Of course I watched Suffs on public television (PBS’ “Great Performances”) last night. I’ve had it on my calendar for months, and I saw about 25 ads for it on social media yesterday, and a friend called to remind me about it.
Created by Tony Award winner Shaina Taub, this musical recorded from Broadway tells the story of the American suffragist movement and the remarkable friendships, heartbreak, and action that brought women together—or, in some cases, tore them apart.
It’s going to air again tonight at 8pm on PBS. Watch it or record it, if you can.
I will never again call them Suffragettes. They were suffragists.
Hopefully all the Tradwife influencers will decide to take a break from serving their husbands and tune in.
Nearly everyone on the left follows Heather Cox Richardson—a US historian, author, and college professor. Her nightly “Letters from an American” has over 5 million subscribers. She helps a lot of people make sense of what’s going on.
To be honest, I always liked her but felt a bit betrayed by her over Joe Biden and quit reading her after the 2024 election. I felt she had ignored some of Biden’s obvious deficits and led people down a rosy path of thinking there was no way in hell Trump would get re-elected. I think her blind spot was that she gave Americans too much credit for being as patriotic as she is. (She deeply and truly believes in the founding ideals of this country. And she’s still not cynical.)
Anyway, I’m back now. I read her every day (on Substack or Facebook) and watch her weekly “politics chats” on YouTube and her “What the Heck Just Happened?” chats with fellow historian Joanne Freeman. These women are my age and so relatable. They are like the two smartest girls in your high school, but ones who would’ve definitely loaned you their notes to study before the history test. They went to great schools, they teach at great schools, they are experts, they know so much—so much more than me.
Heather and Joanne – giving smart girl BFF vibes
Things are getting really scary. I honestly believe Trump has absolutely no idea how to handle this fucked-up situation he created in the Middle East. Let’s hope Heather’s right about just how massively unpopular he is right now.
Here’s her latest post:
May 4, 2026 (Monday)
According to a new Washington Post–ABC News–Ipsos poll, fifty-nine percent of Americans believe President Donald J. Trump does not have the mental sharpness necessary to lead the country. Fifty-five percent think he does not have the physical health to serve as president. Fifty-four percent say they don’t think Trump is a strong leader. Sixty-seven percent think Trump doesn’t carefully consider important decisions.
Today, Susannah George and Tara Copp of the Washington Post reported that as the U.S. ramps up its attempts to open the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is responding with military attacks. This morning, Iran fired drones and missiles at two U.S. destroyers and two merchant vessels moving through the strait. According to Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, none of the ships were hit.
But Iran also launched six fast boats at the commercial ships. Cooper said the U.S. destroyed those vessels.
Ahmad Vahidi, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, posted on social media: “The Strait of Hormuz will not be opened by the tweet of the President of the United States; the management and control of this waterway is in the hands of Iran. Nothing will have the right to enter without permission, and in the event of a violation of this matter, it will be considered a legitimate target.”
Iran also hit the United Arab Emirates today with fifteen missiles and four drones. One of the armaments started a fire in the oil hub of Fujairah.
Trump told Trey Yingst of the Fox News Channel today that his military blockade of Iranian ports is the “greatest military maneuver in history.” He also said that if the Iranians target U.S. ships, they will be ”blown off the face of the earth.” And yet, as Iran demonstrated by hitting the United Arab Emirates today, resuming the war could devastate the Middle East, plunging the globe into even more economic chaos. So, for now, Trump appears to be hanging onto the ceasefire.
Alexander Ward of the Wall Street Journal noted that today, at the White House, Trump told a group of small-business owners that he “call[s] it a mini war.”
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) called out the fact that the Trump administration argued on Friday that it did not have to get congressional approval for the war on Iran at the 60-day mark required by the 1973 War Powers Resolution because, it said, the war had “terminated” on April 7. It made the claim despite the fact that a blockade is an act of war and the U.S. continues to blockade Iranian ports. Asked on Saturday how he could say the war had terminated when the U.S. military was enforcing the blockade, Trump told reporters: “Well, it’s a very friendly blockade. Nobody’s even challenging it.”
Duckworth, who lost both legs when serving as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in the Iraq War, posted: “U.S. and Iranian ships are exchanging missile fire today in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s claims that hostilities have ceased were bullsh*t. He is lying to the American people and prolonging his disastrous war of choice—And he’s doing it illegally.”
This afternoon, Trump posted an AI image of President Joe Biden on one knee with the caption: COWARDS KNEEL,” an AI image of President Barack Obama with the caption “TRAITORS BOW,” and an AI image of himself with his fist raised and the caption “LEADERS LEAD.”
Journalist Aaron Rupar noted: “Trump is crazyposting at 3pm.”
I was planning to watch the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last night. I watched a lot of the pre-game, red carpet stuff on C-SPAN. The reporter kept asking people who they were wearing and it became so awkward that the anchor finally told him to stop. “This is Washington. Nobody has any idea who they’re wearing.”
I was wondering if maybe Trump was going to somehow manage to be charming in his speech. Highly unlikely, but still. And if he was going to be vile and awful to the press (as usual), I wanted to see him embarrass himself until I couldn’t stand it anymore and then go to bed.
After the chaos was unleashed, my first thought was that they’d obviously cancel the event. People in the room (including multiple pregnant women) had plunged to the floor and everyone was shaken. The fact that Trump wanted to carry on (“the show must go on”) seemed to be just another example of his complete disregard for others.
When he then held a press conference at 10:30pm and all the reporters showed up in their formalwear, I felt badly for them. If you had had a night like that, wouldn’t you want to just go home and go to bed? But no…they had to go back to the White House and listen to Dear Leader blather on about his ballroom and lie about all “the love” in the room. (Quiet, Piggy!)
Reporters are people too and I feel badly for them, especially the female ones. Trump treats them like shit. I felt especially bad for the WHCA President & Host Weijia Jiang who tearfully announced that Trump was insisting she reschedule the event within 30 days. (The Commander Commands and the People—especially the Women—Must Obey.)
And then, I just had to go online and see what people were saying. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the entire country thought the event was staged. That was all I saw in the comments.
I’ve never been prone to conspiracy theories. (Typically, I mentally dismiss people who raise them.) But…maybe.
Could the whole thing have been staged? And if it was, why?
Our government is flailing, people. I grew up in this country and I’ve never felt like this about it before. The on again off again trip to Pakistan is just the latest example. What the hell are they doing? Do they even know??
We have now entered the Twilight Zone. That’s how I feel. Cue the music.
Honestly, the TV show Twilight Zone was a bit before my time. It’s more of a Boomer thing. I never actually watched it. But culturally, it has been referred to so often that I have a sense of it.
My painting—Woman in the Teal Bathrobe, Minneapolis 2026—was officially accepted into the Stronger Together: Art for Democracy juried exhibition. The show opens Friday, May 2 at my church and will tour to a few other locations including the Fitchburg Art Museum.
Prizes will be awarded at the opening, but I’m just happy to be included. I’m very eager to see the other paintings. I’m told they got some fantastic entries from all around New England. There are 47 artists in all. Including me. I’m one of the artists! I didn’t have “exhibit a painting in a museum” on my official Bucket List, but maybe I should have. I’m pretty excited.
Thanks again to everyone who gave input on this painting and encouragement on my artwork in general.
And thanks to the unknown photographer who took the viral photo that was my inspiration.
PLEASE NOTE: Senator Susan Collins of Maineand all other Republican Senators except for Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul voted yesterday to advance a $70 billion plan to fund the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agencies for the next three years, without any of the guardrails sought by Democrats. And by guardrails, I mean the basic procedures that normal police officers have to follow—like getting a warrant before they break down your door.
My family of origin has been upsetting me a lot since January. (I believe it’s unintentional, but still—not fun.) Thankfully, my own family are all doing well, except that my husband has been significantly challenged by his recoveries from two total knee replacements.
On top of that, I am personally upset by the shitshow in Washington. The absolute incompetence of the people running our country right now is downright frightening, as are the real impacts on all of our lives. My son inherited my mother’s gas guzzler SUV a few years ago when she upgraded and recently paid $75 to fill his tank. These prices are not sustainable for young people just starting out. And he and his roommates all sat down together to watch one of Trump’s incoherent updates on the war with Iran because they are worried about getting drafted.
Long way of saying, I could use a laugh. Maybe you could too.
Here are three stand-up comedy specials I’ve watched recently and truly enjoyed. I laughed out loud many, many times.
Marcello Hernández: American Boy (Netflix)
Julio Torres: Color Theories (HBO Max)
Ramy Youssef: In Love (HBO Max)
They happen to all be young men, but all grew up outside mainstream, straight, white American male culture. Their perspectives are unique and in many cases, hysterical. 🤣
I’ve posted a couple times about my trip to the Soviet Union in college. I was with a group of students and history professors. It was a big deal to go “behind the iron curtain” back then, so we prepped for this trip for many months—studying Russian history and learning how to behave in a communist country. (They didn’t want any of us to end up in a Siberian prison camp.)
In addition to stopping in Helsinki (Finland) on the way into the USSR, we stopped in Budapest (Hungary) on the way out. Back then, Hungary was firmly part of the Soviet-aligned Eastern Bloc. And we happened to be there in the immediate aftermath of an epic snowstorm. Other than the snow and total paralysis of transportation on the streets, I remember kind people and one particularly delicious hot meal in a restaurant with some young musicians who gave us a cassette tape of their rock band.
In light of the recent good news that Hungarians dumped their far-right leader Viktor Orbán (a buddy of both Trump and Putin) on Sunday, I dug out my Budapest pics. Google describes Budapest in 1987 like this:
Budapest in 1987 was a city in late-communist Hungary characterized by economic scarcity, socialist architecture, and a quiet, daily struggle, yet it was on the cusp of major political change. The city experienced a historic, paralyzing snowstorm in January 1987 and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site that same year.
I’m not in any of these photos, but I took all of them. None are particularly good, but as a group, they give you the vibe.
Fun fact: Budapest is actually two cities—Buda and Pest. In this pic, I’m standing in Buda looking over the frozen Danube River towards Pest. The large domed building on the far side is the Hungarian Parliament in Pest. (Pronounced PESHT)
The famous Fisherman’s Bastion is a fairytale-like, Neo-Romanesque lookout built between 1895 and 1902.
An Aeroflot route map in a Budapest window. (We flew sketchy Aeroflot into Russia.)
My friend Lincoln standing in an alcove in Budapest.
My friend Rob playing a balalaika at the Budapest airport.
Walking was the only option for seeing anything at all while we were there! The city was paralyzed with snow and the authorities really couldn’t deal with it.
Two of our professors at the Budapest airport. The one on the right, Dr. James West, taught Russian history and was one of the best teachers I ever had. He’s one of the reasons I majored in History.
Spring is springing here in Greater Boston. Hallelujah!
I took a shot at drawing and painting these purple crocuses in my neighborhood.I tried a bunch of different techniques and colors. Some worked. Some didn’t.
I’m realizing now you really just have to paint a lot to truly improve. Watercolors require a great deal of trial and error. And now that good weather has returned, I’m not sure how much I’ll keep painting outside of the class I’m taking.
Honestly, I’m still not sure what my life is actually going to look like longterm in retirement. We are still in a transitional period. My husband’s knee surgeries have been such a huge feature of the past year. We don’t know how much he’ll continue to work once he’s fully recovered.
I feel like my retirement travel budget is not going to be as significant as I had hoped (thanks Trump) but who knows…maybe we’ll become road trip people.
I’m trying to focus on Good Things today:
It’s 73 degrees F and sunny here 😎
I have a screen porch, which I just cleaned.
Hungary dumped Trump & Putin’s buddy Viktor Orbán.
I get to see my cutie 🥰 tomorrow.
Dessert – last night I had the genius idea to sprinkle flaked coconut on two Salted Caramel Mochi from Trader Joe’s. So good.
We went out! For the first time since total knee replacement #2 on March 16, we went to a movie. Thanks to reclining theater seats, my husband was able to elevate his leg enough to make it through a 2+ hour film. He did have to take an oxy about halfway through, but still…he made it…and mostly enjoyed it.
For those who haven’t heard, Project Hail Mary is a blockbuster, feel good, space odyssey, based on the book by Andy Weir, which I have not read.
Here are a few thoughts:
The theater was full of people, including many families. This made the movie going experience more fun. We happened to go to a Saturday matinee the day after the Artemis 2 crew returned safely to earth. The poignancy of the film’s main message (nobody wants to be alone) was enhanced by the good vibes that our stellar astronauts evoked. As eloquent Artemis astronaut Christina Koch told the world upon her return: Planet Earth: You. Are. A. Crew.
Ryan Gosling is charming! We knew this already from Barbie, LaLa Land and other films. But this is his most charming role yet. He’s cute, he’s humble, he’s funny, he’s adorable. Give me Ryan Gosling any day of the week over Matthew McConaughey, Mark Wahlberg or any of the Chrises.
At 2 hours and 36 minutes, the film is a bit too long. I had to leave once to pee during the film and I had already left to pee during the final preview. (I should’ve been able to make it through the whole film.) The boys next to me also had to leave to pee once. But honestly, all films seem too long to me these days. Filmmakers need to edit better. If your average 60-year old woman and 10-year old boy can’t make it through the whole film without peeing, cut some stuff.
But all in all, I give it a thumbs up. It’s a good way to build on the warm vibes the astronauts gave us. Goodness knows, we need all the positivity we can get in light of the total shit show in the White House.
Just to follow-up on yesterday’s post mentioning the US Army helicopters that hovered at Kid Rock’s home in order to amuse and delight him, you’ll be happy angry to know that they received no punishment at all. In fact, they got a big pat on the back from the Secretary of Defense.
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