It’s January 16 Do You Know Where Your Year is?

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

This image is a misnomer, of course, because the year of the Fire Horse (also the Red Horse. Uh) doesn’t start until end of February, but a wooden snake is not nearly so amusing, and besides I have this theory that in our fast-communication world the avatars for the Chinese years got confused and started reigning (in this case perhaps raging would be more appropriate) when the Western New Year starts.

It sure would explain — as much as anything can — what happened starting Jan 1 — well, Jan 7, but you know — when the year came in like a horse. A horse that’s on fire. (But…. it’s on FIRE.)

I mean, it’s not just the fact that in the dead of night we removed a dictator from his bed and brought him to the Us to be held accountable. That’s amazing, yes, but there’s so much more going on. No, it’s not just Tim Walz being Timwalzed and doing his best imitation of Temu Jefferson Davis — or as someone put it “If Jefferson Davis and Liberace had a baby.”

There’s Iran, which is rebelling. It’s been quiet recently, and I think the rebellion is in the process of being subdued, and I’m hoping we don’t allow that. It’s the kind of edge of the seat thing that is keeping me awake at night. (If you’re the praying sort pray for Iran.)

And then there’s… good Lord, this year has been everything all the time. Like, we have finally made a food pyramid that makes sense, not one designed by people who thought Diet For A Small Planet (i.e. we’ve got to stop eating meat, because the population is exploding) made any sense. And we did away with two thirds of early childhood vaccination.

In a normal year those two things alone would have been news enough for six months of argument in the newspapers. I mean, you might think the food pyramid is just a recommendation, but it informs all the federal food aid, plus feeding of the troops, food in schools, all of that. It has a profound impact. But…. this year.

The US withdrew from 66 global organizations.

In a normal year the left would be wailing about our leaving such vital organizations like:
1) 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact

2) Colombo Plan Council

3) Commission for Environmental Cooperation

4) Education Cannot Wait

5) European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats

6) Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories

7) Freedom Online Coalition

8) Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund

And such vital UN organization as:

9) Peacebuilding Commission

50) Peacebuilding Fund

51) Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

52) U.N. Alliance of Civilizations

53) U.N. Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries

54) U.N. Conference on Trade and Development

55) U.N. Democracy Fund

56) U.N. Energy

57) U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

58) U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change

59) U.N. Human Settlements Programme

But this year? This year it’s not even registering. They haven’t even started a scream that Israel withdrew from those right after we did.

Meanwhile abroad: Syria working with Israel on security. Israel recognizing Somaliland. Somalia being removed from the nations eligible for refugee status in the USA.

Also, apparently, some number of nations are no longer eligible for visas to the US.

And– And– And– Oh, yeah, stuff is being done to curb fraud and clean voters’ rolls, though I’m sure it’s not enough, and I wish it were fast and more strict. OTOH considering how much they depend on fraud, just removing some avenues might help.

Of course there’s already been sad events too, like Scott Adams’ death. Soemthing else that would take at least a month of news, any other year.

And I’m sure I’m forgetting half a dozen things that rocked my world when they came across the screen. It’s that type of year, apparently, it’s been at least a year since Jan 1st.

So — as a community service, I’m laying down a challenge: What do you have on your bingo card for this year?

Things I’m hoping for –

freedom for Iran

the fall of communism in China.

Things I wouldn’t be surprised if they happened:

The collapse and political rebuilding of the rest of the Americas

The discovery and IMPLEMENTATION of life extension technology.

Things that might rate a raised eyebrow:

The EU breaking apart in a fit of sanity
Atlantis raising from the sea.

Deej kindly contributed some for that last category:

“Elon reveals the colony he’s already established on Mars.”

“Grok copied Scott Adams’s brain pattern, and will be making Dilbert strips for the foreseeable future.”

Now, your turn. Hear those hoof beats? The year commeth like a raging fire horse. (Or perhaps a raging zebra.)

What’s in your bingo card?

181 thoughts on “It’s January 16 Do You Know Where Your Year is?”

  1. You missed the French farmers going on strike, Japan announcing a snap election, and further collpasing of the uniparty over on airstrip one where the tory wing has lost a couple of important former ministers to Reform and Two Tier Keir gets ever more bansturbatory deciding to ban some local elections so that he doesn’t lose more local councils.

    In things I expect. Cuba and Venezuela are going to both collapse. Iran too. Russia may not, but if so it will only because it becomes a de facto satrapy of West Taiwan.

    Liked by 1 person

      • Impact of 2-tier banning under 16’s from social media.
      • Amusement witnessing the efforts TO ban under 16’s from social media given the institutional lack of expertise of the UK bureaucracy in anything technical. I suspect they think that merely saying it is so will make it so.
      • Inevitable unbanning of under 16’s from social media when 2-tier realizes that it’s unpopular.
      • Witnessing the 3 soldiers left in the British Army deploying to Ukraine, along with the donkey constituting their logistical train, and then finding that their European partners are somehow missing.
      • Reaction from Russia on finding NATO troops deployed to Ukraine.
      • 2-Tier boasting that he, single handedly, is going to parachute into Russia to beat up Vlady.
      • Huge amusement witnessing the further attempts of the UK and Europe to moderate free-speech worldwide. I am particularly looking forward to additional pithy comments from the 4Chan lawyer.
      • The production of pink “”Welcome Greenland” hats.
      • The employment of Tim Waltz as a consultant to the new Greenland state government and the concomitant increase in childcare and ambulance businesses in Greenland.

      Good thing that I didn’t post this from the UK.

      Liked by 3 people

    2. The European farmers’ strikes have been ongoing in a rolling series for at least five years. They all have somewhat different causes, but all are in opposition to top-down decisions that have little or nothing to do with actual food security and good farming practices.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. In this case though they are protesting a partial end to protectionism. Specifically the planned agreement between the EU and Mercosur that would allow Argentinian beef, potatoes etc. into the EU. So I’m torn, because in general this seems like a good idas, but as you say it is being mandated by idiots so almost certainly there’s some stupidity in it as well

        Liked by 1 person

    3. Saw on Twitter a report China has already nibbled a good strip of Russia almost to Vladivostok. Interesting if true.

      And really,what can Russia do about it?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Valadivostok used to be part of China. IIRC, during the Qing Dynasty, the Russians agreed to assist the Dynasty with some negotiations with the European powers. The Russians took the territory, and then reneged on the deal.

        The Chinese haven’t forgotten.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. The Han like to claim a lot of things. The place may have been map-claimed by the Throne of Heaven for centuries beforehand, but around when the Imperial Russians showed up in 1860 to set up a port, accounts say there were a few Chinese fisherman in a couple huts there.

          Liked by 2 people

          1. I think if anyone had asked the fisherman who their ruler was they would not have admitted to being ruled by China or anyone else. Russia did a massive landgrab of sparsely populated territory ruled by no one in particular and were only stopped by Japan deciding to get in the game too. If Japan hadn’t then Korea would be Russian

            Liked by 3 people

          2. Part of the reason why the Chinese were willing to hand it over was because of the sparse population, and the lack of direct control over the region. However, Russia appears to have acknowledged China’s claim, which is why a treaty was signed.

            But more importantly, China hasn’t forgotten about this, and views the specific area as “rightfully” part of China. That’s as opposed to the wider part of Siberia, which would be viewed as a straight-up acquisition of previously unclaimed territory if China were to take control of it.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. The han believe the whole world is rightfully theirs. “If not for a hurricane, the West would be ours! We claim it by right of the conquest that would have been!”

              Liked by 2 people

              1. 1.) You’re rather blatantly ignoring the point I’m making.

                2.) China has never claimed anything like what you’re stating. The traditional Chinese method of control over other countries was by creating obligations toward the Imperial Throne. We see this in the Belt and Road initiative, where China persuades other countries to take on debt owed to China, which the Chinese believe (mistakenly in some cases, as our hostess has noted) will allow them to dictate policy in those countries from Beijing. Historically, this was backed up by the prestige of BEING CHINA(TM), which was once the source of all culture in the region, as well as the finest goods (silk porcelain, etc…). However, China is no longer a giant fish in a little pond as used to be the case. Instead, it is forced to exist on a world stage dominated by the US, which is why China so desperately wants to overcome the US. Only by doing so can it regain its top of the heap status, and once again dictate policy to nations near and far.

                Chinese attempts at immediate control have been limited to grabbing their immediate neighbors. Given that they’ve been trying this for over two thousand years, in a part of the world with no peers, the fact that China is only as big as it currently is means they’re historically REALLY REALLY bad at it.

                Liked by 1 person

            3. Let’s see if it will actually work this time.

              Every square on my 2026 BINGO card is blank. I used white-out on the whole thing about a week in.

              Like

                1. WordPress frequently mis-assigns posts from mobile devices to comment threads that you’ve previously commented on from the same mobile device instead of where you were trying to post it.

                  Liked by 1 person

      2. The British government released an online visual novel called “Prevent” that’s aimed at teenage boys. Apparently the idea behind it is to warn those young men that certain actions will lead to bad, far-right radicalism. Some of you will have heard about it already, as it’s come up on social media discussions.

        Apparently one of the choices that you can make in the game results in the protagonist accepting propaganda against immigrants from a cute English female classmate (Amelia), researching those materials at home, and coming to the conclusion that her anti-inmigrant stance is correct. You can later ppropose marriage (and the proposal itself is racist, btw), and end up happily married to her with kids.

        This is a “bad ending”, according to the people who wrote the visual novel.

        This seems like a screw-up of massive proportions. The protagonist ends up happily married to an attractive woman, and they are raising a family.

        It occurred to me earlier today that maybe the real issue is that the people who created this VN believe that whites marrying whites is so self-evidently a Bad Thing(tm) that no self-respecting white male would want to do so?

        Anyway, I keep seeing conflicting reports about the status of the VN website. The last I’d heard was that it had been down, but was now up again with most of the endings disallowed.

        Liked by 3 people

            2. He only married her to “Prove That He’s Not Racist”.

              Note, there were Idiots who claimed that about a White Conservative who married a Black woman.

              Liked by 1 person

              1. They said that about Brad, IIRC.

                There are times when I want the Force Choke ability. Or perhaps Force Lightning.

                Like

          2. So far as I’ve seen, that’s generally only a problem in two different situations –

            1.) When it’s a white conservative public figure married to a minority (in which case the minority is declared a token that the public figure doesn’t really love), or

            2.) When the woman is a member of a particular non-white ethnic group that will remain unnamed but whose females are notoriously very, very, very touchy about members of their own ethnicity (male or female) marrying outside the ethnicity. But I don’t know if members of that ethnicity in the UK have the same notorious view as members of that ethnicity in the US.

            Otherwise people generally don’t care if it’s a white guy marrying a non-white woman, from what I’ve seen. Or vice versa.

            Liked by 2 people

            1. Oh Heavens that’s hilarious. And of course it can’t be posted in the UK itself. Did the AI generate it? I doubt it other than in little bits with the scripting by a human. That is at the same level as the “I Did That Stickers” With the Turnip in Chief on them. Long Live the Spirit of Simon the Jester !!!

              Like

                1. Well then, perhaps Elon should have a variant of Grok just for cranking out memes renamed Simon Jester. I expect the toilets at 10 Downing St to be flushing backwards in the near future. That honestly would be funny always.

