Author: WatchmenMinistryNID

(Action Idaho) Conservatives have flailed in reaction to incidents in Coeur d’Alene the past week. They do not know how to react to the obscenity and indecency on display at the pride event. Nor do they know what to think of the so-called rioters or the authorities that arrested them. There are important lessons for the future of conservatism in Idaho in both episodes. Today we focus on the obscenity problem.

Idaho’s obscenity laws were written in 1972, when porn videos were hard to get and when there was no internet. Playboy was in business. There was then no real gay liberation movement, nor any trans movement. Television was more wholesome. No one knew anything about internet pornography addiction or about the effects porn has on male eros and ambition.

The obscenity has changed, but Idaho’s laws have mostly stayed the same.  (Read More)

(Redoubt News) Remember the rich man in the bible who told Jesus he obeyed all the commandments and asked Jesus what he lacked. Jesus answered, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:17-31) If you cannot enter into the kingdom of God, what is your alternative?

How important is money if it means the loss of our morals for our children? At the June 15^th school board meeting it was announced that schools are being forced to adhere to twisted sexual orientation/gender identity policies if they want to receive Title IX federal school lunch funding from the Food and Nutrition Services. The Biden Administration announced that any state agency that received funding from them must align with their interpretation to include sexual orientation and gender identity.¹

The audience asked the board to please stop the Title IX federal money for lunches, and prevent this sexual grooming. But superintendent Anselmo said that the schools receive so much federal money, it would be impossible.  (Read More)

(Daily Wire) With families preparing to mark Fathers Day, the majority of kids in large swaths of the country will have nothing to celebrate, a Daily Wire analysis of newly released Census data shows.

On the black map above, all of the blue areas are where most kids don’t live with two parents.

At the state level, the disaster zone for intact families was Puerto Rico, where only 38% of children live with two parents. That is followed by the District of Columbia at 48%, and Mississippi, Louisiana, and New Mexico, at between 55% and 57%, according to the Census data, which covers the years 2016-2020.  (Read More)

(Action Idaho) Pres. Barack Obama designated June to be LGBT Pride Month month in 2011, though Gay Pride Month had been around since 2000 when Bill Clinton established it.

Obama’s celebratory announcement contains all of the ambiguities and pieties that still govern the public presentation of LGBTQ+ Pride Month. On one hand, Pride advocates insist that Pride Month, Pride shows in the park, the parades, the story hours in the library, the dirty books for children are just about cultivating safety and supportive environments. On the other hand, the events point toward revolutionary change in what sex is and in what human beings are said to be.

This move from safety to celebration has been underway for decades. It is a deliberate rhetorical strategy from queer advocates. Kevin Jennings, founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), delivered a speech to gay activists on March 5, 1995 laying out the strategy:  (Read More)

(American Family News) Here we go again. The Beltway Swamp’s ineluctable impulse to (Pretend To) Do Something in the wake of a mass school shooting committed by a homicidal maniac has put America on the brink of greenlighting untold civil liberties abuses in the name of “safety.” The grandstanding gun-grabbing reflex is a hard habit to break.

Shamefully, 10 zucchini noodle-spined Senate Republicans led by Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn back a federal gun-control plan that would bribe states to adopt so-called “red-flag” (a.k.a. Extreme Risk Protection Order) laws. These psychological profiling weapons — now in effect in 19 states — empower disgruntled strangers, duplicitous family members, biased police and ideologically driven judges to disarm citizens by labeling them mental health threats to themselves and others. Anti-Second Amendment activists cite scientific research like a new University of California, Davis, study as evidence that red-flag laws are “saving lives.” But the science is untrustworthy.  (Read More)

(Life News) As we prepare for the Supreme Court decision in the landmark Dobbs vs Jackson case that will most likely dismantle Roe v. Wade we are seeing a rise in violence from the pro-abortion side. Lifesaving pregnancy centers are being attacked, pro-lifers are being assaulted, death threats are being made against Supreme Court justices and pro-life leaders, and there have been calls for riots across the country.

It’s ironic that as the pro-life goal of ending the violence in the womb comes closer to reality, the other side is advocating all kinds of violence. Of course, it is well known that acts of violence have marred our movement and I have always spoken up against them, as have the vast majority of pro-lifers. The fact is, we cannot use violence in our efforts to end the violence of abortion.

Abortion is violence, no matter how hard the other side tries to portray it as health care, a loving and merciful act or a basic human right. It is a direct attack on a human being at his or her most vulnerable stage, resulting in death. It is the literal definition of homicide – when one human being causes the death of another. In every single act of abortion at least one human life is ended. Sometimes, the mothers of these homicide victims also die from the complications of a botched abortion.  (Read More)

(The Washington Stand) There is a new bully on the playground: the education establishment. Bolstered by teachers unions and the Democrats’ political machine, certain school boards and administrators are pushing a progressive and dangerous social agenda down the unwilling throats of America. The Left’s push into K-12 schools includes everything from drag queen story hour to unisex locker rooms. But these aren’t even the most troubling trends.

Parents across the country would be appalled to hear about school administrators’ policing of perceived gender-related infractions. In Virginia, Fairfax County Public Schools voted to approve changes to the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook that include suspending students for using transgender students’ non-preferred pronouns or birth names, also referred to as “misgendering” or “deadnaming.” These offenses are classified as a “Level 4” offense with a possibility of suspension. For context, a “Level 5” offense includes homicide or possession of drugs and weapons.

A school district in Wisconsin actually opened a Title IX sexual harassment case against three eighth-graders for referring to a biological female student as “her” instead of “them.” There seems to be no end in sight to the Left’s gender hysteria.  (Read More)

(Faith & Freedom) In recent months Disney told Florida Gov. DeSantis to basically take a hike and take his values with him. So he did—over to the State Legislature. In the twinkling of an eye, Disney no longer enjoyed the luxury of autonomy and essentially state law exemption in many areas of their massive operation in Florida that had been given them when Walt ran the company back in the 1960s.

Disney was specifically reacting to a newly passed Florida law criminalizing child porn, which was a setback for the indoctrination of kids as young as 5 years old in public schools.

We now know it wasn’t only Gov. DeSantis and the parents who bring their kids to Florida for a fun family experience: The global community has spoken as well.

[…]Breitbart News reports, sarcastically, “So the child groomers at the Walt Disney Company decided to gay up the Toy Story franchise, and it not only laid an egg here in America, it bombed all over the world.”  (Read More)

(The Federalist) As we quickly approach the anticipated Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, corporate media is doing it’s part to keep the pro-abortion propaganda churring. Our corrupt corporate press do not care about facts, like the overturning of Roe v. Wade will not “make abortion illegal” or that a majority of Americans support restrictions on abortion.

This moment calls for important reporting on the wave abortion laws that are unfolding at statehouses across the country, but newsrooms are only interested in stories that support the pro-abortion agenda. Here are just some of the most recent attempts.

Over Father’s Day weekend, NBC’s “Today” website took advantage of a holiday celebrating fatherhood to highlight men who rejected parenthood and detached themselves from raising and providing for the child they created. The irony was lost on no one.  (Read More)

(The Washington Stand) The Biden administration claims it formed the recently unveiled “parents council” to better reflect families’ views in public schools — but its members include Al Sharpton’s community organizing group, activists who lobby to teach “comprehensive sex education” including gender identity theory in school, and open borders groups.

Supporters of the National Parents and Families Engagement Council, announced by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on June 14, praised the board as “a channel for parents’ voices to be heard.” Yet one look at some of the council’s 14 acknowledged members shows it represents a small segment of elitist, left-wing views. Among the groups that the Department of Education cites as council members are:  (Read More)

(RedState) A pro-abortion extremist outfit called “Janes Revenge” has issued a new threat against pro-life organizations. After claiming credit for a series of attacks against pregnancy crisis centers and other such groups, it appears they plan to escalate as the FBI is investigating the group’s activities.

On Tuesday, Jane’s Revenge published a new letter declaring “open season” on organizations that oppose abortion and referenced a 30-day deadline it had previously set for these groups to halt their operations. The terrorist group castigated volunteers “who impersonate healthcare providers in order to harm the vulnerable.”

