Part 5 Manns Harbor and the Croatan Sound

Roanoke Island and beyond is Nags Head

William B Umstead bridge to Roanoke Island

Standing at entrance of the Umstead bridge and behind me is the new Virginia Dare bridge

The Virginia Dare Bridge. Longest in the state.

Once you got off the Alligator River ferry you made a mad dash to Manns Harbor to catch the second ferry to Roanoke Island and the town of Manteo. Then in 1957 they built the 2.8 mile long William B Umstead bridge. This bridge along with the Alligator River bridge in 1960 ended the ferry system on U.S. 64 to reach Manteo and Nags Head. Due to heavy traffic and congestion in downtown Manteo, in 2002 a new 4 lane bridge was open that bypass downtown Manteo. This is the 5.2 mile long Virginia Dare bridge.

Open season on Christianity

Federal court says Christian-themed license plates unconstitutional
By Bob Allen
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABP) -- A federal judge ruled Nov. 10 that a South Carolina license plate featuring cross, a stained-glass window and the words "I Believe" violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie said a 2008 law that sailed through the state Legislature creating the Christian-themed plates "amounts to state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular."

A federal judge ruled that a Christian-themed license plate in South Carolina "amounts to state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular."

A 57-page ruling by the same judge who previously issued a temporary injunction halting the plate's production last December said the case "presents a textbook example of the need for and continued vitality of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment."

Americans United for Separation of Church in State filed a lawsuit challenging the plates on behalf of three South Carolina pastors, a rabbi and the Hindu American Foundation.

Barry Lynn, AU's executive director, praised the decision. "Government must never be allowed to express favored treatment for one faith over others," Lynn said. That's unconstitutional and un-American."

Supporters of the license plate, initiated by Lt. Gov. André Bauer (R) after a similar effort failed in Florida, said it was an accommodation to Christians, no different than 200 other specialty plates sponsored by organizations like colleges, sororities, the Boy Scouts and even a secular humanist organization.

The judge, however, said unlike the other specialty plates -- where a sponsoring organization pays $4,000 start-up cost to create a plate and finds at least 400 people to buy one -- the "I Believe" tag was a result of a legislative process, and did not go through the normal process in place for approving specialty plates through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

She said the law establishing the tag, which stipulates that it "must" carry the pro-Christian message, "gives the impression that Christianity, as the majority religion, is also the preferred religion and its adherents favored citizens."

A crowd reported as more than 400 people rallied in January at People's Baptist Church in Greer, S.C., in support of the "I Believe" license tag. Speakers included the lieutenant governor who first introduced the legislation allowing the plate.

"There is free speech for every group in this state besides Christians," Bauer said, according to a report in the South Carolina Baptist Courier. "Every citizen has the right to free speech in this country. I don't understand why witnessing in public is considered unconstitutional. You don't even have to be a Christian to believe everyone deserves the freedom of speech."

Ancestors or homeless people

Archaeologist always jump for joy when they find some bones in a cave. Next thing you know they discovered it was one of our ancestors. Thru their "holy grail" carbon dating, they find out that this cavemen is 2.5 million years old, give or take a million. With just a few bones they create a complete skeleton. And now they decide that all of our ancestors were cavemen.

There are cavemen today, and there will always be cavemen. We now call them homeless persons. There’s always somebody who has no interest in living in a suburban home, driving a car, owning a television set, having a family. They deliberately choose to live that way.

What if the people we call cavemen—the ones famous for making cave drawings, the ones purported to be our knuckle-dragging, club-toting ancestors—were actually just a very few solitary hermits who lived in caves because they couldn't stomach punching a clock in the civilized society of the day?
What if we believe that all early humans were illiterate neo-gorilla troglodytes scratching out a meager existence because practically all other evidence of advanced, multimillion-year-old civilization is completely buried under billions of tons of sedimentary rock? Plus how could the bones survive if they are as old as they say. It's been reported that carbon 14 dating has a limited range of accurate dating. If they were correct, then ancient bones should be everywhere because there were a lot of people back then and many cities. Remember the tower of babel? I think it is a stretch of your imagination to make a complete profile of our civilization with just a few scattered animal bones. Our ancestors were not intelligent monkeys but intelligent humans capable of great things. Remember, we were created in the image of God.

Part 4 Alligator River

Heading for the Outer Banks on U.S.64 you come to the Alligator River. This was the location of the first of two ferries you had to take to get to Nags Head. Today a replica of the Hatteras Lighthouse is located where you use to catch the ferry. In 1960 they built the Lindsay C. Warren bridge across the 2.8 mile wide river. This was the beginning of the end to what use to be an adventure to get to the Outer Banks. Instead of the Outer Banks being a pristine wilderness, massive development began.

Marriage will always be between man and woman

Marriage–God Must Be Involved
July 30, 2009 by Don Adair

The union of a man and a woman as husband and wife is the foundation for the home and family. Marriage was instituted by God when he declared in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to himself.” In Genesis 2:24 God said, “A man shall leave his father and mother and they shall become one flesh.” This suggests that God’s plan is for man to be the husband of one wife, and for the marriage to be permanent.
To further illustrate this point, in the New Testament, Jesus was asked about marriage and divorce, He quoted two passages from Genesis. “Have you not read that he who made them in the beginning made them male and female and said for this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together let man not separate” (Genesis 1:27; 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6).

In the United States today 1 in 3 marriages results in a divorce. This was not God’s plan, and those couples that get a divorce can suffer the rest of their physical and spiritual lives. The unfortunate thing is if the marriage produces children, they suffer the most.

Marriage is a holy union founded by God and is not to be dissolved at the will of man. The gospels record four statements by Jesus concerning divorce. In Matthew 5:32, we read, “Whosoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery” also we read in Matthew 19:9, “Whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her commits adultery.” It is extremely clear from these two verses that the only way a divorced person can remarry is if their mate committed adultery. The sad thing in our country is that our divorce laws grant divorces for almost any reason.

I implore our young people contemplating marriage to realize it is for life. Next to obeying the Gospel, it is the most important decision you will make in your life. What is the recipe for a successful marriage? There are many components to this very complex question. When a man and a woman marry, each has to give up a fair amount of freedom and independence. This process necessarily requires a great deal of self-emptying and compromise. They need to realize compromise is a very important component of marriage.

I believe a successful marriage requires that the husband and the wife be Christians. I realize that on occasion a Christian can marry a non-Christian and have a happy marriage, but this situation is very difficult on the Christian as well as their children. This concept is well illustrated in the Old Testament where God’s children married outside their faith and in a short time turned to idol worship.

I suggest that all married couples, young and old, read and meditate on the following: “…and if one prevails against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). The married couple should realize the “third cord” needs to be God. Where else could they go to find comfort when they are being overpowered by debilitating illness, financial difficulties, family problems, or the weight of the world on them? With God intertwined in their life as the “third cord” they can overcome all difficulties and have a successful marriage.

In closing, all married couples need to ask themselves this very important question, Can my marriage possibly find true fulfillment without the extra binding of God as our third cord?

-by Don Adair

Sissel Northern Lights

NORTHERN LIGHTS: AN EVENING WITH SISSEL AND FRIENDS

This program was filmed from two live performances that took place in
the landmark Roros church in Roros, Norway. At various points in the
program, we see scenes of the town, the mountains surrounding it, the
historic church and the local townspeople. At times, there are shots of
Sissel outside in the snow.
This is the third Sissel concert to air on public television. The first
was Sissel in Concert: All Good Things (March, 2003); Sissel: In
Paradise followed in March, 2005. Additionally, Christmas with the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir Featuring Sissel, will air on December 19, 2007.

Sissel Kyrkjebo (pronounced SHEAR-shuh-buh) or (SHU-sha-ba) was born June 24, 1969 in
Bergen, Norway. At the age of 10 she had begun singing in several
talent competitions. When she was only 14 she performed in a childrens
television program, and appearances on other television programs
followed. A video of Sissel was broadcast to viewers all over Europe,
bringing her greater popularity and recognition.

In 1984, at the age of 15, she released her first album, self-titled Sissel. It
became the highest-selling album in Norway ever. In 1987, she released
a Christmas album. By 1988, Sissel was performing in Oslo, playing the
leading role as Maria von Trapp in the Norwegian version of The Sound
of Music. She later toured in Norway with the musical, and sang as
Ariel in the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish versions of Disneys The
Little Mermaid. She released another album, Soria Moria.

In 1992, she collaborated with Neil Sedaka and they toured throughout
Norway. That year, she appeared at the Olympic Games in Albertville.
Soon after, Sissel married Danish entertainer Eddie Skoller. (Sissel
was so popular by then that the wedding received a lot of attention
from the Norwegian and Danish press.) In 1994 Sissel sang the official
Olympic song Fire In Your Heart in Lillehammer. That same year,
Placido Domingo invited her to perform at the annual Christmas concert
in Vienna with Charles Aznavour and himself. The televised concert was
broadcast all throughout Europe. In 1995, she sang for Prince Charles
in A Royal Gala.

In 1997, Sissel was a featured soloist for the U.S. recording of the musical score for Titanic. By the end of 1998, Titanic has premiered throughout the world. Composer James Horner wanted Sissel to sing the title song 'My heart will go on' but was over ruled. In the U.S., where
Sissel was almost unknown before the movie, the Wall Street Journal,
USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and other influential newspapers had
taken notice of Sissel, suddenly bringing interviews and articles about
the Norwegian songbird.

By 2000, Sissel was the mother of two young girls, but her career continued to advance. She recorded All Good Things, represented Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize concert, and
sang on a new album for the Danish rock band, Sort Sol. By 2002, Sissel
recorded two duets with tenor Placido Domingo, and she performed to sold-out concerts in Denmark. Sissel performed with both Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras on television.
She sang at the royal wedding of Norways Princess Martha Louise and
Ari Behn, which was broadcast live on television. During the fall of
2002, she released Sissel in the U.S., her solo debut in the U.S. In
2004, Sissel toured with The Lord of the Rings Symphony tour. That
year, she released her second album, My Heart, in the U.S. and did a
limited tour of fourteen U.S. cities.
Sissel has sold some five million copies of her solo albums, which have been certified gold and platinum in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. In February 2007 Sissel received the
Norwegian Grammy Award of Great Honor (the youngest Norwegian performer
ever to receive the award).
Roros, Norway
The 17th century village of Roros is located in northern Norway has
garnered the title of an UNESCO World Heritage site. Beginning in the
mid-17th century, the town was home to a large copper mine that grew at
a rapid pace. Mining experts from Denmark and Germany poured into the
town. Throughout the mines 333 years of history (it closed in 1986),
Roros Copperworks played a major economic role in the Danish/Norwegian
kingdom. This town, known for its craftsmen, courtyards and workshops,
boasts a rare collection of large and well-preserved wooden buildings
still in use today.
Roros Church
This white stone church, built in 1784, is the fourth largest in
Norway, seating 1,600 people. Its been designated by the Directorate
of Cultural Heritage as among the ten most important churches in the
country.

Part 3 The Albemarle Sound

Ferries were a common method of transportation through the swamps surrounding the Albemarle Sound throughout the history of the region. One ferry that linked the towns of Edenton and Mackeys, North Carolina, continued in service from 1734 to 1938. A railroad bridge was built across the sound in 1910. Then in 1938 a 3.5 mile long bridge was built across the Sound next to the railroad trestle. This was the first major road bridge in eastern N.C. and a vital link to the Outer Banks. Finally, the 1938 bridge was replaced by a new bridge in 1990. The old highway bridge and railroad trestle were demolished.

All violent crimes are hate crimes

A dark day for American Christianity
By: Bill Muehlenberg
Christian Today Australia Columnist
Monday, 2 November 2009, 6:33 (EST)

Barrack Obama knew that in order to win the US Presidential election, he had to win over a large voting bloc: evangelical born-again Christians. So he put on a good act, tried to talk the talk, and managed to convince many gullible believers that he was one of them.

Of course now that he is firmly ensconced in the White House, he can leave all pretence behind, and pursue his real agenda – an agenda which is quite far removed from biblical Christianity. Each week he seems to implement more policies and practices which are diametrically opposed to the Christian worldview.

Many of these have to do with his radical pro-abortion position, and his relentless attempts to placate and promote homosexual activism. His most recent slap in the face of Christianity was his signing into law of the notorious “hate crimes” bill.

Yesterday he enacted the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. The worrying hate crimes law was actually just one segment of a larger bill, so he in effect had to sneak it through, albeit sadly with the support of many federal politicians.

Many voices had been raised expressing disquiet over such a bill over the past months, and now that it is law, they continue to share their concerns about such a bad bit of legislation. Here is a sampling of their commentary.

Chelsea Schilling explains what has transpired: “The Senate approved the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act by a vote of 68-29 on Oct. 22 after Democrats strategically attached it to a ‘must-pass’ $680 billion defense appropriations plan. Most Republicans, although normally strong supporters of the U.S. military, opposed the bill because it hands out federal money to states and local governments in pursuit of ‘preventing’ hate crimes. The bill creates federal protections and privileges for homosexuals and other alternative lifestyles but denies those protections to other groups of citizens.”

Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund points out the foolishness and danger of “hate crimes” legislation: “These types of crimes are already punishable under existing federal, state, and local laws. Violent crimes should be punished regardless of the characteristics of the victim. Bills of this sort are designed to forward a political agenda and silence critics, not combat actual crime. The bottom line is that we do not need a law that creates second-class victims in America and that gives the government the opportunity to ignore the First Amendment.”

He continues, “All violent crimes are hate crimes, and all crime victims deserve equal justice. This law is a grave threat to the First Amendment because it provides special penalties based on what people think, feel, or believe. ADF has clearly seen the evidence of where ‘hate crimes’ legislation leads when it has been tried around the world: It paves the way for the criminalization of speech that is not deemed ‘politically correct’. ‘Hate crimes’ laws fly in the face of the underlying purpose of the First Amendment, which was designed specifically to protect unpopular speech.”

Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association said that the new law “creates a kind of caste system in law enforcement, where the perverse thing is that people who engage in non-normative sexual behavior will have more legal protection than heterosexuals. This kind of inequality before the law is simply un-American.”

Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, said this: “It is fundamentally unjust for the government to treat some crime victims more favorably than others, just because they are homosexual or transsexual. This bill is an unnecessary federal intrusion into state law enforcement authority, and it is an unwise step toward silencing religious and moral viewpoints.”

Dr. Gary L. Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission offered these strong words: “In other nations, like Canada, where hate crime laws have been enacted, it is Christians, specifically conservative Christians who hold to the historic Christian faith and it’s values, that become the object of institutionalized, governmental hate. Christians who dare to tell the truth about the social, moral, spiritual and health consequences of illicit homosexual acts are accused of hate speech and intimidated into silence with threats of fines or jail.

“The fact the hate bill had to be passed in such an unscrupulous and cynical manner (attaching it to the Defense Authorization Act) reveals the depth of President Obama’s commitment to a radical, anti- Christian agenda. He will stop at nothing to undermine the will of the majority of Americans to pay back militant homosexual activists who raised millions of dollars for his campaign and worked to get him elected. To sign the bill in the Rose Garden is another slap in the face and shows the level of contempt President Obama has for the majority of Americans who oppose the ‘homosexualization’ of marriage and public education.”

And as Peter J. Smith notes, “The bill has also been labeled the ‘pedophile protection act,’ in large part due to the refusal of House members to approve an amendment specifying that the bill would not penalize the free speech of those objecting to homosexual perversions such as pedophilia. The term ‘sexual orientation’ is not defined in the bill, an oversight that some legislators charged could lead to an overly broad interpretation – since the term is used by psychologists to encompass a variety of sexual deviancies (including pedophilia), and not just homosexuality.”

The US now joins nations like Canada and England with these fundamentally flawed and unjust hate crimes laws. We already know the grief Christians in particular have been put through in these other nations because of such wretched laws. Now believers in the US will have their turn.

And of course there are activists here in Australia working on the very same thing. The only sure way these laws will come to pass here is if no resistance is offered. Are we willing to stand up and be counted, or will we simply cave in yet again, and allow more Christian freedoms to be stripped away? The choice is ours.

Part 2 Gateway to the Outer Banks

Columbia N. C. is on U.S. 64 in Tyrrell County. U. S. 64 is central North Carolina's main highway to the Outer banks. The population was 819 at the 2000 census.
The Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula is located in northeastern North Carolina, inshore of Nags Head and the Outer Banks in the Inner Banks region. The peninsula is framed by Albemarle Sound to the north, Croatan Sound to the east, and the Pamlico Sound/River to the south. In addition to the Scuppernong River, Tyrrell County is bordered on the north by the Albemarle Sound, one of the East Coast's largest estuarine systems, and to the east by the Alligator River.
Tyrrell County was formed in 1729 from Chowan, Bertie, Currituck and Pasquotank counties. Named for Sir John Tyrrell, one of the Lords Proprietors of the Carolina colony. Tyrrell County's original boundaries originally stretched westward from Roanoke Island to near present-day Tarboro. In 1870 the territory was divided and resulted in what is now known as Tyrrell, Martin, Washington, and Dare counties. Elizabethtown, later renamed Columbia, was established on the banks of the Scuppernong River in 1793. The town has a beautiful riverfront and nature walk.

From here you head east on U.S. 64 thru beautiful Dismal Swamp toward the Alligator River.

I-40 in N.C. closed. Which is easier? Build a bridge or move rocks

Update Apr 26, 2010: After being closed for 6 months, I-40 is now open.

The I-40 Bridge Disaster was a bridge collapse that occurred in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma on May 26, 2002. Joe Dedmon, captain of the tugboat Robert Y. Love, experienced a blackout and lost control of the ship. This, in turn, caused the barge he was controlling to collide with a bridge support. The result was a 580 foot (180 m) section of the I-40 bridge plunging into Kerr Reservoir on the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died when several automobiles and tractor trailers fell from the bridge.
An estimated 20,000 vehicles per day were rerouted for about two months while crews rebuilt the bridge. Traffic resumed Monday, July 29, 2002, only two months after the disaster. The reopening set a new national record for such a project, which would normally be expected to take six months.

Now fast forward to Oct. 25, 2009. Rock slide closes I-40. How long will it be closed? This isn't the first time Interstate 40 has been shut down due to a rockslide in Haywood County.
The highway closed July 1, 1997, following a series of rock slides near mile marker 1. Three people were injured when their vehicles struck the falling boulders. None of the injuries were life threatening, and the couple hospitalized went home later that week.
The interstate was closed to all traffic from July 1 until two lanes were reopened Sept. 10. The cost of the nearly yearlong cleanup surpassed $2.5 million.

Part 1 Outer Banks Storm on Ash Wednesday March 1962

Photos of Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962. The 'perfect storm'.

The 'Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962' occurred on March 6-8, 1962 along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. In an area accustomed to a hurricane season from late August to early November each year, and the periodic major winter storms known as "Nor'easters", the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 was unlike anything anyone living could recall. It was considered by the U.S. Geological Survey to be one of the most destructive storms ever to impact the mid-Atlantic states. One of the ten worst storms in the United States in the 20th century, it lingered through five high tides over a three day period, killing 40 people, injuring over 1,000 and causing hundreds of millions in property damage in six states.
Combination of atmospheric conditions: The massive storm was caused by an unusual combination of three pressure areas, combined with atmospheric conditions of the Spring equinox which normally cause exceptionally high tides. The storm stalled in the mid-Atlantic for almost 3 days, pounding coastal areas with continuous rain, high winds, and tidal surges, and dumping large quantities of snow inland for several hundred miles.
Coastal impact: Homes, hotels, motels, and resort businesses were destroyed along North Carolina's Outer Banks from Cape Hatteras, Nags Head and Kill Devil Hill. It was the 'perfect storm' before the storm that became a movie. This is the first in a series about one of my favorite places in the world. The Outer Banks of North Carolina. I know about this because we drove thru the area after the storm. You could see large houses sitting out in the Atlantic and in the back sound. Every building was damaged to some extent, most had major damage. It was the time when telephones poles had five arms and were loaded with glass insulators. Along Hwy 12 every pole was snapped off at the base; mile after mile of them.

Sebastiano Conca

Sebastiano Conca Italian, born circa 1676-1764. One of his greatest paintings was the one of 'Alexander the Great in the Temple of Jerusalem'.

The silent majority?

300,000 Silent Churches
Everyone has Freedom of Speech except 501c3 churches.
1. 501c3 Tax Exemption.
2. A Deal With the Devil
3. The Silenceof the Shepherds
4.Who is Really Lord of Your Church?
5.Hushmoney
Today, 4000 innocent precious lives of unborn babies were snuffed out. Their arms and legs were torn from their bodies, their skulls crushed. One and one half million times each year our "civilized" society will take and innocent life. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
Six hundred thousand children, between the ages of 3 and 18, are involved in child pornography. Twenty thousand of them will disappear each year, never to be seen again. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
The TV networks make a mockery of Christians, the Christian faith and Christian values with nearly every show they air. Greed, materialism, violence, sexual immorality are standard fare. Program after program, movie after movie contains anti-Christian episodes and plots. News articles condescendingly refer to the "fundamental, right wing Christians." Those who speak out for the sacredness of life are branded as extremist. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
Teenage suicide is the highest it has ever been. The number of teenage alcoholics and drug addicts is the highest ever. Christian morality cannot be taught in schools but atheistic immorality can. Divorce is taking approximately one of every two marriages. The number of children living in broken homes is fast becoming a majority. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
Rape has increased 700 percent in the last fifty years, and that takes into consideration the population growth. The FBI says one in four 12-year-old girls will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. Pornography has become an eight billion dollar business, with some of the largest companies in America involved. The Internet is flooded with pornography. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
Rock music fills the airways, and our children's minds are polluted with music which legitimizes rape, murder, forced sex, sadomasochism, adultery, satanic worship, etc. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
A majority of states now have lotteries. We have eliminated that crime by making it 'legal' and putting it under the control of the state. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
What important matters are being dealt with in our churches? The church bulletin says there will be a meeting to plan the church-wide supper. We are raising money to put a new floor cover in the kitchen. (The old one doesn't match the new stove and refrigerator.) The sermon subject last Sunday was "How To Have A Positive Attitude." We are organizing a softball team.
At a meeting of church officials a program was announced to recruit new members. We need the new program because we are losing membership. The new program was worked out by some of the very top professionals, people who have had success in gaining new members for the Lions Club and other organizations. We really need professionals to do the job.
Sometimes blasphemy comes unnoticed while 300,000 pulpits are silent.
In America we make a big deal about 'freedom of speech". Few realize that the churches DO NOT have freedom of speech.
Everyone has freedom of speech except the clergy!
The pulpit has great power to do good when the clergyman is free to speak on on matters of politics as did the prophets of old such as Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others including Paul.
The modern churches are corporations silenced by voluntarily accepting 501c(3) tax exempt status and state licensing of the clergy.
In effect, the system had bribed them with money to be silent churches.

The Founding Fathers

Just recently, The History Channel had a program on 'The Founding Fathers'. I don't know if you caught it but during one conversation they made the statement about Jefferson's 'separation of Church and State' and said that these were the same words that we find in our Constitution. SHOW ME! History is being rewritten one sentence at a time. Just slow enough that most people believe them to be Truth. The American media is far greater than anything Nazi Germany could have imagine. The Internet might be a two edge sword but it's the last place you can find the truth if you search hard enough. Once it and Talk Radio comes under government control truth will be gone forever.

Ken Burn's America's National Parks

Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America's first national park. Located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, it is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. National Parks was an American Idea. If they hadn't been established, there would be no buffalo, no sequoia trees, no redwood trees or wolves left in America. John Muir could be considered the father of conservation of out National treasures. He was instrumental in the saving of Yosemite. At first, Yosemite was a State Park, later to become a National Park.

Eugene Delacroix

Cleopatra and peasant

The greatest French painter of the Romantic movement. He was the son of a politician, Charles Delacroix, but there is some evidence to indicate that his real father was the diplomat Talleyrand, a friend of the family. His mother, Victoire Oeben, came of a family of notable craftsmen and designers.In 1816 Delacroix entered the studio of Pierre Guérin, who had earlier taught Géricault. His basic artistic education was obtained, however, by copying Old Masters at the Louvre, where he delighted in Rubens and the Venetian School. He met Bonington in the Louvre and was introduced by him to English watercolour painting. Constable's Hay Wain, exhibited in the 1824 Salon, also made a great impression on him and in 1825 he spent some months in England, admiring in particular Gainsborough, Lawrence, Etty, and Wilkie. In the Salon of 1822 he had his first public success with The Barque of Dante (Louvre, Paris). It was bought by the State (with Talleyrand perhaps pulling strings in the background), as was The Massacre at Chios (Louvre) two years later, ensuring the success of his career. Gros called this painting 'the massacre of painting', but Baudelaire wrote that it was a terrifying hymn in honour of doom and irremediable suffering.In 1832 Delacroix visited Morocco in the entourage of the Comte de Mornay and there acquired a fund of rich and exotic visual imagery which he exploited to the full in his later work (Sultan of Morocco, Musée, Toulouse, 1845). From the late 1830s his style and technique underwent a change. In place of luminous glazes and contrasted values he began to use a personal technique of vibrating adjacent tones and divisionist colour effects in a manner of which Watteau had been a master, making colour enter into the structure of the picture to an extent which had not previously been attempted. In spite of being hailed as the leader of the Romantic movement, his predilection for exotic and emotionally charged subject-matter, and his open enmity with Ingres, Delacroix always claimed allegiance to the classical tradition, and for his large works followed the traditional course of making numerous preparatory drawings.In his later career he became one of the most distinguished monumental mural painters in the history of French art. His public commissions included decorations in several major buildings in Paris: Palais Bourbon (Salon du roi, 1833-37; Library, 1838-47); the Library of the Luxembourg Palace (1841-46); and three paintings in the Chapelle des Anges of S. Sulpice (1853-61). In the last of these, his Jacob and the Angel and Heliodorus Expelled from the Temple are among the maturest expressions of his decorative richness of colour and grandiose structural integration. Baudelaire said of him that he was the only artist who 'in our faithless generation conceived religious pictures' and van Gogh wrote, 'only Rembrandt and Delacroix could paint the face of Christ.'Delacroix's output was enormous. After his death his executors found more than 9,000 paintings, pastels, and drawings in his studio and he prided himself on the speed at which he worked, declaring 'If you are not skilful enough to sketch a man falling out of a window during the time it takes him to get from the fifth storey to the ground, then you will never be able to produce monumental work.' Among great painters he was also one of the finest writers on art. He was a voluminous letter writer and kept a journal from 1822 to 1824 and again from 1847 until his death — a marvellously rich source of information and opinion on his life and times. His influence, particularly through his use of colour, was prodigious, inspiring Renoir, Seurat, and van Gogh among others. Delacroix's studio in Paris is now a museum devoted to his life and work, but the Louvre has the finest collection of his paintings.

Christianity has power over religion

Christianity has power over religion

A friend of mine and I were recently discussing Genesis 4 about the first family's sons Cain and Abel.
This story is imperative to one who is seeking a relationship with Jesus. It is simple: There is nothing that can save us from disaster like the blood of Jesus Christ. In his blood, we have power (1 Corinthians 3:10-14).
People who seek self power are being misled by evil that will have them selling their soul. Simon the Sorcerer also wanted God's power, thinking that he could simply buy it. You cannot buy God's power. The only way you can get to God is through Jesus.
-->Cain failed in trying to do things his way. His offering was turned down by God because he offered God an offering from the ground that God had already cursed. Cain simply refused to give God his "first fruits."
Abel gave God his first fruits. He offered an animal that was not cursed. God requires a blood sacrifice. There is nothing stronger than the blood of Jesus, and he has already offered up himself for us to be saved. There is no greater sacrifice.
So, if you know someone who is meeting in the woods having animal sacrifices, you can be sure that it is a sin and an abomination to the Lord (Hebrews 10:4).
As my friend says, "Anything that you have to hide is a sin."
Ask Adam and Eve. They actually thought the leaf was sufficient. Religion is not sufficient. It is man's way of worship. It is legalistic and ritualistic.
The word says, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty." Religion is man's way of offering up praise and worship in man's own way and not God's.
I choose Christianity over religion. Religion is boring, dead and experiences no power. Speak the blood of Jesus. Place it over your life, your children and household like Israel did during Passover. Trust God.
The Rev. Esther Scott can be reached at revessie@yahoo.com.

The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus

KAULBACH, Wilhelm von 1846. Cornelius, Schadow, and Schnorr were pioneering in monumental history painting, which was to play so great a role in the second half of the 19th century. Huge panoramic paintings were installed in nearly all the public buildings to make them centres of culture. They taught history and were intended to have a didactic influence as historical models Kaulbach's huge painting, The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, is the most mature example of the new theatrical history painting. The artist does not show the real event, rather this is idealistic didacticism. We are given an interpretation that transcends time and is intended to be of significance for the whole world.

Desolation

Third in a series by Thomas Cole

The End of the Empire

' The course of the Empire destruction' by Thomas Cole.

Freedom comes from God not Government

How free Americans became pigs at a trough
Posted: August 29, 20091:00 am Eastern© 2009
By: Patrice Lewis

I frequently receive e-mails from readers professing admiration for our (ahem) "simple" life. (For those unfamiliar with our lifestyle, we have a homestead farm, a home business, and we homeschool our kids.) What many people don't understand is the sheer hard work the "simple" life entails. Difficult? Undoubtedly. Worth it? Unquestionably.
We live this way because we're big believers in personal responsibility. We try to be responsible for every major aspect of our lives – our jobs, finances, health care, food and children's education. To us, it's simply what grown-ups do.
Apparently, that's what makes us different. It's not that we live rural or milk a cow – it's that we're independent.
Do you have any idea – any inkling at all – how much more streamlined our nation would be if everyone preferred independence and refused to allow others, especially the government, to be our mommies and daddies?
Thomas Sowell had a superb article this week on the issue of personal responsibility. "Whether the particular issue is education, economics or medical care," he wrote, "the preferred explanation tends to be an external explanation – that is, something outside the control of the individuals directly involved."
External. That means you've shoved the responsibility for your education, your income or your medical care onto someone else.
What will it take to restore common sense and rein in out-of-control government? Get Glenn Beck's latest book, inspired by Founding Father Thomas Paine
Our government now encourages the removal of responsibility for our actions. If you take away the consequences of bad behavior, the incentive to improve is also gone. If a woman is given money, housing, medical care and (worst of all) accolades for having a baby out of wedlock, why should she stop having babies out of wedlock? More babies equal more goodies and more praise for the "difficulties" she "overcomes."
Low-income people are seen as a problem for society to "solve" without considering that – get ready to rain insults upon my head – most people are low-income because of their personal choices. (Not all, but most.) Having kids out of wedlock, refusing to take advantage of educational opportunities, having bad habits, engaging in risky behavior, refusing to work … it all adds up to a life of poverty by choice.
My husband and I also chose to embark on a life of near-poverty. In our case, though, we made the decision to sacrifice financial gain and nine-to-five gridlock for living closer to the land and closer to home. We aren't looking for others – or the government – to alleviate our low-income status.
Sowell points out that "Americans can have the best medical care in the world without having the best health or longevity because so many people choose to live in ways that shorten their lives." [Emphasis added.] In other words, people refuse to take personal responsibility for the fact that they overeat, under-exercise, smoke, drink, do drugs, engage in risky behavior and otherwise act like idiots … and then complain they're not living to be a hundred years old. "Americans can end up ruining the best medical care in the world," says Sowell, "in the vain hope that a government takeover will give us better health." HellOOO??
Every time the government provides us with goodies – Social Security, education, medical care, welfare – it further enslaves us with golden shackles. The government wants us to be dependent on it because that's the only way it can increase its power and reach. But benefits come with expenses – and those expenses are forcibly funded by people at the point of a gun.
So quit being lazy, folks. If you want your children educated, stop asking the government to do it for you (they do a lousy job anyway). If you want medical care, stop demanding the government provide it (they'll screw it up, guaranteed). If you want a car, a job, a vacation … start looking at your own resources, ingenuity, creativity and personal support system to provide it. It's not my responsibility to give you these things; nor is it your responsibility to give them to me. Government largesse forcibly removes my money to give it to you and vice versa. "Force" is the operative word.
Every time the government passes legislation to provide a benefit, be wary. It means the incentive to provide that thing for yourself is proportionately reduced … and you become a slave to the government for that item. It's a vicious spiral. Lack of incentive creates a crisis for the government to solve, which it then solves by providing more goodies and taking away more incentives. When will it end? Not until we've become the U.S.S.A. instead of the U.S.A.
We're well on our way to that extra "S." Even the words of our founding documents (which were written to insure our freedom to be self-sufficient) have been bastardized and twisted to justify a nanny state. The "promotion" clause in the Preamble to our Constitution – which says the government will promote the general welfare – is probably the single most misused phrase. Promote does not mean "provide." "Promote" means the government will get the hell out of the way so people can provide these things for themselves.
In other words, if it's not laid out in the Constitution or Bill of Rights, it's not (or shouldn't be) the federal government's job to do it for you. Unfortunately, our government has convinced us that it's supposed to "do it" for you – and greedy, lazy people welcome it. What used to be free and independent citizens are now pigs at the trough, gobbling up every benefit the government can offer in exchange, apparently, for their immortal souls.
That's what this nation has become: Greedy pigs at the trough, not the free and independent citizens we were meant to be.
Our wise Founding Fathers, who get wiser every time I read their writing, were well familiar with the pitfalls of socialism. The American colonies had already tried and discarded that experiment. They knew the dangers of asking the government to provide everything because of the incentives (and freedoms) it took away. This isn't rocket science, people. It's just common sense.
Uh-oh … unless common sense isn't common anymore.
On second thought, we're in trouble.

And the Books were opened

The Glory of the Roman Empire - Thomas Cole

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Thomas Cole (1801-1848)
See also: Hudson River School
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"Thomas Cole, born in Lancashire, England, was trained as an engraver of woodblocks used for printing calico. Because he did not have any formal education in art, his aesthetic ideas derived from poetry and literature, influences that were strongly to mark his paintings. The Cole family emigrated to America in 1818, but Thomas spent a year alone in Philadelphia before going on to Steubenville, Ohio, where his family had settled. He spent several years in Steubenville designing patterns and probably also engraving woodblocks for his father's wallpaper manufactory. He made his first attempts at landscape painting after learning the essentials of oil painting from a nebulous itinerant portraitist named Stein. In 1823, Cole followed his family to Pittsburgh and began to make detailed and systematic studies of that city's highly picturesque scenery, establishing a procedure of painstakingly detailed drawing that was to become the foundation of his landscape painting.
"During another stay in Philadelphia, from 1823 to 1824, Cole determined to become a painter and closely studied the landscapes of Thomas Doughty and Thomas Birch exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy, His technique improved greatly and his thinking on the special qualities of American scenery began to crystallize. Cole next moved to New York, where the series of works he produced following a sketching trip up the Hudson River in the summer of 1825 brought him to the attention of the city's most important artists and patrons. From then on, his future as a landscape painter was assured. By 1829, when he decided to go to Europe to study firsthand the great works of the past, he had become one of the founding members of the National Academy of Design and was generally recognized as America's leading landscape painter.
"In Europe, Cole's visits to the great galleries of London and Paris and, more important, his stay in Italy from 1831 to 1832, filled his imagination with high-minded themes and ideas. A true Romantic spirit, he sought to express in his painting the elevated moral tone and concern with lofty themes previously the province of history painting. When he returned to America, he found an enlightened patron in the New York merchant Luman Reed, who commissioned from him The Course of Empire (1836), a five-canvas extravaganza depicting the progress of a society from the savage state to an apogee of luxury and, finally, to dissolution and extinction. Most New York patrons, however, preferred recognizable American views, which Cole, his technique further improved by his European experience, was able to paint with increased authority. Although he frequently complained that he would prefer not to have to paint those so-called realistic views, Cole's best efforts in the landscape genre reveal the same high-principled, intellectual content that informs his religious and allegorical works. A second trip to Europe, in 1841-42, resulted in even greater advances in the mastery of his art: his use of color showed greater virtuosity and his representation of atmosphere, especially the sky, became almost palpably luminous.
"Cole's remarkable oeuvre, in addition to naturalistic American and European views, consisted of Gothic fantasies (The Departure and The Return, 1837), religious allegories (Tbe Voyage of Life, 1840), and classicized pastorals (Tbe Dream of Arcadia, 1838). He consistently recorded his thoughts in a formidable body of writing: detailed journals, many poems, and an influential essay on American scenery. Further, he encouraged and fostered the careers of Asher B. Durand and Frederic E. Church, two artists who would most ably continue the painting tradition he had established. Though Cole's unexpected death after a short illness sent a shock through the New York art world, the many achievements that were his legacy provided a firm ground for the continued growth of the school of American landscape."

The Apostle Paul's last letter

Paul preached everywhere he went. His last days were spent in a prison in Rome. But even in prison he continued to spread the word of God via letters to the Saints.

2 Timothy 3 (New American Standard Bible)

"Difficult Times Will Come" 1But realize this, that (A)in the last days difficult times will come.
2For men will be (B)lovers of self, (C)lovers of money, (D)boastful, (E)arrogant, (F)revilers, (G)disobedient to parents, (H)ungrateful, (I)unholy,
3(J)unloving, irreconcilable, (K)malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, (L)haters of good,
4(M)treacherous, (N)reckless, (O)conceited, (P)lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5holding to a form of (Q)godliness, although they have (R)denied its power; (S)Avoid such men as these.
6For among them are those who (T)enter into households and captivate (U)weak women weighed down with sins, led on by (V)various impulses,
7always learning and never able to (W)come to the knowledge of the truth.
8Just as (X)Jannes and Jambres (Y)opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, (Z)men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.
9But they will not make further progress; for their (AA)folly will be obvious to all, just (AB)as Jannes's and Jambres's folly was also.
10Now you (AC)followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, (AD)love, perseverance,
11(AE)persecutions, and (AF)sufferings, such as happened to me at (AG)Antioch, at (AH)Iconium and at (AI)Lystra; what (AJ)persecutions I endured, and out of them all (AK)the Lord rescued me!
12Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus (AL)will be persecuted.
13But evil men and impostors (AM)will proceed from bad to worse, (AN)deceiving and being deceived.
14You, however, (AO)continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,
15and that (AP)from childhood you have known (AQ)the sacred writings which are able to (AR)give you the wisdom that leads to (AS)salvation through faith which is in (AT)Christ Jesus.
16(AU)All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17so that (AV)the man of God may be adequate, (AW)equipped for every good work.

The Third temple

64% of Israelis want Temple rebuilt

Even half of secular Jews say time is right

Posted: August 01, 200912:40 am Eastern© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Nearly two-thirds of Israelis say the time is right to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple, according to a Ynet-Gesher survey.
Even half of non-religious Jews favor rebuilding the Holy Temple – an idea politically unthinkable in Israel just 10 or 20 years ago.
The poll was release on the saddest day on the Jewish calendar – the fasting day of Tisha B'Av, or the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. It commemorates a series of tragedies that befell the Jewish people all on the same day, most significantly the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, which occurred about 656 years apart on the same day. Jewish tradition calls for the reading of Lamentations.
Aside from the destruction of the Jewish Temples, a remarkably large number of massive calamities befell the Jewish people on Tisha B'Av. Jewish rebellion leader Bar Kokhba's famous revolt against Rome failed in 135 B.C. Following the Roman siege of Jerusalem, the razing of Jerusalem occurred the next year. The first crusade pogrom against Jews in Palestine began on that date in A.D. 1096.
The Jews were expelled from Britain on Tisha B'Av in 1290 and were expelled from Spain that same day in 1492. The Warsaw Ghetto uprising was crushed by the Nazis on that day in May 1943, resulting in the slaughter of about 50,000 Jews.
Nationalists in Israel also mourn the removal of Jews from the Gaza Strip in 2005, which began the day after Tisha B'av.
The book of Lamentations, written in poetic verse, mourns the desolations brought on Jerusalem and the Holy Land by the Chaldeans.
The rebuilding of the Temple is an extremely controversial idea in Israel because currently Jewish access to the Temple Mount is restricted by the Muslim Waqf, which was granted administrative authority over the Jews' holiest sites, which are occupied by Muslim shrines.
Some Jewish leaders believe access to Jews should be restricted until the Third Temple is built.
Israel recaptured the Temple Mount during the 1967 Six Day War. Currently under Israeli control, Jews and Christians are barred from praying on the Mount.
The Temple Mount was opened to the general public until September 2000, when the Palestinians started their intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshippers after then-candidate for prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the area.
Following the onset of violence, the new Sharon government closed the Mount to non-Muslims, using checkpoints to control all pedestrian traffic for fear of further clashes with the Palestinians.
The Temple Mount was reopened to non-Muslims in August 2003. It remains open, but only Sundays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and not on any Christian, Jewish or Muslim holidays or other days considered "sensitive" by the Waqf.
During "open" days, Jews and Christian are allowed to ascend the Mount, usually through organized tours and only if they conform first to a strict set of guidelines, which includes demands that they not pray or bring any "holy objects" to the site. Visitors are banned from entering any of the mosques without direct Waqf permission. Rules are enforced by Waqf agents, who watch tours closely and alert nearby Israeli police to any breaking of their guidelines.
During Tendler's visit to the mount, he can be heard in the video complaining about the Israeli rules.
"I'm little bit annoyed at the instructions that we get," he quipped, "as if we were aliens and have to be told how to behave on [the Temple Mount]."
King Solomon built the First Temple in the 10th century B.C. The Babylonians destroyed it in 586 B.C. The Jews built the Second Temple in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. The Romans destroyed the Second Temple in A.D. 70.
The First Temple stood for about 400 years, the second for almost 600. Both Temples served as the center of religious worship for the whole Jewish nation. All Jewish holidays centered on worship at the Temple – the central location for the offering of sacrifices and the main gathering place for the Jewish people.
According to the Talmud, God created the world from the foundation stone of the Temple Mount.
The site is believed to be the biblical Mount Moriah, where Abraham fulfilled God's test of faith by demonstrating his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Jewish tradition also holds that Mashiach – literally "the anointed one," the Jewish Messiah – will come and rebuild the third and final temple on the Mount in Jerusalem and bring redemption to the entire world.
The Western Wall, called the Kotel in Hebrew, is the one part of the Temple Mount that survived the Roman destruction of the Second Temple and stands to this day in Jerusalem.
The Temple Mount has remained a focal point for Jewish services for thousands of years. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple have been uttered three times daily by religious Jews since the destruction of the Second Temple. Throughout all the centuries of Jewish exile from their land, thorough documentation shows the Jews never gave up their hope of returning to Jerusalem and reestablishing their Temple. To this day Jews worldwide pray facing the Western Wall, while Muslims turn their backs away from the Temple Mount and pray toward Mecca.
Muslims constructed the al-Aqsa Mosque around A.D. 709 to serve as a place of worship near a famous shrine, the gleaming Dome of the Rock, built by an Islamic caliph, or supreme ruler.
About 100 years ago, Muslims began to associate al‐-Aqsa in Jerusalem with the place Muhammad ascended to heaven. Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from "a sacred mosque" – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest mosque," and from a rock there ascended to heaven to receive revelations from Allah that became part of the Quran.
While Palestinians and many Muslim countries claim exclusivity over the Mount, and while their leaders strenuously deny the Jewish historic connection to the site, things weren't always this way. In fact, historically, Muslims never claimed the al-Aqsa Mosque as their "third holiest site" and always recognized the existence of the Jewish Temples.
According to an Israeli attorney, Shmuel Berkovits, Islamic tradition mostly disregarded Jerusalem. He points out in his book "How Dreadful is this Place!" that Muhammad was said to loathe Jerusalem and what it stood for to the other monotheistic faiths.
Muhammad also made a point of eliminating pagan sites of worship and sanctifying only one place – the Kaaba in Mecca – to signify the unity of Allah. As late as the 14th century, Islamic scholar Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya, whose writings later influenced the strict Wahhabi movement in Arabia, ruled that sacred Islamic sites exist only on the Arabian Peninsula, and that "in Jerusalem, there is not a place one calls sacred, and the same holds true for the tombs of Hebron."
Not until the late 19th century – when Jews started immigrating to Palestine – did Muslim scholars claim that Muhammad tied his horse to the Western Wall and associate Muhammad's purported night journey with the Temple Mount.