The War Season
I don't like the Christmas Wars. Actually, it's more accurate to say that I don't like to stoop into the muck to fight them. But I'm glad some people out there are doing the dirty work, like the American Family Association, which says these retailers eschew the word "Christmas": Barnes & Noble, CVS Pharmacy, Office Depot, Radio Shack, Staples, SUPERVALU, and Victoria's Secret (that last one is a shocker!). I won't make it a point to stay away from those retailers, but given other options, I'll shop at the other guy. * * * * * * * Amazon, by the way, is Christmas friendly, says the AFA. And so am I, so please use the button in the upper-righthand corner when going to Amazon. * * * * * * * I posted Gonzalo Lira's comment last week that Spain will be the one that sends Europe crumbling. If you need MSM corroboration for those kind of fringe predictions, here's MSNBC. * * * * * * * I like MSM corroboration, but why? Pretty much everyone has been wrong about the economy. The only ones that have been correct all along? They're all on the fringe. It doesn't mean the fringe will continue to be correct, but as long as the MSM spouts off the same inside-the-box vision, I don't need MSM corroboration. * * * * * * * The hospitality season is upon us, so how fortuitous that I ran across this passage in Oppenheimer's The State: "The custom of hospitality [in ancient times] results from two causes, curiosity for news from the stranger from afar, and still more, the fear that the stranger may be endowed with powers of sorcery, imputed to him just because he is a stranger." After a few beers tomorrow night, I'll probably start feeling like a sorcerer. Or at least stranger.
