A few thoughts, on this eve of love and peace, this looming hope that one day, the dignity of freedom and respect will return for all. I think of The Trenches here and The Trenchers in it, each a unique and focused individual. I think of those who dug this particular Trench, Laura and Henry, and their on-going effort to fight the good fight.

I do not know where else I can hang my hat with such certainty that this place is without a selfish or perverted agenda.   Continue reading “Merry Christmas, Everybody!!”

Daily Mail

President Donald Trump was in a jolly mood at dinner on Friday night, with CBS News reporting that the Commander-in-Chief spent part of his evening extolling the benefits of the new tax bill to friends at Mar-a-Lago.

‘You all just got a lot richer,’ President Trump told a group of diners at a nearby table according to two people at the Palm Beach club that night.   Continue reading “‘You all just got a lot richer’: What Trump bragged to wealthy friends at Mar-a-Lago just hours after signing tax bill he said would benefit the middle class”

NCPR – by Scott Simon

The U.S. foster care system is overwhelmed, in part because America’s opioid crisis is overwhelming. Thousands of children have had to be taken out of the care of parents or a parent who is addicted.

Indiana is among the states that have seen the largest one-year increase in the number of children who need foster care. Judge Marilyn Moores, who heads the juvenile court in Marion County, which includes Indianapolis, says the health crisis is straining resources in Indiana.   Continue reading “The Foster Care System Is Flooded With Children Of The Opioid Epidemic”

WND – by Bob Unruh

A court fight has erupted over Seattle’s demand that landlord’s offer a rental unit to the “first person” who submits a valid application, in essence telling property owners that the city will pick their tenants because they might be hindered by “unconscious bias.”

Under Seattle’s “first-in-time” rule, a landlord must offer a rental unit to the “first person who submits an adequate application,” explains Ethan Blevins of the Pacific Legal Foundation, which sued over the Big Brother policy.   Continue reading “Seattle to landlords: We’ll pick tenants for you”

Yahoo News

Fears of a bomb outside Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s Los Angeles home turned out to be a waste — literally.

A box of gift-wrapped horse manure was to blame for a bomb scare in a driveway near Mnuchin’s Bel Air, California, home Saturday evening, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC.   Continue reading “Gift-wrapped horse manure prompts bomb scare at US treasury secretary’s LA home”

Maybe the reason why the cops aren’t following through on these rape kits is because some of the over 800 rapists they have in that city are COPS? That’s what I’d be wondering if they aren’t getting them done.

Free Thought Project – by Jack Burns

Detroit, Michigan — A team led by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has devoted countless hours over the last 8 years to test a backlog of more than 11,300 rape kits that were found in a police storage warehouse. As a result, they have found that nearly 1,000 serial rapists assaulted multiple victims, and because of the inefficiency of Detroit Police, the rapists were never charged.   Continue reading “Prosecutors Finally Look at Neglected Rape Kits and Found Cops Let 817 Serial Rapists Walk Free”

Independent – by Olivia Petter

An aspiring model has become the first Miss Maine pageant contestant to wear a hijab on stage.

Hamdia Ahmed was born in Somalia and raised in a refugee camp in Kenya and hopes to be scouted by a modelling agent.

She now lives in the US and studies political science at the University of Southern Maine.  Continue reading “Muslim Woman Becomes First Miss Maine Contestant To Wear A Hijab”

Yahoo News

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Brazilian police looking for criminals ended up targets of a sting themselves when a swarm of bees attacked, sending seven officers to the hospital.

The officers were searching a piece of forest by a farm in Resende, northwest of Rio de Janeiro, on Friday when “they found a box,” the state police force said in a statement Saturday.   Continue reading “Bees attack Brazilian cops in sting gone wrong”

The Hill

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are probing whether a string of shootings in Harrisburg, Pa., on Friday constituted an act of terror.

ABC News reported Saturday that federal authorities are investigating after 51-year-old Ahmed Aminamin El-Mofty allegedly opened fire on police officers in three different locations in the Pennsylvania capital on Friday.   Continue reading “FBI probing Pennsylvania shootings targeting police”

Fox News

A Pennsylvania family was ordered by their homeowner’s association to take down their Jesus Christmas display after one of the neighbors reported it as offensive.

Mark and Lynn Wivell of Adams County, a Gettysburg subdivision, said they put up their Jesus display last Saturday, FOX43 reported.

“As part of our Christmas decoration, we would display the name Jesus to point out to everyone that we in this family believe that the reason for the season is to celebrate the birth of Jesus,” said Mark Wivell told FOX43.   Continue reading “Pennsylvania family ordered to take down Jesus Christmas display after neighbor said it was ‘offensive’”

Yahoo News

Moscow (AFP) – Moscow warned Saturday that Washington was encouraging “new bloodshed” in eastern Ukraine by its decision to provide the ex-Soviet nation with lethal weapons, while Kiev expressed the hope arms supplies could help contain Russia.

The stern Moscow warning came after a new ceasefire deal between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels went into effect from midnight Saturday ahead of the New Year and Orthodox Christmas holidays. But already both sides are claiming ceasefire violations.  Continue reading “Russia warns US decision to arm Ukraine encourages ‘new bloodshed’”

NBC News

A 6-year-old Texas boy was killed just days before Christmas when sheriff’s deputies opened fire on a woman they had been chasing — and one of the bullets pierced the wall of a mobile home and struck the child in the abdomen.

The woman, a suspected car thief who had been trying to break into the home, was also killed in the shooting on Thursday in the Schertz, a small town some 20 miles northeast of San Antonio, NBC affiliate WOAI reported.
Continue reading “Texas boy, 6, killed in deputy-involved shooting days before Christmas”

MassPrivateI

In what can best be described as government sanctioned theft, our justice system has devised a new way to take money and liberty from minorities.

As you will see, police are using traffic citations to help balance budgets and much more.

According to an article by Fox 6 Now,  Milwaukee law enforcement claimed that increasing traffic stops by 56% resulted in a reduction in violent crime.    Continue reading “Justice Department claims that increasing traffic stops by 56% will lower crime”