News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Renovations continue as historic Leiper Presbyterian Church becomes Catholic, Byzantine-rite Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church, 900 Fairview Road, Swarthmore, PA 19081 (Ridley Township). 
There are some useable items being discarded. They are free and available by the dumpster
A national appreciation day was held, Aug. 1, 2012, for the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain after leftist activists targeted it because it supported Christian causes and a principle in the business expressed disapproval of gay marriage.
Well, the chain is known for giving free water to those who ask for it so one bright progressive figured he would drive up, ask for one. He would then video his harangue at the worker who brought it to him, and put it on the world wide web.
That bright progressive is Adam Mark Smith, who at the time held a $200,000 a year job — that’s almost a 1-percenter considering the $1 million he had in stock options– as CFO of Vante, a medical device manufacturer.
The bad vibes created by his obnoxious performance caused Vante to send him on his way. Smith has since been unable to find another job. He says he has had to sell his home and that he and his family are now living in an RV.
Hey, Adam, move it down by the river and give inspirational talks. Better yet, get a job a Chick-fil-A. It would teach you things, like empathy, decency, humility, and, of course, tolerance.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed into law, March 26, the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the usual suspects that bow before the altar of political correctness howled. 
The White House said “it doesn’t seem like a step of equality and justice and liberty”.
The NCAA said it was “especially concerned”
The NBA also criticized it.
So what does this law do? It establishes a legal test for judges to use when deciding whether or not a government act goes too far in burdening someone’s exercise of religion.
Here is the text of the law which has generally been omitted from the media outrage.
The law is motivated by instances were religious business-owners were sued under anti-discrimination laws for being unwilling to espouse views praising homosexuality in violation of the tenets of their faith.
For those objecting to this law ask yourself if you would condemn a black baker for refusing to bake a cake for a KKK chapter that celebrated lynching. How about a gay caterer refusing to hang a sign saying “God hates gay” at a function for the Westboro Baptist Church?
Unfair discrimination is refusing to sell the kind of jelly doughnut just sold to the black guy to the gay guy next in line. It’s not refusing to make a special rainbow jelly doughnut for the gay guy.
For what it’s worth, Pennsylvania is among the 19 other states that have such a law. Kudos for us.
Dear North Carolina State:
Really? Did you really have to rip our hearts out by beating our Number One seed Villanova?
Congratulations. We hope you’re proud. You single-handedly kicked eight million Philadelphia sports fans in the teeth, sending us right back into our perpetual state of depression. We may be one of the nation’s biggest cities, but somehow, we are dead last in championships.
Sixers? Horrendous. Twenty-two years since their last title. And for good measure, the franchise owns the NBA record for fewest wins in a season. Flyers? Do we even have a hockey team anymore? (Gerry Ford was President the last time we won the Stanley Cup). Phils? Most losses of any team, in any sport, in American history (over 10,000). And our beloved Iggles? Always close, but zero Super Bowl trophies.
Our last true hope was Villanova. Sure, they made history once before as a Cinderella, but this was a powerhouse team. This time it would be different. This was the year that would finally be ours, with the dynamic Wildcats surely advancing to the Championship game, then knocking off those other Wildcats. It was so close, almost in our grasp.
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But instead, you just made ‘Nova coach Jay Wright the next Andy Reid. Great regular season leader, but underachiever when it counts most. And so our mammoth inferiority complex continues. So thanks —- and maybe we’ll see you next year, when our Groundhog Day in the NCAA’s will no doubt continue.
Yours in Suffering,
Philadelphia
****
March Madness.
It is, without a doubt, the best sporting event on the planet.
Sure, the Olympics stoke nationalistic fervor, and Americans sometimes excel in sports where they aren’t favored (who can forget the Miracle on Ice?), but America is virtually never the underdog, because we almost always lead the world in the medal count.
And stop right there. No, the World Cup absolutely, positively, cannot compare. First, soccer isn’t a sport; it’s a recreational activity. Second, enough with the theatrics of players writhing on the turf for ten minutes because they injured a nail. Third, what’s up with that running clock and the fact that we really don’t know when the game will end? Even worse is the offsides rule, which kills the .001 percent excitement level in professional soccer by stifling aggressiveness and encouraging pansy play. A rule, by the way, that virtually no American understands.
Finally, can we just admit that all those “cards” —- which come in more colors than the Homeland Security threat-level chart —- are really dumb? Refs don’t warn basketball players not to hack a guy after the fact. They actually call the foul. A simple concept, yet one lost on the soccer fanatics.
But the NCAA Tournament is different, in so many ways. And when it comes our way each spring, some miraculous things occur throughout America.
March Madness teaches us that anything can happen, and that miracles do occur. Its lesson that sportsmanship, confidence, and work ethic can achieve the impossible are timeless for young and old alike.
On game days, very little work gets done. And you know what? That’s okay, even with most bosses. Americans work harder than anyone else on earth. Hell, we’re still being productive while the Europeans are taking a siesta —- from their earlier siesta. If there was ever something to which we can legitimately feel “entitled,” it’s taking a little time to watch the tournament together.
And that is the most important thing: being together. For a few short weeks, Americans suddenly become blind to our prejudices. Political partisanship and the management-labor caste go out the window. The only colors we care about are those worn by our favorite teams.
No longer do we see ourselves, and each other, as black and white, male and female, liberal and conservative. Instead, we become friends, neighbors, and countrymen, all side-by-side, cheering in unity. In lunchrooms, bars, and cubicles, even crowded around cellphones, we huddle. Screaming. Smiling. And sometimes even crying.
We come together to cheer for our teams —- some of whom we’ve never heard of, hailing from places we don’t know —- watching breathlessly as a Number 14 seed comes agonizingly close to slaying a giant.
We experience the unbelievable moments, sometimes forgetting to breathe, as seniors —-some destined for the NBA, but most for an “ordinary” life —- play their hearts out, knowing that one misstep will end their collegiate career. And just as often, we see 18-year-old freshmen step to the foul line with the game literally in their hands, as an entire nation —- including the President of the United States —- watches.
And alma maters and home teams notwithstanding, the vast majority of Americans always pull for the underdogs, the teams that the “experts” don’t give a snowball’s chance in hell to win. Yet year after year, many find a way to knock out Goliath. We find this endearing not just because it’s fun, but because it personifies who we are as Americans.
From our very beginnings, the odds have always been stacked against us:
-Defeat the British, merely the most powerful nation the world had even known? Dream on. But we did, making the dream of liberty and freedom a reality, on an unprecedented scale, for hundreds of millions.
-Win the Civil War? Forget it. Even if Lincoln’s army prevailed, the defeated South’s resentment would never subside, and its people would never, could never, assimilate into a northern-dominated America. If Vegas had odds, it would have been a sure bet that the tattered Union would not prevail. But it did.
-Save the world from the tyranny of the Axis Powers? With an under-equipped army and industrial base not suited for defense production? Not for decades could victory be expected. And to engineer a weapon so awesome that it could end the war after just one or two uses? Forget about it. And yet, the Greatest Generation not only accomplished those things, but provided the blueprint for America’s postwar mega-boom.
-Put a man on the moon? Save the Apollo 13 astronauts? Beat the Soviet Union and defeat communism? End segregation? Elect a black man to the presidency? The list goes on.
And yet despite America’s track record of beating the odds, the naysayers are still out in full force, predicting gloom and doom. Maybe they’re right this time. Maybe America really is in its twilight, as the country’s seemingly insurmountable problems —- and the politicians’ inability to solve them in a civil manner —- attests.
Maybe.
But no matter how many times America has fallen, and how often its back has been to the wall, it has always —- always —- prevailed. For the record, my money’s on the world’s biggest underdog coming through in the clutch once again, turning it on when it has to, and finishing the game stronger than anyone else. It’s what we’ve always done, and it’s what we must do now.
And why? Because that’s what a true champion does.
Now back to my bracket….
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 3-28-15
Botulinum toxin is the most toxic substance known. A more common name for it is Botox.
Lara Witt of the Philadelphia Daily News has a story concerning the arrest of former Temple University football star Matt Brown on human trafficking charges.
Brown, 25, allegedly received money for procuring girls ages 14, 16 and 17 for sex.
He was arrested in Baltimore.
At Temple, Brown was a kick return specialist and the Big East Conference’s special team player of the year in 2012. He signed a contract with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers the next year but was released.
Ms. Witt notes that human trafficking i.e. slavery generates $32 billion per year and involves tens of millions of people.
We’d just like to point out that small fish like Brown are not the real problem. The real problem is billionaires with private islands and their presidential buddies.
Joe Ball, president of American News Service, has sent us this personal experience memory of an advertising-related contact with Philadelphia Eagles legend Chuck Bednarik who died March 21: 
As owner of a small advertising agency in the early 1960’s one of my clients was Cherry-Levis, manufacturers of the spicy “Slim Jim” meat sticks.
I suggested to owner Al Levis, now also deceased, that he use Chuck Bednarik in his marketing.
He agreed- -on the basis that Mr. Bednarik would be paid with company products.
The arrangement was he would receive all the products he could carry on one trip out of the warehouse.
Mr. Bednarik agreed.
In my mind/memory I can still see him leaving the warehouse with huge cartons of Slim Jim’s on each shoulder and placing them in the trunk of his car.
The warning regarding #90 that has been circulating since the dawn of the world wide web remains with us.
It contains a nugget of truth but it doesn’t effect most telephones including cellphones.
Here is the claim we have been asked to investigate by Judy M.
90# on your telephone
I dialed ‘0’ to check this out, and the operator confirmed that this was correct, so please pass it on.. (l also checked out snopes.com and truthorfiction.com This is true, and also applies to cell phones!)
PASS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW
I received a telephone call last evening from an individual identifying
himself as an AT&T Service Technician (could also be Telus) who was
conducting a test on the telephone lines. He stated that to complete the test I should touch nine (9), zero (0), the pound sign (#), and then hang up. Luckily, I was suspicious and refused.
Upon contacting the telephone company, I was informed that by pushing 90#, you give the requesting individual full access to your telephone line, which enables them to place long distance calls billed to your home phone number. I was further informed that this scam has been originating from many local jails/prisons. DO NOT press 90# for ANYONE…
After checking with Verizon they also said it was true, so
do not dial 90# for anyone !!!!! PLEASE HIT THAT FORWARD
BUTTON AND PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!
So what does the FCC say about it?
Just the same if an unsolicited caller asks you to do something it is always wise to just hang up.
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 3-27-15
Farmers feed cows magnets. Magnets sit in the stomachs and attract all the small sharp metal objects cows swallow since they don’t chew. It keeps the small bits of metal from doing real damage. How do you know if a cow already has a magnet? Check it with a compass.
Pennsylvania State Sen. Don White (R-41) is circulating a memo among his Harrisburg peers proposing that money be automatically be deducted from the paychecks of senate staffers and placed directly in the coffers of the campaign committees respective parties.
Some are expressing outrage, OUTRAGE, we say.
Which is kind of White’s point. He does not want this — seriously or not. His goal is to illustrate that the remarkably unfair, authoritarian, banana republic policy he is suggesting is no different than what is in place regarding automatic payroll deductions for members of Pennsylvania public employee unions, whose leaders then use the money to support political candidates who more often than not proponents of policies in direct conflict with the true interest of those in private labor force
Really, is shutting down refineries and mines, and importing cheap Mexican labor in the interest of Pennsylvania workers? Well, that’s what the candidates that get the public union money support.
So how about it Sen. Tom McGarrigle? Are you getting behind Don White’s plan? Doesn’t not having such a law deprive choice from workers who want a (political party) with an effective political voice.
Hat tip Matt Brouilette.