Melania Trump this week unveiled her new line of Christmas ornaments but fans hoping to celebrate the season with her designs are going to have to open up their wallets. The brass-and-enamel ornaments of the 250 Collection named for next year's semiquincentennial are selling for $75-$90 a pop, or $465 for the set of six. Three of the ornaments depict U.S. landmarks (the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore), while three feature patriotic imagery. All six have an engraving of the first lady's signature as well as the "option" of a "unique digital collectible." The website also states that orders can take 10-12 weeks to ship, meaning ornaments purchased today may not arrive until just before Christmas. read more
Trump broke from his prepared remarks at the United Nations on Tuesday to bemoan an inoperable escalator and a defective teleprompter ... read more
A prolific singer and songwriter who got his start with Buddy Holly, he wrote "I Fought the Law," "Walk Right Back" the "Mary Tyler Moore" theme and hundreds of other songs. read more
A mysterious statue popped up overnight of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein frolicking and holding hands. read more
The United States is less democratic, less self-governing, more dysfunctional, and more corrupt than it was 20 years ago, thanks in large part to the Supreme Court's rulings. read more
See Carlo M. Cipolla, "The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity" (gandalf.fee.urv.cat).
1. Always and inevitably, everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
2. The probability that a certain person (will) be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.
4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular, non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places, and under any circumstances, to deal and/or associate with stupid people always turns out to be a costly mistake.
5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.
Corollary: a stupid person is more dangerous than a pillager.
#3
Thank you for the first laugh of the morning!