Althouse: At the Christmas Eve Eve Cafe...

December 23, 2018

At the Christmas Eve Eve Cafe...

... say what you like.

79 comments:

Big Mike said...: House is ready at last -- sort of. If you aren't too careful about how you define "ready." Christmas here we come! Gonna have a houseful.; 12/23/18, 9:04 PM
Birkel said...: Merry Christmas to Althouse, Meade, and the great readers and commenters of this blog.

When next I have an Amazon purchase to make, I will do it through the portal.; 12/23/18, 9:11 PM
chillblaine said...: Gumby's Christmas Boner video is uploading. Why not Cope? Or Copa?

later, sports fans.

Yeti Gets Lit Up El Yeti Viene!

also, I goof on this guy, have you ever heard of Glenn Reynolds? What a doofus. Insta this, insta that. My sweet arse. Ok, this is just me sawing wood and goofin' on Insta poop. ow my head. later sports fans. chek for Gumby later; 12/23/18, 9:36 PM
Marshall Rose said...: Christmas Adam.....; 12/23/18, 9:40 PM
chillblaine said...: please clap for lo, it is Christmas, and Gumby has his Christmas boner.; 12/23/18, 9:42 PM
Flat Tire said...: Merry Christmas to all of you. I don't comment often but I look forward three times a day to reading what you all have to say.; 12/23/18, 9:45 PM
Kathryn51 said...: "Eve Eve" - almost missed it.

Both kids spend Christmas Eve with their new (married/engaged)families, but we have them all day Christmas with their married/engaged SO's. Hubby and I are thinking that we might find time this year to attend late night candlelight service on Christmas Eve.

Does anyone else attend Christmas Eve service or has it fallen out of favor? It was tradition with us until kids went to college - and we had to schedule family time into a handful of days during vacation.

Merry Christmas to Meadehouse and Althouse crowd.; 12/23/18, 10:02 PM
Once written, twice... said...: It is nice that Ann and her Hillbillies now understand that those who opposed the wars in the Middle East were right all along. Maybe you should now apologize to the antiwar activists who knew that these wars were folly.; 12/23/18, 10:21 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: To the House of Meade, the House of Alt, and the House of Crazy aka the commentariat:

the Ingachuck'stoothlessARM crew wish all of you a blessed and safe Christmas, and look forward to a New Year of childlike observations, punditry, and some of
the most exquisite bickering on the web!; 12/23/18, 10:23 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "Does anyone else attend Christmas Eve service or has it fallen out of favor?"

We do, but we're also better than 50/50 re the 52 Sundays.

Anywho, re the point of your question, re the general population: not fallen. I'm sure there will be a lot of once a year folks that will be showing up. As usual.; 12/23/18, 10:26 PM
Drago said...: Once written: "It is nice that Ann and her Hillbillies now understand that those who opposed the wars in the Middle East were right all along."

LOL

They are all complete and utter neo-cons now. Without exception.

Demanding US troops remain in ever greater numbers in more and more locations than ever before with obe primary rule: The US troops must be used in places and ways that do not advantage US strategic interests.

Why?

Because #OrangeManBad

Trump has turned the entire left into imperialist warmongers.

Its hilarious to watch in real time.; 12/23/18, 10:39 PM
narciso said...: Hes like the littlelest reindeer,

They aren't serious as Coulter has put it, the only war the dems support is the one we currently aren't involved in.; 12/23/18, 10:53 PM
Birkel said...: Does opposed the wars in the Middle East include the ones Obama started?; 12/23/18, 11:09 PM
Drago said...: Birkel: "Does opposed the wars in the Middle East include the ones Obama started?"

To even ask is racist.; 12/23/18, 11:19 PM
Mark said...: Good that we here can still celebrate Christmas.

Thing thing though, is this -- more and more in the land where it all began, Christmas (and all of Christianity) is being "ethnically cleansed" from the area. Even in Bethlehem, Christians are a minority oppressed by Muslims.

Christians -- women, children, men -- have in recent years been raped, enslaved, burned, beaten, beheaded, crucified and forced to flee their homes. Things had started to get better. Survivors began to go back to their homes. But now?

Now, once again, we are subjected to people saying, "Screw them. They have nothing to do with us."

There is more to the world, and more to life, however, than your sorry asses. Remember that Monday night and Tuesday.; 12/23/18, 11:20 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "Good that we here can still celebrate Christmas."

I dunno about that, in Madison they're jailing folks who decorate trees in their homes. Maybe your 'here' is not there. In Madison having a nativity in your home gets you the electric chair.; 12/23/18, 11:28 PM
narciso said...: That's Iran and Turkey and Qatar's doing, oddly the left has been whitewashing the formers behavior, denying there are even protests in Iran, deplatforning is a wonderful thing.; 12/23/18, 11:29 PM
narciso said...: Turkey seems underwrite much of the violence in western Syria, yet we've been told for trust their intel.; 12/23/18, 11:31 PM
narciso said...: Not yet under commissary Evers 'the kindest bravest man I ever knew'; 12/23/18, 11:32 PM
M Jordan said...: The Steeler game depressed me and I am forty years away from being depressed at a football game. Just terrible officiating and extremely bad breaks.; 12/23/18, 11:52 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: Just ran across this collection of Santa images from old SF magazine and comic book covers. Some nice ones in there: https://www.tor.com/2012/12/23/changing-depictions-of-santa-claus-in-science-fiction-magazines-and-superhero-comic-book-covers/; 12/24/18, 12:06 AM
Darrell said...: Emshwiller’s cover for that same year for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction features a [NAKED} young girl and a small robot watching a cyborg decorating a Christmas tree.

Christmassy.; 12/24/18, 1:57 AM
chillblaine said...: Video is called, "Plane Spotting." Just a snippie of my life in the flight path.

Plane Spotting Over The Moon in Casa De Oro; 12/24/18, 2:53 AM
chillblaine said...: also the The Worst Story You Will Ever Hear. Potentially.; 12/24/18, 2:55 AM
chillblaine said...: you people need to subscribe orale. so sleepy; 12/24/18, 2:56 AM
traditionalguy said...: In 2010 when I started commenting Jeremy due to a long recovery period , my only argument was that Afghanistan’s terrain was an
Ambush set up where Americans were
supplying live targets to Taliban trainers. And it only had the value of Pelilieu Islamd. Only a fool would stay there. .. or. The Bush Family Heroin impot business.; 12/24/18, 3:06 AM
traditionalguy said...: “Commenting here”.; 12/24/18, 3:08 AM
Darrell said...: Christmas Eve.
Never Christmas Adam.; 12/24/18, 3:25 AM
Birkel said...: Mark's beta test of the newest, bestest talking point was EPIC FAIL.
Sad.; 12/24/18, 4:10 AM
Humperdink said...: M Jordan lamented: "The Steeler game depressed me and I am forty years away from being depressed at a football game. Just terrible officiating and extremely bad breaks."

Add to that the worst in-game coaching in the NFL and you have a monumental loss. This idiot coach could not beat the bottom feeders throughout the season and they are now on the outside looking in. He needs to be McCarthy'd.; 12/24/18, 5:05 AM
rhhardin said...: In NJ when I left Christmas Eve was only the evening, and stores were open normally until then. In Ohio it was the whole day, and stores were closed all day.

I wonder if garbage will be picked up.; 12/24/18, 5:12 AM
America’s Politico said...: Merry Christmas to all.

Remember what I had said before:

Next POTUS: Sanders or Warren
VPOTUS: Kamala Harris or Amy Klobuchar or Cory Booker

The Big WH losers of 2020: Trump/Pence; Kasich; Beto; Gillibrand; Chris Murphy;

Senate Majority Leader: Schumer
Speaker: Pelosi

Historians will say in Nov 2020: Trump put the GOP back for decades. He will go down as America’s worst POTUS.

Trump’s final act: No show at the inauguration which turns out to be the largest ever.

Cheers everyone. Don’t forget.; 12/24/18, 5:57 AM
Marcus said...: Merry Christmas to all!

THEOLDMAN; 12/24/18, 6:02 AM
Humperdink said...: @Rajkumar. Do you want us to "mark your words"? How do we do that? I am not skilled at marking words on the internet. Do we italicize them? How about bold.? Will that work?

Another question. Were you on board with Nate Silver when he assured lefties on election night that Hillary had this in the bag? Or did he mean she was in the bag?; 12/24/18, 6:15 AM
stevew said...: Merry Christmas all, and I do mean all.; 12/24/18, 6:18 AM
iowan2 said...: "Does anyone else attend Christmas Eve service or has it fallen out of favor?"

We attended a Christmas "Eve" Service on Saturday. The 3 O'Clock show. The Church does 11 performances, Our show had about 2500 attendence, and the sanctuary was about 70% full.
One of those Mega Churches. A Very entertaining show, that succeeded in delivering a great message of faith and redemption.
It had everything. Singers, dancers, musicians. Solos, aerial acts, 4 different a capella groups, that ranged from Latin, to Rap. Finale was Little Drummer Boy, that included a drum line descending from the ceiling and playing 15 feet off the stage.
We will do the Christmas Eve Service tonight with the other grandkids family. We must of done something right. We get a personal invite from our kids, to share their Christmas traditions.; 12/24/18, 6:57 AM
Tank said...: We went to a local Celebration of Lights two nights ago. Very nice.; 12/24/18, 7:13 AM
Kevin said...: Historians will say in Nov 2020: Trump put the GOP back for decades. He will go down as America’s worst POTUS.

They said that before he’d been inaugurated.; 12/24/18, 7:19 AM
wild chicken said...: apologize to the antiwar activists who knew that these wars were folly.

I'd admire their perspicuity were they not reflexively against any Republican war.

Me, I fell for that WMD nonsense, engineered by Cheney & Co. Though even at the time I was annoyed at its vagueness.

Who knew it covered everything from atom bombs to an old cannister of mustard gas?; 12/24/18, 7:36 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Merry Christmas to all. Yes, we still go to Xmas eve services, where the kids put on the pageant with animals, shepherds, inn-keepers and Angels. Even though our kids are too old, it's still nice.

Gratitude is the key to life.

Myself, I'm grateful for many things, too numerous to list here. Mostly, I'm grateful for being born healthy in America in the 20th Century.

As for this blog, I'm grateful to Anne & Meade, and all the insightful, humorous and quirky members of the Commentariat.; 12/24/18, 8:00 AM
tcrosse said...: God bless us, every one.; 12/24/18, 8:04 AM
alanc709 said...: Didn't Pres. Clinton claim Saddam had weapons of mass destruction? When you refuse to admit to facts, you admit your bias. Rewriting history doesn't change it. It merely makes your new truth fake.; 12/24/18, 8:07 AM
Howard said...: Happy Christmas to all of you for your time and consideration in this matter.; 12/24/18, 8:08 AM
Humperdink said...: Re: Mattis resigning. The hue and cry by the media and the Deep State over Mattis leaving is having a profound impact on Trump. So much so, that Trump moved up Mattis's departure date from Feb to next week. I love this guy.; 12/24/18, 8:08 AM
Howard said...: ... and tiptoe through the twolips with me; 12/24/18, 8:09 AM
chillblaine said...: Hi, Bay Area Guy! That is a nice sentiment, and I agree with being grateful. For me, being happy means accepting what I got. Later. MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM YETI; 12/24/18, 8:17 AM
chillblaine said...: I don't have any new Christmas content. You will have to settle for the same old crap. Re-setting the garbage.

Inara Poodle Chases An Orange

Devotional To Masaru Emoto

"The Solitary Reaper," by Wordsworth

"Arrival," thematic review

Cope Land, Lush Guest Host

merry christmas to you, family; 12/24/18, 8:23 AM
Hagar said...: The Democratic leadership in Congress meets and decides on a position, someone types up a statement, and Schumer and/or Pelosi with a decorative non-speaking backup crew emerges from the bowels of the Capitol to read the statement to the waiting TV cameras.

I don't think either is capable of handling a face to face debate such as Trump was trying to provoke at their last visit to the oval office; possibly because neither really has a personal political frame of reference, but is only playing Washington "office politics."; 12/24/18, 8:24 AM
Dave Begley said...: Bay Area Guy:

It is Ann. Not Anne.

I make mistakes like that now that I am over 60.

All is Forgiven!; 12/24/18, 8:50 AM
AllenS said...: Wait until you hit 70 Begley, the mistakes come in bunches.; 12/24/18, 8:57 AM
mockturtle said...: Three very exciting football games yesterday. [Go Hawks!] While I agree that the officiating was sketchy, the play by all teams was superb.

BTW, Merry Christmas to all of you! As tcrosse and Tiny Tim hath said: God bless us, every one.; 12/24/18, 9:00 AM
Henry said...: Merry Christmas, all.; 12/24/18, 9:22 AM
narciso said...: Of course there were wmds, otherwise the times wouldn't have made all that fuss some years ago.; 12/24/18, 9:27 AM
buster said...: Merry Christmas to all, especially Althouse and Meade.; 12/24/18, 9:29 AM
chillblaine said...: Yeti Post Game Interview, featuring Yeti sponsor Cope Fitness Hydration.; 12/24/18, 9:35 AM
chillblaine said...: Dangit that is my Lush segment. Guest host the Lush. Ok, sorrrryyyyy.

Here it is. Yeti Post Game Interview.; 12/24/18, 9:36 AM
J. Farmer said...: @wild chicken:

I'd admire their perspicuity were they not reflexively against any Republican war.

First, a pedantic point. The word you're thinking of is perspicacity (insight), not perspicuity (clearness). In any event, it is a cliche to assume that antiwar means on the left or anti-Republican. Certainly such a faction exists, but factions exist in all activist circles. Pat Buchanan and Taki Theodoracopulos (of Taki's Mag fame) founded The American Conservative in 2002 specifically as an outlet for conservative antiwar voices. When I first started commenting here and making antiwar arguments I was incessantly called a "leftist" (as if that was even a response to my arguments) despite the fact that my politics are what ended up being labeled "alt-right" in the era of Trump.

I think the obsession with partisanship obscures the fact that Republicans and Democrats are merely wings of a unified corporatist party. Consider all the caterwauling we heard from partisan voices about Clinton, Bush II, and Obama. And yet all three presidencies gave us more globalization, more war, and more immigration. 'Invade the world, invite the world," as Steve Sailer puts it.; 12/24/18, 9:37 AM
narciso said...: Merry Christmas all.; 12/24/18, 9:38 AM
J. Farmer said...: And now that I've gotten that out of the way...

I'm heading out to Colorado with the family for Christmas and New Year's and am going to terribly miss my usually balmy Florida Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all. I hope you have a day filled with love, laughter, and joy with family, friends, and loved ones.

To those who vehemently disagree with me, thanks for the pusbhack. For those who have had my back, thanks for the support. To my buddy Birkel, who can push my buttons like no other on this site, thanks for the sparring.

And of course lastly to our gracious host, Ann. Merry Christmas to you, Meade, and the family. May the best of your past be the worst of your future.

Cheers!; 12/24/18, 9:42 AM
Anonymous said...: Kathryn51: Does anyone else attend Christmas Eve service or has it fallen out of favor? It was tradition with us until kids went to college - and we had to schedule family time into a handful of days during vacation.

The tradition in my family was for all but the small children to attend midnight mass, upon return from which the children were awakened, presents were opened, and then an elegantly-dressed crowd of friends and neighbors would start pouring in for a celebratory wee-hours party, eating, drinking, and sometimes even dancing in the tiny space available in the family room. To a small child, those were magical hours, ones you were never otherwise awake for, outside of ordinary time.

Of course as children we pooped out and straggled back to bed well before dawn signaled the adult departure. We woke up to the other magical time, Christmas morning, entirely different in feeling from the dark hours' magic - always a state of brightness and serenity, regardless of the weather.

Alas, I have not maintained that tradition over the years. Partying all night after midnight Christmas services doesn't seem to ever have been the done thing where I live now.; 12/24/18, 9:51 AM
Rusty said...: Merry Christmas all.; 12/24/18, 10:11 AM
mockturtle said...: I think the obsession with partisanship obscures the fact that Republicans and Democrats are merely wings of a unified corporatist party. Consider all the caterwauling we heard from partisan voices about Clinton, Bush II, and Obama. And yet all three presidencies gave us more globalization, more war, and more immigration. 'Invade the world, invite the world," as Steve Sailer puts it.

Aptly stated, Farmer. And have a very Merry Christmas!; 12/24/18, 10:30 AM
mockturtle said...: My family, both my birth family and later family, opened one present on Christmas Eve but waited for Christmas morning for the stockings and the rest. Christmas was very special for children and for parents of children.; 12/24/18, 10:34 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: narciso 9:27... +100. Tuned in to NPR by accident this A.M. to hear how Trump is hobbling OUR ability to fight wars in the middle east. Hearing these dems flippin the narrative around like a duck's ass in a windstorm is most entertaining. Two things to like about 'em... their faces!
Merry Christmas and as Sgt Esterhaus used to say... "lets be careful out there".; 12/24/18, 10:39 AM
mockturtle said...: BTW, Farmer, I am not 'anti-war', per se. In fact, the study of war and wars fascinates me and I am in no way opposed to a war worth fighting if we are 'in it to win it'. Our very freedoms, after all, were won by the willingness to shed blood and I consider a strong military essential to retain those freedoms. But it has become evident that the current enemies of our freedom are in our midst and in charge of our media.; 12/24/18, 10:39 AM
walter said...: "Why did Santa Claus become so popular? We tell the remarkable true story of his birth to find the answer. Listen here":
https://redpilledamerica.com/blog/demo-home/episode-9/; 12/24/18, 10:42 AM
J. Farmer said...: @mockturtle:

