Government & Politics

• Trump revives manifest destiny: “We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else,” Trump said on Sunday, adding, “We will never, never let it fall into the wrong hands.” That comment prompted Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino to respond, “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belongs to Panama and will continue to be so. The sovereignty and independence of our country aren’t negotiable.” To which Trump replied, “We’ll see about that!” The president-elect is right to be concerned about China’s growing and aggressive efforts to exert control over global trade. Beijing has spread its influence, replacing U.S. trade dominance in seven of the 11 nations that have maintained relationships with Taiwan. Panama happens to be one of those nations. Meanwhile, Trump is again floating the idea of the U.S. purchasing Greenland. “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” he stated. To which Greenland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissively answered, “We’re open for business, not for sale.”

• Dems bailing on the party: The Democrat Party is the party of extremists, and several prominent politicos have left the party as a result. “I am not a Democrat in the form of what the Democratic Party has turned itself into,” said Senator Joe Manchin. “The brand got so bad. … It’s toxic.” Regarding the Democrats’ support of transgenderism, Manchin noted that they “have tried to mainstream the extreme.” Meanwhile, Lindy Li, a big-time DNC fundraiser, announced she had left the party over the weekend, citing the abuse she received for observing that “Democrats have a stench of loser hanging over them.” Li criticized Democrats for “indulging in delusions” by asserting that Harris was a viable future candidate. She added, “Leaving the Democratic Party or even questioning the Democratic Party is like leaving a cult. It’s terrifying. I don’t want to be a part of this craziness anymore.” Finally, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), who isn’t going anywhere — yet — concluded that Democrats labeling Trump a “fascist” didn’t connect with the American people.

• MIA congresswoman found in memory care: We’ve spilled untold digital ink on the profound cognitive decline of Joe Biden, but it appears that the Beltway’s Republican delegation has been ignoring the cognitive incapacity of one of its own House members. Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger, 81, has apparently been living in a retirement facility, perhaps receiving memory care. “Granger, who is retiring at the end of this congressional term, has largely remained absent from the Capitol in recent months, having last cast votes on July 24,” reports Fox News. “She was not present for over 54% of votes this year.” In response, Granger’s office issued the following statement: “As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year. However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my incredible staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years.” We wish her well, but that’s no way to represent the people.

• House Ethics Committee releases Gaetz report: “The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative [Matt] Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” said the report. “From 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the Committee determined were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use.” Gaetz allegedly used illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, while paying for sex with multiple women, including a 17-year-old high school junior with whom he had sex in front of witnesses. He did not, however, engage in sex trafficking, as the women with whom he had relations traveled with him of their own free will. The committee also accused Gaetz of obstructing its investigation. Gaetz has admitted to disgraceful behavior, but denies any criminal acts. Donald Trump’s choice of Gaetz to serve as attorney general was an unforced error that quickly led to Gaetz’s abrupt exit amid longtime concerns about his behavior.

• Biden admin overestimated employment by 3M before the election: The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, which has a reputation for doing highly accurate employment statistics, has found that the Biden administration’s employment number estimates for the second quarter of 2024 were off by three million jobs across the 50 states. The Philly Fed estimates for 2023 differ from the national statistics by just 0.1%, as opposed to the Biden administration’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which were off by anywhere from 1.2% to 1.9% in overestimating total employment numbers. Even more indicative of a juicing of the numbers is that the BLS wasn’t always off with its employment estimates; it just so happened to be way off before the 2022 midterms and the 2024 election.

• Biden commutes death sentences of child killers and mass murderers two days before Christmas (NY Post)

• Biden administration withdraws proposal to cancel student debt for millions of Americans (Just the News)

• Dems refused to pass kids cancer research bill until they could use it to push 1,500 pages of pork (The Federalist)

• Lara Trump withdraws her name from consideration for Florida Senate seat (Daily Caller)

Security

• Illegal burns woman to death on NYC subway: On Sunday morning, an illegal alien became the latest poster villain for border security. “The Guatemalan migrant accused of setting a sleeping F train passenger on fire and then watching as she burned to death sneaked into the country illegally after being deported,” reports the New York Post. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch tried to describe the depravity: “As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim, who was in a seated position at the end of a subway car … and used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds.” And to think Alvin Bragg tried to put Daniel Penny away for 15 years. In what is surely one of history’s worst-timed social media posts, New York Governor Kathy Hochul yesterday released a video of herself smiling and riding the subway along with the following message: “In March, I took action to make our subways safer for the millions of people who take the trains each day.”

• Deportations fell 41% under Biden: An estimated eight million illegal aliens entered the U.S. during Joe Biden’s single term, and of those, just over half a million (545,252) have been deported. That deportation total is down 41% from Donald Trump’s first term, when over 935,000 illegal aliens were deported. To add insult to injury, the number of migrants illegally entering the country under Biden roughly doubled. I.e., deportations fell significantly even as the number of illegals entering spiked. Is it any wonder the majority of Americans support Trump’s deportation agenda?

• A bizarre twist in that German Christmas market attack: On Friday, as The Wall Street Journal reports, “A driver rammed a car into a Christmas market in the eastern German town of Magdeburg, leaving at least two dead and more than 60 wounded.” One of the deceased was apparently a young child. As the Journal continues, the attack “revived painful memories for Germans, coming one day after the anniversary of a 2016 terrorist attack in Berlin, in which a rejected Tunisian asylum seeker drove a stolen truck through a Christmas market in the center of the capital, killing 13 people.” Oddly, though, this latest murderer is apparently an anti-Islamic terrorist. The suspect is a 50-year-old doctor who immigrated from Saudi Arabia in 2006 — a profile that naturally causes us to think jihadist. Yet his social media posts indicate he was actually outraged over Germany’s Islamization and authorities’ efforts to censor his objections. The constant here, though, is this: Evil is evil, regardless of the ideology that animates it.

• Trump to create “Iron Dome” missile defense shield for U.S. (Newsweek)

Culture

• “SNL” audience cheers for healthcare CEO killer (PJ Media)

• SJSU volleyball mass exodus after trans athlete scandal rocked program (Fox Sports)

• Cardinal Dolan says to focus on the light: As a much-needed counterweight to some of the day’s disturbing news, we note the words of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, who was interviewed over the weekend by Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo. “There seems to be a newfound appreciation for the role of faith, especially in our country,” Cardinal Dolan said, noting Donald Trump’s own newfound appreciation for faith. “I think the assassination attempts kind of renewed in him.” This morning, the Cardinal offered still more encouragement: “We’re all united in noticing the darkness in the world right now. … The dark stuff, the somber stuff, the dreary stuff. … So we need to be united and also looking at the light. And, of course, Christmas is about the birth of the One who proclaimed Himself as the Light of the World, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And that’s what we need now. We need the light. We need the star. We need the fire of faith and love and hope.”

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