AND THE THIRD ANGEL FOLLOWED THEM, SAYING WITH A LOUD VOICE, IF ANY MAN WORSHIP THE BEAST AND HIS IMAGE, AND RECEIVE HIS MARK IN HIS FOREHEAD, OR IN HIS HAND. *** REVELATION 14:9
Friday, July 13, 2012
WIDE IS THE GATE- The Emerging New Christianity
Uploaded by kytekutter on Jan 10, 2011
When Christianity starts to leave the Bible out of the equation, apostasy isn't far off!
Uploaded by kytekutter2 on Jan 9, 2012
When Christianity starts to leave the Bible out of the equation, apostasy isn't far off! DOCUMENTARY RELEASED SUMMER 2012.....
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Secret societies: the Jesuits and the Jesuit oath
Published on Apr 1, 2012 by friendofYahushua
Full credits to TheFuelProject
Related video: Jesuit infiltration in the Christian churches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgVaEDmb5Ac
The Jesuits -- the political arm of the Vatican and the pagan church of Rome -- have the goal of creating a one-world Catholic religious system through the infiltration of every Christian denomination and American political institution with the purpose of destroying the United States and the Protestant movement with unBiblical, occult and pagan practices with the help of the Illuminati.
The Jesuit oath speaks volumes as to how they intend to reach their objectives. It is twisted and satanic to the core.
The Jesuits are active proponents in promoting the worship of Mary (Marian worship) and the future enforcement of Sunday laws in contradiction to the 7th day Sabbath commandment of the Most High.
The seven plagues of the Most High will soon fall upon those who will take the mark of the beast (Sunday rest and worship) -- rather than observing the commandments of the Most High including the 7th day Sabbath commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) - and their fate will be an unpleasant one:
"[...] if any man worship the beast (Vatican) and his image (protestant churches) and receive his mark (Sunday) in his forehead (decision to accept Sunday as day of rest) or in his hand (not working on Sunday), the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb (Revelation 14:9-10).
Here are quotes from the Vatican or the first beast (nation) of Revelation 13) that point to Sunday as being its mark:
"Sunday is our MARK of our authority [...] The church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact". — Catholic Record of London, Ontario. Sept. 1, 1923.
"Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [from Sabbath to Sunday] was her act. It could not have been otherwise, as none in those days would have dreamed of doing any thing in matters spiritual and religious without her, and the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters." (from the office of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H. F. Thomas, November 11, 1895).
Soon, every man, woman and child will have to make a very important decision that will alter the fate: either embrace Christ and His commandments including the 7th day Sabbath commandment or obeying the satan-inspired beasts of Revelation 13, including the Vatican and the United States and their one world government and false religious system.
Make the right choice: choose Christ, keep His commandments and you'll have eternal life.
For more information and videos on Bible prophecy, please visit www.remnantofgod.org, www.john1429.org, www.sdrasia.org and NicholasPoGM's YouTube's channel.
Opus Dei Blue Army Mary worship ecumenical movement World Council of Churches WCC SDA Trilateral Commission Alberto Rivera martial law secret society secret societies John Paul II Illuminati Antichrist Vatican United States Sabbath Council of Trent prophecy apostasy beast pope mark of the beast image of the beast Catholic Catholic church Jesuit order Jesuits Jesuit oath satan devil new world order man of sin false prophet Protestant churches
License: Standard YouTube License
THE WORLD IS CHOKING ON CARTOONISH HYPOCRISY
Miss American for FederalJack) The very ‘humans’ who have gained their immense wealth and power through the centuries from the sweat and toil of others, and who have arranged the world to steal anything they want without lifting a finger, are the same ones who have appointed themselves as the new God’s of the universe. These carnival barkers actually believe they have the final word on who, and how many humans belong on this planet!! Of course, we have yet to see any of them step up and volunteer to be an example to the rest of us in their zealotry to demonize “the earth’s human plague”, and actually help reduce the world’s population!! Any critically thinking person would be looking over their shoulder for the white coats to take us away in straightjackets if WE went around spouting the very same ludicrous nonsense they have come up with. Global warming has turned into climate change?? Now there’s something you can’t argue with!! It’s why weather reports were invented! I suppose that the sky being blue will be the next ‘proof’ that ‘we’ are causing the moon to exit the universe. The hysterical and rabid environmental ‘Gods’ seem to have been blessed with crystal balls and know exactly how the earth is going to behave, and what the weather will be 75 years from now. What they’ve done is create a casino where they can take bets on what the temperature will be tomorrow, or on any given day in the year 2062, while they control the temperatures with their chemicals dispersed in the sky and electronic toys (HAARP).
One doesn’t even need to look beneath the surface or read between the lines, to see the gigantic lies, blatant deceptions, and the insanity of it all. You have to think that trying to pull off this grand scheme, and how voraciously absurd it is, is part of the rush they are thoroughly enjoying, while they madly jerk on their multitude of puppet strings. The mind drifts easily to the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain, after they’ve led the gullible masses down the green brick road. We can only imagine how far these ‘people’ need to go to get any kind of stimulation out of life. When you have destroyed every moral code possible, committed every kind of crime, violated every local and global law, indulged in all manner of unspeakable human abuses, what is left?? What could they think of next in their search for a thrill?? This is where it gets very damn scary! This is where the self-appointed New Gods provide the proof that they are indeed the devil in disguise, and so mentally ill they don’t fit any framework for even the most gifted psychiatrist to classify. I wonder. Have you given any thought at all to the up front and in your face hypocrisy they have put on the plate for you to consume?? Or the brutality with which they demand that we obey? Their ruthlessness is the giveaway that will tell you who you are dealing with. Electric utilities are shutting off power to elderly people who do not want Smart Meters!! “We will install this dangerous device on your home, even though it’s not UL approved, no matter how sick you are”! “And if you are sick, you’ll pay through the nose to keep your old meter, you sucker”!
Think about these items from very small, to beyond all comprehension, when you hear their buzzwords the next time. On second thought, they have realized the world is waking up and have drawn up new buzzwords for their agenda, but here are the ones you are catching onto and are sick of already:
SUSTAINABILITY: From now on, The Gods say humans must be limited to sustainable activities and energy use. Yet they control the corporations that make terminator crop seeds that must be purchased every season, and create laws that make saving/storing seeds (sustainable) illegal. It doesn’t matter if nature ruins an entire crop, or the farmer commits suicide because he has no money for the next season’s planting. And it doesn’t matter if their concoctions fail by the thousands of acres, or that increasing tons of additional pesticides and herbicides must be used each year to control the unintended consequences created by GMO crop planting. One thing is for sure. We know that Monsanto’s Round-Up is as efficient as cyanide for killing yourself and destroying animal and insect species. Killing vast bee colonies that pollinate a huge segment of our food supply is oh-so sustainable! And when the scientists get close to proving who or what is responsible for bee colony collapse, the suspected responsible party (starts with an ‘M’) buys up that research facility to silence the truth.
It’s also very sustainable for our fuel supplies to prohibit from the American auto market, cars that are available to Europeans that get 78 MPG. Their answer is that they are “protecting the US economy”. VW and even Ford build them right here in the US, but we can’t have them! (those greedy over-consuming low life American humans!) I think we all know ‘who killed the electric car’, killed inventors, and stole or stifled technologies that could have helped wean us away from oil fuel decades ago. Maybe back then we would have even feared to tread on the nuclear power time bomb. And who has bought up, bought off, railroaded or squashed other countries or corporations who might have violated their mantra that ‘competition is a crime’. They also control the corporations that continue to over-package products that are used up in mere minutes or days, in heavy, thick containers made from petroleum products. Sure, we can recycle, but what good does that do when a huge barge owned by who knows who, dumps the whole shebang into the ocean? And rather than replace strict regulations on coal plants that our former president squashed, just go ahead and shut down one of our most plentifully mined energy minerals and the plants that provide much of our electricity. Now, I’m not big on strip mining, but what can we do when we are a century behind because ‘somebody’ controlled energy advances? How much more hypocritical can it get people? If I was writing a book about their definition of sustainability, and the BS they are shoving down our throats, it would weigh more than War and Peace! Oh, I forgot to mention The God’s plan to destroy hydro-electric dams all around the country that supply energy to hundreds of thousands of homes, in the name of their Agenda 21 “re-wilding” plan, the UN’s pet project to put the earth back to its natural condition! Could there be any more sustainable energy than mother nature’s renewable sources of life-giving rain water from natural weather patterns?? See the updated UN Bio-diversity Map to see if your town or home is destined for extinction when The Gods wave their magic wand.
GREEN GROWTH: Before they start ‘growing’ anything, don’t you think it would be great to clean up the horrendous mess that their corporations have created in our lifetimes? How about the identified Superfund sites that still sit neglected after 30 years? How about facing the unthinkable quantity of planet killing spent nuclear fuel waste that is located around the country in pools at every nuclear generating plant, like so many gigantic bombs with the fuse already lit?? Has anyone wondered where all the world’s nuclear experts are, and why absolutely no single entity on earth has come together to help Japan stop the “biblical proportions” threat presented by the Fukushima nuclear meltdown???? Maybe by ‘green growth’ they mean all the new funny mutated plants that are showing up all over America.
How about calling a halt to the ‘geo-engineering the planet’ scheme that is spewing millions of tons of aluminum, barium, a multitude of other heavy metals, along with who knows what else, into the very air we breathe? Some say the cloud cover created by this scam is actually holding in the heat at surface level. ‘They’ claim that it’s reflecting the sun away, at the same time the artic glaciers are quickly melting, opening it up for oil drilling by competing countries and greedy drillers. So they are creating the problem while claiming they are fixing it. If carbon emissions are at such a dire level as to be threatening our demise at this very moment according to their hysteria, why is there no mention of the multi-millions of extra pounds of carbon fuel emissions from the worldwide mega-fleet of death spewing geo-engineering tanker planes??? What is so disgusting is how these so-called environmentalists got caught lying in a scandal called Climate-Gate, proving the ‘warming’ that their whole premise is based on, is a farce. People around the globe heard about it. However, our own president showed up at their Copenhagen global warming conference, acting like nothing happened at all, and jabbered on about how world ‘consensus’ was that the earth was warming. No matter how many times their crimes, lies and utter hypocrisy are exposed, they forge ahead as if it never happened! Geo-engineering by the way, is gravely affecting crop growth, killing trees and people, spoiling soils and polluting water, cutting solar panel efficiency, and making forest fires nearly explosive. Yup! Sounds like green growth to me! The ‘New Gods’ have a very different ideas than the God I was familiar with.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: With the blessing of NOAA, the US Navy is currently engaged in a five year war exercise plan off all US coasts. They will admittedly be ‘taking’ (harming/killing) up to 12 million sea mammals with sonar, missiles, electronic weapons, and all manner of chemical bomb tests. Evidently, they will be creating an all inclusive new category of ‘endangered species’. Sea life!! But plausible deniability will let them blame the Fukushima nuclear ‘accident’, or the human caused ocean ‘warming’ for the thousands of deaths of seals, whales and dolphins that are already evident.
‘They’ have also decided that the dwindling numbers of wild horses and donkeys on our western open ranges are over-grazing and ruining the environment. So the Bureau of Land Management has taken to cruel helicopter ‘round-ups’, using the chopper’s skids to prod and terrorize them, breaking up family herds and corralling them into holding areas for sale or slaughter. A great symbolic icon of American freedom, running with joy on the open land, is also about to be added to the ‘endangered species’ list. And yes, the New Gods are right! Some humans will be the cause of it.
On the other hand, whenever you see something unusual happening to (small) farmers and private ranchers, or the land and water rights they own that doesn’t seem quiet right, it’s because of some obscure ‘endangered’ animal or fish you never heard of that has recently appeared on the list that ‘they’ create. What is underway is the plot for huge land grabs in the name of that re-wilding plan for our country. ‘They’ want to restore the earth to its natural state of wonder where no man may tread or fly over. That is, except the water syphoning miners and drillers they will lease the land to, along with the ranges they’ll need for the 30,000 nuclear powered predator spy drones that are soon to be unleashed over all our heads.
INVASIVE SPECIES: I guess humans are soon to be listed in this new ‘to be destroyed’ category. According to The Gods, humanity is the scourge of our earth and the cause of its eminent demise. Excuse me, but isn’t contaminating real food crops, seeds, and replacing age old farming methods with laboratory seeds that are man made, using spliced and diced gene codes invasive to mother nature? They never required testing, or environmental studies, or informing the public that they were going to be consuming vast amounts of Frankenfood?? Why? Why was the infiltration of this technology hidden from view? Why were/are covert means used to spread this invasive species of life all over the earth? Why the need for billion dollar lawsuits brought by million dollar lawyers against any entity that dared to study and report, ban, or even label these killer foods? Why the need to smash down small and independent farmers who merely wanted to continue their crop growing and lives as they were, without being invaded (spied and trespassed on, then sued by Monsanto, the GMO giant)? The latest despicable display from The Gods was watching while farmers put their own livestock, on their own land, in the sites of their own firearms, and pulled the trigger! This atrocity was forced by the USDA on a Michigan farmer because his pigs were not the ‘right’ color and might someday escape the farms fences and turn feral!!! How many times do we have to ask ourselves what country or planet we are living on?
THE TRUTH: WE are destined to be the newly listed endangered species! According to The Gods, we are now the earth’s invasive species that must also be gunned down, as this report by Jurriaan Maessen from their current (newly named SD21+) Agenda 21 conference in Rio de Janeiro shows: (emphasis mine)
Their joint statement titled “ HYPERLINK “http://www.unep.org/pdf/pressreleases/Blue_Planet_synthesis_paper.pdf” Environment and Development Challenges: The Imperative to Act” was clearly designed to inspire the UN and its upcoming confab to make haste with global government. In their manifesto the impatient fiends call for a global implementation of population policies and rights being trampled upon in order to address what they call “the population issue”:
“The population issue should be urgently addressed by education and empowerment of women, including in the work-force and in rights, ownership and inheritance; health care of children and the elderly; and making modern contraception accessible to all.”, they write.
“Globally, we must find better means to agree and implement measures to achieve collective goals.”
The authors go on to assert that “in the face of an absolutely unprecedented emergency, society has no choice but to take dramatic action to avert a collapse of civilization. Either we will change our ways and build an entirely new kind of global society, or they will be changed for us.”
Decrying that “funding (for worldwide fertility control) decreased by 30% between 1995 and 2008, not least as a result of legislative pressure from the religious right in the USA and elsewhere”, the authors call for “education and planning needed to foster and achieve a sustainable human population and lifestyles.”
Now what do you think this means exactly, a sustainable human population? James Lovelock in 2009 gave us the answer, calling for the culling of the population with a desired outcome of 1 billion people worldwide.
Of all the eco-fascists penning down proposals, Paul Ehrlich may be considered the most bloodthirsty of the bunch- with his continuing insistence on massive population reduction. Few people need to be reminded of the words he wrote in Ecoscience which he HYPERLINK “http://zombietime.com/john_holdren/” co-authored with John P. Holdren, the current White House science czar. To highlight a few of these:
“Adding a sterilant to drinking water or staple foods is a suggestion that seems to horrify people more than most proposals for involuntary fertility control. Indeed, this would pose some very difficult political, legal, and social questions, to say nothing of the technical problems. No such sterilant exists today, nor does one appear to be under development. To be acceptable, such a substance would have to meet some rather stiff requirements: it must be uniformly effective, despite widely varying doses received by individuals, and despite varying degrees of fertility and sensitivity among individuals; it must be free of dangerous or unpleasant side effects; and it must have no effect on members of the opposite sex, children, old people, pets, or livestock.”
While Rome burns, as a result of The Gods self-created destruction, this is what these lunatics are plotting, planning, and desperate to implement. They know the world is onto them, and watching in amusement while they spew their grand ideas to control and fleece the rest of us forever. It seems they’ve become fed up with ‘leaders’ who are not getting rid of us quickly enough with their recommended covert soft means. They have taken matters into their own hands with little attempt to hide what is up. The list of attack methods is now there for everyone to see, if they will only look! Every manner of poison is being employed. I won’t bore you with that list, as I have done that already in a previous column titled “They Want Us Dead-Red Alert America”. This small group of demons can’t see past their wallets, which contain their hearts, their souls, and their gargantuan hubris of being the all powerful Gods. If we want to defeat them, before they destroy us, is aiming for the back pocket all we have to do? Would the real God please stand up!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Gadgets work under your skin --- but are you ready?
The Other Consequences of Fast and Furious
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
EX Ministries TBHH7: Roman Catholics, Protestants, Antichrist, Church
Uploaded by PRDirector1 on Jan 18, 2012
This snippet features content from the Truth Behind Hip hop 7, Mother of all gods. G. Craige Lewis goes in depth, into unchartered territory to expose the harlot of Babylon's assignment against this generation. If you thought you've seen it all, you haven't. This is unlike any DVD in the TBHH series. The information in this DVD will not only open your eyes to the secret agenda of the enemy through entertainment, government, religion and fatherlessness, but will also equip you in your stand for the Kingdom of God. To order DVD log on to www.exministries.com
Monday, July 09, 2012
Episcopalians set to be first big U.S. church to bless gay marriage
The Antichrist
The Antichrist
By : Lawrence M. Nelson
Today the entire world is focused on the Antichrist mentioned in the Bible. God's Word tells us that he is soon to appear. But, who is he? The vast majority who have done a lot of speculation as to who it might be are in for a big surprise!
The New World Order being promoted by international statesmen, labor unions, and religionists will discover-too late- that this united effort to save planet earth has been masterminded by the Antichrist!
God has revealed the identity beyond any doubt by His description of the woman riding the beast as given in the 17th chapter of Revelation.
The author has traveled the world as an International lecturer opening up the Word of God as the only answer to today's confusing problems.
When a prophet proclaims
Sunday, July 08, 2012
The Georgia Guidestones (Sinister Sites)
By VC | November 15th, 2010 | Category: Sinister Sites
Georgia Guidestones is a mysterious monument on which are carved ten “commandments” for a “New Age of Reason”. The first commandment? Maintaining the world population under 500 million people. Another sinister fact: the authors of what we now call the American Stonehedge are still a “mystery”… except for those in the know. We will look at the numerous features of this monument, its message calling for a New World Order and explain how it is the work of an occult secret society.
Note: One of the first articles I ever wrote on this site, back in late 2008, was about the Georgia Guidestones. I removed the article about a year ago, however, when I came across some vital information: the explanation of the rules written by the hidden authors themselves as well as other documents. So if you are a long-time reader of this site, please keep reading as I’ve re-written the entire article.
The Georgia Guidestones is an enigmatic granite monument situated in Elbert County, Georgia. Also known as the American Stonehedge, the gigantic structure is almost 20 feet high and is made of six granite slabs, weighing in total 240,000 pounds. The most astonishing detail of the monument is however not its size but the message engraved into it: Ten rules for an “Age of Reason”. These guides touch upon subjects that are associated with the “New World Order”, including massive depopulation, a single world government, the introduction of a new type of spirituality, etc. The authors of those rules have requested to remain totally anonymous and, until now, their anonymity has been duly preserved. However, this mysterious group left a text explaining the reasoning behind the rules, a text that was not discussed online before. With this new information, the purpose behind the Guidestones become very clear, leaving little room for hypotheses. The Guidestones describe the ideal world, as envisioned by occult Secret Societies. The monument is therefore proof of an existing link between secret societies, the world elite and the push for a New World Order.
The Monument
Made of Pyramid blue granite, the Georgia Guidestones are meant to withstand the test of time and to communicate knowledge on several levels: philosophically, politically, astronomically, etc. It consists of four major stone blocks, which contain ten guides for living in eight languages: English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. A shorter message is inscribed at the top of the structure in four ancient languages’ scripts: Babylonian, Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and Egyptian hieroglyphs. It is important to note that those last four ancient languages are of a great importance in the teachings of occult mystery schools, such as the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians, organizations I will discuss later.
The four major stones are arranged in a giant “paddlewheel” configuration which are oriented to the limits of the migration of the sun during the course of the year and also show the extreme positions of the rising and setting of the sun in its 18.6 year cycle. The center stone has two special features: first, the North Star is always visible through a special hole drilled from the South to the North side of the center stone; second, another slot aligns with the positions of the rising sun at the time of the summer and winter solstices and at the equinox.
Source: Wired
At the base of the Guidestones lies an explanatory tablet listing some of the details of the structure. It also mentions a time capsule buried underneath it. The contents of this time capsule (if it exists) are a total mystery.
Astronomical features are of a great importance in the design of the Guidestones. In a relatively “new” nation such as the United States, monuments that are aligned with celestial bodies are often the work of secret societies, such as the Freemasons. Drawing their teachings from the Mystery schools of Ancient Egypt, Greece or the Druidic Celts, they are known for embedding into monuments some of their “sacred knowledge”.
Saturday, July 07, 2012
A man's enemies are the men of his own house
Friday, July 06, 2012
Alleged sexual abuse victim cleared in priest attack
Pentagon Celebrates Gay Pride During Treason Trial
Thursday, July 05, 2012
US military strength beefed up at Hormuz as nuclear talks with Iran fade
The Obama administration released details Tuesday, July 3, of a fresh buildup of its military forces in the Persian Gulf, stressing their task is to fend off any Iranian attempt to endanger international shipping by blocking or planting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Shortly after the announcement, senior US administration officials said the fourth round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers taking place in Istanbul Tuesday were most probably the last: Tehran has refused to give way on the key issues of the 20-percent grade enrichment of uranium and the closure of its underground nuclear facility at Fordo.
The new war drums sent oil past $100 for the first time in three weeks.
As for the Gulf buildup, US sources said counter-measures were in place in case the extra forces were targeted for Iranian aggression.
Tehran earlier threatened military reprisals for the oil embargo imposed by the European Union Sunday, July 1. The next day, the Prophet 7 missile exercise was launched by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards simulating attacks on “enemy air bases.”
The wording of the exercise’s mission was taken as strongly intimating that Tehran had US air bases in the Persian Gulf and Middle East, including facilities used the US Air Force in Israel and Turkey, well within the sights of its missiles. It was stressed that short-, medium- and long-range missiles were being put through their paces.
Tuesday, commanders of the Iranian exercise reported that dozens of missiles had been trained for several hours on mock “enemy bases” in several countries, stating that missiles capable of hitting Israel had been successfully tested.
The US has doubled the number of fast warships in Gulf waters that are capable of instantaneously responding to Iranian moves for closing the strategic Straits of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes daily. More minesweepers are also on hand, as well as commando units for preventive action against the planting of mines in the sea lanes frequented by oil tankers on their way to and from Gulf export terminals.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that US, Saudi and other Gulf armies have been on high military alert since Thursday, June 28, on two counts: the escalating Syrian crisis and thepotential threat to the strategic strait in response to the EU embargo. Iranian leaders have often threatened to treat this penalty as an act of war. As part of their new stance, Saudi forces moved up to the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.
According to our sources, the information released in Washington on the US Gulf buildup represents only a fraction of the concentration of strength gradually building up around Iran for five months since March. It was then that two squadrons of the F-22 Raptor stealth planes were moved to the United Arab Emirates air base at Al Dhafra and troops were flown in to two strategic islands, Masirah on the Gulf of Oman and Socotra at the meeting-point between the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Their numbers now are estimated at 40,000.
Source
Many Americans have throwback Independence Day with no power
The Associated Press
Gail Cassidy, a manager of interpretation, holds up a bowl of chocolate ice cream during a demonstration at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, Wednesday, July 4, 2012 in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
At George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, one of the most popular Fourth of July attractions was a demonstration of 18th-century ice cream making, one of Washington's favorite desserts. Historical interpreters Gail Cassidy and Anette Ahrens showed the crowds how cocoa beans were roasted and ground into a paste for chocolate ice cream, made using ice hauled up in massive blocks from the Potomac River and stored underground to last as long into the summer as possible.
As for beverages, Washington was no stranger to alcohol, enjoying imported Madeira wine from Portugal, distilling his own whiskey and enjoying a fruity brandy cocktail called Cherry Bounce.
Washington was his own architect at Mount Vernon, "and he was very good at it," said Dennis Pogue, associate director for preservation at Mount Vernon. The piazza, which runs the length of the mansion, is "kind of California living in the 18th century," Pogue said.
The location, atop a sloping hill along the Potomac, catches cool breezes. Lots of windows and shutters allow for the regulation of sun and wind. And the distinctive cupola on the mansion roof serves as the mansion's air conditioning unit, funneling hot air out the top and drawing cooler air in at the ground level.
Visitors on Wednesday gathered on the mansion's back porch, a piazza overlooking the Potomac where breezes rolled through.
"It feels good out here. It's the same thing we do in Texas," said Chris Moore of Austin, Texas, sitting with his wife, Dina. The two had come to Virginia to see their son graduate from officer training at The Basic School at Quantico Marine Corps Base.
Moore said he opted for the smaller crowds at Mount Vernon as opposed to the massive Fourth of July Celebration on the National Mall because it afforded a better place to relax and contemplate the founding of the nation, especially since Mount Vernon on Wednesday hosted a naturalization ceremony for 100 new citizens from 47 different countries.
"This place is incredible. It's just the kind of place that people need to see," he said, noting the divided nature of the country's current politics. "We all need to step back and look at where we started."
Up the river in Washington, President Barack Obama also attended a naturalization ceremony at the White House, this one for active service members from 17 countries. Military families were invited for a barbecue and to watch fireworks on the South Lawn.
Obama said the varied backgrounds of those taking the oath typified America's long tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world to its shores.
"Unless you are one of the first Americans, a native American, we are all descended from folks who came from somewhere else," he said. "The story of immigrants in America isn't a story of them. It's a story of us."
Presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has spent most of the week off the campaign trail with his family in in Wolfeboro, N.H., but took time Wednesday to march in the town's Fourth of July parade.
In New York, about a dozen disabled soldiers — most triple or quadruple amputees — visited ground zero ahead of the usual throng of tourists. The visit was intended to salute service members who survived the post-9/11 wars to become miracles of modern medicine, and to promote two charities raising money for homes custom-built to ease their burdens.
On Coney Island, Joey Chestnut ate his way to a sixth straight win at the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, tying his personal best in a sweaty, gag-inducing spectacle. The 28-year-old nicknamed "Jaws" scarfed down 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes in the sweltering summer heat to take home $10,000 and the mustard-yellow belt.
The city's celebration was expected to capped with the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks show off Manhattan later in the night, with 40,000 aerial shells will be launched from five barges.Many Americans abandoned their holiday plans after going without power from violent storms that hit Friday across the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
Jeanette Oliver had planned to have her relatives over to her Vineland, N.J., home, but the ongoing power outage forced her to change those plans on the fly this week.
"They had been saying most people would have (electrical) service back by Wednesday, but we didn't want to risk having a big party in a home where you couldn't turn on the air conditioning, you couldn't turn on a TV or a computer," Oliver said outside a supermarket early Wednesday. "Several people in our family are elderly, and you don't want them suffering with the heat and being uncomfortable."
Sarah Lenkay and her roommates, who lost power in Columbus, Ohio, Friday evening, didn't have power back until around midnight Wednesday. They weren't too excited about the holiday, because the last few days have been so miserable.
"I'm just enjoying the comfort of my home right now, and cleaning and getting things in order," she said. "So I'm not really doing much. It feels great."
Heat wave expands, as do signs of the times: buckled roads
Buckled roads were just some of the frustrations still facing millions on Thursday.
In Chicago, soaring temperatures forced 17 public schools without air conditioning to cancel summer classes on Thursday, NBCChicago.com reported. Additional closures are possible in the days to come.
The Mid-Atlantic region was also struggling to get back to normal after the deadly storms.
Utility and municipal crews worked through the July 4th holiday to restore power and remove downed tree limbs. Officials blamed the storms for 26 deaths.
More than 2 million customers at one point lost power from the storms that converged on Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Indiana, Ohio and New Jersey on Friday. They packed winds topping 80 mph in some places, uprooting trees and damaging homes.
Much of the damage to the power grid was blamed on last weekend's rare "derecho," a big, powerful and long-lasting wind storm that blew from the Midwest to the Atlantic Ocean.
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Lack of power puts damper on July 4th celebrations
A United States flag waves next to carnival rides as fireworks burst in the air during the Fourth of July Independence Day show at State Fair Meadowlands, Tuesday, July 3, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
By JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press July 4, 2012 8:40AM
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic were preparing to spend the Fourth of July like America’s founders did in 1776, without the conveniences of electricity and air conditioning.
Friday’s storm arrived with little warning and knocked out power to 3 million homes and businesses in states from West Virginia to Ohio and Illinois. Officials blamed 24 deaths on the storm and its aftermath, and power companies in some places estimated it could be the weekend before everyone’s power is restored. More than 900,000 homes and businesses remained without power early Wednesday.
As a result, power repairs were taking priority over parties in many parts. At least four planned fireworks displays were cancelled in Maryland because of the outages, with officials saying they couldn’t spare police and fire resources for the festivities.
In Rockville, Md., officials called off their celebration because trees and wires were blocking two of the three entrances to the college campus where fireworks were planned. In Gaithersburg, Md., Acting City Manager Tony Tomasello said his city, about 30 minutes north of Washington, cancelled its display because a power company is using its planned celebration location, a fairgrounds, as a staging area for repairs. Hundreds of bucket trucks park there when crews finish their 16-hour shifts, and transformers, gravel and poles are being stored there too.
“Everyone’s disappointed. We’re disappointed,” Tomasello said of cancelling the celebration, adding that it would be rescheduled.
In West Virginia, meanwhile, officials urged people to resist the temptation to set off fireworks at home because the risk of fire is too high. Many brown, crunchy lawns were already potential fuel, but the trees and limbs that fell during the storm have added even more tinder.
Some people affected by the storm were too tired or frustrated to think about fireworks, parties or planned holiday travel. Dennis Andrews, 62, of Ellicott City, Md., had planned to go to Myrtle Beach, S.C. But after spending 14 hours cutting trees that fell on his property, Andrews, who runs a construction equipment rental company, said he was ready to relax by the pool instead.
Other parties were toned down, cancelled or moved. LaJuan Barnett, 44, who runs a daycare in Waldorf, Md., planned a more modest celebration with hot dogs and hamburgers after throwing out at least $350 in spoiled food and spending another $200 on groceries Tuesday.
“We’re on a budget,” said Barnett, who got her power back on Monday night, after nearly 72 hours.
Power outages and spoiled food also changed the plans of Sharvey Smith, 39, of Baltimore. Smith had begun preparing for an Independence Day party before the storm hit, buying chicken and spare ribs and planning a small gathering on her back porch. But that food spoiled when her power went out, so her party is off.
She planned to spend Wednesday’s holiday at her parents’ house 10 minutes away, which has electricity, and where she and her family have been staying. But her patience is wearing thin.
“I want to go back home,” said Smith, adding that she calls the power company number three or four times a day to check on her power.
So far, the estimated time it will be back on is no earlier than Thursday.
The party Potomac, Md., resident James Gangler, a retired computer technician, planned to attend at his former boss’ house was cancelled because of the outage. Although the cancellation email was sent Saturday, Gangler didn’t see it until his own power returned Monday.
“I’m glad I saw it because I would have shown up there all by myself,” he said.
A nearby swimming pool has reopened and that’s where Gangler’s wife Anna plans to celebrate the Fourth. But Gangler said he’s looking forward to some cool relaxation at home.
“I’m just going to stay in and enjoy the air-conditioning and the quiet,” he said.
In other iconic Fourth of July places, though, plans remained unchanged.
Fireworks on the National Mall in Washington were going forward. At George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia, where power was initially off for 12 hours after the storm, plans for birthday cake and ice cream making were on. And in Colonial Williamsburg, the restored 18th century Revolutionary capital of Virginia, there were plans to celebrate with fifes and drums, musket and cannon fire, and a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
In Williamsburg, partying like it’s 1776, isn’t anything new, said spokesman Jim Bradley.
“In a sense we do that every day, no matter what the weather,” Bradley said.
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Associated Press writers David Dishneau in Potomac, Md., Alex Dominguez in Ellicott City, Md.; Vicki Smith in Morgantown, W.Va., and Michael Felberbaum in Richmond, Va.