[SEGMENT 1-1] ICYMI Post-Christmas Edition   I hope you are enjoying your time off with family and friends. I won a $10 gift certificate at a party at friend’s house, so I’m a happy camper. What’s happened since we last got together? Well I was forced to do a “best of” show, and I chose the days after the election to remind us of our big win. But I want to touch on something deeper in this ICYMI segment. Much happened as we celebrated Christmas…I will get to some of it.   Title Options"Success, Failure, and Settling: Life’s Rigged Lottery""Cut to the Chase: Lessons from Life and a Rigged System""Three Choices, One Revolution: Success, Failure, and Settling"Cut to the ChaseI’m not sure why my mind defaults to cutting to the chase. Maybe it’s my programming as a management consultant, where I’ve heard more excuses for failure than a politician at a budget hearing. Here’s an example of cutting to the chase: the LGBTQIA+ community has nothing on conservative men—we, too, were all once trapped in a female’s body. Let’s scratch that argument off the grievance list. Of course, it’s a tongue-in-cheek joke meant to highlight a bigger point: we all have our issues. But issues don’t matter as much as how we deal with them. In life, you get three choices: succeed, fail, or settle. Let’s break that down.Success: The Rarely Complained-About ProblemSuccess is the toughest road, yet oddly enough, nobody complains about having it—except Leftists. If a Leftist won the lottery, they’d demand reparations for the 49 other states they didn’t live in. Speaking of the lottery, a guy just hit the $1.5 billion Powerball and took home $628 million. Guess who really hit the jackpot? The government, of course. They’re not playing the lottery—they’re winning it. The lottery is a perfect metaphor for government: the people put in all the money, and Uncle Sam shows up like the cousin you didn’t know you had, grabbing the biggest slice of the pie. Elon Musk could probably run the lottery for 10% of the take and still send you a Tesla as a thank-you card.   https://www.lotteryusa.com/opinion/surprising-economics-behind-states-lottery-money The revenue for the 45 states that participate in government-operated lotteries has grown by over 80 percent since 2010. (…) From that humble rebirth, however, state lotteries have snowballed into a massive government business. In 2022, the total revenue from the 45 states that participate in government-operated lotteries, plus the District of Columbia, clocked in at nearly $108 billion (a rather staggering 83 percent increase from 2010 figures). States with the highest total lottery revenue include New York, Florida, Texas, and California, which each took in north of $8 billion that year. For at least 10 states, lottery games regularly generate more total revenue than corporate income taxes. While these swelling proceeds are indisputably impressive—especially considering the growth over the past decade or so—they look even more striking when examined on a per capita basis. Essentially the lottery is a way to tax you that gives you a one-in-a-trillion chance to get your money back. Think of it as FUN taxation. Where do you think this money really goes? To “education”? Another story for another day…[SEGMENT 1-2] Failure: The Unexpected TeacherNow, let’s talk failure. It’s where most of us live, and oddly enough, it’s where we learn the most. My grandfather used to say, “Discipline your disappointment; it’s always there—until it isn’t.” Translation: embrace failure. You’ll face plenty of it before you taste success. Some of my best lessons came while failing. I’ve failed in business, relationships, and even hobbies. You’re looking at a guy who plays piano so badly that my piano probably thinks I’m trolling it. But I settled for being terrible at piano because I don’t need to be Van Cliburn—I’m too busy succeeding elsewhere. Failure builds character. And if you don’t embrace it, you’ll never get to the next level. People stuck in failure are the ones who missed the memo: it’s not a final destination—it’s just a layover.Settling: The Comfortable CompromiseAnd now, settling. We all do it in some areas because we can’t be great at everything. But there’s a difference between settling smartly and selling out. Thoreau said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” That’s true, but it’s also a choice. Did you settle for a job you hate because it pays the bills? Or did you take the leap and find out what you’re made of? Did you marry someone who makes you better, or did you settle for someone who just makes dinner? Settling isn’t always bad. Sometimes it’s strategic. But if you’re in a rut, ask yourself: are you settling because it’s easy, or because it’s right?The Revolution of Not SettlingThis year, many of us made a choice not to settle. Politically, we dumped the high-maintenance “gold-digger” government. It’s time to find a fiscally responsible “around-the-way girl”— who doesn’t want a new butt, new boobs, and lips that look like she’s a cartoon character in The Simpson’s. We’ve had enough of a government that treats our wallets like a piggy bank for its Botox fund. We want something real, something sustainable. And the good news is: the revolution has already begun. Circling back on success. Success only comes with massive failure. Elon Musk almost went broke twice. Donald Trump lost in a sham election, only to win “bigly” in 2024. What’s your big success built on failure? Remember your three choices: succeed, fail, or settle. Just make sure the choice is yours—not someone else’s. Democrats have one thing they do better than anybody: they sell failure as success[SEGMENT 1-3] ICYMI Post-Christmas 2   [X] SB – Karl Rove on Trump’s impact on economic outlook Biden 41% approval Karl Rove is now a Trump guy? Up 41 pts Good time to expand Expect sales to rise Plan capital outlays in the next 6 months     Failure sold as success. Democrats have one thing they do better than anybody: they sell failure as success. But all you need to do is wait for the real results to see the Leftism is the poster child for failure. https://x.com/StephenMoore/status/1871540676782903720Stephen Moore Another half-million jobs reported under Biden turn out to be phantom!   The Philly Fed's recent findings reveal that Q2 job growth was actually negative, with all reported gains set for revision in 2025. This follows an alarming downward revision of 800,000 jobs from last year.  Stay tuned for January’s non-farm payrolls—more adjustments on the way!   A woman was burned to death in the NYC subway and by an illegal Biden let into the country. The suspect accused of setting a woman on fire in the NYC subway is Sebastian Zapeta. He is an illegal migrant from Guatemala. He sat on a bench and watched his victim burn alive. I saw the video of this woman, and it’s truly horrific. And the guy who set her on fire actually fans her. Understand that the governor of NY has declared their transit system safe! A friend tweeted: I am so confused about the woman being burned alive in the subway… How did this happen? How was she still standing? Why is the assailant casually sitting on the bench watching his victim burn? And WHY DID NO ONE HELP? Please explain this to me like I’m five…   Felonies surged 47%, violent crime is up, daily disruptions and a rise in murder on NYC Subways. January's stats reveal a 16% rise in violent felonies and 74 major operational disruptions - over 2 per day. Latest NYC crime statistics: Overall crime up 35.6% and transit crime up 49.1% year-to-date. Crime in NYC is at a twelve-year high.  [SEGMENT 1-4] ICYMI Post-Christmas 3   Kilauea is erupting. Cows are complaining that their farts no longer matter.   Wikipedia got $177M donated to it. They spent $50M on DEI           The woman the Left accused of having underage sex with Matt Gaetz is in prison for lying about underage sex accusations. Mollie @MZHemingway Sometimes I feel like I was the only reporter to look into the Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-kevin-jackson-show--2896352/support.