Guilford County in North Carolina does not believe registering marriage licenses is a government activity.

Recently, County Register of Deeds, Jeff Thigpen stated the government does not have the right to deny marriages based on religious preference.


Mr. Thigpen has been the Register of Deeds in Guilford County for as long as I can remember. He stated clearly to the media last week, the government has no right to interrupt any marriage and to do so illustrates religious preference.


GREENSBORO, N.C. (click title to entry - thank you) — North Carolina has no constitutional duty to be in the marriage licensing business and should get out of it immediately, according to a lawsuit filed by a Guilford County elected official and other residents.

County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen, whose office is responsible for recording marriage licenses, is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that says the state should not be involved in that activity — or deny marriages to same-sex couples, according to The News & Record of Greensboro.

State laws essentially make members of the clergy agents of the state by requiring them to oversee the marriage licensing process, the complaint argues, and they improperly deny marriage rights to same-sex couples.

"In order adequately and fully to protect the personal liberty and religious freedom of citizens in North Carolina and the United States, there must be a de-coupling and disentanglement of the state from the personal and religious institution of marriage," the complaint reads....

To the right is a map of estimates to when states may enact gay marriage laws.  (click here)   On this map it is estimated North Carolina won't have the political will to move their legislature until between 2017 to 2020.  That might be true, but, what Mr. Thigpen is clearly stating is that the government has no role in granting or denying marriage. 

He believes that by granting rights to heterosexual couples only sets a precedent that is over reaching by the government and if there is legislation to change that to include same sex marriage then the law could also be passed to prohibit heterosexual marriage as well.  To the best of my knowledge Mr. Thigpen is not gay and is a devout man.  I don't know him personally.  I do know he is well qualified to do his job and has been for a long time.

THIGPEN WANTS TO TAKE ON MORTGAGE GIANTS:  (click here)


SEEKS INVESTIGATION OF “MERS” FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF $1.3 MILLION IN LOST 
REVENUE TO GUILFORD COUNTY


Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen announced today that he will be conferring with County Attorney Mark Payne, NC Attorney General and Secretary of State as to whether the Mortgage Electronic Registration Service (MERS) owes Guilford County fees estimated at $1.3 million in lost revenue from mortgage assignments.  Thigpen also wants to review pending legal actions against MERS and consider options to protect the integrity of public land recordation offices....


Mr. Thigpen's approach is how to best define government to serve the citizen.  He is not dismantling anything, he is simply trying to clear up his role in registering a marriage license.  After all, it isn't as though a marriage license has deeded property rights, or, does it?

Local elected official joins lawsuit over state marriage license requirements (click here)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2011 

(Updated 5:05 pm)

By MORGAN JOSEY GLOVER Staff Writer

GREENSBORO -- Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen and 10 other people filed a lawsuit last week that challenges a requirement that marrying couples in North Carolina obtain a state-issued license....

While this pleading for relief from the Register of Deeds to the  state seems kind of strange, the way I interpret it that marriage is a contract.  Marriage is more contract law then a responsibility of government.  When one examines a marriage license as it is submitted after the ceremony there are the participants and witnesses.  That is very much the way a contract is agreed to and written.  It isn't as though Mr. Thigpen and the other plaintiffs are trying to weaken marriage, quite the contrary, it would strengthen it.  

The "Jumping the Broom" (click here) is a ceremony in which the bride and groom, either at the ceremony or at the reception, signify their entrance into a new life and their creation of a new family by symbolically "sweeping away" their former single lives, former problems and concerns, and jumping over the broom to enter upon a new adventure as wife and husband.

Today there are already marriage contracts separate from the ceremonial license. Marriage contracts have been used for a long time and are sought to protect one partner against financial loss to the other partner should the marriage fail.  The Marriage Contract today is legal and binding.  Why does the State or any other government entity have to provide the same service when a couple can simply go to "Contracts 'R' Us" and fill it out at the time they are wed?  Does the State have the right to define marriage?  If the State has that right, then who is to shape the definition and what prevents any changes in the future?  I sincerely believe the lawsuit is correct.  Heck, at one time births were recorded on the inside covers of Bibles. That wasn't so long ago. 

