This is the second Christmas without my parents. Last year, about now, I was finding out just how nasty my brother actually is. Which gratefully caused me to connect with “The Cousins”.

This year I am doing a bit better. Not great, but better.

Growing up, Christmas had rules. You got three “major” presents. Mom made sure they matched you and, to her, more importantly, that the value of your set of presents exactly matched your siblings.

I swear that Mom would make that balance within a few nickels every year.

As the number of grandkids grew and Mom became more mentally fragile, she couldn’t keep up with matching presents to kids. She switched what she was doing.

Each kid, grandchild, spouse or significant other, and “adopted” child received the same thing: a beautiful Christmas ornament and a cash gift.

The first time this happened, it was difficult for me; I was broke, so that cash was extremely helpful. But the ornament matched me, and that was what I was truly thankful for, but I also needed to express my gratitude for the cash. I didn’t want my parents to think it was just the cash that was important to me.

Over the years Mom’s ability to choose personal ornaments declined, but it was still a staple.

Last year there were no ornaments from Mom. She and Dad were gone.

As Christmas started growing nearer this year, I felt the loss of my parents overwhelming me. Knowing that there would be no ornaments, no cash from Mom under the tree.

I fixed it. I got the addresses of all the cousins, the names of their spouses and significant others, any children they had, adopted or natural. Then I got ornaments for them all. The female adults got ornaments from one collection, and everybody else got them from a different collection.

Those ornaments with a $10 bill were packaged up and sent out.

Everybody that Mom would have sent a gift to received a gift. Even my brother.

It worked. All who have reported so far have been very pleased.

The Question

What is a Christmas tradition that your family has that you took over when your parents passed or that you want your offspring to take up when you pass?

I don’t know who Elsa Kurt is, but this showed up yesterday afternoon on my feed, and I agree with it. It speaks better words than I can.

Chris will tell you that, during Trump 1.0 when I was suffering from TDS, I would often talk about the “mean tweets.” At the time, I was befuddled, and I couldn’t explain why they bothered me so much. I think perhaps now I have a better idea of how to put it into words. Elsa here has helped.

I can see and approve of, and indeed love, the THINGS that President Trump is doing while simultaneously decry some (but not all) of the things he says and/or tweets. I see all the good he’s done for our country, and I am very supportive of that. I see our economy recovering, spending going down, tariffs doing what they ought to, criminals being ousted from the country, and a general upswing in mood. But I also see his words. And they are troubling to me.

At one time, I lived in my parents’ home and in a very abusive situation. My mother only ever hit me once. At the time, I was a foul mouthed teen and I probably deserved discipline (though not a backhand with her ginormous wedding rings on). Her abuse was more sinister, though. It was mental. She was (and is, I suppose) an alcoholic who was undiagnosed and who refused to admit it. She drank frequently, and acted poorly when drunk. She was mean in general, but when drinking became a nightmare. I would be severely punished for such offenses as putting forks in the dishwasher wrong, having the wrong look on my face at a given moment, or asking for physical attention (hugs, etc.). Anything other than an “A” grade was also to be punished. Punishments ranged from being sent to my room, to berating and mocking me, humiliating me, and grounding me for months at a time. It was the digs, though, the mental and verbal digs that just kept coming, that destroyed me.

There was a time when I was 15 or so, when I finally broke and I went to the ER local to me, and begged them to lock me up on a 72 hour hold. After hours of talking to a therapist and various doctors, they basically told me I was fine, it was my mother who was sick. I could not get it through their heads that it didn’t matter if she was the sick one, _I_ was the one who had to change, because she wasn’t going to. That wasn’t just an assumption on my part, either. She’d told me that, to my face. I ended up medicated, because dulling my senses was the only way to get through my time living with her. I took up drinking and drugging, and inappropriate sex, because I needed to get love from somewhere.

Why are you talking about all this, you ask? Because when Trump does one thing and then says another, it shoves me right back into my days with my mother. It’s not so much of a match that I feel gut punched, but the discomfort is there. My mother could put on a dazzling display of “loving parenthood” when anyone else was around. Most people thought I was damn lucky to have such an attentive, wonderful mother in my life. They had no idea of the personal hell I lived through, every single day. When I see someone whose words and actions are at a mismatch, it is my natural reaction to look twice and thrice at every word and action they have made and are making.

Read More

It is my belief that Trump was a reluctant president. In 2016 he ran almost as a joke. His goal seemed more to disrupt the normal Republican party politics than to actually become president.

The Democrats certainly thought he was a joke. They did everything in their power to make him the Republican nominee. The amount of free publicity he received from the mainstream media was astonishing. Everybody loved him. At least among the people who counted.

He was a brass man who said what many of us had been thinking. He called out the press for lying. He stood up to the people handing him gotcha questions. He put forth the image of a powerful leader that could lead our country in the right direction.

He was not the man I wanted for my president. I went to bed knowing the next four years were going to be horrible under the evil, selfish, egotistical control of Hillary Clinton.

I woke to the surprising news that Hillary had lost. I didn’t see it as Trump winning but more as Hillary wasn’t going to be the president.

He then stepped on the rake. TDS struck everybody who hadn’t voted for Trump. The entire “not my president” shit started up. Bush, the evil, was held up as a wonderful example of a “good” president. And the deep state took it upon themselves to thwart the will of the democratically elected president of the United States.

His agenda was stopped in its tracks. But one thing moved forward. And that was the retaking of the courts.

Our courts had become another legislative branch. If the left didn’t control the country via the ballot box, they controlled it via corrupted judges.

Trump’s first legacy was in getting so many originalists onto the courts. Instead of a zero chance of getting an originalist panel in the Ninth Circuit, it became almost 50/50. There was even a chance of getting an originalist en banc panel.

He did the same in every circuit. One place that he succeeded was in the Third Circuit.

There is something amazing happening in our judicial system; we are seeing a circuit courts over blue states turn red. This is huge in the grand scheme of things.

There are so many constitutional questions out there that never get to the Supreme Court. They don’t get there because the lower courts manipulate the stats. They game the system.

The Supreme Court is asked to hear nearly ten thousand cases a term. They hear less than 100. Those are not good odds.

The justices meet once a week, on Friday, to discuss what cases they want to hear. If 4 justices vote to hear a case, it will be placed on the Supreme Court docket.

The justices would like to hear cases that have major implications. They don’t like trivial cases. One of the things that suggests a case will have major implications is if multiple circuit courts have reached different opinions on the question presented.

Trump’s legacy includes creating situations for circuit splits.

At this time we are looking at a circuit split regarding assault weapon bans and large capacity magazine bans. This is only because of Trump. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals is now an originalist majority court. This means that for the first time, originalists have heard cases involving these types of bans.

If the rulings come out for the Constitution and The People we will have a circuit split. Circuit split means the Supreme Court is more likely to hear the case.

Clawing Back Power

There are three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. This is laid out in our Constitution. For many years it was said that the fourth branch of government was the media. Unfortunately, we’ve learned that the media is just another branch of the Democrat party.

Democrats are the type of people that will go to bat a 100 times and swing and miss 100 times. Then on the 101 they get a piece of the ball and score a run. At that point, they claim that the people have spoken and that there will never ever be a 102-pitch.

