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"House Republicans rejected that unanimous consent request sought by House Democrats and now also by President Trump," Hoyer said, adding, "Surely, the President of the United States – whether he's in Mar-a-Lago or anyplace else – ought to empathize with the pain and suffering and apprehension and deep angst that the American people are feeling this Christmas eve." Steyer urged the president to sign the bill Congress sent to him on Monday, "so we can resume critical aid."

Bow down to the Spicy Yakuyoke Whopper, which translates to Spicy Apotropaic Whopper. The Japanese word “yakuyoke“, or “apotropaic” in English, means to “ward off evil” or “protect against misfortune“. Yakuyoke is particularly important at the end of the year in Japan, where temples offer Yakuyoke services for those wanting to yoke (ward off) the yaku (bad luck) they’ve accumulated over the year so they can start the new one afresh. And let’s face it, that sounds like something we could all do with after everything we’ve been through in 2020. Burger King’s Yakuyoke Whopper therefore acts as an edible...

“Put your damn mask on” said a guy three seats behind me on a Southwest Airline flight heading to Washington, D.C. to the passenger walking down the aisle. The man's mask had slid down under his nose as he negotiated his carry-on bag while holding his little daughter’s hand. I turned around to see who was making such a demand so rudely. Just as I suspected, it was the guy who came aboard sporting a full N95 mask, face shield cover and surgical gloves. Forget for a moment that the father’s mask slipping actually posed zero risk to the hazmat-protected,...

Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen became the head of the Department of Justice on Dec. 24, a day after the departure of former Attorney General William Barr. Rosen’s tenure began at a time of heightened tensions between the White House and the Justice Department over the handling of several matters of crucial interest to President Donald Trump, including prospective investigations into voter fraud, an ongoing inquiry into the financial dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden’s son and the special counsel investigation of Obama administration’s spying on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. Barr announced his resignation in a...

Even at this year’s Christmastime, we may count some blessings. Vaccines to decimate the coronavirus are being manufactured and shipped. More Americans have seen their faith strengthened than weakened in 2020. Divorce and promiscuity are down. Frugality is up. Charitable giving has stayed fairly robust for an economically troubled time. Most readers of this webzine can rest assured they are spending Christmas in a calmer place than our brethren in southeast England, who now face a new, quick-spreading COVID strain and severe lockdown. Yet, as London’s plight underscores, all is far from well; and it behooves Christians to harbor not...

Dr. Deborah Birx announced Tuesday that she will retire just days after she was accused of bending her own rules with a Thanksgiving weekend gathering at a beach house. The White House coronavirus task force leader said she would stay in her role until President-elect Joe Biden takes office before stepping down. ... “I will have to say that this experience has been a bit overwhelming,” Birx said. “It’s been very difficult on my family.” Birx visited the beach home over the holiday weekend with members of more than one household in apparent violation of Centers for Disease Control restrictions,...

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is weighing a bid for attorney general, as the Republican currently in the job, Ken Paxton, faces new criminal accusations. Several campaign donors have asked Bush to consider running in 2022, senior political adviser Ash Wright said. The Republican has not made a decision. "Commissioner Bush has always said he will 'keep all options open' and that remains his policy," Wright said in a statement. "Like many conservative leaders around the state, he is very concerned about these allegations regarding Paxton." Bush's intentions were first reported on the conservative website Texas Scorecard. If he...

West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin says he has "no worries over the possibility that incoming President Biden might interfere with the investigation of his son Hunter's dubious business dealings. Joe's a stand up kind of guy. He wouldn't use his position to obstruct or divert any inquiries affecting Hunter or other members of his family." Reminded that using his influence when he was Vice-President Biden to pressure the Ukraine government to fire a prosecutor investigating a company that had Hunter on its board of directors, Manchin insisted "that was a one time thing. Now that Joe is mostly non...

For the music venue owners, theater producers and cultural institutions that have suffered through the pandemic with no business, the coronavirus relief package that Congress passed on Monday night offers the prospect of aid at last: it includes $15 billion to help them weather a crisis that has closed theaters and silenced halls. The money, part of a $900 billion coronavirus relief package, is designed to help the culture sector — from dive-bar rock clubs to Broadway theaters and museums — survive. -snip- Broadway theaters, which have been closed since March, applauded the relief package. “We are grateful for this...

According to a Daily Mail report, it is not immediately clear what the ball of fire is, but local media are suggesting the possibility of a meteor. Some experts believe that the object was a bolide, an extremely bright meteor. A local named Dan Ba, who witnessed the incident while taking his child to school, said that the bolide started very small, but three minutes later it became very big and bright. Many other locals reported hearing loud bangs. The fireball was also video-recorded by passengers on a plane traveling from Xi’an to Lhasa as it lightened up the sky....

The $900 billion coronavirus relief package includes a long sought measure to send aid to struggling independent theaters and music venues. But now those cultural centers and small businesses are left waiting for help yet again. The measure was set to become law this week, but President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to blow up the deal, the result of months of contentious negotiations. -snip- It caps a several-month push for the Save Our Stages Act, a bipartisan plan to buoy small arts and entertainment venues that have taken a drubbing during pandemic health restrictions. Private, small performing arts venues,...

You may have noticed that the nation entered a political crisis after election day. However all that turns out, and whomever occupies the White House, a Pandora’s box of pressing problems and quandaries lie beyond this battle, and they will determine how we arrange daily life in this land, especially the question of what our towns and cities will look like, and how they’ll function, which has been the focus of this monthly column the past year. Due to the incessant blathering of economists who only follow the movements of money, most Americans do not understand what supports our techno-industrial...

I wanted to thank you all for your prayers.

A Socialist called into Sean Hannity’s radio show this week and said the quiet part out loud. The Socialist caller, David, told Hannity’s guest host ‘Rose Unplugged’ that conservatives will never win another election again because the left “has the machines and has the courts.”

Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said that some Republican senators will join an effort to challenge Electoral College votes when the joint session of Congress meets on Jan. 6. The process must be initiated by requires one senator and one House representative. In addition to Greene, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and a number of GOP House lawmakers have pledged to challenge the votes. “We have a very strong case, and our numbers are growing strong,” she said of the effort on Dec. 22 on Newsmax. “We talked to senators, and we’re good to go for this objection.” Greene didn’t say...

The largest public school district in Washington state is reportedly training white teachers to “bankrupt their privilege” by focusing on social justice in the classroom, Discovery Institute scholar Christopher Rufo reported. A series of reportedly leaked documents shows what appears to be a training on critical race theory at Seattle Public Schools, prompting teachers to explain how they will promulgate racial justice in the classroom. The slides begin by asking teachers to acknowledge that they are meeting on “the ancestral lands and traditional territories of the Puget Sound Coast Salish People,” which is followed by “Stolen Labor Acknowledgments” asking them...

In his book Bubbles and Crashes, Brent Goldfarb says a bubble is much like a stock that traders keep buying because others are doing the same thing. “This usually happens when a company or product has a compelling narrative around it that isn’t backed up by data,” Goldfarb writes. “They’re easy to invest in, there’s a lot of uncertainty about the future value, and it’s often about a lot of novice investors.” The student loan bubble checks all of these boxes. Americans have been hearing about a student loan “crisis” for over a decade, and there’s a reason for that....

After outcry from Second Amendment groups and members of Congress, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has rescinded recently released guidance reclassifying millions of pistol stabilizing braces. "Upon further consultation with the Department of Justice and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, ATF is withdrawing, pending further Department of Justice review, the notice and request for comments entitled “Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with ‘Stabilizing Braces’,” that was published on December 18, 2020," ATF released in a statement Wednesday. The National Shooting Sports Foundation is praising the move and advocating for transparency and cooperation from the agency in...

https://twitter.com/TeamTrump/status/1342135947618471939

After the congressional passage of the 5,593 page COVID “stimulus” bill on Monday, President Trump shot the legislation back into the hands of congress demanding that the direct payments to Americans increase from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples. The President also called for congress to amend the bill in order to cut out the “waste and unnecessary” items, a point that is being overlooked by the media and members of congress. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi responded quickly to Trump’s Tuesday night veto threat by whole heartedly agreeing with the idea of sending a larger...