Moving in the right circles
Only 1,428 days to go...
In 2017, when #FOTUS was inaugurated for the first time, I was a traditionalist. I believed then and continue to believe in the importance of a peaceful transfer of power. While I was appalled that Trump had won the election, I also thought that Hilary Clinton’s concession speech got it right, when she said, “I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans.”
I wasn’t one to resist; I didn’t want to protest the outcome of an election. I was more of a “wait and see” kind of person. Although, it did become pretty clear, fairly quickly that the Depraved Grifter was not going to grow into the job. In a matter of days, he sullied the office and was the laughing stock of the world.
My sister took a different tact. She was all-in to “the resistance” at the time. She was at the Woman’s March in Washington DC. She came home and helped to start a chapter of Indivisible. She joined various political organizations and was pretty fired up as well as angry, that such a sleazy misogynist was sitting in the Oval Office.
Obviously, neither approach seemed to work very well, because he’s back disgracing us again.
Although, I do think Carl Jung got it right when he said, “What you resist persists.”
My sister and I have been talking a lot lately. And what we have concluded, is that this time, we are going to listen to Mom.
Our mother was a ball of energy. In a warm and helpful way, she liked to talk a lot and give advice often. Sometimes she would just repeat platitudes. Occasionally, she would hear someone say something she liked, make the statement her own and repeat it often. And sometimes she would naïvely utter double-entendres and her friends would roar with laughter, and remember them as “Beckyisms” to share with others.
She had that Ted Lasso quality of constant cheerfulness and optimism, though while endearing, could at times also be incredibly annoying. For example, I remember one time, when I was really upset because of a difficult work situation. Her advice:
“Oh honey, just go buy a plant. It will make you feel better.”
When we were growing up, she would sometimes write Bible verses with a marking pen on shirt cardboards and affix them to the refrigerator door. These verses were just there, so I don’t remember internalizing many of them. Actually, we didn’t think about them much, until friends would come over and then quizzically look at the fridge and wonder about our mother.
Mother, was also very smart and her advice could be incredibly insightful and wise. The one statement she would say often, that helped me tremendously during the pandemic, was:
“Put it in your God’s box.”
(Which roughly translates to: you can’t control this, so stop worrying about it.)
That particular saying often came in handy, when I was in the midst of a stressful work challenge, where I had little control. I learned to just have faith and let go of my fears. Given our current situation of having a psychopathic president with his equally narcissistic sidekick, I find myself meditating and putting a lot in my God’s box these days.
As my sister and I discuss the current state of affairs, we’ve both decided to stay in our own lanes and embrace a few other of Mother’s sayings.
For starters:
“If you have a problem you can’t solve, it’s not a problem. It’s a fact.”
Donald Trump sitting in the White House is a fact - at least for now. Given that this is a fact, then what? I think so many keep looking at him as a problem that can be fixed. He can’t be fixed. He not smart enough to even recognize that he’s broken. Obviously he doesn’t think he needs to be fixed. I think, if democrats, in particular, would deal with him as a fact, they might make more progress.
During my consulting career, I met Stephen Covey and worked with his people to become one of our in-house trainers for his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People methodology. When I first read the book, I totally embraced his concepts, because it was so familiar - it was the way I was raised. (Some of my colleagues simply didn’t understand the habits and principles at all. They would talk about their training as being “Covey-ized” like it meant being nice. They just didn’t get it.)
So in situations like today, I tend to fall back on Covey’s principles. One of Covey’s main principles is the three circles:
The Circle of Concern includes things that individuals are concerned about but have no control over, such as the weather or global politics. The Circle of Influence includes things that individuals can influence but do not have complete control over, such as their relationships, work environment, and health. Circle of Control refers to the things a person can control. This includes their attitudes, actions, and behaviors.
Too often these days, I get stuck in the Circle of Concern - and for what? I can’t change the fact that #FOTUS is in White House.
My sister and I have decided that we are going to focus on the two other circles. We’re going to hold our family and friends close, think about and support our neighbors and try to influence where we can.
