from Moonbattery: According to the Gospel of the Global Warming Hoax‚ 1850–1910 was the coldest period of the past millennium. Yet glaciers were retreating rapidly. Now that the planet allegedly has a fever‚ the retreat has slowed dramatically and even reversed: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/ Our moonbat rulers canceled the Medieval Warm Period and Little […]

by Jim Hoft‚ The Gateway Pundit: As The Gateway Pundit reported earlier this year – the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Georgia unsealed the 96-page Halderman Report in June 2023- the Security Analysis of Georgia’s ImageCast X Ballot Marking Devices. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was hiding this report from the public for two […]

from Mr Reagan: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

This Christmas is a troubled time—a season of war rather than peace‚ from the Black Sea to Bethlehem. America is full of political foreboding‚ and Christmas itself has become a source of controversy. Some find the holiday adrift from its true meaning‚ a Christian holy day transformed into a celebration of consumerism‚ when fir trees and reindeer are more conspicuous than the Christ child. To others‚ Christmas is all too Christian for a pluralistic‚ 21st-century America‚ where we should wish one another “happy holidays” instead of risking offense with a “merry Christmas.” Then there’s the playful yet often surprisingly intense argument over whether “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie. The Bruce Willis film isn’t exactly seasonally appropriate in its themes and violence—but it does take place at Christmas. If that makes a movie a Christmas movie‚ then what about a stage drama that’s also set (to begin with) at Christmas? Is “Hamlet” a Christmas play? Denmark‚ in Shakespeare’s story‚ is in disarray‚ much like our world. Guards patrol the walls of Elsinore castle in anticipation of war and in trepidation of encountering the dead king’s ghost‚ which keeps its own watch at night. Two friends of Prince Hamlet‚ Horatio and Marcellus‚ see the apparition‚ which vanishes as soon as a cock crows. The philosophical Horatio‚ who will later describe himself as an “antique Roman”—a pagan—asserts that “the god of day‚” or daylight itself‚ is what the ghost flees. Marcellus has another explanation: This is the season “Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated‚” when “they say‚ no spirit dares stir abroad.” It’s Christmas‚ or close‚ and that’s no time for hauntings: “No fairy takes‚ nor witch hath power to charm / So hallow’d and so gracious is the time.” The next night‚ Hamlet goes with them to meet the ghost again‚ while within the castle the usurper upon the throne—Hamlet’s uncle‚ Claudius—celebrates the season with a wassail‚ a drink customarily enjoyed in Shakespeare’s day (and medieval Denmark) on Christmas Eve. The play moves months ahead in time. It’s Lent when a troupe of actors visits the castle and is put to work by Hamlet in a scheme to prove his uncle murdered his father. “Hamlet” isn’t altogether a Christmas play‚ but Christmas is a conspicuous part of it. And there is good reason to think that “Hamlet” was much on the minds of two authors who shaped modern conceptions of Christmas in the 19th century. Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (“‘Twas the night before Christmas … .”) includes the charming line “not a creature was stirring‚ not even a mouse”—which echoes the guard at Elsinore‚ who reports “Not a mouse stirring.” Twenty years later in “A Christmas Carol‚” Charles Dickens would refer to Hamlet’s ghost in his own tale of yuletide hauntings. And in fact‚ Dickens observes the rule set down by Marcellus in “Hamlet”: The ghosts are gone‚ their work accomplished‚ by the dawn of Christmas Day. There’s a faint reminder of “Hamlet” in an earlier Dickens tale set at Christmas as well. As in “Hamlet‚” an impudent gravedigger features in a Christmas episode of “The Pickwick Papers‚” “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton.” Curiously‚ the goblin who first accosts the gravedigger has a catchphrase—”Ho! Ho! Ho!”