Paper Or Plastic?

Ever since plastic bags became available as the means to tote our groceries home, I've heard that we need to switch back to paper bags. Indeed, in 2007 San Francisco banned the use of plastic bags by chain stores for the carrying home of retail purchases (albeit with this controversy, as explained in a January 7, 2009 article debunking that particular bit of feel-good legislation in the San Francisco Weekly), and Whole Foods recently converted to using paper bags or reusable bags only.

But do such changes really save the environment?
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Marc Fisher of the Washington Post recently made the following excellent points about the paper-or-plastic wars:

...Way too much brainpower has gone into efforts by scientists, advocates and policy wonks to figure out whether plastic or paper bags are more damaging to the air, water, soil, and our souls. Binary Man [as Marc Fisher sometimes refers to himself] has learned the ins and outs of factors such as eutrophication, which is the degree to which paper or plastic bags disturb the nutritional balance of the earth's soil as they each sit in landfills. (Paper loses that part of the battle; the process used to make the bags emits considerably more carbon than making a plastic bag.)

The plastics industry churns out studies seeking to show that plastic bags are better for the environment even if they are made from fossil fuels, because the bags are frequently reused. And it is true that neither paper nor plastic bags decompose to any useful degree in the landfills where most of our trash ends up....

By the end of the column, Mr. Fisher advocates that we bring our own bags to the store, even if doing so encroaches upon our desire for convenience.

Decades ago, probably during the Carter Administration, we here in the D.C. area heard that an impending shortage of grocery bags was looming. My grandmother, seamstress extraodinaire, cranked up her sewing machine and made the family a supply of denim bags to use at the grocery store. The shortage of grocery bags in our region didn't come to fruition. Those denim bags are in storage upstairs here, and I should dig them out, in case the Virginia Assembly decides to impose a proposed fee on both paper and plastic bags used in grocery stores and big-chain retailers; that kind of legislation has been under consideration this session.

I also note that, in the current flurry of legislation regarding paper-or-plastic, few environmentalists want to ban plastic garbage bags. That lack of initiative is understandable, of course, because of the unpleasant result in suburban neighborhoods:


Furthermore, most composting, particularly when the compost pile isn't regularly and properly tended, also leads to the following unintended, disgusting, and potentially dangerous consequence:


History has proven to us the toll on human life when rat population is left unchecked (click on image to enlarge):


I can't imagine that environmentalists will advocate a ban on plastic garbage bags. But one never knows! After all, at least one university professor has advocated using the Ebola Virus as a method of culling humanity and saving Planet Earth.

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An Excellent Speech By Robert Spencer

Please pause the PlayList on the right sidebar before watching the following video from Jihad Watch:



[END OF THIS POSTING]

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Color Of The Year: Mellow Yellow

The designers don't call the color "mellow yellow," of course. Rather, it is termed "mimosa." From this January 22, 2009 article in the Washington Post:

In Times So Mellow, A Burst Of Yellow: Institute Serves Up 'Mimosa' as Its Color of the Year

The people vote for change, and color company Pantone delivers.

By choosing Mimosa, a champagne-and-orange-juice shade of yellow as the 2009 color of the year, Pantone promises hope, joy, optimism -- sentiments to match the new U.S. president's oft-spoken words.

"Yellow is the color of change, of hopefulness, of warmth and of good cheer," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. Pantone provides color standards widely used in most design industries, and the Color Institute is its research group.

Each year the institute selects a color based on a general sense of the world's mood....

Of course, the following is the real reason for the recent enchantment with yellow or any shade thereof:


The above-cited article in the Washington Post offers several photos of items decked out in the color of the year. I find the following the most hideous of the lot:



I might put those tables in a child's playroom or playhouse. Might.

And consider the cost of those yellow tables: $229 for a set of two, available at West Elm.

Or how about one of the following for your sofa?


Each pillow costs $24.95, available at CB2.

The Washington Post does mention that that yellow doesn't convey only sunshine and flowers:

Yellow can also represent cowardliness, sickness, jaundice and the death of leaves in the fall. "No color has a neat, unambiguous symbolism, but yellow gives some of the most mixed messages of all," writes Victoria Finlay in "Color: The Natural History of the Palette" (Random House/Ballantine Books, 2003)....

Of course, the article concludes on a positive note as no other tone is allowed these days when it comes to anything even tangentially related to the Obamas:

Besides its message of hope, Eiseman says, Mimosa in the home will provide a sense of reassurance that in the end, everything will be sunny side up. "It gives the suggestion of sunshine even when there isn't sunshine," she says.

I admit to not particularly liking the color. I look terrible in and next to yellow — even if called "mimosa." As you can see from these photos, I try to stay away from yellow shades. Besides, mimosa signifies pink to me, that is, unless the blossoms are dying:



Additional reading and photos from The Evil Style Queen

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When It Snows In Washington

Back in February 2006, I posted a version of the following essay at my first web site. As the snow is falling right now in the greater Washington, D.C., area in our first snowfall this winter, I have resurrected portions of that post. Readers from other areas may find my observations particularly amusing:

We Washingtonians have a love-hate relationship with snow. All adults love the beauty of a local winder wonderland, and we teachers, as do students, love getting the day off “due to inclement weather.” Indeed, Washington area sometimes shuts down at the very threat of a flake! Other times, when only a few inches have come down, I’ve not had to report to work, only to be out and about later in the day, with absolutely no problem.
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Truly, however, Washingtonians simply can’t drive in the white stuff, particularly if a mere inch covers the road surface. Drivers go too fast when they shouldn’t, thus sliding into all sorts of objects (I've lost track of how many times my fence has been damaged), and too slowly when they need to get up enough speed to make it up a hill. Even before the first flake falls, shoppers who fear they won’t be able to get to the grocery stores for weeks, an eventuality happens only on the rarest of occasions, stock up on milk, bread, and toilet paper. This stocking up is irrational—most of the time.

I say “most of the time” because our weather forecasters are notorious for their inaccuracy as to the amount of snow we can expect. The Blizzard of ’96 is a perfect example of what can happen around here. That year, we suffered as only Washington can suffer when the depth of snow far exceeds expectations and piles up to a full two feet. As a lifelong resident of this area, I should have known better than to be so credulous, but I made the mistake of believing the weatherman on that storm and had to beg toilet paper from my neighbor. Let me tell you, I found out firsthand that modern toilets, those environment-friendly water savers, aren’t any good at swallowing newspapers or paper towels. I had to borrow cat food as well. Believe me—it’s hell on earth if a cat owner is trapped in the house with three famished felines who don’t eat table treats.

The January 1996 Blizzard left us totally housebound for a full three days. The Washington area was completely paralyzed! Even newspaper delivery failed. Of course, three days is not very long, but in that amount of time sanity suffers if one is cooped up with spouse and three stir-crazed cats. Watching television and talking on the phone go only so far when one is used to face-to-face contact with those outside the household.

We live only a few short feet off an essential artery. But when one has to shovel two feet of snow, those few feet are long; the task is made worse when little nearby space exists to toss the snow and has to walk several feet with shovelful after shovelful. During the Blizzard of ’96, we had no need to get to the unplowed main artery, but all the neighbors on this little sidestreet banded together and shoveled out. After we had labored for several hours, our vehicles could move, but, of course, beyond our side street no road surface had been plowed on which to drive. The situation was one of “all dressed up and no place to go.” We enviously watched skiers, the only ones moving on the road because no plows were in sight, make their way while the rest of us were trapped. Our depression deepened.

By the third day, we could no longer bear the isolation as the romanticism of being snowed in had degenerated into cabin fever. We donned our warmest gear and, in waist-deep snow, trudged the three and one-half blocks to the nearest pub. Once inside, all of us scattered to tables where sat our neighbors as we sought the companionship of those other than our loved ones. Returning home was tough, though—all uphill and with full bellies after all the nachos and French onion soup.

Spring of 1996 saw a surge in sales of the necessary blizzard equipment. Every single family I know has one of those gas-guzzling and expensive-to-repair four wheelers. Many families have snow blowers. A few even have generators or have bonded with those who have them—never mind that the power rarely goes during a snowstorm unless an ice storm materializes. We won’t risk being trapped again! Yet the I-might-get-trapped-without-a-bite-to-eat mentality remains. And those new to the area soon catch that attitude. People are like lemmings, after all.

Can you imagine what Washington would be like if we got the same amount of snow as Buffalo, New York? The mind reels at the thought!

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Instant Bestseller: Pocket Obama

(With a hat tip to this posting by Midnight Rider at Infidel Bloggers Alliance)

Now the Cult of Obama has its own little pocket "holy book," so that the cult followers can carry around with them at all times the important words of "The One."

The book went on sale on January 8, 2009, and is already sold out at Amazon. From the Amazon web site (emphases mine):

Product Description
Printed in a size that easily fits into pocket or purse, this book is an anthology of quotations borrowed from Barack Obama's speeches and writings. POCKET OBAMA serves as a reminder of the amazing power of oratory and the remarkable ability of this man to move people with his words. His superb and captivating oratory style has earned comparisons to John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and this collection presents words that catapulted his remarkable rise to the American Presidency. Includes themes of democracy, politics, war, terrorism, race, community, jurisprudence, faith, personal responsibility, national identity, and above all, his hoped-for vision of a new America. This book is truly a primer for readers who want to examine the substance of his thought and reflect on the next great chapter in the American story. It is an unofficial requirement for every citizen to own, to read, and to carry this book at all times.

Midnight Rider made the following astute observation and has the screenshots to prove what might disappear from Amazon as complaints and satiric reviews appear at the web site:

Particularly disturbing, when you roll over other images beneath the main, Chairman Mao's Little Red Book comes up.

When John F. Kennedy was elected, his book Profiles in Courage became required reading for many students in high school and at the university level. But Kennedy's book was never lauded in the same manner and, as far as I know, never had a special little edition of "The One's" words to carry over one's heart. In other words, Kennedy's book did not begin to approach the tone of cult. After he was assassinated, yes, the Cult of Camelot arose. But, again, that particular cult never carried the impact and extent of what we're seeing right now before Barack Hussein Obama has served even a full week in office.

We are witnessing the Cult of Obama as it grows and grows and grows. Dangerous. Dangerous in the extreme.

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Identifying The AntiChrist

As a Christian, I spend time wondering, "Who is the AntiChrist? Has he appeared yet on the world scene? Where will he come from?" Over the years, having been called to teach, I've learned to trust that the Lord manages the Latter Days to His Own glory. Nevertheless, I do read material related to Christian eschatology because Christians are commanded to watch for signs of our Lord's coming.

The essay below, by Walid Shoebat, offers insights, including prophecies and historical background from the Bible and Christian theologians.

From The Tedland Daily:

THE DEBATE OVER ANTICHRIST

By Walid Shoebat

THE THREE CHALLENGES

Does the beast of Revelation involve Middle Eastern Muslim nations, is it exclusively European, or is it both? Some say the notion that Islam could play a prominent role in the coming revival of the Roman Empire is impossible, unorthodox, untraditional, the work of ‘Lone Ranger’ type interpretation, and even revisionist..1

The majority of American evangelicals believe that the Antichrist system must be exclusively European, yet this view is changing after the last few years with the rise of Islam.

So, could Islam play a role in this end-times scenario? You might think to yourself—so what? Why should we care? Well, why then did the Almighty give us Daniel and Revelations? Even better still — why did God give us all the Messianic prophesies regarding Jesus’ first coming? Careless followers that missed these ended up without salvation, regardless of whether they sacrificed lambs in the Temple or obeyed the law—when it comes to the issue of Messiah, they missed the most crucial event in history. All for not paying close attention to Bible Prophecy. And what about the second coming? Are we to be careless with respect to the evidence presented in the Bible? I am not saying that you could lose your salvation, but if you end up on the side of Antichrist, you never had salvation in the first place.

Yet today, the debate is brewing—what about the threat of Islam? Did the Bible warn us about it? Are we supposed to keep our focus exclusively on Europe?

To shed light on the implications of such detailed evidence (which spawned countless challenges and questions) I decided to write God’s War on Terror regarding Islam’s involvement in end-times. Consequently, I get challenges daily, not only by Muslims that want me dead but also from Christians who are dogmatic about their views. Ironically, we have no record of any Christian minister killed for exposing the E.U. as the work of Satan, yet we have millions who gave their lives for standing up to Islam. So please allow me to alleviate some pressure and present you with only three challenges:

CHALLENGE 1: Did traditional Prophecy scholars teach that Europe is exclusively the Antichrist kingdom?

You might be shocked to know that the highest caliber commentators of old did not believe that Europe was the exclusive player in the End-Times. A revival of a Roman Empire never meant a revival of a European Empire.

Many of our best western scholars on Bible prophecy believed that Islam would be a major player and will revive in the end of days as part of this end-time beast. John Wesley interpreted the Iron in Daniel 2 as Islam (Works, 1841). Hilaire Belloc foresaw Islam‘s rise.2 Gregory Palamus of Thessalonica interpreted the martyrdom of Christians during the Great Tribulation to come from Islam. Josiah Litch interpreted Revelation as the ushering in of Islam.3 He even described the magnitude of Islam’s role being Antichrist to the extent of calling it the “general agreement among Christians, especially protestant commentators.” Cyril of Jerusalem (315-368 A.D) in his Divine Institutes believed that Antichrist proceeds forth from the region of ancient Syria 4, which today extends from Syria well into portions of Asia Minor (Turkey). Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem (560-638) and Maximus the Confessor (580-662) identified Islam with Antichrist and lived through Islam’s invasion of Jerusalem. Maximus was also an important theologian and scholar of the early Church who helped defeat the Monothelite heresy referred to the Muslim invasions as “announcing the advent of the Antichrist.” John of Damascus (676-749) was another very important figure in the early church. In his famous book, Against Heresies, he identified Islam as the forerunner to the Antichrist. Eulogius, Paul Alvarus and the Martyrs of Cordova (9th century) believed Muhammad to be a false prophet and the precursor to the Antichrist. 5 Many are not aware that while Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation, believed that the Papacy played the role of the spiritual harlot, he also believed that the Muslims were the Kingdom of Antichrist. 6

John Calvin interpreted Daniel 2 eastern leg as the Eastern-Roman Islamic Empire and that Daniel 11:37 applied to the Muslims. 7 Even Jonathan Edwards the great American congregational preacher, revivalist, and president of Princeton University, like Luther and Calvin, saw Islam as one of the premiere elements of the Antichrist Kingdom. 8 Calvin even interpreted Islam’s fall at the sound of the great trumpet 9 Islam falling at the sound of the great trumpet even carries Islam into the Great Tribulation and not as many of our contemporary prophecy analysts who allege that Islam must be removed prior to Christ coming.

Even Sir Robert Anderson, perhaps one of the best prophecy experts who unlocked the seventy weeks of Daniel, in his remarkable book The Coming Prince, insists to focus on the Levant (Eastern) parts rather than the Adriatic (West). 10

Countless other Bible commentators warned about Islam being the kingdom of Antichrist—Selnecker, Nigrinus, Chytraeus, Bullinger, Foxe, Napier, Pareus, John Cotton, Thomas Parker, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather, and George Stanley Faber. 11

Also added to the list is Rev. Professor Dr. Francis Nigel Lee who sums up the traditional view in his excellent work Islam in the Bible: “from the seventh century onward – [the two legs] would degenerate respectively into the Papacy (which progressively took over the West) and Islam (which progressively took over the East.” (p. 5)

Making Europe the exclusive body of Antichrist kingdom is not the orthodox or even the traditional view. Some insist that Antichrist is Italian since he comes from the Roman Empire, but Roman does not strictly mean Italian, just as Alexander the Great was Grecian, this does not mean Athenian—he was from Macedonia. Antiochus Epiphanies, another biblical prediction was Syrian not Athenian or Cypriot. Why then, when it comes to Antichrist, insist on an Italian ignoring the whole empire. Even Jesus insisted that Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-13, was the seat of Satan and not the gymnastically altered interpretation for an archeological relic that sits in Berlin.

While contemporary prophesy analysts trumpet the idea that the fourth composite of Daniel 2 iron metal as strictly European, traditionalist views differ. Dr. Matthew Henry comments: "Who is this enemy—whose rise, reign and ruin are here foretold? Interpreters are not in agreement. Some will have the Fourth Kingdom to be that of the Seleucidae and the ‘little horn’ to be Antiochus.... Others will have the Fourth Kingdom to be that of the Romans, and the ‘little horn’ to be Julius Caesar and the succeeding emperors, as Calvin says. The Antichrist, the Papal Kingdom, says Mr. Joseph Mede.

Others make the ‘little horn’ to be the Turkish Empire [Muslim]; so Luther, Vatablus, and others. Now I cannot prove either side to be in the wrong. Therefore, since prophecies sometimes have many fulfillments, we ought to give Scripture its full latitude (in this as in many other controversies)—I am willing to allow that they are both in the right.” 12

NORTH AFRICA

Most students of prophecy that ascribe to a revival of the Roman Empire ignore that North Africa (Phut) encompasses five Muslim nations historically part of the western wing of the Roman Empire, and already mentioned literally in several end-times references. In order for the exclusively European model to fit, the whole of this Muslim region must be irrelevant. So what part of the Roman pie do we slice off and what parts do we include?

CONTEMPORARY VS TRADITIONAL

So what happened? Why do we have such a variation between contemporary versus traditional? The problem began in 1981 when Greece joined as the tenth nation in the European Union and many sounded a false alarm that announced they unlocked the mystery and have the fulfillment of Revelation 17, all with its ten horns, to later be embarrassed when the European Union mushroomed into twenty some nations.

Instead of pulling back their books, these analysts ran back to the drawing board, not to confess their error, but to insist that the E.U. model must shrink to only ten.. They still chose to finagle with the theory. Some, like Arnold Fruchtenbaum, realized that this was wrong: “It has become common today to refer to the ten kingdoms as being in Europe only, especially the Former Common Market, now the European Union. But the text does not allow for this kind of interpretation. At the very best, the European Union might become one of the ten, but it could hardly become all of the ten.'' 13

According to Fruchtenbaum, the European model comprises only one tenth, a mere slice of the whole pie. Jamieson Fausset & Brown insist that, “the ten toes are not upon the one foot (the west), as these interpretations require, but on the two (east and west) together, so that any theory which makes the ten kingdoms belong to the west alone must err..”

CHALLENGE 2: Besides the argument on whether Magog is Russia, can anyone cite any literal reference to a nation that God destroys in the End-Times that is not Muslim?

Only if you ponder this question can you grasp its magnitude. On one occasion during a lecture to a group of prominent Bible prophecy teachers in the Pre-Trib Prophecy Conference in Dallas, I asked this question and no one raised a hand to answer.

In frustration, I pointed to Dr. Randall Price, a known Prophecy teacher and asked him to respond, in which he pointed that when it comes to literal references there are none. Grant Jeffrey, another known author, once attempted to respond with Cush, not realizing that biblical Cush (a reference sometimes translated as Ethiopia) is defined in the Unger Bible Dictionary as a landmass south of Egypt. Today this will be Sudan and Somalia.

Grant Jeffrey chose one of the most fundamentalist Muslim nations as a response to find non-Muslim nations in end-times. David Reagan of the Lion and Lamb Ministries with frustration pointed to Mystery Babylon 14 ignoring that the crucial word in that question is “literal”. If Babylon is a response to cite any literal reference for a non-Muslim nation that God destroys, this would still support my view— Mystery Babylon is an allegoric reference.

CHALLENGE 3: In every portrayal of Christ’s return to the earth, is He not fighting a nation that today is Muslim?

The significance of this question is as follows —scholars are unanimous, that Christ’s second coming must happen after Antichrist appears on the scene. Christ’s mission will be to destroy Antichrist and establish His Millennium kingdom. The European Union model has the Muslim hordes destroyed before the Tribulation period. Yet the text shows that Messiah Himself deals with Muslim nations.

The next prophecy conference you attend ask, “Is Jesus on earth on the Day of the Lord?” Ezekiel tells us of that day, “For the day is near, even the Day of the Lord is near” (Ezekiel 30:3). Yet this is when “Cush and Phut, Lydia [Turkey] and all Arabia, Libya and the people of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt” (Ezekiel 30:5). Other prophesies show these nations are cast into Hell, including Asshur – “Iraq – Syria”, (Ezekiel 32:22-23) Elam – “Iran” (Ezekiel 32:24-25) Meshech & Tubal “Asia minor—Turkey” (Ezekiel 32:26) – Edom – “Arabia” (Ezekiel 32:29). These nations are punished for striking terror against Israel and the believers (Ezekiel 32:22-24 & 27).

Perhaps sharing a few from the volume of hundreds of prophecies of Jesus’ wars during the Great Tribulation can shed more light on the matter: “See Jehovah rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them” (Isaiah 19). Does this remind you of the song “behold He comes riding on the clouds”? Yet rarely are we told that Jesus here is fighting Egypt—a Muslim nation.

Even in Christ’s judgment of the nations (Joel 3) He is fighting Muslim entities. “Now what have you against me, O Tyre and Sidon [Lebanon] and all you regions of Philistia [Gaza]” (Joel 3:4) It couldn’t be more clear! It was as if Jesus Himself was speaking directly to Hezbollah (Tyre and Sidon) and Hamas (Philistia), challenging them regarding their bloodlust against the Jewish people. Their fight against Israel is in reality a declaration of war on the King Himself.

In Isaiah 25:9-10 at the time of the Lord’s return, we have Christ fighting Moab “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under Him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.” (Isaiah 25:9-10).

Even in Isaiah 63, scholars unanimously agree that He fights Edom (Arabia).

Are the Muslim nations in prophecy destroyed prior to the Christ’s coming? Will the Antichrist then establish his European rule? Can anyone find a verse in the Bible in which Christ fights and nations are literally mentioned which are not Muslim?

This is why many who exclusively see Europe as Antichrist insist on removing Islam from the scene prior to the coming of Christ. Since the Muslims still exist on earth upon the Lord’s return fighting against Him, their whole premise of an exclusively European Antichrist falls apart.

Walid Shoebat, God’s War on Terror,
www.Shoebat.com (720)935-2826



REFERENCES

1 Lamplighter Newsletter, David Reagan, January 2009 edition.

2 The Great Heresies, chapter 4 March, 1936, page 127-128

3 Hosiah Litch, The Three Woe Trumpets, Fall of The Ottoman Empire, August 11, 1840

4 Divine Institutes, 7:17

5 Paul Alvarus, Memoriale sanctorum 2.4

6 Martin Luther, Tischreden, Weimer ed., 1, No. 330

7 Calvin On Islam Revelation Prof. Dr. Francis Nigel Lee, Lamp Trimmers El Paso, 2000

8 Jonathan Edwards, The Fall of Antichrist, Part VII, page 395, New York, Published by S. Converse 1829

9 Jonathan Edwards, The Fall of Antichrist, Part VII, page 399, New York, Published by S. Converse 1829

10 The Coming Prince, Page 273

11 Froom: op. cit., II pp. 323f, 325f, 331, 340f, 412f, 458 & 518f and also III pp. 40f, 74f, 125-31, 149, 183, 240f, &352f.

12 M. Henry: A Commentary on the Holy Bible, with Practical Remarks andObservations, London: Marshall Bros. Ltd., n.d., IV:1270f.

13 Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah, page 36

14 Lamplighter Newsletter, David Reagan, January 2009 edition.

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Video & Audio: It's In The Koran

Pause the PlayList on the right sidebar before watching and listening to this catchy reminder:



For a more intellectual approach, Islam: What the West Needs To Know, watch the following after pausing the PlayList on the right sidebar:

Islam: WTWNTK Part 1

Islam: WTWNTK Part 2

Islam: WTWNTK Part 3

Islam: WTWNTK Part 4

Islam: WTWNTK Part 5

Islam: WTWNTK Part 6

Islam: WTWNTK Part 7

Islam: WTWNTK Part 8

Islam: WTWNTK Part 9

Islam: WTWNTK Part 10

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Mark Alexander's Blog Unlocked! At Last!

Background information is HERE. Mark has announced his return HERE.

[END OF THIS POSTING]

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Today's Inauguration

Two quickie links with excerpts below the fold.



1. Commentary by Ed Cline, "An Inauguration of Tyranny":

...At a cost of over $150 million, the inauguration of January 20th had the character of a royal coronation (or a biblical pageant, if you will), witnessed by millions in Washington and on television by millions around the world, secured by 8,000 police, 11,000 military personnel, 1,000 park rangers, and countless plainclothesmen, and reported by a euphoric press. The millions who thronged or thrilled to see Obama become the 44th president of the United States are comfortable with the idea of being ruled, of being told what to do and why to live -- and with the idea of seeing those who neither need nor want rulers overruled....

Read it all.

2. "Race Baiting at Obama Coronation":

Rev. Joseph Lowery said in his benediction at today's inauguration:

“We ask you to help us work for that day
when black will not be asked to give back,
when brown can stick around,
when yellow will be mellow,
when the red man can get ahead, man,
and when white will embrace what is right"

No doubt, "embracing what is right" will have much to do with wallowing in unearned guilt and self-loathing and serving as milch cows for Obama's brave new America of mutual submission to his new Declaration of Interdependence....

Read it all, and watch the video.

(Crossposted to The Tedland Daily)

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Inauguration Madness

(Due to a variety of circumstances, I haven't written much on the web lately. But I have been thinking a lot about what to include in the following essay, an accumulation of readings and personal observations about Inauguration 2009. Settle in for an extended read. All emphases mine.)

Having lived here in the greater D.C. area all my life, I’ve seen twelve inaugurations come and go (1961 – 2005). Some local disruption is, of course, unavoidable for those of us living so close to the seat of federal power. But the upcoming inauguration of Barack Husssein Obama, “The One,” takes the prize for madness morphing into worship. Even the Big East basketball coaches are considering how much to accommodate Inauguration 2009:

..."Whenever you have a change of presidents, it's a special time," [Gerogetown Coach] Thompson said during a conference call with Big East coaches yesterday. "But this, as we start to welcome our 44th president, is a very special time here -- for me personally and for a lot of people."

And while Georgetown is the sole Big East school in the nation's capital, Thompson isn't the only coach who's weighing how to incorporate Tuesday's inauguration into the highly structured lives of his student-athletes....

Did Coach Thompson and his cohorts hold previous inaugurations in such high esteem? If so, I don't recall hearing so.

I first became aware of what has turned out to be absolute inauguration madness at the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day, when Mr. AOW and I joined our neighbors for the feast. Before we had barely lifted our forks came the question: “So, how much are you asking to rent out your spare rooms for the week of the Inauguration?” The ensuing conversation, an animated one if not an outright battle of words complete with frenetic gestures, lasted well over two hours, long after we had finished dessert. “This Inauguration is unprecedented! George Bush is leaving office!” Silence fell, albeit briefly, when I mentioned that Bush would have been leaving office anyway.

Getting to the heart of the meaning of the word unprecedented proved difficult. I kept asking, “Why is it unprecedented?” I got no definitive reply even when I ventured, “Because Obama is black? Is that it?” The reaction was a firm negative. At the dinner table and on into the den on that Thanksgiving Day, I never did find out exactly why the supporters of “The One” felt that this 2009 Inauguration was so different – except for the predictions of 4,000,000 coming to town to celebrate. By the way, the large numbers haven’t materialized. After the first rhapsodic reaction to the election of "The One," D.C. area houses and rooms for rent on Craig’s list have gone begging, as have many tickets for the various inaugural balls:

"The question is, who's buying these tickets?" asked a D.C. event planner who didn't want to be identified because, hey, she wants to work again. "This giant gravy train everyone was expecting isn't coming."

In the run-up days to the festivities, we’ve seen unprecedented obsession for an event which our Founders foresaw as a time of gravity for the orderly changing of the executive branch of our federal govenment. Instead of such a dignified change, however, we've seen newspaper and television ads for a variety of Obama and Inauguration memorabilia. According to this article in the Canadian Press:

There are Barack Obama action figures, coffee mugs, puzzles, bobbleheads, T-shirts, posters, baseball caps, plaques and wrist watches.

Not enough? How about some shot glasses, beer mugs, colouring books, mints, commemorative plates, chocolate bars, paper dolls, coins and lapel pins...

In keeping with the mania and groveling at the feet of "The One," Giant Food, one of our largest grocery chains, is running a full-page ad with a banner announcing “Yes, We Can,” and is offering Presidential Platters, one of which has been dubbed the “West Wing Platter.” This particular platter was previously known as the “Wings of Plenty Platter.” Indeed, we've even heard about the possibility of shortages of milk and bread. Amazing!

We’ve also seen unprecedented security, including the closing of all the Virginia-side bridges into D.C. As Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher stated in his essay “A Celebration of Democracy Becomes an Orgy of Security,” a long read but with exactly the right details and tone:

Inauguration madness has hit a new and disturbing peak with the Secret Service's effort to turn Washington into Inauguration Island, cutting the District off from as much of the outside world as possible on Jan. 20.

Virginians will bear the brunt of the over-the-top restrictions, as every single Potomac River crossing inside the Capital Beltway is shut down to vehicular traffic for the entire day. They're not just closing the bridges to cars, they're even blockading the highways -- vast stretches of the GW Parkway and I-395 will be closed, along with a preposterously long list of other roads.

If Inauguration Day were some kind of holiday, the road closings would be awful enough -- another sign of a reckless security apparatus extending its elbows simply because it can. But in fact, that day is one on which many thousands of commuters must go to work, in addition to the hundreds of thousands who will attend inaugural festivities. The message from the authorities is, hey, take Metro, even as the very same officials warn that the transit system is almost certain to be wildly overrun.

Why cut off Virginians' access to Washington, but not Maryland's? What is so frightening about the bridges over the Potomac that is not true of the major bridges, avenues and highways that bring Maryland drivers in over the Anacostia River and along land routes from Montgomery and Prince George's counties? The issue cannot be proximity to the Mall and the federal enclave, because they're not shutting down only the Memorial, 14th Street and Teddy Roosevelt bridges, but also the Key and Chain bridges, which are farther from the District's core than are some of the bridges from Maryland.

I asked Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine whether the closings were a result of security or congestion concerns, and he said the issue was the gridlock that would result if, for example, people got terribly backed up and frustrated and even abandoned their vehicles on or near the bridges.

Later that day, the governor called back to clarify that security is indeed part of the rationale: "We're not closing them because of a worry about a bomb coming in or something like that so much. But there is a public safety component. We predicted that if we did not close the bridges, there would just be an immediate lockdown because of the congestion; it would just gridlock up. And then we would not be able to move emergency vehicles if there was some public safety emergency."

That is a legitimate concern, but couldn't the objective of keeping a path clear for emergency vehicles be met by reserving a lane entirely for official vehicles, or even closing just one bridge?

Virginians may be excused for wondering what it is they did to deserve this. After all, they just voted for a Democrat for president for the first time in 44 years, and what do they get for it? A virtual blockade.

But wait. Northern Virginians may not win the prize for most disrupted populace on Inauguration Day. Vast stretches of the District, including residential neighborhoods outside the federal core, have been declared bus-only zones. In places such as Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Capitol Hill and virtually all of Southwest, residents will be banned from parking on the streets where they live. What those residents are supposed to do with their cars is unknown.

Only a government obsessed with security and blind to the realities of city life could issue a plan like this. In a real city, one that is permitted to govern itself, the authorities would feel -- and bow to -- pressure from the people who need to be able to use their city.

Please note that closing the Virginia-side bridges also closes feasible access to many of the hospital facilities in D.C., particularly Georgetown University Hospital, typically accessed via Chain Bridge and Key Bridge, both of which are miles from the Capitol Building. Patients, critical and otherwise, will just have to make do as best they can. After all, “The One” must receive all accolades and worship.

I will be staying home on Inauguration Day – my classes for the day had to be canceled because of the expected gridlock on the roads of even the outer suburbs:

Emergency-planning officials have just three words for Northern Virginians who plan to head to the Mall, get to work, drive their cars or go anywhere on Inauguration Day: Make a Plan.

As of January 13, 2009, and by order of President Bush, our capital city is under a state of emergency:

President George W. Bush has declared an emergency in the District of Columbia that will let the nation's capital tap deeper into federal coffers for Barack Obama's inauguration.

Bush said Tuesday that an emergency exists and ordered federal aid to supplement the $15 million in federal funds already appropriated for the event.

Even cell-phone servers have emergency plans!

...[N]o doubt many of the estimated 2 million people expected to gather on the Mall will simultaneously hold their cellphones aloft to snap and send photos, call friends and family, and send text messages like, "omg, yes we did!"

But please don't, wireless network operators say.

For months, the carriers have been preparing for a predicted explosion of cellphone traffic during inauguration weekend as millions of visitors are expected to gather in the Washington area for festivities. Wireless operators say they plan to boost capacity at cell sites on the mall, along the Beltway and underground on Metro so that more calls can be placed at the same time. By the time Jan. 20 arrives, they will have spent millions of dollars to add staff for the event, rolled in extra cell towers on truck beds and expanded bandwidth on wired parts of their networks.

Even with those plans in place, they predict some hiccups.

"You can add hundreds of thousands of lanes to a highway, but if millions of people go for a drive at same time, you can still have a jam," said John Johnson, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless. "There are just so many unknowns."

The preparations for mobile devices are as much of a priority for District inauguration planners as coordinating Metro rail and bus schedules and bringing in enough portable toilets. For Obama, who used the Web and text messaging to fuel his campaign success, it will be the first inauguration in which cellphones are as ubiquitous among youth and professionals as they are among boomers and soccer moms...

The least time I checked, the ratio of portable toilets to users was 5000 to 1, except for the VIP's, who will get trailers with flush toilets. How will the trucks used to service those toilets get into the District? Not from the Virginia side!

Meanwhile, the worshipers are even now gathering in hordes in Washington, D.C. On Sunday, January 18, the first of many special events, including a concert featuring U2, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, John Mellencamp, Usher, Shakira, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban and James Taylor, with "The One" also scheduled to appear, will be given at the Lincoln Memorial; attendees have been advised to take their seats no later than 8:30 A.M. on what promises to be a record-cold day, even though the concert doesn't begin until 2:30 P.M. Indeed, rental cars are already milling around on our highways and byways, and cabbies are driving slowly and taking the long way around.

For the remainder of this 2009 Inauguration cycle, I'll stay on watch — from the comfort of my own home, of course. Will I watch Barack Hussein Obama take the oath of office on January 20? Yes, on television. I'll even pray for him because Christians are so commanded. But I'll never trust him. He'll never be "The One" for me.

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The Next Time Somebody Defends Hamas, Show This Video

(This post stuck here for several days)

Please take the time to watch the following eleven-minute video after first pausing the PlayList on the sidebar to your right:


The beauty of Hamas and the ugliness of Israel 1/2
by AllahTheLeg

(with a hat tip to No Compromise)

[END OF THIS POSTING]

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Please Help Blogger Mark Alexander!

(This post stuck here for several days)


In Mark's own words,
via Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

For one whole week now, I have been unable to update my blog, A New Dark Age Is Dawning: It has been ‘frozen’ for further investigation because Blogger fears that my blog is a “spam blog”.

You will know that it certainly is no such thing.

I have given my blog my all. It will be devastating for me if I shall no longer be able to continue with my weblog after having done so much work on it to-date.

May I therefore request that all of you help me to continue with my blogspot by emailing Blogger (use the email address help@blogger.com), protesting that the blogspot be ‘unfrozen’ and allowed to continue.

Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Mark Alexander

Sometimes Blogger erroneously identifies a genuine blog as a spam site. Such glitches are not unusual, and following only a few days of investigation, the site is restored to full functionality. But Mark's site has been inaccessible for him to post on for well over a week now!

If Blogger continues to block his site from posting, Blogger's policy is to delete the site within a short time.

This situation could happen to any one of us at any time. It is critical that we support each other so that we can maintain our freedom of speech through Blogger.

Once again, the email to contact is help@blogger.com, and Mark's site is
http://librabunda.blogspot.com.

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Alert: Fox To Guard Henhouse

And few of our elected representatives on Capitol Hill care.

From this article in the Washington Post:

The senators were in a state of low dudgeon.

They had just learned that Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner hadn't paid all his taxes, and, truth be told, nobody really cared.

"The man is qualified, competent, one of the best choices the president has made," one member of the tax-writing Finance Committee said yesterday.

"I think he's a good man," another one said with a shrug.

"I don't believe there's any doubt about his qualifications," said a third.

And those were the Republicans.

In the scandal-obsessed capital, the latest public peccadillo has been met by uncharacteristic indifference. Geithner, the man who would oversee the IRS, paid the government $42,702 because of mistakes he had made on his tax returns, and he disclosed to lawmakers that he briefly had a housekeeper without proper immigration papers. It's the sort of embarrassment that usually fires up the opposition -- but this time, as one senior GOP official put it, "CNN is talking about it more than we are."

Nobody called a news conference to rail about the nominee. Nobody mentioned it on the floor. Even Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican who rarely meets a Democratic appointment he likes, was shy. "I don't know enough about the details of that to comment on that," he begged off when asked about Geithner at an unrelated news conference.

There seems to be no chance that Geithner will suffer the nannygate fate of Zoe Baird, Kimba Wood or Linda Chavez; Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont) said his confirmation is "a given."...

Another article in the Washington Post covers the story as follows:

Was he cheating on his taxes or just sloppy with his finances? Lawmakers vetting the nomination of Timothy F. Geithner to serve as Treasury secretary say they may never be sure. But leading Republicans nonetheless joined Democrats in leaping to his defense yesterday, calling Geithner's tax gaffes small potatoes compared with his qualifications for saving the global economy.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), the second-most senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which is charged with reviewing Geithner's nomination, called him "brilliant" and "honest" and said that, despite his tax errors, "I don't think we can get a better person for this position. . . . He has the kind of background that should be very helpful to us at this time."

Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah), a close associate of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), said: "If I was a traffic officer, I'd say he may have exceeded the speed limit, but he wasn't weaving out of lanes, he wasn't drunk and he wasn't endangering anybody. He may have some explaining to do, but in the end, I think he's going to be just fine."

The chorus of support from key Republicans suggests that Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, is unlikely to encounter serious turbulence on his path to the Treasury Department, where he would serve as President-elect Barack Obama's top adviser on the worldwide credit crisis and manage a $700 billion financial rescue program as well as the Internal Revenue Service....

At least Geithner paid in full when he learned that he was under consideration as The One's, Barack Hussein Obama's, Secretary of the United States Treasury:

...Geithner failed to pay a total of $34,023 in taxes from 2001 to 2004. He paid some of it in 2006 after he was audited by the Internal Revenue Service, which he would oversee as Treasury secretary. He paid the rest after Obama expressed his intent to nominate him....

Geithner got into this bind because

Geithner worked for the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2003. Under federal law, international organizations like the IMF are exempted from paying the employer share of Social Security taxes. Also, they don't withhold the worker's share from paychecks, like other employers do.

U.S. workers at such organizations are instead required to pay self-employment taxes. Geithner failed to pay self-employment taxes during his entire tenure at the IMF...

The IMF provides employees with several documents throughout the year to help them understand and meet their tax obligations. The documents included an employee tax manual, quarterly wage statements and year-end wage statements. Geithner acknowledged receiving all these documents....

How such a finances-savvy fellow didn't know that certain taxes weren't being withheld from his paychecks remains a mystery. I'm no CPA, but when, some years ago, I worked for an employer who didn't withhold Social Security taxes, I filed quarterly-estimated vouchers. And I didn't even need Publication 17 to figure out my tax obligation.

(Crossposted to THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS)

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"Just Replace 'Sieg Heil!' With 'Allahu Akbar!'"

Via this posting by Pastorius at Infidel Bloggers Alliance...

Watch this video with the sound on, and then watch it with the sound off. Or, the other way around.

[Pause the PlayList on the right sidebar before watching the videos]

Now, watch this short clip.

Additional footage about the connection mentioned by Pastorius:

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London Police Flee From Moslems Screaming, "Allahu Akbar!"

WARNING! STRONG LANGUAGE!

Please pause the PlayList on the right sidebar before playing the video (hat tip to Infidel Bloggers Alliance:





Part Two:



All of the above video footage was filmed on January 3, 2009, in central London.

Note: I've been having a posting frenzy the past few days. Please scroll down to other recent postings.

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Three Synagogues Attacked In Chicago; Los Angeles Pro-Hamas Demonstrators Scream "Long Live Hitler! Put Jews In Ovens!"

Quickie links below the fold. Must reads, including comments!



Chicago

Los Angeles

This is happening in America.

And the mainstream media barely gives any mention of the events linked above. I haven't seen any such mention on the news.

Commenters, if you've seen any of the above information given due coverage in the mainstream media, post that information with links.

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Obama Wants To Rescue Digital TV?

I became aware of the switch from analog to digital television almost two years ago.

If I knew, anyone should have. I pay very little attention to techie news.

The government obviously knew too. Still there's a shortage of converter boxes.

Now we have this, from "The One":

The push to postpone the nation's switch to digital television next month got a boost yesterday when a top aide to President-elect Barack Obama sent a letter to key members of Congress urging a delay, saying there is "insufficient support" for the problems consumers will experience during the shut-off of analog signals.

Bread and circuses, anyone? A reminder as to what the phrase means:

"Bread and circuses" (or Bread and games) (from Latin: panem et circenses) is an ancient Roman metaphor for people choosing food and fun over freedom. It often appears in commentary that accuses people of giving up their civic duty and following whichever political leader offers to satisfy their decadent desires.

I can't resist adding this graphic (from Mike's America):

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Obama Adminstration To Open Channels With Hamas?

Excerpt from the January 8, 2009, edition of the Guardian, with thanks to Steve, who emailed me the link:

The incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon President Bush's doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organisation, sources close to the transition team say.

The move to open contacts with Hamas - which could be initiated through the US intelligence services - would represent a definitive break with the Bush presidency's ostracising of the group.

[...]

There is no talk of Obama approving direct diplomatic negotiations with Hamas early on in his administration, but he is being urged by advisers to initiate low-level or clandestine approaches, and there is growing recognition in Washington that the policy of ostracising Hamas is counter-productive.

[...]

There are a number of options that would avoid a politically toxic scenario for Obama of seeming to give legitimacy to Hamas....

Read the rest HERE.

Isn't the Hamas Charter clear about its mission?

Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors.

Article Thirteen: Peaceful Solutions, [Peace] Initiatives and International Conferences

[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion....

Read the entire Charter of Hamas HERE. Any room for negotiation there?

Joe Biden's prediction of a testing of the incoming administration is coming to fruition, albeit on an accelerated schedule. The honeymoon is over even before it's even begun (with thanks to Brooke, who provided me the link for the following graphic):

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Who's To Blame For The Gaza War?

Obama, of course.

From this source:

"This is Obama whom the American machine of lies tried to portray as the rescuer who will change the policy of America," al-Zawahiri said, according to SITE. "He kills your brothers and sisters in Gaza mercilessly and without affection."

Read the rest HERE.

So much for those voters who cast their ballots in the belief that Barack Hussein Obama would bring about kumbaya.

"The One's" inauguration is less than two weeks away. Expect a short honeymoon.

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"American Muslims, No Different From The Rest"

Quickie link to this posting at Islam In Action. Excerpt:

Over the years many of us have heard over and over again that American Muslims are different from Muslims everywhere else. For years I have been saying that this is not true. Now it is clear that they are just like Muslims anywhere else.

[...]

Obviously American Muslims think that is important enough to come out in support of Islamic terrorist groups and protest against the freedom of expression (the cartoon protests). But they will not hit the streets in protest against the worldwide Islamic terrorist attacks nor will they protest against the worldwide push for sharia law....

CLICK HERE to read the rest and watch the videos.

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John Stossel's Politically Incorrect Guide To Politics

With a hat-tip to Rebel Radius:

Note: Pause the PlayList on the right sidebar before playing the video.



Parts 2 - 6 are below the fold. Please watch all segments, even if you break up your viewings over several hours or even several days.



Note: Pause the PlayList on the right sidebar before playing the videos.











Once the bloom is off the rose of the Obama administration, remember what you saw in the above videos.

Next election for Congress: 2010.

Next national election: 2012.

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Must-See Television (With Addendum)

Quickie link.

The special Escape from Hamas airs on Fox News Channel Saturday, January 3, at 10 PM, with repeats at 1 AM and 4AM and Sunday, January 4, at 9 PM, with repeats at 12 midnight, and 2AM. All times are Eastern Standard Time.

Short video HERE.

Addendum: If you didn't see the FNC special Escape from Hamas, watch the videos below; they provide the full program. Please pause the PlayList on the right before watching.

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Expanding The Caliphate

Via this posting at Weasel Zippers, citing the Sun:

PREACHER of hate Omar Bakri is boldly going where no imam has gone before — ordering followers to convert ALIENS to Islam.
-----
Bakri, acting like a character from sci-fi film Mars Attacks, said Muslims must not only spread the word worldwide but also across the galaxy.

He issued the decree during a bizarre rant which has been posted on an extremist website.

Bakri, 50, declared: “We are obliged as Muslims to make the whole galaxy subservient to almighty Allah. Allah has created all living beings in order to obey him and worship him.”

Last night a security source quipped: “Perhaps he could show his people the way — it would give everyone a break if he was beamed up.”

Where are Captain Kirk and the Federation when you need them?

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Video: Hamas Admits Using Human Shields (With Addendum)

(Note: Please pause the PlayList to your right before watching the following video)



YouTube link

Therefore, ignore all the mainstream media's whining about civilian casualties in Pseudostine. Such whining is playing into the hands of terrorists and giving moral support to a death cult.

Addendum (Please pause the PlayList to your right before watching the following):

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Happy New Year!

New Year Cheer

At the sound of the tolling midnight bell,
A brand new year will begin.
Let's raise our hopes in a confident toast
To the promise it ushers in.


May your battles be few, your pleasures many,
Your wishes and dreams fulfilled.
May your confidence stand in the face of loss
And give you the strength to rebuild.

May peace of heart fill all your days.
May serenity grace your soul.
May tranquil moments bless your life
and keep your spirit whole.

- Author Unknown
To all my readers here at Always On Watch, my sincere wishes that 2009 be a year filled with blessings for each of you.

With a hat tip to FJ (Pause the PlayList on the right sidebar before watching the video):

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Weekly Blog Talk Radio: January 2 — Tom Trento

Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, which WC and I cohost. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.

The call-in number is (646) 915-9870.

Callers welcome!

Our guest is at the bottom of the hour is Tom Trento. We will be discussing various initiatives sponsored by the United American Committee, including the UAC's anti-sharia billboards.

--------

Listen to the January 2, 2009 edition of The Gathering Storm Radio Show, live or later, by CLICKING HERE.

UPCOMING SHOWS:
January 9: Yoni Tidi
January 16: Dr. Richard Crandall
Jsnuary 23: Nonie Darwish

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