Merry Christmas! But, Don't Tell Anyone

by Rita Etter

The View’s Barbara Walters is upset. Why? Well, it seems she received a Christmas Card from the President and First Lady that included a small passage from the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. To be fair, Barbara Walters is Jewish. However, a card from Elton John that included an angel, which is a religious symbol, was not seen as offensive to her.
The naysayers will spout the usual myth of “separation of church and state”, however, there is no other reason to send a Christmas card at this time of year except to celebrate Christmas. Barbara also questions the idea that Atheists and Agnostics may be receiving the Christmas Card as well and will be upset like Barbara. First of all why would an Atheist be upset receiving a card that mentions the name of someone that do not believe in anyway?
Perhaps if the mere mention of God is so offensive to Barbara, she should just tear the card up. I mean it is the season to be jolly.

My Commentary
The above is from Tennessean blogger Ritta Etter. I have lampooned the Christian Warrior "Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday" counters. However, there are some nuts on the other side who seem to enjoy getting offended if someone wishes them "Merry Christmas". Right on Rita! I can't say it better, except to add: Barbara Walters, Merry Christmas and if you don't love Jesus you can go to hell!

Top Stories

Arctic summers ice-free 'by 2013'

By Jonathan Amos Science reporter, BBC News, San Francisco

Scientists in the US have presented one of the most dramatic forecasts yet for the disappearance of Arctic sea ice.

Their latest modelling studies indicate northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years. Professor Wieslaw Maslowski told an American Geophysical Union meeting that previous projections had underestimated the processes now driving ice loss.

Summer melting this year reduced the ice cover to 4.13 million sq km, the smallest ever extent in modern times.

Remarkably, this stunning low point was not even incorporated into the model runs of Professor Maslowski and his team, which used data sets from 1979 to 2004 to constrain their future projections.

"Our projection of 2013 for the removal of ice in summer is not accounting for the last two minima, in 2005 and 2007," the researcher from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, explained to the BBC.

"So given that fact, you can argue that maybe our projection of 2013 is already too conservative." (read more: Artic Summers..)

My Commentary
Strike up the band for Nearer my God to Thee. We may be a lot closer to the point of no return on global warming than we thought; and the global warming deniers, keep denying and the light bulb changers, keep changing light bulbs.

Top Stories

Farm bill keeping subsidies is OKd in Senate

Taxpayer groups, environmentalists and doctors have all pledged to try to change the legislation, for different reasons. Bush has threatened a veto.

By Nicole Gaouette , Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, December 15, 2007

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Friday approved a farm bill that would continue to funnel billions of dollars in subsidies to wealthy landowners and farmers who are earning record-breaking prices for their crops, rebuffing a concerted campaign by some senators to shift money to conservation, nutrition and deficit reduction.The bill has drawn a veto threat from President Bush, who has criticized the subsidy payments and the creation of a $5-billion permanent disaster fund.The White House has an unlikely set of allies in taxpayer groups, environmentalists, physicians and rural community advocates who tried vigorously to change the bill's priorities. They pledged to continue lobbying as the House and Senate now try to reconcile the differences in their respective bills. (To continue: Farm Bill... )

My Commentary
This is a bad bill and President Bush should veto it. It continues to subsidize wealthy gentlemen farmers and produces an excess of crops we don't need and drives up food prices. See my previous analysis: We Should Not Subsidize Factory Farm.

Top Stories

Gore Blames US For Blocking Bali

BALI, Indonesia, Dec. 13, 2007

(AP) Former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday the United States is "principally responsible" for blocking progress at the U.N. climate conference in Bali.Gore urged delegates at the conference to take urgent action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

"My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali," said Gore, who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for helping alert the world to the danger of climate change.

The United States has opposed including in a final conference document a suggestion that industrialized countries reduce emissions by between 25 percent and 40 percent by 2020. Earlier Thursday, European nations threatened to boycott U.S.-led climate talks next month unless Washington accepts a range of numbers for negotiating deep reductions of global-warming emissions. (To continue: Gore Blames ... )

My Commentary

I applaud Al Gore for his continued leadership role on this important issue. It is shame and disgrace that the U. S. is not stepping up to the plate. As the the leader of the free world and militarily and economically the most powerful nation on earth, we should be leading on this issue rather than being chief obstructionist. If the U.S. would lead, the world would follow. Yet if we do not get on board, the rest of the world can not solve the problem without us.

If the majority of the scientific community are to be believed, we have only a few short years to do something about global warming or the process may be irreversible. Some experts say that we only have seven years to stop the growth and began a decrease in green house gas emission or we will have passed the tipping point.

The United States is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the only major industrial country to have rejected Kyoto. The Kyoto agreement expires in 2012 and it has failed to meet it's goals. With U. S. leadership, a workable international treaty could cap emissions and establish a mechanism for international sharing of technology and trading of greenhouse credits. If the developed world was united in solving this problem, then China, India and the evolving industrial states could be persuaded to join the world community in this effort. Without U.S. participation, the effort to solve this problem is doomed.

The U. S. lead the world to victory in World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. We have lead the world in humanitarian endeavors. We have been the inspiration and model for the world in advancing human freedom and dignity. I am embarrassed they we are now AWOL on what may be the worlds greatest challenge.

Top Stories

More of The War on Christmas

Dear Christian Warriors,

As a public service I am passing alone these Action Alert from the American Family Association. After promising they would honor Christmas, Kohl's has printed four of 18 planned fliers and the fliers use the word "holiday" 62 times and ZERO uses of "Christmas." Also, Gap continues to censor Christmas and at Pet Smart, Christmas does not exist. It is a shame you have to get your cat a "holiday" scratching post instead of a "Christmas" scratching post. Maybe your cat will not know the difference? Ask yourself, where would Jesus shop? To see these action alerts click: American Family Association.

Can you believe it? I just observed that in Nashville, our Parks Department is having a "Holiday Art Exhibit & Sale" and a "Holiday Recorder Concert," instead of a "Christmas" art sale or "Christmas" recorder concert. To see if for yourself, click here: Metro Parks Cultural Arts.

I don't know who the composer of this poem is, but I picked it up off of one of the Yahoo groups to which I belong. I am sure many Christian Warriors will appreciate it and be inspired by it. Maybe it will help get you in the Christmas spirit.

Twas the month before Christmas

When all through our land,

Not a Christian was praying

Nor taking a stand.

The "politically correct police" had taken away,

The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing,

About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.

It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say

December 25th is just a "Holiday".

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit

Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod

Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa

In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down

At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears

You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty.

Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen

On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter

To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith

Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded

The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate "Winter Break" under your "Dream Tree"

Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say

Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!

Keep up the good fight, Christian Warriors. Remember, we cannot let the secularist and the politically correct change our shopping season from the Christmas shopping season to the Holiday shopping season. I know you Christian Warriors could be ringing bells for the Salvation Army instead of keeping tabs on "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holiday", or you could be down at the Rescue Mission helping the homeless, but somebody had to do the important stuff. Right? So, keep the faith. And, you can respond to your critics with the words of one of my favorite country artist, Billy Joe Shaver, who so eloquently puts it, "If you don't love Jesus, you can go to hell!"

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, (or Happy Holidays)

Rod Williams

Top Stories

Al Gore’s Nobel Lecture Calls Carbon Tax the “Most Important” Solution to Global Warming.

On Monday in ceremonies in Oslo Norway Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in raising awareness of global warming. For those who will not read the 2800-word acceptance speech in its entirety, the essence of his speech is that the threat of global warming “is real, rising, imminent, and universal”. And that, “it is the 11th hour”. The penalties for ignoring the challenge of doing something about global warming “are immense and growing, and at some near point would be unsustainable and unrecoverable.”

He says, “We must abandon the conceit that individual, isolated, private actions are the answer.”

He says, “The way ahead is difficult.” He calls on the nations of the world to move rapidly to approve a new treaty to limit greenhouse emissions and calls for a moratorium on the construction of new coal burning facilities.

He says, “Most important of all we need to put a price on carbon – with a CO2 tax that is then rebated back to the people, progressively, according to the laws of each nation, in ways that shift the burden of taxation from employment to pollution. This is by far the most effective and simplest way to accelerate solutions to this crisis”.

Those who are in denial about global warming, those who want to solve the problem of global warming by changing light bulbs, and those who are in denial about the importance of economic principles in resolving this crisis will not be happy. Sometimes the truth is inconvenient.

(To read the speech: Nobel Lecture)

Top Stories