Not My Type by E. Jean Carroll

 

   E. Jean Carroll’s courage compelled me to read her memoir. I borrowed Not My Type from the library.

   It is not the kind of book I like to read but the fact that she risked her life motivated me to pick it for My Writing Life: Awareness, Reflection, Inspiration.

     Not My Type: One Woman vs a President reveals what she went through when she came forward to expose the truth: the revelations of the sexual assault and the perpetrator. She shares the details of her traumatic experience and the context of the situation.

   Going to court to stand up for justice meant risking her own life. She received all kinds of threats. The cultists threatened to rape and murder her. She received thousands of hateful, misogynistic messages. This should not come as a surprise considering that these people constantly make excuses for the behaviors of a convicted sexual abuser who also happened to be the closest friend of a sex trafficker for fifteen years, and who recently moved a convicted child sex trafficker to a more comfortable prison. In the past he even bragged about sexually assaulting women, and when he was asked about it, he said that was “locker-room talk.”

   I can’t believe I am writing this but let’s say it: sexual abuse is a criminal act. It does not matter if the perpetrator is white, black or orange. It does not matter whether the perpetrator is rich or poor. It does not matter whether the perpetrator is Republican or Democrat. Sexual abuse is a violation.

  My question is this: why is a convicted sexual abuser allowed to become president in the United States of America? Is misogyny so deeply ingrained in American society that this is acceptable in the minds of seventy-seven million voters and ninety million people who did not even bother to vote?

   Seventy-seven million people voted for a sexual abuser because they chose not to believe women, while they preferred to believe a man with a history of lying consistently. They did not even bother to pay attention to the facts in this specific case because their misogyny blinded them, so let’s review some of those facts here.

   Fact number one: the sexual abuser stated that he had never met E. Jean Carroll. This was proven to be a lie.

 Fact number two: the sexual abuser stated that he never shopped at Bergdorf Goodman. This turned out to be a lie.

 Fact number three: he stated that “E. Jean Carroll was not his type.” This is another lie. The sexual abuser mistook E. Jean Carroll for his own wife.

    I will let you find more evidence in her book. You will also learn about the evidence that was not even used in court.

   I do not understand how E. Jean Carroll manages to use humor to make the narrative more palatable. Her humor and wit did not prevent the waves of nausea and disgust I experienced as I learned the details of her situation. Yet I forced myself to complete the read. I skimmed through some passages about clothing because I found them redundant and irrelevant.

  One of his defense attorneys was obsessed with the victim’s clothing. There was an irrational interest in her clothing. I also do not understand why his defense attorney had an inappropriate focus on Ms. Carroll’s private life when the focus should have been on the abuser’s behaviors instead. The twenty-first century is not free from misogyny and gender double standards.

  The current social and political landscape in the United States of America is clear evidence of how serious it is to let misogyny dominate a society. The irrational voters did not believe E. Jean Carroll, but they have no problem with the sexual abuser’s lies: No, he did not stop the war on Ukraine on day one. In fact, he made it worse for Ukraine. No, he did not lower the prices of groceries. In fact, the prices of groceries have been rising. He did not make housing more affordable and “the concept of a healthcare plan” never materialized, but the mainstream media never holds him accountable for anything. The sexual abuser promised to release the Epstein files but then he found out it was a better idea to keep them hidden because the files are “boring” according to him, and he moved the sexual trafficker’s helper to a better prison. What can be wrong with that?

  Yet the mainstream media treats him with special care because they lack the courage that E. Jean Carroll has.

  One obsession of the trump regime is to persecute the people they label as “illegals.”  In Nazi Germany they would have been the Jews, the Gypsies, the Communists and people with disabilities. In Nazi Germany they also persecuted those who disagreed with Hitler’s regime. The trump regime appears to follow on the same steps…

   Under the trump regime the dictator’s minions scapegoat groups of people and go after them while wearing masks, a mafia style of action that should shock every citizen in America. Yet the mainstream media dutifully promotes the dictator’s propaganda. The media did the same in the 1930s in Germany.

  The trump regime disregards science and public health. Those who voted for him were concerned about the economy and the border because the mainstream media had promoted a false narrative about the border, hinting that trump was the right person “to fix it.” The narrative of the mainstream media about the border paved the way to this regime through lies and exaggeration. This is what Hitler did to arouse anger and to trigger scapegoating behaviors. Yet unemployment is rising and the dictator did not improve the economy in any way unless you refer to the financial situation of multibillionaires.

   Math and economy are not the dictator’s strengths. He said he would reduce the cost of medications by 1,500 percent. Will people get paid to take their medications? We do not need a college degree to understand that this is a lie.

    It is exhausting to watch the mainstream media constantly normalizing him, but the most disturbing part of the mess we are in is that the dictator recently passed an executive order to enable the regime to go after anybody who opposes fascism in America, because he created an imaginary enemy called “Antifa.” In his imagination, Antifa is a terrorist organization. With his executive order, the dictator gives the regime the green light to go after anybody who stands up against fascism. How is this acceptable?

  Do you remember when he said he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and not lose supporters? It is the sign of a cult.

   The fact that he bragged about sexually assaulting women should have been enough to stop him from becoming president.  Yet now we have him in power mansplaining pregnant women over the use of Tylenol, without any kind of scientific evidence. This is dangerous for the health of women. It is hard to believe that this is happening in the United States of America. Please, make sure you educate your daughters to make mindful choices when voting... Did self-respect go out of fashion in America? Seventy-seven million voters have channeled their insecurities into a very insecure man, a sexual abuser, a bully.

      Despite the threats to her life and the violent messages she received, E. Jean Carroll did not surrender to fear, and she beat him. Yes, she is the winner and he is the loser in this case. The sexual abuser will have to pay her over 89 million dollars because he defamed her in addition to sexually abusing her.

   E. Jean Carroll said she will be donating most of that money to the things that the sexual abuser hates: women’s reproductive rights, voting rights, climate solutions…

    The end of her memoir brought tears of joy to my eyes, but perhaps, some of those tears were tears of sadness, because how can we surrender our country to an abuser?

   What we do matters. The dictator tried to get a comedian fired recently, but the people responded and the comedian is back on air. The determination of the people was more powerful than the power of a dictator. Let’s keep the momentum. Do not get distracted.

   Share this book with every person you know. It deserves to be read. I am thankful for her bravery. I am thankful for the bravery of those who supported her, and, of course, I am thankful for the dogs who helped to guard her life.

 

 Independent journalists who report facts with authenticity and clarity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIUwQxsf4fE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyf80CwUjzo

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuqIpMvYxPk

 

Relevant links:

 

  https://apnews.com/article/trump-tough-it-out-pregnancy-women-pain-acetaminophen-dc48caddabef2f086a50b48c5b86a3ca

https://time.com/7317383/political-violence-america-trump-crackdown-right/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jqvz24llyo

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-is-antifa-and-why-trump-wants-to-label-it-a-terrorist-organization

 

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to check my writing on the following books:

On Freedom by Tim Snyder

The Echo Machine by David Pakman

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy

 

   There is something soothing and magical about the symphony of crickets in a garden.

   This summer I marveled at the dance of fireflies and the music of crickets.

   The lights of fireflies sweeten the charm of our summer nights in ways that words cannot describe.

   When people asked Mr. Tallamy about the decline in crickets and fireflies in gardens his response was that those who use lawn-treatments to kill insects and fertilize lawns will not have these insects in their yards. On the other hand, when we do not apply synthetic chemicals we support the development of healthy ecosystems, we avoid polluting our waterways and we help sustain the lives of pollinators.

    The autumn season is just beginning to decorate our grounds with the majesty of dead leaves. These leaves shelter the larvae of fireflies. It is important to “leave the leaves” and accept them for what they are: nutrition for the soil and homes for the life of several creatures. Besides, these dead leaves on the ground harbor insects that are a crucial source of food for various birds.

 

  The “leave the leaves” advice is an important reminder in the fall. Don’t take my word for it and visit the site of the Xerces society to learn more.

  Douglas Tallamy also reminds us that removing the leaves under the trees starves the trees, because those leaves need to be broken down by decomposers to nourish the soil from which those trees obtain their nutrients. The crickets also play an important role in this process of breaking down the leaves; they help to recycle organic material to enrich the soil. Everything is interconnected.

  You can learn more about this from Tallamy’s book: How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard. He answers 499 questions on the topic on how we can help Nature restore herself.

 Who is Douglas Tallamy?  

Douglas W. Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has taught insect- related courses for 44 years. Douglas Tallamy has published several research articles as well.

  The reason I like this book is that it provides relevant information and tips that I have not found in other books. It is more specific in terms of giving practical advice and  information.

      Why is this important? His introduction states it clearly:

 “In the United States alone, 133 million acres are now in residential landscapes, and those landscapes are controlled by hundreds of millions of people. With a little education, we can all come to realize that sustainable Earth stewardship is not something we can ignore or practice only if we feel like it, or something that happens in ‘natural areas.’ It is essential, and it is essential everywhere. Moreover, caring for the life around us is a responsibility we all hold. I say that with certainty, because each of us depends entirely on the quality of local ecosystems for our continued well-being.”

  It is amazing to think about how much one person can do. Reading his book will empower you in various ways…

 Even if you do not own a garden, you can still do your part. Mr. Tallamy emphasizes that many native plants do well in patio pots. 

 

Fascinating facts that will guide you to be a better steward of mother Earth

You may encounter people who believe that they care about birds, but their behaviors show the opposite. The facts in this book will guide people to make simple choices that can make a world of difference.

 Spider webs

 Did you know that spider webs are important resources for various birds? Spider webs are used as a source of material for nest building. Small birds such as humming birds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, kinglets and Bushtits need them, so his advice is to avoid brushing off spider webs from outdoor structures. Also, spiders feed on the mosquitoes that pester us, so why would anybody with common sense destroy their webs?

 

Mosquito fogging is toxic and ineffective

   Mr. Tallamy explains that mosquito fogging is not an effective way of getting rid of mosquitoes. Besides, mosquito fogging kills butterflies, bees, moths, earthworms, caterpillars, and other insects that are essential to healthy ecosystems. To learn more about the toxic effects of mosquito fogging, feel free to visit this site provided by Purdue University.

 Blue jays and squirrels plant trees

 Did you know that blue Jays plant most oak trees? And some of them are planted by squirrels. How does this happen? Blue Jays bury their acorns to feed on them later, but they end up eating one out of four acorns they bury, so the three they don’t eat have the potential to grow into oak trees.

 

Plant native trees and plants

  Be consistent and plant something every year. There is detailed information on the need to plant native plants and to avoid planting invasive plants. Every year nurseries sell thousands of invasive plants that harm ecosystems, so people should choose to avoid purchasing these plants and ask for the native ones. If the nursery does not sell native plants, feel free to walk away. Actions speak louder than words.

 

 Planting clover instead of using synthetic fertilizers

 It is better to use clover for several reasons. You will nourish the soil without polluting the water with the runoff of synthetic fertilizers. You will require less water because clover is drought-resistant. You will provide nutrition for several pollinators including butterflies and bees, and you will decrease the emission of greenhouse gases that worsen the climate crisis. Synthetic fertilizers use releases nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. What is not to like about all the benefits of using clover instead of synthetic fertilizers for your lawn?

  It is also important to remove some of the grass and to plant more native plants. Avoid spraying herbicides and pesticides; these chemicals poison the water, the air and the sources of food for birds. And don’t worry about those dandelions. They may not be a native plant but they still provide nutrition for pollinators.

   

 Supporting clean energy initiatives and policies

 The development of clean energy infrastructure keeps the air and water clean and is part of the action to address climate change. It provides jobs and boosts the economy in multiple ways. Unfortunately, the trump regime is doing just the opposite.

 I previously wrote about how the trump regime is leading to a rise in our utility bills.

   There is a lot to learn from his book, so feel free to go to your nearest library and find out more. My only criticism is that he is very biased against deer in a way that spreads misinformation. For example, he blames deer for the abundance of ticks when experts know that climate change is responsible for the increase of various kinds of ticks in the environment. You can read about this in an article published by Binghamton University. 

 Moreover, Tallamy complains that deer do not eat the non-native plants and that they prefer the native ones. Again, he scapegoats deer when he knows that thousands of non-native invasive plants are introduced into the environment by humans who purchase their plants from irresponsible nurseries. Instead of scapegoating deer, we should take responsibility and make the right choices when purchasing plants from nurseries.

 I want to introduce Mr. Tallamy to the concept of compassionate conservation.

 I strongly encourage Mr. Tallamy to educate himself on the topic.

 

Update on my gardening experience this year

In a post from June 2025, I mentioned my goal to produce food while supporting the health of pollinators in my own garden, and I want to write about how everything turned out. I am also sharing some helpful tips and ideas for other gardeners.

  I never use pesticides and herbicides and I have done my part in  planting more native plants in our yard. I communicated my ideas to other people in my neighborhood. It was heartwarming to see people leaving patches of wildflowers on their lawn. The results have been encouraging. This year we’ve had many more bees, crickets, fireflies and monarch butterflies compared to the previous year.

 Helpful tips and ideas

 When my seedlings are attacked by ants, I do not use any kind of poison. I only spray the plants with cayenne pepper. It works. The spice deters the ants from eating my seedlings, and then the sprouts continue to grow and thrive without any problems. Squirrels do not like the cayenne pepper either. I sometimes add coffee grounds. Coffee grounds help to fertilize the soil and ants don’t like them.

  I grow sage and mint on the borders of the fenced vegetable patches because I know mice and other pests don’t like them. They stay away from them. I do pay a lot of attention to companion planting. For example, I planted some zinnias and purple coneflowers along with some of my tomato plants. I have used an effective organic fertilizer with excellent results.

  Rabbits are effective workers in my garden. They devour a variety of weeds so they help with garden maintenance in natural ways. Due to the interesting variety of weeds we offer, they do not even try to get into my vegetable garden. The same idea applies to chipmunks.

  My goal of producing more food in less space also came to fruition. We produced over fifty pounds of tomatoes this season as well as a steady supply of green beans, collards, Swiss chard, cucumbers, arugula, basil, and other herbs. Add to the list a harvest of sweet peas in early summer. (And there is another one that will hopefully be ready for the fall).

  We are also proud supporters of a small family farm (CSA) from where we obtain healthful delicious vegetables and fruit every two weeks.  They grow organic food in sustainable ways, respecting the environment and nourishing the soil. We will continue to support them next year,

  Future plans:

  I would like to enlarge our vegetable patches next year to increase our food production; we will continue to plant more native plants. We may add a tree or two. It is inspiring and uplifting to see the celebration of life in our “forest of hope.”

  The gentle music of crickets, the daily visit of monarch butterflies and the steady company of bees are reminders that we are doing something right...

 If you enjoyed this post, feel free to check my writing on the following books:

The Permaculture Transition Manual

The Comfort of Crows

 The Sixth Extinction

Relevant links:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-utility-bills-are-rapidly-rising-in-some-states/

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/inflation-reduction-act-canceled-projects-q1-2025-kore-freyr/746737/

 

 

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/issues/food-system/

 

 

 

We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

  

  I found Joyce Carol Oates’s book in a Little Free Library and I was tempted to read it. Her literary voice captivated me from the first page. Her writing is addictive, fun and insightful. It blew my mind away. Now I am excited to search more of her works.

  We Were the Mulvaneys is an outstanding, remarkable, thought-provoking novel about a family of six. Corinne and Michael Mulvaney had four children: three boys and a girl. The family was popular in the rural community; they lived on a farm in upstate New York in the 1960s and 1970s, and Michael had a roofing business. The family had an active social life until something tragic happened on Valentine’s Day in the year 1976.

   It is an immersive read charged with suspense and spiced up by the charm of being an introspective psychological novel; I admire the mastery with which Joyce Carol Oates reveals the variety of subtle and not so subtle features of the human relationships and interactions that unfold.  Her literary skills illuminate with grace and ease the results of prejudices, social misogyny and the intricacies of the human experience. This book is a great choice for those who are motivated to lead book discussions.

 The narrative incorporates various aspects of the social and political arena of the 1970s and 1980s, creating an opportunity for reflection and debate. The author inserts morsels of information related to political and social matters. I was left in awe at these unexpected comments that may help to understand how some aspects of their reality resonate with our present, and how they fit in the social construction of the novel.

   The tragic event that becomes a turning point in the life of this family is the rape of the daughter--Marianne Mulvaney--by somebody in the community. From that point on, everything changes. Their friends are no longer their friends; it is shocking to see that they side with the rapist and his family because “he is rich and has connections.”

 The Mulvaneys were then ostracized. Let me make this clear: they blamed the victim  and questioned her family while they sided with the rapist and his family.

    It is interesting to take a moment to reflect on this. Things have not changed much since she wrote this novel. In November 2024 seventy-seven million people in the United States of America voted for a sexual abuser. They could have chosen the woman who stood up to sexual predators and protected the victims, but they preferred the sexual abuser, while ninety million people did not even bother to vote, enabling the sexual abuser to become president.  Let’s highlight the fact that they enabled a man who bragged openly about sexually assaulting women—the man wo referred to this as “locker room talk.” I have no interest in sugarcoating the truth to protect the ego of the members of their cult. (Some people do that; I do not).  

