More Truth from Bette Midler
Bette Midler has been a force of reason and compassion over the many decades she’s been on the music and film scene, but the Trump phenomenon has really brought her to the fore as a vocal critic of American society.
She’s certainly not alone in her belief that we Americans have received precisely what we deserved, and, for many of us, this is the most maddening aspect of the whole thing: we’ve realized for the first time the true character of 40+% of our electorate, and it’s not an easy thing to realize.
What a loathsome human being.
At a certain point in his life, (American musician/composer) Leonard Bernstein said, and I paraphrase, “I never wanted a life like (Italian conductor of classical music, noted for interpretations of Beethoven, Arturo) Toscanini, constantly relearning the same 50 pieces of music.”
This comes under the heading: “No reason it can’t be done, but no reason to do it.”
Here’s a piece that was published a couple of days ago in the Irish Times, discussing the principal emotion that those living elsewhere experience when they think about the U.S. 
I ran into a guy at my last college reunion whose career involves selling enormous sculptures made from solar PV to corporate campuses. I seem to recall a life-size brontosaurus out in front of some IT company.
Here’s a discussion on re-opening the economy that readers may find interesting:
It’s common to hear about the horrific effects of climate change: super-storms, wildfires, sea-level rise, droughts, food shortages and the like, and feel great concern for our children’s future.
Apparently, Madison, the capital of Wisconsin has installed its first 
