In the U.S., we leave 2025, the Year of the (drunk) Raccoon. It will be the Year of the Fire Horse in the Chinese zodiac. But that starts in February. There should be a place in 2026 for these guys who are all about the beat: youtu.be/fpCO6CUH8Zc?... I hope everyone has a good new year.

This is somewhat amusing. I rail against polls all the time. But, I must admit, this has lots of potential for parody. (Although it's insulting to donkeys, which are smart and emotional.) www.joe.co.uk/politics/peo...

Slava Ukraini!

If it's safe to mail tax returns, social security checks, draft registrations, drivers licenses, passports, and prescription drugs, it's safe to mail a ballot to every voter… Case closed.

Why did Trump’s DOJ track the top reporter covering Jeffrey Epstein weeks before his death?

"It’s a national memorial — one bound up with assassination, loss, and a particular memory of what American public life once aspired to be." The Kennedy Center Pushback Feels Like Growing Good News. Why is that? And Where Will It End? open.substack.com/pub/michaeld...

So glad Jeff Tiedrich addresses the enabling of the Trump mobocracy by the media. The whole kumbaya has been the Democrats Achilles' heel. GOP has never been about unity. Wishcasting our merry way to hell: how the press utterly failed us in 2025 open.substack.com/pub/jefftied...

"As foreign policy journalist Anne Applebaum noted, rhetorically, 'Not sure I understand why the Trump administration cares about Christians in Nigeria and not Christians in Ukraine.' open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

It has been 395 days of continuous demonstrations in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. Our citizens demand the resignation of Georgia's mostly illegitimate and pro-Russian government, the release of political prisoners, and the return to a pro-European course.

I sorely miss when presidents were presidential and good, compassionate people. The contrast between a hateful social media rage poster and someone who visits a hospital to show support for children cannot be more stark. youtu.be/UeDc4QRuM-4?...

Trump so 25th Amendment the lawmakers, doctors and psychiatrists are failing to honor their oaths to protect the United States. Millions marched on No Kings day, nationwide and worldwide. The scene below is strangely prescient: (Excuse me as I yell out the window.) youtu.be/ZwMVMbmQBug?...

I envision an underground movement of truth fighting the chaos of misinformation, lies, reworked text and photos, and other crimes against reality. I admit I don't quite understand this edit ... and if they can run the original next to the edited version.. WTF? www.thedailybeast.com/amazon-prime...

Via NPR ~ Hundreds of celebrities have relaunched a committee to defend free speech that was first formed during the post-World War II Red Scare. It’s spearheaded Jane Fonda, whose father, Henry Fonda, stood against the Hollywood blacklists of the McCarthy era.⁠ ⁠

Oh joy to the world, another using censorship to "stop censorship" ... one of the biggest cons of this administration. Accuse others while attempting to massively control the nation's conversation. www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hires-...

"Political and economic conflicts into some grand 'clash of civilisations' theory or 'the West versus the rest' binary is a particularly insidious form of ideological deception." - Pankaj Mishra There's no "Jesus" in Hegseth's "religion." The Bombs of Anti-Christmas open.substack.com/pub/ourmoral...

"More than 186 have been permanently closed already, raising questions about how we leave mountains – among the last wild spaces in Europe – once the lifts stop running." Change quieter: Some adapt by "walking, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing and sledging." www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A Crusade by the corrupt? "Trump said that he ordered the US military to launch a 'powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting... innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!'" www.firstpost.com/explainers/d...

Good things are happening (hard-pressed to see the U.S. in any of these wins). One close to my heart and inspiring: "Just one year after the historic removal of four dams along California's Klamath river, salmon have returned to their traditional spawning grounds." tinyurl.com/ymjdrzca

Dolores Umbridge: "During her time at Hogwarts, Umbridge grows in power and is appointed High Inquisitor by the Minister for Magic in an attempt to control the school."

Trump Orders All Children Born Under Biden To Be Renamed After Confederate Generals — theonion.com/trump-orders...

Stephen Miller: "Histrionic personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking behaviors, usually beginning in adolescence or early adulthood, including excessive desire for approval." www.commondreams.org/news/stephen...

A short video but enlightening to many. youtube.com/shorts/kRWB0...

"You'll shoot your eye out." - Mrs. Parker, Miss Shields, and Mall Santa in "A Christmas Story." (Ralphie's quest for a Red Ryder Carbine-action 200-shot Ranger Model Air Rifle for Christmas.)

Many 'bad actors' disrupting the employment ecosystem with scams, such "ghost ads" and phony job placement help. People get laid off and then have to negotiate the real from the con. There are ICE agents with criminal backgrounds making lots of money as thugs. www.thedailybeast.com/amazon-inund...

New insight, not earthshaking, but worth a listen. youtu.be/_V850-2_P90?...

Trump thinks he is on "The Apprentice," but on a global media sound stage. He is doing Putin's dirty work and that's no secret. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is not foreign policy but businessmen who are salivating to cut up Ukraine so they can make money. Another grift. Russia sees it as an easy out. President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people are doing an incredible job fighting back/winning strategically. Don't trust the likes of Kushner et al.

"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." --- Bob Dylan Remember the Unsung Resistance Fighters open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

So many 'personalities' in the sea. That's the miracle of diversity ... youtube.com/shorts/SbQWZ...

It’s only fair to match the governments energy

Remembering the joy of the performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. youtu.be/2cZ_EFAmj08?...

This is a very very interesting dissection of the WH group and individual photos in Vanity Fair. It appears to dramatically show how a photographer can control the message. Brilliant. youtu.be/pVFL7_hsPQY?...

Renaming the Kennedy Center after Trump feels like renaming a library after a guy who brags he doesn’t read. Incredible stuff.

"You don’t liberate a country standing on the soil of another.” --- Fadia Faqir

The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was “unanimous.” That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.

True: Whenever I want to go to sleep, I can count on videos on YouTube about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. I am asleep within five or six minutes.

I was waiting for Russia to speak up because Putin and Maduro signed in May a strategic partnership agreement. www.newsweek.com/russia-issue...

"The Ottoman bird houses may have been a form of 'atonement' for clearing forested or marshy habitats to construct mosques, bridges and other buildings at that time. But in a modern era where development pressure on nature is stronger than ever, these old sanctuaries are disappearing." -- C. Gruber

The Vanity Fair photographer from the Susie Wiles story. Holy. Shit. www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...

Add: KFC "peace prize" A Bucket List for Trump open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...

Fox Loses Big in 2025 to Meidas open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...

Fresh air! I agree with No. 1, but I also find No. 5 ... for a smaller ship...perfect. www.iflscience.com/these-are-th...

The White House has been caught. The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims. In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.