About Our Beloved Christmas Songs

 

Dear friends,

With holiday cheer in the air, and the help of various sources, let's take a look at a few favorite Christmas songs.


"Silent Night"

This is the world’s most popular Christmas carol. It comes in several different translations from the German original.

It started out as a poem by the Austrian Catholic priest Father Josef Mohr in 1816. Two years later, Father Mohr was curate at the parish church of St Nicola in Oberndorf when he asked the organist and local schoolteacher Franz Xaver Gruber to put music to his words.

Legend goes that Franz Gruber wrote it to be performed by two voices and a guitar. It was first performed at midnight mass on Christmas Eve in 1818 with Father Mohr and Franz Gruber themselves taking the solo voice roles.

"Silent Night" was translated into English more than 40 years later by Episcopal priest John Freeman Young, who is responsible for the version Americans favor.
It is said to have been translated into over 300 languages and dialects. 

And yes, to show the power of such a carol, because "Silent Night" was one of the only carol that both British and German soldiers knew, it famously played a key role in the unofficial truce in the trenches in 1914 during World War One. 

"Away in a Manger"

"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in the late 19th century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world.

Although it was long claimed to be the work of German religious reformer Martin Luther, the carol is now thought to be wholly American in origin. Yes, the two most-common musical settings are by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895) and James Ramsey Murray (1887). The popularity of the carol has led to many variants in the lyrics.

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" 

This Christmas hymn is believed to be from 1739 or earlier.

Charles Wesley, the brother of Methodist founder John Wesley, penned as many as 9,000 hymns and poems, of which this is one of his best-known. It was said to be inspired by the sounds of the bells as he walked to church one Christmas morning and has been through several changes. 

It was originally entitled "Hark How All The Welkin Rings."  The term "Welkin" being an old word meaning "sky" or "heaven."

As with most of his hymns, Wesley did not stipulate which tune it should be sung to, except to say that it should be "solemn". The modern version came about when organist William Hayman Cummings adopted it to a tune by German composer Felix Mendelssohn in the 1850s. 

"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"

Another English traditional Christmas carol. It was published by William B. Sandys in 1833, although the author is unknown.

Like so many early Christmas songs, the carol was written as a direct reaction to the church music of the 15th century. However, in the earliest known publication of the carol, on a 1760 broadsheet, it is described as a "new Christmas carol", suggesting its origin is actually in the mid-18th century.

For those of you who have actually read Charles Dickens, it is referred to in his A Christmas Carol, 1843. It states, "...at the first sound of - 'God bless you, merry gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!' Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost."

This carol also is featured in the second movement of the Carol Symphony by Victor Hely-Hutchinson. While it is interesting to note that the author is unknown, its author is believed to be a mailman who delivered mail at around the 1700's. The legend goes that he sang this song on his route so that people would go to church.

What some might not know is that the song is enjoining the gentlemen who are probably the shepherds in the fields to be "merry" because of Christ’s birthday. It’s not telling “merry gentlemen” to rest! It is telling them to be happy.

"Adeste Fideles"

Yes, this is a hymn tune "O Come All Ye Faithful". The English translation of the latin "Adeste Fideles" version became "O Come, All Ye Faithful". 

It was translated by the English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley. It is widespread in most English speaking countries. The original four verses of the hymn were extended to a total of eight, and these have been translated into many languages. 

Some say it may have been written in the 13th century by John of Reading, though it has been concluded that John Francis Wade could have also been the author. Then of course, there are those who say the carol may been attributed to the Franciscan Order of monks and the 13th century Italian theologian Saint Bonaventure, and to various authors from the 14th to the 17th centuries. 

I like to think the author was Portuguese King John IV, who was a noted musical patron and composer. The story goes that King John IV of Portugal wrote this hymn to accompany his daughter Catherine of Braganza to England in the mid-17th century during her courtship of her future husband King Charles II.

It is said that wherever she went, she and her embassy, were announced and accompanied with this hymn, which became widely known in England as the Portuguese Hymn. And though that may or may not be the case, it certainly represented Portugal in the form of the Princess Catherine.

The hymn was known for a while as the Portuguese Hymn after the Duke of Leeds in 1795 heard the hymn being sung at the Portuguese embassy in London and assumed that it had originated from Portugal.

"O Tannenbaum"

The traditional folk song that most in America know as “O Christmas Tree,” in fact celebrates the unwavering fidelity that Germans apparently once associated with fir trees.

As you may have guessed, "tannenbaum" is the German word for "fir tree". 

The song’s melody in based on an old folk tune that dates back more than 500 years. The lyrics were penned in 1824 by composer Ernst Anschütz, who was inspired by a love song in which the proud evergreen is presented as symbol of faithfulness.

As the popularity of Christmas trees grew in the 1800s, so too did the popularity of Anschütz’s song as a holiday favorite. Now you know!

"The Holly and the Ivy"

This is an English traditional Christmas carol, yet the carol contains intermingled Christian and Pagan imagery. Believe it or not, the holly and ivy supposedly represent, among other things, Pagan fertility symbols.

Holly and ivy have been the mainstay of English Christmas decoration for church use since at least the 15th and 16th centuries, when they are mentioned regularly in churchwardens’ accounts. Supposedly in ancient English village life there was a midwinter custom of holding singing-contests between men and women. The men sang carols praising holly for its "masculine" qualities, while women sang songs praising the ivy for its "feminine" qualities. The resolution between the two was under the mistletoe.

These three plants are the most prominent green plants in British native woodland during the winter, and for this reason they earned respect from the early country-dwellers and a place in their traditions.

Holly and ivy also figure in the lyrics of the "Sans Day Carol". The music and most of the text was first published by Cecil Sharp in the early 1800's.

Sir Henry Walford Davies wrote a popular choral arrangement that is often performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and by choirs around the world.


"Deck The Halls"

This Christmas song dates back to 16th century Wales, where its melody and much of the lyrics were borrowed from the New Year's Eve drinking song "Nos Galan." 

This musical makeover was done by Scottish folk music scribe Thomas Oliphant, who built his reputation on old melodies with new lyrics.

In 1862, his "Deck the Hall" was published in Welsh Melodies, Vol. 2. He'd go on to become a renowned translator of songs as well as a lyricist for the court of Queen Victoria. But Oliphant's version is not the one most commonly sung today.

Now known as "Deck the Halls," this variant became popular from revised music sheet printings made in 1877 and 1881.


"O Little Town Of Bethlehem"

This is the song that tells the story of the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. Its roots extent to the winter of 1865, when Phillips Brooks, the rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia, visited the Holy Land. Included in his itinerary was a horseback ride from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. 

He was inspired by this experience and composed the lyrics of this song. His organist Lewis Redner was asked to add music so it could be performed by the church's children's choir at Christmas. Neither Brooks nor Redner really expected much more from their carol.

But in 1874, the Reverend Huntington, the rector of All Saints’ Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, chose to publish it in his Sunday School hymn book, 'The Church Porch. In so doing, he introduced the carol to a much wider audience. Yes, from there it spread in popularity across the world.

"The First Noel"

"The First Noel" is a traditional English Christmas carol which dates at least to the 17th century, and possibly to much earlier. 

According to some, the melody may in fact be an ancient French tune, but the lyrics are undoubtedly English probably from South West England. Originally the title was "The First Nowell", but much later it was changed to the French spelling of "Noel". 

The earliest publication of this song is from "Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern" edited by William B Sandys and Davies Gilbert in 1833. In their collection, Sandys and Gilbert arranged and added some lyrics and wrote down the melody to be used, and with some further amendments by John Stainer in 1871. The 1871 version is what we all sing today.

"What Child Is This?"

"What Child Is This?" is a Christmas carol whose lyrics were written by British poet William Chatterton Dix in 1865. At the time of his composing the carol, Dix worked as an insurance company manager and had been struck by a severe illness.

