What I'm reading today... January 23, 2025
Only 1,458 days to go...
During the pandemic I became hooked on audiobooks and podcasts. Since there was no where to go and with no one to talk to, in an effort to fill the time, I would sit at my dining room table working a jigsaw puzzle and listen to various podcasts, etc.
I remember the day I heard Brené Brown interviewing Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt. Since I never watch SNL and rarely go to the movies, I had never heard of either one of them. Actually, I wasn’t even really all that interested in listening, but Brené began gushing over their new TV show, Ted Lasso. While intrigued, I was also a bit annoyed. Did I really have subscribe to yet another streaming service to see this show?
But I was definitely curious. (Be curious, not judgmental.)
Needless to say, like so many others, I became a Ted Lasso superfan. I adore the show. Having lived in the UK, the scenes of Richmond and the British humor feel familiar. The show is so clever, well-written, and fun. The characters are amazing. I mean, how can you not love Roy Kent? Anytime I’m feeling disheartened by what is going on in the world, I rewatch Ted Lasso. It’s a show that helps remind me that generosity, kindness, teamwork, gratitude, courage, forgiveness, curiosity, hope and belief are signs of strength not weakness.
It’s therapeutic for me. I think I’m going to rewatch the series this week.
“BELIEVE…
Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing."
Thought for the day in honor of his birthday…
"I am a friend to righteous government, to a government founded upon the principles of reason and justice; but I glory in publicly avowing my eternal enmity to tyranny.”
~ John Hancock
What I’m reading today….
The Constitution page on President Trump’s White House website is showing a 404 error.
“Page not found,” the site reads. Under former President Biden, the website highlighted the history behind the creation of the Constitution and why the country has the set of guiding rules. Trump unveiled the new website Monday after taking office for the second time. Trump Knows The Fastest Way to Dismantle America is to Just Delete It.
National Security Council staffers grilled about loyalty to Trump
The Trump administration is screening the loyalty of approximately 160 career civil servants assigned to the National Security Council.
Convicted US Capitol rioter turns down Trump pardon
Pamela Hemphill, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 days in prison, told the BBC that there should be no pardons for the riot on 6 January 2021. "Accepting a pardon would only insult the Capitol police officers, rule of law and, of course, our nation. I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon also would serve to contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative."
What Kash Patel Doesn’t Want the Senate to Know About the ‘J6 Prison Choir’
Tillis and other Senate Republicans now know that Trump has crossed a bright red line. If they want to maintain any semblance of integrity, then they must pause before rushing to confirm Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to serve as FBI director. That’s because Patel has repeatedly whitewashed January 6th.
Your next congressperson just got pardoned
Trump has just genetically altered the GOP candidate pool, undamming a river of highly motivated and radicalized prospective candidates who will be seeking elected office for years to come. Armed with the president’s blessing of their behavior from the “day of love,” their criminal records now cleared, they will be streaming into federal, state and local primaries. Don’t believe it? Within a year of the storming of the Capitol, at least 57 individuals who either attended the Save America rally that preceded the riots, gathered at the Capitol steps or breached the Capitol itself ran for elected office.
Chicago's immigrant communities brace for immigration crackdowns
Little Village, or La Villita as its residents call it, is a historically Mexican immigrant community. "It is one of the largest commercial corridors here in the city, and the biggest Mexican community here in the Midwest," says Jennifer Aguilar, executive director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce. "We have over a thousand businesses, over 100 restaurants…This corridor is always busy with activity and right now it seems almost like a ghost town."
Expert Insights from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
President Trump signed a flurry of executive actions within hours of taking office. Several, as expected, take aim at key public health policies and institutions.
The World’s Aged Major Leaders are a Menace
The world’s most consequential countries are now led by elderly, delusional, cruel men 70 or older. Several are obviously corrupt: Putin in Russia, Trump in the United States, Netanyahu in Israel... It is not their corruption, however, that is so menacing about these leaders but their delusions…What are these men’s dangerous delusions? …They also have in common a belief that they can crush internal opposition no matter the consequences for the welfare of their countries. Something more surprising that they have in common is more symbolic but extremely meaningful to these leaders: a highly mythologized interpretation of their nations’ histories.
The U.S. Needs Soldiers, Not Warriors
Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed that his mission is “to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense.” It is a terrible idea….Warriors are people who exult in killing, who prize individual courage and daring, who obsess about honor (often in self-destructive ways), who frequently take trophies from the bodies of their enemies, and whose behavior on and off the battlefield often veers into atrocity. Soldiers are different. They are servants of the state. In well-governed countries, they are bound by discipline, the rule of law, and commitment to comrades and organizations—not to self-glorification. Their virtues are obedience, stoicism, perseverance, and competence. They serve a common good, and duty, not glory, is their prime motivation.
Heather Cox Richardson - Letters from an American - January 22
The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote: “Law and order? Back the blue? What happened to that [Republican Party]?” “What happened [on January 6, 2021] is a stain on Mr. Trump’s legacy,” it wrote. “By setting free the cop beaters, the President adds another.”… For the past two days, the new Trump administration has been demonstrating that it is far easier to break things than it is to build them.
Why Students Need A Civic Education to Navigate Today’s World
This foundation of civic education must include opportunities for students to develop a sense of efficacy—the belief that their advocacy and collaboration can drive real, transformative progress. Practical strategies like debates on current events, collaborative projects addressing global challenges, and engagement with diverse perspectives empower students to connect their learning to real-world impact.
Trump’s Pardons Are Sending a Crystal-Clear Message
The insurrection was the culmination of increased militia activity during the first Trump administration. But after the riot, as law-enforcement agencies began to prosecute those involved, the militias went underground. Groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys continued to operate while many of their leaders and members were in prison, but in a less publicly visible way than before. Even without militia groups operating at their peak levels, political violence, particularly by the right, has been ascendant over the past several years. Now, after the pardons, right-wing extremists no longer have to hide.
"F--k it: Release 'em all": Why Trump embraced broad Jan. 6 pardons
The pardons episode provided a lesson for Vance and others in Trump's orbit: Categorical statements forecasting the mercurial president's actions are always a risk… The bottom line: "Never get ahead of the boss," a Trump transition source said, "because you just never know."
What Everyone Gets Wrong About Tulsi Gabbard
“She was willing to do or say whatever. It was like she had absolutely no moral compass.”
Trump has given Iran an invitation to kill me
Trump directed the Secret Service to stop the protection hours after taking office on Monday. Bolton told The Telegraph there was “no other conclusion” to be drawn from the decision other than that it was an act of political vengeance. “They called me at about 11.30pm last night, and I was asleep. I don’t remember the exact words, but it was something like: ‘The president has directed that your protection be terminated at noon tomorrow.’”
Book I recently read and recommend: 1920
Author Eric Burns investigates the year of 1920, which was … one that foretold the future, foreshadow the rest of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st. Burns sets the record straight about this most misunderstood and iconic of periods. Despite being the first full year of armistice, 1920 was not, in fact, a peaceful time—it contained the greatest act of terrorism in American history to date. And while 1920 is thought of as staring a prosperous era, for most people, life had never been more unaffordable.
Quote of the day:
“Crimes against law enforcement are not just attacks on individuals or public safety — they are attacks on society and undermine the rule of law. Allowing those convicted of these crimes to be released early diminishes accountability and devalues the sacrifices made by courageous law enforcement officers and their families. When perpetrators of crimes, especially serious crimes, are not held fully accountable, it sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence.” ~ Joint Statement on the Recent Presidential Pardons from the IACP (The International Association of Chiefs of Police) and the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police)
Worth Watching:
Donald Trump Demands Apology From Bishop Who Hurt His Feelings