tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20679079199612894092024-02-20T05:41:03.578-08:00DOWNEAST DOORYARDObservations of the inexplicable and/or the bleeding obvious from CUTLER, MAINEDOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-39674020749822622462012-08-01T03:07:00.000-07:002018-11-05T15:22:42.321-08:00AMERICA: A PREHISTORIC MELTING POT<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> B</span><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>ering Straits</strong> frozen-over or dry ground ~ <strong>BERINGIA</strong> ~ was the pathway used by Siberian tribes in traversing, discovering and inhabiting the totally so-called uninhabited Americas some 10,000 years ago: and so it was thought and taught. What once was mere guessology became ironclad history in the last century. That was what we, the over-70-crowd, were given as it was best cobbled together; that was, until older (earlier technological) stone arrows, spears and knives were discovered in the southwest U.S.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <strong>FOLSOM</strong> chert and flint points from New Mexico, discovered in 1926, pointed to a similar time-frame as the Beringia theory, with arrow flaking technology predating the stone techniques first uncovered which helped shore up the Beringia crossing. Shortly after Folsom flints, New Mexico's <strong>CLOVIS</strong> cave primitive stone tools threw the date of crossing over to an even much earlier timeframe of some 13,000 years ago. Perplexing at first, but a new immigration theory was beginning to develop. Stone arrows, knifes, scrapers axes, spear points, etc. are a remarkable historical textbook of human ingenuity which increasingly became more ballistic-worthy, with styles indicating an ever-growing body of hunter specificity in technological stone-age tool-making. These older Clovis types have now been found and identified at several more sites in the United States.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <strong>Virginia's Delmarva Peninsula</strong> findings in the 1980's of a <strong>SOLUTREAN</strong> flint which was lodged in a prehistoric whale's bone made Folsom and Clovis stone artifacts appear to be a later derivative technology which had to emanate from <strong>SOLUTREAN</strong> stone skills. There was enough material in the whale bone to scientifically date the kill to about 15,000 years ago. This has led to the most modern thinking on the subject of who came first to America; and is known today as the <strong>Solutrean Hypothesis.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <strong>SOLUTREAN</strong> societies from France, Spain and Portugal (circa 21,000 ~ 15,000 years ago) were flaking flint tools in a direct line of technological upgrades from the oldest <strong>MOUSTERIAN</strong> stone tools [the most primitive] which are still being found in Northern Africa and western Europe.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"> The <strong>SOLUTREAN HYPOTHESIS</strong> proposes that during one of the major ice/glacier ages, some 20,000 to 15,000 years ago, sea-hunters followed along the southern leading edge of the melting glacier from southern France and/or northern Spain all the way to the westward of the glacier's melting edge, ending up on Virginia's shores; all with the ever-present food/clothing bounty of seals, whales and an occasional woolly mammoth.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"> <strong>The Stone-Tool Technological Chronological Order</strong> begins with Western Europe's MOUSTERIAN (<em><strong>Neanderthal</strong></em>); moves on to SOLUTREAN (Western Mediterranean and North African) as well as eastern shore of Virginia, U.S.; then on to CLOVIS NM and southwestern U.S.; then onward to FOLSOM, NM; thence to PALEO-NATIVE PAN-AMERICAN which evolved into ARCHAIC INDIAN; and finally to HISTORIC-NATIVE AMERICAN stone tools.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"> <strong>ONE DISCOVERY, IN MY OWN DOORYARD</strong>, has given me somewhat more tolerance of the Solutrean Hypothesis. I found a flint scraper which is an exact match to the continually growing discoveries of Mousterian French flint stone artifacts which specifically include these small bubble holes. These holes were formed by gases trapped when the flint was a molten mass during volcanic formation. In searching <em>"Mousterian flints"</em> using any search engine, we find this particular light gray flint with small holes or bubble pockets. This French flint found here in Cutler, Maine, I believe is a Mousterian stone-age scraper, and clearly has a sharp point to use for separating skins from animals. Being left-handed, I picked it up in my left hand and it seemed logical, yet a little clumsy; however, when I put it in my right hand, it fit like a natural glove between my fingers for maximum pressure in cutting and gouging.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"> <strong>RECENT DISCOVERY OF A STONE</strong> by my grandson, Ryan, 12-years-old, is quite a curious enigma. This 6-1/2 inch long black stone has many odd yet man-made doodles covering most of its surface. These scratches are quite stylistic and offer no modern designs whatsoever. It's all primitive linear scratches. Ryan found it on the shores of Little Machias Bay just last week; and we're in the process of research and communications with the Maine State Museum and Dr. Bruce Bourque.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"> A white Kineo-flint of a <strong>LITTLE MACHIAS BAY ARROWHEAD</strong> sparkled into my eye one day 20 years ago as I walked down to the shore on the clam access road from the glacial moraine on the "Ridge." I picked the arrow up; and it remains my prize possession as it has "Made in ancient Maine" written all over it. The point and base broke off eons ago, coupled with countless ocean tides which have smoothed away the sharp knaps along with the breaks; but there can be no doubt that some prehistoric Native American chipped this flint for use in hunting. When I picked it up, I could not help but get the feeling that not a one of us will ever know the centuries which separated the ancient hunter's dropping it and my retrieval; but it had to be many, many, mucho, multitudinous moons ago.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Another possible <strong>STONE CUTTER or KNIFE</strong> was found on the shores just below my cabin by my sister-in-law, Marlene, who insists it's a handy cutting tool from former times. This odd piece of fine-grained gabbro is most definitely the true underlying material of Cutler/Lubec lithic quadrant of Washington County. When holding this stone cutter in my left hand, it feels much more comfortable as a grip if I were to use it for scraping or cutting blubber from seals; although it can also fit comfortably in the right hand too. Back in the late 1970's, the late Carroll Ackley of Cutler told me that when he was a young lad that just a few years after the turn from the 1800's to 1900's, he remembers watching Passamaquoddy tribal members on the shore of Holmes Bay near the Ackley Road cooking and rendering seal blubber into oil. These tasks before modern metal tools of the 1600's reached these shores, would have been accomplished by a stone-age people using stone implements either refined by their stone-making skills; or just a convenient stone found nearby.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A <strong>STONE FISHING SPEAR</strong> rested on the shores before my waterlogged shoes in the early 1980's while on a whitewater canoe trip down the Machias River. As Chuck Henderson and I carried on the portage at Little Falls to make camp for the night, I picked up the spear on the left bank, and turned it over and over, and back and forth repeatedly in studying the ingenuity of its' stone-age manufacturer. My suspicion is that this stone spear attached to a long pole was probably used to stab/catch salmon or bass in the Machias River.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A<strong> LONE STONE TOOLMAKER</strong> used thousands of years of technological adaptation on the human design curve in creating any one of these wonderful relics from ancient times. One cannot but remain in awe at the skills involved in not only creating these artifacts; but you have to respect the skill to use them; and how the reward for the hunter must have been life-giving nourishment to himself, his family, clan and tribe.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong> </strong>I see a <strong>NEANDERTHAL</strong> toolmaker as one of the earliest creators of a stone artifact that can still turn our heads today, and make us think of technology, tool design and purpose... even if we don't make any further connection to the Solutrean Hypothesis. However, from my perspective, the United States and the Americas was populated by several different groups of peoples coming in successive waves from what is now Western Europe, Polynesia, Japan and Siberia: All happening before Lief, Christopher and Bradford. The United States and all of America is indeed not only the MELTING POT of human immigration post 1000, 1492 & 1620 A.D., but just a continuum from our earlier PREHISTORIC MELTING POT.</span>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-4384642212455141242012-06-04T11:04:00.000-07:002012-06-04T11:04:07.030-07:00SHAREHOLDER & WORKER PREROGATIVES<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;"> L</span>et's consider that a group of people</strong> join together in a venture. Some invest money, time and effort in this enterprise. They gather at the end of a business or fiscal accounting cycle and hold a meeting to see if there needs to be changes, tweaks, and/or a major overhaul of the venture. Who should have the right of a vote in any direction to be taken for continuity of such an enterprise?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"> <strong>This is the exact/fundamental question</strong> many are asking today about what's happening to our ballots, voting machines and chad-punches in our ballot-boxes all across the United States.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"> <strong>When the founding fathers argued this question,</strong> it was proposed that only natural-born, and/or citizen <strong>landholders </strong>would have the right to vote in our Republic. It was decided that only citizens: both native-born or legally naturalized citizens would be eligible to vote.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"> <strong>Some of you might remember</strong> when vice president Richard M. Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy campaigned before the electorate asking to be chosen to the high office of the United States presidency, that it was settled by Democrat Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago who delivered a spurious amount of Illinois votes in Cook County which gave Kennedy <em>[surprise, surprise: another Democrat]</em> the office. Nothing new in Chicago and Cook County: Dead men and women voted. Non-existing people voted. Some zephyrous creatures voted early and <em><strong>often</strong></em>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><strong> Here in Maine,</strong> we have out-of-state people check into motels around Portland, Lewiston, Augusta and Waterville who then vote for their candidate; and then check out of the motels the day of the election after they've voted by driving back to their home States. They're not even residents of Maine.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"> <strong> We hear of stories</strong> in the South-land and in southwestern states that illegal aliens, foreigners with visas, imprisoned criminals and imaginary/invented people have been voting in state-wide and national elections.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"> <strong>Here's the proposition.</strong> First of all: Only U.S. citizens who are native-born and/or legally naturalized citizens should enjoy the privilege of a vote. And to make our national venture of FREE ENTERPRISE to continue in a sound, honest, true, and fiscal direction... we should prove it to the ballot clerks that we are one or the other. Positive proof with a birth certificate and/or naturalization papers. No exceptions. No profiling. Just legal voters, freely exercising their voting rights; and thus protecting each and every American vote.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"> <strong>Secondly:</strong> Let's also begin to consider the these <strong><em>U.S. Shareholders</em></strong> further prove it by presenting copies of taxes paid that they themselves have invested with local, state and federal taxes. These Americans are <strong>true shareholders</strong> in our Free Enterprise Republic who have given their labor and/or time and money. After all, labor is time and money.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"> <strong>U.S. WORKERS, UNITE.</strong> We should NEVER allow illegal aliens, foreigners, criminals, political hacks, political mafia-bosses, carpetbaggers and dead people anywhere near our ballot clerks in an attempt to smudge, smear and sully a true and clean election on election day. What have we got to lose? Only our sacred national inheritance our founders gave us: <strong><em>One man, one vote.</em></strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><strong><em> </em> Surely Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, Republicans</strong> <strong>and Greens</strong> should all be able to agree that only <strong><em>verifiable U.S. citizen shareholders</em></strong> can rightfully and legally determine the direction and outcome of our Republic's future enterprise.</span>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-86158827839363803032012-04-24T10:43:00.001-07:002012-04-25T04:31:22.369-07:00CANADA LYNX: Threatened or Endangered<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <br /> <strong>Walking behind my cabin this morning</strong> to check out the roaring rill after our major April rainstorm, I came face to face with a Canada Lynx. He didn't hear my quiet footsteps since gurgling water was right under his tufted ears. We both stood there, frozen in place, pondering what next to do. The Lynx and I were a mere twenty feet apart. He was standing on the upper hill looking downward and facing me. I was looking uphill directly into his wolf-gray face. Reminded me somewhat of an owl too.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>I made a hissing noise, twice,</strong> and he didn't blink or move; so I lifted my walking stick, waved my arms and hissed even louder. In a split second, he turned around went back up the walking path, and darted further uphill. After about five seconds, and his getting totally out of sight, he let out three very loud 'complaining' shrieks. I believe he was telling me that he wasn't pleased with me invading his territory.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> Fish and Wildlife Service</strong> [FWS] claims that here in Maine we have little to no Canada Lynx population. But I beg to differ. Thirty years ago, our daughter said to me just before she left for school one Spring morning: "Dad, look at the big cat in our drive." I looked out the front windows and beheld a Canada Lynx sauntering across the drive without a care in this world. You can't miss identifying them, as they have black-hair tufts on the tip of their ears. Lynx have a bobbed or short tail and have very heavy-looking legs with monstrous paws. The Lynx uses his paws in snow to keep atop the mounds to run like lightning in catching snowshoe hares.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong> This morning's Lynx meeting</strong> out back of the cabin was a sight I will long remember. There is something about the wildness of the Maine woods which is akin to being dirt-humbled before the vastness, variety and splendor of our Maker's designs. Didn't have a camera with me... and Lynx photos are easily accessed from the National Geographic Society.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<div class="ReadMsgBody" id="mpf0_readMsgBodyContainer">
<div class="SandboxScopeClass ExternalClass" id="mpf0_MsgContainer">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<strong> FWS in 2009 announced a revised critical habitat designation</strong> for the Canada Lynx that marks a twentyfold expansion over a Bush-era designation. The service set aside 39,000 square miles of forest in Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. The decision reverses a 2006 designation that enraged environmentalists by declaring 1,841 square miles of habitat for the Lynx.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<strong>Critical habitat was limited to lands that Lynx</strong> currently occupy or have occupied in the recent past. Conservation groups were also hoping to see critical habitat designated in sections of Colorado's southern Rockies, where state wildlife officials have been reintroducing Lynx since 1999 after the local population went extinct in the 1970s. FWS officials say they are not sure the state's habitat can support a Lynx population, and without that knowledge, it would be premature to designate the area as critical habitat.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<strong>The Canada Lynx was listed as "threatened" on the endangered species list</strong> in 2000 following a lawsuit from environmental groups. Because the reclusive cats depend on large, contiguous tracts of boreal forests to survive, their population has plummeted as timber harvests and development have destroyed or disconnected the forests. An estimated 1,000 Lynx remain in the wild, according to FWS estimates.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<strong>Canada lynx range from 30 to 35 inches in length</strong> and weigh between 18 and 23 pounds. The cat is distinguished by its pointy ears and its broad paws and long legs that allow it to stay above snow drifts while hunting snowshoe hares.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<strong>Seeing one of the 1,000 remaining Canada Lynx</strong> directly around my cabin -- twice so far -- are thrills long to be remembered.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-27430139905063693592012-04-02T11:34:00.000-07:002012-04-02T11:34:03.171-07:00APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong> Despite soft April rains, </strong>flowers aren't what they used to be. In former times, anywhere from fifty to sixty years ago, when you bought florist blossoms, you could count on a recognizable perfume coming from each species and variety. And additionally, these flowers lasted a very long time. Onward from the 1970's, flower growers began to genetically tinker with the natural beauty in attempting to make the blossoms bigger with more stark and/or unnatural colors. As it is today, the species in each variety sold are indeed big, but their aromatic history is all but erased. Worse still, they don't hold up as they should. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> Daffodils in former days</strong> would last well over a week in a water-filled vase. Today, the daffodils which you pick up at any flower display, wither and wilt in about three days. Better instead, why not use your garden space, plant your own bulbs and reap your own harvest? Hard to imagine that daffodils of days gone by had a very strong, pleasant and bees-wax perfume to </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">them. About the only flowers sold over the counter today that have an aroma worth taking in are hyacinths and Easter lilies.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong> A church filled with flowers for weddings and funerals</strong> before the 1960's would leave their scented calling cards for days on end. Any of you older than 60 will certainly remember the sweet smell of carnations, the rich perfume of roses, and the overwhelming aroma of gardenias. Today, a room full of floral arrangements give off little to no scent whatsoever.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong> Old New England dooryards</strong> are still full of the "tried-and-true" naturals. Lilac bushes, Lily of the Valley patches, a bed of double-Narcissus as well as downeast's own "Rosa Rugosa" and the Balm of Gilead trees and their budding waxy, sticky leaves filling the air with sweet scents. Come apple blossom time, from old homestead apple trees, we can still experience the wafting over the yard with the most pleasant perfumes. Even the ubiquitous alder bushes, when their catkins are dangling in the breeze, give off a sweet smell. Or how can anyone wish for a more pleasant scent than thick green woods full of balsam fir. Oh heck, even spruce gum has a very good smell to it.