This is the story of a library like no other. A rich widow Martha Stewart Haskell had the idea to build a library right on the border of the United States and Canada to serve small communities in southern most Quebec and northern Vermont. It opened in 1904. The Haskell Free Library and Opera House became a symbol of friendship and provided equal access to both Canadians and Americans. There is a 400 seat opera house on the two upper floors. When I say on the border, I mean sitting on the border. There is a black tape running through the center of the building with the US on one side and Canada on the other. Sounds like a great idea.
Dying to Get In
Pete Rose had to die to finally get a shot at the Hall of Fame. He’s been trying to get off the permanent ineligible list for 36 years. He broke the cardinal rule of Major League Baseball. He bet on Cincinnati Reds games while he was the manager. He says he only bet for them to win. After he got caught and banned in 1989, he continued to deny the gambling until his 2004 autobiography when he finally admitted it. There is a sign in every Major League clubhouse which warns against betting on baseball. Rose knew it was wrong, but did it anyway. Rose died in September 2024. He was 83.
Terry and Trump
Interviewing a president is one of toughest assignments for any reporter especially one whose called the press “the enemy of the people.” Let’s not forget the often used “fake news” for any news remotely critical of him. ABC News correspondent Terry Moran got the big assignment. I worked with Terry back in the 1990’s when I was Executive Editor of Court TV and Terry was one of the anchors. He is a first-rate journalist. He recently covered the death of the pope. He’s covered the White House and the Supreme Court. He’s been ABC’s Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent and anchored Nightline. He’s an experienced reporter. I was initially concerned when the interview started with Trump sitting behind the Resolute Desk and Terry standing next to him asking about being back in the Oval Office. Terry asked about the different portraits of presidents on the wall. Trump didn’t have the courtesy to stand up while speaking with Terry as they admired the large portrait of Ronald Reagan. The president who wouldn’t enter the Oval Office without his suit coat on.
Rule of Fear
You can feel it. You can almost smell it when you wake up every morning. The fear of what he will do next. He has taken another step closer to being the dictator he always wanted to be. We all know about the 238 alleged Venezuelan gang members who were shipped off to a house of horrors prison in El Salvador with no due process. The Trump stacked Supreme Court has ruled it’s too late for them, but in the future illegal migrants have to have their day in court before they are shackled and herded on to plane probably never to be seen again. An investigation by the New York Times today found most of the migrants are not gang members and have no links to the gang.
Clown in the Palace
Did anyone think it would be this bad? The first couple of months of the crazed Trump take over of America has been stunning and terrifying. His twisted fascination and misunderstanding of tariffs has crashed the stock markets costing people trillions of dollars. For the Baby Boomer generation, they see years of investment savings evaporate in two days. Younger people have years to recover. Almost every economist sees prices for everything going up substantially. Trump says he’s not changing his mind and he’s going to make everyone richer in this “Golden Age” of America. After he dropped the tariff bomb and had the country reeling, he flew off the Florida to play golf.
American Idea
It’s clear that Donald Trump thinks he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. There are currently fifteen appeals pending in courts around the country challenging how he wants to bend the government, and therefore, all of us to his will. Trump has made clear he craves power and revenge. He has surrounded himself with yes men and women whose first objective in loyalty to Trump. He has reduced the Republican Party to a personality cult terrified of crossing him. His latest battle with the courts is his blatant refusal to comply with US District Judge James Boasberg’s order to stop the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members he has deported to El Salvador without due process. A three judge court of appeals is hearing the government’s argument defending what it has done.
No Decency
The hateful and discriminatory language and conduct encouraged by our president has been so pervasive it’s difficult to grasp the effect it is having on society. It was never been clearer than Trump’s address to congress this past week. In his attack on transgender individuals, he said the government would recognize only males and females. His lackeys cheered. This has infected our political discourse in the very chamber where Trump spewed his venom. It was at a meeting of the European Subcommittee this week. The subcommittee chairman Republican Keith Self of Texas called on Delaware Representative Democrat Sarah McBride a transgender woman. He called her “Mr. McBride”. McBride shot back, “Thank you, Madam Chair.”
Oval Office Bullies
We’ve all seen it by now. The tough guys piling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Berating him, talking over him. Telling him he hasn’t said thank you enough for all the American military aid we’ve given his country to defend itself from Trump’s buddy Vladimir Putin. Trump sat forward, waving his hands around saying Zelensky has no chance without going along with a ceasefire deal with no guarantees from the Untied States to back it up if Putin violates it. Oh, don’t forget the hundreds of millions of dollars in minerals he wants from Ukraine as payback. Let’s take a closer look at the characters here.
Wake Up Call
We need to wake up. There is a threat to our freedom of the press. It is unrelenting and getting more dangerous every day. The news media is under attack by the current president as never before in modern history. Some editors and media owners are rolling over out of fear. Once respected organizations like the Washington Post, the LA Times, and CBS are cowering instead of fighting back. They need to find courage by looking back at their own history. I get more furious everyday as I see the cowardice and acceptance of the unacceptable.
Dangerous History
In September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from the Munich Conference with Adolf Hitler after agreeing to what is called a policy of appeasement which means you give your opponent what they want so you don’t have to fight them. Chamberlain gave his reasoning in a radio address. “How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing…” He went on to say he felt sorry for a small nation confronting a big, powerful neighbor, but we can’t help.
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