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🇺🇸 2023 Preview

🇺🇸 2023 Preview

Plus, a note from us to you.

December 30, 2022

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Good morning, and happy Friday! Somehow this is the final send of 2022. Pretty mindblowing to be honest. We want to thank you all for another wonderful trip around the sun. We know every newsletter says this, but it truly means the world to us that you decide to carve out some time in your busy day to read through what we've teed up below.

We will never pretend to be perfect and want to do our best to stay humble, however, we do think this morning briefing is a great antidote to the way that most outlets present the news. We learn a ton through the work we do, and we hope you feel the same way.

We chat with a few of you on a pretty regular basis, and for those of you who haven't reached out yet, our inbox is always open. Never hesitate to let us know what we can be doing better or call us out on something we may have missed.

With that said, we hope you have an incredible remainder of 2022. We can't wait to keep pushing forward with you into 2023. See you next year!

Before we go, today's partner is running some pretty solid end-of-year savings deals if you're in the market for kitchenware. Shop the holiday deals here.

FLAG POLLS

📉 December 28, 2022: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 46, Disapprove 52 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 December 27, 2022: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 47, Disapprove 51 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 December 26, 2022: Direction of Country: Right Direction 37, Wrong Track 57 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 December 21, 2022: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 39, Disapprove 55 (Reuters/Ipsos)

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QUICK CLICKS

Putin's Offensive, Vehicles Stuck in Snow, RIP Pelé

World: Smug Putin poses in his office as he oversees new warships just hours after pummeling Ukraine with 120 missiles in biggest onslaught for weeks (Daily Mail)

Travel: Southwest Airlines' troubles continuing: Thousands more flights canceled (CBS News)

Weather: New York State Police deploy the 'Rook' to move vehicles stuck in Buffalo snow (Fox News)

Sports: Pelé, Brazilian soccer legend, dies at 82 (NBC News)

World: Benjamin Netanyahu returns as PM of Israel’s most far-right gov’t (Al Jazeera English)

Entertainment: Kanye West missing? Ex-business manager can’t find rapper to serve him lawsuit (NY Post)

Entertainment: Bill Cosby Plans to Tour in 2023 (Variety)

World: Brazil arrests four people for alleged coup attempt in Bolsonaro riots (Reuters)

POLITICS

2023 Preview

Today we look ahead, with the calendar turning to a New Year this weekend.

Reporting from the Left: What you actually need to care about in 2023 (POLITICO)

Reporting from the Right: Recession is expected in Q1 2023: Bank of America (Fox Business)

From The Flag: Our 2023 preview includes commentary from both sides, and divergent perspectives, in anticipation of what’s to come during these next 12 months.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

More of the Same: Trump vs. the GOP, Inflation, and Supply Chain Woes

The divide between Republicans who want Trump as the 2024 nominee and those who prefer DeSantis will widen next year.
As a result of rake hikes and supply chain disruptions, food inflation will worsen in 2023.
Medieval mystic and astrologer Nostradamus predicted 2023 will see the British monarchy come to an end, as well as the start of WWIII.

“The Coming Split” Dan Gelernter, American Greatness: “Trump was the first president since Ronald Reagan (or some would argue, since earlier than that) who seemed to appreciate the dangers of unaccountable, unlimited, deep-state government. And I’m willing to bet he’d appreciate those dangers a lot more in a second term, having fallen victim to them himself in the 2020 election. … (But) the Republican machine has no intention of letting us choose Trump again: He is not a uniparty team player. They’d rather lose an election to the Democrats, their brothers in crime, than win with Trump. That leads us to the inevitable question: What should we do when a majority of Republicans want Trump, but the Republican Party says we can’t have him? … If you ask me, Trump’s presidency was much more ‘American’ than it was ‘Republican.’ … if the Republican Party thinks it’s not big enough for Trump, it’s not going to be big enough for me either.”

