A Blessed and Merry Christmas to All!

RV

Isaiah 62:1-5

1 For Sion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for the sake of Jerusalem, I will not rest till her just one come forth as brightness, and her saviour be lighted as a lamp.
2 And the Gentiles shall see thy just one, and all kings thy glorious one: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.
3 And thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
4 Thou shalt no more be called Forsaken: and thy land shall no more be called Desolate: but thou shalt be called My pleasure in her, and thy land inhabited. Because the Lord hath been well pleased with thee: and thy land shall be inhabited.
5 For the young man shall dwell with the virgin, and thy children shall dwell in thee. And the bridegroom shall rejoice over the bride, and thy God shall rejoice over thee.

Psalm 88:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29

I have made a covenant with my elect: I have sworn to David my servant:
Thy seed will I settle for ever. And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation.
Blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance:
And in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy justice they shall be exalted.
He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father: my God, and the support of my salvation.
I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him.

Acts 13:16-17, 22-25

16 Then Paul rising up, and with his hand bespeaking silence, said:

Ye men of Israel, and you that fear God, give ear:

17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people, when they were sojourners in the land of Egypt, and with a mighty arm brought them out from thence

22 And when he had removed him (Saul), he raised them up David to be king: to whom giving testimony, he said: I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my will. 23 Of this man’s see God, according to his promise, hath raised up to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, 24 John first preaching before his coming the baptism of penance to all the people of Israel.

25 And when John was fulfilling his course, he said:

I am not he, whom you think me to be: but behold he cometh after me, the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.

The Gospel According to Saint Matthew 1:16-25

18 Now the birth of Christ was thus: When Mary, his mother, was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Whereupon Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying:

Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shall call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done that the word might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying:

23 Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife.
25 And he knew her not till she brought forth her first-born son, and he called his name Jesus.

I’ve been a lay reader at church and the following is Saint Matthew’s 1:1-17 and is Jesus’ geneology, and the pronounciations can be a challenge even for the best of lay readers and preachers! I’m sure that the Rev. Dr. Tommy Davis can concur! RV

1 The book of the generation of JESUS CHRIST, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judas and his brethren.
3 And Judas begot Phares and Zara, of Thamar. And Phares begot Esron. And Esron begot Aram.
4 And Aram begot Aminadab. And Aminadab begot Naasson. And Naasson begot Salmon.
5 And Salmon begot Booz of Rahab. And Booz begot Obed of Ruth. And Obed begot Jesse.
6 And Jesse begot David, the king. And David, the king, begot Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias.
7 And Solomon begot Roboam. And Roboam begot Abias. And Abias begot Asa.
8 And Asa begot Josaphat. And Josaphat begot Joram. And Joram begot Ozias.
9 And Ozias begot Joatham. And Joatham begot Achas. And Achas begot Ezechias.
10 And Ezechias begot Manasses. And Manasses begot Amon. And Amon begot Josias.
11 And Josias begot Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were carried to Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel. And Salathiel begot Zorobabel.
13 And Zorobabel begot Abiud. And Abiud begot Eliacim. And Eliacim begot Azor.
14 And Azor begot Sadoc. And Sadoc begot Achim. And Achim begot Eliud.
15 And Eliud begot Eleazar. And Eleazar begot Mathan. And Mathan begot Jacob.
16 And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David, are fourteen generations: and from David until the carrying away to Babylon, fourteen generations: and from the carrying away to Babylon till Christ, fourteen generations.

May all the Readers and Contributors to RochesterConservative.com have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving to All RochesterConservative.com readers and authors!

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth by Brownscombe

From: The First Thanksgiving, from Pilgrim Hall Museum

What has come down in American tradition as the “First Thanksgiving” was actually a harvest festival. In the spring of 1621, the colonists planted their first crops in Patuxet’s abandoned fields. While they had limited success with wheat and barley, their corn crop proved very successful, thanks to Squanto [Tisquantum] who taught them how to plant corn in hills, using fish as a fertilizer.

In October of 1621, the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest with feasting and games, as was the custom in England, as well as prayer. The celebration served to boost the morale of the 50 remaining colonists and also to impress their allies. Among the Native People attending were Massasoit and 90 Wampanoag men. Following are accounts of the first Thanksgiving.

PRIMARY SOURCES FOR “THE FIRST THANKSGIVING” AT PLYMOUTH

There are 2 (and only 2) primary sources for the events of autumn 1621 in Plymouth :
Edward Winslow writing in Mourt’s Relation and William Bradford writing in Of Plymouth Plantation

Edward Winslow, Mourt’s Relation :
“our harvest being gotten in, our governour sent foure men on fowling, that so we might after a speciall manner rejoyce together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labours ; they foure in one day killed as much fowle, as with a little helpe beside, served the Company almost a weeke, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Armes, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoyt, with some ninetie men, whom for three dayes we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deere, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governour, and upon the Captaine and others. And although it be not always so plentifull, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so farre from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plentie.”

In modern spelling
“our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

William Bradford, Of Plimoth Plantation :
In the original 17th century spelling
“They begane now to gather in ye small harvest they had, and to fitte up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health & strenght, and had all things in good plenty; fFor as some were thus imployed in affairs abroad, others were excersised in fishing, aboute codd, & bass, & other fish, of which yey tooke good store, of which every family had their portion. All ye somer ther was no want. And now begane to come in store of foule, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besids water foule, ther was great store of wild Turkies, of which they tooke many, besids venison, &c. Besids, they had about a peck a meale a weeke to a person, or now since harvest, Indean corn to yt proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largly of their plenty hear to their freinds in England, which were not fained, but true reports.”

In modern spelling
“They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck of meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports.”

THE 53 PILGRIMS
AT THE FIRST THANKSGIVING :

4 MARRIED WOMEN : Eleanor Billington, Mary Brewster, Elizabeth Hopkins, Susanna White Winslow.
5 ADOLESCENT GIRLS : Mary Chilton (14), Constance Hopkins (13 or 14), Priscilla Mullins (19), Elizabeth Tilley (14 or15) and Dorothy, the Carver’s unnamed maidservant, perhaps 18 or 19.
9 ADOLESCENT BOYS : Francis & John Billington, John Cooke, John Crackston, Samuel Fuller (2d), Giles Hopkins, William Latham, Joseph Rogers, Henry Samson.
13 YOUNG CHILDREN : Bartholomew, Mary & Remember Allerton, Love & Wrestling Brewster, Humility Cooper, Samuel Eaton, Damaris & Oceanus Hopkins, Desire Minter, Richard More, Resolved & Peregrine White.
22 MEN : John Alden, Isaac Allerton, John Billington, William Bradford, William Brewster, Peter Brown, Francis Cooke, Edward Doty, Francis Eaton, [first name unknown] Ely, Samuel Fuller, Richard Gardiner, John Goodman, Stephen Hopkins, John Howland, Edward Lester, George Soule, Myles Standish, William Trevor, Richard Warren, Edward Winslow, Gilbert Winslow.

FAMILY GROUPS :

* ALDEN : John
* ALLERTON : Isaac with children Bartholomew, Mary, Remember; the Allerton servant William Latham
* BILLINGTON : John & Eleanor with sons Francis, John Jr.
* BRADFORD : William
* BREWSTER : William & Mary with sons Love, Wrestling; their ward Richard More
* BROWNE / BROWN : Peter
* CARVER: The Carver ward Desire Minter; the Carver servant John Howland; the Carver maidservant Dorothy.
* CHILTON : Mary
* COOKE : Francis with son John
* CRACKSTON : John
* EATON : Francis with son Samuel
* ELY: Unknown adult man
* FULLER : Samuel with nephew Samuel 2d
* GARDINER : Richard
* GOODMAN : John
* HOPKINS : Stephen & Elizabeth with Giles, Constance, Damaris, Oceanus; their servants Edward Doty and Edward Leister.
* MULLINS : Priscilla
* ROGERS : Joseph
* STANDISH : Myles
* TILLEY : Elizabeth
* TILLEY: Tilley wards Humility Cooper and Henry Samson
* TREVOR / TREVORE : William
* WARREN : Richard
* WINSLOW : Edward & Susanna with her sons Resolved White & Peregrine White; Winslow servant George Soule
* WINSLOW : Gilbert

The Pilgrims would not have called the event of 1621 a “Thanksgiving.” The Separatist Puritans recognized three kinds of holidays as sanctioned by the Bible : the Sabbath, days of thanksgiving, and fast days. Unlike the Sabbath, days of thanksgiving and fast days were not part of the established calendar. They were proclaimed by the governor only in response to a specific situation. A religious day of fasting could be invoked by a drought or war. A religious day of thanksgiving could be called to celebrate a particularly good harvest or providential rainfall. Although the event of 1621 is known today as the “First Thanksgiving,” that harvest feast had many secular elements and would not have been considered a religious day of thanksgiving by the Pilgrims.

LATER SIGNIFICANCE OF THANKSGIVING

The religious day of thanksgiving gradually evolved into a yearly Thanksgiving customarily held on a Thursday in November. As America grew and New Englanders moved to new states, the custom of an annual Thanksgiving Day took root throughout the country. The religious holiday added secular overtones, celebrating abundance, family and national unity.

The Pilgrim Fathers incorporated a yearly Thanksgiving day among the moral influences they sent over the New World. After our Independence the light crept slowly onward and westward… yet still it blessed and beautified the homes it reached.
Sarah Josepha Hale, Godey’s Lady’s Book 1865

Thanksgiving was not yet part of the national calendar. The governor of each state would determine when (or if) a Thanksgiving would be held. Thanksgiving did not become an annual national holiday until President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation. Every President since has proclaimed an annual national Thanksgiving. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving from the last Thursday to the third Thursday in November, to extend the Christmas shopping season. In 1941, this unpopular move inspired Congress to permanently fix the date on the fourth Thursday of November.

Thanksgiving has proved one of the most enduring and popular symbols of the Pilgrims. Millions of immigrants who arrived in America between 1880 and 1920 learned “Americanism” from the story of the Pilgrims and their celebration of Thanksgiving. Today, as we celebrate America’s multicultural heritage, the story of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag sharing a harvest celebration remains an inspiration to many.

The leftists are making much ado about Sarah Palin’s “Christian Nation” comment. It was all over the national news this morning. Here’s what she said, in reaction of the ruling of a Federal judge in Wisconsin that the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional:

“We hear of a judge’s ruling that our National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, I think we’ll be challenging that one.”

“God truly has shed his grace on thee — on this country, He’s blessed us, and we better not blow it.”

“And then, hearing any leader declare that America isn’t a Christian nation and poking an ally like Israel in the eye, it’s mind-boggling to see some of our nation’s actions recently, but politics truly is a topic for another day.”

The lefties sure got their panties in a wad over this. Here’s what Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, had to say in an interview with ABC News:

“It’s incredibly hypocritical that Sarah Palin, who disapproves of government involvement in just about anything, now suddenly wants the government to help people be religious, It is wildly inconsistent with her views on limited government to get the government involved in matters of faith.”

For one thing, Palin was not calling for a government sanctioned religion. She was simply stating a fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans identify as Christian. In a poll conducted by ABC News, 83% of Americans identified themselves as Christian. Palin wasn’t calling for a theocracy, she was objecting to a ruling by an activist judge, Barbara Crabb, who was appointed by Jimmy Carter that has a history of liberal rulings.

Although she didn’t name him, her poke at Obama was spot on. Didn’t Obama have this to say:

Obama’s attitude towards our long-time ally, Israel, has been called into question for good reason. He and his sidekick, Joe Biden, have been doing their best to damage our relationship with Israel, to the point where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to attend Obama’s nuclear conference.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Mark 16:1-8

Ambassador Paul Bremer is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on terrorism and homeland security. He served as the Presidential Envoy to Iraq, responsible for Coalition efforts to start rebuilding the country’s shattered political and economic structure. His best-selling book, My Year in Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope, tells of the challenges he and his colleagues faced there. Ambassador Bremer’s 23-year career in the State Department spanned eight Presidencies and during this time, he served as Special Assistant or Executive Assistant to six Secretaries of State.

