Apparently, the Government Shutdown this year – 46 bonus days – was not enough for non-government taxpayers to fund. So yes, most U.S. federal offices are closed today, Wednesday, December 24, 2025, as the President issued an executive order making Christmas Eve a federal holiday for all executive departments, with only essential personnel for national security or public need reporting, similar to the official Christmas Day closure on December 25th.
We should pause for a moment to honor the Post Office, however:
- Local Post Office locations will be open. Remember to check your local Post Office for specific hours.
- Blue Collection Boxes: Mail will be picked up by the scheduled collection times on the box. If the collection time has passed, find a Post Office location that may be open late.
- Regular mail will be delivered.
- Priority Mail Express® mail will be delivered1,
The bills must get through!
You know what this means, right? Not much in the way of news flows today – market closes early for Christmas at 1 PM – and do be watching for speed traps after lunch out on the LIE. (Long Island Expressway, if you haven’t been. Hamptons, silly.)
Market will resume trading on a regular schedule Friday, though. And there are lots of “moving pieces to test fit” that we could go into – but won’t. There’s simply no time for a “long read” what with tonight being when Fat men become seriously fashionable, at least momentarily.
With Warren Buffett retired, we have concerns about the future of Annual Shareholder Reports. So, we thought we’d whip one up for Peoplenomics subscribers. It’s an interesting “peek over the shoulder” at what goes on around here. Long-term perspective on journalism and the costs of being generally right.
Before that, however: a few undeniable glitters to cover, so we best start there.
More for Subscribers ||| Master Index 2018 to Present ||| Master Index 2001 thru 2017 ||| Missing out? SUBSCRIBE NOW!!! |||
Guten Morgen Alles,
Mrs. E ‘n me are off to a family fav. (think: all my life) teeny German Grocery on the edge of a little town. The place soaks up dosh every year and … ’tis the season. It’s a good chance to dust off my (HS) German, refined by occasional trips to the Fatherland.
Then back into the traces doing sister stuff (I’m at the breaking point, call me Respite). My Bride related our trip, including the grim part (think : commode transport). Hey, do we know how to celebrate or what. I’ll take or what for $300 Alex.
Every trip into town, any town, makes me chortle (sorta). So nice they all hung the festive green and red lights. Everywhere. I’m not sure what the yellow one is for? By all appearances it’s a signal to drivers : check your phone. I travel >30 miles and encounter (3) traffic lights. Or, I drive (30) minutes and see way too many. You got it right Stiks!
ATL : made ice. Our air temp wasn’t awful, even at the low, but the water surface must be frosty. This is of import to me given I will go wading on The Day. Why? My temp. flagpole won’t survive ice encounter. I’m expecting to emerge bright pink! Film at 11.
Merry Christmas all,
Egor
My younger sis does that Polar Bear thing up in Sequim, Wa in the 46’ish degree Strait of we went sailing there a lot. Tons of wind always and very deep…but swim? Little too much ‘nog there Admiral? Oh and the lights are all the sme color – check your nog for peyote squeezins
WordSlinger : based on fast freeze of late I can assure you my core won’t get wet. The temp flag pole won’t survive another ice encounter. I will wade, very briefly, to retrieve hardware (steel pipe with auger tip / pvc mast) before it goes bye bye. This wind indicator needs to come ashore. attempt : fail
Though it’s possible to get small here in Michigan, they be old school. Think I ate a peyote button at a huge AZ rock concert in the 70s. But, that was long ago and I might be mistaken. Probably. Maybe.
Despite your not cautionary, here in the heartland our traffic signals have 3 colors : green, red and yellow. If ever pulled over for running red I’ll try the color blind thing.
I am so looking forward to staying home for Christmas. Think it’s going to sport a roaring fire while I build a cardboard tugboat.
Best, Egor
Are we in hopi 5th world now? Journey affection internal more important to self than outward actions ?
I have spent many hours parked on the LIE
(“Point is that gasoline is down a bit, but diesel went up, which leads us to think diesel may be closer to the truth of things. We would expect
$3.50 or higher regular gas by summer driving season.”)
hmm… lower gas to get people out and about.. when you have to flip a coin do we or don’t we.. the extra cost of transportation flips a chord… Diesel up says cost of moving products is going to happen even with the increase of cost of production..
uhm, the problem isn’t supply of raw or cost per barrel – we are way short of refinery throughput. this isn’t new. it’s a long term fix. or, we seize capacity ?
Hmm..Could closing down many strategic oil pipelines also contribute to this issue? What I notice is that shutting down or limiting oil pipelines hasn’t just affected the fuel supply at the refineries— it also reinforces the business models of the biggest energy companies need of control to justify the inflated administrations wages . When pipelines are restricted, smaller producers lose access, transportation costs rise, and control shifts back toward the major players who can afford to move oil by rail or truck at higher prices. The same pattern shows up in large?scale solar farms and massive wind turbine projects. Instead of being built for efficient, local distribution, they’re often designed around centralized, utility?controlled infrastructure that requires expensive transmission upgrades and keeps power flowing through the same corporate bottlenecks. It’s a reminder that our countries energy policy isn’t only about technology or the environment; it’s also about who gets to control the flow of resources how to justify huge seven digit incomes by doing an substandard job, and how those decisions have rippled down to families, workers and communities who depend on stable, affordable energy. my point of ranting for decades and I argue that frequently instead of doubling down on the big?utility business model — massive solar farms, huge wind turbines, and endless transmission upgrades — a far more efficient approach would be to build smaller solar towers at existing substation boosters and connect every homeowner with simple grid?tie solar kits… the big centralized production units like the multi billion dollar solar facility was a failure because instead of doing the job cheaper and more efficient the companies tried to do it in a way that would maintain the ineffective business models currently used..now they still could maintain the control in a similar fashion to the one they now use limiting power during peak power demand times. In the model I have proposed since fourteen is, each house becomes a power?producing node feeding the local Smaller solar tower, reducing long?distance transmission losses, lowering infrastructure costs, and keeping energy generation closer to the people who actually use it. It’s a decentralized system that could be cheaper, more resilient, and far less dependent on the old centralized?control structure that utilities still rely on. But then I’ve been told a lot lately that I’m an unseen motivated F@#king Moron and what could I possibly know to contribute to any thing..
Here’s what I infusion for a solar tower at every substation..three hundred feet high by what thirty feet wise three sided one point north one point to the south east one point to the southwest.. the result is one side is full direct southern exposure and the full spectrum of the sun is caught..maximum out put around a megawatt to two megawatts.. its not to produce full supplies but as a mini grid activating the nodes or homes and businesses.. like a river..water flows and it doesn’t care from which direction its coming from…
https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares/NM1RyMhW2t9VdfLcFzvLU
thanks to AI I could get what I clearly see in my mind as a picture..
Happy Christmas to all those of that faith during this Holiday Season (and a belated Happy Hanukkah to those of the Jewish faith)
Hug those close to you even closer and may the coming New Year be good and wonderful for all of you.
Stephen 2
Latest ukraine peace plan
1) thermite major towns
2) 1 million dead kids
3) no power
4) no fuel
5) cold
6) German ww2 type bombing London
7) europe no rob russia of 220 billion so sovereign wealth funds
8) usa go home
9) Asia issues
10) british verbal no else
11) london riots
12) france bankrupt
13) no natural gas from uae to germany
14) isreali wants iran/brics gone
15) us markets all tech but no jobs
16) japan 10 year bonds 2%
17) usa enthralled with sex
18) jesus is coming=> more money
19) commonwealth strangely quiet
20) china broke. Squeeze russia. Truly british
Healthcare Inflatoin: Having been spoiled by several years of ‘Akamai Advantage’ /Medicare at no added premiums, I was a little surprised to get a bill from the health plan provider. They now want $20/month… that’s $240/year premium payment. I also found the OTC benefit was reduced from $133/month to $125/month. Costs are going up. I guess I got my hip surgery just in time last year.
merry xmas G and all the good folk here , even you BCP .be good to your fellow man , do an act of kindness for a stranger , thats xmas . best to all
Neither one of us is in a “Christmas Mood.” We are both physically an mentally exhausted at the moment. Neither one of us really wanted anything., so we just got each other a couple of small gifts.
.
“Crazy Chicken Lady” stopped by with a half a gallon of her fantastic home made egg-nog..,
Plan on sitting around – watching the fire – sipping spiked egg-nog [ Meyers Special Dark ] and reading – for a few days. We need a break. “The Mrs” has worked really hard., she deserves a few days rest.
.
Hope that everyone has a nice, quiet, pleasant Christmas. Take care, all.
A real pleasure having you and the Missus among us – and your friend the CCL could get rich here in Tx – still unable to find eggnog…Meyer’s dark is a very good choice. Even the “convenience” stores are in on the conspiracy to keep us dry
G.A. STEWART: I received the best Christmas present ever this year, my life. As some readers know, I had open heart surgery. I have been home for a week today, and it has been tough going, with some more miles of road to go, but apparently my recovery is amazing some people.
First of all, I would like to thank those readers who sent me their prayers and best wishes, and accounts of their own experiences. And the same goes for George Ure and readers over at his website.
https://theageofdesolation.com/nostradamus/2025/12/24/its-a-wonderful-life/
You DO have excellent taste in booze…
I’ve never seen the Reserve Dark or the Naval Strength, or any of their special distillations.* However, I may own the last glass bottles of Myers’s Platinum White and Original Dark (“the Planter’s Punch Brand” — unopened) in existence. I’m not a steady or heavy drinker, but Myers’s has been my #1 for nearly 50 years.
* I didn’t know these existed, until I dropped in on the website just now. ‘Had no idea Fred L. Myers & Son is now a Louisville company. I will have to look them up, the next time I’m in town. (Hopefully, they’ll have the damn’ bridges fixed by then.) The last time I looked them up, they were in Kingston…
A day ahead down under, where women glow and men thunder. It’s hot and wet, but there is still a quiet spirit of connection and love in this tiny isolated gathering of souls at the end of the peninsula up the river. We are invited to an ‘orphan Christmas lunch’ (for those without family close by) and will have shrimps from the barbie and probably some other good stuff, courtesy of our new found friends who are almost finished the build of a beautiful 44′ cat. Took a walk at sunrise, birds were going nuts, not a car in sight, and a big turtle swam by some huge jellyfish in the harbor.
And with this I can give you a bit of the future as tomorrow will be your day to celebrate that same quiet wonder.
Blessings and care from down under.
Stiks
Rule #1… don’t cop to a thing.
“where women glow”
“It’s hot and wet”
Well no shitski Mate, you must be having a super FINE Holiday down under..Good on Ya !
Cheers
* Need some “coins” for Ure journey’s – Aussie digital broker Caleb&Brown does a good job for those who want to own crypto not approved/allowed in US, at least thats how I found em.
St. Nick just texted me and said that the excessive moss on my roof was too slippery for the reindeer, making it impossible to deliver. I’ve been placed on the naughty list.
Merry Christmas!
“A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!”
– Tiny Tim.
Did someone invite the aliens for Xmas lunch ?
The missus is an aussie so we are hybrid alien. And the dog was a Red Cloud Kelpie… best doggo ever.
Fine folks down here. Some oddness in the urban concentrations, especially when the free money day happens, but mostly feels fine.
Stiks
Fogged in yesterday, last night and again tonight, but supposed to be above 70 degrees tomorrow and Friday, for perhaps the first time ever here. The fog means spring rains in 100 days, according to the Indians. I hope we get some before that.
Finally got a cell phone, and tried to set it up tonight, with poor results. Mint Mobile says to do it one way, Samsung says another, and the phone itself won’t cooperate with either one. The guy who talked me into going this route will be visiting tomorrow. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s gonna get it working for me before he leaves.
I hope the weather is pleasant for everyone, and all your plans work out even better than hoped for.