Fox News Hosts Lie Without Shame

“Fox News holds its viewers in contempt because it refuses to tell the truth.” —Robert Hubbell, US political analyst. Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingram and Sean Hannity A 1.6 billion dollar defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News for lying about the 2020 Presidential election is turning into a firehose of damaging information … Continue reading Fox News Hosts Lie Without Shame →

Alien Nation

I used to love my country. I was proud of it. No more. Constant gun violence and Nothing done about it. Shootings in schools, movie theaters, shopping malls, synagogues and churches, to name a few places struck by senseless violence. So many broken lives. Twenty children slaughtered by a young man with an AR-15 and … Continue reading Alien Nation →

What’s That Book? Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Welcome to What’s That Book, sharing book recommendations from readers and bloggers. Today’s guest reviewer is Nancy Blodgett Klein Title: Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents, published in August 2020 Author: Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration Genre: Non-Fiction ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. … Continue reading What’s That Book? Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson →

My Broken, Divided Country

This Trump flag, carried into the US Capitol by protestors, says "Law and Order" on it. How does trespassing on government property align with "Law and Order?" Listening to arguments for and against the second impeachment of Donald Trump in the US House of Representatives the other night, I was struck by how much anger … Continue reading My Broken, Divided Country →

Book Review of Bloodlands

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." --Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher and statesman Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy SnyderMy rating: 4 of 5 starsBetween 1933 and 1945, 14 million people were killed by the Soviet and Nazi regimes. Most of these people were … Continue reading Book Review of Bloodlands →

Reading My Way Through the Pandemic

The one good thing about the pandemic is it has given me much time to read books. No more excuses as I have all the time in the world right now! This year I have read 39 books so far and plan to make it to an even 40 if I can get myself through … Continue reading Reading My Way Through the Pandemic →

The Importance of Truth

Since graduating from college with a degree in philosophy, I have considered myself to be a Unitarian-Universalist. This is a faith bound by seven principles, not by religious beliefs. The first principle is that every person has worth and dignity. Imagine if all people held this view. That certainly could reduce the amount of conflict … Continue reading The Importance of Truth →

The End of America’s Democracy?

Here is a quote from Michael Cohen's new book, Disloyal, that really concerns me. Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney wrote: "There is a serious danger that Donald Trump will not leave office easily, and there is a real chance of not having a peaceful transition. When he jokes about running again in 2024 and gets … Continue reading The End of America’s Democracy? →

Is my cousin a sucker and a loser?

My cousin, Donald Edward Van der Schans, enlisted in the Navy as a medic during the Vietnam War. He could have remained stateside as a medic (corpsman in Navy terminology) but he chose to go to Vietnam, to serve his country. He was shipped over there in 1968, where the war was in full swing … Continue reading Is my cousin a sucker and a loser? →

Missing Family, Missing Hope

"I left my heart in San Francisco. High on a hill, it calls to me. To be where little cable cars climb half way to the stars, the morning fog may chill the air. I don't care. My love waits there..."--Tony Bennett The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco I am so desperate to see … Continue reading Missing Family, Missing Hope →