Author: Lisa Weikel

Am I Bad? – Day 1065

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Brutus inspiring a blog post – Photo: L. Weikel

Am I Bad?

Ok, you guys. Am I bad? We all know there are only 46 posts left for me to write before I reach my magic goal of 1111 consecutive entries; my 1111 Devotion. Many of you have been steadfast companions along this journey – giving me incentive to tackle the mountain one step at a time. “Pata y pata,” as the paqos said with sly smiles as Karl and I trekked, step by step, toward a glacial lagoon 14 years ago.

When I ask the question, “Am I bad?” I’m really only acknowledging that the newest members of our family will inevitably benefit all of us – including you, my dear companions on this  trek. I have no doubt that Pacha and Brutus will make the next 46 days exponentially more pleasant for all of us. Why?

Because…PUPPIES. It really is that simple.

PachaPup – aka Bat Girl – Photo: L. Weikel

Transmuting Grief to Joy

There’s nothing like puppy (or kitten) energy to brighten our lives. And let’s face it: we’ve all been through the mill. The past almost three years have whipped us around physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, if we’re honest. And while I’ve tried to walk my invisible line that wavers between optimism and despair, I’ve also – always – striven for honesty.

I’ve felt some heartaches in the midst of the past 1065 nights that I’ve not shared. You guys don’t need to know every jot and tittle of my emotional landscape. But truth be told, those not shared, or at least alluded to, have been few and far between.

For the most part, I subscribe to the “a joy shared is doubled and a sorrow shared is halved” school of thought. And knowing you are on this journey with me has doubled my joys and halved my sorrows. But wow – I do know some of the sorrows, such as Spartacus’s sudden death, were hard on all of us.

Brutus hangin’ with his Blue Dog squeaky toy – Photo: L. Weikel

A Gift to All of Us

All of which is to say I honestly think the astonishing discovery and adoption of these puppies was a gift to all of us. The infusion of puppy energy into our home was, and is, palpably restorative. The pall that descended upon us at our loss of Spartacus was very nearly overwhelming. And I cannot thank all of you enough for the love and compassion we felt pouring in.

I do believe we’re in for a bunch more ‘stuff’ out there in the tumult of our society. There’s more upheaval coming. But Spartacus was right: I do need him. And I believe we need each other – and (apparently) a double dose of puppy energy – to get us through the next…what? At least the next 46 more days.

After that? I guess we’ll see.

But I promise you this: Brutus, Pacha, and I will provide you with plenty of photos documenting their puppyhood. It’s the least we can do for our friends. While I might be shameless in sharing our new babies, I hope you won’t think I’m too  bad for it.

(T-46)

If a Boston Finds Us – Day 1064

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Meet PachaPup and Brutus Beefcake – Photo: L. Weikel

If a Boston Finds Us

I had the dream of Spartacus at the first crack of morning light on Monday. While I was diligent and wrote it down as best as I could, I didn’t actually share it with Karl until later that afternoon. It made me too sad to even relate it; the sense of Spartacus being right there beside me was still so acute. When I did read my dream to Karl, though, we agreed to keep an open mind. “If a Boston finds us,” we said to each other, “we’ll pay attention for sure.”

Mind you, maintaining an open mind on this was akin to remaining open to getting struck by lightning twice. Sage and I had stumbled upon Sheila’s litter (only a few miles from our house) when we passed a hand-made sign at the end of a long driveway at the edge of a local road. She was not a kennel-bred dog. She and her litter-mates were raised right there in the living room of the farmhouse they shared with their humans, and where they were born.

We always had a sneaking suspicion that part of the loveliness of Sheila’s personality was due to her having been whelped in a family home. What were the chances  of making such a discovery again, especially since that family had moved away years ago?

Sarah’s Surprise

The very next day, our daughter-in-law Sarah sent me an email about a litter of Bostons she’d discovered in Pennsylvania. I do not think she ever expected me to follow up; I think she was just planting a seed. (She didn’t know about the dream…)

I clicked on the link and couldn’t believe my eyes. Besides the utter adorableness of the puppies themselves, they’d only just turned eight weeks old and become ready to adopt the day before. Yes, the day of my Spartacus dream. And the description of the setting in which they were being raised was exactly what I wanted: a family that loves their Boston Terriers.

I knew I had to at least honor Spart’s message by calling the human mother and discerning more details. Melisa and I spoke for forty-five minutes. The rapport was instantaneous. By the end of our conversation, we’d set up an appointment for Karl and me to meet the litter, as well as both their canine parents and their humans.

Turns out we had to essentially cross the state to get there – but oh my, was the trip worth every single minute.

Brother and Sister

Meet Brutus Beefcake and PachaPup. The ‘runt’ (Brutus’s nickname amongst his humans was “Shrimp”) and the only girl in the litter.

Oh my…what have we done? Details – and lots of photos – to follow. If nothing else, this should make the last stretch of the 1111 Devotion more fun for all of us, hmm?

Sibling Snuggles – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-47)

Too Many Clouds – Day 1063

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Spartacus Dreaming – Photo: L. Weikel

Too Many Clouds

Alas, I was not beamed up by yesterday’s mothership. Nor did I see any Draconids on our walk tonight. There were too many clouds lingering at the first edge of evening, holdovers from the grumpy, overcast weather of the entire day.

I doubt it would come as a surprise to any of you to learn that Spartacus’s sudden death wrenched our family’s hearts. It threw us for a loop. As weird as it may sound, I think the sudden and unexpected loss of him was a cruel reminder of that same sudden and unexpected loss of Karl.

And yet again, I struggle in my attempts to describe my feelings without being perceived as some kind of hack who is unable to discern between love for a human and love for an ‘animal.’ As if one is higher or more refined than the other.

I struggle because, as I’ve said before, love is love. Love is that unabashed, open-hearted relinquishment of barriers between two beings. It’s a giving of one’s heart. It’s a sense of being seen and heard and cherished no matter what.

Simply one of my favorite photos; Son & Mom, Spartacus & Sheila – Photo: L. Weikel

Imbalance

After Sheila died, a year ago, Karl’s and my walks felt out of balance. For over 12 years we’d taken daily walks, each with a pup of our own on a leash. I’ve often wondered as Spartacus and I walked and walked and walked mostly by ourselves over the last several months whether Karl’s sudden, strange onset of pain, making our walks uncomfortable for him, was at all related to that ‘imbalance.’

Surely it doesn’t seem to make any logical sense that losing one of our cherished pups would impact us physically. And yet, the question lingered. It remains unanswered to this day.

I, for one, only realized after his death how constant a presence in my life Spartacus had become. I’ve always been deeply connected to my four-legged companions, from my very first kitten, Katen, who came into my life when I was six. (He passed away shortly before Karl and I were married.) But especially since the pandemic hit, Spartacus had been literally my constant companion. Even in work, which I now do ‘long distance,’ he was at my side. On the porch, in the house, it didn’t matter. He was with me.

“Arf!” – Photo: L. Weikel

Dream

Several days ago, completely unexpectedly, Spartacus appeared to me in the very early hours of the morning. This is when I often receive my most profound communications from other realms.

That morning, I felt like I opened my eyes and saw Spartacus. He was in my face – I could see his adorable little front teeth. His front paws were on me, on my arm, getting my attention. He kept saying, “Arf! Arf!” very insistently. His big brown eyes looked right into mine.

I thought, what is he telling me? What does he mean when he arfs at me like this?

“What pup? What are you telling me?” I asked.

“Get it,” he replied.

“But…”

“I used to tell you to GET IT when I wanted you to go into the yard and get one of my toys to throw for me.”

“But…”

“Get it. Get a puppy. I don’t want you to wait.”

“What???”

“ARF!” And he grinned at me. Love poured out of him, poured out of his big brown eyes.

All I could feel was love for him and his love for me.

“You need me,” he said. And I woke up.

(T-48)

Beam Us Up – Day 1062

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Possible Mothership – Photo: L. Weikel

Beam Us Up

As I was driving home late this afternoon I couldn’t help but notice the massive cloud hovering menacingly above a local farm. I have to say, I was moved to pull over and take a photo because I wasn’t sure whether it was going to beam us up and speed away.

It seemed prudent to take a photo of the possible interloper, just in case anyone might want to track us down. Of course, that would mean I’d have to toss my iPhone out before being successfully transported into the spaceship so obviously ‘cloaked’ as a cloud. (And they think they can fool us… Lame.)

That’d be a toss ‘up,’ though. (Yeah, I know. Groan.) If I was beamed up into a spaceship, I can’t imagine chucking my phone out the car window hoping those ‘left behind’ might look at my photos for clues to where I’d been taken. Nah. I’m pretty confident I’d take my phone along. I’m always looking for photos that can spur a blog post. And being abducted could yield some pretty provocative fodder for future posts.

Regardless of your stance on the existence of extraterrestrials, you have to admit that is one weird looking cloud.

A Better Look at the Mothership – Photo: L. Weikel

Draconids

In yet another extraterrestrial vein, I’m frustrated that Karl and I wimped out on taking a walk this evening. Indeed, I’m even more annoyed now that I realize we missed a grand opportunity to see a meteor shower (the Draconids) that are unusual in that they’re best seen in the early evening.

How many times have a stayed up late to watch meteor showers? It has to be at least a dozen times over the years that I’ve been writing this 1111 Devotion. I’m surprised, too, that I’ve never realized that the Draconids are easiest to see in the northwest sky in the early evening.

Jupiter (not tonight) – Photo: L. Weikel

I’d even wandered around in my yard earlier, noticing the astonishingly bright countenance of Jupiter. I even commented to Karl how surprised I was at the clarity of the night sky. But alas, Jupiter was rising in the southeast. My attention was pointed at the exact opposite place in the sky than where we might’ve glimpsed a Draconid or two. Or 500. Oh – no – that may be more likely in 2025.

Maybe we’ll all get lucky and catch a few late-comers if we go outside tomorrow night and look toward the northwest. There’s a chance a few streaks may still fall our way.

I hope so. If you catch a falling star – make a wish.

(T-49)

Unsettled – Day 1061

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Unsettled Weather – Photo: L. Weikel

Unsettled

Things felt weird tonight. We had one of the Shamanic Caravan ‘Wagons’ I offer (usually twice a week), and the journeys described by almost everyone attending yielded unexpected, disappointing, or unsettled results. Most of the participants felt a bit ‘off.’

Given the celestial influences bombarding all of us on the planet and the odd energy most of us felt this evening in our Wagon, I thought I would ask for some guidance from the Crone. It seems to me that her wisdom could come in handy as life becomes a bit more intense. Things are roiling just below the surface, it seems to me. And it will soon become impossible to ‘keep a lid’ on it any longer. Again.

Three of Swords – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Top Card

“Three of Swords – Inspiration

Within confusion
I find my way
I find a place to discover
Thoughts greater than my own

Thee blades of light strike the head of a figure, cutting and flashing through her to create a footpath in a dark and mysterious landscape. The principle of creation in the realm of mind becomes inspiration. This is the lightning flash, the intake of breath, the birth of a new awareness. Look for a light that shines in the darkness; follow the vision that beckons you on to bigger things. For it is the compelling image of the mountain seen at a distance that gievs you the idea the mountain can be reached at all.”

Shadow of Cups – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Underneath/Foundation Card

“Shadow of Cups – Drowning

All I feel
Is all I am
And I am
No more

A naked figure hangs unmoving in dark waters. Shadow in the suit of Cups is drowning and dissolution. A powerful emotion has flooded all boundaries, broken down all solid ground. Your behavior may or may not be passive at this time, but your soul is. Inside you are sinking, accepting obsession, heaviness and darkness. Allowing one thing to comprise your entire life and denying yourself a separate identity. It could be it’s time for this and you need to rest here until some understanding is found. Just take care you don’t lose yourself in this forever.”

My Take

I just want to let out a huge sigh. Not a sigh of relief necessarily, although I guess I’m glad the order of these two cards weren’t reversed. More a sigh of mixed sadness, hope, and exhaustion.

The foundational (underneath) card, “Drowning,” holds particular depth and pain to me, as might be imagined. It’s depressing. And quite honestly, I feel it is where we, as a nation and perhaps even many of us as individuals, are finding ourselves in this moment. That’s especially true given the revelations that are coming to light day after day this week. The magnitude of complicity, greed, and downright malignancy we’ve both wittingly and unwittingly been subjected to year after year is stunning. The erosion it’s caused on the very underpinnings of our democracy, of our understanding of who we are (again, as a nation and as individuals), can’t be overstated.

And yet it feels as though we had to get here. We had to reach this place where we’re drowning in our own denial. We had to see it all ‘die’ (or come darn close) before we would choose to lift our heads in the midst of the storm and see the mountain in the distance that’s being revealed by the lightning of the storms we’re weathering.

Inspiration

I’m heartened that the top card, the main card I chose, was the Three of Swords. We desperately need to call Inspiration into our lives. We need to realize that what we thought we had has died. That’s a powerful admission, and one very few people come to willingly.

But that’s the energy of now. That’s the influence of Pluto (Lord of Death and the Underworld) squaring Eris (the Goddess of Chaos) and beginning to move ‘direct’ or forward. Pluto is catalyzing inspiration within us in order to bring something new into being. This new moon, conjunct with Mars (another character in the nature of Pluto and Eris) is birthing something new – but the struggle is real.

Is the struggle over the final realization that something has died? Or is the struggle tied to the fear of being struck by the lightning of inspiration that will lead to something new and better – something we’ve only glimpsed from afar? Inspiration is something most of us yearn to experience and channel into our lives. But the prospect of being struck by lightning is scary. No wonder we feel unsettled.

Will we survive the jolt?

(T-50)

Change of Seasons – Day 1060

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White Wildflowers – Photo: L. Weikel

Change of Seasons

Is it the change of seasons that’s making me so tired every night? The past several evenings I’ve found myself struggling to keep my eyes open and my thoughts coherent. It’s been a bit frustrating because I’ve been feeling enthusiastic and eager to throw myself into some new adventures and projects – during the day – but as soon as Karl goes to bed, it’s as if I’m covered in a haze of pixie dust that immediately puts me to sleep.

It’s weird. And I have to say: it throws me off.

Another thing I notice particularly since the equinox on September 22nd:  the evening light has not been romantically taking its time, gradually fading. No. It actually feels more like an old-fashioned bank clerk abruptly pulling the shade on their service window. It’s as if the darkness descends suddenly and all at once.

It’s unsettling.

Recent Musings

If you’ve been reading my posts lately, you know I’ve been pondering how I would react to knowing my time here on Earth was going to end in the easily foreseeable future. A variety of occurrences in my orbit of friends and family have catalyzed such musings.

One person, someone I can truthfully only call an acquaintance, is Ellen Fein. I met Ellen tangentially through an online group comprised of people who’ve attended a Taos Writing Retreat with Jen Louden. It’s a testament to Jen as a retreat facilitator, the vulnerability of writing itself, or perhaps even the magic of Taos Mountain how many of us have remained in touch and actually feel we know each other quite well after only spending a short week together.

And some of us never actually met in person because we attended the Taos Retreat in different years. But that didn’t matter. Obviously. There was something about Ellen and her comments and musings, her voice, her attitude toward life that resonated with me so deeply that I’m honestly hard put to say whether we ever met in person. I feel like we must have. And yet…

Anyway, Ellen revealed to us (her writing community), a few months ago at the most, that after a period of remission for some years, she was experiencing a recurrence of cancer and kidney disease that did not bode well. As a result of her life’s work, she decided to share with us the process of her conscious and gradual letting go.

Photo: L. Weikel

Grace

Oddly (or perhaps not so oddly), she was very much on my mind as I was grieving Spartacus’s sudden demise. Wondering how she was, and feeling that perhaps she was on the brink of crossing over as well, I looked for her on FB to no avail. I tried to find her blog posts without success. And then just the other day (all my days seem to have run together lately), I saw the publication of Ellen’s final post – with a postscript by her daughter. I saw that she’d passed away the day after Spartacus – just after that powerful full moon and a day before the change of seasons, the equinox.

There’s honestly nothing I can say here that adds anything to the conversation. I would instead ask you to read Ellen’s last three posts. Her grace, humor, and beautiful soul shine through and speak for themselves.

You can find them here. May she be an inspiration to all of us.

(T-51)

Intensity Building – Day 1059

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NOT the moon tonight! (It’s invisible) Photo: L. Weikel

Intensity Building

I know you can feel it too. It’s not just me – or a few friends of mine – who’re feeling the level of intensity building nigh well everywhere.

Part of the issue, as I wrote last night, has to do with the new moon in Libra occurring tomorrow morning (perhaps even as you read this!). It’s looking like it’s going to be a doozy. Or more accurately, I’m hearing from others that it’s going to be an intense month.

