Do you remember?

 

So, while waiting for Toby Keith to create a flag-wrapped theme song for today's events, I thought I would give it a whirl. Sing the lyrics below to any melodramatic, over the top emotional country ballad you happen to know. Really hammer the choruses. Make sure to use proper southern inflection. Have fun!


Do you remember?

It was bright and clear, the Summer sky shinin blue,
And the eagles soared above DC, above me, above you

Then the world changed, our souls ripped to the core
The ground shook our city for ten seconds, maybe more

(chorus)
Do you remember where you were,
When the first rumbles could be heard,
And a minor trembler shook the ground,
As the people casually fled that subtle sound
Do you remember there wasn't much to see
On that day the newsman will always call, 8/23?

They said it wasn't far from here, down old Virginia way
But the tv only showed us DC, and around the beltway

They said it was light as earthquakes go, but some will always know
That it was nothing like we were prepared for, especially traffic flow

(chorus)
Do you remember on tv could be hear'd,
Reports by Wolf Blitzer and his beard
Do you remember seein his fear
As the soaring eagle shed a tear
From sea to shining sea
We all lived through 8/23

(spoken)
Seriously, we all lived
There were no casualties
Property damage was light
Maybe some books off a shelf

(chorus)
Do you remember where you were,
When the first rumbles could be heard,
And a minor trembler shook the ground,
As the people casually fled that subtle sound
Do you remember there wasn't much to see
On that day the newsman will always call, 8/23?

Do you remember on tv could be heard,
Reports by wolf blitzer and his beard
Do you remember hearing his fear
As the soaring eagle shed a tear
From sea to shining sea
We all lived through 8/23

A Decade of Fear

An article by Mark Penn for Time (reprinted below and available here) makes the case that the decade since 9/11 has seen the US fall into a tailspin of pessimism and shaken confidence.  He based his assessment on the results of a poll which show the majority of Americans having very negative views on the present and future of the country.  Many believe another terrorist attack on our soil is likely.  Still other see economic worries threatening our future.

In all, Mark seems to be wanting the comparison to Carter's "malaise" speech (despite the fact that Carter never used the word "malaise") in order to create the assumption that we have a vacuum of leadership in the country.  In fact, I think the primary issue here is much simpler and direct.  We have had terrorist attacks before, we have had economic woes, and we have had uncertainty about the future.  During all those times, however, we also had Presidents and a Congress who stood up and reassured the American people that we would get through it.  We were tough and could take the heat.  President Obama pretty much ran his campaign on such Roosevelt-type of reassurances and to this day ends his speeches on a similar high note.

Contrast that to the 8 years of the Bush administration.  This is the administration that declared war on "terror", thereby solidifying "terror" into an entity for us.  He never said "don't be afraid, we got this".  He said continually "be afraid because they are coming to attack us and these Democrats hate our troops" (paraphrased).  He handed us a color coded chart which never, ever went below yellow in terms of caution.  He resurrected Cold War era fears of impending massive attacks using "suitcase nukes" or bio weapons or chemical agents.  People were actually buying hermitic bomb shelters again.

This shows the simple, singular difference between our previous national crises and that created by 9/11: the willing and rather open exploitation of fear for political advantage.

 

Read Mark's article:

 

The Pessimism Index

By Mark J. Penn

Just 10 years into a new century, more than two-thirds of the country sees the past decade as a period of decline for the U.S., according to a new TIME/Aspen Ideas Festival poll that probed Americans on the decade since the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. Osama bin Laden is dead and al-Qaeda seriously weakened, but the impact of the 9/11 attacks and the decisions that followed have, in the view of most Americans, put the U.S. in a tailspin that the country has been unable to shake during two administrations and almost 10 years of trying.

The poll confirms that the country is going through one of its longest sustained periods of unhappiness and pessimism ever. Today's teenagers hardly remember a time before 9/11, the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq and constant economic upheaval. Baby boomers, the generation known for continuous reinvention, are filled with worry and doubt about their future and the future of their children. (See TIME's cover story: "The Optimism Bias.")

It is hard to overstate what a fundamental change this represents. A country long celebrated for its optimism amid adversity is having trouble finding the pluck and the spirit that have seen it through everything from world wars to nuclear threats to space races. The U.S. usually bounces back after a few years of difficulty, such as the Vietnam War, Watergate or recessions. After two or three years of anxiety and worry, the electorate normally returns to its innate optimism. Yet the forces now aligned against the American people seem much more formidable to those we surveyed; the poll uncovered the kinds of attitudes we saw among Europeans during the decade after World War II.

According to the poll, only 6% of more than 2,000 Americans believe the country has completely recovered from the events of 9/11. Some of this pessimism can be tied to fears of more terrorist attacks. Despite the death of bin Laden, most Americans think another terrorist attack in the U.S. is likely. Americans generally supported the post-9/11 measures to secure the homeland, like those in the Patriot Act, and have confidence in the military to deal with terrorists — and yet they see an attack coming anyway. America's feelings of invincibility have been replaced by a new sense of inevitable vulnerability. Nearly 8 in 10 believe there will be a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil in the next decade. When asked which major city would most likely be the target of such an attack, 30% selected Washington and 27% chose New York City.

A startling 71%, including a majority of every major demographic group other than African Americans, see the U.S. as worse off now than it was a decade ago. Americans blame their leaders and politicians for the decade of decline. The Bush Administration takes the most heat — 23% named it as the cause — followed closely by the Obama Administration (20%) and the U.S. Congress (16%). In contrast, only 6% blame Wall Street. (See the case for optimism in TIME's special report: "10 Ideas That Will Change the World.")

If there is widespread agreement that the U.S. is in bad shape, there is also a perception that not everyone has experienced the difficult decade in exactly the same way. Those surveyed say middle- and working-class Americans, followed by seniors and younger people, have borne the brunt of the decline — an ominous sign for any incumbent, regardless of political party. Yet those surveyed said some demographic groups were better off than they were a decade ago; they say the quality of life has improved most for gays and lesbians, the affluent, Hispanics and immigrants. And while overall the U.S. is seen as becoming more socially and politically tolerant in the past decade, the majority agreed that 9/11 set off a wave of suspicion against Muslim Americans.

Post-9/11 America is also a more isolationist country. Americans recognize that the election of President Obama brought with it a renewed sense of respect for the U.S. around the world. However, the effect of those improved relationships is overshadowed by the finding that most respondents have no desire to be more involved in global affairs. Almost two-thirds (62%) believe the U.S. today is too involved overseas. Americans are particularly impatient with U.S. policy toward Pakistan. With 69% believing that Pakistani officials knowingly harbored bin Laden, it is not surprising that 3 in 4 Americans — older Americans and Republicans especially — want the U.S. to cut back its military and nonmilitary aid to that country.

But whatever the U.S.'s worries about external forces, the biggest threats today are widely regarded as self-made. It's the enemy within that Americans register the most concern about: runaway deficits, political gridlock, skyrocketing health care costs and other structural problems. A full two-thirds of Americans see the greatest long-term threats to national stability as coming from within the U.S. This too is an enormous change from the days and months after September 2001. (See the U.S. optimism deficit.)

President Jimmy Carter — at the urging of his pollster — rather famously gave a speech in mid-1979 suggesting that a crisis of confidence had befallen America. It took several years and a new President to return the country to its optimistic ways. President Bill Clinton faced a similar moment in 1995 and turned the mood of the country around a year later. This poll suggests we are at another malaise moment, one even longer and deeper than the mid-1970s', presenting even greater challenges — and opportunities — for leadership.

Penn is CEO of Penn Schoen Berland, the strategic-research firm that conducted the TIME/Aspen poll. He was a pollster for six years under President Clinton.

 

Google+ might have a shot at taking on Facebook

[caption id="attachment_1265" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Google+ was cool until it got all mainstream and popular."][/caption]

 

As I have previously written, I left Facebook back in December of 2010.  The reasons were many, but mainly it was the ongoing issue of security and privacy, issues Facebook seemed to take lightly, especially considering founder Mark Zuckerberg's nonchalance about user data.

The only thing I have missed since then is the real time social interaction which surpasses most real life interactions by allowing me to stay in contact with people all over the world.  No other social media site could offer that on the widespread basis that Facebook did and so I was stuck.

Until now (maybe).  I received my Google+ invitation this morning and found myself immediately populating it with friends and pictures.  While very much like Facebook in terms of activities, Google+ makes keeping individual worlds of contacts separate.  I can have a Circle (Google's term for groups of friends) for professional colleagues and one for just friends or family.  Indeed, I can have as many different Circles as I want and whatever I post to my + site can be directed to only certain Circles, all of them, or none at all.

Best of all, Google doesn't retain any of my data (it claims) should I decide to leave.  I can download all my uploaded posts and pictures to my local machine and it's deleted from Google's sites.  It took me 3 weeks to fully delete my Facebook account and even now, I am not entirely sure it is gone.

After a day of using Google+, I can honestly say "so far, so good".  It's still in beta and invites are few.  Last I heard, the site was shut down to new users again.  If Google can add the time wasting games and other apps that keep people checking Facebook, I would say this service is a strong contender to knock Facebook off its #1 perch.  Especially given the growing frustration with that service.

[caption id="attachment_1262" align="aligncenter" width="645" caption="Very clean and simple interface, designed by a former Apple Mac OS designer"][/caption]

 

Michele Bachmann: Hiding in the Bushes

This is old, but worth reposting just for the entry at #9 on the list.  Scroll down for more.

 

 

The Top 10 Conservative Idiots
(No. 193)

April 11, 2005
Spouting Thomas Edition

Tom DeLay (1,6) tops the list again this week after a tough week for ethics violators, but Fox News (2) is more than happy to give him an assist. Mel Martinez (3) owned up to the Terri Schiavo memo - sort of - not that The Forgery Shovelers (4) cared of course. And John Cornyn (5) suggested that perhaps judges should tone down the old "judging" thing if they cared about their safety. Yup, it's been a prime week for conservative idiocy. Elsewhere, Republican Hypocrites (7) seem to have gone silent on the issue of high gas prices, The Jeff Gannon Show (8) rolled into town for an encore, Michelle Bachman (9) hid in some bushes, and what happens when you mix professional wrestling with right-wing whackery? You get my new all-time favorite conservative idiot in the form of Warrior And Chums (10). Enjoy, and don't forget the key!

Tom DeLay 
This might be the understatement of the year, but Tom DeLay is in the shit. Last week the Campaign for America's Future put up a handy cheat sheet of DeLay's recent scandals, which include taking fancy business trips paid for by lobbyists, taking campaign contributions for favors, using a federal agency (the FAA) for partisan purposes, and alleged money laundering, among other things. In the past week it was also revealed that since 2001 DeLay's wife and daughter have personally received more than $500,000 from his political action committees, and in 1997 DeLay took a trip to Russia which was "underwritten by business interests lobbying in support of the Russian government," according tothe Washington Post. He later cast votes in support of those same business interests. DeLay has done what he can to clear himself of the charges by, um, trying to change House ethics rules to make the whole thing go away. But let's face it, that doesn't really make him look any better. So what's a poor, downtrodden House Majority Leader to do when the heat is on? Why, blame somebody else, of course! Last week DeLay called the reports about his scandalous behavior "just another seedy attempt by the liberal media to embarrass me." Aww, poor baby. But let it be known that the GOP is backingTom DeLay all the way, so hats off to the Republican party for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Bugman, and we'll just wait and see where their firm conviction for being led by an unethical megalomaniac gets them in 2006.

Fox News 
Of course, DeLay's pals at Fox News have been doing their best to disabuse the public of the notion that he might bear just a tiny bit of responsibility for his alleged ethics violations. Media Matters noted that several Fox News hosts went out of their way last week to assist DeLay in his attempt to blame the media for his problems: Brit Hume reported that, "Here in Washington, the press is after Tom DeLay again, but wait 'til you hear the facts," and, "speaking of Tom DeLay, the mainstream media were out after him again today." John Gibson said, "The liberal media is hammering 'The Hammer' - Tom DeLay under a microscope and under the gun. Is this simply a media hit job?" (In order to get a fair and balanced answer he interviewed Rich Lowry, editor of the right-wing National Review.) And our old friend Sean Hannity referred to the "liberal allegations" against DeLay and asked, "Is he the target of a smear campaign?" So if you want to know the details of the charges against Tom DeLay, don't bother asking Fox News. They're more concerned about protecting their buddy than they are about actually reporting the facts.

Mel Martinez 
Last week conservative pundits and bloggers were agog with the possibility that the infamous "Terri Schiavo memo" - which instructed Republican senators to make political hay out of her case - might have been a fake passed around by - booo! - Democrats in order to make Republicans look bad. Because surely Republicans simply aren't capable of playing such awful political games. Yeah right. But the whole thing fell apart at the seams last week when it wasrevealed that the memo actually came from the office of freshman GOP senator Mel Martinez. Of course, Martinez was completely in the dark about the memo - which explains why he was, uh, carrying it around in his pocket - and fired his aide Brian Darling for taking action "unilaterally." At this point it's probably worth mentioning that the St. Petersburg Times said back in November 2004 that "When challenged, Martinez was too eager to assign blame to his staff or to groups he said he couldn't control. As a senator, he will need an office and a staff that speaks with the measured and centrist tone he says will be his own. He can't pretend to be above it all if the people he employs are not." It certainly appears that Martinez hasn't taken that advice to heart. But in case you were worried about the future of poor Brian "Unilateral" Darling, don't fret. He used to work for the Alexander Strategy Group, whose chairman Edwin A. Buckham (former chief of staff to - ta da! - Tom DeLay) said last week that "He is still going to have a bright future in this town." Why am I not surprised...

The Forgery Shovelers 
The news that the memo was in fact not a fake, and did in fact originate from the office of a Republican senator, was somewhat embarrassing to the folks who'd been shoveling the forgery meme. After the "Democratic fakery" angle had played out on right-wing talk radio during the week - without any actual evidence, of course - The Washington Times ran a front page, above-the-fold story alleging that the memo could have been a dirty trick. The Times' claim that the memo was fake was based, incredibly, on this: "A survey by The Washington Times found that every Republican said the memo was not crafted or distributed by him or her." Which obviously cleared up the whole matter. Meanwhile Rush Limbaugh announced that "it appears it's a forged memo all over again!" quoting the American Spectator who wrote, "It's Rathergate all over again, and the same vigilant entities that brought about the collapse of CBS News could now also cause heads to roll among Democratic Senate leadership staffers and further shame multiple news organizations that would appear to have fallen for another document hoax." Crowed Rush, "The memo was made up by Democrat staffers." Whoops. John Aravosis at AmericaBlog has a greatscreenshot of a page from Rush's website which tells the world to "Listen to Rush Conduct Broadcast Excellence." Aravosis also noted that one of the American Spectator's aforementioned vigilant entities, "blog of the year" Powerline - who went nuts accusing the Democrats of faking the Schiavo memo - were still clinging desperately to the possibility that they could turn it against the left byblaming the media for misreporting the story. Nice try, morons.

John Cornyn 
What could be the reason for the recent wave of violence against judges? Just a few weeks ago, a judge's family was murdered. And there was that incident where a man on trial for rape and murder stole a gun and shot a judge dead in court. What could be prompting this crime wave? Have no fear: Sen. John Cornyn has the answer. "I – I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection," he pondered on the Senate floor last week, "but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news. And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in – engage in violence." Don't worry though - apparently Cornyn didn't mean it. According tothe UK Guardian, he wrote a letter last week saying he was "not aware of evidence linking judges' decisions with possible violence. 'I certainly hope that people will not construe my remarks on Monday to state otherwise,' he said." Oh, perish the thought. So I guess you were talking about... what, exactly, Senator? The good news though is that John Cornyn has learned a lesson from all this. And here it is: "The lesson I learned is that Washington is a very tough political environment and if people can take what you say out of context and use it against you, they will." Seriously. He actually said that.

Tom DeLay 
One more entry for the Bugman this week, and it relates directly to the John Cornyn entry above. Cornyn may not be able to legitimately blame the most recent incidents of violence against judges and their families as some sort of revenge for their supposed judicial activism - but he soon will if Tom DeLay keeps it up. We already noted DeLay's not-so-veiled threats to the judges involved in the Terri Schiavo case ("The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior") and last week he kicked it up a notch. DeLay said that the judiciary has "run amok" and "overstepped its authority on countless occasions." His solution? Unclear. But he also said that "Our next step, whatever it is, must be more than rhetoric." Various conservative leaders decided to pick up that ball and run with it, meeting in Washington last week to discuss "Remedies to Judicial Tyranny." Phyllis Schafly and Michael P. Farris - chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association - both agreed that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy ought to be impeached for his opinion that juveniles shouldn't be executed. But it was Edwin Vieira who seemed to be taking Tom Delay's comments to their logical conclusion, citing Joseph Stalin in his "bottom line" for dealing with judges. "[Stalin] had a slogan," said Viera, "and it worked very well for him, whenever he ran into difficulty: 'no man, no problem.'" The full quote that Viera paraphrased, in case you were wondering, is "Death solves all problems: no man, no problem." So, uh, is anyone else bothered that leading conservatives are now using Joe Stalin as an example of how to deal with their enemies?

Republican Hypocrites 
Special thanks here to the Top Ten reader (you know who you are, sir!) who sent me a list of links featuring Republicans whining about high gas prices in 2000. I'm sure most of you are aware that average gas prices have been topping $2.50 per gallon recently, with San Franciscans recently reporting more than $3 per gallon for regular unleaded:

Photo: San Francisco Chronicle

Now let's take a look at what some of those Republicans had to say in 2000, when gas was around a full dollar cheaper per gallon than it is today:

Rep. Terry Everett: "The Clinton Administration has failed in its duty to develop a policy to deal with our national energy supply and is therefore directly accountable for the higher prices Americans are now paying at the gas pumps."

Dennis Hastert: "House Speaker Dennis Hastert accused the Clinton administration Friday of misleading members of Congress about the causes of skyrocketing gas prices in the Midwest."

Rep. Wally Herger: "Congressman Wally Herger recently denounced the Clinton-Gore Administration's complacency during the current gas price crisis. 'Northern Californians are being held hostage at the gas pump,' Herger said. 'The Clinton-Gore Administration has demonstrated a complete and total lack of leadership in preventing this problem. It is a clear failure of domestic and foreign policy.'"

Larry Kudlow: "The Clinton-Gore administration’s hapless and incoherent management of foreign policy is nowhere as evident as in their bungling on OPEC’s oil-price hike. ... While crude oil prices could drop to $25 per barrel, they will stay well above the average $20 real price of oil registered over the past ten years. And way above the $10 worldwide average marginal cost of producing new oil. Meanwhile gas prices at the pump are likely to be upwards of $2 per gallon well into the summer."

Glenn Spencer: "In recent weeks, gas prices have surged to their highest level in a decade. Prices for home heating oil and natural gas are expected to rise by about 30 percent this winter. ... With the Clinton-Gore administration's policies largely to blame for the pain being felt by consumers, Vice President Gore's camp has pulled out all the stops to shift blame away from his own administration."

Various Repubs: "Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Menomonee Falls), Tom Petri (R-Fond du Lac), Paul Ryan (R-Janesville), and Mark Green (R-Green Bay) today blasted Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and the Clinton-Gore Administration for their failure to implement a comprehensive energy policy to deal with staggering gas prices Wisconsin consumers continue to face at the pumps."

So, gas is about 60-75% per gallon more at the pump and oil is about 100% more per barrel than it was when these moaning minnies were whining about how much Bill Clinton and Al Gore sucked, but now George W. Bush is the president - why, his shit don't stink. Perhaps they're still waiting for him to "jawbone" OPEC? Either that or they don't care about gas prices now that he's, y'know, got the gays on the run.

The Jeff Gannon Show 
We noted last week that our old pal Jeff Gannon was going to be appearing at a National Press Club panel on journalism and blogging, and pondered why he was invited to be there since he wasn't a journalist or a blogger. Well it turns out that Gannon was apparently asked along for the purposes of providing hilarious comic relief. Among Gannon's classic gags from last Friday's event were the suggestion that simply reprinting administration press releases is the same as real journalism, and that the government had to pay Armstrong Williams to write a positive story on No Child Left Behind because nobody else would. Funny stuff! He even held up one of those stupid red counties vs. blue counties maps which right-wingers love to use to demonstrate how "red" the country is, except - and this is the mark of a comedy genius at work - the red states were all green, because apparently his printer was running out of ink. But the laugh of the day was surely reserved for this absolute corker: "You can hardly call Fox News conservative." Oh Jeff, you are a clown!

Michelle Bachmann 
Last week Minnesota State Senator Michelle Bachmann (R-Obviously) tried to force a vote on a state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage; Democrats said she was trying to end-run Senate rules for political gain. That she chose to do this on the same day that the local gay community was rallying for their rights on the grounds of the Capitol was certainly dubious.According to Eleventh Avenue South, "Even Senate Republicans thought it was in poor taste to try to go around Senate rules on the same day GLBT citizens were making their voice heard. Her move was overwhelmingly defeated." But one of Eleventh Avenue South's eagle-eyed readers happened to catch something rather strange that day - it turned out that Michelle Bachmann had gone to take a look at the rally, but, obviously feeling very frightened of the scary homosexuals, decided to hide in some bushes. Fortunately, the reader got pictures:





Peek-a-boo! What a coward. You know, that photo kind of reminds me of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney during Vietnam.

Warrior And Chums 
And finally, the artist formerly known as "The Ultimate Warrior" (now apparently just plain "Warrior" for some reason) made a professional wrestling-sized ass of himself at the University of Connecticut last week, choke-slamming the UConn College Republicans in the process. Former WWF star Warrior had apparently been invited by the College Republicans to speak about... well, actually that's not entirely clear. But Warrior is a radical right-wing nutcase, so presumably that's all the reason they needed. Unfortunately Warrior was a little too nutty even for the College Republicans, "screaming and stomping on the stage," according to liveaudiowrestling.com, and provoking the crowd into a frenzy. The evening turned sour when Warrior answered an Iranian student's question by telling him that he needed to "get a towel," and pontificated on such subjects as why "Queering don't make the world work." Which is a bit odd coming from a guy who used to make a living publicly groping a steady stream of greased-up bodybuilders in leotards.

Anyway, it turns out that the UConn College Republicans were a tad embarrassed by the debacle, issuing a profoundly apologetic press release the next day. They made sure to mention that they were sending individual letters of apology to, "the Rainbow Center, AQUA, QUAD, the African American Cultural Center, the Asian American Cultural Center, the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center, the Iranian Students Association, and the Women's Center." Oh, and in case you were wondering, "this is not a complete list of the groups that will receive a direct written apology from the College Republicans." Good lord.

But the story doesn't end there: the College Republicans' press release provoked a hilarious outburst "From the Desk Of Warrior" where he announced (in the third person!) that "All of the above notwithstanding, it is somewhat sad to see how utterly spineless the UConn College Republicans have turned out to be. Not a single UConn CR voiced any objection to Warrior after the event. The detailed emails between Warrior and the UConn CRs reveal that the CRS repeatedly encouraged Warrior to single out the Tent City Trash for some re-education. Yet, it now seems that the CRS have collectively decided to bow down and beg forgiveness from various extremist, anti-American, left-wing groups who infest the UConn campus. Perhaps the UConn CRS should refrain from engaging in political activism until such time as they develop enough backbone to be able to withstand not being liked by their opponents." Ooh, smackdown! See you next week!

 

Srsly!

Mormon Monument to Mysticism

Whilst driving on the north side of DC this morning, I caught sight of a familiar landmark in the DC area.  As I had just finished installing my car kit for my camera phone, I decided to activate the camcorder.  Take a look:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erK-PhynHgE

What you are seeing there is the Mormon Temple of Washington DC.  From Wikipedia:

The Washington D.C. Temple (formerly the Washington Temple) is the 18th constructed and 16th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is located in along the Capital Beltway in Kensington, Maryland, USA, just north of Washington, DC. The temple was dedicated in 1974 after an open house that attracted over 750,000 people including several international dignitaries. The Washington D.C. Temple was the first LDS temple built east of the Mississippi River since 1846, when the original Nauvoo Temple was dedicated.

With a floor area of 160,000 square feet (15,000 m²), the Washington Temple is the third-largest LDS temple while its easternmost spire is the tallest of LDS temples at 288 feet (88 m). The design of the temple emulates the Salt Lake Templewith six spires, three on each end, and the building and is encased in white Alabama marble. It cost approximately $15 million to build and also includes a visitors' center. The architecture and highly-visible location along the Capital Beltway have made the temple a local landmark in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

The very first time I saw it, I remarked there must be a Disney themepark nearby.  It was only when we got closer that the angel Moroni was visible atop the middle spire.  Every time I have glimpsed the temple, I can help but be struck by the sheer monstrosity of it, the waste of resources used to build an epic structure commemorating made up mysticism.  $15 million went into constructing a self-righteous declaration of piety to either impress humans or a god, or both.

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="590" caption="Monstrous Monument to Mysticism"][/caption]

 

 

*UPDATE*

Someone sent me a picture of a similar temple in Hawaii.

 

[caption id="attachment_1243" align="aligncenter" width="574" caption="When religion controls this much money, is there any question why people are starving?"][/caption]

 

Myrtle Beach

Pier 14 restaurant.

One of the Best Conspiracy Theory Sites

The following is one of my favorite conspiracy theory/religious wackiness websites.  I have encountered the author personally online several times and let's just say she is wound rather tightly.  At any rate, no conspiracy theory is too far for her and I simply cannot imagine the haunted world she lives in.  Partake in the madness below.

 

 

 

BIBLE STUDIES: WARS, JUDGEMENT, APOCALYPSE, ESCHATOLOGY, POETRY

 

INDEX PAGE to Bible Studies, Poems,
Eschatology, Apocalypse, Judgment, Wars



GOD's Judgment is NOT the same as GOD's Will.
GOD WILLS ALL BE SAVED!
GOD judges to drive humans to Himself to be saved.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.  Psalm 33:12
How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! Psalm 144:15

 

AMERIKA IS DEAD, JUST NOT BURIED - YET.
AMERIKA WILL BE ATTACKED, INVADED.
PREPARE TODAY, DO NOT DELAY


The vision is yet for the appointed time.
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come,
it will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3

Earth In Travail
Michael Boldea, grandson of Duduman who said 4 states will burn
NEW YORK, FLORIDA, CALIFORNIA and NEVADA.


Michael Boldea is the grandson of Romanian prophet Dumitru Duduman. People have
asked me if Michael Boldea supports the questionable people who interview him.
He must prayerfully get the Word out.  ANY means to reach the lambs!
GOD uses varioius means to get the word out to the sheep that need to hear.

In Michael's Eagle-Serpents dream, The second bite will be worse than 911 and will be
terrorist related. God is warning that other weather events etc will happen, but
this one is different then the rest.  Amerika already has a base and troops in Israel now,
We do not need to 'send' them.
A Great Earthquake coming, Michael Boldea website:
Romanian Prophet Dumitru Duduman saw Russia attack USA, vision:

If you seek to know what is coming,
but dont even bother to HEED, you will NOT be protected.
If you desire GOD's protection
You need to want to KNOW HIM.

California Mega Quake
When MAN rebels against GOD, then Earth rebels against man.
From the oceans, Russia, China, Cuba and other nations attack Amerika from the oceans.
Educated guesses being called 'prophecy' today - detestable!
USA will go against Israel, nukes will be involved - has come to pass
A nuclear neutron bomb was used (past tense) in IRAQ in Bagdad.
Russia has a weapon that can bypass Amerika's shields

PREACH the WORD - welcome or not. 2 Timothy 4:2

BE CAREFUL how you walk (act, live), not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

We must obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29

	PROSPERITIY 

WHAT will cause American revolution, be careful how you listen. Pray for discernment.
Amerika OVER estimates our power. National disasters so far only the beginning

Isaiah 24:20  The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut, shack in the wind.
For its transgression, guilt, rebellion, SIN is heavy upon it,
and it will fall, never to rise again.

Is GOD flexible?
The Church is NOT ready for what is coming!  The Church is UNHOLY!  COMPROMISED!
GOD judges a nation based upon the sinful condition of THE CHURCH, not the nation

My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8

HOW will GOD protect us under His judgments?
New war - IRAN - followed by WAR on US homeland
It will be a religious war between Christianity and Islam.

The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great
number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
2 Timothy 4:3

				

What disasters are coming to Amerika? 				

California quake will change the geography of Amerika, causing US ECONOMY to collapse.
GOD's wrath is being poured out - NOW.  We will have NO safety but GOD.
The economy collapse will be due to GOD's righteous judgments
Be self sufficient, plant a garden.
TRAGEDY MUST OCCUR, before the sleeping Church will wake.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man
Matthew 24:37

If they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation,
uproot and destroy it, declares the Lord.  Jeremiah 12:17 

Our 'allies' want us destroyed.
When we attack IRAN, the sleeper cells with attack Amerika homeland without mercy.
Suicide bombers, terrorism will EXPLODE in USA and people will be terrified.
It will be the world bankers who cause a bank building to blow up, shutting down
all banks across Amerika.  Christ's return is "IMMINENT."
The LORD says - COME TO ME - NOW - SO I CAN PROTECT YOU!

	PURPOSE DRIVEN HERESY
Preach what they NEED to hear - NOT what they WANT to hear!
The Word of GOD is NOT preached in MOST churches.
Churches are under a CURSE who are using Rick Warren's book "Purpose Driven Church"
Better a TRUE church of 50 than a hellbound church of 5,000
Job losses only the beginning of sorrows in Amerika,
Churches in SIN, Deny the Power of GOD


In the Last Days difficult times will come. For men will be
lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents,
ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control,
brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.
Avoid such men as these .   2 Timothy 3 

DO NOT PRAY for this people,
for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster. Jeremiah 11:14

GOD is DONE warning - now He ACTS!
DO NOT PRAY judgments be averted!!  They MUST come!

There will be a huge earthquake that will split the Canary Islands (off NW Africa)
causing a tsunami several hundred feet high to hit the eastern coast of the
United States AND the western coast of Europe, moving in both directions.

Tokyo would be flattened first, followed by the Los Angeles earthquake.
Bakker had been shown that New Orleans would be under 12 feet of water AGAIN
after Katrina in 2005. (Jim Bakker, California Mega Quake)
California Mega Quake, Jeanne Beech, Jim Bakker, etc:
CALIFORNIA FALLS INTO the SEA, 1937 Vision:

When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8
God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.
2 Thessalonians 2:11

GOD's Promises to Believers
WE ARE GOSHEN - if we follow Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible 

The pure in heart will not be punished.
Those who are faithful and true will hear the trumpet of God
and the voice of God's angel crying WAKE UP!
They will be told where to go.
All those who hear the voice of the Lord will understand
the message of God's mighty trumpet.
Only the Righteous will I save,
some out of the midst of the fire.


False Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and
wonders, so as to mislead, deceive, even the Elect. Matthew 24:24


I the Lord will work in ways that you cannot imagine, but be Holy.
A great army, dressed in white, will go to battle to save My chosen ones.
At the appointed time, I will speak to them what they must do.
I will send a chariot of Salvation and take each one out in his appointed time.
ALL those who REPENT and turn back to God will be saved from the day of trouble.
GOD's Promises to Americans:


You will be hated by all because of My Name,
but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. Mark 13:13





ZionsCRY WORLD NEWS and Prophetic Commentary
CLICK HERE to read my daily NEWS Letter 




Chapel, Earth and Weather, Dreams and visions, Conspiracies.
I post here FIRST, and update thru the day. Since I will not be doing ZionsCRY after August (about?), I am most using my forum.
If you register you can post, and you will get an email when something is posted
CLICK the forum banner






COME, CHAT WITH ME!   CLICK CAT  



A PROMISE
In Revelation 3:10-11 Jesus says
Because you have kept My command to persevere,
I also WILL keep you from the hour of trial
which shall come upon the whole world,
to test those who dwell on the Earth.
Behold, I am coming quickly!  (SUDDENLY! Unexpectedly!)
Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.


I believe the SEALS ARE OPEN - NOW,
and we are well into the TRIBULATION 

* PLEASE  Email me if a link does NOT work!!
zionscry@cox.net 


 

VISIONS and WARNINGS

Prophetic Visions and WARNINGS index page:

5 ANGELS of the CONTINENTS :Samuel Doctorian vision 1998

AMERICA WILL BURN!! Prophet Dumitru Duduman's Angel vision, *UPDATED Jan 2005*:

WARNINGS :Prophetic Visions

Henry Gruver's Vision - I SAW the RUSSIANS ATTACK the UNITED STATES! America under judgment:

A A Allen's Vision of Nuclear Attack on America under judgment:

Michael Boldea visons, grandson Dumitru Duduman official Website:

Robert Holmes, international prophet, ANZAC, good site:

POLITICS

WACO BURNING, Branch Davidians, Ugly Truths and Evil Plans:

DaVinci Code antichrist LIE - Guardians of the Holy Grail:

POLITICAL Index page: USS Cole

Hurricane Charley, DEAD over 600 and counting, hit FLORIDA Aug 13, 2004:

Crisis in South Africa, Fatal TB PANdemic 2007:

SITE INDEX Pages

SURVIVAL and UNDERGROUND NEWS Links, What to Buy, Where, Why:

BIBLE STUDIES:

Encouraging Writings:

ISRAEL in PROPHECY:



APOCALYPSE :The Revelation of Messiah to John

Global War, good links:

CONSPIRACY :TWA 800, AA 587, Chemtrails

WARNINGS :Prophetic Visions

TEACHING LINKS

Mormonism is EVIL, its NOT christian! It teaches Jesus Christ is satan's younger brother!

Dangerous Cults of Mormonism and Replacement Theology:

ZionsCRY ARCHIVE, Population control, NAU : Dreams and visions

Hashemite Dynasty, The Antichrist? Kingdom of Jordan:

The RAPTURE, Second Coming : The DAY of the LORD

TITHING for HEALING and a BLESSING:

Christian Life teachings:



SPIRITUAL GIFTS:Teaching

PRAYER ROOM:

ONLY SALVATION, SAFETY:

HELL, HOME of ALLAH :VISION

DEMONOLOGY, DELIVERANCE or HEALING:




GOD is MAD at the CHURCH!!:

EUCHARYST ~ HOLY COMMUNION:

TRINITY, BAPTISM:



Potter & Pokemon: Witchcraft

OCCULT, SATANISM, WICCA, Page 2:

PERSONAL

I LIVED THRU HURRICANE ANDREW:

MY EXPERIENCE With HURRICANE FLOYD:

VALLEY of BROKEN PIECES : My Life in a Poem

SWEPT AWAY :Prophecy Poem I Wrote

SUICIDE:

CHAT, MAPS, Miscellaneous

CHAT Places: Beware in Chatrooms!

MAPS of Asia:

MAPS of MidEast:

Matthew Chapter 24: Bible

The Painting:The Son

The ROOM, A motivating story:

666, APOCALYPSE

APOCALYPSE in Pictures : The Revelation of Messiah

The RAPTURE, The Catching Away: Parousia

666 and Bio Chips: Mark of the Beast

PESTILANCE, DISEASES, PLAGUES: End Times

SIGN in the SKY :End Times

ANTICHRIST is Here NOW : Abomination of Desolation

4 Horsemen of the APOCALYPSE:

AMERICA Prophecticly:

Ed Walden visions

EVIL RISING, August 2006:

PHOENIX, New World Order Vision:

Wagon Wheel, Springfield Earthquake Vision:

Tower, Angels, Twins, Dec 23, 2005 vision:

Spider, Octopus VISIONS of 8 cities:



OCCULT, SATANISM, WICCA, FALL of LUCIFER :

HOMOSEX is SIN:

BEGINNING of SORROWS :part 1

AMERICA Killed INDIANS by Bio-terrorism:

911 WAR and TERRORISM

President George Washington's 1777 vision of America's wars : The LAST is the WORST

Global War, good links:

CHINA: Act of WAR April 2001:

RUSSIA Will Attack America:



ATTACK on AMERICA: September 11, 2001

Where Was GOD on 911?:

BIOLOGICAL WAR FACTS and TREATMENT:

ATTACK on the PENTAGON: September 11, 2001

USS COLE: Could Clinton Have Prevented 911?

ISLAM - Roman Catholic church

ISLAM: Platform for the AntiChrist: Islam is truly satanic

What is ISLAM?: Terror-Islam

Christian - Muslim:

Blasphemies of the Catholic Eucharist : Part 1

Blasphemies of the Catholic Eucharist : Part 2

 

NEWS, CONSPIRACIES Links - ALWAYS DISCERN EVERYTHING

World Headline Links and Commentary, Koenig: WATCH.org

World Net Daily News and Commentary:

News With Views:

Debka military intellegence:

Jerry Golden reports from Jerusalem:

 

Underground news:

Best site of its kind I have seen on what is called conspiracy. AboveTopSecret.com:
Population control is HERE NOW!, The Georgia Guidestones, Radio Liberty:

Patriot Jack McLamb audio:

August 11th broadcast Jack McLamb:

WACO BURNING, David Koresh, Branch Davidians:

 

 

 

GOD's NEWS

 

 

THIS IS THE JUDGMENT
that the Light has come into the world,
and men loved the darkness rather than the Light,
for their deeds were evil.  

GOD so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
Eternal LIFE. For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

He who believes in Him is not judged;
he who does not believe has been judged already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God.  John 3:16-19

Page updated  January 2010