It’s a grim new year for some 1.3 million American men and women who are out of work and out of luck. They are the jobless workers whose umemployment benefits ran out a few days ago because Congress ran out without considering their problems. Yep, our Congress took off for the holidays and did not approve extending benefits to those Americans who can now try to get by with anything up to $300 a week less than they had before to buy groceries, pay mortgages and obtain their medicines. A well-paid Congress didn’t think they mattered. And lest you think that Republicans especially care, consider this comment from a representative of the Cato Institute, a Republican think tank in Washington. “It’s tough love,” he said. “But this will, we hope, serve as a motivation for those people to work harder to get a job.” This, from a smug, well-dressed, six-figure income Republican advocate, is a reminder that hypocrisy knows no ethical or moral boundaries.

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Harold Simmons died last weekend. Does anybody care? Frankly, I’m not sure, for he was a man whose life amply illustrates the difficulty of attempting to assess the quality of anyone’s life. First, Simmons provided funding for the Republican-backed Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attack ads against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004. Those ads distorted the legitimate record of a war veteran and helped account for his defeat (though in fairness Kerry had plenty of other issues that did him in). Simmons gave tens of millions of dollars to Republican candidates, and strongly opposed President Obama, whom he labeled “the most dangerous American alive” Really. He said that without even a hint of hyperbole. So he was a creep, right? But — he also gave significant amounts of money to a children’s hospital and to several arts and educational organizations. And he even made donations to some organizations (like Planned Parenthood) that espoused views he opposed. So what are we to make of him? I honestly don’t know, except to remind myself once again that it is impossible to truly know the heart of another.

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Report: Four out of five Americans believe Alex Rodriguez is the name of an illegal drug.

Fact: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas wants to drop his Canadian citizenship. No kidding. This true American is actually half Canadian.

Survey: 65% of Americans say they will make at least one New Year’s resolution. And 34% admit they will likely fail by watching Fox News anyway.