There's a bleak irony in the fact that the January 6 certification of the most abnormal presidential election winner in American history was carried out in a normal manner. But does that mean we have to normalize what happened on that other January 6? For a lot of people, the answer, sadly, will be yes. Aaron Blake describes the syndrome as the meh-ification of Jan. 6. And David Frum explains how the memory of January 6 is vanishing from Trump’s new Washington in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Don’t Mention the Coup! "The coup makers won. The coup resisters lost. Washington is not a city that spares much sympathy for losers. 'This never happened,' advises Don Draper on the television series Mad Men. 'It will shock you how much it never happened.' So it will be with the first attempt by a serving president to overthrow the government he was sworn to protect. Not all of us, however, have to live in the world of Washington transactions. Some of us need to volunteer to keep talking about the inconvenient things." The certification of someone certifiable shouldn't change this.
+ In WaPo (Gift Article): Joe Biden explains what what Americans should remember about Jan. 6. "In time, there will be Americans who didn’t witness the Jan. 6 riot firsthand but will learn about it from footage and testimony of that day, from what is written in history books and from the truth we pass on to our children. We cannot allow the truth to be lost."
+ But for millions of Americans, that truth has not only been lost, it's been obliterated. That's one of the reasons we're experiencing a day when Kamala Harris presides over the certification of Donald Trump's election win; a win the the incoming president promises will be followed by the swift pardoning of the Jan 6 rioters. So what's the point of clinging to reality? If doing it for democracy is too abstract an answer, then consider the much more concrete reasons offered by Aquilino Gonell, a former sergeant in the Capitol Police who was injured protecting the Capitol. NYT (Gift Article): For Many of Us, Jan. 6 Never Ended. "Mr. Trump is returning to the presidency at 78, while I had to leave the career I’d worked for my whole life at 42 as a result of injuries suffered while doing my job. I sometimes wonder why I risked my life to defend our elected officials from a mob inspired by Mr. Trump, only to see him return to power stronger than ever. It’s hard to witness a rich white man get rewarded for treachery while I’m punished for fulfilling my duty. Maybe that’s why so many people don’t do the right thing — because it’s hard and it hurts ... At least I get to hear my son call me his hero, as we remember the people who put everything on the line to protect our democracy and continue to tell the truth about Jan. 6."
2
Shopping The Husky Section
The politics of the next few years won't be regular but that doesn't mean you can't be. In WaPo (Gift Article), Trisha Pasricha sings the praises of one of the few supplements that is worth its weight in waste: psyllium. Most supplements aren’t worth your money. This one is. (In my family, the father-to-son passing down of the Metamucil ritual is a tradition as rich as playing catch in the backyard.)
3
Invasive Mole
"A wilderness survival trainer spent years undercover, climbing the ranks of right-wing militias. He didn’t tell police or the FBI. He didn’t tell his family or friends. He penetrated a new generation of militia leaders, which included doctors and government attorneys. Experts say that militias could have a renaissance under Donald Trump." ProPublica: The Militia and the Mole. "John Williams kept a backpack filled with everything he’d need to go on the run: three pairs of socks; a few hundred dollars cash; makeshift disguises and lock-picking gear; medical supplies, vitamins and high-calorie energy gels; and thumb drives that each held more than 100 gigabytes of encrypted documents, which he would quickly distribute if he were about to be arrested or killed."
4
Genetic Race
"She had a bad feeling. She and her mother had been so alike. Allison had been a physical therapist and Linde was a nurse. They were both doers — taking charge, mending wounds, planning theme parties. They were both chipper and a bit unfiltered, easy to a smirk or a four-letter word. She probably gave me this, too, Linde thought." NYT (Gift Article): Fighting to Avoid Her Mother’s Fate, for Her Daughters’ Sake. "A mutant gene is coming to steal Linde Jacobs’s mind. Can she find a way to stop it?"
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Extra, Extra
Justin the Wind: "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada announced on Monday that he would step down as Liberal Party leader and prime minister, a decision that will install new leadership in Canada by late March, after his party picks a new head." Here's the latest on the move. Trump responded to the announcement by (again) saying that Canada should become the 51st state. (Maybe Justin Trudeau is better off getting out of politics.)
+ This is the Trend, My Friend: "The leader of Austria’s Freedom Party received a mandate Monday to try to form a new government, which would be the first headed by the far right since World War II if he succeeds."
+ Comic Stripped: "I’ve worked for the Washington Post since 2008 as an editorial cartoonist. I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations—and some differences—about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now." Ann Telnaes: Why I'm quitting the Washington Post. (The cartoon in question doesn't even push the envelope. Worrisome.)
+ Elon Way From Home: Someone got bored just trying to run America. "British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday condemned “lies and misinformation” that he said are undermining U.K. democracy, in response to a barrage of attacks on his government from Elon Musk."
+ Nikk's Knack: These days, many of the best shows and movies are never nominated for awards, but the Golden Globes still made for a fun broadcast. Here are the winners of the 2025 Golden Globes. The snubs and surprises. And Nikki Glaser's monologue (which was good but wasn't too roasty.)
+ In The Long Run: Need a little inspiration for your new year's resolutions? Consider Hilde Dosogne who completed her 2024 resolution by running a marathon every single day of the year. (My resolution is to fixate more on news stories that don't directly relate to me and less on distractions like friends and family.)
6
Bottom of the News
Surprise: Paper straws probably aren't good for you and they may not be good for the environment. (Just go old school as use a Red Vine as a straw.)
+ "Once an icon of the 20th century seen as obsolete in the 21st, Encyclopaedia Britannica—now known as just Britannica— is all in on artificial intelligence, and may soon go public at a valuation of nearly $1 billion." (Seems like a good excuse to revisit this old Jim the Salesman scene from Taxi.)
Yea! I finally got my first edition. Thanks, Dave, from a former Bay Area denizen (living in Alaska)
Sadly it's catching.