Wednesday, December 24, 2014

The Cross Was Preceded by the Cradle


"God became a man to save us from our sins, which he did finally and completely on the Cross. We commemorate his death and resurrection on Easter, but his suffering on our behalf began much earlier than that. We would do well to remember that at Christmastime, when we celebrate our savior's birth.

"Seminary professor Bob Tuttle, in his 2006 book, "Shortening the Leap," puts that in perspective poignantly: "The Jesus of glory still bears the marks of the Incarnation, and not just in his hands, his side and his feet, but in his navel, because the suffering began in the manger, not on the Cross.' "...

 Because he loves us, he died on the Cross for us. But never forget that years before he completed his work on the Cross, he was born for us -- as a little, dependent baby in his earthly mother's arms -- in Bethlehem.
It is the event of his birth that we celebrate at Christmas, without which there would have been no Cross, without which there would be no life everlasting for us.
Merry Christmas to all.

North Korea, the nation state equivalent of the short bus*

* Kappit.com
www.statesmanjournal.com/

Argus Hamilton: "The Writers Guild of America announced its annual awards ceremony will be simulcast from Los Angeles and New York. They'll honor the best movie and TV scripts. Yesterday I finished writing my first comedy movie screenplay, and this afternoon, my agent will submit it to North Korea for approval.
sodahead.com

" North Korea's government accused the Obama Administration Tuesday of producing the movie The Interview to embarrass Kim Jung Un. Kim's pride is wounded. Kim Jung Un has been furious ever since North Korean spies returned from the U.S. and told him that Dennis Rodman is not Barack Obama.

"North Korea's Internet went out Monday in what looks like U.S. retaliation for North Korea's Sony hacking. The U.N. may file charges. It appears that we've violated Kim Jung Un's human rights by cutting off his porn but President Obama is trying to get the charge reduced to enhanced interrogation." ...

The movie was viewed favorably by 50% of the people in North Korea.

CHEESE, SNAKE WINE, AND HIGH HEELS; Did You Hear The One About North Korea?

"A word of caution: this story catalogues an avalanche of North Korea rumors that are largely false, with the remaining being barely credible. If something is true, we'll flag it for you. Such is the reality of North Korea rumors."
 

Another black on blue shooting in St. Louis

CBS St. Louis.   The video, such as it is:



"ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Police are investigating a fatal, officer-involved shooting in Berkeley.
It happened around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Mobil gas station at 6800 North Hanley Road.
The Berkeley officer was responding to a theft call when he saw two black men standing to the side of the building.

"When the officer got out of his vehicle and walked toward the men, police say one of them pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer.

"The statement from St. Louis County Police says, “Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him.”

"The second man reportedly fled the scene." ...
 

Martin Luther King Jr's dream of how America could be

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

City of Bloomington to sue Mall of America protesters (#BlackLivesMatter #ShutItDown)

Legal Insurrection
 “This was a powder keg just waiting for a match”

Screen Shot 2014-12-23 at 3.39.58 PM
@stephenkruiser
Follow

Awesome. Mall of America is going to sue the protest puppet masters. http://cbsloc.al/1CwPswZ
1:36 PM - 23 Dec 2014
"Officers were present on-site, and once the chanting started, moved to close almost 100 stores and several entrances to the mall. I say “moved to” as opposed to “were forced to” because the shutdown occurred as soon as the protests began, and there were no reports of some sort of violent instigating event; but perhaps it’s a good thing the officers moved so quickly, based on how mall employees describe what happened next:
"From CBS Minnesota:
Nate Bash works at one store near the rotunda, which he didn’t want us to name.
“You had people yelling and screaming inside the mall that wanted out and you had people yelling and screaming outside the mall that wanted in,” he said. “I would say the mall was less than half as busy as it should have been considering what day it was.”
“This was a powder keg just waiting for a match,” said Johnson.
 More at the link...

Battle of the Bulge; Dec 23rd, 1944


Personal diary: December 23, 1944  "By December 23rd holding the line around Bastogne was less of an issue compared to the crisis of dwindling supplies.  Not only were troops short on food and medical supplies but ammunition was frighteningly low.  Rounds were rationed and soldiers were ordered not to fire unless attacked directly and even then to only fire two rounds.  Colonel Thomas L. Sherburn, the artillery commander, was intentionally reporting overestimates of supply levels simply to maintain morale.
 "Hopes were raised when reports came in that the 4th Armored Division, commanded by Major General Hugh J. Gaffey, was headed towards Bastogne as fast as possible."
 "Great news, we got a message today from Corp that the weather at the air-field were clear.[1]  Boy we’ll give them hell today.
"Got another set[2] today from some guys in the 9th Armored Div. that got caught here when they...."

An elderly woman, surrounded by soldiers. surveys the destruction around herPrimary Resources: Soldiers' Battlefield Accounts   "Who is better suited to tell history than the people who experienced it? Read the stories of some American soldiers who spent the terrible winter of 1944-1945 on the front lines in Europe. Browse the faces of some who were at the Bulge. Then share your own story of World War II." ...
 (Right) An elderly woman, surrounded by soldiers. surveys the destruction around her.



'The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne 

Battle at Bastogne


La Roche and Bastogne war Museums A visit to the Battle of the Bulge war museums at La Roche-en-Ardenne, and Bastogne Barracks.

Dreams... Turned to NIGHTMARES!!!

Tolerance for race pimps from de Blasio and Sharpton on up to this government is wearing out. Excellent commentaries here plus a cartoon update.

http://terrellaftermath.com/

National Review Online editors: De Blasio blames media for his troubles  "New York Mayor de Blasio revealed his true colors yesterday in a press conference, blaming the media for diving New Yorkers, by reporting on misbehavior of demonstrators. Ignoring his own casting of aspersions on the cops, ignoring the inflammatory rhetoric of his ally Al Sharpton, and ignoring his own failure to rebuke demonstrators who marched chanting, “What do we want? Dead Cops? When do we want it? Now!”, he fell back into the posture of a reflexive totalitarian, seemingly pining for the kind of servile media that Cuba’s regime enjoys. Hey mayor, bad behavior is what makes the news. Get used to it. And focus on your own responsibility. Read the transcript (video below) and see:


National Review Online editors: Mayor de Blasio and The sorry result of anti-cop activism. "President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, and New York mayor Bill de Blasio have all played their own irresponsible parts; they have all lent moral support to occasionally violent protests." 

"In Mayor de Blasio’s case, this has created an almost unbridgeable divide between him and New York police officers while inflaming tensions between black communities and the police. As recently as this summer, the majority of black New Yorkers approved of the NYPD’s performance. Approval dropped dramatically after Eric Garner’s death in Staten Island; just recently, de Blasio tied that death to systematic police racism, with no evidence for his intimations. Black communities’ distrust of the police has deep, legitimate roots, but it has been receding for years — as crime has dropped in those same communities, in part thanks to assiduous policing."

Below: NY police turn their backs on de Blasio.


... "It is a painful irony that, on the eve of the murders of these two police officers in New York, some of the city’s police were already saying that, in the event of their deaths, they did not want Mayor Bill de Blasio to attend their funerals.
"We can only hope that Mayor de Blasio has some residual decency, so that he will not defile these two officers’ memorial services with his presence. No politician in the country has done more to play the race card against the police and spread the notion that cops are the big problem in minority communities. "

This next bit of commentary from Dr. Sowell needs to be included here, with emphasis:
Make no mistake about it. There is political mileage to be made siding with demagogues like Al Sharpton who, as demagogue-in-chief, has been invited to the White House dozens of times by its commander-in-chief.

Many in the media and among the intelligentsia cherish the romantic tale of an “us” against “them” struggle of beleaguered ghetto blacks defending themselves against the aggression of white policemen. The gullible include both whites who don’t know what they are talking about and blacks who don’t know what they are talking about either, because they never grew up in a ghetto. Among the latter are the President of the United States and his attorney general.
These next words are for Democrats in general, but specifically for this administration and the Congressional Black Caucus in particular :
Let those who have laid a guilt trip on people in our times, for evils done by other people in past centuries, at least face their own responsibility for the evil consequences of their own notions and policies. If they won’t do it, then the rest of us need to stop listening gullibly to what they are saying.
UPDATE:
de Blasio

Black Conservative Son Educates Dad on Dems' Race Lies

 Michael Ramirez Cartoon
Lloyd Marcus  "For the past six years, I have been a passionate, active black member of the Tea Party.  Unlike the vast majority of black Americans, I did not fall for the radical left's Trojan Horse in the form of a shiny new smooth-talkin' black man back in 2008.  When presidential candidate Obama told Joe the Plumber that he planned to spread the wealth around, I knew he was nothing more than another socialist/progressive liberal who hated America as founded."
...

"Consequently, all of the moral and cultural issues that create economic problems that have plagued the black community for forty years continue to get worse.  Meanwhile, Al Sharpton continues to get paid with cash, influence, and power as the Grand Pooh-Bah of clueless black voters, able to create a riot on demand and deliver deceived angry black voters to the polls every election."


Cardistry? Who would think shuffling a deck of cards could be beautiful?

Cardistry Is Beautiful. Watch This If You Don't Believe Us
"What is cardistry? It's the art of complicated and ornate shuffles. These folks spend a long time practicing, and the results are worth it. ▶ More: Cardistry in Singapore"

Monday, December 22, 2014

Bowdoin offers to cover full tuition for slain New York City police officer’s son, a student at the Brunswick (Maine) college

"BRUNSWICK, Maine — The son of one of two New York City police officers killed Saturday night in Brooklyn is a sophomore at Bowdoin College.

"Barry Mills, president of the college, informed the family of student Justin Ramos on Sunday morning that the college would provide full financial aid to enable Ramos to complete his Bowdoin education.

"In a post on the college’s Facebook page, Mills urged respect for the family’s privacy in the wake of the “unspeakable tragedy.”
..."New York police Officers Rafael Ramos, 40, and Wenjiian Liu, 32, were fatally shot in their squad car Saturday by a 28-year-old man who then killed himself.

"On Sunday, the New York Yankees Silver Shield Foundation offered to pay for the college educations of Justin Ramos and his younger brother, but Bowdoin College spokesman Scott Hood said Monday that the college would provide the aid." ...more...

As Police Die, Racism Narrative Unravels

NYPD Officers Killed 

Commentary Magazine "Conservatives know very well that attempts to politicize violence on the part of the mentally ill is deeply unfair. They know that liberal claims that either the Tea Party or conservatives such as Sarah Palin were somehow responsible for the 2011 shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was sheer slander. If some angry supporters of the police now try to say Obama, Holder, or de Blasio approved or countenanced the actions of Ismaaiyl Brinsley, they are just as wrong. Obama, Holder, and de Blasio have all rightly condemned the murder of the two officers.
...
"If there is any reproach today that should be laid at the feet of Obama, Holder, and de Blasio, it is that by helping to foster one false set of assumptions, they have now left themselves vulnerable to questions about their own willingness to accept and exploit calumnies against the police and the justice system."
 
Excerpts of comments to this post follow:
  ...I might be less resistant than Tobin about Farrakhan given his outright and outrageous call for reciprocal violence and given that the killer was apparently a black Muslim.