Apparently the American Family Association thinks so.   To help you get into the holiday spirit, they have released their new “Christmas Cross” so you can “Let Your “Light” Shine For Christ This Christmas Season!” Apparently the fact that their “Christmas Cross” is reminiscent of the KKK’s infamous cross burning has escaped someone’s notice (supposedly…) The KKK began burning crosses in 1915 as a way to intimidate their victims and as a reminder of faith (Wikipedia). “Many Christians consider it sacrilege to burn or otherwise destroy a cross. The Klan, however, states that it is not destroying the cross, but “lighting” it, as a symbol of the members’ faith.” Maybe someone should let AFA know that “The United States Department of Justice believes that ‘cross burning remains a vicious symbol of hatred.’”

According to the AFA website “Looking for an effective way to express your Christian faith this Christmas season to honor our Lord Jesus? ” and “Decorate this holiday season with the Original Christmas Cross to remind your friends, family, neighbors, and all who drive by your home, office, or church of the real meaning of Christmas.” Sound ominous?

Personally, I think they did it on purpose. It’s too coincidental that they’d release something so vile in the same year we elect our first black president. This cult-like group has made a name for itself in preaching bigotry and hate. They are militantly anti-homosexual and are opposed to equal rights and hate-crime legislation. (Wikipedia) Why are there Americans in this country supporting this fundamentalist terrorist group? It’s time people started to boycott them!

By Jon Swaine
Last Updated: 10:58AM GMT 10 Nov 2008

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics

• He was known as “O’Bomber” at high school for his skill at basketball

• His name means “one who is blessed” in Swahili

• His favourite meal is wife Michelle’s shrimp linguini

• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father

• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed

• He has read every Harry Potter book

• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali

• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can’t stand ice cream

• His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars

• He ate dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper while living in Indonesia

• He can speak Spanish

• While on the campaign trail he refused to watch CNN and had sports channels on instead

• His favourite drink is black forest berry iced tea

• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn’t

• He kept a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia

• He can bench press an impressive 200lbs

• He was known as Barry until university when he asked to be addressed by his full name

• His favourite book is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

• He visited Wokingham, Berks, in 1996 for the stag party of his half-sister’s fiancé, but left when a stripper arrived

• His desk in his Senate office once belonged to Robert Kennedy

• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 million) last year, with much coming from sales of his books

• His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

• He carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and a bracelet belonging to a soldier in Iraq for good luck

• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee.

• His favourite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees

• He took Michelle to see the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing on their first date

• He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker

• He doesn’t drink coffee and rarely drinks alcohol

• He would have liked to have been an architect if he were not a politician

• As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine

• His daughters’ ambitions are to go to Yale before becoming an actress (Malia, 10) and to sing and dance (Sasha, 7)

• He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside

• He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal

• His house in Chicago has four fire places

• Daughter Malia’s godmother is Jesse Jackson’s daughter Santita

• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry

• He uses an Apple Mac laptop

• He drives a Ford Escape Hybrid, having ditched his gas-guzzling Chrysler 300

• He wears $1,500 (£952) Hart Schaffner Marx suits

• He owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes

• He has his hair cut once a week by his Chicago barber, Zariff, who charges $21 (£13)

• His favourite fictional television programmes are Mash and The Wire

• He was given the code name “Renegade” by his Secret Service handlers

• He was nicknamed “Bear” by his late grandmother

• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds

• His favourite artist is Pablo Picasso

• His speciality as a cook is chilli

• He has said many of his friends in Indonesia were “street urchins”

• He keeps on his desk a carving of a wooden hand holding an egg, a Kenyan symbol of the fragility of life

• His late father was a senior economist for the Kenyan government

Link

Isn’t that reason enough?

Other random thoughts:  The Democratic Party as a whole needs to ban phone soliciting.  No one likes getting those calls.  They are annoying.

People need to leave Sarah Palin alone now.  I think she took a lot of knocks in this election and I know she deserved some of them, but it’s time to give it a rest.  She lost, leave her alone.

Why do our new President elects always manage to do something stupid right after they take office?  I’m referring to Obama’s statement about Nancy Regan and seances.  It seems like every time there is something.

