Saturday--

Well, another week gone and another year will be in three more weeks. Our temperatures here have been much above normal with several days yet of similar and with rain thrown in as well. We are in a familiar situation of being grateful our weather isn't as bad as that in other areas of the country. But it is a bit unsettling to be this far into December with so very little snow to show for it. The small hill of snow plowed off the street is gone. I wonder what will hit us in January (and February and March).

Sunday--

This sounds so familiar. The assumption of the title is that West=liberal democracy. All you need to do is look at our politics to see that that is a false assumption. We are as "Western" as you can get and the same trends are all too evident.

I learn something new every day. Today I found this article on the D.C. cherry trees blooming now because of extraordinarily warm weather. Evidently such a late season flowering is natural for the autumn blooming cherry species and they will bloom again in the spring. We are also having warmer than normal temps though the record highs the weather people thought possible won't be happening.

Monday--

Every time I think I can't find a new low for the stupid bar I find I am wrong. I, like the author, hoped the story he linked to was satire. It wasn't.

Found this piece of idiocy also. What a total waste of time when they could be trying to resolve some of the more intractable problems we have. Christmas is not under attack--not when it has become a major commercial event. Not when so many of us who are not Christians also celebrate it at a family holiday. Why don't they pass a resolution to protect the symbols of Kwanza or Hanukkah or Yule? After all the Constitution mandates that the Federal government not "establish" religion and protecting the symbols of Christmas while not protecting the symbols of other religions is certainly playing favorites. The clause "for those who celebrate Christmas" is meaningless and doesn't negate the preferential treatment of Christian symbols.