“Farmer predicts worse food shortages, higher prices in 2023 amid inflation, drought, interests rate hikes” Teny Sahakian, Fox News: “Drought, supply chain shortages and the rising cost of doing business led to a difficult 2022 for American farmers, but 2023 could be even worse… ‘I definitely think we have a food security threat,’ Stephanie Nash, a Tennessee farmer and agriculture advocate told Fox News. ‘I believe 2023 is going to be rough. Worse than this year.’ … A number of factors have contributed to rising food prices, including fertilizer and fuel shortages, extreme weather conditions and rising interest rates in an industry that relies on debt financing… Most US farmers take out short-term, variable-rate loans each year to pay for everything from seeds and fertilizer to livestock and machinery… As a result, the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate increases from as low as 0% to as high as 4.25% has raised the cost of farm operations.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Nostradamus predictions for 2023: An antichrist arrives, World War III and the monarchy dies Reda Wigle, New York Post

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

The GOP Is Rudderless, and Biden Has the Wind at His Back

Republicans are in disarray as the new year begins, with members of Congress bickering, and no clear choice for presidential nominee.
President Biden’s political position has been reinforced, and he’s well set up for a run at reelection in 2024.
The Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles? A Nobel Peace Prize for Volodymyr Zelenskyy? That and more coming in 2023.

“Republicans Are Kicking Off 2023 in Pure Chaos” Hayes Brown, MSNBC Opinion: “The chaos that’s engulfed congressional Republicans is truly impressive in its scope. There are presently divisions within the House Republican caucus, between Republicans in the House and Senate, and even inside the normally staid Senate Republican caucus. And none of this internecine conflict appears likely to be resolved soon, much to the schadenfreude of Democratic colleagues. … For Republicans, the good news is that nobody expected any sort of policy or legislative breakthroughs in the 118th Congress, so the in-fighting won’t derail anything substantive. But Democrats must feel good knowing that not only is the GOP split over policy, it’s also failing at what is normally the party’s bread and butter: political theater. And GOP members loudly and publicly attacking each other instead of President Biden is probably the closest thing to a win Democrats can hope for while the House remains out of their hands.”

“Why Dems Feel Surprisingly Good Heading Into 2023” Blake Hounshell, New York Times: “There are no honeymoons in American politics anymore. But President Biden is enjoying something akin to a post-wedding limo ride. It would be a stretch to say that he is popular, exactly. But he’s better off in polling than he was six months ago, when gas prices were at their peak. Since the midterm elections, prominent Democrats who seemed to be positioning themselves against him have said they would support him if he ran in 2024. Progressive candidates who might ordinarily be expected to snipe at a centrist president ran on his agenda rather than against it; so did more conservative Democrats. And the opponent he defeated in 2020 looks about as politically weak as he has ever been. Democrats are gawking at the lackluster start of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, which so far has earned him very few endorsements from Republican members of Congress.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Crystal Ball 2023: Our commentators' fearless predictions Staff, CNN

FLAG THIS

What You Said About 2022

Yesterday we polled our readers and asked “what was the most important news story of 2022?”

The most common response was “the Ukraine/Russia War” (36%) followed by “Inflation” (29%) and finally “Southern border crossings" (27%).

Feedback included: “How could Russia’s unauthorized/audacious invasion NOT be the story of 2022??” - BBeatie.

Do you have any New Year's resolutions for 2023? If so, leave a comment and let us know what they are.

FLAG FINDS

Creative Chefs, Party Planning, Gotta Get Groceries

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🥳 Don’t have any plans for New Year’s Eve? Take advantage of the Ticket Network, and use it to look for some fun last minute events. The orchestra, live plays, concerts, standup comedians, and other performing arts are calling your name. See what new events are on sale today at this link.

🛒 If there’s anything we’ve learned over the past year, it’s that things are getting more expensive. Especially food – and groceries. That’s where Thrive Market comes in. It’s healthy living made easy. We’re talking guarunateed savings on products delivered directly to your door. Check out this limited offer: you can get $80 worth of groceries, FREE, today.

WATERCOOLER

USSR Established, 5 Skills for 2023, First Cashless Society

On December 30, 1922, in post-revolutionary Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established. Also known as the Soviet Union, the new communist state was the successor to the Russian Empire and the first country in the world to be based on Marxist socialism.

Pocke: Non-Boring Breakfast Recipes

Fast Company: These are the top 5 skills you need to get hired in 2023

The Marginalian: Walt Whitman, Shortly After His Paralytic Stroke, on What Makes Life Worth Living

Today I Learned Sweden is expected to be the first world's cashless society in March 2023.

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