Trump Vows to Drain The Swamp In Washington DC

Written by Christian Datoc on 09 November 2016.

Edited by John Coonen – In a lengthy Saturday address in Gettysburg, PA, Donald Trump laid out a seven point plan to “drain the swamp” in Washington, DC, and revitalize the American economy. Trump pledged that in his first 100 days in office, he will restore “honesty, accountability and change to Washington” through the following steps:

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What Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement? (TPP)

Written by John Coonen on 09 November 2016.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a secretive, multinational trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property (IP) laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement.

The main problems are two-fold:

(1) Digital Policies that Benefit Big Corporations at the Expense of the Public: The IP chapter would have extensive negative ramifications for users’ freedom of expression, right to privacy and due process, as well as hindering peoples' abilities to innovate. Other chapters of the agreement encourage your personal data to be sent borders with limited protection for your privacy, and allow foreign corporations to sue countries for laws or regulations that promote the public interest,

(2) Lack of Transparency: The entire process has shut out multi-stakeholder participation and is shrouded in secrecy.

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Open Letter To Reince Priebus: Keep The Unity Pledge For 2020

Written by John Coonen on 21 September 2016.

Eight Years Later, This Isn't Change I Believed In

Written by John Coonen on 08 September 2016.

Will Obama's Legacy Be The "Hateful Eight" Years of Change?

Now that more than eight years have passed since the days when Barack Obama made his meteoric rise in politics, it's fair to say that he's had his chance to deliver on his campaign promise of "change you can believe in."  The effects of his Presidency will be felt for decades no doubt, and his legacy has yet to be written, but for this snapshot in time in September of 2016, what positive and meaningful change has Barack Obama delivered?

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Where Have You Gone, Rick Monday?

Written by John Coonen on 06 September 2016.

Rick Monday's Action In 1976 vs. Colin Kaepernick's Inaction In 2016 Illustrates How Much "Change" We've Made In Just 40 Years

In April of 1976, Gerald Ford was our President the day two protestors attempted to burn the U.S. flag in center field of Dodgers Stadium, before thousands of fans who had come to see the visiting Chicago Cubs play the L.A. Dodgers. Before the two were able to light the flag on fire, Cubs center fielder Rick Monday swooped in to save the flag, as you see in this historic video clip from that day at Dodgers Stadium. 

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How To Pray The Rosary

Written by John Coonen on 09 August 2016.

The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events or mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them. The Rosary is a powerful prayer to say, to meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary.

The Rosary as we know it today was shared with the Church in 1214, brought to the Church by St. Dominic, who had received it from the Blessed Virgin as a means of converting the Albigensians and other sinners. Seeing that the gravity of people's sins was hindering the conversion of the Albigensians, Saint Dominic withdrew into a forest near Toulouse, where he prayed continuously for three days and three nights.  

Our Lady appeared to him, accompanied by three angels, and she said, "Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?" 

"Oh, my Lady," answered Saint Dominic, "you know far better than I do because next to your Son Jesus Christ you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation." 

Our Lady replied, "I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the principal weapon has always been the Angelic Psalter, which is the foundation-stone of the New Testament. Therefore, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter."

There are twenty mysteries reflected upon in the Rosary, and these are divided into the five JOYFUL MYSTERIES, the five LUMINOUS MYSTERIES, the five SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, and the five GLORIOUS MYSTERIES.

You may also wish to pray the rosary online, with others or by yourself. As suggested by the Pope St. John Paul the Great, the Joyful mysteries are said on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous on Thursday, theSorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday (with this exception: Sundays of Christmas season - The Joyful; Sundays of Lent - Sorrowful).

1. Make the Sign of the Cross and say the"Apostles' Creed."
2. Say the "Our Father."
3. Say three "Hail Marys."
4. Say the "Glory be to the Father."
5. Announce the First Mystery; then say the "Our Father."
6. Say ten "Hail Marys," while meditating on the Mystery.
7. Say the "Glory be to the Father."
8. Announce the Second Mystery; then say the "Our Father." Repeat 6 and 7 and continue with Third, Fourth and Fifth Mysteries in the same manner.

Those who pray the Rosary regularly would do well to be enrolled in the Confraternity to gain extra spiritual benefits for each Rosary they pray.

Dominican Manner of Praying the Rosary

After the Rosary:

HAIL, HOLY QUEEN, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. O GOD, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

After each decade, say the following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy."

Image by Anders Adermark

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Detroit Just Got Crushed By Elon Musk

Written by John Coonen on 05 April 2016.

Sometimes, you need an innovator to show you what you didn't know you were missing.

Innovation and disruption of the big auto's outdated ways has been the Tesla trajectory since Elon Musk founded the company back in 2003. Yes, it's been almost 15 years, can you believe it? Last week, Elon Musk showed why he's the most feared car salesman on earth. On Thursday, Elon Musk conducted what will go down in history as the largest crowdfunding campaign ever, with servers at full capacity, taking in $1,000 at a time, with total sales commitments in excess of $12 Billion (and the tally board is still clicking).

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Settlers of Catan: Two Thumbs Up!

Written by John Coonen on 29 March 2016.

I love games, but I'm one of those stick-in-the-muds that has to warm up to playing. Earlier this week, my daughter and son-in-law warmed me up to a game I had never heard of, called "Settlers of Catan." Apparently, I've been missing out, because this board game is beyond trending. Well, now, I'm hooked. We played till midnight last night (a work night!), and while I lost for the fourth time, and I'm not a very kind loser, I'm starting to get the hang of it. 

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Divine Mercy

Written by John Coonen on 25 March 2016.

It's Good Friday, and today my wife and I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3:00 PM.  It's the first time I've prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet, so I thought I'd take some time to post an article on it, for some background, along with a reprint of the prayer itself to share with you. The background information on this comes from EWTN and The Divine Mercy website.

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Saint Michael The Archangel

Written by John Coonen on 14 March 2016.

Devotion to Michael the Archangel is one of the oldest devotions of the Church; indeed, his roles in God's divine plan date back before the Incarnation. It was St. Michael who led God's army against Lucifer and the other rebellious fallen angels, St. Michael who guards the Catholic Church and her pope, and St. Michael who, at God's commands will reprise his role against the Antichrist in the End Times.

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Catholic Bibles Have 7 More Books than Protestant Bibles. Here's Why.

Written by John Coonen on 27 February 2016.

Catholic Answers Shares Why Catholic Bibles Have Seven More Books than Protestant Bibles

Dr. Michael Barber explains why Protestants exclude the Deuterocanonical books from their Bibles.

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Vatican: Pope’s Words Not a Personal Attack on Trump

Written by Inés San Martín on 22 February 2016.

By Cruxnow – ROME: Reacting to widespread media coverage of a perceived war of words on Thursday between Pope Francis and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a Vatican spokesman on Friday insisted the pope’s comments — that someone who would build a border wall is not Christian — were not a personal attack.

“The pope said what we all know when we follow his teaching and his positions: that we should not build walls, but bridges,” the Rev. Federico Lombardi said to Vatican Radio. “It is not a specific issue, limited to this case,” he said.

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