The mystery of the Christmas Star, Divine Theory

It's long been a puzzle for Christian astronomers, and now a professor from the University of Notre Dame thinks he has it figured out. His quest: discovering just what "the star in the East" was that led wise men to travel to Bethlehem 2000 years ago. Not a lot was written about the star in the Bible. In the Gospel of Mathew it says: "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." German astronomer Johannes Kepler proposed in 1604 that the star was a conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B.C. The advantage professor Grant Mathews has over Kepler and other who have pondered the question is that he had access to NASA's databases. Professor Mathews believe that April 17, 6 B.C., when the sun, Jupiter, the moon and Saturn aligned in the constellation Aries while Venus and Mars were in neighboring constellations. It make sense because he believes the wise men were Zoroastrian astrologers who would recognized the planetary alignment in Aries as a sign a powerful leader was born. "In fact it would have even meant that the leader was destined to die at an appointed time, which of course would have been significant for the Christ child and may have been why they brought myrrh, which was an embalming fluid. Saturn there, would have made whoever was born as a leader a most powerful leader because Saturn had the strength to do it, in their view." By Tom Coyne, Associated Press writer. At Christmas time a lot of people tell me that they don't feel the spirit of Christmas. We put up the tree, put on lights and ornaments, then search for presents to put under the tree. We sing about Santa , Rudolph and about a white Christmas. We watch Christmas shows and go to Christmas parties but there is still something missing. The reason for the Season. The birth of Christ, the giving of one self so that others will be better off. Let's make 2008 a better year for someone in your life by giving them something that will last a life time. The Spirit of Christ.

Corn demand takes toll on Gulf

Because of rising demand for ethanol, American farmers are growing more corn than at any time since World War II. And sea life in the Gulf of Mexico is paying the price. The nation's corn crop is fertilized with millions of pounds of nitrogen-based fertilizers. When that nitrogen runs off fields in agricultural states, it makes its way to the Mississippi River and eventually pours into the Gulf, where it contributes to a growing "dead zone" - a 7,900- square -mile patch, the size of the State of New Jersey, so depleted of oxygen that fish, crabs and shrimp suffocate. With the demand for corn booming, some researchers fear the dead zone will expand rapidly with devastating consequences. "We might be close to a tipping point," said Matt Rota, "The ecosystem might change or collapse as opposed to being just impacted." By Henry C. Jackson, Associated Press writer. Here we go, the senate just passed a new energy law to save the earth by boosting the production of ethanol but the by product is going to kill the Gulf. The fertilizers that help the corn grow is the chief factor causing the dead zone. And now we are going to plant more corn and cause more death in the Gulf of Mexico. The most notorious dead zone on earth. You can research this by googling Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. I believe where ever their is a positive their is a negative. A coin has a heads so it must have a tails. We look at the positives of corn, ethanol, and only the negatives of oil. We need to think with our heads and not our hearts. The State of Florida don't want us to drill off their coast, they want to save the beauty of their coast. Maybe this new fuel will just kill their coast. Remember the dead zone off the coast of the State of Louisiana is the size of the State of New Jersey. Let's just drill for oil and the trees will take of the environment.

Senate Republicans block tax hike for many in middle class

The Senate voted to block a looming tax increase averaging $2000 for millions of taxpayers after Senate Republicans succeeded in thwarting a Democratic plan to also raise taxes on investors. The Senate vote puts it at odds with the House, where Democratic leaders, under a principle of not adding to the national debt, demanded that the AMT fix be paid for, with a tax. Last month , the House passed legislation matching the AMT fix and other tax cuts with about $80 billion in new tax revenue. Reported by Jim Abrams, Associated Press writer.

First the tax was blocked so the money never came into the Treasury, it was never collected. So the Democratic Senate want to raise taxes on investors so they can pay for this tax cut. If you work for a company and have company stock, your an investor. They want you to pay for this tax cut. Now the House Democrats want to fix this problem with about $80 billion in new tax revenue. So they want all of us to pay for this tax cut. " They find it offensive to have to pay for these tax cuts," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said of Republicans. "Shouldn't it be paid for? The answer is obviously 'yes' " This is the Democrats PayGo. How about a Republican SpendNo? If a person doesn't get a raise and makes the same amount of money as last year, he doesn't spend more. Wait!!! Maybe he can go to his boss and say he got a pay cut since he'll make the same amount as last year. No he will make less with the new taxes the Democrats want to pass. Someone has to pay for their spending. So they will PayGo you right in your back packet. Let's tell the Democrats where they can stick their PayGo. Watch your spending and leave our money alone.

Democrats say, Bush likely to pay.

President Bush is scoring victory after victory over his Democratic adversaries. He has beaten back domestic spending increases, thwarted an expansion of children's health insurance coverage, defeated tax increases, won funding for the war in Iraq and pushed Democrats toward shattering their pledge not to add the federal deficit with new tax cuts or rises in mandatory spending. You see President Bush is keeping the Democrats out of your back pocket or pocket book. Bush's steadfast stand against Democratic spending, coupled with his equally resolute opposition to tax increases, could raise the federal debt this fiscal year by nearly $240 billion. Now that is a lie to scare you and let them take your money. According to the USA TODAY, October 11, 2007 , Annual federal deficit drops to $162.8 billion. The annual federal deficit has fallen to its lowest point in five years, the Bush administration reported today. President Bush noted today that this year's deficit of $162.8 billion was $81 billion lower than February estimates. It's more than 34% lower than the $248.2 billion deficit for the 2006 fiscal year. Tell the Democrats to lower the federal deficit by lowering spending. To keep their hands out of your back pocket or pocket book.