Going to take tonight off, as Buddy’s season has ended and he is on vacation so we have been off gallivanting. I need to catch up on some sleep. One of the good things about hitting the road with a man who is accustomed to getting up at 4:00 is that he tiptoes out in the morning to see the sights while I sleep in, and then comes back to the hotel with coffee and a bagel or pastry.
Hate to break it to you, but it isn’t our house. It’s an illusionary edifice to make the American people keep believing in propagandized mythology.
Were we living in reality, the ‘White’ would just be a clean background for all the corporate logos that should be displayed on its exterior walls, just as should be with politicians jackets. Think NASCAR. We live in a corporate, inverted totalitarian state. Most Americans are so numb and accepting of it… hey, how ‘bout that new phone, huh?…. they don’t even realize the corporate coup already took place. A done deal, as it were.
The quicker we understand the fight for democracy is against capitalism and monied interests, not just the GOP, the better our chances for victory. The climate clock is ticking; judged by their actions, neither party cares. One is in denial about climate, the other foolishly thinks tinkering at the margins will derail the conductor-less train barreling down the track in the tunnel, straight at us. Both ideological mindsets are madness personified.
Tom High, I have said the same thing about having the senators and representatives all wear jackets with their donors logos! I think each politician’s website should be required by law to have the name of every single corporation from whom they’ve received any $ or grants (even from non-profits) and the names of individuals who have given them more than $1000 in a year. Their daily work schedules should be posted the next day so we can see which lobbyists visited. They should have to resign from any entity such as the Federalist Society. Also I think it is wrong to sign pledges or promises such as Grover Norquist’s tax pledge. Their oath of office needs to explicitly state they will separate church from state. I want to know who they are really working for. I’d like to see this at all levels of government. I do not think this is too much to ask. Transparency.
I never said anything about being powerless. Plenty of studies done that show the power of our votes, in an increasingly corrupt electoral system, have been watered down almost to the point of irrelevance.
You’re right that it’s up to us; to convince other voters that the real enemy is the corporate state, not a political party. When enough people grasp that concept, we’ll have a shot to fix this mess.
There is not corruption in the electoral system but fine dedicated volunteers who love democracy and show up faithfully to do their duty to keep elections and voting safe. Problems are gerrymandering and attempts to make it more difficult to vote, managed by each state! We all need to participate attentively. Our town clerks know most of us. It’s not rocket science and voter registration is public access!
I’m not talking about volunteers. I’m talking about anti-democratic electoral practices, by states, both political parties, and yes, even the Constitution.
“neither party cares.” This is where I stopped listening and became disinterested in whatever you might say. My response might have looked like it was to your comment but it was intended for the general public, not you.
Nice job removing a phrase from a passage to obscure the phrase context. I said, ‘judging by their actions, neither party cares’, referencing climate. Neither does. For every attempt made to mitigate climate chaos, by either party, I’ll give you multiple cases in which both parties have exacerbated the problem, by continuing or adding to policies beneficial to fossil fuel lobbyists and corporations.
As to becoming disinterested in whatever I might say, that is your right, just as it is my right to laugh at your blue ball icon with the fox lies messaging; as if most all corporate media isn’t full of lies.
'The fight for democracy' isn't against capitalism and monied interests. Without them, we wouldn't have an economy, and 'totally' socialist alternatives have been proven not to work.
The 'fight' is for the minds of Americans, too many of whom have been anesthesized by the media, be it TV, the internet, or what newspapers remain. Our government is not 'an illusionary edifice.' It is what we make it. We must be strong enough to recongnize the crucial issues we face, and to deal with them, however difficult that may be. HCR helps us to do that, in 'times that try mens' souls' as Thomas Paine wrote in 1776.
Jack-I do think it's necessary for us to consider capitalism and monied interests. The capitalist system created in America undermines democracy. From slavery to the present day the exploitation of workers has given capitalists outsized power to buy politicians, judges and others so they can personally benefit from the laws that allow them to generate (and keep) profits that come from controlling too many of our natural resources (e.g. land, oil, water, even "air rights"). Why do "we the people" need "Citizens United" or corporations as people?? Why have our tax laws been shaped to benefit the wealthy and so on?
Writing in 1884, T. Thomas Fortune (1856-1928), an African American journalist, newspaper owner and civil rights leader put it this way, "wealth unduly centralized, endangers the efficient workings of the machinery of government...it oppresses all alike...the new slave-holder is only solicitous of obtaining the maximum of labor for the minimum of cost". He called labor "industrial slaves" and said, "the hour is approaching when the laboring classes of our country North, East, West and South, will recognize that they have a common cause, a common humanity and a common enemy...they must unite".
The unions have helped us to make progress but the hour has not come yet because as you say, the "minds of Americans" have been manipulated. Using racism as a tool they've been able to distract and divide us through media and education.
Fortune concluded that "the Americans people are fostering in the bosoms a spirit of rebellion which will yet shake the pillars of popular government as they have never before been shaken, unless a wiser policy is inaugurated and honestly enforced". Quotes are from Fortune's book entitled, Land, Labor and Politics in the South (1884). Here we are in 2024 preparing for a shake up because a presidential election may go awry or involve a second round of "Stop the Steal".
I don't know what will ever bring us together to fight for the ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, but I still hope...
There has never been a totally socialist alternative. Ever.
A totally socialist government would recognize that democracy is a better ideology than totalitarianism, and that democracy in the workplace is an essential element of any democracy, not just access to a voting booth. Labor has a shot at being the dominant force under socialism; under capitalism, never.
We would have an economy under socialism, just as we have had one under capitalism, feudalism, and slavery. And it would be nice to have a economy that has a focus other than profit and exploitation.
Almost agree. There exists one large successful socialist organization. That would be the United States Armed Forces. But, as you say, those brave men and women serve because they recognize democracy is a better ideology, and ultimately are commanded by an elected president.
Take your choice: Milton Friedman or John Maynard Keynes. Each recognized pros and cons to their arguments., one motivated by profit, the other by altruism.
That’s a false choice, a logical fallacy. I’ll take Marx over both.
Altruistic profit is as humorous a concept as was Dubya’s compassionate conservatism. All the flowery messaging in the world can’t hide the mendacity at the core. Except for the thoroughly propagandized, of course.
Marxism doesn't work in Cuba, Venezuela, and even in Russia, where it depends on 'capitaliast' oligarchs. The best examples of Marxism's state control of the economy seem to be China, where it at least is not failing, and North Korea, where it is failing.
It’s not accurate to create a false comparison of capitalism and socialism, many of us don’t view a balance of economic policy one or the other but seek fairness and justice, even for those of us who are lower income but faithfully pay our taxes and don’t benefit from what you might view as “socialism”. Everything that makes life better for all of us is not socialism but smart economics. We’re all needed to participate in the economy not only the top 1-5 %….
Initially, note that I commented that 'totally' socialist systems don't work. But a lot of the features of socialism do work, even in a capitalist economy ... when as you point out, they are 'smart economics,' making 'life better for all of us.' (Examples are Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, infrastructure improvements, libraries, free public education, etc.)... So we sort of agree.
First order of business; ask/tell/demand (depending on the political awareness of who you’re addressing) to contact their congressional representative and ask/tell/demand them to cosponsor HJR-54, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban the concepts of corporate personhood and money as speech. And make the contact regular, not just a one off.
It’s the only way to overrule a corrupt Supreme Court, and I’m not just talking about the current one. The corporate-friendly precedents go back to the 1880s, and dwarf the number of labor-friendly decisions.
Thank you, Tom. Since I do not see my House rep on the list of co-sponsors, I will contact her about what I consider to be an important piece of legislation.
I am jumping in here to add a suggestion...aren't we all suffering intergenerational trauma to some degree? Some of my Native American ancestors are here in Minneapolis, addicted & living in tents along the city streets; the Israelis are reliving their Holocaust traumas as they attack the Palestinians (& fire decent black university presidents here in America); some folk in our Southern states might still be bitter about losing the Civil War (or we might have universal health coverage here in USA); not sure what is happening in Ukraine, except NATO might be involved somehow. Don't we finally need healthy & just solutions, not just band aids?
Claudine Gay deserved to be fired from Harvard. (I don't know about the other two.) Here is Black linguist John McWhorter's reasoning as to why. (You should be able to access this. If not, email me at holzmandc@outlook.com, and I will mail it to you.)
I like indoor plumbing, too. But the vampire aspect of capitalism is undeniable; unfettered is the end game. Feudalism had its day, and ended. Slavery, ditto. We are in late-stage capitalism. Best to put it out of its, and our, misery, rather than try to treat a cancer with band aids.
It can, and has been in various times in our historical timeline. The problem is in capitalism’s inherent lust for profit. It never rests in the quest for absolute power as a means to monopoly, and owning the government/making the rules, to maximize that profit. The vampire squid. The Empire requires never ending growth via exploitation and natural resource extraction.
Think Rome. It quit taxing locals to placate unrest in its population, but had to use conquest and stolen wealth to make up the difference, and eventually collapsed. It’s where we’re headed.
Better to cut bait and build a system based on worker democracy, co-ops, open sourcing, and cooperation rather than competition, greed, and profit.
Thanks for the clarification. I agree that building a system based on worker democracy, co-ops, etc would better serve our basic needs of (see Maslow). I do see a place for a highly regulated and taxed capitalistic arm within a democratic socialist society.
Fair enough. I am a Canadian (with a son living in Pittsburgh). So I feel relatively detached from the tribulations of our neighbor to the south.
However in reading this site’s comments and those on my Substack, I have been astonished by the very obvious PTSD that people exhibit after 8 years of this shit you are undergoing. Perhaps I was thinking of their needs. At first I thought people were overwrought. No longer.
I also believe that from the standpoint of the fight, energy and intensity must be reserved for the period from the Conventions through the election. I think it more than a remote possibility that some form of open war on a sporadic, regional basis will break out. And I’m not entirely sure the election will be conducted because of polling place violence.
As for your other point - just one, a retriever. He confines himself to chewing his toys.
You may well have your finger on a pulse that I am completely missing.
Your concerns about the coming year are valid. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people; it’s why we elect such crappy leaders. But every now and then, we do the right thing. We’ll see.
It was Winston Churchill who said, “Americans always do the right thing, but only after exhausting all other options”.
I read that years ago and then in the 2000s it popped back into my head. What I had thought was a witticism frequently turned into a truism. 2024 is the year when those words will be most severely tested.
On the Pareto chart of political challenges, defeating Trump and the MAGA extremists is far above the process of restructuring how our representatives are elected.
I agree with you that the influence of corporations and the wealthy on our elections and the policies they create is hugely unbalanced. But if we don’t win the direct attack on our democracy, we may not have a chance to solve the fundamental problem.
Remember that it was the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that opened the floodgates for the essentially unlimited campaign finances that corporations and the wealthy are allowed to contribute. This was a case brought by far right conservatives that pushed the country to the edge and paved the way for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.
We need to focus on staying in the White House, taking back the House, and widening the lead in the Senate. Then maybe, just maybe we can get some meaningful legislation passed and start to make headway on the bigger problems.
Ah, the ‘now is not the right time, wait until later’ lesser evil argument, couched in the existential threat wrapping. As an ex-Reaganite, I’ll put you in the Clinton/Warren bucket, reformed Republicans who still have faith in a corrupted political system.
Sorry, not playing. There is nothing pragmatic about incremental solutions to catastrophic problems.
Lesser evil voting brought us Trump in the first place, not Citizen’s United. It is probably going to do it again.
You don't have my permission to put me in any sort of a bucket, nor do you have the insight about me to assign one. I'm not sure what your real world experience is, but incremental problem solving is the only way large problems get solved. The naive "I'll stand on my principles no matter the cost," is simplistic and, ultimately unsuccessful. If you're trapped in a burning house, complaining about corruption in government isn't your biggest or most urgent problem.
And anyone who believed the "lesser of two evils," argument between Clinton and Trump is intellectually handicapped beyond salvage. Citizen's United was a pivotal in strengthening the death grip that special interests, corporations and the mega-wealthy have on our government, which I believe was one of the core points in your original post.
Ah, the burning house fallacy/incremental solutions fallacy/intellectually handicapped fallacy conflation. A plethora of fallacious reasoning, if you will.
Lesser evil voting brought us Trump, and will bring us worse. The ratchet effect is real. Denying it, and using tired tropes in its defense, is, well, cluelessly naive.
I could have used "if you have stage 4 cancer..." or "if you are lost at sea," instead of the burning house analogy, but you would have given the same smug, empty response. The analogy is quite accurate - if you are facing a short term existential crisis, focusing on the long term big picture isn't very useful, because if you fail to address the short term existential crisis, your ability to do anything else ends right there. I'll disconnect here, this isn't worth any more of my time. Happy New Year!
The photo that Buddy took of the White House in the early morning light made me teary. I have hope that in 2024, even with all of the upheaval ahead, that democracy will prevail. We all need to do our part to make that happen. I’m trying my best. I know my friends here are also.♥️
Ahhhh, nice to hear from a Canadian. My son, on Bowen Island, BC, drove our 13 y/o granddaughter to Seattle to fly and spend time with us on the East Coast. We watched, "Hey God it's me Margaret".....and we talked politics. It made me think about Anne Frank, and how wise a 13 y/o can be about what is happening in this world, and American politics. She cares about democracy, and how the world will look when she and her twin sister are old enough to vote. It makes me think that a 13 y/o can have a more educated and passionate view of democracy, and right and wrong, than the MAGA contingent.
p.s. We also watched Percy Jackson of which her dad was the visual effects supervisor.
I also “marched” twice in Washington, once in 1971, I was 19 (Pro-choice) and again in January 2020 (“get Trump outta here”rally). Love Washington. Love the Whitehouse. I really, deeply care.
I totally agree with you! I saw the White House and the Capitol last June and was teary at the sight. Especially the Capitol, which was very nearly completely destroyed by "tourists" (!). How very sobering it has been for the first time in my 78 years to find that we cannot take democracy for granted. Thanks to Heather for giving us gjuidance and hope:)
Lanna, two analogies I hold on to help me (at least most days) maintain hope for this year:
1) If we were on a high school sports team, going into the final championship game of the year, and believed we had at least a 50% chance of winning, what would our mindset be? I assume every player would be determined to practice hard, and give it their best on game day. I believe that's what Democrats will do. The fact that the other team plays dirty doesn't change that we still have a good chance of winning.
2) A black friend said to me about five years ago that America has a painful, large, red, hot zit that is coming to a head. When it ruptures, it's going to be messy, but then there will be pain relief and healing. She sees Trumpism as that zit. Perfect analogy, IMO.
Thank you for this, Tyler. As an American Southerner (SC), I appreciate what you are saying. I have many friends who realize what an existential threat Trump’s reelection would be for our democracy. Here, my vote for Biden will not count, nor will theirs. My state will go for Trump no matter how my compatriots vote. SC’s electoral votes are already his. I, along with others, do speak out personally and on social media. It doesn’t change the numbers here.
I am more optimistic about the possibility in North Carolina. Gerrymandering there has been a hindrance for NC, as it is here, BUT, I think they have a good chance that enough voters for Biden will overcome this.
Having said all of this, I do think Biden will prevail. The alternative is too horrible to contemplate.
Thank you for sharing the pic. I had the same thought as Kathy Gower above! How beautiful “our house” is and how much I want it to be that for all of us in the years --decades, scores, centuries--to come.
Enjoy the night off and gallivanting! The pre-dawn photo of the White House is lovely. It looks peaceful, and I am reminded of the excellent president who rests within.
My first real awareness of a president was also Ike.
But when I was born, my folks had been home from the War for less than two years. Truman was to serve six more years. Harry was an amazing human - a very surprising president. He was faced with following the most popular president we had ever had. And had to make what was the toughest decision in all of human history. McCullough's "Truman" was a revelation to me.
As for Biden, my optimistic side hopes we can live to see the day that we have another president that is half as competent and compassionate as Joseph R. Biden.
When I think about other people, the two things I am interested in are their values and degree of empathy. Biden hits it out of the park on both counts.
Come on, Bill. You’re telling me a president complicit in a genocide is best? Really?
“And under the brutal, random tenets of an Israeli military that views as "terrorists" anyone who doesn't comply with the latest evacuation order, families are still forced to keep fleeing, from home to home, neighborhood to neighborhood. In Gaza City last month, that pitiless policy brought multiple deaths. In one neighborhood, Moemen Raed al-Khaldi lay wounded and still for three days amidst the bodies of his dead relatives after soldiers suddenly stormed their house; they told the family to leave in Hebrew, which none of them understood, and in the ensuing confusion they shot dead his grandfather, grandmother, uncle, a pregnant woman and several others staying there. Nearby, his six year-old cousin also survived after soldiers shot his parents in front of him. In al-Rimal neighbourhood, soldiers ordered 24 residents of a building to evacuate; retired UN worker Kamel Mohammed Nofal was explaining that his four adult children, there with their spouses and nine children, were deaf and blind when soldiers shot him dead. At least 11 others were killed in al-Rimal, including an 8-year-old girl; the UN is investigating it as a(nother) war crime.
For those who survive, 90% have been displaced as Israel calls for evacuations from more and more areas, most recently around Khan Younis, where over 620,000 people once lived. Perhaps half of them have now fled to coastal Al-Mawasi, an empty, narrow strip of sand stretching south toward Rafah. Al-Mawasi was home to about 6,000, mostly Bedouin farmers and fishermen; today, hundreds of thousands of refugees live packed into makeshift tents. They stand in long lines for water, roam the streets looking for food or firewood - uprooting trees, collecting paper, taking down now-useless electrical poles - and despair that their children go to bed hungry and wake up cold. "We left the house crying for the (warmth) we left behind," laments Muhammad Sadiq, who'd never fled Khan Younis in past wars, "and we went (to) a barren land with only sand." Said 40-year-old mother Reem Al-Atrash, "People carry their tents, bedding, clothes and sorrows, and walk toward the unknown, weighed down by all their fears. Here we are just passers-by, living out our nightmares before we even dream them."
Meanwhile, "Gaza is starving." In what aid workers call "the impossible reality of Gaza," at least half the population is said to suffer from severe hunger - young children face the greatest risk - and all of it is classified in "a state of crisis," with the highest share ever recorded of people facing "catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity." Workers say many adults already go hungry so their kids can eat, but in the coming weeks at least 10,000 children under five could suffer "severe wasting," the most life-threatening form of malnutrition: "The threat of dying from hunger is real." Atrocities have also spread to the West Bank, where over 300 Palestinians, including 80 children, have been killed in attacks by soldiers and settlers, and the IDF have detained hundreds more "suspected of terrorist activities." For Palestinians already long besieged and terrorized, says Nowar Nabil Diab, "Our memories are being erased." He mourns his home, his sky, his morning with "a cup of tea and a feta sandwich" while listening to Lebanese singer Fairouz;, now, he fears looking out a window. "Life is dwindling," he says. "Fear is a loyal friend. It will never leave us."”
It's crystal clear now to me and probably to the relatives of those hostages that getting them back is way down the list of priorities.
Israel's stated goal is to eliminate Hamas. The real goal is to eliminate Palestinians and make them get out. Bombing them and starving them, all, men, women and children. No medical care for children who are gravely injured. Soon many will die from disease.
There are no acceptable solutions. 2 State? Integrating Palestinians into the Israel after so much abuse and hate on both sides? Sending all Palestinians to other countries? Israel has been evicting them from their homes, villages and land since 1948. It's not just the current fascistic regime, it's the policies of all of Israeli politicians with rare exceptions. Those rare exceptions were assassinated..
Israel was loved by many when they were given their own country.
Is Israel now testing the world to see just how much they can get away with?
An existential question: after centuries of victimhood, do Jews crave going back to being hated? ..................( some Jews, obviously, not all )
Isn’t Netanyahu the equivalent of our Trump? Does he act for all of Israel or just the fascist bullies which is the equivalent
of MAGA? It seems to me if USA can seat a lying criminal like tffg in our Oval Office we shouldn’t be surprised when other so called democracies do the same. There’s only a handful of people I would trust to tell us what they think the world might look like right now had tffg remained in the Oval Office. I’m positive it would be very, very, very bad! Votes matter. Words matter.
My "job" too. Dog first. Almost the best time of day. Today we stomped through a foot of snow. Watch her eat while I sip some optimistic coffee. Read a bit. Like right now. Then I make my delivery. The woman of my dreams awakes and reveals her dreams to me. No pastry though. Just rye toast and a strong cup. I'm the luckiest guy I know.
I live in a lovely senior mobile home park in a coastal mountain community in California. We are fortunate enough to have a small lake on it. I'm a super early bird 🐦 & walk around the lake at 3 or 4 in the morning. The ducks 🦆 that reside there start chattering when I walk by. It's a touch of nature I really enjoy. Walking in the early morning dark is very peaceful. Just the right way to start the day & if I'm really lucky a cottontail bunny 🐇 will cross my path.
On the other hand (!) I love being able to do my own thing (my "companion" was NOT like Buddy) and take care of my animals - and they take care of me. Axel(dog) & I made a path last night up back near the woods & down the slope - this morning the deer had pitched in and used it - so maybe later we can go UP the slope on our walk. Of course, first - feed cat, dog & bird - THEN walk. Then put bird feeder out & corn up back. Yesterday saw a 3 legged deer going thru the yard - hopefully she will find the corn up back - appears not to be a recent injury - imagine having to only have 3 spindly legs & survive! Animals both wild & domestic can be so tough and brave with horrific injuries like that.
I so admire early-bird people—I’m just not one of them. Your animals are very lucky that you are and that you take such good care of them.
About the three-legged deer: I’m reminded of Margaret Mead’s answer that a healed femur (thigh bone) was the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture.
Since your deer couldn’t run from a predator or hunt for food/water, I wonder who cared for her while she healed.
Sorry - gave you the impression I get up early!! Lately, have been up by 7:30 - which IS early for me! EVERYONE is waiting for breakfast at that point.
I really doubt there is anyone caring for her. We used to have coyotes (coydogs?) - I would hear them howling in the winter but I have a feeling they were wiped out - frankly not a good thing. But this is the second 3 legged deer I've seen. The first was several years ago & the leg was just dangling - but he survived somehow - had antlers last time I saw him - didnt see him after hunting season! Far too many get hit by cars - people drive too fast & do NOT pay attention!
Thanks for an image I will never see with my own eyes. My favorite season is summer, but the flat angle of the sun in deep winter provides such beautiful photography.
Hubs and I “did the Mall” between Christmas and New Years a few years back (during the trump occupation).
It’s a quiet time at the Mall and it was unseasonably warm that year. Flew into Reagan Int’l, took the train to within a couple blocks of our VRBO. We were 2 blks from the WH and did the entire week on foot. It was glorious to be near the history of our country. We had coffee on the steps of the SC at 6 one morning - another at the Lincoln Mem and another at the Capital. That small district houses our rich history in a remarkable way. It commands respect and made me burst with pride!
Two years later…Jan 6. Having made that trip….watching the attack on our Capital….was agony for me. I’ve never felt such anger - personal anger - towards those who showed such lack of respect.
P.S. Place I spent the most time: The Black History Museum. I learned so much - it is a phenomenal collection of the struggles and contributions of that segment of our citizens that is so prone to being overlooked. I felt honored to be there and wish every adult and child in this country could make a visit.
We have such a beautiful capital and Capitol building, and I was lucky to spend five years there after college that I've never forgotten. It's the people's city, and yet the people who live there (mostly Black when I lived there during the Johnson administration and into Nixon's) have no voting Representative or Senators in Congress. It's always seemed a tragedy to me, and yet Republicans have always blocked statehood for DC, because it would certainly go Democratiic. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip and that it made a lasting impression. We must hold onto our vision of it.
We shouldn't forget either that Black people not only live in D.C., cannot vote and have been denied statehood, but their ancestors actually built the White House.
The the Trump "occupation", that's a pretty accurate word for how it felt to me. Why is it that the MAGAs would rather have hostages than constituents?
When we went this last year but were delayed a bit by things like our top priority, Arlington National Cemetery being closed because of storm damage, downed trees, etc. By the time we were walking back from the other Museums we couldn't get the timed tickets for the Black History Museum (used to keep it and several other places we still have on our priority list from becoming over crowded). Plan ahead.
Y'all know me and the musician/singer I am, and how pictures always seem to conjure up musical moments. Well, Buddy's photo of the White House made a wonderful song about it come to mind and one that I wanted to share. The incomparable Leonard Bernstein wrote a musical in celebration of the bicentennial, "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" in May of 1976. With one of Broadway's premier lyricists, Alan J. Lerner they crafted a show that, unfortunately, was an enormous flop, one of the few in Bernstein's life. However, one of the songs from it did manage to have a second life. The song is "Take Care of this House", sung in the show by the character Abigail Adams to a young black slave, named Lud, who will eventually grow old in service of the presidential residence, and live through the Emancipation Proclamation. It is an exhortation to all the succeeding occupants of this house to guard it well and take care of it. I think in this day and time, with all the forces assailing our government, a simple piece like this reminds us of what is at stake. There are many performances to choose from, but I elected to share the version sung by another national treasure, Barbra Streisand. It is the most complete version as it has all the lyrics (which I printed under the Youtube link). Do enjoy it and reflect on these lyrics if you get a quiet moment . . .
A shot split the silent dome of night. Meanwhile, the Manhattan crowd were wishing they were back in Dallas disco-dancing to Saturday Night Fever, and wracking their brains trying to remember what the hell was the name of their dear old friends Joan and Ken’s cat.
I happened to be there one summer when they were repainting the White House. They had stripped off much of the old paint to reveal a mottled pattern of white and reddish brown. Dull white. Faint reddish brown. Nothing actually pronounced. More white or whitish gray than brown. Mostly just dirty looking. I don’t know how I feel about knowing that underneath it’s handsome coat it is really a pretty ordinary and not very attractive building, but today as I was driving back into Austin I passed under an overpass on which two signs were hung, side by side: “J6--fuck this corrupt government” and “White lives matter.” Democracy is messy, and mottled, and hopefully survives somewhere between the extremes of hate and compassion. But the hate, liked the mottled walls of the White House, should never be glossed over.
The color is most likely due to the quality of the sandstone and not to the British fire, although fire contributed certainly. This is why the house has always been painted. You can see a similar but much fainter discoloration in the Washington Monument, where the stone actually changes from one quarry to another about 1/3rd the way up, and then again to another stone after about 20 feet. Consistency is not a hallmark of democracy.
I took heart on Saturday when a Long Island Republican in-law took me aside at a family party and told me she HATED Trump (but would never vote for Biden). I responded after she left by saying we have to talk, and she agreed.
1987. 36 years ago if I can still count. I wonder if any books have been written using available data to build a case. I think a license with consequences for broadcasting lies would be a place to start. Dominion shouldn’t have had to take Fox to court. That made up 💩💩 should have been an immediate suspension of license to broadcast. Plus, a few million was like a swat on the hand to a 900 pound beast.
Couldn't agree more. Courts are slow moving and justice delayed, always. And the SC will likely make it more difficult to regulate agencies. Billionaires dream
I know I sound crazy (and probably am) but I am pushing this because (as I point out) she is Trump policies without the baggage so if it is the politics you want, why not vote for someone who can focus on them? Trump is too tied up with criminal issues.
My sincere hope is that Haley absolutely TROUNCES him in the primaries! I firmly believe (pray) that Biden will win, and I don't want to see another J6 or listen to the Sore Loser bleating for another 4 years! Let Trump and Haley (and the entire MAGA/GOP) start infighting state by state by state. Point out that with this infighting, HOW could any legislation be accomplished?!
Then let's keep the POTUS, take the House and increase our numbers in the Senate.
My intention is to listen to her first. I feel this is a risk for her (out of earshot of her husband), and I want to hear what she has to say. I don't even know if she plans to vote in the primary.
My friend’s husband is the driver for the whole family to be political cultists. I think that is a common factor with repubs although my friend would deny it to the heavens.
He's a keeper! lol What he captures with images, you capture with words. It's a great combination. My best wishes to you both.
Sleeping White House..
What Suzanne said Heather. Have a great break.
It’s OUR House, ALL of ours!
And the flag is still there. :-)
Why is it at half mast?
Perry, Iowa shooting.
Hate to break it to you, but it isn’t our house. It’s an illusionary edifice to make the American people keep believing in propagandized mythology.
Were we living in reality, the ‘White’ would just be a clean background for all the corporate logos that should be displayed on its exterior walls, just as should be with politicians jackets. Think NASCAR. We live in a corporate, inverted totalitarian state. Most Americans are so numb and accepting of it… hey, how ‘bout that new phone, huh?…. they don’t even realize the corporate coup already took place. A done deal, as it were.
The quicker we understand the fight for democracy is against capitalism and monied interests, not just the GOP, the better our chances for victory. The climate clock is ticking; judged by their actions, neither party cares. One is in denial about climate, the other foolishly thinks tinkering at the margins will derail the conductor-less train barreling down the track in the tunnel, straight at us. Both ideological mindsets are madness personified.
Tom High, I have said the same thing about having the senators and representatives all wear jackets with their donors logos! I think each politician’s website should be required by law to have the name of every single corporation from whom they’ve received any $ or grants (even from non-profits) and the names of individuals who have given them more than $1000 in a year. Their daily work schedules should be posted the next day so we can see which lobbyists visited. They should have to resign from any entity such as the Federalist Society. Also I think it is wrong to sign pledges or promises such as Grover Norquist’s tax pledge. Their oath of office needs to explicitly state they will separate church from state. I want to know who they are really working for. I’d like to see this at all levels of government. I do not think this is too much to ask. Transparency.
Love every item you mention. Daylight is the best disinfectant.
Let the sun shine in!
This should include particularly the Supreme Court justices.
Great idea - great dream!
As long as we can still vote and have our votes count it IS our house. It’s up to us. Playing the powerless victim has never helped anyone
I never said anything about being powerless. Plenty of studies done that show the power of our votes, in an increasingly corrupt electoral system, have been watered down almost to the point of irrelevance.
You’re right that it’s up to us; to convince other voters that the real enemy is the corporate state, not a political party. When enough people grasp that concept, we’ll have a shot to fix this mess.
There is not corruption in the electoral system but fine dedicated volunteers who love democracy and show up faithfully to do their duty to keep elections and voting safe. Problems are gerrymandering and attempts to make it more difficult to vote, managed by each state! We all need to participate attentively. Our town clerks know most of us. It’s not rocket science and voter registration is public access!
I’m not talking about volunteers. I’m talking about anti-democratic electoral practices, by states, both political parties, and yes, even the Constitution.
No war but the class war!
“neither party cares.” This is where I stopped listening and became disinterested in whatever you might say. My response might have looked like it was to your comment but it was intended for the general public, not you.
Nice job removing a phrase from a passage to obscure the phrase context. I said, ‘judging by their actions, neither party cares’, referencing climate. Neither does. For every attempt made to mitigate climate chaos, by either party, I’ll give you multiple cases in which both parties have exacerbated the problem, by continuing or adding to policies beneficial to fossil fuel lobbyists and corporations.
As to becoming disinterested in whatever I might say, that is your right, just as it is my right to laugh at your blue ball icon with the fox lies messaging; as if most all corporate media isn’t full of lies.
'The fight for democracy' isn't against capitalism and monied interests. Without them, we wouldn't have an economy, and 'totally' socialist alternatives have been proven not to work.
The 'fight' is for the minds of Americans, too many of whom have been anesthesized by the media, be it TV, the internet, or what newspapers remain. Our government is not 'an illusionary edifice.' It is what we make it. We must be strong enough to recongnize the crucial issues we face, and to deal with them, however difficult that may be. HCR helps us to do that, in 'times that try mens' souls' as Thomas Paine wrote in 1776.
Jack-I do think it's necessary for us to consider capitalism and monied interests. The capitalist system created in America undermines democracy. From slavery to the present day the exploitation of workers has given capitalists outsized power to buy politicians, judges and others so they can personally benefit from the laws that allow them to generate (and keep) profits that come from controlling too many of our natural resources (e.g. land, oil, water, even "air rights"). Why do "we the people" need "Citizens United" or corporations as people?? Why have our tax laws been shaped to benefit the wealthy and so on?
Writing in 1884, T. Thomas Fortune (1856-1928), an African American journalist, newspaper owner and civil rights leader put it this way, "wealth unduly centralized, endangers the efficient workings of the machinery of government...it oppresses all alike...the new slave-holder is only solicitous of obtaining the maximum of labor for the minimum of cost". He called labor "industrial slaves" and said, "the hour is approaching when the laboring classes of our country North, East, West and South, will recognize that they have a common cause, a common humanity and a common enemy...they must unite".
The unions have helped us to make progress but the hour has not come yet because as you say, the "minds of Americans" have been manipulated. Using racism as a tool they've been able to distract and divide us through media and education.
Fortune concluded that "the Americans people are fostering in the bosoms a spirit of rebellion which will yet shake the pillars of popular government as they have never before been shaken, unless a wiser policy is inaugurated and honestly enforced". Quotes are from Fortune's book entitled, Land, Labor and Politics in the South (1884). Here we are in 2024 preparing for a shake up because a presidential election may go awry or involve a second round of "Stop the Steal".
I don't know what will ever bring us together to fight for the ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, but I still hope...
There has never been a totally socialist alternative. Ever.
A totally socialist government would recognize that democracy is a better ideology than totalitarianism, and that democracy in the workplace is an essential element of any democracy, not just access to a voting booth. Labor has a shot at being the dominant force under socialism; under capitalism, never.
We would have an economy under socialism, just as we have had one under capitalism, feudalism, and slavery. And it would be nice to have a economy that has a focus other than profit and exploitation.
Almost agree. There exists one large successful socialist organization. That would be the United States Armed Forces. But, as you say, those brave men and women serve because they recognize democracy is a better ideology, and ultimately are commanded by an elected president.
Understand, and agree that socialist concepts can be successful, in addition to the military. Was assuming Jack was referring to nation states.
Take your choice: Milton Friedman or John Maynard Keynes. Each recognized pros and cons to their arguments., one motivated by profit, the other by altruism.
That’s a false choice, a logical fallacy. I’ll take Marx over both.
Altruistic profit is as humorous a concept as was Dubya’s compassionate conservatism. All the flowery messaging in the world can’t hide the mendacity at the core. Except for the thoroughly propagandized, of course.
Marxism doesn't work in Cuba, Venezuela, and even in Russia, where it depends on 'capitaliast' oligarchs. The best examples of Marxism's state control of the economy seem to be China, where it at least is not failing, and North Korea, where it is failing.
It’s not accurate to create a false comparison of capitalism and socialism, many of us don’t view a balance of economic policy one or the other but seek fairness and justice, even for those of us who are lower income but faithfully pay our taxes and don’t benefit from what you might view as “socialism”. Everything that makes life better for all of us is not socialism but smart economics. We’re all needed to participate in the economy not only the top 1-5 %….
Initially, note that I commented that 'totally' socialist systems don't work. But a lot of the features of socialism do work, even in a capitalist economy ... when as you point out, they are 'smart economics,' making 'life better for all of us.' (Examples are Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, infrastructure improvements, libraries, free public education, etc.)... So we sort of agree.
I believe many here recognize that we do "live in a corporate, inverted totalitarian state."
Set us straight, Tom, for what we need to do.
First order of business; ask/tell/demand (depending on the political awareness of who you’re addressing) to contact their congressional representative and ask/tell/demand them to cosponsor HJR-54, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban the concepts of corporate personhood and money as speech. And make the contact regular, not just a one off.
It’s the only way to overrule a corrupt Supreme Court, and I’m not just talking about the current one. The corporate-friendly precedents go back to the 1880s, and dwarf the number of labor-friendly decisions.
More info here: MoveToAmend.org
Thank you, Tom. Since I do not see my House rep on the list of co-sponsors, I will contact her about what I consider to be an important piece of legislation.
Update: Done! And will keep doing.
I agree - I doubt there are many here that dont understand that at this point. But yes, so what CAN we do? Other than vote & make our voices heard.
I am jumping in here to add a suggestion...aren't we all suffering intergenerational trauma to some degree? Some of my Native American ancestors are here in Minneapolis, addicted & living in tents along the city streets; the Israelis are reliving their Holocaust traumas as they attack the Palestinians (& fire decent black university presidents here in America); some folk in our Southern states might still be bitter about losing the Civil War (or we might have universal health coverage here in USA); not sure what is happening in Ukraine, except NATO might be involved somehow. Don't we finally need healthy & just solutions, not just band aids?
Our system forces band aids as solutions, instead of treating the cancer.
Change the system.
Claudine Gay deserved to be fired from Harvard. (I don't know about the other two.) Here is Black linguist John McWhorter's reasoning as to why. (You should be able to access this. If not, email me at holzmandc@outlook.com, and I will mail it to you.)
https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/dynamic/render?campaign_id=229&emc=edit_jm_20240108&instance_id=111836&nl=john-mcwhorter&paid_regi=1&productCode=JM®i_id=57299399&segment_id=154556&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2Ff560e4b4-108c-5ee4-a94f-b69ff9ce1f70&user_id=2622f4c35fb33d018d00f0d31784bbd2
Unfettered capitalism. Capitalism that is given immense influence. That needs to be considered.
I like indoor plumbing, too. But the vampire aspect of capitalism is undeniable; unfettered is the end game. Feudalism had its day, and ended. Slavery, ditto. We are in late-stage capitalism. Best to put it out of its, and our, misery, rather than try to treat a cancer with band aids.
Example here - https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/08/the-rich-who-own-the-home-next-door/
In your view, could capitalism be modified by strengthening laws and regulations along with enforcement?
It can, and has been in various times in our historical timeline. The problem is in capitalism’s inherent lust for profit. It never rests in the quest for absolute power as a means to monopoly, and owning the government/making the rules, to maximize that profit. The vampire squid. The Empire requires never ending growth via exploitation and natural resource extraction.
Think Rome. It quit taxing locals to placate unrest in its population, but had to use conquest and stolen wealth to make up the difference, and eventually collapsed. It’s where we’re headed.
Better to cut bait and build a system based on worker democracy, co-ops, open sourcing, and cooperation rather than competition, greed, and profit.
Thanks for the clarification. I agree that building a system based on worker democracy, co-ops, etc would better serve our basic needs of (see Maslow). I do see a place for a highly regulated and taxed capitalistic arm within a democratic socialist society.
Valid enough points, but today is a day “off”. The photo took some skill and reflects the grandeur of the building.
Today I think we can leave off with finger-wagging, regardless of the merits of your points. The fight is going to be exhausting enough.
There are no off days when a genocide is underway.
How many dogs in your household? We have three Labs, including a ten-week old pup. The chew factor is high.
Fair enough. I am a Canadian (with a son living in Pittsburgh). So I feel relatively detached from the tribulations of our neighbor to the south.
However in reading this site’s comments and those on my Substack, I have been astonished by the very obvious PTSD that people exhibit after 8 years of this shit you are undergoing. Perhaps I was thinking of their needs. At first I thought people were overwrought. No longer.
I also believe that from the standpoint of the fight, energy and intensity must be reserved for the period from the Conventions through the election. I think it more than a remote possibility that some form of open war on a sporadic, regional basis will break out. And I’m not entirely sure the election will be conducted because of polling place violence.
As for your other point - just one, a retriever. He confines himself to chewing his toys.
You may well have your finger on a pulse that I am completely missing.
Your concerns about the coming year are valid. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people; it’s why we elect such crappy leaders. But every now and then, we do the right thing. We’ll see.
It was Winston Churchill who said, “Americans always do the right thing, but only after exhausting all other options”.
I read that years ago and then in the 2000s it popped back into my head. What I had thought was a witticism frequently turned into a truism. 2024 is the year when those words will be most severely tested.
On the Pareto chart of political challenges, defeating Trump and the MAGA extremists is far above the process of restructuring how our representatives are elected.
I agree with you that the influence of corporations and the wealthy on our elections and the policies they create is hugely unbalanced. But if we don’t win the direct attack on our democracy, we may not have a chance to solve the fundamental problem.
Remember that it was the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that opened the floodgates for the essentially unlimited campaign finances that corporations and the wealthy are allowed to contribute. This was a case brought by far right conservatives that pushed the country to the edge and paved the way for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.
We need to focus on staying in the White House, taking back the House, and widening the lead in the Senate. Then maybe, just maybe we can get some meaningful legislation passed and start to make headway on the bigger problems.
Ah, the ‘now is not the right time, wait until later’ lesser evil argument, couched in the existential threat wrapping. As an ex-Reaganite, I’ll put you in the Clinton/Warren bucket, reformed Republicans who still have faith in a corrupted political system.
Sorry, not playing. There is nothing pragmatic about incremental solutions to catastrophic problems.
Lesser evil voting brought us Trump in the first place, not Citizen’s United. It is probably going to do it again.
You don't have my permission to put me in any sort of a bucket, nor do you have the insight about me to assign one. I'm not sure what your real world experience is, but incremental problem solving is the only way large problems get solved. The naive "I'll stand on my principles no matter the cost," is simplistic and, ultimately unsuccessful. If you're trapped in a burning house, complaining about corruption in government isn't your biggest or most urgent problem.
And anyone who believed the "lesser of two evils," argument between Clinton and Trump is intellectually handicapped beyond salvage. Citizen's United was a pivotal in strengthening the death grip that special interests, corporations and the mega-wealthy have on our government, which I believe was one of the core points in your original post.
Ah, the burning house fallacy/incremental solutions fallacy/intellectually handicapped fallacy conflation. A plethora of fallacious reasoning, if you will.
Lesser evil voting brought us Trump, and will bring us worse. The ratchet effect is real. Denying it, and using tired tropes in its defense, is, well, cluelessly naive.
I could have used "if you have stage 4 cancer..." or "if you are lost at sea," instead of the burning house analogy, but you would have given the same smug, empty response. The analogy is quite accurate - if you are facing a short term existential crisis, focusing on the long term big picture isn't very useful, because if you fail to address the short term existential crisis, your ability to do anything else ends right there. I'll disconnect here, this isn't worth any more of my time. Happy New Year!
I would call you Tom “Low” ...
I could respond in kind by playing with your last name, but it would probably get me banned. Peace, t
Not probably…It would…and I was attempting a bit of levity at this dark time…and, yes, peace…
The photo that Buddy took of the White House in the early morning light made me teary. I have hope that in 2024, even with all of the upheaval ahead, that democracy will prevail. We all need to do our part to make that happen. I’m trying my best. I know my friends here are also.♥️
I too am touched by this photo of the White House, looking so serene in the early morning. Thanks to Buddy and Heather for keeping us sane.
I, too, felt teary looking at the photo of the White House and I’m Canadian...You’re not alone...
Ahhhh, nice to hear from a Canadian. My son, on Bowen Island, BC, drove our 13 y/o granddaughter to Seattle to fly and spend time with us on the East Coast. We watched, "Hey God it's me Margaret".....and we talked politics. It made me think about Anne Frank, and how wise a 13 y/o can be about what is happening in this world, and American politics. She cares about democracy, and how the world will look when she and her twin sister are old enough to vote. It makes me think that a 13 y/o can have a more educated and passionate view of democracy, and right and wrong, than the MAGA contingent.
p.s. We also watched Percy Jackson of which her dad was the visual effects supervisor.
A beautiful country you have!
I also “marched” twice in Washington, once in 1971, I was 19 (Pro-choice) and again in January 2020 (“get Trump outta here”rally). Love Washington. Love the Whitehouse. I really, deeply care.
I totally agree with you! I saw the White House and the Capitol last June and was teary at the sight. Especially the Capitol, which was very nearly completely destroyed by "tourists" (!). How very sobering it has been for the first time in my 78 years to find that we cannot take democracy for granted. Thanks to Heather for giving us gjuidance and hope:)
Lanna, two analogies I hold on to help me (at least most days) maintain hope for this year:
1) If we were on a high school sports team, going into the final championship game of the year, and believed we had at least a 50% chance of winning, what would our mindset be? I assume every player would be determined to practice hard, and give it their best on game day. I believe that's what Democrats will do. The fact that the other team plays dirty doesn't change that we still have a good chance of winning.
2) A black friend said to me about five years ago that America has a painful, large, red, hot zit that is coming to a head. When it ruptures, it's going to be messy, but then there will be pain relief and healing. She sees Trumpism as that zit. Perfect analogy, IMO.
Thank you for this, Tyler. As an American Southerner (SC), I appreciate what you are saying. I have many friends who realize what an existential threat Trump’s reelection would be for our democracy. Here, my vote for Biden will not count, nor will theirs. My state will go for Trump no matter how my compatriots vote. SC’s electoral votes are already his. I, along with others, do speak out personally and on social media. It doesn’t change the numbers here.
I am more optimistic about the possibility in North Carolina. Gerrymandering there has been a hindrance for NC, as it is here, BUT, I think they have a good chance that enough voters for Biden will overcome this.
Having said all of this, I do think Biden will prevail. The alternative is too horrible to contemplate.
Thank you for sharing the pic. I had the same thought as Kathy Gower above! How beautiful “our house” is and how much I want it to be that for all of us in the years --decades, scores, centuries--to come.
Enjoy the night off and gallivanting! The pre-dawn photo of the White House is lovely. It looks peaceful, and I am reminded of the excellent president who rests within.
Yes, Biden is the best pres of my lifetime--which began the first summer of the Eisenhower Administration. It sure feels nice to have him at the helm.
And I read that Heather was one of several historians that met with President Biden the other day. I would love to have been a mouse in the corner.
I believe that Heather was in the group that President Biden FIRST met with after taking Office.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/03/historians-scholars-biden-lunch-democracy-00133765
She also had a one on one interview with him awhile back….
Agreed. Best president - ever.
My first real awareness of a president was also Ike.
But when I was born, my folks had been home from the War for less than two years. Truman was to serve six more years. Harry was an amazing human - a very surprising president. He was faced with following the most popular president we had ever had. And had to make what was the toughest decision in all of human history. McCullough's "Truman" was a revelation to me.
As for Biden, my optimistic side hopes we can live to see the day that we have another president that is half as competent and compassionate as Joseph R. Biden.
When I think about other people, the two things I am interested in are their values and degree of empathy. Biden hits it out of the park on both counts.
I may have to read McCoullough's Truman. Thanks for that, Bill. And your last paragraph--my sentiments, exactly!
So very well said/spoken👍♥️
Come on, Bill. You’re telling me a president complicit in a genocide is best? Really?