She is already involved with a political organization that is trying to influence elections around the country. I am starting to learn about and get behind principled North Carolina leaders, who might be able to displace the MAGA trifecta which currently represents Asheville in Washington DC. While it seems a bit hopeless, I’ll continue to contact my useless senators and representative because, that is something within my control.
But it’s more than just politics. I think of another of Mother’s aphorisms:
“Never resist the impulse to do something kind for someone else.”
We know, that there are a lot of organizations that are going to be needing our help with the slashing of federal aid and some of the draconian policies that are happening with Musk and Trump’s loyalists in charge. So many areas are being impacted and there is going to be a huge fallout in all of our local communities.
So, Habit 1: Be Proactive
So, I’ve made a decision. I will commit to helping in two areas, at least for now.
Ukrainian refugee support — I’m going to step up and get involved with the Lutheran Services New Americans Program here in Asheville.
I am going to see if there is a way I can volunteer at the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park. (Trump’s Firing of 1,000 National Park Workers Raises Concerns About Maintenance and Operating Hours.)
Maybe in time, I’ll do more, but for now I’m going to focus on these things. I know that there is a business boycott planned for February 28th. Boycotts are a statement of course, but I don’t think that’s enough. There is going to be so much need - everywhere. I’m hoping that the folks, who are able to step up, will.
Finally, Mother’s most quoted statement/verse, and one that my sister and I are going to continue to embrace and internalize, as we now move in the right circles…
“Honey, just love, love, love. Remember God is Love.” (1 John 4:16)
Thought for the day in honor of his birthday…
"I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong." ~George Washington
What I read every day…
Quote of the day:
“Trump has assembled an administration of emotionally damaged people. They embrace conspiracies, like Bobby Kennedy and Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel. Others tend to be deficient in the empathy zone. Elon Musk … treats other people like shit. He has no ear for human sensitivity; and he surrounds himself with like-minded brutalists. I don’t know if there are any statistics on this, but I suspect that the math geek world—the engineers, the computer nerds, his Doge storm-troopers, those who (like Musk) are more comfortable with video games and abstract equations than with other people.. They feel numbers, not people; they are more comfortable with abstractions than emotions. They refuse to bother with the difference between vital humanitarian relief and DEI boondoggles in USAID. One imagines them giggling with every minuscule budget cut. That arrogant insensitivity is the core spirit of Trump II. Donald Trump is actually worse: he is not ignorant of other people’s pain, he gets a kick out of it.”
~ Joe Klein from Sanity Clause
What I’m reading today…
Having voted for a ticket that promised to eliminate inefficiencies, wage trade wars and root out the Takers, you are now privileged participants in a breathtaking, historic, America First revolution, and revolutions can be stressful. Have you ever heard the expression “you have to break some eggs to make an omelet”?
You are the eggs.
Here’s the ad the Washington Post wouldn’t run
The Washington Post doesn’t want you to see this Fire Elon Musk ad. Our ad was all set to run, with a signed contract and all. But at the last minute, Jeff Bezos’s newspaper rejected our ad from running in its White House edition with no explanation, even though they have run similar ads complimenting Trump. You read that right. The Washington Post – which has a responsibility to hold a magnifying glass up to powerful people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump – refused to run our ad calling them out. The Post – whose tagline reminds us that “democracy dies in darkness” – won’t tell us their reasoning (believe us, we asked!) But when you look at our ad for yourself, I bet you’ll put two and two together:
Trump's "Honeymoon" Didn't Even Last a Month
So not only did Trump not win any sort of mandate, his honeymoon numbers are basically a participation trophy compared with other presidents. But the topline numbers only tell part of the story — and maybe not the most interesting part. The most ominous number of all? The Post-Ipsos poll found Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy 53 to 45 — his worst economic numbers since 2017. And here’s the potential presidency-killer: the Reuters poll found that only 32 percent of Americans approve of his handling of inflation — the issue that we were told propelled him to the White House.
And that is the only solid conclusion one can make after this week of astonishing incompetence and madness. We only saw Donald Trump’s foreign policy darkly in his first term — constrained, as he was, by a handful of white-knuckled Republicans in the executive branch. Now we see it face to face. It’s a vision where international law disappears, great powers divide up the planet into spheres of influence, and the strong always control the weak. It’s Trump’s vision of domestic politics as well. And of life. Control, plunder, gloat. This is the Trump way.
The Tesla Takedown Has Begun. A National Protest Movement Seeks to Strike a Blow to Elon Musk’s Net
The TeslaTakedown movement implores Americans not only to get into the streets, but to “sell your Teslas” and “dump your stock.” It’s a tactical approach that could have real repercussions—especially if a shareholder revolt were triggered during Musk’s prolonged foray into politics… the company is still vulnerable to the market pressure. And as Musk wreaks irreparable damage to his personal brand, Tesla sales are tanking, especially in Europe: In Germany, sales plunged by 59 percent in January, following Musk’s endorsement of the country’s far-right AfD party. They were also down 63 percent in France year-over-year, in January.
The political education of Elon Musk
The classic early signs of backlash are beginning to surface — a batch of worrisome polling, angry town hall scenes, protests — and congressional Republicans are beginning to get nervous… in Musk’s view, he’s on a mission to eliminate the Washington-based Democratic deep state. The trouble is, the federal government is a far more complex organism than he seems to recognize. Some agencies are more popular with the general public than others. There are distinct partisan differences in how various departments are perceived. The federal government’s reach also stretches well beyond the D.C. area. Its economic presence is felt acutely in every state and in all 435 congressional districts — not just through government transfer payments, but in terms of actual jobs. The two states with the largest Republican House delegations, Texas and Florida, are together home to almost a quarter-million federal government workers. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Louisiana-based district is home to almost 13,000.
‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is an Understatement
The better alternative is to describe exactly what’s happening: The president is taking actions he doesn’t have the power to take, disrespecting the rule of law, and attempting to revoke long-established rights. He is portraying himself as a king. Soon, he may openly defy an order from a duly appointed and confirmed federal judge. That would be a step closer to the end of American democracy than anything since January 6. Call that a catastrophe, call it lawlessness, call it a threat—just don’t call it a constitutional crisis.
This Is What Happens When the DOGE Guys Take Over
Over the first month of Trump’s new term, patterns have nonetheless emerged as a small crew of Musk’s young technologists work their way through the federal workforce. This new unit has trained its initial attention on the keypunchers who make the government work, executing Musk’s belief that by controlling the computers, one could control the entire federal bureaucracy. They’ve mapped systems, reworked communication networks, and figured out the choke points. Instead of taking command of the existing workforce, Trump’s new team has pressured them to disperse, firing those who were probationary, offering buyouts to others, and subjecting many others to 15-minute interviews in what many felt were juvenile tests of their worth.
In the Trump administration, nearly every major department is an immigration agency
The departments of State, Defense and Justice have made immigration a clear priority in their work and public messaging. Parts of the departments of Treasury and Health and Human Services have been involved. And the reach and focus on immigration are only expected to grow, with the Republican president late Wednesday signing an executive order aimed at ending federal benefits for people in the U.S. illegally.
Trump wants to shake up the US Postal Service
Other countries have privatized their postal services in the past. But a plan to privatize the 250-year old service that predates the formation of the United States could dramatically change the way Americans receive deliveries, and even who would be able to get service. Current law requires the USPS to deliver to all addresses, even rural ones that are too costly for a private business to serve profitably. Even many online purchases handled by private companies such as United Parcel Service depend upon the the Postal Service to handle the “last mile” of delivery to homes.
Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio arrested near Capitol on assault charge after press conference
Former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio was arrested Friday near the U.S. Capitol on a charge that he assaulted a woman protesting a gathering attended by Tarrio and others who received presidential pardons for crimes stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in the nation’s capital.
The Governor Who Stood Up to Trump
Trump then threatened Mills with the prospect of stripping away federal funding for her state: “You better do it, because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.” Legally, it is possible for the federal government to deny states certain funding streams under certain conditions. But Trump cannot simply cut Maine off financially because the state chooses to challenge a federal policy. Distinctions like this, however, seem totally lost on the president, who sees himself as national king—note his use of the royal we—and every other American, including each of the 50 states, as one of his quavering subjects.
What I am watching…
“The bigger story is a shift in values…”