CERN: Sun Causes Climate Change
The science is now all-but-settled on global warming, convincing new evidence demonstrates, but Al Gore, the IPCC and other global warming doomsayers won’t be celebrating. The new findings point to cosmic rays and the sun — not human activities — as the dominant controller of climate on Earth. The research, published with little fanfare this week in the prestigious journal Nature, comes from über-prestigious CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, one of the world’s largest centres for scientific research involving 60 countries and 8,000 scientists at more than 600 universities and national laboratories.

The Unemployment Empty Promise
But according to a report by Heritage’s James Sherk and Karen A. Campbell, unemployment insurance actually leads to longer periods of unemployment and does not provide the promised stimulative effect. In their paper, they address a 2004 study which concluded that each dollar in additional unemployment insurance increased gross domestic product by $1.73. But, they say, that just isn’t so. Research shows that unemployment spending does not result in workers consuming more, and workers with extended unemployment insurance benefits remain unemployed longer. “A 13-week extension of unemployment benefits results in the average worker remaining unemployed for an additional two weeks,” they report.

Screw Up, Move Up, Cover Up: The Fast and Furious Edition
On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced it was shuffling Kenneth Melson, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, out of his job. The disclosure comes amid continued GOP investigations into the administration's fatally botched straw gun purchase racket at the border and spreading outrage over legal obstructionism and whistleblower retaliation by DOJ brass. The DOJ inspector general is also conducting a probe.

Labor Secretary: U.S. to ‘protect’ illegal workers
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis defended her agreements with Mexico and other countries to apply U.S. labor protections to illegal immigrants. “I protect all workers here in this country,” she told The Daily Caller at a breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor. “I have a vested interest in protecting all workers that work here in the U.S. Period.” Critics of illegal immigration say Solis’ deals and statements show that she doesn’t value American workers more than foreign workers, and that she’s undercutting U.S. workers’ marketplace clout. “These comments are extraordinarily irresponsible and historically unprecedented,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. “This is a classic example of why this administration is so out of touch with Americans,” he said.

How Should Washington Control Medicare Spending?
With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), Congress enacted record-breaking provider payment cuts as well as hard caps on the growth of Medicare spending for the first time in Medicare’s history. (Medicare spending has historically outpaced the measure of general inflation, medical inflation, and economic growth.) These new policies, if sustained over the next 10 years, can have far-reaching consequences for doctors, patients, and American taxpayers. Will these measures be effective? How will they impact physician participation and patient access to care? Is there any way that Medicare patients can avoid higher premiums, higher costs, or access problems? Will alternative Medicare payment options, such as premium support models, have a better chance of controlling costs and improving patient access to high-quality care?

House GOP targets the U.N.
House Republicans are planning to introduce legislation Tuesday that will force major changes at the United Nations, an organization that the bill’s author has called a “stew of corruption, mismanagement and negligence.” The bill, by Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, would require the UN adopt a voluntary budget model, in which countries selectively choose which UN agencies to fund.

HHS Official Likens Obamacare to Civil Rights Act
A top advisor to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently compared opposition to the administration’s new health care law to opposition to the 1960s civil rights movement.

Underpublicized threat deep in White House
Infiltration of the federal government by members of the radical Muslim Brotherhood is worse than some have warned recently, says a former FBI special agent in Washington. The agent confirmed that at least three operatives of the Egypt-based Brotherhood – whose credo is "Jihad is our way and death in the cause of Allah is our dream" – have penetrated the Obama administration. "Today in the White House, there are three members of the Muslim Brotherhood that influence Obama's policy,"

Forbes: Bernanke and Obama Must Go
Former presidential candidate and Forbes magazine editor Steve Forbes tells Newsmax that President Obama’s planned economic reforms are “the definition of insanity” — repeating failed policies in the hopes that somehow they will become successful. In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Forbes also declares that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke should have resigned a long time ago, says Obama will be a one-term president, and looks for significant and positive reforms in Washington after the 2012 elections. He also predicts the United States will make an “astonishing” move and return to a gold standard in the next five years, and says he’s “very impressed” with Gov. Rick Perry and is leaning toward supporting him for the GOP presidential nomination.

