Random

• HOW the Nazis Stole Christmas -- "One of the most surprising aspects of the Nazi hijacking of Christmas is the lack of reaction from the German churches at the time. 'You would have expected them to protest loudly and insist that it was a Christian festival,' says Breuer. 'But instead they largely kept quiet, out of fear.'" ~ link

• PERHAPS the American church has swung to the opposite extreme. We loudly and obnoxiously protest every little thing that rubs us wrong, eroding our credibility in the culture -- and leaving very little energy left over for dealing with the things that count. But at least we feel important as we hear ourselves talk.

• I'M embarrassed by the animosity that many Christians are aiming at President Obama. Now we have this "Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8" venom. If you disagree with the president or if you think he is a schmuck -- that's okay -- you are entitled to an opinion. Think of it as your opportunity to practice radical-graciousness. ~ link

• TIM Stafford: "These are not your enemies" ~ link

• GUARANTEED pastoral appointments may soon be a thing of the past in the United Methodist Church. ~ link

• IN SPITE of my best efforts at personally propping them up, Lowe's third-quarter profit fell 30%. In this area people are reluctant to do improvements on homes that they worry about losing.

• THERE is a crew working on the vacant house across the street. The bank auctioned it off last week. It would be nice to get some new neighbors in there but I suspect that once they replace all the missing pieces and redo the yard, the house will just go back on the market as a flip. That's been the pattern in this area.

• "WORLD'S most annoying cities" ~ link

• HOW is it that so many children are suddenly getting hurt by falling television sets? ~ link

• WILL Google help flatten the legal system and reduce the need for lawyers? ~ link

• GOOGLE Translate just got better. The next step should be to add some truly useful languages like Chuukese, Yapese, Palauan, and Marshallese. ~ link

• PRICE dispute -- Costco says it is going to stop carrying Coke products. I never found Costco to be all that competitive on their soft drink pricing. Perhaps they're trying to address that. ~ link