Remember when the country slowed down for the holidays? Whereas past Oval Ones knew the perils of overexposure, Trump is a political flasher whose refusal to leave the spotlight is the stuff of legend. He’s an odd duck who’s simultaneously egomaniacal and self-loathing; a simpleton with a complex psyche.

Since the Kaiser of Chaos insists on pedaling, the news cycle keeps spinning with bad news for Team MAGA:

SCOTUS ruled in favor of California in its National Guard suit, much to Sam the Sham Alito’s dismay. He gets coal in his stocking. Gavin Newsome gets bragging rights. A reminder that appeasement was his initial response to Trump 2.0.

The Epstein files continue to be the gift that keeps on giving. It turns out that there were 10 possible co-conspirators under review before Epstein’s death. One was Ghislaine Maxwell; the other names have been redacted. The frenetic coverup by the MAGA DOJ makes me wonder for the first time if Trump is one of them. Otherwise, they’d have followed Bill Clinton’s example and said, let it rip. Stay tuned.

The Insult Comedian is claiming that The Clownfish DBA Jeff Landry requested his assignment to Greenland. In a word: Preposterous. Landry is too busy making a mess of things in Red Stick to make such a request. One of these days, Trump will fuck up and tell the truth about something, anything. Both Trump and Landry get beaucoup coal in their stockings, cher.

This is my fifth variation on the All About Christmas Eve theme. It came upon a midnight clear in 2018 when I opened as follows:

No politics from me today. No insights about Christmas Eve either. I like the title since it evokes All About Eve, which was more about Margot Channing now that I think about it. It’s not about the 2012 teevee movie All About Christmas Eve either. That’s a good thing since I just heard of it. I’m not big on Lifetime or Hallmark holiday movies. They’re fruitcake for the eyes.”

All I wanted for Christmas was a self-quote. I donated to the KIND scholarship fund in Dr A’s name so I wouldn’t get coal in my stocking.

Happy Holidays from New Orleans.

Let’s close with a non-seasonal song with coal in the title. The last word goes to the late, great Allen Toussaint: