The Morning Briefing: Merry Christmas and Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, my dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends! I’m cooking the fancy bacon today.

As most of you know by now, the Morning Briefing doesn’t get holidays off if the holiday falls on a weekday. It’s always a little shorter than a regular installment, of course, but it happens. I usually do a little news, but try to keep it a bit lighter.

It’s Christmas 2020 though, and I feel compelled to eschew my brand here for the lead-in today. I’m not going full Gandhi on you (never go full Gandhi), I just feel that as we come to this most holy day in this most unholy of years I could dial it down a bit and spread a little cheer.

Admittedly, this isn’t exactly my forte. Even on stage, I’m usually pretty dark while getting the laughs.

So here goes.

The world is a mess, that’s true. It isn’t going to get measurably better any time soon. What has begun to plague us all more than the actual plague is the gloom and doom drumbeat of our politicians and the media. They focused on the bad a lot at first because they had to, then kept doing so because they were enjoying it. We can end up focusing so much on their big picture negativity we miss some of the smaller good things going on around us.

I may have to pay attention to the news, but the longer this goes on, the more I’m looking for ways to defuse and distract myself. I go for walks and look at pleasant things that can’t relay the news of the day. I play video games. I read murder mysteries, which, sadly, are a pick-me-up these days.

The point is to take control of whatever you can around you to help you dictate your own perspective instead of leaving that up to a bunch of professional doom mongers. Trust me, the tiniest little distractions can be hugely positive.

I’ve decided to work on cranking out a lot more lighthearted fare elsewhere on the site next year to give all of you fine people another option for taking a break.

I’m still going to be kind of a tool here at the Briefing though. Let’s be honest, none of us show up here each morning to watch me put on a happy face and go all Kumbaya.

That’s my heartfelt message for the day, my friends.

Merry Christmas and don’t let the bastards get you down.

It Just Got Merrier

"The president and I want to wish every American a very merry Christmas."

First Lady Melania Trump and Pres. Donald Trump wish Americans seasons' greetings, thanking frontline workers and touting COVID-19 vaccine development as a "Christmas miracle." https://t.co/p1YEyT3L0G pic.twitter.com/J8auBX79Qx

— ABC News (@ABC) December 24, 2020

Smells Like Onion

Logistics Of Eating Oversized Candy Cane Completely Overwhelming https://t.co/7Z46gXe8i2 pic.twitter.com/P8nwewUEzJ

— The Onion (@TheOnion) December 24, 2020

The Kruiser Kabana

Digoin pic.twitter.com/3WSKK2pUuP

— Stained Glass Zealot ♱ (@glass_zealot) December 23, 2020

A Christmas double-header. CRANK IT UP!

Santa cleaned out my liquor cabinet.

___

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PJ Media Senior Columnist and Associate Editor Stephen Kruiser is the author of “Don’t Let the Hippies Shower” and “Straight Outta Feelings: Political Zen in the Age of Outrage,” both of which address serious subjects in a humorous way. Monday through Friday he edits PJ Media’s “Morning Briefing.” His columns appear twice a week.