We talked about Disney having some rroubles yesterday. Well, they have more problems. Let’s talk about them.
Tensions between Iran and the United States are growing.
And California is about to implement a new law to protect children. No, no. They still want to cut the balls off your children and grandchildren.
News
Here is some news:
Chris Christie has suspended his presidential campaign… finally.
Nick Saben, coach of the Alabama college football team is retiring. He coached For 17 years and won 6 NCAA championships.
Two committees in the House of Representatives have voted to find Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress.
Iranian forces have seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, two U.S. military officials confirmed to Fox News on Thursday. The U.S. boarded this ship a while back and took one million barrels of Iranian oil. This is something to watch.
Dumbass of the Day
Whoopi on The View pleads with Liz Cheney to run third party claiming Trump wants to be dictator for life:
"If he ever gets in again we'll never have any more elections. There will be no more. He will stop it and he's very clear about that. He wants to be dictator for life!" pic.twitter.com/sOjFoyhK6j
WATCH: NYC Mayor Eric Adams on housing illegal aliens:
“It is my vision to take the next step to this — go to the faith-based locales and then move to a private residence. There are residents who are suffering right now because of economic challenges. They have spare rooms." pic.twitter.com/ZVy41liS9g
First, he wants to pay people with tax payer money to house illegal aliens. If it is excess money, shouldn’t he just give that money back if his people are struggling?
Finally, this is the beginning. Soon, they are going to force private residences to take people in. They’re going to start with churches.
She’s mad Safeway is closing in the Fillmore area in San Francisco. She mentions “Food justice.” I’ve heard of racial justice, restorative justice, economic justice but not food justice! Where is the accountability? pic.twitter.com/szT21zkZc0
A new horror movie featuring the “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse is currently in the works, per a Variety report.
Disney’s copyright to “Steamboat Willie” expired Monday, along with its right to the original versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, though the company still holds copyrights for more modern versions of these iconic characters. “Steamboat Willie” is an animated short from 1928 that is widely considered the debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters, however, Mickey doesn’t look the same as the modern versions of the cartoon. According to NPR, “he’s more rascally and rough.”
Independent filmmaker Steven LaMorte released a statement announcing his intentions to capitalize on this new development by making Mickey the main character in a horror flick.
“Steamboat Willie has brought joy to generations, but beneath that cheerful exterior lies a potential for pure, unhinged terror,” LaMorte said in a press release, per the outlet. “It’s a project I’ve been dreaming of, and I can’t wait to unleash this twisted take on this beloved character to the world.”
LaMorte also directed “The Mean One” (2022) a horror film starring the Dr. Seuss character The Grinch. The movie grossed $1 million in theaters.
Disney said in a statement last month the company would be diligent about protecting the copyright-protected version of Mickey Mouse.
“We will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright, and we will work to safeguard against consumer confusion caused by unauthorized uses of Mickey and our other iconic characters,” the company said.
This development is similar to what happened when the children’s storybook characters Winnie the Pooh and Piglet became public domain property last year. The horror film “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” featuring Pooh and Piglet as deranged serial killers was released last January to mixed reviews.
Universal overtook Disney to steal the top spot from the House of Mouse – largely thanks to big hits last year including “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Oppenheimer,” and “M3GAN,” per a Variety report. These and other projects brought in a collective $4.907 billion in worldwide ticket sales, pushing Disney to the second-place spot.
This is the first time Disney hasn’t been the highest-grossing studio since 2015.
Disney released 17 new films in 2023 earning the studio $4.827 billion globally. Those titles included “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and “The Little Mermaid” plus others.
Per Variety, the studio sent a memo blaming their fall from the top on releasing seven fewer movies than Universal did last year, which they used as an excuse for the $80 million revenue gap.
The publication noted that this past year was also the first time Disney didn’t have one of the top three movies and the first time since 2013, excluding pandemic years in 2020 and 2021, that the studio didn’t have any films cross the $1 billion threshold.
That’s significant considering that other studios put out $1 billion hits last year. There was Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” ($1.4 billion) and Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.3 billion). Universal also put out “Oppenheimer” during the summer blockbuster season, earning the studio $950 million and helping cement their place in the top spot.
Disney’s best-performing movie of the year was “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which brought in $845 million. Several of the studio’s efforts were box office disappointments, including “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “The Marvels,” and “Haunted Mansion.”
A Democrat-backed California bill banning contact football for youth under the age of 12 has passed in the State Assembly’s Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism.
Proponents of the bill argue safety concerns and the risk of traumatic brain injuries, while critics of the bill say it is discriminatory and tramples on parental rights.
Assembly Bill 734, authored by Democrat state Rep. Kevin McCarty, who serves in California’s 6th district around Sacramento, passed in the committee on Wednesday in a 5-2 vote.
The text of the bill reads: “On and after January 1, 2026” the bill would “prohibit a youth sports organization that conducts a tackle football program, or a youth tackle football league, from allowing a person younger than 12 years of age to be a youth tackle football participant through the organization or league.”
During the hearing, Rep. McCarty argued the need to impose a youth tackle football ban on the dangers of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the risk of suicide that follows the diagnosis. He brought in medical experts to provide testimony.
Nearly 2,000 migrants being sheltered in a tent shelter in New York City are being transferred to a nearby high school, where the students will have to pivot to remote learning due to the disruption it is causing – sparking outrage from residents and local politicians.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office said it is moving 1,900 migrants from the tent shelter at Floyd Bennett Field for safety reasons due to the incoming storms and potential high winds. According to the New York Daily News, Adams told reporters that it was being done out of an “overabundance of caution.”
“We want to make sure people are safe,” he said.
But it is controversially moving them to James Madison High School, which confirmed it was being used as a “temporary overnight respite center” and would be closed as a result on Wednesday — with students being forced to “pivot” to remote learning as a result.
In a statement, Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov called the move “unacceptable,” arguing that Floyd Bennett Field is “not a sustainable housing facility.”
“Our public schools are meant to be places of learning and growth for our children, and were never intended to be shelters or facilities for emergency housing,” she said.
NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, a Democrat, said that placing migrants at the Floyd Bennett Field “highlights the mismanagement and waste of money that is all-too-present in City Hall’s approach to shelter and services for asylum seekers.”
The New York Post reported how the move has infuriated parents of students at the school, with one woman screaming at buses as they arrived: “How does it feel that you kicked all the kids out of school tomorrow!”
Feminist director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy said “it’s about time” a woman shaped a “Star Wars” movie after being picked to head the next one from Disney.
The Pakistan-born filmmaker will head an upcoming untitled film set for a 2026 release that will follow the story of Rey Skywalker, a female Jedi Master, CNN reported. She is the first woman and the first person of color to direct a Star Wars movie.
Here is a story by CNN making the big and justice-filled announcement:
Disney hands over the $67 billion Star Wars franchise to a Pakistani feminist activist
Obaid-Chinoy on the new film she will be directing for the franchise:
"We're in 2024. It's about time we have a woman shape a story in a galaxy far, far away." pic.twitter.com/inhZHZrpHV
Star Wars was special. Disney has gone out of its way to destroy. Her hire doesn’t stop that.
Whenever someone is going to destroy something, they throw out the date.
Why a woman?
I want to point a couple of things out. This woman has only done feminist documentaries out of Pakistan and she’s only done two of them. She’s never directed anything like this.
Well, we have an answer to that. She gives it in an interview in the Women in the World conference. Let’s listen:
Here’s the feminist director of the next Star Wars film saying that her goal is to “make men uncomfortable.”
The truth is out there. Apparently it is at the Bayside Mall in Miami.
And California is a crap-hole. I have some more evidence!
Welcome to 2024!
This is such a dumb story, I wouldn’t even bring it up. But this happened to be the big story on social media and I thought this might be worth talking about.
The story goes a bunch of teens at a mall in Miami decided to get together on New Years evening. They started getting a little rowdy. They started shooting fireworks at the patrons and looting the stores. The police got word there was an active shooter at the mall and everyone deployed. It was a huge police presence. No one was killed or anything like that and the riot was disbursed.
That’s not the story. That’s what was reported. But why would you listen to what seems to be a reasonable story on the news when you have TikTok. Let’s listen to the version of the story that has everyone’s panties in a bunch for the last seven days on social media!
The police finally had to release a statement. (This cop looks like he’s laughing his ass off). Let’s listen:
JUST IN: Miami police have responded after theories spread online that 10-foot-tall aliens were spotted on New Year's Day which prompted a massive police response.
In one video frame from New Years, a tall figure appears to be walking around. The Miami police say this was… pic.twitter.com/tWVB6gzQ2Q
Really? Does this guy expect us to believe him? He’s the Man. He’s part of the system. He’s part of the big lie. The coverup. The TikTok folk know what’s going on.
Listen folks, the truth is out there. It’s at the Bayside Mall in Miami.
The law allows victims to revive claims that would otherwise be barred from the legal process due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
“The purpose is to give alleged victims a second bite at the apple, with an opportunity to pursue claims that they were not in a position to pursue or failed to pursue before the legal timeline for doing so expired,” Ethan Krasnoo, Partner at Reavis Page Jump LLP, explained to Fox News Digital.
“Sexual assault and abuse are two of the most underreported crimes,” personal injury lawyer and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital. “Victims can feel ashamed and may not want to relive their trauma at a very public trial. They may also feel that the public and a jury won’t believe them if it’s a ‘he said, she said’ situation.
“But the pressure of filing a lawsuit or losing the opportunity altogether can motivate victims to contact a lawyer. And once a perpetrator has been named, that can empower other victims to come forward. That’s what #MeToo was all about.”
Be Carful What You Wish For
According to the Post Millennial:
It has been revealed that sex changes and hormone therapy will be included in the healthcare coverage offered to illegal immigrants in California. As of January 1, everyone, regardless of whether they entered the country via legal means, will qualify for Medi-Cal, the state‘s public health insurance program. This program had typically been reserved for low-income individuals, families with children, seniors, persons with disabilities, people in foster care, pregnant women, and low-income people with diseases such as tuberculosis, cancer, or HIV/AIDS.
Prior to the new rules, illegal immigrants were only able to access emergency and pregnancy-related care, however surgical and non-surgical procedures that “bring primary and secondary gender characteristics into conformity with the individual’s identified gender, including ancillary services, such as hair removal” are now covered as well.
According to the Daily Caller, a state memo regarding Medi-Cal stipulated that “gender-affirming care” is a covered benefit only “when medically necessary.”
“Requests for gender-affirming care,” it added, “should be from specialists experienced in providing culturally competent care to transgender and gender diverse individuals and should use nationally recognized guidelines.”
The decision to include illegal immigrants in Medi-Cal was made in May of last year. State Sen. Maria Elena Durazo called it a “historic investment” that “speaks to California’s commitment to health care as a human right.”
“In California, we believe everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care coverage – regardless of income or immigration status,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said in a statement to ABC News at the time. “Through this expansion, we’re making sure families and communities across California are healthier, stronger, and able to get the care they need when they need it.”
Taylor Swift’s camp is reportedly fuming after the New York Times published an opinion piece earlier this week speculating about the Grammy winner’s sexuality.
“There seems to be no boundary some journalists won’t cross when writing about Taylor, regardless of how invasive, untrue, and inappropriate it is – all under the protective veil of an ‘opinion piece,’” a source told CNN Business Saturday.
“Because of her massive success, in this moment there is a Taylor-shaped hole in people’s ethics,” they added.
The insider emphasized that the Times op-ed — which proposes Swift has been dropping hints about being queer throughout her career — would not “have been allowed to be written about Shawn Mendes or any male artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans.”
The lengthy op-ed, published Thursday, compiles a laundry list of what the writer labels as “evidence” that allegedly proves the “Blank Space” singer is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Taylor Swift’s team reportedly slammed the New York Times for publishing an opinion article speculating on Taylor Swift’s sexuality. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Anna Marks suggests Swift “dropped hairpins,” a slang term for letting others know you are queer, by dying her hair the colors of the bisexual flag in her music video “You Need To Calm Down,” for instance.
“In isolation, a single dropped hairpin is perhaps meaningless or accidental, but considered together, they’re the unfurling of a ballerina bun after a long performance,” the author writes.
“Those dropped hairpins began to appear in Ms. Swift’s artistry long before queer identity was undeniably marketable to mainstream America. They suggest to queer people that she is one of us.”
The mandate extends to the 11 hospitals, 30 health centers and five long-term care facilities run by NYC Health + Hospitals.
The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, said Wednesday masks will only be required in areas where patients are being treated, according to local ABC News affiliate ABC 7 NY.
Vasan said hospitals have been handling the recent rise in patients well and none are currently overwhelmed, but that the mandate will help protect staff from getting sick.
Data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shows the seven-day average of COVID-19 hospitalizations has declined from 106 on Dec. 20 to 50 on Dec. 25, although this may be due to reporting delays over the holidays.
Some things:
There are 14 million people in New York states and 8 million in New York City.
Infections put 2400 people in the hospital in the state, 696 in the city.
Mind you, this is also flu.
That’s less than 1/2 percent of people being put into the hospital.
Democrats keep going to the same playbook when it comes to accusing Trump of things. Here’s the problem, they are running out of tragedies to abuse him of.
Another member of Joe’s cabinet disappears and no one notices.
And there was another mass shooting you’ll hear nothing about.
Dumbass of the Day
AOC has a brilliant solution for the migrant crisis: let everyone in and make them citizens immediately. Boom! pic.twitter.com/Odf2KJ0pMk
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) blamed former President Donald Trump for the 2015 shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina by a white supremacist who has since been sentenced to death for murdering nine African-Americans during the attack.
Clyburn made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” while discussing President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to the state.
WILD: A historically illiterate Democrat Rep. Jim Clyburn says Donald Trump — who wouldn't become president for another 18 months — is to blame for the horrific 2015 shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston… pic.twitter.com/wlD4MWzXtI
Defense officials told CNN that Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks and other top brass did not learn about what happened to Austin until Thursday, three days after the defense secretary was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
As noted by CNN, the Department of Defense (DoD) said Hicks assumed “certain operational responsibilities that require constant secure communications capabilities” on Tuesday. At the time, Hicks had already begun a vacation in Puerto Rico, and though the report said the deputy planned to return to Washington, D.C., on Friday, she opted to stay put because Austin was expected to resume his duties from the hospital.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told the news outlet that it is “not uncommon” for the defense secretary to delegate certain responsibilities without explanation, and Hicks made “some routine operational and management decisions” over the past week. Ryder also emphasized that Austin “has no plans to resign.”
The DoD shocked the Pentagon press corps, lawmakers, and even reportedly White House officials on Thursday when it spread the word that Austin had been hospitalized on Monday evening for what the agency has described as “complications following a recent elective medical procedure.” By then, according to the statement, Austin was “recovering well” and expected to resume his full duties.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken — in the Biden administration's first public comments on the scandal — says he "wasn't aware" Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was incapacitated for much of last week pic.twitter.com/LJrrtRXf76
“I want to thank the amazing doctors and nursing staff at Walter Reed for the exceptional care they have delivered to me and for the personal warmth they have shown my family. I also appreciate all the outreach and well wishes from colleagues and friends. Charlene and I are very grateful for your support.
“I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon. I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better. But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
Mainstream media has shifted the narrative surrounding the Iowa High School shooting suspect, suggesting that the lone gunman, Dylan Butler, who identifies as “genderfluid,” carried out the attack because he had been “relentlessly” bullied since childhood.
Dylan Butler, 17, who used he/they pronouns before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he had shot and killed a sixth-grade boy and injured five others during a mass shooting at Perry High School in Iowa on Thursday, was reportedly “hurting” from the “bullying” and got tired of the “harassment,” classmates told the Associated Press.
Classmates Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, alleged that Butler had been a victim of bullying since elementary school, which recently escalated when his younger sister also started getting bullied. They claimed Butler had reached the “last straw,” suggesting that it was the reason behind why he killed and injured innocent students.
“He was hurting. He got tired. He got tired of the bullying. He got tired of the harassment,” said Roeder.
“Was it a smart idea to shoot up the school? No. God, no,” she added.
Police are still investigating a motive and are looking into “a number of social media posts” that Butler had posted around the time of the shooting.
Claudine Gay releases an op-ed with the New York Times. Well, we think she wrote it. Who knows? Let’s go through it.
And Joe Biden breaks another record he is proud of.
Congrats Joe! A New Record!
Joe Biden just keeps breaking records and he did it again! He’s going to be proud of this one when he gets back from his vacation in the Virgin Islands and hears about it.
According to the Post Millennial:
It has been revealed that agents at the southern border recorded over 300,000 encounters with migrants in December, smashing the previous monthly record of 269,735, which was set in September.
Every month of Fiscal Year 2024 has thus far outpaced FY2023 as the crisis at the southern border shows no signs of letting up.
According to Fox News, sources familiar with the data collected by Customs and Border Protection confirmed that 302,000 encounters were recorded in December, though the numbers have not yet been released to the public.
There is another caravan of 8000 on its way. Question, where are these people getting the resources to get up here?
Greg Abbot is doing everything he can to stem the tide.
He has called in the National Guard. The federal government sued.
He put up storage containers as a make shift wall. The federal government sued.
He set of flotillas to block the Rio Grande. The federal government sued.
He set up barbed wire. The federal government sued.
He is sending illegals to blue cities. The federal government is suing.
He has made it a state crime to be an illegal alien. The federal government is suing.
New York mayor, Eric Adams, is doing anything he can to stem the tide of illegal aliens entering his city from Texas. It turns in130,000 illegal aliens (which is less than half of what Texas takes in per month) with no skills and the inability to speak English is not real positive on an economy.
Adams decided to require a 32 hour warning of when a bus full of illegals is headed to his city. If a bus cam without warning, the bus company would be fined. Well, Texas governor, Greg Abbot can handle that little challenge. He is now sending the illegals to New Jersey where they are being put on trains and shipped to New York that way. The New Jersey leadership is communicating with New York City but they don’t know what to do.
High school social studies teacher and Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson has a way to solve the problem. Call Greg Abbott a racist. You know, that’s never been done before.
Here he is making another non-sensical statement:
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) on Gov. @GregAbbott_TX sending illegal immigrants to blue sanctuary cities: "We cannot have a governor who decides that he's going to cling to the vestiges of Jefferson Davis" pic.twitter.com/0LHDXapqMe
I have a couple of little issues with this statement:
I’m not seeing the parallel between the succession of southern states and the Civil War and illegal immigration. Of course, CBS doesn’t ask him that question.
Second, when did it become Greg Abbott’s problem to make sure illegal aliens get vaccinated? Isn’t that the federal government’s problem. Shouldn’t Mr. Johnson be bitching at Joe Biden? He’s in charge of these people.
Where is the outrage when Biden is sending these illegals to Chicago, New York City and Washington DC? Joe Biden has been doing that since he started this disaster.
But I have one other question, and it’s an important one. Why is it when Greg Abbott bitches about not having the resources to deal with this and the federal government should do something, he gets demonized. Yet democrats are doing the same thing, but blaming Abbott. They’re all bitching about the same thing but Abbott is getting called a monster and racist.
A Florida woman is suing Hershey after she says she was deceived by the chocolate brand’s packaging of its holiday-themed items.
In a proposed federal class action lawsuit filed on Thursday, Dec. 28, plaintiff Cynthia Kelly of Hillsborough County, Florida stated she was filing on “behalf of herself and all other similarly situated individuals who purchased a Reese’s Peanut Butter product based on false and deceptive advertising.”
“Hershey’s labels for the Products are materially misleading and numerous consumers have been tricked and misled by the pictures on the Products’ packaging,” said the lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
These products include “Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins, Reese’s White Pumpkins, Reese’s Pieces Pumpkins, Reese’s Peanut Butter Ghost, Reese’s White Ghost, Reese’s Peanut Butter Bats, Reese’s Peanut Butter Footballs, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Shapes Assortment Snowmen Stockings Bells,” says the suit.
The Hershey Company, said Kelly, is “falsely representing several Reese’s Peanut Butter products as containing explicit carved out artistic designs when there are no such carvings in the actual products.”
The lawsuit specifically cites the packaging for Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins.
On the packaging, the chocolate item has a carved-out face, but the actual item does not have any carvings, facial features or otherwise.
Some things:
She is suing for $5 million.
She will get something. It is cheaper for Hershey to settle than go to court.
This will pave the way for more worthless lawsuits.
This is where our civil laws need to change. We need to make it that people bringing frivolous lawsuits have to pay when they lose.
According to Claudine Gay through the New York Times:
On Tuesday, I made the wrenching but necessary decision to resign as Harvard’s president. For weeks, both I and the institution to which I’ve devoted my professional life have been under attack. My character and intelligence have been impugned. My commitment to fighting antisemitism has been questioned. My inbox has been flooded with invective, including death threats. I’ve been called the N-word more times than I care to count.
Everything here is absolutely correct. Except the death threats. I doubt that’s happening too much, if at all.
My hope is that by stepping down I will deny demagogues the opportunity to further weaponize my presidency in their campaign to undermine the ideals animating Harvard since its founding: excellence, openness, independence, truth.
Nope, probably not going to happen. She is a symptom of the illness that Harvard has. She is not the illness.
And, of course, she goes out an insults any criticism using the term “demagogues.” She’s not going to take any responsibility here.
As I depart, I must offer a few words of warning. The campaign against me was about more than one university and one leader. This was merely a single skirmish in a broader war to unravel public faith in pillars of American society. Campaigns of this kind often start with attacks on education and expertise, because these are the tools that best equip communities to see through propaganda. But such campaigns don’t end there. Trusted institutions of all types — from public health agencies to news organizations — will continue to fall victim to coordinated attempts to undermine their legitimacy and ruin their leaders’ credibility. For the opportunists driving cynicism about our institutions, no single victory or toppled leader exhausts their zeal.
This is a pure example of decrying something that you’re actually doing.
This institution is pushing Leftist propaganda such as diversity.
This institution is suppressing free speech and the forum of ideas and debate.
Look at what is happening with the Jews there.
But, when Claudine Gay, they are after her competence and the school’s thought process as to why they hired her.
It is the ideology that kept this woman hired and making a ton of money that people are questioning.
Yes, I made mistakes. In my initial response to the atrocities of Oct. 7, I should have stated more forcefully what all people of good conscience know: Hamas is a terrorist organization that seeks to eradicate the Jewish state. And at a congressional hearing last month, I fell into a well-laid trap. I neglected to clearly articulate that calls for the genocide of Jewish people are abhorrent and unacceptable and that I would use every tool at my disposal to protect students from that kind of hate.
OK, she admits she said the wrong thing. Fine. Fix your statement and move on.
But that’s not what the complaint is about. The complaint is what she was doing about it. She was doing nothing. She supported the anti-Semites to the point she turned her back when they called for genocide. By the way, that’s a Harvard problem. The entire institution thinks calls for the genocide of the Jews is fine.
Most recently, the attacks have focused on my scholarship. My critics found instances in my academic writings where some material duplicated other scholars’ language, without proper attribution. I believe all scholars deserve full and appropriate credit for their work. When I learned of these errors, I promptly requested corrections from the journals in which the flagged articles were published, consistent with how I have seen similar faculty cases handled at Harvard.
I have never misrepresented my research findings, nor have I ever claimed credit for the research of others. Moreover, the citation errors should not obscure a fundamental truth: I proudly stand by my work and its impact on the field.
Yeah, she cheated. Easily proven after the review.
She should put “my scholarship” in quotes because it is the lack of her scholarship that’s the problem. And her entire career. Over 50 documents have been found with plagiarized material including her doctoral dissertation. Not only should she not have a job, she should not have her titles and their benefits. She cheated.
Despite the obsessive scrutiny of my peer-reviewed writings, few have commented on the substance of my scholarship, which focuses on the significance of minority office holding in American politics. My research marshaled concrete evidence to show that when historically marginalized communities gain a meaningful voice in the halls of power, it signals an open door where before many saw only barriers. And that, in turn, strengthens our democracy.
Throughout this work, I asked questions that had not been asked, used then-cutting-edge quantitative research methods and established a new understanding of representation in American politics. This work was published in the nation’s top political science journals and spawned important research by other scholars.
A few things here:
The “peer review” thing. That is another big question. Why didn’t your “peers” catch this? Or did they and they just ignored it.
Are her “peers” not as smart as the journalist from a state school that found the discrepancies? Or did her “peers” ignore the discrepancies because of her race?
Let’s face it, the Harvard newspaper has multiple people, experts, that say there is plagiarism.
By the way, she and no one else is denying it directly.
What she is saying is ignore the plagiarism and look at the shiny bauble (the subject).
Never did I imagine needing to defend decades-old and broadly respected research, but the past several weeks have laid waste to truth. Those who had relentlessly campaigned to oust me since the fall often trafficked in lies and ad hominem insults, not reasoned argument. They recycled tired racial stereotypes about Black talent and temperament. They pushed a false narrative of indifference and incompetence.
Why didn’t she think she was going to face consequences for cheating? Is it because she’s black? Would a white person have to face consequences?
We know they would. The last two white men were fired for far less.
It is not lost on me that I make an ideal canvas for projecting every anxiety about the generational and demographic changes unfolding on American campuses: a Black woman selected to lead a storied institution. Someone who views diversity as a source of institutional strength and dynamism. Someone who has advocated a modern curriculum that spans from the frontier of quantum science to the long-neglected history of Asian Americans. Someone who believes that a daughter of Haitian immigrants has something to offer to the nation’s oldest university.
Here we go!
I still believe that. As I return to teaching and scholarship, I will continue to champion access and opportunity, and I will bring to my work the virtue I discussed in the speech I delivered at my presidential inauguration: courage. Because it is courage that has buoyed me throughout my career and it is courage that is needed to stand up to those who seek to undermine what makes universities unique in American life.
She shouldn’t be teaching anymore. She should be fired and thrown out of the entire profession. She cheated. Her scholarship is a lie.
And then there is the whole courage-thing. Not only should we ignore she cheated and is a liar, we should view her as brave. Hey, news flash, being anti-racist and a champion for diversity in major colleges is not a brave thing. That’s all these colleges push. Being brave would be to exclaim the issues with anti-racism and diversity. If you do that, you will be fired and drummed out of the profession! That’s bravery!
Having now seen how quickly the truth can become a casualty amid controversy, I’d urge a broader caution: At tense moments, every one of us must be more skeptical than ever of the loudest and most extreme voices in our culture, however well organized or well connected they might be. Too often they are pursuing self-serving agendas that should be met with more questions and less credulity.
College campuses in our country must remain places where students can learn, share and grow together, not spaces where proxy battles and political grandstanding take root. Universities must remain independent venues where courage and reason unite to advance truth, no matter what forces set against them.
There you have it.
It’s not that she promotes anti-Semitism or cheated to get her degrees or never came up with an original thought and just used the thoughts of others. It’s just that she’s a victim of the diversity war because she’s a black woman.
What about the New York Times editorial board? They didn’t think to ask her to address some of these questions? Of course not. They even shut down the comments section.
I have just finished a book you must read. It applies to one of yesterday’s stories.
One of the Left’s culture warriors has been given the hook for misdeeds and the media is flipping out.
And Maine goes out to save democracy by implementing fascism.
Dumbass of the Day
This dumbass of the day is also the first story.
Embattled Harvard University president, Claudine Gay, has finally decided to resign. This comes after she refused to condemn the calls for the genocide of Jews on Harvard’s campus and she was found to have plagiarized over 50 different different essays she wrote as a student including her doctorate dissertation.
She released a statement:
“It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president. This is not a decision I came to easily. Indeed, it has been difficult beyond words because I have looked forward to working with so many of you to advance the commitment to academic excellence that has propelled this great university across centuries. But, after consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.
“Amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor — two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am — and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.”
There we go. It’s racism. Greg Gutfeld made a great point. “It wasn’t racism that got her fired. It was racism that got her hired.” She was a diversity hire. She was not the highest quality candidate to run that university. She had never written a book and only published 11 articles in 25 years. You don’t get tenure without publishing a book much less become president of Harvard university.
It was also her race that kept her in Harvard. Do you think Harvard didn’t know this stuff was plagiarized? Professors have programs that analyze this stuff and typically use them before even reading a paper. Student at Harvard had said that no regular student would have stood a chance if they were caught plagiarizing.
I also want you to notice what is missing from her statement. There was no admission of guilt and no apology. This broad thinks this was all a lynching because she’s black and she did absolutely nothing wrong. Heck, Harvard doesn’t think she did anything wrong either. She resigned, she wasn’t fires. She’s still on the staff.
By the way, she still will be making $900K a year.
The media is really pushing her as a victim. That’s because the view that she was hired only because she was a black woman and not because she was qualified puts the spotlight on the failure of the diversity initiatives.
