Crosstalk: December 23, 2019

Here are some of the news items that Jim focused on during this edition of the ‘Round-Up.’

–After about 10 hours of debate, the Democrat controlled House voted Wednesday evening to approve two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump 

–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested that she will not send articles of impeachment over to the Senate until she’s satisfied that there will be a fair trial.

–Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set the stage for a potentially bruising fight between the leadership of the two chambers over impeachment as he tore into Nancy Pelosi and indicated Democrats may be too afraid to send the impeachment articles to the Senate.

–President Trump defended himself in a blistering, six page letter to Speaker Pelosi communicating that she has ‘… cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, ‘impeachment.’ 

–Democrat New Jersey Representative Jeff Van Drew officially switched to the Republican Party.

–CNN ‘New Day’ co-host John Berman had no response when Congressman James Clyburn, in talking about a Senate impeachment trial said, Let’s give him a fair trial and hang him.’

–Christianity Today magazine believes President Trump should be impeached and removed from office.  Franklin Graham, whose father started the magazine, responded by indicating that his father voted for President Trump.

–Polls indicate President Trump has high levels of approval among African American voters.

–President Trump made it clear Monday that he intends to participate in at least 3 general election debates.

–A super PAC led by liberal operative David Brock has dropped more than 2 million dollars into advertisements against President Trump.

–Seventh Day Adventist advocates from both the General Conference and the North American Division have worked with other groups to draft the Fairness for All Act (HR5331).

–The Green Bay Packers Foundation has included Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (Milwaukee) as a grant fund recipient.

–By next spring a Tennessee abortion facility hopes to begin welcoming newborn babies in one room while aborting unborn babies in another.

–Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made a name for himself as a leader in the gun control movement.  He’s decided to use his anti-Second Amendment stance to make himself a top-tier candidate in the 2020 presidential race.

–A consumer group is now labeling Nerf guns as assault-style toy weapons.

–The New Jersey Assembly and Senate have passed legislation that will allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.    

–The House passed two spending bills to fund the federal government through the remainder of fiscal year 2020.

–The National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 was passed to fund the Department of Defense.

–A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that a key aspect of the Obamacare law is unconstitutional, setting it up for another Supreme Court showdown in a presidential election year.

–The Trump administration reportedly expelled two Chinese embassy officials this fall after they attempted to drive onto a military base near Norfolk, Virginia.