Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Or Both?

Every year at this time the Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays debate comes around. According to a Rasmussen Reports poll, Most Americans Prefer 'Merry Christmas' To 'Happy Holidays', 72% of adults prefer "Merry Christmas," while 22% like "Happy Holidays" instead. Last year, again according to a Rasmussen phone survey, 68% of American adults prefer stores to show signs saying “Merry Christmas” rather than "Happy Holidays." I'm at somewhat of a loss as to why this debate even comes up. 


Isn't Christmas is about being with family and friends? It doesn't matter what your religion is. Yes, Christmas is a Christian holiday honoring the birth of Jesus Christ the Savior. But, it's also a time of year when we focus on  peace, love, hope and goodwill towards all.

And it's not just on Christmas Day we celebrate. It's the Christmas season we celebrate. A season which holds three holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and New Year's Day. A season when we show kindness to all.

To celebrate the holiday season is, and should be, non-denominational. That's why it's time to put the Christmas/Happy Holidays debate aside and celebrate Christmas, as I, a true Christian, should, with acceptance of others, regardless of their religion or beliefs.


Merry Christmas, my friends. And, Happy Holidays.

Amber Alert Canceled For 1-Year Old Michigan Boy

An Amber Alert that was issued Saturday, November 28, 2009 by the Dearborn Police Department, has been canceled. The 1-year old child, who was abducted bu his noncustodial father, has been found safe and returned to his mother.

AMBER ALERT: 1-YEAR OLD MICHIGAN BOY

The Dearborn Police Department is investigating an incident of an endangered missing child taken from Chuck E. Cheese at 24399 Michigan Avenue. The vehicle was last seen at 8:15 PM at Greenfield and Joy in the city of Detroit. The child is believed to be in extreme danger. If you have any information on the alleged victim, abductor, or vehicle, IMMEDIATELY telephone 911 or the Dearborn Police Department at 313-943-2271.
Carlito Moses Walker is a 1-year old black male. he is 2'-5' tall and weighs 26 lbs. The child was last seen wearing a blue and white Detroit Lions shirt, blue jeans with one back pocket red and the other back pocket blue.
The suspect is 25-year old Marcus Anthony Walker. He is a 6'-4" black male. He weighs 220 lbs. and has brown yes and black hair.The suspect was last seen wearing a blue leather jacket, white t-shirt, and blue jeans with white lettering on back pockets.

He is driving a silver Pontiac Grand Am with rear bumper damage.
License plate #BWT 8459.

Some Interesting Black Friday Facts

Top 10 Black Friday Web Sites:

Amazon
Best Buy
Apple
Dell
Twitter
Black Friday.FM
tgiBlackFriday.com
BlackFriday2009
gottadeal.com
BFads

(Source: MSNBC)

There are two popular theories as to why the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. One theory says that it is because of the extremely heavy traffic on the roads on this day. The wheels of the vehicles left a lot of black markings on the road surface, leading to the term Black Friday.

The other theory is that it comes from an old-fashioned way of recording business accounts. Losses were recorded in red ink and profits in black ink. Many businesses, particularly small retail stores, only started making profits in the run up to Christmas. Many hoped that they would start showing a profit, which could be marked in black ink, on the day after Thanksgiving. This theory does not apply to many large corporations, but may be a fact of life for smaller businesses.

(Source: Black Friday)

Slightly more than a quarter (26%) of all U.S. households report that they plan to shop on the day after Thanksgiving as consumers look for the best-of-the-best in holiday sales. Moreover, more than a third (36%) of consumers aged between 18 and 34 years plan to be shopping on that day.

The two big waves will be from 4 AM to 8 AM—when 36.2 percent of those shoppers plan to arrive, followed by the 8 AM to 12 PM time slot when another 28 percent report they expect to arrive. However, nearly 18 percent are the real early-bird shoppers who plan their arrival between 12 AM and 4 AM on Friday morning.

15 percent of households completed half or more of their holiday gift buying—the highest percentage reporting that since 2004’s holiday season—for the week ahead of Thanksgiving.

The average mall takes about 5 days to decorate for the holidays

Malls will spend an average of 20,000 dollars this year on decorating for the holidays

The most popular holiday song played at malls is Jingle Bells

90% of malls will offer special holiday shopping hours

90% of malls say that their special holiday shopping hours will begin on Black Friday

This year, about 60% of malls will offer special amenities for holiday shoppers

80% of malls will organize an activity to raise money or merchandise for a charity

95% of malls will advertise for the holidays, the most common ways malls will advertise are: TV, Print, and Internet ads... other ways malls will advertise are: Direct Mail, Billboards, Social Media, Eblast, Mobile Messaging and Digital Boards

60% of malls say that the most popular denomination of gift cards sold in 2008 was $25

About 40% of malls say they will participate in a special holiday gift certificate incentive program this holiday season

72% of malls say that most gift cards are redeemed in January

Most malls employ only one Santa for the entire season

(Source: ICSC)

Amber Alert Update For 14-Year Old Texas Girl

The Amber Alert for 14-year old Angela Rodriguez of Shepherd, Texas has been changed to an Endangered Missing Alert. I really have no further details. I'm assuming authorities think she and her abductor have crossed the border into Mexico. 

Amber Alert Canceled For 1-Month Old South Carolina Boy

An infant who was taken from a vehicle in South Carolina has been found. North Charleston police spokesman Spencer Pryor said Angel Miguel Perez was found safe at a home in Summerville about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.


A 19-year old woman has been arrested and charged with kidnapping. North Charleston and Summerville police received a tip the binfant was at the home. The boy was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston for an evaluation and was reunited with his parents.

Utah Should Be Proud

On  Wednesday, November 18, Jason Chaffetz, who is the Republican Congressman from Utah's (my state) Third District, continued to try to make a name for himself in Washington D. C. First, he voted against the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Not wanting to stop throwing his prejudices around there, Chaffetz spent the rest of his workday doing everything he could  to kill marriage equality in the District of Columbia. While at a hearing in our Capitol on proposed changes to D.C.'s Home Rule Act, the emperor of inequality used the time allowed to kick around Washington's Mayor Adrian Fenty for the city's refusal to put marriage equality on a ballot initiative. Acting like the true child he is, he vowed to get even by taking his whining to Congress. What happened to not interfering with local government?

AMBER ALERT: 14-YEAR OLD TEXAS GIRL

An Amber Alert has been issued for a 14-year-old girl last seen in San Jacinto, County. Angela Rodriguez, is a Hispanic female, 5'1'', and about 140 pounds. She has black hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing blue and white Jordan shoes and gray capri pants.

The suspected abductor is Joaquin Garcia,18. The Hispanic male is driving a blue/green, 1999 Chevy four-door Malibu with Texas License Plate LHF-502. Garcia was last seen in Shepherd, Texas.
Officials believe Angela Rodriguez is in grave or immediate danger. If you have any information on this abduction call your local police department or the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office at 1-936-653-4367.

AMBER ALERT: 1-MONTH OLD SOUTH CAROLINA BOY

The State of South Carolina issued the Amber Alert Monday night (11-23) after the boy was abducted in North Charleston. According to reports the child's mother left the child in hoer car while she went into a post office to drop off mail. Upon her return the child was gone. According to a witness a suspect was seen getting into the suspect vehicle with the child in her arms.

Angel Miguel Perez , a 1 month old Hispanic male weighing 11 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt, blue pants, white shoes and a blue hat.

The suspect is stocky black female in her mid-20s, approximately 5 feet 1inch and 175 pounds. She was wearing a blue and white vertical stripped shirt and possibly boots. She has straight black hair between her ears and shoulders.

The suspect vehicle is a gray, four door compact vehicle.

Anyone with information is asked to call the North Charleston Police Department at 843-822-1128 or dial 911.

Amber Alert Canceled For 2-Month Old North Carolina Girl

Two-month-old Catalin Hoard is safe and with her mother but police are still looking for the man accused of kidnapping her. Authorities said they saw suspect Ortega-Vidal's truck in Davie County and gave chase. During the chase, Ortega-Vidal got out of the truck and ran away. Officers used K-9s but were forced to call off the search because of heavy rain.The infant was found inside Ortega-Vidal's truck. She was taken to a hospital, where doctors determined she was not injured.

AMBER ALERT: 2-MONTH OLD NORTH CAROLINA GIRL

An Amber Alert has been issued  for 2-month-old Catalin Hoard. She was reported missing from 111-92 Herman Sip Road in Conover. She is a white female, approximately 16 inches long, weighing 10 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a white cradle cap with brown spots, a pink one piece garment with pictures of apples on it, pink pants and white socks.

Authorities believe the infant may be with Raul Ortega. He is described as 34-years old, Hispanic, 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 150 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.

Ortega was last seen wearing a dark blue Duke sweatshirt and black pants. He may be driving a blue 1980 Toyota Truck with N.C. license tag # XYN9148. The vehicle has silver steps with large tires.

If you have any information, call the Conover Police Department at 828-464-3112 or call 911 or *HP.

Lighted Christmas Balls

Rather than simply stringing outdoor lights this year, why not make lighted Christmas balls? It's not difficult.








You can read more about them at:
http://lightedchristmasballs.blogspot.com/

Download PDF instructions at:
http://lighted-christmas-balls.googlegroups.com/web/lighted%20Christmas%20balls%20instructions.pdf?gda=VrCeZVkAAAAmoNCviZFTe_yOzPcFBxVmBzCzfGxkNDKTq951d4v2kmG1qiJ7UbTIup-M2XPURDSP_QkWnhfJ6NaJBPV-isQBiVQVrGLQhxov-gLZyjgObnJGTmHBEA5LogHAskpfsuw

Amber Alert Canceled For 18-Month Old Nevada Boy

An Amber Alert has been canceled for a missing 18-month-old Pahrump boy. Police say Stephen Alarid took the boy, but Alarid has joint custody. The boy was not believed to be in any danger.

AMBER ALERT: 18-MONTH OLD NEVADA BOY

An Amber Alert has been issued for an 18-month old Pahrump, Nevada boy taken by his father. The Amber Alert was issued Friday evening for Julian Alarid. He was taken at about 3 p.m. Friday by his father, Stephen Alarid, 47.

Stephen Alarid is white, 5-feet-10-inches tall and 200 pounds with a medium build. He has a shaved head and brown eyes. He is possibly driving a gray Dodge or Ford van without plates and might be headed for New Mexico. Authorities say he threatened the child's mother.

What The.......

The contract for feeding our soldiers in Iraq cost $8.5 billion. That should buy a lot of food, right? Well, not exactly.

Instead of buying food for the women and men who are risking their lives to bring democracy to a foreign country, federal prosecutors say a lot of the money went to overinflated prices, overhead and into the bank of a very wealthy Kawaiti family. Why? Because thay own the company that was awarded the contract.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the whistleblower who brought this to the attention of the U.S. Attorney’s Atlanta office, who handed down an indictment accusing Public Warehousing Company for defrauding the United States. A nineteenth-century war profiteering statute allows the feds to do this.

PWC received the first of two multi-billion contracts from the Army to supply local products to troops at Camp Doha in 2003. The company soon expanded its operations to include subcontractors around the world that provided the military with everything from auto parts to T-bone steaks.

PWC then manipulated its partners operations to enable PWC to charge the U.S. government more and pocket the difference. They did this by making suppliers use consolidation centers that added overhead costs and manipulating packaging to increase their distribution fees.

My question is, why are we giving contracts to foreign companies?

Amber Alert Canceled For 1-Year Old Michigan Girl

The Amber Alert for a 1-year-old girl reported missing and suspected to be in the custody of her mother has been canceled. Authorities tell me the mother took her child to her relatives home overnight because she wanted to get away from husband.I received no further details.

AMBER ALERT: 1-YEAR OLD MICHIGAN GIRL

A one-year old Dearborn Heights, Michigan girl is the subject of an Amber Alert issued by the local police department.

McKenzie Grace Tardiff was abducted by Megan Ann Tardiff, the child's mother. They were last at an address on Parker street in the Telegraph and Annapolis area. Her car was parked at her father-in-law's house with the key in the door. She has recently been released from a hospital for pychological reasons (hearing voices) and is not taking her medication. She has attempted suicide in the past.

McKenzie Tardiff is white with no hair. She is 2' - 6" and has blue eyes. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a peach shirt.

Megan Tardiff has brown hair and brown eyes. She is 25 years old.

If you have information, please contact Dearborn Heights Police Department, 313-277-6770 or 911

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time.....

Seattle police say a man who thought he was a ninja impaled himself on a metal fence while trying to leap over it. A police officer, who was searching for an assault victim Monday night, heard the man screaming for help. Police supported him to prevent further injuries until paramedics arrived at the scene and took him to a hospital. It was announced that he in serious condition and in intensive care.

Police spokeswoman Renee Witt wrote in a department Web site posting that officers thought the man might have been involved in a reported assault, but he said he was just a ninja trying to clear a 4- to 5-foot-tall fence.

Witt said the man was "overconfident in his abilities," and that alcohol likely played a role.

Human Trafficking

On November 16, 2009, the body of 5-year old Shaniya Davis was found along a roadside outside of Sanford, North Carolina. Authorities had acted on a tip and were searching a wide area in south central North Carolina when they discovered the body of the child.

On Friday, November 13, 2009, Mario Andrette McNeill, 29, was arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping. Shaniya's mother, Antoinette Nicole Davis, 25, was later arrested for prostituting her daughter and human trafficking. Arrest warrants show that Davis "knowingly provide(d) Shaniya with the intent that she be held in sexual servitude" and she "permit(ted) an act of prostitution."

What is human trafficking?

Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs (UNODC).

After drug dealing, trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and is the fastest growing. It is estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked to the U.S. annually (US Department of State). Cases of human trafficking have been reported in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and some U.S. territories.

Victims of human trafficking can be children or adults, U.S. citizens or foreign nationals, male or female. thousands of men, women, and children are trafficked to the United States for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. An unknown number of U.S. citizens and legal residents are trafficked within the country primarily for sexual servitude and, to a lesser extent, forced labor (ED.gov). Among them are hundreds of thousands of teenage girls, and others as young as 5, who fall victim to the sex trade. Young people are recruited into prostitution through forced abduction, pressure from parents, or through deceptive agreements between parents and traffickers

Those who profit from victimizing children and adults in the sex trade are only one half of the problem. The other half are those who patronize this exploitive industry (Department of Justice). Sex trafficking and sex tourism are heinous crimes that victimize the most vulnerable among us. Federal law gives prosecutors tools to bring those who commit these crimes to justice.

References:

Department of Justice. Avail: http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/trafficking.html

ED.gov. Avail: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/factsheet.html

UNODC. (2009). Avail: http://www.blogger.com/postcreate.g?blogID=2502888716139617530

US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2006. Avail:
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006/

Did You Know.....

The Leonid Meteor shower will peak on Tuesday, November 17th at about 4:00am Eastern Standard Time. This year's shower is expected to be small. It should show about 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the United States. Because the moon will be in the new phase, this could be the best Leonid shower in several years.

Wall Street Greed Scores H1N1 Vaccine

When will it end? First, Wall Street companies have received our tax dollars in the form of a bailout. Then they turn around and give those same dollars to their corporate executives in the form of bonuses for a job well done. Now, government health officials have sent the scarce H1N1 vaccine to these same Wall Street companies.

You heard right, Wall Street employees are getting the Swine Flu vaccine before the high risk groups: pregnant women, household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age,healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, all people from 6 months through 24 years of age, persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.

The Service Employees International Union said this about the misguided allocation of the vaccine, "It's bad enough that Wall Street crashed our economy. But purposely endangering the health of millions of Americans during a public health crisis crosses all lines of decency".

So, what do you think? Should Wall Street corporations be prioritized to receive the H1N1 vaccine?