Linkee-poo wants to know what to do with these four calling birds

On Xmas eve, an altercation in a Charlotte Mall leads to gunfire. Because having an armed populace is a good idea, or something.

How Rudolph became the last reindeer added to Santa's sleigh.

The monsters of Xmas. The Yule celebration got way back, and not all of the harbingers of the time were nice. (Grokked form Emma Audsley)

On a related note, Fred Clark talks about why firing copy-editors is a bad idea. Because it leads to stenography reporting and Ministry of Truth styles of copy.

Gustave Doré's etchings for Dante's Inferno. Doré is a frickin' genius and a master of etching. This is the work of one master, interpreting another master. (Grokked from Neil Gaiman)

"'If it is continuous it would be the longest track (December) tornado on record here in the mid-South,' the Memphis office of the weather service said."

Remember the link that discussed is Christians and Muslims worship the same god? And how I said to deny that they do would mean that we deny the children of Abraham (and the first conscious and deliberate covenant with God)? Well, here's one that takes up that argument and finishes with the statement "Neither Judaism nor Islam embraces any of these (basically 1, that Jesus is the Son of God and divine in his own right), so there is good reason to say they are not the same." And another one which argues that Christians are commanded to know God through the Christ, and that without acknowledging the Christ one cannot know God, ipso facto with accepting Jesus as Christ, the other two Abrahamic religions are now in heresy. Again, I find it amazing that Christians can accept the Trinity (well, many of them really don't understand a Triune Divinity, but that's my own unscientific polling, also the Triune appearance of a God is a very old concept) but reject that God could be more or appear differently to different people. Also, the arguments they are putting forward are the same theological argumentation used to justify atrocities committed by (nominally) Christians. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Marco Rubio doesn't quite realize we already have laws against owning, building, selling, and setting off bombs in this country. I'm sure he'll turn it into and argument of "and you see how well those work." (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Digby on the problem in the Democratic Party. Yup. I think I've said this before, but being a local candidate I got squat in support from the party. Hell, it took me to my second election before I was even acknowledged by the local party leaders. It might have been something to do with not totting the party line, as I disagreed with some of the candidates they put forward (on the country level), but it has more to do with a large disregard for local elections. That is a way to kill a party. (Grokked from Will Wheaton)

The human race; strong, proud, vulnerable, horrible, heroic, and everything else in-between. From the better angels of our nature to the hidden faces of the demons that haunt us. (Grokked from Janiece)

"… the Americans who were held hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Iran and/or their families will receive financial compensation for their ordeal, because of a little-noticed part of a budget bill passed last week by Congress." Well that only took 36 years.

The environmental disaster you haven't heard about. "It’s worth noting that the type of gas involved in this leak is part of what makes it so sinister. Methane, the main component of natural gas, is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to climate change impact." And why haven't you heard about it? Because of our crumbling infrastructure, while this is a particularly large leak from a natural reservoir, it's not uncommon to have methane leaks. (Grokked from John Scalzi)