Just for Xeets and Giggles (01.06.24)

First off: Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the donations to Tom Suozzi’s campaign! Between posts on my social media and this newsletter, we raised a whopping $30K to help flip George Santos’s seat blue! Now, on to the Xeets and Giggles!

We began the week with New Year’s celebrations that felt familiar.

But there were also controversies which really shouldn’t have been all that controversial. The band Green Day (fun fact: We helped co-produce their musical, “American Idiot” on Broadway over a decade ago) altered some of their lyrics during their performance. You can watch the moment here.

The MAGA outrage was both predictable and laughable, given who Green Day is and has always been. The internet took note.

This one got right to the heart of it…

Comparisons were inevitable.

Speaking of talentless performers, this is how Trump spent his New Year’s Eve. Watch the sad clip here.

And this was just criminally embarrasing from Rep. Mike Collins.

Republicans clutching their pearls about plagiarism produced this gem of a reminder. Watch it here.

Pledge break! If you’ve been meaning to start the year off by supporting independent writers and reporting, here’s your chance to show some love for my efforts!

The other big news was the release of the Epstein documents. The memes were as much about who wasn’t on them as who was.

Of course, there were some worried folks.

It was a good time to remind people how close Trump really was to Epstein.

And of course there was Epstein’s lawyer, too, who insists he took all those plane rides to be near his client.

A funny thing happened on Fox when they brought in (checks notes) an English tarot card reader.

You can watch it happen here.

Speaking of Trump, this one-liner was amazing.

And this exchange…

Folks celebrated the departure of former speaker Kevin McCarthy from Congress.

Meanwhile the current House Speaker went to the border to display some irony.

And their position on the border got summed up pretty well here:

Antivaxxer and family embarrassment Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was out with a raffle prize if you donated.

His campaign claimed that major celebrities including Dionne Warwick and Martin Sheen would be attending an event, but both said, “Huh? No, we’re not. Not ever, nope.”

This was honestly the best moment if you were a West Wing fan.

Animal fun time. Here are some Taylor Swift fans trying to get tickets online. Watch here.

I thought I was good when I got my dog to lie down. This is a next level paw de deux.

They say dogs can express a wide range of emotions, including “caught in the act” as this doggo demonstrates here.

Your week isn’t complete until you’ve watched a turtle on a miniature skateboard.

The new year is a time to reflect on our accomplishments and the lessons we learned from our struggles.

If you need a good laugh, you don’t need to understand Spanish to enjoy one with this woman.

And if you need an “awwwww” moment and a smile, this one’s for you.

Best unsolicited political reference this week goes to this:

And this resonated with me as I opened my emails after New Year’s.

Since I spent the holidays in the UK, some interesting interactions appeared in my feed. Here was my favorite. You have to listen to this. It’s rather incredible.

I leave you, as always, with a dad joke that’s on point.

Have a great weekend!

Jay