A cousin of my mother used to write xmas letters that we'd look forward to every year for the comic effect. She used the word "perfect" a lot when describing what was going on with her family. One of her daughters even had a "perfect divorce."

I have no idea why I just decided to write an Xmas letter. I have no SO, no kids, no pet. No new job...okay, no I have one of those, no life, not much of much. Ah, well.

Bon -- did you see? Ted C has written more about Toothy Tile! And there's going to be a movie called Cockblockers. I'm more than a little disappointed that a Wilson isn't in it.

If they are ugly or not on the honor roll, don't mention them.

Poor Jesse! I thinks you're pretty, even if your parents don't.

Ah well, you're sure to get a mention this year, what with the tv appearance and the hanging out with Warren Buffet.

Bon -- did you see? Ted C has written more about Toothy Tile!

It's getting ridiculous. Since he disclaims 3 new random guys each time in addition to printing letters that have wrong guesses about Toothy Tile...soon it will be statistically impossible for it to be anyone else.

But still. Kind of amazing how utterly open it is now.

Poor Jesse! I thinks you're pretty, even if your parents don't.

Aw, thanks! Honestly, my mother forgot about me in the flurry of weddings.

Argh. Rage. [link] Cheney is requesting the Senate put an exemption for the CIA in an anti-torture bill basically saying "There might come a time when we really, really need to torture somebody. Really." Unbelievable.

You go first, Mr. Vice President.

Cheney is requesting the Senate put an exemption for the CIA in an anti-torture bill

Well, and really. When has the CIA balked at breaking the law in the pursuit of whatever it is they pursue? They don't need an exemption any more than they needed an exemption in all those "It is illegal to overthrow our government" laws in South and Central America.

Also, Dick, honey, where was this lovin' up the CIA back when Tenet was in charge? Don't think those guys don't notice that you blame them whenever something goes wrong.

Cheney is requesting the Senate put an exemption for the CIA in an anti-torture bill basically saying "There might come a time when we really, really need to torture somebody. Really."

I suppose if I ever met him in a dark alley, it'd make a handy excuse to kick him repeatedly in the balls. "It was necessary for national security! Honest!"

The administration (and neoconservatives in general) have been pretty anti-CIA recently, and have sought to take part of the CIA's mission away as punishment for the CIA not producing the intelligence the neocons wanted about Iraq's WMDs or about Soviet military capabilities in the '80s. (The neocons et al were trying to sell the big US arms buildup then, so they wanted the CIA estimates of Soviet military capabilities to be high. It turned out that even without this inflation, the CIA estimates were too high, but the neocons never seemed to like the idea of the CIA producing relatively unbiased intelligence.)