1/ Fascinating story......"Luigi Mangione is the median American voter"....
The vast majority of the US population rarely – if ever – lapses into murderous fantasies wherein they gun down an unsuspecting father of two. One need not possess the telepathic powers of Professor Charles Xavier to consider this a fact. That said, the heterodox, ostensibly incoherent potpourri of political views expressed by the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin, Luigi Mangione, is more representative of the average American than many elites would care to admit.
Mangione’s Twitter/X account is a kaleidoscopic fever dream with no clear ideological rudder. It seems he has a genuine interest in health and wellness. “Wokeness” and masculinity are occasionally discussed; so too are climate change, psychedelics and the potential risks and rewards of artificial intelligence. Pornography, in Mangione’s mind, “should be regulated no less than alcohol, cigarettes, and travel” – and certain sex toys should be banned. He likes Joe Rogan but disdains Jordan Peterson. He also appears to be particularly fond of Pokémon, baby elephants, gorillas and Japan’s Indigenous religion, Shintoism.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/13/luigi-mangione-american-voter?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
2/. Tom Tomorrow on the media.....
3/. Another "must read" from Bob Lefsetz......
It wasn’t a vote FOR Trump, it was a vote AGAINST the Democrats.
I adopted a wait and see attitude. Like Bill Maher I wasn’t going to freak out about Trump’s presidency. But then seemingly every corporation kowtowed to the man as if he was a dictator.
This is the America we live in, where the corporations rule and the people are just pawns.
Mark Zuckerberg used to give the middle finger to the government. Jeff Bezos acted as if Amazon was the government. As for Elon Musk…he ignored the government and now he IS the government.
If you want to be horrified, read this article from yesterday’s “New York Times.”
“Los Angeles Times Owner Wades Deeper Into Opinion Section – Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong’s public comments and actions, including recently blocking an editorial weighing in on President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks, have concerned many staff members.”
Free link: https://t.ly/41amG
There was all this horsesh*t from Patrick Soon-Shiong and Jeff Bezos that they didn’t endorse a presidential candidate in the election because…
We knew they were afraid of retribution if Trump won, but in the case of Soon-Shiong, now we know, now it’s like we live in Hungary, or maybe even Russia.
https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2024/12/15/trumps-reign/
4/. Thoughts and prayers......
5/. Thom Hartmann on the corruption in the healthcare industry.....
The recent assassination of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare — the health insurance company with, reportedly, the highest rate of claims rejections (and thus dead, wounded, and furious customers and their relations) — gives us a perfect window to understand the stupidity and danger of the Musk/Trump/Ramaswamy strategy of “cutting government” to “make it more efficient, run it like a corporation.” Consider health care, which in almost every other developed country in the world is legally part of the commons — the infrastructure of the nation, like our roads, public schools, parks, police, military, libraries, and fire departments — owned by the people collectively and run for the sole purpose of meeting a basic human need.
The entire idea of government — dating all the way back to Gilgamesh and before — is to fulfill that singular purpose of meeting citizens’ needs and keeping the nation strong and healthy. That’s a very different mandate from that of a corporation, which is solely directed (some argue by law) to generate profits.
The Veterans’ Administration healthcare system, for example, is essentially socialist rather than capitalist. The VA owns the land and buildings, pays the salaries of everybody from the surgeons to the janitors, and makes most all decisions about care. Its primary purpose — just like that of the healthcare systems of every other democracy in the world — is to keep and make veterans healthy. Its operation is nearly identical to that of Britain’s beloved socialist National Health Service.
6/. Your household appliances are watching you.....
7/. So here we are......
Our mistake was to think we lived in a better country than we do. Our mistake was to see the joy, the extraordinary balance between idealism and pragmatism, the energy, the generosity, the coalition-building of the Kamala Harris campaign and think that it must triumph over the politics of lies and resentment. Our mistake was to think that racism and misogyny were not as bad as they are, whether it applied to who was willing to vote for a supremely qualified Black woman or who was willing to vote for an adjudicated rapist and convicted criminal who admires Hitler. Our mistake was to think we could row this boat across the acid lake before the acid dissolved it.
We knew what the problems were, and we wanted to fix them. The principal problems that got us to this bleakest moment in American history are intertwined. They are the crisis of masculinity, the failure of the mainstream news media and the rise of Silicon Valley, and in a way they are all the same problem.
The media might be the simplest to describe. A democracy requires an informed citizenry, and the US media over the past eight years in particular created an increasingly misinformed citizenry.
8/. Robin Williams in his first appearance on Johnny Carson.......a comic genius at work.....
9/. Good for Bernie......here he explains why he voted against the military budget.....
We often wonder what would have happened if the DNC hadn't rigged the 2016 primary between Bernie and her.....
Today in the United States, 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck, 85 million people are uninsured or underinsured and 21.5m households are paying more than 50% of their income on housing. We have one of the highest rates of childhood poverty of almost any developed country on Earth, and 25% of older adults are trying to survive on $15,000 a year or less. In other words, the US has fallen far behind other major countries in protecting the most vulnerable, and our government has failed millions of working families.
But while so many Americans are struggling to get by, the United States is spending record-breaking amounts of money on the military. In the coming days, with relatively little debate, Congress will overwhelmingly pass the National Defense Authorization Act, approving close to $900bn for the Department of Defense (DoD). When spending on nuclear weapons and “emergency” defense spending is included, the total will approach $1tn. We now spend more than the next nine countries combined.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/08/why-im-voting-against-the-military-budget
10/. Andrew Sullivan on the collapse of Russia and how this is a huge opportunity for Trump to stop the war in Ukraine.......
But he's forgetting one thing - Trump is Putin's asset, so he won't do it.....
One of the more remarkable attributes of our president-elect is his preternatural luck. It’s not every candidate who gets to run against Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. And it isn’t every president who gets to pick three Supreme Court Justices, whose prosecutors are fantastically corrupt or inept, and who will return to power just as the huge infrastructure investment by his predecessor is beginning to filter through the economy, and as disinflation continues.
But in foreign affairs, Trump has in some ways hit the jackpot. As he contemplates regaining power, the two most devoted adversaries of the US — Russia and Iran — are in crisis. The sudden collapse of the hideous Alawite dictatorship in Syria has crippled Russia’s interests in the Middle East and beyond, especially in Africa. Meanwhile, Israel’s decimation of Hamas and Hezbollah in the wake of October 7 has pushed Iran into a humiliating and increasingly isolated defensive crouch.
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-dumb-luck-of-donald-trump?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=61371&post_id=152869472&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=2cwgv&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
11/. Tom Tomorrow on our new King.....
12/. Medicare Advantage is a fraud, and is likely to get worse under your new dictator......
You have three days left, if you got suckered in by those omnipresent ads for Medicare Advantage and left regular Medicare for the siren song of cheaper coverage, “free” vision, hearing, or dental, or even “free” money to buy groceries or rides to the doc.
The open enrollment period for real Medicare closes at the end of the day Saturday, December 7th; after that, you’re locked into the Medicare Advantage plan you may have bought until next year.
If you’ve had Medicare Advantage for a year or more, however, the open enrollment period is still “open” until December 7th, but you will want to make sure you can get a “Medigap” plan that fills in the 20% that real Medicare doesn’t cover.
Companies are required to write a Medigap policy for you at a reasonable price when you turn 65, no matter how sick you are or what preexisting conditions you may have, but if you’ve been “off Medicare” by being on Medicare Advantage for more than a year, they don’t have to write you a policy, so double-check that and sign up for a Medigap policy before making the switch back to real Medicare.
https://hartmannreport.com/p/the-medicare-advantage-trap-what-1fc?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=302288&post_id=152589403&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=2cwgv&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
13/. This is lovely......"Hallelujah" sung by Rufus Wainwright and a choir of 1500 people....
14/. Thomas Edsall in the Times on the trap the Dems are in......
The weakened condition of the Democratic Party leaves it ill prepared to defend itself against a Republican Party determined to eviscerate liberalism and the left.
Evidence of the fraught state of the party can be found everywhere. Pew Research asked Democrats and Republicans whether they were optimistic or pessimistic about the future of their party after the five presidential and midterm elections from 2016 to 2024. Republicans in 2024 were more optimistic, 86 to 13, than after any of the previous four contests, including Donald Trump’s 2016 victory. Among Democrats, optimism fell to 51 percent, while pessimism rose to 49 percent, well below the 61 to 38 for Democrats after the 2016 election.
Ken Martin, the chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and a leading candidate to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee, acknowledged this erosion of political clout in a memo to party leaders
15/. Tempted to watch a gooey Christmas Special?
Try this instead......Sabrina Carpenter's "Nonsense Christmas".....
Quite amusing......we liked it!
Are you hot? Are you young? Is your stocking well-hung? Then you’ll enjoy Sabrina Carpenter’s A Nonsense Christmas, her new Netflix special, out just in time for the holidays. The pop star caps her year of explosive stardom — from “Espresso” all the way to her Grammy nominations in the Big Four categories — with this charming hour of holiday cheer. Obviously, that hour is jam-packed with her signature innuendos (“You’re in luck, I’ve trimmed my tree just for you!”) and her top-tier humor: “Seriously, they told me I could have an unlimited budget as long as I go viral, so I’m gonna break the set just to do it.”
16/. It's called NIMBY.....
17/. Rolling Stone lists the 10 best TV series of the year.....you probably missed a few of these.....
18/. Vanity Fair and the 22 best movies of 2024......looks like a couple of gems in here.....
19/. Timothee Chalamet's Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown" gets five stars from the Guardian....
Not Judas – Jesus. Timothée Chalamet’s hilarious and seductive portrayal of Bob Dylan makes him the smirking, scowling and unwilling leader of his generation, whose refusal to submit to the crucifixion of folk-acoustic purity is his own crucifixion. Chalamet gives us a semi-serious ordeal of someone who is part Steinbeck hero, part boyband star, part sacrificial deity. On being derisively asked if he is God, Chalamet’s Dylan replies: “How many more times? Yes.” Chalamet shows us the mysterious burden of celebrity and zeitgeist-ownership endured by a singer-songwriter who transcends John the Baptist (in the form of fatherly and sad-eyed folk mentor Pete Seeger – wonderfully played by Edward Norton) and finally has to wake up his dozing Apostles in Garden of Gethsemane with electric guitars played, in his legendary words, “fuckin’ loud”.
