Korea America Understanding Day (Jan. 8, 2012) day -- at Ber. Springs, Michigan H.S.

Korean American Day

You are invited to attend the Korean American Day celebration scheduled for 2:00 pm on Sunday, January 8^th.  2012 in the Berrien Springs (Michigan) middle school gymnasium.  Area politicians will speak, students perform, two outstanding choirs will sing, and there will be a Tae Kwon Do demonstration.  The Berrien Springs Public School district is co-sponsoring this event. . .

http://homeoftheshamrocks.org/

Playwright, Prisoner, President (Vaclav Havel, Czech leader) -- died December 2011

this is an excerpt from the Obituary (NY TIMES dot-com):

Vaclav Havel, Former Czech President, Dies at 75

By DAN BILEFSKY and JANE PERLEZ

Published: December 18, 2011

Vaclav Havel, the Czech writer and dissident whose eloquent dissections of Communist rule helped to destroy it in revolutions that brought down the BerlinWall and swept Mr. Havel himself into power, died on Sunday December 18, 2011. He was 75. His funeral was held in Prague on Friday, December 23, 2011. 

His assistant, Sabina Tancevova, said Mr. Havel died at his country house in northern Bohemia.

A Czech Embassy spokesman in Paris, Michal Dvorak, said in a statement that Mr. Havel, a heavy smoker for decades who almost died during treatment for lung cancer in 1996, had been suffering from severe respiratory ailments since the spring.
A shy yet resilient, unfailingly polite but dogged man who articulated the power of the powerless, Mr. Havel spent five years in and out of Communist prisons, lived for two decades under close secret-police surveillance and endured the suppression of his plays and essays. He served 14 years as president, wrote 19 plays, inspired a film and a rap song and remained one of his generation’s most seductively nonconformist writers.
All the while, Mr. Havel came to personify the soul of the Czech nation.
His moral authority and his moving use of the Czech language cast him as the dominant figure during Prague street demonstrations in 1989 and as the chief behind-the-scenes negotiator who brought about the end of more than 40 years of Communist rule and the peaceful transfer of power known as the Velvet Revolution, a revolt so smooth that it took just weeks to complete, without a single shot fired.
He was chosen as post-Communist Czechoslovakia’s first president — a role he insisted was more duty than aspiration — and after the country split in January 1993, he became president of the Czech Republic. He linked the country firmly to the West, clearing the way for the Czech Republic to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1999 and the European Union five years later.
Both as a dissident and as a national leader, Mr. Havel (pronounced VAHTS-lahv HAH-vell) impressed the West as one of the most important political thinkers in Central Europe. He rejected the notion, posited by reform-minded Communist leaders like Alexander Dubcek in his own country, and years later by Mikhail S. Gorbachev in the Soviet Union, that Communist rule could be made more humane.
His star status and personal interests drew world leaders to Prague, including the Dalai Lama, with whom Mr. Havel meditated for hours, and President Bill Clinton, who, during a state visit in 1994, joined a saxophone jam session at Mr. Havel’s favorite jazz club.
Even after Mr. Havel retired in 2003, leaders sought him out, including President Obama. At their meeting in March 2009, Mr. Havel warned of the perils of limitless hope being projected onto a leader. Disappointment, he noted, could boil over into anger and resentment. Mr. Obama replied that he was becoming acutely aware of the possibility.
Mr. Obama said that he was deeply saddened by Mr. Havel’s death. “His peaceful resistance shook the foundations of an empire, exposed the emptiness of a repressive ideology and proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon,” he said Sunday in a statement.

On this date in 1823 -- "The Night Before Christmas" poem -- anonymous poet

from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

On December 23 in 1823, a poem entitled "A Visit from St. Nicholas" was published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel in New York City. The unsigned poem began, "'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse."
For a long time, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" was attributed to New York seminary professor and poet Clement Clark Moore, who was said to have written it as a Christmas gift for his children, but in recent years it has been argued that Major Henry Livingston Jr. was the true author. The poem is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus as a tubby, bearded man in a red suit who travels in a package-laden sleigh pulled by eight flying reindeer.

As Linus van Pelt (Peanuts character) recited Gospel of Luke chapter 2. . .

from WASHINGTONPOST dot-com Chat-discussion on Humor - Mirth - Religion:

Linus

Thought I'd give you a bit of interesting trivia I learned from the book Christmas's Most Wanted: Next time you watch A Charlie Brown Christmas, note what happens with Linus's security blanket when he does his speech at the end from the Bible. He drops it. When he has the Word of God, he has no need for a security blanket.

A.

James Martin :

Quite lovely.  Thanks for that.  And in keeping with Charles Shulz religiosity.

Peanuts and the New Testament

People forget that Linus was New Testament quoter ("Gospel According to Peanuts") which was bowdlerized by Schultz for mass consumption.

A.

James Martin :

I'm not sure that it was bowdlerized in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" all that much. From what I remember Linus quotes the infancy narrative of Luke close to verbatim.  But if you mean that Linus often quoted the Gospels in the regular comic strip, I agree entirely. David Michaelis' s biography of Shulz, one of my favorite humorists, is terrific.  And the book you mention is also superb.

http://live.washingtonpost.com/outlook-christmas-myths-122111.html

Winter Solstice 2011: Astronomy Essentials -- the shortest day & longest night

from http://earthsky.org/

The shortest day is here! After the winter solstice, the days will get longer, and the nights shorter. It’s a seasonal shift that nearly everyone notices.
When is the solstice where I live?
The solstice happens at the same instant for all of us, everywhere on Earth. But our clocks say different times.
In 2011, the December solstice takes place on Thursday, Dec. 22, 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time Zone.
To find the time in your location, you have to translate to your time zone. Check out the following EarthSky article: 
Where should I look to see signs of the solstice in nature?
Everywhere.
For all of Earth’s creatures, nothing is so fundamental as the length of daylight. After all, the sun is the ultimate source of all light and warmth on Earth.
If you live in the northern hemisphere, you can notice the late dawns and early sunsets, and the low arc of the sun across the sky each day. You might notice how low the sun appears in the sky at local noon. And be sure to look at your noontime shadow. Around the time of the December solstice, it’s your longest noontime shadow of the year.
Many people have an unfavorable response to this time of short days and long nights. Some people try special lighting. Others take vacations to more southerly latitudes.
Why doesn’t the earliest sunset come on the shortest day?
The December solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and longest day in the southern hemisphere. But the earliest sunset – or earliest sunrise if you’re south of the equator – seems to defy logic when it happens before the solstice.
How does this happen?
The key to understanding it is not to focus on the time of sunset or sunrise. The key is to focus on what is called true solar noon – the time of day that the sun reaches its highest point, in its journey across your sky.
In early December, true solar noon comes nearly 10 minutes earlier by the clock than it does at the solstice around December 21. With true noon coming later on the solstice, so will the sunrise and sunset times.
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-solstice-on-december-21

On this date (1732): Publication of Poor Richard's Almanac begins (by Benjamin Franklin)

from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

It was on Dec. 19, 1732 that Benjamin Franklin began publishing Poor Richard's Almanack.
Poor Richard's Almanac was a hodgepodge of things: It had information about the movements of the moon and stars, weather reports, historical tidbits, poems, and those adages that Franklin became famous for, like "Fish and visitors stink in three days" and "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead" and "A penny saved is twopence dear" (often misquoted as "A penny saved is a penny earned"). Some of the stuff was original and some was borrowed, drawing upon diverse sources like Native American folklore, common farmers' superstitions, politicians' speeches, and published authors' writings.
Franklin published his wildly successful almanac for a quarter century, and its popularity increased by the year. At its height, the book sold 10,000 copies a year, making it a best-seller in colonial America. Books were expensive and hard to come by in the colonies, and Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac was the only book that many households owned besides the Bible. It made Franklin rich and famous.
Ben Franklin said, "God helps them that help themselves."

N. Korea -- autocratic dictator died Sunday -- Test-missiles fired Monday Dec. 19

from NY TIMES coverage (David Sanger co-writing with Choe Sang-Hun) -- 12/19/2011 edition
. . . the South Korean news agency reported that North Korea tested an unspecified number of short-range missiles on Monday morning. The national news agency, Yonhap, quoting an anonymous government source, said without elaboration that the tests were conducted before the announcement of Mr. Kim’s death from a heart attack. The Defense Ministry in Seoul said it could not comment on the report.
North Korea had kept news of the death of its leader secret for roughly two days, perhaps a sign that the leadership was struggling to position itself for what many believe could be a particularly perilous transition.
Mr. Kim’s chosen successor, his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was in charge.
The statement called the son "the great successor to the revolution" and "the eminent leader of the military and the people." It was the first time North Korea referred to the son as "leader" since his ailing father pulled him out of obscurity in September last year and made him a four-star general and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party.
The Workers’ Party said that “Under the leadership of our comrade Kim Jong-un, we have to turn sadness into strength and courage, and overcome today’s difficulties.”
K.C.N.A., the official news agency, said North Korean soldiers and citizens were swearing allegiance to Kim Jong-un. People on the streets of Pyongyang broke into tears as they learned of Mr. Kim’s death, The Associated Press reported from Pyongyang. 
Kim Jong-un is believed to be in his late 20s and his youth and relative inexperience could make him vulnerable to power struggles; some analysts have questioned the depth of the military’s support for him.
The Obama administration was engaged in urgent consultations with South Korean officials on Sunday evening. President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea and President Obama talked by telephone and agreed to closely cooperate in assessing the situation in North Korea, Mr. Lee’s office said.
The administration has done elaborate “war-gaming” on the repercussions of Mr. Kim’s death, the official said, and that planning will now be put to the test.
One area of concern is the potential for tension, or even military clashes, between the North and South during the leadership transition in Pyongyang. In 1994, after Kim Jong-il’s father died, South Korea put its military forces on high alert, raising tensions.
The United States had held meetings with North Korean diplomats, in what was viewed as a preliminary step toward possible multilateral talks over its nuclear program. But those contacts did not appear extensive enough to provide a channel of communication during this period.
For now, the administration official said, the administration’s top priority is on keeping a high-level dialogue with South Korea. Japan’s foreign minister, Koichiro Genba, is in Washington on other business, and will meet Monday with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. . .
The North declared a national mourning period from the day of Kim Jong-il’s death until Dec. 29. It said Mr. Kim’s body will be placed at the Kumsusan mausoleum in Pyongyang, where the body of his father, Kim Il-sung, lies in a glass case for viewing. The authorities will allow North Koreans to pay respects to Mr. Kim for a week starting on Tuesday, but said it would not receive foreign delegations.
An enormous funeral service is scheduled for Dec. 28 in Pyongyang, according to K.C.N.A., a state news agency. The following day, a separate “national meeting of mourning” will take place, with all North Koreans instructed to pay a three-minute silent tribute to Mr. Kim.
www.nytimes.com/ World / Asia Desk

Noche Buena (nights of Dec. 16 - 25, 2011) -- Posadas Navidenas

December 16-25

Posadas Navidenas (Christianity)
In Hispanic Christian tradition, Posadas are the celebrations that happen during the nine days before the “Noche Buena” or “Holy Night” of December 24th. These Posadas are an enactment of Joseph and the Virgin Mary looking for lodging on their pilgrimage to Bethlehem. In some practices, families in a neighborhood will take turns hosting, or playing the part of innkeeper, while others have a door-to-door procession with candles and symbolic elements.

from RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY (PBS program: Lilly Foundation sponsor)

Birthday of Charles Wesley - hymnwriter / pastoral theologian of Methodism

Biographical mini-essay from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, Am. Public Media):

December 18 is the birthday of Charles Wesley (1708), born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England. He was the 18th of 19 children, and the third surviving son. Born prematurely, he wasn't expected to survive; he lay silently in his woolen blanket for the first two months of his life. He received his early education from his mother, who ran a schoolroom of sorts for her large family. She taught them for six hours a day. After studying at Oxford, he became an Anglican clergyman like his father and brothers before him. Along with his brother John, he cofounded the Methodist movement within Protestantism. "Methodist" was intended as an insult, because the brothers held to a strict regimen of early rising and Bible study, but the Wesleys didn't see anything wrong with being strict, so they adopted the term for themselves without protest. The Wesleys became itinerant preachers, traveling the country and speaking wherever there was an audience: in fields, prisons, and coal mines. Charles Wesley estimated he preached before almost 150,000 people over a five-year period.
His other contribution was musical, and it was significant. He wrote hymns, averaging 10 lines a day for 50 years. He wrote "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," and "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing." He also wrote the perennial Christmas favorite, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." All told, he wrote more than six thousand hymns.
A quote by Wesley is carved on his monument in Westminster Abbey: "God buries his workmen, but carries on his work."

Beijing to host talks between N. Korea & USA (Nuclear issues) -- Korean Media outlet

part of WIKIPEDIA "Current Events"/news stories -- Yonhap News Agency (English language)

U.S.-N. Korea nuclear talks likely to take place in Beijing next week: source

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- The United States is expected to hold a new round of nuclear talks with North Korea in Beijing next week as Pyongyang is willing to take steps toward denuclearization, a diplomatic source in Seoul said Friday.
   The meeting, if held, could produce a breakthrough deal under which North Korea would halt its uranium enrichment program and allow in U.N. nuclear inspectors. Such North Korean moves are pre-conditions set by the U.S. and South Korea for resuming broader six-party talks.
   "As the North side conveyed a positive stance that it can accept denuclearization pre-steps, it appears that a third round of the North-U.S. talks will take place in Beijing around Dec. 22," the Seoul source said.
   According to the source, North Korea has expressed its willingness to take those steps through the "New York channel," which refers to Pyongyang's mission to the United Nations. North Korea and the U.S. have formal diplomatic relations.
   Glyn Davies, the U.S. special representative on North Korea policy, is expected to represent Washington in the upcoming meeting, while North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan is expected to be his counterpart.
   Seoul and Washington have each held two rounds of one-on-one negotiations with North Korea to get the communist nation to take concrete steps to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization before restarting broader six-party talks.
   The six-party nuclear talks, which involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S., have been dormant since the last session in late 2008.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/12/16/66/0200000000AEN20111216008200315F.HTML

December 17 -- 108 years ago -- a day in Aviation History (Proclamation)

On a blustery December morning in 1903, two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, successfully piloted the world's first powered flying machine and ascended from the steady currents of North Carolina's Outer Banks into the heights of our collective memory.  During the 12 seconds their aircraft remained aloft in Kitty Hawk's gusty headwinds, Wilbur and Orville Wright sparked a transportation revolution and fulfilled a dream shared across cultures since time immemorial.  Today, we commemorate their extraordinary feat and celebrate the spirit of American innovation that propels our Nation toward bold new horizons.
Fashioned from wood and cloth and powered by a four-cylinder engine they designed themselves, the Wright brothers' Flyer I was the culmination of years of painstaking research and unyielding perseverance.  They financed countless experiments with earnings from their bicycle shop, gathering data on wing shape using a home-built wind tunnel and developing the basic controls for pitch, roll, and yaw that, to this day, guide our jetliners to every corner of the world and our spacecraft to the farthest reaches of the Solar System.  The technical obstacles they overcame were tremendous, and Orville and Wilbur Wright's pioneering vision stands as a testament to the will and determination that fuels innovators, inventors, scientists, and entrepreneurs across our country--from home workbenches to national laboratories.
As we pursue progress and prosperity in the 21st century, we remember the key to our success has always been our unparalleled ability to think up new ideas, create new industries, and lead the way in discovery and innovation--just as it was for the Wright brothers over a century ago.  To reaffirm our role as the engine that drives science and technology around the world, we must empower our Nation's youth with a competitive education and the tools to make tomorrow's breakthrough discoveries.
On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright helped inspire a century of progress and groundbreaking ideas when they guided a small wooden aircraft above the sands of Kitty Hawk and onto the ocean breeze.  Even after this monumental achievement, the brothers continued to push the boundaries of flight and possibility, rapidly advancing the field of aeronautics and our burgeoning aviation industry.  They inspired other early aviators, including Calbraith Perry Rodgers, who flew a Wright airplane to complete the first transcontinental flight 100 years ago, and Harriet Quimby, who became our Nation's first female
licensed pilot and a groundbreaking aviator.  So, too, must we press onward, exploring new frontiers of science, technology, and imagination in pursuit of a brighter future for generations to come.  The Wright brothers stand among America's most celebrated innovators, and today, we recognize all those who look toward the heavens and envision what might be.
The Congress, by a joint resolution approved December 17, 1963, as amended (77 Stat. 402; 36 U.S.C. 143), has designated December 17 of each year as "Wright Brothers Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation inviting the people of the United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 17, 2011, as Wright Brothers Day.

Happy Birthday, Arthur C. Clarke! (1917 - 2008)

Mini-biographical entry at "Writer's Almanac" (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

Today is the birthday of science fiction author Arthur C[harles] Clarke (1917), born in Minehead, Somerset, England. He was known as one of the "Big Three" of sci-fi, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. His best-known work is 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
He was also an inventor. He developed an early-warning radar system during World War II, proposed a satellite communication system as early as 1945, and served as the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society on two occasions.
In 2007, on his 90th birthday, Clarke recorded a video in which he says goodbye to his friends and fans. In it, he said: "I have great faith in optimism as a guiding principle, if only because it offers us the opportunity of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. So I hope we've learnt something from the most barbaric century in history -- the 20th. I would like to see us overcome our tribal divisions and begin to think and act as if we were one family. That would be real globalization ..." He died of respiratory failure three months later (March 19, 2008 in Sri Lanka).

On this date in history: Last moon walk: Astronauts leave plaque behind

from Writer's Almanac for December 14, 2011 (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

The last moonwalk took place on this date in 1972. The mission was Apollo 17, and it was the longest and most successful of all the Apollo missions. Commander Eugene Cernan holds the distinction of being the last person to set foot on the Moon. He and crew member Harrison Schmitt unveiled a plaque, which read: "Here man completed his first explorations of the Moon, December 1972. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind."

Fort Bragg speech -- End of U.S. Troops War in Iraq -- Presidential dialogue-speech

from December 14, 2011 Transcript (WhiteHouse dot-gov):

Today, I’ve come to speak to you about the end of the war in Iraq.  Over the last few months, the final work of leaving Iraq has been done.  Dozens of bases with American names that housed thousands of American troops have been closed down or turned over to the Iraqis.  Thousands of tons of equipment have been packed up and shipped out.  Tomorrow, the colors of United States Forces-Iraq -- the colors you fought under -- will be formally cased in a ceremony in Baghdad.  Then they’ll begin their journey across an ocean, back home.
Over the last three years, nearly 150,000 U.S. troops have left Iraq.  And over the next few days, a small group of American soldiers will begin the final march out of that country.  Some of them are on their way back to Fort Bragg.  As General Helmick said, “They know that the last tactical road march out of Iraq will be a symbol, and they’re going to be a part of history.”
As your Commander-in-Chief, I can tell you that it will indeed be a part of history.  Those last American troops will move south on desert sands, and then they will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high.  One of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of the American military will come to an end.  Iraq’s future will be in the hands of its people.  America’s war in Iraq will be over.
AUDIENCE:  Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT:  Now, we knew this day would come.  We’ve known it for some time.  But still, there is something profound about the end of a war that has lasted so long.
Now, nine years ago, American troops were preparing to deploy to the Persian Gulf and the possibility that they would be sent to war.  Many of you were in grade school.  I was a state senator.  Many of the leaders now governing Iraq -- including the Prime Minister -- were living in exile.  And since then, our efforts in Iraq have taken many twists and turns.  It was a source of great controversy here at home, with patriots on both sides of the debate.  But there was one constant -- there was one constant:  your patriotism, your commitment to fulfill your mission, your abiding commitment to one another.  That was constant.  That did not change.  That did not waiver.
It’s harder to end a war than begin one.  Indeed, everything that American troops have done in Iraq -– all the fighting and all the dying, the bleeding and the building, and the training and the partnering -– all of it has led to this moment of success.  Now, Iraq is not a perfect place.  It has many challenges ahead.  But we’re leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people.  We’re building a new partnership between our nations.  And we are ending a war not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home.
This is an extraordinary achievement, nearly nine years in the making.  And today, we remember everything that you did to make it possible.
We remember the early days -– the American units that streaked across the sands and skies of Iraq; the battles from Karbala to Baghdad, American troops breaking the back of a brutal dictator in less than a month.
We remember the grind of the insurgency -– the roadside bombs, the sniper fire, the suicide attacks.  From the “triangle of death” to the fight for Ramadi; from Mosul in the north to Basra in the south -– your will proved stronger than the terror of those who tried to break it.
We remember the specter of sectarian violence -– al Qaeda’s attacks on mosques and pilgrims, militias that carried out campaigns of intimidation and campaigns of assassination.  And in the face of ancient divisions, you stood firm to help those Iraqis who put their faith in the future.
We remember the surge and we remember the Awakening -– when the abyss of chaos turned toward the promise of reconciliation.  By battling and building block by block in Baghdad, by bringing tribes into the fold and partnering with the Iraqi army and police, you helped turn the tide toward peace.
And we remember the end of our combat mission and the emergence of a new dawn -– the precision of our efforts against al Qaeda in Iraq, the professionalism of the training of Iraqi security forces, and the steady drawdown of our forces.  In handing over responsibility to the Iraqis, you preserved the gains of the last four years and made this day possible.
Just last month, some of you -- members of the Falcon Brigade --
AUDIENCE:  Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT:  -- turned over the Anbar Operations Center to the Iraqis in the type of ceremony that has become commonplace over these last several months.  In an area that was once the heart of the insurgency, a combination of fighting and training, politics and partnership brought the promise of peace.  And here’s what the local Iraqi deputy governor said:  “This is all because of the U.S. forces’ hard work and sacrifice.”
That’s in the words of an Iraqi.  Hard work and sacrifice.  Those words only begin to describe the costs of this war and the courage of the men and women who fought it.
We know too well the heavy cost of this war.  More than 1.5 million Americans have served in Iraq -- 1.5 million.  Over 30,000 Americans have been wounded, and those are only the wounds that show.  Nearly 4,500 Americans made the ultimate sacrifice -- including 202 fallen heroes from here at Fort Bragg -- 202.  So today, we pause to say a prayer for all those families who have lost their loved ones, for they are part of our broader American family.  We grieve with them.
We also know that these numbers don’t tell the full story of the Iraq war -– not even close.  Our civilians have represented our country with skill and bravery.  Our troops have served tour after tour of duty, with precious little dwell time in between.  Our Guard and Reserve units stepped up with unprecedented service.  You’ve endured dangerous foot patrols and you’ve endured the pain of seeing your friends and comrades fall.  You’ve had to be more than soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen –- you’ve also had to be diplomats and development workers and trainers and peacemakers.  Through all this, you have shown why the United States military is the finest fighting force in the history of the world.
AUDIENCE:  Hooah!  (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT:  As Michelle mentioned, we also know that the burden of war is borne by your families.  In countless base communities like Bragg, folks have come together in the absence of a loved one.  As the Mayor of Fayetteville put it, “War is not a political word here.  War is where our friends and neighbors go.”  So there have been missed birthday parties and graduations.  There are bills to pay and jobs that have to be juggled while picking up the kids.  For every soldier that goes on patrol, there are the husbands and the wives, the mothers, the fathers, the sons, the daughters praying that they come back.
So today, as we mark the end of the war, let us acknowledge, let us give a heartfelt round of applause for every military family that has carried that load over the last nine years.  You too have the thanks of a grateful nation.  (Applause.) 
Part of ending a war responsibly is standing by those who fought it.  It’s not enough to honor you with words.  Words are cheap.  We must do it with deeds.  You stood up for America; America needs to stand up for you.
AUDIENCE:  Hooah!
THE PRESIDENT:  That’s why, as your Commander-in Chief, I am committed to making sure that you get the care and the benefits and the opportunities that you’ve earned. For those of you who remain in uniform, we will do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our force –- including your families.  We will keep faith with you.
We will help our wounded warriors heal, and we will stand by those who’ve suffered the unseen wounds of war.  And make no mistake -- as we go forward as a nation, we are going to keep America’s armed forces the strongest fighting force the world has ever seen.  That will not stop.
AUDIENCE:  Hooah!  (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT:  That will not stop.  But our commitment doesn’t end when you take off the uniform.  You’re the finest that our nation has to offer.  And after years of rebuilding Iraq, we want to enlist our veterans in the work of rebuilding America.  That’s why we’re committed to doing everything we can to extend more opportunities to those who have served.

Writing the BILL of RIGHTS -- how did the Founders feel?

from The Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

The Bill of Rights was adopted 220 years ago on December 15, in 1791. The bill is made up of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, and it was adopted as one unit. It follows the precedent set by the Magna Carta (1215) and the English Bill of Rights (1689), both of which were early attempts at ensuring the rights of citizens against the power of the crown. Much of the credit for the United States Bill of Rights is due to George Mason, who was an admirer of the philosopher John Locke. Locke, in his Two Treatises of Government (1689), argued that government should exist for the protection of individual property, and that all people were equal in the state of nature. Mason had crafted a "Declaration of Rights" for Virginia's constitution in 1776, while serving in that state's legislature. The document impressed James Madison, who showed it to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, in turn, adopted some of its ideas when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
In the summer of 1787, the Constitutional Convention met to craft the United States Constitution. The Anti-Federalists didn't approve of the document as written because it offered no protection to individual rights, and they refused to sign it. George Mason said, "I would sooner chop off [my] right hand than put it to the Constitution as it now stands." Jefferson wrote to Madison, "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth." Eventually, the Federalists persuaded the Anti-Federalists to sign by promising them they would address the individual rights matter once the Constitution was ratified. James Madison's feelings were mixed, but he took up the task of writing a bill of rights, which he called "a nauseous project," and he introduced it into the first session of Congress in 1789. After some haggling, the 10 amendments were ratified as one unit, which guarantees, among other things, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to a fair trial.

Geminid Meteor Shower (10 p.m. Dec. 13 annually) - NASA posted details

The 2011 Geminid Meteor Shower

Dec. 13, 2011: The 2011 Geminid meteor shower peaks on the night of Dec. 13-14, and despite the glare of a nearly-full Moon, it might be a good show.
"Observers with clear skies could see as many as 40 Geminids per hour," predicts Bill Cooke of the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office.  "Our all-sky network of meteor cameras has captured several early Geminid fireballs.  They were so bright, we could see them despite the moonlight."
The best time to look is between 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Dec. 13, and sunrise on Wednesday, Dec. 14th. Geminids, which spray out of the constellation Gemini, can appear anywhere in the sky. "Dress warmly and look up," says Cooke.  "It's that simple."
The source of the Geminids is near-Earth asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Most meteor showers come from comets, so having an asteroid as a parent makes the Geminids a bit of an oddball.  Every year in mid-December, Earth runs through a trail of dusty debris that litters the orbit of 3200 Phaethon. Comets vaporizing in hot sunlight naturally produce such debris trails, but rocky asteroids like 3200 Phaethon do not. At least they're not supposed to. The incongruity has baffled researchers since 1983 when 3200 Phaethon was discovered by NASA's IRAS satellite.
One clue: 3200 Phaethon travels unusually close to the sun. The asteroid's eccentric orbit brings it well inside the orbit of Mercury every 1.4 years. The rocky body thus receives a regular blast of solar heating that might somehow boil jets of dust into the Geminid debris stream.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/13dec_geminids/

St. Lucia (December 13) Festival for Swedish-Americans (event 2011) 4:45 p.m. Central Time

Event at outskirts of Chicago (Cook County), Illinois

The festival of St. Lucia is a Sicilian tradition adopted by the Swedes, a celebration of lights prevailing over the darkest time of the year. Join us at the Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark, for the annual candlelit, carol-filled procession down Clark Street beginning at 4:45 p.m. and ending at 7 p.m.. Afterwards, the Museum hosts more singing, family entertainment, and treats. The procession is free; admission to the museum is $1 or a canned food item to benefit Care for Real, Edgewater’s food pantry. There will also be a special St. Lucia service down the street at Ebenezer Lutheran Church starting at 7:00 p.m.

http://www.edgevillebuzz.com/cal/st-lucia-festival-of-lights/

Charles Dickens Bicentennial Observance (2012) - Museum of London Exhibit Dec. 9, 2011

from fan site -- Suite 101 (Facebook)  EVEN more information at http://www.dickens2012.org/

Museum of London Charles Dickens Exhibition

An exhibition of Dickens' life presenting the links between so many of his literary themes and the way they were inspired by Victorian London is to be launched on 9th December in the wonderful Museum of London. It is the UK’s first major Charles Dickens exhibition for over 40 years.
Artefacts from the time, an audio visual experience and a specially commissioned film by William Raban will underline Dickens’ continued relevance to the modern world. The exhibition continues until June 10th 2012 and tickets can be booked in advance from the London Museum website.


Read more at Suite101: Charles Dickens Bicentennial Celebrations in 2012 | Suite101.com http://franceswilliams.suite101.com/charles-dickens-bicentennial-celebrations-in-2012-a390452#ixzz1gHwfIlVx

Bill of Rights Day -- December 15, 2011 (Proclamation)

www.whitehouse.gov/  Proclamation as posted online by Obama Administration

Presidential Proclamation -- Bill of Rights Day, 2011

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

On December 15, 1791, the United States adopted the Bill of Rights, enshrining in our Constitution the protection of our inalienable freedoms, from the right to speak our minds and worship as we please to the guarantee of equal justice under the law. For 220 years, these fundamental liberties have shaped our national character and stirred the souls of all who dream of a freer, more just world. As we mark this milestone, we renew our commitment to preserving our universal rights and perfecting our Union.
Introduced in the First Congress in 1789, the Bill of Rights was born out of compromise. The promise of enumerated rights enabled the ratification of the Constitution without fear that a more centralized government would encroach on American freedoms. In adopting the first ten Amendments, our Founders put forth an ideal that continues to define our Nation -- that we can have both liberty and security, that we need not sacrifice the rights of man for the rule of law.
Throughout our country's history, generations have risen to uphold the principles outlined in our Bill of Rights and advance equality for all Americans. The liberties we enjoy today are possible only because of these brave patriots, from the service members who have defended our freedom to the citizens who have braved billy clubs and fire hoses in the hope of extending America's promise across lines of color and creed. On Bill of Rights Day, we celebrate this proud legacy and resolve to pass to our children an America worthy of our Founders' vision.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 15, 2011, as Bill of Rights Day. I call upon the people of the United States to mark this observance with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

Obamas walk to St. John's Church (Episcopalian) - 3rd Sunday in Advent

Washingtonpost online -- Associated Press byline

President Barack Obama and his family attended a worship service Sunday morning at an Episcopal church just across the street from the White House where presidents frequently have visited.
The president, first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia made the short walk across Lafayette Square to St. John’s Church.  The sermon by Rev. Dr. Luis Leon was based on the story of John the Baptist, who told the religious leaders he was neither the Messiah nor the prophet, but a voice calling in the wilderness.  Leon likened the story to the president and the expectations Americans may have of him. People have illusions about the nation and about God, the pastor said, and urged the congregation to open its eyes not “to the God we have created, but to who he really is,” he said.

Just before the announcements, the congregation laughed when a young boy ran to the front of the church and took a good look at the Obamas.  The first family participated in Holy Communion before strolling back through the park to the executive mansion.
Obama has worshipped at St. John’s previously, including Easter services in 2009. He has also attended other churches in the nation’s capital.
One of the church pews has a small brass plaque designating it as “The President’s Pew.” Church history claims that every president since the nation’s fourth chief executive, James Madison, has visited.

Happy Birthday, Jim Harrison (Michigan poet - novelist)!

from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, Amer. Media Project):

Today (Dec. 11) is  the birthday of poet and novelist Jim Harrison, born in Grayling, Michigan (1937). When he was 25 years old, he tried to decide whether he should go on a hunting trip with his father and sister, but in the end, he decided not to. They were both killed a few hours later when they were hit by a drunk driver. Harrison said their dying "cut the last cord that was holding me down," and he immediately wrote his first finished poem. He drifted around for a while, then went to live with his brother John, who was a librarian at Harvard. He published his first volume of poems, Plain Song (1965), and he thought he wanted to be a poet. He wrote two more books of poems, and then he was out hunting birds with his dog and he fell off a cliff and hurt his back and had to stay in bed for months. His friend Thomas McGuane convinced him to try writing a novel as a way to pass the time. Harrison wrote Wolf: A False Memoir (1971).But he didn't have an agent, so he sent the one copy of his manuscript off to his brother John, in the hopes he could find a publisher for it. Unfortunately, the postal workers went on strike and the manuscript was lost in the mail. Harrison assumed it was lost forever and that it was probably the end of his novel-writing career, but it resurfaced after a month, and his brother managed to find a publisher for it, and Harrison become a novelist as well as a poet. His other books include the novella Legends of the Fall (1979); the novels True North (2004) and The Farmer's Daughter (2009); and the poetry volumes Returning to Earth (1977) and In Search of Small Gods (2009). This fall, he published a new book of poetry, Songs of Unreason (2011), and a new novel, The Great Leader (2011).
Jim Harrison said: "Life is sentimental. Why should I be cold and hard about it? That's the main content. The biggest thing in people's lives is their loves and dreams and visions, you know."

