Went to get gas for my economical Rav4 this morning. Price of 87 octane regular here in the East Valley, Phoenix area: Today $4.70 Ten days ago $3.40 Up 28%. US based Oil & Gas companies are going to have a nice uptick in profit this quarter. Summer vacation, stay at home, or pay the piper?

Placed at each seat alongng the counter at my favorite coffee shop in Tempe, Arizona this morning.

Hilton hotel brands: Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, Hilton Garden Inn, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Home 2 Suites, Hilton Grand Vacations, Graduate, Temple, Tru, plus a dozen lesser brands. stories.hilton.com/brands

Last January 2025, the market price of oil was $75 to $80 a barrel. Now, oil is $56 a barrel. And the MAGA world is all excited about Venezuelan heavy crude, which most US refineries can't handle. Wait 'til they find out the huge Venezuelan oil reserve number is totally made up. Stupid times.

Rural Arizona school losing half its teachers due to federal visa policy In September, the Trump administration increased the H-1B visa’s processing fee to $100,000, an impossible cost for school districts. www.kold.com/2025/12/24/r...

A very Merry Christmas from the land of cactus, scorpions, and cybertrucks. Here we see an early prototype...

Grandpa Don today said once again that gas prices have dropped to $2 a gallon. Grandpa Don lives in Dumbfuckistan, an oil rich country located south of Nambia. Here on Earth, gas prices are closer to $3 a gallon on average. GasBuddy crowd sources prices at the pump...

I haven't seen this yet, but is the fast ramp up to a new Epstein investigation at DoJ today a gambit to claim the Epstein files cannot be released?

A data point for my Bluesky feed: I went on the ACA health insurance website site to take a gander at the 2026 premium for my wife. It's a regular Silver plan. 2025 $635 per month 2026 $1228 per month (same plan) or $915 cheapest Bronze plan Self insuring, maybe. A roll of the dice.

Thanks to everyone posting election results. "The colors of the rainbow So pretty in the sky Are also on the faces Of people going by I see friends shaking hands Saying, "How do you do?" They're really saying I love you"

So if you want to know what the new oversized White House ballroom will be used for if it ever gets built, the photos from the Mar a Lago Halloween Gatsby Night party should be a great example. I get "Rome burning" vibes from it.

I just made a donation to a major local food bank here in AZ. If it turns out that SNAP actually gets funded before Nov 1, I won't feel bad about my donation at all.

I understand the affinity between Trump, his MAGA loyalists, and a sizable segment of Tech Bros. They share a preference for the method: "move fast and break things". Because "creative destruction" is just common sense. I also think they cannot be arsed with analysis.

Fetterman describes Trump trying to steal $230 million from taxpayers as "small ball, and I think we have much bigger problems than worrying about those things."

Somebody in an inflatable frog costume needs to crash a Speaker Johnson press event this week.

The coordinated amphibious assault on America continues. Reporting live from Mesa, Arizona.

Based on the past five days or so... The cheese, dusted with orange pancake makeup, has very much slid off the cracker.

This should be nominated for Best Short Film of 2025.

Evidently, nobody told airlines and private pilots to steer clear of Portland International (PDX) despite the President's announcement of war conditions. Somebody tell Duffy.

He often addressed the public directly, presented a distinctly Christian perspective on issues of the today, and was not afraid to wade into contentious political debates. I'm not talking about Charlie Kirk. I'm talking about Rev., Dr William Barber. And he's still at it, Thank the Lord.

President Donald Trump urged Afghanistan to return the Bagram air base to US control, threatening “BAD THINGS” for the Taliban-led country if it fails to comply

Trump Presses Afghanistan to Return Bagram Air Base to US

President Donald Trump urged Afghanistan to return the Bagram air base to US control, threatening “BAD THINGS” for the Taliban-led country if it fails to comply.

bloom.bg

Well, look, we can't expect the President of the United States to maintain his composure in times of stress.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last yr.

RADDATZ: You talked about Democrats who have been targeted. Trump said nothing about the political violence against Democrats. In fact, he blamed the radical left. What's your reaction to that? SPENCER COX: Well look, President Trump is very angry.

To me, there was a kind of inevitability of an event like Charlie Kirk getting murdered by a gunman. If not him, someone else. I don't know what ends this. Bad faith abounds. Hosea 8:7: "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind."

A eulogy of Charlie Kirk follows, in 300 characters or less...

Sec of War/Defense, Pete "Chin-up" Hegseth has announced that the Department of War, previously known as the Department of Defense, will be renamed to... "The Department of We Are Really Disappointed In You Vladimir Putin, We Thought You Were Our Friend"

The entire essay by Umberto Eco is very much worth reading. theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umbe...

Ur-Fascism

Umberto Eco Ur-Fascism June 22, 1995

theanarchistlibrary.org

@mikegmcg.bsky.social · last yr.

This is almost comically on point for Umberto Eco’s 3rd characteristic of fascism: the cult of action for action’s sake.

Standing next to Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump announced he will be renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of Big Strong Men with Tears in Their Eyes, and that Hegseth's title will be Secretary of Small Boat Demolition.

My dying wish is, if Trump is going to order up a Navy parade in DC, that every participant be permitted to dress up as one of The Village People. Anyway, I'm not dying, so I suppose that isn't gonna happen. Life is disappointing sometimes.

Cracker Barrel responds to criticism with a revised logo... ( forgive my bad editing)

I love the new Cracker Barrel logo! 🧡 #EpsteinFiles