While recovering, he underwent a spiritual renewal that led him to write several hymns, including lyrics to this carol that was subsequently set to the tune of "Greensleeves" which is a traditional English folk song and tune from the 16th century. The carol's melody has been described as "soulful", "haunting and beautiful" in nature. The carol centers on the adoration of the shepherds, who visited Jesus during his Nativity.

The lyrics of the carol are taken from a poem written by Dix called "The Manger Throne". The part of the poem that was utilized as the song's lyrics consists of three stanzas in total. The first verse poses a rhetorical question in the first half, with the response coming in the second half. The second verse contains another question that is answered, while the final verse is a universal appeal to everyone urging them "to accept Christ". 

Although it was written in England, the carol is more popular in the United States than in its country of origin today. 

And now, for some Modern Christmas favorites.

"Jingle Bells"

Well, this song is forever associated with wintry Christmas cheer, yet “Jingle Bells” was originally written for a Thanksgiving celebration.

In 1857, James Lord Pierpont, an organist at a Unitarian church in Savannah, Georgia, published the music and lyrics to a song he had written, “The One Horse Open Sleigh.”

The song was first performed during a Thanksgiving concert at the church - but many maintain that it was written as early as 1850, when Pierpont lived in the village of Medford, Massachusetts. In fact, a longstanding feud has been waged between these two towns over the “real” birthplace of the song.

The song was re-published in 1857 and was given the title we all know today. Neither version made any impression on the public, it took several generations for “Jingle Bells” to become a holiday favorite.

And here's something for you trivia buffs. It is a fact that “Jingle Bells” holds the distinction of being the first song broadcast from space. That's right, on December 16th, 1965, the crew of Gemini 6 reported seeing a “red-suited” astronaut in lunar orbit before serenading Mission Control with a spirited take on the song - it was complete with bells and a harmonica that they smuggled on board their spacecraft.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

The song that celebrates “the most famous reindeer of all” is based on a character created for a department store.

For us who remember Montgomery Ward, and how big they were, we'll be happy to know that part of their legacy is that the retail giant came up with "“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in 1939 as a part of an advertising campaign.

Staff copywriter named Robert L. May was given an assignment to create a character for a line of holiday-themed coloring books the company wanted to peddle to kids. Mr May came up with a story about a plucky reindeer who saves Christmas. 

It's said that after he rejected several names, like Rollo, he decided to call his creation Rudolph. The coloring book was an huge success, selling millions of copies in the years that followed.

Ten years later, May contacted a brother-in-law, a Jewish songwriter by the name of Johnny Marks - who we’ll hear about again - to write a song based on his original coloring-book story. It was released in time for the holiday season, Gene Autry’s version of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” was the top-charting song during Christmas of 1949.

"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"

It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934. 

Two elements in this song have made it of particular interest to children as well as adults. First is the attention-getting opening-line warning, "You better watch out," and second is the delightful promise of an upcoming event, "Santa Claus is comin' to town."

Coupled with a bouncy and catchy melody, these teasers have made the 1932 composition by lyricist Haven Gillespie and musician John Frederick Coots -- one of the most successful of all popular Christmas carols. Only "Rudolph" and "White Christmas" have outsold this depression-era joyful gem.

"Santa Claus Is Comin'" was the best-known piece by either Gillespie or Coots, although both had other successful hits. It was only by luck and/or persistence that their famous collaborative achievement ever got recorded.

Two frustrating years passed before the songwriters could get anyone to sing their composition. Finally, just before Thanksgiving 1934, Eddie Cantor, the popular entertainer and Coot's employer, performed the song on his radio show.

It's said that it took some persuasion from Cantor's wife Ida to bring about the premier. But all in all, Cantor's presentation of the song was extremely well received, and "Santa Claus is Comin'," aided by subsequent multi-million-selling recordings by Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters and by Perry Como, has become one of the more pleasant fixtures of our holiday season.

The song also has a special historical significance. It was the first in a series of top Christmas songs to appear during a uniquely productive generation from 1932 to 1951.

It is interesting to note that "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"  became an instant hit with orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and more than 400,000 copies sold by Christmas.

"The Little Drummer Boy"

This song was originally known as "Carol of the Drum". It is a popular Christmas song written by the American classical music composer and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941.

It was recorded in 1955 by the Trapp Family Singers and further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale. This version was re-released successfully for several years and the song has been recorded many times since over the years.

In the lyrics the singer relates how, as a poor young boy, he was summoned by the Magi to the nativity where, without a gift for the infant Jesus, he played his drum with the Virgin Mary's approval, remembering "I played my best for Him" and "He smiled at me".

I mean, let's think about this for a minute and ask ourselves, how much better a message is there at Christmas?

"The Christmas Song"

Like "White Christmas," this is a fairly new Christmas song. More popularly known as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” the song was written during a sweltering heat wave during World War II in the summer of 1944.

The music was written by Mel Tormé. He was inspired by a few lines he saw jotted down in a pad by his friend and lyricist Bob Wells. Believe it or not, the two began writing the song as a way to temporarily distract themselves from the heat - and yes, it was actually finished in just 45 minutes.

That's right, the holiday favorite that puts a romantic glow on a season when folks are dress up “like Eskimos” was written in the middle of a heat wave in just 45 minutes.

The great Nat King Cole was the first to record the song. He did four different recordings with his trio and as a solo performer between 1946 and 1961. The final version is likely the one you’re most familiar with.

Mel Tormé didn’t sell a lot of records featuring him singing his own work. As for "The Christmas Song," it is said that he was fairly ambivalent about the song. Mr. Tormé did recognize the monetary value of owning the publishing rights though, he was known to occasionally refer to the song as his “annuity” as the money rolled in.

"White Christmas"

MCA Records “White Christmas” is the best-selling song of all time. The song had its first public performance on a radio show, sung by Bing Crosby during the opening days of World War II on Christmas Day 1941.

It was written by Irving Berlin, famous for writing "God Bless America" and other American favorites, for the upcoming movie Holiday Inn.

Bing Crosby had not the slightest inkling that the song would practically define him - but did give his approval: “I don’t think we have any problems with that one, Irving.”

Crosby’s first recording of the song had disappointing sales in its first few weeks, but quickly bounded to the top of the charts. It was an immediate holiday favorite and sold millions of copies. Researchers from the Guinness book of records estimated—as there are no reliable sales figures from back then - that Crosby’s version has sold no less than 50 million copies.

The next highest-selling single is Elton John’s Princess Diana tribute “Candle in the Wind 1997,” which has sold 33 million copies.

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

The original lyrics for this lovely and bittersweet holiday song written for the 1944 movie musical Meet Me in St. Louis were said to be too depressing for the movie’s famous star and director. But Judy Garland did sing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).

Hugh Martin wrote the song and his first attempt concerned both Garland and the movie’s director and her future husband, Vincente Minelli, they found the words much too depressing and asked him to rewrite a few lyrics. Martin resisted, but eventually came around. There’s a mournful tone in the version we know and love, but one tempered by the we’ll-get-through-this-together line about finding the strength “to muddle through” adversity.

A wonderful movie classic, Meet Me in St. Louis tells the story of a close-knit family living in St. Louis in the early 1900s. The family is devastated when the father announces that they will soon be moving to New York City -- the news hitting his older daughters especially hard.

In a memorable scene towards the end of the film, Esther played by Judy Garland, five years after The Wizard of Oz, tries to console her younger sister Tootie played by Margaret O’Brien with the song.

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was supposed to paint a picture of fragile hope and optimism.

"Do You Hear What I Hear"

Believe it or not, “Do You Hear What I Hear” started out as an anti-war song. It  was written while America was on the brink of nuclear war. The song was written by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne during October of 1961.

At that time, the U.S. was facing down the Soviet Union over some medium-range missiles in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis weighed heavily on the married songwriting team, who switched their traditional music-lyric roles for this song, Shayne was especially moved by the sight of mothers pushing baby carriages on a city street.

A single recorded by the same chorale group that had a radio hit with “The Little Drummer Boy” a few years earlier was released a few weeks later. The song’s plea for peace and “goodness and light” struck a chord with an anxious public and sold more than 250,000 copies. It has been a part of Christmas since.

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"

Decca Records released the famous Brenda Lee version of the song, whish is unquestionably the best version. She performed and recorded the song when she was only 13 years old.

Listen to the song and it’s impossible not to hear the voice of someone 10 or 20 years older. Yes, unlike today's singers whose voices are hidden, or disguised, or drowned out, by their "background music," back in those days vocalist like Brenda Lee could show the world that she indeed had a wonderful voice.
The single was released over consecutive holiday seasons beginning in 1958 and sold less than 5,000 copies that season.  But not to worry, it became a hit two years later and reached a peak position of number 3 on Billboard’s holiday charts in 1965. Lee so thoroughly owns this song that no other version has come close to matching the success of her original.

The song was written by Johnny Marks, who was the same songwriter who wrote “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The fact that he was Jewish didn’t stop him from creating a mini empire of Christmas songs. Thankfully in those days political correctness didn't get in the way of talent and holiday cheer.

In addition to “Rudolph” and “Rockin’,” he wrote “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” and the songs used in the TV special Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, including the Burl Ives hit “A Holly Jolly Christmas.”

Playing saxophone on the Brenda Lee recording of the song "Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree" was the great "Boots" Randolph, who in 1963, released a long-enduring hit of his own.

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

This funny yet wholesome seasonal favorite which tells the story of a young boy who sees his mother smooching his father while he's dressed as Santa was too much for the archdiocese of Boston. Being a Catholic myself, I find it hard to believe that a bunch of stiffs in Boston had the nerve to condemn the song for debasing the holiday, but they did.

Jimmy Boyd had achieved some celebrity as a child star when he recorded the song in 1952. Like Brenda Lee, he was 13 years-old when he stepped into the studio. But unlike Brenda Lee, he sounds very much his age.

A few church leaders in Boston objected to the song’s suggestion of physical intimacy and tried to have it banned. The actions made headlines across the country.

Boyd’s record label flew their young star to Boston, where he meet with church leaders and explained how maybe the song really wasn’t so evil. The Boston archdiocese lifted the ban, and more headlines were made.

All in all, the ban ended up being great publicity for a song that had already sold an astonishing 2 million copies in its first week of release. Imagine that!

"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

Written by Randy Brooks, the song was originally performed by the husband and wife duo of Elmo and Patsy Trigg Shropshire in 1979.

In the lyrics, the grandmother of the family gets drunk from drinking too much eggnog, which was probably spiked, and due to her having forgotten to take her medication and despite warnings from the family, she staggers outside into a snowstorm.

In the course of her walk to their outhouse, she is run over by Santa Claus and his reindeer and killed. Yes, it was meant to be funny!

The second and third verses describe the Christmas party the next day: "all the family's dressed in black" while the widower acts as if nothing's happened, drinks beer, watches football and plays cards with "cousin Mel."

The song closes with a warning that Santa, "a man who drives a sleigh and plays with elves" is unfit to carry a driver's license, and that the listener should beware.

"All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth"

This wonderful children's favorite was written in 1944 by Donald Yetter Gardner while teaching music at public schools in Smithtown, New York. 

He asked his second grade class what they wanted for Christmas, and noticed that almost all of the students had at least one front tooth missing as they answered in a lisp. And yes, it's said that Gardner wrote the song in 30 minutes. Quick huh!

In a 1995 interview, Gardner said, "I was amazed at the way that silly little song was picked up by the whole country."

The song was published in 1948 after an employee of Witmark music company heard Gardner sing it at a music teachers conference. The song was originally recorded by Spike Jones & His City Slickers on December 6, 1947, with lead vocal by George Rock. That version reached the top of the pop charts in 1948, and again in 1949.

In the versions by Spike, The Chipmunks (Theodore on lead vocals), and Ray Stevens, the song ends with the performer shouting the words "Happy New Year!!!"

"Christmas Is a-Comin'"

OK, this is the song that drives my wife crazy because I play it constantly this time of year. It started out as a Christmas nursery rhyme called "Christmas Is Comming."

The musical version of the rhyme was popularized by The Kingston Trio as "A Round About Christmas", on their album The Last Month of the Year. A calypso sounding version of the carol was featured on a Christmas album John Denver and the Muppets. And yes, a jazzy piano-based arrangement was featured in the musical score of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

The rhyme became the basis for the song "Christmas Is a-Comin." It was re-written by Frank Luther and performed by Bing Crosby. It contains the following lyrics:

"When I'm feeling blue, when I'm feeling low,
I start to think about the happiest man I know.
Now he doesn't mind the snow, he doesn't mind the rain,
But all December you will hear him at your window pane,
Singing again and again and again and again and again:

Christmas is a coming and the bells begin to ring,
The holly's in the window and the birds begin to sing.

I don't need to worry, and I don't need to fret,
And the more you give at Christmastime the more you get.

God bless you, gentlemen, God bless you!
The more you give at Christmastime the more you get.

Christmas is a coming, the egg is in the nog.
Please give a friendly man a friendly little dog.

If you haven't got a friendly dog, a friendly cat will do,
If you haven't got a friendly cat may God bless you!

God bless you, gentlemen, God bless you!
If you haven't got a friendly cat may God bless you!

Christmas is a coming, the lights are on the tree.
How about a turkey leg for dear old me?

If you haven't got a turkey leg, a turkey wing will do.
If you haven't got a turkey wing may God bless you!

God bless you, gentlemen, God bless you!
If you haven't got a turkey wing may God bless you!

Christmas is a coming, the cider's in the keg.
If I had a mug of cider I wouldn't have to beg.

If you haven't got a mug of cider, half a mug will do.
If you haven't got half a mug, may God bless you!

God bless you, gentlemen, God bless you!
If you haven't got half a mug, may God bless you!

If you haven't got a thing for me, may God bless you!"

For me, I love the idea that someone would wish God's blessings upon another even if he or she gets nothing in return.

Now as for the New Year's Song?

"Auld Lang Syne"

While I don't think this is really considered a Christmas Song, it is definitely the best New Year's song ever written. It is the tune that ushers in every new year.

“Auld Lang Syne” was written in 1788 and came from the pen of Scotland’s Favorite Son poet Robert Burns. The five verses that Scottish Poet Robert Burns wrote in the late 1780s and published posthumously in 1798, were applied to a melody of unknown origin that had first appeared around 1711.

The Scots title translates as “long long ago.” The song quickly became a part of Scottish New Year celebrations, and it was from Scotland that the tradition spread, carried by travelers and emigrants. It was surely sung by Scot families who made the Atlantic crossing, but it was a bandleader from Canada who put the song in every American home.

While it was written by a Scotsman, it was made famous in America by a Canadian. This happened in the mid-1920s when Canadian band leader Guy Lombardo and his orchestra were a highly popular act. Even the famous Louis Armstrong was a fan.

In 1929, the band landed a contract to play New Year’s Eve at the Roosevelt Hotel. Their performance was broadcast on the still relatively new medium called "radio." It was an arrangement that lasted almost 30 years. And it was at these parties that Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians began their tradition of playing “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight.

As the band’s New Year’s Eve radio shows gained popularity, eventually reaching a national audience, so too did the song. Lombardo’s big-band arrangements usually excluded Burns' original lyrics because few understood them.

In 1956, they reached an even bigger audience when they signed a TV deal. That lasted another 20 years, until their show began losing ground to the younger based program hosted by Dick Clark.

Guy Lombardo passed away in 1977 but he made "Auld Lang Syne" a part of our culture. Today, Lombardo’s version of the song is the one that is played at the most famous New Year’s Eve celebration in the world: the dropping of the ball at New York City’s Times Square. So yes, Canadian singer/bandleader Guy Lombardo's recording of "Auld Lang Syne" still plays as the first song of the New Year in Times Square. 

And just in case you're ever stopped by Jay Leno and asked what does "Auld Lang Syne" mean? You can tell him that the American translation of "Auld Lang Syne" is "Old Long Since", which is taken to mean "days gone by". 

Apply this "days gone by" to the song, and the song makes more sense. Besides, fact of the matter is that "Auld Lang Syne" started out an an old Scottish drinking song. Yes, it's the greatest tear in my beer song ever written. It's all about remembering "days gone by."

The singer has several opportunities to become undeniably inebriated while waxing nostalgic about the past and taking a swig between choruses. This sentiment and the thought of such gatherings helps to explain the tie-in to New Years Eve.

Some say the idea that one should not remember old acquaintances is sort of bothersome. But that's not what he's saying. Instead, if we read the lyrics, we see that he is asking us the question "should old acquaintances should be forgot and never brought to mind?"

He answers his question by saying, no. He does this by saying, "we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne." So yes, in effect he is remembering old acquaintances and saluting those of "days gone by" by taking a drink to their memory.

Songwriter George M. Cohan quotes the first line of the "Auld Lang Syne" melody in the second to last line of the chorus of You're a Grand Old Flag.

If you think that an old Scottish drinking song can't be behind one of the most beloved songs in America, think again. It is said that the melody of the Star Spangled Banner, which of course is our National Anthem, is also based on an old English drinking song.

As for Christmas and the coming New Year? Well my wife and I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

May God Bless you all!

Tom Correa

Gun Debate Starts Amid Tragedy

Democrats Using Connecticut Tragedy To Ban Guns

Even though the killer did not use an assault weapon to carry out his evil in Newtown Connecticut, the left wants to use this tragedy to go after so-called assault weapons.

Rahm Emanuel, present Chicago Mayor and former White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2010, once said, "You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."

It is apparent that liberal politicians are taking that to heart.

Among those leading the charge was one of Capitol Hill’s strongest gun-control advocates, nine-term New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy.

She reminded the White House on Friday that “the gloves are off” if President Barack Obama did not work to toughen the nation’s gun laws.

“I want to talk to the White House,” McCarthy told Politico. “I know that they can’t give me an answer tonight, but I want to know what they’re going to do. I need to know what they’re going to do.”

McCarthy’s husband was killed and son severely injured in a 1993 mass shooting on the Long Island Rail Road in New York.
Meanwhile, her Democratic House colleague, Jim Himes, whose Connecticut district ends abuts Newtown, said, “I hope and pray that the flood of sympathy and condolences offered to the victims and survivors of this unspeakable crime will ignite the dedication and ingenuity of our nation to end this scourge of violence.”

And the blogosphere lit up with comments from gun-control advocates of all stripes.
“It's time 2 act to control access 2 handguns,” Minnesota Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards said on Twitter. “This not about ducks & deer."

For his part, President Obama, in a tearful speech later Friday afternoon, vowed that "it is time to take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics" - insinuating that he would ban guns in his next term.

Of course anti-American film maker Michael Moore said on his Twitter page, “The way to honor these dead children is to demand strict gun control, free mental health care, and an end to violence as public policy.”

It's not surprising that Democrat Sen. Diane Feinstein of California, who is as ardent an anti-gun advocate as you'll get, said Monday she will introduce a new assault weapons bill in January to stop the sale of more than 100 types of assault weapons.

"On the first day of the new Congress, I intend to introduce a bill stopping the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of assault weapons as well as large ammunition magazines, strips and drums that hold more than 10 rounds," Feinstein said. "I am in the process of gathering support for the bill in the Senate and House."

The previous assault weapons ban lasted from 1994 through 2004. It defined an assault weapon as any gun that was:

- semi automatic, meaning one round is fired per each pull of the trigger
- used a detachable magazine

And featured any two of the following attributes:

- a folding or telescopic stock
- a pistol grip
- a bayonet mount
- a flash suppressor
- a grenade launcher

Many gun rights supporters rightfully say they are no more deadly than some other guns that use a larger and heavier bullet. And since they are semi-automatic, they should not be called or confused with the fully automatic military version. Nor should a gun used by millions be outlawed because of the actions of a single mentally ill young man.

The National Rifle Association and most groups were keeping silent on the day that 28 people were shot dead. But some organizations spoke out, including Gun Owners of America, which has about 300,000 members and headquartered in Springfield, Virginia.

“Gun-control supporters have the blood of little children on their hands,” Larry Pratt, the group’s executive director, said. “Federal and state laws combined to insure that no teacher, no administrator, no adult had a gun at the Newtown school where the children were murdered.

“This tragedy underscores the urgency of getting rid of gun bans in school zones,” he added. “The only thing accomplished by gun-free zones is to ensure that mass murderers can slay more before they are finally confronted by someone with a gun."

Gun Owners of America called for state and federal lawmakers to immediately overturn bans on guns in schools.

And Washington GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the incoming chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, urged caution in rushing to enact tougher gun laws.

"We need to find out what happened and what drove this individual to this place," McMorris Rodgers told C-SPAN in an interview to air on Sunday, the Hill reports. "We have to be careful about suggesting new gun laws.

“We need to look at what drives a crazy person to do these kinds of actions and make sure that we’re enforcing the laws that are currently on the books,” McMorris Rodgers added. “And yes, definitely, we need to do everything possible to make sure that something like this never happens again."

Ari Adler, a spokesman for the Michigan State House Republican Caucus, said on Facebook that the Newtown shooting was unrelated to legislation passed on Thursday that would allow guns in that state’s schools.

“Regarding the school shooting in Connecticut, our first concern is thinking about the families and the tragedy they have suffered at the hands of a criminal bent on spreading evil,” Adler said, according to The Atlantic.

“What happened in Connecticut, however, is not because of nor related in any way to actions taken by the Michigan House yesterday in approving Senate Bill 59.”

Anti-Gun Rights people are using this incident to push for any sort of gun ban. They say these are high-power weapons, capable of firing multiple rounds quickly, and are too dangerous since their high velocity rounds can pierce most body armor and their magazines allow for mass shootings.
Of course they don't know what they are talking about, but they won't let their ignorance stop them from going after guns.

Fact is that statistics show, unlike handguns or shotguns, rifles account for only a fraction of homicides in the United States. Of 12,664 murder victims last year, only 323 were killed with rifles, according to the FBI.

Also, it should be noted that both the Paducah, Kentucky, and Columbine, Colorado, mass school killings occurred during the 10-year ban. In Paducah, the killer used a .22 caliber long rifle, 12 gauge pump-action shotgun and a Ruger MK II .22-caliber pistol.

In Columbine, the shooters used 99 explosive devices, a 12 gauge pump action shotgun. Hi-Point 995 Carbine 9 mm carbine, a 9 mm Intratec TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun, and a 12-gauge Stevens 311D double-barreled sawed-off shotgun.

In 2007, the Virginia Tech shooter used a Glock and Walther handgun to kill 32 and wounded 17. Like what just took place in Newtown, no rifle of any kind was used in Virginia Tech massacre.

More recently, AR-15s were used in the Colorado movie theater shooting, one last week in a Portland, Oregon, mall. But in Newtown, things were different, police said they found that Adam Lanza had left a rifle in his mother's car in the parking lot.

I believe that Lanza knew that he'd never get into the school with a rifle and that's why he didn't take it with him. Security worked in deterring him from taking in a rifle or shotgun, but I beleive he had an easier time getting into the school because he was known as a son of one of their teachers.

Legislation is not going to stop murderers. It never has. As I said in my piece the other day, it didn't stop Lanza just as hasn't stopped what's going on in China with men attacking kindergartners there with knives and kitchen cleavers.

There are those who don't care about the law. Laws mean nothing to them. They have no respect of what is right and wrong behavior. They do things like this because they feel they can.

For me, I believe that part of the problem is that America does not teach morality to children in schools. Because of this, I believe that kids are getting their value systems from Hollywood movie violence along with ultra-violent video games.

Former Arkansas GOP Gov. Mike Huckabee took it one step further when he told Fox News that any debate should focus on the lack of religious instruction in public schools.

“We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools,” the former Republican presidential candidate told Fox. “Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?

“We've made it a place where we don't want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability — that we're not just going to have be accountable to the police if they catch us, but one day we stand before, you know, a holy God in judgment,” Huckabee said. “If we don't believe that, then we don't fear that.”


Public Sentiment - Gun Sales Explode After Connecticut School Massacre

The prospect of a renewed assault weapons ban in the wake of the Connecticut school massacre has set of a round of buying, as thousands of Americans head to their local gun store to secure the popular AR-15 -- the model used by the school gunman -- before potential government prohibitions on their purchase.

They are also buying the .223 ammunition used by the AR-15 and the type of high-capacity magazines covered under the last federal assault weapons ban, which Congress let expire without renewing.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation says it set a new record for single-day background check submittals this past weekend.

In San Diego, Northwest Armory gun store owner Karl Durkheimer said Saturday "was the biggest day we've seen in 20 years. Sunday will probably eclipse that."

In southwest Ohio, from dawn to dusk a Cincinnati gun show had a line of 400 waiting to get in, said Joe Eaton of the Buckeye Firearms Association.

"Sales were through the roof on Saturday," said Eaton. "People were buying everything they could out of fear the president would try to ban certain guns and high-capacity magazines."

The deluge of buyers had officials working overtime. Background checks that normally took 15 minutes in California took more than four hours, Durkheimer said. In Colorado, background checks that normally take minutes turned into wait times of more than 12 hours, said CBI spokeswoman Susan Medina.

"We had to call in extra staff," Medina said. "The wait times were high."

The CBI says it processed more than 4,200 background checks on Saturday, the day after the Newtown, Conn., shooting. That surpassed the previous high of 4,028. Nationwide, FBI data shows 16.4 million background checks were run in 2011. An agency spokesman said Monday it did not keep daily numbers and would not have figures for December until early January.

The Connecticut gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, killed his mother before taking her car and her rifle and two handguns and driving to the Sandy Hook Elementary School. There he killed 20 children and six adults before taking his own life.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Democratic lawmakers have argued there is a need for new gun measures, and President Obama has seemed to move in that direction without voicing support for specific legislation.

Gun owners aren't just afraid of losing their right to buy certain guns. Jeff Serdy, owner of AJI Sporting Goods in Apache Junction, Ariz., said his buyers were buying ammunition.

"I am selling a ton of ammunition," Serdy said. "My people figure it is easier for the president to ban ammunition sales than to get a gun bill through Congress."

Other countries have tried limiting the sale of ammunition as an easier alternative to banning guns. Mexico for example, bans any "military cartridge." In the U.S., the AR-15 and M-16 ammunition use the same bullet, the .223 and NATO 5.56 mm round.

Serdy said he was out of the cheaper $700 to $800 versions of the AR-15 but still had some priced at $1100 and up. The AR-15 is the civilian semi-automatic version of the military's M-16 and M-4.

In surveys, about 50 percent of buyers say they own AR-15s for target practice; 30 percent for hunting and the rest for personal protection.

Despite often being called a fringe gun by critics, the AR-15 is the most popular gun sold in the US today, according to gun dealers. Roughly 220,000 were sold in 2010, after peaking at more than 300,000 immediately following Obama's election.

Gun owners know that Obama and the Democrats in Washington will use this senseless tragedy to ban guns.

As Rahm Emanuel, present Chicago Mayor and former White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2010, once said, "You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."

Gun owners understand the way the left thinks. We understand the nature of our enemy. And don't kid yourself, the left is our enemy - especially when it comes to trying to take away our Constitutional Rights.

By buying guns and ammo now while they still can, and getting behind Gun Rights Advocates, gun owners are trying to preempt the attack on their gun rights before Obama and the Left can act.


Story by Tom Correa

The Christmas Story - The Birth of Christ

The old man sat down next to the fireplace and slowly opened his book. He adjusted his glasses and read to the children who had gathered around him.

The children wanted to know why we celebrate Christmas, so the old man decided that they should know.

He looked over the top of his glasses to check the door. It was as if he were about to divulge a secret. A secret that some have tried to hide.

The first page had the words, The Christmas Story

He turned the first page over and again he looked over to the door, then he tilted the book so that the light of the fireplace helped him read the old book.

He looked at the children and softly whispered, "You really want to know, so I will tell you."
He again glanced over to the door, then raised a finger to his lips to say quiet.

Then he started, "It all took place over 2000 years ago. There was a King by the name of Herod who ruled a land called Judea. Judea is now part of Israel.

God sent the Angel Gabriel to a young women who lived in the northern town of Nazareth. The girl's name was Mary and she was engaged to marry a carpenter named Joseph.

The Angel Gabriel said to Mary: 'Peace be with you! God has blessed you and is pleased with you.'

Mary was very surprised by this and wondered what the angel meant. She was scared and bewildered. After all, its not every day that an Angel visits us and actually talks to us.

The Angel said to her "Don't be afraid, God has been very kind to you. You will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and give birth to a baby boy and you will call him Jesus. He will be God's own Son and his kingdom will never end."

Mary was very afraid, but she trusted God. 'Let it happen as God chooses,' she replied to the Angel.

Gabriel also told Mary that her cousin, Elizabeth, who everyone thought was too old to have children, would have a baby boy whom God had chosen to prepare the way for Jesus.

The door swung open, but it was only another child who wanted to hear the story.

So the old man continued, "So Mary lived in Nazareth and was visited by an angel who told her the God's son would be born through her. Once Mary understood that this is what God wanted for her, she agreed to let it happen.

Mary then said goodbye to her family and friends and went to visit her cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah. Elizabeth was very happy to see Mary.

Elizabeth knew that Mary had been chosen by God to be the mother of his Son. God's son who would be known as Jesus. An Angel had already told Zechariah that Elizabeth's baby would prepare people to welcome Jesus. He was to be called John.

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then returned home to Nazareth.

Joseph was worried when he found out that Mary was expecting a baby before their marriage had taken place. He wondered if he should put off the wedding altogether. But then an Angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Don't be afraid to have Mary as your wife.'

The Angel explained that Mary had been chosen by God to be the mother of his Son and told Joseph that the baby would be named Jesus which means Saviour because he would save the people of the world from their sins.

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had told him to do and took Mary as his wife.

At this time, the land where Mary and Joseph lived was part of the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor Augustus wanted to have a list of all the people in the Empire, to make sure they paid their taxes. Yes, taxes was a big deal even back then and the Emperor wanted every bit that he could get.

He ordered everyone to return to the town where their families originally came from, and enter their names in a register there. It was a census.

Mary and Joseph travelled about 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, because that is where Joseph's family came from. Most people walked but some lucky people had a donkey to help carry the goods needed for the journey. Joseph and Mary travelled very slowly because Mary's baby was due to be born soon.

When they reached Bethlehem they had problems finding somewhere to stay. So many people had returned to Bethlehem to register their names in the census, that every house was full and every bed was taken in all of the Inns.

The only shelter that they could find was a stable, actually a small cave, where animals were kept.

It was in that poor place that Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God.

In those days it was the custom to wrap newborn babies tightly in a long cloth called swaddling clothes. Jesus' bed was the manger that the animals ate their hay from.

In the hills and fields outside Bethlehem, shepherds looked after their sheep through the long night. As the new day began, suddenly an Angel appeared before them and the glory of God shone around them.

The shepherds were very, very scared, but the Angel said, 'Don't be afraid. I have good news for you and everyone. Today in Bethlehem a Saviour has been born for you. You will find the baby lying in a manger.'

Then before they knew it, many more Angels appeared all around them lighting up the sky.

The shepherds heard them praising God singing, 'Glory to God in the highest, and peace to everyone on earth.'

When the Angels had gone the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem to see what has happened.'

So the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph. The baby Jesus, the Christ Child, was lying in a manger as they had been told.

When they saw him, they told everyone what the Angel had said and everyone who heard the story were astonished.

Then the shepherds returned to their sheep, praising God for sending his Son to be their Saviour.

When Jesus was born, another miracle took place. It was another that no one has ever been able to explain. A star was born that night.

Yes, it's true. You see, when Jesus Christ was born, a brand new star appeared in the sky. A star brighter than all others. A star never before seen - even by those Wise Men would studied such things.

It was that star that would guide the Three Wise Men to the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

Yes, Three Wise Men in faraway lands saw the star and understood what it meant. They were very smart men who studied the stars and had read in very old writings. They knew that a new star would appear when a great king was born.

After seeing that star, they set out to follow it in search of the new king and bring him gifts.

The Three Wise Men followed the star towards the country of Judea, and when they got to the capital called Jerusalem they began to ask people, 'Where is the child who is born to be king of the Jews?'

Herod, the king of Judea, remember him, well he heard this and it made him very angry to think that someone might be going to take his place as king.

So what did Herod do? Well, Herod sent for the Three Wise Men to come to him. When the Three Wise Men got there, Herod lied to them and told them to go on following the star until they had found the baby king.

He said, 'When you have found him, let me know where he is, so that I can go and worship him.' But Herod did not tell them that he really wanted to kill Jesus who was considered the Messiah, the king of kings.

The Three Wise Men followed the star towards Bethlehem - exactly where it was said that the king would be born in the old writings. The star stopped and shine directly down upon the place where Jesus was.

The Three Wise Men entered the stable where they found Jesus with Mary. They bowed down and worshipped he who was Jesus - the Christ Child.

The Three Wise Men presented their gifts they had brought to Jesus. The gifts were gold, frankincense and myrrh.

You might be wondering why the Three Wise Men brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to baby Jesus.

Well, the gift of gold to the Christ Child came from King Melchior of Arabia. His gift is said to have paid for the Holy Family's flight into Egypt later on when escaping Herod.

Gold is as valuable today as it was in Jesus Christ's time. It symbolizes immortality, divinity, purity, and the kingship of Jesus Christ.

About the frankincense?

Well, King Balthazar was one of the Three Wise Men and came from the East to find the Christ Child. He presented frankincense to the baby Jesus as a gift. By honoring Jesus in this way, Balthazar fulfilled the prophecy that gold and frankincense would be brought from the Gentiles to honor the heavenly king.

Frankincense is a sweet gum resin that is the purest of incense. When burned, it produces white smoke and a sweet smell, symbolizing the prayers and praises of the faithful as well as Christ's sacrifice and the divine name of God.

And about myrrh? Well, King Caspar was from Tarsus and one of the Three Wise Men. He gave myrrh to the baby Jesus.

Myrrh is known for its medicinal value, for its medical uses, and it was used in ancient times for anointing kings. In Hebrew, the word Christ means 'the Messiah.' In the Hebrew Bible, a Messiah is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with Holy anointing oil. The Holy anointing oil was the myrrh that Caspar had brought to Jesus.

Myrrh is named for its bitter taste and symbolizes the Suffering Savior, the Great Physician, and Christ's human nature.

Since God warned the Three Wise Men not to go back to Herod, they returned home to their countries in the East by a different route.

When the Three Wise Men had gone, an Angel appeared to Joseph in a dream.

'Get up,' the Angel said, 'take Jesus and Mary and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for Jesus to kill him.'

So Joseph got up, took Jesus and Mary during the night and they left for Egypt where they stayed until King Herod died later on.

But on that day, on the day that Jesus was born, Herod realized that he had been tricked by the Wise Men - Herod was furious and he gave orders for his soldiers to kill all the little boys two years old and younger who were in Bethlehem and the surrounding area.

He did that to try and kill baby Jesus, all because his plan to find the location of the Christ Child from the Three Wise Men had failed.

After Herod had died, Joseph had another dream in which an Angel appeared to him. The Angel said, 'Get up, take Jesus and Mary and go back to Israel, for those who were trying kill Jesus are dead.'

So Joseph got up, and again did as the angel told him and took Jesus and Mary back to Israel.

But when Joseph heard that Herod's son was now king of Judea, he was afraid to go there because he didn't know if Herod's son would try to kill Jesus like his father wanted to do.

So instead the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus went to Galilee, and there they lived in their old town of Nazareth.

For Christians, Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. He is the one who died for the sins of the world, and who rose from the dead in triumph over sin and death.

Today, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day. It is the day that we remember that the Messiah was born into our world to save us from our sins.

It is also a time for family and friends to get together and celebrate a time of joy and love. And that for just one day there should be peace around the world. It is suppose to be a wonderful time, a time to remember forever.

Although lots of people think about Christmas trees and Santa Claus, the real reason why we celebrate Christmas, this date, is because Jesus Christ was born into this world."

One child looked at the old man and softly said, "Grandpa, can you read it to us again?"

"Tomorrow," he said. "Now go off to bed before your mother gives me a scolding for keeping you kids up late."

Story by Tom Correa

RANDOM SHOTS - Attacks On School Children In U.S. & China, Slain Border Patrol Agent's Family Sues Feds, and More!

Evil at Sandy Hook Elementary School

FBI statistics show that violent crime is at a 30 year low.

On days like today, when some killer goes into some sort of evil feeding frenzy, that statistic is not an encouragement at all. That statistic has no relevance at all when the criminally insane take out their evil intentions on the world.

Today, in the small town of Newtown, Connecticut, 20 children and 6 adults were killed today when an insane individual clad in black military gear opened fire inside his mother's kindergarten class at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The murderer has been identified as 20 year old Adam Lanza.

This morning, after Adam Lanza woke up, for some reason he decided to shoot his mother, Nancy Lanza, in the face at their home in Newtown.

Once that was done, he went to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School where his mother taught kindergarten. And yes, once there, he slaughtered her entire class.

Terrified, horrified, traumatized, the children who survived will never be the same.

Adam Lanza showed up wearing black military garb and toting three guns, according to reports. In the main office, and with the intercom transmitting the horror through the school’s halls, Lanza shot the principal.

Then as if on a mission, he made his way to his mother's class, sources said, where he killed her pupils.

The news reports said that "by the time it was over, Lanza, six adults and 20 young children were dead in the second-worst school shooting in the nation’s history."

The news said that "only the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, which left 32 dead, was worse."

Was worse? Was worse because of the number killed? I'm sorry, but I don't understand how anything could be worse than what took place today. It just doesn't get worse than someone on a mission to kill kindergartners. It just doesn't get worse than that!

In the next few days, anti-gun groups will want to outlaw guns and all of that sort of thing. I'm sure there will be some sort of outcry for new laws and regulations of some sort.

Lawmakers who see their job as pacifying the public will inevitably want to pass some sort of law to do something or other.

But friends, this has nothing to do with guns or the need for more laws. It has nothing to do with the killers ability to get a gun or break the law. It has everything to do with Adam Lanza.

No matter if there were a thousand laws, Adam Lanza would have broken those laws just as he broke the law today. No matter if he had a gun or not, I believe evil intending to do harm will find a way.

I am certain that the evil personified in Adam Lanza would have found some way to accomplish his mission of wanting to kill those who his mother cared about.

Was he striking at the thing that his mother loved - her class? Did he hate his mother so much as to want to harm the thing she showed concern for? Who knows. And honestly, who cares.

Sure it might go to his psychotic motive, but they're just excuses for an abhorrent deed that anyone should know is wrong at its core. Whatever excuse he may have had, it simply does not matter.

If he hadn't bought a gun, I believe he would have been found a knife, or a car, or a match. He was intent on conducting evil, and nothing was going to stop him.

Twenty-year old Adam Lanza was the problem. His desire, his craving, his wish to hurt and kill was the problem here. There is good and there is evil, and Adam Lanza was evil personified.

We should all know the difference between right and wrong. We should all be taught what is good and proper behavior and what is wrong and unacceptable in society. Adam Lanza had to know that contrary to what he saw on television and in the movies and in video games, murder of the innocent is not right.

Was Adam Lanza simply criminally insane, or was his problem a total lack of morality? Was his flaw a complete lack of a moral compass? Wasn't he brought up with someone to teach him the difference between good and bad, wrong and right, righteousness and evil?

I don't blames machinery like cars or guns for what happened at that school today. Just as I don't blame his mother's car for getting him there, I surly don't blame a gun for his desire to do such an evil act.

The vehicle that he used to drive to the school was registered to his mother. And thought three guns were found, we now know that he took a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols, inside the school.

It appears that he took a rifle to the school, but he left it in his car. And yes, I'm thinking that he left the rifle in his mother's car because he knew that the school would have never allowed him entry through their security doors if he had it in his hands.

We know he left it in the car because authorities are saying they found a .223-caliber rifle in the back of his mother's car which he took to the school.

This tells me two very important things. First, it tells me that Adam Lanza was clear headed enough to know that he wouldn't get a rifle into the school but instead had to sneak two guns in. And second, this tells me that the security measures at the school had no way of knowing that he was carrying pistols when they let him into the school.

This is besides the fact that as the son of one of the teachers there, who would have thought that he would do this.

I blame Hollywood for inciting violence. I blame those who glorify violence in the movies. I blame those who are successfully desensitizing a whole generation of kids out there.

I blame those who think that people don't need to be taught the difference between right and wrong. I blame those who push the idea that any behavior - no matter how offensive it is to others - is simply OK.  Yes, I blame society for acting as though morality is not something that we need in the world.

Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are "good" and right versus those that are "bad" and wrong.  It is knowing what helps versus what harms.

Morality is synonymous with "goodness" or "rightness." Morality goes to the heart of what each of us have for a Moral Code.  A great example of a moral code is the Golden Rule which states that, "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself."

Immorality is the active opposition to morality. It is the opposition to that which is good or right.  Amorality can be defined as an unawareness of, or the indifference toward, or disbelief in any set of moral standards or principles.

Sick or not, Adam Lanza's immorality goes to his motives for doing what he has done.

While there is no rationale for such an act, and there is no explanation that can pass for even being remotely plausible, those who will explore what movies and television shows he watched, what books he read, how he lived, and what he may have tweeted friends, may find his motives go to the heart of his complete disregard for what is morally wrong.

With some sort of understanding of his motive, we may understand why he had no moral code. We may understand why he would do such an evil act, then again we may never know what makes some people as evil as the devil himself.

The best thing to happen today in Newtown was that Adam Lanza killed himself. I just wish he had done it before going to Sandy Hook Elementary School.

My heart goes out to those children, those teachers, and of course the parents. May God Bless them all.

22 Children & 1 Adult injured in another Knife Attack at Chinese Elementary School

Yesterday was a horrific day for school children in Newtown, Connecticut, but also for a school in China.

To prove that crazy people will get the job done one way or another, and they really don't need to use guns to conduct their evil, take a look at what happened at an elementary school in China on the same day that Adam Lanza did his evil deeds in Newtown, Connecticut.

Beijing, China, is reporting that a knife-wielding man injured 22 children and one adult outside a primary school in central China as students were arriving for morning classes Friday.

This is the latest in a series of periodic rampage attacks at schools and kindergartens.

The attack in the Henan province village of Chengping happened shortly before 8 a.m., said a police officer from Guangshan county, where the village is located.

The attacker, 36-year-old villager Min Yingjun, is now in police custody.

No motive was given for the stabbings which are eerily similar to a string of assaults against schoolchildren in 2010 that killed nearly 20 and wounded more than 50.

The most recent such attack took place in August, when a knife-wielding man broke into a middle school in the southern city of Nanchang and stabbed two students before fleeing.

In one of the worst incidents, a man described as an unemployed, middle-aged Doctor killed eight children with a knife in March 2010.

In May of 2010, China was reporting that they were installing gates and cameras at schools as well as having security guards trained to fend off knife-wielding attackers of kindergartners.

This came about after a man with a kitchen cleaver barged into a kindergarten in central China, hacked to death seven children, their teacher and her mother and returned home while rescuers rushed to the scene before he took his own life.

Woman who Set Fire to Home and Killed Two Children gets 25 years

More proof that people don't need a gun to do evil got 25 years yesterday.

In Fort Campbell Kentucky, 39-year-old Billi Jo Smallwood was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for setting fire to her home and killing two of her children at Fort Campbell.

Prosecutors described her act as a scheme to escape a rocky marriage and collect on her soldier husband's life insurance policy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Lesousky Jr. described Smallwood's actions as "premeditated and devious" that justified a life sentence.

"She turned her back on those children, and when she did so, she lost two of them," he said.

Smallwood was convicted by a federal jury in Paducah of maliciously setting fire to the two-story housing unit in 2007 while her children slept inside.

Prosecutors argued her intent was to kill her husband and cash in his $400,000 insurance policy.

She was convicted of one count of malicious damage and destruction by fire to property owned by the United States, resulting in the two deaths on the Army post straddling the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

The May 2007 fire at the base killed 9-year-old Sam Fagan, and 2-year-old Rebekah Smallwood.

Smallwood's husband, Army Spc. Wayne Smallwood, crawled out of a second level window and suffered a leg injury when he jumped. Their toddler daughter, Nevaeh, was not injured. Wayne Smallwood is no longer in the Army.

Smallwood herself suffered serious burns but investigators testified the injuries were consistent with someone setting a fire.

Judge Russell mentioned the "powerful and sincere" remarks by Smallwood's defenders while handing down the sentence. Russell also ordered Smallwood to pay $209,000 in restitution for damage caused by the blaze.

Evidence presented at trial indicated she purchased a gasoline container about 12 hours before the fire was set. Remnants of the container were found by investigators in the first-floor dining room, where gasoline had been poured and ignited.

Matthew Cummings, special agent with U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division, testified during her detention hearing that the doors in the home had been locked from the inside and smoke detectors had been removed.

Cummings said Smallwood told him the family had just returned from a trip to Georgia when the fire was set and they had just $17. Cummings said she was "aggravated" that her husband had gone out earlier in the evening to a VFW club bar.

Prosecutors also pointed to evidence showing Smallwood fabricated her claim that an intruder was responsible and that she received a threatening phone call meant for her husband on the eve of the fire. Records show no such call was received. Her intent, they said, was to divert attention from herself as a suspect.

"The telephone call never happened," Lesousky said Thursday. "It was part of her cover up."

Not surprising, Smallwood said she wasn't the person portrayed by prosecutors. She talked of her supposed devotion to her husband and of being thrilled when she found out she was pregnant with her oldest child.

Another thing that doesn't surprise me much is that her mother and her aunt offered tearful statements asking for leniency.

And yes, believe it or not, even though the evidence says different, Brenda Napper, a sergeant at the Marion County Detention Center, where Smallwood has been held, said she believes Smallwood's claim of innocence.

Brenda Napper said it's the first time she's ever felt an inmate was innocent. Imagine that!

But it doesn't stop with Napper, Mitchell Embry who is a volunteer chaplain says he has gotten to know Smallwood during her incarceration. Believe it or not, he called her "the most faithful, deep-thinking, spiritual person I've been around."

As unbelievable as it is, these two individuals helped Smallwood get only 25 years instead of a Life sentence.

So can I believe how a guard and a chaplain can get sucked in by an inmate? Sure I can. After all, there are always those who are gullible enough to swallow what criminals hand out.

Back 35 years ago when I worked in Corrections in the Marine Corps, it was my experience that all of those behind bars were innocent. Not one prisoner, confinee, ever did what he was supposed to have done. Yes, they always proclaimed innocence.

In fact, I can truthfully say that I never met a prisoner who owned up to what they really did. And yes, convicts are great liars.

Family of Murdered Border Patrol Agent Sues Federal Officials over 'Fast and Furious'

A report out of Phoenix, Arizona, says that the family of a murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry has sued federal officials over the botched "Fast and Furious" gun smuggling operation.

Agent Brian Terry was mortally wounded on Dec. 14, 2010, in a firefight north of the Arizona-Mexico border between U.S. agents and five men who had sneaked into the country to rob marijuana smugglers.

During the firefight, believe it or not, while the Drug Smugglers were shooting at Terry with live rounds from weapons that they got from our Justice Department during the screwed up "Fast and Furious" operation, Terry was firing back non-lethal "bean bag" rounds.

Imagine that. The bad guys are using bullets but the Department of Homeland Security restricted our guys from using regular bullets and instead forced them to use non-lethal bean bag rounds.

Federal authorities conducting "Fast and Furious" have faced tough criticism for allowing suspected gun buyers for a smuggling ring to walk away from gun shops in Arizona with weapons, rather than arrest them and seize the weapons.

The lawsuit filed Thursday and made publicly available on Friday came from Terry's parents against six managers and investigators for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The family also sued a federal prosecutor who had previously handled the case but is no longer on it, and the owner of the gun store where two rifles found in the firefight's aftermath were bought.

The family alleges that the ATF officials and federal prosecutor created a risk to law enforcement officers such as Terry and that the firearms agents should have known their actions would lead to injuries and deaths to civilians and police officers in America and Mexico.

The family also alleged that firearms agents and the prosecutor sought to cover up the link between Terry's death and the botched gun smuggling investigation.

The "Fast and Furious" operation was launched in 2009 to catch trafficking kingpins, but agents lost track of about 1,400 of the more than 2,000 weapons involved.

Authorities say the ring was believed to have supplied the Sinaloa cartel with guns. Mexico's drug cartels often seek out guns in the U.S. because gun laws in Mexico are more restrictive than in the U.S.

Some guns purchased by the ring were later found at crime scenes in Mexico and the United States. And yes, we're not talking about a few guns. The operation lost track of over 2,700 assault rifles.

Although many of the guns have turned up at homicides along the Mexican border, no one knows exactly how many of these guns have been used to slaughter Mexicans and Americans on the border. 

The probe's failures were revealed - and later examined in congressional inquiries.

So far, 15 of the 20 people charged in the gun smuggling case have pleaded guilty to charges.

Authorities have a separate case pending in federal court in Tucson against five men charged with murder in Terry's death.

So far, one man has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Of the five men accused in Terry's killing, two are in custody, and three others remain fugitives.

The Obama administration is hiding documents needed in the investigation. Using the President's power of Executive Privilege, Obama is concealing those documents from the Congressional Investigation.

It is all speculation as to why Obama would do such a thing, but some believe that the documents tie the White House into the Fast and Furious Operation - something that President Obama said he had no knowledge of.

It reminds me of when Richard Nixon said he knew nothing about Watergate.

EPA Imposes Controversial New Rules

The Environmental Protection Agency issued its first major regulation since the November 6th election, imposing new air quality rules on soot pollution in what critics called evidence of a post-election "regulatory cliff."

The EPA rule reduces by 20 percent the maximum amount of soot released into the air from smokestacks, diesel trucks and other sources of pollution.

The new soot standard has been highly anticipated by environmental and business groups, who have battled over whether it will protect public health or cause job losses.

The American Petroleum Institute warned Friday that the new rule "is unnecessary and could drive up costs for new and expanding businesses trying to hire employees."

"There is no compelling scientific evidence for the policy decision to develop more stringent standards. The existing standards are working and will continue improving air quality," API Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Howard Feldman said in a statement.

"We fear this new rule may be just the beginning of a 'regulatory cliff'."

Feldman was referring to a host of forthcoming environmental regulations.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who for months has been warning about those regulations, called Friday's announcement "the first in an onslaught of post-election rule makings that will place considerable burdens on our struggling economy."

"And so it begins," Inhofe said.

Announcement of the new standard met a court deadline in a lawsuit by 11 states and public health groups. The new annual standard is 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air, down from the current 15 micrograms per cubic meter.

Soot, or fine particulate matter, is made up of microscopic particles released from smokestacks, diesel trucks, wood-burning stoves and other sources and contributes to haze.

Environmental groups and public health advocates welcomed the new standard, saying it will protect millions of Americans at risk for soot-related asthma attacks, lung cancer, heart disease and premature death.

But congressional Republicans and industry officials called the new standard overly strict and said it could hurt economic growth and cause job losses in areas where pollution levels are determined to be too high.

Ross Eisenberg, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, said the new rule is "yet another costly, overly burdensome" regulation that is "out of sync" with President Barack Obama's executive order last year to streamline federal regulations.

The new rule will "place many promising new projects --and the jobs they create -- into permit limbo," Eisenberg said.

The EPA is simply out of control. And yes, I really believe that the Obama administration doesn't give a damn about helping businesses create jobs. They are more concerned about burdensome regulations that cost companies money that could be spent on hiring.

Harry Belafonte thinks Obama should "Jail Republicans"

Harry Belafonte’s advice to President Obama: Act Like a Third-World Dictator and Jail Republicans

During an interview with MSNBC’s Al Sharpton, singer Harry Belafonte offered some controversial advice to President Obama.

In fact, he said the president should act like a "third-world dictator" and put his opposition in jail!

Belafonte said, “What fascinates me, is that the face of millions of Americans expressing their desire, the whole political establishment defining its game, that there should be this lingering infestation of really corrupt people who sit trying to dismantle the wishes of the people, the mandate that has been given to Barack Obama. And I don’t know what more they want. The only thing left for Barack Obama to do is to work like a third-world dictator and just put all of these guys in jail. You’re violating the American desire.”

Belafonte once called U.S. President George W. Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world."

The American singer-songwriter, who was once considered the “King of Calypso,” this week ignited outrage after speaking with MSNBC’s Al Sharpton and saying President Obama should rule like a third-world dictator and toss his Republican opponents behind bars.

Belafonte went on to claim that Republicans are "violating the American desire" by working to keep government limited, taxes low and the country solvent. Sharpton was clearly amused by the suggestion – and could be heard laughing in the background.

But some critics are far from amused.

“Harry Belafonte has a long career as singer, actor, civil rights crusader, and now, professional lefty nutball. He no longer is content to just abuse conservatives, now he wants to envision Obama as a third-world dictator and have his opponents jailed,” Dan Gainor, VP of Business & Culture at the Media Research Institute, told FOX News.

Belafonte’s latest remarks have also drawn condemnation across the Twitterverse, including from former Republican Presidential hopeful Herman Cain who tweeted: “What’s up with these crazy liberals?”

“Every time Harry Belafonte is given a chance to speak, we are granted the opportunity to laugh at his incompetence,” tweeted one, while another called him a “total wackjob.”

Another observed: “Don't know what's more disturbing, Harry Belafonte's statement or that @MSNBC thinks he's worth talking to.”

This is hardly the first time Belafonte ignited a media star with his anti-Republican remarks. In 2002, he began making heated comments against then-President George W. Bush and his administration.

“There is an old saying, in the days of slavery. There were those slaves who lived on the plantation, and there were those slaves who lived in the house. You got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master, do exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him,” he said in an interview with a San Diego radio station, referring to a quote made by civil rights radical Malcolm X.

“That gave you privilege. Colin Powell is committed to come into the house of the master, as long as he would serve the master, according to the master's purpose. And when Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture. And you don't hear much from those who live in the pasture.”

Powell later called the remarks "unfortunate" while Secretary of State Rice responded: "I don't need Harry Belafonte to tell me what it means to be black."

Some wonder why the mainstream media continues to provide a platform for Belafonte.

“In recent years, Belafonte has said that President George W. Bush as ‘the greatest terrorist in the world’ was ‘no better’ than Osama bin Laden,” Gainor added.

“He has claimed the Tea Parties were ‘at the vanguard’ of ‘the greatest threat of all is the undermining of our Constitution.’ The equally bizarre hosts of MSNBC keep giving Belafonte a platform because they want to give such bizarre comments credibility. It's an embarrassment to a once-great man to have fallen so far.”

Though I agree, I can't help but wonder if it may be drug induced delusions or maybe old age and senility. Either way, the old singer is off his rocker.

JOKE

It's said that the Obama Economy is helping out the Sporting Goods business because more people are buying tents to live in.


Story by Tom Correa