Rand Paul: Worldwide War on Christianity Being Waged (+video)

Photo Credit: Newsmax

“The war on Christianity” waged by “liberal elites” in the United States really is a worldwide effort being funded by American taxpayers, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told a gathering of evangelicals on Thursday.

Speaking at the opening-day luncheon of the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s three-day “Road to Majority” event in Washington, D.C., Paul gave examples of Christians and other freedom-lovers who have been severely persecuted by governments supported by the United States, CBN News reported.

“You are being taxed to send money to countries that are not only intolerant of Christians but openly hostile,” Paul said. “Christians are imprisoned and threatened with death for their beliefs.”

Paul said he tried to introduce a bill preventing Libya, Egypt, and Pakistan from getting more foreign aid unless they turn over the killers of Ambassador Chris Stevens, pledged to protect U.S. embassies, and that Pakistan release Dr. Shakil Afridi, who was imprisoned for helping the U.S. capture Osama bin Ladin. It was voted down overwhelmingly.

“Is it any wonder that Congress has a 10 percent approval rating?” he asked. “In Egypt, in Pakistan, they burn our flag. I say not one penny more to countries that burn the American flag.”

Read more from this story HERE.

House Committee Passes Bill Banning Abortions at 20 Weeks of Pregnancy

Photo Credit: Life News

With Republicans supporting it and Democrats opposed, a House committee has passed a bill that would ban abortions nationwide at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Much of the debate focused on weaking amendments by Democrats who hoped to gut the bill and allow late-term abortions in cases to protect a woman’s health — even though abortions after 20 weeks are not necessary for health reasons and would allow virtually all late-term abortions to remain legal.

The committee passed the bill on a 20-12 vote and the measure now heads to the full House floor where it is expected to receive a debate and vote next week.

Also during the debate, lawmakers turned back efforts by Democrats to add a rape and incest exception to the late-term abortion ban. Rep. Trent Franks, an Arizona Republican who is the bill sponsor, said an unborn baby would be killed regardless of how she was conceived.

“The fundamental opposition here should be predicated on the notion that this child is going into the 6th month of pregnancy,” Franks said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Huckabee: Churches Should Consider Dropping Tax-Exempt Status

Photo Credit: AP

Churches should consider giving up their tax-exempt status if keeping it means allowing the government to tell them what to say, says Mike Huckabee.

The former Arkansas governor, GOP presidential candidate, and current Fox News talk show host also is an ordained Baptist minister. He made the comment on Monday during a minister’s conference in Houston, Texas, ahead of the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting.

“Keep your deductions. Keep the exemptions. We stand more faithful with what God would have us to say, and we choose our freedom more than our financial benefit,” Huckabee said, according to Associated Baptist Press.

Recent revelations that the Internal Revenue Service has been targeting groups that are conservative and pro-Israel should be an alert to people of faith, Huckabee said. The Thomas More Society has complained that IRS officials asked anti-abortion groups in Texas and Iowa about the content of their prayers when the groups sought tax-exempt status.

“You may not clap real loud for this, but at least hear me out and think about it and pray about it,” Huckabee told the pastors. “I think we need to recognize that it may be time to quit worrying so much about the tax code and start thinking more about the truth of the living God.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Slated to Name Five Openly Homosexual Foreign Ambassadors

Photo Credit: LifeSiteNews

The Obama Administration’s ongoing celebration of homosexual “Pride Month” has seemingly carried over into its ambassadorial nominations.

On monday, the president announced the nomination of Daniel Baer as ambassador to the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). If confirmed, Baer would be the first open homosexual to serve as ambassador to a multilateral institution.

Next on the list is HBO executive James Costos, who together with his boyfriend, decorator Michael Smith, fundraised over $1 million for President Obama’s re-election. He is expected to be named ambassador to Spain as early as this week.

After that, at least three more homosexuals are slated to be announced as ambassadorial picks, including former Office of Personnel Management director John Berry (Australia), former Democratic National Committee finance chairman and Obama fundraising director Rufus Gifford (Denmark), and hedge fund manager James “Wally” Brewster, a high-dollar Obama fundraiser whose assignment is as yet unknown.

If they are confirmed, the five openly gay ambassadors will join the three already appointed, bringing the total to eight.

Read more from this story HERE.

Actress Katee Sackoff Urges Gun Safety on Twitter, Loses Half Her Followers; Gun-Ban Advocates Outraged at Her

Photo Credit: Fox News

Actress Katee Sackoff said she lost half of her Twitter followers when she tweeted a message urging people to practice gun safety.

After watching a television report about a four-year-old who accidentally shot and killed his father with a loaded gun that had been left unattended at a friend’s house, the “Battlestar Galactica” star tweeted Monday:

“Please practice gun safety. This is horrible!”

Soon after, Sackoff’s Twitter feed blew up with followers advocating gun control instead of gun safety.

“Here’s a radical idea folks. How about NO gun?” one wrote.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama’s Hollywood Supporters Abandoning Him Over NSA’s Unconstitutional Surveillance

Photo Credit: Reuters

Revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been secretly logging the phone and Internet activity of millions of Americans has caused a rift between President Obama and several of his Hollywood supporters.

Actor and liberal activist John Cusack tweaked the administration, tweeting “Prism the name for electronic prison – all have to wear lojacks,” in reference to the PRISM data mining program revealed in leaks by former NSA employee Edward Snowden last week.

Cusack also re-tweeted “Obama is becoming the next Nixon.”

Prominent writer/director Judd Apatow of “Knocked Up” fame also took to Twitter to blast the administration: “What is this, North Korea? We are so inundated with so much info and so many problems – we have given up caring”…

Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore also hopped on the bandwagon, tweeting “the administration has now lost all credibility” while spotlighting a 2007 Obama quote: “that means no more illegal wiretapping of American citizens. No more (spying) on citizens… No more tracking citizens…”

Read more from this story HERE.

Pope Admits ‘Gay Lobby’ Exists in Vatican

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Pope Francis has acknowledged the existence of a “gay lobby” in the Vatican and says he is consulting advisers on what to do about it.

Speaking informally to a confederation of religious groups from Latin America and the Caribbean, he said: “In the Curia, there are also holy people, really, there are holy people.”

But, he added: “There also is a stream of corruption, there is that as well, it is true… The ‘gay lobby’ is mentioned, and it is true, it is there… We need to see what we can do.”

The Pope’s words, reported on the Rorate Caeli website, follow the completion of a secret report on the leaking of Vatican documents. The commission report, led by three retired cardinals, was presented earlier this year to Benedict XVI and Francis.

The contents of the dossier are unknown, but it’s thought to implicate a small number of Vatican officials in “gay lobby” activity as well as some financial malpractice.

Read more from this story HERE.

House Committee Votes Wednesday on Bill Banning Abortions at 20 Weeks

Photo Credit: Life News

The full House Judiciary Committee will vote on Wednesday on a Congressional bill that would ban abortions nationwide at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Last week, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice voted on a party-line vote 6-4 for the bill, with Republicans supporting the ban on late-term abortions and Democrats opposing it.

During the hearing, former abortion practitioner Anthony Levatino told members of the committee the gruesome details of his former abortion practice and how he became pro-life following the tragic automobile accident of his child.

Another bombshell dropped during the hearing came from Dr. Maureen Condic, who is Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She testified that the unborn child is capable of reacting to pain as early as 8-10 weeks. This is when most abortions in America take place.

The committee also saw graphic pictures of babies who were killed by Douglas Karpen, who is considered the second Kermit Gosnell.

Read more from this story HERE.

Homeschooling Growing Seven Times Faster than Public School Enrollment

Photo Credit: Reuters

As dissatisfaction with the U.S. public school system grows, apparently so has the appeal of homeschooling. Educational researchers, in fact, are expecting a surge in the number of students educated at home by their parents over the next ten years, as more parents reject public schools.

A recent report in Education News states that, since 1999, the number of children who are homeschooled has increased by 75%. Though homeschooled children represent only 4% of all school-age children nationwide, the number of children whose parents choose to educate them at home rather than a traditional academic setting is growing seven times faster than the number of children enrolling in grades K-12 every year.

As homeschooling has become increasingly popular, common myths that have long been associated with the practice of homeschooling have been debunked.

Any concerns about the quality of education children receive by their parents can be put to rest by the consistently high placement of homeschooled students on standardized assessment exams. Data demonstrates that those who are independently educated generally score between the 65th and 89th percentile on these measures, while those in traditional academic settings average at around the 50th percentile. In addition, achievement gaps between sexes, income levels, or ethnicity—all of which have plagued public schools around the country—do not exist in homeschooling environments.

Read more from this story HERE.

‘Walking Dead,’ ‘Vampires Diaries’ Actress Arrested in Obama-Bloomberg Ricin Case

Photo Credit: CNN

By Tony Maglio. Actress Shannon Richardson has been arrested and charged for allegedly sending ricin-tainted letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a law enforcement official confirmed to TheWrap.

The 36-year-old has appeared in small television roles on “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Walking Dead,” according to her iMDb page.

Richardson is charged with mailing a threatening communication to the President of the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a statement. According to the arrest affidavit, on May 20, 2013, Richardson is alleged to have actually mailed three letters containing the toxin ricin. The letters were sent to President Barack Obama and Mark Glaze in Washington, D.C., and Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York City. Richardson was arrested today in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, and appeared before Judge Craven this afternoon in Texarkana, Texas, for an initial appearance. Read more from this story HERE.

________________________________________________________________

Texas actress first accuses husband, but she’s arrested in ricin case

By Michael Martinez. Susan Candiotti and Carol Cratty. A Texas actress in a troubled marriage was arrested and charged Friday in connection with ricin-tainted letters that were mailed last month to President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, authorities said.

Shannon Richardson, 35, also known as Shannon Rogers and Shannon Guess, initially told the FBI that her husband, Nathaniel, sent the ricin-laced letters, but a polygraph exam found her to be “deceptive” on the matter, court papers said.

Investigators found that her computer storage devices contained the text of threatening letters sent to the president, but the couple’s computer records show her husband couldn’t have printed them out because he was at work at the time, an FBI arrest affidavit said.

On Thursday, Shannon Richardson told investigators she mailed the ricin-tainted letters, but she claimed that her husband typed the letters and forced her to print and mail them, the affidavit said.

Her husband denied involvement and claimed his wife wanted to end their marriage and leave him, the affidavit said. He told investigators that his wife was “intentionally misleading” them, the court papers said. Read more from this story HERE.