What I'm reading today:
Worth your time...
One of the things that I do annually in December is determine three words that will become themes for the new year. Here goes:
Word 1: Nimble
After the election, I felt nothing but despair and a sense of hopelessness for a couple of weeks. I just couldn’t believe that my fellow Americans would actually vote for a felon to be in the White House. Mind-boggling. All I could think of was 1933 and Hitler coming to power in Germany. (I’m actually taking a class this term at OLLI about Berlin during that time to learn more.)
I toured German fifty years later in 1983 and still saw rubble in places like Dresden. I saw The Wall. I saw the fear in the folks, who lived in the East.
Germans in the ‘30s, who were nimble and awake: who saw what was coming, repatriated to other countries. Was that my next chapter? I started researching: Portugal, New Zealand, Canada, etc. I needed to be nimble and pay attention to what was happening. I love my home: warts and all. I’m not keen on living in another country, but I need to be prepared, if that is what is necessary.
God help US with the new Cabinet selections: #Oligarchy #Kakistocracy #Kleptocracy - take your pick. Who knows, what we have in store for us. The only thing that I’m hanging onto right now is the Felon-in-Chief’s veritable laziness. Here’s hoping he spends his time watching TV and playing golf like he did during the Pandemic.
Regardless, I intend to be nimble and responsive to whatever is coming.
Word 2: Serenity
Like I mentioned yesterday, I need to bring it down a notch. That’s why I’m abandoning Meta and spending more times with real people and true friends. I’m taking longer walks with Monty. I pulled out old needlepoint projects that have been sitting in my closet. I’m having people over for dinner. I’m playing bridge and Mahjong. I’m enjoying my classes at OLLI. I need serenity in my life.
Word 3: Curate
After Hurricane Helene (and more recently the LA Fires) I am feeling incredibly motivated to scan, toss and streamline stuff around my home. Seeing people in their 70s who have lost everything was like a slap in the face. While I have moved four times in the last five years, I still have too much stuff. I’m utterly determined that this is the year, that I organize my dad’s genealogy; this is the year I scan old pictures and letters; this is the year I curate my library; and this is the year I give away, donate, sell — whatever. I’m actually reading The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning which is helping me organize.
When I announced that I am canceling my Meta accounts, a few friends seemed a bit disappointed, since I try to post things that I think are substantive and worth reading. So in the spirit of curating, as time permits, I’ll put out a daily post and share the types of things I used to post on Facebook. Read what you like — this is my first attempt curated information.
And something for you to think about…. what are your three words for 2025?
When we open our hearts in love instead of closing them in fear, we serve the divine process. We are all powerful spirits who took form at this time in order to serve our fellow humans, our planet, and the universe. When we find ways we can serve, our fear dissipates. We may serve by remaining calm and loving with our children and our families, even when the situation seems dark. We may serve by sending money to people who need financial assistance. We may serve by going out into the world and actively helping to rebuild lives. Regardless of what actions we choose to take, the essential element will be the internal gesture of choosing to remain in love. This is all that is needed.
NextAvenue - Join a Club: It's Good for You
What accounts for this nosedive in societal connectivity and networking — or what Putnam calls "social capital"? Rampant computer and cell phone use are the usual culprits, plus shrinking local newspapers and decreasing union membership. And with the dominance of social media, people are more likely to connect over Facebook and FaceTime instead of in person.
Heather Cox Richardson - Letters from an American - January 16
“For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves…. We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.”
How Trump’s political and business interests will intersect in the White House
Since the start of Trump’s first term in office, the cost to join his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, has soared to $1 million, allowing wealthy people to mix pleasure with politics and government business during his frequent visits to the club.
The Bulwark -Pam Bondi Puts Loyalty to Trump First
Bondi was repeatedly asked during the hearing whether Joe Biden was legitimately elected; she refused to answer, merely conceding that he is currently the president of the United States. When pushed, she hinted that the Pennsylvania election in 2020 had problems with fraud, a claim for which there is zero evidence. That she cannot admit that the law has spoken on that subject in her audition for the job of the nation’s top prosecutor is disturbing, to say the least.
Ranked Choice Voting is a straightforward yet transformative alternative. Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate achieves a majority, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and their votes are reallocated to voters’ next choices. This process continues until a candidate secures a majority. By allowing voters to express their preferences more fully, RCV eliminates the “spoiler effect” and ensures that winners have broad-based support.
Frank Bruni - Republicans in North Carolina Are Treading a Terrifying Path
“Nothing should be shocking after Jan. 6, 2021, when an American president’s scheming to overturn the legitimate results of a fair election culminated in the bloody breaching of the Capitol. Still, I’m aghast at the audacity of what Republicans here in North Carolina are up to.”
David French - MAGA Is Misreading Its Mandate
Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday was further evidence that Trump doesn’t understand the reasons for his own victory. The Pentagon is a vast bureaucracy, and the military is facing a complex strategic problem in responding to a rising China, an aggressive Russia, and a wounded Iranian regime that may well try to race to assemble a nuclear weapon. To address that problem, Trump nominated a man whose chief qualification appears to be that he’s the most prominent (and loyal) MAGA veteran on television. The nation desperately needs competence… Hegseth was forced out of previous jobs for mismanagement, excessive drinking and “sexist” misconduct. His probable confirmation is one of the most remarkable examples of “failing up” in modern American history. MAGA is mostly oblivious to this reality, in part because its single-minded focus on vengeance and culture war has shaped its definition of “competence.”
Condé Nast: The 15 Most Visited Cities in the United States
There's a good reason Condé Nast Traveler readers have voted for Chicago as the best big city in the country for the eighth year running. After all, the Midwestern hub blends together the most vibrant elements: striking architecture (best experienced on a river cruise tour), expansive museums (the lakeside Field Museum has more than 40 million artifacts and specimens), and eateries helmed by top chefs. #LoveMyCity
Axios: California's "red pill": MAGA wages information war as LA burns
Reality check: The main beneficiaries of California's backlash have been independents and moderate Democrats — not Republicans, and certainly not the strain of MAGA Republicans publicly agitating for a revolution.
Most Californians believe climate change is contributing to the fires, even if they're unhappy with state leadership's handling of the crisis.
House Republicans' threat to condition federal aid to California, meanwhile, risks public blowback at a moment of vulnerability for Democrats.
Axios: School cellphone bans keep bipartisan momentum
Zoom out: Health experts and policymakers have called for stricter regulations on youth social media use, while social media companies have been reckoning with accountability about their platforms' harmful effects on children.
Research has found that excessive cellphone use can impact children's mental health.
Quote of the day:
“Zuckerberg is a fool to say this is a cultural shift. Bullshit. It isn’t. It’s just people who are craven cowards bowing down and kissing the ring.” ~ Jonathan Taplin (author of The End of Reality: How Four Billionaires are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars, and Crypto).
Worth Watching:
On Fareed Zakaria GPS: The dangers of social media without fact-checking