I write southern historical fiction, local history, and I've written a devotional book. The two novels I'm writing are set in Virginia and the Carolinas in the 1760s. My weekly blog started out to follow my journey as a writer and a reader, but in 2025 it has been greatly expanded to include current events and politics in the United States as I see our democracy under attack from within. The political science major in me cannot sit idly by and remain silent.
In my blog post last Friday, I promised a near future post about U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
If you saw her performance last Wednesday in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, you probably do not want to be reminded of it. I saw all of it that was televised, and I wish I could unsee and unhear it.
The audacity of Pam Bondi to prance into The Capitol and call members of Congress names! It was a circus but not an entertaining one. It was an embarrassment. Her body language alone was abhorrent, not to mention her trash mouth.
Photo by Simon Ray on Unsplash
It was a performance meant for one person only: Donald Trump. I am sure he thought it was a brilliant display. Even when she was reminded that it is her job and sworn duty to uphold the U.S. Constitution and to represent the United States of America (i.e., the people!) in all her dealings as U.S. Attorney General, she continued to call members of Congress derogatory names and refuse to look the Democrats on the committee in the eyes.
The hearing was supposed to be for Bondi to give U.S. Representatives some answers about the Epstein files and the recent and current operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Instead, it was half pep rally for Trump and half demonstration of how sarcastic and snarky the current U.S. Attorney General can be when facing legitimate questions that make her squirm.
In case you missed the performance, when being asked questions by Republicans on the committee, Bondi smiled and gushed. She thanked them profusely for “asking that question.” When asked “a yes or no” question, she replied accordingly.
When asked questions by a Democrat on the committee, Bondi made a great show of shuffling the papers in front of her and looking down. She was suddenly busy, busy, busy. Instead of answering “yes or no” questions by Democrats, she deflected – usually by turning to that Congress member’s section in her three-ring binder so she could attack that Representative personally with a reference (true or not) to a vote that Representative made sometime in their career along with her editorial comments (true or false).
She repeatedly said, “Mr. Chairman, I refuse to get down in the gutter with these people.” She called one of them “a washed-up lawyer.” She hurled various insults at most of the Democrats. The fact that she had that three-ring binder at her fingertips was visible evidence of her disdain for every Democrat Congress member. She used the same binder when testifying before a U.S. Senate Committee.
She accused one member of the committee of being antisemitic, even though that member’s grandfather died in the Holocaust.
Even the BBC questioned why Bondi lost her temper in the hearing.
Early in the hearing, survivors of the sexual abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and his rich and political friends in high places were asked to stand where they were seated in the audience. Bondi never acknowledged their presence. Even when asked by at least one member of the committee to turn around and look at the survivors and family members of at least one victim who is now deceased, Bondi would not do it. She is apparently incapable of looking truth in the face.
Bondi cares not that she is now the U.S. Attorney General because she was confirmed for that position by the Congress of the United States. She has a particularly peculiar way of showing her appreciation for the misguided confidence they put in her after her shaky confirmation hearings last year in which she said she would not “weaponize” the U.S. Department of Justice. Yet, that is all she has done since assuming office. I have heard people who knew and respected her as the State Attorney General in Florida say they no longer recognize her as the person they used to know.
Her behavior was bizarre, to say the least. When asked a question about the Epstein files, she “answered” by touting the fact that the stock market reached and broke the 50,000 mark the day before, then bristled when a Democrat on the committee asked, “What does that have to do with the Epstein files?”
It was horrible to see and hear a U.S. Attorney General stoop to such childish and insulting behavior. Such behavior as demonstrated by Bondi would not be tolerated in a court of law, and it should not have been tolerated in the U.S. Capitol. She should have been held in contempt of Congress, but she wasn’t because the committee is chaired by a Republican – a very self-righteous Republican who does not have enough respect for the institution or his position in Congress to even wear a suit.
In “answering” one question, she waxed poetic about what a wonderful U.S. President Donald J. Trump is. It was gag-worthy and inappropriate.
The U.S. Attorney General is not supposed to be beholding to the U.S. President.
The person in that position is not supposed to be political.
The person in that position is not supposed to be a cheerleader or public relations representative for the U.S. President.
The U.S. Attorney General is not supposed to do the President’s bidding.
In just one year, Bondi has broken every time-honored rule – written and unwritten — governing her position.
Janet
The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.
Pull up a comfortable chair. This post is long, but I believe its length stands as proof of the chaos here just in the last week or two. I considered breaking it up between two days, but I think its length alone makes a point.
In case you are wondering why I did not blog yesterday about Wednesday’s performance for Donald Trump by Pam Bondi, I did not have time to digest it and spit it onto the page. That will come either tomorrow or on Monday of next week.
Oh, daily life pretty much goes on as usual except in cities being targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. People must continue to work to support themselves and their families. Children need to continue to attend school. Life goes on, but life would be less stressful if we weren’t slammed every day with unnecessary crises.
I have taken the gloves off this week. Perhaps you noticed, if you’ve read my last four blog posts.
I know I irritate people who cling to Donald Trump, but I offer no apologies. Not because I see apologizing as a weakness (like Trump does), but because I refuse to apologize for standing up for the U.S. Constitution and the ideals upon which my country was formed.
As I tell the Trumpers who attack me on Facebook, you don’t have to read what I post. I have the right to post it and you have the right not to read it. If you want to convince me I’m a left-wing woke radical, don’t bother. I wear that moniker proudly.
I feel compelled to blog about more than a dozen things today that have me concerned or, at the least, intrigued.
Not a day passes without at least one piece of alarming news coming out of the Trump regime or from his followers. Most days there are so many pieces of alarming news that it feels like we Americans are being gut-punched by a fire hose.
That’s all part of the plan. That’s the only way they can ram Project 2025 down our throats and “take back” the “good old days” when blacks and women had no rights and few people spoke truth to power.
I try to keep up. I take notes. I pay attention. I get my news from various sources. But I cannot keep up. Things fall through the cracks. It’s overwhelming – which is all part of their plan.
Americans are weary. We are tired of the fire hose of hate and destruction. We. Are. Tired. That is part of their plan.
They are hellbent on confusing us with lies and throwing so much chaos at us 24/7 that we give up.
You will find that I freely refer to Republicans in this post. I hate to throw all Republicans under the bus, but I have lost my patience over the last 13 months. The Republican Party has blindly and completely embraced Donald Trump and everything he says and does, so I no longer feel the need to tiptoe around them.
If you are a Republican and have not removed yourself from that affiliation, I am left to assume that you agree with Donald Trump. It is his political party now. With rare exceptions, no one in the party has the gumption to challenge anything he says or does.
If you are a registered Republican and you have remained silent as Donald Trump has stomped all over the U.S. Constitution, torn down the East Wing of the White House, ordered masked men to round up people with Spanish accents – including children – and warehoused them, been found guilty of 34 felonies, bragged about grabbing women by their genitals, published racist words and images on social media, threatened our allies, taken Putin’s word over that of U.S. intelligence organizations, slapped his name on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts (and announced its closure on July 4, 2026), and lied to your face about more things than you can count… then perhaps you need to do some soul searching.
Silence is complicity.
