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The Tea Party Was Born Under This Flag America's First Flag… The Liberty Tree Flag

I’m not sure why ex-Senator and current Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee keeps getting elected, but I’m quite sure he offends me. I truly can’t stand seeing his face, and you don’t have to ask why. You see, that’s the way offensiveness is: It’s completely subjective and not constrained by rhyme or reason. Along with a lot of other people, however, I now certainly have one very logical reason to chafe at Chafee: His decision to call the 17-foot-tall blue spruce Christmas tree in his state capitol’s rotunda a “holiday tree” despite opposition from residents and lawmakers. This, mind you,...

Ohio Occupy group asked to move for tree-lightingUpdated: Nov 11, 2011 6:29 AM EST DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - An Occupy protest group in Ohio is holding off on a saying yes to a request that it move out of the way of a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. **SNIP** The protest is going on in downtown Dayton's Courthouse Square, where the ceremony called the Grande Illumination is planned for Nov. 25.

In the face of a national outcry, the Obama administration has decided to delay its Christmas Tree Tax—first reported here on the Foundry—though they haven’t said till when (presumably until the criticism blows over). ABC’s Jake Tapper reports: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is going to delay implementation a revisit a proposed new 15 cent fee on fresh-cut Christmas trees, sources tell ABC News. The fee, requested by the National Christmas Tree Association in 2009, was first announced in the Federal Registry yesterday, and has generated criticism of President Obama from conservative media outlets. The program, which would have levied...

Walker said Monday that the evergreen decorated with ornaments and adorned with a star in the center of Wisconsin's Capitol Rotunda is a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree as it's been called for the past 25 years. The roughly 30-foot-tall tree was called a Christmas tree from the first display in 1916 until 1985. That's when politicians bowed to concerns about government endorsing religion and started referring to it as a holiday tree. The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has opposed the term Christmas tree, saying it offends nonreligious people and amounts to a government endorsement of Christianity. The...

A group of men in Brooklyn apparently decided the fastest way to steal a bike chained to a tree was to cut down the tree. A video on YouTube shows the men early yesterday morning looking at the bike before finally chopping down the tree. One then rides the bike a bit, only to leave it right where the group found it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PcV4LVhSRLg

Greg Mortenson's best-selling memoir, Three Cups of Tea, is being 'reviewed' by his publisher following claims part of it was fabricated. The book, which follows Mortenson's mission to build schools across Central Asia, is filled with inaccuracies, US news programme 60 Minutes said. The report disputed his claims that he stumbled upon a mountain village during a failed attempt to climb K2. Mortenson has denied the allegations, saying he stands by the book. The book's publisher, Viking, has said it will investigate the claims made by the programme. "Greg Mortenson's work as a humanitarian in Afghanistan and Pakistan has provided...

The Northwest Report March 8, 2011 By Art Robinson © 2011 In an effort to do my part in rescuing our country from the out-of-control Obama administration, last year I ran for Congress in Oregon’s 4th District against 12-term incumbent, far-left Democrat Peter DeFazio, co-founder of the House Progressive Caucus. Although I won the nominations of the Republican, Independent and Constitution Parties and the endorsement of the Libertarian Party, a massive media smear campaign by DeFazio, paid for with money raised by MoveOn.org and from special interests favored by DeFazio in Washington, resulted in a 54.5 percent to 43.6 percent...

The 42-foot tall Colorado blue spruce snapped at its base during high winds Saturday morning in Washington. The spruce had been in its current location for more than 32 years. It came from the Myers family farm outside of York, Pennsylvania, the Park Service said.

In the hollow of a maple tree not far from the road, Ron Venden has made a cozy dwelling for the 7-month-old cat he swears has never left its tree home. "It was a little feisty at first," said Venden, 66, a retired carpenter, of the cat, which a neighbor has named Almond. "(But) now it's a pretty big cat and it's just loving to see me." How is Venden certain the cat never leaves? Mostly because there are never any paw prints around the tree when it snows, Venden explains — something a State Journal reporter confirmed Wednesday. Relatives...

Jailers hold Mohamed Mohamud, accused in plot to bomb Portland tree lighting, in 'protective custody'By Bryan Denson, The Oregonian Updated: Saturday, December 18, 2010, 8:55 AM The teenager accused of plotting to bomb thousands of Christmas revelers at Portland's holiday tree lighting ceremony three weeks ago is jailed in protective custody to prevent someone from harming him. Mohamed Mohamud has a cell to himself at the downtown Justice Center jail, where he eats all of his meals alone and doesn't mix with the general inmate population, said Chief Deputy Michael Shults, who heads corrections for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office....

The Grinch may have stolen Christmas, but in Birmingham it was copper thieves who torched a Christmas tree in downtown's Linn Park. [UPDATE: Radio station to donate new Christmas tree to city] Birmingham police are investigating the early morning incident where copper thieves took decorations off the holiday display and burned down the tree. Officials say the incident occurred around 4 a.m. Thieves took off the lights and used gasoline to separate the plastic from the copper, resulting in the apparent accidental tree torching.

The tax cut compromise reached by President Obama and Republicans has passed its first hurdle in the Senate. According to breaking news, the tax deal has gained the 60 votes it needed to advance in the Senate. This would pave the way for the bill's passing in only a day or two. Despite the fact that the bill has now passed its first test, it has been met with some resistance by both Democrats and Republicans. Some Democrats argue that there should be no extension of tax cuts, while many Republicans believe that the extra spending in the bill would...

Boehner is a tough, wily and underestimated son of Ohio, one of 12 children, a product of Catholic schools, a Bishop Moeller Crusader through and through. He is said to be loyal to his friends and to the traditions of the House, and last week he promoted three long-serving Republicans to the leadership of three committees where various sets of reformers had hoped to see new faces for a new era. Tea Party activists are outraged and, worse by far, the Pledge to America that Boehner and his colleagues promulgated on a House Web site as binding on the Republicans...

For several years, I have assumed that my taxes, and those of many millions of Americans, would skyrocket in 2011. So when I first learned the terms of the compromise between the President and the Republican leadership--most of the Bush-era tax rates made permanent, tax rates for upper-income taxpayers extended for two years, a one-year two percent payroll tax holiday, long a favorite conservative policy--I thought, and wrote, that it was an excellent deal for conservatives. Since then, however, the deal has steadily worsened, to the point where even the Associated Press says that "Add-ons turn tax cut bill into...

This is Jaquie Evancho singing Oh Holy Night at the national tree lighting ceremony last evening in Washington DC out back of the White House in the Elipse.

YARMOUTH, Maine (AP) -- In life, New England's champion elm tree, nicknamed Herbie, stretched more than 100 feet skyward, towering over its neighbors and becoming a local landmark. Nearly 10 months after being dismantled by chain saw, the majestic tree has been reincarnated by artisans into a variety of items including a stunning electric guitar. The custom guitar, along with baseball bats, upscale furniture and other keepsakes, will be auctioned off Saturday to benefit the Yarmouth tree trust. "It's mindboggling how much has been done with it," said Jan Ames Santerre, senior planner with the Maine Forest Service, one of...

America your portion has been measured in full and the time of true shaking has come ! Now watch as I touch your pocketbooks , watch as I annihilate the sin in your lives and watch as All this occurs I set the captives free and destroy the rebellious as korah for I shall swallow up sin and it's roots . I shall cleanse this nation as never before . There shall be crevasses where there has been great rivers allowing the ocean in , Deserts where there has been pools of great waters , Mountains where there has been...

AMSTERDAM -The monumental chestnut tree that cheered Anne Frank while she was in hiding from the Nazis was toppled by wind and heavy rain on Monday. The once mighty tree, now diseased and rotted through the trunk, snapped about 3 feet (1 meter) above ground and crashed across several gardens. It damaged a brick wall and several sheds, but nearby buildings — including the Anne Frank House museum — escaped unscathed. No one was injured, a museum spokeswoman said. "Someone yelled, 'It's falling. The tree is falling,' and then you heard it go down," said museum spokeswoman Maatje Mostart. "Luckily...

Boy Survives Falling Off Balcony After Bouncing Off Palm Trees A four-year-old boy had a lucky escape after falling from a 17th floor hotel balcony only to bounce off palm trees and land with minor injuries. By Paul Thompson 06 Jun 2010 Rescuers found Joey Williams still alive after he bounced off a cluster of palm trees and landed on a dirt surface near the hotel's swimming pool. Apart from surviving the 80ft fall he somehow managed to land between two pipes jutting up from the ground. Less than four hours after the fall at his hotel in Miami, Florida,...