The Vice President, as President of the Senate, brings the bicameral session to order. The Kamala Harris could say this:

We are gathered together, as we were four years ago, to certify a presidential election.

At that time, in 2021, we were swept away from our place of legislative work by a mob of our fellow citizens. Up to 2,500 entered our chambers, directed by the 45th president to disrupt the actions of Congress, resulting in an insurrection against his own government. That he did nothing to stop the violence for many hours, watching the melee and threats - some directed toward his own vice president - is unforgiveable.

The Colorado Supreme Court found last year that the ex-president engaged in or encouraged an insurrection against our nation.

The United States Supreme Court restored Donald Trump’s name on the Colorado ballot, ruling it was only the decision of Congress that determines the eligibility of a former insurrectionist.

That brings us to today. That brings us to now.

It is my duty to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I swore a solemn oath to that end.

And so I will not allow certification of the most recent presidential election, without a two-thirds waiver from Congress, as set out in the 14th Amendment, Section 3, barring former insurrectionists from holding office.

The Constitution is silent on whether an insurrectionist can announce a candidacy, then campaign and amass votes - even to the point of amassing the most votes.

However, the Constitution is very clear on whether an insurrectionist can be entrusted with any office in the United States. The answer is no.

The only exception is if you, members of Congress, allow a waiver with two-thirds of you voting in favor of the 45th president, a person found in a court of law (with all the benefits of presenting a defense) to have been an insurrectionist.

Therefore I must, and I emphasize the word “must,” disallow the eligibility of the Republican candidate. Your voting will begin in a few minutes and will conclude one hour after voting commences.

But before I send you on this very serious task, I would like to pose a hypothetical: what if, in 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War - what if Jefferson Davis ran for president? Would it be acceptable to give the Presidency to the leader of the Confederacy?

With that question in mind, I put it to you, members of the 119th Congress, to decide whether or not to override the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, Section 3.

I’ll conclude by speaking to each American, individually. Yes, I’m speaking with you.

How will your Congressional representative vote? For an insurrectionist?

How will your state’s two senators vote? For an insurrectionist?

The Constitution is clear. The Supreme Court confirmed it last year. My duty is undeniable.

Unless Donald J. Trump receives a supermajority vote of two-thirds of Congress, he many not hold the office of the president, or any office in the United States.

The clerk will begin to tally the votes. Voting concludes in one hour.

Vice President Harris could have said those words, but most likely didn’t. Let’s hope we have another chance to vote in the future.

I’m a longtime home-baker and solopreneur (doing business as The Electronic Cottage since 1989), so one holiday season I decided to bake gifts for my favorite clients.

But what could I make that was distinctive, impressive - and not fruitcake?

Martha Stewart to the rescue!

Years before Martha teamed up with Snoop Dogg (check out their mugs on various labels of 19 Crimes wine - sold at Sam’s Club, even) she was the doyenne of All Things Beautiful.

Martha had a long-running TV show, various style-related books with herself posing on the cover, and a magazine with her name in the title: Martha Stewart Living. She even had her own line of bedding at KMart - back when that discount chain was still in operation and not entirely a punchline.

So one afternoon I was sitting on the floor watching Martha on TV when she said that the project for that day was homemade Christmas stollen.

Known in Germany as Weihnachtsstollen, this delicious yeast bread is traditionally chock-full of candied fruit, raisins, and sometimes marzipan. It’s also nothing like the brick fruitcakes that have become a holiday joke for nearly everyone.

I thought a beautiful raised stollen dusted with powdered sugar would be the perfect gift for my customers.

Just as I started to run for a pen and paper to capture her recipe, Martha said to me (through the camera) that there was no need to write it down. The recipe was in that month’s issue of her magazine.

This bit of self-promotion worked. My wife subscribed (somewhat ironically) and I knew right where her stack of issues sat on the coffee table. So I settled back to take in the process without paying very much attention to the ingredients.

But when Martha mentioned that it took 3 ounces of yeast, I sat bolt upright. “That seems like a LOT of yeast,” I said to myself. “But she is the doyenne, after all.” (That French word and the very American Ms. Stewart are wedded together in my mind, so please forgive the repetition.)

That week I shopped for the ingredients, minus the marzipan; my wife can’t stand the stuff, and if we were going to have a stollen for ourselves, almond paste wasn’t going to come within a mile of our kitchen.

Buying the yeast gave me pause, however. A packet contains one-quarter ounce of yeast, so I would need (counting on fingers) 12 packets, according to the magazine.

Into the cart they went, along with candied fruit, raisins and currants.

But when it came time to make the thing itself, I hesitated. Opening packet after packet, it just seemed extremely excessive. I stopped at nine packets and put aside the rest for my next batches of bread.

The mixture of yeast, water and sugar proofed up like nothing I’d ever seen in all my years of baking. But there it was, in print. I needed to follow Martha’s recipe, since I’d never tried this kind of treat before.

After putting it all together, the stollen rose over the next hour. And rose. And rose some more. I punched it down, and it rose again. After punching it down once again, in a scene that might have come directly from an “I Love Lucy” episode, I formed it into a few of the oval yule-log shapes that people from Dresden have been making for ages.

Once again, the yeasty things rose beyond belief as the oven heated up.

My stollen baked up nicely, though the raisins, currants and candied fruit seemed to be distributed throughout the loaves much less densely than expected.

Still, Martha was the expert, so I finished them off with an enormous amount of powdered sugar and delivered one humongous loaf to my favorite customers, keeping the other for ourselves.

We thought it was quite nice (especially toasted) and at that size, it lasted a good long time. Clients Wayne and Janelle thanked me politely and together we went on to produce more projects in the new year.

My holiday gift had done its job.

Months later, I read a small notice in a spring issue of Martha Stewart Living. It was a correction.

As I remember it, the note said that in the recipe for Christmas stollen, the amount of yeast should have been three teaspoons, not three ounces.

I had used nine times the amount called for!

So thanks to Martha Stewart, I had baked the biggest Weihnachtsstollen I’ve ever seen … and got a story to tell every Christmas.

You might say that it was indeed a story of stollen valor.

I’ve never made stollen again, but if readers are curious, this recipe from Daring Gourmet looks excellent and provides much historical detail.

Author’s Note: It’s January 1st, 2025. Goodbye to 2024. Into the dustbin of history it goes. This is a new year, and there’s a new sheriff in town.

Readers may not know, with all the New Year’s parties, football games and all, but we have a new leader at the helm of government. This is the first speech delivered to the nation by the 47th President of the United States of America.

Good evening. The 46th President of the United States of America, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., presented the country with a gift on the last day of the year. Joe Biden resigned on December 31st to spend more time with his family. For the remainder of his term Joe will be returning to his home Delaware, with our nation’s thanks.

During President Biden’s truly momentous time in office, the United States Supreme Court ruled that presidents are immune from legal prosecution of any kind for a president’s official acts.

What could be a more official act than protecting the United States from enemies, foreign and domestic? It’s in the oath, after all. As the 47th president, I, Kamala D. Harris, will defend our country like no other president before me.

As my first official act, I have ordered the arrest and detention of a foreign agent who rose to the highest levels of government, revealed our most closely held secrets, and attempted to overthrow our government from within. And so I announce to you today that former president Donald John Trump is being held in an undisclosed location, pending further action.

The facts, as I have stated them, are not in dispute.

The detainee has admitted to engaging in at least seven conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin after leaving office. What was discussed? Our intelligence agencies know, of course, but we intend to ask Trump for his version of the calls.

We want to know if he is willing to be truthful in this matter of utmost importance to the security of our nation.

Trump has also admitted to numerous conversations with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even hosting this foreign leader at his private residence on at least one occasion while out of office.

If any policies related to the position of the United States in regard to military actions in the Mideast were discussed, that is a violation of US law: the Logan Act, specifically.

The Logan Act of 1799 is a federal statute that recognizes the criminal nature of negotiating a dispute between the United States and a foreign government by an unauthorized American citizen.

Donald Trump has not been authorized to speak on our nation’s behalf since January, 2021.

Conversations with Putin, previously mentioned, may also be violations of that law if they touched on US policy regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The punishment for violating the Logan Act is a fine, imprisonment for up to three years, or both.

In addition, the former president has admitted taking thousands of documents from the White House on or before Inauguration Day, 2021. Many of these documents were classified, and some revealed the identities of American intelligence agents.

A number of those agents have been killed or have disappeared without explanation. Our nation needs a full accounting of the documents taken, and each person who was given access to them.

The potential damage to our intelligence community is incalculable, and we insist on fully adjudicating the stolen documents and the effects of removing them from our government’s control.

Trump’s direction of actions related to the willful concealment of these stolen documents - which belong to the American people, after all - may be violations of the Espionage Act.

Charges will be filed in Washington, D.C. - where the documents should have remained - rather than in Florida, where the documents were stored without proper protection. Our investigations will take place during Trump’s detention, and will not be subject to delay or obstruction, as has been the case in the past.

Finally, it is indisputable that a mob descended on Congress on January 6, 2021, with the aim of disrupting the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation’s history. We all saw the violent insurrection with our own eyes. The Department of Justice has an immense amount of evidence that the disruption occurred as a result of the active involvement and encouragement of then-president Donald Trump.

It is my duty as the 47th president to pursue these accusations to their conclusion.

Under our system of laws, the accused has the right to defend himself against all charges, no matter how long it takes. Given the scope of these alleged transgressions, that defense may take years.

Today I have asked for, and accepted, the resignation of Attorney General Merrick Garland. I have also requested that the Senate confirm my nomination of former Special Prosecutor Jack Smith as US Attorney General prior to the seating of the next Congress on January 3rd, 2025. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer confirms to me that this will be accomplished with all due haste.

My vice president, Tim Walz, will cast the tie-breaking vote, if necessary - as I had to do a record number of times.

My fellow Americans, I would like to assure you that justice will be served in these matters.

It may not explicitly be stated in our Constitution that a foreign agent is ineligible to be sworn in as president, but I am confident that you - and the Supreme Court, if it comes to that - will agree that such an abomination should not be allowed.

As the accused has not taken the oath of office as president yet, his running mate has no standing to challenge this decision.

Therefore, I will remain as president until the next election. If anyone disagrees with my decision to protect the nation from enemies foreign and domestic, you will have an opportunity to express your opinion at the ballot box in November, 2028.

Until then, I will do everything in my power to ensure that our democracy survives this attempted assault on our freedom.

Any violence that occurs as a result of my decision will be dealt with by law enforcement as a criminal matter. Perpetrators of violence against our fellow citizens will not be tolerated.

Thank you for your attention, understanding and support - I hope and trust.

Again, good evening … and happy new year!

I’ve recently been reading a lot of Notes from Walter Rhein, of the Substack publication “I’d Rather Be Writing.” He uses Notes like Twitter of Old: short pieces of thought-provoking wit and wisdom, questioning authority.

Once I followed Walter, I found out that he offers an occasional live Zoom call. I sat in on the next one scheduled and was able to ask my question right away, which sparked a longer conversation. I said I was interested in building small communities, online and in-person, and wondered whether Substack was a platform where that could work.

Walter mentioned our conversation in a post this week, How to Use Platforms to Build Communities in Search of Greater Truth.

I didn’t know we’d gotten that deep, but he hits the mark with the ultimate goal.

I believe we will find greater truth by sharing more of ourselves, face-to-face, unmediated by the media (corporate or social), and maybe over a cup of coffee and a fresh-baked goodie of some sort.

I feel that one way to survive the next four years is to go very local - starting in our own kitchens. Make things you like to eat and drink, and replace the high-priced stuff available at stores, fast-food franchises and sit-down restaurants.

By making things we like (and getting good at it) we can fight greedflation. Greedflation is what we got when the supply chain got messed up during Covid, prices rose - causing that cursed inflation - and companies kept their prices high, even when the supply chain was unkinked and costs dropped. You and I paid more than we should have, contributing to record corporate profits.

That’s what I call greedflation.

I often mention bagels in my Substack pieces, because they can be somewhat of a splurge in a coffee shop or bakery. I’d guess most bagels above grocery store quality would be around $2 each. It costs me approximately $2 … for a batch of 8!

That’s fighting greedflation.

Then I find chances to share the stuff I make with neighbors. They watch the cats for a weekend, they get at least a half-dozen bagels. And they love that.

I provide a way to find the original recipe in a previous post. My thought about surviving the next four years is for each of us to find things we can make and then share with others.

When can we get to the point where it doesn’t matter who any of us voted for? There are some who regret their votes, and others who regret not voting, I’m sure.

But we’re all in the same boat. For the next four years, can we work with each other to make sure it keeps sailing - with nobody tossed overboard?

I believe the best way to oppose the worst of the actions threatened by the incoming Republican Administration is simple: Create an alternative.

What’s needed is a bottom-up organization where we create communities - online and in-person - that our friends, neighbors, coworkers and families want to join.

When They Go Loco … WeGoLocal was created with that in mind. Ignore the craziness on the teevee and on the internet as much as possible - and go local with other locals.

Individually, we support local businesses and we Fight Greedflation by making our own versions of stuff we like - at a fraction of the cost. (At a fraction of the taxes, too!)

We’re taking our money out of the Republican Economy to come next year and we’re keeping it for ourselves.

As an example: bagels. I’ve written before on this Substack about making my own bagels. I think they’re better than any I can buy, even at the fanciest bagel places around - such as Tilly’s in Chicago. Those are delightful, but mine are uniquely tasty. (I use flaked salt on top, for instance, and make sure there’s topping on the bottoms.)

Bagels made in the kitchen of our friends Susan and Michael. They had a bunch of great toppings (including sliced avocado and red onion) that made for a nice breakfast … at a bargain price.

Other people like my bagels too. I asked my neighbor if he wanted everything bagels, sesame seed or salt? “Yes” was his reply. He got a couple of each, and I still had a few left over for our house. I can always make more.

By striking this individual blow against Corporate Greedflation, I’m taking money out of some bagel-maker’s pocket you say? What’s wrong with that?

Let say a good bagel in a bakery (not grocery store sub-par bagels) might cost $2 without toppings.

In the past I’ve estimated that it costs me about $2 - for the batch. I get 8 for the price of 1 … and they’re better!

So I’d like to see others do the same kind of thing: taking their money away from some Corporate Porker.

I’m not a group action kind of person, though. My question on those massive marches you see on TV: where does everybody go to pee?

But I’m all for taking individual actions, and added together we could make a difference.

If you think it’s too hard to make your own bagels - it ain’t. I am not a professional but after a year or so of making bagels a couple of times each month it’s fairly easy.

Give it a try - and start creating your own Alternative to Corporate Greedflation.

Then share some with your neighbors…

I typed that recipe out on my old Royal Noiseless Portable and kept the recipe in a tin box. Every year, when it’s apple season in the Midwest, I pull it out and make another cake.

The problem is: it’s a cake. It’s not very easy to share.

This summer we found some silicon muffin cups made by Oxo. They work great for this kind of batter, so now I make a dozen muffins and a smaller cake.

This recipe is super-easy, and can be made by guys or gals of all ages, from 8 to 80.

Here’s how I make it. Add to a medium bowl:

2 cups flour (I like unbleached, just because)

1 3/4 cup sugar (original recipe called for 2 cups, but I like it a little less sweet)

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (original called for nutmeg, not my wife’s favorite)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Using a whisk, I stir all those dry ingredients together and set aside.

Then I use the whisk to beat 3 eggs and mix up the moist ingredients:

3 beaten eggs

3/4 cup of oil (plus 2-3 more tablespoons if the batter is too dry)

1 cup chopped walnuts

3 cups chopped apples (I like Michigan apples, either Empire or Pink Lady - but any apple that’s crisp and somewhat tart should work fine)

Three good-sized apples should be enough. Since you have the apples out, make yourself a snack. Peanut butter goes great with a tart apple.

The beauty part of this recipe is: no peeling. Chop the apples small enough and the skin of the apple shouldn’t bother anybody.

Get your oven to 350 degrees, scoop out enough batter to reach the top of each muffin cup. This cake-muffin recipe doesn’t rise much, so you can go most of the way to the top.

A couple of scoops with my small cookie scoop usually fills up a muffin cup. Spoons work too, right? This batter looks ugly but tastes great.

Bake them for 55 minutes, and check to see if a toothpick comes out clean. If not, bake for another five or so. Let them cool slightly before serving - but they’re great warm.

If you have any extra batter, put it in a 9” x 9” cake pan for a thinner cake than you’d get if you put all the batter in the cake pan.

Stackable cooling racks are essential in our fairly small kitchen.

But if you don’t have muffin cups (yet) make it as a full cake. It’s very moist and will keep for days.

After 20 minutes of work or so and an hour of baking, you’ll have many servings of this old-fashioned treat. Be sure to make sure everyone knows these goodies contain walnuts, because some folks are allergic.

Enjoy! From my grandmother to your household…

Remember, if we save 10% on something, we’re beating inflation by 7.5%, approximately. But we can do better than 10%.

If you ever make a Dunkin run, how much are you spending for a donut and coffee?

Multiply that by the number of days you make that run. (Maximum: 7 days. Well, 7 days is beyond maximum, probably.)

How much are you spending in a week? Come on! Multiply it out.

But if you’re a sharp shopper, you’ll look to the sale table to see what the store is offering.

Bill Knapp’s is a well-known name in Michigan family restaurants, and I especially liked their donuts. Unfortunately, it seems the donuts (which they call dunkers) are the last that’s left of Knapp’s.

I see their dunkers at our local Meijer, a Michigan-based grocery chain. We had a houseguest who liked donut holes. It occurred to me that he might like dunkers even more.

So I swung by the bakery department to see if they had my favorite (cinnamon-sugar, though the peanut dunkers are darn good, too) and I saw the familiar box. The price just about floored me: $1.

I had to taste one to make sure it was OK before offering it to our guest. We all loved them, slightly stale as they were.

But at this price, we’re talking about 12 cent dunkers.

Coffee savings

I look for savings in coffee, too. I’d seen Death Wish Coffee mentioned, quoting their claim for being The World’s Strongest Coffee! Stronger than the stuff I roast on my Weber grill? I bet not.

Seeing Death Wish on sale for $4.99 for a 12 oz bag, I had to give it a try. Pumpkin spice chai coffee sounded fun. So I make a French press of that in the afternoon, add a bit of milk and stay awake until dinner time.

Death Wish Pumpkin Chai Coffee (right) with Starbucks Pumpkin Spice coffee (center) can be extended with French chicory, as they do in New Orleans.

I probably get around 10 cups out of that 12 oz bag, maybe more. So that’s around 50 cents a cup.

Add that 12 cent dunker, and my morning break is 62 cents. How does that compare with Dunkin?

What about Starbucks?

I’ll get Starbucks coffee on occasion, and this fall I got a bag of Pumpkin Spice coffee. A 17-oz bag (more than a pound) cost $6.99. For that you might get two cups at the shop. I’ll get at least 15 cups, costing 47 cents a cup. I doubt if Starbucks ever charged that little for a cup, even 50 years ago!

If you believe you have a problem with caffeine after lunch, you may take a tip from the French Market in New Orleans. Their chicory-coffee blend goes perfectly with the donuts they make down there, the beignet: a pile of rectangular fried pillows of dough covered with a thick layer of powdered sugar.

So now I purchase roasted French chicory and add it to my own coffee: about 1 spoonful to 3 spoonfuls of ground coffee. That way I’m cutting my caffeine intake by 25% without resorting to decaf of any kind.

I get 3-4 bags of French chicory at a time and that order might keep me slightly less caffeinated for about 4 months.

Now, if I could find French Market beignets for a dollar a box…

I followed the link (https://icash.illinoistreasurer.gov) and saw that there were three chunks of unclaimed money that might be mine.

It took just a few minutes to fill out one form to claim all three.

One day later I was informed that all three claims were successful and I’d be getting money I didn't know I had, in 5-10 business days. Sweet!

The total isn't huge (under 3 figures) but it's mine and on its way.

It might be worth checking your state’s Department of Treasury to see if you’ve got money that would be lost forever without making a claim.

You might have enough to subscribe as a paying member to support my work. Thanks in advance!

[UPDATE 12/4/24: Received a check in the mail today with the total amount due, sent by my State Treasurer just 7 days after submitting my claim - and there was a holiday weekend in between. It’s nice to get money in the mail…]

I’m rebelling against “The Rebellion.”

Instead, I’m drawn to “The Alternative.”

As I’ve said before in these posts: “When they go loco … WeGoLocal.”

When we go local, we see that everyone is following their own path, and everyone is at a different place along the journey. That’s OK.

We go local when the national political scene is too insane. We pull back and focus on our local situation, because that’s something we can do something about, directly.

With my posts, I’m encouraging and inspiring people (I hope) to go into their own kitchens and make stuff for themselves that they might normally buy from a store - cookies, bagels, muffins and other goodies.

Then share some of it with friends, neighbors, co-workers or family members. By making our favorite things and sharing them with the community, we could create an alternative economy that takes money out of the economy now claimed by the Republican Administration.

If their economy goes down the toilet in the eyes of at least some of their supporters, MAGA politicians may get flushed down with it in 2026.

In the meantime, we provide a local alternative for our attention and a reason to take our eyes off the chaos at the national level. The Strongman will wilt without attention.

Ignore-ance is bliss.

From their 125th anniversary photo spread in their weekly flier, Jewel may have been one of the original home-delivery services. I don’t believe Amazon delivered with a horse-and-buggy in its earliest days.

My question, though: did people telegraph their orders in? Morse code? Have one of the many children run over with a list?

Jewel was fun to work for, as a member of a few teams in the store. Though I’ve moved on to other work, it’s still one of my favorite stores for groceries and most of my vaccination and medication needs.

We love salmon every once in a while. I usually keep my eye out for the stores to put it on sale, from $11.99/lb to $5.99/lb. When you can save 50% on something you like, take advantage!

I admit that I never buy it at $11.99, but at $5.99 I’ll go into my local Jewel just about any time. Because for us, that means $1 per meal per person.

Pay no attention to the roast, but look at that salmon! Raw shrimp is also on sale at this very attractive price.

The way it works is that I cook up two pieces from the 1-pound chunk I get - including skin, of course. (When fried just right, this is a real treat. We call the skin “Bacon of the Sea.”)

I cook it in a cast iron pan with a good amount of home-made anchovy-garlic butter. You can add a small dollop of olive oil to the pan as well and turn the heat up.

Once that anchovy-garlic butter is melted and almost browning, I put the salmon in skin-side down. After 3 minutes on medium to high heat (we want that skin crispy, remember?) I add a few spoonfuls of capers on top of each fillet and then pop it into a 400 degree pan for 8 minutes.

We enjoy about a third (along with the skin) accompanied by a veggie side dish. These days I’m doing broccoli (99 cents a bunch) on a sheet pan in that 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Work backwards from that to make the timing work.

By stopping at a third of that big slab of fish, it’s costing us about $1.25 for fish and veg, per person. How much would it cost in a restaurant? With tax? And tip?

Leftovers

A night or two later I cook up one of those remaining pieces to go with pasta. While the pasta is cooking, I heat some olive oil in a small pan, I cook a clove or two of chopped garlic, then toss in the salmon, plus more capers if you like. (We like.) I then juice 3 lemons and pour that into the salmon pan. Top the pasta with the salmon and you’ve got another meal for $1.50 each (including the cost of the vermicelli or other pasta).

But we’re not done.

Final appearance

We still have that last hunk of salmon, so when we’re in the mood for an eggy breakfast, I heat up the chunked-up salmon in my frying pan with some olive oil, scramble some eggs, and we’ve got a protein-rich meal, for $1.35 per person (at $3/dozen for the eggs).

Can you get a breakfast like this for that price at your local coffee shop? I think not.

Bottom line: 3 meals for two people for $6 + accompaniments.

Store leftovers

The grocery store doesn’t usually sell out of an item like salmon, even at $5.99. Be careful about buying it the next week, however.

That’s when many stores (not just Jewel) sell “portions” at a price that looks attractive but is actually not.

One week later it looks like salmon is still on sale!

If you look at the fine print you’ll see that you only get 6 ounces for your $6 - and they’ve taken the skin off!

Doing the math, that’s just 3/8 of a pound, which now goes for $15.96 per pound. Is that convenience for the consumer, or somewhat deceptive advertising?

My advice: buy it when it’s at a good price, and have it three ways. If you really like salmon, buy a couple of pounds and put the spare in the freezer. It’ll be great next week, when the price is nearly 3 times as much.

That’s one way to fight greedflation…

My conclusion to all that thinking is to take positive action. I believe more than ever that “When They Go Loco … WeGoLocal” is a Substack publication that has a role to play in this comedy/tragedy life of ours.

It’s time to take Right Action

It’s not tear-your-hair-out time, because, well, hair is nice to have. Why tear it out? People spend good money to make it seem like they still have it. So no hair-tearing.

Instead, it’s time to take Right Action, that voice inside me whispered as I spoke to a friend by phone. I didn’t know what that was, so my friend Buzz looked it up and said that Right Action is a combination of three things: The action must be Ethical, the action must be Compassionate, and the action must be Non-harmful.

We must judge how the next president’s actions square with Right Action. Are the actions based in ethics, compassion and avoiding unnecessary harm? If not, they are not Right Actions. They’re far-right actions, meaning they are Wrong Actions for a majority of this country’s citizens.

I look at the results of November 5th as the American equivalent of the Brexit vote in the UK. Slightly more than half of the voters went with removing their nation from the European Union, and it has been nothing but disastrous ever since, as many of those Brexit supporters would say, I’m sure. The law of Unintended Consequences has bitten them hard.

But what can we DO?

As individuals we can take Right Action, beginning today. We can make something good, keep most of it for ourselves … but give away a small amount to neighbors, co-workers, family, anyone.

Those random acts of kindness are ethical, compassionate and do no harm (as long as you take proper precautions in the kitchen, of course).

That’s what I’ll be encouraging folks to do with this Substack publication.

But I think you (or someone you know) could do the same thing and more. You could become a WeGoLocal Chapter Organizer yourself and potentially clear $6,000 per month with your Substack membership fees. I’ll show you how.

What will a potential Organizer learn?

I’ve written about a course of study that I’m making available through this Substack as a password-protected membership level: Chapter Organizer ($197). If you succeed in generating $6,000 per month (and there are no guarantees that you will) that $200 investment is going to look pretty smart, I think.

After my initial post on the concept one of the readers of this publication asked, “What does it entail?”

So to answer Ilene, in part, here is a bullet list of some of the things you could learn by signing on at the Chapter Organizer level, beginning this week:

1. How to (mathematically) generate $6,000 per month with Substack

2. Registering a custom URL leading to your WeGoLocal Substack group

3. Designing a logo for free - and then getting business cards with that logo design

4. Establishing a writing schedule with an editorial calendar

5. Adding illustrations for articles: screengrabs and producing video from stills

6. Exploring standalone community sites as a Substack backup

7. Creating value for Chapter members - at least $10 of value for a $7/month membership - through offers from companies (not paid advertising)

8. Crafting a Terms of Service agreement for members, so all are treated with respect, no matter where they are on their life’s journey

9. Offering affiliate payments to members

10. Interacting with members through author comments and likes in the discussion area of an article

11. Interviewing members online

12. Building a swag shop for extra income

13. Finding a location for face-to-face Chapter gatherings

14. Allowing content creation by Chapter members

15. Publishing a book (PDF and paperback) of the best recipes and money-saving strategies of Chapter Organizers and members

16. Customer relations software to manage sales outside Substack

17. Producing audio narration and podcasts through Substack

18. Using survey software to incorporate quiz results into the Chapter’s Substack

19. Protecting standalone online content

20. Teaching others to become Chapter Organizers

21. Gaining publicity for your WeGoLocal Chapter activities

22. Conducting job interviews with political candidates, beginning with local offices

23. Enabling and getting support from a national WeGoLocal network

Bottom Line: Want to start Actionizing (rather than agonizing)?

That list might sound like quite a bit to explore, but not too much. Some of the topics may not be relevant to you now, but might become useful in the future. That’s why Chapter Organizers get a year’s access to the lessons for signing up at the $197 level. Those lessons will probably be modified and developed over the year, and all Chapter Organizers will be able to see the latest versions for a full year.

I plan to publish a post of some length on these topics once every other day, if not more often. (Life gets in the way of ambitious plans, so I’m building in some wiggle-room.)

As I said in my initial post, I’m not a Sage on the Stage, I’m more of a Guide by the Side. We’ll explore the possibilities together and see what we can create, on our own and as a learning group. I’m sure you’ll learn from other Chapter Organizers as well.

Someone you know may be a future Chapter Organizer

Do you know folks who would like to Actionize with us and start a WeGoLocal Chapter as Organizer? Please share this post with them and I hope they’ll thank you for the recommendation later.

Any questions? Add them to the comments and I will respond as I can to this unusual Substack initiative. I hope you join me!

One local business I support is the propane gas distribution company located in the warehouse district. One employee, a nice fellow called William, is assigned to fill up propane tanks that customers bring in. I’ve been doing that for years.

Because I grill my pizza on the Weber grill, and roast coffee once or twice a week as well, I go through a propane tank in six weeks or so.

Some time ago, William found out that I use their propane to roast green coffee beans, and as he loves good coffee, I made it a point to take a thermos of freshly-brewed java whenever I go for a refill.

Today, when I poured his cup and he took a careful sip, he smiled conspiratorially and said this tank was on him. “Really?!” I asked. “Absolutely,” he replied.

As a way of thanking him further, I pulled out a bagel from yesterday’s batch. This time he smiled with joy. He, like our electrician, loves Everything.

So again I say, make more than you can consume yourself, share some of it, and the universe (in the form of nice people being treated nicely) will return the favor, somehow.

