PSoTD

But...

See you on January 1st.

The narrative mythicizes Gerald Ford further every day in the press.

Ford's decision to pardon Nixon, so divisive at the time that it probably cost Ford the 1976 election, was dealt with squarely in his funeral services by Dick Cheney, the current vice president who was Ford's chief of chief.

"It was this man, Gerald R. Ford, who led our republic safely though a crisis that could have turned to catastrophe," said Cheney, speaking in the Rotunda where Ford's body rested. "Gerald Ford was almost alone in understanding that there can be no healing without pardon."

The Washington portion of Ford's state funeral opened with a procession that took his casket from Maryland to Virginia. Then it was over the Memorial Bridge — adorned with flags and funeral bunting — and to the World War II Memorial. Next, the procession went past the White House and to the Capitol.

Although Ford's family planned the state funeral to emphasize Ford's long service in the House, Watergate quickly set the tone of the proceedings.

Said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.: "In 1974 America didn't need a philosopher-king or a warrior-prince. We needed a healer, we needed a rock, we needed honesty and candor and courage. We needed Gerald Ford."

I'm sick of this nation's politicians and news media transposing ignoring for healing, aren't you? Ford didn't heal the nation by pardoning Nixon. He just allowed the nation to ignore the issue of crimes committed by the Chief Executive by providing a blanket pardon. Our nation is no better off having not resolved Nixon's transgessions. We still have to deal with it. But it will be in the context of dealing with the transgessions of a different President. Might we not have had a better political system in place to deal with the improprieties of all following Presidents if Ford had just allowed the judicial system to proceed? Doctors don't ignore medical procedures in the treatment of tumors in their patients - that's the practice of faith healers. Gerald Ford ignored the judicial process intended to extract the criminals from our midst, and gave a little bit of faith healing mumbo jumbo, instead. It's thirty plus years later, and sorry, Dick, I don't have the faith to trust the executive branch, nor should we - that's what the founding fathers intended by the three branches of government. And the Republicans feel the same way - remember the impeachment assault on Clinton? Our nation should have gone through the painstaking work of defining Nixon's crimes, and by doing so, defining practices that get a President yanked out of office, instead of allowing a political quack absolve the cancer on the Presidency. Because it is now over 30 years later, and the patient - our nation - is still very sick.

I remember Vestee...
and he apparently was, and is, a Chicago Bear of character.

One of Tank Johnson's pit bulls is up for adoption.

One-and-half-year-old Trina is one of three dogs whose barking helped trigger neighbor complaints that led to a police raid of the Chicago nose tackle's Gurnee home earlier this month.

Johnson was arrested after police found six unregistered firearms and more than two ounces of marijuana.

He was suspended for one game.

Trina was taken to the Save-A-Pet Adoption Center near Grayslake, where she is waiting for new owners.

Executive director of Save-A-Pet Vestee Jackson, who is also a former Bears cornerback, says home and background checks will be conducted of any future owners to make sure Trina isn't wanted just for her connection to Johnson.

Isn't it about time Ed Henry of CNN receives a blogger nickname? Russert and Matthews have one, why not good ole' Ed Henry? He's certainly deserving...

Booman has excerpts of Dan Rather's last interview with Hussein.

And now that Saddam has been executed, is the world any better today? Didn't think so.

For those with blogs... Where do your greatest number of Google "hits" come from?

How did I miss asking for this for Christmas?

And believe it or not, Amazon begins the review with...
"Long-awaited debut album from Ron Artest..."

REALLY????

We appear to have a small epidemic of bloggers quitting, or taking a break. The newest case is Susie Madrak at Suburban Guerrilla. Let her know that our loss will hopefully be a very good gain for her.

What little quirky things do you do on New Year's Day that have become a tradition for you?

I wish Duncan Black, Atrios at Eschaton, was more influential in the world. It is easy to find him influential if you read him regularly - he has interesting things to say about interesting items, and frankly, to do that consistently on the Internet is pretty tough. Most bloggers don't. He's ahead of the curve on some things, and even on the things I disagree with him, I appreciate that he seems to be pretty clear in his posts. Yeah, he gets cranky sometimes, but...

I think he has a right to be. Yeah, he's a pretty popular blogger, as far as traffic is concerned, but that is still a drop in the bucket compared to ABC News or CNN, and yet, Duncan Black is far more intuitive and comprehending of the average viewpoint than just about anyone you'll see there. The world needs 100 Duncan Blacks at this point, on radio and television and print, doing editorial assessments as fluently in those mediums as Atrios does in his blog. Because as straight on as Black is on the blog, the world still keeps getting more fucked up every day, enabled by those same types of organizations as ABC News and CNN.

Too much of the time there is something grotesquely missing in the translation of the world between citizen commenters - aka bloggers - and the professional news media. It needs fixed, immediately. It is hurting the world. We need it to stop. As Jon Stewart said, "Stop, stop, stop, stop hurting America." But it doesn't. The only way to stop the damage is to equalize the playing field. 62,000 readers per day, or even 150,000 readers per day, isn't going to give the Eschatons of the Internet much of a position to talk to the crowd. Nothing on the Internet, by itself, is going to, so it's not like efforts such as The Huffington Post are enough, either. Television is still the stand on the square. What is said on the blogs needs to go there, without ten levels of institutional filtering, and without competing with the need for advertising for purpose.

I'm not suggesting that Duncan Black needs to be a television personality. But his words and points deserve the reach that television provides, and the country needs the distribution of those points. Same for TBogg. Same for Rox Cooper. Same for, same for, same for... but then, there are so many blanks to fill on television. Bloggers ought to be discussing how this happens. Relying on cable channels such as CNN and MSNBC will just create some horrible packaging akin to what they already do for news that will guarantee a programmed noise ratio designed to make commercials appear to be signal. No thanks. Liberal and progressive bloggers eed to discuss how to present the ideas and discussion from blogs on television without relying on human appearance or character personality to sell the process.

So, as I see it, one of the biggest questions for 2007's liberal and progressive bloggers is - how do further bypass the institutional barriers that prevent greater distribution and understanding, and most importantly, diversity, of message?

Interesting web site. And some good words of warning for people considering getting a tattoo (such as myself). Consider the case of Geena Davis...

Actress has Denny's logo on ankle (a cover-up of ex-husband Renny Harlin's name) with cherub just above

Fester has an important post up.

I can understand that calculation for impeachment is ultimately a political act so political considerations have overwhelming weight. Despite this knowledge, I still believe that American politics need to excise itself of the cancer of the imperial President who knows no boundaries set forth upon it by Congress or the Courts. We need to see what has been done in our name, and with out money in order to understand the consequences of George W. Bush and his coterie of cronies.

Interesting idea, and it's important to stop the younger blights within the Bush Administration from growing in a greater position of authority in a future administration.

From Bush's press conference today:

I'm going to talk to Congress — not only will I continue to reach out to Congress, but members of my team will do so, as well.

Previous recipients of the George W. Bush "reach out":

Are you going to go for a polar bear swim?

It may be hard to believe, but tax money is being spent to provide Americans with access to the "most popular" New Year's Resolutions.

It seems somewhat unbelievable that items more closely associated with hedonism don't make the most popular list. How many guys have a secret resolution of "getting laid more often"? And "having more fun" cannot compete with something like Volunteer to Help Others or Reduce Stress Overall? That seems contrary to human desires. Or maybe it has been repackaged. In either case, it isn't surprising in the world of the administration of George W. Bush.

The British Society for Plant Pathology wants you to see how plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses could affect your celebrations in the future, courtesy of Flickr.

Apparently this little ploy is expanding...

If you haven’t bought your 2007 calendar yet, some charities have a revealing suggestion for you.

Groups including the American Humane Society are selling calendars that feature employees nude - well almost nude.

The idea of nude calendars was pioneered by a group of British women who posed nude for a calendar in 2000 to raise money for cancer research. Their story inspired the 2003 movie “Calendar Girls.”

Last year a group of librarians in Outagamie County raised about 15-thousand dollars by selling calendars with photos of themselves nude behind oversized books.

And for everyone - from myself to our 6-year-old - it was very enjoyable.

But a question - why doesn't Hollywood make comedies about ne'er-do-well mothers trying to bring themselves back to role model status with their children? What is it that makes it a funny movie storyline premise for fathers, but not for mothers? It seems somewhat common.

Can anyone even remember a popular movie comedy of the past 10 years that had as a premise a mother who was failing in their child's eyes and was trying to improve her parent status?

The way our nation remembers Gerald R. Ford in the next week will tell a lot about how we continue to see the Presidency. Yes, he was President, for a short, and ineffective, period of time. But he was President during perhaps one of the biggest surges of power from the Executive Branch to the Legislative Branch in our federal government's history. He was unelected to the executive branch. This combination of factors lead to perhaps the most public mocking of a President by the entertainment media, albeit gentle, ever - and clearly that mocking still has impact today. Even today, at his death, Ford is closely linked with Chevy Chase, who "portrayed" him on Saturday Night Live.

There won't be an intensity of remembrance for Ford like we saw for Reagan. But how Ford is remembered will be telling about our attitude at this time toward the Presidency in general. And perhaps it will get some considering the question of whether the office of the President is due to have power ebb from it, to the other branches, just as we saw during Ford's time in the office. And even more - if it desirable as well. Was it so bad to have a President - that the nation saw at times as buffoonish - that didn't have as much power as his predecessors?

When are baptisms of the kids of movie stars considered to be news?

I haven't seen quotes from the parents about the baptism in the news. Or grandparents, or any other relatives. Just Pastor Randy Flanagan, who apparently performed the ceremony. Does he have an agent? Is he part of an Affleck-Garner publicity blitz? What's the deal? Are celebrity-sired infant baptisms really part of the news mix now?

I'm curious as to how this became such a strongly-reported news story, I really am. Who wanted it in the press so bad? Are celebrity baptisms going to be a regular feature at AP and Yahoo! News and all these newspaper web site? Why was this considered news? That's the real story here.

We're driving home from my father-in-law's place last night in my wife's car. The kids clamor for the "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" song. My wife pops in our Lynn Anderson CD, picks the right track out, and plays it, and both of our kids sing it as sweetly as could be. I had to repeat the track, it was such a nice treat.

And how being an atheist has been vilified.

I was tagged by Creature, and so here, on Christmas night, is my gift to you - tales of my existence, 4 of which are true, one is not, and it is up to you to determine which is the falsehood. Good luck!

1) I almost flunked out of high school. Freshman year I cut class almost the entire year and had an abysmal grade average and total number of credits. I had to haul ass the following three years just to graduate.

2) I was stabbed in the arm in junior high school. It was during science class, and I covered my arm with my other hand to slow down the bleeding. I had to tell the teacher that I needed to go to the nurse, and he didn't believe me, so I moved my hand and the blood poured out. He turned white, which was kind of funny to see from my vantage point, and walked me down to the nurse's office while I kept my hand on my arm to slow the bleeding.

3) One of my college professors told me that I could be the next Tom Hanks. And he meant it, I guess. Tom Hanks had been a student in our department just about 4 years before me.

4) I sometimes blog naked. There's not much more to say about that, except you might be able to tell that by the subject matter of some of my posts.

5) In the early days of the Web, I was interviewed a couple of times on radio for a web site I built, and the web site was also on television a few times. It was a big ego trip for me, and opened my eyes to the power of the Internet.

And as a continuation of this Christmas gift, I tag the following presenters: Michael, Uncle Horn Head, Gort42, Kathy, and Ron.

Have A Great Christmas.

I think Bob Geiger has it about right... nobody knows what will happen yet for the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary, and all this talk that Obama and Clinton are clearing the field is just so much claptrap. What is Dan Balz' motivation for writing this?

Good God - Rachael Ray seems to be on half the packaging in the grocery store now. Oversaturated...

His Grace Lord Wayne the Fortunate of Chalmondley St Peasoup thanks you for visiting, and suggests a visit to Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

hat tip: Redd Turtles and Blue Ducks

George W. Bush is hoping to put more war in our stockings for the holiday.

Oh, and I'm sure for the long-term future, too. For your kids and my kids.

When you say "And have a Merry Christmas" to friends and family at a time in which you know it will be the last time you see them before the holiday, does it seem more heartfelt to you? And does it become more heartfelt the closer we get to the holiday?

For me, at least, when I say "and have a Merry Christmas" or "happy holiday", what I'm saying is to have the best time possible with the people you choose to share the holiday with, however that works for you. I said it today at the coffee shop to many acquaintances who were there for the last time before Monday. And it surprised me how earnest and intended the comment was - and it made me wonder, why don't I think that way all the time? When I leave friends knowing I won't see them for a while, why don't I feel as heartfelt when I say "have a good time and we'll see you later"?

Maybe that heartfeltedness is some part of the Christmas spirit that I can carry with me over the year. One can hope.

Fester finally got sick of them and moved to Typepad. Hoorah!

This will warm you up.

A LITTLE girl with cerebral palsy will wake up on Christmas morning to find that all her wishes have come true- thanks to a 10ft penguin.

Elle-Mai Laithwaite, five, of Milbrook Close, Burnley, is so disabled that she has never been able to tell her mum, Kathryn Nables, what she wants for Christmas.

But when she visited Asda, in Burnley, she was so taken with the huge, cuddly penguin - in store to promote the animated film Happy Feet - she spent all her time in the store smiling and looking at it.

And she cried when she had to leave.

Kathryn instantly knew that this was all her daughter wanted for Christmas, and that she had to get her hands on one.

After contacting Asda head office and film makers Warner Brothers trying, without luck, to buy one, she went to store manager Michelle Holmes, who persuaded her bosses and the film company to donate Mumbles the Penguin to Elle-Mai.

Kathryn said: "Elle can't talk, but we know by her smiles and her body language when she wants something. Her sister Eanna, who's four, can point things out that she wants for Christmas.

"But this is the first time Elle has properly shown us what she wants from Santa."

More about Atlantic Yards and the New Jersey Nets project.

I always wondered what this was about but never looked it up before.

My wife's sister will be visiting us this Christmas, and we're looking for something to do with the kids for the day on December 26th that isn't too far away from Harrisburg - feel free to make suggestions. Candylane is set for the evening as long as the weather holds, so it's more of a daytime thing.

Jeff at Speedkill's right. One of the things that happens when something becomes ubiquitous, as Christmas does at this time of year, is that ownership is lost. I don't think the Christian faiths "own" Christmas any more than Merriam-Webster owns language at this point. It's for all of us to enjoy if we so choose, in the manner we choose to celebrate, in the beliefs we choose to honor. That's the cost of trying to make something universal.

Today's the day.

Is it my imagination, or has there been some sort of regular effort to generate news stories about animal species that only require one or the other gender - not both - in order to procreate? It just seems like these stories keep pumping out into the news...

So...Bush Asserts That Victory in Iraq Is Still ‘Achievable’

I'm just putting this down as a marker for when we get to the following news stories:

I love this Christmas Carol, it's great to listen to and sing. Still... I heard a version last night on the radio that made my teeth grate. So here's a challenge for you - which sampled version of O Holy Night is least enjoyable for you?

O Holy Night (The Poll)
Which sampled version of O Holy Night is least enjoyable for you? (click on the letter to listen)	A B C D
	Current Results

The Reds traded for Jeff Conine from the Philadelphia Phillies...

So... did your employer have a Christmas/Holiday party this year for all employees, and if so, was it fun?

We received a Christmas card yesterday from our next door neighbors, and included the relatively-common "year summary" letter that so many of our friends and relatives like to send.

This one was different, though. It was... a gift. It told a few things about what they did and encountered this year. But mostly it told about things they gave their time and effort towards this year, and the things they hope they can give to next year, and the good things they experienced this year. It ended with a story about snowflakes that was really a lesson about how much change can be created with the coalition of many voices. It was, maybe, the best Christmas note I've ever seen. It wasn't preachy or religious - just conversational and cheerful. It was a gift about giving, and it really brightened up what has been, for me, a more subdued Christmas than most years.

I forgot to mention that we may have the two sweetest people in the world living next door to us. I know we've been lucky to live next door to them, and that I have become a better person because of that luck.

I'm going to take that note and frame it up in my office after the holidays, as a reminder of all the giving that is going on around us and the spirit in which it is given. Like I said, it was a gift, and maybe through some effort on my part it can keep on giving.

Even though I know they won't see this blog post, thank you and Merry Christmas, Jack and Barbara. You live in the spirit of the holiday all year long.

How do you market any food item? By promoting it as enhancing sexual prowess!

Funny what you don't see on the New Jersey Nets Community page...

Welcome to Atlantic Yards, the development dedicated to building a new vision for downtown Brooklyn and creating an exciting new home for Brooklyn's very own NBA franchise: the Brooklyn Nets.

In order to blend masterful design with Brooklyn's continuing growth and unique character, the developer, Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), has hired world-renowned architect Frank Gehry and landscape architect Laurie Olin to oversee the design of the development

Bruce Ratner is the owner of the New Jersey Nets. This looks like a done deal. Sorry, East Rutherford, NJ.

He is was a victim of Bloggerineptiatitis.

Looks like it's Coleman the Goal Man.

We already made a major mistake in the United States by granting corporations similar legal status to a human being. I really cannot see why we'd want to expand on that by giving robots "rights". If it means holding off on robot development until the United States can come to some sort of understanding on what kind of entity deserves "rights", then so be it. But the idea that something that can be componentized has an entity that actually is identifiable with rights is ridiculous.

The reason is that rights aren't conferred due to intelligence. We recognize them due to species. Human beings recognize that others within their species have certain rights. There are disagreements about what those rights are, but in general, people recognize that other people have rights. Rights are held for the infant, for the infirm, for the unconscious, for the challenged, for those with only days left to live due to illness. The range of intelligence varies from comatose and nonfunctioning to genius, and it does not come into question on WHETHER a human being has rights.

So what criteria do human beings use to determine "rights"? Some might argue it is a determination of "soul", but I won't. I'll just say it this simple - human beings recognize rights of human beings. That's what we do, and if we're going to consider giving rights to something else outside of the species, we should think about our species predecessors, not on our mechanical creations.

George W. Bush is pushing harder and harder on a point to the American people - he does not have much capacity to learn, particularly from the American people. Whether this is by mental limitation or choice I can't say. But IMHO, he constantly misinterprets the sense of the American people, and many times seems to actually framing America's majority consensus into something that's near 180 degrees from what the polls say. Some might call it ignorance, some may call it deviance, but it's definitely continuing to be a tumor on this country's future and image.

The American people only have a few ways to reign in a sitting President that ignores the will of the people. Americans have tried to hamper Bush's efforts with a change of party power in Congress, but at this point, it doesn't appear to have set in. If Bush continues to defy Americans, he's going to run into greater pressure for impeachment even though he only has two years of clock to run out at this point. The "surge" talk is really a last straw, and should come with extremely high consequences for Bush - failure to succeed with a "surge" will ramp up desires to be rid of Bush once and for all, and that means impeachment. I don't think Bush understands that. I'm not sure the Democrats understand this, either. But I'm pretty sure the American people are not willing to put up with an incompetent War President that defies the majority's opinion at almost every turn for another two years.

Memorable Quote from Santa Claus Conquers the Martians...

Kimar: How are you feeling today? Tired?
Santa Claus: Oh, no, I'm not tired. But my finger is.

Just amazing to me what pet owners will spend their money on. The glory of catnip...

Publish an article like this for their area - things to do with the kids during Christmas vacation.

Sure looks to me like the Denver Nuggets just saved Billy King's career for the moment. I would consider this a steal for the Sixers.

Here's your chance to weigh in: What actor do you think has best portrayed Santa in a movie?

It's one I wish other bloggers would take as well - I'm taking a vow that I'm not going to blog here about the 2008 Presidential horserace - the polls - until the first Tuesday in November in 2007 at the earliest. I realize there's a reality that those poll numbers are important, and they say something about positioning of candidates, and blah blah blah... I am so sick of the front-runnering already, and I don't want to add fuel to something that disgusts me. I'll be happy to blog about candidate positions, policy ideas, etc. But the Clinton/Obama/Edwards/Wild Card polling story won't be seen here. The regular media covers that up the wazoo because it's easy to report and to consume - but it comes at a cost - a lack of effort to discuss important political positions that aren't so easy to report and to consume. Blogs can do that, and should. They should leave the shallow stuff to the CNNs and USA Todays of the communication marketplace.

Taken in Mechanicsburg, this is the image we used for our company holiday card this year.

Have you run into a blog post about Christmas that just makes you scrape your teeth? Maybe even my post right here? If so, link it in comments, and we'll have a post Christmas celebration of the worst of Christmas blogging this year.

Here's my entry - from Australia. Go Buy a Plasma TV!

I'm saying Seattle takes the West, the Eagles take one of the wildcard spots, and the Giants, Falcons and Rams all end up 8-8. Giants take it if this happens. If the Giants lose their last 2 games, I think the St. Louis Rams will sneak in.

Time to fess up: How much weight do you usually gain during the December holidays?

The art of designing Victorian Christmas cards led to development of artistic gift wraps. Victorian Christmas papers were intricately printed and ornamented with lace and ribbon. Decorated boxes, loose bags, and coronets bore cutout illustrations of Father Christmas, robins, angels, holly boughs and other seasonal decorations. Often, the gift-wrapping papers matched cards in design, and the association of the two has carried through to today. Developments in printing presses allowed endless sheets of wrapping paper to be printed with consistent quality. The flexography process patented in England in 1890 combined very fluid inks with rubber plates wrapped around the print cylinder to make a printing process ideally suited to coarse or stiff papers that were durable enough for wrapping. The rotary system prints exceptional lengths of printed paper that are rolled on cardboard rolls or cut into smaller sheets.

There's more here. Why not impress your inlaws during the holidays with a verbal history of wrapping paper?

Within today's politics, it seems that we'll not be able to leave Iraq until:

1) Some completely watered-down standard of "victory" is met, which will take years if not decades for American politics to reach consensus of this standard; or

2) Some completely-accepted reason for "defeat" is determined which is unforgiving and demonstrated to the consensus of American politicians. Again, this will take years if not a decade.

Democrats need to figure out how to speed up this process. I recommend establishing some watered-down expectations for victory and push them to the American public. So figure out some quickly reachable benchmarks, and start selling them as "victory", and let's send Bush back to Texas and the U.S. military back to our country. And let's try to figure out some sort of asylum process for the poor Iraqis that want to get out of the hellhole we've made out of Iraq - unless, of course, we don't want to be responsible for creating those hellish conditions for innocent Iraqis.

We cannot afford to let Bush and the neocons define "victory" or "defeat" in Iraq, or we'll never get out of there. Wiser heads must prevail.

If you're into sending goofy emails to your friends during Christmas...

Avedon had a comment about a post from a Steven Brust about agnosticism.

In comments, Duncan left a lengthy statement that was educational for me and I felt worth passing along today.

I'm not at home, so I can't check my books. But it seems to me that agnosticism is being misrepresented here. If you look at Thomas Huxley, the guy who minted the word, he was pretty damn sure about some things. He was sure, for example, that Genesis 1 and 2 are not history or science; he didn't think that Yahweh or any other god exists; he was a biologist and an early advocate of Darwin's theory of natural selection (though it seems he was also among the early advocates who fundamentally misunderstood it). He was not a wishy-washy person who was afraid of taking a stand.

He wrote in 1883, "Some twenty years ago, or thereabouts, I invented the word 'Agnostic' to denote people who, like myself, confess themselves to be hopelessly ignorant concerning a variety of matters, about which metaphysicians and theologians, both orthodox and heterodox, dogmatise with utmost confidence...." I'm an atheist, and that seems quite a reasonable statement to me. Is there an afterlife? Danged if I know, though it seems unlikely, but I don't *know*, and I see no reason to believe that anyone else knows. I've always liked Antony Flew's style of atheism, which he called Stratonician, and which puts the burden of proof on the theist. Oh, you say there's a god? Give me some good reasons for thinking so. Flew did a very good job of showing that the reasons usually offered were not good ones. Does there exist a being (whatever that means) which might correspond to what most people mean (whatever that is) by "god"? I have no idea, but perhaps you could suggest what sort of being you have in mind, and how you know anything about it, or how a person might *come* to know anything about it. I'd say that "atheism" like this and "agnosticism" as Huxley put it are not really so different.

Now it's true that there seem to be a lot of people who use "agnostic" differently — e.g., as a euphemism for "atheist," a word they consider, like, so *harsh*. Judging by the comments to Brust's little tirade (which is all it is — it sure ain't an argument), some who call themselves agnostics are into rather poorly worked-out metaphysics and don't know much about philosophy *or* religion. They annoy me too, but then so do hardline atheists of the Dennett - Dawkins - Harris type, who don't know much about science, philosophy or religion either. A responsible atheist as I see it would have no trouble being agnostic about many things — indeed, I'd insist on it. "Agnostic" as a global term (I'm agnostic about everything) is ridiculous, but it's very far from what Huxley meant by it.

The Huxley quotation comes from by the way.

I really don't have much to add here except that I thought it was worth more visibility than being buried in Haloscan comments. I do think that one can be agnostic about God and still be "taking a stand" on the issue, although I think that's a pretty unappreciated viewpoint in general and many consider it a cop out. I don't agree, but that dismissal isn't really that important to me as I see myself - as agnostic. I appreciate beliefs about God as simply beliefs, and I recognize that's the personal filter people choose (and I believe this) to construct their life within. I don't get particularly upset about how others consider my beliefs, since I personally consider some religious/philosophical beliefs quite ridiculous myself, I'm sure there are many that feel the same about mine. I do get bothered when somebody expects me to believe the same thing they do - I have no problem allowing some polite time for consideration but please respect that I've chosen this belief structure. It wasn't a default "I can't make up my mind" determination. I have made up my mind, absent extraordinary evidence to the contrary. Your beliefs are yours, my beliefs are mine... and I'm good with that. As long as it isn't harming anyone, that's the way it should be.

I wonder what it is about them that makes the producers of the Rush Limbaugh show think that commercials for their program need to have the voiceover qualities of an advertisement for the circus, full of silly booming voices and whistles and kazoos?

Wow! The National Conference of State Legislatures has their own blog. And they allow comments...

The Republican Presidential Primary... Isn't it an annointment and not a duly considered choice? Bush, Bush, Dole, Bush, Bush, Reagan, Reagan, Ford... when was the last time there was really a surprise winner of the Republican primary process? For Democrats, it can be argued that Clinton and Carter were both surprises. Perhaps Dukakis as well. But the Republicans? Anything?

There's little drama and little interest by Republican voters in their primary process. McCain is set to win the whole thing, I don't believe for a second that Giuliani or any other Republican has a chance unless McCain implodes with a scandal. Republicans won't have a choice for somebody to vote for by the time they get to their 10th primary.

So... why not shake things up a bit? This is a suggestion to one Michael Moore, filmmaker and pot-stirrer deluxe. I have a suggestion. Change your party affiliation to Republican. Run for the 2008 Republican primary. Force McCain into some debates. Force Republicans to consider what policies they are adopting as they buy the '08 model of the Republican brand. Make fun of McCain and the Republicans on their dime - and make a movie during the process.

Is there something better you're doing in 2008? If not... think about it.

Apparently not in style.

With two posts in the last 40 days, I may have to conclude that PCNBlog is a failure. I'll give them to the end of the year to start posting more regularly, otherwise, I'll pull them from the sidebar and accept that they weren't ready to run with it.

Coming in 2007. I didn't know...

This is a work of sublime irony, but I'm not sure it is intended to be such.

When you read the subject line, did you sound out his name with an accent in your head?

He has one of the most enjoyable names to pronounce of any celebrity I can think of... what celebrity's name do you enjoy pronouncing?

Hard to believe that so many people think she could be a profit opportunity in t-shirts, but according to CafePress, there are 3,720 designs on 60,800 products relating to Hillary Clinton. On closer review, a lot of these products are keyworded that way but are more generically political, but still, there's quite a few designs.

Barack Obama has 1,310 designs on 18,100 products. John Edwards? 504 designs on 5,320 products. And surprisingly, for John McCain, only 367 designs on 5,410 products. Is it because fat old guys and ladies don't wear t-shirts for show very much?

If you're looking to take your young kids to an enjoyable but low-key Christmas show, check out SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN by the Popcorn Hat Players. Our son's class had a field trip to the Whitaker Center yesterday which included this show, and it had some chuckles for the adults as well. The kids? They laughed and laughed.

The Army's top general said the Army "will break" under the strains of Iraq unless it gets more manpower. Gen. Peter Schoomaker told planners that the size of the regular Army should be increased, and that the Army should have the power to tap into the National Guard and Reserves more frequently than is currently allowed.

Afterward, Schoomaker told reporters a request for a temporary troop surge into Iraq could be met, but he doesn't want a surge "without a purpose." Those comments put Schoomaker in the ranks of those who don't see the advantage of adding troops in Iraq.

According to Schoomaker, one solution is to change Department of Defense policy that requires the reserve forces to get five years off in between deployments. Cutting into that time would make more units available for future rotations in Iraq.

I really don't know what to say anymore. The government of America is going to break under the strains of Iraq unless it gets more brainpower. The 2006 election result is going to be a mere hiccup compared to the mighty electoral Fuck You that is coming in 2008 to all that empower moves to increase troops in Iraq. Hear that, Hillary, hear that, McCain. This country has to be run smarter than what we're doing. I feel very badly for Iraq and the Iraqis, I really do. And I do believe that our country owes them some concept of asylum. But at some point we have to decide to save our own country from the morons that have been ruining it for six years. Putting more troops on the ground in Iraq for them to chew up isn't going to help anyone.

When was the last time you had a sword fight with those cardboard tubes that Christmas wrapping paper are packaged on?

It is a shame that such useless data - the 2008 Presidential campaign polling done at the end of 2006 - will will be trotted out as meaningful during the next few months' campaign contribution activity. This is a name recognition poll and not much more.

We were watching Penn State beat Long Island University, and the band at the game played a really catchy "Penn State" pep song, and I wondered - why hasn't anybody made an album of the best of these from all the athletic programs in the country? I bet it would sell if they represented enough colleges and universities on it...

Then it will be a lot easier to tell when something is a joke, rather than serious.

Lesson Two: If you're not funny, don't try to be funny on television. Call it the Greenfield Law of Comedy.

Lesson Three: If you're of ordinary appearance and mind and still somewhat mysteriously have had a job for years on national television, don't highlight that mystery by pointing out your wife already knows more about how to do your job than you do.

Understanding some of the benefit of blogging pseudonomously.

One of Bush's many personal downsides for his disastrous management of the country is that he's created an unknown number of people with strong hatred towards him, at a level outside the United States that hasn't been seen since at least Vietnam and perhaps before. Right now and for the foreseeable future he is to be protected from that hatred, but there's a limit:

The FY1995 Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act (108 Stat. 2413) amended 18 U.S.C. 3056 to limit protection to 10 years for former Presidents who begin serving after January 1, 1997, and for their spouses. A spouse's 10-year protection ends upon divorce, remarriage, or the former President's death.

Following the death of an acting President (see Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution), a spouse receives protection for one year. The Secretary of the Treasury can also authorize temporary protection at any time. Protection for a former President's children is available to them until the age of 16 or for a period not to exceed 10 years, whichever occurs first.

Bush is a relatively young man still, and in 12 years will be turning 73. It's quite possible he'll still be active - take a look at his parents as examples. But his protection will run out at this point.

In 2018, this law can apply to only one person at this point - George W. Bush. There's plenty of time to consider this issue, but it does seem pretty arbitrary to establish a timeframe for any protection of a former President. Either it is in the nation's interests to protect former Presidents from harm, or it isn't. Perhaps a cafeteria plan, based on a budget that is allowed to grow at the rate of inflation but which also establishes limitations for total expenditure, is more appropriate. Relying on time to heal all wounds takes lifetimes, not a decade.

In any case, if Bush survives to 2018, we will be revisiting this issue. Bank on it.

I know it takes creativity to look a little different than the others in your field, but c'mon! Use a little, at least on the web...

Huddleston, McKenzie & Associates, P.L.L.C. (Washington State)
Hamilton & Musser, P.C. (Pennsylvania)

Who will become the leader in worm food products?

If you like the "genre", check out Michael K. Willis' post on Christmas music.

They could be carols. They could be show tunes. They could be album filler. But don't we all have a few favorite and least favorite Christmas songs? If you do - what are yours?

About 399 stations from Maine to Hawaii already are playing Christmas tunes around the clock to bring in listeners and advertising dollars. We have one doing this in our area. I like it as a change of pace from listening to other radio stations, but...

These stations play some of the most muzak-like Christmas Carols you can hear that include human singing. My wife and I have a tradition - one new Christmas album each year, and we are trying to create a wide variety of styles, choices and time frames. We know there are LOTS and LOTS of options out there - why can't these radio stations investigate the international creativity? How about a little Christmas in Cusco? Carols with Highlands Bagpipes? Kwanzaa music? Please mix it up. There's no excuse for going "Top 40" with holiday music.

Next year is the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Falklands War. Does anyone really remember a good reason for it being started?

Good for Dennis Kucinich. His campaign will once again be a valuable public service.

Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2004, said Monday he is planning another bid because his party isn't pushing hard enough to end the Iraq war.

The liberal, anti-war Ohio congressman said he was inspired to run because he disagrees with the way some of his fellow Democrats are handling the war, including approval of a proposal to spend $160 billion more on the conflict.

Have you been getting all your email?

Is the market for "dog shirts" so great that it makes sense for CafePress to offer it as part of product creation? Is America commonly this ridiculous with its money?

as a reminder of the holiday. Not mine, I just liked it.

But their musical choices SUCKKKKKKKK. Every year.

It's kind of interesting that there are two national television programs that would have a piece, essentially promoting, a service that invents excuses for their clients, to... well, in their own words:

With the pressures of modern life many of us have occasion to stray from our commitments. This is often a short-term encounter, unrelated to our long term plans, but with modern technology, it has become increasingly difficult to carry on such a temporary activity without being detected. The surfacing of such an encounter in any way whatsoever, can put an incredible strain on all parties concerned. Family life, friendship and business's well-being can all be jeopardized for what may indeed have been a totally inconsequential short-term objective.

Alibi Network was established to provide a way out of this situation. We offer a service which can help protect your loved ones from undue anxiety, and help ensure the stability of long term relationships and financial security. Our alibis and personal privacy protection services are secure, discreet and professionally handled.

Those two national programs would be those of Neil Cavuto at Fox and Tucker Carlson at MSNBC. I wonder if the Alibi Network found some marketplace of individuals needing help with their "inconsequential short-term objectives" on those programs.

But still around in a manner... Historic Jamestown!

Tickets are now on sale for America's Anniversary Weekend, the premiere event of America's 400th Anniversary. The three-day festival will be held on May 11-13, 2007, and marks the 400th anniversary observance of the 1607 founding of Jamestown, Virginia, as America's first permanent English settlement.

We were there a few weeks ago, and the kids enjoyed it.

It gets swallowed up by the future. I remember the term "groundbreaking" being used a lot with this show, but when was the last time anyone saw "Elephant Parts"?

They now provide malware warnings for links to certain sites from their search engine. Good for them.

For an example, see this.

A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.

- Garrison Keillor

Good idea for a blog, makes you wonder why other daily shows, such as Hardball and Scarborough Country, don't have current blogs run by interested, but not program-employed, bloggers.

On the other hand, I really can't see how anyone can think of Imus as "wildly popular". Or even "mildly intelligent".

Who in the world would wear this shirt?

Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?
Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?
Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?

He's so convinced that the United States HAS TO WIN IN IRAQ AS SEAN HANNITY DEFINES WINNING. So...

Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?
Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?
Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?

I'm sure there are plenty of other pasty doughy Republican apparatchiks that would love to make the kind of money that Hannity is making promoting Republican Party talking points. So...

Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?
Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?
Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?

If Sean Hannity really believes this country still needs to sacrifice further to win this war...

Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?
Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?
Why Can't Sean Hannity Go Fight in Iraq?

There are some people who want to throw their arms round you simply because it is Christmas; there are other people who want to strangle you simply because it is Christmas.

- Robert Lynd

That's why they're called adult toys, after all.

There's just way too many NCAA Bowl Games.

Most Un-American Newspaper Graphic This Year.

Whether you agree or disagree with the Iraq Study Commission's determinations, their efforts in public service don't deserve this scumbaggery from the New York Post.

Isn't that something we should strive for?

This personal Pearl Harbor story isn't like most.

My Dad was born on December 7, 1935.

He turned 6 the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I'm sure that his birthdays during World War II, as frugal as they would have been anyway due to the family's economic status and the impact of the War on the economy, were even more muffled because of the sobriety of the day.

It did make it easy to remember when his birthday was, because even when I was a kid, I remembered a small buildup to December 7th - a buildup of commemoration and solemn salute to those who died that day and to an extent every day after that day during World War II. And it was associated with his birthday. But it had to put a damper on the celebration of his birthday each year. Perhaps it is like having your birthday on September 11th, a day which most of the nation is still mourning. Should you celebrate? Not so loud? What is appropriate?

When I was growing up, my Dad's birthday was the most subdued in our nuclear family. My Mom's birthday was never a hair-raiser either, but that was also her more serious personality. Dad was gregarious, but I really don't remember us ever doing anything particularly special for Dad's birthday. Sometimes not even cake - which he didn't enjoy. Looking back now, I wonder if the way he celebrated his birthday then had to do with it being on December 7th.

I don't think I'll get to know the answer. Dad's gone, Mom's gone, Dad's brother and sister are gone. The witnesses to his childhood birthday reality are gone.

But when I think of Pearl Harbor or when I think of my Dad's birthday, the two are tangled together, and I'm sure that will continue to be part of how I experience December 7th.

All these years, and I never caught this play on words until Wednesday.

Narrator: Sam the Snowman: Meanwhile, the elves are bustling with activity. Christmas is over, but they still keep busy with lessons in elf improvement.

If you're planning on writing a letter to your Pennsylvania State Representative...

Apparently the U.S. Post Office is requiring a new system that assigns every House Member a unique post office box number and zip code based on District Number. In Pennsylvania, every member's post office box number will consist of six digits - district number prefaced by 202. And the last 4 digits of a zip code will be the district number prefaced by a 2. So, if you were from district 100, your address would be:

Representative IDidNotTakeThePayRaise
House Box 202100
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2100

I wonder if this is indicative of the sheer volume of mail each Representative receives, that they get their own zip code? Or is it because Pennsylvania has SO MANY REPRESENTATIVES? Is this happening in every state?

Or this is a somewhat disturbing search...

From Seeing the Forest:

Wal-Mart is not "bad" because it pays low wages or skimps on providing health care. If they did that, Target could charge lower prices and customer might go to Target instead. They're just doing their job, as WE, the people, through our government, define it through our laws.

So whose job IS it to provide for higher wages and health care? It is OUR job - the people - through OUR laws and regulations. WE are the ones who have dropped the ball on higher wages and health care. WE tell companies what to do - or the system doesn't work. If WE, through our government, require ALL companies to pay higher wages and provide health care that levels the playing field for Wal-Mart's competition with Target.

Tradition's fun and everything, but does anyone really understand why the Pennsylvania Society Dinner, which is annually billed as the "largest social gathering of Pennsylvania elected officials", is always held in New York City?

Couldn't some - or many - Pennsylvania business entities benefit from holding this event in different places in Pennsylvania each year?

What does it say about "Pennsylvania Society" if it has to leave Pennsylvania to have a good time?

When being compared to a U.S. President might be seen as a compliment for another nation's leader. Today, it is a shame: to be accused of acting too much like George W. Bush:

The government's fight against terrorism is threatening human rights and due legal process in the country, activists in Jakarta said Monday.

Opening a two-day hearing of the Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counterterrorism and Human Rights, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said the government was taking too many cues from the regimes of U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the fight against terror.

"The global war on terrorism has inevitably weakened our human rights foundations," he said at the Hotel Santika in Central Jakarta.

"Close your eyes
Listen to the skies
All is calm, all is well
Soon you'll hear Kris Kringle and the jingle bells"

- Roger Miller

Who is responsible for keeping track of where time capsules are and when they should be opened?

There is a possibility of a bit of hopeful international news the past few days, and it's making its way to the U.S. papers. Pakistan's interesting move:

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday that Pakistan is willing to give up its claim to Kashmir if India reciprocates and agrees to self-governance in the disputed Himalayan region they have fought over for decades.

The comments, in an interview aired by India's NDTV network, were among Musharraf's strongest yet to encourage a settlement in the bitter, 58-year dispute since the South Asian rivals began peace talks nearly three years ago.

Musharraf has been doing some backtracking since then, and the militants operating in Jammu and Kashmir have rejected this statement, but both the Indian and Pakistani newspapers have published reports of these comments somewhat positively. Perhaps there is now some ground for progress.

I had a great picture of our daughter from Christmas Day a few years ago, so I decided to make it into postage for our Christmas cards with Zazzle. A bit pricey but should be fun for relatives to receive - we'll see if they notice.

He apparently has an incredibly short memory even by NFL standards. He says:

Chicago Bears: With the way Rex Grossman has played, they should feel glad about the division they're playing in. They can overcome his mistakes playing in the NFC North. They should also feel fortunate that there aren't a lot of teams vying for the top spot in the NFC. I can't ever remember a team that – at 10-2 – was this dissatisfied with its starting quarterback.

Two words: Trent Dilfer. The starting quarterback so loved by 2001 NFL Super Bowl Winner Baltimore Ravens that they let him go before the next season.

I know Baltimore was 8-4, not 10-2. But the point was really about a Super Bowl contender.

But I might be more likely to be convinced if it also becomes George W. Bush's eventual retirement home...

I like the Christmas that fulfills my needs ... to be forgiven from greed and selfishness, to fill my empty soul with peace and compassion, for hope and faith and charity, for myself renewed and hope restored in an erring world.
— Robert D. Wigert ("I Like Christmas")

Technorati gives a great visual of just how long Thanksgiving stays on the radar of people...

