The Talking Dog

Yeah.

Item: Satan sends his annual Christmas letter. Let's just say that this holiday season is looking good for the Prince of Darkness. You go, Janet!

Item: The latest in the wave of campus protests apparently hits "America's Most Liberal College [TM]" (that being Oberlin College). Watch out, Jazz Department!

Item: While no matter what he does or says, Donald "the Donald" Trump remains "teflon" as his lead expands, Matt Taibbi tells us it's "too late to turn off Donald Trump," noting that like most of those who support him, The Donald's "reality" is... wait for it... only what it he sees on television... where Muslims are terrorists, Mexicans are rapists/drug dealers, and all uncomfortable situations are either resolved in 21 minutes or less, or avoided completely by changing the channel.

Item: The Democrats are apparently having a debate tonight... who knew? Bernie "Feel the Bern" Sanders apologized to Hillary Milhaus Clinton for the possibility that some of his campaign staffers might have tried to take advantage of an apparent vendor-driven data breach... Hillary and anything electronic... not being something she wants to talk about. Ever.

And a group of political scientists at Western Illinois University had correctly predicted the Presidential election winner since first making such predictions in 1975, and they predict that a Sanders/O'Malley ticket will vanquish a Bush/Rubio ticket... While such exercises are entertaining, they fail to note that JEB Bush and Marco Rubio are from the same state (admittedly, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were both from Texas... details), and, of course, that The Establishment is probably not going to stand for a Sanders win (although... with Hillary, all things are possible), and Heaven knows, the media does not want you to believe that Bernie's cause is not hopeless before it begins (of course, repeat after me, with Hillary, all things are possible...)

Meanwhile, across the pond, Andy is all over the repatriation of Shaker Aamer to the UK from GTMO, itself a pre-Festivus miracle.

Only you can make this a reality-based Festivus season... will this be the year we can finally ease up on the airing of grievances?

I'll take a short break from noting the various horrors of the world at large, to take a note of my personal horror.

I lost my Dad earlier this month. Although he was no one's model of health, this was unexpected , and a shock nonetheless. To those of you who knew this, and who were most gracious in your condolences, prayers and wishes (and in a number of cases, food offerings), I am grateful, and I thank you. To the rest of you, let this be a cautionary tale: the people we love have this awful tendency of leaving us rather abruptly. It's just part of our reality; the best we can do is to try to live worthy lives and honor them both while they are with us and after they are gone... by living a life of love, and of real value: a lumine.

I leave you with the words of Dylan Thomas (who didn't get to live all that long himself):

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

The Talking Dog

December 23, 2015, Festivus has come

December 19, 2015, Festivus is coming

December 16, 2015, Month from hell