Episode 984 – Don’t Put Up That X-Mas Tree Yet!

It’s Christmas time. That means it’s time to tear down the institution. I’ll give you another example.

Israel scores another win against Iran.

And Ukraine strikes against Russia three days after Biden allows Ukraine to shoot missiles at them. Are we on the brink of World War III? Sweden and Finland think so. Let’s talk about it.

Here We Go

According to the New York Post:

When you choose to deck the halls says a lot about you, according to experts.

Christmas Day is more than a month away, but people, including celebrities, are already starting to get into the holiday spirit.

Decorating early is for a specific kind of person, whether you just reached for the tinsel and lights or put the full tree up.

Psychologist Carmen Harra told the Daily Mail that putting up your decorations early can reveal “concealed emotions and subconscious behavioral tendencies” — including narcissism.

“Narcissists derive a sense of high satisfaction from being the center of attention, from being praised and applauded,” Harra explained. “It makes sense, then, that these character traits can easily be fulfilled by turning one’s house into a winter wonderland for the entire neighborhood to admire.”

She said that on top of giving some a chance “to show off,” it also may give people the opportunity to portray a “picture-perfect family.”

“Fights and rifts are common in all clans, but some people feel the need to cover up the truth of what goes on inside their households with lights and tinsel in November,” Harra said.

She added that decorating early might be a mechanism for some people to “fill a void” to feel happiness when they otherwise wouldn’t.

Harra previously noted that those who hang decorations before November might have trouble “living in the moment” — but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“If you’re one of the few people who has had their lights in place since October, then you like to be the first to do things,” Harra previously told the Daily Mail. “You enjoy planning and executing well ahead of schedule. You also correctly anticipate the holiday rush and wish to avoid it.”

Amy Morin, a Florida-based psychotherapist, shared with the outlet that decorating early can also stir up positive emotions, such as nostalgia, so sentimental people might like to decorate sooner rather than later.

“For many people, Christmas was a magical time during childhood that is filled with happy memories,” Morin said. “So it makes sense people often want to decorate early because the sooner they get out those decorations, the sooner they can experience a little bit of that magic again.”

She explained that people may feel that the earlier they decorate, the longer the season lasts, giving them more time to live in the happy memories and seek “a much-needed escape from the stress of day-to-day life.”

“We feel better when we anticipate something good and putting up decorations early can remind people that the holidays are coming up soon,” Morin said.

The “anticipation of joy” theory might also contribute to decorating early, Professor Erlanger A. Turner, clinical psychologist at Pepperdine University, said.

“By decorating early, people can prolong the sense of excitement and happiness associated with the holiday season,” he told the Daily Mail. “As people begin to mentally prepare for enjoyable experiences, such as Christmas decorations and celebrations, anticipation of joy helps to boost their mood and well-being.”

https://nypost.com/2024/11/18/lifestyle/cant-wait-to-put-up-your-christmas-tree-you-might-be-a-narcissist/?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=social

Why Did It Take A Month?

According to the Daily Wire:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly destroyed a top-secret nuclear weapons research facility late last month where Iran was actively conducting research for its illicit and undeclared nuclear weapons program.

Israel hit the facility in Parchin during retaliatory strikes against the Islamic regime after it launched more than 180 ballistic missiles into Israel early last month.

Multiple U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios that the strike against the facility “significantly damaged Iran’s effort over the past year to resume nuclear weapons research,” the report said.

The site where the nuclear weapons research was happening was the Taleghan 2 facility in the Parchin military complex, the report said.

The strike destroyed advanced equipment that is needed to design sophisticated explosive materials that are required to detonate a nuclear device.

Satellite imagery shows that the facility, which was a previously declared nuclear weapons facility decades ago, was completely destroyed in the strike.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/israel-destroyed-top-secret-nuclear-weapons-research-facility-in-iran
https://www.axios.com/2024/11/15/iran-israel-destroyed-active-nuclear-weapons-research-facility

They Are Taking This Seriously

According to the New York Post:

Sweden and Finland have all begun warning their residents to prepare for the possibility of war as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine rages on.

Stockholm on Monday published its latest version of “In Case of Crisis or War,” a pamphlet instructing civilians on how to prepare for, and ride out, a national crisis that was last sent out in 2018.

The pamphlet, which has been issued five times since World War II, is now twice as long at 32 pages and focuses on war preparations as the Swedish government warns of the worsening situation in Ukraine.

“The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience to face various crises and ultimately war,” said Mikael Frisell, director of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.

An estimated 5.2 million copies of the pamphlet are set to be delivered to Swedish households in the next two weeks, with the text available in multiple languages online.

The text calls on citizens to be ready with a stockpile of food and emergency supplies, including baby food, medicine and hygiene products.

The Swedish campaign comes as neighboring Finland has also published its own online crisis prep brochure, detailing how the Finnish government would react in case of war.

Helsinki warned that as of the last government survey in September, only 58% of Finns have adequate emergency supplies at home to ride out a crisis.

The warnings come after Norway published its own physical pamphlets earlier this year on how to manage by themselves for a week in the event of a national crisis, including war.

https://nypost.com/2024/11/18/world-news/sweden-finland-warns-residents-to-be-ready-for-war/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost
https://nypost.com/2024/11/17/us-news/donald-trump-jr-claims-biden-administration-is-trying-to-start-world-war-3-ahead-of-trumps-presidency/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_source=twitter

A Good Start

According to the Post Millennial:

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday to “restart communications.”

Here’s what they had to say during their show yesterday:

https://thepostmillennial.com/morning-joe-hosts-meet-with-trump-at-mar-a-lago-claim-its-time-to-restart-communications-with-leader-they-compared-to-hitler
https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-reveals-what-was-discussed-in-meeting-with-scarborough-brzezinski?topStoryPosition=1

Taking Away the Fun

According to the New York Post:

Dance Dance … retribution?

The “NFL on CBS” X account edited out tight end Brock Bowers’ Trump-shuffle touchdown celebration Sunday, OutKick reports.

On the televised game broadcast, fans saw the score, then Bowers’ celebration, then Raiders owner Mark Davis rejoicing in his box. 

Bowers’ end zone moves were skipped over on NFL on CBS’s X post, though, with the video cutting directly from the touchdown to Davis in his suite at Hard Rock Stadium.

While it’s not clear if the editing choice was made deliberately or inadvertently, the decision is controversial in light of a snafu that occurred in the locker room following the game — a 34-19 loss to Miami that dropped the Raiders to 2-8.

When USA Today’s Safid Deen asked the 21-year-old about his dance moves, Bowers responded, “I’ve seen everyone do it … I watched the UFC fight last night and Jon Jones did it. I like watching UFC so I saw it, and thought it was cool.”

https://nypost.com/2024/11/18/sports/cbs-seemingly-removed-brock-bowers-donald-trump-dance-after-raiders-touchdown/?utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
https://thepostmillennial.com/trump-dance-takes-the-nfl-by-storm-as-players-celebrate-their-wins