Sunday Reads...
- Greg McNeilly
- Jan 4
- 3 min read
An irregular roundup of thought-provoking reads. Most made me go “hmm…”
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"The ordinary human being does not live long enough to draw any substantial benefit from his own experience. And no one, it seems, can benefit by the experiences of others. Being both a father and teacher, I know we can teach our children nothing. We can transmit to them neither our knowledge of life nor of mathematics. Each must learn its lesson anew.” - Albert Einstein
Kicking off 2026 noting how awesome things are going:
U.S. life expectancy is rising.
U.S. obesity rates are declining.
U.S. cancer rates are dropping.
U.S. murder and violent crime is plummeting.
U.S. deaths from overdoses have dropped.
U.S. homeownership is increasing.
U.S. consumer credit card debt appears to have peaked
U.S. gas prices are dropping.
A study suggests that short-form video is NOT bad for the brain.
Foiled: FBI claims they stopped another Islamic-inspired terrorist attack.
WaPo: “The List” of what’s In-and-Out in 2026.
Remembering: The Vatican’s prohibition on de Beauvoir. Axed in Vatican II, here’s the reference to the 42-edition, 400 year list of “unsafe” ideas (Librium Prohibititorum).
Stoic: Running towards Stoicism (literally).
Thoughts on how the U.S. can protect its domestic skies from drone attacks.
Unpacking Hollywood’s storytelling traditions.
Discussing the creepy contrivance “Heritage Americans.”
The 671th ranked male beat the #1 ranked female in tennis. Biological sex creates differences apparently.
Bitter pill? Study suggests a direct relationship between bitter tastes anti-social behavior.
Learn how Hitchcock leveraged music, watch:
American’s new love affair with foreign authoritarian regimes revisited.
Gen X reflection on the decline of MTV (after 44 years).
Broken-care: In a data-point demonstrates that Americans do not have a free-market health care system, the taxpayer is now bailing out more “systems.”
Abundance: The sign of a great nation, our holiday excess.
2025 misses: What media figures predicted in error for this past year.
Diversity obsessions continue to undermine merit-driven science inquiry and discovery.
Are Universities rethinking their impulse to have a “hot take” on every trendy notion?
Mother of God: New book makes some arguments about Mary.
Overdue! Junk food welfare has ended.
5-0: Words that turn 50 in 2026.
Top 100 Most Watched shows/events in 2025.
January Netflix viewing guide.
More Fraud: Government can’t hand out housing welfare without wasting it.
Doctor Shortage on demand: How government policy created a shortage of talent.
Managing your digital legacy before death.
Unpacking the “yeutes” and their quarter-zip trend.
Non-fiction slump apparently.
2025 best “northern lights” photographs.
Track the distribution of names by year, here.
Odd, yet interesting rant: Against the loss of nude spaces.
The case for free range children / parenting.
Gen Z has abandoned local news.
Retarded: MSM complains that Christians are trying to make Christmas about Christ.
AI:
CHINA & RUSSIA:
In drill, globe’s largest enslaver, surrounded the nation of Twain.
Recapping major pivots in Russian’s invasion of Ukraine in 2025.
ECONOMY:
Reflections on the “affordability” issue in the U.S. economy.
Wages have risen faster than prices, data indicates.
POLS BEHAVING BADLY:
Dems:
Insane tax-proposal from California Democrats.
Prioritizing endangered plants over homes and people is the Liberal West Coast ethos, apparently.
The “warmth of collectivism” is now standard Dem messaging.
Minnesota Dem household made $30 million last year.
Reps:
Speaking of retarded: Bassett argues for the end to the filibuster.
