Maryland, My Maryland

The local digital rag, the BayNet announces Maryland Faces Massive Budget Deficit: Governor Moore Announces Executive Order To Increase Economic Growth

In an address at the Maryland Association of Counties on Dec. 12, 2024, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced that the state is facing a budget deficit of $2.7 billion for the upcoming 2025 fiscal year.

“We in this state face a historic budget crisis, the likes of one we have not seen in decades,” Moore said. “We inherited loaded budgets, sluggish growth, and a structural deficit. … From 2017 to 2022, the national economy grew by 11%. … Maryland’s economy grew by 3%.” He added that during that same time frame, Maryland’s spending budget increased by 70%.

This is by no means new information; financial analysts have predicted this budget deficit since 2017, and it has been the subject of significant debate in both chambers of the Maryland legislature for several years. However, no consensus has been reached on how to confront the looming budget deficit.

When you get down to it, there are only 2 ways to shrink a deficit. Increase revenues (by raising taxes somewhere), or by cutting spending.

Curiously, far from inheriting the deficit, the Governor inherited a surplus of $5 Billion from the previous Republican Governor, Larry Hogan. Just one of the reasons my criticism of Larry has been muted. He's not the best Republican, but he's the best Republican Maryland elected in a long time.

Oregon, My Oregon

At Da Blaze, College official who told Trump voters 'go f*** yourself,' 'go jump off of a f***ing bridge' no longer at school

A University of Oregon official who told voters of President-elect Donald Trump "go f*** yourself" and "go jump off of a f***ing bridge" is no longer at the college, KDRV-TV reported. As Blaze News previously reported, student newspaper the Daily Emerald said assistant director of fraternity and sorority life Leonard Serrato posted an Instagram story after Trump handily beat Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November's presidential election.

The paper said Serrato told his followers — some of whom are Oregon students — "You can literally go f*** yourself if you voted for Donald Trump. If you are so sad about your groceries being expensive, get a better f***ing paying job. Do better in life. Get a f***ing education. Do something, 'cause you’re f***ing stupid." Before he made a sideways peace sign, the video rant ended with him saying, "And I hope you go jump off of a f***ing bridge."

A longer video of Serrato's rant begins with the following: "I'm done crying. My sadness is over. My anger has set in. I am a very petty person, and I am very proud of that. Love it about myself, actually. And so, I say this in the most disrespectful way possible: I don't care if you are my family. I don't care if you are my friend. I don't care if we've been friends our entire lives."

The Daily Emerald said Serrato soon made his Instagram account private and declined to comment to the paper. Soon after Serrato's video rant went viral, the university placed him on administrative leave.

and this interesting note,

The now-former official also is a hazing prevention speaker who reportedly did jail time over a fatal hazing incident at a fraternity in 2012.

Some one should look into UO's hiring practices. 

Flotsam and Jetsam - Jimmy Carter Still Dead

Know your memes! Matt Vespa at TownHall calls it Unreal: Jimmy Carter Outlived His NYT Obituary Writer, if not the paper itself. At PJM, Stephen Kruiser has the Obligatory 'Say Something Nice About Jimmy Carter' Post. "It's the antisemitism that I remember more than Habitat for Humanity or any of the other fluffy post-presidency stuff. I've thought about it a lot while the Democrats have been turning blind eyes to all of the "Free Palestine" protests this past year. That's Jimmy Carter's legacy," and, Hope for America — We Survived Carter and Now (Almost) Biden. Twitchy has an Eye-Opening Thread that Takes Apart Media's Sugarcoated Narrative About Jimmy Carter's Post-Presidential Work. Ron Coleman@RonColeman, "Carter “INVENTED the jealous, manipulative ex-President model that Obama put on steroids in 2016”", Quote Cynical Publius@CynicalPublius, "I promised to myself that I would not comment further on Jimmy Carter’s death, but it bothers me to see so many otherwise sensible conservatives spouting the “Bad President, good man” line that the Democrat/Media Complex has been spinning for 40+ years. Thus, I feel the need to Show more." Althouse finds what her hero Bob Dylan, Said about Jimmy Carter, "He's a kindred spirit to me of a rare kind — the kind of man you don't meet every day and that you're lucky to meet if you ever do." So, he said a lot of nonsense, and expected people to take it seriously? Also, "Toward the end of their time in office, Mr. Mondale said he and Mr. Carter talked about how they wanted their tenure to be remembered." "'We came up with this sentence, which to me remains an important summary of what we were trying to do: "We told the truth, we obeyed the law, and we kept the peace,"' Mr. Mondale wrote. 'That we did, Mr. President.'"  Ace, being Ace, America's Worst Previous President, Jimmy Carter, Dead at 100 "America's current president is the worst. Jimmy Carter's passing opens an easy lane for Biden's entry into the Hall of Shame on the first ballot. "Jimmy Carter is a good Christian man" is a lie I've heard my whole life. He wasn't. He was a Terrorist Simp."

At PJM, VodkaPundit says Yes, Absolutely Biden Should Have Stayed in the Race. "Given the opportunity, Americans might have repudiated Biden's Cateresque single disaster of a term with a 344-194 drubbing. Or even 345-193 if Biden had failed to carry Nebraska's lone blue district." Insty, PERHAPS THESE “SOURCES” ARE NOT AS USEFUL AS YOU THINK:, "Bonchie @bonchieredstate, "In which Matt Yglesias admits he was incapable of assessing and investigating Biden’s condition on his own and needed “insiders” to feed him talking points so he could function as a “journalist.” What a thing to say out loud." 'Becca Downs at TownHall sees Biden Laughably Boasts About ‘Getting to Show Up for the American People’ 40% of time on vacation, and even when he was there he wasn't, if you know what I mean. Ward Clark at RedState lists Five 'Accomplishments' Joe Biden Touts As Successes - but Which Were Failures. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair notes even Politico Wonders: What Happened to $50 Billion in Biden's 'Green New Deal'? "A $42 billion expansion of broadband internet service has yet to connect a single household. . . . Back in May, Pete Buttigieg tried to explain the failure to build more than "seven or eight" stations in the three-plus years that his Department of Transportation had $7.5 billion:" They're up to 48. The money went somewhere. Buck Throckmorton at Ace's Morning Rant notes Government is Paying Manufacturers to Produce Electric School Buses, and Then Paying School Districts to Buy Them. At OTP, Biden To Bar Oil, Gas, Geothermal Development In Nevada Mountain Range For 20 Years. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, Credit Card Delinquencies Doing the #Bidenomics 'Jump'. Just emulating the Feds. Wall Street Mav@WallStreetMav, "Another 653,000 fake jobs revised away by govt statisticians. They were faking the data during 2023 and 2024 to try to boost Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. In the revisions, they have also admitted to 818,000 fake jobs being removed from the 2023 data. Now the truth is coming out. Plus as soon as Trump takes office expect the entrenched left wing staff will start portraying the economic data has negative. We won't find out till much later during the revisions." OTP, US Electorate Now Has More Republicans Than Democrats: 2024 Exit Polls.

Reuters, US announces $5.9 billion in military and budget aid to Ukraine. But at least the Biden family stays bought.Alex Langlois at Am Great says Biden Is Wrong to Double Down on Syria, "The Pentagon's revelation of a significantly higher troop count in Syria underscores the perils of unchecked mission creep and the erosion of transparency in U.S. foreign policy."

Insty, at his NYPo gig, Merrick Garland corrupted the Justice Department with political persecutions. Ace, Washington Post: Biden and Democrats Blame Election Loss on Merrick Garland, Believing He Wasn't Partisan Enough In His Lawfare Against Trump. "Mollie Hemingway had a reason for championing Trump over any of his primary rivals: We had to show that the left's lawfare and politics of personal destruction would not be allowed to work. The left had to be repudiated in the worst way possible, and for the left, that meant the re-election of Trump. The left, meanwhile, grumbles that what they really needed was MOAR LAWFARE." Pop Times has Sources: Federal Prosecutors in Trump Witchhunts Fleeing in Droves, Afraid of Bankruptcy and Defending Themselves in Court. Ron Filipkowski@RonFilipkowski "Trump: “Doing what they did - using the DOJ & FBI to go after their political opponent .. that means that I can do it too. In other words, the Pandora’s box is open, and that means that I can do it too.”" Dave Strom says Blackball Them, At Least.  Bob Moffitt at RCP thinks Pardoning Fauci Would Be Disservice to Him and Americans. Ben Bartee at PJM, Help Get This Simple Fauci Prosecution Playbook to Trump, Please.

'Becca Downs warns We've Been Warned: We May Not Have Seen the Last of Kamala Harris. Nick Arama says Scott Jennings and Other Americans Have Thoughts When Tim Walz and Wife Post About a Box. "Here's a thought: You can throw out a box without making a video about it." Scott Jennings @ScottJenningsKY, "The fact that this absolute buffoon was Kamala Harris’s first major decision as “nominee” really was the biggest red flag of all." Jester Politics asks Democrats: The 2024 Election And Where To Go? Ross Barkan bemoans the Twilight of the Liberal Left. "An era decisively ends." Don't turn your back on them. Ace read "The Twilight of the Liberal Left:" A Liberal Bemoans the Catastrophic Failure of the Anti-Trump "Resistance" "I'm just here for the gloating."

At NewsMax John Gizzi opines Conservatives Must Back Mike Johnson for Speaker. Ace reports Trump Gives Mike Johnson His "Complete and Total Endorsement" to Remain Speaker, "I guess it's the expected action." Dave Strom at Hat Hair VIP has an Unpopular Take: With Such a Slim Majority It Doesn't Matter Who the Speaker Is. Cat herder in-chief. Cutie Pavlich at TownHall wonders Are You Ready for Acting President Chuck Grassley? "With a non-functioning House, Trump, Vance and the House Speaker are out of the chain-of-command, which puts the Senate pro tempore in as acting president. On January 20, 2025, that will be Republican Senator Chuck Grassley." PJM's Paula Bolyard also looks at Acting President Grassley?. C'mon Republicans, get your shit together.

Ace thinks Elon Musk and Vivek Appear to Step Back From Foreigner Triumphalism im Fight Over Immigration "David Marcus has the same reaction to the MAGA fight over immigration that I did: At least we're finally able to discuss policies that impact our lives." Jim Hoft at GatewayPundit hears Elon Musk Calls for Major Reform of Broken H-1B Visa Program — Proposes to Make it More Expensive to Hire Overseas Than Domestically. At Da Fetched, Steve Bannon Torches H1-B Visa Program: “It’s a Total Scam!” Aesthetica@Anc_Aesthetics, "Just got a dm from someone who works in recruiting at one of big tech companies. He said it's internal policy within the team he works for to reserve roles for what they call “outside talent”. They are not allowed to recruit Americans for these roles but must go through the motions of setting up interviews with Americans. He said he and his colleagues try to keep these calls short 10-15min or some of them just ghost the call completely. . . " From TNP, DATA: H1-B Visa ‘Caps’ Exceeded, 99.9% Approval Rate, Chain Migration Increasing. An eye-opening thread from Robert Sterling@RobertMSterling, H-1B DATA MEGA-THREAD "To start with, this program is MASSIVELY popular with employers. The program has a statutory limit of 85,000 visas per year, but employers routinely receive approval for more than 800k applications per year (868k, or 10x the limit, in 2024)." Sundance dons his tin foil hat and asserts Elon Musk Changes Twitter Algorithm to Diminish MAGA Opposition to Silicon Valley Group and Support Influence Over Trump Policy.

BrownStone decries Congress’ Shield against Trump’s Hammer of Justice "Somewhere amid the 1,500+ pages of legislative clutter in the latest Continuing Resolution—the bill apparently killed by public exposure alone—lies a provision so audacious, so shameless, I can only assume it was drafted by a cabal of Congressional career criminals. Section 605—a sterile title masking its true intent—amounts to nothing less than a legislative fortress erected to shield Congress from the Justice Department, the FBI, and, most troubling of all, accountability."

At Da Caller, Trump Driving Foreign Policy Blob Crazy By Daring To Put America First and Why Trump’s Right On Panama Canal And Greenland. Liz Mair at WaEx opines that To make America great, Trump can enable the Nippon Steel acquisition. "It should surprise exactly no one that an economically illiterate administration, which is headed by a barely compos mentis individual and has gravely mismanaged America’s relationships around the globe, might have failed to notice that Japan is a key U.S. ally and we’re 80 years on from World War II."

The Great Victor Davis Hanson at Am Great sees Devin Nunes Reemerges. "2024 marked the comeback of figures once dismissed, with Elon Musk and Donald Trump reclaiming dominance and Devin Nunes solidifying his role as a stalwart in intelligence oversight."

Ward Clark, Rachel Maddow 'Thought People Would Be More Unnerved by JD Vance' and Both of Her Viewers Agree. Matt Taibbi@mtaibbi "JD Vance was born to “immense privilege”?" Quote, Current Affairs@curaffairs, "Right-wing populism usually consists of men who were born to immense privilege and went to elite schools railing against people who are, in fact, many times less powerful and influential than they are. https://currentaffairs.org/news/2022/04/r" Rusty Weiss at RedState, Jasmine Crockett Tried to Pick a Fight With Tom Homan Only to Get Nuked Back to Reality: 'Not Real Smart'. Department of Decline@LeoMars75 "Sweden has now turned its immigration into a net outflow. They did this very complicated trick. 1, Stop letting people in 2. Stop giving any money to the ones already there. So hard, I doubt any developed nation could copy it."

Althouse, "The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a written opinion upholding the $5 million award that the Manhattan jury granted to E. Jean Carroll for defamation and sexual abuse...." ABC, Special counsel Jack Smith withdraws from appeal of classified docs case against Trump's co-defendants. "The special counsel has referred the case to federal prosecutors in Florida." Where the judge ruled Smith was illegally appointed. 

Just Facts Daily has 50 Examples of Fake News in 2024. Da Fetched, CBS Reporter Admits Joe Biden’s Mental Decline Was Covered Up by Media and Don Lemon Suffers Another Anti-Trump Meltdown: “You Dumb MAGA Idiots, You F**king Deserve It”. The NewsBusters note ZERO Airtime to Just-Released Pics Showing Biden Lied About Hunter Biz. Jonathan Turley calls it the Silence of the Labs: How a Censorship Campaign Failed to Kill a COVID Origin Theory. Twitchy wants you to WATCH: Wikipedia Co-Founder Describes How the Site Turned to Leftist Garbage. OK, here it is.

Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger on how his site went woke pic.twitter.com/vGTp97OIRm

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 31, 2024

At NYPo, Charles Gasparino says Wokeness is in retreat, but Nasdaq’s ‘diversity rules’ show its awful stench will be hard to eliminate. At Behind the Black, Bob Zimmerman warns Beware the DEI shell game. Victory Girls on Liberal Fires: Time To Put Them Out. General Mike Flynn@GenFlynn, "How much more convincing do we need to demonstrate that our military is not a trained and ready force for WAR? Our U.S. Navy has “insufficient gender experts?” I’ll tell you what, how about ensuring our ships don’t crash into each other at sea or not shooting our own damn planes out of the sky?. . ." Matt Margolis at PJM says J.K. Rowling Is Right: There Are No Trans Kids. J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling, "There are no trans kids. No child is 'born in the wrong body'. There are only adults like you, prepared to sacrifice the health of minors to bolster your belief in an ideology that will end up wreaking more harm than lobotomies and false memory syndrome combined." John Sexton at Hat Hair has another example of why Putting Trans Women in Women's Prisons is a Terrible Idea. 

Tattoo Tuesday

The Beeb, Nipple tattooist helps cancer survivors for free

Breast cancer survivors have been moved by a tattooist who has helped them regain body confidence by giving them nipple tattoos at no charge. Beth Jones, from Swansea, underwent specialist training to be able to offer remarkably lifelike 3D-effect areola tattoos.

"She does it just because it makes her happy. She's a phenomenal person," said Sam, who has received the procedure from Beth.

Beth said she was grateful to be able to support people who had experienced breast cancer. "I don't want to ever charge anyone to do it for a body part that should be there," said the 27-year-old.

"It's something that I just love and I think if anyone can offer someone help or can change someone's life in a positive way you would do that and I'm just lucky that I am able to do that really."

Examples at the link are pretty realistic. 

Biden Admin Gives Southern Maryland a Going Away Present

 The Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge

On December 13, 2024, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams joined partners and community members in Nanjemoy, Maryland, to celebrate the establishment of the Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge (SMW NWR) as the 573rd and newest unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System.‍

Nearly 15 years in the making, this is the first national wildlife refuge established in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in more than 25 years and the first in Maryland in over 60 years.

Chesapeake Conservancy is proud to be a contributing partner in creating the SMW NWR. The Service worked closely with the Southern Maryland Conservation Alliance, comprised of core member organizations including the Chesapeake Conservancy, American Chestnut Land Trust, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Environmental Trust, Charles County and The Nature Conservancy to establish priorities for habitat management and land acquisition for the new refuge.

A 31-acre parcel near Nanjemoy in Charles County, Maryland, is the first of several intended donations by The Nature Conservancy that over the next few months will permanently protect and conserve more than 300 acres of interior forest and riparian wetlands habitat, supporting northern long-eared bats, forest-interior songbirds, box turtles and several species of salamanders that are of conservation concern.‍

The Service will continue working with partners and willing sellers to secure voluntary conservation of up to 40,000 acres of important wildlife habitat within four watershed-based focus areas in Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties. As proposed, the new refuge will consist of four watershed-based units: the Lower Patuxent-Calvert Unit, Nanjemoy-Mattawoman Unit, Zekiah–Wicomico Unit and McIntosh Run-St. Mary’s Unit. The acquisition boundary covers about 577,420 acres.

dwarf wedgemussel

The areas identified for conservation through this new national wildlife refuge support a wide range of species including waterfowl, shorebirds, forest-interior and grassland-dependent birds, and threatened and endangered species such as the dwarf wedgemussel, Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, puritan and northeastern tiger beetles and the northern long-eared bat.

I just don't know what we will do without the Dwarf Wedgemussel or Northern Tiger Beetle.

The good news is that, with 31 acres a year, or even the hoped for 300, it will take a very long time to capture 40,000 acres.

 

Chesapeake Bay Boss Leaves

 At the Bay Journal, Shimkin stepping down as Bay Program director

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office, which coordinates regional efforts to restore the nation’s largest estuary, will be under new leadership in 2025 as it crafts another cleanup plan for the Bay.

Martha Shimkin, who has directed the office since December 2023, announced this week that she will retire at the end of the year.

“It has been such an honor and privilege to lead this office and partnership,” Shimkin said. But, she said, it is time to “enjoy the ‘life’ part of the work-life balance.”

Lee McDonnell, who heads the office’s Science, Analysis and Implementation Branch, will serve as its interim director.

Shimkin has been with the office for four years, serving the first three as its deputy director before stepping up to the top position.

The past year has been a challenging one for the Bay Program partnership as state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations and others have worked to decide what should happen with Chesapeake restoration efforts after 2025.

That is the deadline for many restoration goals established in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Agreement. It sets goals for a range of restoration activities, such as restoring oyster habitat, promoting environmental education and improving passages for migratory fish.

But many critical goals are far off track, including those for restoring wetlands, planting streamside forest buffers and expanding urban tree canopies. Next year will also mark the third time the Bay Program set and missed goals for reducing nutrient pollution, which has been a cornerstone of work to improve Bay water quality.

This year, Shimkin was co-leader of a “Beyond 2025” effort that conducted dozens of meetings and extensive outreach to determine what should come next. That resulted in a recommendation that the 2014 agreement be reviewed and updated next year, with all of its goals re-examined to determine whether they should be kept, dropped or updated with new objectives and timeframes.

Left unsaid is whether or not she is leaving because of the change of administration. I don't think the Bay Program Director is appointed by the President, I think it's done by the agency director, who is. But regardless, I'm quite sure her viewpoint at goals are significantly different than Lee Zeldin, Trump's pick for EPA Director. It will be interesting to watch the trajectory of the Bay Program in the next four years. I wonder if it will get scrutiny from DOGE. Goodness knows that on a basis of gain per dollar spent, the Bay Program hasn't exactly been a shining star.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Only the Good Die Young, Jimmy Carter Dead at 100

Until recently, he was the worst president in my lifetime. He absolutely killed the economy until Ronald Reagan was forced to squeeze it to death to bring it back, caused the energy crisis and allowed/encouraged the mullahs to take over Iran, the current source of much of the worlds strife. That said, he was never really evil in the way Biden administration is, just wrong headed in almost everything. Atlanta J Con, Former President Jimmy Carter dies at 100. Fox, Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, dead at 100. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, RIP, James Earl Carter (1924-2024). "We will no doubt have time tomorrow to open a debate over Carter’s legacy, which remains controversial even in his post-presidential years. For today, we do best to recognize his service to his country in multiple ways." Driscoll at Insty BREAKING: Former President Jimmy Carter Has Passed Away with a collection of links. "I think I got the second-shot blahs. I felt dull and fuzzy…The best word to describe it: malaise. Once I realized that was the best word, I wondered whether it could be due to gas lines, Mideast unrest or the return of inflation." and JIMMY CARTER, ELECTION DENIER, RUSSIA HOAX ENABLER. Phil Klein at NRO, Jimmy Carter Was a Terrible President — and an Even Worse Former President. JNS, Don’t believe the Jimmy Carter revisionists, "Despite the natural sympathy for a dying man, the revisionist attempt to erase his failures and their consequences should not prevail." Bob Spencer at PJM thinks it's It’s Too Bad That Jimmy Carter Didn’t Live Even Longer. "The second Trump administration promises to put an end to the long, slow decline of the United States and the now well-established habit of betraying our allies that Carter did so much to initiate, and it’s too bad that Carter won’t be around to witness America’s resurgence — if, that is, the late president’s friends and ideological kin don’t manage to block any such rebound." Steve Hayward at Power Line on The Under- and Over-Estimated Jimmy Carter, RIP. Althouse says Goodbye to Jimmy Carter. " In 1980, with that monster Ronald Reagan threatening us, I had to vote for him," and "We in the news media and chattering class mocked Jimmy Carter as a country bumpkin..." "Writes Nicholas Kristof, in "Jimmy Carter Deserved Our Thanks and Respect, Not Our Sneers" (NYT)." At NYPo, Donald Trump reacts to Jimmy Carter’s death with heartfelt statement: ‘We all owe him a debt of gratitude.’

Insty reads Althouse, YA THINK? |“This feels like an effort to puff up Biden. Few analysts deny Biden’s accomplishments?! Maybe the trick is to ascribe special meaning to the word ‘analysts’ — if you don’t think this is an impressive accomplishment, you’re not an analyst. Or maybe the idea is that any accomplishment is an accomplishment, so what’s to deny? But look how clearly the article states that Biden intended to use the Justice Department to destroy his political adversary!” UPDATE: “This episode demonstrates that this notion of the Department of Justice as “independent” has always been a ruse. " The Guardian, Biden reportedly regrets ending re-election campaign and says he’d have defeated Trump. "President also regrets picking Merrick Garland for attorney general, as he was slow to prosecute Trump for January 6." Josh Blackmun at the Volokh Report, President Biden Regrets Selecting Merrick Garland As Attorney General, "By the way, when is Garland going to resign? Garland should have stepped down when Biden criticized him for the Hunter Biden prosecution, but didn't." Nick Arama at RedState, Biden Has Two More Truly Warped Regrets About His Time in the WH. MAZE@mazemoore, "He knows. He just loves lying." Quote MAZE@mazemoore, "Biden is now saying that he regrets withdrawing from the race because he thinks that he would have beaten Trump. Two weeks after his disastrous debate, Biden said that the only reason he would exit the race was if he was convinced that there was no way he could beat Trump." Show more Ryan King at NYPo hosts as GOP pundit Scott Jennings slaps down CNN commentator’s rosy view of Biden presidency: ‘He’s going to leave office in disgrace.’ Twitchy, 9-1-1? We'd Like to Report a Murder: Scott Jennings DISMANTLES CNN Panel Defending Biden's Legacy (Watch). Matt Vespa at TownHall, The Media's Last Defense of Biden Blows Up in Their Faces. SweetPeaBelle @SweetPeaBell326 "Clyp Keeper: “All of those that spent the last four years lying repeatedly about Joe Biden's mental acuity should be run out of Washington and never be heard from again! "Joe Biden is SHARP" - The MAGACLIP”" Neil McCabe at RedState pens the tale of Two Laptops: FBI Flaunts Ulbricht's Laptop Before Trump's Clemency; Free Man Hunter Hits St. Croix.

At NewsMax, Trump Questions Democrats' Paid Celebrity Endorsements

Rumors Swirl That Kamala Harris Is Being Influenced By Russian Agent #BestOfTheBee2024 https://t.co/KNKAC2xmro

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) December 28, 2024

The Free Bacon provides an Analysis: Democrats' Campaign To Win Back Normal Americans Going as Poorly as Expected. Matt Margolis at PJM, Democrats Are Failing Hard at Winning Over the Normies. At Hat Hair, Lucky for Us, None of Them Will Listen: One Democrat Gets It:  dan turrentine @danturrentine "Hard as a D to read the Wash Post story and not laugh/cry. Amidst the talk of communication failure and message choices, no mention of the central reason for all these struggles: Biden’s declining mental acuity and the iron handcuffs it produced. He was the least public-facing and publicly engaged President of the modern TV era, not because they thought it was good politics, but out of necessity to hide his condition. For so many to omit, let alone focus on, this fact is embarrassing. The D Party will struggle to regain public trust and confidence until it comes to public terms with the charade." WaEx, People can’t flee blue states fast enough. Matt Vespa, What Shocked a Dem Strategist When Speaking With Hispanic Voters in South Texas, “I would sit in focus group was with Hispanic voters,” Pollock said. “They would talk about immigration, and you would swear to God you were sitting in a room with a bunch of cranky white guys from Missouri.” 

DC_Draino@DC_Draino "Exposed: The UN & Clinton Foundation occupy an old US base in Panama to help supply illegal aliens on their way to America This is an organized human trafficking operation invading our southern border & the *Clintons* are funding it Isn’t that Treason?" At Hat Hair, NYC Dept of Corrections Says They Will NOT Honor ICE Detainer for Illegal Who Torched Sleeping Woman. I don't want him deported, I want him executed, and NY won't.

Sundance at CTH takes on the H1B debate, Despite New York Post Phone Call, Question and Answer, Donald Trump Companies Do Not Use H1B Visas

if you go to the Dept of Labor website, search or download the database of H1B employment, specifically filtering to Trump’s various companies, what you will discover is that Trump Inc doesn’t use the H1B visa system at all. [Check for Yourself Here]

How does this reconcile? Well, having previously looked at the visa use by President Trump in his various companies {SEE HERE}, I can confidently assert (Occam’s Razor) that within the interview President Trump conflated H2B temporary worker visas, which he does use in his service industry, with H1B visas which he does not use.

The H-1B program applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations of distinguished merit and ability. At least that was the intent of the program before it was abused by companies who saw the opportunity to avoid domestic market wages and find alternative cheap sources of skilled labor in the tech sector. That abusive ‘labor diversion’ process has now expanded to find H1B claims in other sectors. So much so, there are now a myriad of companies requesting H1B status employees for their various interests.

The H2B program applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as “temporary workers” mostly in the service industry where extreme seasonal fluctuations in business make it challenging to hire from a very limited market base. H2B workers are found in hotels, resorts, restaurants and service companies anywhere you find big seasonal shifts in service businesses, like Trump resorts.

And Rob Schmitt Gives Solid Summary of H1B Debate. Althouse, Flying home from Texas on Friday, I avoided getting sucked into the hysteria of the day, the intra-MAGA discord over H-1B visas. "And now it looks like it's over, more or less: "Trump backs H-1B visas, aligning with Musk on immigration/'I’ve always liked the visas,' he said, siding with tech leaders against anti-immigration hard-liners" (WaPo)." . . . . but I do think that Trump antagonists are rooting for a snake pit." Ryan King at NYPo, Elon Musk changes his tune on H1-B visas as he tries to cool raging MAGA civil war over skilled immigration. Charlotte Hazard at JTN, Trump picks sides in MAGA feud, backs Musk on H-1B immigrant visas. At NewsMax, Dick Morris to Newsmax: Trump Will Stop the Grift With H-1Bs. Dave Marcus at Fox opines MAGA’s H-1B ‘civil war’ is exactly how politics is supposed to work, "This is how things get ironed out under a big tent." Cernovich @Cernovich, "The low grade racism is bot activity and maybe even being boosted by H-1B mills. Vivek gets standing ovations at events. Harmeet is propped up. Kash is king. And not in a token way. REAL LOVE. I know MAGA and nobody real talks in the vulgar way seen these last 48-72 hours."

At WaEx, How Trump won a second term and delivered DC to the GOP. "Trump rode a wave of public anger over rising grocery and gas prices that helped reinstate him as president and gave Republicans control over the House and Senate, along with previous majority control of the Supreme Court, in a backlash against President Joe Biden’s administration." Althouse wonders Are you enjoying the happy good times of the Trump transition? "From Real Clear Politics:" NewsBusters hear As Team Trump Takes Over, MSNBC Leftists Scream ‘Oligarchy!’ Twitchy, a Trash-Talking Ad: Rogue Transit Poster Depicts MAGA Supporters as Garbage in Washington, D.C Derrick Evans @DerrickEvans4WV,  "Spotted on Capitol Hill this morning: "Keep DC Trash Free" with a picture of Trump & a Project 2025 book. Paid for by DC Mayor's office, aka tax dollars." 'Streif' at RedState fears They Are at It Again. Prominent 'Public Health' Voices Lay the Groundwork for a New Pandemic for Trump. Bird flu. Jessica Rojas@catsscareme2021 "Farmers need to say NO, get off my property. Do not comply. Deborah Birx Says We Must Test Every Cow in America (On a Weekly Basis) for "Bird Flu" using PCR."

NewsMax, Trump's First Actions and Job Data to Test Market in January and Trump: Barring Biden From Selling Border Wall Material 'Crucial Win.' and Kari Lake: Passing on Race Against 'Corrupt' Ariz. Machine. At Da Caller, DAVID BLACKMON thinks Trump Should Consider Adding Another Globalist Org To Funding Chopping Block. "Trump perhaps should add U.S. support for the International Energy Agency to his growing list of cancellation opportunities."

