Happy New Year to everyone on our blog! We rang in 2025 at home in Virginia. The kids went to parties after dinner with us this year, so it was just Leslie and me. That was appropriate since New Year’s Eve is also our wedding anniversary. Twenty-seven years ago, Leslie and I eloped in Old Town Alexandria. (We used my high school ring for the wedding ring.)
There is, however, a lingering legal dispute that continues to dog our celebrations. I count this anniversary as our 35th, while Leslie insists on counting this year as our 27th anniversary. (She takes a purely contractual approach that we must go by the marriage license while I insist on credit for eight years of our dating as constructive monogamy). We toasted our anniversary and the New Year (as we did 26 years ago and every year since) with a bottle of Schramsburg Cremant.
On New Year’s Day, we will follow tradition and make the Bowl of the Wife of Kit Carson Soup. My father, Jack Turley, first introduced the soup to our family in Chicago, which is a Mexican turkey soup. (He claimed that the spicy soup was the cure for any hangover). We have made the soup every year for over 50 years. I smoked a turkey that will go into the soup today.
I will be giving the summary of our year on the blog later, but I wanted to wish everyone a safe and joyous New Year in 2025. It has been another great year with our rapidly expanding community. I cannot thank you enough for contributing to our daily dialogue on issues great and small in our society.
This year will get off to a fast start with a new administration and sweeping changes promised in the election. It will undoubtedly be intense, and there will be a return to the rage that has characterized much of our politics. Many in politics and the press will be fueling that rage. We should all resolve not to be played for chumps and allow others to manipulate our feelings toward those around us. On this blog and in our lives, we can commit to civility and respect despite what will be legitimate and passionate disagreements.
Happy New Year to everyone on our blog.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Happy New Year to the blog community and Happy New Year and Anniversary to the Turleys!
I would plan on making plenty of that Kit Carson soup after Congress reconvenes Jonathan. Hakeem Jeffries, Jamie Raskin, and the Squad will have their collective hair on fire after January 20th.
Floyd……. I posted the same video…..”Great minds”, etc!!! Happy New Year to you.
“ We should all resolve not to be played for chumps”
When is that Biden impeachment happening?
It already happened. It was when the DNC kicked Biden to the curb for being mentally incompetent and replaced him with Harris.
I’m pretty sure what you describe has nothing to do with impeachment. I have learned to accept that those that support trump are either really, really dumb, or, have loads of money and are just using their support to gain favor, and ultimately money, by their association with trump.
I have learned to accept that those who are anti-Trump are anti-American and they are really, really dumb and losers.
I have learned to accept…
🤔 Who taught you that you can successfully lie your way through the grieving process? Or did you come up with that on your own? 🙃
Boom!
“We toasted our anniversary . . . (as we did *26 years* ago . . .) (emphasis added)
Looks like you just conceded.
Happy anniversary, professor. Only in the house of a law professor could there be a discrepancy between the marriage date and commitment dates for your anniversary. 😂😂
I wish your family and everyone here a joyous new year. Regardless of which side of the aisle you fall within the political spectrum, we all have lives to live, family and friends to celebrate, and goals to achieve. I pray for a prosperous new year for all.
Happy Anniversary and she is right and you are wrong! Those 8 years when you were too chicken to commit fully can’t be celebrated; they should be a reminder continually of what you should have done. Congratulations that you finally wised us! Cheers!
Constructive vs committed monogamy. Implied or explicit. Either way, a successful union of a happy juxtaposition. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Professor Turley. You are a blessing and voice of sanity in legal education. In 2025, resolve to keep playing your part pointing America in the right direction and I’ll play mine. You will have more impact, but we’re all in it together!
WRT wishing everyone who frequents this space a Happy New Year in 2025 (which I do, even those who it could be argued are undeserving, as long as their good fortune does not come at the expense of their betters), I think it would be appropriate and on-topic to reference an accurate and probing summary of the failures of 2024 that are very probable to be ongoing issues, even in the unlikely (but welcome) event that Trump prevails on all issues he has deemed of import. I am hopeful for some significant improvements in 2024, but think it prudent not to become irrationally giddy at the prospect.
The Deep State’s Triumph: 2024 and the Erosion of Liberty
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_deep_states_triumph_2024_and_the_erosion_of_liberty
“We have become a nation adrift in a sea of government overreach, abuse and corruption. The following is a sobering account of the challenges we faced in 2024, which were marked by the government’s never-ending power grabs and relentless assaults on our civil liberties.”
There is no doubt in my mind that DT and the Republicans have a golden opportunity to provide badly-needed course corrections to the truly awful policies and paths imposed upon us during the Biden regime. They also have much to overcome, the leading fly in the ointment being the Freedom Caucus, which, unlike the Democrats’ progressive Squad, do not seem to realize that, for the sake of party unity – which is very important – and getting good things done (very important), Compromise is not a dirty word. Nor is “support” of Party duly-elected leadership.
“Nor is “support” of Party duly-elected leadership.”
If you had that hapless nincompoop Mike Johnson in mind as you wrote that, I fervently disagree. The People had a radically reformist agenda in mind when they elected Trump and those Congresscritters who were running, and a wimpy fool like Johnson, who would fail to pursue that agenda with all due urgency and expediency, merely in order to enhance his perceived standing among the other DC elites, is completely expendable. If Johnson can be replaced by a Speaker who is more in tune with the sentiment of the voters (assuming he or she is intelligent and receptive enough to understand it in the first place) I am all for that person to replace Johnson, so long as this can be done without seriously jeopardizing the prospects over 4 years in enacting the legislation mandated by the will of The People (neither you nor I are in a position to knowledgeably comment on that aspect of the situation). If that is not a possibility, then I suppose Johnson should remain; even a complete nitwit can sometime learn from his mistakes, if slapped on the wrist frequently enough. But that is all based entirely on practical consideration; strict “party loyalty” has no rightful place there, or in any other aspect of the operation of Fedgov for the benefit of The People.
Happy New Year.
Here are 2 predictions for 2025
1) Whatever trump says is true.
2) trump will never change his mind
I’m sure you all agree with me on this, which proves the point it. is a cult.
Have fun when you realize these predictions are true.
If 2025-28 reflects 2017-20, Trump will (1) keep his word on policy, as he did marvelously 2017-2020, , and (2) change his mind on or drop something he mused, blurted out or hinted as he often did, to supporters’ relief, in the same period.
Prediction for 2025: You will remain a loser.
It is likely that the word “cult” will be the most oft-repeated political word of 2025. It seems to be a strategy of the DNC/media allies, including their trolls, to smear the 77+ million Trump voters as religious zealots, For example, the well-known Democratic deep-thinker, Don Lemon, recently opined:
“Lemon called supporters of Trump “dumb f—ing idiots” and mocked their “stupid MAGA brain,” during an episode of the Don Lemon Show. You’re so f—ing stupid and you deserve it. You f—ing deserve it because you’re so dumb,” he said. “Yes, I am gloating over your stupidity.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/liberal-media-commentators-blast-trump-supporters-trumpism-collision-of-greed-and-hatred/ar-AA1wMxPw?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=477c6948782144f7e2a3adb78b6d0c1a&ei=17
Thank you for your daily analyses, which are always reasoned and civil. Wishing you and your family blessings, peace, joy, and love throughout 2025 and beyond.
Happy anniversary and a Happy New Year. I enjoy your blog even though I sometimes get aggravated with the commenters, especially the obvious trolls. Of course that’s what free speech is all about.
That’s where we disagree, Professor. Civility is one thing. We want to preserve the possibility of a conversation as long as we can, though there are limits. But respect is something different. You shouldn’t respect people who are trying to take your right of free speech away, your right to raise your family, to defend yourself, to have a country with borders where the citizens aren’t subjects, or who are trying to establish one party totalitarian gov’t. We can’t respect people who would tear down the country, want homelessness and death from drug addiction to rise and who performed Mengelian surgeries on little children. If one only read your comments every morning, one would see that is the path of the D party.
Just because the bad guys lost this time doesn’t mean they will relax. You yourself know history. You know what Hitler and others like him had to overcome in order to take total power. But they were relentless and in the end successful for a time. The price of waiting for them to fail on their own was horrendous, unthinkable again. We have to be relentless to preserve freedom too.
It doesn’t have to start with concentration camps to be fascism. It happens different every time. Like water, they will take the path of lease resistance. Letting them exaggerate, lie and distort everything good while they tear it down and infect every institution while we treat them with respect is not a good plan. Yet that is what we have done collectively for much of the last 16 years. This is why so many people remain ignorant or delusional about what is going on. These aren’t just people with a different opinion that is just as good.
You think they haven’t learned from their failure to destroy us completely the past 4 years? They have. And if they take power back, it will be far worse. They will learn how to hide things even better than this time.
If you could fight for Germany’s soul in the early 1930s with foreknowledge of what was going to happen, would you remain silent? Would you treat Hitler and his cronies with respect and not label them? Of course not. When they have power, and you know who “they” are, they will take away your right to do so away and the opportunity will be lost.
We do have foreknowledge of what they are trying to do. But only roughly half the country. You help people to have that foreknowledge. But we – and because you have an audience, that means especially you – have to address what they do and label it as not only criminal, but dangerous and wrong. I learned some years ago that my reflexive moderation no longer meant a pox on both houses. One side isn’t great. But the other side is fascist. That is probably always the case when these things are happening.
I understand that means risk for you in losing what is important to you and your family. I don’t minimize it. We all want to preserve what we have. There are now still avenues for you to speak if what you have now is taken away. And once the opportunity is lost, it will be lost for a long time, possibly decades. Good lives for our children and grandchildren depend on our speaking out clearly.
I would not blather on like this if I did not think what you do is important and good.
Leslie is correct. Living together is a spectator sport. Being married is in the game. Congrats to both of you!
Happy 27th Anniversary. Practicing for marriage doesn’t count. Your wife is correct. They usually are. I also look forward to your messages and, amazingly, learn something from them and the comments. Even from the mindless trolls.
Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary! I look forward to your blogs each morning! Thank you.
Happy Anniversary!
Happy New Year
Happy Anniversary.