Author: Susan Feathers

Family, friends, nature, books, writing, a good pen and journal, freedom of thought, culture, and peaceful co-relations - these are the things that occupy my mind, my heart, my time...

Any Grown-ups in the Room?

The hourly dismantling of the American Republic demands that grown-ups stand and exert their authority as citizens. Afterall, this is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Since 2015, Donald J. Trump has intended to rid us of the rule of law. His principal tool has been obfuscation of fact, otherwise known as lies. The Heritage Foundation, which brought billions of dollars to elect Trump and crafted Project 2025, engaged Russell Vought as its principal writer. Later installed by Trump as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Vought is orchestrating the takeover and destruction of democracy at an unrelenting pace.

Because Trump doesn’t read or investigate, he is a stooge for powerful ideologues.  A barrage of Executive Orders signed in the first quarter of his term were lifted directly from Project 2025. This plan cloaks itself in the language of patriotism and democratic values, while the intent is its opposite: the wholesale destruction of the guardrails in the Constitution to check executive power. Now that Trump et al have functionally dismantled or made ineffective federal agencies and branches of government, the intent is clear: empower the Executive to Install a new form of governance: authoritarian. All of it is unconstitutional. A raft of lawsuits in pursuit of these thieves has made some progress in holding back full scale implementation. However, a Supreme Court dominated by Trump nominees, is preventing just outcomes that are within the scope of a true Republic as shown in our history.

Onerous still is the outright rewriting of our history. This is accomplished on a large scale while the American public watches in shock. So preposterous in scope, the dismantling of historic buildings, art and information in our museums, National Archives, federal buildings, and even the architecture of the White House, has temporarily stunned Americans. Some make jokes about it, but Trump is dead serious. I imagine closets filled with cans of white paint and gold leaf off the Oval Office and a meandering president doing touch ups late at night. Its about image with Trump. But the people who made him president intend to take what is ours.

The most recent outrage is the announcement that there will be no national holiday commemorating the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. who advanced civil rights through faith and leadership, and built a powerful nonviolent movement that resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Instead, we will celebrate the birthday of Donald the Trump.

One of the most tragic periods in recollection, history will not forget the mean intent and childish actions of a mentally dysfunctional leader installed by a party and minority electorate intent on imposing their warped, racist ideology on all the rest of us. We must resist! Citizens and courts are the last bastions of the Republic. Recall the warning of John Adams when asked the outcome of the Constitutional Congress. “You have a Republic, if you can keep it.”

To me this is the strongest statement of our shared responsibility to be ever vigilant and willing to defend the government that emerged from our founders best ideas. Now, as the jaws of injustice aim to rip asunder both the physical and ideological bulwarks of Freedom and Justice, we must stand up as adults and resist these forces that fool an unwary citizenry through lies and the theft of democratic language to mean its opposite.

Wherever each of us resides, we must be willing to speak truth to power, to correct lies and misleading language. Pick your battles, friends, for such is the multi-pronged attack on American laws, customs and values that there is plenty of room for everyone to choose their cause.

Make no mistake. These are dangerous people running our Republic. Free and fair elections are their next target. If we lose that battle, I fear it will harken the end of our democratic society.

Tolerate no fools. We must be the adults in the room. We must restore our liberties and place our trust in each other to do so justly.

https://open.substack.com/pub/anntelnaes/p/trump-dusting-off-the-old-playbook?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Update: Today’s Substack post from Heather Cox Richardson pay tribute to Rob Reiner and his wife by quoting from the film by Reiner, The American President.

In this clip, the American President speaks to an opponent about character and the requirement of the Office of President which depends of good character. In our current situation, this should be said to the current occupant of the White House Office of the President whose name I shall not utter for he has violated every aspect of character Americans have come to value in their President.

Eisenhower’s Warning and A National Security Plan at Odds with American Values and History

Below is a section of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Speech to the American people on January 17, 1961.

“A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.

“Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peace time, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

“Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United State corporations.

“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence-economic, political, even spiritual-is felt in every city, every state house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

On Friday, December 5, the Trump administration released its National Security Plan. Below is the summary. I juxtapose the two statements – one from a President upholding the alliance with NATO allies and the principles beneath that enduring plan to protect democratic governments against the rise of autocratic governments. It is clear that Trump’s plans are the later and in fact seek to destroy democracy as a form of governance in favor of autocratic rule and a transactional relationship with other governments based on financial advantages to the industrial/technology complex over liberty and rule of law.

This will not be accepted by the American public. This is NOT who we are. We are not perfect, but we have always held the values of freedom and rule of law as the basis for our governance and relationships across the world. I also cringe as the language which is clearly racist to its core. Very dangerous words.

WE MUST REJECT THESE IDEAS AND PLANS WHOLE CLOTH.

2025-National-Security-StrategyDownload

Among Our Children Are Peacemakers in the Making

Mandela BookFor the past week I have enjoyed listening to Conversations with Myself – a personal memoir of Nelson Mandela’s life, loves, and struggle for freedom. Learning about the interior lives of great people is part of my personal practice to help me keep my compass on True North. I purchase audio books so that I can listen on my way to and from work, on a road trip, or as I do mundane chores at home.

Conversations is filled with Mandela’s personal reflection on the formative times of his life beginning as the eldest son of a tribal chief. He describes the African Veld, the grasslands of his homeland: the blue mountains lining the golden grassland, the hot summers and mild winters with thunderous rain. He spent many hours of his childhood listening to his elders and observing how decisions were made collectively among them. Mandela’s father planned for his son to become chief and marry a woman chosen for him. But when that time came he left for the urban core of South Africa where he studied at university and became an activist, an understudy of prominent social leaders in the movement for freedom.

I was impressed by the dignity of Mandela, how he respected even his enemies and did not judge any man or woman, friend or foe: he stresses that all men and women are human complete with their strengths and weaknesses. He always plays to the strengths, the goodness in everyone he met including his jailors. He was criticized for this by fellow activists who felt he was too forgiving of his enemies.

This morning I was reflecting on something Mandela advises: once you set your mind on a high goal, never waver from it; no matter what happens in your life, stay on course keeping that goal ever before you….I think about him because I gained an emotional sense of this great man listening to the story over these days including a long drive of 7 hours – an immersive experience that will stay with me for some time.

It occurred to me that among us are children like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr, Gandhi, Wangari Maathai – who were just ordinary kids. We can all name many across the world whose lives changed entrenched injustices and policies. They made the world a better place to live. They are among us now as children. Therefore we should treat every child as a precious gift, providing safety, love, and encouragement for them for they are the Peacemakers come to make this human world better, safer, more compassionate, enlightened, and just.

Suffer the little children to come unto to me, said Jesus, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven (Luke18:16).

How we treat our children – and by our I mean all children among us – reflects on our own character and intelligence. Among these are the best of us and so they need to grow up with warmth, clothing, good food, shelter, love, humor, opportunities to learn and develop their God-given talents, and a community’s and nation’s unwavering support and love. How well are we doing? How many potential Peacemakers die too early from starvation or brutality? How many never reach their potential through no fault of their own. What talent, love, creativity are we missing?

There is a wonderful book that I have read and reread many times from Native America, written by T.C. McLuhan: Touch the Earth. In its pages there are beautiful descriptions of the care given to raising children, from womb to adulthood. Many tribal spokespersons describe how much care is given to the choice of words and tone of voice adults use when addressing a pregnant mother or a little child. I highly recommend it to readers of this blog.

Please share your thoughts and feelings about the state of children in America and the world with us on this post if you feel moved to do so.

In the arms of the Earth Mother

I ride the celestial star ways, shaped and awakened atop Earth’s long arc across the heavens. Lit by fire. Oh, the wonder! Oh, the human frailty.

The Earth, al0ng her celestial path, pulled by centripetal forces out among its neighbors. Then, on the far reaches of her path, turns toward home, ablaze and wanting. Solstice. A human marking of the turning.

We ride upon her shoulders, a veil of living matter beneath the unknowable sky.

In our fragile coats of protoplasm, our beating hearts fill and flow, fill and flow, attuned to Earth. Flung on the arc of heaven, we offer our faith.

Oh, to be ALIVE! ALIVE!

Photo by Tobias Bju00f8rkli on Pexels.com

The Tree in My Windows

She died last Spring. Had probably been dying for some time. Her mantle of green needles slowly turned to orange, then brown.

The landscape company – a hack and mow down outfit – has left her there for some reason. Slowly a blanket of pale blue lichens is engulfing her skin and bones. The tree’s brain of underground mycelia may yet be conscious.

I do not know, but I feel her presence. Her gray limbs fill my living room windows. We’ve been together for 3.5 years. I am grateful to her enduring presence. Oh, dear Virginia Pine!

How lovely you remain in your shroud of blue lichens like flowers on a gravestone. I will sorely miss you when at last you depart. Even when they come to remove your dead limbs and trunk, you will continue to bring me refreshment and grace.

Goodbye is a long process when I do not wish to let you go.

My Virginia Pine.

America at 250

“The Declaration was just the beginning.”

“The revolutionary ideas of 1776 and the national framework established in 1787 laid the foundation for America’s story—chapters that continue to shape our nation today. This toolkit gives you everything you need to explore the founding documents and the enduring vision they set in motion.” ~ The National Constitution Center

At the National Constitution Center located in Philadelphia you will find an entire curriculum for 2026 that you can use to explore the history of and the ongoing shaping of our self-government. We the people at every decade have been the force and the protector or our self governing experiment.

