I’m back, after my first real two-week vacation in a long time. I didn’t give a talk or preach a sermon somewhere. I just drove down the east coast to spend Christmas with friends in Florida, and then drove back to New England for New Years. I’ve been watching alligators, reading novels, and working on my Chinese cooking. My greatest accomplishment has been a wokful of dan-dan noodles.
But now I’m back, and the world has generated three weeks of news. My plan is to spend this week’s articles catching up, and to wait (mostly) until next week to implement any new plans or insights. (My main resolution is to devote more time to hopeful things people are doing, particularly with regard to the climate.) Because the main news of the last three weeks has centered on the topics that were wearing me down when I left: Donald Trump and the Gaza War. (The Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling to take Trump off the ballot was literally the day after the last Weekly Sift.)
So this is a clean-out-the-backlog week. The first featured post “Catching Up on Donald Trump” will look at the 14th-Amendment disqualification issue, the House Democrats’ report partially accounting for the millions Trump took from foreign governments while he was president, and a few other odds and ends. I’m hoping to get it out around 9 EST.
The second featured post will be “Catching Up on the Gaza War”. Here, I’ll be trying to make up for two months of closing my eyes and hoping for the best. (In retrospect, I really needed that vacation.) Obviously, the best isn’t happening, so it’s time to back up and reframe — starting with a post I wrote for Daily Kos before the Sift existed, “Terrorist Strategy 101”. I’ll try to get something out by 11 — either the whole thing or a Part One that I’ll continue next week.
The weekly summary will include some 2023-becomes-2024 links, a look at Governor DeWine’s surprising veto of Ohio’s anti-trans law, continuing good news on the economy, and few other things. I’ll try to get that out between noon and one.
The Weekly Sift 
Comments
Ten million illegal aliens have arrived in our country – and while most of them are coming to pursue a higher quality of life and multiple opportunities that only our superior system of capitalism and constitutional republic can provide – among them are criminals, terrorists, human traffickers and drug dealers harming our taxpayer citizens.
They come from almost 200 countries and represent all nationalities and expect in the self declared sanctuary states and cities to get freebies and nobody seem to fear racial discrimination as Africans Muslims Asians and Latin Americans are well represented.
Get outta here with your xenophobia, obvious troll.
Watching Morning Joe and CNN and the panic is obvious. All focus is on stopping we the people to vote for whom they wish regardless of who that person is, and how Biden should focus on abortion issue that Supreme Court turned back to states to reflect the different values of each state, on January 6 and stopping Trump and not on accomplishments as the public at large have figured out that there are none and polls show this clearly. The Trump 2016 promise to build the Wall is now playing in his favor as Biden reversed it and the result is now recognized by everybody the border wall was needed and is needed more than ever.
It’s sad our choice is two octagenians in a bankrupt country like once the Byzantine empire which resulted in collapse.
I personally hope Steven Fulop wins Governorship in NJ and after Trump one term and a younger candidate two terms Steven runs and wins.
Welcome back, Doug. As you can see, the troll(s) were waiting for your return. Could I perhaps suggest that it’s time to disable anonymous comments on the Sift? It may not dissuade the more objectionable trolls, but at least it will allow the rest of us to more easily filter out their trash…..
It’s just one troll, Prof. (lol) Tom. Filtering his ip would do wonders.
Welcome back! Glad you had time to recharge your batteries. Looking forward to your columns’ restart!
“My main resolution is to devote more time to hopeful things people are doing, particularly with regard to the climate.”
I like this idea! Especially if it includes links to efforts that your readers might also be able to work on.
I’d also like links to things that readers can do to help defeat Trump. I don’t need any more news to know that he needs to be defeated, but I would like to know more about the people and organizations trying to do that.
Re your future focus on the climate, I thought this article was interesting: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/magazine/glacier-engineering-sea-level-rise.html
Welcome back. I hope it was refreshing.
Remember, It’s always appropriate to take care of yourself.
And plenty of us have been overwhelmed by Gaza, Ukraine, the presidential raise.
A friend told me about a book called “Try softer.” It’s an antidote to the idea that we are always told (or tell ourselves) to redouble our efforts and Try Harder. That has been my life.
Now my approach is different. Take time for self care. After a life of caring for others and now elderly, I’m ‘holding’ all this differently. Moving at a slower pace and not pressuring myself to do more.