HEADLINES: 2025
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Shiftless2
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Elise Stefanik, loyal Trump ally, ends New York governor bid and will leave politics
By Steve Gorman / December 19, 20257:38 PM GMT-5Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik, a House Republican leader and loyal ally of President Donald Trump, said on Friday she was bowing out of politics, including her recently announced bid for governor of New York, to spend more time with family.
Stefanik, 41, the fourth-ranking member of her party in the House of Representatives as House Republican Conference chair, said she was halting the gubernatorial campaign she announced in November and would not seek re-election to Congress.
sol·stice (sōlstĭs, sŏl-, sôl-)
n.
Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest angular distance from the celestial equator. The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurs about June 21, when the sun is at the zenith on the Tropic of Cancer; the winter solstice occurs about December 21, when the sun is at zenith on the Tropic of Capricorn. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year; the winter solstice is the shortest.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sōlstitium : sōl, sun; see sāwel- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + -stitium, a stoppage; see stā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
sol·stitial (-stĭshəl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
Happy Winter Solstice
Happy First Day of Winter
Merry Christmas
n.
Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest angular distance from the celestial equator. The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurs about June 21, when the sun is at the zenith on the Tropic of Cancer; the winter solstice occurs about December 21, when the sun is at zenith on the Tropic of Capricorn. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year; the winter solstice is the shortest.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sōlstitium : sōl, sun; see sāwel- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + -stitium, a stoppage; see stā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
sol·stitial (-stĭshəl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
Happy Winter Solstice
Happy First Day of Winter
Merry Christmas
Patel finalizes plan to close FBI’s Hoover building in DC
Ashleigh Fields / Fri, December 26, 2025 at 7:09 PMFBI Director Kash Patel on Friday said the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington, D.C., will be “shut down permanently” after previously discarding plans to move the bureau’s headquarters to Maryland.
Instead, employees will report to the Ronald Reagan Building to occupy the former location of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was dismantled by the Trump administration earlier this year.
“After more than 20 years of failed attempts, we finalized a plan to permanently close the FBI’s Hoover headquarters and move the workforce into a safe, modern facility. Working directly with President Trump and Congress, we accomplished what no one else could,” Patel wrote in a post on the social platform X.
“This decision puts resources where they belong: defending the homeland, crushing violent crime, and protecting national security. It delivers better tools for today’s FBI workforce at a fraction of the cost,” he added. “The Hoover Building will be shut down permanently.”
Patel finalizes plan to close FBI’s Hoover building in DC
FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday said the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington, D.C., will be “shut down permanently” after previously discarding plans to move the bureau’s headquarters to Maryland. Instead, employees will report to the Ronald Reagan Building to occupy the former...
Many U.S. presidents before President Trump were involved in streamlining government, improving efficiency.
Is that what Director Patel has in mind here?
One alternate possibility:
Trump has learned from experience of Trump's January 6 insurrection that our FBI is faithful, duty bound not to Trump as a personality but to our Constitution.
Not to assert it as a certitude, but if,
IF
IF
IF
Trump / Vance / MAGA / GOP have not ruled out testing our system, our rule of law in presidential succession (as Trump has already attempted to do) would it advance that objective by weakening, disrupting the FBI ?
“This decision puts resources where they belong: defending the homeland, crushing violent crime, and protecting national security." Patel
Director Patel,
We have successfully defended our homeland for decades, while occupying the Hoover building FBI HQ.
And now, to preserve our national security we have to vacate that building?
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Anyone want to make book on how long it takes Trump or one of his companies to convert it to a hotel?
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Foreclosures Rise for 8th Straight Month—These States Have the Worst Rates
By Kiri Blakeley
Foreclosures across the U.S. continue to rise—and the increases are in the double digits.
"Foreclosure activity continued its steady upward trend in October, the eighth straight month of year-over-year increases. Starts rose nearly 20%, while completed foreclosures were up 32% from last year," says Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, a real estate analytics firm.
But there is some good news—while these foreclosure increases sound dire, the rates are "well below historic highs," says Barber.
"The current trend appears to reflect a gradual normalization in foreclosure volumes as market conditions adjust and some homeowners continue to navigate higher housing and borrowing costs."
Nationwide, 1 in every 3,871 housing units had a foreclosure filing in October 2025, according to ....
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It is a privilege among the privileged not only to visit the white house, but to overnight in the Lincoln bedroom.
Once Trump's hotel renovations are complete, will it be a commensurate privilege to overnight in the J. Edgar Hoover suite?
alas
We may take pride as a nation for our noble experiments. Not merely an authoritarian stab at temperance called "Prohibition".
In Chicago we tried making clean safe housing available to those that could not otherwise afford it.
In concept, laudable.
In practice, disappointing.
Cabrini-Green: A History of Broken Promises
Cabrini-Green: A History of Broken Promises
The residents of Cabrini-Green had reason to be skeptical. For years, their calls for help had gone largely unheeded. The conditions in their publicly
blockclubchicago.org
We can't solve those problems here R5.
But a key dynamic of the failure: "the tragedy of the commons":
There may be an economic approach that can work. Perhaps instead of apartment blocks, individual cabins the residents can build equity in.
No panacea on the horizon. Hurricanes Rita & Katrina provide us the insight of "FEMA trailers", from U.S. taxpayers.
alas
We may take pride as a nation for our noble experiments. Not merely an authoritarian stab at temperance called "Prohibition".
In Chicago we tried making clean safe housing available to those that could not otherwise afford it.
In concept, laudable.
In practice, disappointing.
Cabrini-Green: A History of Broken Promises
Cabrini-Green: A History of Broken Promises
The residents of Cabrini-Green had reason to be skeptical. For years, their calls for help had gone largely unheeded. The conditions in their publicly
We can't solve those problems here R5.
But a key dynamic of the failure: "the tragedy of the commons":
There may be an economic approach that can work. Perhaps instead of apartment blocks, individual cabins the residents can build equity in.
View attachment 3598
No panacea on the horizon. Hurricanes Rita & Katrina provide us the insight of "FEMA trailers", from U.S. taxpayers.
Yes, the high rise concrete of Cabrini-Green was too cold, impersonal, ugly, and over crowded.
Tiny homes do seem more pleasant.
But I would also like to see all these vacant K-Marts and other empty stores find a use as well.
Indeed.
BUT
We should be wary of distractions.
Vacant buildings may seem a problem to some. Perhaps they're also a symptom?
Much has been written about the range between rich and poor. Elon Musk may be the first human in the solar system to become a $Trillionaire.
Generally we know wealth distribution among us is not equal. Good! It shouldn't be. Those that worker harder longer deserve to be $paid better.
BUT !
Do Bill Gates & or Warren Buffet sacrifice as much as a citizen working two jobs just to make ends meet?
Housing, directly addressing a need, seems obvious.
But perhaps equal or greater good might result from these potential resources being reactivated as a regional warehouse, to stimulate e-tail $commerce,
or perhaps a factory employer for workers without college degrees.