Thomas More College Reviving Gregorian Chant Through Choir, Summer Workshop

Over the past several decades, the use of sacred music in Mass has greatly diminished. Choirs have been dismissed, and polyphonic music has been abandoned.  Most Catholics today have had no exposure to Gregorian Chant—the type of music that the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says “holds pride of place because it is proper to the Roman liturgy.”

Pope Benedict XVI has been marked by new efforts to promote excellence in sacred music. In 2006, for example, the Holy Father said that, “An authentic updating of sacred music can take place only in the lineage of the great tradition of the past, of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony.”

To answer the Church’s call for a renewal of sacred music, the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts announced today that it has launched several programs aimed at restoring an appreciation for the history and beauty of sacred music, as well as its role in leading to greater devotion and reverence to Christ during Mass. 

From Our Mail: Old Tricks

The reauthorization of the unconstitutional Patriot Act was rejected days ago by the House of Representatives.  Now there is an attempt to change the rules allowing a simple majority to reauthorize the law and hollow out the Bill of Rights and American freedoms.  We have let Representative Gowdy know that any Republican who acquiesces to this agenda can be replaced as decisively as was his predecessor, Bob Inglis.

Please call your Congressman at (202) 225- 3121 and let him or her know that you will not tolerate elected representatives who do not respect the Constitution of the United States.

Benjamin Franklin rebuked the thinking of Big Sis and other modern totalitarians when he wrote:

 They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

From: National Association for Gun Rights

Re:  Reauthorization of the Patriot Act

They’re up to their old tricks again. Despite the message that conservatives sent to both parties in November, they’re back to business as usual in Washington D.C.

Another vote on the mis-named Patriot Act could come as early as tomorrow.

House Leadership held an emergency meeting of the powerful Rules Committee to pass a special rule concerning the Patriot Act. 

The rule would allow the mis-named Patriot Act to be brought up on again as early as tomorrow, without any amendment, limit debate to only one hour and require only a simple majority to pass. 

This comes on the same day the Homeland Security Czar Janet Napolitano said that the threat of terrorism is at "its most heightened state" since the 9/11 attacks due to increased concerns over “domestic” terrorists. 

That means she thinks “extremists” like you and me are as great a threat to America as our sworn enemies.

Your decisive action helped block the reauthorization of the Patriot Act on Tuesday. I need you to answer the call to action again. 

Please call Rep. Trey Gowdy at (202) 225-6030 and demand that they oppose this blatant attempt to ram the Patriot Act through Congress. 

Reauthorization of the mis-named Patriot Act gives government jackboots more and more tools in their war on gun owners and gun rights activists, who Obamacrats smear as “Radical Extremists” and even “Domestic Terrorists.”

Some of the very worst provisions of the Patriot Act include:

• Roving, warrantless wiretaps of virtually EVERY form of electronic communication used by U.S. citizens.

• Secret federal searches without warrants OR knowledge of the resident.

• Blanket warrants for the search and seizure of all library records, without naming individual suspects or providing probable cause.

• Judicial warrants replaced with “National Security Letters” signed by unaccountable Obama Administration bureaucrats and gag orders for those served with these letters which make it illegal to tell anyone about it -- including your spouse and your priest!

• Drastic expansion of the definition of “domestic terrorism,” which is sure to include gun owners.

• Expands asset seizure to permit the taking of assets from anyone “suspected” of terrorism, even if that person is NEVER charged or sent to trial.

• Lone wolf provisions which allow the government to spy on ANYONE even if they’re not associated with a terrorist organization or foreign national, without due process or notification.

That's why you and I need to take action right now! 

Please call Rep. Trey Gowdy at (202) 225-6030 and tell them to vote AGAINST reauthorization of the "Patriot" Act.

Your decisive action is imperative.

For liberty,

Dudley Brown
Executive Director
National Association for Gun Rights

P.S. A vote is scheduled for TODAY on H.R. 514:

"To extend expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 and Intelligence Reform of Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004."

Please call Rep. Trey Gowdy at (202) 225-6030 and tell them to vote AGAINST reauthorizing the Patriot Act.

11th State Eyeing Proof of Obama's Eligibility: Kenyans Need Not Apply

 Lawmaker files new bill to require presidential candidates be qualified

And then there were 11. 

The push at the state level to ensure no future president enters office under the cloud of suspicion that he or she might not be constitutionally eligible is growing.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Rise of the ‘Teavangelicals’

Will the Tea Party bring new life to the religious right?

From OneNewsNow

By Ed Vitagliano

Since the rise and triumph of Ronald Reagan, Christian conservatives have had a hot-and-cold love affair with politics in America. But with Barack Obama’s rise to the White House – along with two straight winning elections for Democrats in Congress in 2006 and 2008 – some predicted the collapse of the religious right.

   

Of course, that forecast was made simultaneously with grim prophecies concerning conservatism in general and the GOP in particular.  When the historic 2010 midterm elections were over, however, the Republican Party had made sweeping gains in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures, and solid gains in the U.S. Senate. (See AFA Journal, 1/11.)

