Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and, so far, he's feeling "fine."
Trudeau has been in isolation since one of his children tested positive for the virus late last week. A second Trudeau child has now tested positive for COVID-19. Trudeau said he would stay in quarantine and work remotely while he recovers.
The reaction to Tucker Carlson by American Elites is uniform—they hate him. In the last week, Tucker Carlson was maligned by a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and by Leftist mainstream elites on Twitter. What drives the near universal elite disdain for Tucker Carlson?
Federal prosecutors are seeking over two years in prison — 27 months, to be exact — for Seattle resident and Capitol rioter Mark Leffingwell, who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement after punching two officers while at the Capitol last January.
Arizona Republicans have spent the past couple weeks since the legislative session began introducing a red wave of voter suppression measures. House Bill 2596, which dropped Friday, would eliminate all early voting, emergency voting centers, and no-excuse mail-in voting. The latter has existed in Arizona since 1991, so longer than the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
The House bill would also ban the use of electronic voting machines and require that all ballots are counted by human hands. You might think that would take forever, but they’ll have 24 hours to do it!
The top public health authorities in the Biden administration denounced misinformation about the coronavirus vaccines following an anti-vaccine rally in Washington, D.C., over the weekend and a falsehood-laden segment on Fox News on Tuesday night that has been widely shared on social media.
Fox News host Dan Bongino is no longer welcome on YouTube. The company confirmed to The Hill that Bongino is now permanently banned from its video platform, after he attempted to evade a prior suspension related to COVID-19 misinformation.
Boris Epshteyn, an adviser for former President Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, acknowledged Friday that he was part of the effort to prop up so-called "alternate electors" to support Trump in key states.
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones stated in a live video Friday that his opinion regarding COVID-19 has changed immensely, warning residents of the toll the pandemic is taking on the county.
A University of Manitoba (UM) student who was looking forward to graduating this May says that, instead, she was deregistered from the last of her courses by the school because she does not have a COVID-19 vaccination. While the courses are set to begin online, the school says they hope to return to in-person learning and students who are not vaccinated have other options.
The Arizona Democratic Party has voted to formally censure Senator Kyrsten Sinema "as a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy," the party said Saturday. The announcement came just days after Sinema opposed a change to the Senate rules that could have moved Democratic-backed voting rights legislation forward.
The pandemic has triggered a new debate over what used to be a settled principle of bioethics — that you don't treat patients differently based on past behaviour that may have contributed to their condition.
The rock star Meat Loaf has died at 74, according to a statement on his social media.
A viral message falsely claims that Canada's Alberta province lifted lockdown measures after a COVID denialist Patrick King won a case against the government as they could not prove that COVID-19 exists as they have not isolated the virus, yet.
The Biden administration is monitoring real-time data obtained from businesses operating in China to determine whether outbreaks of the omicron variant of coronavirus pose a risk to U.S. supply chains, an administration official said.
"We will no longer be able to endorse Sen. Sinema moving forward." |
Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Beshear vetoed the maps that state legislative leaders had approved, but those on the side of the maps in the legislature had enough votes on their side to override that move and set up the maps for usage in upcoming elections. The new lawsuit was filed before state legislators overrode Beshear’s veto maneuver, with plaintiffs pointing to “imminent” negative impacts — the deadline for candidates to file to run in upcoming elections is January 25.
As of January 15th, Bermuda has administered a total of 118,548 vaccinations and 72.7% of the population has received one dose, 71.5% have had two doses, while 39.5% of the population has also received a booster.
Louie Anderson, the good-natured, self-deprecating comedian who was a happy presence on the stand-up stage and television, passed away at the age of 68 from blood cancer.
Lawmakers have renewed their interest in the past week in banning members of Congress from buying and selling stock. The bipartisan push comes as the Securities and Exchange Commission continues an investigation into Sen. Richard Burr about whether he used non-public information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic to sell off stocks before the market plummeted.
One-third of all Pennsylvania waterways are now considered polluted enough to harm wildlife, recreation or drinking water, according to a report released this week by the state's Department of Environmental Protection.
Researchers examined 12 vaccine safety trials, involving thousands of people, and compared rates of side effects reported between those who received a placebo shot and those who received a real shot. They found that after the first shot, two-thirds of people experienced side effects like headache and fatigue, which the researchers said were attributable to the placebo effect. Shockingly, nearly a quarter of the people -- some who received the placebo shot -- experienced side effects like a sore arm, also attributable to the placebo effect.
ZR |
A growing constellation of right-wing social media apps and sites are seeing their user bases grow, creating an echo chamber that experts fear will promote disinformation and outright lies about the midterm elections.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that Democrats will seek a carveout to the filibuster rule to pass voting rights legislation by replacing the current 60-vote threshold needed to break a filibuster with an old-fashioned "talking filibuster."
Christian, Jewish, Muslim, atheist and other community members gathered Monday night in the sanctuary of White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake, Texas, and rose in a sustained standing ovation for Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker — just two days after the rabbi and three others were held hostage in the much smaller sanctuary of Congregation Beth Israel in neighboring Colleyville.
Protest organisers in Sudan's capital Khartoum announced two days of strikes and civil disobedience after security forces used gunfire and teargas on Monday to disperse demonstrations against a coup and medics said seven people had been killed.
The toll marked one of the bloodiest days since pro-democracy groups began a campaign of anti-military protests following the Oct. 25 coup, and threatened to deepen the gulf between military leaders and a large protest movement.
Leviticus 25:35-38 |
― Martin Luther King Jr. |
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Fox News host and right-wing commentator Dan Bongino won't be able to upload anything to his YouTube channel for a week, according to Forbes and The Hill. The website has temporarily suspended his account over COVID-19 misinformation, specifically for saying masks are useless in preventing the coronavirus' spread.

55 to 44: Senate defeats Senator Ted Cruz's Russia Nord Stream 2 pipeline sanctions bill.60 votes were needed. 6 Democrats Baldwin, Cortez Masto, Hassan, Kelly, Rosen & Warnock voted Yes w/all Republicans except Paul.Schatz has COVID & missed vote,which was held open for nearly 7hrs.
Jan 14, 2022: Fact Keepers: Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema: Tossing Democracy Under the Bus
It goes hand in hand that where you find corruption you will also find obstruction. Mitch McConnell has been showing the country this for more than a decade. Now Manchin and Simena are following his example. |
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Vaccination song: city council serenaded via open mic>>>>> |
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The FBI has arrested Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, and he has been charged with SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY. Further evidence of a sprawling, bottom-up investigation by the DoJ. This is SIGNIFICANT. 11 other defendants ALSO charged with seditious conspiracy.
The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for large businesses that took effect this week while allowing another mandate for healthcare workers to proceed.
A new bill to legalize medical marijuana was introduced in Mississippi on Tuesday and on Wednesday afternoon, the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee approved the measure by a voice vote. The bill is expected to be taken up on the floor as soon as Thursday, reported Marijuana Moment. A medical cannabis program could start in 2022.
SB 2095, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R), would allow patients with about two dozen specific medical conditions (such as cancer, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis, Alzheimer’s, as well as chronic medical conditions) to qualify for medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation.
A federal grand jury has indicted Baltimore’s top prosecutor on charges of perjury and making false mortgage applications in the purchase of two Florida vacation homes
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Lotz’s mother, evangelist Anne Graham Lotz, shared that her daughter was currently in the hospital.
It was eminently predictable that people who, for whatever reason, decided not to get vaccinated against Covid would be more likely to become seriously ill or, indeed, die.
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Hardcore right-winger Ann Coulter slams Trump as a "liar and a con man" whose "grift was permanent" after he attacks Ron DeSantis for hiding his covid booster status.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a rabid purveyor of pro-Trump lies, reveals that his phone records have been subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 committee as part of their accelerating investigation.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has released a new, interactive tool that presents easily digestible data on key measures of cost-effectiveness and academic quality for nearly 500 public, four-year colleges and universities. On the site, lawmakers can instantly see how their state ranks on institutional finance issues (such as administrative bloat) and academic quality issues (such as free speech policies). ACTA’s tool collates 10 important, measurable data points and makes them available on one easily searchable map
Scientists are seeing signals that COVID-19′s alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the U.S., at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically.
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"I'm not one to demonize people. It's powers and principalities that don't want the message to go out. " or so said "Christian" activist Sean Feucht after HarperCollins cancelled his book deal.
But, according to the Los Angeles Community Action Network, Feucht was recently given the title, “Jesus Christ, Superspreader?” by Rolling Stone Magazine because of his concerts decrying covid19 restrictions and promoting large maskless events. Additionally, his religious/political concerts target movements for racial justice,namely, Black Lives Matter, while attempting to persuade his followers that pandemic related public health restrictions are nothing more than the persecution of Christians.
Pastor Cue Jne Marie of Skid Row’s Church Without Walls says, “The gospel Feucht brings is draped in the same hypocrisies that justified slavery and classified Black people as three-fifths human. But he also takes an extra step, he threatens the health and lives of every resident in a community that’s barely hanging on.” In many ways Feucht is waging biological warfare against a community he deems as defenseless. He will soon find this is not the case if he chooses to continue down this path. BUT, he says, ""I'm not one to demonize people." #doh [Source]
Good grief. SMH:
When it seemed like anti-vaxxers couldn’t do more to showcase their stupidity, they managed to outdo themselves again after an anti-vax leader told his followers to drink their own urine to fight COVID-19.
Christopher Key, leader of the anti-vaccine organization Vaccine Police, extolled the virtues of “urine therapy” to his followers in a video posted on his Telegram account and seen by The Daily Beast. He claimed that piss can help cure COVID and is actually more effective than the vaccine.
This is so ridiculously stupid I often wonder if they arent trolling each other.
Worship leader and activist Sean Feucht took to social media on Monday to claim that book publisher HarperCollins dropped his book deal over his "political views."
Missouri House lawmakers on Tuesday debated bills that would ban critical race theory in K-12 schools and give parents and guardians more control over what their children learn, an issue that likely will dominate this session.
Reeves reportedly offered $10 million upfront for the 1999 sci-fi thriller while receiving an additional $35 million when the film became a box office success. Leukemia research received around $31.6 million. The gift was presented when Reeves' younger sister, Kim, was fighting illness.
The United States' largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization released a report Tuesday that revealed nearly $106 million in funds provided to Islamophobic groups between 2017-2019.
Facebook’s parent company Meta has lifted the restrictions it placed on the accounts of a Catholic charity.
The charity, Aid to the Church in Need UK (ACN UK), said that the restrictions imposed on their Facebook and Instagram accounts had “severely hampered” its outreach.
In other words, all science can do is confess that Truth is Lord. It may strive to transcend the natural world, but all it does is hit its head on the mythical sky. Christians confess the same Truth, no matter what secular scientists may claim. Yet both crowds must acknowledge the legitimacy of the other. One merely emphasizes the bottom-up view of reductionistic realities while the other highlights the top-down view of Logos – the patterning of reality. -Alex Aili ; Wise Disciple Blog; Dec 2021 |

So GOP South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds rejected Trump's election lies, but now will support the former guy's prospective 2024 campaign anyway?
There is no sane part of the world where you believe someone lied...and then decide he would be a good candidate for President!!
When I lived in Rapid City I was a GOP supporter back in the day when Daschle was my main political nemesis. But, after these past few years of Trump and now these Pro-Trump GOPers , I will not vote for any candidate who supports Trump and especially not one that would say the candidate is a liar but he is good enough for our country. I am not Democrat but will vote for most any Democrat over any GOP Trumplican.
If I had the time and money I'd move back to South Dakota just to NOT vote for Rounds...(and the head of the Trump fan club, Governor Noem).
If you've ever had any doubts out about how nutty it is over is at the Fox Propaganda Outlet: a year after Fox booted “straight news” anchor Martha MacCallum from the 7 p.m. time slot during a shakeup of the weekday lineup, the network finally announced on Monday that Jesse Watters would permanently take over as host of the pivotal hour. Jesse Watters sometimes makes Jeanine Pirro look sane.
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Jan 10, 2022: Baptist News Global: Why is anybody still giving money to Franklin Graham?
Probably not what Franklin Graham said in a Jan. 8 tweet. “This wk in his address to the nation, @POTUS Biden talked w/disdain about former President Trump spreading a ‘web of lies.’ Well, millions do not believe that President Trump spread a web of lies — but they do feel there’s a lot of dishonesty going on by politicians in Washington. With all respect, @POTUS Biden needs to be careful how he denounces those who disagree with him. Hillary Clinton tried that once by calling supporters of President Trump ‘deplorables,’ & it didn’t go too well for her. It was an insult to about half the country. President @JoeBiden’s bashing of former President Trump doesn’t unite the country, but just further divides it. Pray for wisdom for our elected leaders and God’s mercy on our nation.” |
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Jan 10, 2022: Biblical Recorder: Canada joins list of nations banning conversion therapy
A Canadian law banning any form of conversion therapy, broadly defined as treatment or counseling aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, took effect Jan. 7. |
Bitcoin slid below $40,000 on Monday, falling to its lowest level since the end of September as the world’s leading cryptocurrency showed no end to its volatility.