Here is some broad on MSNBC pointing this out:
NYT's Mara Gay on Claudine Gay resigning:
"This is an attack on diversity. This is an attack on multiculturalism. I don’t have to say that they’re racist, because you can hear and see the racism in the attacks" pic.twitter.com/00qkpDmEAl
Again, the plagiarism isn’t the problem. It’s that somebody caught it.
Scalping was a Native American thing. The Indians did the scalping, not the “white colonists”.
I want to point out that Ibram X Kendi wouldn’t be anything if he weren’t black and a race baiter. He’s also being investigated for misappropriation of funds. So expect this crap to come up again when he gets accused again.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Friday defended her decision to bar former President Donald Trump from the ballot, telling POLITICO that he simply did not meet the constitutional requirements for holding high office.
Bellows’s decision this week to eject Trump — on the grounds that he engaged in insurrection, violating the 14th Amendment — intensified an already roaring legal debate over his eligibility to run for the presidency and added pressure on the Supreme Court to adjudicate the matter.
Speaking with POLITICO, Bellows, a Democrat, cast her ruling as a matter of fulfilling her basic responsibilities as the state’s chief election official: “I do not have the discretion to choose, or decline to do, my duty,” she said.
Bellows said state law requires her to make the call on candidates’ eligibility to run for office all the time — and this decision, while much more high profile, fell within that parameter.
“The legislature did not write into the law an exception for complexity or difficult natures of interpretation,” Bellows said. “They didn’t say enforce all of the constitutional qualifications except for the ones that are difficult or complex.”
Bellows likened blocking Trump from the ballot to rejecting candidates who do not meet other prerequisites, like the constitutional requirement that the president be at least 35 years old.
Mind you, she did this unilaterally. No one had anything to do with this, including the governor. Here she is, explaining her decision:
Trump has never been prosecuted or accused of insurrection.
The laws on the books for insurrection are vague and really apply to the Civil War.
Trump was also President at the time.
With all that said, the 14th Amendment doesn’t apply.
A court needs to decide this, not her. Where’s the checks and balances if ONE person can make this type of decision.
This is unconstitutional anyway.
BREAKING: Sheena Bellows admits it is a group of ACLU and SPLC alumni working together to remove Trump from the ballots in key states pic.twitter.com/1mnJPBCFUJ
In other words, she is the great leader we need to avoid election sabotage and voter suppression to save democracy. See how that works? She’s not sabotaging the election or suppressing the vote, she’s making sure you only have great leaders to vote for and getting rid of the ones she thinks aren’t great because the will interfere with the elections.
Let’s forget, for a second, the twisted logic. Left is right and right is left. 2+2=5, that kind of Satanic reasoning that created gulags and misery of the past. Let’s forget that she wants to suppress democracy to save democracy. Let’s forget that she thinks the people are too stupid to vote for who they think should be president. This is pure corruption, communism and dictatorship. This tells us this election is going to be rigged.
The Washington Post has come up with a list of stuff we should be thankful during 2023. You’ll be absolutely shocked to hear it is a really stupid list.
And Republicans have every opportunity to take over the country this year. Th problem is they working so hard to lose it. Let me give you an example.
Egg prices are back to $2 a dozen – Remember eggmania, when prices soared over $4? (In California, prices were over $7!) Well, inflation cooled, and the avian flu receded, and eggs are affordable again.
The gender pay gap hit an all-time low – American women working full time still earn just 84 cents for every $1 men earn, but that is up from 78 cents a decade ago. Women surged back into the labor force after the pandemic — and into higher-paying jobs.
The hole in the ozone layer is shrinking –
It sure got close, but Congress reached a compromise on the debt ceiling and the 2024 budget that avoided a partial government shutdown (for now).
The pandemic officially ended on May 5 – That was the day the World Health Organization said it no longer classifies the coronavirus as a global public health emergency. Phew.
CRISPR gene editing treatments are here – In December, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first commercially available treatment in the United States based on this promising gene-editing technique. This one will be used to treat sickle cell disease, but researchers will likely use CRISPR to fight a plethora of illnesses.
Taylor Swift and Beyoncé were everywhere – And it was great for the nation, the National Football League and the economy. Beyoncé made everyone want to wear silver, while Ms. Swift literally made the ground shake.
Kelvin Kiptum ran a 2-hour marathon – The Kenyan runner set a new official record — just 2 hours and 35 seconds — at the Chicago marathon in October.
President Biden and Xi Jinping met face to face – It was the handshake seen around the world. Leaders of the world’s two biggest powers met in San Francisco in November — and made small breakthroughs. They won’t be friends, but they looked like colleagues.
Climate-conscious eating took off – Diners are increasingly looking for ways to make meals that are good for the body and the planet. Call them “climatarians” or “climavores.”
Gymnast Simone Biles is back and better than ever – Often considered the GOAT (greatest of all time), Ms. Biles dominated the 2023 world championships, became the most decorated gymnast ever, and even got a new vault named after her (“The Biles II”) that is so hard almost no one else — male or female — can do it.
The California drought is over – Thanks to lots of snow and a tropical storm, the state’s water reservoirs are full again. It marks the first time California is drought-free in years.
A banking crisis was avoided – Timely and well-designed federal interventioncontained Silicon Valley Bank’s dramatic collapse.
Americans are traveling again – The year saw the number of air passengers — both domestically and worldwide — top pre-pandemic levels. And this holiday season is on track to be the second-highest for travel ever. Let the adventures begin.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has vetoed Ohio House Bill 68, which is comprised of two acts: the “Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act,” which would ban transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming medical care, and the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which would prevent transgender girls from taking part in girls’ and women’s sports.
Here is what he had to say about that:
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s statement on the veto was incredible (see clipped video):
“Were Ohio to pass HB68, it would be saying that the state knows better, what is medically best for their child, than the two people who love that child the most: their parents.” pic.twitter.com/00KxU96wSw
“Kids will commit suicide,” is a common talking point with the LGBTQ-poop emoji cult. It is a bullshit talking point. There is no evidence of it. Where there is evidence is that 40% of sexually confused children are suicidal and 90% of the confused kids get unconfused by 17 or 18 (Chloe Cole is an example of this). The DSM points this out.
The article continues:
He announced that he agreed with several concerns from the legislature and will draft rules for gender-affirming care moving forward — including bans on surgeries for minors, reporting and data collection on those who receive care, as well as restrictions on “pop-up clinics” that serve the transgender community.
At least 20 states have implemented restrictions on access to gender-affirming care, many of which have faced legal challenges. A law in Arkansas was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge and several laws have been blocked while the cases are tried.
Ohio’s bill could still go into effect if 60% of the state legislature votes to override the governor’s veto.
He announced the decision on the last of 10 days he had to sign or strike down the bill once it reached his desk, using the time to speak to those who would be impacted by the restrictions on the transgender community.
When asked if he had thoughts on the sports restrictions in the bill, DeWine said he “focused on the part of the bill that I thought affected the most people and the most children by far,” referring to the gender-affirming care portion of the bill.
This is either cowardice, stupidity or both. This is why Republicans lose. Take a position and stand by it.
Now we have another joy of life that progressives are targeting in the name of combating global warming: Christmas gifts. Many progressives have long opposed giving Christmas gifts in the name of combating “consumerism” (to be fair, some religious conservatives share that ascetic view). But climate change will soon constitute the greater moral reason.
In the Daily Mail this week, a woman wrote an article making this case.
