They’re the very definition of live fast and die young!

December 25 turns out to be a surprisingly busy day for science.

Former The Late Show host David Letterman joined ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday to praise him as “the leader of the resistance” and also tell Kimmel that he and his contemporaries are helping to save democracy every night with their shows. Letterman kicked off his ode to his successors by asking, “People are aware of the fact that you are the leader of the resistance?” while Kimmel tried to downplay the idea, “Yes, I mean, I am the totally ineffective leader of the resistance, yes.”     Alluding to Kimmel’s suspension, Letterman continued, “By the way, will this be televised tonight? I can never keep track with you getting yanked off. Oh, well, excuse— I'm sorry.” After the duo made that comment seem more sexual than it had to be, Letterman resumed, “And speaking of leaders, let me just say one thing here. I'm going to suck up to you because I feel like if I kind of tag along with you, I'll be glorified in retrospect in my own—you know, it's kind of like you just sit there. If the—now, this is irrespective of the party or political ideology— irrespective, party or political ideology—if the leader of the free world is a fool, the leader of the free world then should expect and examine every bit of ridicule he receives.” Of course, Kimmel was not suspended for mocking President Trump. He was suspended for false depictions of Charlie Kirk’s assassin’s political ideology and then refusing to acknowledge he did anything wrong. As it was, Kimmel later asked if Letterman ever wishes he was still hosting a show to comment on the current political climate. Letterman said no but had more praise for the current crop of late night hosts, “Boy, you would think, but no. I'm so glad to be out from under this mess because people like you and people like Stephen and people like Seth do such a masterful job of this, defending democracy… I thank God for you, thank God for others, SNL and everybody else, it's just—I think it's the way things need to be in a democracy that's seemingly this crippled.” Kimmel added, “You did forget Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, I mean, there are many others that we could include here.” Letterman’s idea about mocking the leader of the free world irrespective of ideology sounds nice, but the problem is that the comedy show hosts only seem to apply it to Republicans. When Letterman was still on the air, the percentage of jokes targeting George W. Bush for his presidency was far higher than those targeting Barack Obama during his. That trend has only gotten worse since Letterman’s retirement and during the Trump and Biden presidencies.  Here is a transcript for the December 9 show: ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live! 12/9/2025 11:53 PM ET DAVID LETTERMAN: People are aware of the fact that you are the leader of the resistance? JIMMY KIMMEL: Yes, I mean, I am the totally ineffective leader of the resistance, yes. LETTERMAN: By the way, will this be televised tonight? I can never keep track with you getting yanked off. Oh, well, excuse— I'm sorry. KIMMEL: Come on, wake up over there for God’s sake over there. Dave's here. Anton would have hit that with no problem. LETTERMAN: Thank you very much. And speaking of leaders, let me just say one thing here. I'm going to suck up to you because I feel like if I kind of tag along with you, I'll be glorified in retrospect in my own—you know, it's kind of like you just sit there. If the—now, this is irrespective of the party or political ideology— irrespective, party or political ideology—if the leader of the free world is a fool, the leader of the free world then should expect and examine every bit of ridicule he receives. … LETTERMAN: Boy, you would think, but no. I'm so glad to be out from under this mess —  KIMMEL: Good. LETTERMAN: —because people like you and people like Stephen and people like Seth do such a masterful job of this, defending democracy. And about all I'm capable of showing up every now and then and saying “[bleep] you, Waymo.” That's it. By the way, that's about all I got, and but I thank God for you, thank God for others, SNL and everybody else, it's just—I think it's the way things need to be in a democracy that's seemingly this crippled. KIMMEL: Well, I prefer you limited it to me but I appreciate that. LETTERMAN: Well, you—you know. KIMMEL: You did forget Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, I mean, there are many others that we could include here.

Thomas Sowell’s warning fits the digital age with brutal precision: There are no solutions, only trade-offs. When governments regulate technology, they seize your privacy first. Every “safety” mandate becomes an excuse to collect more personal data, and the result is always the same. Bureaucrats claim to protect you while making you more vulnerable.Age-verification laws illustrate this perfectly. Discord’s recent breach — more than 70,000 stolen government ID photos taken from a third-party vendor — shows how quickly privacy collapses once platforms are forced to gather sensitive data.Millions of citizens should not be forced to trade away privacy because policymakers refuse to acknowledge the risks.To comply with the U.K.’s new Online Safety Act, Discord began collecting users’ documentation. That data became a target, and once breached, attackers reportedly demanded a multimillion-dollar ransom and threatened to publish the stolen IDs. Discord failed to monitor its vendor’s security practices, and thousands paid the price.Age-verification mandates require digital platforms to confirm a user’s age before granting access to specific content or services. That means uploading government IDs or submitting to facial scans. The stated goal is child safety. The actual effect is compulsory data surrender. These laws normalize the idea that governments can force citizens to hand over sensitive information just to use the internet.Centralized data collection creates a jackpot for cybercriminals. As the Discord breach proves, one compromise exposes thousands — or millions — of users. Criminals can sell this information, reuse it for identity theft, or weaponize it for blackmail. The problem isn’t a one-off failure. It is structural. Age verification mandates require platforms to create consolidated databases of personally identifying information, which become single points of catastrophic failure.The libertarian Cato Institute captures the problem: “Requiring age verification creates a trove of attractive data for hackers that could put broader information about users, particularly young users, at risk.”Governments may insist that the Discord breach was an outlier. It wasn’t. Breaches of sensitive information are predictable in systems designed to aggregate it. Even if the motives behind the U.K.’s age-verification regime were noble, undermining privacy to advance those aims is a trade-off free societies should reject. That is why the Online Safety Act triggered an outcry far beyond the U.K.And, as usual, legislative mandates fail to achieve their stated goals. Days after the OSA took effect, VPN downloads surged as users — including children — bypassed verification systems. Laura Tyrylyte, Nord Security’s head of public relations, told Wired that “whenever a government announces an increase in surveillance, internet restrictions, or other types of constraints, people turn to privacy tools.” Predictably, age-verification laws encourage evasion instead of compliance.RELATED: The UK wants to enforce its censorship laws in the US. The First Amendment begs to differ. mikkelwilliam via iStock/Getty ImagesThe pattern is simple: Age-verification laws degrade privacy, heighten the risk of identity theft, and fail to keep minors off restricted platforms. They make the internet less safe for everyone.Meanwhile, policymakers remain determined to spread these mandates in the name of protecting children. The U.K. pioneered the model. Many other governments followed. Twenty-five U.S. states have adopted similar laws. The list grows each month.But governments cannot treat data breaches as acceptable collateral damage. Millions of citizens should not be forced to trade away privacy because policymakers refuse to acknowledge the risks. The result of this approach will be more surveillance, more breaches, more stolen personal data, and a steady erosion of civil liberties.Privacy is the backbone of liberty in a digital world. Thomas Jefferson’s warning deserves repetition: “The natural progress of things is for government to gain ground and for liberty to yield.”Age-verification mandates accelerate that progress — and citizens pay the price.

“It’s strange, it’s an experience that I’ve never had before, I’m very humbled by it." The post It’s Sir Roger Now: The Who’s Daltrey is Knighted appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

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Amid reports the U.S. plans to move Gaza's ceasefire into its second phase by year's end, a U.S. official told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that the International Stabilization Force will be deployed to Gaza at the start of 2026.

Rep. Haley Stevens, who is running for an open Senate seat in Michigan, formally introduced articles of impeachment Wednesday against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a move with virtually no chance of advancing in the GOP-controlled House.

American-made microchips were repeatedly found inside Russian missiles and drones used to kill Ukrainian civilians, according to five lawsuits filed Wednesday in Dallas County. The filings come as verified civilian deaths in Ukraine reach at least 14,775.