1/. The Democratic elites were gaslighting us about Biden from the time he took office in 2021.....
And they're the same assholes who run the party now.....
Joe Biden will exit the White House with as little fanfare as any president in modern memory. Forever sandwiched between Donald Trump presidencies and unwilling, in his 80s, to engage with conventional media for any length of time — there are few interviews, televised or in print, for Americans to grasp on to — he will recede, lost in various Trump- and Musk-fired news cycles. “It is hard,” Peter Baker of the New York Times recently wrote, “to imagine that he seriously thought he could do the world’s most stressful job for another four years.”
2/. Nikki Glaser at the Golden Globes.....10 minutes of edgy, raunchy wit.
She's really good.....
3/. It's waaaaaaay too quiet on the MAGA front.....they're prepping us for the fascist takeover of the country, and
distracting us and our useless media with the internal fights with Musk and the bros.....
As we look at the upcoming year this New Year’s Eve, the most urgent question facing us is whether the assault Putin, Orbán, Trump, Musk, and Vance have planned for our political system in 2025 will succeed.
In 1926 Ernest Hemmingway published his novel The Sun Also Rises, which has this extraordinary bit of dialogue about how change happens in most aspects of life — and how governments rise and fall.
“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked.
”Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”
”What brought it on?”
“Friends," said Mike. "I had a lot of friends. False friends.”
For some unfathomable reason, Democrats insist on calling their Republican colleagues their “friends.” They are not friends. https://hartmannreport.com/p/will-america-die-gradually-then-suddenly?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=302288&post_id=152540821&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=2cwgv&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
4/. Essential reading for the chaos coming.....
5/. Story #3 is what MAGA wants - Ross Barkin from New York Magazine reads it a little better than that......
I hope beyond hope he's right.....
On January 20, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, beginning his second term. This is a sentence that would have read as rank parody in 2015 or even early 2021, when Trump was spurring on an insurrection at the Capitol. Instead, like a Nixonian phoenix, Trump authored one of the great political comebacks in American history, and he will be governing with his strongest hand yet. He won the popular vote for the first time, and Republicans have full control of Congress.
6/. At last.......a European country with some cojones......Finland of course!
Finland. Finland. Finland.
You beauty.
That was some of the boldest action I’ve seen in recent times. I’ll place Finland’s resolve over the past 100 hours right alongside Britain and Poland tearing up diplomatic playbooks in January 2023 to push the Western alliance into delivering tanks to Ukraine.
Yes, nearly two years ago. After a long lull, we now have a European nation daring Putin and emerging decisively on top.
Stunning details have emerged following the seizure of the Eagle S by Finnish authorities. The tanker, which departed Russia’s port of Ust-Luga loaded with oil, was en route to Port Said, Egypt. While passing through the Gulf of Finland, it dropped its anchor and dragged it along the seabed, severing multiple undersea cables, including a power cable linking Finland and Estonia.
7/. This could be one of at least three Columnists at the Times.....
Tom Tomorrow nails it again...
8/. This is we're in the middle of this week......a polar vortex.....
A strong snow and ice storm followed by brutally cold conditions will soon smack the eastern two-thirds of the United States as frigid air escapes the Arctic, plunging as far south as Florida, meteorologists forecast.
Starting Saturday, millions of people are going to be hit by moderate to heavy snow from Kansas City to Washington – including a high chance of at least 8in (20cm) of snow between central Kansas and Indiana – the National Weather Service warned Friday.
“It’s going to be a mess, a potential disaster,” said private meteorologist Ryan Maue. “This is something we haven’t seen in quite a while. ”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/03/polar-vortex-cold-temperatures-weather?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
9/. A long and eye-opening story about America's military - modern warfare has left us relying on gee whiz weapons systems like ships and fighters, but the nuts and bolts like ammo, shells and drones are neglected. And our politics is so dysfunctional it doesn't look like it can be easily fixed......
A trillion dollars a year, and we're not ready for anything..
here, in the third decade of the 21st century, the most sought-after ammunition in the U.S. arsenal reaches the vital stage of its manufacture—the process tended by a young woman on a metal platform on the second story of an old factory in rural Iowa, leaning over a giant kettle where tan flakes of trinitrotoluene, better known as the explosive TNT, are stirred slowly into a brown slurry.
10/ So true......
11/. Did you know Trump has named Billy Long to run the IRS?
Of course you don't, so Rachel Maddow explains exactly who this guy is.....
12/. I know you don't expect this, but here is a "good" story about this country.
Four dams were taken out on the Klamath river in California, and the salmon are coming back!
Explosions roared through the canyons lining the Klamath River earlier this year, signaling a new chapter for the region that hugs the Oregon-California border.
In October, the removal of four hydroelectric dams built on the river was completed – the largest project of its kind in US history.
The blast of the final dam was just the beginning. The work to restore the river, which winds 263 miles (423km) from the volcanic Cascade mountain range in Oregon to the Pacific coast in northern California, is now under way.
Already it’s been among the most hopeful environmental stories of past years. “It has been more successful than we ever imagined,” said Ren Brownell, the spokesperson for the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, a non-profit created to oversee and implement the removal, adding: “There’s an incredible amount of joy.”
13/. A little brain teaser for you......which glass fills up first!
14/. Bob Lefsetz on the Park City Ski Patrol strike.....and Vail Resorts.You knew there was a strike, didn't you?
Interesting story of corporate indifference to the customer......
Someone should get fired for this, hopefully CEO Kirsten Lynch.
Vail is the most hated name in skiing, justifiably or unjustifiably. Rob Katz revolutionized the skiing business not quite twenty years ago. He flipped the script. Unlike previous ski conglomerates, Katz decided that Vail Resorts would make its money on skiing and its ancillaries as opposed to real estate. And the effort was wildly successful.
Skiing has never been cheaper. https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2025/01/05/the-park-city-ski-patrol-strike/
15/. Is your New Year's resolution to change your diet? Here's a story that might interest you.....
There’s a new buzzword in town when it comes to health: polyphenols. While scientists have been investigating the plant compounds for years, the term has now caught the public imagination – and for good reason.
A growing body of evidence shows that eating a diet high in these clever natural chemicals offers numerous health benefits, improving everything from heart and metabolic health to lowering the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.
There is also research that suggests eating more polyphenols can slow down the signs of skin ageing and reduce waist size. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/04/polyphenols-the-natural-chemicals-that-could-give-you-a-small-waist-healthy-heart-and-low-blood-pressure?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
16/. Love these Venn Diagrams.....
18/. Rolling Stone with the best TV of 2024......
Happy holidays, everyone. As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time for one final end-of-year TV list. So far, we’ve ranked the year’s 10 best shows, and picked 10 of our favorite performances and individual episodes. We conclude by shining the spotlight on some impressive newcomers.
19/. "Hacks" with Jean Smart.......excellent review of this comedy.....
There are few things these days that help keep together the tattered remains of a belief in the universe’s moral arc bending towards justice, but the continuing renaissance of Jean Smart is one of them. After substantial supporting parts in the television series Fargo, Watchmen and Mare of Easttown, the actor who started in the business in 1979 is now front and centre in HBO Max’s new comedy drama Hacks (showing in the UK on Amazon Prime Video).
Smart plays Deborah Vance, a battle-hardened veteran of the standup comedy scene who now lives in Las Vegas. Vance is playing 100 shows a year at the Palmetto casino in between flogging tat and her guts out on a shopping channel, doing paid daytime events and never, ever letting down the fans who still adore her, even if they follow in smaller droves than they once did. Then it’s home to a magnificent mansion and her beloved dogs, and time to take the wig and makeup off before having dinner alone.
20/. The Guardian lists "must see" TV for 2025......
Sally Wainwright goes punk! Michaela Coel is back! And Robert De Niro smashes on to streaming like a man with something to prove! Here’s your complete guide to 2025’s unmissable TV
Today's golf joke
A golfer was involved in a terrible car crash and was rushed to the hospital.
Just before he was put under, the surgeon popped in to see him.
"I have some good news and some bad news," says the surgeon.
"The bad news is that I have to remove your right arm!"
"Oh God no!" cries the man. "My golfing is over! Please Doc, what's the good news?"
"The good news is, I have another one to replace it with, but it's a woman's arm. I'll need your permission before I go ahead with the transplant."
"Go for it doc" says the man. "As long as I can play golf again."
