NEWS YOU CAN USE: Greatest Defensive Semi-Automatic Shotguns.

UNEXPECTEDLY: Gallup Study: Teenagers more likely to be mentally healthy if their parents are conservative.

NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Breakthrough Demo of 3D DNA Industrial Nanorobots Manufacturing.

HMM: Genetic mutations that promote reproduction tend to shorten human lifespan, study shows.

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: The Babylon Bee Writers Stand In Solidarity With Our Fellow Fake News Writers Going On Strike At The Washington Post.

I BELIEVE THIS: Study suggests greeting strangers can boost happiness levels.

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: FDA approves first human gene editing therapy for sickle cell disease.

RIP: Ryan O’Neal, actor who starred in Love Story, Paper Moon, What’s Up, Doc? and Barry Lyndon.

After pairing with Jacqueline Bisset as a jewel thief in Bud Yorkin’s comedy The Thief Who Came to Dinner in 1973, O’Neal and his nine-year-old daughter, Tatum, starred together in Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon, the tale of a conman bible salesman and his daughter.

Set in the Midwest during the Great Depression, the film charmed critics and audiences alike; O’Neal père played the role of the exasperated father to perfection, while his daughter shone as his sidekick. For both it was, perhaps, their finest hour. “It is so enjoyable, so funny, so touching,” said The Sunday Telegraph, “that I couldn’t care less about its morals.” Tatum O’Neal won an Oscar for her role.

But as the 1970s wore on, O’Neal’s career took a nosedive. He had already acquired a reputation in the media for being aggressive (one interviewer described in 1971 his “aura of scarcely contained violence”) and his erratic love life was providing more headlines than the films he was making.

In 1975 he starred in Stanley Kubrick’s sublime masterpiece Barry Lyndon, in which he played an 18th-century Irish gent. “Now people say it’s my best work,” he complained in 1991, “but I never got a good job after it.”

Not for all tastes, but like virtually all of Kubrick’s films, Barry Lyndon rewards repeated viewing, and it looks fantastic on Blu-Ray:  Barry Lyndon Finally Receives the Criterion Treatment.

WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY: California Governor Gavin Newsom Touts Freedom at Inauguration.

—Bloomberg, January 6th.

Fast-forward to today: California law requires gender-neutral toy, baby sections in retail stores. “The law, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in 2021, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2024. If a store violates the law, it can face up to a $500 fine.”

IRONICALLY, THIS ARTICLE ON SEX ROBOTS reads like it was created by an AI.

WELL, THAT’S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO THINK: Taylor Swift Is Not a PsyOp.

THE POWER LINE WEEK IN PICTURES: Context Edition.

IN THE MAIL: The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. #CommissionEarned. I just ordered two new copies of this book. It is a terrific guide for anyone who suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder or panic attacks.

JEFF DUNETZ: Differences Between Christmas And Hanukkah (With Tongue Firmly In Cheek).

2. There is only one way to spell Christmas. No one can decide how to spell Chanukah. The  Oxford English Dictionary shows 24 different spellings for Hanukkah (Chanucha, Chanuchah, Hanuca, Hanucka, Chanuca, Chanukah, Chanucca, Chanuccah, Chanuka, Chanukah, Chanukka, Chanukkah, Hanucah, Hanucca, Hanuccah, Hanucha, Hanuckah, Hanuka, Hanukah, Hanukka, Hanukkah, Khanukah, Khanukka, and Khanukkah). I like to use many of them–even in the same post. The reason for the spelling differences is its actual name in Hebrew is חֲנֻכָּה, and Hebrew can be transliterated into English in many ways. We also like the spelling differences because it confuses the Gentiles.

3. Christmas is a major Christian holiday. Chanukah is NOT a major Jewish holiday. Chanukkah is only a big deal in America because Jewish parents wanted their kids to brag about getting gifts like their Christian buddies for eight nights. Hanukkah isn’t mentioned in the Torah. It was created by Rabbis. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but more significant holidays like Passover, Sukkot, and Rosh Hashana, for example, were designated by God. And God outranks the rabbis, which is a fact only some rabbis agree with.