Full disclosure: I used to be a registered Republican. I’m not proud of that. I was young and misguided. I have voted for Republicans and I have voted for Democrats. I used to “vote for the person, not the party,” but those days are over for the foreseeable future. I cannot in good conscience cast a vote for a Republican in light of what the Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly have done to destroy public education and what the Trump Administrations have done to every facet of our country.
Photo by Larry Alger on Unsplash
Hurrah for that Grand Jury!
The American people had a victory this week! A Grand Jury – made up of average Americans – refused to indict two U.S. Senators and four U.S. Representatives who participated in a video in which they merely stated the law: If you are in the U.S. military, you do not have to carry out an illegal order.
In fact, the Nazis who followed Hitler’s orders found at during the Nuremberg Trials that they didn’t have to carry out illegal orders. It is international law, not just U.S. law.
Donald Trump and Pam Bondi weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice when they tried to prosecute Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania for making a video in which they simply stated that members of the military do not have to follow illegal orders.
It infuriated Trump for these military veterans and lawmakers to remind the American public – not just military personnel – that there is a law of humanity in place. He ordered the U.S. Department of Justice, which he thinks is and treats as if it is his personal law firm, to go after those six members of Congress.
Trump called those six Democrat members of Congress “seditious” when the video aired. He wanted them to be executed for stating the law.
It would have been wonderful if the Republican members of Congress had shown outrage over Trump’s remarks. It would have been wonderful and encouraging if the Republican members of Congress had shown outrage over the attempted prosecution of their fellow lawmakers.
I believe we will see more such failures of the U.S. Department of Justice as it is headed by a woman who is only there to try to carry out Trump’s vindictive wishes.
FBI raid of Fulton County, Georgia, Elections Records
On January 28, 2026, the FBI raided the building where the voting records from Fulton County, Georgia, from the 2020 presidential election were housed. Some 656 boxes of ballots, ballot images, tabulators, and voter rolls were seized by the FBI and taken to an undisclosed location.
Even though voter registration records in the United States are public information and easily found on the Internet, it is creeper for the FBI to seize a county’s voter registration rolls.
The icing on the cake was that Trump spoke directly via telephone to the FBI agents who participated just minutes after the raid. That is not what the President of the United States is supposed to do. Until Trump assumed office in January 2025, the FBI was apolitical. The U.S. President is not supposed to direct, interfere with, or in any way get involved in the FBI investigations.
Fulton County filed suit against the Trump Administration to try to get the records back.
Until forced to this week, the Trump Administration gave no justification for the January 28, 2026, seizure, but Brad Raffensperger is running for Governor and Trump has endorsed his opponent.
You will recall that Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2, 2021 and asked Raffensperger to “find” him 11,780 votes. That action by Trump should have disqualified him to ever run for office again, but it didn’t.
Trump will never accept the fact that he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. His fragile ego cannot accept that he lost. “Loser” is one of the worst things he can think of to call someone.
Therefore, even though the Fulton County, Georgia votes were re-counted by hand twice after the initial count on election night in 2020, Trump thought he could pressure a state with a Republican Governor, a Republican Secretary of State, and a Republican Lt. Governor to cave and “find” him the votes he did not receive.
He accused the vote counters of cheating. He knows so little about how strictly ballots are counted, preserved, and transported that he made up lies about the containers holding the ballots and specifically two black women who helped count the votes.
So now the 2020 votes from Fulton County, Georgia, are who knows where. The Fulton County Board of Elections is responsible for the security of those ballots, but the Trump Administration has seized them and taken them to an undisclosed location.
As of February 9, Fulton County officials had not been told where the records they are responsible for were being held or what had been done with them or to them. As I write this on February 12, I cannot find that they have found out where those records are being held. The 2020 Fulton County voters don’t know what is being done with their personal information.
Last week, a federal judge ordered the FBI to unseal and reveal the warrant used on January 28 in Fulton County no later than Tuesday, February 10. Much to my surprise, the affidavits associated with the warrant were unsealed on Tuesday afternoon.
WSB-TV in Atlanta reported, “According to the documents, the FBI was told to investigate a discrepancy in the vote counts reported by Fulton County election officials, with the warrant alleging that there were missing ballot images from the 2020 election records.”
Here we are in 2026, still having to prove that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Why are none of the Republicans who were elected in 2020 claiming that the election was rigged? Odd how that worked out. Only Donald Trump is crying “foul.”
If you think the seizure of the Fulton County, Georgia, voting records does not pertain to you because you don’t live there, just think how you would feel if the FBI seized the voting records of your county. If they can do it in Atlanta, they can do it anywhere.
FBI briefing
Election officials from all 50 states have been summoned to an FBI briefing on “preparations for the midterms” on February 25. The email from the FBI was said to be from Kellie Hardiman, “FBI Election Executive.” I believe this briefing is unusual.
ICE, Steve Bannon, November mid-term elections
In a related matter, last week former Trump bestie and jailbird Steve Bannon proudly announced that ICE agents will surround the polling places in November. Of course, ICE agents do not work for Steve Bannon. (Thank goodness!) But Trump and his minions are wasting no time in trying to scare voters away from the polls. They continue to operate under the delusion that undocumented immigrants vote. They spend a lot of their time focusing on remedies for problems that do not exist, like voter fraud.
ICE statistics
Trump took office on January 20, 2025, promising to immediately get rid of “the worst of the worst.” He often claims that immigrants are murderers, rapists, and dangerous gang members. “The worst of the worst.”
It is hard to get reliable statistics about the arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but some interesting numbers have been reported by various news outlets this week. I’m sure these percentages could be off my two or three percentage points, but these are the numbers I have read:
From January 25, 2025 through January 31, 2026, 40% of those arrested and detained have no criminal records, 14% are violent criminals, and less than 2% are gang members.
I have heard more than one county sheriff say they can only keep an undocumented immigrant in custody for 48 hours. If ICE agents don’t come to pick those prisoners up in 48 hours, they must be released. Perhaps it would be a better use of ICE agents if they would pick up the undocumented immigrants already in local police custody instead of it taking five ICE agents to murder a nurse who has knelt in the aid of a woman said agents have shoved to the ground.
The New START treaty
Remember The New START treaty between the United States and Russia? It was signed in 2011. Trump let it expire on February 5 while he was waxing poetic at the 74th Annual Prayer Breakfast. With the treaty’s expiration, there’s no longer a cap on the number of nuclear weapons either country can have.
I’m not sure which part of that equation worries me more, since Trump’s finger is on “the red button.”
Does this fall under the red “Make America Safe Again” baseball cap?
The National Governors Association Annual Meeting
It came to light last week that Maryland Governor Wes Moore – the only black governor in the U.S. – had been uninvited to the 2026 National Governors Association (NGA) dinner at the White House on February 20. Governors of every state, commonwealth, and territory in the United States are automatically members. Their annual dinner at the White House is a time for all of the governors and their spouses to get together, share best practices on a non-partisan basis, and have dinner with the President of the United States, Cabinet members, and other government officials.
I jumped to the conclusion that this was another case of racism; however, according to the last report I read, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, also a Democrat, has also been uninvited
Gov. Moore serves as Vice Chair of the National Governors Association. He was elected to that position by a non-partisan vote.
It was reported by Reuters on Tuesday, February 10, that the NGA’s annual meeting with Trump has been cancelled. Brandon Tatum, CEO of the NGA, released a statement saying, “To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration.” He also said, “At this moment in our nation’s history, it is critical that institutions continue to stand for unity, dignity and constructive engagement.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president “can invite whomever he wants to dinner and events here at the White House.” It seems that someone has forgotten that the White House belongs to the American people, not to any sitting U.S. President. Of course, that became blatantly clear the day Trump demolished the East Wing.
According to The New York Times, Trump did the uninviting.
Does this “Make America Great Again?”
The possible renaming of Penn Station
Trump claimed that it was U.S. Senator Chuck Shummer’s idea that Penn Station in New York City could be renamed for Trump. Shummer denied it.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in Tuesday’s press briefing that it was Trump’s idea, not Shummer’s.
Ooops!
What they think is “fake outrage”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told us to stop our “fake outrage” last Friday after the photograph of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama with their heads on ape bodies was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account for 12 hours.
The only fake outrage I saw on display last week (and continuing this week) was Republicans who were in an uproar that a Puerto Rican performer, “Bad Bunny” was headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. They said he wasn’t American. They said only Americans should perform during the Super Bowl.
But Bad Bunny is American. Puerto Rico is part of the United States. Why else did Trump go there and throw rolls of paper towels at them in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017 during his first term in office? Did he understand then that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory? By the way, that’s when he discovered that Puerto Rico is an island, but I digress.
Besides the point that Puerto Ricans are American citizens, perhaps the Republicans can explain why they were not outraged when Phil Collins of Great Britain performed in Super Bowl XXXIV, U2 from Ireland in Super Bowl XXXVI, Shania Twain from Canada in Superbowl XXXVII, Paul McCartney in Super Bowl XXXIX, and Coldplay in Super Bowl L? Do you want more examples of “foreigners” performing at the Super Bowl?
It appears that the Republicans’ outrage over Bad Bunny is the fact that his first language is Spanish and he chose to sing in Spanish for the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Music has no language. Music has a beat, a mood, a spirit, a way of tugging at your emotions no matter the language in which the words are sung.
Sadly, though, I don’t think the outrage about Bad Bunny was fake. I think they were dead serious.
They see Americans of European descent becoming a minority in a few years, and the only way they know to deal with it is to lash out, call names, and discriminate. That’s their modus operandi.
Trump posted his displeasure over Bad Bunny again during the Super Bowl. He whined because he couldn’t understand a word Bad Bunny sang. He claimed that “nobody” could understand it. It’s too bad Trump did not celebrate all the countries in the Americas, like Bad Bunny did. I guess Trump did not agree with the huge “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” sign during the performance. That is obviously a concept and core value that Trump cannot fathom.
The Make America Great Again alternative half-time show featured Kid Rock, whose song lyrics should be considered cringe-worthy by the MAGA crowd who claim to be “the party of family values.”
The Epstein Files
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick can’t seem to get his story straight about his association with Jeffrey Epstein. He admits that he took his children to Epstein’s private island and residence in 2012. Lutnick had earlier said that he cut off all contact with Epstein in 2005, calling him “gross.”
Democrats in Congress are calling for Lutnick to resign.
Republicans used to call for the release of all the Epstein files, but Trump said last week that “it’s time to move on.” Nothing to see here.
The only person who has gone to prison for the raping of countless young girls on Epstein’s property is a woman.
Oh, the irony!
Speaking of irony… U.S. Olympic skier Hunter Hess
U.S. Olympic skier Hunter Hess dared to express his displeasure with ICE killing American citizens in Minneapolis. Hess is quoted as saying, “I think, for me, it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S. If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”
Trump took offense. He takes offense at anyone who speaks their mind if their opinions do not line up with his. When he is offended, he goes on the attack. It’s all he knows to do.
This was Trump’s response on Truth Social to what Hunter Hess said: “U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics. If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it.”
That’s not all Trump wrote about Hess, but you get the point even though to read his social media posts you must meander your way through randomly-capitalized words. They must have had top-notch English teachers at those expensive private schools he attended.
In the old days, if a U.S. President with extremely thin skin wanted to call a citizen or member of the U.S. Olympic team a name, he probably just muttered under his breath, but today Trump puts everything out there in cyberspace for the world to see.
The wife of Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller weighed in, too. She said that if you don’t love America you should be representing it in the Olympics. What she and other Republicans cannot grasp is that we who protest and voice our anger and disappointment and disgust at what the Trump Administration is doing… we do it BECAUSE we love America! They think we hate America. No, we love America and we mourn for what the Trump Administration has done to destroy this once beacon of freedom.
By the way, Mrs. Miller, the First Amendment gives us freedom of speech, just like it gives freedom of speech to you.
U.S. Senator Rick Scott of Florida also weighed in. He twisted Hunter Hess’s words. Hess did not say he did not want to represent the United States. Senator Scott has been quoted as saying that the United States is a “for freedom and democracy,” but he doesn’t think an American participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics has freedom of speech.
Trump’s supporters, of which Rick Scott is one, think it is all right for Trump to say derogatory things about the United States, its elected representatives, its member states, its cities, and segments of its population.
I guess that’s more accurately described as hypocrisy instead of irony.
National Park informational displays and signs
It’s not getting publicity by the major news outlets, but the underground reports almost weekly of informational displays and signage being removed from our National Parks. Any display or sign that conveys an unfortunate or evil piece of United States history is being removed.
Displays about the removal and abuse of indigenous peoples, displays about slavery, and displays giving scientific facts about climate change are especially being targeted and removed.
United States history is being rewritten and erased. I shudder to think of future school history books that will be adopted by right-wing state school boards.
The “Melania” film by Amazon
It seems that music composed by Jonny Greenwood for the Daniel Day-Lewis movie, “Phantom Thread,” was used in “Melania’ without permission. Greenwood and “Phantom Thread” director Paul Thomas Anderson have asked for that music to be removed from “Melania.”
Although Greenwood does not hold the copyright to that piece of music he composed, use of it without permission from Universal is a breach of his composer’s agreement.
This is not the first time members of the Trump family have used music without permission. They seem to have little or no respect for copyright law or related law.
A ray of light on tariffs
Reports indicate that Trump’s tariffs, which he said would “Make America Rich Again,” cost the average American family $1,000 in 2025 and will cost them $1,300 in 2026 if left in place.
In a slightly bi-partisan vote of 219-211 in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, the House adopted a resolution calling for Trump to remove tariffs on Canada.
In response, Trump threatened the six Republicans who voted for the resolution.
The Gordie Howe Bridge
Canada has built and paid for a bridge from Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan. Be sure to remember the phrase “and paid for.”
Those of us who live more than 500 miles from Detroit have not heard much about it.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge cost C$6.4 billion ($4.6 billion US) and was scheduled to open early this year. It is a grand bridge with six lanes for vehicular traffic plus bike lanes and pedestrian walkways. Government agencies in both countries worked together to select the name for the bridge.
Canada built the bridge “to make automotive trade between the two countries easier,” according to Forbes.
In a nutshell, the Ambassador Bridge, which opened in 1929, is currently the main automotive trade traffic carrier between the two countries, but the bridge’s owner (Detroit International Bridge Company) has been crossways with Canada for the last two decades or so. For instance, the company made plans to build another bridge right beside the Ambassador Bridge. The older bridge would be relegated to emergency traffic. Canada objected to that plan.
Canada proposed a new bridge to be built with the state of Michigan. and Canada sharing construction costs. Michigan declined, so Canada decided to finance construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge itself. During Trump’s first term in office, it was agreed that this would be a toll bridge and tolls collected would pay off the construction costs.
Fast forward to February 9, 2026. Trump posted on his social media outlet that he “will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them.” The “them” is Canada.
Here we go again. Trump trying to change the rules in the last quarter of the game. That is no way to conduct relationships with other countries – especially a wonderful neighbor country like Canada – and it’s no way to conduct business.
The oft-said line I heard during the 2016 presidential campaign, “We need a businessman in the White House” continues to ring hollow in my head.
And lest I forget to mention this…
The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee subpoenaed former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to testify regarding the Epstein files. Committee Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, just knew that the Clintons would refuse to come and could then be held in contempt of Congress.
But that’s not what happened. The Clintons agreed to come and testify in a public, televised hearing. After all, Rep. Comer talks a lot about transparency. It turns out that a public hearing is not what Rep. Comer had in mind, especially since he didn’t expect the Clintons to show up.
Democrats in Congress are taking note that this will set a precedent. Forcing a former U.S. President or the family of a former U.S. President to testify before Congress has never been done before. When will today’s Republicans learn to be careful what they wish for? Woe be unto Donald Trump and his family when the Democrats win control of the Congress!
Someone must have told Trump that turnabout could be fair play someday in the future, for he started talking about how much he has always liked bill Clinton and what “a very capable woman” Hillary Clinton is. He said, “I hate to see it in many way.”
Who knew that Trump though Hillary Clinton was “a very capable woman?” Is that why he encroached on her personal space from behind like a starving vulture in that President debate that I cannot unsee?
Who knew he held the Clintons in such high regard?
I try to learn something every day, but I didn’t see that coming.
Hillary Clinton is scheduled to testify on February 26 and Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify on February 27. Oversight Committee Chair Comer says their hearings will be taped and released “later.” In Comer’s mind, that qualifies as a “public” hearing.
I have some experience with public hearings and public informational meetings. Letting the public see and hear the hearing “later” does not meet the definition of “public hearing.”
Janet
P.S. Just so you know, we aren’t giving up. I just realized I forgot to even mention environmental issues!
The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.
For several weeks, the newsletters from my “representative” in the U.S. House of Representatives landed in my spam box. How apropos!
U.S. Capitol Dome Photo by Simon Ray on Unsplash
But then Saturday, February 7, 2026, rolled around and there it was! Right there in my inbox. The title of his newsletter jumped out at me… just as he and his pitiful staff intended: “Americans’ Safety Is In Jeopardy– Courtesy Of Democrats.”
I took the bait. I did not want to read his newsletter because he has never said or written a word that was worthy of the time it took for me to listen or read. But, I thought, Okay, what’s he preaching about this time?
In case you wonder why I chose the word, “preaching,” it is because he is a Southern Baptist preacher. He used to be the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Charlotte. It’s unclear now as to why he is no longer on the staff there, but could it be the congregation got sick and tired of his far-right hypocrisy that runs counter to the teachings of Jesus Christ? I’m merely speculating. I know nothing of how grounded his congregants were in the New Testament.
Bear with me as I quote his newsletter from February 7:
“Dear Janet,
“Spot the hypocrisy: Democrats allowed the Obama administration to deport millions and raised no objections.
“An yet, when President Trump does the same, Democrats shut the government down because they want funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end.
“DHS is not just Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); it is: FEMA, ICE, U.S. Secret Service, etc. Democrats are willing to allow multiple vital organizations that provide SAFETY for Americans to be defunded.
“My Republican colleagues and I will not stand for this.”
My response to Representative Harris:
Dear Mark,
I assume I can call you Mark, since you addressed me by my given name. There is apparently no need to stand on ceremony.
Your gaslighting of your constituents continues to reach new lows. You forget that quite a few of us are old enough to remember the Obama Administration. Since you are unaware of the difference in deportations while Barack Obama was U.S. President and the deportations your constituents with eyes wide open have witnessed during the reign of Donald Trump, allow me to point out just a few of the differences:
Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not hide behind masks;
Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not drag American citizens from their cars and ship them off to detention centers hundreds of miles away;
Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not break the car windows of American citizens;
Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not murder American citizens who were driving cars; and
Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not murder a nurse who was kneeling to come to the aid of a woman who had been knocked to the ground by masked, heavily armed, poorly trained deportation agents.
This list is just the tip of the iceberg.
So, Mark, I suggest you read 21st century U.S. History; read the U.S. Constitution that you swore to protect, defend, and uphold; read the oath of office you swore to uphold so help you God; and read the New Testament while you’re at it, if you can read. You are against public education, so that indicates to me that perhaps you never learned how to read.
By the way, most of your constituents were educated in public schools and public colleges and universities, so we know some history, we studied the U.S. Constitution, and we know how to think for ourselves. We know a puppet of Donald Trump when we see one.
And, Mark, when you are willing and able to speak the truth to me and to Donald Trump’s face, I’ll be happy to listen to you… but not until then.
Sincerely,
Janet, an angry citizen of North Carolina’s Eighth Congressional District
The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.
Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse…. last Friday morning came along.
Around midnight last Thursday night, Trump posted photos of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama on his Truth Social (an oxymoron if there ever was one!) page with their heads superimposed on the bodies of apes.
I’m white, but even I recognize that dog whistle!
Before you Trump worshippers start attacking me, I know it is possible that Trump himself did not post that abhorrent photo on the Truth Social account that bears his name; however, he is ultimately responsible for everything that is posted on said account. Period. Full stop. No ifs, ands, or buts. He is responsible even though he will never own up to any of his responsibilities.
We’ve been subjected to various explanations from Trump and his highly-paid, snarky staff. We’ve been told he didn’t see it. We’ve been told it was funny. Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s spokesperson was so entertained by the incident that she could hardly control her giggles while pointing out that there was nothing wrong with it… it was all from “The Lion King”… and, after all, former Vice President Kamala Harris was portrayed as a turtle. The Vice President Kamala Harris tidbit offered by Ms. Leavitt was supposed to make us feel better?
It’s beside the point that there weren’t any apes in “The Lion King.” I really wish everyone associated with the making of “The Lion King” would sue Trump for copyright infringement. He loves lawsuits.
We were told that it was all just in good fun… that Trump was the King of the Jungle and all Democrats are supposed to bow down to him because we are lesser animals.
We were told that an unnamed member of Trump’s staff “accidentally posted” the picture of the Obamas as apes. How does one “accidentally” post something on the social media account of the President of the United States?
How does one “accidentally” post photographs of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama portrayed as apes… well… anywhere? Did the unnamed Trump staffer accidentally create the image? Did he or she accidentally come across it while looking for disrespectful fake images of our black former President and First Lady?
Trump said he will not apologize because, “I didn’t make a mistake.”
I beg to differ. Did he not make a mistake when he hired the staffer who has permission to post on the president’s social media account? Did he not make mistake when he gave another human being permission to post to his social media account?
We were told that no harm was done, because it only took the White House staff 12 hours to remove the post. We are supposed to believe that no one working in the White House can figure out how to take down a social media post in less than 12 hours?
No, my friends. All of us are not stupid. All of us did not vote for this. All of us are not all right with this blatant display of racism.
Forget about the fact that the posting of this image was extremely childish. Forget the claim that it was all in good fun. Forget the claim that the rest of the post was serious and truthful.
When you get right down to it, this was nothing but blatant racism put on a social media platform for all the world to see, and there was absolutely nothing accidental about it.
If you can excuse any part of this horrific display of hate, then you are part of the problem. Go ahead and circle the Republican wagons. Go ahead and claim that somehow this makes America Great Again. You are only fooling yourself.
I hope I live long enough to see the day when this sham of a presidential administration is over. I hope I will be here to help pick up the pieces and reinstate the Constitution of the United States of America. I hope I live long enough to see evangelical Christians have a Paul on the Road to Damascus conversion experience and accept the fact that there is nothing Christian about this President whom they adore.
I am sick and tired of the excuses Trump’s followers and supporters give us no matter what he says or does. I’m beyond sick and tired of seeing his staff members wearing cross necklaces when the truth is not in them.
I’m sick and tired of everything about Donald Trump and his ilk.
This is what real class and integrity (two things Donald Trump will never have!) look like:
Former U.S. President Barack Obama Photo credit: Library of Congress
Former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama Photo credit: Library of Congress
Janet
The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around
I see you’re scratching your head over the topic of my blog post today. I don’t blame you. Unless you are a graduate of Dartmouth, a resident of New Hampshire, or an expert on contract law, you’ve probably never heard of this U.S. Supreme Court case.
I was tempted to just brush it off and blog about a story in my new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, but then I remembered the significance of the case and why learning about it is important for us today.
I’ll give a brief version of the story, for that’s really all you probably want to know. If you want to know more, you can dive into it.
An iconic building at Dartmouth College. Photo by Ronni Kurtz on Unsplash.
In 1769, King George III of Great Britain issued a charter to Dartmouth College as a privately-funded school.
In 1816, the state legislature in New Hampshire decided to convert Dartmouth College into a state university. The legislators, as state legislators tend to do, thought they could just change Dartmouth’s charter by shifting control of the college to a board of trustees appointed by the governor. The school’s corporate seal, other corporate property, and record books were removed.
“Not so fast!” said the former trustees. Those earlier trustees filed a lawsuit against William H. Woodward, the secretary of the new board of trustees. They hired none other than Daniel Webster to represent them. He was a graduate of Dartmouth, but was yet to gain fame as a U.S. Senator and as the 14th and 19th U.S. Secretary of State.
It is reported that Mr. Webster made such an impassioned argument before the Supreme Court in Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward that Chief Justice John Marshall was nearly moved to tears.
Webster was apparently extremely convincing, for the Court handed down its decision in favor of Dartmouth on February 2, 1819. The actions taken by the New Hampshire Legislature were invalidated, and Dartmouth returned to being a privately-funded institution of higher learning.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
The Court’s decision was based on the sanctity of a contract. The Dartmouth College’s corporate charter qualified as a contract between the King and the school’s trustees, and the United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 10 prohibits a state from passing laws to impair a contract.
In case you’re wondering why I thought it apropos to blog about Dartmouth today…
Dartmouth’s administration refused to sign the agreement that U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent to nine colleges and universities (Brown University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Arizona, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia, and Vanderbilt University) on October 1, 2025.
To refresh your memory, the agreement would dictate how the signing colleges and universities would change their admissions policies and the way faculty would be hired. As I stated in that blog post, “By signing the compact, the colleges and universities give up their right to make public a stance on societal or political events. They must be neutral, as in no opinion, no free thinking, no thoughts whatsoever. You know, sort of like operating in an authoritarian nation.
“They must also agree to define sex as ‘male’ and ‘female.’ They must do all this while they ensure there is ‘a broad spectrum of viewpoints’ on their campuses. I’m not sure how you can do that while meeting the other requirements. Some of the requirements appear to negate the others.
“In return for signing the compact, a college would receive preferential treatment for federal funding. It seems like a high price to pay.”
The ten-page agreement was called “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which strikes me as a misnomer.
The President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was the first to refuse to sign the agreement, so that’s what I wrote about in that October 15 blog post.
Two days later, Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia joined MIT in rejecting the agreement.
Being from North Carolina, I don’t know a lot about Dartmouth, but Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward and the Dartmouth administrators’ October 2025 refusal to cave in to the blackmail deal offered by the Trump Administration tell me all I need to know.
Hurrah for college and university administrators with morals and courage to stand up to bullies!
Hurricane Helene Recovery Update
I haven’t given a Hurricane Helene recovery update since January 8, so I will do so today. The rest of the nation may have forgotten about Hurricane Helene, but North Carolinians have not forgotten.
Portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway have not reopened since Hurricane Helene damage in September 2024. I-40 at the North Carolina-Tennessee border remains just one lane in each direction with a 35 mile-per-hour speed limit.
I was unable to find a detailed report from the North Carolina Department of Transportation about the roads still closed due to the hurricane. Friday’s report dealt with road closures due to ice and snow.
Governor Josh Stein and North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson continue to seek funding and reimbursement from the federal government, but the response lags behind the U.S. Government’s response to earlier national disasters. It is a sign of the times.
Repair work continues on the Lake Lure dam on the Broad River, and debris removal there also continues. It is hoped that the lake will be back to full pond and ready to reopen in May in time for the summer tourist season.
Local TV stations in Charlotte have hurricane recovery news items occasionally. They try to remind us that our lives in the piedmont went on after Helene, but our fellow citizens here and there in the mountains are still dealing with the loss of homes and businesses as well as transportation routes that were destroyed.
There was a news item from WLOS in Asheville last week celebrating the reopening of a Walgreen’s on Tunnel Road in Asheville. It was so heavily damaged by the flooding of the Swannanoa River during Helene that it closed for 16 months for a complete remodel. It reopened on January 22. The article noted that a U-Haul store had also reopened. That’s indicative of how long it has taken for life to return to normal in the mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee since the hurricane. Businesses – even national chain businesses – have struggled to rebuild. I have no idea how many small family-owned businesses will never recover.
Life has not returned to “normal” in portions of the mountains in North Carolina. I think the people are adjusting to a new normal. Hurricane Helene changed much of the landscape forever.
Janet
The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.
I don’t know if the Pledge of Allegiance is still recited in public school classrooms like it was in the 1950s and 1960s.
Photo by Cris Constantin on Unsplash
I will be 73 years old this week, and I remember standing beside my desk in elementary school, facing the American flag that hung from a wooden dowel at an angle from the wall of the classroom, putting my right hand over my heart, and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
I did it even before I understood the words we were saying.
I pledged my allegiance to the flag and to the republic it represented.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
My generation learned from an early age to revere the flag and to revere the ideals the United States of America strives to attain and uphold.
We were born after World War II. Yes, we are the “boomers” who the Gen X-ers make fun of. We did not yet know or comprehend the horrors of war. We had no concept of liberty and justice. We were too young to know that our country was special and unlike any other country in the world.
We slowly learned those things. We learned that all American citizens did not enjoy the same rights and privileges that we in an all-white school took for granted. We learned about civil rights by living through the Civil Rights Movement and school desegregation. We learned that all people are the same, regardless of skin pigment.
Somehow, the 31 simple – yet profound – words of the Pledge of Allegiance settled into our bones and our minds and our souls.
I might not remember what I ate for breakfast this morning, but the words of the Pledge of Allegiance still easily roll off my tongue.
