Watcher’s Council Nominations – Christmas Day Edition

Ah, Christmas…a time for warmth and family, as the Dropkick Murphys remind us:

Video: Dropkick Murphys – “The Season’s Upon Us”

No worries Ken..we know you’re just funnin’…

But also, on more serous note, a time for faith:

At this time, our thoughts and prayers need to go out for Christians under siege in the Middle East and elsewhere, where, with the exception of Israel, the one country in the Middle East where the Christian population is actually growing, they are systematically being ethnically cleansed by Muslims.

This shares something with the Holocaust, because once again there is an obscene conspiracy of silence and cowardice by the West to avoid confronting the perpetrators and protecting or at least providing a haven to the victims.For instance, President Obama, who likes to remind us that he is a Christian just sent troops to the new country of South Sudan because of tribal unrest there between the government and a rival tribal faction. He never saw fit to do anything like that to protect these people from assault by the Arab Islamist government of the Sudan and the orgy of rape, torture and murder perpetrated on Black Christians by the Muslim Janjiweed militias in South Sudan and Darfur. Nothing.

At this time of year, I urge all of us to pray for these beleaguered Christians and to raise holy you-know-what to demand that our respective governments to put these Christians’ lives and well being ahead of appeasing Islam. I run a serious risk of operating outside my pay grade here, as our president would say, but I flatter myself in thinking that I think it’s what Jesus would expect… not only of Christians but of all of us.

OK, rant over. Sorry about that.

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and in our second decade the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

Council News:

Today is not only Christmas Day, but additionally special in that it is the birthday of our friend and colleague Dave Schuler, of The Glittering Eye.

Ordinarily, I pick out a cake and some liquid libation for these celebrations, and this is no exception.

German chocolate, I think:

And perhaps chilled Veuve Cliquot to drink…brut, of course.

Dave and I have known each other for some time now. In fact, he predates me on the Council. When I first got the nod from the original Watcher, I replaced a blog called New Sisyphus, if memory serves me, and I remember he wrote something to the effect that he had enjoyed New Sisyphus but was going to wait and see on this Joshuapundit fella. I hope I’ve lived up to his expectations…certainly he’s lived up to mine. I have never ceased to appreciate his wide range of interests, his clarity of thought, his dry sense of humor or the friendship and collegiality we’ve shared.

Many, many happy returns Dave.

This week, Ask Marion , Right Truth, The Independent Sentinel, and The Pirate’s Cove earned honorable mention status.

So, let’s take a look at what we have this week….and our heartfelt wishes to all of you for a joyous and blessed Christmas from the Watcher’s Council:

Council Submissions

The Noisy Room – The Silencing of the Ducks
Liberty’s Spirit – Fat-Shaming, Body Image and a Culture of Dehumanization
The Political Commentator – US Navy and cancer: Fukushima has been extremely hazardous to their health!
Joshuapundit –Crash And Burn – Obama Waives Individual Mandate On ObamaCare
Simply Jews – Sweden’s conflictual relationship with issues of tolerance
GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Killing Our Enemies On Christmas Day Since 1776
The Right Planet – U.S. Army Tells Soldiers Not to Say ‘Christmas’
Bookworm Room – The Obama Christmas card reveals the zero at the center of our government
Nice Deb – Young Invincibles Insulted By ObamaCare Ads (Video)
Rhymes With Right – May I Point Out That Phil Robertson Was Indisputably Right About One Thing?
The Colossus of Rhodey – Comics & Sci-fi Friday
The Razor – Would a Different Software Methodology Have Saved Obamacare?
VA Right! – ‘It’s Christmas in Richmond Tonight’ – New Christmas Song by Tom White
The Glittering Eye – The Too-Long-Deferred Topic of Controlling Healthcare Spending
The Mellow Jihadi – Israel & Iran. Good against Evil…

Honorable Mentions

Ask Marion – Simpler Times, A Groetzmeier Christmas – WoC 2013
The Independent Sentinel – Wow! Susan Rice Doesn’t Have Time For Benghazi, The False Controversy
Right Truth – Lesbian Supervisor Allegedly Fired Male Gym Teacher Because He Was Heterosexual And Married
The Pirate’s Cove – Here’s A Handy Dandy Warmist Survival Guide For Christmas Climate Change Discussions

Non-Council Submissions

Larry Correia/Monster Hunter Nation – Angsty Emo Outrage and Ducks submitted by The Noisy Room
Bret Stephens/WSJ – Of Jane Fonda and Pope Francis submitted by Liberty’s Spirit
Dollar Vigilante – Death, The New retirement For U.S. Citizens submitted by The Political Commentator
Victor Davis Hanson – Pajama Boy Nation submitted by Joshuapundit
Nick Nipclose – Cyber-libertarians for Child Pornography submitted by Simply Jews
Pressure Points – The Un-American Studies Association submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
David J. Shestokas – Courageous NSA Ruling by Judge Leon Respects Privacy and Fourth Amendment submitted by The Right Planet
John O’Sullivan/NRO–The New Blacklist submitted by Bookworm Room
Washington Free Beacon – A Year of Inspiring Democratic Quotes submitted by Nice Deb
Big Jolly Politics – Christopher Busby, HCRP Precinct Chair submitted by Rhymes with Right
Buckhorn Road – Freedom Died On This Day 100 Years Ago submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
The People’s Cube – Duck Dynasty’s Robertson Angers Alcoholics, Philanderers submitted by The Razor
Arnold Kling – Obama Repeals Obamacare submitted by The Glittering Eye
Cato@Liberty – It’s a Very Merry Christmas for Washington Insiders submitted by The Watcher
John Kass/ Chicago Tribune – A Very Kass Christmas Greeting submitted by The Watcher
Adrienne Royer/The Federalist – Why Duck Dynasty Threatens The Left submitted by Watcher