From WaEx, Raskin doubts Republicans’ abilities to pursue charges against Cheney, Hutchinson. But can they make their lives hell on earth with the process? Twitchy, Jamie Raskin Getting All Big and BAD About RESISTING Trump's Politicization of the DOJ Goes REALLY Wrong. The Redoubtable Julie Kelly, Julie Kelly@julie_kelly2 "Another article confirming DOJ officials including the bottom feeding J6 line prosecutors are looking for new jobs and worried about prosecutorial payback. As @StarChamberMaid and I have discussed--white shoe law firms who either (1) hire these thugs or (2) offer pro bono assistance will be called out and shamed. Firms who help should lose government and political contracts; lawyers who represent prosecutors accused of misconduct should be subjected to bar complaints. NEW RULES

Althouse, "Mr. Trump told CNBC in March that he still considered TikTok a national security threat, but that young people 'will go crazy without it.'" ""He also said moves against TikTok would benefit Facebook, which he called an 'enemy of the people.' Mr. Trump went on to use TikTok with great success during the campaign, and has said that it was a key vehicle for reaching young people this year. . . From "How Donald Trump Went From Backing a TikTok Ban to Backing Off/In 2020, he moved to ban the Chinese-owned app. Now, he is opposing the Biden administration’s effort to do just that" (NYT)."

Rob Schneider@RobSchneider "ONCE you LEARN HOW VACCINES ARE MADE, you will never feel the same way EVER again about the drug… The last 25 minutes of this interview is absolutely disturbing and devastating…" Long, like most Tucker, but well worth it.

The New York Times claims the evil Bobby Kennedy wants to ban the polio vaccine and paralyze children. That’s an absurd lie, explains his lawyer Aaron Siri.

(0:00) The Establishment’s Attempt to Discredit Bobby Kennedy Jr.
(8:18) The Vaccine Religion
(18:57) Did Anyone Protest… pic.twitter.com/li0KhP5aye

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 27, 2024

From the College Fix, There were 21 campus hate crime hoaxes uncovered in 2024, and 2 days still to go. TWC celebrates The Twelve Woke Days of Christmas, British version.

Ace, The Progressives Love Lawfare...Payback Is A B*tch!, "The NCAA is all in on trans lunacy, and even when the athletes themselves push back, citing absolutely reasonable objections like fear of being injured and the outrageousness of being forced to disrobe in front of men pretending to be women, the sleazy tools of the progressive movement that control the NCAA tell them to stuff it. But sanity prevails in Texas! And the technique that Ken Paxton is using is delicious. It's false advertising! Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Sues NCAA To Pro­tect Women's Sports and Pre­vent Bio­log­i­cal Men from Decep­tive­ly Com­pet­ing in Sex-Spe­cif­ic Competitions." At the Telegraph, Finally sport is fighting back against cult of gender self-identification. Campus Reform adds Tufts University offering ‘Transcestors’ course next semester "Two concepts for the course will be trans oppression and trans erasure." WaEx considers What’s on Trump’s transgender agenda for 2025 "“My sense is that President Trump is very likely to do something on so-called gender-affirming care for minors in the very beginning of his presidency,” Jay Richards, a researcher at the Heritage Foundation specializing in cultural matters, told the Washington Examiner. Richards said he thinks this will likely take the form of blocking federal funding for youth transgender medicine and may also include an official definition of sex and gender as solely male and female. "

The Monday Morning Stimulus

Jade Amber

At AOL (that's still a thing?) Your Coffee Habit is Costing You $1 Million, Says Suze Orman

Finance coach Suze Orman says your coffee habit is costing you at least $1 million.

In fact, consider this. Right now, the average cup of coffee can cost about $7. If you got coffee once or twice a week, it’s not too bad. But if you’re doing it every day – which many of us do- it’s costing you $210 a month, and $2,520 a year. “It would be one thing if you had a cup of coffee once a week, maybe three times a month, but that’s not what you do. You go in every single day,” she added, as quoted by Yahoo Finance. While $2,520 may not sound like a lot, if done over 40 years it’s $100,800 for coffee.

Instead, according to Suze Orman, “$100 a month in a Roth IRA, over 40 years is $1 million. So, you need to think about it as you are peeing $1 million down the drain after you are drinking that coffee. If you just simply used your money to purchase needs versus wants, you would find the money to invest in your retirement account.”

Bugger off, Suze! We made money so we could enjoy things, not die on pile of cash. Besides, we make our own coffee, so it's nowhere near $7 a cup.

Random Celebrity News

From some values of "random", "celebrity" and "news." At OTP, Don Jr Brings ‘Party Girl’ Bettina Anderson To Trump Family Christmas At Mar-A-Lago

Donald Trump Jr brought his new flame Bettina Anderson to the Trump family Christmas celebration at Mar-a-Lago.

The eldest Trump son, 46, was pictured next to Anderson, 37, as the two dined with the rest of the president-elect’s family on Christmas Eve in Palm Beach.

Anderson, clad in a red dress, was flanked between Trump and another man, though his face is not seen in the photo, which was shared on X.

From Bleeding Fool,  Sarah Michelle Gellar Says She May Return as Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Sarah Michelle Gellar is changing her tune about the idea of continuing the Buffy universe.

As recently as a year ago, the actress was against the idea, saying: “I am very proud of the show that we created, and (a revival) doesn’t need to be done,” or at least, she wouldn’t want to be part of it, “I love the way the show was left: ‘Every girl who has the power can have the power.’ It’s set up perfectly for someone else to have the power. But like I said, the metaphors of Buffy were the horrors of adolescence. I think I look young, but I am not an adolescent.”

At OutKick, Joe Burrow's Sometimes Lesbian 'Friend' Olivia Ponton Accused Of 'Queer Baiting'

Is Joe Burrow's new ‘friend’ Olivia Ponton really into being a lesbian (sometimes) or is she cosplaying? That's the charge being leveled against the Victoria's Secret model by her fans, who were under the impression that the 22-year-old supermodel swung more from the lesbian side of the plate.

In her latest Instagram post where she claims that "outfits, food, work [and] painting," are the things that make her happy, Ponton, who proudly flies the rainbow flag on her social media page, was confronted over the news that she's a friend of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and just happened to be watching Burrow's house two weeks ago while he was off playing a football game. 

In 2021, Ponton told the world that she was bisexual, but then, there was a pivot and, as of 2023, she identified as pansexual, which means she's attracted to ALL genders and sexual identity.

Also at Outkick at throwback to a bygone era Carmen Electra Wrapped Up In A Red Bow For Christmas. Not too shabby at 52.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Carmen Electra (@carmenelectra)

From BIS, Hailie Deegan’s Tough Year Takes Another Hit After Collision with NASCAR Legends

After her NASCAR season ended early, Hailie Deegan joined the Trans Am Racing Series to turn things around. She raced in the SpeedTour All-Star event at Lime Rock Park alongside NASCAR legends Bobby Labonte, Greg Biffle, and Ken Schrader. But her challenges continued in this new series.

During the race, it recently emerged that the 23-year-old driver fought hard against Labonte until she lost focus, went off track, and collided with Davey Jones’ car. Neither was seriously damaged, but the incident spotlighted the pressure and errors Deegan has lived with in 2024. The accident was likened to the Cars movie battles by fans, but it was another tough moment in what has been a difficult season for Deegan.

Also from BIS, Fans Rip Netflix And Mariah Carey Over Her NFL Christmas Gameday Performance

Mariah Carey faced criticism for her pre-recorded performance during Netflix’s inaugural NFL Christmas Gameday, with fans specifically disappointed in her apparent lack of energy.

Viewers were under the impression that Carey would be performing “All I Want For Christmas Is You” live before the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers game. Instead, they got a bizarre recorded segment. The appearance involved the “Fantasy” singer crooning from a snow-covered rooftop interspersed with various football clips.

Netflix partnered with the NFL to stream two games, starting with Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, followed by the Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans, with Beyoncé performing live at halftime of the latter. Mariah was essentially to be the warmup for Queen Bey as well as the games themselves, but alas, ’twas not to be.

1973

NYPo reports Model Dayle Haddon found dead from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at Hallmark actor’s Pennsylvania home.

Dayle Haddon, the Canadian supermodel who rose to fame for her work representing various cosmetic and magazine companies, died Friday from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. She was 76.

Haddon was found dead in a second-floor bedroom of a detached in-law suite at her daughter and son-in-law’s renovated farmhouse in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania.

The million-dollar home is owned by Haddon’s journalist daughter Ryan Haddon and her son-in-law, the Hallmark actor Marc Blucas. She had been staying in what cops described as a “carriage house” with Marc Blucas’ 76-year-old father, Walter “Wally” Blucas.

The Beeb,  Romeo and Juliet actress Olivia Hussey dies aged 73. Hey, I'm 73!

Actress Olivia Hussey, who shot to international prominence as a teenager for her role in the acclaimed 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet, has died aged 73. The Argentine-born actress, who grew up in London, died on Friday surrounded by her loved ones, a statement posted on her Instagram said.

Hussey won the best new actress Golden Globe for her part as Juliet, but decades later she sued Paramount Pictures for sexual abuse as she was aged just 15 when she filmed the movie's nude scene. Her other most notable screen role was as Mary, mother of Jesus, in 1977 TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.

Flotsam and Jetsam - He's Making a List and Checking it Twice, Kash Patel is Coming to Town

WokeSpy reports Incoming FBI Director Kash Patel Releases “60 Deep State Names” He’s Going After. A long and interesting collection. Most of the names will be familiar to those who have kept up with the reading. At OTP, Here Comes The Deep State: 100YO Spymaster Opposes Patel, Gabbard. At Da Caller, DAVID BOSSIE says Musk, Ramaswamy’s DOGE Must Make America Solvent Again and Herald Hutchinson posts ‘Somebody Got Stuffed In A Locker’: Scott Jennings Weighs In On Ramaswamy Squabble. Sundance at CTH, A Highly Toxic Silicon Valley Meltdown Over Well Documented H1B Visa Fraud Explodes. Scott Pinsker at PJM thinks There’s a Judas in the MAGAverse, we just don't know who it is yet. "Beginning on Jan. 20, there’s going to be an open casting call for a MAGA traitor. Call him (or her) a Judas, a Brutus, or a Benedict Arnold; the fact remains that the first person to plunge a dagger into the back of Trump will be showered with candy, flowers, and wild, passionate love from the left. And someone in MAGAville will take the bait." At AMP America, How Low Will They Go? Matt Gaetz Continues to Fight Allegations and Politically Motivated Attacks. Release the Epstein files. 

Althouse finds "Remarkably, Trump’s margin of victory in Florida in 2024 was larger than Kamala Harris’s in New York." "Writes Jeffrey H. Anderson, in "How Trump Remade the Electoral Map/The president-elect has shaken up state-level results across his three campaigns" (City Journal)." At OTP, Infighting Over Vote On Speaker Could Delay Trump’s Certification. Breitbart has a Poll: Mike Johnson’s Favorability Drops as Speakership Hangs in the Balance and hears Thomas Massie Doubles Down: ‘I Will Vote for Someone Other than Mike Johnson’. Pop Times has A Trump Rebellion? “I Do Have My Own Mind” –  Senator-Elect John Curtis Vows Not To Be Trump’s “Rubber Stamp” My own view is the Republicans should bite the bullet, elect Johnson, and deal with the fallout later. 

Steve Moore at Hat Hair has 10 New Ideas to Make America's Economy Great Again in 2025. They strike me as good, but not new.

Sarah Arnold at TownHall, Top AG's Words Come Back to Haunt Her After Refusing to Comply With Trump's Deportation Plans, Arizona’s Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes. At WokeSpy, Gavin Newsom Planning to Help Illegal Migrants Escape Trump’s Deportation Efforts. Da Caller, Guatemala Reportedly Open To Accepting Central American Deportees Kicked Out Under Trump.

MUST WATCH: Rep. Mike Lawler gives a masterclass on the evidence against the Biden crime family, after CNN Host Abby Phillip claims there's no proof of Joe Biden enriching himself.

She then ends the segment as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/wfO74pzWP3

— Media Research Center (@theMRC) December 27, 2024

Sarah Arnold at TownHall sees Retiring Sen. Joe Manchin Writes Scathing Tweet About Joe Biden, about his commutations. NYPo, Biden regrets leaving presidential race, thinks he could’ve beaten Trump.  From NewsMax, Murder-Rape Victim's Mother: Biden Can't Justify Commutations. At Fox, Biden still regrets dropping out of 2024 presidential race, believes he could have beaten Trump. "The president has been careful not to blame Harris while insisting he could have won re-election." Althouse finds "In private, Biden has also said he should have picked someone other than Merrick Garland as attorney general..." ""... complaining about the Justice Department’s slowness under Garland in prosecuting Trump, and its aggressiveness in prosecuting Biden’s son Hunter, according to people familiar with his comments.... Writes Tyler Pager, in "Joe Biden’s lonely battle to sell his vision of American democracy/In his presidency’s final chapter, Biden has mused about whether he should have handled some decisions differently" (WaPo)(free-access link). This feels like an effort to puff up Biden. Few analysts deny Biden’s accomplishments?! Maybe the trick is to ascribe special meaning to the word "analysts" — if you don't think this is an impressive accomplishment, you're not an analyst. Or maybe the idea is that any accomplishment is an accomplishment, so what's to deny? But look how clearly the article states that Biden intended to use the Justice Department to destroy his political adversary!" (My bold). 

Misty Severi at JTN, Court orders Biden administration to stop selling border wall material. "Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Biden administration has confirmed that it will oblige the court order and stop disposing of any further border wall materials over the next 30 days." Matt Vespa at TownHall, Joe Biden's Border Fiasco Contributed to This Issue That Left Him With Another Black Eye, "rising homelessness." At OTP, Biden Admin Paying Wyoming $100M For 1 Square Mile Of Land Next To Grand Teton Park. WaEx, Wyoming governor approves $100 million sale of state land to join Grand Teton National Park. 'Strief' at RedState sees State Department Leaves a Stink Bomb for the Trump Team "The US State Department has declared a US citizen who has been imprisoned in Russia for three years on drug smuggling charges is "wrongfully detained." Marc Fogel, a history teacher from Butler County, PA, was arrested in August 2021 as he returned to Russia for his tenth year teaching there. Fogel had 17 grams of cannabis, which he alleges was obtained by prescription for treating chronic back pain. The Russians looked at it as drug possession and smuggling. They had a point." Matt Vespa again, What the National Archives Just Did Is a Total Scandal. Releasing the photos of Joe, Hunter and the Chinese after the election. 

Joel Kotkin at Am Mind says Democrats Need to Get Over Their Delusions. OTP, One-Time Biden Rival Dean Phillips Says Dems ‘Totally Devoid Of Leadership’. John Sexton at Hat Hair, Progressive Senator: 'This Magic Words Thing Has to Go Away'. Madeline Leesman at TownHall finds a Retiring Congresswoman  who Torches Older Democrats for Staying in Congress ‘Forever’. From Da Blaze has The growing list of lawmakers ditching the Democratic Party. 

Hoyt at Insty, HE ALSO ACCUSES FIRE OF BEING HOT AND BEARS OF DEFECATING IN THE WOODS: Trump accuses Dems of paying celebs millions to endorse Harris’ presidential campaign: ‘What is going on here???’ WaEx, Shawn Fain’s luck goes from bad to worse after Trump victory. "United Auto Workers union head Shawn Fain has experienced a series of misfortunes since his gamble to go all-in with Vice President Kamala Harris failed."

At Da Blaze, Fani Willis may have to testify before Georgia Senate for alleged misconduct in Trump case. That should be amusing. WaEx lists Five Jack Smith moments Republicans could investigate.

At RedState Nick Arama finds the New Rasmussen Poll Has More Bad News for Liz Cheney About FBI Investigation. Breanna Morello@BreannaMorello, "57% of voters favor an FBI probe into Liz Cheney, according to @Rasmussen_Poll. Did you hear that, @Kash_Patel?" Brittany Sheehan at RedState, DOJ Tries to Block January 6 Defendants From Trump’s Inauguration, but One Gets Approval. Bernard Hudson at Am Mind examines DEI and the CIA "To underscore how deeply DEI has metastasized inside the host, in a recent enlightening and publicly available statement, the CIA’s Chief DEI officer said there are three criteria by which an intelligence officer can be promoted at America’s most important foreign intelligence service. Only one of them is related to mission impact. The others are a rather vague “corporate mindset”—and DEI."

At Insty, MATT TAIBBI: 2024: Year of the Coverup: The most ignored real stories of 2024, a year in which national media made the mass production of “pseudo-events” a stand-in for news. At Da Mail, CNN journalists offer brutal assessment of why their network is failing, "CNN's stubbornly leftist journalists think they know why their viewers are abandoning ship in record numbers - they're not going hard enough against Donald Trump anymore."

Sundance, Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Tik Tok Ban – President Trump Urges SCOTUS to Delay.

From Da Blaze, Scientific American attacks Jay Bhattacharya for prioritizing Americans' autonomy over 'the science'. We gave up our subscription years ago when they went off the rails. Leslie Eastman at LI finds Europe’s Medical Students Being Trained to Consider Climate Impact of Inhalers and “Green Prescribing”, "Meanwhile, Association of American Medical Colleges did a survey and found that 55% of medical schools reported that the health effects of climate change were a required topic in their courses."

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears the WSJ Declares Progressive Moment Is Over -- Globally. Prematurely, I suspect. At the College Fix, UVA alumni group accuses university of ignoring rampant campus antisemitism.

At Campus Reform, University of Iowa drops Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies department. At WokeSpy, High School Athlete Suffers Life-Changing Injury in Volleyball Match With Transgender Opponent. "On September 1, 2022, Payton’s team faced an opponent with a male player claiming to be female. A spike from this transgender competitor struck Payton in the head and neck, leaving her unconscious on the gym floor, as reported by The Western Journal. . . . The injury led to life-altering consequences for the once-promising athlete. Payton was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, leaving her partially paralyzed on her right side. She struggles with vision, speech, and basic motor functions."