Good. Hope everyone has received and given some wonderful gifts and are enjoying a peaceful day in the loving embrace of family and close friends.

But, you know, not everyone is having a great day today – given this, perhaps we can all go to these websites and throw a few dollars towards helping the less fortunate?

Missionaries of the Poor (Works with homeless people, abandoned children and prisoners)
St. Jude Children’s Hospital (Treats children with cancer)
Christian Children’s Fund (Aids poor children around the world)
Several Sources Foundation (Aids unwed mothers and their children)

Plenty of opportunities to help – heck, if each of our readers sent just $1 to each of these worthy organizations (or some organization you personally know of), it would be a major blessing for the poor and hurting of this world.

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirin’i-us was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” – Luke, 2:1-14

We here at Blogs for Victory wish all a peaceful holiday and a prosperous New Year.

Tony Blair converts to Catholicism:

Former British prime minister Tony Blair has converted to Catholicism.

Blair’s official spokesperson told the British Broadcasting Corporation that the former leader converted to Catholicism on Friday night, adding that it was a private matter.

Blair was received into full communion with the Catholic Church by Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor during Mass in the chapel at Archbishop’s House in Westminster.

“I am very glad to welcome Tony Blair into the Catholic Church,” the cardinal said.

“For a long time he has been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and in recent months he has been following a programme of formation to prepare for his reception into full communion.

“My prayers are with him, his wife and family at this joyful moment in their journey of faith together.”

There is some criticism – understandable, if not really justified – from Catholics over this; Blair, as Prime Minister, was instrumental in advancing the Culture of Death in Britain. Of course, conversion isn’t just an instant thing – there does come a moment when a person realises what they are called to do, but the process of conversion does actually take some time, and sometimes a very long time. I’m not going to critique Blair over positions he held prior to becoming Catholic – if for no other reason than I don’t want to have an avalanche of criticism directed at me for what I did while I strayed away from the Church (he who is without sin, ya know?). As a Catholic, I merely welcome my brother into the faith.

This clip of Paul on Fox – he says the following regarding Huckabee’s “Merry Christmas” ad:

…reminds me of what Sinclair Lewis said, “when fascism comes it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross”. I don’t know if that if a fair assessment or not but you wonder about using a cross like he is the only Christian or implying that subtly.

This is the statement of a man who doesn’t want my vote. This is a blanket insult to all Christians – that we are, somehow, on a track to fascism because we want to say “Merry Christmas” and are unafraid to proclaim our faith in the public square. Its also a stupid statement – stupid from Lewis who originally made it, and stupid for Paul to repeat it: fascism is anethema to Christianity. The two are entirely incompatible. Fascism asserts that the State may claim all – Christianity says that while we must render to Ceasar what is his, we must only render to God what belongs to God.

If there are fascists in the making out there, they are amongst the people who want to silence others with hate crimes laws and speech codes; who demand equality of result rather than of opportunity; who insist that there is a wall of separation between Church and State (actually, lefties, it is the vibrant Church which is the strongest defense against the tyranny of the State). Paul proves himself ever more to be of the rather kook fringe – whatever his good ideas are (and he has some) they are drowned out by his more bizarre beliefs.

From Canada Free Press:

Climate scientists at the University of Rochester, the University of Alabama, and the University of Virginia report that observed patterns of temperature changes (‘fingerprints’) over the last thirty years are not in accord with what greenhouse models predict and can better be explained by natural factors, such as solar variability. Therefore, climate change is ‘unstoppable’ and cannot be affected or modified by controlling the emission of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, as is proposed in current legislation.

These results are in conflict with the conclusions of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and also with some recent research publications based on essentially the same data. However, they are supported by the results of the US-sponsored Climate Change Science Program (CCSP).

The report is published in the December 2007 issue of the International Journal of Climatology of the Royal Meteorological Society [DOI: 10.1002/joc.1651]. The authors are Prof. David H. Douglass (Univ. of Rochester), Prof. John R. Christy (Univ. of Alabama), Benjamin D. Pearson (graduate student), and Prof. S. Fred Singer (Univ. of Virginia).

The fundamental question is whether the observed warming is natural or anthropogenic (human-caused). Lead author David Douglass said: “The observed pattern of warming, comparing surface and atmospheric temperature trends, does not show the characteristic fingerprint associated with greenhouse warming. The inescapable conclusion is that the human contribution is not significant and that observed increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases make only a negligible contribution to climate warming.”

Co-author John Christy said: “Satellite data and independent balloon data agree that atmospheric warming trends do not exceed those of the surface. Greenhouse models, on the other hand, demand that atmospheric trend values be 2-3 times greater. We have good reason, therefore, to believe that current climate models greatly overestimate the effects of greenhouse gases. Satellite observations suggest that GH models ignore negative feedbacks, produced by clouds and by water vapor, that diminish the warming effects of carbon dioxide.”

Carpe Diem has a link to the actual report, but I was unable to access it – it’ll be interesting to see just how our global warming zealots deal with this report.

It has long been my opinion that if the earth is, indeed, in a long term warming trend, then there is pretty much nothing we can do to stop it. If it wasn’t caused by us, then that is just a natural position to hold – but even if it were caused by us, then it took more than a century to put into effect, and it would likely take longer than that to stop and then reverse the effects…meaning, of course, that there’s no point in trying to reverse it (though it still is wise to reduce pollution on general principle), and we might as well adapt to it. In addition to this, I hold that the doomsday predictions of the global warming zealots are just absurd – they have no idea what would really happen if the world warmed up by a few degrees over the next 100 years. Scare stories based on guesses just don’t impress me much.

And that means it is the 63rd anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge:

In December 1944 Adolph Hitler directed an ambitious counteroffensive with the object of regaining the initiative in the west and compelling the Allies to settle for a negotiated peace.

Hitler’s generals were opposed to the plan, but the Fuhrer’s will prevailed and the counteroffensive was launched on 16 December by some 30 German divisions against Allied lines in the Ardennes region. Allied defenses there had been thinned to provide troops for the autumn defensive. Hitler’s intention was to drive through Antwerp and cut off and annihilate the British 21st Army Group and the U.S. First and Ninth Armies north of the Ardennes.

Aided by stormy weather which grounded Allied planes and restricted observation, the Germans achieved surprise and made rapid gains at first, but firm resistance by various isolated units provided time for the U.S. First and Ninth Armies to shift against the northern flank of the penetration, for the British to send reserves to secure the line to the Meuse, and for Patton’s Third Army to hit the salient from the south.

During the battle, 19,000 Americans gave their lives for the liberty of the world – the 101st Airborne was surrounded at Bastogne and received this message from the Nazis:

To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.

If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours’ term.

All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.

The German Commander.

General McAuliffe’s reply?

Nuts!

Latest Rasmussen survey shows a bit of good, solid sense among the American people:

Just 18% of American voters believe that Iran has halted its nuclear weapons program. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 66% disagree and say Iran has not stopped its nuclear weapons program. Twenty-one percent (21%) of men believe Iran has stopped the weapons development along with 16% of women.

The 18% we can classify as the real hard core of the kook left, just to keep things clear. I mean, you’ve got to be rather obtuse to really think that Iran has stopped its nuke program – its one thing to be an intel guy saying, “I don’t have proof”, quite another to essentially take the word of the lunatics who run Iran. I feel very confident that the 66% who believe Iran is making nuclear weapons will be confirmed in their belief…I just hope the confirmation doesn’t come in the form of a nuclear test in Iran, or a nuke set off in Tel Aviv.

Norman Podhoretz takes note of some questions about it:

…I entertain an even darker suspicion. It is that the intelligence community, which has for some years now been leaking material calculated to undermine George W. Bush, is doing it again. This time the purpose is to head off the possibility that the President may order air strikes on the Iranian nuclear installations. As the intelligence community must know, if he were to do so, it would be as a last resort, only after it had become undeniable that neither negotiations nor sanctions could prevent Iran from getting the bomb, and only after being convinced that it was very close to succeeding. How better, then, to stop Bush in his tracks than by telling him and the world that such pressures have already been effective and that keeping them up could well bring about “a halt to Iran’s entire nuclear weapons program”—especially if the negotiations and sanctions were combined with a goodly dose of appeasement or, in the NIE’s own euphemistic formulation, “with opportunities for Iran to achieve its security, prestige, and goals for regional influence in other ways.”

Me, too; I haven’t read the actual NIE, but it is reported that while the NIE is highly confident that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003, Iran continues to enrich a sort of uranium which is really only useful in a nuclear weapons program. In technical terms, to say something like that is known as bullsh**. Its like saying that the illegals have stopped trying to cross the border, but are still digging that tunnel under the fence…

Someone at State and/or CIA is merely trying to undercut the President’s stated policy of not allowing Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Yet another lesson in the absolute necessity of any future GOP Administration to fire each and every person hired or promoted by a previous Democratic Administration. Aside from that, I don’t think this NIE will amount to a hill of beans as far as President Bush is concerned – it won’t be an NIE which decides what to do about Iran, but President Bush after carefully weighing all the available data.

Putin’s party is said to have won nearly 63% of the vote. Putin-allied parties are set to gain nearly 17% of the vote. When the ruling party gets that high a percentage and its primary opposition is actually shut out of Parlaiment all together, that in and of itself smells of fraud…when you add in all the voting irregularities reported, it becomes pretty clear that Putin has engineered himself an absolute majority which will now be able to adjust Russian law however necessary to allow Putin to remain in power, even if he officially leaves office at the end of his current terms as President.

Its really rather sad, and extraordinarily foolish of Putin to pull this – even supposing that Putin and his party are best equipped to govern Russia equitibly (and that is a bit of a stretch), Putin should realise that all he’s done is set up a dictatorial system which is bound to suppress Russia’s ability to fully harness its resources while at the same time opening up the myriad opportunities for corruption which has always been the bane of Russian progress. Watching from afar, I get the impression of a Great Russian patriot in Putin but like all too many such in Russia’s history, Putin lacks that sense of proportion which would allow him to share power with others – Putin will, I believe, be classed with Witte, Stolypin and Kruschev who set out to remake Russia, and made a hash of it.

All we can do is class Russia as a potential enemy in world affairs, and build our alliances with Poland, Georgia and other nations on Russia’s periphery who would like very much to stay out of Russia’s grasp.