BTW, Farmer, I am not 'anti-war', per se.

I actually try to avoid the word "antiwar," because it tends to lead down a dead end of debating pacifism, which very few people actually believe in. I don't. I prefer to use the term anti-interventionism. The "antiwar voices" I was referencing were anti a specific war (Iraq), not anti all wars. The last US war I probably could have been persuaded to defend was the First Gulf War, though I was in elementary school at the time. Subsequent wars in the Balkans and the Middle East have only ever been tangentially (if at all) related to US security interests.; 12/24/18, 10:51 AM
walter said...: Reverend Al Sharpton
‏Verified account @TheRevAl
18h18 hours ago

Closing out #PoliticsNation talking about the need for sustained indignation despite all that we continue to face in this country.
--
ESL poster boy.; 12/24/18, 11:42 AM
Humperdink said...: "Resist we much." The Most High Reverend Al (Feb 3,2017); 12/24/18, 12:03 PM
rehajm said...: Sharpton’s sentence doesn’t mean what he meant. Who is trying to stiffle their indignation?

He owes Tawana Brawley everything he has.; 12/24/18, 12:16 PM
wildswan said...: My family, strewn across the world, will be going to church for hours at "midnight" and on Christmas day due to varying time zones and praying for peace and reconciliation.
And to all my digital companions, virtual yet real, as tcrosse and Tiny Tim hath said: God bless us all, every one.; 12/24/18, 1:13 PM
Narayanan said...: @mockturtle:, Farmer

Here's some history about wars USA start or get into but didn't intend to win, cuz reasons bipartisan.

http://www.claremont.org/crb/article/the-tipping-point/; 12/24/18, 2:05 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Narayanan Subramanian:

There is a lot in this article I agree with and a lot I disagree with. Take the Korean conflict, for example. While it technically ended an armistice, for all intents and purposes, the US did win that war. The North was repelled from the South and South Korea's development preceded on a non-communist past.

The article also states, "Since then [Korean War], the U.S. government has won no wars." I would say that the First Gulf War was a clear win. Saddam was expelled from Kuwait, and that was the objective of the war.; 12/24/18, 2:45 PM
Birkel said...: Enjoy your safe travels, J Farmer.; 12/24/18, 2:46 PM
Jim at said...: Who knew it covered everything from atom bombs to an old cannister of mustard gas?

The entire Clinton Administration from 1993 to 2001? Because that's what they told us time and again.; 12/24/18, 3:31 PM
wwww said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/24/18, 4:36 PM
walter said...: Durbin wants another 6 yrs!; 12/24/18, 10:04 PM
Gospace said...: wild chicken said...

Who knew it covered everything from atom bombs to an old cannister of mustard gas?

Oh, for starters, everyone who has ever served in the military. Most of their families. Probably everyone who knows that assault weapons are fully automatic weapons, not AR-15s or other semi-automatic rifles, no matter how scary they look.

Anyone who's typed WMD into google and viewed this: A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to human-made structures (e.g., buildings), natural structures (e.g., mountains), or the biosphere.

Or to put another way- anyone who isn't ignorant of the subject. And, BTW, factcheck lies about WMDs in Iraq. A significant number were found. But in general the media tries to downplay it, insisting that Bush lied! People died! My eldest was over there. He saw some of them. There seems to be a lot of deliberate disinformation about WMDs in Iraq. Then there's the other thing. Post war briefings of of senior officers of the Iraqi divisions revealed that each and every division commander knew the divisions on either side of him had them- but his division wasn't trusted with them.; 12/25/18, 1:02 AM
Andrew said...: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:11.
Merry Christmas, to our host, and all commenters!
https://youtu.be/LDPwNPAV6tA; 12/25/18, 7:13 AM