The term for the day is intractable -- pain that is not responsive to medical treatment. www.healthline.com/health/intra...

Desktop is dead and probably needs a new mainboard and/or power supply. If you aren't a Patr(e)on, I wonder if you could consider looking at my profile and sending your newspaper carrier (so to speak) an end of year tip? Other than the kindness of strangers I am living on my Social Security only.

Some of you will remember I have had real contempt for Bari Weiss for years, just as I have for Musk (decades), Trump (since 9/11), and various. I actually kind of hate being so right, but it's still reaffirming. #callmeCassandra

Oh, Canada! Thank you. Heh... www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/s...

This is such bulltucky. "Officials have warned that the US currently lags behind China in both shipbuilding capacity and total output." 1/ www.bbc.com/news/article...

➡️ 15 Ambassadorships ➡️ 2 Pardons ➡️ Hundreds of White House invitations ➡️ 13 Dropped investigations ➡️ Dozens of executive actions Inside Trump’s FUNDRAISING BONANZA at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. W/ @kenvogel.bsky.social (1/2) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Unsafe at any speed gift article wapo.st/4979qCi

Save Big Tzaide www.dw.com/en/israel-ne...

If I'm lucky, this will be a headache and not a full-on migraine? At least until tomorrow morning...

It's ok, you voted against *permanent* occupation of military bases, Ecuador. We promise we'll pull out. We might engage you in a war with Venezuela, first, but that hardly matters... www.newsweek.com/us-military-...

Modern media

In case you need a backgrounder on Bari, this is probably the most enjoyable youtu.be/gieTx_P6INQ?...

An opportunity to thin the military of any but loyalists. www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-...

This is why the Ellisons paid $150 million to acquire a mediocre Substack blog www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/12/bari...

Sometimes the scroll is startlingly on point.

Thought they’ll gladly ship your money off to Venezuela but only to kill fishermen and the occasional cocaine dealer

Stealing this.

I have never, once in my career, heard of a news org responding to a decline-to-comment with, “Well, we’ll hold it until you do.” The reason is obvious — it gives the subject of your story a pocket veto.

while i can tolerate Dispatch writers, this is why the Bulwark is anyday preferable to the Dispatch: to see what is in front of your eyes is a constant struggle, and Jonah doesn't seem capable of it

“These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.”

In case you need to hear it from someone who was raised Hindu: Usha is not a hostage, she is an accomplice. She is culpable. Fuck her and the fascists she colludes with. May she go down with all of them. As Zohran ably demonstrates, our communities do not aspire to whiteness & don’t seek to appease.

60 Minutes, dead at 57. The murder weapon was Bari Weiss.

Andrew Johnson illegally fired Edwin Stanton on Feb 21, 1868. The House voted, in a one-sentence resolution, to impeach him on Feb 24. The actual articles were adopted March 2-3. The Senate trial began on March 4. Twelve days from the offense itself to facing trial for it.

CBS is a mess and likely to get worse. www.cnn.com/2025/12/21/m...

Colbert's done with 2025. We get him through May, anyway. youtu.be/TzuEyEFCB38?...

Time to pick up your phones, folks.

In case you were disturbed by his real deal this week, SNL has the good taste to leave Melania's panties out of the cold open. There is still decency in the world...;) youtu.be/xb1PtBLApU8?...

Death cult www.thedailybeast.com/charlie-kirk...

I kind of daydream that Trump will ask for a declaration of war from Congress, get shut down, and then impeached. And then an inquiry into whoever masterminded this whole mess with Venezuela, with consequences.

I am divided on this article. Tik-Tok is not where people should be going for news on Gaza, and selling it to zionists doesn't cut off voters' access to news. At the same time, a little cringe at that bit of "Jews control the media" hyperbole. But it's not great news for many reasons.

The food safety net in South Africa. For comparison, 1000 rand is about USD$60

Daniel Kinahan is one of the most powerful cocaine traffickers in the world—but he lives a strikingly public life in Dubai, shopping at malls and consorting with famous boxers like Tyson Fury. nyer.cm/pb0dMxc

Ham salad -- cheap baked ham, diced Apple, diced. Sharp cheddar, diced. A dab of mayo. Very simple, very good. Next time may put a teaspoon of maple with the mayo, and a dust of cinnamon.

Credit where credit is due: Sen John Kennedy (R-LA) has been taking his role to protect our system seriously. He has been kicking ass and taking names in confirmation hearings of Trump nominees. www.google.com/search?q=sen...

Media is largely ignoring that glp agonists are used by diabetics, not to lose weight, but to treat drug resistant diabetes types. Many of us are not able to exercise enough to preserve muscle mass, and are becoming weaker to prevent our sugars from going over 400 regularly. Not click worthy.

Temple Grandin on visual thinkers, animal welfare, #autistic superpowers and what we need to do to reach kids' potentials. Oh yes, and the honor of being honored by the National Portrait Gallery. #actuallyautistic youtu.be/p8VHOB0BOGY?...

"Our #ai cars are not programmed to deal with exceptions, so we're going to halt ride-sharing until we can stop completely blocking traffic. During an emergency." Also, it used to amaze me how bad PG&E sucked. Hasn't changed. missionlocal.org/2025/12/sf-w...

Good Yule, y'all! www.bbc.com/weather/arti...

The Goldwater Rule is another casualty of the Trump administration. "In your guts you know he's nuts." www.huffpost.com/entry/psycho...

Well that would be one way to end vote by mail... www.bbc.com/news/article...

This is probably our highest authority on JAG issues. www.cnn.com/2025/12/19/p...

Nostalgia is a powerful thing. I'm having a seasonal yen for my mother's three can green bean casserole. I'd try to take a bit with lots of French's onions to be polite. I never liked it. But it was always there, Thanksgiving and Xmas. 1950s mom.

Nature documentaries need their own satires. youtu.be/SDRLKbNqyyI?...

OMG gift article wapo.st/3Y63LYm

Even in the people's Republic of Cambridge www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Follow the misappropriated money

They aren't privateers if they're official military. Maybe just pirates, then? /s www.bbc.com/news/article...

I like Costco. I'd spend more money there if they weren't so impractical for a low income one person household. abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/cos...

Self dealing. The only thing I've seen lately from Trump where he's being honest.

British atavistic ritual blood sport tradition approaches practical obsolescence years after cultural obsolescence. Fixed it for ya