Gaza, Impeach, Merry Messages, Hitleresque, Nikki Civil, Tennessee 3

  • Frances Langum nominates for Good Guys of the Year the Tennessee Three.
     
    After three adults and three little kids were gunned down in the Covenant School shooting, four legislators were criticized for joining protests on the house floor against gun violence. Of the four, the three Black legislators were expelled. The single White legislator was not. All three of the expelled won the special elections to replace them.
     
    Frances also suggests a loser of the year. I invite readers to guess who, and why it’s Ron DeSantis.
     
  • At The Onion, women explain why they refuse to date fans of Joe Rogan.
     
  • Today’s Good Citizenship Award goes to
    the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame:
     
  • driftglass makes fun of conservative Bret Stephens and his periodic softball conversations with liberal Gail Collins at The New York Times.
     
    Key impatience:
    …Gail Collins is a poor match. Should Stephens opine that, say, it was Liberal swine that ruined Murrica and drove Real Murrica into the arms of Donald Trump, Collins would likely riposte with something like, “Ha ha ha! Agree to disagree, Bret! Let’s move on to…what do you think of the lovely fall foliage!”
     
    Key fantasy:
    That Gail Collins might dare to Remember Stuff Bret Stephens Actually Wrote.
     
    And. y’know, ask him about it.
     
    driftglass has possible samples.
     
  • In Hackwhackers, we lost the great I.F. Stone decades ago, but we still have his insights about news media.
     
  • Grandmother Rachel Powell is being treated unfairly for simply having dissenting political views.


    Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson says maybe not:

  • Those of us who don’t pay that much attention may be reminded that Sam Altman was the guy who ran OpenAI, and who was in, then out, then in, and is now the guy who runs OpenAI
     
    PZ Myers wonders what Altman does exactly and goes the Washington Post to find out.
     
    It seems Mr. Altman has uncanny entrepreneurial energy and force of will.
     
    Thank you, Washington Post.
     
  • ‘What three points do communists and fascists disagree on?’
     
    Libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara takes on this absurdly precise question from Quora and answers with his usual abandon.
     
    Michael shares with many extremists the inability to make ideological distinctions. Here he conflates both extremes with Socialism:
    Communism is international socialism … Fascism is national socialism
     
    And he makes the more common mistake of summarizing Communism as:
    from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
     
    In fact, even the earliest authors of Communist ideology, Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx, explicitly rejected what they saw as bleeding heart Christianity.
     
    In ascribing this according to his need theology to the faith I embrace, they were probably correct: In the Acts of the Apostles, early Christian communities were indeed organized as communes.
     
    Marx made a point of changing the Christian formulation to a different value: to each according to his contribution.
     
    Communists have always rejected the Christian concept of every individual having intrinsic, inalienable value, a concept shared by all mainstream religions, as well as most secularists.
     
    The ideology instead defines human worth as dependent on productivity.
     
    So, my traditional tight fisted conservative friends do have something in common with their harsh Communist brethren.
     
  • Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger takes a look at contrasting plans to fix Social Security. Democrats want to fully fund the program by making contributions from more wealthy Americans at least equal to that of working people. Republicans will instead cut benefits.
     
  • A federal program will provide $40 a month to feed poor kids while school is not in session. Disaffected and it Feels So Good takes us to Iowa, where funds from that program to feed hungry kids will be turned down because the governor is worried that hungry children may become obese.
     
  • Scotties Playtime has the story from here in Missouri, along with the links and reactions, as a school board rescinds a previous resolution against racism and then abolishes Black history classes.
     
    Key reminder to the Francis Howell School Board:
    Racism = Bad
     
  • We do hear, from time to time, the virtue of focusing on what you are for, rather than what you are against.
     
    …focus on positivity and you’ll have better progress with people who disagree with you.
     
    North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz has a problem with the positivity proposition: “It’s simply not true.”.
     
    Key counter objective:
    I want to specifically name the things I find unconscionable, the conduct that turns my stomach, the legislation I abhor, the cruelty I will not abide.
     
  • Julian Sanchez seems skeptical about the just ended War on Christmas.
     

  • Tommy Christopher says we can’t really understand Hanukkah unless we heard it as explained in the 80s by Henry Winkler.
     
  • In The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser, Bruce joins the ranks of atheists who celebrated Christmas.
     
  • @whiskeywhistle98 resorts to the power of prayer, in her own special way:
     
  • In Letters from an American, historian Heather Cox Richardson recounts the profound discouragement (is this hard struggle really worth it?) during the early part of the American Revolution.
     
  • Professor Mike reviews a sad recurring statistical pattern of passion, marriage, and breakup.
     
  • Vagabond Scholar has the annual Jon Swift Roundup, a summary of the best of the best blog posts chosen by fellow bloggers.
     
  • Infidel753 posts 2023’s Best of Infidel. The list turns out to be really, really good.
     
  • M. Bouffant at Web of Evil reacts with some skepticism to the Elon Musk plan of helping us lose weight by inserting his electrodes into our brains.
     
    That’s the problem with the world: no trust.
     
  • In Georgia minor leagues, The Savanna Bananas demonstrate that not every unorthodox pitch works:
     
  • SilverAppleQueen is suffering with ill health, but is helped through it by her cats.
     
    Best wishes for full recovery.
     
  • Mark Waulberg (No, not Mark Wahlberg, the other Mark) brings us accomplished actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who has trouble talking about a commonly recognizable aquatic flightless bird:
     

3 thoughts on “Gaza, Impeach, Merry Messages, Hitleresque, Nikki Civil, Tennessee 3”

  1. what a beautiful soul you are, Burr – your post about your g-ma brought tears to my eyes… wishing you & yours the best for 2024

  2. Happy New Year, Burr!

    I’m glad to see your recovery has reached a point where you are able to produce a complete review as you did before. Congratulations. On to a better year!

    Huzzah!
    Jack

  3. Burr, I’m so glad you’re recovered enough to put this post together, on top of glad for the post itself.

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