Christmas 2021 in Mauripol

Patron: The dark times

Ukraine's railway workers: True Heros!

The sentencing range for the Oath Keeper convicts:

Federal sentencing guidelines are an art unto themselves. Here's a little info on the possible ranges along with guideline enhancements.

https://twitter.com/JordanOnRecord/status/1597755325464969218

https://twitter.com/JordanOnRecord/status/1597758081386958849?t=lwnxt2WsXfu_9wY-dmTYVg&s=19

Don't underestimate the OK defense lawyers. IMHO they did an excellent job. They beat a number of charges including some against Rhodes. Remember the government chooses who to prosecute, what charges to bring and what the evidence will be for conviction. They really should win most of the time. The defense lawyers played a difficult hand well. This is what the trial judge said at end of closing arguments:

https://twitter.com/rparloff/status/1594813452261924864

Judges don't usually say that.

NY Times: As Gen X and Boomers age they confront living alone (no paywall)

As Gen X and Boomers Age, They Confront Living Alone https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/us/living-alone-aging.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhlSVUZBCbIRp8jrwOHg_eKybg7gHK7JSeUTzkEz_gQB8LI3XbxUpdZRol52SWHFpgGOaUzRfd2w6hTNhFmFQP1896JlJ9eZng79t72Vz9o09ecA-5mrWPjPmK0eO41jKeysBOnHGruWq3a2HImIB804sc2MAH3hgFbg_vNAeV32dJh3f8-BZEcRDYIZCCCvPKAGAwpcZzdLUmasl9qLrkfDTLDntec6KYDcxFRCj_ERXB84GU867BMKZRQp1SHeVBmWGRxCnMuWSw

In 1960, just 13 percent of American households had a single occupant. But that figure has risen steadily, and today it is approaching 30 percent. For households headed by someone 50 or older, that figure is 36 percent.

Nearly 26 million Americans 50 or older now live alone, up from 15 million in 2000. Older people have always been more likely than others to live by themselves, and now that age group — baby boomers and Gen Xers — makes up a bigger share of the population than at any time in the nation’s history.

In many ways, the nation’s housing stock has grown out of sync with these shifting demographics. Many solo adults live in homes with at least three bedrooms, census data shows, but find that downsizing is not easy because of a shortage of smaller homes in their towns and neighborhoods.

Compounding the challenge of living solo, a growing share of older adults — about 1 in 6 Americans 55 and older — do not have children, raising questions about how elder care will be managed in the coming decades.

Part of the problem is the country no longer builds small houses.

Blackout in Kyiv Day 5

Gen. Mark Hertling on the fight ahead in Ukraine. Important thread.

Patron: I love this country❤️

Blackout in Kyiv Day 4.

NY Times: Ukrainian flags are on display all over Maine. Why? (No paywall)

ews. Get it sent to your inbox.

WALDOBORO, Maine — Clam diggers visit Elaine and Ralph Johnston’s hardware store in the coastal town of Waldoboro for shellfish rakes and waders. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, they have also been able to pick up a more unusual item: the Ukrainian flag, sold for $15.99.

Across Maine, the yellow and blue banner — yellow symbolizing the plentiful wheat fields of Ukraine, blue, the sky overhead — flutters from flagpoles. It decorates lobster buoys and barn doors, clapboard houses sprayed with sea salt and cabins nestled in pine forests.

Unlike in cities like New York and Chicago, where symbols of Ukrainian pride in part reflect a large diaspora community, there are few people of Ukrainian heritage in Maine. But the flag’s widespread presence in the state shows another kind of solidarity. Mainers like to say theirs is a flinty spirit, born of enduring harsh winters and an equally harsh economy.

“People over there are doing a good job fighting for their land and their survival, and we in Maine, we like that,” Ms. Johnston said. “We sell flags to people who feel the way we do.”

Ukrainian Flags Are on Display All Over Maine. Why? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/us/ukrainian-flags-are-on-display-all-over-maine-why.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhlSVUZBSbIRp86rQePhP7Oybp5iHv3IzPQQCxPiuMTRoSB4F_JbLsmbt83mjOFScUENbYuQvE30e9OeUxxTg3i6r21pKM4GQRn44SiQjFxmJvXQbEz9TKtYDXjdrolmLD64EjcYX3tD6yJzSYjd1568pU0dVv70SNYxvrFAfc1joclpYopAZpwQzYEYCWY7bK_W1glZoLwPlyL4RI2WupZRTnQgdWYjroDew1WAljEJ2httSd-sJgPfYNKY9usakIoa8H8gr4OCmd3LI7PB5U5R4fclb0Coqf5ZF_4N2J9zCqNw7r4ZTgt

Mine flies in CT.