I just want all of you here at That’s Another Fine Mess to know that - despite how much realism I am going to push at you in looking at the events we are about to experience - that these words by Senator Cory Booker are the best words I’ve come across to say what I really think we all need to do in these times:
I live in GA so I haven’t heard him speak a lot. Sound bites on TV doesn’t count. In the last few months I have had a chance to listen to him in greater depth, I like the man, he speaks from his heart and he thinks a lot like I do. Cory has an expansive view of the possible, and he wants to more full realize our Constitution. We have some young Democrats with a lot of promise, Cory is one of them. It was a great idea to use his comments Tom, 👍👍🙏
Dear Poet, yes to this quiet beauty, and power. Alice Walker’s correct, that we give up power by thinking we don’t have any. There are so many ways for each of us to discover our very own unique power. Not all of us are Joan of Arc. Nor are we glorious Gloria:-)
But like the women who held bake sales to fund the Civil Rights activists, and whose funding made their efforts possible, we all have a role to play. There are no small jobs, but today it seems that there are a lot of small minds out there.
I was talking to my sister-in-law this evening about poetry, and how much I enjoyed reading it, she was surprised to hear that, I told her that I regularly see poems in posted comments like yours Gloria. Tomorrow when I’m on a computer, not this iPad I’ll cut and paste your poem and send it to her, I’m sure she will enjoy it, she’s a good soul. Thank you for the inspiration Gloria 🙏
Sharing my poem with your sister-in-law, well, that’s a gift I can’t measure. I hope she finds something in it that resonates, something that feels like home or, at least, a little more familiar. Thank you for reminding me why I write and for being that rare, steadfast reader. It’s a small miracle, isn’t it, how words connect us, how they carry our thoughts beyond ourselves? I’m grateful for you, my friend.
With all due respect to Booker, I'm not buying it. Millions sat their asses at home instead of voting. They deserve every bad thing that happens to them. To hell with the White racist cult of Christians who put Trump back in office. I now identify as an agnostic leaning to atheism. And woe on the people who think they'll be able to march and protest all the madness. Trump will have the military round them up. Does anyone really believe the Military will stand up to this tyrant? The fact 74 million Americans would vote for this madman after January 6th is almost too much to bear. It would be like rewarding the terrorists who took down the twin towers. Feel good messages aren't going to cut it. I am tired of people pissing on my leg and saying it's raining. I'm 76 and everything I fought for as a woman has been or is being undone. Reading Democrats being shocked by Trump "He's not following the rules! He's not following the laws!' What the fuck did you think he was going to do.
My father said, "You want to win a war? Then get the meanest SOB out there to lead and hit harder than they do". Democrats forgot this lesson. The kumbaya stuff is going to get us all in camps.
I'm not so sure of that. I understand what your father was talking about. Harris/Walz gave us a campaign of joy and possibility. That so many rejected that is their problem, and now it's ours as well. But Kamala defined what we are aspiring to. Any war that has ever been fought or won has had to connect with spirit. Otherwise, it's all just rape and pillage over and over again.
But she is a woman and this country just can’t fathom a woman in power. Women will be targets for so much. Chump’s disdain for women is in-your-face and as ugly as his hate for any “other.” Sadly, that sentiment is shared by many to claim to love the “weaker sex.” And there is a special place in hell for women who, looking for their own dab of power, prostitute themselves in the most evil way. The Taliban would “reeducate” you in a flash…
I share your frame of mind because Trump and the magas have brought out the subversive girl in me. My words to live by are the late John Lewis's. "Make good trouble." I'm old and healthy and have a plan to make more noise than my knees do when I go into places where humans semi-gather. And I will carry dog treats as I learned to do in one of my careers in case someone sics the hounds on me. I owe it to my grandkids.
I hear you Judith. I don't have grandkids, and I'm glad I don't. Sometimes stupid has to be burnt to the ground. Sending you hugs. And you might carry bear spray along with the treats.
Look, I understand your rage. This is a "Give me Barabas moment." These faux Christians are crucifying the loving message of Jesus once again, as they have so often done in the past. Don't buy it. Throw the money changers, the haters, the bigots, the MAgists out. I don't go to church but I do believe, like my grandmother said, that "one is closer to God in the garden than anyplace else on earth." Our garden is threatened. Plant seeds.
I actually haven't reached the rage level yet. Over centuries religion has done irreparable harm to the world, but if people want to believe in a God and religion, go for it. I don't. My father fought and survived WW2. His generation dropped two atomic bombs to finally end that war. And they were happy they didn't have to do a ground war that would have slaughtered thousands. Plant your seeds, Susan. In the meantime, I'll walk softly and carry a big stick. For the time being, we can walk our own path.
I'm not particularly religious for much the same reasons as you mention. I've taken what are what I see as the good elements of ethical behavior, but the lived behaviors of so many religious folks have given me chills. By choosing Trump, purportedly religious folks have decided to bow down and worship a lying thief. This makes no sense in any ethical or religious teaching I know of. While I know and have known many good and devout religious people who are revolted by Trump and his followers, the glaring hypocrisy of this particular moment has pushed me personally farther away from religion. Planting seeds is an act of faith in the future. Big sticks are still very, very important.
You're a good person, Susan. Not much shocks me at my age, but people I have known for over twenty years who are doctors, nurses and business administrators voted for Trump. They are all White and the biggest Bible thumpers I have ever known. It's God this or Jesus that. They are in church every Sunday and see themselves as the righteous chosen ones. By voting for Trump, they tell me who they are. They remind me of all the pious Germans marched by Eisenhower through the extermination camps.
Exactly, there were plenty of pious Germans who needed deprogramming. Karl Rove courted Christians in 2004 and Rupert had prepped them since Fox came on the air. Deprogramming these marginal humans will take an Ike.
I feel the venom. It overwhelms me. I need the courage to “do the right thing as the walls cave in.” Hope helps, Rita. It’s not enough but it’s a breath I need to take.
I was getting there. Then late last night Trump said he's having Musk and Ramaswamy head a new department overseeing the government. These two morons want to shut down the federal government. Trump is also talking about a committee to remove admirals and generals who don't support him. The bald Gestapo guy coming in said he's taking Hispanic families. All of this is insanity but no one in the GOP is fighting back. Hell, Biden isn't fighting back. All I can do is unsubscribe from everything and try to save my sanity.
My sanity has taken quite a hit. Must keep fighting for my grand girls and all the girls who will be hurt. The thing that is most depressing is the speed with which they will work to dismantle everything. Including a chance of midterms. Chump is the conduit by which competence takes over, albeit evil competence. He will not last except as an Incan emperor (dead but still paraded around.). The cult won’t notice.
It's not a government department, regardless of what they call it. It's a 2-man advisory committee with no power, no budget, and anything they suggest has to be done by congress. So it's not going to be anything. Elon will be bored by June and Wiles will cancel it in July.
There isn't any "fighting back" Biden can do, and I can assure you what he did today was harder than the hardest thing any of us have ever contemplated, let alone done.
A lot of what you say is true Rita, but I’m trying to forge a path that doesn’t take me down to their level, I can go there in my mind easily enough, but until it’s spoken or written it’s just fleeting thoughts, and if you give them enough time they become more and more fleeting. As hard as it is to hang onto, I believe that we will prevail, I hope I get to live to see it, I’m 78. Look at what people just like us have created, this nation with all of its flaws is still the best hope for all mankind, and as it gets refined, it gets better. We have been handed this precious treasure, our democratic republic, we are not about to throw it away. 🙏
No, not so long as one of us is still standing. I would think someone in Texas - where it's harder to be a Good Person, where all the best Good People I have ever known come from - could do this standing on her head and dancing on the ceiling. Buck up! You're risking my high opinion of all those Great Texans.
Kamala lost despite retired Generals and former staff warning America who Trump is. Kamala lost despite the fact Trump is a convicted felon and rapist who threatens violence, lies with each breath and is nuts. People with more resources and visibility banged the drum Trump is a fascist pig who will destroy this country. Didn't matter, Kamala lost. I did everything I could, and she still lost. Between Russian asset Tulsi Gabbard and sex trafficker Matt Gaetz, the country is in for a ride. I am going to prioritize my physical and mental health. And if that lowers your opinion of me so be it.
Thanks, TC. There is a 1960's movie, The Group. Great cast of women about eight female Vassar friends in the 1930's. Candice Bergen was one of the leads. One of the characters, Kay, was very intense and passionate about issues. When WW2 broke out, she became obsessed. She fell out of a high rise window trying to spot aircraft and died. I know when to recalibrate so I can continue the fight and not fall out of a window screaming about Trump.
Thanks for sharing Booker's trenchant and powerful counsel. Amen.
Today, however, I mostly want to say that I hope that a LOT of people who are free subscribers to TAFM will heed your request to cough up a very modest amount to help you keep doing this important work. You and Heather and Hubbell (etc etc etc) are now more important/critical than ever. I think of you all as grains of sand around which the pearls of resistance will form. Thank you for all you all do!
Thank you, Tom, for sharing this buck-up, Buckos, message. We will learn to stand firm together against oppression and regression. Many of us will need to re-learn these skills; we are a soft nation. Pampered and privileged in many ways compared to the rest of the world. Eyes are being opened and gloves will be coming off very soon. Callouses are good for the hands!
Thanks for this. I will watch the video tomorrow. We need leadership like this more than ever. And leaders are only as good as their followers. We all need to reach out and reach up. "And the greatest of these is love." I'm going to immerse myself in non-violent resistance training. That and making art. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. When I said once in a sculpture class, "I tell stories with my hands," my beloved teacher replied, "Write that down!"
Write that down. Reminds me of going to an art class and the teacher said, take off your shoe and draw it. I sat stunned. I had been to many classes, I know how to take notes, pass tests, etc. finally I made the pitiful effort and learned more than I had expected. I think my mind sort of exploded and let in ideas and a few “tricks”
Good words from Cory. Finding like minded people is the start of the rebellion. We're not in this alone. Next steps are the bravery to join together to face the awful thing coming in a few short months.
NBC JUST CALLED CA-27 FOR WHITESIDES!!!
Swing Left West Valley worked their hearts out for him.
I am beyond happy. I am joyous. I am from California and spent the week before the election writing postcards for this understated, competent man.
I watched a video earlier today of his speech. Absolutely uplifting and excellent!
I live in GA so I haven’t heard him speak a lot. Sound bites on TV doesn’t count. In the last few months I have had a chance to listen to him in greater depth, I like the man, he speaks from his heart and he thinks a lot like I do. Cory has an expansive view of the possible, and he wants to more full realize our Constitution. We have some young Democrats with a lot of promise, Cory is one of them. It was a great idea to use his comments Tom, 👍👍🙏
We will not cave. We must go forward. There will be new opportunities. Our goals must remain in our hands. Oh, I wish.
I wrote this for a friend to read at her book club meeting this week with a couple of book recommendations.
_______
Morning After
Outside my window, a cardinal perches
on the bird feeder, oblivious to the headlines
scattered across my kitchen table
like autumn leaves after a storm.
,
Maya Angelou once wrote: "You may not control all the events
that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them."
I think of her words as I stir honey into my tea,
watching the golden swirls dissolve into darkness.
.
The morning light filters through
the gauzy curtains my mother gave me,
and I remember Audre Lorde's wisdom:
"When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard
nor welcomed, but when we are silent we are still afraid.
So it is better to speak."
.
Like counting breaths in meditation,
I enumerate what remains unchanged:
the neighbor's cat still stalks the garden,
children's laughter still rings from the playground,
and as Virginia Woolf noted,
"As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects
to a woman thinking."
.
In my study, where papers cascade
like a waterfall of lost possibilities,
I recall Eleanor Roosevelt's gentle reminder:
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience
in which you really stop to look fear in the face."
.
The afternoon stretches before me
like an empty canvas, waiting to be filled
with small acts of resistance:
a phone call to a friend,
a letter to a representative,
a donation to a cause.
.
Bell hooks whispers from my bookshelf:
"The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is—
it's to imagine what is possible."
So I pick up my pen,
because sometimes hope
is just another word for starting over.
.
Even now, as shadows lengthen
across the hardwood floors,
I remember what Ursula K. Le Guin taught us:
"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable.
So did the divine right of kings."
.
The evening settles around me
like a familiar shawl,
and I think of all the women
who walked this path before,
their footsteps echo in the words
of Alice Walker: "The most common way
people give up their power
is by thinking they don't have any."
.
Tomorrow, I will wake again
to birds at the feeder,
to sunlight on hardwood,
to the endless possibility
of beginning anew.
Thank you,Gloria.This is absolutely beautiful.You have amazing talent…
Thank you. 🙏
Dear Poet, yes to this quiet beauty, and power. Alice Walker’s correct, that we give up power by thinking we don’t have any. There are so many ways for each of us to discover our very own unique power. Not all of us are Joan of Arc. Nor are we glorious Gloria:-)
But like the women who held bake sales to fund the Civil Rights activists, and whose funding made their efforts possible, we all have a role to play. There are no small jobs, but today it seems that there are a lot of small minds out there.
I do believe Joan and I have a bit of zealot insanity in common.
Beautiful. Thank you so very much. You touched my broken heart.
Comforting and cautioning others are things I can do with my words. Both are necessary for both of us.
I was talking to my sister-in-law this evening about poetry, and how much I enjoyed reading it, she was surprised to hear that, I told her that I regularly see poems in posted comments like yours Gloria. Tomorrow when I’m on a computer, not this iPad I’ll cut and paste your poem and send it to her, I’m sure she will enjoy it, she’s a good soul. Thank you for the inspiration Gloria 🙏
Sharing my poem with your sister-in-law, well, that’s a gift I can’t measure. I hope she finds something in it that resonates, something that feels like home or, at least, a little more familiar. Thank you for reminding me why I write and for being that rare, steadfast reader. It’s a small miracle, isn’t it, how words connect us, how they carry our thoughts beyond ourselves? I’m grateful for you, my friend.
Cory, my hero. They don't come better.
With all due respect to Booker, I'm not buying it. Millions sat their asses at home instead of voting. They deserve every bad thing that happens to them. To hell with the White racist cult of Christians who put Trump back in office. I now identify as an agnostic leaning to atheism. And woe on the people who think they'll be able to march and protest all the madness. Trump will have the military round them up. Does anyone really believe the Military will stand up to this tyrant? The fact 74 million Americans would vote for this madman after January 6th is almost too much to bear. It would be like rewarding the terrorists who took down the twin towers. Feel good messages aren't going to cut it. I am tired of people pissing on my leg and saying it's raining. I'm 76 and everything I fought for as a woman has been or is being undone. Reading Democrats being shocked by Trump "He's not following the rules! He's not following the laws!' What the fuck did you think he was going to do.
I took - and take it - as a message to those of us who didn't sit back at home.
My father said, "You want to win a war? Then get the meanest SOB out there to lead and hit harder than they do". Democrats forgot this lesson. The kumbaya stuff is going to get us all in camps.
I'm not so sure of that. I understand what your father was talking about. Harris/Walz gave us a campaign of joy and possibility. That so many rejected that is their problem, and now it's ours as well. But Kamala defined what we are aspiring to. Any war that has ever been fought or won has had to connect with spirit. Otherwise, it's all just rape and pillage over and over again.
But she is a woman and this country just can’t fathom a woman in power. Women will be targets for so much. Chump’s disdain for women is in-your-face and as ugly as his hate for any “other.” Sadly, that sentiment is shared by many to claim to love the “weaker sex.” And there is a special place in hell for women who, looking for their own dab of power, prostitute themselves in the most evil way. The Taliban would “reeducate” you in a flash…
I share your frame of mind because Trump and the magas have brought out the subversive girl in me. My words to live by are the late John Lewis's. "Make good trouble." I'm old and healthy and have a plan to make more noise than my knees do when I go into places where humans semi-gather. And I will carry dog treats as I learned to do in one of my careers in case someone sics the hounds on me. I owe it to my grandkids.
I hear you Judith. I don't have grandkids, and I'm glad I don't. Sometimes stupid has to be burnt to the ground. Sending you hugs. And you might carry bear spray along with the treats.
Oh, I do so like that! Thanks.
Look, I understand your rage. This is a "Give me Barabas moment." These faux Christians are crucifying the loving message of Jesus once again, as they have so often done in the past. Don't buy it. Throw the money changers, the haters, the bigots, the MAgists out. I don't go to church but I do believe, like my grandmother said, that "one is closer to God in the garden than anyplace else on earth." Our garden is threatened. Plant seeds.
I actually haven't reached the rage level yet. Over centuries religion has done irreparable harm to the world, but if people want to believe in a God and religion, go for it. I don't. My father fought and survived WW2. His generation dropped two atomic bombs to finally end that war. And they were happy they didn't have to do a ground war that would have slaughtered thousands. Plant your seeds, Susan. In the meantime, I'll walk softly and carry a big stick. For the time being, we can walk our own path.
I'm not particularly religious for much the same reasons as you mention. I've taken what are what I see as the good elements of ethical behavior, but the lived behaviors of so many religious folks have given me chills. By choosing Trump, purportedly religious folks have decided to bow down and worship a lying thief. This makes no sense in any ethical or religious teaching I know of. While I know and have known many good and devout religious people who are revolted by Trump and his followers, the glaring hypocrisy of this particular moment has pushed me personally farther away from religion. Planting seeds is an act of faith in the future. Big sticks are still very, very important.
You're a good person, Susan. Not much shocks me at my age, but people I have known for over twenty years who are doctors, nurses and business administrators voted for Trump. They are all White and the biggest Bible thumpers I have ever known. It's God this or Jesus that. They are in church every Sunday and see themselves as the righteous chosen ones. By voting for Trump, they tell me who they are. They remind me of all the pious Germans marched by Eisenhower through the extermination camps.
Exactly, there were plenty of pious Germans who needed deprogramming. Karl Rove courted Christians in 2004 and Rupert had prepped them since Fox came on the air. Deprogramming these marginal humans will take an Ike.
My Unitarian church is a haven for sanity. Hard to find in Texas
I feel the venom. It overwhelms me. I need the courage to “do the right thing as the walls cave in.” Hope helps, Rita. It’s not enough but it’s a breath I need to take.
I was getting there. Then late last night Trump said he's having Musk and Ramaswamy head a new department overseeing the government. These two morons want to shut down the federal government. Trump is also talking about a committee to remove admirals and generals who don't support him. The bald Gestapo guy coming in said he's taking Hispanic families. All of this is insanity but no one in the GOP is fighting back. Hell, Biden isn't fighting back. All I can do is unsubscribe from everything and try to save my sanity.
My sanity has taken quite a hit. Must keep fighting for my grand girls and all the girls who will be hurt. The thing that is most depressing is the speed with which they will work to dismantle everything. Including a chance of midterms. Chump is the conduit by which competence takes over, albeit evil competence. He will not last except as an Incan emperor (dead but still paraded around.). The cult won’t notice.
It's not a government department, regardless of what they call it. It's a 2-man advisory committee with no power, no budget, and anything they suggest has to be done by congress. So it's not going to be anything. Elon will be bored by June and Wiles will cancel it in July.
