Well, the wife and I are off to our annual holiday barbecue, hosted by some friends whose house is way out in the breezy ‘burbs of Highland’s Ranch. I’ll doubtless drink too much. And of course eat too freely from the spread of mayo-glutted “salads” (I’ll never understand how macaroni salad got its name) — but at least I’ll be gorging myself while colorful sparks go popping and streaming overhead…

Brendan O’Neill thinks I pick on him* unfairly in this post, where I react to his mini-disquisition on postmodern morality with a (very) few choice words. Writes O’Neill: Have you ever noticed how some webloggers revert to childish insults and slang talk when taking up people they disagree with? Protein Wisdom, a weblog that looks like it is run by some form of ex-hippy, disagreed with my piece on the

Liberal Lebonese-American gushpuppet and White House correspondent Helen Thomas writes: […] lawmakers are worried that Bush will play the ‘patriot card’ in the November elections to attack dissenters and opponents. The Democratic leaders have already rolled over. They have given him a blank check by passing the USA Patriot Act, which permits outrageous invasions of privacy, and by seconding Bush’s foreign policy with a weak ‘me too.’ Whatever happened to

Happy 226th, ya’ big goofy lug of a country, you! Now go on! Go have some fun! You’ve earned it…! (Just do me a favor and don’t stay out too late, y’hear? You know how much I worry.)

Ugh. Just ugh. Sorry, but you’re on your own explaining this benighted squish, Stanley. [update: Vegard Valberg update the second: Coming from Brendan’s site? See here for a brief response.]