Wrapping-up loose ends at year-end, after the jump ….
But first: Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely ... you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention).------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send your nominations to TopComments at gmail dot com by 9:30 PM Eastern Time nightly, or by our KosMail message board. Please indicate (a) why you liked the comment, and (b) your Dkos user name (to properly credit you) as well as a link to the comment itself.
Back from a nice visit with family over the holidays (plus a nice lunch with old friends who have birthdays then … who lose-out, otherwise).
One special treat took place on Christmas Day itself. My sister Margaret handed my three other siblings (and myself) a wrapped gift … we had to open all at once.
It turned out to be a photo of our parents circa 1957 — other than their 1955 wedding photos, I hadn’t seen any photos of them since the mid-to-late 60’s (after they had aged notably). They were not diligent photo-takers (and what they did take was of me, as first-born). Margaret happened to see it in an old shoebox at our cousin’s house and had it copied for the rest of us.
Even more surprising: it was a color photo, from a black-and-white era. This will be a gift to remember (and I am posting it on the 103rd birthday anniversary of Ed Tracey Sr.)
With today as his last working day in office (as tomorrow is the observed New Year’s holiday) it appears that Cy Vance Jr. will not be issuing any TrumpWorld indictments. I had expected to hear such an announcement for two reasons:
1) It was predicted by David Cay Johnston, who knows Trump finances, and
2) Vance has (long) been chastised for allowing rich folks (of all stripes) to escape justice before. If Vance was hoping to change the first line in his (future) obituary … assuming his team had-the-goods on 45, he could take credit now …. and if the case ultimately failed, his successor (Alvin Bragg) may take the blame.
That it has not yet happened ... suggests some possibilities:
3) Johnston was given bad information, or new evidence has come in
4) The case is not yet airtight (and requires much more time) or
5) Vance wanted to leave the case solely for his successor.
Whichever, let’s hope the new year will usher in a flood of indictments.
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Here is a delightful video you may have seen …. but just-in-case not:
First, to be clear: this teacher is …. well, a bit of a ringer. Kathleen ‘Ms. Fitz’ Fitzpatrick is a suburban Philadelphia native who played on the women’s team first at St. Joe’s in Philly, later transferring to the state university of New Jersey.
She is a third-grade teacher at an elementary school in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C. and offered them a deal, because ….
"I felt bad because I had actually given my students two tests that Friday. They were working so hard and had so much to finish before the holiday break, so they very much deserved it."
She offered them all hot chocolate if she made a long-range shot … and you’ll probably not be surprised that this video went viral:
And here are her students enjoying their hot chocolate.
Lastly, I am grateful that 2021 was better than 2020 (and not just because of the new occupant of the White House and the Georgia run-off Senate winners).
From March 2020 to about Independence Day this year: I went into my office 2-3 evenings per week (say, 4:30 — 8:00 PM) and a good part of Saturday. I was able to work remotely a good portion, coming in primarily for printing/scanning (my poor home printer wasn’t meant for large-scale office work).
Since our office re-opening: except for busy times (such as budget season and fiscal year end) I was able to work remotely part of the time. Best of all: my boss (concerned about staggering office hours) is fine with me setting my own hours, at home and at the office. Never having been a morning person: being able to keep the alarm clock set at Off— is a gift from heaven.
Prior to the pandemic, I avoided checking office e-mail from home (wanting to separate the two). Now: I’m perfectly happy to do so, in exchange for this freedom. I know I'm lucky in this regard … I hope your situation is good.
And here’s to a better 2022 for us all. Yet, as Steve Winwood sang years ago ….
Now, on to Top Comments:
From elfling:
In the diary by MarcKyle64, pleading for the end of the Load More (comments) feature in diaries — some of us are using older computers than others, and this comment (from Frank Pedraza) created a delightful thread.
From inkstainedwretch:
In the diary by Avid Reader and Writer about some promising research in the fight against Covid — a nomination for this comment made by Mathy Kathy (about 'Conscientious objectors') …. who are conscienceless, objectionable, sorry excuses for human beings.
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the front-page story about the BBC forced to admit fault over inviting Alan Dershowitz to comment on the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict without noting his own involvement with Jeffrey Epstein — as even the Murdoch Network did — BronxInTN is first to weigh-in on the mistake (just possibly) stemming from the nonavailability… of a certain member of the royal family.
Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful (and now eternal) *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment featuring that photo.
TOP PHOTOSDecember 29th, 2021
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And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
7) BUT CAPITALISM by PastorOfMuppets +9423) 18 USCode §§1512 (c)(2), (k) … by democratos +6427) I would certainly like to see this. by samanthab +62