Sunday Misc.

++The article of the Day is by Francis Schaeffer,"The Slow Motion Lynching of President Barack Obama" at www.patheos.com. Frank defends the President from his critics on both the Right and the Left.

++Pope Francis, Time Magazine's Person of the Year, says to his critics he isn't a Marxist but has known many fine Marxists as people.

++Nate Silver sort of agrees with Charlie Cook that the GOP stands a 50-50 chance of getting the Senate. He predicts the GOP will have 50-51 seats after the 2014 election. Harry Reid says this is hogwash. Silver says the cause is the retirement of three Democrats.

++Peter O'Toole is dead at 81.

++Madiba is buried in his hometown of Qunu.

++Paul Ryan says the GOP will be meeting during the Holidays to discuss what they will demand for raising the debt ceiling. But he admits that no one knows when that will be.

++The AP has a story that the "so-called" stand-down order in Benghazi was issued by the CIA station chief and fights broke out among CIA officers in Libya. But no one would say anything could have been done to save the Ambassador's life. 

++President Obama is withholding the release of the CIA report on the Bay of Pigs fiasco. He is also trying to prevent the Senate from releasing its 6,000 page report on the use of torture by the United States.

++Walter Jones,(R-N.C.) is asking for the release of the censored portion of the 9/11 Report concerning the Saudi government and diplomats' involvement in assisting the hijackers. The New York Post today printed a summary of the findings.

++The NSA is offering an amnesty if Snowden will tell him everything he stole.

++Danish and Norwegian ships are ready to transport 500tons of Syria's most dangerous chemicals as part of the agreement they dispose of their chemical weapons.

++American officials will be meeting with the Islamist part of the Syrian opposition after they overran the Free Syrian Army and chased General Idriss into exile.

++There are now 23 million Syrian refugees, who may become permanent exiles. Their humanitarian plight has become catastrophic with the winter weather.

++John McCain is in the Ukraine urging peace. He does say that more sanctions against Iran are inevitable.