A thousand ways to die... I'd rather fly

Krazy Kristol's reprobationary period at NYT is just about up. The question of the hour, will the NYT do the right thing and take a wrench to that wingnut?

Radley discovers the definition of 'transparency' at the US Treasury Department on the bailout money.

And a handy widget that tracks the modern day mobsters who are spending it.

This reminded me that we used to burn coal to heat our shack cottage on the farm. The ancient coal furnace we had would burn wood as well but it required really short logs and frequent feedings. It wouldn't hold a fire overnight. The coal would last the night but it was much dirtier and if memory serves there was some concern about fumes from coal gas or something. In the end I traded off sleep for peace of mind.

On a brighter note, yet another Christmas miracle story, featuring good hearted cops.

They're now in the voting phase at Poorman for the wingnut awards. Cast your ballots. Fair warning, the nominees are all so 'good' it's a very difficult choice.

And finally, so as not to neglect the continued celebration of Christmas altogether, Santa's other reindeer. The ones nobody talks about.

[Title inspired by this song in my head. H/t for some links to Avedon.][graphic]

[More posts daily at The Detroit News.]