...There is another meaning of the word mazel (click here) that is more relevant to the phrase Mazel Tov. Mazel is the term used in Jewish mysticism to describe the root of the soul. The mystics say that only a ray of our soul actually inhabits our body. The main part of the soul, our mazel, remains above, shining down on us from a distance....


When does marriage happen for you, at the alter or when a clerk asks for blood tests? There are many ways of handling marriage as an institution, not just through government consent.  A marriage license has taken on less meaning as time has gone by, with palimony and children born without the benefit of a marriage license.  It is a curiosity that so many on the political right in the USA complain about government being involved with privacy rights, yet they see no problem with government overseeing the most personal contract a citizen can have.  Odd.  Marriage licenses have nothing to do with birth certificates.  They are separate topics, both socially and legally.

No retribution for freedom of expression.

This is exactly the problem with Christian Hubris. They get carried away in their expression to CAUSE INFLUENCE. When others feel on the defense because of it there are words of unkindness exchanged. If Bill Mayer believes he had to point out that every move by Mr. Tebow is not an act of god, then so be it!


I thought Christians were suppose to be humble without bring over zealous attention to themselves.  No?  My mistake.

There are conflicts within the international waters that Iran claims as their sovereign territory.

...While passing through straits, (click title to entry - thank you) such as the Strait of Hormuz, that run through territorial waters, ships in transit have more rights. In particular, warships can maintain an appropriate degree of combat-readiness.

Seems reasonable? Unfortunately in the Strait of Hormuz and the waters to the west of it, shipping lanes run close to and in some areas through Iranian territorial waters. Under international maritime law the Iranians are entitled to monitor this traffic but the traffic, including warships, is entitled to unimpeded transit. As the US and Iran view each other with great mistrust, the potential for conflict is high.

Two things complicate the matter further. The first is that the USA has not ratified (formally agreed to abide by) the relevant legislation on international maritime law: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The second is that, according to UNCLOS, if there are islands lying off a nation’s coast then the 12 miles extend from the outermost island.

The area of sea around the Strait of Hormuz contains several islands, for many of which the ownership is claimed by both Iran and the United Arab Emirates, a pro-western country.Whoever owns the islands will own the territorial waters around them, according to international maritime law as it is usually interpreted.

Law of the Sea Briefing Book (click here)

...Admiral Thad Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard: " (click here)

The convention greatly enhances our ability to protect the American public as well as our efforts to protect and manage fishery resources and to protect the marine environment. From the Coast Guard's perspective, we can best maintain a public order of the oceans through a universally accepted law of the sea treaty that preserves and promotes critical U.S. national interests."

General Richard Myers, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “The Convention remains a top national security priority…It supports efforts in the War on Terrorism by providing much-needed stability and operational maneuver space, codifying essential navigational and overflight freedoms.” (2004)...

Oceans and Law of the Sea (click here)

This is such a joke.

3. Straits of Hormuz (click title to entry - thank you) The world’s most important oil chokepoint, with 15 million barrels of oil shipped through it daily. Only 1.5 miles wide at its narrowest point.  Connects Persian Gulf with Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea;

The pirates nearly have the Straits of Hormuz under control anyway.  I am quite confident the pirates carry out their attacks with immunity from Iran.  I have never read of Iran interceding with any raids on ships passing through The Straits anyway.


It is probably the best thing to happen, it will make for easier monitoring of activity in Iran and help gain control of the piracy.  The USA could really decriminalize the area if they have such cooperation from Iran.  It would be good.

Somali pirates seize tanker near Omani port (click here)

Saleh Al Shaibany

Aug 21, 2011 

MUSCAT // Somali pirates hijacked a tanker with 21 Indian sailors on board while it was being loaded just three kilometres from an Omani port yesterday.

Last night the Fairchem Bogey, owned by an Indian firm, was heading toward Somalia after it was seized while it was loading its cargo near Salalah in Oman's far west at about 8.30am, port officials said.

While pirates have continued to stray further north and east in the Indian Ocean to capture ships, the fact that the attack took place so close to a port will cause further alarm for ship operators....

No one is going to say the USA military was going to be surprised by this, were they?  I mean, all the military needs is half a chance to do it their way.  The Free World and most of Arabia believes the pirates work for Iran.

Military personnel place a flag on a submarine during the Velayat-90 war games by the Iranian navy in the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran December 27, 2011. Iran threatened on Tuesday to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with economies dependent on Gulf oil.

USS Theodore Roosevelt

From Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public Affairs  (click here)

NORFOLK (NNS) -- More than 15,000 service members from four countries will participate in Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 08-4 "Operation Brimstone", July 21-31 in North Carolina and off the eastern U.S. coast from Virginia to Florida.

JTFEX 08-4 serves as a ready-for-deployment certification event for the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TR CSG) and the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group (IWO ESG). The exercise will also serve as a Joint Task Force Capable Headquarters sustainment event. In addition, JTFEX 08-4 will offer preliminary accreditation for 2nd Fleet's Maritime Headquarters with Maritime Operations Center (MHQ with MOC)). MHQ with MOC is a new approach to command and control for fleet commanders.

"This exercise is a tremendous opportunity to train; not only as the Navy and Marine Corps team, but with our joint and coalition partners as well," said Commander, 2nd Fleet Vice Adm. Marty Chanik.

"JTFEX 08-4 will flex our warfighting capabilities from the operational level through expeditionary strike force and strike group operations with several of our coalition partners – France, Brazil and the United Kingdom."...

Any actions between Iran and the USA would be unchallenged globally as there are too many lost assets in this region already and China's cost of transportation of their energy supply would be more detrimental to them than the USA.  China would be the hardest hit by any closure of The Straits.

Iran (click here) has launched production of the Zolfaqar and Seraj 1 class missile boats, Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said on Monday.

"The Seraj 1 boat is a high-speed rocket-launcher designed for tropical areas," the ISNA news agency quoted Vahidi as saying. "It is fitted with advanced indigenous communication capabilities."

The Zolfaqar missile-carrying boat "is a surveillance boat designed for quick attacks on enemy ships, it is outfitted with rocket launchers and machine guns," he said....

Russia pays attention to Iran.  Iran considers Russia a muscular asset to its own ambitions, however, I do not believe Russia views itself as an asset to Iran, so much as a business partner.  I sincerely doubt Russia could be lured into turning The Straits in WW III.  The USA and Russia were on the same side in WWII and it may seem silly, but, considering we are all working on non-proliferation and have been the entire time for decades, I sincerely believe there would be no confrontation between the two powers.  Securing The Straits would probably be as much a priority for Russia as the USA and China.  I sincerely believe Iran's muscle flexing only proves there is little Iran can expect from other nations when it comes to causing damage to the global economy.  I do not believe Russia will respond to an Iranian temper tantrum.  Too much as stake and Russia on the record stating Iran's nuclear capacity is non-existant with UN inspectors on the ground there.

Are the inspectors still there?  If Iran were going to muster up its military for confrontation there would be a warning to any foreign ministers in the country, neutral or not.  I do believe this is brinkmanship by Iran.

The UN Inspectors have been in place as recently as November 2011.  That is the report the inspectors stated Iran was preparing a nuclear weapon, but, the report failed to reveal strong evidence.  That is where there is contention between Russia and The West.  Russia consistently has stated there is no nuclear weapon being developed in Iran.  There were pitfalls in the IAEA report.

These inspections occurred after Iran backed down from blocking the inspectors in June or July or somewhere around that time frame.  I am quite confident Russia was the economic partner that insisted the inspectors carry out their work. 

 Now, one can say Russia is conspiring to keep the Iranian missile capacity a secret, but, that is so far afield it is completely ridiculous.  Try to imagine Russia facilitating a nuclear bomb operation in Iran.  Nothing is more bizarre.  If Iranian missiles could reach Europe they can reach Russia and Russia is not willing to allow such problems for its country.  Russia is considered an friend of Israel as well. 

Fact Sheet Russia-Israel Relations (click here)

July 30, 2010

Since the end of the Cold War, relations between Russia and Israel have been on the upswing. A major source of the strengthened ties between the two countries is that one out of every seven Israelis is Russian due to the roughly one million Russian Jews who immigrated to Israel in recent decades....

Russia was one of the powers settling the end of WWII.  It was first into Berlin.  It consented to the development of an  Israeli homeland.  Remember, the Berlin Wall and East and West Berlin.  Does anyone in their right mind actually believe Russia is that much of an enemy?  The entire nuclear proliferation mess is completely stupid and contrary to any relations between the USA and Russia.

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan - Nov 9, 2011 12:01 AM ET

U.S. and European officials (click here) said they will seek to tighten financial sanctions against Iran as soon as possible, armed with a United Nations atomic weapons inspectors’ report that asserts Iran has conducted clandestine activities “specific to nuclear weapons.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency concluded the Persian Gulf nation has pursued a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on its ballistic missiles. Yesterday’s statement is the strongest to date from the Vienna-based UN watchdog that Iran isn’t simply seeking peaceful nuclear power, as its leaders insist.

The findings bolster the arguments of U.S. and European officials who say negotiations with Iran have failed to halt a covert nuclear weapons program. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is seeking support in his cabinet for military action to destroy Iran’s program, news reports said, raising concerns in Washington and at the UN....

Fear mongering really has no place here.  That is what occurred before the Bush/Cheney invasion into an unarmed country, where they were seeking nuclear weapons program the UN Inspectors stated there was no evidence at all that indicated same.

 Sunday 25 October 2009 12.23 EDT

...UN inspectors (click here) got their first look today inside a once-secret uranium enrichment facility that has raised western suspicions about the extent ofIran's nuclear programme.

The semi-official Mehr news agency reported that the four-member team visited the heavily protected facility, carved into a mountainside south of Tehran. The tour marked the first independent examination of the site, but no results were expected until after the inspectors leave Iran later this week....

Published: December 19, 2011

If Iran used nuclear material to do weapons work, the country would be in direct violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Tehran has signed. Failing to report that work to the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency -- as they are required to – would also put Iran at odds with the international community. In any case, a large measure of ambiguity about Iran's nuclear work would be removed. IAEA inspectors were careful to avoid "extrapolating" in the November report, in the hope that Iran would answer their questions. The result is that important implications were not spelled out in the detailed allegation of a comprehensive and sustained Iranian nuclear weapons program.

The United States has estimated that Iran stopped its weaponization activities in 2003 but the IAEA report states that some work has continued since then. These activities may have included neutron initiator testing using natural uranium, or natural uranium transformed into uranium deuteride. A neutron initiator is a key trigger to setting off a nuclear explosion. The tiny initiator is placed in the center of a nuclear core to produce a burst of neutrons, initiating a fission chain reaction.

The test would have required a dry-run explosion....

Any aggression by Iran toward any entity in The Straits of Hormuz would be conventional, not nuclear.  The Iran military, no matter their capacity, ain't all that. Everyone has to try, I guess.

The air mass coming in on the west coast of North America looks to be a concern with young venturous students off for holiday.

December 27. 2011

1130:01z
UNISYS Water Vapor North and West Hemisphere Satellite


Twelve hours earlier at the beginning of the 12 hour loop it is noted there are primarily straight line winds, but, only when the denser air mass reaches warmer land does the air expand and take up more space dictating a piling up of the mass into a vortex as seen developing quickly within the next 12 hours of the loop.




December 27, 2011
2230:01z
UNISYS Water Vapor North and West Hemisphere Satellite (click title to entry for 12 hour loop - thank you)


December 28, 2011
0005 GMT
Pacific Coast Satellite

- Winds will be especially strong (click here) near the Washington and Oregon coasts, across south-central Oregon and over much of Montana and Wyoming with gusts from 40 to 75 mph.

- Lows will range from between 0 and 20 degrees in the central and southern Rockies to the 40s along the West Coast.

There seems to be a fair amount of moisture with this air mass, but, there is approaching straight line winds behind the developed vortex.  I just don't like it. Probably much ado about nothing.  I just worry about the high velocity winds, especially in the mountains where people, young people, could be spending their time off from school.

December 27, 2011
2312 GMT
Pacific Ocean Satellite


It isn't the usual vortex. This air mass has an etiology of completely arctic air.  It is dense in concentration and it will carry more velocity with that density.


The approaching air mass picked up moisture from the some Indonesian rainforests and an Indian Ocean typhoon, but, quickly diverged into north and south directions.

December 27, 2011 
1835 GMT
Pacific Global Satellite


The distinctive two masses are noted with the southern mass moving sharply south toward Antarctica.  It is east of Australia and New Zealand, but, there is a small air mass noted to be moving over New Zealand.  They just had another set of earthquakes this past weekend.  The fun just never ends in New Zealand these days and there appears to be a burgeoning area of Christchurch which is unretrievible due to the continued shaking.  I think this past weekend was nearly 6 on the Richter scale.

December 27, 2011
2214 GMT
Western Pacific Satellite


The heat transfer system from the Indian Ocean and Indonesia has substantial heat.  It looks like northern Australia and New Zealand is its path.


But, the northern air mass that is at the west coast of North America is primarily from the west coast of India.  It is considerably more north than the southern hemisphere air mass.  It enters frigid territory quickly and accumulates condensation of water as it comes across the Pacific.

December 27, 2011 
1710 GMT
Indian Ocean Satellite


The air mass that is providing the water vapor to the current west coast system of North America is actually a Tropical Storm which is still active.  It is Tropical Storm Thane expected to make landfall across the southern end of India and passing over Sri Lanka.

Tropical Storm Thane (click here and page down)
December 27, 2011
2232 UTC


Graphic provided by Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center/Joint Typhoon Warning Center (click here)

It is a very wet storm so the water vapor supplying the west coast of NA has ample moisture along with winds.


KOCHI, DEC 27: 

As expected, the Bay of Bengal has erupted suddenly with activity after tropical cyclone ‘Thane' spun up over the waters early on Tuesday morning.

CONVECTIVE CLOUDS (click here)

An Insat cloud imagery showed convective (rain-triggering) clouds rising over parts of Tamil Nadu, south and central Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea
.

Meanwhile, a weather warning issued by the IMD said that heavy rainfall would break out at one or two places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands and over north coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south coastal Andhra Pradesh from Wednesday.

Meanwhile in the north, dense fog conditions have been forecast over parts of Punjab, Haryana Delhi Uttar Pradesh and Bihar until Thursday morning.

The prevailing cold wave would set off ground frost over many parts of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi and some parts of north Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh.

#Occupy observed the holiday with a religious tone. (click title for video - thank you.

Occupy Wall Street marks Christmas with prayers (click here)
December 25, 2011 18:49 EST

NEW YORK (AP) -- Occupy Wall Street protesters have celebrated Christmas with prayers and a reading of a Martin Luther King speech in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park.Police evicted protesters from the privately owned public space in November.  Christmas Day at Zuccotti -- the 100th day of the first demonstrations -- started at midnight with a prayer service in the park. Breakfast was served in the morning.At noon, a 1967 speech by King was read -- one in which the civil rights leader expressed his opposition to the Vietnam War.Other Christmas activities at Zuccotti Park included music and a poetry reading....

It could be said, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges the struggle of the 99%.

Pope Benedict spoke of many things in his Christmas address, including the violence that so mars the struggle for freedom.  His health is stated to be delicate at the age of 85, but, he didn't hesitate to state how commercial identity of the flock taints the beauty of life and love and spiritual piety.

...In his homily, (click here) Benedict lamented that Christmas has become an increasingly commercial celebration that obscures the simplicity of the message of Christ's birth.

"Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light," he said.

It was the second time in as many days that Benedict has pointed to the need to rediscover faith to confront the problems facing the world today. In his end-of-year meeting with Vatican officials on Thursday, Benedict said Europe's financial crisis was largely "based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent."...

Pope Benedict will be traveling to Cuba.  It is stated Cuba is expecting to release prisoners before or as he arrives for his visit and mass.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.

25 to 30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States every year.

This is a Scotch Pine Tree.  We picked this variety of Christmas Tree out every year when I was child.  (click here)

 Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United States since about 1850.

The best-selling trees are Scotch pine, Douglas fir, Noble fir, Fraser fir, Virginia pine, balsam fir and white pine.

More than 2,000 trees are usually planted per acre on tree farms. It takes six to 10 years to grow a mature tree.

There are more than 21,000 Christmas tree growers in the United States.

The first decorated Christmas tree was in Riga, Latvia, in 1510.

The first Christmas tree retail lot in the country was started in 1851 in New York.

Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states.

73 million Christmas trees will be planted this year on farms.

Oregon produces the most real trees.

Sources: National Christmas Tree Association; U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture