On Memorial Day

 Remember and Honor

The Best

Tina Turner was one of my favorite rock stars. I liked everything about her--her voice and music, her performances and personal story, her wisdom in stepping out of the spotlight when she believed it was time. The death of someone you admire is always a loss.

I'm grateful I got to see her in concert. It remains one of the best shows I've ever seen. Tina was approaching age 60 at the time, but most teenagers would have had trouble keeping up with her. She was all over that stage. The concert's finale was an extended rendition of "Nutbush City Limits." As the song began, Tina climbed into the bucket of a cherry picker that had been wheeled out in front of the stage. As the driver rolled the rig slowly around the arena, the bucket was raised and lowered to different levels so that everyone could see her up close. Despite the dizzying heights she was lifted to so that fans in the upper back rows could see her, Tina kept singing, dancing, and never stopped smiling. You could see she was having more fun than anyone else.

Tina Turner was simply "The Best." It's sad when such an electrifying talent leaves us. Fortunately, we'll always have the videos. 

Getting Onboard

Upon reflection, I've decided my last post was, as my mother might have described it, "entirely too" negative. I listed all the "have nots" and "do nots" with no nods to the positive courses of action open to all of us. More specifically, I never mentioned all the proactive steps I have taken to do something about the societal rot chewing out our national foundations.

No doubt each of you has your own thoughts on how to get onboard in fighting back against the totalitarian tides flooding our country. I encourage all of us to keep thinking of new ways to continue battling our way out of the mess we're in.

Two years ago, I joined PragerU as a supporting member. I look forward to his half-hour "Fireside Chat" each week. The Prager website is loaded with quality content of all kinds, from 5-minute videos, to lectures, to children's shows. One can view all of it for free, but Dennis makes so much sense that I'm putting my dollars where his mouth is. Membership in PragerU is monthly money well spent.

After Elon Musk purchased Twitter, I reactivated my account; it had been dormant for many years. Supporting a free speech advocate and a social warrior for our nation's foundational values is an easy, positive move every civic-minded American can make.

For at least ten years, I've been checking the RealClearPolitics website daily. There aren't enough hours in the day to read all of its content. But there are enough high-traffic articles from various publications and interviews to provide an overview from both left and right perspectives. It's still important--perhaps now more than ever--to know what those people who disagree with me are thinking and doing.

In place of the Fox News app, I've added NewsMax to my phone's home screen. NewsMax is growing in its reach and popularity. I've always been an occasional visitor to the NewsMax site, but after the Tucker Carlson debacle at Fox, I'm there far more often. Since last year, I follow Jordan Peterson on Instagram.

Podcasts are another medium we can support to further the reach and influence of free speech. The past few years I've been a dedicated listener to Victor Davis Hanson (my favorite), various Salem News Channel hosts, Byron York, and Townhall Review. I've recently added Megyn Kelly to my regular roster, with occasional visits to Dave Rubin and Glenn Beck's podcasts depending on the topics. There are so many others that are worthwhile, but there is only so much time available in a day. Each of us can find our own cache of podcasters to tune in to find reliable news commentary and analysis.

If you're a Netflix subscriber, you know that there are a lot of trash offerings on the site. One can spend almost as much time searching for a decent Netflix show to watch as it takes to actually view it. On a few recent weekends, I've given up on Netflix and rewatched one of my own DVDs (yes, I still have them and won't give them up).

Then I remembered the recommendations of several friends that I should watch The Chosen, a dramatized story of Jesus Christ and his ministry. Last week, after a fruitless Netflix search for a Friday night movie, I searched The Chosen online and learned that it was crowd funded by Angel Studios.com and is free to watch. I downloaded the Angel Studios site just to check out the first episode; I have been binge watching The Chosen ever since. When I'm done with Season 3, (probably tonight), I'll have more to report on this remarkable series. Suffice for now to say that all the rave reviews I've heard are well deserved. It's a quality production that is as far from trash as one can get in this depraved moment in time. I believe that any show promoting our traditional values should be supported--especially if it's excellent, as The Chosen is.

Those are some examples of how I'm trying to hold my own against the current authoritarian tide. Each of us who is concerned for our country will find our own ways to get onboard. It's just good to know that we're not alone in the struggle.

Checking Out

The FBI is denying any retaliation against whistleblower agents. A spokesperson for the Bureau has asserted, "The FBI has not and will not retaliate against individuals who make protected whistleblower disclosures.”

Right. Just like the southern border is secure. Does anyone with a functioning brain cell believe these people? I use the word "people" loosely. They are disgusting creatures. Why are we tolerating these lies and travesties? I, for one, can't listen to or watch them. I have fairly well checked out.

What do I mean by "checked out"? I'll provide you with a few random examples.

I haven't watched network news--ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR--since 2015. Ever. Not only will I not view them, I avoid their links online. Speaking of links, I will never click any link posted by Rolling Stone. Ever since they glamorized the Boston Marathon bomber on their cover, I'm done with them. Forever.

I haven't bought or read a newspaper in more than ten years. I don't have cable television since 2018; I watch my news online, usually on Rumble. When Fox News pulled Tucker Carlson off the air last month, I retaliated in my own small way. I pulled their news app off my phone. It won't be coming back.

There are other institutions I have left behind. For example, the Academy Awards. For decades, I would plan my calendar around "Oscar night." Now? I don't think I've watched the Oscars in at least a dozen years. Furthermore, I don't miss it. To be brutally honest, when the headlines about it start hitting the homepages I visit, I'm relieved to have missed it.

I haven't watched pro sports on TV since the kneeling began. Sorry, no can do. (Well, maybe the occasional hockey game. But that's all.) While I used to go to the movies regularly, I haven't paid to see a theatrical release since before Covid. I deactivated my Facebook account years ago.

I'm sure I'm not the "Lone Ranger" in my personal rebellion. Victor Davis Hanson, to whose podcasts I am thoroughly addicted, encourages all of us to protest the vicious totalitarian grip on our society "each according to their station." As much as Big Media/Tech/Gov't would like to, they can't cancel/destroy/arrest all of us.

This used to be a free country. It should be still. If enough of us dig in our heels and push back against the relentless onslaught of blatant lies and nonsense, we can be free again. This is the only country we've got, fellow Americans--let's do this. Find your own ways to check out and just say "NO."

Growing into Mother's Day

Ever since my mother died three years ago, I tend to view Mother’s Day differently. When I was a daughter, the holiday has a different feel to it. It was not so much my own holiday, but rather about acknowledging and honoring my mother and her enormous impact on my life.

After she left me behind, I’ve graduated to become the matriarch of my own family. With all due respect to my late mother, and with gratitude for fond memories and important lessons, I now see Mother’s Day as an occasion to celebrate being the mom of my own children and grandchildren.

My children are the best thing that ever happened to me and my life's most significant achievement. They are now old enough to be solidly middle-aged, although I still see them as youngsters in my mind’s eye. Caring, kind, thoughtful, disciplined, ambitious, humorous, and devoted to their families are only a few of the positive qualities that describe them both. They are good spouses and parents and high achievers in their chosen careers; they have accomplished far more professionally than have I. As their mother, all these are gratifying facts that make me very proud.

Grandchildren are what I call “life’s payday.” They are the delightful reward for all the work, effort, worry, and sacrifice that went into raising my children. If you aren’t there yet, wait until you arrive. You’ll immediately understand how much sheer fun it is to be a grandparent.

So, with thanks to my mother for giving me such a good start, Happy Mother’s Day to me. To any mother reading, celebrate your special day to the skies. Moms have earned it.

Thank you, Mom

Viewing History

If you're watching coverage of a major British event, I have learned that BBC's homepage is the place to be.

I watched Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee coverage on that website last summer, followed sadly by her funeral events a short time later. I also watched Prince Philip's funeral on BBC. They have live, uninterrupted coverage, and it goes without saying that their anchors and commentators are far superior to, and more interesting and knowledgeable than, American talking heads.

So, I watched King Charles III's Coronation events on BBC and was not disappointed. Much to my satisfaction, there was barely a whisper of Princes Andrew or Harry. I think there was one brief mention of both as the cameras panned the pews of Westminster Abbey prior to the ceremony, and the narrators identified prominent guests. From what I saw and heard, there were--thankfully--no further remarks about either of them.

I'm drawn to British events of state for a number of reasons. England is the USA's direct ancestor. Our rights and liberties, as defined in our US Constitution, are rooted in the Magna Carta, signed in 1215 by King John. Having been an English major and History minor in college, I haven't much resistance to such formal occasions.

It was especially refreshing to see such huge throngs of joyful people celebrating, cheering, and proud of their country. I long for a day when Americans can return to such an attitude of gratitude.

Flyover at Buckingham Palace