Trio of women (Liberia, Yemen) accept Nobel Peace Prize 2011 -- Oslo, Norway

ABC NEWS coverage (posted online Dec. 10, 2011 evening):

Three women who fought injustice, dictatorship and sexual violence in Liberia and Yemen accepted the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday, calling on repressed women worldwide to rise up against male supremacy.
"My sisters, my daughters, my friends — find your voice," Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said after collecting her Nobel diploma and medal at a ceremony in Oslo.
Sirleaf, Africa's first democratically elected female president, shared the award with women's rights campaigner Leymah Gbowee, also from Liberia, and Tawakkul Karman, a female icon of the protest movement in Yemen.
The peace prize was announced in October, along with the Nobel awards for medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics. Worth 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) each, the Nobel Prizes are always handed out on the anniversary of award founder Alfred Nobel's death on Dec. 10, 1896.
By selecting Karman, the prize committee recognized the Arab Spring movement that has toppled autocratic leaders in North Africa and the Middle East. Praising Karman's struggle against Yemen's regime, Nobel committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland also sent a message to Syria's leader Bashar Assad, whose crackdown on rebels has killed more than 4,000 people according to U.N. estimates.
"President Assad in Syria will not be able to resist the people's demand for freedom of human rights," Jagland said.
Karman is the first Arab woman to win the prize and at 32 the youngest peace laureate ever. A journalist and founder of the human rights group Women Journalists without Chains, she also is a member of the Islamic party Islah.
Wearing headphones over her Islamic headscarf, she clapped and smiled as she listened to a translation of Jagland's introductory remarks.
In her acceptance speech, Karman paid tribute to Arab women and their struggles "in a society dominated by the supremacy of men."
According to an English translation of her speech, delivered in Arabic, she criticized the "repressive, militarized, corrupt" regime of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh. She also lamented that the revolution in Yemen hasn't gained as much international attention as the revolts in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria.
"This should haunt the world's conscience because it challenges the very idea of fairness and justice," Karman said.

Happy Birthday, Emily Dickinson (b. 1830) - Poet of American experience

Mini-biographical essay and tribute from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, APM):

 the birthday of poet Emily Dickinson, born in Amherst (1830). She was a bright student, social, with plenty of friends. She and her friends took walks across the hills around Amherst, picking pink and white trilliums and lady's-slippers, and Emily told her friends stories about the animals that lived in the woods. They went on sleigh rides, attended concerts and lectures, had parties and cooked chowder over open fires and talked about their favorite writers. At the age of 14, she wrote to her friend Abiah Palmer: "I am growing handsome very fast indeed! I expect I shall be the belle of Amherst when I reach my 17th year. I don't doubt that I shall have perfect crowds of admirers at that age. Then how I shall delight to make them await my bidding, and with what delight shall I witness their suspense when I make my final decision."
In the 1840s, when Dickinson was a teenager, a religious revival swept across New England, and she emerged from it as an outsider. Eventually, Dickinson's mother, father, sister, brother, and most of her friends all made public declarations of faith, but she never did. In 1846, she wrote to a friend: "I was almost persuaded to be a Christian. I thought I never again could be thoughtless and worldly -- and I can say that I never enjoyed such perfect peace and happiness as the short time in which I felt I had found my savior. But I soon forgot my morning prayer or else it was irksome to me. One by one my old habits returned and I cared less for religion than ever." But four years later, she was no nearer conversion than before, and still struggling. She wrote to another friend in 1850: "How lonely this world is growing...Christ is calling everyone here, all my companions have answered...and I am standing alone in rebellion, and growing very careless. Abby, Mary, Jane, and farthest of all my Vinnie have been seeking, and they all believe they have found; I can't tell you what they have found, but they think it is something precious. I wonder if it is?"
When Dickinson was 20, in 1850, she was still very social; she wrote in a letter: "Amherst is alive with fun this winter -- might you be here to see! Sleigh rides are as plenty as people -- which conveys to my mind the idea of very plentiful plenty. How it may seem to you I don't calculate at all -- but presume you can see the likeness if you get the right light upon it. Parties can't find fun enough -- because all the best ones are engaged to attend balls a week beforehand -- beaus can be had for the taking -- maids smile like the mornings in June -- Oh a very great town is this!" A year later, she was writing to her friend and future sister-in-law: "Susie -- have all the fun wh' you possibly can -- and laugh as often and sing, for tears are plentier than smiles in this little world of ours; only don't be so happy as to let Mattie and me grow dimmer and dimmer and finally fade away, and merrier maids than we smile in our vacant places!"
As the years went by, she became noticeably more reclusive -- she corresponded mostly through letters, and allowed only a few visitors. But she also threw herself into her poetry -- with her sister, Lavinia, managing the household tasks, and without many social obligations, she had plenty of time to write. In 1855, the Dickinson family moved back to the estate known as the Homestead, where Emily had been born. Her brother, Austin, and his wife, her friend Susan, built a house next door. For the first time, she was no longer sharing a bedroom with Lavinia -- she had her own room, on the second floor, in the southwest corner. By 1865, when she was 35, she was no longer an active participant in Amherst's social life, and she had written more than 1,100 poems. When Dickinson died in 1886, at the age of 55, Lavinia found about 1,800 poems in her sister's desk.
Over the years, scholars have done a lot of speculating about Dickinson, coming up with all sorts of theories. Last year, a biographer named Lyndall Gordon suggested that Dickinson was epileptic, and that her epilepsy explained her seclusion, the rhythm and content of her poetry, and even her famous white dress, which according to Gordon was white for sanitary reasons. Various critics have tried to prove that her seclusion was the result of a broken heart, and have offered up any number of men in her life as the possible heartbreaker. A few years ago, a scholar named Carol Damon Andrews published an article claiming that Dickinson was engaged to her brother's friend George Gould, but that her father broke it up because Gould was too poor, and that Dickinson's love poems are written to Gould. There is also the popular theory that she was a closeted lesbian, possibly in love with her sister-in-law, Susan. Other scholars have diagnosed Dickinson with SAD, seasonal affective disorder.
Many people think that there is no one answer for Dickinson's seclusion -- but that above all, she was driven by a fierce desire to write poetry, and she chose to sacrifice everything else for that. Allen Tate said: "All pity for Miss Dickinson's 'starved life' is misdirected. Her life was one of the richest and deepest ever lived on this continent."

The "next" Hubble Telescope Space Lab -- Meg Urry op-ed for CNN dot-com

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/05/opinion/urry-james-webb-telescope/index.html?hpt=hp_bn9

Nearly everyone I meet has heard of the Hubble Space Telescope. Many have seen its beautiful images of the birthplace of new stars and planetary systems, or of the "gravitational lenses" that reveal a mysterious "dark matter" that dwarfs the amount of matter bound up in stars or galaxies.
This year's Nobel Prize in physics went to three scientists who used Hubble to detect the mysterious dark energy -- a sort of fifth fundamental force, previously unknown -- that we now think is causing the accelerated expansion of the universe.
Hubble pictures and the knowledge the HST generates have changed our view of the cosmos and reached nearly every schoolchild in America.
Hubble passed its 20th birthday last year -- young on a human time scale, but pretty elderly for a working spacecraft. Although frequent "body transplants" -- that is, the installation of new cameras and other systems -- keep Hubble acting like a teenager, it will reach the end of its useful lifetime by the end of the decade. What happens after Hubble takes its last picture?

 A decade ago, the astronomy and astrophysics community recommended as its very highest priority the James Webb Space Telescope to succeed Hubble. It will be a 6.5-meter foldable telescope -- roughly the size of a typical classroom, and more than six times the area of the Hubble mirror. It is named after James E. Webb,  who ran NASA from February 1961 to October 1968, a time of incredible scientific innovation and the Apollo moon program. The telescope named after him will answer new questions far beyond the capabilities of Hubble.

