Facebook question and answer

My wife's aunt woke up Wednesday to find her electricity out.
She quickly took to Facebook, asking what happened.
A friend quickly answered - with a picture of a car crashed into a power pole in town.
You can find out the important things of life on Facebook.

No more tax collectors in blue

Instapundit looks at the drop in police activity and notices the trend.
All of these, except maybe the drug arrests — and probably including those too — are basically revenue offenses. By not arresting here, the cops are starving the City for revenue. The Knoxville Police do the same thing when they’re crosswise with the City; they stop writing tickets. The real scandal isn’t that NYC is being denied law enforcement now, it’s that much of that “law enforcement” is really just a system designed to squeeze money out of the citizenry.

Best of the year - NASCAR

Sports has always been a big part of the blog.
In checking the stats in late December, this post about NASCAR returning Darlington to the Labor Day weekend slot remains popular.
Boogity, boogity, boogity, let's go racing boys.

Hillary's troubles

The Spectator lists the reasons why Hillary Clinton enters the 2016 campaign in a worse position than 2008.
Despite talk about her presidency’s predestination, Hillary faces formidable obstacles that her high name recognition now papers over. The advantages she has today she had in 2008 — when she had them to greater degrees and even then they were insufficient to secure the nomination let alone the presidency.
Additionally, she has two new serious disadvantages. She is out of step with her party’s driving force — the force that Democrats cannot win without. And she will not be running against an unpopular administration; she will have to defend one and simultaneously separate herself from it.
Still think she'll run?

Best of the year - Republicans in West Virginia

Back in 1987, I moved to West Virginia.
My area of the state was represented by Nick Joe Rahall then, and he continues to serve in the House today.
But he won't be serving next week.
The Republican candidate overcame anti-Koch ads to win in November.
Good news for southern West Virginia.

Best of the year - snow

2014 had some snow - but it seemed to wait until March to strike.
Thanks to the tight gradient.

The right decision

Virginia Right earned two honors in the 2014 Fabulous 50 Blog awards.
Plenty of good links to follow.

97 for 79

We celebrated my dad's 79th birthday Sunday.
Recently, his computer began acting flaky and my brother found him a new laptop to use.
We just needed to find Microsoft Office for him to finish the transition.
Do we buy a new license when he's used Office for years?
No, but how do we get the old applications moved over?
Fortunately, he saves stuff. Like the Office 97 CD and brick of a manual from back in the 20th century.
And it loaded fine.
Thus, three days before 2015, I loaded Office 97 on a computer.
UPDATE: I thought Dustbury might like the story. I was right.

Best of the Year - Ten Buck Fridays

I joined a few bloggers through the fall, highlighting Republican Senate candidates each week on Ten Buck Friday.
It was a nice night the first Tuesday in November, with most of our candidates posting wins.
Washington will be a much better place in January.

Somewhere, Joe Paterno is smiling

Penn State returned to the college football bowl scene Saturday, and came away with an overtime victory in front of many Nittany Lion fans in New York.
The regular season might not have been the best.
But there are plenty of happy people in Happy Valley today.

Changing Christmas

Could we improve Christmas using guy rules?
Here's some suggestions.
Santa would have enemies and the reindeer would have more powers than just the ability to fly. Oh yeah, there'd be lasers. Oh. And Santa would probably wear a Viking helmet.
Men would just give their wife gift receipts on Christmas because we know that they're just going to return what we give them anyway so why lug it home in the first place. Just cut out the middle man. Purchase something, leave it at the store, and give her the gift receipt which she can use to go pick out something more expensive on December 26th.
Maybe next year.

Think spring

The NFL regular season ends Sunday.
It's almost time to start thinking baseball, right?

Blue in New York

Powerline posts some of the coverage of officer Ramos' funeral in New York Saturday.

Saturday song

It's been almost 200 years since the Battle of New Orleans.
Over 50 years since Johnny Horton's song.

Facebook quote of the week

all I want for Christmas is patience & the wisdom needed to deal with current difficult situations.

Learning from 2014

Bearing Drift offers some lessons from the political world of 2014.

Do atheists sponsor bowl games?

Saturday's bowl lineup includes the Duck Commander Independence Bowl on ABC.
Remember when liberals wanted Phil Robertson off the air for his views on gay marriage?
Now his company has one of the few bowl games on the over-the-air networks.
Wednesday, you can watch the bowl game sponsored by Chick-fil-A.
The companies liberals hate give college football fans a reason to celebrate. These companies follow their beliefs and provide benefits to the nation.
Atheists complain, but do they sponsor things to boost the country's spirits?

How to fight dictators

While "The Interview" did a good job dispatching Kim Jong-Un, they had nothing on Frank Drebin.

Yule fuss about anything

Don Surber takes on a campaign attacking "A Christmas Story" as white privilege.
It's just more changing the subject.
The Tamir Rice case was tragic, as were the Eric Gardner and Michael Brown cases. But instead of imploring black men to take the police serious, the liberals send a message that black men have some sort of right to defy the police. That is a deadly wrong message to send.
Good fathers teach their sons to respect the police. If a cop pulls you over, don't give him any lip. He's armed and trained to use his gun better than you. If the cop is female, be doubly courteous.