  I appreciate the way Marianne Mulvaney moved forward with her life. She chose to avoid dwelling on the cruelty and hatred of the rapist, and she focused on rebuilding her life.  Unfortunately, her own parents did something selfish and obnoxious to her after the tragedy. I do not want to reveal what they did, but it made no sense to me, and I still do not understand why they did that.

 Corinne Mulvaney, Marianne’s mother, is initially presented as a fascinating, sensitive woman with a free spirit, ready to defy the discriminatory behaviors of the club her husband joined. However, my perception of Corinne changes completely after the sexual assault takes place, when she is ready to comply with her husband’s misogynistic request instead of focusing on supporting Marianne. I will not share what they did because I do not want to include spoilers here. Suffice it to say that this was a turning point in the way I viewed Corinne.

    Michael Mulvaney succumbed to an addiction to alcohol after his daughter was raped, so his behavior became erratic and dangerous. When this happened, Corinne became somewhat subservient to the whims of his violent, authoritarian ways. After this shocking realization, I did not care about her behaviors. I did not see any growth in her as a character.  Joyce Carol Oates tries to instill quirks into the character to make us like her, but the lack of self-respect in her interactions with her husband shows that Corinne could not redeem herself.

   The story finally closes in the year 1993 with a family reunion. It offers a hopeful ending filled with optimism and healing. The promise of a better future is envisioned.

   Marianne’s life after her tragedy was adventurous and interesting. It was absorbing to read how she navigated the challenges. She was determined to move forward with devotion, kindness and perseverance. I think she is the heroine of the story. However, I think Joyce Carol Oates could have explored the effects of sexual trauma further.

   Her brother Patrick did something heroic to defend his sister and restore a sense of justice, and he counted on the support of their youngest brother, Judd. However, Marianne’s best friend was Muffin, the cat who stayed with her throughout every ordeal. He never failed her; he never mansplained her. They were inseparable. He was a silent hero in the story.

 After I finished the novel, I kept thinking about the characters, situations and the social and historical aspects of it. I now look forward to exploring more of Joyce Carol Oates’ oeuvre. She is an exceptional writer.

 

 

 International Dog Day

Today is International Dog Day so it is a good day to remind everybody to treat dogs and all our furry friends with kindness and respect. Always make sure that your dog has an accessible bowl with clean water.

 Be thankful for the love they give you and don’t forget to consider their needs and motivations. Avoid leaving dogs and other pets alone in cars. They are very vulnerable to temperature fluctuations. Also, avoid leaving them alone in planes. Dogs and other pets are not luggage. They are living beings They suffer in those enclosed spaces and they can even die.

Rewilding Our Hearts: Building Pathways of Compassion and Coexistence by Marc Bekoff

 

 "If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it…You are what you do, not what you say. What you do makes me cry at night…Please make your actions reflect your words.”

                    -Severn Cullis-Suzuki

  It has been heartbreaking to come across so many dead wild animals on the highway lately. It is sad to watch so many people racing on the highway without empathy for the non-human animals who share the earth with us. The cruelty of such an act is a reflection of the cruelty that exists on so many levels in our society. These dead animals on the highway remind me of how cruel some human beings are to others…

  Seeing these animals in such a state of neglect and abandonment is disheartening, and it prompted me to search for the book Rewilding Our hearts by Marc Bekoff, which I meant to read years ago, and I kept postponing the read until now.

    Even though it was published eleven years ago, Bekoff’s words continue to be relevant, inspiring and edifying.

  Marc Bekoff is a professor emeritus of ecology at the University of Boulder, Colorado, and he has been a researcher of animal behavior for decades; Bekoff explains that animals have complex emotions and social lives. Animals grieve and have families, just like we do.

   Many humans like to believe that only humans have emotions and feelings, but this is not true. Besides, our human “uniqueness” does not give us the right to destroy everything we touch. Basic ethical principles should be taught to children in schools.  

   The toxic attitude of believing that humans have the right to destroy everything because they consider themselves more “intelligent” and have a right to do so has become normalized in many people’s minds to the point that debating this has become the starting point of irrational arguments to support irrational behaviors and poor choices that do not align with values of respect and fairness.

   Severn Cullis-Suzuki was only nine years old when she launched the ECO (Environmental Children’s Organization). When she was twelve years old, she and a group of her peers raised funds to attend the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 to urge world leaders to talk less and do more. Here’s her amazing speech:

         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJJGuIZVfLM

   If we take a moment to reflect on the word “eco”, we can awaken our awareness to the fact that both the words “economy” and “ecology” share a common root: “eco” means “home” or “habitat” in Greek. With this in mind, we should fully commit to make sustainable choices that make our home --the earth-- the place where we can coexist respectfully with other beings, where we must treat the water, air and soil with care and respect.

  I can summarize this idea by using a simple quote by Chogyam Trungpa:

 “When human beings lose their connection to nature, then they do not know how to nurture their environment or how to rule the world—which is saying the same thing. Human beings destroy their ecology at the same time that they destroy one another. From that perspective, healing our society goes hand in hand with healing our personal, elemental connection with the phenomenal world.”

  Hope without action is just a word. Hope requires actions that align with ethical choices and behaviors. Marc Bekoff’s book helps us to understand the multiple ways in which we can make this possible.

 

 If you enjoyed this post, you can also visit my writing on the following books:

Second Nature by Jonathan Balcombe

Why Dogs Hump and Bees get Depressed by Marc Bekoff.

 

   Find ways of taking action here:

 

https://www.idausa.org/take-action/

 

 

 

100 Plants to Feed The Birds: Turn Your Home Garden into a Healthy Bird Habitat by Laura Erickson

 

 Learning the names of plants and trees is an exciting adventure. It encourages us to sharpen our observational skills, and we become aware of the diversity of shapes and colors surrounding us. It is also a fun challenge that inspires us to pay more attention to the web of life around us.

  This fantastic book gives us the opportunity to awaken to the diversity of plants and trees around us, but it also helps us understand how everything is interconnected in the web of life. 

 The stunning photography caught my interest when I came across the book at my local library.

  Nothing exists in isolation. If we poison the insects that birds need to exist, we are endangering the birds that visit our gardens. If we plant what they need to sustain their lives without the use of pesticides and herbicides, we are creating a safe home for them. For example, take a look at the vibrant Joe-Pye Weed. 

  Laura Erickson points out that “it hosts a wonderful diversity of both larval and adult insects—essential food to insectivorous birds—and also provides seeds for many small birds such as titmice, goldfinches and juncos.”

  You can see how Laura Erickson adds the green color on the map to make clear in what areas of North America the plant is considered a native one.

 As you know, birds and insects also play an important role in plant pollination, which is  necessary to produce our own food.

 When we do what we can to support the ecosystems around us, we support our mental and physical health as well. We create a balanced environment where we can coexist.

 This book by Laura Erickson is about plants and trees to support wildlife in North America, but I am sure you can find similar books about the kind of plants that thrive in the continent and area where you live, so do your own research and find the book that suits your needs.

   I have been delighted to see monarch butterflies where I live almost every day for the last four weeks, but I wonder if they will survive their migration considering the challenges posed by climate change. As I write this post, I struggle with the poor quality of air in my area. It feels oppressive. I continue to do everything I need to do but the atmosphere feels different. This is something that deserves attention. 

 The air we breathe is something that we cannot ignore.

 What is the trump regime response to the situation?

 The response of the trump regime is to make this problem worse. There are regulations in place to protect the quality of the air by curbing greenhouse gas emissions, but the trump regime is getting rid of these regulations. How is this acceptable? In other words, the trump regime will worsen the current issue instead of addressing it. It makes no sense.

     Another aspect of the issue I want to bring up today is the silent spread of unsustainable data centers across the United States of America. The spread of data centers is driven by the use of artificial intelligence. I live in one of the places where they are planning to build one. This will have disastrous consequences for our communities.

 I have been actively researching the matter.

 The data center will worsen the quality of the air we breathe even more. The trump regime has no interest in fostering renewable sources of energy to power the data centers. This means that harmful pollutants will be released into the air because of the addition of data centers powered by fossil fuels.

 Data centers require massive amounts of energy and water to function. This will increase the cost of our utility bills; our communities will have to pay more to have access to clean water. The data centers, on the other hand, will get the privilege of receiving discounts on their electricity use. We, the taxpayers, will deal with the additional cost.

