AT AMAZON, deals in Health and Personal Care.

Plus, bestsellers in Industrial and Scientific.

APOLLO 8: Christmas From The Moon.

BBC REPORTING THAT EX-WHAM! SINGER GEORGE MICHAEL IS DEAD AT 53.

RIP; Michael’s elegiac early solo single “Praying for Time” sums up 2016 sadly all too well.

THEY TOLD ME IN THE TRUMP ERA THERE WOULD BE LOTS OF BULLYING, and they were right!

KURT SCHLICHTER IS FEELING THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: A Guide To Giving Your Cats Their Annual Performance Review.

ACTUALLY, YOU COULD JUST GO WITH “IGNORE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY” AND YOU’D BE PRETTY SAFE: Ignore the Archbishop of Canterbury’s ‘negative’ Christmas message, Nigel Farage says.

HOW DID I MISS THIS? China Claims Successful Orbital Test Of Reactionless EM Drive. “We need to view the Chinese doing this in the same light we viewed the Sputnik launch when I was a kid.” Plus: “You’d think one or another of our expensive intelligence agencies would have warned us, or that the White House would have comments.”

Well, okay, I know why I missed it this past week, but I’m surprised it didn’t get enough publicity to be sure I didn’t. Then again. . . .

BIG MACS ARE DELICIOUS AT ANY SOCIOECONOMIC LEVEL: Junk food cravings are triggered by the mere thought of being low class. I like a Bacon McDouble with Big Mac sauce, too. That said, I’m not so sure that this study doesn’t count as junk itself.

WARNING: DIE HARD NOT INCLUDED. Essential Christmas: The 10 Best Holiday Specials and Movies.

THE GRAY LADY WISHES MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MR. AND MRS. TRUMP VOTER AND ALL THE REPUBLICANS AT SEA! NYT Says GOP Stole Supreme Court Seat From Obama:

The New York Times’ Christmas Day editorial tags Senate Republicans for “stealing” a seat on the Supreme Court that should have been filled by President Barack Obama.

The Times accuses Republicans of impugning the institutional integrity of the court by a hyper-partisan charade, arguing the justices derive their legitimacy from their separation from the two political branches of government.

“Mr. McConnell and his allies took a torch to that idea — an outrageous gambit that, to nearly everyone’s shock, has paid off,” the Grey Lady says. “But while Republicans may be celebrating now, the damage they have inflicted on the confirmation process, and on the court as an institution, may be irreversible.”

Actually, the real damage to the Supreme Court nomination process was committed in 1987 when Teddy Kennedy went full Harry Reid on Robert Bork. And Joe Biden – at least in his 1992 incarnation – disagrees with the Times’ premise of a “stolen” Supreme Court seat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1SUn0zTGUQ

(Classical reference in headline.)

WHY ARE DEMOCRAT-RUN CITIES SUCH CESSPITS OF OFFICIAL MISBEHAVIOR AND INCOMPETENCE? Cops Raid Wrong House, Arrest Family, Post Pictures on Snapchat: Merry Christmas from the NYPD.

FLASHBACK TO CHRISTMAS 2014, when the Insta-Dad was well enough to join us:

VIDEO: I Saw Daddy Pat Down Santa Claus (A Very TSA Christmas).

BLUE ON BLUE PINCER MOVEMENT: Islamists Attack Christmas, but Europeans Abolish It.

TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 1326.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Why It’s Not Wrong to Wish Muslims Merry Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS:

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO SEND AN AMAZON GIFT CARD.

Plus, fresh deals on Bestselling Products, updated every day.

Plus, Coupons Galore in Grocery & Gourmet Food.

Also, today’s Kindle Daily Deals.

And, fresh Digital Deals, updated daily.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN is a bit more personal than usual: Finding the good in my dad’s final days.