1) Florida Woman Says Former Church Plans to Make Her Sins Public... Christianity/Abuse of Power
2) Palin won't accept raise... Palin/Conservatism/Politics
3) Teacher docked grade and told him that mentioning Jesus was not allowed... Anti-Christian/"Seperation Church & State"/Religious Freedom
4) Democrat Governor Blagojevich Pardons 22 People... Democrat/Politics
5) California Attorney General Asks State Supreme Court to Void Prop 8 Amendment... Judicial/Democracy/Republic
6) Schwarzenegger to veto Democrats' budget plan... Rhino/Democrats
7) Planned Parenthood Staffer in Video Resigns... Amazing News/Abortion/Criminal Activity
8) Could Obama strike down all state pro-life laws?... Abortion/Obama
9) Palin church burning - 'hate crime' virtually ignored?... Palin/Media Liberal Bias


1) Florida Woman Says Former Church Plans to Make Her Sins Public... Christianity/Abuse of Power
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,469928,00.html

December 18, 2008
A 49-year-old Florida woman says her former church is threatening to reveal her sins to its congregation after learning that she is in a "sexually immoral relationship." Rebecca Hancock told FOXNews.com that Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Jacksonville, Fla., was against her relationship with boyfriend Frank Young because the two were sexually active but not married. When she wasn’t willing to obey the church's orders to leave him, she decided to leave the church instead, allowing her two children to remain active members.

Now, she says, church elders have given her the worst ultimatum yet: In a Dec. 8 letter, they told her she either has to meet with them and end her "immoral" relationship or she will face public humiliation. “Bottom line, on January they 4th they are going to the church publicly with my sins, and my children will be sitting in church at the time,” Hancock told FOXNews.com. Click here to see a copy of the letter (pdf). A church leader wouldn't commit to an interview when contacted Thursday by FOXNews.com. The Rev. T. Scott Christmas, pastor of the church, told the Florida Times-Union that the "process of loving accountability" is made very clear to members, and the church is doing "nothing more than following the practices of what biblical churches have done through history."

Hancock, who is divorced, said the problems began in March, when she started telling her church mentor about her relationship — in what she thought were confidential conversations. “As it progressed I told her about it and she said, 'You’ve got to get out, you’re biblically wrong,'” Hancock said. Despite knowing her relationship was against church rules, Hancock said she never realized that disclosing it would trigger the first in a three-step process used by the church to deal with sinners: private admonishment, admonishment in the presence of witnesses and finally public admonishment. Still, she said she tried to follow her mentor’s advice and break up with Young, who wasn't a member of the church. “I must have gone through 10 breakups trying to end it, but after not having the power to do it I would go back,” she said. “It was hard to give up somebody I love.”

Hancock learned that her private sessions with her mentor hadn’t been so private after all, when in October her mentor pulled her aside in church and asked her come into another room. “In the room, there were several women that I never told my business to. And they proceeded to tell me about my business and what I was doing and what a sinner I was — just persecuting me.” Hancock said. “One of the ladies was even saying ‘I was at your house when you didn’t come home all night.’"

It was then that Hancock said she decided to leave Grace Community Church. “I told them, ‘I cannot believe you people are doing this. I’m not going any further — I’m never coming here again,’” she recalled. Her boyfriend said the church wouldn’t let it end there. “The pastor kept calling her, and I informed him that she [Hancock] would appreciate it if neither he nor any member of his church contacted her ever again,” Young told FOXNews.com. Almost two months later, Hancock received the letter from the elders of Grace Community Church, explaining that she had left them no choice but to continue the disciplinary process. “Your refusal to repent and be restored in your relationship with God and His Church leaves us with no alternative than to carry out the third step of the discipline process,” the letter explained. “In accordance with Matthew 18:17, we intend to ‘tell it to the church.’”

Darrell L. Bock, a research professor for the Dallas Theological Seminary, said that public admonishment is not uncommon in churches that focus on discipline but added, "Most churches would handle this much more privately than this particular community is choosing to do." This kind of process normally would happen after "much more private interaction" with the person, Block said, and is normally reserved for church leaders as opposed to "a normal member of the church." More importantly, he said, the actions are unusual given that Hancock had severed her relationship with the church. Hancock sent a formal letter of resignation after receiving the elders' ultimatum in hopes of solving the dispute. She said she fears for her 20-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter if the church carries out its threat. “I don’t really care what they do to me. But I am concerned about my children sitting in church with their mother being crucified by the church that they trust,” she said. “I am very concerned about how it would affect them.”

Me: Ok let use examine this case. One you need to keep in mind this is a private religious organization with clear rules and conduct. Now this is a fairly strict church in the matter of dealing with sin, and this have been clearly more persistent then they should have been. When she broke with the rules of the church she started the internal processes (like them or not) that this community used to deal with sin. She was left with a choice to conform or leave. She decided to leave and that should have been the end of that. As for her children I don't know the ages of the children, if they are adults and have chosen to remain members of the church then yes the church will use its systems of dealing with sin. BUT is they are not the adults and the mother has kept them in the church one can only ask why? I posted this to reminded people of the extremes that can happen to any group and if you are a liberal reading this I will remind you of the homosexual communities "outing" homosexuals that don't follow there doctrines and activism.


2) Palin won't accept raise... Palin/Conservatism/Politics
http://www.adn.com/palin/story/626781.html

December 17th, 2008
20 PERCENT: Spokesman says governor feels increase in middle of her term isn't appropriate. Gov. Sarah Palin didn't ask for a pay raise and won't accept one during her current term, a spokesman said Wednesday. A new state commission appointed by Palin recommends boosting the governor's pay from $125,000 to $150,000. The State Officers Compensation Commission says the lieutenant governor, department heads and legislators need more money too. But if the commission pushes ahead with a pay raise, Palin won't accept the money, said spokesman Bill McAllister. "Her view is, it's just not appropriate to accept a pay raise in the middle of the term."

Palin's term ends in 2010. The Legislature created the five-member commission this year to decide how much top state officials should be paid. Two members are recommended by legislative leaders. The group announced its early suggestions this week and plans to hear from the public at 9 a.m. today at Legislative Information Offices around the state. Palin makes 46 percent more than her predecessor, Frank Murkowski. She's also the 24th-lowest paid governor, according to the commission's numbers. "We were all a little surprised by the preliminary recommendations," McAllister said of the suggested 20 percent raise for the governor. "We didn't know that was coming." It's unclear if Palin would give the money to charity -- as commission chairman Rick Halford predicted Tuesday -- or simply not receive the extra pay. Also Wednesday, Palin's team had been expected to unveil an energy plan that would tally energy costs and the cost of potential energy projects in towns and villages across the state. Instead, the plan has been delayed until next month.

"It's a huge, huge body of information that is simply being put into final form," said Karsten Rodvik, spokesman for the Alaska Energy Authority. "And it takes some time and some level of communication and work between our office, and the governor's office to pull it all together and pick a date and make it happen."

Me: This is yet another reason I love Palin and would work for campaign should she run for President. What do you want to bet the Democrats will in vote for a pay raise for themselves now that they control the whole of the government.


3) Teacher docked grade and told him that mentioning Jesus was not allowed... Anti-Christian/"Seperation Church & State"/Religious Freedom
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=358956

12/19/2008

A religious rights advocate is troubled by a recent occurrence of censorship at a Mississippi school. Hattiesburg, Mississippi, sixth-grader Andrew White was given a creative expression assignment as part of his language class. Students were allowed to choose from three topics, and Andrew chose "What Christmas Means to Me." Andrew wrote a poem titled "A Great Christmas" that reads: "The best Christmas ever is when everyone is there. It is when everyone is laughing here and there. That is the Christmas I want to share. Christmas is about Jesus' birth. About peace on Earth. This is what Christmas is about. It is when He lay in a manger. And the three wise men come to see. That's what it means to me."

After Andrew referenced Jesus in his poem, his teacher Latasha Atkins docked his grade and told him that mentioning Jesus was not allowed. She then instructed him to write a new poem. Matt Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, disagrees with Atkins' point-of-view. "The good news is that the principal, Carrie Hornsby, eventually sided with Andrew and his parents, changing his grade to a 100 and conceding that there was nothing improper in using the name of Jesus," he notes. The most horrifying part of the story, according to Staver, is that this sixth-grader was told that Jesus is not allowed in public school. "I think some educators need education that the story of Christmas, and the birth of Jesus, is not banned from our public schools," he points out.

Principal Hornsby did, in fact, tell school teachers to write letters home to parents informing them that religious expression is permitted under federal guidelines. However, Andrew's paper was supposed to be displayed at the Winter's Writers Board, and it was not. Matt Staver"I think there is still work that needs to be done," Staver concludes. "I think that this school needs to hear loud and clear from people around the country that this is not going to be tolerated, that in fact they should not censor, they must not censor, the name of Jesus or the essence of Christmas."

Andrew's mother Leah White contacted OneNewsNow and said this particular situation has frustrated her and her husband, James, to the point that they will be looking into home-schooling options. According to Leah, she would not have known about the situation had her son not been late in turning in the rewritten project, and she wonders what else is going on in the classroom without her knowledge. Leah also stated that she will be contacting her state representatives and urging them to pass legislation protecting religious freedom in school.

