The Plain Truth

The Plain Truth about Memorial Day

It all Started after the Civil War

Here is a US Holiday that actually has AMERICAN ORIGINS and didn't come from some pagan ritual in 2000BC!  Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

General John A. Logan Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-B8172- 6403 DLC (b&w film neg.)]

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red That grows on fields where valor led, It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies.

Days, Months and Seasons - A Brief History of Time Measurement

Longcase clock by Luke Smyth of Yoxford, England c. 1790

Ever wondered why there are seven days in a week?

Our calendar originates from a mixture of pagan¹ and mythical beliefs, including:

• days
• months
• seasons

It is convenient for followers of a religion to conform to society norms, even when there is no religious connection. For example, our way of measuring time (hours, minutes and seconds) are based on an early Babylonian system, and our modern calendar is based on pagan practices and astrology.

But whether we are 'religious' or not, we do not think of the calendar as a pagan thing; it's merely a means to measure time, using things called 'days' and 'months'. When we see on the church notice-board: 'Sunday Worship', it doesn't mean that people will gather on that day to worship the sun. (See also Sun Cross.)

Church-goers do not put their faith or trust in the sun or any other pagan thing to gain favour of the gods. They do not worship the Christmas tree, and the Christmas tree is not necessary to celebrate Christmas. If someone believes a Christmas tree has some mystical power, it is the value that person has placed on it. The same goes for the Bible, the cross, and all the other items adopted by Christians that have a pagan origin.

 

Read the article here:

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April Fools' Day? You guessed it, yet another pagan holiday

april fools 2010 (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

by David Johnson and Shmuel Ross

April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.

New Year's Day Moves

Ancient cultures, including those of the Romans and Hindus, celebrated New Year's Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year's Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on "fool's errands" or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.

Problems With This Explanation

There are at least two difficulties with this explanation. The first is that it doesn't fully account for the spread of April Fools' Day to other European countries. The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools' Day was already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that conjecture appears to have been made more recently.

Constantine and Kugel

Another explanation of the origins of April Fools' Day was provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.

"In a way," explained Prof. Boskin, "it was a very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor."

This explanation was brought to the public's attention in an Associated Press article printed by many newspapers in 1983. There was only one catch: Boskin made the whole thing up. It took a couple of weeks for the AP to realize that they'd been victims of an April Fools' joke themselves.

Spring Fever

It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi, and the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there's something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations.

Observances Around the World

April Fools' Day is observed throughout the Western world. Practices include sending someone on a "fool's errand," looking for things that don't exist; playing pranks; and trying to get people to believe ridiculous things.

The French call April 1

Poisson d'Avril, or "April Fish." French children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying "Poisson d'Avril" when the prank is discovered.

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THE ORIGINS OF EASTER

What are the ancient origins of Easter and does it really matter?

In the ancient heathen world there were gods and goddesses for everything. There were gods for the sun, moon, trees, animals, love, and so on. And as Paul found out, there was even a god called the “unknown god”, just in case they missed any. Some of these gods were at one time real human beings and after death were glorified to the status of a god or goddess. The people did not necessarily worship the sun or the moon but the god that was “in charge” of the sun or the moon, etc… Even the great Caesars were given god-like status even while some were still alive!

The greatest of all of the gods throughout all of history and all civilizations was virtually always the “sun-god”. And the first god worshipped as the god of the sun was Nimrod, the very same Nimrod from the book of Genesis. And from the book of Genesis we learn that Nimrod was a great grandson of Noah, an incredible hunter and became a mighty king on the earth. Genesis also records for us in chapter 10 that he was responsible for building the kingdoms of Babel and Nineveh along with many other cities.  But his most famous accomplishment was the “brilliant” idea to build a “tower whose top would reach the heavens”. This in turn provoked the LORD to come down out of heaven to confuse their language and scatter them over the face of the earth. This infamous tower became known as the “Tower of Babel”. Nimrod was said to be the most powerful ruler of all time and when he died, Babylonian legend says that he ascended into the heavens and he became the sun-god.  The name that the people of his time would call him would be “Baal” which means “lord”. The wife that he left behind was named Semiramis, who would now become the “Queen of Heaven” since she was the wife of the sun-god Baal.

Years later Semiramis became pregnant. She declared that she had become pregnant by the rays of the sun of her deceased husband, Nimrod (Baal), and nine months later she gave birth to a son in which she gave the name “Tammuz”.  Because of the god-like status of his late father Nimord, baby Tammuz was quickly haled to be the reincarnation of his father Nimrod. Tammuz, like his father, also became a mighty hunter on the earth.  But, when he was forty years of age, he was killed by a wild boar on one of his hunting expeditions.  Because he was revered to be the reincarnated sun-god, his death brought great despair upon the people of Babel.  So, they set aside forty days of weeping and fasting for Tammuz each year in the Spring to commemorate each year that he was alive. (This tradition has been passed down through the ages to the church and is where we get the forty days of fasting before Easter Sunday.  This is where the Catholic original tradition of “Lent” came from until Catholic leadership changed the origination to the 40 days of fasting that Jesus did in the wilderness.)  After the forty days of weeping, they would kill a wild boar (getting back at the boar that killed Tammuz) and eat the ham on the first Sunday after the Spring Equinox (This is where the tradition of eating ham on Easter Sunday came from).  Also as a side note, one of the ancient statues of Mary holding baby Jesus in the Vatican is actually a REAL statue of Semiramis holding baby Tammuz!  The Catholic Church just changed the names to Mary and Jesus!

Many years later, as the legend continues, Tammuz’s mother Semiramis dies and ascends into heaven. But as the luck of the Babylonian legend would have it, when she ascended into the heavens, the gods sent her back down to earth in a giant egg at sunrise on the first Sunday after the vernal equinox (first day of Spring). She landed in the Euphrates River, the egg busted open and she turned a bird into an egg laying rabbit.  (Have you ever wondered where the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs came from?  Well, now you know.)  Eggs were very symbolic of many pagan religions as many believed that the earth itself came from a giant egg.  Furthermore, the rabbit was looked upon as the most fertile animal on earth and the egg was also viewed as a symbol of fertility and new life. This is why these two symbols were attributed to the new “Queen of Heaven”, Ishtar.

It is also important to note that the process of deifying someone included renaming the individual after they had died. Many times they would be given a name that represented whatever they were going to be the god of.  The new name of Semiramus according to the Babylonians was Ishtar, the god of fertility and the god of the East, or sunrise. Later, the Phoenicians and the Greeks in their language called her Astarte, the Zidonians called her Ashtaroth (Judges 2:13 “And they forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth.”), the Philistines in the time of Saul kept the name Ishtar and the Celtics called her Eostra.

(Judges 10:6, “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served Him not.”)

But all of these names were referring to the same goddess: the bare-breasted fertility goddess of the Spring.  And guess what the Anglicization of the Babylonian name “Ishtar” is?  You guessed it---Easter.

Read The Rest>>>>>>

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Happy New Year! Yes March 20th is God's New Year!

By: Bob Barney

No, I haven't lost my calendar and I do know what day this is on the Roman calendar that we follow. Many, if not most do not know it, but today is the beginning of the new year in God's calendar. The year starts in the spring and is comprised up of 12 30 day months. Almost no one understands this fact. The Jewish calendar for example follows a lunar/solar year of only 354 days per year. Every three years they add a 13th month. Sounds nice, but it is not Biblical. They also start their day in the evening. They got this idea of evening days while in Babylon during their captivity, just like our day starts at midnight. We get this day from the pagan Romans. God's day starts in the morning dawn. The easy proof to that is in the first chapter of Genesis. The first day came, then evening, then morning which is called the end of the first day, the second was starting.

 

So who was St. Patrick, anyway?

 

WASHINGTON – Suppose your child asked you, “Who was St. Patrick?”

It could happen. It could happen even on St. Patrick’s Day, when everyone is wearing green and everyone, it seems, is Irish.

Would you have a good answer?

Probably not.

The true story of this remarkable 5th century hero has been mixed with so much legend and myth that it’s difficult to sort out the fact from the fiction.

Not any more.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the WND Superstore is making available a limited quantity of “St. Patrick,” a remarkable biography of this extraordinary historical figure, along with a documentary on the evangelist’s life.

Most of what we think we know about Patrick turns out to be wrong.

He wasn’t Irish, but English.

He never drove snakes out of Ireland – because the island never had any snakes.

He did, however find Ireland “all heathen, and left it all Christian.”

Kidnapped as a boy, Patrick was a slave for six years in pagan, druid Ireland. He miraculously escaped, only to dream years later that he must go back. By his death in 461, Patrick had founded 300 churches, baptized 120,000 believers, and his followers re-evangelized Europe.

This St. Patrick’s Day will have new meaning for all who read this great book and documentary by William Federer.

It has been said that Patrick is one of the few figures in recorded history directly responsible for the completely non-violent religious conversion of an entire nation.

Wouldn’t you like to know the rest of the story? Wouldn’t your children?

Order the “St. Patrick” book and DVD bundle today at greatly reduced price – or buy the book and DVD separately.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/so-who-was-st-patrick-anyway/#kwFWOxQIt2A3RsSH.99

What is the TRUE Origin of Valentine's Day?

The Silence of Educators

Teachers are all too often silent about the origin of the customs they are forced to teach in today's schools! If they were to speak out, many would lose their jobs!

Isn't it time we examined why we encourage our children to celebrate St. Valentine's Day - when it is never mentioned in the Bible as a practice of the New Testament Church?

Today, candymakers unload tons of heart-shaped red boxes for February 14, while millions of the younger set are annually exchanging valentines. Florists consider February 14 - St. Valentine's Day - as one of their best business days. And young lovers pair off - at least for a dance or two - at St. Valentine's balls. Why? Where did these customs originate? Where do we find any such practices in the Bible? How did we come to inherit these customs?

A Christian Custom?

Did you know that centuries before Christ, the pagan Romans celebrated February 15 and the evening of February 14 as an idolatrous and sensuous festival in honor of Lupercus, the "hunter of wolves"?

What to Include in an Emergency Plan

It’s never comfortable to think about what your family should do or how you should prepare in the event of an emergency, natural disaster or crisis, but the safety and wellbeing of your household could very well depend upon your forethought. Making a definitive plan for how everyone should proceed and what to expect in case an emergency arises could easily mean the difference between surviving it unscathed and suffering devastating loss. In addition to making sure that you have enough non-perishable food, water and first aid supplies to last your family for several days, you should also have a plan in place that includes certain information so that everyone is on the same page and no one is ever left behind.

Chosen Family Contact Information  More>>>>>>>>>>>>

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Do You Know the Real History of ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’?

HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — You know Dasher and Dancer and the rest of the gang. But do you recall, the most “Perfect Christmas Crowd-Bringer” of all?

That’s how executives at Montgomery Ward originally described Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, who first appeared in a 1939 book written by one of the company’s advertising copywriter and given free to children as a way to drive traffic to the stores.

Peter Carini holds a first edition of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer", part of a special collection at Dartmouth College, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 in Hanover, N.H. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Curious to know more about how Rudolph really went down in history? It’s all in the pages of a long-overlooked scrapbook compiled by the story’s author, Robert L. May, and housed at his alma mater, Dartmouth College.

May donated his hand-written first draft and illustrated mock-up to Dartmouth before his death at age 71 in 1976, and his family later added to what has become a large collection of Rudolph-related documents and merchandise, including a life-sized papier-mache reindeer that now stands among the stacks at the Rauner Special Collections Library.

But May‘s scrapbook about the book’s launch and success went unnoticed until last year, when Dartmouth archivist Peter Carini came across it while looking for something else.

“No one on staff currently knew we had it. I pulled it out and all the pieces started falling out. It was just a mess,” Carini said.

The scrapbook, which has since been restored and cataloged, includes May‘s list of possible names for his story’s title character – from Rodney and Rollo to Reginald and Romeo. There’s a map showing how many books went to each state and letters of praise from adults and children alike.    MORE>>>>>>>>

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THE HISTORY CHANNEL: Christmas' pagan origins

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Christmas Tree-700 BC!

No one knows what day Jesus Christ was born on. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth probably occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. One thing they agree on is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December, since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter. So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday as Christmas, on December the 25th?

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Christmas history in America

Nederlands: Sinterklaas tijdens het Het Feest van Sinterklaas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Christmas history in America : see also Santa Claus in America

In the early 17^th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday. 

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America’s new constitution. Christmas wasn’t declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

Washington Irving reinvents Christmas

 

 

An American Christmas

What are some Christmas traditions in the U.S.?

There are so many Christmas traditions in the US! Where did they all come from? America is often called a “melting pot” and its Christmas traditions can be seen the same way! It is a country of immigrants from all over the world who each brought their culture’s unique traditions to the New World. Read on to find out how Americans came to celebrate with Santa Claus, stockings, trees, gifts and more!

 

December 7th 1941 May we never forget the "A date which will live in INFAMY"

FDR Sppech to Congress December 8, 1941

Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941,  a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.

LISTEN TO THE SPEECH

 

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" A Date Which Will Live In Infamy " Pearl Harbor , December 7 , 1941

Never Forget. Dec 7th, 1941.

On This Day In 1941, "A Date Which Will Live In Infamy - The United States Of America Was Suddenly And Deliberately Attacked By Naval And Air Forces Of The Empire Of Japan."

Something indescribably elemental: A history of ambergris

Editor's note: After some good research on my own, this article has only one error, although the last paragraph seems to touch on it. A common misconception is that ambergris is released as faeces, however whale faecal matter is fluid and whales could have difficulty processing large pieces of solid matter. Large pieces of ambergris seem to build up in the whale intestine over its life and is usually released when the whale dies. Initially it floats on the ocean's surface and is black and sticky. Exposure to sun, air and salt water oxidizes it, and eventually it becomes grey and waxy, often still embedded with small squid beaks. and losing its unpleasant odor. (source)

Ambergris is sperm whale faeces that have been transformed by intestinal bacteria and oxidation into a solid, waxy mass that is pleasantly aromatic, though not without betraying a whiff of its origins. It begins as a build-up of indigestible squid beaks and waste in the whale’s rectum, growing layer by layer around a hard core. Sometimes the whale expels the mass into the sea, where it may drift for many years before washing ashore, usually in small pieces resembling rocks. At other times the mass becomes large enough to occlude the bowels of the whale and kill it. Whalers once looked for ambergris only in thin or sickly whales, and even in recent years beached sperm whales have been disembowelled by shrewd ambergris seekers in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The price of good ambergris, which is still used in perfumery, is about $1,000 a pound; it gives depth and power to heady scents like Chanel No. 5 and Shalimar.

Read the rest here>>>>>>>>>>

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Should You Celebrate Thanksgiving Day?

By David C Pack

Thanksgiving Day, as celebrated in North America, is a time to gather with family and friends to give thanks for the many blessings enjoyed by these nations and their citizens. However, to many people, its meaning is lost. It has become simply another day for huge meals, dinner parties, get-togethers or reunions. What does Thanksgiving mean to you?

Turkey dinners, cranberries, candied yams, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and family gatherings—these are all commonly associated with most Americans’ and Canadians’ yearly celebration of giving thanks—Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving... It is a tribute to God!

First published Thanksgiving 2008

Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the indians that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local indians did participate, this "first Thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.

However, since most school children are taught that the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 with the pilgrims and indians, let us take a closer look at just what took place leading up to that event, and then what happened in the centuries afterward that finally gave us our modern Thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church. They were NOT the Puritans that we read so much about. Puritans did not believe in separting themselves from society, as the Pilgrims did. They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.

Thanksgiving Day: Pilgrims were a surprisingly worldly, tolerant lot

Leiden, The Netherlands - The first Pilgrims of the first American Thanksgiving in 1621 were unusually devout – even by Puritan standards. They crossed the ocean on a conviction that "the Lord has more truth and light yet to break forth out of his holy Word," as pastor John Robinson said before they sailed from the Netherlands.

Yet the Pilgrim band that braved the Mayflower and shared deer and turkey with native Americans were also some of the most cosmopolitan and tolerant among the Puritan groups willing to brave the wilds of a new world.

Before going to Plymouth, the Mayflower group lived 11 years in the Dutch city of Leiden. Those years of exile in Leiden, where the Pilgrims worked, worshipped, and debated – amid hefty clashes of civilizations and belief in Europe – profoundly influenced their sensibilities in ways that have not been widely recognized.

PETA poster equates pubic hair with fur

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, based in Norfolk, Va., is courting controversy with an ad comparing wearing fur to women sporting public hair.

NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, based in Norfolk, Va., is courting controversy with an ad comparing wearing fur to women sporting pubic hair.

The poster, which features model Joanna Krupa wearing nothing but a pair of panties -- with long hair coming out from the leg holes -- bears the caption, "Fur trim: unattractive," The Independent reported Thursday.

"Don't ruin your look with fur trim," the bottom of the poster reads.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2012/11/15/PETA-poster-equates-pubic-hair-with-fur/UPI-65121353009264/#ixzz2CmL2ynOQ

 

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Vegetarian's Do Kills Animals Too! Why we do - what we do!

Vegetarianism (Photo credit: Marius!!)

By Bob Barney

One reason I most commonly hear from vegetarians for giving up meat is the conviction that other animals have a right to life as well as humans. Their sincere belief in preserving other life is like most liberal causes (and yes it is a liberal cause, whether you want to believe it or not) based on the lack of understanding just how food is produced, or for that matter, how anything is produced.  We live in a ready made world, going to work from 9-5, and buying everything we need from some store, which purchased that item from hundreds, if not thousands of miles away.  Most of us today don't have a clue what it takes to grow an apple, or wheat, corn and yes, beef! We don't know how our clothes are made, or where they are made and by what sort of forced labor. We are blissfully ignorant of the world around  us.  You see, one must be ignorant of reality in order to be a liberal. You will never find a liberal on a deserted island, or living amongst natives in some wilderness setting. Liberals don't live very long, once their beloved “nature” controls their destinies.

Nobody's hands are free from the blood of animals, not vegetarians or anyone else.  Millions of animals are killed every year to prepare land for growing crops, "like corn, soybean, wheat and barley, the and the whole host of “organic” foods." The animals killed in many cases are mice and moles and rabbits and other creatures that are run over by tractors, or lose their habitat to make way for farming. These are the unintended victims of agriculture. Are their lives any less sacred than say, a goat? So one must honestly answer this: "What makes it OK to kill animals of the field so that we can eat veggies, but not venison, fish, chickens or cows?"  The cold hard facts are that any disruption of the land, whether it be to farm or to build homes and malls, reduces the amount of land left for other animals, resulting in their deaths.

And for those vegetarians who consume dairy, eggs and wear clothes made of wool, are they honest about not killing animals? Nope... If you buy milk, cheese, eggs, or woolen shirts-- it may be true in theory that you aren't killing these animals for their “goods,” but the fact is in order to supply you with these products, you are! All modern farmers, trying to eek out a living providing cheap food aren’t just going to let their animals die of old age; they kill them at whatever point the farm considers to be the most profit-maximizing. For dairy cows, that’s usually at age 3-5, out of a natural 20-25 year lifespan. For egg-laying hens, it’s usually after one or two laying cycles. And since the males of the laying species are useless to the egg farmer, they’re killed right after they hatch. These, are the cold hard facts.

English: Dairy heifers The milking dairy cows are in for the winter now, but as the weather is fair the heifers (young females) are still outside. When they reach 350 / 400kg in weight they will put in calf and 9 months later will begin their life as a dairy cow. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

A vegetarian diet must kill far fewer animals than an omnivore diet, right? Not always! Here is an example:  Eggs. While you only need to kill one single cow to get about 450 pounds (405,000 calories) worth of meat, you’d need to kill about 20 chickens to get enough eggs to match that number of calories. So if you’re a vegetarian who eats a lot of omelets, you’re likely responsible for more animal deaths than someone who chows down on burgers and steaks but doesn’t like eggs! Never thought of that did you?

Here is a link to look at to find some more information: 

I’ve scrounged up data on the typical amount of meat, eggs, and dairy that we get out of a modern farm animal, and combined it with data on the calorie counts of those foods. That allowed me to calculate the number of calories of food that we get out of each type of animal, or more to the point, the “lives-per-calorie” statistic for each food. The results are below, with the foods ordered from “kills the fewest animals per calorie” to “kills the most animals per calorie.” (All numbers are approximate, of course, but they’re from as recent and reliable sources as I could find. Detailed citations are at the end of this post.)

*The yield for a laying hen over its lifetime is actually about 550 eggs, but I’ve divided it by two because approximately one male chick is killed for each laying hen.

The lives-per-calories cost of eggs is so many times higher than that of beef that even a small amount of eggs outweighs the life cost of a larger amount of beef. So let’s say you’re a vegetarian and you go out to lunch with your omnivorous friend, where he orders a burger and you order an egg-salad sandwich. The two eggs in your sandwich are only 150 calories, compared to the 300 calories in his beef patty, but the eggs cost almost 9 times as much life as the beef.

 

Deutsch: Palette mit Hühnereiern auf dem Wochenmarkt (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Of course, as I said earlier, these calculations are only concerned with the question of taking animals’ lives. They don’t take into account the amount of suffering the animal experiences. That would change the calculations somewhat, but I suspect the overall verdict would remain similar if you were looking at suffering-per-calorie – or, if anything, things would look even grimmer for egg-lovers. Laying hens arguably lead some of the most miserable lives out of all livestock, spending all their time crammed into cages with less space than half a piece of paper, having their beaks cut off, and being starved to induce molting. (Although the male chicks would count less if you’re looking at suffering-per-calorie, since their lives are so short.)
These calculations also don’t take into account impact on the environment. Raising beef is pretty clearly the worst industry in terms of things like producing greenhouse gases, breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and requiring huge amounts of farmland just to feed the cattle. So there’s still a good case for choosing eggs over beef in the sense of minimizing your environmental impact, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’d be making a tradeoff: killing more animals to hurt the environment less.
Citations:

According to the USDA, the average dairy cow produced 21,000 lbs of milk last year, and according to several sources, the average dairy cow is culled from the herd after about 3 years, so I multiplied 21,000*3 to get the average amount of milk produced over the lifetime of a dairy cow. It takes about 1 gallon of milk to produce 1 lb of cheese, and there are about 8.5 lbs of milk per gallon, so I divided 63,000 lbs by 8.5 to get the 7,400 lbs of cheese figure.

The figures on beef and pork come from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.
The average number of eggs per laying hen per year comes from the USDA, and I multiplied by two because that’s the most common figure I found for the number of laying cycles. The average weight of a broiler chicken I got from the USDA’s annual Poultry Slaughter publication.
And by the way, doesn't harmful insects have the same right to life as humans? Are most vegetarians willing to eat apples with worms in them – and if they are, what do they do with that live worm when they find it?

And if insect lives are as valuable as a human, how about bacteria. Bacteria is animal life. In order for vegetarians to digest their wholesome organic grains and grasses, trillions, of bacteria get killed in the process!  So, you better stop taking those pro-biotics, because you are brutally slaughtering animal life.

Seriously, it's about time we stop falling for the liberal lies that we were raised on. Both conservatives and liberals have been fed a bunch of lies. We need to start using the brain the God gave us to start thinking about why we do what we do.

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Vietnam War casualties listed by Home of Record.

May we always Remember!

Vietnam War casualties listed by Home of Record.

 

The name you seek may not be under the city you expect. The state index pages are based on each casualty's Official Home of Record. The home of record may be the place the person entered military service or that person's residence at that time. The home of record is not always that person's birthplace, home town, or place of high school graduation. If you don't find the name where you expect, please also look under nearby larger cities or see the index pages by last name.   We don't have the authority to change the official home of record that was recorded 40 years ago, but we can correct spelling errors in information we display. More about Home of Record.   Click on a state name to see the names of casualties from that state.

 

ALABAMA   -  -  >	ALASKA   -  -  >	ARKANSAS
ARIZONA	CALIFORNIA	COLORADO
CONNECTICUT	DELAWARE	FLORIDA
GEORGIA	HAWAII	IDAHO
ILLINOIS	INDIANA	IOWA
KANSAS	KENTUCKY	LOUISIANA
MAINE	MARYLAND	MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN	MINNESOTA	MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI	MONTANA	NEBRASKA
NEVADA	NEW HAMPSHIRE	NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO	NEW YORK	NORTH CAROLINA
NORTH DAKOTA	OHIO	OKLAHOMA
OREGON	PENNSYLVANIA	RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA	SOUTH DAKOTA	TENNESSEE
TEXAS	UTAH	VERMONT
VIRGINIA	WASHINGTON	WISCONSIN
WEST VIRGINIA	WYOMING
AMERICAN SAMOA	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	PANAMA CANAL ZONE
PUERTO RICO	US VIRGIN ISLANDS
CANADA	GUAM	OTHER PLACES

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The History of Labor Day

Two girls protesting child labour (by calling it child slavery) in the 1909 New York City Labor Day parade. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The History of Labor Day Like the Day Off? THANK THE UNION MOVEMENT! Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. Founder of Labor Day More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers. Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic. The First Labor Day The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country. Labor Day Legislation Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. A Nationwide Holiday The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement. The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television. The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.		Midwest Flood Recovery Assistance Notable Results Compliance Assistance Union Reports Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Newsroom Events Calendar Doing Business With DOL Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Subscribe to E-mail Updates
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ALSO:   Why Is Labor Day in September and NOT May????

 

First published in The Plain Truth Sept 2008.......

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The Naked Communism of Earth Day

It is no accident that April 22, Earth Day, is also the birth date of Vladimir Lenin, an acolyte of Karl Marx, the lunatic who invented communism as an alternative to capitalism.

Earth Day is naked communism.

To begin, it substitutes a worship of the Earth, Gaia, for the worship of God, creator of the universe and the instructor of moral behavior for mankind.

What do those placards mean????

By Bob Barney

The Plain Truth tries to educate and inform our readers on the little known "facts" that we are often not aware off. Each day, we spend our lives in a ready made world, yet we most often never question "why we do what we do!" We blindly follow along, like sheep and ask very few questions about why things are the way they are.  I am a bit different, in that I have always questioned everything. Even as a boy, I would read the World Book Encyclopedia everyday to learn something new. Unlike most journalist (I am really not one) I have a unique background-- one that is of the common man. I was born into a middle-class family and my father was a child of the depression, growing up without a family (he was literally "sold out" as a slave to a local farmer who had no boys to work on the farm. He literally worked for only room and board and was not allowed to celebrate any holiday, especially Christmas with the farmer's real children, who were all girls.)  As I boy, I worked on the farm that my dad worked ran for an elderly "spinster" after WWII before he went to work for the Nestle Company.  I have a working person's background. Even today, I operate a family manufacturing business and physically work very hard with my hands all day, 5-6 days a week!  I am "in touch" with the average "Joe and Jane" out there in the workforce, trying to earn a meager living.

 Now back to today's topic. Have you ever wondered what those four digit numbers on the placards on the side of trucks and rail cars mean? UN/NA numbers (the four digit number) found on bulk placards refer to specific chemicals or groups of chemicals and are assigned by the United Nations and the United States Department of Transportation. Where you aware that whatever we ship INSIDE the USA is under United Nations rules? UN1263, for example, is the UN shipping number for automotive paint. Title 49 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations (49CFR) also known as the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Regulations (FMCSR) requires the use hazardous materials' placards when shipping hazardous materials' cargo and dangerous goods in the United States. Canada, Mexico and many other countries have similar regulations that also require the use of these placards.

I am not suggesting that there is a sinister plot behind this concerning the United Nations, I am only pointing out what I believe most do not know. My goal is to make our readers aware of "Why we do what we do."

 UN numbers or UN IDs are four-digit numbers that identify dangerous goods hazardous substances and articles (such as explosives, flammable liquids, toxic substances, etc.) in the framework of international transport. They are assigned by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods.

LIST OF UN NUMBERS

Titanic rescue scuppered by officers' 'criminal' decision, claims author

The Titanic sank in 1912, with over 1,500 people losing their lives. Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images

 

Family secrets which cast new light on the sinking of the Titanic, one of the most enduring and powerful 20th-century disaster stories, are revealed today. They tell a remarkable story of human error followed by an almost criminal disregard for human life.

Just as remarkable is that the first-hand testimony has remained a secret for nearly 100 years.

Louise Patten, the granddaughter of the most senior surviving officer from the Titanic, is today revealing family secrets which, she says, get to the heart of why the liner went down overnight on the 14-15 April 1912, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 people.

If true, the secrets reveal two things: that the ship was steered towards the iceberg that sank it because of a simple mistake, and that Titanic kept sailing for all the wrong reasons.  LINK

The Babylonian Origins of Easter (Ishtar)

The first thing we must understand is that professing Christians were not the only ones who celebrated a festival called "Easter."

"Ishtar", which is pronounced "Easter" was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz", who was believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god.

Nimrod

In those ancient times, there was a man named Nimrod, who was the grandson of one of Noah´s son named Ham.

Ham had a son named Cush who married a woman named Semiramis. Cush and Semiramis then had a son named him "Nimrod."

After the death of his father, Nimrod married his own mother and became a powerful King.

The Bible tells of of this man, Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10 as follows: "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad,and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."

Nimrod became a god-man to the people and Semiramis, his wife and mother, became the powerful Queen of ancient Babylon.

Nimrod was eventually killed by an enemy, and his body was cut in pieces and sent to various parts of his kingdom.

Semiramis had all of the parts gathered, except for one part that could not be found.

That missing part was his reproductive organ. Semiramis claimed that Nimrod could not come back to life without it and told the people of Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the sun and was now to be called "Baal", the sun god.

Queen Semiramis also proclaimed that Baal would be present on earth in the form of a flame, whether candle or lamp, when used in worship.

Semiramis was creating a mystery religion, and with the help of Satan (ok?), she set herself up as a goddess.

Semiramis claimed that she was immaculately conceived.

She taught that the moon was a goddess that went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full.

She further claimed that she came down from the moon in a giant moon egg that fell into the Euphrates River.

This was to have happened at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Semiramis became known as "Ishtar" which is pronounced "Easter", and her moon egg became known as "Ishtar´s" egg."

Ishtar soon became pregnant and claimed that it was the rays of the sun-god Baal that caused her to conceive.

The son that she brought forth was named Tammuz.

Tammuz

Tammuz was noted to be especially fond of rabbits, and they became sacred in the ancient religion, because Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like his supposed father, became a hunter.

The day came when Tammuz was killed by a wild pig.

Queen Ishtar told the people that Tammuz was now ascended to his father, Baal, and that the two of them would be with the worshippers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as Father, Son and Spirit.

Ishtar, who was now worshipped as the "Mother of God and Queen of Heaven", continued to build her mystery religion.

The queen told the worshippers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree, and the stump grew into a full new tree overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz.

She also proclaimed a forty day period of time of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the death of Tammuz.

 

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