[guest post by Dana]

Feel free to talk about anything you think is newsworthy or might interest readers.

I’ll start.

First news item: Voters expect elected officials to enact viable solutions. Unfortunately, more often than not, government can only demonstrate its inability to fix anything:

Homelessness in Seattle has reached a crisis point. Despite some $1 billion in public and private spending, more people live on the streets than ever before. But rather than focus on the causes — addiction, mental illness and social breakdown — progressives in local government have waged war against abstract forces of oppression.

Last week, Seattle homeless ­advocates hosted their annual conference under the theme of “Decolonizing Our Collective Work.” ­According to the organizers, to reduce homelessness, government should prioritize “unpacking the current structures of power” and “examine the legacies of structural racism in our systems” to “co-design a path towards liberation with black, ­indigenous, brown and other marginalized communities.”

What does all that mean?

The director of King County’s homelessness program, Kira Zylstra, used taxpayer funds to hire a transgender stripper to perform during the conference. According to The Seattle Times, the stripper, Beyoncé Black St. James, “danced topless in a sheer bodysuit, gave lap dances and kissed attendees.” The audience — representatives from the region’s taxpayer-funded nonprofits and government agencies — clapped, cheered and handed St. James dollar bills.

Second news item: Elizabeth Warren’s purity test backfires, revealing her own stunning hypocrisy:

On a Saturday evening in June 2018, with temperatures in the 70s and the Red Sox playing at Fenway Park, supporters of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren gathered at the City Winery Boston for a fundraiser.

They were treated to songs by the Grammy-winning artist Melissa Etheridge and heard remarks from Warren, who was months away from announcing her campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. For the top donors, those who could contribute or raise $5,400 per couple or $2,700 a person, there was a VIP photo reception and premium seating.

For them and others who gave at least $1,000, there was also a gift: a souvenir wine bottle…

In Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles, Warren lit into rival Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for attending a fundraiser at a “wine cave” in California’s Napa Valley where he dined and sipped under a chandelier with Swarovski crystals and where a novelty large bottle of wine can cost $900.

Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States,” Warren said. Later, she added, “I do not sell access to my time.”

…Even after her pledge not to hold private fundraisers, Warren has continued to attend the very kind of events for which she has criticized others. She has headlined fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee in settings that raise handsome sums, and she said she would continue to do that if she were the nominee, so that Democrats would not be at a financial disadvantage against President Donald Trump.

Third news item: Franklin Graham spills the beans about his father, and glosses over Trump’s behavior because the end justifies the means:

… Yes, my father Billy Graham founded Christianity Today; but no, he would not agree with their opinion piece. In fact, he would be very disappointed. I have not previously shared who my father voted for in the past election, but because of this article, I feel it is necessary to share it now. My father knew Donald Trump, he believed in Donald Trump, and he voted for Donald Trump. He believed that Donald J. Trump was the man for this hour in history for our nation.

Look at all the President has accomplished in a very short time. The economy of our nation is the strongest it has been in 50 years, ISIS & the caliphate have been defeated, and the President has renegotiated trade deals to benefit all Americans. The list of accomplishments is long, but for me as a Christian, the fact that he is the most pro-life president in modern history is extremely important—and Christianity Today wants us to ignore that, to say it doesn’t count? The President has been a staunch defender of religious freedom at home and around the world—and Christianity Today wants us to ignore that? Also the President has appointed conservative judges in record number—and Christianity today wants us to ignore that? Christianity Today feels he should be removed from office because of false accusations that the President emphatically denies.

Is President Trump guilty of sin? Of course he is, as were all past presidents and as each one of us are, including myself.

Fourth news item: President Trump responds to Christianity Today’s editorial calling for his removal from office:

….have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President. No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close. You’ll not get anything from those Dems on stage. I won’t be reading ET again!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2019

Fifth news item: Evangelicals to continue looking the other way with regard to Trump’s “moral deficiencies”:

President Trump’s re-election campaign announced the creation of an ‘Evangelicals for Trump’ coalition hours after the president feuded publicly with a Christian publisher Friday.

Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign said in an email Friday evening that the president will launch the “Evangelicals for Trump” group at an event in Miami on January 3, 2020.

“The event will bring together Evangelicals from across the nation who support President Trump’s re-election,” said the announcement.

Sixth news item: Making bank off the impeachment:

An official for President Trump’s 2020 campaign said Friday that it has raised $10 million over the course of two days following the historic impeachment vote in the House this week.

“That’s just in 48 hours, so two days, $5 million dollars a day,” Tim Murtaugh, the communications director of Trump’s reelection team, told Hill.TV. “The president’s reelection campaign gets bigger and stronger.”

“Every time the Democrats in the media into a frenzy like they did on Wednesday with the vote, we collect more data — we have greater interaction with the voters and we raise more money,” he added.

Have a great weekend.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana