Hallelujah, Medium now has threaded responses. First, they separated stories and responses. Now we can finally view a thread of comments and respond ourselves from the side panel, opening up…
I woke up this morning feeling for the first time in a long time, hope for my country. And while I know that a new president won’t be able to fix things overnight, it feels good to be headed back in the right direction.
Biden will make major changes right away, like rejoining the Paris Climate Accord and ending the travel ban on Muslim countries, but there is more work to be done. And the sad fact remains, many Americans still believe in the election fraud lies.
And yet, while I listened to the nurse sing, Amazing Grace, in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during the Covid memorial, I felt that maybe, America is back.
Happy Inauguration Day!
Toto, we’re not on Medium anymore.
News Break is a strange place. You may have heard many writers on Medium talking about this new platform. You may be writing there yourself. I started writing for them in December.
News Break is a news aggregate website that is trying to get something going with bloggers and freelance writers. They have some great incentives for new writers to join.
Though my experience is limited as I’ve only been writing there a little over a month, here is what I have learned so far.
Can you get views on Newsbreak?
Yes, you can. But I haven’t figured out the secret yet. I had an article go viral around Christmas. It was a recipe for a meringue pie. …
The site where the brutal murders of Andrew and Abby Borden occurred has been open for daily tours and overnight guests for years
It’s one of the most infamous crimes in America. In 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found brutally murdered by an ax in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Suspicions fell on their unmarried daughter, Lizzie Borden. She was charged with the murders but acquitted after a jury deliberation of only 90 minutes. Though she was not found guilty of the murders, public suspicion continued to fall on Lizzie Borden. Officially, the double murder remains an unsolved mystery.
Even After Hostile Elections, the Outgoing President Usually Welcomes the Newly Elected With Dignity
Not in 2021. Here’s a look at the traditions that were missed.
Though there were some contentious presidential transitions in America’s past; in modern times the power transfer has followed a predictable and civil pattern. Election season may get nasty, but when someone has won, the current president sets aside differences and offers help to the newly elected during the 75-day transition of power.
And while it’s a show of good sportsmanship, (think of the opposing teams in a basketball game shaking the hand of every player after the game,) it has a deeper significance than that.
It helps Americans accept that a new political party is taking over. It signals to the losing side’s supporters; this is okay. It’s not what we wanted, but for now, we accept it. …
When reality is stranger than fiction
An aristocratic French family fell victim to a conman in a tale as convoluted as any Dan Brown novel. In the end, they believed they were lost descendants of an ancient society, and he, a master spy, was their only friend.
The Vedrines
The Vedrines were a wealthy family of French aristocrats. Educated and cultured, they held prominent jobs and were active in their upper-class social circles. The family owned many properties, including their ancestral chateau in Monflanquin, located in southwestern France.
Between the years of 1999 and 2009, they lost everything they had to a conman, including their sanity.
From a castle to a rental home in Oxford
Eleven family members in all fell victim to conman Thierry Tilly. They included the matriarch of the family, Guillemette de Vedrines, her children Ghislaine, Philippe, and Charles-Henri, the two brother’s wives, Christine and Brigitte, and five adult grandchildren. …
Thank you, Medium. You have answered my prayers.
While I wasn’t looking, Medium made one of their best improvements to the platform, ever.
They have separated responses from stories! When did this happen, and how long did it take me to notice?
Responses mixed in with published stories was a big mess
The Medium platform has a beautiful and easy to use interface. The editor is user-friendly and makes the creation of gorgeous-looking articles a piece of cake. They’ve also got fairly good analytics to show you how your stories perform.
But, the one thing that drove me crazy about the Medium platform was how our stories and responses were lumped together into one space. …
A Congressman helped clean the trashed Capitol building for 90 minutes during the early morning hours after MAGA rioters ransacked it. New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim didn’t do this for…
It took seemingly forever for reinforcements to arrive
I had rearranged my schedule yesterday so that I could spend the better part of it watching CNN. Between the final counting of the Georgia Senate race and the electoral college vote, it was going to be a busy day for the news media.
I expected a day of political theater and more false claims, ending in the inevitable certification of Joe Biden as the new president. But what I got was not political theater, but a coup attempt.
Today, I am still reeling from it and trying hard to wrap my mind around the reality of what I witnessed.
Here are my random thoughts in no particular order
Yes, it’s a bit rambly. Yes, it’s the best I can do today. …
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