Before November 5, maybe a few thousand blog mentions a day. For a few days near Thanksgiving Day, between 50,000 and 100,000 mentions per day. Now back to almost nothing.

The Economic Times:

NEW DELHI: Errant websites won't be able to escape this net. The Centre is putting in place an advance screening system at the bandwidth landing stations to block individual websites and blogs perceived as threats to national security.

The technology to be put in place at the eight landing stations - which bring international bandwidth into the country - will be capable of blocking websites at a sub-domain level, thus saving internet service providers (ISPs) from a sweeping shutdown. "GoI has realised that the most effective way to keep out such sites is through URL-based blocking solutions installed at international gateways," a highly-placed source told ET.

After the system is in place, the department of telecommunications (DoT) can direct international long distance (ILD) players who own the landing stations to block a particular URL at the sub-domain level.

This will come as a major relief for ISPs who were carrying the burden to block specific webpages till now. The issue of blocking individual websites had come into prominence following the Mumbai blasts in July, when DoT had directed ISPs to ban 18 blogs and websites.

However, as ISPs did not possess the technologies needed to execute the directive, the service providers implemented the ban at the domain level. This resulted in a public outcry and international criticism as users were unable to access hundreds of thousands of websites and blogs.

Sources also confirmed that DoT has circulated a draft report on Monday on 'technical measurers for blocking of websites' to key ministries, security agencies, leading ISPs and the three ILD players who own landing stations.

At present, there are eight landing stations in India. Of these, five are owned by VSNL, two by Reliance Communications and one by Bharti Airtel. Sources said these ILD operators would be mandated to install equipment specified by DoT.

Teresa's right about this kind of web development.

One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly. - Andy Rooney

There are times when a candidate for President should run for the nomination of a major party because of the issues that he or she brings to the race - issues that can't be separated from the candidate, and because of that, force a subject or issue into an election campaign, particularly the primary.

Because of that, I'd like to see the blogosphere discuss the value of a campaign in 2008 for the Democratic Presidential nomination by one Kathleen Blanco, Governor of Louisiana.

It's not that I see her as being a particularly good candidate, or a candidate that can win, or as a candidate that brings anything in particular to the campaign other than Louisiana, 2005 to date. There are a lot of issues relating to NOLA, Katrina, FEMA, state and federal responsibilities and coordination, land use planning, the disconnect between wealth and poor, etc., etc., that she could force into the primary debate in a way that most other candidates cannot. I think the Democrats need to have that debate, and that the Gulf Coast deserves that debate.

So why shouldn't Blanco run?

Hmmm.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation today began notifying nearly 11,400 customers whose personal information was contained on two computers that were stolen during a Nov. 28 burglary at PennDOT's Wilkes-Barre Driver License center.

PennDOT also took immediate action to increase security of customer data at its facilities across Pennsylvania to reduce the risk of such a breach occurring again.

Thieves also took equipment and supplies that could be used to make fraudulent drivers license and photo identification cards. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the crime.

that I don't suggest to our kids that there are SpongeBob bras out there.

An interesting little find: Truth In Our House.

From China Daily:

Zhou Yiming, the youngest tycoon on Forbes magazine's list of China's 400 richest people last year, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday in Suining in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

"The Suining Intermediate People's Court announced the verdict this (Friday) morning on the charge of contractual fraud," said Tan Shengbin, director of the court's general office.

Zhou had accepted the charges against him and did not say whether he would appeal to a higher court, Tan told China Daily.

Zhou, a 32-year-old businessman, had been arrested after he acquired nearly US$69 million through his stake in Sichuan Mingxing Electric, a major supplier of water, electricity and gas to 3.8 million residents in Suining.

The case began in August 2002, when Sichuan Mingxing Electric, a listed company, decided to sell shares worth 380 million yuan (US$48 million) a 28 per cent stake in the firm on the stock market.

Wow, the San Francisco Giants are building one monstrously bad team.

Fester has a couple of theories about the plan to send four combat engineer battalions of reserves to Iraq early next year to boost security in Baghdad.

Why don't more people name their kids something that starts with a Q? And why don't more people create new words that start with Q? And why doesn't some corporation take advantage of the vacuum of words that begin with Q and do not have the letter U following it to build some brand appreciation? Advertising makes up words all the time. So how about something like:

"People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts suitable to the twenty-fifth of December."

How... immoral. More at Collective Sigh.

In an interesting article about starpower and its effect (or lack of) in continued giving for the hungry in Africa, Walrus Magazine dropped this little nugget:

In April, Oxfam convinced Keira Knightley to auction off the dress she wore to the Academy Awards. The gown - Vera Wang, deep-claret silk taffeta - raised $7,900, which according to an Oxfam press release is "enough to feed 5,000 children for a month in Tanzania."

This seems like a brilliant idea as long as there are takers to buy the clothes afterwards. But it brings a thought - why doesn't some enterprising designer pitch their clothes for just this very purpose for movie stars to wear for their biggest nights? Perhaps Oxfam and others should talk to the designers, rather than the buyers, and see how receptive they would be to trying such a pitch. If they haven't already...

That's something Philadelphia has. I didn't know this, and this is really something useful to promote outside of Philadelphia as part of the charm of tourism, which will, in turn, improve the situation for the underserved areas of Philadelphia by bike paths.

It's hard to imagine, all that weight they must carry. How often they've been wrong, on practically everything, as they supported Bush and the Republican Congress the past 4 years. And all the evidence that piles up, from almost everything related to the long-term disaster we're in called Iraq, to Iran, to North Korea, to global warming, to national debt, to bad economic signs, to election results. The rest of the world says they're wrong. Many of them still say the rest of the world is wrong. How very heavy that must be.

They really need a vacation, a long vacation, from blogging. For their own good. It has to be so much harder to blog when you know so much that you've said in the past has been disproved or is in the process of being disproven. It must be heavy. It must be sad. It must be tiring.

So... it's time for America to recommend that many take a break. Instapundit, time to put away the blog for a few months. Althouse, time to write a book or something. Power Line... bon voyage. Take a break. Lift the weight.