Bitcoin dropped to $39,663.18, down from a record high of above $66,000 in October.
After taking a tumble Monday, it recovered some ground, rising to $41,198.
There is no denying that the pandemic has strained economic and emotional freedom. Many people are wanting. Many are fearful. As for the other two freedoms — freedom of speech and the freedom to worship God — the situation is dire.
Regarding “Jimmy Carter: I fear for our democracy,” (Jan. 6): Now that we have heard, definitively, from President Jimmy Carter that our nation is in serious trouble, what do we do? Those of us on the left are asked to, as he put it, “re-engage across the divide, respectfully and constructively, by holding civil conversations with…” people who believe Donald Trump won an election he lost? Really?
Comedian and actor Bob Saget was found dead lying face up on his bed in a luxury hotel room in Florida with no signs of trauma, according to an sheriff's office report released Monday.
There were no signs of foul play, and the room itself was in order, "with items owned by Mr. Saget on the nightstand, television stand, closet and bathroom", according to the report from the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

I listened to a short video today by a preacher named Perry Stone. It was short but it caught my attention so I started listening to another one by him and it went south real quick as he started making him the subject and started making it clear that God was giving him prophetic insights that most people wouldn't understand and then going into politics and banging that Christian Nationalist gong.
I put his name in google and apparently he has a lot of sexual misconduct charges against him lately.
That would probably make sense because the "faux" in Christian Nationalist would not really have a moral compass. Which makes Trump the ultimate poster boy for Christian Nationalism.
American conservative Christians don't wear masks because they like thinking if they don't die while others die that God likes them better or God is protecting them. They also believe that not wearing a mask is a test of faith or that God does not want us to feel obligated to protect the well being of other people by doing something we do not want to do. Yeah, our reaction to this pandemic has made Christians look really bad. Unfortunately most people do not separate "American conservativism" with authentic Christianity. American conservatism has become antithetical to authentic Christian values. Events of the last couple years has revealed the degree to which the church has adopted extreme versions of ideologies that promote individualism over the common good. Very selfish.
Many of the mega-churches looked bad long before COVID: Politics from the pulpit and science denial. Covid is just a blip on that radar.
American Conservatism: For I was hungry and you took away my food stamp eligibility, I was a stranger and you told me to go back to where I came from. I needed clothes and you said I should get a second job. I was sick and you voted to take away my healthcare. I was in prison and you made them privately owned so I would be abused as less then human.
““And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’” Matthew 25:45 NLT
After a couple of years of hot public debate about racism -- years that followed several decades of many Americans trying to acknowledge and fix racism -- maybe it's time to drop back a bit and think about how the concept of race came about in the first place.
-Tyler Huckabee |

Part of Bidens speech at 1/6 remembrance:
"The former president who lies about this election and the mob that attacked this Capitol could not be further away from the core American values. They want to rule or they will ruin. Ruin when our country fought for at Lexington and Concord at Gettysburg and Omaha Beach, Seneca Falls, Selma, Alabama. What – and what we were fighting for: The right to vote. The right to govern ourselves. The right to determine our own destiny.
With rights come responsibilities. The responsibility to see each other as neighbors. Maybe we disagree with that neighbor, but they're not an adversary. The responsibility to accept defeat, then get back in the arena and try again the next time to make your case. The responsibility to see that America is an idea. An idea that requires vigilant stewardship.
As we stand here today, one year since January 6, 2021, the lies that drove the anger and madness we saw on this place, they have not abated. So we have to be firm, resolute and unyielding in our defense of the right to vote and have that vote counted..."
There is an organization that was started way back in 1973 called "Intercessors For America." I remember being a member of it back in the 80s. I came across its web page a few weeks ago and today went back and looked at it a little more in depth. IFA states its beginnings on its "About" page:
"A group of Christians at a teaching conference in Florida focused on “prayer for the nations.” Challenged by the fresh and extraordinary teachings of the conference leaders, Derek Prince and Ern Baxter, a half dozen men were chosen to steward the movement of prayer and fasting for the nation."
Sounds reasonable. Up to there, anyway.