Everything bagels and black and brown sesame bagels. Which would you choose?

One reason I make bagels from scratch is to give some away to neighbors, friends or family. The other reason is that it’s so damn cheap.

I’ve talked about making bagels before, because it’s the best way to get a decent bagel: make it yourself.

So I do. I make a batch of bagels just about every week, and give away 2-4 out of my batch of 8, as a general rule.

A bagel as bonus

When we needed a light on the back porch we called a local electrician who lives a stone’s throw away. Chris did the job with only minor irritations - such as the unusual brackets on IKEA outdoor lamps. Being a good electrician, he solved the problem, and told us a fair price.

After my wife wrote a check, I asked him, “If you could choose between an everything bagel and a sesame bagel, which would you go with?”

He immediately said “Everything!” I bagged up one that I’d baked an hour before and asked if I could slice it. He waved off the offer.

A half-hour later, I got the invoice by text (as promised) with this added note:

Chris thought it was a treat, when it’s an everyday kind of thing, almost for us. But it gave him some joy after a job well done.

Do you think Chris will think favorably about us if we have an emergency? That’s not why I gave it to him, but I bet he will.

So I will continue to do what I do: make stuff and give some of it away. That may be the kind of action we need to take in the next few months and years if we are to survive as communities.

I know this, though: next time Chris comes over to fix or install a light, I’ll have some fresh-baked bagels ready to go. Maybe he’ll take sesame…

If you’re curious to learn how to become a WeGoLocal Chapter Organizer, you may wonder what that is.

[Note from the Trainer: the remainder of this post is meant for folks who have signed up at the Chapter Organizer level - currently $197 for one year’s access to all the learning modules produced.]

Read more

What is a Chapter Organizer?

At Chapter Organizer level on the WeGoLocal.us Substack website, you will have access to private training in becoming a WeGoLocal Chapter Organizer in your locale - wherever you live in the world.

The extension for the site (.us) is not a national abbreviation. It’s the equivalent of “we” so anyone anywhere may join and give it a try.

Your immediate goal is to provide at least $20 worth of value each month to your dues-paying members, who pay $7 per month. With that simple differential of value to cost, the decision to join should be a no-brainer.

Then find and sign up your tribe of 1,000 true fans. Not a million. Not 100,000. Not even 10,000. Just a thousand.

After Substack and the credit card companies take their cuts, you will net approximately $6,000 per month - or more, as you’ll learn in our lessons together.

How do you become a Chapter Organizer?

Signing up for the CO level (currently $197) will allow access to the training posts for a full year. At that point, you can look back and decide if it’s been a success for you.

Accessing the lessons will encourage you to put the possibilities you’ll learn about into practice in the real world.

Interacting with the training posts as Chapter Organizers can do may help us all learn about what works for others. What are the “Best Practitioners” doing to make their WeGoLocal Chapter successful?

Who is leading the training?

Although I’m supplying the content for this training, I am not a Sage on the Stage. I’m more of a Guide by the Side.

Who am I? My name is Timothy Prentiss, and I answer to Prof Tim or just Tim if you like.

At the University of Michigan I won a Major Hopwood Award in Drama for my play about Benedict Arnold, “Exit Benedict.”

Since then I’ve written and edited numerous articles and books. These days, I’m captivated by the Substack platform and how it can be used to create communities of all kinds.

You can be part of that network of communities by organizing a local chapter of WeGoLocal, reflecting your location, interests and style.

What will you learn?

We’ll discuss ways to organize local chapters that emphasize organic membership growth rather than salesmanship.

You’ll find out about additional sources of income beyond your Substack member fees. You’ll explore ways to create communities in your own neighborhood … for fun and possible profit.

You’ll discover how you may be able to add new members each week, and retain current members each month, by producing 3-5 posts per work - or more if you want to.

Finally, you’ll understand why it’s important to use photos, illustrations, audio and video to reach members most effectively.

Is it worth the price?

The cost of the Chapter Organizer level is $197 for the year. Those of you who are good at math have figured out that the monthly cost is under $17.

We’re aiming to earn $6,000 per month, remember? But if we want to start small and stay ahead of the game, 3 members would be your break-even point.

Ready to become a Chapter Organizer?

I intend to publish the first 12 training posts once per day between October 24 and November 4. Join this level now to be among the first to discover this new way of creating community online, with WeGoLocal.

Upgrade to Chapter Organizer when ready!

Progressive Turnout sent the blank postcards with instructions, recommended messages, a list of 500 progressive-leaning voters from both the Upper Peninsula and the Mitten, and about a month to get it done and in the mail.

I figured 15 a day should do it without too much trouble. If I skipped a day, though, that’s 30 the next day, which is tough work. Then my wife Nancy got involved and started writing some. Rebecca, visiting from the West Coast, wrote and signed a page-worth of names, and my sister Lisa in Michigan pitched in as well. We were finished with days to spare.

One big stack of postcards (or two sub-stacks) were dropped through the mail slot on the exact mailing date requested.

Each one was hand-written, hand-addressed and hand-stamped. I found it interesting to imagine what the person I was writing to did for a living in Ludington, or Pinconning.

Overall, I tried to send positive vibes. I hope those vibes make it through the US Postal Service before November 5th.

Substacks of postcards at the Post Office.

At times I wonder if these postcards will have any effect. What would it be like to get a postcard in the mail from a stranger? Somebody who only signs with a first name and no return address is mysterious at best.

After all that ink, all those school bus stamps, all that quiet time at the table, I’d like to think that those 500 postcards will motivate a few to vote.

Those voters might help make the difference in Michigan, and in the election.

But now that the cards are in the mail, our work here is done. We’re hoping for the best…

That’s when I saw the supergroup Cream at Detroit’s Olympia Stadium. I was on my own, couldn’t find my seat and so I just sat down front, yards away from Jack Bruce, and with Eric Clapton in clear sight. I don’t remember seeing Ginger Baker behind his drum kit, but his presence was always evident.

Nearly my view from the edge of the stage in Detroit’s Olympia Stadium. Photo link here.

I’ve got a congenital deformity in one of my ears which required an operation to fix a “melted ear drum.” Sounds like too much loud rock ‘n’ roll to me. Surgery was deemed successful - but unsurprisingly my hearing didn’t improve with age. In fact, it worsened, to the point where the diagnosis was profound hearing loss. I like that “profound.”

Over the years I went for hearing tests and priced out hearing aids, but never had the $2,800 for each ear that I was quoted. So I began a search for a lower-cost solution.

Fighting greedflation can take many forms. In this case, my goal was to rejoin the world of conversation and entertainment without needing to take out a loan.

My wife (an artist herself) spoke with an artist friend about getting sound to me. Troy found a free app call HearingMax, and said that with Bluetooth earphones I should be able to pick up sound from wherever the phone was pointing.

A Bluetooth solution?

Those apps are a little like the audio version of a spy cam. Occasionally I would leave my phone on the table at a bar when I went to use the restroom. I could hear every word they said about me - all good, fortunately!

One small problem was the half-second lag between the time someone said something, and when I heard it. Watching TV was like seeing a badly dubbed version, with the sound not matching up with the lips at all. I was banned from singing along - or even bobbing my head - to music in the household. I was never on the beat.

Also, the only way it worked was to have the phone on and pointed at the source of the sound. I don’t want to be chained to my phone that much. Wandering away too far, however, triggered a constant notice that I was DISCONNECTED, and then, CONNECTED.

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing assistance devices

Then I tried in-ear hearing aids - available over-the-counter for $175 or so - the TX-5 Mini Plus+. (Yes, that’s a double-plus in the name.) It turned out that my ears are too small for those to stay in properly. They let out some awful feedback, too - sometimes just from chewing.

Just some of the hearing assistance devices I’ve tried, with my final favorite at bottom right.

Still searching, I found a set of OTC hearing aids from Walmart that did work well, however, with good battery life and easy controls. And they were only $26 each! The current price for a similar item is $35 per pair.

My question to top-end hearing aid providers: will your device help me hear 100 times better than something I can get at Walmart?

Those hearing assistance devices are simple in design, with a physical switch to turn on and off and a volume wheel. I enjoy turning them off to return to my days of near-silence, as they’re effectively earplugs. Handy when grinding coffee, for instance.

I have three in rotation on the charging station, so there’s always one or two ready to go.

As Seen On TV

The Walmart devices were pretty good to me, and I was fairly happy with my hearing situation. But then a television ad featuring a former football player caught our attention while having pizza in a pub. I paid about $400 to try their in-ear hearing aids, but once again they didn’t fit my tiny ears. Returned those within the trial period and was asked to pay an extra $100 for their behind-the-ear model. That set didn’t work any better than my $26 Walmart earbuds.

So back they went for a full refund. I was disappointed that a nationally-advertised brand didn’t help me hear any better.

Medicare to the rescue!

A few weeks later my Medicare Advantage program through United Healthcare invited me to visit their online OTC hearing aid store. The GoHearing line looked promising. I decided to try the GoUltra, which allows for Bluetooth connectivity. When connected, the hearing aids let you listen to music or podcasts, answer the phone and also hear the people in the same room. Handy when ordering pizza!

In my experience, the user manual is correct when it says the power will only last 3 hours max when using Bluetooth. However, without being connected you can get up to 20 hours of use, amplifying the sound around you.

So I un-paired the GoUltra from my Bluetooth connection and they seem to last all day. Another solution might be to own two pairs, with one pair always charging.

The recharging case makes it easy to recharge on the go. The left and right hearing aids are intuitive as well: the left one is colored blue, right is colored red.

The GoUltra set stopped working after a hot round of golf. I tried to return them, but called tech support and a helpful fellow walked me through the process of cleaning the thin tubes. After that, the sound was great. I recommend cleaning them every day or two just to keep the sound flowing.

Cost was quite reasonable for me. United Healthcare offered them for $199 (regular price $799 they said). Or you can go directly to the GoHearing.com site and purchase them for $499. That’s still just 10% of the price of audiologist-prescribed hearing aids as of a year or two ago.

Somebody may save $4,000 with this post

Someone reading this may save themselves $4,000+ by trying an alternative to the inflated prices charged by the medical community. The high-end hearing aids may have more bells and whistles, but in most situations (other than noisy restaurants) the GoUltra hearing assistance devices work fine for me.

This is not medical advice, by the way - it’s financial advice. If you’ve been putting off the purchase of hearing aids because of the cost, consider over-the-counter devices. It’s one way to join the conversation again - and to fight greedflation at the same time!

Mtn Dew Liberty Chill jumped out at me: 50 flavors in one DEW, as they say on the can.

The taste is quite pleasant - not too sweet, actually, with a bit of citrus at the end. Tangy is the word that comes to mind.

But what would 50 flavors possibly LOOK like? If you mix 5 flavors of Kool-Aid you get a swampy-brown mix that most kids wouldn’t consider drinking.

But 50 flavors in one - what could it look like.

SPOILER ALERT: In the video above it is revealed that the USA is going blue in 2024. Agree?

That personal pronoun gives away the guilty party. And he is a guilty party. All that’s left is the shouting, as they used to say.

But we have it in our power to give out our own punishment: we can rename Donald J. Trump with his family’s original name: Drumpf.

It’s within our power to do that.

To That Guy, the name Drumpf would be belittling and humiliating. But in the court of public opinion - us - until the defendant can prove that a legal name change had been applied for and accepted, it reverts to the original.

Drumpf.

Our task is to use the name Drumpf any time we might use the assumed name (Trump). Use Drumpf in social media, everyday conversation, emails with friends and family.

If we could get Artificial Intelligence to sweep the internet to search and replace Drumpf wherever Trump is located, AI might end up being a friend to humanity.

A bottom-up action like using Drumpf as his one and only name would be unstoppable. Yes, doing this may get us on Drumpf’s enemies list, but until we are jailed, we can and will call him - and his terrible family - Drumpf.

What if the actual court sentence required the entire family to go back to the original name?