                  Like

                  1. Implied. The only ones who would understand either are those who know who Simon Jester is, and why backwards flushing toilets is so hilarious. Bonus if any of the royals are trying not to giggle. Which I would not put either Charles or the step-mommy in that list.

                    Like

                    1. Though perhaps the Princess of Wales might twitter politely behind her glove. And maybe Princess Charlotte might join her when she’s a bit older.

                      Like

              1. Didn’t mean to double post but the Amelia link was great, a real thumb in the eye to the authorities ruining the UK!

                Like

        5. Well, Junior to you and I the Young man’s fate with Amelia seems to be verging on idyllic. But if you’re a modern Oxford or Cambridge educated two spirited creature with complex plural pronouns and a penchant for lusting after prepubescent boys it’s a nightmare. And that seems to describe a large portion of the bureaucrats here and in the UK (although ours tend to sport Ivy League or similar degrees).

          The only hope to be found here is that folks with that attitude to family will likely not make one. History favors those that show up and in the anglosphere, that is favoring those of traditional penchant, often with strong religious beliefs. The only issue is that the Marching Moron/Leach classes still seem to be reproducing too.

          Honestly I would really like a world where Idiocracy/ The Marching Morons/1984/Brave New World/ That Hideous Strength weren’t the design patterns used by some large portion of the populace. I do complain to the Author about this regularly but the only answer I get is that we Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve have been misusing the free will the Author gave us for a LONG time. Very unsatisfying.

          Like

  2. The Reader expects Russia to collapse soon, and that collapse will look like 1917, not 1991. All of the bad actors bordering Russia will try to grab a chunk of it and we’ll discover that none of their militaries (including the PLA) can spell logistics. The Reader does think St Petersburg will make a lovely addition to Finland or Estonia and that Trump should grab Big Diomede Island.

    The unknown unknown is how much additional debt world governments can print money for before there is a run on the world.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. I think the Japanese want to be a naval power, not a land power, so other than retaking the islands the Soviets swiped I bet they stay out of that scramble.

        Like

        1. The Reader agrees. Japan was not on his bad actor list. He agrees that Japan would take the Kuril Islands back in a heartbeat if Russia collapses.

          Liked by 2 people

          1. China would probably try and swoop in immediately to seize Vladivostok, for the reasons I noted above, i.e. that China views it as land stolen from them when the Russians supposedly reneged on the deal that ceded the territory to Russia.

            Like

  4. Let’s see… There will have to be some kind of peace made regarding AI and media. The early adopters will figure out an appropriate place in the pipeline for AI assistance, the traditionalists will double down, and the hacks making slop will make slop exponentially faster.

    I think that the big platforms will crack. They won’t be viable for indies much longer. As a response to angry consumers who are displeased with the incoming AI slop flood, they will implement “quality control” in typical heavy-handed fashion, nuking all indie creators.

    Whatever you create, get your own platform ready now.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Very perceptive.

      AI is currently somewhere around the intellectual level of a publicly-educated fifth grader. That’s impressive, but like the singing collie, it’s not that it does it well, but simply that it does it impresses us.

      Private platforms are easy and cheap now, and unfettered. A friend told me the other day he runs a million dollar online business on a virtual machine that costs him $4/month. Yes, the virtual machine is elsewhere, but it’s unrestricted. Doing the same from a server in his closet would work the same but cost a little more.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. Yes, exactly. How much power would we cede to an actual 5th grader, even one who could remember all of the crap the schools (LLM) had pumped in to that point?

          Liked by 1 person

            1. LOL – good point, but in reality that vegetable couldn’t remember his own name. Rather than AI, his presidency was more like a Magic 8-Ball. :-D

              Like

              1. No, more like that meme of someone asking a magic 8-ball for an answer, but it’s a bowling ball.

                Like

              2. The Turnip in chief was a toddler at best. Right up to needing diapers, having to have a bunny lead him around at the Egg Roll, getting petulant, wanting ice cream all the time and needing an afternoon nap. Not just a toddler but a very spoiled ill mannered one at that.

                Like

      2. ”AI whisperer” will be the growth job category, since it’s become basically like negotiating your wishes with a djinn. Even in coding, where there was huge initial AI-replaces-humans potential, early adopters are reporting AI generated code has of late become more and more buggy, with the coding flaws deep and hard to find. So the folks with l337 prompting skills will be the ones in demand.

        Liked by 3 people

        1. Or editor. You get Ai as close as it’ll get, then hire someone to get it in shape.

          My experience with AI is that it gets further from what I want with every iteration -.- I disengaged from a contract with an artist who did that once already. I think there may have been tracing over ai gens going on, because the obtuseness kept getting worse.

          Liked by 5 people

          1. I know of at least one university program that is using AI as you describe in IT and computer-science curriculum. They have AI write the code (prompts make it deliberately buggy to greater or lesser degree), then have the students debug it.

            Liked by 1 person

        2. Very early AI coding help is why I got my first major job. “Doesn’t do what we want it to. Fix it.” Which meant rewriting huge chunks, if not the whole thing. Because AI could not do what the users needed. No reason why that has changed at the top level. The rewrites AI now could probably be guided into writing those blocks. But it would take someone who knows what building blocks are needed and why, then guide the AI to paste them together. This has been ongoing now for almost 40 years in software.

          Liked by 2 people

            1. Oh for heavens sake just ask it to calculate π to the last digit. There is ample precedent for using that to tie computers down don’t you know :-) .

              Like

      1. Exactly. And so was YouTube. And probably a lot of others.

        Ai will add pressure from at least 2 angles:

        1. The promise of Ai automating customer service, detecting slop, and solving all their problems while paying fewer entities that possess brain cells and comprehension.
        2. The imminent flood of Ai-accelerated slop that’s about to come in from get-rich-effortlessly schemers calling themselves indie.

        Indie artists, writers, vloggers, and more will be squarely in the crosshairs, while slop vendors will remain endless and the slop will remain bottomless.

        Liked by 3 people

        1. Maybe it will quiet those whose reviews consist of “OMG! It sucked! He used the word ‘to’ when it should have been ‘too’.”

          AI-generated stories will likely contain very few copy-edit issues. Mistakes will become a new marketing angle: It was written by a real human – note the spelling errors.

          In one recent read, the author had the definition of “nonplussed” exactly backwards. The first time I saw it, I looked it up (I’ve been wrong before). After that, I started laughing whenever I read it. It didn’t ruin the book, but it definitely broke the flow.

          Liked by 1 person

    2. You know, I must say that watching an American governor call for open insurrection against the federal government is quite an occasion. Has that ever really happened before?

      #LittleTimmy must be in some really deep doodoo. Way over his head.

      Looks like they bet the farm on #Cacklin’Kamala, they rolled snake-eyes and now the marker has come due.

      Who wants to bet some prominent American politicians fell the country in the next month or so? Governors, senators, legislators, people like that. Jump on a plane and fly to China. No point flying to Cuba anymore, it’ll be part of Florida later this year.

      Liked by 1 person

          2. Perhaps they’ll have them paint interior scenes on the Christmas ornaments with radium paint. They just need to be sure to lick the brushes constantly…

            Grok please generate Xi the Pooh singing this

            My object all sublime
            I shall achieve in time —
            To let the punishment fit the crime —
            The punishment fit the crime;
            And make each prisoner pent
            Unwillingly represent
            A source of innocent merriment!
            Of innocent merriment!

            Now I’m threatening to make the clankers sing… violating my own rules.

            Like

      2. The thing that strikes me is the metaphorical bullet dodged when the kneepads+timmay ticket was defeated, and not just because DJT+JD won. If you want a bad timeline, imagine timmay, his Middle Kingdom friends, and his Somali coconspirators a heartbeat away from the Oval Office.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. The USA really is watched over by the same God that guards drunk men and little children. We all missed the kneepads+timmay win by a quarter of an inch.

          I say “we” because I’m putting Canaduh in the basket of countries that are being saved by #TheDonald. Nothing could move the entrenched elite here in Canuckistan short of bankruptcy.

          Here we are with bankruptcy looming over Ottawa, and it’s barely been a year. Three more to go! Faster, please!

          Liked by 4 people

          1. I noted to a Canadian friend of mine earlier today that Trump had just announced via Maduro’s capture that China would not be permitted to maintain a hold on the Western Hemisphere.

            And in response, Carney has publicly announced, “Hold my sugar-free maple-flavored syrup…”

            Liked by 2 people

          2. Bouncy-castle Canada was an eye-opener for many people to the south. It was even to me, somewhat, and I grew up as a borderer on the US side, in a place and time when Canadian coins passed routinely as part of ones small change.

            Liked by 1 person

      3. The Reader offers Francis Wilkinson Pickens, governor of South Carolina from December 14, 1860 – to December 17, 1862.

        On January 9, 1861, Governor Pickens sanctioned the firing upon the relief steamship Star of the West, which was bringing supplies to Anderson’s beleaguered garrison (at Ft. Sumter).[6] In a letter dated January 12, 1861, Pickens demanded of President Buchanan that he surrender Fort Sumter because “I regard that possession is not consistent with the dignity or safety of the State of South Carolina.”[8]

        He also approved of the subsequent bombardment of Fort Sumter. He remained a fervent supporter of states rights. On December 9, 1862, Pickens quietly left the governorship and returned to his home in Edgefield, where he remained through the war.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Pickens had the right of it, though.

          South Carolina built the fort, and owned the fort.

          Anderson’s forces hostilely occupied it in a night raid (from Fort Moultrie). After being

          Allowing the Union to control the state’s only major port would have been suicidal. And being an honor-based culture, there’s really no way they could accept the violation of parole and seizure as anything except a deadly insult.

          Like

          1. The trouble with “honor cultures” is that it is very often possible to maneuver an otherwise intelligent, even wise, man into doing something so incredibly stupid that even -he- can see is self-defeating. But for the “honor” of it.

            Destroying the vast majority of the South, -by- the hand of the-South-, did not “honor” anything, preserve anything, nor avoid anything. It was an -epic- mistake, and utterly foreseeable. One for what -both- sides must continue to pay even to this moment.

            And the reason we no longer have dueling is that same reason.

            -Neither- side, today, is correct to seek divorce. There won’t be one. Not even a slight chance of it. But there can be “obliteration” and “woe”. Much endless Woe.

            Choose wisely.

            Liked by 5 people

      5. Saw an article saying Carney is in China more or less pledging loyalty (as in, looking forward to becoming part of the “new world order.”)

        Liked by 2 people

        1. “Lock her up.” Remember that?

          She will force it to happen, because she is simply to arrogantly foolish to believe there is no line she cannot cross with impunity. And eh has to prove it.

          And -that- is why she gets jailed. All she had to do is show up and speechify endless talking points in rambling non-answer. She cold have endless gored Republican oxes until Hell froze solid. But no, she defied the subpoena. She can be jailed for that, and should be, and even some Donks will go along to prevent castrating a major weapon of Congress.

          Trump didn’t want to go there, because he sees the endless prosecution of prior presidents as the disaster it would be. He demonstrated, again and again, he would -not- jail her on very real charges. Now, however, she is kicking at the Legislative branch, not the Executive.

          What, no one else noticed? If she walks, Congress has less than 30 years before it is irrelevant. Maybe as few as 10.

          oooops.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Can a President pardon a Contempt of Congress charge, getting said person out of jail?

            Because there is so much I could see happening if Trump did so, and the knife turning would be epic. And the backroom deals that could be made.

            Like

            1. I wouldn’t think so. It’s a “Co-Equal Branches” question. If it were possible, I think it would have happened already with some of the targeted stuff that’s been thrown at some of Trump’s former appointees.

              Like

            2. Congress can’t jail anyone; they have to refer it to the DoJ for prosecution. That was why even when Republicans had the House, Biden’s people would just blow them off, because Garland wasn’t prosecuting any referrals. Same thing, BTW, for perjury.

              Like

      8. During the confrontation between President Jackson and South Carolina, the governor of the latter gave at least one speech that all but said they were going to resist by force of arms if necessary any attempts by the federal government to impose the tariffs that were the root of the disagreement.

        I haven’t researched the overall topic to any great degree, but I suspect that’s the closest that any sitting governor has gotten to calling for insurrection outside of The War That Shall Not Be Named.

        Liked by 1 person

    3. I wonder if Walz doesn’t have a lot of relation to the Spanish Habsburg line. Even the folks from Deliverance aren’t as inbred as Mr. Walz appears to be,

      Like

  6. I’m hopeful for the end of the Federal Reserve, and the 16th Amendment had best watch its back. But, hey, we’re already halfway through January and the doomers tell me nothing’s happening …

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I can’t point to anything directly, but beyond the “limiting”, essentially no for most households, “taxes on social security”, mutterings of “no taxes on retirement savings”; i.e. 401(k)/IRA. Already a bunch of pension sources that are limited on tax burden (based on the list showing on TurboTax, not that we’re qualified for any). If nothing else, the 16th Amendment is getting whittled by an ax in a way that makes it more difficult to restore. Not impossible, just more difficult and on the record.

      Liked by 2 people

  7. Hopeful the left continues to melt down into absurdity, as Californians wait for it to sink into the sea, and wait, and wait.
    A question for Cali;
    Who will you tax after all the billionaires leave the state?
    A question to those who believe in over population;
    Why hasn’t China sunk into the earth under the weight of all those people?
    India?
    Africa?

    Yes very tongue in cheek.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. ”Who will you tax after all the billionaires leave the state?”

      Obviously, the same people the Federal income tax changed to tax after they got the 16th amendment ratified by promising “a tax just on the rich!”: Everyone Else.

      The question is how many idiots can be bamboozled into voting for the proposition, though with all the publicity’ and Gavin’s political ambitions, I wonder if the powers-that-be will quash the effort to even get it on the ballot.

      Like

      1. The proposition is reportedly very unpopular right now. But a lot can change between now and the election. And we know elements of the left (which are not united, and can be at odds with one another) will try to find “creative” ways to tilt things in their favor.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. “Who will you tax after all the billionaires leave the state?”

      Millionaires.

      Then thousand-airs, and so forth.

      Communism only works with a captive population. If they can hop into mom’s minivan and drive away, the Commies are kind of stuck.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Goodness. Looking ahead to see what I need to do this afternoon is far enough to look ahead. My age tells me that’s more important, and necessary for peace of mind.

    Like

    2. Florida-Man is really trying to stay ahead of Minnesoda-Man, but Minnesoda-Man is making it very hard.

      My apologizes to the good people in Minnesota outside the twit cities.

      Liked by 1 person

          1. Florida Man will stand at the window and stare at the way snow goes sideways — so that’s Minnesota Man.

            Like

    1. I think PM. C@rney just made it official. Based on what PM Coolsocks did, everything was in place except the name plate. “Member of the new world order” was just the icing.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Did you see the video? The guy next to him reacted with a “what the hell did you just say?!” glance when #CarkMarney said “new world order”? That was Scott Moe, the Premiere of Saskatchewan.

        It’s a hell of a thing when a professional politician like that guy breaks character at a formal event.

        Going to be interesting what His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition has to say about #Carky’s little China trip the next few days. We are fortunate to have YouTubers to cover these things, given the slavish obedience of regular media.

        Liked by 1 person

          2. Details seem to be a bit scarce for the casual reader like myself, but Carney flew to China a few days ago for a “trade mission”. And he all but declared that Canada views China as a better partner than the US.

            I *hope* he’s just trying to play the US and China off against each other. But I suspect he’s quite serious. Part of this is just because of the TDS that afflicts too many people. And part of it is because there’s apparently ample evidence that China and the cartels have a very widespread net of corruption in Canada focused on getting drugs into the US.

            Like

            1. So…

              The visit was ostensibly to talk about trade, and some trade deals were put together. Canada imports a lot of Chinese EVs (and those death traps are a whole ‘nother topic even before you get into the problems that EVs have in very cold climates), China cuts tariffs on Canadian canola oil, etc… Those are the only two trade items I’ve seen specifically referenced.

              However, buried deep within the PM’s official announcement is a statement that within a few years the PM’s office hopes to allow visa-free travel for Canadians to China. It’s not getting publicized much, but it’s got a bunch of people wondering what exactly Carney discussed over there and agreed to.

              More on the Chinese EVs –

              1.) The China Show likes to talk about them from time to time, and do a much better job of it than my quick summary can.

              2.) Chinese EVs of all kinds (i.e. not just cars) have a problem with the batteries spontaneously combusting. You hear stories about that happening with vehicles in the US occasionally. It’s *MUCH* more common in China with the domestic vehicles, and there are enough video recordings made by citizens with their phones that plenty of them slip past the censors.

              3.) Chinese manufacturers get some money from the government for each EV that they’ve sold. So the manufacturers make the vehicles, falsify sales records, and then dump the vehicles in what are basically “mass EV graveyards” where the cars sit lined up in rows and fall apart.

              Like

              1. Canada and EV’s.

                The locations we visit there are few to none charging stations. There are also few to none liquid fuel stations, either regular or diesel. As anyone who has driven an RV (motorhome or towing, vans have longer range) can attest. This is most of Hwy 1, east of Vancouver city and through the mountains and onto the high prairie at least as far as Calgary (haven’t been further east). As for the roads off of Hwy 1? Good luck. The Ice Parkway between Banff and Jasper, either direction? Fill up before you leave either. Don’t remember seeing any gas stations. No cell coverage either (didn’t check at the Columbia Glacier Ice Field tourist trap. But at least they have landline phones or radios. There is also a lodge at one of the lakes. Traffic usually high enough you might get someone to stop, especially some commercial traffic. Latter likely to have *radios.)

                (*) We witnessed a car roll over the ***edge. No one in it, but someone was injured. The words “no cell” were said when a private working crew came on the scene as everyone was rushing over to assist. They pulled over. The lead was already ON their radio to their dispatch, so patching through to the closest emergency response was immediate when informed of the type of accident. Car rolled over the person just over the embankment. They did not set the emergency break. Whether it was in park properly, or not, no one else knew, regardless didn’t hold. Person injured tried to get in the vehicle to stop it from rolling, failed, knocked back from vehicle as front went over edge, back wheel ran over the individual. Very soft edge ground, so while internal injuries did occur (bruising, cracked ribs), they were a lot less than could have been. The crew that stopped were **EMT trained (heck the USFS crew leads were EMT trained back in the ’70s), but not professional first responders.

                (**) VS “When help is delayed” and “Wilderness First-Aid”. Both of which hubby and I had, although we weren’t currently certified (still aren’t, no need to be).

                (***) Missed getting the dash cam footage by “this much”. Wrong camera angle as we saw the scene as we approached the pull off. We weren’t going to stop at this pull off. Had already talked about it before we rounded the curve. Plans changed when we saw the car start and go over the edge. Needless to say, rest of the trip, and since then, we BOTH check the emergency break setting getting out of the car in locations like this one (even when it was “Oh!!!!! Bear!!!!”, stop). Can’t stop the electrical break system from failing, but we can say it is set. It isn’t the parking spots that are steep (may have a little bit of slope), just the off-road edge is. No need, let alone anywhere to, curb a wheel when parking.

                Like

                1. There’s a Tesla charging lot/station not far from my abode, it seems rather full in the cold weather. Its located next to a HyVee gas station and grocery store, I wonder why none of the Liberals have attacked them yet? Meh. It is interesting to note, all the power generation around here is from coal fired plants, so the extra electricity means more fossil fuels burned. And I drive away and laugh and laugh and laugh.

                  Like

                  1. I get a chuckle every time I see a guy who does quick quips on Instagram/FB-Reels. Holding a cup of coffee, looks at camera, “Did my bit to save electricity today. I unplugged a line of EV’s that weren’t being used”, smirks, shrugs, takes sip of coffee. Not the only one I’ve seen. But I remember it.

                    Liked by 1 person

        2. I watched a YT vid the other night on the Maduro bag job along the lines of “Y’all wanted a multipolar world order? I gotcher multipolar world order right here!”

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Finished an XCOM2 campaign today. Just realized the Maduro snatch reminded me of a mission type from that game: Hostile VIP kidnapping. (Or assassination.) Basically, there’s someone working for the aliens and you have to send troops in to either kill them or knock them out and extract with them. You get supplies (a “currency” for the game) if dead or supplies and intel (another currency) if alive.

            The game is rather fun for me since I’m making tweaks for another campaign. Probably won’t load any more mods unless I see something really cool.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. I liked it…

              Right up until I realized that at a certain point in each mission the game would automatically tip the enemy off about where to find you even if you’d managed to play that far into the mission without setting off any alerts. I *liked* the sneaking around aspect of it. But the devs decided to basically force firefights no matter how skillfully you did the sneaking part.

              Liked by 1 person

              1. I have a different problem. If you go into overwatch too soon or move a soldier into view with an automatic attack ability the VIP will try to run and get cut down by your soldier. Worse, sometimes the VIP looks like he/she’s “activated” but they haven’t. I… sometimes (always) reload a save because I find that annoying.

                Like

        3. He’s allowing Chinese EVs in return for a tariff decrease. Lots of opportunities for intelligence gathering.

          Meanwhile, Trump wants to let people use their 401s for house down payments. Ew.

          Liked by 2 people

      1. “Yeah, but it’s Trump’s fault.”

        I’m so -tired- of hearing idiots blaming that guy for every single thing.

        I don’t even like the guy, but seriously. You can’t blame the USA for ten years of deliberate vandalism and outright sabotage by your own government.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. TL/DR, Canada (which has no army or navy to speak of, just a reminder) has decided that in return for relief from Chinese tariffs on food, they will allow 50,000 Chinese electric spy cars into the country. #BlubberDouggie literally called them spy-cars on TV yesterday.

        So to keep Western Canadian farmers happy-ish, #CarkMarney the Grand Poobah of Canuckistan will allow China to destroy the Canadian car industry, the Canadian steel industry, AND Canada’s trading relationship with the USA.

        Elbows up, my dewds.

        Waiting for the massive influx of five million Chinese immigrants to fight with the five million Indians we already have.

        Looking like having #TheDonald declare war on Canuckistan would be the best thing that could happen. Because it’ll be declare war, drive up to Ottawa, arrest a few #lieberals and run up the Stars and Stripes over the Parliament buildings, maybe go drinking downtown or take in a movie, then drive home. Lazy weekend.

        Like

        1. Sounds like we’re going to need to rescue the few of you guys who haven’t turned into Syrupeans.

          Ironic, given that just 80ish years ago, Canadian troops had the most vicious reputations on the Western Front in WWII (yes, worse than Aussies). They were good, and they were mean.

          Liked by 2 people

        2. The official statement from the PM’s office also included this buried deep in the release –

          “The Prime Minister welcomed President Xi’s commitment to introducing visa-free access for Canadians travelling to China.”

