Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

By William Teach December 25, 2023 – 7:53 am

Every Christmas, once everyone is up, Christmas greetings were made, hugs were exchanged, the presents were opened, and breakfast was being made, I would read this first in the paper (ye olde parental units get an actual paper, and they live in NJ). It is a Christmas classic that has always touched my soul. While some people outside of the Tri-State area have heard of it, rarely do papers outside of the NY-NJ-Conn area see it in print, and I always direct them to read it online. Especially since we keep getting news pieces as to whether or not we should be telling kids the truth about Santa (we shouldn’t. Let them be kids). I humbly bring it to you, and hope it touches you as much as it touches me:

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, If you see it in The Sun, it’s so. Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

And a Merry Christmas from deep down in my heart to all my friends and visitors out there.

If you would like to know the background on the letter, you can go to the 2004 posting of this.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

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That’s What Christmas Is All About, Charlie Brown

By William Teach December 24, 2023 – 7:05 pm

Hilariously, Youtube took down the version I uploaded in 2006, with 4.8 million views (which has mostly been copied by everyone else). I’m surprised the above has lasted 8 years.

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If All You See…

By William Teach December 24, 2023 – 2:07 pm

…is an ocean that will soon rise up and destroy all the coastal cities, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Victory Girls Blog, with a post on a time of hope and joy.

Read: If All You See… »

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach December 24, 2023 – 9:45 am

Happy Sunday! Another fantastic day in the Once And Future Nation Of America. The Sun is shining, the owls are hooting (haven’t heard the owls in a while), and just one more day till Christmas. I’m not sure who did this pinup, can’t find it in reverse image search.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Not A Lot Of People Know That discusses the Met Office ditching actual measurements for models
  2. No Tricks Zone highlights more CO2 taxes for 2024 in Germany
  3. Real Climate Science notes that no one wants to buy used EVs
  4. Watts Up With That? covers a judge ordering the end of 84 wind turbines
  5. American Greatness discusses a women’s college reversing and no longer allowing cross dressing men
  6. Cold Fury features the worst national park reviews
  7. Da Techguy’s Blog has an idea on who should be in charge of Gaza
  8. Dissecting Leftism notes Wuhan flu vaccines can possibly worsen cancers
  9. Gates Of Vienna says to beware of bare naked ladies
  10. Geller Report covers rising Islamic violence in France
  11. IOTW Report has some Christmas critters
  12. Legal Insurrection says no one should be surprised by Jew hatred in education
  13. Moonbattery notes parents suing after autistic daughter is transexualized
  14. Pacific Pundit covers California losing population even more
  15. And last, but, not least, Powerline features the face of evil

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your Pinups for Vets calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me. I’ve also mostly alphabetized them, makes it easier scrolling the feedreader

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. And do you have a favorite blog you can recommend be added to the feedreader?

Two great sites for getting news links are Liberty Daily and Whatafinger.

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Good News: Iran Threatens To Close Mediterranean Sea

By William Teach December 24, 2023 – 7:00 am

Say what you want about Trump, there were not a constant litany of international threats and issues

Iran threatens to close Mediterranean Sea citing US ‘crimes’ in Gaza

Iran threatened Saturday that the Mediterranean Sea could be “closed” if the U.S. and Israel continued “crimes” in Gaza, state media reported, according to Reuters.

The Iranian government has showed support for militant group Hamas in its war against Israel, while the U.S. has strongly backed Israel — despite growing criticism of the Israeli military’s war effort.

“They shall soon await the closure of the Mediterranean Sea, (the Strait of) Gibraltar and other waterways,” state media Tasnim quoted Iranian Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi as saying.

Iran has accused the Israeli military, and the U.S. as its close ally, of committing war crimes in Gaza. Over 20,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict since early October, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

It is unclear how Iran would follow through on such a threat, as the country has no direct access to the Mediterranean Sea and no major naval presence outside the Persian Gulf.

Naqdi referenced attacks on Gibraltar would be an escalation of Red Sea attacks on shipping from Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Iran-backed rebel group launched attacks on cargo ships and U.S. warships near the Horn of Africa last week, stepping up operations in the years-long Yemeni Civil War.

Who’s up for the time of Mean Tweets? And this is the same country Biden wants to negotiate with over their nuclear program, even knowing they will cheat, just like they did when Obama initiated the Iran deal.

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You’ll Totally Love EVs If You Just Rewire Your Brain

By William Teach December 23, 2023 – 3:37 pm

See, the problem with EVs is not the EVs but your stupid brain

A possible solution to a common problem with EVs: Just rewire your brain

electric vehicleAaron Schlechter loves driving his electric pickup past the lines of cars and SUVs waiting to fuel up at Costco.

With a range of about 300 miles, his Ford F-150 Lightning recharges overnight or at his office during the day. Unless he’s making a long drive with his family, he never needs to fill up.

“What I tell people is that it takes a little a bit of a shift,” he said of driving a fully electric vehicle. “And the greatest thing is that you basically never have to charge when you’re out ? your gas station is essentially at your house.”

An EV fan since he got a Tesla in 2016, Schlechter is among the most experienced chargers of electric vehicles nationally. He enjoys the freedom of waking up to a fully charged vehicle at his home every day, one with the range to take him almost anywhere he needs to go.

You just need to get beyond the whole “most people can’t charge it at home, because they live in an apartment or have no garage”. Train your brain, people

But as a growing number of Americans are driving all-electric vehicles, some drivers’ brains think differently about how they fill up: They’re accustomed to the gas car experience of always being close to a pump that can fill their tank.

That means two things are happening simultaneously in America: Some new EV drivers who can charge at home are rewiring their brains, changing their expectations of their vehicle as Schlechter has done. And authorities are racing to make such a shift less necessary, building up an extensive network of chargers across the nation that also serve people who can’t charge at home.

That will totally overcome issues like poor range, slow charging when traveling, much higher insurance rates, much higher costs, getting less for the same money as a fossil fueled/hybrid vehicle, and more.

Schlechter, who owns an electrical contracting company, said even a short period of driving an EV teaches people to adapt. He said EV critics talk more about range anxiety than he and his friends in Denver’s Tesla club ever do. Critics also cite how cold weather can sap an EV’s batteries, reducing its range.

He said drivers of gas-powered cars are quick to complain about how EVs work because they don’t grasp the reality of how most people drive, which is short trips with plenty of time to recharge at home.

“The hypocrisy, the ignorance, is just amazing,” Schlechter said. “I’ve been driving all-EV for more than seven years. I have a lot of miles and a lot of experience. And I’ve never once gotten stranded.”

Well, you do you, and stop trying to force your beliefs on other people. Mind your own f’ing business.

It’s a very long USA Today piece, saying that you are the problem.

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If All You See…

By William Teach December 23, 2023 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible heatsnow caused by carbon pollution bad weather, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 357 Magnum, with a post on Jews embracing self defense.

Read: If All You See… »

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Biden Regime Looked To Hide Spy Balloon From Citizens

By William Teach December 23, 2023 – 10:30 am

Apparently, you peasants just don’t need to know what your political masters are doing

The secret U.S. effort to track, hide and surveil the Chinese spy balloon

On a Friday evening last January, Gen. Glen VanHerck, the Air Force commander in charge of defending American airspace from intrusion, called President Joe Biden’s top military adviser, Gen. Mark Milley.

U.S. intelligence officials had just notified the general that for roughly 10 days they had been tracking a mysterious — and enormous — object flying over the Asia-Pacific, VanHerck told Milley. The object had crossed into U.S. airspace over Alaska and VanHerck said he planned to dispatch military jets to fly alongside it and attempt to assess what it was.

The previously unreported Jan. 27 phone call between Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and VanHerck, the head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, set off an eight-day scramble inside the Biden administration to respond to a Chinese spy balloon the size of three school buses floating over the U.S.

The spy balloon exposed an increasingly brazen China’s competitive advances miles above the Earth and brought the most critical relationship in the world to one of its lowest points in recent history.

Here’s where it gets really fun

Administration officials at first hoped to conceal the balloon’s existence from the public, and from Congress, according to multiple former and current administration and congressional officials.

“Before it was spotted publicly, there was the intention to study it and let it pass over and not ever tell anyone about it,” said a former senior U.S. official briefed on the balloon incident.

Heck of a Friday before Christmas news dump, NBC News. Now, just imagine how this story would go if it had been the Trump admin attempting to conceal it from Congress and the citizens?

Biden first learned of the balloon on Jan. 31, three days after VanHerck’s phone call to Milley. Top aides told him it appeared headed for the continental U.S., and Biden asked for options from the military for how to deal with it.

Yeah, why should the POTUS know ASAP about a Chinese spy balloon heading towards the US?

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Bummer: Court Kills Off Oregon Climate Scam Program

By William Teach December 23, 2023 – 7:15 am

Let’s not forget that the Oregon court is primarily made up of Democrats

Oregon court strikes down state climate program, rules in favor of utilities, industry

An Oregon court on Wednesday delivered a blow to Oregon’s signature Climate Protection Program, invalidating it over the state’s failure to follow rule-making requirements.

The program mandates ever-increasing cuts in emissions from the state’s natural gas utilities, suppliers of gasoline, diesel, kerosene and propane and large industrial plants.

Oregon’s three gas utilities, an oil-industry group and a dozen other local trade organizations had challenged the program’s rules last year, aiming to block them.

The Oregon Court of Appeals found that the Environmental Quality Commission, the policy and rule-making board for the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, did not meet heightened disclosure requirements.

You mean they shortcut everything in their attempt to force the citizens of Oregon to comply?

In court, lawyers for the utilities and trade group had argued that the state cannot regulate their emissions and that the Climate Protection Program would reduce the amount of available fuel in the state. They also challenged the state’s compliance with the disclosure requirements.

They argued that the notice of proposed rulemaking in the secretary of state’s bulletin omitted any statement regarding whether the rules exceed federal requirements on Title V plants, any description of the alternatives considered and any explanation why those alternatives were rejected. They also said other forms of notice failed to include the information about alternatives and why they were not pursued. (snip)

The state acknowledged that the notice it submitted did not include an explicit statement about additional federal requirements. The state said it “substantially complied” with state rules by posting the notice of proposed rulemaking on its website, sending it to over 20,000 recipients and conducting 18 months of public outreach. (snip)

But the court ruled that is not enough.

“Substantial compliance … is not sufficient. The statute requires actual compliance,” the court wrote.

An amazing ruling. The government office figured they could just do whatever they wanted.

Read: Bummer: Court Kills Off Oregon Climate Scam Program »

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Republicans In 3 States Look To Remove Biden From Ballot

By William Teach December 23, 2023 – 7:00 am

It is completely a stunt, but, that’s what you have to do in politics at times. Like I’ve said, the GOP should offer legislation requiring those who protect the White House to only carry firearms that hold less than 11 bullets and no “assault rifles”. Just standard hunting rifles with fixed clips. And that Joe can only travel by train and EV

Exclusive: Republicans Drafting Bills to Remove Joe Biden from Ballots in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania

Biden Brain SuckerThree Republican state lawmakers are drafting legislation to remove President Joe Biden from ballots in Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, Breitbart News exclusively learned Friday.

If Biden is removed from the ballots, the president will have difficulty winning the Democrat primary and presidential election. Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania are vital swing states.

The three state representatives who are drafting the three bills are:

  • Pennsylvania Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R)
  • Georgia Rep. Charlice Byrd (R)
  • Arizona Rep. Cory Mcgarr (R)

The state representatives’ aim is to fight back against the Democrats’ so-called “lawfare” used to attack former President Donald Trump. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a 4-3 opinion that the United States Constitution’s “Insurrection Clause” blocks Trump from appearing on the state’s presidential ballot.

“We are joining forces to introduce legislation to REMOVE Joe Biden from the ballot in Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania,” the lawmakers told Breitbart News. “The absurdity of radical Democrat judges removing Donald Trump from the ballot in Colorado will be a stain on the American political system for decades. By their very own interpretation of the law, Joe Biden is 100% not eligible to run for political office.”

“Democrats’ insane justification to remove Trump can just as easily be applied to Joe Biden for his ‘insurrection’ at the southern border and his alleged corrupt family business dealings with China,” they continued.

None of them expect this to go anywhere, it’s simply out there for discussion and to show the insanity. Is it really insurrection at the border? Well, in the same way, actually worse than what Trump did, because Biden is essentially inviting an invasion. What should really be done is that a whole bunch of Republican groups should file suits in battleground states to have Biden removed from the general election ballot. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Though, I reckon that the Supreme Court will nullify the Colorado ruling.

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