Thursday, December 25, 2025

Christmas Eve With J.R.R. Tolkien

 Amy Curtis

 "As Tate says, the letters showed how Tolkien's mind worked and his creative storytelling process. It was a glimpse into the groundwork that would become 'The Lord of the Rings.' "


"It's Christmas Eve, and kids around the world are waiting for the magical moment when Father Christmas, Santa Claus himself, shows up and leaves presents underneath the tree. There's a joy in that anticipation that cannot be described.

"For British author J.R.R. Tolkien, professor and author, the magic of Christmas took form in the shape of illustrated stories and letters from Father Christmas, each complete with a North Pole stamp designed by Tolkien.
"The first North Pole stamp cost "two kisses" and was given to Tolkien's three-year-old son, John.
"The card inside featured a man in a red coat with the caption "Me" and the picture of a snow-covered, domed structure captioned "My House."
"For the next two decades, Tolkien kept up this tradition. The letters contained stories of life at the North Pole with Father Christmas, his Polar Bear assistant, and many other characters.
"As Tate describes them, they weren't simply letters. "They were miniature works of art and storytelling." . . .  Much more here...

When the Churches Go Silent at Christmas

"Why Christianity endures while Europe locks its church doors."

The American Spectator  

"The Islamists alone did not crush Christmas in Western Europe. They had plenty of help from the secular Left. From people the Muslims would toss off rooftops or veil once they took full power."

"Even in a deeply cynical time, Christmas remains the most joyous holiday of the year for most people, despite the communistic conspiracy against it — the Democratic Party, academia, the legacy news media, and the entertainment media. Because the concept of a Godsent male Savior come to Earth to save Man from sin demolishes their unsacred cows — the State as the supreme judge of morality, truth as a personal interpretation.

"This godless philosophy has destroyed Western Europe. The Christian faith that built its civilization and sustained it through a thousand years of darkness has been abandoned, hollowed. Consequently, the two forces Europe soundly defeated — Islam and Marxism — are now conquering it with little resistance, enabled by the nations’ leaders.

"Induced violence. In Germany, for instance, the beloved Christmas markets, the Weihnachtsmärkte, were scrubbed this year. Evil feeds on fear, and removing a spiritual counter to it only hastens its advance.

"Many Christmases ago, I took my first weeklong vacation from USA Today to visit a girlfriend, Jenny, in Dijon, France, where she was studying at the Centre International d’Études Françaises. One chilly night, we left her dorm to take a stroll around the town. Bypassing a small vintage church, we heard the most beautiful violin version of Arcangelo Corelli’s Christmas Concerto (Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 [1714]) emanating from within. The door was unlocked, and we went inside.

"The pews were empty. But on the stage stood nine young musicians in angelic white — six girls on string instruments, three men on horns, and their conductor — obviously rehearsing for a special event. On this night, however, Jenny and I were the whole audience, and we sat there for maybe an hour, enchanted and enthralled, aware we were enjoying something special.

"Jenny died of cancer around eight years ago. Her sister Caroline gave me the sad news,  adding one tidbit. For many years before she passed, Jenny often brought up that magical night in a little French church as the most wonderful of her life. That made me happy, if now melancholic. For a memory such as Jenny and I enjoyed will be shared by no one else ever again.

"Odds are no church in France today would be trumpeting classical Christian music out to the night for fear of the Moors. The church door would be locked, perhaps permanently. That is if it were not now one of the dozen new mosques built this century in Dijon, where only one stood in 1990." . . .

“Our Kwanzaa celebrations are one of my favorite childhood memories,” gushed Kamala Harris in 2020. “The whole family would gather around across multiple generations and we’d tell stories and light the candles.” That’s a story all right. Kwanzaa was created in 1966, Harris in 1964, and the Kwanzaa con didn’t catch on till the 1980s."

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Most Corrupt Series: Gavin Newsom | California's Price of Ambition

FORGOTTEN HISTORY

"California Governor Gavin Newsom has built a political career that has taken him from San Francisco City Hall to the highest office in the nation’s largest state. But behind the carefully polished image of a reformer lies a trail of political deals, lucrative connections, and decisions that critics say reveal a pattern of deep corruption. From lavish campaign donations and insider relationships with billionaires to controversial policies that have enriched allies while the state faces homelessness, crime, and a staggering cost of living, Newsom’s record raises serious questions about who truly benefits from his leadership. His ties to the Getty family and powerful tech donors have fueled his rise, but they also fuel suspicions of pay-to-play politics and backroom deals. This episode of the Most Corrupt series investigates the money, influence, and hidden power structures surrounding Gavin Newsom. We lay out the documented facts, the political maneuvering, and the unresolved questions that could define his ambitions for higher office—and the potential cost to the people of California. Written and hosted by Colin D. Heaton. Forgotten History is a 10th Legion Pictures Production."


