Let’s Start With Why 2018 Will Be Amazing
Ars Technica – Here’s the spaceflight stuff we’re most anticipating in 2018

North Korea Extends An Olive Branch As Trump Preens
Reuters – North Korea agrees to talk to South after U.S.-South Korea postpone drills

Iranian Government Begins Pointing Fingers; Is There Any Truth In What They Say?
New York Times – Iran Lashes Out at Its Enemies, at Home and Abroad, Amid Protests

Saudi Arabia Looks On As Its Sparring Partner Stumbles
Wall Street Journal – Iranian Unrest Draws a Notable Silence From Rival Saudi Arabia

Even More Reform in the Kingdom
The Guardian – Saudi Aramco takes key step towards $2tn flotation

ISIS On The Run; Isn’t It Grand What We Can Accomplish When We Work Together?
Reuters – Syrian govt. presses Idlib offensive as people flee homes in the cold

Chappaqua Is Burning
Washington Post – Fire breaks out on Hillary and Bill Clinton’s property in Chappaqua, N.Y.

Trump and Bannon Trade Punches; Is It Real or An Act?
Reuters – Trump breaks with Bannon, says former White House aide ‘lost his mind’
New York Times – Trump Breaks With Bannon, Saying ‘He Has Lost is Mind’
CNN – Read Trump’s official statement about Steve Bannon

Nothing To See Here, Folks
Politico – Roy Moore accuser’s home burns down in possible arson

Sessions on Sessions: States’ Rights, Except When We Say So
Associated Press – Sessions terminates US policy that let legal pot flourish

Quick Reminder: Marijuana/Cannabis Is Still a Schedule I Drug, According To the Federal Government
Drug Enforcement Administration – Drug Schedules

Californian Killed in Mexico
San Diego Union-Tribune – Shooting of Imperial Beach official a ‘priority case,’ say Guerrero officials

Looks Like We’re Back to Sarah Palin’s “Drill Baby, Drill!”
New York Times – Trump Moves to Open Nearly All Offshore Waters to Drilling

Some States Prepare For a Fight
National Post – California has ample weapons to fight Trump on drilling

Time To Update Your Devices – Apple Users Must Wait
Reuters – Security flaws put virtually all phones, computers at risk
Ars Technica – Meltdown and Spectre: Here’s what Intel, Apple, Microsoft, others are doing about it
Reuters – How a researcher hacked his own computer and found ‘worst’ chip flaw

Replacements For Senators Jeff Sessions and Al Franken Sworn In
Time – Democratic lawmakers Doug Jones of Alabama and Tina Smith of Minnesota are sworn into the U.S. Senate

The Curious Case of Bridgewater Associates
Reuters – Executive at top hedge fund among Costa Rica crash victims

What Is Bridgewater?
New York Times – At World’s Largest Hedge Fund, Sex, Fear and Video Surveillance

A Belated New Years Post

The Opposing Philosophies of Teddy and Trump
National Park Service – Theodore Roosevelt and Conservation

Pot Prohibition Ends in California
Los Angeles Times – A ‘monumental moment’ for fully legal marijuana in California

Oil and Minerals Are Not the Only Economic Potential of Our Federal Lands
National Park Service – Visitor Spending Effects – Economic Contributions of National Park Visitor Spending

Saber-Rattling As Theater – North Korea May Be Ready To Talk
Reuters – North Korea’s Kim ‘open to dialogue’ with South Korea, will only use nukes if threatened

RPO and Cloverfield and Annihilation, Oh My!
BuzzFeed – Movies And TV Shows To Be Really Excited About In 2018

First They Came For The Socialists, and I Did Not Speak Out — Because I Was Not A Socialist
The Intercept – Facebook Says It Is Deleting Accounts At The Direction of The U.S. and Israeli Government

Is This Issue Not More Appropriately Addressed Through The CDC?
USA Today – President Trump fires council advising on HIV/AIDS

After A Year of Trump, A Throwback: These Are Not The Democrats You Are Looking For
Washington Post – Obama revealed: A moderate Republican

Government Oversight of Private Salaries: A Beta Test
Al Jazeera – Iceland becomes first country to legalise equal pay

Article’s Thesis: It’s Hard, So We Shouldn’t Try
Washington Post – Saudi Arabia is trying to contain the spread of Salafism. It won’t work.

Personal Drama Leads to Blood In the Streets
FOX News – Gunman in deadly Colorado deputy shooting identified as Iraq War vet with grudge against sheriff

The Politics of Mob Justice
FOX News – Hillary Clinton backer paid $500G to fund women accusing Trump of sexual misconduct before Election Day, report says

Your Fly is Open
CNN – State Dept. posts Huma Abedin emails found on Anthony Weiner’s laptop

Even A Broken Clock is Right Twice A Day

Tennessee To Expand Second Amendment but Limit First Amendment in Government Facilities
USA Today – Guns yes, hand-held signs no in Tennessee lawmakers’ new offices

A Tale of Two Cities
WGN9 – Homeless man freezes to death at Cincinnati Bus stop
New York Times – Homeless Find a Champion in Canada’s Medicine Hat

Apply Protests, Lather With the Heavy Hand, Shower With Glorious Freedom, Rinse and Repeat
BBC – Iranian protests: World is watching response, US warns

Are Markets Actually Accurate Indicators of Overall Quality of Life for Most People
Reuters – Stock performance in 2017 points to wealth for many nations
Reuters – The Year in U.S. markets in five graphs

The Vanity Fair Video That Raised So Many Clintonite Hackles

SpaceX Dazzles and Puzzles Across the Southwest
The Verge – A photographer shot an awesome time-lapse of SpaceX’s recent rocket launch
The Guardian – Social media videos capture SpaceX streaking across California skies

Meet the Monied
Forbes – Forbes 400: Introducing The Wealthiest In America
Forbes – Forbes 400: The List

Apple Responds to Lawsuits With Cheaper Batteries and New Battery Display
Reuters – Apple apologizes after outcry over slow iPhones

Sanders Exposes Even More Political Maneuvering

Does Flynn Possess Secrets Or Is This Just More Political Theater?
Associated Press – Flynn may be moving to cooperate with Mueller’s Russia probe

A Rotten Apple: Aging, but Not Like a Fine Wine
Reuters – Apple faces lawsuits after saying it slows down aging iPhones

Pay No Attention to the Civil Service Behind the Curtain
The Intercept – How a Gay Friendly and “Very Pro-Choice” Trump Created the Most Anti-Choice, Anti-LGBT Administration in Generations

As Was Pointed Out to Me, This Article Misses Only the Nuance of Kylo Ren
The Intercept – “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Takes a Side in the Class War

The Boxing Match Continues, Tit For Tat
MSNBC – Trump spends holiday weekend intensifying FBI feud
MSNBC (Video) – Trump spends Christmas attacking the FBI

NASA or SpaceX; Who Will Land First?
NASA – The Moon Shines Brightly Among NASA’s 2017 Highlights

Gamers Beware, You May Soon Have a Classifiable Disorder!
Business Insider – ‘Gaming disorder’ may get classified as a mental health condition – here’s what that means

Did He Really Ever Intend to Finish Bush’s Wall?
Bloomberg – What Ever Happened to Donald Trump’s Wall? It’s in Pieces, in the Desert

Body Broker’s Stock Included Fetuses?
Reuters – Exclusive: Federal agents found fetuses in body broker’s warehouse (Warning: Graphic images)

Russia and Ukraine; Shades of Our War With the Mexican Cartels
National Post – ‘It doesn’t look like the war will end. No one wants it to’: This is the longest European conflict since the Second World War

As The Empire Appears Possibly Poised to Retract, the World Becomes More Interesting
New York Times – Royal Navy Escorts Russian Warship Near U.K.

Totalitarian States Act Rapidly in Ways Democracies Cannot
Reuters – China’s Communist Party to discuss amending constitution, graft fight

Left Hand, Meet Right Hand
The Hill – Cities sue after Pentagon failed to report crimes to FBI gun check system