More like a journal

Happy New Year, my friends! Have been wanting to share some  warm  and fuzzy images for a while, but these times call for more serious topics. However, I think I'll probably bum you out sufficiently throughout the year. And, I'm feeling a tiny bit celebratory about executive actions President Obama has taken , such as permanently designating certain public land as national monuments. Check out "What President Obama's executive actions mean for President Trump" in the Washington Post . So, one day, we brought in some bags of take-out laundry. As I was placing folded t-shirts into a drawer, R onald  called my name as if the building had caught on fire. I ran out into the front room, and there was Fuchu burrowed into the lovely, warm clothes. Please be advised that we gently try to steer him from engaging in such behavior. I n my house, we spend a lot of time deconstructing the actions of dictators like Nicolás Maduro and Raúl Castro, plus other

New York Times Op-Ed -  To stop Trump, Democrats can learn from the Tea Party   A guide for reasoning with Trump supporters. What would change your mind about president Trump?    Call the Whitehouse if you agree:   Robert Reich: 7 Things Obama Should Do Before Trump Walks into the White House @alternet : "Obama could and should take these last stands." For intellectuals:   Trump, fascism, and the construction of "the people": An interview with Judith Butler   The issues:  Mother Jones:  The Rise of Pesticide Giants and Other Food Stories to Watch Next Year  by Tom Philpott.

I first learned about the Freedom Concert concept on the Facebook page of advertising guru Valerie Graves, whose newly published memoir, " Pressure Makes Diamonds " has nearly sold out on Amazon (I ordered my copy from its publisher, Akashic Books).  Ms. Graves, in turn, mentioned that she learned it from another person. A day or two later, Berkeley and formerly Harvard professor as well as political commentator  Robert Reich , who s erved in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and was Secretary of Labor under President Clinton,  blew the idea up on Facebook. Here it is:    The Trump people are upset that the only musicians willing to perform at the Trump inauguration are Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.   Someone just suggested to me a televised "freedom concert" to air at the same time as the inauguration -- with huge celebrities like Beyoncé and Jay Z, Madonna, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, and so on.

Israelis Trying Desperately To Help Syrians Israelis are trying desperately to help Syrians. Many physicians, in particular, are asking to be re-conscripted into the armed forces in order to be able to have access. Even with so many sad and horrible events that have taken place this year, I feel heartened.