News Roundup

Well its been a long time since I've done this but here are some stories I've seen today that think are worth reading over lunch.

The traditional yule fear factor, James Lileks talks about how the word Christmas is becoming the un-word for the season. Because other holidays are celebrated at this time of year, stores seem to be reluctant to wish people a Merry Christmas so as not to offend anyone.

This falls under the Oops category. One of the electors from Minnesota made a mistake on their ballot and cast an electoral vote for John Edwards instead of John Kerry. None of the electors admitted to the mistake and once the vote is made, it can't be changed. It will become a footnote in history that John Edwards received 1 electoral vote in the 2004 election. But just think if the election was tied at 269 for Bush and 269 for Kerry. This mistake would have cost Kerry the election.

And finally, an interesting article on ethics.

THIS year witnessed the beginning of an ethical revolution. Voters in Australia and the US overwhelmingly endorsed the proposition that doing good is radically different from feeling good. This U-turn away from sentimentality is also taking hold in Britain.