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.
The fictional character I’m introducing to you today is George. He is a slave in South Carolina in the mid-1700s in the third story in Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, “To Run of Not to Run.”
When you meet George, he is a young boy. He and his father, who was born in Senegal, have just been sold and are being taken from Camden to the Waxhaws.
Photo by Asso Myron on Unsplash
Here’s an excerpt from when George and his father are in the back of a wagon being taken to their new living situation in the Waxhaws:
“George sensed his father was tiring of his questions, so he shut his eyes tight and tried to turn off his mind. But the harder he tried not to think, the more questions flooded his head. The ones that kept crowding out all the others were ones he knew not to ask because he was afraid his papa did not know the answers. When will we see Mama again? When are we going to be free?“
You will follow George as he has a lot to learn and grows up fast. His new master’s son is about his age. Therein forms a dynamic that will ultimately be further developed in the historical novels I am planning and writing.
Remember George. He is a character who grew out of my imagination and has never let me go. I don’t think he will let you forget him either.
Getting into the skin, brain, and soul of a young boy with black skin who is living as a slave in America in the mid-1700s allowed me to stretch my imagination in ways that my other fictional characters did not.
Where to purchase Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories
You can find my new short story collection on Amazon in e-book and paperback. You can find the paperback at Second Look Books in Harrisburg, NC, or ask for it at your local independent bookstore.
Hurricane Helene Recovery Update
I haven’t offered a Hurricane Helene recovery update since my November 3 blog post.
As of Friday, December 5, 25 roads in North Carolina were still closed due to Hurricane Helene’s wind, flooding, and landslides on September 26, 2024. That is a decrease of six roads since a month ago. There are three U.S. highways, two State highways, and 20 state roads closed more than 14 months after the hurricane.
In Tennessee… as of Tuesday, December 2, U.S. 321in Elk Mills, in the Watauga Lake area, is officially reopened since being heavily damaged by the hurricane.
Sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina will remain closed until at least next fall, and I-40 at the Tennessee line will continue to be just two lanes at 35 miles-per-hour for a couple more years while five miles of the highway are being rebuilt in the Pigeon River Gorge.
The following success story was cut and pasted from a U.S. Forest Service – National Forests in North Carolina Facebook post on December 3, 2025: “Two decades ago, after Hurricane Frances and Ivan, our ecosystems team saw how erosion could unravel an entire ecosystem. Brady Dodd, hydrologist for the National Forests in North Carolina, developed and executed a plan to reshape eroded riverbanks, plant riparian flood resistant species and add erosion prevention structures. After Helene arrived, the banks held, and the water ran clear due to the work that had been done years prior. This story serves as a model to our forests as we continue to build resilience into each of our Helene recovery projects.”
We’ve gone from fall leaf season to snow ski season in western North Carolina since my last update. Be aware that you might run into a detour, and you can’t drive the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
If you visit, please drop by Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville and Highland Books in Brevard. Tell them I sent you. They sell my books!
The United States of America used to be a nation of laws, or am I naïve?
I did not plan to blog today, but something came to my attention that I can’t let slide.
Amnesty International has issued a 48-page report. I thought it was going to be a report on the organization’s findings throughout the world but, no, it is a report on detention facilities in the State of Florida. 48 well-documented pages.
The U.S. Detention Center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” due to its location in the Everglades and the manner in which it was publicized by the Trump Administration and the early reports that came out of there, has completely fallen off the radars of news organizations. With Border Patrol and ICE activities in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Minneapolis-St. Paul dominating the news cycles along with the Epstein Files and whether the United States is going to bomb Venezuela and force a regime change in that country… “Alligator Alcatraz” cannot compete for attention.
Thank goodness it hasn’t fallen off Amnesty International’s radar. The organization’s report this week paints a horrible picture of conditions at “Alligator Alcatraz.”
I know there are Americans who glibly turn a blind eye to any reports that put the Trump Administration in a bad light. They seem to think it’s acceptable for the U.S. to bomb boats in international waters and launch multiple attacks to kill any survivors. They also tend to agree with Trump that anyone who ends up in a detention center is sub-human and deserves horrible treatment. Many of these people also claim to be Christians. This baffles me, but that isn’t the purpose of today’s blog post.
(And why is Trump’s good buddy, Steve Witkoff, giving Putin advice on how to negotiate with Trump? But I digress.)
Photo by Mitchel Lensink on Unsplash
I cannot easily summarize the report in this blog post, but here are a few highlights:
Lights are on around-the-clock;
Although the United Nations considers solitary confinement lasting more than 15 days to be torture, but at “Alligator Alcatraz,” some detainees have been in solitary confinement for more than 100 consecutive days;
Inadequate/ill-maintained plumbing results in toilets overflowing and flooding cells;
Detainees are allowed one five-minute shower per week;
Mold, insects, and rodents abound;
Food is often spoiled or maggot-infested;
Medical and mental health care are often withheld;
At least four detainees have died due to medical neglect;
Detainees are effectively dropped from the immigration court system because ICE and GEO Group refuse to report them to other government authorities;
Guards have used pepper spray in closed cells and then denied decontamination;
Sexual assault is occurring;
Detainees are punished if they complain about conditions;
Force-feeding has been used without proper medical oversight
There are 1,400 detainees being held there now at a facility built for 700;
ICE renewed GEO Group’s contract to operate the facility inspite of all the evidence that the company is not maintaining current standards of incarceration in the United States; and
The Department of Human Services Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties has not inspected “Alligator Alcatraz” since July 2025.
My thoughts
Call me a “bleeding heart liberal” if you wish, but I would ask you if this is now the acceptable penal standard in the United States of America? Do we aspire to be a “Third World” country?
Is anything on the above list making “America Great Again” or did I misunderstand Trump’s campaign promise?
If you are all right with our country treating detainees horribly, then you and I have fundamental differences in how we interpret the teachings of Jesus Christ as well as the letter and spirit of the United States Constitution.
The sobering lines of Martin Niemoller’s much-quoted “First they came” statement/poem come to mind.
They haven’t come for me yet, but I feel compelled to speak up for the least of these among us and alleged atrocities committed by the United States Government or its private contractors such as GEO Group.
I love my country. That is why it hurts so much when we fall short of our potential and our history.
Francisco Bravo Cabrera graciously featured me and my new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories on his e-zine in Spain (LatinosUSA (English Edition/Masticadores) this morning at 8:00 a.m. Madrid Time!
Francisco Bravo Cabrera is a bit of a Renaissance man. He is an artist, a poet, a writer, and a musician. He is based in Valencia, Spain, but has also lived in Miami, Florida. His blog, JaZzArt en Valencia, can be found at https://paintinginvalencia.com/, and his work can also be found on https://www.fineartamerica.com.
I cut and pasted Francisco’s magazine article about my new book below, but two of the photographs did not copy. Here’s the link, if you want to see the original for yourself: https://latinosenglishedition.wordpress.com/?p=8436.
New Historical Fiction by Janet Morrison (Editor Francisco Bravo Cabrera)
(Photo: Janet Morrison/provided by Janet Morrison)
As a big fan of history and novels, there is no genre that fascinates me more than «historical fiction,» therefore I would like to feature today a historical fiction writer from North Carolina (US), Janet Morrison, who has just released a new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories. I am sure it can easily be found in Amazon or in your neighbourhood book store.
I have asked Janet to bring us a synopsis of the 13 stories included in the book. And although she thought it a bit tricky, I think she has covered them in a concise way.
Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, by Janet Morrison, will transport you from 17th century Scotland to 20th century America! The more than one dozen short stories are set in Scotland, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Each story includes author’s notes, so you will learn what inspired the story, how the story is based in history but is a work of fiction.
There are stories set in Colonial America and the American Revolutionary War Era. One story is the fictitious letter an American Civil War soldier wrote to his parents. Another story follows a slave who contemplates escaping. A couple of the stories are set in the southern Appalachian Mountains – one during a blizzard in the 1870s and involves a dog and a bear during The Great Depression. There is one ghost story. In another story, a girl in foster care discovers the dignity a suitcase can bring. The final story in the book is told by an old farmhouse that remembers the family it sheltered in the 1800s.
+++
Janet Morrison’s educational background is in political science and history. She has worked as a local government administrator, a travel agent, and a newspaper columnist. She enjoys writing historical fiction and local history at her home in North Carolina. Her vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina was published in 2015. Since then, she has published two local history books, a devotional book, and a cookbook. Janet uses her blog, https://www.janetswritingblog. com, as a platform to write about the books she reads, events in history, and politics. The most rewarding thing about her blog is that it has made it possible for her to make friends around the world. When she has spare time, she loves researching her genealogy and learning to play the dulcimer. Be sure to visit https://www. janetmorrisonbooks.com to learn more about her books and to subscribe to her newsletter.
+++++
I would like to thank Janet so much for her participation in today’s episode and to remind her that she is welcome here any time. I am sure that we will all enjoy reading this historical fiction book as well as the other books she has written.
AND
If you are a writer, a poet or an artist (in any of the arts) and would like to appear in our magazine LatinosUSA (English Edition), please contact me, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, editor: ArribaPamplona@gmail.com
Today I am introducing you to the main character in “You Couldn’t Help But Like Bob,” the second story in my new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories.
Genealogy has been a hobby of mine since I was a young adult. Robert Dooling is the most colorful of my ancestors that I have found so far. He immigrated from Ireland to America in the early 1700s and settled in Virginia.
Some people would be embarrassed at discovering one of their great-great-great-great-great-grandfathers was on the wrong side of the law in Colonial Virginia, but that just made Robert Dooling that much more interesting to me. To my way of thinking, that’s a lot better than just knowing an ancestor’s birth and death dates.
I devoured the colonial court records, eagerly searching for every tidbit or reference to Robert. As far as I know, he never did anything too serious. Perhaps his worst offence was “abusing” a Justice of the Peace. (I’m not clear on what constituted “abusing” a Justice of the Peace in Tappahannock, Virginia in the early 18th century.
I had fun creating a fictional story about this man I only know on paper, but his blood runs through my veins and I’m grateful to know more about him than just his name.
Here are the opening lines in the story:
“You couldn’t help but like Bob. Unless he owed you money. Unless you were a Justice of the Peace in Essex County, Virginia in the early 1700s.
“Even so, you just couldn’t help but like Bob.
“To say Bob was irritating would be an understatement, but you couldn’t stay made at him for long. Unless he owned you money or tobacco. Unless you were a Justice of the Peace, tired of seeing him dragged into your court room.”
I hope you will enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
After you read “You Couldn’t Help But Like Bob” in Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, you’ll know more about him. I hope you will like him, too!
When the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) bends a knee to Donald Trump, we should all sit up and take notice.
Photo by appshunter.io on Unsplash
It came to my attention this afternoon that BBC Radio 4 censored a sentence out of a Reith Lectures presentation by Rutger Bregman. The BBC invited Mr. Bregman to give a series of lectures in the highly-touted Reith Lectures. The Reith Lectures have a 77-year history and have been known for being champions of free expression.
“John Reith maintained that broadcasting should be a public service which enriches the intellectual and cultural life of the nation. It is in this spirit that the BBC each year invites a leading figure to deliver a series of lectures on radio. The aim is to advance public understanding and debate about significant issues of contemporary interest.”
Writer and historian Rutger Bregman was invited to deliver a series of four lectures for the 2025 Reith Lectures in London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and the United States. Under the umbrella theme of Moral Revolution, his four lectures were “A Time of Monsters,” “How To Start a Moral Revolution,” “A Conspiracy of Decency,” and “Fighting for Humanity in the Age of the Machine.”
On November 25, 2025, Mr. Bregman (@rutgerbregman) posted on Instagram his shock that BBC Radio 4 removed a sentence from the broadcast of a lecture he delivered a month ago.
I quote from @rutgerbregman on Instagram
Mr. Bregman wrote on @rutgerbregman on Instagram: “The BBC has decided to censor the opening lecture of a series they invited me to deliver. They removed the sentence in which I describe Donald Trump as ‘the most openly corrupt president in American history.’
“This line was taken out of a lecture they commissioned, reviewed through the full editorial process, and recorded four weeks ago in front of 500 people in the BBC Radio Theatre.
“I was told the decision came from the highest levels within the BBC.
“This has happened against my wishes, and I’m deeply troubled by it. Not because people can’t disagree with my words, but because self-censorship driven by fear (Trump is threatening to sue the BBC) should concern all of us.
“This isn’t about left or right. It’s about the health of our democratic institutions. For decades the Reith Lectures have been one of the BBC’s most important platforms for open debate and free expression. That’s why this really matters.
“In this video, I explain what happened, why it’s important, and why we should remain calm but clear-eyed about the pressures facing our public institutions.
“I share this with respect for the many excellent journalists at the BBC. And with the hope that transparency helps strengthen, not weaken, our democratic culture.”
In Mr. Bregman’s Instagram video clip
In Mr. Bregman’s video on Instagram, he explains that the irony is that the title of his lecture was “A Time of Monsters.” The lecture was about the cowardice of today’s elites and elitist institutions – “bending the knee to authoritarianism.”
In the video on Instagram, Bregman said, “They deleted the sentence in which I said, ‘Donald Trump is the most openly corrupt president in American history.’”
He said, “It was a defensible and plausible statement. It’s well known that Donald Trump and his family are personally profiting from the presidency to a degree we haven’t seen before. According to a major investigation in The New Yorker published last August, the total gain, the personal gains, already exceed roughly $3.5 billion from real estate deals to meme coins.”
Mr. Bregman went on to say that this isn’t about him – “It’s about something much bigger. When institutions start censoring themselves, because they’re scared of those in power, that is the moment we all need to pay attention. Democracies don’t collapse overnight. They gradually erode in acts of fear. Let’s not be afraid to name what’s happening, and let’s not be afraid to tell the truth.”
In closing
I couldn’t have said it better myself, so I’ll just leave it for you to draw your own conclusions about the state of the world.
I wish my fellow Americans a Happy Thanksgiving Day tomorrow.
Today I’m introducing you to what prompted me to write “The Tailor’s Shears,” the first story in my new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories.
Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash
This was a story I wrote in 2001 soon after I completed a fiction writing course in the Continuing Education Department at Queens University of Charlotte. I had edited it over the years as I learned more about the craft of writing fiction. The fact that I took a fiction writing course is in itself an interesting story.
I had never read a lot of fiction. I’d always read history books and probably didn’t read any fiction in college other than what was required in English classes. Being a political science major with a history minor, fiction wasn’t on my radar. Imagine my sister’s surprise (or should I say shock?) when I told her I was taking a course in fiction writing! Needless to say, I had a lot to learn.
Those of us who completed the course were given the opportunity to join Queens Writers Group. It was a congenial group with a range of talents. When it was decided we would self-publish a collection of short stories, I jumped in. Self-publishing and print-on-demand were new to all of us and to the world. We felt like we were trailblazers!
It was decided that each of us would write a story based on an item found in the castle keep at a fictitious Lochar Castle in Scotland. Each of us had to choose an item we wanted to write about. No other instructions were given.
In doing family research and visiting Scotland, I had learned about the Covenanters. I knew I wanted to work that into my story, and then I had to figure out the item I would write about. In a nutshell, the Covenanters were a group of Presbyterians in Scotland who signed the National Covenant in 1638 to affirm their opposition to the Stuart kings’ interference with the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The signers and the people who agreed with them were Covenanters. Many of them were executed by the government.
I was fascinated by the sacrifices the Covenanters made, especially after seeing the plaque that marks the spot in The Grassmarket in the Old Town section of Edinburgh where many Covenanters were hanged for their religious beliefs. (See a photo at http://www.covenanter.org.uk/grassmarket.html.) I also visited Greyfriars Churchyard where the National Covenant was signed. Some of them signed their names in blood. It was all an eye-opening experience to learn that part of my Presbyterian background!
Somehow, with that history in my head, I decided to write about a tailor who was a Covenanter and it was his shears that would be found later in the Lochar Castle keep. The story is written from the point-of-view of Sir Iain Douglas, the patriarch of the Douglas Clan who lived in the castle at the time of the tailor’s shears ended up in the castle. In the story, Sir Iain shares his recollections of his tailor, Alexander Montgomery, and how Mr. Montgomery was persecuted for being a Covenanter.
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
“‘Just why is it the Covenanters cannae compromise and make peace with the King? Back forty years ago in my military days, I thought I had a fairly good idea of what the Covenanters stood for, but with the passage of time I have grown somewhat weary of it all and wonder if the present-day Covenanters even know what they’re fighting for or against.’
“Montgomery’s face turned red as a beetroot and his blue eyes blazed.”
I hope you will be transported back to the 17th century in Scotland as you read “The Tailor’s Shears” in Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, by Janet Morrison. You can find my book on Amazon, if it is not available at your favorite independent bookstore.
Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, by Janet Morrison
When I blogged on November 7, I had no idea I would not blog again until November 22. My sister is recovering nicely from her surgery. The jury is still out on the condition of her sole caregiver. (LOL!) The main reason I haven’t blogged in 15 days is that my desktop computer went rogue on November 11. I did not have time to call for help for it until late yesterday. My new best friend/computer guy came today and I am now back in business as a blogger and a writer.
The timing couldn’t have been worse for computer problems with my new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, just being released. All the publicity memes and ads I created in advance on Bookbrush.com (I love Bookbrush!) could not be accessed and posted on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Bluesky. I can still use them, of course, but the dates I labeled many of them with have now passed. I’m living in a time warp of sorts.
Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, by Janet Morrison
I have not been able to mail 85 book publicity postcards in the metro area because the local independent bookstore has not received her shipment from IngramSpark yet. Another case of hurry up and wait.
I’m not one to always look for the silver lining in a black cloud, but (1) my sister is improving each day and (2) I’ve gotten some much-needed exercise putting ice packs on her wound every 20 minutes all day every day. I’ve averaged walking more than three miles-a-day, which is probably 2.5 miles more than my usual.
All of this came at an inopportune time. Some of you have, no doubt, missed my daily political rants. Others of you have probably thanked God for the absence of them.
“Let them eat cake!”
During my absence from the blogosphere this month, President Marie Antoinette ordered the U.S. Border Patrol to leave Chicago and descend upon us here Charlotte. I watched local and national news programs as the masked and heavily armed Border Patrol Agents roamed Mecklenburg County and beyond (including very small mountain towns more than 100 miles to the west) and randomly round up anyone who looked or sounded Hispanic — regardless of their citizenship status.
They came without coordinating or communicating with the Sheriff of Mecklenburg County or the Charlotte Chief of Police. Standard protocol is that a federal law enforcement agency alerts local law enforcement of their operations so local police do not interfere with the operations. It just helps for local police to be aware of what the feds are doing, but that’s not how U.S. Border Patrol works.
They pointed high-powered weapons at unarmed men, women, and children, broke out car windows, and detained people for days without their families knowing where they had been taken. I understand some were taken hundreds of miles away to Georgia.
Skyline of Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by Daniel Weiss on unsplash.com.
The general terrorism in sections of Charlotte with high Hispanic populations resulted in Hispanic- and Latino- owned businesses closing shop all week in an effort to keep their customers safe. Grocery stores and other businesses offered home deliveries to customers who were afraid to leave their homes.
Some 30,000 Charlotte-Mecklenburg school students stayed home from school out of fear of either being picked up in transit or out of fear that if they went to school their parents would be arrested and taken away before they got home from school that afternoon.
A teacher at East Mecklenburg High School was interviewed. She eloquently described what last week was like in the school system with 21 percent of the students being afraid to go to school. She did not use the word “terrorized” lightly. She spoke of teachers making home visits to their scared students to reassure them and to deliver food and toiletries to their homes.
What we have now in America is students not only having to worry that a shooter is going to come into their school and murder students and teachers, they also have to worry that the United States Government is going to send men in unmarked vehicles and wearing full military garb plus masks and sunglasses that completely hide their identities to harass them and possibly zip tie them and haul them away to parts unknown as they just attempt to attend school.
It did not help the situation for Assistant White House Chief-of-Staff Stephen Miller to announce that those 30,000 school students stayed home this week because they were all illegal aliens. Stop lying, Mr. Miller! Most of those students are American citizens. They just don’t have a white face like you have, Mr. Miller. That’s all they are guilty of. Since you don’t appear to be Native American of indigenous ancestry, Mr. Miller, I assume that you have immigrants in your family tree. Most Americans do.
When all was said and done in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, in less than a week, more than 370 individuals were arrested out of a population of 1.2 million. President Antoinette enjoyed his Great Gatsby-themed party in Florida as he sent Border Patrol Agents here under the guise of arresting “the worst of the worst.” The final report isn’t out yet, but the last I heard only two gang members were arrested. Of the first 170 people arrested, only 44 had police records (including such things are parking tickets and speeding tickets.)
At least one U.S. citizen’s truck window was broken out by Border Patrol. He was taken miles away. Border Patrol kept his truck keys. At least two women from Puerto Rico were accosted, questioned, zip-tied, and led away to an unmarked vehicle. The Trump Administration hasn’t learned yet that Puerto Rico is a U.S. Territory. Its residents are U.S. citizens. I can’t un-see the video of Trump throwing paper towels at Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria in October 2017. It was when Hurricane Maria hit that Trump told us that Puerto Rico is an island surrounded by water. Duh!
Before I close, I want to emphasize how the U.S. Border Patrol Agents are dressed. The word “mask” is woefully inadequate to describe what they are wearing. These so-called masks are heavy knit fabric. It reaches from their throats to their eyes and encircles their heads. Dark sunglasses cover their eyes. They wear hats. (I can’t help but compare them to the Ku Klux Klan… cowardly white people afraid to show their faces.)
They are dressed in fatigues with bullet-proof vests. Wads of zip ties hanging from their belts or one of their numerous pockets. They are heavily armed. They appear to be very short on patience and totally void of empathy for their fellow American citizens. They have been filmed stopping in the street in a residential neighborhood, jumping out and accosting two Hispanic-looking men who were hired to put lights on a resident’s outdoor Christmas tree.
It has come to this: random racial terrorism being practiced by the United States Government at the direction of the United States President.
They seem to have left Charlotte, although the website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicated they would be here until December 4. Is that a trick?
New Orleans, apparently you are next on Trump’s hit list. Remain calm and vigilant. Remain calm and vigilant. Be on the lookout for unmarked SUVs bearing Illinois license plates.
Update from Chicago
Marimar Martinez, the teacher in Chicago who was shot five times by U.S. Border Patrol, is recovering from her injuries and is returning to the classroom. She had been called a “domestic terrorist” by Border Patrol after she blew her vehicle’s horn to warn residents that the agents were in the neighborhood, but all charges against her were suddenly dropped this week.
Border Patrol accused her of ramming their vehicle, but video of the incident proved it was their vehicle that sideswiped her care. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security continues to publish falsehoods about her though, even as the department has dropped all charges after their case fell apart in a hearing.
Trump calls for execution of lawmakers
In other news here in America, when six Democrat lawmakers dared to make a video to remind all U.S. citizens that members of the U.S. military are not required to obey an illegal order, Trump called for the six to be arrested and executed.
Republicans told us that Trump did not mean it, and that’s supposed to make it okay.
As a writer, I know that words are more powerful than the sword. It is frightening and embarrassing that we have a U.S. President who is reckless with his language. It is also frightening that no one in a position of authority is holding him accountable for anything he says or does.
Resignation of U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia surprised everyone last night when she announced her resignation from the U.S. Congress as of January 5, 2026. Trump calling her a “traitor” was a bridge too far for this staunch ex-supporter of him and his administration. Perhaps other politicians who have sold their souls to the devil should take note. When he turns on you, you are dead to him.
This gives me a glimmer of hope that there are cracks in Trump’s armor.
Mozambique
It is being reported that ISIS has quickly gone into Mozambique since USAID has halted. ISIS is not filling the gap in aid. They’re filling the gap of influence. They’re recruiting the young men. They are beheading people who don’t comply with their demands.
People with decades of experience in the U.S. State Department warned us that in addition to millions of people starving to death, the halting of USAID would result in radical terrorist groups rushing in to take our place. It appears those decades of government service meant they knew a lot more about international relations than Trump and his minions will ever know.
All Trump could see was we were spending money to help Third World countries and he detested that policy. He couldn’t be bothered to understand that much of that food aid was a product of American agriculture. Even in his second term in office, Trump doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.
All those people who thought it was not in our national interest to ship American grain and other agricultural products to other countries, how do you like the prospect of ISIS spreading its hate for America among “the least of these.”
Most Trump supporters pride themselves in being Christians. This continues to baffle me. What version of the Bible tells you to hate the foreigner? I’ve never read that version.
In closing
That’s my rant for today. Maybe it’s a good thing I haven’t been able to watch or listen to as much news this month as my usual! I hope to blog about my new book in a couple of days.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.
When you have a minute, please look for my books on Amazon.
Remember the brave people of Ukraine, as it appears Trump has been played like a fiddle by Putin.
I am fortunate that the U.S. Constitution protects my right to criticize the U.S. President.
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America
Sometimes the best-laid plans just don’t pan out. Such is life.
This is Janet’s Writing Blog, so today I start my post with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into my life this week as a self-published writer.
If you read my blog on Tuesday, Traveling Through History is released today!, you know I was celebrating the release of the e-version of my new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, but I mentioned that the paperback was not being released that day as planned.
Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, by Janet Morrison
I thought I had everything in place for the paperback’s release worldwide by Ingram-Spark.
I sent handwritten notes to various independent bookstores along with a detailed information sheet about the book. I told them they would be able to order the book from Ingram-Spark and have it in stock in their stores on November 4 or very shortly thereafter.
The e-book is available – and I’m over the moon about that! But as of today, I still don’t know what the hold-up is for the paperback. Perhaps I will learn something today.
I decided to go ahead and self-publish the paperback on Amazon in the United States, and I expect it to be available here on November 11. I hope Ingram-Spark will release it for worldwide distribution next week – which will include Amazon in countries other than the U.S. — but that remains to be seen. Bookstores will not order it from Amazon. I needed Ingram-Spark for that.
Such is the life of a self-published author! This glitch is not the end of the world. It was just something I had hoped to get checked off my to-do list on November 4.
Thank you to those of you who have congratulated me on the release of the e-book. And a huge thanks to those of you who have purchased the book! I understand that Ingram-Spark has distributed the e-book to Amazon.UK, so I assume it is also available on the worldwide e-markets of Amazon.
Meanwhile, in Washington, DC…
The government shutdown continues as I write this on the night of November 6. One result of the shutdown is that the air traffic controllers and TSA agents who keep the flying public safe are not being paid. They are expected to show up for work and give their undivided attention to all the details their jobs entail… without pay.
To try to force Congress to do its job and pass a federal budget, the White House gave the airlines less than 24 hours’ notice that they had to start cancelling flights at the forty busiest airports in the country. A certain percentage of flights must be cancelled with each passing day beginning today.
But none of this will interfere with Trump’s weekly trip to play golf in Florida.
Since an alleged “businessman” is President of the United States, it baffles me that the order came from the White House (or what’s left of it) with no regard for the chaos such a sudden order will cause airlines, airports, passengers, and the employees of the airlines and airports.
It appears “President Marie Antoinette” knows no more about business than he knows about a democratic government. Throwing a Great Gatsby-themed party at his mansion in Florida last week while federal employees are not receiving paychecks is the height of being tone deaf. He is completely out-of-touch with the average American.
President Antoinette says commercial aviation in the U.S. is “100% safe,” even though air traffic controllers work without pay and some have had to take a second job and are working exhausted.
And why was a large “The Oval Office” sign installed at what’s left of the White House this week? Can President Antoinette not find his office?
Yesterday, the President announced that he will force the price of weight-loss drugs down because they are too expensive. Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Medicare and Medicaid programs announced that Americans will lose 135 billion pounds before the mid-term elections next November. I’m not good at math, but the population of the United States is around 343 million. That means every American would have to lose 394 pounds to make Dr. Oz’s statement true.
Something is very, very wrong in Washington, DC, and it is being denied by the members of Congress and by what’s left of the White House.
A cheaper Thanksgiving Dinner?
Trump and various Republicans in Congress have bragged this week that they talked to the CEO of Walmart and he told them that everyone’s Thanksgiving Dinner will be 20% cheaper this year than it was last year while Joe Biden was US President.
What Trump and none of the Republicans have explained is that the Walmart CEO based that on the fact that this year Walmart decreased the number of items it considers to be a Thanksgiving dinner. Slick move, Walmart!
Of course, Trump has changed the 20% to 25% because that is what he does. He exaggerates or decreases statistics in whichever way serves his purpose.
The Walmart CEO’s hocus-pocus with the facts has led many Republican lawmakers who have never set foot in the grocery store to announce that grocery prices have plummeted since Trump took office on January 20, 2025. They really do think American citizens are stupid and will believe the politicians instead of their own wallets.
Until my next blog post
I will be caring for my sister as she recovers from surgery over the coming weeks, so I might not blog as often as I have in the recent past. We expect everything to go smoothly, but I will have added responsibilities vying for my time and attention.
The time you take to read my rants and blog posts is appreciated more than you know. Your “likes” and comments are what keep me going.
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America
I’m grateful that I still have the freedom of speech guaranteed to me by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. I am very aware that some of the people reading my blog in other countries cannot imagine having the freedoms we have in America. Even though our form of government is under attack from within, I believe there are enough of us who love democracy to save our country and put things right someday.
I am excited to tell you that my new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, will be released today as an e-book on Amazon! I thought the paperback would be released today, but there have been some bumps in the road over the last several days. I hope the paperback will be available in a few days.
Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, by Janet Morrison
In a week or two, look for it at your favorite independent bookstore, such as Second Look Books in Harrisburg, NC. I will give shout-outs to other bookstores as they let me know they’ve ordered the book.
