Please allow me, as a - like you - professing Christian, as an American descendant, and as a distant relative (I believe we are cousins some eight times removed), to thank you for coming to congratulate the miraculous little land of Israel and its extra-ordinarily plucky people on the 60th anniversary of their national resurrection.
While other world leaders also visited last week, you - unlike them - did not come merely to attend a conference. With your lovely First Lady at your side you were here for nearly three days, sparing no expense and giving a great deal of your valuable time to assuring the Israelis that the special relationship between your country and theirs is as strong and as important as ever.
Although we are thankful to have our capital back after being flooded by your entourage and restricted by your need to move quickly and securely through Jerusalem, Israel will remember your visit, mostly with gratitude and appreciation.
For a nation almost globally bereft of friends, you and your United States are more important and special than you probably know.
Just hours after you left, we watched you embrace the Saudis, then walk hand-in-hand with PLO chief ...   more »

By Richard Wolf
USA Today
"There's pride in being able to take care of yourself," says the
Columbus, Ohio, resident, laid off last year from a mortgage company
and living on workers' compensation benefits while recovering from
surgery. "I'm not supposed to be in this condition."
Neither are many of the 27.5 million Americans relying on government
aid to keep food on their tables amid unemployment and rising
prices. Average enrollment in the food stamps program has surpassed
the record set in 1994, though the percentage of Americans on food
stamps is still lower than records set in 1993-95. The numbers
continue to climb.
Gist, 51, is the new face of hunger in the USA. She says she spent
most of her adult life working as a mental health counselor before
deciding to try real estate. "I'm a professional person," she says.
As economists nationally debate whether the country is in recession
and policymakers discuss ways to drive down gas prices, a new
category of Americans combats hunger.

Since 2006, soaring food and fuel prices have combined with lost
jobs and stagnant wages to boost the number of Americans needing
food aid. More than 41% of those on food stamps ...   more »

Investigators have 'power of God,' can ruin life with stroke of pen
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services erroneously labeled 3,051 innocent people as child abusers by placing them on the state's official list.
According to a Belleville News-Democrat investigation, 11,473 people have appealed to strike their names from the state record. The list has a 27 percent error rate of parents falsely accused of abuse. Once on the list, people are required to remain there for a minimum of five years.
"They're not all bad, there are good ones," Nick Brunstein reportedly said of state child abuse investigators, "but the bad ones have the power of God, and with the stroke of a pen they can ruin your life."
Brunstein is a former foster parent who won his 2-year fight against DCFS to clear his name after his 11-year-old foster daughter, diagnosed with schizophrenic and bipolar disorder, accused him and his wife, Judi, of physical and emotional abuse. The girl claimed the family harmed her by requiring the children to do chores and homework.
The Brunsteins lost $20,000 in lawyer fees, and three daughters they had planned to adopt, ages 2, 5 and 11, were permanently removed ...   more »

Victims complain of inflammation, lesions, fatigue
By Chelsea Schilling
Lesions on person suffering from Morgellons disease
Scientists are debating whether a debilitating condition called Morgellons disease could be caused by bacteria or fungus on plants in California, Texas and Florida, though many agree that research is leaving them with more questions than answers.
While there are many unfounded theories about the cause of Morgellons disease, including alien abduction and government conspiracies, some have attempted to draw a link between the mysterious illness and genetically modified food by suggesting engineered crops may contain bacterium responsible for the disease.
What is Morgellons disease?
Dr. Vitaly Citovsky of the Morgellons Research Foundation said the condition has many reported symptoms that have virtually stumped scientists.
"Generally, people complain of an appearance of fibers in their skin," he told WND. "It itches. There's some inflammation, skin lesions, and they complain that it generally affects their well-being with fatigue similar to Lyme disease. Some people complain of psychological conditions. We cannot define it precisely."
Other commonly reported symptoms include:
Multi-colored fiber-like strands or crystals protruding out of skin
Fatigue
A feeling of parasites or worms crawling under skin
Black specks in lesions that do not heal...   more »

On the heels of last week's ruling legalizing same-sex marriages in California, a city clerk in England is suing her employer for the right not to officiate at homosexual weddings because of her faith.
"I feel strongly about maintaining my Christian beliefs and conscience," Lillian Ladele told the London Telegraph. "I can't go against what it says in the Bible. I don't understand why the council can't use other people who have no problem with the ceremonies."
Islington council in London informed the registrar she could be fired unless she agrees to preside at the ceremonies.
Ladele claims "discrimination or victimization on grounds of religion or belief."
Britain introduced its Civil Partnership Act in 2004, giving same-sex couples the same rights as married couples. Ladele, who has worked at the council since 1992, believes she should be given exemption.
The paper notes registrars of births, marriages and deaths had the freedom to opt out of civil-partnership ceremonies until last year when a new law changed their employment status.
A spokesman for the council said: "Islington council will be robustly defending its position at the employment tribunal."
Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt, the bishop of Winchester, said it was important to recognize objections ...   more »