Jesus Appears on Walmart Receipt

A South Carolina couple claims the discoloration on a Walmart receipt looks like Jesus.

A South Carolina couple is claiming that a receipt obtained from a local Walmart store depicts an image of Jesus, Fox31.com reports.

Gentry Lee Sutherland and her fiancée, Jacob Simmons, said they picked up some pictures at the store on June 12 and left the receipt on Sutherland's kitchen table. They couple said they returned a few days later to see an image that appeared to be Jesus' face colored on the receipt, according to the station.

"We just feel like it's a blessing that God showed it to us and opened our eyes. And we just feel like we should share the blessing God gave to us to everybody else," Sutherland told WYFF-TV.

Someone at the store reportedly told the couple that the heat likely caused the receipt to appear discolored.

Sutherland and Simmons say they did not intentionally alter the receipt. See Chick's REAL HEAT?

Obama Heading For Hell (in Survey)

Republicans don't think Obama would be Raptured

Obama would not fare well in the Rapture, according to GOP voters

Slate's Dave Weigel picked up on what he called the "best poll questions of the
day" from Public Polling Policy's survey of 574 GOP primary voters across the
country.

The questions probed which politicians would go to Heaven if the Rapture came.
Obama, according to most Republican voters, would not fare well. The survey
results were as follows:

Do you think Barack Obama would be taken up to Heaven in the Rapture or not?

Think Obama would be taken up to Heaven: 19 percent

Think he would not: 44 percent

Not sure: 37 percent

Meanwhile, more than half of respondents thought Sarah Palin would be Raptured:

Do you think Sarah Palin would be taken up to Heaven in the Rapture or not?

Think Palin would be taken up to Heaven: 51 percent

Think she would not: 13 percent

Not sure: 35 percent. See Chick's WHO IS MISSING?

Liberal Pastors Support Obama's Tax Plan

As President Barack Obama and members of Congress continue heated negotiations over the debt ceiling and deficit reduction, a coalition of Christian clergy that has campaigned to keep cuts to social safety net programs off the table met with the president and senior members of his staff on Wednesday to make a plea for the nation's poor and vulnerable.

The 40-minute meeting, which did not appear on the president's public schedule, included liberal representatives from some of the nation's largest religious denominations and organizations, including the Roman Catholic Church, the National Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as well as representatives from social service groups such as the Salvation Army and Bread for the World.

The meeting came after over 5,000 of the more left leaning pastors sent the president and congressional leaders a letter last week telling them the "moral measure of the debate is how the most poor and vulnerable fare." Held in the White House's Roosevelt Room, it included a prayer session and a discussion of ways in which Biblical scripture is relevant to the budget debate.

Republicans seek to cut back the fastest growing portions of the spending-- entitlements, which would most affect non taxpayers (retirees and the welfare class), while the President seeks tax increases on the middle class by eliminating home mortgage deductions and differed taxes on savings plans (tax increases that will primarily affect those with average incomes). Republicans argue that eliminating the home mortgage deduction would hurt the housing market even more, which is what first caused the recession. They believe the best way to improve the economy is to reduce taxes to encourage more jobs, spur growth, and thereby increase the number of tax payers overall. Democrats insist the 49% of Americans who currently pay income taxes can better afford to pay more than the 51% who pay no income taxes or receive large kickbacks in earned income tax rebates. See Chick's THE MAD MACHINE.

Bride Booked at Wedding

Why take your mug shot in your wedding gown? Perhaps because you only get to wear a wedding dress on your wedding day, that's why. Tammy Lee Hinton elected not to change out of her gown and veil when police took her mugshot last Saturday, just a few moments after she said, "I do."

Following the ceremony at City of Zion Ministries church in Michigan, Hinton, 50, was arrested by Blackman-Leoni Township cops on a two-year-old felony warrant accusing her of identity theft, according to police reports obtained by The Smoking Gun.

Authorities reportedly received an anonymous tip that Hinton would be in town for the wedding. The police report listed a Port Richey, Fla., P.O. box as Hinton's home address.

As if literally being an old ball and chain wasn't enough, Hinton is also doing her best as a runaway bride. The Detroit Free Press reports that after paying her bond and being released from county jail, Hinton failed to appear for her scheduled Monday appearance in Jackson County District Court. See Chick's BUSTED.

Gov. Moon Beam to Decide on Gay School Agenda

California Governor Jerry Brown will decide whether the state with the biggest public school enrollment should be the first in the U.S. to require teaching a pro-gay history of gays and lesbians.

The Democratic Assembly passed 49-25 a bill approved earlier by the Senate that would direct social-science classes and texts to include the “role and contributions” of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people.

Brown, a 73-year-old Democrat, has 12 days to sign or veto the measure. His decision will affect not only the state’s 6.2 million students in public school. California is the largest textbook buyer in the U.S., representing almost 13 percent of the $3.4 billion market in 2009, according to the Association of American Publishers. School publishers typically try to sell California-approved texts to other states.

“We need to portray all people, regardless of their race, their color or their sexual orientation, in a positive way in our textbooks,” Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, an Alamo Democrat and former teacher, said in floor debate on the bill.

Brown hasn’t said whether he’ll sign the measure. However, Democrats typically see gays as strong campaign contributors and usually promote gay friendly agenda policies. (See Obama's recent decision to allow gay illegal aliens to remain in the USA if "married" to same sex American partners, despite the recent Federal laws advocating no recognition of such marriages.) Gov. Brown was elected last year with support from Equality California, the state’s largest gay-rights group. The organization has met twice with Brown to urge the governor to support the measure, Executive Director Roland Palencia said in an e-mail yesterday. See Chick's SIN CITY.

Schuller Ousted From Crystal Ministries

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller has been ousted from Crystal Cathedral Ministries, the Orange County Register reports.

Schuller, 84, who began his ministry in an Orange, Calif., drive-in theater more than 50 years ago, was voted off the board of the Crystal Ministries, which has been plagued by financial problems and familial discord, according to the paper.

Schuller’s son, who was forced from the board three years ago, says his father wanted to enlarge the board, a move that did not sit well with others.

"It's a very sad day and unfortunately, I know how that feels," the younger Schuller said.

According to the paper, the church's financial travails, including a significant drop in donations and dwindling membership, culminated in its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The church still owes about $7.5 million to unsecured creditors, many of whom are vendors for the cathedral's "Glory of Christmas" pageant. According to a reorganization plan filed by the church last month, they have an offer from Irvine, Calif., developer, Greenlaw Partners LLC, to buy the core buildings for $46 million.

Robert H. Schuller has been at odds with his daughters over how they have chosen to run the church. The cathedral recently switched over from a traditional worship format to a Gospel-style choir -- much to the chagrin of many long-time members. Sheila Schuller Coleman also required choir members to sign a covenant acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

The older Schuller publicly lashed out at the contract saying everyone is welcome in the church. Phillip Johnson, the architect who constructed the cathedral's iconic glass sanctuary, was an openly gay man. See Chick's THE CHAPLAIN.

Obama Admin Approves "Back Door" Immigration Loop Hole

The federal decision to stop deportation proceedings against a Venezuela-born New Jersey man who legally married his same-sex partner in the United States -- effectively recognizing gay marriage -- is an "abuse of executive authority" by the Obama administration, immigration experts told FoxNews.com.

Henry Velandia, a 27-year-old professional salsa dancer from Caracas now living in New Jersey, legally married U.S. citizen Josh Vandiver, 30, in Connecticut last year, but due to the Defense of Marriage Act -- a 1996 federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman -- Vandiver was not allowed to sponsor Velandia for a green card in the same way a heterosexual person could for his or her spouse. The Department of Homeland Security nevertheless decided to drop deportation efforts against him Wednesday.

Velandia told FoxNews.com that Wednesday's ruling was a "big, uplifting moment" and the product of a year's worth of hard work on behalf of the couple's attorney, Lavi Soloway.

"I can now be with Josh, my husband, in this country without fear of being torn apart," he said on Friday. "It's like our first day building up our life together. But we know the fight is not over. We're going to keep fighting for marriage equality for all the couple who are in the same situation."

But Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, said the decision is misguided prosecutorial discretion that could "destroy the credibility" of immigration law in the United States.

"This is another instance of the Obama administration's abuse of executive authority on behalf of select groups of removable aliens that it thinks are sympathetic to make a run around Congress and provide amnesty to as many illegal aliens as possible," Vaughan said. "These people are props for the administration, which is uncomfortable in its mission to enforce immigration laws. What they're really doing here with this policy of discretion is giving a free pass to huge numbers of people who have been living here illegally."

President Obama reiterated during a news conference on Wednesday that he had instructed the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court. He said he supported gay equality, but repeated his position in support of civil unions instead of marriage. At the same time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is urging its agents to consider a lengthy list of factors in determining whether to move ahead with deportation proceedings -- in a move to crack down on illegal immigrant criminals, but give agents leeway to dismiss cases against those who haven't committed non-immigration crimes.

But by stopping the deportation proceedings against Velandia, the federal government is effectively giving same-sex couples a "status that is not recognized in federal law or in many states," Vaughan said.

"The administration doesn't care about the larger effects," she said. "It's aiming to score political points. And what people don't realize is that they are offering the same thing to lots of other people who are a lot less sympathetic. In reality, it's going to prevent the removal of a lot of many other more troubling individuals, including criminals and repeat immigration violators. It just destroys the credibility of immigration laws."

David Boaz, an executive vice president at Cato Institute, a Washington-based libertarian think tank, said the Obama administration is now in an "awkward position" since announcing it will not continue defending the marriage act in court while promising to enforce existing federal law.

"It becomes difficult to see how you really enforce a law if defendants know that you won't defend its constitutionality if they challenge it in court," he said. "They're probably thinking we can always reopen the deportation case if, ultimately, the courts make it clear that this is the law and it should be enforced."

Boaz said he doesn't expect an imminent decision either way. "I think we're going to get judicial resolution on this, but it could take a couple of years," he said.

White House officials referred inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security, which, in a statement to FoxNews.com, said there has been no change in policy regarding deportation cases affected by the Defense of Marriage Act. As the highest officer of the Executive branch, The President is sworn to enforce all the laws of the United States. In this case, however, he has signaled to others not to enforce the very legislation that his own party had signed into law (under Bill Clinton). See Chick's DOOM TOWN.