Merry Christmas!
Illegal Alien Burns Woman to Death on NYC Subway – This Has Gone Too Far
Fox News: A migrant from Guatemala was arrested in connection to the heinous death of a woman who was lit on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday.
Sources identified the person of interest to Fox News Digital as 33-year-old Sebastin Zapeta, who has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, as well as first-degree arson.
“U.S. Border Patrol in Sonoita, Arizona, encountered Zapeta June 1, 2018, and served him with an order of expedited removal and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) removed Zapeta from the U.S. to Guatemala June 7, 2018,” Carter said. “Zapeta unlawfully reentered the United States on an unknown date and location.”
the suspect calmly walked up to the victim…used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds.
Opinion: This is a serious kind of demented. Someone is willing to walk up to another person, calmly light them on fire, and then watch as they burn to death. January 20th cannot get here fast enough.
Biden Commutes Sentences of 37 Violent Criminals on Death Row
Whitehouse: “Biden announced that he is commuting the sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row.” In the name of “ensuring a fair and effective justice system”
“President Biden has dedicated his career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system”
“This historic clemency action builds on the President’s record of criminal justice reform.”
Who are these criminals? Here are a couple of examples.
Thomas Sanders – Convicted of shooting a mother on the side of I-40, then kidnapped her 12-year-old daughter, sexually abusing her, then slashed her throat
Shannon Wayne Agofsky – During a bank robbery he took the bank president and tied him to a chair, then threw him into a lake to drown. While in prison, he also committed two separate murders.
Brandon Leon Basham – Went on a 17 state crime spree in which multiple people were murdered during carjackings, robberies, and other violent crimes.
-Full Details from William Kirk at Washington Gun Law
Opinion: It is extremely rare for Presidents to commute the sentences of violent criminals. Murderers whose sentences have been commuted in the past are typically service-members who were convicted of war crimes, Vietnam vets for example. The statement says Biden has dedicated his career to reducing violent crime – so at the 11th hour he commutes the sentences of some of the most serious violent criminals!?!?
White House Aids Hid Biden’s Mental Decline – New Report
No, they didn’t hide anything. The entire world has known for years, but staffers are just starting to admit it.
WSJ: “He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow” a former aid recalled the official saying.”
The report points all the way back to the beginning of the administration.
Opinion: Let’s Go Brandon! This story is all over the news, with networks and podcasters dedicating a ton of time talking about it. It’s hardly news, I think we’ve all known. The only significance here is people are starting to admit it.
Biden Signs Bill to Avoid Govt. Shutdown
BBC: “The budget deal was passed shortly after a midnight deadline with an overwhelming of margin of 85-11”
“The 118-page “American Relief Act, 2025″ strips out a debt-limit provision that Trump had demanded”
No pay raise for lawmakers, it does include $100B for hurricane recovery and disaster relief.
Trump Files Legal Challenge Against Biden Admin’s Border Wall Sell-Off: Claims of Financial Loss and Criminal Conduct
Fox News: “President-elect Trump filed an amicus brief…to “immediately” stop the Biden administration’s sale of border wall”
“Trump’s amicus brief states that if officials in the Biden administration are “deliberately selling off border-wall materials at a major financial loss to the Government to obstruct the pro-wall policy of Congress and President Trump, such conduct likely constitutes a criminal act, such as a conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
The Biden administration has auctioned off parts since 2023, with weekly auctions happening more recently.
Trump Warns EU: Buy American Energy or Face Tariffs
Trump – “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!”
Massive Student Debt Relief: Biden Forgives $4.28 Billion for 55,000 Public Service Workers
“Biden canceled $4.28 billion in federal student loan debt for another 55,000 public service workers”
“He has canceled almost $180 billion for 4.9 million federal borrowers since the start of his presidency”
“The public servants approved for debt cancellation today include teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials, and other public service workers”
Opinion: I wish I had not paid off my student loans. This can create an incentive structure that is not good for our society.
Trump Proposes Removing The Debt Ceiling
NY Post: “Abolishing the debt ceiling would be the “smartest thing it [Congress] could do. I would support that entirely,” the incoming president told NBC News on Thursday.”
“The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge.”
“The proposal quickly got support from one of Trump’s most vocal rivals in Congress, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).”
Opinion: Trump and his team are way smarter than I am, but I’m not sure I agree. In some ways, it is an arbitrary cap that they just continue raising anyway. Eliminating it would remove the opportunity for both sides to put all of their pork in and hold the other side hostage to pass. But it would open the door for a total loss of accountability or discipline in spending and damage international perception of the U.S. dollar.
Fani Willis Removed From Georgia Case Against Trump
Blaze – “On Thursday, Willis was removed from the case due to her affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade”
“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the appeals court wrote.”
Opinion: It is sad it took an appeals court to remove her, hopefully just the first step in getting this entire case thrown out.
Biden Calls for Ban on Stock Market Trading by Members of Congress
Fox News – “Nobody, nobody in Congress should be able to make money on the stock market while they are in the Congress.”
“Because of the job they gave you…an inside track to make more money”.
Opinion: Attaboy, Joe, finally something reasonable. A jab at Pelosi for sure, but I agree with him on this one. I don’t have a problem with Congress making money from investments, but they should be held to the same rules as the rest of the population when it comes to insider trading.
Ethics Committee Reverses Course – Will Release Report on Matt Gaetz, Who Fires Back
Blaze Media: “The House Ethics Committee ultimately voted in secret to release the report before year’s end”
Gaetz provided a statement on X Wednesday, admitting:
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.”
Opinion: If what he had done was illegal, he would be in jail, or at least in court.
When we apply a standard to our elected leaders that says “if you’ve ever done anything wrong in life, you’re not qualified to run our country”, we are eliminating a whole lot of really smart capable people. There is certainly a balance we need to find.
With Gaetz, I don’t know what is true vs. untrue. If the guy slept around and smoked some pot in his younger days – who cares.
I have a hard time believing some of the extreme allegations – as I said, he would be in jail at this point if those were true. I think the Democrats pushed so hard on this because he was a strong leader, this was the only way they could beat him.
Trump Slams Spending Bill and Warns GOP Against Debt Ceiling ‘Trap’
President Trump – on the proposed government spending bill – “ridiculous and extraordinarily expensive.” Republicans should not pass it without first addressing the looming debt ceiling issue
Democrats have set a “nasty TRAP” to embarrass Republicans when the debt ceiling vote comes up in June.
Trump criticized funding for the “Communist Global Engagement Center, a project of Crooked Hillary Clinton,” and condemned any continued support for the January 6th Committee, calling it “suicidal for any Republican approving it.”
He also warned Republicans not to delay the debt ceiling issue – “Everything should be done, and fully negotiated, prior to my taking Office on January 20th, 2025.”
Any Republican supporting a clean version of the spending bill “should, and will, be Primaried”.
Opinion: The bill is 1,500 pages and full of pork. Every representative wants to get their “piece” in, bringing everything to a screeching halt. Can you imagine if a private business operated this way? Managers requesting money for their pet projects, and halting operations until they get their way…it is not sustainable.
Trump Trolls AOC Over Failed Leadership Seat
Trump – “Really too bad that AOC lost the Battle for the Leadership Seat in the Democrat Party. She should keep trying. Someday, she will be successful!”
Biden Approval at All-Time Low in Latest Marquette Poll
66% Disapprove of Biden’s recent performance
53% Approve of Trump’s recent performance
49% Approve of the Trump cabinet nominations.
71% Disapprove of the Hunter Biden pardon.
“The survey was conducted Dec. 2-11, 2024, interviewing 1,063 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.6 percentage points.”
Opinion: It’s a small sample, but I would generally agree with the trends.
Biden hitting an all-time low – Not surprising.
Another interesting piece of the data is in Kamala Harris’ numbers – negative double digits since 2022, except for a brief period starting in July of 2024, where she improved from -23% to just -5%.
How does one improve that much? Positive media spin…
NCAA President Grilled By Senate on Transgender Athletes
Senator Hawley – “Why are you allowing biological men to play in women’s sports?”
NCAA President, Charlie Baker – “Because we believe that’s consistent with federal policy”.
Mr. Baker mentioned 5 separate cases where judges have ruled in favor of transgender athletes competing.
Prior to Sen. Hawley grilling the NCAA, Sen. John Kennedy basically called BS on the stance taken by the NCAA and them using these cases as an easy way out, instead of standing up and being a leader on the topic.
Biden Releases Statement on FTC Banning Hidden Fees
Whitehouse: “Today, the Federal Trade Commission is…banning hidden junk fees when you book a hotel or purchase event tickets.”
“these junk fees sneak onto your bill and companies end up making you pay more”
“Today’s announcement builds on work…to ban junk fees…saving many families hundreds of dollars each year”
Opinion: Nobody likes it when you get hit with added fees at checkout, but it is sort of expected at this point, especially at a hotel. And aren’t those fees normally taxes? And I would argue that less than .01% of people purchasing concert tickets walk away from the purchase when presented with the “hidden fees”.
I don’t think this action does any harm, but I also don’t believe it will save families “hundreds of dollars each year”. Businesses will simply bake all of the costs into the base price.
AOC Will Not Lead Democrats on Oversight Panel
The Hill: “Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) on Tuesday defeated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to lead Democrats on the Oversight and Accountability Committee in the next Congress”
“Ocasio-Cortez, 35, had made the case that the time is ripe for Democrats to embrace a new generation of party leaders”
“Yet Democrats have put the senior member in charge of almost every House committee in the next Congress”
Opinion: I’m all for “embracing the next generation of leaders”, but the dems seem to only have a bench full of folks with a massively woke agenda, they would run our country into the ground.
Ottawa to Provide $1.3B for Border Security
Winnipeg Sun: The Canadian “government is promising to spend $1.3 billion to beef up Canada’s border security over six years”.
“The urgency to shore up the border comes amid a threat from president-elect Donald Trump to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports”
Opinion: It is astonishing how much Trump has already accomplished before taking office. Every other president in recent history would have gone into these negotiations with a 4-year timeline, and it would have never gotten done.
Trump’s 70-Minute 12/16/2024 Press Briefing – Here’s What You Missed
Economy
- Trump emphasized record optimism among small businesses, citing significant post-election economic growth.
- Plans for historic tax cuts, aiming to lower corporate tax further to 15% for businesses operating in the U.S.
Energy
- Commitment to expanding clean coal and domestic energy production.
- Plans to expedite approvals for pipelines, drilling, and infrastructure to reduce energy prices.
Foreign Affairs
- Trump addressed the Ukraine-Russia war, criticizing its devastation and advocating for peace negotiations.
- He discussed relations with Iran, China, and Israel, refusing to reveal specifics on preemptive strikes or military plans.
Immigration & Border
- Trump put a strong emphasis on restoring border security, criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of border policies.
- Addressed plans for deportation, including agreements to return migrants to their home countries.
- Called for the Biden administration to stop selling off parts of the border wall
Regulation
- Reiterates his policy of cutting 10 regulations for every new one.
- Calls for slashing job-killing regulations to improve business growth.
Healthcare
- Criticized high U.S. drug prices compared to other nations.
- Promised to eliminate “middlemen” in the prescription drug industry to reduce costs.
Defense
- Trump criticized the deployment of troops in Syria, arguing for a strategic approach to reduce American losses.
- He also criticized the Biden administration for making major policy decisions on Ukraine-Russia, talking specifically about the authorization Biden gave to launch long-range missiles into Russia.
Opinion: What a breath of fresh air. A President who can actually have an hour+ news conference, speaking completely unprompted, then navigating Q&A. I know, this shouldn’t be “impressive”…but after watching Biden and Harris over the last 4 years, it’s a relief.
Trump is uniting people, and we are seeing this with both business and world leaders. He has toned down some of the rhetoric as well. One of the questions he received was on whether he would support a preemptive strike on Iran. Instead of roasting the guy for a dumb question, he simply explained why he wouldn’t answer the question, and that he didn’t mean to insult him by not answering. I feel like 6-years ago Trump would have made his supporters laugh with a roast, and would have given everyone else something to talk about for 2 days.