I feel caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. I'm annoyed at the Washington Post and the NYT for promoting false narratives that sound right wing, yet where will I get my news if I cancel my subscription in protest? Very annoying.
This is where we are so fortunate! We have multiple sources and we've all found trustworthy interpreters to help us weed out all-or-nothing interpretations like the one Robert speaks of here with the WaPo "survey". Heather Cox Richardson is another, plus we are finding more and more trustworthy sources who only request a small membership fee. My point is that you can still read the Washington Post, but cast a jaundiced eye and back up that reading with a little more background research. After all, it helps us know what is really going on when we see what the media is "feeding" the masses, too. I cancelled my WSJ in protest because they were overall so biased in a direction I couldn't stomach and didn't want to support. We can pick and choose at this point, and that sure is a wonderful thing!
I feel the same way but need to remind myself a lot of the columns I have an issue with are guest columnist with a different point of view and I think it’s important to hear all sides. Also I have written to the editors of both newspapers and I think more people need to tell them how we feel.
I was so annoyed with parts of the Times editorial yesterday that I wrote to them and told them so and why. I have no illusions that the letter will be published but it made me feel better and someone there will read it.
And write WaPo a letter about what you just shared with us about your frustration. Without enough feedback, they may not realize their readers are dissatisfied until readers cancel and that is too late.
I feel the same way. First, you might try writing to both. Both have twitter accounts and I'm sure some lowly staff person is tasked with having to sort through them.
Thank you for your newsletter and all the effort and care you put into it. I really appreciate the information and calming nature of your advice. I’m a subscriber as a result! Happy New Year to you and all of your readers.
Just thank you for your use of the “smell test.” Someone once said that much media is an open sewer flowing through the living rooms of America. Your column is a crystal spring of life giving liquid.
The doomsday headline is so off-kilter. Who needs a survey about American violence when we already know how many people own guns— not the sportsman variety, either.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, aka Miss Piggy for Attention, joins a legion of attention hogs. If she has grandchildren, they will be ashamed.
Staying out of our worry rooms will be real important this year as lockdowns continue. I plan to participate in a many Zoom meetings as I can to keep the democratic flame alive.
Today's Edition Newsletter is an important part of my daily routine and I am forever grateful for both its helpful perspectives and sound advice. "Do more, worry less" is now prominently displayed on my home office wall where it reminds me each day to check my priorities to be sure I have properly ordered them. Thank you.
While Congress is not adaquitly addressing climate issues, many individuals are and indeed must, if we are going to make progress on that front. We can't wait for the slow machinery of government to solve the issue. My son and I are working on a simple, inexpensive and doable project: encourage people to add clover to their lawns to increase the uptake of CO2 from the environment. We explain the rationale with some beautiful footage complements of NASA and JPL. We hope that besides helping to reduce atmospheric CO2, this project will help individuals feel empowered on multiple fronts. Find the video here: https://youtu.be/Xla2w0f3YdE
I watched the video and did a bit of research. there are other benefits to a clover lawn as well--flowers for pollinators, more efficient nitrogen fixing to the soil. Clover was considered grass in the past but is now considered a "weed" by Monsanto because its lawn chemicals kill clover (Turning a "bug" into a feature.) Do you have a website in addition to the video?
I watched it and then posted it on Facebook. Thank you, Mardi. I noticed you were part of the production of the video. Now that's what I call getting into action!
Deborah, if you go back to my YouTube Channel " Mardi Crane" https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPOo2ce3WA4wetsXf8ckOhA you will find a section on environment. We call it Climate Hack. I've been devoting time to making Climate oriented videos over the last two years. You can see several useful ideas on how individuals can make a dent in the great Climate Challenge. It's wonderful when people share on FB or by email with friends. We have to solve this or it won't matter what happens in the elections.
I have a question: How can it possibly be legal, in nay way, for Mr Trump to lie and spread lies, as he does. And for Fox News to knowingly like and led people astray? It can't be freedom of speech, can it, when it has dire consequences: e.g. shouting Fire in a crowded theater?
Hi, Les. The First Amendment is robust, and protects lies as well as truth. Of course, when speech becomes criminal, seditious, or tortious it can be the basis for criminal or civil liability. Let's hope Merrick Garland is investigating Trump for inciting insurrection. Fox News is reprehensible, but it is supported by advertisers. There are several efforts to remove Fox from basic cable. See #unfoxmybox.
WaPo has pretty much discredited itself as an institution. The great newspaper of the Watergate years has dissolved into a Trump-apology rag, that deserves to be cast into the dust bin of history. NOTE: Reputable conservative institutions, like National Review, as much as I disagree with most of what they say, have maintained their integrity-for the most part, and merit respect. WaPo? Not so.
Hi, Gary. I have been disappointed with WaPo, but it is also one of handful of major media outlets that counter the programming on Fox News / TV and radio. Plus, many of the commentators are first rate. But I continue to be disappointed by the "sky is falling" journalism that has taken root in the last year or so.
I will be at a vigil Thursday. The only uncertainty is what my sign will say. "Lock Him Up" is trite. How about: "Garland: ACT NOW!" or I was considering "Don't Look Up!". Thoughts?
Hi, Bill. I would not make January 6th about Trump, but about the Constitution or democracy. I invite others like JJMargolis to suggest slogans. But the basic concept is that we must defend democracy and truth.
Am wondering if some of those taking the violence poll were thinking it might be defensible to resort to violence in order to protect the Constitution given a fascist, repressive government. I am struggling with this question myself.
All feelings are natural, but we have thinking brains to decide how to respond to our feelings. Then it's a matter of balance. A little worry or healthy fear is good for maintaining alertness to danger and for protective planning as much as possible, but obviously, being consumed by worry is paralyzing and counterproductive.
A "self help" guru from the 80's used to say: "guilt and worry are useless emotions". We wouldn't be human if we didn't have a range of emotions - fear, anger, etc. But how we respond defines us. I will be expressing myself Thursday at a local vigil. I have rarely done that stuff in the past. I hate/fear crowds. But I feel compelled to raise my voice as never before in all my long years...it's now or never time.
I am not a psychologist, so I will let others debate, but I will note that like everything else about humans, emotions developed in response to evolutionary pressures. They are part of our survival skill set, worry included. And like everything else human, anything natural can become unhealthy if it becomes excessive or obsessive. Since everyone worries, my point was to "worry less."
I think all of us have to ignore the medias predictions of the 2022 election results being a disaster and focus more on what can happen if we all get involved. The key to the election are the Independents and people of color not converting the Trump cult and getting out the vote. There are more reasons to vote for Democrats than Republicans and as the economy continues to grow and the unemployment figures remain low and as the January 6th truths come out and the pandemic is managed it becomes easier to vote Democratic. There are no good reasons to vote Republican and many to vote Democratic and we must continue to add more reasons to that pile.
I want Kamala Harris to convene editors and journalists to reflect on their responsibility to advance democracy during this critical year. Amplifying bitterness and and marketing doom may produce dangerous consequences.
I forgot to mention that when you read surveys that say “70% of Republicans believe the election was stolen” they are referring to the Trump Republicans not all Republicans and that also means that 30% don’t believe it. All of this adds up to the Republicans are not all dedicated and devoted to Trump. Especially in purple and swing states.
Mr. Hubbell, Here is something to cheer you forward in this New Year. I hope you enjoy it.
Sharing Amanda Gorman's new poem, New Day's Lyric, to inspire and bless as you begin this new year…
May this be the day
We come together.
Mourning, we come to mend,
Withered, we come to weather,
Torn, we come to tend,
Battered, we come to better.
Tethered by this year of yearning,
We are learning
That though we weren’t ready for this,
We have been readied by it.
We steadily vow that no matter
How we are weighed down,
We must always pave a way forward.
This hope is our door, our portal.
Even if we never get back to normal,
Someday we can venture beyond it,
To leave the known and take the first steps.
So let us not return to what was normal,
But reach toward what is next.
What was cursed, we will cure.
What was plagued, we will prove pure.
Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,
Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,
Where we weren’t aware, we’re now awake;
Those moments we missed
Are now these moments we make,
The moments we meet,
And our hearts, once all together beaten,
Now all together beat.
Come, look up with kindness yet,
For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.
We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,
But to take on tomorrow.
We heed this old spirit,
In a new day’s lyric,
In our hearts, we hear it:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
Be bold, sang Time this year,
Be bold, sang Time,
For when you honor yesterday,
Tomorrow ye will find.
Know what we’ve fought
Need not be forgot nor for none.
It defines us, binds us as one,
Come over, join this day just begun.
For wherever we come together,
We will forever overcome.
- Amanda Gorman
I can't read this often enough. What a fitting addition to today's newsletter!
I feel caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. I'm annoyed at the Washington Post and the NYT for promoting false narratives that sound right wing, yet where will I get my news if I cancel my subscription in protest? Very annoying.
This is where we are so fortunate! We have multiple sources and we've all found trustworthy interpreters to help us weed out all-or-nothing interpretations like the one Robert speaks of here with the WaPo "survey". Heather Cox Richardson is another, plus we are finding more and more trustworthy sources who only request a small membership fee. My point is that you can still read the Washington Post, but cast a jaundiced eye and back up that reading with a little more background research. After all, it helps us know what is really going on when we see what the media is "feeding" the masses, too. I cancelled my WSJ in protest because they were overall so biased in a direction I couldn't stomach and didn't want to support. We can pick and choose at this point, and that sure is a wonderful thing!
I feel the same way but need to remind myself a lot of the columns I have an issue with are guest columnist with a different point of view and I think it’s important to hear all sides. Also I have written to the editors of both newspapers and I think more people need to tell them how we feel.
I was so annoyed with parts of the Times editorial yesterday that I wrote to them and told them so and why. I have no illusions that the letter will be published but it made me feel better and someone there will read it.
And write WaPo a letter about what you just shared with us about your frustration. Without enough feedback, they may not realize their readers are dissatisfied until readers cancel and that is too late.
I feel the same way. First, you might try writing to both. Both have twitter accounts and I'm sure some lowly staff person is tasked with having to sort through them.
Thank you for your newsletter and all the effort and care you put into it. I really appreciate the information and calming nature of your advice. I’m a subscriber as a result! Happy New Year to you and all of your readers.
Thanks, Jamie! I appreciate the support.
Just thank you for your use of the “smell test.” Someone once said that much media is an open sewer flowing through the living rooms of America. Your column is a crystal spring of life giving liquid.
You are the best!
The doomsday headline is so off-kilter. Who needs a survey about American violence when we already know how many people own guns— not the sportsman variety, either.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, aka Miss Piggy for Attention, joins a legion of attention hogs. If she has grandchildren, they will be ashamed.
Staying out of our worry rooms will be real important this year as lockdowns continue. I plan to participate in a many Zoom meetings as I can to keep the democratic flame alive.
Love the "stay out of worry rooms."
Sorry, Jim, but that is a dastardly insult to Miss Piggy!
True. Please forgive my lack of a suitable metaphor.
:-)
Today's Edition Newsletter is an important part of my daily routine and I am forever grateful for both its helpful perspectives and sound advice. "Do more, worry less" is now prominently displayed on my home office wall where it reminds me each day to check my priorities to be sure I have properly ordered them. Thank you.
Yes, do more and worry less.
While Congress is not adaquitly addressing climate issues, many individuals are and indeed must, if we are going to make progress on that front. We can't wait for the slow machinery of government to solve the issue. My son and I are working on a simple, inexpensive and doable project: encourage people to add clover to their lawns to increase the uptake of CO2 from the environment. We explain the rationale with some beautiful footage complements of NASA and JPL. We hope that besides helping to reduce atmospheric CO2, this project will help individuals feel empowered on multiple fronts. Find the video here: https://youtu.be/Xla2w0f3YdE
I watched the video and did a bit of research. there are other benefits to a clover lawn as well--flowers for pollinators, more efficient nitrogen fixing to the soil. Clover was considered grass in the past but is now considered a "weed" by Monsanto because its lawn chemicals kill clover (Turning a "bug" into a feature.) Do you have a website in addition to the video?
Hi Robert,
First, thanks for your hard work. Much appreciated.
As mentioned in response to Deborah Ruf, I have a YouTube channel that features several Climate Action videos as well as other nature and garden topics. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPOo2ce3WA4wetsXf8ckOhA
Regarding other websites, I have one relating to my work as a research scientist www.bodymindscience.info and information regarding my earlier research can be found here. https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/76466/overview
I recently opened an Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/vmfarm2000/
One of the projects that's upcoming will be to set up an environmental research and eduction page. These projects are my career "in retirement" LOL.
Again, thank you for the heavy lifting that you do on a daily basis.
Kind regards,
Mardi
I watched it and then posted it on Facebook. Thank you, Mardi. I noticed you were part of the production of the video. Now that's what I call getting into action!
Deborah, if you go back to my YouTube Channel " Mardi Crane" https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPOo2ce3WA4wetsXf8ckOhA you will find a section on environment. We call it Climate Hack. I've been devoting time to making Climate oriented videos over the last two years. You can see several useful ideas on how individuals can make a dent in the great Climate Challenge. It's wonderful when people share on FB or by email with friends. We have to solve this or it won't matter what happens in the elections.
So true!
I have a question: How can it possibly be legal, in nay way, for Mr Trump to lie and spread lies, as he does. And for Fox News to knowingly like and led people astray? It can't be freedom of speech, can it, when it has dire consequences: e.g. shouting Fire in a crowded theater?
Hi, Les. The First Amendment is robust, and protects lies as well as truth. Of course, when speech becomes criminal, seditious, or tortious it can be the basis for criminal or civil liability. Let's hope Merrick Garland is investigating Trump for inciting insurrection. Fox News is reprehensible, but it is supported by advertisers. There are several efforts to remove Fox from basic cable. See #unfoxmybox.
WaPo has pretty much discredited itself as an institution. The great newspaper of the Watergate years has dissolved into a Trump-apology rag, that deserves to be cast into the dust bin of history. NOTE: Reputable conservative institutions, like National Review, as much as I disagree with most of what they say, have maintained their integrity-for the most part, and merit respect. WaPo? Not so.
Hi, Gary. I have been disappointed with WaPo, but it is also one of handful of major media outlets that counter the programming on Fox News / TV and radio. Plus, many of the commentators are first rate. But I continue to be disappointed by the "sky is falling" journalism that has taken root in the last year or so.
I will be at a vigil Thursday. The only uncertainty is what my sign will say. "Lock Him Up" is trite. How about: "Garland: ACT NOW!" or I was considering "Don't Look Up!". Thoughts?
"Do Look Up!" doesn't have the same zing as the movie title, but it's what we want people to do.
How about Democracy = Truth.
Hi, Bill. I would not make January 6th about Trump, but about the Constitution or democracy. I invite others like JJMargolis to suggest slogans. But the basic concept is that we must defend democracy and truth.
This is worth a read— https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/01/03/trump-qanon-online-money-war-jan6/
Thanks, Donna. I will check it out.
Am wondering if some of those taking the violence poll were thinking it might be defensible to resort to violence in order to protect the Constitution given a fascist, repressive government. I am struggling with this question myself.
Worry is inevitable (and healthy)? Perhaps many people worry, but it is not inevitable and, most certainly, not healthy in any way.
All feelings are natural, but we have thinking brains to decide how to respond to our feelings. Then it's a matter of balance. A little worry or healthy fear is good for maintaining alertness to danger and for protective planning as much as possible, but obviously, being consumed by worry is paralyzing and counterproductive.
A "self help" guru from the 80's used to say: "guilt and worry are useless emotions". We wouldn't be human if we didn't have a range of emotions - fear, anger, etc. But how we respond defines us. I will be expressing myself Thursday at a local vigil. I have rarely done that stuff in the past. I hate/fear crowds. But I feel compelled to raise my voice as never before in all my long years...it's now or never time.
Thaank you, Bill & well said.
Thank you, Ellie; that is the way we are wired neurologically.
I am not a psychologist, so I will let others debate, but I will note that like everything else about humans, emotions developed in response to evolutionary pressures. They are part of our survival skill set, worry included. And like everything else human, anything natural can become unhealthy if it becomes excessive or obsessive. Since everyone worries, my point was to "worry less."
I think all of us have to ignore the medias predictions of the 2022 election results being a disaster and focus more on what can happen if we all get involved. The key to the election are the Independents and people of color not converting the Trump cult and getting out the vote. There are more reasons to vote for Democrats than Republicans and as the economy continues to grow and the unemployment figures remain low and as the January 6th truths come out and the pandemic is managed it becomes easier to vote Democratic. There are no good reasons to vote Republican and many to vote Democratic and we must continue to add more reasons to that pile.
I want Kamala Harris to convene editors and journalists to reflect on their responsibility to advance democracy during this critical year. Amplifying bitterness and and marketing doom may produce dangerous consequences.
I forgot to mention that when you read surveys that say “70% of Republicans believe the election was stolen” they are referring to the Trump Republicans not all Republicans and that also means that 30% don’t believe it. All of this adds up to the Republicans are not all dedicated and devoted to Trump. Especially in purple and swing states.
And every time the number of voters for tfg in 2020 is cited, we NEVER see mention made of the 81,000,000 of us who voted for Biden. Never.