There were several things I started to blog about this morning. I’ve been very sad, for instance, that chickadees, juncos, sparrows, and the jays have all completely stopped visiting my bird feeder. I know the hawk killed and ate many of them, and that caused the rest to become much more cautious and less prone to lingering at the feeder. I don’t know if the hawk has actually just wiped out enough of the local population that I’m going to have to wait until new birds are hatched next year and start spilling over into the neighborhood. Today I’m going to dump out the birdseed that has been in the feeder apparently untouched for a few weeks, clean out the feeder, and only put a small amount in when I hang it back up. Because though the feeder seems to keep the seed dry, I still assume in our super damp climate that at least some of the seeds are starting to rot in there.

This is one of those times of years where all the news sites get very sparse. I understand. Writers, editors, and reporters have families and want to take time out for the holidays, too. It’s one reason so many end-of-year lists get published: the can be assembled before someone goes on vacation and scheduled to publish during the holidays. Sometimes such lists are interesting, though, so I’ll give you at least one below.

Hey, how about a little schadenfreude to close out the year: Laura Ingraham’s Radio Show Cancelled Due To Advertiser Boycott. I repeat my earlier comments on these kinds of stories: this isn’t censorship, it is consequences. I find it amusing that the end of the political spectrum that most insists on the value of personal responsibility never wants anyone they agree with to actually be held responsible for their hateful behavior. Similarly, they’re so obsessed with letting the marketplace decide, until the marketplace doesn’t pick them…

OMG, and then a Republican says what I think the Dems should have been saying all month: GOP Congressman: Trump Is ‘A Wealthy Man’ and if He Wants a Wall He Should Fork Over Some Cash for It. We won’t mention that all the best guesses out there that Trump actually has a negative net worth mean this literally can’t happen, but still…

Okay, maybe a little more schadenfreude:Republican losers we won’t miss in 2019. Good-bye and good riddance!

Hey, science is still happening: NASA spacecraft to make record-setting flyby on New Year’s.

10 LGBTQ ads from 2018 that sold everything from potatoes to shampoo.