One Sunday years ago as we were leaving mass with our sons, my husband said “Where are the men?” This started a discussion that has haunted me for years, and led me along a wandering path of thought about why so many people are not attending a church. His observation was specifically about how many women and children were attending mass without a husband and father every week. Not every woman there with children was a single parent, and yet he was correct, the pews were filled with women and children, and most of the men present were seniors.
This morning I read a great article by Matt Walsh at The Blaze. He supposes Christianity is dying from boredom. Here he discusses a recent service he attended in a  church he visited.
The pastor began with another round of jokes. They weren’t very funny but they succeeded in being unserious, which I guess is close enough. The sermon was jam packed with youth slang and pop culture. He mentioned a couple of TV shows and Netflix. He made sports metaphors. He didn’t do anything with the references, he just hung them out there like we were supposed to be impressed that he knows about these things.
I think he even said something about Angry Birds. Dated, sure, but it did the job of letting us know that the guy speaking also used a smart phone at some point in the last five years. OMG! He totally gets us!
The word “Gospel” made maybe one appearance in his message. The words “truth,” “sacred,” “reverence,” “sin,” “hell,” “virtue,” “obedience,” and “duty” were conspicuously absent, just as they’re absent from most sermons delivered in most churches, everywhere in the country. Of course he did throw in a friendly helping of “friend” and “helping.” And “tolerance.” Obviously tolerance. It’s important to only preach the sort of principles we can practice from our couches, you know. (more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Former interim CIA Head Mike Morell was part of team Hillary both before and after her tenure as Secretary of State so this admission carries a little more sting…. 

(Via Politico) Former Deputy CIA Director Michael Morell said that he believes some foreign intelligence agencies possess the contents of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
“I think that foreign intelligence services, the good ones, have everything on any unclassified network that the government uses,” Morell said Friday in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show.
“I don’t think that was a very good judgment,” he added of Clinton’s decision to use the private server for official State Department business. “I don’t know who gave her that advice, but it was not good advice.” (more…)

Marilyn Mosby announced her independent “direct action” charges against the Baltimore Six police officers, with a national press conference.  Immediately after her presser Marilyn Mosby appeared on CNN, ABC, NBC and MSNBC national networks.  Mosby later appeared with the musician Prince, on stage with the family of Freddie Gray, at a Justice for Freddie Gray benefit concert.
However, soon after announcing her charges, the facts behind the case began to surface and the case began falling apart.   Now, with the very real possibility of a nation awakening to the political and activist motives, she is asking the court to impose a gag order – so she can hide the fraud and delay public knowledge.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore prosecutors are seeking a gag order as they pursue a criminal case against six city officers in the case of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old man who died a week after suffering a spinal injury while in police custody.
A court document that references the gag order, obtained by The Associated Press, is dated Wednesday. Assistant State’s Attorney Antonio Gioia wrote that the gag order motion was mailed to defense attorneys.
Rochelle Ritchie, a spokeswoman for State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, confirmed Friday the office is seeking a gag order. She declined to provide further details. (more…)

The man who shot at George Zimmerman, Matt Apperson, was arrested at approximately 6:40pm.   Charges:

…”Mr. Apperson did intentionally fire into the vehicle, occupied by George Zimmerman, without provocation”…

• One count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
• One count of aggravated battery with deadly weapon.
• One count of firing deadly missile into an occupied vehicle.

#BREAKING: Matthew Apperson booked into jail. Mug shot here. #WFTV. pic.twitter.com/ArGtIZgSZi

— Ryan Hughes (@RyanHughesNews) May 16, 2015

[scribd id=265486447 key=key-1G05RbvhAS3hbt5YFlEQ mode=scroll]
(Hat Tip Dice Greed) Something very interesting about [Arrest Report]. There are places where text has been redacted but it is still in the report as white text on a white background. You can still see it when you copy & paste the text into another place.
The redacted text in full says:

“During the investigation, I learned that Apperson has exhibited unusual behaviors in which he had recently been admitted to a mental institution. It appears that Apperson has a fixation on Zimmerman and has displayed some signs of paranoia, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.”

JUST IN: Matthew Apperson may not be bailed, according to jail website. #WFTV.

— Ryan Hughes (@RyanHughesNews) May 16, 2015

(more…)

From cartoonist A.F. Branco at ComicallyIncorrect.com.

South Carolina officer was standing at a gas station in Moncks Corner (just north of Charleston) talking to customer when he was ambushed by shooter and shot multiple times. 

South Carolina – Berkeley County Sheriff Lt. Will Rogers is out of surgery and in stable condition at MUSC after suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in Moncks Corner at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night.

The incident happened at the Exxon at Highway 52 and Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner. The shooting happened in the Moncks Corner Police Department jurisdiction.
Officials say Lt. Rogers was talking to a customer at the gas station when the suspect came up and shot him several times.
Lt. Rogers was a candidate for Berkeley County Sheriff in the GOP Primary.
The suspect was driving a Black Santa Fe SUV with tag number 542-85W. The vehicle was found shortly after a BOLO on the vehicle was released. (more…)

This is too painful to watch…. and people wonder why the leaders of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Oman chose not to attend.
(Via Washington Examiner) Yesterday, two Saudi crown princes arrived to meet with President Obama at the Oval Office, after King Salman refused to meet Obama at the Gulf summit or at the White House.

White House officials should have been careful to make sure everything with the two top Saudi officials went smoothly — but instead, Obama flubbed on the deputy crown prince’s name and the name of the king who forged America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. (more…)

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will receive the death penalty for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured more than 200.
Tsarnaev was found guilty on all 30 charges in the bombing and its aftermath by the same jury in April. The jury had to unanimously agree to sentence him to the death penalty. (Story)

There’s a slow-hand session in heaven tonight…. (more…)