Category: Current Events

Cats and cars

I was quickly scanning the news and saw something about cat tariffs. I’m like, come on, this is ridiculous! Enough is enough! Will they stop at nothing?

Then I looked again and saw it was car tariffs. Oh. So different, cats and cars. One is practically a necessity and the other is just transportation.

While I’m not up for political anger today, and believe me, I have plenty, I will share my Amazon boycott is going great. My original goal was to reduce my spending on Amazon by 50 percent, but I might go the distance. I have not purchased a single thing from Amazon this year!

My Prime expires in May, and I’m pretty sure I will cancel it. And Dale is canceling his Washington Post subscription. Not needing you, Jeff, you meddling prick oligarch.

What I’m eating

We had a couple of nice days, and Dale cut up a chicken and smoked it on the grill. It was just gorgeous – I call it mahogany chicken. The first night we had it with roasted potato salad made with fennel and a sour cream/mayonnaise mix. He had me at fennel. Yum.

Then we had the leftover chicken chopped up in a salad with spring greens, red onion, mandarin oranges, spiced walnuts, crumbled gorgonzola cheese and homemade raspberry vinaigrette.

We finished that bad boy up with chicken tacos. As is often the case, we had a lot of filling, so some of that got frozen to be used later in burritos and such.

Oh, and I made one of my faves … Instant Pot bison curry with spinach and coconut milk. I made homemade naan to go with. Two servings went into the freezer.

Actually, we’ve been going through the freezer, which is rewarding in its own way. And our freezer food is most excellent. We’re back to cold and rainy weather, so tonight is soup. We had two individual servings of soup, so Dale’s having the white bean and sausage, and I’m going for the turkey carcass soup I made after Thanksgiving.

I’m making cheddar and red pepper drop biscuits to go with. We like carbs in this house.

What I’m watching

I thought I would miss the shows on Amazon Prime, but I don’t, so I will not have a problem giving them up when my Prime expires. I also decided I watch very little Netflix, so that got axed as well. For subscriptions, I’m down to the Classic Sci Fi Movie Channel and PBS Passport.

What can I say? I love PBS Passport, and I spent some time loading up my list with great shows. I finished The Mountain Detective. Hopefully, new seasons are forthcoming. I think it was the last episode where they showed a view of Alex’s butt as he got in the shower, and if all else fails, that’s worth another look.

For some reason, I really like the French shows. The content is excellent, and the language is soothing. Now I’m watching The Paris Murders featuring Chloe, an “intuitive” profiler who helps solve cases in the Paris homicide division. I like it a lot, and there are bunches of seasons, so that’s good.

A few I added to my list include: Poldark, Howard’s End and Prime Suspect.

What I’m reading    

I finally got The Onyx Storm from the library, and I just couldn’t get into it. I read the first two in the series and enjoyed them very much, but I think they really are targeted to a younger audience. The sex scenes are sort of silly and adolescent, in my humble opinion. Maybe I need to read about old people getting it on.

Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn was a fun read. This is the second in her series about four women who happen to be retired assassins, but alas, they are called back to active duty.

And I’m still on my Irish crime kick. Broken Harbor by Tana French is a crime novel but more psychological than most. It was twisted, I’ll say that.

Just today I finished The Killing of the Tinkers by Ken Bruen. This was the second in his Jack Taylor series. I love these books, but you have to like it dark. He’s an alcoholic ex-policeman who finds trouble and sometimes solves crimes. The author laces the drama with lots of literary and musical references.

Resistance? There’s an app for that

If you’re still on the fence about whether to contact your elected officials about Trump, Musk and other bad actors in Washington, there’s a tool that might make it easier for you. The tool is a free app named 5 Calls.  

I downloaded it a couple of weeks ago and have found it exceptionally helpful. Once you plug in your address, the app identifies your legislators. The home screen lists top issues and provides talking points that articulate the progressive position.

Yes, the app is proudly partisan. And non-profit.

Once you decide what you’re going to say, you click on who you want to call first and the process begins. I arrived for an appointment early last week and thought, oh, I have time to make a few calls. I sat in my car and used the app to contact my legislators about the spending bill.

While I prefer emails, I’ve read calling is more effective. Speaking spontaneously is a challenge, but it got easier when I figured out shorter is better. On my first attempt, I got a voice mail and was cut off after I blathered on too long. Now I just say my name, where I live and then one or two sentences about the issue. I try to remember they’re probably just keeping some sort of log in favor or against, and so that’s really all you have to say.

What I’m eating

Late last year, I made a list of our winter comfort foods, and we’ve been knocking them off one by one. Dale made chile verde last week, and I made flour tortillas to go with. There’s only one more to go – venison meatloaf.

The weather is starting to warm up, although we’re getting another week of cooler temperatures and rain, so there’s still time to finish the job. Tomorrow is the big washout, so I’m thinking venison meatloaf, asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes.

Dale bought some gorgeous artichokes, so I cooked those this morning, and they’re chilling in the fridge. They’re huge, so we’ll just have artichokes for dinner. Occasionally I make aioli but most of the time we just make a dipping sauce from store-bought mayonnaise mixed with some good olive oil.

There’s still coconut cake in the freezer, so, you know, tick tock, tick tock. That might be a tasty breakfast on a cold rainy morning. Oh? Is that tomorrow? What a coincidence.

What I’m watching

My original pledge to reduce spending on Amazon by 50 percent morphed, and it’s pretty close to a complete boycott. I’m no longer watching movies or shows on Amazon. There are plenty of other streaming services to choose from.

We like a bad sci-fi movie on Friday nights with pizza, and we used to order them on Amazon. But I switched to the Classic Sci Fi Movie Channel, and it has been so fun. Attack of the Giant Leeches, Attack of the Crab Monsters, She Demons. Only the finest. Sometimes the sound quality isn’t the best, but we make do.

I’m also burning through season 2 of The Mountain Detective on PBS Passport.  Former policeman Alex Hugo leaves the big city to find peace in the French Alps but ends up confronting violence in paradise. The show is in French with subtitles.

I’ve read it’s filmed on location, and the scenery is breathtaking. Too bad about all that crime!

Alex is Mr. Mountain Man and never leaves home without climbing ropes and all that stuff. When they’re talking about a place they need to go, he might say something like, “that’s a three-day walk.” I sort of love that, and even though I have no interest in climbing, just seeing an older man in good physical condition stomping about the mountains keeps me motivated to do my exercises.

What I’m reading

The library is my friend. My recently completed list includes:

Locked In by Jussi Adler-Olsen. This is the last of the Department Q series featuring Danish detective Carl Mørck. Sometimes finales suck, but this was great, and I absolutely loved the ending.

Pro Bono by Thomas Perry. A young lawyer who specializes in financial crime tries to help a young widow recover money embezzled from her late husband’s accounts. Oh, and the lawyer has a shady past.

The Last Policeman by Ben Winters. Published in 2012, this is the first in a trilogy about a young detective trying to solve crimes even though everyone knows the world will end in six months when an asteroid collides with Earth. It’s not as dark as you would think, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Can’t wait to read the other two.

Guide Me Home by Attica Locke. Another finale to a three-part series featuring Texas Ranger Darren Mathews. I tell myself I don’t want to read about current events in fiction, but it’s actually way better than reading the news. Let’s hear it for the arts!

Darren, who is black, spent most of his career fighting white supremacists and framed a bad guy for murdering a member of the Aryan Brotherhood because he wouldn’t let a black man go to prison for killing him. Now Darren is facing indictment. And plenty of self-loathing. It’s a compelling story.

Put your oxygen mask on first

In the continuing adventures of Comrade Trump Goes to Washington, I find myself angry and depressed. I know what you’re saying … hey, lady, take a number. Still, I continue to ruminate because I am not happy being unhappy.

Today I thought I’d share where I am headed because you can read about Outrage of the Day anywhere, but maybe a nugget or two on how to stay sane might be a good way for me to contribute.

