November 30th is the last day of the hurricane season and it was rather exciting for those of us who live in the “Sunshine State”. It was above average for the total number of storms and one, Ivan, managed the rare feat of making it to the top of the Saffir-Simpson scale at Category 5, constant wind speed greater than 155 mph. Fortunately it moderated before hitting the land.

Of course the real terror begins after the storm when hundreds of people who can’t tell one end of a screwdriver from the other buy chainsaws and manage to get them started.

They have six months for the physical therapy and wounds to heal before we become Weather Channel junkies again.

It’s time to wait for Grandfather Frost or the Hogfather as the case may be. I know most people fixate on Saint Nicholas, but I think he should have done a bit more than dispense money to prevent a few girls from being sold into slavery by their father to earn his sainthood and general reverence. Of course, being Turkish he won’t be allowed in the US. His sleigh may be the only thing this new “operational” Star Wars defense system can hit.

Upyernoz at Rubber Hose has been on an upward trend as he celebrated his ascension to the minimum age for Presidents, including a spot in the Atrios line-up.

His post on people being arrested for a “protest” at their local mall coincided with an interview on NPR’s Morning Edition [Biography Looks at Creator of the Shopping Mall 11/29/04] with Joshua Olsen the author of Better Places, Better Lives a biography of James Rouse, the creator of the shopping mall.

Mr. Rouse’s vision for malls was to create a town center in the suburbs. He was trying to provide the small town ambiance and convenience for the sprawling bedroom communities springing up around the nation. He included churches in his malls as well as shops and restaurants, and expected that political speeches would take place there. He was building in the 1960’s, so protests were part of the landscape, and he expected them to take place in his “town squares”.

One of the things I have always liked about living in city neighborhoods, and the tiny town I now live in, is the ability to leave my car in the driveway and walk to get what I need for everyday life. That’s how you meet your neighbors and become a community.

I could be snarky and make a comment about Intelligent Design, but I won’t.

The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain
For promis’d joy!

To a Mouse by Robert Burns

Over at Atrios’ place I ran into this post by Hecate featuring a Frank Rich New York Times article.

It would appear that the Religious Reich is rushing to grab as much as they can before they are deemed irrelevant. A decline from 40% of voters in 1996 to 22% in 2004 who put moral values at the top of their concerns does not represent an encouraging trend for the political fortunes of the Apocalypse Posse. Lacking any core values, the Rovian machine will cast off anyone or anything that doesn’t add to its odds of winning elections.

As I doubt there has been that big a shift in belief among Americans, I have to wonder if many religious people are becoming uncomfortable with being lumped in with the “family values” crowd. The majority of good Christians I have met over my life didn’t need to tell anyone about their faith: they simply lived it.