Trudy Wischemann

Midweek, a friend sent me an article from The Nation that I want to recommend. It could be especially important to anyone who might find themselves confronting ICE or who is thinking of joining a protest march of any kind. It could be important to anyone not thinking about those things, too, because you might find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time and still face penalties from appearing to think differently than our current government’s administration.

MUST WATCH Link to segment: https://youtu.be/WtOdV5nHyVQ Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full?

One morning last week I woke with an old gospel tune running through my head: “You gotta walk that lonesome valley… you gotta walk it by yourself.” A long phone conversation the night before might have triggered it, but as I listened I realized it came from thinking about Tulare Lake’s return.

“I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield Down by the riverside… I ain't gonna study war no more.”

Last week it was “Lonesome Valley” singing me awake; this week it’s “Down by the Riverside.” This internal messaging system is relentless sometimes, but I miss things when I ignore it. Lately I’ve felt that war is being waged all around us. Two weeks ago I wrote about NSPM-7 — the National Security Presidential Memorandum No. 7 — and the dangers of being arrested as a domestic terrorist simply for thinking anti-Trumpian thoughts.

Last week it was “Lonesome Valley” singing me awake; this week it’s “Down by the Riverside.” This internal messaging system is relentless sometimes, but I miss things when I ignore it. Lately I’ve felt that war is being waged all around us. Two weeks ago I wrote about NSPM-7 — the National Security Presidential Memorandum No. 7 — and the dangers of being arrested as a domestic terrorist simply for thinking anti-Trumpian thoughts.

“What's all that water, Dad?” the son asked the father, Gerald Haslam, as they drove down I-5 toward Bakersfield. “I don't remember it.”

Wendell Berry’s passing on Aug. 31 brought many thoughts to the surface. I wished I could go back to Port Royal, Kentucky, to bear witness to the importance of this man’s work even ‘way out here on the opposite side of the American continent. I contented myself with reading tributes from many newspapers and sharing poems and books with friends.

Wendell Berry’s passing on Aug. 31 brought many thoughts to the surface. I wished I could go back to Port Royal, Kentucky, to bear witness to the importance of this man’s work even ‘way out here on the opposite side of the American continent. I contented myself with reading tributes from many newspapers and sharing poems and books with friends.

“ENTERING PUBLIC LANDS” read the small brown sign in the upper right-hand corner of the wooden BLM kiosk.