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11 December 2024 Wednesday of the 2nd week of Advent San Lorenzo in Damaso, Rome, burial place of Saint Damasus I Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: C(I).First readingIsaiah 40:25-31The Lord strengthens the powerless‘To whom could you liken meand who could be my equal?’ says the Holy One.Lift your eyes and look.Who made these starsif not he who drills them like an army,calling each one by name?So mighty is his power, so great his strength,that not one fails to answer.How can you say, Jacob,how can you insist, Israel,‘My destiny is hidden from the Lord,my rights are ignored by my God’?Did...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem (12/11/24)[Prayer]Names and Titles of God the Holy Spirit (Seal/Deposit/Earnest)Ephesians1:13-1413 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.King James Version________________________God Bless America.ML/LTOS

There is a great clanging and clamoring around the offices in Washington, D.C. and Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Political operatives, policy wonks, and opposition figures are all planning for the arrival of the second Donald Trump administration. I’ve spoken with many of the people in the president-elect’s orbit who are planning how to staff Cabinet departments and set a new tone on the administration’s first day. Much of our discussion has focused on the approach to DEI, or “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” While the officials in Trump world are all committed to abolishing DEI in theory, they have yet to settle...

From the start, the Select Committee on January 6 was rocked by problems, with perhaps no other member of that committee in as much trouble as now former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). There's been chatter about criminal referrals for Cheney for months, especially since she is a former member of Congress, though it also came up once more earlier this week with President-elect Donald Trump weighing in during his "Meet the Press" interview with Kristen Welker. As was also mentioned, President Joe Biden is reportedly considering a preemptive pardon for Cheney and others. During tht interview, Trump reminded how involved...

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Parliament tries to pass law outlawing marriage to 1st cousins. Guess who's dead-set against it. Transcript linked below video

This is the opening number to a new musical set in the absurd world of an advertising agency. *Not an official Cheerios ad. In no way endorsed or supported by General Mills or Nestle Global.

Let’s disperse the government agencies away from the gridlocked highways and overpriced real estate of the Washington, D.C., area to the economically depressed regions of the country they serve, recycling the federal budget back to the economy from which it came.

First Sergeant Eric Geressy and Staff Sergeant Cliff Meros, two Army veterans who served under Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, joined Will Cain to praise Hegseth's leadership style of leading from the front and placing his men ahead of himself. They, along with hundreds of others who have served alongside Hegseth, have signed a petition backing him as he continues moving forward in the nomination process. Transcript linked below video

The magic words “global warming” are surrounded by left-wing mythology. We’ve all heard apocalyptic predictions about what will happen if we don’t start walking everywhere we go and heating our homes by burning dried animal manure. It’s time to discuss how that mythology arose and why it needs to be replaced with the truth. On any given topic, most people won’t listen to you unless you flash some credentials. I have two degrees, in statistical analysis and political science. Statistical analysis can be used to demolish left-wing mythology, masquerading as “science” in several areas — notably transgender ideology and climate...

Turkey has condemned Israel’s expansion of its occupation in Syria’s Golan Heights following the fall of the Baath regime. Both President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Foreign Ministry made statements criticizing Israel’s actions, which include entering the demilitarized buffer zone established by a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria. President Erdoğan criticized Israel’s actions during an address to ambassadors in Ankara late yesterday, saying, “Security cannot be achieved by shedding more blood and raining more bombs on innocent civilians. The Israeli government’s insistence on this path is, quite frankly, not a path at all. This applies not only to...

In an 82-page court filing made public Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors say Donald Trump's "history of malicious conduct" is too serious for his hush-money case to be dismissed. The filing, signed by DA Alvin Bragg, also fights Trump's claim that he enjoys something called presidential-elect immunity — above and beyond the presidential immunity bestowed on him by the US Supreme Court in June. "There are no grounds for such relief now, prior to inauguration," Bragg wrote in opposing Trump's 11th-hour motion to dismiss, "because President-elect immunity does not exist." With just six weeks left before his January 20 inauguration — and...

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) said Tuesday night that he was briefed by a U.S. Coast Guard commanding officer stationed in Ocean County about an incident last weekend during which a drone swarm pursued a vessel while out on patrol. ... Smith said, drones seemingly challenged one of the 47-foot Motor Life Boats operated by USCG Station Barnegat Light by flying in “close pursuit” of the vessel. “I was there on the beach and I talked to several people, including a commander from the Coast Guard who told me the night before – I was there last night – one...

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Despite what headlines often suggest, when it comes to tackling controversial issues on college campuses, the biggest challenge isn’t constraints on academic freedom. It’s not restrictions placed on free speech, high levels of self-censorship, or even a lack of civil discourse. To be clear, each of these is a genuine problem, but they share a root cause that we tend to ignore. Failing to understand this point will continue to stand in the way of any path to rebuilding trust in higher education. The shared root cause I’m referring to is something I call the Certainty Trap. And the easiest...

Gilman has been among the first independent schools in the region to dedicate roles to diversity and inclusion, create trustee committees to lead the work, and engage faculty, students, and parents in making Gilman an equitable and inclusive community.

Melbourne singleton Maddy Carty has doubled down on her controversial take that men should have to pay a first date deposit to put a stop to last minute cancellations on dating apps. 'If someone cancels a date within 24 hours, you should be able to charge a cancellation fee,' the 30-year-old said in a recent episode of her Mads World podcast. However, the proposal to pre-charge men $100 for a promised date resulted in swift backlash, with dozens of irate gents slamming the TikToker for her take on modern dating.

The Shawshank Redemption - The Sisters: Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) narrowly avoids getting raped by The Sisters. *STRONG LANGUAGE*

The Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua has now made its mark in 17 US states after at least one member was arrested in one of the smallest and most remote states in the US. Local cops in West Fargo, North Dakota, arrested Dallas-based suspected gang member Henry Theis, 25, early last month, according to local news reports. Police originally pulled over Theis for a broken taillight, but soon discovered more than $24,000 in cash he allegedly stole from a nearby bank, two facemasks, black latex gloves, wires and a computer keyboard, according to KXLG.

A Las Vegas convict who was seen in a viral video launching a “Superman style” attack on a judge earlier this year was sentenced to decades behind bars Tuesday – even as he bizarrely claimed to care about his victim’s well-being. Deobra Redden, 31, was hit with a prison term between 26 and 65 years nearly a year after he jumped over Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus’ bench and tackled her to the ground as court staff desperately tried to save her. Redden was charged with attempted murder following the vicious assault and pleaded guilty to the charge...