Greetings! A Bari-um enema:  “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who had her segment on Venezuelan immigrants incarcerated in a notorious El Salvador prison at least temporarily killed, has taken aim at  by CBS News’s editor in chief Bari Weiss. In a memo to colleagues, Alfonsi called Weiss's 11^th-hour decision to yank her report  “political.”  In standing up to right-wing forces putting the squeeze on mainstream media, Alfonsi gets my vote as ballsiest journo of the year.  Does Weiss can the “60 Minutes” correspondent for going public? Stay tuned....The joke’s on conservatives.  A new study by the right-wing Media Research Council found that 92% of the humor  on late-night comedy shows were about conservatives...In an early morning Truth Social post,  Trump took aim at the NY Times for no apparent reason with this alarming rant: “Their Radical Left, Unhinged Behavior...must be dealt with and stopped. THEY ARE A TRUE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.” Before I read that post, I was going to write that his Truth Social musings had been toned down over the last 36 hours. The right-leaning Free Press suggests that The Donald and his MAGA-minions may be posting their “way to ruin” in a piece  entitled “Why can’t the Trump administration log off?”...Housekeeping notes: TheRighting is taking a holiday break and will resume publication Monday, January 5. Happy holidays to all. And don’t forget to wear your seat belts as we enter 2026.  Year two of Trump 2.0 promises to be another white-knuckle ride. Hope our  democracy doesn’t end up as road kill. Thanks for joining me on the journey!....If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard

Greetings! Food fight in Phoenix: Turning Point USA just concluded its annual conference in Arizona yesterday and it turned into something close to a MAGA civil war. The headline attraction featured right-wing heavyweights Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro who attacked each other in separate speeches. For progressives looking for cracks in MAGA World, this event ranks close to being exhibit #1. Axios has the details and a killer headline: “MAGA Mess Deepens at Turning Point Convention”...Another story broke yesterday evening in what should have been a sleepy Sunday just days before Christmas.  CBS News yanked a “60 Minutes” story about Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. who have been deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Suffice to say, it would have reflected poorly on the Trump administration.  Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi charged that CBS News’s top editor and anti-wokester Bari Weiss killed the segment.  Alfonsi also noted that the piece was snuffed for political reasons. The network says it will air the segment at a later day. This story ain’t over, by a long shot. (Politico)...Monster House: In the avalanche of last week’s fast-breaking news and Trump’s insults, I missed this story from the Daily Beast about the “secret plans for the monster Trump White House ballroom.” The story contains some head-spinning details about the new structure including a multi-level passageway that will link the new structure to the White House, guest suites (for MAGA royalty, no doubt), and a grand staircase. Sounds like it's a ballroom fit for a king..If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard