Massive Suicide Bombs Kill Christian Worshippers in Pakistan

[Warning: this article contains graphic images, below]A Pakistani evangelist reports this morning that radical jihadists attacked Christian churches during the middle of worship, killing at least 14.

The BBC reports that more than 70 were injured in twin blasts at two separate churches.

One Pakistani pastor, currently working outside of Pakistan, told Restoring Liberty that the blame for the continuing attacks on Christian worshippers in Pakistan should be laid squarely at the feet of the country’s increasingly Islamist government:

One more time the Government of Pakistan failed to provide security to Christians in Pakistan. Twin suicide blasts in two different churches in my city, Lahore, Pakistan, during Sunday worship. 14 killed and 70 injured.

The Pakistani pastor notes that at one of the churches that was attacked, a boy stopped the attacker from entering the church, saving perhaps dozens of lives:

A little Christian hero, “Akash,” gave his life by stopping suicide bomber at the Church gate. He was in Church security team as volunteer. He saved many lives but he gave his life.

The pastor then hits the Pakistani government again for failing to protect its people:

Many of the Churches in Pakistan need security but government failed to do, so now the youth in Churches are trying to have their own people to stand on gate. PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN.

Moscow: Fire Breaks out at Novodevichy Convent

The bell tower of Moscow’s historic Novodevichy convent, a Unesco world heritage site and the burial place of many prominent figures, has been threatened by a fire that broke out on Sunday night. Flames from construction scaffolding around the bell tower, which has been under renovation, rose high above the Moscow skyline as firefighters struggled to protect one of the city’s most beloved landmarks.

Law enforcement sources told Russian news agencies that the fire had started in the scaffolding about 30 metres above the ground, and moved up to the top of the tower, which is more than 70 metres high. According to the Moscow branch of the emergency situations ministry, the fire started at 10.41pm local time.

Firefighters were containing the blaze and “there is no danger of the fire spreading”, Alexander Gavrilov, first deputy director of the Moscow branch of the emergency situations ministry, told journalists at the scene shortly after midnight. No one was injured and the interior of the bell tower was not damaged, he said.

State news agency RIA Novosti later reported that the fire had been almost completely extinguished.

Gavrilov declined to comment on the fire’s possible causes. But the city’s cultural heritage department told news agency Interfax that the renovation work on the tower was being conducted in violation of safety regulations, which likely caused the fire. The department had previously noted violations but could not dismiss the construction contractor because the convent is under federal control. (Read more from “Moscow: Fire Breaks out at Novodevichy Convent” HERE)

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Open Letter to All Representatives of the House, State of Alaska

This past week, Alaska’s House of Representatives voted to move forward a reduced budget at approximately $5.4 billion. While there is a substantial difference between our revenue income and this budget, it is clear that the House Finance committees ( HFIN ) have done diligent work to get to this number.

The real issue is to completely rethink our funding formulas to get Alaska’s budget to a level of sustainability. The old models are archaic and will not provide a legitimate path forward. We must act on two fronts:

1. To sustain and promote our diverse investment formulas in order to counter-balance any further decline in the price of oil.

2. To root out the gross inefficiencies of a government system unaccountable in it’s irresponsible spending. This is imperative. This is clearly the issues Representative Lora Reinbold stands against, which brings me to this point.

I wish to speak to all of you with clarity regarding the stance Representative Lora Reinbold took on the House floor. While she gave great credit to the diligent work that had been done in the House committees, she could not, in good conscious, vote for a budget which, in her representative opinion, is loaded with inefficiencies and questionable expenditures given the current, serious, fiscal climate.

As citizen’s we take great issue with an ” internal system” which coerces members of political groups to “delphi” their vote. This is certainly against the grain of representative democracy and especially egregious considering all of you took an oath to defend our Constitution.

It has come to our collective attention that the House leadership will be meeting in conference to take up the issue of a reprimand and disciplinary action toward Representative Reinbold. She is not the target. The target is clearly an inefficient system and financial structure which has be perpetuated for way too long.

As you step into the halls of your committee, to mitigate the perception of damage a rogue representative may cause to your cabal, I want to remind you that Alaska is filled with “rogue citizens” who have staked our tents in the valley of her thoughts and convictions. To make her a target of your disdain is to send a clear and concise message to us all, for it is not only her you are reprimanding, but the foundations of our representative democracy. Your reprimand will not only be to her, but to us all.


In conclusion, I do not write to you as the Chair of the Libertarian Party, nor do I write to you as the Chair of United for Liberty. I write to all of you as a parent who wants my daughter to enjoy the full breath of freedom and liberty which has been given to us all. The manner in which you direct the financial future of Alaska will determine whether she may return to Alaska one day beyond college and continue writing the story of my family as proud Alaskan’s.

I ask you for your maturity in our financial guidance and I ask you to embrace our Alaskan sister, Lora. She deserves nothing less.

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Bristol Palin and Medal of Honor Recipient Dakota Meyer Engaged

Wedding bells are on the horizon for Bristol Palin and 2011 Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer.

Meyer, 26, proposed to Palin, 24, Friday night at a Rascal Flatts concert in Las Vegas, Palin said on her blog.

“The lead singer, Gary LeVox, dedicated ‘Bless the Broken Road’ to us, and then Dakota got down on one knee and proposed!” she wrote. “It’s amazing to see what happens when you place everything in life in God’s hands.”

Friends and well-wishers congratulated the couple on the news. As one person said in a comment on Meyer’s Instagram, “This is so ‘MERICA that my mind is blown right now.”

Meyer received the nation’s highest military honor for braving enemy fire in 2009 to recover 36 American and Afghan troops in Afghanistan. He was the third living recipient — and the first Marine — to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. (Read more from “Bristol Palin and Medal of Honor Recipient Dakota Meyer Engaged” HERE)

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General Jerry Boykin: Navy Forcing out Evangelical Chaplain After he was “Deliberately Set Up” by Homosexual Activist

As Restoring Liberty reported earlier this week, a Navy chaplain with an incredibly distinguished service record has been relieved of his duties and may be forced out of the military just shy of his 20-year mark because he discussed the bible’s view on homosexuality.

Shortly thereafter, General Jerry Boykin appeared on The Joe Miller Show and announced that he had actually spoken with Chaplain Wes Modder that day and described for listeners what was really going on with the case (see interview below).

[Editor’s note: General Boykin’s discussion about Chaplain Wes Modder begins at 9:30 in the below YouTube]

Among other outrages, General Boykin said that the chaplain’s case was a set-up by a homosexual navy officer who is “married to another man.” Apparently, this service member had been temporarily assigned to Chaplain Modder’s office and he sought – on multiple occasions – private counseling from Chaplain Modder on the biblical view of sexuality, specifically homosexuality. The chaplain, an ordained Assembly of God minister, told the junior office that the bible disagrees with all sexual sin: homosexuality, adultery, etc.

The setup was complete when the junior officer marched in to the chaplain’s office with two “equal opportunity officers,” announced charges of “intolerance and bigotry,” and the chaplain was relieved of duty. General Boykin, the former Delta Force Commander, said that it was obvious the “Navy acted unacceptably” in this case.

General Boykin went on to observe how screwed up the military has become with soldiers and retirees not getting necessary colonoscopies, but convicted traitors and others are getting sex changes on the public dime. He also discusses the problem with women in combat. He believes that everyone must get active to save this country.

You can start by signing a petition of support for Chaplain Modder. Click HERE to sign the Family Research Council’s petition.

General William “Jerry” Boykin is Vice President of the Family Research Council. He served as Commander, Delta Force, has received numerous military awards, served in multiple combat missions, and was the US Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence in the Bush Administration.
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More than 40,000 rally for Navy chaplain accused of being anti-gay

By Todd Starnes. Thousands of Americans, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and famed evangelist Franklin Graham, have come to the defense of a chaplain who could be thrown out of the Navy because of his Christian faith.

Lt. Cmdr. Wes Modder has been accused of failing to show “tolerance and respect” in private counseling sessions regarding issues pertaining to faith, marriage and sexuality – specifically homosexuality.

Modder, who is endorsed by the Assemblies of God, has also been accused of being unable to “function in the diverse and pluralistic environment” of the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, S.C.

The highly decorated, 19-year military veteran previously served in the Marine Corps and has had several high-profile assignments – including being named force chaplain of the Navy SEALs.

Just a few months ago, Modder’s commander called him “the best of the best” and a “consummate professional leader” worthy of an early promotion. (Read more from this story HERE)

U.S. Economic Data is the World’s Most Disappointing

It’s not only the just-released University of Michigan consumer confidence report and February retail sales on Thursday that surprised economists and investors with another dose of underwhelming news. Overall, U.S. economic data have been falling short of prognosticators’ expectations by the most in six years.

The Bloomberg ECO U.S. Surprise Index, which measures whether data beat or miss forecasts, fell to the lowest since 2009, when the nation was in the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

There’s been one notable exception to the gloom, and it’s a big one: payrolls. The economy added 295,000 jobs in February and 1.3 million over four months, a reflection of a healthier labor market in which the unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest in almost seven years. [Editor’s note: these numbers ignore the massive number of Americans who have quit looking for work. Read about that crisis HERE and HERE]

Most everything else? Blah.

This month alone, personal income and spending, manufacturing as measured by the Institute for Supply Management, auto sales, factory orders, and retail sales have all come in a bit weak. (Read more from “U.S. Economic Data is the World’s Most Disappointing” HERE)

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Intoxicated Secret Service Agents Who Wrecked into White House Disrupted Active Bomb Investigation

Two Secret Service agents suspected of being under the influence while striking a White House security barricade drove through an active bomb investigation and directly beside the suspicious package, according to current and former government officials familiar with the incident.

These and other new details about the March 4 incident emerged Thursday from interviews and from police records obtained by The Washington Post.

The revelations spurred fresh questions Thursday from lawmakers about whether the newly appointed director of the Secret Service, Joseph P. Clancy, is capable of turning around the troubled agency.

Among lawmakers’ questions was whether Clancy, a 27-year Secret Service veteran appointed to his job last month after a string of embarrassing agency missteps, has been aggressive enough in his handling of last week’s incident.

Clancy placed the two senior agents involved in the incident in new “non-supervisory, non-operational” jobs pending an investigation — a less stringent approach than the service has taken in the past, when staffers suspected of misconduct were put on administrative leave or pressed to resign or accept demotion. Also, Clancy did not take action against a senior supervisor on duty that night who, according to officials briefed on the incident, ordered Secret Service officers to let the agents go home without giving them sobriety tests. (Read more from “Intoxicated Secret Service Agents Crashed into White House Disrupted Bomb Investigation” HERE)

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Nine Years After Terminal Diagnosis, Woman With Same Cancer as Brittany Maynard is Still Alive

In 2006, Sandra Hilburn was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme and was given three months to live. Her diagnosis was the same as Brittany Maynard’s, the 29-year-old terminally ill cancer-patient who received national attention when she legally committed suicide with a fatal dose of phenobarbital.

After finding out she had stage IV glioblastoma multiforme and six months to live, Maynard moved from her California home to Oregon so that she could have access to the “death with dignity” prescription. Currently, in the United States, Oregon is one of five states, along with New Mexico, Montana, Washington, and Vermont that allow assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.

However, unlike Maynard, Hilburn didn’t pursue assisted suicide and is still alive today.

According to the Daily Mail, researchers at Duke University Medical Center found that a dose of tetanus vaccine let patients like Hillburn live longer when added to an experimental treatment for the brain tumor. Researcher Kristen Batich said, “[The treatment] put the immune system on high alert,’ paving the way for the experimental treatment to work better in attacking the disease.”

Now nine years and five grandchildren later, Hilburn is still alive and going strong. She said, “I think I’m good for at least another 10-years.” Hilburn, along with 11 other cancer patients, were given the tetanus shot and then doctors removed white blood cells from the patients and equipped them with a chemical target found in the tumor called cytomegalovirus. Afterward they would return the cells to the patient’s body and train the immune system to go after the cancer cells and kill them. (Read more from “Nine Years After Terminal Diagnosis, Woman With Same Cancer as Brittany Maynard is Still Alive” HERE)

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Watch: President Obama Reads Mean Tweets About Himself on Jimmy Kimmel Live

President Obama appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live and spoke about Ferguson, Area 51, and other such talk show silliness.

But the clear highlight of his appearance was when he took part in Kimmel’s recurring bit in which Celebrities read mean tweets about themselves.

The tweets made fun of the President’s gray hair, his general terribleness, and the “Thanks, Obama!” meme. (Read more from “Watch: President Obama Reads Mean Tweets About Himself on Jimmy Kimmel Live” HERE)

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State Department Shuts Down Email After One of the Most Serious Cyber Attacks in Department History

The State Department shut down large parts of its unclassified email system today in a final attempt to rid it of malware believed to have been inserted by Russian hackers in what has become one of the most serious cyber intrusions in the department’s history, U.S. officials told ABC News.

“The Department is implementing improvements to the security of its main unclassified network during a short, planned outage of some internet-linked systems,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement to ABC News.

The outage could last though the weekend, according to officials. But as of now there is no time limit and no real indication of when the system will be back online.

Last November, the State Department conducted similar repairs to its system stemming from a cyber-attack it suffered the month before. The attack targeted the unclassified email system and is believed to have been executed by Russian hackers. (Read more from “State Department Shuts Down Email After One of the Most Serious Cyber Attack’s in Department History” HERE)

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