THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Turning back the tide of information overload with a digest of the latest developments in news conservatives need to pay attention to:

 

† Prediction: Christians Will Be “Extinct” In The Holy Land Within 60 Years: Iranian Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has a stark choice to make: Recant his faith and convert to Islam or be executed by the state (related article, third item on the page), The Washington Times reports:

 

Mr. Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht in October 2009 for questioning Islamic control of religious instruction of Iranian children. He was first charged with illegal protest and later with the more serious crimes of apostasy and evangelizing Muslims. He was convicted in September 2010 and sentenced to death. His wife was given life in prison, and his attorney, Iranian human-rights lawyer Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, was convicted separately of "actions and propaganda against the Islamic regime," sentenced to nine years in prison and barred from practicing law for a decade.

 

Mr. Nadarkhani appealed the death sentence, which was affirmed by Iran's Supreme Court in June 2011. Prosecutors acknowledged he had never been a Muslim as an adult but said the apostasy law still applies because he has "Islamic ancestry." Hearings were held in September to give Mr. Nadarkhani the opportunity to recant his faith and avoid execution. When asked to repent his Christian beliefs, Mr. Nadarkhani replied, "Repent means to return. What should I return to?" The court pressed that he should return "to the religion of your ancestors, Islam." Mr. Nadarkhani said, "I cannot."

 

Reminiscent of early Christian martyrs, Nadarkhani wrote in a 2010 prison epistle that it “pleases” the true believer to share Christ's suffering, “Because the believer knows he will rejoice in his glory."

 

† Has Obama Been Humbled?: Nope, not yet, if this interview with “60 Minutes” is any indication (related article, third item on the page). At the end of the interview, Obama told Steve Kroft, “I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president – with the possible exceptions of Johnson, F.D.R., and Lincoln – just in terms of what we’ve gotten done in modern history.” Note that he said “possible exceptions,” meaning that he thinks a case could be made that he accomplished more than any president in U.S. history in the first three years of his only term in office.^TM But here’s where things get really interesting: According to The Blaze, CBS edited the tape to remove the boast – it still appears in the transcript – suggesting that the leftist journos at the network that used to employ Dan Rather are either trying to protect Obama from his own hubris, or that they share Bill Clinton’s view of 44’s spectacularly failed presidency.

 

† Let Them Eat Steak!: Part VIII: With President Barack Hussein Obama and the rest of his family again travelling separately to their 17-day Hawaiian jaunt (related article, seventh item on the page), taxpayers will be on the hook for more than $4 million, according to Hawaii Reporter:

 

The total cost (based on what is known) for the 17-day vacation roundtrip vacation to Hawaii for the President, his family and staff has climbed to more than $4 million [from $1.5 million last year]:

 

TRAVEL: $3,629,622 [Obama’s round trip flight to Hawaii via Air Force One; the rest of the family’s flight on Air Force Two; USAF C-17 cargo aircraft that transports the presidential limos, helicopters and other support equipment to Hawaii]

 

HOUSING: $151,200 [the Obama’s pay for their beachfront rental, but taxpayers cover costs for housing U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Coast Guard and Navy Seals nearby]

 

HOTEL: $72,216 [$177 per night for 24 members of the president’s staff to stay at the Moana Surfrider Resort]

 

LOCAL TAXPAYER COSTS: $260,000 [overtime for police officers and an ambulance that travels with the president 23/7]

 

UNKNOWN COSTS [including, security-related upgrades to phone lines, bullet-proof windows, gas and car rentals for president’s staff]

 

The total cost (based on what is known) for a 17-day round trip vacation to Hawaii for the President and his family and staff and security is an estimated $4,113,038.

 

To which, The Stiletto adds:

 

You better get it while you can.

You better get it while you can.

If you wait too long, it'll all be gone,

And you'll be sorry then.

 

† Inside out candidate Newt Gingrich has turned the race upside down: The Stiletto made the case that Mitt Romney is the Hillary Clinton of the 2012 election. But The Wall Street Journal's Daniel Henninger argues that it's Newt Gingrich, because he is toughening the eventual nominee for the general election campaign:

 

For months, Mitt has been The Front-Runner, whatever the polls said. It's hard to say that after last Saturday's GOP debate.

 

About a third of the way in, Newt Gingrich said to Mr. Romney: "The only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994."

 

The Front-Runner looked stunned, as if he'd just been hit with a left hook out of nowhere. …

 

If we have learned anything about Barack Obama the past three years it's that he enjoys hitting. He will be merciless with Mitt. Ask Hillary. Ask the respectful Republicans that Obama pistol-whipped in that George Washington University speech. Ask Wall Street's Democrats. …

 

Newt Gingrich will either get Mitt Romney into shape for 2012, or he will take Mitt down in next year's primary contests before the former Massachusetts governor gets himself, and his party, in over his head. …

 

Newt Gingrich's flaws have been posited. Mitt Romney's inadequacies are known. It's time to put these two in a cage together so that one can emerge a fighter, ready to compete for the presidency.

 

† The Occupy Wall Street kids are not alright: Occupy Wall Street protesters do not respect private property rights and simply commandeer any plot of land or business that they “need.” Having gotten kicked out of Zuccotti Park, the OWSers set their sights on a vacant lot owned by historic Trinity Church, and roughly 50 were arrested after breaching a chain-link fence – ignoring the "Private Property" signs, The Associated Press reports:

 

"We're just trying to say that this country has gone in the wrong direction, and we need spaces that we can control and we can decide our future in, and that's what this is about," said David Suker, who was among those who scaled the fence (emphasis, The Stiletto).

 

Apparently, it did not occur to Suker that he needed to own a space before he could control it – and even then, the level of control he has is subject to laws and regulations. In any case, Trinity Church did not want to give the protesters access to its property:

 

Trinity's Rev. James H. Cooper said giving the protesters access to the lot would not be a safe or smart move.

 

"There are no facilities at the Canal Street lot. Demanding access and vandalizing the property by a determined few OWS protesters won't alter the fact that there are no basic elements to sustain an encampment," he wrote in a statement. "The health, safety and security problems posed by an encampment here, compounded by winter weather, would dwarf those experienced at Zuccotti Park."

 

On Friday, the top bishop of the Episcopal Church asked protesters not to trespass on the property. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori warned it could result in "legal and police action."

 

His motive for denying use of the property notwithstanding, Cooper has come under attack by the OWSers and their sympathizers even though he had hitherto freely given them material and spiritual support, The New York Times reports:

 

Trinity’s rector, the Rev. James H. Cooper, defended the church’s record of support for the protesters, including not only expressions of sympathy, but also meeting spaces, resting areas, pastoral services, electricity, bathrooms, even blankets and hot chocolate. …

 

“Trinity has probably done as much or more for the protesters than any other institution in the area,” Mr. Cooper wrote on his parish Web site. “Calling this an issue of ‘political sanctuary’ is manipulative and blind to reality. Equating the desire to seize this property with uprisings against tyranny is misguided, at best. Hyperbolic distortion drives up petition signatures, but doesn’t make it right.”

 

The criticism of Trinity was coming not only from protesters, but even from some Episcopal priests and other Protestant clergy members.

 

“Trinity Church had a fantastic opportunity to be a Christlike presence by openings its doors to the protesters,” said the Rev. Milind Sojwal, the rector of All Angels Church, an Episcopal parish on the Upper West Side. “And I believe Trinity blew it.” …

 

Some clergy, though, said Trinity had already exceeded its Christian obligations.

 

“Trinity has been more than accommodating to a marginal group of protesters,” said the Rev. J. Douglas Ousley, of the Church of the Incarnation in Murray Hill, an Episcopal parish.

 

And Robert Bruce Mullin, a professor at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, said it was easy for other churches to criticize Trinity’s use of its property.

 

“It’s cheap grace,” he said. “It’s great to defend the rights of protesters in someone else’s backyard.”

 

† Mama, Don’t Take My Incandescent Bulbs Away: Buried somewhere in the 1,200-page year-end spending bill that funds the government through the rest of the current fiscal year, is a provision that defunds enforcement of a 2007 law that would have set energy efficiency standards too high for 100 watt incandescent light bulbs to meet, banning their sale. Before you start gleefully running around your home shouting “Let there be light,” the reprieve is only temporary, The New York Times reports:

 

On Friday, the House voted to delay enforcement of the new standards until at least Oct. 1, with the Senate expected to agree, as part of a last-minute budget deal to keep the government operating through the rest of the fiscal year. Republicans have vowed to press for a full repeal of the new rules.

 

But the consumer backlash against being forced to buy compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) may ultimately end up being win-win both for save-the-planet and save-my-light-bulb types:

 

“Bottom line, the standards are moving forward unabated,” said Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has promoted the standards. Calling the delay in enforcement a “speed bump,” he added, “Incandescent light bulbs are not going away due to the standard, they are just getting better. The new ones that meet the standard will use 28 percent less power and look and perform exactly like the old one.” …

 

Although manufacturers are trying to improve the C.F.L., the future may lie in light-emitting diodes, which come closer to mimicking incandescent light and last far longer than the alternatives – some 25,000 hours, compared to around 1,000 for incandescents and 10,000 for C.F.L.’s. Although L.E.D.’s are much more expensive than other types of bulbs, costing $10 to $30 each, prices are falling. …

 

So far, many customers remain skeptical. Ciaran Cassidy, a building contractor who lives in Westchester County, N.Y., said Friday that he did not trust that the alternatives to incandescents would work as advertised, either in terms of longevity or in his electric bills.

 

“I’m looking for an economically efficient bulb,” he said, eyeing a $15.97 L.E.D. bulb at Home Depot. Noting that it was rated for more than 22 years of life, he wondered: “When the thing burns out after five years, what are you supposed to do? Am I supposed keep that receipt for that one bulb?”

 

† Living In These Mad, Mad, Madoff Times: Cremation is becoming increasingly acceptable to Americans, in part because cash-strapped families cannot afford the costs associated with a traditional burial, The New York Times reports:

 

All but taboo in the United States 50 years ago, cremation is now chosen over burial in 41 percent of American deaths, up from 15 percent in 1985, according to the Cremation Association of North America. Economics is clearly one of the factors driving that change.

 

The percentage of bodies that are cremated has risen steadily for years, for reasons ranging from spiritual to environmental. But a recent study shows that the increase has accelerated during the downturn, and many funeral home directors say they believe the economy is leading people to look for less expensive options. …

 

[A] national telephone survey of 858 adults conducted last year by the Funeral and Memorial Information Council. It found that one-third of those who chose cremation in 2010 said cost was a primary factor, up from 19 percent in 1990.

 

With the cremation rate rising one-third faster than at the middle of the last decade, the cremation association projects it will pass 50 percent by 2017 (still lagging behind Canada and much of Europe and Asia). Although state cremation rates vary widely, from 13 percent in Mississippi to 73 percent in Nevada, every state has experienced an increase since 2005. …

 

Most mainstream religions have relaxed objections to cremation, which were tied to biblically based views of the body as a vessel for the soul and of a heaven populated by human forms.

 

† 10 Reasons Michelle Obama Should Be Proud – Really Proud – Of America: This latest installment in The Stiletto Blog’s ongoing series (previous article, last item on the page) meant to help instill the necessary pride of country in Michelle Obama’s consciousness to enable her to serve as an unofficial ambassador focuses on anonymous Americans who have been paying off the balances on Kmart layaway accounts of people they don’t even know to help them buy toys and clothes to give their children or grandchildren for Christmas, The Associated Press reports:

 

After a Good Samaritan helped her pay off the layaway bill she'd accumulated to buy Christmas gifts for her grandchildren, Lori Stearnes planned to collect her paycheck today and head to Kmart anyway.

 

Her new plan: Pay the stranger's kindness forward by using the money she'd budgeted to instead support somebody else.

 

"It just gives you a warm feeling," said Stearnes, 53, of Omaha. "... With all the things going on the world, just to have someone do that is so, I don't know, it's hard to put into words." …

 

Stearnes said at first she thought it was a joke when someone from the Omaha store called to say someone had paid off most of her layaway bill for toys and outfits she bought for the youngest four of her seven grandchildren.

 

The total bill was about $250, but after the stranger helped, she only had a $58 balance, she said. Stearns, who cleans medical instruments at a hospital, said she and her husband, Lloyd, live paycheck to paycheck and that layaway often helps spread out the costs of Christmas.