Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America ...

A very good read!

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Trees

 

 

    

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America ...

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

 

My confession:

 

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

 

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

 

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

 

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God ? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

 

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

 

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

 

In light of recent events... Terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

 

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

 

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

 

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

 

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

 

Are you laughing yet?

 

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

 

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

 

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

 

 

 

If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. 

 

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

 

Ben Stein

 

 

 

 

Krauthammer: Trump tweets mesmerize media

Trump so thoroughly owns the political stage today that the word Clinton seems positively quaint.

BY CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER

The most amusing part of the Trump transition has been watching its effortless confounding of the media, often in fewer than 140 characters. One morning, after a Fox News report on lefty nuttiness at some obscure New England college – a flag burning that led a more-contemptible-than-usual campus administration to take down the school’s own American flag – Donald Trump tweets that flag burners should go to jail or lose their citizenship.

An epidemic of constitutional chin tugging and civil libertarian hair pulling immediately breaks out. By the time the media have exhausted their outrage over the looming abolition of free speech, judicial supremacy and affordable kale, Trump has moved on. The tempest had a shorter half-life than the one provoked in August 2015 by a Trump foray into birthright citizenship.

Trump so thoroughly owns the political stage today that the word Clinton seems positively quaint and Barack Obama, who happens to be president of the United States, is totally irrelevant. Obama gave a major national security address on Tuesday. Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn’s son got more attention.

Trump has mesmerized the national media not just with his elaborate Cabinet-selection production, by now Broadway-ready. But with a cluster of equally theatrical personal interventions that by traditional standards seem distinctly unpresidential.

It’s a matter of size. They seem small for a president. Preventing the shutdown of a Carrier factory in Indiana. Announcing, in a contextless 45-second surprise statement, a major Japanese investment in the United States. Calling for cancellation of the new Air Force One to be built by Boeing.

Pretty small stuff. It has the feel of a Cabinet undersecretary haggling with a contractor or a state governor drumming up business on a Central Asian trade mission. Or of candidate Trump selling Trump steaks and Trump wine in that bizarre victory speech after the Michigan primary.

The Carrier coup was meant to demonstrate the kind of concern for the working man that gave Trump the Rust Belt victories that carried him to the presidency. The Japanese SoftBank announcement was a down payment on his promise to be “the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” (A slightly dubious claim: After all, how instrumental was Trump to that investment? Surely a financial commitment of that magnitude would have been planned long before Election Day.) And Boeing was an ostentatious declaration that he would be the zealous guardian of government spending that you would expect from a crusading outsider.

What appears as random Trumpian impulsiveness has a logic to it. It’s a continuation of the campaign. Trump is acutely sensitive to his legitimacy problem, as he showed in his tweet claiming to have actually won the popular vote, despite trailing significantly in the official count. The mini-interventions are working but there’s a risk for Trump in so personalizing his coming presidency. It’s a technique borrowed from Third World strongmen who specialize in demonstrating their personal connection to the ordinary citizen. In a genuine democracy, however, the endurance of any political support depends on the larger success of the country. And that doesn’t come from Carrier-size fixes. It comes from policy – policy that fundamentally changes the structures and alters the trajectory of the nation.

“I alone can fix it,” Trump ringingly declared in his convention speech. Indeed, alone he can do Carrier and SoftBank and Boeing. But ultimately he must deliver on tax reform, health care, economic growth and nationwide job creation. That requires Congress.

The 115th is Republican and ready to push through the legislation that gives life to the promises. On his part, Trump needs to avoid needless conflict. The Republican leadership has already signaled strong opposition on some issues, such as tariffs for job exporters. Nonetheless, there is enough common ground between Trump and his congressional majority to have an enormously productive 2017. The challenge will be to stay within the bounds of the Republican consensus.

Trump will continue to tweet and the media will continue take the bait. Highly entertaining but it is a sideshow. Congress is where the fate of the Trump presidency will be decided.

Charles Krauthammer is a columnist for The Washington Post. He can be contacted at:

letters@charleskrauthammer.com

 

Microsoft ‘Holiday Ad’ Celebrates Black Lives Matter, Transgender Activism And Muslim Migrants

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Microsoft ‘Holiday Ad’ Celebrates Black Lives Matter, Transgender Activism And Muslim Migrants by Geoffrey Grider To celebrate the “spirit of the holidays,” Microsoft released an ad this week best described as a collage of Left-wing pet causes. The commercial features sympathetic images and anecdotes for Black Lives Matter, Syrian refugees, transgender activism and more general LGBT issues. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1 (KJV) In a likely allusion to the 2016 election, Microsoft says the year “has been challenging for many” because “much of what we hear in the news can be negative.” “We wanted to lift people up and remind them that ordinary people can make a difference,” Microsoft’s description of the ad reads on YouTube. “”Our message focuses on the spirit of the holidays, people coming together and celebrating what is good and right with the world—what unites us, instead of what divides us,” claims the ad’s description. The ad then features seven individuals, who according to Microsoft, represent “good and right” causes, which are anything but unifying issues — including two young children in connection with LGBT issues. Microsoft Celebrates the Spirit of the Season: “Knowing that at least one adult cares can make the difference in the world to a transgendered youth,” says Jazz Jennings, a teenager whom the company’s press release acknowledges to be one of the youngest public figures to identify as transgender, in the ad. “Be that person.” The other representative for LGBT issues is seven-year-old Zea Bowling, a first grader who says "People should let people be whoever they want to be." "We need our fathers and mothers to be by our side," says another little girl, while scenes from a Black Lives Matter protest roll across the screen. That girl, Zianna Oliphant, is a child activist who whose speech was before the Charlotte City Council in the aftermath of the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott. Black Lives Matter, joined by liberal politicians and other left-wing organizations, generated massive outrage after Scott was killed by police officers in Charlotte. Riots paralyzed the city for multiple night. The officers involved were later completely exonerated after the investigation showed Scott had pulled a gun after being stopped and refused to drop the weapon despite repeated warnings. "There's a damaged relationship between America's youth and the American police officer," says an officer later in the ad. An activist for Syrian refugees recounts a sympathetic story of rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean -- no mention of heartwarming efforts to heal communities in Ohio, Florida, New York and California in the wake of Jihadist attacks all carried out by migrants or children of migrants. A mega-company like Microsoft could, of course, have produced a holiday ad most Americans could find inspiriting. Instead the tech-giant opted to push a liberal agenda. source     Geoffrey Grider | December 10, 2016 at 1:37 pm | URL: http://wp.me/p1kFP6-clQ Comment    See all comments

The Guilty Verdict Dutch Politicians Wanted So Much

The Guilty Verdict Dutch Politicians Wanted So Much Left Wing Politicians Who Insulted Moroccans Worse, Not Prosecuted by Douglas Murray  •  December 10, 2016 at 11:00 am Remarks, incomparably more damning icepicks than "fewer Moroccans", [were] made by members of the Netherlands' Labour Party, who of course were never prosecuted. Members of the Netherlands' Labour Party, who never of course were prosecuted, have wielded incomparably more damning icepicks than "fewer Moroccans". The irony cannot have been lost on the wider world that on the same day that news of Wilders's conviction came out the other news from Holland was the arrest of a 30 year-old terror suspect in Rotterdam suspected of being about to carry out 'an act of terrorism'. Internationally it will continuously be used against Wilders that he has been convicted of 'inciting discrimination' even though the charge is about a proto-crime – a crime that has not even occurred: like charging the makers of a car chase movie for 'inciting speeding'. As with many 'hate-crime' trials across the free world, from Denmark to Canada, the aim of the proceedings is to blacken the name of the party on trial so that they are afterwards formally tagged as a lesser, or non-person. If this sounds Stalinist it is because it is. In the long-term, though, there is something even more insidious about this trial. For as we have noted here before, if you prosecute somebody for saying that they want fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands then the only legal views able to be expressed about the matter are that the number of Moroccans in the country must remain at precisely present numbers or that you would only like more Moroccans in the country. In a democratic society this sort of matter ought to be debatable. If there is one great mental note of which 2016 ought to have reminded the world, it is how deeply unwise it is to try to police opinion. For when you do so you not only make your society less free, but you disable yourself from being able to learn what your fellow citizens are actually – perhaps ever more secretly – feeling. Then one day you will hear them. The trial of Geert Wilders has resulted in a guilty verdict. The court – which was located in a maximum security courthouse in the Netherlands near Schipol airport – found the leader of the PVV (Freedom Party) guilty of 'insulting a group' and of 'inciting discrimination'. The trial began with a number of complaints, but the proceedings gradually honed down onto one single comment made by Wilders at a party rally in March 2014. This was the occasion when Wilders asked the crowdwhether they wanted 'fewer or more Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands'. The crowd of supporters shouted 'Fewer'. On Friday morning the court decided not to impose a jail sentence or a fine, as prosecutors had requested. The intention of the court is clearly that the 'guilty' sentence should be enough. Continue Reading Article

The Middle East’s Worst Nightmare: The Coming War Between Israel And Russia

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The Middle East’s Worst Nightmare: The Coming War Between Israel And Russia by Geoffrey Grider The Israeli Air Force has been regularly paying visits to Syria for years, attacking convoys transporting Iranian weapons to Hezbollah, or destroying a Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007. "Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:" Ezekiel 39:1,2 (KJV) EDITOR'S NOTE: What many people don't realize about the current situation with the civil war in Syria is that with each passing day, Israel and Russia grow closer and closer to facing each other militarily. As Israel protects its interests against Syrian Muslims, what would happen if Israel was to hit a Russian target in Syria accidentally? The Israeli Air Force is one of the greatest in the whole world, thanks to the support of the United States, and Russia is itching to take them on. If this were to happen, where would it end?  Syrian media has reported that Israel fired several surface-to-surface missiles at a military airport. Yet much more significant is that fact that the airport was located outside Damascus, probably at least twenty-five miles from the Israeli border. If in fact the attack occurred—and Israel is neither confirming nor denying that it has—what does this mean? For starters, a missile that can reach Damascus isn’t some tactical anti-tank rocket fired by the Israeli army at some Hezbollah or ISIS gunmen on the border. Most likely it was a stand-off missile, perhaps an air-launched Popeye or Delilah, or some top-secret guided weapon never before used. Presumably Jerusalem was not crazy enough to use a nuclear-capable Jericho ballistic missile. Syria: Israeli missiles hit near Damascus But as Israeli military commentator Ron Ben-Yishai perceptively asks, why did Israel use missiles instead of the aircraft that it usually does? “Accurately dropping bombs is usually cheaper than firing surface missiles,” Ben-Yishai writes. “The cost of one accurate rocket is higher than the cost of accurate aerial munition, even when taking into account the cost of operating the plane and the pilot. It’s reasonable to assume, therefore, that if Israel did in fact use surface-to-surface missiles, as the Syrian media claimed, it had a good reason to do so. That good reason is Russian radar, Ben-Yishai believes. “Had Israel launched planes to carry out the mission, they would not have had to enter Syrian territory to hit the air base and could have simply flown over the sea or over Lebanese territory. But the sensitive and long-range radars, which the Russians brought to Syria when they entered the fray, would have been able to detect the presence of Israeli Air Force planes in the area. It’s even possible that the Russians would have warned the Syrian antiaircraft batteries which, according to reports, have already tried to hit Israeli planes as they embarked on missions to stop Hezbollah from arming itself.” Another reason could be the S-400, S-300 and SA-23 surface-to-air missiles that Russia has deployed in Syria, according to Ben-Yishai. The presence of advanced SAM batteries may deter Israeli aircraft from operating in Syrian airspace. However, there is another possibility that Ben-Yishai doesn’t mention. That’s the potential of Israeli and Russian aircraft engaging in battle. Russian fighters have already confronted U.S. aircraft attacking ISIS in Syria. If Israeli planes were to accidentally bomb Russian troops, and Russian fighters and SAMs fired at them, and then Israeli called in more fighters to rescue their planes and knock out the SAMs . . . it could be a very, very bad day for all concerned. The first two Israeli Air Force F-35s are headed from the United States to Israel right now. Will the presence of Russian aircraft and SAMs encourage Israel to use stealth aircraft in Syria, in turn provoking Russia to deploy even more sophisticated air defense weapons? As is, the situation is ominous. The problem with Israel launching surface-to-surface missiles is that the region has become a parking lot for missiles and rockets of all types. As the Americans and Soviets learned during the Cold War, missile blips suddenly appearing on radar screens can make people nervous, especially for states like Israel and Iran that have—or may have—nuclear weapons. Israel has also long believed, as with the strike on Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear site, that it’s better to neutralize potential threats before they become actual threats. If Israeli intelligence should detect, for example, Iranian weapons of mass destruction being transported across Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon, would Jerusalem sit on its hands? Or would it decide that destroying the threat is worth a potential confrontation with Russia? source     Geoffrey Grider | December 10, 2016 at 2:29 pm | URL: http://wp.me/p1kFP6-clU Comment    See all comments

Maureen Dowd presents a column by her brother, Kevin Dowd (Maureen’s introduction to this column is in the NYT at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/opinion/sunday/election-therapy-from-my-basket-of-deplorables.html?_r=0).

 

Election Therapy From My Basket of Deplorables

By Kevin Dowd

 

The election was a complete repudiation of Barack Obama: his fantasy world of political correctness, the politicization of the Justice Department and the I.R.S., an out-of-control E.P.A., his neutering of the military, his nonsupport of the police and his fixation on things like transgender bathrooms. Since he became president, his party has lost 63 House seats, 10 Senate seats and 14 governorships.

 

The country had signaled strongly in the last two midterms that they were not happy. The Dems' answer was to give them more of the same from a person they did not like or trust.

 

Preaching - and pandering - with a message of inclusion, the Democrats have instead become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine, religion is mocked and there is absolutely no respect for a differing opinion. This did not go down well in the Midwest, where Trump flipped three blue states and 44 electoral votes.

 

The rudeness reached its peak when Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed by attendees of "Hamilton" and then pompously lectured by the cast. This may play well with the New York theater crowd but is considered boorish and unacceptable by those of us taught to respect the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants.

 

Here is a short primer for the young protesters. If your preferred candidate loses, there is no need for mass hysteria, canceled midterms, safe spaces, crying rooms or group primal screams. You might understand this better if you had not received participation trophies, undeserved grades to protect your feelings or even if you had a proper understanding of civics. The Democrats are now crying that Hillary had more popular votes. That can be her participation trophy.

 

If any of my sons had told me they were too distraught over a national election to take an exam, I would have brought them home the next day, fearful of the instruction they were receiving. Not one of the top 50 colleges mandate one semester of Western Civilization. Maybe they should rethink that.

 

Mr. Trump received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists or any other "ists." I would caution Trump deniers that all of the crying and whining is not good preparation for the coming storm. The liberal media, both print and electronic, has lost all credibility. I am reasonably sure that none of the mainstream print media had stories prepared for a Trump victory. I watched the networks and cable stations in their midnight meltdown - embodied by Rachel Maddow explaining to viewers that they were not having a "terrible, terrible dream" and that they had not died and "gone to hell."

 

The media's criticism of Trump's high-level picks as "not diverse enough" or "too white and male" - a day before he named two women and offered a cabinet position to an African-American - magnified this fact.

 

Here is a final word to my Democratic friends. The election is over. There will not be a do-over. So let me bid farewell to Al Sharpton, Ben Rhodes and the Clintons. Note to Cher, Barbra, Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham: Your plane is waiting. And to Jon Stewart, who talked about moving to another planet: Your spaceship is waiting. To Bruce Springsteen, Jay Z, Beyoncé and Katy Perry, thanks for the free concerts. And finally, to all the foreign countries that contributed to the Clinton Foundation, there will not be a payoff or a rebate.

 

As Eddie Murphy so eloquently stated in the movie "48 Hrs.": "There's a new sheriff in town." And he is going to be here for 1,461 days. Merry Christmas.

 

Petrol Pump Wisdom

 

 

 

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 Some motorists say they deliberately travel this route just to read the quote which brightens their day.

 Here’s A Selection:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lady behind this wonderful initiative at Hutton Hyde Park is Alison Billett.

 She told SA People: “We inherited the board from the previous owner, Dick Hutton, when we bought the filling station from him almost 20 years ago.

“We continued the tradition and it has become a landmark 

– more so now that it’s on social media!

 

 

 

 

 

“Not a day goes by when I don’t get a call or a visit from someone to tell me how much they appreciate the message – it seems that every day there’s something that just speaks to what is going on in someone’s life and that inspires or motivates them.

 

 

 

 

  

“Having people come and tell me their stories and how the quote helped them in some small way is what motivates me to keep writing!

 “We use a variety of quotations – some are topical, some are funny, some are inspirational, some even reflect what is going on in my life that day!

 “Different things appeal to different people…

 

  

 

 “The boards were spotted by a motivational speaker from the UK, Geoff Ramm, when he was driving by one day and he was so taken by them he included a piece about them in his book!

 

 

 

 “The boards have appeared many times in newspapers and magazines and been spoken about on radio stations all over the world. 9GAG has re-tweeted them a few times too!”

 Bob 95 FM in the USA recently posted Alison’s “Rest in Peace” quote which has now been shared over a quarter of a million times around the world!