          It has people very curious about what prompted that particular conversation.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. “It has people very curious about what prompted that particular conversation.”

            I will tell you what, I did not even know about that when I made the jaundiced comment above. I simply assumed they’d do it, given how they’ve accepted A MILLION PEOPLE from India and Pakistan in the last couple of years.

            And given the new and exciting crime going on where the Pakistanis are rubbing up against the Hindus and the Sikhs from India. There are extortion gangs in Brampton now. Several instances where there’s a drive-by at a house, the pukes post themselves doing it on TikTock, and demand money or they’ll do it again. It’s literally “nice house you got there, be a shame if something might happen to it.”

            The official response is to have a “summit meeting” between the federal minister, the provincial minister and the mayor of Bramladesh, the shooting gallery formerly known as Brampton Ontario. Where they will discuss how powerless they are to do anything about it, because Reasons.

            So I can hardly wait for Chinatown to quadruple in size overnight. Moose-limbs, Hindus and Sikhs vs. Communists. Should be fun. I’ve got popcorn.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Keep in mind that the stated direction of travel would be Canada to China, and not the other way around. And given that China is a fascist state that exercises strict control over its residents (and is getting even more so), the proposed change – if serious – would mean that China is relaxing one of its own border controls.

              Liked by 1 person

              1. “Keep in mind that the stated direction of travel would be Canada to China…”

                Yes, and I believe them the way I believe them when they say “safe and effective”.

                This place could blow apart so ugly and so fast, it makes my hair stand up thinking about it.

                Like

  14. Hmmm. Wood Dragon. I will have to make use of that somewhere….

    (rolls d20) “Splinter breath blast! Critical hit! The attacking fighters are now on the wall as hors d’oeuvres. Call the housekeeping gelatinous cube for cleanup. And Munchies. ”

    Like

    1. Well, the Mongols actually kinda like the U.S.. I am sure they would prefer to border those new U.S. territories on one side than to be surrounded by the Middle Kingdom.

      Like

      1. Absolutely, Probably the only thing that keeps Mongolia free right now is that Russia would get rather upset if China invaded. There aren’t many people in that country, and either of its neighbors would find it quite easy to swamp the Mongolians with sheer numbers.

        That, and from what I can tell (from my admittedly distant perch) Mongolians and Americans are both somewhat independently-minded. I suspect that citizens of both nations tend to have somewhat similar outlooks toward life in general (note that I’m not saying this applies to things like women’s rights).

        Liked by 1 person

  18. I’m on a list of things I don’t want to see.

    Mostly because I worry about Nimrod of your Choice (Putin, Xi, mad mullahs, whatever) deciding, “If I’m going down you’re going with me,” and pulling something nasty out of the bag.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. This image is a misnomer, of course, because the year of the Fire Horse (also the Red Horse. Uh) doesn’t start until end of February, but a wooden snake is not nearly so amusing, and besides I have this theory that in our fast-communication world the avatars for the Chinese years got confused and started reigning (in this case perhaps raging would be more appropriate) when the Western New Year starts.

    Japan switched to calculating based on the Western new year!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Don’t you remember Enamelon toothpaste? A two-component formulation that underwent a chemical reaction when mixed, and deposited calcium phosphate onto the teeth. I used it for years, until it became unobtainium.

      I’ve seen that happen so many times. You find a great product, that works, and then you just can’t get it any more.

      Like

  21. I basically had three good ideas, supplemented by 21 more or less procedurally generated place holder ideas. Basically, dark fleet something, Preston Byrne’s granite act, and maybe I will use an LLM for something this year.

    Like

  22. So on the strength of this, https://moelane.com/2026/01/15/me-star-trek-starfleet-academy-and-sheer-gleeful-spite/ I decided to predict that sturmfleet academy will be a breakaway hit. This lead to a total of five big IP predictions, including three ‘maybe Disney can fix things and bring the fans back’.

    I also had five fanfic predictions (some of which were possible), and five webtoon predictions (written to be unlikely, except for one).

    A lot of the rest were ‘overplayed subgenre becomes an anime and is actually good’, and ‘improbable combination becomes popular in a culture that would probably hate it’.

    Like

  23. I feel the need to light the world on fire, at least until April, it’s too damn cold outside…

    Like

    1. “Be honest, be straight,
      Do you wanna make a colossal mistake
      As much as I do? (Oh, I do!)

      “You wear an honest face
      Do you wanna lay the world to waste
      As much as I do? (Oh, I do!)”

      Like

  24. Some prominent “righty” Republican will burn his fingers trying to play with the fire.

    Chynah will get feisty, get smacked with a rolled up newspaper, and sulk for another 300years.

    Shenanigans will erupt in SA. With dirty fingerprints of Chynah, the Rooskies, other bad actors upon them. Probably Brazil, but knowing Brazil, if a riot happened would anybody notice or just call it another Tuesday?

    Greenland will become US. All our base are belong to US.

    Canuckians will agitate for revolt, revolution, separation, SOMETHING that ain’t cultural, economic, and national suicide. Quebeckians will quack in negation, demanding we respect the decline.

    Yurrp will stew. The smelly invaders will grow bold. Poland and their spiritual brothers and sisters will be mostly fine. Sucks to be the rest of Yurrp, though.

    Africa will win. Again. Africans, on the other hand, will get the sh!ttier end of the stick. While it is still on fire, if its bad, or smoldering, if it’s another Tuesday.

    The Inevitable Snackbar troupe will try (and most likely fail) to enact something to gain attention. Bonus points if the policeman’s dog pisses on their homemade incendiary device first.

    The economy will sputter, surge, calm a bit, then surge again. Extra extras if the midterms happen with less corruption than I expect. Speaking of which.

    Midterm shenanigans will be in desperate force. Mostly in swing states, of course, where all the shenanigan-enabling-mechanisms are already in place and well maintained. Expect your local radio, tv, and internet ads to be aggressively annoying if you’re in Certain Places, folks.

    And lastly,

    The fuzzmonsters will abide. Squirbs, birbs, verminy veritable small things will try and die upon the battlefield that is Neighborcat’s territory. Nastycat will continue his training montage with his eternal foes: the sticks in the yard. The pink plastic dino will get a few more teeth marks, but watch the ensuing entertainment with unblinking plastic eyes. Doofus will get his checkup and howl at the injustice of outdoors even existing, most especially the dogs that are Out There. His Orangeness will demand his chicken, nom it with all the grace of a starving honey badger, and catterize the author’s lap at every writing moment.

    And Othercat will be Othercat. His Hugeness has finally (we hope) finished his final growth spurt. He will continue to woo his lady love, mother of his five kittens, and join Neighborcat upon the hunt. He will go fishing at the creek, share his minnows with the fuzzy lads, and demand to be picked up and carried so he can view and sniff the world from a taller perch.

    The kill ditch will get filled, and have to be moved to the other side of the yard. Might put in some compost on that side and start a few berry bushes. Neighborcat would like that. Fast, feathery food. Life will plod on like a tired horse heading to the stable in this quiet corner of Appalachia. Might even finish up the dead legion short story compilation this coming year, or Dr Z, or start the LitRPG that wants like, a trilogy of trilogies. Eh.

    Time will tell. Y’all keep your heads on a swivel out there. Wouldn’t want to miss some of the things what’s coming. For various reasons, of course.

    Liked by 2 people

  26. I read this column this morning and something has been bothering me all day. I am in complete agreement with everything Sarah wrote with one small exception that is actually very important.

    “It’s been quiet recently, and I think the rebellion is in the process of being subdued, and I’m hoping we don’t allow that.”

    I also hope we don’t allow it to be subdued, but first we must question whether it is truly quiet or if ‘quiet’ is just the regime propaganda the MSM is parroting. First, if the internet is choked off as completely as we are told, where could this information have come from if not the Islamic regime? The rebellion has been going on for three weeks now, with an apparent blackout from the western media until this last week. The only source that covered it was Tousi TV. He is an Iranian in London who is doing the work big media isn’t doing. He’s on YouTube and X. If you want an independent source, I highly recommend him. He has some sources in Iran and definitely isn’t calling it quiet.

    These poor people realize that they either keep protesting on the streets, in spite of massacres, thirst, and hunger, or they wait in their homes for their turn to be executed if the regime survives. Quiet is the one thing they cannot afford to be. So, don’t believe it without solid proof. For them, quiet is dead.

    Liked by 1 person

            1. It’s crazy in the sense of last ditch efforts that don’t realize second order effects. It’s nuts. And it will happen, yes. We might also lose some elections. Your point is? No, it’s no reason to be black pilled.
              Repeat after me: Most casualties happen after the war is won.

              Like

              1. No, we are aware of our two-tier justice system, and have something to lose when SturmAntifa shows up.

                Like

                1. So you’ve been screaming for years, at this point, while those not howling doom, doom, have instead done things like actually investigated, arrested, charged and sentenced dozens of fraudsters, dozens of violent attackers, dozens of dozens of–

                  Well, in short: the only time you can be bothered with what’s going on is when you can snatch an example of a setback, and declare failure.

                  Heaven forbid, a highly effective tactic which depends on the citizens who show up for jury duty does not ALWAYS favor your goals.

                  Gosh.

                  Better give up.

                  Like

            3. Read more history.

              Southern states did this crap in the Civil Rights era.

              Who won? Feds. Took a while. “Klan” is now synonym for “dysfunctional idiots”. Also they hold their reunions in the Hoover building in DC. Easiest way to get the membership together.

              Note the unbroken string of “W” starting with Washington and whiskey.

              Yes, the poo flinging howler monkeys are noisy. Doesn’t mean they are winning. Nor even that they can win.

              He could have already sent the 101st in. Or, Delta. You do understand snatching Maduro was aimed at problem children here, yes?

              Oh yes it was.

              Trump is feeding rope to them. When the hammer falls, it is going to be scary.

              Like

    2. Trump 2.0 is having the same issue as Trump 1.0: He can’t get rid of all the moles fast enough, and can’t confirm replacements. It’s just more obvious now, because Twitter is now X, and the evidence is more available.

      Prediction: because the voters can see the problem, and Trump is hamstrung, they lose patience and we lose the House and Senate. Hopefully not enough for impeachment to succeed.

      As I’ve been saying since forever, we have a broken system that will have to be ignored, demolished, and rebuilt from the original specs.

      Like

  28. Atlantis already has risen from the sea. It passed through the center of the Earth and came to the surface in the Pacific Ocean. We now call it “Australia”

    Also worth noting: US withdrawal from the UN Register of Conventional Arms. To the cheers of the gun-rights crowd.

    Like

  29. They haven’t even started a scream that Israel withdrew from those right after we did.

    For me the real news here is Israel had been allowed in and hadn’t been thrown out of these orgs.

    Like

    1. The only reason they let Israel in is so they could generate a headline that Israel was a member who was disregarding blah-blah guidelines and therefore deserved what happened.

      Like

  30. My predictions are that no insurrection act implementation. Greenland is a nothing burger. Venezuala will not change because everyone is still there. Same with Cuba. New Ayatollah in Iran continues old policies, gold never went to Russia, Canada and China continue to hate on US, rest of the world circles and the OG Rhinos and the TDS and frothers rip it all apart here because its better to be a slave in the smouldering ruins of Heaven, than be responsible for yourself and consequences of your own actions

    Like

Comments are closed.