Good Morning. I hope that you are enjoying this weekend, fully vaccinated and boosted, with family and friends. That new booster shot has been approved..be sure to get it. Call and see if your pharmacy has it.
Order your free COVID Tests., if you still can.
This week, the Gospel world lost a legend: Richard Smallwood.
Richard Smallwood, 77, Choral Leader and Composer of Gospel Hits, Dies
By Clay Risen
Dec. 31, 2025, 1:44 p.m. ET
He sold millions of albums with the Richard Smallwood Singers, and his songs, many influenced by classical music, were recorded by stars like Whitney Houston.
Richard Smallwood, a classically trained composer and singer who grafted Baroque influences onto traditional gospel sounds to create a steady stream of hits, many of which were later recorded by a long list of stars, including Stevie Wonder, Destiny’s Child and Whitney Houston, died on Tuesday in Sandy Spring, Md. He was 77.
His publicist, Bill Carpenter, said the death, in a rehabilitation facility, was from complications of kidney failure.
Mr. Smallwood emerged in the late 1970s as the head of his group the Richard Smallwood Singers, part of a wave of “progressive” gospel musicians who brought the sounds of the Black church into the musical mainstream.
After several years performing in Washington, their hometown, and other cities, the group released their first album, “The Richard Smallwood Singers,” in 1982. It spent 87 weeks on the Billboard Gospel charts.
Mr. Smallwood’s music was grounded in gospel traditions, and his lyrics always dealt with religious themes. But he also wove in secular and classical influences, making his work more widely appreciated but also somewhat controversial among gospel music purists.
“People in the industry said, ‘Why do you put that classical stuff in there?’” he said in a 2016 interview for the Grammy Awards website. “And I just said, ‘That’s me, that’s what I write.’”
At the same time, he resisted pressure to take out explicit references to Jesus and God in order to make his music palatable to more listeners.
“Then the song is completely watered down, and by the time they’re finished doctoring it so it can be accepted on a pop station, it’s actually not a gospel song anymore, as far as the message is concerned,” he told The Washington Post in 1989.
Mr. Smallwood was multitalented: He wrote and arranged the music, played piano and sang baritone. He was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, and he received four Dove Awards, given by the Gospel Music Association.
austerity is theft
@wideofthepost
Both Nick Shirley and his far right TikTok influencer mom relied on a guy they simply called “David” in their viral, baseless daycare videos. The Intercept has identified that man as a lobbyist and one time GOP candidate for AG, with a history of vile social media posts.
https://x.com/wideofthepost/status/2007915489704730783?s=20
The United States versus Elon R. Musk
@Needle_of_Arya
Teaching civics to students also includes showing how parliamentary democracies have certain functioning advantages over the American system that can never be duplicated over here.
Folks are getting on here asking for Democrats to do what liberal parties can do everywhere else.
12:30 PM · Jan 4, 2026
https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/2007882401310298410?s=20
The United States versus Elon R. Musk
@Needle_of_Arya
until the DSA movement came along, even the far left themselves understood that bicoastal liberalism was already a non-starter in the South, Midwest, Rust Belt & Northern Rockies
Bernie got them all gassed up & thinking otherwise, and it upset the entire Democratic Party balance
12:38 PM · Jan 4, 2026
https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/2007884325292028035?s=20
Democracy Docket
@DemocracyDocket
The battle for democracy is happening in courtrooms across the country.
Democracy Docket breaks down the legal fights that shape your voting rights. Our daily newsletters are clear, fast and 100% free. Subscribe now and stay ahead of the headlines.
https://x.com/DemocracyDocket/status/2007604390513782935?s=20
Rogue POTUS Staff
@RoguePOTUSStaff
We are 11 months away from an election the regime will try to steal, by seizing voting machines, sending in the National Guard, and made up accusations of fraud.
We need to plan now, by spending these months constantly calling attention to these plans as a preemptive defense.
9:00 AM · Jan 3, 2026
https://x.com/RoguePOTUSStaff/status/2007466987136659813?s=20
👑 Mr. Weeks 👑
@WonderKing82
All
You
Had
To
Do
Is
Vote
For
Kamala
Harris
And
Hillary
Clinton
But
You
Didn’t
So
Now
We
Live
With
The
Ramifications
Of
Your
Actions
5:59 PM · Jan 3, 2026
https://x.com/WonderKing82/status/2007602629275431006?s=20
Ian L Richardson
@ianrich15813274
It is a tragedy that 250 years on since the founding of the first modern democracy, the US is now lead by the very thing the Founding Fathers sought desperately to avoid – rule by the capricious whims of one man.
1:54 AM · Jan 3, 2026
https://x.com/ianrich15813274/status/2007359864167948487?s=20
ProPublica
@propublica
Teressa found herself raging at what she labeled the insurance company’s “weaponized incompetence.”
Fax numbers were wrong. Key records were no longer available online.
The insurer wouldn’t even give her access to her husband’s medical records.
https://x.com/propublica/status/2007602915242897517?s=20
Democracy Docket
@DemocracyDocket
NEW: In her opening act as Attorney General, Pam Bondi demanded access to the “complete Epstein files,” promising Americans transparency. Nearly a year later, the files are under lock and key with Trump’s DOJ, and we remain in the dark, Marc Elias writes.
https://x.com/DemocracyDocket/status/2007482337873863159?s=20
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