Hope he learns his lesson

The New York Post highlights a heart-warming story - of a passenger who didn't want to hear "Merry Christmas."
Once on the plane, he was warmly greeted by a flight attendant who also wished him a “merry Christmas.” That was the last straw.
“Don’t say, ‘Merry Christmas!’ ” the man raged before lecturing the attendants and the pilot about their faux pas.
The crew tried to calm the unidentified man, but he refused to back down and continued hectoring them.
He was escorted off the plane as other fliers burst into cheers and applause.
His antics made for a Merry Christmas for those who saw.

The numbers don't work out

Megan McArdle looks at Vermont's decision to stop its path a single-payer medical system.
Because people involved in the system have livelihoods that depend on it.
Cutting spending means that a number of people are going to lose income and employment. They will have trouble paying their mortgages, car loans and little Johnny's bill for travel soccer. Then they are going to get organized and march on Washington and vote against the politicians who cut their jobs.

Does he not like puppies?

The Interview is out.
You can watch at your room today as part of your Christmas festivities.
Of course it's a bad film.
But the James Flacco (Franco) character gets a puppy.
And the puppy makes it out of North Korea.
You have to love a movie with a cute puppy.

How Santa gets through customs

Via Instapundit, a song about Santa's encounters with the TSA.

Snoopy and the Christmas Truce

Dustbury and the Baseball Crank celebrate the Christmas Truce of 1914 - and the song on the theme involving Snoopy.

Weekend watchdog

There's three division crowns and a wild-card slot on the line as the NFL season hits its final weekend.
NBC gets to show the AFC North battle between the Bengals and Steelers in Pittsburgh Sunday night. The winners claims the division title, while the loser has a wild-card contest next weekend.
The NFC North showdown between Detroit and Green Bay will be on Fox at 4:25 p.m., with both teams postseason bound and playing for seeding.
CBS gets the NFC South contest with the Panthers and Falcons at 4:25 p.m., with the winner going to the playoffs with a record under .500.
At 1 p.m., the Redskins close their season against the Cowboys on Fox while the Ravens hope for a wild-card berth against the Browns. They need a win and San Diego loss to advance.
The college bowl season continues Friday with a trio of games on ESPN. Illinois heads to the Heart of Dallas to play Louisiana Tech at 1 p.m., followed by Rutgers-North Carolina and North Carolina State against Central Florida in St. Petersburg.
Virginia Tech clashes with Cincinnati in the Military Bowl Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN. It's Arizona State meeting Duke in the Sun Bowl on CBS at 2 p.m., and ABC offers Miami against South Carolina in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl at 3:30 p.m.
 Penn State returns to the postseason, taking on Boston College on ESPN at 4:30 p.m. from Yankee Stadium before Nebraska battles Southern Cal at the Holiday Bowl.
The NBA fills Christmas Day with five contests, starting with the Wizards meeting the Knicks on ESPN and Comcast at noon. ABC has the Thunder and Spurs at 2:30 p.m. before LeBron James returns to Miami at 5 p.m. The Lakers battle the Bulls at 8 p.m. on TNT, with Warriors-Clippers as the nightcap.
Comcast has the Wizards' contest with Boston Saturday at 7 p.m.
ESPN2 has Christmas night college basketball, with the Diamond Head Classic third-place game at 6:30 p.m. and championship at 9 p.m.
Georgetown takes on Indiana Saturday at noon on ESPN2. Louisville and Kentucky battle at 2 p.m., followed by Alabama-Birmingham against North Carolina and Gonzaga meeting BYU at 6 p.m.
FoxSports1 offers Maine against Seton Hall Saturday at noon. There's four games with Big East teams Sunday, starting with Tulane-St. John's at noon. Morgan State meets Marquette at 2 p.m., followed by Florida Gulf Coast facing Xavier and Belmont-Butler at 6 p.m.
Howard faces Fordham Sunday at 6 p.m. on Comcast.
Richmond hosts Wake Forest on NBC Sports network Sunday at 4 p.m.
Kansas State hosts Texas Southern on MASN2 Sunday at 3 p.m.
NBC Sports network has a pair of NHL games on Saturday. The Capitals visit the Penguins at 7:30 p.m. before the Sharks meet the Kings.
There's a trio of Boxing Day contests in the Premier League on NBC Sports network. Chelsea clashes with West Ham United at 7:45 a.m., then it's Manchester United-Newcastle United and Arsenal faces Queens Park Rangers at 12:30 p.m. On Sunday, Southampton plays Chelsea at 9 a.m. before Newcastle United-Everton.

Play of the year

Why do we have a Bahamas Bowl?
So there can be 75-yard scoring plays with one second left.

Feel good story for the season

Don Surber found a story from California that touched his heart - a women being reunited with a 1967 Mustang that was stolen in 1986.
28 years ago, she bought a personalized tag for her car, "LYNDA 67." Thieves stole the car before she could put it on the car. On Monday, she finally did that.
“This will always be in my possession from here on out,” she said.

Nuts for Christmas Eve

Legal Insurrection remembers the Battle of the Bulge.
And the famous reply that told the Nazis they weren't going to take that town.

Have a Merry Redneck Christmas

A favorite from my first year of blogging.

Merry Christmas from the Ponderosa

MeTV just had an episode of Bonanza.
It reminded me of this post from 2011.

Yule shoot your eye out

Only a few more hours until 24 hours of A Christmas Story.
Fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra.

Enjoy the season while you can

I stopped by the local Target this morning - they are open until 10 p.m. for your last, last minute gift needs.
Going through the pet food section, one of the workers was already tearing down the Christmas-themed display.
I guess tis the season to move on.
Only 52 days until Valentine's Day.

Sounds of the season

It's almost time for Feliz Navidad.

Christmas present for realists

Liberals want single payer, but settled for Obamacare.
Vermont wanted single payer, and tried to make it work.
They failed.
It cost too much.
If Mr. Shumlin would give to each according to his need, he would take from each far more than his ability to pay. The state accountants estimated that his plan required an 11.5% tax on worker payroll, with no exceptions.
Individuals, meanwhile, would have paid as much as 9.5% of earnings, which would have applied to everyone making more than four times the poverty level, or $102,220 for a family of four—hardly the 1%. The full $2.59 billion in necessary funding would roughly double current state revenues (about $2.85 billion today).
Reality intrudes on the dreams of liberals again.

Pray for those you really need it

DaTech Guy, veteran of the Twitter wars against anti-Catholic bashers, tries a new idea.
What is the point of winning an argument and self-congratulation if it drive a soul farther away from God?
Isn’t it more in keeping with Christ’s message as promulgated by the Church to instead of debating those who use social media to attack Catholics in General and the church in particular to pray for them?
In keeping with this idea, I introduce to you the Perpetual Twitter Novena.
The idea of being prayer for ought to drive some crazy.
Hopefully it will also drive them to truth.

Tribute through the tears

From time to time I catch up with Jeff Goldstein's Protein Wisdom. We are both Towson alums from Baltimore.
This fall, his mother passed away but a battle for control continues with his brother.
Through the struggle, words from his mother's friends offered comfort.
While listening to the eulogy delivered by the rabbi, I learned from posts left on her memorial page and from which he quoted, that my mother was a pioneer in the food service sales industry, one of the women who broke the glass ceiling and who paved the way for others to follow. People I’d never heard of from her professional life treated her as she was a sort of icon now lost, to be mourned every bit as deeply as her family was mourning her loss.
He lost many childhood photos and slides from his brother's mis-management, but got some help.
I did, however, find my parents’ wedding album and some older pictures, and in fact some of my mother’s friends brought over lots of old photos from the fifties of themselves at the shore, or visiting New York, etc. And looking at those made me realize that my parents were likely just like me at one point in time — something I suppose I always knew cerebrally but never really understood emotionally.
This inspires my quest to preserve my family's photographic past - to inspire the future and remember those who carried us to our place in the world.

Happy Festivus

We hope you have prepared.

Pay up, Castro boys

Hanging over the possible Obama deal to open relations with Cuba - claims by American companies who lost assets when Fidel Castro took power in 1959.
The federal government has a whole outfit, the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, tasked with overseeing these claims. When a foreign country expropriates (or nationalizes) a U.S. company's assets, as happened in Cuba but has also occurred in China, Vietnam and elsewhere, the companies file a claim with the commission. It then examines its validity and, if it checks out, the claim is officially certified. It is then up to either the companies individually to negotiate a settlement with the foreign government or for the federal government to negotiate on behalf of the companies with claims as a whole.
In Cuba, American corporations have 5,913 claims that were worth $1.9 billion when they were certified in the 1960s. Those claims have been accruing interest for the last half century, at a 6 percent simple rate, meaning that they are worth upwards of $7.5 billion in 2014. Because of the U.S. embargo of Cuba and lack of any formal diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, the claims have never been resolved.
Somebody needs to pay these claims.
Think of the good things our country could have had with that money available for investment.

Memories of Christmas past

The Guardian looks at Charles Dickens' impact on Christmas traditions in Victorian England.
Dickens was the most successful of numerous cultured Victorians keen to revive the season, both out of nostalgia for the (more fondly than accurately) remembered country Christmases of yore and a sense of social conscience.
Many of our ideas about what makes a merry Christmas (including the phrase itself) were his first. Dickens placed charity at the heart of the season and made us hope for snow. In his imagination Christmas was always white, which his biographer Peter Ackroyd puts down to the eight unusually cold, happy winters of his boyhood, before his father, John, ended up in debtor’s prison.

Mazel tov or Molotov

Twitchy likes Mel Brooks' tweet about a special message on a bomb during World War II.

Bad week for Russia

The Telegraph tells the bad tale of Russia's economy.
And it's not just because of the slide in oil prices.
Russia was sliding into decline before the storm hit this year. Its trend growth rate had collapsed. It was near recession when crude was trading at $110 a barrel, a remarkable indictment of Putin’s 15-year reign. The country has become reliant on the commodity supercycle. Oil, gas, and metals together make up 73pc of exports and half the budget.

Hard lessons for liberals

Via Instapundit, a list of the troubles liberals face getting their policies enacted.
Shell-shocked liberals are beginning to grasp some inconvenient truths. No gun massacre is horrible enough to change Americans’ ideas about gun control. No UN Climate Report will get a climate treaty through the U.S. Senate. No combination of anecdotal and statistical evidence will persuade Americans to end their longtime practice of giving police officers extremely wide discretion in the use of force. No “name and shame” report, however graphic, from the Senate Intelligence Committee staff will change the minds of the consistent majority of Americans who tell pollsters that they believe that torture is justifiable under at least some circumstances. No feminist campaign will convince enough voters that the presumption of innocence should not apply to those accused of rape.

MASN's Christmas treat

Some people like watching Christmas Story on Christmas.
Orioles fans have a special treat on MASN that day - all three games of the divisional series against the Tigers. The action starts at 9 a.m.
And it's only two months until pitchers and catchers report.

A miracle for Christmas

Over at Ace, the story of a couple who thought they had lost their baby very early in pregnancy - only they hadn't.
You didn't give up even as we had pretended, badly, to move on from our pain. You fill us with a profound joy and purpose. These last two weeks have been the most exhilarating and wonderful we have ever experienced.
Thank you for proving to us that life is beautiful.
There is hope.

Recycling update

Another Saturday, another 50 cents a pound for aluminum cans.
More jingle in my pocket for Christmas.

Facebook quote of the week

It's been a long day my friends so I will say Good Night, Sweet Dreams and God Bless you ALL!!!!

Saturday Christmas song

It's the last Saturday before the big day.
Sing it, Andy.

A rather unpleasant character

The Daily Progress delves into the Rolling Stone article and school emails before the release of the story.
If you like, you can listen to a 44-minute interview between the article writer and UVA president Teresa Sullivan.
But this gem is buried near the bottom of the Daily Progress article.
After Erdely hangs up, a woman’s voice can be heard on the recording saying: “She was a rather unpleasant character.”

To fill up, or not fill up

It's so nice to see gas prices at $2.15 a gallon in Fishersville.
But if you're not going to be driving a lot, should you fill up?
Next week, you might find even cheaper gas.
I got $11 today, and that ought to get me through until Christmas.

Weekend watchdog

You've got to get up early to catch the first kickoff of the 2014-15 bowl season.
The first of 39 postseason games starts Saturday at 11 a.m. in New Orleans, with Nevada meeting Louisiana-Lafayette on ESPN.
The action heads to New Mexico at 2 p.m. as Utah State faces UTEP. ABC joins the action at 3:30 p.m. from Las Vegas with Utah against Colorado State and there's two more contests on ESPN to close out the night - Western Michigan battling Air Force from Boise at 5:45 p.m. and the Camellia Bowl from Birmingham as South Alabama battles Bowling Green.
Winning teams will be hoisting various trophies now through January 12 - when one team holds the national championship trophy aloft.
The Redskins have a Saturday afternoon contest with the Eagles on NFL Network before CBS shows the Chargers and 49ers in primetime.
The Ravens face the Texans on CBS at 1 p.m. Sunday before the Colts visit the Cowboys. Fox in Harrisonurg will offer Saints-Falcons at 1 p.m.
Arizona visits Seattle on NBC Sunday night, and the Bengals host the Broncos in the Monday night finale on ESPN.
North Dakota State hosts Sam Houston State on ESPN2 Friday at 8 p.m. in one of the championship series semifinals.
NCAA Division II crowns its champion Saturday at 4 p.m. as Minnesota State-Mankato battles Colorado State-Pueblo on ESPN2.
Portland visits San Antonio on ESPN Friday at 8 p.m. and the Thunder meet the Lakers at 10:30 p.m.
The Wizards battle the Heat Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Comcast and host the Suns Sunday at 6 p.m.
CBS has a big doubleheader Saturday, with Ohio State-North Carolina at 1 p.m. followed by UCLA against Kentucky. Villanova hosts Syracuse on Fox Saturday at 1 p.m.
ESPN2 has four games Saturday, starting with SMU meeting Michigan at noon and Missouri facing Illinois at 2 p.m. N.C. State travels to West Virginia at 9:30 p.m., and the night closes with Utah-UNLV.
FoxSports1 has three games Friday, starting with St. Mary's at St. Johns at 7 p.m. Marquette hosts Texas A&M at 9 p.m. before Arizona takes on UTEP. Western Kentucky faces Louisville Saturday at noon, then it's Butler-Indiana.
Mount St. Mary's meets American on Comcast Saturday at 1 p.m.
George Mason tackles Iona on NBC Sports network Saturday at 7 p.m.
MASN offers Chattanooga-Middle Tennessee Friday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 3 p.m., Middle Tennessee battles Tennessee State.
Texas Tech hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff Friday at 9 p.m. on MASN2. There's a pair of games on the slate Saturday, starting at noon with Charlotte-Georgetown. South Florida faces Florida State in the Orange Bowl Classic at 2 p.m., and Creighton clashes with North Texas Sunday at 2 p.m.
ESPN2 offers high school basketball from Illinois Friday, with Simeon against St. Rita at 6:30 p.m.
The Capitals visit the Devils Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
NBC Sports network brings Manchester City against Crystal Palace Saturday at 7:45 a.m. There's a pair of games Sunday, with Newcastle United facing Sunderland at 8:30 a.m. and Liverpool-Arsenal at 11 a.m. NBC plans to show a game Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
The NCAA crowns its volleyball champion Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Hail the Stooges of Sony

Remember when Hollywood took on evil?
The Three Stooges did in early 1939.
They knew how to poke dictators in the eye.

College of Twitter knowledge

My oldest son put in his college application last month.
This week, he found a Twitter hashtag used by students who received their acceptance letter.
Today, he joins that acceptance hashtag group.

Joy to the world? not here

DaTech Guy looks at the depressing headlines of the day.

Don't blame Cruz

Byron York looks at the charges that Ted Cruz's protest actually helped Democrats.
As the Senate wound up its work, I asked both Republican and Democratic aides what the effect of the Cruz maneuver had been. One GOP aide discounted the effect of Cruz's action. "Reid made clear that he was going to move these nominations before the end of the year," the aide said. "I personally cannot accept the idea that Harry Reid, out of his own generosity, was going to let us go, even if it cost him 20 nominations."

Spend it while you got it

Russians are rushing to the stores - to get their deals before the ruble loses more value.

Ready for blastoff

Waynesboro gets another new restaurant Wednesday, with the opening of the Orbital Grill next to the Zeus Theater.
The center has Orbital and Zeus.
OZ.
It's the land of Oz for your dining and entertainment choices.

Judicial discretion

Powerline highlights the first opinion that President Obama overreached on immigration.
Likely first of many.

Remembering 2014

Via Althouse, a glimpse of those Hollywood stars who departed the scene in 2014.

Rubble of the ruble

The Russian economy isn't looking too good Monday.

According to a statement from Russia's central bank, Russia has taken its key interest rate to 17% from 10.5% in a stunning decision made after the collapse of the ruble on Monday.

The Bank of Russia's statement said the decision was driven by the need to limit significant devaluation in the ruble and inflation risks. 

The announcement was made at 1 a.m. local time in Moscow.

There will be plenty of unhappy Russians waking up Tuesday morning.

One week until Festivus Eve

It's almost time for Festivus.
Are you ready?
If not, I have a problem with you. And you're going to hear about it.

Snow job

SWAC girl remembers the big snow of 2009 - before the big snow of early 2010.
Snow is nice in pictures.
I'm dreaming of a balmy Christmas, though.

Get the sleighs ready

Early forecasts for Saturday show a chance of 3 to 5 inches of snow.
Better get your sleighs ready for action.

Grab culture

How do you get the "one in five" women assaulted charge with the actual number of reported rapes?
The rape number gets pumped up by "grabs."
The world is as scary as you make it.

The original "I can't breathe"

Proof Positive reminds us of someone else who couldn't breathe - but no one could hear her since she was left alone in that car in 1969.

What you learn on facebook

A friend posted this picture on Facebook.

I suggested an anchovy design.
So you can sleep with the fishes.

We know who's not going to heaven

Somebody in the British media made up a story about the Pope saying dogs could go to heaven.
By taking bits and pieces of unrelated stories.
Will the writer of that story go to heaven?

Game day

Fishersville's football team headed out to their state championship game an hour ago.
The West Virginia college I covered for several years will be battling for a championship game berth in Minnesota.
I'll be surfing the web hard this afternoon to follow the action.

Facebook quote of the week

Cold cold cold on College, especially regardless of which way you are headed, wind is blowing in your face!

Saturday Christmas song

Elton John hits an upbeat note as he steps into Christmas.

Will Maury visit Richmond?

Maury Povich always has entertaining shows when a woman tries to find who's the daddy to her baby.
Maybe he can visit Richmond this legislative session.
After the hearing, Special Prosecutor William Neely of Spotsylvania told reporters that the former Morrissey employee is pregnant and that the lawyer "perhaps" is the father. He also said that the young woman and her mother spent Thursday night at Morrissey's residence under the surveillance of Henrico police detectives.
Those Democrats sure can be entertaining.

Plastics and math

DaTech Guy saw the report about ocean pollution of plastic.
And ran the numbers.
They tell us that in 75 years of mass use by the general public the entire amount of plastic pollution currently in the world’s 360 million square miles of ocean is less in weight than three Nimitz class aircraft carriers.

Weekend watchdog

The college football regular season marches to its conclusion Saturday in Baltimore.
Navy battles Army in their annual rivalry on CBS at 3 p.m.
Navy opened its season against Ohio State Labor Day weekend at the stadium, and will be trying to win its 13th straight against Army.
The Midshipmen have already clinched a bowl berth, and will be playing in San Diego before Christmas, while Army stands at 4-7 after beating Fordham in its last game three weeks ago.
ESPN has the Heisman Trophy presentation Saturday at 8 p.m.
The championship division playoffs continue Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2, as New Hampshire hosts Chattanooga. Coastal Carolina makes the trek to North Dakota State Saturday at noon on ESPN.
Virginia crowns its high school football champions Saturday, with the Class AAA games on Comcast. L.C. Bird meets Tuscarora at noon, then Ocean Lakes faces Centreville at 4 p.m.
The Eagles and Cowboys battle for the NFC East lead on NBC Sunday night, while the Saints visit the Bears on ESPN Monday night.
The Redskins meet the Giants on Fox Sunday at 1 p.m. before most of the country gets 49ers-Seahawks at 4:25 p.m. CBS offers Ravens against Jaguars in the Fishersville area at 1 p.m.
On the college hardcourt, top-ranked Kentucky hosts North Carolina Saturday at noon on CBS.
ESPN offers Utah-Kansas at 3:15 p.m., followed by Arizona-Michigan.
Dayton meeting Arkansas starts the play Saturday on ESPN2 at 2 p.m., followed by Xavier-Missouri and Oklahoma State taking on Memphis State. Notre Dame faces Florida State at 8 p.m., then Gonzaga meets UCLA in the nightcap.
Georgetown takes on Radford Saturday at noon on FoxSports1 before Creighton meets St. Marys. Seton Hall faces St. Peter's Sunday at noon, with Temple at Villanova at 2 p.m. DePaul battles Illinois State at 4 p.m.
Omaha faces Missouri-Kansas City on MASN Saturday at 3 p.m. Wright State hosts Miami of Ohio Sunday at 3 p.m. before UNC-Asheville meets Alabama-Birmingham at 8 p.m.
Providence takes on Stony Brook on MASN2 Saturday at noon. There's a pair of games Sunday, with St. John's against Fordham at 2:30 p.m. before Savannah State plays Kansas State at 6 p.m.
VCU hosts Northern Iowa Saturday at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
The Bulls host Portland on ESPN Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Lakers against Spurs.
The Wizards meet the Clippers Friday at 7 p.m. on Comcast and the Jazz come to town Sunday at 6 p.m.
Nebraska plays Creighton in women's basketball on FoxSports1 Thursday at 9 p.m.
On the high school court, ESPN2 offers Bishop O'Dowd taking on Montverde Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The Capitals host the Lightning Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
NBC Sports network has a pair of games Saturday - Chelsea-Hull City at 10 a.m. and Arsenal playing Newcastle United - and two more Sunday. Manchester United faces Liverpool at 8:30 p.m. followed by Swansea City against Tottenham Hotspur.

What happens in Nazareth...

Paco highlights other sayings from Barack Obama's Bible.

A place for learning

It's been quite a learning experience at the University of Virginia the past few weeks.
We've learned the impact of accusations.
And the ability to ask questions.
We're still waiting for President Sullivan to learn about jumping to conclusions.

#ICan'tSpeak

As a white male, it's seen that my privilege means I should sit out while others can complain.
Who's going to wear a t-shirt with "I Can't Speak?"

Let's go Joe

Are you ready for Joe Biden?
He might be ready to run for president by May or June.
Please, let's go Joe.

Shirt of the day

The Tea Party Patriots were ready for Jonathan Gruber's visit to Capitol Hill - bringing "I'm with Stupid" t-shirts.
They don't plan on being fooled by him.

How to make the playoffs

With three games left to go, the Baltimore Ravens offer fans different scenarios on making the playoffs.
How to miss the playoffs would be easy.
Lose to Jacksonsville this Sunday.

We agree with Rep. Cummings

Democratic representative Elijah Cummings wasn't very welcoming of Jonathan Gruber at Tuesday's hearing.
Democrats forget that Gruber was their friend for so long.
And now they abandon him in his time of need.

Pain at the pump remains

Are you enjoying the dropping price of gasoline?
The fact that it costs $10 less to fill up your tank than it did a few months ago?
Not everybody shares your joy.
We don't share their pain.

Blowing in the wind

December might not be the best time to visit the beach.
But it takes less effort to use the swing.

Awaiting more Gruber gaffes

This week, the House Republicans get their chance to question Jonathan Gruber about Obamacare.
The bad news for politicians has been he's not a politician.
Unlike many academics, Gruber is not a jargon-spouting numbers cruncher: He’s a good “explainer-in-chief,” too, always ready with a plain-English translation of some wildly complicated effect of the health care law. There were plenty of reporters who turned to him as an authority not just on health economics, but on all things Obamacare.
If he's the guy to explain Obamacare, why shouldn't we trust his explanations that hurt it politically?

