Greetings! Donald Trump had a busy holiday weekend further dividing the nation and sending a torrent of insults aimed at Democrats.  On X, on Thanksgiving,  he  posted a video of Joe and Jill Biden, joined by Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff  at Thanksgiving dinner, with The Donald himself popping out of the turkey doing his old man boogie to the Village People’s “Macho Man.”  Earlier in the morning, he dropped this hate bomb on X: “Happy Thanksgiving to all, including to the Radical Left Lunatics who have worked so hard to destroy our Country, but who have miserably failed, and will always fail, because their ideas and policies are so hopelessly bad that the great people of our Nation just gave a landslide victory to those who want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” So much for bringing the country together...Trump’s reaction to President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter was relatively mild by his usual toxic standards.  Here’s what he wrote on Truth Social last night: “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice”…Here’s a question that keeps me up at night: Would Rupert Murdoch want to own the Washington Post, currently in a money-losing tailspin? Multi-billionaire proprietor Jeff Bezos appears to have a first-class headache on his hands that all his digital business savvy can’t seem to fix. Seems like the storied media brand would be an asset in Murdoch’s portfolio, which includes the New York Post, Wall Street Journal and Fox News.  Even if the WaPo remains a money loser, the brand brings D.C. clout. This is pure conjecture on my part, but there’s a certain Murdochian logic to such a deal…If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting.  Howard

Greetings! No political news or pointed commentary today.  With tomorrow’s kickoff of the holiday season in mind, I offer a list of things that make me smile and fill me with joy… First off, my all-time favorite holiday family movie is Rudy, about a pint-sized kid from a blue collar family who had a crazy dream to play football for Notre Dame.  Inspiring….Route 8, a two-lane highway that starts in the hamlet of Deposit, NY,  and heads north to Utica as it snakes  through the forgotten dairy belt in the heart of the state.  I’ve been driving that road twice a year for three decades and not a thing appears to have  changed.  It’s an authentic slice of slowly vanishing small-town America…The Impressionist collection  at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I’ve seen these painting masterpieces countless times and it never fails to move me…The upcoming January NFL playoffs.  Nothing better than spending a cold winter weekend snug in my den with a good game on the flat screen…Fishing, because it provides me with a powerful connection to the beauty and rhythms of the  natural world and makes me appreciate and respect the creatures that share our planet.  (And I’m strictly a catch-and-release fisherman.)…The day after the winter solstice  (December 21) when the days begin to get longer…My Kindle Paperwhite.  If you haven’t already guessed, I’m a big reader.  I never leave home on a trip without it loaded with at least two or three books (just finished the novel The President's Lawyer)….Washington, DC, at night.  It’s easy to forget the visual magnificence of our nation’s capital…And finally, thanks to my two partners in this endeavor: David Noonan and J. Max Robins, who continue to offer sound advice, professional wordsmithing, and positive vibes and good cheer so necessary to keep this little enterprise afloat….See you on Monday after the long holiday weekend….I know it can be tough at times to browse this newsletter that is mostly filled with unsettling headlines, especially as we enter the age of Trump 2.0.  Still, if you can keep reading, I can keep Righting.  Howard