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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 9:49:15 GMT -8
One Christmas Eve, a frenzied young man ran into a pet shop looking for an unusual Christmas gift for his wife.
The shop owner suggested a parrot, named Chet, which could sing famous Christmas carols. This seemed like the perfect gift.
"How do I get him to sing?"The young man asked, excitedly."Simply hold a lighted match directly under his feet." was the shop owner's reply.
The shop owner held a lighted match under the parrot's left foot. Chet began to sing: "Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! ..."
The shop owner then held another match under the parrot's right foot. Then Chet's tune changed, and the air was filled with: "Silent Night, Holy Night..."
The young man was so impressed that he paid the shop-keeper and ran home as quickly as he could with Chet under his arm. When the wife saw her gift she was overwhelmed.
"How beautiful!" she exclaimed. "Can he talk?"
"No," the young man replied,"But he can sing. Let me show you."
So the young man whipped out his lighter and placed it under Chet's left foot, as the shop-keeper had shown him,
and Chet crooned: "Jingle Bells! Jingle bells!..."
The man then moved the lighter to Chet's right foot, and out came: "Silent Night, Holy night..."
The wife, her face filled with curiosity, then asked, "What if we hold the lighter between his legs?"
The man did not know."Let's try it," he answered, eager to please his wife.
So they held the lighter between Chet's legs.
Chet twisted his face, cleared his throat, and the little parrot sang out loudly like it was the performance of his life:
"Chet's nuts roasting on an open fire...."
Previous Guy Has a Xmas Message
"2024 WILL GO DOWN AS THE YEAR OF GREAT AND FULLY COORDINATED ILLEGAL ELECTION INTERFERENCE BY CROOKED JOE BIDEN, THE WORST AND MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, THE DOJ, FBI, A.G.’s, & D.A.’s THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY."
'BUT DESPITE IT ALL IN THE END, THERE WILL BE A BIG AND GLORIOUS VICTORY FOR THOSE BRAVE AND VALIANT PATRIOTS WHO WANT TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN."
Remembering what day it is, he then concluded, "MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!"
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 9:52:16 GMT -8
Oh, Little TOwn of Bethlehem This year, Bethlehem is sombre and quiet. There is no Christmas tree and there are no holiday lights or tourists to see them. Instead, the city of Jesus’s birth – which is in the middle of a war zone – is marking Christmas with a powerful and poignant message: solidarity with Palestine. The Holy Family Cave is a sculpture that depicts a harrowing tableau: a bombed-out version of the traditional nativity cave, which many Christians traditionally believe is where Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is the site now of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The new mural draws a comparison with the journey of Christ and his family, when they had to flee Bethlehem under an oppressive ruler to Egypt, before returning to Nazareth two millennia ago. Surrounded by rubble and barbed wire, the Virgin Mary embraces the baby Jesus, while Joseph embraces her, offering solace. On one side of the family, the Magi holds out a white shroud. On the other side, the fourth shepherd carries a bag, a symbol of Palestinian displacement. Angels, suspended around the rubble, represent the souls of children who have been victims of massacres on Palestinian land throughout history: the murder of children in Bethlehem by Herod at the birth of Jesus; various colonial attacks against the Palestinian people and their ancestors; and current massacres by Israel in Gaza. Around the scene, multilingual panels call for a ceasefire and an end to the massacre against the Palestinian people. Hana Hanania, the mayor of Bethlehem, said the sculpture aims to showcase Palestinian suffering everywhere. Churches, clergy and civilians in Gaza are being bombarded, and a blockade is enforced in the West Bank, particularly in Bethlehem.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 9:55:18 GMT -8
A Gift to America
Joe Biden’s drama-free White House is America’s most under-appreciated Christmas gift
Whatever the reasons, I can’t help but think of Biden and his economic team, toiling away without much fanfare, like Santa and his elves. Whether or not you support him, it’s worth acknowledging a few of the gifts Santa Joe has tucked under our tree this year.
A holiday meal sans masks. COVID hasn’t gone away; it’s now endemic. But thanks, in part, to Biden’s aggressive push to vaccinate the public, 2023 brought the end of the national emergency phase of the pandemic.
More buying power. For all the hyper-ventilating about inflation in the conservative media, Biden and the Federal Reserve have managed to engineer the “soft landing” once thought impossible. The result? Wage growth is now outpacing inflation.
Cheaper prescription drugs. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden took the fight to Big Pharma and capped the cost of insulin at $35 per month. By allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices directly, the law will eventually lower the price of numerous additional drugs.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 9:58:14 GMT -8
The President is In Deep Trouble. He's Unlikely to Get Re-ElectedDemocrats are expressing growing alarm about President Obama’s re-election prospects and, in interviews, are openly acknowledging anxiety about the White House’s ability to strengthen the president’s standing over the next 14 months. Elected officials and party leaders at all levels said their worries have intensified as the economy has displayed new signs of weakness. They said the likelihood of a highly competitive 2012 race is increasing as the Republican field, once dismissed by many Democrats as too inexperienced and conservative to pose a serious threat, has started narrowing to two leading candidates, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, who have executive experience and messages built around job creation. And in a campaign cycle in which Democrats had entertained hopes of reversing losses from last year’s midterm elections, some in the party fear that Mr. Obama’s troubles could reverberate down the ballot into Congressional, state and local races. “In my district, the enthusiasm for him has mostly evaporated,” said Representative Peter A. DeFazio, Democrat of Oregon. “There is tremendous discontent with his direction.” A survey of two dozen Democratic officials found a palpable sense of concern that transcended a single week of ups and downs. The conversations signaled a change in mood from only a few months ago, when Democrats widely believed that Mr. Obama’s path to re-election, while challenging, was secure. “The frustrations are real,” said Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, who was the state chairman of Mr. Obama’s campaign four years ago. “I think we know that there is a Barack Obama that’s deep in there, but he’s got to synchronize it with passion and principles.” Democrats Fret Aloud Over Obama’s Chances
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 9:59:51 GMT -8
The QOP Likes Hitler
Why does Trump keep saying migrants are 'poisoning' America? Many GOP caucusgoers like it
The poll found that 42% of likely Republican caucusgoers are more likely to support Trump for his "poisoning the blood" comments; 28% said they are less likely to support him; and 29% said it does not matter.
The poll, conducted by Selzer & Co., has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
That includes respondents of all age and income levels. It also includes married and single caucusgoers and those with children under 18, as well as likely caucusgoers from all four of Iowa's congressional districts.
Pluralities of men and women both say their support increases, with 45% of men and 38% of women saying they are more likely to support Trump after hearing him say illegal immigrants are "poisoning the blood" of America.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 10:01:26 GMT -8
Ted Cruz Has Personality. Who Knew?
What Went Wrong for Ron DeSantis in 2023
The Florida governor entered the year flush with cash and momentum. In the months since, internal chaos and Donald Trump’s indictments have sapped even his most avid supporters.
“I don’t think it’s fair,” Mr. DeSantis said. “But it’s reality.”
He was talking about Mr. Trump’s predicament. But he could just as easily have been talking about his own.
Boxed in by a base enamored with Mr. Trump that has instinctively rallied to the former president’s defense, Mr. DeSantis has struggled for months to match the hype that followed his landslide 2022 re-election. Now, with the first votes in the Iowa caucuses only weeks away on Jan. 15, Mr. DeSantis has slipped in some polls into third place, behind Nikki Haley, and has had to downsize his once-grand national ambitions to the simple hopes that a strong showing in a single state — Iowa — could vault him back into contention.
For a candidate who talks at length about his own disinterest in “managing America’s decline,” people around Mr. DeSantis are increasingly talking about managing his…
“He lacks charisma,” [New Hampshire voter] Mr. Scaer said in an interview later. “He just doesn’t have that.”
If the great promise of the DeSantis candidacy was Trump without the baggage, Stuart Stevens, a top strategist on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, said that what Republicans got instead was “Ted Cruz without the personality.”
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 10:05:12 GMT -8
If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither on your side, pound the table.One hour before the Saturday midnight deadline, Trump’s legal team filed a brief with the DC Court of Appeals. In it, they asserted Trump is absolutely immune from prosecution for trying to illegally remain president. Their filing is a classic example of ‘baffle them with bullshit.’ Trump’s lawyers — realizing that the Court will not likely grant a President the unlimited powers of an absolute monarch — have packed their brief with a tsunami of cases, constitutional references, amicus briefs, and other citations. They are throwing everything at the wall, hoping something might stick. And their work smacks of desperation. The credited author, D. John Sauer, is no Alina Habba. He has a pedigree — with BA degrees from Duke and Oxford, an MA from Notre Dame, and a Harvard law degree. He clerked for appeals court judge J. Michael Luttig and Justice Antonin Scalia. He was Missouri’s Solicitor General and Assistant Attorney-General. But for all his education and experience, Sauer is now a turd-polisher. And his brief is one of a man desperate to find a straw to grasp in a sea of troubles. Sauer points out that Trump has been charged like no other President before. And if the Court does not stop it now, Republicans will retaliate. “During the 234 years from 1789 to 2023, no current or former President had ever been criminally prosecuted for official acts. That unbroken tradition died this year, and the historical fallout is tremendous. The indictment of President Trump threatens to launch cycles of recrimination and politically motivated prosecution that will plague our Nation for many decades to come and stands likely to shatter the very bedrock of our Republic—the confidence of American citizens in an independent judicial system.” His hysteria does not change the fact that Trump’s treatment is unprecedented because his actions were also unprecedented. And his contention that courts should not prosecute crimes because people might get upset is not a legal argument. Sauer continues: “Under our system of separated powers, the Judicial Branch cannot sit in judgment over a President’s official acts.” This is his second mention of “official acts.” It is shameless obfuscation. And it relies on the Court agreeing that ‘conspiring to defraud the US government’ is an official presidential act. It is hard to see the Court signing off on Sauer’s version of a President’s job description. Sauer then reveals his second issue. Which is: “Whether the Impeachment Judgment Clause, U.S. CONST. art. I, § 3, cl. 7, and principles of Double Jeopardy prevent the prosecution of a President who has been impeached and acquitted by the Senate for the same or closely related conduct.” He argues that because the President’s senatorial teammates acquitted him in his impeachment trial, the Fifth Amendment’s proscription of double jeopardy renders this case unconstitutional. The flaw in Sauer’s argument is that the Senate is not a criminal court. And Trump’s “life or limb” (5A) was never in jeopardy.
Trump files an insanely wild & overwrought 'absolute immunity' appeals court brief
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 10:07:05 GMT -8
Missouri is Now the Don't Show Them State, At Least for One School District
A Missouri school board that previously voted to rescind an anti-discrimination resolution has voted in favor of removing elective Black history and literature classes.
The seven-member Francis Howell School Board voted 5-2 Thursday night to stop offering Black History and Black Literature courses, which had been offered at the district’s three high schools since 2021, KSDK reported. All seven members of the board are white.
“Our students really wanted these electives,” Harry Harris, whose son is a student in the district, said during the board meeting. “Our families really wanted them and our teachers really wanted them. It’s important. It’s been great.”
In July, the conservative-led board revoked an anti-racism resolution that had been passed in 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd.
The resolution, which made a pledge to “speak firmly against any racism, discrimination, and senseless violence against people regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or ability,” was removed from school buildings.
Both the resolution and the classes were targeted by five new members of the board who have all received the backing of the conservative political action committee Francis Howell Families, according to The Associated Press.
On its website, the Francis Howell Families PAC lists issues it’s concerned about, including “critical race theory” and “obscene books in your child’s library.”
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 10:09:36 GMT -8
You Could Give Cash. Remember That Stuff? It Still Works, in Most Places. For Now.
Gift cards make great stocking stuffers — just as long as you don't stuff them in a drawer and forget about them after the holidays.
Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Restaurant gift cards are the most popular, making up one-third of those sales.
Most of those gift cards will be redeemed. Paytronix, which tracks restaurant gift card sales, says around 70% of gift cards are used within six months.
But many cards — tens of billions of dollars’ worth — wind up forgotten or otherwise unused. That’s when the life of a gift card gets more complicated, with expiration dates or inactivity fees that can vary by state.
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 10:15:45 GMT -8
A Weighty Warning
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said that counterfeit of the popular drug Ozempic may still be in the drug supply chain and warned wholesalers, retail pharmacies, healthcare workers and patients to be mindful of the products.
The FDA said that Americans should check the products and if they find them labeled with a lot number NAR0074 and serial number 430834149057 they should cease their distribution or use. The agency said it is continuing to investigate the issue and has managed to seize thousands of the counterfeit units but that there may still be more in the drug supply chain.
"Some counterfeit products may still be available for purchase," the FDA said in a statement last week.
Ozempic, and other similar drugs, have gained significant popularity with people using it for weight loss. The FDA has yet to sanction the use of the drug for anti-obesity treatment and it only gained approval in 2017 for the treatment of diabetes. But another drug with semaglutide like Ozempic, Wegovy, has received approval to treat obesity. Both products are produced by the Danish company Novo Nordisk.
The FDA said that it was working with Novo Nordisk to test the seized counterfeit drugs but has yet to come to a conclusion about the nature of the drugs and their safety.
The agency said, however, that it was aware of five adverse effects of the drugs.
"None of which are serious and are consistent with known common adverse reactions to authentic Ozempic, which are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation," the FDA said in its statement.
The counterfeit products had needles that were also not authentic and could present a risk of infection, the agency warned.
"Based on analyses completed to date, other confirmed counterfeit components within the seized products are the pen label, accompanying health care professional and patient information, and carton," the FDA said.
The drugs regulator implored pharmacies to procure Ozempic directly from approved Novo Nordisk distributors and take all precautions to ensure that the products they receive are authentic.
"Patients should only obtain Ozempic with a valid prescription through state-licensed pharmacies and check the product before using it for any signs of counterfeiting," the FDA said.
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Post by sagobob on Dec 25, 2023 14:01:13 GMT -8
The QOP Likes HitlerWhy does Trump keep saying migrants are 'poisoning' America? Many GOP caucusgoers like it The poll found that 42% of likely Republican caucusgoers are more likely to support Trump for his "poisoning the blood" comments; 28% said they are less likely to support him; and 29% said it does not matter. The poll, conducted by Selzer & Co., has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. That includes respondents of all age and income levels. It also includes married and single caucusgoers and those with children under 18, as well as likely caucusgoers from all four of Iowa's congressional districts. Pluralities of men and women both say their support increases, with 45% of men and 38% of women saying they are more likely to support Trump after hearing him say illegal immigrants are "poisoning the blood" of America. Immigrants have been "poisoning the blood" (of America) since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and the Spanish and French landed somewhere in Florida. |
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 25, 2023 16:37:04 GMT -8
The QOP Likes HitlerWhy does Trump keep saying migrants are 'poisoning' America? Many GOP caucusgoers like it The poll found that 42% of likely Republican caucusgoers are more likely to support Trump for his "poisoning the blood" comments; 28% said they are less likely to support him; and 29% said it does not matter. The poll, conducted by Selzer & Co., has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. That includes respondents of all age and income levels. It also includes married and single caucusgoers and those with children under 18, as well as likely caucusgoers from all four of Iowa's congressional districts. Pluralities of men and women both say their support increases, with 45% of men and 38% of women saying they are more likely to support Trump after hearing him say illegal immigrants are "poisoning the blood" of America. Immigrants have been "poisoning the blood" (of America) since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and the Spanish and French landed somewhere in Florida. Yet as far as I know there is no such thing as Irish blood, African blood, Mexican blood, Jewish blood, royal blood ... |
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Post by sagobob on Dec 26, 2023 11:30:15 GMT -8
Immigrants have been "poisoning the blood" (of America) since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and the Spanish and French landed somewhere in Florida. Yet as far as I know there is no such thing as Irish blood, African blood, Mexican blood, Jewish blood, royal blood ... My bad. I was trying to say that if immigrants are poison, then the "poisoning" began a long time ago. |
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Post by mhbruin on Dec 26, 2023 14:44:58 GMT -8
Yet as far as I know there is no such thing as Irish blood, African blood, Mexican blood, Jewish blood, royal blood ... My bad. I was trying to say that if immigrants are poison, then the "poisoning" began a long time ago. I wasn't arguing with you about this. I just think the concept of some blood being superior to other blood is a ridculous idea. You get stuff like this: "In 1942, the Red Cross made the regrettable decision to segregate blood based on race, accommodating cultural norms of the time rather than relying on scientifically based facts —resulting in civil rights organizations boycotting the Red Cross and blood donation." OTOH, I was wrong in what I posted above. There can be imporatant race-related difference in blood. "Beyond the well-known blood types of A, B, O and AB, there are more than 600 known antigens for red blood cells, and some antigens are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups. For example, Ro is a Rh antigen, or haplotype. This haplotype is more than 10 times more likely to be in individuals who are Black or of African descent than individuals who are white. This information is important in meeting the transfusion needs of patients with sickle cell disease, who, in the U.S., are mostly individuals who are Black. If a patient has this haplotype, we are more likely to find the most compatible blood product match from a Black donor." None of this shows that immigrants are anything but a net positive to America. I hold the unpopular view that we should have open borders. If anyone can come here and make a living, let them in. It's free market economics at it's best. Let labor seek the place where it is most needed. We need young people to pay taxes so us old folks can get our Social Security and Medicare. We used to have open borders and nothing bad happened. Our immigration laws are based on racism of various types, not any real economic reality. |
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Post by sagobob on Dec 26, 2023 18:41:18 GMT -8
My bad. I was trying to say that if immigrants are poison, then the "poisoning" began a long time ago. I wasn't arguing with you about this. I just think the concept of some blood being superior to other blood is a ridculous idea. You get stuff like this: "In 1942, the Red Cross made the regrettable decision to segregate blood based on race, accommodating cultural norms of the time rather than relying on scientifically based facts —resulting in civil rights organizations boycotting the Red Cross and blood donation." OTOH, I was wrong in what I posted above. There can be imporatant race-related difference in blood. "Beyond the well-known blood types of A, B, O and AB, there are more than 600 known antigens for red blood cells, and some antigens are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups. For example, Ro is a Rh antigen, or haplotype. This haplotype is more than 10 times more likely to be in individuals who are Black or of African descent than individuals who are white. This information is important in meeting the transfusion needs of patients with sickle cell disease, who, in the U.S., are mostly individuals who are Black. If a patient has this haplotype, we are more likely to find the most compatible blood product match from a Black donor." None of this shows that immigrants are anything but a net positive to America. I hold the unpopular view that we should have open borders. If anyone can come here and make a living, let them in. It's free market economics at it's best. Let labor seek the place where it is most needed. We need young people to pay taxes so us old folks can get our Social Security and Medicare. We used to have open borders and nothing bad happened. Our immigration laws are based on racism of various types, not any real economic reality. An alternative to allowing immigrants to enter this country is this: www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2023-06-26/states-are-loosening-child-labor-laws#:~:text=Iowa%20and%20Arkansas,assembly%20lines%20around%20dangerous%20machinery. And Iowa is leading this charge to bring back child labor. I imagine they need workers to staff their food processing industries, where whole animals are rendered into body parts in the most cost-effective way. I'd like to see the job descriptions for the positions open to High School students. Are knives, band saws and moving conveyors included? And if they're classified as "part time employees", will they be paid less? And what about benefits? Should they get injured on the job, will their employer be responsible for paying for treatment? If Iowa was a car, it's transmission would be stuck in reverse. The easier path is to admit and hire immigrants who are willing workers, rather than exploit high school age students. |
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