Saturday at the Symphony. 🎼

President Biden’s State of the Union Address 2024 – Analysis and Updates - WSJ

Taxpayers at all income levels received tax cuts, on average, with the biggest benefits as a share of income going to people in the 95th to 99th percentiles, according to the Tax Policy Center.

More benefits would’ve gone to the 50% of Americans who pay $0.00 a year in Federal income tax, but math.

Mainstream Media Warn If Trump Is Elected He Might Indict His Political Enemies, Imprison Detractors, And Rig Elections In His Favor - Babylon Bee

“We have to bend or break every moral and ethical rule in existence to keep Trump from breaking the rules.”

John Kerry Is Stepping Down as Climate Envoy at Age 80. He Isn’t Going Quietly. - WSJ

Then Kerry plans to hit the road as a private citizen, dropping in on a major oil-industry conference in Houston to press energy executives to join the ranks of other business leaders throwing their weight behind the transition.

He’ll continue to travel by private jet, one assumes.

Supreme Court Rules Donald Trump Can Stay on Colorado Primary Ballot - WSJ

The court unanimously agreed that Trump should appear on the ballot

Illegitimate court.

The group behind the challenge, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that Trump won on technical grounds. “It will be up to the American people to ensure accountability,” said CREW’s president Noah Bookbinder.

As it always was, until CREW attempted to use the courts to substitute their viewpoint for the American people’s.

IRS puts 125,000 high-income individuals not filing tax returns on notice, to recoup millions owed - WTOP

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters on Thursday that notices are going out to 25,000 individuals with more than $1 million in income, and 100,000 notices to people with incomes between $400,000 and $1 million between tax years 2017 and 2021.

WOW! Big, bold action by the IRS after up to 6 years of not so much as sending these people a letter?

Werfel said the IRS non-filer program has only run “sporadically” since 2016, because of “severe budget cuts and staff limitations.”

The high cost of postage is a burden on us all.

Prediction: FDIC seizes New York Community Bank at market close, reopens Monday under new ownership.

A bit of an odd day.

I will occasionally get behind on posts for Catholic Husband, but I always catch back up.

Unfortunately, that means some posts don’t get the attention they deserve. Here are two recents that I enjoy that were published slightly behind schedule:

⍟ 6,570 (February 19, 2024)

⍟ Contend (February 12, 2024)

Pentagon Finds It Properly Handled Austin’s Hospitalization - WSJ

The Pentagon found it did nothing wrong in deciding to not immediately inform President Biden or legislators of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s whereabouts when he was hospitalized earlier this year, finding in an internal review that staff followed existing guidelines and sought to protect the defense chief’s privacy.

Job well done, then.

AT&T to Reimburse Customers Struck by Outage - WSJ

A $5 credit to eligible accounts will appear within two billing cycles, the company said.

Mindblowing generosity…talk about paying it forward!!

The cost of reimbursement is “fully manageable while achieving the 2024 business objectives we have set for ourselves and our stated financial guidance,” Stankey wrote.

90 million subscribers x $5 = $450M. AT&T won’t even feel this…and maybe that’s the problem.

Americans have racked up a trillion dollars in credit card debt. That’s actually OK - WTOP News

The issue with those figures is that they don’t factor in that about 55% of borrowers repay their balances in full each month

What’s 30% of $500B?

Made my first PlaneDocs delivery today!

Hunter Biden Shows Joe Is No Longer in Control of the Plot - WSJ Opinion

With Jenga pieces flying all about, with further upsets yet to be named, an election of Nikki Haley vs. Ms. Harris isn’t out of the question—or the GOP’s Ms. Haley vs. any of the hale-and-heartier Democrats who might elbow their way to the fore in Mr. Biden’s absence.

Holman’s column is always a must read for me. He always has interesting takes on the stories of the day.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump Cases Imperil the Rule of Law - WSJ Opinion

In Delaware, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Court of Chancery ordered the unwinding of five years of Mr. Musk’s incentive-based compensation at Tesla, which had been approved by 80% of the company’s shareholders. The plaintiff, Richard Tornetta, held nine shares in 2018—worth about $200 then and $2,000 today, after the execution of the compensation plan that supposedly injured him.

That’s pretty stunning.

Biden’s Student Loan Boast: The Supreme Court ‘Didn’t Stop Me’ - WSJ Opinion

But worst of all is Mr. Biden’s blatant rejection of the law, even after the Supreme Court called him out. Is it any wonder that GOP voters don’t take Democratic alarms about losing democracy seriously? Mr. Biden doesn’t take his own warnings seriously.

Stay-At-Home Mom Lets Loose, Mixes Lights And Darks On Cold Wash Cycle - Babylon Bee

As of publishing time, Becky reportedly was heard singing sassy jazz songs from the laundry room while she brazenly threw unmatched socks into her kids’ laundry bins while cackling like a hyena. Joe had decided it might be a good night to order pizza.

I’ve done laundry on 5 of the last 9 days. I relate to this.

70° and sunny.

All of my appliances sing a slightly different song when they complete their cycles. Laundry day is both melodic and confusing. 🧺

Early voting is a wonderful thing for parents!

🇺🇸

Alison and I think of vacation in the same way. While some people prefer new adventures and exploring new cities, we like to go to the same places to do the same things. We’ve just returned from our third annual trip to Crystal Mountain ski resort in northern Michigan, and this year brought us plenty of new adventure.

Road trips with four small children always take longer, with the little ones needing more breaks along the way. Like all things with children, they reach new milestones without mentioning them, and this trip was no different. This was the first time we made our two-day drive in a single day. It was a long day, and we took four breaks for food/fuel/bathrooms, but we made it. I don’t know if we’ll attempt it again, but at least we now know that road trips in the future will be much less chaotic.

Although the La Niña weather pattern this winter has left Michigan with below-average snow, the temperatures were good for artificial snow making. Most of the trails at Crystal Mountain were open when we arrived, much to our delight.

Cottage at Crystal Mountain upon our arrival. Note the total lack of snowpack

In previous years, we’d spend at least all of Monday in the Mountain Adventure Zone (Crystal’s bunny hill) getting familiar with our skis again before heading up the mountain. Each year, though, our time in the Adventure Zone gets shorter and shorter. This year, Benedict and Felicity needed three runs before they were ready. In less than an hour, we were up on the mountain enjoying skiing.

The children and I took lessons throughout the week, looking to build our skills. My two-hour lesson was great, and I had the confidence to start doing Blue (moderate) runs. Benedict and Felicity also took lessons. Felicity grew from a solid solo skier to an adventure skier! After her lesson, on every run we took, she’d always try to find some terrain on the edges of the trail to ski over. Benedict did a Blue run last year at the end of vacation and he remained very confident in himself (and addicted to ski speed). He insisted on doing all Blue runs the entire week. He took two lessons and even did his first Black Diamond. Whew.

Lucy on her way to the Adventure Zone with her instructor

Lucy was very reluctant to take her lesson… until I snapped her into her skis. As with all things Lucy, she was very coy about her abilities around her family, and a stand-out in front of strangers. She got very high marks from her instructor and, after the lesson, confidently went down runs on her own without the backpack/leash! There was a minor incursion with a log that temporarily set her back. But after a few more runs with supervision, she was willing to go solo again.

Veronica dreaming of future rides on the ski lift

Last year, Veronica didn’t even want to stand in her skis. This week, she had them for the whole week. She took a group lesson and, despite her early protests, I saw her from afar going down the Adventure Zone with her hands on her knees.

Benedict looks out the window at the fresh snow fall

Snow was only forecast for one day during the week, but lake effect snow showers passed through regularly. Alison and I got to ski as one of those bands passed through the area, dropping frozen, thick, perfectly formed snowflakes. I think that was the first time I’d seen a natural snowflake look exactly like the pictures.

Fresh snowfall on a cottage at Crystal Mountain

Early Thursday morning, a true snowstorm rolled through the area, finally blanketing the entire resort. Instead of skiing first thing, we got on our snow gear and walked around. The kids threw endless snowballs at each other, built a snowman, and stood under trees, shaking them until the branches gave up their snow. Our trip was about more than skiing, it was about winter fun. They experienced the wonderment of snow.

Kids playing on a snow covered bridge. The bridge’s top was relieved of its snow for the making of snowballs

No one was injured during the week, there was a good mix of solo and group skiing, and we all got to go down our favorite trails several times. There was even a long session of night skiing! Throughout the week, we were challenged as we played on the mountain, and we never got bored.

Loki Quad ski lift at the bottom of Crystal Mountain

Driving home, we had to take a detour through suburban roads that cut through hill country. There was snow on the ground, and when the children looked out the window, they asked with delight, “Are we back at Crystal!?” No, we’re not today, but we will be next year!