Cross-Examination

• Omnibus scandal: Congressional lawmakers have manufactured a budget “crisis” in order to push through a litany of measures and pet programs that effectively avoid any debate before becoming law. It’s a classic example of the Washington Swamp at work, and hardworking Americans are forced to blindly bear the burden both in taxes and new regulations. This $1.7 trillion omnibus bill, which Congress “must pass” in order to avoid a government shutdown, is over 4,000 pages in length and has been dropped on lawmakers, who have less than a week to read it prior to voting. And, of course, there are members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who effectively embrace the logic of Nancy Pelosi and her infamous ObamaCare comment in 2010: “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” That’s not how a healthy democratic process works. Every newly proposed measure and bill should be held up to the light for lawmakers to debate. Lawmakers should also go on the record as to how they voted on each significant issue. By combining a slew of competing and contradictory issues, lawmakers can play the “compromise” game: In order to get X, I had to agree to Y. But why not separate the “X” issue from the “Y” issue and vote on the two separately? Well, as lawmakers know, that would make the prospect of either passing much more tenuous, so they agree to this manufactured “crisis” game. It’s despicable, and all Americans should demand an end to it.

• City of brotherly hate: Philadelphia’s murder rate topped 500 for the second year in a row, bringing its violent crime numbers to a high not seen since 1990. Much of this spiking violent crime can be laid at the feet of the city’s George Soros-backed district attorney, Larry Krasner. The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House has impeached Krasner over his soft-on-crime policies. Dozens of felons have been exonerated by Krasner, which has only proven to add to Philadelphia’s growing crime problem. Meanwhile, Krasner blasted the Republican lawmakers as anti-democratic for seeking to “undo elections.” Republican State Representative Craig Williams rejected Krasner’s claim as false: “He argues he cannot be impeached by the General Assembly. Under the Pennsylvania Constitution, that is patently false. He argues he has committed no misbehavior in office. Yet, he and his office have lied to a grand jury, the courts, and victims. So, that claim is also patently false.” Pennsylvania’s Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans, will vote in the new year on whether to remove Krasner. A two-thirds majority will be needed to see him removed from office.

• Worst year ever: Recent polling by YouGov has found that a significant number of Americans had a low view of the year 2022. Overall, 39% of Americans viewed this past year as “OK,” whereas 16% and 10% saw 2022 as “bad” and “terrible,” respectively. Of those who saw this year as “terrible” for the U.S., 39% were Republicans, 31% were independents, and 9% were Democrats. Indeed, 44% of Americans saw this past year as one of the worst years in American history. The survey also polled how Americans felt about the future trajectory of the country, with just a quarter expressing an optimistic outlook for our nation over the next decade and 29% believing that things will only get worse in the next 10 years. Those Americans expressing the most pessimistic projections regarding America’s future were those ages 45 to 64. Unsurprisingly, the historical trend holds that the future of the country is perceived in a more favorable light by those whose political party occupies the White House. However, given the economic reality that Americans have been living through for the last couple years, it’s hard not so see why so many have a dim view of the future.

Headlines

• Christmas week blizzard intensifying into powerful bomb cyclone as life-threatening arctic air spreads east (Fox Weather)

• Zelensky makes direct appeal to GOP critics, arguing no country is safe if Ukraine falters (Fox News)

• “Good speech”: McCarthy commends Zelensky but argues against “blank check” to Ukraine (Washington Examiner)

• Republicans poised to approve massive FBI funding boost in wake of Twitter Files revelations (Daily Caller)

• Pork, parks, and woke: All the “fun” features in $1.7 trillion omnibus (Daily Wire)

• House Republicans release counter report on J6 security failures at Capitol (Fox News)

• Senate Dems not seeking Trump prosecution (Hot Air)

• Steve Scalise privately being prepped by Republicans to snatch gavel from McCarthy (Washington Examiner)

• Sam Bankman-Fried is extradited to the U.S. as two former FTX employees turn on him (NPR)

• Going for broke: Stacey Abrams’s campaign can’t pay staffers after blowout loss (Free Beacon)

• Virginia Democrats fight to abolish single-sex bathrooms in public schools (Free Beacon)

• Satire: Rand Paul Venmos Ukraine $600.01 to make the IRS audit the country’s finances (Genesius Times)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.