Sunday Mailbag

In 2026, we're going to try to reduce the word count of the mail bag a little bit. We'll see how successful we are.

Politics: Making Sense of Donald Trump

A.J. in Mountain View CA, writes: I wanted to comment on some of your recent posts where you have tried to explain Donald Trump's motivations in terms of grift, revenge, or ego, and yet you have still found some of his actions perplexing. I wanted to offer a fourth possible motivation, which, for lack of a better term, I will call the "Reacher effect."

You are probably aware of the Amazon Prime streaming show Reacher, which is about an ex-Army police officer who wanders the country and handles the highly dangerous situations he somehow finds himself in due to his brute strength and superior combat training. I think he is a latest example of the archetype of the trained, tough-guy loner, following in the footsteps of characters like Dirty Harry, John Wick, the Equalizer, and even some comic book heroes like Batman. There are a few qualities that these characters seem to have in common:

• They are all steadfast and defiant against anyone who opposes them, to the point where a person in real life who acted this way would most likely be diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder.
  
  
• They all behave very brutally against their enemies. Over three seasons of Reacher, the titular character: beats up a dog owner who mistreated his dog, nearly strangles a lawyer to get information, and rams a bully's head through a car side window, to say nothing of the many enemies that he kills outright. A real person who did half of the violent acts that Reacher does in the show would have been carted to jail long ago. But the viewer never sees this as negative because...
  
  
• They are always infallible about everything. The people that Reacher beats up or kills are invariably not just bad guys, but somehow personally detestable as human beings. The viewer gets a sense of justice from watching Reacher's opponents fall because he is always in the right and they are always wrong.

I know that Trump has a reputation as a "businessman" of sorts, but on some level, I think he thinks of himself as an entertainer, who has made his popularity by playing a businessman in the public eye (e.g., The Apprentice). His supporters are not political supporters to him—they are fans, and the presidency has been nothing more than a way of garnering more fans to boost his popularity. I think he is looking at his public image through the lens of being an entertainer, and wants to portray himself as the same kind of tough guy loner as Reacher or Dirty Harry. I think this explains some of his otherwise more confusing actions, like:

• Pushing the invasion of Minneapolis but not tariffs—part of the brutal image. Reacher wouldn't bother with tariffs.
  
  
• Not backing down on Jerome Powell, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Jack Smith—uncompromisingly defiant
  
  
• Defending Jonathan Ross and painting Renee Good as evil and undeserving of sympathy—infallible about everything

You note that many of these actions would seem not to be in Trump's actual self-interest, and I would agree with that, but I think he is motivated by having this Reacher tough loner image, to the point where he "commits to the bit" even to his own detriment.

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J.B. in Bend, OR, writes: TACO vs. no TACO?

In my opinion, the distinction is pretty simple: if Trump thinks he might lose, he backs down.

At the moment, in Minneapolis, he has a clear advantage in that ICE is present and "functioning" without any effective opposition, and he has the threat of the Insurrection Act, which may or may not be allowed by the courts. He doesn't care about a state investigation because it won't matter to what he is doing. In short, it does not appear that he can lose, so no TACO.

The clearest example of TACO is the Epstein files release—he was strongly opposed to it, attempted to hot box two representatives into opposing the bill ordering the release of the files, and then he promptly did a 180 when it was clear he was going to lose.

Other matters fall in between: He brashly makes some statement/threat, then waits to see who might push back. If the pushback looks formidable, he backs down and says something like "I was just joking" or "we're going to hold off, for now." If no one pushes back, he takes another step forward, then another until it looks like he might lose, then TACO.

I'm not sure what technical psychological term applies, but it's classic bully behavior: Bully whomever you can, totally avoid confrontation with someone who can fight back.

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S.B. in Natick, MA, writes: You've pointed out many times before that Trump is fundamentally a bully and blowhard, and I think this is where the TACO/no TACO dichotomy comes into play.

Trump will double down on issues where his foe is someone weaker than himself, because it gains him absolutely nothing to be gracious or admit he made a mistake. This is Trump the Bully.

TACO happens when he shoots his mouth off about something he knows close to nothing about, where he can get some credit for making a bold statement, but his foe is more powerful than himself. He can later just do the Fadeaway when reality's liberal bias proves his initial hot take was pure fantasy. This is Trump the Blowhard.

The bully and the blowhard share one thing in common: They're all about getting attention for yourself by appearing strong. The bully can appear strong by sustaining his bullying as long as the weak foe cannot push back sufficiently. The blowhard initially appears strong with his unsupported hot take against a theoretical opponent, but once that opponent coalesces into a tangible one stronger than Trump, he drops the issue or pivots.

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R.E. in Birmingham, AL, writes: Donald Trump is fully aware that there is an objective reality that is beyond his ultimate control. He is also keenly aware of what reality SHOULD be, based on his self-interest, ego, and prejudices. He acts and talks as though his preferred version IS the objective reality, and surrounds himself with fawning lackeys who do the same. He only "chickens out" when the real world is about to impose upon him a cost that he cares about if he maintains his pretense. He is then willing to adjust his pretense just enough to avoid the cost, and loudly proclaims victory.

He will hold to his January 6 fantasy, his Obama fantasies, his fantasy about the guilt of the Cental Park Five, etc., etc., because they'll never threaten to impose a cost that matters to him. One of the most remarkable things about him is how successful he has been at leading a sufficient number of people to join in his willful delusions.

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J.L. in Albany, NY, writes: You said that you didn't know what Team Trump was thinking when they renamed the Kennedy Center. My guess is one of two things:

1. They weren't thinking of anything beyond appeasing Trump. Appeasing him is a goal in itself. If you torch an entire institution after appealing to Trump's ego, well too bad. The important part is that Trump's narcissism is fed!
   
   
2. They were high on their own supply. They complained so much about "conservative voices being silenced by liberals" that they actually thought that there were hordes of talented conservatives waiting to line up to perform in the so-called Trump Kennedy Center. If liberals canceled their shows, these conservative performers would more than make up for it. After the rename, they were puzzled that these conservative entertainers failed to materialize.

This also applied to ticket sales. They were so deluded that they figured that a few liberals not buying tickets would be more than made up for by the crowds of conservatives lining up to buy tickets to the new all-MAGA, all-the-time venue. These conservative performing arts lovers failed to materialize, though.

This was entirely predictable to anyone who didn't drink the Trump Brand Flavored Drink Mix.

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J.W. in Los Angeles, CA, writes: Sorry, the news has me activated and I can't stop turning all of these insane threads over in my mind. As to the unforced errors, it may be that the thread tying them together is that Trump's narcissism is of such a degree that he can't stand NOT being the story. Anything or anyone in the public sphere that seems to eclipse his sun must be put into its place, no matter the harm to the subject, the country, the Republican Party, or himself. There is no consideration of any value other than his control over everything that has the public's attention—that is the imperative. This has been his life's work and he's been elevated to the ultimate position to feed that imperative. The media environment entirely enables, supports, and encourages this disease.

And it is likely that his more sinister advisors use this to actually make bad things real. Because Trump never backs down, and in fact doubles down with every challenge, this likely leads people like Stephen Miller to press ideas and issues in a manner that Trump runs with and then defends. When they take action, he must defend it. So the media environment responds, people share memes, the issue is forced to the top of the trending lists and the monster gets a little more dopamine.

We're in a vicious cycle where ignoring the noise is an important tool that can't be used. All of which somehow conjures the image of Goya's "Saturn Devouring his Son":

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L.H. in Smyrna, GA, writes: When I saw Donald Trump's childish, entitled behavior in his first term, I was often reminded of an episode of The Twilight Zone: "It's A Good Life." It's well worth watching if you haven't seen it. I am old enough that I caught it when it was new, and then I saw it in reruns over and over. The story is about an adolescent boy living in a farmhouse in Ohio who has extraordinary mental abilities. He terrorizes everyone in the house who fails to constantly praise him and cater to his whims. They can't escape because he can find them and destroy them.

This is clearly the Trump White House. His second term is so obviously taking place in a farmhouse and we all live there. I can see Rod Serling standing in the background.

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B.C. in Chippewa Lake, OH, writes: I must say, I am a bit put off by your comparison of Donald Trump to Vito Corleone. I get it's a generic mobster reference. But Vito Corleone, while a criminal and a murderer, possessed an ethos. He had a consistent sense of justice. It may have been outside of the law, but it was a morality. Trump has none. Trump is much more akin to El Chapo than he is to the Don.