I remember Prince & Baxter and the other Florida leaders who all had a relationship as leadership with the church I was going to at the time. I have recently been pouring through the teachings of Derek Prince and was surprised, based on his teachings, that he would have been involved with anything like IFA. But, then again, in later teachings in the late 90s and up through his death in early 2000s, but I heard him say in a filmed teaching "that the "Charismatic Movement" lost its way..which I was glad to hear because I left it also about the time the Florida teachers left also when leadership went rather rogue.. And now I look at the IFA page and they seem to be pretty full hardcore Christian Nationalist in their efforts. I have a burden for intercessory prayer but I will not dictate through prayer what God should do "for America." Telling God to support and not support political agendas and who is good and who is the enemy...is pathetically sad and Christian Nationalism at its worse (in writing, I mean, becuz they are even worse in action..ie, Jan 6). If you find out your God hates all the same people you do......then you need to re-evaluate.
The "charismatic" movement morphed out of what was know as the "Latter Rain" movement in the late 50s and 60s and eventually fractioned in pieces into people like Benny Hinn and Ken Copeland.....with a fringe of Pat Robertson....and later followed by people like Paula White and a lot of people in the "apostolic" movement...and sponsoring things like the "Jericho March" where right wingers like Michelle Bachman, Lance Wallnau, and Cindy Jacobs merged.
QAnon has firm footing in these movements...but thats another subject for another day.
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Jan 7, 2022: The Week: Ted Cruz used that same 'sloppy' phrasing to describe Jan. 6 at least 17 previous times
Ted Cruz's foot, meet Ted Cruz's mouth. After a Thursday appearance on Fox's Tucker Carlson Tonight in which Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, apologized for his "frankly dumb" mistake of calling the Jan. 6 riot a "violent terrorist attack," CNN's Daniel Dale is out with a fact check of that excuse. |
Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association explains underlying tensions. “There are a few people in the country who have benefited greatly from the development of Kazakhstan, mostly from oil and natural gas, and then there is a mass majority of the people (which constitutes a lot of the people that are part of the churches we serve) that are quite poor.”
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The only Republicans participating in the 1/6 House anniversary, also had a moment of silence for Capitol officers who died because of it are Rep. Liz Cheney and former Vice President Dick Cheney. Most Republicans are truly despicable.
Republicans are, with few exceptions, truly despicable. The ball is in the hands of the Democrats and they need to steamroll the GOP in midterms. The existence of American Democracy as we have come to know it is depending on it.
Dick Cheney on 1/6 anniversary: “It’s an important historical event. You can’t overestimate how important it is........I’m deeply disappointed we don’t have better leadership in the Republican party to restore the Constitution.”
The 2nd Congressional District will meander the almost length of the state along the Mississippi River under the congressional redistricting plan approved 76-42 Thursday by Republicans in the House of Representatives.
Israel’s Minister of Defense Benny Gantz traveled to Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday for a meeting hosted by King Abdullah II, the King’s latest meeting with a senior Israeli official.
The Jericho March may have shut down after the insurrection but its ideas and members haven’t gone away.
One year ago at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, the world witnessed one way in which Christian nationalism imperils American democracy. We’ve all seen photos and footage of the mob violence perpetrated by Americans waving Christian flags, clad in Christian clothing, saying Christian prayers. As some increasingly isolated and radicalized religious conservatives react to their loss of power, the threat of their political violence is real. But it is not the only way Christian nationalism jeopardizes our democracy.
Kelly Ernby, an Orange County, California deputy district attorney who recently ran for state assembly and regularly spoke out against vaccine mandates, has died of complications from COVID-19. The 46-year-old's death was announced on Monday by her friends, family members and colleagues.
Ray Bentley, an author, radio broadcaster and pastor who helped to found the influential Evangelical megachurch, Maranatha Chapel of California, died from COVID-19 complications.
For the second time in a decade, Californians will face mandatory restrictions governing their outdoor water use as the state endures another drought and voluntary conservation efforts have fallen short.
Pope Francis dedicates his first prayer message of 2022 to combatting religious discrimination and persecution, reminding us that religious freedom is not limited to freedom of worship, but is tied to fraternity.
David Bateman, founder and board chair of the company Entrata, claimed the COVID-19 vaccine is part of a plot by "the Jews" to exterminate people, Fox13 reported.
