Smoky Mountains Sunrise

Monday, March 26, 2012

Obama Tells Medvedev He Will Sell America Out AFTER His Election


‘After My Election I Have More Flexibility’


By Jake Tapper

At the tail end of his 90 minute meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev Monday, President Obama said that he would have “more flexibility” to deal with controversial issues such as missile defense, but incoming Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to give him “space.”

The exchange was picked up by microphones as reporters were let into the room for remarks by the two leaders.

The exchange:

President Obama: On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space.

President Medvedev: Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…

President Obama: This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.

President Medvedev: I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.

When asked to explain what President Obama meant, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications Ben Rhodes told ABC News that there is room for the U.S. and Russia to reach an accommodation, but “there is a lot of rhetoric around this issue — there always is — in both countries.

A senior administration official tells ABC News: “this is a political year in which the Russians just had an election, we’re about to have a presidential and congressional elections — this is not the kind of year in which we’re going to resolve incredibly complicated issue like this. So there’s an advantage to pulling back and letting the technical experts work on this as the president has been saying.”

-Jake Tapper


Pope Benedict Enthusiastically Received in Mexico

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a mass in Silao March 25, 2012. REUTERS/Osservatore Romano

Pope Benedict XVI has said that he has “never been welcomed with such enthusiasm” on a foreign trip as he prepares to leave Mexico after a four-day visit to the country (full texts, videos).


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Santorum Easily Defeats Romney in Louisiana


(CBS News) Rick Santorum easily won the Republican presidential primary in Louisiana on Saturday, garnering close to twice as many votes as his next closest competitor. Santorum's victory is fresh evidence of the weakness of front-runner Mitt Romney, who is nonetheless increasingly likely to be the Republican who takes on President Obama in November.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator and social conservative, did well among evangelicals, Catholics and those who identify themselves as "very conservative," according to CBS News exit polls. The win marks the 11th victory for Santorum, who has done well in the Deep South, including victories earlier this month in Alabama and Mississippi.

With all 4,267 precincts reporting, Santorum had about 49 percent of the vote, or 91,305 votes, while second place Romney had 27 percent, or 49,749 votes. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was a distant third with 16 percent and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had just 6 percent of the counted vote.

Complete Louisiana GOP results
Louisiana primary results by county
Full Louisiana exit poll


Libera - "Be Still My Soul"



This beautiful, poignant video was made by our good friend at Piddingworth.  For some reason, so many of those we have loved and lost have departed this life in the month of March.  This video is a reminder that each loss was an experience of God's grace, a deeper appreciation of the communion of saints and recognition of how those around us have been reflections of His love.  Where the cross is, there also is the resurrection, and with God's grace, even painful loss brings hope of that meeting yet to come when "love's purest joys" will all be restored.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

‘The Thing That Frightens Our Opponents Most’ is ‘an Evangelical-Catholic Alliance’

From LifeSiteNews
By Ben Johnson

Politicians usually calculate every action to maximize their popularity among future voters, especially during an election year. But a prominent leader of the nation’s second largest denomination says President Barack Obama’s HHS mandate has the potential to unite Catholics and Protestants into a coalition that will turn him out of office in November.

Dr. Richard Land
Dr. Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said, “The thing that frightens our opponents the most is the specter of an evangelical-Catholic alliance – because they can count.” He told listeners of his radio program, Richard Land Live, “You take evangelicals, and you take Roman Catholics, and you are over 50 percent of the population of the country.”

Land said, while two-thirds of Baptists voted for “born again” candidate Jimmy Carter in 1976, the vote began to turn against Democrats in the 1980s. 

Meanwhile, evidence continues to mount that Catholic voters are turning against the president as the election nears.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Jim DeMint Sells Out

Jim Demint boards the Titanic
We just left a message for Senator Jim DeMint at his Washington Office (202-224-6121) expressing our bitter disappointment that he has joined establishment party figures in supporting Mitt Romney and urging Senator Santorum to get out of the race.  It is not the first time that DeMint has favored Governor Romney; he endorsed him in 2008.

The establishment chorus knows that Senator Santorum is likely to win the Louisiana Primary. Indeed, the establishment would not be rallying if they didn't believe their regional candidate is likely to crawl, weak and bleeding, to the finish line, if he can make it at all.  In every state, save perhaps his own, the majority of primary voters supported a candidate other than Governor Romney.  According to a study done by The Daily Beast, the former Massachusetts Governor has "the worst primary-season favorable-unfavorable split of any major-party nominee of the last 36 years [at least].”

His candidacy will be disastrous and GOP rank-and-file voters should hold John McCain, the Bush family, Lindsay Graham, Nikki Haley and yes, even Senator Jim DeMint responsible for the debacle that is about to unfold in the Republican Party.

The best thing that could happen would be for the convention to draft a candidate with broad, national support, who can truly unite the GOP against the worst, most unpopular president in American history -- not nominate an echo who at one time or another has espoused Obama's policies.

We grudgingly went along with the establishment's argument that we should hold our nose and vote for McCain, Bush, Dole, etc.  -- because the alternative was so much worse.  Let the record show that we will not do that again.  The lesser of two evils is still evil, and we would rather have bad policy associated with the Democrat brand than to compromise the Republican brand any further.

Here in South Carolina the only demographic supporting Governor Romney in the South Carolina Primary were those making more than $200,000 per year.  We hope that when the worst fears of concerned Republicans are realized on November 6, that elected leaders here - Governor Haley, Treasurer Loftis, Senators Graham and DeMint - and the high priests of the GOP Establishment throughout America who are foisting this very flawed and noxious candidate on us -- will stand up and take full responsibility. 

The Stations of the Cross


We are pleased to provide this journey through the Stations of the Cross each Friday evening during Lent.

The Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross; in Latin, Via Crucis; also called the Via Dolorosa or Way of Sorrows, or simply, The Way) refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St. Francis of Assisi and extended throughout the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period. It is less often observed in the Anglican and Lutheran churches. It may be done at any time, but is most commonly done during the Season of Lent, especially on Good Friday and on Friday evenings during Lent.

The Stations of the Cross originated in pilgrimages to Jerusalem. A desire to reproduce the holy places in other lands seems to have manifested itself at quite an early date.