OK… it’s off to Georgetown today for the last day of tests before surgery…

Something called “Pre-Surgical Intake” and ending with a new MRI. Then we’ll be chugging back to Harpers Ferry, I get a day off and on Thursday night I’m back in Georgetown at the hotel next to the hospital waiting to have a hole drilled in my head the next day.

Looks like we’ll be driving down in the rain.

I can’t say this is the week I’m looking forward to, but if it ends up solving the problem of my seizures and other things and I am allowed to drive a car again someday (that’s something a guy who goes around to visit friends really misses!) and maybe live a while longer who could complain?

Hey… a note to my wife… Let’s assume I’m going to make Christmas this year. Know what I want? The new DVD of the revival of Sondheim’s company with Neil Patrick Harris, Patty LuPone and… Stephen Colbert! You can get it at Amazon.  Don’t order it until after Saturday.

 

A quote for the week – I can hardly believe someone would say this…

This is a quote that was published today by Buck Banks in Pensito Review. It was headed “Now This Guy Is A Sore Loser!”

Eric Dondero

“All family and friends, even close family and friends, who I know to be Democrats are hereby dead to me. I vow never to speak to them again for the rest of my life, or have any communications with them. They are in short, the enemies of liberty. They deserve nothing less than hatred and utter contempt…. I strongly urge all other libertarians to do the same. Are you married to someone who voted for Obama, have a girlfriend who voted ‘O’. Divorce them. Break up with them without haste. Vow not to attend family functions, Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas for example, if there will be any family members in attendance who are Democrats.”

— Former Ron Paul aide Eric Dondero, asserting that the only recourse to President Obama’s re-election is “outright revolt” and therefore is launching a “personal boycott” of Democrats.

Eric Dondero blogs at LibertarianRepublican.net.

I am impressed with how much difference can be read into the American psyche. What is wrong with these people? What good is a country where everyone believes the exact same things? How woud progress ever happen? Who would have invented the goddam lightbulb?

Related articles

• Eric Dondero on Boycotting Democrats — Daily Intel (nymag.com)
• Boycotting Democrats (politicalwire.com)
• Dondero: Un-Friend All Obama Voters (drudge.com)
• Losing With Grace (themoderatevoice.com)

 

Let’s look back on 2011 with Jib-Jab:

It’s becoming an annual tradition.

Onward into the New year.

Happy Solstice… It’s the longest night of the year tonight…

They peg the Winter Solstice to this evening. As that great Alaskan blog, The Mudflats, pointed out:

This is one of those holidays that exists objectively, whether we want it or not. Every culture marked it, and every human has noticed it since the beginning of time. And nobody will change it to Monday so we get a long weekend, or combine it with another event and call it “Celestial Day.” It is what it is – simple, scientific, magical and beautiful.

So if you Celebrate the Solstice have a great night… and we can proceed onward to next Summer.

…and here’s a song from one of my favorite musicals, Rogers and Hart’s The Boys from Syracuse, “The Shortest Day of the Year:

Related articles

• Winter Solstice ~ Merry Yule (fordrinksandtips.com)
• Winter Solstice 2011: When It Is and What to Know About Start of Winter (ibtimes.com)
• Happy Winter Solstice 2011 (blippitt.com)
• When is the winter solstice? (guardian.co.uk)

What not to get me for Christmas…

… a whacky iPhone Case.

How do people think of these things? (Thanks to the L.A.Times.)

Related articles

• What Christmas is All About (alwaysbcmom.com)
• FREE Merry Christmas iPhone Case (633woman.com)

Oh, the Holidays…

You know it’s the Christmas season when you notice in your spam mail that they are giving you a “holiday discount” on Viagra. I’m not sure whether it’s for me to use in my holiday celebrating, or if it’s a gift for one of my mail relatives who are having secret troubles “getting it up” (in which case, how would I know?).

It all boils down to this being purchasing season. We just passed Black Friday with a number of reports on fighting in stores (one shooting that was on the news) and crowds lining up before midnight on Thanksgiving to give thanks for early openings.

Stores, of course, make a large percent of their annual revenue this month, sales or none, and folks everywhere lower their bank totals or pay out most of their Social Security checks on things that the receivers will often never use. We hear that sales will be lower this year than last do to the Recession which “ended” last summer. People have less income and are counting on the 1% to keep up the Christmas shopping totals.

Perhaps they won’t let us down this time.