How did doom-and-gloom turn into a GOP rout?  Enter the Tea Party movement, which appears to be the latest incarnation of a still-vibrant political conservative movement and, in the words of one analyst, a clear “game-changer.”

What is the nature of this movement, and are social conservatives a part of it?

Schumer and Graham: Partners in Amnesty

Senator Lindsey Graham "reaching across the aisle" to Senator Charles Schumer

With reports that the worst Republican Senator is teaming up with New York Senator Charles Schumer on a new amnesty bill for illegal immigrants, we have only one question about Lindsey Graham: "who is blackmailing him?"  As the following story indicates, Grahamnesty has destroyed himself in the eyes of South Carolina Republican primary voters.

South Carolina should amend its constitution to allow for recall of the scoundrel canceling out Senator Jim DeMint's votes; fortunately there are many distinguished prospects for his seat in 2014 -- Henry McMaster, Joe Wilson, Bill Connor, among others.  We will enthusiastically support the Republican who has the best chance of defeating him.

PPP Poll: Lindsey Graham Trails Joe Wilson In Possible 2014 Senate Primary

From TPM

By Eric Kleefeld

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has both bad-mouthed and praised the Tea Party movement in the past, isn't up for re-election until 2014. But when that comes, a new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) finds that Graham could be quite vulnerable in his Republican primary -- against Congressman Joe "You Lie" Wilson!

The poll finds that only 42% of the state's Republican primary voters approve of Graham's performance, with 40% disapproving. And in a hypothetical primary against Wilson, who famously shouted out "You lie!" during a speech on health care by President Obama to Congress, it doesn't look good for Graham: Wilson gets 43% of the votes, and Graham gets 41%. The margin of error ±4.1%.

"Lindsey Graham should thank God his next race is not until 2014," writes PPP president Dean Debnam. "He'd be in good shape in November, but at this rate, he'd be lucky to survive that far."

On the other hand, Graham does lead former Gov. Mark Sanford by a margin of 52%-34%. Unfortunately for Sanford, while he might have a lot of experience campaigning in Buenos Aires and on the Appalachian Trail, those voters likely aren't eligible to participate in South Carolina elections.

Mandatory Arabic Classes Coming To Texas School District

From CBS-DFW

A student writes during a school lesson on September 4, 2003. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Some Students at Mansfield ISD schools could soon be learning Arabic as a required language. The school district wants students at select schools to take Arabic language and culture classes as part of a federally funded grant.

The Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant was awarded to Mansfield ISD last summer by the U.S. Department of Education.

As part of the five-year $1.3 million grant, Arabic classes would be mandatory at Cross Timbers Intermediate School and Kenneth Davis Elementary School. The program would also be optional for students at T. A. Howard Middle School and Summit High School.

Parents at Cross Timbers say they were caught off-guard by the program, and were surprised the district only told them about it in a meeting Monday night between parents and Mansfield ISD Superintendent Bob Morrison.

The DOE has identified Arabic as a ‘language of the future.’ But parent Joseph Balson was frustrated by the past. “Why are we just now finding out about it?” asked Balson. “It’s them (Mansfield ISD) applying for the grant, getting it approved and them now saying they’ll go back and change it only when they were caught trying to implement this plan without parents knowing about it.”

Trisha Savage thinks it will offer a well-rounded education. “I think its a great opportunity that will open doors. We need to think globally and act locally.”

Mansfield ISD says in addition to language, the grant provides culture, government, art, traditions and history as part of the curriculum.

Some parents had concerns over religion. “The school doesn’t teach Christianity, so I don’t want them teaching Islam,” said parent Baron Kane. During Monday’s meeting Morrison stressed the curriculum would not be about religion, but about Arabic language and culture, similar to the Spanish curriculum already in place in the district.

Kheirieh Hannun was born in the Middle East but raised in the U.S. She believes giving students the option to learn Arabic will give her son and others like him the option to learn more about their culture. “It was surprising, but I think it’s okay, and it will help come down on the stereotype.” Hannun says she is hopeful the class could broaden the minds of not only students, but also parents.

The FLAP grant was awarded to only five school districts across the country, including Mansfield.

Who Will Defend Mideast Christians?

From USA Today

By Joseph Bottum

Perhaps the situation in Egypt will resolve itself peacefully. Or perhaps we'll see a long stretch of public unrest before the nation finally stumbles its way into a new form of stable government. But there's one easy prediction to make: Whatever happens, Egypt's Coptic Christians are going to be hurt, unless the United States makes a major diplomatic effort to help them.

About 10% of the Egyptian population (and declining, down more than half over the past century), these people have suffered discrimination under 30 years of rule by the now-embattled president, Hosni Mubarak. And they've seen that discrimination ratcheted up into open persecution during the current unrest, which began with a car bomb in Alexandria killing 21 at a Coptic church on Jan. 1 and continued through the massacre of 11 Christians in the village of Sharona on Jan. 30.

So why should they expect improvement from a new government? Particularly one in which the radical Muslim Brotherhood is certain to play a major role? The Copts are under the screw, and somehow, every time modern Egyptian history makes a turn, it ends up biting down harder on the nation's religious minorities.