December 1, 2023 - by Heather Cox Richardson

In the Washington Post yesterday, neoconservative scholar Robert Kagan warned that “a Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable,” and today in The Bulwark, Jonathan V. Last agreed.

Finished reading _The Greatest Invention _ by Silvia Ferrara.

So, I managed tod to get through 3 Thanksgiving feasts in 4 days without gaining a pound! And, I don’t feel deprived!

From this morning’s walk…

Selfie headshot in warm retro black and white.

Entryway to apartment building with mail and packages strewn on the floor and stairs to upper floors in background.

Christmas tree lit up in a restaurant.

Interesting pendant light fixture with circular glass shade/diffuser.

Christmas ornament floating in blackness.

Streetscape with parking area, pricing sign, corner of convenience store building, and gas pump.

Planter with American flag sticking up, Spirit cigarette package lying on pavement in front of planter.

Large tall planter on a patio with manicured shrubs behind it.

Wide angle shot up towards the sky of front entrance of building under construction.

True or false? What do you think?

Without novelty, without the hunt for the new, we wouldn’t be human beings.

–Silvia Ferrara, The Greatest Invention

Frittatas are a great way to use up vegetables. In this case some aging green peppers and cherry tomatoes. Topped with cheddar cheese. Quick and easy to make.

From a couple of days ago…

Large heart shaped leaf in a shop window, chairs, out of focus, in the background.

Old fashioned frilly edged lamp shade with old fashioned filament light bulb in a shop window, background is very dark shadow.

Silhouetted flag pole with American flag mounted on a building also in silhouette and silhouetted mountains in the distance. Dawn sky.

Closeup of edge of circular table made of resin and stone chips.

Oreo bag lying on stone wall cap.

European chocolate cookies tin featured in shop window display.

Tree branch reflections overlaid on a light fixture with purple bulb in a shop window.

From this morning’s walk…

The word Booze inside a directional arrow chalked onto asphalt paving, pointing to the words moonshine, bourbon, whiskey and vodka, also chalked onto the pavement.

End of a picnic table with broken seat.

Christmas snowflake decoration lights attached to utility pole,

Purple shaggy faux sweater with colorful scarf on a bust mannequin in a shop window.

Closeup of succulent plant in a shop window.

Yellow caution tape tangled in leafless vines on a fence.

Wind formed pile of leaves on asphalt pavement.

From a few days ago…

Early morning landscape/streetscape with mountains in the distance, utility poles and streetlights receding into the distance and houses in silhouette to the right.

Crumpled brown paper bag on asphalt pavement illuminated by streetlights.

Low rise residential buildings silhouetted against the sky, Venus hovering above the buildings.

Utility poles and wires against a dawn sky.

Light through a gap between a building corner and a shrub.

Streetscape reflected in a window with a lighted sign with two keys and the words “Key Me” hovering above the buildings of the streetscape. The sign is shining through from behind the window reflecting the streetscape.

Utility pole with wires running from bottom to top of frame and silhouetted against the early morning sky.

Lawn waste bag ripped open and contents exposed lying on the ground, patches of paved surface similar in shape to lawn waste bag looking like stepping stones out from the bag.

Colorful leaves on the ground.

November 20, 2023 - by Heather Cox Richardson

There is one issue on the ballot in 2024, whether the Democratic Republic, imperfect as it may be, survives… it is way better than the alternative…

MIke Davis, one of the men under consideration for attorney general, told a podcast host in September that… “We’re gonna deport a lot of people, 10 million people and growing–anchor babies, their parents, their grandparents,” Davis said. “We’re gonna put kids in cages. It’s gonna be glorious. We’re gonna detain a lot of people in the D.C. gulag and Gitmo.”

November 20, 2023 - by Heather Cox Richardson

That I have to consider this a real possibility brings me to tears…

MIke Davis, one of the men under consideration for attorney general, told a podcast host in September that he would “unleash hell on Washington, D.C.,” getting rid of career politicians, indicting President Joe Biden “and every other scumball, sleazeball Biden,” and helping pardon those found guilty of crimes associated with the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

November 20, 2023 - by Heather Cox Richardson

Even the more liberal news outlets are making the mistake of giving oxygen to the fascist fire…

Roberts points out that “both sides” are not extremists, but many Americans have no idea that the Democrats are actually trying to govern, including by reaching across the aisle. Roberts notes that the media focus on the right wing enables the right wing to define our politics. That, in turn, serves the radical right by destroying Americans' faith in our democratic government.

Made roasted squash soup last night… this color study appeared along the way…

November 14, 2023 - by Heather Cox Richardson

Republican shark tank…

Burchett was talking to NPR reporter Claudia Grisales. Clearly taken aback, Grisales tweeted: “Have NEVER seen this on Capitol Hill: While talking to [Burchett] after the GOP conference meeting, former [Speaker McCarthy] walked by with his detail and McCarthy shoved Burchett. Burchett lunged towards me. I thought it was a joke, it was not. And a chase ensued….” Burchett was one of the eight Republican representatives who voted to oust McCarthy from the speakership.

From this morning’s walk…

Circular white table top appearing to hover above a section of brick paving near a strip of concrete pavement.

Circular clump of plant stalks trimmed to one foot height in a grass field.

Strip of plastic sheeting running from top to bottom of frame, lying on asphalt road surface.

Corner of parking area framed by yellow painted curb, wall of building on right, two evergreen shrubs in middle, with signage on a post providing information about the parking spaces.

Closeup of pile of ginkgo tree leaves lying on the ground.

Clear plastic sheeting with wrinkles reflecting light and strip of red painted wood running across the bottom.

Palate of delivery boxes wrapped in plastic outside a store.

Metal stitching plate connecting two sheets of plywood together.

From yesterday…

Mobil gas station illuminated gas price sign shot from underneath looking up.

Liquor bottles in a bar window illuminated from below.

Rapids of a local creek running from top to bottom of a vertical frame.

Rapids of a local stream running fro top to bottom of a horizontal frame.

Rapids of a local stream running from right to left in the upper half of a vertical frame.

Turning from Peril to Possibility: Ecological Superhero Christiana Figueres on the Spirituality of Regeneration – The Marginalian

Our mindset… predetermines what our actions are going to be or what they’re not going to be… Whatever we think and say becomes the reality that we create out there. And how wonderful. How wonderful that we can understand that those two are actually in constant interaction with each other. What we think, what we feel, what we say, is in constant interaction with what we are co-creating out there.

–Christina Figueres

Turning from Peril to Possibility: Ecological Superhero Christiana Figueres on the Spirituality of Regeneration – The Marginalian

Once we get to the point where we really understand that it’s not like we are extracting from nature, which is what we used to do, or even living with nature, which is what most of us are trying to do now… we get to the point where we are living as nature… which we always were.

–Christina Figueres

November 13, 2023 - by Heather Cox Richardson

Finally, it seems, Trump’s explicit use of Nazi language, especially when coupled with his threats to establish camps, has woken up at least some headline writers. Forbes accurately headlined yesterday’s story: “Trump Compares Political Foes to ‘Vermin’ On Veterans Day–Echoing Nazi Propaganda.”

November 13, 2023 - by Heather Cox Richardson

Today’s HCR is an important read…

When Ellis lamented that their election challenges had lost, Scavino allegedly answered: “‘Well, we don’t care, and we’re not going to leave.” Ellis replied: “‘What do you mean?” Scavino answered: “The boss is not going to leave under any circumstances. We are just going to stay in power.” When Ellis responded “Well, it doesn’t quite work that way, you realize?” he allegedly answered: “We don’t care.”

From this morning’s walk…

Wide angle view of old pickup truck with frost on hood and windshield and dawn sky in distance.

Colorful shopping bag with vegetables and leaves print and city skyline print on frost covered grass.

Wide angle shot looking up the arched recess of a historic stone building.

Closeup of pumpkin decoration sitting on straw with the bottoms of cornstalks behind it.

Brown wax paper folded in an interesting way on concrete sidewalk.

Cheetos Puffs bag lying on concrete sidewalk.

Three bricks stacked against a brick wall with two repaired cracks extending out at 45 degree angles from the bricks as if to mark the place the bricks should be.

Discovering Bonnie Tyler’s Faster Than The Speed of Night Album. Man did she channel a lot of the vibes of her time! Good stuff!

From this morning’s walk…

Streetlight in parking lot with silhouetted buildings in background and street lights illuminating ground floor of buildings and street, in background.

Large outdoor light fixture in shape of modern lamp and glowing in early morning.

Corner of convenience store building visible beyond evergreen shrub.

Key Food Marketplace sign hanging from utility pole with tree branches in background.

Laundry and dry cleaners storefront with security gate screen lowered and neon signage visible thorough the screen and single street tree in front.

Closeup of security fence rail and fence wire with out of focus landscape in background.

Stuffed antelope animal in shop window.

From yesterday…

Utility pole in shape of cross with streetlight and wires, sliver moon visible between wires, mountain silhouettes in background at bottom of frame.

Closeup of white zip tie on metal utility pole.

Vintage Marilyn movie poster in shop window, reflection of movie theater across the street overlaid.

Concrete floor with coiled power cord.

From last week…

Early morning streetlight with red car parked underneath it and house in background.

Tropical house plants in window of shop, shadows of leaves cast onto the wall to the right edge of the frame.

Empty chinese condiment package on concrete pavement.

Halal Kabab poster in restaurant window showing 5 kababs and price of $2.99 each.

Closeup of succulent plant in shop window.

Scarlett O’Hara poster in shop window.