I couldn't decide between the two memes, so you get both (the first from Sarah via her friend Nicole, and the second from Judi via her daughter Jennifer). Thanks and love to all.
Where do I even begin? How much time do you have? Last week's insurrection/riot (it was not a f*cking protest!) was the proverbial poop icing on the sh*tshow cake that has been this presidency. Crazy that it is only in the last two weeks that some (not all, mind you!) Republicans (including our Vice President) have realized it's a smart move to abandon the sinking ship. Then again, they are doing it for the party, and not for any reasons of ethics or integrity. Where were they for the last four years as everything we stood for during the intelligent and articulate eight-year Obama administration was systematically dismantled? Really, they get a wake-up call two weeks before Biden's inauguration? Then again, better late than never, I guess. [shrugging woman emoji is working overtime these days]
To paraphrase the longstanding chant: this has *not* been what democracy looks like! But we are soon to be reminded that our country consists of more than angry white racist armed men (and women) who thrive on hatred and violence. Justice and equality will prevail, and I will breathe a huge sigh of relief when we are moving forward again... 💞
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert YouTube Channel says it all.
This from Penzeys: "Honesty is the heart of democracy. This week after 25,000 false and misleading statements by the president we witnessed the clearest example yet of how far from truly safe these lies have left our democracy. As a spice business we connect you to history like pretty much no other business, and if history has a lesson about democracy it’s that democracies are a lot like chickens. If you want to keep them safe you have to keep the foxes out of the henhouse.
That so many congressional Republicans after Wednesday’s events would choose to vote against the will of the people and vote in favor of fueling the president’s lies about the outcome of November’s election is heartbreaking, but after these last four years not unexpected. The henhouse of American democracy is now thick with foxes.
We’ve overcome so much these past four years, but to hold onto our hard-won victories we are going to have to get back to the basics of democracy building. That starts with standing up for truth and holding those accountable whose lies intentionally destroy the public good. We have laws against most everything that we’ve witnessed since the election and it’s past time we use those laws. But this is about more than laws, this is about basic decency and the fundamental difference between truth and lies, between right and wrong.
As we witnessed this Wednesday, Republican lies about the legitimacy of November’s election have brought our nation to the brink. There’s a very good probability that not all of Wednesday’s events were actually spontaneous, and that a whole lot of what we saw was crafted. History is full of what at first appeared to be failed coups that turned out to be dry runs for future success. It’s time to be done believing there is some sort of politeness in failing to call out the lies of those who would do our country harm. In this moment the stakes are far too high to be silent.
Truth has a fundamental basic value far too great for us to simply let it be another victim of our time. As cooks, as people who give of ourselves to care for others, the values we live by are far more respected than many of us may imagine. Through caring for others you’ve earned moral authority; please use your standing to speak out for the truth. Your country needs you."
BOOK: Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think by David Litt
POEM(S): What Kind of Times Are These by Adrienne Rich
There's a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill
and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows
near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted
who disappeared into those shadows.
I've walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don't be fooled
this isn't a Russian poem, this is not somewhere else but here,
our country moving closer to its own truth and dread,
its own ways of making people disappear.
I won't tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods
meeting the unmarked strip of light—
ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise:
I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear.
And I won't tell you where it is, so why do I tell you
anything? Because you still listen, because in times like these
to have you listen at all, it's necessary
to talk about trees.
Revolutionary Letter #1 by Diane di Prima
I have just realized that the stakes are myself
I have no other
ransom money, nothing to break or barter but my life
my spirit measured out, in bits, spread over
the roulette table, I recoup what I can
nothing else to shove under the nose of the maitre de jeu
nothing to thrust out the window, no white flag
this flesh all I have to offer, to make the play with
this immediate head, what it comes up with, my move
as we slither over this go board, stepping always
(we hope) between the lines
QUOTE: "It'll be a shame if history allows one horrific event on this President's watch to overshadow all the other horrific events on this President's watch." ~ Stephen Colbert
