Paul Craig Roberts

Christmas is a time of traditions. If you have found time in the rush before Christmas to decorate a tree, you are sharing in a relatively new tradition. Although the Christmas tree has ancient roots, at the beginning of the 20th century only 1 in 5 American families put up a tree. It was 1920 before the Christmas tree became the hallmark of the season. Calvin Coolidge was the first President to light a national Christmas tree on the White House lawn.

Gifts are another shared custom. This tradition comes from the wise men or three kings who brought gifts to baby Jesus. When I was a kid, gifts were more modest than they are now, but even then people were complaining about the commercialization of Christmas. We have grown accustomed to the commercialization. Christmas sales are the backbone of many businesses. Gift giving causes us to remember others and to take time from our harried lives to give them thought.

The decorations and gifts of Christmas are one of our connections to a Christian culture that has held Western civilization together for 2,000 years.

In our culture the individual counts. This permits an individual person to put his or her foot down, to take a stand on principle, to become a reformer and to take on injustice. This empowerment of the individual is unique to Western civilization. It has made the individual a citizen equal in rights to all other citizens, protected from tyrannical government by the rule of law and free speech. These achievements are the products of centuries of struggle, but they all flow from the teaching that God so values the individual’s soul that he sent his son to die so we might live. By so elevating the individual, Christianity gave him a voice.

Formerly only those with power had a voice. But in Western civilization people with integrity have a voice. So do people with a sense of justice, of honor, of duty, of fair play. Reformers can reform, investors can invest, and entrepreneurs can create commercial enterprises, new products and new occupations.

The result was a land of opportunity. The United States attracted immigrants who shared our values and reflected them in their own lives. Our culture was absorbed by a diverse people who became one.

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Tony Cartalucci

Image: (via The Guardian) "Chemical containers in the Libyan desert. There are concerns unguarded weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist militants. Photograph: David Sperry/AP" As increasing evidence reveals Libyan fighters and weapons are pouring into Syria, the West has been preparing to cover up the inevitability that Libya's chemical arsenal will also found its way into the besieged nation. It now appears that such weapons are being deployed by NATO's terrorist proxies.

Chemical weapons reportedly used by NATO-armed, funded terrorists near Damascus.

PressTV has reported (more details via Fars News) that chemical weapons have been used by militants fighting Syrian government forces in Daraya, near Damascus. PressTV also reported that threats have been made against Syria's ethnic minorities that their water supplies will be poisoned by militants - this on the heels of the UN itself warning of (and preemptively spinning) impending sectarian-driven genocide.

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Stephen Lendman

President Shimon Peres meets with US Senator John Kerry at the
President's Residence in Jerusalem in May 2012.

Jew or gentile matters less than supporting America's imperium. Kerry's fully on board. His job entails being Israel's man at State.

The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) is a pro-Israeli front group. It promotes strengthening US/Israeli ties. Its executive director, Mitchell G. Bard, formerly was AIPAC's Near East Report editor. Earlier he was polling division senior analyst for GHW Bush. He's featured prominently on US scoundrel TV. Best to avoid him entirely.

AICE publishes the Jewish Virtual Library (JVL). It's an online pro-Israeli resource. It wholeheartedly supports John Kerry. Using material from his 2004 presidential campaign bid, it said:

He's "been at the forefront of the fight for Israel's security" throughout his Senate tenure. He endorses "strengthening Israel's security and bolstering the US-Israel special relationship." "His pro-Israel voting record is second to none." "John Kerry will never do anything to compromise (Israel's) security." He's committed to a "special relationship." His support for Israel is "unwavering." He endorses "Israel's right to respond to terrorism - including against Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups in Gaza." He backs "continued assistance in strengthening Israel's homeland defenses." He called Arafat "a failed leader and unfit partner for peace and therefore supported his total isolation." He "demanded a new, responsible Palestinian leadership, committed to ending the violence and fighting terror." He wholeheartedly supports generous Israeli foreign aid. In the early 1990s, he wanted more than GHW Bush planned to give. He always believed that America "must stand solidly behind Israel at the UN and other international organizations."

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Michael Snyder

Do you have faith in the people running this nation? When answering that question, most people would bash either the Democrats or the Republicans, but my question goes much deeper than that. Power is constantly shifting back and forth between the two major political parties, and it seems like things don’t really change no matter who is in power. What I am asking is if you have faith in the entire system. Do you have faith in the U.S. government, the Federal Reserve, the state governments, the local governments, our public schools and our financial system? Do you believe that the people that are running things in this country are doing a good job? When you look at the results, it is hard to argue that those in power are making good decisions. In fact, this country is caught in such a downward spiral that it would be easy to argue that most of our politicians should immediately resign in disgrace. Our leaders just keep coming up with one bad idea after another. Sometimes it almost seems as though it would be better for our leaders to do absolutely nothing at all because every time they try to do something they only make things worse.

Posted below are a few dozens questions that reveal the stupidity of the people running this nation. The truth is that the list below could be much, much longer. If the founders of this nation could see us now they would be absolutely disgusted with us.

As you read the following list of questions, try to think about what the answers might be….

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