[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Trump sentenced, despite his objections:

President-elect Donald Trump has been sentenced to unconditional discharge for his conviction last year on 34 charges of business fraud related to hush money payment to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

. . .Trump will not be imprisoned, fined or face probation, but his conviction still stands, and he will enter office as a convicted felon. Prosecutors had recommended the sentence, saying in court Friday, “we must be respectful of the office of the presidency” and Trump’s pending inauguration.

FYI:

Judge Juan Merchan is speaking to Donald Trump and is noting that it’s the office of the presidency that is extraordinary, not the occupant of the office.

“It is the legal protections afforded to the office of the president of the United States that are extraordinary, not the occupant of the office,” he said.

Trump’s comments to the court today:

“It’s been a political witch hunt. It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work,” Trump said.

Trump called the case “a weaponization of government” and “an embarrassment to New York.

Trump then posted on Truth Social:

The Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt. After spending tens of millions of dollars, wasting over 6 years of obsessive work that should have been spent on protecting New Yorkers from violent, rampant crime that is destroying the City and State, coordinating with the Biden/Harris Department of Injustice in lawless Weaponization, and bringing completely baseless, illegal, and fake charges against your 45th and 47th President, ME, I was given an UNCONDITIONAL DISCHARGE. That result alone proves that, as all Legal Scholars and Experts have said, THERE IS NO CASE, THERE WAS NEVER A CASE, and this whole Scam fully deserves to be DISMISSED. The real Jury, the American People, have spoken, by Re-Electing me with an overwhelming MANDATE in one of the most consequential Elections in History. As the American People have seen, this “case” had no crime, no damages, no proof, no facts, no Law, only a highly conflicted Judge, a star witness who is a disbarred, disgraced, serial perjurer, and criminal Election Interference. Today’s event was a despicable charade, and now that it is over, we will appeal this Hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once great System of Justice. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Second news items

About presidential legacies and Joe Biden:

As the passing of Jimmy Carter reminds us, presidential legacies are complicated matters, and it is difficult to predict the verdict of history. But as Biden leaves office, he is less a transformational figure than a historical parenthesis. He failed to grasp both the political moment and the essential mission of his presidency.

Other presidents have misunderstood their mandate. But in Biden’s case, the consequences were existential: By his own logic, the Prime Directive of his presidency was to preserve democracy by preventing Donald Trump’s return to power. His failure to do so will likely be the lasting legacy of his four years in office.

Read the whole thing.

Third news item

A warning for the President-elect:

As a president facing real challenges at home and abroad, Trump will be judged not by talk but by deeds. And he won’t be able to blame Congress for failures, as Congress is controlled by his party, a party he controls. The last time a president entered a second term with control of Congress was George W. Bush in 2005. He claimed a mandate and he and his party were riding high. It didn’t end well.

Fourth news item

Democrats join Republicans in vote:

The House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court over its issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), passed the House in a 243 to 140 vote, with 45 Democrats joining in support of the GOP-led bill. Thirty Democrats and twenty Republicans did not vote, while one Republican voted present.

Fifth news item

Why aiding Ukraine is imperative to Ukraine’s victory, as well as the West’s victory:

Supporting Ukraine to victory against Russia is in the best interest of the United States.

A world in which Russia prevails would be more dangerous and more expensive for America—requiring an estimated increase of $808 billion in defense spending over five years.

Alternatively, an increased and accelerated multinational commitment to Ukraine and conclusion of the war in the near term would result in a vibrant and free Ukraine with a newly modernized and battle-tested military and a thriving industrial base, which would help stabilize Europe.

Stability in Europe may also improve conditions in the Middle East and Pacific as the Axis of Aggression sees a resolute alliance that is both willing and capable of using a wide range of deterrence options combined with decisive, rapid response to contingencies.

Read the entire report here.

Sixth news item

Russia is looking forward to Trump’s presidency. And that’s not a good thing:

Head of RT Margarita Simonyan, a decorated state TV propagandist and Kremlin insider, has spilled not only Russia’s hopes and dreams for Donald Trump’s second term in office but also Moscow’s strategy for suckering him in.

She believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin has an irresistible sway over Trump and will extract the desired outcome—but only if they meet face-to-face, without any influence or interference from other American power brokers, à la Helsinki, where the two men held discussions in secret.

The head of RT is convinced that a personal meeting between Trump and Putin will totally reverse the course taken by the Biden administration, including the sanctions that banned her propaganda network from American airwaves. Speaking on the program The Right To Know, Simonyan predicted that the incoming Trump administration would attempt to establish good relations with Russia and lift multiple sanctions. According to her, RT has good reason to believe that under Trump, it will return to the U.S. cable networks.

Note: I didn’t think I would need to add this clarification, but…please know that I am fully aware of RT and Margarita Simonyan. So why publish this post? Well, I suspect that the compulsive liar Simonyan, may actually be somewhat accurate about the impending Trump/Putin relationship. We already know that Trump is in awe of Putin, Xi, and Kim Jong Un. All of us have witnessed his affection and admiration for them. We also know that Trump loves to boast of his perceived accomplishments and his place on the world stage. He is the egoist’s ego. When one’s greatest weakness is their own overblown sense of self, pride, and ego, it makes dealing with strong leaders who rule with an iron fist and easily manipulate the masses with fear, being smart and careful around them becomes that much more difficult. I don’t think Trump is clever and smart enough to resist the cheap flattery that will come his way. I hope I’m wrong.

Have a good weekend.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

The Laken Riley Act advanced today:

Senate Democrats overwhelmingly helped advance the GOP’s first bill to address illegal immigration on Thursday, a signal the legislation could pass next week.

Only nine Democrats voted against moving forward on the legislation, and even party leaders like Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) voted to advance it. However, some of those Democrats have pushed to make amendments to the bill — something Republicans are unlikely to allow — so its prospects for passage are still unclear.

One of the amendments Democrats want to put in place is that Dreamers be exempt. Additionally, Democrats might amend the language of the bill to “narrow the threshold for what triggers ICE detention of an undocumented person”.

About the bill:

The Laken Riley Act would change federal law to require ICE, operating under the Department of Homeland Security, to take custody of people in the country illegally and detain them over theft-related crimes. It would target people who are charged, arrested or convicted for committing an act of “burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting,” according to the bill text.

The legislation would also empower state attorneys general to sue the federal government for alleged failures of immigration enforcement “if the State or its residents experience harm, including financial harm in excess of $100.”

After the presidential election results, Democrats may finally be starting to understand and acknowledge that a majority voters consider the control of illegal immigration a priority. Especially for those who commit crimes once they are here in the U.S. Consider:

Walking off the floor, Sen. John Fetterman responded to a question as to why he thinks more Democrats are jumping on board the Laken Riley Act.

“A blinding flash of common sense,” he said.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

As I’m sure you know, the fires in Southern California have wrought destruction throughout Los Angeles county:

Five people have died, more than 2,000 structures have burned and at least 130,000 residents are under evacuation orders because of the wildfires burning across Los Angeles County. ‘We are absolutely not out of danger yet,’ Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said.

While the intense winds have slowed down, meteorologists say they expect to see them increase today. Unfortunately, that means that burning embers can continue to be blown long distances, igniting new fires.

“We’ll get a little bump up in winds as we get another little push of offshore flow. . .Nothing like we saw yesterday with the gusts of 80 to 100 miles per hour winds, but certainly enough to present some issues for the fires. … It’s kind of like a day on, day off sort of thing. At least until the middle of next week we’re going to be in that pattern.”

The worst part: there is no rain expected in the next few days.

If you want to help victims of the fire, there is a good resource list here.

It’s a disaster of mind-boggling proportions. I have loved ones on the periphery of one fire, so it’s pretty concerning to me. I know many readers are from the Southern California area, so I hope and pray that you are safe and not directly impacted. Mostly, thoughts and prayers -and hope- to those whose lives have been literally turned upside down by this devastation.

FYI: The Los Angeles Times has lifted the paywall on their coverage of the fires.

-—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

In reading about Trump’s request to stop the sentencing on Friday, this portion caught my eye:

President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to halt his Friday sentencing for his hush money criminal conviction after a New York appeals court judge declined to intervene.

Trump’s lawyers filed an emergency application with the high court early Wednesday after the New York appeals court on Tuesday turned down his request to indefinitely postpone the sentencing.

