This is only the fifth time since 1910 that the first night of Hanukkah coincides with Christmas. Not quite a Hanukkah miracle, but a welcome symmetry with the Gregorian calendar.

Have you been to the Middle East lately? Honestly, you won’t recognize the place. Bring a combat helmet and armored vest. It’s positively lethal this time of year.

So much for tuxedos, tails and glamorous evening gowns—and those bollocks British accents. What a curious spectacle when posh people descend to the mosh pits.

President Theodore Roosevelt is known for the saying, “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” The presidencies of Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be remembered for a very different aphorism: “Speak in apologetic whispers and defund your sticks; you will go backwards in retreat.”

I don’t know about you, but I am waiting anxiously for the day after Donald Trump’s second inauguration—you know, when the dictatorship is set to begin.