For example, JWST will look for signs of carbon-based life in the atmospheres of planets around other stars. The discovery of life elsewhere in our galaxy would be as mind-blowing as NASA's Apollo-era picture of the "Earth-rise" as seen from the moon.
JWST will measure where and how chemical elements forged within stars were dispersed into space -- the same carbon, oxygen and other elements that eventually formed our Earth and became (literally) part of us.
Because of its large foldable mirror, enormous solar shade and cryogenically cooled cameras, JWST will be able to see the very faint light from the very distant first galaxies, which formed 13 billion years ago, and perhaps the super explosions of the first stars formed in our universe.
Astronomy works a bit like archaeology, in that we directly observe the past. This is because light from the very distant universe takes billions of years to travel to our telescopes. So by observing the most distant galaxies, we can understand how galaxies formed and evolved to the present day.
There are also very practical reasons to care about such discoveries. Astronomy is a gateway science, attracting young minds. Astronomical instruments like Hubble and JWST push technical frontiers, developing new technologies that have other applications.
Last July, in a difficult budget environment, the House zeroed NASA's budget for the JWST project. Three weeks ago, Congress restored JWST funding for this fiscal year but warned that its budget and schedule milestones would be closely monitored.
The cost over two decades is $8.8 billion dollars, including five years of operation, with nearly half already spent for technology development and construction. On Tuesday, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee will hold a hearing at which leading scientists and JWST program managers will describe the scientific grasp of this advanced telescope and how the replanned mission can be achieved on time and within a strict cost cap.
In this fiscal environment, tough choices have to be made about which important and valuable government programs are not affordable. Each decade, the astronomical community sets priorities among many worthy projects competing for very limited dollars.
The 2001 survey, "Astronomy for the New Millennium," named a space infrared telescope like the JWST as the No. 1 priority. NASA started the JWST project soon after, with Canada and Europe as partners, and now 70% of the telescope is already made or in fabrication. The next report, in 2010, "New Worlds, New Horizons," described the essential role of JWST across the scientific landscape, from the "cosmic dawn" of stars and galaxies to the development of life on planets outside our solar system.
With a flagship mission like JWST, the U.S. can continue its international leadership in science and technology. Other countries like China and India are investing substantially in these areas, and a larger fraction of their college students major in science and engineering. Failing to complete JWST would disappoint our international partners and send a strong signal to the world that the U.S. is stepping back from forefront science.
Scientific discovery is not a luxury. Fundamental physics discoveries from early in the 20th century contribute greatly to our national economy, according to "Gathering Storm," the National Academies' report that warned that U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics need to be bolstered to ensure an good economic future. Even in a time of fiscal austerity, the U.S. needs this next-generation space telescope.

John Lennon -- widow and friends memorialize his death 31 years later -- W. Post article

News of the Beatle’s murder by deranged fan Mark David Chapman was announced to millions of TV viewers by football announcer Howard Cosell during “Monday Night Football.” Others, like my mother who was a college student at the time, got a phone call from a friend. She traveled to New York to stand outside The Dakota to grieve with hundreds of others. Today, millions remember his work with the Beatles, as a solo musician and an advocate for a more peaceful world.
Thousands of people have shared tributes on ImaginePeace.com, Yoko Ono’s site dedicated to her late husband. The Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, a memorial constructed from white stone and 15 beams of light, was turned on in October to mark Lennon’s birthday and will stay lit until tonight. It will be turned on again in late December and again in March. A live stream of the Tower can be seen on the memorial website (http://imaginepeacetower.com/ )
Ono, who is in Japan for a tribute concert of Lennon’s pieces, told  Vancouver Sun she still sees her husband working in the world today.
“Now that John's a spirit, he has a different effect on people than when he was alive,” she told the Sun. “Spirits talk on a pure level and don't get distracted by people saying things like, 'That's nice, but why's he wearing that?' ... Of course, it would still be better if John was around.”
Article by Sarah Anne Hughes (Entertainment and Celebritology section)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/john-lennons-death-marked-by-yoko-ono-fans-worldwide-31-years-later/2011/12/08/gIQAUzD1fO_blog.html

In the War "on Christmas" -- crass consumerism is winning (Wash. Post discussion) Dec. 8 dialogue

from Live Discussion section of Washington Post -- www.washingtonpost.com/

Is there really a "war" on Christmas?  Perhaps not a war, but there is certainly cultural combat, and like all conflicts, there are combatants on BOTH sides.
I'm Brad Hirschfield, and I welcome you to this week's live discussion on the big ethical issues animating the biggest stories of the day.  We are switching from our usual video format to a written one, but it's still all about your questions and comments, so please join in!

Q.

I would say Christmas is "winning" in its "Culture War"

Those who are "true believers" who can't win all of their battles resort to a kind of victim mentality -- Rick Perry and his comments about Christmas that is "forced out " of school programs and so forth. The holiday itself is doing quite well and will make economic inroads as far as consumer spending. Isn't that another way to look at it -- more and more and more shopping days?

• – Niles, Michigan blogger -- teejayniles
  December 08, 2011 11:20 AM

A.

Bradley Hirschfield :

slow down, if for no other reason than because it's never useful to simply explain away other people's concerns, even if we don't share them.  you are certainly wise to put quote marks around the words "true believers" when connected those who are angry and fearful, because true belief should, i would think, make one less angry and afraid.

on the other hand, Christmas is not what it once was in this country -- the presumed holiday of all Americans in a country that was presumed to be Christian even though we knew it wasn't all Christian.  whether the change is positive or not -- and i think it is -- there is still a loss for many people in that change, and simply telling them to "get over it" is both unkind and unwise as it creates the backlash we are witnessing today.

As to Chritmas "winning" because more dollars are spent in connection with the holiday, not sure what kind of victory that is, especially for those who feel disapproved of when they say "Merry Christmas" at the checkout counter.

Early Hanukkah (December 2011) Reception at White House -- on December 8

as noted in Obama Food-o-rama (http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.edu/ )
Jewish leaders from across the US invited to celebrate the festival of lights...
Hanukkah doesn't begin until sunset on Dec. 20th, but more than 250 leaders from Jewish communities across the US will attend President Obama's Hanukkah Reception this evening at the White House. First Lady Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will also attend, and the President will make remarks at 6:00 PM.
The event will be held in the dramatic, columned Grand Foyer on the State Floor, which is filled with Christmas trees laden with ornaments and lights. Members of Congress and top Administration officials have been invited; "one third of the Supreme Court is here," President Obama announced at last year's reception, because Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer were on hand to celebrate.
The Hanukkah fete comes as GOP presidential hopefuls slam  Mr. Obama for his Israel policy. Jewish voters will be crucial for the President's 2012 re-election bid; he had 78% of the Jewish vote in 2008.
A Kosher menu...
The reception will feature a buffet of Jewish holiday specialties, which is typically strictly Kosher and prepared under the strict supervision of a Rabbi.  The menu for 2010 included Roulade of Chicken Breast, Chateaubriand, Pine Nut Herb Crusted Lamb Chops, special Latkes, Dill and Vodka Smoked Salmon...and sushi rolls, including California Rolls and Spicy Tuna Rolls, as well as baked treats for dessert.
The receptions in 2009 and 2010 included candle lighting ceremonies. The sterling silver menorah used at last year's reception was salvaged from Congregation Beth Israel in New Orleans, Louisiana, which was filled with eight feet of water during Hurricane Katrina.
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2011/12/tonight-president-obama-hosts-white.html

Virgin Mary's status (Immaculate Conception) "developed over time" (Saint of the Day blog)

from Catholic Blog (http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1223 )

A feast called the Conception of Mary arose in the Eastern Church in the seventh century. It came to the West in the eighth century. In the 11th century it received its present name, the Immaculate Conception. In the 18th century it became a feast of the universal Church.
In 1854, Pius IX solemnly proclaimed: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.”
It took a long time for this doctrine to develop. While many Fathers and Doctors of the Church considered Mary the greatest and holiest of the saints, they often had difficulty in seeing Mary as sinless—either at her conception or throughout her life. This is one of the Church teachings that arose more from the piety of the faithful than from the insights of brilliant theologians. Even such champions of Mary as Bernard and Thomas Aquinas could not see theological justification for this teaching.
Two Franciscans, William of Ware and Blessed John Duns Scotus, helped develop the theology. They point out that Mary’s Immaculate Conception enhances Jesus’ redemptive work. Other members of the human race are cleansed from original sin after birth. In Mary, Jesus’ work was so powerful as to prevent original sin at the outset.

Today is the Birthday of James Thurber (humorist - cartoonist)

from The Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

December 8 is the birthday of James Thurber, born in Columbus, Ohio (1894). His father was an underpaid civil servant who worked too hard; his mother was a funny woman who loved to play jokes. When he was seven years old, he was playing with his brothers and was shot in the eye with a bow and arrow; he went completely blind in one eye, and struggled with his eyesight for the rest of his life.
He dropped out of Ohio State University, spent a couple of years during World War I working as a code clerk, and eventually moved to New York City, where in 1927 he met the writer E.B. White. White helped get Thurber a job at The New Yorker. The men shared an office there, and White was so delighted by Thurber's little drawings that he helped get those published in the magazine, as well. They also collaborated on a book, Is Sex Necessary? (1929), a parody of self-help books that included Thurber's cartoons.
Thurber said, "Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility."

Famous Photograph taken Dec. 7, 1972: "The Blue Marble"

from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

It was on this day in 1972 that astronauts on the Apollo 17 spacecraft took a famous photograph of Earth, a photo that came to be known as "The Blue Marble. "Photographs of Earth from space were relatively new.
In 1948, the astronomer Fred Hoyle said, "Once a photograph of the Earth, taken from the outside, is available -- once the sheer isolation of the Earth becomes plain -- a new idea as powerful as any in history will be let loose."
The photograph captured on this day thirty-nine years ago was the first clear image of the Earth, because the sun was at the astronauts' back, and so the planet appears lit up and you can distinctly see blue, white, brown, even green. It became a symbol of the environmental movement of the 1970s, and it's the image that gets put on flags, T-shirts, bumper stickers, and posters.
The crew of Apollo 17 was about 28,000 miles away from Earth when they took the Blue Marble photo. It was the last time that astronauts, not robots, were on a lunar mission -- since then, no people have gotten far enough away from Earth to take a photo like it.

Ashura holiday - Shi'ite worshippers killed in Kabul, Afghanistan by bomb attacks - CSM coverage

Christian Science Monitor coverage of December 6 tragedy in the capital city of Afghanistan:

A Shiite mosque in Kabul
Though it may seem on the surface to be a sectarian attack, the violence is most likely related to drawing attention from Monday’s Bonn Conference on Afghanistan peace and security.
“There is no sign of tension between Sunnis and Shiites in Afghanistan,” says Fakori Beheshti, a member of parliament from Bamiyan, a predominately Shiite province. “This was just an act of the enemies of Afghanistan. It came after the Bonn Conference about the peace and stability of Afghanistan and by carrying out these blasts not just in Kabul, but in Mazar-e Sharif and Kandahar it showed that they are against the achievements of Afghanistan and trying to get media attention.”
Tuesday’s string of bombings come the day after Afghan and world leaders gathered in Bonn, Germany
If the
“This attack is not the work of those Taliban who ruled Afghanistan in the past. Even during that time every sect had their freedom to celebrate their holidays. I would say this is the act of those intelligence circles and spies of Pakistan who are trying to start a new phase of Sunni and Shiite tension in the country,” says Mohammad Hassan Walasmal, an independent political analyst in Kabul.  In Afghanistan, the Shiite community largely comes from the Hazara ethnic group. During the Taliban rule, Hazaras were brutally discriminated against. While there has been some tension between the Hazaras and other ethnic groups in Afghanistan today, they have lived in relative harmony recent years and incidents of sectarian violence have been extremely rare.
The Ashura holiday is more important for the Shiite sect of Islam, but it is also recognized by Sunni Muslims. It commemorates the martyrdom of the prophet Mohammad’s grandson Hussein in the year 680. The holiday is marked with long processions where those in attendance engage in self-flagellation.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/1206/Twin-attacks-in-Afghanistan-against-Shiites-not-homegrown-say-Afghanswas rocked by one of the deadliest suicide bombings Kabul has seen in recent months. At the same time the Kabul bomb went off, another bomb rocked the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, north of Kabul, killing processions of Shiites as they celebrated the Islamic Ashura holiday. Some 54 people were killed and 160 wounded in the Kabul attack. And at least four people were killed in Mazar-e-Sharif. Around the same time as the Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif attacks, another bomb detonated in the southern city of Kandahar but no one was killed. to discuss the future of Afghanistan after foreign combat troops leave in 2014. Notably, the conference was boycotted by Pakistan after a NATO air strike killed at least 24 Pakistani soldiers in late November.  Early reports indicate that the bombing may be the work of the Pakistani group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi together with the Haqqani Network, which also maintains strong ties to Pakistan. Taliban is involved it will likely prove a strong blow the group’s image. Like NATO, the Taliban is equally aware of the public relations damage done by civilian deaths here. During the Islamic holiday Eid Al-Adha last month, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar warned that Taliban fighters who caused civilian casualties would face Islamic justice.

December holiday Custom (Germany-Austria-Netherlands) St. Nicholas leaves presents in shoes early today

from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

Today (December 6 annually) is the feast day of St. Nicholas. The figure of Santa Claus comes from St. Nick, who in turn comes from the real-life St. Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop from Myra, in what is now Turkey. In many parts of the world, today is the day that children get gifts -- on the evening of December 5th, they might put out shoes and get small gifts like fruit, coins, or toys.

In Holland, everyone celebrates the Feast of Sinterklaas, or St. Nicholas, on the eve of December 6. After dinner, Dutch families hunt for presents, following clues in funny, anonymous poems. They also eat cookies and candies, especially spicy Speculaas, crispy ginger-cookie figures formed in traditional wooden molds.
(paragraph from Old Farmer's Almanac -- e-newsletter for December 6)

Happy Birthday to Rainer Maria Rilke (b. 1875) -- Poet

December 4 is the birthday of poet Rainer Maria Rilke, born in Prague (1875). He was a delicate boy, born prematurely. The year before he was born, his mother had given birth to a girl who died after a week, and she wanted her son to fill that place. Rainer's given name was Rene, and his mother dressed him in dresses, braided his hair, and treated him like a girl. Later, he wrote, "I think my mother played with me as though I were a big doll." But his mother also encouraged him to read and write poetry, and made him copy out verses before he even knew how to read.
He made a career as a poet by seducing a series of rich noblewomen who would support him while he wrote his books. One princess let him live for a while in her Castle Duino near Trieste, a medieval castle with fortified walls and an ancient square tower. Rilke's room had a view of the gulf of Trieste, which he loved. In a letter from his room he wrote, "I am looking out into the empty sea-space, directly into the universe, you might say." It was during the winter of 1912, alone in the castle, that Rilke later said he heard the voice of an angel speaking to him about the meaning of life and death, and he started a poem that began with the lines, "And if I cried, who'd listen to me in those angelic / orders? Even if one of them suddenly held me / to his heart, I'd vanish in his overwhelming / presence. Because beauty's nothing but the start of terror we can hardly bear, / and we adore it because of the serene scorn / it could kill us with. Every angel's terrifying."
Rilke wrote two poems about angels in almost a single sitting, and he knew that he had begun his most important work, but then he got stuck. He eventually left the castle, the First World War broke out, and he struggled to write anything for years. Finally, in February of 1922, he managed to finish in a single month what he'd started a decade before. The result was a cycle of 10 long poems that he called The Duino Elegies, about the difference between angels and people, and the meaning of death, and his idea that human beings are put on earth in order to experience the beauty of ordinary things.

Morenci boys still missing one year later (PEOPLE magazine coverage) Dec. 2011 - Morenci, Michigan

One year later John Skelton still won't tell police more about the missing boys' fates.
Authorities have found no trace of Tanner, Alexander and Andrew – who ranged in ages from 5 to 9 – and their father's no-contest plea to false imprisonment has gotten investigators no closer to answers.
"Certainly there's frustration," Morenci, Mich., Police Chief Larry Weeks tells PEOPLE. "We have three boys out there that are missing, and he doesn't seem willing to provide us with factual information about where they're located."
After the boys' disappearance, police identified Skelton as a key suspect and determined that he likely got rid of the boys on the morning after Thanksgiving in 2010.
"We know he left his home 4:29 a.m. the morning after Thanksgiving and returned at 6:46," Weeks says. "It's during that time that we believe that he disposed of them in some fashion."
Skelton has provided various accounts of what he did with the boys.
He said he gave them to a pastor's wife named Joann Taylor, because he was going to commit suicide. Then he said he gave them to an unnamed underground organization to protect them from abuse by their mother, Tanya Zuvers.
Cleared by authorities of any wrongdoing. Zuvers told a PEOPLE Magazine interviewer that she doesn't understand her former husband's unusual behavior.
Skelton has never been tried for harming the boys. Over the summer, he pleaded no contest to three unlawful imprisonment charges and has been sentenced to 10-15 years.
Skelton maintains that he's unable to contact the organization that he claims took the boys and he doesn't know where they're being kept.
"He says that they're alive and they'll be back when they're old enough, when there won't be a … danger of abuse by their mother," says his attorney John Glaser. The lawyer declined to comment as to whether he believes his client.
Investigators, however, are skeptical that the boys are alive after finding a noose in Skelton's house and a search for "neck breaking" on his computer.
Their unsolved disappearance has been traumatic for the whole community of Morenci, which is at the southern edge of Michigan, about 40 miles west of Toledo, Ohio.
Hundreds of people gathered Nov. 27 at the Morenci High School gym to remember the boys and to remind the country that there is a $60,000 reward for information leading to their recovery or return. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20550704,00.html?xid=rss-fullcontent

www.people.com/

Atlanta hosts Herman Cain Campaign for White House -- no longer passable

from AJC (Atlanta Journal Constitution) online breaking news (Sat. 12/3/2011 - 1 p.m. Eastern Time):

Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain said the onslaught of accusations of sexual harassment and marital infidelity has caused too much of a strain on his marriage and that after discussing it with his wife, Gloria, they agreed it was time to focus on their family.

“As of today, with a lot off prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign," Cain said, his wife standing behind him, "because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family, not because we’re not fighters.  But Cain said he "will not be silenced and I'm not going away."  Cain said he's on to "Plan B," which revolves around a website where he will continue to push for solutions to the country's problems.

Cain said he was inspired to run because "politicians in Washington" had failed the country. "The mess has just gotten bigger," he said. "You were frustrated; I was frustrated. It was out of that frustration I made the decision to run."

A crowd of more than 300 supporters had gathered early on a brisk autumn morning in the parking lot of what was to be Cain's new Atlanta headquarters.  For hours before Cain arrived, they milled about, waving signs, eating barbecue and expressing hope that Cain would stay in the race.

But, to the surprise of few in the political world, Cain said his campaign is over.

After a meteoric rise in the polls following a surprise win in a Florida straw poll in late September, Cain enjoyed a month of front-runner status in the race for the GOP nomination.

Payroll Tax "Rebate" that would have expired will be renewed -- Republican Congressman UPTON

from Kalamazoo Gazette coverage / M-Live.com -- Michigan Live website:

Congressman Fred Upton (MI - 6th District) said Congress will agree on extending the payroll tax cut, which are set to expire in January.  "My sense is - and it’s still a working project, as we talk now," Upton declared on a syndicated Michigan Politics show (TV). "The keys, particularly from the Republican side, are that these have to be paid for."

The tax allows employees to pay 4.2 percent of their first $106,800 in wages into Social Security, instead of the normal 6.2.  The one-year payroll tax was set to expire in January 2012.  There has been some debate among GOP legislators to how to extend the tax cut, as well as if it has had any economic stimulus, according to THE HILL (Congressional web watch group). The amount of money not paid to Social Security by the tax would be made up by general Treasury funds.

"On Thursday, the majority of Republican senators voted against a GOP proposal to extend the tax cut for another year, which would have primarily been offset with savings wrung from the federal workforce," The Hill article reads.  Democrats have put forward a plan that would lower the tax to 3.1 percent — down from the current 4.2 percent.  During the interview, host Al Hunt asked Upton if approving the tax cut would be considered a political loss for Republicans.

Upton said it isn't. "No. I mean, from - again, from our perspective, they have to be paid for," Upton said during the interview. "This is a tax cut that expires that hurts working Americans, you know, pretty sizable amount, $1,000, $2,000 bucks, depending on how much people earn."

Iraq Military "Camp Victory" (Saddam's Palace) turned over in Iraq War's Conclusion (Dec. 2, 2011)

from Politico online article - summary (www.politico.com/ )

Camp Victory, a huge military base which once served as the headquarters for all U.S. military operations in Iraq, was handed over to Iraqi control on Friday (Dec. 2, 2011).
“The base is no longer under U.S. control and is under the full authority of the government of Iraq,” said U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson, according to the Associated Press.
At its height the base was home to as many as 40,000 troops and 30,000 contractors, reports ABC News.  The base was centered on Saddam Hussein’s Al-Faw Palace, and ironically the former dictator was held at one of the palace’s villas for three years while awaiting his trial and eventual execution.
The handover to the Iraqi government was done as part of American efforts to withdraw U.S. troops by the end of the month. In the past month, 20,000 troops have left Iraq; another 13,000 U.S. forces still remain.
While there was no formal handover ceremony, Vice President Joe Biden spoke at an event on the base Thursday, and remarked that American sacrifice had allowed the United States to “win the war.”  “Because of you and the work those of you here have done, we are now able to end this war,” Biden told assembled U.S. troops, Iraqi forces and security contractors.
The event Biden spoke at, which also featured Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, began with the playing of both American and Iraqi national anthems, but concluded with only the playing of the latter.

Lighting of the National Christmas Tree (Dec. 1, 2011) -- 89th Anniversary

For the first time in 33 years, the Colorado blue spruce illuminating President’s Park has been replaced, according to National Park Service spokesman Bill Line. The old evergreen was toppled by 60-mph winds in February, Line said. Planted in the Jimmy Carter administration, it had grown to 42 feet.
The new tree has roots from a nursery in northwest New Jersey. It was planted in the Ellipse in March and measures 26.5 feet. It’s joined by 56 smaller trees, each representing a state, a U.S. territory or the District.
As the sun dipped into Thursday’s sky, hundreds of guests entered the park for the lighting celebration, fusing traditions old and new.
The event marked the 89th National Christmas Tree lighting, a presidential rite of passage that started with Calvin Coolidge.
The act took on a more emotional resonance in 1941, when it took place a few days after Pearl Harbor. At Thursday’s event, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told the audience that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt used the tradition to help the country feel good during some of its darkest days, “as a reminder that we set our faith in human love and God’s care for us.”
The event has become a televised holiday spectacle. Guests try to get tickets through a lottery process on the Web. This year, Carson Daly hosted. Pop acts, such as OneRepublic and Big Time Rush, performed. First lady Michelle Obama made witty banter with a felt-covered amphibian.
“Call me Michelle,” the first lady said after Kermit the Frog called her “First Lady.”
“That’s very nice of you,” Kermit responded. “I have to call Miss Piggy ‘Your Majesty.’ ”
Santa Claus stopped by, but he said he was too busy to do media interviews.
Lisa Walker, 51 , grew up in the District. This year was only the second time she had tried to obtain tickets for the Christmas tree lighting, and she was thrilled that she was successful.
“I came for the chance to get to see the president,” Walker said, “and just to be entertained. I’ve always wanted to see the lights up close.”
The tree runs on about 2,000 watts of electricity, thanks to energy-efficient lights. At its peak is a four-pointed star, the same topper that’s been used for the past six years. Cascading to its base are 160 ornaments in the shape of six-pointed star bursts, strung alongside 65 sets of lights that glow through the night.
part of WASHINGTONPOST dot-com coverage (story by Robert Samuels)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obama-lights-national-christmas-tree-near-white-house/2011/12/01/gIQAhaAYIO_story.html?hpid=z4

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico -- December 12

from RELIGION & ETHICS Newsweekly (PBS program, Lilly Foundation funding):

December 12

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Catholic Christianity)
In December of 1531, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin saw visions of the Virgin Mary on the hill of Tepeyak near Mexico City. On December 12, Mary instructed him to ask church officials to build a basilica in her honor in Mexico City. When Juan Diego asked for a sign, she placed roses in a blanket that he carried with him on his journey to the city. Upon arrival, he unrolled the blanket to find an image of Mary imprinted on the cloth. The Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe was built in her honor, and thousands of Catholics make pilgrimages there every year. This day is celebrated with festivals, dances and special masses.

Washington, DC WORLD AIDS RALLY -- Dec. 1 (Politico details)

WORLD AIDS DAY: Today, President Obama delivers remarks at a World AIDS Day event hosted by the ONE Campaign and (RED) here in Washington D.C. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will also speak via satellite.

www.politico.com/