Sunday: Hili dialogue

Welcome to the Sabbath for goyische cats: it’s Sunday, January 28 and the fourth day of Koynezaa, with two more to go. It’s also National Chocolate Candy Day, the best kind of candy, and the best species of which is See’s.  If you’re near a shop, you can go in and construct your own box, chocolate by chocolate (their non-chocolate chocolates, like this one, are also great).

It’s also Call a Friend Day, National Card Playing Day, and Pledge of Allegiance Day (Congress authorized the words of the pledge on this day in 1942, but the words “Under God” weren’t added until 1954, and they’re still in there.)

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the December 28 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz:

*The Washington Post has an editorial-board-composed list of “25 good things that happened in 2025“.  Here are a few:

The Catholic Church elected Robert Prevost to become the first American pope. The Chicago native took the name Leo XIV.  [I don’t see what’s so great about that.]

The U.S. maintained its role as the center of global medical innovation. The Food and Drug Administration approved a twice-a-year HIV shot, the closest thing to an AIDS vaccine. Scientists have also achieved multiple breakthroughs in genetic therapies, including the first-ever treatment for Huntington’s disease. Meanwhile, new blood tests show promise to detect signs of ALS years before symptoms emerge, and scientists have begun to uncover how faulty mitochondria can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, opening pathways for potential treatments.

NASA scientists published a study containing the most compelling evidence yet of ancient microbial life on Mars. [It’s traces of minerals in rocks, and suggestive but not that compelling.]

Support for nuclear energy reached new highs in 2025, with 59 percent of Americans backing it. That includes a majority of Democrats, up 15 points since 2020.

I like this next one:

Targeted conservation efforts managed to notch some wins for wildlife. Green sea turtles are no longer endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A study out of India, home to 75 percent of the world’s wild tigers, found that the country’s population of the big cat doubled in the last decade. And after the removal of four dams in Oregon and California’s Klamath River, salmon returned after having disappeared for more than a century.

More:

More than 20 states enacted laws or policies banning or restricting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms, helping children focus again on learning.

California enacted a law to embrace phonics, an enormous victory for advocates of the science of reading. [John McWhorter will like this one.]

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado came out of hiding to collect the Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting freedom under the nose of dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Sports fans witnessed extraordinary accomplishments: Shohei Ohtani delivered the greatest single-game performance in baseball history. Rory McIlroy won the Masters Tournament, completing his career Grand Slam. U.S. track star Melissa Jefferson-Wooden smashed a world championship record at the 100-meter world finals.

Last but not least, who could forget Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce? [Shoot me now!]

Here’s Jefferson-Wooden’s record (10.61 seconds, not the world record, though, which belongs to Florence Griffith-Joyner at 10.49 seconds, though there’s controversy about whether it was wind-asssisted.)

*Physicist Brian Cox is on a world tour in a show he wrote showcasing science (he’ll be in the U.S. late next year).

before he became Brian Cox, the particle physicist renowned for his adroitness in explaining the intricacies and magnificence of space, he was Brian Cox the rock star.

His first professional gig, in fact, was playing keyboards in the opening band on a tour with Jimmy Page, the lead guitarist of Led Zeppelin. His second band, D:Ream, had a song that hit No. 1 on the British pop charts in 1994.

Now, Professor Cox is the star of his own show, albeit one about science.

He has sold out venues often reserved for sports and pop stars, like Wembley Arena (not the stadium) and the O2 in London. His coming tour, “Emergence,” will take him to places like Singapore, Serbia and Australia, before arriving in the United States in late 2026.

“If you believe, as I do, that science is one of the necessary foundations of society, alongside the arts and politics,” Professor Cox said in an interview, “it has to be there with them on an equal footing.”

With his geniality, Beatles-esque haircut and a dazzling show that explores black holes, galaxies and the significance — and insignificance — of human beings in the universe, Professor Cox, 57, has reached mainstream audiences, when many scientists cannot.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, the astrophysicist and popular science communicator, said in an interview that Professor Cox, whom he has known for years, “has a force of rationality, and a force of reason, and a force of science.” He added, “Society needs all three, lest we regress back to the caves whence we came.”

In an era when science denial and disinformation are common, Professor Cox, who teaches particle physics at the University of Manchester, has sought to make science accessible through Peabody Award-winning BBC documentaries and podcasts, books and appearances on other media, like “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

. . . . The show in Redditch, about 45 minutes south of Birmingham, was the beginning of a slate of warm-up performances. For Professor Cox, they are a chance to work out new material. The show changes night to night.

. . . .Professor Cox’s enthusiasm is as much a character in the show as the planets and the stars. He kept the audience captivated, even on topics that might seem out of reach, like the origin of space and time or quantum entanglement.

David Attenborough, whose nature documentaries on the BBC helped carve out a place for science presenters on television, said in 2013, “If I had a torch, I would hand it to Brian Cox.”

. . .As for the music world, Professor Cox still has a toe in. He reunited with D:Ream, onstage at the Glastonbury Festival in 2024. And at another event, he said, he was approached by a fan who expressed his awe at a show Professor Cox had done about Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons.

The fan was Paul McCartney.

I was on the Infinite Monkey Cage with Cox once (in Chicago) and saw him get the Richard Dawkins Award at CSICon in 2024. The guy is good, clearly in love with physics and without the hyperventilating, self-promoting style of Neil deGrasse Tyson.  I bet Cox’s new show will be good, so keep your eyes open next year.

*Speaking of lists, Melissa Kirsch of the NYT, in the morning email, gives a list of “wisdom” and advice. Ignore the “drink more water” advice unless your doctor says so; the latest advice is just to drink when you’re thirsty. Plus I want people to get off my lawn who carry around water bottles that they occasionally sip from. This is a pacifier (or bottle) for babies, repurposed for adults. Here’s a few choice bits of advice along with Kirsch’s intro:

Each fall, I solicit advice from readers of The Morning, asking for the best wisdom they received in the previous 12 months. This year, as last year, I’m struck by how many people have been moved by Mel Robbins’s “Let Them” theory. I was intrigued by the couple of people whose best advice came from a chatbot (in my opinion, the human advice was better). Lots of you were changed by advice to stretch, drink water, walk more — these are perennials. I don’t know why I can’t seem to take the advice to drink a glass of water upon waking up. One reader suggested it’s watering yourself, as you would a plant. I like this — some mornings the only word that seems appropriate to describe how I feel is “wilted.”

The best advice I received this year was from my friend Lori, who, when I was expressing anxiety about some far-off worry, advised, “Move the horizon closer.” Another bit that I’ve returned to: “What if it all works out?” Taken together, the instruction seems to be: Keep your gaze in the present, and if you must consider the future, choose the best-case scenario to ponder. It’s just as likely to transpire as the worst-case one, after all.

With a name like Melissa Kirsch, the author is likely to be Jewish, but no Jew I know would concentrate the best-case scenario. That has never been adaptive for us.  But on to the advice. . .

Write what’s bothering you down on a piece of paper; put it in a little box. A year later, read what’s in there and see if you don’t start laughing. — Diane Huebner, Merced, Calif.

Ask for a favor, get advice. Ask for advice, get a favor. Asking for a favor can put someone in an uncomfortable spot, but asking for advice taps into their intelligence and shows respect. It may feel slower, but it ultimately gets you what you want more effectively. — Max Zawacki, Conroe, Texas

Always have a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge. — Helen Labun, Montpelier, Vt.

In order to fall asleep, you pretend to fall asleep. Perhaps that’s how everything works … cheers to faking it ’til you make it. — Christen Bakken, Pine, Colo.

Sometimes, you have to let people lie to you. You don’t always have to be right or call people on their nonsense. — Rob Lancia, Nanuet, N.Y.

Put away your phone whenever there is a human being in front of you. — Emily Herrick, Vashon, Wash.

And these are the most cogent of many more. As you can see, they’re pretty lame, but there are two that I wholeheartedly agree with. Can you guess which ones they are?

*The Kennedy Center called off its Christmas concert because the boss musician didn’t like Donald Trump changing the name of the venue (it’s now “The Donald Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

The leader of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington has sent a letter threatening litigation against a musician who canceled an annual Christmas Eve jazz concert at the institution.

Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center’s president, sent the letter after the musician, Chuck Redd, canceled the concert in protest of the site’s new name, the Trump-Kennedy Center.

Mr. Redd had hosted the show for nearly two decades. But he said he would not hold the concert after the members of the center’s board of trustees, handpicked by President Trump, voted last week to change the name.

Mr. Grenell, whom Mr. Trump appointed to lead the Kennedy Center as part of his second-term takeover of the institution, asserted that Mr. Redd had engaged in “sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left.”

“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” Mr. Grenell wrote.

He added, “This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt.”

The letter was sent Friday, according to the Kennedy Center, which provided a copy to The New York Times. The Associated Press previously reported on the letter.

Below is a law professor arguing that the name change is illegal, but it might be hard to find somebody with standing to sue. As for the threatened lawsuit against Redd, I doubt it will come to anything, but you have to admit that the guy has moxie.  And the renaming of the Kennedy Center by Trump’s hand-picked board is offensive.

*The WSJ reports on what I see as another good thing: “Democratic centrists want to fight—and prove they will take on the establishment.” And fighting means not just against Republicans, but against “progressive” Democrats. It begins with a brief profile of Arizona’s Democratic Senator Mark Kelly:

Kelly, who often covers his head with a camouflaged U.S. Navy hat, won elections twice with campaigns focused on governing from the center. Arizonans joked that he had so many ads focused on border security during his Senate campaigns that you would think he built the wall himself. His constituents voted for President Trump by more than 5 percentage points last year.

Lately, Kelly is breaking character as he embraces a public—and at times, profanity-laced—feud with the president. After the retired Navy captain filmed a video with other Democratic veterans, telling military members to refuse illegal orders, Kelly has cast himself as a fighter.

In one video filmed from the back of a car, Kelly said: “I think a lot of people see this is just like bull——.” He said lawyers would generally advise their clients to not talk about active investigations but “f—that.” The incident has raised his profile as he considers a run for president in 2028.

“I can’t decide what the right thing or the wrong thing is based on electoral politics, and I gotta stand up for who we are and what we gotta be as a country,” he said in an interview. The video in which he appeared has garnered millions of views and spurred investigations from the Trump administration, as well as a declaration from the president that Kelly should be punished by death.

Centrist politicians are expected to be evenhanded, staid and boring—they are the ones who bridge the extremes of their party and turn ideas into something that can get passed, leaving the loudest folks unhappy. But a crop of centrist Democrats, like Kelly, is increasingly deciding to dig in their heels and fight. These centrists aren’t just confronting Trump, they also don’t want to cede control over the party’s agenda to progressives who have typically been the ones with the louder microphone.

The strategy comes with risks—it could appear inauthentic to voters or play into the hands of Trump, who relishes conflict. It could also turn off independent or moderate voters who are looking for people to be dealmakers. Some liberals say it is more style than substance, and Democrats need to embrace progressive policies.

The shift comes after Trump’s return to power earlier this year set off chaos within the Democratic Party. Democratic base voters were furious at what they perceived as weak leadership. Many increasingly feel like Democrats can no longer play by old rules because Trump has decimated political norms.

. . . . Centrists are also seeking to counter what they say is the left’s focus on social issues, including the topic of transgender women competing in sports, which centrists say has hurt Democrats in competitive races. This group has argued the party needs to stop ceding ground to Republicans on key issues like border security and law and order. They want the party to keep the focus on kitchen-table issues. Progressive have also campaigned on affordability.

To do that, centrists have become more willing to take on hardball tactics, adopt a populist tone and—in some cases—a resistance to compromise that liberal activists have been pushing for years. Increasingly, they are even distancing themselves from their own party.

