With the Santos expulsion from Congress, the precedent is set that proven criminal activity is not a prerequisite for expulsion. In fact, there now is no set prerequisite. If Trump is elected, and the Reps hold the House, Trump will direct them to expel all the Dems. Hard to see how that gets undone. The Senate could follow suit.

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As this WSJ article explains, there’s a new tax break that allows seniors to support their favorite charitable causes with funds from their IRAs.Tax breaks for charitable donations come in many flavors, and this year Congress has a new one for seniors called an IRA charitable gift annuity. It allows older owners of traditional IRAs to donate account funds to a charity and get tax breaks plus income payments for life. What’s new about IRA charitable gift annuities? The ability to use IRA assets to do them. Anyone who is a member of a charitable organization, might think to create an annuity to take advantage of this and boost their donations.

[EOP]

As this WaPo article explains, contrary to popular wisdom among many gym-goers and even some scientists, healthy people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond can safely start lifting weights and rapidly build substantial muscle mass, strength, and mobility.

[EOP]

Contrary to popular belief, adults are more creative than children. Don't take my word for it. Read what the experts say.

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In counseling couples, it always amazes me how so many problems could be avoided if they just stuck to these basic rules which I try to instill in them (the links will bring up supporting documentation and elaboration and explanation for my insights and advice):

Things Not to Say: 

"You always" or "you never"

"Yes, but"

"This has never been an issue in any other relationship"

"You're overreacting" 

"Calm down"

"It's not that big of a deal"

Thing to Say: "Do you want to be helped, heard or hugged?"

[EOP]

Although Washington was ranked 3rd in the country and Oregon was ranked lower, all the odds makers picked Oregon to win because its average margin of victory at 27 points was far above Washington's. What the odds makers missed, by blindly using the "average," was that that huge average margin was largely the result of an 81-7 victory over Portland State and few other blowouts against schools with poor teams. Sheesh. 

[EOP]

This WSJ article touts Arizona and Kauai as great places to play golf in the winter. Please ignore this article. We don't want people coming to Arizona and staying in STRs. And Kauai is so windy that, despite the magnificent views and temperatures, it turns otherwise fine golf courses into goofy golf, not to mention that sometimes 10-somes are permitted to play making getting around the course in under 8 hours a bit of a challenge.

[EOP]

The above subject line is not my crafting. It is the title of this WaPo editorial, which goes on to say "We Should Stop Pretending." It's a powerful piece. I won't say where the point was first made.

[EOP]

It is now being reported that, while it might not have known when the terrorist attacks were coming, Israeli intelligence knew about Hamas's plan well in advance. Obviously, these attacks represent a massive Israel intelligence failure (which eclipses the one America experienced on 9/11). The question is whether, as Netanyahu urges, there will be time later after the war to investigate that failure, or whether it should be investigated now. The answer to that question is: It must be investigated now at least on the point of whether the advance knowledge of Hamas's plans made it to Netanyahu's desk. If it did, then Netanyahu has a clear conflict of interest in how the war is waged. Specifically, if Netanyahu had that advanced knowledge, then it would be in his personal interest to prolong the war and thereby delay the investigation as long as possible.

[EOP]

SI has named Deion Sanders, the University of Colorado's football coach, as its Sportsperson of the year. The award had nothing to do with his performance (the team is 3 and 8) and certainly he didn't play any sport. Rather, as SI tried to justify the selection, "Deion Sanders dominated the sports conversation in 2023 as a transformative figure not just in Colorado, but for the entire realm of college sports." By that standard, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce deserve the award given that they far more dominated not only the sports conversation, but every conversation.

[EOP]

The Dutch company Fairphone designed its $760 Android smartphone with easily replaceable parts (e.g., you can replace a cracked screen yourself in seconds) and software to last nearly a decade. Coverage in the U.S. might not be as good as one wants, as explained in this support piece. Anyone who thinks that U.S. is ahead on smartphone technology needs to have their cpu examined.

In contrast, the Framework laptop is built on that same principle of replaceable parts. As such, it can outlast anything on the market, and is easier for the user or anyone to repair in the event of a rare problem. And it is a U.S. product for the U.S. market.

[EOP]

As this WSJ article explains, while the Masters is the most prestigious golf event and the British Open the most historic, the title of the world’s most lucrative golf tournament may soon belong to a three-day event at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club next week, featuring a cast of mostly unknowns that even ardent fans of the sport have never heard of. The first LIV Promotions event, played over 72 holes from Dec. 8-10, will offer the top three finishers a spot on the main LIV Golf circuit next season, playing alongside the likes of Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka for the hundreds of millions of dollars the Saudi-backed league hands out to its players every year. In the meantime, Rory McIlroy has resigned from the PGA Tour in a snit for being snubbed and Tiger Woods has blasted its handling of the supposed merger. No solution is in sight for how the PGA Tour survives (and my suggested one remains on the drawing boards). But one thing is clear: The overarching, compelling force that drives PGA Tour players (most of whom are exceedingly wealthy) and aspirants (most of whom are not) to play professional golf is money, and not, as they've blathered, the love or tradition of the game.

[EOP]

When it comes to eating out at restaurants, many of us want to be sure the place is as 100% kosher as our homes are. From pizza to hummus to hamantashen, this Arizona Republic article is a guide to kosher restaurants in metro Phoenix.

[EOP]

The gravamen (as lawyers would say) of the NY civil fraud case against Trump is that he submitted materially false (inflated) financial statements to get loans from Deutsche Bank. The former Deutsche Bank executive who recruited Donald Trump as a client testified Wednesday that the bank’s dealings with the former president were lucrative and that her superiors were eager to expand them. It is undisputed Trump never defaulted on any Deutsche Bank loan and that the interest rates charged on the loans would not have been higher if the financial statements had shown lower values. If Deutsche Bank were to sue Trump for fraud, it would lose the case because one of the elements of its cause of action (as lawyers would say), namely injury, could not be proven, and likely would prevail on summary judgment. So, could one of the lawyer readers of this blog please explain how the NY court finds Trump liable for civil fraud and is not guilty of having brought a case as political vendetta or other political purposes, i.e., a case that never would have been brought against anyone not named Trump. 

[EOP]

This Wirecutter article addresses the age old question as to whether or not you should use your oven's self-cleaning option. While our using the self-clean option once made the oven look like new, after reading the article, we're going to pass on using the option again.

[EOP]

Believe it not, there is some confusion out there on the issue stated by the above subject line. Starting from the top, a hand moving clockwise would move to the right-hand side. Then turns down and to the left. Finally, it moves from the left-hand side back to its starting position at the top.  As this twinkle article then confirms, now that you know what clockwise is, all you have to do is reverse it to find the counterclockwise direction! Counterclockwise involves a turn to the left, against the direction of a clock's hands.

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As Ed Montini writes in a recent column, Arizona private schools are raising tuition rates because ESA recipients who attend those schools now are receiving upwards of $7,000 from the state. Every sane person agrees that the ESA program, pushed by Republicans, is an outrageous program that is detrimental to the public schools and the taxpayers. But, some of us do not understand why private schools' raising their rates in itself actually causes harm to the public schools, the state or the taxpayers. 

[EOP]

Of all the jobs I've held, being an air marshall was the most fun and most rewarding. Given that it's the most secretive job in the world, I didn't think they'd ever publish anything about it. But the WaPo has and it's a fascinating article.

[EOP]

There has been a problem with the links in the blog emails for the past couple of days. Unfortunately, the resolution is out of my control, but the issue is being investigated. If there is a link whose content you want to see, and it does not work from the email, it will work from the post at the EDC Blog Website (not sure if that link will work) which is at http://edctips.blogspot.com/ (which you can copy and past into your browser).

[EDC]

Based on the book (which I know (or at least hope) you all have read), the TV series of All the Light We Cannot See stays true to the book and is as compelling and gripping. It tells the story of Marie-Laure, a blind French teenager, and Werner, a German soldier, whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Along with their superb performances, it has your Hugh Laurie and Mark Ruffalo. 

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