There is a push in the GOP to combat the Democrat’s success in pursuing younger voters.  Rebuild The Party is an interesting read at the very least.  I don’t see it going anywhere, though.  I think that it is a wise idea, but the one thing Republicans are known for is an aversion to change.  I don’t see them pursuing younger votes until they’ve lost another 2 elections.  Then they’ll be gung ho on it and drive everyone crazy.  The one thing that could help the Republicans more than anything else is to stop basing their campaigns on emotional and fundamentalist appeal and start using intelligent arguments to support their causes.  Maybe they don’t have any intelligent arguments and that is why they have to rely on emotional appeal.

By Robert Johnson
CNN

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on CNN.com on October 20. Barack Obama mentioned Ann Nixon Cooper on Tuesday in his presidential victory speech.

Ann Nixon Cooper, 106 years old, lived during a time when blacks and women did not have the right to vote.

1 of 3

more photos »

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Ann Nixon Cooper, 106 years old, has seen presidents come and go in her lifetime and has outlived most of them. On a sunny fall morning, she left her weathered but well-kept Tudor home in Atlanta, Georgia, to vote early — this time for Barack Obama.

The African-American centenarian remembers a time not long ago when she was barred from voting because of her race. Now she hopes to see the day that Obama is elected as the nation’s first black president.

“I ain’t got time to die,” Cooper said with a smile.

“Even if he didn’t win, I was happy for him just to be nominated,” said the former socialite. “The first black president — isn’t that something, at 106 years old?”

At the Fulton County government center, Cooper was greeted by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

“I thought that I would accompany her today to support her, but also to say to all people that this is a choice we have,” Franklin said.

“As all Americans, we should cherish the right to vote and take every opportunity we have to vote our opinions. She is an inspiration to me personally, but she is also quite an inspiration to all Atlanta.” Watch Cooper talk about her life and experiences »

Cooper, in a wheelchair and helped by two caretakers, bypassed the long lines of early voters and headed right to the voting machine. Her 106-year-old hands reached out to the 21st-century touch screen to cast her vote for Obama.

Back at her home, surrounded by the elegance of a bygone era, Cooper clutched the photo albums laid out on her dining room table. The longtime socialite and community leader has called Atlanta home since the 1920s. See images of Cooper’s day »

She and her late husband, prominent dentist Dr. Albert Cooper, raised four children in this house.

“Our days and nights were just social affairs,” she said. The home was a center of Atlanta’s black society and the scene of many parties. Celebrities, including the late singer Nat King Cole, dropped in to visit.

Don’t Miss

• Election Center 2008

“It’s been a house with a heap of living going on in it,” said Cooper.

She wears a charm bracelet that former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young gave her when she turned 99.

“He adds a charm every year,” said friend and caretaker Sally Warner. “Andy says he will have to apply for a loan soon to keep up with Mrs. Cooper.”

Cooper danced the electric slide up until the age of 103. She has recently slowed down after suffering several heart attacks and a fractured hip.

On a typical day, Cooper spends hours watching television in her wood-paneled sitting room.

“Her favorite show is ‘The Price is Right,’ although she is getting used to Drew Carey as the new host,” said Warner. Other favorite shows include “Oprah” and “Dancing with the Stars.”

When the weather is nice, Cooper spends afternoons on her screened porch, watching traffic go by and reminiscing about old times. Occasionally she leaves the house for an outing.

Cooper was born in Shelbyville, Tennessee, in 1902. She grew up in Nashville with uncles and an aunt who worked as a domestic for wealthy whites.

She married Albert Cooper in Nashville in 1922, and the couple moved to Atlanta. Three of Cooper’s four children have died; her surviving daughter is 83. She has 14 grandchildren living and many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

When asked about the secret to her longevity, Cooper said, “I don’t know how it happened, but being cheerful had a lot to do with it. I’ve always been a happy person, a giggling person — a wide-mouthed person!”

To young people, Cooper offers this advice: “Keep smiling. No matter what, you get out and vote. Vote your choice.”

If you are interested, here are the sites I used to keep up with the election coverage: CNN Election Coverage and Political Dashboard.

Obama inspires historic victory

• Story Highlights
• NEW: Sen. Barack Obama to voters: “This is your victory”
• NEW: Sen. John McCain congratulates Sen. Barack Obama
• Obama projected to win Virginia, a traditionally Republican state
• Supporters in Chicago cheer “Yes, we did”

(CNN) — Barack Obama told supporters that “change has come to America,” as he addressed the country for the first time as the president-elect.

Sen. Barack Obama addresses a crowd of 125,000 people in Chicago, Illinois.

1 of 3

more photos »

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you — we as a people will get there,” Obama said in Chicago, Illinois.

Police estimated that 125,000 people gathered in Grant Park to hear Obama claim victory.

Obama said he was looking forward to working with Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin “to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.”

McCain on Tuesday urged all Americans to join him in congratulating Sen. Barack Obama on his projected victory in the presidential election.

“I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face,” McCain said before his supporters in Phoenix, Arizona.

“Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much, and tonight, I remain her servant,” he said.

McCain called Obama to congratulate him, Obama’s campaign said. Hear McCain concede »

Obama thanked McCain for his graciousness and said he had waged a tough race.

President Bush also called Obama to congratulate him.

Election Night in America

Watch history unfold with CNN and the best political team on television.
Tonight

Election Center »

Bush told Obama he was about to begin one of the great journeys of his life, and invited him to visit the White House as soon as it could be arranged, according to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

With his projected win, Obama will become the nation’s 44th president and its first African-American leader.

Supporters in Chicago cheering, “Yes, we can” were met with cries of “Yes, we did.”

More than 1,000 people gathered outside of the White House, chanting, “Obama, Obama!”

Obama’s former rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a statement that “we are celebrating an historic victory for the American people.” iReport.com: Share your Election Day reaction with CNN

“This was a long and hard fought campaign but the result was well worth the wait. Together, under the leadership of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and a Democratic Congress, we will chart a better course to build a new economy and rebuild our leadership in the world.”

The Illinois senator is projected to pick up a big win in Virginia, a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1964. Watch how this election is history in the making »

Obama also is projected to beat McCain in Ohio, a battleground state that was considered a must-win for the Republican candidate. Watch more on Obama’s Ohio win »

Going into the election, national polls showed Obama with an 8-point lead.

Obama will be working with a heavily Democratic Congress. Democrats picked up Senate seats in New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia, among others. Read about the Senate races

Don’t Miss

• Machine breakdowns lead to long lines
• Obama in Chicago; ‘I feel really good’
• McCain heads west in final campaign swing
• State-by-state polling

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell held onto his seat in Kentucky.

CNN’s Ed Henry said there were lots of long faces in the lobby of the McCain headquarters at the Arizona Biltmore hotel as McCain allies watched returns showing Senate Republicans losing their seats. Watch what McCain says about the race »

Voters expressed excitement and pride in their country after casting their ballots Tuesday in what has proved to be a historic election.

Poll workers reported high turnout across many parts of the country, and some voters waited hours to cast their ballots. Read about election problems

Reports of minor problems and delays in opening polls began surfacing early Tuesday, shortly after polls opened on the East Coast.

The presidential candidates both voted early in the day before heading out to the campaign trail one last time. Watch Obama family at polls »

Tuesday also marked the end of the longest presidential campaign season in U.S. history — 21 months.

As McCain and Obama emerged from their parties’ conventions, the race was essentially a toss-up, with McCain campaigning on his experience and Obama on the promise of change. But the race was altered by the financial crisis that hit Wall Street in September.

(CNN) — CNN projects that Barack Obama will be the nation’s 44th president.

CNN projects that Sen. Barack Obama will win the presidential election.

1 of 3

more photos »

Obama will address the country from a rally in Chicago, Illinois, later Tuesday night.

As news broke, supporters cried and cheered, “Yes, we can.”

Obama will become the first African-American to win the presidency.

The Illinois senator is projected to pick up a big win in Virginia, a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1964.

Obama also is projected to beat Sen. John McCain in Ohio, a battleground state that was considered a must-win for the Republican candidate. Watch more on Obama’s Ohio win »

Earlier in the evening, senior McCain aides were growing pessimistic about the Arizona senator’s chances.

Going into the election, national polls showed Obama with an 8-point lead.

In addition to the presidential contest, voters were making choices in a number of key House and Senate races that could determine whether the Democrats strengthen their hold on Congress.

Former Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, will win a Senate seat in Virginia, CNN projects. He will replace retiring Republican Sen. John Warner.

Incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a Republican, is projected to lose her North Carolina seat to Democratic challenger Kay Hagan. Watch Dole concede defeat »

Dole is the wife of 1996 Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole.

Election Night in America

Watch history unfold with CNN and the best political team on television.
Tonight

Election Center »

CNN also projects Democrats will win two other Senate seats currently held by Republicans. In New Hampshire, former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen will win over incumbent John Sununu, and in New Mexico, Democrat Tom Udall will defeat Republican Steve Pearce.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell held onto his seat in Kentucky.

Delaware voters re-elected Obama’s running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, to his seventh term. iReport.com: Share your Election Day reaction with CNN

CNN’s Ed Henry said there were lots of long faces in the lobby of the McCain headquarters at the Arizona Biltmore hotel as McCain allies watched returns showing Senate Republicans losing their seats.

Don’t Miss

• Machine breakdowns lead to long lines
• Obama in Chicago; ‘I feel really good’
• McCain heads west in final campaign swing
• State-by-state polling

McCain and Obama were both expected to be watching the results come in from their home states.

McCain said Tuesday night that he was “looking forward to the election results.” Watch what McCain says about the race »

“We had a great ride. We had a great experience. It’s full of memories that we will always treasure,” he said aboard his election plane.

CNN does not project a winner in any state until all polls have closed in that state.

CNN projections are based on actual results and exit poll data from key areas.

The first exit polls out Tuesday reflect what voters have said all along: The economy is by far the top issue on their minds. Watch more on the top issues »

Sixty-two percent of voters said the economy was the most important issue. Iraq was the most important for 10 percent, and terrorism and health care were each the top issue for 9 percent of voters.

The economy has dominated the last leg of the campaign trail as Obama and McCain have tried to convince voters that they are the best candidate to handle the financial crisis.

Voters expressed excitement and pride in their country after casting their ballots Tuesday in what has proved to be a historic election.

When the ballots are counted, the United States will have elected either its first African-American president or its oldest first-term president and first female vice president.

Poll workers reported high turnout across many parts of the country, and some voters waited hours to cast their ballots. Read about election problems

Reports of minor problems and delays in opening polls began surfacing early Tuesday, shortly after polls opened on the East Coast.

The presidential candidates both voted early in the day before heading out to the campaign trail one last time. Watch Obama family at polls »

Tuesday also marked the end of the longest presidential campaign season in U.S. history — 21 months — and both candidates took the opportunity to make their final pitch to voters.

As McCain and Obama emerged from their parties’ conventions, the race was essentially a toss-up, with McCain campaigning on his experience and Obama on the promise of change. But the race was altered by the financial crisis that hit Wall Street in September. Watch how this election is history in the making »

Although most of the attention has been focused on the presidential race, the outcome of congressional elections across the country will determine whether the Democrats increase their clout on Capitol Hill.

Few predict that the Democrats are in danger of losing their control of either the House or the Senate, but all eyes will be on nearly a dozen close Senate races that are key to whether the Democrats get 60 seats in the Senate.

With 60 votes, Democrats could end any Republican filibusters or other legislative moves to block legislation.

Many political observers also predict that the Democrats could expand their majority in the House.

Voters will also weigh in on a number of ballot initiatives across the country, many of them focused on social issues like abortion and affirmative action.

CNN) — CNN projects that Democratic state Sen. Kay Hagan will win the Senate race in North Carolina, defeating first-term Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole in a heated contest.

New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen’s Senate seat win gives Democrats a majority, CNN projects.

1 of 3

Dole, a first-term incumbent, had been considered a safe seat for Republicans early in the election cycle, but she was targeted heavily by national Democratic Party ads, and a CNN/Time poll last week showed Hagan leading by 9 percentage points.

Democrats have a chance of taking filibuster-proof control of the U.S. Senate, late polls show.

They’ll need to add nine seats to their current roster of 51 (49 Democrats and two independents allied with them) to gain the three-fifths majority that will enable them to invoke cloture, a device to end filibusters, the unlimited floor speeches by an opponent that can prevent legislation from coming up for a vote.

Other results, according to CNN projections:

Democrat Dick Durbin will defeat Republican Steve Sauerberg for the Senate race in Illinois; former Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, will win the U.S. Senate seat in Virginia.

Democratic incumbent John Kerry, the 2004 presidential candidate, will defeat Republican challenger Jeff Beatty for the Senate race in Massachusetts, and Democratic incumbent Joe Biden will defeat Christine O’Donnell for the Senate race in Delaware.

Biden, the vice presidential candidate on the ticket with Sen. Barack Obama, will give up his Senate seat if elected vice president.

CNN projections are based on actual results and exit poll data.

More Democratic wins will go to incumbent Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who will take the U.S. Senate seat in West Virginia, and senatorial incumbent Frank Lautenberg, who is expected to defeat Republican Dick Zimmer in New Jersey, CNN projects.

Filibuster and cloture

A filibuster is a senator’s ability to speak without a time limit on the Senate floor, preventing any votes on measures before the body.

A cloture vote of 60 - three-fifths of the Senate - is needed to end debate and stop a filibuster.

Cloture was instituted in 1917 at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson, who became frustrated when filibusters blocked his attempts to get the United States involved in World War I.

Cloture originally required a two-thirds vote of the Senate and was amended to the current three-fifths vote in 1975.

CNN also projects that one-term Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor will defeat Green Party challenger Rebekah Kennedy for the Senate race in Arkansas.

Republican Lindsey Graham, an incumbent, will win the Senate race in South Carolina, CNN projects.

More CNN projections going to Republicans include: Two-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins will defeat Democratic challenger Tom Allen for the Senate seat in Maine, Republican Lamar Alexander will defeat Democrat Bob Tuke for the Senate seat in Tennessee, and Republican incumbent James Inhofe will defeat Democrat Andrew Rice for the Senate seat in Oklahoma.

CNN projects that Republican incumbent Mike Enzi will win the Senate race in Wyoming, defeating Democrat Christopher Rothfuss.

Of the 35 Senate seats on the line this year, 23 are held by Republicans. Five Republican senators are retiring: Pete Domenici of New Mexico, Wayne Allard of Colorado, John Warner of Virginia, Larry Craig of Idaho and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

CNN projects that Democrat Tom Udall will defeat Republican Steve Pearce for the seat Domenici held.

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said Democrats have a good shot at reaching a 60-seat majority.

“The fundamentals of this election year could not be more Democratic,” Sabato said. “You’ve got a terrible economy, a deeply unpopular president and an unpopular war. You put those elements together and it’s going to produce a Democratic victory. … The only question is, what size?”

CNN political analyst Stuart Rothenberg reported that Democrats seem poised to pick up eight Republican seats in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia. See what Senate races are up for grabs »

According to Rothenberg’s analysis, the linchpin for Senate control may be Minnesota, where incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman was locked up with Democrat Al Franken, a former “Saturday Night Live” star and liberal radio talk show host, and Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley, who filled one Minnesota Senate seat for two months in 2002 when Democrat incumbent Sen. Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash just before Election Day. Watch a breakdown of the Minnesota Senate race »

Most polls in Minnesota put Coleman 3 to 8 percentage points ahead of Franken, but Barkley could complicate matters, as he polls in the low to mid-teens.

If Minnesota doesn’t break in the Democrats’ favor, they might be waiting until December to find out if they can get 60 seats in the Senate.

Don’t Miss

• Democrats look for big gains in House
• GOP: Don’t give Obama blank check
• Democrats eye magic 60 votes
• Democrats look for ‘perfect storm’

That’s because Georgia — where incumbent Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss faces Democrat Jim Martin, a former state representative, and Libertarian Allen Buckley — requires the winner on Tuesday to get more than 50 percent of the votes cast to gain the seat. If that doesn’t happen, the top vote-getter Tuesday will face a December runoff against the second-place finisher.

Although most recent polls in Georgia give Chambliss a slim lead, none shows him gaining more than half the vote.

And in Oregon, polls showed incumbent Republican Sen. Gordon Smith trailing Democrat Jeff Merkley, speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, by 3 to 7 percentage points.

Though Smith has split with the GOP on the Iraq war — he announced his opposition in 2006 after initially supporting the war — and on funding for embryonic stem-cell research, he’s running in a state that went Democratic in the past two presidential elections and one in which Democrat Barack Obama enjoys a double-digit lead in recent polls.

Smith crisscrossed the state campaigning, stressing that he has worked closely with Democrats.

“I’ve worked with Barack Obama on fuel efficiency for cars, John Kerry on housing, Ted Kennedy on civil rights and obviously, when you want to get something done, it takes a common sense, center, in the U.S. Senate,” he told CNN. “That’s where I’ve been.”

The legal troubles of Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens will probably cost the GOP one of its once-safest seats. Stevens was convicted on seven federal corruption charges last month for filing false statements on Senate ethics forms.

Stevens, who with almost 40 years in the Senate is its longest-serving Republican, trails Democratic challenger Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, by 22 percentage points in a Research 2000 poll taken after his October 27 conviction.

A wild card should Democrats gain the necessary nine seats on Tuesday is Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent who has caucused with the Democrats but who has been an ardent supporter of Republican presidential nominee John McCain this year. If Lieberman switches his allegiance to the GOP, the Democrats are stuck at 59 seats, and the filibuster remains in play.

Obama:  194

McCain:  69