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My latest column is now online. Check it out ; the introduction: Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ during the holiday season, but Christmastime has become more than just a Christian holiday. I know many atheists and agnostics that observe Christmas and the "spirit of giving". I think that's wonderful. Giving to the less fortunate is good for society and good for the soul. I do not lament the fact that in some quarters Christ is "missing" in Christmas. Technically, Christ wasn't even born in early winter, but in springtime. That aside, what I wanted to examine this week is our propensity as parents, especially religious parents, though by no means are we alone, to use God or Santa Claus, to manipulate and gain power over the minds of our children.

My latest column is now online . The introduction: I thought I would take this week's column to explore some thoughts and ideas that have been strewing around my mind over the last few months. These thoughts, while seemingly complete, are in constant reflection and refinement. They concern the concepts of "liberty," "freedom," and "power." While liberty and freedom are often used synonymously, I believe there is an important and significant difference. Likewise, power has important significance when contrasted with both liberty and freedom. Let us begin with liberty.

Connor Boyack reminds us about one of the main purposes of the Book of Mormon. Our own governments are surely not excluded from this warning.

Here's an update on this post on my Faith blog: I've been pondering lately the historical meanings of the words "increase," "gain," and "surplus" and am finding it very difficult not to conclude that they mean "income after all paid expenses." It's very likely that tradition has developed in a way that most Saints pay too much in tithing and not enough fast offerings and private giving. I have decided to experiment with the amount I give officially and unofficially in the coming year and to gauge accordingly the consequences.

Christ, the Prince of Peace, taught his disciples to " love thy neighbor "... a virtual impossibility in the statist world  in which we find ourselves. Sure we can offer our neighbors Christian service, but that's just the seen. The unseen is the gun we're pointing at their heads, ready to fire should they choose to dishonor  our  political priorities. My plea: to each his own. Literally.

My kids (3 and 7) know full well that Santa is just pretend. They love him anyway and have fun talking about him (as they do Dora and Spiderman). They know he's the guy who gives them one present at a family party, and that's it. He's still awesome in their minds. Here's a look at the dangerous side of the Santa myth, however.

As of the end of November 2012, 124 libertarian and economics books have been made available in large print at LargePrintLiberty.com . LPL ended the month of October 2012 with 123 offerings. Through the end of November, 358 books sold in the US, Europe, and Great Britain. Murray Rothbard's  For a New Liberty   sold the most at 53 copies; followed by Albert Jay Nock's  Our Enemy, the State  at 29 copies, and Carl Menger's Principles of Economics  at 18 copies. Of the 358 books that have sold, 253 copies went to the US (dollars), 70 copies went to Great Britain (pounds), and 35 copies went to mainland Europe (euros). By far my best month to date. I decided to take another break in November, but by the end of the month I had begun working on regular and large print editions of complete volumes of The Journal of Libertarian Studies . These volumes will represent the first time this journal has ever been published as complete volumes in both regula...