I have moved my blog to: www.needlepointernc.wordpress.com because they have more functionality that I wanted to use. Sorry blogger :-) but I am doing a challenge with a friend and she is using Wordpress. So, check me out there.

"White House Sends Chanukah Card With Christmas Tree On It"

Brett may not care, and I don't really "care" and think it is actually pretty funny but I care because it just shows a lack of attention to anything not Christmas. It was the fault of whoever put the art on the work order and did Laura Bush have final approval?

Why is the White House so decorated for Christmas and then we have the token Chanukah party and the little menorah behind the tree? Brett says well they didn't put a picture of baby Jesus. Actually I think baby Jesus has more to do with Christmas than a Christmas tree :-).

We go through this every year. This year, the UNC libraries decided to keep the Christmas Trees packed. I agree with this decision. I wish the REX Wellness Center in Raleigh would do the same. They don't even make an attempt to put out a token Menorah. I like that they collect toys for tots gifts but they could loose the tree.

Posted by Brett Singer

The Bush family really can't win these days.

Not only is the sitting President receiving blame for Republican losses on Election Day, but first lady Laura is getting flak for a farkakteh (pronounced "fuh-kahk-tuh") Chanukah card that had a picture of a Christmas tree on it.

While its fun to make fun of this kind of thing, I have to admit that I don't really care. It certainly is a mistake and shows certain cluelessness on the part of the First Lady's staff, or at least a lack of organizing skills (shouldn't someone have looked at the card first?). But this isn't exactly Hunter Gibson (Mel's dad) denying that the Holocaust actually happened. Also, the card didn't have a picture of the Baby Jesus on it. It was just a tree. (For the record, apologies were quickly offered. Faces, already covered with egg, were red. Feet were in mouths.)

So was it a bit dense for the White House to send a Chanukah card that didn't have a Chanukah image on it? Sure. But is it really that offensive? I don't think so. I'm Jewish, and I happen to like Christmas trees. That's a topic for another post, but for now, I'm not ready to add CardGate to the list of Bush Administration screw-ups.

Source: NY Post via HuffPo

White House apologizes for Hanukkah cards

WASHINGTON, Nov 27, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A Bush administration spokeswoman said the invitations to this year's White House Hanukkah reception bore images of Christmas trees due to a "staff mistake."

Press Secretary Sally McDonough said staff members erred in failing to print separate cards for invitations to the different holiday events at the White House, CNN reported Thursday.

The cards, which were sent to U.S. Jewish leaders, are emblazoned with an image of the White House Christmas tree being pulled by a horse-drawn cart with a Christmas wreath tacked on to the White House in the background.

"Mrs. Bush is apologetic, It is just something that fell through the cracks," McDonough said.

She said the intended Hanukkah invitations, which bear the image of a menorah given to the White House during the Harry Truman administration, would be sent out Thursday.

URL: www.upi.com

It is a new day! Let us hope that our new leaders will really lead us and find a way to do what is right. NC is looking Carolina Bluer today and so is New Hampshire. Kay Hagan defeated Dole by a landslide. Kay said that her son went to Duke and her daughter went to Carolina so she knows how to mediate across the aisles... she also said that is was nice that her husband could actually vote for her. Barack Obama has his hands full undoing the last 8 years.

Our health plan is changing - the premiums are going way down, but our out-of-pocket costs are going way up. So, when you have a chronic disease it doesn't save you money in the long run. They make it seem like I want to go to the Doctor and have MRIs and all kinds of tests just for the fun of it. What are the Doctors doing to defend themselves? Nothing as far as I can tell. They need better lobbyists LOL. They want us to shop around for the cheapest Doctors etc. I am not buying a car. People aren't going to take better care of themselves with these new plans. So, we will see what the new administration does for us.

James Taylor was in North Carolina this week doing free concerts for Barack Obama. I saw him yesterday in Raleigh at Moore Square. I got there late so found a spot in the back of the stage (and it was in the shade). There was a good crowd. Governor Hunt was there in support (didn't see our present Gov). Gov Hunt tried to unseat Jessie Helms awhile ago I guess. But he lost. Their message was to get 10 people to vote for Obama and so on. The polls are showing 47-47 %. But I am hoping that we can turn NC Blue! They say Wake County will determine if Obama wins. Makes sense cause that's where all the transplants live (well and out in the Mountains too).

I just wanted to try out adding this image from my flickr account... and was able to. I am using Flock as my browser now so I think I can blog on blogger, keep my images on Flickr and keep track of other stuff.

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Nancy Kirk writes these Monday Minutes. They are her blog, diary, journey through life. This one is about friendship:

http://www.kirkcollection.com/mondayminutetranscript.html

She is right on about how we find and keep friends and how they keep us!

I am visiting my college roomate right now in Massachusetts. We just had lunch with one of our friends from College who we hadn't seen in lots of years. We let too many years go by without being in touch. I guess I am getting older and seeing life rush by. So, take some time to smell the roses as they say.

Machu Picchu

I will never get to see this in person, so I am living vicariously through a lifetime of slides of a friend of mine. A lot of these slides were taken by her son and many by her ex-husband. I am taking a trip around the world by scanning in all of their slides. It has been a great project for me to do while my shoulder recovers.

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