Global Warming Update

From tzvee.blogspot.com :

"Sent from Express News

JERUSALEM - A rare snowstorm swept the Middle East on Wednesday, blanketing parts of the Holy Land in white, shutting schools and sending excited children into the streets for snowball fights.

The weather in Jerusalem topped local newscasts, eclipsing a government report on Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon. Men in long Arab robes pelted each other with snowballs in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and the West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian government, came to a standstill.

'I'm originally from Gaza where snow never falls,' said Bothaina Smairi, 28, who was out in Ramallah taking photographs. 'The white snow is covering the old world and I feel like I am in a new world where everything is white, clean, and beautiful.'

Jerusalem's Old City was coated in white. A few ultra-Orthodox Jews, wearing plastic bags over their hats to keep them dry, prayed at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site.

Snow falls in Jerusalem once or twice each winter, but temperatures rarely drop low enough for it to stick. The Israeli weather service said up to 8 inches of snow fell in the city.

By late morning, the snow changed to rain, turning the city into a slushy mess. But forecasters said temperatures were expected to drop, and the snow would continue through Thursday morning.

Heavy snow also was reported in the Golan Heights and the northern Israeli town of Safed, and throughout the West Bank. In Ramallah, residents were surprised to see snow when they awoke. For some, it was their first time."I am just astonished with the snow. When I saw the snow this morning, I felt happy, my heart was laughing," said Mary Zabaro, 17.

In Amman, where a foot of snow fell, children used inflatable tubes as sleds. Some roads were temporarily closed. Snow covered most mountain villages and blocked roads in Lebanon. The storm disrupted power supplies in most Lebanese towns and villages, exacerbating existing power cuts. Parts of the Beirut-Damascus highway were closed.

Temperatures in Syria dipped below freezing and snow blanketed the hills overlooking the capital, Damascus.

By IAN DEITCH Associated Press Writer

Life on Mars?

This picture from Mars, sent back four years ago by the Mars Explorer Spirit, has been on every other blog in the world so it's time to join the crowd. The more you look at it, the more it looks like a humanoid figure. NASA says it's a rock formation, but of course they would say that, wouldn't they?

Happy Birthday Liz!

May your day be wonderful - just like you! Love you always, David and Robert

What Would You Say to Dr. King?

(Liz's class was asked this question: "If you could talk to Dr. Martin Luther King, what would you say to him?" These are some actual responses:)

• "Did you get everything for your birthday? How did you tell people to get along? How did you make them allow blacks go to the same schools?"


• "How was your birthday? How is your wife? How is your children? How is your brother and sister? How are your mom and dad? How is your friends? How are you?"


• "How did he change the city. And how he made white people get along with black people and that is all."


• "I'd ask why don't black and white people like each other? And I'd ask another question - can black and white people be friends forever? Can other people get married to each other? Can black and white people get along?"


• "I would ask him if his child hood ment somthing to him. What wood you say? And was your child hood ruined? The man that shot you did he die? Why did the white people think they were better than black people?"


• "Can I have some toys?"


• "Great job man! So how did you do that stuff? because it was awesome. And how old are you? Did you like your birthday? I think you are cool."


• "If I saw Martin Luther King, I would be in shockt. I would be so happy. I would give him a big hug. I would tell him how old I am."


• "You are brave talking to thousands of people in your speech. Saw did you read books?"


• "What is your favorite food?"


• "Can you take me with you? Want to see what your world looks like. Does it look like my world? How did he change help people to get along like one big happy family?"


• "Why do black and white people fight? Why did you do what you did?"


• "I wonder how you felt at that time. I think it would feel scary to do what you did for the world and make people of all color get along to make the world a better place."

Meanwhile, The Reagan Coalition Looks Forward To November

The Week in Politics

What a week! I finally figured out how to post videos, and it couldn't have come at a better time! First off, Hillary played flight attendant...

Obama praised Reagan...


Huckabee came to Dallas to preach -- nothing to do with the presidential race!

And Rudy Giuliani also showed up at church in Miami, asking for prayers not votes.

"I'm not coming here to ask for your vote," he said. "That's up to you and it's not the right place. But I am coming here to ask you for something very special and more important: I'm asking for your prayers."

"I Have A Dream..."

(Liz's second-grade class has been studying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She asked her students to complete the sentence "I have a dream..." and these are some of their actual responses.)

• "I wish every family in the world would get back together and never fall apart."


• "I wish my community would love each other and be friends."
  
• "I have a dream for candy to fall out of the sky."


• "...for all toys to be a dollar."
  
• "...for that it won't get really cold."


• "...for people to stop killing people."


• "...for nobody to kill another person over again."


• "Everything for my community just to make them happy."


• "...I don't want any wars in my country."


• "...for people to be very nice and peaceful."


• "My town is a great place for all the people in the world."


• "I have a dream I have a cat."


• "...for black and white people to be friends all day if they want to."


• "I wish this town had a Gattiland [pizza and game arcade - DK]."


• "I wish it would rain money and gold."


• "I want everything to be free. I want hamburgers to be free, I want hot dogs to be free, I want snow cones to be free, I want ice cream to be free."


• I have a dream wrestling toys fall out of the sky."


• "...for everyone to always play with white children and black children. I wish everyone would be treated the same and for people not to fight and for people to like each other."

Stephenville Texas! Start Designing Your Rose Parade Float Now!

Stephenville, Texas is about 70 miles west of Fort Worth, and it's suddenly being called the new Roswell. I have family in Stephenville, so this is especially interesting to me.

View a previous article here.

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

UFOs put Stephenville in world spotlight
BY BUD KENNEDY

Stephenville's latest close encounter is weirder than any light in the sky.

Stephenville is under assault — not by Martians, but by people hunting them.

The phones haven't stopped ringing at Steve Allen's trucking company in nearby Glen Rose. He's the guy who was out Jan. 7 watching the sunset at a friend's house near Selden when they all saw some weird flashing lights.

Now, he can't work for all the phone calls from London and around the world.

Some of the callers are scarier than space aliens.

"I'll be OK," he joked Tuesday, "as long as I don't get abducted."

I couldn't even get a call through to county Constable Leroy Gaitan. He told reporters that he and his son, 8, saw the lights from nearby Dublin.

All I can say is, if space aliens were hovering over Texas last week, then maybe that explains the Cowboys. The Stephenville newspaper, the Empire-Tribune, actually broke the story Thursday. But as far as I can tell, absolutely nobody in Texas paid attention until after Dallas was knocked out of the football playoffs.

The news finally went national Monday.

But technically, we all got scooped.

On Dec. 11 — more than a month ago — a Scottish writer and evangelist wrote exactly what would happen.

Catherine Brown , 43 and a mother of four, wrote about a heavenly vision predicting a "stunning star" over Texas that would make "front-line news."

I'm not kidding.

She posted this last month to the Web site for Elijah List Ministries, an Oregon-based publishing house that seems like sort of a clearinghouse for end-of-the-world religious prophecy:

"I see Texas ablaze and a stunning star, like the star from the East rising over the land. I hear the Spirit of the Lord saying to: 'Watch for cosmic signs and wonders in Texas.'

"He said there will be a cosmological phenomenon that scientists cannot explain, and the media will carry as front-line news.

"People will begin to ask about 'the Light.' ... For a period of four months -- from Christmas to Easter -- there will be a window of opportunity for salvations, signs, healings and wonders in Texas."

Brown has never seen Texas in her life, she said Tuesday by phone from her office at Gatekeepers Global Ministries in Ayrshire, Scotland.

"I saw this huge light over Texas," she said "It was actually just a short vision. When I saw the news today, I thought — how interesting."

In 2003, she predicted a rare earthquake in the Netherlands.

In Glen Rose, Allen said he hopes to talk with Brown. He had been quoted by The Associated Press saying that Texans are curious about the flying lights because "this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it’s the end of times."

A pilot, Allen said he is a greeter at a Baptist church near Chalk Mountain.

"I knew it wasn't like anything we've ever seen before in these parts," he said. "It definitely gave you a Biblical flashback."

Most experts are crediting a more worldly source: military training or defense aircraft testing, maybe pilots testing the giant flares that fire off in a circle of flame around aircraft to divert missiles.

This isn't the first time folks around Stephenville have seen weird things fly.

In 1897, six years before the Wright Brothers' maiden flight, farmer C.L. McIlhany of Stephenville told The Dallas Morning News that he and more than 20 other leading citizens had seen an "aerial monster" 60 feet long land in his pasture.

The aircraft had a pilot and engineer from New York, McIlhany said, who claimed they were testing it for investors and landed to make repairs.

In yet another good prediction, McIlhany is quoted as saying: "What you reckon is going to happen when dynamiters get to riding in airships and dropping bombs down on folks and cities? Is this world ready for airships?"

Apparently, they're always ready in Stephenville.

Quiz: Are you a UFO expert?

Report a UFO here.

I'm Ready For Spring

One Sign You Just May Be Driving Too Fast

Sir Paul's Secret Heart Op

From metro.co.uk, which all of us here in Kermit read:

Sir Paul McCartney has had a secret operation to help unclog the arteries around his heart, it has been revealed.

The singer reportedly checked into a private hospital on the advice of a Harley Street specialist at the London Clinic.

A spokesman said that the operation was 'routine' and that Sir Paul had recovered well after the surgery. He was fit enough to take part in an energetic duet with pop queen Kylie Minogue during Jools Holland's New Year TV programme. He also sang his hit Dance Tonight during the show.

According to reports Sir Paul had complained about feeling unwell in the Autumn following a series of major arguments with Heather Mills.

The couple has been involved in bitter attacks on each other thoughout the legal proceedings, which could see Ms Mills claim half of Sir Paul's multi-million pound fortune.

Custody arrangements over the pair's four-year-old daughter, Beatrice, have yet to be agreed.

"You want to feed our daughter WHAT?"

Alien Rose Parade Float Wins Prize

From Ufomystic.com :

"The State Tourism Department of New Mexico has just won the award for 'excellence in creative concept and design' from the Pasadena Rose Parade’s Grand Marshal. The entry, titled 'Passport To Our World and Beyond' was designed to draw more tourists to the state.

It’s sort of unfortunate that New Mexico still needs to capitalize on the Roswell Incident to get people to visit. The rest of the state is incredible enough. If you’ve ever been to a ceremonial dance at one of the Indian pueblos in the middle of the winter, skiied at Taos Valley, camped in the redrock canyons of Gila National Forest, or had a heavenly bowl of Hatch red chili you’ll know what I mean."

Three Political Items Before Iowa

I. From Lookin' fer Learnin :

( Michael Ramirez in Investors Business Daily )

As Bill Clinton crisscrosses America defending his wife’s candidacy, he’s fueling speculation about who’d be in charge should Hillary be elected. Sen. Clinton - the incredible shrinking candidate - seems at times almost a bystander at her husband’s campaign, merely playing a somewhat more active role than she did in ‘92.

In our modern era of dynastic politics, the elder members of the dynasties have a duty to step aside to let their less experienced heirs shine. Former President George H.W. Bush, for example, has stayed well out of the limelight to let his son have center stage. Yet Bill Clinton is playing an ever-larger role in his wife’s campaign.

At first, his appearances were novel and politically helpful. But then they came to underscore her weakness. It was as if Dennis Thatcher had stood up for Maggie as she faced down the Argentine junta in the Falklands war. Now, Bill’s over sized presence on the national stage raises an even more profound question: Is he using his wife’s candidacy to seek a third term in office, prohibited him by the 22nd Amendment?

Increasingly, he seems like former Gov. George Wallace - who put his wife Lurleen into the Alabama State House after he was forced from office by term limits. (Or, in a more recent example, like Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, who stepped aside only to have his wife, Christina Fernandez Kirchner, take power.)
Dick Morris in the New York Post

II. Mark Elrod's top ten Mike Huckabee searches by his blog readers:

1. pictures of fat mike huckabee
2. mike huckabee physical height
3. mike huckabee harding university
4. mark huckabee, presidential candidate
5. huckabee hands out literature calling disney evil
6. boycott aruba mike huckabee
7. huckabee nobody pays attention
8. tanks for huck
9. mike huckabee subliminal played backwards
10. huckabee raccoons

III. Also from Lookin' fer Learnin':