Snowfall. ❄️

Tucker Carlson Says He Is Interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin - WSJ

“Most Americans have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine, or what his goals are now,” Carlson said in the video. “They’ve never heard his voice. That’s wrong. Americans have a right to know all they can about a war they’re implicated in

Let’s see, Russia invaded a sovereign nation, while promising that his massing forces were just on exercises, his forces massacred civilian populations, his military targeted civilian hospitals and infrastructure with missile and drone strikes, he’s buying equipment and material from Iran and North Korea, and mercenaries, acting at his direction, recruited from prison colonies to participate in the invasion.

Am I missing something?

Carlson’s evolution from a traditional, interventionist Republican who supported the Iraq war to an arch-isolationist, populist firebrand has in many ways mirrored the broader conservative movement that came to form the core of Trump’s base.

Here’s the truth. Carlson will do or say anything as long as it means that he gets more attention and more money. He’s encouraging division and outrage in our country because it’s the rage that’s monetizing him.

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - USCCB Daily Readings

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

Mark 1:35

Slowly, but surely, we’re pushing the boundaries of trying to escape reality. Humans have always sought these escape, but we’re taking it way further than any previous generation has ever attempted. This isn’t just seeking blissful escape, this is a rejection of the very notion of truth and beauty.

There’s no substitute for the authentic, real human experience.

Biden Names Elmo New Press Secretary - Babylon Bee

“Elmo is so happy to be here! Elmo loves talking about Iran! Hahaha!” said Elmo as he hosted his first press conference. “Elmo loves new friends! Peter, do you want to be Elmo’s friend??”

Biden to Visit East Palestine, Ohio, One Year After Train Derailment - WSJ

The trip would mark the first time Biden has visited the site since the accident devastated the small Ohio town

Consoler-in-Chief

Intelligence Reveals Details of U.N. Agency Staff’s Links to Oct. 7 Attack - WSJ

Six United Nations Relief and Works Agency workers were part of the wave of Palestinian militants who killed 1,200 people in the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust, according to the intelligence dossier. Two helped kidnap Israelis. Two others were tracked to sites where scores of Israeli civilians were shot and killed. Others coordinated logistics for the assault, including procuring weapons.

Of the 12 Unrwa employees with links to the attacks, seven were primary or secondary school teachers, including two math teachers, two Arabic language teachers and one primary school teacher.

The Trump-MAGA Purge - WSJ Opinion

“Nikki ‘Birdbrain’ Haley is very bad for the Republican Party and, indeed, our Country,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday on his social-media site. “Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them.”

The art of persuasion.

He may find people react to his threats by voting for another candidate, or not at all.

Trump Adviser Peter Navarro Gets Four-Month Sentence for Defying Jan. 6 Committee - WSJ

“You were more than happy to talk to the press about what you did… but not go up to the Hill to talk to Congress,” the judge said.

Hunter?

The Justice Department had suggested a six-month sentence for Navarro, saying he had thumbed his nose at congressional authority as if he were above the law.

Hunter.

The Money-Market Bonanza Is Over. So Is Now the Time for Stocks? - WSJ

The S&P and Dow both hit records Tuesday, making further gains from here difficult.

Why did the editor allow this line to be published?

The S&P 500 set more than 1,000 record highs between 1950 and 2021, according to an analysis by Royal Bank of Canada. One year later, those highs were followed by a correction—a decline of more than 20%—less than 7% of the time. When the time horizon was extended to 10 years, that number dropped to 0.

This was seven paragraphs later, and exactly my point.

The Labor Union That Defeated Amazon Is Fighting for Survival - WSJ

The union is “dealing with a lot of institutional failure—failure of the labor law and failure of American businesses to really accept unionizing without putting up a battle,” said Wilma Liebman, formerly chair of the National Labor Relations Board under President Barack Obama.

Sometimes, when you’re asked to give a quote, a simple “no” is best.

The GOP Wants Pure, Uncut Trumpism as Haley’s Path Forward Narrows - WSJ

What the GOP’s most loyal voters want, it seems, is pure, uncut Trumpism—with all the baggage and ideological divergence from traditional conservatism that entails.

I’m old enough to remember when Trump wasted two months after his election on his loss instead of on winning the Georgia Senate runoffs.

The GOP lost the Senate, and we got the radical appointees, endless mandates, administrative state fiat galore, economic misery, and rancor of the last four years.

Gracious Trump Runs Out To Welcome Prodigal DeSantis Back Home - Babylon Bee

“This son of mine was dead, and boy, was he so dead, I mean really, really dead, believe me. But now, he is alive again; he was lost and is found. He was Meatball, but now he is Ron. He was DeSanctimonious, but now he is DeSantis once again. So fantastic, really.”

The 2024 Republican Choice - WSJ

It also isn’t clear Mr. Trump could attract first-rate advisers. The lure of power is strong, but anyone who takes a job had better have a lawyer on retainer. No conservative who wants a career in the law is likely to accept a job in the White House or Justice—not after what Mr. Trump asked his lawyers to do after the 2020 election.

Tim Scott to Endorse Trump for GOP Nomination, in Blow to Haley - WSJ

The endorsement is another sign of the difficulty Haley faces in a party that appears to be coalescing behind the former president.

Mistake.