From Byron York at the Washington Examiner, Dec 22, 2019 – “The House of Representatives impeached President Bill Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998. It was a Saturday. The votes, in which two articles of impeachment passed, were held around midday. By 3 p.m., the House had passed a resolution naming its impeachment managers, and those managers had physically delivered the articles to the Senate for trial.

“Impeachment was on. The House, controlled by a Republican majority, was serious about its ultimately failed effort to remove Clinton from office.

“Contrast that to today. On Wednesday, Dec. 18, at around 8 p.m., the Democratic-controlled House passed two articles of impeachment against President Trump. Speaker Nancy Pelosi immediately announced that the House would not appoint managers, and the articles would not be delivered to the Senate. The next day, Pelosi told reporters she did not want to talk any more about it, and the House went into recess until Jan. 7.

“Impeachment was not on, or at least a Senate trial was not on. Pelosi was holding out, apparently, for better terms in a Senate trial. …

“After the weekly Senate Republican lunch, I asked one GOP lawmaker, via text, what the party’s reaction was. He texted back a one-word answer: ‘Laughter’. …

“During the House impeachment inquiry, Republicans often complained that Democrats did not observe basic rules of fairness. On one hand, Democrats denied the charge, and on the other, they argued that the majority can do what it wants. It’s true. Given the constitutional authorities involved, the House Democratic majority could do what it wanted during impeachment.

“Now, if there ever is a trial, the Senate Republican majority can also do what it wants. And whatever they choose in the end, Pelosi’s gamesmanship will likely make the GOP more united.”

• https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/as-pelosi-plays-games-with-impeachment-what-next-for-gop

My latest update from the campaign trail.

DECEMBER DEMOCRAT DEBATE: While the Left popped champagne corks about impeaching President Trump, seven Democrat presidential hopefuls participated in yet another debate.

The Guardian said, “There were no clear winners.”

The New York Post says “Buttigieg took the brunt of the night’s broadsides,” but “smaller skirmishes were the norm in what proved to be the cycle’s most action-packed debate following a series of snoozers.”

The National Examiner said, “When Democratic presidential candidates were offered the chance to weigh in on Middle East policy during Thursday night’s debate, they spent their time attacking Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But at no point did any of the candidates think to mention Palestinian terrorism.”

• https://nypost.com/2019/12/20/december-democratic-debate-pared-down-field-gangs-up-on-pete-buttigieg
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/19/who-won-the-last-democratic-debate
• https://nypost.com/2019/12/19/december-democratic-debate-a-lot-of-winners-and-one-clear-cut-loser/
• https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/democratic-presidential-candidates-condemn-israel-do-not-mention-palestinian-terrorism

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Buy this painting @ https://www.ldsart.com/little-lamb

FROM THE ARTIST: “A few years ago, I began to feel that I should attempt a Nativity painting. This of course was a very daunting idea, but I figured the best place to start was with research. I began with Luke 2:7,

‘And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.’

“I also came upon an article of archaeologist, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, and found it eye opening and inspiring. Jeffrey R. Chadwick has worked in Israel as a researcher and field archaeologist for over thirty years, specializing in the backgrounds of biblical narratives.

“He suggested that the manger would have most likely been carved out of white limestone, one of the most abundant natural resources in the Israelite region, and showed pictures of many similar mangers they have uncovered on archaeological digs.

“And while we like to think of the baby, ‘asleep on the hay’, he also states that this was also unlikely, as grass was available on the hills surrounding Judea year round. They really would have had no need to store hay, and the mangers were most likely used for water.

“I also learned that while we often think of ‘swaddling bands’ as scraps of fabric, showing the poverty of Mary and Joseph, they were actually a big part of Israelite culture. When a young woman was betrothed she immediately began embroidering swaddling bands, which were 5-6” wide strips of linen that would be embroidered with symbols of the ancestry of the bride and groom.

“Thus the bands symbolized the coming together of the two families as one. They also symbolized the integrity of the woman, as she strove to make both sides of the embroidery match exactly, symbolizing to her soon to be husband that she was as good on the inside as she was on the outside. These bands were then wrapped around the hands of the couple at the wedding ceremony. So the bands the Savior was swaddled in may have included the lion of Judah and the stem of Jesse.

“As I wrapped my head around these rather mind altering ideas, I realized that many of the concepts that we have of the Savior’s birth revolve around paintings of European artists from centuries ago. I’m sure they painted according to the best of their abilities and knowledge, but I also wondered why more modern painters had yet to illustrate these concepts. I felt up to the task and began sketching right away. I picked up limestone from a stone yard, I bought linen from the fabric store, and just in time one of my good friends had a baby boy, and oddly enough, his name was Luke. I put all these components together and created this painting.

“As I’ve sketched and worked, my heart has been so full as I’ve uncovered this image. For when you take away the Hollywood drama, the traditions of centuries, and the wood and the hay, all you’re really left with is a babe in white linen on white stone.

“And my mind immediately went to the purpose of the Savior’s life: He was born to die. He came as the sacrificial lamb for all mankind; so how fitting that He would begin his life on a stone altar of sorts, and be wrapped in white linen, like he would after His death. And of course He would be placed in a trough for water, for He would be Living Water, and would bring life to all.

“I also found myself weeping for the Father, and how it must have felt to see His Son begin life foreshadowing His death. My heart was so full of gratitude that He would send His Only Begotten to be the Savior for us all. That He would send His Son, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, to die so that we all might live. What good news, what comfort and joy, what a gift was given to us all.

“O come, let us adore Him.”

GRAMMY NOTE: I collected this story yesterday afternoon, then tucked it away to post this morning. In the evening, Dearest and I watched an episode of SEAL Team where the guys were holed up in an Afghani barn. And in that barn was a white, stone trough. Full of water.

I just love it when God performs one of His “coincidences”!

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NY POST EDITORIAL: House Democrats insisted they had to rush to vote out articles of impeachment, supposedly to keep President Trump from tainting the 2020 election. Yet now Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she may delay sending them to the Senate, maybe indefinitely. Huh?

The House will sit on the articles “for as long as it takes” to ensure a fair trial, the speaker says. On Thursday, she even bristled when reporters kept querying her about it. “Don’t you have any questions on anything else?” she asked — when the House just spent 12 weeks to produce only the third impeachment in US history.

Is there any better proof of how political this has been from the start? Pelosi has long known Democrats don’t have the Senate votes to remove Trump — and opted not to take more time to build a case that might turn the tide.

So now she’s trying to find the best way to play it — and putting the Senate trial on hold in the meantime.

Pelosi knows the House doesn’t get to control the Senate trial — just as the Senate didn’t run her “inquiry.”

An inquiry where Democrats dictated all the rules, held secret meetings, leaked “news” spun to tar Trump and unilaterally chose witnesses. What a joke that they now demand “fairness” (as they see it) from the Senate.

As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell notes, if the House realizes its case is “deficient,” it shouldn’t expect the Senate to find new ways “to get to guilty” — it shouldn’t have impeached in the first place.

It was a frivolous, irresponsible abuse of power to hurry to impeach on such flimsy grounds — but it’s even more transparently cynical to now stall the process.

Why is it suddenly not urgent at all?

Clearly because Pelosi is simply using the solemn constitutional process for short-term political ends — to damage the president. Impeachment’s done that; acquittal in the Senate will only help him.

Even for 2019 Washington, this is low.

• https://nypost.com/2019/12/19/pelosis-latest-stunt-is-fresh-proof-how-cynical-impeachment-drive-has-been/

IMPEACHMENT: World watching [31:40] – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reviews the history of impeachment and the scandalously partisan actions of the Democrats in the current House of Representatives.

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Attorney Lin Wood tweeted out his recommendation for how Trump should respond if Pelosi fails to promptly deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

1. If House fails to timely deliver impeachment articles to Senate, @realDonaldTrump must immediately seek writ of mandamus from U.S. Supreme Court, ordering articles to be delivered. Constitutional process of impeachment mandates due process to the impeached, the President.
2. Not only does Constitution mandate due process be afforded to the accused, @realDonaldTrump, the dispute between Executive & Legislative branches of our gov’t must be resolved with certainty by Judicial branch.
3. Supreme Court must act. Such action will not be for or against @realDonaldTrump , it will only be FOR the document that is sole basis for our existence as a country, US Constitution. The chaos created by this dispute between 2 branches of gov’t threatens foundation of country.
4. Dispute over impeachment of @realDonaldTrump between 2 branches is legally ripe for Judicial branch resolution as it threatens harm to US Constitution that is irreparable if allowed to occur. The voice of the Supreme Law of our country must be heard & obeyed.
5. It is Constitutional DUTY of US Supreme Court to immediately intervene in dispute between Legislative & Executive branches over impeachment process arising from articles passed today by House to impeach @realDonaldTrump . Articles issued must now be tried & resolved by Senate.
6. US Constitution requires Executive Branch (President) to execute law, Legislative Branch (Congress) to pass law, & Judicial Branch (US Supreme Court) to interpret law. If US Supreme Court refuses to act, NO Constitutional Branch of our Country can perform its required duties.
7. To be clear, I presently support re-election of @realDonaldTrump , but my statements in 1- 6 are not made out of bias or partisanship. They are based solely on the truth of the law of our land the US Constitution, not on party affiliation or political support.
8. The issue is NOT how US Supreme could or should rule on dispute. The issue is that US Supreme Court has a Constitutional duty to rule. Our Constitution demands a resolution by US Supreme Court. Our country is founded & based on rule of law. Our supreme law is US Constitution.
9. IF House does not deliver articles for trial in Senate & IF US Supreme Court does not act at this time, @USSenate must force issue over articles of impeachment of @realDonaldTrump by taking action on its own authority. The issue must be forced to a resolution without delay.

• https://www.dailywire.com/news/famed-attorney-advises-trump-how-to-outmaneuver-pelosis-potential-next-move-on-impeachment

SANTA PRAYING: This image was posted a year ago on Facebook: “I keep getting choked up with this photo. Today, after Santa visited our patients and was on his way out, he noticed our Chapel. He asked if he could go in and pray for the kids he just visited. I, of course, said yes. I didn’t walk in with him right away but when I did I was so moved by this image I had to capture it. What a great reminder of the reason for the season.”

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Satire from Andrew Klavan

At this magical Christmas season of the year, it’s good to remember that Jesus told us to love our enemies, and to ask ourselves: “What the hell was that guy talking about?”

After all, when one thinks of all the years in which left-wingers branded us racist and deplorable and then scolded us for being uncivil whenever we fought back; when we think of all the times leftist institutions censored us and shouted us down and even staged riots to attack us and then claimed we were a threat to American freedoms; when we remember how they made movies and wrote books and articles mocking our patriotism and trying to insulate our enemies from criticism and then suddenly dragged out the flag when it came to overturning our votes with a specious impeachment plan — well, it’s easy to imagine it would be fun to drag some of these people out of the Capitol or the New York Times building, whichever was closer, tar and feather them, tie them to a rail, carry them down to the Potomac or the Hudson, whichever was closer, all the while cheering at the sight of their much-deserved humiliation, and finally hurl them into the river where they belong and point and laugh as they are swept out to sea in the debris-filled water while occasionally also pelting them with rotten fruit and vegetables and maybe a few crumpled up newspapers or maybe a few crumpled up anchor people from the news networks and did I already say we could point and laugh at them — I think I did — but there’s no reason we couldn’t point and laugh at them some more until they were finally washed out of sight leaving this great country they in no way deserve better, freer, richer, more powerful and more united than ever before.

I forgot where I was going with this.

Oh yeah. Jesus said love your enemies. So I guess we can’t do any of that.

So… Merry Christmas.

• https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-christmas-remember-jesus-said-love-your-enemies-for-some-reason-satire