Year of Steyn

Mark Steyn wraps up the year in news.
A year of song, climate change censorship and just Feline Groovy.

Trump's Rey of hope

Now that everybody has seen Star Wars The Force Awakens, we can talk how it tracks with our political life.
Donald Trump is Rey.
Rey has been called a "Mary Sue" since she picks up the Force so easily. No studying with Jedi for years. No Jedi consultants. No Jedi bureaucracy.
She just does stuff with her mind and masters tools it was supposed to take years to understand.
Just like Trump.
He didn't study at the feet of consultants, and learn the political force.
He's a natural.
And we don't have to wait until 2017 to find out how Trump's story turns out.

Weekend watchdog

For two months, ESPN has been running the commercials - please plan on watching the College Football playoffs on Dec. 31.
Today's the day.
The four teams battling for the national championship take the field today, with top-seeded Clemson against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl at 4 p.m. on ESPN and the Cotton Bowl hosting Alabama-Michigan State at 8 p.m.
The winners advance to the title contest in Arizona Jan. 11.
Thursday begins in Atlanta, with Houston facing Florida State at noon. Eat more chikin while you watch.
New Year's Day action starts at noon, with the Outback Bowl matching Northwestern and Tennessee on ESPN2. ABC offers the Citrus Bowl between Michigan and Florida at 1 p.m.
The Fiesta Bowl brings together Notre Dame and Ohio State on ESPN 1 p.m., followed by Iowa-Stanford in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl between Oklahoma State and Mississippi at 8:30 p.m.
There's four more bowl games on ESPN Saturday. Penn State and Jacksonville battle in Jacksonville at noon, followed by the Liberty Bowl matchup of Kansas State-Arkansas. Oregon and TCU meet in the Alamo Bowl at 6:45 p.m., with West Virginia against Arizona State at 10:15 p.m.
The NFL closes its regular season Sunday, and the Packers and Vikings battle for the NFC North crown on NBC at 8:30 p.m. The loser still advances to the playoffs as a wild-card.
Fox has NFC East winners Washington at Dallas Sunday at 1 p.m., followed by Panthers-Buccaneers. The Steelers try to survive and advance against the Browns on CBS, then the Broncos battle the Chargers in hopes of claiming the AFC West.
New Year's Day means the NHL's Winter Classic, with the Bruins meeting the Canadiens from the Patriots' stadium on NBC at 1 p.m. NBC Sports network has the alumni game Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
Comcast has the Capitals against the Hurricanes Thursday at 6 p.m. and visiting Columbus Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Wizards host Orlando Friday at 7 p.m. and the Heat Sunday at 6 p.m. on Comcast.
Virginia opens ACC play Saturday at 5 p.m. against Notre Dame on ESPN2.
Top-ranked Michigan State meets Minnesota Saturday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2. It's Iowa State-Oklahoma at 7 p.m., then LSU takes on Vanderbilt before the nightcap matching Gonzaga and San Francisco.
Tennessee tangles with Auburn Saturday at 2 p.m. on CBS, followed by Baylor-Kansas.
James Madison takes on Delaware on Comcast Saturday at noon, followed by North Carolina State against Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. and Duke-Boston College at 4:30 p.m.
FoxSports1 has a Big East doubleheader Thursday, with Xavier-Villanova at noon followed by St. John's against Creighton. Washington hosts UCLA Friday at 11 p.m.
There's five Big East games on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. with DePaul-Seton Hall. Butler battles Xavier at 1 p.m., then it's St John's against Providence at 3:30 p.m. and Marquette-Georgetown. The night closes at 10 p.m. with Creighton against Villanova.
The Pac-12 takes the stage on Sunday, with Arizona-Arizona State at 2 p.m. and Oregon playing Oregon State at 7 p.m.
Conference USA takes the court Friday on MASN, as North Texas takes on Texas-San Antonio at 7 p.m. before Rice faces UTEP. Liberty hosts UNC-Asheville on MASN Saturday at 2 p.m. while MASN2 brings UIC-Valparaiso.
Sunday offers five games from Conference USA. Marshall meets Western Kentucky at 1 p.m. on MASN, followed by Middle Tennessee against Alabama-Birmingham and North Texas tangling with UTEP at 5 p.m. MASN2 has Old Dominion clashing with Charlotte at 1 p.m.
NBC Sports network offers three games from the Atlantic 10 on Saturday. Saint Joseph's travels to Richmond at 12:30 p.m., then it's Dayton-Duquesne and St. Louis taking on Rhode Island at 4:30 p.m. There's two more Sunday, with Massachusetts against LaSalle at 5 p.m. and Fordham facing George Washington at 7 p.m.
On the women's court, Virginia hosts Miami on Comcast Sunday at 1 p.m. while CBS has the Big Ten battle between Ohio State and Maryland Saturday at noon.
FoxSports1 has Oklahoma-Baylor Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
West Ham United faces Liverpool on NBC Sports network Saturday at 7:40 a.m., followed by Manchester United against Swansea City. Sunday opens with Crystal Palace clashing with Chelsea at 8:25 a.m. before Everton meets Tottenham Hotspur.

Plan your moviegoing life

More Star Wars movies are coming.
Will they be worth it?

Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum!

Powerline reports on the attempt to remove "Maryland my Maryland" as that state's song.
It has nine verses.
The last closes with
Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum!
Too bad Maryland doesn't spurn the liberal scum.

Get in the zone

New Year's means a marathon of  The Twilight Zone episodes on Syfy.
Check out the lineup.
"It's a cookbook." (watch Friday at 5 p.m.)

Elect Trumpbert

Dilbert's Scott Adams continues his series on the persuasive ability of Donald Trump.
Don Surber is impressed.
Good enough for me.

Good quote, wrong guy

At work, they are searching for inspiring quotes to keep spirit high.
This quote would work better if RG3 hadn't spent all season on the bench.