Did Donald Trump ever learn the words of the Pledge of Allegiance? Perhaps it was not taught and recited in the prestigious private schools he attended in New York. I don’t know.
Did James Donald Bowman recite the Pledge of Allegiance in his school in Ohio? My hunch is that he did, even though he seems to have forgotten. You probably know him as James David “J.D.” Vance. (I still think it is a stretch to call the northeastern suburbs of Cincinnati “Appalachia,” but I digress.)
What about Kristi Noem? Was she taught the Pledge of Allegiance in the school she attended in South Dakota? Surely, she was. I know nothing about the political science department at South Dakota State University, but I question the validity of her Bachelor’s degree.
And what about Gregory Bovino? Did he learn the Pledge of Allegiance as a young student in California? I am appalled to report that he graduated from Western Carolina University and received a Master’s degree from my alma mater, Appalachian State University. This sickens me. I don’t know what his degrees are in. I pray they are not in political science. His buzzcut, his olive-green uniform, his practice of hurling tear gas canisters at protesters have allowed him to become the poster child for the crackdown on illegal immigration that the Trump regime espouses. The cross body strap his uniform includes is reminiscent of Hitler’s “brown shirts.” This is not a look that we are accustomed to seeing in the United States. On Saturday, Bovino adamantly told us that the federal agents in Minneapolis had followed their training that morning when they killed Alex Pretti. Before Mr. Pretti’s bullet-riddled body was cold, Bovino claimed that Pretti “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” That’s how afraid members of the Trump regime are of a Veterans Administration ICU nurse armed with a cell phone.
What about Stephen Miller? It is ironic that he allegedly campaigned to get the Pledge of Allegiance said in his high school in California. Most of the things he says about our rights as Americans call into question the political science education he received at Duke University.
Karoline Leavitt is of a younger generation, so perhaps she never learned the Pledge of Allegiance. She often wears a necklace from which hangs a cross – a symbol of Jesus Christ. It is offensive when people wear cross necklaces or verbally claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, yet the truth is not in them.
What has happened to these people? Did the Pledge of Allegiance not settle in their bones and their souls?
The Pledge of Allegiance does not mention telling lies. That comes from the Bible. The Eighth Commandment instructs us to “not bear false witness.’ In other words, it tells us not to lie.
When a person is raised in a home where the truth is always told, that commandment becomes second nature. It becomes a core value. Telling the truth is what you do. You don’t have to pause and decide whether to tell the truth. It’s just what you do.
When a person is exposed to lies in their home or in their work place, perhaps the telling of lies becomes second nature to them.
I don’t know much about the private lives of the people in the Trump Administration, but I know they are feeding the American people and the world a lot of lies about what transpired on Saturday morning in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
They are telling me not to believe my eyes and ears.
Two days after the murder, members of the Trump regime are still defiant. They will defend the actions of the ICE and Border Patrol Officers until the end. Until the end of our democracy. They told us weeks ago that Trump’s federal agents are above the law.
They seem to have lost sight of the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America, and the Ten Commandments.
The United States is a country rooted in the rule of law and the ideals proclaimed in our founding documents. The political party to which Donald Trump and his regime belong claims to be rooted in the Bible. They don’t pay much attention to the New Testament, but they claim to love the Old Testament.
That’s where the Ten Commandments are found. It is in the Old Testament that we are instructed not to tell lies.
I suggest that Trump and the members of his regime take a few minutes to sit quietly and read the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America, and the Ten Commandments. All of this might be new literature for them, but I think taking time to read these documents and Bible verses might be beneficial for them and the nation they vowed to serve and protect.
My faith in what is being taught in the political science departments at the public and private universities in the United States is being shaken. I fear the students who were born after my college days are not being taught the tenets of democracy that I was taught in school and on the university level. I fear they are not being taught to serve the public with integrity and honesty.
I fear they were not taught that the government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.
I would have much preferred to have written scene 43 in my historical novel this afternoon, but I’ve spent several hours contemplating and writing this blog post. And yet, people wonder why it is taking me so long to write my novel. My brain is being torn between 2026 and 1768.
The irony is not lost on me. The people I’m writing about who were living in North Carolina in 1768 were also rebelling against tyranny. That’s not what the novel is about, but the colonists’ patience with the English Crown was already growing thin.
Janet
The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.
I write this on Sunday afternoon during an ice storm. The worst of the storm is predicting over the next hours, but I will try to get this blog post written and posted before the power goes off. The events of this weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and my government’s official response to it/explanation of it compel me to speak out.
We Will Not Be Silent, by Russell Freedman
The fact that we have a United States President that is hellbent on destroying the very foundations of our democracy is not bad enough. We have American citizens who are not only applauding the wrecking ball he has taken to the people of Minnesota; they are justifying what he is doing.
I am appalled at the number of Americans who are saying that Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good “got what they deserved.”
I am appalled at the number of Americans who can watch the same videos I’m seeing of Saturday morning’s murder in Minneapolis and not see what I see.
The video shows that the gun Mr. Pretti was legally carrying had been removed from him by a federal agent. Then four or five federal agents were all over him while he was held on the ground. Then, more than 10 shots were fired at him, and Mr. Pretti lay there dead. It appears that one of the federal agents fired five shots at Mr. Pretti, who was already lying motionless on the ground. Then, all the federal officers scattered.
The U.S. Government says Mr. Pretti was holding a gun when he approached to try to rescue a woman who had been shoved backwards to the ground by a federal agent, but what he held was a cell phone. They sprayed him with pepper spray or some other chemical because he was trying to shield the woman. He was trying to film the incident with his cell phone. He was not reaching for his gun.
He had a permit to carry a firearm. That is a right that Republicans hold as the most sacred right an American can have. They value it above our right to vote, above our right to worship, and above our right to assemble.
These are the same people who called 17-year-old high school drop-out Kyle Rittenhouse a hero for openly carrying a high-powered rifled down the street in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020 during civil unrest. Rittenhouse fatally shot three people. Trump invited Rittenhouse to the White House so he could honor him as an American hero. A real patriot, according to Trump and his ilk. Rittenhouse was acquitted, claiming “self-defense.” He is now a darling of the Trump regime.
However, these same people are saying that Alex Pretti deserved to be shot to death because he was legally carrying a firearm – a firearm that was not in his hand. It was in a holster.
The “weapon” in his hand was a cell phone, but the federal agents did not want their actions recorded. They had to do something.
The U.S. Government says the federal agents were being threatened.
A federal agent should never feel threatened by a cell phone, unless that agent is doing something illegal or immoral.
Mr. Pretti was a 37-year-old ICU nurse at a Veterans Administration hospital. He had apparently gone into the street with his cell phone to observe and record the protest.
The U.S. Government immediately accused Mr. Pretti of being a domestic terrorist. That’s also what they immediately called Renee Nicole Good after they shot her in the face as she drove away from the ICE agents.
This is now a U.S. Government that does not want us to believe our own eyes. This is now a U.S. Government that does not want us to believe our own ears. This is a U.S. Government that wants us to forget every word of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
But the thing that frightens me more than my government is my fellow American citizens who think this situation is just fine. They are the citizens who say, “Trump is just going after the worst of the worst. He is just going after the murderers and rapists. He is just going after the people who are here illegally.”
