Yeah, they basically decided, in this particular case's circumstances, that not only was the "couple" complaining for unfairness, they found that the baker himself was shown an obvious mistreatment and targeting by the state. IOW his own side was not given the same fairness in treatment. The response to his decision for freedom of religion was not given same consideration...in fact the response was the "couple" shouting a lot of obscenities at the baker, giving him the finger and then organizing nasty protests against his business based solely upon their own claimed rights. So it would seem that it will be future cases that will decide just which "freedom or right" can claim the higher ground.
In addition, the Supreme Court pointed out that the courts in Colorado had ruled that his refusing to decorate a cake for the couple was said to be discriminatory, yet 3 previous cases where bakers were sued for refusing to decorate cakes with pro-family messages were held to NOT be discriminatory. It was low-hanging judicial fruit, which the Court used to create another precedent prohibiting governmentally-compelled speech. Note that this baker (and indeed, NONE of the bakers in all of the cases) never said he would refuse to bake or decorate another kind of cake for any of the couples, such as birthday cakes. It was the message that they were being asked to promote that they refused to do. Now the other cases that (may) come before the Court will work to determine which "work of art" (for example, flower arrangements) falls under the Freedom of Speech clauses and so be protected speech. FWIW, I like the solution one wedding site came up with after they lost their bid to keep their site from being used for SSM ceremonies. They now have a clause in their contract, plainly labeled, that says that a certain percentage of the profits from the wedding ceremonies will go to groups that support traditional marriage. So yes, Bob can marry Ted and Carol can marry Alice, but they will know that they'll also being paying money to groups that oppose what they are doing.
How Jesus Died: Rare Evidence of Roman Crucifixion Found By Tom Metcalfe, Live Science Contributor | June 4, 2018 | https://www.livescience.com/62727-jesus-roman-crucifixion-found.html This cross was erected inside the Roman Colosseum as a monument to the suffering of early Christians in Rome. The Christian Bible describes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as occurring in Jerusalem under Roman rule at the beginning of the Christian era. Credit: Jared I. Lenz Photography/Getty The body of a man buried in northern Italy 2,000 years ago shows signs that he died after being nailed to a wooden cross, the method used for the execution of Jesus described in the Christian Bible. Although crucifixion was a common form of capital punishment for criminals and slaves in ancient Roman times, the new finding is only the second time that direct archaeological evidence of it has been found. A new study of the skeletal remains of the man, found near Venice in 2007, reveals a lesion and unhealed fracture on one of the heel bones that suggests his feet had been nailed to a cross. [8 Alleged Relics of Jesus of Nazareth] The researchers from the universities of Ferrara and Florence in Italy say their findings aren't conclusive because of the poor condition of the bones and because the other heel bone is missing. Nor have they found evidence that the body was nailed up by the wrists, the common method of Roman crucifixion described in the Bible as used in the execution of Jesus. Ancient burial The skeletal remains were found at Gavello, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Venice, during archaeological excavations in preparation for the laying of a pipeline, the researchers said in their study, published online April 12 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. Unusually for a Roman-era burial, the body had been buried directly in the ground, instead of being placed in a tomb, and without any burial goods, the researchers said. The researchers ran genetic and biological tests on the remains, finding that they were from a man of below-average height and slim stature who was between 30 and 34 years old when he died. The lack of grave goods and the dead man's relatively small build suggested he may have been an underfed slave who was buried without the regular Roman funeral ceremonies — commonly part of the punishment for executed prisoners, the researchers said. A depressed, unhealed fracture in the heel bone suggested a metal nail had been driven through it, from the inside to the outside of the right foot, either directly onto the wood of a cross or into a wooden footrest attached to a cross. "We found a particular lesion on the right calcaneus [heel bone] passing through the entire bone," lead study author Emanuela Gualdi, a medical anthropologist at the University of Ferrara, told Live Science in an email. Brutal punishment In their research paper, Gualdi and her colleagues noted that the Romans had learned of crucifixion from the Carthaginians and used it as a form of capital punishment for almost a thousand years, until Emperor Constantine banned it in the fourth century A.D. Roman crucifixions were designed to cause maximum pain for a prolonged period — victims' feet and wrists were usually nailed to a wooden cross, which would hold them upright while they suffered a slow