Me: I have a daughter with a similar spirit like the child above. I also have fear of the public school system and the anti Christian stands they so often take. I also have dreamed of alternatives to the public school system. Bottom line is I feel for them and support them.


4) Democrat Governor Blagojevich Pardons 22 People... Democrat/Politics
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/19/blagojevich-pardons-people/

December 19, 2008
The Democratic governor rarely acted on pardon applications during his six years in office, until now. While facing his own legal cloud, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich decided to pardon 22 other people.

The Democratic governor rarely acted on pardon applications during his six years in office. The backlog of requests at one point topped 1,600.

But Blagojevich has acted more often in recent months.

His office says he issued 22 pardons Friday, the same day Blagojevich vowed to fight the federal corruption charges he faces.

Aides wouldn't provide any information about why he granted the pardons or what crimes the people were accused of committing.

One person on the list shares the name of a man who was cleared by DNA evidence after serving three years for rape.

The pardon's included:

Jackie Wayne Collins
Constance Glass
Michael Gordon
Sylvia Johnson
Donald Kendall
John Kidwell
Bret Lefever
Juan Linval
Latasha Lofton
Marcus Lyons
Alex May
Donald Mitchell
James Moreland
Joel Naskiewicz
Jeffrey Nussbaum
Larry Pierson
Katrina Raickett
Shanyta Russell
Edward Lee Smith
Robert Eugene Smith
Michael Tabler
Lora Thomas

Me: I wonder how many of the people in that list are political friends or allies of his or the Democrats?


5) California Attorney General Asks State Supreme Court to Void Prop 8 Amendment... Judicial/Democracy/Republic
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,470544,00.html

December 19, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO —
California Attorney General Jerry Brown changed course on the state's new same-sex marriage ban Friday and urged the state Supreme Court to void Proposition 8. In a dramatic reversal, Brown filed a legal brief saying the measure that amended the California Constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman is itself unconstitutional because it deprives a minority group of a fundamental right. Earlier, Brown had said he would defend the ballot measure against legal challenges from gay marriage supporters. "The amendment-initiative process does not encompass a power to abrogate fundamental constitutional rights without a compelling justification," he wrote. "Proposition 8 lacks such a justification."

Brown, who served as governor from 1975 to 1983, is considering seeking the office again in 2010. After California voters passed Proposition 8 on Nov. 4, Brown said he personally voted against it but would fight to uphold it as the state's top lawyer. He submitted his brief in one of the three legal challenges to Proposition 8 brought by same-sex marriage supporters. The measure, a constitutional amendment that passed with 52 percent of the vote, overruled the Supreme Court decision last spring that briefly legalized gay marriage in the nation's most populous state. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, called the attorney general's change of strategy "a major development."

"The fact that after looking at this he shifted his position and is really bucking convention by not defending Prop. 8 signals very clearly that this proposition can not be defended," Minter said. The sponsors of Proposition 8 on Friday revealed for the first time that they would fight to undo the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters banned gay marriage at the ballot box last month. The Yes on 8 campaign filed a brief telling the court that because the new law holds that only marriages between a man and a woman are recognized or valid in California, the state can no longer recognize the existing same-sex unions.

"Proposition 8's brevity is matched by its clarity. There are no conditional clauses, exceptions, exemptions or exclusions," reads the brief co-written by Kenneth Starr, dean of Pepperdine University's law school and the former independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton. Both Brown and gay rights groups maintain that the gay marriage ban may not be applied retroactively.

The Supreme Court could hear arguments in the litigation as soon as March. The measure's backers announced Friday that Starr, a former federal judge and U.S. solicitor general, had signed on as their lead counsel and would argue the cases. The new brief provides a preview of how Proposition 8's supporters plan to defend the measure. It asserts that the Supreme Court lacks the authority or historical precedent to throw out Proposition 8. "For this court to rule otherwise would be to tear asunder a lavish body of jurisprudence," the court papers state. "That body of decisional law commands judges — as servants of the people — to bow to the will of those whom they serve — even if the substantive result of what people have wrought in constitution-amending is deemed unenlightened."

Starr declined to discuss the arguments he and co-counsel Andrew Pugno advanced Friday. In an interview, Pugno said his clients' position on the same-sex marriages sanctioned in California between June 16 and Nov. 4 was not initiated by the Proposition 8 backers. Rather, Pugno said the brief was a response to a question the court's seven justices posed to lawyers on both sides when they agreed to take up the challenge to Proposition 8 brought by gay rights advocates. "The people passed Prop. 8," he said. "We are defending that."

Jennifer Pizer, a lawyer with the gay rights firm Lambda Legal who is helping represent gay and lesbian couples in the effort to undo the ballot measure, said Friday that vacating a marriage carries a host of legal repercussions and can not be accomplished so easily. "This purported change exists in a landscape of a legal system that has rules, and those rules include the idea that changes in law affect people moving forward and do not apply looking backward to take away the vested rights people have," said Pizer, who recently married her longtime female partner. The cases are Strauss v. Horton, S168047; City and County of San Francisco v. Horton, S168078; and Tyler v. State of California, S168066.

Me: I have always been amazed at how the judicial branch refuses to allow the other branches the checks and balances that are built in to the system. The very idea that a judge or a lawyer could say a constitution amendment is unconstitutional is amazing in the first place. I don't care if you were for or against prop eight the issue here is just how much of a power grab is the judicial branch seeking as the only check against their power are constitutional amendments.


6) Schwarzenegger to veto Democrats' budget plan... Rhino/Democrats
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D955F3AG0&show_article=1

Dec 18
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he will veto an $18 billion package of budget cuts and tax increases Democratic lawmakers pushed through the Legislature. Schwarzenegger says it doesn't do enough to revive the state's spiraling economy and close a projected $42 billion budget shortfall over the next 18 months. The plan Democratic lawmakers approved Thursday made more than $7 billion in cuts and added about $11 billion in tax increases and fees. Schwarzenegger says Democrats watered down the spending cuts and increased the taxes from the package he was negotiating with them. He says he wants an economic stimulus package that includes private-sector partnerships and help to keep struggling Californians in their homes. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)—California lawmakers have approved an $18 billion Democratic plan to address the state deficit. They passed several pieces of legislation with a simple majority Thursday, avoiding the two-thirds requirement typically needed to approve tax increases. Republicans voted for some of the bills that made sweeping cuts to California programs. In all, the legislation trims more than $7 billion from schools, health programs and prisons. Democrats and Republicans have been at odds since the beginning of November over how to solve the state's ballooning deficit. It is expected to hit $42 billion in the next 18 months. The package now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has not said whether he supports the Democrats' plan.

Me: I would hope he would veto this one... but then I would have hoped he would have gotten in the way of much of the Democrat activities in California and his "working with" Democrats has lead California to the brink of backruptcy.


7) Planned Parenthood Staffer in Video Resigns... Amazing News/Abortion/Criminal Activity
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,470625,00.html

December 20, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS — A Planned Parenthood of Indiana counselor has resigned after an undercover video showed her telling a woman posing as a 13-year-old that she didn't care about the age of the man who impregnated her, the group said Friday. Two videos shot at the organization's clinics by an anti-abortion group appear to show workers unconcerned about state law requiring anyone learning of sexual acts between an adult and a child under 14 to report them to police or child welfare authorities. A nursing aide seen in the other video was previously fired. Planned Parenthood said Friday it has enlisted an outside group to help retrain its workers on the legal requirements for reporting abuse. Planned Parenthood of Indiana's president and CEO, Betty Cockrum, also called on the anti-abortion group Live Action to give it copies of all the undercover video it shot at clinics in Bloomington and Indianapolis that showed a young patient claiming she had been impregnated by an older man.

"It's right for us to see what our staff said and did," Cockrum said. The steps were announced a day after the Marion County Prosecutor's Office in Indianapolis said it would have a grand jury investigate whether any laws were broken at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Indianapolis. "We took swift action. Both employees were immediately suspended," Cockrum said in a telephone interview Friday. "Both are no longer working for us."

Video released by Live Action on Tuesday shows a counselor at the Indianapolis clinic and 20-year-old UCLA student Lila Rose, who was posing as a 13-year-old and says the man who impregnated her was 31. "I don't care how old he is," the counselor says in the video. The Indianapolis counselor, who has not been identified, resigned in the middle of the organization's investigation, Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Kate Shepherd said. The nursing aide fired earlier from the Bloomington clinic made a similar claim in the other video. Both videos were shot in June. Rose said Friday the group was sending both unedited videos from Indiana to authorities, even though they had not yet been contacted. She also has said her group intends to post the unedited video online.

"Self-regulation has not worked for Planned Parenthood as they have routinely evaded the very Indiana laws that protect children from sexual abuse," Rose said in a prepared statement. She said Indiana authorities should investigate and hold Planned Parenthood accountable for its "criminal activity." Cockrum denied the two cases indicated Planned Parenthood has a culture of failing to report sexual activity by underage children, as some opponents have alleged. She said her organization conducts audits to turn up abuse cases that haven't been reported. Planned Parenthood reported 123 cases of suspected child abuse to Indiana authorities in 2007, Shepherd said.

"I'm very serious when I say it's an imperative here. We take this reporting requirement very seriously," Cockrum said. Planned Parenthood has enlisted Prevent Child Abuse Indiana to help it retrain staff. Sandy Runkle, programs director for the anti-abuse group, said members met with Planned Parenthood on Thursday. Runkle said it was too early to say what form the retraining would take and who would provide it. Planned Parenthood employs a staff of more than 200 at its 35 health clinics across Indiana.

Me: Planned Parenthood have activity engaged in these criminal activities for years and years. It has been documented countless times in both tape, video, and documents. To date no legal action was ever taken, and still has not been taken. This is the first time the criminal stepped down for the crimes Planned Parenthood has been doing since their founding.


8) Could Obama strike down all state pro-life laws?... Abortion/Obama
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Election2008/Default.aspx?id=210638

8/12/2008
The editor of a pro-life news service says a draft copy of the proposed Democratic Party platform that will be approved later this month in Denver continues the party's historic pro-abortion stance and mirrors Barack Obama's extreme support for abortion. The proposed Democratic Party platform announces unequivocal support for Roe v. Wade and direct taxpayer funding of abortions. Steven Ertelt, editor of LifeNews.com, obtained the draft platform from a pro-life group that is urging the Democratic Party to moderate its stance on abortion.
Ertelt says the platform draft also expresses support for the so-called "Freedom of Choice Act" -- a bill Senator Obama promised Planned Parenthood last summer would be the first piece of legislation he signs as president. According to Ertelt, the measure would overturn all of the pro-life laws nationwide.

"In other words, that piece of legislation would overturn any laws that any state legislature has passed -- for example, prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion, allowing parents a right to know when their teenage daughters are considering having an abortion, a right to know or informed consent, or any other common-sense limits like partial-abortion bans that we've put on the books. That would overturn all of those laws," he states bluntly. Ertelt considers Obama the most pro-abortion presidential candidate since Roe v. Wade, noting the Illinois senator opposed a bill in the Illinois Legislature that would have protected babies who survived botched abortions. Obama says he opposed that bill because it did not contain language protecting Roe v. Wade, as the federal bill did. However, according to Ertelt, new documents show Obama opposed the bill even though it contained the same language as the federal bill.

Me: It is very clear that Obama has always been a huge fan of Abortion and has made every effort to make them cheep and common. We all know he lied with his line about wanting to reduce the number of abortions, which was in fact a effort to push sex education to even younger children. So the abortionist lost one very low level operative and now is set to oversea the deaths of many more if Obama has his way.


9) Palin church burning - 'hate crime' virtually ignored?... Palin/Media Liberal Bias
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=358476

12/19/2008
A religion columnist and journalism professor says the mainstream media's coverage of the fire that gutted Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's home church has been thin, but it's hard to say exactly why it's been underplayed. Investigators say the fire that destroyed Wasilla Bible Church in Alaska on December 12 was likely the work of an arsonist, but the mainstream news media, with the exception of The Associated Press, has largely ignored the story. Terry Mattingly is the editor of the website GetReligion.org, a Scripps Howard columnist, and director of the Washington Journalism Center. He says because the fire occurred in a remote area, major networks may not want to fly reporters in from Los Angeles, Washington, or New York. Mattingly believes a regional bias could be at play, but adds that he Terry Mattinglyhas no doubt that if a fire occurred at the church of a socially accepted victim group, the coverage would have been more extensive.

"To give you an example: right now in a parallel case down in California, we have demonstrations and some vandalism and stuff at Mormon churches....We're beginning to see some coverage of that," he points out. "Yet I think that if you had some sort of corresponding mirror image situation, say, conservative crowds that were doing vandalism and picketing, say, a congregation in the gay-friendly Metropolitan Community Church, you'd be seeing that on page one of the Los Angeles Times." Mattingly contends news outlets need to probe whether the fire at Palin's church was a hate crime, considering an Alaska statute "criminalizes destruction of real or personal property belonging to religious or charitable organizations." AP's report says an accelerant -- possible gasoline -- was poured around the exterior of the church and the fire was set near the entrance. A small group of people, including two children, was inside. No one was injured in the blaze.

Me: This story went the way of the Republican election offices that were shot up by liberals, tires slashed by liberals, and Republican election computers stolen by liberals. After all Democrats have not standard other then power and anything to get it is ok.