Here is a bailout we could all get behind. In the words of Jonah Goldberg:

But rather than blow money on a lavish reenactment of the New Deal, or continue bailing out undeserving corporations, why not really think outside the box? Rep. Louie Gohmert (R., Texas) suggests an across-the-board reprieve on paying 2008 income taxes. This would leave an extra $1.2 trillion in the hands of Americans, who are the best stewards of their own money. Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Mundell proposes a one-year moratorium on corporate income taxes in order to stimulate investment, job creation and the like. That wouldn’t be as popular, for understandable reasons.

The details can be negotiated, but this sort of approach would certainly create more jobs and spur more consumer demand than paying for a lot of asphalt. It would buy a lot more prosperity than any corporate bailout. Politically, it could buy Obama and Congress a year to formulate a serious tax-reform proposal. And — here’s the amazing part — it would be much cheaper than what we’ve spent already.

Think about that! A tax jubilee would put big chunks of cash back in peoples’ hands. In many cases, it would be enough for a down payment on a house or new car. Or people could save it or pay down debt or invest it. That would bailout the housing industry, the automobile industry, the banks, and the stockmarket. And think what this would do to the national mood.

Barack Obama is promising something dramatic to deal with the economic downturn, so who knows? If he forgave all income taxes for a year, his popularity would be off the charts, even with conservatives.

Do you have any oak trees in your yard? Go out and look on the ground. (We’ll wait.)

Did you see any acorns? “The Washington Post” reports that there aren’t any. Not in the D.C. area, but also not in Pennsylvania or New England. (They don’t have much data from other regions, which is why I am asking you.)

This seems to be true of all varieties of oaks (red, white, etc.). And climate, weather, disease, parasites and other possible suspects don’t seem to explain it. See this.

The article said that when oaks feel threatened, so to speak–as in last year’s drought–they put out a superabundance of acorns so as to keep the species going. Maybe they are all going through a season of celibacy. But why? And how?

The oaks are in no danger, according to the experts, but it is making the squirrels very hungry, which, in turn, is making them act, well, squirrellier.

Now it is Advent and a new church year. This article reports that more and more Christians, including those from non-liturgical, non-church-year-observing churches, are observing Advent. Good for them. Far better than counting down the shopping days until Christmas is studying the prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament, thinking about His second coming, and looking at your life and your need for Jesus.

My Sooners edged Texas in the BCS rankings to win the Big 12 South. They will play Missouri on Saturday for the conference championship and a likely spot in the national championship playoff game. The irony is that Texas dealt Oklahoma its one loss, though the Sooners are playing so well now that they crushed the one team that beat the Longhorns; namely, Texas Tech.

The Sooners won the computer calculations thanks to a 20-point win over nationally-ranked Oklahoma State. That was a hair-raising game and much closer than the score indicates. I admit this only after the BCS votes are in, just in case a BCS voter is reading. Last week I didn’t believe in computer rankings. This week I do.

If it’s any consolation to Texas, if Oklahoma loses to Missouri, the Longhorns could find themselves in the national championship game after all, despite having lost their conference.