Comment on Tough times lead to change of tune for card club critics in San Jose

How is it already the end of 2024? Yet here we are and my 14th year here at C&L is just about done, so I figured I'll wish you all a MerryChristmasHappyHanukkahHappyHolidays message from me and my granddogs. That little black and white one at the top is Tako, my northern California granddog.

It’s Christmastime, and while you might think we don’t have much to celebrate this year because of you-know-who, you’d be wrong! When Karoli allowed me to play with y’all in the C&L sandbox over two years ago, I got much more than a job. I have a family; all commenters and readers are included.

Above: Driftglass has discovered woodworking! He made this cat-proof Christmas tree for our living room. Driftglass and I are so grateful to be a part of the C&L family. 2024 will log ONE HUNDRED episodes of our Professional Left Podcast. Year in review: We'll record Episode 100 for the year next week!

Buckle up, friendsit is going to be a bumpy one. 2025 is not going to start off the way we had hoped, but I want to share some of my thoughts (and a personal reflection) as we enter this tumultuous year. Many of you got to know me in The Bad Placestarting about 10 years agowhen my son was 8.

After the presents, breakfast, hugs, and thank yous, it's time for football! NFL Christmas Day looks like this: at 1 p.m. ET, the Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) play the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5). Then the Baltimore Ravens (10-5) play the Houston Texans (9-6) at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Which team are you rooting on to the Super Bowl? read more

WASHINGTON — The fate of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is still unclear after Republican senators spent much of December carefully dodging questions about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’s views on vaccines, accusations of sexual misconduct against Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard’s 2017 meeting with then-President Bashar Assad of Syria. While some GOP senators have indicated they are all-in for Trump’s picks, others have withheld support, for now, especially on some of his more controversial nominees.