Good News, And A Way Forward After The 2020 Presidential Election Chaos is not a good thing for people. Denying reality is not a good thing for people. Understanding reality, including facts and evidence, is a good thing for people. Accepting science is a good thing for people, and for economies. Most Americans breathed a collective sigh of relief, and some deep breaths, when we learned that Joe Biden will be our next President. The survival of our republic, and its democratic institutions, was at stake in this election. It was that serious, as General James Mattis referred to in his June 2020 "In Union There Is Strength" message to Americans. He was joined by many senior officials in the military, and throughout our government. And they will be joined by over 78 million Americans who voted to restore our republic, and to protect our constitutional values, by voting for Joe Biden. Donald Trump was a very bad president. He was a terrible example for young and old, and in-between. How any elected official could have such disdain for the truth amazed most of us. Country before party. We should all want to learn and teach the truth. That learning comes from a good education, preferably as a child. Many of us received a very good public, secular, education from our public school systems. We learned about science. We learned to ask for supporting documentation. We learned to question authority, when authority did not have good reasons, or any reasons, to suggest that we just believe and follow, We learned to think critically. And this is the way it is supposed to be. Somenhere along the way, we moved away from those core principles. We need to bring them back. They protect us, and future generations, from being mislead, and making bad decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. Most importantly, critical thinking is essential to honoring our shared constitutional values. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Some Suggestions For Learning And Teaching-These Make Good Holiday Gifts First, I grew up long before the internet was around. Before "smart" cell phones existed. They are amazing devices, no question. Our phones did not double as cameras back in the sixties, nor could they hold thousands of photos. There is no question that our lives have been improved by these technological advances. But technology has also compromised our ability to learn. There is a false sense that computers and technology are all we need to lkarn. One of the most obvious ways technology has compromised newer generations is the mistaken idea that they can find all of the answers they need over the internet. Before you look for answers, you need to have critical thinking skills, to figure out what the questions should be. These critical thinking skills come from a good education. "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Attributed to Mark Twain. I mention this because most people reading this will already have been "schooled" either in public or religious schools. Education remains available to all of us, regardless of age. Old folks can learn new things. Those folks can share with younger people. The wonderful thing about hard copy books that are yours is that you get to underline things that are important to you. You can dog ear the pages, put post-its with notes, and take the time to learn new things. One really cannot do this with electronic "books." You cannot skip back and forth between chapters or pages. But you can do this with paper books. And they make nice presents, any time of year. Here are some books I have been recommending 1. "Human Errors" by Nathan Lents. Lents is a professor of biology. The book is a "Panorama of our glitches, from pointless bones, to broken genes." And he has a sense of humor-always a good thing when explaining these things. 2. "The Founding Myth, Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American" by Andrew Seidel. Seidel is a constitutional lawyer with the Freedom From Religion Foundation. In this 2019 book, Seidel notes that "history had proven to the framers of the US Constitution that religion is divisive. They separated religion from government to avoid the mistakes of past regimes..Christian nationalism's fabricated history conceals an important historical truth, that religion and government are best kept on either side of an impregnable wall, as the founders intended. This book seeks to expose that fabricated history and tell the greater truths." Seidel did a lot of research, and he provides some 30 pages of notes, and an excellent index, at the end of his book. Good reference book to have on the shelf for judges, attorneys, and the general public. Especially given the packing of our United States Supreme Court with a supermajority of Catholic Justices, Seidel's non-fiction, evidence based book should be a must read by high school students and adults. Evidence, reason, and the truth, along with some humanity. are the way forward, and the way to honor our founders, and our founding documents. Bonus- you get to learn when and why "God" showed up in our Pledge of Allegiance. (Not until the 1950's) "Reason" should be substituted for "god" to accurately honor our founding principles. Freedom From Religion and Center For Inquiry are two groups doing good things for humanity. They would welcome more visitors to their websites and more members andior donations. A huge amount of public tax dollars are being moved to religious organizations by the Trump administration. Transparency and disclosure are absent. We do not know the specifics of these unconstitutional transfers of our public funds. This needs to stop. We need accountability and transparency, especially with where our money goes, and how it is spent. 3. "Common Sense and Other Writings" by Thomas Paine. Mr. Paine may have been the first person to use the term "United States of America." He lived from 1737 to 1809. His transformative place in the founding of our country should be required reading in any high school level US and European history course. I have several extra copies of a condensed writings book from Barnes and Noble, with notes and an introduction by Joyce Appleby, a university professor. Free to good homes. You can dog car, underline pages, and discuss with others. This is an easy way to start exploring US history, and the writings that helped push colonists to realize that they and their "posterity" would be better off if they and we severed bonds from throne and altar, and set up a representative, republic form of government. That's it for now. Remember, we are all humans. Let's try to be nice to each other, and let's agree that critical thinking and learning are good things. Being told not to learn, or to submit one's will or intellect to others, without transparency and verification, is not a good thing, especially in our secular government. Re well. Use a mask and physical distancing to reduce transmission of Covid 19. Dave Carter, retirod attorney. Anchorage. Call if you want to talk. 907-349-4980. Thanks for reading and sharing. Please think about giving a good non-fiction book about our constitution and the founding of America to family and friends. And Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes to all of us for 2021. It will be a year of healing. in many ways. And that will be a very good thing for all of us. Good News, And A Way Forward After The 2020 Presidential Election Chaos is not a good thing for people. Denying reality is not a good thing for people. Understanding reality, including facts and evidence, is a good thing for people. Accepting science is a good thing for people, and for economies. Most Americans breathed a collective sigh of relief, and some deep breaths, when we learned that Joe Biden will be our next President. The survival of our republic, and its democratic institutions, was at stake in this election. It was that serious, as General James Mattis referred to in his June 2020 "In Union There Is Strength" message to Americans. He was joined by many senior officials in the military, and throughout our government. And they will be joined by over 78 million Americans who voted to restore our republic, and to protect our constitutional values, by voting for Joe Biden. Donald Trump was a very bad president. He was a terrible example for young and old, and in-between. How any elected official could have such disdain for the truth amazed most of us. Country before party. We should all want to learn and teach the truth. That learning comes from a good education, preferably as a child. Many of us received a very good public, secular, education from our public school systems. We learned about science. We learned to ask for supporting documentation. We learned to question authority, when authority did not have good reasons, or any reasons, to suggest that we just believe and follow, We learned to think critically. And this is the way it is supposed to be. Somenhere along the way, we moved away from those core principles. We need to bring them back. They protect us, and future generations, from being mislead, and making bad decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. Most importantly, critical thinking is essential to honoring our shared constitutional values. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Some Suggestions For Learning And Teaching-These Make Good Holiday Gifts First, I grew up long before the internet was around. Before "smart" cell phones existed. They are amazing devices, no question. Our phones did not double as cameras back in the sixties, nor could they hold thousands of photos. There is no question that our lives have been improved by these technological advances. But technology has also compromised our ability to learn. There is a false sense that computers and technology are all we need to lkarn. One of the most obvious ways technology has compromised newer generations is the mistaken idea that they can find all of the answers they need over the internet. Before you look for answers, you need to have critical thinking skills, to figure out what the questions should be. These critical thinking skills come from a good education. "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Attributed to Mark Twain. I mention this because most people reading this will already have been "schooled" either in public or religious schools. Education remains available to all of us, regardless of age. Old folks can learn new things. Those folks can share with younger people. The wonderful thing about hard copy books that are yours is that you get to underline things that are important to you. You can dog ear the pages, put post-its with notes, and take the time to learn new things. One really cannot do this with electronic "books." You cannot skip back and forth between chapters or pages. But you can do this with paper books. And they make nice presents, any time of year. Here are some books I have been recommending 1. "Human Errors" by Nathan Lents. Lents is a professor of biology. The book is a "Panorama of our glitches, from pointless bones, to broken genes." And he has a sense of humor-always a good thing when explaining these things. 2. "The Founding Myth, Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American" by Andrew Seidel. Seidel is a constitutional lawyer with the Freedom From Religion Foundation. In this 2019 book, Seidel notes that "history had proven to the framers of the US Constitution that religion is divisive. They separated religion from government to avoid the mistakes of past regimes..Christian nationalism's fabricated history conceals an important historical truth, that religion and government are best kept on either side of an impregnable wall, as the founders intended. This book seeks to expose that fabricated history and tell the greater truths." Seidel did a lot of research, and he provides some 30 pages of notes, and an excellent index, at the end of his book. Good reference book to have on the shelf for judges, attorneys, and the general public. Especially given the packing of our United States Supreme Court with a supermajority of Catholic Justices, Seidel's non-fiction, evidence based book should be a must read by high school students and adults. Evidence, reason, and the truth, along with some humanity. are the way forward, and the way to honor our founders, and our founding documents. Bonus- you get to learn when and why "God" showed up in our Pledge of Allegiance. (Not until the 1950's) "Reason" should be substituted for "god" to accurately honor our founding principles. Freedom From Religion and Center For Inquiry are two groups doing good things for humanity. They would welcome more visitors to their websites and more members andior donations. A huge amount of public tax dollars are being moved to religious organizations by the Trump administration. Transparency and disclosure are absent. We do not know the specifics of these unconstitutional transfers of our public funds. This needs to stop. We need accountability and transparency, especially with where our money goes, and how it is spent. 3. "Common Sense and Other Writings" by Thomas Paine. Mr. Paine may have been the first person to use the term "United States of America." He lived from 1737 to 1809. His transformative place in the founding of our country should be required reading in any high school level US and European history course. I have several extra copies of a condensed writings book from Barnes and Noble, with notes and an introduction by Joyce Appleby, a university professor. Free to good homes. You can dog car, underline pages, and discuss with others. This is an easy way to start exploring US history, and the writings that helped push colonists to realize that they and their "posterity" would be better off if they and we severed bonds from throne and altar, and set up a representative, republic form of government. That's it for now. Remember, we are all humans. Let's try to be nice to each other, and let's agree that critical thinking and learning are good things. Being told not to learn, or to submit one's will or intellect to others, without transparency and verification, is not a good thing, especially in our secular government. Re well. Use a mask and physical distancing to reduce transmission of Covid 19. Dave Carter, retirod attorney. Anchorage. Call if you want to talk. 907-349-4980. Thanks for reading and sharing. Please think about giving a good non-fiction book about our constitution and the founding of America to family and friends. And Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes to all of us for 2021. It will be a year of healing. in many ways. And that will be a very good thing for all of us.