When Donald Trump, as soon as he regained the presidency, attacked DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), I assumed that he deplored the DEI offices found in corporations, universities, nonprofits, governmental entities, and elsewhere. I was wrong, which quickly became obvious as the administration began not only threatening such offices but also expunging the words “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” wherever they could be found. The administration’s manic excisions even extended to those words on the World Wide Web appearing in contexts having nothing to do with DEI.
Dictionary.com offers a definition of DEI as good as can be found anywhere: “a conceptual framework that promotes the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially in the workplace, including populations who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination because of their background, identity, disability, etc.”
I suspect that many people—I would hope most people, including even Trump supporters—would endorse the objectives of DEI when presented with such an explicit definition. It is a fair assumption that Mr. Trump is not among that population.
Mr. Trump knows exactly what his anti-DEI campaign is all about. He hates diversity. He favors American-born white, preferably male, people to those of other races or with conspicuous heritage from anywhere outside the U.S. (He makes an exception for white South Africans.)
It follows, of course, that Mr. Trump has no interest in showing anyone special favors as compensation for historical injury, not only because he sees no personal gain in doing so, but also because he possesses the historical understanding of a slug.
I suggest that the president’s anti-DEI attitude can be properly characterized with another acronym, namely UFE. That stands for
I don’t know why that border exists, but I have always appreciated it. New Yorker covers are always attractive and interesting, and the border insures that the full cover illustration can be enjoyed by readers. In college, I took advantage of this fact to create a large collage of New Yorker covers from which I had excised the colored borders. I was upset when the magazine began pasting mailing labels on the cover, labels not easily removed and that detracted from the value of the cover as a decorative artifact.
I wrote to the magazine that another subscription of mine, Trains, mailed magazines using removable labels. I suggested that The New Yorker do the same. Only years later did the magazine begin employing such labels. My letter likely was not responsible for the change.
On the cover of the December 29, 2025 & January 5, 2026 issue, the illustration impinges on that ever-present border. Lorenzo Mattotti’s graphic “Goodbye to All That” would be damaged by cutting off the border. Rarely, and never recently—certainly not in my memory anyway—has the cover illustration impinged on that sacred border as it does on the cover of the current issue. For the benefit of future collage-makers in dorm rooms, I hope the current cover is an aberration. On the other hand, we live in a disorienting era, and one more innovation can contribute but a little to our already disturbed mental state.
NPR, which has been interviewing Democrats about the future of their party, featured Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen today on Morning Edition. Val Hollen said the obvious, namely that Democrats need to take back the House and Senate to advance a Democratic program. We need not only to say what (or who) we are against but also articulate what we are fighting for, he asserted. Democrats “will take on powerful, special interests in order to advance the public interest,” he explained. That’s all well and good, of course, but when asked about specific ideas, he spoke of a tax cut for lower- and middle-income taxpayers.
A tax cut! Is that the best idea Democrats can come up with? Republicans might even be persuaded to vote for such an idea. But what about those “powerful, special interests”?
The biggest threat to our nation—well, other than Donald Trump, of course—is wealth inequality. Too much money is in the hands of too few who yield too much power both within government and in society at large. Is the idea of raising taxes, even on those who would hardly notice the increase, a new third rail of American politics? Does no one see that perpetually lowering taxes eventually leaves the government with no money at all and therefore unable to do anything to “advance the public interest.”
Democrats need to tackle the wealth gap head-on. They need to assert that the rich own too much and the rest of us too little. Giving peanuts to the non-wealthy, as Van Hollen suggests, will neither excite voters nor effectively ameliorate the wealth gap problem. A more radical and effective taxation scheme such is the one I suggested a few years ago is needed, a plan to raise more revenue from those most able to supply it.
Trump was elected because he was perceived as being different. Democrats should use the same strategy of offering something different—something that will benefit citizens generally, rather that Trump and his superrich friends.
I do a fair amount of cooking and lots of baking. Naturally, I have built up a repertoire of useful kitchen skills. I do make mistakes, however, and I would like to share a few rules I’ve learned from those mistakes. Here are three useful rules in order of increasing importance:
Don’t leave a drawer open below your work surface. My large teak cutting board, on which I do much of my prep work, sits on a counter above my silverware drawer. I have a bad habit of removing a spoon or grater from the drawer and leaving the drawer open. This is an invitation for food to fall into the drawer. It’s difficult to clean flour or other material from a silverware drawer.
Don’t pick up and carry glass jars by their lids. It’s hard to clean up the mess created by dropping a jar of pickles on the floor. Enough said!
Don’t touch metal pans recently removed from the oven. We all learned as children not to touch hot objects, but the high temperature of a particular object may not immediately register in your brain. Although I always use oven mitts or potholders to remove a fry pan or cookie sheet from the oven, such an object sitting atop my range is indistinguishable from the same cold object sitting there. I have been known to touch the handle of a fry pan or cookie sheet I just took out of the oven. Try not to do that!
The Trump administration has claimed that its cuts to the federal government are eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. If this is true, where are the prosecutions for fraud? Where are the reports exposing abuses?
In fact, the cuts are all being made to activities deemed wasteful. Whereas determining fraud or abuse requires investigation and analysis if done conscientiously, waste is largely in the eye of the beholder. If Donald Trump dislikes an activity, it is, ipso facto, wasteful and subject to summary elimination. This is how monarchs operate under the divine-right theory of kingship.
But Americans do not elect kings!
Never in modern times has one political party been so philosophically monolithic as is today’s Republican Party. Never in modern times has a political party been so anti-democratic, bordering on monarchial, in its orientation.
On Tuesday, it is vital that voters distressed by the direction of the country set by President Donald Trump vote for all Democrats on their ballot and for no Republicans. This must be the case for every public office, from school board member to state supreme court justice and governor. The continued existence of our democratic republic requires it.
God save The United States of America.
Pharmaceutical commercials on television are required to list possible, often scary (or even deadly), side effects. (Not every conceivable side effect need be mentioned.) But the actors on such ads are always portrayed as smiling, happy customers, as if the dreaded list of possible side effects is more theoretical than real.
Perhaps some of the actor-patients in drug commercials should be required to portray patients whose clinical outcome is not the desired one. That might make drug advertising more realistic and discourage people from pestering their physicians to prescribe the advertised product.
Drug advertising, particularly for newly approved drugs, serves a useful function by informing people of the existence of a drug that might benefit them. Current advertising, however, raises hopes for improved health outcomes while downplaying possible drug dangers.
At one time, consumer-targeted drug advertising was not allowed at all. The current regulations, though helpful, are too permissive. Advertising should state what a new pharmaceutical can be used for and direct potential customer-patients to consult their own physician for more information and advice as to whether they could benefit from the medicine. As long as the drug is not portrayed as a miracle cure (suggested by a screenful of happy patients), it should be unnecessary to list potential side effects. The many television viewers who are not potential customers for the drug manufacturer’s product would appreciate the scaled-down ads.
Hamas may indeed be forced to accept the “peace” plan presented by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu today. It is a one-sided plan in Israel’s favor, however, and it does not guarantee that there will ever be a Palestinian state. Netanyahu continues to reject any Palestinian state, even though he has “accepted” Trump’s proposal that suggests that such a state is possible if certain unlikely conditions are, at some unspecified time, met.
It is ironic that the “Board of Peace” proposed to oversee the implementation of the Trump plan is to be chaired by Trump himself. This provision is meant to strengthen Trump’s case for receiving a Nobel Peace Prize. But Trump has supported Netanyahu with the ordnance responsible for flattening nearly all of Gaza. Trump deserves indictment for war crimes more than a prize for peacemaking.
The most Hamas-friendly provision of the Trump proposal is amnesty for Hamas fighters. On the other hand, Netanyahu presumably never expects to be held responsible for his own war crimes.
Hamas will not, I predict, accept Trump’s plan anytime soon.
It appears that a government shutdown will be upon us in just over 24 hours, as Senate Democrats seem unwilling to support the House’s continuing resolution. Withholding their votes on the budget is virtually the only leverage the Democrats have in the current Congress and with the current president. Many Democrats, myself included, have urged Senator Chuck Schumer to demand rolling back some of the provisions of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” But I am concerned that the Democrats are demanding only healthcare-related concessions. They should be making more demands. Having more demands makes getting at least something in any future compromise. The GOP, led by Donald Trump, will reject any compromise unless widespread public demand for it materializes. I am reluctant to make predictions about that.
Dolly Parton has announced that she is postponing her appearances in Las Vegas because of “health challenges.” I sincerely hope that her death will not come anytime soon, but the announcement made me contemplate losing a woman who can only be called a national treasure. Should that terrible thing happen during Trump’s term, Parton will not likely get flags flown at half staff or a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, honors shown the supremely underserving Charlie Kirk. (I have called Kirk elsewhere a mendacious, heretical demagogue and a talented propagandist who was a menace to the Republic.)
I don’t use ordinary #2 pencils very often. I probably use them most often for marking walls when hanging pictures. For ordinary writing, I invariably use one of several mechanical pencils. I do like to maintain a reasonably complete home office, however, so my office has always contained an electric pencil sharpener. When I moved to Clifton Springs, I discarded an outrageously large sharpener and replaced it with a much smaller electric sharpener from Staples. That device was not very good and recently completely failed to perform its only function. I discarded it and ordered a similarly sized electric sharpener by Bostitch. That device arrived at my doorstep yesterday. It works great. (Ironically, between the time I ordered the new sharpener and when it arrived, I purchased yet another mechanical pencil.)
The photo below shows the front of the box my new sharpener came in:
In the lower left corner of the box are graphics that presumably describe features of the sharpener, but I have no idea what “Power Meter” means. There is no meter on the shapener. Why does the power meter picture show a pointer at 6?
Here is a photo of the bottom of the sharpener box:
I had purchased the sharpener knowing nothing about its warranty. I was impressed by the 7-year warranty promised on the box. My delight was diminished when I read the sharpener instructions:
Notice the section labeled “ONE-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY.” Sigh!
I do not approve of political assassinations (or any other kind of assassinations, for that matter.) I mourn for Charlie Kirk’s family, but I cannot grieve his loss. Kirk espoused racist and anti-gay views, and promoted unfounded conspiracy theories. His passionate support for so-called Second Amendment rights is ironic, given the way he met his demise. (He was quoted in The New York Times as having said: “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”) Charlie Kirk was a talented propagandist, but he was a menace to the Republic.
It is a travesty that flags are flying at half-staff to honor Kirk’s memory. If he deserves such an honor, then so does every other gunshot victim. Were we to follow this logic, flags would fly at half-staff every day of the year. Perhaps sending a message that way would not be a bad thing.
Labor Day weekend
A time for Trump to rid us
Of public unions.
I added the above haiku to Lionel Deimel’s Farrago yesterday. You can read about it on my Web site here.
President Trump wants to hold on to power through unconventional, mid-decade gerrymandering. An alternative strategy (and perhaps an even more effective one) would be to substitute attractive policies for his destructive and unpopular ones.
My latest poem celebrates my Howard Miller wall clock purchased many years ago. (See photo below.) Howard Miller has produced many beautiful timepieces. My clock is modest when compared to the company’s grandfather clocks; it is lovely nevertheless.
My poem “The Clock” was a long time coming, but I am satisfied with the result. Do read it on my Web site.
Unfortunately, Howard Miller is going out of business. Apparently, a weak housing market has resulted in reduced sales. President Trump’s tariffs also contributed to the company’s demise. Howard Miller will not be the last company killed by our out-of-control president.
One woman told me that “Summer Pleasures” did indeed cause her to recall her own childhood memories. She raised the question of what sort of memories present-day children and teenagers will have to look back on when they become adults. Will they recall playing video games and texting friends on their cellphones? Or will they remember being driven by parents to organized activities like soccer practice and soccer games? Will their memories and, in fact, their childhoods be impoverished in comparison to those of their parents or grandparents? Or, perhaps the joys of a present-day childhood are merely different from those of a less technological age but somehow wonderful in their own right.
What if, on December 8, 1941, President Roosevelt had gone before Congress and asked for an increased military budget to build more weapons to defend against Japanese aggression, rather than asking for a declaration of war against the Empire of Japan?
Would enhancing America’s defenses have been a reasonable action in 1941? Or did the nation do the right thing by mobilizing for total war against Japan?
If you believe that active military action against Japan was indeed the proper response to Pearl Harbor, then why do we limit military shipments to Ukraine to defensive armaments? Can the war in Ukraine possibly have a satisfactory resolution—not simply the “peace” that President Trump seems to desire, but a victory for the West and punishment of Russia for its aggressive expansionism—if the war is never seriously taken to the Russian homeland? Why are Russian civilians not experiencing the daily horrors being visited by Putin’s military upon the civilians and the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine?
It’s time to ensure a Ukrainian victory against Russia, not simply a holding action that can only result in Ukraine’s ultimate defeat and the country’s annexation by an expanding Russian empire.
In June, the Texas legislature passed a law requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in every public elementary and secondary school classroom. By any reasonable calculus, this law is unconstitutional. Whether it will eventually be declared such is to be determined. If the Supreme Court eventually gets to weigh in, the Republican justices will likely undermine the wall between church and state even more than they have weakened it already.
My essay The Texas Ten Commandments Law examines the details of the Texas legislation. I examine the source of the biblical text that must be on the mandated posters and consider why some people might think passing this law was a good idea.
The Supreme Court has become the “No-Surprise Supreme Court.” The justices take cases seemingly adjudicated rationally and definitely in lower courts and deliver the most unlikely, far-right decisions that ignore the clear meaning and intention of the Constitution and statutory law but satisfy Donald Trump and his Republican sycophantic minions. Once a case is accepted by the court, a goofy, law-free decision is assured. The latest decision is a perfect example of a ruling that has a certain facial logic, but is guaranteed to have a devastating effect on the rule of law in this country.
Given that the court operates this way nearly always, why do we need the justices at all? Let them all go on their oligarch-funded 12-month vacations and save themselves the trouble of figuring out how to contort the law out of all recognition to reach the decision they want, in their heart of hearts, to reach. Journalists can, with 90% certainty, generate the democracy-killing decisions the court would hand down were the justices actually sitting. And they can do it without the long, anxiety-producing delays we typically endure. If the court is going to wreck our democracy, why not do it and get it over with?
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| Current Supreme Court Justices |
I often read poetry in public, usually my own, but sometimes the poetry of others. In particular, I have been reading poetry at Sulfur Books at its monthly Open Mic Night. Usually, reading a poem is straightforward, but not always. Sometimes a line, at least considered in isolation, can be read in more than one way.
Last night, I read my latest poem, “Lament for America,” at Open Mic Night. (Although it made no difference to me one way or another, for the first time, performers actually used a microphone, a helpful change in light of the larger audiences Open Mic Night has been attracting.) The poem does not rhyme, and its line lengths vary between 11 and 18 syllables. Every line, however, contains five metrical feet of varying meter. In other words, five syllables in each line are stressed. I thought it essential that this unifying characteristic of the poem be made as clear as possible in my recitation. A thoughtless reading of the poem could obscure its essential unity.
To assure a proper reading of the poem, I thought of annotating the text with accent marks to indicate stressed syllables. This seemed clumsy, however, and might even have obscured the words themselves. I then hit upon an idea that actually worked quite well. I rendered the stressed syllables in red. Well, technically, I used a red font to indicate each word or part of a word whose first syllable only is stressed. Coloring only individual syllables, I reasoned, threatened to encourage a choppy delivery.
Here is the beginning of “Lament for America” as it appeared on the page from which I read my poem:
Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean, has lost her luster,And Lady Liberty weeps for want of freedom,Her torch of enlightenment no longer a beacon to the world.The Mother of Exiles no longer welcomes the masses,And those who accepted her welcome find it withdrawn.
I was surprised that this mechanism not only assured that lines were read with proper emphasis, but also that it made reading the poem more fluid. My working theory is that concentrating on the red text maintained my concentration generally, leading to a better reading.
