On this date 52 years ago — November 17, 1973 — in the midst of the biggest political scandal of the 20th century, a group of Associated Press editors asked then-President Richard Nixon about his role in the Watergate burglary and cover-up. He replied that:
“ . . . people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got.” [“Today In History,” History.com, November 17, 2025.]
“I am not a crook!”
Less than a year later, on August 8, 1974, Nixon resigned the presidency to avoid impeachment for his crimes. He had earned that, too.
Farewell Address
The riddle, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” originated from a Zen Buddhist koan: a paradoxical question meant to provoke insight and transcend logical thought. It might represent the idea of the sound of silence, the emptiness of the ego, or the nature of existence beyond dualistic thinking.
Such was the effect of Nixon’s disingenuous disclaimer half a century ago. And the echoes of that silent clapping resound today, drowning out the noise of the denials of yet another occupant of the Oval Office as to his administration’s “high crimes and misdemeanors.” *
* Article II, Section 4, U.S. Constitution.
Will the fallout be similar? History does tend to repeat itself; but times change, attitudes change, and reactions are not easily predicted. So, as always, time will tell.
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn understood evil. Born in Russia just a year after the Bolshevik Revolution, he became an author and dissident who wrote about, and raised global awareness of, political repression in his country. For his efforts, he spent eight years in the Soviet GULAG prison system, followed by years of internal exile before being “rehabilitated” by Nikita Khrushchev. In 1970, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)
Solzhenitsyn’s most famous work was The Gulag Archipelago — an expose of the brutal penal colony system of Stalinist times and beyond — in which he wrote:
“In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.”
– Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956”
*. *. *
Solzhenitsyn was of course writing about the evils of the Soviet system of his time; but his body of work was also a cautionary tale for future generations . . . and for other nations.
Obviously, no one can accurately foretell the future. But we can think ahead to the most likely possibilities . . . and in the case of young Wesley (“Wes”) Feenstra — the 16-year-old Canadian living with his parents and seven siblings on their farm in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia — there are some big “ifs” to be considered.
Wes Feenstra in Nizhny Novgorod – November 2025
Because on November 5th, Vladimir Putin signed into law Decree No. 821: “Executive Order On the Temporary Procedure for Granting Citizenship of the Russian Federation and Issuing Residence Permits in the Russian Federation.”
And no one seems sure exactly what it means, to whom it applies, what is meant by “temporary,” or whether it was intentionally left ambiguous or was the result of hasty, sloppy drafting. But one thing is clear: It involves military service as a prerequisite to obtaining Russian citizenship or permanent residency.
And Wesley’s dad, Arend Feenstra, is understandably concerned, both for himself and his sons.
The Feenstras — Arend, Anneesa, and eight of their nine children — moved from Saskatchewan, Canada, to the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia nearly two years ago, to build a farm and a new life away from the perceived “wokeness” of their native country in a place they thought would be better suited to their conservative beliefs. After a rough start, things began to fall into place for them, and they have been doing surprisingly well, with a great deal of hard work and an abundance of social media promotion for Putin’s immigration drive.
The Feenstras Receiving Their Temporary Residency Visas in 2024
About a year ago, they obtained temporary residence status, meaning that in another three years’ time, they would be eligible to apply for permanent residency. With two years still to go, that would bring young Wes to his 18th birthday — the age of eligibility for military service.
And the new Decree No. 821 states that :
“ . . . [in order] to obtain Russian citizenship and a residence permit in Russia, certain categories of capable men aged 18 to 65 must now provide one of two documents:
– A discharge certificate from military service in the Russian Armed Forces or the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
– A certificate confirming unfitness for military service.
[Eng.confidencegroup.ru, November 10, 2025.]
Without either of those, they would be required to serve at least a year in the military.
A clear exception is made for citizens of the Republic of Belarus. Not clear, however, is what other exceptions or requirements may exist under 821.
Nor does the decree specify what is meant by a “Temporary Procedure for Granting Citizenship.” Is it intended to be effective only for the duration of the “special military operation” in Ukraine? Or is it open-ended?
Certainly, Arend Feenstra needed answers. So he called upon Timur Beslangurov, a leading Russian expert on immigration law, who appeared with Feenstra on social media. And after watching the broadcast twice, all I was able to discern were a lot of “ifs” and “maybes” and an occasional “probably.”
For example: Beslangurov “hopes” the unclear portions of the decree will be amended; said that “supposedly” they won’t take anyone who doesn’t speak Russian; and “believes” the decree is intended to apply primarily to citizens of the Central Asian “Stans,” of whom there are millions in Russia.
He also spoke of a pending decree on immigrants who came to Russia because of “shared values” — as did the Feenstras — and said that, in any event, their family was “probably” all right for at least the next two years, when their temporary residency permits expire.
Screen Shot From YouTube
*. *. *
Throughout Beslangurov’s attempt to allay everyone’s fears, Arend Feenstra appeared uncharacteristically serious and increasingly concerned . . . as well he might. But he managed to close the broadcast with his customary promotion of life in Russia, saying it’s still a “really good place” with a “pile of opportunities.” He said he continues to feel that immigrants are welcome there, that it is a safe place to be, and that a “traditional value” visa is the best way to go.
But his customary enthusiasm was missing, and it was obvious to me, after observing this family for nearly two years, that Arend Feenstra has suddenly been hit with one of the realities of life in Putin’s Russia: the unpredictability and capriciousness of the government.
So he now faces the possibility of military conscription for himself and/or his eldest son . . . or alternatively, losing all of the money and hard work they have invested in their thriving new farm and having to start over again, back in Canada or elsewhere.
Is it a fishing boat? A vessel carrying suspected drug dealers or smuggling in illegal immigrants? A pleasure craft belonging to a billionaire friend of the White House?
No, it’s none of those; it’s potentially much more threatening. It’s the KARELIYA: a Russian spy ship, spotted and identified by U.S. Coast Guard personnel about 15 miles south of the Hawaiian island of Oahu — outside U.S. territorial waters, but just barely — in late October.
Russian Navy General Intelligence Ship KARELIYA
It’s not the KARELIYA’s first visit to Hawaii. Part of Russia’s fleet of six active intelligence-gathering Vishnya-class ships in its Pacific Fleet, it was previously seen near the island of Kauai in 2021, and again near the Hawaiian island chain in 2022. [The Moscow Times, November 14, 2025.]
And now it’s back, uninvited, and reportedly retrofitted to current standards. The U.S. Coast Guard said that its personnel had conducted “a safe and professional overflight and transiting near” the ship on October 29th, and added:
“Acting in accordance with international law, Coast Guard personnel are monitoring the Russian vessel’s activities near U.S. territorial waters to provide maritime security for U.S. vessels operating in the area and to support U.S. homeland defense efforts.” [Id.]
What . . . no Hellfire missiles? Just three miles outside our territorial waters, and we didn’t blow them out of existence? No . . . this time, someone (the U.S. Coast Guard) actually used common sense and restraint.
Thank the powers-that-be for small — actually, rather large — favors!
Thus far, no imminent threat from the KARELIYA has been detected . . . or, at least, none has been publicly reported. But viewed in conjunction with recent Russian drone incursions into the air space of a number of Europe’s NATO and EU countries, it seems to signify an increase in widespread Russian surveillance activities.
But to what purpose? Defensive, offensive, or simply a subtle warning to keep us all off balance?
It could be anything. Maybe someone should ask Vladimir Putin.
My daily quotations are chosen according to my mood of the moment, or a specific topic that’s been on my mind. Today’s subject is Stupidity.
We’re surrounded by it, drowning in it; and it is becoming so normalized, I’m beginning to think I’ve wandered into the Cuckoo’s Nest and my medication will be served tonight by Nurse Ratched.
But sometimes a particularly stupid item makes the news that seems almost hilariously funny — until you realize it’s coming from the people we’re supposed to be able to trust to look after us and our country. Today’s case in point:
Laurel and Hardy . . . or Bonnie and Clyde?
In 1969, I read a wonderful book titled The Peter Principle, by Laurence J. Peter, the basic premise of which was that individuals tend to advance throughout life until they reach the level of their incompetence. And one of the most relatable lines from that book to today’s world is this:
“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”
So why did this resonate with me today?
You’re probably aware of the surprising rift between Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene — one of his most vociferous supporters until recently — because she dared to cast a vote against his wishes. This led to some below-the-belt exchanges between the two, one of the least of which was Greene’s complaint that Trump was not taking or returning her calls.
To which Trump, after first rescinding his endorsement of her upcoming reelection bid, had this to say on social media:
“She has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore, but with 219 Congressmen/women, 53 U.S. Senators, 24 Cabinet Members, almost 200 Countries, and an otherwise normal life to lead, I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day.” [Betsy Klein, CNN, November 15, 2025.]
Never mind the “ranting Lunatic” remark; that’s typical for him. And I can’t speak to the “otherwise normal life” assertion.
But what is amusing, in a somewhat disturbing way, is that he doesn’t seem to know that there are 100 U.S. Senators (not 53), 435 members of the House of Representatives (not 219), and 26 members of his own Cabinet (I wonder which two he forgot).
Oh, wait! I see it now. He was counting RepublicanSenators and Congressmen — which tells us that he doesn’t speak to the Democrats at all. As though they don’t represent American citizens, who don’t count because they’re stupid, lying, fake traitors. That’s half the country he took an oath to serve and defend — completely written off. And he just admitted it.
That’s not only stupid . . . it’s criminal.
*. *. *
Napoleon Bonaparte once said:
“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.”
He seems to have been right . . . except, of course, for that whole invading-Russia-without-considering-the-early-winter debacle.
On August 1, 2024, at an airport in Ankara, Turkey, a multi-national swap took place involving 26 political and other prisoners from several countries, including Russia and the United States. One of those freed from the Russian GULAG was Russian-British journalist and critic of the Putin government, Vladimir Kara-Murza.
Vladimir Kara-Murza – August 2024
Since his release, Kara-Murza has continued his efforts, in coordination with others including Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late dissident Aleksei Navalny, to free the remaining political prisoners in Russia — currently estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 — and to bring about democratic reforms in a post-Putin Russia.
In a recent interview on Times Radio London’s Frontline on November 14th, he told, from first-hand experience, of the prisoners’ worst nightmare being the possibility that they might be forgotten. He said that the Russian government’s intent in locking them away in isolation for multiple-year sentences is to demoralize them and instill in them the fear that with the passage of time they would be overlooked.
Which is precisely why I continue to write this column each week. My little effort certainly does not reach an audience as wide as those of Kara-Murza, Khodorkovsky, or Navalnaya; but my hope is that words, like drops of water in a bucket, are cumulative. So I keep talking.
*. *. *
And on that note, here they are once again: the political prisoners of the Putin regime and those of his allied states — all those known to me, and the thousands I don’t know about:
Prisoners of War:
The 19,500 Kidnapped Ukrainian Children The People of Ukraine
Immigrant Detainees in Russia:
Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Endangered Exiles:
Mikita Losik Yulia Navalnaya Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents
Ales Bialiatski Andrei Chapiuk Marya Kalesnikava Uladzimir Labkovich Andrzej Poczobut Marfa Rabkova Valiantsin Stafanovic Yuras Zyankovich
In Georgia:
Mzia Amaglobeli
In China:
Chenyue Mao (American)
In Russia:
David Barnes (American) Gordon Black (American) Antonina Favorskaya Konstantin Gabov Robert Gilman (American) Stephen James Hubbard (American) Sergey Karelin Timur Kishukov Vadim Kobzev Darya Kozyreva Artyom Kriger Michael Travis Leake (American) Aleksei Liptser Grigory Melkonyants Nika Novak Leonid Pshenychnov(in Russian-occupied Crimea) Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler) Sofiane Sehili (French) Igor Sergunin Dmitry Shatresov Robert Shonov Grigory Skvortsov Eugene Spector (American) Laurent Vinatier Robert Romanov Woodland (American)
There’s no need to name names here . . . you know who I mean. He’s the stable genius who, in a previous incarnation, described himself as the “number one developer in New York.”
Dreaming in Shades of Gold, Gold, and More Gold
Well, Mr. No. 1 Developer: Let’s start with the construction permits — or the lack thereof.
It all began with an orgasmic dream about a ballroom that would rival Versailles Palace in size, but on the tacky side. To find room for it, an entire wing of an existing historic building — the People’s House — had to be eliminated. And so it was summarily razed and hauled away . . . without the legally required demolition, construction and environmental tests and permits, or (in this special case because it is a very special building) the required permission from the folks in the federal government charged with the care and maintenance of the People’s House.
So what part of “tests” and “permits” — or, for that matter, “historic preservation” — did the real estate expert not understand? Apparently, he slept through those classes in college . . . just as he sleeps through meetings in the Oval Office these days.
*. *. *
Next: Somehow this genius realtor — who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. (how appropriate!) (okay, so it’s a Bachelor of Science degree) in Economics — got it into his head that it might help his phony “affordability” campaign if homeowners were able to obtain mortgages for as long as 50 years instead of the standard 30, thus saving roughly $119 per month that they could use to buy actual meat and vegetables for their families.