Politics: DHS and ICE

A.M. in Cleveland, OH, writes: I have worked in and around federal law enforcement for over two decades. ICE has long been considered the bottom of the barrel of federal law enforcement, including by other federal LE agencies. Apart from the relatively poor training ICE receives, ICE agents are routinely mocked by agents from other agencies for how they comport themselves during routine cross-agency training exercises. As one now-retired FBI colleague told me, ICE shows up in their fancy camouflage uniforms looking like Seal Team Six weekend warriors, swooping in on helicopters, and then... they just sit there and do absolutely nothing.

A standing joke among FBI and DHS folks is that if no other federal law enforcement agency will hire you because you don't qualify, go to ICE—they'll hire anyone. The only apparent qualification is you have to be breathing.

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D.L. in Uslar, Germany, writes: I honestly can't tell if DHS, and especially ICE, has decided to take off the mask or if they're incredibly stupid (not that those are mutually exclusive), but they've gone so far that it ought to be impossible to recover from it. For a while now, social media has been awash with examples of ICE recruitment ads featuring white nationalist slogans and references. Some examples have been obvious satire created by those opposed to ICE's agenda; others appear to have been genuine. Still, it's enough to provide a minimal amount of cover.

When Kristi Noem gave her press conference on the Renee Good shooting, she provided clear and unmistakable evidence. The lectern she stood behind bore what is often considered a Nazi slogan. Right out in the open. I've checked several sources, and enough of them show it clearly, all credible journalistic sources. Here's the picture from The New York Times:

"One of ours, all of yours." This is usually connected with the destruction of the village of Lidice in response to the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. That appears to be incorrect, though it does fit with Nazi reprisals in occupied territories. However, it does seem to have been a phrase commonly used by Francoists during the Spanish Civil War, and a fascist is a fascist.

Even without the fascist connections, what the hell is this supposed to mean? It's hard to read it as anything but a threat. The most "positive" spin I've seen (from someone who didn't really believe it) is that it's a ChatGPT-generated slogan meant to imply unity and standing together. Something like "He's one of ours and we work for all of you." Even if that wasn't spewed out by an LLM, I don't really buy it.

I don't really know where I'm going with this. But DHS has handed the Democrats a club, and they damn well better use it.

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F.N. in Silver Spring, MD, writes: Your item discussing DHS' "worst of the worst" list did a good job of highlighting the... tepid nature of some of these "worst" crimes, but I was curious about the other end of the spectrum. Looking through the list I found three allegedly illegal immigrants whom ICE allegedly arrested for "homicide" in my hometown, which was surprising, given that there was only one homicide here in 2025 and the perpetrator wasn't an immigrant at all. I did a quick (non-rigorous) search for the names that ICE listed; two of them didn't show up at all, while the third was indeed arrested for homicide... in 2022, by the regular county police, with no mention of ICE being involved. I wonder how far DHS stretched their parameters to make this list?

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J.W. in Ummendorf, Germany, writes: Had some minutes to scroll through the DHS homepage "ARRESTED: WORST OF THE WORST."

It seems, that they got rid of some very serious threats to the national security of the United States:

Politics: Ig-Nobel Peace Prize

M.F. in Burbank, CA, writes: Looking at the photos of María Corina Machado giving our President her Nobel Peace Prize medal makes it abundantly clear that one of them understands making sacrifices to achieve one's goals is often necessary and prudent, while the other one would happily lie through his teeth to win an honesty contest.

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T.J.R. in Metuchen, NJ, writes: My amour, D.H., when she heard of María Corina Machado's giving of her Nobel Prize to Donald Trump: "What? She's regifting?"

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M.S. in Hamden, CT, writes: María Corina Machado's generous gift of her Nobel prize medal to Trump may not be all it's cracked up to be. When admiring a laureate's medal on an open shelf in their office some years ago, I learned that they can order gold-plated duplicates for public display, leaving the valuable originals in a safe location. I don't know if that's the case here. Nevertheless, there's something very appealing in picturing Trump worshiping a hunk of gilded bronze.

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C.F. in Tigard, OR, writes: If I think back to my education on the federal government provided to me by The West Wing, I find myself thinking that the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act applies to the gifting of the Machado Nobel medal. If a President receives a gift while in office from a dignitary, it is technically the property of the United States Government unless the President goes through the GSA to establish a fair market value and pays the GSA whatever that is for the item. If not, then they are technically stealing from the government (not that I expect Trump to allow federal law to stop him from doing whatever he wants). This is the same guy who wanted to give a sword from the Eisenhower Library to a foreign leader as a gift, not realizing that these items belong to the National Archives and the American people.

You figure someone has to be pretty desperate to run their country if they are willing to give up a Nobel Peace Prize to a person like Trump.

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K.R. in Austin, TX, writes: Trump thinking he has won the Nobel Peace Prize reminded me of when he thought he had a Purple Heart because a veteran gave his to Trump.

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J.D. in Greensboro, NC, writes: I don't know why, but Donald Trump's "Nobel Peace Prize" reminded me of this story: "Here's how Vladimir Putin stole a Super Bowl ring from the Patriots' Robert Kraft."

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J.A.W. in San Francisco, CA, writes: You posited that some Nobel prize winners don't care about the honor for various reasons, and that among those that do, the medal itself is a triviality. True that, but the World War II-related tale of two Nobelists who wanted to keep their medals from being confiscated by the Nazis is worth retelling. According to Wikipedia, the Hungarian Nobel winner (for Chemistry) George de Hevesy concealed the gold medals of two other Nobelists by dissolving them in an acidic aqua regia solution. After the war, they were then "reconstituted" by the Nobel Society by precipitating the gold out of the solution and then recasting the medals using the recovered gold. Then they were returned to the two laureates.

Politics: Eric the Red, Meet Donald the Orange

M.T. in Exton, PA, writes: I haven't heard anybody say it, but doesn't Donald Trump's language on Greenland sound much like a rapist who is rationalizing assaulting a woman? "I want it, you're weak, I'm strong so it's my right, cooperate or I'll use force, someone else would do the same, anyway." The mindset is the same.

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E.F. in Baltimore, MD, writes: For all his bluster, Trump has yet to spell out exactly how Greenland would be better defended post-annexation than under the NATO status quo. Aside from some future development possibilities that Trump will certainly never live to see happen, the only immediate effect of annexation would be the end of NATO. Not that Trump is his puppet or anything, but I can't imagine Putin being unhappy with that outcome.

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M.M. in Portland, ME, writes: I can't be the only person who read your take on Donald Trump's comments on Greenland—specifically, this line: "How long will it be before he gets the idea of moving all the people in Gaza to Greenland, so he can build hotels and condos in Gaza?"—and immediately went to this golden nugget from our dear Rose Nylund:

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(V) & (Z) respond: (Z) has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of that show, and is certain that Dorothy would be just as disdainful of Donald Trump as she is of Rose (in this clip).

Politics: The Democrats

J.B. in Hutto, TX, writes: On the subject of Greenland, the Democratic Party should release a press statement saying something like this:

Should President Trump illegally use the American military to occupy Greenland, we pledge that, the moment the next Democratic president takes office, he or she shall immediately order the occupation troops withdrawn, return Greenland to the control of its people, apologize to the people and governments of Greenland and Denmark, and pay full compensation for any damage that has been done in the meantime.

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Z.M. in Washington, DC, writes: I'm happy to see that you mentioned the State Party Victory Fund in your answer to P.J. in Quakertown.

As it happens, I was the DNC's coordinator for the SPVF from 2015-2016, and later oversaw it from 2018-2020. The fund is a joint fundraising committee, a legacy of the 50-state strategy, and one of several ways the DNC helps fund state parties (including the state parties of DC and territories, it should be noted). But I wanted to clarify a couple things.

First, the SPVF is primarily a regular direct mail appeal sent nationwide but with specific language depending on state or territory. The DNC covers the overhead of the program (including my former salary) and 95% of any net profits received from each appeal are sent to that state party, rather than sent out to states based on the DNC's assessment of who needs it most. In other words, if you live in Oregon and you donate to the appeal, the net cash is going to the state party in Oregon unless you otherwise specify. Only 5% is retained by the DNC itself, which it will spend as it sees fit.

Second, the money is deposited into the state party's federal account, meaning the money can really only be used for federal races, excluding operations focused on say, the state legislature, governors, or attorneys general. This is due to the nature of it being a joint committee, kind of like how candidates for office can't just transfer their money raised for Senate races to a campaign for governor. One of the beauties of our decentralized electoral system, if you ask me.

It's a great program, and deserves to be better known! That said, there are also fantastic committees dedicated to electing Secretaries of State and state Attorneys General, and nothing's stopping you from donating directly to the Kansas Democratic Party.

Politics: I Got a Friend in Jesus

P.W. in Springwater, NY, writes: Glad you all (including staff dachshunds Otto and Flash) are healthy again. I'm not sure what's worse—being sick yourself, or seeing animals you care about contend with health issues. (Personally, having just dealt with a puppy with GI issues, I just wish she could TELL me what she was feeling, rather than showing me, but I digress.)

I'm writing to thank you for publishing the letter from D.G. in St. Paul. Everything I'd read about Minnesota has been awful but I appreciated hearing directly from someone on the ground. I hope Minnesotans know that those of us who've been protesting in our local areas are with them in spirit. I keep thinking that if this administration sees the entire country rising up it might change direction, but I, too, am afraid this is the hill the administration is willing to die on—especially since they're responsible for all the death and destruction and are seemingly unlikely to be suffering any serious consequences themselves.

I was also encouraged to learn about ISAIAH. I was raised Catholic, attended Catholic grammar and high schools, and while I'm not a practicing Catholic, I have not forgotten the values that I once thought were central to Christianity. Clearly, Christian Nationalists and many others who profess to be Christians have forgotten this so it's refreshing to hear there are leaders and members of different faiths who come together around shared values such as justice and love. I only wish I was more optimistic that this group, and others like them, can effect real change in this country. One of the scariest things that the president has said is that his power is only limited by his own morality. Given how completely amoral he is, that picture is bleak.

Finally, as a "lapsed" Catholic, I was heartened to read about the concept of believing in the philosophy of Jesus Christ, without the supernatural elements. When I was much younger, the Catholic Church seemed to focus on exclusivity; by the time I reached high school the doctrine seemed to be leaning much more toward inclusivity. (Kudos to Fr. Schneider. Maybe if I'd known more priests and nuns like him...) Anyway, I've held on to the values I learned in the later years of my education, but never had a way to articulate, even to myself, what I did believe and what I'd discarded. Now I do.

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P.R. in Saco, ME, writes: You wrote: "[Jesus] largely rejected various forms of ritual purity (particularly keeping kosher) and said, "What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them."

So, I got my M.A. in Theology from Bangor Theological Seminary. Forgive me if this is too soon given your recent illness, but my New Testament prof, the esteemed David Trobisch, one day said that passage is more precisely translated as "What goes into someone's mouth is not what defiles them, but what comes out of the mouth, and what ends up in the shi**er, is what defiles them." In addition to riding a motorcycle, Trobisch was a scholar of Greek, Aramaic, and German, at the least. I learned a lot from that man. Just thought I'd share a bit of eschatological humor.

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M.M. in San Diego, CA, writes: My favorite line from all of Woody Allen's films is in Hannah and Her Sisters, delivered by Max von Sydow as the tortured artist Frederick, "If Jesus came back and saw what's going on in his name, he'd never stop throwing up."

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D.K. in Chicago, IL, writes: I read the item on the "low-sensory" Masses. Last year, I went to my first Traditional Latin Mass that was a "Low Mass" at St. John Cantius in Chicago. It was very quiet—the priest said the prayers mostly silently, there was no choir, and at most there were probably "Sanctus bells" (I don't even recall incense). People call it the "sacred silence." In fact, I checked Fr. Schneider's website and saw one of the parishes listed was for a "Low Mass". So, if anyone reading this site is looking for a "low sensory" Catholic Mass and is near an approved parish with a TLM "Low Mass," it might be worth checking out (you can search for one at www.latinmassdir.org).

Please note that this is the pre-Vatican II Mass that popes since John Paul II have worked to restrict. Maybe if the traditionalist Catholics were to market this as "sensory friendly," the Vatican would ease up on the restrictions. I, for my part, will look for opportunities to make that suggestion whenever I participate in discussions with traditionalist Catholics.

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S.S.L. in Battle Creek, MI, writes: For those interested in accessible Buddhism, No Barriers Zen is an online Soto temple which provides ASL, captioning, audio descriptions, Braille, and electronic documents at all services.

Politics: Revenge of the Nerds

R.A.G. in Seattle, WA, writes: In response to L.H. in Acton, you opined that "Putin is a slimy bastard..." While everyone is entitled to an opinion, Putin is not a slimy bastard. Slimy bastards are like Regulan Bloodworms, soft and shapeless. But Putin isn't soft and shapeless. Putin is a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood, and he isn't soft. He's more like a Denebian slime devil.

Sorry... I couldn't resist. LLAP.

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R.S. in Milan, OH, writes: This week I couldn't help but think of the recurring theme mentioned on Electoral-Vote.com about how folks within the Trump camp don't realize what their popular culture references really signify. In the latest case, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth invoked Star Trek in connection with artificial intelligence efforts, issuing a Vulcan salute and talking about making Star Trek real, and at the same time disparaging diversity efforts (misappropriating and misusing "woke," as he and folks in his sphere tend to do). These folks clearly don't realize (or don't care) that diversity has been baked into Star Trek from its beginnings.

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M.L. in Athens, OH, writes: Minneapolis is apparently the hill that the White House wants to die on?

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K.H. in Albuquerque, NM, writes: I particularly enjoyed the reference to D&D reaction rolls in Part III of the series on the Hill of Doom campaign. It does my heart good to see "19 on a 1d20" in a respected analysis of the week's political landscape. As the BBEG, the Lord-God-King is staying busy ordering his minions and monsters to Waterdeep for a climactic Battle of the Midterms with our party of stalwart adventurers.

Clearly Renee Good (and Rosa Parks) had Charisma north of 15 (at least +2 to reaction rolls). Shooter Jonathan Ross's alignment does concern me: Do we consider him Lawful or Chaotic Evil? After all, he was probably acting as expected, if not ordered. I would add that Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson and his colleagues must be Lawful Good to boot.

All that said, my question for everyone is: How do D&D stats, classes, races, alignments, and levels fit the characters in today's political landscape? Please award yourself 4500 experience points for this week's adventure.

P.S. So glad that even after failing your Saving Throw vs. Disease last week, you had a Cleric in the party.

Politics: Gay Shark

A.G. in Scranton, PA, writes: It's not a real-nasty-feeling kinda complaint, but the whole thing about guys who like to sing, dance, sparkle and so on is one of the reasons people believe I am gay. I'd think that if a Republican, Conservative, or Christian (LOTS of overlap) were to suggest that a person must be gay because they like things like that, we'd all be a little bit pissed off at that person's stereotyping of gay men.

Finn is a show promoting the positive aspects of being who you are and that it's okay to be gay, so I get it and I'm not all butthurt about it because whatever, and it was funny, too, the thing about the Siren's luring sailors to brunch. I actually very much liked that.

As I said, it's not a real complaint but I even dealt with it this morning when I stopped at the convenience store to see Jen, who's been down with the flu (probably using again, I think, and that's why she was "sick") and when we were talking someone had something smart to say about me in front of her. I go antiquing a lot, the room my boss gave me is done up in tin signs, I sing showtunes, I like old techno, I'm not a loudmouthed douche, I'm intelligent, and I don't think real men need to carry guns everywhere.

I guess I felt like complaining about the stereotype because it doesn't just affect gay men. Straight* guys like me deal with it, too.

(V) & (Z) respond: Certainly, men can dance and sing and be fabulous without being gay. Mikhail Baryshnikov leaps to mind. Sammy Davis Jr. Gene Kelly. Chuck Berry. Channing Tatum. John Travolta. OK, maybe not Travolta.

However, the nature of allegory is that you may be hiding your message beneath a layer of symbolism, but you still need to make clear what your message is. That's usually done with a few hit-you-over-the-head linguistic and/or visual cues. Keep in mind that The Wizard of Oz is read, by many people, as a gay text because it happens to have a rainbow (OK, and dancing, and show tunes). Finn not only deploys gay-coded words like "sparkly," but has this poster (which we referred to but did not show in the original item):



The only way the allegory could be more obvious is if Finn's best buddy was a bear, and he kept asking the other characters if they are friends of Dorothy. Heck, it's so obvious that even the Trump administration figured it out, and these folks are not generally what you would call deep thinkers.

Gallimaufry

S.H. in Duluth, MN, writes: I wanted to write in and thank you guys for posting the reader responses to my question about news outlets. I've been eagerly awaiting the answers, and they have proven themselves to be well worth the wait! I also wish to thank the readers who wrote in with responses, as once again the deeply knowledgeable readership has given me invaluable advice. In addition, it also came at a really good time as I'm looking for ways to monitor the quickly developing situation in my home state.

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M.M. on Bainbridge Island, WA, writes: Thank you to everyone who answered last week's Reader Question of the Week. It's nice to have learned of several new news sources. I hadn't known, for example, that Apple News gave you access to many publishers (and Apple Music to even more), and I appreciated learning of a new (to me) legal podcast, in Opening Arguments. Very helpful!

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K.J. in Helena, MT, writes: I simply can't express my gratitude for the work you do every day. I am constantly amazed at the breadth of knowledge you provide. Today I learned the birth name of Jesus, which I had never known, and I am 74, raised in a strong Lutheran family, and graduated with a Masters. I also learned Thomas Jefferson wrote his own version of the Bible and went to the website to check it out. Your site is the only one I don't skim but read slowly, at least once, with Gemini on standby.

In these trying times for our nation, thank you. Will this young democracy survive? I have my doubts. If it does, recovery will require more time than my remaining years on this earth. What you write is critical to informing us of what's happening on a daily basis.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

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J.K. Portland, OR (formerly in Scheveningen, NL), writes: Yes, Dutch residency rules have changed since I lived there. But I believe that it is still possible for people married to a bona fide Dutch person to at least gain the first step of residency and begin to learn Dutch while living there. And, I believe, work permits are available under family unification laws.

I wish I could be back there.

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A.K. in Pico Rivera, CA, writes: You recently recommended turning on FileVault for Mac computers. My own personal experience, from a number of years back, is not to. I was required to turn on FileVault by an employer and it slowed my machine down to a crawl as it worked to encrypt my drive in the "background." Worst of all, when I cancelled the process altogether (still incomplete after a day and at 15% done), the code word never worked. And in terms of getting tech help, both Apple and my employer kept pointing at each other. And I was left utterly on my own. The computer got junked because replacing the drive came with its own set of motherboard hardware locks.

Just my 2 cents.

P.S.: Even if FileVault on newer Macs (Apple silicon) works better, my experience activating it on an older Mac and OS, would make me warn users to avoid it.

(V) responds: It is true that FileVault is slow on old Intel x86 chips. On modern Mx chips it works fine. I have it on my M4 MacBook and I don't notice any difference before and after. Interrupting the encryption process halfway is not a good idea, to put it mildly.

Final Words

N.M. in Channel Country, QLD, Australia, writes: Like many, I am having trouble finding positivity and hope in the geopolitical space, particularly in the United States, where I was born and lived for 35 years.

I recently traveled from my home in Outback Queensland to Chicago to visit my family for Christmas. My parents are approaching retirement and are in the process of de-cluttering in advance of selling our family home this upcoming spring. My brother, sister and I were invited to rummage through some boxes belonging to our deceased grandmother and to take anything we found meaningful. My grandma had an appreciation for history and was a proud Kennedy (and later Obama) Democrat. While she lived a simple life as an office worker, she possessed boundless altruism and subscribed to a personal philosophy of humanitarianism. Her kindness inspires me to this very day.

As I searched one of her boxes, I came across the front page of the November 27, 1963 issue of the Chicago Daily News. The headline, "Johnson: I'll Push Kennedy Program."

I found myself getting emotional reading those words. On a personal level, the Great Society programs reflected the values of my grandmother. She had great pride for her country and believed that progressive government could help promote equality and opportunity regardless of someone's background. She would have subscribed to a different kind of MAGA philosophy: "Make America Great for All." It's also instructive to me that in that same set of newspapers, there was nothing retained from the actual assassination of President Kennedy. In a fashion typical of my grandmother, she would have preferred to focus on hope, rather than on sadness.

Beyond the personal connection, the words in this old newspaper also gave me hope for the United States. Indeed, things are dark right now; the darkest they have ever been in my lifetime. But, it took one of the darkest times in our history to achieve some of the country's greatest accomplishments. For me, this small reminder, with its personal connection, is just what I needed to strengthen my resolve in believing that we will achieve that greatness once again.

I encourage my fellow readers to find hope in little things, as hope drives action.

If you have suggestions for this feature, please send them along.

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---The Votemaster and Zenger