by | December 13, 2024 · 9:45 am

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I pray for Your protection. Surround us with Your love and care. Shield us from all harm. Guard our hearts and minds. Keep us safe from accidents and illness. Help us to trust in Your provision and to know that You are with us in all things. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

2024: [5:01] – Satan’s post-election presser.

DEI: This week, a U.S. appeals ruled the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “intruded into territory far outside its ordinary domain” when it attempted to impose a DEI rule for the boards of directors of companies listed on Nasdaq.

According to the rule, companies listed on the exchange had have “at least one director who self-identifies as a female” and at least one who “self-identifies as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, Native American or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, two or more races or ethnicities, or as LGBTQ+.”

DUKE LACROSSE: CLICK https://x.com/kcjohnson9/status/1867355689259049024 [:37] to hear Crystal Mangum confess she lied when she accused team members of raping her. Mangum has been in prison since 2013 for the murder of her boyfriend. This case was very personal for me. Tony Cullen was my baby brother. You can read about him at the third link below.

FBI: Trump’s response to the resignation of Director Wray – “The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice. I just don’t know what happened to him. We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans. Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America. They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them.”

GIVING: Oscar Morris and his nonprofit, Free Canes for Veterans, recycles Christmas trees into free canes for veterans. The Florida native, who retired from the Navy eight years ago, says the trees make lightweight, strong, and beautiful canes. In addition, he puts the veteran’s military history on his or her cane. These include the branch of service, rank, units, and medals or ribbons. To date, Morris and his organization have made more than 1,000 canes for veterans, and seeing the effect it has had on his fellow veterans has made it all worth it. “They’re tough guys, women, and they don’t show any emotion. … It’s been a personal challenge of mine to make them cry when they get their cane, and I can squeeze a tear out of the toughest veteran.”

DOJ IG REPORT: The DOJ Inspector General has released a report that says the FBI had 26 confidential human sources in the crowd on January 6. Only three were assigned by the FBI to be present for the event and none were authorized or directed by the bureau to break the law or encourage others to commit illegal acts. During the event, four of these people entered the Capitol Building, while another 13 entered the restricted area outside. One wonders if these 17 people were charged and jailed for actions that put so many others behind bars.

J6: The FBI testified before Congress that they couldn’t identify the person who planted two pipe bombs during the Jan. 6 incident, because the phone data was corrupted. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., the chairman of the House Administration oversight subcommittee, says they contacted every major cell carrier about their data. They all responded and said none of it was corrupted. Nor were they ever notified by the FBI about issues accessing the data. “This contradictory testimony raises some serious questions about the status of the investigation into the pipe bomber and about why the case remains unsolved nearly four years later.”

MILITARY: I still have 2 kids still in uniform. It is such a load off my mind to know Trump will soon be (practically already is!) their CiC! Please pray with us that his choice of a warrior to lead the Pentagon will receive swift and uncontroversial approval from the new Senate.

GRAMMY NOTES: I got the bright idea to harvest all the tutorials I did during the year I was studying watercolor with Emily Olsen at Watercolor Mastery and make greeting cards. I ended up with more than 50 cards! Then I got a hankering for a rubber stamp of the logo my sil designed for my old jewelry business to make the backs look fancy. Joey still had the layered files and was able to quickly remove the colored parts and send me a file I could use to order a stamp. I am SO happy with how cool my cards look!

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by | December 12, 2024 · 1:08 pm

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, help us all to humbly ask You each day where we have hurt others through our thoughts, words, and deeds. Also show us where we failed to be “Jesus with skin on” and failed to help through our silence and inaction. And, Lord, after You show us, grant us the graces we need to repent and do better tomorrow. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

ARGENTINA: After more than a century of out-of-control spending, President Javier Milei’s major governmental cuts have resulted in a surplus. “The deficit was the root of all our evils—without it, there’s no debt, no emission, no inflation.” January 20 can not come soon enough.

ANTI-SEMITISM: It’s not the first time something like this has happened to Acker. In May, an extremist showed up to his home at 4:40 a.m. and hung a note with a list of demands. Then, a few weeks later, four anti-Israel extremists vandalized Acker’s law firm office with anti-Israel messages. Acker says he will not back down. “Divestment [from Israel] is not something any one of us is considering.”

BUTLER: A House task force has determined that the near-fatal attempt on President-elect Donald Trump’s life at a Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally was enabled by “preexisting conditions and leadership failures.” within the U.S. Secret Service. The task force also noted that the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, Department of Justice, FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) all failed to provide full cooperation with the inquiry. It’s past time to take out the trash.

CNN: A judge has ruled that Zachary Young’s defamation lawsuit may continue. During the disastrous 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, Young, a U.S. Navy veteran, helped facilitate evacuations. Reporting on his efforts, CNN’s Jake Tapper claimed Young “was ‘exploiting’ ‘desperate Afghans’ on a ‘black market.‘”

Young says he used “his unique skillset and relationships to assist U.S. corporations and charities that wanted to safely and swiftly extract certain persons from Afghanistan.” He never took a single penny from any Afghan and everything he did was legal.

Judge Henry noted that CNN’s Alex Marquardt had already pitched his story before even talking to Young using what Henry described as “explosive” terms like “price gouging,” “extortion,” “shadowy black market,” and “fraud,” to preemptively malign Young. Agreeing that Young “did not do anything criminal or illegal”, the judge is allowing his suit seeking punitive damages to go to trial.

In other news, CNN finished No. 17 among cable stations during primetime last week. Despite breaking news that included the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the ensuing manhunt for his killer, more of Trump’s Cabinet picks, and a rebel alliance taking over Syria … the Cable News Network’s viewership was smaller than the Food Network, the History channel, HGTV, and even MSNBC.

And in even other news, a new CNN poll shows a majority of Americans support Trump and his transition moves. CLICK https://x.com/TimRunsHisMouth/status/1866930422212329956 [:44] to see the report.

DOJ: The DOJ’s Inspector General issued a new report in which he reveals that the Department of Justice spied on Kash Patel as well as two House members who were working on the GOP-led House Intelligence Committee. The report says the DOJ also asked the courts to help hide their actions. Little wonder the swampers are panicked about Patel taking charge of the FBI.

In other news, the FBI’s current director, Christopher Wray, has announced he will be resigning as of Inauguration Day.

GOOGLE AD: CLICK https://x.com/OliLondonTV/status/1866831055619232211 [:24] to see yet another reason to switch to Duck Duck Go.

NYSE: Trump became the first president since Ronald Reagan to ring the New York Stock Exchange bell. CLICK https://x.com/_johnnymaga/status/1867216539713212823 [:34] to see him there, flanked by his family and political allies, with photos of his face on TIME on the wall behind him. The photo above is courtesy of a relative of a relative who was there.

SAN DIEGO: In a 3-1 vote, the County Board of Supervisors has passed a resolution declaring San Diego County a “super sanctuary” for illegal aliens. CLICK https://x.com/jim_desmond/status/1866611711022862592 [3:15] to hear details from the one guy who voted No. Check out the chick to his right who does not want to listen to him. One commenter noted this is merely a resolution and that the county sheriff plans to ignore it.

TRUMP: President-elect Trump has been named TIME magazine’s Person of the Year. He also had that honor in 2016. Wokies are shrieking as per usual.

UK: The Brits have joined the smart nations in banning puberty blockers for minors with gender dysphoria, because they pose “an unacceptable safety risk.” Sadly, in the U.S., a number of courts have blocked state legislation aimed at protecting minors from the trans mind virus. Please pray with me that the U.S. Supreme Court will side with sanity in United States v. Skrmetti.

USPS: CLICK https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1866612617131049181 [:51] to see the current Postmaster General behave like a toddler at a congressional oversight hearing. Under his leadership, the USPS lost $10 billion in 2024.

GRAMMY NOTES: I always wished we could put our gifts under the Nativity scene. This one would actually work!!

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1665942727613769 for a lovely doll house tour. 🙂

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by | December 11, 2024 · 12:43 pm

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Oh Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist, save us and grant eternal rest to the suffering souls in Purgatory. Amen.

BELIEVE: [2:01] – Thank you, Mindful!

BORDER: Tom Homan announced plans for a large-scale operation to deport illegal immigrants will begin in Chicago. He said if the mayor “doesn’t want to help, he needs to step aside. But if he impedes us—if he knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien—I will prosecute him.”

DOGE: Musk says they’ll be taking a hard look at this issue. Personally, I think it is immoral for debtors to be giving money to anyone other than those who hold their debt. Until you’re out of debt, it’s not your money to give. When we were drowning in debt, our pastor told us we are called to give of our overflow, not of our substance. So we donated prayer, time, and skills until we were debt free.

