Military Memo: Gates Ratchets Up His Campaign Of Candor

It’s Christmastime, and while you might think we don’t have much to celebrate this year because of you-know-who, you’d be wrong! When Karoli allowed me to play with y’all in the C&L sandbox over two years ago, I got much more than a job. I have a family; all commenters and readers are included.

Above: Driftglass has discovered woodworking! He made this cat-proof Christmas tree for our living room. Driftglass and I are so grateful to be a part of the C&L family. 2024 will log ONE HUNDRED episodes of our Professional Left Podcast. Year in review: We'll record Episode 100 for the year next week!

Buckle up, friendsit is going to be a bumpy one. 2025 is not going to start off the way we had hoped, but I want to share some of my thoughts (and a personal reflection) as we enter this tumultuous year. Many of you got to know me in The Bad Placestarting about 10 years agowhen my son was 8.

King Charles III used his annual Christmas message Wednesday to hail the selflessness of those who have cared for him and the Princess of Wales this year, after both were diagnosed with cancer. The 76-year-old monarch said he and his family are “continually” impressed by those who dedicate their lives to helping others. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who this year have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed,” he said in a prerecorded speech. The broadcast came several hours after the monarch waved to a large crowd of onlookers who traditionally gather to see the royal family attend Christmas Day services at a church on Sandringham, the estate on the windswept North Sea coast that has served as a family retreat for generations. The king walked with Queen Camilla as his eldest son, Prince William, Kate and their three children followed.

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John Dahlman is thankful for many things going into 2025. But at the top of his list is that the crash that destroyed his truck — which was also his home — did not leave him without his best friend, a 5-year-old white shepherd and husky mix, Skye. Loveland resident John Dahlman hugs his dog, Skye, in North Lake Park on Saturday, 11 days after Skye was seriously injred in a head-on vehicle crash.