He gives us heartburn too

President Obama went to the hospital Saturday for tests.
They found he has acid reflux bothering his throat.
Six years of Obama have given Americans plenty of heartburn, too.

The real UVa culture

Ed Driscoll compiles the comments on the unraveling Rolling Stone story.
And gives Jonah Goldberg a chance to discuss the real culture of UVa.
Most of the UVA students I’ve met — and I’ve met a lot — are the sorts of kids who worry a lot about their permanent records. That makes sense; UVA is a truly great school with an impressive academic culture. And so while I can certainly believe sexual assaults and rapes happen there — drunk and sober — I simply cannot believe that nine men sat around soberly and plotted a brutal gang rape that would land them all in jail for decades — never mind hinder their chances of working at Goldman Sachs!
Those who believe there's a rape culture don't understand that culture.

Rolling Stone lied; journalists cried

The big shock about Rolling Stone's Virginia story falling apart hit journalists hard.
They so want to believe the story.
Having a great opening tale of gang rape made them happy.
Even if that story is wrong, they want the concern to be right.
Now they have a new story.
A tale of woe for their cause.

Saturday Christmas song

It's a holiday tradition posting "Crabs for Christmas."
I found this one from last year, and you can learn the sign for crab.

Facebook quote of the week

Nothing says shared Netflix account like Gladiator and Gilmore Girls side by side on Recently Watched.

Case for cameras on police

Augusta Water Cooler makes the case for police wearing cameras - and eyes some drawbacks.
The storage requirements for footage recorded during most if not all contact with citizens by every officer on the the force could be staggering and complicated.  This storage would also have to be managed so that recovery was practical and convenient.  Another concern is the time officers would need to spend in order to upload their camera's footage and how that could effect their patrol activities and possible overtime issues.  Policy and procedures must be adopted by agencies who use this technology so that usage is uniform and not arbitrary, plus officer training on use.
Think before jumping on the bandwagon.

From the blunder of the Rolling Stone

After a few weeks of blasting the University of Virginia, Rolling Stone had a new comment Friday.
Never mind.
Turns out the Washington Post has better fact-checkers.

Hear the bells

Ring in the season with "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men

I thought how, as the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed by head
"There is no peace on earth," I said
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men"

Yet pealed the bells more loud and deep
"God is not dead nor doth he sleep;
For wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men"

Then ringing, singing on its way,
The World revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men

Weekend watchdog

Four college teams will make the first playoff field.
Will they be the four topping the rankings this week?
Alabama, Oregon, TCU and Florida State go into the final weekend with the best shots to make the two New Year's Day semifinal games before the championship on January 12.
The contenders have one more hurdle before the playoff field gets released Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide battle Missouri for the SEC championship Saturday at 4 p.m. on CBS.
Second-seed Oregon has its Pac-12 title tilt Friday at 9 p.m. on Fox, facing Arizona.
On ABC, TCU closes its season against Iowa State at noon and Florida State seeks another undefeated season in the ACC finale against Georgia Tech Saturday at 8 p.m.
Outside the top four, Ohio State battles Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship on Fox Saturday at 8 p.m. ESPN has a top-10 battle between Baylor and Kansas State Saturday at 7:45 p.m.
The MAC championship game matches Bowling Green and Northern Illinois Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Marshall meets Louisiana Tech Saturday at noon for the C-USA championship on ESPN2.
Houston and Cincinnati tangle at noon on ESPN, and FoxSports1 has Oklahoma-Oklahoma State at 3:30 p.m.
Temple takes on Tulane at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, and you can catch the Mountain West championship on the blue turf with Boise State hosting Fresno State on CBS at 10 p.m.
NBC shows the Patriots' trip to San Diego Sunday night, while the Falcons meet the Packers on ESPN Monday night.
The Redskins take on the Rams Sunday at 1 p.m. on Fox, with Eagles-Seahawks as the nightcap. CBS in Harrisonburg will show the Steelers and Bengals at 1 p.m.
The Wizards host Denver Friday at 7 p.m. on Comcast before going to Boston Sunday at 1 p.m.
ESPN has the top 10 battle between Texas and Kentucky Friday at 7 p.m., then Kansas faces Florida.
Arizona tangles with Gongaza on ESPN Saturday at 5:15 p.m.
ESPN2 has a pair of contests, with Kansas State meeting Tennessee at 3:15 p.m. before Syracuse takes on St. John's.
CBS offers Wisconsin-Marquette Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Fox brings Northwestern against Butler Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Georgia Tech meets South Carolina-Upstate Saturday at noon on Comcast.
It's a battle in Philadelphia on FoxSports1 Saturday at 1 p.m., as Villanova hosts St. Joseph's. There's three games Sunday, starting at noon as Towson takes on Georgetown. Milwaukee faces DePaul at 2 p.m. then Mississippi heads to Oregon at 4:30 p.m.
MASN shows Manhattan taking on Fairfield Friday at 7 p.m., and there's three games on Saturday. Liberty hosts St. Francis at 2 p.m. before Mount St. Mary's meets Loyola at 7 p.m. and UTEP-New Mexico State at 9 p.m. There's a game from the BB&T Classic Sunday at 2:30 p.m., with George Washington taking on Charlotte.
Rutgers meets Seton Hall Saturday at noon on MASN2 and Western Kentucky battles Murray State at 6:30 p.m.
On the women's side, Connecticut and Notre Dame clash on ESPN Saturday at 3:15 p.m. MASN2 offers Oklahoma-North Texas at noon Sunday followed by Texas A&M against TCU. Top-ranked South Carolina meets Duke on ESPN2 at 1 p.m.
The Capitals take on the Devils Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
Boston College battles New Hampshire on the college rink Friday at 8 p.m. on NBC Sports network, and it's Maine against UMass-Lowell Saturday at 8 p.m.
The MLS crowns its champion Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN, as the Galaxy take on New England.
Manchester City takes on Everton on NBC Saturday at 12:30 p.m. NBC Sports network has Newcastle United playing Chelsea Saturday at 7:45 a.m. Sunday's play starts at 8:30 a.m. with West Ham United taking on Swansea City, then it's Aston Villa-Leicester City at 11 a.m. -Leicester City at 11 a.m.

Carnival to remember

Thanks to Cathouse Chat, the 2008 Carnival of Christmas remains on the internet.
Some links have broken over the years.
Some classics remain.

Saturday pickup line

Louisiana holds its runoff election for senator Saturday.
Looks like another Republican pickup.
The drive for 55 seats will be just one short, and Mary Landrieu can leave Louisiana and go home to her big D.C. house.

Power of Powerline

Powerline celebrated its 40,000th post on Wednesday.
More power to them.

The witness is a 10

Powerline highlights the testimony of witness #10, who gave a version that backed officer Wilson and the evidence.
But his testimony differs from so many other witnesses.
What happened?
Witness No. 10 described the witness intimidation campaign that began almost immediately after the shooting of Brown. He recalled being verbally abused by the gathering crowd when he said what he had seen. This might help explain why accounts of the incident varied from Witness No. 10′s.

Inspiration for Frozen

All the kids want Frozen items for Christmas.
But where did the movie idea come from?
I watched the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade the other night.
There was a girl named Elsa.
And Indiana's dad told him "Let it go" when the Holy Grail was just beyond his fingertips.
Good to see somebody else had the same idea.

Stuff for Christmas

Good memories from Alan Sherman - and all that other stuff.

Ready to lose

As the world awaits Hillary Clinton's decision on running for president in 2016, more reasons arise for her to decline.
What's changed?
Clinton was quite popular during her days as secretary of state. But since leaving that nonpartisan post in 2013, her net favorable rating has been falling. The most recent YouGov poll put her at an all-time low.
How do they think she might turn it around?
Polls at this point are not very predictive. Obama may become more popular. The Republicans could nominate an extreme candidate. Any number of other things could happen.
Hoping for Obama to become more popular doesn't seem like a sturdy plank to build your presidential ambitions.

Examining the culture of Rolling Stone

The University of Virginia has been on edge the past two weeks, defending itself and seeking answers for the Rolling Stone article mentioning a gang-rape at a fraternity.
But now, there's questions about the story.
Why are some details missing, or not pursued.
If you're going to put the entire Greek system in a crosshairs, perhaps more details would be helpful.
You claim UVa has a "rape culture."
What's the culture at Rolling Stone?
Did they find a story, or have an idea they wanted to pursue and highlighted what made the case?

Saturday voting doesn't help

After Election Day, liberals started touting an idea - weekend voting would improve turnout.
Make Election Day a national holiday.
If you can vote on a day off, more people will go to the polling place.
So they say.
Saturday, Louisiana will be having a runoff election.
One race to focus your attention on.
The Republican is running away with it.
Next excuse, Democrats?

It worked

There's been plenty of fuss about the five St. Louis Rams going into the field with the "hands up, don't shoot" show.
But they didn't get shot.
In front of so many police officers.
Putting your hands up doesn't draw police gunfire.
Trying to take a gun does.

Climategate carol

The Christmas season really begins when I post my parody for the global warming crew.

Al Gore speaks, no one's listening
In the lane, lights are glistening
Oh what a sight
With houses really bright
Seeing all the Christmas lights are on

Gone away is good science
Here to stay, blind allegiance
We're singing our song
Yet lights come on
Look how all the Christmas lights are on

On computers we can cook some data
then pretend that it is warmer now
They'll ask: Are you sure?
We'll say: You know, man
And here's the hockey stick
that we have found

Later on, we'll conspire,
With warnings, that are dire
Make the people afraid
We'll pass cap and trade
No more seeing Christmas lights turned on

On computers we can cook some data
And say skeptics are just circus clowns
We'll have lots of fun with our bad data
Until our own emails knock us down.

When we speak, ain't it thrilling
People's hearts, they are chilling
We'll frolic and play, the socialist way,
No more seeing Christmas lights turned on