Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

CATHOLIC: In AD 325 Emperor Constantine convened the very first ecumenical council, the Council of Nicaea. More than 300 bishops came from all over the Christian world to debate one of the early church’s most intense theological questions.

Arius of Alexandria had been teaching subordinationism, the idea that Jesus, the Son of God, was not equal to God the Father, but rather had been created by God before He created time.

The bishops at Nicaea declared this to be heresy, that Jesus is consubstantial (of the same substance) with the Father. A later council would declare the Holy Spirit to be consubstantial with the Father and the Son, thus formally defining the orthodox doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

Bishop Nicholas of Myra, whose person became the foundation for Saint Nick/Santa Claus, was at the Council of Nicaea, where he is said to have been a staunch opponent of Arianism. There is an old legend that he felt so strongly about the matter that, during the council’s deliberations, he actually slapped Arius. However, this story is from more than 1,000 years after Nicholas died. It makes for some funny Catholic nerd memes, but I find it difficult to believe it ever happened.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arius
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homoousion

CONGRESS: Trump &c successfully blocked a bloated, 1500-page Continuing Resolution and got it replaced with a more streamlined 116-page bill that was passed in the wee hours of this morning, December 21, 2024.

CLICK https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1869494238016352651 [2:26] to hear Fox News report on how much Elon Musk had to do with killing the pork.

CLICK https://x.com/stillgray/status/1869934898749825281 [1:40] to hear a loony leftie make an impassioned speech about how turrible it was that their porky bill got flushed.

• https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/house-to-vote-on-plan-c-funding-plan-as-shutdown-looms-5779746
• https://notthebee.com/article/rep-rosa-delauro-is-really-mad-that-president-musk-doesnt-want-a-spending-bill-with-a-bunch-of-strings-attached

DEM LIE: Dems are furious at the failure of their attempt to fund woke projects and are casting Republicans’ as the bad guys for, get this, refusing to fund cancer research funding for children.

A stand-alone bill called H.R. 3391 – 118^th Congress “Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0” was passed on March 5, 2024, by the Republican-controlled House. This bill was received by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions [HELP] on March 8, 2024, where it languished, without action, for nine months. HELP, which is chaired by Bernie Sanders, has 20 other members who are evenly between Democrat and Republican.

Yesterday, this Dem-led, Dem-majority committee finally got their thumbs out to send the bill to fund kids’ cancer research to the Senate, where it passed without amendment by a voice vote on the same day, December 20, 2024 … right after the porky 1500 page CR failed.

Whatcha wanna bet the Dems sat on this bill specifically so they could include it in some porky package like the 1,500-page CR. Then, on the off chance their pork didn’t make it through, they could do what they’re doing, which is whine about how eeeeevil Republicans (wiping tears) don’t care about kids after they’re born!

• https://www.libsoftiktok.com/p/exposing-dems-cancer-funding-lie
• https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/3391
• https://www.help.senate.gov/about/members
• https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/trump-issues-new-spending-bill-demands-with-government-shutdown-looming

POLLINATOR NEWS: [1:57] – Five years ago, the northern giant hornet was first spotted in Washington state near the Canadian border. This invasive breed is known for its ability to slaughter a honey bee hive in a matter of hours. These vicious bugs have 6mm long stingers and can spit venom. (Brr.) GOOD NEWS!! On Wednesday, we learned they have been eradicated in the U.S.

“I’ve gotta tell you, as an entomologist — I’ve been doing this for over 25 years now, and it is a rare day when the humans actually get to win one against the insects,” Sven Spichiger, pest program manager of the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

• https://apnews.com/article/murder-hornet-giant-invasive-honey-bee-fbf496fba789bc4b17750dbbec904b5f
• https://apnews.com/article/washington-first-murder-hornet-discovery-0cbf9cccf5a4a62902aa880c87629172

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ug8xrWv5dEQ for another R*CKST*R.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DM12uxSc924 for a fabulous Ariel.