The people who say those things are the people who scare me. Those are the people who would say that Anne Frank got what she deserved. They are the ones who would have defended Hitler’s thugs and “brown shirts” in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. They are the ones who would have said the Jews “got what they deserved.”
They are the ones who today are saying, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti “got what they deserved.”
They are the ones who today are saying, “If you just do whatever an officer tells you to do, they won’t kill you.”
They are the ones who say, “The Holocaust never happened.”
They are the ones who will say, “Nothing happened in Minneapolis on January 24, 2025.”
Never in my first 72 years of life would I have thought this would be the state of things in the United States of America in 2026, but here we are. We have a segment of the population who truly believe, “If you just do whatever an officer tells you to do, they won’t kill you.”
My questions for them are as follows:
If an officer tells you to wear a yellow star on your clothing, would you willingly do that?
If an officer tells you to climb into a train boxcar, would you do that?
If an officer tells you to watch them abuse and arrest a peaceful protester and never say a word about it, would you stand idly by and never say a word?
If an officer uses your five-year-old child as bait to try to bring you out of your home so they can haul you and the child away to a detention center more than 1,000 miles away, would you be okay with that?
If an officer uses your neighbor’s five-year-old child as bait to try to bring your neighbor out of his or her home so they can haul them away to a detention center more than 1,000 miles away because they committed a misdemeanor, would you be okay with that?
Are you aware that it is a misdemeanor to be in the United States illegally?
Are you aware that being shot to death is not a legitimate “punishment” for committing a misdemeanor?
Are you aware that being shot to death is not a legitimate “punishment” for filming a peaceful protest?
Are you aware that being shot to death is not a legitimate “punishment” for coming to the rescue of a fellow citizen who has been shoved to the ground by a federal officer?
And yet, we have a convicted felon “serving” as President of the United States.
We live in a country today that honors felons and murders American citizens for coming to the aid of another citizen being physically abused.
The U.S. Government says that Alex Pretti interfered with a federal operation.
It appears to me in the video that Alex Pretti saw an unarmed woman being pushed backwards to the concrete sidewalk in Minneapolis. Mr. Pretti tried to record the incident with one hand while trying to protect the woman with his body and his free hand.
If the federal agents were properly trained instead of being given $50,000 signing bonuses, they would not have murdered Alex Pretti.
Mr. Pretti, being a trained nurse and an American citizen, saw an abuse of power and tried to do what any law-abiding citizen should do.
God, help us.
Janet
The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.
As I write this on the night of January 20, 2026, Trump is on his way to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (In fact, news came in as I wrote this that Air Force One had been turned around due to an electrical problem. Trump will be moved to a back-up plane.)
This gathering includes many NATO countries – the very NATO countries he threatened with tariffs this week. He will, no doubt, attempt to dazzle them with his perception of the current economy of the United States. Those of us who live here, know better. The picture he painted today in his news conference was far-removed from reality. He will embarrass us in Davos. He would embarrass himself, but that is not possible.
The next couple of days will not go well. Trump never comes across as Presidential here at home or on the world stage. Will he further insult our allies at this forum? Probably. That’s all he knows to do. At the very least, he will probably make fun of French President Emmanuel Macron’s eye condition. Trump has a record of belittling people with medical problems.
In today’s news conference, he finally feigned regret that an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Did you hear why he pretended regret today? Because someone told him that Ms. Good’s father was a Trump supporter.
I cannot remain silent as I see my government attack the least of these among us. As a Christian, it is my responsibility to speak up for the people who have no voice or whose voices are being ignored. As the President claims ICE agents are only going after “the worst of the worst,” my eyes and ears know better.
American citizens are being accosted and detained. One has already been killed on a street in Minneapolis. My government has not come after me yet, but if I wait until it does, there will be no one left to speak up for me.
Without further adieu, here is my planned blog post for today
Today’s post is about the eighth story in my short story book. “A Letter from Sharpsburg,” is a fictitious letter from an imaginary Confederate soldier who had fought in the Battle of Sharpsburg in Maryland during the American Civil War.
Photo by John Kostyk on Unsplash
As I explain in the book, it was general practice for the Union to name battles in the Civil War for a nearby physical feature, such as a creek. It was the practice of the Confederacy to name battles for the nearest town. This has led to confusion for more than 160 years.
This battle took place along Antietam Creek, near the town of Sharpsburg. Therefore, the Union called it the Battle of Antietam and the South called it the Battle of Sharpsburg.
Another example is the First and Second Battles of Bull Run (Union name) being called the First and Second Battles of Manasses in the South. It seems to me that we studied the Civil War almost every year in elementary school, but I don’t recall ever being told how or why the North and the South had different names for the same battles. Knowing the reason behind this practice would have been helpful.
I patterned this fictitious letter after letters one of my great-grandfathers wrote to his parents and sister during the Civil War. It was common in that day for a soldier to begin a letter with the words, “I seat myself and take pen in hand to write you a few lines.”
I chose this battle because more Americans were killed on the battlefield that day than on any other day in American military history. It is said that 2,100 Union soldiers and 1,550 Confederate soldiers lost their lives on September 17, 1862 near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Nearly 10,000 Union soldiers were wounded and more than 7,700 Confederate soldiers were wounded there that day.
In my book, I included author’s notes, questions for consideration, and a bibliography of the sources I used in writing “A Letter from Sharpsburg.”
You can find the paperback at Second Look Books in Harrisburg, NC, or ask for it at your local independent bookstore. Bookstores can order it from IngramSpark. It is supposed to be available at Barnes & Noble, but I’ve been told it is not necessarily in stock in the brick-and-mortar stores.
If you purchase my book and enjoy it, please give it a rating on Amazon and write a brief review of it for that site or Goodreads.com. Also, recommend it to your friends!
Word of mouth publicity is the best! Thank you!
Keeping me honest
My readers continue to try to keep me honest, which is my goal as a writer of historical fiction. Facts matter to me. Facts form the basis for my writing.
I mentioned in an earlier blog post that it had been brought to my attention that I have the wrong date in my book for the Battle of Kings Mountain. Yesterday, a friend clued me in that in “Ghost of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: An American Revolutionary War Ghost Story,” I have someone calling 911 to report an incident to the police in 1963.
Unfortunately, 911 emergency service did not come into being until 1968. In my flimsy defense, I will point out that I originally had the story set in 1973. When I changed it to 1963, I failed to catch my 911 error.
I appreciate my historical errors being brought to my attention. This will help keep me on my toes as I write my novel. If you find another historical error in my book, please let me know.
Janet
The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.
I haven’t blogged since last Monday because my computer monitor died on Tuesday. I couldn’t get a new one installed until over the weekend. As a blogger and writer, I was like a fish out of water while I didn’t have a computer. I’m “old school.” There’s only so much I can do on my cell phone and tablet. The up-side of that situation was that I used my newfound free time to do some decluttering.
I was sorry not to get to blog last week about one of the stories in my new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories. I will blog about another story in a day or two.
The highlight last week was the Peace Walk by monks from Texas. I did not get to see them, but I’ve been following their 2,300-mile journey to Washington, DC on social media and the news. They spent one night a few miles from here. They and their dog, Aloka, walk quietly and in peace. That’s something in short supply in the world these days. Reports say that Aloka is recovering nicely from having leg surgery in South Carolina. We’ve all fallen in love with Aloka – the street dog from India. What an inspiration Aloka and the monks are! They’re expected to arrive in Greensboro, North Carolina today.
What to blog about today?
I could take today’s blog post in one of many directions, considering all that Donald Trump has done and said in the last week. Where would I start? I’m running out of words to write about the abuses committed by the Trump Administration. My blog posts risk sounding like a broken record. (If you’re too young to know what that means, Google it.)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota skyline. (Photo by Tom Conway on Unsplash)
If you are reading this in Minnesota, please know that you are in my prayers. I am with you in spirit. The nation is behind you. The photos and news reports coming out of Minneapolis are appalling.
If Minneapolis is the testing ground for the police state Trump has planned for us, I guess I need to update my passport application. I hoped I wouldn’t need to always have my birth certificate or passport with me, in case I had to prove my citizenship, but it looks like that was wishful thinking.
Trump said he was sending immigration agents and border patrol agents to hunt down and deport “the worst of the worst,” but 73% of the people held in his detention centers have no criminal record.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents keep shooting American citizens. Of the four shootings that occurred in Minneapolis in the first couple of weeks of this year, two of them were committed by ICE agents! And now Trump’s Department of “Justice” has been ordered to investigate the mayor of Minneapolis and the Governor of Minnesota. (It is basically Trump’s Department of Justice and not the U.S. Department of Justice, since he treats it like his personal legal team.)
News reports indicate that Renee Good and her wife will be investigated, but not the ICE agent who shot Ms. Good in the face while she was driving. I have not heard any law enforcement officer say it is recommended that they shoot the driver of a moving vehicle. It’s a miracle no one else died in that incident as Ms. Good’s vehicle continued down the street until it plowed into a parked car and utility pole.
And why was she denied medical attention for at least ten minutes even after a nearby physician offered to lend her aid but was not allowed?
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said that her ICE agents have complete legal immunity.
Only Trump supporters will put any trust in the FBI’s “investigation” of the incident.
ICE agents keep accosting Native Americans on the streets because of the color of their skin. Too bad they weren’t taught in school that North America was originally populated by non-Europeans. The indigenous peoples have more right to be here than the rest of us. There have been reports of ICE agents not recognizing citizenship papers from Indian tribes as legal proof of American citizenship.
Trump has two battalions of U.S. Army paratroopers on standby and is threatening to send them to Minneapolis. He already has 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents there creating intimidation and chaos. U.S. military personnel are never supposed to be turned on the American people. Will that be a bridge too far if Trump crosses it?
There have been so many actions and words that I thought would end his political career, but he always comes out unscathed. On Tuesday, he told the people of Minnesota that “the day of reckoning and retribution is coming.” How Presidential!
Of course, he also told the protesters in Iran that “help is on the way.” Funny how he wants to punish Iran for killing protesters, but his own agents are killing protesters in the U.S.
Greenland
A scene in Greenland (Photo by Visit Greenland on Unsplash)
If you are reading this in Greenland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, or Germany… all I can say is I’m sorry, and please don’t give up on the people of the United States of America. The vast majority of Americans don’t want to steal or purchase Greenland. We absolutely don’t want our country to take it by military force! We don’t want to see NATO destroyed! We’re sick and tired of all the tariffs. They aren’t making anyone rich but Trump.
Venezuela
Flag of Venezuela (Photo credit: Aboodi Vesakaran on Unsplash)
We didn’t want Venezuela, but we are enjoying the flood of cartoons springing up all over social media about Trump’s second-hand Nobel Peace Prize.
I don’t think anyone expected “America First” to entail any of this when Trump was campaigning.
What Trump does next is anyone’s guess. A year ago, he talked like an isolationist, but now he seems to want to rule the world.
Since the majority of Congress members don’t have the guts to remove him from office, the ballot box in November looks like our only option… unless he declares a national emergency and cancels the mid-term elections. He admitted last week that he is afraid Democrats will hold the majority of Senate and House seats after the election and he expects to be impeached. We all know he won’t allow that to happen. Chances are, with that fear eating at him, he would wreak as much havoc as possible before November.
My plans for 2026
I shall keep blogging – not always about politics, but I will not be silenced about the things Trump does. To remain quiet when I have this platform is to be complicit.
I shall keep writing my U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative, even though they are Republicans and two of the three have never said one critical word about Trump. The other one speaks out occasionally, but only because he is not running for reelection.
I shall keep writing my novel.
Most of us will just keep doing the best we can.
Janet
The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.
Last week, four reporters from the New York Times interviewed Trump in the Oval Office. One question and Trump’s answer to it have overshadowed the rest of the interview. In fact, knowing his answer to this question means we don’t need to know his answers to any of the other questions.
A reporter asked Trump, if there were any checks, any limits on his power on the world stage.
Trump answered: “There is one. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me, and that’s a good thing.” A reporter asked a follow-up question: “What about international law?” Trump replied, “I don’t need international law. I’m not looking to hurt people.”
Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash
It is the answer to that first question that has stayed with me all weekend. “My own morality. My own mind.”
Trump has said some chilling and frightening things, but I think this is the most chilling and most frightening.
Here we are.
No one should be that self-assured.
No U.S. President should think or say that the only check or limit on his power is himself – his morality, his mind. A U.S. President should at least reference that the U.S. Constitution limits his power.
This is especially frightening, since Trump has no morals. Not to mention, the state of his mind is very much in question.
This is a man who hold grudges. This is a man who never forgets a slight. This is a man with no sense of humor. This is a man devoid of empathy. This is a man who makes fun of handicapped people. This is a man who calls people from Somalia “garbage.” This is a man who daily calls anyone who differs with him such things as “lunatic” and “low IQ” and “horrible person,” etc.
This is a convicted felon who never spent a minute in jail. This is a man who was found guilty of sexual abuse by a jury of nine people.
This is the man who ordered a mob to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, to stop the confirmation that he had lost his bid for re-election to the Presidency and then watched it unfold for hours on TV before calling off the people doing his dirty work.
This is the man who pardoned more than 1,500 of the Capitol rioters who viciously participated in his attempted coup. (Now he says the Capitol Police started it!)
This is the man who has access to the U.S. nuclear weapons codes. Think about that, if you dare.
Have you ever known of anyone so completely devoid of morals?
He said only one thing could stop him, and then he named two things – his morality and his mind. They are not synonymous. They are not interchangeable. But his misunderstanding of the semantics is the least of our worries.
There are now 52 U.S. Senators (all 47 Democrats and five Republicans) willing to vote to at least talk about curbing Trump’s war powers in Venezuela. It was refreshing to finally have a majority vote on something positive in the Senate last week, but the flip side is that we have 48 U.S. Senators (all Republicans) who did not even have the guts to vote to have a discussion about it this week and a final vote on the war powers resolution. Not that Trump has ever been reeled in by a Congressional resolution.
If the shoe were on the other foot (i.e., a Democrat president had gone into Venezuela and taken its leader to a prison in the U.S.), the Republicans in the Senate would be up in arms. In their eyes, Trump can do no wrong. At least, that’s the way they vote. They are complicit in everything he does.
As you begin your week, remember the people of Ukraine, Iran, and Venezuela – especially since Trump posted on Truth Social that he is the “acting President of Venezuela.” If he believes that, the Venezuelans need our prayers.
Janet's Writing Blog 