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong> One favorite here in Little Machias</strong> district of Cutler is the multi-petal, bright-red <em>"Rosa Rugosa"</em> bushes which old-timers had in their dooryards. These will begin to flower, here on the coast, from early July until September if you keep pruning the flowers by collecting them for the kitchen table. The single-petal Rosa Rugosa, common all over Maine, will blossom in the colors of deep red, red, pink and white.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"><strong> The common small wild roses</strong> also are an aroma-laden gift of nature, but when you pick the closed buds and place in water indoors, they'll last only one or two days before the aromatic petals open then fall off.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"><strong> The natural flora of Maine,</strong> even if each variety has little or no aroma are still my personal favorites; and they remind New Englanders that they're living in a downeast paradise. These are: the mildly sweet orchid <em>"Lady-slipper,"</em> or the Woods Violet. Deep in the backwoods of Little Machias is an ancient lake-bed, which is now a sphagnum moss heath; and therein grows the "Pitcher Plant" which is a carnivorous beauty; and also the rare cloudberry or <em>"baked-apple-pie berry"</em> On a smaller scale we often see the truly minuscule, red-budded lichen that grows on decaying wood or old cedar shingles; and how can anyone not mention the varied species of lichens on stone or the hanging/dangling moss which clings to black spruce up and down the spruce-clad coast of Maine.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"><strong> Other downeast favorites include:</strong> the purple, white and pink lupines growing along roadsides in summer; along with wild daisies, followed by fall's wild asters.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"><strong> Fireweed is another spectacular wildflower</strong> here in eastern Maine. Banks of these sparkling spikes decorate dry and otherwise parched 'useless' soils. Friends in Alaska tell us that fireweed grows and blossoms well in the the <em>Land of the Midnight Sun</em>, a.k.a. <em>The Last Frontier</em>; and <em>Seward's Folly</em>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"><strong> Last but not least</strong> in the quest for memorable Maine blossoms; one can always find around old cellar holes from former homesteads -- besides lilac bushes and Rosa Rugosa -- is none other than the white and mystical <em>Pearly Everlasting</em> remnant patches. These seem to stand out during August as a sort of white mini-prelude to tufts of snow, come winter.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> <strong>Nonetheless, April showers do bring flowers</strong>; and hope springs eternal.</span>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-76145796069202235022012-03-08T00:49:00.000-08:002012-03-08T00:49:49.604-08:00SAVING our FORESTS, PRAIRIE GRASS, LITORAL SPACES, VIEWSHEDS, PLANET, BIG CATS, SEALS, WHALES & POLAR BEARS...<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>INCOMING MAIL ASKING FOR DONATIONS</strong> to save this or that usually gives me a chuckle; but not as large a laugh [with also a bitter tear to the eye] because unfortunates and dupes will get sucked into these money-grubbing schemes. Unfortunately, these days, schoolchildren are the first victims who fall for the snake oil, because they've been indoctrinated with movies, reports, and synthesized anecdotes, etc. at school which have been either subtly pushed or even peer-pressured into supple minds. Teachers today, with not one ounce of sound scientific education are peddling Al Gore's "Earth In The Balance" among other media-guesses, which are fundamentally unscientific dribble.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY.</strong> Not a one of us should ignore the corporate jets, air-conditioned offices in high-rent districts in major cities, lobbying expenses, travel expenses, food allowances and etc, in which these self-proclaimed do-gooders [supposedly SAVING this animal, their mother-earth or that plant] are wallowing in fiduciary excesses. It is obscene to say the least. <em>As a side note, remember when Al Gore told us that gasoline rising to $6 or $7 per gallon would wean us off evil petroleum, the extraction of which, is marring our sacred earth mother.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>SEVERAL YEARS AGO, MY BRIDE WON</strong> an all-expenses-paid weekend vacation from a Radio Station in Ellsworth, to go to Bar Harbor near Acadia National Park for two at one of the finest hotels, located close to the College of the Atlantic [noted for its earth-sensitive so-called environmentalism]. We saw how the "other half, " or better yet, the 1-percent lives. At breakfast-time, we sauntered over to another seaside adjoining mansion to imbibe in fresh squeezed juices, the rarest Colombian coffee and specially prepared eggs, waffles, pancakes, and muffins. The place was -- our unfortunate luck -- crawling with pine-cone crunchers, tree-huggers, and enviro-freaks. They were living in the lap of luxury at the expense the many small donations from hard-working people who had been fooled into thinking every penny of their contributions was going to save Smokey the Bear, Sammy the Seal, Willy the Whale or whatever other animal, planet, or plant one could envision. When in fact, this was just yet another <strong><em>"conference"</em></strong> which these spoiled viro-vendors use to indulge themselves in by mutually stroking each other with ultra-Gaea conservationist intonations and incantations pivoting around their dogmatic earth-religion-worship.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>WHEN THINKING OF "EARTH FIRST"...</strong> wrap your discerning minds around a bumper sticker which we all see from time to time. Average thinking people have figured these Earth First folks for sure. The sticker to most of us should read: "Earth First, We'll Log The Other Planets Later." I believe that if but one vaccine dose was left on earth which could be used to save a life, and the choice were between an Atlantic Puffin or a little sick child... the Earth First extremists would give it to the puffin and watch the little child die.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals],</strong> which most rational humans rather think of as: <strong><span style="color: #660000;">P</span></strong>eople <span style="color: #660000;"><strong>E</strong></span>ating <strong><span style="color: #660000;">T</span></strong>asty <strong><span style="color: #660000;">A</span></strong>nimals, which we do discern that eating the protein from animals is as <em>natural as natural can be</em> for us human beings, which is species perfect along with other natural omnivores on the planet. As an example: a lobster's brain is the same size as a mosquito's brain; so go ahead with wild abandon, and boil up a couple bugs for suppah. There have additionally been scientific studies which clearly indicate that carrots actually feel vegetarian-chemical pain when uprooted. Put that in your PETA pipe and smoke it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>ALL THE LAND PRESERVERS AND SAVERS...</strong> continually chant the mantra that not enough of the United States is "saved." Hard fact, there is actually more forested land today in the United States than there was when Christopher Columbus tippy-toed onto Guanahani Island in 1492. Remember, native Americans purposefully burned the entire mid-western and western states every year or so, to keep prairie grazing fresh for buffalo and other native herbivores. Here in Maine, most of the Pine Tree State is either preserved, saved, conserved, and/or pickled for all eternity and then-some by the federal government, state government, Appalachian Trail, a multitude of Conservation Trusts, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service, state parks, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Ducks Unlimited, Island Preservation System, Land Trust Complexes, National Wildlife Refuges, National, State and Private Preserves, Conservation Easements, and etc. Nonetheless, Roxanne Quimby of Bert's Bees is instigating a brand new National Park idea to gobble a big chunk out of the middle of Maine. She represents the Brunhilda with horns in coalition with the other marauding Enviro-Valkyries who want to destroy our productive woodlands from being productively renewable; and then becoming dead tourist museums. The other Valkyries include groups such as: "Save the Coyotes", "Save the Wolves", "Save the Furbisher Lousewort", "Save the Lichen", "Save the Spotted Owl", "Save the Snail-darter", "Save the Appalachian Trail from human beings", "Save Mt. Katahdin trails from human beings", "Save Heaths from human beings" or "Save Sears Island from human beings", to name just a few.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> "<strong>SAVE THE POLAR BEAR" SAVIORS</strong> just got caught with egg on their face. Turns out there are many more polar bears in the wild than the purposefully under-reported few they have thusfar been claiming, in order to create the endangered species scenario and coeval yet necessary money-collecting scheme.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>WHAT SEEMS TO EVADE MODERN ENVIRONMENTAL SAVIORS</strong> is that the earth is an ever changing, evolving globe in a galaxy of ever expanding creation. Differing and countless species come and go. Species extinction itself IS A NATURAL PROCESS. Global cooling and global warming are yet just more natural cycles which continue to come and go; in which we human beings -- basically earth-affecting piss-ants -- can do little to nothing in bringing about or stopping. It's all natural and part of earth's own, self-sustaining, and created inter-environmentally meshing genius</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>PRESIDENT OBAMA credited as being a thinker,</strong> has swallowed the electric car hogwash. The Chevy "Volt" is just the beginning in the unraveling of electric cars. Recharging electric cars using electrical grids that burn any form of fossil fuel, including coal, are less efficient, and also outputs a large carbon footprint. It's better to use gasoline. Here in Maine, our electricity from BANGOR HYDRO ELECTRIC is produced by burning oil which is shipped up the Penobscot River. Some "hydro" that!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>MOST CONTRARY OF ALL</strong> are the environmental squeelers who don't want wind turbines near their counties, towns, or viewsheds. They publicly worship wind and solar power; but the truth be told, <em>Not In Their Own Back Yards</em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong>THIS CURRENT CROP OF "SAVIORS" OF THE EARTH</strong> have one viewpoint fairly much agreed upon. They generally deny that Jesus Christ of Nazareth SAVED the earth and all of us inhabitants <strong><em>once and for all</em></strong> on a terrible Friday upon Calvary's hill back in 33 A.D. To these current saviors of whatever, it's supposed to be up to us lowly plebians in handing over our hard-earned pennies to their modern charades about SAVING the earth or anything else they concoct. Rather than being hornswoggled, count me among those who firmly believe in the plain-spoken wisdom of Mahalia Jackson who sang the old spiritual </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0Tz0PZm3og&feature=related"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0Tz0PZm3og&feature=related</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands."</span>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-62374646512461754282012-02-21T09:31:00.000-08:002012-02-21T09:40:24.495-08:00THE SKY IS FALLING SAYS CHICKEN LITTLE: Since the end of the world draws near, repent!!!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> THE CARTOON WE'VE ALL SEEN</strong> of a man carrying a sign reading <strong><em>"Repent, the End is Near"</em></strong> is used oftentimes in magazines and periodicals. We can correctly predict this is the best definition of the word 'ubiquitous.' Among the earliest end-of-time predictors was Saint Malachy [1094 - 1148] writing a complete list of 112 future Bishops of Rome [Popes] from 1139 until the end of the world. According to Malachy, using short Latin phrases, the current Pope, Benedict XVI, is second to last; with the last being: "Petrus Romanus" or Peter the Roman, whose very pontificate is the imminent-harbinger of Rome's and the world's destruction.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> NOSTRADAMUS' QUATRAINS</strong> written by Michel de Nostredame [1503 - 1566],<strong> </strong>also in Latin, can easily be interpreted and reinterpreted to mean just about anything; and since they're jumbled all about in no chronological order... who can actually gather any time-frame logic to them?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> SIR ISAAC NEWTON</strong> [1643 - 1727] is noted for his scientific records; however, he also was an ardent student of Hebrew/Jewish prophecy as found in the Old Testament. Newton predicted that the earth we live on will come to an end in the year 2060 A.D. Advisory note: Don't hold your breath.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>THEN CAME WILLIAM MILLER</strong> [1782 - 1849], a Baptist preacher and believer in Adventism predicting that October 22, 1844 would be the end of the world. "Millerites" and other followers of Miller believed in his predicted 'end' so they sold all their possessions and waited for October 22. The day is known today as the <u>"Day of Great Disappointment."</u> Many Millerites were disillusioned and became either Seventh-day Adventists or gave up Adventism altogether. A substantial number of Millerites became Quakers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>WHO CAN FORGET HAROLD EGBERT CAMPING</strong> [1921 - 2011] the American Christian radio broadcaster who predicted the world would end on May 21, 1988, then again on September 6, 1994; and finally on October 21, 2011. Mr. Camping's personal end came at the age of 89 on May 21, 2011, a day he did <strong><em>not</em></strong> predict. It should be understood that the predicting business is a fairly dicey jab.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>MAYAN CALENDAR</strong> followers are presently reminding us all that the end of the world will be December 21, 2012. Think of it as only about 200 more shopping days until DOOMSDAY. The background for this doomsday prediction is found in Mexico's state of Tobasco in the city of Villahermosa inside El Museo Regional de Anthropologia de Carlos Pellicer Camara. Upstairs in this museum rests three rectangular slab-stones depicting "Lord Jaguar" Ahau Balam who was born in 612, A.D. and ruled from 644 to 679 A.D. The actual doomsday prediction is taken from the final passage of the stone figures which boil down to eight carved characters that are crumbled and not very clear. They are most currently interpreted as: <em><strong>"The thirteenth baktun will end on the day 4 Ajaw; three K'ank'in; Will occur the descent of the god Bolom Hokte." </strong></em>Better and more esoterically soaked brains than most of us make this final connection between doomsday and the descent of Bolom Hokte, whoever he is.<em><strong> </strong></em>Search me how this forebodes the end of earth...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong><em> </em>OR IF YOU LISTEN TO PILLOW TALK</strong> as I do from my bride of 44 years who is a registered Republican: The world will end as we know it during the late hours of November 6, 2012 if Barack Hussein Obama proclaims he's been reelected president.</span>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-37206155495290469152012-02-03T20:07:00.000-08:002012-02-03T20:48:06.384-08:00ABRAHAM LINCOLN . . . . . (1809 ~ 1865)<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> Most schoolchildren in the United States</strong> recognize the image, and know some portions or brief history about our nation's sixteenth President: that of the boychild Abraham being born in a log cabin on the 12th of February during a blizzard in Kentucky; of his lacking formal schooling; and yet, his rising like cream to the top; and his being elected President of the United States for two terms. His weary and troubled years in the White House were completely soaked, through and through, by the blood-filled War of Rebellion [1860-1865].</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> What most do not know about Lincoln</strong> was that despite his mother's death [Nancy Hanks Lincoln] of milk-fever when Abraham was 11-years-old; losing his first true love [Ann Rutledge] when he was in his twenties; marrying Mary Todd Lincoln an extremely high strung, shopaholic (some claimed insane); losing two of his young sons [Edward and William] from childhood diseases; the death of his only sibling a sister [Sarah Lincoln Grigsby]; and coupled with his own melancholic nature -- all the while -- dealing with one incompetent general after another during our nation's bloodbath of the War of Rebellion [Civil War] which almost tore our nation in twain... was that Abraham Lincoln loved and retold anecdotes, jokes or funny stories at every possible turn. It was a balm to his tortured psyche and sorrow-filled soul; it made his life less unbearable.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> Carl Sandburg in 1959, addressing a joint session of Congress said: </strong><em>"Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect. Here and there across the centuries come reports of men alleged to have these contrasts. And the incomparable Abraham Lincoln... is an approach if not the perfect realization of this character."</em> And yet, it was Lincoln's constant search for humorous stories, anecdotes, and jokes which puzzled cabinet members of his administration.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>Artemus Ward, a pen-name of Charles Farrar Browne</strong> [1834-1867] of Waterford, Maine was Lincoln's favorite humorist. Artemus Ward is not to be confused with Major General Artemas Ward [1727-1800] of the American Revolution. Many officials in the Lincoln Administration admonished the President repeatedly about his habitual diversion of reading and re-reading Artemus Ward's writing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>Lincoln's favorite anecdotes were usually about himself.</strong> He relished poking fun at himself.<strong> </strong>During his circuit lawyer days in Illinois while riding on a horse path and meeting an elderly woman on the same path was often told by the President. Lincoln said he stopped his horse and stepped aside off the path so the woman, also on horseback, could easily pass. The woman stopped and looked Lincoln in the eye and said: "Sir, I believe you are the ugliest man I have ever seen." Lincoln replied, "Ma'am, there's very little I can do about that." She then proclaimed: "You could stay home more often."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>Lincoln, the man of steel and velvet,</strong> used humor to also explain complex problems, or just illustrate and clarify the obvious. For example, directly after the Union's horrendous loss at Antietam, owing to McClellan's inaction; the President then visited the camp with his friend, O. M. Hatch of Illinois. As they stood on the summit of a nearby hill overlooking the encampment, Mr. Lincoln asked: "Hatch, Hatch, what is all this?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> "Why," answered Mr. Hatch, "that is the Army of the Potomac."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> "No, Hatch, no," said Lincoln; "that is General McClellan's body-guard."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>Abraham Lincoln, </strong>the man of steel and velvet, of sorrow and mirth, who saved the Union and abolished slavery, also changed our nation from plural to singular [i.e. the United States <strong><u>are</u></strong> ... becoming: the United States <strong><u>is</u></strong> ... ] Or as Secretary Stanton said so well: <em><strong>"Now he belongs to the ages."</strong></em></span>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-22192705909666065862012-01-01T01:04:00.000-08:002012-01-01T01:04:59.781-08:00NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS & BUCKET LIST<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Not being someone</strong> <strong>who makes New Year's resolutions,</strong> the plan is to acknowledge and reconsider places on earth which are personally the most memorable, which also prove that our fellow human beings can sometimes actually touch genius and create impressive items of timelessness. The New Year holiday usually sees predictions, along with lists of popular resolutions. However, the following international list is of incredible creations by God and man which are on my personal <strong>'bucket-list'</strong> [a list of desired events in which to participate; and in this overview, of a <em>'bakers-dozen'</em> places to be seen before kicking the bucket]. Most of the following are crossed off, while a few are still to do:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>UNITED STATES: Sinking Spring Farm in Hodgenville, Kentucky</strong> is a National Historic Site which houses the birthplace log cabin of Abraham Lincoln. The cabin, built before 1809, is housed in a neoclassical stone memorial/temple. However, the bucket-worthy highlight of this beautiful homestead on earth is the actual sinking spring which still trickles springwater. It's the same water from the ancient Kentucky bedrock which nourished infant Abraham Lincoln for the first few years of his life. Took my family here back in the mid-eighties.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>CANADA'S ST. FRANCIS-XAVIER MISSION: </strong>Wherein is found the burial site of Kateri Tekakwitha. She was an Algonquian-Iroquois maiden born in 1656 at Auriesville, in upstate New York, whose dying words on April 17, 1680 in Kahnawake, Quebec were "Jesus, I Love You" when she breathed her last at the tender age of 24. Those present near her deathbed witnessed Kateri's extremely Smallpox-scarred face instantly and miraculously change into the most peaches-and-cream complexion for which any young lady could ever hope. The Catholic Church and presiding Bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI, will publicly proclaim her a canonized Saint in a few months. Kahnawake Indian settlement just south and across the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal is still on my bucket list to visit.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>ENGLAND'S STONEHENGE</strong> is by far the most intriguingly eerie yet inspiring stone monument left from ancient peoples of the British Isles predating Angles, Saxons, Norse and Normans. The most believable scientific/historic explanation so far is that the site was used by hunter/gatherers for understanding and or defining life, death, and mysticism by rituals of using drums with repetitive echo-force for mesmerizing participants in the ceremonies performed for reverberation within the large megalithic stonework. I walked away from this site, on foot, all the way to Salisbury with countless questions; and has since then, evoked even more questions. I suppose they'll never be answered.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>AUSTRALIA'S ULURU, or AYERS ROCK, </strong>a naturally reddish and overlarge sandstone outcropping in the Northern Territory of central Australia calls to me. Many tourists intend to climb it; however the Anango natives consider their Uluru as a sacred tribal precinct which they never climb; and they kindly ask that tourists also do not climb. Just to be near the site listening to Australian aboriginal musicians playing their native tunes on traditional instruments would do me fine; and is still on the bucket list.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>GERMANY'S COLOGNE CATHEDRAL</strong> (Koln Dom) is the superlative of all Gothic architecture. Each doorway, outer buttress, arch, vault, ceilings, pillars: the whole of this Christian stone monumental house of worship is pure <strong><span style="color: #660000;">Gothic</span></strong> in every sense of the word. Superlatively-massive size yet perfect proportions lend it to giving you a refreshing and airy sensation not found in almost every other man-made stone structure in the world. I crawled up inside the south [open-to-the-air] spire, and braved a gale upon ascending into the heights.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>INDIA excites the imagination for sure.</strong> Of all the places shown in tourist films about India, and in books on travel, the most desirable place for my feet to walk within and my eyes to feast upon are the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and her devoted and worshipful husband, Shah Jehan. Theirs is a resting place, side by side, which is a symbol of undying love and affection. Both rectangular, decorated tombs lie in hard stone which is the encased and decorated tribute to marital love: a marble mausoleum known as the Taj Mahal.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>ITALY'S MARBLE STATUE OF MOSES</strong> which can be found in one of Rome's lesser-known churches. It's off the beaten path for tourists. Inside San Pietro in Vincolo (Saint Peter in Chains) which actually houses the chains with which the Apostle Peter was shackled. This Church also is home to a magnificent larger-than-life statue of the Old Testament's Prophet Moses seated, carved by Michelangelo. I stood before this cold stone figure, eyes riveted to the veins in Moses' hands, almost breathless for what I imagined would be an instant when surely a pulse could soon be seen throbbing in the veins of those strong hands. Very lifelike indeed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>FRANCE'S SAINTE CHAPELLE</strong> is located just a short walk from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris with its famous flying buttresses; however Sainte Chapelle is more impressive because when you're inside, you believe the entire roof of this lacework Gothic structure is suspended in air by endless curtains of stained glass. As you stand inside, with mouth open, you feel as though you're actually suspended inside a richly colorful and sparkling stained-glass container. I think of it as the "French Jewel Box."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>SPAIN'S LA SAGRADA FAMILIA BASILICA in Barcelona</strong> designed and begun by Antonio Gaudi defies description. This overwhelmingly fantastic architecture best shouts out an in-your-face definition of the word 'gaudy,' yet its scope becomes beautiful in the full context as the eye attempts to take in its oversized and mythically designed curves. A Navy buddy and I visited this place back in 1966 when it was in the mid-stages of being built; and it boggled my mind then as totally other-worldly; and so I won't even attempt to convey what it looks like. The news media released press accounts that it is now somewhat more finished; and was consecrated as a fully functional house of worship just last year.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>RUSSIA'S TRETYAKOV ART GALLERY in Moscow</strong> displays two of the finest icons ever painted on wood. Andrei Rublev (1360 - 1430) the artist, used techniques from Byzantium for his <strong><em>Theotokos of Vladimir</em></strong> and the <em><strong>Trinity </strong></em>which<em><strong> </strong></em>explain, in just these two images, the entire heart and soul of Russia and the Russian people. Having seen only photos in artbooks and on the Internet, I find Rublev's painted faces and eyes explain the sorrow and suffering of these Slavic people not only under the Czars but as the portend of brutal treatment by Bolsheviks, Soviets, and Lenin/Stalin communist overlords. Unfortunately however, with just a slight breath of hope with the fall of Russia's communism, Vladimir Putin is presently beginning to repeat the former czarist stranglehold of bygone centuries. But at least we can now begin to understand the fatalistic resignation of <strong><em>starotrepsy</em></strong> [suffering] Russian royal brothers Boris and Gleb who were totally resigned in accepting being put to death by their own uncle's greed to sit on the Czarist throne of Russia. Let's hope the Vladimir Theotokos can still change the KGB-coldblooded-heart of Vladimir Putin.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>DENMARK'S CAPITOL OF COPENHAGEN.</strong> This Nordic kingdom and wonderfully happy town is the complete and total vacation package for the aspiring traveler. Anywhere you visit in Copenhagen will leave you refreshed. Whether it's the breweries, restaurants, recreation park of Tivoli, or the fish market; you'll experience the ease and reason why this northern climate of an ancient human settlement is just plain warm and loving, even in wintertime. Antique shops here give you the best artwork of Nordic folk-impressions and craftsmanship as well as the most modern designs which are also a hallmark of the Danes. It's those friendly Danes themselves which warm the welcome. Oh, and the cheeses... And don't forget to visit the bronze mermaid in Copenhagen's harbor as she sits atop a rock while seawater washes over her leggy fins. I visited her <em>close-up</em> one wintry day by walking over frozen seacakes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>ARUBA'S NATURAL BRIDGE</strong> with a strong incoming tide. As of late, the two missing young ladies have removed some of this Caribbean pearl's luster; however, the native Papiamento folks [who share native South American and Caribbean Indian blood] are very warmhearted and accommodating. The beaches are among the finest in the world, and the warm ocean water is always a tempting emerald green. The natural bridge with a strong incoming tide will impress the most jaded tourist. The bride and I had but one week's stay, basking on the soft crushed-seashell Manchebo Beach; and we loathed leaving this island paradise.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>NEW ZEALAND.</strong> This is still on the "to do"</span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> list. Having only seen travelogues on cable television, I'm dreaming of farms full of fragrant orchids, stark mountainside views and ocean vistas in this island nation. Have to begin searching the Internet. "Happy Trails" to those of you who enjoy traveling; especially if your headed to places such as L'Anse-aux-Meadows in Newfoundland, Easter Island, Angkor Wat, the Galapagos, Machu-Picchu or the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. And how about fishing in Alaska on the Kenai River for Chinook salmon, then bringing the fresh catch back to your lodge, and feeding your family. Until the day I hook and cook a Chinook, guess I'll just wait until our local Shiretown grocer gets a fresh shipment of Alaskan salmon. Ultimately however, it ends up being the unexpected -- the unplanned experiences -- while traveling which rewards us with the most unforgettable moments. Bon Voyage!</span>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-62281979178622425192011-12-13T04:24:00.000-08:002011-12-13T04:24:27.011-08:00HOLY CHRIST-MASS & Merry Christmas too<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong> When Christmas rolls around,</strong> some people spool out endless strings of lights; go on a frenzied shopping binge; cook enough rich food to clog the arteries of an entire army battalion; and wrap a gazillion gifts to stack under an over-glamorized evergreen tree. The December 25th Holy Day has become for them a heathen holiday resembling some pagan Bacchanalia of ancient Rome wherein wallowing in both varnished and unvarnished dialectical materialism is de rigueur.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong> At the end of the day,</strong> when all the fancy-wrapped packages have been ripped to smithereens, when the sodium-bicarbonate eases the belching only somewhat, and the batteries are on their last spark, these hedonists might wonder: Is this all there is? Is this what life is about? Is this the real meaning of, and ultimate reason for, Christmas? Then again, they might not even conjure up such cogent questions; but rather, plan next year's holiday with more rabid imagination and phantasmagorical intensity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>Christ-Mass [or the modern usage: 'Christmas']</strong> is celebrated on December 25th to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ in a stable at Bethlehem in the Holy Land. The day is about not only remembering the gift of our Creator in giving us His only Son as our Savior; but in sharing that Divine love with our fellow Christian believers as well as the entire world; and in a more personal way, for us to draw nearer in our lives to the pattern which Jesus Christ gave us while He walked the dusty pathways of Nazareth, Capernaum, Bethsaida, Jerusalem, and Emmaus by accepting Him as our Savior, and living up to His ideals as given us in the Holy Bible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> The greatest gifts from Christmastide</strong> are the birth, life, teaching, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, born in Bethlehem. Today, we can still visit the Church of the Nativity in the little town of Bethlehem. Under the present church which is Christianity's oldest shrine and most sacred place, we will find the grotto, the place where Jesus (who said He is <em>"the way, and the truth, and the life")</em> was born on earth as one of us, His creatures; to show us and lead us on to His way into eternity. In the recess of that grotto, on the marbleized floor, is a silver star which tradition from the first century holds is the spot where Jesus was born. Ah yes, for you doubting Thomases: there is an eternity. And indeed additionally, there is the Judgment Seat of God. We all will ultimately have to own up to who we truly are and what we've accomplished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> On that still night</strong> two thousand and eleven years ago, when shepherds saw a star and heard angels sing praises to God concerning the birthing event in the humble village of Bethlehem, these livestock-tenders were the first to actually visit that infant child who was born into our world, who is Christ the Lord.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong> So to all readers, wherever you live:</strong> Here is a forthright Christmas wish from the billions of us who celebrate Christ's Mass in the dark of Christmas Eve or wee hours of December 25th... that you and your loved ones may draw your hearts and minds closer to the reason for the birth of Christ, and to Jesus Christ Himself. Merry Christmas for sure; but moreover, wishing every last one of you the choicest blessings from our Creator and Savior.</span>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-64964219844984051662011-12-01T02:00:00.000-08:002011-12-01T02:02:59.563-08:00SOME PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE IN SANTA. Hey, it's a free country; believe what you like.<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>BUT... "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." </strong>The Sept. 21, 1897 <em>New York Sun </em>editorial gave us this famous line in answer to a little girl's questioning Santa's existence. The newsman wasn't off the mark either. Historians know Nicholas was born in 270 A.D., and became Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor. Bishop Nicholas died on December 6, 343 A.D. and was buried in his Cathedral at Myra. In 1087 A.D., Christians transferred his remains to Bari, Italy because of the Muslim Seljuk conquest of Asia Minor; after which, this Islamic over-lordship eventually became known as the Islamic nation of Turkey. The remains of Bishop Nicholas' Cathedral, and his first burial site is now a tourist attraction maintained by the Turkish tourist industry in Demre [Turkish name for Myra]. Turks claim it to be Santa Claus' home-base. At any rate, December 6th is still celebrated all around the Christian world as Saint Nicholas Day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> CHRISTIANS:</strong> Anglican, Catholic, Congregational, Episcopal, Evangelische, Lutheran, Methodist-Episcopal, Orthodox and Protestant Episcopal congregants still prayerfully recite the "Apostle's Creed" wherein the Apostles taught followers of Jesus Christ about the <em>"communion of saints;"</em> meaning average Christians can ask family members and/or Christian members on the other side [i.e. Saints] for prayers. According to ancient Christian belief, the saintly Bishop Nicholas is living on the other shore; and we can communicate [<em>communion of saints</em>] with him, presently in 2011.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> SAINT NICHOLAS</strong> over the past 17 centuries also became lovingly known as <strong>Kris Kringle</strong>, as well as <strong>Sant Nicklaus</strong> and <strong>Sinterklaas</strong> which has linguistically morphed into <strong>Santa Claus</strong>. Some people in English-speaking nations loved the duplex idea of <strong>Father Christmas</strong>; and the Communist atheists of Russia -- forced by their own dogmatic atheism of intolerance and rejection of God and spirituality -- had to invent <strong>Father Frost</strong> as a replacement for Christianity's Nicholas.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <strong>THE SANTA CLAUS</strong> of our modern era -- especially over the past century -- acquired the furry-edging on the red Bishop's tunic. Santa's Bishop Miter became a red hat with furry pompom at the end. The Santa Claus legend has also grown into a fable well beyond logic too. Santa now lives at the North Pole with elves who make toys for Christmas presents. Jolly Old Saint Nick flies around the world in a sleigh powered by eight named reindeer, headed by Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer guiding the way. Santa slips down the chimney to leave his presents under the Christmas tree. He eats children's offerings of cookies and milk, then tweaks his nose and flies back up the chimney and into his sleigh, onward to the next house. In the spirit of being a believer in what the good Saint Nicholas can do, and what his persona might do... here's my <strong>2011 Wish List Letter to Santa:</strong></span><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>DEAR SANTA,</strong> I didn't leave you any cookies and milk next to my woodstove [which incidentally burns only organically grown wood pellets] because Michelle Obama is teaching us to eat mostly arugula and tofu; plus I've seen drawings of you which Coca Cola has published for decades; and frankly Santa, you are obese. And another thing; I hope all my energy-saving solar panels from Solyndra for my hot water tank and deepfreeze on the roof didn't cause too much of a landing problem for your sleigh, eight reindeer or Rudolph. And a couple of questions too: Why don't you include antelope, caribou, springbok and whitetail deer into the mix of your transportation? Don't you believe in species diversity? And one word of advice too: You should be distributing toy-cars and trucks to girls, and dolls or toy-stoves to boys. From now on, you better intermix gender specific toys, because college professors and politically-corrected psychologists tell us there's absolutely no difference between boys and girls. A few more questions too: is it true you pack heat when you land in crime-infested neighborhoods? Who do you think you are? Mr. Fast and Furious? Anyway, here is my wish list for Christmas:</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> 1.) PLEASE GIVE ME</strong> a brand new idea what to do with my 16-year-old, re-gifted fruitcake. I've used it for an anchor and as a doorstop. It's really indestructible; even mold won't grow on it. Re-gifting never works either, it always comes back.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> 2.) CAN YOU GIVE ME</strong> a lifetime membership to PETA? I want to be a card-carrying member of PETA: <em>NOT</em> the loony-tune outfit that tortures tofu, is cruel to carrots, pains parsley, bashes Bulgar-wheat and sells soy sauces. I mean the real <strong>PETA</strong>: the <strong>P</strong>eople <strong>E</strong>ating <strong>T</strong>asty <strong>A</strong>nimals organization.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> 3.) I WOULD LIKE</strong> a 40-m.p.g. Ford product. Although normally I'm a Chevy and GM guy, it has to be admitted: Ford has not willingly become an economic burden or slave for government plantation masters in Washington, D.C.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> 4.) I NEED TV COMMERCIALS</strong> around lunchtime and suppertime that don't make me blush, or turn my stomach. No more sickening side effects of drugs, explicit advice for erections lasting longer than four hours, nor absorbency capabilities of sanitary napkins. Same goes for tissue softness comparisons for butt-wipe. Bodily functions make it difficult to hold down my arugula. Although in all honesty, if any species of arugula -- whether Arctic, Saharan or Chilean -- landed on my plate, I still couldn't identify which was which.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> 5.) WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE</strong> that you might kindly put gorilla tape securely on Joe Biden, Gloria Alred and Snooky's mouths?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em> Thank you Santa, that's not such a long list, nor too much to ask. I've basically been a very good boy; except for when I willingly burned styrofoam to see if it enlarged the ozone hole; and especially the one time I voted for George McGovern. Oops, and I must confess, I find it hard to believe in global warming since I've purposely avoided Al Gore's "Earth in the Balance" movie/torture. But all in all, Santa, I've cancelled any bad energy wastefulness [and will actually erase my carbon footprint from now on] since my Christmas Tree will be lighted only with energy-saving LED lights made by forced child-labor in China; and I bought them at Walmart too. This is in addition to the Solyndra panels, organic pellets, and also, an old "Hudson Bay" woolen blanket.</em></span><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> You can call me:</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> Environmentally-bodacious Bob</span></em>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-83844796992377792752011-11-14T04:40:00.000-08:002011-11-14T16:05:40.641-08:00THANKSGIVING DAY = AMERICAN FEAST or turkey-day chowdown, eyes glued to idiot box.<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> A mid-east Arab gentlemen, a few years ago, wrote an editorial in the <em>Bangor Daily News </em>about what he experienced in American homes during several Thanksgiving Day dinners. He observed that it was quite evident we Americans consider Thanksgiving Day as a time to watch endless hours of football while engaged in a relentless stuffing of faces with drinks, turkey and snacks. He was surprised that this specifically American-only holiday was such an irreligious festival of gluttony and hedonism. In his defense, it should be admitted, that some Americans do celebrate the popular heathen feast of <em>"turkey-day"</em> (with no intent to thank our Maker whatsoever); and where the day is primarily about being a TV tackle-fest addict becoming a food inhaling machine, while putting forth some kind of <em>thankful mental mode</em> which can be credited merely to a healthy paycheck, good education, good genes, a beneficent government and a bounteous landscape that produces all kinds of food, national wealth, comfortable homes and good-looking automobiles. Oh, how obscenely wrong this is. The Arab gentlemen based his misinterpretation of our national holiday upon one or several historically-challenged and/or just plain ignorant families.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">THANKSGIVING DAY</span></strong> is a celebration which many of us continue to observe with true foundational reasons using historical dishes and recipes in creating a solid traditional and religiously solemn feast. And it might be added, in so doing, we continue what was begun in 1621 on our shores in gaining a full heart and satisfied mind by retaining excellent familial -- yet God-centered -- practices. Thanksgiving to God is a continuum of our core American place in history; and thus, we actually then bequeath to our children and grandchildren an activity of incalculable value. To validate this point: The following historic documents speak for themselves:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">THE NOVEMBER 11th, 1620 MAYFLOWER COMPACT:</span></strong> "In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"> /signatures/ "John Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, William Brewster, Isaac Allerton, Myles Standish, John Alden, Samuel Fuller, Christopher Martin, William Mullins, William White, Richard Warren, John Howland, Stephen Hopkins, Edward Tilley, John Tilley, Francis Cooke, Thomas Rogers, Thomas Tinker, John Rigsdale, Edward Fuller, John Turner, Francis Eaton, James Chilton John Crackstone, John Billington, Moses Fletcher, John Goodman, Degory Priest, Thomas Willliams, Gilbert Winslow, Edmund Margesson, Peter Brown, Richard Britteridge, George Soule, Richard Clarke, Richard Gardinar, John Allerton, Thomas English, Edward Doty, Edward Leister."</span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>DEAR READER:</em></span> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">D</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">on't be afraid to read the awkward old English words and phrases. You may be tempted to skip over some of it; or worse, not even read these valuable first-hand, eye-witness accounts and documents of our foundation as a nation; but then, you place yourself at risk of being ignorant of our American heritage. These accounts almost 400 years old, one over 200, and another over 100 are the real deal. It's what, when, where, who and why we Americans are Americans.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>1st THANKSGIVING AT PLYMOUTH: NOVEMBER, 1621:</strong></span> Governor Bradford wrote of the Pilgrims and their first Thanksgiving Feast this way: "For summer being done, all things stand upon them with a weather-beaten face; and the whole countrie, full of woods and thickets, represented a wild and savage hue. If they looked behind them, there was the mighty ocean which they had passed, and was now as a maine barr and golfe to separate them from all the civill parts of the world. What could now sustaine them but the spirite of God and his grace? May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: 'Our Fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this willderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and he heard their voyce, and looked on their adversitie. Let them therefore praise the Lord, because he is good, and his mercies endure for ever'."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"> Bradford wrote of the <strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">First Thanksgiving Feast</span></strong> being held in November of 1621 which was about celebrating the arrival of the ship FORTUNE with provisions; the gathering of a fair harvest; and a: "Great store of wild Turkies, which they took many besides venison. At which time amongst other recreations, we <em><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">exercised our arms</span></strong></em> [my emphasis], many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest, their greatest king, Massasoyt, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1st THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION: NOV. 29th, 1623:</span> </strong>"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> "Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives, and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the daytime, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> /s/ "William Bradford<br />
Ye Governor of Ye Colony"</span><br />
<br />
<div class="ReadMsgBody" id="mpf0_readMsgBodyContainer"><div class="SandboxScopeClass ExternalClass" id="mpf0_MsgContainer"><style>
.ExternalClass .ecxhmmessage P
{padding:0px;}
.ExternalClass body.ecxhmmessage
{font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;}
</style><br />
<div dir="ltr"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">PRES. WASHINGTON'S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION:</span></strong></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">"New York, 3 October 1789<br />
"By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.<br />
"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness." <br />
"Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation -- for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war -- for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed -- for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best."<br />
"Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789."<br />
/s/ "Go: Washington"</span></div><div dir="ltr"><br />
</div></div></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>PRES. LINCOLN'S 1863 THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION:</strong> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">"By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation. </span><br />
<div class="ReadMsgBody" id="mpf0_readMsgBodyContainer"><div class="SandboxScopeClass ExternalClass" id="mpf0_MsgContainer"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> "The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> "No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> "In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> /s/ "Abraham Lincoln"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">HISTORIC & TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING DINNERS</span></strong> should then include: roast turkey, venison, clams, oysters, cranberries, beans, corn, squash and pumpkin, [with perhaps some target-practice to exercise our arms]; but above all, the gathering should include bowed or uplifted heads in a prayer of thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father Who so bounteously bestows His blessings upon our nation. The choice is ours: Either just another high-caloric, non-event, chowdown, OR: a true thanksgiving prayer to God with an authentic American Thanksgiving Dinner acknowledging His Divine Providence in our nation's history and a supplication for His continued sustenance.</span></div></div></div>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-4158776871502099892011-11-02T10:23:00.000-07:002011-11-05T06:11:12.099-07:00VETERANS DAY ~ NOVEMBER 11, 2011<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>VETERANS DAY</strong> this year will see many of us still keeping the oldest tradition of standing at attention, facing east towards our National Cemeteries overseas in Europe, for one minute in honoring all our doughboys who gave their lives in WWI. This will happen at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, this year in the 11th year of our millennium.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> It was in 1918, at 11:00 o'clock on November 11th that the Armistice ending WWI was signed by Germany at Versailles. Up until 1954, every American observed <strong>ARMISTICE DAY</strong> by the minute of silence; wearing red poppies which grow in Flanders Fields [or cloth poppies]; and also by reading or reciting <em>"In Flanders Fields"</em> by John McCrae. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"><strong> IN FLANDERS FIELDS</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong><em> by John McCrae</em></strong></span><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></strong><span style="font-size: large;">In Flanders fields the poppies blow</span></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> Between the crosses, row on row,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> That mark our place; and in the sky</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> The larks, still bravely singing, fly</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> Scarce heard amid the guns below.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> We are the Dead. Short days ago</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> Loved and were loved, and now we lie,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> In Flanders fields.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> Take up our quarrel with the foe:</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> To you from failing hands we throw</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> The torch; be yours to hold it high.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> If ye break faith with us who die</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> We shall not sleep, though poppies grow</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"> In Flanders fields.</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>VETERANS DAY </strong>since 1954, when the U.S. Congress changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day; November 11th is now the day to honor all Veterans who have served our nation in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, National Guard, Marines, Navy and Reserves. To all you Veterans, all you men and women who served in the military: We honor you; we love you; and we salute you. Thank you for your service.</span><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em></strong>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-54094590576561787462011-10-27T12:40:00.000-07:002011-10-28T05:23:03.148-07:00ALBERT EINSTEIN'S PERSONAL VIEWS<div class="me90077defangedMessage"><div id="me90077me33795"><style type="text/css">
<!-- -->
</style><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nine quotes from Albert Einstein (<em>Great Quotes from Great Leaders</em>, Published by Simple Truths, Naperville, IL, 2007).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">1.) "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."</span></div><div class="me90077me33795defangedMessage"><div id="me90077me33795me83023"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">2.) “It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">3.) “The only real valuable thing is intuition.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">4.) "Imagination is more important than knowledge.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">5.) “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">6.) “Truth is what stands the test of experience.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">7.) “The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions; only this can give beauty and dignity to life.”</span></div><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">Despite growing up as a Jew, Einstein was neither practicing nor orthodox in his Jewish faith. He does however, admit to being:</span></div><div dir="ltr"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">8.) “Enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene” (What Life Means to Einstein: An Interview by George Sylvester Viereck, The Saturday Evening Post, Oct. 26, 1929, p. 17) in which Einstein had the following to say about Jesus. </span></div><div dir="ltr"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">George Viereck:</span></span> “You accept the historical existence of Jesus?”</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times new roman, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">9.) </span></span>Einstein answered:</span> “Unquestionably. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">No man can deny the fact that Jesus existed, nor that his sayings are beautiful. Even if some of them have been said before, no one has expressed them so divinely as he.”</span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div></div></div></div></div>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-63596667201731972502011-10-12T07:17:00.000-07:002011-10-12T08:39:52.847-07:00OCCUPYING WALL STREET, NYC and ETC. <strong> FOR THOSE OF US OLD ENOUGH</strong>, we remember countless young people, college students, political hacks and idealistic dreamers who gathered together occupying various spaces in our nation to protest our government, and to demand an immediate end of the Vietnam War. We thought we saw it all; but then we had to endure yet again when Woodstock youth, during the flower-power days, were infected with the perfected ideals unreachable by the human species, but somehow always in sight through their bloodshot eyes, broken eardrums and marijuana induced grey matter. And quite a few decades have passed without restless natives; but: <strong>Here we go again</strong> with the OCCUPY WALL STREET [O.W.S.] gang. Those so inclined this time around have gathered around Wall Street and other cities, this two-thousand and eleventh year of our Lord to protest American bankers, American insurance agencies, American companies, American corporations, American billionaires, American investors, American capitalists, American capitalism itself, American millionaires, American achievers, hardworking Americans; and also for OWS to excoriate those of us Americans who don't worship socialism, obamanomics, communism, mind-altering powders, liquids and etc, collectivism, obamacare, monetary redistribution, mediocrity and failure.<br />
<br />
<strong>OCCUPY WALL STREET</strong> crowd also contains some of our nation's latest ne'er-do-wells, which even the dirt beneath their fingernails has been ill gotten. One criminal from Connecticut is hiding in plain sight from warrants issued in that State. He luxuriates with free food and drugs as do so many others surrounding Wall Street. As reported in the press, Dave, 24, is a scrawny, unshaven miscreant in filthy clothes. He boasts: <em>"I got warrants. I'm running from the law. I'm not even supposed to be here, but it's as good a spot as any to hide. I've been smoking and drinking in here for eight days now. I need to get some methadone. Every day, I wake up, and I'm f----d up."</em><br />
<br />
<strong> DRUGS ARE ALL AROUND,</strong> a NY Post reporter discovered when he was offered pot for $15 and heroin for $10. The reporter also noted that another OWS guy "<em>was found charging people $5 to use the McDonald's bathroom. He was on LSD or high on something." </em>There<em> </em>is a sort of <strong><em>romance</em></strong> by this youngest generation who've been brainwashed by the media's repeated and endless sanctification of "Woodstock;" and so inculcated with the belief that Woodstock changed the world for the better. You'll see among the crowd thousands upon thousands of cellphones, blackberries, ipods, cameras, high-end laptops, et al... so that nobody is fooled into thinking these hip and tech-savvy occupiers are perhaps the most destitute of unfortunates who've fallen on hard times, fallen between the cracks of society; or their parents kicked them out of the house. Although the latter may be in part the real background story here; since parasites living at home leave the first-hand, eyewitness of parents' suffering with little or no other choice than to kick these listless scumbags out of the house; which thus creates so many roaming and enabled/spoiled men and women with a penchant to gather in public places with all their bad habits, thus spending endless days living outdoors in Manhattan without any visible support.<br />
<br />
<strong>AH, BUT THERE IS SUPPORT.</strong> Many of the OWS crowd have taken advantage of the free condoms distributed by organizers to help in facilitating the public love-making in full view of other OWS protesters. One young lady, Sarah, 19, from the Upper West Side said: <em>"It kinda makes me think of what Woodstock must have been like. I haven't hooked up with any guys; but one of my friends did have sex in a tarp with a guy last night.</em><br />
<br />
<em> </em><strong>AND MORE SUPPORT</strong> is coming from many sources. The free food passed out to OWS protesters is maintaining and boosting the energy of the crowd. Cameron, a 26-year-old from Jersey City said: <em>"People say they are here for the cause, but the real reason is the free food. On my third day, they had smoked salmon with cream cheese. You know how much smoked salmon is a pound? Sixteen dollars. I eat better here than I do with my parents!"</em> 'Tis sad commentary on modern American families that this salmon-starved bloke has such hard-hearted parents.<br />
<br />
<em> </em><strong>BESIDES PUBLIC SEX, FREE CONDOMS & FREE FOOD</strong> there has been public urinating and defecating. Check out and/or google GOOGLE's photos of the OWS crowd and you'll find at least one photo of a man publicly defecating on a New York City Police cruiser. So much for supporting our public safety employees.<br />
<br />
<strong>OWS RABBLE HAVE ENDLESS GOALS</strong>: Some are against what they see as Wall Street greed, corporate greed, the large gap between rich and poor; while others are protesting, unemployment, student loans, political corruption protesting for immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq, giving more aid to Haiti, more Peace, more Justice, the relaxing or abolishing the laws which criminalize drug use including marijuana, cocaine and LSD. So many causes, so little time.<br />
<br />
<strong>OPEN SEWER...</strong> Brookfield Office Properties, the company which owns Zuccotti Park [the site of the protests] has made its sanitation concerns known. Company officials in a recent statement wrote: <em>"Sanitation is a growing concern. Normally the park is cleaned and inspected every week night. Because the protesters refuse to cooperate, the park has not been cleaned since Friday, September 16th and as a result, sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels."</em><br />
<br />
<em> </em><strong>BILLIONAIRE SUPPORTER George Soros, </strong>the fattest of fat-cat financiers, hedge-fund kingpin and unabashed globalist has come out publicly in support of the OWS movement. Soros said: <em>"I think I can sympathize with their views. Actually I can understand their sentiment, frankly since they were relying on that credit to run their businesses an awful lot of them actually were put out of business."</em> Research conducted by <em><strong>Infowars.com</strong></em> and other media resources reveal that much of the Occupy Wall Street movement is financed by foundations and organizations connected to Soros.<br />
<br />
<strong> ANOTHER SUPPORTER IS CHEERING.</strong> General Masoud Jazayeri of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, as reported in the official Iranian press, IRNA, said: <em>"The protests against corporate greed and the gap between rich and poor are a revolution in the making that will topple the Western capitalist system. The failure of the U.S. president to resolve the Wall Street crisis will turn this economic movement into a political and social movement protesting the very structure of the U.S. Government. A revolution and a comprehensive movement against corruption in the U.S. is in the making. The last phase will be the collapse of the Western capitalist system."</em><br />
