I'm not a Christian, but I'm certainly not offended when someone wishes me a Merry Christmas, and while blogging will be light for the next couple days, I'd like to wish all my Christian readers the merriest one yet.

There has never been a Christmas when the world is at peace, and this year is problematic, but it was one in which Afghan women who used to be beaten or worse for appearing in public with too much face exposed, and without their men, just voted in an election, casting many of their votes for other women. It is one in which the Iraqi people, despite the totalitarian scum who continue to murder them indiscriminately, continue to register to vote in their own upcoming elections.

Sadly, it is also one in which thousands continue to be murdered and raped, in never-ending wars in Africa, and the traffic in human slavery continues unabated. But as I said, these things have been going on since time immemorial, and if there's more of it now, it's only because there are more humans than ever before--not because humans are becoming worse.

Despite that, in many ways, for many millions of people, things are better on this planet than they've ever been, and with diligence and courage, we can continue to spread the zone in which people can celebrate Christmas, and other holidays of this solstice season, free from fear and want.

Rand,

We have a lot to be thankful for.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Merry Christmas from one non-Christian to another!

Is America great or what? :-D

Merry Christmas all.

Merry Christmas too Rand! We ended up getting our best Christmas Present about a week and a half early this time around:

http://masten-space.com/blog/index.php?p=35

Oh, and have a Happy New Year too.

A Very Merry Christmas to you and yours, from one who no longer calls himself a Christian!

Happy Holidays too all!!

Hoping we have a better world and more free people in it this time next year.

Thank you Rand for giving us this forum to speak our minds, and learn from one another.

No one ever does a bad deed by giving an access to information to the uninformed, or correct information to the misinformed. Hopefully we are doing that for each other here.

Merry Christmas to all who write and speak there minds here. Whether I have agreed or disagreed with you, may we meet again here soon.

Happy New Year too!!

Happy Christmas to you Rand. I agree with your sentiments 100 pct. Yes, there are wars, natural disasters (such as the current tsunami in the Indian Ocean), but also much to be thankful for, in terms of the tremendous gains in medical science.

I also hope that 2005 will see more tremendous gains on the commercial space front, following the wonderful X-Prize achievements of Bert Rutan. That man's courage and vision provided what for me was the most inspiring story of the past 12 months. We need more Rutans!

God bless you Rand and your family.