20/. "Black Doves".....Bob Lefsetz riffs on this series, which we are watching [5 episodes] on Netflix.
It's really, really, really good!
Keira Knightley and Sarah Lancashire have bigger names.
But I can’t take my eyes off of Ben Whishaw in “Black Doves.”
Really, we wanted to watch “Silo,” but that’s week to week and isn’t ending until the middle of January. Apple is fumbling here, because no one survives without the youth and the youngsters want it all and they want it NOW! Which is why they’re on YouTube for streaming, and addicted to TikTok. To employ the old model is to abandon hope of snagging young people and their turbocharged word of mouth. Youngsters live online, and that’s why their choices dominate in culture, that’s why it’s hard to break musical acts that appeal to oldsters. This won’t last for long, as the boomers and Gen-X’ers die off. We thought the major labels were forever, but it turns out their power was based on an old construct, the domination of the few, and that’s not how it works anymore. Even the news business doesn’t get it. You may be following the lowering of salaries for TV news stars. When no one is watching, you can’t pay exorbitant salaries. The money is online and this is anathema to oldsters, who believe the smartphone is the devil.
So we pulled up “Black Doves” because Karen and Jake raved. That’s right, I didn’t get turned on to the show by the media, everything is bottom up today as opposed to top down. There’s an alternative network for news and information that far exceeds that of the mainstream. But since it can’t be easily categorized and distilled, it’s to a great degree ignored. That’s what the mainstream does. If it doesn’t understand something, assuming it’s even aware of it, it pooh-poohs it.
https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2024/12/13/ben-whishaw/
Today's bartender joke
Four old friends were strolling down the street when they turned a corner and spotted a sign that read: "Old Timers Bar - ALL drinks 10 cents."
They exchanged surprised looks, hardly believing their eyes, and decided to check it out.
As they entered the bar, the bartender greeted them with a booming voice that carried across the room, “Come on in, gentlemen! Let me pour you a drink. What’ll it be?”
The bar was fully stocked, so each of the men ordered a martini. In no time, the bartender presented them with four perfectly chilled martinis—shaken, not stirred—and said, “That’s 10 cents each, please.”
The men stared at the bartender in disbelief, then glanced at each other, grinning like kids on Christmas morning.
They eagerly handed over 40 cents and sipped their martinis, marveling at their good fortune.
Unable to resist, they ordered another round. Once again, the bartender served up four flawless martinis and repeated, “That’s 40 cents, please.”
By now, they’d each had two martinis and hadn’t even spent a dollar. Their curiosity got the better of them.
One of the men finally spoke up. “How on earth can you afford to serve drinks this good for just 10 cents apiece?”
The bartender leaned against the bar with a smile. “Well, I’m a retired tailor from Phoenix. I always dreamed of owning a bar.
Last year, I hit the lottery jackpot—$125 million! So I opened this place where every drink is 10 cents.
Wine, liquor, beer—you name it, it’s all the same price.”
“Wow, that’s an incredible story!” one of the men said, raising his glass in admiration.
As they continued sipping their drinks, they noticed a group of seven people sitting quietly at the far end of the bar.
None of them had drinks in front of them, and they hadn’t ordered anything the entire time.
One of the men gestured toward them and asked the bartender, “What’s the deal with those folks?”
The bartender chuckled. “Oh, them? They’re retirees from The Villages. They’re waiting for Happy Hour, when drinks are half price.”
Today's Pilot jokes
After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet" which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft.
The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor.
Here are actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots ("P") and solutions recorded ("S") by maintenance engineers:
P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.
P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.
P: Something loose in cockpit
S: Something tightened in cockpit
P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.
P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.
P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.
P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.
P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.
P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.
P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.
P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right, and be serious.
P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.
P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget
Today's religious joke
On the first day, God created the dog and said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past.
For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years." The dog said, "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"
On the second day, God created the monkey and said, "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh.
For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."
The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform.
How about I give you back ten like the dog did?"
And God, again saw it was good.
On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years."
The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years.
How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"
And God agreed it was good.
On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life.
For this, I'll give you twenty years."
But the human said, "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back,
the ten the monkey gave back,
and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"
"Okay," said God, "You asked for it."
So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.
For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family.
For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.
And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information.
I'm doing it as a public service.
If you are looking for me I will be on the front porch...
Today's kid joke
The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day.
Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with
a child's whisper. " Hello ? "
"Is your daddy home?" he asked.
" Yes ," whispered the small voice.
May I talk with him?"
The child whispered, " No ." Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"
" Yes ."
"May I talk with her?"
Again the small voice whispered, " No ."
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anybody else there?"
" Yes ," whispered the child, " a policeman ".
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"
" No, he's busy ", whispered the child.
"Busy doing what?"
" Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ," came the whispered answer.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"
"A helicopter " answered the whispering voice.
"What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, " The search team just landed a helicopter ."
Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, "What are they searching for?"
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle... " ME!!..