Our Three Key Foreign Policy Challenges:

1. China: possess a hunger for natural resources, totalitarianism and an aggressive foreign policy
2. Russia: increasingly isolated, demographic collapse, population will shrink from 140 million to less than 100 million by mid-century due to high death rate, low birth rate, high abortion rate and low immigration
3. Islamic extremism: Global threat with a nation-state dimension, we need a strategy to combat it

Terrorism changed in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s from just trying to get attention to a new approach: they are now more deadly, suicide attacks increased, all of the known terrorist-supporting states are pursuing or will soon acquire nuclear weapons.

This extreme version of Islam believes only in conversion and by force if necessary; purpose is to destroy Western civilization from within, motivated by a burning hatred of all that is Western civilization.

“A Muslim has no nationality except his belief,” wrote an intellectual godfather of radical Islam, the Egyptian Sayyid Qutb. Democracy has been called a “Satanic Project” by Osama bin Laden; he denies the legitimacy of Western civilization. Prediction: extremists will use weapons of mass destruction on us within the next four years.

Why? What is the root cause? Existence and success of Western civilization is the ONLY reason; this is a clash about civilizations, due to their inability to reconcile their image of Islam with that of Western civilizations and the modern world.

Iran has paid no price for lying and diplomacy is failing! A nuclear Iran will create:

• a shift in the geopolitical balance
• nuclear proliferation
• increasingly bolder actions by Iran
• uncertainty of peace between Israel and Arabs
• an increase in a form of super-terrorism

The only options: regime change or military action

A Great Strategy is necessary. We need:

• conceptual clarity about the threat
• good intelligence
• mobilization of all our resources

Obama’s policies don’t match his words, “We are at war”. How can you do a serious examination of the Fort Hood shooter without mentioning Islam once in the report? The best intelligence is when we can find out what they are going to do before they do it and then stop them from doing it!

We need a Grand Strategy: it has to deal with ideas; terrorism is symptomatic of underlying hatred; we need to help a moderate Islam create representative government, support the Green Democratic movement and the women of Islam in their support for democracy. We must encourage them to be brave so they can show radical Islam that THEY are the aberration.

And we shouldn’t allow Russia and China to hold us hostage – time is running out!

The Redcoats are coming, the Redcoats are coming! How historic where Liberty was formed, it is being reborn. There is a real revolution in this Country brewing at the site of the original Tea Party, these modern Tea Patriots are about to start a second Revolutionary War. Unlike the first one that had Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin this one has ordinary people doing what Americans have done since 1776, throwing out tyrants. As the buses begin lining up from NY to DC full of ACRIME thugs, our ragtag army is ready to fight this Battle of Boston w/cameras and websites.

Scott Brown is King Tyranny’s worst nightmare. Brown a candidate who has no Blue Blood only good looks and character. He is a Patriot who even though most Conservatives don’t go along w/his abortion stand, is carrying the flag into the heart of Bunker Hill. Now that America has seen the unfettered communist message for what it truly is, oppression; there is a hunger for Freedom and American Liberty. The entire world hungers for freedom, whether its 1770 in the Boston massacre when paper and tea were taxed and homes invaded by troops or the lone protestor standing in front of a line of tanks in Tienemen square, the human spirit hungers for American FREEDOM. Every political prisoner around the world dreams for one day in America to breath the cool breeze of Lady Liberty, while we’re throwing it away.

Americans are not born to be slaves to an all powerful gummit that makes your every decision. We threw those shackles off starting in Boston, Normandy and Iwo Jima and are about to do it again. This will be a nucular detonation that will show the world these Tea Patriots are a force that can no longer be ignored. We are on the march for Lady Liberty exposing communist oppression in every corner of this land. Americans need their freedom and are tired of the Stalinist tactics that they have been exposed in every facet of their lives. Starting w/the daily bombardment of lies in PravdABDNC to the lies in the District of Corruption to the lies in the schools. We are a movement that is dynamic, smart and passionate about America that realizes now these oppressors are simply Sand Castles standing against an incoming tsunami of Tea. That tide is flooding Boston Harbor and spreading from sea to sea.

We no longer have to whisper our message of Freedom, we have an army shouting it from the Mountaintops. These campaigns won’t need the $$ to drive them since our message is going to be carried by bandwidth. Scott Brown in his debate proved if you speak the truth w/passion and conviction the Rats have no answers other than more gummit and spending. Finally, this Dingbat went to the ol phony Conservative ploy, since they know in their gut the only way they can get elected is to pretend they’re us. Why should we be running from our beliefs when they are based on giving everybody as much freedom as possible. We are the Minutemen fighting the Redcoats in one of the great battles of America’s history. There is no surrender in this one cause its to the death of either the DNC or America. Once we capture one hill we have to capture the next for the rest of our lives.

Rather than fighting this war on the battlefields of Europe or Asia, we are fighting in the fields of the internet and Townhalls. We are fighting it w/words and ideas against the liberal establishment that has beaten us back for decades. We have the founders bracing our backs as we take on modern oppressive Redcoats like Global Warming, DeathCare, Taxes, Racism, Energy, Abortion and every other issue that they have used as weapons against America. We must fight the lies by charging straight into them to withstand the volleys that will come our way. They will use they’re Stalinist thug tactics to try to divide and conquer by dehumanizing, yet this is too important, our legacy depends on it. We are Jefferson, Washington, Hamilton, Paine and Revere, this is the rebirth of our Republic to the founders original design. This ragtag group of Freedom Fighters has grown into an army becoming a movement. We are all Revolutionaries now.

As the election arrives and the DNC tactics begin, it is time to plan our fight for the battle of Boston. Every Tea Patriot in MA needs to take their video camera to the polling places to shoot the bus loads of ACORN/union voters. If you don’t have a video, take your phone and learn to use the video and audio recorder on it. Go up to the bussed in voters and ax them for directions to local landmarks that they should know how to get to. If they don’t know, they must be outa state. You may get some footage that will expose ACRIME for the RICO syndicate it is. Get the license plates of buses and if you see anything that looks fishy, get it on video then Utube it. This is what a Tea Patriot is all about, shooting from behind rocks and trees to expose the Red Coats. If you’re really bold take your camera and put it in their face and ax them if they’re legal voters to scare them off. It is time to stand up to their stealing elections. It shouldn’t be too hard to find corruption in Boston.

Scott Brown is going to win this battle and its every bit as historic as the first Tea Party. It tells King Hussein that we aren’t going to take this lying down. It says that America gave him his chance and he’s corrupted it. It tells him that those Founding Fathers were brilliant in forming of gummit that is impossible to turn into a tyranny. They have gotten as close as anybody, yet a few men who risked everything 200 yrs ago to make America the home of Freedom and Equality are about to reach out from their graves to break our shackles these tyrants are attaching. It should let these tyrants know if it can happen in Boston, it can happen in San Francisco and LA. Tuesday night Old Ironsides sails again, cannons ablaze w/Scott Brown at the helm steering her back towards Lady Liberty.

Pray for America’s Freedom and Scott Brown

SAN ANGELO, Texas — The hoity-toity crowd took a look at tea party protesters this past year, told us what fools these peasants were and no doubt felt they had thereby helped diminish the menace, but look what’s happening now — widespread popularity along with all kinds of sophisticated policy analyses consonant with tea party positions.

It’s a good movement, say 41 percent of Americans in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that also showed just 23 percent thinking it a lousy movement. The Democrats? Some 35 percent viewed them positively, it’s reported. The negative view was 45 percent. And nobody much likes Republicans — well, 23 percent do, while 43 percent are holding their noses.

In a Rasmussen poll that’s likewise been receiving considerable columnist comment, it seems independent voters would go for a generic tea party candidate over both a Democrat and Republican, and here’s what I think is going on — ordinary Americans appreciating the principles and common sense of other ordinary Americans while simultaneously feeling disgusted with the corrupt radical leftism of Democrats and the betrayals of Republicans.

To get to favorable conclusions, these ordinary Americans had to wade through massive misinformation — some of it in the guise of straight news reporting — that would have them believe the protesters were GOP-manipulated ignoramuses whose effusions about such subjects as debt, taxes, health-care reform and global warming were wholly at odds with facts, figures and the wisdom of our national intelligentsia.

No such thing, for if you witnessed a rally of tea party protesters as I did, and heard what they said about our accumulating federal debt and its dangers for America, you could not help but be struck by the similarity of an assessment the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform.

The people on this commission include top budget officials from past Democratic and Republican administrations — hugely respected for their fiscal savvy — and if their statistic-backed warnings about possible ruination were expressed in more abstract, academic terms than the protest speeches, the substance was similar.

But weren’t tea party participants simply echoing right-wing know-nothings when they criticized Obama’s proposed health-care reform as more threat than salvation? Liberals snickered that this was the case, but read a recent Wall Street Journal piece by Jeffrey Flier, dean of the Harvard Medical School, and you find him saying the bills Congress has now passed would neither rein in costs nor improve care, even if they might make it more accessible to some.

Who do you think knows more — Flier and the health-care leaders and economists he cites, or MSNBC’s lewd, tea party-bashing Keith Olbermann, who honed his political insights as a sportscaster?

At least some speakers at tea party events also worried aloud about a cap-and-trade taxing system to prevent global warming as a wasteful extravagance, and we know how nuts that attitude is, right? Wrong.

Top economists have warned that the wrong approach could be much more damaging to human welfare than warming, and literally thousands of scientists quarrel with some aspect or the other of the thesis that we humans are quickly bringing catastrophe on our planet through the burning of fossil fuels and that there’s no way out but an immediate, drastic curbing of emissions.

I’ve also seen TV reporters condescendingly question the protesters when, after a minute or two, it was clear these reporters understood next to nothing about our tax structure, who pays what, how the earned income tax credit works, what happened in the fiscal-year 2009 budget President Obama signed or much of anything else.

Some of the protesters have had their faults — too much shouting at town hall meetings, for one — but their dissent is intellectually respectable and perfectly understandable to me and millions of others who are also dismayed about much that’s happening in Washington.

It does not necessarily follow that the protesters should form a new political party, but it does follow that there has been great value in the movement.

Jay Ambrose is former Washington director of editorial policy for Scripps Howard newspapers. Contact him at SpeaktoJay@aol.com.

WASHINGTON — Today’s fight with the Catholic bishops over abortion in the health insurance bill is a far cry from a quarter century ago, when they could defeat a constitutional amendment giving equal rights to women and draw scarcely a peep of complaint.

Then-Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, D-Queens, wanted Congress to vote more time for the states to approve ERA. The bishops, here for a meeting, quietly called targeted House members from their D. C. hotel rooms and they stuffed it.

Now Democratic House members are going to the airwaves, the Internet and the floor to denounce the bishops for violating the separation of church and state and even threatening to strip the church of its tax exemptions.

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D Fairport, co-chair of the pro-choice caucus, complained to a Boston blog that she got a letter from a Catholic bishop asking her to explain her vote against an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich.

The Stupak bill, which prevailed, bars any federal funding directly or indirectly for abortions.

“I’m not Catholic,” Slaughter said, “but they asked me to explain myself.” Slaughter made no threats about the church’s tax status but her comments were part of a brush-back that may have contributed to the defeat of a similar Senate bill sponsored by Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson last week.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Ct., who received communion from Pope Benedict XVI at Nationals Park last year, has threatened the church’s tax exemption. MSNBC commentator Nancy Snyderman also questioned the church’s tax status after its successful effort on the House bill three weeks ago.

Could the Internal Revenue Service strip the Catholic Church of its tax-exempt status for sending representatives to Capitol Hill to lobby specifically for Stupak’s bill? Would it try to?

The answers to both questions are, probably not, even with the IRS under the control of strongly pro-choice President Obama.

Close reading of the IRS regulations indicate the bishops’ efforts on behalf of the Stupak amendment could be viewed as improper. However the regs become enforceable only if the lobbying is out of proportion to everything else a tax-exempt organization does. In the case of the Catholic Church, that IRS yardstick fails.

Even if it didn’t, the Constitution trumps regulations every time, said Law Professor Robert Destro of Catholic University. The church is protected by the First Amendment, Destro said. Not necessarily the part about freedom of religion, but the guarantee of freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances.

The Catholic Church, Destro said, has the second-largest health care system in the nation, after the Veterans Affairs Department.

