Washington is gearing up for a big debate: What to do about the exploding national debt, the unsustainable annual budget deficits and what to do about the Bush tax cuts that expire at the end of the year.

Alarm bells are ringing over the size of the national debt, now equal to 84 percent of the country’s gross national product — the highest level since after World War II. The credit-rating agency Moody’s is hinting that the federal treasury’s Triple A bond rating is in jeopardy and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is warning that China, the United States’ largest foreign creditor, may start charging higher interest rates.

“The arithmetic is, unfortunately, quite clear,” Bernanke said. “To avoid large and unsustainable budget deficits, the nation will ultimately have to choose among higher taxes, modifications to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, less spending on everything else from education to defense, or some combination of the above.

“These choices are difficult, and it always seems easier to put them off — until the day they cannot be put off any more.”

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Check them out from Anglican TV.

For America’s teens, cell phones have become a vital social tool and texting the preferred mode of communication, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.

The report finds that 75 percent of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 now have cell phones, up from 45 percent in 2004. And the number who say they text-message daily has shot up to 54 percent from 38 percent in just the past 18 months.

“There’s now an expectation that teens will contact each other via text, and they expect a kind of constant, frequent response,” says the Pew Center’s Amanda Lenhart, one of the study’s authors.

The survey, which was conducted with scholars from the University of Michigan, finds the typical American teen sends 50 texts a day, and a sizable number send double that or more. Some teens text their parents, though most youngsters say they prefer to speak with them by phone.

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Pope Benedict XVI met Sunday with a group of clerical sex-abuse victims and told them with tears in his eyes that the Catholic Church would seek justice for pedophile priests and implement “effective measures” to protect young people from abuse, the Vatican and victims said.

Benedict expressed his “shame and sorrow” at the pain the men and their families suffered and prayed with them during the meeting at the Vatican’s embassy in Malta, the Vatican said.

It was the first time Benedict had met with abuse victims since the worldwide clerical abuse scandal engulfed the Vatican earlier this year, and it marked his most personal and forceful statement on the spiraling scandal since a letter to Irish faithful a month ago.

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Covenant is obviously a very key central biblical concept. Our intent is however specific and limited for our gathering.

My intention is to try digging into the deep core pulse of the covenant reality in the God-Israel relationship and its working out or otherwise of its vocational existence.

While the paper’s focus is not on the challenges and crisis of the Anglican Communion, it is inevitable some reflections and comments would be made to it, with particular reference to the vocation of the Global South as our evolved existence since 1994 has defined it, and now in its fellowship with the wider orthodox family in the Communion….

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He went on to say that the Anglican Communion had been reflecting on the need for a covenant “in the light of confusion, brokenness and tension within our Anglican family ”“ brokenness and a tension that has been made still more acute by recent decisions in some of our Provinces.?

“In all your minds there will be questions around the election and consecration of Mary Glasspool in Los Angeles. All of us share the concern that in this decision and action the Episcopal Church has deepened the divide between itself and the rest of the Anglican family. And as I speak to you now, I am in discussion with a number of people around the world about what consequences might follow from that decision, and how we express the sense that most Anglicans will want to express, that this decision cannot speak for our common mind.

“But I hope also in your thinking about this and in your reacting to it, you’ll bear in mind that there are no quick solutions for the wounds of the Body of Christ. It is the work of the Spirit that heals the Body of Christ, not the plans or the statements of any group, or any person, or any instrument of communion. Naturally we seek to minimize the damage, to heal the hurts, to strengthen our mission, to make sure that it goes forward with integrity and conviction.? Naturally, there are decisions that have to be taken.? But at the same time we must all…share in a sense of repentance and willingness to be renewed by the Spirit.

Read it carefully and read it all and note if you desire to you can watch the full address on video there.

A historic gathering of worldwide Anglican leaders started yesterday at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. But the fourth ‘Anglican Global South to South Encounter’ (GS4E) was already marked by intense feelings of distress.

The Anglican Global South, grouping 20 provinces in the southern hemisphere, represents three-quarters of the 75 million Anglicans around the world.

