"When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats " - so nice to see Trump has not waivered from shooting off his mouth with a lie before he knew the facts and proved Democrats to be right once again. We can never listen to anything this man says without waiting for the real facts to drop. Most of us know that, but we have to remain vigilant for 4 years.
A rarity: Trump telling the truth. Democrats have refuted the lie that immigrants are largely criminals. (Of course, Trump told the truth unintentionally, because he doesn’t know—and does not care—what the words mean.)
Perhaps it was important for Trump’s version to come out before the facts came out. A tactic of his? Tell his followers what to think before facts interfere with his propaganda.
This is always his motive. Whether he is right or wrong, he does not care. His goal is to foment fear - political fear. In other words, Trump IS a terrorist - a domestic terrorist.
What worries and distresses me the most is not only that Trump once again spews migrant lies about the attacker in New Orleans, but that his followers will have heard this part, and will apparently pay no attention to the facts: the attacker is a US citizen, from Texas, and a war veteran. He does have an Arabic name, so of course all slurs and suspicions about him are fair game. I believe our mission in the next 4 years is not only to point out Trump’s lies, but we must somehow reach all those who don’t pay attention to legacy media. They have an uncanny ability to believe Trump or his surrogates, even when the facts to the contrary become evident. It would, of course, be ideal if all media would review the FACTS of any case like this. If Joe Rogan, for example, were to remind his listeners that the attacker in New Orleans was NOT a migrant, maybe just maybe some of Trump’s followers would at least have to consider the truth. We are in a truly dystopian world.
Rather than picking up on the Trump/« Arab » theme, thoughtful people might focus on the attacker’s veteran background. Are there things in military training and service that have predisposed many veterans to right-wing, antidemocratic views?
I worked for many years in an Air Force installation and had occasion to visit others on business. While some of the Airmen and Airwomen were the straightest of « straight arrows », many others held political views that made me uncomfortable.
I very highly recommend you read Robert Reich's column, posted last night, which features a writer you'll be glad you encountered. In surviving authoritarian regimes in three different countries. His words give me enormous hope, and I truly believe they will do the same for you. Thank you for this daily service to us Robert and Jill.
Many readers have recommended Reich's column and found it very helpful and affirming.
I did, too, right up to the point where he says that we should not engage in mass demonstrations or protests because we might upset MAGA voters. We should not guide our actions based on what MAGA voters might or might not do. If we used that as a guide, we would do nothing.
Robert, you are absolutely right. Making any serious attempt to "re-educate" MAGA's toward democracy is a total waste of time, money and energy. These "luddite" people to the left of the Bell Curve (marketing term) will not be budged from their firmly held (and, in our collective opinion, completely misbegotten) beliefs. Truth is not an anti-MAGA serum.
Here's what we MUST do.
1. Convince NON-VOTING DEMOCRATS to get into the game. This is all of our lives we are talking about here.
2. Engage actively with INDEPENDENT voters who are highly informed and select candidates based on content, not craziness. This cohort is reachable, and they can be persuaded.
Talking about "converting conservatives" makes me want to pull out my hair, as a long-time marketer. This is one mistake made by the Harris Campaign -- rather than beat the Democratic-Voter drum at every single turn, they became googoo-eyed entranced by the Cheney Choice. Somehow, they believed "sane" Republicans were going to vote for a black woman president! Not in this lifetime.
Sadly, I believe many DEMOCRATS did not vote for our exceptional candidate for that racist/sexist reason despite what they say in public. THIS reality is what hurts my heart still today. I yield my time.
I agree 100%. Although I respect Kamala’s efforts to sway republicans it was a lost cause and her time would have been better spent calling more of we “Bernie” Dems to her side.
I really wasn’t questioning her charisma. I was questioning the questioning of her charisma.
T has been campaigning nonstop for 9 plus years.
I get what we mean by the importance of charisma ( that used to mean JFK to my child eyes). We seem to have slipped (or hurtled) over the edge and are unable to discern between charisma and snake oil salesmanship.
I agree, but I don't think we should put a lot of our energy into demonstrations and protests this time. I am old enough to remember the anti-war protests of the 60s. Walter Cronkite admitted that they influenced his change of thinking on the Vietnam war. We live in different times, and I think that our time, energy, and money is better spent elsewhere.
The Women's March after Trump's election was important. I don't think the Black Lives Matter demonstrations accomplished anything, and possibly created a back lash because racism is more prevalent now, and not less.
I live in Portland, Oregon, and it was a perfect example of how things can be turned around. It would take too long to explain it all here, but Trump and the Republicans were able to control the narrative, and to this day Republicans talk about Antifa taking over and burning down the city. Every word was a lie, but it is still what people believe.
As others pointed out here, the last two points are garbage. Kamala was a very charismatic candidate but she is female with dark skin. The author of that article totally missed the elephant in the room. The last point is not to be listened. At all.
Agree. I was just posting it in response to Jim Duffy’s recommendation. Took me a bit to find it so thought it might be useful to post the link. I apologize if I gave the sense that I was promoting it.
Oh no my friend Colleen, I knew where you stand. Thanks for the link. I just posted my general observations from Algeria where everything seems perfect socially yet I would rather have my messy society with democracy.
Technical point—Matt Gaetz and all other Members do not take the oath of office until a Speaker is elected. See 2 USC 25. The question is whether Gaetz shows up and participates.
You are correct that the mass swearing in ceremony is conducted by the Speaker after election. But the Clerk calls the roll and provides credentials to all members-elect before the vote. The members elect ust register their appearance electronically with clerk-issued credentials--to determine whether a quorum is present, as required by the Constitution. See CRS, The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/rl/rl30725.
So, Gaetz still has the option of registering his credentials or not, which will determine whether there are 220 or 219 members present and voting
"Gaetz, for his part, has only expressed an intent not to take the oath of office for the 119th Congress -- which begins on Jan. 3, 2025, and for which Gaetz won reelection. He cannot preemptively resign from a session of Congress that has not yet convened or that he has not taken an oath to serve in -- that means he is still eligible to serve in the 119th Congress although he cannot under any circumstances withdraw his resignation from the 118th Congress to return to the lame duck session, according to House rules."
Gaetz will have electronic credentials as a member-elect of the 119th Congress and could appear and vote for Speaker. He will have the same status as every other member of the House, all of whom are members-elect on January 3 when they first vote for Speaker.
Gaetz carefully worded his resignation letter. He resigned from the 118th only. He won the election for the 119th, and could return to congress. My thoughts are that he resigned to stop release of the ethics report, but now that it is out there, there is no longer a threat. We shall see.
A similar marker took place a week ago as the Cathedral of Notre Dame re-opened for the first time since a devastating fire. The French people,, revolutionaries like ourselves, could have declared it as destroyed. They did NOT do that; instead, they spent 5 years reconstructing the Cathedral. I saw glorious pictures of the inside of the Cathedral - more beautiful and filled with light than before! Hope and rebuilding exists all around us. We must be brave and take up this cause of hope ourselves.It is the only thing that will save us now!
Thank you for commenting on the stability and permanence of America! Already the mask of Trump is slipping off; his reign will be chaotic and without meaning...
The nebulae have names assigned by their discovers. But the names are not helpful to distinguishing nebulae (for most people). The technical names include a reference to a catolog in which the nebula appears, followed by a number, which corresponds to the order of discovery as listed in the catalog.
The North America Nebulas is known as Caldwell 20 or New General Catalog (NGC) 7000. The common names are assigned by the astronomy community as a handy way of identifying nebulae without requiring someone to memorize 7,840 objects in the New General Catalog. For famous objects, you can look them up by their common names in Wikipedia and other popular sources.
That is correct, although many of the most common objects were named and catalogued before the IAU undertook a formal process to catalog and name stars. Based on a quick reference of the IAU webpage, it looks like the IAU did not begin a formal catalog until 2016.
Per the IAU website
In 2016, the IAU mobilised the Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) under its Division C (Education, Outreach, and Heritage), whose purpose was to formally catalogue the names of stars, beginning with the brightest and best-known. The WGSN is an international coalition of astronomers and cultural astronomers, each bringing different perspectives and experiences. . . .
The WGSN aims to solve the problems that have arisen over the centuries for global academic astronomy due to different cultures — as well as different astronomers — giving their own names to stars. Until recently, some of the most famous stars in the sky — including Sirius, Rigel and Betelgeuse — had no official spelling. In some instances, stars had multiple names, and sometimes different stars had identical names. . . .
Further, Indigenous star names from all over the world are now being collected and assembled in a database that was launched in 2022. The goal of this work is to ensure the IAU's catalogue gives a fair representation across the sky with regard to human cultures, according to criteria that are in the process of being defined by the Working Group in collaboration with representatives of the world’s Indigenous communities.
Unfortunately our country is no longer shocked by attacks by terrorists or people with automatic weapons in schools and churches and supermarkets. The Republicans fan the flames of hate and racism and never take responsibility for the concept that “ words matter”. Have you noticed that in your life you for instance watched a particular program and after a time the program has become less interesting and the show runs its course. I think the American voters over the past 10 years have gotten tired of the Trump melodrama and the shock factor is gone and his approval ratings are not getting better. A friend of mine worked for the government for 30:years and told me that most of the appointee’s have no idea how our government works and we should remember there are thousands of dedicated rank and file workers who provide some level of a net. We have to believe that the Trump administration won’t be as horrible as the media has portrayed it but it also won’t be a flower show. We will survive.
“DENVER (AP) — A Colorado man is facing possible bias-motivated charges for allegedly attacking a television news reporter after demanding to know whether he was a citizen, saying “This is Trump’s America now,” according to court documents.”
Tx for the update R. If you might also link to the continued 3 year drop in crime rates, clearly opposite of what The orange felon serial sexual abuser stated, that would be easy for us to repost?
Trump's attacks on the law enforcement and intelligence agencies serve to undermine and weaken precisely those organizations which would identify and confront Trump-supporting terrorist groups like the Proud Boys involved in violent acts targeting Trump's "enemies."
I just read a book (fiction/espionage) where one side was carrying out violent acts to make the other side look guilty. Since I have ZERO trust in the Felon or ANY of his cult members, it just wouldn't surprise me that such events are being orchestrated as a setup for the implementation of Martial Law. I am amazed at myself for even letting that cross my mind. I guess it's the old theory that "crazy people can make you crazy."
Thanks Robert! My contribution to the scale of America and the human condition recently and over many years has been to support the fundamentals of human relationship. Your community might like these posts.
Hey, Ravi. Thanks for the links. Your Memoirs of a Superfan (MOSF) 19.22 is one of the fairest reviews of the 2024 electoral outcome I have read. And I found myself nodding in agreement with virtually every line in your essay. And you buried the lead, you publish a Substack, https://sunmoonlight.substack.com/.
I am glad to have made your acquaintance and look forward to sharing your thoughts with readers of this newsletter! Keep up the good work!
Wow, thank you so much for your kind words, Robert! You made my day. I really appreciate and learn from you every day, and I'm glad to be a part of the community who wants to make a difference in connection, belonging, and wisdom to deal with the distress of our shared journey :)
"When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats " - so nice to see Trump has not waivered from shooting off his mouth with a lie before he knew the facts and proved Democrats to be right once again. We can never listen to anything this man says without waiting for the real facts to drop. Most of us know that, but we have to remain vigilant for 4 years.
A rarity: Trump telling the truth. Democrats have refuted the lie that immigrants are largely criminals. (Of course, Trump told the truth unintentionally, because he doesn’t know—and does not care—what the words mean.)
FYI — Jon Margolis has an excellent Letter to the Editor, about the Supreme Court, in today’s New York Times (print edition).
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/01/opinion/letters/partisan-judges-public-disrespect.html scroll down, it’s the second letter. Thanks for the heads up!
Awww.....
Perhaps it was important for Trump’s version to come out before the facts came out. A tactic of his? Tell his followers what to think before facts interfere with his propaganda.
This is always his motive. Whether he is right or wrong, he does not care. His goal is to foment fear - political fear. In other words, Trump IS a terrorist - a domestic terrorist.
Stochastic Terrorist
What worries and distresses me the most is not only that Trump once again spews migrant lies about the attacker in New Orleans, but that his followers will have heard this part, and will apparently pay no attention to the facts: the attacker is a US citizen, from Texas, and a war veteran. He does have an Arabic name, so of course all slurs and suspicions about him are fair game. I believe our mission in the next 4 years is not only to point out Trump’s lies, but we must somehow reach all those who don’t pay attention to legacy media. They have an uncanny ability to believe Trump or his surrogates, even when the facts to the contrary become evident. It would, of course, be ideal if all media would review the FACTS of any case like this. If Joe Rogan, for example, were to remind his listeners that the attacker in New Orleans was NOT a migrant, maybe just maybe some of Trump’s followers would at least have to consider the truth. We are in a truly dystopian world.
You should see the conversations in my rural Virginia county’s “politics” group on FB.
I don't think I want too.
I can just imagine......
Rather than picking up on the Trump/« Arab » theme, thoughtful people might focus on the attacker’s veteran background. Are there things in military training and service that have predisposed many veterans to right-wing, antidemocratic views?
I worked for many years in an Air Force installation and had occasion to visit others on business. While some of the Airmen and Airwomen were the straightest of « straight arrows », many others held political views that made me uncomfortable.
I very highly recommend you read Robert Reich's column, posted last night, which features a writer you'll be glad you encountered. In surviving authoritarian regimes in three different countries. His words give me enormous hope, and I truly believe they will do the same for you. Thank you for this daily service to us Robert and Jill.
Many readers have recommended Reich's column and found it very helpful and affirming.
I did, too, right up to the point where he says that we should not engage in mass demonstrations or protests because we might upset MAGA voters. We should not guide our actions based on what MAGA voters might or might not do. If we used that as a guide, we would do nothing.
Robert, you are absolutely right. Making any serious attempt to "re-educate" MAGA's toward democracy is a total waste of time, money and energy. These "luddite" people to the left of the Bell Curve (marketing term) will not be budged from their firmly held (and, in our collective opinion, completely misbegotten) beliefs. Truth is not an anti-MAGA serum.
Here's what we MUST do.
1. Convince NON-VOTING DEMOCRATS to get into the game. This is all of our lives we are talking about here.
2. Engage actively with INDEPENDENT voters who are highly informed and select candidates based on content, not craziness. This cohort is reachable, and they can be persuaded.
Talking about "converting conservatives" makes me want to pull out my hair, as a long-time marketer. This is one mistake made by the Harris Campaign -- rather than beat the Democratic-Voter drum at every single turn, they became googoo-eyed entranced by the Cheney Choice. Somehow, they believed "sane" Republicans were going to vote for a black woman president! Not in this lifetime.
Sadly, I believe many DEMOCRATS did not vote for our exceptional candidate for that racist/sexist reason despite what they say in public. THIS reality is what hurts my heart still today. I yield my time.
I agree 100%. Although I respect Kamala’s efforts to sway republicans it was a lost cause and her time would have been better spent calling more of we “Bernie” Dems to her side.
I wondered about that point. Thank you.
Also, does Kamala Harris not have charisma?
I think she does, as does Tim Walz, but there was not enough time. Trump had been campaigning for over three years when Harris became the nominee.
I really wasn’t questioning her charisma. I was questioning the questioning of her charisma.
T has been campaigning nonstop for 9 plus years.
I get what we mean by the importance of charisma ( that used to mean JFK to my child eyes). We seem to have slipped (or hurtled) over the edge and are unable to discern between charisma and snake oil salesmanship.
It could also be that I am still naive.
Harris has tons of charisma but they are unfortunately negated by her sex and her race in the minds of too many prejudiced people.
I agree, but I don't think we should put a lot of our energy into demonstrations and protests this time. I am old enough to remember the anti-war protests of the 60s. Walter Cronkite admitted that they influenced his change of thinking on the Vietnam war. We live in different times, and I think that our time, energy, and money is better spent elsewhere.
The Women's March after Trump's election was important. I don't think the Black Lives Matter demonstrations accomplished anything, and possibly created a back lash because racism is more prevalent now, and not less.
I live in Portland, Oregon, and it was a perfect example of how things can be turned around. It would take too long to explain it all here, but Trump and the Republicans were able to control the narrative, and to this day Republicans talk about Antifa taking over and burning down the city. Every word was a lie, but it is still what people believe.
https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/trump-will-overplay-his-hand-be-ready?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
As others pointed out here, the last two points are garbage. Kamala was a very charismatic candidate but she is female with dark skin. The author of that article totally missed the elephant in the room. The last point is not to be listened. At all.
Agree. I was just posting it in response to Jim Duffy’s recommendation. Took me a bit to find it so thought it might be useful to post the link. I apologize if I gave the sense that I was promoting it.
Oh no my friend Colleen, I knew where you stand. Thanks for the link. I just posted my general observations from Algeria where everything seems perfect socially yet I would rather have my messy society with democracy.
Oh, good. Thanks for letting me know. I tend to fret when I think I’ve not been clear! 😊
Thanks so much for this recommendation, Colleen. It’s the best practical and hopeful essay I’ve read so far. I’ve lifted my head a bit now.
I read that too. Very interesting.
Technical point—Matt Gaetz and all other Members do not take the oath of office until a Speaker is elected. See 2 USC 25. The question is whether Gaetz shows up and participates.
You are correct that the mass swearing in ceremony is conducted by the Speaker after election. But the Clerk calls the roll and provides credentials to all members-elect before the vote. The members elect ust register their appearance electronically with clerk-issued credentials--to determine whether a quorum is present, as required by the Constitution. See CRS, The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/rl/rl30725.
So, Gaetz still has the option of registering his credentials or not, which will determine whether there are 220 or 219 members present and voting
"Gaetz, for his part, has only expressed an intent not to take the oath of office for the 119th Congress -- which begins on Jan. 3, 2025, and for which Gaetz won reelection. He cannot preemptively resign from a session of Congress that has not yet convened or that he has not taken an oath to serve in -- that means he is still eligible to serve in the 119th Congress although he cannot under any circumstances withdraw his resignation from the 118th Congress to return to the lame duck session, according to House rules."
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/matt-gaetz-return-congress-after-withdrawing-ag-pick/story?id=116108799
Agree. So it’s possible Gaetz could vote for Speaker and then resign/not take the oath ….
We’ll see tomorrow.
If he cannot withdraw his resignation for the 118th then he will not a member of congress when it comes time to vote in the speaker.
Gaetz will have electronic credentials as a member-elect of the 119th Congress and could appear and vote for Speaker. He will have the same status as every other member of the House, all of whom are members-elect on January 3 when they first vote for Speaker.
Gaetz carefully worded his resignation letter. He resigned from the 118th only. He won the election for the 119th, and could return to congress. My thoughts are that he resigned to stop release of the ethics report, but now that it is out there, there is no longer a threat. We shall see.
Agent of chaos as well as a despicable person.
No longer a member.
His ego is so big ....
It is sad that Gaetz is allowed to participate EVER again.
A similar marker took place a week ago as the Cathedral of Notre Dame re-opened for the first time since a devastating fire. The French people,, revolutionaries like ourselves, could have declared it as destroyed. They did NOT do that; instead, they spent 5 years reconstructing the Cathedral. I saw glorious pictures of the inside of the Cathedral - more beautiful and filled with light than before! Hope and rebuilding exists all around us. We must be brave and take up this cause of hope ourselves.It is the only thing that will save us now!
Exactly!
Thank you. What a fantastic example and I love your sentence, "Hope and rebuilding exist all around us."
Thank you for commenting on the stability and permanence of America! Already the mask of Trump is slipping off; his reign will be chaotic and without meaning...
https://barrygander.substack.com/p/the-coming-flaws-the-coming-tragedies
Question. How do the Nebulae get their names? The pictures
Are amazing.
The nebulae have names assigned by their discovers. But the names are not helpful to distinguishing nebulae (for most people). The technical names include a reference to a catolog in which the nebula appears, followed by a number, which corresponds to the order of discovery as listed in the catalog.
The North America Nebulas is known as Caldwell 20 or New General Catalog (NGC) 7000. The common names are assigned by the astronomy community as a handy way of identifying nebulae without requiring someone to memorize 7,840 objects in the New General Catalog. For famous objects, you can look them up by their common names in Wikipedia and other popular sources.
The only body which can give names to astronomical objects is the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
That is correct, although many of the most common objects were named and catalogued before the IAU undertook a formal process to catalog and name stars. Based on a quick reference of the IAU webpage, it looks like the IAU did not begin a formal catalog until 2016.
Per the IAU website
In 2016, the IAU mobilised the Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) under its Division C (Education, Outreach, and Heritage), whose purpose was to formally catalogue the names of stars, beginning with the brightest and best-known. The WGSN is an international coalition of astronomers and cultural astronomers, each bringing different perspectives and experiences. . . .
The WGSN aims to solve the problems that have arisen over the centuries for global academic astronomy due to different cultures — as well as different astronomers — giving their own names to stars. Until recently, some of the most famous stars in the sky — including Sirius, Rigel and Betelgeuse — had no official spelling. In some instances, stars had multiple names, and sometimes different stars had identical names. . . .
Further, Indigenous star names from all over the world are now being collected and assembled in a database that was launched in 2022. The goal of this work is to ensure the IAU's catalogue gives a fair representation across the sky with regard to human cultures, according to criteria that are in the process of being defined by the Working Group in collaboration with representatives of the world’s Indigenous communities.
Thank you for the information! I love to learn.
We cannot let the terrorists win, whether they are in or out of government.
Unfortunately our country is no longer shocked by attacks by terrorists or people with automatic weapons in schools and churches and supermarkets. The Republicans fan the flames of hate and racism and never take responsibility for the concept that “ words matter”. Have you noticed that in your life you for instance watched a particular program and after a time the program has become less interesting and the show runs its course. I think the American voters over the past 10 years have gotten tired of the Trump melodrama and the shock factor is gone and his approval ratings are not getting better. A friend of mine worked for the government for 30:years and told me that most of the appointee’s have no idea how our government works and we should remember there are thousands of dedicated rank and file workers who provide some level of a net. We have to believe that the Trump administration won’t be as horrible as the media has portrayed it but it also won’t be a flower show. We will survive.
What has happened to our media??? Are they in trance ????
Sadly,this…
“DENVER (AP) — A Colorado man is facing possible bias-motivated charges for allegedly attacking a television news reporter after demanding to know whether he was a citizen, saying “This is Trump’s America now,” according to court documents.”
https://apnews.com/article/tv-reporter-attack-trumps-america-40c4c3622bf85baef9cefbd50d50fcec
Tx for the update R. If you might also link to the continued 3 year drop in crime rates, clearly opposite of what The orange felon serial sexual abuser stated, that would be easy for us to repost?
Trump's attacks on the law enforcement and intelligence agencies serve to undermine and weaken precisely those organizations which would identify and confront Trump-supporting terrorist groups like the Proud Boys involved in violent acts targeting Trump's "enemies."
I just read a book (fiction/espionage) where one side was carrying out violent acts to make the other side look guilty. Since I have ZERO trust in the Felon or ANY of his cult members, it just wouldn't surprise me that such events are being orchestrated as a setup for the implementation of Martial Law. I am amazed at myself for even letting that cross my mind. I guess it's the old theory that "crazy people can make you crazy."
It’s part of the playbook. See Hitler’s response to the Reichstag arson fire.
45’s term in office will be chaotic. The real enemies of the people are 45 and his minions, including SC justices and Congress people.
Thanks Robert! My contribution to the scale of America and the human condition recently and over many years has been to support the fundamentals of human relationship. Your community might like these posts.
MOSF 19.22: Did the Ivy League Break America? Can the Joy League Save it? https://eastwindezine.com/mosf-19-22-did-the-ivy-league-break-america-can-the-joy-league-save-it/
And
MOSF 19.21: The Golden Rule in the Time of Trump: Obsolete Relic or Absolute Imperative? https://eastwindezine.com/mosf-19-21-the-golden-rule-in-the-time-of-trump-obsolete-relic-or-absolute-imperative/
Hey, Ravi. Thanks for the links. Your Memoirs of a Superfan (MOSF) 19.22 is one of the fairest reviews of the 2024 electoral outcome I have read. And I found myself nodding in agreement with virtually every line in your essay. And you buried the lead, you publish a Substack, https://sunmoonlight.substack.com/.
I am glad to have made your acquaintance and look forward to sharing your thoughts with readers of this newsletter! Keep up the good work!
Wow, thank you so much for your kind words, Robert! You made my day. I really appreciate and learn from you every day, and I'm glad to be a part of the community who wants to make a difference in connection, belonging, and wisdom to deal with the distress of our shared journey :)
Stupendous photo of NOLA! Thanks, as always for clarifying reality.