Intelligence Tax?

Augusta GA Waffle House Fight

Texas executes murderer/rapist. Final words: “Viva Mexico!”

by Michael Graczyk

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Mexican national was executed Thursday for the rape-slaying of a teenager after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down an appeal to spare him that was supported by Mexico and the White House.

In his last minutes, Humberto Leal repeatedly said he was sorry and accepted responsibility.

"I have hurt a lot of people. ... I take full blame for everything. I am sorry for what I did," he said in the death chamber.

"One more thing," he said as the drugs began taking effect. Then he shouted twice, "Viva Mexico!"

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Now that we have change, where's the hope?

The Rise Of Chrislam

by Chad Groening

A Protestant renewal organization is concerned about the recent efforts of some mainline Protestant churches to produce an ecumenical reconciliation between Christianity and Islam.

According to a recent blog post from The Last Crusade, congregations in several metropolitan areas -- Houston, Atlanta, Seattle, and Detroit -- preached sermons and held Sunday school lessons recently on the founder of Islam, Mohammad, whom Muslims consider a prophet. Qurans were also placed in the pews next to Bibles.

Proponents of the movement, which has been dubbed "Chrislam," claim that Christians cannot love their neighbors without having a relationship with them.

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Warren Buffett’s foolproof plan to wipe out the deficit

Rep. Todd Akin: At The Heart of Liberalism Is A Hatred For God

Christian preacher harassed at Arab Festival in Dearborn

Waterboarding for Dummies

Inmate files lawsuit for being denied pornography

by Associated Press
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — A Michigan jail inmate says he’s being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment because he can’t have pornography.

In a handwritten lawsuit, 21-year-old Kyle Richards claims his civil rights are being violated at the Macomb County Jail. Richards says denying his request for erotic material subjects him to a “poor standard of living” and “sexual and sensory deprivation.”

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Why I Left Islam - Naeem

Veterans Affairs Bans Mention of God at Veterans Funerals

by Liberty Institute

Liberty Institute, on behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars District 4, The American Legion Post 586, and the National Memorial Ladies, just returned to federal court with new allegations of religious hostility and unlawful censorship by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its director of the Houston National Cemetery. The VA has forbidden mention of God at veterans' funerals, and now requires prayers to be sent in writing for approval. Additionally, volunteers were told to remove "God bless" from condolence cards to grieving families. Last month, Liberty Institute successfully represented Houston pastor Scott Rainey in the same federal court after Houston VA officials tried to prevent him from praying in Jesus’ name at a Memorial Day ceremony.

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Defending the Faith Part 5: Columbo Step Two

Defending the Faith Part 5: Columbo Step Two:

“How did you come to that conclusion?”

by Greg Koukl

The first application of the Columbo tactic helped you understand what a person thinks; the second application known as reversing the burden of proof helps you learn why they think the way they do.

The burden of proof is the responsibility someone has to defend or give evidence for his or her view. The burden of proof has one cardinal rule: Whoever makes the claim bears the burden. Don’t allow yourself to be thrust into a defensive position when the other person is making the claim.

This rule means there are no more free rides. It isn’t the Christian’s responsibility to refute every story a nonbeliever can spin or every claim he can manufacture. When your opponent advances a view, make him or her defend it. Steer the burden of proof back on their shoulders, where it belongs. Make them give you their arguments, not just their points of view.

In the immortal words of Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy, “they’ve got a lot of ‘splaining to do!”

The second Columbo question enforces the burden of proof rule: “Now, how did you come to that conclusion?” This question graciously assumes that the non-believer has actually reached a conclusion that he has reasons for his view and has not merely asserted it carte-blanche.

It will give him a chance to express his rationale, if he has one. It will also give you more material to work with in addressing his objections. It ultimately shifts the burden of proof to the other person, which is where it often belongs.

Since many people have never thought through their views and don’t know why they hold them, don’t be surprised if you get a blank stare after asking this question. Alternate options are, “Why do you say that?” or “What are your reasons for holding that view?”

Sometimes the simplest, most effective question you can ask someone is a variation of the question, “How do you know?” This tactic can also take the form of the following questions:

“Why should I believe what you believe?”
“What makes you think that’s the right way to see it?”
“I’m curious. Why would you say a thing like that?”
“Why should I trust that your organization, the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, the Watchtower speaks for God?”