The operation went well and a year later the man was out on the golf course when he bumped into the surgeon.
"Hi, how's the new arm?" asks the surgeon.
"Just great," says the businessman. "I'm playing the best golf of my life.
My new arm has a much finer touch and my putting has really improved."
"That's great," said the surgeon.
"Not only that," continued the golfer, "my handwriting has improved, I've learned how to sew my own clothes and I've even
taken up painting landscapes in watercolors."
"Unbelievable!" said the surgeon, "I'm so glad to hear the transplant was such a great success.
Are you having any side effects?"
"Well, just one problem," said the golfer. "Every time I get an erection, I also get a headache.
Today's "fight starting" jokes
My wife and I were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed.
I turned to her and said, 'Do you want to have Sex?'
'No,' she answered.
I then said, 'Is that your final answer?'
... She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying, 'Yes..'
So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."
And that's when the fight started...
________________________________
I took my wife to a restaurant.
The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.
"I'll have the rump steak, rare, please."
He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?"
"Nah, she can order for herself."
And that's when the fight started.....
_____________________________
My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school
reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his
drink as he sat alone at a nearby table.
I asked her, "Do you know him?"
"Yes", she sighed,
"He's my old boyfriend. I understand he took to drinking
right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear he
hasn't been sober since."
"My God!" I said, "Who would think a person could go on
celebrating that long?"
And then the fight started...
________________________________
When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed.
But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the shed, the boat,
making beer.. Always something more important to me.
Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point.
When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing
scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into
the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again
I handed her a toothbrush.
I said, "When you finish cutting the
grass, you might as well sweep the driveway."
The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.
_____________________________
My wife sat down next to me as I was flipping channels.
She asked, "What's on TV?"
I said, "Dust."
And then the fight started...
________________________________
Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, and slipped quietly into the garage.
I hooked up the boat up to the van and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour.
The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather
would be bad all day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed.
I cuddled up to my wife's back; now with a different anticipation, and whispered, "The weather out there is terrible."
My loving wife of 5 years replied, "And, can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?"
And that's how the fight started...
_______________________________
My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
She said, "I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds."
I bought her a bathroom scale.
And then the fight started......
______________________________
After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security.
The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's License to verify my age.
I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home.
I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later.
The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'.
So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair.
She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she processed my Social Security application.
When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office.
She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability too.'
And then the fight started...
________________________________
My wife was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror.
She was not happy with what she saw and said to me,
"I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.'
I replied, "Your eyesight's damn near perfect."
And then the fight started........
________________________________
I rear-ended a car this morning...the start of a REALLY bad day!
The driver got out of the other car, and he was a DWARF!!
He looked up at me and said 'I am NOT Happy!'
So I said, 'Well, which one ARE you then?'
That's how the fight started.
________________________________
One year, I decided to buy my mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift...
The next year, I didn't buy her a gift.
When she asked me why, I replied,
"Well, you still haven't used the gift I bought you last year!"
And that's how the fight started.
Today's awful Irish joke
Paddy wants a job, but the foreman won’t hire him until he passes a little maths test.
“Here is your first question,” the foreman says. “Without using numbers, represent the number nine.”
“Without numbers?” Paddy says. “That’s easy.”
And he proceeds to draw three trees.
“What’s this?” the boss asks.
“Have you no brain? Tree plus tree plus tree makes nine,” says Paddy.
“Fair enough,” says the boss. “Here’s your second question. Use the same rules, but this time the number is 99.”
Paddy stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture that he has just drawn and makes a smudge on each tree and hands it back.
The boss scratches his head and says, “How on earth do you get that to represent 99?”
“Each of them trees is dirty now. So, it’s dirty tree plus dirty tree plus dirty tree. That makes 99.”
“All right, last question. Same rules again, but represent the number 100.”
Paddy stares into space again; he then picks up the picture and makes a little mark at the base of each tree and hands it back.
The boss looks at Paddy’s picture. “You must be nuts if you think that represents a hundred!”
Paddy leans forward and points to the marks at the base of each tree and whispers, “a little dog came along and pooped by each tree.
So now you got dirty tree and a turd, plus dirty tree and a turd, plus dirty tree and a turd, which makes 100!”
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