Day 132.

One of the most stunning books I read last year was Men Explain Things to Me, by Rebecca Solnit. It spoke things I had always known were true but hadn’t been able to say.

She has a new book out called The Mother of All Questions, and Maria Popov has a wonderful piece on it over at Brainpickings. Specifically, on silence and on being heard.

I’m trying to find the right way to speak so that I can be heard. I know that the first part, maybe the most important part, is to understand.

Day 131.

Have you heard of Resist Bot?

It’s a very simple way to do whatever act of resistance you’re felling like doing. It will send a fax to your elected representative with whatever message you want. And faxes are a trackable, and therefore highly effective, way to make your voice heard.

Day 130.

Sometimes you catch a glimpse of something gold, sparkling in the dust.

Translation:

Come Dance

Day 129.

Here is an interesting piece on – and debunking of – the “Irish were slaves too” meme.

And here is some more writing on, and debunking of, the meme.

Day 128.

I’m exhausted, but I want to do some reading about how the federal budget process works. So I’ll leave this here for the moment.

Day 127.

There is some good news out of the Netherlands tonight, as it appears Geert Wilders has been defeated. For those who aren’t familiar with Wilders, he was Trumpian before Trump was, running on an anti-immigration platform with such notable behaviors as calling Moroccans “scum” and basically banning Islam. I say it appears to be a victory for Prime Minister Mark Rutte, because fearing hacking, the Netherlands has used paper ballots. We won’t have final results for about a week.

This isn’t an unalloyed victory, though it’s a good sign. Rutte is center-right as it is, and some believe Wilders was successful at pushing him further to the right. It’s a window into possible avenues of success against these extremist forces in government, though.

Here’s another good sign – I was heartened to read this piece about the defeat of the One Nation party in Australia. The advice, again, is simple – avoid the circus of mocking a buffoonish candidate. Stick to the issues.

I also want to temper this by saying that populist sentiment, even xenophobic populist sentiment, is still very much alive around the world. It’s not simply going to vanish. But better ideas, better policy, have to win the argument – not mockery.

Day 126.

Obviously there was a tax-related story today. I want to share another one. The IRS has revoked the tax-exempt status of the National Policy Institute (run by noted white supremacist Richard Spencer), retroactive to 2013. Not because it’s odious. Because it failed to file the correct paperwork.

This I consider extremely hopeful. Not reason enough to sit back and enjoy the show without taking part. It’s a small glimmer. Care and vigilance will keep us moving forward.

Day 125.

24 million is more than 22 million. We deserve better.