"I am a third generation California. What most people don’t realize about our dictatorial governor is he has always been this way, and we have tried twice to recalling him. But some how magic votes in the 11th hour have saved him. In the last election, the people had put forth a bill that required all bills to be a single subject with a clear and accurate title, no riders, no hidden agendas, no double negatives or Confusing titles. Accurate and clear analysis of cost. Even though The bill had more than enough public signatures to be placed on the ballot. Newsom went to the California Supreme Court and had it removed from the ballot so the public never saw it. Newsome also signed into law AB 205. Which has a hidden section section that allows large solar and wind companies, even out of state, to go directly to the California energy commission to obtain permits to build. Bypassing the local county representative, the local city council, and the local population. Basically a dictatorship. If he treats the people of his own state this way imagine how he would treat the country." From the comments to this video.

Governor Of California PANICS After Hundreds Of Gas Stations Are Shutting Down?! Video. "California faces an unprecedented fuel infrastructure challenge as 473 independent gas stations prepare to close on January 1st, 2026.
"In this video, we break down what's actually driving this crisis. A 2014 state law requires all underground storage tanks to be upgraded from single-walled to double-walled systems by the end of 2025. The upgrades cost approximately $2 million per station — a financial barrier many independent operators cannot overcome. "We'll dive into the RUST loan program that was designed to help small stations cover upgrade costs, the multi-year application delays that left owners unable to complete work before the deadline, and the $5,000 per day penalties that force immediate closure for non-compliant stations. "Finally, we look at the human and economic impact — rural communities losing their only fuel source, the gap between electric vehicle adoption rates and gasoline infrastructure decline, and what happens to fuel prices when competition disappears from local markets. "If you want to verify the facts, in this video, here are our sources:"

U.S. Economy Grows 4.3%, Fastest in Two Years, Smashing Expectations

Breitbart Economy 

"Donald Trump’s trade policies appear to have added to growth in the third quarter, as exports rose 8.8 percent while imports fell 4.7 percent."

  "The U.S. economy grew this summer at the fastest pace in two years, far outpacing economists’ forecasts.

"The Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product—the government’s official economic scorecard—rose at a seasonally and inflation-adjusted 4.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter. The report on the July through September period was delayed due to the shutdown.

“Today’s blockbuster, expectation-smashing GDP report is the latest proof that President Trump’s America First trade and economic agenda continues to turn the page on the Biden economic disaster: American consumers are spending, and American exports are surging,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “President Trump built the greatest economy in the world in his first term, and he’s in the process of doing it all over again. Americans can count on benefitting from a historic economic boom in 2026.”

"Gross domestic product is a broad measure of the goods and services produced across the economy. Economists had expected the economy to grow at a 3.2 percent annual rate after the second quarter’s 3.8 percent growth.

"Prior to the inflation adjustment, the economy grew at an 8.2 percent rate.

"Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, a slice of GDP that some economists view as a clearer measure of the health of the private sector,  grew at a 3.0 percent annual rate, up from three percent in the second quarter. This suggests that demand from consumers and businesses remained strong and gathered a bit of steam over the summer." . . .  More...

Melania Reigns as the Queen of Christmas, Trouncing Jill Biden and Michelle Obama in New Poll

"Results revealed 61% favored Melania's style against Jill Biden's 2024 efforts (39%), while an even stronger 67% chose Melania over Michelle Obama's 2016 decor (33%). Remarkably, the preference crossed party lines, with Democrats selecting Melania's decorations 54% over Jill's and 62% over Michelle's." . . .

RedState    "A new poll has crowned Melania Trump as the undisputed champion of White House Christmas decorations, with Americans overwhelmingly preferring her efforts over those of former First Ladies Jill Biden and Michelle Obama. 

"Glad to see Melania class up the place a little bit once more.

"Her theme this season, "Home Is Where The Heart Is," shows the elegance and character of the White House that has been missing for years.

“This Christmas, let’s celebrate the love we hold within ourselves and share it with the world around us," Mrs. Trump said in a statement. "After all, wherever we are, we can create a home filled with grace, radiance, and endless possibilities.”

"That grace apparently shone brightly, with a vast majority of Americans in a new Daily Mail poll enjoying her decorations over those of her predecessors." . . .More...

Yet another classic Christmas tune ruined: The Woke Claims Jingle Bells Is Racist

The American Spectator   

The Spectator P.M. Podcast hosts Ellie Gardey Holmes and Lyrah Margo point out the absurd claims about the song’s origin. They also criticize the woke Left for their attempts to ruin Christmas.

A ‘Drag for Palestine’ fundraiser is the perfect microcosm of leftism

 Andrea Widburg  

"Yup: For two solid Days, the most flamboyant members of the LGBTQ+ cohort are going to be shaking their booties and fake boobs, not just to scream in the streets, which is what leftists like to do, but actually to raise money for their killers."

From this...

"Sometimes I see things on the internet that leave me truly stunned. That was the case when I saw the post entitled “Drag for Palestine,” advertising a two-day-long “drag event” in Toronto, with “all proceeds going to UNRWA.” It takes a special fusion of ignorance and ideology for people to come together, not just to protest, which is now a routine leftist pastime, but actually to fund an ideology that routinely executes them.

"Muslim countries are famously intolerant of homosexuality:

"Homosexuality is a codified capital offense in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Mauritania, and Brunei, although it’s not always enforced in the last two. It’s not on the books but is routinely enforced in Afghanistan, Somalia, and the Islamic parts of Nigeria.

"People in Gaza and the West Bank are completely aligned with these sentiments. Although homosexuality is not technically illegal under state law, it’s an offense under sharia law, so homosexuals, whether real or suspected, are brutally persecuted:

For LGBTQ+ Palestinians in Gaza, life is a constant peril. Human rights organizations have documented numerous cases where Hamas has executed individuals suspected of being gay or lesbian. These executions are often publicized through videos and photos as a method of instilling fear and demonstrating the regime’s strict adherence to its interpretation of Sharia law. The intent is clear: to eliminate any form of dissent and maintain a strict moral code as defined by their interpretation of Islamic law. 

 Hamas’ treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals includes brutal practices such as executions and torture, and the US State Department confirms that both Hamas — and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank — persecute gay people. Reports of this oppression are distressingly common. Such acts are not only a violation of basic human rights, but also a clear indication of the regime’s intolerance and cruelty towards LGBTQ+ individuals.

"Ironically, the only safe place in the whole region for them is Israel." . . .

"Iran and Egypt argue that the Pride event contradicts their cultural and religious values. Both countries criminalize gay relationships and in Iran it is punishable by the death penalty. In some instances, they throw homosexuals off rooftops."

. . . to this

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Come All Ye Fake Christians; My handy guide to spotting them.

Ann Coulter; Substack

"In honor of Christmas, this week we’ll discuss the worst advertisement for my religion: Christians. Sometimes it seems as if there are more fake, phony, fraud Christians than real Christians, but that’s because I read The New York Times (my North Star, which I believe implicitly).

"While not dispositive, it’s at least a red flag when the Times writes respectfully about a person’s Christianity.

"We’ll begin with Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.

"Last year, Lankford negotiated a secret deal with the Democrats that would have formalized our country’s surrender to open borders. The so-called “bipartisan border security bill” -- Lankford is not only allegedly a “Christian,” but, also allegedly, a “Republican” -- codified Joe Biden’s illegal and treasonous border policies, requiring all future presidents to continue admitting millions of illegal aliens every year, just like Biden did, in violation of existing law.

"(What’s the matter with you, Oklahoma? How could a state like yours end up with a senator like this?)

"Naturally, the February 2024 Times article on this wonderful bipartisan border bill stressed Lankford’s Christianity, noting that he “previously ran the largest Christian youth camp in the country and has spoken often about how his faith guides his policy positions.” In this one case, the Times did not refer to Christians’ authoritarianism, homophobia, fear of “the other,” etc.

"The photo that ran with the article showed Lankford piously praying with his family, eyes closed and heads bowed, in front of an audience. It’s the gayest photo I’ve ever seen. (At the Times, that’s a plus.)

"In a May 2024 article about Christian parents nonplussed when their sons start wearing skirts and calling themselves “Tulip,” there could be no mistaking the good guys for the bad guys.

"The appalled parents, according to the Times, are “afraid of change,” expressing “anti-trans fear and zeal,” holding “deeply ingrained notions of masculinity and femininity,” who have “mocked, kicked out and denied communion” to transgenders. (Editor’s note: The “deeply ingrained notions” are also known as “reality.”) These people leveled “vociferous opposition to everything from drag shows to hormone treatments.” (What squares.)

"By contrast, the pro-trans Christian counselors are “expert voices,” trying to create “a space of curiosity as opposed to judgment,” who say things like, “we have to allow for questions” and instruct parents of trans kids to use their preferred pronouns “as a form of hospitality.”

"(They’d also appreciate it you’d all stop “dead naming” Jesus’ parents. All hail the Blessed Virgin Harry and their life partner Josephine.)Pretending a boy is a girl and a girl is a boy isn’t nuts, it’s a “celebratory embrace of new identities.” Just sign right here, and we’ll celebrate by whisking your son off for his penilectomy.

"Notwithstanding the happy face the Times tried to put on teenage mental illness, the Goebbels-like fad of poisoning and mutilating kids seems to be falling out of favor. If so, one line from the article is looking pretty good: “In many ways, conservative Christians have become the face of the American anti-trans movement.' ”

Overlooked No More: Inclusive Bullies!

 Ann Coulter  

"What is the point of enforcing a total embargo on stories about the epidemic of black-on-white violence — as is evident in the crime statistics — while billboarding a one-off story about a multiracial gang that beats up multiracial victims?" A.C.


"The New York Times must have thought it had died and gone to heaven when it discovered a group of violent high school bullies — and they weren’t all black! Members of Arizona’s “Gilbert’s Goons” were not only multiracial — white, Hispanic and black — but they victimized one student who appears to be half-black. The featured victim, Tristan, who was regularly wailed on by the Goons, is at least a “person of color,” judging by the multiple photos of him that ran with the article.
"Meanwhile, white kids at majority black high schools are subjected to daily beat-downs; internet videos regularly show black teenagers sadistically torturing their white classmates — never the other way around; and “the community” responds by saying the white victims had it coming.
"The Department of Justice’s aggregate statistics are troubling but indisputable. From 2008 to 2021, per capita data show that blacks commit violence against whites 25 to 30 times more often than the reverse. In raw numbers, blacks assault whites 6.4 times more often than whites commit violence against blacks.
"Thus, for example:
— Just last week at North Atlanta High School, a black student attacked a white special needs kid with scissors, repeatedly stabbing him in the eye. As he walked away, the assailant hissedwhite bitch.” This suggests, at least to me, a racial dimension to the attack. The special needs kid never even fought back. 
— In August, three black high schoolers ganged up on a white kid, beating him in his dorm room at football camp. That ended the season for the victim — who also never fought back. The assailants’ family members and the NAACP objected to the black kids’ suspensions, because the FULL story was that the kid had used the “n-word” on social media. (Which, if true, suggests that he’s either a racist or an up-and-coming rap artist.) Not that it matters, but the victim denied ever using the mass murdering word. 

 — In June, a black girl at a Cape Cod high school slapped around a 15-year-old white girl, dragged her by the hair and forced her to lick the bathroom floor. An accomplice filmed the whole thing and posted it on Snapchat, naturally.

— In April, a white student, Austin Metcalf, was stabbed to death by Karmelo Anthony, a black competitor at a track meet in Frisco, Texas. The assailant’s family raised half a million dollars on GiveSendGo — for “legal expenses.” The victim’s family raised half that sum — for funeral expenses.

 "But the Times didn’t mention any of these attacks.

"So you can imagine my surprise when that same paper gave a whole magazine cover story — 6,400 words! — to some school toughs in Arizona. These used to be called “man bites dog” stories. Now we call them “white kid bullies black kid” stories." . . . More...

The Welcome Demise of Climate Change Catastrophism

4 Catastrophic Climate Predictions That Never Came True  "Scientists and pundits seem so certain we’re headed for global collapse and their predictions can be terrifying—especially if you’re young enough not to remember the last dozen times they predicted imminent collapse and were wrong. In each case, claims of impending environmental disaster were backed by allegedly irrefutable data and policymakers were encouraged to act before it was too late."

The Welcome Demise of Climate Change Catastrophism   "The public has grown skeptical, especially when faced with real problems like the cost of living."

                                            Having Solved Climate Change, Greta Thunberg  

                                                   Turns Attention To Middle East Peace


"As the American Left finally waking up from its decades-long climate catastrophism stupor? For years, climate alarmism has reigned as political catechism: The planet is burning, and only drastic action — deindustrialization, draconian regulation, even ceasing childbearing — could forestall certain apocalypse. Now, at least some signs are emerging that both the broader public and leading liberal voices may be recoiling from the doom and gloom.
"First, recent polling shows that the intensity of climate dread is weakening. According to a July 2025 report from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, while a majority (69 percent) of Americans still say global warming is happening, only 60 percent say it’s “mostly human-caused”; 28 percent attribute it mostly to natural environmental changes. A similar October 2025 study from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute found that “belief in human-driven climate change declined overall” since 2017.. . . 
"The climate alarm machine — powered by the twin engines of moral panic and groupthink homogeneity — is sputtering. When the public grows skeptical, when billionaire techno-philanthropists question the prevailing consensus, and when supposedly mainstream scientific projections reverse course, that’s a sign that the days of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth propaganda documentary and John Kerry’s “special presidential envoy for climate” globe-trotting vanity gig are officially over.
"Ultimately, no one stands to benefit more from this incipient trend toward climate sanity than the American people themselves. In an era where optimism can be hard to come by, the professed certitude of imminent environmental apocalypse is pretty much the least helpful thing imaginable. If one is seeking to plant the seeds of hope, nothing could be worse than lecturing to the masses that one is a climate change-“denying” misanthrope if he has the temerity to take his family on an airplane for a nice vacation or — egad! — entertain thoughts of having more children." . . .

Democrat hatred of Trump distorts reality; a permanent host position for Biden on "The View"?

 

Rich Terrell

COLUMNIST: Is Trump Derangement Syndrome real?    "The term "Trump Derangement Syndrome" is often used by supporters of President Donald Trump to discredit virtually any criticism of him. It is a convenient slur because it allows someone to sidestep actual criticism of Trump by suggesting that the person making the criticism is mentally flawed.

"In fact, a "deranged" person is worse than just "wrong": he is mentally incapable--in fact, dangerously so. Using this slur is a convenient way to dismiss a person rather than confront what they actually say. As such, it is completely dishonest.

"The slur has become so common that it is frequently referred to by the acronym TDS, as in the phrase "Your TDS is showing."

"Using the term Trump Derangement Syndrome is juvenile. Every time I hear it, I am reminded of arguments I remember from middle school. Someone would disagree with someone else in the playground, and the response would be, "Well, you're stupid."

"Even in middle school, I could see that responses like this are simply avoidance. The person using them apparently couldn't think of anything substantive to say and retreated into a dismissive insult. It didn't work then and doesn't work now.

"Does anyone actually have something that could be called Trump Derangement Syndrome? Perhaps. There are probably a few people who just hate everything about Trump and would never be able to concede that he could say or do anything positive. When Bill Clinton was president, there were a few Republicans who couldn't stand him. His voice put their teeth on edge. And I suspect there are a few Democrats who hate Trump in the same way those few Republicans hated Clinton." . . .

Democrat hatred of Trump distorts reality    . . . "President Trump further demonstrated zero interest in launching a full-scale war against the Iranian regime. As John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, tweeted, “The United States is not at war with Iran. The United States has not declared war on Iran. The United States did use military force to assist Israel in achieving a limited goal to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program.” Trump even optimistically announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on Monday – that Iran’s regime promptly broke.

"In short, Congressional Democrats bollixed things up. Going forward, they’d be wise to learn from former Massachusetts Democratic Congressional candidate Brianna Wu, who rightly observed, “A nation cannot survive if our partisanship overrides our national security."

Mar 08, 2024: Biden’s Toxic Nightmare of a Speech Made Americans Miss Trump | Opinion - Newsweek  . . . "It was reminiscent of his September 2022 speech in Philadelphia, which was marked by a deep red, almost demonic backdrop and dark threats about going to war with "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans [who] represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic." That unhinged language was resurrected in his State of the Union, reminding us that he has no intention of changing his destructive policy or rhetorical direction." . . .

Biden's past comments about MAGA Republicans come back to haunt him as White House spins 'garbage' remarks

I see a permanent gig on "The View" for Joe. TD

Governor Of California BROKE DOWN After $8.43 GAS PRICES Expert Prediction

Inspector James

Not my fault! Talk to the hands!

"California is facing a fuel crisis no one in Sacramento wants to admit.

"An expert forecast warns gas prices could surge to $8.43 per gallon, and instead of addressing the numbers, the Governor’s office went on the attack. In this video, we break down what’s really happening behind California’s skyrocketing gas prices — refinery shutdowns, collapsing fuel supply, aggressive regulations, and a political response that’s raising even more alarm. "Two major refineries are closing. Imports are stretched thin. Taxes and hidden surcharges keep climbing. And drivers are already paying the price at the pump. "Is this the worst fuel crisis since the 1970s? "Was this predictable — and preventable? "And why is California suddenly scrambling behind closed doors?"


Video: Crowd Roars as Bill Maher Puts Gavin Newsom In His Place With Truth Bombs "Look what he did to California, just imagine what he would do to the entire country "