How shall we respond to the unceasing flow of fresh outrages? It seems to me we only have so much outrage that we can parcel out before we fall into “outrage fatigue” — and if compassion fatigue is a thing, then certainly outrage fatigue is. So it’s important to parcel out our outrage in sustainable doses — and the amount of those doses is an individual decision,

But it’s important to keep focused on the bigger picture, on the larger stage upon which these daily outrages are occurring. And so, in that spirit, here’s a piece from Adam Serwer at The Atlantic, in which he notes that Elon Musk’s stated mission as he ransacks the federal government is to impose “some temporary hardship” on Americans by cutting federal spending to “ensure long-term prosperity.”

“I speak billionaire fluently, so I can translate” what Musk really means, Serwer writes, and he goes on to do so:

When Musk says he wants to run the government like a business, he means that he wants to slash the benefits it provides. When he says the government needs to “live within its means,” he means it needs to cut taxes on billionaires and cut services for everyone else. And when he says “temporary hardship,” what he has in mind is that he and his friends will continue to live lives of inconceivable luxury while millions struggle to make ends meet.

Serwer goes on to make another — and possibly more important — point: As Americans begin to suffer, the social media platforms by which most of us get our information (and whose leaders have essentially pledged fealty to Donald Trump) will do everything in their power to “trick people into believing that things are not occurring as they are or that someone else is to blame,” he writes.

In a way, I suppose this is a case for the so-called “legacy media.” So, yeah, too bad about them.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for fresh outrages, there’s no shortage:

• A new grant policy announced late Friday by the National Institutes of Health likely will have a devastating effect on research universities like — well, like Oregon State University. Not to mention everyone who counts on the scientific breakthroughs that these universities make.
• It looks like Kid Rock can start figuring out what he’ll be wearing to the Kennedy Center Honors celebration.
• Oh, and there was that stuff about Gaza, the Riviera of the Middle East. I have to say, that one was a bit of a surprise.

What outrages could come next? The Associated Press has this handy guide. It’s worth remembering that Trump talked about most of this on the campaign trail, so let’s not hear anyone else tell us about how he says the stuff he does just for shock value and doesn’t really mean it.

Meanwhile, if you’re worried about what might happen in the next four years, but object to having Trump take up permanent residence in your brain, Vox has a newsletter it’s pitching just for you. Joshua Benton at Harvard’s Nieman Lab has the details.

OK. Time for a deep breath.

In fact, maybe you need a nap. The AP says scientists have long extolled the merits of naps — but, for some reason, the practice is still frowned upon by employers. During work hours, that is.

The Weekend Reader’s good friend, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, has a compelling piece about how both liberals and conservatives need to find a middle road that gets more addicts into sustained, effective treatment — and he draws from a friend’s experience in Yamhill County to make his point. Liberals, Kristof writes, have been too willing to tolerate a permissive attitude toward drugs, while conservatives have erred in relying too much on the criminal justice system. (Kristof’s friend, by the way, believes a prison term likely saved his life.)

I understand that they’ll be playing the Super Bowl on Sunday, but the nation’s attention won’t be focused on whether the Philadelphia Eagles will be able to stop the Kansas City Chiefs from winning their third straight title: Rather, we’ll all be grading former NFL quarterback Tom Brady’s performance broadcasting the game for Fox.

Who says newspapers don’t publish good news? The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the 127-pound pig found two weeks ago wandering through a neighborhood in Gresham now has a new home, The Buxton Farm in Oregon City. The pig, now named Brock, is described in the story as “a pretty friendly little pig.” Did you find out about that on social media? What’s that? You did? Oh.

The New York Times columnist Ross Douthat has just published a new book, “Believe: Why Everyone Should be Religious,” and if you think that’s an odd bit of business for a columnist at that pinko, atheist newspaper — well, that’s what I thought at first, too. Nevertheless, the Times ran a column adapted from the book in which Douthat outlines some of his favorite arguments for the existence of God. It’s worth a read, even for you doubters. But none of this means it’s still a good idea to breach the wall between church and state, even as the wall continues to come under attack. It’s an outrage, I say.

That’s it for this week. In the meantime, keep tabs on the outrage of your choice — but find time for a nap, OK? We’ll see you back here, all refreshed, next weekend.