FDR's 1935 "Wealth Tax Act" or #SoakTheRich tax, was a major tax hike to raise revenue for the New Deal and reduce income inequality. It raised the top marginal income tax rate to 79% on incomes over $5 million (roughly $125 million in 2026 dollars) and increased estate and corporate taxes. #History

🎶 My one verse instrumental of a hymn that was published in 1931. The verses were written by Eleanor Farjeon, who was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex. It was then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan". Cat Stevens popularized it in 1971. #SundayHymn

⚖Social Democracy ...is a political ideology that aims to achieve a more just and equitable society through a blend of democratic governance and market driven economics. The emphasis above all is social well being, achieved by regulating the often self-promoting excesses of capitalism. 1/3

A grove of bald cypress trees in a tidal creek basin/park. Wilmington, NC. #ForestFriday

🎶My one verse instrumental of an endearing Appalachian folk hymn. #forestfriday I see the morning breakin' through the forest and the fields I see the morning breakin' as I go, as I go I hear the sweetest music in the forest and the fields And I lift my voice to heaven, bless my soul, bless my soul

Wow, I came across this dinosaur skull in the woods.... Oh wait, it's just a stump. #forestfriday

Large enthusiastic turnout (in the thousands) at the third #nokings protest in Wilmington, #NorthCarolina The plaque honors Joseph McNeil, a Wilmington native who contributed to the civil rights movement as one of the "Greensboro Four" in 1960. northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia...

Large enthusiastic turnout (in the thousands) at the third #nokings protest in Wilmington, #NorthCarolina

My protest sign. Free to use. #Nokings March 28, 2026

On a drive yesterday through rich farmland, west of Burgaw in S.E. NC. Came across a farm with a retro country store. Mostly a curiosity and consignment store. Also an old farm wagon undercarriage, c. 19th or early 20th century. Used in farming and settlement throughout North America. #NorthCarolina

We are hoping for place de la Bastille like NK1. We are waiting back for confirmation from the Police for our permit. Thank you for the support from NC. There are NCians here too and we support y'all as well. Together we will take fascism down!

A nature reserve in Sampson Co., North Carolina #ForestFriday

Gift article from The New York Times. #Ukraine www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/w...

Existential Pondering As communicated by countless men and women through the ages, mankind still has only the faintest notion--if even that--of what the cosmos is all about, and our role and purpose within it. But I think one thing has become clear over the... (1/4) #SermonSunday

Great Blue Heron at the creek* today. I insisted that it present his/her good side and stand perfectly still. *Burnt Mill Creek (tidal), Wilmington, #NorthCarolina #Nature

Article I, Sec. 8 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the exclusive enumerated power to formally declare war, raise and support armies, maintain a navy, and make rules for the military. While the President acts as Commander-in-Chief, these powers are intended as a check on executive war-making.

Ceiling fresco depicting Cupid and Psyche. From the Roman settlement of Lauriacum, 2nd century AD. Museum Lauriacum, Enn, Austria With modern eyes, I think it has actually deteriorated into something more interesting than the original: Out of the starfire of creation emerge human forms. #ArtHistory

Tell Your Members of Congress: Halt the ICE Terror Machine act.indivisible.org/sign/ice-out...

Finding your way back to a life that feels like it has a shape. #retirement geediting.com/j-a-if-a-ret...

🦅 "In the early morning of Feb. 27, 1776, muskets and cannon fire rang out, blotting out the battle cries of British Loyalist soldiers in what would be the Patriot’s first decisive victory of the Revolutionary War." #History #NorthCarolina www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/l...

🎶Take Me Home... My brief instrumental (one verse/chorus) of a popular American song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver. It was released by Denver as a single in 1971. The image is a picture I took on a trail off of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, NC. #Musicsky #Americana

Why do we exist? The fact that we pose this question is an evolutionary miracle of nature. The answer however transcends our current perception. But at some point--in this life, lives to come, or the hereafter--our true origin and destiny will be revealed. This is the basis and hope of my #faith.

🎶Bridge Over Troubled Water My brief instrumental of a well known song written by Paul Simon and performed with his duet companion, Art Garfunkel. Released in January 1970, it became one of the most performed songs of the 20th century. #Musicsky #History

Gift article. #nature #transcendentalism #philosophy www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/r...

🎶Ode to Joy My gentle cover of the famous melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (1824). It was inspired by a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785. The finale has evolved into a global symbol of #peace, #unity and #fellowship.

🎼All Beautiful the March of Days My one verse instrumental of a hymn extolling the beauty of winter and praising its Author. It was written by Frances Wile in 1907. The melody is an English folk tune known as 'Forest Green'. #Nature #Hymns

🚣A few images taken yesterday boating on Holly Shelter Creek. The creek is part of the Cape Fear River Basin, North Carolina's largest watershed, covering over 9,000 square miles. Most of the waterways here on the coast are lined with cypress trees and knees. #nature #photography #northcarolina

🎶The Wayfaring Stranger My one verse instrumental of an American folk hymn about a plaintive soul on the journey through life. The song's likely origin is in the early 1800s. It became one of Burl Ives' signature songs and was used as the title of his 1940s CBS radio show. #SundayHymn #Americana

🎥 A clip of Charlie Chaplin's speech refusing to be anointed ruler of the world in the film 'The Great Dictator' (1940). This was the first time Charlie Chaplin had ever spoken onscreen. The theme of the speech was profoundly relevant then, and remains so now. #antifa #cinema

New Year Guidance

Two Ibises wish you a year of new and tasty delights.😉 (Filmed in a tidal creek in Wilmington, NC, 12/31/25) #nature

Great Egret in flight today at Burnt Mill Creek (a tidal creek) in Wilmington, NC. #wildlife

Winter solstice. 2025. At Millers Pond Park, in the Cafe Fear river basin, Pender County, North Carolina. #nature

🎶O how bright the path grows from day to day... My brief instrumental of an enduring American hymn. It was published in 1887. #SundayHymn

Dimwit administration prepares sweeping crackdown on leftist networks #antifa wapo.st/3L9lpr4

"We'll always have Paris..." 🎶My two verse instrumental of a song written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931. The song became famous when it was performed by Dooley Wilson as Sam in the 1942 Warner Bros. film, "Casablanca", starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. #music #history

🎶Lonely rivers flow To the sea, to the sea... My instrumental of a 1955 tune composed by Alex North with lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has since become a standard and was one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers in 1965. #Music #History

I am the child awaiting the peace the whole world needs.🕊️ 🎶My instrumental of the Ukrainian National Anthem. #Ukraine

🎶 At Last My instrumental of a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film "Sun Valley Serenade" (1941). Etta James's iconic 1960 version made it a timeless standard. #Music #Americana

🎶 Sí bheag, Sí mhór My instrumental of an Irish Air composed by Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738). #Music #History

The Brits love their #nature reserves. In the heart of merry old England. www.bbowt.org.uk/nature-reser...

🎶 My brief instrumental of a traditional English folk tune. Latin for "beautiful world". It has become widely known for its use with the hymn "This Is My Father's World" composed by American clergyman, Maltbie D. Babcock, 1858-1901. One verse overlay. Image credit at the end. #SundayHymn

🎶The Living Stream My one verse cover of an American folk melody known as "Resignation". The tune became the basis of a hymn written by Isaac Watts in the 18th century. The verses are a paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm, and Watts’s interpretation stands among the most lovely and most tender. #SundayHymn

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but Democrats view Maine, which voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris by about 7 points in 2024, and North Carolina, which voted for Trump by about 3 points, as opportunities to flip. www.newsweek.com/roy-cooper-c...

🎶Nettleton My two verse, solo instrumental of an early American folk melody. It is most famously set to the text of the hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," written by English Pastor, Robert Robinson in 1757. (Best viewed in landscape mode on phones.) #SundayHymn

🎶I’ll be homeward bound in time... My one verse, solo instrumental of a song composed by Marta Keen Thompson in 1991. With its silent allusion to the 'prodigal son' parable in the Gospel of Luke, many church choral ensembles have presented this song. Words to the 2nd verse in reply. #SundayHymn

How is the US a liberal #democracy?

"With autocracies outnumbering democracies for the first time in 20 years, and only 12% of the world’s population now living in a liberal democracy, the future of the global democratic experiment may well depend on the people of the United States." #Democracy