89 thoughts on “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

        1. Good Morning Filly!

          it’s different (lol) with crafting supplies–you might only need 2 inches of lace or a scrap of fabric–but if you don’t have it, you have to buy more.

          My one friend bought all sorts of flannel fabric at a yard sale and gave it to me as a gift. The pieces weren’t large enough to make shirts or anything, so I put them in my ?? bin (what will i do with this bin…lol). Then one day my granddaughter asked me if i could make goat coats for the baby goats..and that bin came to mind. used up a whole bunch of flannel to make those coats. and I am saving the rest in case she needs to replace those at some point.

          now I have some knit snake fabric that i’ve had for 20 years…if anyone can think of something for that, i’d be happy…lol

          Liked by 1 person

  1. Good Morning All!

    sometime in the middle of the night, a large crash outside woke us both up. But since it was cold outside and so warm and snuggly in bed, we decided to go back to sleep and worry about it in the morning. It turned out a gust of wind picked up the cookie sheet we use under the ash pan we use when we empty the wood stove and crashed it into the large ash can. Since they’re both metal they made a loud noise, but nothing else was amiss. gusty winds again today it seems.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Smart move!!! Not that cold here – 37 and destined to possibly make it to 60 today & tomorrow!!!! Ha! Forecast: Saturday: 60 – Sunday: 24!!!! Talk about a quick turnaround!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Good Morning Filly!

        Thank you for the card! we got to the PO yesterday on our way to walmart.

        walmart was busy but they had plenty of registers open and things moved pretty quickly. I saw a few scant New Year’s Eve decorations and whatnot out, but an entire aisle of Valentine’s merchandise was out already!

        Liked by 1 person

          1. cool!
            almost every time i go to walmart, I have to find someone to help me get the singe boxes of tissues on a shelf I can’t reach. the last few times i went, I found a nice young man (tall kid–very polite) to help me and when i apologized last time, I said I’m sorry, i can’t reach the tissues–could you please help me?
            as i said–totally polite young man came into the aisle and said, gees…no wonder. the tissues were on the very top shelf AND pushed to the back of that shelf. he got them down for me and i thanked him.
            this week? ALL the tissues were moved to the FRONT of the shelf–still at the top, but I could (just) reach them in the front as they were.
            nice young man!!

            Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh my, yes, the pain on my shins AND my big toe! We always rode in flip-flops or barefoot and I used to scrape the bottom of my big toe on the cement!!!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Wall Street Apes
    @WallStreetApes
    California Assemblyman confirms illegals are receiving healthcare and not only are California taxpayers paying to it but the entire country is

    Gavin Newsom created a loophole to get 1:1 funding from the federal government on noncitizen healthcare

    “This past year, we spent $9.6 billion on illegal immigrant health care —The media has actually been lying to people saying that no federal dollars goes to illegal. That is fundamentally wrong.”

    “Then what most people don’t realize are the games that they’re playing because we expanded Medi-Cal access towards emergency departments. Emergency departments are actually backfilled and funded one for one dollars from the federal government.

    So if an illegal immigrant uses the emergency room at all, they are bringing in federal dollars that are being spent on them.”

    “So it is a lie when they say that there are, there is no federal dollars going to illegal immigrants. California is doing it. The media is lying to you.”

    Liked by 1 person

  3. student debt holders in default will see garnishment in JanuaryFTA

    Starting the week of Jan. 7, the Education Department expects around 1,000 defaulted student loan borrowers to receive notices of administrative wage garnishment, the spokesperson said. After that, the number of notified borrowers will continue to increase. -CNBC

    While the US government can seize borrowers’ federal tax refunds, wages, Social Securiity and disability benefits, the Education Department can legally seize up to 15% of a student loan holder’s after-tax income to apply toward their debt.

    Trending: This One Issue Is Driving Gen Z to the Right

    More than 42 million Americans have student loan debt, which now exceeds $1.6 trillion.

    There are currently more than 5 million student loan borrowers in default, a number which could explode to roughly 10 million borrowers soon, the Education Department said in April.

    https://thelibertydaily.com/education-department-start-garnishing-wages-defaulted-student-loan/

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Just The News: “Harvard Law School Professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz, who previously represented Jeffrey Epstein, warned the public Tuesday night that the latest files relating to his former client was full of “fake documents” and “false accusations.” 

    The Justice Department released the eighth set of documents related to the late convicted sex offender overnight, which consisted of nearly 30,000 pages that the department claimed includes “untrue and sensationalist claims made against President [Donald] Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.” 

    Dershowitz echoed the warning and lambasted the mainstream media, accusing it of labeling “everybody who ever filed a complaint against Epstein as a victim or as a survivor.”

    “What I see is a lot of fake documents, a lot of false accusations,” he said on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast. “The media refers to everybody who ever filed a complaint against Epstein as a victim or as a survivor. Many of them never met Epstein.”

    Dershowitz highlighted a couple of instances where accusers had to recant their stories, including a woman who claimed she had video evidence of Trump, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having sex with children. 

    “There are a lot of fake stories out there, and what’s going on is a repeat of McCarthyism of the 1950s,” Dershowitz said. “These survivors want to put out the accusations, but they want their names to be redacted so that you can’t face your accuser. They want only information that is negative about them.”

    The former Epstein attorney also praised Trump for defending Clinton after the Justice Department released images of the former president with women in a hot tub and pool whose identities were concealed by redacting their faces.

    “I think President Trump was absolutely correct to point out how bad it was for Bill Clinton,” Dershowitz said. “I think that was the first bipartisan moment I’ve seen in a long time. President Trump, obviously doesn’t love Bill Clinton, saying, ‘unfair’ to show those pictures of Bill Clinton in a hot tub. We’ve all been in hot tubs.”

    The documents were part of the Justice Department’s investigation into Epstein, which Congress forced it to release under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. More documents are expected to be released in the coming weeks.”

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Just The News: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stinging blow to Europe on Tuesday by imposing visa restrictions on European officials who “led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose.”

    “The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,” Rubio posted on X. “Today, the State Department will take steps to bar leading figures of the global censorship-industrial complex from entering the United States. We stand ready and willing to expand this list if others do not reverse course.”

    The order targets five people who have “advanced censorship crackdowns” on American companies and speakers. However, the secretary did not name the individuals.

    Rubio said he determined that the five individuals’ “entry, presence or activities” in the country could have serious foreign policy consequences for the U.S. and is thereby imposing visa restrictions on “agents of the global censorship-industrial complex,” who will be barred from entering the United States. 

    “President Trump has been clear that his America First foreign policy rejects violations of American sovereignty,” the secretary said in a statement. “Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors targeting American speech is no exception.”

    Liked by 1 person

  6. “The Linchpin for Overthrowing Maduro: Hugo Carvajal Deserves a Pardon — Carvajal could be the linchpin in bringing the Venezuelan regime down without a messy land invasion, which could backfire like it did in Afghanistan or Iraq.”

    Roger Stone, Dec 24, 2025

    EXCERPT: “Earlier this month, former Venezuelan Congressman and military intelligence official Hugo Carvajal Barrios wrote a letter to President Trump to atone for helping to transform Venezuela from the most prosperous nation in South America to a socialist dump that uses violence and drug-dealing to spread its poisonous ideology throughout the region.

    “The regime I served is not merely hostile—it is at war with you, using drugs, gangs, espionage, and even your own democratic processes as weapons. President Trump’s policies against the Maduro criminal regime are not just justified, but necessary and proportionate to the threat. He may even be underestimating what the regime is prepared to do to hold onto power. They have contingency plans for every extreme scenario to ensure they never relinquish control,” Carvajal wrote.

    Carvajal broke with the Maduro regime and abdicated from Venezuela in 2017. He is not appealing to President Trump as part of a desperate ploy to avoid culpability for his crimes. Carvajal is among the most well-connected insiders who is ready, willing and able to help President Trump achieve strategic success in Venezuela, which has become the core mission of his foreign policy agenda in the Americas.

    WHO IS CARVAJAL?

    Hugo Carvajal Barrios served in the Special Forces Unit of the Venezuelan Army and became one of the most trusted lieutenants of former President Hugo Chavez, rising to the rank of General. Carvajal was director of Venezuela’s military intelligence agency, the Division de lnteligencia Militar (”DIM”) from 2004 to 2011 and then again from 2013 to 2014. He was also elected to the Venezuelan National Assembly in 2016.

    Carvajal’s position as a long-time insider within the Venezuelan socialist government gives him the expertise needed to help President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s campaign to oust dictator Nicolas Maduro. He was the longest-serving head of Venezuela’s military intelligence agency – fostering an influential network of informants across the country over the course of a decade.

    HUGO CHAVEZ’S RIGHT-HAND MAN

    Throughout his tenure overseeing military intelligence in Venezuela, Carvajal was tasked by Chavez to run secret investigations against politicians in order to strengthen his grip on power.

    Carvajal had a personal cell phone contact with Chavez, corresponding with him frequently. The intelligence network Carvajal personally built reported directly to him. These intelligence operatives remain loyal to Carvajal to this very day. No one knows where the bodies are buried in Venezuela, figuratively and perhaps literally, like Carvajal.

    Carvajal can offer a tremendous insight into the vehemently anti-American political movement that rose with the election of President Chavez in 1999 before turning into a criminal, terrorist, narcotrafficking enterprise under the auspices of his corrupt successor, Maduro. Maduro has positioned Venezuela as a regional redoubt for criminal elements and has emerged to become the biggest threat to the United States’ national security in the Western Hemisphere. Maduro has sent more than six hundred thousand migrants into the United States, many of which were funnelled straight from the jails.

    CONNECTIONS TO THE CARTEL

    Additionally, Carvajal was a member of the Cartel de los Soles, a drug-trafficking organization founded and initially led by Hugo Chavez and later continued by Nicolas Maduro and Diosdado Cabello. Members of the cartel included high-ranking Venezuelan officials, including members of the military, intelligence apparatus, legislature, and the judiciary. The Cartel uses narcotics trafficking, gold production, and Venezuela’s vast oil wealth generated through Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), to engage in money laundering, election manipulation, political influence operations, and other corrupt activities in the U.S. and other western nations. It is estimated that over 90 financial institutions across the world are part of a financial web enabling the Cartel’s globalist enterprise.

    Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, totaling approximately 303 billion barrels as of 2023. Venezuela also holds approximately 195 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves as of 2023. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment report states that nearly 24% of global cocaine production transits through Venezuela. Venezuela’s annual cocaine exports fall between 800 to 1200 tons annually. As of 2025, Venezuela’s gold reserves are estimated at approximately 161.2 metric tons, according to the World Gold Council and Trading Economics……”

    https://www.stonecoldtruth.com/p/the-linchpin-for-overthrowing-maduro

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Just The News: “The Chicken Littles of the American economy have egg on their faces following the Commerce Department’s report Tuesday showing annual growth of 4.3% in the third quarter from July through September, decisively beating analysts’ expectations of 3% growth and improving on the second quarter’s 3.8%, the Associated Press reported.

    It’s the most rapid expansion of the economy in two years, driven by consumer and government spending and exports, suggesting that President Trump’s much-ballyhooed economic policies, especially tariffs, are not hampering the economy on the whole.

    Exports shot up 8.8% while imports fell 4.7%, and consumer spending rose 3.5%, up from 2.5% in the second quarter. Inflation also rose, however, up 2.8% from 2.1% in the personal consumption expenditures index favored by the Federal Reserve, but the increase was less drastic when excluding “volatile food and energy prices,” according to the AP.

    Government consumption and investment grew 2.2% after declining 0.1% in the second quarter, led by state and local increased expenditures and federal defense spending.

    The decline in private business investment slowed to a trickle, down just 0.3% compared to the 13.8% plunge in the second quarter.

    The report’s release was delayed by the government shutdown.”

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Just The News: “Pennsylvania officials said Tuesday evening that three people were killed, and 20 others were wounded in gas explosions at a nursing home in Bristol.

    Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said earlier Tuesday that two people died in the explosion, but Bristol Township police later told CBS News that another person was found dead at Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bucks County.

    Police also told the outlet that 20 people were injured in the blast and subsequent fire, and the victims were sent to five area hospitals, and all the missing nursing home patients have been found.

    “Tonight in Bristol, our first responders displayed extraordinary courage as they bravely ran towards danger to get residents, their loved ones, and staff at Silver Lake Nursing Home to safety,” Shapiro said on X. “Lori and I are praying for those who are injured, those who are missing, and the families of those who are now about to celebrate Christmas with an empty chair at their table.”

