The Everyday Hope of a ‘Christmas Carol’ Is That the World Can Change Because We Can

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At certain times, we find ourselves caught in a curious paradox: I want to do a meaningful thing, to be involved in this or that important occasion, yet it’s just so hard. How can an activity I care so much about still be so difficult — even to the point of being off-putting?

Depending on what’s at the forefront of your mind, this could sound like a description of your political or family life. There’s a presidential election coming next year (as you may have heard), and it is important: Why then is it so discouraging to think about doing your part? And soon you’ll be gathering with family for Christmas: You may want — even need — to do it, yet is there anything more stressful to contemplate sometimes?

In each case, the phenomenon is the same. Both situations come down to the possibility of change in a broken world. We want to believe that transformation, personal and social, is possible, yet we have a strong hunch it might not be. Is there anything more hopelessly gridlocked than contemporary politics and culture? And in the family setting, as we reenter our natural habitats, why would we think things could ever be different? All the old wounds, burdens, and complicated memories are there: My mother will of course expect me to do X, which I hate, and my cousins will certainly go into Y in their usual way. None of this will ever change. Can’t we just stay home this year for Christmas and sit out the election cycle?

Against such a backdrop, the undying popularity of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol makes sense. The little book has never been out of print since Dickens first wrote it in 1843, and as we know, it has been repeated, rehashed, and reimagined in countless films, TV adaptations, stage productions, public readings, parodies, and so forth.

These are signs of some essential good thing we desire, abiding and profound, that A Christmas Carol gets at. Part of that desirable good is wrapped up in its picture of human transformation. Inside the story, the drastic about-face undertaken by Ebenezer Scrooge seems possible, despite all the odds. Change, we think as we read or watch, can happen. A Christmas Carol strikes us as an expression of hope in a dark time. (Read more from “The Everyday Hope of a ‘Christmas Carol’ Is That the World Can Change Because We Can” HERE)

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Pro-Palestinian Protest Disrupts Christmas in San Francisco: ‘No Xmas as Usual’

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A group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to disrupt Christmas weekend shopping in San Francisco’s Union Square on Saturday in the latest attack on the Christian holiday, seen by radical leftists as an example of bourgeois complacency.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported:

Hundreds of protesters gathered among holiday crowds in San Francisco’s central shopping district Saturday to call for an end to hostilities between Hamas and Israel, as well as for charges to be dropped against demonstrators who shut down the Bay Bridge last month.

Chanting “free Palestine” and “cease-fire now” while holding yellow protest signs that read “No Xmas as usual in a genocide” and “DA Jenkins drop all charges on the Bay Bridge 78,” the protesters — many of them representing the Party for Socialism and Liberation — stood outside the former Westfield mall on Market Street as holiday shopping was underway with Christmas just two days away.

By 1:30 p.m., protesters had blocked traffic on Market Street between Powell and Ellis streets. About 30 minutes later protesters marched down Market Street and confronted police, leading to the arrest of one demonstrator. It was not immediately clear why the protester was arrested. Later, protesters marched to Union Square and surrounded the Christmas tree and ice skating rink.

The “Bay Bridge 78” refers to the 78 people who were arrested for blocking the San Francisco Bay Bridge last month during an anti-Israel protest. As Breitbart News later noted, that protest temporarily blocked a number of ambulances from delivering organs to waiting transplant patients.

(Read more from “Pro-Palestinian Protest Disrupts Christmas in San Francisco: ‘No Xmas as Usual’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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2014 Photo Taken by Jeffrey Epstein Changes Everything for Bill Gates

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Bill Gates has fervently tried to portray his association with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein as merely coincidental, vehemently denying any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities. Bill made it sound like he only had a few casual dinners with good ol’ Jeff. . .

Bill also appeared on NPR in an attempt at damage control. However, his responses and mannerisms during the interview were bizarre.

Yet, a recently unearthed photo from 2014 significantly alters the story that Bill’s been trying to sell us. The photo, taken by Epstein himself, shows Bill Gates in his Seattle Microsoft office alongside someone alleged to be an Epstein victim. This revelation starkly contradicts Gates’ previous explanations of their relationship and raises some very troubling questions. Could Gates have been complicit in the abuse of any underage and/or young women? Perhaps this is the real reason behind his wife’s decision to end their marriage.

It’s pretty clear there’s a lot we don’t know about what went down with Epstein and the high-flyers who hung out on that island. Chances are, we’ll never get the whole story. (Read more from “2014 Photo Taken by Jeffrey Epstein Changes Everything for Bill Gates” HERE)

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Secret Service Probing ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ Star

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The Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider is under investigation from the Secret Service after statements he made online Thursday against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The federal agency charged with protecting POTUS, the Vice President and their immediate families, as well as major political candidates and high level government officials, have opened the probe, according to Deadline.

As Breitbart News reported, Schneider called for the public execution of Biden, saying the commander in chief should to be “publicly hung” for treason. The actor also called for Hunter Biden to be executed.

John Schneider posted the X message in reply to Biden’s recent post in which he called former President Donald Trump a “threat” to democracy.

“Mr. President, I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung. Your son too. Your response is…?” the actor wrote. (Read more from “Secret Service Probing ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ Star” HERE)

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Latest Presidential Polls: Trump Posts His Largest Lead in GOP Primary, Consistently Tops Biden in General Election

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Former President Donald Trump has hit his largest GOP primary polling lead in the Real Clear Politics average of national polls as he also enjoys a consistent lead over President Joe Biden in a hypothetical 2024 general election matchup.

Trump is polling at a dominant 63.8% in RCP’s average of national Republican primary polls as of Friday morning. The former president holds a 52-point lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (11.6%), who has dropped nearly three points since last month and is now neck-and-neck with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (10.8%).

The Republican candidates are just weeks away from their first true test in the Iowa caucuses on January 15 and then the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire on January 23. Trump’s polling lead in Iowa stands at 32 points as he pulls 51.3% support to DeSantis’ 18.6% and Haley’s 16.1%. In New Hampshire, Trump has a less comfortable lead, sitting at 46.3% while Haley comes in second at 24.8%.

The latest polls of Iowa and New Hampshire showed Haley on an upward trajectory. In Iowa, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. was tied with DeSantis for second place at 17% in the latest InsiderAdvantage poll, while she led DeSantis 17% to 15% in an Emerson survey conducted last weekend. The most recent Fox Business poll of Iowa showed DeSantis leading Haley 18% to 16% while Trump remained the dominant leader at 52%. (Read more from “Latest Presidential Polls: Trump Posts His Largest Lead in GOP Primary, Consistently Tops Biden in General Election” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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Chris Christie Fails to Make GOP Primary Ballot in Super Tuesday State

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Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie failed to make the Republican Party presidential primary ballot in Maine after not securing enough signatures from voters.

The Republican presidential candidate was notified earlier this month by the Maine Secretary of State’s Office that he had failed to secure enough certified signatures from Maine voters to qualify for the state’s GOP primary ballot, the Bangor Daily News reported.

The campaign appealed the decision in court after facing the unexpected setback in the Super Tuesday state, but were shot down this week by Maine Superior Court Justice Julia M. Lipez.

Christie “did not separate petition forms by town, as instructed by the Secretary, or, in the alternative, give himself sufficient time to bring those multi-town signature sheets to the relevant municipalities before the November 20 deadline,” Lipez wrote.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said in a statement that her office appreciated “that the court upheld the integrity of Maine’s well-established ballot access requirements.” (Read more from “Chris Christie Fails to Make GOP Primary Ballot in Super Tuesday State” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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Congressman Reveals Exactly How Our Elected Officials Are Being Controlled Through Blackmail

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Rep. Tim Burchett, known for his bold stance in voting to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has made another significant move. This time, he’s revealing how our elected officials are blackmailed by behind-the-scenes power players. It appears to be a high-stakes game controlled by unelected, influential people who know precisely how to manipulate the system, effectively “owning” and controlling the United States from the shadows.

Here’s how lobbyists, elites, and Deep State control our lawmakers:

“This is how it works: You’re out of the country, out of town.. and some, whatever you’re into—comes up to you, they’re very attractive and laughing at your jokes. Next thing you know, you’re in the hotel room with them naked. You’re getting ready to make a key vote, and some well dressed person comes up and whispers in your ear, ‘Hey man, there’s tapes out on you, and you really ought not to be voting for this thing.’”

(Read more from “Congressman Reveals Exactly How Our Elected Officials Are Being Controlled Through Blackmail” HERE)

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Marine Who Was Discharged, Court Martialed for Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine Arrested for Attempting to Return to Her Base

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Former Marine Catherine Arnett, who spent 113 days in the brig and was eventually discharged for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine in 2022, was arrested earlier this month for attempting to return to her duty station in Japan, according to Stars and Stripes.

Arnett’s case became a cause célèbre when she refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine in 2022, citing religious objections to the fact that the vaccine was developed using research that involved fetal tissue cells. Arnett’s request for a religious exemption was denied. The Marine Corps notified Arnett that she faced administrative separation due to this decision, but Arnett twice refused to board a flight to the United States, or indeed to even leave the base, which led to her being court martialed.

This set in motion a chain of events that led to multiple set trial dates and unsuccesful attempts to discharge Arnett. Finally, in June, the Corps informed Arnett that charges against her were being dropped without prejudice, and that she would be administratively discharged. At the time, Marine Maj. Rob Martins, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing told Task and Purpose, “This decision was made judiciously while balancing what was best for Lance Cpl. Arnett and the United States Marine Corps.” . . .

Arnett, meanwhile, apparently did not agree that her separation from the Marine Corps was best for her. According to Stars and Stripes, Arnett was detained on December 1st while attempting to enter MCAS Iwakuni around 2:30am. She was detained and turned over to local police later that day, who finally released her “last week.” Arnett did not respond directly to Stars and Stripes in a request for comment, but someone purporting to be her secretary claimed that Arnett was re-entering the base as an act of civil disobedience. (Read more from “Marine Who Was Discharged, Court Martialed for Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine Arrested for Attempting to Return to Her Base” HERE)

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Liberals Complain About Catholic College Reversing Decision to Admit Transgender Students

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Saint Mary’s Catholic College in Notre Dame, Indiana, reversed its decision Thursday to allow transgender individuals to attend its all-girls student body, but some aren’t too happy.

The institution’s reversal came following widespread opposition among the community and alumni, the Daily Signal first reported. In an email obtained by the outlet, Saint Mary’s President Katie Conboy wrote: “We have listened closely, and we have heard each of you.” The school initially decided in November it would begin considering transgender women for enrollment in the Fall of 2024, The Observer first reported. However, the institution has gone back on its word, and many individuals are upset by its decision.

Saint Mary’s professor and director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality, Daniel P. Horan, took to Twitter to vent his frustration, posting: “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Nonbinary people are people. Just because it’s new or confusing to you doesn’t make it untrue or wrong or sinful or anything other than reality.”

“I believe that this reversal of the nondiscrimination policy in fact goes against our identity as a Catholic women’s college in the Holy Cross tradition and establishes a policy of discrimination and exclusion rather than the community of inclusion, hospitality and welcome that we say we are,” Horan said. (Read more from “Liberals Complain About Catholic College Reversing Decision to Admit Transgender Students” HERE)

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Teens Face Murder Charges After Allegedly Laughing While They Beat 53-Year-Old Father to Death

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On December 6th, three Columbus area teens allegedly laid in wait for a 53-year-old father to exit a local Kroger, whereupon they reportedly were “laughing and enjoying” themselves as they beat the man senseless. Now all three face murder charges after their victim died Monday from his wounds.

The victim has been identified as Donnie Smith. According to Smith’s wife, Smith was “an amazing person” who was a father to a 15-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter.

According to the police report, Jamarion Fredrae Evans-Bennett, 19, Dionta Davon Hughes, 18, and an as-yet-unidentified 17-year-old male allegedly became involved in an altercation inside the Kroger with a number of Kroger patrons, whereupon they were asked to leave by security. The three then reportedly went outside to wait for Smith. It is unclear as yet why Smith in particular was targeted by the group, or what was the nature of the disagreement inside the store. (Read more from “Teens Face Murder Charges After Allegedly Laughing While They Beat 53-Year-Old Father to Death” HERE)

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