“My sisters and brothers from around the world, I am troubled, I am sad; in fact I am confused,” said newly retired Nigerian Archbishop Peter J Akinola.

Speaking at the opening service, Bishop Akinola traced the recent history of the inability of the Anglican Communion to resolve its theological-ethical crisis.

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The executive committee of General Theological Seminary’s board of trustees said April 19 that the school may have to sell some of its property to raise enough money in order to pay its bills after mid-November.

The Rev. Canon Denis O’Pray, chair of the trustees, said in a news release that the committee considered merger or collaboration with other entities, as well as the likelihood of “immediate philanthropy,” before coming to the conclusion that selling property was the “most reasonable source” of money. He did not say what property might be sold.

The executive committee concluded that the school’s “first priority” must be to “develop a source of immediate cash relief so that seminary operations can continue and debt be serviced until a long-term strategic financial plan can be designed and implemented,” O’Pray said.

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The Very Rev. J. Brad Benson, rector of St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, plans to get married this summer in a state where same-sex marriage is legal.

“After twenty years of loving relationship, my partner Carl Johengen and I have decided that it is time that we were legally married,” he wrote in the church’s most recent newsletter.

The St. Thomas rector explained that he has begun to see the word “marriage” in purely legal terms and has come to realize that he and his partner “need” the legal rights and responsibilities afforded in a marriage.

“No one questions the rights and responsibilities of a married couple; simply saying, ‘I’m his wife’ or ‘I’m her husband’ opens many legal doors,” he stated.

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Signals of a long-awaited economic recovery are popping up in South Carolina and across the country for the first time in about two years.

Economists point to a series of bright spots, including one that the state has most been waiting on, an easing in the rate that workers are losing their jobs each month.

The good news on the national scene is a jump in the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of future activity, that is up 1.4 percent in March, the fastest pace of growth in 10 months.

To Mary Graham, senior vice president of public policy of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, summarizing the early stages of the recovery is easy: ‘We have stopped going in the wrong direction.’

The statewide unemployment rate ”” 12.2 percent in March ”” is down slightly after spending a year at levels not reached since the Great Depression and among the highest levels in the nation. That couples five-straight months of statewide job growth.

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…Christians are fighting an uphill battle for recognition. There are signs, however, that society is beginning to take more notice of Church leaders for positive reasons ”“ and the proof of this is in Yorkshire. John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, was right to use Holy Week to urge the Church of England to use pubs to get its message across ”“ however much it confused traditional worshippers.

We are all too familiar with studies showing Britons pay remarkably little attention to Easter. The latest of this type showed that more than half of six to 10-year-olds are unaware of its religious significance. So reaching out, as Dr Sentamu is trying to do, is vital. It’s not just in the local hostelry, however, that new audiences can be found. It’s also in the boardroom. That’s why the diocese of Ripon and Leeds appointed the Rev Rob Hinton as its first minister to the business community. When I met him, he pointed out that simply yelling at bankers ”“ much as it sounds good fun ”“ will not make them change their ways, and that it is understanding which helps people live their lives differently.

It’s an unfashionable view but he’s right. Even more unorthodox, however, was the now infamous Nativity sermon from a York parish priest, which was dubbed “Thou shalt steal”. Father Tim Jones’ message ”“ that stealing from large national chains could sometimes be justified for vulnerable people ”“ rather got lost in the outrage that followed, which reached its height when a man threw a bucket of spaghetti and ravioli at him. But he had a point, even if he expressed it badly. Stealing is wrong, but if you are homeless, starving and cold it could be the seen as the least-worst option. Rather that than breaking into somebody’s home.

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“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is the first book in Stieg Larsson’s millennium trilogy. First published in 2005, the novels are a literary phenomenon selling more than 30 million copies worldwide. The film adaptation, directed by Niels Arden Oplev, is setting records as well. It has grossed more than $100 million globally and was the top-grossing film in Europe last year. Here is a look at the film.

[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”] has become an international sensation. Her secrets have captivated millions. The story is a literary and movie phenomenon. This year, meet “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE ROSE: Tell me why this — the “Millennium Trilogy” has become such a sensation?

NIELS ARDEN OPLEV, FILMMAKER: Well, I think that if you look at the book first, Larsson wrote a book, the first book he wrote is really a classic investigating story. The plot is nearly Agatha Christie kind of plot–

CHARLIE ROSE: Yes.

NIELS ARDEN OPLEV: –rich family, far up north, it’s freezing cold, dark, dark secrets….

Please note-Elizabeth and I went to see this last evening. It is a dark, dense, mysterious and immensely powerful movie that it is ONLY appropriate for adult audiences.

This fine interview (best seen after the film) lasts 27 1/2 minutes–watch it all–KSH.

Every year, Israelis approach the joy of their Independence Day right after immersing themselves in a 24-hour period of grief for fallen soldiers. Before the fireworks burst across the skies Monday night to celebrate the country’s 62nd birthday, the airwaves filled with anguished stories of servicemen and -women killed, the Kaddish prayer of mourning and speeches placing the deeply personal losses of a small country into the sweep of Jewish history.

So there is nothing new or unusual about Israelis’ marking their collective accomplishments with sorrow and concern. It happens all the time, especially among those on the political left who are angry that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinians shows no sign of ending.

But there is something about the mood this year that feels darker than usual. It has a bipartisan quality to it. Both left and right are troubled, and both largely about the same things, especially the Iranian nuclear program combined with growing tensions with the Obama administration.

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A British decision to ban an Israeli tourism ad because it includes holy sites in disputed territory has angered Israel’s supporters.

Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority nixed an ad sponsored by Israel’s tourist agency after it received a complaint that the photograph featured the Western Wall in East Jerusalem, according to ASA’s Web site.

The complainant “challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied that East Jerusalem was part of the State of Israel,” the ASA said.

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Michael Sinclair knows that in a few months, his stint in the marketing department of a health care manufacturing company here north of Atlanta is set to end.

He has been with the company for only six months, but he is not dismayed. In fact, he actually prefers his life as an independent contractor ”” constantly being laid off and rehired, sometimes juggling multiple jobs ”” to his old corporate position.

“I think it’s far less risky than being in a full-time job somewhere and cut at will and left with nothing,” Mr. Sinclair said. “I see this as the way more people will work in the future.”

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President Barack Obama will proclaim May 6 as National Day of Prayer, the White House said Friday, despite a ruling by a Wisconsin federal judge the day before that it is unconstitutional.

“We have reviewed the court’s decision, and it does not prevent the president from issuing a proclamation,” spokesman Matthew Lehrich said.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb of the Western District of Wisconsin found that the National Day of Prayer violates the First Amendment prohibition against laws respecting an establishment of religion.

Freedom From Religion Foundation of Madison, Wis., had sued the administration of George W. Bush and later that of Obama in an effort to block the presidents from making their annual proclamations inviting Americans to set aside a day for prayer or meditation.

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1. Pope Benedict is the primary culprit in the coverup of the abuse scandal.

Between 1981 and 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope, headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s office for doctrinal orthodoxy. A few abuse cases (some from the United States) came before him, and the evidence shows that he did not move with any urgency to defrock priests. In 2001, as the number of cases coming to light worldwide increased, Ratzinger convinced Pope John Paul II to let his office have jurisdiction over all of them. Though the Vatican says church confidentiality did not preclude bishops from reporting crimes to civil authorities, some see Ratzinger’s move as an attempt to keep the cases secret.

Nonetheless, there is just one case so far that can be traced directly to Ratzinger’s tenure as a bishop, when he was head of the archdiocese of Munich in his native Germany. In that 1980 case, Ratzinger allowed a child abuser into his diocese for psychiatric treatment, and the priest was reassigned to a parish where he went on to abuse more children. It’s unclear whether Ratzinger personally signed off on the assignment, but he seems to have acted more or less like most bishops at the time — giving little oversight to the abuser and doing nothing to remove him from the priesthood. Alas, there is plenty of blame to go around for the church’s passivity….

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Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki announced Monday that two top insurgent leaders had been killed, including a somewhat mythic figure who has operated under the name Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. Mr. Baghdadi has been reported dead or detained several times previously, and his very existence had been called into question a few years ago by American military leaders.

After Mr. Maliki’s press conference, the American military released a statement verifying that Mr. Baghdadi was killed in a joint raid between Iraqi and United States forces in the dark hours of Sunday morning near Tikrit, near Saddam Hussein’s hometown.

Also killed, according to Mr. Maliki and American officials, was Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, also known as Al Qeada in Mesopotamia, a largely Iraqi group that includes some foreign leadership.

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His Grace Bishop Anba Suriel, the representative of the Coptic Orthodox Church, reminded us that the Covenant of Christ involves the shedding of blood. For some, it means martyrdom or death as we will normally understand that word. It is a price still being paid by some today, as did some Egyptian Coptic Christians last Christmas. However, to be faithful in our witness is also one form of martyrdom. It is costly to remain faithful to the truth and teaching of Scriptures. He said his Church is praying that this Encounter will be a faithful witness in the midst of challenges in the Communion.

We were reminded of the seeds of the Anglican Church growing in various parts of Asia. Pastor Rinzi Lama and Pastor Shyam from the Anglican Church in Nepal shared on the grace of God in helping the Anglican Church in Nepal, though still in her infancy, to grow to 7,000 worshippers today.

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We all know that signing the covenant will not stop TEC from pursuing its own agenda. In fact only recently, it elected and confirmed another openly practicing lesbian priest to the episcopate. The Communion is still unable to exercise discipline. We are God’s Covenant to the world, yes, but we are divided. We lack discipline. We lack the courage to call ”˜a spade a spade’. Our obedience to God is selective.

My sisters and brothers from around the world, I am troubled, I am sad in fact I am confused. If the churches in the Global South sign up, would they then become a new Communion? Wouldn’t that further polarize the church? On the other hand the Churches in the Global South cannot forever continue to merely react to the actions of the Western churches. If TEC for political reasons chooses to sign, and we can’t stop them, but continues to disregard the mind of the Communion on these matters that have caused us so much grief, it will make nonsense of the whole exercise.

Where do we go from here?

Our desire in the Global South is for a genuine healing of the Church. Our desire is for the restoration of sacramental communion among all the churches in the global Anglican family. Much precious time has been spent, or maybe wasted, on this crisis. The real mission of the church, which is to make Christ known to all is suffering and in some cases neglected. We in the Global South cannot continue in this way. Yet, we see no light at the end of the tunnel. Time is God’s precious gift for which we are accountable to God as His stewards. This Encounter must show us the way forward in all of this.

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How big a government do we want — and what can we afford? In closing deficits, what’s the best mix between tax increases and spending cuts? What programs are outmoded, ineffective or unneeded? How much should we tax the young and middle-aged to support the elderly? Should wealthier retirees receive skimpier benefits? Should eligibility ages for benefits be raised?

The basic budget problem is simple. For decades, the expansion of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — programs mostly for the elderly — was financed mainly by shrinking defense spending. In 1970, defense accounted for 42 percent of the federal budget; Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid were 20 percent. By 2008, the shares were reversed: defense, 21 percent; the big retirement programs, 43 percent. But defense stopped falling after Sept. 11, 2001, while aging baby boomers and uncontrolled health costs keep retirement spending rising.

Left alone, government would grow larger. From 1970 to 2009, federal spending averaged 20.7 percent of the economy (gross domestic product). By 2020, it could reach 25.2 percent of GDP and would still be expanding, reckons the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of President Obama’s budgets. In 2020, the deficit (assuming a healthy economy with 5 percent unemployment) would be 5.6 percent of GDP. To cover that, taxes would have to rise almost 30 percent.

A VAT could not painlessly fill this void. Applied to all consumption spending — about 70 percent of GDP — the required VAT rate would equal about 8 percent. But the actual increase might be closer to 16 percent because there would be huge pressures to exempt groceries, rent and housing, health care, education and charitable groups. Together, they account for nearly half of $10 trillion of consumer spending. There would also be other upward (and more technical) pressures on the VAT rate.

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