Thursday, December 25, 2025
We remember Ken Stabler (1945-2015)
After Alabama, Stabler was drafted by the Raiders in the second round, No. 52 overall, in the 1968 NFL draft. He threw for 27,938 yards during his 15-year career in the NFL, compiling a 96-49-1 record as a starting QB.
Stabler played for the Raiders from 1970-79, was the NFL Most Valuable Player in 1974 and earned Pro Bowl honors four times.
He led Oakland to victory in Super Bowl XL in January 1977.
We remember Clara Barton (1821-1912)
During her travels to Europe, she saw the work of the Swiss Red Cross over there. She was inspired to start the organization in the US.
We remember a great humanitarian and organization.
Merry Christmas and the words of Luke
"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David), to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord come 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."
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another:
"Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this king which is to come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us."
And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them."
A CHRISTMAS EVE MESSAGE FOR ALL OF MY FRIENDS
"Joy to the World" by Father Gerald E Murray
Father Murray got it right - American Thinker https://t.co/rYJ1v5quYp
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 25, 2023
Merry Christmas!
We have heard this story many times but it is still meaningful and beautiful:
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:8-20)
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1864: Christmas and President Lincoln
Today, we remember President Lincoln and Christmas 1864:
One hundred fifty years ago, the United States experienced its last holiday season of the Civil War. For the past three Decembers, President Abraham Lincoln had been frustrated by defeats on the battlefield and the continuation of a seemingly endless war. This Christmas of 1864 however, President Lincoln had much to celebrate. He was glad First Lady Mary Lincoln had returned safely from a shopping trip to Philadelphia; on December 21 he had telegraphed her: “Do not come on the night train. It is too cold. Come in the morning.”1
In addition to being elected to a second term in November, President Lincoln had good news from the front indicating the Confederate war effort might be coming to an end. General Philip Sheridan drove the Confederates out of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and a Confederate effort to capture Nashville, Tennessee resulted in the defeat and near collapse of Confederate forces in the Western Theater. Perhaps the largest victory of all, however, came as an early Christmas gift to Lincoln in the form of a telegram from General William Tecumseh Sherman. The telegram read, “I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.”2
With Savannah in Northern hands, victory seemed that much closer to President Lincoln. Washington celebrated the news of the fall of Savannah with a 300-gun salute. The same day Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles attended the Lincolns’ Christmas reception for the cabinet at the White House, where he bragged “of the achievements of the South Atlantic Blockading squadron in capturing Savannah, while also being kind enough to acknowledge that the forces under General Sherman had rendered the navy some not inconsiderable help!” After the navy secretary left the room Lincoln and several other military officers observed ruefully that Welles seemed to think the capture of Savannah was a naval victory.3
On Christmas Day 1864, Tad Lincoln, the President’s young son, embraced the spirit of the holidays, inviting several cold and hungry newsboys he had met into the White House for Christmas dinner. Although the unexpected guests were a surprise to the White House cook, the president welcomed them and allowed them to stay for dinner. Thomas Pendel, a bodyguard and doorkeeper appointed during the Lincoln administration, recalled in an interview: “’We didn’t have many doings in those days’ says Mr. Pendel, ‘there were too many grave things to think about. . . Mrs. Lincoln used to buy a great many presents for Tad, but he could amuse himself with the ‘bucktails’ better than with playthings.’”4
As Lincoln celebrated his last Christmas both in the White House and during his life, he probably reflected upon previous loss and a hopeful future. During Lincoln’s last peacetime Christmas in 1860, the Lincoln family was in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln had been elected president. Although war had not broken out, war clouds loomed over the nation. That Christmas Eve, Lincoln’s close friend Senator Edward Baker visited Lincoln. One year later, Baker was dead, having been killed at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff in October 1861. In February 1862, the President experienced another personal loss when his son Willie suddenly fell ill and died in the White House. The holiday season of 1862 was marred by the Union defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg only a few weeks before Christmas. On January 1, 1863 President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation redefining the purpose of the war and, by the end of 1863, victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg had bolstered the Union cause.
Members of Company K of the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry celebrated Christmas in winter quarters on the grounds of the White House in 1863 and 1864. While several years previously they had enjoyed the holiday season with their families in Pennsylvania, they were now celebrating with their fellow comrades protecting the president and his family. The White House functioned as Lincoln’s command hub. Within the War Department, a short walk from the executive residence, Lincoln stayed in constant communication with his generals by telegraph.
The Lincoln White House celebrated the Christmas of 1864 on a more positive note as the end of the war was in sight. While challenges remained, Union victory seemed inevitable that Christmas season. Although Lincoln would not see another Christmas, the decisions he made during his time at the White House to prevent the dissolution of the Union ensured the nation would endure, and through Lincoln’s presidency the White House came to symbolize for all time the trials of the office.
