I am always amazed that so many people care about the religious views of Americans. The most pernicious types on this are the Jon Meacham-types - who try to make a virtue of the "deep faith" of Americans - he's made a good living writing about it. But then there are the other types who try to prove how "broadminded" these religious types are. Charles Blow is one of those:

In June, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a controversial survey in which 70 percent of Americans said that they believed religions other than theirs could lead to eternal life. This threw evangelicals into a tizzy. After all, the Bible makes it clear that heaven is a velvet-roped V.I.P. area reserved for Christians. Jesus said so: “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” But the survey suggested that Americans just weren’t buying that.

That's nice and all, but who really cares? Let people believe what they want to believe. So long as these religious beliefs are not dictating to others. There is a certain danger in caring about the religious views of Americans - it makes it a part of our public political life. Me, I am more interested in what the Founding Fathers thought about the mixing of religion in public politics - "Congress shall make no Law . . ." After that, my interest wanes. I do not care what percentage of American Christians think I am going to burn in hell. So long as they do not bother me here on Earth, I am good to go.

Speaking for me only

There are new details the the drug case of Sherry Johnston, the mother of future Palin son-in-law Levi Johnston, who was arrested on oxycontin-related charges last week.

The police busted a couple of her associates, turned them into snitches, wired them, and taped her allegedly engaging in oxycontin transactions:

She allegedly sold OxyContin tablets to the informants on three occasions this fall, the affidavit states. Police said two of the meetings were recorded by a hidden camera and a microphone.

The affidavit that has now been released says they sat on the search warrant due to Sarah Palin's candidacy and secret service protection:

Authorities say the case against Sherry Johnston began in the second week of September, when drug investigators intercepted a package containing 179 OxyContin pills. That led to the arrest of the suspects, who agreed to be informants. [More...]

What do people do the day after Christmas? Shop, eat, clean, work?

Here's an open thread to discuss whatever topic you find of interest today, from what's in the news to the holidays and anything else.

Six year old JonBenet Ramsey was killed on Dec. 26, 1996. She'd be 18 today. Her parents, who were mercilessly vilified in the media and the victims of the most obsessive, unfair tarring I can ever recall, were finally absolved by the current D.A this year.

Now, Boulder is getting a new D.A. (Colorado has term limits on district attorneys) and he's promising to re-evaluate what to do with the case, perhaps sending it back to the police.

What to do with it? Close it. Get over it. The Boulder police will forever be tarnished by their handling of the case, there's no reason to give them another chance. Absent a DNA match or a valid confession, it's history.

Boulder has had a rapist/attacker running around for weeks. [More...]

What will the CIA do to win friends among the Afghans? The Washington Post reports almost anything -- including handing out little blue pills to help the warlords with "sagging libidos."

Officials say these inducements are necessary in Afghanistan, a country where warlords and tribal leaders expect to be paid for their cooperation, and where, for some, switching sides can be as easy as changing tunics. If the Americans don't offer incentives, there are others who will, including Taliban commanders, drug dealers and even Iranian agents in the region.

The usual bribes of choice -- cash and weapons -- aren't always the best options, Afghanistan veterans say. Guns too often fall into the wrong hands, they say, and showy gifts such as money, jewelry and cars tend to draw unwanted attention.

What's next? Stress relievers, anti-depressants, "pep pills", Ambien?

For a variety of reasons, there has been little holiday spirit in my house since Sunday. I'd rather not mention why for a few days as it's sad news.

For Xmas Eve, the TL kid and I made a great lasagna from scratch, which we drank first with gin and tonics, followed by a red Shiraz, as we watched Outsourced. He liked "Burn after Reading" much more than I did, but he also liked "Outsourced" (which I really liked.) It was midnight by the time we finished, and we called it a night. We also made a lot of bacon and egg sandwiches. And put out fancy cheeses and flatbread. For desert: Home baked chocolate chip cookies with Pistachio Gelato.

Now that it's late and time for bed, I'm going to mix up one of Hunter Thompson and Anita's favorite drinks, "the bif", a shot of Chivas Scotch filled partially with Bailey's Irish Cream. No sleeping pill needed after that.

Am I the only one glad this holiday is over?

Did anyone else spend the holiday watching movies? I did -- but on my blue ray player, not in theaters. Among those I'd recommend:

• For "thrillers": TransSiberian (the most intense movie I've seen this year) and Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, about WWII and Shanghai.
• For comedy: Outsourced
• Indies: Broken English

I also saw Mama Mia, but I must not have been in the mood as my mind wandered and it was way too energetic and cheerful. Meryl Streep was great though. I also was very lukewarm on Burn After Reading.

What did you watch this holiday? Did anyone see Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Doubt or Valkyrie? [More...]

A moving video I hope everyone can connect with. [Through Playing for Change, a movement to connect the world through music. ]

Harold Pinter has passed away:

Harold Pinter, the British playwright whose gifts for finding the ominous in the everyday and the noise within silence made him the most influential and imitated dramatist of his generation, died on Wednesday. He was 78 and lived in London. The cause was cancer, his wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, said on Thursday.

. . . In more than 30 plays — written between 1957 and 2000 and including masterworks like “The Birthday Party,” “The Caretaker,” “The Homecoming” and “Betrayal” — Mr. Pinter captured the anxiety and ambiguity of life in the second half of the 20th century with terse, hypnotic dialogue filled with gaping pauses and the prospect of imminent violence.

RIP, Harold Pinter.

Merry Christmas everyone.

This is an Open Thread.

If you're in a reading rather than listening mode, here's an old favorite, from The Onion, How the Weed Delivery Guy Saved Christmas.

Happy Holidays to all our readers and visitors, from all of us here at TalkLeft. I'll be back to blogging in a day or so.

Update: The Toussie pardon has been withdrawn “based on information that has subsequently come to light.” The "information" that escaped the notice of Fred Fielding appears to be the bad publicity generated by pardoning the son of a GOP donor without awaiting the outcome of the Justice Department's customary review.

original post: Our unusually unforgiving president issued a miserly 19 holiday pardons yesterday, including one given posthumously. More usefully, President Bush "commuted the life sentence of a convicted methamphetamine dealer in Iowa."

Bush has granted 190 pardons and nine commutations so far, less than half the number granted by Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, the other most recent two-term presidents.

Missing from the pardon list (so far): Scooter Libby's full pardon, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, the president himself ...

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