<br />
<strong> ANOTHER OWS SUPPORTER </strong>is Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez who denounced the horrible repression of the American people. This socialist dictator said: <em>"This movement of popular outrage is expanding to ten cities and the repression is horrible, I don't know how many are in prison now. Poverty's growing, the misery is getting worse. But that empire is still there, still a threat."</em><br />
<br />
<strong>A GAGGLE OF LEFTISTS & LOONIES</strong> including Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan, Russell Simmons, Danny Glover, filmmaker Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Kanye West, Harry Belafonte, the usual Hollywood pack of pampered poodles have all made their appearance and given very vocal support. None other than MSN talking heads with their so-called 'reporters' from the radical, left-wing, uber-progressive MSNBC collective in their reportage keeps attempting to compare the OWS pogrom to the Tea Party; however the comparison is not even pitifully humorous.<br />
<br />
<strong>FROM THE HIGHEST OFFICE</strong> of the president of the United States, we've seen Barack Hussein Obama just wink and nod in giving the OWS a Brooklyn Bridge-sized pass. Nancy Pelosi has said she not only understands OWS grievances, but supports them. As many will recall, Obama has said, intimated, directly, overtly, obliquely and covertly for the past three years that the real enemies of America are: Bankers, Wall Street, Private Enterprise, Private Industry, American Corporations, Insurance Companies, American businesses, Pharmaceutical Houses, and especially those who have achieved wealth by working long hard hours. Speaking of working long hard hours; was anyone surprised or shocked that some of our own American unions have joined in with this rabble? We have to face it: This OWS crowd is Marx and Lenin's <strong>CLASS WARFARE</strong> seed which Obama's money-men planted, and are now watering, in which Obama intends to harvest come election time when this amorphous OWS rabble will vote as many times as possible using the Acorn model of redundancy to reelect their community organizer, Barack Hussein Obama, for a second term.<br />
<br />
<strong>THE MOST OBJECTIVE VIEW OF OWS</strong> comes from presidential campaigner Herman Cain who says the protesters should rightfully be protesting outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to bring attention to the actual degradation of the American economy which is directly attributable to BHO. Cain however missed the larger picture. Take two of our staunchest enemies: the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the nonredeemable Marxist, Hugo Chavez; add to this mix the anti-American, fat-cat, globalist George Soros, the Communist and Socialist parties who are also sponsoring the OWS, and with all the usual Hollywood and entertainment leftists, there is quite the mix of anti-American, anti-free-enterprise souls occupying Wall Street. Some are down and out, some have lost jobs, many are college students on a lark, some are just there for the gathering experience. <strong><em>BUT</em></strong> most of them are very plugged in to Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, and communications networks to the Obama playbook, to Obama-Central -- and like lemmings -- will all vote for Barack Hussein's second term. Make no mistake about it; there has never been such a leftist gathering of the most progressive activists in the U.S. ever facing off, except for when Bernie Sanders of VT shaves in the mirror.DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-36784034495299381492011-10-03T07:00:00.000-07:002011-10-03T07:00:43.050-07:00LOBSTER FEAST AND LOBSTER TIPS<strong> LOBSTERS ARE BOTTOM FEEDERS.</strong> Nonetheless, many people consider them one of the finer -- if not the finestkind -- of culinary delights that foodies crave. According to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Maine Lobster Council</span> the majority of Maine lobsters are caught between late June and late December, with the season's largest harvest produced in the fall. Let's face it, when we think of lobster, we think: Maine.<br />
<br />
<strong> ROCK LOBSTER</strong> found off Africa's shores, in the Caribbean and elsewhere can be fresh or frozen and procured for the desperate; but it can never compare to the sweet yet tangy and sea-full flavor of a fresh-boiled Maine lobster that has crawled its entire life on the ocean's floor from the Bay of Fundy in the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine, all the way south to Bean Town and Cape Cod. We're talking about "north-Atlantic-succulence-squared."<br />
<br />
<strong> WOODEN PEGS</strong> were inserted in former times to lock the claw from causing any harm; but now, rubber bands do the trick. Hold those lobster facing outward so the claws won't nip you; take scissors to clip and discard those rubber bands just before you place them in your cooking pot. Rubber bands will impart an unpleasant chemical flavor to the boiled, poached or steamed lobster meat.<br />
<br />
<strong> YOUR LOBSTER POT</strong> should be at a full rolling boil before you add the lobsters to the pot. Make sure to cover tight. Some people use sea-water, some use part fresh and part sea-water, while others use only fresh water. We've seen cooks add a little seaweed and corn on the cob to the pot. It all depends on where you live and what you can concoct. It's all good. Boil the lobsters [locally called 'bugs'] until they're a <span style="color: red;">lobster-red</span> color. Timing will depend on how many bugs you squeeze in the pot. Why not STEAM lobsters? Our favorite is to fill the pot with only two or three cups of boiling-steaming water; then insert the bugs; cover the pot and let them steam until the shell is red and the meat is just delicately poached. We use my bride's canning kettle for cooking lobsters.<br />
<br />
<strong> FOR YOU JULIA CHILD TYPES</strong> who cut into a living lobster, dig out the pulsating flesh, then pop those pieces into a sizzling fry pan while adding expensive wines, all I can say is PETA will be offended and may picket your front door. Or if you're looking for complicated lobster quiches, pies, enchiladas, tortes, and lasagna... go to your fancy cookbooks; here in this blog we're talking about the best ways to savor lobster without any interference from over-killing encrustations to the crustacean. Back to the part of lobsters feeling pain: If you're really worried about causing unnecessary pain to lobsters, remember that the brain of a lobster and the brain of a mosquito are absolutely equal in size. Although if you refrigerate your lobsters in the coldest part of your ice box, they'll think it's winter and go into a sort-of dormant state, and won't flip their tails as much when immersed into boiling water. Plunge them headfirst into the pot and they wriggle just a little. Don't eat a lobster after boiling which has a tightly curled tail because that means the lobster was dead before you cooked it. Cooking lobster safely means taking a live, kicking, mosquito-brained, bottom-feeding critter; and plunging it into boiling hot water or steam pot.<br />
<br />
<strong> HARD SHELL and SOFT SHELL LOBSTERS</strong> have their particular fans. Hard shell lobsters will give you a drier flesh with harder shells to crack open. Soft shells are easier to break into; and I consider their flesh much sweeter and juicier. Although you probably will get more meat from a hardshell than a softshell as softshells have a lot of water in them which is what makes them so very succulent.<br />
<br />
<strong> BREAKING INTO A LOBSTER</strong> is not such a difficult skill; it really depends on how hungry you are. Don't forget to suck out the fine little-leg strings-of-meat first. Some people swear by the custard texture of the claws or the meaty-chewy texture of the tail as their favorite. My highest rating for taste imparting an unsurpassed seafresh flavor in lobster is to be found in the knuckles located between the body and claws.<br />
<br />
<strong> DRAWN BUTTER, PLAIN MELTED BUTTER, and/or LEMON</strong> are typically good additives for hot lobster meat; but, why not try the juice from a lime and no butter at all? My preference is always a lime, just fresh-squeezed juice of a lime rather than a lemon or any butter. Some Maine natives eat their lobsters with their favorite brand of potato chips because they maintain that salt from the chips is unbeatable as a natural compliment to lobster meat.<br />
<br />
<strong> HOMEMADE MAYO</strong> for the culinary gurus among you -- but even store-bought mayo -- can be the perfect binder with cold lobster meat which is then either served on a platter with buttered hot biscuits or English muffins on the side; or cold lobster meat stuffed into a buttered and fried lobster roll. A proper lobster roll may not be available in your neck of the woods; whereas here in Maine, we use lobster rolls which have no-crust-sides which then will absorb the frying butter which turns it into a lightly browned and crispy crust of a roll. If you can't get a proper lobster roll, use a regular hot dog roll; open them wide and place with butter in a fry pan to crisp up the inside surface. Some chefs insist that adding just two to three drips of squeezed onion juice in the mayo before you mix it with the cold lobster meat makes for the secret condiment creating a top-drawer, classic lobster roll.<br />
<br />
<strong> YES INDEED, LOBSTERS CAN BE DESTROYED TOO</strong> if you overcook them and turn them into a DuPont chewable; or, if you leave the rubber bands on the claws when cooking. Always discard the vein in the tail-meat because it's the gut-canal of the bug. If you are into organ-meat delicacies, you will enjoy the red or orange/red 'coral' or roe [lobster caviar] from female lobsters. You can also eat the green tomalley [digestive liver]; although keep in mind that since the digestive liver is the lobster's filtering system, it has a high molecular count of all materials concentrated within that are presently found in modern sea water.<br />
<br />
<strong>LOBSTER IS NOT CHEAP. </strong>But then again, if you go to an average restaurant for dinner, it'll cost you plenty too. The best and only place to really enjoy a lobsterfeed is in your home on your own kitchen table where you can crack open, dig out, eat and dip with wild abandon; and not worry about anyone seeing you dripping wet with delicious butter-slopped seafood. Plus, you can add your own chips, corn on the cob, clams, biscuits, lemonade or beer. Although be careful to put the lemonade and drawn butter into totally different colored containers. I know from my own experience once during a lobsterfeed and disastrous thirst-frenzy. Talk about a greasy slide down the throat. At any rate: Pick up some bugs today and create your own homemade lobsterfeed.DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-71276438464261334482011-09-21T06:03:00.000-07:002011-09-21T06:52:08.895-07:00GLOBAL WARMING ~ SCIENCE REVIEWED<strong>THE FOLLOWNG NEWS REPORT</strong> has been taken directly from <em>THE WASHINGTON POST</em> as reported by the <em>ASSOCIATED PRESS</em>:<br />
<br />
<strong>"Icebergs Are Disappearing"</strong><br />
<em>The Washington Post</em><br />
<em> "</em>The Arctic Ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in some places the seals are finding the water too hot, according to a report to the Commerce Department yesterday from Consulafft, at Bergen, Norway.<br />
Reports from fishermen, seal hunters, and explorers all point to a radical change in climate conditions and hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone. Explorations expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met as far north as 81 degrees 29 minutes.<br />
Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters showed the gulf stream still very warm. Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones, the report continued, while at many points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared.<br />
Very few seals and now white fish are found in the eastern Arctic, while vast shoals of herring and smelts which have never before ventured so far north, are being encountered in the old seal fishing grounds. Within a few years it is predicted that due to the ice melt the sea will rise and make most coastal cities uninhabitable."<br />
<br />
<strong> YES INDEED,</strong> Check out <em>Snopes; </em>it agrees that this <em>Associated Press</em> account was published in the <em>Washington Post </em>on page 2; and the date of this <em>AP</em> report in the <em>Washington Post</em> was November 2, 1922. Nothing new under the sun here folks. Mr. Global Warming himself, Al Gore, continues to trot out an 89-year-old tactic.<br />
<br />
<strong> MANY SCIENTISTS, including physicists, glaciologists</strong> and ordinary logical cynics have a strong conviction that the Al Gore's of the roaring twenties and our current crop of Gore-types rake in a fortune using sky-is-falling fallacies in forwarding their Global Warming Religion. The extremely dogmatic Church of Global Warming is quite the rage these days; and takes in billions of dollars in tax-free contributions. Even so, there are still brave scientists who use science, not hype, to take the air out of the Zephyrus windbags who cannot help themselves from blowing more hot air into the global warming theory<br />
<br />
<strong>AMONG THESE BRAVE SCIENTISTS</strong> is Nobel prize winner for physics in 1973, Dr. Ivar Giaever who resigned from the American Physical Society [APS] on September 13, 2011 in disgust over the groups promotion of man-made global warming fears. Dr. Giaever was one of a <strong>thousand scientists</strong> who publicly have dissented from the Global Warming Theory. The Nobel prize winner said: <em>"I am a skeptic... Global warming has become a new religion. We have heard many similar warnings about the acid rain 30 years ago and the ozone hole 10 years ago, or deforestation but humanity is still around. Global warming has become a new religion. We frequently hear about the number of scientists who support it. But the number is not important: only whether they are correct is important. We don't really know what the actual effect on the global temperature is. There are better ways to spend the money."</em><br />
<br />
<em> </em><strong>DR. GIAEVER'S RESIGNATION LETTER</strong> ended with this paragraph: <em>"In the APS it is OK to discuss whether the mass of the proton changes over time and how a multi-universe behaves, but the evidence of global warming is <strong>incontrovertible?</strong> The claim (how can you measure the average temperature of the whole earth for a whole year?) is that the temperature has changed from ~288.0 to ~288.8 degree Kelvin in about 150 years, which (if true) means to me is that the temperature has been amazingly stable, and both human health and happiness have definitely improved in this 'warming' period."</em><br />
<br />
<strong><em> </em>THE LATEST HITCH WITH GLOBAL WARMING</strong> came from the Times Atlas which exaggerated the rate of Greenland's ice loss in its thirteenth edition which just came out in mid-September. Alert scientists caught this publication of Harper-Collins exaggeration that Greenland lost 15 percent of its ice cover over the past 12 years, which was based on <em>'information'</em> from the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado, U.S.<br />
<br />
<strong>PAUL CHRISTOFFERSON,</strong> glaciologist at the Scott Polar Research Institute [SPRI] at the University of Cambridge, using hard facts about Greenland, said: <em>"We Believe that the figure of a 15 percent decrease in permanent ice cover since the publication of the previous atlas 12 years ago is both incorrect and misleading. We concluded that a sizable portion of the area mapped as ice-free in the Atlas is clearly still ice-covered."</em><br />
<br />
<em> "<strong>THESE NEW MAPS ARE RIDICULOUSLY OFF BASE,</strong> way exaggerated relative to the reality of rapid change in Greenland,"</em> said Jeffrey S. Kargel, senior research scientist at the University of Arizona.<br />
<br />
<strong>HOWEVER, ALGORISMS ABOUND</strong> nonetheless. Last year the U.N. Committee of Climate Scientists came under fire for bungling a forecast of when Himalayan glaciers would thaw. The U.N, money-spenders said the Himalayan glacier would melt in 2035. Scientist worldwide believe the U.N.'s forecast is two hundred years too early.<br />
<br />
<strong>GREENLAND HOWEVER</strong> is an archaeologically layered scientific library containing repeated human habitation. The more the ice melts, the more we begin to discover previously undiscovered human dwelling sites which were present during an actual global warming period that occurred between the 800 to 1300 A.D. time frame.<br />
<br />
<strong> LAST BUT NOT LEAST:</strong> If the entire Arctic ice melts, it would NOT affect water levels anywhere, since the present floating ice has already been compensated for in regard to the level of all the oceans; and whether being solid or liquid it would act like an ice cube in a glass of water. The water level in a glass would be exactly the same whether the ice cube is frozen or melted. It's called science.DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-63393458620075776312011-09-01T01:09:00.000-07:002011-09-01T09:27:55.287-07:00~ S E P T E M B E R - R E M E M B E R E D ~ September 11, 2001: UNVARNISHED HISTORY <strong>SEPTEMBER 11 </strong>is just around the corner. One month prior to the ten-year anniversary of the infamous slaughter of Americans, President Barack Hussein Obama -- on August 10, 2011 in Washington, D.C. -- hosted the celebration of an official Islamic Iftar Dinner at the White House in observance of the Muslim festival of Ramadan with 120 guests.<br />
<br />
<strong>OBAMA GREETED HIS ISLAMIC GUESTS WITH THESE WORDS:</strong><em> "To the millions of Muslim Americans across the United States and more -- the more than one billion Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a time of reflection and a time of devotion. It's an occasion to join with family and friends in celebration of a faith known for its diversity and a commitment to justice and the dignity of all human beings. So to you and your families:</em> <em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">'Ramadan Kareem'</span>."</span></em> Obama continued: <em>"This evening reminds us of both the timeless teaching of a great religion and the enduring strengths of a great nation. Like so many faiths, <strong>Islam has always been part of our American family</strong>,</em> [my emphasis] <em>and Muslim Americans have long contributed to the strength and character of our country, in all walks of life."</em><br />
<br />
<strong><em>"ISLAM HAS ALWAYS BEEN PART OF OUR AMERICAN FAMILY."</em></strong> Mr. Barack Hussein Obama: No matter how many times you tell this lie, it will always remain a glaring fabrication. When Columbus erected a Cross on the Caribbean island of San Salvador/Wattling in 1492, and a Catholic Mass of worship was observed, name the Muslim who was there to worship Jesus Christ? When Captain John Rutt, erected a Christian Cross on Cross Island in 1527 on the shores of Cutler Maine, there was not one Muslim aboard his ship MARY OF GUILFORD or on Cross Island. When Spanish Catholics landed at Saint Augustine in Florida in 1565, and conducted a Holy Mass to worship Jesus Christ, why not name the Muslim or Muslims in attendance? Because none were there. The settlers at Roanoke from 1584 onward saw not one Muslim as a member settler. When Sieur de Monts and his French compatriots in 1604 from the St. Croix Island settlement celebrated Christmas Morning Mass on the shores of Red Beach Maine, there was not one Muslim in attendance. When the settlers of Jamestown Settlement in 1607 landed with the Christian Holy Bible, who was the Muslim there?<br />
<br />
<strong>THE 1620 MAYFLOWER COMPACT</strong> shows every signer; and there was not one single Muslim aboard that ship who desired religious freedom to worship Jesus Christ. When the Spanish padres arrived in Florida, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California to establish Christian Missions and Churches for the purpose of worshipping Jesus Christ in the 1500's, 1600's and 1700's, there was not one Muslim in attendance. No practicing Muslim ever has, or ever will, worship Jesus Christ. According to Islam, Jesus Christ was a mere mortal who did not die on the cross, and never rose again from the dead either. Jesus, from Islamic teaching, was merely a Jewish human prophet and NOT the Son of God; whereas Islam's prophet Mohammad is considered much more important. At the end of the world, according to Islamic teaching, Mohammad the greater prophet is to instruct Jesus Christ the lesser prophet how to really pray properly.<br />