That might sound good to a young couple investing in their first home, or to a family struggling to make ends meet in the current “it’s-all-about-the-tariffs” economy. But what the brilliant realtor/economist failed to consider were three factors:
> First, extending the mortgage by 20 years could roughly double the dollar amount of interest paid over the life of the loan;
> Second, since most of the payments during the early years of a mortgage are applied to interest, it would take years longer to accumulate any sizable equity in the property; and
> Third, for most home buyers, it would mean their mortgages wouldn’t be paid off until they were in their 70s or 80s — well past the retirement age for many, and possibly never for some not lucky enough to live that long.
Brilliant!
*. *. *
And finally, on the economics side, is his oh-so-generous idea of sending each and every taxpayer — excluding, for once, his upper-income-bracket friends, who would sneer at such a trifle in any event — a $2,000 “tariff dividend” check out of the trillions of dollars he claims the country has collected since January 20th.
But I wouldn’t go crazy on the holiday shopping just yet, because those checks haven’t been written and may never be.
As of this date, livemint.com reports:
“The IRS has confirmed there will be no new federal stimulus checks for November despite Trump’s tariff dividend proposal. Speculation on social media arose, but officials warn against potential phishing scams related to these announcements.” [Riya R. Alex, livemint.com, November 15, 2025.]
Earlier in the week, Trump had posted on Truth Social:
“We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 trillion. Record investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place. A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.” [Id.]
But wait! Don’t try taking that loaf of baloney to the bank, because, according to a fact check by KTVU:
“No new federal stimulus checks are authorised … Congress has not passed new legislation, and the IRS has made no confirmation.” [Id.]
And according to tax experts — who, by the way, apparently stayed awake during math class, unlike the White House’s resident real estate expert — the numbers do not add up. Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy for the Tax Foundation, wrote on X:
“If the cutoff [for qualified recipients’ income] is $100,000, 150M adults would qualify, for a cost near $300 billion. If kids qualify, that grows. Only problem, new tariffs have raised $120 billion so far.” [D’Angelo Gore, FactCheck.org, November 14, 2025.]
York did note that estimates for 2026 net revenue from tariffs would likely equal about $216 billion. But you can’t cut checks today on next year’s projected income. Banks don’t like that.
*. *. *
So there you have it: the real Wizard of Oz behind the curtain, who claims to be a real estate genius with a “very high IQ,” but doesn’t understand the legal requirements for demolition and construction, or how mortgages work, or what tariffs really are.
As I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep last night (it must have been the caffeine in the coffee Haagen-Dazs), I found myself reminiscing about my younger days, mostly the happy times, and about old friends. And I realized — not for the first time — how few of them I have left. Old friends, that is . . . not memories.
A Perfect Caricature of My “Golden Girls”: Front: Me, Diane and Marilyn Rear: Simin, Amelia and Merna
Since I retired and moved some 600 miles away from my long-time home, I’ve met some lovely people. But they’re new friends. And while it’s fun to learn new things about new people, there’s no history, no jokes about “remember when.” And I miss that.
It’s all part of aging, of course; someone has to be the “last bottle of beer on the wall,” and in my case, I seem to be the designated survivor. So I went searching for some stories of other people’s experiences, looking for humor . . . and what I found was understanding and empathy from a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author. It’s long, but it is so perfectly descriptive of my own thoughts, I’d like to share it:
“The thing about old friends is not that they love you, but that they know you. They remember that disastrous New Year’s Eve when you mixed White Russians and champagne, and how you wore that red maternity dress until everyone was sick of seeing the blaze of it in the office, and the uncomfortable couch in your first apartment and the smoky stove in your beach rental. They look at you and don’t really think you look older because they’ve grown old along with you, and like the faded paint in a beloved room, they’re used to the look. And then one of them is gone, and you’ve lost a chunk of yourself. The stories of the terrorist attacks of 2001, the tsunami, the Japanese earthquake always used numbers, the deaths of thousands a measure of how great the disaster. Catastrophe is numerical. Loss is singular, one beloved at a time.”
– Anna Quindlen, “Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake”
Anna Quindlen
*. *. *
They’re all gone now — first Simin (we told her to quit smoking!), then Amelia, Marilyn, Diane, and finally, my sister Merna. There are a few others left, many miles away, but still dear and in touch. The numbers are shrinking, though (as am I, dammit!), and reminiscing alone isn’t much fun. My family members, while great, don’t share all of the same memories as the friends I worked and traveled and partied with.
But that’s life, and we either roll with it or go bonkers. And since I’d rather my family didn’t get the idea that I’ve grown senile or descended into some horrible clinical depression so that they need to have me put away, I’d like to close with yet another quote — a much briefer and happier one — this time by a politically controversial but undeniably talented Irish playwright:
“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.”
– George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
*. *. *
And now I shall exit stage right, chuckling merrily.
It took 116 years, actually, with a bit of conflictus interruptus for a minor inconvenience known as the Black Death*; but the French ultimately defeated British King Edward III’s attempt to usurp the French throne . . . though he obviously didn’t live to see the finish of what he had started.
100-Years’ War (1337-1453)
* The Black Death, or bubonic plague pandemic, took some 50 million lives in Europe between 1346 and 1353.
That seemingly endless conflict, involving four successive generations of combatants, was finally resolved nearly 600 years ago. There have, of course, been many — far too many — wars, both large and small, since then. The longest one in recent memory was World War II, which lasted six years.
And now we have the one in Ukraine, rapidly heading toward its fifth year, with Russian President Vladimir Putin showing every sign of aiming for a new record. He vacillates between hinting at a willingness to seriously negotiate a peace settlement, and blasting the hell out of Ukraine’s innocent civilians yet again.
Case in point: On November 12th, following an announcement by Russia’s Defense Ministry of further advances toward the capture of the strategic city of Pokrovsk, Kremlin spokesman and all-around sweetheart Dmitry Peskov commented on an alleged attempt by the UK to resume a back-channel dialogue:
“There were indeed contacts, . . . [but the talks collapsed because] there was a lack of any intention or desire to listen to our position. Given the impossibility of exchanging views, the mutual dialogue has not developed.” [RFE/RL, November 12, 2025.]
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov
Earlier on the same day, Russian state news agency TASS had cited a Foreign Ministry official as saying that Russia was ready to resume peace negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. [Id.]
Seriously . . . don’t these people talk to each other? The Foreign Ministry says they’re ready to meet, but the Kremlin then insists that it will only be on their terms. Or did something happen in the interim between the TASS report and Peskov’s statement to change their minds?
“Oy!”
But at least there was talk of holding talks . . . perhaps a dim light at the end of a long tunnel, but a light nevertheless.
*. *. *
Until, less than 48 hours later, Ukraine was hit with massive Russian barrages of 430 drones and 18 missiles in several locations, killing no fewer than six people and injuring more than 35 others, including children and a pregnant woman. Targets included the capital city of Kyiv, which saw its strongest assault in several months, as well as Sumy, Odesa and Kharkiv.
In Kyiv, about 30 apartment buildings were damaged, in addition to medical facilities, public transportation, offices, shops and vehicles. Also hit by an Iskander missile fragment was the Azerbaijani Embassy, which sustained damage to its compound and perimeter wall. [Id.]
In a post on X, President Volodymyr Zelensky said:
“Once again, Russia has launched a heinous attack against Ukraine, our people, and ordinary residential buildings.” [Id.]
Apartment Building in Kyiv, Ukraine – November 14, 2025
Remains of a Market in Chornomorsk, Ukraine – November 14, 2025
Yet Moscow continues to deny that it targets civilians or non-military infrastructure. And increasingly punishing tariffs haven’t worked, nor has Russia’s isolation from a large part of the rest of the world. Donald Trump thought this war would be an easy one for him to end; but Vladimir Putin’s intransigence has proved greater than that of all the Middle Eastern potentates combined.
Maybe he just hopes to wear us all down. If that is indeed his strategy, he already has a good start.
This one is self-explanatory. It is from an address given by Frederick Lewis Donaldson* in 1925, in Westminster Abbey, London:
“The Seven Social Sins are:
Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship without sacrifice. Politics without principle.”
Frederick Lewis Donaldson (1860 – 1953)
* Frederick Lewis Donaldson was an English Anglican priest, and Archdeacon of Westminster from 1937 to 1946.
A sort of extension of the Seven Deadly Sins — pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth — the Seven Social Sins would serve as a worthy guideline throughout life for most of us.
If only we could convince the proud, greedy, wrathful, envious, amoral, gluttonous, slothful, and downright evil ones to join us . . .
The Blog About Everything … and Sometimes Nothing 