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M is for Money, which Wall Street simply can't seem to get enough of. Stocks were up hugely in 2023, Wall Street's excesses making this year one of the top ten of all time for investors.

N is for El Nino, the weather pattern that occurs on-and-off over the years and is primarily responsible for mild winters in North America and Europe, like the one we're currently experiencing, not climate change. N is also for Nordstream, the multi-billion dollar pipeline between Russia and Germany that was blown up, supposedly by the CIA with the blessing of the Biden administration.

O is for Ohio. East Palestine, Ohio, to be precise, where a CTX train loaded with chemicals derailed in February, spilling toxins all over the countryside along with an enormous explosion and fire that lasted for days. Air, soil, and water were all contaminated. The government's response was slow and non-committal to the people of East Palestine, whose lives have been irreparably harmed in some cases. Yet another case of government doing what government does best: very little and covering its own behind.

P is for Palestine and Pro-Palestinian Protesters (a three-peat, there), who aren't helping the Palestinian cause much by stopping traffic, calling for death to Israelis and generally being obsequious and ill-mannered. Most people can empathize with their cause, but their tactics have proven only to anger most people.

Q is for Queers and Drag Queens who spent most of the year showing off their cross-dressing outfits and skills in front of some very stupid parents who allowed their kids to witness such an obviously deviant display. The Trans-genderism that goes along with Drag Queen story hours and other performances died down after the summer, but the Qs are still out there, preening and primping like they were actual women. Sad.

R is for Restitution and Reparations, what the state of California proposed paying people of African Americans to the tune of more than $800 billion total, for decades of over-policing, disproportionate incarceration, home seizures and housing discrimination.

S is for Swift, Taylor, that is, who's EROS Tour made her one of the richest young women on the planet. Swift is a notable talent and the heroine of every girl under the age of 16, lovingly known as "Swifties." The ungodly amount of money people pay to see her perform is nothing short of a music miracle.

T is for Twitter and the "Twitter Files", expertly dissected by teams led by journalists Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger, who testified before an arguably belligerent group of congresspeople at the House's Weaponization of Government subcommittee. Kudos to Taibbi, for pushing back against US Virgin Islands Delegate, Stacey Plaskett, who identified Matt and Michael as "so-called" journalists. Taibbi rightly shot her down and put her in her place, in a big hurry and in a big way.

U is for Ukraine, the bloodied Eastern Eyropean country that looks to become part of Russia again, soon, we can only hope.

V is for Vladimir, as in Putin, IdleGuy's first Man of the Year (MOTY). V is also for Vaccine, the Covid type pushed by the government and companies like Pfizer, which nobody takes anymore, now that most Americans have figured out that Covid and the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 were just plain old military pay-ops, designed to enslave and control people's movements and deny them their freedom.

W is for War, War-mongers, and We're so tired of color revolutions, neocons, the military-industrial complex, the CIA, deep state and all the underworld characters whose sole reason for existence is to make people miserable. W also works for Writers, who went on strike first in Hollywood, before their actor friends, and also got a deal first and went back to work, to the delight of late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert, who, for a brief enjoyable time, had nothing to say.

X is for the social media platform formerly known as "Twitter."

Y is for Yield, specifically the interest yield (or return) on various bills, notes, and bonds which the Federal Reserve so rapidly hiked from March 2022 through June 2023, then sat back and watched the market do its thing. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note hit a high of 4.98% and the 30-year was yielding 5.11% in late October. Those rates have moderated over the last two months, with the 10-year presently below 3.80% and the 30-year under 4.00%. Short term rates have remained high, in the 5.40 to 5.56% range. The federal funds rate, to which most credit cards are tied has leveled off at 5.25-5.50% since June, squeezing middle and lower-class credit borrowers into rates above 20%. Lenders love yield. Borrowers, not so much.

Z is for Zelenzsky, the Ukrainian president who's the last word in begging Western nations for arms and money and soon to be forgotten.