Judge Of The Bomber

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV or Radio? Didn't think so. Very few people do know!!!

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his 'allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah,' defiantly stating, 'I think I will not apologize for my actions,' and told the court 'I am at war with your country.'

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young: 'Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further..

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier, you are not ----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: 'You're no big deal.'

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led
you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom, so that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to Preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to
mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America . That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag Stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.

So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need more judges like Judge Young. Pass this around.. Everyone should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to say. Powerful words that strike home.

By Pastor Perry Noble

How To Get Buy In From Your Staff – Part One of Two January 27, 2010

If the staff doesn’t trust the leader…then the leader will eventually have no one to lead!

Leaders CANNOT underestimate how necessary staff buy in is. AND…the funny thing about staff buy in is that it does not truly come about through intimidation, manipulation OR even the promise of more money. Here are five steps that I believe will really help a staff member buy into a leader.

#1 – Clarify The Win

Scripture says in I Corinthians 14:8 that if the trumpet does not sound a clear call then the people will not be ready for battle…and I know from personal experience that at times when certain staff members had a problem with me that it wasn’t because they didn’t believe in the direction we were going…but rather because they simply did not understand what in the heck I was saying…AND/OR what their particular part was.

One of the things I have finally came to realize is that staff members cannot be held accountable for unspoken/unrealistic expectations. All too often leaders will get angry at their staff because they were not able to read the leaders mind…which is insane. If a leader REALLY is a leader then he/she will take an extra five or ten minutes, answer questions and do whatever it takes to fully explain themselves so that everyone is on the same page.

#2 – Keep It Simple

One of the dumbest things I’ve done as a leader over the past 10 years is allow my drive and passion to overshadow the reality of the world that we live in. Let me explain…

I would be in a leadership meeting with a group of people and would be casting vision as to what I really felt the Lord had placed on my heart…and the excitement in the room would hit an all time high! People would be sharing ideas, embracing responsibility, establishing deadlines and getting pumped up about the role they would play in this particular project. The meeting would end and we would all go on our way…

THEN…the next week I would walk into the room and not even bring up the idea that we had been so excited about the previous week…instead I would share a new insight/project I felt like we should take on…and would get frustrated because the energy level of the previous week wasn’t there. In fact, no one would seem excited about it. Ideas as to how it could happen were not shared…to be honest…as soon as I would begin to do this it would not energize the room but rather suck the energy right out of the place.

For a while I thought MAYBE it was a spiritual immaturity issue on THEIR part; after all, if they loved Jesus as much as I did then they would be excited, right? WRONG!

It was an issue of spiritual maturity…but on my part and not theirs!

If a leader wants to obtain buy in from his/her staff they have to understand the following things from the above scenerio…

A. The initial idea the first week brought clarity…the secondary the next week brought confusion because everyone in the room was thinking, “What should we be focused on? The idea that came up last week…or the one he seems to be excited about this week?”

B. The initial idea was being worked on/developed…and so in my mind it was complete and I was ready to move on, not understanding that the people I lead with had just really gotten started working on the initial idea…and so a new idea didn’t bring excitement but rather a feeling of being overwhelmed because their initial thoughts were, “I want to do this AND also what we talked about last week…but how do I do both of them well without working 80 hour a week? What am I supposed to focus on, the thing we are talking about today or the thing we talked about last week?”

C. Staff members are real people who have real lives and they want their time to be valued by their leader. This does not mean that there aren’t times that “the extra mile” attitude doesn’t kick in…BUT…for a leader to think that the only thing a staff member is on this planet for is to serve his agenda/needs is arrogant and will eventually lead to everyone “abandoning ship” around him. It’s not that staff do not get fired up by great ideas/vision…they usually LOVE it; however, when “the vision” means they have to give up being a great spouse and become a stranger to their kids then it is time to do some serious evaluation as to whether “the vision” is actually vision or an ego trip!

D. When a project is assigned the people working on the project should have THE MOST input into when the deadline is going to be; after all, they are the ones who will be doing the work.

BY Pastor Perry Noble

How To Get Buy In From Your Staff – Part Two of Two January 28, 2010

Continuing my thoughts from yesterday…

#3 – LISTEN TO THEM!

One of the greatest mistakes I’ve ever made as a leader is to make a decision that impacts a group of staff members without allowing anyone from the group that was being impacted any sort of input on the decision. We do this as leaders because it is easier and faster…but what is easy is hardly ever what is right! (AND…if you are always obsessed with the quickest and easiest way to get something done…the “end” is a lot closer than you think!)

Today there is hardly EVER an instance where a decision is made around here that someone from that area isn’t allowed the opportunity to dialogue with our leadership team through the decision.

• Why would I make any sort of decision about youth or children’s ministry without actually talking to our youth or children’s ministry team?
• Why would I make any sort of decision about programming without actually talking to the people who serve on our programming staff?
• Why would I make any sort of decision about our volunteering process without talking to people who serve with volunteers?

I could go on…but you get the point. When a staff member feels like they had an opportunity to be involved in the conversation and ask the questions that were on their mind they are WAY more likely to buy into the decision that was made, even if they don’t agree with it.

(By the way…some people call people who want to be listened to “disloyal!” I call those who want to be listened to “leaders!” You can have leaders or followers around you…and only a secure leader is willing to answer questions from his staff that will clarify the vision!)

#4 – Say “THANK YOU!”

One of the things I have realized is that MOST staff members aren’t looking for a ton of recognition and/or huge monatary rewards…they just want to be told, “thanks!”

Reality is this…if we are not careful as leaders we can CRUSH the enthusiasm of a staff member…because…we all have people on our staff that ONLY get recognized if they screw something up. (Sort of like an offensive lineman in football!) BUT…if they show up, get their job done and do it well, then for some reason a leader thinks he can just allow that to go unnoticed…and this is an incredible de-motivator to a staff team.

Leaders…trust me, we CANNOT underestimate the power of saying “thank you.” I’ve heard leaders say, “well, I’m not going to thank them for something they are supposed to be doing.” That statement is both foolish and irresponsible. A leader who is QUICK to recognized “the bad” in a staff member but never stops to recognize “the good” is irresponsible. (Or maybe he/she is unaware! Trust me…”thank you” is HUGE!!!)

#5 – Lead With Integrity

If you want your staff to buy into your leadership then integrity HAS to be valued, pursued and encouraged. Because once a person sells out their character it undermines the platform that God gave them to stand on.

AND…leaders…if we do not make integrity an issue…then one day it WILL BE AN ISSUE!

Staff member cannot buy into a liar. At the end of the day they’ve GOT to know that you say what you mean and you mean what you say.

• This means when we screw up…we admit it.
• This means that when we don’t do our part…we admit it.
• This means that when we are struggling with something…we admit it.
• This means that when we declare direction…we are the first to step in that direction.

Leaders…at the end of the day all we really have is our integrity. Either people believe what we say or they think we are full of crap…the latter will always result in shattered dreams while the former will always result in a team of people who are on FIRE and CONSUMED about the reality of what could be and should be, and will never stop short of the vision that has been declared.

Church Burglary Caught on Tape

By LaKecia Shockley -
Posted by Ellen Krafve -

LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - Just a week after three East Texas churches were set on fire another church was targeted by criminals. Longview police say Monday night, burglars broke into the First Baptist Church on South Street. But, these criminals were caught on tape.

"That's the real disappointing thing that someone would have a lack of respect for a house of worship," said Dr. Tim Watson, senior pastor at FBC.

Police say three people burglarized the church building.

"You can see, in the video, them rearing an arm back to throw a rock through the window and you can also see the subjects running away from the scene," said Officer Kevin Brownlee, with the Longview PD.

When the alarm sounded, Longview police went into action.

"Officers went there as quickly as possible, brought several units with them and when they found forced entry the first thing they could all think of, of course, is that it's possibly somebody breaking into the church and setting it on fire since that's what has occurred in other areas," said Brownlee.

Luckily, it wasn't a fire, but the six church arsons this month have pastors on alert.

"If anything, it makes you feel vulnerable that when it happens to others it could happen to us," said Watson. "We feel like the suspects in this...the perpetrators were really trying to just steal items more so than to cause a fire."

To keep their church building safe, First Baptist has a high tech 16-camera security system with motion sensors and that is not all.

"There is a guard that is guarding our property from 6 pm in the evening to 6am in the morning and so we've just tried to be proactive," said Watson.

They are proactive measures for First Baptist that left burglars leaving empty-handed.

Right now, police say they don't believe the crime is connected to the church arsons. They remind everyone to report any suspicious activity they see around churches.

Woman Kidnaps 1-Year Old From Church

Woman pleads guilty to kidnapping 1-year-old from the Kentwood Community Church

By The Grand Rapids Press staff

January 25, 2010, 6:41PM

Tabitha ReidTabitha Reid, the 20-year-old former church nursery volunteer, pleaded guilty Monday to kidnapping a 1-year-old from the Kentwood Community Church on June 21.

Police say Reid took baby, Savannah Raby, from the Kentwood Community Church nursery on June 21. Reid was a longtime volunteer at the nursery.

Police said she took the child to a friend's home, where the little girl was found unharmed a short time later.

Reid remains in the Kent County Jail and will be sentenced March 3. The Kent County Prosecutor's Office will drop a 15-year felony charge of unlawful imprisonment, but kidnapping has a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Police say on the day she took the child, Reid visited two other churches with daycare areas, raising suspicions.

Weeks before the child was taken from the 60th Street SE church, Reid stole 20 baby outfits from a Meijer store and stashed another $200 in baby clothes in the store's back room, Wyoming Police reports show.

Reid pleaded guilty to a shoplifting charge.

Elderly Woman Gunned Down In Church Parking Lot

Youngstown's start to 2010 is a deadly one. Police found the murdered body of an elderly woman on the city's South Side Saturday morning.

Police were called to Saint Dominic's Church on Lucius Avenue around 9:30 Saturday morning. When they got there, they found an 80-year-old woman slumped over in the drivers seat of her car.

"Right now, we're preliminary investigating a robbery that turned into a homicide," Youngstown Detective Captain Rod Foley said.

Police believe the woman stayed late after mass to pray. When she was walking to her car, a man robbed her and shot her in the head.

It's only the 23rd day of 2010 and there's already four murders in Youngstown.

"It's pretty bad when you can't go to church and you get shot at. You know what I mean?" St. Dominic's Church member John Schneider said.

No one saw the murder take place but Saint Dom's has security cameras around the parking lot. Police took the camera's hard drive and are currently reviewing the video.

One man who goes to Saint Dom's everyday said it's common for men to approach church-goers in the parking lot asking for money.

"They have a lot of people coming around that try to beg you for money," Schneider said. "Why don't they just take the money and leave the person alone? Don't kill them."

The church does have a security guard, but it is unclear if he was working Saturday.

One parishioner saids he may have seen the suspect leave the parking lot and turn east onto Lucius Avenue. He said the man was African-American between 5' 8" and 5' 10" with a medium build.

While the church community is devastated by this tragedy, Saint Dominic's did not want to comment on the murder at this time.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE JEZEBEL SPIRIT

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE JEZEBEL SPIRIT

WEB SPINNING STRATEGIES The individual, operating under the jezebel spirit, begins to secretly spin her web by winning the trust and confidence of those she wants to control. She works undercover and does not want to be exposed. Once acceptance is established, she begins to use truth, seasoned with well placed lies, to clandestinely spin a web of deception and entanglement. Clever methods induce fear in others. She then draws power and authority from their fear. Such individuals have mastered a sophisticated ability to manipulate and control without physical force. A jezebel:

• May appear loyal and might volunteer for special service.
• Seeks teaching/leadership positions to gain position in organizations.
• Probes people’s character to locate weak areas and identify breaches that she can exploit.
• Exaggerate her own problems to flush out others.
• Betrays leadership through knowledge of their personal lives and blackmails them into compromise.
• Uses either truth or lies to destroy reputations.
• Uses or asserts another’s authority.
• Gains power by making political alliances, often in a seemingly submissive and demeaning manner.
• Wears individuals down to usurp their authority.
• Labels God’s prophets as false prophets.
• Orchestrates highs and lows in self and those she manipulates.
• Builds up and then tears down; stirs up or pacifies; is very positive or very negative depending on the situation.
• May be loud and bold, or quiet and cunning, depending on situation.
• Works friends against friends and destroys relationships.
• Mingles truth with lies and occasionally contradicts self - when challenged claims to have been misunderstood.
• Changes opinions according to situation and will compromise when necessary.
• Often manipulates several at one time. • Plays one person/group against another.
• Will enlist false witnesses to testify against others.
• Talks and pulls strings behind people’s backs.
• Undermines self worth and confidence in others.
• Will attack anyone who gets between her, her goals, and those she controls.
• Sets people up and springs ambushes/traps.
• Sometimes pretends submission to gain a strategic advantage.
• Stimulates, seduces, entices, persuades, provokes, sets up, stirs up.
• Uses masculine/feminine charms which are deceitful or enticing to manipulate or sexually harass.
• Dramatic and freely uses emotions to advantage.
• May use silent treatment at times or pout.
• Becomes rejected and depressed to gain an advantage.
• May repent verbally, but not from the heart.
• Those around her never know how to take her.
• Presumes God will not judge them–the fear of the Lord is absent–opening the door to their own destruction.
• When two people under the jezebel spirit are together, they usually contend with each other unless it is to their advantage to form an alliance to attain personal goals.

RESPONSE Be compassionate toward people operating under the influence of jezebel, do practical acts of love and kindness as the Lord directs, pray for their eyes to be opened, and for strength to enable them to stand against this spirit and repent. But have no mercy, no compromise or sympathy toward the jezebel spirit itself. Do not tolerate the spirit of jezebel in any way!

WHAT IF HE IS RIGHT?!

David Kaiser is a respected historian whose published works have covered a broad range of topics, from European Warfare to American League Baseball. Born in 1947, the son of a diplomat, Kaiser spent his childhood in three capital cities: Washington D.C. , Albany , New York , and Dakar , Senegal .. He attended Harvard University , graduating there in 1969 with a B.A. in history. He then spent several years more at Harvard, gaining a PhD in history, which he obtained in 1976. He served in the Army Reserve from 1970 to 1976.

He is a professor in the Strategy and Policy Department of the United States Naval War College . He has previously taught at Carnegie Mellon, Williams College and Harvard University . Kaiser's latest book, The Road to Dallas , about the Kennedy assassination, was just published by Harvard University Press.

Dr. David Kaiser

History Unfolding

I am a student of history. Professionally, I have written 15 books on history that have been published in six languages, and I have studied history all my life. I have come to think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is simply a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten to fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back?

Why?

We learned just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has "loaned" two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the $700 billion we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of "we the people," who loaned our powers to our elected leaders.. Apparently not.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy..

Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity.

Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it simply wants marriage to remain defined as between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?) We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Why?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, social security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and I know precisely what I am talking about) - the list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth.. It is potentially 1929 x ten...And we are at war with an enemy we cannot even name for fear of offending people of the same religion, who, in turn, cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And finally, we have elected a man that no one really knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla , Alaska .. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe are more important.)

Mr.. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: Change. Why?

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now.

This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

And that is only the beginning..

As a serious student of history, I thought I would never come to experience what the ordinary, moral German must have felt in the mid-1930s In those times, the "savior" was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing.. What they should have known was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory. Conservative "losers" read it right now.

And there were the promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and frowned and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his "brown shirts" would bully and beat them into submission. Which they did - regularly. And then, he was duly elected to office, while a full-throttled economic crisis bloomed at hand - the Great Depression. Slowly, but surely he seized the controls of government power, person by person, department by department, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The children of German citizens were at first, encouraged to join a Youth Movement in his name where they were taught exactly what to think. Later, they were required to do so. No Jews of course,

How did he get people on his side? He did it by promising jobs to the jobless, money to the money-less, and rewards for the military-industrial complex.. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe , and across the world. He did it with a compliant media - did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and ..... . .. change... And the people surely got what they voted for.

If you think I am exaggerating, look it up. It's all there in the history books.

So read your history books. Many people of conscience objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and ridiculed. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though. And the world came to regret that he was not listened to.

Do not forget that Germany was the most educated, the most cultured country in Europe . It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And yet, in less than six years (a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency) it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors.. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.

As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong by closing my eyes, having another latte, and ignoring what is transpiring around me..

I choose to believe the evidence. No doubt some people will scoff at me, others laugh, or think I am foolish, naive, or both. To some degree, perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe-and why I believe it.

I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am. Perhaps the only hope is our vote in the next elections..

David Kaiser

Jamestown , Rhode Island

United States

Chattanooga Police Arrest Sex Offender For Operating Church

Chattanooga police have arrested a man for violating the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry after he set up a makeshift church on E. 39th Street after authorities told him to avoid church work and being employed near schools.

Police say Edward Hughes was working at the same church he operated when he raped someone in 2005. He later pleaded guilty to the crime and agreed not to work within 1,000 feet of a school, lead a church or work with children, said Lt. Kim Noorbergen, Chattanooga police spokeswoman.

She said that on Saturday night around 7 p.m. police arrested Mr. Hughes at Bethlehem Evangelistic Mission, which is within 1,000 feet of East Lake Elementary School. Lt. Noorbergen said the church was running off an electric generator and had no power meter.

Mr. Hughes was holding 6:15 p.m. Saturday services, she said.

Church Bus Shot At.....

Bus shot after leaving a church function

By Chris Paschenko
The Daily News

Published January 15, 2010

TEXAS CITY — No one was injured when a bullet pierced the rear and front windows of a church bus, authorities said Thursday. Police were not sure the bus was the intended target.

The bus driver at 9:15 p.m. Wednesday left First Love Church, 2420 36th St. N., after a function with six passengers, including two young children, Texas City police Sgt. Joe Stanton said.

When the driver was just south of soccer fields on 34th Street, he heard a loud noise that shook the bus, Stanton said. The driver stopped, and the passengers got out, Stanton said.

A woman had shattered glass on her face. She was seen by an ambulance crew but not taken to the hospital, Stanton said.

The damage was caused by a bullet that entered the rear window and went through the front windshield, Stanton said.

A passenger told police he saw a black man wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, blue jean shorts and white shoes walking north along 34th Street, Stanton said. The passenger couldn’t confirm whether the man fired the shot, Stanton said.

Church Kidnapping

Police: Robber Kidnaps 2 Women From NC Church Police told multiple media outlets the man let the women go unhurt after using their ATM cards to get money during the Thursday afternoon robbery.

Authorities say a masked man walked into a North Carolina church, demanding money then kidnapping two women after finding out the church safe was empty.

Police told multiple media outlets the man let the women go unhurt after using their ATM cards to get money during the Thursday afternoon robbery.

The Rev. Donald Shuman says the suspect was wearing a ski mask and gloves when he came to Broad Street United Methodist Church in Statesville, sticking a gun in the face of the church's receptionist and business manager.

Police say the women did what the robber demanded, begging him to not harm them.

A surveillance camera at one of the ATMs got a picture of the suspect, who investigators have not identified.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

There is NO excuse for not performing background checks!

A sex offender who was released from prison in April has been charged with fondling an 11-year-old girl in a Southwest Baltimore church, according to court records.

Police said Rodney Earl Key, 46, was in St. James Church's sanctuary in the 200 block of S. Augusta Ave. on Sunday when he put the girl on his lap and put his hand up her dress, records show.

The girl asked Key what he was doing and he said he was "going to give her a spanking but he couldn't because she was too sweet," according to charging documents. Key then told her that she was to keep the touching to herself, police say.

Police said the girl was a parishioner and that Key had been hired by the pastor to do work. The alleged incident did not occur during services but a "gathering about church affairs," according to Nicole Monroe, a city police spokeswoman.

Key has been charged with second-, third-, and fourth-degree sex offenses, sex abuse of a minor, and second-degree assault.

Key is a registered sex offender in Baltimore County, police said. Court records show that Key pleaded guilty in Talbot County Circuit Court in 2001 to child abuse by a parent for crimes that occurred between 1990 and 1998. He received 30 years in prison, with all but 14 years suspended.

David Blumberg of the Maryland Parole Commission said Key was twice turned down for parole but was released in April and placed on mandatory supervision until 2015.

In the Maryland Sex Offender Registry, Key's address is listed as 55 Wade Ave. in Catonsville, which is the location of Spring Grove Hospital, but police wrote in charging documents that he had just moved to the 3100 block of Stafford St. in Baltimore. Monroe said Key had been living at a homeless shelter, and state officials say he was compliant with the terms of the registry.

A Bucket List For America by Jim H. Ainsworth

1. Truth -- the unvarnished, non-manipulative, forthcoming kind -- is no longer a stranger inside the Beltway.
2. Contracts are once again honored, words kept, and the government stops invalidating valid contracts.
3. The government gets off small businesses' backs and allows them to create real jobs.
4. People go back to saving for home down payments and making sacrifices in order to own homes. Those who will not save or sacrifice go back to renting.
5. Soldiers are no longer prosecuted for bloodying terrorist lips. They are no longer accused of murder (without evidence) by members of Congress.
6. Soldiers become more important than politics or a socialist agenda.
7. Rules of engagement are changed to allow our soldiers to fight to win and come home.
8. The government stops "helping" the economy by creating jobs that must be paid for by the real job-creators.
9. Failure is once again punished in the marketplace instead of rewarded in Washington. That will scale back unreasonable pay more than any pay czar ever could.
10. The president mistakenly appoints several cabinet members (maybe a czar or two) who have solid private-sector experience. (He would never do it on purpose.)
11. Voters begin the process of enacting a constitutional amendment for term limits. Until said amendment passes, they require every candidate to sign a binding personal services contract to serve no longer than three terms in the House or two terms in the Senate. Heavy penalties would apply to transgressors.
12. Viable candidates with private-sector experience come forward to run for Congress. Any party? Anyone?
13. American voters learn the difference between eloquence and intelligence, education and experience, and charm and leadership.
14. Too-big-to-fail businesses are allowed to fail or become smaller. (Guess which one they will choose.)
15. Voters wake up from a prolonged slumber and become an informed citizenry once again.
16. Legislative and executive branches of government learn that you cannot tax your way out of massive debt.
17. Taxpayers begin to starve the beast that has been created in Washington.
18. Freedom and national security are no longer sacrificed on the altars of social justice, diversity, and tolerance.
19. We negotiate with terrorist and dictator regimes from a position of strength, not one of appeasement and apology.
20. Marxist voter-manipulation groups like ACORN lose taxpayer funding permanently, not just temporarily.
21. Political correctness is rudely swept out of the halls of Congress, out of airports, out of classrooms, and out of businesses so that leaders can govern, business leaders can run businesses, security forces can target terrorists instead of luggage, and teachers can teach.
22. Lawyers and politicians are removed from doctors' offices, hospitals, and our health care delivery system.
23. Current politicians with no private-sector experience or scientific background stop believing that they are smart enough to run the American economy or change the weather. (Okay, that's right up there with "when pigs fly.")