<br />
<strong>WHEN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE</strong> was signed; following John Hancock's bold signature are names of all the signatories -- not one of which was a Muslim. All 56 signers were Christians. When the U.S. Constitution was drawn up and agreed upon, or the Bill of Rights, Barack Hussein Obama: why not name the Muslim or Muslims that either drafted or voted approval for our Constitution? Not a single notable Muslim in all this American history thus far.<br />
<br />
<strong>WHEN PRESIDENT JEFFERSON</strong> had to deal with the horror of brutal Muslim Barbary Pirates, name a single American Muslim who supported President Jefferson and the American people in repelling Muslim slavery. Name him or her, Barack Hussein Obama. When the Civil War was fought, name the Muslim who was against slavery. Islam does not condemn slavery. Most Islamic nations allow for the practice of slavery since most Islamic national traditions do not condemn or forbid slavery. Even now in 2011.<br />
<br />
<strong>WHEN EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMAN</strong> became the American suffrage standard in the late 1800's and early 1900's, what Muslim American broke with Shariah Law and marched with American women. Name that Shariah-Law-abiding [which relegates women to second or third-class legal status] Muslim who publicly distanced himself or herself from Islamic Shariah Law.<br />
<br />
<strong>WHEN THE WORLD TRADE CENTER</strong>, the Pentagon and the Shanksville, Pennsylvania slaughter of human beings was being celebrated in Egypt by Muslims, in Palestine by Palestinian Muslims, in Syria by Syrian Muslims, In Saudi Arabia by Saudi Muslims, in Yemen by Yemeni Muslims, in Somalia by Somali Muslim pirates, in Jordan by Jordanian Muslims, Muslims in Lebanon, in Iraq by Iraqi Muslims, in Iran by Iranian Muslims, in Pakistan by Pakistani Muslims, and in Afghanistan by Afghan Muslims... why can't you name the American Muslim or Muslims who publicly condemned not only the Muslim butchers who slaughtered 4,000 Americans in the name of their Allah but also condemned just one celebrating fellow Muslim on the Islamic streets? Name him or her, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama.<br />
<br />
<strong>MUSLIMS NOW RECORDED IN AMERICAN HISTORY</strong> include hijacking Muslim slaughterers aboard <strong>American Airline Flight #11</strong>; they are: Mohamed Atta, a Muslim Egyptian; Waleed al-Shehri, a Muslim Saudi; Abdulaziz al-Omari, a Muslim Saudi; and Satam al-Suqami also a Muslim Saudi.<br />
<br />
<strong>HIJACKING MUSLIM SLAUGHTERERS</strong> aboard <strong>United Airlines Flight #175</strong> include: Marwan al-Shehhi, a Muslim United-Arab-Emirati; Fayez Banihammed, also a Muslim United-Arab-Emirati; Fayez Banihammad, a Muslim United-Arab-Emirati; Hamza al-Ghamdi, a Muslim Saudi, and Ahmed al-Ghamdi, yet another Muslim Saudi.<br />
<br />
<strong>Aboard AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 77</strong> included the following hijacking Muslim slaughterers: Hani Hanjour, a Muslim Saudi; Khalid al-Mihdhar, a Muslim Saudi; Majed Moqed, a Muslim Saudi; Nawaf al-Hazmi, a Muslim Saudi; and Salem al-Hazmi, also a Muslim Saudi.<br />
<br />
<strong>UNITED AIR LINES FLIGHT # 93</strong> included the following hijacking slaughterers: Ziad Jarrah, a Muslim Lebanese; Ahmed al-Haznawa, a Muslim Saudi; Ahmed al-Nami, a Muslim Saudi and Saeed al-Ghamdi, another Muslim Saudi.<br />
<br />
<strong>SEVENTY-TWO ISLAMIC VIRGINS</strong> await each of the above Muslim jihad warriors who either slaughtered, massacred, decapitated, dispatched or killed infidels. These Muslim butchers actually and devoutly believe this 72-virgin deal as their reward for human slaughter in Allah's name and in Allah's paradise.<br />
<br />
<strong>OSAMA BIN LADEN,</strong> a Muslim Saudi (the Saudi government revoked his citizenship in the 90's) and Ayman al-Zawahiri, a Muslim Egyptian along with the mastermind of the 9-11 slaughter of human beings, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad himself, a Muslim Kuwaiti, did so in the name of their Allah. All of the above Muslims, both leaders and 9-11 slaughterers themselves whether from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait or Lebanon devoutly believe/believed in Mohammad the prophet of their Allah; they also strongly believe in Islamic Shariah Law, Islamic rule over the world, jihadi-war until death to all non-Muslims; and all of these devout Islamists were heavily into Mohammed's Muslim <em>Koran</em> of Islam. Or more to the point of the Eleventh of September massacre, as Osama bin Laden proclaimed: <strong><em>"We</em></strong> [Muslims]<strong><em> love death more than you love life."</em></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>MODERN DAY ENABLERS & EXCUSE MASTERS</strong> say Islam is a religion of peace. It may even have peaceful aspects practiced by <em>some </em>Muslim believers; however, we in western civilization should studiously observe that Islam is more than just a benign religion or intellectual religious view. Islam is a <strong>political/</strong>religious, all-encompassing, way of life. Just a few weeks ago when Barack Hussein Obama gave warm wishes to the two billion Muslims around the world with his best, it dumbfounded many Americans. Non-Muslims and Muslims alike say that the extreme or radical warlike <em><strong>Islamists</strong></em> [radical-fundamentalist Muslims] within Islam account for an extremely small and insignificant number of Islamic believers. Even if that number is a mere 2 or 3 percent, it represents thousands upon thousands of Muslim Islamists(*) who all want us dead or in an enslaved dhimmi servitude [dhimmitude] under Muslim rule -- all of us then obedient and submissive to Islamic Shariah Law -- and not any law derived from the U.S. Constitution. Shariah Law according to Islam must and will replace all other laws worldwide. Islamists strictly follow the Koran, the Hadiths or sayings of Mohammad, and Islamic Shariah Law.<br />
<br />
<strong> EVERYTHING WE EVER NEEDED TO KNOW</strong> about Islamists we learned on 9-11. Americans should never accept someone like Barack Hussein Obama brainwashing a single human with <strong>the big lie</strong>, in attempting to revise American history, by inserting Muslims, Mohammad, Shariah Law and Islam where it most definitely never existed. History is history no matter how many times Obama attempts to varnish over with his warm Islamic nuances and blatant untruths.<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>(*) WARNING:</strong> If a U.S. citizen today, as a hiring authority, asks a Muslim about to be employed by the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, or some U.S. governmental department that handles confidential, secret and/or top secret material: <em>"Will you uphold U.S. Constitutional Law instead of Shariah Law</em>?"... and the individual says <em>"Yes"</em>... DON'T BELIEVE IT. Remember, from the Koran and Islamic Hadiths, it is allowable -- even advisable -- for Muslims to lie outright to any infidel. Wake up America: We Christians, Jews, atheists, agnostics, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Baha'i, and etc. are all unbelieving infidels which their Allah and ardent Muslims disdain as defiled nothings. Just one of several military current reminders is Major Nidal Malik Hasan, U.S. Army psychiatrist who shot, maimed and killed many infidel unarmed U.S. Soldiers at Fort Hood in cold blood, while repeatedly proclaiming: "Allahu Akbar" meaning, "Allah is Great<em>."</em> You can bet your bottom dollar that the mosque to be built next to NYC's 9-11 memorial to thousands of murdered Americans will probably have a sign which reads: <em>"Islam is a Religion of Peace"</em> in the hope of bamboozling all the dolts who have NEVER studied American history; and/or also have NOT actually read the Koran.</span><br />
<br />
DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-24440537274921071172011-08-02T00:52:00.000-07:002011-08-02T09:45:12.133-07:00CLAY, STONE, SCROLL, BOOK = KINDLE<strong> PREHISTORIC TIMES</strong> have given us engraved and painted artifacts of bone, stone and cave interiors which show our cave-men and cave-women ancestors drew figures to represent various ideas; and just as importantly, for his/her contemporary prehistoric co-hominids to understand what was intended: Thought first etched, then etched-thought comprehended.<br />
<br />
<strong>FROM</strong> <strong>FIVE THOUSAND YEARS AGO</strong> or 3000 BC, archaeologists have unearthed copious remnants of Middle East pressed marks in dried clay or carved marks on stone. These markings called CUNEIFORM show us: merchandise was delivered, bills were owed and paid, even ancient laws from Mesopotamian [present day Iraq] kings were enumerated and codified. One holdover still practiced today in 2011 since those ancient times is that Cuneiform was written left to right; unlike later Mideast forms of Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic script.<br />
<br />
<strong>HIEROGLYPHICS</strong> of Egyptians (2600 - 2160 BC) employed pictures to denote syllabic sounds as well as direct meanings finely tuned from our pre-historic cave days (i.e. drawing a bird to represent a bird). Later, Egyptian Demotic script replaced formal Hieroglyphic painting on walls and carving into stone; it became the mode of communication used extensively with the ease of natural inks and papyrus, which incidentally, the Egyptians invented. Papyrus, made from pulping the <em>Cyperus-papyrus </em>plant is both father and mother to paper: literally and figuratively [PAPYRus = PAPER].<br />
<br />
<strong>PAPYRUS SCROLLS</strong> were in use all around the Mediterranean throughout the various populated kingdoms when Jesus Christ was born. Immediately thereafter, unknown to the Middle East, in 105 AD, T'sai Lun of China is credited with inventing pulping the mulberry plant to make the first paper; it was much cheaper for Chinese artists than using silk; however this technique was not transferred to the Middle East and further westward until centuries later. Egyptian and Middle Eastern papyrus texts were written on one side of the papyrus scroll and divided into readable sections called "paginae" [pages]. Scrolls were called "volumes" which is Latin for "roll." Rolling, unrolling and rolling back up again was not only awkward but made it difficult to access specific sections. Eventually, scrolls were folded into an accordion format, which is a somewhat crude precursor of the book or codex type.<br />
<br />
<strong>CHRISTIANS</strong> around 325 AD, adopted the <strong><em>Codex Book</em></strong> of form-folding a sheet in half to create four pages; then bound these folded sheets together at a spine. This had the advantage of being opened to a specific section as well as the entirety being more portable. Historians tell us the Codex was used to consciously and deliberately separate Christian texts from earlier and more cumbersome Hebrew scrolls. The most famous of these Christian Codices which represents the zenith of hand-copying in Codex-form is known as the <strong>Book of Kells</strong> (completed around 790 AD in Ireland). This illuminated masterpiece features entire pages of illumination of "carpet pages" which were used to separate the books of the Four Gospels in the Holy Bible. Of course, it should be kept in mind that each individual letter was still meticulously drawn by hand. Copies -- mainly of Holy Bibles -- with all these writing strokes were always done by hand, with the exception of wood and metal blocks in the Far East which the Chinese had been using for centuries in art. Their blocks had to be carved by hand; however, pressing the block into ink then onto paper made dispersion of multiple copies possible; whereas, all Codices from 350 AD to 1455 AD were products of laborious and eye-straining copying or artistic creation with pen and ink, by hand no less.<br />
<br />
<strong> ANIMAL SKINS</strong> coevally were used to make P<em>archment</em> for books, Parchment didn't replace various types of papers; but was not only extremely durable, but readily available in pastures underfoot. Sheep skins became one of the most luxurious and long-lasting modes in conveying thoughts during the 9th century. To hand copy just one Holy Bible, the hides of 300 sheep were required. Incidentally, for those of you who are squeamish, current academic commencement certificates are now written or printed on paper instead of sheepskin as in days of yore.<br />
<br />
<strong>JOHANNES GUTENBERG</strong> [1398-1468] made an epochal connection using three inventions he cobbled together; which included: mass-producing movable type [metal slugs for each individual alphabetic letter]; using oil-based ink; and taking the agricultural screw-press and converting it into a wooden printing press. Whereupon, the first and most monumental product was the printing/publishing of his <em><strong>Latin-Vulgate Holy Bible</strong></em> which took Johannes from 1452 to 1455 to produce.<br />
<br />
<strong> BOOK</strong> publishing, book mongering and book reading has been up-and-running since Johannes sold the first of his Holy Bibles. It took another century and a half before one of the most monumental changes in paper-making would evolve; as it happened in France and Germany during the late 1700's; and ultimately in the fledgling United States and Canada from 1820 to 1852; when spruce eventually won out as the cheapest and most abundant wood-pulp that could be treated with chemicals then produced as an economic and durable paper. No longer were rags, grasses, and wood-stems nor animal skins required to fill our ancestors' reading needs. This therefore was <strong><em>no</em></strong> pulp-fiction -- but a reality -- fundamentally replacing all other materials. The ubiquitous childhood slates with chalk learning boards were eventually discarded.<br />
<br />
<strong>BOO HOO</strong> is the lament we hear today from Borders Book Stores, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.dot.com because electronic books such as the KINDLE upon which you've got your greasy paws muckled right now, have begun to replace the necessity for paper and paper-book usage. Some might argue that books will never be the same; and thus, the change of writing and reading is presently making a gigantic turn in human history by communicating electronically, but still using the archaic image-transfer nonetheless. We can see in our own lifetimes that writing on paper progressed from pen and ink to the old Smith-Corona typewriter; to desktop keyboards on personal computers; and presently over electronic devices, These last technological leaps alone are a subject worthy of tomes and volumes. Crank up the pulp machines! Oops, on second thought, change your batteries or recharge your device.DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-74494472449960686992011-06-29T01:21:00.000-07:002011-07-01T06:07:27.995-07:00JULY 4th, 1776: INDEPENDENCE DAY 2011<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><em> <span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hen, in the course of human events...</em></span> With these words, our Declaration of Independence from the British Empire began, using a cleanly disarming phrase; and yet, what was wrought by the totality of that Declaration is pure genius since it altered the direction of human society. Farsighted patriots learned from past centuries of struggling peoples all around the world; these founders looked thoroughly at history's models and planned magnificently for the future.<br />
<br />
Our world has seen monarchs who casually meted out life and death decisions over helpless subjects; tribal societies which forced individual rights to be trampled underfoot by archaic customs and unbending traditions; socialist/communal experiments which ended up being power-grabbing thugocracies; clergy-run kingdoms ruled by dogmatic theocrats; ancient stratified cultures which had various caste systems for layers of societal strata; even the Roman empire of patricians and plebeians; all of these, guided our Founding Fathers to envision and create a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It was absolutely radical -- perfectly revolutionary -- for such a concept as creating organized self-governance in the 18th century. Ours is the most <em>individual-friendly</em> revolution in all human history. We Americans are living in an ongoing liberty revolution, and since 1776, a well-established form of freedom. Some hardheaded Communists, Islamist radicals and Socialist/Marxists today still cannot quite fathom either our idea, or us. They just don't get it. Or, if they do actually understand, they continue to publicly deride our form of self-rule because it reflects so poorly and directly on their ruthless strangle-hold over their own people. Kim Jung Il, Hugo Chavez, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Castro brothers are a few examples.<br />
<br />
Our Revolutionary Americans -- our Founding Fathers -- authored and signed the Declaration of Independence; then crafted Articles of Confederation; also the Federalist Papers; and culminated with their majestically-framed <strong>Constitution of the United States of America</strong> with Amendments.<br />
<br />
As a recent sidebar: A few decades ago, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Premier of the Peoples Socialist Republic of Russia, gave a speech explaining the glories of "Revolution," [keep in mind, he can only see 'revolution' or sweeping social change through the jaded prism of Marxist theory] in which he highly praised the <em>"two greatest revolutions of human history."</em> Gorbachev's adulation was then lavished upon the 1789 French Revolution and the 1917 Russian Revolution. What this Marxist failed to plumb, as do most modern-day Marxists, Communists, Socialists Anarchists, Islamists and Fascists is that the one and only original yet true and lasting revolution to ever take place in human history is the American Revolution of 1776; which incidentally predates both the French Revolution which was a bloodbath and class-warfare struggle; and also the Russian Revolution, just another class-warfare state of socialism-gone-wild, which has recently been discarded into the dustbin of history, not only in Russia, but the Balkans, the Baltic States, the Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, and etc. The lasting and actual world-altering revolution was, and still remains, the American Revolution.<br />
<br />
It is the American Revolution which is the premier, the zenith, the nadir, the exemplary and durable human achievement in which we citizens possess ongoing harmony -- with full-throated debate -- while enjoying daily liberty in which we've been blessed to wallow since 1776. We Americans grow, we change, we adapt and succeed to re-create a "more perfect union" as the course of human events has shown in the last 235 years.<br />
<br />
Today, every time one sees a T-shirt, book or magazine portraying the so-called 'REVOLUTION' with that damnable devil-image of Che Guevara, we should remember that Guevara was a cold-blood killer who had absolutely no interest in a society <em>"of the people, by the people and for the people."</em> He was a thug-Marxist, killing-machine, inhumane, savage, nothing more, nothing less. Guevara was scum of the earth, with apologies rendered to all pond-scum, worldwide.<br />
<br />
The one, true and lasting REVOLUTION in human history then, now and in the future, is the American Revolution begun <em>in writing for all time</em> on July 4th 1776 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, here in America. We should understand and pass on the true meaning of this endowment from our Founding Fathers. A free people we are, with full enjoyment of self-governance, begun with the American Revolutionary War [first shot fired April 19th, 1775], and then after attaining the first-fruits of the REVOLUTION; it's then a living generational heritage to pass this Declaration of Independence, along with the peace of 1783 to our children and posterity. We should endow the next generation with these same fruits of ideas and ideals.<br />
<br />
<strong>RETAINING OUR HISTORICAL ROOTS:</strong> However, we should<strong><em> not</em></strong> politely bow with the wind to the so-called current myth of 'Separation-of-Church-and-State' which is a full-raging gale of gibberish, constantly blowing these days at universities and throughout the media. Prime example: We read in the Declaration of Independence that our founding fathers proclaimed: <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are <strong>created</strong> equal, that they are endowed by their <strong>Creator</strong> with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."</em> <span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">[Bold Italics: my emphasis.]</span> </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our founding</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> fundamental truth is that we are <strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">created</span></strong> by our *<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Creator.</strong> N</span>o amount of ACLU lawyering should ever be allowed to cloud or obfuscate this clear statement about <strong>the source</strong> of our Republic's endowment, its core meaning.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"> It has become quite fashionable since the 1940's to think of our Founding Fathers as mere "Deists" who believed in some nebulous and generic demi-god. In this phony, glossed overview, somehow the Torah of the Jews and the Holy Bible of the Christians were completely foreign to our Republic from day one. But this misreading of our history is just a mind-bending phase to mesh with several arrogant intellectuals' mindset in the last century which declared that "God is dead."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"></span><br />
The jurisprudence in American law is based on the Ten Commandments from the Jewish Torah, as also found in Christians' Holy Bible. Our legal tender -- both printed bills and engraved coinage -- are engraved for public view with <strong>"In God We Trust</strong>." Our nation's bureaucrats, our politicians, and most of our government offices are not open for business on Saturdays [the Jewish Sabbath] and Sundays [the Lord's Day of Christians]. Christmas, the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, is a national holiday. Our national cemeteries are a breathtaking carpet of Christian Crosses, marking thousands upon thousands of American heroes' graves. Some atheists, agnostics, Muslims and anti-Christians would gladly and profusely deny our foundational history; however, the interwoven Christian fabric of America's founding and growth is impossible to deny with a straight face; although some, even in our highest elected offices are currently attempting to re-write our history. Ultimately, the truth of our founding history can never be erased by such modern day denial revisionists. We have an actual Judeo-Christian fountainhead which watered our nation, even to this day.<br />
<br />
The end of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR came finally with the peace treaty negotiated and signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay; and the opening declaration of our inception treaty declares: <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"In the Name of the most Holy and undivided Trinity, Amen!" </em></span>When the news of the peace treaty's signing by His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America reached our shores in 1783, General George Washington composed and sent a letter to the thirteen governors and State legislatures informing them of his resignation as Commander-in-Chief of our Revolutionary Armed Forces. He admonished the first citizens of our nation about the fundamental under-girding of the recent Revolution of Independence and coeval Revolutionary War. His words are:<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> "I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you and the State over which you preside in His holy protection, -- that He would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, -- to entertain a brotherly affection and a love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the field, -- and finally, that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with the charity, humility and [peaceful] temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation."</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Yes indeed, our Declaration of Independence states: <em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of <strong>Happiness</strong>."</span></em> And contrary to what modern history teachers offer, Washington actually did advise our fledgling nation in his 1783 letter that as a people, as Americans, we <em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"can never hope to be a <strong>happy</strong> nation"</span></em> if we don't imitate the example of Jesus of Nazareth. <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"The Divine Author of our blessed religion," </em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">or</span><em> </em></span>Washington's religion, and our founders' religion was and remains: none other than authored by Jesus Christ.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"> John Hancock, the boldest signer of the Declaration of Independence, was elected President of Congress during the Revolution; and later elected as governor of Massachusetts, On October 15, 1791, his proclamation calling on citizens to prayer, fasting and thanksgiving read in part:</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em> "And pray especially that universal happiness may be established in the world; that all may bow to the scepter of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole earth be filled with His glory."</em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"> <strong>Happy, HAPPY, Happy Independence Day</strong> to all freedom loving people. May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to guide and bless the fruits of our Founding Fathers with an ever-expanding American Revolution. Long live our Republic. Long live the Revolution: the American Revolution that is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times;">-------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">[<strong>*</strong>No apology is offered to any individual or group offended by the plain and simple exposition of American History. Unfortunately, contemporary history books and professors do wipe the U.S. history slate fairly clean of: Creator, the Almighty, Divine Providence, God, undivided Trinity, Divine Author, and Lord Jesus Christ; however, by doing so, they shred their own credentials as believable teachers of America's founding documents or as instructors of the complete -- unredacted -- history of the United States of America.]</span>DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-67811377725331858272011-05-23T05:07:00.000-07:002011-05-23T05:07:42.224-07:00DECORATION DAY = MEMORIAL DAY <strong><span style="font-size: large;"> We Americans</span></strong> set aside one day in 365 to remember those who gave their lives for our nation. This custom began in the midst of the Civil War when southern ladies reverently placed flowers on the graves of their war-fallen fathers, husbands, brothers and sons. In 1868, General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic declared May 30th as Decoration Day, an observance to be honored nationwide. Thus began <strong>Decoration Day</strong>.<br />
<br />
General Logan's intent was to remember both northern and southern soldiers who gave their lives; however, today for starters, we should also include those young and old patriots who fought with George Washington in our earlier <strong>REVOLUTIONARY WAR</strong>. Many of these first soldiers who gave their lives for our fledgling nation are laid to rest in graves up and down the eastern seaboard. Here on the downeast coast at Cutler, we can stand before the tombstone and grave in honoring John I. Davis in his last resting place. Davis served with General George Washington at Valley Forge and died of old age in Cutler; but the American Revolutionary War cost us 25,000* [*see footnote] military casualties.<br />
<br />
During the <strong>WAR OF 1812</strong>, the British attempted to assert the King's designs upon our country. Brave Americans were impressed against their will and forced to serve in the British Navy; and many were sent to Darthmoore Prison in England to languish and die far away from home. The War of 1812 totalled 20,000 military casualties.<br />
<br />
The <strong>CIVIL WAR</strong> took the lives of over a half million Americans from both Union and Confederate forces. Before the 4-1/2-year bloody conflict, we used to say of ourselves: "The United States <strong><em>are</em>...</strong>" But after the laying down of arms in Chancellorsville, we now say: "The United States<strong> <em>is...</em></strong>" Over half of a million fallen, rest in the bosom of our beloved homeland; they gave us the great legacy of one nation, one union. As President Abraham Lincoln put it so perfectly: "They gave the last full measure of devotion." The WAR OF REBELLION as Lincoln referred to the Civil War produced military casualties of 625,000 [<em>both north and south</em>].<br />
<br />
The <strong>SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR</strong> saw yet more Americans fighting and giving their last full measure in retaining the expanse of our nation. This war saw 2,446 military casualties.<br />
<br />
<strong>WORLD WAR I</strong> witnessed a large commitment of Americans fighting overseas on the European continent. Many never to come home again. Fields where our soldiers shed their blood, are now also the final earthly resting place for our beloved <em>'Dough-boys.' </em>Places such as Cantigny, the Argonne Forest and the hauntingly peaceful Flanders Field with waving poppy flowers are their earthly resting place. These are but a few sacred places forever etched in our national memory. No longer, were we able to physically decorate our heroes' hallowed graves at such a distance; and eventually <em>DECORATION DAY</em> also began to be understood as a <em>MEMORIAL DAY</em>. The last full measure by these Americans during World War I totaled 116,516 military souls.<br />
<br />
<strong>WORLD WAR II</strong> saw an even larger number of American patriotic men and women fighting and dying in that continuum of patriotism in offering the last full measure. In cemeteries near the beaches of Normandy, elsewhere all over Europe and in island cemeteries across the Pacific, many thousands are resting after their heroic service and ultimate sacrifice. The fight against Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito cost us 405,399 military lives. After the war, in the mid-1940s and 1950's, observing Decoration Day was soon also becoming called Memorial Day; and by 1971, the U.S. Congress termed the day: Memorial Day as a day set aside to remember and honor American men and women who gave their lives for our nation from day one. Whereas, Armistice Day which eventually became known as Veterans Day is observed in honoring all Veterans who served our nation in the military as Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and in the Coast Guard or Air Force.<br />
<br />
The <strong>KOREAN WAR</strong> totalled 53,686 military casualties; and the <strong>VIETNAM WAR</strong> added 58,209 to that growing muster of fallen; of which we should reverently remember, especially at this time.<br />
<br />
How can we in good conscience forget the 43 Sailors killed aboard the <strong>USS LIBERTY</strong> in international water by the Israeli Defense Forces in their unwarranted act of war during Israel's 1968 Six-Day-War? Nor should we forget the <strong>USS PUEBLO'S</strong> lone Sailor killed by the North Koreans in their 1969 illegal seizure. Many of the USS PUEBLO crew are still alive today; they were tortured beyond our western civilized way of thinking by those North Korean savages.<br />
<br />
In more recent history, our Marines' lives were sacrificed in their own barracks in Lebanon. Americans have fought and died in <strong>PANAMA, GRENADA, SOMALIA, KOSOVO</strong>. We remember also those whose lives were sacrificed in the <strong>KHOBAR TOWERS</strong> in Saudi Arabia, the <strong>USS COLE</strong>, in Yemen, the <strong>PENTAGON on 9-11;</strong> and since then, most recently, our troops in uniform slaughtered by bloodthirsty, Islamicist jihad radicals in Missouri and Texas.<br />
<br />
This Memorial Day we should pay special tribute to those fallen in recent time: our siblings, children and grandchildren in <strong>AFGHANISTAN</strong> with 1,413 military casualties, and <strong>IRAQ</strong> with 4,430 military casualties.<br />
<br />
From the very first American farmer/soldier who gave his life during the <strong>REVOLUTIONARY WAR</strong> for our cause in Lexington, Massachusetts to the most recent soldiers who gave their<em> "Last Full Measure"</em> in <strong>IRAQ</strong> including two soldiers on May 18th, and <strong>AFGHANISTAN</strong> where one soldier gave his life for us in Kandahar on May 22nd. We should salute all our fallen heroes in humbled awe.<br />
<br />
The English philosopher and author, G. K. Chesterton, explains military effort and sacrifice this way: <em>"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."</em><br />
<br />
<em> </em>Let us, this year, as Memorial Day is observed, remember, honor and decorate with highest respect, these departed defenders and protectors of our way of life. Besides the ballgames, picnics, outdoor barbecues and outings, we should set a little time aside for a heartfelt whisper and prayer to our fallen American brothers and sisters by saying: <span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"We honor you in giving your 'last full measure' of devotion for us; and moreover, we ask the guidance of Divine Providence that our nation remains strong and true to its founding principles for which you gave your service and your life. Your memory is the purest and truest decoration in our nation's history."</em></span><br />
<br />
Additionally on Memorial Day, it's also fitting to recall what Jesus of Nazareth told us, as it is written in the Holy Bible: <em>"No greater love hath a man than to lay down his life for his friends."</em><br />
<br />
------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
[*] For a full count, of <em>"the last full measure,"</em> of U.S. military battle casualties and wounded in all U.S. wars, both declared, undeclared, skirmishes, and incidences, check: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war</a> or google <strong>U.S. War Casualties</strong>.<br />
------------------------------------------------------------------DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-7015887808062456282011-03-01T06:44:00.000-08:002011-03-01T08:51:10.955-08:00CLIMBING MARCH HILL & ST. DAVID'S DAY Today, March 1st is the feast of Saint David, the patron of Wales, and here we find ourselves "climbing March hill." The old saw attempts to inform us that by mid-March, the back of old, cold man winter will be broken. It'll indeed be one hard climb too with what's happening about the skyrocketing price of gasoline which is a direct derivative of the relentless struggle for liberty in Arab/Muslim nations.<br />
Just thinking of the extremely angered and unwashed crowds tramping around, carrying placards, snarling at live news journalists, condemning leaders, and etc; one has to check the evening news, because they're talking about Madison Wisconsin.<br />
Union boss Trumpka and President Obama have spoken in favor of those who have taken off work (probably with pay) and are invading the cheese-heads Capital building; as well of speaking in favor of those legislators who are AWOL from their paid duty.<br />
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker on February 28th finally gave a reply to Obama's/Trumpka's slant on Wisconsin's insolvency. Walker issued this statement: "I'm sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And I'm sure the President knows that the average federal worker pays twice as much for health insurance as what we are asking for in Wisconsin, At least I would hope he knows these facts. Furthermore, I'm sure the President knows that we have repeatedly praised the more than 300,000 government workers who come to work every day in Wisconsin. I'm sure that President Obama simply misunderstands the issue in Wisconsin, and isn't acting like the union bosses in saying one thing and doing another."<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------<br />
This "Downeast Dooryard" blog is a mere two months old today; and many thanks are being sent out to all you thoughtful readers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Croatia, Brazil and Chile. Here in the dooryard, the intention is to inform you readers with news-bytes which seem to slip through the cracks of the mainstream media.<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<em>For those of you who really enjoy keeping abreast:</em><br />
The theatre district of the Strand in London, England will be buzzing for a while in that a new play "Anna Nicole Smith" will hopefully be drawing crowds. Surely after all the news hype, how can we ever forget the buxom blond bombshell who died of an overdose of drugs in the Bahamas a few years ago. The play which first premiered on Fleet Street might have a long run; then again it may flop. One can never guess what happens with these theatrical thespian things. When the bride and I were last in London, there were two plays which garnered rave reviews. We sauntered down to the Strand and caught "Marilyn" [a very thin gruel of Marilyn Monroe's life]; and forsook "Cats." Turns out, "Cats" went viral in theaters as well small time productions worldwide; whereas "Marilyn" dissipated overnight like the vapor off the Thames on a cold eve.<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------<br />
To Muammar Qaddafi, Charlie Sheen, Trumpka, Capitol invaders and AWOL legislators: Put a fork in it, it's overdone. You've all overplayed your miserable parts on the world stage.<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<em>Put This On Your Bucket List:</em><br />
The "green flash" which suddenly appears in the sky just a split second when the sun begins to rise and just before the sun fully sets, is a sight which is worth checking out. I've tried for years, and have not caught this rare phenomena. The green flashes are usually seen by sailors on the ocean; but can be spotted from any altitude (even from aircraft). The sun needs an unobstructed horizon, such as over the ocean, but are possible over cloud tops and mountain tops as well. It's caused by the refraction of light in the atmosphere. Light moves slower in the lower, denser air than in the thinner air above, so sunlight rays follow paths that curve slightly, in the same direction as the curvature of the earth. Higher frequency light (green/blue) curves more than lower frequency light (red/orange); so, green rays from the upper limb of the setting sun remain visible after the red rays are obstructed by the curvature of the earth. My neighbor called last week to inform me that he just saw the green flash for the fourth time in his life. Everybody could use a neighbor like this to prod us onward and upward.<br />
Let's hope your climb up March hill will not be too exhausting to welcome the refreshing spring in the northern hemisphere after our hellishly and globally-warmed winter.DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-90072062839552239082011-02-22T06:31:00.000-08:002011-02-22T06:46:06.896-08:00THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONNECT As snow and gales swirl around the cabin, it's reassuring to know that former vice president Albert Armand Gore believes all of us on earth are inevitably headed into his dogmatic yet theoretical belief system of a "global warming" scenario. Indeed it would be a welcomed relief for my heating and plowing budget; plus a break on my aging back.<br />
Nonetheless, the winters in the past few years have been extremely harsh with bitter cold in many parts of both northern and southern hemispheres of this old globe, despite the theory of warming. Not surprisingly, astute politicians such as Barack Hussein Obama, and John McCain sing a new tune rather than follow the melody which Albert Armand is piping. Instead of "global warming," the smart pols repeatedly intone:<br />
"climate change." Guess is, they're hedging their bets.<br />
Centuries-old winter records have been decimated all over cities of this earth, and one is reminded that although it feels as though we're most definitely headed into another ice age, the global warming theorists religiously and relentlessly maintain: "Global warming will make snowstorms more severe."<br />
The biggest snowfall in a century has buried cities in South Korea as the coldest winter in years grips the Korean peninsula. To those brave American veterans who fought in Korea, we remember well the cold you endured while on frozen duty those many decades ago. Also sending a salute to U.S. military now serving in frigid Korea today.<br />
Hundreds of southeast Korean motorists were stranded and dozens of buildings collapsed after more than three feet of snow fell in one storm, which was then followed by another major snow storm. North Korea recorded its coldest January in 26 years.<br />
Scientists are still trying to figure out why some glaciers are receding; while others both in India and the rest of the Asian continent are growing in size.<br />
One sure bet is that if you're an educator/scientist attempting to attract a government grant, you better stick to the "global warming" concept -- and expound profusely upon that warming theoretical stuff -- if you desire to have a snowball's chance in the arctic of keeping your tenure and also acquiring the grant money. When you use the proper and politically-correct global warming words, you'll be lucratively attractive, just like a snowball rolling downhill in wet and sticky snow.<br />
Earth's temperatures and long range weather patterns are determined in large part by the cyclic explosions of the sun [i.e. sunspots]. What man can or cannot accomplish with carbon footprinting is minuscule -- a pissant's puddle -- compared to one little Krakatoa or Mount St. Helen.<br />
Remember, you read it here first: "Our earth is entering yet another ice age." You can quote me on this.<br />
THE OTHER TOTAL DISCONNECT DURING THIS FRIGID WINTER<br />
U.S. National Intelligence Director, James Clapper, on Feburary 9th during a hearing on Capitol Hill described the Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, in terms of an organization which has "pursued social ends" and a "betterment of political order." To Clapper, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is "a very heterogeneous group largely secular, which has eschewed violence."<br />
The Obama administration has attempted backtracking on this Clapper statement since then. What is shameful for sure is how absolutely ignorant our own National Intelligence Director is and how he would so misrepresent the goals and purpose of this Islamist group.<br />
In contradiction to Clapper's confusion of the Muslim Brotherhood, stands former director of the CIA, Robert James Woolsey who held his post from February 1993 until January 1995. He is a native of Tulsa OK, and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford. He also earned an M.A. from Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar; and he additionally earned an L.L.B. from Yale Law School.<br />
Woolsey opened many eyes mid-February when he spoke about the Muslim Brotherhood this way: "The Brotherhood practices 'takia' or lying to infidels with grace and ease. We have to understand that we are in a war here -- certainly with the terrorists; certainly with Al Qaida; certainly with Hamas and Hezbollah. We're also at war, with no choice of our own, with those who want to, over the long run, impose Shariah [Islamic law] upon us. And it is one of the toughest fights we have ever had or will have, because Americans are used to religious liberty and not criticizing one another's religions."<br />
The senior Muslim Brotherhood leader here in the United States, Mohamed Akram, spoke in 1991 of the "settlement process" to establish themselves inside the U.S. Once established, to undertake a "grand jihad" characterized as a "civilization jihad," and specifically, the settlement process is to "eliminate and destroy western civilization from within and sabotage its miserable house of their hands by hands of believers so that it is eliminated."<br />
Just after the scramble for power in Egypt, on February 12th, the Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman in Cairo, Abdul Fattah said the Muslim Brotherhood was seeking "the preservation of honor" which includes stoning adulterers, punishing gays, requiring Muslim women to cover their heads and shoulders in public, and killing Muslims who leave their faith.<br />
Director James Woolsey explains: "If you're opposed to Sharia and the beating of women and killing of apostates, you are not an Islamophobe."<br />
Both disconnects: the <em>global warming theory</em> and the <em>kinder and gentler Muslim Brotherhood theory</em> make for one bitter winter of frozen cranial matter.DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-59782163721566983372011-01-27T08:21:00.000-08:002011-01-27T23:16:08.824-08:00HOW MANY MORE BODIES WILL IT TAKE? The relentless, repetitive bloody slaughters of human beings around the world leaves most of us in shock, with repulsion, and yearning for retribution, and at least hoping for honorable display of justice. Then there are many in the world, who in utter horror, choose to ignore that fact that mothers, fathers, and children are savagely murdered week after endless week. We can only suppose it's a psychological survival technique for some to ignore the evidence of events in order to keep on their merry way of living in an Alice-in-Wonderland pretend-world of self-absorbed hedonism with countless entertainment distractions.<br />
Russia's recent slaughter of 35 human beings at Moscow's airport is but another reminder of the bloody slaughters at Glasgow's Airport, London's underground, Madrid's train station, Bali's hotel, the USS Cole, the Pentagon, Shanksville, PA, The World Trade Center Towers in NYC, the embassy buildings in Africa, the Khobar Towers apartment, Fort Hood massacre, the decapitations of Daniel Pearl and Mike Berg, as well as the mere intent of the Underwear-Bomber and Shoe-Bomber recalls for us just a few slaughters which immediately come to mind<br />
There's no better spokesman for this ongoing slaughter of fellow human beings than Sheik Osama bin Laden who in November of 2001 explained to the world; but mostly directed at us in western civilization using a clear and quite self-explanatory statement. Bin Laden said: <strong><em>"We love death. The U.S. loves life. That is the big difference between us</em></strong>."<br />
Around the world, it's more than a pity in observing ostriches whose only refuge appears to be sticking their heads in the sand rather than face the facts on the ground. It's about time we acknowledge what's going on. Why do some attempt in making events so impossibly complex so nobody can ever connect the dots? We can't ignore reality by using some perverted excuse using <em>diversity</em> of religious beliefs as to why we just can't understand, let alone call a spade a spade.<br />
The world's ongoing bloody holocaust continues to this very day; and will for many years to come. It's absolutely paramount for all of us to at least acknowledge, add things up, and conclude that this human slaughter will not end until the very mindset which inflames such inhumane brutality is studied, exposed, acknowledged, understood and ultimately changed.<br />
Just how many more bodies will it take before we begin to comprehend what's going on. We must be able to name the scourge, to deal with it, fight it and overcome this evil.<br />
And now, we discover we Christians and those of the Jewish faith are doomed to pay for the slaughter, no less. To wit: American-born fugitive Muslim leader Anwar al-Awlaki says the costs of fighting jihad around the world are so high that Christians and Jews should be paying for it. In the winter issue of al Qaida's <em>Inspire </em>Magazine he writes <em>"Dispossessing the Disbelievers"</em> in which Awlaki complains that because world-wide jihad is expensive, it's too much of a burden to ask Muslim faithful to continue paying for spreading Islam and Islamic law [Sharia Law] around the Globe. His remedy is clear: "Steal from the wealthy kafirs [unbelievers] and give the money to Imams who teach and promote jihad."<br />
The <em>Center for the Study of Political Islam's</em> founder, Bill Warner, says Awlaki is correctly interpreting the teaching of Islam, adding that Awlaki is simply urging Muslims to follow in the footsteps of Muhammad. Warner says: "He is imitating Muhammad. He [Awlaki] even talks about this. Muhammad was an honest businessman and then he became a prophet. After he became a prophet and moved to Medina, according to the Sira, every dollar he got was taken from the kafir, the unbelievers. So when this man is talking like this, it may be shocking to some people, but to those who are familiar with Muhammad, they would say 'Yes, that is Sunna, the perfect example of Muhammad'."<br />
Sheik Anjem Choudary from his Islamic enclave in Britain says Awlaki accurately represents the Islamic viewpoint. Choudary says: "He is knowledgeable on the area of jihad, and therefore what he is positing is an Islamic viewpoint that there is no distinction between civilians and the army. Those people who are fighting against Muslims do not have sanctity of their lives or their wallets."<br />
Sheik Choudary continues: "The prophet Muhammad said that the one who puts boundaries, frontiers and borders on land is cursed. So we don't actually believe there is anything called boundaries or limitations to the rule of Islamic law. That is an Islamic viewpoint, and that is based on the Quran and the traditions of the messenger Muhammad, that originally there is no sanctity for the life and wealth of non-Muslims unless they embrace Islam or unless they covenant with them in a covenant of security. Otherwise there is a state of continual conflict and war, and this is what the messenger Muhammad said. They had been ordered to fight non-Muslims until they declare there is no one worthy of worship except for Allah. If they do, their wealth would be protected.. They should be invited to Islam, and if they refuse, they go back to the original state which is conflict and their life and wealth not having sanctity."<br />
Choudary explains the concept further for non-Muslims who do not follow the Quran [Koran]: "Definitely we do not recognize the nation states and we do not recognize the United Nations. We recognize the world as divided into two camps, the camp of Islam and the camp of non-Islam or disbelievers."<br />
Despite many Imams and Mullahs preaching this concept of two camps, a foundation pillar of Muhammad, most in the west cannot and will not accept that ordinary Muslims believe in and understand their prophet Muhammad's definitions.<br />
Bill Warner verifies this misguided view from the west: "The kafirs [unbelievers] will ignore this. Newspapers will ignore this. Or, they will dismiss it as not real Islam. In short, the kafirs will be in a state of denial." Warner elucidates: "The response of the kafir, Homeland Security, FBI, is a complete denial that such a thing [Islamic religious belief of only two human camps on earth] exists. They get by with this by creating a concept of 'Good Muslim,' or 'Real Muslims.' The jihadis they declare to be fake or 'False Muslims'."<br />
Clara Lopez, a <em>Center for Security Policy</em> Senior Fellow, agrees with Warner. Lopez offers direction from the Quran, the primary guide or sole authority for Islamic jihad. She writes: "Sura 9.5 reads: 'But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war.' The verses of the ninth Sura -- the Sword Sura -- say fight and kill the infidels, whenever you may find them, even if they be <em>People of the Book </em>[my emphasis], which means Jews and Christians, until they pay the jizya, the tax, with willing submission. This is mainstream, orthodox Islam, revealed, or taught, as Awlaki is doing in a sequential manner, first this, then that, then that." Being the last Sura regarding all Jews and every last Christian, this is the penultimate Sura of the Quran and thus obliges Muslims to submit and practice this jihad.<br />
The Pew Forum in 2009 reports that 23 percent of the world's population -- or 1.8 billion -- is Muslim. Muslims themselves tell us that the amount of Wahabi sect followers and their jihadi-killing members of Islam amount to a mere and insignificant 1 to 2 percent. Let's consider the lower 1 percent; that translates into just under 2 million killers-in-waiting. <br />
Of these strict followers of the Wahabi sect of jihad killers: How many more slaughtered bodies will it take before we in western civilization finally admit a scintilla of understanding in Quranic Suras, Sheiks, Imams, Mullahs as well as al Qaida's leaders and their dispersed minions around the world from their Islamic 'camp' using their own mouths and from their own statements of reasoning and belief?DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067907919961289409.post-47504751212889034832011-01-13T23:52:00.000-08:002011-01-13T23:55:17.371-08:00CAN'T MAKE IT UP: Their own words. Former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, in an interview with John King of CNN on January 7th 2011 said that Democrats lost the last election, the U.S. House of Representatives and took a shellacking as Barack Obama called it, as proof that the blame can all be placed on "the policies of George W. Bush... etc, etc and etc."<br />
Using Pelosi's reasoning, it can be assumed that global warming, the freak snowstorms, blizzards, freezing cold winter of 2010/2011, Snooki's over-tanning and the soaring price of peanuts from Plains, Georgia can also be blamed on George Walker Bush.<br />
------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Tampa airport closed its primary runway known as 19R/1L on aviation charts until January 13, 2011 so it could be repainted and given new signage for pilots. The reason given is that the Federal Aviation Administration required the runway designation change to account for the National Geographic's report of the: "Gradual shift of earth's magnetic pole at nearly 40 miles a year toward Russia because of magnetic changes in the core of the planet." Evidently, this is the fault of George Walker Bush.<br />
------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Directly after the September 11, 2001 attack, President George Walker. Bush described Islam as a religion of peace, saying specifically: "Islam is peace." However, according to the <em>Farah G2 Bulletin</em> which records international events, it recorded that in 2010 alone 1,987 Islamic jihad attacks were perpetrated in "46 nations resulting in 9,175 deaths and 17,436 injured." Why then is anyone now showing surprise and/or dismay at the recent jihadi mass-murders at Christian Churches in Baghdad, Iraq and Alexandria in Egypt?<br />
------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Amy Chua, of Chinese descent, wrote recently in the <em>Wall Street Journal </em>that children of Chinese, Korean, Indian, Irish and Ghanaian parents are super-successful because of their strict mothers who demand their children NEVER, EVER: "Attend a sleepover; Have a play-date; Be in a school play; Complain about not being in a school play; Watch TV or play computer games; Choose their own extracurricular activities; Get any grade less than an A; Not be the 'number one' student in every subject except gym and drama; Play any instrument other than the piano or violin; Or, not play the piano or violin."<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Michael Metroulas in <em>Big Journalism</em> astutely observed: "The popular myth that the Constitution was left purposefully vague is right up there with the existence of Santa Claus. True, the limited powers written into the document were almost immediately exceeded, hence the <em>Virginia and Kentucky Resolution</em>, but the Constitution was promoted to the states for ratification in generally the same way the Tea Party promotes the document. That is, it would be clear, limited and would be strictly adhered to. This was the only way the thing could be agreed to by many states in the first place. The framers dealt in what they considered to be <strong><em>truths; not fleeting improvisational platitudes</em></strong>." [my emphasis]<br />
Hence, as one of the framers put it: "We hold these truths to be self evident."<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Sad news from London has it that British pub-goers will be forced to ditch their traditional 'pint' of beer in favor of a 'schooner,' a smaller measure of beer as used in Australia. Additionally, under the proposed alcohol consumption changes, a glass of wine would be 75 ml rather than the traditional current 125 ml. Science Minister David Willets announced: "We have listened to the consumers and businesses... That is what this change delivers." <br />
Let's see stiff upper lips. We'll have no talk about crying in your beer!<br />
----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Tina Fey, of <em>Saturday Night Live </em>who acts as Sarah Palin, said: "I can see Russia from my house." Fey is a rabid anti-Republican and Sarah Palin trash-talker from the get-go. However, news media types ascribe the "Russia from my house" quote to Sarah Palin, despite the fact that she never said it. Palin however, did say about the Russians: "They're our next door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."<br />
---------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Passport Applications will see some changes according to Brenda Sprague, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services: "The words in the old form were 'mother' and 'father. They are now "parent one' and 'parent two.' We find that with changes in medical science and reproductive technology that we are confronting situations now that we would not have anticipated 10 to 15 years ago."<br />
Question arises: Who wants to be 'parent two' rather than 'parent one'?<br />
---------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Caitie Parker, a classmate and friend of Jared Loughner who killed 6 people and wounded many others in Tucson, Arizona last week, gave us some eye-opening twittering about Loughner as she attended Mountain View High School and Pima Community College with Loughner. Here are several of her tweets: "He [Loughner] had a lot of friends until he got alcohol poisoning in '06. Mainly loner very philosophical. As I knew him he was a left wing, quite liberal and oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy. He was a pot head & into rock like Hendrix, The Doors, Anti-Flag. He was a political radical. I went to high school, college and was in a band with the gunman. I went to HS with, really good friend. Freaking out right now!!!"<br />
So, for every mainstream talking heads who still continue to blame Nancy Reagan, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin for every crime, tragedy, and ill this nation has faced, or will ever face... remember: Loughner was a: "left-wing, quite liberal, political radical."<br />
---------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Major Nidal Hasan fired upon troops in Ft. Hood, Texas, killing 33 on November 5, 2009. Victims who lived after being shot as well as those present and not wounded testified that Hasan shouted: "Allahu Akbar!" [Praise to Allah] as he fired away. Hasan also told his neighbor shortly before he massacred the soldiers that he had: "to do good for Allah." Everyone who watched television reports or listened to radio news knew of these statements from day one.<br />
But right off, CNN's genius, and former general, Wesley Clark intoned "The important thing is for everyone not to jump to conclusions." CNN's Jane Velez-Mitchell, that same evening, said: "We have to make sure that we do not jump to any conclusions whatsoever." Barack Hussein Obama chimed in the next day by saying: "I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts."<br />
<strong>Jump ahead to January 8, 2011</strong> when 22-year-old Jared Loughner opened fire in Tucson, Arizona, killing 6 people. Immediately, Clarence Dupnik (D), Sheriff of Pima County, Arizona pointed the blame on talk shows by saying: "the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government." Dupnik later said radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh was to blame. Other 'journalists' credit the blood bath to Glen Beck and FoxNews. Wolf Blitzer of CNN then expanded the liberal pontification: "The theme that's burning up the social media right now... on Twitter and Facebook, there is a lot of talk in particular, about Sarah Palin." Blitzer further illuminated: "But the question is, is there any evidence that the suspected shooter in this particular case was a Sarah Palin fan, read Sarah Palin's website, was a member on Facebook, watched her tweets, or anything like that?"<br />
Don't you just love the media which is so over-cautious when an Islamic Jihadi killer kills; and yet immediately makes accusations when a liberal, left-wing nutcase kills by claiming that Loughner had to be a right-wing conservative Christian Republican who listened to talk radio and was a Sarah Palin lemming.<br />
Reminds us of the profile most Washington elite offered us about the DC shooter before he was caught: that he was Caucasian, male, Christian, middle-aged and an NRA gun freak. It turned out John Allen Muhammad, 42, was an African-American convert to Islam who read the Koran and wanted to kill indiscriminately to create Islamic jihadi fear all around the beltway, while at the same time earning ransom money. Evidently, modern media types have never studied Islamic Barbary Corsairs and Barbary slavery. But President Thomas Jefferson did; and it's why he read the Koran, possibly to see what made America's enemies tick.DOWNEAST DOORYARDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852650944386709013noreply@blogger.com0