- @whiskeywhistle98 has a final word on the year 2023:
- At The Moderate Voice, retired U.S. Air Force Major Dorian bids a fond farewell to the best and worst of the bygone year.
- In Letters from an American, historian Heather Cox Richardson emphasizes the departure by the Biden administration from past economic doctrine with surprising results in 2023.
Key support for infrastructure:
This was a dramatic shift from the previous 40 years of U.S. policy, when lawmakers maintained that slashing the government would stimulate economic growth, and pundits widely predicted that the Democrats’ policies would create a recession.
Key evaluation:
Heather Long of the Washington Post said yesterday there was only one word for the U.S. economy in 2023, and that word is “miracle.”
- Infidel753 has a radical suggestion: The progressive wing of the Democratic party might want to listen to voters.
- M. Bouffant at Web of Evil has links to stories of many thousands of documented deaths linked to COVID advice from mr Trump and those of like mind.
To mr Trump:
Thank you sir. And I say that with tears in my eyes.
- News Corpse looks into a new Trump announcement proving he really won the 2020 election:
I am pleased to share a Report that is fully verified […] and compiled by the most highly qualified Election Experts in the Country.
The report names no experts and is a rehash of unverified accusations that have long been disproven.
- Iron Knee at Political Irony gets irritated with word mincing hypocrisy about Trump, Insurrection, and lock-em-up.
- Vixen Strangely at Strangely Blogged suggests what might have caused so many insurrectionists to have thought there was nothing the government would do to the 1/6 rioters, and what that has to do with the 14th Amendment, as well as Executive Immunity.
Key accountability:
That’s why we need to keep the pilot light of freedom lit for this crass moral infant, Donald Trump, who has been touching stoves his whole life and not finding them hot enough to stop reaching over and over again.
- Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger asks if keeping Trump off the ballot is anti‑democratic, and makes the case for No!
- Tommy Christopher brings us the latest logic from Trump attorney Alina Habba. Seems Trump appointed judges are biased against Trump.
Logic seems to be this:
Trump lawyers have to up their game, contriving especially shiny bright incandescently brilliant arguments because judges, including some Supreme Court Justices, who were appointed by him are biased against him because they want to appear unbiased and are frightened right down to their socks that any ruling in Trump’s favor will seem biased because he appointed them, so they are biased against him, even though they want to rule for him.
Or something.
- Update: (Law? Who said anything about law?):
Habba: I think it should be a slam dunk in the supreme court. I have faith in them. You know, people like Kavanaugh, who the president fought for, who the president went through hell to get into place. He'll step up. pic.twitter.com/gQo1h55t6N
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 5, 2024
- In Hackwhackers Nikki Haley is still caught in Civil War boxes (cartoon style).
- Libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara doesn’t get the controversy about Nikki, the Civil War, and slavery.
He accomplishes this non-comprehension by casting her answer to What caused the Civil War?, ummm, (rights, liberty, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, government overreach, capitalism, economics, did I leave anything out?) as a defense of abolitionists of that era, rather than a word salad about confederate inner motives.
Key concession:
Haley’s answer could have been better polished.
Well… yeah.
- Green Eagle says Nikki Haley was kinda sorta right.
Key hesitation:
The Civil War was about freedom. Nikki Haley was absolutely right about that. She only got one thing wrong.
- I was kind of disappointed in Dionne Warwick and Martin Sheen…
…until the Palmer Report revealed that it was a bogus endorsement put out by the RFK Jr campaign without the knowledge of either performer.
Neither supports the candidate and both are mad as hornets about it.
Key Sheen reaction:
Sheen not only shot down the story, he made a point of endorsing Joe Biden for 2024.
Key Warwick quote:
This is absolutely ridiculous. If you are going to lie on my name, at least lie about something cool.
- A Republican Congressional Representative takes fury to another level after a Fox personality casually groups him with others seemingly guilty of insider trading.
Cato’s Julian Sanchez detects a hint of hypocrisy:
As this piece notes, Crenshaw was happy to appear on Watters’ show & praise him in the past. So it sure seems like he was fine with riling up the marks with bullshit until it was about him. https://t.co/1iMvzrWuqm
— Julian Sanchez (@normative) January 3, 2024
- tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors looks at available documentation on the cost to Twitter investors (yeah, yeah, Xers) because of Elon Musk’s management by poor impulse control.
Spoiler alert: The cost is Huge!
- driftglass makes the case that those of us who try convincing right-wingers or both-side centrists of much of anything are wasting our time.
- CalicoJack in The Psy of Life looks through the use by autocrats of dehumanizing metaphors, their One Weird Trick that works on their followers, to generate hate and division.
- Frances Langum watches those of our fellow citizens who follow mr Trump get shaken and stirred at finding out American rock band Green Day isn’t much into MAGA.
- Disaffected and it Feels So Good has a few insights on why Republicans are afraid of immigration.
- Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson wants us not to forget:
Just to remind you who actually is targeting civilians and would commit genocide if they could. https://t.co/Rime2FzfbF
— James Wigderson (@jwigderson) January 1, 2024
- North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz has a word for those of us sitting comfortably in our Sunday pews:
Jesus preached compassion, generosity, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, welcoming the immigrant, loving the least.
The Right would have called him "woke" and cancelled him.
Actually, with their policies and methods, they already have.https://t.co/bBKCztOuIf
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) January 4, 2024
- In The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser, atheist Bruce asks Christians what true Christianity really is.
He lets us know what he preached back when he was a true believer:
What he seldom hears from those of us still in the faith.
- In Happiness Between Tails da-AL draws on the ancient Japanese art of repairing valued pottery for a lesson on healing an imperfect life.
- The Journal of Improbable Research finds a statistical study of statistical studies by a professor at North Carolina State University about the monetary value of human life.
Spoiler alert: It seems to be $2.4–$14.0 million.
This is actually an essential bit of cold blooded calc, used to study the feasibility of environmental and other regulations.
- Married couple Dave Columbo and Laura High provide a new level of pillow talk:
- Vincent at A Wayfarer’s Notes writes in praise of fountain pens.
Key irony (probablyintended):
Iwasgoing to throwaway my keyboardbut it still works if you hit the spacebar near the middle.
- PZ Myers reads the financial analysis, trying to figure it out:
What, aside from football, does Auburn University do?
- The Strategic Studies Book Club goes back 19 centuries to Plutarch writing about Julius Caesar and the reaction to him by the Roman aristocracy.
- Clickbait satirist Reductress explains a new scientific discovery about new scientific discoveries.
Key inspiration:
Researchers from the University of Michigan have confirmed that approximately 87% of significant scientific discoveries are the result of a scientist taking one singular walk without listening to music, podcasts, or some other form of media.
Remember: It’s satire.
- In a major scientific breakthrough at The Onion, psychologists have trained a full-grown man to ask for help when needed.
- Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit actually reads labels, discovering an unexpected warning on a can of peanuts.
- Comedian Harry Hill was once a doctor. Mark Waulberg (No, not Mark Wahlberg, the other Mark) lets us know why we are all fortunate he found a career in comedy:
- Author John Scalzi at Whatever winds up the old year with a series of movie reviews. My favorite is about my favorite: The Princess Bride.
- YellowDog Granny is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack (Yaaaay!) with meme wisdom on aging, saging, and beans in chili.
- The amazing Sarah Cooper has an amazing Jamaican mom.
- SilverAppleQueen has Saturday cats.
- In Georgia baseball, The Savanna Bananas provide a valuable demonstration of helping our teammates get on base.
let’s hope by 2024 people have learned that voting is important this time around… tx for including link to my place, Burr 🙂