 Data centers do not provide a significant number of jobs and they will affect our quality of life and make the cost of living more expensive.

 Communities are already suffering due to the impact of these data centers. This technology is a tool used by wealthy CEOs to make profits at the expense of our communities. Our air, water and health will suffer and we will have to pay more for our water and electricity; this is what the trump regime planned for us.

  On day two in office trump announced a 500-billion-dollar AI initiative and promised to use his executive powers to hasten AI development.

 In 2024 ChatGPT used over 500,000 Kilowatts of electricity per day, which is the approximate amount of electricity necessary to cover the needs of 180,000 U.S. households. The electricity needs of AI could rise 150-fold in a single decade.

  I am sharing some links here from reliable sources, and I encourage you to learn about this and to educate others. Contact your local politicians to voice your concerns; write to your local newspaper. Do everything you can to educate your community on the need to stop the silent spread of unsustainable data centers. I use the word “silent” here because data centers are being built without the consent of the communities they impact.

  AI uses massive amounts of energy, so every time you use artificial intelligence for a google search you are contributing to the emission of greenhouse gases. To address this issue, I add the words -AI to my Google search words. If you have any additional ideas, feel free to let me know. I also found some tips here:

https://usercomp.com/news/1430909/google-search-ai-disabling-for-energy-savings

 

 I am sharing the links on the impact of data centers here:

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl1ctf1_JxE

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/17/nx-s1-5469933/virginia-data-centers-residents-saying-no#:~:text=Concerns%20about%20power%20and%20land,person%20for%20how%20to%20organize.

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2025/04/09/artificial-intelligence-water-climate/

 

https://apnews.com/article/data-centers-artificial-intelligence-technology-amazon-google-56b84cbb94942039754282afb076a87b

 

If you enjoyed this blog post, feel free to read my posts on the following books:

Birding to Change the World by Trish O'Kane

 

The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris

On Freedom by Timothy Snyder

 

  If there is only one book you are going to read this year, make sure you choose On Freedom by Timothy Snyder.

  His book should be used in high schools to learn the concept of freedom; the meaning of the word has been misused to empower tyrants, so this book is an invaluable resource to bring clarity to the topic.

   Tim Snyder delves deeply into the meaning of freedom. As a historian he offers an introspective outlook with information and facts. Unlike The Sixth Extinction, this book is hard to put down because it is concise. It does not ramble.

  The meaning of freedom in America has been distorted. Snyder analyses this carefully. “In American English it came to mean little more than the privilege of a few wealthy Americans not to pay taxes, the power of a few oligarchs to shape the discourse, and the unequal application of criminal law.”

   Snyder emphasizes the distinction between negative freedom and positive freedom.

   The concept of what he refers to as negative freedom is about the need to remove something that does not allow freedom to materialize, and positive freedom is about the right to thrive. In order to thrive, a healthy environment, education, health, critical thinking skills and respect for human rights are necessary. Freedom requires solidarity, social commitment, communication and introspection.

     We need to look into the past to understand the present. I think this has been the message of My Writing Life blog: Awareness, Reflection, Inspiration. I agree with Timothy Snyder.

 I will share this statement by Mr. Snyder: “Knowledge of the past is a reservoir of power and self-liberation. The future might flow down many channels, but its sources are in the past. Many things are possible. When we know nothing about the past, we think anything is possible but are quickly disillusioned. When we know something about the past, we know about some things that might be possible, and we have a chance at realizing them, a chance at freedom.”

  As a keen historian, he anticipates what the future possibilities may look like; understanding the past well sometimes helps him to make predictions. For example, he predicted that Russian forces would invade Ukraine. He provides the facts that led him to believe so. For example, Tim Snyder was aware of the fact that tyrant Vladimir Putin used Russian television to promote coordinated propaganda against Ukraine, force-feeding people the idea that Ukraine did not really exist and that Russians and Ukrainians were one people. Tim Snyder predicted more than this, but I will let you read the book to find out more…

    Knowledge, intuition and observation combined with introspection can be helpful to predict something. It is important to remember and integrate information, but it is also necessary to pay attention. Attention has become elusive to too many people, and the outcome of this situation is not a positive one. There is a reflection on this that I wrote down to share with you:

    “We lose time by not focusing, by not encoding moments from the flux. Simone Weil thought ‘the quantity of creative genius of an epoch was measured by attention span. By her measure we are becoming stupider. The twenty-first century is, let’s face it, very dumb.’”

    Timothy Snyder awakens us to the fact that in America there is a need for an equal right to vote for all citizens. However, this is not what happens:

   “Citizens who happen to live in Washington, D.C., which is more populous than Wyoming or Vermont, are not allowed to elect representatives to Congress. Citizens who live in Puerto Rico, which is more populous than twenty-one of the fifty states, cannot vote for president. They elect a resident commissioner to Congress, but that official has no vote. Americans should not be denied representation by the accident of where they were born, or where they find a job, or where they fall in love.”

 When we look at the past, we learn that women were excluded from the vote in the United States until the 1920s, and Black people in the South until the 1960s.  

“Today American laws allow the richest to avoid paying taxes and to influence elections (and then policy) by spending money. Such laws disenfranchise all nonbillionaires by granting to the few electoral power not enjoyed by the many. A country with oligarchical elections and voter suppression is not a land of the free.”

 On page 370 he makes a bold statement that helps me to understand the underpinnings of this regime:

 “Americans lose about 1 trillion dollars every year to tax fraud and evasion by the very wealthy. Offshore tax evaders should be given a year to come onshore or be prosecuted. Known practices that serve oligarchical escapism should be banned. These include mirror trades, anonymous real estate transactions, and limited partnerships that hide true owners and beneficiaries.”

  

 Senators are afraid to exercise their freedom in America

 How is freedom possible when you have senators stating clearly that they are afraid to oppose the president’s orders? If you don’t believe me, listen to Republican senator Lisa Murkowski expressing that“we are all afraid.” 

  If she is afraid, why did she vote for him? Minions and sycophants will not make America great. Hatred, cruelty and oppression will not make America free.

 How can you call America the land of the free when not even the senators are free to disagree? 

  On June 14 two lawmakers and their spouses were shot. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot to death, so how can we expect to be safe, when not even our Representatives are safe to live their lives under the current regime? Besides, nobody is safe when innocent people get abducted by strangers wearing masks.

  We need to stay alert. If a tyrant in power persecutes and imprisons dissidents the way Putin does it in Russia, then their votes will not be counted. 

  It is disheartening to see that seventy-five million voters supported a man who follows Putin’s playbook. They voted for a man who thinks that he can take away somebody’s citizenship because he or she disagrees with him. This is not freedom. This is fascism. They voted for a man who promised to be a dictator on day one. There is no patriotism in this cowardly act.

   I am not going to delve into the concept of freedom here because that is the role of Tim Snyder’s insightful book, but I can offer a very simple clue that anybody should be able to understand. There is no freedom when the Constitution is treated like toilet paper, or when the closest friend of a sex trafficker is empowered to become president. Yet there are forces that run deep in America to enable such a person to become powerful. I noticed that sexism and social misogyny are not under Snyder’s radar the way racism is. We need to expand the book. Mr. Snyder is concerned about the increasing number of men incarcerated in prisons but he does not say enough about gender violence and the need to address it.

    I admit that I felt frustrated when he mentioned that Ancient Greece was a “democracy”. A democracy does not have slaves. A democracy does not suppress women’s votes, Mr. Snyder, but if we keep repeating this lie, we will end up believing it, so, no, ancient Greece was not a democracy.

  I highly recommend On Freedom by Timothy Snyder. It can be a suitable choice for book-clubs.

  I appreciate how Timothy Snyder integrates science and history to explain basic concepts. Hopefully, his words will inspire people to choose courage and solidarity amid the fear and uncertainty incited by the forces of fascism, because the greatest treasure of a country is in the bravery of the people standing up for justice and freedom; it is in the bravery of the people standing up to the bullies, and I know that there are people who are doing that, but we need to keep our voices alive in every way we can.  

  On Freedom offers the guidance and knowledge to choose that kind of path. It sheds light on the confusion and the falsehoods spread by the manipulation of the truth. On Freedom reminds us that we are not isolated, that we are interconnected in multiple ways and that there is no freedom without solidarity. Read it, share it; let’s keep the discussions alive.

Here's an interview about freedom with Tim Snyder:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVxuFLBOpvM

 

Last but not least, keep yourself informed. Knowledge empowers us to become better citizens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Ww--fKH5g

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNQo6BqD7hA

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlaRooCWgAs