Back from my aunt's

Christmas, as usual, has been a frenzy of food and small children. We started off, as we usually do, with my brother-in-law (Carmela's father) making breakfast for us all (including his famous scrambled eggs with potatoes), breakfast sausage with fresh lemon squeezed over it (amazing), pancakes, this great streudel my mom gets every year, coffee and more. Then we open the gifts, which is a whirling dervish of small children ripping anything with a ribbon on it to shreds. The highlight of gift opening was quite possibly when my nephew opened his Star Wars-themed gift from his mom, prompting my mom to ask "What's a 'light saver?'"

Though it was really tied for best moment when, in the middle of gift opening, the mailman arrived at the door with one more gift my sister had ordered for her son from LL Bean. The post office actually delivered it on a Sunday, Christmas day, no less. We were shocked. I've never been so impressed with the USPS in my life.

Anyway, all of that went on until 3:30pm, and we then had a nice hour to relax before having to run off to my aunt's house for dinner. My aunt is a great chef, so the food is always wonderful. I was supposed to head to my brother's now to help him put together the telescope I got my other nephew (there are 5), but I'm pooped. And then tomorrow I head to lunch with my godmother, and then later in the day head downtown to visit the Lincoln Park zoo at night with my sis (Carmela's mom) and family. Should be quite fun.

Greek Christmas is not a spectator sport.

Feel free to share your day, traditions, etc. And you Hannukah folks, don't be shy, you can chime in too.

PS Joe is not Jewish, not that there's anything wrong with hit. Though his post a bit below may have confused you. He's just visiting Jewish friends in NY, or one friend in the couple he's visiting is Jewish. Anyway, Rob sent me a text message saying "I didn't know Joe was Jewish, he NEVER mentions it!" That's because he's not :-) Read the rest of this post...

The Iraqis didn't get the "Victory" memo

Bush says victory and successful elections. But, just because he says it, doesn't make it true:

After a lull during the election, secured partly by fierce security measures and partly by an informal ceasefire by Sunni rebels hoping for representation in parliament, deadly attacks have picked up. Ten Iraqi soldiers were killed in one assault on Friday as were 10 worshippers at a Shi'ite mosque.

A U.S. soldier was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack near Kirkuk on Saturday and troops marking Christmas had no respite on Sunday; an Abrams tank, the giant bulwark of American armored might, was left in flames after a dawn attack in eastern Baghdad -- witness said a roadside bomb blasted it.

Read the rest of this post...

So what were you trying to say, Colin? That Bush broke the law?

So Colin Powell says eavesdropping is okay, but, he's not sure Bush did it the right (which means legal) way:

Powell said Congress will need to judge whether Bush is correct in his assertion that he could approve eavesdropping without first obtaining court orders.

"And that's going to be a great debate," Powell said.

It has to be a great impeachment debate. Seriously, if Colin Powell thinks that Bush must be investigated by Congress, the hearings will be about whether Bush broke the law. That means impeachment hearings. Now, that would make for a happy new year. Read the rest of this post...

Happy Hanukkah Open Thread

We had a minor crisis...Emily couldn't find the menorah. But it was located so we light the candles tonight. Read the rest of this post...

Bush places calls. Was NSA listening?

Just wondering if these calls got the NSA spying treatment? I mean, we can't trust anyone, right?

President Bush called nine U.S. service members deployed from Japan to the Persian Gulf on Saturday to recognize their service to the nation and wish them holiday cheer.

Placing the telephone calls from his mountaintop presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., Bush talked to eight men and one woman, a member of the Coast Guard stationed in the Gulf.

"The president wished them a Merry Christmas and thanked them for their service to our country," said White House spokesman Allen Abney. "He just wanted to tell them that he was thinking of them and their families at this holiday season and that the American people were behind them and supported their efforts overseas."

Those soldiers are probably in some spy data-bank now. Read the rest of this post...

Merry Christmas!

The kids are downstairs screaming, gotta get there and open presents. Hope you're all having fun (or running out for Chinese). Read the rest of this post...

Congress to America: Freeze

We're still finding out just how reckless the GOP leadership was in the recent budget debacle. Today, the NY Times editorializes on the games Ted Stevens and the GOP leadership played with home heating aid. It's all fun and games for that crowd, but games aren't so funny when people might freeze to death:

There was a heating supplement tied to the Alaska proposal, as Mr. Stevens promised. But there was also a separate $2 billion appropriated for the same purpose elsewhere in the legislation - unconnected to the Alaska floor machinations - that somehow was struck from the final bill as lawmakers rushed to recess. Malice? Who can say? Obviously the poor can't afford a campaign donation PAC to catch Congress's attention for an answer.

The government's home heating supplement now stands at a half or less of what the poor will need if predictions of a harsh winter pan out and fuel bills increase 25 percent. Various studies have established that, in a pinch, the poor scrimp on food purchases in order to meet heating bills. Yet Congress's stinginess is being compounded by the administration's recent decision to reject a request from New York and several other states to increase food stamp outlays to the poor as fuel bills mount.

Who knows what other horrors will show up. The GOP should be proud, very proud. Read the rest of this post...

Christmas morning open thread

Any signs of peace on earth? How about goodwill towards anyone? Read the rest of this post...