Ivanka Drumpf received 25 patents from China when her father was president. Each one must have the name Ivanka Drumpf fully visible somewhere on the product or prospectus. Donald J. Drumpf, Jr. might now seem aptly named, podcast-ready. Deputy Sheriff Eric Drumpf will need to have his badge replaced with the correct name. Barron Drumpf may prefer it.

Any product using an initial “T” as a design motif must be redesigned with an initial “D.” The D on the gold tennis shoes must be as large as the previous T, for instance.

Former First Lady Melania Drumpf will be forced to have her book pulped and reprinted with the correct author’s name.

Only Tiffany Trump will be allowed to keep that name if she wishes. Tiffany’s done us no harm.

So, from now until Election Day November 5th, 2024, refer to the Republican Party candidate for president as Donald J. Drumpf.

Then beyond, after the Drumpf defeat, we may need to resist the Drumpf Movement to yank the USA back in time.

Drumpf must be sent back to Florida to live out his days at the former Mar-a-Lago, now renamed “Drumpf Clubhouse.”

I’m aware of a clever and funny parody account on Elon Musk’s X(itter) application for Donald J. Drumpf (Parody). If you use that platform, check it out - but do not retweat (sic) any damaging posts!

I deleted my account for that social media program last week, so I’ve seen the last of that parody account I’m afraid.

But we can make Donald J. Drumpf our own. Drumpf’s lived in our heads rent-free for close to 10 years now. It’s time for us to live in Drumpf’s head.

The same organization urged me to “give a week to a swing state.” That seems like quite a commitment. But it sounded intriguing, so I went through an interview and onboarding process, including background check, and set up direct deposit for the amount they provide to offset expenses.

So I donated last week to the state of Michigan, where I grew up and still have family - throughout the lower peninsula.

A week in Michigan

It started on a Wednesday in a small town in southwest Michigan - the closest to Chicagoland with an available “turf list.” My wife and I had lunch at a cafe in an old bank on the main street through town. The stout building boasted imposing edifices and walls of stone, where bankers guarded the money of previous generations, and loaned with the utmost discretion.

Now it’s a coffee shop.

After lunch my wife found a comfy chair in the library with a big book. I headed out to the neighborhood spelled out on my turnout app.

Incidentally, that’s one of my first pieces of advice to prospective door-knockers: find the local library. You may need their rest room, as I did about every hour.

I worked a relatively small area of that relatively small town - but it still took most of the afternoon. My outfit: black jeans and a yellow-and-green plaid button-down, sleeves rolled up. I figured that incorporated the colors of both the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. Who could take offense when answering the door?

The turnout organization hadn’t yet sent me literature (or “lit”) to hang on door handles, even a month after being officially hired. I also didn’t get an ID badge or t-shirt identifying me as part of a get-out-the-vote campaign. So I put together a flyer with screen shots from the organization’s website, just to keep everything completely accurate. Turned it into a PDF and printed 50 or so on my ink jet. At least I had something.

This is the top of my flyer: all official info!

Beginning at around 1 pm local time, I went through the list on my phone. It didn’t seem difficult. Many of the names were on the same streets. However, driving around an unfamiliar town and finding legal parking spots proved to be a constant challenge.

After ticking off many many many names - cleaning up the database with info on people who had moved, buildings that had been condemned or torn down, and apartment building doors that were locked to outsiders (probably wisely) - the app told me in a pop-up that I was half-finished with this list.

“ONLY half-finished?” I grumbled, but pushed to the end of the list with two more stops at the library to give progress reports. It was a warm day for autumn in the Midwest, and I was dripping with sweat. Was it the heat or the anxiety? On each rest room break it was tempting to sink down in air-conditioned comfort and leaf through a magazine, but I knew I’d likely never get back out on the street, so I dove back into the heat and the remainder of the turf list.

More rest room advice

A few more notes about rest rooms. Most towns have a McDonald’s, which allow most anyone to walk in and use the facilities. It’s the price that company pays for the right to make us all overweight!

And get this: some enlightened municipalities have public restrooms. My third day (in Holland, Michigan) I found two!

Public restrooms in Holland (MI) are free and clean!

Adventures in parking

Back to the topic of parking: I worried a bit when I saw signs at apartment buildings stating that parking was for residents only and violators’ vehicles would be towed at the owner’s expense.

Apartment buildings give the canvasser an opportunity to knock a bunch of names off that list pretty quickly. Door-knocking in the afternoon meant that many apartment-dwellers are at work. But they could be towing my car!

On my second day door-knocking in Michigan, I had a bunch of names on Main Street. (I was only given name and addresses of people who have voted Democratic in the past.) So I parked on a side street and walked from one house on my list to the next, checking off a half-dozen even numbers.

Crossing the street to go back to the car, I saw a local police SUV pull up behind my parked car a half-block away, with flashers going. Uh-oh.

I’m not a runner, but I nonetheless double-timed it, arriving at the side street somewhat out of breath.

“Is there a problem, officer? I didn’t see a ‘No Parking’ sign.”

“You’re impeding traffic. If a car needs to pull into the opposite lane to get around your parked car, that’s impeding.”

I apologized, said I was there to encourage turnout on November 5th, and asked for the proper place to park. After thanking him for the information, I drove to a spot near where I’d left off, thanking my lucky stars for avoiding a stupid parking ticket.

My work there is done

The door-knocking organization reports a lot of folks want to help with the project. I did my week - Wednesday to Wednesday - and talked to a few voters each day.

It was tough, exhausting work, with 11,000 - 14,000 steps each day. I was out of my comfort zone most of the time (not necessarily a bad thing), living on road food and sleeping in beds other than my own.

So I’ve done enough. I’ll finish writing 500 postcards to Michigan voters (with help from my wife and other family members we’ve done 470 so far) then I’ll retire to the sidelines, leaving the knocking of doors to others.

Good luck out there!

One added note: after getting back home and announcing I was done with door-knocking, a box arrived on the front porch with a couple hundred door hangers, an ID lanyard with no ID … and no t-shirt, even!

Sorry to say, since I’m not going back to that swing state, the get-out-the-vote lit went straight into the recycling bin.