In the spirit of Festivus, some grievances...

At Balloon Juice, John Cole -- whom I continue to read and admire despite some occasional disagreements -- directs some year-end, Festivus-style grievances at a cross-spectrum list of targets, including both the Republicans and the Democrats, the Bush Administration, Earth, and "The Torture Advocates".

The torture advocates, in my view, truly deserve it this year. For what? "For taking every opportunity to paint those opposed to state sanctioned torture as little more than terrorist coddlers or people whose position is not one of principle but one of moral preening. You know who you are. You can go to hell."

Allow me to second that. Get going. You've discredited yourselves and your country.

But do the Steelers deserve it? Like John, I'm a life-long Steelers fan -- growing up in Montreal, they were the team I fell in love with, back in the days of Bradshaw, Harris, Swann, Stallworth, and the Steel Curtain. True, they don't have enough of a pass rush, and their defensive backfield is exploitable, and they really don't have a suitable receiver to complement Ward, and Big Ben is battling through injuries, and... Well, let's not give up on them yet. They won't make it to the Super Bowl this year -- they may not even make the playoffs, but Cowher's done another great job and there's a lot to admire even in defeat.

Happy Festivus.

Merry Christmas.

Happy Hanukkah.

And all the rest.