Sounds good to me!  Ceiling Cat help us if the Democrats run another “progressive,” especially an incoherent one like Kamala Harris. (I’m still peeved that people saw her not only as a viable candidate, but as a great one—a “brat” candidate who would bring us “great joy.” How could Dems be so dumb? At any rate, I’ll be delighted to vote for a centrist Democrat in 2028; and given the way Trump’s ratings (and apparently his mentation) are slipping, we may have a chance.

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili’s kvetching about Andrzej’s short absences:

Hili: Going somewhere again?
Me: Just to the store to get cigarettes.
Hili: You say that every time, and then you disappear for 20 minutes.

In Polish:

Hili: Gdzie znowu idziesz?
Ja; Tylko do sklepu po papierosy.
Hili: Zawsze tak mówisz, a potem cię nie ma całe 20 minut.

*******************

From Meow Incorporated:

From Stacy. What about those clownfish?

From Things With Faces; a scary cloud:

From Masih; another Iranian blinded by the regime for protesting. In 2022, Kosar Eftekhari was blinded in one eye by an Iranian security agent firing a paintball gun at her from close range. She’s still protesting.

English translation:

In front of the French pastry shop,
the intersection of Abureyhan and Enghelab streets;
the very place where #Vida_Movahed broke #compulsory_hijab and
stood on the platform,
a few years later,
in Mehr 1401 at that same spot, they pulled the trigger ”
on my eye.
#Woman_Life_Freedom #Death_to_the_Islamic_Republic

 

روبه‌روی شیرینی‌فروشی فرانسه،
تقاطع خیابان ابوریحان و انقلاب؛
همان‌جا که #ویدا_موحد #حجاب_اجباری را زیر پا گذاشت و بر سکو ایستاد،
چند سال بعد،
در مهر ۱۴۰۱ همان نقطه بود که ماشه را
بر چشم من کشیدند.#زن_زندگی_آزادی #مرگ_بر_جمهوری_اسلامی pic.twitter.com/3UQCwX2UY1

— Kosar Eftekhari (@kosareftekharii) December 27, 2025

From Luana: a 42-minute video about the big fraud in Minnesota in which fake businesses, including “childcare” and “medical” services, billed the government for billions of dollars.  Because the perps were largely Somali, it hasn’t been publicized that much, though here’s an article from the NYT and here’s another from the WaPo. But have a look below at the facilities that supposedly house these businesses!  Watch this one carefully, as it’s going to be big news in the near future.

🚨 Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable

We ALL… pic.twitter.com/E3Penx2o7a

— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) December 26, 2025

A great tweet found by Malcolm. The pony is elated!

This pony working up the courage to jump this tiny step is everything.pic.twitter.com/k3D3SDzIzJ

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) November 21, 2025

Two holiday tweets from The Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office:

You don’t know what day it is.
You’re eating countless meals a day with lots of snacks in between.
You’re napping throughout they day.
Either it’s the time between Christmas and New Year or you’re a cat.

— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) December 27, 2025

. . . and

It is Christmas Caturday ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/CWeuBVSMA0

— nuni sas yu (@Nuni_Sas_Yu) December 27, 2025

One from my feed; is this cat gonna sue?  Sound up (NOTE: Everyone says this was done using AI, and that seems likely. I’m was too dumb to realize that.)

The Oscar goes to… ❤️😂😂

pic.twitter.com/BZctKx5hEJ

— The Figen (@TheFigen_) December 27, 2025

One I reposted from The Auschwitz Memorial:

This Dutch Jewish boy was gassed upon arriving at Auschwitz. He was eight years old, and would be 90 today had he lived.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-12-28T11:15:31.157Z

 

And one from Dr. Cobb; a giant diatom:

Cytoplasmic flow of Rhizosolenia styliformis. This chunky diatom rarely appears in my plankton samples, but when it does, you can’t miss it because it’s huge! So big, you can see the contents of the cell moving about, and the nucleus (the dark band)! #marineplankton 🦑

— Elizabeth Beston (@elizabethbeston.bsky.social) 2025-12-24T10:29:03.625Z