Jan 5, 2022: Biloxi Sun Herald: MS breaks record for most new COVID cases in a single day as students return to school The Mississippi State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 6,592 new coronavirus cases, the most the state has seen in a single day since the start of the pandemic. |
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Ethical libertarianism is based on the recognition that no one has the right to use — or threaten — violence, personally or politically, against anyone who isn’t currently violating the life, liberty, or property of another. This is the guiding principle that distinguishes a libertarian from anyone else. Follow it and you’re libertarian; don’t and you’re not.
Ron Desantis, who surrounds reporters with sycophants who cheer his answers and jeer the press (on rare occasions when they are allowed to ask questions), just had a citizen arrested for peacefully attempting to observe the presser in a public building. pic.twitter.com/62siI33PCh
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 4, 2022

New Jersey became the 15th state to enact New Voices legislation on Dec. 21, when Gov. Phil Murphy signed state Senate Bill 108 into law. High school student journalists now have the right to report the news without administrative interference. Legislators first introduced a New Voices bill in December 2015 following two censorship controversies — one school removed a newspaper adviser who stood up for his students and another tried to block the publication of an investigative story on the district superintendent’s alleged misconduct. Such shenanigans are now against the law in New Jersey, but unless you live in California, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont or Washington, they can happen anytime at your local high school.
Its gonna be hard to name Donald Trump's new social media company run by Devin Nunes. "Dumpster Fire" has already been taken by ..well..uh by dumpster fires. We probably should be taking bets on whether Devin Nunes will 1)Be charged with some kind of ethics or financial conspiracy or 2) Trump fires him for betraying him for not not doing something illegal.
The Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to ask Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity for his voluntary cooperation with its investigation of the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Hannity may have been a part of it, so I am thinking "voluntary" is out of the question. Subpoena, then, maybe.
James Piazza, a liberal arts professor at Penn Statewrote a column saying that "Democracy is based on a compact: Election losers agree to accept the results and encourage their supporters to do the same.
In exchange, losing politicians get a chance to run and win in a future election.
However, loser’s consent is fragile, and when it is broken, the risk of political violence increases. In a recent study I published, I conclude that when election losers in democracies reject election results, becoming “sore losers,” trust in political institutions is eroded, political polarization and tribalism grows and mistrust thrives.
This produces a situation where political violence is no longer seen as taboo, particularly among supporters of the losing political party. My research shows that when losing politicians in democracies refuse to accept election results, citizens begin to see terrorism as more acceptable and domestic terrorism increases." The entire article is HERE
An attendee at an October 2021 political rally hosted by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk asked: “How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?”
The attendee was referring to the baseless allegation that Joe Biden stole the 2020 U.S. presidential election and that he unfairly denied Donald Trump reelection.
Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, condemned the question. But one year after the Capitol insurrection that was fueled by Trump’s claims of a rigged election, Kirk, other commentators and politicians – and, of course, Trump himself – continue to fuel false beliefs of widespread election fraud.
Identity politics, which divide and separate people for whom Christ died, have no place. For the Christian, identity is found in Jesus. As sinners, we stand on level ground at the foot of the cross. We identify with Jesus and find forgiveness and new life (Romans 6:1-4).

NY Attorney General Letitia James has subpoenaed Ivanka Trump and Don Jr for testimony and documents in the civil investigation into property valuations. If they refuse, AG can rule against Trump Organization and seize its assets. If they testify, it can be used in NY criminal case against Trump.
Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen is facing criminal charges in Finland for quoting Romans 1:24–27 on Twitter.
Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola is being charged for publishing Räsänen’s booklet.
Though Finland has legal protections for free speech and the free exercise of religion, Prosecutor General Raija Toiviainen says Räsänen and Pohjola’s actions are criminal incitement against a minority group—hate speech.
In Pallisa District, in eastern Uganda, residents of predominantly Muslim Omesula village, Nagule Parish, Putiputi Sub-County on Dec. 12 invaded 40-year-old Umar Opoloto’s banana plantation after learning of his conversion to Christianity
Along with the attacks going on in India, Christianity is taking some hits abroad.

On Dec. 21, 1970, a White House photographer snapped a photograph of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon together in the Oval Office. Today, that photograph is the most requested image in the National Archives.
Starting Tuesday, COVID-19 rapid tests won't be available to people between the ages of 19 and 50, according to the Indiana Department of Health.
As we come to the end of this politically tumultuous year that began with an insurrection at the Capitol, I am reflecting not only on 2021, but also on the ways political life in the United States has changed in the past decade
Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok has resigned in a televised address. This came just hours after at least three civilians were killed as security forces violently suppressed another wave of the Marches of the Millions, that saw hundreds of thousand take to the streets across the country to express their rejection of the military coup d'état of October 25, and the subsequent political agreement, signed by Hamdok with coup leader Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan.
1) Death is the number one killer in the world.
2) Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
3) Don’t worry about old age: It doesn’t last that long.

My thoughts on "Dont Look Up" which I watched last night on Netflix:
"Don't Look Up" satirizes the political climate that has been playing out for the last decade or so but has become really intense in the last few years. And it's not the Republican vs Democrat or left and right divide but reality vs non-reality.
Meryl Streep plays the President. Her character is somewhat Trumpian: self absorbed and played to the masses even though she was an unethical slime trying to get re-elected. (It didn't hit me til I was writing this that that may be why she had that awful hair style and wore that cap at her rallies)
Leonardo Dicaprio and Jennifer Lawrence were her nemesis. They were reality to Streep's non-reality. Without giving up too much of the movie for those who have not seen it yet...just think of the political climate we have faced in the last couple years on the issues of the pandemic: The facts are there. But the deniers and anti-vaxxers push an agenda where reality does not matter. They would be crying "Don't Look Up" and essentially deny any and all facts and evidence.
Some interviews I saw before I saw the movie mentioned climate change as a metaphor and I think it could be. Climate change deniers would be the "Don't Look Up" crowd even though reality is clear. And it wasn't that many years ago that I was one of them.
There are other factions of the battles which are interesting but if I reveal to much I would spoil some of the events for those who have not seen it yet.
In the end, in spite of all of our political agendas reality will win. Democrat or Republican, right wing or left wing.....will mean nothing.
Donald Trump brought Christian Nationalism out of the shadows. It's not Christian but it has some of the trappings and decorum. They use the Bible...but selectively reinterpret it to meet their need (as many cults do). Many people in it think it is real....so its a real draw for the uneducated to believe "Truth" is relative. For them its like being in a cult but not knowing they are in a cult. It's what is behind the fanatical dogma of Trumpvangelicalism. QAnon and other various conspiracy theories are an inevitable mix of emotion and a watered down theology. "Faith" becomes relative and emotion driven. The emergence with white nationalists is likely more about power than practicality but it brings to light the unresolved issues in the South which were never resolved at Appomattox. I think if a Civil War Part II is going to happen it will be around November 2022. It would not be a Civil War II..but a continuance of the one in the 1860s.
For the country’s diverse Lutherans, the case tests the resolve to speak up, the boundaries of tolerance, and Christians’ ability to communicate.
Twitter said on Sunday it permanently suspended the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene over the social media platform’s COVID-19 misinformation policy.
The social network said in a statement that it took the action after "repeated violations" of the policy.
Florida business owner Robert Palmer cheered on the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 before he joined the fray. Screaming obscenities, he hurled a wooden plank and a fire extinguisher at police officers trying to ward off the mob.
Nearly a year later, Palmer fought back tears when he faced the federal judge who sentenced him to more than five years in prison. He said he was “horrified, absolutely devastated” by what he had done.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Sunday said the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has asked the Willard InterContinental hotel in Washington, D.C. for information as part of its probe.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell below 200,000, more evidence that the job market remains strong in the aftermath of last year’s coronavirus recession.
Jobless claims dropped by 8,000 to 198,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell to just above 199,000, the lowest level since October 1969.
Beyond the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the American Rescue Plan, House Democrats passed 10 more major pieces of legislation that became law.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) rang in the New Year with some anti-COVID pandering as he called Omicron “a sore throat

It's been a tough year for the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The last 4 remaining main cast members died in 2021.
Cloris Leachman died Jan. 27
Gavin MacLeod died May 29
Ed Asner died Aug. 29
Betty White died yesterday, Dec. 31
“This is difficult in a climate where the predominant counsel is ‘Do your best and God will do the rest.’ When life is divided into ‘our best’ and ‘God’s rest,’ we have turned prayer into a last resort to be used only when all our resources are depleted. Then even the Lord has become the victim of our impatience.
“Discipleship does not mean to use God when we can no longer function ourselves. On the contrary, it means to recognize that we can do nothing at all, but that God can do everything through us. As disciples, we find not some but all of our strength, hope, courage, and confidence in God. Therefore, prayer must be our first concern.” -Henri Nouwen
His wife asked, “How do you know?”
“Because Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.”