Gore Becoming Super Wealthy Off Climate Scam
No one has made more money from climate change hype than Gore. According to the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper, just one of the "green" companies in which Gore has invested has received over half a billion dollars in subsidies from the Energy Department.

Perry pledges a pro-life VP pick
Surging Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, the Texas governor, has pledged to influential Christian leaders that he will push pro-life policies, oppose gay marriage, and pick cabinet officials and a vice president who share his values, a promise that would rule out a Perry-Rudy Giuliani ticket. At a weekend Texas gathering of about 200 conservative leaders, some from Washington, Perry and his wife Anita portrayed themselves as authentic and life-long conservatives who could bring the most pro-life administration ever to Washington.

Obama Approved Solar Company to Declare Bankruptcy
Solyndra was touted by the Obama administration as a prime example of how green technology could deliver jobs. The President visited the facility in May of last year and said "it is just a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism and the fact that we continue to have the best universities in the world, the best technology in the world, and most importantly the best workers in the world. And you guys all represent that. "

Obama’s Labor Head Buys Canadian Car
To show her support for American workers, President Obama's labor secretary, Hilda Solis, has junked the standard black limo and purchased a new Chevrolet Equinox to ride around Washington in. The problem: the crossover SUV is built and assembled in Canada from parts also made in Canada.

King Monument: Made in China
Atlanta resident Lea Winfrey Young says the "outsourcing" by U.S. companies and organizations to China has gone too far this time. She and her husband, Gilbert Young, a painter, are leading a group of critics who argue that an African American -- or any American -- should have been picked for such an important project. "Dr. King's statue is to be shipped here in a crate that supposedly says 'Made in China.' That's just obscene," Winfrey Young says.

Observing 9/11 Without God
How many people were found in churches praying after 9/11? A lot more than usual. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has topped even his own endorsement of a mosque near Ground Zero by forbidding prayer at the upcoming ceremony to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

9/11 Coloring Book Causes Controversy
The coloring book includes pages showing the smoking World Trade Center and mourning survivors. Page 19 depicts a Navy SEAL taking aim at Osama bin Laden, who is seen cowering behind a veiled woman as a bullet leaves the barrel of the SEAL’s rifle.

1940's U.S. Medical Experiments Exposed
From 1946-48, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Pan American Sanitary Bureau worked with several Guatemalan government agencies to do medical research — paid for by the U.S. government — that involved deliberately exposing people to sexually transmitted diseases. Those infected included soldiers, prostitutes, prisoners and mental patients with syphilis.

Preparing Your Family for a Faith-Filled School Year
The start of a new school year is a logical time to pause, to set goals, to take stock of what’s worked well academically, emotionally and spiritually in the past and to commit to changes that will help to ensure our children’s well being and success in school, but more importantly in life.

New Study Says Prime-Time Cartoons Are Full of Adult Content
The Parents Television Council® (PTC) has released the results of its latest study, “Cartoons Are No Laughing Matter,” which documents shocking levels of adult content on networks with the highest-rated primetime animated cable shows among children ages 12-17 such as the Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Adult Swim and Nick at Nite.

2011 List of TV Networks Which Promote Homosexuality
The only two cable networks that “Failed” the homosexual endorsement were A&E and TBS with 5% “LGBT-inclusive images” in their programming. However, the group noted that, “Those numbers are a slight improvement over the 2% and 1% they respectively posted in last year’s NRI.” Today’s prime time television programming has become almost uniformly unsuitable for families, and often directly hostile to their values, making it very difficult for parents to shield their children and seek out alternative entertainment,” The Parents Television Council points out.

Bishop Aquila Urges Young People to Scrub Their Ipods Clean
“You need to look at the music you listen to and the words. Don’t fool yourself. It impacts upon you,” said the Bishop of Fargo, North Dakota, at his World Youth Day catechesis session on Aug. 19. “There is good music out there that you can listen to, but there is also a lot of trash. And it is simply evil. It is evil because it distorts the gift of human sexuality, the gift of sexual intimacy, the gift of human life.” He concluded by explaining to the young pilgrims that while the witness of a bishop can be effective, it was more important for young people to witness to each other when it comes to ditching “evil” music.

Inspiring Mother/Advocate for Disabled Son
“Today, at 27 years old, I’m one of the oldest people in the world with my type of SMA, and people tell me it’s a miracle. And I agree, it is. But the miracle isn’t just me. It’s a mother who fought like only a mother can to keep me alive. When my elementary school principal decided that disabled children didn’t have a place in her school, my mom appealed to the school board and turned every board member’s life into a living hell for two years. She won”.

University Study: Women “Pornified” in U.S. Popular Media
A study by State University of New York at Buffalo sociologists has found a rise in “pornified” images of women in popular media. The researchers called the findings a concern since research shows such images of women have negative consequences for both men and women.

Christians Ponder the Secretive Use of Pornography
“Our Christian belief is that humans are created in the image of God, and we should uphold the highest standard in our relationship with ourselves and others,” said the Rev. Rick Power, senior pastor of College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe. “Pornography dehumanizes people because it offers sexual gratification without relationship or responsibility. “We need to free people from the shame of pornography and for sex to be part of a loving relationship between husband and wife.”

Another Planned Parenthood Manager Quits and Converts
Four months ago a manager at a Planned Parenthood facility in Sherman, Texas resigned from her position with the abortion giant and is now speaking out about her pro-life conversion. Ramona Trevino credits a 40 Days for Life campaign outside her Planned Parenthood facility with helping her move towards a pro-life way of thinking.

Pastor Launches Drive-in Church
We live in a culture of drive-thru restaurants, banks, liquor stores, and pharmacies. So one pastor thinks, why not church, too? But will a drive-thru church mean a drive-thru faith?

Religious Freedom Takes a Turn for the Worse
A worldwide survey by the Pew Forum shows an increase in restrictions and violence. The top offenders are Egypt, Pakistan, and India. Among the Muslim countries, the only one going against the trend is Turkey. The most mistreated: Christians.

Canada’s Evangelicals Urge Toronto Schools to Uphold Catholic Identity
This is a great example of how if Christians worked together than against each other, much could be accomplished. Canada’s Evangelical Christians are calling on the trustees at the Toronto Catholic District School Board to uphold a vigorous and authentic Catholic identity as they prepare to pass judgment on crucial amendments to a controversial equity and inclusive education policy.

The Pope Explains How to Find God in Art
During the general audience, Benedict XVI reflected on how Art can connect people to God. "Today we reflect on the need to draw near to God through the experience and appreciation of artistic beauty. Art is capable of making visible our need to go beyond what we see and it reveals our thirst for infinite beauty, for God. Dear friends, I invite you to be open to beauty and to allow it to move you to prayer and praise of the Lord. May Almighty God bless all of you!"

The "I Commit" Project -- Will You?
“I love this video,” Ruth Institute President Jennifer Roback Morse told LifeSiteNews.com, explaining that at the heart of the “I Commit” video are “hope, commitment, and a fresh start for the institution of marriage in American society and beyond.”

Greatest Marriage Proposal Ever
This youtube is about Matt’s proposal to his girlfriend, Ginny. She gets taken to the movie theater to see "Fast Five". After a preview for the Hangover 2, a trailer for a movie comes on. The trailer is one that Matt made of her father and him where he asks her father for her hand in marriage. After he gives him permission, Matt races off to the theater she is at to ask her to marry him. What she doesn't know is their family and friends are in the theater with her watching the whole thing, along with about 100 strangers. Matt has given other boyfriends a lot to live up to!

From the KC Falling Star
If 9/11 was a severe shock to Americans’ self-image and feeling of security, 10 years on we are dealing with the collateral damage it did to our national sense of tolerance and liberality. A vocal minority of Americans continues ostentatiously to demonize Muslims living among us, even at the risk of alienating the many among them who could be counted on as allies to help authorities ferret out those who do wish harm. The outsized backlash that foiled plans for a mosque/community center near Ground Zero is the best-known example. Others are U.S. Rep. Peter King’s circus hearings on homegrown terrorists and the asinine legislative efforts to ban Sharia law in various states and municipalities.

Gospel - Lk 4:31-37

31 And he went down into Capharnaum, a city of Galilee, and there he taught them on the sabbath days. 32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his speech was with power. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had an unclean devil, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 Saying: Let us alone, what have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God. 35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Hold thy peace, and go out of him. And when the devil had thrown him into the midst, he went out of him, and hurt him not at all. 36 And there came fear upon all, and they talked among themselves, saying: What word is this, for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they go out? 37 And the fame of him was published into every place of the country.

Political discourse and news media have been consumed of late by talk of debt, spending, and recession, but meanwhile the educational freedom movement has been making real progress. State legislatures across the country are giving a green light to vouchers and tax incentives that will in the future pay impressive dividends in the form of better educated students and more efficient schools.

A recent AP story summarizes the progress made in statehouses across the United States. The article counts 30 states that have witnessed the introduction of voucher bills. Additionally, 28 (there is overlap between the voucher states and the tax break states) have considered or are considering tax breaks for tuition to private schools. In six states, this reform legislation has already passed.

The most significant initiative is the Indiana voucher bill, which would provide a school voucher to any family of four earning less than $60,000 per year. I have long argued that tax incentives are preferable to vouchers, because they connect directly the buyers (parents) with the providers of the service (schools) without the often-intrusive mediation of government, but I favor any reform that helps to break the monopoly of government-run schooling—and vouchers do that.

The public school monopoly is harmful for the same reasons that other monopolies are. Where there is no competition, there is a tendency to tolerate waste, incompetence, and poor outcomes. The inherent human tendency toward self-interest works itself out in an institutional context, and the goals of self-preservation and self-enrichment take precedence over the achievement of excellence in creating goods or offering services.

The stakes here are high. The good being sold in education happens to be human development: the education and formation of children so as to prepare them to be morally upstanding and economically productive citizens. Some argue that this task is so important that it must be performed by government. In truth, it is too important to be left to government. Outstanding education should be innovative, cost-efficient, and respect parental values. These aims are best achieved in a competitive and pluralistic environment where a variety of schooling options are available to all. Instead, in many places in this country, what exists is a system of “free” but second-rate government schools for the masses along with first-rate private schools that are affordable only to the wealthy. Religious private schools, which historically have bridged the gap between these two options, are closing at a rapid rate as a vicious cycle of declining enrollment and rising tuition makes their finances untenable.

Thus the extension of school choice to a growing number of states is a welcome development. Unfortunately, it does not mean the promised land of educational freedom is right around the corner. In 2007, Utah’s lawmakers passed a comprehensive voucher bill, only to see it nullified by a general election referendum before it could be implemented. Similarly, the Indiana measure, under challenge by the customarily obstructive alliance of teacher unions and church-state separationists, is working its way through the courts (though it is in force, meanwhile). In at least four state legislatures, school choice bills have already been defeated this year.

But the sheer volume of school-funding reform activity suggests that momentum is in the right direction. Some results we may reasonably expect from an expansion of education freedom include: More parents who take interest in and responsibility for their children’s education, more responsive and cost-conscious educational professionals, and more children who know how to read and add. As we survey an otherwise gloomy landscape of high unemployment, exorbitant government spending, and international debt crises, the bright promise of school choice is a welcome sight.

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