I’m keeping resolutions to a minimum this year in order to ensure success.
May we all stick together for another year to help each other celebrate life’s joys, mourn its sorrows and give each other strength to get through whatever obstacles are thrown our way.
So Happy New Year to all the MOTI! Long may we run.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Raj and I would like to wish all of our wonderful friends here a very, very Merry Christmas. We all deserve to set the world’s burdens aside and simply embrace the beauty and miracle that is Christmas.
We send our love to each of you and wish you all a wonderful Christmas. Fill it to the brim with all the merry and the bright you can muster, for we are indeed blessed.
A reprise post, but as relevant as it was first time around.
Happy Christmas Eve fellow travelers. It seems impossible it’s here again already and yet here we are, ready or not.
And once again Raj and I are the grateful beneficiaries of the Moti’s abundant generosity and love and we thank you very, very much for making our Christmas merry and bright. Here is the beyond gorgeous gold and white arrangement we received from you yesterday wishing us “peace, love and all things good.”
It’s equally beautiful from both sides:
And that’s not all! A box of gourmet bonbons from Maeve in flavors such as brambleberry and cream brulee, both of which I can confirm are absolutely yummy, and many more. Also a candle that smells of Christmas itself: Fraser fir. It will fill the house with the comfortable scent of days when all Christmas trees were real and fresh cut.
We humbly thank all of you and are happy that you’ve found us and each other to share the joys and burdens of life. Of course I wish I could provide the type of commentary I used to but I’m pleased that you’ve taken over the role and continue to congregate here.
I wish you all a happy Christmas Eve no matter where your sleigh takes you: midnight church service, a raucous houseful or a quit evening in the peace of Christ’s birth. May the joy of the season bring you blessings, joy, love, and moments to be cherished throughout the year. Merry Christmas to all.
Chuck Schumer regarding the Sydney massacre:
“The Jewish people have been collectively demonized—increasingly so in the last few years—and this tragedy in Sydney shows the abject danger of letting antisemitic rhetoric and action go unchecked.”
But he sees no problem with unchecked leftists who demonize MAGA supporters as white supremacists and fascists.
“Our collective humanity demands that we come together, no matter our race or religion, and forcefully rebuke the forces that have led to this moment and left our society so divided…”
Apparently our collective humanity doesn’t demand the same of Democrats and Republicans.
“We must reject antisemitism and hate of all kinds, wherever it rears its head...”
But not the kind of hate the left has for Trump and Trump supporters.
Be more inclusive, like the Australian PM:
The Prime Minister of Australia says the true threat is “right-wing extremist groups” after the Islamic terrorist attack yesterday.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 15, 2025
Actually absurd.
pic.twitter.com/NvID9xieTJ
Which of course recalls the late, great Norm McDonald’s evergreen tweet from 2016:
As someone said, at some point satire is simply impossible.
Not a full throated “bah humbug” but just a note that I’ve not been blessed with the spirit of Christmas as of yet but I’m committed to work on it.
Thus far all I’ve done this week was have a tooth yanked out which has proved more challenging than I had planned. Partly due to old age, partly due to poor health I’m sure, but I never thought it would knock me out of the game for the whole week. I’m still swollen like a watermelon, bruised like an eggplant, and wilted like a head lettuce in the hot sun – and I had it out Tuesday morning! I’m quite the sight. Raj said it looks like he popped me in the jaw and won’t take me anywhere even if I wanted to go. We’re in a deep freeze and since I have no other appointments until next week I’ve decided to hibernate. I must say, it suits me just fine. Perhaps I’ll run the self-clean function on the oven and pretend I’ve accomplished something. But if I’m honest, all I’ve done is molt.
So, no tree till next week, at which time I’ll decorate it with all 25 of the gnomes Jettie sent me last year.
How you’re missed Miss Jettie! For your zest, irreverence, unquenchable candor and unrelenting righteousness. Your spirit will glow bright and strong when I put all the ornaments you’ve sent over the years on my tree.
Meanwhile, celebrate the 2nd week of Advent, time is fleeting.
For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, for love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I have so much to be thankful for it’s hard to know where to start. So I will start with you - the MOTI who gather here. We are like family whose members don’t always agree and some times even squabble but are nevertheless connected by a deep common bond. Unlike real families our bond isn’t blood but rather the shared values and principles that our country was founded on and we learned to cherish. We are bound together by our Constitution, the guide to building an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish.
I am thankful for the many other things I have to be grateful for: I’m grateful I was born on the cusp of the 50s, when America was great and nobody was ashamed of that.
For having been born to a world where individual freedom, self-reliance and personal responsibility were core values of everyone who aspired to be a good citizen and that was nearly everyone.
Where the freedom call of the open road was a siren’s song
beckoning us to explore the land and our place in it.
I’m grateful that I was born when America was seen as a melting pot - and that was a good thing, not bad. A time before ‘cultural appropriation’ was a thing and, if used at all, applied only to the Brits raiding Egyptian tombs.
Taco Tuesday wasn’t a thing and tacos weren’t racist
I’m grateful for having received an actual education focused on knowledge, critical thinking and how to think rather than indoctrination consisting of what to think about such things as the climate crisis, ‘critical race theory’ and other ‘social justice’ issues.
I’m grateful that I was raised in a time when many people, black and white, worked to correct true civil rights injustices. And when “peaceful protests”
meant marches and sit-ins rather than riots and and the creation of fake victims to be exploited for political gain.
I’m grateful for having been young at a time when it wasn’t necessary to feel guilty about everything that I ate, drank, drove, bought or dreamed about for fear of being selfish and killing the planet.
Just because it was cool
For these, and much, much more, I’m truly grateful. I will wrap up this Thanksgiving post with my annual MOTI Thanksgiving prayer from my mirror days:
In addition to all the other blessings
you have conferred on my reflective frame
I wish to thank you, Lord,
for the companionship of steadfast comrades
whose wit and wisdom and strength
help steer me through these tempestuous seas
of flattery and lies churned to fury by the ill will of demagogues.
Amen.
Above all, I’m thankful for still being here, among the living and grateful for all God has bestowed on us. Thankful for realizing that no matter what there is always something to be grateful for. A special thanks to all who visit here. I wish you a peaceful, happy Thanksgiving unmarred by strife.
Peace and prayers for all in need.
LisaW was bemoaning her Thanksgiving dilemma: She is happy with the traditional Thanksgiving menu, daughter wants macaroni and cheese. Daughter will bring mac and cheese but Lisa is having Thanksgiving away from home and has only a camp stove to warm up all the sides. Traffic jam in the food prep area! MathMom came through with a great solution: bake the side dish at home, wrap in a couple of bath towels and transport in an insulated cooler. Tailgater tactic.
The mac and cheese vs. non-mac and cheese Thanksgiving controversy reminded me of the history of Thanksgiving with Raj’s family, which I relayed to Lisa the other day:
My first Thanksgiving,1972, with Raj’s family at his Mom and Dad’s house was nearly identical to my family’s menu except for the stuffing, everybody’s stuffing is a bit different. But as the years went by and the kids grew up (Raj is the oldest of 9) everyone brought their favorite side dish that wasn’t part of the original menu: broccoli-rice casserole, funeral potatoes, spinach balls, sausage balls, 7 layer salad, corn casserole, noodles and crumbs, baked squash, brussel sprouts (yech!), Oreo pie, cheesecake, cupcakes and on and on. I’m not making this up. Not in place of anything but along with the traditional spread.
Once someone brought something it became a new tradition and they brought it every year. The buffet spread started in the kitchen and eventually encroached on the dining room where the huge table turned into another buffet station and the 2 sideboards became a dessert display. The immediate family eventually numbered 34 counting spouses and grandkids. And then the grandkids started to get married and have their own families. Many of them still come to “grandpa’s house” – now Uncle Bill’s - for Thanksgiving and Christmas and now they’re bringing their own contribution.
But in all those years, with all those people and all that food, no one has ever brought mac and cheese. Odd.
It’s nice that everyone wants to contribute but honestly, somebody does have to orchestrate the menu and who brings what. Otherwise you end up with total anarchy and before you know it someone forgets to make the turkey and gravy.
“Where’s the meat?”
…and it’s replaced with enchiladas, lasagna and butter chicken. Or worse, a charcuterie board.
So let’s be careful out there with the Thanksgiving menu. Grab control and rein it in. The next generation depends on it.
A.I. may have its limitations but imagination isn’t one of them.
The BBC apologized for making stuff up too and they didn’t even need A.I. But they still have their defenders.
BBC Defenders:
— Latimer Alder (@latimeralder) November 15, 2025
'Mr Trump is a Bad Man. So its perfectly OK to lie about his specches'
'But how do you know he's a bad man?'
'Just listen to his speeches!'
A self-serving, circular, worthless argument.
Unplanned trip to the dentist this morning so wish me well.
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