Welcome back to another installment of the Watercooler, RedState’s daily Open Thread! We’re starting a new year, with new adventures, new aches and pains and new “WTF?!”s.

Weird News

• Kansas teen gets two diplomas in one month, from his high school and… Harvard?
• We all know the holidays make people do weird stuff. But Toledo, Ohio takes the cake with a Christmas Weed.
• SWAT team member ends an armed standoff with… Christmas carols?
• Dumb Crooks: Guess THESE losers tried to steal from the wrong hardware store!
• Dunno which part of this one’s weirder… finding ten grand in a bag in the subway, the finder turning it in or being able to connect with its rightful owner.

This Week In History

• Sunday, 12/30: Redcoats burn Buffalo, 1813; Gadsden Purchase, 1853; Linebacker II bombing campaign ends, 1972
• Monday, 12/31: Continental attack on Quebec turned back, 1775; West Virginia joins Union as new state, 1862; Marshall Plan expires, 1951
• Tuesday, 1/1: Pennsylvania Line Mutiny, 1781; Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory, 1863; ARPANET becomes Internet, 1983
• Wednesday, 1/2: Northwest Indian War sparked by massacre, 1791; Duquesne Spy Ring convicted, 1942; Nixon signs “Double-Nickel” speed limit, 1974
• Thursday, 1/3: Battle of Princeton, 1777; Roebling starts building Brooklyn Bridge, 1870; last daily Peanuts comic strip, 2000
• Friday, 1/4: Colt sells first revolver to government, 1847; NYSE opens first permanent HQ, 1865; USN Tomcats smoke Libyan MiG-23s, 1989
• Saturday, 1/5: Traitor Arnold burns Richmond, 1781; House votes to terminate shared US/UK control of Oregon, 1846; Eisenhower Doctrine proclaimed, 1957

Today’s Birthdays: Barry Goldwater, 1909; Isaac Asimov, 1920; Dennis Hastert, 1942.

Holidays Around the World: It’s Ancestry Day in Haiti and Berchtold’s Day in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

This Week In History is compiled with assistance from History.com and Wikipedia. Something interesting not listed here? Please share in the Comments section–this is an Audience Participation Encouraged featurette.

RedState Slack – Realtime Chat and Private Messaging for the VRWC

Several of us commenters put heads together to address some longstanding desires for features the Disqus platform lacks like private user-to-user messaging, and we’ve started up a Slack server for private messaging and chat. If you’d like to join the fun Slacking Off after hours, your invitation to the party is here.

RedState Slack is not officially endorsed or authorized by the staff, advertisers, management or ownership of RedState, Townhall Media or Salem Communications. It is intended to complement the RedState Disqus comment platform, not compete with it. While we have made every reasonable effort to provide a secure platform, user assumes all risks.

Public Service Announcement for “Sanctuary State” Residents
If you would like to report illegal aliens, please call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at 1-866-DHS-2ICE (347-2423). They will need to know names, locations (either work place or residence) and any other specific information you can provide. Visit http://www.ice.gov for more information.

Quote of the Day

He that can’t endure the bad, will not live to see the good.–Jewish Proverb

As always, the Watercooler is an Open Thread. And as so eloquently coined by ntrepid, “Thanks for the click! Your effort helps fund future posts of this nature.”

Copyright Diamondback, 2019; publication license granted exclusively to RedState. If you’re reading this anywhere BUT RedState, you are seeing STOLEN PROPERTY. Opinions expressed in the preceding piece are solely those of the author and in no way reflect on those of the staff, advertisers, management or owners of RedState, Townhall Media or Salem Communications.