Along With A Thing We Can Do:

On Easter Sunday, Another Message of Hope

Clay Jones, Walt Whitman?

Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, and the “Terrible Duties” of Democracy

Abraham Lincoln’s faith in the Declaration of Independence ultimately influenced Walt Whitman’s harsh but optimistic appraisal of the American experiment.

Ryan Reft

Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln (Library of Congress)

“The United States are destined either to surmount the gorgeous history of Feudalism, or else prove the most tremendous failure of time,” wrote American poet Walt Whitman in his 1871 work, Democratic Vistas. Despite writing in the wake of a brutal civil war and a failing Reconstruction Era, Whitman remained optimistic. “Not the least doubtful am I on any prospects of their material success.”

Known more for his poetry, exemplified by Leaves of Grass (1855), Whitman’s dark 1871 treatise on the nation remains a harsh but ultimately optimistic appraisal of the American experiment. It serves as a useful tool for thinking about the nation’s current state on the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Whitman’s revolutionary patriotism had long been part of his worldview. He celebrated the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution in the preface to Leaves of Grass, noting that a poet must “enter the essences of the real things and past and present events,” among them “the haughty defiance of ’76, and the war and peace and formation of the constitution.”

But for all his celebration of the Declaration and the nation’s founding, he did not mince words regarding the nation’s failings. He wrote of a “hollowness” at the center of American life at the time, calling the business classes depraved and the government saturated in corruption. (snip-go see the rest!)

Trump Age

Trump threatens to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age

Clay Jones

Donald Trump is threatening to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age, which, if he does, would be a war crime.

Trump’s chosen war is with the government of Iran, not the people, yet he continues to threaten to destroy its infrastructure. The more Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth brag about their success in the war, the more it seems that Iran fights back.

Trump tells us that the war is won and that Iran’s ability to wage war is nearly depleted if not already destroyed, yet missiles still rain on Israel and our other allies in the Gulf. And if Iran doesn’t have any weaponry left, then how did they shoot down two American jets? If the war is already won, then why are we still fighting? (snip-click on the title to get the rest!)

The Word

The Bird’s The Word:

Least Flycatcher

Empidonax minimus

Also Known As:

Chebecker
Mosquero Mínimo (Spanish)
Mosquerito Chebec (Spanish)
Papamoscas Chico (Spanish)

About

The Least Flycatcher is a small but fierce bird of North American forests, known for its fearlessness in confronting birds much larger than itself, including formidable foes like Blue Jays and even hawks. They often share habitat and compete with American Redstarts, a fly-catching warbler, which they exclude from the best habitat through repeated chases and attacks. Of course, Least Flycatchers defend their territories from their neighbors as well.

However, despite their intense territoriality, these flycatchers are widely known to form dense clusters of breeding territories, even in areas with plenty of suitable habitat. Interestingly, the males closest to the center of a cluster are the healthiest, and the first to find mates. Conversely, birds that don’t join a cluster usually do not mate at all that season. While other factors may contribute to this pattern, the main influence seems to be that it facilitates birds mating with their neighbors in addition to their social mate.

Least Flycatchers are socially monogamous, pairing with a single bird during the breeding season with whom they defend a territory and raise young. But these birds are also quite promiscuous. More often than not, the nest of a mated pair will have at least one nestling sired by another male. “Spreading the love” in this way benefits both males and females — females end up with more genetic diversity in their nests, while males don’t have all their eggs in one “basket,” in case a nest fails. This breeding system, where territories are clustered together, females seek matings outside of the pair, and paired males compete for each other’s mates, has been described as a “hidden lek.” In some ways, this system is quite similar to the communal display areas, or leks, where birds like Lesser Prairie-Chicken and Greater Sage-Grouse defend small arenas to display for females.

One big difference between a classic lek and the so-called “hidden lek” of Least Flycatchers is that both the male and female in a pair are looking to mate with other birds without their own mate knowing about it. Also, the displays are a bit less dramatic. Rather than elaborate plumages, dances, and bizarre methods of sound production, these drab males instead opt to sing the same monotonous two-note song several thousand times an hour.

Threats

Though fairly common in appropriate habitat, Least Flycatcher populations have been declining since the 1970s. There are now a little over half as many Least Flycatchers as there once were. As such, Partners in Flight lists them as a Common Bird in Steep Decline. More research is needed to better understand the causes of this decline, but factors affecting the structure and health of forests probably play an important role. (snip)

Comics & Shorts

(A comic, and some shorts. I thought I had more comics!) Some current event related, some simple humor, some both. And dancing!

Bye Bye Bondi

Pam Bondi has been fired

Clay Jones

There were a lot of reasons to fire Pam Bondi as United States Attorney General, but Donald Trump picked a bad one.

Bondi was never qualified for the job, which was the second choice after Matt Gaetz, who would have been another ridiculous choice. Bondi made it clear after the 2020 election that she didn’t need evidence to make legal claims, as she declared that Donald Trump was cheated out of that race. She had been in his pocket ever since he bribed her in the 2000s not to investigate Trump University in Florida, when she was the state’s Attorney General.

After Bondi misled the country about her initial disclosures in the Jeffrey Epstein case, Congress responded by passing a law forcing the Justice Department to release its files on the pedophile and his allies. (snip-MORE; click on the title above)

The Drumpf Family Theme Song

Based on The Addams Family…

Frosty McGillicuddy

They’re greedy and they’re dummies

Drumpf’s face looks like a mummy’s

The opposite of yummy

The Drumpfy Family

Don Junior loves his cocaine

And Eric is a no-brain

They’re syphillitic, insane

The Drumpfy Family

Chum

Numb

And dumb

So hide beneath the covers

And find yourself a lover

Don’t be a MAGA sucker

The Drumpfy Family!

(snip)

Earth Month On Friday

Every litter bit helps, as was sung on TV when I was a child. Here is a thing that might be done these days, or we can share it and that will still help. Earth is our only home (no matter where our legislators tend to spend their time…)

Earth Month Ecochallenge, running from April 1st to April 30th, is a 30-day program focused on environmental and social engagement. During this month, you’re invited to select actions that resonate with your values, committing to them for 30 days to foster and reinforce positive habits. Each action you complete earns points and generates real-world impact. Your efforts, combined with those of your team, contribute to a significant collective difference.

This year’s theme, People and Planet: Resilient Together, focuses on resilience: the capacity to adapt, recover, and grow stronger through change. Resilience lives in people, in communities, and in the natural systems that sustain us. In a world shaped by uncertainty, it helps us stay grounded, connected, and capable of creating positive change. Our new actions and categories will help you explore resilience at many levels – personal, in your community, in the organizations you are part of, and in nature. (snip)

https://earthmonth.ecochallenge.org/challenges

World Autism Day/Month

In the past few days, I’ve been wondering what/how/when to frame Autism Month in a post. We here have learned so much from Barry already, and I want to be respectful to him, to other autistic readers, and also to the students I’ve worked with in years past, none of whom probably read here, but they exist in this world. Anyway, it takes some thinking, for me. So, I’d like to invite autistic and/or neurodivergent readers to guest post if you are inclined; Scottie and I and Randy can put your work up, or you can even use a comment space. One thing I’ve learned from Barry is that autistic people are the best ones to address the subject because they have the actual perspective to do so. But we do want people to be aware that neurodivergent people are amongst the marginalized people to whom we want to give voice. Enjoy Barry’s post this morning!

Stepping Back

Josh Day, Next Day!

All the usual device protection protocols should be in place.

Words, Words, Words

British teacher flawlessly translates everyday sayings into Victorian English, and people are hooked

“‘My faculties have been exhausted by perpetual toil’ goes hard.”

By Evan Porter

A British teacher is showing how to speak in Victorian English, and people are loving it. – Photo credit: Abram Elenin/Facebook

It’s hard to believe now, but communicating via the written word used to be a gigantic deal. Long before texting, social media, quick emails, or even short postcards, one of the only ways people could communicate across space and time was by writing long letters.

The 18th century is considered by some to be the peak of the Golden Age of letter writing. It was a key element of education for people wealthy enough to receive one, and it was incredibly important: business was conducted via handwritten letters, love was declared, and new introductions were made.

It was crucial, then, to choose your words extremely carefully. This was especially true in and around the Victorian Era in England, roughly between 1820 and 1914.

Victorian-era translations of everyday sayings

An English teacher from the United Kingdom has been delighting followers with Victorian-era translations of everyday sayings.

Abram Elenin runs Berber English, where he says, “I help professionals master British English… and communicate more effectively.”

He also likes to have a little fun with his work as a linguistics expert and accent coach. In a wildly popular series of Instagram Reels, he performs “tiered” translations of common phrases, transforming them into increasingly formal variations. Victorian English is usually the final resting point and comedic punchline.

In one popular video, “I’m burnt out” becomes “I’m entirely depleted” in formal English, and “I have been worked to the very marrow” in gentlemanly English.

But Victorian English, the age of beautiful if long-winded novels like Great Expectations and Jane Eyre, takes the cake: “Where to begin, for my faculties have been exhausted by perpetual toil, and incessant application has so stripped me of vitality that I am scarcely able to summon the strength requisite for the smallest effort.”

(The Instagram post, below. You don’t have to log in to see/hear.)

View this post on Instagram

In another Reel, “I’m poor” becomes “I find myself in a precarious financial position,” and finally:

“It is with no small measure of affliction that I acknowledge my fortunes to be sadly diminished, my purse exhausted, and my station reduced to one of grievous penury, such that I find myself abandoned to the stern tutelage of want, the harshest master to which mankind is ever subject.”

It just sounds so much better that way. Can’t you just hear Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek saying that? (snip-a little MORE, with another little video)

In Further Observance Of Trans Day Of Visibility

From It Gets Better:

Transgender (Trans)

[ˌtranzˈjendər]

(Gender Identity)

Adjective.

Someone whose gender identity differs from the one that was assigned to them at birth.

Many transgender people identify as either male or female, while others may see transgender as an umbrella term and identify as gender nonconforming or queer. How transgender people choose to express their gender is individualistic, as is their transition.

(NOTE: Avoid using transgender as a noun, as in “a transgender,” or with an extraneous -ed on the end, as in “transgendered.”)

“For me, being transgender is going through a journey to find yourself. Cis people know who they are from the moment they are born but transitioning is a journey to that same point. Like any journey, there are many different ways to get there. Even the outcome might not be the same or it might change. You never stop transitioning as your gender expression will change. I would advice other youth to do this journey how they want. To take how long or short they want. To explore or just go for what they want. Do not let anybody pressure you to take a different path.”
– Kiki, 14 years old, New Jersey
Youth Voices, Class of 2022

‘A Run for More’ shows us what it’s like to be a transgender candidate in Texas politics

It’s a story of hope, self and fighting for your seat at the table.

By Sa’iyda Shabazz

Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe is the subject of the documentary, “A Run for More.” – Photo credit: A Run for More

When we think about elections, so many of us focus on presidential elections and forget about congressional, statewide or even smaller, local elections. The documentary film, “A Run for More,” focuses on Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe as she runs for one of those local positions—city council member in San Antonio, Texas. Focusing on Gonzales-Wolfe as the first openly transgender woman to run for such office, the film shows how the campaign gave Gonzales-Wolfe a deeper sense of self. I was lucky enough to chat with her and the film’s director, Ray Whitehouse, about their friendship, the campaign, making the film and Frankie’s future political plans. (snip-MORE)

A 2021 Trailblazer:

Canadian soccer player is about to become the first openly trans, non-binary Olympic medalist

As Canada’s women’s soccer team prepares for its gold medal match against Sweden this week in Tokyo, it also prepares to make history as the first Olympic team to have an openly transgender, non-binary athlete win a medal at the games. Quinn, the 25-year-old midfielder, announced their non-binary identity on social media last September, adopting…

By Annie Reneau

Quinn, the 25-year-old midfielder, announced their non-binary identity on social media last September, adopting they/them pronouns and a singular name. Quinn said they’d been living openly as a transgender person with their loved ones, but this was their first time coming out publicly.

“I want to be visible to queer folks who don’t see people like them on their feed. I know it saved my life years ago,” they wrote. “I want to challenge cis folks ( if you don’t know what cis means, that’s probably you!!!) to be better allies.” (snip-MORE)