Never Again is Now

At sunset today, 4/23/2025, Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel) begins. The best way I know to honor the 6 million Jewish people (and approximately 11 million human beings in total) murdered in the Holocaust is to live the lessons and warnings that the survivors told us, and those still with us continue to tell us: Never again.

Right now, there are still 59 hostages held in dark tunnels by a genocidal terrorist group that has a written creed of wiping out Jews. Said group invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, massacred over 1,200 human beings--men, women, children, and babies in their cribs and parents' arms. They raped people. They massacred multiple generations of entire families, and decimated entire kibbutzim communities. They shot pets dead as a punctuation mark to show that they could. They massacred young people at a peace-centered music festival. The took 251 innocent people hostage, including men, women, children, Holocaust survivors, and BABIES. And all this they justified in their minds and hearts by "othering" Jewish people, just as the Nazis did.

Never again is a warning that means: never think it can't happen again. Never think it can't happen here. Never LET it happen again. Never LET it happen here. Human beings are capable of great acts of selfless love and altruism, of heroism and moving mountains for each other. But human beings are also capable of staggering cruelty and barbarism, and all it takes is othering. Dehumanizing the "other". This is how our own current POTUS rose to power the first time, talking of bans and walls. And the second time, talking about invasions and about immigrants "eating the dogs", which was a lie, but it is what he does: he others, he capitalizes on fear and hate as fuel. Hate is his fuel.

So the only way I can honor the 6 million of my own people and the 11 million human beings in total who were systematically exterminated by the Nazis while most people in Germany looked the other way since those "others" were dehumanized in their minds and hearts is to SPEAK UP when I see it in my own time.

There are 59 of my people right now who are still being tortured and held captive in dark tunnels by a barbaric, ruthless terrorist organization that has othered and kidnapped them. They've now been there for 564 days, since that terrible, tragic day I described above, October 7, 2023. LET MY PEOPLE GO! And in my own country, the POTUS has kidnapped and disappeared hundreds of people to a concentration camp in a foreign country, and is refusing to follow Supreme Court orders, first to turn planes around in the sky, and now to bring at least one specific person back. The hundreds of people he has kidnapped to date have had NO DUE PROCESS, so anything the POTUS and his followers say to try to justify why he did this is completely irrelevant--none of his "othering" is relevant: those kidnapped and sent to a concentration camp in a foreign country have not had due process! BRING THEM BACK!

The best way to honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust is to learn the lessons of it, to learn what othering and dehumanizing leads to, and to listen to, and heed, the warnings--the tireless, consistent warnings of the survivors: don't think it can't happen again. Don't think it can't happen here. Silence helps the oppressor, never the oppressed. Silence is complicit. Speak up.

#NeverAgainIsNow

#BringThemHomeNow

#LetMyPeopleGo

Break the Glass

Whew, boy howdy. I saw the fascist's Easter message posted on a friend's Facebook page and I was hoping it was satire, but no, it was all too real.  How can anyone read or listen to anything the man says and not recognize that he's, one, insane, and, two, a clear and present danger to this country?  How can congress just turn a blind eye to the countless ways he has eggregiously violated our constitution in this term alone?  They are not only silent and not doing anything to stop him, they are actively enabling him by doing things like trying to impeach federal judges who attempt to uphold our constitution and rule of law by ruling against this lawless dictator.

Everyone in the majority party (repugs) in Congress who are not acting to stop this man are themselves now treasonous traitors to the United States of America.

It's up to us, you guys, us rag-tag, crazy quilt of humanity known as the American people, us and our courts are all we have left because our wise, awesome, and powerful constitution is mute and powerless words on parchment paper unless WE ensure it is upheld.  Congress is sworn to do so but, as I've already covered, the majority party is a bunch of TREASONOUS TRAITORS and yes, I'm back to all caps again, which I know I've been engaging in far, far, FAR more than usual since the fascist got back into power but in case of emergency BREAK THE GLASS:  use all caps, dammit.  Take to the streets, call Congress, call Congress again, and again, take to the streets again, and again.  Show up at town halls, show up at your representatives' offices, protest at Tesla dealerships and wherever DOGE shows up, fly an American flag upside down (again:  in case of emergency, break the glass--if there was ever a time to fly the American flag upside down, THIS IS IT).

This insane, sociopathic, malignant narcissistic, treasonous traitor, cruel fascist dictator and Russian asset cannot remain in office, he should be impeached, convicted and removed.  Short of that, at LEAST he needs to be reigned in by the courts so that he, for example, stops disappearing people with ZERO DUE PROCESS to concentration camps in a foreign country.  Will the repug Congress ever wake up and smell the overthrow of our constitution, rule of law, separation of powers, democracy and entire government?

Asking for my country.

California should secede from the USA and become its own sovereign country IMMEDIATELY.

Okay, so I'm over my brief febrile thought re "Why doesn't California become part of Canada?!", as it was subsequently pointed out to me that Canada would never go for that, since California has a bigger population than the ENTIRE COUNTRY OF CANADA, so if they accepted California as a province, it (California) would immediately have more power/influence on decision-making than the whole rest of the country combined.  So I'm over that brief but beautiful impossible dream.  But now I'm really, really, really not only back to California becoming its OWN country, but I'm back with a bullet, so to speak, because I strongly, strongly, strongly and passionately believe that the #CalExit initiative will take waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long, and we don't have that kind of time.  It won't even be on the CA ballot until 2028 (and meanwhile America is going full fascist as we speak), and even then, the ballot initiative is just about forming a commission to study the idea.  While I get that NORMALLY one shouldn't just RUSH willy-nilly to secede from one's country, and that rather it should be carefully and thoughtfully planned, let me shout incredibly loudly that:  THIS IS NOT A NORMAL TIME, AND WE DO NOT HAVE TIME, AND CALIFORNIA NEEDS TO DIVORCE THE THE USA NOW!

Traitortot, Putin, Muskrat and their merry band of fascist oligarchs, fascist oligarch-wannabees, and fascist oligarch-complicit bleeps, are in the process of dismantling our government in a COUP.  We do not have until 2028!  California needs to secede now and, before anyone says, "but the constitution says states cannot secede", I say, one, that's highly debatable and, more relevant at this moment is number TWO:  the treasonous traitor in the White House has already overthrown the constitution of the United States of America, I don't know if you all have noticed.  In fact, I do know that many Americans have NOT noticed.  Yet.  But everyone will understand soon enough.  Anyway, so if the constitution and rule of law no longer apply, and a treasonous traitor puppet of Putin is in the White House, WHY oh WHY WHY WHY on this earth would California (or any other US state that feels like it) not simply DECLARE:  "We're seceding, as in NOW, we're gone, goodbye, na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye!"?

Answer Key:  there is NO reason not to do that NOW, and every reason TO do it now.  AND, furthermore, I think that the Orange Foolius would welcome it, as CALIFORNIA WEILDS HUGE ELECTORAL POWER AND CALIFORNIA IS DEEP BLUE.  Granted, the Orange Foolius doesn't really even have to concern himself with that anymore, what with he is DEFINITELY not going to allow any future presidential elections, but even without CA participating in non-existent future elections, why would the Orange One want CA in the mix at all, because Californians are NOT going to put up with the whole treasonous traitor, fascist oligarchy, dismantling the US for parts and then giving the keys to Putin THING.  If civil war breaks out, guess which side most Californians would fight on?  It wouldn't be on the side of Clockwork Orange, I can tell you that.  So I think he would just say okay, go.  You want to go?  Go.  He'd be thrilled.  He hates California.

Seriously--I've never been more serious about anything in my entire life--California needs to declare, simply DECLARE:  we're out.  I know we had (past tense) a union and all, but that was before the US Executive Branch went full fascist and before the Supreme Court said the Executive Branch doesn't have to follow the rule of law when doing an "official act"!  47 can just say EVERYTHING he does is an "official act".

California, breathtakingly beautiful (physically and culturally) state of my birth, somehow hear my plea:  SAVE YOURSELF, save your citizens, save your awesome environment, save your progressive, beautiful values and culture and, last but not least, save ME because I think I'd have birthright citizenship!  Get OUT of this crazy country and become your own California Republic.  NOW.  Not forming a commission to study it in 2028, there is not time for that.  Long before 2028 the US will be part of Russia.  As soon as Traitortot gets Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal, then he is going to hand the ENTIRE KIT AND CABOODLE, including the US of A proper, over to PUTIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

California: secede now! It really won't be hard, the secession itself: just say "we hereby secede from the United States of America". DONE! The hard part will be forging a new country, but we're (and I say "we're" because I'm moving there the nanosecond you secede) going to have to do that AFTER we secede. Right now, it's like fleeing an abusive relationship: first, GET OUT.

DO IT, I beg of you!

Clarity

 To all those silent since October 7, 2023:

If you think I will ever forget, you are wrong.

I may walk past you on the street 10 years from now and the first thing I will think is "You were SILENT."

I may walk past the doors of a place/community that at one point I loved and was central to my core and my life, 10 years from now, and think "You were SILENT and/or worse."

You may approach me in a crowd 10 years from now and wonder, "What's her problem?"

But you need never, ever wonder, 10 years from now, if you are SILENT now, and/or worse, and have been since October 7, 2023.

Because if you approach me 10 years from now--or now--and I am silent or worse, it's because you were silent or worse after October 7th.

And I'm clear on who you are and where we stand.

The Sound of Silence

As a child, this song soaked so deeply into my DNA, through my little am/fm radio.  It’s part of the soundtrack my generation was infused with, saturating my cells, and fusing with my soul.

It came to me this February morning in 2025, this day when I’m all too grown up.  The sound of silence.  And all these layers of the lyrics, terrible layers, layers I never completely and clearly understood, experienced, felt and knew like I do now, hit me.  And all I can do is cry.  Because since October 7th, and the world’s reaction to it, I understand the terribleness of the sound of silence, the sounds of silence, the sound of chanting, the sound of invisibility.  “People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening, people writing songs that voices never share, no one dared, disturb the sound of silence.”

And I know I’ll never be the same.  I’m not the child who first heard this beautiful, haunting, poetic song.  I felt and understood how deep it is but I didn’t know.  All the layers, all the truths, some of which are terrible, you have to know for those chords to be fully audible.  And now I do know and I mean really know, which you can’t get from history, even very well communicated and expressed history, you can only *know* when it happens in your time.

And even before October 7th, I was starting to really know.  Then October 7th came, and everything I had started to learn before it crystalized, and became exquisitely clear.  So crystal clear.  And people, communities, and places I thought were mine and were safe and were home and knew me, are not, were not, and did not, and probably never were and never did.  And the chanting got louder and deafening, but so too did the silence.  And then the silence grew and grew, even after the loudest chanting, at least temporarily, had subsided.  The silence just keeps growing, and getting more and more deafening.  It reached a crescendo in the last couple of weeks.  And this morning, this beloved song from my childhood came to my mind from my soul and heart.  The lyrics, the music, all so intimately familiar, hit me like a crushing tidal wave in terrible new ways and intensity, and held me under.  There is no air in this totally enveloping, powerful wave.  I cry yet make no sound, into the terrible, terrible silence.

Click here to listen to the song "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel

Chimney Rock

This is my country. These are rocks I climbed on in wonder and awe as a child, in Catoctin Mountain Park, in my home state of Maryland. This is Chimney Rock. This is part of my physical country that is in my DNA and my heart and my imagination and soul. This is the physical country I love.

This country also has more to it than a breathtaking, awesome physical landscape. We also have an awesome constitution. The word constitution literally means what we are constituted of--what we are made of, what comprises us. Our land is constituted of great beauty. Our society is constituted of laws, and a separation of powers, and a free press, which are designed to make us a healthy, functional, strong, free country that is a democracy framed in a constitutional republic.

Just as we have to protect the precious and priceless nature in our country from those who would violate, pillage and plunder it, so too must we protect our constitution, our constitutional republic, our democracy, our FREE COUNTRY from those who, as we speak, are violating it.

I don't know why, this time around, there is no Women's March in the streets. The first time, we were out there, filling the streets from sea to shining sea, a beautiful, diverse quilt of Americans blanketing our country and standing up for it. I don't know why this time we all instead seem to be going about our days in stunned, horrified and helpless silence. We may be talking among ourselves, but why are we not CALLING Congress (202-224-3121)? Why are we not out in the streets, shouting and holding up signs? And why are our elected representatives not resisting all the fast and furious moves by 47 and his cabal taking us to fascism? Why are we just allowing these robber barons, these treasonous traitors, these fascists, these oligarchs, to roll over us?

RESIST. Resist, with all your might. Because even though my beloved Chimney Rock will still be there, whether we are a constitutional republic or a fascist oligarchy, it is vital to ensure that future generations of American children will be FREE to go there, carefree, and climb the rocks, and gaze out over the beautiful Catoctin Mountain vista, and only feel the beauty, wonder and awe. Children, and none of us, should have to feel the fear, danger and dread of living under fascism. They should breathe deep and free, in a free country. And it is up to us. Right now.

It's up to us now.

Well, friends, it's here.  Inauguration Day.  I could be dramatic and, tragically, possibly accurate and say:  "The end of America", but I won't because you know what?  Whether it is or is not is going to be up to us.  It always has been, just like the message in one of my favorite movies of all time, "The Wizard of Oz", in which Dorothy learns that is isn't up to Glenda the Good Witch of the North to save her, it is she herself who has always had the power to go home.  Bernie Sanders (who I am currently upset with but who I spent most of my life holding up as one of my few, true heroes in this world, and who I must admit I still love, despite my current upsetness with him on one thing--the man is usually spot on, and he sure was when he said the following) once, or more than once, said:  "democracy is you, and you, and you."

Surprisingly to me, I find myself fighting back tears suddenly, upon writing that last sentence.  Guys (and gals--I wish one could just say "guys" anymore without being deemed to be sexist, but if even Jeff Probst won't do it, I guess I can't either... but moving on...), we're in trouble.  Our country is in peril.  Yet what I'm realizing is that, actually, it always has been--democracy and the rule of law always are.

One thing I can say for the 45 administration and everything that has unfolded during and since:  it has been a front row seat in class, as well as an in living color experience, to learn all about the fact that our constitution, our rule of law, our separation of powers, and our democracy are at once very strong yet very fragile.  All of those things are only as strong and in force as WE, the people, those of us who happen to be here alive at the time, collectively decide they are.  It's up to us to interpret and enforce all of those.  And it is up to the 4th estate, the free press, to be courageous and integrity-laden and report on what's going on, even if it places them in the crosshairs of a vengeful, sociopathic fascist.  If we have a strong, courageous free press, and if we, the people, decide to RESIST tyranny and to uphold our constitution, we just might make it through the next four years (and then we can set about the task of really healing what is broken, such as--and thank you, President Biden, for mentioning this in your awesome farewell speech--passing a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court's America-ending ruling that a POTUS is above the law.  But right now, we just have to make it through the next four years, which is a HUGE "just".  We have to RESIST.  We have to stand up and speak up for each other, for our neighbors who may be among the scapegoats, and some of us must be aware that WE may be among the scapegoats, so honestly be ready to decide what you are going to do if faced with that reality.  When others are threatened I hope I will be like Miep Gies who, during WWII and the Holocaust, hid the Frank family and others in her hidden annex.  I have actually visited there.  I have ascended the very narrow, quintessentially Dutch stairs.  I saw the faded pictures of movie stars Anne had stuck on the wall.  And even though the Nazis found Anne, her family, and the others hidden in the annex in the end, Miep did everything she possibly could to save them, at great personal peril.  If I can be like her through the next four years, I will know I am living up to my own ideals.

Things are about to get really scary and really ugly.  All we can do is stay true to our ideals.  Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."  Be respectful, reverent, loving and kind, this is what I pray to be and do every day.  45/7 has already signaled in his horrific speech last night on the eve of his inauguration that he plans to be as divisive, xenophobia-inciting, hate-mongering and terrible as ever, so we have to counteract that!  LOVE is more powerful than hate.  Say it, show it, live it.  Stand up for our constitution and rule of law and, perhaps most of all, stand up for each other.  Don't fall for the divisiveness.  I gotta quote Bernie Sanders again, but I'll just paraphrase instead of digging up an exact quote, as he says this again and again and again, and I know it by heart--literally, it's in my heart, and we all need to put it there and let it fuel our actions for the next four years and beyond:  no matter if you are black, white, or whatever skin color, and no matter whatever ethnic background you hail from and call your own, no matter if you are female, male, non-binary, straight, gay, bi, old, young, middle-aged, rich, poor, middle-class, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, athiest, Hindu or whatever religion or no religion:  when we stick together, when we stand together, there is nothing we can't accomplish.

We can stand up to this incoming sociopathic, vengeful, hateful, treasonous traitor of a fascist who also happens to be a Russian asset.  We can stand up to the oligarchy that he and his puppet master, Putin, are clearly--out in the open!--trying to usher in by making the richest person on earth (Musk) his shadow President (so much for "draining the swamp" and getting rid of the "elites"--I would say that the richest person on earth is as "elite" as they come).  It will be the farthest thing from easy.  But if we are courageous, if we resist, if we speak out, and if we stick and stand TOGETHER, I believe we have a chance of surviving the next four years and saving our country.  It's our turn now.  There's no Glenda the Good Witch of the North to save us.  But we have the power.

"Democracy is you, and you, and you."