“Last year,” she wrote, “surrounded by wrapping paper and abandoned gifts, I suggested to my husband Chris that next time we shouldn’t buy anything — for each other or the children.
“Not buying anything for my husband is trivial because he can buy for himself. But not buying presents for our two girls, aged six and three, is a trickier proposition…
“We’re increasingly aware of the global impact of our purchases. Everything we buy the kids will go into landfill…
“With the planet on fire and plastics everywhere it seems like we are at a moment of reckoning and have been for some time…
“I’ve forced this rule on the family, telling my mother, in-laws and the brothers and sisters not to buy the girls anything.
“My sister was appalled and very cross that she will be thought of as the mean old aunt. Just because I want to strip the joy out of Christmas, why should she have to?”
This woman’s article encapsulates much of the darkness the Left represents and creates.
A church in Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus, is receiving attention for its decision to redesign its Christmas nativity scene to reflect the impact of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Just weeks before Christmas, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, located in the West Bank, unveiled a new display of the nativity scene that shows baby Jesus lying in a manger amid rubble. The imagery symbolizes the destroyed Palestinian communities in Gaza and the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terror group, a church official said.
“Church families met last week and built it together. It was a moving experience for our families. During the service on Sunday, some people were in tears,” Reverend Doctor Munther Isaac, the church’s pastor, told The New Arab. “We are pleased our message has reached the world. This is what Christmas looks like in Palestine this year, the origin of Christmas.”
Bethlehem is historically recognized as the birthplace of Jesus and his birth is celebrated by Christians and others on Christmas, Dec. 25. The nativity scene often depicts Jesus as a baby, alongside his mother Mary, often regarded by Catholics as a saint; as well as his father Joseph, wise men and their respective gifts, shepherds, angels and various animals, including donkeys and sheep.
I have some problems:
The baby in the rubble is representing people who want to kill Jews.
Jesus was Jewish.
Palestine was a Roman territory taken from the Jews by the Romans. They were the same people who killed Jesus.
The Romans were the colonizers.
The Romans enslaved the Jews.
This is pure blasphemy in order to adhere to Leftist ideology. I know this is the Lutheran church which is a very Leftist church, but the Catholic church under Pope Francis is migrating to this level.
I Wonder If They’s Do This with Ramadan Decorations?
According to the Post Millennial:
On Friday, bus drivers with the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District in Delaware County, Pennsylvania were informed that they had to remove any Christmas-themed decorations on their buses and were prohibited from wearing clothing referring to any religious holiday.
A memo sent to all Drivers and Aides that was obtained by Fox 29 stated that the district “has been receiving complaints from parents concerning District employees displaying ‘Christmas’ themed decorations and/or wearing clothing of the same nature.”
“If you have decorated your bus with anything specific to the Christmas holiday or any other decorations relating to a specific religion, please remove them immediately,” it continued. “In addition, employees are instructed not to wear clothing related to Christmas or any other religious holiday.”
The memo notes at the end that the policy is not specific to one department, but that “it applies to all District employees.”
After the memo was posted to social media, users slammed the district for its policy. Parents rights advocate Meg Brock asked, “Did they also tell them not to Smile?”
Over the past few years, the Supreme Court has been steadily busting holes in the wall between church and state, particularly where that wall runs past the school yard. Now a flap over a satanic display in the Iowa state capitol shows the dangers that arise when the wall is destroyed.
But proposed solutions are a reminder of why the wall was there in the first place.
Rep. Brad Sherman wants to see “clarifying legislation” to be adopted that will make it clear that satanic displays are prohibited in the capitol and other state-owned property. He would also like to see legislation adopted make it legal to display the Ten Commandments in government buildings and public schools.
In other words, he would like to see legislation explaining which religions the state of Iowa endorses and which it opposes.
GOP candidate Ron DeSantis went one step further. In trying to pin the controversy on the Trump administration, in a CNN town hall with Jake Tapper, DeSantis pointed to the IRS ruling that gave the Satanic Temple “a legal leg to stand on.” He added that this was not “the religion that the founding fathers were trying to create.” After Tapper clarified that the IRS did grant status, but that doesn’t mean that they support it, DeSantis replies:
Yeah, exactly, but they recognized it as a religion because otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to do it. I don’t think that was the right decision. We’re going to recognize Satan as a religion? That’s wrong.
In other words, DeSantis saw a role for the federal government in deciding which religions are “legitimate” and which are not.
This is an inevitable result of tearing down the wall between church and state. Oklahoma has advanced the idea of a religious public charter school funded by the state but pursuing the mission of the church. Supporters seem to imagine that this will only ever mean taxpayer funding for Christian religious schools, but the inevitable result would be a wide variety of religions lining up for a chance at government funding for their religious school. Who will decide which religions are “legitimate” and deserving of taxpayer funding?
Advocates of public funding for religious schools may point at the Satanic Templer and say, “Well, obviously not them!” But there is nothing obvious about it. One need not search hard to find antisemitic or anti-Islamic sentiment in this country, and one can still find a strain of Protestants who believe that the Vatican is the “whore of Babylon” of the Book of Revelations.
If the state or federal governments decide that religious schools should receive taxpayer dollars, who exactly will decide where the line is drawn? The situation in Iowa shows as that some people are more than willing to step in to draw that line, serving as a reminder of that old saying—when you mix religion and politics, you get politics.
When I was asked to write a Christmas sermon for pagans, I accepted the job light-heartedly enough, but now that I sit down to tackle it, I discover a difficulty: are there any pagans in England for me to write to? I know that people keep on telling us that this country is relapsing into paganism; but they only mean that it is ceasing to be Christian, and is that at all the same thing?
Let us remember what a pagan or heathen (I use the words interchangably) really was. A heathen was a man who lived out on the heath, out in the wilds. A pagan was a man who lived in a “pagus” or small village. Both words in fact meant a rustic or yokel. They date from the time when the larger towns of the Roman Empire were already Christianised, but the old nature religions still lingered in the country. Pagans or heathens were the backward people in the remote districts who had not yet been converted, who were still pre-Christians. To say that modern people who have drifted away from Christianity are pagans is to suggest that a post-Christian man is the same as a pre-Christian man. But that is like thinking that a woman who has lost her husband is the same sort of person as an unmarried girl. Or that a street where the houses have been knocked down is the same as a field where no house has yet been built.
The ruined street and the unbuilt field are alike in one respect, namely that neither will keep you dry if it rains, but they are different in every other respect: rubble, dust, broken bottles, old bedsteads, and stray cats are very different from grass, thyme, clover, buttercups, and the lark singing overhead.
The real pagan differed from the post-Christian in the following ways. Firstly, he was religious. From the Christian point of view, he was indeed too religious by half. He was full of reverence. For him the earth was holy, the woods and waters were alive. His agriculture was a ritual as well as a technique. And secondly, he believed in what we now call “an objective right and wrong”. That is, he thought the distinction between pious and impious acts was something that existed independently of human opinions: something like the multiplication table, which man had not invented, but had found to be true, and which he had better take notice of. The gods would punish him if he did not.
To be sure, by Christian standards his list of right and wrong acts was rather a muddled one. He thought (and the Christians agreed) that the gods would punish him for setting the dogs on a beggar who came to his door, or for striking his father. But he also thought they would punish him for turning his face to the wrong point of the compass when he began ploughing. Though his code included some fantastic sins and duties, it got in most of the real ones.
This leads us to the third great difference between a pagan and a post-Christian man. Believing in a real right and wrong means finding out that you are not very good. The pagan code may have been on some points a low one, but it was too high for the pagan to live up to. Hence a pagan, though in many ways merrier than a modern, had a deep sadness. When he asked himself what was wrong with the world, he did not immediately reply “the social system” or “our allies” or “education”. It occurred to him that he – himself – might be one of the things that was wrong with the world. He knew he had sinned. And the terrible thing was he thought the gods made no difference between voluntary and involuntary sins. You might get into their bad books by mere accident. And once in, it was very hard to get out of them. The pagan dealt with this situation in a rather silly way. His religion was a mass of ceremonies, sacrifices, purifications, et cetera, which were supposed to take away guilt, but they never quite succeeded. His conscience was not at ease.
Now, the post-Christian view which is gradually coming into existence (it is complete already in some people, and still incomplete in others) is quite different. According to it, nature is not a living thing to be reverenced. It is a kind of machine for us to exploit. There is no objective right or wrong. Each race or class can invent its own code or ideology just as it pleases. And whatever may be amiss with the world, it is certainly not we the ordinary people. It is up to God, if after all he should happen to exist, or to government, or to education, to give us what we want. They are the shop, we are the customer, and the customer is always right.
Now if the post-Christian view is the correct one then we have indeed woken from a nightmare. The old fear, the old reverence, the old restraints… how delightful to have woken up into freedom, to be responsible to no one, to be utterly and absolutely our own masters! We have, of course, lost some fun. A universe of colourless electrons (which is presently going to run down and annihilate all organic life everywhere and forever) is, perhaps, a little dreary compared with the earth-mother and the sky-father, the wood nymphs and the water nymphs, chaste Diana riding the night sky and homely Vesta flickering on the hearth. But one can’t have everything, and there are always the flicks and the radio: if the new view is correct, it has very solid advantages.
But is it? And if so, why are things not going better? What do you make of the present threat of world famine? We know now it is not entirely due to the war. From country after country comes the same story of failing harvests. Even the whales have less oil. Can it be that nature, or something behind nature, is not simply a machine that we can do what we like with? That she is hitting back? Waive the point. Suppose she is only a machine, and that we are free to master her at our pleasure. Have you not begun to see that man’s conquest of nature is really man’s conquest of man? That every power wrested from nature is used by some men over other men? Men are the victims, not the conquerors in this struggle. Each new victory over nature yields new means of propaganda to enslave them, new weapons to kill them, new power for the state, and new weakness for the citizen. New contraceptives to keep man from being born at all.
As for ideologies, does no one see the catch? If there is no real wrong and right – nothing good or bad in itself – none of these ideologies can be better or worse than another. For a better moral code can only mean one which comes nearer to some real or absolute code. One map of New York can be better than another only if there is a real New York for it to be truer to. If there is no objective standard then our choice between one ideology and another becomes a matter of arbitrary taste. Our battle for democratic ideals against Nazi ideals has been a waste of time, because the one is no better than the other. Nor can there ever be any real improvement or deterioration. If there is no real goal, we can’t get any nearer to it, or farther from it. In fact there is no real reason for doing anything at all.
It looks to me, neighbours, as though we shall have to set about becoming true pagans, if only as a preliminary to becoming Christians. I don’t mean that we should begin leaving little bits of bread under the tree at the end of the garden as an offering to the dryad. I don’t mean that we should dance to Dionysus across Hampstead Heath, though perhaps a little more solemn or ecstatic gaity and a little less commercialised amusement might make our holidays better than they now are. I don’t even mean (though I do very much wish) that we should recover that sympathy with nature, that religious attitude to the family, and that appetite for beauty which the better pagans had. Perhaps what I do mean is best put like this: if the modern post-Christian view is wrong (and every day I find it harder to think it right) then there are three kinds of people in the world. 1) Those who are sick and don’t know it: the post-Christians. 2) Those who are sick and know it: the pagans. 3) Those who have found the cure.
And if you start in the first class, you must go through the second to reach the third. For (in a sense) all that Christianity adds to paganism is the cure. It confirms the old belief that in this universe we are up against Living Power: that there is a real Right and that we have failed to obey it: that existence is beautiful and terrifying. It adds a wonder of which paganism had not distinctly heard: that the Mighty One has come down to help us, to remove our guilt, to reconcile us. All over the world, even in Japan, even in Russia, men and women will meet on December the 25th to do a very old-fashioned and very pagan thing: to sing and feast because God has been born.
You are uncertain whether it is more than a myth. Well, if it is only a myth then our last hope is gone. But is the opposite explanation not worth trying? Who knows but that here – and here alone – lies your way back? Not only to heaven, but to earth too, and to the great human family whose oldest hopes are confirmed by this story that does not die.
The Colorado Supreme Court removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential ballot on Tuesday after ruling that he engaged in an insurrection with his actions on January 6, 2021.
The 4-3 ruling will be placed on hold pending appeal until January 4, the Court said in its ruling.
“A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the ruling said. “Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.”
The Trump campaign responded to the ruling by saying that they would “swiftly file an appeal,” calling it “a completely flawed decision” that was “deeply undemocratic.”
“We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” a spokesperson for the campaign said.
The Court said that they had “little difficulty concluding that substantial evidence” existed that showed “a concerted and public use of force or threat of force by a group of people to hinder or prevent the U.S. government from taking the actions necessary to accomplish the peaceful transfer of power in this country.”
The Court said that because of this, “the events of January 6 constituted an insurrection.”
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the Court said in its ruling. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
Trump reacted, of course:
🚨 BREAKING: Donald Trump reacts to the Colorado Supreme Court removing him from the 2024 ballot
This was a 4-3 ruling, all judges are Democrats. It looks partisan.
The 14th Amendment is based off the Confederacy after the Civil War.
There is no definition of insurrection. The 14th Amendment opened it up to Congress to create laws. They didn’t. This is basically based on a law that hasn’t been defined.
Trump hasn’t been convicted of anything. The reason? He didn’t initiate January 6th. It’s on tape. He would win any trial put out there.
50-year-old transgender swimmer was allowed to compete against teenage girls at an event in Canada — with horrified parents building a makeshift tent out of towels to shield girls as young as 8 in the locker room.
Melody Wiseheart, who once competed under the name Nicholas Cepeda, sparked outrage while competing during the Trojan Cup in Barrie, Ontario.
“The girls were terrified,” an unidentified parent of one of the teenagers told the Toronto Sun of having to share a locker room with the much older trans swimmer.
“It’s all so confusing for the kids,” another parent said. “No one is comfortable.
“Everyone is accepting of all people, but them swimming against our kids and being in a locker room with them is not appropriate.”
Wiseheart, a professor at York University, participated in several events at the event over the first three days of December, including the women’s 1500-meter freestyle for athletes 16 and older, in which she placed second.
According to Zerohedge:
If the university signs athlete Tate Drageset’s offer next fall, he will take one of 12 National Collegiate Athletic Association DI volleyball scholarships available for women at the school, Reduxxreported Wednesday.
An anonymous source whom Reduxx identified as “the parent of a minor player within the Southern California Volleyball Association (SCVA) community” expressed concerns to the outlet about “the steady escalation of Drageset’s participation in women’s volleyball,” according to the news outlet.
“As he got older, it became more obvious that something was off,” the source told Reduxx. “Anytime the subject of [Drageset] would come up EVERY PARENT from any SCVA team already knew about him. Parents look around before they speak in hushed tones. Some will wait to discuss until outside the gym.”
“Everyone is scared of how their child will be treated if they speak up,” according to the parent. “The stealing of positions and opportunities has been infuriating and so sad when you see how it affects the girls. There is no concern for their mental health or safety after being replaced.”
A surprising majority of young people reported suffering from “menu anxiety” while eating in a public setting, a study conducted by British restaurant chain Prezzo found.
Researchers asked more than 2,000 people how relaxed they felt while eating out, hoping to gauge how enjoyable the experience is for everyone.
About 86% of Gen Z adults (aged 18 to 24 in this study) admitted they have suffered from “menu anxiety” when dining in restaurants — compared to 67% of all respondents.
Some of these young adults (34%) reported feeling so anxious, they wind up asking other people at the table to speak to waiters on their behalf.
“[While] most people look forward to dining out during the [holiday] season, we know — as our research shows — it can be stressful for some,” Dean Challenger, CEO of Prezzo, told The Post in a statement.
The frequent occurrence of this very specific fear appeared to be triggered by the increasingly exorbitant cost of a meal out, along with the respondent worrying about not being able to find something they like on the menu, or, after the fact, regretting what they ordered.
The methane and nitrous oxide exhaled by humans make up about 0.1 of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, the writeup said.
The gases are in addition to the carbon dioxide that humans exhale.
The study, led by Dr. Nicholas Cowan from the UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology, involved 104 adult volunteers and found that nitrous oxide was breathed out by every one of them, while 31 percent exhaled methane.
Those who did not exhale methane in their breath still probably released the gas “ion flatus,” the study said, referring to burping and flatulence.
“We report only emissions in breath in this study, and flatus emissions are likely to increase these values significantly, though no literature characterizes these emissions for people in the UK,” the research team wrote.
“Assuming that livestock and other wild animals also exhale emissions of N2O, there may still be a small but significant unaccounted-for source of N2O emissions in the UK, which could account for more than 1% of national-scale emissions,” they added.
Gas concentrations in the study samples allowed researchers to estimate that human breath accounts for 0.05 percent of the UK’s methane emission and 0.1 percent of nitrous oxide.
The study did not reveal a link between exhaled gases and diet.
“Concentration enhancement of both CH4 and N2O in the breath of vegetarians and meat consumers are similar in magnitude,” the researchers said. “Based on these results, we can state that, when estimating emissions from a population within the UK, diet or future diet changes are unlikely to be important when estimating emissions [exhale] across the UK as a whole.”
A Florida man who went viral in 2017 over a mugshot showcasing his “Joker”-styled face tattoos accused a gaming company of ripping off his likeness in the latest Grand Theft Auto video game.
“GTA we got to talk,” Lawrence Sullivan said in a TikTok video posted last week. “If not, you got to give me like a mil or two.”
Sullivan was reacting to the latest trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV, which was released last Monday and garnered more than 93 million views in 24 hours on YouTube, shattering previous records for a non-music video.
After the trailer’s wildly popular release, commenters sounded off that some of the characters in the game resembled a handful of viral real-life Florida moments, including an alligator walking into a convenience store, a woman threatening people with two hammers, and a police officer chasing a naked man down a street, according to video game website Kotaku.
A controversial new movie trailer appears to have had the opposite of its intended effect with its intended audience.
Focus Features released a trailer for its upcoming drama-comedy “The American Society of Magical Negroes” on Friday, and it did not go over well at all, if social media reactions are anything to gauge.
Blacks really seem to have a really hard time understanding something. It’s cruel but true. Nobody cares about you. White people do not care about you. That’s OK, white people don’t care about other white people.
We worry about ourselves, our families and those in our immediate circles. We don’t care about you or the fact that great-great-great-great grandfather was a slave. If you were a slave in this country, we might care. But you’re not so we don’t.
I’ll go a step further, we hear this crap and we don’t like you. We don’t want to be around people like you.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church said priests should be permitted to bless same-sex and “irregular” couples, under certain circumstances.
But the Vatican said blessings should not be part of regular Church rituals or related to civil unions or weddings.
It added that it continues to view marriage as between a man and a woman.
Pope Francis approved a document issued by the Vatican announcing the change on Monday. The Vatican said it should be a sign that “God welcomes all”, but the document says priests must decide on a case-by-case basis.
Introducing the text, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Church, said that the new declaration remained “firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage”.
But he added that in keeping with the Pope’s “pastoral vision” of “broadening” the appeal of the Catholic Church, the new guidelines would allow priests to bless relationships still considered sinful.
People receiving a blessing “should not be required to have prior moral perfection”, according to the declaration.
In the Catholic Church, a blessing is a prayer or plea, usually delivered by a minister, asking for God to look favourably on the person or people being blessed.
Cardinal Fernández emphasised that the new stance does not validate the status of same-sex couples in the eyes of the Catholic Church.
The declaration represents a softening of tone from the Catholic Church, although not a change in position. In 2021, the Pope said priests could not bless same-sex marriages because God cannot “bless sin”.
Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is facing criticism after a member of her administration sent out an email invitation for a Christmas party that excluded white officials.
City Council relations director Denise DosSantos mistakenly sent out the email to all city council members inviting them to an “Electeds of Color Holiday Party.”
“On behalf of Mayor Michelle Wu, I cordially invite you and a guest to the Electeds of Color Holiday Party on Wednesday, December 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Parkman House, 33 Beacon Street,” DosSantos wrote.
Fifteen minutes later, DosSantos sent out another email apologizing for sending the email to all council members, indicating that it wasn’t supposed to be sent to white members of the council.
“I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding the Holiday Party for tomorrow. I did send that to everyone by accident, I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so,” DosSantos wrote, according to Boston 25 News. “Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.”
She also had a statement the next day:
Understand something, Michelle Wu is really stupid. The very same weekend she hosted a segregated party, banning white people, she had a press conference mobilizing the police and FBI against white supremacy.
Anyway, continuing with the article:
Councilman Frank Baker, who is white, said that the idea of a race-segregated party was divisive.
“I do find it divisive, but what are you going to do about it,” he said. “You don’t want me at a party, I’m not going to come to a party.”
Hey, this is illegal. It’s against the Constitution. Why don’t you do something about it?
It has been revealed that California is drowning in a $68 billion budget deficit which has resulted in the state defaulting on a $20 billion loan from the federal government.
The multi-billion dollar deficit comes under Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership and is so extreme that Newsom’s Department of Finance has called for a spending freeze across state agencies. Newsom’s administration has made a similar decision only once before which was at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when revenue began to plummet, KCRA News reports.
“California is now facing a $68 billion deficit. It has also defaulted on a $20 billion loan from the federal government. The situation is so dire the state is telling agencies not to replace broken printers or re-stock office supplies. Workers are being stripped of benefits and could face furloughs,” Kiley said.
The Republican congressman went into further detail and explained, “This is all happening as the state has spent billions funding High-Speed Rail and expanding Medi-Cal to all undocumented immigrants, while losing billions in tax revenue from people leaving the state.”
A letter sent to state agencies from Newsom’s Department of Finance issued a set of demands that would hopefully ease the significant budget deficits trajected in fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
