I too received gifts in bottles... To love me is to know, me, I guess. Waste not, want not.

The South Park pajamas? Not so flattering.

Everyone got books from me this year. One half day trip to Powell's; skip the mall "mistreatment."

Merry Christmas....

@ Pantanal.... While I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of religion, and would actually link it to a penchant for violence throughout history, I think you do the discussion of farts a disservice here.

Farts are good, (usually) clean fun, kids love 'em, and no one ever died from one.

I think both of those ads would have been vastly improved with with the whoopie cushion rendition of "Jingle Bells" in the background.

@Kovie.... The cross has a weaponlike quality that holds a certain appeal for this type. It would also have been equally awkward to discuss humble shepherds. (Check their papers!)

Therefore Christmas becomes a meaningless jumble of symbols chosen not for their original meaning, but merely for political points. An commenter yesterday wondered whether they believe what they say; I would take it a step further and venture that they don't even know what they're saying.

Contemptuous? Yes. Smart? Not so much.

I also wondered whether Malkin's dreary opus was so danged long because she felt the need to start way back at the mention of the census... a gratuitous jab at "big guvmint."

My secular progressive comrades up here tricked the pro-Christmas forces by holding our "Holiday" dinners early, and so gathered two families, both including tree-huggers, do gooders, a hippie or two, and at least one practitioner of socialized medicine. We also brought in some apparatchiks from the guvmint schools and a few miscellaneous liberal elitists, just in case. Much French wine was consumed, along with free-range roast beast.

Back here at the 13th floor outpost, I detected nearby strains of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and had to take desperate measures. With a brimming glass of Cotes du Rhone, I sat down at the piano to finally learn that Bach Prelude that had sat there for months. I made liberal (what else?) use of the loud pedal.

So far, this has not been successful. Worse, Christmas celebrants even came lurking...

It might be time for a "surge."

@ mr. snoid....

I myself was only able to tolerate about half of it; her bile was bringing up mine. You're a man of stout hear and iron constitution to have gotten that far.

@pyscprof: The phenomenon you point out can be equally said of Republicans. The economy of the Clinton years was caused by Reagan's policies, the Reagan deficits were caused by the Democratic congress, Sept. 11 was caused by Clinton, and the lack of subsequent attacks is due to the terrorists quaking in their turbans before the mighty Bush.

Oh, and when we finally admit that Iraq is lost, it will be the fault of the "left," just like it was in Viet Nam.

Oh, yeah, and the only reason you think otherwise is because the media is biased.

This ability to rationalize, nay, make up stories as one goes along, is a sort of mass hysteria, but you would know better than I what the proper (non-obscene) word is for it.

@pedinska

Click on his name....

BTW... Great piece on FISA... I like the Baltimore Sun.

Being disgusted with Christian hypocrites who endorse torture, economic policies that run counter to Jesus' teachings, and agressive wars that may be against evil dictators but nonetheless chiefly harm innocent civilians is NOT "white shoe" liberalism. It's called having a conscience.

Finding inappropriate and unconstitutional appeals to religion by political candidates both craven and manipulative, not to mention dangerous, does NOT mean one "hates" Christianity.

Having moral qualms about expensive and bloody military adventures does NOT mean one cares for Castro, Stalin or Pol Pot, who, I might add, would not have borne the brunt of military action against them.

And projecting your own hateful and eliminationist feelings on others and ascribing to them absurdly and ridiculously evil sympathies does NOT get you into heaven.

But there's another place with space available, where no one wears white shoes, but you can compliment Condi Rice on the $1000 pair she'll be wearing that she bought during hurricane Katrina.

Glenn... The hardest thing must have been keeping that list as short as it is. Aside from the Murray series, my favorite is the Romney quote. Being kept alive is nice as far as it goes, if you happen to be a paramecium.

In an excellent book about Watergate, "The Friends of Richard Nixon," by George V. Higgins, the author recounts a meeting between Nixon, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Mitchell, in which they all make excellent arguments for the idea that one of them, other than himself, needs to take the fall to save the administration. No one volunteers. Higgins drily writes, "These men had their flaws, but stupidity was not among them."

Would that that were true of our poltical press corps. And would that such stupidity would have a scintilla of consequence for them.

Anonymous... Has anyone here accused you of supporting Pinochet, the Shah, Franco, Batista, Apartheid, and on and on?

Why do you think that is? Could it be that no one here thinks along such pathetically spurious and nonsensical lines as you do? I'm glad you're so proud of yourself for "proving" yourself right all the time. It's a dreary, thankless job, but someone has to do it.

And although your efforts are probably much more effective over at the Freepers, thanks for playing. You made us all feel a little smarter.

Alright, socratesjohn, you're lost. Now start acting like it.

You're the most obvious concern troll ever.

And the moon must really be made of green cheese, if you think it isn't.