Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day. 

TOP O' THE MORNIN'

AmFest: Rob Schneider Helps Out Clueless Dems Who Still Can't Figure Out Why They Lost to Trump

Fittingly, Schneider not only thanked TPUSA's Charlie Kirk for inviting him to speak, but X owner and incoming DOGE co-administrator, Elon Musk for a pretty sweet share of an X post with his remarks--and for saving free speech for all of us.

BREAKING: Biden Commutes Federal Death Row Sentences

That his conscience leads him to conclude the use of the death penalty must be stopped at the federal level may be debatable, but it's difficult then to square the move with the exclusion of Bowers, Roof, and Tsarnaev unless one infers a political calculus is involved.

Scott Jennings Rampages Across CNN, Destroys Van Jones and Then a Full Panel on Elon Musk

If Trump is a ruthless dictator ready to turn America into his personal fiefdom, then he can't also be a powerless puppet being controlled by Musk.

WHAT'S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill...

The critters are all out for the holiday, so we won't be hearing much from the Hill until after the first of the year. Last week was wild enough, I suppose, with all the battles waged over the continuing resolution to fund the government and other last-minute moves as they wind down the 118th Congress.

I think I'll use this holiday lull in congressional activity to highlight some of the stories that, as Jennifer Oliver O'Connell so aptly puts it, "flew under the radar":

Stuff That Flew Under the Radar: The Social Security Fairness Act—Why It Matters

White House What's Up

There is not a thing on President Joe Biden's schedule for Monday aside from receiving the Daily Brief. He must be tuckered out from issuing those death row commutations.

Full Court Press...

Accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione is due in court in New York on Monday. Apparently, this means it's time for a rally outside the courthouse. These folks certainly have an interesting set of priorities. 

The far-left are organizing and promoting a rally for murder suspect Luigi Mangione in Manhattan. pic.twitter.com/hwNrwH8vio

— Andy Ngo 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) December 23, 2024

MORNING MUSING

Happy Festivus, y'all! The day has arrived and it's time to air our grievances. Here, I'll share one: There are still 28 days left in Joe Biden's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad presidency and he's still finding ways to muck things up. I'm torn between wanting to watch him heed First Lady Jill's reported urging to "burn the whole thing down" and covering my eyes with my fingers crossed, hoping he doesn't exact any more damage between now and January 20. And for all of those media and staff converts suddenly acknowledging that, yeah, he's been pretty out of it for a long while — like the rest of us have been loudly pointing out for years now — BAH HUMBUG!

LIGHTER FARE 

Frosty...the cheeseman? 

“What’s your favorite Christmas dish?”

Me: pic.twitter.com/KRY2zRe3Nm

— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) December 23, 2024