I'd say I'm going to take tonight off, but I already did-- I've been asleep on the couch for hours (all the way through Bullitt!) and am just over here to post a picture so you all know I'm alive, and then I'm falling into bed. Semester ended this week. Can you tell?
Last year, just after my husband died of ALS, I made a plan for what I needed to do going forward. My goal was simple: grieve my loss, care for our daughters and help them recover- and not get lost in depression.
There were four steps in the plan. First, adopt a dog again. Fresh air and exercise are helpful in staving off depression and anxiety and dogs- and their people- need exercise. Second, go back to being an artist-I make and sell bead woven jewelry. Third, go back to school-I had started a masters program 35 years ago; it was time to finish what I’d started. And fourth, get back to spending more time with friends and family.
Adopting a dog proved to be a real challenge-Kiri was advertised as a lab mix. Yes, she is mostly black, short haired and has amber eyes. But she didn’t act like a lab so I did a DNA test on her. Turns out, she is half mountain cur, a third pit bull, and the rest is mostly German Shepard. Three big, active, reactive, aggressive, protective breeds. Yikes! I’d wanted an exercise buddy. I adopted an Olympic level athlete!
Going back to working my art was much easier- and my sales at area art fairs have been off the charts. But going back to school in the midst of a pandemic was impossible-at least short term.
Fortunately, I found Dr. Richardson’s LFAA- and this community. And as others have said so often, I have learned more American history here, and more about how to be active in protecting our democracy from all of you than I ever thought possible. I also found a whole group of people I have come to think of as friends- who care as deeply about preserving democracy as I do and so inadvertently found a way towards my fourth goal-time with family and friends.
All of you have my deepest gratitude for taking me to school with you this year. Thank you! And special thanks to Buddy Poland for the beautiful photos. Now its time to go to the dog park. We’ve miles to go…….
You’ve earned it. A couple of Sundays ago you posted one of Buddy’s photos and said on Monday we would carry on. I’ve been carrying the words and melody of an old folk song that became an anthem of the civil rights movement in my head ever since.
Carry It On
“ There's a man by my side walking
There's a voice within me talking,
There's a word that needs a sayin’,
Carry on, carry it on. Carry on, carry it on“
(It was later recorded by Joan Baez and Judy Collins)
Gil Turner was a prominent American folksinger and songwriter in Greenwich Village in the early ‘60’s. He was the first to record Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice."
It would be difficult to exaggerate the benefit of reading your views of present developments in their historical context. While no one would want to add to the stressful enterprises of teaching and producing a daily letter, believe in gratitude from me and all I know who subscribe—thank you, and have a splendid and (really?) restful holiday.
Just reading everyone’s comments gives me glimmers of hope in a society gone quite mad . The photo is brilliant and nature in all its glory reminding us of how blessed we are to be here . Yes Heather you deserve to rest and put your feet up as your facts , history and calm amidst the storm give us what we need to counter the lies and selfishness. Thank you thank you and Merry merry Christmas to you and yours
Always busy. No rest for those who fight the system.
Today was different though. We lost our Norwegian Elkhound over a year ago, He was 16, a long time forgone to live. He had many accomplishments along the way. He taught a young boy how not to be afraid of dogs. He was my walking companion in Michigan, in upstate New York and in Ohio when I could not find work in Michigan. We walked miles together on and off lead on the dirt roads and hills around Cazanovia and Lexington.
In the end and as he grew weaker, we would walk the perimeter of the yards on either side on my house. His nose to the ground catching the scents of the animals which passed through there.. He grew weaker over that time and he finally succumbed to old age and we released him. "T" for Tyler was a great friend.
Today, my wife of 50+ years and I rescued a young female German Shepard. She is acclimating to our new home in AZ and has bonded with my wife for now. Of course, she will accompany me on many new journeys exploring AZ. I am looking forward to it. We saved a life and will gain from it in the end.
Kind of happy right now in spite of the near overthrow of our country. For a moment at least . . .
You will never know how much these letters mean to me. I have always said the best teachers are those who absolutely love their subject. And that is how I look at you, as a teacher. And, by the way, how I look at so many of the commentators here... so many smart and wonderful teachers. Rest up, thank you, and happy holidays to all.
Heather, the fact that all of us think of you by your first name is a sign of the incredible intimacy with which you write and inform us all. You are like that photo, a sunrise that came when we were in the dark. Thank you for the generosity with you which you tend to your work as a historian who teaches us all. Your knowledge educates us, and Inspires , and motivates us to be better citizens and keepers of our democracy. I quote you and share your wisdom with others. Like that sunrise, your light reaches out.
Thank you…. For every letter. I never miss your class.
The photo is gorgeous and reminds us that we must fight to never lose our democracy. Thank you for helping us to see the truth through the smoke of lies. We need you desperately!
What a vista ... Truly, nature is the artiste supreme!!
While the good professor sleeps, this might be a good time to share this good news from Steven Donziger:
12/15/21
I write to share a stunning update: after 45 days spent largely in lockdown in Danbury prison, I am now out. Prison authorities furloughed me last Thursday to serve the rest of my six-month sentence (now 131 days) at home — just like I had spent the previous 813 days before prison due to the unprecedented Chevron-engineered targeting of me.
Needless to say, I am thrilled by this turn of events.
But one thing I want to say immediately: thanks to each of you. I felt your presence every minute of every day behind bars suffering through what undoubtedly was the biggest challenge of my life. Conditions were abysmal. But I and many of my new mates on the inside knew there was a powerful force for accountability flowing like a wave over the prison and that it came from the movement we have built together. And I think that movement had a great deal to do with my early release.
Your presence on the outside made me feel safer on the inside. More empowered. More hopeful, more focused, and more productive. In fact, I believe I emerged even stronger because of your support. Without that support, I certainly would not have written a 250-page journal while on the inside that documents much of what I saw and felt as I came to grips with both the injustices and the teeming humanity that bubbled up around me.
While my furlough is a great victory for all of us, I am still not free. President Biden and Attorney General Garland still have not acted to dismiss the case or comply with the United Nations order that I be released and compensated after finding my detention to be illegal and the product of a “staggering” level of bias by Judges Preska and Kaplan.
There are no mirrors in prison. I sort of forgot what I looked like. When I took my shirt off at home for the first time, I saw someone who was almost emaciated. I had lost 20 pounds in prison due to a scarcity of food. There was also a mind-deadening information blackout: no Internet access, no newspapers, and extremely limited email that the residents had to pay to use. Visits were virtually impossible. And the people I left behind — people like Fats, Tommy, D-block, Rail, Ruben and Rabbi — are all still there, dealing with a level of treatment (despite best efforts by some staff to help) that often was extremely dehumanizing. Almost all are serving extremely long sentences for non-violent crimes.
One thing that was reinforced for me while in prison is that all injustice is intimately connected. While the Indigenous peoples of Ecuador suffer at the hands of Chevron, literally 70 million Americans have a criminal record in a country where our prison system has become a business. I saw this in prison: there is almost no incentive to let people go early, and every economic incentive to keep them as long as possible and to make money from them while they are there.
Many are asking how I got out. I’m not really sure, but I want to say that prison authorities are professional. They saw my "paperwork" which indicated a minor misdemeanor. I was the only person among all 900 men in Danbury that had not been convicted of a felony. They realized I should not have been in prison. And unlike Judge Preska, they had no incentive to abuse their mandate to do Chevron's bidding.
Finally, I believe public pressure matters. Amnesty International's Urgent Action led to hundreds of letters from around the world flowing into the prison. There were days an entire mail bin was brought to our unit filled with dozens of letters and books sent in support. Staff took notice. I was treated with respect. And the fact 10 Congresspersons also were demanding my release was huge. Not to mention pressure from Amazon Watch, Global Witness, Greenpeace and so many other organizations.
Again, thank you. We did this together.
As I sit here today, I realize how much pain I carried out of Danbury. I've been weeping on and off for days. Weeping at how close we are to the edge in modern-day America. How corporate prosecutions engineered by the fossil fuel industry in the name of the “government” can now happen; how Indigenous peoples in the Amazon can be utterly devastated by an American oil company that flouts the law; and how average citizens can be destroyed by our "justice" system while the judges who make it happen enjoy their holidays with nary a worry.
Going forward, there is now an incredible amount of opportunity. Big media — including CNN, the New York Times, and MSNBC — are now covering the case. Lawyers from all over the world want to join our team. And thousands of people globally have donated small amounts to our defense fund that have allowed us to grow even stronger!
That said, by the end of the year, we need a major infusion of resources to protect me and my family from Chevron's attacks. We also must continue to demand my immediate freedom — that is, to put an end to this corporate prosecution so it never happens again. We also must ensure we have resources to go after Chevron and force the company to comply with the historic Ecuador judgment. Help us force Chevron to pay the $10 billion Ecuador pollution judgment so thousands of lives can be saved.
Heather, thank you for your unflagging devotion to your followers. I've been concerned lately that you hadn't taken a break, so glad that your body made you do what your mind resisted. As always, Buddy's photography is wonderful. Tonight's is especially brilliantly festive.
Doc, you really must be exhausted to sleep through Steve McQueen and his green Mustang in the epic of all car chase scenes. Take a break. Thanks for all you do in helping make sense of this real world of insanity. Semper Fi!
Last year, just after my husband died of ALS, I made a plan for what I needed to do going forward. My goal was simple: grieve my loss, care for our daughters and help them recover- and not get lost in depression.
There were four steps in the plan. First, adopt a dog again. Fresh air and exercise are helpful in staving off depression and anxiety and dogs- and their people- need exercise. Second, go back to being an artist-I make and sell bead woven jewelry. Third, go back to school-I had started a masters program 35 years ago; it was time to finish what I’d started. And fourth, get back to spending more time with friends and family.
Adopting a dog proved to be a real challenge-Kiri was advertised as a lab mix. Yes, she is mostly black, short haired and has amber eyes. But she didn’t act like a lab so I did a DNA test on her. Turns out, she is half mountain cur, a third pit bull, and the rest is mostly German Shepard. Three big, active, reactive, aggressive, protective breeds. Yikes! I’d wanted an exercise buddy. I adopted an Olympic level athlete!
Going back to working my art was much easier- and my sales at area art fairs have been off the charts. But going back to school in the midst of a pandemic was impossible-at least short term.
Fortunately, I found Dr. Richardson’s LFAA- and this community. And as others have said so often, I have learned more American history here, and more about how to be active in protecting our democracy from all of you than I ever thought possible. I also found a whole group of people I have come to think of as friends- who care as deeply about preserving democracy as I do and so inadvertently found a way towards my fourth goal-time with family and friends.
All of you have my deepest gratitude for taking me to school with you this year. Thank you! And special thanks to Buddy Poland for the beautiful photos. Now its time to go to the dog park. We’ve miles to go…….
You’ve earned it. A couple of Sundays ago you posted one of Buddy’s photos and said on Monday we would carry on. I’ve been carrying the words and melody of an old folk song that became an anthem of the civil rights movement in my head ever since.
Carry It On
“ There's a man by my side walking
There's a voice within me talking,
There's a word that needs a sayin’,
Carry on, carry it on. Carry on, carry it on“
(It was later recorded by Joan Baez and Judy Collins)
Gil Turner was a prominent American folksinger and songwriter in Greenwich Village in the early ‘60’s. He was the first to record Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice."
Carry it on
It would be difficult to exaggerate the benefit of reading your views of present developments in their historical context. While no one would want to add to the stressful enterprises of teaching and producing a daily letter, believe in gratitude from me and all I know who subscribe—thank you, and have a splendid and (really?) restful holiday.
P Raymond
Wonderful photo. Thank you and Buddy. REST. This struggle will be long and strenuous. Your “Letter…” is the best thing I read every day.
When you cannot write, you give us beauty. What a good friend you are:)
Just reading everyone’s comments gives me glimmers of hope in a society gone quite mad . The photo is brilliant and nature in all its glory reminding us of how blessed we are to be here . Yes Heather you deserve to rest and put your feet up as your facts , history and calm amidst the storm give us what we need to counter the lies and selfishness. Thank you thank you and Merry merry Christmas to you and yours
Always busy. No rest for those who fight the system.
Today was different though. We lost our Norwegian Elkhound over a year ago, He was 16, a long time forgone to live. He had many accomplishments along the way. He taught a young boy how not to be afraid of dogs. He was my walking companion in Michigan, in upstate New York and in Ohio when I could not find work in Michigan. We walked miles together on and off lead on the dirt roads and hills around Cazanovia and Lexington.
In the end and as he grew weaker, we would walk the perimeter of the yards on either side on my house. His nose to the ground catching the scents of the animals which passed through there.. He grew weaker over that time and he finally succumbed to old age and we released him. "T" for Tyler was a great friend.
Today, my wife of 50+ years and I rescued a young female German Shepard. She is acclimating to our new home in AZ and has bonded with my wife for now. Of course, she will accompany me on many new journeys exploring AZ. I am looking forward to it. We saved a life and will gain from it in the end.
Kind of happy right now in spite of the near overthrow of our country. For a moment at least . . .
Good night.
You will never know how much these letters mean to me. I have always said the best teachers are those who absolutely love their subject. And that is how I look at you, as a teacher. And, by the way, how I look at so many of the commentators here... so many smart and wonderful teachers. Rest up, thank you, and happy holidays to all.
Heather, the fact that all of us think of you by your first name is a sign of the incredible intimacy with which you write and inform us all. You are like that photo, a sunrise that came when we were in the dark. Thank you for the generosity with you which you tend to your work as a historian who teaches us all. Your knowledge educates us, and Inspires , and motivates us to be better citizens and keepers of our democracy. I quote you and share your wisdom with others. Like that sunrise, your light reaches out.
Thank you…. For every letter. I never miss your class.
The photo is gorgeous and reminds us that we must fight to never lose our democracy. Thank you for helping us to see the truth through the smoke of lies. We need you desperately!
Enjoy a peaceful sleep and warm happy days with those you love. Thank you for all you do for us.
You’re an American treasure.
What a vista ... Truly, nature is the artiste supreme!!
While the good professor sleeps, this might be a good time to share this good news from Steven Donziger:
12/15/21
I write to share a stunning update: after 45 days spent largely in lockdown in Danbury prison, I am now out. Prison authorities furloughed me last Thursday to serve the rest of my six-month sentence (now 131 days) at home — just like I had spent the previous 813 days before prison due to the unprecedented Chevron-engineered targeting of me.
Needless to say, I am thrilled by this turn of events.
But one thing I want to say immediately: thanks to each of you. I felt your presence every minute of every day behind bars suffering through what undoubtedly was the biggest challenge of my life. Conditions were abysmal. But I and many of my new mates on the inside knew there was a powerful force for accountability flowing like a wave over the prison and that it came from the movement we have built together. And I think that movement had a great deal to do with my early release.
Your presence on the outside made me feel safer on the inside. More empowered. More hopeful, more focused, and more productive. In fact, I believe I emerged even stronger because of your support. Without that support, I certainly would not have written a 250-page journal while on the inside that documents much of what I saw and felt as I came to grips with both the injustices and the teeming humanity that bubbled up around me.
While my furlough is a great victory for all of us, I am still not free. President Biden and Attorney General Garland still have not acted to dismiss the case or comply with the United Nations order that I be released and compensated after finding my detention to be illegal and the product of a “staggering” level of bias by Judges Preska and Kaplan.
There are no mirrors in prison. I sort of forgot what I looked like. When I took my shirt off at home for the first time, I saw someone who was almost emaciated. I had lost 20 pounds in prison due to a scarcity of food. There was also a mind-deadening information blackout: no Internet access, no newspapers, and extremely limited email that the residents had to pay to use. Visits were virtually impossible. And the people I left behind — people like Fats, Tommy, D-block, Rail, Ruben and Rabbi — are all still there, dealing with a level of treatment (despite best efforts by some staff to help) that often was extremely dehumanizing. Almost all are serving extremely long sentences for non-violent crimes.
One thing that was reinforced for me while in prison is that all injustice is intimately connected. While the Indigenous peoples of Ecuador suffer at the hands of Chevron, literally 70 million Americans have a criminal record in a country where our prison system has become a business. I saw this in prison: there is almost no incentive to let people go early, and every economic incentive to keep them as long as possible and to make money from them while they are there.
Many are asking how I got out. I’m not really sure, but I want to say that prison authorities are professional. They saw my "paperwork" which indicated a minor misdemeanor. I was the only person among all 900 men in Danbury that had not been convicted of a felony. They realized I should not have been in prison. And unlike Judge Preska, they had no incentive to abuse their mandate to do Chevron's bidding.
Finally, I believe public pressure matters. Amnesty International's Urgent Action led to hundreds of letters from around the world flowing into the prison. There were days an entire mail bin was brought to our unit filled with dozens of letters and books sent in support. Staff took notice. I was treated with respect. And the fact 10 Congresspersons also were demanding my release was huge. Not to mention pressure from Amazon Watch, Global Witness, Greenpeace and so many other organizations.
Again, thank you. We did this together.
As I sit here today, I realize how much pain I carried out of Danbury. I've been weeping on and off for days. Weeping at how close we are to the edge in modern-day America. How corporate prosecutions engineered by the fossil fuel industry in the name of the “government” can now happen; how Indigenous peoples in the Amazon can be utterly devastated by an American oil company that flouts the law; and how average citizens can be destroyed by our "justice" system while the judges who make it happen enjoy their holidays with nary a worry.
Going forward, there is now an incredible amount of opportunity. Big media — including CNN, the New York Times, and MSNBC — are now covering the case. Lawyers from all over the world want to join our team. And thousands of people globally have donated small amounts to our defense fund that have allowed us to grow even stronger!
That said, by the end of the year, we need a major infusion of resources to protect me and my family from Chevron's attacks. We also must continue to demand my immediate freedom — that is, to put an end to this corporate prosecution so it never happens again. We also must ensure we have resources to go after Chevron and force the company to comply with the historic Ecuador judgment. Help us force Chevron to pay the $10 billion Ecuador pollution judgment so thousands of lives can be saved.
https://donorbox.org/steve-donziger-legal-defense-7-3/
Rest well, Heather. You need it and have certainly earned it. Thank you for all you do.
Heather, thank you for your unflagging devotion to your followers. I've been concerned lately that you hadn't taken a break, so glad that your body made you do what your mind resisted. As always, Buddy's photography is wonderful. Tonight's is especially brilliantly festive.
Doc, you really must be exhausted to sleep through Steve McQueen and his green Mustang in the epic of all car chase scenes. Take a break. Thanks for all you do in helping make sense of this real world of insanity. Semper Fi!
Congratulations on finishing another semnester. As a retired college teacher I know the feeling after turning in your grades! Gorgeous photo.