Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Santa Is A No-Show

Last week, we discussed how it seemed as if Santa arrived on Christmas Eve, pushing the markets back above the important 50-DMA. However, by the end of the year, it seemed investors were naughty this year and received a “lump of coal,“ with markets selling off back toward recent lows. One important note was that momentum and relative strength remained weak, keeping selling pressure intact.

There is no way to sugarcoat the market’s poor performance. While December started with a bang, it ended with a whimper, with a long stretch of daily losses into year-end. Now, 2025 is opening with a whimper. Small caps fell apart after attempting to “make a comeback,” and overall market breadth declined. However, with the markets now oversold, we should expect a rally heading into the Presidential inauguration, which likely started on Friday.

Despite Friday’s impressive reflexive rally, the market fell about 0.5% short of rallying enough to save the “Santa Rally.”

However, although the “Santa Rally” failed to materialize, bullish hopes for 2025 are not yet lost.

“Since 1950, when all three January indicators (The Santa Claus Rally (SCR), First Five Days (FFD) and the full-month January Barometer (JB)) are up, the S&P 500 was up 90.6% of the time (29 out of 32 years) with an average gain of 17.7%. When one or more of the Trifecta is down, in this case, the SCR, the year is up 59.5% of the time (25 of 42) with a paltry average gain of 2.9%.” – Stocktraders Almanac

While the lack of a Santa rally is disappointing, as noted by Stocktraders Almanac:

“Of the 16 down SCRs since 1950, 11 years have been up and 5 down, but the average gain is a tepid 6.1%.“

However, even with a failed Santa rally, the January barometer holds the key for the year. Historically, a positive January has been a bullish sign for stocks. The chart below highlights that the popular Wall Street maxim has stood the test of time. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has posted an average annual return of 16.8% during years that included a positive January. Furthermore, the index generated positive returns in 89% of these years. In contrast, when the index traded lower in January, annual returns dropped to -1.7%, with only 50% of occurrences yielding positive results.

With the bulls needing a positive January performance, the market has its work cut out. However, with the market’s short-term oversold and breadth, there is a reasonable technical setup for an improvement in performance in January.

However, will 2025 be another banner year? Maybe. But the market certainly faces headwinds, from elevated earnings expectations to valuations. Our best guess is that while this year will likely see a continuation of the bull market cycle, it will be punctuated by increased bouts of volatility that will weigh on investor sentiment. In other words, “buckle up and keep your arms and belongings inside the vehicle.”

This week, we will do a short 2024 review.

2024 Review – Another 20% Plus Year

The market had another 20% plus return for the year. As we discussed previously, the market rarely delivers an “average” return of 8-10%. About 38% of the time, the market delivers 20% or more returns.

Since 1900, the stock market has “averaged” an 8% annualized rate of return. However, this does NOT mean the market returns 8% every year. As we discussed recently, several key facts about markets should be understood. Stocks rise more often than they fall: Historically, the stock market increases about 73% of the time. The other 27% of the time, market corrections reverse the excesses of previous advances. The table below shows the dispersion of returns over time.”

For analysts, being permanently “bullish” leads to a 73% success rate on market calls, which, if you are a professional baseball player, a .730 batting average will enshrine you in the “Hall Of Fame.” However, as investors, the problem with being always bullish is the impact on our portfolios for the “other” 27% of outcomes. This is important in the history of 20% plus annual returns. In the table above, in the far-right column, there are periods where 20% plus gains were clustered.

So, what does that mean?

The Long Term

It is worth noting that these periods of “well-above-average” returns were followed by “well-below-average” returns. As shown, these periods of “mean-reversion” were generally triggered by some event that reversed elevated valuation levels.

As we see in the market, these periods of excess valuations are a psychological byproduct of investor sentiment. Our 2024 review found that investor allocations to equities reached a record, corresponding to a sharp increase in valuation levels as investors were willing to overpay for earnings growth.

As asset prices rise, speculation. increases, creating a “feedback loop.” The more asset prices rise, the more confident investors become, leading to further price increases fueling a bull market. The chart below shows the length of previous bull markets throughout history, with the average length of bull markets running about 5 1/2 years.

However, while the long duration of bull markets favors being bullish, the problem is that eventually, some “event” occurs that causes a reversal of expectations. When that occurs, investors reprice the market back to reality. As shown, bear markets and the ensuing recessions are generally very short. Most bear markets last less than 18 months and are more painful experiences.

Does that mean 2025 will be a “mean reverting” year? No. However, as discussed in this 2024 review, there are certain warning signs that next year could be very different.

2024 Review – A Year Of Concentration

For the second year in a row, the one big standout was the level of market concentration. The “Mega-cap” stocks have become an ever-increasing percentage of the S&P 500 index. We have not witnessed this since the early 70s with the “Nifty-Fifty” and just before the “Dot.com” crash.

Over the last few years, capital flows into the largest market capitalization stocks have led to an increasing skew between the “have and have nots.” Over the last year, the companies that dominate the market capitalization weighting of the S&P 500 index created a substantial outperformance over the equal-weighted index.

Speaking of the “have-nots,” the 60/40 allocation lagged far behind the S&P 500 index on a performance basis as bonds struggled with “sticky inflation” and continued to push to increase portfolio risk as investors chased asset prices higher.

However, that continued performance chase has led to the most significant rolling two-year performance spread between the market capitalization and equal-weighted index since 2008 and 2019.

While the surge in market concentration has been notable over the last two years, the chase for performance has been a growing issue since 2014. As shown, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 (both market-capitalization-weighted and dominated by the same stocks) have massively outperformed everything from small and mid-capitalization companies to gold, oil, and bonds.

Notably, in 2024, the “Mega 7” market-capitalization companies returned 50%, while the S&P 500 was higher by 22%, and the Russell 2000 trailed far behind, rising just 12%.

The question is, why is this happening?

2024 Review – Speculation Goes Parabolic

As discussed, the surge in “Exchange-Traded Funds” or “ETFs” has changed the investing landscape.

“Following the 2020 pandemic shutdown, the Government and Federal Reserve went into overdrive, providing round after round of fiscal and monetary support. Money flooded the economy, from PPP Loans to rent moratoriums, $1500 checks directly to consumers, debt forgiveness, zero interest rates, and quantitative easing. Unsurprisingly, much of that money entered the financial markets, and retail investors plowed nearly $900 billion in market-related ETFs. Interestingly, in 2024, most of those supports are gone, interest rates have risen sharply, and the Federal Reserve is reducing its balance sheet. Yet, somehow, investors figured out a way to push $913 billion (YTD) into ETFs, which is a record inflow.”

That surge of capital into ETFs contributed to the outsized performance of large capitalization companies, primarily the “Magnificent 7,” relative to the rest of the index, as shown above. This happens because most of these passive ETFs are market capitalization-weighted.

For example, every ETF that tracks the S&P 500 index, the Nasdaq, or some variation thereof has the same top holdings. Currently, the top 10 stocks comprise roughly 40% of those ETFs.

Therefore, every time someone invests $1 into one of those ETFs, roughly 40 cents of that dollar flows into just 10 stocks. Such is why, in our 2024 review, those 10 stocks, except Microsoft, outperformed the S&P 500 index by a wide margin.

The byproduct of consistently rising prices and investors’ chase for performance creates demand for Wall Street to provide more products for investors to purchase. This is why 2024 saw a massive increase in single-stock ETFs and, more critically, leveraged ETFs.

The growing demand by investors to leverage speculate in the market is a topic we covered recently in our Daily Market Commentary and is the hallmark of our 2024 review:

“We see surging volume in leveraged single-stock ETFs. An example of such an ETF is Granite Shares NVDL. The ETF offers a 2x leveraged holding of Nvidia shares. If Nvidia falls by 3%, the ETF will decline by 6%. Conversely, if Nvidia rises by 5%, the ETF will climb 10%. Accordingly, leveraged single-stock ETFs can be incredibly speculative. Furthermore, the massive surge in volume in such ETFs, as we share below, further confirms speculative behaviors are growing.

Leverage and extreme speculation can drive markets higher than most investors forecast. However, in the process, they create a divergence between fundamentals and valuations, thus exposing the markets to risk. Increased leverage and speculation are not reasons to sell immediately, but they indicate that markets are getting frothy, warranting our close attention.“

The important point is that while 2024 was a great year in the markets, history suggests that expectations for 2025 should likely be tempered. Such brings us to the obvious question, “What should I be watching for to signal a shift in investor sentiment?”

2024 Review – What To Watch For In 2025

While investors are giddy with returns over the past year, that exuberance has increased the expectation that things will continue in 2025. Of course, earnings growth will be the biggest driver for returns in 2025.

Forward earnings estimates are optimistic and well above their long-term historical logarithmic growth trend. Analysts expect the S&P 500 will see earnings reach $249/share from $208/share at the end of 2024. That is an expected growth rate of 19% for earnings. However, that current estimate is $68/share above historical earnings’ long-term exponential growth trend. While such deviations existed previously, they were usually close to the point where such optimism ended. The ends of those exuberant periods of earnings growth generally coincided with a recession or a mean-reverting event. However, while estimates are currently very elevated, they can remain elevated longer than you think possible.

The timing of “the” event that reverses more extreme investor exuberance and speculation is always the most challenging. However, it always occurs when it is least expected. As we enter 2025, investor sentiment of expected stock returns over the next 12 months is near the highest levels on record. At the same time, credit spreads remain near the lowest levels on record, confirming the high degree of complacency in today’s markets.

Such exuberance and overconfidence tend to precede some level of disappointment.

Earnings Matter More Than You Think

The most significant risk in 2025 is an event that causes a significant decline in earnings expectations. As shown, there is a very high correlation between earnings trends and the rate of change in asset prices.

As I discussed in “Predictions For 2025:”

“The problem with current forward estimates is that several factors must exist to sustain historically high earnings growth.

1. Economic growth must remain more robust than the average 20-year growth rate.
2. Wage and labor growth must reverse to sustain historically elevated profit margins, and,
3. Both interest rates and inflation must reverse to very low levels.

While such is possible, the probabilities are low, as strong economic growth cannot exist in a low inflation and interest-rate environment. More notably, if the Fed cuts rates further, as most economists and analysts expect next year, such will be in response to a slowing economic environment or financial stress. Such would not support more optimistic earnings estimates of $251 per share next year. This represents roughly a 19% increase from Q4-2024 levels. (In 2023, estimates for 2024 suggested a 14% increase, which was just 9%. The long-term trend of earnings growth from 1900 to the present is just 7.7%).”

While the bullish predictions for next year are certainly possible, that outcome faces many challenges. This is particularly true given that the market trades at fairly lofty valuations. Even in a “soft landing” environment, earnings should weaken, which makes current valuations at 27x earnings more challenging to sustain. Therefore, assuming earnings decline toward their long-term trend, that would suggest current estimates fall to $220/share by the end of 2025. This substantially changes the outlook for stocks.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro has threatened to evict US military forces from a major base if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his promise to unleash a mass-deportation policy targeting illegal immigrants. An estimated five percent of the Honduras population lives in America. 

“Faced with a hostile attitude of mass expulsion of our brothers, we would have to consider a change in our policies of cooperation with the United States, especially in the military arena,” Castro said in a New Year’s day address. In office since January 2022 and a member of the leftist Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) Party, Castro’s husband Manuel Zelaya was president from 2006 until he was removed in a 2009 coup. 

BREAKING: Honduras President Xiomara Castro just issued a threat to President Trump, saying she’ll shutdown U.S. military bases if he deports Honduran nationals.

“Faced with a hostile attitude of mass expulsion of our brothers, we would have to consider a change in our policies… pic.twitter.com/wD0QFjMCrL

— George (@BehizyTweets) January 3, 2025

Castro’s remarks were cheered by many, but some Honduran politicians hesitated to endorse the pre-emptive threat on a Trump administration that hasn’t even taken power yet, while others condemned it. Among the detractors was likely November 2025 presidential challenger Jorge Calix, who said Castro’s heated rhetoric put Honduras “in grave danger.” Another potential challenger, Olban Valladares, said “[Castro] knows we don’t have the ability to threaten the United States in any way, that the damages it would cause Honduras would be terrible.”

Like other Latin American countries, Honduras has a huge financial interest in keeping its huge population of illegal emigrants inside the United States — the money they send back to families inside Honduras accounts for up to 25% of the country’s economy, the New York Times reports. 

The United States has service members in several locations in Honduras, but one stands far above the others in importance: Soto Cano Air Base is the largest US base in Central America. Currently operating under the moniker Joint Task Force Bravo, American forces have been there since 1983. Touted as a key asset for anti-drug and humanitarian missions, the base has long been used to facilitate American meddling in the region, such as the US-backed Contra insurgency that waged a bloody and failed guerrilla war against Nicaragua’s Marxist Sandinista government. 

“Without paying a cent for decades, they maintain military bases in our territory, which in this case would lose all reason to exist in Honduras,” said Castro. According to the US government, the State Department and US Agency for International Development together provided $780.5 million in various forms of aid to Honduras between 2020 and 2023 alone. America is also the country’s largest trading partner. 

While many Honduran officials aren’t backing Castro’s threat, Foreign Minister Enrique Reina opined that Castro has the authority to unilaterally suspend the long-standing US-Honduran agreement under which the Pentagon built Soto Cano and currently bases more than a thousand service members and civilians. 

Trump’s transition team chose to respond gently. “The Trump administration looks forward to engaging our Latin American partners to ensure our southern border is secure and illegal immigrants can be returned to their country of origin,” said spokesman Brian Hughes. Trump himself has been full of bluster on the issue of secure borders — for example, threatening to hammer Mexico and Canada with 25% tariffs if they failed to block migrants and fentanyl from flowing across the frontiers. 

Of course, for genuine America-Firsters who want secure borders AND an end to our sprawling, bankrupting military empire, Castro’s threat sounds just great:    

So Honduras has threatened President Trump with throwing the US military out if Trump deports Hondurans ! I say that’s a win win situation! Bye bye pic.twitter.com/ApVoP9Phgs

— Papageorgio (@gecffmn) January 3, 2025

Authored by Jonathan Cook via ConsortiumNews.com,

If a large chunk of the public can be persuaded that a man who is incapable of finding the door is “sharp as a tack,” they can be made to believe a lot of other things too…

Only in the world of political make-believe we inhabit in the West would The Wall Street Journal’s account of Biden’s years-long cognitive decline, and its concealment by his officials, count as a scoop.

And only in a world in which the billionaire-owned media alone constructs and polices what counts as reality would the WSJ be able to run this story without also being expected to consider what it signifies about America’s professed democracy.

The emperor, we are now told, was naked all along. How did it take more than four years for the fearless, tenacious billionaire-owned media to notice?

The WSJ reports that even back in 2021 Biden had what his officials described as “bad days” when his mind worked so poorly he had to be kept away from senior Congresspeople and his own cabinet colleagues.

So insulated was he that he rarely met even with key figures directing White House policy, such as the secretaries of State, Defence and the Treasury.

He was able to hold only two or three cabinet meetings a year during his four-year term — a total of nine, compared to 19 by Barack Obama and 25 by Donald Trump.

His aides barely strayed from his side because they needed to whisper instructions for him to carry out the simplest of public tasks, such as where to enter and exit a room.

Concern only went mainstream when he performed catastrophically in an unscripted TV debate against Donald Trump in June, eventually having to pull out of his re-election bid and let his vice-president, Kamala Harris, take over.

Shortly afterwards, it emerged that he had been receiving regular visits to the White House from a leading neurologist and Parkinson’s expert.

Many observers — myself included — pointed out Biden’s mental infirmity from the get-go. Matt Orfalea has been compiling video clips of the president’s stunning gaffes and verbal confusions for years. None of us were geniuses. We didn’t need access to the 50 White House insiders interviewed by the WSJ. It was blindingly obvious.

Biden wanders offstage or walks like a geriatric robot. Yet we are meant to believe he’s carefully navigating us through the nuclear tripwires of the West’s serial wars.

My latest article can be read here: https://t.co/V3J2zCxmRb pic.twitter.com/4EaGcKon0x

— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) June 15, 2024

You had to be lying, or hypnotised, to deny what was so visible.

And yet every time we pointed out Biden’s clear cognitive impairment, we were accused of promoting conspiracy theories, engaging in elder abuse, or supporting Trump.

The emperor, so we were told, was fully clothed.

The truth about Biden hasn’t suddenly leaked out from his officials. Senior politicians on both sides of the aisle knew. White House correspondents knew. Editors knew. And they all lied to protect the system of power to which they belong, the system that keeps them gainfully employed, the system that maintains their status. No one was going to rock the boat.

[See:  Stop Calling It A ‘Stutter:’ Dozens of Examples Show Biden’s Dementia Symptoms and Caitlin Johnstone: Biden Not Running the Show]

The WSJ hasn’t suddenly found out things it didn’t know before. The reason it is coming clean now – as are White House staffers – is that President Biden is almost out the door. The truth is no longer a serious threat to the Washington power system.

There will be more revelations about Biden’s incapacity – maybe contained in a future book by Bob Woodward – after his presidency has become a distant memory. When it is safe for the full story to be told. When the lies are no longer important.

But more significant than the media deceptions are the fact that much of the public fell for them, not once but over and over again: day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.

Why? Because far too many of us are in the grip of the West’s propaganda system. We believe that the billionaire-owned media is to be trusted, that it serves the public good, not private wealth.

If a large chunk of the public can be persuaded that a man who is incapable of finding the door through which he’s supposed to leave is “sharp as a tack”, then why would they not also believe that the United States is promoting democracy as it has laid waste to the Middle East over the past two decades to control the region’s oil?

Or that Washington is seeking peace for the world and Ukraine by arming it with ever-more offensive weapons against a nuclear-armed Russia so that the U.S. can place ballistic missiles on Moscow’s doorstep?

Or that the U.S. wants a ceasefire in Gaza even as it supplies the munitions, intelligence and diplomatic cover for Israel to carry out a genocide there?

The problem is that, subjected to a lifetime of elite propaganda, many are readier to believe that very propaganda than the evidence of their own own eyes. They are truly hypnotised.

Even now, many are listening to the “revelations” of Biden’s long decline and, just like the WSJ, not wondering how the U.S. has been functioning for the past four years with a president barely able to read a teleprompter, one whose mind is so vacant he can wander off in the middle of a conversation.

Does the U.S. run by itself? Does it need a president? Or is the president nothing more than a figurehead for a permanent bureaucracy that expects to wield power from the shadows, unobserved by voters and unaccountable to them? Is the U.S. a democracy, or is the democracy just a facade behind which a wealth elite maintains its power?

Biden has given us the answer. Were you listening?

