Bernie Sanders piled on Planned Parenthood because “it’s part of the establishment.” Of all the reasons to be dismissive of PP, this is the most pathetic one. What is the point of competing with the likes of Ted Cruz as to who freaks out more loudly about the mythical “establishment”?

Yes, we’re close to the primaries and it’s time for empty, stupid slogans. But is it too much to ask that one come up with empty, stupid slogans that at least differ a tad from those of the opponents?

We are drowning in laziness and immaturity.

What’s really bizarre is that in St Louis, where we barely ever have snow and only 5 sad little inches were expected, the local authorities knew that the roads had to be salted in advance. In Washington, DC, on the other hand, it was a total surprise yesterday that it’s important to prepare for a snow storm.

This is our snow, by the way:

The following list of demands by Oberlin students is not only hilarious but also very pleasing. After seeing each deranged demand, I feel thankful that my students are normal, intelligent people and not these useless brats. Here are some of the crazy demands of the spoiled little things:

The immediate firing of some Oberlin employees, the immediate tenuring of some faculty members, specific curricular changes, a review and possible revision of the grading system (to be overseen by students), the creation of “safe spaces” for black students in at least three buildings on campus, the creation of a program to enroll recently released prisoners from a nearby prison as undergraduates, divestment from Israel, and a requirement that black student leaders be paid $8.20 an hour for their organizing efforts.

The students also demanded changes at Oberlin’s noted conservatory. For instance, the list of demands said that students should not be required to take “heavily based classical courses that have minimal relevance to their jazz interests.” Stating that classical music students are not required to study jazz, the list of demands says that students of jazz “should not be forced to take courses rooted in whiteness.”

Priceless shit. My students throw an occasional tantrum but it’s on an entirely different level than this entitled garbage.

Oberlin’s president refused to discuss the demands. Good for him because it’s demeaning to discuss this kind of thing as if it had merit.

A UK court declared that Putin had, in fact, ordered the murder of former KGB spy Litvinenko. Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium in London back in 2006.

People are celebrating but I find the whole thing to be barf-worthy in the extreme. The assassination took place 10 years ago. Before his death, Litvinenko named the assassins. This has all been known to everybody interested in knowing for a decade.

But the British government found it inconvenient to notice that KGB agents were running around London, poisoning folks with fucking polonium all over the place. It was more convenient to sell the country piece by piece to Putin’s gangsters, driving property prices in London sky-high and turning the place into a cesspit of corruption. It was more convenient to fill Britain’s best schools with the drunken, bullying, whoring, criminalized spawn of the gangsters, turning the formerly prestigious British education into a joke. It was more convenient to turn the country into a launch pad for Putin’s criminal activities.

Today’s revelations about the hit he took out on Litvinenko will do no damage to Putin. He can rightfully and convincingly say that it’s suspicious that the accusations suddenly surface now and not at any time before he tried to assert Russia’s importance on the international arena.

The Litvinenko scandal is helpful to Putin because it allows him both to dismiss the murder and rev up his people even more with claims that Americans trying to bring him down because they fear is growing international prestige.

Jeb Bush finally did something important in this campaign: he released an ad that depicts Hillary winning the election. Everybody cheers, Hillary looks radiant, the voice over makes it clear that the win was unavoidable. The ad is supposed to be a dig at Trump but it’s much stronger at promoting Hillary.

It’s great that Jeb is spending his campaign money on preparing voters for Hillary’s inevitability as president. Let all of the money he has finally serve a good purpose.

In Germany, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are following the example of Denmark and searching the refugees with the goal of finding money and objects of value to confiscate.

The authorities of these countries leave no stone unturned in their search for ways of making newcomers feel as dehumanized and disaffected as possible. It’s clear that the refugees are not bringing huge wads of cash or sacks of diamonds. Taking away the sad €50 a refugee might be carrying over the limit of €350 in Baden-Württemberg or snatching a family ring will not have a large impact on Germany’s economy. But the policy is not pursuing economic goals. It’s all about pushing the refugees into a ghetto from which they won’t be likely to emerge.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he bought a gun on Christmas Eve to protect his family from Islamic State militants.

Or, in the words of Charles Pierce, “this is still the best country ever in which to peddle complete public lunacy.”

When I imagine Rubio, with his whiny little boy voice and his scared doe eyes bravely clutching a gun to his chest as he sits at home staring at the door through which scary ISIS fighters can irrupt at any moment, I thank Providence I’m not a comic because there is no chance of outdoing this in terms of comedic effect.

Sanders would be the third Democratic nominee in the last eight presidential elections to emerge from New England, never having run a truly nasty race against a typical modern Republican. Is he any readier than Mike Dukakis and John Kerry were for the inevitable one-two punch of a GOP back-alley mugging and extra kicks from skeptical centrists and liberals?

Making oneself relevant to Illinois and Florida is so not the same as making oneself relevant to Vermont. I’m not saying it can’t be done – Bernie has a good in with his gun record – but it is hard.

Somebody donated $50,000,000 to Harvard. Of course, it’s people’s own business what to do with their money but it’s weird that somebody would want to give money to a place where it will be neither noticed nor appreciated.

We have community colleges and universities here in Illinois that will probably close down by the end of this year because of our governor’s insanity. If somebody chose to help one of them, this would be a way to make an impact, do something valuable.

Rauner, by the way, made clear that he will not honor the state’s promise of giving students in dire financial need the MAP grants they use to cover tuition. These are the most vulnerable young people in the state, and now they will not be able to continue their education.

It’s truly shocking how much damage a single deranged maniac like Rauner can cause.