Merry Christmas!

[Crafty_Dog]

http://patriotpost.us/pages/290

To All my Christian Friends--Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone else.

[G M]

http://patriotpost.us/pages/290

To All my Christian Friends--Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone else.

Ditto

[Crafty_Dog]

“How many observe Christ's birth-day! How few, his precepts! O! 'tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.” –Benjamin Franklin (1743)

[DougMacG]

Yes, it was once a religious celebration more than a retail event.  Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope that Christmas offers a moment of family time, good tidings and cheer for those here of all faiths!

[Crafty_Dog]

In Hoc Anno Domini
This editorial was written in 1949 by the late Vermont Royster and has been published annually since.

Dec. 23, 2013 5:40 p.m. ET

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression—for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

[bigdog]

Merry Christmas to all.

[youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9H9Fi4Qcus][/youtube]

[Crafty_Dog]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgm_dh2a31Q

[ccp]

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/miracle-mutt-namath-family-dog-120439800.html

[ccp]

Joe Namath's daughter dog found years later now is his grand daughter's pet.

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/miracle-mutt-namath-family-dog-120439800.html

Another free associative thought:

It is interesting she met with the dog's finder at Yeehaw Junction.  The only thing there is basically a bar/tavern at I believe the junction of three crossroads in Central Florida.

Jupiter would I think be Southeast.

I used to pass through there when I travelled in the mid to late 90's doing hospital consulting.  One time I finally thought I would just this once stop at the bar and go in and have a beer.  So I did.  I am sitting in this dingy bar and the only two other people if I recall correctly were the bartender and an older lady who was standing by the restrooms.

As I sipped my beer ( a light weight - I guess - real beer drinkers guzzle) I looked around and all of a sudden out of the restroom walks out possibly the most beautiful 20 something year lady I have ever seen.  She walked right past me and the lady who I would hazard a guess was her mother walked behind her and they both left.  Perhaps they stopped at the junction to use the restroom. 

Dare I say the bartender and I challenged the range of motion of our necks as our fixated eyes turned our heads nearly clear off our shoulders.

I actually wrote a song about it on the way home.  I don't know if Katherine still has it.

It also reminds me of the scene in the movie Citizen Kane where the older gentlemen recalls seeing a woman in a white dress for only a few seconds. Yet for the rest of his life he remembers it like it was five minutes ago.

Anyway when I hear Yeehaw Junction that it was I think of.

[DougMacG]

Audio link, 6 minute intro, 2 hour broadcast, beautiful music with a little narration, PBS national broadcast:

http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/www_publicradio/tools/media_player/popup.php?name=minnesota/classical/features/2012/12/17/st_olaf_christmas_festival_20121217_128

101 year music tradition at my daughter's college, this was my first time attending.   Full symphony with 5 choirs, 600 students performing on a campus of less than 3200.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/11/12/st-olaf-christmas-festival

[Crafty_Dog]

Most Jews Wish You a Merry Christmas
Tuesday, Dec 24, 2013
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As a Jew, and a religious one at that, I want to wish my fellow Americans a Merry Christmas.

Not “Happy Holidays.” Merry Christmas.

I write, “my fellow Americans” because, as reported by the Pew Research poll released just last Wednesday, nine in 10 Americans say they celebrate Christmas.

Apparently, many Americans have forgotten that Christmas is not only a Christian holy day, but also an American national holiday. Just as we wish one another a “Happy Thanksgiving” or a “Happy Fourth,” so, too, we should wish fellow Americans a “Merry Christmas.”

It doesn’t matter with which religion or ethnic group you identify; Christmas in America is as American as the proverbial apple pie. That is why some of the most famous and beloved Christmas songs were written by guess who? Jews.

“White Christmas” was written by Irving Berlin (birth name: Israel Isidore Baline).

“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” — Johnny Marks.

“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” — composed by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn.

“Silver Bells” — by Jay Livingston (Jacob Harold Levison) and Ray Evans (Raymond Bernard Evans).

“The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” — Mel Torme and Robert Wells (Robert Levinson), both Jews.

“Sleigh Ride” — lyrics by Mitchell Parish (Michael Hyman Pashelinsky).

There are many others as well.

The notion that non-Christians are excluded is absurd.

Americans who feel “excluded” are not excluded. They have decided to feel excluded. Which is, of course, entirely their right to do; no one forces anyone to celebrate any American holiday. But attempts to remove Christmas from the public sphere are destructive to our society. It would be as if Jehovah’s Witnesses attempted to remove public celebrations and references to the Fourth of July because they don’t celebrate national holidays.

Why are these attempts destructive? Because the entire society — Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists as well as Christians — all benefit from the goodness and joy that the Christmas season engenders.

It never occurred to my Orthodox Jewish family not to enjoy this season. It was a tradition in our home to watch the Christmas Mass from the Vatican every Christmas Eve (unless it was a Friday evening, and therefore the Sabbath, when no television watching was allowed). Had you visited our home, you would have seen my mother — and my father, my brother and I all wearing our kippot (Jewish skullcaps) — watching Catholics celebrate Christmas.

Nor did it ever occur to my brother, Dr. Kenneth Prager, an Orthodox Jew, not to sing Christmas songs when he was a member of the Columbia University Glee Club. He happily sang not only secular Christmas songs, but religious Christ-centered Christmas songs as well.

So when and why did this pernicious nonsense of non-Christians being “excluded” by public celebration of Christmas develop?

It is nothing more than another destructive product of the 1960s and ’70s when the left came to dominate much of the culture.

One way in which the left has done this has been through “multiculturalism,” the left’s way of dividing Americans by religion, ethnicity, race, and national origins.

The other way has been through its aim of secularizing America — which means, first and foremost, the removal of as many Christian references as possible.

The left regularly mocks the notion that there is a war against Christmas, a description that left-wing writers almost place within quotation marks, as if it is a manufactured falsehood.

The most obvious and ubiquitous example of this war is the substitution of “Happy Holidays” for “Merry Christmas” almost throughout the culture. Employees in most retail operations are told not to say “Merry Christmas.” As a result, in much of America today, wishing a stranger “Merry Christmas” is almost an act of courage.

And, of course, many, if not most, public schools have banned Christmas trees and the singing of any Christmas song that hints of Christianity. Last week, for example, the school choir at a Long Island school, the Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School, sang “Silent Night” with the lyrics changed. “Holy infant,” “Christ the savior” and “Round yon virgin, mother and child” were all deleted.

Let me end where I began: speaking as a Jew.

Overwhelmingly, the Jews who are active in the removal of Christmas from society — such as Mikey Weinstein, the anti-Christian activist (with a soft spot for Islamists) who led the campaign to remove the manger scene from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina — are not religious Jews. They are animated by one or both of two factors: One is leftism, which serves as a substitute religion for Judaism (and among many non-Jews for Christianity). The other is a psychological need to see Christianity suppressed; many people who have little or no religious identity resent those who do.

According to Fox News, Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation “said they were alerted by an undisclosed number of Airmen who said they were emotionally troubled by the sight of [the nativity scene].” That sentence should be reworded. Those who claim to be emotionally troubled by the sight of a nativity scene are not emotionally troubled by the sight of a nativity scene. They are emotionally troubled.

[G M]

https://mobile.twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/1077236447848075264

[Crafty_Dog]

Christmases Past and Future
The suspension of a beloved tradition reminds us of the courage that secured the blessings of liberty.
By
Dec. 24, 2020 4:37 pm ET

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Another event cancellation driven by state governors acting like “petty tyrants” reminds us of the people who allowed us to live free of major tyrants.

On the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, the Washington Crossing Historic Park says that due in part to crowd-size restrictions, the beloved annual tradition of re-enacting Washington’s courageous Christmas crossing into New Jersey won’t happen in front of the usual cheering crowds this year. The park notes:

    However, to keep the tradition alive, we will debut a special pre-recorded crossing video on Christmas Day at 10 AM. You can tune in this video on the park’s Facebook page or on YouTube.

Looking on the bright side, Jennifer Martin, executive director of Friends of Washington Crossing Park, tells NJ.com: “We see this as a positive, that the daring crossing and the history is something we can share with people from all over the world.”

Sounds good given the unreasonable limits on liberty imposed by governors on both sides of the river. But what would Washington think? NJ.com’s Kevin Shea reports:

    Gen. George Washington would have made his daring 1776 crossing of the Delaware River during a pandemic.

    In fact, he likely did.

    Smallpox was rampant during the colonial era and deadly disease was just another obstacle to overcome when Washington planned the Christmas night crossing from Pennsylvania to New Jersey on his way to defeat the Hessians in the first Battle of Trenton the next morning.

Over on the New Jersey side of the river, the Washington Crossing State Park describes the challenges our hero and his cold and hungry soldiers faced.
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Some may wonder why they even made the attempt. Texas Tech historian Cody Lass writes:

    At first glance, the decision to transport 2,400 Continental soldiers across an icy river in one night, directly into a severe winter storm of sleet and snow seems irrational.

    Washington’s decision, however, was based on strategic motivation, understanding that the Continental Army desperately needed a victory after months of intense fighting with several significant defeats and no major victories. Washington also understood that the element of surprise was the only way that he and his army stood a chance of defeating the highly trained Hessian mercenaries . . .

    Washington’s plan was to cross the river at night, march to the nearby town of Trenton, New Jersey, and attack the Hessian garrison right before dawn. Time was Washington’s greatest enemy; to combat it his orders called for the various regiments to assemble at their designated crossing points no later than sunset. The close proximity to the crossing points allowed the soldiers to begin the journey immediately after nightfall struck and complete the crossing no later than midnight. Once across, Washington intended for the armies to reassemble and march approximately ten miles to Trenton, arriving there no later than five o’clock in the morning to achieve surprise. Despite his meticulous planning, the schedule failed almost before it even began.

    Many of the regiments did not arrive at the river until well after dark. Additionally, a severe winter storm that included wind, rain, snow, hail, and sleet met the soldiers at the banks of the river significantly slowing their crossing. Many of the boats had to combat ice jams and unfavorable currents. To make matters even worse, the extreme darkness caused by the storm made it hard for the boatmen to see the opposite shore.

The website for Washington’s home at Mount Vernon reports:

    George Washington’s plan of attack included three different crossings of the Delaware River on Christmas night. Col. Cadwalader was to lead his force of 1,200 Philadelphia militia and 600 Continentals across the river near Burlington, New Jersey. His role was to harass and prevent the British and Hessian units near the town from racing north to support the Hessians at Trenton. Gen. James Ewing’s force of 800 Pennsylvania militia was to cross the river at Trenton and take up defensive positions along the Assunpink River and bridge. Ewing’s soldiers would work to prevent the Hessians from retreating from Trenton. And Washington and his 2,400 soldiers would cross at McConkey’s and Johnson’s ferries, roughly 10 miles north of Trenton and would then march down to Trenton to surprise the garrison at dawn. This was an ambitious plan, one that even well rested and experienced troops would have had difficulty in executing.

But Cadwalader and Ewing’s forces weren’t able to cross the river, so Washington and his brave 2,400 had to go it alone. As Mount Vernon notes, they did enjoy some luck:

    Lurking within Washington’s headquarters was a British spy who has never been identified. This spy was privy to the early deliberations of Washington’s war council and correctly passed along to British Major General James Grant that Washington’s army was looking to attack north of the river. Grant passed along this information to General Leslie and Col. Von Donop who then passed it along to Col. Johann Rall at Trenton. And while Grant stated that he did not think Washington would attack, he did command Rall to be vigilant. Rall acknowledged receipt of this important intelligence at about the same time that Washington was beginning his crossing. With typical Hessian bravado, Rall dismissed or even welcomed the threat stating “Let them come . . . Why defenses? We will go at them with the bayonet.”

It took Washington’s troops a while to arrive. The Mount Vernon history continues:

    Finally, across the river, Washington was dismayed to discover that he was a full three hours behind his schedule. His plan had called for another march of 10 miles to the outskirts of Trenton on roads that were now slick with ice and snow. With every delay Washington’s fears that his army would be caught in the open magnified. What to do? Contemplating his choices Washington was seen brooding on a crate near a fire. Washington later wrote, when remembering this fateful moment, “ . . . As I was certain there was no making a retreat without being discovered and harassed on repassing the River, I determined to push on at all Events.”

We can all be grateful that he did. According to Cody Lass:

    Once ready, Washington led his army on the road to Trenton. It was there that he secured the Continental Army’s first major military victory of the war. Without the determination, resiliency, and leadership exhibited by Washington while crossing the Delaware River the victory at Trenton would not have been possible.

[ya]

Happy New Year, 2021. Glad to leave 2020 behind.

[G M]

Happy New Year, 2021. Glad to leave 2020 behind.

My usually optimistic outlook: We will miss 2020.

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/grinch-prank-santa?utm_source=lwc-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=LWC%20Newsletter%20Friday%2010%20AM%20Test%202022-12-23