discipline, which originated in India, offers physical and mental healing through stretching poses and concentration.


Many may approach yoga with good / innocent intentions, but when the core philosophies behind yoga conflict with Christianity, is it still okay to participate? Assuming that you believe that you will not be influenced by it, what type of example are you setting for others? Is your acceptance with yoga going to inadvertently lead others to yoga and / or away from God? If, as some believe, you could mix Christianity and yoga together (which I would believe to be akin to playing with fire), why couldn’t you try to do the same thing with other forms of spirituality (i.e. Wicca)?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Southern Baptist leader on yoga: Not Christianity - Yahoo! News

Homer Simpson is Catholic, Vatican Says. D’oh.

By: Don Caldwell

Can someone that drinks so much beer be holy?…lol


Excerpts italicized:


"The Simpsons" just got a blessing from the Vatican.


The official Vatican newspaper has declared that beer-swilling, doughnut-loving Homer Simpson and son Bart are Catholics -- and what's more, it says that parents should not be afraid to let their children watch "the adventures of the little guys in yellow."


"Few people know it, and he does everything to hide it. But it's true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic", the Osservatore Romano newspaper said in an article on Sunday headlined "Homer and Bart are Catholics."
The newspaper cited a study by a Jesuit priest of a 2005 episode of the show called "The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star". That study concludes that "The Simpsons" is "among the few TV programs for kids in which Christian faith, religion and questions about God are recurrent themes."


The Simpsons pray before meals, and "in its own way, believes in the beyond," the newspaper quoted the Jesuit study as saying.


It's the second time the animated U.S. TV series, which is broadcast in 90 countries, has been praised by the Vatican.
But executive producer Al Jean told Entertainment Weekly on Monday he was in "shock and awe" at the latest assertion, adding that the Simpsons attend the "Presbylutheran" First Church of Springfield.


"We've pretty clearly shown that Homer is not Catholic," Jean said. "I really don't think he could go without eating meat on Fridays -- for even an hour."


In December 2009, the Osservatore Romano described the show as "tender and irreverent, scandalous and ironic, boisterous and profound, philosophical and sometimes even theological, nutty synthesis of pop culture and of the lukewarm and nihilistic American middle class."


"The Simpsons", which introduced the catch-phrase "D'oh", is the longest-running prime-time TV series in the United States and is now in its 22nd season.


At the very least, it shows that the Catholic Church has a sense of humor. And it makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe, there are some TV programs that are worth watching.
Will this be the cause of a great schism within the church??… : )

(ORIGIANL LINK) Homer Simpson is Catholic, Vatican paper declares - Yahoo! News

Man Gets Oil Change. Mechanic Finds Hidden GPS. FBI Demands It Back. Scary?

By: Don Caldwell


How would you like it if Big Brother was watching everything you do?


Excerpts italicized:


Yasir Afifi, a 20-year-old computer salesman and community college student, took his car in for an oil change earlier this month and his mechanic spotted an odd wire hanging from the undercarriage.


The wire was attached to a strange magnetic device that puzzled Afifi and the mechanic. They freed it from the car and posted images of it online, asking for help in identifying it.


Two days later, FBI agents arrived at Afifi's Santa Clara apartment and demanded the return of their property — a global positioning system tracking device now at the center of a raging legal debate over privacy rights.


One federal judge wrote that the widespread use of the device was straight out of George Orwell's novel, "1984".
"By holding that this kind of surveillance doesn't impair an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy, the panel hands the government the power to track the movements of every one of us, every day of our lives," wrote Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a blistering dissent in which a three-judge panel from his court ruled that search warrants weren't necessary for GPS tracking.


But other federal and state courts have come to the opposite conclusion.


Law enforcement advocates for the devices say GPS can eliminate time-consuming stakeouts and old-fashioned "tails" with unmarked police cars. The technology had a starring role in the HBO cops-and-robbers series "The Wire" and police use it to track every type of suspect — from terrorist to thieves stealing copper from air conditioners.


George Washington University law professor Orin Kerr said the issue boils down to public vs. private. As long as the GPS devices are attached to vehicles on public roads, Kerr believes the U.S. Supreme Court will decide no warrant is needed. To decide otherwise, he said, would ignore a long line of previous 4th Amendment decisions allowing for warrantless searches as long as they're conducted on public property.


"The historic line is that public surveillance is not covered by the 4th Amendment," Kerr said.