The old days weren't all bad

A Facebook friend posted something why you shouldn't vote for Donald Trump.
He thinks Trump is racist, sexist, hateful and ignorant.
And if you support Trump, you are those things too.
Okay.
Not persuaded.
His vision of Trump's world?
By supporting Trump do you think things will go back to the way they were? Back when gay people had to hide in fear, back when people of any other color than white had to worry about getting lynched, back when it was okay to openly hate? Do you think empowered women will suddenly quit their jobs and go back to the kitchen ? Because electing Trump won't make any of that come true. We're past that as a nation, or at least I thought we were.
Is that what Trump wants?
No.
There were good things in the past.
Some of those have faded away now, not due to the advances this guy likes.
Trump and his supporters remember the good things of the past.
They want those things for our future.
Don't Trump's opponents think the past had good things?
Or understand what his supporters want?

Cruz control

Ted Cruz has shown the coolness to fend off the media elites.
Cruz has a way of relaxing his media opponents to the point where they feel free to attack him personally; then he simply stands back as his supporters see who his opponents have revealed themselves to be. This only enhances Cruz’s reputation among his fans as the second coming of the great communicator and a cultural faith healer on the right. For those who are tired of Trump’s indiscriminate antics in the primaries, Cruz’s style offers a refreshing alternative, and it could carry him all the way to the nomination.

Because your work must be undone

President Obama thinks he has a great question for presidential candidates.
Why do you want to do this?
Because they think you've done it wrong the past seven years.
Domestically and internationally.

Don't you trust this youthful face?

The Washington Post uses an undated photo of Tamir Rice to illustrate how police overestimate the age of young minorities.
Is the picture from when he's 12?
Or maybe 10?
It's undated, so it doesn't answer the question of how he looked the day of the shooting.
If he was large enough to be considered a man, it's likely he didn't look as youthful as the Post's picture.

Pointy-haired candidate

Dilbert's Scott Adams continues to have interesting insights into the looming presidential campaign.
Don Surber picks up on one from Adams.
Prediction: I’ll put the odds at 75% that we learn of an important Clinton health issue before the general election. That estimate is based on my own track record of guessing things about people without the benefit of knowing why. I think Trump is picking up the same vibe. He has already questioned Clinton’s “stamina.”
We're sick of Hillary. It makes sense she'd be sick too.

Undefeated team watch

It took until after Christmas, but the 1972 Miami Dolphins got to enjoy their annual rite - the loss of the final undefeated team of the season.
The Carolina Panthers stand 14-1.
Perfection must wait at least another year.

Don't be divided; join us

Bearing Drift laments the state of Republican politics - why don't you trust your leaders?
What are our options for the coming year?
No one today can say for sure what 2016 will bring.  It could be the start of a new era for the GOP, or it could see the party finally fall apart.  We could win in November and end the Clinton dynasty, or we could perpetuate it.  We could nominate the first populist since Theodore Roosevelt and watch as we lose the House and Senate at the same time.  Or we could nominate a compromise candidate and come up short, as we did in 2008 and 2012.
Or we could nominate Trump and win in a landslide.
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz may not be your ideal candidates, but they appear to be hitting the right notes as 2015.
Instead of the establishment fussing that this is not how things should be, working with the wave.
Maybe the wave is doing more damage to your assumptions than Trump.
It's going to be a wild year.
More likely to end with a Trump as president-elect than Clinton.

Saturday song

Steely Dan gives us a long song with Deacon Blues.

Facebook quote of the week

Note to self; next year don't watch "An inconvenient Truth" while wrapping Christmas gifts, it zaps my holiday cheer...

That's what Christmas is about, Charlie Brown.

Via Ace, Linus explains it all.

Are you persuaded?

Dilbert's Scott Adams continue to look at the presidential race through his persuasion matrix.
His analysis matches the polls - Trump still on top - instead of the hopes and fears of all the pundits.
You may not be persuaded.
But if people are persuaded to stay with Trump, it's worth looking into.

Have a Merry Redneck Christmas

Rerunning a favorite of mine.

Winning the war on Christmas

Jonah Goldberg examines the "war on Christmas" and provides a winning strategy.
I’m not normally in the habit of giving advice to Christians about how to observe their faith. But as a tactical matter, if you want to put the Christ back in Christmas, my advice would be to follow Jesus’s exhortation to turn the other cheek. The best offense against humorless prigs isn’t counterveiling humorless priggery. It’s good cheer. If someone gets angry when you say, “Merry Christmas!” chuckle and tell them, “For your sake, I won’t tell Santa about this.”

And take comfort in the knowledge that the Christmas haters are not merely losers, they are losing. Most Americans — who spend almost a trillion dollars a year at Christmastime by the way — understand those people are idiots. If anything, Christmas keeps winning in the war on Christmas because Christmas is so much Odin-damn fun! So enjoy the holiday on Dickensian grounds — faith, family, fun all mixed into one. Say “Merry Christmas” with joy in your heart and have a good time — if for no other reason than the fact that nothing pisses off the people who hate Christmas more than people actually enjoying Christmas.

Reason for the season

A friend has this on her Facebook feed, and seems good to share here.

Trump speaks and everybody jumps

Next Christmas, we will have a new President-elect.
This year, we have a President in the White House and a candidate running the narrative.
Conventional wisdom held that the political storms generated by Trump — most recently from his call to temporarily ban most Muslims from entering the United States — would be fatal to his candidacy. 
Yet six months after his entry in the race, Trump sits atop national polls with 35.1 percent support, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average.
Establishment Republicans worry he'll hurt the party.
They are the same people who said he'd fade.

Baby it's warm outside

I got up and took the dog out to walk.
I put on my shorts, since it's in the 60s.
Not your typical Christmas Eve weather for the eastern United States.
But the Christmas message is the same, no matter the weather.