We can spend hours helping someone carefully work through an issue without ever mentioning God, Jesus, or the Bible. This doesn’t mean we aren’t advancing the Kingdom, though. It’s always a step in the right direction when we help people to discover truth. It gives them tools to assess the bigger questions that will eventually come up.

Further, when we challenge people to think carefully, we acknowledge they bear the image of God. This affirms their intrinsic worth. For a discussion on the value of human beings apart from the cross, see the commentary “Gospel Fodder.”

Remember: The two most important questions you can ever ask are, “What do you believe?” and “Why do you believe it?”

Next time: The Professor's Ploy

For more extensive tactics training go to www.str.org and look for Tactics in Defending the Faith Mentoring Series or STRi DVD interactive training in our online store or call Stand to Reason at 1-800-2-REASON.

Black & Beautiful: pro-life billboard ads labeled racist

Convict sues jail for $50 million...for calling him an "inmate"

by Daily Mail Reporter

The family of a convicted killer is suing New York state for $50 million, saying he is being 'stigmatised' by being called an 'inmate'.

Gerard Domond, 49, says the term implies he was 'mating with other men' in his lawsuit against the state.

The Domond family want the state to stop calling him an 'inmate' as the term hurts his feelings causing him 'mental anguish.'

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Wizard Of Id Parody

Andrew Klavan: Why Do Blacks Vote for Democrats?

The Netherlands to Abandon Multiculturalism

by Soeren Kern

The Dutch government says it will abandon the long-standing model of multiculturalism that has encouraged Muslim immigrants to create a parallel society within the Netherlands.

A new integration bill (covering letter and 15-page action plan), which Dutch Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner presented to parliament on June 16, reads: "The government shares the social dissatisfaction over the multicultural society model and plans to shift priority to the values of the Dutch people. In the new integration system, the values of the Dutch society play a central role. With this change, the government steps away from the model of a multicultural society."

The letter continues: "A more obligatory integration is justified because the government also demands that from its own citizens. It is necessary because otherwise the society gradually grows apart and eventually no one feels at home anymore in the Netherlands. The integration will not be tailored to different groups."

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Rush Limbaugh speaks in Joplin, MO - 7/4/11

Click Here for before and after pictures of Joplin's tornado devistation

The Obama Legacy

Terror threat -- U.S. churches in danger

by Becky Yeh

With the recent airing of an al-Qaeda video that encourages Muslims to attack religious institutions, Christian churches are being warned.

In a video released by al-Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn, the American-born Muslim asks jihadists to quickly obtain guns and carry out terrorist attacks against the West. He states that Muslims are placed in the region to "do major damage to the enemies of Islam, waging war on their religion, sacred places, and things and brethren."

"That's very troubling," admits Steve Amundson of the Florida Security Council. "Adam Gadhan lived here in Southern California for a number of years. He studied under Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi at the Islamic Center of Orange County, which is in Garden Grove."

church steepleGadahn's statements to U.S. Muslims follow the death of Osama bin Laden. In response, the Christian Emergency Network has issued a warning for churches in the United States, and Amundson advises Christians to stay alert.

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Economic Freedom & Quality of Life

ACLU Attacks God and Children, Again

by Mark Baisley

Last Tuesday, June 21, 2011, the ACLU filed its latest lawsuit against an American school district for violating their “separation between church and state” mantra. The specific offense is allowing parents to spend vouchers for their children at schools that have a religious foundation.

The famous words, “wall of separation between church and state” came from a letter of assurance from President Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Church. That same letter from Jefferson also includes the sentiments, “I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man.”

And yet, there is no insistence by the courts nor the ACLU that public schools recognize the Father and Creator of man.

Thomas Jefferson was not a fan of having a Bill of Rights in the Constitution.

Yet his unofficial words that were never debated, voted on, nor ratified have become the phrase used to hammer school districts who would dare allow voluntary attendance to schools that acknowledge an intelligent design behind the science that they teach.

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Geithner: We Must Tax Small Businesses to Protect Big Gov

Lee Greenwood - God Bless the USA (Live in 1985)