Tucker Carlson's Weekly Show Shut Down

Tucker Carlson, our trusted TV news commentator

I still get emotional and teary eyed when I hear our Star Spangled Banner at public events.  Much of the reporting on mainstream television stations I feel has moved our country too far left of where I feel our "founding fathers" envisioned for our country.  Much of what is being taught in our schools is concerning.  The current trend is moving us toward more and more government control and away from preserving individual and family rights that are often associated with a democratic republic, a government system where the power resides with the people.  It saddens me to have Tucker Carlson's weekly show shut down, as he was one of the few, in my opinion, who wasn't afraid to talk about issues that were not being addressed by the mainstream media.

I appreciate the op-ed shared on April 25, 2023, by Jason Whitlock on Blaze Media:  "Tucker Carlson and the Rise of Matriarchal Marxism."  QUOTE:  "According to the Los Angeles Times and other so-called news outlets, Rupert Murdoch, the founder of Fox News, decided to oust Carlson partially because of a discrimination lawsuit filed by Abby Grossberg," who worked on Carlson's show for a short time after being reassigned from a different Fox News show.  She was fired. . . . For white men, they face the added threat of being charged with racism or anti-Semitism."

"Tucker Carlson is a white man who used his platform to promote Judeo-Christian culture and the patriarchy.  There was a time when his dominant ratings would have protected him from the special-interest groups. . . . That time has passed.  Message is king.  Drawing an audience is optional in the matriarchy matrix."  

Interestingly, Tucker Carlson had not responded at first following his firing, but then tweeted a brief comment sharing that although Grossberg had been hired, he personally had never met her in person.

And this quote from Glenn Beck:  "Tucker was, in my opinion, the only person in the mainstream media (and yes, I consider Fox News to be part of the mainstream media) who wasn’t afraid to tell his audience the truth. That makes this a dark day for the conservative movement."

Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson is an American conservative political commentator and writer who hosted the nightly political talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was terminated, he has hosted Tucker on X. An advocate of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Carlson has been described as "perhaps the highest-profile proponent of 'Trumpism'", and as "the most influential voice in right-wing media, without a close second."

Travels with Family, Friends, and Groups

We enjoy traveling and have been blessed to visit many interesting places around the world. 

Sam has been to Antarctica, Antigua, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Curaçao, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy See (Vatican City State), Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Martinique, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia, Saint Martin (French part), Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (61)

Narene has been to all of the above except for Panama, Netherlands, Morocco, Belgium. (I have been in the airport in Holland.)

Narene has been to all 50 of the United States of America; Sam has been to 49, only missing Delaware.

2022 - South Africa Tour & Victoria Falls (w/ Fun For Less)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

For a long time I have wanted to go to Scandinavia, the countries where my ancestry came from - Nelson, Peterson, Olsen, Hansen, Christensen, Israelson, Jensen, etc.  My mother had this on her "bucket list," too, but she didn't make it there.  It never has been a good time for us to go to the Scandinavian countries, because the tours are planned to that part of the world in the summertime when we need to be home taking care of our garden and yard.  When Sam turned 85, he decided if we are going to make this trip, we better not wait any longer; and so we signed up and have paid for the Fun For Less Tour for the Scandinavian Cruise that also includes Iceland and Greenland.  It is a 22-day trip leaving June 21, 2024 with Michael Wilcox as our tour educator. 

Sam and I have been to Alaska, but we are looking forward to a special trip there in 2024 with our children and their spouses.  We appreciate Scott's time and efforts in organizing this and grateful that all have adjusted their schedules to join on this family adventure.  This is a message from Scott shared with family on December 29, 2023:  We’re now officially booked on an Alaskan Cruise with Holland America departing 8/25 from Anchorage/Whittier and concluding 9/1 in Vancouver.  . . . . We’re all in the same area with window views on the left/good side of the ship.  Just need to work out the finer details for flights, excursions, and the Denali and Victoria pre/post side trips."

Sam is wearing his Alaska jacket from our trip in 2006.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Our Sightseeing Trips (not including trips to see family):

Special trips w/ my parents & siblings and their spouses:

1. Israel, Greece, England, and Switzerland w/BYU Study group
2. Europe and the Oberammergau passion play in Germany
3. Eastern Caribbean Cruise to Puerto Rico, Antigua, Trinidad, Granada, Barbados, Curacao, Martinique, the British Virgin Islands, and the coast of Venezuela

Trip w/ K. and Louise:

 Branson (1999) (also Ina, Ronald and Harold)

 Western Caribbean Cruise (2003) 

      (headliners Michael Ballam, Kieth Merrill, James O'Neill Miner)

Trips w/ Bill & Karen:

1. Road trip to Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico (with Bill & Karen)
2. Road trip - East Coast (21 states in 22 days w/ Bill & Karen)
3. Bus trip – East Coast (Bill & Karen and Jerry & Gladys)
4. Road trip - Yellowstone, Glacier National Park (Bill & Karen, Jerry & Gladys)
5.  2005 - New England (bus, w/ Bill & Karen; Jerry & Gladys)
6.  2006 - Alaska Cruise (w/ Bill & Karen; met Jill & Desneige Roy from Canada who became our travel companions on the trip)
7.  2009 - Medora, North Dakota (Bill & Karen; Jerry & Gladys)
8.  2010 - Mediterranean Cruise (w/ Bill & Karen)

Trips w/ Greg & Chris Shepard:

    2010 - Colorado, Arizona, Utah (16-day our car; their trailer)

                Russian Missionary Reunion - St. George

    2013 - New England, Canada Cruise 

 Trip to Disney World with Beth, Jeff, & Doug and our friends Kirk & Joyce Wilson and Scott & Anita Hicks and their children

 Trip to Disney Land when Beth was a baby, where we met up with Leroy and Lois McCarthy, our friends from Ann Arbor

Trips (Sam and Narene):

2001 - Peru (to pick up Doug from his mission)

2005 - New England bus trip (with Bill & Karen, Jerry & Gladys)

2006 - China (with Scott)

2006 - Alaska Cruise (w/ Bill and Karen)

2007 - Yellowstone (w/ Bill & Karen, Jerry & Gladys)

2007 - 2009 - Our Mission: Russia & Europe East Asia (*see below)

2009 - Medora, North Dakota (Bill, Karen, Jerry, Gladys)

2009 - Branson (with Russia Mission Couples)

2009 - Arkansas (visiting Jeff & Rochelle's family)

2009 - California (my visit with Louise & Blake)

2010 - Mediterranean Cruise (with Bill & Karen)

2010 - Southern Utah and St. George (Russian Mission Couples)

2011 - India and Nepal (our first trip w/ Fun For Less Tours)

2012 - Kentucky (Judd & Amy's wedding)

2012 - Branson (with Harvey & Helen Bauss)

2012 - St. George (Brittney & Matt's wedding)

2012 - San Francisco to Los Angeles (w/ Phyllis, Karen & Bill - bus)

2012 - Arizona, Utah (visiting family)

2013 - South America /Antarctica Cruise, Iguazu Falls (F.F.L.Tours)

2013 - Arkansas (visiting Jeff & Rochelle's family)

2013 - New England, Canada Cruise (w/ Greg & Chris Shepard)

2014 - St. Johns, Arizona (invited to 5-year class reunion)

2014 - Antelope Island (w/ Empty Nesters)

2014 - South Dakota (for Galen Busch's funeral)

2014 - Thanksgiving Point (w/ Marla & Sarah and children)

2015 - South Dakota at the farm

2015 - Southeast Asia (Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand)    

2016 - Southern Utah (with Greg & Chris Shepard)

2016 - Mississippi Cruise (Fun For Less Tours, w/ Hal & Christy; began in Minnesota and ended in Saint Louis, then bus to Branson)

2016 - Australia, New Zealand, Fiji (Fun For Less Tours Jan. 4-23)

2016 - Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England (Trent & Jessica's wedding)

2017 - China and Bali (Fun For Less Tours)

2018 - Hawaii,Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle (Brian Judd Tours)

2018 - Arkansas (Jeff & Rochelle's family)

2018 - South Dakota at the farm

2018 - Volga River Cruise (w/ Hal & Christy Smith)

2018 - Nine Mile Canyon (w/ Hal & Christy Smith)

2018 - Silver Lake, Utah (w/ Hal & Christy Smith)

2019 - Danube River Cruise & Rome, Italy (Fun For Less Tours)

2019 - Nauvoo, Branson, Kentucky (Judd & Amy's wedding)

2019 - Branson, Missouri (Brian Judd Tours; w/ Hal & Christy)

2019 - Eureka, Utah (w/ Hal &Christy Smith)

2021 - Southern Utah (w/ Scott & Kristine)

2021 - Uintas & Flaming Gorge (w/ Hall & Christy, Sept. 27-28)

2021 - Galápagos Islands & Ecuador (Brian Judd Tours)

2022 - South Africa Tour & Victoria Falls (Fun For Less Tours)

2022 - Shakespeare Festival - Cove Fort, Kolob Canyon, Tuacahn, Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument (Brian Judd)

2023 - North & South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida; San Antonio, Texas to visit Brittney and Matt's family (w/ Scott and Kristine)

* Countries we went to during our mission in 2007-2009 to train new humanitarian missionary couples:  Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, & Turkey.  Also on our mission we went for visa renewals to Prague in the Czech Republic and Madrid, Spain, where we had to stay several days waiting for the visas to be processed after Russia would no longer renew the visas in Tallinn in Estonia.  We always scheduled a training meeting with humanitarian missionaries for the same trip when we had to be out of the country.  Our first Area Humanitarian Conference was in Sofia, Bulgaria.  Our second conference was in Yerevan, Armenia.

We enjoy seeing new cultures, new scenery, meeting new people.

Our Ireland Family Reunions

1997 - Family Reunion - Colorado 

1999 - Family Reunion - South Dakota

2001 - Family Reunion - Utah, near Zion’s

2002 - Family Reunion with the Nelsons - Farm in SD

2003 - Family Reunion - Wyoming, Lewis Lake 

2005 - Family Reunion with the Nelsons - Tehachapi in CA

2007 - Family Reunion - Idaho at Cub River

2011 - Family Reunion - Arkansas / Missouri

2013 - Family Reunion - Spanish Fork - at our place

2015 - Family Reunion - Spanish Fork - at our place

2017 - Family Reunion - South Dakota at the farm

2019 - Family Reunion - Spanish Fork - at our place

2021 - Family Reunion - Spanish Fork - at our place

2023 - Family Reunion - Spanish Fork - at our place

Updated January 2026

Columbia, Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, Guatemala, Panama (for me; Sam had been before), 

Winter Wonderland - January 7

January 10 - We didn't have a white Christmas, but today our landscape is covered with snow.  A couple of days ago, Sam turned on two electric heaters in the living room, because we have accumulated kilowatt hours due to our solar panels that will be lost in March if we don't use them.  

Sam clearing the snow in our driveway.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"The Book of Mormon" is what we are having for Gospel Doctrine classes at church in 2024.  I had finished reading the New Testament, which was 2023's reading assignment.  We have watched each week the lessons provided on YouTube by Hank Smith and John Bytheway: Follow Him (dedicated to helping individuals and families to come unto Christ with the Come Follow Me Curriculum.)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

On January 5th, I woke up thinking about a song in a 1909 hymn book that had belonged to my grandparents and then my parents. It has an interesting song on page 163 with the title "Don't Kill the Birds." Occasionally, I have enjoyed showing this to a hunter in our family. By the way, the day was National Bird Day!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

We appreciated watching online a free video about Russia sponsored and paid for by Hillsdale College.

Russia and American Foreign Policy Today, the 6th video, 

is timely and informative and interesting.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

After reading the introduction online, 

we plan to watch another free video:

"The idea for the film was simple. Those of us with our own unique perspective as eyewitnesses, investigators and as observers of the trials and the congressional j6 committee knew that the American public had been purposefully misled about the timeline of events on January 6th."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Another interesting interview we watched on YouTube:  

The Tucker Carlson Encounter:  Rep. Clay Higgins published January 6, 2024

". . . a number I'm comfortable going on record with is that we believe that there were easily 200 FBI undercover assets operating in the crowd, outside the Capitol, embedded into groups that entered the Capitol or provoked entry of the Capitol and working with FBI assets that would have included Metro Police and Capitol Police that were dressed as Trump supporters inside the Capitol, because those were the guys that knew their way around the Capitol.  So given the scope of the operation and the number of doors where entry was allowed or even encouraged and the number of people that were actually outside the Capitol and that entered, we believe 200 conservative number.  Yes, sir."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Ending this post with a final and positive quote:

What Goes Around Comes Around - Happy New Year 2024

With appreciation for the happy memories of the Christmas season we have shared with family and friends, we now look forward to 2024 and pray there will "be peace on earth, goodwill to men"

with renewed kindness and caring for others.

What Goes Around Comes Around

(a short story)

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was those chills which only fear can put in you. He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.”

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard….

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”

There is an old saying “What goes around comes around.”

Recommended short story book:

Book: 100 Great Short Stories

Ending 2023 with Special Events

We attended the blessing of Haley and Tyler's baby, Wesley James Staten, on December 28 in American Fork at Tyler's parent's home.

Baby blessing of Wesley James Staten 

(Tyler, Haley holding Wesley, Narene, Sam)

Wesley is our 22nd great-grandchild.

Four-generation photo (Marla, Haley with Wesley, Narene, Sam)

Haley with siblings - Sarah, Trevor, Haley, Maren

* * * * * * * * * * * *

For Christmas, Sam and I bought a Sound Bar for our TV.  Ethan, Doug, Shannon, and Isaac helped Sam install it below the TV and above the fireplace mantel.

Shannon, Isaac, Doug, Ethan, and Sam

Scott and Kristine brought us gifts when they came December 29,

and they stayed with us until returning home on January 2nd.

Sam got a small chain saw, and my gift was a small vintage ceramic Christmas tree with lights.  I had admired one earlier at Costco that reminded me of one Grandma Mabel displayed during Christmas time for many years.

New Year's Eve 

Beth invited us to "supper" on Christmas Eve, and then Sam and I went for a drive to see the Christmas lights on the large homes in Mapleton.  We then came home and watched on TV the New Year come in around the world.  Scott and Kristine returned to our home from their family party at Judd and Amy's in time to see the New Year arrive in Utah at midnight.

Sam watching Gabe and Joshua's game on New Year's Eve.

Christmas Lights in Mapleton

Ryan & Tani's Family Came - December 27

Ryan and Tani hosted the families of Tani's siblings on Christmas Eve, so they missed our Christmas Eve celebration.  We were happy they came on December 27th to our home.  We missed having Carson come.

Marisa with Ryan and Tani

Koryn, Dash, and Kyle

Kortney holding Amelia, and Kyle holding Hadley

* * * * * * * * * * * *

We appreciate the cards, letters, photos shared, and phone calls from those who weren't here to celebrate with us at Christmas time.

A photo of my brother K. LeRoi taken at Christmas in St. George where he was for Christmas.

The Christmas cards we have received this year.

On the counter behind the card holder can be seen the Shutterfly book we gave our seven children and spouses for Christmas.  It is Sam's life story with photos.

I also had this Shutterfly book printed to include the last pages for photos taken at Halloween.  The November and December photos are in a 2023 Part 2 year book.

The next blog entry includes Scott and Kristine's visit, Wesley's baby blessing, and New Year's Eve.