It’s great that very young women work in the service industry. I’ve had several opportunities to observe how very young store assistants, receptionists and body artists can make a small kid medium-sized child feel comfortable and accepted into the community of grown women. We’ve been trying to buy Klara a pair of sneakers, and it was torture until we came across a store assistant in her late teens who was so sweet, respectful and kind that we finally left with a purchase. It was the same when Kara wanted to get her ears pierced.

There are 40 years separating me from my kid, and it really helps to have a young woman who is closer to remembering what it was like to be a pre-teen than I possibly could.

I’m sure it’s the same for medium-sized boys who’ll respond to a teenage dude like they’ll never respond to an adult.

“I’m not a little kid, Mommy,” says Kiara severely. “I’m almost ten. Don’t call me a little kid.”

“OK, not a little kid,” I say. “A big kid. You are a big kid.”

“I’m not a big kid!” she says. “I’m only almost ten.”

“What are you, then?” I ask.

“I’m a medium-sized child,” explains Klara.

🌍Russia proposes a concrete approach to reparations for #Africa.

Russian experts suggest calculating reparations mathematically, enabling African countries to seek compensation from former colonial powers through legal mechanisms.https://t.co/5URVHSecNJ pic.twitter.com/PznVFOIkN0

— Russian Embassy in South Africa 🇷🇺 (@EmbassyofRussia) January 15, 2026

The Soviet placard in the background is a visual reminder that if anybody won the Cold War, it wasn’t the people who speak English.

Democrats in Virginia were in power in VA for a little over a day when they introduced a bill barring white men from being considered for discretionary government contracts under $100K unless there’s no competition.

Another bill they introduced bars… counting electoral votes by hand.

There’s a lot more in the same vein.

This was lightning fast:

Democrats in Virginia have introduced a bill to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing for rape, manslaughter, assaulting a law enforcement officer, possession and distribution of child pornography, and all repeat violent felonies. pic.twitter.com/aJ4rgefbAs

— Christian Heiens 🏛 (@ChristianHeiens) January 19, 2026

I hate the philosophy behind the measure, of course, but I can’t fail to admire the deadly (in a very literal sense) effectiveness. As we keep fumbling, they are getting ready to unleash every pedo rapist and violent felon on us.

Here’s my diabetic lineup at work:

The good news? We’re winning universal childcare faster than anyone expected. The bad news? Ms. Rachel and I have to find some new song inspiration… pic.twitter.com/iBEPyNK0VL

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) January 18, 2026

Completely outside of any ideological considerations, Ms Rachel has a dysregulated affect and is mentally not OK. This would be equally true if she talked about Jesus instead of doing propaganda for Mamdani. Her dysfunction is on a completely different level than politics.

That she very successfully sells her mental issues is not surprising. Such people are often very entertaining. We look at them and feel comforted by the feeling that our own dysfunction is nothing compared to theirs.

The chthonic horror of what was done to this young woman when she was a child:

pic.twitter.com/a66FWYeaAP

— Claire 🦎 (@burnyourbinder) January 18, 2026

I have no idea where she finds the courage and the poise to talk about these terrible things with such patience and in the face of endless assaults from people who don’t want her story to be known.

Welker: " If the United States were to take Greenland by force, how would that be different than Russia's annexation of Crimea?"

Bessent: "I believe that the Europeans will understand that this is best for Greenland, best for Europe, and best for the United States." pic.twitter.com/AMWfQ5k5t9

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) January 18, 2026

The annexation of the Crimea was extremely successful for Russia. There were no negative consequences, nobody opposed it with anything except words. So why exactly would anybody want to be different?

It’s like people have been in a coma since 2013. Europe doesn’t live in a rule-based order anymore. Anybody grabs the lands they want and others sit vapidly by. Denmark, for example, eagerly bought Russian oil since 2014. Utterly unfazed by the annexation of the Crimea. Established a “productive dialogue on Arctic cooperation” with Russia after the annexation. The Danish Foreign Minister followed Lavrov around like a lovesick puppy for years. It’s important not to be like Russia, though. Very important.

“How would it be different? Do you understand that you will lose your moral advantage? Isn’t that like the absolute worstest?”

Go ask Ukrainians who believed in this crap about the moral advantage, refused to strike civilians in Russia, and are now freezing to death. They will die proud of never stooping to their opponent’s level.

No, I don’t think we should invade Greenland. Obviously not. My post is not about Greenland. It’s about, let’s quit it with “how is this different from Russia.” Use absolutely any other example to make your point. Russia was not punished in any way for its aggressive behavior since the beginning of the twentieth century. The West paid it tribute for the Cold War. Bush Junior waxed poetic about Putin’s soul. Obama helped him disarm Ukraine. Trump rolled out the red carpet. Denmark pranced around buying oil and looking rapt with pleasure.

This is what not being like Russia looks like, and who in hell wants to be this?

This is how Ukraine sounds today: explosions tearing the air apart, the hum of Shahed drones overhead, the whistle of incoming missiles, the steady growl of generators, and the piercing cry of air raid sirens.

Help protect Ukrainians from constant russian attacks:… pic.twitter.com/cJW7XAFo9A

— UNITED24 (@U24_gov_ua) January 18, 2026