Christmas traditions

 From my heritage as Italian and Irish there are a couple of Christmas traditions that folks with that ancestry  practice,....

The Italians- Italian Christmas traditions focus on the Christmas Eve meal  - The Feast of the Seven Fishes and then a big gathering and meal on christmas day - culminating with the arrival of La Befana, the witch-like figure who brings gifts on January 6th, though Santa (Babbo Natale) brings presents on Christmas Day too. Key customs include decorating trees on December 8th, midnight mass, caroling shepherds (zampognari), and enjoying sweet breads like Panettone and Pandoro. 

Irish Christmas traditions blend the old and the newer ones - Midnight Mass on Christmas eve,,, a large Candle /Light in the window ,,,, Holly and Ivy decor... a Christmas feast of Turkey, ham, Potatoes and  Mince pie and Puddings for dessert...  a Visit from the Wren boys  - mostly on St Stephen's day , Dec 26th - they disguised in straw suits and masks, and colorful clothes, parade with a Wren... singing and playing songs, and collecting monies for the community to ensure good luck .  Many celebrate withe Christmas day swim,,,  and the Irish always a basket of good Buiscuits in the house...

What did I see Ray ?!?!?

 We live in a time of - I don't really know what the F ....

The POTUS goes on TV - which is an occasion that Presidents in the past have used for major announcements, and delivering important news to the Nation .

BUT not this Circus clown... - he goes on a loud rant that is filled with BS , and whining, blaming, and much of the same crap we have heard for years from FAT Nixon. I mean seriously - what was it - if he was reading teleprompter - and I'm sure he was - I think they ran it quicker than normal so he was limited in opportunity to go off script...   

Did you Listen to him ???   

He said and I quote "inflation is stopped"  when his own departments fix it at 3% the same as when he came into office,,, the last full month of Biden;s administration was at 2.9% - and Trump is at 3 % - if you care to go out to several decimal places its a bit higher than 3..  Yes - the inflation rate at the height of Biden's term was 9% - no where near the worst of all time as Dumpo stated - worst ??  23.7%... in 1920...

Grocery prices: After noting that the price of eggs has plummeted since March, Trump added, “And everything else is falling rapidly.” That is not true even if he was talking specifically about grocery prices, which are up this year. Consumer Price Index data shows that a far greater number of grocery items have increased in price since he returned to office than have decreased. The most recent available CPI figures at the time he spoke on Wednesday, for September, showed that average grocery prices were up about 2.7% from September 2024; about 1.4% from January 2025, the month Trump returned to office; and about 0.3% from August to September.

And talk about losing touch with reality - and maybe he is too stupid to know ,,, a decrease in price of over 100% is not possible....

Prescription drug prices: Trump repeated his false claim that an executive order he issued on prescription drug prices will cut those prices by “as much as 400, 500, and even 600%.” These figures are mathematically impossible; if the president magically got the companies to reduce the prices of all of their drugs to $0, that would be a 100% cut.  So by his own claim 0 the Pharmacy  or Drug company would pay you to get your prescriptions,,,, but yet there are crickets heard from the GOP ... and his Sheepeople....

Gas prices: Trump said, “Gasoline is now under $2.50 a gallon in much of the country, and some states it by the way just hit $1.99 a gallon.” These claims need context. As of Wednesday, there were only four states whose average price for a gallon of regular gas was below $2.50, according to data published by AAA: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa and Colorado. (Nine more states had averages between $2.50 and $2.60 per gallon.) The AAA national average was $2.905 per gallon. and yes  - since he likes percentages so much - .08% of the 150,000 stations in the US are at$1.99  - let me know if you find one....

