Heather, I want to thank you for your scholarship, compelling Letter lessons and deep concern for our country.
Peter Ralston, I gasped at first sight of 'Easting'. It is captivatingly beautiful. Thank you.
Yesterday’s Letter ran deep: the 13th and 14th amendments, the Dred Scott decision, Reconstruction, a lot to absorb. Along with reviewing it again, I won’t be able to stop myself from drifting into thought about how bizarre and frightening it is in America.
Stories of gun violence are nonstop. Climate catastrophes are continuous, along with the climate deniers. Some members of the family, neighbors and people in the news believe weird stuff. Governors, elected representatives and television personalities are saying things and doing stuff that can literally kill us. The deep cleavage in our democracy has been driving us further apart. I know it’s Sunday morning and who wants to hear this? I’m sorry; there is no place to hide because this crazy talk is in our minds even though we don’t believe a word of it.
This afternoon, without looking I came across an interview telling readers about what two old White men are cooking up. There could not have been a more down to earth wakeup call
‘It’s the Bernie and Joe show.’
‘At 79, Bernie Sanders is a man on a mission, laser-focused on a list that represents trillions of dollars in government spending that he deems essential.
‘He has changed the whole debate in the nation’s capital. He is the guy trying to yank his party back to its working-class roots and steer President Biden in a bolder, more progressive direction.’
‘Mirabile dictu: A president and senator who are both pushing 80, men who were underestimated and dismissed for years in Democratic circles, are now teaming up to transform the country. It’s the Bernie and Joe show’
‘Sanders passionately believes that the only way to undo the damage done by Donald Trump and Trumpism is by showing that government can deliver, that good policy can overcome dangerous conspiracy theories and lies.’
“It’s absolutely imperative if democracy is to survive that we do everything that we can to say, ‘Yes, we hear your pain and we are going to respond to your needs.’ That’s really what this is about. If we don’t do that, I fear very much that conspiracy theories and big lies and the drift toward authoritarianism is going to continue. You got all these folks out there who are saying, ‘Does anybody pay attention to me?’ (The NY Times)
That’s all you’ll get from me of the Bernie and Joe show. For more, please read his interview with Maureen Dowd, link below. Bernie is the best news in my book. I hope that his spirit, determination and plans for America light your fire.
I put two posts up in the last couple of days about Michigan State Senator Ed McBroom a dairy farmer from the Michigan UP. He investigated voting irregularities in Michigan and found none, zero, nada, etc. etc. etc. He admits there are no issues with voting in Michigan. trump lost in Michigan by 150,000 votes.
It does not matter there were few if any voting issues, Michigan State Senator Ed McBroom who chairs the Oversight committee believes Michigan needs more rules and regulations.
Senator Ed McBroom’s Target?
Bridge Michigan: GOP targets no-ID ballots to cut fraud of 2 tenths of 1% in 2020: “Republicans are targeting approximately 14,000 Michiganders voting in person without photo identification in 2020 after signing an affidavit to confirm their identity. It is a convenient and rarely used option which end under a controversial Senate Republican election reform plan.
As if no one ever could lose an election by 0.2%? And two people in a thousand would be affected by an ID requirement? Why not just use voter ID as a bargaining chip to get reforms that would help more people vote, as Joe Manchin has sensibly tried to do?
Excuse me I am a bit weary. We are moving after 27 years in one house. We are moving across country to a "new" house, our first new one ever, and they start packing tomorrow. We are in a flurry of activity.
I will explain to you what is happening in Michigan. Michigan is a gerrymandered state and has been for decades. Gerrymandered in the sense of going Democrat in national elections which includes the national president, senators, and the governor. You can not gerrymander national and state wide elections. You can just make it difficult to vote.
Michigan has voted Democrat for President in National elections since 1992 with the only exception being 2016 when the "anybody-but-trump-or-Clinton vote prevailed which is the only reason trump took Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. The last two states voted Democrat since 88. There was nothing close in the Michigan election for 2020. We kicked the sh*t out of trump this time.
Due to gerrymandering, Republicans have controlled the state House since 88 most of the time with the exception of a few years. The state Senate has been controlled by Republicans 100% since 88 for sure and I am told since 83 (Lessenberry conversation). Pre-Whitmer, we have had one Democrat for Governor and two Republicans during the same period. Republicans had a trifecta twice. The data is all there and no-one looks at it.
Republicans have the majority and have one things like holding up Federal Covid funds till Whitmer gives up some of her legally supported Governorship power. She will not and should not. The Republican can not override a veto by Whitmer as they do not have a 2/3rd vote to do so.
To force this bill through along with the other parts of it, they will solicit the voting populace in an Initiative Petition to override the Governor. It is legal. They need 8% of the total vote (I am told) to do so. This equates to 340,000 signatures to do so. They will get 340,000 Republican to signoff on this.
There is "no" bargaining and it has been this way for years. The Republicans will push it through because they can vet the signatures and many of the Michigan people believe this is an issue even though it is not.
Slowly, Michigan is going Democrat and Republicans know it. Sorry for the history lesson. People need to understand the history and the resulting dynamics.
Right on Bill! And don't worry: I think you're dealing with a "PLOP" (as Fern calls them. The rest of us are aware that the old "rust belt" along the Great Lakes was for decades reliably Democrat--at least on the national level--and varied and diverse on the local level. Take a break, safe travels, and enjoy the new house!!!
Writing and working the numbers is my break. I am relaxing and drinking my "lifer" juice - black coffee. I will lay down again shortly and sleep another hour or so.
Been asked to write a few times. One time and 2600 words later plus one month of reading and absorbing, I finished an article on Clinical Trials and women not being included in them, Essure, and Maternal healthcare before, during, and afterwards.
It was an eyeopener for me and they wanted a man's opinion. They got it.
Bill that is terrific. I teach ancient and medieval history, mostly focusing on history of women and (re: the medieval stuff) the British Isles and other places the Normans hung out. Every year, in my General Ed course on women in the ancient world, I do a quick update search about clinical trials and women for a comparison of ancient and medieval medicine and the idea of women's bodies being "wrong" (Aristotle said that women are deformed males). It amazes me that every. year. I find new reports of the ways in which the refusal to include women in clinical trials because they "screw up" the results--because the biomedical community still believes the male is the biological default despite all evidence to the contrary--causes harm to women.
I am also someone with stage 4 cancer, currently under control (as much as it can be) with medication but inoperable and incurable. And my docs were furious to find out that not a SINGLE CANCER PATIENT was included in any of the COVID vaccine clinical trials, which means that no one has a clue if the vaccines are effective for people like me. So I got vaccinated, but still wear a mask and avoid crowds.
Wow, Bill this is of great personal interest....our son (Parafinczuk Wolf Law Firm FL, FL) spent five years representing thousands of women in the Essure case against Bayer. Justice was serve but at great loss, pain and suffering to far too many women and their families 💔
I live in Michigan, and was very active in the Prop 2 effort and Voters Not politicians. You are completely on target. Ed McBroom is a great example of what GOP “leadership” in our statehouse is just nervy enough to do. It’s horrifying.