Related articles

• Why e-mail spam rarely works, reason #17438234 (niklasblog.com)
• The Christmas Revolution (patrickreyes.net)
• No, Black Friday Sales Were Not Up 16% (not even 6%) (ritholtz.com)
• Preparing for Christmas (bryanmarvel.com)
• Happy Holidays! Take 10%. (emmiesmeanderings.wordpress.com)
• Holiday shopping season off to strong start (oregonlive.com)
• I somehow doubt that I’ve won a thousand .dollar.Visa.Giftcard! (ask.metafilter.com)
• Government officials have their e-mail spammed too (examiner.com)

The Digital Story of the Nativity

I got a kick out of this (a new way to view an old fiction):

Related Articles

• A Digital Story of the Nativity For the Holidays (ducknetweb.blogspot.com)
• “The Digital Story of the Nativity” by Excentric (otterman.wordpress.com)
• Filler Christmas Video Week: The Digital Story of the Nativity (bwmedia.wordpress.com)
• The Digital Story of Christmas (socyberty.com)

Christmas Eve and we are anticipating snow this weekend.

Elly and I will be going over to my daughter’s house this evening to have dinner with her and the boys (and drop of Xmas presents)… then will come home and wait for Santa to fill stockings.

I’m starting to get worried about the weather report (which I pulled down from the weather bureau this morning while broadcasting “Winners and Losers” on WSHC). It seems that snow will start tomorrow in the late afternoon and then it will continue snowing on Sunday and Monday. I have to head for Virginia Monday morning to pick up my Mother and bring her to a family get together at Penny’s house that evening and I worry that the driving will be horrible (although my new old car is an “All Wheel Drive” vehicle which should cope with whatever I encounter.)

My other daughter, Cassandra, and her family are supposed to be coming down from Connecticut, as is Buddy and his intended, Rachel, who are spending Xmas with Cassandra, Matthew and Milo this year… but bad weather could keep Cassandra from traveling (Buddy has no choice as he has to get back to work and school in DC and Rachel has to catch a plane for Wisconsin.)

I hope everyone out there has a nice holiday. I’ll be online from time to time and will check in, but the blog will probably be operating at a minimal effort. Next week we’ll be operating in full regalia!

Related Articles

• Yes, Virginia, a White Christmas (knoxnews.com)
• Let it snow, let it snow (missblue02.wordpress.com)
• Website tracks Santa on Christmas Eve ()

The Nativity Scene – Received from my sister…

My dogs, Nestle and Byron, are thrilled that dogs are included in the Christmas Story.

I’ve been out shopping this afternoon…

… looking for stocking stuffers for Elly. I must admit that I enjoyed it… it’s been a long time since I just focused on small things that emphasized how I felt about her, and finding special things was great fun.

Here we are four days before Christmas and the stores were not as mobbed as I expected them to be. I won’t be surprised if the financial reports of the retail season are lower than they were last year (which was pretty bad in itself.) Either that or most of the shopping that’s going on is happening on the web and not in stores.

Tonite we are going over to my grandsons’ school in Williamsport, MD, to hear their annual Christmas Concert. We did this last year as well and, while you have to be caught up in the lives of your grandchildren to believe it, the music was more than tolerable.

All the elements of the season are coming into play. What fun.

Related Articles

• Fun Stocking Stuffers For Everyone At The Dollar Store (walletpop.com)
• Fantastic Favorites For Stocking Stuffers (stlavonlady.wordpress.com)
• Gift List: Homey Stocking Stuffers Roundup (apartmenttherapy.com)

So the Senate is at work AGAIN today… on a SUNDAY… Don’t you feel bad for them?

No?

I guess I don’t either. I spent an hour or so watching them debate the START treaty this afternoon… actually debating an amendment or two which are NOT going to get on the bill (they’ll be voting on amendments at 3:00… that’s when I’ll turn it on again)… and was amazed at how frightening it is to have politicians control nuclear weapons. I had to turn the TV off while Senator Kyl was trying to find things to blame Obama on in this treaty… and, of course, to complain about being forced to work when they should be home celebrating Christmas.

Will they get this through by tomorrow or Tuesday? We’ll see. The Republicans are great stallers here and want to take up as much time as possible (and there are some judicial appointments that are taking up space in the Senate minutes as well) and perhaps we will have to leave until the January term begins and the Dems have less Senators and no control on the House. As Driftglass told Bluegal on their on-line broadcast Wednesday, the Republicans are hostage taking thugs that will use all kinds of crap to make important legislation either die or get watered way down. They hold our security hostage and the Dems and Obama are knuckling under. Do you hear the alarm going off?

I didn’t notice if Manchin has shown up today, but I’m not sure it matters. I hate to say it, but I think everything has been pre-decided.  We’ll find out when the votes are over, but I don’t think we’ll be surprised.

Anyway, I hope you are having a nice Sunday and, if you prefer the Senate to a football game or an afternoon movie, I hope you are entertained… and not taken in.

Related Articles

• McConnell Will Oppose START Treaty, But Two Top Lawmakers Predict Passage (politicsdaily.com)
• Parties at Odds on START Treaty Support (online.wsj.com)
• Senate Republican Leader to Oppose Missile Treaty – New York Times (news.google.com)
• McConnell: I can’t support START; Update: Deal reached on budget (hotair.com)
• Senate votes down McCain amendment to the START treaty (cnn.com)
• Senators clash on arms treaty as pressure grows (reuters.com)
• In letter to Senate, Obama says New START pact won’t limit missile defense – Washington Post (news.google.com)
• US Senate rejects bid to kill Russia treaty (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
• Obama invokes Reagan to push START treaty (reuters.com)
• START Treaty Wins Backing of GOP Senators Snowe, Collins (politicsdaily.com)
• Congress rushes to finish bills before holidays (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Congress as the Home of Religious Humor…

Senator DeMint

This from a longer article in Salon by Alex Pareene… I would just like to note that Republicans are willing to try just about anything to be assholes:

DeMint and Kyl are also the primary authors of my favorite new political argument of 2010: That holding votes near Christmas is insulting to the Baby Jesus. It’s “sacrilegious,” according to DeMint, to vote on things right before Christmas. Kyl made the interesting point that it’s insulting to Christians to go to work between Christmas and New Year‘s, a week during which most of the remaining Americans with full-time jobs are indeed expected to make an appearance at the office.

As far as I’m concerned, they can stay in session until the day the new Congress takes over in January.

Related Articles

• Kyl and DeMint Think Baby Jesus Doesn’t Want Them To Vote On START During Christmas (crooksandliars.com)
• I Don’t Think that Means What You Think it Means (DeMint, Sacrilege and Delays) (outsidethebeltway.com)
• What Jim DeMint considers ‘sacrilegious’ (washingtonmonthly.com)
• DeMint, Kyl and McConnell fight the War on Christmas (dailykos.com)
• Reid to DeMint and Kyl: Stop whining about having to work over the holidays (hotair.com)
• DeMint calls votes before Christmas ‘sacrilegious’ (politico.com)
• Sen. Reid: “I Don’t Need To Hear Sanctimonious Lectures” From GOP On The Meaning Of Christmas (mediaite.com)

Cartoon(s) of the Week … hard choice to make!

There were too many good ones this week and I had too much time on my hands reviewing them, So here are my favorite four:

Mike Luckovich in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Yes, it has been a great Christmas for lobbyists… and we once thought that with Obama they’d get a lump of coal in their stocking!

– and –

Tony Auth in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Isn’t Scrooge supposed to learn that he has been wrong?

= and –

Tom Toles in the Washington Post:

And it looks like the strategy is well on its way…

– and –

Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press:

Belief is a strange thing…

Merry Christmas

Elly and I are enjoying our Xmas morning, having slept late and now finishing our favorite holiday breakfast (adapted to our new Vegan status) of potatoes and “sausage”… and we are watching C-Span discuss favorite non-fiction books of the year with the call-in audience.

As usual during a holiday, there is no real political activity going on… at least not on television… but we will undoubtedly return to the lively discussion of the merger of the House and Senate bills and the extremes the Republicans will go to in order to (try to) kill it altogether.

We took most of yesterday visiting my Mother in Virginia and my daughter Penny and her sons in Maryland, and came home to our dogs who were VERY upset that they had spent the day without us. Today we spend a lot of time paying attention to them.

I hope all of you have a nice holiday. and drop in again. I don’t know what else I’ll be listing or discussing today, but there is likely to be something. Peace.

-BT

Senator Burris: Twas the Night Before Christmas

Here’s a fun one:

The text is available at The Senate Agenda Blog.

Politics make for an interesting Holiday season.