Daily News Roundup

NOTABLE QUOTES

David Garrow author of Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama wrote: “Dreams from My Father was not a memoir or an autobiography; it was instead, in multitudinous ways, without any question a work of historical fiction.”

Michael Anton contributor to American Greatness: Leftism is not the logical outcome or consequence of natural rights but their deadliest opponent.

Jonathan Turley GWU Law Professor: Twitter files are not just an indictment of the FBI, they’re an indictment of Congress for failing to pursue oversight and the fact that “Democratic members have pushed social media companies to expand censorship.”

J.B. Shurk contributor to American Thinker: . . . a child — who is neither old enough to possess a necessary base of knowledge for true reflection nor experienced enough to comprehend a world filled with deceit — the ideal sucker for leftists everywhere! First to be pushed to the front lines of battle, first to have their futures stolen from underneath their feet, first to be manipulated by the wealthy and powerful who see them not as special — but as vulnerable and weak!

Julie Kelly contributor to American Greatness: Just like everything out of Garland’s department, the notion that Jack Smith is in charge and his staff is “independent” is a flagrant lie. That’s why Smith is in no hurry to get back to the United States—Garland and his gang still have everything under control.

Joe Manchin (D-WV): “It’s an unfair charge against [Alejandro] Mayorkas because I think the gentleman is very competent, he can do a good job. They just need to unleash him, let him do his job. That’s what I have said before and I’ll say it again now. With that, we have got to do basically immigration reform. My state of West Virginia needs more workers. We need people that want to come here for the right reason, to provide for their family a better quality of life.”

Joel Gilbert contributor to American Thinker: In short, no Democrat could hope to beat Michelle in South Carolina, and that includes Joe Biden. Like the Clintons, the Obamas are never going away, and Michelle will be playing her hand for the White House in 2024 sometime next year.

GLOBALISM (GREAT RESET) & TRANSHUMANISM (HUMANS 2.0) ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED

Roach: Technology Advances While the Mind Retreats
The passive use of barely understood technology is more akin to magic than science. ChatGPT threatens humanity with a return to a more primitive state. […] As this technology is perfected, AI writing may render most of the English composition curriculum and other writing skills irrelevant. Like penmanship being displaced by word processors, and memorization by books or databases, writing itself may soon be seen as an archaic novelty. We have seen this progression in other areas. […] Actual knowledge and learned skills are not merely additions to an existing mental architecture, but rather they form that architecture. Reading books, thinking, solving problems, and learning change the brain; these activities do not merely add to an existing and fully formed structure. Conversely, certain technologies ensure that these skills and these connections are never formed. Read more: https://amgreatness.com/2022/12/18/technology-advances-while-the-mind-retreats/

Murray: Globalist communists ramp up the rhetoric against the unvaccinated
The buzzwords read: major killing force, devastating impact, extremism, and aggression. That’s wartime language — so who’s the enemy? Well, the unvaccinated. According to Frank Bergman at Slay News: The World Health Organization (WHO) has labeled unvaccinated people a ‘major killing force globally’ in a new campaign being promoted on social media. The… new video… targets ‘anti-vaccine activism’ by blasting those who choose not to be vaccinated for supporting ‘anti-science aggression.’ Read more at American Thinker. : https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/12/globalist_communists_ramp_up_the_
rhetoric_against_the_unvaccinated.html

Children’s Health Defense Team: Euthanasia, Even Among Children, Is on the Rise — What’s Driving the Trend to Market Death?
The growing worldwide trend of euthanasia and/or assisted suicide, especially among children and young people, has critics asking troubling questions about the real motivation behind a spate of new laws. A growing trend, including in the youngest Legalization of euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide is a growing trend worldwide, exhibiting a “momentum” that “appears unstoppable.” Not only are more and more nations endorsing a practice that was “prohibited and morally condemned” throughout much of human history, but every country or jurisdiction that allows it is experiencing the same year-over-year growth as Canada. And when it comes to hastening death for young people, in particular, Canada is not entirely an outlier.
Read more: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/euthanasia-medical-assisted-suicide-children/

THE DEMOCRAT PARTY MARXIST PLAYBOOK: CANCEL THE SECOND AMENDMENT

Hagstrom: CDC removed stats on defensive gun use over pressure from gun control activists: report
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reportedly removed statistics on defensive gun use in the U.S. following pressure from gun control advocates. The stats sourced from a CDC-commissioned study finding that instances of defensive gun use occur between 60,000 and 2.5 million times per year. References to that study were deleted from the site following private meetings with gun control advocates in 2021, emails obtained and published by The Reload show. “[T]hat 2.5 Million number needs to be killed, buried, dug up, killed again and buried again,” Mark Bryant, executive director of the Gun Violence Archive, wrote to the CDC in one of the emails. “It is highly misleading, is used out of context and I honestly believe it has zero value — even as an outlier point in honest DGU discussions.” Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cdc-removed-stats-defensive-gun-use-pressure-gun-control-activists-report

JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE

Cheney & Wu: Jan. 6 panel to vote on urging DOJ to prosecute Trump on at least three criminal charges
The report that the select panel is expected to consider on Monday afternoon, described to POLITICO by two people familiar with its contents, reflects some recommendations from a subcommittee that evaluated potential criminal referrals. Among the charges that subcommittee proposes for Trump: 18 U.S.C. 2383, insurrection; 18 U.S.C. 1512(c), obstruction of an official proceeding; and 18 U.S.C. 371, conspiracy to defraud the United States government. It’s unclear whether the select committee’s final report will recommend additional charges for Trump beyond the three described to POLITICO, or whether it will urge other criminal charges for other players in Trump’s bid to subvert his 2020 loss. The document, according to the people familiar, includes an extensive justification for the recommended charges. Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/16/jan-6-committee-trump-criminal-referral-00074411

GOP

Burrow: Here Are The Republicans Who Voted Against Reinstating Troops Who Refused The Vaccine | The Daily Caller
Four Republican senators joined Democrats in shooting down an amendment to a massive defense authorization package that would have reinstated troops discharged for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the Senate 83-11 Thursday night, and along with it a provision overturning the Biden administration’s service-wide vaccine requirement. Republican Senators Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mike Rounds of South Dakota voted no on a last-minute amendment to the bill re-enlisting thousands of troops separated for refusing the vaccine mandate, collapsing the proposal 54 to 40. Read more: https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/16/republicans-voted-against-reinstating-troops-vaccine/

Camenker: Capitulating on ‘Same-sex Marriage’
Its passage by Congress (with the help of numerous “moderate” Republicans) has been bewailed by conservative groups. But let’s not fool ourselves. This didn’t happen because of some weak-kneed RINOs. It’s the result of a near-total capitulation of the conservative movement on the marriage issue over recent decades, which has trickled up to Congress. In the critical weeks before its final passage by both the House and Senate, major pro-family groups spent lots of money and energy lobbying tirelessly against it. These groups were at the same time polishing their image as stalwart defenders of the family (in their ongoing appeals for funding from conservative citizens). But with all that effort, here’s what Congress and the public did not hear from the mainstream conservatives as reasons to defeat the bill: Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/12/capitulating_on_samesex_
marriage.html

Sundance: Sunday Talks, Incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan Discusses His Intended Approach to Investigate DHS, FBI and Social Media Platform Political Censorship
On one hand I’m thankful incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan is willing to explain who he intends to call before congress to answer questions. On the other hand, my appreciation is tempered knowing open discussion of the intended investigative approach assists Lawfare operatives in their preparation. The republican led House Judiciary Committee will be opposed by the White House, the Senate including the Senate Judiciary and Senate Intel, DHS, FBI, ODNI, DOJ-NSD, Main Justice, the Lawfare group, corporate media, Big Tech social media oligarchs and the entirety of the national security state apparatus. Navigating through this minefield of opposition will take a brutally confrontational approach. Read more/Watch the 4:25 minute interview: https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/18/sunday-talks-incoming-house-judiciary-chairman-jim-jordan-discusses-his-intended-approach-to-investigate-dhs-fbi-and-social-media-platform-political-censorship/

TWITTER CRIME FILES

Sundance: Release #6 – DHS and FBI Content Removal Requests to Twitter
Independent journalist Matt Taibbi has released the sixth installment after review of more Twitter File data [SEE HERE]. Keep in mind, the research group containing Mr. Taibbi are only seeing the consequences side of the content removal process. What specifically happened in/around the portal of information flowing into Twitter HQ is a different division. Taibbi et al are only seeing the consequences from the requests that entered the Twitter system. The first section of Taibbi’s analysis is the most interesting. Having tracked the issue for several years, I would modify some of the descriptive language Taibbi presents yet agree with the overall context of his presentation. Taibbi begins by noting, “Twitter’s contact with the FBI was constant and pervasive, as if it were a subsidiary.” I would safely take that a step further, yes there is a subsidiary relationship; however, as years of government involvement continued by 2016 Twitter became the subsidiary of DHS, not vice-versa. This dynamic within the relationship explains some of the more curious elements that Taibbi struggles to fully understand. Notice the timing of escalation by DHS/FBI: . . . Read more: https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/16/release-6-dhs-and-fbi-content-removal-requests-to-twitter/

Sundance: Twitter Files Supplemental – DHS/FBI Demands So Pervasive, Even Top Woke Twitter Executives Began to Think the Govt Was Going Too Far
Matt Taibbi files a supplemental thread to his review of DHS/FBI instructions, through the still undisclosed portal. [Twitter File Supplemental Here] Just a reminder… how the ‘asks’ actually took place is still a mystery, Taibbi & Weiss et al are only privy to the internal actions and discussions after the inbound requests arrive. Put another way, we are blind to the method of the DHS/FBI portal into the network. I do not believe that secrecy is accidental. Read more: https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/12/18/twitter-files-supplemental-dhs-fbi-demands-so-pervasive-even-top-woke-twitter-executives-began-to-think-the-govt-was-going-to-far/

RNC: NEW LEADERSHIP ON THE HORIZON?

Boyle: Exclusive — Trump on RNC Chair Race Between Ronna McDaniel, Harmeet Dhillon: ‘I Like Them Both’
Former President Donald Trump declined to endorse either incumbent Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel or her challenger, RNC national committeewoman from California Harmeet Dhillon in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News here on Friday. Read more: https://12ft.io/proxy?ref=&q=https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/17/exclusive-trump-on-rnc-chair-race-between-ronna-mcdaniel-harmeet-dhillon-i-like-them-both/

War Room: Kurt Schlichter: The RNC’s Legal Preparation For 2022 Midterm Was Beyond Unsatisfactory
Author-attorney Kurt Schlichter talks to host Steve Bannon about the Republican Party’s failure to address election fraud in both 2020 and 2022, and the accountability of RNC chair Ronna McDaniel. “[In 2020] We knew… everyone should have known… that one of the key battlegrounds was going to be Las Vegas. One was goin to be Philadelphia. One was going to be Detroit. Go down by the numbers. And the RNC had simply not prepared the battlefield for what was coming… We have to take firm action, and that means new leadership. I don’t understand the argument for continuing with Ronna McDaniel. She has an unbroken track record of failure through 5 elections.” Watch the 14:58 minute interview: https://warroom.org/2022/12/16/kurt-schlichter-the-rncs-legal-preparation-for-2022-midterm-was-beyond-unsatisfactory/

War Room: FULL INTERVIEW: Ronna McDaniel Personally Responds To The Numerous Attacks On Her Role As RNC Chair
Watch the 21:55 minute interview: https://rumble.com/v210im6-full-interview-ronna-mcdaniel-personally-responds-to-the-numerous-attacks-o.html

ALL EYES ARE ON ARIZONA

Whedon: Arizona judge approves Lake request to examine ballots
Maricopa County Superior Court judge has approved Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s request to have ballots inspected as she prepares for trial in her ongoing challenge to the state’s gubernatorial contest. Judge Peter Thompson on Thursday issued the ruling, which allows the inspection of random ballots in the county ahead of the trial date. The Republican had previously filed a request to do so and Arizona law provides for a candidate challenging election results to demand ballot inspections to prepare. The ruling became public on Friday. Thompson granted three of Lake’s four demands, allowing the inspection of 50 random “ballot-on-demand” printed ballots, 50 random early ballots, and 50 random BOD ballots marked spoiled. The judge denied her bid to inspect 50 random early ballot envelopes. Read more: https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/arizona-judge-approves-lake-request-examine-ballots

Showalter: A 16,000-ballot discrepancy in Arizona? Another chip falls for Kari Lake
According to Just The News, citing the results of a public records request from America First Legal Foundation: Recently disclosed internal communications between top election officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County in the immediate aftermath of Election Day reveal that they struggled to reconcile a discrepancy of almost 16,000 in outstanding ballot totals.[…] Who is Richer? It’s a significant question because Richer is nominally a Republican, who ran for the recorder’s office and won on an electoral integrity platform in 2020. According to research by Mollie Hemingway at the Federalist, he went bad fast, illegally campaigning on government time and dime and resources on a ballot measure to prohibit voter I.D., a very strange thing for an electoral integrity guy, as well as this list of horrible stuff: […] He sounds like a nightmare. So it’s interesting that he discovered a ballot discrepancy, and now is keeping quiet about it, not answering any questions from JustTheNews. Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/12/a_16000_ballot_discrepancy_
in_arizona_another_chip_falls_for_kari_lake.html

KGUN9.com staff: Judge dismisses Finchem lawsuit with prejudice
A judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mark Finchem with prejudice and confirmed the election of Adrian Fontes as Arizona Secretary of State-Elect. The lawsuit focused on issues in the 2022 election, as well as the fact that Secretary of State Katie Hobbs did not recuse herself despite the fact she was running for governor. Finchem’s lawsuit called to take back the certification of Adrian Fontes and Ruben Gallego and reconduct a state-wide election. Read more: https://www.kgun9.com/news/elections/judge-dismissed-finchem-lawsuit-with-prejudice

A CHURCH IN CRISIS

Rocca: U.S. Catholic Priests Are Increasingly Conservative as Faithful Grow More Liberal
U.S. Catholic bishops elected conservative leaders last month, continuing to resist a push from Pope Francis to put social issues such as climate change and poverty on par with the bishops’ declared priority of opposing abortion.    The U.S. hierarchy’s orientation reflects the wider trend of an American clergy with values at odds with those of an increasingly liberal laity and a pope who has encouraged the questioning of once-taboo subjects and leniency on some teachings of sexual morality. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops declined to comment. Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-catholic-priests-are-increasingly-conservative-as-faithful-grow-more-liberal-11671343608?mod=djemalertNEWS

Mullen & Bukuras: Vatican dismisses Father Frank Pavone from priesthood
Father Frank Pavone, a well-known pro-life activist and national director of the organization Priests for Life, has been dismissed from the clerical state for “blasphemous communications on social media” and “persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop,” CNA has learned. […] Pavone has served as the pro-life organization’s national director since 1993. In that role he has a long history of conflicts with bishops, beginning more than 20 years ago with the late Cardinal Edward Egan of the Archdiocese of New York. Egan succeeded the late Cardinal John J. O’Connor, who ordained Pavone in 1988 and encouraged his pro-life work. In his email, Pavone directed CNA to a document posted on his personal website titled “Summary of How Fr. Frank and Priests for Life Have Been Treated by Some in the Hierarchy.” Read more: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253106/vatican-dismisses-father-frank-pavone-from-priesthood

Father Frank Pavone’s 12/18/22 tweet: My response, answering your questions and praying for prolife leaders and activists. Watch Father Pavone’s 1:39:50 hour response: https://mobile.twitter.com/frfrankpavone/status/1604491745555001344?cxt=HHwWgMDRrbuvpsQsAAAA

BIDEN/HARRIS/OBAMA REGIME: TRANSFORMING AMERICA

Citizen Free Press: Where the hell are the Illegals going…
Read more/Watch the videos: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/excellent-question-elon/

Bliss: Republicans Try to Curb Recent Biden ESG Rule for Retirement Plans
Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) are looking to destroy President Joe Biden’s controversial Labor Department rule change, which allows companies to prioritize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives when choosing retirement plans. The move comes after the Labor Department announced a rule on November 22 that would enable fund managers to prioritize ESG initiatives, a form of leftist activism in financial investing, when selecting which retirement investments to pursue in and when they exercise shareholder rights, such as proxy voting. The rule is ultimately a reversal of a Trump-era rule. Read more:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/16/republicans-try-to-curb-recent-biden-esg-rule-for-retirement-plans/

Hamilton: Exclusive — Dan Pollak: Joe Biden’s Antisemitism Roundtable Was a ‘Sham’
Dan Pollak, the Zionist Organization of America’s Director of Government Relations, spoke with Breitbart News about how President Joe Biden’s roundtable to address antisemitism is a “sham” because his administration is rampant with antisemitic officials. Read more/listen to the 17 minute interview: https://12ft.io/proxy?ref=&q=https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/17/exclusive-dan-pollak-joe-bidens-antisemitism-roundtable-was-a-sham/

A NATIONAL RECOVERY PLAN?

VDH: 10 Steps to Save America
ost Americans know something has gone terribly wrong—and very abruptly—with the United States. They are certain that our wounds are almost all self-inflicted. The current pathologies are not a result of a natural disaster, an exhaustion of natural resources, plagues, or an existential war. Crushing national debt and annual deficits, spiraling food and fuel costs amid “normal” seven-percent-plus annual inflation, bread-and-circuses entitlements, a nonexistent border, a resurgence of racial tribalism, pandemic violent criminality, and humiliation abroad—all these pathologies are easily cited as symptoms of a sick patient. Our crises are not as the Left maintains—a nine-person Supreme Court, the Electoral College, or the filibuster—all distractions from existential problems the Left largely created. So, what are the therapies and prognoses for America?
Read more: https://amgreatness.com/2022/12/18/10-steps-to-save-america/

THE WOKE MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

Doc Anarch: When a scientific study goes against your basic understanding of the world, do you blindly follow, or raise questions?
If you answered the former, you’re qualified to be a physician. If you answered the latter, you’re qualified to read the Doc Anarchy Substack. For 3 years, we have been flooded with frantic calls to “follow the science” and “trust the science.” Setting aside the fact that this statement is unscientific, it also happens to be a convenient way to keep the masses quiet and compliant. The image of a genius in a white coat, toiling away in a well-lit lab, fixing all the world’s problems makes people feel good. It’s a lie. Anyone in academia knows it works nothing like this. Academia is all about securing funding. Without funding, you don’t have a job.
Read more: https://docanarchy.substack.com/p/dont-trust-the-science-part-1

FAUCI’S VIRUS

Robinson: What ‘Long Covid’ Means
It’s a real disease, but that doesn’t mean its sufferers are right about everything. […] he brought three typewritten pages of symptoms to our appointment, to compensate for her memory problems. Her notes included a timeline, and she was quite clear that her symptoms had started after Covid. Her Covid infection, fortunately, had not required hospitalization. Surprisingly, she never had a positive Covid test. She diagnosed herself based on symptoms. But the period of infection she’d gotten over relatively easily. It was what came after that had been devastating. She couldn’t remember simple things, shopping lists, chores. She was chronically fatigued: she had insomnia even though she was exhausted, but when she did sleep, she woke up unrefreshed. She had migraines every day. She was dizzy, with both vertigo and the sort of lightheadedness you feel before passing out. Light hurt her eyes all the time. Her ears were ringing. Her joints hurt, some days on one side, some days the other. She had nerve pain, sometimes in an arm or a leg, or her whole body. It could migrate from one limb to another over the course of minutes. I don’t know what it feels like, it feels like nerve pain? What else could it be? Symptoms vanished and returned without a pattern. Read more: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/what-long-covid-means/

THE DEMOCRAT PARTY MARXIST PLAYBOOK: LEFTIST INDOCTRINATION, CHILD MUTILATION, CHILD SACRIFICE, CHILD SEXUALIZATION

(Excellent read) Shurk: Liberate America’s Children from Leftism
I saw some commie ninny praising the enlightened brilliance of child activists advocating for left-wing causes, and my eyes nearly rolled back far enough in my skull to leave me blind. Only cultists and communists hang on to every utterance from the most inexperienced humans now alive and treat their incipient musings as evidence for refined wisdom. It doesn’t matter if it’s Greta Thunberg proving she has no understanding of climate science or some poor, brainwashed tot conditioned to recite his/her/its “special” pronouns — when an adult goes gaga over a kid’s political pronouncements, it’s creepy, not compassionate. My beef isn’t with our youngest generation; my fury lies with their tormentors. Innocents are being used today, just as they have always been used throughout history, as sacrificial lambs for the unscrupulous to slaughter. Oh, look, a child — who is neither old enough to possess a necessary base of knowledge for true reflection nor experienced enough to comprehend a world filled with deceit — the ideal sucker for leftists everywhere! First to be pushed to the front lines of battle, first to have their futures stolen from underneath their feet, first to be manipulated by the wealthy and powerful who see them not as special — but as vulnerable and weak! Dear children: . . .
Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/12/liberate_americas_children_
from_leftism.html

The Guardian: ‘Face it head on’: Connecticut makes climate change studies compulsory
The new law passed earlier this year comes as part of the state’s attempts to address concerns over the short duration – and in some cases, absence – of climate change studies in classrooms. The requirement follows in the footsteps of New Jersey, which in 2020 became the first state to mandate K-12 climate change education across its school districts. Currently, nearly 90% of public schools across Connecticut include climate change studies in their curriculums. However, by mandating it as part of state law from grades five to 12, climate education will effectively become protected from budget cuts and climate-denying political views at a time when education in the US has become a serious culture war battleground. Read more: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Feducation%2F2022%2Fdec%2F17%2Fclimate-change-studies-connecticut

Lendrum: First-Ever Emmy Awards for Children Heavily Pushes LGBT Content
In the first Emmy Awards ceremony aimed at children, many of the speeches and award wins overwhelmingly promoted pro-LGBTQ content and other far-left concepts. Fox News reports that the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards, created by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and hosted over the course of two nights, is intended for children ranging from “infancy to age 15.” Of all the programs that received an award, one out of four featured characters or stories that involved sexual preference or gender identity. Read more: https://amgreatness.com/2022/12/16/first-ever-emmy-awards-for-children-heavily-pushes-lgbt-content/

OTHER NEWS & COMMENTARY

Chaitin: Pennsylvania County Set To Perform 2020 Election Recount Next Year
More than than two years after the 2020 general election, a hand recount of paper ballots in two races in that contest — in one Pennsylvania county — is scheduled to take place next year. Up to 40 employees of Lycoming County will go through nearly 60,000 ballots, examining the races for president and state auditor general in a process that will begin January 9, according to PennLive. One observer from each major political party is permitted, but photographs will not be allowed as the recount takes place in the county-owned building.
Read more: https://www.dailywire.com/news/pennsylvania-county-set-to-perform-2020-election-recount-next-year

Bokhari: Pressure Mounts for Investigation of Democrat Pressure Tactics in AT&T’s OAN Censorship As Breitbart News previously reported in 2021, Democratic Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and (D-CA), who sit on House Commerce Committee wrote to the heads of the major cable and satellite companies including DirecTV, Verizon, Comcast, and Cox, expressing “concern” at cable companies allegedly “disseminating misinformation to millions of [its] subscribers, and we write to you to request additional information about what actions [each distributor] is taking to address these issues.” Both Verizon and AT&T-owned DirecTV dropped OAN. AT&T also owns CNN, meaning DirecTV’s decision benefited a competing news outlet that they owned. Read more: https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2022/12/16/pressure-mounts-congress-investigate-oan-att-censorship/

DNYUZ: What Comes Next for the Most Empty Downtown in America
The coffee rush. The lunch rush. The columns of headphone-equipped tech workers rushing in and out of train stations. The lanyard-wearing visitors who crowded the sidewalks when a big conference was in town.
There was a time three years ago when a walk through downtown San Francisco was a picture of what it meant for a city to be economically successful. Take the five-minute jaunt from the office building at 140 New Montgomery Street to a line-out-the-door salad shop nearby.[…] Today San Francisco has what is perhaps the most deserted major downtown in America. On any given week, office buildings are at about 40 percent of their prepandemic occupancy, while the vacancy rate has jumped to 24 percent from 5 percent since 2019. Occupancy of the city’s offices is roughly 7 percentage points below that of those in the average major American city, according to Kastle, the building security firm. Read more: https://dnyuz.com/2022/12/17/what-comes-next-for-the-most-empty-downtown-in-america/

Hutchison: MSNBC Medical Analyst Says ‘It Only Makes Sense’ For Americans To ‘Mask Up’ Again
“Public health officials need to accept that we — and I know that they privately communicate this all the time, it’s just that we need to have the courage to say this publicly, even if it’s unpopular, that — that communities, especially with hospitals, children’s hospitals that have little stock in their system, need to protect those hospitals,” Dr. Vin Gupta, an affiliate assistant professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington, told guest host Yasmin Vossoughian. “Schools need to — to lead by example and mask. School officials, I’m looking at you, public health officials at the local level, it only makes sense,” Gupta continued. “It’s our only buttress here, in addition to vaccination, and we need to do it.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in February it would no longer recommend masking while indoors. Read more: https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2022/12/16/msnbc-medical-analyst-says-it-only-makes-sense-for-americans-to-mask-up-again/

INTERNATIONAL

Zeisloft: Site Of Jesus’ Baptism Could Become Home To $300 Million Tourist Village
Two millennia ago, the people of Judea visited the Jordan River in droves as the voice of John the Baptist cried to them from the wilderness about the arrival of Jesus Christ. Today, that wilderness from which Jesus began his ministry could become the home of souvenir shops, botanical gardens, and boutique hotels.
King Abdullah II of Jordan recently heard a proposal to pour as much as $300 million into a “tourist city” adjacent to the site where Jesus was believed to have been baptized, according to a report from Reuters. The attraction could eventually quintuple the number of pilgrims who visit the location to one million per year. Read more: https://www.dailywire.com/news/site-of-jesus-baptism-could-become-home-to-300-million-tourist-village

Hayward: Japan Rolls Out Biggest Military Buildup Since World War II
The Japanese government on Friday unveiled its latest five-year defense planning document, announcing a $320 billion military buildup that will include missiles capable of hitting targets in China.
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio called the new plan a “turning point in history” for the post-war pacifist nation. “Fundamentally strengthening our defense capabilities is the most urgent challenge in this severe security environment,” Kishida said last week when previewing the military buildup. Read more: https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2022/12/16/japan-rolls-out-biggest-military-buildup-since-world-war-ii/