PEACE, GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirin'i-us was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. 7 And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 8 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18 and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; 30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation 31 which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel." 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; 34 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan'u-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, 37 and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; 43 and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the company they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; 47 and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." 49 And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 50 And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.

NUT-LEFT-WATCH
Check out the Independent Media Center. It's a nice little (big?) network of America-hating socialists. Their DC "indymedia" site has a wonderful gallery of images, including this depiction of the Time Magazine Person of the Year cover, doctored up nicely with Swastika armbands on U.S. soldiers. The left remains as creative and original as ever. See UPDATE below picture.

Here it is:



UPDATE: Found a link through that DC Indymedia site to the "Iraqi Resistace Solidarity Network:For a Principled Stance in the US!!!". That "principled stance" seems to include urging death upon "US imperialism" and the assassination of President Bush. I wonder if the Secret Service is aware of this? And what must be a wonderful holiday message from the proprietors of the site: "Bye, Bye, GI!!! In Iraq you'll surely DIE!!!" and "Bring the Troops Home...IN A BODY BAG!!!" And it's on a Yahoo! - Geocities server.

SPEAKING OF WHINERS
Rush Limbaugh has placed himself in the upper-tier of whiners claiming to be victims. His claims that his problems are brought about by his political enemies rank up there with millionaires Rasheed Wallace and Warren Sapp crying that the white power structure is holding them down. Did the liberals make you take the drugs Rush? Do you have any accountability for your actions? Will you really stick to the claim that the law is being applied to you only because you are conservative and outspoken? Have you no shame, sir? Are you accountable to no one? You, like all of us have the right to a vigorous defense, and you have it in Roy Black. How about letting him do the defending while you battle your demons and get yout life back on track. Your use of your radio show for you own personal defense is beneath even you. Your political opinions and success are yours and cannot be taken away - except by your own unwillingness to accept the consequences of your actions. Even some ditto-heads will eventually realize this. Stand up, be a man and accept the consequences.

LET'S QUIT FINGER-POINTING
Hey folks - quit the China-bashing. Are you listening my fellow liberals? As the 1.3 billion-person nation slowly lumbers towards more personal freedoms and respect for private property, etc., the endless whining about China taking jobs and keeping its currency pegged at rates too low for our tastes is truly unbecoming - even to a populace as self-centered and whiny as our own. First it was Mexico and and Perot's incessant sobs over the "giant sucking sound" of jobs leaving the U.S. Now China is sucking jobs away from everyone. The fact is, my fellow Americans, that as long as you are price-sensitive in your purchasing habits the trend will continue. Why do you think all that stuff at Wal-MArt is cheap? IT'S MADE WHERE IT'S CHEAP TO MAKE IT. (And they don't pay squat or offer benefits). Don't lash out at politicians when you kids can't get a job near as good as yours in the future. This is what free trade and globalization mean. Get over it. (DISCLOSURE - I'm a free-trader. And a liberal).

I think this trend will be painful in the short run, but no set of conditions has more potential to bring a measure of prosperity and a clamoring for human rights to the globe than a world that trades amongst eveyone. Nations that trade don't invade one another very often. The rising tide can only float everybody's boat if the tide can reach all the boats.

NEW GOVERNATOR, SAME OLD MATH
Having just borrowed about $15 billion without getting anything from the legislature in terms of speding restraints or cuts, Ahhhnold now has to put forward his plan - which he promised in the ill-conceived recall election - to plug the huge hole in the 2004 Kaleefornya budget. He's about to find out that popularity is worth exactly zero dollars and zero cents when it comes to making tough governing decisions. And millions of foolish Kaleeforyans who voted for the recall and Arnie will have the lesson taught in painful terms. Whatchya wanna bet they express shock and awe at his betrayal of their ill-placed hopes for a fiscal miracle?

Beware, America.......the same sort of fiscal hole is being dug at the national level. Accept the tough choices - spending cuts and tax increases. Reject the snake-oil salesmen who suggest we can tax-cut our way out of this with supply-side engineered growth. Make no mistake - you can heap liquidity on the economy in the form of tax cuts and low interest rates, but the growth it spurs will pale in comparison to the deficits it sticks us (and our kids) with. California and America get exactly the government they deserve, and it's a democracy, folks. Nobody to blame but ourselves if we buy what the snake-oil purveyors are hocking.

A QUIET RETREAT
The Bush Administration unceremoniously tucked its political tail between its legs last week and abandoned its plan to remove millions of acres of wetlands from protection by the Clean Water Act. (Even Republicans, its seems, want their water clean.) Let the developers scream......this was a win for the country as a whole. I'm encouraged by the signs that Bush has some sense of reality - even if it is only political reality. After getting over 130,000 complaints about the plan, and realizing that many of those griping about the give-away to special interests were Republican, W. relented. Sounds like the same story as those steel tarrifs, eh, free-traders? One can only hope for similar political epiphanies when it comes to the Patriot Act reauthorization.

VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY?
So, Howard Dean was a moderate (fiscally conservative) governor of Vermont (to the right of Edwards). General Clark was effusive in his praise of Bush, Rummy, Rice et al until recently. Now, Dean wants Clark on his ticket. Why haven't the conspiracy minded Democrats noticed that this is a Republican ploy to take over the Democratic party?