The reason

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Merry Christmas, everyone!

GOPiggies

Funny thing about the Greedy Old Party.

They like to talk about small government. And reducing spending. And eliminating waste. And halting pork.

But, as it turns out, it's nothing but talk.

The demise of the bridge to nowhere notwithstanding, Sen. Ted Stevens and other Republicans remain the kings of pork-barrel spending, proving that GOP mastery of "earmarks" can withstand public scorn, a president's rebuke and even a Democratic takeover of Congress.

The Senate's two biggest sponsors of this year's pet spending projects are Republicans Stevens of Alaska and Thad Cochran of Mississippi, according to preliminary reviews of fiscal 2008 spending bills by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan group. Two of the House's three biggest claimants of earmarks also are Republicans: Bill Young of Florida and Jerry Lewis of California, the group found.

Funny how the GOP likes to portray the Democratic Party as the party of big spenders, isn't it?

Of course, one man's pork is another man's ... pork. And when you're busy pointing fingers, you just pray that no one takes a look at the facts. Like the fact that the pork kings reside (and always have resided) in the GOP, not in the Democratic Party.

Their continued success at steering billions of taxpayer dollars to their constituents is all the more impressive — or arguably hypocritical — since President Bush and other prominent Republicans sharpened their criticisms of earmarks after Democrats took over the House and Senate majorities in January.

The GOP would rather you didn't know that, by the way.

And so it goes.

Beyond arrogance

Thursday we saw what kind of an administrator the Collier County School Board hired.

An arrogant bully.

When teachers appeared before the Collier County School Board asking for a raise, for fair treatment (for a change) hired gun Dennis Thompson immediately demanded that the board file an unfair labor practice charge against the teacher's union.

He'll punish those damned peons (excuse me, teachers) one way or another. How dare they question his imperial presidency!

The unmitigated gall!

Even a few board members are embarrassed by Thompson's actions:

Board member Pat Carroll said she has never seen the animosity between the administration and the teachers.

“I have never seen a superintendent respond the way he did,” she said.

Thompson said after the meeting he intends to move forward with the unfair labor practice charge. He said Tuttle violated what constitutes collective bargaining.

To translate: 'How DARE you question my authority? I am King Dennis. You are peasants. You will do what I say. You must respect my authorita!' The arrogance boggles the mind.

Thompson was brought in under the most suspicious and most certainly illegal circumstances late last year to clean things up. It was an extremely arrogant move by a few board members who just KNOW better than we peons do.

Last time I checked, the purpose of a school district was to educate students. The folks doing the actual educating are the teachers. Treating those teachers like professionals would seem to be the least the district could do. But not THIS district. And not THIS superintendent. It is, after all, all about Dennis Thompson. King Dennis.

Be careful what you wish for, board members. You just might get it.

Even if that's not what you wanted.

And so it goes.

Just what we need

Republicans can't understand it.

Dems just sit back and chuckle.

But voters understand, even if the politicians (a breed apart from voters or people) just don't get it: We don't like you:

Three weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Republican voters across the country appear uninspired by their field of presidential candidates, with a vast majority saying they have not made a final decision about whom to support, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
Not one of the Republican candidates is viewed favorably by even half the Republican electorate, the poll found.

But then again, what's to like?
You've got Rudy Giulaini, who's sole claim is that he saved New York. Right Rudy. It'd still be in flames with millions still crying in the street if you hadn't made a lot of very meaningful public appearances. Some resume. Which wife - and which mistress - are you up to now?
You've got Mike Huckabee, a far-right evangelical Christian who apparently still believes the world is flat. And all those dinosaurs died in Noah's flood. Anyone buying his pathetic wingnut rhetoric ... deserves him.
You've got Fred "I think I'll run for president, no I think I'll take a nap" Thompson, who seems to believe that playing a judge (or cop or lawyer or something) on TV is enough qualification.

And you've got Mitt Romney, a pretty boy who could give Bill Clinton lessons in flip-flopping. Mitt assures us that the Mormon church won't dictate his administration once he's elected. Right Mitt (what kind of a name is Mitt?) I remember a Mormon governor from Arizona a few years back. Kept a chair in his governor's office no one was allowed to sit on. That, he said, was where God sat when he came to advise the Gov. on how to run the state. He was impeached; thrown out of office. A cult is a cult is a cult. Bring out the Kool-Aid.

You've also got John McCain, the 71-year-old ex-POW who's "for the war no he's against war and is for torture no he's against torture and he'd invade Iran no he wouldn't and he'd talk tough with North Korea no he wouldn't but vote for me anyway."

Just can't understand why Republican voters can't connect. Can you?

And so it goes.