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And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you — all of you on the good Earth.
— Frank Borman, in lunar orbit, 24 December 1968
Reading Time: 6 minutes 15 seconds
Today is Saturday, December 24th, 2022. It is Last Minute Shopper’s Day and National Eggnog Day.
On This Day
In 1814, representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.
In 1818, the first performance of “Silent Night” took place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.
In 1865, Jonathan Shank and Barry Ownby formed the Ku Klux Klan.
In 1913, the Italian Hall Disaster occurred in Calumet, Michigan, resulting in the deaths of 73 Christmas party participants, including 59 children.
In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge appeared at the lighting of the first national Christmas tree to grace the White House grounds.
In 1929, a four-alarm fire broke out in the West Wing of the White House.
In 1943, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was named Supreme Allied Commander for the invasion of Normandy.
In 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit, becoming the first men to do so. They performed ten lunar orbits and broadcast live television pictures.
In 1973, Congress passed the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, allowing residents of Washington to elect their own government.
In 1997, Woody Allen married Soon-Yi Previn in Venice, Italy.
Today's Birthdays
Preening liar Anthony Fauci is 82. Actor Mark Valley is 58. Actor Diedrich Bader is 56. Singer-songwriter Ricky Martin, born Enrique Martín Morales, is 51. Producer and media personality Ryan Seacrest is 48.
The Links
Sen. Rand Paul airs grievances in ‘Festivus Report’ on federal waste (New York Post)
“Some of the most bizarre spending comes from National Institutes of Health research on animals, including a $2.3 million study injecting 6-month-old beagle puppies with cocaine, $1.1 million for ‘training mice to binge drink alcohol’ and a $3 million study at Northeastern University that involved ‘watch[ing] hamsters fight on steroids.’”
How the Left Became What It Once Hated (Jeffrey A. Tucker)
“Someone coming of age right now would never have any idea that the Left once had some central principles that revolve around themes of freedom. They were free speech, bodily autonomy, peace, small business over large, the poor and middle class over the rich, freedom of expression and art, and opposition to ruling-class manipulation of the system on behalf of the privileged instead of the common good. They were deeply suspicious of the national-security state, corporate elites, and arbitrary uses of executive power. They were against corruption in government.”
What if New Coke Had Been a Government Program? (American Institute for Economic Research)
“All of this has me wondering: what if New Coke, Crystal Pepsi, and failed McDonald’s menu items had been government programs? The reaction might have been swift (people took to the streets after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, for example) but it probably would have taken a lot longer for these companies to correct their mistakes, if they did at all. In the meantime, valuable land, labor, and capital would have been tied up in producing products hardly anybody wanted. They would have been difficult to get rid of because each would have had a vocal constituency trying to protect it (I have fond memories of McDonald’s chicken fajitas and would love to see them return). The government regulators would have been poorly positioned to decide because they would not have faced direct costs or enjoyed direct benefits. In a market economy, profits and losses give us pretty reliable guidance as to when we’re using resources wisely or wastefully.”
Census: Americans Still Voting with Their Feet for Redder States (National Review)
“The changes in the country betray a clear regional pattern of population-shifting towards the South and West, and of big blue states losing population to big red states. Of the states whose population is growing, the top seven are all varying shades of red: Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and South Carolina added a total of 1.41 million residents between mid 2021 and mid 2022.”
The new aristocracy of victimhood (spiked)
“This is not just about Harry and Meghan. The values this privileged couple embody and the ideas they articulate are continually affirmed by the cultural elite. Netflix, Spotify and book publishers stump up millions for their output. Just this month, the Sussexes were recognised for their ‘philanthropic work fighting against racism and oppression around the world’ by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation. Academics and journalists lend credibility to their remarks on the Commonwealth and their criticisms of the media. An army of tweeters and commentators are permanently ready to leap to the couple’s defence.”
October Driving Greater Than in 2019 (Randal O’Toole)
“The states that saw the greatest increase in driving, relative to October 2019 miles, were South Dakota (22.6%), Arizona (18.8%), Rhode Island (17.6%), Montana (15.4%), Missouri (11.2%), and South Carolina (11.1%).”
U.S. Department of Energy Top Accomplishments in 2022 (U.S. Department of Energy)
“DOE released a list of 144 Justice40 covered programs across 23 program offices that support President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure Federal agencies deliver 40% of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other investments to disadvantaged communities.”
Japan Embraces Nuclear Power, Cancels Phase Out Plans (Watts Up With That?)
“Japanese leaders appear to enjoy mocking Western green narratives, and sometimes appear to try to push the envelope, to see how much transparent nonsense Western greens will swallow. Such as when they provided ‘climate finance’ loans for India, Bangladesh and Indonesia to build new coal plants.”
Senate passes orbit debris cleanup bill (SpaceNews)
“The bill would direct NASA, working with other government agencies and the private sector, to publish a list of debris objects ‘that pose the greatest immediate risk to the safety and sustainability of orbiting satellites and on-orbit activities.’ The bill doesn’t define how to calculate that risk or how many objects to include in the list.”
For Gaza’s Christians, Christmas is marred by permits and checkpoints (Mondoweiss)
“Like the rest of Gaza’s population, they live under siege, which means that access to the outside world is heavily restricted by Israel. For Gazans, any travel to the West Bank or Jerusalem requires Israeli permission first — that includes visits to holy sites.”
So Much for Biden’s Promise to End U.S. Support for the War in Yemen (The New Republic)
“Although the Taliban did in fact take over, Biden was right to stick to his pledge to withdraw troops. He should do the same with respect to U.S. policy in Yemen. The political winds haven’t shifted as far as they had on Afghanistan, but the fact that some members of Congress are now willing to step in to force Biden’s hand is evidence that they’re moving in that direction.”
Once More, Neocons, Into The Breach! (Rod Dreher)
“To be clear, I don’t blame Zelensky for giving that speech. The man is a patriot, and he is brave. Nobody can fault him for playing the hand history has dealt him. But come on: we fell for Ahmed Chalabi on Iraq. We fell for Hamid Karzai on Afghanistan. We Americans are suckers for foreigners who know how to strike a resonant rhetorical chord within our breasts. They make us feel good about ourselves. We keep shoveling gobs of money at them, for the sake of Democracy™, never once stopping to consider whether or not their crusades are in America’s interests.”
New Ukraine aid is a go — and it’s more than most states get in a year (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)
"[I]t’s more aid than the United States has supplied to any country in one year since at least the Vietnam War. It’s also far more than the $84 billion Russia is expected to spend on its military in 2023. In fact, U.S. assistance to Ukraine is more than every country in the world spends on its military, save for the United States and China. The $113 billion is also nearly as much as the omnibus bill allocates for baseline spending at the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security combined, and it’s almost as much as the $118.7 billion the United States will spend on medical care for all U.S. military veterans.”
Webb of Lies? Astrophysicist Targeted Due to Study Exonerating James Webb of Being Anti-Gay (Jonathan Turley)
“He further noted that ‘Mr. Webb did not lead efforts to oust gays; there was not yet a gay rights movement in 1949; and to apply the term homophobe is to use a word out of time and reflects nothing Mr. Webb is known to have written or said.’”
Roger Miller’s “Old Toy Trains” Is An Underrated Country Christmas Gem (Whiskey Riff)
“The songs speaks of children’s enthrallment with the Christmas season and the awesome traditions that make it just that much more special, most notably a train around the tree.”
Your Turn
1. Should federal bureaucracies “deliver 40% of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other investments to disadvantaged communities”?
2. On a scale of 0 to 10, how much do you despise Anthony Fauci?
3. If work, family, friends, etc. were not issues, would you prefer to live in a blue state or a red state?
4. Open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
5. Are you surprised that Woody and Soon-Yi have lasted 25 years?
1. No. It is wealth distribution. So over these programs.
2. I am with Jman, 11. He destroyed many lives and is liar.
3. Red state for sure.
4. When my parents were alive we always opened on Christmas Eve. Now, it just depends. Some years Christmas Eve and some years Christmas Day.
5. I am. Seems like the Hollywood marriages like that don't last very long.
Merry Christmas Dowd!
1. Should federal bureaucracies “deliver 40% of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other investments to disadvantaged communities”?
What constitutes a disadvantaged community?
All of New Mexico is a disadvantaged community, with the exception of a couple of wealthy neighborhoods!! So I guess we will all get richer this year!
2. On a scale of 0 to 10, how much do you despise Anthony Fauci?
11!! There’s nothing to say about this ASS except May you ROT IN HELL!!
3. If work, family, friends, etc. were not issues, would you prefer to live in a blue state or a red state?
RED all the way! It may change one of these days, as does politics, but for now RED is way ahead!!
4. Open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
My family started with opening presents 🎁 on Christmas morning. Then, after my parents divorced, it became Christmas Eve. Now, it doesn’t matter anymore, because I never get presents or see family.
5. Are you surprised that Woody and Soon-Yi have lasted 25 years?
Not really, weirdos love other weirdos!!