I don't usually do this, but I am lifting a passage directly from another blog, this early Christmas Morning. It is from a site called Best of the Blogs and it goes something like this:
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For Christmas, 1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono released "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)," whose last verse is:

A very Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear
War is over, if you want it
War is over now.

Christmas, 1971, we had 157,000 troops in Vietnam. Eight months later we had none, and seven months after that, we stopped fighting that war.

Currently, we've got just under 160,000 troops in Iraq.

Sooo. I know what my Christmas wish is; what's yours?

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In their Christmas album released a couple of years ago, the Moody Blues covered Happy Christmas, but left out the "war is over, if you want it" lyric.
It's a very fine album, by a band I've loved for 30 years, but that omission really ticks me off somehow.
I guess because I'm afraid we'll finally bring our men and women home from Iraq the day Cat Stevens releases HIS Christmas Album.

May the traditional peace of the season be within you, my Blogstream friends...even as the fighting goes on outside.

It's been just 24 days since I got my key to the gated community that is Blogstream, and this is my 20th post.
I told a friend it was a "gated community", because you have to live here to post a comment...not just any layabout with a keyboard and a modem can do a drive-by comment like "you suk, LIEbral!", and then slink off into some back alley of the internets. If I want to, I can follow him to his virtual home and do virtual doughnuts in his virtual front yard.
Sometimes I wish it were more like the "big-boy" blogs on places like Blogger or Blogsome or (I kid you not) BlogOmania, where anybody can post any comment at any time. OK, maybe not Blogsome, since their main site seems to hate Firefox, and BlogOmania is not free!
Other times, I'm glad it's set up the way it is.
I have a tendancy to take negative or nasty comments (especially ignorant nasty comments) too much to heart, and like the idea that this is pretty much a community of friends.
I would have to quickly develop a thicker skin if I want to walk the mean streets of Blogistan.
Yet, for now, I am building up my "writing muscles" with every post. Admittedly, some are better than others, but I am exercising that part of my brain that likes to put words together in a pleasing way. Usually I just shoot for coherrency, and hope to hit "pleasing"...or at least wing it from time to time.
Writing in general, and blogging in particular, is an on-going learning process that demands constant practice to "stay in shape". It also requires watching the people who are really good at it.
There are two bloggers I try to read every day.
First is a guy out of San Diego who writes under the name of TBogg. I admire the way he writes in a deftly "snarky" way...I also greatly admire his courage. I think I would like to write as well someday.
The other guy lives in Indianapolis, and I don't know if anybody writes as well as Doghouse Riley at Bats Left Throws Right. His stuff is consistantly good, and occasionly rises to the artful.
As far as I know, neither of these guys is affiliated with a newspaper, magazine or cable network. The don't get paid for writing, but I think they're as good as any of the "professional" bloggers out there.
They do it because they like to write, and they like the idea that anybody in the world can read what they have written.
In that way, they're just like you and me and the 5,000 other writers on Blogstream, only better at what they do...
...for now.

I have a family Christmas Party to go to Saturday night, at my cousins house. She lives in a very large, almost castle-like home, in an older part of the outskirts of Orlando.
You can tell it's an old established part of town by the size of the trees.
Through the brick framed entry is a standard hallway, that empties into a large cavernous central room with a fireplace. The upstars bedrooms run along a balcony overlooking the full sized pool table. Through the glass doors, in the adjoining great room, is the swimming pool, jacuzzi and back yard, nicely lit for the holidays. I've often wondered if there's a "batcave" in the basement. But then, few people in Central Florida have basements.
After parking my car in the circular drive, you can best believe I'm not walking up to the front door with a pack of Zima in my hand.
But what do you bring to a Holiday party?
Certainly a bottle of some kind, but exactly what kind often depends on who they are...and who you are.
I think I've found a solution, that calls for a minimum of stress, and not a lot of out-of-pocket expense.
Saturday night, I will have a bottle of Georges Duboeuf's Beaujolais Nouveau in my hand.
It's a French wine that comes attached to a good story at no extra charge.
Every year, on the third Thursday of November, about a million cases of the newly bottled wine are shipped out of the Burgundy region of France, on to Paris and eventually to the entire world. When they're gone, there won't be any more for another year.
You don't need to know that it is made with a Gamay grape, produced by carbonic maceration, or that the real Georges Deboeuf is a well known negociant, who almost single-handedly began the whole Beaujolais Nouveau craze back in the mid 80's.
Just tell your friends that the bottle you are giving them is a "limited edition" of this year only, and that it must be enjoyed within a few weeks time.
It is definitely not a wine for snobby connisseurs, who can talk about the "nose", "mouth feel" or "chewiness" of a wine, without a hint of embarrassment.
Although, they might find it less than sophisticated, you and I (and, I suspect, most of your hosts or hostesses at those parties) will find it light and a bit fruity, especially when chilled. (Stick it in the fridge for about an hour, if you can, then let it sit for about 15-20 minutes once you've opened it.) One reviewer called it a red wine that is about as close to a white wine as you can get. In addition, the label itself is nice and festive.
You can probably find a bottle for between $7 and $10 at most liquor stores (although I bought a couple of bottles at my local Costco for around $8).
A couple of years ago, I brought a bottle to a real "Hollywood Party" in Los Angeles, at the $10 million home of a script writer and his producer wife.
They seemed very pleased.
Since I found them to be a tremendously nice, genuine couple, I never got the feeling they were "just being polite".
So give this little French wine, with the interesting story, a try... I guarantee it will go over better than the Zima.

Over the weekend, The New York Times published a story saying the President authorized the National Security Agency, or NSA, to spy on American citizens without first obtaining a warrant.
There is no getting around the fact that this is an illegal activity. It directly violates theForeign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978.
It is against the law.
On Monday, the president admitted that, yep, that's what he ordered them to do, all right. In addition to implying we could all kiss his backside in a televised press conference, he also stated clearly that those who leaked this activity to the New York Times were helping the terrorists!
In short, George W. Bush knows what's good for you, and he is above the law, being a "war time" president, and can do what he wants.
So there!
Now there may be those of you who think I've got it right this time. Some may believe that Bush really does know what's good for America, and that he shouldn't have his hands tied by some liberal law or legal technicality.
Hold that thought.
The law in question, FISA, is really pretty flexible. It actually allows eavesdropping to take place immediately, if the NSA promises to apply for a retroactive warrant within 72 hours. It's sort of like Popeye's friend Wimpy saying "I'll gladly get a warrant Tuesday, for a wiretap today". Since 1979 it is estimated that of over 1,900 warrants applied for, only 4 or 5 have been turned down. These are estimated figures, since the actual documents, even the names of the judges signing the warrants, are secret.
You would think that getting what they want 499 out of every 500 times is a stat the White House could live with, wouldn't you?
Yet, they prefer to ignore the law that is in place, and you gotta wonder why.
It occurred to me there may be two reasons.
First, it can not be used against American Citizens...period.
The second reason may be explained like this:

NSA---We want a warrent to allow a wire tap on foreign students in Florida.
JUDGE-Which foreign students?
NSA---Why...ALL of 'em...national security reasons, you know.

No judge, not even a secret judge, is going to go along with that. As a matter of fact, one secret judge has just resigned.
Judges, even secret ones, generally insist on things being neat and tidy. They want details, like who will be under surveillance or what the NSA is specifically looking for.
So the Bush Administration has decided to bypass the judges...and the law.
Yet, you may still not be convinced that this creates a problem for you, as you aren't a foreign student or of Middle Eastern Descent. As I have heard and read countless times, "If I'm not doing anything wrong, then I've got nothing to worry about."
Fine.
Just remember that your president is above the law.
What if this week's target is all the Muslims in America...or all the Jews...or Gays...or Democrats or Liberals. What about the Socialists? ...Pro-Choice activists...Unitarians...Red Sox Fans...Enya fans...are you still OK with that?
What if this current regime begins to fear those who have had real military experience, and decides to focus on former Marines...some of those Militias in the Northwest...or gun owners in general.
What if somebody in the government wants to know how and where you spend your money...or why you have more money to spend than your tax return shows. What if you are OK with the Feds, but your best friend has some "shady" dealings you may not even know about...if they tap his line, they probably ought to tap yours, right?
What if he decides to "rat" you out to save himself? Will somebody be willing to forward your mail to Gitmo?
Remember, the NSA is not tapping phones and reading e-mail because they are nosey. They are looking to gather "evidence" to build a case...not necessarily one that would hold up in court, but a case just the same.
Could they build one against you? You may not think so, but you really don't know, do you?
Oh, and God help you, if this idea of a Royal Presidency is still in effect when Hillary is elected in '08.
I know, I know, you think that could never happen...but I've got news for you.
Five years ago, I never thought Losing over 3,000 Americans in one terrorist attack could happen. I never expected to lose another 2,000 in the invasion of a country that had nothing to do with that attack, and I never dreamed I would see some of our service men and women torturing prisoners. Above all, I never expected to see a President publicly state he is above the law, and calling the United States Constitution, by some reports, nothing but a "goddam piece of paper".
So who do you think they are monitoring to start with, you or me? Actually, with the technology available, they can probably do us both at the same time (me for writing this and you for reading it!).
Let's hope members of Congress from both Parties wake up and take their "Congressional Oversight" duties seriously, before it's too late.
If it isn't already.

I am really pressed for time so I'll make this short...

Do you ever look at the messages at the top of your blogstream entry? I suspect Blogstream, Inc. gets a small kick back every time you click on one. I couldn't resist clicking on the one that said "Book Bob Wodward". The smaller print is what I really found hilarious; "Current affairs expert, reporter Bob Woodward is a legend whose recent..."(you have to click to read more).
In case the blog adds have changed, you can click here. Notice it says to call for pricing.
If I may paraphrase an old adage; "if you have to ask how much he costs, you probably can't afford him."
In this virtual world, Bob Woodward is standing on a virtual street corner, saying "hay, babeee!, you wanna date?"
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EDIT---I just noticed that everybody's add at the top is different! Perhaps it has to do with what you have been writing about. If this is true, than how do you explain this add at the top of a favorite blog;

Ads by Yahoo!
Hemorrhoid Care
All that you wanted to know about hemorrhoids, but were afraid to ask...
www.hemorrhoidcare.net

So, where do you suppose I found it?