Happy New Year!

Rylands Transcript

The oldest known New Testament fragment is the Rylands Transcript, found in Egypt, now in Manchester England. It contains John 18: 31 - 33 and 37-38 (NKJV):

"31 Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” 32 that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die. 33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
.....
(34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”)
.........
"37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all."

Micah 5:2
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. "

Governor Gregoire is the Grinch?

I think she looks like the Grinch! How appropriate that she would post a sign in the state capital saying belief in God is mind enslaving...

Snow in New Orleans!

More pics here.

Pleiades

Amos 5:8
"he who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns blackness into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land — the LORD is his name- "

Find the Happy Face:)

Hint: Venus, Jupiter and the Moon

My Sister-In-Law died today....

My sister-in-law died today. She was diagnosed with colon cancer, but it spread into her liver, bones and finally her brain. Thankfully, she died in her sleep. I love this scripture:

Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

She had a lot of moxie and will be remembered fondly. Now she knows all the answers to the BIG questions in life...

First Image of the Earth from the Moon

Credit: NASA/LOIRP
Explanation: Pictured above is the first image ever taken of the Earth from the Moon. The image was taken in 1966 by Lunar Orbiter 1 and heralded by then-journalists as the Image of the Century. It was taken about two years before the Apollo 8 crew snapped its more famous color cousin. Recently, modern technology has allowed the recovery of higher resolution images from old data sources such as Lunar Orbiter tapes than ever before. Specifically, the above image recovery was led by Nancy Evans as part of the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project. Images like that above carry more than aesthetic value -- comparison to recent high definition images of the Moon enables investigations into how the Moon has been changing.

A Bubble in Cygnus

Image Credit & Copyright: Keith Quattrocchi, Mel Helm
Explanation: Adrift in the rich star fields of the constellation Cygnus, this lovely, symmetric bubble nebula was only recently recognized and may not yet appear in astronomical catalogs. In fact, amateur astronomer Dave Jurasevich identified it as a nebula on July 6 in his images of the complex Cygnus region that included the Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888). He subsequently notified the International Astronomical Union. Only eleven days later the same object was independently identified by Mel Helm at Sierra Remote Observatories, imaged by Keith Quattrocchi and Helm, and also submitted to the IAU as a potentially unknown nebula. Their final composite image is seen here, including narrow-band image data that highlights the nebula's delicate outlines. What is the newly recognized bubble nebula? Like the Crescent Nebula itself, this cosmic bubble could be blown by winds from a massive Wolf-Rayet star, or it could be a spherically-shaped planetary nebula, a final phase in the life of a sun-like star.

Pink Lady

How cute is this version of the Lady Smith? Mine is boring black with a wood grip... I think this one is too cute!

Happy Veteran's Day!

My grandpa, served in WWI. Pretty good lookin' huh?

The election is over...

I predict the left is going to be very disappointed with Obama's performance. For example, if he keeps his promise to "bankrupt" the coal industry, the higher heating costs will push us further into recession.

There are some good things that came of the election:

1. The Democrats have no excuses now. They have the Presidency and both houses. The ball is entirely in their court. The only thing I would fight them for would be Supreme Court judges.

2. California said "NO" to gay marriage, and the gays are not so gay today! They are marching in the streets in protest.

3. We have proved racism is dead in America, although it looks like sexism is still alive and well (Hillary, and Palin were both treated extrememly unfairly).

4. Republicans can now get their party back on track with conservative ideas.

5. There were no riots!

Hubby bets there will be riots if BO looses the election....
I bet the DOW will drop 1000 points the next day if he wins...

Great Orion Nebula

Madonna

Sheesh, Guy Ritchie said she looks like an old hag without makeup - he was right! She babbled away at one of her recent concerts about how Sarah Palin was not invited to her party, and from the looks of it partying is the one thing Madonna has had too much of!

Madonna told the audience "you know who can get off of my street? Sarah Palin! I'm gonna kick her ass if she don't get off of my street!"

Madonna also heckled Palin at her show at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, she shouted: "Sarah Palin can't come to my party! Sarah Palin can't come to my show. It's nothing personal."

Madonna is not going to grow old gracefully.

Reflection

1 Corinthians 13:12
"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

Lagoon Nebula

An American Carol

We saw this movie last night and really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it, especially with the election right around the corner. I've heard some theaters are selling tickets to other movies when you ask for this one - so check your movie ticket to make sure credit is given where credit is due. Also, this would be a fun movie to own/give for Christmas. There was a great line by President Washington, where he said something along the lines of "When you die, and you face your maker, you will have to tell the truth."

Congratulations Canada!!

Yeah! Conservatives re-elected in Canada! Story here

Just got this in the email... TOO FUNNY!

Bright Bolide

Credit & Copyright: Howard Edin (Oklahoma City Astronomy Club)
Explanation: On September 30, a spectacular bolide or fireball meteor surprised a group of amateur astronomers enjoying dark night skies over the Oklahoma panhandle's Black Mesa State Park in the Midwestern US. Flashing past familiar constellations Taurus (top) and Orion, the extremely bright meteor was captured by a hillside camera overlooking the 2008 Okie-Tex Star Party. Astronomy enthusiast Howard Edin reports that he was looking in the opposite direction at the time, but saw the whole observing field light up and at first thought someone had turned on their car headlights.

Obama's terrorist ties...

Cartoon hat tip Debaterbrawl
Just got this in an email: "Now isn't this something to think about! If Barack Obama would apply for a job with the FBI or with the Secret Service, he would be disqualified because of his past association with William Ayers, a known terrorist. If he is elected President he would not qualify to be his own body guard!"

Obama's buddy William Ayres, then and now..

Then (1969, when Obama was 8):

"Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents, that's where it's really at."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now (September 11, 2001, when Obama was 41, and now his friend):

"I don't regret setting bombs, I feel we didn't do enough."


And then of course, there's the bombastic Reverand Wright.. We can't forget about him. Mr "God Damn America" and "US of KKK A". Obama is either a really bad judge of character (never a good quality for a President) or he's an outright liar and charlatan.

Obama's opposition to NAFTA "should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans."

For the Canadians, a key point of concern was Obama's sharp criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement. DeMora wrote Wilson that in the Chicago meeting, Goolsbee "candidly acknowledged the protectionist sentiment that has emerged, particularly in the Midwest, during the primary campaign" but reassured Rioux that Obama's NAFTA-bashing "should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans."

Three weeks later, Canada's CTV News reported that a "senior member" of Obama's campaign had phoned Wilson personally to advise him to "not be worried about what Obama says about NAFTA." The Obama campaign denied that story, which (if you believe DeMora's account) was only slightly off the mark, and declined to elaborate. On March 3 the Associated Press released the DeMora memo, which by then had circulated widely within the Canadian government. Asked once again to comment, Obama said his campaign provided Canada no such reassurance while Goolsbee maintained that DeMora "misinterpreted" his comments. For its part, the Chicago consulate smoothed things over with a statement saying, "there was no intention to convey, in any way, that Senator Obama and his campaign team were taking a different position in public from views expressed in private." It looks like President Obama may owe one to our friendly neighbors to the north.

Hat tip Slate.com where they have a photocopy of said document.

Of course the above mentioned occurred 7 months ago, however, it's a good reminder that what Obama says is not necessarily what he'll do. He will do and say anything to get elected. We Americans are supposed to be smart enough to look at previous actions to determine future behavior. A leopard can not change its spots.

Joe Biden says "No" to refugees..

Here's a little something from a Vietnamese friend:

"This is the LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES!!! My family and most of the Vietnamese people know that very well and we are a testimony of it. The Vietnamese people do not forget that Joe Biden was against a bill to help open the door of Immigration to accept us/refugees in 1975. He said that we are better off to stay in VN. Thank God, the bill did pass. And here I am!"

My friend and her husband both worked their way through college and are now engineers. I thank God she is here:>D

Obama's buddy who ruined Fannie Mae - Franklin Raines

Hat tip: email today from a friend
" Franklin Rains is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae, the government sponsored enterprise started in 1939 to offer mortgages to Americans wishing to become home owners. After serving as budget director under President Bill Clinton, Mr. Raines served as CEO at Fannie Mae from 2000 until 2004. While Mr. Raines was CEO, Fannie Mae went deep into the practice of buying mortgages based on almost no or no money down given to borrowers who could not afford them.

During this time he received bonuses and salary over 90 million dollars. In 2004 he was offered 'early retirement' after the accounting practices used at Fannie during his tenure to secure top executive bonuses were shown to be fraudulent. Civil charges were filed against Raines and two other former executives which sought $110 million in penalties and $115 million in returned bonuses from the three accused. On April 18, 2008, the government announced a settlement with Raines together with J. Timothy Howard, Fannie's former chief financial officer, and Leanne G. Spencer, Fannie's former controller.

The three executives agreed to pay fines totaling about $3 million, which will be paid by Fannie's insurance policies. When pressed by the Bush administration to tighten down regulations on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, members of congress - Republicans and Democrats alike - in positions to pass such regulations, did nothing.

Today, Fannie Mae owns or guarantees over half of America's 12 trillion dollar mortgage market, and we are in the middle of a credit crunch and housing slump brought on in large part by government backed Fannie Mae going down this dangerous credit slope under Mr. Raines.

And where is Franklin Raines today? He is a chief economic advisor to the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama."

Socialist Obama?

Hat tip JB Williams and YWL:

"In 1995 Obama signed a contract with the DSA "promising a more open relationship with the Marxist New Party".

About 50 activists attended the Chicago New Party membership meeting in July. The purpose of the meeting was to update members on local activities and to hear appeals for NP support from four potential political candidates...."

And their Mission Statement is:

"Our mission is to establish democratic socialism as a political force in the United States and around the world by training and mobilizing socialist activists to participate in a vibrant and diverse socialist organization at both the local and the national level. DSA both educates the public about democratic socialist values and policies and builds progressive coalitions to win victories that move the U.S. and the world toward social democracy... In the long term, democratic socialists fight for a world in which all people share equally in the governing of the economic, political and cultural institutions and relationships that shape their lives."

Smoking Obama

From one of today's emails:
"Much is made of McCain's age. Has anyone brought up the fact that Obama smokes and both of his parents died at an early age. Plus Biden has had two brain aneurysms which could have killed him. If they both died while in office that would leave Nancy Pelosi as president. I can't think of a better reason to vote for McCain & Palin."

Obama Freudian Slip

Obama has NPD?

There's an excellent video examining the possibility that Obama has Narcissistic Personality Disorder, here. Hat tip The Merry Widow.

Republicans NOT Democrats were warning of Freddie and Fannie failure years ago...

Maxine Waters today, talking about how the people were too stupid to read their loan documents and were duped!



Now, to see what Waters was saying back when the Republicans were urging greater regulation of Freddie and Fannie, take a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

So, there you have it. The Democrats will lie and cheat to get elected.

2 Thessalonians 2:11
"For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie."

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas (I used 3 frozen previously - thawed)
1/2 cup honey
3 tbsp canola oil, plus a little more for oiling the loaf pan
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (I used regular whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I used chopped raw almonds)

(I added about 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds)

Instructions:
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a loaf pan.
2. Mash the bananas and mix with the honey, canola oil and vanilla extract.
3. Stir together the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda and salt. Add the nuts.
4. Blend the two mixtures and spoon into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set.

YUM YUM.. It turned out very good, especially buttered.

Three Steps to Change Our Nation's Future

Dave Ramsey has an interesting post today at Dave Ramsey to help with our financial situation. It would be a good idea if you have time to cut/paste and send to your reps.

Here's the verbage:

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:

Common Sense Plan.

I. INSURANCE

A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.

2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.

C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

II. MARK TO MARKET

A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.

B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX

A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to
stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

A True Image from False Kiva

"Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka (Astropics.com/TWAN)
Explanation: Is there any place in the world you could see a real sight like this? Yes. Pictured above is single exposure image spectacular near, far, and in between. Diving into the Earth far in the distance is part of the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, taken with a long duration exposure. Much closer, the planet Jupiter is visible as the bright point just to band's left. Closer still are picturesque buttes and mesas of the Canyonlands National Park in Utah, USA, lit by a crescent moon. In the foreground is a cave housing a stone circle of unknown origin named False Kiva. The cave was briefly lit by flashlight during the long exposure. Astrophotographer Wally Pacholka reports that getting to the cave to take this image was no easy trek. Also, mountain lions were a concern while waiting alone in the dark for just the right exposure."

17 Amputees Fighting in Iraq

This is a pretty amazing story: Pat Dollard

Ike

There's some really great pictures of Ike here:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html

Banana Spider

We have one of these in our neighborhood... Eeeeeeee! I couldn't believe it when I saw it. Spiders make my skin crawl!

Patience and Wisdom

Refueling Over Iraq

Hat tip Pointniner

911

Thank you President Bush for keeping us safe for 7 years. Those of us who have the intelligence to understand the danger, and patience to read the Koran, know that it's been a tough job. You've done well. Thank you.

Sarah Palin

I think it's amazing that the Dhimmicrats, or anyone, would complain about Sarah Palin's experience. She was the Governor of Alaska for a short time, but look at what she accomplished! I guess the Dhimmicrats would give a bigger applause to the person who could run a mile in 10 days, rather than the person who could do it in 4 minutes.

Dhimmicrats would rather everybody have nothing, than everybody have something if it meant anyone would have more than them. They're basically greedy, insecure people. Keep going though.. in the end, nobody will have anything, except the tyrants who will stop at nothing to get everything.

Three things to think about:
- When taxes are high, people will get laid off, and businesses will move offshore.
- When taxes are high, people will move their money offshore.
- When taxes are high, taxes collected by the government will decease.

Make sense? Just look at history and you can see it in action...

CNN

I NEVER watch CNN, but once in a while I like to surf the channels and see what the liberals are moaning and groaning about... Today I watched CNN for a while, and they were covering BHO like he IS THE PRESIDENT! They're not even waiting for the election. In the above photo, they were attending a press conference he was having on the Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac mess. Incredible. I wonder if they'll give up when he loses in November? Totally insane.

Milky Way

Peak-A-Boo!

Moon and Earth

Woo Hoo! Sarah Palin for VP!

What a great choice! Of course the liberals are whining about her experience, saying "She was just a mayor for a town of 9000" - typical liberal lies. But in case they are that brain dead, watching CNN, MSNBC etc, then "EARTH to MOONBATS, she is the GOVERNOR of Alaska". Idiots...

And by the way, I thought the moonbats didn't want someone with a lot of Washington experience. I thought that was why they chose Osama Obama, or whatever his name is.

The Fetus Nebula

They should post this one every January 22nd....