WHAT I'M READING

I finished reading "Uncle John's Weird Weird World:  How, What, Where, When & Why." Now I'm reading "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Christmas Collection." Every day I read the Omaha World Herald & Norfolk Daily News. Almost every day I check out the Drudge Report, Babylon Bee, National Review Online, Townhall, & the National Review Magazine online edition.

TRENDING

"Human remains found inside 504-lb gator suspected in Ida attack." Drudge Report

"'Deaths of despair' worsen among Americans lacking college decrees." Drudge

"Tourists smoking toad venom in Mexico hipster town Tulum." Drudge

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE CALIFORNIA

"Mysterious unmanned vessel spotted in San Diego Bay." Drudge

AFGHANISTAN

"Rednecks dress up as Taliban so Biden will give them billions of dollars in firearms." Babylon Bee

"Taliban celebrates 9/11 with patriotic flyover of U.S. Black Hawks." Ditto

"Since the collapse of Afghanistan and the re-ascension of the Taliban, comparisons have been made to the evacuation of Saigon in 1975. The imagery of United States helicopters evacuating panic-stricken South Vietnamese civilians as NVA tanks rolled into Saigon has been invoked many times over by the press. The administration was adamant that a fiasco like the evacuation of Saigon would not be repeated. The Biden administration, for all its failures, has succeeded in avoiding a situation like Saigon. Unfortunately, the collapse of Afghanistan, the chaotic evacuation, and the ongoing hostage crisis are nothing like Saigon and the end of Vietnam. What we saw with the U.S. failure in Afghanistan is far worse. It is the worst foreign policy blunder in American history, including the War of 1812, where we picked a fight with the British by invading Canada, who subsequently retaliated by invading the United States and burning down Washington D.C. Yes, the U.S. failure in Afghanistan is worse than even that." Joseph Bowman, Townhall

COVID

"Biden declares we must spray sunscreen on everyone to protect those already wearing sunscreen." Babylon Bee

"The photographs from last night’s event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City show a host of celebrities — including New York Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Carolyn Maloney — enjoying themselves without masks while the staff that are waiting on them are all masked up. Why?" Charles Cooke, National Review Online

POLITICAL POTPOURRI

"Kamala Harris instructed to stop answering all her phone calls with 'Did he die?'" Babylon Bee

"There are many ways in which to divide humanity -- the decent and the indecent, the happy and the unhappy, the cowardly and the courageous, those who lead and those who follow, etc. Two major divisions that are less often noted but highly consequential are between those who want to control others and those who have little interest in controlling others, and between the related categories of those who are comfortable with being controlled by others and those who detest being controlled by others. Those who seek to control others and those who seek to be controlled by others would seem to be on opposite ends of the political spectrum. But they are not. Both groups are overwhelmingly populated by individuals on the Left." Dennis Prager, Townhall

EDUCATION

"As a new school year unfolds and students face yet another year of learning disruptions, policy leaders across the country should be doing everything in their power to ensure every student is equipped with an education that will help them succeed. Unfortunately, some politicians lack the conviction to enact sound policy that puts students first and, instead, have embraced a race-to-the-bottom mentality.

Rather than implement plans to turn around plummeting student achievement, create new pathways for kids to access a school tailored to their needs, or innovate with strategies to customize a child’s learning experience, Oregon governor Kate Brown quietly signed a brand new bill that hands all Oregon students a high-school diploma, irrespective of whether they can read, write, or demonstrate proficiency in math.

"In other words, Oregon is lowering the bar and lowering expectations, granting students the credential of an “effective” K–12 education without making sure they’re equipped with the fundamental skills they need for a successful life." Jeb Bush, NRO

CRIMINAL MINDS

"Deer attack bruises North Platte worker. A North Platte (NE) parks employee was left bruised after an attack by a whitetail deer in its enclosure at Cody Park." Omaha World Herald, 9/13