Weekend watchdog

On Christmas Eve, Oakland Raider fans will hope for victory in the final home game of the 2015 season.
And wonder if it's the last home game ever.
The Raiders and Chargers battle on NFL network Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Next month, their owners may be battling for the right to move to Los Angeles.
The Redskins and Eagles meet on NFL network Saturday, while the Giants face the Vikings on NBC Sunday night. ESPN offers the Broncos and Bengals Monday night.
The Sunday slate starts on CBS at 1 p.m. with Ravens-Steelers. Fox brings Panthers-Falcons at 1 p.m. before the Packers face the Cardinals in the late afternoon slot.
The college bowl season continues Thursday at noon on ESPN, with Middle Tennessee at Western Michigan in the Bahamas. San Diego State tangles with Cincinnati at 8 p.m. in Hawai'i.
ESPN has four bowl games Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. with Marshall-Connecticut from the Tampa Bay Rays' stadium. Washington meets Southern Mississippi in Dallas at 2:20 p.m. and Frank Beamer closes his Virginia Tech career at the Independence Bowl against Tulsa at 5:45 p.m. In the nightcap, Nebraska faces UCLA at 9:15 p.m. from Santa Clara.
CBS offers the Sun Bowl matchup between Miami and Washington State at 2 p.m. Duke faces Indiana at Yankee Stadium on ABC at 3:30 p.m.
There's five NBA games on Christmas Day, starting at noon with the Pelicans and Heat. The action goes to ABC at 2:30 p.m. when the Bulls battle the Thunder, then Cleveland heads to Golden State at 5 p.m The Spurs face the Rockets at 8 p.m. back on ESPN, with Clippers-Lakers in the nightcap.
The Wizards visit the Nets on Comcast Saturday at 4 p.m.
Kentucky meets Louisville on CBS Saturday at noon. Marquette hosts Presbyterian Sunday at 2 p.m. on FoxSports1.
ESPN2 has the third place game at the Diamond Head Classic Friday at 6:30 p.m., with the final at 9 p.m.
The Capitals host Montreal Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
Boxing Day brings Premier League action to NBC Sports network, with Stoke City against Manchester United Saturday at 7:40 a.m. followed by Liverpool-Leicester City at 10 a.m. NBC has a pair of contests, as Newcastle United meets Everton at 12:30 p.m. and Southampton tangles with Arsenal at 2:30 p.m.

Guess I'm getting old

Come January, the Baseball Hall of Fame will announce its newest members.
The list of first-time players on the ballot includes reliever Billy Wagner.
A guy I covered as a sports writer while he was in high school in southwest Virginia.
He went to college, had a lengthy major league career with 422 saves and has been retired from baseball for five years.
He was special at Tazewell, and it would be great to see him in Cooperstown.

Celebrate the day

Still a few hours to celebrate Festivus properly.
Don't celebrate Festivus?
Add it to the list of grieveances.

Don't mess with Texas

With the big news that Virginia will no longer respect concealed carry permits from 25 states, there are still six states Virginia will work with.
Texas among them.
Guess the attorney general didn't want to mess with Texas.

Embarrassed by Hillary

Ace had a lengthy post based on a poll showing 50 percent of respondents would be embarrassed by a Donald Trump presidency.
The article highlights Trump's numbers.
Did they ask if any other politician would embarrass them?

If 50 percent is a bad number for Trump, what about 35 percent for Hillary?

49. Would you feel proud to have Hillary Clinton as President, embarrassed to have Hillary Clinton as President, or wouldn't you feel either of these ways?

COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Proud 33% 5% 72% 22% 23% 42% 39% 30% Embarrassed 35 72 5 32 44 28 31 38 Neither 29 21 23 41 31 27 29 29 DK/NA 3 2 1 5 2 3 1 3 AGE IN YRS.............. 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Proud 32% 34% 32% 39% Embarrassed 26 36 41 35 Neither 42 30 24 19 DK/NA - 1 4 7

If 50 percent is a bad number for Trump, what about 35 percent for Hillary?
Why didn't they ask how many people are embarrassed by President Obama?

Star Wars VIII: Who loses a hand?

Spoiler Alert: I haven't seen Episode VII.
But I've caught up on the spoilers around the internet.
If you haven't seen the movie by now, like me you probably don't mind reading a bit to catch up with everyone else.
Or maybe Festivus is the perfect day to watch this movie.
On to the next movie.
Like Episode V, it has hit the right notes.
No pressure, everyone.

More voices

Mitch Albom joins the voices talking about Augusta County closing schools on Friday.
Now, there are several legitimate questions in this story. First, is there no other example of Arabic calligraphy? Didn’t anyone involved — teacher, principal, textbook editor — realize a statement of faith is too volatile for a glorified penmanship lesson?
But having asked those questions, here’s another: Do we really need to shut an entire school district over this? Have we so quickly paralyzed ourselves with fear? Are we that spooked by the mere letters of the Muslim faith? And who were the police most concerned about — Muslims, or those who hate them?

Watch your wrapping paper

John Althouse offers a warning for parents whose children was moving from the Santa Claus phase.
Shtulman relates the story of one child whose mother continued to talk up Santa. Then, as she set about wrapping presents, she found a note that her son had written on the back of the paper: “If Santa uses this paper, Mom is Santa!” Clever."

Depend on the lens

What do you think of the Riverheads mom, raising the issue of Arabic script in her son's classroom?
Depends on your location.
Nationally, I saw conservative blogs against the teacher. They looked at the issue of bringing Islamic religion into the classroom and the student's rights in the situation.
Like Althouse from Wisconsin.
The NYT quotes one of the parents as understanding the assignment to be an instruction "to denounce our Lord by copying this creed of Islam," which is "an abomination" to her family's faith and that the school had simply "cloaked in the form of multiculturalism." And therein lies the problem. How do you know what the school is really doing? And quite aside from what the school meant to do, there's the question of how it is perceived, which is an important part of Establishment Clause analysis.
Locals who support the teacher attack the mom for clinging to her roots. And perhaps making the area look bad.
People who have never been to this beautiful valley get to comment online about how ignorant we are down here, assured of their intellectual superiority.
Nationally, the mom joins college protesters standing for what they think is right.
There will be no more scripts of Islamic belief in Arabic for students to right.
At Riverheads or any other public school in the country.
The mom's concerns made a difference.
Even if you don't agree with her or how it happened.

Undefeated team watch

Last-second field goal needed, but the Panthers remain unbeaten.
Two more weeks of regular season left.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins continue watching.

Diversity of holidays

While Augusta County was the focus of the Arabic script controversy Thursday, my home county debated changing its policy of closing schools on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Students have not gone to school on those days since my era in the late 1970s.
Other groups want their days off as well.
Rabbi Grossman of Beth Shalom suggested that the board maintain school closings on the Jewish high holidays for the 2016 to 2017 academic calendar while collecting the data necessary to make a decision about school holidays for later years.
"If helpful, the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Chinese communities are ready to undertake a joint study to assess absences on our most important holidays," she said. "The Jewish community advocates respect and accommodation for all religious and cultural traditions. That is why we support school closure not only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur but also on Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, Diwali and Lunar New Year — in total only 6 days over the entire school year."
You've got to do 180 days of school, usually covering 39 to 42 weeks.
You've either got to reduce the current holiday lists, or shrink summer break.

A long time ago

The new Star Wars movie tried to catch the excitement of the first one we saw back in 1977.

Cruz Christmas Classics

Iowa viewers are in for a treat - Ted Cruz reading his version of Christmas Classics.

Thoughts for 2016 and beyond

Mark Steyn continues warning the West about the direction it is going in dealing with Islamic radicals.
I like western civilization. I regard Common Law as superior to Sharia, so I would rather people who wish to live under Sharia remained in the many countries where it already operates, rather than adding Austria and Ireland and Denmark to the list. A schizophrenic strategy of ineffectual war overseas and celebrating one's tolerance of the avowedly intolerant at home will ensure we lose.

Why Trump?

Pundits continue to trash Donald Trump.
And he remains atop the polls.
Pundits ponder the doom of the Republican party if Trump wins the nomination.
And yet he seems headed in that direction.
Why?
You're thinking too much.
Why not?
Politicians have gotten us into a mess - because they try to bend themselves into a shape pundits like.
Trump appears not to care.
He does things his own way.
What if he's the most electable person on the Republican debate stage?
That he's not trying to throw the election to Hillary Clinton, but that he knows anyone can beat her - so why not him?
Heads will continue to explode every time Trump says something.
He's not a true conservative.
But he would be more conservative than what we've had the past seven years.
In an era of angry battles all around, you want a battler on your side.
To lead the way.

Facebook quote of the week

Is there such a thing as a perfume commercial that doesn't look like an acid trip?

Saturday Christmas song

Enjoy your Christmas song and lights together with the Carol of the Bells.

Weekend night with Bernie

What do you have planned for Saturday, the last one before Christmas?

• Shopping?
• A party?
• Heading to the theater for a big movie?
• Watching Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders?

A few might watch the Democrats, especially after today's news that a Sanders staffer accessed computer data from Clinton's campaign.
How could that happen?
Didn't the DNC server have Secret Service protection?
Will he bring up the topic in Saturday's debate?
It's more like he will than voluntarily talk about ISIS.

Weekend watchdog

How many bowls are there this season?
So many that three had to take a 5-7 team to have a contest.
One of those teams - San Jose State - plays Saturday as the bowl season kicks off with six games.
ABC starts the day at noon from Atlanta, as Alcorn State and North Carolina A&T meet in the Celebration Bowl. It's off to New Mexico at 2 p.m. for Arizona-New Mexico on ESPN.
New Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall closes his BYU career as the Cougars battle Utah at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. Ohio faces Appalachian State in the Camellia Bowl on ESPN at 5:30 p.m.
San Jose State tries to avoid a 5-8 finish on CBS Sports network against Georgia State at 7 p.m. The night closes in New Orleans with Louisiana Tech meeting Arkansas State at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
Big Ten teams Nebraska and Minnesota get their chances to finish 5-8 after Christmas. Thirty-five bowl games remain to be played, with the National Championship game on Jan. 11.
Richmond meets North Dakota State in the semifinals of the Championship Series Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
West Virginia's Shepherd University vies for the Division II championship against Northwest Missouri State Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.
NFL network has the Jets visiting the Cowboys Saturday. The Eagles try to maintain their spot atop the NFC East on Sunday night, battling the Cardinals on NBC, while ESPN offers Lions against Saints Monday night.
The Redskins host the Bills on Fox Sunday at 1 p.m. CBS has Ravens-Chiefs at 1 p.m. followed by Broncos facing the Steelers.
ESPN brings the Clippers and Spurs Friday at 8 p.m., followed by Pelicans-Suns.
Comcast has the Wizards battling the Hornets Saturday at 7 p.m.
CBS offers UCLA-North Carolina at 1 p.m. followed by Ohio State against Kentucky.
Utah heads to Duke Saturday at noon on ESPN.
It's Virginia-Villanova Saturday at noon on ESPN2, then Indiana meets Notre Dame at 2 p.m. Coverage goes west at 9:30 p.m. for Arizona taking on UCLA, then Texas faces Stanford at 11:30 p.m.
St. John's meets Incarnate Word on FoxSports1 Friday at 7 p.m. Auburn visits Xavier Saturday at noon, followed by Northwestern-DePaul at 2 p.m. Florida faces Oklahoma State at 8 p.m.
It's St. John's against NJIT Sunday at noon.
Syracuse clashes with Cornell Saturday at noon on Comcast, then it's College of Charleston against Miami. American meets Maryland-Eastern Shore Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
NBC Sports network brings Michigan State's visit to Northeastern Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Georgia State goes to Southern Mississippi on MASN Saturday at 5 p.m. before South Florida hosts Alabama-Birmingham at 7 p.m.
MASN2 has a trio of games Saturday, starting with Georgetown against UNC-Asheville at noon. Florida State faces Florida Atlantic at 5 p.m. and Rider tangles with Providence at 8 p.m.
On the high school court, ESPN2 offers Cypress Lakes against Foothills Christian Friday at 6:30 p.m.
FoxSports1 has a pair of women's contests Sunday, with Arkansas meeting Texas at 2:30 p.m. before Oklahoma plays Texas A&M at 5 p.m.
Michigan State meets Northeastern on MASN Friday at 8 p.m.
The Capitals host Tampa Bay Friday at 7 p.m. on Comcast and visit the Rangers Sunday at 7 p.m.
On the college ice, Michigan State takes on Northeastern on NBC Sports network Saturday at 7 p.m.
NBC Sports network has Manchester United against Norwich City Saturday at 9:55 a.m. and Aston Villa clashes with Newcastle United on NBC at 12:30 p.m. Watford battles Liverpool Sunday at 8:25 a.m., followed by Swansea City-West Ham United.
The NCAA crowns its women's volleyball champion Saturday at 7:30 p.m. as Nebraska takes on Texas.

Next calligraphy lesson

Can someone write "No School Friday" in Arabic.
It would be a good script for Augusta County students to write Friday as Christmas vacation starts one day early.
It's sad the anger being brought down on the Riverheads parents who first publicized this.
Why aren't they praised like students at Yale, Missouri, Princeton and other colleges that are protesting their schools?
They have gone to the front of the class.
We'll see what teachers and administrators learn after this week.

For those who love snow

Rerunning a picture found a few years ago of a cute design in the snow.

May the snark be with them

Almost Star Wars day.
Fans are ready.
Critics have seen and written.
Some don't like it.
I guess they are the Jar Jar Binks of movie critics.

Riverheads elects Trump

Why does Donald Trump lead the Republican field?
Why does he appear likely to be the nominee, and possibly next president?
Look to Riverheads.
The calligraphy lesson.
Thanks to Rob Schilling, more people know Riverheads taught their students about Arabic writing.
Of all the phrases in the lexicon, why this one?
If you're trying to teach understanding, you need to understand your audience.
Trump understands his.

Do you see what I see?

Rush continues to explain why Donald Trump is popular with so many.
It's not because of what he says.
It's what he sees.
He sees what people see - government not working for them.
If you talk policies, people don't trust government to implement them properly anyway.
To be a serious candidate, you need to understand the people.
Trump does.
So he leads the polls.

Ideas for lawmaking

Where do Kentucky lawmakers turn for ideas on legislation?
Don Surber.
Reading his blog can be good for you.
And Kentucky.

Happy debate day

What will liberals be fussing about over the holidays?
Probably Donald Trump.
The gang gathers on CNN tonight.
The pundits explode later tonight and tomorrow.

For shame

The elites cheered the climate change agreement announced over the weekend.
What good will it do?
According to John Kerry, we must shame those who use too much energy in their lives.
Powerline does its part - pointing out Kerry's excesses.

Love that parity

There's just three weeks left in the NFL regular season after tonight's contest on ESPN.
There are eight divisions.
Two have leaders with 6-7 on the season.
Will one or two teams under .500 reach the postseason?
A more exciting race than the one for home-field advantage.

Here comes Cruz

Ted Cruz has the lead in the latest Iowa poll.
And will be getting notice headed into Tuesday's debate.
Es­sen­tially, he matches Trump tit-for-tat on most every con­ser­vat­ive idea­lo­gic­al mark­er. But un­like Trump, Cruz is ut­terly and com­pletely de­voted to a pur­ist, con­ser­vat­ive cause. And his abil­ity to mask zealotry with polit­ic­al rhet­or­ic renders him an ex­po­nen­tially more po­tent can­did­ate.

Undefeated team watch

Another win, another win by the Panthers.
13-0.
Clinched the division and a first-round bye.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins continue watching.

Obama's comments don't matter

Don Surber visits Politifact.
Of the 10 most recent facts they have checked, three are by Donald Trump.
None by President Obama.
Guess his comments don't matter.

Ready for bowl season

There's going to be 41 bowl games over the next four weeks.
Teams you don't usually watch playing at unique stadiums can still bring interesting results, like this play from last year in the Bahamas Bowl.

Sick of Obama

PJ Media gives a simple reason for supporting Trump's ideas about Muslims - lousy leadership by President Obama.
Robinson should have added that patients who are told for months their cancer was only a "JV team"; that the disease had been contained or in remission only to be told it had no immediate cure are bound to lose confidence in the doctor.  Almost as bad in the patient's mind as the diagnosis of cancer will be the patient's regret at all the time wasted imbibing Rattlesnake Oil. You can see why people might turn in despair to Dr. Trump after all the good they got from Dr. Obama.

Pigs rule - thanks to bacon

Facebook friends of Best of the Web found an interesting graphic.

The makers of the graphic don't put man at the top, but pigs.
I'm sure it's because pigs give us bacon.
Why else would pigs rule?

Gas before they were gas

Ever thought about dinosaur farts?
Some scientists have.
See, the world has seen higher production of greenhouse gasses.
And survived.

Saturday Christmas song

Gotta have my Pops for Christmas.

Facebook quote of the week

Think what you wan't.No God,No peace!!!

Week of Trump

The week began with President Obama giving an Oval Office speech.
The rest of the week? Talk of Donald Trump's thoughts on Muslim immigration.
The media may be unhappy, but people are leaning Trump's way.

Stadium with no name

The University of Maryland has voted to take the name of long-time president "Curley Byrd" off it's football stadium.
The Washington Post story talks about his run for governor in 1954, trying to promote "separate but equal." He lost.
Which party did he belong to?
The article doesn't say.
Democrat, of course.

Weekend watchdog

On the sidelines and in the stands, there will be Navy Midshipmen who weren't in kindergarten the last time their side lost to Army.
Navy looks to post its 14th straight victory over Army Saturday in their annual matchup in Philadelphia. Coverage will be on CBS at 3 p.m.
The Middies, who haven't lost since 2001, nearly reached the American Conference championship game. Instead, they got a week off to prepare for two-win Army.
The Heisman Trophy will be awarded Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Charleston Southern takes on Jacksonville State in the quarterfinals of the Bowl Championship Series playoffs Friday at 8 p.m. It's Northern Iowa against North Dakota Saturday at noon on ESPN.
The first-place Washington Redskins try to gain their first road win of the season, facing the Bears Sunday at 1 p.m. on Fox. The Cowboys meet the Packers in the late afternoon slot, while CBS offers the Bengals battling the Steelers at 1 p.m.
The Patriots battle the Texans Sunday night on NBC, with Giants against Dolphins on ESPN Monday night.
The Heat face the Pacers on ESPN Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Lakers-Spurs.
The Wizards take on the Pelicans Friday at 8 p.m. on Comcast.
Ohio State travels to Connecticut Saturday at noon on CBS.
Kentucky faces Arizona State on ESPN Saturday at 3:15 p.m., followed by North Carolina-Texas.
There's five games on ESPN2 Saturday, starting at 1:30 p.m. with Wisconsin against Marquette. It's Utah-Wichita State at 3:30 p.m., followed by top-ranked Michigan State meeting Florida. Kansas clashes with Oregon State at 8 p.m. before UCLA goes against Gonzaga.
Houston faces LSU Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
FoxSports1 starts Saturday at noon with Bryant-Providence, followed by Tennessee's trip to Butler at 2:30 p.m. Indiana-Purdue of Indianapolis meets Creighton at 5 p.m., and it's Arkansas-Little Rock against DePaul at 10 p.m.
Three more Big East teams take the court Sunday, with St. John's against Syracuse at noon before Seton Hall meets St. Peter's. There's a Philadelphia battle between LaSalle and Villanova at 5 p.m.
It's Louisville-Eastern Michigan on Comcast Saturday at 2 p.m.
TCU takes on Prairie View Friday at 8 p.m. on MASN2. It's Oklahoma-Oral Roberts Saturday at 2 p.m. Liberty meets Lamar Saturday at 2 p.m. on MASN, with Mississippi State against Missouri-Kansas City at 5 p.m.
In women's hoops, top-ranked Connecticut meets Florida State Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 and Texas hosts Stanford on ESPN Sunday at 1 p.m.
Notre Dame faces TCU Saturday at noon on MASN2.
The Capitals head south for the weekend, meeting Tampa Bay Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
Colorado College clashes with Western Michigan Saturday at 7 p.m. on MASN.
In the Premier League, Norwich City battles with Everton Saturday at 7:40 a.m. and it's Liverpool-West Bromwich Albion at 9:55 a.m. on NBC Sports network. NBC has Bournemouth against Manchester United at 12:30 p.m.
Aston Villa faces Arsenal Sunday at 8:25 a.m. on NBC Sports network, followed by Tottenham Hotspur against Newcastle United. .
There's an international women's friendly between the United States and China Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

Finding your smart friends

Someone thought they could embarrass Donald Trump supporters with a new facebook app.
Click the link and friends who have liked Trump.
See which of your friends are smart.
Who will drop you for liking Trump's page?
Which friends need to relax?

Recycling update

Today's trip to the recycling center brought 35 cents a pound.
Down from 40 cents the last trip in October.
But I did get a Christmas card.

Breaking the window

Ace reminds us of the other useful purpose Donald Trump serves - changing the window of the conversation.
I can't express how unsuited Trump is for the presidency -- are we going to have a president so impulsive as to change his mind from "Let Putin handle ISIS, what has it got to do with us?" to "Let's bomb the shit out of ISIS" and "I'll handle terrorism so hard it'll make your head spin" based on a single thing he saw on TV (San Bernardino) which completely changed all of his thoughts?
But he is useful for plowing through the colossal, coralled-over shipwrecks and dead hulks of leftist thought that clog the trade-routes of political expression and debate.

Trump gives you the business

Dilbert creator Scott Adams has some interesting thoughts on what Donald Trump is doing.
So Trump owns the topic of terror because he has the only plan, as far as you know. The only other plan you can imagine is the one where the terrorist attacks escalate forever. You can tolerate that situation for now because religious freedom is a basic American right. But Trump is calculating (correctly) that the public will move away from “do nothing” and toward “do something” every time there is another attack. And when the time comes to “do something” you will only know about the Trump plan. 
Trump had to know that calling for an end to Muslim immigration (for now) would spark the Hitler comparisons. Anyone would have known that. Under the Master Persuader filter, this was an intentional tradeoff. Trump literally equated the Trump brand with the Holocaust in an effort to keep citizens safe. That’s some hardcore leadership.
Adams makes sure you know he doesn't support Trump.
He's looking at the businessman, since he's a businessman.

Hot wings

A father and son in Syracuse thought they had a good idea.
Order chicken wings from their employers' account and sell them on the side.
Until they were caught - selling hot wings.

Trump keeps us safe

Politicians need to stop thinking like politicians.
Consultants need to stop thinking like their herd.
The same with pundits.
Donald Trump put down a marker - here's how we can prevent another attack by a radical Islamist in the Western world.
If you knew there would be no more terror attacks ever, the talk of the political class would make sense - you don't want to make potential voters dislike you.
If there's a terror anywhere in the next two months - United States or Europe - Trump can say he had an idea.
And he was blasted.
People will be more scared than they are now.
And more willing to follow a different path.
Now ISIS and their supporters have a dilemma.
Another attack is their goal, but another attack will make Trump stronger.
And invite a stronger response from the United States.
President Obama can talk about being on the right side of history. It's cold comfort when reality is going the opposite way.
Trump's tough talk Monday may keeps us safer - no matter how offensive you think the messenger is.

Wisdom from Correia

When there's a mass shooting, you need to listen to Larry Correia instead of the stampeding multitudes for gun control.
A lengthy piece after San Bernardino has a simple sentence to sum it up.
I hate to break it to you but no matter how many restrictions you put on gun ownership in Nebraska, people in Chicago are still going to get shot.

We don't trust you

Michael Barone emphasizes the problem for Democrats - woes in government hurt the party of government.
The problem is that the seven years of the Obama administration, quite contrary to the president's intention, has discredited government as an instrumentality to improve people's lives.
The most glaring failure has been Obamacare, from the implosion of the healthcare.gov website to the recent announcement of the nation's largest health insurer that it would no longer offer policies on Obamacare's exchanges.

Meow

Ralph Peters won't be appearing on Fox News for two weeks.
He probably got plenty more viewers for his comments.
They can replay that over and over until he returns to the air.

Chart of the day

If Instapundit likes it, I should post it.

Not helpful

President Obama spoke Sunday.
Same old same old.
At certain points, Obama sounded as if he was speaking to children. “The threat is real, but we will overcome it.” “We will not defeat it with tough talk, abandoning our values, or giving in to fear.” “We will prevail by being strong and smart.” He made yet another pitch for barring anyone on the no-fly list or terror watch list from purchasing firearms. He simply ignored any of the objections, whether it’s the lack of due process or judicial review, the arbitrary, foggy nature of how someone gets on the list, or the fact that 280,000 people with no recognized terrorist group affiliation are on the list.

Explain the "No Fly List"

President Obama made a big deal about the "No Fly List" during his speech.
Why should someone on that list be allowed to buy a gun?
Before having to ask that question, a few good questions.

• How do you get on the "No Fly List?"
• If you are put on the list by mistake, how do you get off it?
• How many people currently on the list have bought guns?
• How many of those have committed crimes with guns they bought?

Just saying "No Fly List" sounds good.
But there are more questions than answers right now.

Undefeated team watch

The Panthers survived another challenge from the Saints.
12-0.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins continue watching.

Who is the target?

Hot Air wonders who will be the focus on President Obama's speech Sunday night.
Terrorists or law-abiding Americans?
Proposing laws that won't go anywhere, or doing something about the real fear of Americans?
We'll be watching.
As long as he's done before the Steelers' game starts.

Not approved by Cornell

Powerline offers the list of holiday items that go against the inclusivity Cornell wants to have.
No mistletoes.
No menorahs.
No nativity scenes.

Look away, Cornell people.

You've got to watch - like passing a car wreck

President Obama plans to speak to the nation Sunday night.
Remember Colts- Steelers kicks off at 8:30 p.m.
What's he going to say?
Same old stuff he always done.
Or something different in light of San Bernardino?
People are scared.
Scared of radical Islamists.
Scared of how the Obama administration has been acting.
Does President Obama understand those fears?
Or does he bring another short lecture from his past?
Repeating the same old stuff will be scarier than any attack.

On the grill

Powerline endorses the idea that eating meat helps you feel better mentally.
Would eating meat help their mental health, or does the outlook that makes you a vegan or vegetarian make you more likely to be gloomy.
I'm not taking any chances.

I feel better already.

Let's talk about something else

Two Muslims kill 14 at a Christmas-season party.
Let's talk no-fly lists, even though they both flew from Saudi Arabia recently.
Let's talk gun control.
The post-San Bernardino debate is different from previous fights over gun, crime, and self-defense. According to the Supreme Court, the Second Amendment does protect a right to self-defense, but this is tangential to its historical role in American political thought: not as a pragmatic tool for hunting and warding off criminals, but as a political tool to safeguard self-government in America. The attack at San Bernardino cuts to the core of what the Second Amendment—in the minds of many Americans—is all about. Liberals who believe that jihadist attacks in the homeland will persuade Americans to disarm are very likely deluding themselves.
What's the problem, and what's the distraction?

Saturday Christmas song

Time for the Baltimore Christmas song.

Facebook quote of the week

Aaaaaaaand my children STILL haven't lived through a Lions sweep.

O come, let us ignore them

And there's no war of Christmas, right?
James Madison hosted a tree-lighting ceremony.
Sorry, no religious songs allowed. Even if that's what you do.
The group replied to the student government organization informing them they were a Christian-based group and their repertoire was comprised of all Christian songs.
The group requested to sing Mary Did You Know.
One of the SGA leaders responded to the email saying, "I’m sorry, but unfortunately this event has to be secular because it is a university event and thus a state sanctioned event. Please consider attending unofficially anyways and invite your friends as well."
Our student leaders of today.
Can we ignore them, pains in the butt.

Weekend watchdog

Teams want to hoist a championship trophy this weekend.
So they have a chance to hoist the national championship trophy on January 11.
The college football regular season winds down with championship games in eight conferences.
Top-ranked Clemson takes on North Carolina in the ACC championship contest at 8 p.m. on ABC. CBS has the SEC finale between second-ranked Alabama and Florida at 4 p.m.
Fox brings the Big Ten title tilt between Iowa and Michigan State Saturday at 8 p.m. while the PAC-12 championship matches Southern Cal and Stanford at 7:45 p.m. on ESPN.
Winners of those games will be watching with interest Sunday at noon when the four-team playoff field will be announced.
Houston hosts Temple in the American Conference title game Saturday at noon on ABC.
In Conference USA, Southern Mississippi travels to Western Kentucky on ESPN2 at noon. Air Force faces San Diego State in the Mountain West on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m.
The Big 12 has a final weekend of regular season play, with Texas-Baylor on ESPN Saturday at noon and West Virginia meets Kansas State at 4:30 p.m. on FoxSports1.
Friday at 8 p.m., the MAC crowns its champion when Bowling Green battles Northern Illinois.
The first-place Washington Redskins meet the Cowboys Monday night on ESPN while NBC offers Colts-Steelers at 8:20 Sunday.
The Jets and Giants have their New York battle on CBS Sunday at 1 p.m. Fox brings Seattle-Minnesota at 1 p.m. and either Patriots against Eagles or Saints facing the undefeated Panthers in the late afternoon slot.
MLS crowns its 20th champion Sunday, when Columbus clashes with Portland Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
Stoke City meets Manchester City Saturday at 7:40 a.m. on NBC Sports network, followed by Arsenal-Sunderland. NBC has Chelsea-Bournemouth at 12:30 p.m., and it's Newcastle United taking on Liverpool Sunday at 10:55 a.m.
The United States women has a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago Sunday at 8 p.m. on FoxSports1.
The Nets face the Knicks on ESPN Friday at 7 p.m., with Cavaliers against Pelicans in the nightcap. The Wizards host the Suns Friday at 7 p.m. on Comcast and Dallas Sunday at 6 p.m.
On the college court, ESPN2 has Oregon-UNLV Friday at 11 p.m.
Gonzaga goes against Arizona on ESPN Saturday at 3:15 p.m. ESPN2 has Kansas-Harvard at 3:15 p.m., followed by Buffalo facing Duke. It's Texas A&M-Arizona State at 10:30 p.m.
Syracuse battles Georgetown Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on Fox.
Alabama tangles with Southern Mississippi Friday at 8 p.m. on FoxSports1. Saturday's action starts at noon with Butler against Indiana State, then Chicago State-DePaul at 2 p.m. Western Kentucky takes on Xavier at 8:30 p.m.
NBC Sports network offers Mississippi meeting Massachusetts Saturday at 4 p.m.
North Carolina State plays Bucknell on Comcast Saturday at noon, with Northern Iowa facing Richmond at 6 p.m.
Top-ranked Connecticut clashes with Notre Dame in women's hoops on ESPN at 5:15 p.m. There's a doubleheader on ESPN2 Sunday, with Duke-South Carolina at 2 p.m. followed by Michigan against Princeton.
The Capitals head to Winnipeg Saturday at 3 p.m. on Comcast.
Notre Dame hosts Massachusetts Saturday at 6 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
NASCAR honors drivers for year-long excellence Friday at 9 p.m. on NBC Sports network.

47 straight wins

Before I entered high school, my school won 47 straight games before falling in the 1975 state championship.
With the school back in the state finale for the first time since then, memories from the 1970s flood back.
And the coach of my high school in Maryland came from southern West Virginia, where I covered high school football for eight years.
Go Lions.

Building a better road

Despite multiple weather delays over the past two years, the Fishersville interchange with I-64 is now almost complete.
Enjoy your new road.
You paid for it with taxes.

Prayers are better than anything you have

Ace catching the mocking from liberals of "our thoughts and prayers" are with victims and those first responders on the scene.
As the hours pass, liberals are finding their causes don't have a prayer in dealing with this reality.

Watts up in Paris

Powerline and WattsUpwithThat have been following the Paris conference.
Hold onto your wallets.
Sky News also notes that On Monday, 11 donor governments pledged close to $US250 million in new money for adaptation in the poorest countries at the start of the UN climate talks. So it seems there is still a fair way to go, to close the gap between expectations and delivery.
And of course it seems unlikely that America will contribute significantly to this funding demand. The US Congress has threatened to block any green funding pledges made by President Obama at the COP21 conference.

Killing coal country

Where has the economy really struggled in the Obama years?
Southern West Virginia.
Thanks to the Obama years.
Since 2012, 27 coal-mining companies with core operations in Central Appalachia, a region roughly centered in southern West Virginia, have filed for bankruptcy protection. The list includes a number of large-cap, publicly traded entities, such as Alpha Natural Resources, James River Coal and Patriot Coal. Production of coal in southern West Virginia declined by 45% between the first half of 2011 and the first half of 2015, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Since 2009, 332 coal mines in West Virginia have been closed, and 9,733 jobs—roughly 35% of the industry’s total employment in the state—have been lost, figures from the West Virginia Coal Association show.
This has devastated the state’s economy. West Virginia has the highest unemployment rate in the country, 6.9% as of October, compared with 5% nationwide. The local unemployment rates for counties in the southern part of the state reach nearly 13%. West Virginia also has the lowest labor-participation rate in the country. Of West Virginians over the age of 16, only 53% have a job or are looking for work, nine percentage points below the U.S. average.
Where is the help for the unemployed miners and their families?
Maybe if they claimed to be Syrian.

Fighting fake problems

The Wall Street Journal lists some of the fake problems liberals throw their energy toward.
Dramatic crises—for which evidence tends to be anecdotal, subjective, invisible, tendentious and sometimes fabricated—are trumpeted on the basis of incompetently designed studies, poorly understood statistics, or semantic legerdemain. Food insecurity is not remotely the same as hunger. An abusive cop does not equal a bigoted police department. An unwanted kiss or touch is not the same as sexual assault, at least if the word assault is to mean anything.
Yet bogus studies and statistics survive because the cottage industries of compassion need them to be believed, and because mindless repetition has a way of making things nearly true, and because dramatic crises require drastic and all-encompassing solutions. Besides, the thinking goes, falsehood and exaggeration can serve a purpose if it induces virtuous behavior. The more afraid we are of the shadow of racism, the more conscious we might become of our own unsuspected biases.

Climategate carol

The Christmas season really begins when I post my parody for the global warming crew. Maybe they can sing it at the Paris conference.

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

Bees flying high

Remember the warnings about bees?
Never mind.