“This isn’t just about lobbying,” he said, “it’s self defense in light of the First Amendment.”

Lucinda Finley, the Frank G. Raichle Professor of Law at the University at Buffalo, said the church might be operating “in a gray area.” The church may be at some risk, Finley said, lobbying for a bill with a specific number on it like Stupak’s instead of expressing a strong general viewpoint, but its efforts have to be weighed on a scale of relative magnitude.

But Finley said she does not agree with Destro’s view that the Catholic health system is under attack. “There’s nothing in these bills that would force them to do anything against their conscience,” she said.

“Because of the politics of it, I don’t think they would lose their exemption,” Finley said.

•••

That was then: Conservatives Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin said they liked President Obama’s Oslo speech glorifying preemptive and “just war,” but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton just might be grinding her teeth over it. Obama slammed her 2002 vote for preemptive war on Iraq repeatedly during their primary contest for the Democratic nomination, and, of course, won.

Today is Veterans Day, which honors those who have served our country in military service. Today is also the 2nd anniversary of the launch of RochesterConservative.com, which is made up of Veterans and Patriots, who continue to honor our oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Republic, for which our Flag stands.

Much has happened over the past year, most notably the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. A good orator, especially with the aid of a teleprompter, he ran the better campaign than his Republican (some say, RINO) opponent, John McCain. Obama benefited from “Bush fatigue”, support from George Soros, ACORN, the unions, American socialists (aka “progressives”) and 95% of black voters. It was never about race here at RochesterConservative.com, we recognized Obama early on as a radical socialist, with the most “liberal” voting record in the U.S. Senate, who’s had a long history of friendships and associations with radicals of the socialist/communist bent. I won’t belabor the point, as RochesterConservative.com is on record in opposition of Obama’s policies and agenda. It’s painfully obvious that he’s a typical leftist who loathes our country and American exceptionalism. Most Amercans who are paying critical attention to the goings on of the Obama Administration are seeing who “the man behind the curtain” is. Starting on the day of the launch of RochesterConservative.com, we have reported on this and will continue to do so!

Charlie Eames posted a wonderful essay, arguing the cause of Upstate New York Secession in the Christmas Eve 2008 post, Upstate Ultimatum. Here’s an excerpt:

It is true that history repeats itself. Over two hundred years ago our Founding Fathers were ruled by a distant and detached government. This government was run by people that cared nothing about the colonies or her citizens. They passed oppressive laws and levied burdensome taxes upon the people.

As the American Philosopher and Poet, George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The citizens of Upstate are now enduring these exact same conditions. We have no representation and no power. Albany in general and the Assembly in particular are controlled by New York City. The Speaker of the Assembly has proven time and time again that he has no regards for the needs or the will of the people of Upstate New York. Over the years the Speaker has refused to allow the General Assembly to vote or even discuss Initiative and Referendum. I&R is only one example of the cold callousness of the State Government. More recent events show the attitudes of Albany and the treatment of Upstate will only get worse.

My blogging partner, phantomlord predicted, the election of a far left President, along with the take-over of the Senate and Congress by the “progressives”, would ignite grassroots conservatives, and the Tea Party Movement was founded in early 2009. We of RochesterConservative.com were in on the ground floor of the Tea Party Movement and joined forces with other bloggers and stepped away from our computers and put “boots on the ground” at The “Commando” Rochester Tea Party.

On a cold and very blustery day, approximately 40 concerned citizens met at a downtown Rochester, NY park on Wednesday, March 11, 2009, to participate in our local version of the Tea Parties that have been sweeping the nation! NY Governor Paterson was here for a “town hall” meeting at the Rochester Convention Center and the decision was made nine days prior that with the Governor in town, March 11 would be present a great opportunity to not only protest the Porkulus Package, but also the crushing tax burden that New York State inflicts on its citizens.

Charlie Eames was one of the first to speak:

phantomlord and Mike also spoke and Rev. Dr. Tommy Davis delivered the keynote address:

We never meant for the “Commando” Rochester Tea Party to be a big event. We were taking the opportunity with Gov. Paterson being in Rochester, to stage a rally and demonstration, directly across the Genesee River from the Convention Center, where his “town hall” meeting was being held, to protest against State and Federal government expansion. There were only 9 days to plan and get the word out. We garnered the coverage of all of the local TV stations, not bad for a small gathering. Of course, we were mocked by the local lefty blog and a few national lefty blogs. We expected that would happen, as we have read Alinsky’s “Rules For Radicals” as well, but the “ridicule” only strengthened our resolve!

The “pioneers” at the “Commando” Rochester Tea Party exchanged contact info and plans were immediately set for the Tax Day Rochester Tea Party. Erik Anderson obtained the permit and we formed an alliance with “We Surround Rochester” for the planning and support of the Tax Day Rochester Tea Party. It was truly a grassroots effort with everyone pitching in to make it the largest and most successful rally and march that Rochester has ever seen! 1500 working class citizens showed up at Genesee Crossroads Park to protest the “Porkulus Package” and the huge expansion of government that it brought.

Again, RochesterConservative.com played a central role, with many of our members speaking and participating! This video shows me leading the Rochester Veterans and Patriots Color Guard, Charlie, phantomlord and Rev. Dr. Tommy Davis speaking and a12iggymom and NoSocialism rallying and acting as event volunteers.

That video still touches me, as it captures the spirit of that day! All I can say is that you had to be there.

Here’s another moment, when Laura Jean led us in singing “God Bless America”. Everybody sang, whether we could or not! It brought a tear to my eye…

The first three Rochester Tea Parties came about as a result of our discussions on RochesterConservative.com, both the blog and the RC Pirate Forums and our collaboration with RochesterWatch, North Shore Journal, the Campaign for Liberty and We Surround Rochester.

Charlie and I joined up with Mark and company from RochesterWatch and We Surround Rochester on the March on Albany on June 16, 2009. Tea Party activists from across New York State converged at the steps of our Capital to protest corruption and malfeasance in state government:

The Rochester Contingent gathered beneath the horse’s posterior…

The momentum of our movement kept rolling with the Rochester Independence Day Tea Party that was held at Charlotte, aka Ontario Beach Park, on July 3, 2009. Again, RochesterConservative.com folks were front and center.

RochesterConservative.com contributing writer, Deneen Borelli, was a featured speaker at the March on Washington on 9/12/2009. Here’s the video of her speech.

Seth Swirsky contributed some good commentaries:

It’s No Wonder People Are Angry!

When In Doubt, Blame Bush

Why Should Obama’s Poor Cabinet Choices Surprise Anyone?

We also got to hook up with Debra J.M. Smith and her crusade to hold Louise Slaughter accountable to her constituents.

Louise had posted on her site that she would be having meetings. I called almost daily for a while wanting the dates and times. To my surprise, when the answer came, it was that Louise would only conduct telephone meetings with people like me, also known as, her constituents.

I was one of the first to sign up for the phone meeting that took place this past Thursday night. All of the people that signed up were to be called for the phone meeting. They did not call me.

If you want to see Louise unseated in the NY 28th, contact Debra J.M. Smith at http://www.debrajmsmith.com.

Although I couldn’t participate in the March on Washington DC on 9/12/2009, a12iggymom and four busloads of Rochester area patriots did join the million plus participants. Here’s a12iggymom’s eye witness account:

There was not less than the 1 million first estimated. Col. Riley from PoA was told by the head of the Park Police late last night that there were, by Park Police estimates, over two million people at the March on DC. I got to the park about 9:30am, for HOURS the street entering the mall was packed and they continued to March until after 11:30am.

It was a breath-taking sight! It was so packed, body to body that the grassy area needed to be opened up.

9/12 is a historic day and We Will Be Silent No More!

Of course, the State Sponsored Media either low-balled or ignored this historic event, it was reported on the free press of conservative blogs.

“Operation Can You Hear Us Now?” was held back on October 17, 2009, a protest of the MSM and their blowing off a movement that represents millions of working class American citizens, many of us are veterans.

This past November 1, 2009, we lost our buddy, Charlie Eames. If you noticed in my post here, I tried to feature photos, writings and videos of him. We’re hurting from the sudden loss of Charlie, but we are heartened by his spirit of friendship and freedom and will keep those fires burning!

In Memory of Charlie Eames