_________ To a Glad New Year _________

Toot the trumpets! Strike the strings and sing!

On your feet! Step lively in the dance!

Age and Youth alike are on the wing

Going forward: Time moves like a lance

Let loose by some celestial super strength

Amidst the muck and mire of our dozing

Driving us, reminding that life’s length

Never gives us room for much reposing.

Esurient? Appease the appetites

Wholesome and pure. The body, gross and vile,

Yields but sickly transient delights ~

Evoking ennui with a knowing smile.

Awake! A blessed New Year is at hand!

Resolve to love and give without demand!

~ FreeThinke

When icicles hang by the wall,

___ And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,

And Tom bears logs into the hall,

___ And milk comes frozen home in pail,

When blood is nipped, and ways be foul,

Then nightly sings the staring owl,

________ To-whoo;

To-whit, to-whoo, a merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

When all aloud the wind doth blow,

___ And coughing drowns the parson’s saw,

And birds sit brooding in the snow,

___ And Marian’s nose looks red and raw,

When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,

Then nightly sings the staring owl,

________ To-whoo;

To-whit, to-whoo, a merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

~ William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

From “Love’s Labor ’s Lost,” Act V. Sc. 2

The King’s Singers 

Celebrate Christmas

0:00 Veni, veni Emmanuel

3:12 Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen

5:41 Rise up, shepherd, and follow

8:17 Lullay my liking

12:32 Gaudete

14:10 There is a flower

17:40 Nöel nouvelet

20:06 Villançico Catalan

23:03 O little one sweet

25:15 La peregrinaçion

28:25 Stille Nacht

31:58 Joy to the world

34:09 El niño querido

37:15 Born on a new day

39:43 Jingle Bells

41:13 Christmas song 

44:42 God rest you merry gentlemen

47:39 The little drummer boy

50:28 Deck the hall

David Hurley - countertenor

Philip Lawson - baritone

Timothy Wayne-Wright - countertenor

Christopher Gabbitas - baritone

Paul Phoenix - tenor

Jonathan Howard - bass

FRANCIS  POULENC (1899-1963)
FOUR MOTETS for CHRISTMAS  on this  The Fourth Day of Christmas


Try listening to something besides the dreary dinning in your angry bigoted head for once. Who knows? You might possibly learn something worth knowing for a change.

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

A LIGHTER SIDE of CHRISTMAS
Holiday Fun from VOCAL POINT at  BRIGHAM YOUNG University

A Very English Christmas

ON CHRISTMAS DAY in the MORNING 

I saw three ships come sailing in,
On Christmas day, on Christmas day,
I saw three ships come sailing in,
On Christmas day in the morning.

And what was in those ships all three?

On Christmas day, on Christmas day,

And what was in those ships all three?

On Christmas day in the morning.

Our Saviour Christ and his lady*

On Christmas day, on Christmas day,

Our Saviour Christ and his lady,

On Christmas day in the morning.

Pray whither sailed those ships all three?

On Christmas day, on Christmas day,

Pray whither sailed those ships all three?

On Christmas day in the morning.

Oh, they sailed into Bethlehem,

On Christmas day, on Christmas day,

Oh, they sailed into Bethlehem,

On Christmas day in the morning.

And all the bells on earth shall ring,

On Christmas day, on Christmas day,

And all the bells on earth shall ring,

On Christmas day in the morning.

And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing,

On Christmas day, on Christmas day,

And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing,

On Christmas day in the morning.

And all the souls on earth shall sing,

On Christmas day, on Christmas day,

And all the souls on earth shall sing,

On Christmas day in the morning.

Then let us all rejoice, amain,

On Christmas day, on Christmas day,

Then let us all rejoice, amain,

On Christmas day in the morning.

 "Derbyshire" - English Traditional

Source: William Sandys, Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (London: Richard Beckley, 1833)

____________________________

*"His lady" refers to the Virgin Mary.

Keep Listening, Please. This is Only the First Piece in a Generous Playlist of Beautiful Modern Music Composed Especially for this Most Special 
of All Special Seasons

Christmas at FreeThinke's fireside

.~.~.~. Yes Santa Exists .~.~.~.

Yes, dear children, Santa Claus is real,
Even though so many don't agree.
Santa lives wherever people feel
Sweet and kind in all sincerity,
And show their love with understanding gifts,
Not gaudy, foolish, merely costly things.
The gift of Recognition often lifts
A sagging spirit high, and lends it wings.
Elves aplenty fashion tokens bright, as
Xanadu excursions, jewels and such.
If connected well, these brings delight. As
Substitutes for love, they're not worth much.
The more we spend, sometimes, the less we give.
Santa comes to hearts that love to live.

Christmas dinner at FreeThinke's house

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

~ FreeThinke 

Merry Christmas 

to 

The Electoral College

and 

Many Thanks 

to this 

Venerable Institution

for

Perpetuating 

the 

Founder’s Vision 

Those Puny Little Slivers 

Of Our Blessed Land 

Are ALL the Clintons Won

If it hadn't been for the Electoral College,

The vast majority of our territory would have been completely disenfranchised – 
Left Out in the Cold

and disgruntled!

DONALD J. TRUMP SAILS to VICTORY in the ELECT'RAL COLLEGE, DESPITE IDIOTIC PROTESTORS

WASHINGTON (AP) — There were many protesters but few faithless electors as Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote Monday — ensuring he will become America's 45th president.

An effort by anti-Trump forces to persuade Republican electors to abandon the president-elect came to practically nothing and the process unfolded largely according to its traditions. Trump's polarizing victory Nov. 8 and the fact Democrat Hillary Clinton had won the national popular vote had stirred an intense lobbying effort, but to no avail.

Even one of Trump's fiercest Republican rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said it was time to get behind the president-elect.

"We want unity, we want love," Kasich said as Ohio's electors voted to back Trump at a statehouse ceremony. Kasich refused to endorse or even vote for Trump in the election.

With Hawaii still to vote, Trump had 304 votes and Clinton had 224. It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes.

Befitting an election filled with acrimony, thousands of protesters converged on state capitols across the country Monday, urging Republican electors to abandon their party's winning candidate.

More than 200 demonstrators braved freezing temperatures at Pennsylvania's capitol, chanting, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!" and "No treason, no Trump!"

In Madison, Wisconsin, protesters shouted, cried and sang "Silent Night." In Augusta, Maine, they banged on drums and held signs that said, "Don't let Putin Pick Our President," referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Despite the noise outside state Capitols, inside, the voting went pretty much as planned.

In Nashville, Tennessee, one audience member tried to read out some Scripture before the ballots were cast, but was told he could not speak.

"We certainly appreciate the Scripture," State Election Coordinator Mark Goins said from the podium. "The answer is no."

With all Republican states reporting, Trump lost only the two electors in Texas. One voted for Kasich, the Ohio governor; the other voted for former Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

Clinton lost four electors in Washington state — three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell and one voted for Native American tribal leader Faith Spotted Eagle.

Several Democratic electors in other states tried to vote for protest candidates but they either changed their votes to Clinton or were replaced.

The Electoral College has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus one for each senator. The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress.

Republican electors were deluged with emails, phone calls and letters urging them not to support Trump. Many of the emails are part of coordinated campaigns.

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, elector Charlie Buckels reached out to Trump's opponents after the New York businessman got all of the state's eight votes.

"For those of you who wished it had gone another way, I thank you for being here," said Buckels, the state GOP finance chairman. "I thank you for your passion for our country."

There is no constitutional provision or federal law that requires electors to vote for the candidate who won their state — though some states require their electors to vote for the winning candidate.

Those laws, however, are rarely tested. More than 99 percent of electors through U.S. history have voted for the candidate who won their state. Of those who refused, none has ever been prosecuted, according to the National Archives.

Some Democrats have argued that the Electoral College is undemocratic because it gives more weight to less populated states. That is how Clinton, who got more than 2.8 million more votes nationwide, lost the election to Trump.

Some have also tried to dissuade Trump voters by arguing that he is unsuited to the job. Others cite the CIA's assessment that Russia engaged in computer hacking to sway the election in favor of the Republican.

"When the founders of our country created (the Electoral College) 200-plus years ago, they didn't have confidence in the average white man who had property, because that's who got to vote," said Shawn Terris, a Democratic elector from Ventura, California. "It just seems so undemocratic to me that people other than the voters get to choose who leads the country."

A joint session of Congress is scheduled for Jan. 6 to certify the results of the Electoral College vote, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding as president of the Senate. Once the result is certified, the winner — almost certainly Trump — will be sworn in on Jan. 20.

[Associated Press writers Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Erik Schelzig and Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Kathleen Floody and Alex Sanz in Atlanta, Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Marina Villeneuve reported from Augusta, Maine, and Juliet A. Williams in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.]

Merry  
Christmas

Maxine, the Smartest Woman 

in the World, Cracks Wise

Christmas Day

A Choral Fantasy of Yuletide Carols

by 

Gustav Holst

We give you three different performances of this same beloved work.  Each has a great deal to recommend it, but all fall short of attaining an ideal interpretation.  
What do you hear that makes each one seem different? 

Which one do you like most?

In the Wake of the Leftists' Post-Election Behavior How Could Any Sensible Person Fail to Agree with the Following?

And What Do You Think of 

CHRIS SUPRUN?

Do You Remember?

Do you remember the day Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine first became available to the public?

Do you remember the day John Glenn became the first man to orbit the earth in space?

Do you remember the day Nell Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon?

Do you remember when when gas station attendants always washed off your windshield and wiped it clean while your tank was being filled, and when compressed air was available free of charge at every filling station?

Do you remember picking wild blackberries in August, or homegrown raspberries and gooseberries, or harvesting apples and peaches, and sometimes cherries from backyard orchards? Do you remember when mothers and aunts got together to process this abundance, and put it all up in Mason Jars sealed with paraffin?

Do you remember when banks gave away calendars each Christmas Season?

Do you remember when husbands and wives entertained the family by reading aloud to each other in the evening –– often in front of a roaring fire on cold winter evenings?

Do you remember when families used to set aside special times during the week so everyone could listen –– with rapt attention –– to a series of favorite, eagerly-anticipated  radio programs?

Do you remember when frozen vegetables and fruits first became available, and suddenly “everyone” felt he just had to buy a home freezer?

Do you remember when families sat down at the dining table to eat dinner together every night, and family members actually talked with each other?

Do you remember when doctors made house calls in the middle of the night, if you had a vomiting germ or a bad stomach ache?

Do you remember when mothers collected dirty clothes in a laundry basket, carried them down to the basement, washed them by hand in deep gray laundry tubs with a slanted front, wrung them out by hand, put them back in the basket, then carried them up from the basement and hung them out to dry on a clothesline?

Do you remember when mothers baked small loaves of cranberry-orange-walnut, or date-and-nut bread and several different kinds of Christmas cookies each more beautiful than the next, then wrapped the loaves in waxed paper, and aluminum foil, put an assortment of the cookies in small decorative tins, put bows on each, then gave them away as Christmas presents?

Do you remember when small groups of friends and neighbors would get together and go door to door to sing Christmas Carols?

Do you remember when television news consisted of a 15-minute "Evening Report," and a 15-minute "Recap" at 11:00 PM?

Do you remember the last time you let yourself feel really GLAD about anything?

WHY I SUPPORT DONALD J. TRUMP

I have taken considerable trouble to LISTEN to MOST of Mr.Trump's extended remarks thanks largely to C-Span. The picture one gets of Mr. Trump when he is freed from biased, agenda-driven "editing" and the tendentiously selected “sound bites” produced by the enemedia is very different from the grotesque caricature the media has perpetually made of him.

If you had stayed up, as I did, to witness Election Evening's  historic event in its entirety, you would have had the chance to hear Mr. Trump's acceptance speech, which came close to 3:00 AM. He was extraordinarily gracious, generous, quiet-spoken, and kind to point of magnanimity. 

What impresses me most about the way Mr. Trump has generally addressed his audience during this campaign is the way he never fails to include his hearers with talk of “US” and "WE working together for OUR country." He doesn’t CONDESCEND to the millions upon millions of people who have flocked to his rallies all over the country. 

A stark contrast to Mr. Obama's dour, humorless, perpetually lecturing –– or downright rabble-rousing –– tone, and incessant use of the first person pronoun "I" in nearly every sentence of every public statement he's ever made. And then we’ve had Mrs. Clinton's Academy Award Winning evocation of a shrewish Mother-in-Law from Hell scolding everyone in sight on general principles –– OR –– Nurse Ratched coldly and cruelly presiding over a Pscyho Ward filled with dangerous lunatics.

In contrast Mr. Trump never fails to acknowledge and give thanks to those who have helped him along the way. He does this amiably with considerable warmth and even affection. Unlike Mrs. Clinton's harsh, toneless, abrasive, uncultivated, unmodified Midwestern twang, Mr. Trump's tone, –– despite his limited vocabulary, inelegant phraseology, and painfully obvious NOO YAWK upbringing ––, is gracious, gentle and genuinely appreciative when speaking to or about those who have aided and applauded him during the arduous process of campaigning. 

Of course, I may well be wrong in my enthusiastic appraisal of Mr. Trump's performance, but I have watched him closely for at least six months, and have seen him evolve and grow tremendously along the way.

If you received your impression of Mr. Trump only from sound bites and video clips heavily edited to present him in the most unflattering light possible, it's unlikely you've really seen him at all.

In answer to those who perpetually accuse him along with Mrs. Clinton of being “the two most unpopular candidates we’ve ever run,” and then insisting he “knows nothing,” and has been “incapable of addressing specifics” I have listened to him in depth, and found him to be far more astute, far better attuned to reality, and far more aware of the acute dangers we face than anyone I could name, since Richard Nixon, who, –– unlike the maladroit Mrs. Clinton ––,  really was “the best-prepared politician ever to run for the office of the president.” 

Like most I regarded Mr.Trump as a vain, bombastic boor at first, but I have since come to realize that there could be no reason for him to have put himself through the grueling, viciously insulting process he's endured for fifteen months other than a genuine desire to help rescue our country from the steep downward spiral on which the Leftists, the RINO’s, and the International Elitists have so callously –– and so stupidly –– put us. 

I believe Mr. Trump when he says he loves this country, is grateful to her, and feels a moral obligation to “give back.”

In contrast I've never been able to believe a SINGLE THING Mrs. Clinton has said in public. She continually radiates excessive pride, conceit, arrogance, an unwarranted sense of entitlement, blatant hypocrisy, and a cold, –– almost reptilian ––,  detachment in the way she habitually treats and regards others. Not only have I found her unappealing to the point of repugnance; I also find her frightening. She is a person I'd make every effort to avoid meeting if ever I had the misfortune to find myself sharing the same street with her.

With that in mind naturally I rejoice at her resounding, humiliating defeat, and the near-certainty that neither she nor her lecherous, ill-bred consort in corruption are ever likely to sully our political process again.  I’m content to let them keep their ill-gotten gains, as long as they withdraw into Obscurity, and suffer a similar fate to that endured by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.