RICHARD FERNANDEZ: Happy Winter Festival.

The effort to erase Christmas will probably fail for no other reason than that it meets a human need that a mechanical bureaucratic day off cannot fulfill.  Humanity needs a time to mark the growth and change in the family, an occasion to renew hopes and put aside fears and a chance to remember something we once knew: that everything’s going to be alright in the end.  It really will.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Read the whole thing. Especially if your name is Neil deGrasse Tyson‏.

A NIGHTMARE FOR THE POLITICAL CLASS: Ladies and Gentlemen, Take Your Places: The global tax race to the bottom is about to begin.

That’s fervently to be wished, and if Trump kicks off a global tax-cutting contest, he’ll be the most libertarian president in my lifetime.

MERRY CHRISTMAS:

Breaking news: @CBSThisMorning asked three families for their tax returns and found that all three would receive tax cuts next year because of the #TaxCutsAndJobsAct. pic.twitter.com/xnGvTgV3bJ

— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) December 22, 2017

AT AMAZON, Hot New Releases, Updated Hourly.

Plus, new Kindle Daily Deals.

And, today’s Digital Deals.

NO CONSEQUENCES FOR JACKIE COAKLEY, WHOSE LIE STARTED THE WHOLE THING; After defeat at 2nd Circuit, Rolling Stone settles lawsuit filed by ex-UVA fraternity members. No terms announced.

I HOPE SO: Is the tide turning against campus suppression of free speech?

DON SURBER: Trump Is Checking Off Hugh Hewitt’s List.

So I was getting dressed this morning and pulled out the next T shirt off the pile. It is a Hugh Hewitt shirt from 15 or so years ago.
On the back, it listed the five things he was calling for Bush to do, as a Conservative president. Things he never did.

Win the war.
Confirm the judges.
Cut the taxes.
Control the spending.
Secure the border.

Well, looks like Trump hit 4 out of 5 in his first year.
Maybe spending next year?
Home run!

We can hope. At any rate, Trump is turning out to be considerably more conservative in office than he ever was as a public figure. And while he’s no libertarian, with his judicial appointments and deregulation, he’s more libertarian than any recent GOP president or nominee.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ENGLAND, FROM THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF GPs! Santa is an overweight binge-drinker at risk of mental health problems, warn doctors.

Bah, humbug.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Trump White House docks UN budget $285M after Jerusalem backlash. “The Trump administration has worked out some ‘historic’ belt-tightening at the United Nations, officials announced Sunday. The UN’s budget has been slashed by more than $285 million, according to Ambassador Nikki Haley, who said the cost cuts gutted the organization’s ‘bloated management.’ On Sunday, Haley said the trimmed-down budget would mean increased discipline and accountability throughout the international organization.”

CHRISTMAS, 2017: Donald and Melania Trump take children’s Santa calls.

CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS FROM PAUL RAHE: Was It “the Word” That Was Made Flesh — Or Something Else?

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Let this be your Christmas morning open thread.

AND JUST REMEMBER “NOT HILLARY”:   On the Twelve Days of Christmas, my Country Gave To Me!

A FORMER REAGAN AND BUSH SPEECHWRITER DELIVERS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE:  My tough childhood taught me the true meaning of Christmas.

OH, GOOD, WE NEEDED MORE “MESSAGE FICTION”:  How ‘Downsizing’ Makes Damon, Climate Change Dull.

BUT RUSSIA!  Trump “colludes” with Ukraine against Russia.

THIS YEAR FROM JERUSALEM:  From Jerusalem, merry Christmas.

EVEN ON CHRISTMAS, THE LEFT IS THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING:  NBC News Thinks Free Speech Should Be Regulated Because Nazis!

YOU CAN’T AFFORD IT:  Inside the glam world of illegal high-stakes poker.

CASSIUS HAS A LEAN AND HUNGRY LOOK – SIRI, GET HIM A PIZZA!  iPhone’s Siri accidentally called upon by theater actor on stage.