HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, even the losers, haters, and enemies.

NEW CIVILITY WATCH: CAIR-LA Chief, executive board member of the California Democratic Party, Wishes More Had Been Killed in Russian Plane Crash.

I hope the Russians love their children, too.

AT AMAZON, bestsellers in Arts, Crafts, and Sewing.

Plus, bestsellers in Beauty and Grooming.

FASTER, PLEASE: Damaged Mitochondria Associated With Aging and Cancer Can Be Removed Using a New Process.

WE’RE GONNA PARTY LIKE IT’S 1955.

BILL GATES: World faces decade at risk from antibiotic-resistant bugs.

UH OH:

ROGER KIMBALL: A Lesson from Machiavelli.

AT AMAZON, deals on Game Downloads.

LIFE IN THE TIM COOK ERA: Consumer Reports Stands By Its Verdict, Won’t Recommend Apple’s MacBook Pro.

I ALMOST MISSED THIS HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE STORY: Maryland College President Defends Lavish Expense Account, Including Plane Upgrades, Private Car Service. “Despite the college’s payments on her leased Infiniti Q70, she reportedly uses a pricey car service and in one instance, spent $292 to travel 15 miles for a radio interview about ‘how to make community college more affordable.'”

JOURNALISM:

HELLO 2017: Farewell 2016.

A sobering Battle of the Bulge photo. American troops using a horse to move supplies.

Cold, huh? Real guts.

What’s changed in Mexico’s Cartel War in the last ten years?

Yeah, I’m still waiting for the the FBI to investigate Democratic Party thuggery in the 2016 election.

Let’s hope for better than the same old same old.

ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES:

Shot: Controversial QB Colin Kaepernick named most courageous and inspirational player by his 49ers’ teammates.

Chaser: ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Threatens to Dethrone Sunday Night Football as TV’s Most Watched Show.

You went full SJW, NFL. Never go full SJW.

ISTANBUL: At Least 35 Dead In Attack On Nightclub.

AT AMAZON, deals in Camera and Photo.

Plus, deals in Mysteries, Thrillers, and Suspense.

MY PREDICTION: THE WORSE 2017 IS, THE MORE HE’LL DOUBLE-DOWN ON THE “SOCIAL-JUSTICE” CRAP. Tim Cook’s terrible year in review.

Some suggestions: Bring back the headphone jack. Let the iPhone 8 be 1/8″ thicker, but with double the battery life. Quit making changes that haven’t been tested on significant numbers of ordinary users.

But I’ll bet we’ll get more “social justice” crap instead.

SPEAKING OF A FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMED AMERICA, Mexican Man Charged with Raping Girl on Bus Had 19 Deportations, Removals Since 2003.

WE ALL HAVE OUR GOALS: A Gut Makeover for the New Year.

ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: People are still trying to figure out why Talking Points Memo editor tweeted link to lesbian porn.

LIFE IN A FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMED AMERICA: Dump trucks filled with sand will guard New Year’s Eve revelers in NYC. “When filled with sand, the 16-ton trucks nearly double in weight. Considering ISIS carried out attacks in Germany and France by plowing trucks into crowds, the hulking DSNY trucks are a perfect mobile barricade that should give any plotters pause. And if a terrorist – home-grown or otherwise – attempts to detonate a bomb, the huge trucks are fully capable of absorbing blasts and shrapnel.”

JOHN SCHINDLER: DONALD TRUMP CAN STOP PUTIN, BUT WILL HE WANT TO?

THE COMPLETION BACKWARDS PRINCIPLE: Over at Ed Driscoll.com, I attempt to make some sense of 21st century Hollywood’s schizophrenic product: comic book movies and “progsploitation,” with assists from veteran comic book writer Alan Moore and Ace of Spades.

ROAD TEST: The 2017 Porsche 718 Boxster S.

THE NAVY’S NEW TORPEDOES: They have longer range and are “resistant” to enemy counter-measures.

Modifications to the weapon improves the acoustic receiver, replaces the guidance-and-control hardware with updated technology, increases memory, and improves processor throughput to handle the expanded software demands required to improve torpedo performance against evolving threats, according to Navy information on the weapon.

RELATED: Swarmware for unmanned surface vessels (USVs). The post includes a discussion of anti-submarine warfare USVs.