I don’t have a lot of time these days. I am a grandma, and I am working hard to help some students (of all ages) make some noise on the climate crisis. If you are interested, please take a look at the link below:

See, https://www.chicagogiftedcommunity.org/Summit-sponsorship.

It’s a worthy website designed to give students a platform to express what global warming (much better term than climate change) means to anyone who wants to voice their sentiments on our global, environmental mess–our organizational aims are simple yet powerful. This is a third year of providing opportunities to youth. Again, if you are curious, take a look!

No pressure, though!

Back to Michelle Goldberg. Why do I pay attention to her? I respect her insights because she is genuine, smart, kind, and spirited. She makes me think about different perspectives; that’s a great teaching tool. Think about it–some key journalists are providing critical lessons for us all today while some newspapers have been taken over by those who spew disinformation. You decide what’s worthy reading; I find Michelle Goldberg’s editorials wonderful; Michelle works for The NY Times and her messages are to me, so powerful. I sincerely hope you can find value in her assessments. My K-8 students sure do appreciate her wisdom! My grandmother would have described Michelle as having an “old head.” So true! I feel the same way about Heather Cox Richardson; I just wish I had their energy.

You may be wondering how I found Heather and Michelle. I found Michelle on MSNBC. She’s a regular commentator. I prefer watching MSNBC over Fox News’ “narishkeit” and less than honest commentary (yiddish term for hegemony; if you don’t know the meaning of hegemony, please look it up!) A dear friend introduced me to Heather Cox Richardson. As a former college student who focused on history at the U of I, I believe Heather has one of the best historical perspectives ever. Let me know if you agree. Oh, one more thing–I recently discovered that Heather was motivated to start her “blogging” when she learned that there was a whistleblower in the Trump administration (think that the whistle blower was Col. Windman).

This focus on history has distinct connections to Kevin McCarthy. As a resident of the Windy City (this term was not coined because it’s windy in Chicago; it relates to Chicago’s history–our politicians have historically spewed tons of hot air.

Anyways, back to McCarthy–I believe he’s running out of gas–put simply, I think he has exhausted his 15 minutes in the limelight. C’mon, he’s embarrassing the Republican Party; that eight hour speech was ridiculous (and so very painful with so much hot air that he could have fueled a hot air balloon). I hope he felt better when he was done. He has serious issues, just ask Adam Schiff. Quite frankly, I see all of this bunk as Republican procrastination. When will Republicans realize that the US populace is way smarter than they think, especially suburban white women (I was a suburban white woman for decades so I consider myself a good judge of female intellect, especially those who reside in the suburbs of Chicago)?

Frankly, I hope Republicans never realize the power–and intellect– of women. I hope that McCarthy continues to pal around with less than quality people, like Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Green. They may be good story tellers in the short term, but they are plain scary in the long term and. folks are realizing that; that’s my assessment. As for Gosar, I have a friend who is an expert in anime. Below is her response to Gosar’s alleged defense to his flawed–and SICK– attempt at anime:

“Bah Humbug.”

I loved that assessment.

Back to Michelle Goldberg. She inspires me and gives me reason to hope. And Heather Cox Richardson reminds me of the importance of history!

Kevin McCarthy just gives me severe indigestion. His cronies, including the disgraced former president, Donald Trump, have that pernicious impact on me, too. That’s why I have to switch channels regularly. Again, Fox News, in my assessment, is largely sickening, and I applaud the recent resignations of savvy and decent journalists. Plus, in my heart of hearts, I hope Tucker Carlson gets arrested. Maybe while authorities are digging up dirt on Gaetz, Merrick Garland (or some other savvy attorney bound by the rule of law) will find dirt on Tucker. There’s that old saying about judging others based on the company one keeps. Makes a lot of sense to me!

Final musings from Stern: where do I find joy today? Reading Michelle Goldberg and Heather Cox Richardson most mornings and watching The Voice most evenings with my husband. As for The Voice, Stern’s believe this is a terrific season; take a listen! Music can be incredibly soothing!

Bottom Line: Tune in to The Voice for pure joy, and when you feel like reading good stuff, pay attention to Michelle Goldberg and Heather Cox Richardson. I think that’s a worthy use of your attention!