• The Democrats may have won NY-23 for the first time in over 100 years, but the conservatives still somehow did not lose.
• A panicked (formerly) moderate Mark Kirk of Illinois grovels before the right wing, to think I kind of liked this guy when I met him 8 years back.
• Maybe he should be scared, designated Republican Party buffoon Michael Steele threatens moderates with dire unspecified retribution, and in vintage Steele fashion backtracks.
• John Cole struggles to understand the math of the Republicans and the media pundits.
• Someone in the media finally recognizes the Republican losing streak in special elections.

The Wall Street Journal has an article about deer who will still not cross the formerly fenced and electrified border between Germany and the Czech Republic.  A now abandoned human activity from a generation ago still impacts the migration patterns of today.

Not sure why I looked up the Wikipedia article on Its a Wonderful Life, but I stumbled across this amusing read about the holiday feel good money.  Particularly amusing were the comments about the long term economic prospects of George Bailey’s Bedford Falls and Pottersville, even though the rust belt was probably unimaginable in the 1940s.

The Washington Independent has an interesting read on the emerging right-wing narrative to explain away the embarassing loss in NY-23, particularly amusing since they had convinced themselves that the win was in the bag.

Looks like Italians are outraged about a European court ruling that crucifixes in classrooms of state run secular schools violate the principles of secular education.  Its an extension of the battle not uncommon in the United States, and a symptom of how modern Europe still struggles to integrate immigrants (this claim was brought by a Finnish woman with Italian citizenship).  However, for all the concerns about the assault on cultural heritage only about 23 percent of Italians regularly attend church.  What meaningful purpose the crucifix serves in classrooms is not very clear.

However, this amusing bumper sticker I have seen brings home the futility of any attempt to eliminate prayer from schools:  “So long as there are exams, there will always be prayers in schools.”