Merry Christmas! Here is an amazingly decorated home.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DxWBdjekhwkk

Dec . 24 - Global Chill except for Greenland

Accuweather reports: Hold everything! The latest indications are the cross-country storm will shift farther south, raising concerns for substantial snow in places that rarely get it.
Based on the behavior of the storm Tuesday and Wednesday around California, AccuWeather.com meteorologists now believe the cross-country storm will track farther south into the eastern third of the nation, and do so at a slower pace. http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/43364/snowstorm-threat-shifts-south.asp
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• It's snowing in Australia and California yet 'warm' in Greenland

The UK Daily Mail writes: The freezing conditions that have blasted Britain are being blamed on a series of weather patterns that are bringing Arctic temperatures to much of western Europe, California and even Australia.
One of the main factors is a change in the position of the jet stream - the fast-moving current of air that moves from west to east, high in the atmosphere.
Changes in the jet stream's path can cause massive changes in weather conditions across the globe and may be why Australians are now shivering their way through summer and the current freezing conditions in California. [Are they saying that GREENland might once again be green?  Were humans to "blame" the last time Greenland was green?]
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1340436/Why-cold-warm-Greenland-Diverted-jet-stream-letting-icy-blast-Arctic.html#ixzz18wbSu3hN

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AJC in Atlanta writes: If the current forecast holds, it’ll be the first snow to fall on Christmas in Atlanta since a trace in 1993. The last time there was measurable snow on Christmas Day was more than a century earlier, in 1882, when .3 inch accumulated.  http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-weather-snow-accumulations-785039.html   Now we see why the mantra has shifted from Global Warming to Climate Change.  They can scare us and take our money no matter what the weather trend is.]

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Van Jones, Obama's Former Former Green Jobs Czar; Grap the Whip and Run the Plantation; Communist Party USA Might Capture the Democrat Party Entirely; The Jet Stream's Path; and Our Top Anti-Terrorism Official

[Immediately following the election of Barack Obama, I began to warn of the radicals who have always been at his side.  This is one of the worst, and he is working hard to "fundamentally transform America" as Obama promisted.]  Now, let me show you a new video, said Glenn Beck: This is the latest from Van Jones and I want you to notice the date on this. This happened last September. Listen to what he's saying here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN JONES, FORMER GREEN JOBS CZAR: We can't just leave the federal government in the hands of our enemies and expect to go make a lot of progress. So, even if we can't get everything done that we want to get done out of D.C., we certainly can't let other people have the level of control in D.C.
But also, you can see right now, .D.C. can't do much by itself. You ought to have that bottom-up movement. And that's what's been missing is that bottom-up sense of movement to get the best out of D.C. And what's stopping that is the inside-out piece.
You know, we talk about power more than any other people - every kind of political, economic - we talk about power all the time and are more afraid of power than anybody I know. We talk about power, empowerment this, empowerment that, we want power - we don't want no power. Because when you have power, you become a real target. And there is a sense that we're not healed from some historical traumas.
We've been trained not to have power. We've been trained to protest. We've been trained to critique and to be mad at NASA (ph). [I believe he actually said Massah] We have not been trained to grab the whip and put it down and run the plantation. That's not what we've been trained to do.

BECK: OK. Top-down, remember, put the radicals in; and the bottom- up, get the revolutionaries to rise up. Grab the whip and run the plantation.

We did everything right. So, standing flat-footed January 2009, everything that we were taught to do we had done and has been successful. And here we are less than 24 months later, and most people feel like the hope bubble burst a long time ago because the other systems of power that we were not taking seriously and they have to do with the media, they have to do with the racial discourse in the media, and that's the next frontier. [Does this make you think about the new FCC rules governing the Internet, perhaps?  Me too.] Read more and watch the video at: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/glenn-beck/transcript/revolution-now?page=2#ixzz18mcWoRoR
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From Yahoo's Associated Comment: Joe Sims, co-editor of the Communist Party USA online magazine Peoples World states among other things "the possibility that the communists may be able to "capture' the Democratic Party entirely." Read that slowly and carefully..."the possibility that the communists may be able to "capture' the Democratic Party entirely."

Joe Sims is a proud little Commie. He goes on to brag that among other things, "heightened class and democratic struggle...all have combined to produce an unprecedented situation - and opportunity." How long have I been railing on against this Democrat Party effort to frame the current political debate as one of class? Clearly even the ones seeking to wage this struggle freely admit that is their effort and how said effort is an "opportunity" for them? http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6080886/communist_party_usa_reveals_were_using.html?cat=9
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The UK Daily Mail writes: The freezing conditions that have blasted Britain are being blamed on a series of weather patterns that are bringing Arctic temperatures to much of western Europe, California and even Australia.
One of the main factors is a change in the position of the jet stream - the fast-moving current of air that moves from west to east, high in the atmosphere.
Changes in the jet stream's path can cause massive changes in weather conditions across the globe and may be why Australians are now shivering their way through summer and the current freezing conditions in California. [I'm wondering if the environmentalists are thinking that we humans have the power to change the jet stream's path.]
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1340436/Why-cold-warm-Greenland-Diverted-jet-stream-letting-icy-blast-Arctic.html#ixzz18qzyZ65c

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PowerlineBlog.com writes: Yesterday the Obama administration's top anti-terrorism officials--Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, chief counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano--gave an interview to ABC's Diane Sawyer on the current state of the terrorist threat.
The questions and answers are unremarkable, except that there is a surreal moment near the end of the interview, when it becomes apparent that DNI Clapper was unaware that twelve would-be terrorists were arrested in Great Britain yesterday. Brennan jumped in to help him out, but Sawyer came back to the question later, and Clapper admitted that he hadn't heard about the arrests. [I'm sure most Americans had by then heard the news. Is this making you feel full of trust that our country is being well protected from terrorists?  Me neither.]
This was one of those outer space moments that are hard to fathom. The arrests were widely reported. I knew about them; Diane Sawyer knew about them; you likely did, too. Is it conceivable that the Director of National Intelligence doesn't get a daily briefing? Or that he is not briefed on likely questions before giving a network television interview? Apparently so. http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/12/027974.php

Climate Matters; The FCC's Power, and Republicans' Power to Change It; Millions Admitted to US Without IDs; Terrorist Threat is Real!; Airports Suspend Enhanced Security at Airports for Holidays

From the Independent, year 2000: Britain's winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.
Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain's culture, as warmer winters - which scientists are attributing to global climate change - produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries.
"Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said.

Heavy snow will return occasionally, says Dr Viner, but when it does we will be unprepared. "We're really going to get caught out. Snow will probably cause chaos in 20 years time," he said.

The chances are certainly now stacked against the sort of heavy snowfall in cities that inspired Impressionist painters, such as Sisley, and the 19th century poet laureate Robert Bridges, who wrote in "London Snow" of it, "stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying". [As snow now blankets Europe, stranding millions and forcing long lines for people to take trains home for Christmas, I would say that the year 2000 predictions are indicative of all those who predict dire climate change based on just a few out of billions of years on planet Earth.  I keep asking what it was that produced global warming every 15,000 years or so on Earth - before man could be blamed.  We never hear that discussion, do we?]

Not any more, it seems. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/snowfalls-are-now-just-a-thing-of-the-past-724017.html

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The Wall St. Journal writes: A divided Federal Communications Commission approved a proposal by Chairman Julius Genachowski to give the FCC power to prevent broadband providers from selectively blocking web traffic.
The rules will go into effect early next year, but legal challenges or action by Congress could block the FCC's action. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) on Tuesday called the FCC's action "flawed" and said lawmakers would "have an opportunity in the new Congress to push back against new rules and regulations." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703581204576033513990668654.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
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The Chronical writes: More than 18 months after U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspectors were supposed to start enforcing stringent ID requirements at the nation's land borders, millions of travelers are still being admitted without passports or other secure IDs, a new government audit shows.

An Office of Inspector General report released Monday found that CBP remains unprepared to fully implement the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which officially took effect in June 2009 and requires all travelers, including U.S. citizens, to carry passports or one of a handful of other forms of secure ID.

In the first eight months after the requirements took effect, 2.3 million travelers failed to provide proper paperwork at U.S. land ports of entry. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7348243.html

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The UK Daily Mail writes: Al Qaeda terrorists planned to poison food at multiple US hotels and restaurants over a single weekend, it has been revealed this morning.
The 'credible' plot involved slipping the poisons cyanide and ricin into salad bars and buffets, according to CBS news.
The terrorist group behind the failed 'ink cartridge' attacks on cargo planes in October were said to have hatched the plan.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula branded the plot 'Operation Haemorrhage'.
Militants say the plot consists of 'attacking the enemy with smaller but more frequent operations' to 'add a heavy economic burden to an already faltering economy'. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/12/22/2010-12-22_terrorist_threat_on_united_state_still_real_warns_attorney_general_eric_holder.html#ixzz18qCU29c0


Just yesterday, our Eric Holder admitted that:  "The threat is real. The threat is different. The threat is constant," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told ABC's "Good Morning America."

"You didn't worry about this even two years ago - about individuals, about Americans - to the extent that we now do. And that is of great concern," Holder said.
The NYPD says it has long been aware of the dangers posed by homegrown terrorists and always has kept an eye on threats close to home.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/12/22/2010-12-22_terrorist_threat_on_united_state_still_real_warns_attorney_general_eric_holder.html#ixzz18qCU29c0

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(CBS)  In this exclusive story, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports the latest terror attack to America involves the possible use of poisons - simultaneous attacks targeting hotels and restaurants at many locations over a single weekend.

A key Intelligence source has confirmed the threat as "credible." Department of Homeland Security officials, along with members of the Department of Agriculture and the FDA, have briefed a small group of corporate security officers from the hotel and restaurant industries about it.
  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/20/eveningnews/main7169266.shtml
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The Canada Free Press reveals: Did you see the Washington Post this morning? That was the one sentence e-mail I received yesterday from my DHS contact who alerted me to the DHS/TSA memorandum about the domestic intelligence agency’s creating and maintaining a list of individuals who were determined to be “interfering” with the enhanced airport TSA screening procedures through their objections or “opting out” of such procedures. In my November 23rd report titled DHS making a list, checking it twice, I wrote that the DHS, through the arm of the TSA, under the direction of Napolitano and with the full consent of Obama, was collecting the names and personal information of such individuals, labeling them as potential “domestic extremists.”
Meanwhile, the very same agency was busily averting an uprising by air travelers and a potential public relations nightmare by temporarily suspending their draconian security measures during one of the busiest travel times of the year. http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/31331
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Repeal Amendment;

The NYT writes: The same people driving the lawsuits that seek to dismantle the Obama administration’s health care overhaul have set their sights on an even bigger target: a constitutional amendment that would allow a vote of the states to overturn any act of Congress. Under the proposed “repeal amendment,” any federal law or regulation could be repealed if the legislatures of two-thirds of the states voted to do so. The idea has been propelled by the wave of Republican victories in the midterm elections. First promoted by Virginia lawmakers and Tea Party groups
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/us/politics/20states.html?_r=1 
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The Daily Caller reveals: Nearly forty percent of the Marines in the official Department of Defense survey said that they may leave the service early if “don’t ask, don’t tell” is repealed. Four out of ten! That is a staggering number that could degrade one of the most lethal fighting forces in the world.

The same Department of Defense report said forty to sixty percent of Marines and other combat forces believe that the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” will have a negative impact on the military. Marine Corps Commandant, General James Amos, said, “I don’t want to lose any Marines to the distraction [of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’].” We are in a time of war and we have combat troops in two theaters of operation. It is not a time to change a policy that has worked for years.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/20/the-inevitability-of-the-draft/#ixzz18gkstEFr

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(CNSNews.com) - At an all-day White House conference on "environmental justice," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that her department is creating a new task force to battle the effects of climate change on domestic security operations.

Speaking at the first White House Forum on Environmental Justice on Thursday, Napolitano discussed the initial findings of the department’s recently created "Climate Change and Adaptation Task Force." http://cnsnews.com/news/article/napolitano-says-dhs-begin-battling-clima

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The Washington Times writes: Sometimes in Congress, the physical size of the bill matters. Last week's aborted $1.1 trillion "omnibus" spending bill ran to 1,926 pages and ended up costing taxpayers more than $78,000 just for the Government Printing Office to print out 650 copies. The size alone helped Republicans sink the measure so quickly that Democrats officially never called up the bill on the Senate floor for action, (Snip) Now, the two sides are headed toward a vote Tuesday on a 36-page continuing resolution, or "CR" in Congress-speak, that will keep the government running through early March with some specific tweaks to boost http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/20/hot-off-the-press-obsolete-bill-costs-78000-to-pri/

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USA Today writes: For a guy who insists that federal bureaucrats make too much money, incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor doesn't mind handing out handsome government raises of his own.

Cantor, the Virginia Republican who has led the GOP charge this year to freeze federal salaries, has boosted his congressional office's payroll 81% since coming to Congress in 2001 — about 8% per year through 2009. When he became minority whip last year, the office's personnel expenses went up by at least 16%.

Cantor and other GOP leaders are now pledging to cut their budgets 5% when they take over the House in January — a symbolic gesture aimed at showing a commitment to slowing Washington spending. But the lawmakers suddenly calling for wage cuts often haven't practiced what they're preaching. http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2010-12-20-congress-staff-pay_N.htm

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Tax Bill; Herman Cain; Net Neutrality; andThe Start Treaty

The New York Posts writes: Obama signed into law an $858 billion bill negotiated with Republicans that extends Bush-era tax cuts for all income levels -- including breaks that he once decried for the highest earners.
Clearly moving from the left to the center, Obama even agreed to lower the inheritance tax on the wealthiest Americans as sought by Republicans -- enraging his liberal Democratic friends.[Didn't you just love the comment Rep. Anthony Weiner made to Megan Kelly on Fox News regarding estate taxes? He said, "You aren't paying anything in that case because you'll be dead."]

During the ceremony, Obama spent more time stroking Republican leaders than fellow Democrats.
There was a reason: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid boycotted the event.
Staffers in Pelosi's and Reid's offices insisted that they could not get to the White House because they were swamped on Capitol Hill wrapping up a host of bills before Congress adjourns in the next week or so. But Capitol insiders said neither was thrilled with the Obama-GOP tax deal.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) turned out to be Obama's new bosom buddy.
Both Obama and Vice President Joe Biden pointedly praised McConnell for crafting a compromise with the White House. The president also noted that the deal passed both houses of Congress by "wide bipartisan margins."
[First of all, regarding the estate taxes, they were raised from 0% to 35%.  They were NOT lowered, except from rates of long ago.  And this article gets it right: this is NOT an Obama tax cut - it is the extension of the tax rates of the last 10 years.  In so doing, Obama admitted that raising tax rates is NOT good for the economy.  How quickly I think he will "forget" this maxim....  I wonder if Biden thinks this is, in his words, "a big f-ing deal.  I would guess it only fits that description when there is NO bipartisan agreement, as when passing the ObamaCare bill.  It is interesting that he now finds bipartisanship to be so exciting.]
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/what_difference_wdRNuTVm52bDSAMKFXgFTP#ixzz18YdjbRzX

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[Herman Cain, who inspired many at a rally while in Petoskey, Michigan, has made an announcement, one which was well received when he laughingly said to us, "who knows, maybe I will run to replace Barack Obama!"]

Cain, a radio talk show host and favorite of the Tea Party movement, confirmed the news in an interview with The Daily Caller.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/17/herman-cain-is-definitely-forming-2012-exploratory-committee/#ixzz18SjW26iO

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The Blaze writes: The Federal Reserve has reversed its decision that originally forced a small Oklahoma bank to remove from its premises and website Bible verses, crosses, and Christmas buttons. The reversal occurred after national outcry and a letter from two Oklahoma lawmakers who charged that the decision may be unconstitutional.
Sen Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) sent a joint letter to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday afternoon saying they have “seldom encountered a more alarming case of heavy-handed interpretation and enforcement of Federal regulations,” and charging the decision may be in violation of “fundamental Constitutional protections.” [It still amazes me that this Progressive government is throwing so much at us that we must keep an eternal vigil against the usurpation of our rights, and be ready on a daily basis to fight for what is right.  They will NOT overwhelm us!]  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/after-national-outcry-fed-reverses-anti-christian-bank-decision-in-ok/  
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The Wall St. Journal warns us: Tomorrow morning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will mark the winter solstice by taking an unprecedented step to expand government's reach into the Internet by attempting to regulate its inner workings. In doing so, the agency will circumvent Congress and disregard a recent court ruling.
How did the FCC get here?
For years, proponents of so-called "net neutrality" have been calling for strong regulation of broadband "on-ramps" to the Internet, like those provided by your local cable or phone companies. Rules are needed, the argument goes, to ensure that the Internet remains open and free, and to discourage broadband providers from thwarting consumer demand. That sounds good if you say it fast.
Nothing is broken and needs fixing, however. The Internet has been open and freedom-enhancing since it was spun off from a government research project in the early 1990s.

Analysts and broadband companies of all sizes have told the FCC that new rules are likely to have the perverse effect of inhibiting capital investment, deterring innovation, raising operating costs, and ultimately increasing consumer prices. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703395204576023452250748540.html

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The Hill adds: The Democrats have a message for Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps: Don't screw things up on net neutrality.

Democrats allied with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski are working to put public pressure on Copps as the net-neutrality vote draws near. 
Genachowski needs Copps to vote for his plan during a commission meeting on Tuesday if the rules are to pass.
A prominent Democrat close to the White House said it this way on Friday: "If Copps votes no on Tuesday, he'd be handing the president a huge loss at a time when the Democrats should have a big win."
"Voting no…would be snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory and would be giving the Republicans a huge win," the source said. http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/134327-democrats-go-public-in-pressuring-fcc-commissioner-on-net-neutrality
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The Washington Times reports: Key Senate Republicans on Sunday announced that they do not support ratification of a U.S.-Russia arms control treaty, upsetting White House plans to win passage of the pact during the lame-duck session of the Senate. I've decided that I cannot support the treaty," Mr. McConnell said Sunday on CNN. "I think the verification provisions are inadequate, and I do worry about the missile defense implications of it."     http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/19/start-loses-key-gop-support/