A Christmas Message From Edward Snowden

Posted on December 25, 2013 by DRenegade

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubtMCzYqlps#t=1s

YouTube video blocked in Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, United Kingdom

Posted in Domestic Enemies, Editorial | Tagged | Comments Off on A Christmas Message From Edward Snowden

Jesus Christ (or Immanual – Hebrew for “God is with us”) is the reason for the Christmas celebration!

Posted on December 25, 2013 by DRenegade

From Pam Stevens

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Luke 1:35

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Matthew 1:18-24

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Continue reading →

Posted in Editorial, Religion | 4 Comments

Well, It Was Good While It Lasted

Posted on December 24, 2013 by DRenegade

We have the consequences of De Tocqueville’s statement in place. It appears that people are waking up to this fact.

Now what comes next?

David DeGerolamo

Posted in Editorial | 2 Comments

Twas The Night Before Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2013 by DRenegade

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUzIF4eYRkg

One of our last attempts at normalcy bias.

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on Twas The Night Before Christmas

‘Thousands’ killed as South Sudan slides toward civil war

Posted on December 24, 2013 by DRenegade

39407055502575283.jpg

Thousands of South Sudanese have been killed in over a week of violence with reports of bodies piled in mass graves, the UN said Tuesday, amid ongoing battles threatening to slide into civil war.

The top UN humanitarian chief in the country Toby Lanzer said Tuesday there was “absolutely no doubt in my mind that we’re into the thousands” of dead, the first clear indication of the scale of conflict and ethnic violence engulfing the world’s youngest nation.

However, the government also celebrated Tuesday the important and strategic recapture of the key town of Bor after a nearly week-long rebel occupation, although large areas remain out of their control.

Earlier, UN rights chief Navi Pillay said a mass grave had been found in the rebel-held town of Bentiu, while there were “reportedly at least two other mass graves” in the capital Juba.

The grim discovery follows escalating battles between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing his rival Riek Machar, a former vice president who was sacked in July.

More…

Posted in Editorial, War | Tagged | Comments Off on ‘Thousands’ killed as South Sudan slides toward civil war

Santa Claus shot with pellet gun at toy giveaway in Washington

Posted on December 24, 2013 by DRenegade

More…

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on Santa Claus shot with pellet gun at toy giveaway in Washington

IS AMERICA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM SOCIALISM OR NOT?

Posted on December 24, 2013 by DRenegade

Jacob Hornberger

In the healthcare-related controversy over whether President Obama is a socialist or not, it would be better to ask a more fundamental question: Is America’s overall healthcare system socialist or not.

Why is that important?

Three reasons.

First, socialism always produces chaos and crises.

Second, socialism cannot be fixed or reformed and any attempts at improving it only make the situation worse.

Third, if a doctor gets the diagnosis of an illness wrong, it’s likely that he’s going to get the prescription wrong as well. The same applies to the diagnosis and treatment of what ails the American body politic.

As everyone knows, for decades America’s healthcare system has been characterized by never-ending and ever-growing chaos and crises, especially with respect to constantly soaring healthcare costs. That should give us a hint on whether America’s healthcare system is free enterprise or socialism.

Moreover, no matter what healthcare reform is adopted, the chaos and crises only get worse, with the most recent example being Obamacare. That should give us another hint as to whether America’s healthcare system is socialist or not.

If America’s healthcare system is founded on socialist principles rather than free-market principles, then the next obvious question arises: Why not simply repeal and dismantle the socialism and embrace a free market in healthcare as the cure for what ails the body politic? That is, why not rid our society of the disease rather than trying to sustain, improve, or reform it?

So, what’s the answer?

More…

h/t Hans

Posted in Editorial, Health Care | Comments Off on IS AMERICA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM SOCIALISM OR NOT?

The Miracle of America

Posted on December 24, 2013 by DRenegade

christian mercenary

by T.L. Davis

I know there are Christians who believe they are without sin. There are hypocrites. There are evangelists who take advantage of the gullible. I know these people exist and exhibit their Christianity as some form of personal advantage. That is not the Christianity of Christ. That is the same as government officials who claim to represent America. It is a fraud.

Christianity appeals to me, because I am flawed; because I need work. Christians, for the most part, are the humble; the sinners who seek to be better; to draw strength from their faith to overcome their human weaknesses. I know that without Christ, I am a much worse person. I work every day to keep that other T.L. in check and a belief in God and Christ help me to do that. When my inner anger and hostility seek vent, I ask if that is really the sort of reaction I want God to see.

So, having said that, the link between our founders and the Christian faith cannot be denied. I believe that it was with Christian humility that they formed a government that did not place one single man at the head of government. Yes, they were drafting a charter to distance themselves from a monarch, but also, humility must have played a part. Somewhere, our greatest minds did not seek to rule over us themselves. Out of a million different forms of government, they chose one which shared the power across a spectrum to give every soul a voice.

More…

Posted in Editorial, Religion | Tagged | 1 Comment

Bill O’Reilly Offers Surprising Reaction to Phil Robertson Controversy

Posted on December 24, 2013 by DRenegade

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vMXw2XJiJU#t=1s

Another reason why Rush calls Bill O’Reilly, Bill O’Baxter.

David DeGerolamo

Posted in Editorial | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Christmas Retail Traffic Continues Slide

Posted on December 24, 2013 by DRenegade

Thanks to the Federal Reserve, $650 spent in 2002 would be equivalent to $842.11 in 2013. Coupled with decreasing payrolls and Obamacare costs, our consumer driven economy is in trouble.

David DeGerolamo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brick-and-mortar retailers saw no signs of relief last week, as store traffic in the final week before Christmas posted the third straight week of double-digit declines, according to the most recent report from ShopperTrak.

According to the analytics firm, traffic for the week ended Dec. 22—which included the crucial final weekend before Christmas—was down 21.2 percent year over year. The first two weeks of December saw double-digit decreases, which trailed a 4 percent decline over Black Friday weekend, it said.

In-store sales fell 3.1 percent from the same week in 2012, ShopperTrak added.

“I think the Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day sales took a lot of energy out of the consumer,” said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin.

“We still have some days left to go—there could be some ground made up. [Monday] was an important day, one of the top five days of the year,” he said, adding that Dec. 26 is the seventh-busiest sales day. Strong gift card sales could push some buying until after the holiday, which could be vital days to the success of the season.

More…

Related Article:

Retail Traffic Plunges By “Staggering” 21% In Week Before Christmas

Posted in Editorial, Financial | Comments Off on Christmas Retail Traffic Continues Slide

13 Charts Of 13 Years For Christmas 2013

Posted on December 23, 2013 by DRenegade

(click image for massive legible version)

More…

Posted in Editorial, Financial | 1 Comment

FARC – Lessons Learned

Posted on December 23, 2013 by DRenegade

farc

by Sam Culper

MSG Morgan recently covered this article over at his excellent SIGINT blog, and suggested that I take a stab at explaining some lessons learned.

In my relatively short career, I only had cursory experience with South American insurgencies but was no stranger to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).  We studied their employment of improvised explosive devices (IED) before my first tour in Afghanistan.  Many may believe that IEDs are unique to the Middle East and Southwest Asia, but the Irish Republican Army (IRA) used them prolifically in the 70s and 80s, and then the Viet Cong before that.  (You could even make an argument that the first IEDs were employed by European resistance fighters against Nazi occupation back in the 1940s.)

So, at any rate, the FARC are no strangers to the use of IEDs.  They were the FARC modus operandi for decades.  In similar fashion to Dan’s article, I’ll enumerate my thoughts.

The 50-year-old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), once considered the best-funded insurgency in the world, is at its smallest and most vulnerable state in decades, due in part to a CIA covert action program…

More…

Posted in Editorial, Education | Tagged | Comments Off on FARC – Lessons Learned

Frank Roche Addresses the “Videos” with Libertarian and Tea Party Leaders

Posted on December 23, 2013 by DRenegade

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQKXfss-6zo

Posted in Editorial, Elections | Tagged | Comments Off on Frank Roche Addresses the “Videos” with Libertarian and Tea Party Leaders

Susan Rice: Snowden ‘does not deserve amnesty,’ NSA protects Americans

Posted on December 23, 2013 by DRenegade

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3CjM81lIrc

In a wide-ranging interview about NSA leaks, Iran, Syria and Benghazi on Sunday night’s “60 Minutes,” host Leslie Stahl sat down with President Obama’s national security advisor Susan Rice, asking if the Obama administration would offer Edward Snowden amnesty in exchange for the potentially damaging million and half documents yet to be revealed.

“We don’t think Snowden deserves amnesty. He should be sent back and have his day in court,” Rice said.

More…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What else would you expect one of the top domestic enemies of the United States to say?

David DeGerolamo

Posted in Domestic Enemies, Editorial | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Ben Swann: 100 Years of the Federal Reserve

Posted on December 23, 2013 by DRenegade

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdfq-sDgFU8#t=1s

Posted in Editorial, Financial | Tagged , | Comments Off on Ben Swann: 100 Years of the Federal Reserve