text:
of the Attack on Traditional Values
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
We are facing uncertain times. America's values are under assault. Religious liberty has been undermined. We live in a day when right is now wrong and wrong is now right. The vicious left-wing attacks against the recent traditional marriage stance of Chick-fil-A and Duck Dynasty should serve as a wake-up call to people of faith. It's not about ducks or chicken sandwiches. It's about religious liberty. It's about free speech. It's about the future of our nation.
As a national reporter covering the culture war, Todd Starnes is on the front lines of these attacks against traditional values. In God Less America he uses both recent news stories and compelling interviews with today's top conservative leaders to bring to light what is happening across our country. In his award-winning, satire-meets-serious writing style he strikes an important blow in today's culture wars.
"Todd Starnes combines Southern storytelling with investigative journalism to craft a book that will not only entertain but also inform the nation about the extent of the culture's decay.
I read Todd's books, and you should too!"
—MIKE HUCKABEE, former governor of Arkansas
"Todd Starnes has sounded an alarm that every American should listen to. His unique insights, seasoned with his trademark wit, makes God Less America a must-read for every American who cherishes his freedom to worship God"
—DR. ROBERT JEFFRESS, pastor, First Baptist Church, Dallas
"In this book Todd Starnes combines his signature humor and award-winning investigative journalism skills to expose the Left's war on religious liberty."
"While most are only dealing with the 'what'
of our current state of affairs, Todd digs deeper into the 'why' and
points to our only remedy. There is hope, and it's not too late—if
we don't give in, don't give up, and don't give out in the culture war
swirling around us. Read this book and reap!"
—Dr. O. S. HAWKINS, Former pastor, First Baptist Church, Dallas, TX
President, GuideStone Financial Resources
"God Less America is very much a book about the great
clash in twenty-first-century America between good and evil. Todd
has thoroughly researched and documented the great moral conflict
in our country. He gives details you've never heard before and calls
you to action. His biting wit skewers the absurdity of liberal dogma."
—DOC WASHBURN, Host, The Doc Washburn Show
"Thanks to the Left's relentless attack on religious freedom, it's now considered by many to be a mere suggestion rather than a bedrock principle of essential human liberty. Todd Starnes turns this
pathology on its head—and reminds us of a critical truth: an America
without true freedom of speech, assembly, and religion is actually not
America at all. Starnes sounds the alarm—and cleverly and wittily
tells us how to restore this central pillar of American exceptionalism."
—MONICA CROWLEY, PhD. Nationally syndicated radio host, FOX News Channel
The War on Christianity
Click Here to Download Sample Chapter
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
It was a puzzling statement, considering the president publicly professes to be a follower of Christ. And yet in his speeches and his politics the president has gone out of his way to marginalize Christianity.
In 1995 the future president agreed to an interview with Hank De Zutter, a writer for the Chicago Reader. In the article Obama accused the Christian right of hijacking the moral high ground. "It's always easier to organize around intolerance, narrow-mindedness and false nostalgia," he said to De Zutter. "And they also have hijacked the higher moral ground with this language of family values and moral responsibility."2
In 2007 then-US Sen. Barack Obama unleashed on conservative Christians again, this time at a national meeting of the United Church of Christ, one of the most left-wing denominations in the country. Obama accused evangelical leaders of exploiting and politicizing religious beliefs in an effort to divide the nation.
"But somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and faith started being used to drive us apart,"he said in remarks covered by CBS News. "Faith got hijacked, partly because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, all too eager to exploit what divides us."3
But Obama was just getting warmed up. "At every opportunity, they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church," he continued, "while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design."4
Now, whatever would give us the impression that the Democrats disrespect church? It's not like they tried to vote God out of their party platform.5 It's certainly not that they booed God at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.6 Oh, wait. They did.
And how can we forget his private comments to a group of elitists in San Francisco, where he declared people who cling to their guns and their religion are bitter Americans?7 That's a taste of Barack Obama unplugged. And he has governed accordingly.
Since he was sworn into office, President Obama has waged a massive assault on the Christian faith with the intent to marginalize Christianity and silence those who follow the teachings of Christ. I believe the end goal is to eradicate the Christian faith from the public marketplace of ideas.
Under this president's leadership, a US military training brief labeled Catholics and evangelical Christians as religious extremists, 8 churches and Christian organizations were forced to violate the tenets of their faith, and schoolchildren were ordered to sing government-approved Christmas carols.9
The Internal Revenue Service launched a widespread series of attacks on Christian ministries and pro-life groups—all deemed enemies of the Obama administration. The IRS even set its sights on one of the most famous evangelical Christians in the world: America's pastor, Billy Graham.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse were hit with IRS audits not too long after they ran full-page ads supporting North Carolina's marriage amendment. The ad concluded with these words: "Vote for biblical values this November 6, and pray with me [Billy Graham] that American will remain one nation under God."
Franklin Graham, the evangelist's son, said the audit was "morally wrong and unethical—indeed some would call it 'un-American.'"10 The IRS eventually cleared the ministries of any wrongdoing, but the message they sent was crystal clear: enemies of the Obama administration's policies will suffer the consequences.
The Biblical Recorder, the official news journal for the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, was also hit with an audit. The newspaper had run a copy of Graham's advertisement. They too were cleared—but only after spending more than $15,000 in legal fees.11
"There seems to be a very anti-Christian bias that has flowed into a lot of government agencies—oppression literally against Christian organizations and groups," editor Allan Blume told me. "It makes you wonder what's going on."
IRS agents ordered two pro-life groups to reveal the content of their prayers and prayer meetings, "as if they were engaged in highly offensive or criminal behavior," the Thomas More Society charged. Another pro-life group was told they could not picket or protest abortion clinics. An attorney representing the pro-life groups called the IRS actions "intimidating" and "heavy-handed." One IRS agent went so far as to tell a pro-life group it had to remain neutral on the issue of abortion and lectured the group's president about forcing its religious beliefs on others. "You have to know your boundaries," IRS agent Sherry Wan can be heard saying in a recording. "You have to know your limits. You have to respect other people's beliefs."12
Perhaps Ms. Wan could show us where that edict is located in the US Constitution? And while she's at it, maybe she could also tell us when the IRS became assigned with the task of policing Christian speech.
Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, warned of a bleak future for Christians in America. "I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I do believe the day is coming when churches will see outright persecution as well as a continued pattern of harassment and marginalization in this culture," he told me. "Churches better gear up and realize that day is coming."
Over the past few years, I've documented hundreds of instances of religious persecution, including:
- A North Carolina pastor who was fired from his duties as an honorary chaplain for the state House of Representatives after he invoked the name of Jesus in a prayer;13
- A senior citizens' center in Port Wentworth, Georgia, that told elderly guests they could no longer pray over their meals;14
- A federal judge who ordered a Texas school district to prohibit public prayer at the Medina Valley Independent School District graduation ceremony. The judge also forbade students from using religious words such as prayer and amen;15
- A Massachusetts eight-year-old boy who was sent home from school and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after he drew a picture of Jesus on a cross;16
- A professor at the University of Kentucky who applied for a job directing the university's observatory but was turned down after the hiring committee found out he was a Christian;17
- Bibles and other religious materials that were briefly banned from Walter Reed Medical Center;18
- A New York public school teacher who was ordered to remove inspirational Bible verses from her classroom. The teacher was also told to remove a quote from former President Ronald Reagan. Ironically, the quote read, "If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."19
Dr. Page said the culture is moving rapidly toward an intolerance for people who have a biblical worldview. He called the pace mindboggling and nerve-rattling. And he made a bone-chilling prediction.
"There will be active and open persecution because of the biblical worldview of churches. . . . When you have national leaders who say Baptists and other evangelicals are guilty of hate speech because of our recitation of simple scripture, then you are going to see the alienation and active persecution of churches in the United States."20
As you read the following pages, I'm afraid you'll see that Dr. Page's greatest fears are already being realized.
Banning PrayersA widow who lives in a Minnesota apartment complex funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was told she could not pray, read her Bible, or have private discussions of a religious nature in the commons area of the complex.21
The incident occurred at the Osborne Apartments in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, near Minneapolis. Ruth Sweats was having a casual conversation with another resident about the Bible when a social worker interrupted their conversation and told her she could not talk about religion or the Bible in the commons area.
The social worker then told the widow the apartment complex receives funding from the federal government and therefore she did not have First Amendment rights because HUD does not allow religious discussions in public areas of the complex.
Sweats contacted Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a legal advocacy group, who immediately dispatched a letter to the senior living complex urging them to reconsider their actions. "Government funding should not be misused to ban a widow's prayers," said ADF legal counsel Matt Sharp. "The private decision of senior citizens to discuss their faith, read the Bible, and pray is private speech, and no law requires this privately owned independent living facility to restrict the religious expression of these members of America's greatest generation."22
The letter explained that "HUD does not prohibit discussion about religion in the facilities to which it provides funding" and that federal court precedent has established that "simply because the government provides a benefit with public funds does not mean that all 'mention of religion or prayers' must be whitewashed from the use of the benefit."23
Alliance Defending Freedom also suggested the facility's actions may have violated federal and state anti-discrimination laws. "The right thing to do out of respect for the senior citizens—many of whom fought or saw their spouses fight in wars to defend our nation and the freedoms upon which it is built—is to remove the ban on religious expression in the commons area," the letter states. "We hope that this letter will clear up these issues and that you will do away with this terrible policy."24
College Shuts Down Dorm Room Bible StudyOfficials at Rollins College in Florida ordered a group of students to shut down a Bible study they were holding in the privacy of a dorm room because, they said, it violated the rules. The incident occurred in the midst of a campus battle over whether religious groups that require their leaders to adhere to specific religious beliefs are violating the school's non-discrimination policies.
