WHEN CLIMATE CHANGE IS FOR THE BETTER: Data shows dramatically less, not more, extreme weather in 2013.

SO I’VE REMARKED HERE BEFORE THAT WHEN I GET “TOO BUSY” FOR PLEASURE READING, I DON’T SEEM TO GET MORE DONE. NOW THIS: Brain function ‘boosted for days after reading a novel.’

THE PRESS HAS REALLY DONE ITS JOB ON THIS ONE: Majority of Americans still in the dark about incandescent light bulb phase-out. “The Jan. 1 deadline to end production of 60- and 40-watt incandescent light bulbs is fast approaching, but most Americans aren’t even aware that their traditional light sources will soon become a rare commodity, according to one consumer survey.”

Well, it’s not too late to stock up. Quite.

POLITIFACT DIGS DEEPER: “If any further proof were needed of the absurdity of our self-appointed political ‘fact-checkers’ this is it.”

TAXPROF: The IRS Scandal, Day 234.

WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Jon Stewart, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and the Zionist Takeover of Egypt: Anti-Semitism is the sign of profound mental and social failure — and a harbinger of more failures and errors to come.

When Jon Stewart visited Egypt in the summer, he made an appearance on ”Al Bernameg,” a (suspended) satirical show sometimes compared to Stewart’s own “The Daily Show.” He dropped a joke early in the gig when Bassem Yousseff, the host of the show, asked him what he was doing with his time (Stewart was on sabbatical): “As you know, my people like to wander in the desert. It’s been two weeks, I’ve got 50 weeks and 38 years left.”

Nothing alarming, right? Well, earlier this month, Egyptian writer Amr Ammar, in a remarkable leap into the realm of tinfoil hatted hate thought, took the joke as an effort by American leaders like Zbigniew Brzezinski and Stewart to conquer Egypt. . . .

Rabid anti-Semitism coupled with an addiction to implausible conspiracy theories is a very strong predictor of national doom; Nazi Germany isn’t the only country to have followed these dark stars to the graveyard of history. Many liberal minded Americans (though loathing both anti-Semitism and chowderheaded conspiracy thinking themselves) don’t like to look this truth in the eye. It leads to some very uncomfortable reflections about the potential for democracy in many countries beyond Egypt, and casts a dark shadow over the prospects for the development of a stable and prosperous Palestinian state. It suggests that there are narrow limits on what we can expect from diplomacy with Iran.

Indeed. Antisemitism is a mark of barbarity, and one can’t expect much from barbarians beyond more barbarity.

SHOCKER: Massachusetts, the model for Obamacare, has highest health costs in the United States.

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PAUL MIRENGOFF: The New York Times’ revisionist account of Benghazi. “I suspect that the Times story tells us more about Hillary Clinton’s assessment of the threat Benghazi poses to her likely 2016 run for president than it does about what happened in Benghazi. But to the extent that the Times story is viewed as shedding a new, different light on the Benghazi, perhaps the House should hold new hearings on the attack. . . . It also matters that the Obama administration’s account of the attack, per Susan Rice, was inaccurate even if one accepts the Times’ dubious reporting. The Times acknowledges this, though it chooses to characterize Rice’s account as just a ‘misstatement.'”

It’s all about trying to take the heat off Hillary. But we still don’t know why she refused repeated requests for more security in Benghazi. We also don’t know where Obama was that night. The Times doesn’t seem that interested in telling us, either.

ROLL CALL: Senate Conservative Fund Ramps Up.

THOUGHTS ON OPEN-CARRY ETIQUETTE: “Nothing says Aspie quite as loudly as riding your Segway around the grocery store while open-carrying your ‘SIG .45.'” It’s all about moving the Overton Window.

THEY DID BUILD THAT — TWICE! A conversation with Michelle Malkin and Jesse Malkin.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: We Pretend to Teach, They Pretend to Learn: At colleges today, all parties are strongly incentivized to maintain low standards.

IN VIRGINIA, the “Don’t Tread On Me” license plates are pretty popular.

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Most Americans Glad to See the End of 2013.

THE HILL: Five Senate Races To Watch.

DO TELL: Chicago’s Black Community Livid: ‘We’ve Been Trained to Vote in a Specific Manner.’

TIM CARNEY GOES OUT ON A LIMB: Prediction: This ‘Green Bank’ will get tangled up with cronyism scandals.

) This is New York State.

2) This is a government agency funding private businesses.

3) This is in a sector where profits already are tied up with politics.

4) This is in a sector in which people are always promising the next miracle fuel/technology.

Therefore: I predict we get an ugly cronyism/corruption scandal related to the NY Green Bank within two years.

Pretty safe bet.

WAIT, ISN’T IT SUMMER DOWN THERE? China icebreaker fails to reach stuck Antarctic ship.

AT AMAZON, year-end deals at the Amazon After-Christmas Sale.

PARTYING NOT THE PATHWAY TO JOY? Lessons from the College Twitter Happiness Index. There may be a self-selection issue here, though.

“I’M NOT IN CAMILLA ANYMORE.”

PHIL BOWERMASTER: We’re Better Off Now; We’ll Be Much Better Off Soon.

PARANOIA STRIKES DEEP: DNC sends email defending Obama from impeachment possibility.