Several years ago, I discovered the National Constitution Center and have been an active participant in their programs through the podcasts, the archival papers, and the lively discussions free of politics. Conservative and liberal voices and scholars debate our history, the meaning of our founders’ documents, the functioning of our three branches of government: the checks and balances.

Reader and friends, this is a place of refuge for all the fraught and worried public no matter your political persuasion. Here, we carry on the processes and scholarship that not only defines American but also charges all of us to read and study and debate our current governance.

I’m looking forward to dipping into this curriculum. and I plan a year of focus and study about the American path and promise.

2024 Climate Action Report

newclimate-publication-annual-report-2024-Sep25_0Download

“Renewable energy investment has overtaken fossil fuels, and green technologies are advancing at record speed. More governments are rethinking their energy systems to improve affordability, accessibility and sustainability.”

See Solar Schools: What’s Possible on this blog. The Tidewater area of Hampton Roads in Virginia is seizing the soon to end tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. It makes good sense for schools to gain the benefits of cleaner energy and reduced costs.

Climate Action Tracker

Update on Climate Change Action

“When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.” – Benjamin Franklin

Ezra Klein interviewed two of America’s most knowledgeable climate planners. I watched the interview and felt it is so important I am posting it below.

What did we accomplish under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) during the Biden administration, and what lies ahead with a climate change-denying and wholly unqualified administration?

Jesse Jenkins a leading climate modeler who was a lead for developing the Inflation Reduction Act, and Jane Flegal, past Executive Director of Blue Horizons Foundation who was on the Biden climate change policy team.

See the discussion broken down by topics covered: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuW4PdhqKmo

Our 2025 national policy on climate change.

The Good Mind

The legacy of the Peacemaker [the man credited with bringing the Iroquois Nations together under a Pax Iroquois] is best illustrated in his concept of The Good Mind. The Peacemaker believed that a healthy mind naturally seeks peace and that a nation of individuals using reason and harboring good will in their hearts can not only establish peace in the worst circumstances but maintain it forever.

At the time the Peacemaker was born, the region was beset by wars among the five tribes (Onandaga, Mohawk, Huron, Seneca, and Cayuga). In some areas the hatred ran so deep that individual warriors practiced cannibalism on their enemies. These dark times were at least 1,000 years before the Europeans arrived in what is now New York State.

There are noteworthy circumstances surrounding the Peacemaker. First, his grandmother had a dream that a great man would be born who would save the tribes from utter destruction. He  was recognized as a youth for his exceptional qualities of mind as someone who would become a leader. But he had a problem—a speech impediment (stuttering)—which later required the assistance of the great Iroquois orator, Hiawatha, to help him accomplish his mission to bring the tribes of his nation together under the Great Tree of Peace—the democracy of constitutional laws and principles that exist to this day.

When I began studying with my teachers in Yuma, Arizona (see previous blog post, The First American Democracy) I was completely unaware of this body of law, the Iroquois legacy of which some passed into the U.S. Constitution, nor was I aware that the Iroquois Confederacy had maintained peaceful coexistence for 750 years before the founding of the fledgling American democracy.

The most important lesson of my four years of study was the reading of Basic Call to Consciousness, written as an address to Western civilization in the 1970’s when the Iroquois were still under threat and domination by the powers that be: the Canadian government and New York State legislature. Basic Call is still relevant in its astute analysis of the values that drive Western societies and how they lead to the destruction of the very basis of life.

In Basic Call to Consciousness Americans have a useful guidebook on how to strengthen our own democracy by broadening our bill of rights to include the natural world and all the life in it as sacred because,  everything emanates from our common Creator. Practically, the document gave the early constitutional authors further reason to formulate a bicameral congress and institute a process of checks and balances. For example, the Peacemaker charged the women of the tribe to act as arbiters of peace by choosing the male leaders and representatives and removing them should their thoughts and actions stray from the sacred purpose of the Great Law.

I remember being shocked to find this gem of a small book in whose pages lay all the wisdom needed to solve entrenched political, economic, and relational problems here and abroad.  But I realized the document was politically dangerous in the U.S. precisely because it would prevent greed and avarice from being the dominant drivers in our social and cultural enterprises. In fact, when my teachers suggested I read it, the book was out of print and hard to find. But I eventually did find a used copy at the Bohdi Tree bookstore in Los Angeles. It was considered an occult book and probably still is by a society that relegates any true challenge to its economic values as dangerous and suspect.

Today you can find Basic Call to Consciousness on Bookshop.com to support independent book stores. I consider that progress!