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"Merry Christmas" to the troops overseas and their families back home!
And we remember Ernie Pyle, who wrote about the soldiers of World War II.
Keep Christ in Christmas..........
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
If you park it, they’ll steal it
Remember that if you park it they will steal it, and some judge will let the culprit off the hook because it couldn’t possibly be his fault.
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 24, 2025
If you park it, they’ll steal it - American Thinker https://t.co/w6oRfUqvRA
"Mary had a baby" by Mary Hopkin........
Mary Hopkin was 18 years old when she recorded "Those were the days"!
It was one of the biggest hits in pop music history.
She has a beautiful voice and recorded many songs many Christmases ago!
Here is "Mary had a baby":
Merry Christmas and enjoy the midnight mass
We take a minute to wish you and family a very happy Christmas holiday.
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Apollo 8 and memories from Christmas 1968
My father died 7 Decembers ago. My mother died 18 months ago. I always remember them on certain anniversaries or those first years in “el exilio.”.
On Christmas Eve 1968, our family went to the midnight mass. By the way, very few parishes actually celebrate mass at midnight anymore. Our church today celebrates mass at 9 p.m.!
Nevertheless, it was a rather remarkable ride from church. It took me a while to realize that I was hearing three men reading the Good Book from a spaceship circling the moon. It was one of those moments that I will never forget.
Years ago, families actually sat around to watch the NASA missions. In our household, it was a lot of fun to gather around the TV and enjoy an Apollo rocket going into space. My favorite part was hearing my father say that he would have never believed it when he was growing up. My mother would usually compliment the U.S., with the Cuban version of “what a country”.
The Apollo 8 mission accomplished some rather big objectives:
The six-day mission was a roaring success, orbiting the moon 10 times and testing out the “trans-lunar injection” system and other electronic networks that would allow future missions to land on the moon over the next three years. Anders’ iconic photo (known as the “Earthrise” image) of a partially shaded bright blue Earth graced a U.S. stamp and is credited in part with being a catalyst for the environmental movement. The astronauts were feted with a ticker-tape parade in New York City.
The mission gradually lost a measure of prominence after Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the lunar surface the following year. Other missions also grabbed the public’s attention, including the Apollo 13 mission Lovell commanded in 1970 that failed and became the subject of a Hollywood movie.
The Apollo 8 crew was Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders.. They became the first humans to see the far side of the Moon. I recall my father talking about all of those science-fiction comic books in Cuba about the unknown on the dark side of the moon.
Who wasn’t stunned to see that picture of the earth floating is space on the cover of the weekly magazines? It certainly put living in our good earth in a little different perspective.
Who knows when we will send men to another world again? I was fortunate to see it!
"It's a wonderful life" with James Stewart & Donna Reed
You can get a copy here.
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December 24, 1923: President Coolidge and the first national Christmas tree
We remember President Calvin Coolidge for a few things. He was born in Plymouth, Vermont, on July 4, 1872 — the only president with that unique and patriotic distinction. Coolidge rose to the office of Massachusetts governor in 1919 and just one year later in 1920, he was on the GOP presidential ticket. I’m not sure if he aspired to be president but as vice president, he was one heartbeat away, as they say. When President Harding died, Coolidge became the commander-in-chief — he received word at 2:30 AM in Vermont and headed back to Washington as soon as possible. A few years ago, Amity Shlaes wrote a wonderful biography taking us back to his life and presidency. Maybe you still have time to text the North Pole and add it to Santa’s bag.
We remember him on Christmas Eve, too. The President and First Lady lit up The National Tree for the first time on Christmas Eve, 1923:
On this day in 1923, President Calvin Coolidge touches a button and lights up the first national Christmas tree to grace the White House grounds. Not only was this the first White House 'community' Christmas tree, but it was the first to be decorated with electric lights--a strand of 2,500 red, white and green bulbs.
The balsam fir came from Coolidge's home state of Vermont and stood 48 feet tall. Several musical groups performed at the tree-lighting ceremony, including the Epiphany Church choir and the U.S. Marine Band.
Later that evening, President Coolidge and first lady Grace were treated to carols sung by members of Washington D.C.'s First Congregational Church.
According to the White House Historical Association, President Benjamin Harrison was the first president to set up an indoor Christmas tree for his family and visitors to enjoy in 1889. It was decorated with ornaments and candles.
In 1929, first lady Lou Henry Hoover oversaw what would become an annual tradition of decorating the indoor White House tree.
Since then, each first lady's duties have included the trimming of the official White House tree.Coolidge's 'inauguration' of the first outdoor national Christmas tree initiated a tradition that has been repeated with every administration.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan began another custom by authorizing the first official White House ornament, copies of which were made available for purchase.
Great tradition started by one of our favorite presidents.
Merry Christmas to all of you and enjoy this most wonderful day.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.
1947: "Christmas Eve", a fun movie
Last year, I caught a bit of "Christmas movie" from 1947. It is a delightful movie but it takes a while to get the story straight.
This is the story from TCM:
In the New York mansion of "Aunt Matilda" Reid, an eccentric octagenerian philanthropist, Phillip Hastings, Matilda's nephew, tries to convince a judge named Alston and a psychiatrist named Doremus that Matilda's extravagant contributions to charity are evidence of her senility.It's a fun movie. I'm surprised that it has not become a holiday standard.
In order to prevent Phillip from being made executor of her estate, Matilda promises the judge and the doctor that her three beloved adopted sons, Michael Brooks, Mario Torio and Jonathan will be home on Christmas Eve and will prove their competency in handling her money.
In order to contact the men, whom Matilda sent away to seek their own fortunes, Matilda holds a press conference and hires a private detective.
Michael, a playboy, is about to marry a Manhattan heiress named Harriett, and has written $75,000 worth of bad checks in order to buy her gifts.
After Michael's ex-girl friend, Ann Nelson, who still loves him, intercedes to make Harriett call off the wedding, Phillip offers to cover Michael's debt, knowing that the loan will make Michael too ashamed to come home to Matilda.
Meanwhile, Mario, a hot-tempered sportsman who has been running a gambling club in South America, has been located by an FBI agent.
Ten years earlier, Michael escaped federal agents in New Orleans following an indictment for illegal business practices.
The agent now orders Mario to help bring in an escaped Nazi war criminal named Gus Reichman, who had been secretly involved with Mario's girl friend, Claire, prior to his conviction at the Nuremberg Trials. Reichman has come to South America to retrieve ten million dollars, which he gave to Claire for his escape money.
Not until Reichman holds Claire and Mario hostage on a ship does Mario realize that Claire gave the money to the American Occupation forces in Berlin. After Reichman threatens to kill him, Mario escapes Reichman's guards and shoots him. Before he dies, Reichman fatally wounds Claire, whose last words to Mario are "I love you."
Claire's heroic death inspires Mario to return to the United States and face his past.
Meanwhile, Jonathan, an alcoholic rodeo rider, arrives at Grand Central Station.
There he meets Jean, an agent of the humane society who is investigating a baby racket and needs Jonathan to pose as her husband.
After being held up by the racketeers, Jonathan escapes with three babies to Aunt Matilda's. Jean follows, and Jonathan convinces her to marry him and help him rear the three little girls.
Michael, who at Ann's urging, has been investigating Phillip's management of Matilda's business investments, exposes Phillip as a fraud and a thief.
Mario arrives accompanied by a policeman and confesses that a decade earlier in New Orleans, he took a "rap" for Phillip in order to spare Matilda, whose money Phillip had used in a crooked deal.
Phillip is now arrested.
Seeing Matilda in the company of her upstanding sons, the judge and the doctor leave her to handle her own money, and Michael agrees to marry Ann.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
Merry Christmas to the military families
Merry Christmas to the military families - American Thinker https://t.co/51vdyzwyzW
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 24, 2023
As the song goes, “Merry Christmas, darling — we’re apart, that’s true.” Once again, thousands of families will spend Christmas away from their husbands, wives, daughters, and sons.
Click to read:
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/12/merry_christmas_to_the_military_families.html
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Christmas 2025 with Frank Burke, businessman and author
The week in review with Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda.
The week in review with Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda
Hail Mary passes and immaculate receptions
A couple of plays from a time when the game was more magical or you could say “Hail Mary” and everyone understood the reference.
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 23, 2025
Merry Christmas everybody. Thank you for reading my posts.
Hail Mary passes and immaculate receptions - American Thinker https://t.co/Bb5HaTtHvv
1951: The first NFL title game on national TV
The LA Rams beat the Cleveland Browns in the 1951 NFL title game. The final score was 24-17.
The Rams scored 10 points in the 4th quarter to win the game.
It was also the first televised NFL title game ever. You can catch the game here.
EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS with JH Northrup and Leslie Eastman
European history expert JH Northrop will share some unique holiday traditions from Central Europe, some of which influenced the way Americans celebrate. He will discuss Krampus, the Yule Lord; Leslie Eastman will chime in with St. Nicholas Day traditions as well. Click below to listen:
MERRY CHRISTMAS: The Beach Boys and "Little Saint Nick"
MERRY CHRISTMAS
The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick