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Merry Christmas!!!

Best wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas. According to the Library of Congress, this is the first known commercial Christmas card. It was the work of Henry Cole, a British civil servant, in 1843. That was same year that Charles Dickens published “A Christmas Carol.”  We are celebrating this year at our house in Virginia with our four children and, of course, Luna.

Last night, I made our traditional Cioppino soup — a tradition started by my late father, Jack Turley. It is a spicy mix of mussels, shrimp, sea bass, clams, crab meat, and other ingredients. I have previously written how I grew up hating the soup but the tradition fell to me when my father became ill. I am now as addicted to the soup as my father was. We gave a toast to my dad (who was also my best friend) as we enjoyed his favorite soup with warm bread. Leslie then made my favorite Old Fashion cocktail (with extra cherries!) and we watched a couple of old black-and-white Christmas movies with the kids. It was a great night.

Luna was the first up this morning and got excited when she spotted her Snoopy sock on the ottoman with the other packed Christmas stockings. She then stood guard awaiting the “all clear” to have at it.

It took some doing this year, but we finally found a great tree. Two of the boys decided that they wanted to put a paper Charlie Brownesque star on top of the tree rather than our usual star. While I was convinced that the entire tree was going to collapse as they stood on the couch, they finally succeeded in adding their curious addition in what goes done as a bona fide miracle of Christmas.

Tonight, my job is the the beef, gravy, Yorkshire pudding, and fresh grounded horseradish sauce while Leslie makes an assortment of our favorite side dishes for the dinner.  We also have a great Bûche de Noël (or yule log cake) for dessert.

The Turley family wishes everyone a happy and safe holiday. I will be toasting our blog family tonight and giving thanks for the wonderful community we have created at this site.

Best wishes,

Jonathan Turley

72 thoughts on “Merry Christmas!!!”

    1. That is a good question.

      Christ’s Mass is a celebration of the birth of a man whose profound goodness and integrity and alignment with God changed humanity in far-reaching ways.

  3. Merry Christmas to you, Professor Turley, your family, Darren Smith, his family, and to everyone in the often rowdy Comments Section. Peace and Good Will to all.

  4. Happy Christmas–and have a Brandon New Year!
    And always remember to obey your Plagiarist-In-Chief. He really cares about you.

    2. Yes, aren’t you Trumpster morons terribly clever? You can’t even let Christmas happen without displaying your stupidity and discipleship to a fat slob liar and election cheater.

      1. discipleship to a fat slob liar and election cheater.

        True, Hillary is hugenormous these days, and she paid for a coup of DJT, but you should be more charitable given your intimacy with the Christmas spirit

        1. OBAMA WANTS TO KNOW EVERYTHING WE’RE DOING
          _____________________________________________

          “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

          – Barack Obama
          ______________

          “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way [Trump] gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before 40.”

          – Peter Strzok to FBI parmour Lisa Page
          ________________________________

          “We will stop him.”

          – Peter Strzok to FBI paramour Lisa Page
          _________________________________

          “[Obama] wants to know everything we’re doing.”

          – Lisa Page to FBI paramour Peter Strzok

  5. Gordy,

    I don’t deny that we are technically a community, but my point still stands that upon reading what passes for commentary on this blog, the word “wonderful” would hardly spring to mind. This blog can be called a “family” only in the sense that we have come to describe Manson as having a “family.” Many here have implored me to leave and never return to this so-called family. If Turley had an inkling of what goes on here, he would not be celebrating it. Instead, he would be mystified that the vast majority of his followers would vote for Trump notwithstanding had he stood in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shot somebody dead.

      1. Mespo says:

        “Don’t fret, Jeff. We consider you our batty uncle.”

        NO RESPECT!

    2. Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet, Jeff: I’ve been accused of lots of things. Karen S. said I wasn’t raised right. I’ve been accused of having vaginal odor, of being retarded, of being an unfit mother and lots of other grade-school level insults which would be funny if it weren’t for the fact that these people are the blind devotees of a dangerous wanna-be dictator with delusions of grandeur who is plotting to once again steal an election with the help of gerrymandering Republicans passing laws to hinder voting rights while these people defend him and attack his critics.

      1. Natacha,

        How true. Not to worry, Jonathan “Fox News” Turley will reveal his true *law and order* colors in the end. When his lying Trumpist followers clamor that he publicly condemn the criminal prosecution of Trump’s Organization and quite possibly Trump himself, Turley will ignore their heated protestations and instead dredge up trivial assault and battery incidents to provide an excuse to give us a lecture on torts.

        We’ll see how much his “blog family” likes him after that.

  8. Merry Christmas!

    Luna looks pleased as punch with that big doggie grin.

    “We gave a toast to my dad (who was also my best friend)”

    A high honor to him. You have many blessings!

  9. When America had a real President

    Ronald Reagan’s Christmas Greeting from 1981

    At Christmas time, every home takes on a special beauty, a special warmth, and that’s certainly true of the White House, where so many famous Americans have spent their Christmases over the years. This fine old home, the people’s house, has seen so much, been so much a part of all our lives and history. It’s been humbling and inspiring for Nancy and me to be spending our first Christmas in this place.

    We’ve lived here as your tenants for almost a year now, and what a year it’s been. As a people we’ve been through quite a lot — moments of joy, of tragedy, and of real achievement — moments that I believe have brought us all closer together. G. K. Chesterton once said that the world would never starve for wonders, but only for the want of wonder.

    At this special time of year, we all renew our sense of wonder in recalling the story of the first Christmas in Bethlehem, nearly 2,000 year ago.

    Some celebrate Christmas as the birthday of a great and good philosopher and teacher. Others of us believe in the divinity of the child born in Bethlehem, that he was and is the promised Prince of Peace. Yes, we’ve questioned why he who could perform miracles chose to come among us as a helpless babe, but maybe that was his first miracle, his first great lesson that we should learn to care for one another.

    Full transcript: https://familycouncil.org/?p=9456

    1. On Jan 6/2021,

      Govt intel groups infiltrated what was to be & mostly was a peaceful rally asking for a Legal 10 day investigation into the 11/3/2020 US Election. A few Idiots aided the Govt Provocateurs causing trouble, (videos& words), while many others were invited into the building peacefully by the Capital Police as we are still learning of the events of Pelosi/McConnell’s/Intel’s little coup against our US Nation.

      Maybe this holiday season Poland would return the favor & Lite a candle in their windows in solidarity with the US Citizen’s Govt?

      I mean just imagine if those Nazi Aholes Bush/Kissinger n coup buddies had not almost taken out Reagan. What would Reagan really done undamaged?

      We’ll never know.

      As I understand it yet today US Citizens are still under massive attacks, many still in the DC Gulag, under the thumb Coup Leaders Pelosi/McConnell/Intel/Mostly Corrupt Courts, while they attempt to take out all of their political adversaries , (Govt/Citizens), each & everyday before enough Citizens figure out what they really have done.

      As a friend told us recently most likely the only we we & All of Humanity get out of this Pelosi/McConnell/biden/Globalist Disaster they are causing is with the Return of Jesus Christ! Pray So!

      Meanwhile it’s up to us, “We The People” to help do what we can. Speak out while you still can!

      *******

      Saturday Special: Frank Cavanaugh Releases Epic Song About January 6th

      16,542 views

      Dec 18, 2021
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      War Room With Owen Shroyer

      Frank Cavanaugh does it again with his latest hardcore track inspired by January 6th and the tragic death of patriot Ashli Babbitt. His message to the globalists: FREE the January 6th prisoners NOW!

      https://www.banned.video/watch?id=61bdf15d2aa589298d62dffe

      *******************

      Further, I really do hope Trump & others find a few extra minutes for this video address below:

      ************

      Can Trump Stop Pushing COVID Lethal Injections

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      The Alex Jones Show
      The Alex Jones Show

      Alex Jones examines why Trump is all in and tripling down these COVID-19 experimental gene therapies.

      https://www.banned.video/watch?id=61c6d557153b4036f71c3709

    2. About 8 minutes long:

      Pentagon Illegally Targeting Americans With Secret Weapon Warns High Level Whistleblower

      135,643 views

      Oct 25, 2021
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      Most Banned Videos
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      OAN’s Scott Wheeler interviews Pentagon whistleblower Dr. Jay Michael Waller. Waller warns that the Democrats are using psychological warfare weapons he developed, to illegally target the American people.

      https://www.banned.video/watch?id=617705f8b873e813dbe04683

  10. Turley:

    “I will be toasting our blog family tonight and giving thanks for the wonderful community we have created at this site.”

    Wonderful community? If ever we had any doubt that Turley does not bother to read any of our comments, his toast is proof positive that he is oblivious. Had anyone read aloud a smattering of our comments at his Christmas table so that his family could truly appreciate the wonderfulness of our so-called “blog family,” she would have been quickly interrupted and admonished that such uncivil language is not to be heard in the Turley household and certainly not on the day of goodwill to all men….

    Wonderful community, indeed! Ha!

      1. Merry Christmas Prairie Rose.

        I don’t include you of being among those that I am bemoaning. You are exceptional. If there were more like you here, this blog could honestly be called a family.

        1. “WE may say that there are three reasons for which this journey made by the soul to union with God is called night. The first has to do with the point from which the soul goes forth, for it has gradually to deprive itself of desire for all the worldly things which it possessed, by denying them to itself; the which denial and deprivation are, as it were, night to all the senses of man. The second reason has to do with the mean, or the road along which the soul must travel to this union — that is, faith, which is likewise as dark as night to the understanding. The third has to do with the point to which it travels — namely, God, Who, equally, is dark night to the soul in this life. These three nights must pass through the soul — or, rather, the soul must pass through them — in order that it may come to Divine union with God.”

          Ascent of Mount Carmel
          St John of the Cross

        2. Thank you, Jeff. That is very kind.

          I recognize that family, in the best sense, should be bound with ties of love and respect and other fruits of the spirit. Disagreements are handled respectfully and with consideration of the other party.

          But, being human, we do not always rise to this ideal. I know I do not succeed as often as I ought. At these times grace could be extended.

          I rather like that Professor Turley describes those who post here as a blog family. Better to aim for an ideal, even if far too often we fall short. Iron sharpens iron.

          If you celebrate Hanukkah, I hope it was a happy time. The world needs more light and love.

          Peace.

        3. Cain & Abel were family.

          My you find & except Christ at some point in your life, if you’ve the time.

          1. Oky1,

            I can live without religion, thanks. You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!

  11. NATO does not need to fight the Russians. NATO can just let Winter fight the Russians.
    Don’t do anything. Just let them freeze to death. War averted. Merry Christmas!

  13. You’re a great guy, Professor. I’m making Manhattan Clam Chowder (adding) shrimp as well. Please don’t share this with the FBI as I live in Boston. Merry Christmas!!!

  14. What a beautiful picture you paint Jonathon! I sat here sipping my morning coffee with my Aussie “Zezengorri” (look it up) at my side and read your Christmas post aloud to my wife as she prepares a traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner. It does not get any better! Thank you for all you do. I have been a fan for a long time but only recently discovered your site. Best Christmas wishes to you and your family.

  16. Happy Christmas Day, Professor, and all who gather here. The cuisine at the Turley house sounds scrumptious, as usual.
    Here at Chez Bubba, we’re cooking up Leg of Lamb-dressed in rosemary, new potatoes w/herbes de provence, steamed fresh asparagus, and homemade tabouleh.

    1. Felicidades Cindy and familia. Your meal strikes me as wonderful. What appropriate beverage accompanies it?!? 😀

      Here at home I prepared Christmas Eve (Noche Buena) the traditional Cuban Lechón Asado, the usual side dishes and finish with a fabulous Flan de Queso that my grandmother made in Cuba. I recommend people take a table of Crestor before consuming just in case. Joking.

      We then attended Midnight Mass where I served as Lector. The choir did a great job with traditional Christmas carols. However the Pope’s Midnight Mass as well was amazing.

      Felicidades a todos y próspero año nuevo

      1. Estovir…….your meal sounds great….. esp the flan de queso! And the Christmas Eve service sounded nice. We stayed home. Last Sunday, I led the youth and children in a music program ……..with bells, shofar, and castenets on some of songs!
        So, I’m still recovering from that 😊

          1. Lol. Im no wine snob so I will drink whatever is placed in front of me, and say “thank you”. I usually select my “fine wines” from Costco. They’re cheaper and do just nicely, esp. Chateau Ste. Michelle Cab

            https://costcowineblog.com/2016-chateau-ste-michelle-indian-wells-merlot/

            I picked up a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne for under $50 which was on sale, perfect for New Years Eve.

            However my favorite Cab is pretty pricey: Silver Oak. If I bought one of those again, I would be hearing about it for evermore, rightly so

            https://www.totalwine.com/wine/red-wine/cabernet-sauvignon/silver-oak-cabernet-napa/p/75114750?s=206&igrules=true

            Enjoy your Pinot!

            1. Estovir….thank you for the tips…unfortunately, I love Cabs, but I can’t drink them, darnit, Maybe some day. Although that was all I drank for years. The Silver Oak sounds great…but they don’t ship to Texas! whaaaaaa?!
              I would love a Cab that is so smooth, it goes down like water, and doesn’t give me even a hiccup!

  17. Dear Professor Turley, I hope that you and your family will have a wonderful Christmas and much happiness in the year ahead. Many of us are very appreciative of your efforts to bring a meaningful perspective on current events. Your voice is truly the voice of reason. I, for one, enjoy your ongoing legal analyses of the Constitutional issues that arise in the Federal court system.

  18. Your soup sounds wonderful except my wife is allergic to shell fish. Oh Well, Minestrone will have to suffice. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

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