I recommend keeping our powder dry, enjoying the holidays and Rugelach, and chilling until 1 May.
While Project 2025 is a 180-day plan, I am using 100 days from the inauguration to assess how badly we are doing as a country, as a liberal democracy. 100 days from 20 January is 30 April.
I am heartened by the RShit buffoonery we are witnessing. If they are stupid enough to cause US debt to default their corporate backers may wake up. I will be watching for Rs to shift to Independents. Lisa Murkowski has hinted that she might well be ready. It will only take a few House and Senate members to shift both to D control.
At the beginning of a new year, I always listen to The Counting Crows: A Long December:
“A long December and there’s reason to believe,
“Maybe this year (2025) will be better than the last!”
Yes Jason, keep the powder dry until the bombs start dropping. You touched on some things that hopefully will happen as my prayers are being answered--that the GOP self-implodes to smithereens.
Wishing all of you in this wonderful community of critical-thing people the Happiest Holiday, and may the New Year smile upon us!
Joyce, don't eat those chicken cookies in front of the chickens....
Oh my God. So tasty but I’m diabetic or pre-diabetic who knows. The owls know. Although I would eat one.
It was so embarrassing to watch Trump & company stain the White House. I can’t fathom it. I will certainly sit on Pennsylvania Avenue with the other crazies asserting my 1st amendment rights while selling or donating sales and playing my songs. Who knows what is in store. I might need a good attorney in Washington area any pro bono folks out there, lol?
Thank you, Jason. It was nice to hear Bing Crosby sing the song. We will unfortunately (fortunately?) have a high temp of 72 tomorrow (low tonight 41), so no hope of snow, although AccuWeather this morning said we have a 2% chance of snow. If we get it, it would be like west Texas rain, that just makes sure all the dust sticks to your windshield. I hope your daughter's rugelach turned out well (please eat one for me). And I wish you a wonderful Christmas and that we all have a better year ahead.
I appreciate your positive comments. Today I listened to the litany of facts against Matt Gaetz listed in the just-released House Ethics Report on Gaetz.
And I hoped it might have some influence on at least a few Trump voters.
I wondered if some fans of the head Republican carnival barker have heard the contents of the Gaetz report and had any concerns about the fact that the incoming president selected THIS unqualified, immoral, shameless lawbreaker--bypassing many, many more serious and qualified leaders--to head our Department of Justice.
As slow as they were to boot Santos out, I’m glad things happened the way they did so Gaetz is already out and so that seat is empty for a time giving Rs a super slim majority… should be down to one now with reporters uncovering the fact that Kay Grainger has been AWOL since July (in a memory care center!)
Do you really think they would have done that? It took them waaaaaay too long (and criminal convictions) for them to kick Santos out. I don’t think they would have made it that hard for their little darling to stay.
If the facts publicly known about Trump before the election including his felony conviction were not enough to discourage his voters, why should this? They like this macho stuff.
I think Elon is dangerous, but I am going to enjoy every day until January 20l.
I understand your viewpoint very well. I don't expect a landslide of Trump voters to suddenly see the light after every disgusting fact they've swallowed whole about their rat king.
But certain items Republicans are talking about are not popular, like deporting millions of people who are in this country illegally, not just criminals, eliminating Social Security and Medicare or privatizing our post office. And while some may be amused or even unaware of the parade of lowlife incompetents selected by Trump for the most important positions in our government, some less dedicated Trump voters have to be disturbed by it.
So I'm just hoping that as all the word salads served up during the race for the White House become real, a small segment of Trump voters will say "Hey, I don't want to lose my Social Security." Or "I expected you to round up criminals who are in this country illegally, but not my friends or relatives." Or "I can't make a living if I don't have cheap labor to pick my crops, build houses with my crew or work in my restaurant."
A lot of political races were very close in this past election. If enough small groups of voters get upset at the policies Trump starts to follow, they may wake up and decide they should have paid closer attention to what he said and they may decide to vote against the Republican party in the next elections.
C C, Trump has already come to his defense, calling the report "very unfair." For any of his followers who actually know how to read, just those two words will be enough for them to not read it for themselves. So, they won't know the truth. For his other followers, they just believe whatever Trump says. For his followers in Congress, they will spin it and keep it in the cycle on Fox News as a "witch hunt" and the mega folks will take that as gospel.
Agree, governing is much harder than ranting grievances. The pre-inaugaration continuous resolution debacle has already exposed stress fractures. As the GOP debates what enshrined benefits and services to take away and how soon to slice and dice the government, the electorate is expecting financial relief and better economic opportunities. Meanwhile the sheer incompetence and ignorance being assembled by Trump guarantees calamity.
In 100 days, I suspect a very different complection to our body politic will quickly emerge.
I’m not economist, but… I’ve found it interesting that the consuming public (or anyone who voted for CF45) believes that the POTUS has the ability to lower the price of anything - gas, eggs, bread, you name it. Unless the government nationalizes some or all industries, the president cannot lower, or raise, the prices on anything. I believe it’s called supply and demand economics, and prices rest solely with the industries selling products on the American market. And those industries are going to do their utmost to make sure their shareholders (mostly hedge fund managers and institutional investors) earn the absolute most profit, the general public be damned.
I do have to giggle, though. When I got gas at my local Bay Area Costco recently, the per gallon price was $3.99 and I said “Thank you, Joe Biden”. That’s the lowest it’s been in months! 😉
I think being honest with the voting public is more important, but that didn’t work out so well for Kamala despite overwhelming evidence about the economy. Promising lower prices regardless of who’s the candidate is not the answer. But I see your point.
Well Ken C, you are clearly an optimist but remember we’ve seen two impeachments, January 6, 2021, women finding some justice for his sexual activities, 91 indictments, vitriol laced with racism, misogyny, and flat out attacks on our democracy, disgraceful and incompetent nominees, etc. Shout from the rooftops when you see that “very different complexion emerge in our body politic.
Yes but Bashar Al Asad was also a billionaire. Now his British wife filed for divorce and he will be stuck in Moscow until he kicks the bucket. Nothing can be predicted.
I totally agree with the idea of waiting till they make their first move before we make our counter move.
I am also glad that Joyce foresees an illiberal democracy, as opposed to an outright dictatorship, as some fear. I wrote elsewhere that Trump is no Hitler—he lacks Hitler's vision and determination. I was challenged to prove that, and so I wrote an extended comparison of Trump and Hitler. You can read it here.
Love the Faux Fur pic! And your "Signs That I’m Wrong and Trump is Dangerous". By 1 May we will have a better feel of where we are heading and what we must do.
The similarity between Hitler and Trump is much more than a coincidence: both were/are malignant narcissists, a particularly dangerous, evil personality aberration. I have written at length on this in previous posts and so will spare you now. Just google "malignant narcissist" and click on links that interest you.
I agree they are both malignant narcissists, but Hitler kept score in countries conquered and bodies piled up, while Trump keeps score in money piled up and opponents sucking up to him.
The heritage Foundation writes documents. I doubt if they can do any more than that— they have no experience pulling the levers of the federal government. If I'm wrong, we'll know in a few months. The only member of the Trump team who has serious federal government experience is Homan who is in charge of deportations, so there we will definitely see some action.
The really aggravating thing about the deportations is that in this one specific instance, Trump is actually on the "right" side of the law.
In fact under our current law, almost every undocumented immigrant SHOULD be deported. It is a "conspiracy" that includes many if not most wealthy Americans who own the corporations that NEED cheap labor. Most of those owners are Republicans.
I am going to watch with fascination at how this turns out. It may not go well in the end for Trump because the real powers that be in America have turned their heads on this for their own benefit for decades. When people actually start being deported many Trump supporters are going to realize the impending disaster and start to object.
I am going to not only be looking at how the US is doing but other countries as well. One thing my friends and I who live abroad are thinking is that in some ways Americans are very insular if they live in the US and have never lived anywhere else.
I am still thrilled that Syrians overthrew al-Assad, which also indicates that Russia is weakening. It will be important to throw a full on marching tantrum if Trump tries to back Russia instead of Ukraine, which we all know he wants to do. We also need to throw a fit if he tries to use our military as his platform for revenge on allies, and our people.
The fact that Universities are telling their foreign students to come back before January 20 so they don't have Visa problems might be considerate, or it might be something else. If they have proof that people, once here are more likely to be allowed to stay, then okay. But my concern is that if you think students will not get visa renewals, then is it kind to have them come here to experience some sort of fascist terror if the Trump forces come to pick them up and deport or incarcerate them? Better to stay home. Too bad for US universities and the communities they support if they lose a lot of students to Trump and his right wing supporter's anti-immigrant sentiment.
A friend is having a news black out from November until the end of January, and then focusing locally. She lives in North Carolina, so there is plenty to do there.
If you want to keep your online communities together you have to figure out how this will work if the government decides to shut down US based social media platforms. Get your VPNs now and pick one that is not based in the US. The intelligence community is using Signal as a messaging system since the Chinese have been doing so much hacking into the phone companies. That is what my family and I use, but because it is platformed in the US we are also going to add on another one which our friends abroad are using that is based in another country. Think of Russia and East Germany when you think of what things can be like under an illiberal government.
You said a lot. On living abroad, the best education I received (non university) was buying a one way ticket to Europe on Freddy Laker Airlines and not looking back for two blessed years. I received a good education seeing the world from outside. Florence, Italy was my home base. Rough working in a bar but young folks do what they must. Of course I am an art dealer today and own a picture framing business. This interest was nurtured living in the Renaissance capital of the world. I should have stayed.
I don’t use too many social media platforms. I once flirted with a VPN and I can’t remember why I didn’t keep it. Need more info.
Bill, I would love to be an art dealer, or rather have the funds to be a big collector. I was collecting for a while from new artists. That is our neighbors used their home as a gallery, and would exhibit a new artist every 2 months, and have an opening and closing for them. One of the artists I purchased inspired my nephew who is an artist as well, although doing his PhD in Sustainable Aviation Engineering. Now I am starting to collect German artists. I can only afford to collect relative unknowns. However, I went to school with children whose parents had a gallery in Chicago which had a big collection of Picassos. That is how I fell in love with Picassos work.
Here is PC Magazine discussing VPNs. Most Americans abroad that I know use them to access streaming services as if they are in the US. Since I live back and forth, as does my daughter, I can access my US accounts from abroad and vice versa. We use Proton. The advantage of using it in Europe, is that in the EU my phone and internet service provides unlimited data within the EU area. Also, in Germany I get a request every time I open a website asking whether or not I want the cookies, and can generally get rid of them on each website, whereas in the USA I do not get this offer. The concern is that it can slow down your streaming, but it works fine for us. We have a lot of friends who use Nord as well.
I know that people in Russia started getting VPNs when Putin started this latest war on Ukraine. They are using them to access news other than the propaganda available in Russia now. That was my thinking for people in the US.
I am sure you learned a lot in Italy. While we have not stayed in Florence when in Italy, we have visited it in day trips from Bologna. My daughter studied the Renaissance in seventh grade and that summer when we were in Italy, seeing the Duomo in person was awe inspiring. I can still see her jumping up and down because she had drawn a picture of it, but in real life it was so amazing. Also, looking at paintings in the Uffizi that she had studied was so incredible. I have heard that they have recently opened an ancient path between the Uffizi and the house of the Medicis. Something to visit next time we are there.
I too only use Substack and occasional YouTubes for social media, and nothing else. These are the only ones I have ever used. I think that if the USA were to block all sorts of media access, one would want to pay for a VPN through a bank in another country so that the US cannot trace your payment of the VPN either. As I have mentioned before having relatives who were separated from us by the Berlin wall, and being imprisoned in East Germany the way many Red States want to imprison women who get pregnant to keep them from having an abortion, I am aware of the things that governments do to keep their people from access to information. Our family members had died a spiritual death under the DDR, at least that was my impression upon spending some time with them when the wall came down. I wonder how many other people this was true of in the DDR. I just don't want that to happen under Trump to people in the US.
The corridor between the Uffizzi and the Medici was closed only for repairs. Old portraits not originally placed there were removed and it’s been returned to original condition. I will travel there next year back to my 2nd home away from home. FYI, my long time forte is African American since I attended a local arts gallery that featured urban artists and it was natural to evolve into this genre.
My mom's friend Eli Leon was an authority on African American quilts which was controversial because he was White. Still, she was friends with him and his ex-wife, who stayed with us in Chicago at one point. We went and stayed with Eli in New York too, before he was known for quilt collecting and before he moved to San Francisco.
I got mumps when we were visiting him because of chewing gum, which I won't explain, and I thought Eli was cool because we ate pancakes for dinner and pasta for breakfast. As a child that seems very cool to defy meal conventions. I think my mom went to his funeral.
Please let me know some of the artists that you recommend.
Oh my… if you wish to dialogue direct, please email me at bkatz321@gmail.com or text: 860-956-2844
I bought my first serious work an etching by Romare Bearden. I wasn’t messing around. Around 1988. I had met Bearden in town in 1987. I regret selling a watercolor of his but I have several prints still. You ask me what I would recommend and that ultimately is up to the viewer and buyer. Besides, I’m not an art historian I’m a dealer and us dealers live in a very cut throat environment. Can you imagine me as a Cauc (white boy) in these conventions for the years? Well some accept me and no one is hostile but I need to be on my Ps and Qs, or I can find myself in difficulties.
I keep saying I want out to retire so I can spend more time in contemplation and writing. Ha no chance. I hope to be applying to the Delta Sigma Theta convention next year in July in DC. The Black doctors in Chicago in August. Maybe an event on Martha’s Vineyard.
I was good friends with a well known quilter here in town. Then something happened one day with a small business deal and it went wrong. Instead of finding resolve as most people do, it snowballed and we ended our really good relationship. That’s the way things go sometimes. It also often has to be with interracial interactions. That becomes so unexpectedly difficult to negotiate and it’s so unfortunate. Race has never ever played any role in any of my activities. But… As an 8 year old, I once had a knockout fight with a chum when he insisted using the famous “N” word to describe the new neighbors and I kindly asked him not to use that word but then he shouted it at me until I lounged at him and commenced a terrible fight. I can still hear him shouting that word at me 62 years later. My mother taught me well.
Linda Weide you mention something I've been concerned about for some months. I don't have the memory available but hope that someone is migrating info to offline storage for the historical record. Several keepers of social media/internet have the capability to snap fingers and make it go away. If we're ever going to emerge from this nightmare I'd like our grandchildren and their grandchildren to have the facts.
Carol, interesting that you should bring this up. You are so right that either Trump or Musk can decide to get rid of all media that does not support their agendas.
Since Trump plans on shutting down NOAA the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, they started making copies of all the data so it would not be lost. The moment his people came in they set about deleting it. They plan to do this again, because part of their Homeland Security Plan and FEMA plan is that it does not help people much. No more government flood insurance, and only 25% support for communities beset by natural disasters only, and the rest their local community is going to have to pay 75%.
This is one of the reasons why I see third world country status for us, because not helping people after weather related disasters, which will be more frequent because of the Trump policies planned about not helping the environment one IOTA, but destroying it all, and then shipping off all the people who do the disaster relief and clean up work, as undocumented or not, but immigrants that are not wanted, and then paying for that, there will be no money to help people out and now nature is going to destroy even more people, and at a faster rate. Someone needs to record it, and get it on Blue Sky and Mastadon which is not platformed in the USA.
Linda, Nothing in your comment is helping me digest Christmas Eve pupu. But thank you. Because I know now I'm not paranoid. If you're a movie fan, the quote that immediately came to mind was spoken by Owen Wilson as Oscar in Armageddon:
Oscar: "Okay, so the scariest environment imaginable. Thanks. That's all you gotta say, scariest environment imaginable."
No. Nor the Republicans Supreme Court of Christian Nationalists. The only ones who can stop him are We the People. We can take a page from the playbook of South Korea and the longer playbook of Syria. Pacifist friends of mine are talking about getting gun and first aid training.
Everyone I know is preparing for there to be a violent world even as we hope it does not come to pass. This is what the White Supremacist Militia wants anyway. They want a global race war and they have been training for it since Vietnam. So, where do the 93 million non voters stand when it comes to our government violating our constitution and our alliances? We shall see. At some point you can no longer sit on the couch but have got to choose a side, or it will choose you. We hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.
Funny I only a few years ago protested outside the largest gun store in my area. In big letters on the building, “Only the good guys have guns” but when the manager came out to chat, he suggested it could be dangerous for me to be protesting and I calmly pointed to his sign. I ended my one man protest shortly thereafter.
I wouldn't count on that. People seem to forget that while Trump DIDN'T win an actual majority of the vote, he got VERY close and of the voters who chose a non major party candidate, there were several who chose someone who is further to the right than Trump and the total of Trump's vote plus the right wing "others" was definitely greater than 50%. Liberals did NOT get the most votes in this election. That is a serious misunderstanding.
Thank you for your recipes. But thank you for your daily newsletter. It keeps me optimistic and makes me realize I must stay involved. I am am an 81 year old widow form college professor. Thank you.
Jane at 91, also a former college professor, I too must stay involved. I taught the Constitution when it was relevant to government—and the Supreme Court, before its stench. I also recall governmental checks and balances.
Oi vey, Mother of Mary, Akhbar u Allah, how times change.
Bill I had various public and private sector careers, before becoming a professor to figure out how/why I had mucked up in my earlier lives. It hasn’t helped much, but at least I can bloviate with greater knowledge and eloquence.
I wish you professors all lived in the same little town and gave continuing lectures and that is where I would spend much of my time. Btw, I was an early college dropout. I never understood that I had a learning disability until later in life. It hasn’t stopped me for learning and thinking and enquiring as a life-long quest.
Bill Community college is a great place to dip your learning toe in the water. By now they have a number of internet courses. Also, I found that The Great Courses had wonderful lectures with courses books. They are just phasing out their DVD courses, of which I have a diverse collection from music to history, to books, economics, etc.
One of the best courses at community college was a course taught by a former Hungarian general who fought against the Soviets in 1956 it was a Russian history course. The guy was great. I think I still have a book from the course.
Things haven’t changed. People, in their efforts to grab the brass ring (power & $$$), have turned a corner to ignore all laws - constitutional or other. The “law and order” party is dead. Shot in the middle of Broadway with all his supporters cheering him on.
Kathy It is a change when a president trashes the Constitution. Also, McConnell is heavily responsible for the Supreme Court becomes the Stench Court. This year this smelly court ruled that a president (Trump) could do any damned thing he wanted to do and that would be constitutionally O. K. By contrast, the Supreme Court unanimously told Nixon No No No.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for your newsletter (and the interwoven down-home humor). When I read it I feel connected, and guided by an intelligent light. You are keeping our heads above water and engaged. You are helping us know where to look on the road ahead for signs of hope and reason. Don't know how you do all you do.
Also a former college professor and academic dean. Taught education legal issues/public policy. Seems the media is just discovering the work of John Rawls, distributive justice -- but I've assigned his readings for the past 20 years!
We are in this together. We are not alone. My mother-in-law once told told me that her chicken dishes helped her through the depression - that chickens brought good luck. For Christmas this year, I gave many items with a chicken theme. Last night my husband and his health careworkers decorated chicken cookies (not as pretty as yours). Frosting the cookies helps my husband use his hands following several strokes. No one knows the future, but I need to keep thinking positive thoughts and am with you all as we work to help one another and our country.
If you've never seen Sandra Boynton's glorious cards and drawings, you are in for a treat. If I could share an image, I would. Since I can't, here's the word version of one of her cards "Hippo Birdies Ewe Ewe". And, yes many of her work includes chickens, too.
"So, gather your resources and gather your courage. We don’t know exactly how this will play out, which of the horribles will come first, and whether any guardrails might reemerge. It feels like a plan for the worst and hope for the best moment. Inevitably, with this level of uncertainty, we are going to be building the airplane while we are flying it. But there are a lot of people included in that “we,” and they bring many different talents and resources to the fight. We will not succumb to illiberal democracy."
Joyce, you said it so well here. Terrific. We should all remember this.
Thanks, Joyce. I'm particularly delighted by your chicken cookie cutter, and your daughter did a great job on the decorating. The recipe looks wonderful, too. I have to say that I felt totally flattened by the news that Fani Willis has been squashed in Georgia. Not surprised, but disgusted. They hate women, they hate smart women, and they especially hate smart women of color. I wish there was more we could do for our sisters. I know they are trying to break our spirit, and it is tough to keep moving forward not knowing what's next. But you're right, we're not alone. Thank you for sharing your recipe and for your constant reminder that we're in this together. Shalom.
My understanding is that Fani Willis has an appeal to the GA Supreme Court. From Axios: "What's next: The case appears headed to Georgia's Supreme Court after the state filed its notice of intent to appeal on Thursday, hours after the ruling came down."
The other thing that should bring joy to your heart is how Georgia women of color remain inspirations in this battle. Back in April I rewatched Star Trek: Discovery S4:E13. I had forgotten that this is the episode where Stacey Abrams has a role as the president of United Earth!!! HUGE smiles!
You’re right, Jason, about Fani filing an appeal. She expected the courts to do this to her, I bet. I am not happy that she got distracted and used poor judgment but it has NOTHING to do with the case!
Marianne, I think many have already spoken about how there was no “bad judgement” on Fani’s part. Everything was on the up and up. This is another and earlier example of how the right wing extremists working in Trump’s behalf have ginned up cases with no substance. Even Hunter Biden had accepted an earlier plea deal acknowledging his errors and planing to take his punishment until the case was raised again. Now, like Fani, the Republicans have started an investigation of Liz Cheney with no sound arguments plus many laws that speak to her ability to take her actions as a Congress person.
Yes, he went after Fani because he could in his usual making something out of nothing. Because he could make it about sex, he knew that had wings. Of course he is the “innocent victim”. Big bully con artist with lawyers that stoop to his level.
Maybe a New Year’s wish can be more people come to their senses and realize what is going on and move away from the “dark” side. We are going to need all the help we can get.
Thank you, Joyce! For the recipe and for the photos of the chicken cookies that made me laugh out loud! Not too many opportunities to laugh out loud these days. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!
Your rugelach looks great! Plus, they're dietetic--cottage cheese instead of cream cheese (butter doesn't count. It's a staple of life)! I'll definitely have to try making them. But I don't have any chickens for moral support. I'm alone, in that respect.
Thanks for the recipe. I thought we had a recipe for democracy and justice, but it evidently got lost over the past generation. Luckily, rugelach will live to see another day.
I love everything about this newsletter, including the recipe. We are on our own, but knowing that folks like you, Marc Elias, and Robert Hubbell are with us is comforting. Does your family have a babka recipe? If so, I look forward to a Babka and Democracy newsletter in the future. (Markers For Democracy has a Babka channel on our Slack but I might post this newsletter there because it’s close enough.)
I have been saying this since the election. It is up to us. There’s no hero/heroine coming. This will be hard. But we have no choice. We must shout it from the mountains and the valleys. We must be our own media.
“The moment we no longer have a free press, anything can happen. What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed.” - Hannah Arendt
Thank you for sharing your grandma's rugelach recipe. I've never understood people who won't share recipes -- to me, it's the ultimate compliment when someone asks for my recipe. And your chicken cookies are adorable! I spent yesterday afternoon decorating cookies withy my 7yo great-niece. It was lots of fun but our results weren't as cute as yours!
My Ma was famous for her mandel bread. Everyone loved it. She made it every Friday afternoon and kept it in a Tupperware cookie jar. Turquoise, it was.
Anyway, she gave the recipe to anyone who asked. But, somehow, no one was able to quite replicate it the way she made it. I always suspected her of changing or leaving out a step.
My grandmother was always insulted when someone suggested she changed a recipe! One thing was that some of the old gals used to put so much effort into their work which later on we youngsters skipped, thinking it didn't make a difference... but added up some of those things did! For instance, it's possible that the blender first on the cream cheese incorporated more air and it probably doesn't make enough difference to be "worth it" but it's a value judgement on the additional step, clean up etc. They also often sifted the flour (we are less apt to find grit in ours) but that step changed how much flour weight went into a cup measure. Not to mention - have you ever noticed things can taste better when someone makes them for us? Sometimes it's just the subjective aspects of the gift.
Thank you, Joyce, for your encouraging words and recipe.
You can also add apricot or other fruit preserves to the rugelach. They freeze great, and even taste great a few minutes after leaving the freezer. :- ) Yum yum!
I must say that I do NOT think it's fair at all for us Democrats to conclude that we totally screwed up, and it's back to the drawing board. Trump squeaked by on the wings of a vast quantity of misinformation. I think that finding better ways to get our message out is what's needed. Who could have done better for normal people than Biden????
Thanks Barbara, totally agree. I was on the doors with lots of folks who had never volunteered before. I haven't seen so much enthusiasm and "community"since 2008. I don't see a mandate for Trump.
And Biden got SO much done for working folks in one term.
Barbara Kamholz - I expressed deep concerns when I heard that Joe Biden stepped down. Kamala’s popularity (or rather the lack of) was not something that initially excited me. I was instantly sure this decision was “handing the orange man the election.” I wish I had been wrong. I let myself hope, though - it is what I do. I also wish Kamala had challenged that thin victory by demanding a hand recount in the swing states. Now, though, it feels l like we are too far down the path of pre-destination but it really isn't too late. They went low, and we (as usual) let the Constitution be our guide to the peaceful transition of power. These folks are up to no good every day with abnormal exercises of power they don’t yet have access to. It is a disgusting and disheartening time for our nation. I look for Elon to fall out of favor eventually. It seems inevitable in light of past orange behavior. He is too much of an attention grabber to be tolerated by Orange Julius for the long haul. I retain hope that our system checks itself before the wreckage is too far advanced. It may be forlorn, but I will hold it close. The Kinzingers and the Cheneys (honestly, there are no others) keep that tiny shred of hope alive. Along with the bluster and incompetence so evident in GOP circles.
Happy holidays to all the fine subscribers of Civil Discourse. There are so many keenly perceptive folks here.
Professor Vance, as always, your insights are crucial to my comprehension of the threats we will soon face (they seem to be in our faces daily already). Appreciation for this forum and your dogged perseverance (and willingness to face those threats with such clear-eyed determination ). Bless you, and Happy Holidays. No war on Christmas - just a simple wish for you and your family (and all of Civil Discourse).
Your phrase "squeaked by on the wings of a vast quantity of misinformation" perfectly encapsulates the impressions that flutter around persistently in my thoughts.
I recommend keeping our powder dry, enjoying the holidays and Rugelach, and chilling until 1 May.
While Project 2025 is a 180-day plan, I am using 100 days from the inauguration to assess how badly we are doing as a country, as a liberal democracy. 100 days from 20 January is 30 April.
I am heartened by the RShit buffoonery we are witnessing. If they are stupid enough to cause US debt to default their corporate backers may wake up. I will be watching for Rs to shift to Independents. Lisa Murkowski has hinted that she might well be ready. It will only take a few House and Senate members to shift both to D control.
At the beginning of a new year, I always listen to The Counting Crows: A Long December:
“A long December and there’s reason to believe,
“Maybe this year (2025) will be better than the last!”
WE shall make it so!
Yes Jason, keep the powder dry until the bombs start dropping. You touched on some things that hopefully will happen as my prayers are being answered--that the GOP self-implodes to smithereens.
Wishing all of you in this wonderful community of critical-thing people the Happiest Holiday, and may the New Year smile upon us!
Joyce, don't eat those chicken cookies in front of the chickens....
Yes. Those chicken cookies were cute. Loved the way they were decorated.
😹
Oh my God. So tasty but I’m diabetic or pre-diabetic who knows. The owls know. Although I would eat one.
It was so embarrassing to watch Trump & company stain the White House. I can’t fathom it. I will certainly sit on Pennsylvania Avenue with the other crazies asserting my 1st amendment rights while selling or donating sales and playing my songs. Who knows what is in store. I might need a good attorney in Washington area any pro bono folks out there, lol?
Bill, I'm pre-diabetic and trying to stay that way, but I would join you in eating either the rugelach or a sugar cookie.
My daughter made the rugelach and asked me: What are these called? Democracy Dessert? I replied No, Civil Discourse Dessert!
And for all wishing for a white Christmas please enjoy Bing Crosby:
https://www.americangreetings.com/pickup?token=rffdbb166b8a74471949cd05da567689d&source=ag999&utm_medium=pickup&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=receiver
Thank you, Jason. It was nice to hear Bing Crosby sing the song. We will unfortunately (fortunately?) have a high temp of 72 tomorrow (low tonight 41), so no hope of snow, although AccuWeather this morning said we have a 2% chance of snow. If we get it, it would be like west Texas rain, that just makes sure all the dust sticks to your windshield. I hope your daughter's rugelach turned out well (please eat one for me). And I wish you a wonderful Christmas and that we all have a better year ahead.
I appreciate your positive comments. Today I listened to the litany of facts against Matt Gaetz listed in the just-released House Ethics Report on Gaetz.
And I hoped it might have some influence on at least a few Trump voters.
I wondered if some fans of the head Republican carnival barker have heard the contents of the Gaetz report and had any concerns about the fact that the incoming president selected THIS unqualified, immoral, shameless lawbreaker--bypassing many, many more serious and qualified leaders--to head our Department of Justice.
The report is damning. Good thing he left the House before they put him out.
As slow as they were to boot Santos out, I’m glad things happened the way they did so Gaetz is already out and so that seat is empty for a time giving Rs a super slim majority… should be down to one now with reporters uncovering the fact that Kay Grainger has been AWOL since July (in a memory care center!)
Do you really think they would have done that? It took them waaaaaay too long (and criminal convictions) for them to kick Santos out. I don’t think they would have made it that hard for their little darling to stay.
And before they made some lame excuse to NOT put him out: "paper thin majority," you know.
If the facts publicly known about Trump before the election including his felony conviction were not enough to discourage his voters, why should this? They like this macho stuff.
I think Elon is dangerous, but I am going to enjoy every day until January 20l.
I understand your viewpoint very well. I don't expect a landslide of Trump voters to suddenly see the light after every disgusting fact they've swallowed whole about their rat king.
But certain items Republicans are talking about are not popular, like deporting millions of people who are in this country illegally, not just criminals, eliminating Social Security and Medicare or privatizing our post office. And while some may be amused or even unaware of the parade of lowlife incompetents selected by Trump for the most important positions in our government, some less dedicated Trump voters have to be disturbed by it.
So I'm just hoping that as all the word salads served up during the race for the White House become real, a small segment of Trump voters will say "Hey, I don't want to lose my Social Security." Or "I expected you to round up criminals who are in this country illegally, but not my friends or relatives." Or "I can't make a living if I don't have cheap labor to pick my crops, build houses with my crew or work in my restaurant."
A lot of political races were very close in this past election. If enough small groups of voters get upset at the policies Trump starts to follow, they may wake up and decide they should have paid closer attention to what he said and they may decide to vote against the Republican party in the next elections.
And every vote counts.
"...they may wake up and decide they should have paid closer attention to what he said..."
Good luck with that... as Wayne of Wayne's World would say: "... and monkees might fly out of my butt!"
Unfortunately his base can not read and comprehend even one lamguage.
They could care less unfortunately! He's such a pig.and to think Trump had already read the report! That's who will run our Country into the ground.
Along with Elon...
Exactly!
Sex with minors and ketamine... such a terrific combination! Especially for Republicans!
C C, Trump has already come to his defense, calling the report "very unfair." For any of his followers who actually know how to read, just those two words will be enough for them to not read it for themselves. So, they won't know the truth. For his other followers, they just believe whatever Trump says. For his followers in Congress, they will spin it and keep it in the cycle on Fox News as a "witch hunt" and the mega folks will take that as gospel.
Agree, governing is much harder than ranting grievances. The pre-inaugaration continuous resolution debacle has already exposed stress fractures. As the GOP debates what enshrined benefits and services to take away and how soon to slice and dice the government, the electorate is expecting financial relief and better economic opportunities. Meanwhile the sheer incompetence and ignorance being assembled by Trump guarantees calamity.
In 100 days, I suspect a very different complection to our body politic will quickly emerge.
He's already backtracking on his promises to lower grocery prices. What lower prices? Can't do it. Too hard.
I’m not economist, but… I’ve found it interesting that the consuming public (or anyone who voted for CF45) believes that the POTUS has the ability to lower the price of anything - gas, eggs, bread, you name it. Unless the government nationalizes some or all industries, the president cannot lower, or raise, the prices on anything. I believe it’s called supply and demand economics, and prices rest solely with the industries selling products on the American market. And those industries are going to do their utmost to make sure their shareholders (mostly hedge fund managers and institutional investors) earn the absolute most profit, the general public be damned.
I do have to giggle, though. When I got gas at my local Bay Area Costco recently, the per gallon price was $3.99 and I said “Thank you, Joe Biden”. That’s the lowest it’s been in months! 😉
So all the Dems have to do to win elections is to promise to lower grocery and gasoline prices and we win! Easy peasy!
I think being honest with the voting public is more important, but that didn’t work out so well for Kamala despite overwhelming evidence about the economy. Promising lower prices regardless of who’s the candidate is not the answer. But I see your point.
Gosh, it’s $2.85 here in Arizona.
Still close to $5 per gallon in CA.
Yes but you also greenlighted AI run 2 hours a day school. Read Jess Piper.
Well Ken C, you are clearly an optimist but remember we’ve seen two impeachments, January 6, 2021, women finding some justice for his sexual activities, 91 indictments, vitriol laced with racism, misogyny, and flat out attacks on our democracy, disgraceful and incompetent nominees, etc. Shout from the rooftops when you see that “very different complexion emerge in our body politic.
Yes but Bashar Al Asad was also a billionaire. Now his British wife filed for divorce and he will be stuck in Moscow until he kicks the bucket. Nothing can be predicted.
I totally agree with the idea of waiting till they make their first move before we make our counter move.
I am also glad that Joyce foresees an illiberal democracy, as opposed to an outright dictatorship, as some fear. I wrote elsewhere that Trump is no Hitler—he lacks Hitler's vision and determination. I was challenged to prove that, and so I wrote an extended comparison of Trump and Hitler. You can read it here.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/will-trump-2025-hitler-1933/comments
Love the Faux Fur pic! And your "Signs That I’m Wrong and Trump is Dangerous". By 1 May we will have a better feel of where we are heading and what we must do.
AI prompt. Hitler/Trump in a tiger skin suit. Agree about May 1.
The similarity between Hitler and Trump is much more than a coincidence: both were/are malignant narcissists, a particularly dangerous, evil personality aberration. I have written at length on this in previous posts and so will spare you now. Just google "malignant narcissist" and click on links that interest you.
I agree they are both malignant narcissists, but Hitler kept score in countries conquered and bodies piled up, while Trump keeps score in money piled up and opponents sucking up to him.
Kathleen, trump lacks it but the heritage foundation does not...
The heritage Foundation writes documents. I doubt if they can do any more than that— they have no experience pulling the levers of the federal government. If I'm wrong, we'll know in a few months. The only member of the Trump team who has serious federal government experience is Homan who is in charge of deportations, so there we will definitely see some action.
The really aggravating thing about the deportations is that in this one specific instance, Trump is actually on the "right" side of the law.
In fact under our current law, almost every undocumented immigrant SHOULD be deported. It is a "conspiracy" that includes many if not most wealthy Americans who own the corporations that NEED cheap labor. Most of those owners are Republicans.
I am going to watch with fascination at how this turns out. It may not go well in the end for Trump because the real powers that be in America have turned their heads on this for their own benefit for decades. When people actually start being deported many Trump supporters are going to realize the impending disaster and start to object.
We shall see.
I am going to not only be looking at how the US is doing but other countries as well. One thing my friends and I who live abroad are thinking is that in some ways Americans are very insular if they live in the US and have never lived anywhere else.
I am still thrilled that Syrians overthrew al-Assad, which also indicates that Russia is weakening. It will be important to throw a full on marching tantrum if Trump tries to back Russia instead of Ukraine, which we all know he wants to do. We also need to throw a fit if he tries to use our military as his platform for revenge on allies, and our people.
The fact that Universities are telling their foreign students to come back before January 20 so they don't have Visa problems might be considerate, or it might be something else. If they have proof that people, once here are more likely to be allowed to stay, then okay. But my concern is that if you think students will not get visa renewals, then is it kind to have them come here to experience some sort of fascist terror if the Trump forces come to pick them up and deport or incarcerate them? Better to stay home. Too bad for US universities and the communities they support if they lose a lot of students to Trump and his right wing supporter's anti-immigrant sentiment.
A friend is having a news black out from November until the end of January, and then focusing locally. She lives in North Carolina, so there is plenty to do there.
If you want to keep your online communities together you have to figure out how this will work if the government decides to shut down US based social media platforms. Get your VPNs now and pick one that is not based in the US. The intelligence community is using Signal as a messaging system since the Chinese have been doing so much hacking into the phone companies. That is what my family and I use, but because it is platformed in the US we are also going to add on another one which our friends abroad are using that is based in another country. Think of Russia and East Germany when you think of what things can be like under an illiberal government.
You said a lot. On living abroad, the best education I received (non university) was buying a one way ticket to Europe on Freddy Laker Airlines and not looking back for two blessed years. I received a good education seeing the world from outside. Florence, Italy was my home base. Rough working in a bar but young folks do what they must. Of course I am an art dealer today and own a picture framing business. This interest was nurtured living in the Renaissance capital of the world. I should have stayed.
I don’t use too many social media platforms. I once flirted with a VPN and I can’t remember why I didn’t keep it. Need more info.
Bill, I would love to be an art dealer, or rather have the funds to be a big collector. I was collecting for a while from new artists. That is our neighbors used their home as a gallery, and would exhibit a new artist every 2 months, and have an opening and closing for them. One of the artists I purchased inspired my nephew who is an artist as well, although doing his PhD in Sustainable Aviation Engineering. Now I am starting to collect German artists. I can only afford to collect relative unknowns. However, I went to school with children whose parents had a gallery in Chicago which had a big collection of Picassos. That is how I fell in love with Picassos work.
Here is PC Magazine discussing VPNs. Most Americans abroad that I know use them to access streaming services as if they are in the US. Since I live back and forth, as does my daughter, I can access my US accounts from abroad and vice versa. We use Proton. The advantage of using it in Europe, is that in the EU my phone and internet service provides unlimited data within the EU area. Also, in Germany I get a request every time I open a website asking whether or not I want the cookies, and can generally get rid of them on each website, whereas in the USA I do not get this offer. The concern is that it can slow down your streaming, but it works fine for us. We have a lot of friends who use Nord as well.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-is-a-vpn-and-why-you-need-one
I know that people in Russia started getting VPNs when Putin started this latest war on Ukraine. They are using them to access news other than the propaganda available in Russia now. That was my thinking for people in the US.
I am not recommending Nord VPN, but here is their discussion of VPNs and where you could use them. They might become illegal here, and then it would be a decision to keep using them. That is why I suggest one where you are paying to another country and it is not having its platform here subject to being shut down. https://nordvpn.com/blog/are-vpns-legal/#:~:text=all%E2%81%A0%20%E2%80%8C-,Are%20VPNs%20legal%20to%20use%3F,example%2C%20North%20Korea%20or%20Iraq.
I am sure you learned a lot in Italy. While we have not stayed in Florence when in Italy, we have visited it in day trips from Bologna. My daughter studied the Renaissance in seventh grade and that summer when we were in Italy, seeing the Duomo in person was awe inspiring. I can still see her jumping up and down because she had drawn a picture of it, but in real life it was so amazing. Also, looking at paintings in the Uffizi that she had studied was so incredible. I have heard that they have recently opened an ancient path between the Uffizi and the house of the Medicis. Something to visit next time we are there.
I too only use Substack and occasional YouTubes for social media, and nothing else. These are the only ones I have ever used. I think that if the USA were to block all sorts of media access, one would want to pay for a VPN through a bank in another country so that the US cannot trace your payment of the VPN either. As I have mentioned before having relatives who were separated from us by the Berlin wall, and being imprisoned in East Germany the way many Red States want to imprison women who get pregnant to keep them from having an abortion, I am aware of the things that governments do to keep their people from access to information. Our family members had died a spiritual death under the DDR, at least that was my impression upon spending some time with them when the wall came down. I wonder how many other people this was true of in the DDR. I just don't want that to happen under Trump to people in the US.
The corridor between the Uffizzi and the Medici was closed only for repairs. Old portraits not originally placed there were removed and it’s been returned to original condition. I will travel there next year back to my 2nd home away from home. FYI, my long time forte is African American since I attended a local arts gallery that featured urban artists and it was natural to evolve into this genre.
I’ll check VPNs.
My mom's friend Eli Leon was an authority on African American quilts which was controversial because he was White. Still, she was friends with him and his ex-wife, who stayed with us in Chicago at one point. We went and stayed with Eli in New York too, before he was known for quilt collecting and before he moved to San Francisco.
https://youtu.be/szJponOzh8E?si=yzjDh-1EyBLUyLYf
I got mumps when we were visiting him because of chewing gum, which I won't explain, and I thought Eli was cool because we ate pancakes for dinner and pasta for breakfast. As a child that seems very cool to defy meal conventions. I think my mom went to his funeral.
Please let me know some of the artists that you recommend.
Oh my… if you wish to dialogue direct, please email me at bkatz321@gmail.com or text: 860-956-2844
I bought my first serious work an etching by Romare Bearden. I wasn’t messing around. Around 1988. I had met Bearden in town in 1987. I regret selling a watercolor of his but I have several prints still. You ask me what I would recommend and that ultimately is up to the viewer and buyer. Besides, I’m not an art historian I’m a dealer and us dealers live in a very cut throat environment. Can you imagine me as a Cauc (white boy) in these conventions for the years? Well some accept me and no one is hostile but I need to be on my Ps and Qs, or I can find myself in difficulties.
I keep saying I want out to retire so I can spend more time in contemplation and writing. Ha no chance. I hope to be applying to the Delta Sigma Theta convention next year in July in DC. The Black doctors in Chicago in August. Maybe an event on Martha’s Vineyard.
I was good friends with a well known quilter here in town. Then something happened one day with a small business deal and it went wrong. Instead of finding resolve as most people do, it snowballed and we ended our really good relationship. That’s the way things go sometimes. It also often has to be with interracial interactions. That becomes so unexpectedly difficult to negotiate and it’s so unfortunate. Race has never ever played any role in any of my activities. But… As an 8 year old, I once had a knockout fight with a chum when he insisted using the famous “N” word to describe the new neighbors and I kindly asked him not to use that word but then he shouted it at me until I lounged at him and commenced a terrible fight. I can still hear him shouting that word at me 62 years later. My mother taught me well.
Linda Weide you mention something I've been concerned about for some months. I don't have the memory available but hope that someone is migrating info to offline storage for the historical record. Several keepers of social media/internet have the capability to snap fingers and make it go away. If we're ever going to emerge from this nightmare I'd like our grandchildren and their grandchildren to have the facts.
bury it all in nevada in urns.....someone will find it ...even if it takes 2000 years.
Carol, interesting that you should bring this up. You are so right that either Trump or Musk can decide to get rid of all media that does not support their agendas.
Since Trump plans on shutting down NOAA the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, they started making copies of all the data so it would not be lost. The moment his people came in they set about deleting it. They plan to do this again, because part of their Homeland Security Plan and FEMA plan is that it does not help people much. No more government flood insurance, and only 25% support for communities beset by natural disasters only, and the rest their local community is going to have to pay 75%.
This is one of the reasons why I see third world country status for us, because not helping people after weather related disasters, which will be more frequent because of the Trump policies planned about not helping the environment one IOTA, but destroying it all, and then shipping off all the people who do the disaster relief and clean up work, as undocumented or not, but immigrants that are not wanted, and then paying for that, there will be no money to help people out and now nature is going to destroy even more people, and at a faster rate. Someone needs to record it, and get it on Blue Sky and Mastadon which is not platformed in the USA.
Linda, Nothing in your comment is helping me digest Christmas Eve pupu. But thank you. Because I know now I'm not paranoid. If you're a movie fan, the quote that immediately came to mind was spoken by Owen Wilson as Oscar in Armageddon:
Oscar: "Okay, so the scariest environment imaginable. Thanks. That's all you gotta say, scariest environment imaginable."
Happy Holidays.
About "if Trump tries to back Russia instead of Ukraine..."
What's to stop him? The Repub House? The Repub Senate? 🙄
he will back russia...it's where he gets his $ from.
No. Nor the Republicans Supreme Court of Christian Nationalists. The only ones who can stop him are We the People. We can take a page from the playbook of South Korea and the longer playbook of Syria. Pacifist friends of mine are talking about getting gun and first aid training.
Everyone I know is preparing for there to be a violent world even as we hope it does not come to pass. This is what the White Supremacist Militia wants anyway. They want a global race war and they have been training for it since Vietnam. So, where do the 93 million non voters stand when it comes to our government violating our constitution and our alliances? We shall see. At some point you can no longer sit on the couch but have got to choose a side, or it will choose you. We hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.
Funny I only a few years ago protested outside the largest gun store in my area. In big letters on the building, “Only the good guys have guns” but when the manager came out to chat, he suggested it could be dangerous for me to be protesting and I calmly pointed to his sign. I ended my one man protest shortly thereafter.
Susan Collins (Maine) will never leave the R party.
She doesn't have to leave the Republican Party, just not vote for all their half-assed, destructive bills.
She’ll think about it.
She'll 'be concerned'. That's not giving the issue serious thought. She will toe the party line, as always.
Maybe Angus King can get thru to her and Maine will have two Independent Senators!
But she’ll still think about it.
With "concern". In about two weeks.
Maybe she will be primaried and we won’t have to deal with her anymore.
She doesn't realize her Party is extinct.
Jason Orcamoon, I like the way you think! And I love that song.
Agree 100%. Maybe it's time for a true Independent party. Let's go!
Pulling up Counting Crows now.
I guess if you're really privileged and (probably) live in a blue state you can afford to "chill until 1 May."
I have hope, Jason, that the 50.1% of voters who did not vote for DJT will help us as well!
I wouldn't count on that. People seem to forget that while Trump DIDN'T win an actual majority of the vote, he got VERY close and of the voters who chose a non major party candidate, there were several who chose someone who is further to the right than Trump and the total of Trump's vote plus the right wing "others" was definitely greater than 50%. Liberals did NOT get the most votes in this election. That is a serious misunderstanding.
Thank you for your recipes. But thank you for your daily newsletter. It keeps me optimistic and makes me realize I must stay involved. I am am an 81 year old widow form college professor. Thank you.
Jane at 91, also a former college professor, I too must stay involved. I taught the Constitution when it was relevant to government—and the Supreme Court, before its stench. I also recall governmental checks and balances.
Oi vey, Mother of Mary, Akhbar u Allah, how times change.
It’s fun being around all you Professor types, lol.
Bill I had various public and private sector careers, before becoming a professor to figure out how/why I had mucked up in my earlier lives. It hasn’t helped much, but at least I can bloviate with greater knowledge and eloquence.
I wish you professors all lived in the same little town and gave continuing lectures and that is where I would spend much of my time. Btw, I was an early college dropout. I never understood that I had a learning disability until later in life. It hasn’t stopped me for learning and thinking and enquiring as a life-long quest.
Bill Community college is a great place to dip your learning toe in the water. By now they have a number of internet courses. Also, I found that The Great Courses had wonderful lectures with courses books. They are just phasing out their DVD courses, of which I have a diverse collection from music to history, to books, economics, etc.
One of the best courses at community college was a course taught by a former Hungarian general who fought against the Soviets in 1956 it was a Russian history course. The guy was great. I think I still have a book from the course.
Part of the learning process is the socialization process and interacting with others.
Constitutional Law I and II were two of my favorite courses when in college in the mid-1970's. It is hard to see how things have changed.
Things haven’t changed. People, in their efforts to grab the brass ring (power & $$$), have turned a corner to ignore all laws - constitutional or other. The “law and order” party is dead. Shot in the middle of Broadway with all his supporters cheering him on.
Yep no such animal exists today.
Kinda sounds like change to me.
Kathy It is a change when a president trashes the Constitution. Also, McConnell is heavily responsible for the Supreme Court becomes the Stench Court. This year this smelly court ruled that a president (Trump) could do any damned thing he wanted to do and that would be constitutionally O. K. By contrast, the Supreme Court unanimously told Nixon No No No.
Happy Holidays, Keith!! OY VEY is right!
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for your newsletter (and the interwoven down-home humor). When I read it I feel connected, and guided by an intelligent light. You are keeping our heads above water and engaged. You are helping us know where to look on the road ahead for signs of hope and reason. Don't know how you do all you do.
Also a former college professor and academic dean. Taught education legal issues/public policy. Seems the media is just discovering the work of John Rawls, distributive justice -- but I've assigned his readings for the past 20 years!
We are in this together. We are not alone. My mother-in-law once told told me that her chicken dishes helped her through the depression - that chickens brought good luck. For Christmas this year, I gave many items with a chicken theme. Last night my husband and his health careworkers decorated chicken cookies (not as pretty as yours). Frosting the cookies helps my husband use his hands following several strokes. No one knows the future, but I need to keep thinking positive thoughts and am with you all as we work to help one another and our country.
If you've never seen Sandra Boynton's glorious cards and drawings, you are in for a treat. If I could share an image, I would. Since I can't, here's the word version of one of her cards "Hippo Birdies Ewe Ewe". And, yes many of her work includes chickens, too.
"So, gather your resources and gather your courage. We don’t know exactly how this will play out, which of the horribles will come first, and whether any guardrails might reemerge. It feels like a plan for the worst and hope for the best moment. Inevitably, with this level of uncertainty, we are going to be building the airplane while we are flying it. But there are a lot of people included in that “we,” and they bring many different talents and resources to the fight. We will not succumb to illiberal democracy."
Joyce, you said it so well here. Terrific. We should all remember this.
Thank you for sharing the recipe. Peace to everyone 💙❄️✨️
Thanks, Joyce. I'm particularly delighted by your chicken cookie cutter, and your daughter did a great job on the decorating. The recipe looks wonderful, too. I have to say that I felt totally flattened by the news that Fani Willis has been squashed in Georgia. Not surprised, but disgusted. They hate women, they hate smart women, and they especially hate smart women of color. I wish there was more we could do for our sisters. I know they are trying to break our spirit, and it is tough to keep moving forward not knowing what's next. But you're right, we're not alone. Thank you for sharing your recipe and for your constant reminder that we're in this together. Shalom.
My understanding is that Fani Willis has an appeal to the GA Supreme Court. From Axios: "What's next: The case appears headed to Georgia's Supreme Court after the state filed its notice of intent to appeal on Thursday, hours after the ruling came down."
The other thing that should bring joy to your heart is how Georgia women of color remain inspirations in this battle. Back in April I rewatched Star Trek: Discovery S4:E13. I had forgotten that this is the episode where Stacey Abrams has a role as the president of United Earth!!! HUGE smiles!
You’re right, Jason, about Fani filing an appeal. She expected the courts to do this to her, I bet. I am not happy that she got distracted and used poor judgment but it has NOTHING to do with the case!
Marianne, I think many have already spoken about how there was no “bad judgement” on Fani’s part. Everything was on the up and up. This is another and earlier example of how the right wing extremists working in Trump’s behalf have ginned up cases with no substance. Even Hunter Biden had accepted an earlier plea deal acknowledging his errors and planing to take his punishment until the case was raised again. Now, like Fani, the Republicans have started an investigation of Liz Cheney with no sound arguments plus many laws that speak to her ability to take her actions as a Congress person.
would help if he had been qualified to hold the position she put him in.....
Yes, he went after Fani because he could in his usual making something out of nothing. Because he could make it about sex, he knew that had wings. Of course he is the “innocent victim”. Big bully con artist with lawyers that stoop to his level.
Want to bet the GA Supreme Court won't reverse the decision? They are uber conservative. The case will never be tried.
nothing to do w/the case but it fucked it up...when you come for the king and all that
True! Thanks for this reminder!
Well, help me understand. Wouldn’t it be reasonable to expect that someone else from Fani Willis team would continue the case?
She and her team filed the appeal.
HA
Maybe a New Year’s wish can be more people come to their senses and realize what is going on and move away from the “dark” side. We are going to need all the help we can get.
Well let’s hope they, at least, open their eyes and start acknowledging our reality cannot be ignored.
"I thought I couldn't make a difference because I was too small."
--- Greta Thunberg
"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room."
--- Christine Todd Whitman
Unlike mosquitos, Democrats remain afraid to 'draw blood'.
Thank you, Joyce! For the recipe and for the photos of the chicken cookies that made me laugh out loud! Not too many opportunities to laugh out loud these days. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!
Your rugelach looks great! Plus, they're dietetic--cottage cheese instead of cream cheese (butter doesn't count. It's a staple of life)! I'll definitely have to try making them. But I don't have any chickens for moral support. I'm alone, in that respect.
Thanks for the recipe. I thought we had a recipe for democracy and justice, but it evidently got lost over the past generation. Luckily, rugelach will live to see another day.
Thanks again for all you do.
I love everything about this newsletter, including the recipe. We are on our own, but knowing that folks like you, Marc Elias, and Robert Hubbell are with us is comforting. Does your family have a babka recipe? If so, I look forward to a Babka and Democracy newsletter in the future. (Markers For Democracy has a Babka channel on our Slack but I might post this newsletter there because it’s close enough.)
Those if us with alta kakkers' disease can only sniff them.
HA! So true…damnit!
I have been saying this since the election. It is up to us. There’s no hero/heroine coming. This will be hard. But we have no choice. We must shout it from the mountains and the valleys. We must be our own media.
“The moment we no longer have a free press, anything can happen. What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed.” - Hannah Arendt
Thanks for the recipe and even more for the wise advice and the community you have built here. May your holidays be peaceful and joyous.
Thank you for sharing your grandma's rugelach recipe. I've never understood people who won't share recipes -- to me, it's the ultimate compliment when someone asks for my recipe. And your chicken cookies are adorable! I spent yesterday afternoon decorating cookies withy my 7yo great-niece. It was lots of fun but our results weren't as cute as yours!
My Ma was famous for her mandel bread. Everyone loved it. She made it every Friday afternoon and kept it in a Tupperware cookie jar. Turquoise, it was.
Anyway, she gave the recipe to anyone who asked. But, somehow, no one was able to quite replicate it the way she made it. I always suspected her of changing or leaving out a step.
Sadly, she's gone now, so I can't ask.
My grandmother was always insulted when someone suggested she changed a recipe! One thing was that some of the old gals used to put so much effort into their work which later on we youngsters skipped, thinking it didn't make a difference... but added up some of those things did! For instance, it's possible that the blender first on the cream cheese incorporated more air and it probably doesn't make enough difference to be "worth it" but it's a value judgement on the additional step, clean up etc. They also often sifted the flour (we are less apt to find grit in ours) but that step changed how much flour weight went into a cup measure. Not to mention - have you ever noticed things can taste better when someone makes them for us? Sometimes it's just the subjective aspects of the gift.
Also, a cup of sifted flour is not the same as one cup of flour, sifted. 🙂
What is the best order, please?
Thank you, Joyce, for your encouraging words and recipe.
You can also add apricot or other fruit preserves to the rugelach. They freeze great, and even taste great a few minutes after leaving the freezer. :- ) Yum yum!
Thank you for the recipe and method, Joyce!
I must say that I do NOT think it's fair at all for us Democrats to conclude that we totally screwed up, and it's back to the drawing board. Trump squeaked by on the wings of a vast quantity of misinformation. I think that finding better ways to get our message out is what's needed. Who could have done better for normal people than Biden????
Thanks Barbara, totally agree. I was on the doors with lots of folks who had never volunteered before. I haven't seen so much enthusiasm and "community"since 2008. I don't see a mandate for Trump.
And Biden got SO much done for working folks in one term.
Barbara Kamholz - I expressed deep concerns when I heard that Joe Biden stepped down. Kamala’s popularity (or rather the lack of) was not something that initially excited me. I was instantly sure this decision was “handing the orange man the election.” I wish I had been wrong. I let myself hope, though - it is what I do. I also wish Kamala had challenged that thin victory by demanding a hand recount in the swing states. Now, though, it feels l like we are too far down the path of pre-destination but it really isn't too late. They went low, and we (as usual) let the Constitution be our guide to the peaceful transition of power. These folks are up to no good every day with abnormal exercises of power they don’t yet have access to. It is a disgusting and disheartening time for our nation. I look for Elon to fall out of favor eventually. It seems inevitable in light of past orange behavior. He is too much of an attention grabber to be tolerated by Orange Julius for the long haul. I retain hope that our system checks itself before the wreckage is too far advanced. It may be forlorn, but I will hold it close. The Kinzingers and the Cheneys (honestly, there are no others) keep that tiny shred of hope alive. Along with the bluster and incompetence so evident in GOP circles.
Happy holidays to all the fine subscribers of Civil Discourse. There are so many keenly perceptive folks here.
Professor Vance, as always, your insights are crucial to my comprehension of the threats we will soon face (they seem to be in our faces daily already). Appreciation for this forum and your dogged perseverance (and willingness to face those threats with such clear-eyed determination ). Bless you, and Happy Holidays. No war on Christmas - just a simple wish for you and your family (and all of Civil Discourse).
Your phrase "squeaked by on the wings of a vast quantity of misinformation" perfectly encapsulates the impressions that flutter around persistently in my thoughts.