This wasn’t working. They would pass bad bills, and the next time a conservative got in office with a congress that backed him, the bad law would be undone. So they worked to “fix” the problem.

They did this by passing laws that restricted what later congresses could do.

The biggest thing they did was they stripped power from the President.

They did this by creating commissions instead of agencies.

The Department of War, the Department of Education, The Department of Energy, the Department of Justice, and so forth are all agencies headed by a single boss. That boss works at the pleasure of the President.

Congress couldn’t tell the President he was unable to fire the heads of these agencies because it is clearly stated in the Constitution that this was part of the Article II executive branch controlled by the President.

Instead, they started setting up commissions and boards. The National Labor Board, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Reserve Bank. The most recent was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This is not an “agency” and is “independent” of the executive branch. It is also independent of the congress because it does not get its funding from congress.

When they set up these entities headed by commissions, Congress set rules for how the commissions were selected, how long they served, and how members could be removed.

This allowed these entities to ignore the orders of the president. He can’t fire them for ignoring the policies of the democratically elected president. So they could just keep on keeping on. This stripped the president of control of parts of the executive branch.

Trump’s legacy is the destruction of these “protected” boards and commissions. The Supreme Court should be finding these restrictions on presidential authority unconstitutional before June 2026. That is a legacy worth bragging about.

Everybody Knows (and was wrong)

The left likes to argue that just because something hasn’t been found unconstitutional in the past, it is constitutional today.

For years we were all taught, and we all learned, that if you were born in the United States, you were a citizen of the United States.

The Constitution doesn’t say that. History shows that everybody knew that the 14th Amendment applied to former slaves. It didn’t apply to foreigners. Until suddenly the left said that it did.

The outcome of the birthright case will change the political landscape for years and years to come.

Conclusion

Trump’s Legacy will be felt for decades, and it is in the fundamental changes he is making to the status quo and administrative state.

Dec. 11-13, 2025:

A new Christmas fable
https://thelawdogfiles.substack.com/p/a-new-christmas-fable
While Santa Claus brings gifts to good little boys and girls, and Krampus punishes children who misbehave, the less well-known Välkkykettu (Flickerfox) traditionally rewards those children who are both good and bad: those hyperactive, impulsive, chaos-gremlins we all know and (sometimes) love. To these lucky children, he brings gifts that are equal parts delightful and disastrous.

Stanford Medicine study shows why mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines can cause myocarditis
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/12/myocarditis-vaccine-covid.html
Stanford Medicine investigators have unearthed the biological process by which mRNA-based vaccines for COVID-19 can cause heart damage in some young men and adolescents — and they’ve shown a possible route to reducing its likelihood. Using advanced but now common lab technologies, along with published data from vaccinated individuals, the researchers identified a two-step sequence in which these vaccines activate a certain type of immune cell, in turn riling up another type of immune cell. The resulting inflammatory activity directly injures heart muscle cells, while triggering further inflammatory damage.
and
‘Yes, Some Children… Died From COVID Shots, Major Legacy Media Concedes as British Gov. Hides Excess Death Data
https://armageddonprose.substack.com/p/yes-some-children-died-from-covid

Georgetown prof starts running after realizing he’s talking to James O’Keefe — and his racial ‘slurs’ are on camera
https://www.theblaze.com/news/georgetown-prof-starts-running-after-realizing-he-was-talking-to-james-okeefe-and-his-racial-remarks-were-on-camera
Jonathan Franklin, a former race and identity correspondent for National Public Radio who now apparently serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, recently went into panic mode after realizing he had made a series of damning remarks to investigative journalist James O’Keefe on a hidden camera.
video – 00:14:25 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8zldpIW0Bk

Obama Judge Saves MS-13 Predator, Blocks Deportation of Violent Illegal Alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia Again
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/judicial-tyranny-obama-judge-saves-ms-13-predator-blocks-deportation-of-violent-illegal-alien-kilmar-abrego-garcia-again.html/

Congress Passes $900B Defense Bill with Trump-Supported China Investment Ban Despite Conservative Opposition
https://istandforfreedom.com/congress-900b-china-ban/

Jasmine Crockett dared anyone to find examples of Democrats championing violence — and the GOP delivered
https://www.theblaze.com/news/jasmine-crockett-challenged-americans-to-find-examples-of-her-championing-violence-gop-delivered
video – 00:02:05 – https://x.com/i/status/1998819087913263356

James Carville Criticizes Jasmine Crockett’s Senate Bid, Says She’s Too Self-Centered to Win
https://www.westernjournal.com/james-carville-criticizes-jasmine-crocketts-senate-bid-says-self-centered-win/

Walz Jumps Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire As Federal Probe of Massive Minnesota Welfare Scam Widens
https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2025/12/11/walz-defiantly-jumps-out-of-the-frying-pan-as-federal-probe-of-massive-minnesota-welfare-scam-widens-n2197027
and
Bask in the Backfire As Tim Walz Warns Minnesotans Not to Elect a Con Man As Governor
https://twitchy.com/dougp/2025/12/11/bask-in-the-backfire-as-tim-walz-warns-minnesotans-not-to-elect-a-con-man-as-governor-n2422736
and
Somali Fraud Ring: Porsche in Garage, Villa in Maldives, Wire Transfers to China – Paid by Poor MN Kids
https://twitchy.com/justmindy/2025/12/11/bari-weiss-minnesota-investigation-villas-n2422730

11 Signs That Our World Is Rapidly Becoming A Lot More Orwellian
https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/11-signs-that-our-world-is-rapidly-becoming-a-lot-more-orwellian/
(Michael Snyder has good information, but he is a doom and gloom purveyor, and is also trying to sell you his apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic books – jlr)

AOC Blows Nearly $50K on Puerto Rico Luxury While Denouncing the Rich
https://twitchy.com/justmindy/2025/12/11/aoc-bad-bunny-concert-lots-of-spending-n2422733
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) dropped almost $50,000 on hotels and meals in Puerto Rico in the third quarter of this year — as well as renting a San Juan venue where she was caught on tape grooving at an August Bad Bunny concert.

13 House Republicans Side with Democrats, Vote to Overturn Trump Executive Order
https://www.westernjournal.com/13-house-republicans-side-democrats-vote-overturn-trump-executive-order/
“most of the Republicans who backed Golden’s measure are expected to either face at least somewhat tough re-election bids or have districts located in blue states where bipartisanship is expected on certain key issues.”

House Rejects Fifth Trump Impeachment Attempt as 23 Democrats Join Republicans in 237-140 Vote
https://istandforfreedom.com/house-5th-trump-impeachment-attempt/

Significantly Lower Than Pond Scum
https://chrisbray.substack.com/p/significantly-lower-than-pond-scum
Nothing has ever been dumber. No human beings have ever been less impressive than the Democrats on this congressional committee. I can’t really say anything about it — no insult could ever be adequate, and I feel frustrated by the inadequacy of my chosen headline. Sample argument from Rep. LaMonica McIver, referring to her Republican colleagues on the committee: “Y’all is kissin’ Trump’s butt cheeks”
video – 00:05:06 – https://youtu.be/A4J0kzYTMaE
Noem was also questioned by Rep. Shri Thanedar, who is absolutely not doing Borat-type schtick
video – 00:04:50 – https://youtu.be/DNZ19ToFj9E
Bennie Thompson tried to ask Noem about “the unfortunate accident that occurred with the National Guardsmen,” referring to the murder of the West Virginia National Guard’s Spc. Sarah Beckstrom
video – 00:00:33 – https://youtu.be/UbddylWgm2o

“Democrats Know Their Constituents Can’t Read Charts. That’s Why…”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/democrats-know-their-constituents-cant-read-charts-thats-why
The Biden-Harris regime had four full years to fix the beef problem, yet failed to act; instead, they focused on nation-killing progressive policies, if that’s ‘green’ or open borders, that have caused the current mess we’re in today.

Prepare For Coming World War, NATO Chief Says
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/prepare-coming-world-war-nato-chief-says
NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday gave a major address in Berlin wherein he pleaded with members of the alliance to drastically step up joint defense efforts, in order to face down a coming conflict with Russia that could be “on the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured.”

Rep Massie Introduces Bill For US To Dump ‘Cold War Relic’ NATO
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/massie-introduces-bill-us-dump-cold-war-relic-nato
“We should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our own country, not socialist countries… US participation has cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and continues to risk US involvement in foreign wars… America should not be the world’s security blanket – especially when wealthy countries refuse to pay for their own defense,”

An “Existential Crisis” To Close 2025
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/existential-crisis-least-some
(Economic TDS from Europe – jlr)

Mapped: Gas Prices by U.S. State in 2025
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-gas-prices-by-u-s-state-in-2025/

Where U.S. wages are keeping ahead of inflation
https://www.voronoiapp.com/economy/Where-US-wages-are-keeping-ahead-of-inflation-7232

J6 Chair Makes Jaw-Dropping Claim: Pipe Bomb Videos Outside RNC and DNC Deleted—‘Doesn’t Exist’
https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2025/12/12/j6-chair-makes-jaw-dropping-claim-pipe-bomb-videos-outside-rnc-and-dnc-deleteddoesnt-exist-n2197054

Trouble in Lefty Paradise? Recent Mamdani Moves Might Already Be Giving His Radical Base Buyer’s Remorse
https://redstate.com/beckynoble/2025/12/12/trouble-in-lefty-paradise-recent-mamdani-moves-might-already-be-giving-his-radical-base-buyers-remorse-n2197064
Zohran Mamdani faces backlash after a leaked list of Democratic Socialists of America “demands” — described by critics as ‘weird, scary, and insanely stupid’
video – 00:00:26 – https://x.com/i/status/1986901472500719657

Dems Drop What They Call a ‘Disturbing Pic’ of Trump From Epstein Estate… Just 1 Problem
https://twitchy.com/samj/2025/12/12/foiled-again-dems-drop-what-they-call-a-disturbing-pict-of-trump-from-epstein-estate-just-1-problem-n2422789
This so-called disturbing picture Democrats seem to think will prove he’s a pedophile is quite frankly, ridiculous … take a look:

Dems Would Last Maybe 5 Minutes in the Civil War They Think They Want
https://pjmedia.com/stephen-kruiser/2025/12/12/dems-would-last-maybe-5-minutes-in-the-civil-war-they-think-they-want-n4946954

DOJ Sues Four States for Violating Federal Election Law
https://www.westernjournal.com/doj-sues-four-states-violating-federal-election-law/
Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Nevada.

Obama’s ‘Most Transparent Ever’ Scam: No Library, Just a Private ‘Center’ to Hide & Control His Records
https://twitchy.com/justmindy/2025/12/12/obamas-library-is-a-center-not-a-library-limiting-journalists-n2422783
the Obama Presidential Library will not actually be a library in the truest sense. It will be a ‘center’ and run privately. Barack Obama made that very conscious choice so his people could control how much access the public and journalists have to his archives and records.

Governor Tim Walz Is Asked About Responsibility for Somali Fraud Scandal and Pivots to ‘White Men’
https://twitchy.com/warren-squire/2025/12/12/somali-leaders-about-holding-their-community-accountable-walz-white-people-are-bad-n2422786
Question: Do you want to hear more from Somali leaders about holding their community accountable?
Answer: video – 00:01:07 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1999533244379693252

Border Tsar Homan Announces Investigation Into Rep. Omar: A Case For Fraud Or Defamation?
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/border-tsar-homan-announces-investigation-rep-omar-case-fraud-or-defamation
and
White House Posts Proof Ilhan Oma Married Her Brother
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/white-house-posts-proof-ilhan-omam-married-her-brother.html/
BUT WAIT, there’s more
Border Patrol Chief Promises to Arrest Ilhan Omar
https://twitchy.com/videos/2025/12/13/border-patrol-chief-promises-to-arrest-ilhan-omar-n2422803
Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino’s BOMBSHELL promise to put Rep. Ilhan Omar in HANDCUFFS, the final nail in the coffin that PROVES she really did marry her brother,
and also
Mollie Hemingway’s Wake-Up Call: Ilhan Omar’s Alleged Brother-Marriage and Fraud Must Be Investigated Now
http://twitchy.com/justmindy/2025/12/12/mollie-hemingway-reminds-america-of-the-serious-claims-against-omar-n2422794
and
If Brother-Marriage Claim Is Libel, Ilhan Omar Should Sue and Cash in Like Trump Did
https://twitchy.com/justmindy/2025/12/12/ilhan-omar-why-doesnt-she-sue-for-false-marriage-claims-n2422782

Colorado School Districts Settle Lawsuit, Can Maintain Girls’ Sports Based on Biological Sex
https://americanjournaldaily.com/school-girls-sports-ban/

A weekly supplement to the AlertsUSA National Threat and Incident Notification Service
https://www.threatjournal.com/archive/tj12132025.html
Homeland Peril: 18,000 Embedded Jihadists

NBC ‘News’ Breaks Story on Trump’s Racist Font War
https://twitchy.com/gordon-k/2025/12/12/nbc-news-trumps-racist-font-war-n2422775
Secretary of State Rubio has concluded Calibri is a DEI font and orders US diplomats to revert to Times New Roman in official communications.
(Never forget that “Orangeman BAD”, and so are his accomplices, the equivocality of this is – https://alphahistory.com/pastpeculiar/1941-nazis-ban-jewish-fonts/ – jlr)

YGTBSM!!!
https://oldnfo.substack.com/p/ygtbsm
Democrats have a knack for downplaying political violence when it suits their political narrative, but Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) took it to a new, disgraceful low on Thursday.

**NEW MEXICO MAKES THE NATIONAL NEWS AGAIN, AND SADLY, YET AGAIN, NOT IN A GOOD WAY – JLR
New Mexico’s Misguided Gun Control Crusade: Targeting Dealers Won’t Stop the Violence
https://bearingarms.com/kerry-slone/2025/12/10/new-mexicos-misguided-gun-control-crusade-targeting-dealers-wont-stop-the-violence-n1230869
The latest anti-2A proposed bill, sponsored by Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) and Sen. Heather Berghmans (D-Albuquerque), would require enhanced training and state licensing akin to that for bartenders or cannabis sellers, mandatory inventory tracking, and employee protocols to flag “problematic” customers.
(This mindset is why we no longer live in New Mexico – jlr)

North Carolina Woman’s Lawsuit Gives SCOTUS a Chance to Establish National Reciprocity
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2025/12/11/north-carolina-womans-lawsuit-gives-scotus-a-chance-to-establish-national-reciprocity-n1230888
The Supreme Court has explicitly stated that the Second Amendment isn’t a second-class right. Well, no other constitutional right ends at the border of the state where we live, so Gardner’s case would be an excellent vehicle for SCOTUS to put the right to bear arms on the same level as our other enumerated rights, including the right to be secure in our persons and property, our freedom of speech, and our right to due process.

DEFCON 2 IMHO
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/defcon-2-imho
If for no reason the mall’s doors close down and the escalators stop working, yours truly (if not already out) would scramble to an emergency exit in a very expeditiously manner or at worst, find a secure & defensible position with good cover and wait for shit to either calm down or hit the fan.
And return fire if required.
PS: Regular people seemed to think it was unexpected, interesting and non-threatening.
That’ how they get killed.

Federal Delays Cost Texas Ranchers Billions in Screwworm Crisis
https://texianpartisan.com/analysis/economic-analysis/federal-delays-cost-texas-ranchers-billions-in-screwworm-crisis/
Texas lawmakers heard conflicting reports Tuesday about the state’s readiness to combat the New World Screwworm, exposing dangerous gaps in federal response planning that put $11 billion in annual economic activity at risk.

National Democrats put Texas House on list of legislative targets for 2026
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/10/texas-house-legislature-election-2026-national-democrats/
Rep. Christina Morales, the new chair of the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, said she wants to initially target five GOP-controlled districts, with a broader list to come later.

Texas Showdown: GOP’s Wesley Hunt Now Dares Dem Crockett to Face-Off
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/12/12/texas-showdown-gops-wesley-hunt-now-dares-dem-crockett-to-face-off-n2197065

Federal Judge Deals Massive Blow to Transgender Policy, Finally Rules Against Men in Women’s Prisons
https://www.westernjournal.com/federal-judge-deals-massive-blow-transgender-policy-finally-rules-men-womens-prisons/
A new federal ruling said that a Texas prison is not permitted to house male inmates who claim transgender identity with females.

Gun Grabbers’ Amicus Brief Ignores History of NFA
https://bearingarms.com/tomknighton/2025/12/12/gun-grabbers-amicus-brief-ignores-history-of-nfa-n1230898
The National Firearms Act was the first federal gun control law in the country, only it was never billed as a gun control law. It was sold to the American public and the courts as a tax. The registration of NFA items was simply a way to make sure the tax had been paid on regulated items.

The most recent articles from Active Response Training
https://philelmore.substack.com/p/the-urge-to-police-your-fellow-man
V
The Urge to Police Your Fellow Man
https://philelmore.substack.com/p/the-urge-to-police-your-fellow-man
V
Massad Ayoob: 6 Must-Know Court Cases For Gun Owners
https://athlonoutdoors.com/article/massad-ayoob-6-must-know-court-cases-for-gun-owners/#massad-ayoob-6-must-know-court-cases-for-gun-owners-1
Update your legal knowledge by reading this article from Mas Ayoob. Then go read his book. (https://amzn.to/4aJiNKW)

At the Beginning of Credit Destruction Cycle – Ed Dowd
https://usawatchdog.com/at-the-beginning-of-credit-destruction-cycle-ed-dowd/

Ilhan Omar’s Republican Opponent Reveals Congresswoman’s ‘Deep Ties’ to Somali Fraud Scandal
https://www.westernjournal.com/ilhan-omars-republican-opponent-reveals-congresswomans-deep-ties-somali-fraud-scandal/

The gift…That keeps on giving…
https://oldnfo.substack.com/p/the-gift
She ‘somehow’ thinks she’s actually popular with the people of Texas. But what she doesn’t realise is it’s because she is comedic relief…
and
Democrats Panic as Crockett Torpedoes Dreams of Flipping Texas
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/12/13/democrats-panic-as-crockett-torpedoes-dreams-of-flipping-texas-n4947026
and
Jasmine Crockett Claims She Gets the Struggles of Farmers and Ranchers, Knows the Smell of Paper Plants
https://twitchy.com/warren-squire/2025/12/13/jasmine-crockett-says-she-understands-the-struggles-of-farmers-ranchers-n2422802
She fancies herself a candidate for everyone. That belief has led her to adopt whatever persona she needs in the moment to rope in gullible voters.
video – 00:00:42 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1999843498149757346
video – 00:00:29 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1999864517661270355

Ted Nugent’s loud protest is the wake-up call Western elites want to ignore
https://www.theblaze.com/align/ted-nugents-loud-protest-is-the-wake-up-call-western-elites-want-to-ignore
In America, no foreign religion should be granted the right to reorder everyone’s routine…The call to prayer has no place in polite society. There’s a difference between freedom of religion and freedom to dominate the public square.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHRISTMAS DESECRATION: Live Nativity Smashed, Donkeys Beaten, Tortured, Violent Attackers Defecate in Church in Germany
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/christmas-desecration.html/
A quiet German town was left shaken after a pre-dawn attack that targeted a live Christmas nativity scene in Erbach, Germany, turning a family holiday tradition into a shocking scene of deliberate desecration and cruelty. Police say attackers arrived around 4 a.m. intent on destruction—beating two donkeys used in the display, smashing electrical equipment, and ripping apart decorations before moving on to desecrate the nearby Protestant church, where they vandalized the interior and defecated inside…The attack has heightened fear among residents and comes amid growing concern across Germany over repeated Islamic assaults on Christmas markets and Christian symbols, forcing once-festive public spaces to be guarded by armed police and bomb squads as communities brace for further violence during the holiday season.
(Possibly coming here, sooner than you might think – jlr)
to wit:
Terror Group CAIR’s Top Dog Calls To Destroy America and Impose Sharia Law
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/terror-group-cairs-top-dog-calls-to-destroy-america-and-impose-sharia-law.html
Muslim Brotherhood leader openly says they hope to have 50 members of Congress in the next 6 years, and then brags that this is how they will dismantle America and replace it with the most brutal system – sharia (Islamic) law.
video – 00:00:25 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1999638772040745395

(MUSLIM) GUNMEN KILL AT LEAST 11, WOUND 29 IN TERROR TRACK ON JEWISH HOLIDAY EVENT IN AUSTRALIA
https://justthenews.com/government/security/gunmen-kill-least-11-wound-29-terror-track-jewish-holiday-event-australia
At least two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish holiday celebration Sunday on a beach in Sydney, Australia, killing at least 11 revelers and injuring 29 in what authorities immediately declared a terror attack.
V
Bondi Beach Terrorist Attack
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/bondi-beach-terrorist-attack
V
The Bondi Beach Shot Not Taken.
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/the-bondi-beach-shot-not-taken

When I became a man – I put away childish things.
https://thelawdogfiles.substack.com/p/when-i-became-a-man
Governments have been experimenting with national-level gun control for almost a hundred years. National-level gun control is a simple idea for a complex problem, and is the benchmark for childish thinking. It doesn’t work, it never works, and it’s time to stop thinking like children and try something else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corruption Seems to Be a Way of Life in One Party — Guess Which One
https://pjmedia.com/eric-florack/2025/12/14/corruption-seems-to-be-a-way-of-life-in-one-party-guess-which-one-n4947051

Democratic-led states sue Trump administration over $100K H-1B visa fee
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5647485-democrat-attorneys-general-lawsuit-trump-h-1b-visa-fees/
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) on Friday led a group of 18 Democratic states in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over President Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa application fee. Collectively, the attorneys general argued that the new price tag attached to foreign visas will pose a barrier to ****** U.S. employers seeking to hire highly skilled foreign national workers to alleviate nationwide labor shortages.

Today’s TDS example:
CNN’s Erin Burnett obsesses over Trump condoms, ‘disgusting’ slogan in latest Epstein smear job
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/12/13/cnns-erin-burnett-obsesses-over-trump-condoms-disgusting-slogan-in-latest-epstein-smear-job-1610032/

Less than one year out from midterms, some Democrats embrace ‘abolish ICE’ movement
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/12/13/less-than-one-year-out-from-midterms-some-democrats-embrace-abolish-ice-movement-1609991/
Democrats squaring off in primaries across the country are calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or for major changes that would strip the agency of its core functions. The resurgence of the “Abolish ICE” movement comes as some Democrats argue President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown has gone too far, though leading Democrats have still not coalesced around an alternative immigration policy platform.

Rashida Tlaib Claims Congress Has ALL THE MONEY to Feed and Give FREE Healthcare to Everyone and YEAH No
https://twitchy.com/samj/2025/12/14/rashida-tlaib-proves-she-has-no-idea-how-government-works-congress-money-n2422831

Here’s Further Proof That ‘Jingle Bells’ Is Racist
https://twitchy.com/brettt/2025/12/13/heres-further-proof-that-jingle-bells-is-racist-n2422828
https://x.com/zoomafrika1/status/1999511427183530303

Illegal Who Entered 7 Times and Sexually Assaulted Woman Praised by Judge for His ‘Family Devotion’
https://twitchy.com/brettt/2025/12/13/man-who-entered-illegally-7-times-and-sexually-assaulted-woman-commended-for-his-family-devotion-n2422821

Sen. Mark Warner Says Type of Ammo Used in Drug Boat Strike Was ‘Anti-Personnel’
https://twitchy.com/brettt/2025/12/13/abc-news-sen-mark-warner-says-type-of-ammo-used-in-boat-strike-was-anti-personnel-n2422810
…So the military was supposed to have used munitions designed to destroy the drugs but leave the boat and the smugglers alone?

Questions Surround Mass Shooting at Brown University; Several Reported Injured
https://twitchy.com/brettt/2025/12/13/questions-surround-mass-shooting-at-brown-university-that-injured-at-least-20-n2422826

What’s In Your Coffee? Unexpected Facts Behind Your Morning Cup
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/whats-your-coffee-unexpected-facts-behind-your-morning-cup
Coffee is beloved for its caffeine kick and flavor, but it also helps reduce risks from chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease thanks to high levels of antioxidants and other bioactive compounds…along with its nutty flavor and comforting aroma, researchers have found traces of potentially cancer-causing roasting byproducts, mycotoxins from mold, cholesterol-raising compounds, and even pesticide residues that can linger from farm to mug…Your Choice of Coffee Matters – Everything from the type of coffee purchased to the package it comes in, and even what’s stirred into it, can change what ends up in a cup of joe.

White House Christmas Ornaments Through the Years
https://www.rd.com/list/christmas-ornaments-white-house/

humor rcd via e-mail
The Covidiot: Animated Movie – The Cavidiot and the Quest for a free hot dog by John Cooper.
video – 00:04:58 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYb8VvXfTeQ
The Covidiot: & The Quest for a Free Hotdog Paperback – December 14, 2024 by MR John Cooper (Author) – on Amazon – https://a.co/d/0VFEAtF
and another book
COVIDIOTS: Stories of idiotic acts and bizarre behaviour Paperback – April 5, 2020 by Natalia Gómez Álvarez (Author), Steven Richard Harris (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/COVIDIOTS-Stories-idiotic-bizarre-behaviour/dp/B086Y6KDC1
“Covidiots – Idiotic Acts and Bizarre Behaviour”, is a tongue-in-cheek look at humankind’s stupidity in the face of the biggest crisis the modern world has seen. With stories including bumbling politicians, amateur inventors, and people that chose to follow blindly whatever advice they found online, these bite-sized tales will make you wonder how on earth we survived the Covid-19 pandemic.`

Dec. 14-15, 2025:

if not invasion, what? – calling things by their names
https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/if-not-invasion-what
when large numbers of violent people come from abroad with no intention of joining a civilization but rather to pillage, attack, and to dominate it, how is one to describe this course of events?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hamas Terrorist Mobs Attack Chanukah Concert in Amsterdam, Chanting “Kill The Jews”
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/hamas-terrorist-mobs-attack-chanukah-concert-in-amsterdam.html/

Seems IMPORTANT: Brown Classroom Where Gunman Opened Fire Belongs to THIS Teacher Teaching THESE Subjects
https://twitchy.com/samj/2025/12/14/oh-brown-teachers-name-courses-and-classroom-where-gunman-opened-fire-is-very-telling-n2422838
The shooting occurred in the classroom of Professor Rachel Friedberg…who is Jewish, part of the Program in Judaic Studies, and whose research focuses on the intersection of economics and Jewish Studies

2 DEAD: Brown University Gunman Targeted Jewish Class, Allegedly Shouted in Arabic, Police and Media Refuse to Deny or Confirm
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/2-dead-eyewitnesses-say-university-brown-gunman-yelled-allahu-akbar-police-and-media-refuse-to-deny-or-confirm.html/
and
Latest Brown University Shooting Update Is Wild…and This Story Has Become a Total Circus
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/12/14/latest-brown-university-shooting-update-is-wildand-this-story-has-become-a-total-circus-n2667880

Israel Warned Far-Left Aussie Government MULTIPLE TIMES of Impending Antisemitic Attacks, Bibi Slams PM Albanes For Weakness and Inciting Jew Hatred, ‘Pouring Fuel on Antisemitic Fire’
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/israel-warned-far-left-aussie-government-multiple-times-of-impending-antisemitic-attacks-bibi-warned-canberra-was-pouring-fuel-on-antisemitic-fire.html/

Australia Discovers What It Means to ‘Globalize the Intifada’
https://pjmedia.com/robert-spencer/2025/12/14/australia-discovers-what-it-means-to-globalize-the-intifada-n4947062
…two Muslims opened fire upon a Hanukkah celebration. And so now the world has yet another example of what looks like when an intifada is globalized.

‘Targeted, Antisemitism’: 16 Dead, 38 Injured After Father & Son Terrorists Attack Sydney Jewish Celebration
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/evil-act-anti-semitism-terrorism-12-dead-after-shooting-australian-jewish-event

MASS SLAUGHTER: Muslim Terrorists Open Fire on Jews Celebrating at Chanukah Festival on Bondi Beach, 16 DEAD INCLUDING CHILDREN & RABBI, 40 Injured
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/mass-slaughter-muslim-terrorists-named-in-antisemitic-hanukkah-massacre-at-bondi-beach-12-dead-including-children-rabbi-29-injured.html/

Islamic Groups Celebrate Mass Slaughter of Jews at Chanukah Festival in Sydney, Australia
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/savages-islamic-groups-celebrate-mass-slaughter-of-jews-at-chanukah-festival-in-sydney-australia.html/

Bombs Found At Scene of Deadly Islamic Attack on Chanukah Celebration on Bondi Beach
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/several-bombs-found-at-scene-of-deadly-islamic-attack-on-chanukah-celebration-on-bondi-beach.html/

Australia Jihad Massacre: Police Stood Down, Heroic Shopkeeper Tackled and Disarmed Terrorist
https://gellerreport.com/2025/12/australia-jihad-massacre-police-stood-down-did-not-return-fire-heroic-shopkeeper-tackled-and-disarmed-terrorist.html/

The Australian Police Reportedly ‘Froze’ During Bondi Terror Attack
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/12/15/the-australian-police-reportedly-froze-during-bondi-terror-attack-n2667883

When you outsource your security to the government – You get government security.
https://thelawdogfiles.substack.com/p/when-you-outsource-your-security
This is what happens when you outsource your personal security to the government. And — of course — the Aussie government is promising even more restrictive gun laws. Of bloody course.⁴
and
Australia PM’s Proposal After Terrorist Attack Couldn’t Be More Predictable (US Dems Are Doing the Same)
https://twitchy.com/dougp/2025/12/15/australia-pms-proposal-after-terrorist-attack-couldnt-be-more-predictable-us-dems-are-doing-the-same-n2422862
Following a trrorist attack targeting jews in Sydney by islamic trrorists, the Prime Minister of Australia warns about “right-wing extremism.”…Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese proposed tougher national gun laws after a mass shooting on Sydney’s Bondi Beach left at least 15 people dead…“It means introducing a bill to parliament to — I mean, to be really blunt — make it more difficult to get these horrifying weapons that have no practical use in our community.”

Wajahat Ali Rages at The New York Times for Being HONEST About Bondi Beach and ‘Globalizing the Intifada’
https://twitchy.com/samj/2025/12/15/wajahat-ali-upset-with-nyt-for-printing-the-truth-bondi-beach-n2422857
We really were shocked to see the NYT, of all typically Lefty rags, calling the terrorism we saw in Australia what it really was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congress strips merit from the military and shackles the president in one bill
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/congress-strips-merit-from-the-military-and-shackles-the-president-in-one-bill
The National Defense Authorization Act restores DEI loopholes, protects bureaucrats, and undermines Trump’s national security plan.

Ilhan Omar Tries to Paint Somali Fraudsters Who Stole $1 Billion as Victims, Investigation as Racist
https://www.westernjournal.com/minnesota-rep-ilhan-omar-attempts-paint-alleged-perpetrators-1000000000-fraud-scheme-victims/
and
https://istandforfreedom.com/homan-somali-visas-deport/
Homan revealed that nearly 50% of visas in the Somali community appear to be fraudulent…“Multiple deportations are coming,”\…soon, those who’ve made a mockery of our immigration system will understand it too – from the departure lounge of their deportation flights. https://istandforfreedom.com/homan-somali-visas-deport/

DC Police Chief Cooked Crime Books: New Oversight Bombshell Drops
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/12/14/dc-police-chief-cooked-crime-books-new-oversight-bombshell-drops-n2197118
https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-bombshell-report-revealing-d-c-s-police-chief-deliberately-manipulated-crime-data/
https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MPD-Interim-Report.pdf

Watch: Leftist Says He ‘Deserves to Be Robbed’ for Being White, Regrets It Seconds Later
https://www.westernjournal.com/watch-leftist-says-deserves-robbed-white-regrets-seconds-later
video – 00:03:00 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1998843172500431180

Woke Libs Freak Out and Label Pantone’s Color the Year ‘Racist,’ Then Look (Even More) Ridiculous When They Learn Who Runs the Company
https://www.westernjournal.com/woke-libs-freak-label-pantones-color-year-racist-look-even-ridiculous-learn-runs-company/\\
Just to get this out of the way, I find the mere concept of “Color of the Year” incredibly stupid. But it takes a particularly special brand of stupid to then get offended over such an absurd concept. And, well, you’re not going to find a more special brand of stupid than when dealing with the terminally offended far-left.

Texas Accuses Doctors of Medicaid Fraud for Secret Transgender Procedures on Minors
https://americanjournaldaily.com/texas-doctors-medicaid/
This is a five-alarm fire of a scandal, and it’s burning with your money. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is alleging that two doctors didn’t just break the law by performing these procedures on kids. The real kicker is that they cooked up a clandestine plot to make every single Texan pay for it.

It Worked: Dems Line Up Behind Moronic Firebrand Republicans Picked For Swing Senate Seat
https://www.westernjournal.com/worked-dems-line-behind-moronic-firebrand-republicans-picked-swing-senate-seat/
It worked. Nice job, GOP!

Border Patrol Kills Suspected Cartel Member After ‘Struggle’ on the Banks of the Rio Grande
https://www.westernjournal.com/border-patrol-kills-suspected-cartel-member-struggle-banks-rio-grande/

Hollywood Legend Rob Reiner, Wife Michele Have Been Killed by Their Son Nick
https://www.westernjournal.com/breaking-report-hollywood-legend-rob-reiner-wife-michele-killed-son-nick/
and
The LAPD Presser on the Deaths of Rob Reiner and Wife Michele Singer Was a Total Disaster
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/12/15/the-lapd-presser-on-the-deaths-of-rob-reiner-and-wife-michele-singer-was-a-total-disaster-n2667886

Minneapolis mayor’s awkward Somali food stunt backfires — and Sara Gonzales’ taste test sets off the left
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/sara-gonzales-unfiltered/minneapolis-mayors-awkward-somali-food-stunt-backfires-and-sara-gonzales-taste-test-sets-off-the-left
After Jacob Frey’s strained on-camera attempt to praise Somali cuisine, Gonzales tried it herself — sparking a wave of outrage and death threats.

Senator Cornyn Introduces Bill to Strip Tax-Exempt Status from CAIR After Terror Designations
https://istandforfreedom.com/cornyn-bill-status-cair-terror/

‘Complete lizard person’: Chuck Schumer gives stunningly tone-deaf remarks following Australia attack
https://www.theblaze.com/news/complete-lizard-person-chuck-schumer-gives-stunningly-tone-deaf-remarks-following-australia-attack
“Of course, I’m going to say a few words about the terrible shooting in Australia,”…”First, of course, as I always say, no matter what, go Bills!”…”They beat the Patriots today. It’s a big deal
video – 00:00:12 – https://x.com/i/status/2000247735988244630
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liberal Lowlife: Mark Kelly – (This is possibly behind a paywall – jlr)
https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2025/12/15/democrat-douchebag-profiles-mark-kelly-n2667872
Picking the biggest d-bag Democrat is a little like picking the prettiest woman wearing a burqa – you know they exist, or at least assume, but it’s just an impossible task since, thanks to the drapes they’ve covered their bodies with because “men” wouldn’t be able to control themselves otherwise, you have no way to know which one wins. In the case of which Democrat is the worst human being, you have to start with the obvious: every single one of them qualifies; it’s really just a battle of degrees. So let’s take a look at one of the top contenders in the game right now: Mark Kelly
The senior Senator from Arizona is the perfect contrast between resume and execution. On paper, the bald phallus model has the ideal life. He was a fighter pilot, he was an astronaut and the attempted murder of his wife by a crazed leftist brings in a lot of sympathy too. But his character made him lose out to being chosen as running mate for Kamala Harris to a guy who lied about his military service and his even his high school football coaching job.
How big a scumbag do you have to be to lose out to a guy who lied about his rank and serving in combat? As you might imagine, it involves his fidelity to something important, and it isn’t the truth.
These are just rumors, of course, as far as the general public knows. The Harris campaign paid people to dig beneath the rumors; what they found remains their little secret. It is, however, worthy of note that while they have expressed disappointment over picking Fraudie Murphy, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, no one has ever expressed regret about NOT picking Mark Kelly. It’s the difference between being upset over your fantasy football quarterback being injured in week one and using your first round draft pick to choose Arron Hernandez.
Kelly might be the only person I’ve ever heard brag about their service in the first Gulf War. Not that there wasn’t danger or it is something those who served shouldn’t be proud of, but it was very short and the Iraqi military turned out to be significantly less a threat than was publicly thought prior to the war.
Still, Kelly did fly his planes and drop his bombs, so there’s that. Still, he talks about it like it was Midway.
Then he went to space, which is cool. He delivered a lot of cargo as a Space Shuttle pilot. I’ve never heard any other Space Shuttle pilot talk about their service like they’d cured a disease like Kelly does, they downplay it. It’s not like being an intergalactic Door Dasher, but still…
Kelly then retired from NASA to focus on his family, especially since his wife had been horribly injured when a lunatic tried to kill her at a public event. He wanted to help her write her book and focus on spending time with his family, according to him at the time.
After a few years, Kelly made a bunch of money off China and had had enough of his family, so he decided to run for the Senate on his biography and the attack on his wife. He won because his biography, on paper, is impressive, and the attack on his wife was horrible.
Since winning, Mark Kelly has served without distinction. A few self-serving laws regarding Arizona Indian tribes and “co-sponsoring” bills that became law – which is literally the least a Member of Congress can do – and that’s about all he’s done.
He is still milking his military service, only this time in an attempt to undermine the chain of command. It’s gross, really.
Mark Kelly now spends his days kissing the asses of wealthy Democrat donors, sucking up to celebrities and trying to bilk poor people out of what remains on their high-interest credit cards in the hope of running for president in 2028. See, while being a sketchy guy with low character is a disqualifying trait as a running mate, there is no background check when it comes to winning a party’s nomination.
All the while, he ducks behind his disabled wife every time righteous and justified criticism is hurled his way. It’s gross. He’s gross. He’s also the most frequent emailer to fundraising lists on the left.
He has sent 13 emails begging for money since December 2nd, with subject lines like “I will not give up on our country” and “President Trump is calling for me to be hanged.” The bald bag of douche is desperate to exploit his popularity among the hate America crowd. It’s hard to feel bad for morons being conned out of their money, but it does add a level of scumbagery when the guy doing it spends his time insisting he’s a hero, a sentiment no person not on his payroll appears to share.
Mark Kelly is the perfect Democrat: a shameless self-promoter, perfectly willing to take money from anyone, shady and sleazy business and personal history and quick to duck behind his wife when anyone calls him out on any of it. I’d peg Kelly’s chances of securing the Democratic nomination at this point at about 27 percent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Never Forget
https://patriotpost.us/humor/123581-never-forget-2025-12-15

A little humor…To start the week…
https://oldnfo.substack.com/p/a-little-humor-648

For years I’ve been told that the only reason wackadoodle assholes commit mass shootings, ignoring black on black gang violence, is because I refuse to give up my guns.

Only in America, with our horrible love affair with guns do mass shootings take place.

Therefore, it is obvious that this never took place:

Why Steam Engines

I’ve had a fascination in steam engines since my childhood. There are pictures of my brother in the museum in D.C. standing next to the drive wheels of a steam locomotive. The wheels were taller than my father.

What I didn’t realize as a child was that the actual engines were small compared to the size of the locomotive.

The engines of steam locomotives are the expansion cylinders that drive the wheels. Most of the rest of the locomotive is the boiler generates the steam for the engine.

As a child I was able to ride a steam locomotive a few times and always found them interesting.

Later I found out that steam engines are used for more than just locomotives. They were used to power tractors, steam shovels, boats, mills, and workshops. They were everywhere. It wasn’t until electric motors became cheap and plentiful that we saw the end of the steam engine.

Off Grid Use

An electric motor is used to convert power into rotational force. That power has to come from somewhere.

The most common “somewhere” is the power grid. If you are going off grid, that is not an option. It is also not an option when the grid is down.

Grid down is a common thing in these parts, it happens two or three times every year. It is so common that we do not depend on electricity for heat.

Yes, we have an oil fired furnace; no, it can’t be used without electricity. The burner unit requires power to inject the fuel and then it requires electricity to power the fans moving air through the system to warm the house.

Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow

This is used to describe a standard four-stroke engine. Each word indicates the purpose of a stroke of the piston. First the piston moves down, sucking in fuel and air; then it squeezes that fuel-air mixture; next a spark happens and the fuel-air mixture goes bang, pushing the piston down (this is the power stroke); finally the piston moves up, blowing the exhaust out of the cylinder.

There is one power stroke out of every four or one power stroke for every two revolutions of the crank.

To make this all happen, we have the camshaft. The camshaft consists of multiple lobes that push a rod upward to open a valve.

There is one lobe for each valve in an engine. For a single-cylinder engine, there are two valves.

That camshaft holds the magic timing for the valve train. It is synchronized to the crankshaft. The camshaft opens the intake valve and closes the exhaust valve at the start of the suck stroke. It closes both valves during the squeeze stroke and keeps them closed during the bag stroke. Finally, it opens the exhaust valve to allow the hot gases to escape during the push stroke.

Those camshafts are a engineering marvel.

Push, Push, Push, Push

A double acting steam engine generates power on every stroke of the piston. This is accomplished by being able to pressurize both sides of the piston, alternating between strokes.

Whereas the four stroke engine gets one power stroke in four, the double acting steam engine gets four power strokes in four.

Most steam engines use a slide valve; some use piston valves.

An internal combustion engine has the valves in the cylinder; slide and piston valve engines have an externally located valve.

There is a single passage for the steam to flow into and out of for each end of the cylinder. The slide valve moves in such a way that sometimes it is venting high-pressure steam into the cylinder, and then it vents that same passage to the exhaust port.

This single valve controls the ingress and egress of live and dead steam from the cylinder. It is very magical.

And just like that camshaft is an engineering marvel, so are these slide and piston valves.

The Rabbit Hole

A slide valve consists of three slots parallel to each other. The two outer slots lead to either end of the cylinder; the center slot leads to exhaust. The valve is shaped like an upside down square cake pan with large lips.

In the far end of the motion, the edge of the pan is between the steam passage and the exhaust passage. This allows the high pressure steam that fills the steam chest to push down on the cake pan/slide valve and flow into the exposed steam passage to one end of the cylinder.

At the same time, the center section of the pan covers both the exhaust passage and the steam passage to the other end of the cylinder, allowing the dead steam to escape down the exhaust passage.

As the valve slides in the other direction, the lip of the pan starts to cover the steam passage that had accepted the live steam. At the same time, the lip on the other side of the valve is starting to close over the other steam passage.

The size of the passages and ports, the size of the area under the valve, the size of the lips of the valve, the distance between ports all play a part in the efficient running of the engine. These have to be designed and manufactured correctly.

We can time the motion of the slide valve to the crankshaft. We can also adjust the valve so it is centered correctly. We can change the geometry of the valve without remaking it.

Which all takes me down the rabbit hole of learning about slide valves.

There are multiple textbooks, written during the age of steam, describing how the valves work and how to design them correctly.

And I haven’t even figured out what questions to ask to figure out what “wire drawing” in steam passages means and how to design the steam passages.

On the good news front, I will be able to get patterns made for everything that needs to be cast. Now to find a foundry to cast them.

Small Engines and Boilers

A Manual

Concise and Specific Directions For the Construction of Small Steam Engines and Boilers of Modern Types

Copyright 1899

Wow, isn’t that a mouthful.

I have been known to use polysyllabic words when a monosyllabic word would work just as well. This guy writes at an entirely different level.

Here is the gist of it: This stuff used to be simple and well known. It wasn’t uncommon to have regular people just make a steam engine in their barn.

He talks about how easy it is to make some of these things, until you find that he strongly suggests that you have patterns and castings made by a good quality foundry and pattern shop. It is better to pay 10 cents per pound for your castings, knowing them to be good, than to pay 6 cents and struggle.

I know how hard it is to make good patterns. I’m horrible at it but am willing to try again; now that I am better at hand woodworking, it makes a difference.

So I did some looking around. Did you know that you can still hire people to make patterns? Or you can just 3D print them, and I don’t mean the 3D printers in your house; these printers are designed to make foundry-ready patterns.

I’m not looking for an iron foundry near me to cast the patterns. I could do it myself in aluminum, and I want to try iron, but I’m unsure of myself at this point. I still might give it a go.

One thing I do know is that the shrinkage between aluminum and iron is different, so I can’t use the same pattern for both unless I design for it.

On the other hand, it might be nice to be able to have a place where I can get castings done.

Back to the book

This is the third major attempt I’ve made to read this book. I realized today why I was having so much difficulty. I am not used to illustrations being fully dependent on the text.

This is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. This looks like a mechanical drawing, something to build a model from. It isn’t. It is a “skeleton diagram”. I think I got the term correct.

What this shows is the relationship between the different parts of the engine so that you can know how big it needs to be.

The figure shows the cylinder, frame, cylinder brackets, packing gland, packing nut, piston rod, theoretical cross slide, connecting rod, and theoretical crank. Oh, and the base plate.

The connecting rod is 3 times the length of the stroke. The diameter the crankpin travels is the stroke of the piston, so 2 inches. From the length of the connecting rod, the location of the crank at center of the cylinder, it is possible to determine the clearance needed for the connecting arm.

But the words aren’t what I expect; the top double circle is labeled “Top Center”. Today we would call this Top Dead Center (TDC). Likewise, “bottom center” is Bottom Dead Center (BDC), which we use for timing car engines today.

I studied this figure for hours and never did figure it out. There aren’t enough dimensions to make anything from this.

That’s because it isn’t a drawing to make things from; it is a diagram to help you with your design of an engine.

And this is why it is so hard. This is a mechanical drawing that was well within the ability of the target audience of this book to read and understand. Yet it would be nearly impossible for someone with the same knowledge base to use it as is today.

First, we don’t draw objects this way. It is missing views.

This would have been drawn with at least a top and side view as well as from both ends. The cross section would have been indicated with a cut line in one of the other views. Instead, all of that information is buried in this one figure and maybe something in the text.

The bore of this is defined as 3 inches, and the depth of the bore is 5 11/16 – 5/16 or 5 3/8 deep. But that is not called out. From this diagram, today, we would assume that the critical dimension is the 5/16 thickness of the rear wall. We can guess that the front flange is also 5/16, but there is no callout for that.

And while the steam passage is called out to have a 3/8 diameter, the distance from the steam passage to the front face is not defined. We also have radii that are not defined. This being left to the workman.

I made it most of the way through the book today. I need to go back over a couple of the paragraphs. The important thing for me was to stop focusing on the figures and instead to focus on the text.

Go ahead and enjoy some light reading:Small Engines and Boilers

Well, the trolley system is done but waiting to be mounted. Once done, we move on to installing the window, finishing with insulating the lower part of the hut and other “stuff”.

I am treating this hut as an off grid experiment. To me this means a 2 or 4 battery bank at 24 volts and a 200W PV panel to keep it charged. Inverters and such to match, but with most of the hut infrastructure, lights and such, running off DC power.

This took me back to my love of machining. In particular, I want to be able to recharge the battery bank when the PV can’t keep up. Think snowstorm or such. Or just too much draw for the PV to keep up with.

A quick bit of research says that I can drive a low cost EV motor, think electric bike, from a mechanical source to produce the required voltages for charging.

So what is the mechanical device? A steam engine, of course!

So a discussion with Grok, and she finds the Elmer #33 horizontal engine. I’ve already built a couple of Elmer engines, so this is something I think I can do.

I’ve become a better machinist since those engines, and I have a few more tools to make it possible.

I asked Grok to find me a steam engine plan that would produce 300 watts. The Elmer #33 was her answer.

Power Calculations – Original Elmer’s #33

(½ in bore × 1 in stroke, double-acting slide-valve engine)

So, Grok told me this engine would easily produce 300 watts when choosing the engine, when we get down to the math, she says 37 W with reported values of 25-35 W. This is not nearly enough.

Over the course of the last week, I’ve had X.com Grok, Android Grok, and grok.com all work the problem with me. And they all give different power answers. And they all have gotten equations wrong.

In one case, grok.com reported a design with match claiming 3400 W at the crankshaft, but she reported it as 340 W, which didn’t match the math she had shown me. She had auto corrected to real world numbers that were at odds with the theoretical values she calculated.

When called on it, she claimed it was just a typo, that she had “slipped a decimal.”

The Question(s)

1. How are you currently using AI, if you do?
2. Which AI(s) do you currently use?
3. How are you keeping your AI honest?