Alexandra Marquez of NBC News: " White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Friday that she and her husband are expecting a second child, due in May.... Leavitt and her husband, who is 60, met in 2022 when she ran unsuccessfully for Congress in New Hampshire.... A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to NBC News’ questions about whether Leavitt plans to take maternity leave after the birth of her daughter and whether anyone would fill in for her if she does."
Doktor Zoom of Wonkette: “Ahmed Al Ahmed, the hero who tackled and disarmed one of the two gunmen who opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach on December 14, received a check last Friday for more than $1.65 million while recovering from his wounds in a Sydney hospital. More than 43,000 people from around the world contributed to a GoFundMe campaign that collected over $2.5 million in funny little Australian dollars.... Al Ahmed has also been visited in the hospital by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and by Chris Minns, premier of New South Wales state, which is always fun to abbreviate because 'NSW' looks like it might be something naughty. Even billionaire shithead hedge fund jerk Bill Ackman took a brief break from being a shithead and donated $99,000 US to the fund before returning to his usual pastimes of trying to destroy Harvard and praising Elon Musk as a visionary.” Thanks to RAS for the link.
Surprise! Trump Lied about the Nigeria Strikes. Ruth Maclean, et al., of the New York Times: “After the U.S. military launched airstrikes on sites in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday..., [Donald] Trump said the targets were Islamic State terrorists 'who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.' But analysts say that the situation on the ground is far more complicated. Sokoto State, which was hit by more than 12 Tomahawk missiles Thursday night, is populated overwhelmingly by Muslims, who bear the brunt of terrorist attacks there, according to analysts and groups that monitor conflict. Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto said recently that the area does “not have a problem with persecution” of Christians. And analysts are divided over the existence of ties between insurgent groups in Sokoto and the Islamic State....
“Even as the Nigerian authorities have disputed Mr. Trump’s claims about a Christian 'genocide,' they have chosen to respond to his threats by cooperating with his administration. Nigeria has taken the opportunity to use U.S. firepower against insurgents that have plagued rural communities in the country’s northwest.... The strikes were 'meant to deter further operations of bandits in that area,' ... said [Nigeria’s foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar].” ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post is kindlier. They suggest Trump is not so much a liar as he is a dummkopf who doesn't know WTF he's doing: ~~~
~~~ Rachel Chason, et al., of the Washington Post: “... security analysts warned that Trump administration officials appeared to be stepping into a complex, long-running conflict that they might not fully understand.” MB: Oh please. Trump said he didn't fully understand what part of his body was scanned in his recent MRI, and Susie Wiles says he doesn't fully understand (and never will) what USAID does. You think he fully understands Nigerian rivalries? If he received a briefing, he slept through it.
Sean Seddon of BBC News: "Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will meet ... Donald Trump in Florida at the weekend, as talks continue on ending Russia's full-scale war. Zelensky said he expected the meeting to take place on Sunday and to focus on a US-brokered 20-point peace plan, as well as separate proposals for US security guarantees. Meanwhile, the Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin's senior aide has held further talks with US officials over the phone, and that Russia has committed to continuing with the negotiations."
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Marie: So there is hope. In desperation, I made yesterday my Borrow-a-King Day. It turns out I should have waited a bit -- because a great knight came riding out of the West (no horse, no kingdom) to deliver a true American message -- an alternative to the King's speech. Seriously, this is an excellent speech:
~~~ Lizzie Dearden of the New York Times: “Jimmy Kimmel, the American late night host, appeared on British television screens on Christmas Day to deliver a so-called 'alternative Christmas message,' in which he said tyranny was 'booming' in the United States. Mr. Kimmel was asked to give the speech on the public broadcaster Channel 4, which each year chooses a different high-profile and sometimes controversial figure to provide a counterpoint to the monarch’s annual televised address.” ~~~
~~~ You can see the real king's speech at the top of yesterday's page. That speech is pretty good, too. ~~~
~~~ Then There's This. Peter Nicholas of NBC News: "After midnight [Christmas morning]..., the president posted or reposted more than 100 times on his Truth Social website, in many cases amplifying messages disparaging perceived political foes. As Christmas Day broke, the president made clear he is still captivated by his loss to Joe Biden in 2020.... Trump shared several posts attacking Somali immigrants." ~~~
~~~ As RAS wrote earlier yesterday, "At this point Fat Hitler doesn't even try any more with his holiday greetings. It is literally a form letter where they just insert the current holiday and the rest of the message is virtually the same. Even his messages and insults are tired and falling asleep. Very low energy." ~~~
~~~ And This. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump urged Democrats to 'enjoy what may be your last Merry Christmas' in a cryptic message on Thursday. 'Merry Christmas to all, including the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein, gave him bundles of money, went to his Island, attended his parties, and thought he was the greatest guy on earth,' wrote Trump, who was previously considered to be one of Epstein’s closest friends: '… only to “drop him like a dog” when things got too HOT, falsely claimed they had nothing to do with him, didn’t know him, said he was a disgusting person, and then blame, of course, President Donald J. Trump, who was actually the only one who did drop Epstein, and long before it became fashionable to do so....'”
Motoko Rich of the New York Times: “Pope Leo XIV on Thursday used his first Christmas message as pontiff to call for 'peace and consolation for the victims of all current wars in the world' as well as for those suffering from 'injustice, political instability, religious persecution and terrorism.' Leo echoed many of the concerns of his predecessor, Pope Francis, urging protection for refugees, victims of climate disasters, the unemployed and the exploited. Leo called for 'dialogue' in Latin America amid an escalating U.S. naval campaign there and for better care for migrants who 'traverse the American continent.' And he pushed for 'respectful dialogue' in Europe as leaders seek peace in Ukraine.” The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm sorry to say, the Pope's words fell on deaf ears because King Don & his vassal Drunk Pete had other ideas about fun ways to "protect" Christians. That "Price of Peace" stuff is so pâssé: ~~~
~~~ Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: “The United States launched a number of strikes against the Islamic State in northwestern Nigeria, President Trump announced on Thursday, the latest American military campaign against a nonstate adversary — in this case, Islamic jihadis who the president asserts have been slaughtering Christians. Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that 'the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!'” An AP report is here. ~~~
~~~ This attack gives a strange flavor to Pete's very un-American official message. It's worth noting that Charles, Defender of the Anglican Faith, was far more ecumenical than Drunk Pete. Jesus, even Pope Leo was far more ecumenical thank Drunk Pete. These people really are so stupid:
Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May His light bring peace, hope, and joy to you and your families. -- Pete Hegseth, on his "secretary of war" X account ~~~
~~~ Ashley Ahn of the New York Times: “The Trump administration celebrated Christmas on Thursday by posting a series of religious messages from official government accounts, using language that drew criticism from those who pointed to the country’s separation of church and state. While many lawmakers in both parties posted universal messages of love, joy and peace on the holiday, a number of cabinet members and agencies made references to Jesus and the religious meaning of Christmas.... Government officials have traditionally steered clear of such overtly religious language, as the Constitution bans an official state religion. The First Amendment’s establishment clause prohibits the government from establishing a religion or favoring one religion over another, while the free exercise clause protects the religious expression of all faiths.
“One of the most extensive Christmas messages was posted by the Homeland Security Department on Christmas Eve. It read, 'We are blessed to share a nation and a Savior,' and included a video that featured images including the American flag, Christmas trees, Santa Claus..., [Donald] Trump and a Nativity scene, along with the words “Remember the miracle of Christ’s birth.'” MB: I'm sure the irony of the DHS message would not be lost on Pope Leo. Indeed, even Google's Art Intel knows better, and Art is not even a person!:
Jesus taught that welcoming strangers is equivalent to welcoming Him, famously saying in Matthew 25,''I was a stranger and you welcomed me,' equating care for the vulnerable (hungry, thirsty, naked, sick) with serving Him directly, promising eternal life for those who show hospitality, and divine judgment for those who neglect the 'least of these'. This principle extends from Old Testament commands to love foreigners as oneself (Leviticus 19:33-34) and is a core message of Christian ethics, emphasizing radical hospitality and inclusion for all outsiders, refugees, and the poor. -- Art Intel, in answer to the question, "What did Jesus say about welcoming strangers?"
Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: “It has been a gruesome year for those who see Donald Trump’s kakistocracy clearly. He returned to office newly emboldened, surrounded by obsequious tech barons, seemingly in command of not just the country but also the zeitgeist. Since then, it’s been a parade of nightmares — armed men in balaclavas on the streets, migrants sent to a torture prison in El Salvador, corruption on a scale undreamed of by even the gaudiest third-world dictators and the shocking capitulation by many leaders in business, law, media and academia.... And yet, as 2025 limps toward its end, there are reasons to be hopeful. That’s because of millions of people throughout the country who have refused to surrender to this administration’s bullying.... Trump ends the year weak and unpopular, his coalition dispirited and riven by infighting.”
Marie: This NASA photo RAS linked late yesterday should scare the Bejesus into us atheists, so to speak. Not only are the Cosmos telling us that Jesus is the One, it would appear they are affirming that he's a White guy of the German persuasion (ergo, the traditional German Christmas tree image). I guess I can handle all that, but if next year, the Cosmos follow up with a sign of the Orange Jesus, I won't be able to take it.
Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: “More than 800 storm victims around [Hurricane] Helene-battered western North Carolina have applied under FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.... [Under the voluntary program,] qualified homeowners [can] get the pre-storm value of their house — and ... the program is meant to help at-risk communities reduce future disaster losses by getting the most vulnerable structures permanently out of harm’s way.... State officials vetted applications and began sending them up the chain to FEMA as far back as February. As of Dec. 15, they had sent nearly 600 buyout requests to Washington, with more likely to follow. So far, they say, not a single approval has come through. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein [D] has called the paralysis 'absolutely unacceptable,' and has pushed for answers.... Donald Trump during a visit early this year..., vowed to 'slash through every bureaucratic barrier.'... [Don Campbell of North Carolina's emergency management system said,] 'We understand that many of those applications are sitting on the desk of the secretary of homeland security.'...” ~~~
~~~ Marie: The buck doesn't stop at Barbie Kristi's desk. But everything else does. North Carolina is a purple state. Some year, a presidential election may hang on its outcome. So you would think the Trump administration would be bending over backwards to at least help the White people. But no. Whether because of deep staff cuts, a hatred of the "deep state," disinterest or sheer incompetence, they aren't even doing the little things that would make them look good.
Aishvarya Kavi of the New York Times: “A federal judge in New York on Thursday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from detaining a British researcher whom it accused of promoting the online censoring of American viewpoints. Imran Ahmed, the founder and chief executive of a nonprofit organization that works to stop the spread of online hate and disinformation, was among five Europeans barred by the State Department from the United States on Tuesday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media that the individuals, all of whom work to tackle disinformation and abuse on the internet, were barred from traveling to the United States because, he claimed, they 'have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.' The State Department said in a separate announcement that it had 'taken steps to impose visa restrictions' on those individuals and that the administration was justified in moving to expel them from the country.... Lawyers for Mr. Ahmed, who now lives in the United States and is a legal permanent resident, said they were concerned that the actions by the State Department pose an immediate threat to his status in the country.”
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13 comments:
Year’s end offers a good time for contemplative examinations of past events, future goals, and one’s own place in the world, and even if all is not as we would like it, it’s helpful to recognize what we do have and to be thankful it ain’t a whole crapload worse. As the Bobby McFerrin song suggested, don’t worry, be happy (which doesn’t always work, but it’s worth giving it a shot).
During the depression, songs like “We’re in the Money” might have been outlandish fantasies for most, but other depression era songs like “Keep Your Sunny Side Up” reminded listeners that “if you have nine sons in a row, baseball teams make money you know”, in other words, be happy with what you got.
According to the Google AI guy, happiness is a “…state of well-being and contentment, characterized by positive emotions like joy and satisfaction, a sense of purpose, meaningful connections, and feeling good about one's life and progress toward goals…”
You know who doesn’t have ANY of that? A certain grotesque character who, although he fancies himself king of the world, seems more miserable by the hour. Despite having everything anyone could ever want handed to him his entire life, he’s a miserable, whining, self-pitying crybaby. A crybaby who cheats, steals, lies, and murders, it’s true, but a whiny titty baby nonetheless.
So, as unkind as it might sound, I am taking immense pleasure in seeing this bloated windbag and crime boss spinning around in desperation because he doesn’t think he is accorded the unearned adulation he believes is his due.
“Fuck ‘im” might not be the most humane and kindly expression as we slide into 2026, but as the MAGAts tear into each other to see who can be the biggest asshole, and the current holder of that title is flailing, failing, and sailing off to Dementia Island where he can lord it over the monkeys, a certain contentedness settles in knowing that being a greedy, murdering fat man will not make one happy.
But to everyone else, here’s hoping 2026 is a helluva lot better. It won’t take much.
Like Akhilleus, Oliver Kornetzke is ending the year with unkind essays:
On T****: a mobile rind of excess cholesterol
"....to the detriment of all which is decent and aesthetic in the world, it lumbers forward with the obscene confidence of something that has never been corrected, never been embarrassed, and has spent its entire life parasitizing others while loudly insisting it is always the victim."
On American values: Strategic Value Realization
"America is not some majestic land of amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesties. That’s the brochure version. That’s the theory of America. The reality is an endless, suffocating, depressing hellscape of cracked pavement, Dollar General parking lots, and a thousand variations of the same miserable, gray, lifeless corporate husk pretending to be a town. "
I do wish there were some way to get Donald Trump to read every word of Kornetzke's description of him.
I wouldn't want to punish Trump exactly. I'm such a very nice person. But I would confine him to make sure he was not distracted and could absorb his reading material.
I would not deprive him of his creature comforts. But he would have to earn them by completing his assignment. For instance, in order to receive his Big Mac or to get the stuff he uses to do his hair or whatever, he would have to read and explain a sentence of clause of Kornetzke's description. And no refuting the description, no panning it. Or no Big Mac. No hair gel. No tanning makeup.
I would keep Trump locked up until he had done a very good job of taking in that description. But I am not a mean person: I would do this only because it would be good for Trump. This is a kindness.
There is something of Nurse Ratched in all of us. Trump brings that out.
"Merry Christmas to all, including the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein"
Fat Hitler always loves talking to himself.
"Here's Why You Get an Orange in Your Christmas Stocking"
"Parody of a Parody
Charity
"Federal government’s charity drive doing far worse under Trump
Donations are down by more than 40 percent after a year when federal workers faced major agency downsizing and a lengthy government shutdown."
Years ago, Grover Norquist said that any Republican was acceptable as President as long as he could sign his name. I guess he really meant anyone. Today's White House is a bizarro version of a Hans Christian Andersen tale with live animation. Satire is dead because his real persona is so much farther out there than any parody. But AK's point is well taken: Imagine 50 years ago that someone told you that in the future an American political party would turn into a real-life competition of America's Biggest Asshole, with valuable prizes like bribes and Neil Gorsuch.
On the Nigeria Christmas strike:
Said to the Times,
From the sound of this article, maybe we ought to train our sights exclusively on small boats...which may or may not be transporting drugs from somewhere to somewhere else.
Almost all the headlines I saw last night about the strikes in Nigeria echoed Fat Hitler's BS about them being about "attacks on Christians". But it was already established by anyone with an ounce of curiosity that weeks ago when FH first started crying and threatening about the attacks in Nigeria that they were equal opportunity attacks on the people of Nigeria that happens to be equally divided between Christians and Muslims. It was just another of Fox News' outrage lies to rile up their mostly elderly white bigoted audience. The one that includes the Orange Menace. And now that we have absolutely no one around Dementia Don that is willing to explain that not everything he sees on TV is reality we are repeatedly seeing lethal attacks around the world based on stories made up by Fox News and the psychopaths that surround him.
"Indiana GOP Rep Depicts Himself Pummeling Santa
Indiana state Sen. Chris Garten (R) is facing backlash after he kicked off Christmas Day by posting a bizarre series of AI-generated pictures showing him beat up Santa Claus in front of the state capitol building.
Garten later defended himself and claimed he was hit with “lots of intolerance, swearing, and outrage” over pictures he “had a blast designing” with his children."
This is fun family time for Republicans, pictures of them beating up Santa for an audience on Christmas. The chances that next year the family goes to the mall to beat up a Santa impersonator because the AI version isn't enough is not 0%. There is something seriously wrong with these people, and they are clearly imparting their psychosis on their little ones.
Wonkette
"Nice Time: Hero Of Australian Mass Shooting Thanked With Great Big $1.65 Million Check
People just want to help.
When he was asked what he’d say to the donors who helped the fundraiser, Al Ahmad went with his own version of Kurt Vonnegut’s “God damn it, you’ve got to be kind,” saying he’d tell people “To stand with each other, all human beings. And forget everything bad, behind the back [as in ‘put it behind you’] and keep going to save life.”
He said that when he acted, he did it “from the heart. Because it was a nice day, everyone enjoying celebrating, with their kids, woman, man, teenager all, everyone was happy and they deserve, they deserve to enjoy.”
It was a lovely day and people deserved to just enjoy it. If there’s a better motive for heroism, we don’t know what is."
The link also includes some of the good Samaritans in the aftermath of the Brown University shooting, including "mom hugs" for students who needed a little embrace the day after.
Re Nigeria, plus ca change ...
“Once, I remember, we came upon a man-of-war anchored off the coast. There wasn't even a shed there, and she was shelling the bush. It appears the French had one of their wars going on thereabouts. Her ensign dropped limp like a rag; the muzzles of the long six-inch guns stuck out all over the low hull; the greasy, slimy swell swung her up lazily and let her down, swaying her thin masts. In the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible, firing into a continent. Pop, would go one of the six-inch guns; a small flame would dart and vanish, a little white smoke would disappear, a tiny projectile would give a feeble screech—and nothing happened. Nothing could happen. There was a touch of insanity in the proceeding, a sense of lugubrious drollery in the sight; and it was not dissipated by somebody on board assuring me earnestly there was a camp of natives—he called them enemies!—hidden out of sight somewhere.”
― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
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