Investment : Trump repeated his false claim that there has been “$18 trillion” in investment in the US during his second presidency, saying Wednesday, “I’ve secured a record-breaking $18 trillion of investment into the United States.” This figure is total  fiction (fiction means - it's a LIE) . At the time he spoke on Wednesday, the White House’s own website said the figure was “$9.6 trillion,” and even that is a major exaggeration; a detailed  review in October found the White House was counting trillions of dollars in vague investment pledges, pledges that were about “bilateral trade” or “economic exchange” rather than investment in the US, or vague statements that didn’t even rise to the level of pledges.  SO AKA - total Bullshit.

Trump and wars: Trump repeated his false claim that he has ended eight wars this year, saying Wednesday, “I’ve restored American strength, settled eight wars in 10 months.” While Trump has played a role in resolving some conflicts (at least temporarily), the “eight” figure is a clear exaggeration. includes a war between Egypt and Ethiopia,  that wasn’t actually a war; it is a long-running diplomatic dispute about a major Ethiopian dam project .  Trump’s list includes another supposed war that didn’t actually occur during his presidency, between Serbia and Kosovo....  And his list includes success in ending a war involving the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, but that war has continued despite a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration this year – which was never signed by the leading rebel coalition doing the fighting.

Trump’s list also includes an armed conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, where fighting erupted again this month and continued into this week despite a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration earlier in the year.   and lest we forget - he is threatening war with Venezuela, talked about a Take over of Greenland,,,  

Migration: Trump repeated his false claim that “25 million” migrants entered the country under Biden. The “25 million” figure is false; even Trump’s previous “21 million” figure was a wild exaggeration. Through December 2024, the federal government had recorded under 11 million nationwide “encounters” with migrants during that administration, including millions who were rapidly expelled from the country. Even adding in the so-called gotaways who evaded detection, estimated by House Republicans as being roughly 2.2 million, there’s no way the total was even close to what Trump has said. so the 25 million is actually less than 1/2 of what Dumpo claims,,, 

 Social Security: the White House itself has implicitly acknowledged that millions of Social Security recipients age 65 and older will continue to pay taxes on their benefits – and that new deduction, which expires in 2028, doesn’t even apply to the Social Security recipients who are younger than 65. But that did not stop Fat Nixon from repeating his  false claim that the big domestic policy bill he signed earlier this year includes “no tax on Social Security.” The legislation did create an additional, temporary $6,000-per-year tax deduction for individuals age 65 and older (with a smaller deduction for individuals earning $75,000 per year or more),  even that expires in 2028..

Democrats and health care: After disparaging the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, as the “unaffordable care act” that “was created to make insurance companies rich,” Trump added a false claim about Democrats, saying: “It was bad health care at much too high a cost, and you see that now in the steep increase in premiums being demanded by the Democrats. And they are demanding those increases and it’s their fault. It is not the Republicans’ fault "

Democrats are not demanding steep premium increases. Rather, Democrats in Congress are trying to prevent Americans from facing steep increases in their premium payments by pushing for an extension of the enhanced pandemic-era Obamacare premium subsidies that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Many Republicans are opposed to an extension. and since the Speech  and after there was an approved Continuing resolution forcing a vote on extending the Subsidies - Moscow Mike Johnson has recessed the House of Representatives  so they will not have a vote on extending or not the Subsidies that have been a part of the ACA since day one..  Just like he did to prevent a vote on the Epstein file release,...

and the BIGGEST LIE OF ALL THE LIES 

When Donald Trump promised a one-time $1,776 payment for 1.45 million US military workers to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence during a primetime TV address on Wednesday, he pointed to his favorite source of federal funding.

“Because of tariffs,” the US president said,  “we are sending every soldier $1,776 – and the checks are already on the way. Nobody deserves it more than our military.”

“We made a lot more money than anybody thought because of tariffs, and the bill helped us along,” he added. TOTAL BULLSHIT. 

REALITY  :  the payments will be funded by repurposing military housing assistance – already approved by Congress – the money that was already going to these service members for housing subsidies -   and in true TRumpian fashion - he screwed them - the Housing Subsidy money is NOT TAXABLE - However the Warrior Bonus IS taxable ....  the Orange Jesus got ya MAGA's again !!  

Some text borrowed from several News sources, CBS, NBC, etc,,, 

First - I would like to announce tha tI have been awarded the FIFA S.C. Peace Prize...

 So - what we heard this week is that the AFFORDABILITY issue is a Democrat Hoax - we know this because the economy is doing so well - that the DUMPO - Orange Jesus administration is promoting things line -

1) The Fascist news network (fox entertainment ) is suggesting people save money by only buying presents for kids aged 3-18, skipping gifts for adults (like "Grandma") and very young toddlers (under 3) because they don't have the memory or understanding to appreciate them ..

2) Hamburger Helper is making a comeback due to rising food prices and increased interest in affordable meals.
Economic pressure: Higher prices for beef and other groceries have driven consumers back to the affordable meal, just as happened in the 1970s when the product was first introduced. Sales have jumped by 14.5% this year.

3) 3) From Barrons : 46% of parents have had adult children move back home, with 38% struggling with debt, up 15 percentage points from the previous year. And the housing market and home improvements for Multiple family homes is Booming !

and the The idea of a 50-year mortgage has been discussed by the current U.S. administration as a potential solution for the housing affordability crisis-

But please - tell me more how affordable everything is !!!

Gettysburg

 

so - as we usually do - when we drive north - we make a one day stop at Gettysburg...

Last time we visited"The Angle" (the bloody Angle) the point on Cemetery ridge that was the farthest north any confederate troop ever got during the war  and specifically during Pickets charge... -

This Time - Little Round top - this area was upgraded with new paths and walking areas, and placards describing the battle there...events there on July 3rd 1863 - in some opinions  allowed  Meade ot win the battle and maybe turned the tide of the war - and  this Professor from Maine with little or not military training just might have saved the Union,,,, 

This image of General Gouverneur Kemble Warren , Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac at the battle of Gettysburg. His monument stands on a large boulder at the summit of Little Round Top. Serving as Meade's Chief Engineer, Warren was surveying the Union left when he spied Confederate forces moving toward Little Round Top. Recognizing how valuable Little Round Top was for the Union army’s line of battle, and discovering it unoccupied, Warren sent out a call for reinforcements. Warren’s leadership in moving troops to this place proved critical for the Union army as it ultimately saved the Union line and aided materially in it’s victory the following day.  You can see Cemetery ridge in the far distance to the right in the picture , and that huge monument on the far left is the largest one on the Gettysburg battlefield and is  the Pennsylvania state memorial 

General Meade told Warren ====.  “Warren! I hear a little peppering going on in the direction of the little hill off yonder. . . . I wish you would ride over and if anything serious is going on . . . attend to it.  this was Meades order to Warren - And at Warren's request  Meade sent troops from the  140th New York - with men and artillery.. 

The 20th Maine - and  Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain that led the troops that Warren asked Meade for,....   Chamberlain - a college professor from Maine who asked his college for a leave of absence to go join the Union Army and was denied that leave - he then applied for a sabbatical to study in France and was approved,,,, the next day he enlisted in the army..

Yes - it was Warren that knew if the Confederates flanked the Union at Little Round top and were able to get a position there ort behind that line that the rest of the union army was vulnerable... But it Chamberlain and the 20th Maine that defended that hill ..  he was given the order  "This is the left of the Union line. You are to hold this ground at all costs! "

And with their ammunition nearly all gone - Chamberlain decided to have his troops fix bayonets and charge down hill  into the 15th and 47th Alabama that were coming up the hill- the Bayonet charge was not something that was done in the Civil war. (that was far more a Revolutionary war tactic)   and he used kind of a Swing gate tactic the the Troops to he far left / South would move down and to their right to trap the Rebels between the Charging union lines,,,, It worked  .     

That day the Alabama armies lost nearly 300 men (died) and near 900 wounded ,,, the Union 130 killed and 400 wounded,... 

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/defense-little-round-top