New View Askew

  Shortly after the election my son told me all of this was going to happen, especially the new assault on the civil service (he works for the VA) but I more or less pooh poohed him; I thought that he was just being an alarmist or paranoid. Sadly, it is now obvious that I was wrong and he was right. Hopefully you have been paying attention to the news about the recent changes being implemented – or attempts at implementation – by the Trump administration. If not, don’t be intimidated by the flood of orders coming out of the White house, their intent is to overwhelm us, but check out what they are attempting to do for yourself. This may just sound like run of the mill politics but it is not and we must not normalize it.  Of course many (most?) of us will not be directly harmed by most of these things but that is exactly what thugs and dictators do – attack those with the weakest voice first. Whatever you may think about the desirability or efficacy of these proposed “improvem...

  AI Free January 2025 “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” John Steinbeck Cold enough for you, John? Ah, the nadir in our winter  of  discontent and Dear Leader is . . . bored. Make that cold and bored. We were supposed to be back in FL now but thanks to Hurricane Helene we are receiving winter's gift of sweetness. That said, I apologize in advance for dragging you into my ennui but I will do my best to give you some reason to keep reading (but no guarantees.)  So how are you doing with your resolutions - assuming you were foolish enough to make them.  Perhaps I can offer something that you can stick with, at least for a while, and hopefully you might even find it interesting if not entertaining. (And also helpful for the next four years.)  I mean, how often do you get to read about Greek philosophy, Ceasars, golf and self- improvement in a single short post?  Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Ceasar and by ...

  . . . One Last Time Dateline. Saturday, Dec. 21st, 3:19AM:   The Most Wonderful Day of the Year! 20 th Annual Winter Solstice Story For 19 years I have fought back against this long night with stories and strategies of hope - but I recently vowed that I wasn’t going to do this anymore. That I just didn’t have it in me; that I wouldn’t rip my guts out with the huge effort it required. I was just going to silently sneak out, or as Gen. Douglas MacArthur ( sort of)  said, "old solstice soldiers never die, they just fade away." But a las, I can't just fade away.  I can’t let you, my dear friends, neighbors, acquaintances - and even people who intensely dislike me - face these dark winter nights alone. I will summon the strength  one last time to  confront the daunting task of fighting off the cruel realities of life in these northern latitudes by weaving a final story around the Winter Solstice. ( Also, I wanted to end on an even number.)  In ot...