Top 10 Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials
Although everyone has their own family traditions, there is one that most share. That tradition? The annual viewing of the Rankin / Bass Christmas Specials.
We all have our favorites. We all have different criteria for what makes a Christmas show a favorite. For me, it comes down to three things.
The emotions I can still get when watching.
The memories that get stirred up when watching.
Great songs/s.
Sure, story, plot, character matter, but in the end, we all want to feel and remember at the holidays. Rankin/Bass certainly bring the memories.
Here is MY list of the top 10 Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials
10. The Leprechauns Christmas Gold
Art Carney, Ireland, and Old Mag the Hag. It is a winner.
9. The Stingiest Man in Town
Based on a Christmas Carol, musical.
8. T’was the Night Before Christmas
Sort of a Fievel does Christmas. If you know, you know.
7. Nester, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey.
Biblical overtones featuring a donkey with Rudolph-like characteristics.
6. Jack Frost
This is perfect for those that want their Hallmark Holiday Movies in stop-motion.
5. The Little Drummer Boy
A tad serious. The most biblical. A case can be made that it is depressing.
4. Frosty the Snowman
There are continuity issues, but Jimmy Durante keeps it top 4.
3. Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer
Read my post on Rudolph. I am kind to keep it in the top 3. I just know how much it means to so many.
2. The Year without Santa Claus
Heat Miser and Snow Miser win the day. Although the rest is a bit of a slog.
And the Number 1 Rankin and Bass Christmas Special
1. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
No better songs in any other B/R production. There’s Always Tomorrow For Dreams To Come True and Put One Foot in Front of the Other leaves a mark. Plus, Burgermeister Meisterburger. For the cherry on top, Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire.
Do you not like my list? Share yours!
Author: thingstomthinks
-

Must-Watch Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials
-

Reevaluating Rudolph: A Critical Look at Holiday Classics
Growing up I had the opportunity to watch all the holiday Rankin and Bass specials. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was always a family favorite.
My siblings and I would put on our PJS. My mom would make pop-corn. My dad would sit in his chair reading the paper. For one hour we basked in the glow of 27 inches of television glory. The holiday spirit filled the room. Our excitement for Christmas ramped up to a 10 on the HO HO HO scale.
When I had kids of my own, I made efforts to share those experiences with them. I wanted to make memories with my own kids. I tried to recreate the spirit of seasons past, just with a bigger television.
Yet as an adult I realized something. What an awful group of characters make up the cast.
Examples:
* Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was a petulant brat.
* Donner was an awful father who made no effort to hide his shame and disappointment.
* Mitzi was a subservient wife who refused to stand up to Donner.
* Hermey was cruel. He practiced dentistry by pulling the teeth out of the Abominable Snowman. The snowman represented no harm at the time his teeth were removed.
* Yukon Corneilus was a representation of corporate greed and participated in crimes against humanity.
* Santa Claus was a selfish, inconsiderate, intolerant ass.
* Comet was a typical win at all costs coach.
* All the other dear were jealous bullies.
* The toys on the Island of Misfit Toys all needed therapy. They needed to grow some confidence and develop some self-worth.
Clarice, along with King Moonracer, were the only characters with redeeming qualities.
What lesson is a child supposed to take from this Rudolph Story?
Feel like you don’t fit in, so run away?
Don’t want to do what is expected of you, so take it out on others?
If someone doesn’t live up to your standards, bully them. Make them feel worthless until they do hard to self or others?
Anyone with a unique characteristic isn’t worth having around UNTIL you can exploit their gifts for your own selfish gains?
I get it. You watch Rudolph and see a plucky Reindeer who proves his value to the community that mistreated him.
I watch Rudolph now and see a bunch of a holes who ostracized a newborn deer. They rejected him because he was different. They changed their minds when they discovered they could use him for the same thing they hated him for.
I want to see the happy in Rudolph again. Now that I have grandkids, maybe I will.
I will not be holding my breath. -

Understanding Rule Enforcement in Common Ownership Communities
Enforcement:
The act of compelling observance or or compliance with a law, rule or obligation.
Common Ownership Communities are flush with rules and regulations. Community governing documents should clearly outline the rules that owners and residents must adhere to.
Before buying a home in a Common Ownership Community, the community gives the new owner a copy of their bylaws. The new owner also receives all other governing documents.
The new owner, as part of their buying agreement, commits to following the rules established for the community. Everyone in a community lives under the same regulations. Yet in every community there are those owners that elect not to live by the rules.
For whatever reason, some think the rules do not apply to them. Well, they do.
The challenge in a Common Ownership Community and its rules is enforcement. Are the rules upheld consistently, fairly, and timely?
The answer in most cases is no. It is that inconsistency that creates community discord.
Why don’t communities do a better job of consistently enforcing their rules and regulations? There are several reasons.
1. No dedicated volunteer staff
2. No 24 x 7 monitoring, especially important for parking issues
3. Lack of community awareness of the rules and regulations
4. No enforcement process
5. Bylaws, rules, and regulations that are outdated, no longer reflecting the realities of the community
6. Bylaws, rules, and regulations that are not clear with the rule
7. Owner apathy
8. Board of Director frustration with consistently non-compliant owners
Roads have speed limits. We see drivers speeding. Only 1% of drivers get pulled over each year. Why? Because enforcement officers cannot see every infraction, every day.
Common Ownership Communities are the same. We all have rules that are being broken almost daily in our communities. Enforcement does not or cannot seem all. Enforcement may not even know about rules being broken. Without seeing something or knowing something, enforcement becomes a catch as catch can situation.
How can community rule enforcement be improved?
1. Review and update all governing documents on a regular basis
2. Have clear enforcement processes and procedures, including who will be responsible for enforcement and when
3. Impose fines for each rule infraction
4. Revoke rights or privileges
5. Take legal action
If you see a rule violation, report it.
If you are sited for a rules violation, review your community documents and deal with the issue.
Try to be more understanding. The rules apply to everyone, but not everyone will always be caught when there is a violation.
You live in a Common Ownership Community. You owe it to your neighbors and yourself to be a good steward. -

The Evolution of Planned Communities in America
The first planned community was Levittown, a community built in Long Island in the late 1940’s. The purpose of Levittown was to intend to offer low-interest homes to veterans. Though there was no formal association, community rules and regulations did exist.
Communities like Levittown continued to pop up throughout the mid-nineteenth century. The 1960’s saw great growth in HOA communities. The HOA growth was a result of the federal government’s encouragement of more residential developments. Along with government encouragement, the resulting mass exodus to the suburbs from the cities was also a great contributor.
The popularity of these communities increased the cost of land. As a result, developers began increasing the volume of homes on each parcel of land. They also varied the types of homes built.
Shared, common recreational space allowed for smaller personal lot sizes. The smaller plot size allowed for more homes. More homes were needed to meet the swelling demand.
Clusters of homes were built around a communal, often amenity-rich space. Association Boards of Directors were elected or appointed to manage that common space. The association acted as the community government for their neighborhoods. They managed responsibilities that were traditionally handled by local government authorities, for example road repair, landscaping and building maintenance. As more communities became established the HOA model began to shift. It molded according to the wants and needs of residents. Eventually, this morphed into what we know today as the modern HOA industry. As HOA communities become more common state governments have begun to establish regulations and laws. In Florida HOA rules can be found in Chapters 718 and 720 of the state code.
There are over 370,000 homeowner associations in the United States. These 370,000 represents over 40 million households (over 53% of the owner-occupied households in America). An estimated 45% of Florida residents live in an HOA community representing 49,000 HOAs. -

Technology, who needs it?
For thousands of years humanity was able to function without computers.
There is no question that technical advances have helped the world evolve. The evolution includes advancements like the wheel and running water. We’ve progressed from horse and buggy to automobiles and from steamboats to cruise ships. We’ve moved from handwritten letters to instant messaging. The world has become smaller.
Yet, this is not a good thing in all cases.
Yes, it is great to be able to carry around a computer in your pants’ back pocket. Having the ability to call anyone at any time from anywhere is great. To be able to take a picture without carrying extra gear is wonderful. Doing complex math or signing documents from the comfort of your office’s bathroom is a treat.
But when is enough enough? What transactions should not be automated? What is the cost of total reliance on technology?
Note that I hate online banking and do not use my phone for such transactions. I do not use apps to pay bills. I do not count on my phone to be a safe place for financial information. I had 3 different banking accounts hacked in 3 months. These were accounts from two banks. I do not trust that the banks can keep online information safe and secure. I do not trust them to safeguard my money either.
Stadiums are going to cashless transactions. You cannot show up at a baseball game and buy a ticket with the MLB App on your phone. Want a beer? Better have a cash app because even vendors are not taking cash. It is a world that discriminates against people that do not use tech, can’t afford tech, don’t trust tech or rather just use cash.
The destruction of communication, education, common sense and critical thinking can be directly attributed to technology.
In war, countries first attack their enemy’s communication channels. Those that control messaging control the world.
Our world is handing power over to servers buried in mountains, operated by nameless, faceless people that the consumer knows nothing about.
We are being asked to trust anyone that knows C++ simply because they know how to use 0s and 1s.
Yesterday I had to download Venmo to make a purchase. To know one’s fault but my own, I sent payment to the wrong phone number. After 24 hours of trying to rectify the situation, using AP supplied help pages, nothing is getting done. Why? Their technology is not functioning. I called Venmo cutomer support . No one was there. Technology that wasn’t working was.
A consumer used to make a mistake. The consumer would make a call and talk to a human being. They would communicate the issue, and the issue would be resolved.
Now when something goes wrong, technology must notify other technology. We are left to hope that this technology can do its job.
When technology cannot or will not fix a problem, the consumer that technology was designed to help gets left holding the bag. Companies left holding our money.
The value of technology only goes so far.
The value of people, communication, thinking, and problem solving is being dismissed.
And that is why we are where we are as a society.
Misinformation, errors that screw the consumer, technology that rewards companies for half assing their responsibilities and enables greed.
I will take people over technology anyway.
As soon as I get this Venmo situation fixed, my account will be deleted. It will sit next to my Bank of America and Pay Pal apps in the trash bin on my phone.
Venmo is being deleted not because of my mistake,but deleted because of the inability of technology to be anything more than a power surge away from wiping out everything as we know it. -

The Benefits of Living in a Community Association
How many people would like to read about the history of home owner associations?
None?
That’s what I thought.
Just know that the concept of home owner associations popped up in the 1940s.
In 1963 the FHA approved mortgage insurance exclusively for condo associations and sub-divisions that had an HOA.
In 1972 the Community Associations Institute worked with real estate experts. They created a plan that would balance developer needs and consumer protections.
Today, about 30% of the U.S. population lives in some form of community association. The expectation is that this number will continue to grow.
Why do I bring this up? The thinking about COA / HOA needs to change.
There are people that hate owner associations, People that vow to never live in or buy into an owner association. Of course there are the people that move into one, but decide that the rules don’t apply to them.
I have talked about the value of owner associations on other blogs. I have also addressed the necessity of owner associations at many meetings.
If you hate them, I can’t change your mind. I can just tell you that you are being shortsighted.
Sure, you buy a home and you a certain level of freedom to do what you want with and around your home. Your owners association can actually protect you from yourself. At least in theory.
By-laws, rules and regulations are written for these communities. The governing documents are structured to best guarantee owner freedom and community integrity. They also balance shared costs and property value protection.
When you buy into an owner association, you take on a responsibility to follow the rules. You must do your part to be part of a thriving community. It is no different a commitment than you make when moving into any community.
Owner communities have a unique structure. Because of their shared costs, they allow more homeowners to enjoy amenities. These amenities are ones that standard communities may not have. Parks, club houses, and tennis courts are just a few. Swimming pools and dog runs are also perks that can be found in many communities.
Owners gain private access to these perks by living in the community and paying their dues; an equal fair share of the elements cost.
Owners are also protected from neighbors that might not live up to a standard that enhances property values. COA / HOA communities set a standard. They ensure your home value doesn’t decrease due to a neighbor’s tacky nature.
No, not everything is perfect in a COA / HOA community. Yet if everyone followed the rules, acted in good fellowship and lived as a proper neighbor, a COA / HOA can be the one protection you have to maintain your properties value. -

Understanding the NFL Name Change: Perspectives of Fans and Natives
I will admit it to many thinks.
I am a life long fan of the NFL team that plays in the Washington D.C. region. I always will be.
However, I can not bring myself to say the “C” word. Sorry, I won’t type it either.
Several years ago, the fuss started about the lack of PC in the old Washington Football Team’s name. I hadn’t ever thought about it. They were called what they were called. I knew the history of the team, the history of the logo, the history of the prejudice in the organization.
Under Dan Snyder, every fan was aware of how awful his ownership group was. But the team name remained the one thing all fans could still rally around.
Fans wore the logo, said the name, sang the fight song and participated in cheers. No one was thinking about anything other than celebrating the team that we all loved. Certainly, thoughts were not about insulting Native Americans.
In fact, real fans knew that Walter “Blackie” Weltzel was a leader of the Blackfeet Nation. He designed the logo. They also knew that the logo was based on Blackfeet Chief John Two Guns White Calf.
There was never reason to think of the football team’s name as anything other than a tribute. The name honored the Native Americans that once called the D.C area home.
D.C. sits on the ancestral lands of the Nacotchtank (or Anacostans), and neighbors the ancestral lands of the Piscataway and Pamunkey peoples.
D.C. is still home to over 4,600 Native American’s.
Yes, area schools, including the high school I went to, drooped references to Indians as logos, team names and mascots. Some rightfully so, some over reaction to the too sensitive.
Sure every few years someone would write a story, try to stir the pot. Those stories always has short lives, died easy.
Somehow, during the two to three years of intense cancel culture, the NFL felt blackmailed. They were forced to implement a name change. It was a change that nobody wanted, except for a handful of non-fans. Some fans described them as a “bunch of white women named Karen.” They said these women had a lot of time on their hands and no sense of history.
All that was accomplished was canceling of Native American association with the NFL. That cancellation was not called for nor wanted by Native Americans.
It seems that Washington is getting closer to changing the logo back, or at least using it somehow. Why? Because Native Americans sued, others asked, more demaned.
I respect your right to be offend by things. Just because you are offended doesn’t mean something is offensive. If something isn’t offensive to those you think SHOULD be offended, perhaps your time and energy are being misspent.
If you won’t want to use the old Washington team name, please don’t. No one is forcing you.
If you feel offended by the Washington team name, the logo, it’s best to discuss it with the 90% of Native Americans who support the old team name.
It really doesn’t seem to be a you problem. Why make it one? -

Biden Pardons Hunter: A Political Perspective
President Joe Biden decided to pardon his son, Hunter.
Hunter was put under the microscope by MAGA members of Congress. Why? Because his last name was Biden.
Yes, Hunter had been convicted on three federal gun charges because he lied on a firearms application. Hunter had also pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges.
None of these crimes were recent.
None of these crimes would have landed anyone else under the microscope of the DOJ and Congress.
None of these crimes resulted in harm to others. The tax situation was taken care of.
There was a trial. A plea deal was reached. Congress overstepped and blew up the deal.
President Biden said he would not interfere in the trail. He did not. He did not say he would not right a wrong.
Clearly the made dash to hang Hunter was political.
Which is funny. Why? People on the right are screaming about Hunter getting a pardon over 3 felonies and tax charges. Yet, they stand LOCK STEP with a President elect convicted of 34 felonies by a jury of his peers. This President elect also has a long history of tax evasion.
If what Hunter did was so bad, why is it acceptable to elect and support a convicted felon of 34 counts?
Sorry MAGA, you have no high ground here. You may want to find another hill to die on. With 4 years of 45 coming up, you will find plenty. -

Understanding the True Cost of Tariffs in the US Economy
It is truly amazing that every day more people realize their mistake. They screwed themselves by not doing even basic research before voting.
So, lets help out the remaining few so that in the future (2026) some of these insane wrongs can be corrected).
1) Tariffs are fees levied against imports, with the actual fee being paid by the consumer.
Example: A TV from China costs $200.00. A tariff of 25% is added to the cost of the TV. The cost of the tv to the distributor is now $250.00. The distributor still needs to make money, so they charge the store $300.00, keeping their $50 of profit. The store needs their $50.00 profit, so they now sell the TV for $350.00. The consumer who was only going to have to pay $300.00 is now paying $350.
End result – the US Consumer pays the 25% tariff that was placed on China.
(FYI.. Based on the Tariff treaty of 1974, the president can only increase a tariff to or by 15%. The increase can only be imposed for 150 days unless Congress extends it. Should not take 150 to see the crippling effect higher tariffs will have on the average American or the US economy)
2) Immigrants account for 68% of the farm workers in the US.
Immigrants account for 29% of the construction work force in the US.
Immigrants account for 21% of the food supply work force in the US.
Immigrants account for 19% of the total workforce in the US.
Undocumented Immigrants account for $96.7 BILLION dollars are year in federal taxes collected.
Immigrants average a year salary of $37,585.
There are not enough “other” people to fill the gap at the current salary offerings. This shortage cannot offset the deportation of 11,000,000 immigrants.
The cost of a onetime mass deportation of immigrants would cost the US over $350B.
(Other people being American Citizens, especially white people. You can not find a teenager working in fast food place now at $17 an hour, you will not find one in a filed shucking corn for $10)
Add the deportation cost of $350B to the loss of $96.7 billion in collected taxes and the US would be out over $446.7 BILLION.
That is simple math. You would have to subtract the savings of not providing services to undocumented immigrants. This will help you get the final number. The rough estimate would be a loss of well over $200 Billion.
3) With 19% of the total work force eliminated, 68% of the farm workers, and not having people in line to replace them at what works out to be $10.74 cents an hour, production would go way down for consumer items such as eggs, dairy products, fruit, vegetables. Demand for those products would remain high, supply would be reduced, and the cost would then go WAY Up. (If 10 people need a dozen eggs, but there are only 3 dozen eggs, the value of the eggs would increase up to 1,000% – why sell something for $2.00 when desperate people would pay $20 for the same thing)
4) Projected tax breaks for corporations, the top 1% of earners, the elimination of over-time taxes, the elimination of taxes on tips, the tax cost by the removal of 19% of the work force and an additional reduction of 1,000,000 well-paying government jobs, the increase costs of food and other items due to supply and demand and the added consumer burden of paying a 25% tariff, the bottom 99% would see an out of pocket increase in yearly expenses of over 15K a year, at least (The current international tariffs treaties, etc. save the average American $7,000 a year. That savings goes away, clearly)
5) With a lack of workforce, more business close, adding to the unemployment line. With the number of workers out pacing the number of jobs, salaries and wages go down, while the cost of living goes up (everything from housing, food, clothes, entertainment, etc. will see substantial increases).
Your total costs go up 30%, your salary goes down 30% you are now pretty well screwed. Say goodbye to your home, your car, our insurances. Say hello to Good Will, shelters, park benches and dumpster diving.
6) When welfare programs are cut (Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, food stamps, house subsidies, etc.) additional cost burdens fall on the heads of the consumer, which will lead to greater poverty, homelessness, and push current non-profits to the brink of closure. No one will be safe from being hungry or sleeping outside.
Health care related costs are already the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the US. The number of people that end up bankruptcy will only increase.
7) With more poor people, big ticket items will not be selling at current rates, if they sell at all. Fewer American made items being sold, means fewer American made items being made, means another reduction in America jobs. No company will keep on a workforce that cannot pay for itself through productivity and sales.
Higher taxes, higher costs, lower wages, reduction of services …
The only thing that will trickle down is poverty.
These are just a few of the painfully obvious concerns every American should have. Even the most obtuse can understand these simple facts.
Does not mean any or all of these things will happen. It just means that there is a good probability that they may. Just means that far too many Americans voted with their hate, not their head and certainly not their heart.
So what happened on election day due to the lack of individual education and people following their hate?
Legal immigrants voted to have their families and friends exported.
People in poor health voted to have their care reduced or eliminated.
Average Americans voted to increase their financial burden so that the top 1% could become the top .05%.
People with middle eastern roots voted to have Gaza leveled and a people eradicated.
People voted to have individuals in-charge of their wellbeing who they would not want as neighbors (known felons, sexual predators, con-men, racists)
Americans voted to have their mothers, sisters, daughters, nieces suffer neglect and prejudices not seen for over 150 years.
All because the price of eggs was too high (They are not).
All because the cost of gas was too high (it is not, especially on the world scale and the US does not set fuel prices so people voted for things other countries control)
All because the LQBTQ communities were being treated with the barest minimum of respect, their contributions acknowledged and narrow-minded people could not accept pro-nouns.
If you want to dispute this, do not. Showing your stupidity will not do you any favors and I will not waste my time trying to educate you about things you can easily learn yourself, even if it took you three times to pass the GED.
I had a discussion with someone tonight. They let their hate and intolerance flag fly under the guise of “I know what prejudice I’ve faced, and I am sick of being called white”.
Everyone has faced a degree of prejudice at one time or another, white, black, brown, straight, gay, trans, tall, short, fat, smart, stupid, fast, slow, wear glasses, don’t wear glasses, is in the band, not in the band, plays a sport, doesn’t play a sport, so on and on.
The only way that ends if we all decide that we do not want others to feel as we were once made to feel because of something that made us appear to be different on the OUTSIDE.
Life is not complicated. Just because you are unhappy or were once a “victim” of a bad break a time or two does not mean you heal by treating others worse than you think you were treated.
Voting to destroy your own life and the lives of others was not the solution or the “gottcha” you think it was. In the end, you won’t be better off and you will be even more bitter. You will also be out of people to blame – well, except for putting blame where it belongs – yourself.
Congratulations, America. You became the world’s lowest common denominator.
You do not like it? Read a book (before they get banned)