There isn't any "fighting back" Biden can do, and I can assure you what he did today was harder than the hardest thing any of us have ever contemplated, let alone done.
A lot of what you say is true Rita, but I’m trying to forge a path that doesn’t take me down to their level, I can go there in my mind easily enough, but until it’s spoken or written it’s just fleeting thoughts, and if you give them enough time they become more and more fleeting. As hard as it is to hang onto, I believe that we will prevail, I hope I get to live to see it, I’m 78. Look at what people just like us have created, this nation with all of its flaws is still the best hope for all mankind, and as it gets refined, it gets better. We have been handed this precious treasure, our democratic republic, we are not about to throw it away. 🙏
We already have.
No, not so long as one of us is still standing. I would think someone in Texas - where it's harder to be a Good Person, where all the best Good People I have ever known come from - could do this standing on her head and dancing on the ceiling. Buck up! You're risking my high opinion of all those Great Texans.
Kamala lost despite retired Generals and former staff warning America who Trump is. Kamala lost despite the fact Trump is a convicted felon and rapist who threatens violence, lies with each breath and is nuts. People with more resources and visibility banged the drum Trump is a fascist pig who will destroy this country. Didn't matter, Kamala lost. I did everything I could, and she still lost. Between Russian asset Tulsi Gabbard and sex trafficker Matt Gaetz, the country is in for a ride. I am going to prioritize my physical and mental health. And if that lowers your opinion of me so be it.
No no, I meant I wanted to see the strong Texas lady who showed up here last summer to continue on. Folks like you know how to do this.
Thanks, TC. There is a 1960's movie, The Group. Great cast of women about eight female Vassar friends in the 1930's. Candice Bergen was one of the leads. One of the characters, Kay, was very intense and passionate about issues. When WW2 broke out, she became obsessed. She fell out of a high rise window trying to spot aircraft and died. I know when to recalibrate so I can continue the fight and not fall out of a window screaming about Trump.
Thank you for posting this💙
Thanks for putting out Booker's strong and reashuring words. I watched the video earlier and he is spot on.
Booker has expressed exactly what I've been trying to say, far more eloquently than I ever could have. May his words spread far and wide.
Thank you Tom. We needed this.
Thanks for sharing Booker's trenchant and powerful counsel. Amen.
Today, however, I mostly want to say that I hope that a LOT of people who are free subscribers to TAFM will heed your request to cough up a very modest amount to help you keep doing this important work. You and Heather and Hubbell (etc etc etc) are now more important/critical than ever. I think of you all as grains of sand around which the pearls of resistance will form. Thank you for all you all do!
Thank you, Tom, for sharing this buck-up, Buckos, message. We will learn to stand firm together against oppression and regression. Many of us will need to re-learn these skills; we are a soft nation. Pampered and privileged in many ways compared to the rest of the world. Eyes are being opened and gloves will be coming off very soon. Callouses are good for the hands!
Thank You, Tom. I needed this right now. Sharing.
Thanks for this. I will watch the video tomorrow. We need leadership like this more than ever. And leaders are only as good as their followers. We all need to reach out and reach up. "And the greatest of these is love." I'm going to immerse myself in non-violent resistance training. That and making art. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. When I said once in a sculpture class, "I tell stories with my hands," my beloved teacher replied, "Write that down!"
Write that down. Reminds me of going to an art class and the teacher said, take off your shoe and draw it. I sat stunned. I had been to many classes, I know how to take notes, pass tests, etc. finally I made the pitiful effort and learned more than I had expected. I think my mind sort of exploded and let in ideas and a few “tricks”
Good words from Cory. Finding like minded people is the start of the rebellion. We're not in this alone. Next steps are the bravery to join together to face the awful thing coming in a few short months.
Thanks for sharing this.
What's everybody doing just sitting and staring at the screen?
I'M GOING FOR A LONG WALK ALONG THE ARROYO by Jet Propulsion Lab.
Perfect temperature to temper the mind!