Families in our neighborhood exchange simple gifts of cookies, cake, candy, and nuts. Jennifer and Charlie Cline sent us a plate of very creative home-made goodies including the mice shown above. The bodies are chocolate-dipped cherries, the heads are Hershey Kisses, the ears are almond slivers, and the eyes are dots of white chocolate. Their daughter Allison and son Andrew helped make them.

We wish them and you Merry Christmas!

December 21 brings several treats this year, there will be the Winter Solstice, a full moon, and if you are in the right spot there will be a lunar eclipse in the early morning hours.

At 6:38 a.m. winter begins when the Earth is at its closest to the Sun. This may seem odd but it’s true for the northern hemisphere. We feel cold because the Earth’s axis is tilted away from the sun on that date by about 26°. Since Michigan is near 45° north latitude we are half way between the Equator and the North Pole. The sun will be at its most southern arch from east to west.

The Winter Solstice has been celebrated in northern Europe for the last two millennia as a time for celebration and good cheer because the days will get longer after that. This often included a Yule log to keep the hearth going for twelve days, mistletoe, holly, decorating a tree, games, a feast, and lots to drink to keep warm. When Christianity got to those cold and gloomy winters, the Church picked up on the idea and let the pagans keep their holiday. Christmas was not normally observed until Pope Gregory declared December 25 a date on the church’s calendar.

December 21 is also the date for a full moon. This hasn’t happened since 1999 and won’t occur again until 2094.

That this date will also include a lunar eclipse is also quite rare. The Earth will pass between the sun and the full moon a little after 1:30 a.m. and will reach a complete blackout after 3 a.m. if the sky where you live is clear. If you witness it don’t wake me: I’ll take your word for it.

If you make over $250,000 a year and have a net worth of $2 million or more, don’t read any further. The GOtP is doing just what you want.

The lame duck session of congress now drawing to its conclusion has pointed out what the incoming Republicans are really interested in: keeping the rich wealthy and limiting the president to one term. They held middle class Americans and the unemployed hostage until the tax break including those identified in the first sentence was safe. They also insisted on a very expensive inheritance tax limit that affects just a very few families.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the median income for Michigan in 2008-2009 was $47,797.

The diagram above, for 2005, shows that only two percent of U.S. households made more than the magic $250,000. It also reflects how much skewed income is: the median in that year was around $46 thousand. Twenty percent of households made less than about $19 thousand.

During the 2010 campaign, Republicans gulled the single issue folks (immigrants, evolution, gays, left handed people, et cetera) by including fiery phrases by the right-wing media to insure they would vote them into power. Once elected, however, the real issues were addressed. The Republicans want to insure that the high dollar donations to their efforts continue; many of them are on the same team and don’t really care about the other 98%.

As I have said before, the Democrats contributed to this mess. Only about 43% of the electorate showed up to vote. Now the ultra-left is pounding Obama for his compromise on tax relief, the only way to help the unemployed and delay the day when taxes, inevitably, must go up.

Sound-Off has had several mentions of finding a Christmas tree with a hole drilled in the butt. A lot of people bought the funny looking base with three legs and a spike and a green plastic container for the water. I know we did many years ago and found the tree stands straighter and lasts longer than the traditional green and red tripod with the saucer base.

Be of good cheer! Steve and Laura Allen sell the trees from their lot on Picard between Doozy's and the Red Bird pet and garden shop. I don't usually put commercial ads in my blog, but this fills a community need: Merry Christmas!

In the latest international exam, Program for International Student Assessment, American teen agers fell into the middle of the pack in science, mathematics, and reading. Randomly selected 15-year-old students from 60 countries competed in a well designed standard test.

Extrapolating, one in five U.S. teen-agers cannot accomplish low-level reading tasks. Six other countries improved their standing above the U.S.: Finland, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Slovenia.

One in four cannot apply mathematics to such efforts as balancing a checkbook. Mathematics is the area in which this country slipped most, the test scores being nine points lower than the average for the 60 countries.

Performance in science has not appreciated measurably since the previous exam three years ago. Twelve other countries had better averages.

Most disturbing was the supremacy of China in all three areas of the exam. It was the first time children from the mainland participated. Yes, China hand-picked the students to take the test, but the improvements in Shanghai’s school system in the last several years will spread to more Chinese schools in the future.

The United States is falling behind in many areas and it is time to address the inadequacies in the K-12 systems in Michigan.