Why stop with GPS? What about your computer or your phone? Should we really make it easy for law enforcement to catch criminals by giving them 24 unrestricted access to everything we do? Would we be safe in a police state? Would you give up all of your freedoms for safety?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Oil change reignites debate over GPS trackers - Yahoo! News

Woman Arrested for Damaging Jesus 'Porn' Art. Becomes My Hero.

By: Don Caldwell

What is the difference between art and an attack?


Excerpts Italicized:


A Montana woman has been charged with criminal mischief after allegedly taking a crowbar to a controversial art museum display in Colorado that critics say portrays Jesus Christ receiving oral sex from another man.


Kathleen Folden, 56, of Kalispell, Mont., was arrested Wednesday and accused of damaging the the 12-panel lithograph, "The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals."


The piece, on display since Sept. 11 at the tax-funded Loveland Museum Gallery in Loveland, Colo., includes several images of Jesus, including one in which he appears to be receiving oral sex from a man as the word "orgasm" appears beside Jesus’ head.


It has triggered protests and even calls to police by critics asking for an investigation into whether it violates a Colorado law that protects children from obscenity, the Loveland Reporter Herald reported. The city attorney determined it did not.


Witnesses told the Reporter-Herald that Folden entered the Loveland Museum Gallery, used a crowbar to break glass over the art and ripped the print


Is it hypocritical to say that tax dollars must fund religious art when it is offensive, but not allowed to display it during Christmas time when it is not? And why is it that we only condone such obviously offensive art when it targets Christianity? You don’t see anyone doing this with another religion, do you?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Mont. Woman Arrested for Damaging Jesus 'Porn' Art in Colo. - FoxNews.com

School Does Nothing While 4 Teens Commit Suicide From Bullying.

By: Don Caldwell

Evil comes in many forms.


Excerpts italicized:


Sladjana Vidovic's body lay in an open casket, dressed in the sparkly pink dress she had planned to wear to the prom. Days earlier, she had tied one end of a rope around her neck and the other around a bed post before jumping out her bedroom window.


The 16-year-old's last words, scribbled in English and her native Croatian, told of her daily torment at Mentor High School, where students mocked her accent, taunted her with insults like "Slutty Jana" and threw food at her.


It was the fourth time in little more than two years that a bullied high school student in this small Cleveland suburb on Lake Erie died at his or her own hand — three suicides, one overdose of antidepressants. One was bullied for being gay, another for having a learning disability, another for being a boy who happened to like wearing pink.


Now two families — including the Vidovics — are suing the school district, claiming their children were bullied to death and the school did nothing to stop it. The lawsuits come after a national spate of high-profile suicides by gay teens and others, and during a time of national soul-searching about what can be done to stop it.


If there has been soul-searching among the bullies in Mentor — a pleasant beachfront community that was voted one of the "100 Best Places to Live" by CNN and Money magazine this year — Sladjana's family saw too little of it at her wake in October 2008.


Suzana Vidovic found her sister's body hanging over the front lawn. The family watched, she said, as the girls who had tormented Sladjana for months walked up to the casket — and laughed.


"They were laughing at the way she looked," Suzana says, crying. "Even though she died."


"Nonstop smile. Nonstop music," says her father, Dragan, who speaks only a little English.


At school, life was very different. She was ridiculed for her thick accent. Classmates tossed insults like "Slutty Jana" or "Slut-Jana-Vagina." A boy pushed her down the stairs. A girl smacked her in the face with a water bottle.


Phone callers in the dead of night would tell her to go back to Croatia, that she'd be dead in the morning, that they'd find her after school, says Suzana Vidovic.


"Sladjana did stand up for herself, but toward the end she just kind of stopped," says her best friend, Jelena Jandric. "Because she couldn't handle it. She didn't have enough strength."


Vidovic's parents say they begged the school to intervene many times. They say the school promised to take care of her.
She had already withdrawn from Mentor and enrolled in an online school about a week before she killed herself.
When the family tried to retrieve records about their reports of bullying, school officials told them the records were destroyed during a switch to computers. The family sued in August.


Two years after her death, Dragan Vidovic waves his hand over the family living room, where a vase of pink flowers stands next to a photograph of Sladjana.


"Today, no music," he says sadly. "No smile."


The girls that tortured her laughed at the way she looked, after seeing at her dead body at the wake. Although commonly seen as a criminal with a gun, or a soldier in a uniform, evil comes every day with the face of a pretty 15 year old girl. Smiling, laughing, gossip, and judgmental conversation towards others, can be just as evil as a bullet from a gun.

(ORIGINAL LINK) Families Sue Ohio School After Four Bullied Teens Die by Their Own Hand - FoxNews.com

American charities see billions less in donations - But Catholic Charities Sees A 2/3rd’s Increase.

By: Don Caldwell

Has charity taken a backseat in our fragile economic environment?


Excerpts italicized:


A new ranking of the nation's 400 biggest charities shows donations dropped by 11 percent overall last year as the Great Recession ended — the worst decline in 20 years since the Chronicle of Philanthropy began keeping a tally.


"It shows that charities are really having a tough time, and this is some of the most successful charities in the United States," Chronicle Editor Stacy Palmer said. "Usually bigger charities are more resilient, so that's the part that is still surprising."


"The only caveat is our Christmas was extraordinary," said Major George Hood, the Salvation Army's head of community relations. The group's red kettle campaign raised a record $130 million in 2008 and surpassed that in 2009 to raise $139 million.


"The American public really dug deep during the holiday season, and in the balance of the year really cut back in what they gave to charity," he said.


Only four charities in the top 10 reported increased contributions over last year, including Alexandria, Va.-based CatholicCharities USA, which reported a 66 percent jump. For many, that growth has been driven by donated goods rather than cash.


I read two things from this: First, Catholics may be the biggest single charitable group of Americans. Second, many still place value in Christmas. Both are wins.

(ORIGINAL LINK) Top 400 charities see billions less in donations - Yahoo! News

University Dean Charged With Using Students as 'Slaves'.

By: Don Caldwell

It is interesting how (allegedly) a Highly educated, Double-Minority would use slavery.


Excerpts italicized:


Former St. John’s University dean, Cecilia Chang, who was charged earlier this month with embezzling over $1 million in donations from the college, was nabbed again today by the FBI and accused using scholarship students as domestic servants.


Chang, 57, allegedly forced students to do her laundry, clean her house, cook and chauffeur her son around.


“Chang threatened the students and placed them in fear that if they refused to perform these personal services they would lose their scholarships and be unable to attend St. John’s,” FBI Special Agent Kenneth Hosey wrote in the arrest warrant.


Chang had four students working seven days a week as her personal valets, one was forced to drive her son to the airport at 3 a.m. Others shoveled snow, took out the garbage and shuttled her to her hair salon, according to court papers.


“[Chang] let me be the housekeeper for her house and give me scholarship,” one scholarship student wrote to the college. “We have three housekeeper before, and she ask us work 122 days per year per person.”


After Chang was fired from the college in June, the terrified exchange student feared she would not be able to attend the school without the dean’s largess


I know, I know. You are thinking exactly what I am thinking. That is one SEXY woman. I love that angry face. Seriously though, this perhaps brings some questions about how we view slavery in our society. How many different ways can people “blackmail” each other? Do we do little things in our daily lives to manipulate those around us? Do spouses? Do our children? At what point is it no longer OK? Is it ever ok?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Univ. Dean Charged With Using Students as 'Slaves' - FoxNews.com

McDonald's Offering $400 Wedding Packages–My Dream May Be Coming True.

By: Don Caldwell

YES!…Now ALL of your dreams can come true! lol ;o) Now I can say to God “I’ve seen enough, and I’m ready to go.”


Some excerpts (Italicized):


Weddings can be complicated and stressful affairs so would you be loving it if someone was able to serve up the whole meal deal for you?


Imagine having your ceremony, reception, wedding cake and catering for up to 100 people provided for just £250. (apx 400$)


There's just one drawback - it's at McDonald's.


Couples can tie the knot at the fast food chain in Hong Kong from January 2011.


But while you may think any self-respecting bride would blush if she were to get married there, McDonald's claims it has decided to offer the service only after acquiescing to public demand for it.


The danger of barbecue sauce squirting down the bride's dress is seemingly inconsequential when compared to some people's attachment to their local branch and the desire for a Big Mac and fries.


The idea first came about after one couple, who met at a McDonald's, held their wedding reception at a branch in Hong Kong earlier this year.


Helen Cheung, Hong Kong McDonald's director of corporate communications, said: 'Over the past two years, we've started receiving calls from people who want to have a wedding party in our restaurants. There are about 10 calls a month.


'People said they'd dated here, or met here, and wanted to get married here. 


'We see this as a business opportunity.'


As if a McWedding wouldn't be different enough already, it would have to be a champagne-free ceremony because alcohol is banned from the family-friendly restaurants.


And the bride shouldn't expect any special treatment, such as walking to the front of the queue to collect her Chicken McNuggets, because she will have to vye for space with normal customers as McDonald's plans to keep the branch open as usual.


But if, given the auspicious beginnings, the marriage lasts at least a year, the happy couple can return to celebrate their union again because the chain also plans to host anniversary parties.




Imagine being the first couple on the block being blessed by the Golden Arches!!! Although, not having the ability to drink alcohol might be a problem. I mean, I think I would start drinking if I was getting married there. Also, does anyone know if the Catholic Church would send a priest to marry the LUCKY couple??… lol… I have a whole new appreciation for church….and mass…..and the Eucharist …which is definitely better than fries…

(ORIGINAL LINK) Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1320488/McDonalds-wedding-Couples-marry-fast-food-chain-HK-January.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz12SwehXvg

Too much TV psychologically hurts Children. Says Study.

By: Don Caldwell

A technology that nearly every American household possesses, and which has become so much a part of our daily lives may be harming your children (well I sure as heck think so..)


Some excerpts (Italicized):


The study, published in the US journal Pediatrics, found that kids who spend hours each day in front of the TV or games console have more psychological difficulties like problems relating to peers, emotional issues, hyperactivity or conduct challenges, than kids who don't.


And contrary to what earlier studies have indicated, the negative impact of screen time was not remedied by increasing a child's physical activity levels, says the study conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol in Britain.


The researchers found that children who spent two hours or more a day watching television or playing on a computer were more likely to get high scores on the questionnaire, indicating they had more psychological difficulties than kids who did not spend a lot of time in front of a screen.


Even children who were physically active but spent more than two hours a day in front of a screen were at increased risk of psychological difficulties, indicating that screen time might be the chief culprit.


Earlier studies have found that while more time spent in front of a screen led to lower well-being, physical activity improved one's state of mind. That led researchers to believe that upping physical activity levels could counteract the negative impact of watching TV or playing on the computer.
And many parents and children think that spending a lot of time on the computer or in front of the television is OK if it's part of a "balanced lifestyle", the study in Pediatrics says.


How many have turned to the television to replace parenting? Is it easier to drop your kids off (television, day care, babysitter, etc.) , than to give the time and energy required to be a parent? Can one truly say that the time sent otherwise, is better than time spent with the ones who love them? Has the television given parents the excuse to abandon their children a little bit everyday? Would relationships with children be better if there was no such thing as television? Would you get rid of yours? Do you love your children enough to do that?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Too much TV psychologically harms kids: study - Yahoo! News

Religious Signs on Private Property Ruled Illegal.

 

Since when was it a crime to post religious signs on your own property?

Excerpts italicized:

A South Carolina man says his constitutional rights have been violated after he was told by his local government to remove the Bible-themed signs he had posted on his property.

Oscar Moultrie says a Berkeley County, S.C., ordinance that requires residents to obtain government permission before putting up signs on their private property -- other than "for sale," "for rent," political signs, and a few other exceptions -- violates his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Moultrie says he received no complaints about his signs before the county ordered him in March to remove them or pay $25 to get a permit to post them.

"The thing with the ordinance," says John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, which is representing Moultrie, "is it allows for political signs, which means that in this particular case it would be what you call viewpoint discrimination, which the Supreme Court and a number of federal courts have ruled on.

"Once you allow a form of speech you have to be content-neutral as to what speeches you permit," Whitehead told FoxNews.com. "Here they haven't been content-neutral, and I think it's a good constitutional case.”

"That has broad implications," he said. "Under the First Amendment, citizens are not required to obtain government permission before exercising their right of free expression on their own property."

"This law's even worse, though, because it isn't a blanket law that applies to all signs," Francisco said, adding that even displays other than signs potentially could be targeted. "I guess, if you've got your car parked in your driveway and you have a statue of the Virgin Mary on your dashboard, they could go after that too."

Now I thought that you didn’t have to pay a 25$ fee for your rights. Of course, that is only for some things you say (It’s ok if it’s a political sign, but God help you if it’s religious.).

(ORIGINAL LINK) South Carolina Man Fights to Keep Religious Signs on His Property - FoxNews.com

No More Pregame Prayers at Pee Wee Football Games? The Fight In One Florida Town.

 

And the militant anti-religious folks continue their battle against those of faith…

Some excerpts (Italicized):

Football and prayer don't belong in the same backfield, says a Florida dad who wants his hometown to stop a Pee Wee football league from having kids perform voluntary pregame prayers.

Louie Fromm, an assistant coach for the Holmes County Pee Wee Football Association, formally requested on Monday that the Vernon, Fla., City Council end the league's traditional 50-yard-line pregame prayer ritual, alleging that his and his son's First Amendment rights are being violated.

League officials say they are a private organization that takes no government money, and the city has no right to prevent them from saying prayers on the field before games. But Fromm says the league may be private, but the field on which it plays its games isn't. It's public property, Fromm says, and the city must order the pregame prayers to stop

"We have been saying prayers for four years and [Fromm] started complaining last year," Gunter told Fox News. "He has a problem with prayer, but while I don't have a problem with his non-beliefs, he shouldn't have a problem with ours."

But Fromm, who could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, told WJHG-TV that his son has been the target of isolation and ridicule from other players because he does not participate in the prayer.

Do they have a chance? Does the fact that they receive no public funds give them the right? Should publically funded institutions be barred from expressing religious beliefs?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Pregame Prayers at Pee Wee Football Games Are Out of Bounds, Florida Dad Says - FoxNews.com

Puerto Rican Couple Charged With Raping Their Six Children.

 

Children…they look up to you, they need you, they love you… How could anyone (let alone parents) ever do this to these little ones?

Excerpts italicized:

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rico police have charged a couple with repeatedly raping their six children and forcing them to participate in drug-fueled orgies.

The man faces 90 charges including 30 counts of rape and another 30 for sodomy. His partner faces 26 charges including lascivious acts against a minor.

Police Officer Olga Gonzalez says the alleged abuse occurred daily from 2001 to 2004. The three girls were 3, 5 and 7 years old at the time. The boys were 9, 10 and 11.

Gonzalez says the children were also forced to be intimate with each other.

The accused woman is the children's mother, while man is their stepfather. It was unclear if the couple had an attorney

I hope the children are taken care of.

(ORIGINAL LINK) Puerto Rican Couple Charged With Raping Their Six Children - FoxNews.com

Birth Control Pills Shown to Alter Structure of Women's Brains, Increase Depression.

 

Because playing “God” with our bodies can lead to some very undesireable results.

Excerpts Italicized:

You aren't yourself anymore. It's a familiar complaint heard by women who have recently gone on birth control pills. Now studies are providing evidence for what many of those women, and the men who love them, have long known intuitively: the pill can alter the female brain, making a woman act like a different person.

The pill turned 50 this year, and it has gone through many iterations since the Food and Drug Administration gave the pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle a green light to market the first oral contraceptive on June 23, 1960. Drug companies continually roll out contraceptives containing lower doses of hormones and entailing fewer side effects. But women who have gone on hormones can point to the effects that have stubbornly endured: moodiness, depression, decreased libido. (This last one makes some birth control pills perversely effective. Not only do they protect you from pregnancy if you do have sex, they also zap your desire to have sex in the first place -- and turn you into an unstable mess, which may in turn zap your partner's interest in sex.) But believe it or not, we still know very little about the consequences of taking daily hormones on a woman's brain.

That is changing, say Craig H. Kinsley and Elizabeth A. Meyer in Scientific American. They point to a recent study in the journal Brain Research comparing the brains of women on birth control pills with brains of other women and men. When the study's authors examined high-resolution images of participants' brains, they found the women on hormones showed more matter in some areas of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with cognitive activities like decision-making.

The Brain Research study prompted breathless news reports suggesting that the pill makes you smarter. But Kinsley and Meyer point out that the brain works like a "neural beehive," and disturbing one part of the hive could impact the other. The fact that one brain region becomes larger than the next does not mean a woman on hormones is more intelligent or effective. It is also possible that her brain is going haywire. (Kinsley and Meyer actually use the word "catawampus.")

That may be why in some situations estrogen has been shown to impair performance in rats. Other studies have suggested that the pill may change a woman’s preferences to the point of affecting her taste in men.

They compare the pill to steroids, which are known to cause increased aggression in men. Could the stints of hyper-masculine behavior known as "'roid rage" have their equivalent in women? Hopefully future studies will shed light on what many couples know to be intuitively true.

Is sex more important than your health? More important than the woman you love? I would rather know that a woman is healthy and happy then worry about having more children. Besides, who doesn't like babies?

(ORIGINAL LINK)Birth Control Pills Shown to Alter Structure of Women's Brains | Popular Science