Robert Reich

Sunday thought: How Christmas will steal the Trump
His malignant narcissism prevents him from understanding public anxiety about the cost of living





Friends,

Trump gave what was billed as a “Christmas speech” in rural Pennsylvania this past week that began with his “wishing each and every one of you a very merry Christmas, happy New Year, all of that stuff” and boasting that now, under his presidency, “everybody’s saying ‘merry Christmas’ again.”

Then he claimed — contrary to the experience of nearly everyone in the crowd — that he had gotten them “lower prices” and “bigger paychecks.” And asserted that anyone having difficulty making ends meet should just cut back on buying stuff. “You can give up certain products. You can give up pencils … Every child can get 37 pencils. They only need one or two,” he said, adding, “You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter. Two or three is nice. You don’t need 37 dolls.”

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At A Glance

The Christmas tree market is valued at more than $6B.

A history of the mall Santa.

Check out this smooth, scrollable timeline of every "SNL" cast and member.

The Chicagoans bonding over rat taxidermy. (More animal content here.)

Listen to a collection of found cassette tapes featuring music and voice memos.

An interactive map of Kurt Cobain's life in Grays Harbor County. (Rock 'n' roll 101.)

The ins and outs of an annual pigeon race featuring more than 1,000 birds.

An endearing look at (and interpretation of) what we search for on Google.

Is ice slippery due to amorphization—a chaos of molecules caused by sliding?

Medieval people used the moon as a versatile religious metaphor. (What else we've learned about the moon.)

How Microsoft Excel won the hearts of corporate nerds everywhere.

Cancer treatment gains would likely change the plot of hit show "Breaking Bad."

The 2006 dystopia "Idiocracy" clad dullards in Crocs before the shoes were a hit.

An absurdly long list of one guy's hundreds of fortune cookie fortunes.

Motocross is the deadliest organized sport for US kids.

5 EASY BREAKFASTS (plant-based & high-protein)

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

Historic floods batter Washington state.

Washington is under a state of emergency, with evacuation orders in place for tens of thousands of residents after atmospheric rivers dumped over 15 inches of rain in recent days. Several rivers have surged to record heights, and many bridges and roads have been washed out without a timeline for reopening. Some people have been rescued by helicopter. Another storm system is expected to bring more rain Sunday.




House Democrats release new photos from Epstein estate.

Lawmakers released 19 photos from a trove of more than 95,000 images recently obtained from the estate of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The images feature President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, among other high-profile figures. Meanwhile, the Justice Department faces a Dec. 19 deadline to unseal Epstein-related files under a law passed in November.




Fired University of Michigan head football coach charged.

Sherrone Moore, 39, was charged yesterday with home invasion, stalking, and breaking and entering days after he was fired as the University of Michigan's head football coach over an inappropriate relationship with a fellow staffer. The charges stem from an alleged incident at that staffer's apartment hours after his dismissal. Moore was granted a $25K bond and is set to appear in court again on Jan. 22.




Thai parliament dissolved over controversial constitutional changes.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved the House of Representatives following approval from the king, triggering a 45- to 60-day countdown to new elections. The move follows a dispute over expanding elected lawmakers' powers. Anutin will lead a caretaker government until the elections and said the dissolution won't affect Thailand's military operations in its escalating border dispute with Cambodia.




Reddit challenges Australia's under-16 social media ban.

Online forum Reddit filed a lawsuit alleging the world-first law—implemented Wednesday—prevents teens from engaging in age-appropriate community experiences and imposes an intrusive, insecure age-verification process on all users. The Australian government declined to comment on the suit as of this writing.




Iran reportedly arrests Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.

Iranian forces arrested the human rights activist and others at a memorial service for a human rights lawyer, according to her supporters. Rights groups have called for a probe into the lawyer's death, with some suggesting it may have been a state murder. Mohammadi, 53, was in prison when she received the 2023 Nobel Prize for fighting women’s oppression and had been on temporary leave since last December.




Crypto mogul Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Do Kwon, the cofounder of Singapore-based Terraform Labs, pleaded guilty in US federal court to fraud charges after an international search. The charges stem from a $40B crash that occurred in 2022 after two digital currencies he designed—TerraUSD and Luna—plunged in value. Prosecutors had recommended a 12-year sentence, and Kwon faced a maximum 25-year sentence.

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Social Media

 

SOCIAL MEDIA platforms are so popular these days that pretty much everyone (and I mean that literally) is posting something these days.

The most popular platforms are:

1. LinkedIn
2. Reddit
3. YouTube
4. Snapchat
5. Facebook
6. Twitter (X)
7. Tik Tot
8. Instagram
9. Pinterest
10. WhatsApp
11. Threads
12. QQ
13. Weibo
14. Clubhouse
15. Douyin
16. Quora
17. Discord
18. Tumblr
19. Telegram
20. WeChat
21. Twitch
22. Kuaishou
23. Mastodon

Wikipedia, has a list of social media platforms with 100 million users, that includes the 23 sites above plus more...  CLICHERE to view that list.

Social Media platforms allow us to communicate with others without communicating face to face, which gives both sides the opportunity to say pretty much anything they want without the fear of being punched.

Social Media platforms also gives us the opportunity to pretend to be anyone that we want to pretend to be.

Social Media platforms, many of which are free, allow us to create platforms and use avatars rather than a real photo of ourselves.  Some people use photos of themselves that are 20-30 years old, implying they are younger than they really are.

The user should beware of social media platforms, unfortunately, there are tons of people on these platforms that are there specifically to prey on the WEAK.

Somewhat Political

 

Physicists Found the Ghost Haunting the World’s Most Famous Particle Accelerator

In research published in the journal Nature Physics, scientists at CERN in Switzerland and Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany announced that they had isolated a resonant “ghost” that affects how particles behave inside the Super Proton Synchotron (SPS).

It’s a 3D shape that shifts over time, meaning it’s best measured in 4D. And the secret is the same reason you spill your coffee walking back to your desk, or super-bounce your friends off the trampoline.

The SPS is a ring that’s nearly four miles across, dating back to the 1970s. That sounds like ancient history, but the SPS has remained vital at CERN. In 2019, it received an upgraded “beam dump,” which is like the runaway truck ramp for the high-powered beams inside the SPS. So, when researchers noticed the ghost in the machine, so to speak, they knew it was important to map and understand for future work.

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Arlo Guthrie - "St.James Infirmary"

Tribal Marks by Babajide Olatunji

 

VINCE

 

Lara Logan

 

Inside Out

 

Shannon Joy Show

 

Bongino Report

 

Amber May Show

 

Light Rays

 

Dinesh D'Souza

 

Alex Jones Show

 

Russell Brand

 

Peaceful

 

The White House

 

The Big MIG

 

TimcastIRL

 

Foot Hills

 

Brookings Brief

Learning curves: Post-COVID learning trajectories differ by the grade a student was in when the pandemic hit

Headlines

Ian McKinnon



Pot stocks got high after reports Trump plans to reclassify marijuana. Cannabis stocks rallied yesterday after news outlets reported that President Trump plans to ease federal restrictions on marijuana. The Washington Post reported that the president was preparing an executive order that would facilitate moving marijuana from its current Schedule I status, which puts it in the same category as heroin and LSD, to a Schedule III substance, a group that includes Tylenol with codeine and some hormone treatments. Sources told CNBC the order could come Monday. While the change would not legalize weed, it would make it more available for research and allow cannabis companies to get more investment.

Executive order targets state AI laws. President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that seeks to block AI regulation by individual states, saying it would create a single federal regulatory framework and keep the US at the forefront of the tech. The order authorizes the attorney general to sue over state AI restrictions and tells federal regulators to withhold funds for projects like broadband from states with such laws. The move was controversial, as Republicans had opted against including clauses barring state-level AI rules in recent legislation. And it may not even deter states from moving ahead with their rules, especially because the order is likely to face a court challenge.

Former Michigan football coach charged with crimes after firing. Ex-University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore was arraigned on three charges yesterday for crimes allegedly committed hours after the school fired him. Prosecutors charged Moore with felony third-degree home invasion, as well as stalking in a domestic relationship and breaking and entering, both misdemeanors. The university said Moore was fired because of his relationship with a woman who also worked for the school, and at the time he was fired, Moore had nearly $12.3 million remaining on his contract, according to ESPN. Prosecutors claim that after being terminated, he “barged his way” into the apartment of the woman—with whom he had been involved for “a number of years” before she broke up with him and informed the school, prompting his dismissal—and threatened to kill himself.—AR

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At A Glance

Bookkeeping
> More than 100: Daily visitors to the "Home Alone" house in Chicago's northern suburbs this holiday season.
> 15,000: Number of spins a California man has taken on Disneyland's "Cars"-themed Radiator Springs Racers ride.

Browse
> Far more Americans want to live in the past than in the future.
> Roman generals gifted kittens and pigs to their monkeys.
> Blue arctic fox tops National Wildlife Photo Contest.
> Italian fugitive arrested for Nativity scene prank.

Listen
> Why more people are identifying as introverts.
> How millions of pounds of surplus World War II military gear shaped fashion.

Watch
> Jumping spiders are changing how we think about brains.
> How different sleeping positions impact your health.
> The art and science of failing well.

Long Read
> Twenty-six most important ideas for 2026.
> Lessons learned making and breaking bread in jail.

Most Clicked This Week: Foolproof formula to avoid awkward goodbyes.

Historybook: Diplomat George Shultz born (1920); Actor Dick Van Dyke born (1925); Taylor Swift born (1989); 10 new countries announced to join European Union (2002); Saddam Hussein captured by American forces (2003).

The Spicy Tofu Noodle Stir Fry that’s Better than Takeout

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