“And under the brutal, random tenets of an Israeli military that views as "terrorists" anyone who doesn't comply with the latest evacuation order, families are still forced to keep fleeing, from home to home, neighborhood to neighborhood. In Gaza City last month, that pitiless policy brought multiple deaths. In one neighborhood, Moemen Raed al-Khaldi lay wounded and still for three days amidst the bodies of his dead relatives after soldiers suddenly stormed their house; they told the family to leave in Hebrew, which none of them understood, and in the ensuing confusion they shot dead his grandfather, grandmother, uncle, a pregnant woman and several others staying there. Nearby, his six year-old cousin also survived after soldiers shot his parents in front of him. In al-Rimal neighbourhood, soldiers ordered 24 residents of a building to evacuate; retired UN worker Kamel Mohammed Nofal was explaining that his four adult children, there with their spouses and nine children, were deaf and blind when soldiers shot him dead. At least 11 others were killed in al-Rimal, including an 8-year-old girl; the UN is investigating it as a(nother) war crime.
For those who survive, 90% have been displaced as Israel calls for evacuations from more and more areas, most recently around Khan Younis, where over 620,000 people once lived. Perhaps half of them have now fled to coastal Al-Mawasi, an empty, narrow strip of sand stretching south toward Rafah. Al-Mawasi was home to about 6,000, mostly Bedouin farmers and fishermen; today, hundreds of thousands of refugees live packed into makeshift tents. They stand in long lines for water, roam the streets looking for food or firewood - uprooting trees, collecting paper, taking down now-useless electrical poles - and despair that their children go to bed hungry and wake up cold. "We left the house crying for the (warmth) we left behind," laments Muhammad Sadiq, who'd never fled Khan Younis in past wars, "and we went (to) a barren land with only sand." Said 40-year-old mother Reem Al-Atrash, "People carry their tents, bedding, clothes and sorrows, and walk toward the unknown, weighed down by all their fears. Here we are just passers-by, living out our nightmares before we even dream them."
Meanwhile, "Gaza is starving." In what aid workers call "the impossible reality of Gaza," at least half the population is said to suffer from severe hunger - young children face the greatest risk - and all of it is classified in "a state of crisis," with the highest share ever recorded of people facing "catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity." Workers say many adults already go hungry so their kids can eat, but in the coming weeks at least 10,000 children under five could suffer "severe wasting," the most life-threatening form of malnutrition: "The threat of dying from hunger is real." Atrocities have also spread to the West Bank, where over 300 Palestinians, including 80 children, have been killed in attacks by soldiers and settlers, and the IDF have detained hundreds more "suspected of terrorist activities." For Palestinians already long besieged and terrorized, says Nowar Nabil Diab, "Our memories are being erased." He mourns his home, his sky, his morning with "a cup of tea and a feta sandwich" while listening to Lebanese singer Fairouz;, now, he fears looking out a window. "Life is dwindling," he says. "Fear is a loyal friend. It will never leave us."”
https://www.commondreams.org/further/all-this-for-a-myth-we-have-lost-everything-beautiful
I began to study it on Oct 7 when Israel started bombing right away. Did they have any concern that they might be killing some hostages?
They do have a policy to kill a hostage being captured so they don't have to deal with negotiations...It's called The Hannibal Directive. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Directive)
It's crystal clear now to me and probably to the relatives of those hostages that getting them back is way down the list of priorities.
Israel's stated goal is to eliminate Hamas. The real goal is to eliminate Palestinians and make them get out. Bombing them and starving them, all, men, women and children. No medical care for children who are gravely injured. Soon many will die from disease.
There are no acceptable solutions. 2 State? Integrating Palestinians into the Israel after so much abuse and hate on both sides? Sending all Palestinians to other countries? Israel has been evicting them from their homes, villages and land since 1948. It's not just the current fascistic regime, it's the policies of all of Israeli politicians with rare exceptions. Those rare exceptions were assassinated..
Israel was loved by many when they were given their own country.
Is Israel now testing the world to see just how much they can get away with?
An existential question: after centuries of victimhood, do Jews crave going back to being hated? ..................( some Jews, obviously, not all )
Isn’t Netanyahu the equivalent of our Trump? Does he act for all of Israel or just the fascist bullies which is the equivalent
of MAGA? It seems to me if USA can seat a lying criminal like tffg in our Oval Office we shouldn’t be surprised when other so called democracies do the same. There’s only a handful of people I would trust to tell us what they think the world might look like right now had tffg remained in the Oval Office. I’m positive it would be very, very, very bad! Votes matter. Words matter.
Ike my first also! Rest well, President Joe... very busy months ahead.
We need to keep him there! 2024 Biden/Harris!
Me too
Agree
Enjoy your sleep. Having a companion like Buddy means that, by the time you rise, the dog has been fed and taken outside. It’s luxurious.
I am in that club to, with regards to the dog(s) being taken out and fed. Such a luxury!
Works for cats, too!
Not to mention the coffee and pastry in bed! Wow. Can you clone him please?
I have that role in our house -- up at 5:30 -- walking the dog before 6. Brooklyn Heights looks beautiful in the very early morning!
My "job" too. Dog first. Almost the best time of day. Today we stomped through a foot of snow. Watch her eat while I sip some optimistic coffee. Read a bit. Like right now. Then I make my delivery. The woman of my dreams awakes and reveals her dreams to me. No pastry though. Just rye toast and a strong cup. I'm the luckiest guy I know.
I live in a lovely senior mobile home park in a coastal mountain community in California. We are fortunate enough to have a small lake on it. I'm a super early bird 🐦 & walk around the lake at 3 or 4 in the morning. The ducks 🦆 that reside there start chattering when I walk by. It's a touch of nature I really enjoy. Walking in the early morning dark is very peaceful. Just the right way to start the day & if I'm really lucky a cottontail bunny 🐇 will cross my path.
I’m in that lucky club, too. <3
On the other hand (!) I love being able to do my own thing (my "companion" was NOT like Buddy) and take care of my animals - and they take care of me. Axel(dog) & I made a path last night up back near the woods & down the slope - this morning the deer had pitched in and used it - so maybe later we can go UP the slope on our walk. Of course, first - feed cat, dog & bird - THEN walk. Then put bird feeder out & corn up back. Yesterday saw a 3 legged deer going thru the yard - hopefully she will find the corn up back - appears not to be a recent injury - imagine having to only have 3 spindly legs & survive! Animals both wild & domestic can be so tough and brave with horrific injuries like that.
I so admire early-bird people—I’m just not one of them. Your animals are very lucky that you are and that you take such good care of them.
About the three-legged deer: I’m reminded of Margaret Mead’s answer that a healed femur (thigh bone) was the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture.
Since your deer couldn’t run from a predator or hunt for food/water, I wonder who cared for her while she healed.
https://chriskoellhofferihm.org/2021/10/10/where-we-begin/amp/
Sorry - gave you the impression I get up early!! Lately, have been up by 7:30 - which IS early for me! EVERYONE is waiting for breakfast at that point.
I really doubt there is anyone caring for her. We used to have coyotes (coydogs?) - I would hear them howling in the winter but I have a feeling they were wiped out - frankly not a good thing. But this is the second 3 legged deer I've seen. The first was several years ago & the leg was just dangling - but he survived somehow - had antlers last time I saw him - didnt see him after hunting season! Far too many get hit by cars - people drive too fast & do NOT pay attention!
No kidding!
Thanks for an image I will never see with my own eyes. My favorite season is summer, but the flat angle of the sun in deep winter provides such beautiful photography.
Hubs and I “did the Mall” between Christmas and New Years a few years back (during the trump occupation).
It’s a quiet time at the Mall and it was unseasonably warm that year. Flew into Reagan Int’l, took the train to within a couple blocks of our VRBO. We were 2 blks from the WH and did the entire week on foot. It was glorious to be near the history of our country. We had coffee on the steps of the SC at 6 one morning - another at the Lincoln Mem and another at the Capital. That small district houses our rich history in a remarkable way. It commands respect and made me burst with pride!
Two years later…Jan 6. Having made that trip….watching the attack on our Capital….was agony for me. I’ve never felt such anger - personal anger - towards those who showed such lack of respect.
P.S. Place I spent the most time: The Black History Museum. I learned so much - it is a phenomenal collection of the struggles and contributions of that segment of our citizens that is so prone to being overlooked. I felt honored to be there and wish every adult and child in this country could make a visit.
We have such a beautiful capital and Capitol building, and I was lucky to spend five years there after college that I've never forgotten. It's the people's city, and yet the people who live there (mostly Black when I lived there during the Johnson administration and into Nixon's) have no voting Representative or Senators in Congress. It's always seemed a tragedy to me, and yet Republicans have always blocked statehood for DC, because it would certainly go Democratiic. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip and that it made a lasting impression. We must hold onto our vision of it.
We shouldn't forget either that Black people not only live in D.C., cannot vote and have been denied statehood, but their ancestors actually built the White House.
I loved that Michelle Obama was not shy about pointing that out.
The the Trump "occupation", that's a pretty accurate word for how it felt to me. Why is it that the MAGAs would rather have hostages than constituents?
When I visited the Holocaust Museum in Israel I too wished everyone in the country/world had to visit.
When we went this last year but were delayed a bit by things like our top priority, Arlington National Cemetery being closed because of storm damage, downed trees, etc. By the time we were walking back from the other Museums we couldn't get the timed tickets for the Black History Museum (used to keep it and several other places we still have on our priority list from becoming over crowded). Plan ahead.
Never say never!
Y'all know me and the musician/singer I am, and how pictures always seem to conjure up musical moments. Well, Buddy's photo of the White House made a wonderful song about it come to mind and one that I wanted to share. The incomparable Leonard Bernstein wrote a musical in celebration of the bicentennial, "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" in May of 1976. With one of Broadway's premier lyricists, Alan J. Lerner they crafted a show that, unfortunately, was an enormous flop, one of the few in Bernstein's life. However, one of the songs from it did manage to have a second life. The song is "Take Care of this House", sung in the show by the character Abigail Adams to a young black slave, named Lud, who will eventually grow old in service of the presidential residence, and live through the Emancipation Proclamation. It is an exhortation to all the succeeding occupants of this house to guard it well and take care of it. I think in this day and time, with all the forces assailing our government, a simple piece like this reminds us of what is at stake. There are many performances to choose from, but I elected to share the version sung by another national treasure, Barbra Streisand. It is the most complete version as it has all the lyrics (which I printed under the Youtube link). Do enjoy it and reflect on these lyrics if you get a quiet moment . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGLXYz6fl1A
Here in the shell of a house
This house that is struggling to be
A beacon of light shining all through the night
So bright that the whole world could see.
But now there's a chill in the room
Windows are starting to leak
Floorboards are starting to creak
And hope, hope may arrive
The house will survive
If only these walls could speak.
Take care of this house
Keep it from harm
If bandits break in sound the alarm.
Care for this house
Shine it by hand
And keep it so clean
The glow can be seen all over the land.
Be careful at night, check all the doors
If someone makes off with our dream
The dream will be yours
Take care of this house
Be always on call
For this house is the hope of us all.
Beware of full smiles that lead you astray
When someone is telling you lies
Let truth lead the way
Take of this house
Be always on call
Care for this house
It's the hope of us all.
Hi Bruce ! Thank you
Thank you Bruce. Most appropriate.
Thank you, Bruce!
Hi Joan!
OK, I wanna know if you're the real Martin Bishop.
1. Complete this quotation: "A shot......".
2. What was the name of the dance that you tried to teach us?
3. What was our cat's name?
4. For what TV show did we gather regularly?
5. And the cocktail?
A shot split the silent dome of night. Meanwhile, the Manhattan crowd were wishing they were back in Dallas disco-dancing to Saturday Night Fever, and wracking their brains trying to remember what the hell was the name of their dear old friends Joan and Ken’s cat.
2 wrong but 3 right...and clearly Martin. 😊
The perfect theme for the Biden-Harris 2024 inauguration.
Thank You Bruce.
Thank you Bruce for sharing this.
The "bandits" have certainly broken in.
We need to get them out for good.
Thank you for sharing this song!
Awesome. Thank you!
I happened to be there one summer when they were repainting the White House. They had stripped off much of the old paint to reveal a mottled pattern of white and reddish brown. Dull white. Faint reddish brown. Nothing actually pronounced. More white or whitish gray than brown. Mostly just dirty looking. I don’t know how I feel about knowing that underneath it’s handsome coat it is really a pretty ordinary and not very attractive building, but today as I was driving back into Austin I passed under an overpass on which two signs were hung, side by side: “J6--fuck this corrupt government” and “White lives matter.” Democracy is messy, and mottled, and hopefully survives somewhere between the extremes of hate and compassion. But the hate, liked the mottled walls of the White House, should never be glossed over.
Anyone can be lynched by a mob. Even us.
Utterly amazing response! Thank you
MAGAts are a modern day lynching mob
I believe the brown color you mentioned is evidence of the British burning the White House in 1814. I read about it at the time of the restoration.
The color is most likely due to the quality of the sandstone and not to the British fire, although fire contributed certainly. This is why the house has always been painted. You can see a similar but much fainter discoloration in the Washington Monument, where the stone actually changes from one quarry to another about 1/3rd the way up, and then again to another stone after about 20 feet. Consistency is not a hallmark of democracy.
Save your energy, it’s going to be a long year!
I took heart on Saturday when a Long Island Republican in-law took me aside at a family party and told me she HATED Trump (but would never vote for Biden). I responded after she left by saying we have to talk, and she agreed.
Bizarre, I’ve heard that too. I blame Rupert
And Bannon and Jones and…
A hundred extremely well paid liars with megaphones….
Why can’t the FCC regulate airwaves to the truth only???
First thing that Rupert and Ronnie did, kill Fairness Doctrine.
1987. 36 years ago if I can still count. I wonder if any books have been written using available data to build a case. I think a license with consequences for broadcasting lies would be a place to start. Dominion shouldn’t have had to take Fox to court. That made up 💩💩 should have been an immediate suspension of license to broadcast. Plus, a few million was like a swat on the hand to a 900 pound beast.
Couldn't agree more. Courts are slow moving and justice delayed, always. And the SC will likely make it more difficult to regulate agencies. Billionaires dream
Perhaps suggest that she vote for Haley?
I know I sound crazy (and probably am) but I am pushing this because (as I point out) she is Trump policies without the baggage so if it is the politics you want, why not vote for someone who can focus on them? Trump is too tied up with criminal issues.
My sincere hope is that Haley absolutely TROUNCES him in the primaries! I firmly believe (pray) that Biden will win, and I don't want to see another J6 or listen to the Sore Loser bleating for another 4 years! Let Trump and Haley (and the entire MAGA/GOP) start infighting state by state by state. Point out that with this infighting, HOW could any legislation be accomplished?!
Then let's keep the POTUS, take the House and increase our numbers in the Senate.
My intention is to listen to her first. I feel this is a risk for her (out of earshot of her husband), and I want to hear what she has to say. I don't even know if she plans to vote in the primary.
My friend’s husband is the driver for the whole family to be political cultists. I think that is a common factor with repubs although my friend would deny it to the heavens.
Gorgeous photo! Get some rest and enjoy the beauty of the new snowfall. We topped off at 17.5”.
Where?! Not much here in Brooklyn, NY just rain 😕
Brooklyn, land of my paternal ancestors.
Oh, wow, you got 17 1/2 inches of snow? Think we got a quarter of an inch here and it’ll be gone by morning. I miss snow so much. Where are you?
We got over an foot here in western Massachusetts - first of the season and oh so beautiful!
I love Buddy. Well, I love his photographs and his early morning tiptoeing.
Sweet dreams! So glad you have Buddy in your life to pamper you. You deserve it!
Beautiful photo, thank you, Buddy
That Buddy. What a guy!
Enjoy your break, and Buddy waiting on you.