J.E. Barnard

For Trump, the Epstein Cover-Up Beats the Truth As one of her first acts as Attorney General, Pam Bondi wrote a letter to the new head of the FBI, Kash Patel, demanding that the “full and complete Epstein files” be delivered to her office by the ne...

The truth seems obvious to anyone willing to open their eyes. Trump has decided that whatever the files contain is more damaging to him than the political cost of keeping them under wraps as the country clamors for their release. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/for-...

I hear there's a lot of ex-Doge wunderkind looking for their next gig at taxpayer expense. If there aren't enough Young Republican college students ready to staff a Venezuelan Green Zone and fling around truckloads of cash with no accountability.

Most of the people pushing for Iraq (Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc) were evil, full of hubris, and overall horrible people, but not stupid.

Trump and Hegseth and team are evil, full of hubris and overall horrible people, and are incredibly stupid on top of that!

We are so fucked.

1) Venezuela has a government.

2) This is being thrown together at the last minute by people who—amazing as it sounds—are even less intelligent, qualified, and competent than the GWBush-era dunces who tried to make imperialism happen in Iraq & Afghanistan and failed miserably. What could go wrong?

Already got it cued up on the player! #MidsomerMurders

America Faces a Foreign Policy Shock It Did Not Ask For and Now It's Become Part of Canadian Politics The removal of Maduro puts a cautious, intervention weary public to the test plus it may have a big impact on Canadian politics

America Faces a Foreign Policy Shock It Did Not Ask For and Now It's Become Part of Canadian Politics
open.substack.com/pub/davidcol...

“You never stop learning how to do better at writing. Even if you’ve published a bunch of books and have “arrived” as an author, you’re still on a steep learning curve, for as long as you are stringing words together. This is excellent, because..."
2/3

Pretty impressive list for a guy who has only had the job since March!

I continue to shudder with revulsion at the thought of what could have happened if the Canadian election had shook out differently.

The Best Mystery Novels of 2025

My best-of-the-year list is up this morning at the NYTBR, books I found to be the “pinnacle of pleasure” in crime fiction reading:

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys nautical history, economic history, American history, women's history, and true stories of danger and inspiration.
jaynebarnard.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
#ThanksNetgalley #history #SeaCaptainsWife #sailing #StMartinsPress

Next year, the same amount of time will have passed between the BSG reboot and now, as between the reboot and the ending of the original series.

We are in the darkest timeline right now.

ON SALE NOW!!!

Helped by a psychic’s tips & haunted by traumatic memories of Christmas Past, an ex-Mountie investigates murder at an exclusive ski resort.

www.dundurn.com/books_/t2211...

#WomensFiction #crimefiction #BuyCanadian
@dundurnpress.bsky.social

A book cover in mainly red with a starburst of paler pink behind 2 cartoon figures: on the left a buxom, red-headed woman in a black dress and wide-brimmed black hat, on the right a scowling man in a trench coat and fedora. White title at the top reads "Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon". White lettering at the bottom reads "A novel by Lisa de Nikolits".

Mobland from the moll's angle!
The writing is crisp and the pace dances along like a conga line.... to a big, zany, gangland finish.

inanna.ca/product/mad-...

#gangland #VintageFashion #seadragon #BuyCanadian
@lisadenikolits @Inannapub

Thank you @theatlanticpr.bsky.social for this exquisitely timed and much-needed reminder of what the American Revolution was about. ❤️

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/toc...

#NoKings #BookSky #MomSky

Cover of THE BOOK OF EVERYDAY RESISTANCE

I think there is a misunderstanding about peaceful people.

The person who is choosong to solve their conflict with negotiations, discussions and reasoning is not lack of anger, temper and aggressive instinct.
No.

But the peaceful person is CHOOSING to not let those emotions and instincts lead.

TEMPLE LAMENT Bereep-Bereep is the Indigenous name for Mount Cole. It translates as ‘wild’ in the language of the Beeripmo balug group of the Djab wurrung people.…

Here's a link to my short film Temple Lament that was shown at the UNFIX NYC 2025 Film Festival and at Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.
Enjoy: vimeo.com/1037315566

From the squalor of the first Kingston pen to the 21st century, this entertaining tome covers a whole section of Canadian history not generally taught in schools.
#DundurnPress #OnTheLam #NewRelease

jaynebarnard.blogspot.com/2025/10/on-l...

Bruce Arthur: Inside the race of the century, where Summer McIntosh tried to conquer 800 ‘master’ Katie Ledecky, but fell just short The 800-metre freestyle was an all-time race, but McIntosh faded at the end to take bronze. Five world swimming championship golds will have to wait.

“Just a master. Like the van Gogh of painting. Just in control from the first stroke to the last.” Summer McIntosh tried to conquer the greatest female swimmer ever, and the result was the best distance race ever swam, a Katie Ledecky gold, and a hard, hard lesson. www.thestar.com/sports/amate...

Fascinating! Ice cleaving and a 200 ft tower rises from the water.

Bath is huge! You need a rest after that.
Do you do 'crash food' too? I learned that cooked rice & even oatmeal can be frozen in serving sized portions & thawed/warmed in the microwave. So comforting with butter & salt. That was another huge energy-saver.

Ink and watercolor drawing of an Opabinia, a tiny marine creature who looks kind of like a shrimp with flaps along its side and an elephant's trunk.

The Opabinia is an extinct marine creature, only around 7 cm long, who probably didn't have a silly expression like the one I drew for #AugArthroAwe

Brooks and Capehart on Trump's firing of labor statistics head after weak jobs report New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart of MSNBC join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, including President Trump fires the head of the agency that produces the monthly j...

"I don't think it can cross Donald Trump's mind that there are neutral arbiters who are objective and not politicized. But this is the weakness of authoritarian or pseudo-authoritarian regimes. They create an atmosphere in which it's not possible to be honest with the executive."
to.pbs.org/47hCLKW

Mine comes between 44 and 46 hours post-exertion. I didn't figure that out for over 8 years, until I moved in with my partner, who is good at spotting patterns. They caught on immediately & we were able to plan for 'crash protocols' and apply them immediately when it started.

How Curiosity Can Help Us Overcome Disconnection Here are four steps to practicing deep curiosity about the perspectives, stories, and humanity of others.

How Curiosity Can Help Us Overcome Disconnection greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item...

At only 4' 8" tall, Simone Biles' jump clears more than 7 ft of air.
Or, in library terms, she could jump over roughly 65 James Patterson books. 🤸‍♀️ 📚 😆
Image & text by the Gail Borden Library
#Booksky

It became a source of some controversy in 1850 and the Navy empaneled (and this is its actual name) the Admiralty’s Grog Committee to review the practice. The Committee did not call for ending the traditional tot. On this day, 55 years ago, members of the Royal Navy held a funeral, wore black arm bands, and called this Black Tot Day.

A b/w photo of Royal Navy sailors and officers having their last official "tot" or shot of rum. The sailor on the right is wearing a black armband, signifying "Black Tot Day."

On this day in 1970, sailors in the Royal Navy got their last official shot of rum. A daily ration of alcohol – called a tot – had been provided to English sailors since the 1600s.
#History #OTD #BoozeCruise

Recommended: this succinct piece on the history & current status of antivax attitudes by the author of ‘The Irrational Ape: Why We Fall for Disinformation, Conspiracy Theory and Propaganda.’

Free link.

archive.ph/Ib9yC

=big sigh= Even *not* subsidized, wind & solar are by far the cheapest forms of energy.