We had fully intended to begin today's column with the news from Georgia, to celebrate Senator Raphael Warnock's re-election. At some point, we would have gotten around to some snark directed at Joe Manchin, since he wouldn't be such a pivotal vote any more, given the 51-seat majority Democrats will now enjoy. And as an afterthought, we would have tossed in Kyrsten Sinema's name as well, since she deserves a heaping helping of snark as well.

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'Tis the season once again to solicit nominations for our year-end awards. Welcome to the first round of categories!

Before we get to the list, a few words on the rest of the year's calendar. Tomorrow will be a normal Friday Talking Points day, but it will be the final one of the year. The week after, December 16th, the first year-end awards column will appear.

The following Friday, Christmas Eve Eve, so to speak, the second half of the awards will run. I probably won't be posting new columns the final week of the year, unless something noteworthy enough to demand comment happens (which can always happen).

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There were two main lessons to be learned from last night's Senate runoff election in Georgia: electability matters, and Donald Trump is still a loser. These are really just two sides of the same coin, in this particular case. The big question left unanswered is whether Republican primary voters will learn these interrelated lessons before the next election cycle comes around in 2024 or not. To state the painfully obvious: if they do, they'll stand a much better chance of electoral success than if they don't.

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Donald Trump doesn't want to be elected president. Instead, he would much prefer it if here were simply anointed president, or perhaps crowned president. If elections and democracy get in the way of his main goal, he freely jettisons them. This has been obvious to most people for a very long time, but he recently removed all tiny shreds of any remaining doubt. He openly called for the "termination" of the United States Constitution, in order that he (somehow) can be immediately reinstated as the "rightful" president.

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Welcome once again to our yearly funding drive! We only beg for money once a year, and (of course) we take advantage of the fact that people seem to be in more of a giving mood as the year-end holidays approach. Just to be fully honest with everyone....

This year, however, this column is going to be a bit different. I know, I know, everyone loves the flood of kittens each year (while dog enthusiasts protest my species-ism to no avail with "where are the puppies?!?" entreaties), but this year we're going to severely limit tugging at your collective heartstrings.

Well, not completely.

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This week, there was a massive toxic explosion of hot air and noxious fumes, which caused many to flee in terror from the spectacle. Also, in Hawai'i, the volcano Mauna Loa erupted.

Sorry for being so sarcastic, but we couldn't resist.

But we'll get to all of the White supremacy and Nazism and Donald Trump in a bit, instead let's start off with some positive news.

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It's a saying that may stretch back to Roman times. In English, the first citation (at least from Wikipedia, I haven't checked the O.E.D. yet, sorry...) dates from 1612: "For they that sleep with dogs, shall rise with fleas." In this particular case, Donald Trump breaking bread with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes has left much of the rest of the Republican Party feeling awfully flea-ridden. And the whole thing just got a lot worse.

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