BTW, for this purpose, mortgages and car loans are not debt, since without those loans, we’d be paying for housing and transportation anyway. Also, in Catholic teaching, Americans are not called to tithe 10% to the church, but rather 2.5% or the equivalent of one hour’s wage. The 10% tithe was from a time before secular government taxes. It was basically a voluntary flat tax for the church to use to meet all of the military, administrative, and social welfare needs of the people. Our churches only need enough to support the clergy, pay for our facilities, and finance our social welfare programs.

J6 COMMITTEE: Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who led the House Administration Committee’s oversight investigation of the January 6 Committee, reported that his computer forensic investigators had discovered 117 missing files. He said, “It’s obvious that [the J6 committee] went to great lengths to prevent Americans from seeing certain documents produced in their investigation. It also appears that Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney intended to obstruct our Subcommittee by failing to preserve critical information and videos as required by House rules.”

On Monday, Liz Cheney, a former member of the kangaroo committee, said there is “no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis” for the Justice Department to investigate the work of a congressional committee. Please note she did not deny having deleted critical information.

JUSTICE: Daniel Penny was acquitted for charges that should never have been brought. Now Jordan Neely’s deadbeat biological father, Andre Zachary, is suing him. Please note that Jordan go this last name from his single mother, suggesting Zachary may have never been involved in the life of the son he claims now to be missing so much that he deserves compensation. When Jordan was 12, his mother’s boyfriend murdered her; Andre did nothing to rescue Jordan from the foster care system or help him process his grief and anger. When his son was a grown man, addicted to drugs and living on the streets, Andre did nothing. But now he wants a payday?!

CLICK https://x.com/townhallcom/status/1866172060075987307 to hear his crocodile tears after Penny was acquitted. Let us pray his outrageous lawsuit is handled by a common sense judge who tells Andre where to get off and not by some left-wing activist who wants to make headlines out of punishing a good man for protecting a train car full of innocents.

NARNIA: We must pray that the lost souls who watch the promised “very new take” will see God’s truth anyway. Or, at the very least, be inspired to watch the other versions or read the books and be awakened to a longing for Jesus. I had a friend who taught a C.S. Lewis class in college. The reading list started with The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce to establish his world view. Then they read The Chronicles of Narnia. A Jewish student told my friend, “I could believe in Jesus if he was like Aslan.” Since my friend was a devout believer, she grabbed hold of that teachable moment with both hands!

WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM: CLICK https://x.com/PiersUncensored/status/1866263320870682697 [2:16] to hear her convo with Piers Morgan. Luigi Mangione comes from a wealthy, prominent family that owns two country clubs, a local radio station, and several other real estate holdings. He was valedictorian of his high school class and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the eight considered to be part of the Ivy League.

Compare the above with leftists’ responses to Jason Neely’s acquittal:

  1. NAACP: The acquittal of Daniel Penny in the death of Jordan Neely has effectively given license for vigilante justice to be waged on the Black community without consequence.
  2. Rep. Summer Lee: The acquittal of Daniel Penny in the murder of Jordan Neely is a painful reminder of a long-standing reality: vigilante violence against Black people often goes unchecked.
  3. BLM: CLICK https://x.com/DailyLoud/status/1866180793867153832 [:19] calls for blacks to choke whites to death.

GRAMMY NOTES: Our pastor said at his house growing up, the Magi began their journey in the basement and got moved daily, step by step, inch by inch, to arrive at the manger scene on Epiphany.

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by | December 10, 2024 · 11:10 am

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Lord, please fill us with your Holy Spirit and renew our hearts and minds. Help us to let go of negative or harmful thoughts. Cleanse us of all impurities or distractions. We trust in your renewal and provision. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

NOT THE VIEW: CLICK https://x.com/VigilantFox/status/1866346936829198384 [:58] to hear Rob Schneider talk about his new project which is slated to air at the same time as The View. But it will be funny, instead of “drowning people in politics … shaming people and making people wince.”

NYC: Mayor Adams said he is working to bypass the New York City Council to change the city’s sanctuary city law ahead of a meeting with Tom Homan about illegal immigration in the city. “The City Council … stated they’re not willing to change the sanctuary city law. I think they’re wrong. I have my teams looking at my power as executive orders.”

SHOOTING: Luigi Mangione (26) has been arrested for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He is also being charged with forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of crime, and falsely identifying himself to law enforcement.

Not The Bee reviews the Left Stream Media’s response to Thompson’s death and compares it to how they responded to the similar murder of late-term abortionist George Tiller in 2009.

SYRIA: Since the country fell to Islamic extremists, Israel has hit more than 300 chemical weapons, heavy arms, and research facilities as well as depots and airports. Reports say the air strikes have destroyed all capabilities of the Syrian air force, navy and ground forces and that Israeli troops are advancing near the Lebanese border.

GRAMMY NOTES: One day, my eldest asked me if we were poor. I told her no and asked why she was wondering. She replied, “We don’t have a pool.” I realized a surprising number of neighbors had put in pools that summer and was reminded that, once our basic needs are met, our ideas of wealth and poverty depend on context. So I subscribed to Maryknoll Magazine so my kids would be quietly exposed to what actual poverty looks like.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4xOtrbwHpZU for some awesome cat clips.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bmzN35tn51Q for a sweet squirrel tale.

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by | December 9, 2024 · 12:45 pm

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Heavenly Father, bless our kids with a love for learning and help them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to succeed academically. Help them to develop good study habits and to use their time wisely. Surround them with teachers and peers who inspire and encourage them to do their best. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

2024: To be fair, a handful of Democrats are saying, “We need to listen to the people.” But most are like Tim Walz who handed down this passive-aggressive conclusion. “We were inclusive and brought a positive message but I guess Americans don’t want that.”

BORDER: In a new interview, Trump said he would work to end birthright citizenship and signaled he could deport families with mixed immigration statuses. “The only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back.”

EGG DONORS: [5:46] – I didn’t even know this was a thing, much less that it is causing such devastating problems for the women who have participated. This article is eye-opening and very, very disturbing. I think y’all should read it.

EPA: Unelected bureaucrats in The Swamp have arrested someone for violating one of their climate change regulations.

FLAUXTUS: Despite the fact that Jill Biden said truly terrible things about Donald Trump during the campaign, he was his usual gracious self to her at the Notre Dame re-opening.

NOTRE DAME: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1129689718757226 to see the ceremonial door opening.

THANK YOU, GOD!!! [4:49] – Daniel Perry should never have been charged.

TRUMP DOCTRINE: [9: 01] – Our military kids said they have to use Signal and we should get it also.

UKRAINE: While in Paris for the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump has promised to negotiate an end to the Russia–Ukraine war.

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by | December 8, 2024 · 8:49 am

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Dear God, We ask You to help us clearly and honestly express our thoughts and feelings with love. Give us the wisdom to listen carefully to others and understand their perspectives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

AIR TRAVEL: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GZ8BJ8A6vI8 for something you maybe did not know.

LIFE’S BATTLES: If only we were all aware of this.

SMH: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xOUtOZrdlxg and prepare for schadenfreude.

SYRIA: On Saturday, Islamic rebels took control of the government. President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country.

GRAMMY NOTES: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NcNLVcIYizI to hear a version of a story I heard in a communications class back in in 1978. In the version I heard, the elevator company tuned up the elevators repeatedly, but the tenants kept sending complaint slips to the super. The professor’s point was that when you can’t seem to solve a problem, it may be because you have not correctly defined the problem. By giving the tenants something to do while they waited for the elevator, the super solved his real problem, which was the complaint slips. I have thought of and used this wisdom very often in my life. It may have been the single most valuable thing I learned in graduate school.

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by | December 7, 2024 · 8:19 am

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for the experiences and moments that have shaped me. Help me to learn from my mistakes and to grow in wisdom and understanding. Let me see Your hand at work in my life so I will be better able to trust in Your plan for my future. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

AIR TRAVEL: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tnpjwJ3hcfY to learn something maybe you did not know either.

CATHOLIC: This year, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception will be celebrated on Monday, December 9, rather than December 8 which falls on the Second Sunday of Advent. This feast is a holy day of obligation, meaning Catholics are required to attend Mass on Sunday and Monday this week.

DEI: The University of Michigan has announced that it will no longer require diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements for faculty hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions.

DOGE: In October, a Senate report revealed that only 6% of the government’s workers are showing up in person every day. The report added that this has caused an increase of people slacking on the job, including bureaucrats being “found in a bubble bath, on the golf course, running their own business, and even getting busted doing crime while on taxpayers’ time.” The report further noted that this has resulted in “service backlogs and delays, unanswered phone calls and emails, and no-show appointments.” Meanwhile, taxpayers are spending nearly $16 billion a year on empty office buildings.

MELANIA: [14:34] – She gave Fox News her first post-election interview.

OBAMA: CLICK https://x.com/JesseBWatters/status/1865209518742999117 [2:58 ] to hear BHO project his disappointment at the failure of the Democrats to “lock in a permanent grip on power.”

PRAYERS NEEDED: Phil Robertson has been suffering from a disorder that leaves him barely able to walk from place to place in his home without shouting from the pain. In addition, he has entered the early stages of Alzheimer’s.

PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS: [10:43] – Civics Review gives a history lesson on this odd constitutional power the framers gave to POTUS and strongly suggests Biden’s pardon of his biological son goes beyond what those men felt was appropriate.

TRANS: A doctor celebrated as “America’s best-known practitioner of youth gender medicine” is being sued for medical negligence by Kaya Clementine Breen. Included in the suit are the therapist she referred Breen to, the surgeon who removed Breen’s breasts, and other medical professionals involved in rushing Breen through procedures that have deeply and negatively impacted her future. 

The suit notes that, in addition to confusion about her gender, Breen presented with “anxiety, depression, autism, undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), potential bipolarism, … psychosis (including audio and visual hallucinations), panic attacks, and paranoia. Her family also has a lengthy history of mental health issues. She needed psychotherapy to evaluate, assess, and treat her complex co-morbid mental health symptoms.”

She didn’t get these things. “Instead, she was fast-tracked onto the conveyor belt of irreversibly damaging puberty blockers (age 12), cross-sex hormones (age 13), and [a double mastectomy] (age 14).” 

VAXXX: Remember when the FDA claimed it would need up to 75 years to process and release the documents they used to give emergency authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine? Well, Judge Mark Pittman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas said, and I paraphrase, “Screw that. You’ve got til June 30, 2025.”

The FDA claimed it could not possibly have found the time to photocopy or copy/paste these files on to a hard drive at a rate of more than 500 pages per month. So how the hell did they manage to digest all the data they contain in the few short weeks they had them before issuing the Emergency Use Authorization that resulted in people being mandated/coerced/shamed into injecting them into their bodies or fired/jailed/ostracized for refusing them?!

GRAMMY NOTES: I really enjoyed this drawing exercise from https://www.lanagloschatart.com/products/communities/thecolorclub/home. The challenge was to use only one red, one yellow, and one blue colored pencil. BTW, the paper is taped to the smooth back side of a glass cutting board that I evicted from my kitchen, because it dulled my knives. It’s a very handy drawing board and sometimes I like to use the pebbly side for the texture.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/605875555207325 for a magical moment from BGT. Their technical skill and attention to their director is just amazing.

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1598735450854167 to see some more young people who clearly worked very hard!

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by | December 6, 2024 · 9:15 am

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, Bless us today with all the graces we need to make room for you in our busy holiday plans. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

ART THERAPY: Four randomized, controlled studies have shown that drawing, including coloring in a coloring book, lowers heart rate and decreases anxiety, making it an active form of meditation. One of my art teachers recommends the following to enhance the effect:

  1. Set the Stage: Create a relaxing environment by listening to music you love, lighting a candle, and keeping your favorite beverage close by. Take a moment to notice the sounds, tastes, smells, and physical sensations you experience as you settle in.
  2. Practice Deep Breathing: Before you begin, take 3-5 deep breaths to center yourself. This simple practice can help clear your mind and prepare you for focused creativity.
  3. Minimize Distractions: Silence your phone, close the door, turn off the TV, and let your family or coworkers know you’ll be unavailable for the next 15 minutes. This dedicated time for mindful art will allow you to fully engage in the creative process and also to give you a reset before you move on to the next part of your day. 

COMMUNITY: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OOI5Ymx3TiE to see a really special person go above and beyond. We are blessed to have someone like this is our area as well. The night before last, I heard a dog barking and squealing behind our house. There’s nothing but a field, trees, a steep downgrade into a swamp behind our house and it was cold. I got really concerned that someone’s dog had run off and gotten trapped or tangled in the dense brush, so I called the SPCA animal welfare officer. He said nobody had reported a missing dog and explained that the noises I described are typical for coyotes. We have coyotes in our area? Yup. I did not know this! Good thing we never let our little 10 pound Daisey out on her own! Anyway, despite the fact that he was about 99% sure it was not a dog, this fine man came out anyway, spent a good bit of time tramping around in the back with a flash light, whistling and calling, before phoning me back and telling me he was confident there was no dog freezing to death. I thanked him profusely for his kindness and commitment to his job and he just said, “Hey, better safe than sorry.”

DEBUNKING: [6:30] – This is the best compilation of “Trump is not a racist” I’ve ever seen.

LIFE: One day, while Dr. Catherine Wheeler was performing an abortion, she says, “God stopped me in the middle of the abortion. At the time, I didn’t understand it. I started the abortion and almost immediately felt this complete presence of evil. It was a darkness—physically dark to me and evil dark. I realized nobody else was aware. I remember sitting there thinking, ‘This has to do with the abortion.’ suddenly had the complete awareness of what I had blocked off—this was a baby. I was about to kill a human being.”

Despite this profound realization, Dr. Wheeler had to finish the procedure to protect the woman’s health. But in her heart, she made a vow. “I didn’t tell anybody about it. I thought, ‘Nobody is going to understand this, but I know it’s evil, and I won’t do it again.’”

This moment became a turning point in Dr. Wheeler’s life and career, marking the start of her journey away from abortion to becoming a mouthpiece for the sanctity of life.

NOTRE DAME: ::sigh:: We have lots of modern churches. Why couldn’t they HONOR the historical reality of this magnificent building by recreating period vestments and furnishings?!

GRAMMY NOTES: Our church participates in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. Dearest picks the kids and I do the shopping. It was so fun this year to pick out pink and purple sneakers and art supplies for two little girls. The tag shopping always brings back good memories of the Christmas after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. At the time, Dearest was a young architect who had recently started his own practice. Within two weeks of the invasion, the bottom fell out of the building industry as investors canceled projects, including the one that would have fed and clothed us for at least six months.

We have never forgotten the joy of the Angel tree gifts and food baskets. One of the ladies from our church stood near Santa and wrote down what our 3 elementary aged girls asked for, then bought those things for them! The Kitchen Cupboard helped fill out the food stamps and WIC freebies, plus I could get free bread at the Salvation Army once a week when the delivery guy would drop off all the past date breads he picked up at the grocery stores. I still get weepy thinking about all the blessings we experienced that year. I also learned that food stamps won’t pay for TP, laundry detergent, or feminine hygiene protection. I have made a point of donating that stuff to the Kitchen Cupboard ever since.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8EK7l3pkIYs to see another traffic court heart warmer.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OcBeYWXwG-8 to see a brief interview with Judge Caprio.

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by | December 5, 2024 · 11:55 am

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Lord, I pray for your healing power for ourselves, our friends, and our families today. Touch our bodies and relieve areas of illness or pain. Give us and our healthcare providers and caregivers the wisdom and knowledge they need to do Your will in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

2024: Some of the races for seats in 119th Congress’ House of Representatives were so close, they had to have recounts. They finally concluded on Dec. 4, nearly one month after Election Day. Final tally … Republicans will have a slim majority of just three seats.

CANADA: Saskatchewan is the first Canadian province to officially declare December as Christian Heritage Month and Calgary, Alberta’s largest city, will do the same. British Columbia refused, saying that, despite the fact that other faiths get entire months of their own, Christians should be satisfied with Christmas.

DEA: Trump nominated Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. A torrent of conservative opposition over his COVID record ensued. The most famous issue was his arrest of a pastor for hosting church services in March 2020. Chronister has withdrawn his name.

DEI: Following a federal civil rights complaint by America First Legal (AFL), Southwest Airlines has canceled all of its DEI employment practices.

DOJ: In response to her refusal to comply with a FOIA request from Judicial Watch, District Attorney Fani Willis has declared her in default and ordered her to release all communications with Special Counsel Jack Smith and the January 6th Committee within five days. These documents could show there was coordinated (and illegal) effort to take out the leading Republican presidential nominee and chief rival of the current Democratic administration.

CLICK https://x.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1798001885611184179 [1:18] to hear Merrick Garland refuses to say whether his office had coordinated with Alvin Bragg, Fani Willis, and Letitia James.

MILITARY: Please, Lord, support him through to a successful confirmation! Amen.

NASA: Trump’s choice to head up NASA is SpaceX’s Jared Isaacman. Isaacman is an actual astronaut who completed the first private spacewalk and commanded Inspiration4, a private spaceflight using @SpaceX‘s Crew Dragon. Also, earlier this year he completed the first private spacewalk.

NOTRE DAME: President Donald Trump has announced he will attend the grand reopening of Notre Dame de Paris this coming weekend. Pope Francis will not.

POMPEII: This road is more than 2,000 years old. It was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Those small white stones meticulously embedded into the pavement helped keep the streets safe for night travelers by reflecting available light. Ingenious!

S&G: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-oNqopFT6AM for a good laugh.

WOMEN’S SPORTS: The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has updated its gender policy. Biological males who have gone through male puberty will not be eligible to compete.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pOBWNQ-Hj60 for a heart warmer.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OPl4C8LE4sw for another one. Judge Caprio is a devout Catholic who uses these donations to pay fines for people who really need help.

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by | December 4, 2024 · 9:28 am

Bits & Bytes

DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, I pray for all who will one day be faced with this challenge, that they will receive and embrace the graces needed to say YES. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

VITAMIN D: A paper entitled “Vitamin D: A key player in COVID-19 immunity and lessons from the pandemic to combat immune-evasive variants” in Inflammopharmacology. It summarizes the current knowledge about the role of vitamin D deficiency in the pathophysiology of COVID-19. Vitamin D is well known to have immune-boosting properties.

Dr. John Campbell talks about the paper @ https://rumble.com/v5juldp-new-vitamin-d-paper.html [20:38]. He says the findings apply not just to the coronavirus, but to all viral infections as well as many cancers.

Note: Taking your Vitamin D with your biggest (i.e., highest in fats) meal can boost uptake by as much as 50% over taking it any other time of the day. Also it is recommended you refrigerate your Vitamin D, as it slows loss of potency over time.

According to Consumer Lab, supplementing with Vitamin D can cost as little as a penny per day (Kirkland Signature, aka Costco brand) D3. If you don’t have a Costco, CL’s other penny-a-day top pick is Vitacost D3, which you can get at Vitacost.com. Slightly more expensive (4 to 7 cents) CL recommendations include Doctor’s Best Vegan D3, NOW High Potency D3, and Nature Made D3.

N.b., Consumer Lab recommendations are based not only on cost, but also on purity and accuracy of label/contents. I have a membership and am happy to look up a supplement for you.

DOGE: I’m for it.

GOAT: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/2019630445132542 and marvel at this man’s skill. I thought at first he was cutting random shapes out of blocks of foam. He isn’t. Those are piles of fabric! He’s cutting them without a pattern. It’s absolutely mind boggling!

HUNTER: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1251036249348081 [7:55] to hear what Dan Bongino’s sources told him about the pardon.

CLICK https://x.com/EricAbbenante/status/1863809028737966508 [1:59] to hear Jon Stewart’s riff.

Hunter has been convicted of failing to pay taxes in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and of making an illegal firearm purchase on October 12th of 2018. This part of the pardon not only keeps Hunter out of prison, but also means he has technically never been convicted of a felony. Apparently, being found guilty doesn’t count; the crime isn’t registered until the sentencing occurs. No sentence; no crime.

But the pardon also covers any crimes he may have committed or been involved in beginning January 1, 2014. In 2014, Hunter was tapped to serve on the board of the Ukrainian gas company, Burisma, despite having zero relevant expertise. This would be the same time when then-President Obama made then-VP Joe Biden the country’s point man for all things Ukraine. The non-specific pardon protects Joe more than Hunter.

I often think that Joe’s first wife, baby daughter, and son Beau dying young was a grace from God to keep them from being corrupted and damned forever.

J6: “Remember when the J6 Committee deleted a ton of their evidence after Republicans won the House? And how they never released the interview transcript with Kash Patel that exonerated so many people who got entrapped? If this was an actual insurrection, they’d put all that evidence in a museum. But we know what it truly was – a Deep State setup.” – DC Draino

SOUTH KOREA: South Korea’s president declares martial law, accusing opposition party of sympathizing with North Korea and anti-state activities. Six hours later, he called it off.

TRUMP: CLICK https://x.com/WesleyHuntTX/status/1863737221209043109 to hear what he told Trudeau.

GRAMMY NOTES: I remember the Christmas Mass my youngest was a toddler. We made so many trips up and down the aisles! Based on the stifled giggles I heard from the pews, more people were watching us than listening to the homily! LOL

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kitD7LFG-8o to see a heart warming moment.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UVFM0BRvhOY for another one.

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