Georgia’s legislators will do plenty of talking about the major issues that confront them during the General Assembly session that kicked off Monday.

When it comes to actually passing legislation that would do something about these issues, however, the odds are much lower that lawmakers’ actions will match their words. You shouldn’t expect to see the passage of many significant bills this year.

A big reason for this is that 2012 is an election year in which the seats of all 236 senators and representatives will be up for grabs.

It’s a tradition for political columnists to close out the year by picking their list of winners and losers for the 12-month period that just ended.

These winners and losers typically are defined by what they did to gain or lose political power. I modified that concept to decide who would be on my list: in Georgia politics, winning and losing usually depends on who ends up with the money.

We put up the same decorations, we sing the same hymns and carols, we even read the same scripture texts at this time of year, but I pray that not every Christmas will be the same.

This year I found myself headed toward Christmas day encountering a number of emotional ups and downs.

With the announcement of the official end to the war in Iraq comes the anticipation of many soldiers returning stateside. Joyful reunion scenes are headed our way, and we will get to see families embrace each other in a classic welcome home.

Climbing up the snowy hilltop towards the North Pole a few weeks ago, I was trying to figure out who I could interview for Christmas this year.

I have gone through most everyone who lives there: Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, some of the elves the year they went on strike, and even some of the other reindeer. Seemed to me there was no one left to talk to, so I thought maybe Santa had an idea.