MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

Here's to hoping you have a warm, wonderful Christmas with friends and family.

His Finest Hour?

Danny Bonaduce starred in one of my favorite shows as a kid, The Partridge Family. More recently, he starred in a reality TV series on VH1 entitled Breaking Bonaduce--a "celebreality" show that chronicles his adult/family life (admitedly, it's pretty hard to watch this trainwreck). Today, Danny stars in this YouTube clip, which is, arguably, his best work to date.

An Honest Confession by an American Coward

Pat Conroy:

I looked for some conclusion, a summation of this trip to my teammate's house. I wanted to come to the single right thing, a true thing that I may not like but that I could live with. After hearing Al Kroboth's story of his walk across Vietnam and his brutal imprisonment in the North, I found myself passing harrowing, remorseless judgment on myself. I had not turned out to be the man I had once envisioned myself to be. I thought I would be the kind of man that America could point to and say, "There. That's the guy. That's the one who got it right. The whole package. The one I can depend on."

It had never once occurred to me that I would find myself in the position I did on that night in Al Kroboth's house in Roselle, New Jersey: an American coward spending the night with an American hero.

The Real Reason to Fear a Second 9/11

Here is a somewhat lenghty and sobering post discussing what's at stake for the world if the conflict with Islamic terrorism cannot be resolved.

This post helps to explain Muslim's outrage against the United States, and the West in general.

I hate to post about something so horrific during the holidays, but this is about the lowest form of human depravity imaginable.

A Little Laker Love

Yesterday was fun, but crazy. Little Man had two All-Star soccer games (his team tied both) and then we had the chance to meet Luke Walton, starting forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, at a local mattress store. We waited in line for over an hour (it moved excruciatingly slowly). But it was really cool to meet Luke. I told him how great it was as a fan to see him take his game to a higher level this year. He appreciated that. We also chatted a bit about the game the night before--a harrowing double overtime win over the Houston Rockets.

Christian loved meeting Luke. He especially liked it when Luke gave him a high-five while telling him his feauxhawk hairstyle was cool.

We brought an unwrapped gift for charity which, to our surprise, automatically entered us into a raffle for a signed Laker jersey. We missed winning the jersey by just 4 digits. Bummer. No big deal, though. We were happy that Christian got his jersey and basketball signed.

Victor Davis Hanson thinks things are coming to a head.

A Gift From The Heartland

Congress is considering a bill that would honor an Iowa farm boy who, over the course of his professional life, is said to have saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived, including more lives in the Islamic world than any other human being in history. This bill, if passed, would confer upon Dr. Norman Borlaug, the Congressional Gold Medal, our nation's highest civilian honor.

I certainly hope they bestow this honor on a deserving man.

hat tip: Instapundit