Grunge rock band Sound Garden, popular in the 1990s after their hit album ‘Superunknown’, has been a rare feature on the live music scene since the death of lead singer Chris Cornell at age 52 in 2017.  The group has limited itself to a few shows, usually featuring a guest lead vocalist.  Some have speculated that the band has been trying out new singers for a potential return, using the name “Nudedragons” (an anagram of Soundgarden).  However, most of their team ups have been with female singers that sound nothing like Chris Cornell.

In their most recent show (part of a charity event) Soundgarden brought in a black female activist singer by the name of Shaina Shepherd, a resident of Seattle, Washington that dubs herself a mix between “gospel and garbage metal”.  Shepherd’s biography boasts:

“While finding her voice on the piano, she was finding her voice as the lead singer of Seattle prog-rock and soul band BEARAXE. BEARAXE has allowed Shepherd to hone her craft as a gospel-influenced rock artist exploring classicism, sexism, and self-care themes. And as her relationship with the piano grew, she began to weave similar themes through a lens of vulnerability and thematic strong structures akin to the operas and oratorios she studied as a new musician…”

As with most popular but aging bands, the veneer wears off dramatically over time and a desperation to try anything to breathe new life into their fading careers can lead to some disastrous choices.  Working with an overweight leftist activist with delusions of grandeur might not have been the best choice for Soundgarden.

The new sassy overweight Soundgarden singer tried to crowdsurf but the crowd wasn’t into it and let her faceplant pic.twitter.com/vwj1IJ3OfT

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) January 3, 2025

Shaina Shepherd is heard exclaiming “I knew I was too heavy for you motherfuckers…” as the crowd struggled to prop her up after her embarrassing face-plant.  She then stumbled back to the stage in a daze. Shepherd’s miscalculation was one of basic physics, combined with the fact that the majority of Soundgarden fans are now in their 50s and quickly moved out of the way to avoid yet another expensive trip to their chiropractor. 

It has been noted by fans that Shepherd was not very good at singing the band’s lineup of songs, asserting that if they’re actually looking for a talented replacement for Chris Cornell they should talk to Cornell’s daughter.  

Soundgarden replaced Chris Cornell with Shaina Shepherd…a singer and community organizer. If only they had another female option that had close ties to the band’s legacy itself and possessed stellar vocals…one can only dream…oh wait.. Toni Cornell. pic.twitter.com/j3G0Ncpf50

— Johnny St.Pete (@JohnMcCloy) January 3, 2025

Though the incident is hilarious, it’s also a sad reminder of the steep downward spiral of the music industry in the past decade, as well as the slow death of the rock genre.  Popular music has become increasingly sterile and generic and a lot of that could be attributed to the effects of the woke mind virus on the industry as a whole.  There is also a laziness factor that can’t be denied, with many music personalities now incapable of playing an instrument or even singing without voice autotune software.  

Hopefully talent will make a comeback as a feature of our culture in the near future. In the meantime, people will have to cling to their nostalgia for warmth.    

Authored by Zach Dean via OutKick,

I can promise you, there is no company in America happier that it’s Saturday than Allstate. Not even close. 

They needed the weekend in just the worst possible way. Now, it’s all their fault, because they tried to virtue-signal and politize a terrorist attack on US soil. Stupid. Dumb, dumb, dumb. 

That crap may have flown a few months ago, but not anymore. Americans overwhelmingly rejected woke culture in November. It’s over. You guys lost. Sanity is back. 

And that means insanely dumb videos like the one Allstate pumped out during Thursday’s Sugar Bowl, in which their CEO basically called out us – AMERICANS! – for not being more positive and receptive to change in the wake of the New Orleans terrorist attack, no longer fly. 

They don’t work. We don’t accept them, and, in turn, we don’t accept your stupid narrative. 

Anyway, you all know about the video by now. Lord knows my Twitter has been blowing up ever since I discovered yesterday that Allstate tried to scrub the video from Elon’s site. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work. 

That’s not the point of this blog. The point here is … furious customers have also discovered another video from Allstate, this one from last year, which perfectly explains just how woke this company really is. 

Enjoy!

DEI chief for @Allstate boasted about using DEI in their hiring practices and promised to use more diversity specifically when hiring for leadership positions.

If you’re qualified and are not “diverse” enough and were passed up for a job or a promotion at Allstate, you may have… https://t.co/0oFW8AYnob pic.twitter.com/0qujKXQAar

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 3, 2025

In their year end report for 2023, @Allstate boasts about their dedication to DEI and having less White men in their company.

Were White men discriminated against in their hiring practices? https://t.co/0oFW8AYVdJ pic.twitter.com/ztHy7nWI8e

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 3, 2025

This explains a lot from Allstate

My God. It’s just amazing. Seriously, it’s amazing how bad they are. And by they, I mean box-checking execs who try to cater to the mob when, deep down, they really don’t care about the mob. 

They care about being canceled, which is why they try to gaslight to the highest degree so they can point to videos like this and say, WE ARE DIVERSE!

But we don’t want you to be diverse. We want you to be good at your job. I’ve long said that DEI hiring is the most racist thing in the country. I was a boss not too long ago for a woke media company (y’all can figure out which one pretty easily), and I had to hire people. 

And I was told, in no uncertain terms, to do my best to check the diversity box. And you know what I told them? Kick rocks. 

I want resumes laid in front of me, with no names on them, and I’ll pick the best ones. That’s it. That’s all we want – the best people hired, no matter what color they are. 

So does this video from Allstate shock me? Of course not. I’ve seen it up close and personal. I’ve seen it happen in real-time. 

Does explain Thursday’s woke Sugar Bowl video a little more, though. 

What a time to be alive.

In the latest award for individuals responsible for the destruction of Western civilization (see: Nobel Prize), President Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest civilian honor, to Hillary Clinton and George Soros, along with 17 others, during a Saturday ceremony at the White House.

“President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else,” the White House said in a statement. “These nineteen Americans are great leaders who have made America a better place. They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world.”

Soros, 94, notably gave over $175 million to Democrats during the 2022 midterms per FEC records, and has ‘installed’ dozens of soft-on-crime District Attorneys in key Democrat-run cities, who have presided over the breakdown of law and order across the land.

The Hungarian-born billionaire who’s been banned from Hungary for sowing social discord – also funneled another $60 million to House and Senate Democrats through his Democracy PAC, while shifting billions in his personal net worth to his Open Society Foundations – which fund progressive projects around the world, such as ferrying an untold number of migrants from Africa to Europe.

His son Alexander, who’s engaged to former Clinton aide and Huma Abedin, accepted the award on his father’s behalf.

🚨BREAKING: Alexander Soros receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of George Soros pic.twitter.com/Csy2ll3JRy

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) January 4, 2025

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, will be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom a decade after she paid a British spook to fabricate the Trump-Russia hoax, before losing the 2016 US election. She also housed top-secret information on a non-secure server at her house, had her aides destroy electronic devices with literal hammers, and used software to scrub evidence of wrongdoing.

At the conclusion of the bureau’s investigation, former FBI Director James Comey said that Clinton and her colleagues were “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information” but that the FBI “did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information.”  –NY Post

The former first lady, secretary of state and New York Senator “made history many times over decades in public service,” the White House said in a statement.

Biden just gave Crooked Hillary Clinton the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian award.

January 20th can’t come soon enough. pic.twitter.com/4VYWODRj6D

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 4, 2025

Biden will also award the Medal to the following individuals, per the Post:

• Bono, the frontman of rock band U2

• Michael J. Fox, the “Back to the Future” star 

• Earvin “Magic” Johnson, a Los Angeles Lakers legend

• Ralph Lauren, the visionary fashion designer

• Lionel Messi, the MLS star and captain of Argentina’s World Cup-winning soccer team 

• Denzel Washington, the Academy-Award-winning actor

• Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue

• William Sanford Nye, the television presenter better known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy 

• Robert Francis Kennedy, the slain former New York senator and US Attorney General 

• Jane Goodall, the renowned primatologist and anthropologist 

• David M. Rubenstein, the billionaire co-founder of The Carlye Group

• José Andrés, the celebrity chef and founder of the World Central Kitchen charity group

• Ashton Baldwin Carter, the former Defense Secretary 

• Tim Gill, an entrepreneur whose work has advanced LGBT rights

• George W. Romney, the late businessman and former Michigan governor

• George Stevens, Jr., an author and playwright

• Fannie Lou Hamer, the late civil rights leader and  founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

Meanwhile as we noted last week, Liz Cheney received the “Presidential Citizens Medal,” prompting President-elect Trump to blast her as a “warmonger of low intelligence.” (h/t modernity.news)

Watch the bizarre interaction between Biden and Liz Cheney today…

He jerks her hand back a few times and she rolls her eyes at one point…

Also he looks like he freezes when he’s handing her the bs award… and just holds on to it for too long.

He is not well. pic.twitter.com/8srEU5yk7B

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) January 3, 2025

Do they each get a piece of Marina Abramović art as well? Hopefully none of these clumsy rascals gets a black eye at the afterparty.

Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news,

MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell elicited backlash Friday for declaring that US veterans represent a greater terror threat than the undocumented illegal immigrants crossing over the border in their hundreds of thousands per month.

Reacting to the two new year’s day terror attacks on his program watched by practically nobody now, O’Donnell declared “The simple fact is, this country has suffered more deadly terrorism at the hands of American-born citizens who are veterans of the United States military than people who have crossed into this country at the southern border.”

“It is very clear from the evidence that if you want to worry about terrorism in this country, the United States Army is a much bigger problem than the southern border,” he further proclaimed.

O’Donnell then referred to Timothy McVeigh, the domestic terrorist behind the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, to argue that American veterans have carried out more violent acts in the US than illegal immigrants have.

“Timothy McVeigh parked a truck outside that building loaded with explosives in an act of homegrown American terrorism,” O’Donnell stated.

He continued, “Timothy McVeigh’s hatred of the American government was not tamed in any way by his service in the American military. So, too, with America’s latest terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve, with an American military veteran driving a pickup truck through a crowd to murder 14 people.”

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell: “It is very clear from the evidence that if you want to worry about terrorism in this country, the United States Army is a much bigger problem than the southern border.” pic.twitter.com/b5859v9QIm

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 3, 2025

The host conveniently left out the thousands of illegals that have been convicted of violent crimes, even murders, and instead suggested that every military vet is a potential truck bomber.

You really can’t hate the media enough.

— Frank Bojazi (@FrankBojazi) January 3, 2025

Thanks for sharing what you overlords told you to tell us.

— Jeanette Monos (@monos_jeanette) January 3, 2025

Excusing the terrorism of the cartels and sex traffickers, I’m just going to bookmark this for later…

— The Vocal Vet (@TheVocalVet) January 3, 2025

So the media supports the US sending warriors to go fight wars for their buddy politician friends; then they use the veteran status of these warriors as an excuse to not criticize the invasion at our southern border; and the real problem is veterans? That’s narrative building.

— Denis Michaels (@Denis_Michaels1) January 4, 2025

I don’t remember the 9/11 attacks be perpetrated by Military Veterans.

He might have forgotten about that day, we haven’t.

— David Addams (@dwa16007) January 4, 2025

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, while also announcing Ken Howery for US ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. 

Trump’s reopening of discussions about purchasing rare earth minerals-rich Greenland came just before Christmas and were followed by the usual kerfuffle from the liberal media.

But, as the Wall Street Journal reports, during his New Year speech, Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede emphasized his desire to pursue independence from Denmark, its former colonial ruler, marking a significant change in the rhetoric surrounding the Arctic island’s future.

As a reminder, Greenland – the world’s biggest island which is home to about 57,000 people – was a Danish colony until it become a self-governing territory of Denmark in 1979.

Since 2009, Greenland has held the right to declare independence through a referendum.

Egede’s speech also expressed a desire to strengthen Greenland’s cooperation with other countries.

“It is about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future, also with regard to who we will cooperate closely with, and who our trading partners will be,” he said…

“It is now time for our country to take the next step. Like other countries in the world, we must work to remove the obstacles to cooperation – which we can describe as the shackles of colonialism – and move forward,” he said.

As Mike Shedlock notes, Greenland – whose capital Nuuk is nearer to New York than Copenhagen – is rich in mineral, oil, and natural gas resources, but it relies on annual subsidies from Denmark worth some €500 million a year.

Home to a large US Air Force air base, Greenland is strategically vital for the US military. Following Trump’s latest remarks about buying the island last month, Denmark announced it would increase defence spending there by at least €1.3 billion — though Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the timing was just an “irony of fate”.

Of course, none of this means that Mr. Egede welcomes a U.S. acquisition. Kathryn Armstrong reported for the BBC after the most recent Trump declaration of interest last month:

Greenland has once again said it is not for sale after US President-elect Donald Trump said he wanted to take control of the territory.

“Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland,” its prime minister said on Monday, a day after Trump repeated comments about the Arctic island that he first made several years ago.

But if Greenland is rapidly moving toward a split with Denmark, it will likely be seeking a partner to offer security, as well as new commercial opportunities. The BBC report quoted Mr. Egede:

“We must not lose our long struggle for freedom. However, we must continue to be open to co-operation and trade with the whole world, especially with our neighbours,” he said.

Responding to Trump’s latest comments, Egede last week said that Greenland is “not for sale and will never be for sale”.

Danish voters may well have something to say about that…

Make Greenland Great Again?

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A hospital system in Illinois this week issued a mandate that everyone entering its facilities must wear a mask due to “widespread respiratory illnesses” in the area.

“Starting Tuesday, December 31, all employees, patients and visitors at our hospitals are required to wear masks due to the widespread respiratory illnesses in our communities, including COVID-19, influenza and RSV,” said OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, based in Peoria, Illinois, in a statement posted on Facebook.

“Additionally, we are implementing a temporary visitor restriction: only two visitors (age 18+) per patient at a time. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our community safe.”

It comes as Rush University Medical Center, based in Chicago, said in a statement that starting on Dec. 2, it will require “patients and visitors to wear hospital-approved masks when they are in clinical offices, waiting areas and patient registration.”

“The policy coincides with the respiratory virus season, when the spread of flu, RSV, and COVID-19 rises,” it wrote.

New Jersey Hospital Appears to Mandate Masks

The largest hospital system in New Jersey, RWJ Barnabas Health, said in December that visitors and patients in its facilities “are expected” to wear a face mask. Masking is also being “strongly encouraged” for staff and visitors at the company’s outpatient and medical group facilities in the state, according to a statement released in mid-December.

“Wear an appropriate face mask. We will offer you a new mask for source control or may ask you to replace your own mask with a hospital-supplied mask,” the hospital said to patients and visitors.

For outpatient and medical group buildings, “masking is strongly encouraged for all providers, staff, patients, visitors and vendors at all times in the presence of patients,” it said.

RWJ Barnabas added that “masking is REQUIRED for all patients who present with respiratory symptoms, as well as all staff members and providers caring for them.”

New York State Issues Mandate

As of mid-December, New York state health care workers who have not received an influenza vaccine have to wear masks when working in places where residents or patients are present in facilities.

In a Dec. 18 statement, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald declared that the “flu is prevalent across the State means healthcare personnel who are not vaccinated against the flu this season need to take extra precautions and wear a mask in healthcare facilities to avoid exposing sick patients and those most vulnerable to complications of the virus.”

His declaration on requiring masking did not mention COVID-19, only influenza. During the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local governments, as well as private businesses, required masks due to the virus.

California Counties Mandate Masks

Starting in November, multiple counties in California’s Bay Area required masks for staff working at hospitals and health care facilities. The mandate will end on March 31 of this year.

Counties with mask requirements for employees include San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Napa, and San Mateo. But Santa Clara County, which includes San Jose, and San Mateo County also require visitors and patients in those health care facilities to wear masks, according to an earlier review from The Epoch Times.

Aside from the county mandates, a hospital system in Monterey reinstated a mandate for patients, visitors, and staff around the same time.

Respiratory Virus Numbers Rising

Late last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that cases of respiratory illnesses associated with RSV, influenza, and COVID-19 are increasing across the country.

Emergency department visits for RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, are still high, the CDC said in a statement. Flu-related emergency department visits are at moderate levels, the agency said.

COVID-19 activity is also “increasing in most areas of the country, with high COVID-19 wastewater levels and increasing emergency department visits and laboratory percent positivity,” the agency added.

Robert Barnes, an attorney for raw milk producer and Amish farmer Amos Miller, revealed on X late Friday night that the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania “affirmed the trial court decision allowing Amish farmer Amos Miller to continue to make his wonderful food available to customers outside the state.” 

Big win today for #FoodFreedom as Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the trial court decision allowing #Amish farmer #AmosMiller to continue to make his wonderful food available to customers outside the state. Thank you to everyone who spoke out for Amos!

— Robert Barnes (@barnes_law) January 4, 2025

MASSIVE LEGAL WIN FOR @barnes_law & AMOS MILLER: Amos can continue selling his products outside the state of Pennsylvania.

This is incredible. Well done, Barnes! pic.twitter.com/Spx12bUc72

— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) January 4, 2025

Recall that the government raided Miller’s farm in early 2024 for selling raw milk, organic eggs, grass-fed beef, and other nutritious foods to consumers, citing repeated failures to comply with overly burdensome federal farming regulations.

Footage of the search being conducted inside Amos Miller’s organic farm store in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/iKUDbo9CcR

— The Lancaster Patriot (@TheLanPatriot) January 4, 2024

Big Gov’t Raids Small Amish Farmer Who Refuses To Participate In The Industrial Meat/Milk Complex https://t.co/3W8ItfuWd8

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 6, 2024

The USDA tried to bring Miller’s farm into compliance with federal regulations, but the Amish farmer spent many months in court rather than obtaining a license to produce raw milk for sale. 

Since last January’s search warrant, the “Pennsylvania Dutch” community became outraged and mobilized in a rare vote in federal elections for Trump-Vance to stand up against rogue federal agencies captured by the processed foods industrial complex.

“Tremendous diabolical government overreach. It had nothing to do with food safety & everything to do with government control. If I recall correctly, the department responsible for “food safety” in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also put Amos Miller through hell along with the FDA. This overreach by tyrannical government forces must end,” one X user said. 

Here’s what others are saying about this big win for the Amish:

👏👏👏👏👏 we need more quality food options not less. The Amish have always provided quality products at reasonable cost ..the government should subsidize small farms and ranches not Big Food Corps who saturate foods with pesticides and Glyphosates .. 🙏🏾🙏🏾

— Cherie King (@1cheriebaby) January 4, 2025

The Amish are friends to the earth.

— Sam (@fallmysteries) January 4, 2025

This is such wonderful news for Mr. Miller and the great Amish community. Well done, sir.

— AmericanHeartlandMagazine (@USAHeartlandMag) January 4, 2025

Under the MAHA movement, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s food supply chain must be restored into the hands of the people – not continued mega corporations poisoning consumers with seed oils and highly processed foods.