Amplify’d from www.philly.com

Scandal should delay sainthood

Pope John Paul II

By Chris Freind

If Pope John Paul II's beatification - part of the path to sainthood - takes place as scheduled on May 1, it will have been the fastest in history. Pope Benedict XVI waived the requirement of a five-year waiting period.

What planet are these folks living on? One way or another, John Paul is complicit in the church's sexual-abuse scandals; he's either responsible or irresponsible for what occurred.

Given his vast intelligence and the worldwide publicity surrounding the plague of pedophilia, if the former pope had no idea what was transpiring, then he was irresponsibly asleep at the switch.

But no matter how insulated he may have been, it is simply not believable to think he had no knowledge of those crimes or the inadequate church response. Which leads to the more likely scenario.

Just as he receives accolades for the good things during the 26 years of his papacy - and there were many - John Paul must also be held at least partly responsible for the illicit activities. He may well have had direct knowledge that the transgressions were occurring, and, rather than aggressively addressing the issue, chose to bury his head in the sand. If that was the case, it makes the sin mortal.

Even worse than the abuse itself, was the enabling of predator priests and the subsequent cover-ups by some in the church hierarchy. Not only was appropriate action not taken most of the time, but often victims and their families were discouraged from taking next steps, with some being threatened with excommunication. Even high-ranking church officials were not immune; many were told that if they cooperated with investigative authorities, there would be severe repercussions.

In fact, a letter from 1997 was uncovered last month from the Vatican to Irish bishops demanding that no pedophile cases be turned over to police - blowing away Vatican claims to the contrary. That letter was signed by the late Archbishop Luciano Storero, Pope John Paul II's apostolic nuncio to Ireland.

Given all that we now know transpired regarding sexual abuse on John Paul's watch, sainthood is out of the question. For the church to pursue it just shows how out of touch it has become.

Many believe that the cover-ups took place because the Good Old Boy network was taking care of its own.

But just as possible is that church leaders were deceitful because they feared the worst for their institution if the facts came to light. If that's the case, where was the faith of those leaders? Faith that the church, which can be traced directly back to Jesus Christ and a fisherman named Peter, could weather the storm, faith that it could stand firm in the face of adversity, and faith that the solution is to always do the right thing and tell the truth.

As a human, a parent, and yes, a faithful Catholic, I find it tragic that these leaders didn't practice the faith they preach.

Chris Freind is an independent journalist and commentator. He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com. Read more at www.philly.com

 

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Philly Radio Station 'Vatican Assassins'

Sheen calls Philly radio station, calls them 'Vatican assassins' for flying banner over home

Amplify’d from abcnews.go.com

Sheen: Philly Radio Station 'Vatican Assassins'

Sheen calls Philly radio station, calls them 'Vatican assassins' for flying banner over home

The Associated Press

AP

FILE - In a Aug. 2, 2010 file photo, Charlie Sheen waves as he arrives at the Pitkin County...

Charlie Sheen brought his winning ways to Philadelphia's airwaves after a radio station flew a banner over his Beverly Hills home with an invitation to call them.

Sheen called into Wired 96.5 on Thursday evening, comparing the station to "Vatican assassins" hours after the station flew a heart-emblazoned banner over his home.

Sheen has given a constant stream of interviews and media appearances in the last several weeks mixed in with a halt in the production of his show, "Two and a Half Men" and custody battle with his estranged wife that saw the couple's twin toddlers removed from his home Tuesday night.

During an encore appearance Friday morning, he told host Chio he feels positive about his job situation, saying "it feels like the hot springs of Middle Earth is finally ready to explode outward." Read more at abcnews.go.com

 

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Unemployment rate may be 22.1 percent

Amplify’d from www.wnd.com

Yikes! You won't believe the real jobless numbers

Federal docs contradict 8.9% hyped by media

OBAMA WATCH CENTRAL

By Jerome R. Corsi © 2011 WorldNetDaily

The real U.S. unemployment rate may be 22.1 percent for February, not the 8.9 percent reported by the government, according to economist John Williams, author of the "Shadow Government Statistics" website, who has argued for years that the federal government manipulates the reporting of economic data for political purposes.

The government announced today the unemployment rate was reported to have fallen 0.1 percent to 8.9 percent in February, although that is the "seasonally adjusted number."

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics Table A15, the "not seasonally adjusted" unemployment number for February was 9.5 percent.

Find solutions for yourself, in "Killing Wealth Freeing Wealth: How to Save America s Economy & Your Own."

Separately, Gallup disagreed with the BLS, reporting earlier this week that unemployment had risen to 10 percent in mid-February, as seen in the following chart:

But Williams recreates an SGS (Shadow Government Statistics) alternative unemployment rate reflecting methodology that includes "long-term discouraged workers" that the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1994 under the Clinton administration redefined away from those considered "unemployed."

The BLS no longer considers as "unemployed" those workers without jobs who had not looked for work in the past year because they felt no jobs were available.

Williams demonstrated that it takes an expert to truly decipher BLS unemployment statistics.

For instance, in a Table A-15, titled "Alternative measures of labor underutilization," the BLS reports what is known as "U6 unemployment."

U6 unemployment includes those marginally attached to the labor force and the "underemployed," such as those who have accepted part-time jobs when they are really looking for full-time employment.

While the BLS was reporting unemployment in February 2011 was only 8.9 percent, the BLS also was reporting U6 unemployment in February 2011 at 16.7 percent.

The only measure BLS reports to the public as the official monthly unemployment rate is the seasonally adjusted U3 number.

Williams calculates his "Official SGS Alternative Unemployment Rate" by adding back in the BLS U6 numbers that include those long-term discouraged workers who have not looked for work in the past year.

Williams insists his Official SGS Alternative Unemployment measure is the most accurate estimate of true unemployment in that a reliable measure of long-term discouraged workers should be included in the statistical analysis.

A more complete unemployment table that includes both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted unemployment percentages for U3 unemployment, as well as the same for U6 unemployment, followed by the John Williams Official SGS Alternative Unemployment rate:

Increasingly, critics like Williams feel the seasonally adjusted U3 numbers reported by the BLS as the official monthly unemployment rate do not give a reliable picture of the true magnitude of unemployment in the United States.

The monthly unemployment rate report turned out by the BLS defines unemployment as those currently without a job who have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work.

This definition excludes from the definition of unemployed those who have grown so discouraged that they are only marginally looking for work, as well as those who are considered underemployed because they have been forced to accept part-time or lower paying full-time employment because no other jobs are available.

To get an estimate of these other categories of unemployed, we have to turn not to the BLS monthly unemployment rate press releases, but to a less well-known table produced by the BLS, Table A-15, "Alternative measures of labor utilization."

The relevant A-15 BLS table for February 2011:

This reveals unemployment for February 2011 not at 8.9 percent, but as 9.5 percent, comparing the seasonally adjusted U3, the unemployment percentage the BLS reports to the public, with the not seasonally adjusted U3, the unemployment percentage the BLS reports only in detailed tables such as this one.

Looking at the not seasonally adjusted U6 data, the unemployment rate jumps to 16.7 percent for February 2011, not the 8.9 percent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate reported in the monthly BLS unemployment rate press release.

Economist Jim Fitzgibbon, the head of the Highlander Fund, calls the BLS monthly unemployment rate report "worthless," noting "the entire report is seasonally adjusted to be positive, while the non-adjusted data is just awful."

So, where the seasonally adjusted U3 unemployment rate dropped from 9.4 percent in December 2010 to 8.9 in February 2011, the non-adjusted U3 unemployment rate is moving in the opposite direction, from 9.1 percent in December 2010 to 9.5 percent in February 2011. Read more at www.wnd.com

 

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Homosexuals Forced On School Children

Homosexual Role Models Forced On School Children

Amplify’d from paracom.paramountcommunication.com

Homosexual Role Models Forced On School Children

As you know, the Homosexual Lobby is moving fast and furious to carry out its anti-family agenda. California is now pushing SB 48, innocently called the “Fair, Accountable, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act” or FAIR Act. But there is nothing fair, accountable, inclusive or respectful about it! If passed, SB 48 would force school boards, teachers, and textbooks to teach all public school children in grades K-12, to regard Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Americans as positive role models. Sponsored by a homosexual activist, California State Senator Mark Leno, SB 48 comes on the heels of six other school homosexual indoctrination laws already on the books. And teachers would not be allowed to simply remain silent on LGBT role models, nor would parents have the right to exempt their children from the objectionable curriculum. Sadly, the radical Homosexual Agenda includes enticing boys and girls -- even as young as Kindergarten to embrace the homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual lifestyles as normal and healthy. You see, the Homosexual Lobby wants to use the schools to further dull the moral compass of younger generations who will dutifully dismantle our religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, free enterprise, property rights, the Boy Scouts, and everything else you and I hold dear. All in the name of fairness, of course. Well, I know that you’ve had enough of immorality disguised as fairness. These homosexual indoctrination laws are nothing less than an in-your-face violation of our children’s innocence. They are an attack on our children’s natural God-given sense of what is good and wholesome. Sadly, public schools are no longer a safe place for boys and girls. That’s why I need your help to stay in the fight. There is so much more that needs to be done. As you can see, the fight for the family is unrelenting. So, thank you for standing with me. I know you believe, as I do, that our families are worth it. For the Family, President Public Advocate of the United States Read more at paracom.paramountcommunication.com

 

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U.S. teachers to U.N. sex a 'spectrum'

U.S. teachers tell U.N. sex is a 'spectrum'

Advocate mandatory classes to free students from 'religion'

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U.S. teachers tell U.N. sex is a 'spectrum'

Advocate mandatory classes to free students from 'religion'

By Bob Unruh © 2011 WorldNetDaily

An advocate for explicit sex education who is attached to the National Education Association has told a hearing at the United Nations that mandatory classes need to teach orgasm, oral sex and masturbation to students in order to free them from the "binary" definition provided by "religion."

The comments by Diane Schneider were reported by Lauren Funk of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute.

They came at a recent meeting of the U.N.'s Commission on the Status of Women, where Schneider said "oral sex, masturbation, and orgasms need to be taught in education."

And mandatory comprehensive sex education is "the only way to combat heterosexism and gender conformity," she told the panel meeting to discuss how to combat homophobia and transphobia.

Read "The Harsh Truth About Public Schools"

"We must make these issues a part of every middle and high school student's agenda," C-FAM reported her saying, because those who oppose the promotion of homosexuality are "stuck in a binary box that religion and family create."

At Atlas Shrugs there was a call for action in response to the advocacy for explicit sex education.

"Looks like a class action suit would have to be filed immediately on behalf of all parents for child abuse, sexual molestation, trauma and sexual abuse against the federal government, the teachers union, the city and any other sick pervert who had a hand in this. The decaying left, a pox on America's soul," reported the blog.

"The NEA, the teachers unions, the public school curriculum, all irretrievably broken."

C-FAM reported a Belgian panelist at the same event spoke of the need for government requirements when teaching about "anti-discrimination."

The "positive, pro-LGBT policies in Belgian schools are a direct consequence of liberal and open-minded legislation in Belgium," he said.

"Two things to note here," said the Atlas Shrugs commentary by Pamela Geller. "One, the NEA thinks sex education in America needs to be 'more 'inclusive,'' because kids just aren't being indoctrinated enough, and two, choice is for abortion. These kids need to be forced to sit in this class.

"This is stuff the NEA thinks students in grades 6-9 need to be forced to attend. Apparently, learning about oral sex will help them be less homophobic, or something," the commentary said.

Although the NEA website didn't include documentation of Schneider's work, confirmation of her NEA role was documented in several places, including a program for the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network's event in Hudson Valley, New York, where she was listed as offering a workshop under the National Training Program on Safety, Bias, and GLBT Issues, "a program of the National Education Association." Read more at www.wnd.com

 

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Wisconsin union contract conspiracy

Wisconsin Democrat’s union contract conspiracy revealed

Amplify’d from www.westernjournalism.com

Wisconsin Democrat’s union contract conspiracy revealed

Knowing that Governor Walker’s budget repair bill was a virtual lock to be passed by the legislature and signed into law, an ugly conspiracy to push new union contracts in Madison was set in motion by the mayor and a senate ally.  WITI-TV reports that Mayor Dave Ciesliewicz was pulling out all the stops in a frantic attempt to beat the clock and deliver one last trip to the public trough for his union benefactors. E-mails obtained by the FOX6 Investigators show that the mayor enlisted the help of State Senator Mark Miller.  They both tried to convince the Secretary of State to hold up the bill by taking the maximum 10 days allowed by law before publishing the bill. They were trying to buy some time so they could ratify new contracts to protect workers from benefit cuts.  Citizens for Responsible Government Rep. Chris Kliesmet says, “This suggests, and this is a harsh word, collusion.  There is collusion between some politicians and public sector employee unions.

Although Mayor Ciesliewicz admits that the new union contracts were rushed, he claims that the city did negotiate in good faith.  The Democrat mayor said “We ARE on the same side.  That’s the way collective bargaining works.  It ought to be a negotiation, but at the end of the day we want to have good working relationships between labor and management here in Madison.”  There can be no doubt that there is an excellent relationship between Madison’s union workers and management, since their goal of fleecing the taxpayers to serve their own interests is the tie that binds. According to the E-mails, Secretary of State Doug LaFollette declined to delay publication of the law, but it all became a moot point when Senate Democrats fled the state to block the bill. Chris Kleismet from CRG said it appears the 14 Senators orchestrated their trip to Illinois to buy time for unions all over the state to work out new deals.

Read More at American Thinker

Budget Battle: Democrats Flee Wisconsin Union Threatens to Walk Out On NBC Tree Lighting NYT Union Hypocrisy Out of Wisconsin, a lesson in leadership for Obama Chaos Summer: Why Wisconsin is Only the Beginning Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

 

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Muslim Lobby Force Firing Radio Host?

Did Muslim Lobby Force Firing of Popular Radio Host?

Amplify’d from www.westernjournalism.com

Did Muslim Lobby Force Firing of Popular Radio Host?

Washington, D.C. radio station WMAL is once again being accused of firing a popular talk show host because of his criticism of radical Muslims. The station, a major source of news and information for the nation’s capital, claims that popular morning host Fred Grandy resigned on his own, but Grandy tells AIM that he was essentially forced to leave after his wife, who is also outspoken about radical Islam, was cut from the program.

The growing controversy over Grandy’s departure has resulted in some Grandy supporters charging the station with being “Sharia-compliant,” a reference to Islamic law, and with bending under pressure from the Council on American Islamic-Relations (CAIR), a Muslim lobbying organization that combats what it calls “Islamophobia” in the media.

Grandy, a former actor and Republican member of Congress, told AIM, “My wife and I have used our program over the last several months to warn about the spread of radical Islam at home and abroad. Last week, Catherine (known on the show as Mrs. Fred) delivered a very tough indictment against stealth jihad, and for her efforts she was told she was off the show. I then told management without Mrs. Fred at the microphone, I could not remain either and have resigned effective this morning.”

A WMAL statement, which makes no mention of terminating “Mrs. Fred,” was released on Thursday and claimed that “Fred Grandy has informed WMAL of his intention to resign from the station and its morning program, The Grandy Group. Veteran broadcast talent Bryan Nehman will continue to anchor the morning program and in the interim will be joined by several notable guest hosts and regular contributors. The station’s morning show will also continue to provide the latest news, traffic and weather reports to its audience. WMAL remains committed to its goal of providing a forum for discussing a broad spectrum of issues while delivering compelling programming including Chris Plante, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Mark Levin.”

The statement on the Grandy matter was read on the air by another WMAL host, Chris Plante, who said that his broadcast opposition to radical Islam has not been curtailed in any way.

Read More at Canada Free Press

Steny Hoyer: Radio host comments ‘dangerous’ NBC News Host ‘Frustrated’ Times Square Bomber Is Muslim Rush tops Stern as the “most important radio talk show host of all time” Islamic warning to ‘South Park’ still ‘remains’ Talk Show Host: Obama Could be Impeached over Egypt Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

 

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Natalie Portman’s Sinful Pregnancy

Amplify’d from gawker.com

Mike Huckabee Trashes Natalie Portman’s Sinful Pregnancy

Adrian Chen — Crazy not-birther Mike Huckabee thinks Natalie Portman is corrupting America by having been "visibly pregnant" at the Oscars without being married. On Michael Medvedev's radio show, Medvedev talked about how "sending that kind of message is problematic." Huckabee agreed:

There aren't really a lot of single moms out there who are making millions of dollars every year for being in a movie," he said. "And I think it gives a distorted image. ... Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. And that's the story that we're not seeing, and it's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out-of-wedlock children.

Yeah, why isn't Natalie Portman sleeping in a gutter somewhere, turning her big doe eyes up pitifully at every passing stranger, begging for government handouts and then giving birth to a sick baby, to be realistic? Doesn't she know what kind of message it sends to the youth of America, her not being super poor and miserable at the Oscars? What the kids don't realize is that if Portman hadn't become sinfully pregnant out of wedlock, God would have spared America from No Strings Attached.

Next time she wins an award, Portman should be wheeled out in a Modesty Box with eye-holes cut in it. To protect the children. [Media Matters] Read more at gawker.com

 

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Wave of Cyber Attacks

What’s Up With Today’s Wave of Cyber Attacks?

Amplify’d from gawker.com

What’s Up With Today’s Wave of Cyber Attacks?

Adrian Chen — The world is going cyber crazy! The CIA's website is currently down, cutting off CIA personnel from their email. One of the Internet's largest blogging platforms ground to a halt after a massive cyberattack this morning, and South Korean government websites are currently buckling under their own attacks. Is it the Cyberocalypse?

In the case of the CIA—probably our most immediate concern—no one knows why their site is down. A spokesman confirmed to NBC that "the CIA's website was down during the afternoon prohibiting employees from using the unclassified website and their unclassified email." (It still is inaccessible, as of this writing.) It's unclear if it was hacked. Hopefully the CIA didn't forget to renew their domain registration. That would be embarrassing.

The popular blogging platform WordPress.com was definitely attacked with a massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, and it was sporadically down for the good part of Thursday morning. This is why you weren't able to access your favorite local organic cooking blog. Wordpress founder Matt Mullenweg said in a statement that it was the largest attack in WordPress' six year history. And he added ominously: "We suspect it may have been politically motivated against one of our non-English blogs." [Cue James Bond Music.]

And South Korea is totally getting nailed by DDoS attacks of its own, right now. "Today's targets included the presidential office, National Intelligence Service, foreign ministry, defense ministry, national assembly and the U.S. military in Seoul," reports the AP. South Korea has issued its third-highest cyberattack alert.

Whenever anything weird happens on the Internet these days, fingers point immediately at the shadowy hacking collective Anonymous, responsible for this winter's pro-Wikileaks attacks. But it's unlikely they're involved in any of these. For one, they would have already claimed responsibility via a thousand press releases and weird YouTube videos about liberating all mankind. For two: As fearsome as their reputation is, Anonymous lacks the firepower to take down a target as hardened as the CIA, or all of Wordpress.

So, all of this Internet strangeness could be unrelated incidents, or North Korea, or some new, super powerful anti-American cyberterrorist organization laying the groundwork for Total Internet Domination. Sleep tight! Read more at gawker.com

 

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Amplify’d from www.movieguide.org

FILTH & DEPRAVITY DON’T SELL!

Written by Jeff Holder

Moviegoers Prefer Clean Movies Without Explicit Sex, Nudity, Foul Language, and Drug Abuse, Annual Report Shows Again

Hollywood, Calif. – By now, everybody has heard the saying, “Sex sells.” Well, that has never really been true, and it wasn’t true in 2010, especially if you look at what kind of movies the average moviegoer prefers.

For the 19th year in a row, the Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry by Movieguide®: The Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment shows clearly that moviegoers prefer movies with no explicit sex, nudity, foul language, and drug abuse.

“This was especially clear in 2010,” said Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of Movieguide®. “Movies with no foul language, sex, nudity, or drug abuse averaged the most money at the theatrical box office in America and Canada, much more than movies with a lot of such offensive content.”

Movieguide® also measured miscellaneous amounts of immorality, such as lying, stealing, blackmail, extortion, greed, envy, jealousy. Movies with no miscellaneous immorality made more than four times more money than movies with extensive or extreme amounts of miscellaneous immorality.

“We have found similar results in practically all of our previous studies,” Dr. Baehr noted.

Dr. Baehr released highlights of the 2011 Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry Friday night at the 19th Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala at the Universal Hilton Hotel, attended by top industry leaders, especially those who have made the cleanest, most inspiring movies and television programs of the year.

Movieguide® has been analyzing the content of movies and comparing box office numbers since 1991. The annual studies since 1996 have been particularly comprehensive. Generally, the top movies making $750,000 or more at the box office in Canada and the U.S. are analyzed.

* Amount of Foul Language in 2010 Movies:

Movies with No Foul Language Do Best!

Content Avg. B.O. 2010 No obscenities/profanities $50.44 million 1-9 obscenities/profanities $46.79 million 10-25 obscenities/profanities $42.27 million More than 25 $23.42 million   * Amount of Sexual Content in 2010 Movies   Movies with No Sex Earn the Most!   Content Avg. B.O. 2010 No sexual content (No S) $55.44 million Light/implied sex (S) $35.72 million Some depicted/strong sex (SS) $19.53 million Extreme sexual content (SSS) $15.92 million   * Amount and Kind of Nudity in 2010 Movies   Movies with No Nudity Do Best!   Content Avg. B.O. 2010 No nudity $45.00 million Some sexual nudity $16.83 million Extensive sexual nudity $22.95 million   ** Analysis of Substance Abuse Alcohol Abuse in 2010 Movies Alcohol Avg. B.O. 2010 No alcohol $43.84 million Some alcohol use $38.45 million Some drunkenness $30.45 million Extreme abuse $10.16 million   Drug References in 2010 Movies Content Avg. B.O. 2010 No drug references $48.39 million Some drug references $40.13 million Very strong drug references $15.90 million   ** Miscellaneous Immorality (No M, M, MM, MMM) in 2010 Movies   Content Avg. B.O. 2010 No M $77.56 million M $44.44 million MM $29.19 million MMM $9.96 million   Dr. Baehr is chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission® (CFTVC) ministry and publisher of its family guide to movies, Movieguide® (www.movieguide.com). CFTVC and Movieguide® are an international non-profit ministry dedicated to “redeeming the values of the entertainment industry by influencing industry executives and by informing and equipping the public about the influence of the entertainment media.” For more information, visit www.movieguide.com or call 1-888-899-6684. Read more at www.movieguide.org

 

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