AT AMAZON, Shop the Winter Sale. #CommissionEarned

MATT TAIBBI: Democracy Dies in Daylight: Eight years ago the Washington Post pledged to save democracy, but now argues we need to be saved from it.

NOT DIFFICULT ENOUGH: Arnold Kling: The Left had a difficult year: Its internal splits were pronounced.

INTERESTING STUFF:  December 28, 2023 Quick space links.

GOOD:  Today’s blacklisted American wins $185K settlement from college that fired him.

PLAYING WITH FIRE, NEAR GASOLINE PUMPS:  Maine Secretary of State Determines Trump Ineligible for Primary Ballot Under the 14th Amendment.

And they’re doing it for idiotic virtue signal. They expect the kind of Twitter story that ends with “And everybody cheered.” Morons. No. sorry, Nematodes. No, wait. Rocks, aspiring to be nematodes.  With apologies to the smarter variety of rocks.

YOU KNOW WHEN ISRAEL SHOULD TALK CEASE FIRE? AFTER HAM-ASS UTTERLY SURRENDERS AND CRUCIFIES THEIR EVIL LEADERS THEMSELVES:  “The Times viewed photographs of one woman’s corpse … with dozens of nails driven into her thighs and groin”.

I GUESS SHE DIDN’T MEET ANY ‘INNOCENT CIVILIANS’ DURING HER TIME IN GAZA:  Freed Israeli hostage Mia Schem ‘went through holocaust’ in Hamas captivity in Gaza: ‘Everyone over there is a terrorist’.

THAT SEEMS ALMIGHTY PRECOCIOUS – IT’S BEEN 7 YEARS SINCE KERRY HAD ANY PROMINENCE (OBAMA’S SECRETARY OF STATE; THIS CURRENT CLIMATE AMBASSADORSHIP GIG IS TWADDLE):  Nikki Haley dissed by 9-year-old at NH town hall: You’re ‘the new John Kerry’.

THEY’RE PLAYING WITH FIRE, IN THE ARMORY; THEY’RE TAP-DANCING ON THE POWDER BARREL; AND THEY’RE SOOOO PROUD OF THEMSELVES:  Colorado puts Trump back on 2024 GOP primary ballot while ruling is appealed.

FUN ACTIVITIES FOR UNEMPLOYED KREMLINOLOGISTS:  How Trump family Christmas photo reveals Barron is set for new public role: source.

ANALYZE QUICKLY, THERE’S NO TIME TO WASTE:  Israel forces are analyzing intelligence windfall gathered since the invasion of Gaza.

FUNNY HOW THE MEANING OF ‘COOPERATED WITH AUTHORITIES’ SO OFTEN MEANS “SUPPORTED THE NARRATIVE”:  Jan. 6 rioter who was sentenced in secret provided information to authorities, unsealed papers say.

NATIONALIZING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WORKS AS WELL AS WITH ANY OTHER KIND OF PROPERTY:  Cutting-edge drugs could vanish under Biden’s unprecedented move to seize patents.

AND THAT, FRIENDS, EXPLAINS THE HOSTILITY TO FAITH AND FAMILY:  Riley Gaines credits faith, family for courage to speak out on transgender athletes.

SCENARIOS? ARE THOSE LIKE COMPUTER MODELS?  AI saves far more lives than it takes — for now.

HOW WE GOT ABOARD THIS HANDBASKET TO HE[CK], A REVIEW:  A beginners’ guide to the Great Covid Con, Part 1: Could it happen again?

A beginners’ guide to the Great Covid Con, Part 2: The fraudulent excess deaths of 2020.

A beginners’ guide to the Great Covid Con, Part 3: Manufacturing excess deaths

IOWAHAWK:  Before President Polk went to bed on December 28, 1846, he wrote in his diary, “Nothing much happened today.”  In fact, he’d signed into law the bill that made Iowa our 29th state.  Happy Birthday, Iowa.  I think you’re something.

OPEN THREAD: Just do it.

GREAT MOMENTS IN UN-SELFAWARENESS– Journalism Edition: I’m the first person to say that you have a right to bloviate bullsh*t. Fine.

But even understanding that The Daily Beast is about as scummy as it gets, (given that Gawker is no more), check the following phrases and you tell me if this is “reporting” or Op/ED:

• “BOTTOM FEEDING”
• “The MAGA network”
• “The channel’s fourth-quarter primetime ratings, meanwhile, have dropped 14 percent compared to the previous quarter, though they are still up significantly compared to 2022” [Citation? Meh.]
• “cartoonish pro-Trump sycophancy”
• “the bottom-feeding MAGA channel”

This asshat is entirely within his rights to make such editorializations, but would somebody tell me why the slimeballs at The Daily Beast think this is “reporting” instead of editorial?

These dolts say “Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.” Am I the only one who thinks a good tip would to be stop dressing up Opinion as “news”? Go for it.

*Disclaimer: I have never represented either Newsmax nor The Daily Beast in any legal matter.*