Like many of you, I am healthy and have a good life. I do not take any of it for granted. While I want to do my part to stop this madness, reading about it and thinking about it is probably worse than living it. Yet here we are.

I rejected my first option, which was to drink heavily and stay in bed until it’s over. Instead, I asked myself, is there a way to compartmentalize? To do the right thing but somehow enjoy life?

Here’s where I landed:

  • Turn off the fire hose. I’m all about staying informed, but I don’t need to be convinced. All of it is bad, and some of it is worse than the rest. Immersing myself in news and opinion does not make it better. Seriously, it wrecks me. I can feel it in my body. I can feel it in my brain. I don’t sleep well. So, I’m reading enough to be articulate, enough so I can share my opinion when it has the potential to make a difference.
  • Accept the burden. No one is coming to save us. You can hope the courts will fix it or the Republicans will implode, but in the end, each of us must stand up for Democracy. We can all help in different ways, but we can’t look away and hope for the best. I’ve already said I’m not much of an activist and don’t want to be, but this is reality. Sign on the dotted line.
  • Know your limits. Even the smallest gestures count. I may not be a superstar in this opposition, but I can participate in some way without guilt or shame. I’m donating to organizations fighting it all in court. I’ve been writing and calling my elected officials. I had to let go of all the “why bother” doubt about whether my effort makes an impact. My new mantra is assume it does and then do it again.
  • Enjoy simple pleasures. We might be hanging on by a thread, but I still believe in the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That’s kind of what this whole thing is all about, but it was still a bit of a shock to realize it’s OK to tune out and enjoy yourself.

In other words, put your oxygen mask on first.

Fox guarding the henhouse

I’m depressed about Trump, Musk, Vance, et al. Maybe writing about it helps me some, but I wonder if it just amplifies everything. The movers and shakers will make their mark one way or the other, but I still think the answer is for ordinary citizens to do small things you hope will make a difference and then go on and try to live a happy life no matter what.

Easier said than done, that’s for sure. I told myself, just do one thing today and then think about dinner. There’s usually a Law & Order rerun on Mondays. I hear that music, and I just kind of sigh in relief. Dun-dun.

Outrage of the day is Musk trying to get access to the IRS files. I don’t even know why I bothered to write my elected representatives, because it has probably happened by now, but we can only try. I still can’t get through on the phone, so I’m using the email feature on their websites. This is my message to my Democratic senators. As always, feel free to steal anything that resonates with you.

Please do whatever you can to stop Elon Musk from accessing anything, most recently the IRS and our taxpayer records. This is a gross violation of privacy and very frightening to the average American who pays taxes. Musk is unelected and has no right to anything, let alone our personal data. He does billions of dollars’ worth of business with the government, and he’s allowed to look at the finances? We would not let any other defense contractor in the world do that. All that, and Tesla didn’t pay any federal taxes last year, but he’s snooping around trying to stick it to honest citizens? Please stop him.

The next one went to my Republican congressman. He has a thing on his website about how ridiculous it is to think just because Trump hired Elon Musk as an accountant that it’s a threat to democracy.

I read your words about hiring Elon Musk as an accountant, wondering why some people think this is a threat to democracy. Because it is!  We, the people, did not hire or elect Elon Musk to anything. And now he’s trying to get access to the IRS records. Talk about fox guarding the henhouse.

This is a gross violation of privacy and very frightening to the average American who pays taxes. Musk is unelected and has no right to anything, let alone our personal data. He does billions of dollars’ worth of business with the government, and he’s allowed to look at the finances? We would not let any other defense contractor in the world do that. 

From what I’ve read, you are currently on board with the president and his administration violating the rights of average citizens, but I’m still writing because I hope at some point you will reconsider. Please reflect on your elected position and the oath you swore to defend the constitution. I can only believe you had a calling to serve your country, and I thank you for that. I may not like some of the conservative policies you support, but I respect differences of opinion. You can still make a difference and advance your agenda without burning down the house.

I have not spent any money on Amazon since I made a pledge to reduce my spending there by 50 percent. Thanks to your comments, I canceled my Amazon subscription to PBS Masterpiece and made a donation to PBS. Now I have PBS Passport, and you were right. Everything I could ever want is there.