Here’s a list of the stories in Traveling Through History:
The Tailor’s Shears – A 1600s Scottish Story;
You Couldn’t Help But Like Bob – A Colonial Virginia Short Story;
To Run or Not to Run – George’s Story;
Making the Best of a Tragedy – Elizabeth Steele’s Story;
From Scotland to America – A 1762 Immigration Story;
Whom Can We Trust? – A Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence Short Story;
Go fight, Johnny! – A Story of a Battle of King’s Mountain Veteran;
A Letter from Sharpsburg – An American Civil War Letter;
Slip Sliding Away – A Southern Appalachian Short Story;
A Plott Hound Called Buddy – A Great Depression Era Southern Appalachian Short Story;
Secrets of a Foster Child – Dignity in a Simple Suitcase;
Ghost of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse – An American Revolutionary War Ghost Story; and
If This House Could Talk – Recollections of an Old Farmhouse.
Do some of these story titles pique your interest? I certainly hope they do!
Each story is followed by Author’s Notes that give you such information as background information, what inspired the story, and what’s truth and what’s fiction.
Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories is available for your Kindle from Amazon.
For starters, relax, no mention of politics in America in today’s post.
Second, where did October go? Or September, for that matter?
I only read two books in October, but they were both wonderful reads that gave me much to think about. It was great to get back in the groove and read some excellent historical fiction!
The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau
Two weeks ago, on October 20th, I blogged about The Weight of Snow and Regret, an historical novel by Elizabeth Gauffreau. If you missed reading that post, please go back and read it now: The Weight of Snow and Regret.
The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau
I don’t want you to miss it! Ms. Gauffreau’s novel will take you back to a time in our country when poor houses were available for people who did not have anywhere else to go. The book is populated by distinct characters who will tug at your heart.
After not finding any novels that held my attention for months, October was a much-needed dive back into reading for pleasure for me.
15,000 Kilometers, by Laleh Chini
In addition to reading Elizabeth Gauffreau’s new novel, I read Laleh Chini’s new book, 15,000 Kilometers. In case you are an American and kilometers don’t mean anything to you, 15,000 kilometers is more than 9,300 miles. The book is Laleh Chini’s husband’s memoir.
15,000 Kilometers, by Laleh Chini
Hassan was a teenager when he risked his life to escape Iran after the Shah of Iran was overthrown in 1979. Life under the Shah’s rule was not perfect, but things deteriorated rapidly during and after the revolution.
This book will take you along with Hassan every excruciating step of the way as he was determined to get to Canada and have a free life.
Hassan’s decision was gut-wrenching for himself and his parents, but he faced a bleak future if he stayed in his home country. He already had his eye on the lovely Laleh, who was from his hometown. He never gave up on his dream of reaching Canada and reuniting with Laleh.
He joined others who sought to escape Iran, and they bonded as they walked and ran to the border with Afghanistan, then braved the desert with very little food and water, always at the mercy of smugglers they had placed their lives in the hands of.
Then came two more countries! Hassan continued to do everything he needed to do to blend in and not draw attention to himself in one strange land after another.
Did Hassan make it to Canada? How did he and Laleh find one another again after so much terror and sacrifice? I don’t want to give that away. You must read the book to appreciate Hassan’s bravery and sacrifice and to see if he realized his dream.
The exquisite hand-drawn illustrations are a bonus in 15,000 Kilometers. There are wonderful detailed images of Hasson, the guards and other men he encountered, and some of the sights he saw along the way.
The words and the images in 15,000 Kilometers, by Laleh Chini, are a real treasure that reminded me how fortunate I was to be born in the United States. Even with all of America’s flaws and current challenges, I was blessed to be born and grow up in a free country.
Hurricane Helene Update
As of Friday, October 31, 31 roads in North Carolina were still closed due to Hurricane Helene’s wind, flooding, and landslides on September 26, 2024. That’s two fewer roads than were closed when I gave my last update two weeks ago. Friday’s count included five US highways, two state highways, and 24 state roads.
Future progress will probably be slow, as winter weather is already setting in in the mountains. I will give updates periodically as there is something new to report.
Sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina will remain closed for at least another year, and I-40 at the Tennessee line will continue to be just two lanes at 35 miles-per-hour for a couple more years while five miles of the highway are being rebuilt in the Pigeon River Gorge.
But western North Carolina is open for business and tourists this fall, although the elevations above 3,000 feet are well past their peak of fall color. Be aware that you might run into a detour, and you can’t drive the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
If you visit western North Carolina, please drop by Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville and Highland Books in Brevard. Tell them I sent you. They sell my books!
Janet's Writing Blog 