out of

CONTEXT

A compilation of quotations on a variety of issues by national, state and regional writers, well-known personalities, just plain everyday people and from various publications collected by the editors of THE ADVANCE.

Quotes for our Times:

Terence P. Jeffrey, editor-in-chief of CNSnews.com: Congressman who disbelieves in God speaks at Christmas Tree Lighting.

The tree itself was covered with ornaments made by Californians. A number showed images of Smokey Bear. Some others showed images of Bigfoot, the mythical creature some imagine inhabits northern California.

But when I visited the tree this week, I could see no ornament that made any clear reference to the birth of Christ.

A Forest Service webpage that had requested Californians make the ornaments for this tree laid down a rule: 'U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree ornaments and tree skirts may not include logos, political, or religious affiliation or symbols, drug or alcohol references, be divisive or offensive.'

But they did call it a 'Christmas' tree.

Raymond Ibrahim, author, a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute: Christianity: The #1 recipient of hate crimes.

Of course, just as most hate crimes against Christians are not recorded as such, so too are the identities of those most committing these crimes often left out. Moreover, in a climate where the media do everything possible to conceal the identities of Muslim criminals caught red-handed, surely there will not be a peep to suggest that Muslims might be responsible when the evidence is not concrete.

After all, the 'news' is all about maintaining the narrative, one that paints Christians as aggressors and anyone and everyone else as victims — Muslims chief among them.

Greg Gutfeld, host of Gutfeld! and cohost of The Five: The Media has neither a soul, nor the will to search for one.

The media's realized they married a corpse, and it's starting to rot. But it's not just Joe who's rotting. It's the media. No one is buying their BS anymore. Not even the left.

So, like newlyweds returning from Barbados, Milbank [Dana Milbank, some old crank from The Washington Post] realizes the fun part is done and reality's set in. So he creates new BS to paper over the old BS. But hey, maybe we need more soul-searching.

James Jay Carafano, vice president of foreign and defense policy studies The Heritage Foundation: Whether he attacks Ukraine or not, Putin has already won.

Biden has a double risk. Having disastrously failed in Afghanistan, one more massive foreign policy reversal on his watch could prove politically fatal for the president. The lack of strong leadership now also risks letting NATO solidarity break up under Putin’s pressure.

Europe is a vital partner in today’s world. We can’t defend ourselves or the free world alone. We need a strong NATO. Putin looks to the current crisis as the next step in unraveling NATO. If Biden allows him to succeed, he will put all of us at risk.