and agonizing death, often taking several days, the researchers said. As such, it was usually carried out only for the execution of slaves in Roman society, the researchers said; the bodies were often left on the cross to rot or to be eaten by animals, but in some cases, they were removed and buried. Regarding the remains from Gavello, there were no signs that the man was nailed up by the wrists; instead, his arms may have been tied to the cross with rope, which was also done at the time, Gualdi said. Crucifixions are often described in historical writings from ancient Roman times, including when Roman soldiers executed 6,000 captured slaves after the revolt led by the gladiator Spartacus in the first century B.C. Rare evidence Undoubtedly, the most infamous crucifixion was the execution of Jesus of Nazareth, described in the Christian Bible as taking place in Jerusalem under Roman rule at the beginning of the Christian era (between A.D. 30 and 36). No confirmed archaeological evidence of that event has been found. But the biblical accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus are a core Christian belief, and the cross has been a symbol of Christianity throughout history. [Photos: 1st-Century House from Jesus' Hometown] The only other time that the remains of a crucifixion victim have been found was in 1968, during an excavation of Roman-era tombs in Jerusalem. In those excavations, Greek archaeologist Vassilios Tzaferis found that a 7-inch-long (18 centimeters) nail had been driven through the heel bone of a man found in one of the tombs. The nail was found in place within the bone, attached to a small piece of olive wood — part of the wooden cross where the man had been hung to die. The scientists who studied the recent remains from Gavello said victims of Roman-era crucifixions were hard to identify because of the state of the ancient bones and the difficulties of making a scientific interpretation of the injuries. Gualdi told Live Science that bones with these types of lesions were more easily fractured, difficult to preserve and hard to recognize. In addition, the metal crucifixion nails were often salvaged from a body after death. The irregular burial of human remains at Gavello still presents many questions: "We cannot know if he was a prisoner, but the burial marginalization indicates that he probably was an individual deemed dangerous or defamed in the Roman society," Gualdi said. ****** The following is a good article about the cake shop owner's victory in court, Against the Masterpiece Cakeshop killjoys... June 5, 2018 On some other subjects, The Sexual Revolution at 50: It has aged like Harvey Weinstein... by Carrie Gress | June 2, 2018 It has been 50 years. That’s how long ago the Sexual Revolution took the West by storm. This year brought another revolution: the #MeToo movement, which exposed some ugly facts. Sexual assault and harassment are far more widespread than we’d admitted. But are these two realities unconnected? Or did the first storm lead to the second... St. Patrick weeping, begging for conversion: A few thoughts from his home-away-from-home in Manhattan... by Kathryn Jean Lopez | June 2, 2018 I’ve spent a fair bit of time in St. Patrick’s Cathedral over the years. But it was only in recent days that I searched the look on the face of archdiocesan patron saint Patrick there. Stately. Certainly, saintly, this herald of the Triune God. Those may have been my thoughts, if I had them previously. But now all I can see is that he seems to be grieving... 7 unexpected ways the Old Testament prefigures Mary... by Stephen Beale | June 4, 2018 We tend to think of the wooden ark that saved humanity from destruction as a type of the cross. (A type is commonly defined as a person, place, event, or thing in the Old Testament that prefigures something in the New.) But some also see it as a type of Mary. For example, St. Alphonsus Liguori envisions Mary as being ‘more spacious’ than the ark... Video: Wild deer wanders into church dedicated to St. Eustace (the patron saint of deer hunting!)... June 5, 2018
This is another horrible situation which has been developing in Israel near the Gaza Strip. Some Palestinians have been floating balloons and flying kites from Gaza into Israel to set fires in Israel. One news story states that 300 fires have been set so far including one near Sapir College, Gazans send fire-starting kites into Israel; minister threatens lethal response By Dan Williams and Nidal al-Mughrabi June 5, 2018 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ister-threatens-lethal-response-idUSKCN1J127C A firefighter stands in burnt scrubland in an area where Palestinians have been causing blazes by flying kites and balloons loaded with flammable materials, on the Israeli side of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, near kibbutz Nir Am A burnt tree is seen in an area where Palestinians have been causing blazes by flying kites and balloons loaded with flammable materials, on the Israeli side of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, near kibbutz Nir Am A firefighter attempts to extinguish a fire burning scrubland in an area where Palestinians have been causing blazes by flying kites and balloons loaded with flammable materials, on the Israeli side of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, near kib Palestinians prepare kites loaded with flammable materials to be thrown at the Israeli side of the border, near the Israel-Gaza border in the central Gaza Strip, June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa Palestinians fly balloons loaded with flammable materials to be thrown at the Israeli side of the border, near the Israel-Gaza border in the central Gaza Strip, June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa Palestinians fly a kite loaded with flammable materials to be thrown at the Israeli side of the border, near the Israel-Gaza border in the central Gaza Strip, June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa Palestinians are sending kites dangling coal embers or burning rags across the Gaza border to set fire to farmland and forests, in a new tactic that an Israeli minister said should be countered with "targeted assassinations". At least 120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops during mass demonstrations along the Gaza border since March 30 and the men sending the kites over the fence believe they have found an effective new weapon. "It began spontaneously. We never thought we would achieve such good results," said Shadi, one of five Palestinian teenagers preparing kites with fabric dipped in diesel and lubricant oil in a Gaza field. "The idea is simple: use the simplest tools to cause damage and losses on the Occupation (Israel)," said Shadi, 19, wearing a "V for Vendetta" mask favored by protesters in many parts of the world and who, like the others, declined to give his last name. No one has been hurt by the fires, but some 2,250 acres (910 hectares) of fields and nature reserves, already parched after a dry winter, have been burned by flames stoked by Mediterranean winds, causing $2.5 million in damage, Israel's government said. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said Israeli snipers should shoot the kite flyers. "I expect the IDF (Israeli army) to handle these kite-flyers exactly as they would any terrorist, and the IDF’s targeted assassinations must also apply to these kite-flyers." Israel has drafted in civilian drone enthusiasts as army reservists, instructing them to fly their remote-controlled aircraft into the kites, an Israeli general said. "If their drone ends up getting lost in the process, we compensate them," he told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The army has also fitted larger surveillance drones with weighted fishing lines or blades that can snag or slash kite strings in mid-air, the general said. But he acknowledged the limitations of such measures, saying: "We'll probably end up having to shoot kite-flyers too." Daniel Ben-David, a forestry official for Israel's quasi-governmental Jewish National Fund, said some kites had been decorated with swastikas or the Palestinian national colors, but more recently were made of transparent nylon sheeting. Some had leaflets attached. "Prepare for a scorching summer," read one, in Hebrew. In Gaza, kite-maker Shadi said his group had never used swastikas on their kites. He confirmed that transparent plastic was the best material as it made the kites almost invisible against the sky. Even if the protests wind down, he and others will continue to send the kites - some of which carry the photos of Palestinians killed in the demonstrations - he said. "Each kite costs us 10 shekels ($2.80). We pay it for it out of our own pockets," Shadi said. A senior White House envoy, Jason Greenblatt, described the kites as "not harmless playthings or metaphors for freedom (but) propaganda and indiscriminate weapons". ***** I could not find a video on Youtube or anything other than Bing or this article itself. So, if you would like to view a video about this you can click on the link to the article provided above or you can click on the following links, the first of which is the video from the article.Thank you. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=kites+fire+israel&qft=+filterui:videoage-lt1440&view=detail&mid=B57E1B132C20CBBFC660B57E1B132C20CBBFC660&&FORM=VRDGAR https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=kites+fire+israel&qft=+filterui:videoage-lt1440&view=detail&mid=0C8E46D83EFF54ABFA810C8E46D83EFF54ABFA81&&FORM=VRDGAR https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/t...gaza-pose-new-challenge-for-israel/vi-AAyi9UL Edited to add: I did find some Youtube videos about this,
Facebook Now Admits It Also Shared Your Data with Chinese Phone Maker Huawei By David Meyer June 6, 2018 http://fortune.com/2018/06/06/facebook-data-phone-china-huawei-congress/ On Tuesday morning, U.S. Senator Mark Warner demanded to know whether Facebook had been sharing users’ personal data with Chinese phone companies that some perceive to be a national security risk, namely Huawei and ZTE. The social network has now responded in the affirmative, at least regarding Huawei, exacerbating the already-high tension between Facebook and U.S. lawmakers. However, Facebook is insisting that the data in question never left people’s phones, and was not stored on Chinese servers. It also said it will wind down its deal with Huawei by the end of this week. This all has to do with a Sunday New York Times report that detailed how Facebook has for years had partnerships with mobile device manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, that allowed the manufacturers to build software incorporating Facebook functionality. This software would typically also incorporate functionality from other sources such as email and other social networks, so that users could get all their messages and notifications in one place. The issue is that this essentially meant giving that third-party software access to the data of not only the people using their phones, but those people’s contacts as well—typically without telling those contacts where their data was going. Indeed, Facebook did not publicly talk about these deals much, until the post-Cambridge Analytica spotlight fell on them. Facebook has now said that it had such arrangements with four Chinese companies: Huawei, Lenovo, Oppo and TCL. However, Facebook vice president Francisco Varela said, the social network approved everything those companies built. “Given the interest from Congress, we wanted to make clear that all the information from these integrations with Huawei was stored on the device, not on Huawei’s servers,” Varela said, as quoted by CNBC. That specification, it seems, is aimed at reassuring lawmakers and users that the Chinese had no access to the data. “Like all leading smartphone providers, Huawei has worked with Facebook to make Facebook’s services more convenient for users,” a Huawei spokesperson said. “Huawei has never collected or stored any Facebook user data.” U.S. intelligence chiefs earlier this year warned Americans against using phones made by Huawei, which are also marketed under the youth-oriented Honor brand. FBI Director Christopher Wray said Huawei’s access to the U.S. market “provides the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information [and] conduct undetected espionage.” Huawei was founded by a former People’s Liberation Army engineer called Ren Zhengfei, and its overseas expansion has been largely funded by lines of credit from state-owned Chinese banks. Neither of these facts is particularly unusual for a Chinese company, but they have certainly fed into a perception that Huawei, like ZTE, is not to be trusted.
He interferes inside the US as well. Spending millions to influence the CA District Attorney races which thankfully was in vain. The candidates he backed essentially ran on platforms of selective enforcement of the law.
Although this is not a large group in the video it is concerning that Hindus are calling to completely stop relations diplomatically with the Vatican and essentially ban Christianity from India altogether. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...pal-image-call-for-christian-free-india-63879 Hindu nationalists trample papal image, call for Christian-free India By Courtney Grogan New Delhi, India, Jun 5, 2018 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Hindu nationalists trampled a photo of Pope Francis near Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi in a video calling for a Christian-free India which was recently posted online. The video shows a group of about 20 people chanting “Pope Francis murdabad,” meaning “down with Pope Francis,” after a speech by a man believed to be the controversial Hindu leader Om Swami Maharaj. Muharaj accused Christians of promoting terrorism and threatened forcefully to expel them from India, reported UCA News. The video began circulating on social media a few weeks after Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi wrote a letter calling for a one year prayer campaign leading up to India’s 2019 general elections. “We are witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles enshrined in our Constitution and the secular fabric of our nation,” begins the letter, which was read aloud in the archdiocese's May 13 Masses. Archbishop Couto requested that Catholics in India’s capital city fast from one meal every Friday for the next year, offering the sacrifice for the spiritual renewal of the nation. He also asked each parish to host a Eucharistic Adoration holy hour each Friday, in which India is consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima. The archbishop’s letter quickly sparked a controversy among the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Several BJP leaders condemned the archbishop’s letter, calling it a “divisive move.” One BJP parliamentarian, Subramanian Swamy, called for India to end all diplomatic relations with the Vatican in a Twitter message May 23. Archbishop Couto responded in an interview with Asian News International that “In all churches and institutions we pray and fast. I’m not meddling in partisan politics. We’re just praying that nation should walk in right direction.” There has been an increase in attacks against Christians in India since the BJP came to power in 2014. Attacks against Christians in India by Hindu extremists more than doubled from 2016 to 2017, according to a report by Persecution Relief which documented 736 such incidents in the past year. Religious freedom in India varies among its 29 states. The U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom found that conditions worsened in ten states in India in 2017: Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
Right BUT read the summary, they basically said this is NOT a precedent for anything. That the one state commission in this one case went into it with a bias. That they cannot do that. This was extremely narrow in scope and basically told the commission don't say some certain things out loud. Now there may be a good ruling in the future, this was not in any way that precedent though.
I stand by what I said before , Dean, and I continue to hope and pray for more good rulings in the future I heard an interview on wtop radio in DC after the ruling and the LGBTQ lobby is not thrilled with this baker ruling I am not a lawyer but I know that lawyers and judges base cases and decisions by citing rulings on what has come before In this particular interview, the man said they were watching the florist case and if that didn’t go their way, then they would be very worried They are concerned now, though
What the diabolical disoriented madness eventually comes to.....when little man tries to "recreate" God's universal laws. Baby born to transgender man could become first person without a legal mother A baby could become the first person without a legal mother if a transgender man wins a historic court battle. Lawyers representing the parent told a judge that he had been biologically able to get pregnant and give birth but had legally become a man when the child was born. The man wants to be identified as the child's "father" or "parent" on a birth certificate, however a birth registrar told the man the law requires people who give birth to children to be registered as mothers. .... (like he's not trying to "force" stuff on the entire natural system....and what about the original "respect" for private and family life of the child?) He said forcing him to register as the child's "mother" breached his human right to respect for private and family life. The man added that such "interference" was not proportionate or necessary in the light of changes which had "evolved in society". MORE: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...gender-man-could-become-first-person-without/
It is very sad that people see themselves in this way and take such umbridge with the natural order. They believe that they are "evolving" and yet never seem to find peace and happiness. I say this in all seriousness, I have relatives who are miserable yet support such a notion and I have never been able to speak with them without them insulting and deliberately mocking what I say. Since coming into the Church some of them will not speak to me any longer and I think are insulted by my mere presence. Prayers I suppose are our best weapon against such things. That and a bit of Holy Water in the potluck dish preparation.
Well, keep fighting the good fight. You (along with your sufferings) are the best kind of evangelization....since only the Holy Spirit can "recreate" the truth in souls through your own personal sacrifices which are intercessions themselves. Very hard today.
well after reading that and watching mr varadkar being welcomed in n.ireland espicaly to st mary's college belfast and by the way bishop mckeown and bishop treanor our govenors I have only one thing to say
From Mark Mallett's latest: THE LAST EFFORT SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART ............ Right now, nature is reeling under the sins of men. Scientists tell us that the magnetic poles of the earth are now shifting at an unprecedented rate and that, along with the shifting of the sun’s poles at the same time, this is actually creating a cooling effect upon the earth.[1] Is it possible that as the moralpoles have begun to flip—that which is evil is now considered good, and good is often deemed evil or “intolerant”—that nature is simply reflecting man’s heart back to him? …because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold… all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now…. (Matthew 24:12, Romans 8:22) The earth is trembling, literally—a sign that the “fault-line” in the souls of men is reaching critical mass. Just as volcanoes are waking up all over the earth covering entire towns in ash, so too, the sins of men are covering humanity with an ash of despair. Just as the earth is splitting open and lava is spilling out, soon, the hearts of mankind will be rent open… Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice… —Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary of St. Faustina, n. 1146 The day is coming—we are living now in the last effort of God before the purification of our world and the Day of Justice arrives… When the Church, in the days immediately succeeding her institution, was oppressed beneath the yoke of the Caesars, a young Emperor saw in the heavens a cross, which became at once the happy omen and cause of the glorious victory that soon followed. And now, today, behold another blessed and heavenly token is offered to our sight—the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a cross rising from it and shining forth with dazzling splendor amidst flames of love. Herein must all hopes be set, from hence must the salvation of men be sought and expected. —POPE LEO XIII, Annum Sacrum, Encyclical on Consecration to the Sacred Heart, n. 12 May it come about… [that] the Sacred Heart of Jesus and its sweet and sovereign kingdom be extended more widely to all in every part of the world: the kingdom “of truth and life; the kingdom of grace and holiness; the kingdom of justice, love and peace.” —POPE PIUS XII, Haurietis Aquas, Encyclical on Devotion to the Sacred Heart, n. 126 https://www.markmallett.com/blog/2018/06/08/the-last-effort/
Arghhh indeed, it is the ultimate attempt to overthrow God's divine order in our courts and set the precedent in society and across the land for abject moral and spiritual chaos. The occult involvement in this runs deep and I doubt that many people in the thick of it are even aware of it. Imagine the house this child will be born into.