Most Christians do not get upset if you wish them a Happy Hannukah, but many Jews and atheists get upset if someone wishes them a Merry Christmas.

“Happy Holidays” is a stupid PC term. Technically, it can refer to July 4th, Thanksgiving, Groundhog Day, or Satanic Revels. If you are Jewish and somebody wishes you a Merry Christmas, grow up! It’s the thought that counts, and who knows, maybe they will buy you a Christmas present.

Read the whole thing.

DECLINE IS A CHOICE: Physicians propose med schools focus more on ‘oppression,’ ‘race’ than ‘medical expertise.’

NEW CIVILITY WATCH: Receipts: WaPo Lost It When Trump Used the Word ‘Vermin,’ But Check Out These Headlines.

In December 2020, WaPo published a cartoon depicting all Republican officials who supported Trump as disgusting evil rats. /7 pic.twitter.com/WguH0YUggN

— Matt Orfalea (@0rf) December 7, 2023

Remember the DNC-MSM pretended to have the vapors when they believed that Republicans deliberately inserted the word “rats” for “Democrats” in a 2000 tv ad? It was a much simpler time, in retrospect.

SCRUTINY: Rep. Foxx announces formal investigation into Harvard, UPenn, MIT– promises more to come for other universities: Foxx warned that other universities should expect to be faced with similar investigations.

SETH BARRETT TILLMAN: Practice Tip: Citing Older U.S. Cases—state and federal.

JUST SAY NO TO SELF-SERVING BULLSHIT: Markle, Scobie and the grim triumph of the race grifters: The shameful smears against the royals are enough to make this republican sing ‘God Save the King’.

HEH:

UPenn President Lights Special ‘Please Don’t Pull That $100 Million Donation’ Menorah https://t.co/c5KM8Q1MYu pic.twitter.com/E7bPmtfD5d

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) December 8, 2023

Related: Harvard, MIT, UPenn presidents are so far left, even the White House condemns them: report.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Jonathan Turley: ‘Bunch of Lies’: Biden’s Clintonesque Denial Before a House Impeachment Inquiry Vote. “As with Clinton, the denial was absurd, even insulting. Roughly 70% of voters (including 40% of Democrats) believe Biden has acted either unlawfully or unethically in the overseas business dealings of his family. More importantly, the House has interviews, documents, photos and even audiotapes contradicting Biden’s continuing denial of having any knowledge of his son’s financial dealings.”

FACEPAINT FACEPLANT: Outlet behind coverage of young Chiefs fan in facepaint edits original article.

VOTER FRAUD IS A MYTH: ‘Dirty voter rolls’ slammed, 131% of eligible DC voters registered.

ITS ORIGIN AND PURPOSE, STILL A TOTAL MYSTERY: Shots fired outside Jewish temple in Albany as Hanukkah begins; no injuries reported. Or, Two APs in One! (Emphasis mine):

A menorah stands outside the entrance to Temple Israel, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. A 28-year-old suspect was in police custody for allegedly firing two rounds from a shotgun outside the Jewish temple on Friday, just hours before the start of Hanukkah. Officials said no one was injured and police [said] they did not know the man’s motive.

A man fired a shotgun twice outside a Jewish temple in upstate New York, hours before the start of Hanukkah on Thursday, then said “Free Palestine” as he was taken into custody, police said. No one was injured.

Somebody’s about to get memory holed, very quickly:

Albany, NY – Temple Israel Synagogue shooter has been identified as 28 year old Mufid Fawaz Alkhader.

Alkhader, yelled "Free Palestine" as he shot off a round on the premises of Temple Israel and appeared to have torn down an Israeli flag or sign, according to law enforcement.… pic.twitter.com/3o5HthLXII

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) December 8, 2023

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Hunter Biden Whistleblowers Claim ‘Complete Vindication’ After Bombshell Indictment: Biden case ‘would have died a quiet death’ without whistleblowers, attorney says.