VICTORY!
(At least of a sort. At least for now…)
A huge one, even…

https://instapundit.com/691202/

https://instapundit.com/691288/

As the defence of the country has OFFICIALLY BEGUN…against those who believe “with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their might” that they HAVE carte blanche, a responsibility and an eternal mandate to destroy it along with its citizens…starting with those who don’t fall into line.

as for Sachs I know his number, and all the endorsers on the board, I know this putting a reformed al queda?? at the head of the syrian government is stupid, like Bin laden’s birthday present from hell, did we learn nothing from hillary’s big adventure in libya and egypt the receipts I had from my old blog,

johnson’s keystone cops adventure, dejavu all over again, how is it with four members norma desmond commands the destruction of the republic,

of course the first line of business is to arrest mark elias, who stole a bunch of senate seats this time around,

Tommie vietor was mr obamas driver, so the likelyhood of any wisdom coming from him, is dubious,

I think YouTube does that when a person has some sort of IP tracking block or uses a VPN. Perhaps that’s the case for you.

I know you like to post interesting videos on your open threads, but we can no longer watch them. Just thought you should know.

“Bloated federal funding bill is scrapped after Trump-boosted revolt, Rep. Scalise confirms”—
https://nypost.com/2024/12/18/us-news/federal-funding-bill-scrapped-after-trump-boosted-revolt-rep-scalise-confirms/

Vivek Ramaswamy
@VivekGRamaswamy
I wanted to read the full 1,500+ page bill & speak with key leaders before forming an opinion. Having done that, here’s my view: it’s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO.

Keeping the government open until March 14 will cost ~$380BN by itself, but the true cost of this omnibus CR is far greater due to new spending. Renewing the Farm Bill for an extra year: ~$130BN. Disaster relief: $100BN. Stimulus for farmers: $10BN. The Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement: $8BN. The proposal adds at least 65 cents of new spending for every dollar of continued discretionary spending.

The legislation will end up hurting many of the people it purports to help. Debt-fueled spending sprees may “feel good” today, but it’s like showering cocaine on an addict: it’s not compassion, it’s cruelty. Farmers will see more land sold to foreign buyers when taxes inevitably rise to meet our obligations. Our children will be saddled with crippling debt. Interest payments will be the largest item in our national budget.

Congress has known about this deadline since they created it in late September. There’s no reason why this couldn’t have gone through the standard process, instead of being rushed to a vote right before Congressmen want to go home for the holidays. The urgency is 100% manufactured & designed to avoid serious public debate.

The bill could have easily been under 20 pages. Instead, there are dozens of unrelated policy items crammed into the 1,547 pages of this bill. There’s no legitimate reason for them to be voted on as a package deal by a lame-duck Congress. 72 pages worth of “Pandemic Preparedness and Response” policy; renewal of the much-criticized “Global Engagement Center,” a key player in the federal censorship state; 17 different pieces of Commerce legislation; paving the way for a new football stadium in D.C.; a pay raise for Congressmen & Senators and making them eligible for Federal Employee Health Benefits. It’s indefensible to ram these measures through at the last second without debate.

We’re grateful for DOGE’s warm reception on Capitol Hill. Nearly everyone agrees we need a smaller & more streamlined federal government, but actions speak louder than words. This is an early test. The bill should fail.

The House should pass a clean CR and force the Democrat controlled senate to approve the bill or vote it down and shut down the government. A government shutdown would only last until Republicans take control of the senate on January 3.

“The Carol of the Bells” is a great piece of music.

Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band (live version) God Rest Ye Merry: https://youtu.be/MBO_c4wVQJw