"Highway to Heaven" was once a popular TV series. A "Highway to Heaven" of churches along 16th St. in DC is now being overshadowed by a cluster of religious institutions located in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland.
NPR, This county is the most religiously diverse in the U.S..."interfaith partnerships are often the goal, but the geographic closeness on the Highway to Heaven may make them more possible."
Evangelist Billy Graham once asked, “Are you on the highway to Heaven? You have to come through a narrow gate.”
Highway to Heaven has also become a metaphor and a rallying cry for disgruntled Democrats starting to move forward after their resounding defeat. Kamala Harris is still raising money, so Democrats need to stop the "blame game" and start making moves for a political comeback. They have quite a task ahead of them.
The Hill, Democrats play blame game after devastating Harris loss
Some American women are already planning to go on strike. 4B for women means no dating, no sex, no marriage, no babies. Can women really live without men? Only for the present generation, after which they'd all die out after failing to produce any offspring.
Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation initiative now being touted by Trump loyalists, aims to do away with the "deep state'" and to rescue the country from immigrants. ABC News, Trump confirms plan to declare national emergency, use military for mass deportations. He has said that deportations will start on "day one." Whew!
My granddaughter visiting from Florida tried to cheer me up after the election. Did she vote? "No," she laughed, just shrugging her shoulders. Far too many women were too nonchalant about voting--or failing to do so. I almost didn't vote myself until Stephanie, my visiting daughter, talked me into it. My granddaughter wanted to go out to eat, so she chose IHOP, whose initials stand for International House of Pancakes, which serves breakfast all day long. We avoided any more talk about politics.
Trump is returning to the White House after having won both the Electoral College and the popular vote for his party for the first time in decades. He now seems to be out for vengeance. Will Democrats finally get their act together?
A neighbor advises, "You are much too pessimistic. My friends and I are already looking to the midterms after everything goes haywire in the next two years!"
One of the first impacts of Trump's tariffs will be rising costs. Is that what Americans voted for?
USA Today, Opinion,
Trump will inherit the strongest economy in 50 years. Project 2025 could destroy it.
Trump Says It’s ‘TRUE’ He Will Declare National Emergency
and Use Military to Mass Deport Millions
Trump has promised to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a 226-year-old law that was used to detain “enemy aliens” during times of war—since the U.S. is not currently at war, legal challenges would likely target
the law’s applicability.
Mexico has never agreed to cooperate on mass deportations. Mr. Trump appears to have
consulted with neither Mexico nor Canada on deportations. How does he plan to find
undocumented residents and to where will he deport them? Logistics and specifics
are murky.
I know many undocumented folks living and working in this country already for decades now
with US-born children (who vote). They drive without drivers' licenses and keep money in
bank accounts in their children's names. Family and friends protect them. It will take
Trump considerable time and effort to actually find and deport them all before his term ends.
Their skills are still needed because the USA is not producing enough workers anymore,
Trump aide in charge of mass deportations threatens ‘shock and awe’
on day one of new administration
Lots of other pie-in-the-sky plans have been announced without any details.
Musk’s Co-Chief Vivek Ramaswamy Vows to ‘Delete’ Entire Government Agencies
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Back when I was writing my books, I considered GW Bush to be the worst possible
president ever imaginable.
But amateur painter Bush, now retired from government, may be a little goofy but seems
like a
fairly normal
guy compared to Donald Trump!
In Trump's plans, there seems to be some confusion between reality and "reality TV."
Dr. Oz may be an entertaining TV host,
but putting him in charge of Medicare and Medicaid seems a bridge too far.
I'm tempted to return to Honduras right now to face challenges there that I can handle.
Do I even want to be associated with the US any more?
A dental brigade working in Honduras that I've helped before is now asking for volunteers,
so it may be time to go back to assist them.
In Honduras, I’ve visited a number of communities living totally “off the grid,” without any running water or electricity. Folks there get their water from wells or streams and use candles and kerosene lamps for lighting, as our own forebears once did. To go into town, they stand out on the roadway, waiting for passing vehicles. Messages are hand-delivered by passersby. Any news about world affairs seems very far away. All news there is local. That seems like a tempting prospect.
These young ladies below made their dresses using pedal sewing machines because their Honduran village has no electricity (and no running water either).
But we here in modern-day America seem flummoxed by ordinary challenges. A few days ago, my neighbors and I experienced a sudden unexpected daylong electrical outage caused by repair work undertaken out on the street. No lights,
no phone, no internet, no radio, and no explanation. I couldn't find out from neighbors because the whole block was affected. We
shouted out to municipal workers unable to tell us when power would be returning. Even phones and the heat in my home went out, but
I could still turn on the faucet for running water. It was all quite disorienting. I
did a lot of meditation and rereading of old magazine articles. When electricity was
restored that evening, my just-departed daughter, now back again in Hawaii, told
me that many of my calls and messages had been forwarded to her.
Mr. Trump is certainly flying high these days, and "thinking outside the box." Democrats are still hoping to join with centrist Republicans against Trump loyalists. Will that happen? At first, Trump supporters may celebrate reduced costs, less inflation, and smaller tax bills, and some may even die before the financial reckoning comes due. But their kin and descendants will eventually pay the price.
President-elect plans to declare a national emergency for undocumented immigrants with
help of hardline cabinet.
The Hill, Gonzales: Targeting workers instead of convicted criminals for deportation means
‘government has failed us’
Tony Gonzales, (R-Texas) has warned that deporting your grandmother instead convicted criminals means that
“government has failed us.”
CNN, Speaker Johnson says he’s going to request Ethics Committee not release Gaetz report
Not all Trump nominees face smooth sailing.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has raised concerns about the safety of vaccines as well as fluoride in tap water, has been named to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Not everyone, not even in the Republican Party, is happy about that.
And have we forgotten all about the war in Gaza/Lebanon?
Deseret News, The pope called for a genocide investigation in Gaza. Here's how Israel responded
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Meanwhile...
Here's an image from a local arts venue, East City Art.
Resistance art has been cropping up along the US border fence
and elsewhere as well.
Early American protest art has a long history.
Resistance art is also flourishing in Nicaragua.
And for another sort of image, here is biologist daughter Stephanie's recent rendering of turtle hatchlings--celebrating new life.
Then here are a couple of Stephanie's other recent projects.
Here was her workshop in my living room. She is now back at home in Hawaii. This is just a colorful cat pillow.
And this is the end of this particular posting.
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