What I’m eating

I’m still quite smitten with my sort of sweet but savory oatmeal. My favorite so far starts with one serving of regular rolled oats. When it comes out of the microwave, I pour it in a bowl and top it with about one tablespoon each of unsweetened coconut, currants and walnuts. Then I drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Oh, and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Tonight Dale’s making grilled Gochujang Burgers with Spicy Slaw from the NY Times. This will be our third time around. Because. It. Is. Delicious. If you can’t get through the firewall, the same recipe is here.

You start with a concoction of gochujang, garlic, rice vinegar, sugar, olive oil and sesame oil. Half of it gets mixed in with ground pork for the burgers and the other half is used for a tangy slaw made with carrots, bean sprouts, cucumbers and scallions. Put that on a toasted buttered bun with maybe a schmear of mayo, and it is heaven.

What I’m watching

Now that I’m on PBS Passport, I’m continuing to watch All Creatures Great and Small. It’s not my normal crime genre, but I just like that show. Another one I’ve started that isn’t on the crime spectrum is Seaside Hotel. It’s in Danish with subtitles and  follows the lives of guests and employees at a North Sea hotel prior to World War II. I haven’t gotten very far, but I like it.

On the crime front, also on PBS Passport, I’m enjoying The Mountain Detective. It’s about a former policeman who leaves the city for the mountains and discovers, guess what? Violence and crime. It’s in French with subtitles.

What I’m reading

I’m not reading much of anything. I think I’m too agitated. Two of my books on hold at the library came in, but it turns out the library is closed for repairs to the HVAC system. Talk about annoyed. I was able to get through to a librarian, who is going to have the books transferred to a nearby library, but that will be Wednesday at the earliest.

There are plenty of books in the house I could read, but I’m just not into them right now. I did finish kind of a fun read called Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. Four women retired from their jobs as professional assassins and discover someone is trying to kill them. The sequel, Kills Well with Others, is out next month.

A few words about hope

There’s a lot of grim news out there, and to be honest, I’ve had a difficult time finding hope. Ah, but then I remembered hope is always late for the party, showing up shiny and clean after all the hard work has been done.

Me and hope go way back, so I know you can’t achieve anything worthwhile by getting lost in outcomes. One lesson I’ve learned from just about every bad thing I’ve had to crawl my way out of is the power of a simple work ethic.

Keep your head down. Do what you think needs to be done, and hope will show up eventually. Late as usual.

My personal FU Amazon Challenge is going great, in that I have not purchased anything from them since I made the pledge to reduce my spending there by at least 50 percent. I’ve been looking at alternatives, and I don’t foresee any problems getting what I need.  

My digital expenses paled in comparison to regular purchases, but I acknowledge it’s probably my weak link. For example, I subscribe to PBS Masterpiece through Amazon. I tried to see if I could disentangle myself from Amazon and go directly to PBS.

The answer is not exactly. To the best of my knowledge, the PBS Masterpiece channel on Amazon is customized and includes lots of shows that aren’t available on PBS Passport, which would be my other option. Specifically, I don’t think PBS Passport has the same selection of international crime shows – my weakness. It’s $5.99 a month, so I’m not going to worry about it.

I had to remind myself this is about Jeff Bezos and not a boycott of all offensive retailers … because there is no shortage. Few will pass the purity test, so I’m just focusing on alternatives to Amazon. First thing’s first.

I did make an exception for one online source of vitamins and supplements that overplayed its homey roots.

“Here at Swanson Health Products, we’re not too big on talkin’ about ourselves. But if ya would like to get to know us better, this’ll be the place. We come from humble, Midwestern roots but when it comes to wellness, we sure know a thing or two. In fact, we’ve been at this whole healthier livin’ thing for over 50 years.”

I’m sure they are lovely people, and their prices and selections are great, but I draw the line at excessive g-dropping. Ya’ll are goin’ to have to talk like educated folks before I go a givin’ you my money.  

Robert Reich on Substack listed seven nonprofits that are litigating against Trump. I checked all the charity watchdog sites – Guidestar, CharityWatch and Charity Navigator – which are slightly different but all focused on giving donors visibility into how efficiently a charity will use your dollars.

I won’t bother with details on how they calculate ratings, but I think you can tell these are top-tier organizations. With Charity Navigator, the 4-star rating starts at 90 percent, so that should give you some perspective. Also, I personally believe Common Cause is probably excellent, but no one has rated them yet. Full disclosure – I gave ACLU $100.

NonprofitGuideStarCharityWatchCharity Navigator
American Civil Liberties UnionPlatinumA4-Star 98%
Citizens for Responsibility and EthicsBronzeNA4-Star 100%
Public CitizenGoldNA4-Star 99%
Center for Biological DiversityPlatinumA4-Star 99%
Environmental Defense FundPlatinumB+4-Star 91%
Southern Poverty Law CenterGoldNA4-Star 99%
Common CauseNANANA

Channeling fury

The Republicans sure are flooding the zone with horrifying bullshit, but I believe the greatest threat so far is Elon Musk’s illegal takeover of the federal treasury. This goes beyond outrage of the day. This is a coup.

Although I tried to call my U.S. Senators and Representative, I couldn’t get through, so I sent emails. I’m still trying to call, but I get a busy signal or “this mailbox is full.” When I finally do connect, I will focus on one issue per message.

Here’s what I wrote:

I am a defense industry retiree and U.S. Army veteran. I am terrified by the Trump administration’s attack on democracy and am eager to see my elected officials fight back. The attack is so broad in scope, it’s overwhelming to regular Americans. I can imagine it is for you, too. But now is the time to rise up and do the job you were elected to do.

Social justice is important, and we can never lose sight of that, but I believe Trump is using those issues to distract us. I’m asking you to follow the money. I’m no expert, but I see three immediate priorities: reverse these ill-conceived tariffs; get Elon Musk out of our government and strip him of access to the treasury; and oppose all efforts to reduce taxes for corporations and billionaires. 

Thank you.

Please contact your elected representatives. Feel free to use anything I’ve written that resonates with you. Oh, and I checked the box that said I wanted a reply. Jeez, this thing with Elon is affecting my sleep.

Last night I enjoyed a cannabis sleep gummy, and it really did help. I take it at least an hour before I actually want to go to sleep – they take some time to get through your system. If you can get it, I like Kanha Cannabis Infused Tranquility Gummies. Each gummy has 5 mg of THC. That’s a little much for me, so I cut them in half.

The FU Amazon Challenge

On the subject of billionaires behaving badly, I always knew Amazon had a dark side, but I chose to look the other way and admired Jeff Bezos for coming up with such a great idea. That time is gone.

I calculated how much I spent on Amazon last year. It was more than I’m prepared to admit. But then I treat Amazon like the corner store. Need dental floss? Push a button and boom. Need a new coffee pot? Push a button and boom. Need a rug? A Vitamix? Cat food? Coconut milk? Push a button and boom.

My spending on digital purchases wasn’t as jaw-dropping. I use the library a lot, but still, I spent a fair chunk of change on books, movies, music and TV shows.

After reviewing my purchases, I only found a few things that would be difficult to find elsewhere. While this is not a complete FU, I’m making a pledge to reduce my total Amazon spending by 50 percent in 2025. I am confident I can do way better than that, but I thought it would be good to under promise and overdeliver.

Will you join me?

To help with the transition, I’m checking out other online sources that aren’t owned by douchebags. I also downloaded the Target app, since I will be buying a lot more things in person. I hate the idea of wandering through the aisles not knowing where anything is, but the app includes aisle numbers, so I can make a shopping plan and include that on my list. I’m told there’s a mapping feature, too, but I haven’t explored that yet.

Dale is doing his part to feed and sustain the reluctant activist (and channeling his fury) by making chili and playing The Byrds.

All things in moderation

Try as I might, I don’t believe I’m going to complete my reference for resisting the threat against democracy. The blitz is so large in scope, it’s almost impossible to prioritize the issues or resources that will help us confront this monstrosity. My attempts so far seem a bit like pissing in the wind, although I have never actually pissed in the wind. I’m pretty sure Dale has, though.

How many kinds of crazy can you handle at once?

I’ve been reading great opinion pieces on independent media that mostly amount to “outrage of the day.” Not a lot of advice at this point, but I have come to the conclusion social and cultural issues are smoke and mirrors designed to fire us up and keep us divided.

The good guys will be marching in the streets for basic human rights, while the bad guys cloak themselves in righteousness and grab all the money and power. One ring to rule them all.

I honestly don’t know what to do, but my best idea at this point is to follow the money. I’ve never actually called my senators, but tomorrow I’m going to try it and see what happens. I’ll focus on ill-conceived tariffs and Elon Musk gaining access to the treasury system. My message is we elected you to represent us, and this is an attack on Americans. Get your head out of your ass and do something!

I’ll probably say it nicer than that. Maybe it depends on who answers the phone? If anyone even answers. As they used to say in the South when I lived there, I have no earthly idea!

As for outrage of the day, I realized I was also following that path here and at home. I told Dale I’ll stop reading the shitshow news to him, and I’m not going to go on and on about it here, either. I will continue to share what I think is important, but I’m not wired for daily outrage. All things in moderation.

What I’m Eating

Last night was Transylvanian Layered Cabbage, which I described in an earlier post. Sauerkraut, pork, smoked sausage, rice and sour cream. As an accompaniment, I made a no-knead rye bread that was my best ever. There’s a lot of casserole left over, so we’ll skip a day and have another go at it.

Probably one serving will go into our garage chest freezer, which we are defrosting today! It’s not that hard, but Dale and I approach things differently (to say the least). I bundle similar items into giant Ziplocs so you can find them again, but Dale likes to toss things in like logs on a fire.

Arguments will be had.

For breakfast, Dale made scrambled eggs with homemade Mexican-style chorizo and his excellent salsa verde. He eats his eggs on a tortilla like a taco, but I prefer them without. Either way, delicious!

I’ve got some lobster stock thawing out for miso seafood chowder, but that will be mid-week. If we skip a day on the casserole, that means tonight’s dinner is unknown at this time. Maybe we’ll be inspired by something in the freezer. I know there’s some tuna casserole in there. It always sounds yucky, but I make it all from scratch with mushrooms and a bechamel sauce topped with cheddar, and it’s great.

What I’m Watching

I finished season 4 of Astrid. I highly recommend that show on PBS Masterpiece. I started watching season 5 of All Creatures Great and Small, which is a nice respite from all the gruesomeness of life and fiction. Was I hallucinating or did I see there will be a new Lincoln Lawyer season on Netflix?

What I’m Reading

Not for the feint of heart, but I read Resisting the Right by Robert Edwards. He’s an excellent writer to begin with, and the material is meticulously researched. Published before Trump was elected, it’s still quite grim, but it should be a fixture on everyone’s resistance bookshelf. Mr. Edwards also has an enlightening blog, The King’s Necktie.

I’m rather proud of my holds list (and position!) at the library:

  • Locked In by Jussi Adler-Olsen (1)
  • Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (4)
  • Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten (7)
  • Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (13)

Attention must be paid

Well, now. I said I would pay more attention to what is happening in America because attention must be paid, but this is a bit much. I am, after all, retired and a woman of leisure, but every day the shitshow gets worse, and I can’t in good conscience look away. Somehow, we’ve got to unravel the truth.

What I’ve learned this week is the truth hides in plain sight. I believe it was David in the comments section of my last post who said, “Pay attention to your news source.”  

Case in point. I’ve been reading independent news reports that say on Jan. 28 the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email to nearly all full-time federal employees offering them an alleged eight month’s severance package to resign by Feb. 6. That’s about 2 million people.

I went into panic mode, wondering how I’m going to get my Social Security if everyone is gone, and my husband said he read about the email, but the buyout was for people who are working from home and refuse to go back to the office.

Oh, only that, well, it’s about time.

Dale’s information source was a Bloomberg article with the headline, “Trump Offers Buyouts to Federal Employees Resisting In-Person Work.”

Kinda sorta. While the email includes a return-to-office requirement, the “deferred resignation” offer is much broader in scope. Some say it’s a simple workforce reduction strategy, and others say the goal is to rid ourselves of a nonpartisan civil service and replace it with party loyalists. The Trump administration seems to have rigged up some sort of con to address pesky legal concerns, but thankfully, there is truth and resistance from all corners.

I had to re-check all my sources to prove to Dale I wasn’t making this up. Even the OPM confirmed the email wasn’t only for those who don’t show up at the office.

Deferred resignation is available to all full-time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and those in other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency.

Everyone chooses how they tell a story, me included. No matter who you hear it from, attention must be paid. Sometimes you have to pull back the curtain to figure out what’s really happening. Whether intentional or not, trusted news sources aren’t always trustworthy.

Interestingly, the email’s subject line featured the same wording Elon Musk used when he took over Twitter and tried to fire just about everybody. A Fork in the Road.

Or as I like to call it, A Fork in the Throat.

I’m reading lots of intelligent commentary on America’s turn to the right but still not seeing any clear direction on what average citizens can do to stop it. I’m working on my little handout that might direct people to topic-specific independent news sources and non-profit organizations, so at least we can read about it and maybe give some money to others who are working hard to save our country.

Dinner

And at last we turn to talk of dinner! We’re headed for a cold and rainy spell, so Dale and I are prioritizing the list of delicious “winter” meals to ease our suffering. I’ve been getting my sourdough starter ready so I can bake a boule this weekend. Probably miso seafood chowder to go with.

Dale plans to make a batch of chili. His recipe uses pork and beef but no beans and is from a handout we got at a liquor store 40 years ago – a promotional piece by Marlboro!

Also on the docket is a dish we make called Transylvanian Layered Cabbage. It’s a casserole with layers of sauerkraut, rice, sour cream, ground pork, smoked sausage and bacon. It sounds weird, but it’s oddly fabulous. One of us will make rye bread to go with that.

Slather some butter on that bread and fill up a tankard of beer, and you remember that in spite of it all, life is good!

Denial is not an option

As expected, all things Trump put me in a foul mood. It would be easy to stick my head in the sand and go about my happy life. That’s what one of my golf buddies said – this stuff largely didn’t affect him, so he was tuning out.

I said, yeah, I get that, but I keep thinking about the poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller.

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

Citizen Donna came to the rescue and helped me realize denial is not an option. I know it’s different for everyone, but I’ll share my thoughts in case there’s a nugget or two.

For starters, I’m not much of an activist and don’t want to be. But reading the news and getting jolted every day with the lunacy of it all was making me feel angry and powerless. What to do?

It might sound counterintuitive, but I started actually paying more attention to the news – not just titillating headlines, but in-depth information on equal rights, fair taxation, immigration, abortion medication, Supreme Court ethics … and the beat goes on.

I quickly realized there’s a lot I don’t know about pretty much everything. I saw birthright citizenship was buzzing around in the headlines, but I didn’t realize the potential impact of Trump’s executive action until I read up on the 14th Amendment. I thought I was all cool with transgender issues until I went to a resource for transgender allies and learned I’m actually quite clueless.

Switching from the victim mode to the learning mode has made a huge difference in my mental state. It’s not just read it and weep anymore. As I become more educated on these issues, I’ll be better prepared to discuss them, and that already makes me a better citizen than I was before I came out of my funk. Is that an approach that will work for you as well?

The next step is harder, and that’s action. I’m not likely to go door-to-door or join a march, but I have skills that can help other people make sense of it all. For some clarity, I started working on a master document that succinctly describes the top issues, nonprofit organizations focused on those issues and independent media sources that provide facts and perspective. For the nonprofits, I will also include a rating from one of the charity watchdog organizations.

I’m hoping this whole exercise will help us see which issues trigger a reaction so we can decide where to focus our time and energy. I’ll be sure to post it when I’m finished. You know, I never did find a volunteer opportunity that suited me, but maybe the best way for me to give back is to share my pro-Democracy content and donate money to causes I care about.

That doesn’t mean all my other stuff is going away. I’ll still write about books, movies, food and all the other simple pleasures that add up to a great retirement.

Less news, more color

A long time ago on a planet far, far away, I used to read a daily newspaper and then, you know, go off to live life. Isn’t that quaint? Then CNN came along – because the first one’s free, and I gradually became an instant news junkie.

Whenever I could get near a computer or phone, there I was checking the headlines, getting a fix from the church of what’s happening now. I considered myself a high-functioning addict and didn’t want to change a thing until the political stuff started messing with my head.

I wanted moderation not abstinence, so I fashioned myself a little rehab. In the morning, I read the local newspaper. It’s OK, but even sports scores aren’t current, so I allow myself to check a major news source once or twice a day just to see if anything big happened or, um, well, if someone in the limelight may have succumbed to an untimely passing.

While I never thought my attention span was compromised, I got used to the quick jolts, which really are just a distraction, and now I seem to be getting better at focusing on the moment. In some ways, it’s like switching from black and white to color.

For example, I’m paying more attention to simple sightings, like the color of the trees when I walk. The birds. The dogs and those who walk them. I procrastinate less when there are chores on the docket, because I refuse to sit around reading that stuff like I used to.

Not that I don’t dabble. I started to create a category for Krazy Kabinet Pick of the Week, but there were too many to choose from. We’ve talked about the stages of grief, and I think we forgot the one where you just laugh. Because, seriously, I choose not to be angry all the time, and I’m out of other options.

What I’m eating

Our Thanksgiving feast was fab. The pumpkin cheesecake was pointing a gun to my head, so he’s in the freezer, experiencing the joys of timeout. In terms of leftovers, so far we’ve had cold turkey sandwiches, then a break for Dale’s homemade pizza with mushrooms, hot Italian sausage, fresh jalapeños and green olives.

Tonight is hot turkey sandwiches on toasted sourdough bread. The gravy was particularly good this year, so that should be delicious. I’m actually a gravy convert. My mother was not a good cook, so everything came out of a package. I didn’t taste the real thing until I met Dale, and I would say it was all over, but he already had me at roast duckling  à l’orange.

Today is when he breaks down the turkey. One whole breast will go in the freezer. He saves the carcass for stock, which I’m going to make in the slow cooker this year. But just the stock … I’ll make the soup itself on the cooktop. We have been enjoying Jane Brody’s turkey carcass soup recipe for many years.

I pulled out Jane’s 1985 cookbook yesterday and noticed it is subtitled, “Living the High-Carbohydrate Way.” Of course, we’re still into carbs at our house, but my, how times have changed.

What I’m watching

As it happens, only the first episode of Van der Valk was super-gruesome. I’m on season 2, and it’s getting better all the time. I’m sort of loving these international crime dramas and now, thanks to your most excellent suggestions, I have a bunch more in my queue.

Mid-December also brings new episodes of All Creatures Great and Small. One of my golf buddies suggested this show, and I thought, oh, so not me. And it isn’t … but I love it nonetheless.

Dale recorded the Ken Burns documentary on Leonardo da Vinci. This is another one that would not normally be my thing, but you can’t go wrong with Ken Burns. Plus, Dale has a low tolerance for TV, so at least it’s something we might both enjoy.

What I’m Reading

You know I love my crime fiction, but with this refreshed brain of mine, I thought it might be good to explore nonfiction. I went to the library and right there in the newly arrived section discovered Find More Birds by Heather Wolf. I was already noticing more birds, so it seemed like divine intervention.

What a great little book, which includes gorgeous photographs taken by the author. She offers 111 tips for spotting birds wherever you are and without necessarily becoming a serious birdwatcher.

Not that I might not go that route, but the book inspired me to take baby steps. Of course, I wait until December, when most of the birds that pass through our backyard have already moved on, but I’m not a quitter.