BOMBSHELL: Obama Panicking After Secret Files on ISIS Fighter's Phone Reveals Shocking Truth

BOMBSHELL: Obama Panicking After Secret Files on ISIS Fighter's Phone Reveals Shocking Truth:

"The website claimed that a dead militant’s phone reportedly had information on it proving that Turkish intelligence and the Turkish government were supporting the terrorists.

“The mobile phone was found with one of the killed ISIL leaders in the Northern parts of Salahuddin province two days ago,” Jabbar al-Ma’mouri, a commander of the Iraqi volunteer forces, reportedly said."

BREAKING: San Bernardino Families Reveal Sick Thing Obama Did During "Comforting" Photo-Op

BREAKING: San Bernardino Families Reveal Sick Thing Obama Did During "Comforting" Photo-Op:

"On a stopover last week in San Bernardino, California, President Barack Obama was sure to visit with the families of those killed in the terrorist attack. As for the wounded and their families? Not so much."

President Lincoln and Christmas

Blog: President Lincoln and Christmas:
"Over the years, I've enjoyed reading presidential Christmas proclamations. 
Some are more prominent than others.   

President Washington always stands out because he set the table for others to follow.    

Then there is President Roosevelt in 1941 after Pearl Harbor.   

President Truman in 1945 or the first peace time Christmas in a few years.   

More recently, President Bush in 1991 or President GW Bush after 9-11.

They are all significant and a reminder that Christmas is a lot more than a day off or a vacation day for federal employees. 
There is a religious meaning to the season no matter how much we try to replace it with secular messages. 

We think of Lincoln as the greatest president. 
How did Lincoln spend Christmas week as president and president-elect? 
Let's remember:

"In 1860, as President-elect, Lincoln received callers such as Thurlow Weed in Springfield, Illinois, and dealt with Cabinet issues. He was especially concerned that federal forts had been taken in the South. 

On December 20 he received the stunning news that South Carolina had seceded from the Union. 

In 1861 President Lincoln was deeply involved in Civil War problems such as the Trent affair, but found time on December 22 to attend services at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.

On Christmas morning he held an important Cabinet meeting, but was able to entertain a large number of dinner guests by evening.

In 1862 President Lincoln again was absorbed with military matters and was preparing the final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.

On December 23 he wrote to Fanny McCullough, whose father had been killed in action and had been a long-time friend of his. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln visited Washington hospitals on Christmas Day.

In 1863 President Lincoln reassured the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society he had no intention of retracting the Emancipation Proclamation.

On Christmas Day he discussed the constitutionality of the draft with John Hay, one of his private secretaries.

In 1864 President Lincoln received the following dispatch from General Sherman, who had captured Savannah, Georgia:

"I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns & plenty of ammunition & also about 25000 bales of cotton."

On December 26 Lincoln gave a Christmas reception at the White House."

Christmas 1860 must have been especially troubling as the President elect could see some very hard times ahead.  

Merry Christmas or Feliz Navidad, as I grew up saying!

History for December 25

History for December 25 - On-This-Day.com:
Sir Isaac Newton 1642 (O.S.) - Physicist, mathematician, Clara Barton 1821, Humphrey Bogart 1899

Rod Serling 1924, Jimmy Buffett 1946 - Singer, Barbara Mandrell 1948 


1776 - Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ. 


1818 - "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria. 


1868 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War. 


1896 - John Philip Sousa finally titled the melody "The Stars and Stripes Forever." 


1914 - During World War I, British and German troops observed an unofficial truce and even playing football together on the Western Front. 


1926 - Hirohito became the emperor of Japan after the death of his father Emperor Taisho. 


1946 - W.C. Fields died at the age of 66. 


1989 - Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed following a popular uprising. 

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:

http://www.libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2015/12/out-of-darkness-by-tammy-derouin-luke.html

Out Of The Darkness

By Tammy Derouin

Luke 2:8-14

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

The United States of America is a Christian nation.  We were founded on Christian/Judeo beliefs.  Our birth as a nation rises out of a desire to be free.  Oppression and tyranny reined throughout the world resulting in the persecution of anyone who did not believe as the ruling man or party believed.  The world was enslaved....

Talk about a Grinch! Prof using THIS alternative to ‘Merry Christmas’ must have been out of ideas

Talk about a Grinch! Prof using THIS alternative to ‘Merry Christmas’ must have been out of ideas | BizPac Review:
"There’s a new holiday greeting being proposed by a University of Central Florida professor, but it probably won’t quell the “war on Christmas” debate.
The school’s news site featured an opinion written by Terry Fine in which the professor shared a fool-proof solution to being politically incorrect during the holiday season, as reported by Fox News.
“I would suggest that we take a new approach that observes “the holidays” we all have on our calendars, no matter our religion,” Fine wrote.
“My friends and I wish each other a “Happy Federal Holiday.””
Detailing how using “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Chanukah,” among other greetings, is insensitive to each culture, Fine wrote, “In our efforts to be inclusive, we show cultural insensitivity both by equating one major holiday with a minor holiday and failing to recognize that diversity includes those who celebrate neither holiday...”

Iron ore shipments out of Marquette down nearly 37 percent

Iron ore shipments out of Marquette down nearly 37 percent - Crain's Detroit Busines
MARQUETTE — Iron ore shipments out of Marquette's Upper Harbor are down dramatically, prompting fears about the future of Empire Mine.
According to the Lake Carriers' Association, roughly 460,000 tons of iron ore shipped out of Marquette last month, compared with about 732,000 tons in November 2014. The average monthly shipment between 2010 and 2014 was about 791,000 tons.
The Mining Journal reports a similar downward trend was also seen throughout the Great Lakes, according to the association's report.
Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 4.9 million tons in November, a decrease of 17 percent compared to a year ago.
"It's been a rough, brutal year and our customer demand is down," Cliffs Natural Resources spokeswoman Patricia Persico said.
"So we've adjusted our production accordingly, and we have a lot of inventory we're working off this year. ... Those temporary shutdowns are obviously impacting things and of course the steel imports are the main root cause here..."

U.S. mayor calls Obama ‘Muslim,’ stands firm as critics rage

U.S. mayor calls Obama ‘Muslim,’ stands firm as critics rage:

"A Wisconsin mayor is fending off fierce backlash after he called President Obama a Muslim who has “destroyed the fabric of democracy.”

Superior, Wisconsin, Mayor Bruce Hagen has refused to apologize for Facebook posts criticizing Obama and the first lady."

Lights out!----- US Power Grid Vulnerable to Foreign Hacks

AP Investigation: US Power Grid Vulnerable to Foreign Hacks - ABC News:
"Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyberattackers had opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid.
Digital clues pointed to Iranian hackers.
And Wallace found that they had already taken passwords, as well as engineering drawings of dozens of power plants, at least one with the title "Mission Critical."
The drawings were so detailed that experts say skilled attackers could have used them, along with other tools and malicious code, to knock out electricity flowing to millions of homes.
Wallace was astonished.
But this breach,
The Associated Press has found, was not unique..."
Read on and fear for our country!

Resurgence Of Graffiti Seen In Several NYC Communities

Resurgence Of Graffiti Seen In Several NYC Communities « CBS New York
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Graffiti was an infamous symbol of the decline and decay of New York City in the 1970s and ’80s, and some now say it appears to be making a comeback.
As CBS2’s Scott Rapoport reported Monday, residents have noticed and they want it gone.
Bold graffiti lines parts of walls, ramps and pavement at the Forest Hills Long Island Rail Road station in Queens.
“It’s awful,” one man said.
“Most of the time it’s ignored,” said City Councilmember Karen Koslowitz (D-29th).
Koslowitz said the graffiti has been there since the summer, and she said she has been in touch repeatedly with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to get rid of it. But she said in the ensuing months, things got worse.
“I’ve seen a lot more graffiti then I’ve seen in a long time,” she said.
And it is not an isolated occurrence. Citywide, some say graffiti appears to be more and more prevalent.
According to the NYPD, the number of graffiti complaints citywide in 2015 is up 15 percent from last year. Meanwhile, arrests for graffiti are down 10 percent compared with last year.
And while a far cry from the out-of-control graffiti craze some 40 years ago, the current graffiti is getting noticed.
“This is just scribble and nonsense,” said David Clanton of the West Village. “And it’s ugly.”
CBS2 asked Mayor Bill de Blasio about the graffiti situation.
“We take graffiti very, very seriously...."
Bla, bla, bla.....

This great!-----A Little Girl Gives Coins To A Street Musician And Gets The Best Surprise.

Noon-toon

Sheriff Says It’s Time for Law Enforcement to ‘Drop the Hammer’ With Gun Control — by Enforcing Laws on the Books | TheBlaze.com

Sheriff Says It’s Time for Law Enforcement to ‘Drop the Hammer’ With Gun Control — by Enforcing Laws on the Books | TheBlaze.com:

"After a convicted felon in South Carolina was once again arrested on charges ranging from drug possession to possession of a firearm by a felon, a sheriff in South Carolina is calling for stricter gun control — but not for law-abiding gun owners."

Tis the Season to be Offended

Articles: Tis the Season to be Offended

This is the time of year when news of people being offended by Christian symbols reaches a high point. Progressives view complaints about a “war on Christmas” as manufactured. Barack Obama commented on this in 2006:

This notion that's peddled by the religious right -- that they are oppressed -- is not true. Sometimes it's a cynical ploy to move their agenda ahead. The classic example being that somehow secularists are trying to eliminate Christmas, which strikes me as some kind of manufactured controversy.

Most of these “manufactured” offenses take place in schools, the media, the military, and government bureaucracies. 

When some of its more extreme examples are exposed to the public the first reaction is to deny they happened. It appears that the government is attempting to eradicate all mention of Christianity without drawing excessive attention to their program. 

Professor James Hitchcock has written, “Far from being neutral, the American government is now in the position of favoring unbelief over belief and irreligion over religion.” 

When there is media attention to their efforts and a strong reaction they tend to deny that they were establishing a new policy.

There are countless examples of government efforts to remove any reference to the Christian religion. 

A military diversity training officer instructed a group of U.S. soldiers at Camp Shelby, Miss., not to use the word "Christmas." 

This officer told the troops she was affirming Army rules...

The Veterans Administration has also stepped into the fray. 

When a group of children made homemade Christmas cards for patients in a Dallas VA hospital they were informed by a hospital spokesperson “We're thrilled to have them, except the only thing is, we can't accept anything that says ‘Merry Christmas' or ‘God bless you' or any scriptural references because of all the red tape.” 

A VA spokesperson quoted the Veterans Health Administration handbook:

"In order to be respectful of our veterans' religious beliefs, all donated holiday cards are reviewed by a multi-disciplinary team of staff led by chaplaincy services and determined if they are appropriate (non-religious) to freely distribute to patients. We regret this process was not fully explained to this group and apologize for any misunderstanding."

The Augusta VA hospital has banned some Christmas carols. 

Hospital spokesman Brian Rothwell announced, "VA policy is welcoming but respectful of all faiths and the protection of each veteran's right to religious freedom and protection from unwelcomed religious material, to their individual beliefs." 

Therefore, high school students from Augusta's Alleluia Community School were prohibited from singing such songs as "Silent Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful". 

Even instrumental versions of religious music has been banned. 

A school superintendent banned an instrumental version of "Ave Maria" at a public school graduation. 

The chief of staff of Walter Reed National Medical Center banned family members from bringing Bibles to the facility. 

Col. Chuck Callahan’s memo stated, “No religious items (i.e., Bibles, reading materials and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.” 

After the memo became public the hospital released a statement saying that it was worded “improperly” and, “We apologize for any confusion the policy may have caused.” 

A memo from the Salem VA Medical Center states:

…Public areas may only be decorated in a manner that is celebratory of the winter season. Displays must not promote any religion. Please note that trees (regardless of the types of ornaments used) have been deemed to promote the Christian religion and will not be permitted in any public areas this year.

Efforts to suppress religious observations are not restricted to the holiday season. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs director of the Houston National Cemetery, Arleen Ocasio, banned saying God or Jesus at funerals..."

And on and on.

Read on.

How to Manufacture an Anti-Muslim Hate-Crime 'Epidemic'

How to Manufacture an Anti-Muslim Hate-Crime 'Epidemic' - Michelle Malkin - Page full
"Step one: Find an expert with an impressive-sounding academic title to legitimize shoddy advocacy propaganda.
Meet Brian Levin.
He's the one-man band behind something called the "Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism" at California State University, San Bernardino.
The "center" (that is: Levin) claims to be "nonpartisan" and "objective."
But he is a former top staffer of the militant, conservative-smearing Southern Poverty Law Center, which was forced to apologize earlier this year after including famed black neurosurgeon and GOP 2016 candidate Ben Carson on its "extremist watch list" of hate groups.
At SPLC, Levin infamously posited that the 2002 Beltway jihad snipers were Angry White Men, a fatal error echoed by politically correct law enforcement officials whose wild-goose chase needlessly cost lives.
A decade later, the SPLC's target map and list of social conservative groups were used by convicted left-wing domestic terrorist Floyd Lee Corkins to shoot up the Washington, D.C., office of the Family Research Council.
The radical left-wing SPLC, whose annual "hate and extremism" report spawned Levin's sham "center," brazenly declared that its mission is to "destroy" its political opponents.
Harper's Magazine writer Ken Silverstein called the SPLC and its work "essentially a fraud" that "shuts down debate, stifles free speech, and most of all, raises a pile of money, very little of which is used on behalf of poor people."
Step two: Enlist gullible, lazy, biased, and complicit journalists who recycle the "expert's" sweeping pronouncements as proven facts, backed up by other ideologically vested advocacy group spokespeople.
NBC News, The New York Times, the Daily Mail and Slate all quoted Levin over the past week hyping his new "study" (published in esteemed academic journal The Huffington Post) on an alleged "increase," "surge" and "spike" in "crimes against Muslims and mosques" this year.
Levin's "methods" of "analysis"? Stringing together "apparent hate crimes reported in the media and by civil rights groups across the United States." Most prominent among his sources: the Council on American-Islamic Relations, whose jihad-apologizing frontman Ibrahim Hooper was quoted by both NBC and The New York Times backing Levin's "research" (which were, of course, based on several of CAIR's grievance-grifting claims). Cozy, huh?
"We're seeing so many of these things happening that it's unbelievable," Hooper told the Times.
Indeed, it is.
In his list of "Suspected Hate Crimes Directed at Actual or Perceived Muslim Institutions or Individuals Since Paris Attacks," Levin cites a Nov. 26 incident in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, noting, "Cab driver shot. Attempted Murder."
The rest of the story: The suspect is 26-year-old Anthony Mohamed, whose father is Muslim. Authorities have so far refused to press hate crimes charges despite CAIR's demands. At a hearing this week, the cab driver denied in court that he had been subjected to negative comments about his religion before Mohamed allegedly shot him in the back. Court filings fail to mention any evidence of anti-Muslim bias in the case.
Or take a look at Levin's No. 23: "12/6 Buena Park, CA. Sikh Temple. Vandalism, Crim. Mischief." CAIR's Los Angeles office publicized vandalism at an Orange County Sikh temple, immediately condemning a "tiny minority of bigots who violate our nation's longstanding principles of religious tolerance and inclusion."
The rest of the story: Authorities arrested a local, 20-year-old Brodie Durazo, after he admitted spray-painting the temple, a tractor trailer and other property in the gang-infested neighborhood. "I have lived alongside this temple for many years of my life and have never once seen you as anything but a peaceful people," he told the temple-goers in a personal apology at the house of worship. "I just hope that you will see by my presence that all I want is for peace as well."
Not a menacing "bigot." Just a bored punk.
Or consider Levin's No. 33: "12/10 Tampa, FL. Rocks/shots at 2 Muslim drivers. Assault, Threat leaving relig. service in hijab."
Both women are unidentified. Their unvetted stories were immediately publicized by, you guessed it, CAIR. "Both incidents were investigated by Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies," according to local Florida media, "though investigators said neither case involved definitive proof of a hate crime." In one case, the sheriff's office spokeswoman said, "It could have been road rage or just a misunderstanding." In the second case involving alleged shots fired at a vehicle, investigators said the woman "was not sure where or when" a bullet hole found on the car was made.
Step three: Attack the messenger. After I published a lengthy post on my blog outlining an epidemic of Muslim hate-crime hoaxes at colleges, mosques and businesses dating back to 2001, Levin took to Twitter to accuse me of "smears." The facts, which the rest of the media failed to inform readers about while hyping Levin's work this week, speak for themselves (see michellemalkin.com).
Step four: Classify this article as "hate" and any media outlet that publishes it as a "hate group" so that other journalists shun the truth and continue perpetuating the hoax.

A repost-Read it all and warm your heart-----Walmart is a Holy Land

Walmart is a Holy Land | BossCook:

Walmart is a Holy Land

“May I buy your groceries?”

Rather than buy ourselves and our young adult children gifts this Christmas, we decided to walk the walk.  You know.  That walk where you stop indulging yourself with increasingly frivolous items and actually reach out to help others not as fortunate.

We bought several Walmart gift cards with funds we would have used to buy our gifts for one another and our kids.   Then our daughter and daughter-in-law (who is pregnant with twins, our 10th and 11th grandchildren, so yes, we have more than enough blessings in our life), Mr. Wilkinson  and I went to our local Walmart yesterday, a beautiful Sunday morning.  Not quite knowing how to do what we wanted to do, just praying we’d get it right and not embarrass anyone or get arrested.  Our girls decided on an approach, took the gift cards, and my husband and I stood at a distance, ready to help if needed.

The girls walked along and watched the check-out lines, and when they felt a tug at their kind hearts, they went up to people ready to check out and asked,

“May I buy your groceries?”

The initial responses were ones of shock and disbelief.  No one was rude, or dismissive.  They just wanted to know why.  The girls answered that they were part of a family who decided this was the way they wanted to celebrate Christmas.  Then a few asked if they were with a church or an organization.  No, the girls said, we are just a regular family and this is our gift to you!  No strings attached!  From us!  

Then the miracles came.

The first one, a young Mom, with a cart of food and just a couple of tiny presents for her little son, broke down in sobs, confiding that she “didn’t know how I could afford any of this”.  Her hugs and her tears washed away all the nervousness our girls felt at first.  They helped her bag her groceries and they all held one another for a long time, before this young woman left the store, trying hard not to sob.

The girls then quickly went to an obviously worn-out and defeated looking Dad, with 4 young sons.  Beat down and broke, you can bet.  In the check-out line, counting the bills in his wallet, nervously.  “May I buy everything in your cart, sir?” they said.   Again, the disbelief, the tears, the hugs, and the sincere, very heartfelt gratitude. That seismic shock you felt at 10:47 am yesterday?  That was a huge crack opening in my cynical heart as I watched this.

Two elderly ladies, with one cart between them, barely full with just the most very basic things.  A 2 pack of toilet paper.  A small package of ham.   A little pumpkin pie with red bow on top.  Cans of cheap cat food.  I doubt they had cats.  They were the most unbelieving of all  – they were literally paralyzed with shock.  One had dementia and couldn’t really understand what was going on, but the other couldn’t believe “anyone cared about us” and “no one has been this kind to me in 75 years”.   

There were people who smiled and merely told our girls, “No thank you!  We are very blessed and in a good place, so please help someone who needs it!”  Pay it forward without getting a thing.  I like it.  

The disabled veteran in a wheelchair, the lonely, unhappy looking girl, the young family with formula and diapers, the older lady who reminded our daughter of her beloved, departed grandma.  Their surprise, their joy, their relief, their gratitude.  All of them giving us more than we could ever give them.

It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced

 And then there was the guy with the tattoos and the swagger and the backward ball cap.  My husband saw our daughter approach him and started to get upset because he thought this guy didn’t look “needy”.  But it turned out, he was one of the most appreciative and gracious people she interacted with.  He couldn’t believe anyone would do this for “Me?  You’re doing this for ME?”.  A misfit, maybe.  Who cares?  Jesus didn’t.  And either did our daughter.  I saw him transformed by our daughter, who was smiling as big as I have ever seen.   As he left, he keep stopping and looking back at her, shaking his head with disbelief, waving, and smiling.  His gift was far more than a gift card.

This heaven on earth continued and each time, the glow from our girls got brighter and brighter.

Who was giving who what?

Me and Mr. Wilkinson?  We just wept and tried to hold it together.  And tried to stay anonymous.  I did speak with a few lovely people, who noticed me watching (I guess I’m not as subtle as I thought…it was probably the wailing)  and came up to me with such open and raw emotion, I could hardly speak.  One woman, standing there holding my husband’s hand and telling him she lost her husband that very day, a few years ago.  And my husband’s face as he remembered he lost his own father on that every same day.  

The cashiers with their Santa hats wept, we wept, people we will never see again, wept, hugged, believing that, at least for a little while, people cared about them.  We gave the cashiers the last of the gift cards and they promptly gave them back to their customers.  How.  Completely.  Awesome.  

I was one of those people who made fun of the “people of Walmart”.  And I’m an idiot.  I don’t know anyone’s story, their background, their pain or their journey in this world.  I judge the badly dressed, the overweight, the sloppy, the ignorant, the ill-mannered.  The same ones, yesterday, who cried when someone offered them a small kindness.  The ones who, when they figured out what my husband and I were doing hiding in the jewelry section across from the check-out lanes, came running over, looked us right in the eye, thanked us and complimented on our wonderful girls.  There’s MY gift, right there.  I haven’t gotten anything as precious as that.  

So, I ask again – who was giving who what??

I absolutely did not want to share this story.  There seemed to be no way to tell it without it reeking of self-satisfaction and self-congratulation.  Ugh.  I was encouraged (forced) by a very close friend, whom I did share it with, to go ahead and write about it.  So I’m sharing it with the hope and prayer that other people can find their own Holy Land, and make a pilgrimage there to honor the birth of Jesus Christ by actually living His sacred message of sharing and sacrifice for others.  

It starts with a question.  Ask it first.   Let it be answered.  “Ask and you shall receive”

And boy, did we receive.

“May I buy your groceries?”

****Update:  I cannot express my profound gratitude for all the good people who have welcomed my post and made such kind and supportive comments.  Thank you and Merry, Blessed Christmas to you and your families.  And for the record, I DO shop at Walmart…all the time.  My comments about the “people of Walmart” is  directed at my shameful judgment of ALL people everywhere.  I AM a person of Walmart.

Obama Goes Golfing After Terrorist Attack In Afghanistan Kills Six American Soldiers - Breitbart

Obama Goes Golfing After Terrorist Attack In Afghanistan Kills Six American Soldiers - Breitbart:

"The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle outside a U.S. military base, the largest loss of life of American troops in Afghanistan this year. The Taliban claim responsibility.

But the sobering news didn’t stop Obama from heading to the golf course, a tradition for the president as he enjoys the Hawaii climate during the holidays."

The Powerful Messages of Christmas Carols

The Powerful Messages of Christmas Carols | Intellectual Takeout
"...A more profound discussion can arise from the lyrics in the first verse of Silent Night: “Round yon virgin, mother and child.”
By one interpretation these words could refer to two people—“mother and child” – but on a deeper level they can also be seen as a description of Mary and the divine nature of Jesus’ conception:  Mary herself was both “mother and child.”
Christmas carols also often contain sentiments that reveal their historical context.
For example, O Holy Night was written in 1847 as the abolitionist movement was growing, and in the third verse proclaims: “Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease.”
Other carols are biographical in nature.
Good King Wenceslas is based upon a historical figure that ruled Bohemia in the tenth century and conveys how this virtuous ruler risked a bitter winter storm to rescue an impoverished peasant.
The king was accompanied on his mission by a young servant who begins to succumb to the elements:  “Sire, the night is darker now/and the wind blows stronger./Fails, my heart, I know not how, I can go no longer.”
The good king tells his servant to proceed in the snowy ground by stepping into his footsteps:  “Mark my footsteps, my good page;/tread thou in them boldly./Thou shalt find the winter’s rage/ freeze thy blood less coldly.”
The imagery is clear:  
The king is lifting his servant’s burden by breaking a path for him.
On one hand, the carol presents a lesson on caring for the poor; however, on a higher plane it hearkens to another King who will help us on life’s journey if we tread in His footsteps.
Another carol influenced by biographical events is I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
After losing his wife in a tragic accident in 1861, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow fell into a deep despair.
His journal entries on Christmas Day that year and the next expressed his profound sadness: “How inexplicably sad are all holidays,” and “A ‘merry Christmas’ say the children, but there is no more for me.”
Then in 1863, Longfellow’s son was seriously wounded during a Civil War battle.
That year, his journal is altogether silent on Christmas day.
However, on December 24, 1864, Longfellow wrote a poem that stirs the heart.
Set to music in 1872, his words describe the intense despondency that had consumed him for years:  “And in despair I bowed my head./There is no ‘peace on earth’ I said./For hate is storm and mocks the song/of peace on earth, goodwill to men...”

History for December 24

History for December 24 - On-This-Day.com
Benjamin Rush 1745, Kit Carson 1809, James Joule 1818 


Howard Hughes 1905, Ava Gardner 1922, Lee Dorsey 1924 


1814 - The War of 1812 between the U.S. and Britain was ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium. 


1818 - Franz Gruber of Oberndorf, Germany composed the music for "Silent Night" to words written by Josef Mohr. 


1865 - Several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club in Pulaski, TN, called the Ku Klux Klan. 


1914 - In World War I, the first air raid on Britain was made when a German airplane dropped a bomb on the grounds of a rectory in Dover. 


1943 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces as part of Operation Overlord. 


1968 - Three astronauts, James A. Lovell, William Anders and Frank Borman, reached the moon. They orbited the moon 10 times before coming back to Earth. Seven months later man first landed on the moon. 


1979 - Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in support of the country's Marxist government. 


1990 - Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were married. 

Climate change shock: Burning fossil fuels COOLS planet, says NASA

Climate change shock: Burning fossil fuels COOLS planet, says NASA | UK | News | Daily Express

BURNING fossil fuels and cutting down trees causes global COOLING, a shock new NASA study has found.
Major theories about what causes temperatures to rise have been thrown into doubt after NASA found the Earth has cooled in areas of heavy industrialisation where more trees have been lost and more fossil fuel burning takes place.
Environmentalists have long argued the burning of fossil fuels in power stations and for other uses is responsible for global warming and predicted temperature increases because of the high levels of carbon dioxide produced - which causes the global greenhouse effect.
While the findings did not dispute the effects of carbon dioxide on global warming, they found aerosols - also given off by burning fossil fuels - actually cool the local environment, at least temporarily.
The research was carried out to see if current climate change models for calculating future temperatures were taking into account all factors and were accurate..."

Lakeisha Holloway Suspect in Deadly Las Vegas Crash - GAVE POLICE EXPLANATION But They Won't Disclose!

Lakeisha Holloway Suspect in Deadly Las Vegas Crash - GAVE POLICE EXPLANATION But They Won't Disclose! - The Gateway Pundit:
Lakeisha Holloway Suspect in Deadly Las Vegas Crash – GAVE POLICE EXPLANATION But They Won’t Disclose!
Lakeisha Holloway was identified today as the crazed driver who intentionally plowed through pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday night.
Her three year-old child was in the backseat.
** She parked the car and advised the valet to call 911.
** Victims from Canada, Oregon, California, Florida… etc.
** People came up and banged on her windows but she kept on driving.
Police said she was “stoic” when she was arrested and she told them why she committed the deadly crime but that they will not disclose her intentions(?)
Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Holloway offered an explanation for the attacks when she was arrested:
“She made statements on the scene at the point of arrest.
As I mentioned the investigation is ongoing.
But we haven’t determined to an exact fact what the motive was.
We believe she has some disassociation with the father of her child in events prior to the event. Her being in Las Vegas approximately a week and homeless and residing in her vehicle…
She did (offer and explanation for the attacks) and I’m not comfortable disclosing that at this point because it is an ongoing investigation. 
I can’t go any further into that comment..."