…

The trial court judge scheduled to sentence Trump on Friday, Justice Juan Merchan, has indicated he doesn’t plan to send Trump to jail and will permit him to attend the proceeding virtually.

…

Still, Trump’s lawyers told the Supreme Court that the sentencing will result in “burden, disruption, stigma, and distraction” to him as he carries out his duties as president-elect.

Heh. As if Trump and his warning threat about possibly using the military to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland (autonomous Danish territory) is *not*, at the least, troubling, and a big distraction and disruption to our allies’ sense of security with us.

Frankly, these threats only add to the stigma of Trump being an indiscreet blowhard on the world stage, making indefensible claims and upsetting the balance in relationships with important allies. While we know that, ultimately, his talk is silly talk, one shouldn’t simply blow it off as if he wouldn’t try to do the absurd during his tenure. So, words matter. And every word that a sitting President (and the President-elect) utters, matters. Trump is not a private citizen, and as his lawyers say, he is now carrying out his duties as president-elect. Thus, everything that comes out of his mouth matters, and has either a direct or indirect impact on Americans, and, as in this case, on world friends upon whom we depend. Leaders from Panama and Greenland have rejected Trump’s demands:

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish TV that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders” and that only the local population could determine its future.

She said “Greenland is not for sale”, but stressed Denmark needed close co-operation with the US, a Nato ally.

…

“The sovereignty of our canal is not negotiable and is part of our history of struggle,” Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha said, adding that President Jose Raul Mulino had made his stance clear.

But you know who welcomes Trump’s rhetoric/threat concerning Greenland and Panama? That’s right: Russia. And China.

Bolton said he’s concerned that Trump’s language could “have a further ramification, based on what Trump said today about declining to rule out the use of force.”

“That’s exactly the same position Xi Jinping has on Taiwan. So I could easily imagine Xi Jinping saying, ‘Look, I perfectly well understand Greenland’s close to the United States. Taiwan’s close to us. Trump won’t rule out the use of force on Greenland. Exactly our position. We won’t rule it out on Taiwan.’”

Bolton said Putin, who directed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, could point to Trump’s rhetoric as justifying his actions.

“Or Vladimir Putin could say, ‘Look, I certainly understand that. Ukraine is critical to our national security. We are using force. And, you know, frankly, if the United States invaded Greenland — which, by the way, has U.S. troops stationed there today — I, Vladimir Putin, wouldn’t oppose that.’”

“It shows Trump, again, not understanding the broader context that his remarks are made in, and the harmful consequences that this is having all across NATO right now,” Bolton said.

Anyway, I got hung up at the absurd claims made by Trump’s lawyers. It reminded me that everything a President (and President-elect) says, matters. Words matter. Greatly.

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

At his press conference this morning, President-elect Trump promised ”a Golden age of America”. Apparently, he intends that the following be a part of that promise:

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security.

“I’m not going to commit to that,” Trump said, when asked if he would rule out the use of the military. “It might be that you’ll have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital to our country.” He added, “We need Greenland for national security purposes.” Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally and a founding member of NATO.

Funny thing for him to say, considering he said this upon winning the election:

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s plans for the world are blunt and clear — up to a point:

No new live or proxy conflicts for an isolationist leader who wants to put America first.

“I’m going to stop wars,” he said in his victory speech.

And then there is this:

Trump: "We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America."

(He's serious.) pic.twitter.com/qHB7A7aqzm

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 7, 2025

And finally, once again confirming his status as Putin’s stooge, Trump made a disgusting accusation, blaming the United States and not Russia for RUSSIA’S UNPROVOKED INVASION OF UKRAINE:

… U.S. President-elect Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden for provoking Russia’s full-scale invasion by supporting Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations.

Trump argued that Ukraine’s potential NATO membership has long been a major concern for Moscow. “That’s been like written in stone. And Biden said, ‘No, they should be able to join NATO.’ Then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep. I could understand their [Russia’s] feelings about that.”

A report by The Wall Street Journal has previously suggested that Trump’s team was exploring a plan to delay Ukraine’s NATO membership by at least 20 years in exchange for Western arms supplies and European peacekeepers to monitor a potential ceasefire with Russia.

This is a disgraceful and infuriating thing for an incoming US president to say. Why, it’s nearly traitorous. Why does he blame the nation that he is going to lead for the reprehensible decision that a vile, murderous leader made to unlawfully invade a sovereign nation? Surely Putin has something on Trump, or, our next Commander in Chief is absolutely clueless about the reality of Putin and Russia. Yet when one considers his admiration for strong men (and he sees himself as one), then of course he’s going to blame some other entity for provoking the war. For the United States to delay Ukraine’s membership in NATO for 20 years would be an awful move. Surely it would tarnish our standing in the world and hurt our relationships with ally nations. Rightfully so. As it has been said a multitude of times before: appeasing a thug like Putin, does not work. Period

At this point, who knows how much stock to put in to anything that Trump says. He is a compulsive, liar, so whether this is just more blather or if maybe something to take seriously, we’ll have to wait and see. What is important to remember, however, is that Trump will have a Senate and House majority when he takes office in two weeks.

P.S.

: “I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA,'” said President-elect Trump in a Truth Social post featuring video of an unidentified man wearing a “Make America great again” hat saying he wants the U.S. to “buy us, buy Greenland.”

“My son, Don Jr, and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,” Trump added.

“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

[guest post by Dana]

It’s hard to believe we’re already at the four-year mark of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. It’s even harder to believe that Donald Trump will be returning to the Oval Office in two short weeks because a majority of voters felt that the then-President, who encouraged the mob of supporters to riot in protest of the election results while he long-delayed stopping the violence, was a safer bet than the candidate (or any write-in name) who had never been involved in an insurrection at the Capitol, or lied incessantly about presidential election results, or defied the important and historical peaceful transfer of power to the highest office in our land.

But here we are.

I love the speech by Mitt Romney below. It encapsulates everything I have felt about that day, and the days leading up to January 6, 2021. I’ve seen the video linked at several sites and have taken the time to read many of the comments below it. It’s laughable how many sneer, “Yeah, so where’s Mitt now?,” referring to his impending retirement. Of course the insinuation is that he blew his political career by standing up against Trump. What a chump. In Trumpland, there is a distinct failure to understand that losing one’s political career by standing up for truth, accountability, and Constitutional loyalty is a badge of honor, not a walk of shame. Instead, quite the opposite is true: It is a walk of shame that election deniers take, including presidents and politicians, by rationalizing or denying the truth about Donald Trump‘s incessant lies concerning his election loss and his part in the insurrection of January 6.

Mitt Romney’s powerful speech on January 6, 2021;

“Now we gather due to a selfish man’s injured pride and the outrage of supporters who he had deliberately misinformed for the past two months… What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the President of the US” pic.twitter.com/bhs4cjpZPg

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 6, 2025

Vice-President Harris today reaffirmed her intention to carry out her lawful duties:

Today, I will perform my constitutional duty as Vice President to certify the results of the 2024 election. This duty is a sacred obligation — one I will uphold guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people. pic.twitter.com/w21HzdNxGs

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) January 6, 2025

This video was released today. It’s an apt warning about those who would try to rewrite the history of Jan 6:

New video from The Lincoln Project: We Cannot Allow a Rewrite of J6 History. pic.twitter.com/w7X7oLyYJv

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 6, 2025

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Congratulations to Liz Cheney (and Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, who chaired the House Jan. 6 Committee and is also being honored):

President Joe Biden plans on Thursday to announce 20 recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal.

According to the White House press release, this award is given out to Americans who “have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”

“The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice,” the press release added.

One of the most notable recipients is former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney for her actions as the vice chair of the committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The press release said that she used her voice and reached across the aisle to defend American ideals of freedom, dignity and decency. The move comes as Cheney has faced attacks from President-elect Trump, a member of her own party, for her role in the Jan. 6 committee.

FYI:

When her name was called, the public address announcer said she was being honored “for putting the American people over party.” Cheney received a standing ovation from those in the East Room as she stood with Biden.

Trump not taking it well:

Biden gave Liz Cheney a Medal yesterday, even though she has proven to be totally corrupt. She, “Bennie” Thompson, and the rest of the Unselect Committee, destroyed and deleted all evidence from their crooked investigation of January 6th. Cheney has the distinction of losing her Congressional seat by the largest margin in History! The people of Wyoming understood how bad for our Country she was, but Biden rewarded her only because she hated “TRUMP.” She’s a Warmonger of low intelligence. All she wants to do is kill people in “Endless Wars,” with no gain other than to defense companies. Liz Cheney, Cryin’ Adam Kinzinger, Bennie Thompson, and the rest of these dishonest Thugs have gotten away with horrible things under the pretense of January 6th. Nancy Pelosi refused to accept the help which was offered for security. She is responsible, and admitted as much, for all to see, on her daughter’s tape. They have destroyed the lives of many people, and are rewarded by getting Biden Fake Medals. This is not America. January 20th cannot come fast enough. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

However, Liz Cheney was happy to correct him and set the record straight:

Donald, this is not the Soviet Union. You can’t change the truth and you cannot silence us. Remember all your lies about the voting machines, the election workers, your countless allegations of fraud that never happened? Many of your lawyers have been sanctioned, disciplined or disbarred, the courts ruled against you, and dozens of your own White House, administration, and campaign aides testified against you. Remember how you sent a mob to our Capitol and then watched the violence on television and refused for hours to instruct the mob to leave? Remember how your former Vice President prevented you from overturning our Republic? We remember. And now, as you take office again, the American people need to reject your latest malicious falsehoods and stand as the guardrails of our Constitutional Republic — to protect the America we love from you.

Second news item

Uh-oh:

With less than 24 hours left until the start of the 119th Congress, Mike Johnson doesn’t have the votes yet to remain speaker.

The Louisiana Republican has been working diligently over the past few days to lock down the 218 votes he needs, even after spending the holidays working the phones and meeting with incoming President-elect Donald Trump. But even the incoming president’s repeated endorsement earlier this week doesn’t mean Johnson is guaranteed a victory. Roughly a dozen Republicans are still on the fence, as some of them try to get concessions on the rules or commitments from Johnson on spending.

Here’s one Republican who says he will not be voting for Trump:

Rep Massie says he will vote for a sitting member of congress “that could do the job” tomorrow

“You can pull all my fingernails off, you can shove bamboo up them, you can start cutting off my fingers, I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow. And you can take that to the bank”

Trump wishes Mike Johnson success in today’s vote (but doesn’t push those Republicans resistant to Johnson, to vote for him.):

Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support. A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! – A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!

Third news item

Sweden comes up with illegal immigration plan:

The European Union could submit a proposal as soon as March on the creation of so-called ‘return hubs’ to expedite the removal of illegal migrants, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday.

Kristersson sketched out the potential timetable during a meeting in Vienna with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, a fellow conservative, in which both men urged the European Union to step up efforts to counter illegal immigration.

Fourth news item

About the horror in New Orleans:

A U.S. Army veteran who rammed a truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, leaving at least 14 people dead and dozens injured, proclaimed his support for ISIS in the hours before the attack, according to the FBI.

The suspect — identified by the FBI as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas and an Army vet — was killed in a shoot-out with police early on Wednesday.

Investigators initially said they believed Jabbar worked with others to pull off the attack and were searching for other suspects. But on Thursday, the FBI said it now believed that Jabbar acted alone.

“This was an act of terrorism,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia told reporters, adding Jabbar was “100% inspired by ISIS.”

Fifth news item

Vladimir Putin to the Russian people:

Vladimir Putin assured Russia he was “certain that everything will be fine” in his New Year’s Eve address on Tuesday, as the nation heads toward its fourth year of war in Ukraine in 2025.

In his speech, the Russian president said the nation was overcoming various challenges and would continue to move on. He also referred to 2025 as the “year of the Defender of the Motherland,” and gave respect to Russia’s “fighters and commanders,” The New York Times reported.

Sure thing, Vlad.

Sixth news item

Heh:

On my way to Washington, DC to proudly represent the people of San Francisco and share our San Francisco values in the Congress of the United States. Thank you for giving me that honor! -NP pic.twitter.com/Ay8pGsNgDb

— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) January 2, 2025

Have a good weekend.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

A post-Christmas nap is on the agenda, so this will be brief.

Let’s start with Christmas “wishes” from the President-elect:

Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in “repair” money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about “anything.” Also, to Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens’ Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World. Likewise, to the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for National Security purposes and, who want the U.S. to be there, and we will!…

Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics, who are constantly trying to obstruct our Court System and our Elections, and are always going after the Great Citizens and Patriots of the United States but, in particular, their Political Opponent, ME. They know that their only chance of survival is getting pardons from a man who has absolutely no idea what he is doing. Also, to the 37 most violent criminals, who killed, raped, and plundered like virtually no one before them, but were just given, incredibly, a pardon by Sleepy Joe Biden. I refuse to wish a Merry Christmas to those lucky “souls” but, instead, will say, GO TO HELL! We had the Greatest Election in the History of our Country, a bright light is now shining over the U.S.A. and, in 26 days, we will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

President Zelensky announced that the Ukraine for Grain program has already begun sending 500 tons of wheat to Syrians.

Meanwhile, Holocaust survivor Ludmila Lipovsky, 83, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian outside her assisted living facility. Reports say that security guards at the scene acted quickly to subdue the suspect after they heard the terrorist shout “Allahu Akbar.”

Russian surface-to-air missiles suspected in the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing dozens, a U.S. official told ABC News.

And some good news:

Authorities are calling it a holiday miracle. A 78-year-old man with dementia who went missing two days before Christmas in Malibu was found within hours with the help of drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

. . . the elderly man was reported missing at about 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 23. A caller told dispatchers that the man had dementia and had left his home to retrieve his mail at 4:30 p.m. but had not returned and could not be found after a search of the area. . . At 8:50 p.m. that same day, the drones located the man lying in a field of thick brush off the side of a roadway about a quarter-mile from his home.

Have a lovely weekend.

—Dana

[Update by JVW: I added the unique and original title “Weekend Open Thread” to this post after Dana confirmed that she didn’t mean for it to be untitled like the fourth Led Zeppelin album.]

[guest post by Dana]

I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Christmas (and Christmas Eve)!

I’m finishing up Alexei Navalany’s memoir, Patriot. (Side-note: It’s refreshing to see patriot being used in the finest sense of the word.) Navalny’s description of one of the three ways in which he learned to endure his imprisonment and unknown future, is worth contemplating:

I decided from the beginning that if I was going to be released as a result of pressure or a political scenario it would happen within six months of my arrest, “while the iron was hot.” And, if it didn’t, I was up the creek for the foreseeable future. I needed to adjust my thinking so that when they did extend my sentence I would feel even more sure I was doing the right thing when I boarded that plane back to Moscow. . .

The second technique is so old you may roll your eyes heavenward when you hear it. It is religion. It is doable only for believers but does not demand zealous, fervent prayer by the prison barracks window three times a day (a very common phenomenon in prisons).

I have always thought, and said openly, that being a believer makes it easier to live your life and, to an even greater extent, engage in opposition politics. Faith makes life simpler.

The initial position for this exercise is the same as for the previous one. You lie in your bunk looking up at the one above and ask yourself whether you are a Christian in your heart of hearts. It is not essential for you to believe some old guys in the desert once lived to be eight hundred years old, or that the sea was literally parted in front of someone. But are you a disciple of the religion whose founder sacrificed himself for others, paying the price for their sins? Do you believe in the immortality of the soul and the rest of that cool stuff? If you can honestly answer yes, what is there left for you to worry about? Why, under your breath, would you mumble a hundred times something you read from a hefty tome you keep in your bedside table? Don’t worry about the morrow, because the morrow is perfectly capable of taking care of itself.

My job is to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and leave it to good old Jesus and the rest of his family to deal with everything else. They won’t let me down and will sort out all my headaches. As they say in prison here: they will take my punches for me.

Of course, this encouragement does not necessarily mean that the Distressing Circumstance will be removed. But it does mean that a way to endure is ours. And in that way lies hope.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First new item

And then it blew up:

“Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025,” Trump and Vance said in a statement. “The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country.”

Also from the President-elect:

In a phone interview. . .Trump said getting rid of the debt ceiling entirely would be the “smartest thing it [Congress] could do. I would support that entirely.”

“The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge,” Trump added.

Trump suggested that the debt ceiling is a meaningless concept — and that no one knows for sure what would happen if it were to someday be breached — “a catastrophe, or meaningless” — and no one should want to find out.

“It doesn’t mean anything, except psychologically,” he said.

And this morning:

If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under “TRUMP.” This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!

Second news item

Oops:

In recent years, dozens of news organizations around the world have quoted or covered a young Chinese man named Wang Jingyu, who portrayed himself as a brave dissident standing up to Communist Party repression. But an NPR investigation this year uncovered evidence linking Wang to an elaborate con involving impersonation of government officials, credit card fraud and stretching from a Bangkok detention center to a village in the Netherlands.

NPR’s reporting has now led at least 10 news organizations to review their stories featuring Wang and retract or amend them. Those news organizations include the Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Germany’s Deutsche Welle, leading newspapers in the Netherlands and Norway as well as Radio Free Asia, which is funded by the U.S. government.

Third news item

You’ve got to be kidding:

A group of conservative lawmakers are floating the idea of replacing Speaker of the House Mike Johnson with billionaire Elon Musk.

…

Lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives have recently toyed with having billionaire Musk take on the role. This follows Johnson receiving pushback from Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump and Musk, for his proposed government spending bill.

Fourth news item

Finnish citizens, unnerved by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are taking up weapons training:

The popularity of weapons training in the Nordic country has soared in recent months. Few places tell the story of the rise in Finnish affinity for self-defense more than shooting ranges that are riding a boom of interest.

. . .

The Vantaa Reservist Association, which operates a gun range. . . has more than doubled its membership over the last two years and now counts over 2,100 members.

Earlier this year, the coalition government announced plans to open more than 300 new ranges — a big jump from the 670 in operation today.

Authorities are encouraging citizens to take up interest in national defense in the country with a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, where firing shots in ice hockey has been more of a pastime than shooting bullets.

Fifth news item

President Zelensky on Putin’s latest nonsense:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “dumbass”. The scathing remarks from the Ukrainian leader came as he reacted to Putin’s latest remarks on Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“People are dying, and he thinks it’s “interesting”… Dumbass,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, captioning the video of Putin talking about the war. The Russian leader was addressing his annual televised press conference, in which he claimed that Russia’s Oreshnik missile cannot be intercepted by air defences and urged the West and Ukraine to “conduct a technological experiment.”

“Let’s call it a high-tech duel of the 21st century. Let them determine some site to hit, let’s say in Kyiv, concentrate all their air defences there, and we will strike there with the Oreshnik and see what happens,” Putin said. “It’s interesting,” he remarked.

Sixth news item

Putin plans to block YouTube in Russia, Yulia Navalnaya pushes back:

Lately, I’ve heard the same sentiment repeated over and over: everything seems to be going Putin’s way. He’s confident, moving from victory to victory, achieving all his goals.

Yet, this week, Putin effectively announced plans to completely block YouTube in Russia. So confident in himself that he’s battling a video-hosting platform. Things are supposedly going so well for him that he’s afraid of the truth.

The slowdown of YouTube began back in the summer, but the regime chose to deliver the final blow during the New Year holidays—a traditional time for sneaky acts, hoping that ordinary people, too preoccupied with figuring out how to afford food for the holiday table, won’t notice.

Technologically, Putin’s regime has the means to block YouTube in Russia. But does that mean all hope is lost? That tens of millions of Russians will lose access to uncensored information and fall victim to Putin’s propaganda? Not necessarily.

This is where I want to address @Google, the corporation that owns YouTube. Tens of millions of your users in Russia are not just numbers in a report. They are real people, many of whom see your platform as their only window to the free world, their sole source of information and support. These users have placed their trust in you, and you can—and must—stand up for them.

We know it can be done. In 2018, Roskomnadzor tried to block Telegram. The messaging app fought back by embedding anti-censorship tools directly into its platform. After two years of futile attempts, Putin’s censors had to admit defeat. More recently, in 2024, the Signal messaging app was also targeted for blocking. But the attempt failed because Signal implemented bypass mechanisms, ensuring it remained accessible to Russian users.

Putin’s censorship can be defeated—if you choose to fight it. Without resistance, the only outcome is loss: loss of freedom and betrayal of the millions of users who depend on you.

We must help everyone we can to learn the truth. Because in the end, truth always prevails.

Have a great weekend.

—Dana