New Year's Eve, The Shutdown And Stocks: 5 Things You Need To Know Monday

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away Rudy Giuliani was not only respected, but revered as "America's Mayor." The hero of 9/11 (which he'd tell you every other sentence). He never deserved any of it, of course. He was always a nasty piece of work, a philanderer, racist and, frankly, an asshole who couldn't get along with anyone.

Progressive policy experts took aim at corporate greed and profiteering during a Thursday U. S. Senate hearing on "shrinkflation," the process of reducing the size or quantity of a product while selling it at the same price. At the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing—entitled "Higher Prices: How Shrinkflation and Technology Can Impact Consumers' Finances"—Chair Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) began by acknowledging that "prices today are far too high, and families are having a harder time finding a fair price, seeing more of their paycheck vanish into thin air." "All of this is happening while corporate profits hit record highs," the senator continued.

MSNBC's Katy Tur and Axios' Jim VandeHei managed to have a very long conversation about the effects of right wing propaganda without ever mentioning the words right wing propaganda. I guess I should quit being astounded by stuff like this, but it continues to amaze me how people in our corporate news media dance around naming just who exactly is responsible for turning most Republicans' brains into mush. Here's the transcript of the beginning of their exchange from her show this Thursday, and notice the words that aren't used here.

Donald Trump's TIME interview will shock you. It is a long piece, but every American needs to read it. This country must wake up and realize what we face in the 2024 election: it's all hands on deck. TIME reporter Eric Cortellessa explains:read more

Public Notice: Trump isn't even trying to hide it. Press Watch: An interview with a newsroom leader who speaks the truth about Donald Trump. Reading the Pictures: The feast of the arms industry (video). Governing: A lethal shift in America's gun violence crisis. Hackwackers: Rounding up the insanity. Greater Good: Three reasons you need anger. This installment by Batocchio.

I know you'll find this hard to believe, but Donald Trump isn't really a stable genius. What's that, you say? OK, you didn't say that. I did. Captain Capslock took to Truth Social while on break during the hush money/election interference trial to dramatically feign victimization again. But while throwing his pity party, the twice-impeached, four-times indicted former President, who left office in disgrace, accidentally admitted that the Stormy Daniel's $130,000 payoff would have mattered if it came out before the election. "THIS ISN'T A TRIAL, IT'S A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN, A WITCH HUNT, JUST LIKE THE HIGHLY CONFLICTED AND BIASED JUDGE, JUAN MERCHAN, WANTED IT TO BE, "the former President wrote.