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RECOGNIZE…..sweet…were you naughty or nice???

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html

Merry Christmas and Happy holidays to all…..

http://www.blackcelebkids.com/2009/12/23/videot…

VATICAN CITY � A woman jumped the barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he walked down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass on Thursday.

The 82-year-old pope quickly got up and was unhurt, said a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini. Footage aired on Italy's RAI state TV showed a woman dressed in a red jumper vaulting over the wooden barriers and rushing the pope before being swarmed by bodyguards.

The commotion occurred as the pope's procession was making its way toward the main altar and shocked gasps rang out through the public that packed the basilica. The procession came to a halt and security rushed to the trouble spot.

Benedettini said the woman who pushed the pope appeared to be mentally unstable and had been arrested by Vatican police. He said she also knocked down Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who was taken to hospital for a check up.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/24/pope-k…

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2009/12/park…

“Thursday, December 24, 2009
The Parker Griffith Story Takes Some Curious Turns
The story of U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL) and his switch from the Democratic to the Republican Party continues to evolve, with political intrigue brewing on several fronts.

Perhaps our favorite part of the story is that it inspired one of the most insightful statements about modern conservatism that we've ever read.

More on that in a moment. But first, let's examine the latest news on the Griffith front. Reporter Patricia C. McCarter of The Huntsville Times provides a solid overview. Here are some highlights:

* The Alabama Democratic Party (ADC) accused Main Street Strategies, Griffith's political-consulting firm, of downloading the party's voter identification data in the “wee hours” before Griffith changed parties. Here is the official ADC release, and Raw Story has a splendid overview piece on the controversy.

* Griffith said he did not commission a poll to determine his electability as a Democrat. But that contradicts a Congressional Quarterly report that said Griffith's office confirmed he did commission a poll.

* Griffith's press secretary, Sean Magers, resigned.

* Griffith predicted that he would be a presence on congressional committees, but he could not point to any agreement he has with Republicans regarding committee assignments.

Is Parker Griffith a two-faced phony? Raw Story found evidence that the answer is yes, considering that Griffith cited his opposition to health-care reform as a prime reason for leaving the Democratic Party. Reports Raw Story:

David Weigel at the Washington Independent notes that Griffith's denouncement of the health care reform effort doesn't jibe with his pro-health reform track record. Greg Sargent catches a May 2006 interview with then-State Senator Parker Griffith in which he refers to himself as a “life-long” Democrat and a supporter of “health care for all of the citizens.”

Perhaps most importantly, we will be eternally grateful for Griffith's party switch because it inspired some brilliant writing from “DavidNYC” of Daily Kos.

In a diary titled “AL–05: Parker Griffith Can Lose,” “DavidNYC” writes:

It's important to remember that to remain a member in good standing of the conservative movement, it isn't enough just to vote a certain way. You have to evidence a very particular tribal belonging – you need to hate the right people, be ignorant of the right facts, be fearful of the right bogeymen, and be arrogant about the whole enterprise. If you somehow fail this tribal litmus test, it doesn't matter how right-wing you are.

Talk about cutting to the chase. We raised the issue of American tribalism, and the dangers it presents, in a post the day after the November 2008 elections. We even noted the irony that we are fighting wars in two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, that are dysfunctional largely because of tribalism.

It took us more than a dozen paragraphs to make our point. But “DavidNYC” gets right to the ugly truth about conservatism in three short sentences.

Brilliant stuff. Thank you, Parker Griffith.”

http://www.politico.com/click/stories/0912/bo_a…

The president, first lady and their daughters arrived on the island of Oahu on Thursday for a more-than-weeklong vacation away from Washington. The Obamas have no public schedule and are expected to celebrate the holidays in private at a rented compound in the town of Kailua (kai-loo-uh).”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar…

Also…….

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/…

Coast Guard setting up security zone in waters around Obama's Hawaii vacation home
By Associated Press

December 24, 2009 | 1:36 p.m.
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HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard is setting up a security zone in the waters off President Barack Obama's vacation home on Oahu.

The Coast Guard said Thursday small boats will enforce the zone around part of Kailua Bay through Jan. 5. The restrictions may be lifted before then.

Those entering the zone without permission may be fined up to $25,000 and imprisoned for up to 10 years. Yellow buoys mark the restricted area.

Obama and his family are expected to arrive Thursday. It will be Obama's first visit since the inauguration to the state where he was born and spent most of his childhood.

The Obama family is due to stay at an oceanfront rental home in Kailua through early next month.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/24/obamas…

Leaving the snow behind: President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia, walk towards Marine One helicopter for the first leg of the trip to Hawaii, where the First Family will spend Christmas and New Years Day.

But after a one-day delay to let dad complete his work, the nation's First Family has embarked on the long trip to President Obama's childhood home for a Hawaiian holiday break.

Forecast high in Honolulu today? 80 degrees. Here in DC? 38 degrees.

Whatever you think of his politics, you've got to admit that when it comes to vacations, the president has got some great instincts.

Our friends at the Honolulu Advertiser report that neighbors around the five-bedroom beachfront estate where the Obamas will stay are, for the most part, pumped. And the president's affection for the state where he grew up is mutual, the Advertiser notes in one of its stories.

And the surf's up, big time. The Christmas Day forecast is for spectacular 30- to 40-foot waves along Oahu's North Shore.

Before departing Washington, Obama telephoned holiday greetings to 10 U.S. service members serving in Afghanistan and the Middle East.”

“Unlawfully Armed Republican Arrested Near Obama Speech was Bush Employee

Joshua Bowman, a Republican who worked for the executive office of Bush Administration on tech issues, was arrested last September with two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammo near the Capitol during an Obama speech. Though his arrest was widely reported, his connection to the Bush administration was not reported at that time and has just come to light this morning, courtesy of Mother Jones.

A pause here, as we digest the fact that the media failed to report this salient point. Had the shoe been on the other foot, the Republican poutrage party would be patrolling cable TV for the next several years, warning of “crazy liberal radicals, threatening the President”.

Hugo Ball, Dadaist.

there are no words.