“We were unsurprised to see thirty days come and thirty days pass with no sign of consilience or even bare-minimum self-reflection from you,” the author of the letter wrote. “History may not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes, and we’ve already seen such stanzas where medical autonomy is stripped away, humanity is increasingly criminalized, and merely surviving becomes largely untenable.”

The extremist group then cautioned “your thirty days expired yesterday” and said they “offered an honourable way out.”

“You could have walked away,” the letter continued. “You could have walked away. Now the leash is off.”  (Read More)

(Faith & Freedom) The New York Times is admitting that “Plunging enrollment in public school systems is seismic and according to experts will not be easily reversed.”

The loss of students is so significant nationwide that cities that have lost a lot of students — including Denver, Albuquerque, and Oakland — are now considering combining classrooms, laying off teachers, or shutting down entire schools because enrollment equals income for the public schools.

However, the elite—including our president, vice president, speaker, and other leaders including governors, etc., don’t send their kids to public schools—but they insist you have the right to do so if you please.

Hypocrisy.  (Read More)

(Idaho Dispatch) Coeur d’Alene police say 31 Patriot Front members were arrested in Coeur d’Alene for “conspiracy to riot” at the “Pride in the Park” event.

In a press conference held after the arrests, Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said that 31 members of the group Patriot Front were arrested. White said that a call from a citizen came in who saw the group loading into a U-haul with shields, face masks, and matching clothing.

White told the media during the press conference that of the individuals they had booked so far, one was from Idaho, and the others were from different states across the country.

Idaho Dispatch looked through the Kootenai County booking report this morning, and out of the individuals charged with “Criminal Conspiracy,” two are from Idaho. Winston Durham from Genesee and Richard Jessop from Idaho falls are the two Idahoans facing the misdemeanor charge.  (Read More)

(Life News) Another Planned Parenthood abortion business has closed, this time in Boise, Idaho.

Last month, America’s biggest abortion company announced plans to close five facilities in Vermont and New Hampshire on June 12, citing staffing problems and politics. Following that announcement, Planned Parenthood indicated it would close five abortion centers in Indiana, Idaho and Alaska.

The stunning news that Idaho Planned Parenthood has shut the doors on its flagship abortion center on State Street in Idaho’s largest city confirms it is one of the five abortion centers it intended to close.

As one news report indicates:

The Boise Planned Parenthood, which was located at 3668 N. Harbor Lane off of State Street, closed June 1. The property was listed for sale through Keller Williams Commercial for $999,000. A sign on the former clinic’s door directs patients to Meridian or Twin Falls.  (Read More)

(Idaho Freedom Foundation) West Ada School District is spending $125K on equity consultant Education Elements to develop a districtwide strategic plan. Education Elements is a self-proclaimed anti-racist consulting firm seeking to “dismantle the systems of inequity that perpetuate oppression” in the school system and claiming that racism has “seeped into all American institutions.”

Education Elements offers guidance to districts on how to train staff, conduct climate surveys, and develop strategic plans for equity, curriculum, and policy. The group will guide West Ada’s administration in developing a Comprehensive Strategic Plan that includes developing a vision statement, the Portrait of a Graduate (a social-emotional learning element), and “strategic [p]riorities and metrics for monitoring and growth” toward the group’s equitable vision.

Every school in the district will be required to align their classroom practices and curriculum, staff training, and school culture according to the new strategic plan.

But what does this equitable path forward look like? Education Elements shows us through its publicly available trainings, reading lists, and policy recommendations.  (Read More)

(The Washington Stand) State policies that allow children to access so-called gender-affirming care without parental consent have created a significant increase in suicides, according to a new Heritage Foundation study.

The Heritage study released Monday found that 2020 saw 1.6 more suicides per 100,000 residents ages 12 to 23 in states that allow minors access to puberty blockers and other gender-reassignment procedures without parental consent. (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s multimedia news organization.)

Jay Greene, a Heritage research fellow in education, found little evidence that such procedures prevent suicide. In fact, they may be fueling an increase in suicide among young people, the study finds.

A common argument of those in favor of so-called gender-affirming care is that such medical procedures prevent suicide.   (Read More)

(Coeur d’Alene Press) Open Arms, a new nonprofit pregnancy medical clinic in Hayden, has two new ultrasound machines which were recently donated by the Idaho Knights of Columbus.

“We know that upon seeing their baby’s image on an ultrasound machine and being provided with help and support from nonprofit organizations like the Open Arms Pregnancy Center, the vast majority of pregnant women will choose life,” said Roy Bartholomay, Idaho State Deputy for the Knights of Columbus, in a news release. “We are excited to continue to provide ultrasound technology to pregnancy centers that offer hope and support to women and their babies.”

The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal organization dedicated to the sanctity of life, said the release.

The overall effort on this project was coordinated by the St. Thomas Council of the Knights, according to Mike Anderson, the St. Thomas Council’s financial secretary.  (Read More)

(Breakpoint) Earlier this year, a very secular publication came to an unexpected conclusion. Vox ran a series of articles under the title “America’s Struggle for Forgiveness,.” In it, they wrote,  “Grace might be the holiest, most precious concept of all in this conversation about right and wrong, penance and reform—but it’s the one that almost never gets discussed.” 

Even in the most morally exhausted cultural moments, like ours, there are signs of life. Made in God’s image, with eternity in our hearts, we’re desperate for answers to our deepest questions and for purpose to help us make sense of our lives. We search elsewhere but, ultimately, only the Gospel offers what we need.  

At the same time, at least when it comes to forgiveness, Christians are struggling as well. In any context, because it always involves fallen human beings, forgiveness isn’t easy. In this cultural moment, so deeply divided at such fundamental levels and with so much at stake in the issues, it can seem impossible. How can we reconcile the idea of forgiveness in a world overrun by evil? How can we be examples of forgiveness, both forgiving and seeking forgiveness, to a world that so desperately needs to see it?  (Read More)

(The Washington Stand) As the number of attacks on pro-life groups and individuals ticked up to 51 this week, including a Republican state representative and a church, the group behind many such assaults promises to take “increasingly drastic measures” which are not “so easily cleaned up as fire and graffiti.”

The newest disturbances add to the growing list of abortion activists’ acts of vandalism, theft, and property damage since the leak of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision last month.

At 4:05 a.m. Monday, two individuals smashed the windows and threw a lit flare into the office of Washington State Rep. Andy Barkis, a pro-life Republican who introduced a bill to prohibit the abortion of children with Down syndrome. The flare landed on a masonry floor, preventing more extensive damage. Some police have said the failed arson attempt against the building, where the House Republican Organizational Committee keeps its offices, was intended as a distraction for a subsequent robbery. But some legislators question the event, as it came during radical abortion activists’ campaign of terror, which vandalized four churches in Olympia late last month.  (Read More)

(Life News) Radical abortion activists who firebombed the office of a pro-life groups in Wisconsin and Oregon, firebombed a pregnancy center in Buffalo, New York, and who have vandalized over a dozen churches and pregnancy centers have struck again.

Now, not even a week after abortion supporters firebombed the Buffalo pregnancy center, another pregnancy center in Gresham, Oregon has been set ablaze.

The Gresham Pregnancy Resource Center was set on fire Saturday morning, according to officials with the pregnancy center. From initial investigations by Police and Fire authorities, it appears an incendiary device was thrown through a window.  

“Our alarm system immediately alerted Fire and Police, and they arrived very quickly and extinguished the fire. It was mostly contained to one room, but damage there was extensive and there is additional water and smoke damage in other parts of the building. Nobody was hurt,” Luke Cirillo, CEO, said in a statement.  (Read More)

(The Federalist) Twitter repeatedly locks the accounts of conservatives who criticize the left’s narrative. When outrage about the Big Tech company’s knack for political censorship bubbles, Twitter occasionally claims it made a mistake. This week, it happened again.

Citing an “error,” Twitter reinstated the account of “Relatable” podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey on Monday night. But that was only after it received backlash for locking the Christian conservative’s account because she criticized Fox News for celebrating a California couple who forced radical transgender ideology on their 14-year-old daughter when she was an infant.

“I’m stunned that Fox News ran a segment celebrating a girl whose parents ‘transitioned’ her into a boy when she was 5 because she apparently told them she was a boy ‘before [she] could talk.’ Absolutely maddening & heartbreaking,” Stuckey’s original tweet stated.  (Read More)

(Bob Shillingstad) It seems that the Judeo-Christian world view is being attacked with such a vengeance that our first reaction is to respond with our own attacks and here we are in an all-out culture war.  It is dis-heartening to see education, media, corporations all seemingly aligned against us.  Unfortunately many churches are not in the fight, they seem more like social clubs with a cross on the building. It is not just the Christian community that feels this way but conservative citizens that feel as if they are living in a world they no longer recognize.

The other option we have as Christians besides pushing back on the evil around us is to recognize that we have been given an opportunity to reach a lost world searching for truth and sanity. We are at a point where it is “revival or bust” and we must reach a lost people with the message of the gospel.  How can the church do this? Here are some suggestions:

Foster Care: There are 400,000 children in foster care in our nation,  There are also 400,000 churches in our country and enough churches in our area for each child. We can match a church in our area to a child in need or be creative in our approach of helping. Half of all children in our area do not live with their biological father.

Addiction: 100,000 people died of opioid and fentanyl overdoses last year and a big problem in our area.  Does Pastor Remington’s Samaritan Ministries program need to be expanded or duplicated as we offer a Christ centered response.

Home Schooling: This is an alternative that has multiplied many times over as details have come out about the failure of government schools. Should the churches sponsor a home school “convention” or expo that highlights speakers, co-ops and vendors to come alongside families who want to instill Biblical values.  Faith based schools could also be included.

Worldview Training Centers: The Mormon church is serious about solidifying their doctrine to young people with their training centers across from each high school and released time for students.  We have churches across from high schools.  Why aren’t we offering Biblical training also to these students?  Related to that we can also offer “Good News Clubs” at elementary schools as an after school program  All of these are acceptable to the secular watchdogs in the legal system by case law.

There are many additional ideas that the church should be doing at this critical time to reach the lost.  People are hungry for the truth and we have the gospel that will answer the lies of Satan. The continued drift of our culture into radical and dangerous waters makes it more imperative that we stem the tide by boldly proclaiming God’s truth!

Revival or Bust!

As most of you have heard by now, there will be a pride in the park event next Saturday, June 11th. In addition to this a local group is planning a counter protest. Though we encourage that you be involved and aware of local issues we don’t encourage you to put yourselves in harm’s way. Whether you chose to attend the event on not, that will need to be your decision. Please be wise. It seems the intent of the event is to expose as many people as possible to the lgbtq lifestyle. Remember that children are the target and what they see and hear cannot be unseen or unheard.

Here’s the announcement from the Coeur d’Alene Police Department concerning the event:

Cd’A PD releases statement regarding downtown events

 

Please see the first article here so that you’re aware of what is coming to our community.

The second article discloses that our tax dollars were donated to sponsor this event. We need to begin to seriously hold our elected accountable for this kind of irresponsible behavior.

Now, to the rest of sponsors. We’ve provided a list of the sponsors for the event. If you do business with any of these we ask that you reconsider and find another business that does not go against your Christian values. Sadly, even a few local churches are on the list of sponsors. If you currently attend one of these- find a new church.

Final Thought:

Click Here to watch a video from Pastor Jack Hibbs on pride month.

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The Satanic Temple Announcing Attendance at Coeur d’Alene’s “Pride in the Park” — All Ages Event to Host Drag Queen Show for Idaho Children

(Idaho Tribune) Coeur d’Alene Idaho: The local “Pride in the Park” event geared towards children will host a slew of radical LGBT attendees, including Antifa, Satanists, and drag queens who will perform for children in the park.

On the North Idaho Pride Alliance website, The Satanic Temple is listed as one of the official groups participating in the event, and will be present handing out materials at their booth.

The Satanic Temple, which recently came to Boise to perform “unbaptisms” will be in attendance, telling children “satan loves you.”  (Read More)

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Public dollars pay for Idaho gay pride events

(Idaho Freedom Foundation) This weekend, satanists, drag queens, and anti-gun advocates will help the North Idaho Pride Alliance celebrate gay pride — and public dollars will also help pay for it via money appropriated by state lawmakers.

The North Idaho Pride Alliance’s Pride in the Park boasts a number of sponsorships, including the ACLU of Idaho, the Satanic Temple of Idaho, and the anti-gun group, Everytown for Gun Safety.

But the event, which features the usual complement of drag queens that has become a normal theme for these kinds of affairs, also draws support from Idaho’s treasury in the form of money from the state tobacco settlement account known as the Millennium Fund. The Millennium Fund helps pay for programs such as Project Filter, an anti-smoking campaign of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare that also happens to be a sponsor of Saturday’s event.  (Read More)

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Sponsors for Pride in the Park

Jupiter Jane Traveling Café ABB Accessories ACLU of Idaho Affordable Elegance Bridal Clark’s Diamond Jewelry Calvary Lutheran Church Charles Mack Photography Citizens’ Climate Lobby Community Library Network Community United Methodist Church Community of the Holy Spirit – Ecumenical Catholic Communion Coeur d’Alene Public Library Coeur d’Alene Arts and Culture Alliance Dan English – Councilman’s Corner Ecogoat Design Everytown for Gun Safety Fostering Idaho & Family Resource and Training Center Gritz N Glitz

Homegrown Artist Co-Op Human Rights Education Institute Love Lives Here CDA Hoyt Kitchen Witchery Idaho State Police District 1 K Creative Kootenai Clinic Family Medicine and Residency Kootenai County Democrats Kootenai Recovery Community Center Mountain States Early Head Start NAMI CDA Museum of North Idaho My Sweet Baby Cakes NIAC Pride Foundation North Idaho College GSA Club Numerica Credit Union Post Falls GSA Club Reiki Healing Tent – Karen Romani

Safe Passage Safari Pearl Sarah Louise Windisch – Artist & Teacher Stradasoul Sandpoint PFLAG Santos Merchandising St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) Region 1 Tavi’s Oddities The Satanic Temple Idaho The Wavy Bunch Three Carat Diva The Art Spirit Gallery Twinlow Camp and Retreat Center Twisted Tie In’s Unity Spiritual Center of North Idaho US Bank Vastra the Clown Wings of Transformation Wonderfully Made

 

(Idaho Family Policy Center) Too often, biblical values have been on the losing side of recent skirmishes in the culture wars. Nowhere is this more evident than in the arena of sexuality and gender, where perverted distortions of God’s good creation are celebrated every June under the guise of Pride Month.

In many ways, the perennial celebration of all things ‘gay’ is nothing less than a cynical marketing ploy on the part of companies, celebrities, and others who see a fad they can exploit for personal gain. Ask anyone who shops at Target, watches cable television, or attends a Major League Baseball game in June. There’s a lot of money to be made, and a lot of cultural cachet to be gained, in celebrating LGBT Pride.

It certainly seems that God has handed our culture over to a spirit of degeneracy (Rom. 1:24-28). But this sad state of affairs gives Christians an opportunity to demonstrate faithfulness to God, and love for neighbor, by standing for biblical truth.

First, Christians must refuse to celebrate evil. How can we revel in something that God calls an abomination (Lev. 20:13)? And why should we pride ourselves in something that separates us from the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-12)?  (Read More)

(The Washington Stand) You don’t have to be a genius to understand that America is a nation in crisis. The issue, however, is that understanding the nature of this crisis might not be quite as obvious as recognizing that we are, in fact, in one. My proposal to you is that we have a single crisis in America that’s introduced a number of serious challenges in this nation: a crisis of worldview.

Everybody has a worldview. And that worldview essentially is the intellectual, the emotional, and the spiritual filter through which we understand, interpret, and respond to the world around us. It’s how we make sense of the world, figure out who we are, figure out how we want to interact with the world, decide what kind of influence we want to have and what kind of legacy we want to believe. Every single decision that every single person makes, every moment of every day, is a result of their worldview. So frankly, there’s nothing more important we could be talking about as we look at the state of America than the prevailing worldview in our country.

The reason it’s a crisis is because most Americans — including most parents, most children, and most pastors — have an unbiblical worldview.  (Read More)