Coming in 2nd

Third place winners are often happier than 2nd place winners -- a little factoid taught in intro psych courses. Now there's a whole coffee table book devoted to it.

Pictures of the Year

The first one is amazing.

Conflicted Thoughts on Torture

Ross Douthat on the complex emotions and thoughts people have about US "enhanced interrogation techniques." It is a piece that verbalizes the "inarticulate mix of anger, uncertainty, and guilt about the Bush administration's interrogation policy."

Gross

Sam Esquibel was delivered early after an ultrasound revealed a brain tumor. The tumor turned out to be a small developed foot. Gross. And weird. (The baby survived the surgery, and is recovering.)

Public Christmas Decorations

A Southern Baptist writer argues that keeping Christmas decorations out of public buildings (malls, courthouses, etc) and in private churches & homes will improve the true spiritual meaning of Christmas.

Evangelical Lobbyist Resigns Over Civil Union Remark

Rev. Richard Cizik, VP for Governmental Affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals has resigned over a remark that he would support civil unions for homosexuals.

Road Use Tax

NC may start taxing people 1/4 cent for every mile they drive.

Ideology of Pragmatism?

Some dissenting views on the value of pragmatism.

Obama Logos

The logos that weren't chosen.

P is for Pragmatism

Andrew Sullivan posted a comment that was posted on Daniel Larison's blog, which I am now posting. Amazing. The reader emphasizes Obama's pragmatism.

Nice Reflexes, Mr. President

Priceless: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8GOrc0-Ygg&eurl=http://wonkette.com/&feature=player_embedded

Gay Marriage

Newsweek has an article this week by Lisa Miller arguing that opponents of gay marriage are misguided in their interpretation of scripture, and that the teachings of the Bible "argue for the other side." The OnFaith blog has a number of responses from pastors and theologians. In my opinion, everyone misses the boat, from little missteps to being on the wrong dock all together. Andrew Sullivan also responds here.

Movement on Auto Bailout

It looks like an auto bailout bill of some sort is going to come to the floor. It may include an oversight board (or one person), government equity stake in the companies (the UAW is also angling for equity stake in GM), approval for business transactions over $25 million, and limits on executive pay.

Here's my question on executive pay. They are obviously making way too much, and the "golden parachute" is just ridiculous. Screw up and get millions of dollars -- not a good plan. But shouldn't there be some sort of incentive, in order to attract the very best? A limit on pay, but if the company is able to meet government demands for restructuring, and significantly improve their share of the market (without over-producing) in some given amount of time, couldn't they qualify for a really amazing bonus? Maybe that doesn't make good business sense either, but it makes sense to me.

Cutbacks

Everyone has to make cuts to their teams.

Nigerian Religion Clash

The Atlantic has a good piece on the clash of Muslims & Christians in Nigeria, and the attempts to rise above it.

So Gay

The 12 Gays of Christmas

SCOTUS

The US Supreme Court will decide on Friday whether to take up one of the suits alleging that Obama is not a US citizen, therefore, ineligible to become President of the United States. The Chicago Tribune states that the fact Justice Thomas has distributed the case to other Justices for conference is not evidence that it will actually be heard. Of the cases distributed to the whole court in the last 8 years, 782 were denied & 60 were heard. (AFRO News is reporting that Thomas' actions are "once in a decade.")

Not a Prank

Florida Representative Ros-Lehiten hung up on Obama twice. (Well, the second time was actually Rahm Emanuel.) She thought it was a joke. Whoopsies.

Face Twitch Music

This cannot be healthy.

Posthumous Baptism

The Mormon Church is getting in trouble for the posthumous baptisms of Jews, including those who died in concentration camps. Jewish groups (and others) are understandably irritated at learning the souls of their deceased relatives are theoretically being tinkered with by the Mormons. The Mormons claim that the souls of the deceased have the option to decline baptism, so they aren't violating anyone's rights (dead or alive). Despite this, they agreed in 1995 to stop baptizing Jewish Holocaust victims, unless they are the direct ancestor of an LDS member.

It seems, though, they've never really stopped the practice. In 2004, Hillary Clinton got involved. In the course of discussions with Orin Hatch, she found out that her father had also been posthumously baptized.

One Nation, Under God

Rev. George Docherty, the minister who persuaded Congress to add "Under God" to the pledge of allegiance, died on Thanksgiving day at the age of 97. Does the death of Rev. Docherty represent the end of an era? Is it time to take out "Under God"?

Based on his obituary, he seems like a pretty interesting guy.

Hilarious. Prop 8 the Musical.

Migrant Mother

CNN has a brief story about the younger child in this photo, who is now 77, living in California. She cleans houses in Modesto, and has always been steadily employed. She said that this picture brought determination to her family. Her mother died at the age of 80 in 1983.

Step Away from the Mic, Fool

Gov. Rendell (PA-D) yapped on about Janet Napolitano being "perfect" for the Homeland Security job, because she doesn't "have a family." He did this RIGHT IN FRONT of the lectern mic. Are you dumb? If you're going to say offensive things like that, STEP AWAY FROM THE MIC! Is it so hard, people? You're like Brittney flashing her goods when she gets out of a car, you just never learn.

Auto Bailout

Not everyone in Michigan supports the bailout.

Obama Approval

Americans still really like Obama. I've decided the only people who are "concerned" about Obama's appointment of Clinton-era officials are pundits. As usual, no one else cares, and most people think it's a good idea. By a 4-to-1 margin, Americans think his Clinton veteran appointments will improve, not detract from, his administration. So there.

Piano with Condi

Weird. Condoleezza Rice is, apparently, an accomplished pianist, and she put on a semi-private recital for the Queen of England. Now, if I liked our current administration, I might find this endearing. I don't, though, so it's just very odd. Maybe our Secretaries of State should not literally put on shows for foreign heads of state? (via Wonkette)

Big 3 Plans

The automakers have crafted plans to make it through the credit crunch with government help. Ford -- the best off of the three -- plans to create an "opportunity" out of this mess in order to build a "global, green, high-tech company" for the future. The plans sound nice in theory. Will they carry them out if given the money? Can they? Does Congress have them competency to evaluate the viability of a business plan?

NC Sales Tax

A new (or not new, depending on your perspective) sales tax is being proposed so the NC residents will have to pay taxes for goods purchased via the internet from other states. Whenever I buy something on the internet, I feel sorry for the unfortunate inhabitants of the states that are flagged to pay more. Looks like I might end up being one those people.

Reminiscing with George

Here is the full transcript of the Charlie Gibson interview with Bush (and wife). Whereas Sarah Palin seems even more ridiculous and out of her league in print (a fairly spectacular feat), President Bush sounds more coherent when you read his words in your own voice instead of listening to his smarmy hehe voice. Reading the transcript, he comes across sounding kind of sad and tired--I don't know if that's what he sounded like in person.

A few snippets:

***
GIBSON: What were you most unprepared for?

BUSH: Well, I think I was unprepared for war. In other words, I didn't campaign and say, "Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack." In other words, I didn't anticipate war. Presidents -- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen.

****

Rachael: OK, I know anticipating the exact specifics of the war on terror would be hard to do, but almost every president has presided over armed conflict ranging from the relatively small to devastingly massive. Is it so hard to expect that our President might have anticipated some sort of conflict situation?

****

GIBSON: Was the election in any way a repudiation of the Bush administration?

BUSH: I think it was a repudiation of Republicans. And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me. I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy. In other words, they made a conscious choice to put him in as President.

****

Rachael: His answer is remarkably coherent.

****

GIBSON: But both candidates wound up criticizing you a lot.

BUSH: Yes, well, that's what happens when you're the incumbent during a tough economic time, but --

GIBSON: Hurt?

BUSH: No, not really. You know, I've been around politics a long time. Remember, I was the guy in 2000 who campaigned for change. I campaigned for change when I ran for governor of Texas. The only time I really didn't campaign for change is when I was running for reelection.

****

Rachael: Well, things certainly did change with you at the helm. Changed right into the crapper.

****

GIBSON: If the intelligence had been right, would there have been an Iraq war?

BUSH: Yes, because Saddam Hussein was unwilling to let the inspectors go in to determine whether or not the U.N. resolutions were being upheld. In other words, if he had had weapons of mass destruction, would there have been a war? Absolutely.

GIBSON: No, if you had known he didn't.

BUSH: Oh, I see what you're saying. You know, that's an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can't do. It's hard for me to speculate.

GIBSON: Greatest accomplishment? The one thing you're proudest of?

BUSH: I keep recognizing we're in a war against ideological thugs and keeping America safe.

****

Rachael: Charlie! How did you let that one go? "It's hard for me to speculate," and you just move on to the greatest accomplishment? (An accomplishment that really leaves something to be desired.) He should have asked another follow-up.