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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324532004578358773509307346.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

In choosing Pope Francis as his new name, Jorge Mario Bergoglio conjures Francis of Assisi, emphasizing the church’s humility, poverty and charity.

The election of Pope Francis may prove to be not only a turning point for the Catholic Church, but for all humanity. For the first time in a millennium, the most venerable institution on earth will be led by a man from outside Europe, the Argentine son of an Italian.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio told the multitudes after the announcement of his elevation on Wednesday that he would lead them on “the path of love”—a reference, surely, to Francis of Assisi, the great 13th-century saint from whom he has borrowed his pontifical name. The daring novelty and profound symbolism of the new pope’s name cannot be overstated. Just as Benedict XVI named himself after the great founder of Western monasticism and preserver of Western civilization during the Dark Ages, so Francis has named himself after the founder of the Franciscans in order to signal the church’s humility, poverty and charity.

As a Jesuit, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires has set his sights on a simpler, humbler, more missionary style than the intellectual grandeur of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, now pope emeritus.

Jesuits are of course famously intellectuals too, but Pope Francis is the son of a railroad worker and poor Italian immigrant. He has always stayed true to his roots, and his election signifies the longing of the cardinals to return the church to its roots, too—as an unworldly, dedicated band of pilgrims.

http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryId/2447/A-Bronze-Star-for-Submission.aspx

Heard about the chaplain from Ohio whom Uncle Sam has recognized with a Bronze Star for a PowerPoint presentation? Must have been some PowerPoint presentation — and so it was.

The Dayton Daily News reports:

Trainer, who’s now in the running to be named Chaplain of the Year for the entire Air Guard, was in the third month of his voluntary deployment to Afghanistan last February when U.S. troops at Bagram Airfield mistakenly burned copies of the Muslim holy book.

The ensuing outrage claimed more than 30 lives, including two U.S. troops and two U.S. military advisers.

Within 48 hours, Trainer developed a PowerPoint presentation on the proper handling and disposal of Islamic religious material that was seen by every American — military and civilian alike — in Afghanistan. The presentation then was distributed to the U.S. for use in all pre-deployment training.

“This entire mission,” Trainer said from his office at the Springfield Air National Guard Base, “could be undermined by an action like that.

“All that good work. You realize how quickly that work can be undermined.”

I think it was this one.

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/the-nation-of-tyranny-lovers/print/ In 1951, Chinese and North Korean forces had captured a charred Seoul, the atom bomb spies were sentenced to death and Clement Greenberg was the leading art critic in America. As The Nation’s art editor, Greenberg had helped put American art on the map. And as the war with Nazi Germany gave way to […]

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/frontpagemag-com/why-obama-needs-another-dictator-to-replace-chavez-on-the-glazov-gang/

This week’s Glazov Gang had the honor of being joined by Bob Zeidman, award-winning novelist, Larry Greenfield, Senior Fellow at the American Freedom Alliance and Howard Hyde, author of the new pamphlet, Pull the Plug on Obamacare. The Gang members discussed Hyde’s pamphlet and whether it is too late to resist Obama’s health care plan. The dialogue occurred in Part II and also included an analysis of Obama’s Billion-Dollar Giveaway to the Muslim Brotherhood. Part I, meanwhile, focused on Why Hollywood Cried When Hugo Died and highlighted the Left’s love affair with enemy tyrants. To watch both parts of the two part series, see below:

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/davidhornik/israeli-chief-of-staff-syria-could-blow-up-at-any-moment/print/ One doesn’t know what to make of murky reports this week about the U.S., Britain, and France training a small force of purportedly moderate Syrian rebels in Jordan—especially with the Obama administration taking the official line that it does not directly aid the Syrian opposition. If there was ever a time to build a […]

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/paul-gottfried/lawless-left-targets-pennsylvania-voter-id-laws/print/ Readers of Pennsylvania newspapers have been told (by now repeatedly) that the state attorney general, Kathleen Kane, cannot bring herself to enforce the state voter identification law that the legislature passed last year. This PA law is nothing out of the ordinary. Similar laws have already been approved and enforced in fifteen other states. […]

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/euro-islam-and-its-problems-playing-two-different-pianos?f=puball Benjamin Idriz, an imam who leads the Islamic Community Penzberg (Islamische Gemeinde Penzberg or IGP) in a town south of Munich, has achieved prominence in Germany as an exponent of a rational, modern understanding of Islam. Yet aspects of Idriz’s biography and public positions call into question his enlightened image with unsettling links to […]

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/arlington-museum-showcases-military-womens-contributions?f=puball A living legacy to women who served in all branches of the U.S. military honors their service and sacrifice inside the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The museum in the memorial depicts the “duty, honor and pride” of the 2 million women who served to defend the United States, from the beginning of […]

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/civilizational-discontents The barrier between barbarism and civilization is gossamer-thin, a layer of taboos that separates mankind from its base nature. An impulse to ascend is most often pushed into the armory of descent. Nowhere was this more apparent than the recent Grammy Awards for musical “excellence.” Here were the half literate providing referential status to […]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/12/obamas-misguided-carbon-tax-plans/ New fees on energy use would strangle economy President Obama and many other politicians continue to insist that carbon dioxide emissions are changing Earth’s climate and that we need to take immediate action to prevent catastrophes predicted by computer models, Al Gore and fellow alarmists. Above all, they want to tax carbon dioxide emissions […]