    Bristol Township Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito said they believe a gas leak caused the two explosions and a fire to break out at the nursing home, though the cause of the gas leak was not immediately clear.

    The incident comes after the state found the nursing home was not in compliance with several requirements of the Life Safety Code as of October, including lacking a Life Safety Code Floor Plan that shows where fire barriers, exits and smoke barriers are.”

    Liked by 1 person

  9. This has always been my all-time favorite Christmas movie:

    “Why Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ Still Warms Our Hearts — The America of 1942 was vastly different from the America we know today, but its longings remain the same.”

    The Federalist, By: Brooke Brandtjen, December 24, 2025

    Holiday Inn movie

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Amid mounting threats from both the European and Pacific theaters of war and in the wake of a devastating economic depression, Irving Berlin’s enchanting new musical film Holiday Inn premiered at the tail end of 1942. Its tone was overwhelmingly optimistic and portrayed an idealistic society, true to Hollywood’s style of many movies during and after the Depression. The women wore elegant ball gowns, manners were highly refined, and each night was spent rubbing elbows with world-class dancers at five-star clubs. These movies were purposefully aspirational, offering an escape from the harsh realities of war.

    Holiday Inn was created with a greater sense of urgency than most escapist films of the era. It began production in 1941 and, midway through filming, America was devastated by the tragic attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States was rustled from its malaise and thrust into the war. In the coming years, Hollywood studios would create endless swaths of pro-American content; even Walt Disney would create short films in which Donald Duck fought off Nazis.

    During that moment of uncertainty in 1941, Holiday Inn was positioned to be one of the earliest media responses to the new war. Mothers were sending their sons off to war, wives and girlfriends were kissing their beaus goodbye at the train stations, and calls for rationing and war bonds lay just around the bend. 

    When Holiday Inn was released, it was expected to be a hit, as it featured a full soundtrack created by one of America’s most renowned composers, Berlin. The song that was pegged to be a phenomenon was “Be Careful, It’s My Heart,” an affectionate love song crooned by the leading man, Bing Crosby. Hollywood executives were shocked, however, to find that a few weeks after the movie’s release, it was not this track that had skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard charts, but rather “White Christmas.”

    “White Christmas” was not merely the most popular song of 1942 — it still dominates the Christmas airwaves. Even beyond the constraints of holiday music, “White Christmas” is the biggest-selling single record of all time. As of 2024, it has sold 50 million copies, and that number grows each year. The song was so popular that it even spawned another film, the aptly titled White Christmas, in 1954, which once again starred Crosby as its leading man.Returning to the Reassuring

    “White Christmas” marks an important shift in America’s cultural identity. The song is blatantly and profoundly nostalgic, calling up treasured memories of time spent at home with loved ones. It’s evocative and sentimental. Its lyrics about sleigh bells, glistening treetops, and children playing in the snow conjure up distinct memories. Perhaps it’s overly romantic and could be accused of wearing rose-colored glasses, but it’s sincere.

    In 1942, when people turned their radios from gruesome reports about the war and were met with Crosby’s melancholic yet syrupy song about treasuring Christmas memories, audiences couldn’t help but relate. They were tired, they were afraid, and they needed to hear Bing say that he felt the same way. 

    Up until this point, most Christmas songs had been mostly based on religious themes or were church hymns sung at a certain liturgical season. Now, Christmas music was becoming secular; not as a way to distance itself from the church, but to introduce new themes of longing. People wanted to return to the reassurances of home-cooked meals and evenings spent by the fireside with loved ones. The songs didn’t rely on the desires of romantic love, but on an unshakable desire for the comfortable joy of home. In the wake of Pearl Harbor, the surety of a household residing together for Christmas was no longer reliable. A Different War Today

    That same uncertainty seems to have followed us to the present day. We wake up afraid to turn on the television or read the news. We are afraid of our cities, concerned for our children, and unsure about the economy. America is engaged in a different kind of war, but a war nonetheless.

    The America of 1942 was vastly different from the America we know today, but its longings remain the same. At our core, we’re seeking out the comforts of what we know and love, the movies we watch each year, our grandma’s best cookie recipes, and time spent with family. It is the perfect picture of simplicity. 

    In Holiday Inn, Bing Crosby asks the girl he loves if she grew up in a wealthy, successful family. She responds by saying that they always had plenty to eat, clothes to keep warm, and most importantly, they were happy. Crosby smiles at her, tells her “Your father was a very successful man,” then draws her over to the piano to sing “White Christmas.” May America’s days be merry and bright.”

    Liked by 1 person

  10. People who’ve never been in a real honest-to-god legit diner where the cook’s right behind the counter whippin’ shit up for drunks at 2:00am have missed out on one of life’s greatest pleasures…

    Liked by 1 person

  11. we put out corn/apple blocks for the deer. and the birds peck at them too. and an occasional squirrel will be up there too. but lately 2 turkeys have found the block. at first, they pecked on the ground to grab bits of it. NOW? one has taken roost ON TOP of it…and refuses to let anyone else near it. I have chased her several times this morning. She’s cagey. she struts a few feet away until she thinks I’m gone, then she swiftly returns and sit on top again–like she’s trying to hatch it!

    I haven’t seen any buck challenge her yet, but I think she might be in for a reckoning soon.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. South Carolina Republican Party
    @SCGOP
    Today, Republicans won all three special elections and that success belongs to the voters who showed up.

    While Democrats hoped low turnout would hand them a win, Republicans proved them wrong at the ballot box. We didn’t sit this one out. We showed up, voted, and protected conservative leadership across South Carolina.

    Thank you to every voter who took time away from family gatherings, travel, and holiday plans to make your voice heard. That commitment is why we win.

    Tonight’s results send a clear message: South Carolina Republicans show up when it matters and we’re heading into 2026 organized, energized, and stronger than ever.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. gees Louise!

    Eric Daugherty
    @EricLDaugh
    🚨 HOLY CRAP! New reports allege up to $76.5 BILLION OR MORE in fraudulent spending in California

    This makes Minnesota look like CHILD’S PLAY…and more is going to come out

    Rep. Kiley is confirming Slithering Gavin Newsom’s California is the “fraud capital of America”

    “This latest report was issued by the state auditor – and that’s a nonpartisan position – that state auditor now puts 8 state agencies on the high-risk list of agencies to watch out for for things like fraud and mismanagement as well as waste.”

    “Here’s a look at that 92 page report newly added to the high-risk list as California’s food stamp program – if the state doesn’t get the improper payments under control, it could cost an extra $2.5B!”

    “Also on there is the Department of Finance which was tasked with giving out COVID relief funds, critics say $32B of that was taken by fraudsters.”

    “Then there are infrastructure issues like California’s deteriorating dams and also the high-speed train that’s already cost taxpayers $18B without a single section of track complete.”

    “Other reports cite $24B dollars spent on the homeless issue that critics claim the state lost track of.”

    “More recently there’s a report that says California cell phone users paid a surcharge for years to upgrade the state’s 9-1-1 system.”

    CALIFORNIA IS CROOKED!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. And then a Millennial pulls up….

    E.T. phone home..

    Someone watched one too many renovation shows…..

    My spirit animal….

    Is it time to break out the prepper stores?

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Just The News: “Trump took to social media Tuesday to lash out against CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert and call for the television networks to lose their broadcast license.  

    “Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success,” Trump said in the post on TRUTH Social. Trump went on to say that after Colbert’s show was canceled by CBS, the host has “actually gotten worse, along with nonexistent ratings.” 

    “A dead man walking! CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!” Trump wrote. 

    Later, Trump wrote in a separate post that CBS, NBC and ABC all have the worst late-night hosts who share in common “High Salaries, No Talent, REALLY LOW RATINGS.” 

    The president followed up that post with another Tuesday that said that if the networks’ newscasts are “100% Negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party,” they should have their broadcast licenses terminated. 

    CBS News announced in July that it was canceling Colbert’s late-night show for “purely financial reasons.” 

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Paddy Straw: A group of workers unloads paddy straw from a truck. The rice straw is a by-product of farming that is used for a variety of purposes, including as cattle feed and fuel.

    Into the Bay: An aerial shot follows a boat as it cruises into Thailand’s beautiful Phang Nga Bay.

    Vortex: The fascinating tail of a chameleon – a master of camouflage – reflects the complexity and beauty found in every corner of nature.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Nebraska sues Smart Home people with ties to china

    FTA

    The state of Nebraska has filed a lawsuit against a U.S.-based smart home product company over potential security risks posed by China-made security cameras it’s selling.

    The 33-page lawsuit, filed by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers in Lancaster County District Court on Dec. 22, accuses Resideo Technologies Inc. and its wholesale distributor, ADI Global Distribution, of engaging in “deceptive and unfair business practices” over the sale of cameras made by Chinese surveillance equipment makers Hikvision and Zhejiang Dahua Technology.

    The lawsuit points to federal restrictions on the two Chinese companies’ products, including a Pentagon designation due to their ties with China’s military, a Commerce Department ban over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and cybersecurity concerns raised by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission

    The lawsuit notes that ADI “prominently displays thousands of Hikvision and Dahua products” on its website. These cameras are “vulnerable to spying from hackers and information requests” from Beijing’s intelligence entities, and marketing them as secure is deceptive, the lawsuit states.

    “Nebraskans install security cameras to protect their families, homes, and businesses—not to invite hidden surveillance into the most private parts of their lives,” Hilgers said in a Dec. 22 statement.

    Hilgers said his office has been reviewing companies with direct ties to China that can access Americans’ private information.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/nebraska-sues-smart-home-company-for-selling-banned-chinese-security-gear-5962610?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=TheLibertyDaily

    Liked by 1 person

  18. CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS

    Newsletter | December 24, 2025

    “Exchanging gifts, gathering with family and friends, enjoying the delightful smiles of children, and feeling the spirit of faith and love are all part of the Season of Christmas…and so much more. The Christmas season offers us a chance to recapture our unique place and purpose as Americans in celebration of the blessings God bestowed on our country – a free country with liberties, opportunities, promise, and dreams as big as one can imagine.

    Freedom comes with a price – a charge to us as individuals to know our purpose to fulfill God’s will for the destiny of a free nation, born from His grace, and fought for by our forefathers. History has taught us that during the Christmas season, monumental feats of sacrifice, reconciliation, and unity helped bring us to this place and time.

    249 years ago, George Washington led his men across the Delaware River on Christmas night for a pivotal victory in what would come to be known as the Battle of Trenton. Without the success of that daring raid, our country might not have come to be.

    By December of 1776, the American cause was hanging by a thread. Washington’s army had suffered defeats in New York and New Jersey. Troop numbers were dwindling from desertion, disease, and expired enlistments. Confidence in the revolution was at an all-time low. But Washington held fast to freedom and liberty. His bold and risky plan to lead about 2,400 weary soldiers across the ice-choked Delaware River and march nine miles in a surprise attack on the Hessian garrison at Trenton before sunrise was victorious. The Battle of Trenton revived hope in the American cause — independence.

    In 1868, President Andrew Johnson’s Christmas Pardon granted sweeping amnesty to former Confederates, restoring the political rights of “all and every person” who fought against the Union. Critics argued it undermined accountability, but forgiveness was essential to heal a fractured Union and advance national reconciliation after the Civil War.

    On Christmas Eve 1914, British, French, and German soldiers put down their weapons and met between the trenches in what is known as the “Christmas Truce.” It was all the more remarkable that it came after months of vicious battles that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. In a show of humanity as history tells us, when the British soldiers heard carols drifting across the air in No Man’s Land, they sang their own and called over to the Germans. Slowly, hesitantly, men headed over the top and began to congregate between their lines, where they swapped cigarettes, alcohol, and buried their dead unencumbered, conducting burial services together.

    Our humanity is tested daily. It is measured by our gratefulness for all we have – whatever that may be; our generosity towards others, even when it seems impossible; our kindness in extending a hand to those in need; and our empathy for those struggling when we do not fully understand.

    As imperfect as we are, the Christmas season gives us pause to reflect on our humanity and the blessing of living in the greatest nation the world has ever known.

    Merry Christmas to you and your family. Embrace this season of hope and, with determination, reclaim your unique purpose for yourself, your family, and our remarkable country, and never let go.” —LTG(R) Flynn

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