Back On Monday The 30th: Like most of the blogosphere, I'm taking the rest of the week off to go on vacation. I'm leaving town tomorrow morning and I won't be back until Saturday. In the interim, I've linked 25 blogs you can check out in the daily news section. Of course, you can also look at our top referrers on the left as well. That's 50 websites -- some of them should be updating during the Christmas holiday.

By the way, if any of you are in a Christmasy mood and want to buy me something in appreciation for all the hours you spend reading RWN, here is my wish list. The Segway is still available =D...

Merry Christmas everyone -- see you Monday.

PS: I couldn't get to all my email before I left. If you're still waiting for a reply from me, it'll be the week-end before you hear anything.

Democratic Underground Post Of The Day: A denizen of the Democratic Underground seems delighted by the idea of "repuke loving GI's" dying in Iraq so that Democrats can gain a political advantage back in the states...

Starpass: ...GI Joe loves Bush and GI's from Florida even bragged about voiting for him more than once. Well, I look at it this way: there is more than one way to get your f*cking brains blown out for your country. The generals have warned how ultimately bloody and bogged down this fairy tale sweep of Iraq in 3 days and 15 minutes is going to be. Hopefully as these repuke loving GI's die and are attacked by gas/chemicals, etc., the result will be a turning against Bush here in the Homeland by the brain dead public. Maybe by the deaths of these GI Neandethals who think that Bush and the repukes are God, "we the people" will be able to have the ammo to overthrow this Nazi regime. Too bad these guys can't take a hint from their brass and understand that they are being used, their safety disregarded, simply for the advancement of corporate America. But if they can't figure out what their brass already knows and keep up these insance cheers for the repukes and hisses for the Dems, maybe their deaths will return this country to the people as they realize that Bush's dream team is simply a nightmare of old, sick, has beens."

Another DUer follows that post up with...

HjalmarPoelzig: How many of these high-and-tight motherf*ckers do you think would be only too happy to train their guns on us as we're forced into shipping containers for our one-way trip to the internment camps?

These aren't members of the Greatest Generation/Dad's army, these are dittoheads with heavy weapons and the training, and most likely the will, to use them. On us. It's coming, you know it is."

Cretins.

Christmas Round The World: Every year about this time we hear stories about politically correct grinches who gleefully try to do everything possible to ruin Christmas for as many people possible. They file lawsuits when towns put up Christmas decorations, high schools aren't allowed to mention Christmas, they even protest high schools singing songs they think have religious content. Yet, when we look at other countries, nations not necessarily known for their tolerance, they can handle Christmas without a problem....

"Five Santas from Sweden arrived in Beijing earlier this month. Bakeries sell "Christmas cakes," a Japanese innovation on the holiday. It is now fashionable for couples to visit the government-sanctioned cathedral in Beijing on Christmas Eve. On Dec. 1, a performance of Handel's "Messiah" was permitted for the first time in the Forbidden City Music Hall; the conductor was an expatriate, but the alto and tenor roles were sung by mainland Chinese."

The Philippines and South Korea, of course, with histories of US presence and large evangelical subcultures, have a major head start. Parts of downtown Seoul look like a yuletide photo set piece for holiday catalogues. Some Christmas-tree shapes are built atop Buddhist pagodas and stand several stories high. Underneath, recorded carols ring out, including black gospel choirs shouting "Glory! glory!" as shoppers with gift-wrapped parcels pass by."

In South Korea, they have "Christmas-tree shapes...built atop Buddhist pagodas", yet in the US if an elementary school sings "Silent Night, Holy Night" a bunch of uptight liberals from the ACLU will throw a fit. Too bad these people don't have anything better to do with their time than attack Christmas.

Tigerman Is Not Alone: A lot of people have been blown away by Tigerman so I'd thought I'd point out that he's not alone. Meet the Lizardman...

While I doubt if he's pulling down as much bank as the Tigerman, he is an entrepreneur. The Lizardman does a sideshow along with a partner and it looks like it's one hell of a show. Only in America! Long live the land of opportunity -- even for freaks!