—now familiar from a very different Christmas character. Moore and Dickens knew their Shakespeare‚ and when they set out to create new stories for the season‚ they didn’t forget the precedents the Bard had provided‚ few though they were. “A sad tale’s best for winter: I have one of sprites and goblins‚” says Mamillius in “The Winter’s Tale.” In Shakespeare’s day‚ sprites and goblins—and ghosts—were seasonally appropriate before Christmas. There’s debate about whether Shakespeare invented the “Marcellus rule” that banned such beings from Christmas Day onwards‚ through Twelfth Night on the eve of Epiphany. Yet‚ if there were no ghosts‚ there were other kinds of spirit. The “Twelve Days of Christmas” were a time of revelry—drinking‚ singing‚ putting on plays‚ and merriment—when not Santa Claus‚ but a “Lord of Misrule‚” was the mascot of the season. In Shakespeare’s age‚ Puritans—much like Hamlet—were scandalized by bibulous customs like the wassail. “Hamlet” reminds us that our Christmas troubles and soul-searching are not altogether new. Shakespeare‚ too‚ had to ask whether his country had lost its values: Was it Christian or pagan‚ Catholic or Protestant‚ Stoically philosophical or‚ like Hamlet in his agony‚ nihilistic and despairingly materialist? Those questions had not been answered when Moore and Dickens tried to revive the Christmas spirit in the 19th century‚ and still they press upon us today. Shakespeare helps us think about them—to recognize Hamlet’s dilemmas and our own‚ the ghosts that haunt us‚ but also the joyous day when they must depart. COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Shakespeare’s Christmas appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday it opened an investigation into Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) for allegedly violating campaign finance laws and other violations of House rules. “Pursuant to the Committee’s action‚ the Investigative Subcommittee shall have jurisdiction to determine whether Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law‚ rule‚ regulation‚ or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of her duties or the discharge of her responsibilities‚ with respect to allegations that she may have violated campaign finance laws and regulations in connection with her 2022 special election and/or 2022 re-election campaigns; failed to properly disclose required information on statements required to be filed with the House; and/or accepted voluntary services for official work from an individual not employed in her congressional office‚” a House Ethics Committee press release read. Florida Democrat under investigation for allegedly breaking campaign finance laws | Just The News https://t.co/m9zo1SKxqm — John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) December 27‚ 2023 “The Committee has determined to take this action following receipt of a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics regarding this matter.  The Committee notes that the mere fact of establishing an Investigative Subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred‚” the press release added. The Hill reports: The committee did not elaborate further on the allegations‚ as it typically does not disclose details about the substance of allegations against members until it completes investigations. Cherfilus-McCormick’s office also did not elaborate on the allegations. “As the Ethics Committee said in its statement‚ the mere fact of establishing an investigative subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation occurred. Regardless‚ the Congresswoman takes these matters seriously and is working to resolve them‚” a spokesperson for Cherfilus-McCormick told The Hill. Cherfilus-McCormick joined the House of Representatives in 2022 after she won a special election to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Alcee Hastings. House Ethics Committee opens investigation into Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) https://t.co/uxjNRfpCb1 pic.twitter.com/BMFr9ifjBz — The Hill (@thehill) December 27‚ 2023 WATCH: The House Ethics committee has unanimously agreed to form an investigative subcommittee to look into allegations of campaign finance violations by Rep. Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL). pic.twitter.com/2GPwEUTFwJ — MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 27‚ 2023 “Inside Elections reported that the Congresswoman had used office funds to run advertisements during her campaign. That is allowed‚ but may blur some ethical lines‚” Just the News noted.

In 2024‚ a new law requiring "gender-neutral" toy sections in major retail establishments in California will go into effect.

The Eiffel Tower has been shut down to the public after staff went on strike on the 100th anniversary of the death of its inventor‚ Gustave Eiffel.

Who exactly is the character ‘Isa’ in the Qur’an? Is he Jesus Christ? The post Glazov Gang: When Muslims Say They Believe in Jesus appeared first on Frontpage Mag.