Highlights of the News

(The actual album is "Country Christmas," 1966.)

Donald John Trump is still our president.

ITEM 1: The Department of Justice announced, "15 Named In $26 Million International Trade Fraud Scheme.

"A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas, has returned a criminal indictment against eight individuals, while a related civil complaint has charged 14 individuals and one company relating to international trade fraud violations stemming from a decade-long scheme involving tires from China.  

"Law enforcement arrested Zheng Zhou, 53, of Missouri City, and Kun Liu, 40, of Sugar Land, yesterday. They made their initial appearances in Houston federal court today, at which time the criminal indictment was unsealed. 

"Also charged in the indictment are Qinghua Song, 44, of Jurupa Valley, California; and Chinese residents Yue Peng, 42, Li Chen, 38, Xin Zhang, age unknown, Shaohui Jia, 40, and Deng Yongqiang, 36. They are all considered fugitives and warrants remain outstanding for their arrests.

"The Department of Justice’s Civil Division also filed a civil complaint Dec. 11 alleging trade fraud in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The complaint names the eight criminal defendants and six other individuals."

End all dealings with Red China. It is a rogue nation run by an international crime syndicate headed by Chairman Xi.

And prosecute all politicians tied to Red China, beginning with the Big Guy. And I don't mean Biden. He was just the go-between.

ITEM 2: The Associated Press reported, "The U.S. Treasury Department has branded Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators while putting China and nine other countries on a watch list in an annual report designed to halt countries from manipulating their currencies to gain unfair trade advantages.

"It marked the first time that the United States has labeled another country as a currency manipulator since August 2019 when it called out China at a time when the world's two largest economies were locked in tense trade negotiations."

Vietnam is a Xi puppet.

Maybe Switzerland is too now.

ITEM 3: The Boston Globe (pay site) reported, "A Catholic priest who delivered the funeral homily for Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy in 2009 has been indicted on charges alleging rape and indecent assault of a minor.

"A Barnstable Superior Court grand jury on Friday indicted the Rev. Mark R. Hession, 62, on two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and battery of a person under 14, and one count of witness intimidation, court records show.

"An arraignment date will be set in January, a spokesperson for the Cape and Islands district attorney’s office said. It wasn’t clear who was representing Hession, and information on the dates and locations of the alleged rapes and assault wasn’t immediately available.

"The Diocese of Fall River said Hession has been suspended from active priestly ministry since last year."

Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.

What do you expect of a priest who honors a Catholic who supported abortion?

ITEM 4: The Department of Justice announced "the unsealing of an indictment charging Cholo Abdi Abdullah with six counts of terrorism-related offenses arising from his activities as an operative of the foreign terrorist organization al Shabaab, including conspiring to hijack aircraft in order to conduct a 9/11-style attack in the United States. 

"Abdullah was arrested in July 2019 in the Philippines on local charges, and was subsequently transferred on Dec. 15, 2020 in connection with his deportation from the Philippines to the custody of U.S. law enforcement for prosecution on the charges in the indictment.

"Abdullah was transported from the Phillippines to the United States yesterday, and is expected to be presented today before Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court.  The case is assigned to United States District Judge Analisa Torres."

The Kenyan drew an Obama judge. 

Expect the unexpected.

ITEM 5: Breitbart reported, "Portland Fire and Rescue officials are looking to question a person seen in surveillance footage apparently setting fire to a local restaurant. The suspected arsonist acted after the restaurant owner criticized vandalism in the area committed by Antifa.

"On November 23, a suspected arsonist set fire to Reo’s Ribs located in Portland’s Hollywood District, Breitbart News reported. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they observed smoke pouring out of the rear of the building and flames both on the interior and exterior.

"Surveillance video shows a person setting that fire, KOIN CBS6 tweeted." 

Democrats don't play nice.

ITEM 6: The Epoch Times (pay site) reported, "Hundreds of millions of dollars from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was used to violate election laws, according to a new report.

"The Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society, a national constitutional litigation organization, released the 39-page report, alleging that Zuckerberg’s $500 million given to election officials was used to treat voters unequally and improperly influence the election for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

"The bulk of the funds went to the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a nonprofit started by former managers and staff at the New Organizing Institute, a progressive nonprofit."

Zuck may be a dweeb, but he does not want any Antifa blackshirts showing up at his door.

Terrorism works.

ITEM 7: Zero Hedge reported, "New technical analysis compiled by a veteran cybersecurity expert previously at Mobileum, a mobile security company whose job it is to track threats to mobile operators, has detailed likely efforts of Chinese intelligence to surveil US mobile phone subscribers using phone networks out of the Caribbean. 

"Gary Miller, who has since started the cybersecurity company Exigent Media, has alleged and detailed to The Guardian that China is engaged in "active" surveillance attacks through foreign telecoms operators.

"The Guardian report offers little to nothing in the way of forensic or technical evidence to back the claims, but is reliant merely on Miller's track record of expertise as an industry insider. There have been similar allegations in the past, particularly a prior similar 2018-2019 report titled Far From Home."

Give credit to Red China for not leaving a stone unturned. 

ITEM 8: Via Glenn Reynolds, "The most dangerous cities in America, ranked."

How bad off is America?

Chicago ranked 31st.

ITEM 9: Incoming Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert told Fox she will carry a pistol at the Capitol.

She said, "The Democrats are always up for stripping away our Constitutional rights and feel threatened when we simply want to exercise those rights.

"I carry a firearm to protect myself and want to exercise my right to do so in one of the most dangerous cities in America. They want to take that right away from me. I look forward to helping make sure they can't." 

If the Capitol Police can carry, why not congresswomen?

If the Capitol Police cannot carry, what good are they?

ITEM 10: The Colorado Sun reported, "Colorado’s public school enrollment has dropped by 30,000 students. That could spell financial disaster for districts."

It also will spell scholastic improvement for 30,000 kids.

Many parents are not enrolling children in pre-K and kindergarten, which makes sense as the main purposes of these grades are to teach children socialization and how to sit in a classroom. You really cannot phone that in from a computer at home.

ITEM 11: Reason reported, "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, signed legislation on Tuesday prohibiting the sale of Confederate flags on public property, including at state and local fairs. Cuomo was well aware that such legislation is likely to fail a First Amendment test, but this did not deter him."

It did not deter him because he is a dictatorial little man who believes he can virtue-signal his way to another term despite recklessly  killing thousands of grannies and putting thousands of companies out of business.

The sad thing is, he may be right.  

ITEM 12: CNS News reported, "A Final Rule issued by the Department of Energy redefines showerhead in a manner that 'ensures access to showerheads that can provide enough water for quality showers,' the DOE announced Tuesday.

"Today’s change will allow manufacturers to offer consumers new products that can provide more water and more comfort, the DOE says."

Why does the government regulate showerheads?

I get that Arizona and Nevada have water supply problems, but that is not my problem in West Virginia, where there is an ample amount of water. 

Why punish me with these rules because people choose to live in the desert? 

ITEM 13: Anthony Watts reported, "With the likely installation of a Biden administration comes a renewed and likely vicious climate war.

"I have inside information that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) will be pushing the Biden administration, calling for prominent climate skeptics, and climate skeptical organizations to be put on investigations and show trials for daring to question the consensus. There may be worse than that coming, as he seems to genuinely believe we’ve committed some sort of crime and should be punished for it. Make no mistake, it’s coming.

"I suspect I’ll be personally targeted as well.

"While it’s been an easy ride during the Trump administration with him pulling out of the Paris agreement, bringing the gestapo-like EPA back to sensibility, eliminating WOTUS rules, appointing prominent climate skeptics to NOAA, and many other things, we now face a renewed in your face series of actions by the Biden administration to make battling the invisible boogeyman of climate change not just a priority, but a declared war."

The next Democrat administration will very blatantly punish critics as a warning to others.

Heads on pikes are a metaphor.

For now.

ITEM 14: Just the News reported, "A majority of registered U.S. voters are worried that government officials in the U.S. will retain their newly claimed expansive powers following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen.

62% of the respondents said they were somewhat or very worried about American governments holding onto their pandemic powers after the health crisis finally subsides. Just 32% were unconcerned with that prospect."

OK.

So what are the 62% going to do about it?

ITEM 15: The New York Post reported, "A new cellphone video obtained by The Post shows a security guard stabbing another man in the face during a bloody brawl outside Penn Station — while an NYPD sergeant looks on.

"The footage shows guard Walter Miller, 58, on the ground grabbing the unidentified victim by the hair while blood drips from the man’s face.

"Miller is seen cutting the man’s face during the scuffle, while the victim tries to fend him off."

OK, what was the source of this altercation?

The story ended, "Police said Miller apparently believed that the victim had cut the taxi line at the station and confronted him — with the exchange escalating and getting violent."

You need security from the security guards in New York.

ITEM 16: Zero Hedge reported, "A healthcare worker in Alaska was hospitalized on Tuesday with a 'serious allergic reaction' after receiving Pfizer's covid 19 vaccine, according to the New York Times."

The 6 deadliest words in journalism are "according to the New York Times."

You don't know.

It may be the truth or it may be the latest incarnation of Jayson Blair casting shade on a product that may end the pandemic panic.

There are 10 million people ahead of me in line for the vaccine. No problem. I am in no hurry. I will just wait and see how many die and how many mutate into a supervillain with magical powers. Then I will decide if I want to be vaccinated.

ITEM 17: Fox reported, "Florida burglar climbing into home killed by falling window: sheriff."

The next day, NRA Shooting Illustrated ran a column, "Which Type of Shotgun Load is Best for Home Defense?"

I am more interested in what gauge that window was.

ITEM 18: Ed Morrissey reported, "Shocker: Insurers Refusing To Underwrite Portland Businesses For Some Odd Reason."

He cited an MSN story, which said, "most insurance carriers aren’t walking away from existing customers in downtown Portland. She said owners who have had to file claims for property loss and damage this year could have a harder time renewing their policies or finding affordable options that offer property coverage. Business owners both in downtown and elsewhere in Portland where there have been instances of vandalism say they’ve run into this issue."

Democrats don't care.

They want to destroy small businesses and the middle class that goes with it.

The Democrat UnAmerican Dream is mass poverty because it is easier to control the poor.

ITEM 19: Just the News reported, "Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has never seemed like a big fan of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's leadership. And now the firebrand progressive sounds as if she doesn't much like how Chuck Schumer, another fellow Democrat, leads in the Senate.

"'We need new leadership in the Democratic Party,' Ocasio-Cortez said during a podcast with The Intercept on Wednesday. 

"The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill asked Ocasio-Cortez whether Congress’s failure to pass COVID-19 relief this year should be blamed on Pelosi and Schumer."

AOC's bid for Schumer's Senate seat in 2022 will be awesome.

Red China invested wisely in her.

ITEM 20: Elias Marat reported, "Pakistan has adopted new measures against sexual assault that will ensure brisk trials and the chemical castration of offenders convicted in cases of rape.

"The Anti-Rape Ordinance was signed into law Tuesday by Pakistani President Arif Alvi, and will ensure special courts meant to combat the crime will hear all rape cases, and wrap them up within four months, according to a statement from the president’s office.

"Crisis cells will also be established that will conduct full-scale medical and legal examinations of rape victims within six hours of reported incidents, reports Anadolu Agency."

We used to hang rapists.

I would rather go back to that than embrace this barbarity.

ITEM 21: USA Today reported, "Americans are increasingly concerned about vaccine safety after four people in Pfizer-BioNTech trials and three people in the Moderna trials developed Bell’s palsy, a condition that causes temporary weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles.

"While it may sound scary, experts say Bell’s palsy is more common and less severe than people think."

99.9% of the people with it don't die.

Just like covid-19.

Yes, you rich and connected people can go first.

FINALLY, on this date in 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, successfully flew the first aeroplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Thus, the Wright Brothers kicked off a 117-year feud between Ohio and North Carolina to determine who really was first in flight.

Amazingly, it took America only 66 years to land a man on the moon, which showed our ingenuity and industrious nature.

We have not landed a man on the moon in 48 years, which shows our voluntary decline from greatness.

Make America Great Again!