The article on Mr. Ed talks about his beliefs, belief in a God, religion, his leading a choir, playing a piano for people and singing hymns, etc. A man of a God. Ed knows the truth and yet he will lie, deceive, and make excuses so he can avoid speaking of the truth. So typical.
He should go back to just milking his cows as he claims he would do if rejected.
I was raised a Baptist and went to church because there were others my age there. My education was with the Lasallians for one BA and Jesuits for an advanced degree. I had enough religion to last a life time.
Partially because of people like McBroom a hypocrite, I avoid religion and just stick to the facts.
Thanks for writing in such detail with all you have on your plate. Is there more about this somewhere? I'm not understanding some of it, not due to you, just due to my own inagility in this subject. Good luck with your move!
You can get the Michigan data from Ballotpedia. You can get election numbers from Dave Leips uselectionatlas.org. The rest I just google, There are links in my dialogue elsewhere at AB. Sorry Prof. Heather.
Let’s see, WHAT could possibly go wrong in the Deep South, with the conservative, state government issuing a Voter ID Card? The Republican Sec of State would be in charge of issuing these cards, that the conservative state legislatures would require. WHAT could go so terribly wrong?
Would similar missteps in the Deep South happen. again. that we saw recently:
* 600,000 black voters eliminated from the 2018 Georgia election (thru Republican Sec of State action), which Stacy Abrams lost by 50,000 votes.
* Interstate Crosscheck, instituted by defrocked KS politiciam Kris Kobach, that eliminated hundreds of thousands of black voters across conservative states (mid 2010s)
* Lack of polling stations throughout black, urban America in the South, resulting in waiting lines of six hours to simply .... vote?
* Georgia state law requirement for some black voters to present citizenship papers before voting, in 2018.
* New Hampshire state law which prevented thousands of college students from voting in 2020
* Arizona state law which eliminated some 384,000 voters (2018), due to a change of residence requirement which required specific action on the state voter registration, on-line data base.
This leads me to wonder - why is it much harder to vote in the South, than to buy a gun?
In the Deep South, perhaps, those with the guns determine who is NOT going to vote?
I read the commentaries about what the present GA governor had done with voter rolls as SoS and Brad (the look at me I told trump "no") the present SoS has done and is doing to GA voting rolls.
Where we are going is going to love me too and just like MI politicians.
Like maybe 70% of Vermonters, I love Bernie. Perhaps the greatest thing Bernie did was to leave Brooklyn and move to Vermont. I sometimes wonder if he would have become the fantastically influential leader he is today without his politics here. He really started at the bottom, winning the mayoralty in Burlington by 10 votes and that, I believe, on the second try. Would he have had the same opportunity in Brooklyn? He has always done a lot of outreach here and there's only 625,000 of us. We know him. He really represents us and all Americans.
Ahhhhh, Fran. This is a comment and link to an interview for a Sunday “step on the brakes and let’s pause for a few seconds.” Let’s get clear about what we are fighting for. Let’s look really carefully at Senator Sander’s list. Especially if it is Chapter 1 in Pres Biden’s playbook. And..let’s really pay close attention to the fact that Bernie Sanders is the political guru of the 30 and under set. And that his energy is the same as seen here on this forum from some people. Isn’t this the answer to the question that comes up every day here? “What can the Dems do to energize and veer away from Trumpism with, of, by and for the people on the bus.”
You're so very wrong. For millions upon millions of Americans, it doesn't matter hard they work or how many jobs they hold. They can barely survive. Since Reagan, the deck has been stacked against them -- health care costs, housing, crap wages, and so much more. Get out in the real world and see what it's like.
Health care and housing are two areas where Big Brother has totally f-ed the markets. Higher education is another. Now having created the problems, who thinks they are going to fix them with more of the same? Not I.
When have Americans just done for themselves? The Republicans have been very big into welfare for industry and the wealthy--for the elite few. Which is why the economy gets wrecked during Republican presidential reigns. If you want the country to succeed you have to broadly encourage new generations of Americans.
It's interesting that while more and more Americans are getting a voice—I'm thinking about women, Native Americans, POC and LGTBQ folks—the GOP promotes the "mommy and daddy in DC slogan." As a woman, I am absolutely thrilled that after such a very long time of non-white non-male people being kept down, they are finally rising up and telling their stories. So I would say that we are growing up at long last, DC is being forced to listen, and the GOP is working very hard to scare anyone who might find this threatening.
I have nothing to do with the GOP or keeping anyone down. It is liberal politicians who are being paternalistic and infantalizing their constituents who are creating a helpless and hopeless class of people.
So, I'm guessing you didn't grow up in a time when the air in major cities was so polluted you could barely breathe in the summer (that's why we went to Maine from DC); the Cuyahoga River was on fire; the Potomac was a cesspool; shit and poisons were being dumped in oceans and rivers; toxic and radioactive waste was being buried in sites around the country; blacks were forbidden to eat or drink or relieve themselves in white only designated places; your "retarded" sibling, if you were of a certain social set, was institutionalized and rarely visited; BIPOC and "retarded" people were, without their knowledge, sterilized, experimented on, abused by the so called medical staff; women died from unsafe abortions performed by his knows who;. BIPOC and LGBTQIA were beaten or murdered just because; Where white men after WWII had the privilege of the GI Bill while most Black men did not; government agricultural subsidies and loans never went to minority farmers (they still mostly don't); where your parents could be imprisoned or executed for their political beliefs (unlike the seditionist, criminal, former president and his mob,all of whom walk free)...and on and on and on.
Is that the fabulous USA where people did for themselves? I'm sure I've forgotten some of the other fantastic freedoms and opportunities we had in the good old days. I'm sure you'll enlighten us, though.
If one can't breathe clean air, drink clean water, live on unpolluted land, piss in a common toilet, eat in a common restaurant, not have ones uterus ripped out, been surgically emasculated, experimented on, and more, ONE IS NOT FREE. One is a subject.
You are free to take your comments elsewhere. The large majority of people who comment here are more in line with Daria than they are with you Ron. I'm not sure what you're seeking to gain from posting here, though you're not as awful as some others.
Ron Warrick, you are basically taking up space which is not worth the time that others give to you. Please reassess your motives and contribute to the overall health of this forum or move on to other pastures. I wish you well.
Because your comment is one belonging to a spoiled brat and we are talking about people needing our strong government to be a guarantor that our country is safe, clean, healthy, and prosperous and energized for all. We are not talking about hand me downs or handouts to children from Mom and Pop. So quit your whining. Your bait can’t catch a fish. And your attitude has a peculiar odor of bullsh*t.
Excuse my language, por favor. On second thought, don’t.
Of course we all want a country that is safe, clean, healthy, energetic and prosperous. People who worship bloated and intrusive government have no monopoly on that.
I appreciated your reminder, Daria, of how trashed our country was, how despicable our attitudes and actions were, and how far we have come. Gives me hope for how far we can go even with all of today's plop and ploop.
Linda, Hi again. I don't have the time to find it now, but last week (I believe) Ellie wrote a thoughtful comment guiding us when we suspect someone on the forum as here to distract, divert, etc. She wrote 'ignore'. Just IGNORE. Ellie put me out of business, and I'm fine with that. I hope you have a lovely Sunday.
My thoughts about President Biden's executive order on getting businesses to be competitive makes me think that Biden presidency is not only in the model of FDR but also of Teddy Roosevelt with his monopoly busting. So, I'm expecting the next thing he does in the Teddy vein will be the revival of our National Parks and even deeding the Black Hills back to their rightful Native American owners.
Ahhh so beautiful. Here in Wales on the Cambrian coast life and Art flow together seamlessly each day. This morning there is mist over the sea, dragons breath, and a dark grey line at the horizon. I feel I could walk to the edge of the world and look down at a glorious future. A new heaven and a new earth. A Dog barks, a hawk is finding a thermal far above the sea and the train toot toots traveling north at speed. I curl up in my azure duvet covered with pink and gold birds and Tink the cat sleeps in sleek blackness on her leopard blanket at my feet. From the wall I expect the girl in the Picasso print, ‘Girl with Chair’ to speak. Monet or Klee, Rembrandt or Warhol, what painting do you live in? What do they say to you?
Robin that's not fair! I am usually in Wales this time of year--or the North of England--doing research and enjoying my favorite little piece of the world. But I have to say, along with the idyllic is the bizarre: my experience of the seagulls in North Wales (especially Conway and Llandudno) was super interesting a couple summers ago . . .
Ahh yes, are you referring to the crazed, chip snatching, mutant, feathered demons that wait behind every wall, lurk above all street and byways of coastal Wales? Roughly the size of cocker spaniels, their yellow eyes do not waver when a morsel of food is to be found. No one is safe. I actually Saved one from being ‘Chicked to death” yesterday. He had gotten into the chicken run of our neighbours and they took massive umbrage… massive. I had to run him out with a stick. I was a zoo keeper for 35 years and have worked with lots of birds. Heck, an owl appeared in our lounge the other day and I had no trouble catching it up and releasing it outside. But these seagulls… what they lack in beauty they make up for with stupidity and hard core malice. Beaks like razor blades and totally fearless. So, I am either selfless or pretty dim. However if God turns out to be a Seagull I think I’m in. 🐣
When I was last in Conwy (thanks autocorrect for messing up the spelling the first time!) I started a photo series of seagulls sitting on the heads of statues. It is quite entertaining! But dang they are huge. And aggressive.
Hi Robin. Where are you on the coast? I spent quite a bit of time visiting in the village of Borth when doing my Masters, just north of Aberystwyth a good while ago when my parents lived there. I remember principally the power of the storms raging in from the Atlantic and a pair of local donkeys that once ravaged my mothers lovingly prepared lawn!
Marvellous! Aber is the big city to us. I have lived in Barmouth for 8 years. Just up the road from Aberystwyth. Of course it takes an age to get there on the windy roads. A seaside town with the season just starting we live in peril from the marauding infectious hordes from Liverpool and Manchester. However they do toss their lovely moola around when they visit so all is forgiven…. Well almost all. I do wish some did not dress like demented humpty dumpties, and purple hair for the over 60’s dolls is de rigueur. I try to offset this with my elegant vintage dress but to largely no avail. When I visit the local coop they come up to me and inquire…”Are you from France”? So I will now wear oversized black mens t-shirts, leggings and a baseball hat in public and save my pencil skirts and red lip for home where the cats find it tres chic and sartorially soothing. Paris…lucky you. We miss it awfully but the idea of even the train there now is terrifying. Soon I hope. Stay well, Wales is waiting for your return…
I remember how long it used to take me to get there via Shrewsbury and Machynlleth by train 😱. Also my mother having to remind Aber shpkeepers that she wasn't a "tourist" and thus "benefitted" from local pricing!
London to Mach is a breeze. It's Mach to Barmouth that's the slog. It's all worth it when we see home, our tiny stone house way up on the rock. Hope you can visit someday. We will give you the totally local treatment.
Where, oh where did we go wrong? Where is the nation that was able to pull itself out of a world-wide depression during the thirties (true, WW Two helped), defeat the forces of fascism during the forties, derail world-wide communism during the last half of the twentieth century, and was able to provide its citizens with the highest standard of living in the world,, a thriving economy and more liberty and equality (although that is still a work in progress) than ever before? Where did we go wrong?
This weekend, conservative Republicans are gathering in Dallas at their CPAC convention, at which the former president will speak. He and other speakers will talk about a stolen election, a claim disproven by all election authorities and courts, dismiss the January 6 invasion of the Capitol by terrorists intent on stopping the formalization of the election results in the Electoral College as a mere visit by tourists and talk about getting the former president back in the White House in 2024 or sooner. Where, oh where did we go wrong so that such dangerous nonsense has achieved even a smidgen of credibility?
I will tell you how those who are against democracy in the United States and against a citizenry enjoying equal rights under the law regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation found a way.
In my opinion, they started by pinpointing areas of dissatisfaction among separate groups of Americans and over the past half century, unified them under one all-encompassing banner. Dissatisfaction with something or other has always been part of American culture but never before have all of the dissatisfied been united as they were through the words of William Buckley, the candidacy of Barry Goldwater, the emergence of the Tea Party, the salesmanship of Ronald Reagan and culminating with the election of Donald Trump to the presidency.
Some were frustrated by the disappearance of traditional hands-on jobs and their replacement with technology, with the replacement of the Rust Belt with Silicon Valley. Some were annoyed by the growing presence of recent immigrants and eventually their children among the work force, the professions and society in general. Similarly, there were those who for a variety of reasons, objected to racial equality and were still, at least in their minds, fighting the Civil War. Some were dissatisfied with the government’s assuming the role of maintaining a safety net for those who were on the lower rungs of the economy’s ladder. Government regulations designed for the welfare and protection of ordinary citizens from questionable financial and business practices were opposed by others, usually in the private sector. There were those who saw a communist or socialist conspiracy behind every door that was being ignored. Others were dissatisfied with the ease with which a woman could obtain an abortion. Some objected to the redefinition of family structures, to include new sexual choices. And there were those who, despite the First Amendment, saw the United States as a Christian country and wanted to keep it that way. Regulation of the possession of weapons by private citizens was seen by others as an incursion into their freedom. Dissatisfaction with our educational system flourished, particularly among those who lacked confidence in science, and among those who disliked their children going to desegregated schools. Unionization of workers was seen by others as somehow un-American. The list of causes of dissatisfaction went on and on.
Standing alone, these groups made a lot of noise, but really did not exert much power. But united in their various dissatisfactions, augmented by carefully cultivated media outlets, they became a potent force. They first manifested their strength in local and State elections, and continue to do so, and soon their power spread into national politics. And that is where we are today.
This is where we went wrong. This is why so many Americans believe the “Big Lie” in regard to the 2020 election promulgated by the party which has mobilized these many sources of dissatisfaction into one massive anti-democratic group, masquerading as patriots dedicated to ‘saving’ our country and way of life.
What can be done about it remains in the hands of voters. The battle against these anti-democratic forces must be fought primarily in elections for State legislators and officials, governors and members of Congress. The presidency counts but not so much as these other offices do. This is where the dissatisfactions mentioned above manifest themselves, separately or unified into what is today’s Republican Party.
And in answering the question I started with, that is where we went wrong! We failed to recognize that all politics are local. So is dissatisfaction with something or other.
Jack, your summation is spot on. Add to the list a method of dissemination including right-wing television outlets like Fox and unfettered social media, and the witches' brew became a hurricane. People have only recently realized, as you pointed out, that local politics is what we must concentrate on. Thank you.
Absolutely beautiful image. Thank you. I was also pleasantly surprised to see your new book on audible for release on 11/23/21. I live in Hood River and commute to Portland, OR four days a week. Needless to say I listen to many audiobooks while driving. I have listened to all of yours and look forward to your latest book
Is there a more beautiful setting in the U.S. than where you live? Debatable. That said, I don't envy you negotiating winter weather in the Columbia Gorge.
Thank you Michael! It is a beautiful place to live and commuting through the gorge is great most of the time. The winter can be a challenge. And that being said, I have a great car with tires that get me to work. I have actually worked for some Portland nurses that couldn’t get out of their driveway when Portland got some snow.
We live in NE Portland just across the Willamette. Portlanders, by and large, are ill-prepared for snow. Our son went to middle school in the West Hills. One day I knew that snow was arriving in early afternoon and headed up to pick him up early. A typical 30-minute drive took five hours because everyone tried to leave town at once, and so many cars couldn't make the 1,000-foot climb.
Yes, from November 1 until March 31 (by statute); this can be adjusted to account for severe winter storms at either end of those dates. The pandemic adjustment was until May 1 (we were under heavy restrictions in March).
Thank you Heather for letting me reminisce about the wonderful days I've had in Maine. Like going out to Machias Seal Island to watch the Puffins. Climbing the Beehive in Arcadia National Park. Eating the finest clam chowder I've ever had at Schoodic Point. Kayaking along one of the inlets near Brunswick photographing eagle nests. Driving up to LL Bean in the middle of the night to shop for Christmas presents.
Biden has replaced the fear mongering of the former guy with boldness delivered in straight-talking fashion. Personally, I'm loving all this winning. Just because you can't get what you want be thankful for the things you do get you really need.
There is nothing like the New England ocean. I remember housesitting for a friend in Rockport, MA, right on the water, and waking up to the sunrise over the ocean, and falling asleep to fog horns. It's beautiful. Your friend's photo brings back good memories. Thank you.
Heather and Peter both, thank you for sharing your amazing talents with us. The beauty and gravitas of the words and images that are shared to this community are priceless.
So glad for you, to have a beautiful respite spending time on the water.
Rest well. Not only have you earned it. You teach us so much in so many ways, and modeling balance, giving yourself permission, is an important dynamic for us to witness and do for ourselves. Bless you.
It looks like I need to spend some time on the east coast. My only visit there was 30 years ago, and I was turned around180 degrees the entire time. That is a fabulous photo.
I am in the midst of a birthday week celebration* in Central Oregon; so completely different that the coastal valleys that are my normal stomping grounds. I am going to explore Smith Rock and Crooked River Gorge today after spending the entire day Friday on a pontoon boat at Lake Billy Chinook (a lake formed by Round Butte Dam of the Metolius, Crooked, and Deschutes Rivers),
* We tend to celebrate our grouped family birthdays this way. My wife (July 6) and her sister (July 13) are the stars this week. Last May, we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday, and in March, we celebrated my two nieces (March 25 and 27) and me (also the 27th; my niece was born on my 40th birthday). The girls and I choose the coast, my inlaws choose Central Oregon. It is fun.
Morning, Ally!! I have never been to Oregon, so you are doing better than me! I did spend a little time in Washington where my sister got married back in the late nineties. Her mother-in-law owned a hotel on the Island of Orcas. Very beautiful though as I, too, was turned around 180 degrees!
Happy birthdays to Wife and Sister! It's good to hear about celebrations, joy and merriment around your place. As for your day's adventure, wish I was there. Cheers!
Thank you Heather for providing this lovely peaceful summer photo. (It's a real beauty.) It gives balance to all the huge unthinkable things we worry about—I'm grateful for the equilibrium that you provide with your amazing sense of the American story. And the peaceful summer moments that show up. So very important that we can see beauty when it touches us.
One of our favorites! My son now reads it to his 2 year old son and Maine is still a favorite vacation spot. Also Blueberries for Sal. My grandson, with his toddler wispy hair, looks so much like Sal, that even though he knows the story by heart, when my son points to the cover and says "who is that?", my grandson says his own name! Kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk!
Heather, I want to thank you for your scholarship, compelling Letter lessons and deep concern for our country.
Peter Ralston, I gasped at first sight of 'Easting'. It is captivatingly beautiful. Thank you.
Yesterday’s Letter ran deep: the 13th and 14th amendments, the Dred Scott decision, Reconstruction, a lot to absorb. Along with reviewing it again, I won’t be able to stop myself from drifting into thought about how bizarre and frightening it is in America.
Stories of gun violence are nonstop. Climate catastrophes are continuous, along with the climate deniers. Some members of the family, neighbors and people in the news believe weird stuff. Governors, elected representatives and television personalities are saying things and doing stuff that can literally kill us. The deep cleavage in our democracy has been driving us further apart. I know it’s Sunday morning and who wants to hear this? I’m sorry; there is no place to hide because this crazy talk is in our minds even though we don’t believe a word of it.
This afternoon, without looking I came across an interview telling readers about what two old White men are cooking up. There could not have been a more down to earth wakeup call
‘It’s the Bernie and Joe show.’
‘At 79, Bernie Sanders is a man on a mission, laser-focused on a list that represents trillions of dollars in government spending that he deems essential.
‘He has changed the whole debate in the nation’s capital. He is the guy trying to yank his party back to its working-class roots and steer President Biden in a bolder, more progressive direction.’
‘Mirabile dictu: A president and senator who are both pushing 80, men who were underestimated and dismissed for years in Democratic circles, are now teaming up to transform the country. It’s the Bernie and Joe show’
‘Sanders passionately believes that the only way to undo the damage done by Donald Trump and Trumpism is by showing that government can deliver, that good policy can overcome dangerous conspiracy theories and lies.’
“It’s absolutely imperative if democracy is to survive that we do everything that we can to say, ‘Yes, we hear your pain and we are going to respond to your needs.’ That’s really what this is about. If we don’t do that, I fear very much that conspiracy theories and big lies and the drift toward authoritarianism is going to continue. You got all these folks out there who are saying, ‘Does anybody pay attention to me?’ (The NY Times)
That’s all you’ll get from me of the Bernie and Joe show. For more, please read his interview with Maureen Dowd, link below. Bernie is the best news in my book. I hope that his spirit, determination and plans for America light your fire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/10/opinion/bernie-sanders-interview-maureen-dowd.html
I put two posts up in the last couple of days about Michigan State Senator Ed McBroom a dairy farmer from the Michigan UP. He investigated voting irregularities in Michigan and found none, zero, nada, etc. etc. etc. He admits there are no issues with voting in Michigan. trump lost in Michigan by 150,000 votes.
It does not matter there were few if any voting issues, Michigan State Senator Ed McBroom who chairs the Oversight committee believes Michigan needs more rules and regulations.
Senator Ed McBroom’s Target?
Bridge Michigan: GOP targets no-ID ballots to cut fraud of 2 tenths of 1% in 2020: “Republicans are targeting approximately 14,000 Michiganders voting in person without photo identification in 2020 after signing an affidavit to confirm their identity. It is a convenient and rarely used option which end under a controversial Senate Republican election reform plan.
The righteous Mc Broom believes we still need a solution to a nonProblem. https://angrybearblog.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=77615&action=edit Michigan Republican's Solution to Supposed Risky Voting Practices
Damn.
Mc Broom looked so clean.
Until he has to take a "real" stand.
As if no one ever could lose an election by 0.2%? And two people in a thousand would be affected by an ID requirement? Why not just use voter ID as a bargaining chip to get reforms that would help more people vote, as Joe Manchin has sensibly tried to do?
Ron:
Excuse me I am a bit weary. We are moving after 27 years in one house. We are moving across country to a "new" house, our first new one ever, and they start packing tomorrow. We are in a flurry of activity.
I will explain to you what is happening in Michigan. Michigan is a gerrymandered state and has been for decades. Gerrymandered in the sense of going Democrat in national elections which includes the national president, senators, and the governor. You can not gerrymander national and state wide elections. You can just make it difficult to vote.
Michigan has voted Democrat for President in National elections since 1992 with the only exception being 2016 when the "anybody-but-trump-or-Clinton vote prevailed which is the only reason trump took Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. The last two states voted Democrat since 88. There was nothing close in the Michigan election for 2020. We kicked the sh*t out of trump this time.
Due to gerrymandering, Republicans have controlled the state House since 88 most of the time with the exception of a few years. The state Senate has been controlled by Republicans 100% since 88 for sure and I am told since 83 (Lessenberry conversation). Pre-Whitmer, we have had one Democrat for Governor and two Republicans during the same period. Republicans had a trifecta twice. The data is all there and no-one looks at it.
Republicans have the majority and have one things like holding up Federal Covid funds till Whitmer gives up some of her legally supported Governorship power. She will not and should not. The Republican can not override a veto by Whitmer as they do not have a 2/3rd vote to do so.
To force this bill through along with the other parts of it, they will solicit the voting populace in an Initiative Petition to override the Governor. It is legal. They need 8% of the total vote (I am told) to do so. This equates to 340,000 signatures to do so. They will get 340,000 Republican to signoff on this.
There is "no" bargaining and it has been this way for years. The Republicans will push it through because they can vet the signatures and many of the Michigan people believe this is an issue even though it is not.
Slowly, Michigan is going Democrat and Republicans know it. Sorry for the history lesson. People need to understand the history and the resulting dynamics.
Right on Bill! And don't worry: I think you're dealing with a "PLOP" (as Fern calls them. The rest of us are aware that the old "rust belt" along the Great Lakes was for decades reliably Democrat--at least on the national level--and varied and diverse on the local level. Take a break, safe travels, and enjoy the new house!!!
Linda:
Writing and working the numbers is my break. I am relaxing and drinking my "lifer" juice - black coffee. I will lay down again shortly and sleep another hour or so.
Been asked to write a few times. One time and 2600 words later plus one month of reading and absorbing, I finished an article on Clinical Trials and women not being included in them, Essure, and Maternal healthcare before, during, and afterwards.
It was an eyeopener for me and they wanted a man's opinion. They got it.
Bill that is terrific. I teach ancient and medieval history, mostly focusing on history of women and (re: the medieval stuff) the British Isles and other places the Normans hung out. Every year, in my General Ed course on women in the ancient world, I do a quick update search about clinical trials and women for a comparison of ancient and medieval medicine and the idea of women's bodies being "wrong" (Aristotle said that women are deformed males). It amazes me that every. year. I find new reports of the ways in which the refusal to include women in clinical trials because they "screw up" the results--because the biomedical community still believes the male is the biological default despite all evidence to the contrary--causes harm to women.
I am also someone with stage 4 cancer, currently under control (as much as it can be) with medication but inoperable and incurable. And my docs were furious to find out that not a SINGLE CANCER PATIENT was included in any of the COVID vaccine clinical trials, which means that no one has a clue if the vaccines are effective for people like me. So I got vaccinated, but still wear a mask and avoid crowds.
Wow, Bill this is of great personal interest....our son (Parafinczuk Wolf Law Firm FL, FL) spent five years representing thousands of women in the Essure case against Bayer. Justice was serve but at great loss, pain and suffering to far too many women and their families 💔
Best Wishes for your move & new home!
Would love to read your work!
I live in Michigan, and was very active in the Prop 2 effort and Voters Not politicians. You are completely on target. Ed McBroom is a great example of what GOP “leadership” in our statehouse is just nervy enough to do. It’s horrifying.
Shelley:
The article on Mr. Ed talks about his beliefs, belief in a God, religion, his leading a choir, playing a piano for people and singing hymns, etc. A man of a God. Ed knows the truth and yet he will lie, deceive, and make excuses so he can avoid speaking of the truth. So typical.
He should go back to just milking his cows as he claims he would do if rejected.
I was raised a Baptist and went to church because there were others my age there. My education was with the Lasallians for one BA and Jesuits for an advanced degree. I had enough religion to last a life time.
Partially because of people like McBroom a hypocrite, I avoid religion and just stick to the facts.
McBroom is hiding behind a religious façade.
He is certainly not the only one. Thank you for your posts this am, and may you be well.
Thanks for writing in such detail with all you have on your plate. Is there more about this somewhere? I'm not understanding some of it, not due to you, just due to my own inagility in this subject. Good luck with your move!
Kim:
You can get the Michigan data from Ballotpedia. You can get election numbers from Dave Leips uselectionatlas.org. The rest I just google, There are links in my dialogue elsewhere at AB. Sorry Prof. Heather.
Thank you!
But we passed the independent redistricting commission and they are set to dig into census data to right the Republican wrongs from 2010/2011! https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/17/michigan-redistricting-panel-gerrymandering/5598998002/
Gerrymandering is a separate issue, except insofar as it could be one of the issues where ID could possibly be used as a bargaining chip.
Let’s see, WHAT could possibly go wrong in the Deep South, with the conservative, state government issuing a Voter ID Card? The Republican Sec of State would be in charge of issuing these cards, that the conservative state legislatures would require. WHAT could go so terribly wrong?
Would similar missteps in the Deep South happen. again. that we saw recently:
* 600,000 black voters eliminated from the 2018 Georgia election (thru Republican Sec of State action), which Stacy Abrams lost by 50,000 votes.
* Interstate Crosscheck, instituted by defrocked KS politiciam Kris Kobach, that eliminated hundreds of thousands of black voters across conservative states (mid 2010s)
* Lack of polling stations throughout black, urban America in the South, resulting in waiting lines of six hours to simply .... vote?
* Georgia state law requirement for some black voters to present citizenship papers before voting, in 2018.
* New Hampshire state law which prevented thousands of college students from voting in 2020
* Arizona state law which eliminated some 384,000 voters (2018), due to a change of residence requirement which required specific action on the state voter registration, on-line data base.
This leads me to wonder - why is it much harder to vote in the South, than to buy a gun?
In the Deep South, perhaps, those with the guns determine who is NOT going to vote?
I read the commentaries about what the present GA governor had done with voter rolls as SoS and Brad (the look at me I told trump "no") the present SoS has done and is doing to GA voting rolls.
Where we are going is going to love me too and just like MI politicians.
Curious, where are you going to? Went to college in Michigan decades ago and have friends there. Understand what you are saying.
Where it is warm and has similar issues. AZ
Excellent piece, Fern! Long live Bernie Sanders.
Like maybe 70% of Vermonters, I love Bernie. Perhaps the greatest thing Bernie did was to leave Brooklyn and move to Vermont. I sometimes wonder if he would have become the fantastically influential leader he is today without his politics here. He really started at the bottom, winning the mayoralty in Burlington by 10 votes and that, I believe, on the second try. Would he have had the same opportunity in Brooklyn? He has always done a lot of outreach here and there's only 625,000 of us. We know him. He really represents us and all Americans.
Bruce, Love your appreciation for Bernie. Just remember, he's a Brooklyn boy!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/10/opinion/sunday/white-newspapers-african-americans.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Thanks for posting this article, Sandy. Spreading the news about the news, as it were. A good thing.
Thank you, Sandy. I read it.
Ahhhhh, Fran. This is a comment and link to an interview for a Sunday “step on the brakes and let’s pause for a few seconds.” Let’s get clear about what we are fighting for. Let’s look really carefully at Senator Sander’s list. Especially if it is Chapter 1 in Pres Biden’s playbook. And..let’s really pay close attention to the fact that Bernie Sanders is the political guru of the 30 and under set. And that his energy is the same as seen here on this forum from some people. Isn’t this the answer to the question that comes up every day here? “What can the Dems do to energize and veer away from Trumpism with, of, by and for the people on the bus.”
Let’s go!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/10/opinion/sunday/white-newspapers-african-americans.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
I guess the America where the people could do for themselves is gone. We’re just children now, and Mommy and Daddy live in Washington, DC.
You're so very wrong. For millions upon millions of Americans, it doesn't matter hard they work or how many jobs they hold. They can barely survive. Since Reagan, the deck has been stacked against them -- health care costs, housing, crap wages, and so much more. Get out in the real world and see what it's like.
Health care and housing are two areas where Big Brother has totally f-ed the markets. Higher education is another. Now having created the problems, who thinks they are going to fix them with more of the same? Not I.
When have Americans just done for themselves? The Republicans have been very big into welfare for industry and the wealthy--for the elite few. Which is why the economy gets wrecked during Republican presidential reigns. If you want the country to succeed you have to broadly encourage new generations of Americans.
I’d start with ending corporate welfare. But people want it when it’s called creating jobs.
Like the big corporate tax cuts that didn't create jobs but resulted in massive stock buybacks, boosting bonuses?
They’ve probably created jobs, also. But you won’t hear about it from the usual suspects in the media.
Probably? Media conspiracy? Sorry. " 'Trickle-down’ tax cuts make the rich richer but are of no value to overall economy," study finds. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/23/tax-cuts-rich-trickle-down/
It's interesting that while more and more Americans are getting a voice—I'm thinking about women, Native Americans, POC and LGTBQ folks—the GOP promotes the "mommy and daddy in DC slogan." As a woman, I am absolutely thrilled that after such a very long time of non-white non-male people being kept down, they are finally rising up and telling their stories. So I would say that we are growing up at long last, DC is being forced to listen, and the GOP is working very hard to scare anyone who might find this threatening.
I have nothing to do with the GOP or keeping anyone down. It is liberal politicians who are being paternalistic and infantalizing their constituents who are creating a helpless and hopeless class of people.
So, I'm guessing you didn't grow up in a time when the air in major cities was so polluted you could barely breathe in the summer (that's why we went to Maine from DC); the Cuyahoga River was on fire; the Potomac was a cesspool; shit and poisons were being dumped in oceans and rivers; toxic and radioactive waste was being buried in sites around the country; blacks were forbidden to eat or drink or relieve themselves in white only designated places; your "retarded" sibling, if you were of a certain social set, was institutionalized and rarely visited; BIPOC and "retarded" people were, without their knowledge, sterilized, experimented on, abused by the so called medical staff; women died from unsafe abortions performed by his knows who;. BIPOC and LGBTQIA were beaten or murdered just because; Where white men after WWII had the privilege of the GI Bill while most Black men did not; government agricultural subsidies and loans never went to minority farmers (they still mostly don't); where your parents could be imprisoned or executed for their political beliefs (unlike the seditionist, criminal, former president and his mob,all of whom walk free)...and on and on and on.
Is that the fabulous USA where people did for themselves? I'm sure I've forgotten some of the other fantastic freedoms and opportunities we had in the good old days. I'm sure you'll enlighten us, though.
I love you, Daria!!
Of course, freedom never should have meant the freedom to pollute. But explain to me how this relates to my comment.
If one can't breathe clean air, drink clean water, live on unpolluted land, piss in a common toilet, eat in a common restaurant, not have ones uterus ripped out, been surgically emasculated, experimented on, and more, ONE IS NOT FREE. One is a subject.
Huh? Crazy people here.
Yawn.
You are free to take your comments elsewhere. The large majority of people who comment here are more in line with Daria than they are with you Ron. I'm not sure what you're seeking to gain from posting here, though you're not as awful as some others.
Ron Warrick, you are basically taking up space which is not worth the time that others give to you. Please reassess your motives and contribute to the overall health of this forum or move on to other pastures. I wish you well.
Read some real history. You might learn something.
Because your comment is one belonging to a spoiled brat and we are talking about people needing our strong government to be a guarantor that our country is safe, clean, healthy, and prosperous and energized for all. We are not talking about hand me downs or handouts to children from Mom and Pop. So quit your whining. Your bait can’t catch a fish. And your attitude has a peculiar odor of bullsh*t.
Excuse my language, por favor. On second thought, don’t.
Of course we all want a country that is safe, clean, healthy, energetic and prosperous. People who worship bloated and intrusive government have no monopoly on that.
It just goes to illustrate that a lack of regulation does not interest our better angels but just the opposite!
Sorry, doesn’t do it for me. I think you are failing to discriminate between legitimate criminal laws and illiberal regulation.
PLOP!
I hate the whole PLOP thing, but Jesus, this guy just dumped a whole bowl ful. Get out the plunger and the snake!!!
I dislike it as well, even more so bcz it's sometimes not evident to what comment it pertains. I think we're (mostly) capable of simply ignoring.
Yes. I agree.
Yeah - just add this name to the list of PLOPS! Its a small-very small list.
Reminds me of plop plop fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is...
I appreciated your reminder, Daria, of how trashed our country was, how despicable our attitudes and actions were, and how far we have come. Gives me hope for how far we can go even with all of today's plop and ploop.
Linda, Hi again. I don't have the time to find it now, but last week (I believe) Ellie wrote a thoughtful comment guiding us when we suspect someone on the forum as here to distract, divert, etc. She wrote 'ignore'. Just IGNORE. Ellie put me out of business, and I'm fine with that. I hope you have a lovely Sunday.
Ellie is so wise!
Ellie has more wisdom than most here. She is a guiding light.
She is. Sometimes, though, the baser part of my nature just has to flush the toilet on nonsense. On this forum, initials RW is a rude hindrance.
That being said, a good week coming up. It’s been a lovely Sunday.
My old pal, Ms. Malaplop. Good to hear from you again.
My thoughts about President Biden's executive order on getting businesses to be competitive makes me think that Biden presidency is not only in the model of FDR but also of Teddy Roosevelt with his monopoly busting. So, I'm expecting the next thing he does in the Teddy vein will be the revival of our National Parks and even deeding the Black Hills back to their rightful Native American owners.
Oh, The Black Hills backnin Native hands! That would be amazing, and healing!
Cathy, from your mouth to Joe's ears. Brilliant.
YES!
Ahhh so beautiful. Here in Wales on the Cambrian coast life and Art flow together seamlessly each day. This morning there is mist over the sea, dragons breath, and a dark grey line at the horizon. I feel I could walk to the edge of the world and look down at a glorious future. A new heaven and a new earth. A Dog barks, a hawk is finding a thermal far above the sea and the train toot toots traveling north at speed. I curl up in my azure duvet covered with pink and gold birds and Tink the cat sleeps in sleek blackness on her leopard blanket at my feet. From the wall I expect the girl in the Picasso print, ‘Girl with Chair’ to speak. Monet or Klee, Rembrandt or Warhol, what painting do you live in? What do they say to you?
Robin that's not fair! I am usually in Wales this time of year--or the North of England--doing research and enjoying my favorite little piece of the world. But I have to say, along with the idyllic is the bizarre: my experience of the seagulls in North Wales (especially Conway and Llandudno) was super interesting a couple summers ago . . .
Ahh yes, are you referring to the crazed, chip snatching, mutant, feathered demons that wait behind every wall, lurk above all street and byways of coastal Wales? Roughly the size of cocker spaniels, their yellow eyes do not waver when a morsel of food is to be found. No one is safe. I actually Saved one from being ‘Chicked to death” yesterday. He had gotten into the chicken run of our neighbours and they took massive umbrage… massive. I had to run him out with a stick. I was a zoo keeper for 35 years and have worked with lots of birds. Heck, an owl appeared in our lounge the other day and I had no trouble catching it up and releasing it outside. But these seagulls… what they lack in beauty they make up for with stupidity and hard core malice. Beaks like razor blades and totally fearless. So, I am either selfless or pretty dim. However if God turns out to be a Seagull I think I’m in. 🐣
When I was last in Conwy (thanks autocorrect for messing up the spelling the first time!) I started a photo series of seagulls sitting on the heads of statues. It is quite entertaining! But dang they are huge. And aggressive.
Hi Robin. Where are you on the coast? I spent quite a bit of time visiting in the village of Borth when doing my Masters, just north of Aberystwyth a good while ago when my parents lived there. I remember principally the power of the storms raging in from the Atlantic and a pair of local donkeys that once ravaged my mothers lovingly prepared lawn!
Marvellous! Aber is the big city to us. I have lived in Barmouth for 8 years. Just up the road from Aberystwyth. Of course it takes an age to get there on the windy roads. A seaside town with the season just starting we live in peril from the marauding infectious hordes from Liverpool and Manchester. However they do toss their lovely moola around when they visit so all is forgiven…. Well almost all. I do wish some did not dress like demented humpty dumpties, and purple hair for the over 60’s dolls is de rigueur. I try to offset this with my elegant vintage dress but to largely no avail. When I visit the local coop they come up to me and inquire…”Are you from France”? So I will now wear oversized black mens t-shirts, leggings and a baseball hat in public and save my pencil skirts and red lip for home where the cats find it tres chic and sartorially soothing. Paris…lucky you. We miss it awfully but the idea of even the train there now is terrifying. Soon I hope. Stay well, Wales is waiting for your return…
I remember how long it used to take me to get there via Shrewsbury and Machynlleth by train 😱. Also my mother having to remind Aber shpkeepers that she wasn't a "tourist" and thus "benefitted" from local pricing!
London to Mach is a breeze. It's Mach to Barmouth that's the slog. It's all worth it when we see home, our tiny stone house way up on the rock. Hope you can visit someday. We will give you the totally local treatment.
Pwll Deri...
Pwllheli? Where I took my Uk drivers test.
Where, oh where did we go wrong? Where is the nation that was able to pull itself out of a world-wide depression during the thirties (true, WW Two helped), defeat the forces of fascism during the forties, derail world-wide communism during the last half of the twentieth century, and was able to provide its citizens with the highest standard of living in the world,, a thriving economy and more liberty and equality (although that is still a work in progress) than ever before? Where did we go wrong?
This weekend, conservative Republicans are gathering in Dallas at their CPAC convention, at which the former president will speak. He and other speakers will talk about a stolen election, a claim disproven by all election authorities and courts, dismiss the January 6 invasion of the Capitol by terrorists intent on stopping the formalization of the election results in the Electoral College as a mere visit by tourists and talk about getting the former president back in the White House in 2024 or sooner. Where, oh where did we go wrong so that such dangerous nonsense has achieved even a smidgen of credibility?
I will tell you how those who are against democracy in the United States and against a citizenry enjoying equal rights under the law regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation found a way.
In my opinion, they started by pinpointing areas of dissatisfaction among separate groups of Americans and over the past half century, unified them under one all-encompassing banner. Dissatisfaction with something or other has always been part of American culture but never before have all of the dissatisfied been united as they were through the words of William Buckley, the candidacy of Barry Goldwater, the emergence of the Tea Party, the salesmanship of Ronald Reagan and culminating with the election of Donald Trump to the presidency.
Some were frustrated by the disappearance of traditional hands-on jobs and their replacement with technology, with the replacement of the Rust Belt with Silicon Valley. Some were annoyed by the growing presence of recent immigrants and eventually their children among the work force, the professions and society in general. Similarly, there were those who for a variety of reasons, objected to racial equality and were still, at least in their minds, fighting the Civil War. Some were dissatisfied with the government’s assuming the role of maintaining a safety net for those who were on the lower rungs of the economy’s ladder. Government regulations designed for the welfare and protection of ordinary citizens from questionable financial and business practices were opposed by others, usually in the private sector. There were those who saw a communist or socialist conspiracy behind every door that was being ignored. Others were dissatisfied with the ease with which a woman could obtain an abortion. Some objected to the redefinition of family structures, to include new sexual choices. And there were those who, despite the First Amendment, saw the United States as a Christian country and wanted to keep it that way. Regulation of the possession of weapons by private citizens was seen by others as an incursion into their freedom. Dissatisfaction with our educational system flourished, particularly among those who lacked confidence in science, and among those who disliked their children going to desegregated schools. Unionization of workers was seen by others as somehow un-American. The list of causes of dissatisfaction went on and on.
Standing alone, these groups made a lot of noise, but really did not exert much power. But united in their various dissatisfactions, augmented by carefully cultivated media outlets, they became a potent force. They first manifested their strength in local and State elections, and continue to do so, and soon their power spread into national politics. And that is where we are today.
This is where we went wrong. This is why so many Americans believe the “Big Lie” in regard to the 2020 election promulgated by the party which has mobilized these many sources of dissatisfaction into one massive anti-democratic group, masquerading as patriots dedicated to ‘saving’ our country and way of life.
What can be done about it remains in the hands of voters. The battle against these anti-democratic forces must be fought primarily in elections for State legislators and officials, governors and members of Congress. The presidency counts but not so much as these other offices do. This is where the dissatisfactions mentioned above manifest themselves, separately or unified into what is today’s Republican Party.
And in answering the question I started with, that is where we went wrong! We failed to recognize that all politics are local. So is dissatisfaction with something or other.
Jack, your summation is spot on. Add to the list a method of dissemination including right-wing television outlets like Fox and unfettered social media, and the witches' brew became a hurricane. People have only recently realized, as you pointed out, that local politics is what we must concentrate on. Thank you.
Well stated Jack, that pretty much sums up where we find ourselves and how we got into this mess
So well said, I would love to copy this synopsis.
Absolutely beautiful image. Thank you. I was also pleasantly surprised to see your new book on audible for release on 11/23/21. I live in Hood River and commute to Portland, OR four days a week. Needless to say I listen to many audiobooks while driving. I have listened to all of yours and look forward to your latest book
HCR's To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party, first published in 2014, now being released on Audiobook:
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Men-Free-History-Republican/dp/B0977HP4SQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=HCR's
ICYMI HCR also has a series titled "A History of the Republican Party" on her YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnbKOlm6H9njgmN-Yil90Rg
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing these Ellie.
Is there a more beautiful setting in the U.S. than where you live? Debatable. That said, I don't envy you negotiating winter weather in the Columbia Gorge.
Thank you Michael! It is a beautiful place to live and commuting through the gorge is great most of the time. The winter can be a challenge. And that being said, I have a great car with tires that get me to work. I have actually worked for some Portland nurses that couldn’t get out of their driveway when Portland got some snow.
We live in NE Portland just across the Willamette. Portlanders, by and large, are ill-prepared for snow. Our son went to middle school in the West Hills. One day I knew that snow was arriving in early afternoon and headed up to pick him up early. A typical 30-minute drive took five hours because everyone tried to leave town at once, and so many cars couldn't make the 1,000-foot climb.
Are studded tyres still legal?
Yes, from November 1 until March 31 (by statute); this can be adjusted to account for severe winter storms at either end of those dates. The pandemic adjustment was until May 1 (we were under heavy restrictions in March).
Thank you Heather for letting me reminisce about the wonderful days I've had in Maine. Like going out to Machias Seal Island to watch the Puffins. Climbing the Beehive in Arcadia National Park. Eating the finest clam chowder I've ever had at Schoodic Point. Kayaking along one of the inlets near Brunswick photographing eagle nests. Driving up to LL Bean in the middle of the night to shop for Christmas presents.
LLBean in Freeport in the middle of the night IS a great adventure.
Thank you for all your great posts, Cathy. Thinking about the National Parks.
OMG! LL Bean in the old days at night was a wonderland to me!
I had a friend who climbed into a floor model of a tent and went to sleep. No one bothered to wake her.
That would make a wonderful short story. I hope all turned out well!
As she tells it, no one knew she was even in the tent. She just walked out when she woke up.
Where’d you get the clam chowder at Schoodic Point?
It had been over thirty years ago. I believe it was in Winter Harbor right on the cove.
Biden has replaced the fear mongering of the former guy with boldness delivered in straight-talking fashion. Personally, I'm loving all this winning. Just because you can't get what you want be thankful for the things you do get you really need.
There is nothing like the New England ocean. I remember housesitting for a friend in Rockport, MA, right on the water, and waking up to the sunrise over the ocean, and falling asleep to fog horns. It's beautiful. Your friend's photo brings back good memories. Thank you.
The fog horns...
Aren't they lovely?
Heather and Peter both, thank you for sharing your amazing talents with us. The beauty and gravitas of the words and images that are shared to this community are priceless.
Merrily merrily merrily merrily
Life is but a dream… :-)
At least until Monday.
So glad for you, to have a beautiful respite spending time on the water.
Rest well. Not only have you earned it. You teach us so much in so many ways, and modeling balance, giving yourself permission, is an important dynamic for us to witness and do for ourselves. Bless you.
It looks like I need to spend some time on the east coast. My only visit there was 30 years ago, and I was turned around180 degrees the entire time. That is a fabulous photo.
I am in the midst of a birthday week celebration* in Central Oregon; so completely different that the coastal valleys that are my normal stomping grounds. I am going to explore Smith Rock and Crooked River Gorge today after spending the entire day Friday on a pontoon boat at Lake Billy Chinook (a lake formed by Round Butte Dam of the Metolius, Crooked, and Deschutes Rivers),
* We tend to celebrate our grouped family birthdays this way. My wife (July 6) and her sister (July 13) are the stars this week. Last May, we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday, and in March, we celebrated my two nieces (March 25 and 27) and me (also the 27th; my niece was born on my 40th birthday). The girls and I choose the coast, my inlaws choose Central Oregon. It is fun.
Ally, have a fabulous week of celebration! Oregon is one of the few states I've never visited. Hopefully, I will!
Morning, Ally!! I have never been to Oregon, so you are doing better than me! I did spend a little time in Washington where my sister got married back in the late nineties. Her mother-in-law owned a hotel on the Island of Orcas. Very beautiful though as I, too, was turned around 180 degrees!
Orcas Island is fabulous. I've only been up there once, and must go back there (and to the Olympic Peninsula)!
Such a gift to live here (Olympic Peninsula). Visitors most welcome!
I'll be sure to reach out when we make that trip.
Well, that would be just wonderful!
One of my daughters was married on Orcas Island. Destination wedding.
Happy birthdays to Wife and Sister! It's good to hear about celebrations, joy and merriment around your place. As for your day's adventure, wish I was there. Cheers!
Birthday Week here, too! Enjoy!
Maybe, I'll throw a party just to join the club. Happy Birthdays galore!
Fabulous tradition!
Smith Rock is a great hike.
Absolutely beautiful!
Pure joy... thank you Dr. R and photographer Ralston....
Thank you Heather for providing this lovely peaceful summer photo. (It's a real beauty.) It gives balance to all the huge unthinkable things we worry about—I'm grateful for the equilibrium that you provide with your amazing sense of the American story. And the peaceful summer moments that show up. So very important that we can see beauty when it touches us.
So lovely.This photo reminds me of the book I used to read to my son called One Morning In Maine.
One of our favorites! My son now reads it to his 2 year old son and Maine is still a favorite vacation spot. Also Blueberries for Sal. My grandson, with his toddler wispy hair, looks so much like Sal, that even though he knows the story by heart, when my son points to the cover and says "who is that?", my grandson says his own name! Kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk!
My son is now 16 and those books are fond memories of his childhood.
Your lucky son!
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/306401/one-morning-in-maine-by-robert-mccloskey/
I love Robert McCloskey's gentle stories.