Four students affiliated with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship were holding an informal Bible study in the common area of a dorm suite. Midway through the study a resident hall assistant entered the room and asked the student leading the study to step outside.
"He was told they were no longer allowed inside the dorm, even with the express consent of the students to do Bible studies," said Greg Jao, InterVarsity's national field director. "They said it was because InterVarsity was no longer a registered student group on campus."
The well-known Christian ministry was de-recognized as an official campus organization after it refused to comply with the college's non-discrimination policy. This is a common practice among public universities that are hostile to Christian students.
While InterVarsity welcomes all students and faculty to join its group, it requires leaders to be followers of Christ. The college maintained that requirement is a violation of its non-discrimination policy.
One student who was inside the dorm room when the Bible study was shut down told me it was a confusing moment. "It was really sad," the student said. "One of the students in our group called it frightening." The student asked not to be identified due to fears of backlash from the college.
"I'm so disappointed in the decision that was made to do that," the student said. "We do love this campus. That's why we are involved in student ministry here. There's a great feeling of disappointment because we do feel like this decision is not in the spirit of open dialogue and diversity that we know Rollins upholds as a core belief."
Jao said the students took their concerns to Student Affairs. He said they compared it to kicking a fraternity off campus but still allowing it to sponsor parties. "We pointed out that Christian students holding a Bible study is a little bit different than a fraternity sponsoring a kegger in a dorm," Jao said. "If students want to have a Bible study, they should be free to do so."
But Jao said the college was sending a message to Christian students that they are not welcome. "The challenge is that InterVarsity students are feeling somewhat targeted in ways that no other religious group would be," he said. "You don't get much more quiet than four students meeting together to study the Bible."
And in the aftermath of the college's decision not to exempt religious groups from its non-discrimination policy, other Christian organizations were getting nervous. "Christian students certainly feel marginalized and unwelcome," Jao said. "Whether it's intended or not, that's the message the students have received."
Jao also said at least one other Christian group had been de-recognized, and the college's Catholic student group was also worried about the ruling. "They want to know how it will affect Catholic students," Jao said. "I think they see it's in the cards."
"This kind of policy leaves open the door for lots of further consequences as far as expulsion and demands on ministries," the anonymous student said. "The non-discrimination policy is turning into an exclusionary policy in their hands, and we're hoping the college will see the irony in what's happening."
So why not just change InterVarsity's policy and comply with the college's demands? The student who reached out to me said that just can't happen. "To change our policy would be to say anyone with any set of values can lead," the student said.
I spoke with several other students at the school, and they said they love Rollins College but are very concerned about the future of Christian student ministry. "With decisions like this, it makes the claim that whatever group is being removed off campus isn't worthy of having that voice," one student said. "They are not valued by the college."
"By and large, they are saying this group of students isn't wanted in the greater conversation on campus," another student added.
And so the underground church is alive and well in Florida.
Wounded Warrior Rejects Church's DonationsElsewhere in Florida, a Christian church and school were devastated after the Wounded Warrior Project refused to accept their fundraising effort because, they were told, it was "religious in nature."
"We were heartbroken," said Wallace Cooley, pastor of Liberty Baptist Church and Academy in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Cooley said they had already paid a $100 registration fee to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and were about to launch the campaign when they received an e-mail from the organization. The church had planned on taking up a special offering on the last Sunday in February 2013, and students were collecting money from family and friends.
"We must decline the opportunity to be the beneficiary of your event due to our fundraising event criteria, which doesn't allow community events to be religious in nature," read the e-mail from the Wounded Warrior Project community events team. "Please note your registration fee will be refunded within the next 7-10 business days."
The project said that as a nonpartisan organization, it cannot accept event fundraising from companies "in which the product or message is religious in nature."
Pastor Cooley said the church and school were so shocked that the school secretary called the Wounded Warrior Project to make sure there hadn't been a mistake. He said a representative assured her that "religious" was indeed on their banned list. "We had to tell our children and parents we can't give to the Wounded Warrior Project," Pastor Cooley told me. "We are second-class citizens now because we are people of faith."
The fundraising project was a joint effort by the 400-member church and the 460 students who attend the academy. The pastor said he first learned about the project by watching Fox News Channel. "We appreciate the freedoms we enjoy in this country and the fact that our soldiers have fought for freedom of religion," he said. "We teach patriotism in our school."
The pastor said they expected to raise as much as $50,000 for the veterans. "We are not a wealthy congregation," he said. "But they are generous. We could tell as we began to talk to our people that it stirred their hearts." He said the idea of giving sacrificially to help someone else struck a chord with students in the academy.
Ted and Cherilyn Mein have two young daughters who attend the school. Cherilyn said their girls were simply devastated by the news the fundraising effort had been cancelled. "Our school is all about patriotism," she told me. "We teach that our country was founded for religious freedom—and then to find out that we couldn't even support the Wounded Warriors because we are Christians? It was hard to explain it to them."
Kindergarten teacher Tanya Sue Albritton posted a note on the Wounded Warrior Project Facebook page recounting what she had to tell her class. "They were very sad," Albritton wrote. "One little girl wanted to know, 'Why can't we share with the soldiers?'"
Cooley broke the news to his congregation in what he called "one of the saddest letters I have ever had to write."
"We are very disappointed that we, as a religious organization, are being discriminated against," he wrote to parents. "But they are a private organization and have and should have the freedom to make their own rules."
On the flip side, the pastor told parents, "We also have the right to make our choice as to where our support goes."
Becky Sharp teaches sixth grade at Liberty Baptist Academy. She posted a message on the Wounded Warrior Facebook page noting her extreme disappointment. She said her students had already raised $400 and that many of the boys and girls donated their lunch money in the fundraising effort. "I am deeply disappointed that an organization such as yours would reject money from American citizens who want to thank their soldiers for what they have done," she wrote.
Pastor Cooley said they returned donations that had been collected and were looking for another veterans group to help.
Police Chaplain Told to Stop Praying in the Name of JesusFor more than seven years pastor Terry Sartain ministered to police officers and their families in Charlotte, North Carolina. Whenever the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department invited him to deliver an invocation, he prayed "in the name of Jesus."
But not anymore. Volunteer chaplains in the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police Department are no longer allowed to invoke the name of Jesus in prayers at public events held on government property. Major John Diggs, who oversees the chaplain program, told television station WSOC the policy is a "matter of respecting that people may have different faiths and that it is not aimed at any one religion or denomination."25
Sartain, the pastor of Horizon Christian Fellowship, told me he first learned of the change when he was scheduled to give an invocation at a promotion ceremony. Before the event, he received a telephone call from his superior major. "I was told chaplains can no longer invoke the name of Jesus on government property," Sartain said. "[He said] if I could refrain from that during the invocation, he would appreciate that."
Sartain said he was surprised by the telephone call. The pastor said he's prayed "consistently" in the name of Jesus at past police department events without any issues. "I'm very sad about it," he said. "I'm a pastor, and Jesus is the only thing I have to offer to bless people—His life and His person.
"It brings about a very real concern about where we are heading as a nation," he continued. "I serve a God who loves people unconditionally, who died for their sins on the cross, who wants to reconcile Himself to them and love them where they are at—and now I'm told I can't bless people as a result of that."
The police department said Sartain could still pray—just not to Jesus. So to whom was the Christian minister supposed to pray? "That was my question," Sartain said. "If I'm going to pray, what should I pray?"
Sartain said the police department wanted him to deliver a "secular prayer." But he said, "Even when I wasn't a Christian, in my past, I didn't even know what a secular prayer was. Why even pray if it's to the one who's in the room? That could be anybody." So Sartain asked the police department to withdraw his name from consideration for future public prayers.
Sartain said it's apparent that "Christians, for the most part, are targeted in these days that we exist in." He said Christians just want the same rights and privileges as everybody else. "Let the playing field remain level," he said.
Churches Banned From Public SpacesIn 2011 an evangelical Christian church was told by New York City officials it could no longer rent a community room in a federally funded housing project named after Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
An attorney representing the Bronx Bible Church said the congregation was notified that Christmas Day would be the last day the church could worship at the housing project. "It does present a very ugly picture of the state of religious liberties in New York City," said Jordan Lorence, senior counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom. "It's the height of irony that the housing authority would violate the First Amendment at a place named after a Supreme Court justice."
Lorence said the New York City Housing Authority based its decision on a recent court case that said New York City has a constitutional right to bar churches from renting schools during non-school hours for worship services. The Supreme Court declined to review the case—meaning dozens of Christian churches were then forced to find other places to hold their services. "What's next—Central Park?" Lorence asked. "Religious groups can't meet there? Where is this all going to stop?"
A spokesperson for the Housing Authority declined to comment but did offer the following statement: "The terms of this lease have expired, and the New York City Housing Authority is reviewing the renewal of all of its leases."
The only trouble is, Lorence told me there was no expiration date on the lease and that when the pastor of Bronx Bible Church was contacted by the Housing Authority, there was no mention of the end-of-the-year expiration of the lease. "This is an arbitrary and unconstitutional decision," Lorence told me shortly after the church was banned. "Even if they adopt an anti-worship-service policy, they haven't done so yet. So there's no reason why they should be kicking out a church—especially during the holidays."
Lorence said the decision to evict the church sends a dangerous message to the city's Christian community. "They're suggesting that religion is something dangerous that people shouldn't be exposed to, and that is an extreme and wrong understanding of the Establishment Clause," he said, referring to the clause in the First Amendment that prevents the government from declaring a specific church or religion to be the official religion or church of the government. "Religious expression is being driven away, prohibited in public buildings that are open to all other community groups to meet."
Jailed for Hosting a Bible StudyA Phoenix man who violated city zoning laws by hosting a Bible study in the privacy of his home was sentenced to sixty days in jail. Michael Salman was found guilty in the city of Phoenix court of sixty-seven code violations. He was sentenced to sixty days in jail along with three years of probation and a $12,180 fine.26
Members of Salman's Bible study group posted a video of their teacher as he self-reported to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. It was an emotional scene. "We believe that people should not be prohibiting other people from having Bible studies in their homes," Salman said outside the jail. "We believe what they are doing is wrong. It's private property. It's our home."
Salman embraced some of his Bible study members before offering final remarks. "At the very end, after all is said and done, God will ultimately have glory in this," he said. "We do this for the glory of the Lord."
Someone off camera could be heard remarking, "I love you, pastor."
Salman's incarceration is the result of a long-running feud between the ordained pastor and the city of Phoenix over weekly Bible studies that Salman and his wife hosted in their home. City officials determined that the weekly gatherings constituted a church—and therefore violated a number of code regulations.
The controversy erupted in 2009, when nearly a dozen police officers raided the Salmans' home and a two-thousand-square-foot building in their backyard. The family had moved their Bible study into the building after the group outgrew the home's living room. The charges that sent Salman to jail were a result of that raid, ranging from not posting exit lights above the doors to not having handicap ramps or handicap parking.
Salman told me the attacks on his family were nothing more than a crackdown on religious liberty. "They're attacking what I, as a Christian, do in the privacy of my home," he said. "At what point does the government have the right to state that you cannot have family and friends over at your home three times a week?"
But city officials said it was a matter of zoning and proper permitting, not religious freedom. They said he was given a permit to convert a garage into a game room, not a church. "Any other occupancy or use—business, commercial, assembly, church, etc.—is expressly prohibited pursuant to the city of Phoenix building code and ordinances," said Vicki Hill, the chief assistant city prosecutor.
The irony of that rule was not lost on Salman. "If I had people coming to my home on a regular basis for poker night or Monday Night Football, it would be permitted," he said. "But when someone says to us we are not allowed to gather because of religious purposes, that is when you have discrimination."
The city of Phoenix argued otherwise. They put out a fact sheet to back up their assertion that he was operating a church on his property. They released a damning memorandum detailing a mountain of evidence. They said that Salman filed for tax-exempt status annually and had as many as eighty people attending services. They also said he collected a tithe.27
But perhaps the most disturbing evidence was found inside the family's home. City officials allege they found chairs—and they were "aligned in a pew formation." Well, that settles it. I'm surprised they didn't tie the man to a pole and burn him at the stake.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said the attack against Salman should serve as a wake-up call to Christians across the nation. "Any time religious freedom or the freedom of speech is infringed upon, Americans should be concerned," Perkins said. "We are seeing jurisdictions using zoning ordinances to crack down [on] the exercise of religious freedom."
Perkins said there is a movement in recent years for churches to move back to an early church model, where Christians met in private homes rather than church facilities. As a result, he said some communities are, in fact, cracking down on what people do in the privacy of their homes.
"We're seeing more Bible studies, home-based churches, small groups meeting together," he said, "and people are not able to do with their own property that which is an exercise of their religious freedom." Perkins also took issue with the city of Phoenix deciding what constitutes a church. "The definition is nebulous," he said. "A family of more than eight people who gather for prayer could meet the definition of a church."
"It goes back to religious freedom," Perkins continued. "As long as it's not posing a threat or a nuisance to the surrounding property owners, people should be free to do with their property as they see fit."
No Jesus in the GraveyardThe family of a Colorado preacher's wife is still fuming after the director of the city-owned cemetery refused to engrave her final resting place with the name Jesus because it might offend people. The city eventually reversed course under public pressure.
"We were in disbelief," said Stacy Adams, the daughter-in-law of Linda Baker. "Who tries to censor Jesus from a cemetery?" Linda Baker lost her battle with cancer in October 2013. She was the wife of Mark Baker, the pastor of Harvest Baptist Church in Ovid. Adams said her mother-in-law was passionate about her Christian faith and her family. Her final wish was to have her cemetery marker engraved with the ichthus, a symbol of early Christianity. She also wanted the word Jesus written inside the fish.
"At first they told us it wouldn't fit," Adams told me. "But after we kept pushing them, the cemetery director told us that it might offend somebody. They weren't going to allow it."
The family was devastated and asked the cemetery director to reconsider. He refused. "He said, 'What if somebody wanted to put a swastika?'" Adams recounted. "My reply was, 'So what if they do?' It's not my business how they want to be remembered."
The family then took their concerns to the Sterling city manager— but once again, they were rebuffed. "He refused to work with us," Adams said. "He said he would have to take it to the city attorney. They were being difficult."
Adams said city officials kept telling them people would be offended by the name of Christ. "We weren't asking for a six-foot neon sign," she said. "We did not want to put a cross on everyone's tombstone. It's a six-inch fish with the name Jesus on it."
So the family decided to post their plight on Facebook—and that's when the city had a change of heart. "We gave them fair warning," Adams said. "We gave them time to do the right thing."
Sterling city manager Joe Kiolbasa told 9news.com they would no longer censor religious references on headstones and cemetery markers. He said the cemetery manager made a mistake. "This gentleman thought it may have been objectionable to someone because of the Christian connotation," Kiolbasa told the television station. "It will be allowed in the future."28
Adams tells me the family was incredibly distraught and disturbed by the incident. "As an American and as a Christian, we have this thing called freedom of speech, freedom of expression," she said. "We weren't trying to stop anybody from putting anything up. We just wanted the same freedom others have."
Besides, the cemetery is filled with tombstones that have Bible verses and angels and other religious symbols.
Adams can't help but wonder why "people are so fearful of one name that they would go to such lengths to try and eliminate it."
"If it can happen in a small country town like this, it makes you wonder what's happening in other parts of the nation," she said.
She raises a valid question. It's outrageous that a grieving American family had to fight and cajole a city government to allow them to engage in their constitutional rights. I say the city of Sterling, Colorado, owes the family of Linda Baker a sincere apology—and it should probably be delivered from the pulpit of Pastor Baker's church.
As for the cemetery manager—comparing the name of Jesus to a swastika? Really, sir? My only wish is that on Judgment Day, Mrs. Baker is standing at the pearly gates watching you explain yourself to Saint Peter.
You Can't Have Your Cheese and Jesus TooA Florida ministry that feeds the poor said a state agriculture department official told them they would not be allowed to receive USDA food unless they removed from their facility portraits of Christ and the Ten Commandments and a banner that reads "Jesus is Lord," and stopped giving Bibles to the needy.
For the past thirty-one years the Christian Service Center has been providing food to the hungry in Lake City, Florida, without any problems. But all that changed when it said a state government worker showed up to negotiate a new contract.
"The [person] told us there was a slight change in the contract," said executive director Kay Daly. "They said we could no longer have religious information where the USDA food is being distributed. They told us we had to take that stuff down."
Daly said it's no secret that the Christian Service Center is a Christian ministry. "We've got pictures of Christ on more than one wall," she told me. "It's very clear we are not social services. We are a Christian ministry."
But Daly and her staff sat in stunned disbelief as the government agents also informed them the Christian Service Center could no longer pray or provide Bibles to those in need. The government contract also forbade any references to the ministry's chapel.
"We asked if we had to change the name of the organization, but they said we could leave that," Daly said. "But we had to take our religious stuff down."
She said they were told they could continue distributing USDA food so long as it was somewhere else on the property—away from anything that could be considered religious. In other words, the Christian Service Center had a choice: choose God or the government cheese.
So in a spirit of Christian love and fellowship, Daly politely told the government what they could do with their cheese. "We decided to eliminate the USDA food, and we're going to trust God to provide," she told me. "If God can multiply fish and loaves for ten thousand people, He can certainly bring in food for our food pantry so we can continue to feed the hungry."
In a nutshell, Daly said the Christian Service Center would not compromise. "We are a Christian ministry," she said. "Our purpose is to help people in need and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are going to pray with them. We are going to offer them a Bible. We are going to counsel them in Christian help. We are going to use our chapel."
Churches across Lake City have stepped up to the challenge, filling the void left when the government took away their cheese. "I'm called to do what the Lord tells me to do," Daly said. "I'm not called to worry about it. I pray about it. The Lord answers our prayers, and we move forward one day at a time, one person at a time."
Baptisms Banned in Public RiversFor as far back as anyone can remember, Missouri Baptists have gathered on riverbanks for Sunday afternoon baptisms. The preacher leads the new believers into the water, draped in white robes as a choir sings "Shall We Gather at the River." It's the way it's been done for generations—baptizing in creeks, lakes, and rivers "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." But now the long-cherished tradition of taking the plunge has been drawn into a controversy with the federal government.
Many Christians believe the Bible commands new followers of Christ to be baptized immediately after their conversion. It's a public expression and celebration of their newfound faith in Christ. But the National Park Service began enforcing a policy that required churches to obtain special use permits in order to baptize in public waters.
As part of the same permit process, the National Park Service also mandated churches give forty-eight hours advance notice of pending baptisms. But as any Baptist or Pentecostal in good standing knows, that's a problem. "If the Holy Spirit is working on Sunday morning, you're going to baptize Sunday afternoon," Dennis Purcell told the Salem News. "You may not know ahead of time."29
The National Park Service told local churches the permits were needed to "maintain park natural/cultural resources and quality visitor experiences" and that "specific terms and conditions have been established."30
The feds also closed vehicle access to a sandbar along a popular creek in the Ozark Mountains, meaning churches could no longer drive their elderly members to the outdoor baptisms. And to make sure the Baptists behaved, they placed large boulders in the area to block car traffic.31
"Like the Baptists and Pentecostals are going to harm natural resources and adversely affect quality visitor experiences by occasionally baptizing new converts?" asked local resident Lewis Leonard. "I can think of a whole lot more activities along the river ways that are not conducive to maintain the natural resources."
Representative Jason Smith fired off a letter to the feds, demanding answers. "I am very troubled by any federal rule that requires churches to apply for a permit for the purpose of baptism, especially when these traditional activities have been done in the rivers and streams of this nation since its founding," the congressman wrote.
Smith pointed out the National Park Service does not require a forty-eight-hour notification from fisherman or swimmers—so why churches? "One would hope that the answer is not 'because the National Park Service wants to limit the number of baptisms performed on the river,'" he said.
The Park Service responded within twenty-four hours. They said the reason they needed two days' notice was to "give the park staff adequate time to prepare the permit."32
But based on local outrage—and Smith's promise to bring the matter before Congress—the Park Service had a change of heart. "As of today, the park's policy has been clarified to state that no permit will be required for baptisms within the Riverways," Superintendent William Black wrote in a letter to the congressman. "I can assure you the National Park Service has no intention of limiting the number of baptisms performed within the park."33
Smith called the decision a "victory for common sense. The notion that permits would be required for baptisms on our riverways is ridiculous," he said.34
But it's not the first time government officials have tried to discourage public baptisms. In 2011 a church in Olympia, Washington, was denied a permit to hold a baptism at Heritage Park, on the grounds of the state capitol.35
The Department of General Administration, the state agency that oversees the park, turned down their request stating that the proposed baptism service was a violation of the state constitution. "We approved their permit for the barbecue, but our state constitution does not allow public grounds or funds to be used for religious ceremonies, so we got advice from our attorney general's office and we denied their permit for the baptism," GA spokesman Steve Valandra told me.
The American Center for Law and Justice filed an appeal with the state on the church's behalf, but it was denied. ACLJ attorney Jordan Sekulow said the state of Washington was treating Christians like second-class citizens.
Acting General Administration director Jane Rushford said the government was not preventing the church from exercising its religious liberty. "It's an outrage. GA [General Administration] is not precluding members of the Reality Church from exercising their First Amendment rights to express their religious beliefs or conducting a baptism ceremony at the church," Rushford wrote. "However, the use of public property for the performance of religious worship, exercise or instruction is prohibited under the Washington State Constitution."
Article One of the Washington State Constitution provides that "No public money shall be appropriated or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or the support of any religious establishment."
Sekulow claims the US Constitution prohibits the government from suppressing or excluding speech of private parties. But the state refused to back down. "So now you've got a state saying this is too much religious activity so it's not really speech anymore," Sekulow said. "This violates the US Constitution."
Rushford, however, wrote that a "baptism ceremony is a form of religious exercise and worship. And as such it would violate Article 1, Section 11 to authorize the use of state property for this purpose."
The church held their baptism service at a local YMCA instead. Sekulow said the state's decision makes it "uncomfortable for Christians to use the facility in the future."
"If they open up this property for people to use," he said, "they can't ban religious groups from being able to access it and perform something like a baptism." He said if the church were to sue the state it could set a national precedent. "Who is the state to decide what is worship and what isn't?" he asked.
But while the government cracks down on public expressions of the Christian faith, they are embracing public expressions of the Islamic faith—many times at taxpayer expense. Universities across the nation are spending thousands of dollars to install foot baths so Muslim students can wash their feet before their five-times-aday prayers. The New York Times reported that the University of Michigan-Dearborn spent $25,000 to install the foot-washing stations in restrooms. The university defended the expenditure, claiming it was for health and safety measures, not religion.36
In 2007 officials at Minneapolis Community and Technical College banned a campus coffee cart from playing Christmas carols. But they used taxpayer dollars to construct daily prayer preparation facilities for Muslim students.37
Airports have made accommodations for Muslim taxi drivers by installing foot washing basins. Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix built a cleanup station to help Islamic drivers meet their religious needs.38
And San Francisco International Airport renovated a building to create a house of worship for Muslim workers.39 Airport officials declined to reveal how much tax money was spent, but a spokesman told the San Francisco Chronicle they just wanted to maintain "a good relationship with ground transportation providers."40
So there you have it, good readers. Our government increasingly affords accommodation to the Muslim faith while attempting to regulate the Christian faith.
It reminds me of something John Adams once wrote: "Nothing is more dreaded than the national government meddling with religion."41
City Mows Down Cross-Shaped Flower BedA flower bed shaped like a cross was removed from a park in Columbus, Georgia, after non-Christians raised concerns and the city's mayor determined the cross violated the law.
"We had some complaints from other citizens not of the Christian faith," Columbus mayor Teresa Tomlinson told me.
The Windsor Park Homeowners Association was responsible for upkeep of the flower bed and at the request of city officials they removed the two arms. Now the cross is shaped like a rectangle— and conforms to federal law.
The flower bed had been a part of the Heath Lake Park for decades. Large stones had been positioned to form the outline of the cross. But Mayor Tomlinson said the symbol ran afoul of a 1983 federal court ruling that she said banned Christian crosses from public land.
She cited a court case involving a fifty-foot lighted cross in Rabun County, Georgia. That particular cross had been a part of the community for forty years, she said—until someone complained. "A Christian cross or a symbol of any particular faith could not permanently rest in a park," she said. "So we had to abide by the applicable law."
According to local media accounts, a number of citizens are upset over the removal. "The satisfactory resolution is that the cross is there," resident George Wade told television station WTVM.42 He was one of many people to attend a recent city council meeting to demand the cross be restored.
"The councilmen are beginning to understand the urgency that needs to be addressed because the people are concerned about this," he told the television station.43
But that's not going to happen.
Columbus is home to Fort Benning, and the area is home to a number of military retirees, the mayor said. "We have a lot of military retirees of the Jewish faith and other faiths wearing the uniform," the mayor said. "We've had a lot of those individuals come forward talking about the fact that a lot of blood has been shed to make certain that our public institutions are open to people of all faiths, of all races, of all genders."
Tomlinson did not dispute the notion that many of her constituents might disagree with the decision to remove the cross. "Whenever we have a tradition that begins to fade, that's always something that becomes very emotional for people," she said.
She did say, though, that the city would allow Christians to hold Easter sunrise services at the park and that the neighborhood association would be allowed to plant seasonal flowers in the bed, like Easter lilies.
Maybe the city could plant pansies instead.
Diner Investigated for Giving Church DiscountA family-owned restaurant in Pennsylvania is under a state discrimination investigation for offering a 10 percent discount for diners who present a church bulletin on Sundays.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission confirmed there was an investigation against Prudhomme's Lost Cajun Kitchen in the town of Columbia. The complaint was filed by John Wolff, a retired electrical engineer.
"I did this not out of spite, but out of a feeling against the prevailing self-righteousness that stems from religion, particularly in LancasterCounty," Wolff told the York Daily Record. "I don't consider it an earth-shaking affair, but in this area in particular, we seem to have so many self-righteous religious people, so it just annoys me."44
According to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, a restaurant is classified as a public accommodation. As such, owners are not allowed to discriminate based on religion, among other things.
Sharon Prudhomme, who owns the restaurant along with her husband, said she's not discriminating against anybody and plans on fighting the charges. "What freaks me out is the state of Pennsylvania is basically agreeing with this guy," Prudhomme told me. "We're just a mom and pop. We're not some big chain like the Olive Garden."
Prudhomme said the trouble started in April 2011, when she received the first of several letters from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). The FFRF is a Wisconsin-based organization of "more than 17,000 freethinkers, atheists, agnostics and skeptics," according to its website.45
The FFRF demanded the owners stop giving discounts to patrons who brought in a Sunday church bulletin. "I just filed it and blew off the other letters," Prudhomme said. "I said I have no intention of taking [the offer] off the website."
Then the restaurant was served with a sixteen-page complaint from the state of Pennsylvania accusing her of discrimination. "I'm an American," Prudhomme said. "This is America. This is my business, and we're not breaking any laws."
Prudhomme said a representative from the state suggested she compromise and sign an agreement that she would offer discounts to any civic organization in the town. "I said, 'Wait a minute—you're asking my husband and I to give anybody coming through my door a discount?'" she recounted. "They said yes."
"I said, 'Are you crazy?'" she continued. "We have taxes to pay. We have utility bills, payroll, mortgages, and they're expecting me to give everyone a discount?"
Prudhomme said that's just not going to happen. "This is our business," she said. "We're the ones paying the taxes. We need the people coming in. Our life is in this—and then to have someone come along and tell me what I can do and what I can't do?"
She then wondered if the restaurant's other discounts might be considered discriminatory too—like the one on Tuesday night, where kids under age twelve get to eat free. Or what about the senior discount? "Could someone under sixty-five complain?" she asked.
Wolff told the LancasterOnline that he discovered the church discount on the privately owned restaurant's website. "That rubbed me a bit the wrong way," he told the online publication. "It's not a big deal in itself, and I have no animosity towards Prudhomme's, but I do bear a grudge against the religious right that seems to intrude on our civil rights."46
The commission ultimately determined the Prudhommes could continue their promotion, but the discount must be given to bulletin holders "from any group oriented around the subject of religious faith," even atheists, whom the federal courts consider to have a religious creed.47
These are just some of the more egregious skirmishes in the war on Christianity. The battles are no longer limited to urban centers such as New York City and Los Angeles. The atheists and secularists and liberals have already conquered the big cities. Now, they're going after Bible Belt towns and cities. They have taken their fight to the suburbs and small towns.
I suspect at this point in our journey that you might be slightly overwhelmed. It's understandable. These stories are not covered in the daily newspapers. You won't see them on the evening newscasts. This is a war that the mainstream media has decided is not worth covering. That's because this is an unconventional war. And the Bible tells us the enemy cannot be defeated with modern day weapons: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."48
Just before the start of World War II the British government produced a motivational poster intended to raise the morale of the public. "Keep Calm and Carry On," the posters declared.49 We had a similar saying growing up in the Deep South. It brought a smile to our faces during those rough patches of life. And perhaps it might offer you a bit of encouragement before we move on to the next chapter: Keep Calm and Butter a Biscuit.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
|Store Phone Number
|May 10
|Christian Supply - 1600 John B. White, SR Blvd Spartanburg, SC 29301
|May 12
|Lifeway - 11977 St. Charles Rock Rd, Bridgeton, MO 63044
|May 12
Click Here to Attend
|Missouri Athletic Club - 405 Washington Ave St.Louis, MO 63102
The town hall event sponsored by a FOX affiliate
|May 13
|Barnes & Noble - 1001 Barnes Crossing Rd #104 Tupelo, MS 38804
|May 13
|North Greenwood Baptist Church - 615 Grand Blvd, Greenwood, MS 38930
|May 14
|Lifeway - 1150 Oxford Exchange Blvd, Oxford, AL 36203
|May 14
|Lifeway - 3125 Woodward Crossing Blvd, Buford, GA 30519
|May 14
Click here to attend
|Brenau University Downtown Center -
301 Main Street, Gainesville, GA 30501
|May 15
|Barnes & Noble - 1701 Mallory Lane Brentwood, TN 3702
|May 16
|Lifeway - 3211 Peoples St, Johnson City, TN 37604
|May 16
|Lifeway - 10990 Parkside Dr, Knoxville, TN 37934
|May 17
|Barnes & Noble/Jones Mall -
2750 Carl T Jones Parkway Suite 75, Huntsville, AL 3580
|May 17
|Lifeway - 2200 Hamilton Place Blvd, Chattanooga, TN 37421
|May 18-22
|More Info
|Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference -
1 Tupper Road, Black Mountain, NC 28711
|May 22
|Watchmen on the Wall Conference -
400 New Jersey Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20001
|May 23
|Reagan Ranch - 217 State St, Santa Barbara, CA
|May 24
|Lifeway - 8807 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92123
|May 25
|Skyline Church - 11330 Campo Rd, La Mesa, CA 91941
© Copyright 2014 Charisma House, All Rights Reserved.


text:
Just a week before the Mayan Apocalypse, Google Maps is back on iOS. It actually looks pretty good, and should help keep folks out of dingo territory. Rene and company are looking it over, expect all the comparison you could ever want in the coming days over at iMore.
Me? I'm just glad the lamb and the lion have laid down together. Things work much better when the big boys play nice.
More: iMore

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Texas Armadillo
Dasypus novemcinctus
its so weird and scaly!!!
Description: Approximately 20 species of armadillo exist, but the nine-banded is the only one found in the United States. The term "armadillo" means "little armored one," and refers to the presence of bony, armor-like plates covering their body. Despite their name, nine-banded armadillos can have 7 to 11 bands on their armor. There is a common misconception that nine-banded armadillos can roll up into spherical balls. In reality, only two species of armadillo (both three-banded) roll up completely.
Size: Nine-banded armadillos are about 2.5 feet long from the nose to the tip of the tail and weigh an average of 12 pounds.
Diet: They are generalist feeders and use their sense of smell to track down almost 500 different foods, most of which are insects and invertebrates such as beetles, cockroaches, wasps, yellow jackets, fire ants, scorpions, spiders, snails, and white grubs. A lesser part of the diet is comprised of small reptiles and amphibians and mammal, reptile, and bird eggs. Less than 10 percent of the diet is from fruit, seeds, fungi, and other plant matter.
Typical Lifespan: Nine-banded armadillos typically live from 7 to 20 years in the wild. One captive armadillo lived 23 years.
Habitat: They prefer warm, wet climates and live in forested or grassland habitats. Small streams are no obstacle for these amazing animals! The nine-banded can hold its breath for up to six minutes and can swim or "walk" along the bottom of rivers. Their abandoned burrows are utilized by other animals, such as pine snakes, rabbits, opossums, mink, cotton rats, striped skunks, burrowing owls, and eastern indigo snakes.
Range: Nine-banded armadillos are found in the southeastern United States, but their range has been expanding continually northward for over one hundred years. A few have even been spotted as far north as Illinois and Nebraska! Armadillos have not yet reached the full extent of their possible range, which one study has predicted may reach as far north as Massachusetts. Climate warming caused by increasing carbon in the atmosphere will further expand their potential range.
Life History and Reproduction: Nine-banded armadillos almost always give birth to four identical quadruplets. At birth, the carapace of the offspring has not yet hardened and the unprotected young are extremely vulnerable to predation.
Armor helps to protect armadillos from predators such as pumas, black bears, and alligators. Nine-banded armadillos are nocturnal, and spend their waking time burrowing or feeding. They often have a bad reputation due to the fact that they are the only animal other than humans that can contract leprosy, but cases of humans getting leprosy by handling armadillos are extremely rare.
Fun Fact:
Armadillos have long been a source of food for humans. The nine-banded was nicknamed "Hoover hog" and "poor man's pork" by people who blamed President Hoover for the Great Depression.
Conservation Status: Increasing. Humans have killed off most of their natural predators, and roadways have offered them easier means of travel to new habitats. Nine-banded armadillos have a tendency to jump straight up into the air when they are startled. This often leads to their demise on highways. They are small enough that cars can pass right over them, but they leap up and hit the undercarriage of vehicles. They are also poisoned, shot, or captured by people that consider them lawn and agricultural pests. Some are eaten or used for the curio trade.


text:
Welcome to Kabas Hostel, a small Hostel with a homey feeling. We tried to make a place where you instantly feel at... More Info »
abhostel = the first and only handmade hostel in Antwerp since 2006. abhostel = Indepent from travellers for... More Info »
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Private house of recent construction and large garden, with all modern comfort, easily accessible with private car or... More Info »
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We offer the most comprehensive selection of hostels on the internet with over 33,000 great places to stay in 170 countries. The ultimate online resource for hostels everywhere.Find great value hostels »


text:
spot the mistake...............
Added Apr 30, 2012
by chula123
Great Yarmouth, ...
only had 0,70m of this material, which I bought in France last year, and have been contemplating what to do with it for a long time. Finally, the right top came along, but unfortunately I made a mistake (have a look at the back). Still like the outcome though, although I wish I'd made the top slightly longer. I love the little buttons in the back !!
Material Notes
cotton, buttons
10 Comments Sign in to add a post
Jun 30, 2012, 03.36 PMby janene
Hi Chula. I have just made this top and I just noticed you have too… two in fact. It took me a while to notice the fabric placement on the back… I had to work out what was wrong as it wasn't obvious to me either! At least there is a slim chance of you making the same mistake again! I'm just in awe of the fabric itself in any case. Its gorgeous. Great to know that you can get away with less than a meter too. I think it begs for interesting fabric in a strong colour, like you have used. So I'm off to find some!
1 Reply
Jul 2, 2012, 09.21 AMby chula123
Hi, only just noticed your comment, thank you ! I really love this top (despite my little hick-up) and the fabric !
But I also love your idea of dyeing eyelet material and I like the buttons you used.
I really want to make another one now ….. :-))
May 2, 2012, 06.59 PMby Douli Bee
Lovely fabric! I couldn't see any mistake before I read the comments! Don't worry, it's a lovely blouse! :-)
1 Reply
May 3, 2012, 10.10 AMby chula123
thank you for the nice comment !
I am less worried now, plus I have worn this to work and nobody notice the mistake. That too made me feel better :-))
May 2, 2012, 06.52 AMby loulourosa
Ooops, it gives the blouse a bit of a quirky look, you can say you did it on purpous! The fabric matches, so no harm is done,… It is lovely fabric, and the blouse looks nice!
1 Reply
May 3, 2012, 10.12 AMby chula123
thank you so much loulourosa !
Yes, the fabric really is lovely and my silly mistake certainly makes it quirky :-)))
May 1, 2012, 08.46 AMby flowergirl22
well lessons learned from a mistake are always the best,, you can pat yourself on the back ,, it does look nice.
1 Reply
May 1, 2012, 10.46 AMby chula123
thank you flowergirl !
Let's just hope I have learned from my mistake :-))
May 1, 2012, 12.39 AMby Vonnie Thornton
oh my gosh, I hate when that happens, I made a robe for Halloween and (no print on the fabric, just black) but I cut it on different grain. Not as noticeable as your print but just as frustrating
1 Reply
May 1, 2012, 10.46 AMby chula123
Yes very annoying, isn't it ??
Apr 30, 2012, 10.18 PMby schnui
Chula, this top is lovely and never mind the back; you will not do that again I am sure. The fabric is beautiful and I think that with all of the clothes you have made, the colour of this fabric looks the very best on you. Your face glows in blue. Well done and enjoy wearing this lovely top.
1 Reply
May 1, 2012, 10.50 AMby chula123
oh thank you so much schnui ! Feel much better now !
Trust me, won't be doing that again !!! Such a shame, cos be fabric really is so nice, and the colour is great.
But I shall enjoy wearing it nonetheless; especially after such encouraging comments !
Apr 30, 2012, 06.53 PMby step-van-b
Lovely shirt – super fabric. And the shoes are the perfect match. Wouldn't have noticed the mistake without your hint.
1 Reply
May 1, 2012, 10.51 AMby chula123
thank you step-van-b ! Actually I think now that not a lot of people will notice the mistake, wore the top to work yesterday and nobody saw the mistake. Made me feel much better.
Shoes are from Deichmann, bought them a few years back and am glad to finally have something matching in colour !
Apr 30, 2012, 05.37 PMby Mary Athey
this just makes your top more unique!!!! i made a dress for sat night and cut the back out the wrong way, i noticed when i was stiching the seams! i'd only a metre of fabric so i just cut across the back at the armhole then cut a new top section the correct way and stitched it all up. no one noticed lol x
1 Reply
May 1, 2012, 10.54 AMby chula123
I suppose that is true, unique it is :-))) XX
Apr 30, 2012, 05.28 PMby safiab123
Lovely shirt with 'drunker French' upside down ;))
1 Reply
May 1, 2012, 10.54 AMby chula123
maybe I was drunk making it :-)))
Apr 30, 2012, 05.17 PMby lorenna
it took me a while to notice that the people on the back were upside down! But your pattern-matching was perfect! I wouldn't worry too much about that little mistake! It is a lovely print and a lovely shirt!!!
1 Reply
May 1, 2012, 10.57 AMby chula123
thank you lorenna, your lovely comment has cheered me up !
Wore the top to work yesterday, and as a matter of fact, nobody noticed a thing :-)) So I am not worrying about it anymore !
Add to Favorites no one added it
This project is based on
Embroidered Blouse 05/2012Make it


text:
"Run, run Rudolph, run, run Rudolph, a running like a son-of-a-gun."
"Run, run Rudolph, run, run Rudolph, a running like a son-of-a-gun."
Sound familiar? Chuck Berry's song, recorded in 1958 and made popular again when it became part of the soundtrack for the movie "Home Alone" best describes a fundraiser that will benefit children who attend the J. Smith Young YMCA.
The nonprofit organization is preparing for its first "Run Run Rudolph" on Dec. 8 that features a 5K and a one-mile fun run. The 5K costs $25 before Wednesday and then $30 after. The fun run is $15.
Proceeds from the race will go to the YMCA's Strong Kids Campaign. It will help with scholarships for youths who are involved with the after-school care and summer camp activities.
More than 70 children receive some type of scholarship assistance in the after-school program while close to 40 are on scholarships during the summer program. The programs focus on the whole development of children by giving them opportunities to complete homework and receive some physical exercise. There are close to 400 youths in the after-school and summer programs.
Gene Klump, chief executive officer of the YMCA, said the event touches on the Y's focus of addressing obesity in the community while also giving people an opportunity to help children.
"We hope everybody will get excited and be a part of it. It will be a good thing for our community and individuals," Klump said.
The walk begins at 3:15 p.m. at the YMCA on West Third Avenue. The race will start at 3:30 p.m. at the same place. Becky Serine, wellness and membership director, said they originally wanted a later start time for participants to run in the dusk with the Christmas lights uptown. However, for safety reasons the time was moved up. Registration takes place starting at 2 p.m. T-shirts will be given to participants on a first-come basis.
"We really wanted to do an evening run. We thought it would be something different," Serine said. "We need participants. It's the first one."
Serine noted that walkers and children's strollers are allowed. They are also looking for volunteers who would like to assist in any capacity. Individuals interested should contact Serine at the YMCA at 249-2177. She said this is the first time the organization has ever had a 5K or mile run.
Serine mentioned a lot of other Ys in the Triad have races, and they wanted to try one as something different to raise funds. She said instead of asking businesses for donations at the end of its capital campaign, a committee decided a fundraiser would be a good option.
To make the event more than a race, Serine said, they wanted to make it extra fun by encouraging people to wear holiday costumes such as Santa hats and reindeer antlers. She noted that they will hand out red Rudolph noses to participants.
"We hope it gets bigger and better each year," Serine said.
Deneesha Edwards can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 213, or at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
The Greek parliament approved tough new austerity measures to help curb its soaring debt and deficit as thousands of people demonstrated against them in Athens. European Union leaders are holding an emergency meeting on the crisis on Friday.
Thousands of protesters again took to the streets of Athens (on Thursday) to register their dismay at tough spending cuts that will affect their pensions and salaries. But the Greek parliament went ahead and voted in favor of the package of tough, new austerity measures, demanded by the European Union and the IMF in exchange for a $145 billion loan deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
The Greek government says the country has no option but to grit its teeth and cut spending to tackle the soaring debt and public deficit.
Polls show a measure of popular understanding.
But this sentiment is far from unanimous - as seen from the reaction of this Athens resident.
He says he feels disgusted and desperate for the Greek nation that cannot find its way out of the crisis.
Despite the bailout crisis, concern is growing that Greece's crisis will spread and infect other shaky European economies. Moody's rating agency warned Thursday the Greek crisis risked affecting banking systems in other European countries, including Portugal, Spain and Britain. The euro also plunged to its lowest level in over a year, reflecting the jittery markets.
On Friday, leaders from the 16 eurozone countries sharing the European currency are meeting to sign off on the bailout package - and to discuss ways to prevent a larger crisis.
In Portugal, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet sought to calm fears, saying there was no question of Greece defaulting on its loan repayments He said that shaky economies like Spain and Portugal did not face the same fate as Athens.
Trichet also defended the European reaction to the Greek crisis, saying it had been marked by consistency - including when it came to the bailout package. "We were unanimous on asking Greece to embark on a recovery program. My first point. We were unanimous in judging positively the recovery program that had been negotiated by the (European) Commission in liason with us and by the IMF," he said.
Critics say the EU was slow to respond to the Greek crisis. And they note Europe offered a divided response, with Germany initially reluctant to loan Greece money unless it agreed to new austerity measures.


text: I'm not really one to always change up my skin care regimen, but I've been loving the new products from the La Prairie white caviar collection lately. It's really been brightening my skin, and it absorbs really well. Check out my entire review in my contribution to Style-Tips.com here. Hope you've all had a great week and Happy Friday!


text:
OCLC Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Council Meeting will be held in South Africa in February 2014
Charles Leadbeater will keynote the first meeting held in Africa
LEIDEN, Netherlands, 23 July 2013— The programme has been announced for the first OCLC Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Council Meeting to take place in Africa. The theme, "Library Community in Action: advancing knowledge, cooperation and innovation" will address the importance of community—exploring how a cooperative approach can make a difference and what greater collaboration between libraries can really offer in the context of sharing and innovation.
Librarians from nearly 30 countries are expected to gather in Cape Town, many with a view to explore the potential for new partnerships and collaboration. The OCLC EMEA Regional Council Meeting offers a rare opportunity to move outside the regular circuit of national library conferences and engage in new conversations with peers offering a fresh perspective.
The EMEA Regional Council Executive Committee is delighted to announce the first keynote will be Charles Leadbeater, one of the world's leading authorities on innovation and creativity. He has advised companies, cities and governments around the world on innovation strategy. Mr Leadbeater is the author of "We-think: the power of mass creativity", which charts the rise of mass, participative approaches to innovation from science and open source software, to computer games and political campaigning. He has also worked extensively as a senior adviser to the U.K. government and the European Commission on the rise of the knowledge-driven economy and the Internet.
Robert Moropa, Chair of EMEA Regional Council and Library Director at the University of Pretoria, said: "I can think of nothing more fitting for our first OCLC EMEA Regional Council Meeting in Africa than to have a theme that is inspired by the African proverb, 'if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together'. In addition to hearing renowned international speakers address the topic, we will learn about member-led activities from across our region, spotlighting initiatives in research, advocacy, shared services, technology and innovation."
The OCLC EMEA Regional Council Meeting will take place in Cape Town on 24 and 25 February 2014 at the International Convention Centre. Further announcements on the program will follow shortly. The event is free to attend and libraries from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa are welcome. To register interest in attending, go to the event website.
About OCLC
Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world's information and reducing library costs. More than 74,000 libraries in 170 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world's largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat.org on the Web. For more information, visit the OCLC website.
OCLC, OCLC WorldShare, WorldCat, WorldCat.org and WorldShare are trademarks and/or service marks of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Third-party product, service and business names are trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners.
Bob Murphy
Manager, Media Relations


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New Bern aldermen candidates running for Ward 6 got an opportunity Monday to tell voters why they were the best person for the job.
New Bern aldermen candidates running for Ward 6 got an opportunity Monday to tell voters why they were the best person for the job.
Aldermen hopefuls Jeffrey Odham, Ashley Smith and Barry Evans spoke to about 70 people at the West New Bern Recreation Center and answered 11 questions during a forum moderated by Wayne Lytton of the Kings Row Community Watch organization.
Odham, a native of New Bern and a businessman, said his goal was to bring �a long-term approach� to the city�s growth and prosperity. He said he wanted his 4-year-old son to have a good future in New Bern.
Smith, 68, a retired Air Force airman and educator, said the election was not about him; it was about the people of Ward 6 and the city. He said he wanted to bring small �campfire talks� to the office to hear peoples� ideas and concerns at a more intimate level.
Evans, a retired Marine and small business owner, said he believed in term limits and living within the means of a budget.
Odham said he was inspired to run for office four years ago, but backed out when Dana Outlaw decided to run for re-election as alderman in Ward 6. Outlaw, who is running for New Bern mayor, was in the audience Monday night, and all of the candidates said he inspired them.
Odham said he would seek long-term solutions to problems facing New Bern because, in the past, some decisions have been �detrimental� to the city, like a $1 million public pool no one uses, money that could have been used more wisely.
Evans said after watching the way the city was run throughout the past three years, he was inspired to enter the race and stop raising taxes and increasing debt.
Evans said he wanted to balance the budget and work together with the Board of Aldermen. The most important thing was to provide good jobs and to keep the youths from having to go away to find them, he said.
Smith said he has always loved New Bern and wanted to give back to the city for the core values he learned here. His experiences working in school systems in Florida gave him problem-solving skills and the knowledge of what one person could accomplish working with legislators.
Smith said he wanted to increase the quality of life in New Bern and see a growth in businesses.
�It�s about serving the people,� he said. �That is our job. I think I would do a heck of a job.�
Each candidate said the challenges of Ward 6 included jobs and communication.
Evans said property taxes and high utility rates were also a challenge. He said there has to be a skilled workforce created through the community college and high schools to bring industry to New Bern.
Odham said some of the concerns facing the ward are traffic from Craven Thirty once it is built and the need for a sound barrier on U.S. 70 near the Greenbrier subdivision. He said the first thing he would do is establish an electronic forum, through email, to be like Smith�s proposed campfire sessions with citizens and give them a voice and let them set the priorities for his office.
Smith said he would rather meet with people than email them; it allows people to relate better on a personal level, he said. If everyone came together, they could create a political power, and united they could solve their problems, he said.
Citywide, Odham said there needed to be long-term strategy and there isn�t one and everyone needed to work together on issues; Smith said economic development was needed to keep the estimated $200 million a year from leaving the city and county by residents shopping elsewhere; and Evans agreed, saying �We�ve got to be more than a retirement center. We need jobs.�
Two of the candidates agreed one of the city�s most recent follies was a $157,000 branding campaign.
Although Smith said the branding campaign would be a waste of taxpayers� money if it does not pay off, everyone needed to understand what the city was trying to do. By branding, the city was trying to reach into other states to attract industry, and it could work, he said.
Odham said spending that much money to an outside marketing firm to tell citizens what they already knew about New Bern was �asinine� and the money could have been spent more wisely, like having a contest with high school and college students to come up with a brand. The $175,000 could have provided a lot to the educational system, he said.
�The city was in no shape to spend that kind of money,� he said.
Evans said the money was not well spent and could have been used to train students for skilled jobs at Craven Community College, he said.
Evans said three things would bring jobs to New Bern: Craven Thirty, Craven County Committee of 100 and Craven Community College�s ability to train young people. National franchises were needed in New Bern instead of going to Morehead City, he said.
Something simple was needed for businesses to relocate here instead of fighting red tape, Evans said. The city needs the support of the county commissioners and state legislators to recruit industry, he said.
Odham agreed the city has to make it easier for industry to locate here. Government didn�t know what was good for itself and had no place in private enterprise, he said.
The high utility fees needed to be curbed, but that would take economic development and a larger tax base, the candidates said.
Smith said the city was locked into a contract with ElectriCities until 2026 and lowering the high rates would not happen overnight. But a strong economy would help eliminate the high costs, he said.
Odham said the city was using 10 to 12 percent of the electric enterprise funds to run the city and there could be cuts to the city budget to eliminate that, he said.
�If our elected officials don�t want to make tough decisions, I will,� Odham said.
Each of the candidates also gave their thoughts on revitalizing the Five Points area.
Smith and Evans said the area was looking better, but still had a long ways to go.
Smith said it was the gateway to the downtown area and the old Days Inn Hotel needs to come down; and Evans said there has to be more jobs for people living in that area.
Odham said something needed to be done about the waterfront. People on the water looking at Tryon Palace were also subject to the �dilapidation� of the housing projects next door, he said.
Odham suggested the area where Craven Terrace and Trent Court are be turned into an amphitheater or baseball park.
In summary, Smith said he thought he �would be a pretty good candidate� with his business and military experience and his leadership skills working with legislators.
�I will be a full-time alderman,� Smith said. �I wouldn�t have spent the last six months learning to be an alderman if I didn�t want to work for you.�
If elected, Smith said he would respect and listen to his constituents.
Odham said it would be nice being an alderman, but he would not be a full-time alderman because he had a job. However, he said he would listen full-time and people would have access to his email 24-hours a day.
�I�ve been here 34 years and I know what is going on,� Odham said. �I know where we need to go.�
Odham said he felt the city government should be run as a business, not like a government. There has to be strict funding and accountability, he said.
Evans said he has lived in New Bern 44 years and was a small business owner for 22 years.
�I�m not standing here saying let�s pass it first (matters before the Board of Aldermen) then discuss it,� he said.
Early voting begins Thursday and the election is Oct. 8.
Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.


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Free Anti-Virus Comparison Review
Computers are great and useful tools, but the cyber world is not an entirely safe one. Particularly unscrupulous programmers out there will create pieces of malicious software, or malware, with a variety of intended purposes. Sometimes they just want to annoy you with pop-ups or changing your homepage, but other times malware is meant to compromise your privacy and your PC. Luckily there are a variety of tools freely available for download to protect you and now we are going to take a look at some of them.
As we do not have a collection of malware to test an antivirus' detection capability, we are instead going to look at 'Full' or 'Complete Scan' performance, as well as some other characteristics of the security programs. Any remarks I make about a scanner being able to detect threats is based on the data available at AV-Test.org. These programs may offer Real-Time Protection that scans files as they are accessed, but thanks to the power of modern computers I feel it is not necessary to compare the performance of this capability. The only time I have ever seen a computer operate slowly because of real-time protection was when I tried running three antivirus programs at once on my old AMD Athlon 3000+ CPU (single core, 32-bit CPU clocked at 2.2 GHz). As there is really no need to run that many antivirus programs at once, this special case is hardly worth examining.
Unlike the previous articles I have written, the tests for this one have been performed on my laptop. The reasons for this are that it is easier to run such tests on a secondary computer, it has an SSD with a greater read-speed than my desktop's HDD, and the SSD is only 60 GB; less than a tenth the size of my desktop's HDD. The laptop has 3 GB of DDR2 RAM and an AMD Turion X2 RM-70 CPU clocked at 2.0 GHz and runs Windows 7 64-bit, Home Premium. Of course malware scan times depend just as much on the files being scanned as on computer hardware, but now you know what the tests were run on, in case you are curious. Also, to measure how many resources the scanners took, I used the built in Performance Monitor and collected data from before a scan started to a couple minutes into it.
With these preliminaries taken care of, let's get to the software!


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The Caddo Herald
September 2, 1921
Last Sunday evening Aug. 21, Mr. Allie Smith and Miss Mildred Dollins were united in marriage near Pritchard, Rev. Sam North performing the ceremony.
Miss Dollins is the well known and loveable daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H.J. Dollins who live near Matoy. She is a young lady of fine character and is loved by all who know her.
Mr. Smith is a splendid young man who numbers his friends by the scores. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Smith who live near Buffalo school house.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith will make their home near Buffalo for the present.
The many friends of these young people wish for them a long happy and prosperous wedded life. May God's richest blessing rest upon them.


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He would never tell a client no, says Jay Kershenstein, hospital manager of VCA University Veterinary Clinic in Fairfax, Va. "If we were triple booked and people were sitting in the lobby, he'd never turn away a client ... ever," Kershenstein says of the late Dr. David Jackson. This is just one of the reasons the single-doctor practice produces loyal clients—many have been making appointments for 25 years—and more than $2 million a year.
When Kershenstein started working with Dr. Jackson 26 years ago as a kennel attendant, he never dreamed he'd one day be the practice manager—or giving the eulogy at Dr. Jackson's funeral. To the devastation of his families, both the one at home and the one in the clinic, Dr. Jackson suffered a stroke and died April 14. Veterinary Economics Practice Management Editor Dr. Ross Clark says Dr. Jackson was the highest-producing non-board-certified veterinarian he'd ever seen—not to mention an all-around awesome guy. Dr. Clark was Dr. Jackson's regional vice president a few years back when National PetCare Centers owned University Veterinary Clinic before VCA Animal Hospitals.
"Dave was always in the front row of my Washington, D.C., seminars. He once arranged an evening dinner with friends who also had an interest in practice management," Dr. Clark says. "The meeting lasted until midnight."
1. Shower clients with cards, coffee, and kindness.
"If it's raining, we take an umbrella out to clients," Kershenstein says. "After the appointment, we carry pet food out to the car for them. We do whatever it takes to impress clients at all times."
It could be as simple as making sure you have every single patient's name right before he or she walks in the door, Kershenstein says. Dr. Jackson took great effort to improve the client experience, from installing a coffee bar in the reception area to creating a card ministry program for clients who deserved to be thanked, congratulated, or consoled—even on non-pet-related issues.
"If Mrs. Smith came in and said, 'My husband just had heart surgery a week ago,' after the client left the room, Dr. Jackson would make a note and give it to the receptionist who excels at making cards," Kershenstein says. "Then a week later, Mrs. Smith would get a card in the mail that said, 'Hey, hope your husband is doing OK.'"
2. Leverage staff.
Dr. Jackson believed doctors should examine patients, make diagnoses, and perform surgeries—not take X-rays and insert catheters. With more than 15 team members, Dr. Jackson had more people working next to him than any doctor Kershenstein has ever seen.
Every morning began with a "Plan of the Day." This 10-minute meeting gave Dr. Jackson and his team a chance to strategize and figure out their game plan (e.g., "Mary, you take the exam rooms. Mike, call Mrs. Smith right after Max's spay.")
3. Keep the office door open.
"He was a mentor and a motivator," says veterinary technician Meredith Laddison. "He encouraged me to further my education and get my veterinary technician license. Unfortunately, he passed away before I could get it, but I know he will be with me all the way. I know how proud he is of me."
Laddison says his open-door policy wasn't just at the clinic. Dr. Jackson gave out his home number to clients for after-hours emergencies. He didn't care what the problem was—he wanted them to call, she says.
"Clients weren't just clients, they were his friends," Laddison says. "He would invite everyone over for Thanksgiving dinners and Super Bowl parties—no matter which team you cheered for."
She says all of the employees felt like a family. Kershenstein says Dr. Jackson was his boss first and foremost but over time transformed into more of a father figure. After all, the two started working together when Kershenstein was 15 years old.
"I got in trouble a few times, shot in the leg with a BB gun, all kinds of fun things," Kershenstein says, now 40. "Dr. Jackson was always there."
He says some people just come to work to work, but Dr. Jackson was actually physically and mentally present every day. Kershenstein says he truly cared about what everybody thought and what kind of mood the staff was in. Did his team appreciate his style? The staff longevity says it all, Kershenstein says.
"There are team members who have been here 10-plus years, and a couple of them are approaching their 20th anniversary with the hospital," Kershenstein says.
4. Compliment—don't criticize.
"He would never tell team members that they were wrong. Instead he'd teach them how they could be right," Mayhew says.
5. Keep patients' memories alive.
"Clients are so touched by the gesture, they can hardly believe it," Kershenstein says.
6. Appreciate everyone—even the drug reps.
He would invite them over to his house. A few years back, VCA University Veterinary Clinic even hosted a "drug rep appreciation" lunch.
Dr. Jackson's hospital also hosts a flu shot clinic for team members and clients and a collection for soldiers. "When you walk in the front door, there's a box where clients can bring shampoos, soaps, books, etc., and we ship them overseas and start a new shipment," Kershenstein says.
7. Know your limits to make less mistakes.
"The model of business that David practiced was to fully empower his staff to learn and grow," Judy says.
While Dr. Jackson was enthusiastic about medicine, after 32 years of practice, he was quick to recognize when a surgery or procedure was out of his area of expertise. In these few instances, Judy says he tracked down the best referrals for his patients. Kershenstein points out that Dr. Jackson had many systems in place to support his weaknesses.
"He wasn't the best record keeper and I think he would admit that," Kershenstein says. "But receptionists and technicians have to make a variety of check marks to make sure every single client makes a follow-up appointment, and reminders are in the system to call clients in X number of weeks, months, or years."
8. Offer only the best.
That particular strategy was put in place after a client came in with a dog that had been experiencing vomiting and diarrhea for more than a year. She'd taken him to other hospitals, and no doctor could figure out the problem. A quick X-ray at VCA University Veterinary Clinic revealed that the dog had swallowed a sink sponge—no other clinic had X-rayed the sick patient.
After Dr. Jackson passed away, everyone was scared for the future of his clinic and rightly so. However, Kershenstein wasn't worried.
"Was the success of the practice all directly Dr. Jackson? It wasn't just him, it was his system," Kershenstein says. "He laid the foundation. He built the team that keeps people wanting to stick around."
At the end of June, Dr. Greg Swieter became a full-time addition to the VCA University Veterinary Clinic team, and Dr. Kate Gardner became the new medical director in mid-September. As a sign in the hospital lobby says, staff members will continue "holdin' down the fort" for Dr. Jackson and continue to make him proud.
Click the Next button to read an excerpt from the euglogy Kershenstein gave at Dr. Jackson's funeral.
All photos courtesy of Jay Kershenstein
"Hey Doc, I love you man!"
Help keep doc's sprit alive


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Budapest Pub Crawl - Your Keys to the nightlife
Madách Square, Budapest.
Meeting point: Gate of the party district: Under the arcade on Madach Imre square.
Choose Tickets
This event is for over 18s only - No refunds will be issued for under 18s.
More information about Budapest Pub Crawl - Your Keys to the nightlife tickets
Have you heard about the dark side of Budapest? A legendary nightlife where the city's lights and music flows together creating a wild river of party-mood that fills up its archaic streets.
The perfect introduction into this peculiar world is a carefully compiled pub crawl guided by professionals to make sure you get the best and most out of your greatest evening in Budapest.
Kicking off at sundown, the tour will take you through the awakening nightlife into the surreal realm of its famous ruin-bars. These places, if you haven't already knew are a local peculiarity, where abandoned historic buildings are transformed into post-apocalyptic-looking taverns and clubs with salvaged furniture and artwork made of scrapped material. Their distinct mood cannot truly be put into words one needs a first-hand experience to understand the appeal. And a first-hand experience you'll have when delving under the surface in three of the (world's) most famous ruin bars with us.
To guarantee a wild start, you'll be our guest for a welcome shot in each venue. After the third pub visit, once you are ready for it, the unconcealed party city will unveil itself for you as we lead you into the favourite club of Budapest with an exclusive, no-queue entry.
Join some of the most experienced pub-crawl guides of Budapest and get a sense of the city's uncanny spirit, then dance the night away!
What we have in store for you:
- The best pub crawl guides of Budapest
- The unique atmosphere of famous ruin bars
- Fun party crowd and new friends
- Skip the line entry into Budapest' best club
- Free shots at all venues
- If you are up for it: party till sunup
Please note: The entry to the pub can be denied if the guest's costume or behaviour is inappropriate.


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King's College and You
If you're looking for a college that offers professional preparation, personalized attention and an engaging community, King's College is the place for you.
At King's, you'll find the tools you need to succeed both while you're here and after your graduate. We offer the majors, special programs, and life-enriching experiences that will help you discover your passions. Our small class sizes make it easy to connect with your professors and fellow students, all of which are part of our enriching and nurturing community.
The right environment brings out the best in you.
At King's, you'll receive a personalized education based on professional preparation that's tempered by our core values and traditions. King's faculty, technology and facilities are recognized as among the best in the country, and they are all here for you, to prepare you for success in your career and in life.
What really makes King's so special is the strong sense of engagement you'll have with your fellow students, faculty members and the community. You'll find encouragement and support everywhere, and it begins the minute to decide to join us.
Come and see for yourself!
Most of our students say they knew King's was right for them the minute they walked onto campus. Only you will know if King's is right for you, but the only way to find out is to visit us. A visit is the best way to get to know our admission and financial aid counselors, our coaches and our faculty members. Let us know you're coming—we'll arrange for you to sit in on a class, spend the night in one of our residence halls and have a meal in our Marketplace café.
You can schedule a visit here, by calling 1-888-KINGS-PA, or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.
In the meantime, whether you're applying as a freshman, transfer, international, or graduate student, or as an adult learner or young scholar, please take the time to review our applicant requirements. If you have questions or need further clarification, just call give us a call or send an e-mail.


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The regular high school football season has finally arrived in Gadsden County, but it will be another week before any home field action.
After some brutal summer practice and exciting preliminary action, East Gadsden High School, West Gadsden High School and Robert F. Munroe Day School will all hit the road Friday to start their seasons away.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Gadsden County Times, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
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text: According to Jay Leno, "The only time people in L.A. go off-roading is when they are about to get a D.U.I." That may be the case, but if you are looking to hit the trails with something inherently tough, but with a classic look, the folks at Icon are the people to see about it. The builder, known for retro-look off-roaders with serious trail chops, has done its thing with the CJ and FJ. Now the Icon brand (not to be confused with Iconic the makers of a reinterpretation of the Shelby Cobra) has r