WHAT I'M READING

I was going to start reading Stephen King novels until I was at the library a couple days ago. I couldn't resist checking out "The Patriots:  Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, & the Making of America."  I'm a sucker for interesting-looking history books.

POLITICAL POTPOURRI

"Ocasio-Cortez sells 'Tax the Rich' merch."  Drudge Report

"Selfless Democrats go to fancy restaurants, parties to show public what not to do."  Bablylon Bee

CHRISTMAS

"'Christmas Star' to light up sky for first time in 800 years."  Drudge

2020

"2020 rated worst year ever, provided you never lived at any other time in history."  Babylon Bee

COVID

"In late October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a survey that found self-reported use of face masks increased from 78 percent in April, to 83 percent in May, and reached 89 percent in June. Even if people are exaggerating how often or how well they wear a mask, only about ten percent of Americans were willing to say: “No, I don’t wear a mask.” Around that same time, a HealthDay/Harris survey found 93 percent of Americans said they sometimes, often, or always wear a mask or face covering when they leave their home and are unable to socially distance — and of that amount, 72 percent said they always do so. A National Geographic and Morning Consult poll from earlier in the month found similar results.

"People may not always be perfectly honest with pollsters, but we can see the evidence every time we go to the grocery store, or doctor’s office, or anywhere else we go. By any available measure, a solid and perhaps overwhelming majority of Americans regularly wear their masks indoors. (Anecdotally, I’d say I see fewer people wearing it below their nose, too.) A handful of conflicts about wearing masks in public places have gone viral on social media, creating the perception that these clashes are ubiquitous. How many times have you shopped for groceries this year? And how many times have you seen someone making a scene over refusing to wear a mask?"  Jim Geraghty, National Review Online

"President-elect Joe Biden said Thursday he will ask Americans to wear face masks for 100 days after his inauguration in January to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“The first day I’m inaugurated to say I’m going to ask the public for 100 days to mask,” Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “Just 100 days to mask, not forever. One hundred days.”  Brittany Bernstein, NRO

PHILANTHROPHY

"We should not allow our generous impulses to lure us into imposing destructive policies (student-loan forgiveness leads the current list) or to lull us into accepting the ineffectiveness and dysfunction of the institutions we entrust with the public’s resources. It is a relatively easy thing for rich people, or a rich society, to look at someone’s Christmas wish-list and check off a few boxes, making everybody feel a little better. It is a more difficult and higher kind of philanthropy to build the kind of institutions — and the kind of society — that will help people to prosper in the long term. We need clear thinking on this, urgently."  Kevin Williamson, NRO

FACEBOOK

"USA Today has a "fact-checking" team that is run and weaponized by Facebook to limit or censor social media posts. But amazingly, the standard employed isn't whether something is factual or nonfactual. It seems to be whether someone is a Democrat or not."  Tim Graham, Townhall

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

"Americans cherish religious freedom. And the COVID-19 crisis has reminded people of faith, especially how much they value this critical First Amendment right. For me, a Christian, the past eight months of lockdowns have underscored the importance of in-person worship or, rather, the importance of fellowship in nurturing one’s spiritual life. 

"As David Mathis, a pastor and executive editor of Desiring God, says, “Worshipping Jesus together may be the single most important thing we do. It plays an indispensable role in rekindling our spiritual fire and keeping it burning. Corporate worship brings together God’s word, prayer, and fellowship, and so makes for the greatest of God’s ongoing grace in the Christian life.”  Ken Blackwell, Townhall