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| MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19 |
| GOP WINS FLORIDA Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL, conceded defeat to Gov. Rick Scott, R-FL, in the Senate race. After a manual recount, Scott held on to a 10,033 lead. If Republicans hold the Mississippi Senate run-off after Thanksgiving, they’ll have a 53-47 edge in the Senate next year, a gain of two seats. READ |
| QUESTIONING ELECTION RESULTS? Democrat Stacey Abrams refuses to acknowledge Republican Brian Kemp the “legitimate” governor-elect of Georgia. “I acknowledge the law as it stands… But we know sometimes the law does not do what it should and something being legal does not make it right.” READ |
| BOYCOTTING GEORGIA Several Hollywood celebrities like Ron Perlman and Alyssa Milano are calling for a boycott of Georgia’s film industry in reaction to the gubernatorial victory of Republican Brian Kemp, who they accuse of ‘disenfrancising’ black voters. READ |
| MINNESOTA 2020 The last time Minnesota voted for a Republican presidential candidate was for Richard Nixon’s landslide in 1972. But don’t let that fool you. Strategists in both parties say the political realignment in rural areas makes the North Star State a definite pick-up opportunity for Donald Trump in 2020. READ |
| CULPRIT FOR CA WILDFIRES Prescribed burns keep forests healthy by reducing underbrush, but the Forest Service has only performed prescribed burns on 11.3% of the land they manage. Fire ecologist Sasha Berleman said: “We have 100 years of fire suppression that has lead to this huge accumulation of fuel loads.” But the media is considering federal mismanagement as a factor. They’re quick to blame population growth and climate change for the devastation of California’s wildfires. READ |
| RICH TURN TO THE DEMOCRATS In the 116th Congress, the wealthiest 66 districts will be represented by 54 Democrats and 10 Republicans. “The upshot of the 2018 midterms is that the Democratic Party now overwhelmingly represents America’s rich. At the same time, Democrats continue to represent the poorest Americans, at least those who are not white. Managing this contradiction is ever more the party’s great challenge,” writes Darel Paul. READ |
| PRO-WORKER CONSERVATISM At a Heritage Foundation annual anti-poverty forum, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, said: “To re-make an America of stable families, we need an economy that delivers high wages to its workers in all parts of the country.” He noted the doubling of the child tax credit from the recent new tax law, and called for revenue-neutral paid family leave and increased vocational education. READ |
| GOVERNMENT VS. CHARITY Kansas City health officials broke up picnics that volunteers set up to feed the homeless. City officials bleached the food and threw it away because volunteers did not have a permit to prove that food was prepared properly for public consumption. This week, volunteers showed up again to give away food to the homeless — and the government thankfully did not shut them down. READ |
| CATHOLIC IDENTITY A second guidance counselor is suing a Catholic school in Indianapolis claiming it is “discrimination” for a Catholic school to fire employees who publicly dissent from Church teaching on marriage. READ |
| NO TITHE FOR VATICAN Legatus, a national organization of Catholic business leaders, is withholding their annual tithe to the Holy See in 2019. READ |
| SAINT OF THE DAY Often confused with Saint Agnes of Bohemia to whom Saint Clare wrote her famous letters, Saint Agnes of Assisi was Saint Clare’s younger biological sister as well as first follower in the way poverty. READ |
| DAILY READINGS “Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.” (Rev 2:17) READ |
| WOW Endangered species like pandas, lions, and polar bears have the attention of affluent Americans. So children with Down syndrome are asking for that same protection because they correctly point out that they are also endangered. WATCH |