THE FIRST KING-SIZED BED:

Obama doesn't fit....

CHRISTMAS BOOKS: Read while you still can. In both senses of the phrase.

WILL ROBOTS replace surgeons? Once ObamaCare is fully implemented, they may be our only hope....

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR and 'voucherize' Christmas. I like the idea, but it's harder to execute than it sounds.

SOUNDING THE ALARM about the importance of technology and innovation for US competitiveness: thoughts from former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine.

Some tidbits:

China is now graduating more English-speaking engineers than the United States.

The only countries with fewer engineering graduates than the United States include Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroon, Madagascar and Swaziland.

The 35 largest U.S. companies are creating three times more jobs abroad than they are in the United States.

Not a pretty picture, is it?

SINCE WE CAN'T BAN GUNS, let's ban ammunition.

While we're at it, let's also ban non-armor-piercing (e.g., lead) bullets. Face it; if you don't die outright, lead poisoning could kill you later.

WHEN YOU RUN THE NUMBERS, the U.S. already has a flat tax.

Play with the calculator. The value of tax credits (read deductions and loopholes) is stunning.

THEY AREN'T ALONE: House Republicans Lack Faith in Obama Promises of Future Reform.

PRIVATE ENTERPRISE: The Golden Spike Company announced that they have plans to fly manned crews to the moon and back for a price of $1.5 billion per flight by 2020. When you realize that their intended customers are nations (and possibly multi-national corporations), that's probably a fair price.

More here.

MOMENTUM GROWING for a Republican Plan B. Republicans need to (1) let the Democrats pass their 'tax the millionaires and billionaires' proposal; (2) hold them to it when they inevitably seek loopholes for their contributors; and (3) start working (publicly and transparently) on health insurance legislation, medicare/medicaid legislation, social security legislation, immigration legislation, and -- most importantly -- comprehensive tax reform for introduction in the 2015 Congress.