But there’s even more stuff going on ‘out there’ this week that bears having attention paid. One of those aspects is also playing out tomorrow (along with that new moon) and that is the fact that Pluto is stationing direct. Pluto tends to spend about half of any given year moving ‘direct’ and half moving ‘retrograde.’ And it’s such a slow moving planet that just in ‘slowing down,’ stopping, and then moving forward again takes many days. So the effects tend to be long, drawn out, and deeply…disruptive. Especially with Pluto. Luckily, that disruption often leads to experiencing profound transformation (from the deepest levels).

Given the recent eruptions (as in, from the Underworld – where Pluto rules) of explosive allegations regarding FB, I’m thinking there will be a lot astounding details coming out not only about that debacle but also a ton more revelations in our ‘news cycles’ over the next few days.

Saturn Also Getting In On the Act

On Sunday, Saturn stations direct, meaning, in this case, it stops traveling retrograde* and hits the spot where it will momentarily stand still (and then turn direct) as well. As Saturn is yet another huge ‘outer’ planet, this transit also wields a lot more power and influence over our lives than we would like to think. And remember, Saturn is the planet that governs structures, government, foundations.

What’s really wild is that aspects between planets are occurring this week that were around when Covid first hit our shores. Will something else of equal or even more society-shifting/disrupting potential ‘come out’ this week? I guess we’ll see.

In the meantime, I know I suggested you listen to the astrological forecast for the month by Rick Levine just last night. But it’s meaty and, indeed, as my friend Wendy pointed out in a comment to the blog post as shared on FB, she listened and felt she needed to take notes. Join the club! His comments resonated with a lot of what I’ve not only been experiencing myself, but also what I’ve observed others enduring. I’ve definitely taken notes and noted certain aspects on my calendar when listening to him.

Another Forecast

Well, fear not. I’m not going to leave you high and dry in the face of this week’s potentially extremely uncomfortable aspects, either. I wouldn’t be sharing this if I didn’t think we could all benefit from maintaining awareness of what’s going on around us – and perhaps even more importantly, what’s influencing the behavior of so many people around us.

Accordingly, I recommend you listen to this ‘Weekly Astrological Weather’ forecast by Anne Ortelee on Astrology Hub. It’s worth your time – if for no other reason than to give you reason to scratch your head and say, “Huh. Go figure,” as we watch stuff unfold over the next several days.

* It’s always good to remember that retrograde movement is an optical illusion. No planet literally moves backwards in its orbit around the sun. But that doesn’t mean the energetic shift associated with our perception isn’t powerfully significant for us.

(T-52)

New Moon in Libra – Day 1058

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Stars Through Trees – Photo: L. Weikel

New Moon in Libra

There’s a new moon in Libra arriving this Wednesday. The precise moment this will occur will be 7:05 a.m. EDT. Being a new moon, it means the sun and moon are ‘conjunct’ or lined up exactly with each other from our perspective here on Earth. And the sun recently entered Libra at the equinox on September 22nd.

There’s a lot going on in the cosmos this Wednesday, and I find it fascinating that there are some extremely important and potentially provocative deadlines scheduled to take place that day vis-à-vis Congressional investigation into the January 6th insurrection. Is there a will to truly get to the bottom of who and what organizations were behind this attempted coup?

I’m guessing we’re at least going to see this week whether we’re actually represented by people who honestly want to figure out what happened and how we can protect ourselves from another such appalling attack on our democracy in the future. I dare say we know what it feels like to be represented by people who pay lip service to democracy.

October Looks Intense

As I’ve mentioned before, an astrologer who’s been around for a while whom I respect is Rick Levine. He recently gave an analysis of the transits that will be affecting the entire planet during October in a podcast hosted by Astrology Hub. Here’s the link.

There are a lot of uncomfortable aspects nudging and needling us to make some major changes. It also feels like a huge new beginning, a powerful opportunity to effect real transformation in our structures and beliefs is approaching. Yes, we’ve been asked to embrace these structural shifts all year. But we’re really getting to the point where those of us who resist these changes can no longer hold it back.

What does that mean to each of us as individuals?

And perhaps even more provocatively, what does that mean to us as a country? (That question can legitimately be asked in several countries across the globe…)

(T-53)

Telltale end-of-life drone – Day 1057

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Sky Hound’s Kiss – Photo: L.Weikel

Telltale end-of-life drone

Once again sitting here on our couch, the heavy wooden front door open to the cooler air and delicious night sounds of the countryside. Even with the heavier formal door wide open, another, less formidable wooden screen door remains. It does the job as sentinel, culling the bugs that would otherwise bombard the lights here in the living room. It’s October. The crickets have taken to engaging in the telltale end-of-life drone instead of their more lyrical, mid-summer rhythms. Only sporadically do I discern an errant katydid taking a stand and letting it be known that it’s still alive.

September came and went before I was ready. And I have a sneaking suspicion October may be even worse in that regard.

Sky Hound

Tomorrow it will be two weeks since the Pisces full moon. It most definitely was a moody moon, full of feelings (and in my case, sorrow). For a brief moment tonight, as I took a walk, the clouds formed what appeared to me to be a “sky hound” bending down to kiss or sniff. I can’t tell which, and perhaps it was both.

The amazing thing to me was how rapidly the clouds shifted and reconfigured themselves, leaving no trace of the image I’d just seen and felt touch my heart. Here one moment, gone the next.

The relentlessness of time (human construct that it is) is especially cruel to those who’ve lost a loved one. I remember when Karl died – and my mother twenty years earlier – feeling utterly enraged and indignant that everything didn’t come to a screeching halt as a result of the overwhelming loss I, and the world, had just sustained.

Another Perspective

I’ve recently found myself preoccupied with contemplating how I would feel to receive a shattering diagnosis of personal health. Some friends of mine are walking this path right now, and I’m not inclined to ask them to reveal to me their deepest feelings when it’s quite possible they may have no desire to ask themselves the big questions.

I find myself wondering, would I watch tv anymore? I’m betting no books would get read that didn’t immediately sweep me off my feet. It’s the little things I wonder about.

We’re all going to die. Some of us are given windows of when our stint here may be over. In some ways, it’s take-your-breath-away scary. In others, I imagine it hones your appreciation for precisely what’s most important.

Would most of us choose to live our final days in ways completely foreign to our day-to-day lives? I doubt it; but I can only imagine it is different for each one of us.

I want to savor my life in solidarity with those who’ve been told that’s their wisest course of action.

(T-54)

Rhythm – Day 1056

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Satisfied Sunset 2 Oct 2021 – Photo: L. Weikel

Found a Rhythm

I don’t know if it’s the fact that I only have 55 posts left to write in my 1111 Devotion, but lately it’s been feeling harder and harder to think of things to write about. Again. I ran into this feeling often during the days, weeks, and months when I was first immersing myself in this Act of Power, as I like to refer to it. But then it seemed like I found a rhythm. I developed a trust in my process that became a way of life.

I’m not sure why I’ve been struggling lately.

Swimming Upstream

Some nights it just feels like I’m swimming upstream in a river that’s flowing with the adage, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Yeah, sure; that’s a tidy intention. But I’m not engaging in this every night to simply be a purveyor of bromides. Nevertheless, I try to bear in mind that my posts are read first thing in the morning by some of you. I try to remain cognizant of setting a tone for your day.

But then you get treated to a barrage of frustration like the one that poured out of me the other night. I’d apologize for my rant, but I’m passionate about where we’re headed as a country. I’m freaked out that nothing substantive has been done to bring accountability to the myriad crises and abuses we’ve watched unfold in plain sight over the past several years.

And I’m especially appalled that investigation into the insurrection has, so far at least, yielded a dearth of information about and zero accountability for anyone who was actually a ringleader of that debacle and near-coup. And the sentences meted out for the truly egregious behavior of the people egged on by those in power seem paltry and pathetic. Mere slaps on the wrist when you re-watch what we all witnessed unfold in real time.

“My Bad”

So I must take responsibility. The spirit is willing but the flesh (as obviously expressed by my fingers tip-tapping on the keyboard) is weak.

I’m genuinely worried about the state of our country. And I’m especially troubled by how a failure to hold the big names accountable is going to end up trashing the foundational pillars of our democracy.

I’m relieved we’ve been given a reprieve (at least somewhat) from the constant bombardment of outlandish lies. But sadly, it’s not enough.

We need to get involved; we need to speak up. Too often – and too much like the ‘silent majority’ baloney of 40 years ago – we regular people who’ve bought into the fundamental principles of our country (such as no one being above the law, the existence of an impartial judicial system, majority rule – with minority given some stop-gap measures but not so powerful that they hijack the system – to name a few) are being told to sit down and shut up.

I for one am not inclined to do so. And I hope neither are you.

(T-55)