(For this week’s regular TBR&R, just hit the “Previous Weeks” button).

Over the years, we have liberally “borrowed” material from the 5:05 Newsletter. A percentage of that material is actually factual. As we approach April Fools’ Day, we do a second installment (the first can be found in April 2022) of some of the best of this bay area institution covering the years 2019 and 2020. Enjoy!

From March 10, 2019: Seattle became the first major U.S. city to completely ban plastic straws and utensils in all restaurants. San Francisco, sensing a threat to its status as the leader in Progressivism, responded by banning food and beverages in all restaurants.

From May 19, 2019: New York News: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrated Amazon abandoning its plans for a New York headquarters that would have generated 25,000 jobs. Ocasio-Cortez said she is working to lure a Barnes and Noble to New York to fill the void.

From Feb. 16, 2020: (The newsletter took a break after some 20 years of publishing): France News: President Macron announced that France would not participate with the United States if it goes to war with Iran. A war without France's help would be like... well, World War II.

From April 19, 2020: Entertainment News: The Rolling Stones announced they will be doing another world tour this year. World tours used to be easier for them in their younger days because the continents were much closer together.

From May 3, 2020: As we labor through coronavirus, another lighter note from the 5:05 Newsletter: "I've washed my hands so many times that I can read the answers to a math test I took in 1966."

From May 17, 2020: The COVID crisis provided a lot of fodder for the 5:05 like this: Do you realize that 100 years ago, in 1920, the U.S. outlawed alcohol and now liquor stores have been ruled an essential service. We've come a long way!

From June 14, 2020: California News: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered store owners not to resist rioters and looters and, instead, "show them love and humility." Minutes later he was named the defense minister of France.

From July 26, 2020: If the CDC said that staying inside and never leaving your house for 14 days would save the college football season, the entire South would be locked up in their homes right now.

From August 9, 2020: One big difference between the U.S. and North Korea is that North Korea forces its people to listen to endless propaganda; while in the U.S., we pay a monthly cable bill to listen to it.

From September 6, 2020: “Chicago to limit looters to 25 per store.”  

From September 13, 2020: The Democratic Party election strategy is phenomenal. When I awoke after anesthesia from dental surgery this week, I had an "I Voted" sticker on my shirt.

From October 4, 2020: I asked Alexa what I should pack for my upcoming trip to Chicago and she said "heat."

From October 11, 2020: “Every single frozen corpse on Mt. Everest was once a highly motivated person. Stay lazy, my friends”.  

From November 8, 2020 – and perhaps the most insightful of all the comments that have appeared in TBR&R: "In my lifetime, we have gone from Dwight Eisenhower to Donald Trump, and we have gone from John F. Kennedy to Joe Biden. If this is evolution, I believe that in a few more years, we will be voting for plants."

NEXT YEAR: The best of 2021 and 2022.