The 2010 and 2012 class of Tea Party House Congressional members have done an outstanding job of holding the line amid attacks from both Democrats and Republicans.  Can you just imagine what legislative life would be like without their fight?
Ted Cruz appears on ABC This Week and discusses his meeting with them during the shutdown.   Jonathan Karl is just aghast at their united patriotic perspectives.

Because the economics behind this holiday season reflect the reality of fundamental change you probably will not see them discussed too much within the mainstream news; it just doesn’t fit the recovery narrative.
However, you don’t have to be an economist to understand Christmas expenditures.  It’s generally accurate that if your family spent less, the entire nation probably spent less for the exact same reason.
The worse news yet to reflect in the macro roll-up centers around Gift Card use.   Gift cards are not accounted for as economic sales on the shopping ledger until they are redeemed.  That statistic is yet to be determined.
(Via CBS)  […]  Deep discounts and extended hours could not get Americans to spend as much as stores expected this holiday season, so now retailers are cutting prices even more.
“Retailers overshot the mark, in terms of apparel supply,” said retail analyst Craig Johnson. “So there’s an imbalance of supply and demand in apparel, leading to all the dramatic promotions you’re seeing today.” (more…)

Some people wonder why CNN is in such a poor state of viewership. In this clip from Anderson Cooper you can see exactly why the ratings of the media outlet are plummeting with exponential severity.
Most people know that Anderson Cooper is the son of fashion icon Gloria Vanderbilt, but look at this panel and you can understand why viewers tune out. Anderson’s panel includes gay activist and extremist Dan Savage, and gay activist and media reporter Andrew Sullivan. To them this is just a typical coffee table conversation – but when you think about it broadcast into peoples homes, well, you decide:

The progressive mantra of modern liberalism is flailing miserably everywhere you look and the media protestations of a “Do Nothing Congress” are flares shooting up from their encampments identifying exactly where they reside.

All around us are signs the various liberalist causes are visibly in the minority.   The odd thing is how willing the progressives are to out their failing positions.    Against the liberal yard-stick of emotional legislative advancement, which is diametrically antithetical to freedom, the media are proclaiming congress as failed.
However, when you consider that stopping intrusion by government into your life is a central tenant of freedom this congress is the most successful in a decade.
Coast to coast people are showing their pushback against the nanny state.    People are rising up, or using their TV remotes, or tuning their car radios, or expressing their voice, to reflect an ideology of freedom in opposition to the current federal administration and the beliefs they visibly represent. (more…)

The Washington Times reports on the filing of federal Hate Crimes charges in connection with a “Knock Out Assault” that was videotaped:

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“Suspected crimes of this nature will simply not be tolerated,” said Kenneth Magidson the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Texas. “Evidence of hate crimes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted with the assistance of all our partners to the fullest extent of the law.”

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Venezuela, in a squeeze for hard currency, devalued its currency for foreigners another 44%, following an initial devaluation of 32% by Chavez in February.  The move is seen as a necessity to keep Venezuela from defaulting on sovereign debt when reliance on excessively high levels of public spending has been the tool of Chavez and his successor, Maduro, to maintain their grip on power.  It is the 6th such major devaluation in a decade.
The move is essentially a bookkeeping sleight-of-hand – it allows the Venezuelan central bank to balance its books by “earning” more Bolivars for its oil export sales, at a time when overall sales volume has decreased dramatically.

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Failed as New York Governor (Hookers 2008), Failed as CNN TV Show Host (In The Arena), Failed as Current TV Show Host (Viewpoint), Failed bid for NY Comptrollers office; and last week caught having yet another affair – this time with Campaign Director (Liz Smith, 31)  for Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio.    Spitzer is 54 years old.

(NEW YORK) Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has announced that his marriage to wife Silda Wall Spitzer has come to an end, according to both The New York Daily News and The New York Post.
The news was announced jointly by the couple through Spitzer’s spokesperson Lisa Linden.
“We regret that our marital relationship has come to an end and we have agreed not to make any other public statement on this subject,” read the announcement. (more…)

Read this article and see if something sticks out so quickly to you around the concept of the headline:  “The only commonality is that basically all the victims were Jewish.”  
New York (Crown Heights) – Police have arrested four children in connection with a string of alleged “knockout game” attacks in Brooklyn, the NYPD said.
A 14-year-old girl and three other children, aged 10 and 11, were arrested in connection with three assaults that took place between October and November.
The victims included an 11-year-old boy who was punched on President Street, a youth who was hit with a rock while walking home from school and a youngster who was “mushed” in the face with a plastic bag, said Deputy Inspector George Fitzgibbon, the 71st Precinct’s new commanding officer. (more…)

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You can expect a lot of this from the crew at Em-Ess-En-Bee-Cee:
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