President Orders Withdrawal of 10,000 Troops

"Hey honey, do you suppose we could select Those avatars?"

"Well Dear, at this point I'd settle for any body under 65"

Well as the expression goes, that speech of President Obama tonight didn’t amount to a warm bucket of spit. It was a big bunch of nothing. Apparently ten thousand troops will be withdrawn by the end of this year. I must assume troops are actually coming home next month, not to be replaced. Another 20,00 troops will be withdrawn next year. This would about cover all those added in that “surge” of 2009. But the President didn’t want to linger on that topic but rather preferred to talk about the preparedness of the United States to fight battles around the world and to not retreat into isolationism. He did by implication agree that our Libya policy now is a nice compromise. There seemed not to be the slightest inkling of when the bulk of US troops are going to be withdrawn from Agthanistan. Somehow some way, some politician has to plan beyond the next six months. The odds are better than even that the Republican nominee next summer will stake a position to the left of the President with regard to the War. The last time there was this party switcheroo was in 1960 when Senator John Kennedy staked out a position on military preparedness to the right of then President Dwight Eisenhower. If the scenario goes down this way, the Republican candidate, even if he’s an obnoxious ass, stands a real change of winning the 2012 election next year. I suggest that the President talk about more the expense of war, in human lives, and the lives of families, and of tax dollars. This is what the American people are concerned about. I think this whole Al Qaeda thing is fading, and will soon be only a relic of the “ought” decade.

Let’s slip in a little clarification addendum regarding that recording studio on Sirius A. The roof was black. The lighting appeared to be incandescent. The carpet was some dark print pattern and appeared to be made out of wool. As to the changing the radio channel incident it went like this. John Lennon was complaining away on some tyrade didn’t want to hear the current station playing on the radio. (My guess is that it was 97.1) Sirius of course can tune in any earth radio stations they want. They chose LA stations. But they run in New York time and it was a little after eight when I got there. So Stewart points to the radio and says “There it is” or something. John continues to bitch and complain, but is showing no inclination twords getting up out of his comfortable chair. He’s looking at me so I go “what the hell” and go over and change the radio station to KRTH. It was a dial tuner radio, and fortunately the dial was accurate.

This morning I resolved that I was going to investigate the origins of Christianity further, because having five revered figures to draw upon, I’m still not certain how, if it happened that way, the Jewish Christians were able to override the Gnostic of Pythagoreans or others. Also I wanted more “historicity” of early first century Christians. This afternoon I think I got it, or at least a big piece of the answer, with God’s grace. I was thinking perhaps the Essines took the gospel to Rome or Asia Minor. However it was one early historian who fingered the Nazareans or “northern Essenes” who were in Palistine and may fulfill that Isaiah passage about “a light is seen in the North”. Obama is speaking now. Here is a group that had their own “teachers of rightiousness”. They say Jesus or Yeshau was born into this sect of Nazareans, who were centered in Mt. Carmel, which is usually known for another event in the Bible. (shades of Elijah) Of course Jesus of Nazareth is also translatable as “Jesus the Nazarene”. Capish? I would now like to excerpt the following passage I dug up. - - - Translations of the Bible, from the fifth century Vulgate on, have generally rendered this into a form equivalent to "Jesus of Nazareth." However, it is not the only possible translation. Linguistically, "Jesus the Nazarene" would be at least as correct, and some critics have argued that it is more plausible given that city of Nazareth seems to have not existed at the time of Jesus; it is unmentioned in any contemporary history and it is not possible to prove its early existence other than by reference to the gospels. Other area of this site allude to Essenes and the Pythagoreans. These people did not go along with Temple animal sacrifices, in fact seemed to abhor the slaughter of animals. Some say that John the Baptist was from this school, originally.. Of course in a skit of mine - - I have John the Baptist claiming to be a follower of “the Egyptian”. Here's a little more history that's interesting

The emperor Claudius reigned 41 to 54 AD. Suetonius reports his dealings with the eastern Roman Empire, that is, with Greece and Macedonia, and with the Lycians, Rhodians, and Trojans. He then reports that the emperor expelled the Jews from Rome, since they "constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Christ" (Judaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit).^[4] The name appears in manuscripts of Suetonius as Chrestus, a form also used by the Roman historian Tacitus to refer to Chrestiani. Chrestus (Χρηστός, "Useful" or "Good") is a not uncommon Greek personal name,^[5] and may not refer to the man known as Jesus Christ.

Chuck Smith was born in June of 1927 making him just turning 84, which means he’s just older than Dad was when he died. Lonnie Frizee was only 18 in early 1968 when he teamed up with Chuck, who apparently regarded him as important. There was nothing about Chuck’s accomplishments in the past thirty years. The latest reference is to his eschatology when he said in August of 1977 for the first time that he expected the tribulation to arrive within weeks. In 1978 Wickipedia quotes him as saying he felt strongly that “end end” would come by 1981, and he repeated this assertion in 1980. There was some controversy raised by one site saying Chuck condoned the father in a child beating case in Viusailia. The other incident was Chuck advising a desperate woman to have an abortion on his radio program earlier this year. She was due to give birth to Siamese twins. I’m no fan of abortion but for me, I draw the line if the mother risks giving birth to something not altogether human. Chuck said Jesus would say to her in such a case, “Neither do I condemn you”, and I definitely agree. Stewart admonished me later to remember his words from earlier in the morning about the Centaurians being the ones involved in “Selling your souls to the Devil - - for a reward now”. Certain events in lives I know are a little “inexplicable” Stewart said that the Crestorians don’t do this (“buy” souls) despite their identification with Satanism. The Crestorians are also identified with the Masons, the Skull and Bones fraternity, as well as the Knight’s Templer - they are zionists after a fashion -" but they're good zionists; they aren't Idumeans. " (I knew what Stu meant by this reference) The Knights Templar were too successful in raising money for themselves, which was a group the Catholic Church turned against in the 1300’s.

[earlier today] Randy Rhodes is on right now. I got coffee from Dora and had two cups. The dark gray birds have been out and about with the white ones now. You’d think they’d get tired of their little hideaway anyhow. I watched the soap opera. You know I don’t think Julie handled the thing right with Maggie. Maggie came to her for a little support of her decision to break up with Victor and to buttress her resolve, and instead she came away more confused and depressed than when before she began. Julie was into this psycho-babble and head shrinker stuff. Hope is jerking Taylor around. Brady won’t tell his own grandfather it was Elvis whom he beat within an inch of his life. Nicole says she wants a divorce from E J. That’s the sanest thought she’s had in months. I had Randy on after lunch but had to use the facilities before soap time, and I had to smoke my cigarette during one of the commercials. At two I took inventory of the laundry items.

Well, the day has come. Remember this June 22, 2011 because Dana announced at noon that tonight would be the last time he was swelling coffee to us all. He needs the rest of the supplies for his own use in the next few weeks and isn’t going to buy more. He doesn’t believe that given this “war” he’s in, that they would aid and abet him in his money making pursuits. Not everybody is as big of an asshole as Mark Bove. I would at least assume the best till I found out otherwise. I guess I’m going to again have to get used the taste of instant coffee. The weather today is identical to yesterday.

In the morning I got up a little after four and Wally and Dana and the whole gang was out there. I lingered a while in conversation half thinking I’d just stay up. But I eventually went back to bed and even got more sleep. In the morning I got coffee from Dana. I had Stephanie Miller on for most of the three hours. We had Raison Bran for breakfast with a fried egg and toast and butter and jelly. Randy wants to have breast reduction. Why throw away an asset? Thom Hartman was unusually boring today. I went out for morning coffee from Dora and had two cups. I hung out on the patio for a while- - - [and we're ending it right here]