Greetings! The nation’s 250th anniversary isn’t until July 4, 2026.  However  Donald Trump already has plans to mark that momentous day with the biggest celebration of patriotism in American history, reports the Daily Signal.  For some reason, I dread what that celebration will look like…Olivia Troye, Mike  Pence’s national security director during the first Trump administration, has advice for those who plan to be part of The Donald White House 2.0.  Troye foresees a toxic bro culture inside the West Wing and warns women going there to proceed with extreme caution. (We Lived It)…Most overused phrase of 2024: “said the quiet part out loud”…With a huge dose of snark, the Washington Free Beacon spotlights ten other “criminals” apart from  Hunter Biden who deserve a Joe Biden pardon.  The list includes Sam Brinton, Stormy Daniels’ mouthpiece Michael Avenatti, and (natch) Hillary Clinton...Woke is not quite dead yet, according to the New York Post's John Mac Ghlionn.  His  article points to 200 million video game players in the U.S., making it  “the perfect platform for DEI tenets to flourish.” He reports that the hugely popular Call of Duty video game franchise just introduced its first nonbinary character with they/them pronouns...Here's the political book I’m most eagerly awaiting in 2025.  CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson have teamed up on a nonfiction tome about “Biden’s insistence on staying in the 2024 race,” according to scoop machine Oliver Darcy in his newsletter Status.  No word on the book’s title or pub date. But I'd say that how Biden clung to power way past his expiration date is 2024's great underreported political story and I can't wait to devour the inside dish…If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard

Greetings!  It’s the holiday gift-giving season and here’s my #1 online shopping destination suggestion for true-blue Democrats.  Check out the official store of the Democratic party.  There are mugs, sweaters, and hats all festooned with subtle Democrat messaging.  I’m partial to the Trailblazer collection featuring images of icons like Shirley Chisholm, John Lewis and Bayard Rustin slapped on various tchotchkes and articles of clothing…For politically minded kids who lean right, Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for FBI director, published a children’s book two years ago called The Plot Against the King. It features a King Donald and the villainess is none other than Hillary Queenton.  This is coming from a man who could wind up leading the FBI in January.  I’d bet good money that J. Edgar Hoover never wrote a children’s book….And finally, for the nicotine addict in your life, Tucker Carlson just launched his own brand of chewing tobacco called Alp.  I imagine by February it will be named the official chewing tobacco brand of America…Conservative podcaster and pundit Megyn Kelly defends battered Trump Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth on her website.  Other conservatives appear to be joining her despite the flood of press reports that continue to nuke Hegseth’s reputation…Sheriff Chad Chronister, Trump’s nominee to head the DEA, has withdrawn his candidacy saying he wasn’t qualified.  However, conservative media claim his past enforcing Covid lockdowns and going easy on BLM supporters diminished his support. (Western Journal)…Housekeeping: I’m taking a long weekend beginning tomorrow morning so TheRighting won’t be published until Monday, December 9….If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard