Stop! You've been worrying about the wrong thing!

Chinese garlic is a national security risk, says US senator

Senator Scott also goes into much detail about the different types of garlic that should be looked into: "All grades of garlic, whole or separated into cloves, whether or not peeled, chilled, fresh, frozen, provisionally preserved or packed in water or other neutral substance."

[But somebody from McGill University adds…

Spreading human sewage on fields that grow crops doesn't sound appealing, but it is safer than you might think

…in case you're wondering.]

Every year on December 7th…

 …I hang up my Christmas stocking. My Mom made it for me in 1941. She stitched the date on the back, and sewed a stars-and-stripes ribbon around the top.

December 7, 1941, is, of course, the date of the attack at Pearl Harbor.

Information warfare is real

And virulent. And being waged aggressively over conflicts around the world. And like any other form of warfare it spills over in calamitous ways.

From the Washington Post:

Researchers revealed takedowns by platforms including Facebook and Twitter — now called X — of more than 150 bogus personas and media sites, and suggested that the accounts might have been created by the U.S. military.

Not might have been. Were.

Some of the accounts taken down included a made-up Persian-language media site that shared content reposted from the U.S.-funded Voice of America Farsi and Radio Free Europe. One fake account posted an inflammatory tweet claiming that relatives of deceased Afghan refugees had reported bodies being returned from Iran with missing organs. The tweet linked to a video that was part of an article posted on a U.S.-military affiliated website.

And more.

The question is, and remains, if we can't wage modern war without violating our own principles, which do we give up.

And are you sure?

Wait a minute. What?

It Could Be a Vast Source of Clean Energy, Buried Deep Underground

Governments and companies worldwide have been betting on hydrogen as a cornerstone in the fight against climate change. A multibillion-dollar industry, backed by billions more in subsidies and private investments, has sprung up…

Apparently, says some guy from the U.S. Geological Survey, “There are many other places around the world where similar finds could also be made, and people are looking at it because it really could be impactful.”

So why are we spending…

I remember the W Bush one once claiming hydrogen-powered automobiles were the remedy for global warming but that idea got dropped like a hot…errr, warmed…potato. Or so it seemed. But now…?

I'm confused. And not just about that. About this, too:

In Lorraine, the scientists said their tests suggested that 46 million to 260 million metric tons of natural hydrogen could be lurking beneath the coal mines.

How much hydrogen does it take to make up a ton? I mean, the stuff is lighter than air, isn't it? It floats. How do you even weigh it? 

This is all way too much for a Monday morning.

Football rules

Especially this time of year, after a five-day Thanksgiving Football extravaganza and into the conference championships, bowl games, playoffs, and Super Bowl [finally crashing into February, the cruelest month] it's football that becomes the national sport.

From a recent NYTimes Magazine story:

Football is, by far, the most popular thing on TV. Last year, according to Nielsen, 83 of the 100 most-viewed telecasts were N.F.L. games, including 19 of the top 20.

…

The crown jewel of TV football is “S.N.F.” [Sunday Night Football] Last year it registered a 12th consecutive season as prime time’s top-rated show, at least according to NBC’s interpretation of Nielsen metrics. Its average viewership in 2022, 19.9 million, including the audience watching on streaming services, bested the top scripted show, the Western drama “Yellowstone,” by more than eight million. That audience has impressive demographic breadth: One-third is Black, Latino or Asian; 36 percent are women. At a time when cultural fragmentation and streaming are transforming the very idea of TV, “S.N.F.” is something like the last consensus choice, the proverbial hearth around which the nation assembles each week.

 Time to stock up on popcorn. At least.