I was originally going to try and solve the world’s problems in this post but decided I don’t feel like it. That’s selfish of me, but what can I say? I’m more of a Scrooge Potter Grinch type than some sort of freaking elf. I’m not big on elves, they can be Hobbit forming…

That leaves me with a helluva post title and a few longer articles that I’d like to steer you toward. We’ll start with the serious one first:

Jeb Bush and the Terry Schiavo Case: Charlie Pierce thought it was an excellent time to post an excerpt from his book Idiot America. Why? Jeb Bush may be running for President and he played a crucial and horrendous role in making a bad situation worse. So much for being a moderate.

Have Yourself a Colonel Sanders Christmas: TPM is branching out into longer feature articles and Molly Osberg’s piece about Christmas in Japan is a doozy. Hint: they think the late chicken mogul Harland Sanders is Father Christmas and that we all eat fried chicken tomorrow.

I must admit to some familiarity with the concept of a Kentucky Christmas but it usually involves Bourbon, not a bucket from the Colonel. I’m strictly a Popeye’s kinda guy.

Young Waif With A Horn: My friend and fellow horrid punster James Karst did some sleuthing recently and learned a secret from Louis Armstrong’s past. I won’t spoil the surprise for you.

Since I’m stupidly proud of this post title, I’ll give Bette Davis as Margot Channing the last word: