Fortis Mulieres
Only 1,447 days to go...
I come from a long line of strong women.
I’ve already written about my amazing mother. Suffice to say, she was a force to be reckoned with.
My maternal grandmother set her sights on my grandfather and married him, when she was 18 and he was 26. I think she might have grown a little bored with marriage and motherhood, because she went back to college, when both she and the decade were in the 30s. Grandmother was brilliant, had a photographic memory, but was also very dramatic and demanding of center stage. When I was learning to play bridge, she was unmerciful and determined to set me — regardless of the fact, that I was just learning the game.
Shortly before their future son-in-law’s wedding, her husband, my adored grandfather, coached my dad about how to live with a “Boggs woman.” Something to the effect of listen and don’t argue — then just get on with it, and do what you want to do. (I like to think that I might be distantly related to the late Louisiana congresswoman, Lindy Boggs, whose advice to Nancy Pelosi was, “Darlin’, know thy power and use it.”)
On my dad’s side of the family, his great-grandmother immigrated from Wales with seven children. Both her husband and youngest child died coming over on the ship, but somehow my great-great-grandmother — who spoke only Welsh — got her family to Iowa City, where she subsequently outlived two more husbands and died owning three farms. From all accounts, she was one tough lady that no one crossed. Her sons scattered around the country and one actually became an early governor of Nevada.
Another of Dad’s great-grandmothers left her Indiana home to marry an older widower in the newly created utopian society of Greeley, Colorado. I was never sure, but often wondered, if she was a mail-order bride.
Her daughter, my grandmother, was also independent. In about 1912, she had a summer job as a waitress at Yellowstone Park. Shortly after getting her degree from what was then the Colorado Normal School (aka, UNCO) in Greeley, Grandmother left home to teach and homestead in Montana. She was a no-nonsense, quiet, strong, Western woman - the polar opposite of my other grandmother.
My dad’s sister, Aunt Caryl, was a pilot during WWII with the WASP. I’ve given a number of talks about these extraordinary women and had the distinct honor in 2009 of attending their award ceremony for the Congressional Gold Medal. Aunt Caryl actually flew dilapidated airplanes while towing targets for trainees learning to shoot at aircraft. Can you imagine having live ammunition coming at you in a training exercise?!!!
And after years of raising her children, leading volunteer organizations, fund-raising, etc., my darling sister decided to start a business at age 50. What started as a cooking blog, morphed into a socially conscious business that was both a Certified B Corp and Certified Women-Owned business. She had success enough to be featured in notable media outlets including ABC7, NBC, Chicago Tribune, Rachel Ray, Oprah.com, and Women’s Health.
Even one of my distant ancestors, Millie Cooper, had a children’s book written about her as well as a marker in her honor in New Franklin, MO. She made a fateful horse ride at age 16 to find help for her family, who were under attack from Native Americans.
Like I said, I come from a family of strong women.
In addition, most of my mother’s “girlfriends” were smart, strong, determined and many of them leaders in their own right. They were also like aunts or other mothers to me. While they weren’t bringing home a paycheck, they worked incredibly hard leading volunteer organizations, fund-raising and engaged with parental groups like Scouts, PTA, etc.
I often felt like the proverbial latch-key kid because my mother and her friends were out running some organization or other. Since all the dads disappeared every day to work in the city, it really felt like I was growing up in a matriarchal society.
The first time I went to an office meeting shortly after I had joined a predominately male company, I was one of about four women in a room with about 250 men. It was pretty weird. In fact, during most of my career, I was often the only woman in the room. Monday morning’s ritual was having to listen to boring, never-ending replays of Sunday’s football games. And I never really got used to the crude comments or foul language, but I learned to tune it out. It never occurred to me, that one day it would be called sexual harassment.
One of my British partners called me, “one of the blokes.” I think he thought, that was a complement. Another partner said to me one time, “Well Ann, you’re not very feminine.” Again, I think he meant it as a complement — like I was rational, serious, undramatic, whatever... I was incredibly offended and frankly very hurt.
But it got me thinking. What does feminine mean? Every female role model in my life was strong, rational, serious and (with the exception of my maternal grandmother) drama-free. Yes, we are unflinching, determined, say what we mean and are committed to getting things done. Why isn’t that feminine?
Furthermore, my father was probably one of the most empathic people I’ve ever known. When I had a problem or a nightmare or just needed a hug, I always went to my dad first. I never saw Dad as anything but manly. So why aren’t empathy, kindness and consideration of others thought to be masculine traits?
Trump’s history of contemptuous statements about women are so offensive. Starting with his insults to Rosie O’Donnell by calling her a pig and degenerate, to his infamously lewd Access Hollywood tape, to his threatening and personal attacks against H. Clinton, Pelosi and Harris, et al, he has left a documented trail of ugly words and vulgar messages. I actually thought his statements about Ivanka were slightly incestuous. One can only wonder what his relationship with his mother was.
#FOTUS seems to evaluate woman by how they look or whether they acquiesce to him. I wonder, if any of the women around him tell him directly, what they are thinking or if they have to sugar-coat or spoon feed everything to get their point across. With the exceptions of the current Governor of Arkansas and Trump’s now Chief-of-Staff, most of the women in his orbit have looked like they came straight out of central casting, or from the lineup of FauxNews female talking heads or from one his beauty pageants.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan (the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. military) was ousted by the administration on Trump's first full day in office. I don’t really know much about the woman, but it’s seems to point in the direction, that Trump has a misogynistic agenda.
Why is it, when it comes to Trump, that it’s the women that seem to have the courage of putting their careers on the line by speaking truth to power? Nancy Pelosi consistently stood up to Trump, when she was Speaker of the House, unlike wimpy Mike Johnson or craven Kevin McCarthy.
It’s former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, or Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, or former Washington Post Cartoonist Ann Telnaes, or Senator Lisa Murkowski, who are actually willing to tell the truth and do the right thing.
And more recently, it was Karen Pence, who refused to shake hands with the person, who nearly got her family killed; and Michelle Obama, who recognized that attending the inauguration for a convicted felon was disingenuous and cynical.
“Men and women are persons of equal dignity and they should count equally before the law.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I can remember years ago, when I was working with all these men. It wasn’t atypical for one of them to ask me to tell a partner something, that while controversial, needed to be said. I would look at these guys and wonder. Why was I the one, who should tell the partner? Why didn’t they? Were they simply more politically shrewd or did they just have no guts? I’ll never know.
While irritated with the request, I never hesitated when asked. Frankly, I like to think that most of the partners respected me for speaking up and saying what needed to be said. Not always, of course — but even the irritated partners knew they would always get a straight answer from me.
After the last two weeks of chaos, confusion, cruelty and utter incompetence by this administration, I keep wondering.
When are all these spineless Congressmen and Senators finally going to woman-up and support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; bear true faith and allegiance to the same…and faithfully discharge the duties of their office?
Thought for the day in honor of her birthday…
“If society will not admit of woman's free development, then society must be remodeled.” ~Elizabeth Blackwell
What I read every day…
I’ve decided to eliminate a few sites from my posts, specifically, Letters from an American and The Bulwark. You can go directly to their Substack accounts to read what I read every day. I very much encourage you to subscribe to both. The links to their sites are below.
Quote of the day:
“Problems are not resolved by imposing tariffs, but by talking and dialoguing, as we did in recent weeks with your State Department to address the phenomenon of migration; in our case, with respect for human rights.”
~Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum
What I’m reading today…
The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover
Elon Musk’s takeover of federal government infrastructure is ongoing, and at the center of things is a coterie of engineers who are barely out of—and in at least one case, purportedly still in—college. Musk’s lackeys have taken control of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and General Services Administration (GSA), and have gained access to the Treasury Department’s payment system, potentially allowing him access to a vast range of sensitive information about tens of millions of citizens, businesses, and more. On Sunday, CNN reported that DOGE personnel attempted to improperly access classified information and security systems at the US Agency for International Development and that top USAID security officials who thwarted the attempt were subsequently put on leave.
What the Anti-Trump Coalition Needs to Do
The most immediate task for the anti-Trump coalition in these early months of 2025 is to avoid more mistakes. President Joe Biden ended his presidency by listening to advice to grant clemency to thousands of drug offenders, including heinous murderers. Who offered that advice? Don’t listen to them anymore! Fight Trump where he’s most vulnerable, not where progressive interest groups are most isolated and most dogmatic. Build unity from the center, rather than indulge the factionalism of the ultra-left.
Trump’s Foreign Policy Is Tailor-Made for a 19th-Century America
…to understand Trump is to recognize that he wants to bring a 19th-century foreign policy into the 21st century. He’s been explicit in his admiration of William McKinley… During his first term, some likened Trump to Andrew Jackson, the U.S. president known not only for being an outsider, but also for his forceful ethnic cleansing policies toward Native Americans. Trump appeared to embrace that comparison, with Jackson’s portrait hanging in the Oval Office. Even before he was elected in 2016, observers pointed to how Trump’s worldview seemed more at home in the late 19th or early 20th century.
Behind the Curtain: The payback precedent
There's an asymmetry between MAGA and the Democratic Party as it currently exists. Democrats have a religious devotion to norms and institutions that Republicans simply don't share, and it's a unique feature of Trumpism to despise the "Deep State," mainstream media, and checks on executive power.
Truth, Lies and the Real Path to Respect
Let’s not sugarcoat things: It’s going to be a long four years. We have every reason to worry that official investigations into this crash or other coming disasters will be manipulated by the Trump administration to suppress any findings that this president ever does anything wrong. But the more Trump lies and runs from the truth of this tragedy and others to come, the more conscientious people must investigate the truth and speak out.
Trump’s Campaign to Dismantle the Government
Anyone who has dealt with the federal government knows of its imperfections. Whatever those flaws, the civil service is also worthy of respect that the culture fails to accord it…With long careers, they acquire expertise in archaic but essential fields—poultry exports, vaccine policy, the administration of economic sanctions. Their wisdom makes fair-minded governance possible… they believe in the underlying mission of their departments and agencies—missions they have good reason to suspect are now being snuffed out by Donald Trump’s draconian new personnel policies.
Why Trump’s tariffs can’t solve America’s fentanyl crisis
…demand is what fuels the illicit market. And as any economist will tell you, supply will find a way if you don’t limit the demand. That’s why treatment works and bans don’t. The U.S. government’s ability to control the production of these drugs is limited at best… What the U.S. needs is a more systematic approach to deal with the demand that’s fueling the drug crisis.
When Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Came to Chicago
For Chicago — particularly for its sizable immigrant community — this has been a month of fear and uncertainty. Ever since Trump’s new border czar, Tom Homan, told his fellow Republicans at a Christmas party that mass deportations would kick off Chicago — making his announcement as a DJ played a remix of “Bad to the Bone” — a bubble of anxiety has been growing in the city of big shoulders.
Plane collides with aircraft tug at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport
The collision comes one day after seven people were killed when a medical transport helicopter crashed in a Philadelphia neighborhood. Two days earlier, an American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter collided in midair and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.
Donald Trump is a heartless thug. This attitude “works” for him much of the time, at least politically; his thoughtless brutality conveys the impression of strength. It also conveys a less appealing reality. The man is fundamentally damaged, fundamentally incurious, fundamentally intemperate … I am certain that there will not be a single failure of the Trump Administration that will not be blamed on Joe Biden. It will get tedious fast….I was hoping that Trump, with more experience, would be less of a chucklehead. Still dreadful, of course, but less incompetent…
The marriage gap for women isn't what you think
In other (potentially outdated) words: a "good" man has become harder to find, at least for women with less than a four-year degree. So they're getting married less.
Bookshop Achieved the Impossible Against Amazon. Now It’s Coming for E-Books
In just five years, the platform has made a profit while supporting brick-and-mortar bookstores. Next up, taking on Amazon’s 76 percent of the e-book market.
What I am watching…
"I've instructed my economy minister to implement the plan B we've been working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico's interests."
“Peak Incompetence.”
Things I read everyday….
I read Letters from An American everyday, so I am no longer going to reference it in my Substack posts. Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletters are fabulous, so I encourage you to subscribe on your own.
I’m also a big fan of The Bulwark. I started subscribing to it shortly after I discovered it in 2019. The Bulwark was founded to provide analysis and reporting in defense of America’s liberal democracy. That’s it. That’s the mission. I find their podcasts and articles thoughtful and helpful in making sense of what is going on with the US.
