“The cure for loneliness is solitude.” Love this…reminds me of this book I read ages ago (and still have).

RIP poet Marianne Moore, died this day 1972. “The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence.” “The cure for loneliness is solitude.” “The hands are the heart's messengers.” “The heart that gives, gathers. ”

The problem of ICE/CBP reform is we have a monster rampaging through our democracy and are trying to restrict *which* cities it can pillage and *how many* civilians it can eat. The problem isn’t the restrictions on the monster; the problem is the monster. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/six-ways-t...

Bertrand Russel: "Love of Money: "If we wish to diminish the love of money, which we are told, is the root of all evil, the first step must be the creation of a system in which everyone has enough and no one has too much."

The world needs more love ❤️

happy bday writer William S. Burroughs, b.1914, St. Louis. “There is no intensity of love or feeling that does not involve the risk of crippling hurt. It is a duty to take this risk, to love and feel without defense or reserve.” “When you stop growing you start dying.”

On this day in 1994, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith is convicted in the murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, 31 yrs after it occurred. Evers was gunned down in the driveway of his Jackson home. Many times justice/accountability takes a while. But it does come.

She is with us today. I can feel her. French/British artist: Clémence Powney

happy bday Canadian writer E. J. Pratt, b.1882. “The mark of the educated man (or woman) is not in his boast that he has built his mountain of facts and stood on the top of it, but in his admission that there may be other peaks in the same range with men (women) on the top of them, and that,...

happy bday iconic Rosa Parks, b.1913, Tuskegee, AL “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free...so other people would be also free.” “To this day I believe we are here on earth to live, grow, & do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.”

Could not agree more.

Hauntingly beautiful tribute to the people of Minneapolis. Stay strong! We see you!💙

For years I believed we needed our own version of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I now believe the first step in perfecting our Union is our version of the Nuremberg trials. Maybe center it in Minneapolis and hold all cruel federal public officials accountable.

L’Etoile du Nord Par @matthewjdowd.bsky.social From some northern stars 🌟

"A land built by immigrants And now under attack A land of beautiful snows And of ugly ICE A land of a Good mom and poet And of a Pretti veteran’s nurse Taken by force Killed by hate..." open.substack.com/pub/matthewd...

Here’s Norman Rockwell’s stunning “Murder in Mississippi” for an article examining the 1964 murders of civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman.

Good morning, Matthew. I love that Norman Rockwell left the Saturday Evening Post, in part, because they did not allow him to illustrate Blacks as equals. He took his talents and his conscience to Look Magazine.

happy bday artist Norman Rockwell, b.1894, NYC. "I'll never have enough time to paint all the pictures I'd like to."

happy bday newspaper editor/publisher Horace Greeley, b.1811, Amherst, NH. "I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample underfoot." "Bigotry is chronic dogmatism." “I am too sick to be out of bed, too crazy to sleep, and am surrounded by horrors.”

FWIW the majority of players liked it, and one gave this quote:

So, so good! You get five ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So beautiful, thank you. I am sharing and I hope many more subscribe to your Substack.

Such a poignant and hopeful poem. The North Star State, leading the way to our better angels.💫🙏💫 Illustration- Jungsuk Lee, @endmion1 on IG

Just joined and read the whole poem. I’m touched and so proud of all who shed the light.

Beautiful poem this morning from @matthewjdowd.bsky.social. Do yourself a favor and check it out. matthewdowd.substack.com/p/letoile-du...

"For all the bad They show us the good For all the forces of hate They reveal the power of love Though we can feel lost They show us how to be found When the compass Of our country seems broken" open.substack.com/pub/matthewd...

"A land of beautiful snows And of ugly ICE A land of a Good mom and poet And of a Pretti veteran’s nurse Taken by force Killed by hate" open.substack.com/pub/matthewd...

my latest substack, a poem inspired by our Minnesota sisters and brothers. open.substack.com/pub/matthewd...

happy bday writer James Dickey, b. 1922, Atlanta, GA. “With my foot on the water, I feel The moon outside, Take on the utmost of its power. I rise and go out through the boats. I set my broad soul upon silver, On the skin of the sky, on the moonlight,...

happy bday Irish writer James Joyce, b.1882. “Every life is in many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves.” “Shut your eyes and see.”

Quite appropriate as we begin Black History Month. Let us be clear, despite the Regime's attempt to redact it, Black History is American history. Thanks.

on this day in 1960 was the start of the Greensboro sit-ins, a compelling stand for civil and human rights, a spark that helped ignite a fire of positive change in America. We can do this today America: the power of love and decency is stronger than the forces of hate and cruelty.

happy bday writer, one of my favs, Langston Hughes, b.1901, Joplin, MO, leading figure of Harlem Renaissance. “Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly.” “Looks like what drives me crazy Don't have no effect on you--...

at a time of Trump arresting journalists, Fox News staff breathes a sign of relief understanding they won't be arrested.

happy bday Japanese writer Kenzaburō Ōe, b.1935 “We are much too tolerant of the moral aberration of statesmen and bureaucrats.” “Once a person has been poisoned by self-deception, he can't make decisions about himself as neatly as all that.”

happy bday the iconic Jackie Robinson, b.1919, Cairo, GA. “Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you’re wasting your life.” “There’s not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.“

🙏🕯️❤️ Catherine O'Hara will be so dearly missed May she rest in peace With deep sympathy to her family & loved ones and friends Will every hold her incredibleness & inspiration in my heart Interview by @vulture.com www.vulture.com/2026/01/cath...

Breathe… “Breathe In” by Makiko Kimura

HBD FDR 🎂

Was just posting too….

Trout Fishing in America!

RIP the iconic Mahatma Gandhi, assassinated today by a religious nationalist in 1948. "You must be the change you wish to see in the world". "Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits,...

happy bday writer Richard Brautigan, b1935, Tacoma, WA “all of us have a place in history. mine is clouds.” “I had a good-talking candle last night in my bedroom. I was very tired but I wanted somebody to be w/ me, so I lit a candle & listened to its comfortable voice of light until I was asleep.”

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

Wherever you are, I hope you find your peace today. Sending love and light everywhere. 🩵✨ “Girl Reading on a Sofa, Auppegard, France” by Ethel Sands