Wow, it seems like this Christmas holiday came and went in a flash. We stayed in town this year, visited our families and had 2 of our best friends come stay with us. Spending time with family is good and we’re both blessed to have ours within a 30min. drive. However, it was the visit from our friends Meg and Rob that really made it special this year. 
Rob turned 40 this year, and we all went out to the Jump Little Children concert at the Dock Street Theatre. It was a blast! Unbeknownst to me (but knowst to everyone else it seems) JLC does this show annually where they go acoustic and are backed by classical strings, piano and percussion. It was really something to see. After the show we went to Rob’s (and our) favorite restaurant, The Mustard Seed. A treat as always! New Year’s Eve was a lot of fun as well. The 4 of us went out and met up with Nan’s brother Ron and his friend Sumita at Charleston Beer Works. When the band got to be more than we could take, we hopped across the street to Raval. (If you haven’t been there you should check it out.) What a fun night! Ah, if only it didn’t have to end.
House trims PATRIOT extension to 1 month
CNN.com – Patriot Act gets one-month extension – Dec 22, 2005
While to many this may seem as though the House is giving the bill less of a chance than the Senate, the truth is more insidious. A one-month extension won’t be enough to effect any real change and the administration will again be able to resume their strong-arm tactics to force a vote on making the current provisions permanent. Sickening.
Senate extends PATRIOT 6 months
CNN.com – Senate gives Patriot Act six more months – Dec 22, 2005
While republicans are declaring victory over this compromise, it is they who caved in fearing the act’s demise. Hopefully this 6-month period will allow adequate time for the act to be reworked into something a little more compatible with the civil liberties gauranteed by the Constitution.