"THE STRANGERS' CASE"
I saw Ian McKellen on the Steven Colbert show, performing this magnificent monologue by Shakespeare from the play Thomas More. It couldn't be more relevant to the barbarity unleashed by Trump's ICE goons! Bravo Ian McKellen and bravo Stephen Colbert!
youtu.be/wXq58BbhCO4?...
New snow on the foothills of the North Cascade range
The warm atmospheric rivers that dumped record rain on the North Cascades have eased and it's turned cold. Rain is now falling as snow, giving some relief to those hit by catastrophic flooding.
Trump calls climate change 'a hoax,' but it's causing devastation around the globe! Time to wake up!
No Kings! The most basic tenet of the American creed, and our message to this Republican Congress:
New snow on the Cascades
Our first snow on the Cascades this past weekend. It was a really dry winter, and the summers are just getting warmer!
I'm staggered by the hypocrisy of the cynical alliance between Trump and his 'Christian' supporters. He's what Jesus abhorred, a self-aggrandizing bully, bigot, and braggart! Read Mark 10.35-45. Read the Constitution!
Hear Enya's rendition of "How Can I Keep from Singing"! youtu.be/whIYv3_CvqU?...
Autumn crocuses in full flower
Nature doesn't lie! Our autumn crocuses are in full flower and some leaves on neighborhood trees are beginning to turn! Fall is coming! I love feeling that cooler nip in the air, even as the sun continues to shine. My favorite season!
We all know the saying, "The winners write the history!" Here's an honest, fascinating article on how/why that's both literally and dangerously true. Long, but worth the read!
Gift article from New York Times. Read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/m...
This article brings together musician Aaron Copland, historian, Heather Cox Richardson, and one of our greatest historical figures, Abraham Lincoln. I love it!
Explore this gift article from New York Times. Read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/a...
I really admired Jacinda Ardern, especially for her obvious empathy!
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/s...
Picture of part of a racist restrictive housing covenant from 1943.
When I hear false narratives about the history of racism in our country, I just read the original covenants to our house (from 1943). Read for yourself (middle paragraph). Racism was--and for some still is--all too real! Isn't it better to acknowledge it and deal with it than to try to deny it?
Trump's sycophantic cabinet was so obsequious last week that even right-wing commentator Ann Coulter found it more reminiscent of North Korea than the USA.
John Quincy Adams' speech before SCOTUS, from the movie, 'Amistad', provides a fitting rejoinder:
www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeche...
Squirrel sunning itself in our hawthorn tree
A squirrel clings to a branch of our blossoming hawthorn tree, warming up in the sun on a cool morning in Seattle.
Text of an article, 'On Being 'Woke.'
The term 'woke' is used derisively by conservatives, many of whom call themselves 'Christian.' I was once a Christian myself and taught New Testament. 'Woke' is in fact a thoroughly Christian idea and term. But neither Trump nor his followers read their texts thoughtfully, if at all!
A cherry tree in full blossom
Well, spring has sprung in Seattle! My neighbor's cherry tree is now in full bloom. Beautiful!
A must-read and very timely warning for us in the US about how the erosion of democracy by autocrats! This is just what Trump is up to!
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/w...
Mount Rainier/Tahoma looms over the Seattle skyline at dusk
Mount Rainier/Tahoma looms over Seattle at dusk! Like Mount Fuji and Tokyo, it is almost synonymous with our city. It is a reminder that we sit on the same 'ring of fire' around the edge of the Pacific and also that, as they say in New Zealand, we live in an 'edgy world.'
Cherry tree in blossom on a sunny day
After the cool, wet, and windy weather of the last few days, we have record high 75-degree temperatures in Seattle today! Nice, of course, but one can't help wondering what summer will bring this year, as Earth continues to warm!
Love the cherry blossom, though!
The Trump cult's rabid anti-immigrant rhetoric has stoked an appetite for cruelty among his supporters that his goons are only too willing to indulge. Sickening!!
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Cherry trees beginning to blossom
A full rainbow
Yesterday we had wind and rain, and snow in the Cascades, but it hasn't stopped my neighbor's cherry trees from blossoming. Last winter equinox we had a rainbow right over our street. Welcome glimpses of beauty!
This is a great article by the conservative former judge and legal scholar, J. Michael Luttig, who's been courageously outspoken against Trump's behavior:
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/o...
Having seen this post WW2 War Dept. video from the National Archives recommended by people on BlueSky, I finally watched it. It's a priceless illustration from the past of what's going on in our country today. You'll be happy you took the time to watch it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGAq...
Picture of Lincoln and text of his Gettysburg Address
Lincoln was not the first to look beyond the Constitution's compromise on slavery to the Declaration of Independence's 'all men are created equal' as the true and ever-more-inclusive spirit of America, but his evocation of it at Gettysburg is the most memorable, as generations of us have discovered!
New snow on the Cascade mountains and foothills
New snow on the Cascades. Although it's officially Spring, Winter is having a late fling here in Seattle! Seems to have a harder time letting go the last few years!
HCR has a wonderful knack for illustrating the current moment by recalling real incidents and personalities from our history. Read this all the way to the end.
March 22, 2025 open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
Great quote! My wife attended Roosevelt High here in Seattle. It's actually named after Teddy, but ER and FDR come to mind, too, these days! How we miss 'em!
By the way, if you're looking for a great, 'non-elitist' definition of what a sycophant is, check this out:
clip.cafe/101-dalmatia...
When I first visited the USA in 1974 Nixon had tried but failed to cover up his role in Watergate and resigned under bipartisan threat of impeachment.
I was impressed! Like all countries, the US has a checkered past, but was willing to face up to it, and to face down abuses of power.
What happened?
Brian, I hope that's not as sheer of a drop as it looks like it is!
Wow, it really was a Blood Moon! Winter's having a last fling here and it was too cloudy to see anything!
