Republican Ed Hamilton is running for Kerr County Treasurer with only one objective: To get rid of the position. He promises that if he’s elected, he will not do the job, and will not accept the pay.

Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ – or not, if you so choose. But thank God I live in a country where the choice to do so is protected by its constitution. The Constitution also protects my choice to express how I feel about my country; allowing me to either fly the American flag from my front porch, or burn it in protest. And thank God I live in a country with such economic freedom, where - in case of an emergency - I can purchase soy eggnog and ground nutmeg at 3 o’clock in the morning.

Dear Mr. President,

How are you? I hope things are going well. I enjoyed your pardoning of the turkeys during Thanksgiving. It really gave me a chuckle when that one turkey interrupted your speech. Good times.

House Democrats will begin chatting up the House Republicans today to gain a two-thirds majority to override President Bush’s veto of the SCHIP bill, which would increase funding for CHIP by $35 Billion over the next five years. Congressmen and women, start your schmoozing!

This bill seeks to bring more healthcare coverage for approximately 10 million American children, whose families do not qualify for Medicare, but are unable to afford private insurance coverage.

I hope everyone took the day off yesterday – you deserve it. Especially when you consider the latest report from the International Labor Organization that finds the United States workforce was the most productive in the world in 2006.

On Sunday night during the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, Pearl Jam took the stage and began their performance one of their hit songs, “Daughter”. During an improvisation of the song, the band’s lead singer, Eddie Vedder, a famous opponent to the war in Iraq, expressed his unhappiness with the Bush administration. But for those of us listening to the show via AT&T’s Blue Room website, we didn’t hear a thing.

Did you ever see that movie Love, Actually where England’s Prime Minister, played by Hugh Grant, tells the President that Britain would no longer stand for being bullied by the policies of the United States? It kind of went like that Monday between President Bush and Gordon Brown at Camp David.

Not surprisingly, the Illegal Immigration Ordinance passed by the city of Farmers Branch in the May elections has been blocked by a federal court. Now it is a race of time to see who comes out on top in defending the United States against illegal immigrants: the federal government or cities like Farmers Branch who are willing to do the dirty work on their own.

The citizens of the city of Farmers Branch, Texas have become further divided on the issue of illegal immigration. Flyers and yard signs are doing most of the talking as the May 12 election on the proposed illegal immigration reform draws closer.