Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Envoy to Afghanistan, Dies at 69

(Fox News December 13, 2010) Longtime U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration's envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, died Monday after undergoing emergency heart surgery Saturday for a torn aorta.  He was 69 years old.  Holbroooke had a forceful style which earned him nicknames such as "The Bulldozer," was admitted to the hospital on Friday after becoming ill at the State Department.  The former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. underwent surgery Saturday.  Holbrooke's death comes the same week the White House plans to release a review of the Afghan war, a project in which Holbrooke was deeply involved.  Earlier on Monday, State Department Spokesman Mark Toner was asked how that review process would be affected without Holbroooke's contributions.  "Clearly, someone with Ambassador Holbrooke's intellect, his experience...we miss him, and we miss his input."

President Obama had a chance to speak to Holbrooke's wife and children at a State Department holiday party before news of his death.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also hailed Holbrooke's long service earlier in the day.  "He has given nearly 50 years of his life to serving the United States," Clinton said during a meeting in Canada. 

Holbrooke served under every Democratic president from John F. Kennedy to President Obama in a lengthy career that began with a foreign service posting in Vietnam in 1962 after graduating from Brown University, and included time as a member of the U.S. delegation to the Paris Peace Talks on Vietnam.  His sizable ego, tenacity and willingness to push hard for diplomatic results won him both admiration and animosity.  "If Richard calls you and asks you for something," just say yes," former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once said.  "If you say no, you'll eventually get to yes, but the journey will be very painful."  He learned to become extremely informed about whatever country he was in, push for an exit strategy and look for ways to get those who live in a country to take increasing responsibility for their own security. 

Born in New York City on April 24, 1941, Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke had an interest in public service from his early years.  He was good friends in high school with a son of Dean Rusk and he grew close to the family of the man who would become a secretary of state for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.  Holbroooke was a young provincial representative for the U.S. Agency for International Development in South Vietnam and then an aide to two U.S. ambassadors in Saigon.  At the Johnson White House, he wrote one volume of the Pentagon papers, an internal government study of U.S. involvement in Vietnam that was completed in 1967.  The study, leaked in 1971 by a former Defense Department aide, had many damaging revelations, including a memo that stated the reason for fighting in Vietnam was based far more on preserving U.S. prestige than preventing communism or helping the Vietnamese.  Ater stints in and out of government--including as Peace Corps director in Morocco, editing positions at Foreign Policy and Newsweek magazines and adviser to Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign--Holbroooke became asistant secretary of state for Asian affairs from 1977-81.  He then shifted back to private life--and the financial world, at Lehman Brothers. 

A lifelong Democrat, he returned to public service when Bill Clinton took the White House in 1993.  Holbrooke was U.S. ambassador to Germany from 1993 to 1994 and then assistant secretary of state for European affairs.  One of his signature achievements was brokering the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in Bosnia.  He detailed the experience of negotiating the deal at an Air Force base near the Ohio city in his 1998 memoir, "To End a War."  Holbrooke's efforts surrounding Dayton would later lead to controversy when wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic told a war crimes tribunal in 2009 that Holbrooke had promised his immunity in return for leaving politics.  Holbrooke denied the claim. 

Holbrooke left the State Department in 1996 to take a Wall Street job with Credit Suisse First Boston, but was never far from the international diplomatic fray, serving as a private citizen as a special envoy to Cyprus and then to the Balkans.  In 1998, he negotiated an agreement with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw Yugoslav forces from Kosovo where they were accused of conducting an ethnic cleansing campaign and allow international observers into the province.  "I make no apologizes for negotiating with Milosevic and even worse people, provided one doesn't lose one's point of view," he said later.  When the deal fell apart, Holbrooke went to Belgrade to deliver the final ultimatum to Milosevic to leave Kosovo or face NATO airstrikes, which ultimately rained down on the capital.  "This isn't fun," he said of his Kosovo experience.  "This isn't bridge or tennis.  This is tough slogging."

Holbrooke returned to public service in 1999, when he became U.S. ambassador to the United Nations after a lengthy confirmation battle, stalled at first by ethics investigations into his business dealings and then unrelated Republican objectives.  At the U.N., Holbrooke tried to broker peace in wartorn African nations.  He led efforts to help refugees and fight AIDS in Africa.  He also confronted U.N. anger over unpaid U.S. dues to the world body and persuaded 188 countries to overhaul the United Nations' financing and reduce U.S. payments.  Holbrooke told the Associated Press in 2001 that it doesn't make sense to be in government if you don't try to make things better. 

Holbrooke, with his long-standing ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton, was an early supporter of Hillary's presidential campaign in 2008.  He had been considered a favorite to become secretary of state had Hillary won the White House.  When she dropped out of the race, he started reaching out to the Obama campaign.  When Obama won the presidency in 2008, Obama made him special envoy to Afghanistan. 

Holbrooke is survived by his wife, author Kati Marton, and two sons David Dan Holbrooke and Anthony Andrew Holbrooke.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman

God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

In Bethlehem, in Israel,
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

"Fear not then" said the Angel
"Let nothing you affright,
This day is born a Savior
Of a pure Virgin bright
To free all those who trust in Him
From Satan's power and might"
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway
The Son of God to find.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

And when they came to Bethlehem
Where our dear Savior lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His Mother Mary kneeling down,
Unto the Lord did pray;
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Christmas Traditions: The Poinsetta

(Christmas Customs) Poinsettia plants are native to Central America, especially an area of southern Mexico known as "Taxco del Alarcon" where they flower during the winter.  The ancient Aztecs called them 'cuetlaxochitl'.  The Aztecs had many uses for them including using the flowers (also known as bracts) to make a purple dye for clothes and cosmetics and the milky white sap was made into a medicine to treat fevers.  Today we refer to it as sap latex. 

The poinsettia was made widely known because of a man named Joel Roberts Poinsett.  He was the first Ambassador from the United States to Mexico in 1825.  He also founded the scientific institution in the U.S. called the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful Arts.  It was the predecessor of the Smithsonian Institute.  Poinsett had some greenhouses on his plantations in South Carolina, and while visiting the Taco area in 1828, he became very interested in the plants.  He immediately sent some of the plants back to South Carolina, where he began to grow the plants and sending them to friends and botanical gardens.  One of the friends he sent plants to was John Barroom of Philadelphia, who gave the plant to his friend, Robert Buist, a plantsmans from Pennsylvania.  Robert Buist was probably the first person to have sold the poinsettias under their botanical, or latin name, "Euphorbia pulcherrima"  It is thought that it became known as Poinsettia in the mid 1830's when people found out who had first brought it to America from Mexico. 

There is an old legend on how Poinsettia's and Christmas were combined together. 

There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services.  As Pepita walked to the chapel, sadly, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up.  'Pepita', he said "I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him will make Jesus Happy.'

Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet.  She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus.  As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said.  She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene.  Suddenly, the bouqet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle.  From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flores de Noche Buena', or 'Flowers of the Holy Night.'

The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought of as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus.  The red colored leaves symbolizes the blood of Christ.  The white leaves represent the purity.

Jesus was God Incarnate

When it comes to understanding about the God of scripture whom we celebrate during the Christmas season, there are a couple of things that need to be pointed out.  First of all, God is the God of the impossible.  God is a sovereign omnipotent God.  He's not bound by man's reasoning.  God's ways are higher than man's ways.  Second of all, we must accept what the Bible says by faith.  Romans 1:17 says that the just shall live by faith.  When you read of the account of the birth of Christ in Matthew 1 & 2 and Luke 1 & 2, you read that Jesus was born of a virgin.  Anyone that knows anything about human reproduction knows that it's impossible for a virgin to conceive and birth a child without the aid of man.  That's humanly impossible. Yet we read that Mary was found with child of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 1:18).  How was that possible?  It was done supernaturally by the aid of the Holy Ghost.  That's the first and only time that a virgin ever conceived a child through the aid of the Holy Ghost.  There have been many religious scholars that have tried to discredit the birth of Christ throughout time.  Those that uphold the philosophy of naturalism can in no way explain the supernatural birth of Christ.  The birth of Christ can't be explained in naturalistic terms.  It was done supernaturally.  Why was Jesus born supernaturally?  The seed of sin is transmitted through the male.  If Jesus' father was Joseph, he would've been a sinner and therefore he couldn't pay the price for the sins of mankind on Calvary.  Those that are saved accept by faith that Jesus was born of a virgin.  I can't explain the processes involved in Mary becoming pregnant other than what the Bible says.  All I can tell you is what the Bible says regarding the birth of Jesus.  I trust and accept what God says by faith.  There are some things you can't explain with words. 

John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."  Jesus was not only born of a virgin, but he was born without sin.  He left the Godhead and came to earth as a man who was all God and all man.  He was God incarnate.  What is the definition of incarnate?  The online definition of incarnate is possessing bodily form, to give a bodily or concrete form to.  It also means to be representive or typical of.  Jesus came to this world as a babe in a manger.  He grew to be a man and began his public ministry at the age of 30.  Even though he was man and was tempted as we are, he knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.  (2 Corinthians 5:21)  He became sin for us.  He couldn't have done so if he yielded to temptation.  We read about the account in Matthew 4 where he was tempted of Satan in the wilderness.  He didn't succumb to the wiles of the Devil.  Even though Jesus was man, he never sinned.  He possessed the Divine nature within Him.  He was filled with the Holy Ghost.  There are many religious scholars who will try to discredit that.  However, God's not regulated by natural causes.  Praise the Lord!  We would be in a huge mess if God wasn't supernatural.  God's not bound by the ways of man to accomplish His will.

(Philippians 2:5-11) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  Even though Jesus was equal with God, he didn't walk upon this earth making mention of the fact that he was great.  Many times when he performed great miracles he told those that were healed to tell no one.  He didn't come to this earth to make a name for himself.  He came to fulfill the will of the Father which was die on the cross for the sins of mankind.  There's nobody that's ever walked the face of the earth that could make such a boast as that he's equal with God.  Due to sin, mankind is separated from God.  He possesses the Adamic nature as the result of the fall of Adam.  However, due to the virgin birth, Jesus bypassed all that.  Even though he was born a babe and grew into a man, he didn't possess a sin nature within him.  He never once sinned while on this earth.  He fulfilled the letter of the law.  He was that perfect, spotless lamb.  He could've made a name for himself and boast to everyone that he's the King of kings and Lord of lords.  He could rightly boast that He's God because he was part of the Godhead.  Colossians 2:9 says for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 

Jesus never tried to make a reputation for himself.  He humbled himself and became a servant.  He was made in the likeness of man.  Yet there was no guile in him.  (John 1:47)  He was humble, compassionate, holy, loved sinners, and was obedient to the will of the Father.  Christ is the example we as Christians are to emulate.  According to Romans 8:29, we who are saved are to be conformed to the image of (God the Father's) Son.  When the Lord saves a sinner, he imparts a new nature into him.  That new Christian will have a desire to walk and sup with the Lord.  God intends for the brethren to be conformed to the image of Christ. 

A sinner doesn't have to know the details about the virgin birth nor Christ being God-incarnate to be saved.  All a sinner needs is to be convicted by the Spirit of God and to humbly bow before the Lord and admit he/she is a sinner, repent, and ask God to save him/her.  That's all that has to be done.  There were things about the Bible I didn't understand when I got saved.  Nevertheless, I didn't have a problem accepting what the Bible says concerning the virgin birth, the miracles of Christ, and God parting the Red Sea in Exodus.  I believe a person that's saved won't have a problem believing those things.  Salvation is by grace through faith.  In order to leave a life that's pleasing to God, we must walk by faith.  There are some things concerning God's word we won't fully understand in this life.  But we are to accept by faith that God's word is sure and true.  I'm thankful that God's a God of the impossible.  I'm glad God doesn't have to work according to man's wisdom to accomplish His will.  Jesus was born of a virgin, he was God incarnate, he sinned not, and he was obedient unto death.  Whether or not you accept it is your choice.  However it doesn't change God's word.  If Jesus wasn't born supernaturally, there would be no Calvary, there would be no salvation, and there would be no hope for eternal life.  I praise the Lord for being the God of the impossible.

(I Corinthians 1:27-29)  "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence." 

The History of the Christmas Carol

(Christmas Customs)

Carols were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but they weren't Christmas carols.  What are carols?  The online definition of a carol is a song of praise or joy, esp. for Christmas.  Another definition is to sing in a loud and joyous manner.  It also means to go from house to house singing Christmas songs.  Christmas caroling is a popular tradition every Christmas season.  Each local town and community has groups singing Christmas carols in nursing homes and other places during the holiday season.

The early Christmas carols sung in Europe thousands of years ago were pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as people danced around stone circles.  The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, usually taking place around the 22nd of December.  Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has ever really survived. 

Early Christians took over the pagan solstice celebrations for Christmas and gave people Christian songs to sing instead of pagan ones.  In AD 129, a Roman Bishop said that a song called "Angel's Hymn" should be sung at a Christmas service in Rome.  Another famous early Christmas Hymn was written in 760 AD, by Comas of Jerusalem for the Greek Orthodox Church.  Soon after this many composers all over Europe started to write carols.  However, not many people liked them as they were all written and sung in Latin, a language that the normal people couldn't understand.  By the time of the Middle Ages (the 1200's), most people had lost interest in celebrating Christmas altogether.  This was changed by St. Francis of Assisi when, in 1223 , he started his Nativity Plays in Italy.  The people in the plays sang songs or 'canticles' that told the story during the plays.  Sometimes, the choruses of these new carols were in Latin; but normally they were all in a language that the people watching the play could understand and join in.  The new carols spread to France, Spain, and Germany and other European countries. 

The earliest carol, like this, was written in 1410.  Sadly only a very small fragment of it still exists.  The carol was about Mary and Jesus meeting different people in Bethlehem.  Most carols from this time and the Elizabethan period are untrue stories, very loosely based on the Christmas story, about the holy family and were seen as entertaining rather than religious songs.  They were usually sung in homes rather than in churches.  Traveling singers or Minstrels started singing these carols and the words were changed for the local people wherever they were traveling.  One carol that changed like this is "I Saw Three Ships."  When Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans came to power in England in 1647, the celebration of Christmas and singing carols was stopped.  However, the carols survived as people still sang them in secret.  Carols remained mainly unsung until Victorian times, when two men called William Sandys and Davis Gilbert collected lots of old Christmas music from villages in England. 

Before carol singing in public became popular, there were sometimes official carol singers called 'Waits'.  These were bands of people led by important local leaders (such as council leaders) who had the only power in the towns and villages to take money from the public (If others did this, they were sometimes charged as beggars.)  They were called 'Waits' because they sang on Christmas Eve.  (This was sometimes known as watchnight or waitnight because of the shepherds were watching their sheep when the angels appeared to them), when the Christmas celebrations began.  Also, at this time, many orchestras and choirs were being set up in the cities of England and people wanted Christmas songs to sing, so carols once again became popular.  Many new carols, such as 'Good King Wenceslas', were also written.

New carols services were created and became popular, as did the custom of singing carols in the streets.  Both of these customs are still popular today.  One of the most popular types of Carols services are Carols by Candlelight services.  At this service, the church is only lit by candlelight and it feels very "Christmassy".  Carols by Candlelight services are held in countries all over the world.

Shariah Law Doesn't Belong in the United States

(USA Today) Muneer Awad, 27, a recent University of Georgia law school graduate born in Michigan, says he's standing up for the U.S. Constitution trying to change Oklahoma's laws.  "I'm trying to defend the First Amendment, says Awad, director of Oklahoma's chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).  The issue is the amendment to Oklahoma's constitution which passed overwhelmingly on Election Day that bars judges from considering Islamic or international law in Oklahoma state courts.  Awad sued, and last week a federal judge temporarily blocked the law from taking effect while she determines whether it violates the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits establishment of a state religion.  Although Oklahoma's law is the first to come under court scrutiny, legislators in at least seven states, including Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, have proposed similar laws, the National Conference of State Legislatures says.  Tennessee and Louisiana have enacted versions of the law banning the use of foreign law under certain circumstances.  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is pushing for a federal law that "clearly and unequivocally states that we're not going to tolerate any imported law."

What is Shariah law?  Islamic law or sharia, which means "path" in Arabic, is a code of conduct governing all aspects of Muslim life, including family relationships, business dealings, and religious obligaitons.  It is based on the Quran.  Islamic countries operating under the guidance of Sharia may have varying interpretations of the code.  Awad says the Oklahoma law would prohibit a judge from probating his will, written in compliance with Islamic principles, or adjudicating other domestic matters such as divorces and custody disputes involving Muslims.  Supporters of sharia bans, including Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, say Islamic law is creeping into U.S. courts.  Earlier this year an appeals court in New Jersey overturned a state court judge's refusal to issue a restraining order against a Muslim man who forced his wife to engage in sexual intercourse.  The judge found that the man didn't intend to rape his wife because he believed his religion permitted him to have sex with her whenever he desired.  The case "presents a conflict between the criminal law and religious precepts," the appeals court wrote.  "In resolving this conflict, the judge determined to except (the husband) from the operation of the State's statutes as the result of his religious beliefs.  In doing so, the judge was mistaken. 

Gaffney's think tank recently published a book that argues jihadists who want worldwide Islamic rule try to establish sharia courts to weaken democracies.  "I think you're seeing people coalesce around legislation of the kind that was passed in Oklahoma," Gaffney says.  South Carolina legislators proposed a resolution in April that says state courts "shall not look to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures.  Specifically, the courts shall not consider sharia law or other international laws. 

Sharia law isn't compatible with the U.S. Constitution or any of America's other statutes.  If Muslims don't like how our laws are written, then they should pack their belongings and move to the Middle East where they can live in those countries which are sharia compliant.  We have Islamists under the guise of CAIR that are trying to force states to make sharia law a part of states' laws.  They are trying to force states to accept international law in order to allow sharia law to be a part of the respective states' laws.  If the courts allow Muslim groups to infiltrate the states and force sharia law down the throats of the citizens of those respective states, then there's a clear double standard here.  In the last few decades the state and federal courts have increasingly been ruling that religious expressions regarding our Christian heritage in public (such as the display of a creche or a nativity scene) is a violation of the U.S. Constitution and violates the First Amendment's clause which states there can't be any establishment of religion.  They use the infamous phrase "separation of church and state" stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court case Everson vs. Board of Education in 1947.  To allow CAIR and other Muslim groups to enforce sharia law in the states would be hypocritical.  If the government is to be neutral towards religion, then the court shouldn't be allowing Muslims to incorporate sharia as state law.  Sharia law is unconstitutional. I guarantee you if there was a church or a Christian group which tried to petition the state to pass a law which would incorporate the Ten Commandments as state law, for example, the ACLU would sue them and classify making the Ten Commandments state law as a violation of the separation of church and state.  Why is our government allowing Muslim groups to force states to change their laws to accommodate Sharia? 

Sharia has no place in American law.  Our politicians that are occupying seats of higher power are traitors.  They have no regards for the U.S. Constitution nor the Judeo-Christian heritage that's been the framework of American law.  Muslim front groups such as CAIR should have no influence whatsoever in American society.  They should be discredited and marginalized.  RICO statutes should be imposed on them as well.  Any Muslim group that wants to force states to accept sharia as part of their laws should be deported from the United States.  America wasn't built on Islam.  Our laws don't reflect Islamic law.  If our leaders don't like that, then they can leave America as well.  If I was living in Saudi Arabia for example, and I tried to sue the state to incorporate Christianity into the laws of Saudi Arabia, they would stone me.  There's no such thing as freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia.  I recognize America is a land which tolerates religious views and religious expressions.  However, if religious groups aren't satisified with America's laws and if they feel their religion should be incorporated into American law, then they should move to another country.  They should move to a country which would accommodate their religious views.  Sharia law has no place in American society.

The Little Drummer Boy

Come they told me
Pa rum pum pum pum
A new born king to see
Pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the king
Pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum

So to honor him
Pa rum pum pum pum
When we come

Little baby
Pa rum pum pum
I am a poor boy too
Pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give our King
Pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum

Shall I play for you
Pa rum pum pum pum
On my drum

Mary nodded
Pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him
Pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum

Then He smiled at me
Pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum

(About.com) "Little Drummer Boy" was originally entitled "Carol of the drums" because of the repeating line Pa rum pum pum pum which imitates the sound of a drum.

The song "Little Drummer Boy" was believed to be written by Katherine K. Davis in 1941 based on an old czech carol.  Other names credited for this song are Henry Onarati and Harry Simeone.  A claymation version based on this song was produced by Rankin-Bass for television in 1968 with the voice of Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson narrating.

The Pearl Harbor Attack

On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese.  As then president Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated, December 7th was a day that will live in infamy.  It was that single event in which the U.S.S. Arizona was attacked that brought America into World War II.  World War II had been taking place since September 1939 when German forces attacked Poland.  When Pearl Harbor was attacked, we had no choice but to go to war to roll back the forces of both the Germans and the Japanese. 

Christmas Traditions: A Charlie Brown Christmas

When I was a young boy and for several years afterward, I would watch the prime-time Christmas specials that would come on television such as "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", and the "Charlie Brown Christmas." I used to enjoy watching all the Peanuts gang prime-time animated specials on television. I especially enjoy the Charlie Brown Christmas special that debuted on December 9, 1965 and has been airing ever since. CBS aired this prime-time special from 1965-2000 and ABC has been airing this special ever since 2001. The producer of this prime-time animated TV special was Bill Melendez, who supplied the voice of Snoopy. It was initially sponsored by Coca-cola and over the years it would be sponsored by Dolly Madison and McDonald's. This special aired more than any other prime-time special, including the "Wizard of Oz." Since ABC started airing this special in 2001, it's aired at least twice annually. This Christmas production has received both an Emmy and a Peabody award. It became an instant hit when it first debuted on CBS. 50% of American households were tuned into the program on the first showing on December 9, 1965.

Four years ago I was reading an article about the production of the "Charlie Brown Christmas" in the USA Today newspaper. It was mentioning of the difficulties that Charles Schultz had in convincing executives to air this special promoting the theme of Linus reciting the birthday of Jesus from Luke 2:8-14. The network executives weren't keen on Linus reciting the birthday of Jesus on this special. Their reasoning was that viewers wouldn't want to sit through watching Linus quoting passages of the King James Bible. Schultz told them, "If we don't say what the true meaning of Christmas is, who will?" So they kept the recitation in the storylines. There were technical issues with the production as well. When producing this special, they were operating on a lean budget. Also, there were issues when it came to the voice productions of characters. With the exception of Charlie Brown and Lucy, the children who mimiced the voices of the Peanuts gang had difficulties in doing so. Kathy Steinberg, who provided the voice for Sally, who too young to read and had to be cued line by line on the audio track. Also there were segments that were choppy and poorly enunciated in certain places. There was a segment where Schroeder abruptly stopped playing the piano and the Peanuts gang continued dancing a couple of seconds. They felt the production would be a flop. Despite the producers' concerns, it was an instant hit and it has been a part of every American household since 1965. The quirks in the program supposedly didn't faze the viewers any.

I'm going to briefly give a narration of this Christmas story. The purpose of this show was to highlight the over-commercialization and secularism of Christmas. The show begins with Charlie Brown joining the Peanuts gang at the frozen pond. Brown confides to Linus he was suffering from holiday depression despite all the cards and Christmas presents during this time of year. Even though his mailbox is empty and contains no Christmas cards, he thanks Violet for sending him a Christmas card even though she said she didn't send him any. He decides to visit Lucy (who on numerous occasions refers to Charlie Brown as "blockhead") in her psychiatric booth. He explains he's suffering from holiday depression. Lucy advises him he needs to direct the school play about the Nativity. She sympathizes with Charlie Brown about holiday depression, saying she receives "a lot of stupid toys" instead of what she really desires: real estate. On his way to the school's auditorium he is drawn to Snoopy, who is decorating his doghouse. Brown demands an explanation and Snoopy hands him a flyer about the neighborhood lights and display contest. Brown is frustrated by Snoopy being bitten by the commercial bug. Charlie Brown's sister Sally says she wants him to compose a dictation to Santa and she requests money in the form of "tens and twenties." He's also frustrated by her being drawn by commercialism.

When Charlie Brown arrives at the school auditorium for the rehearsals, he's frustrated because he's having a difficult time directing the play as the uncooperative kids want to modernize the play with dancing and lively music. Charlie Brown then suggests that the play needs a Christmas tree. Lucy suggests Charlie brown find a shiny, alumnium tree; possibly pink. Lucy dispatches Charlie Brown and Linus to fetch a tree. They head to a lot and they find several Christmas trees. He finds a baby Christmas tree that's alive. That's the only live tree he finds in the lot. Linus commented he didn't know they still made wooden Christmas trees. Linus questioned Brown's choice of the selection of the baby Christmas tree. Brown insists it would be the right tree. They bring it back to the rehearals and the gang laughs and castigates Charlie Brown for his choice of the tree. Charlie Brown in frustration asks "Does anyone here know what Christmas is all about?" Linus exclaimed he did and he went to center stage claiming the spotlight and he quoted Luke 2:8-14 which gives an account of the birthday of Jesus. Linus stated that Jesus' birthday was what Christmas was all about. Charlie Brown has a newfound inspiration and then proceeds to take the tree with him to his house to show it could work in the play. Along the way he stops at Snoopy's doghouse. He placed an ornament on the tree, but the ornament was too heavy and the weight of the ornament caused the limb to stoop to the ground. "Everything I touch gets ruined," Brown exclaimed. Realizing after Linus's reciting they were too hard on Charlie Brown, Linus and the gang then come to Snoopy's doghouse and he puts his blanket on the bottom of the tree to prop up the branch. The gang then removes the decorations from Snoopy's doghouse to decorate the tree. When Brown arrives back to his dismay he notices the little tree is decorated. The Peanuts gang then sings, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Then afterwards they exclaim, "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!"

Ever since 1965 this prime-time animated Christmas special has been coming into the homes of millions of viewers. I'm thankful that the recitation by Linus about Jesus' birth wasn't deleted from the storyline. It would be interesting to note how successful this prime-time special would've been if the producers had decided to delete Linus's recitation. I guarantee you the theme about the secularism and over-commercialization of Christmas wouldn't have made sense if Schultz's vision for this special had been deleted (the recitation of the birth of Jesus). The recitation of the birth of Jesus is what made The Charlie Brown Christmas so special and that's why I enjoy it so much. It explained the true meaning of Christmas!

(This post was first written on December 25, 2009)

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer at Age 61

(USA Today) Elizabeth Edwards, the estranged wife of John Edwards, former North Carolina Senator and 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, died Tuesday at her home in Chapel Hill, N.C..  She was 61 years old.  She had endured a lot of adversity throughout her marriage with the death of her and John Edward's oldest son Wade, in a jeep crash in 1996 at the age of 16.  In 2004 following the presidential election the day after, she found out that she had breast cancer.  In 2007, as John Edwards was preparing a second bid for the presidency in 2008, the cancer recurred.  Then in 2009 he acknowledged he was having an affair with his campaign videographer, Rielle Hunter.  He denied it when the allegations first came, then he admitted he fathered her child.  Later on Elizabeth and John both split up.  They never divorced.  She faced a rough battle with the cancer. 

Edwards was born in Jacksonville, FL on July 3, 1949.  She was a military brat who grew up moving from place to place.  Her father was a navy pilot.  She spent part of her time growing up in Japan.  Elizabeth graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and stayed on to study English and then law.  It was in law school that she met John Edwards and they married in 1977.  She practiced law until 1996, when her son Wade lost control of his jeep and was killed in a crash.  Following their son's death, the Edwards decided to have more children, which required difficult hormone treatments given the fact she was in her upper 40's.  She had Claire at age 48 and Jack when she was 50.  She had a total of four children.  She has three living children: an adult daughter, Cate, and two young children, Jack and Emma. 

Elizabeth Edwards had written a memoir before she died entitled, "Resilience."  She said "The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered," she wrote in a note posted Monday on Facebook, after doctors told her that she had at best weeks to live.  "We know that.  But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious.  And for that I am grateful."