Lest anyone entertain the misguided notion that the political turmoil we’re experiencing is new and unique, let me refer you once more to the insight of George Orwell, who wrote the following 76 years ago, in 1949:
“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” – George Orwell, “1984”
George Orwell (1903-50)
Perhaps it feels different today because the lies and the wind are amplified and disseminated exponentially by the modern media. But from the days of Julius Caesar’s forum, to the Spanish Inquisition’s tribunal, to Donald Trump’s bully pulpit, it’s all been the same.
Only the names and the choice of weapons have changed.
He already owns a dozen or more golf resorts around the world, a string of skyscrapers bearing his name, a New York City penthouse and a West Palm Beach palace . . . not to mention a king’s ransom in bitcoin, and a stash of who-knows-what-else-because-he-refuses-to-disclose-his-financials.
But that’s not enough for Donald Trump. Now he has his eye on the three public golf courses in the nation’s capital — the only local courses available and affordable to the general public in Washington.
Check out that form!
He’ll have a fight on his hands; but when has that ever stopped him from going after something he wants? Those courses are overseen and operated by the National Links Trust, which is five years into a 50-year lease with the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS, in turn, is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which owns the land and whose head, Secretary of the Interior Douglas Burgum, is a member of the Presidential Cabinet.
So now Trump claims the Trust is in default on its lease, and has had a notice of default served on it — but without specifying how it has allegedly defaulted. And the Trust, quite naturally, is opposing the action. [Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, December 22, 2025.]
I smell another law suit in the offing, from an individual who probably deserves a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most litigious human being who ever lived.
But that’s not all.
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We all know how he loves to see his name emblazoned on everything, and the bigger the better. In addition to all of those Trump Towers, he illegally — because he didn’t bother with the requisite Congressional approval — had his name added to (and above) JFK’s name on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
And now, just when we think it can’t get any worse, he has announced from his little cottage at Mar-a-Lago his plan for the U.S. Navy to build the first “Trump-class” battleship as part of what he says will be a new “Golden Fleet.”
(Clearly, someone must have told him about the Golden Fleece of ancient Greek mythology, which is said to have symbolized kingship, authority and adventure. And we know about his love affair with all things golden.)
Announcing the “Golden Fleet”
Flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense (for now) Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, Trump described his vision of the ships, the first of which is proposed to be named the USS DEFIANT:
“They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built.” [Konstantin Toropin and Aamer Madhani, Associated Press, December 22, 2025.]
Of course, they will. Isn’t everything of Trump’s, including his signature, bigger and better than everyone else’s has ever been in the history of the world?
He also said he would have a direct role in the design of the new ships, declaring:
“The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I’m a very aesthetic person.” [Id.]
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Sorry, I had to stop for a moment . . . I was laughing so hard my iPad slid off my lap. But I’m back now.
This dream of his involves spending countless billions of dollars on a behemoth to be armed with hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles, rail guns, and high-powered lasers: all technologies that are now in various stages of development by the Navy. And all of this from the wild imagination of a man who knows nothing — zip, zilch, zero — about ships, or naval architecture or engineering, or warfare in general. But that apparently doesn’t matter, because he is, after all, “a very aesthetic person.”
Admittedly, the project is only in the beginning design stages, and isn’t slated for actual start of construction until the early 2030s. By that time, a successor in the White House may just copy a page from Trump’s playbook and decide to place his or her own name on the finished product instead.
And wouldn’t that be the ultimate comeuppance?
Sorry, kid . . . sometimes you can’t have everything you want.
As I once again watched Charles Dickens’ immortal “A Christmas Carol” (the George C. Scott version is my personal favorite), I was struck anew by Ebenezer Scrooge’s infamous dismissal of those disadvantaged persons who would choose to die in poverty rather than enter the notorious workhouses or debtors’ prisons:
“If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
– Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”
Ebenezer Scrooge
And I couldn’t help thinking of Vladimir “Scrooge” Putin, sitting in his gilded Kremlin palace or luxuriating in any of his far-flung hideaways, lambasting the people of Ukraine for choosing to fight, and possibly die, rather than surrender their homeland’s sovereignty and their personal freedom.
Putin’s Black Sea Compound
My thoughts next seemed naturally to turn to Donald Trump, partying through the Christmas season at Mar-a-Lago as Congress adjourns for the holidays, leaving millions of Americans facing the new year without affordable medical insurance.
The King of Mar-a-Lago
And it occurred to me, not for the first time, that we average citizens — in the eyes of the ruling elites — are of no more concern than Scrooge’s “surplus population.” The difference is that, in real life, we probably can’t depend on three spirits to bring us an overnight Christmas miracle.
It seems that we’ll just have to find a way to fix things by ourselves. And until we do, as Dickens’ Tiny Tim would say:
If you’re anything like me, you probably greet each new year thinking that the next one is going to be better than the last, and that you’re going to do everything in your power to help make it better.
This year, however, I’m feeling powerless . . . and I’m certain I have a lot of company. The world seems to have spun out of control, with the bulk of the chaos being created by one sick old man who will never willingly hand over the reins of power. And for all of our sins — including the sin of having carelessly allowed the inmates to take over the asylum — it seems that we’re being punished by Mother Nature with a shitload of natural disasters to boot.
So this is not my most joyous holiday season in memory. In my usual ecumenical fashion, I lit the menorah at sundown on each of the eight nights of Chanukah, and I shared in the lighting of the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. The gifts are piled around the tree, ready to be torn into on Thursday morning; other relatives will be arriving soon; the big dinner is being planned; and I’m trying my best to find some joy in all of it.
Yet all I can feel thus far is sadness for the millions of people around the world whose lives have been thrown into turmoil this year, and trepidation at the thought of more to come. Will Vladimir Putin maintain his mad march through Ukraine and farther into Europe? Will Benjamin Netanyahu continue taking revenge on the people of Gaza? Will Donald Trump declare all-out war against Venezuela . . . or, for that matter, his own country?
But no . . . enough of that!
With just ten days remaining of the year 2025, I will continue to hope, albeit beyond reason, that the turning of the calendar page to January 1, 2026, will bring with it a magical transformation wherein the majority of the world’s citizens will finally opt for peace, freedom, democracy, brotherly (and sisterly) love . . . and, just for kicks, free Haagen-Dazs for all.
As Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev enjoys yet another free pass into the U.S. for a weekend of meetings with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in balmy Florida, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks optimistically of a possible trilateral meeting in the near future, Vladimir Putin has proclaimed “Bah! Humbug!” to any hope of progress during this pre-Christmas week.
Kirill Dmitriev and Steve Witkoff
Putin’s foreign policy guru Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow today not to expect a breakthrough from the talks presently underway in Florida, saying that, “The Americans are celebrating Christmas in these days. Not many people are going to be working,” and indicating that Dmitriev would simply be returning to Moscow to file his report. [RFE/RL, December 21, 2025.]
Yuri Ushakov with Vladimir Putin
Okay . . . so Donald Trump has already retreated to Mar-a-Lago for a long winter’s nap, and the Republicans have deserted Congress to celebrate having evaded any action on a healthcare solution. But that doesn’t mean negotiators aren’t still working to find some common ground for a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov, who is heading his country’s team in the Florida talks, said:
“We work constructively and substantively. We hope for further progress and practical results.” [Id.]
But Ushakov dissented, saying: “So far, no one has seriously discussed this initiative, and it is not being worked on, as far as I know.” He added that Dmitriev was only “holding talks” with U.S. officials. [Id.]
And just to be sure we get the message, he had this comment on the 20-point European revision of Trump’s original 28-point proposal:
“I am sure that the proposals that the Europeans and Ukrainians have made or are trying to make definitely do not improve the document and do not improve the possibility of achieving long-term peace.” [Id.]
The European-Ukrainian Alliance
So if the Russian and American contingents are not discussing a peace initiative, but are “holding talks,” then what are they talking about? Their Christmas plans? New Year’s resolutions? The price of eggs in Russia vs. the U.S.?
And why do we keep granting Dmitriev — who is under U.S. sanctions — exemptions to enter the country? What sort of deals are the money men — Dmitriev, Witkoff and Kushner — really discussing while Putin buys more time to gain additional ground in Ukraine that he can claim as his own?
We’ll never know, because no one is revealing details of these back-room talks taking place while Ukrainians fight for their very existence.
All we know for certain is that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come — in the person of Vladimir Putin — has spoken.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Charles Dickens: “A Christmas Carol”)
Long ago, in what seems another lifetime, one of my early boyfriends introduced me to a faux-Latin phrase: “Illegitimi non carborundum.“ It is translated as, “Don’t let the bastards wear you down”; and while I no longer recall the context in which he said it, over the years it has proven to be good advice.
Eric Arthur Blair — better known to the world as George Orwell, author of the dystopian classic “1984” — wrote of a world in which survival depended upon infinite patience and the ability to resist authoritarian control and a constant barrage of lies and propaganda.
George Orwell (1903-50)
In “1984” — a futuristic novel published in 1949, the year before his untimely death from tuberculosis — the world as he imagined it might become is described as follows:
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
– George Orwell, “1984”
He may well have been foretelling the state of the Soviet Union in the second half of the 20th century. But consider also the United States in 2025, where:
. . . records have been destroyed or falsified (think of the Epstein files, among others);
. . . “offending” exhibits are being removed from the Smithsonian Institution;
. . . “woke” programming is being eliminated from the Kennedy Center;
. . . buildings — again, including the Kennedy Center — are being emblazoned with the leader’s name;
. . . statues and portraits of “unacceptable” historical figures are being torn down;
. . . facts are being haphazardly erased or misquoted; and
. . . lies are being spouted as gospel.
All as foreseen by George Orwell more than 75 years ago.
If you have never read “1984,” you should, before it’s too late. (The book is infinitely better than the film versions.) And even if you have read it, read it again. After three-fourths of a century, Orwell’s stark warnings ring truer than ever.
As though we needed further proof of Vladimir Putin’s criminal pursuance of his war in Ukraine, last week brought to light yet another violation of the Geneva Conventions and other international laws and regulations by the Kremlin regime: the treatment of an army combatant — a Briton fighting with the Ukrainian forces — as a common criminal, and his arrest, trial, conviction and imprisonment on false charges of acting as a “mercenary.”
Hayden Davies – Before the War
Davies, who joined the Ukrainian army in August 2024, was captured by Russian forces later that year or in early 2025. He is said to have traveled to Ukraine via Poland by bus, where he was paid $400-$500 per month by the Ukrainian military.
Russian prosecutors said that Davies “took part in military operations against the Russian armed forces on the territory of [Donetsk Region],” which he reportedly admitted at his trial. [Will Vernon, BBC, December 18, 2025.]
In those circumstances, Davies would be entitled to treatment as a prisoner of war. But Russia — which openly recruits military forces, as well as mercenaries, from numerous countries, including North Korea and Iran — has instead sentenced him to 13 years in a maximum-security prison.
Hayden Davies – Standing Trial in Russia
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And Davies’ case has brought to light the similar treatment of 22-year old British citizen James Scott Rhys Anderson, who was captured while fighting for Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region last November. He was charged with terrorism and mercenary activity, and sentenced in March 2025 to 19 years in a strict-regime penal colony.
James Scott Rhys Anderson
Russian investigators accused Anderson of “committing a terrorist act,” “[causing] significant damage to property,” and having “destabilised” the activities of authorities. [Emma Rossiter, BBC, March 5, 2025.]
Following Anderson’s conviction, a UK Foreign Office spokesman condemned the charges as false, saying:
“Under international law, prisoners of war cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities. We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using prisoners of war for political and propaganda purposes. We remain in close contact with Mr Anderson’s family and are providing consular support.” [Id.]
And so it goes: Vladimir Putin continuing to take hostages, both civilian and military, in total contravention of any and all international laws and the norms of common decency. In Putin’s world, the only law is, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
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And, with the addition of Messrs. Davies and Anderson, here once more is our “honor roll” of political prisoners, spending yet another holiday season in captivity:
Europeans Under Threat:
The people of NATO and EU member states
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
Andrei Chapiuk Uladzimir Labkovich Andrzej Poczobut Marfa Rabkova Valiantsin Stafanovic Yuras Zyankovich
In Georgia:
Mzia Amaglobeli
In China:
Chenyue Mao (American)
In Russia:
The “Crimea 8”: — Oleg Antipov — Artyom Azatyan — Georgy Azatyan — Aleksandr Bylin — Roman Solomko — Artur Terchanyan — Dmitry Tyazhelykh — Vladimir Zloba
James Scott Rhys Anderson (British) David Barnes (American) Gordon Black (American) Hayden Davies (British) 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)
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At this time of year, be assured that your families, friends, and countrymen have not forgotten you.
Wishing you a peaceful and hopeful Christmas, Chanukkah, and whatever else you may choose to commemorate.
My memory was jogged today by a reminder of an historic event that had long since been pushed to the back of my mind.
On December 20, 1989, the United States invaded Panama in an attempt to overthrow the dictatorship of Manuel Noriega, who was under indictment in the U.S. on drug trafficking and other charges.
Manuel Noriega
In 1970, Noriega was a friend of the United States, having been recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to aid in the fight against communism in Central America. He was dropped by the CIA in 1977 when he became involved in the drug trade; brought back into U.S. favor to help oppose the Marxist Sandinista government in 1979; and himself became the military dictator of Panama in 1983. [“This Day In History,” History.com, December 20, 2025.]
In the midst of all of this back-and-forth — around 1981 or ‘82, as I recall — my daughter, still a student at the time, was spending a day with me at my office in downtown Washington. Around noontime, I decided to treat her to lunch at the elegant Madison Hotel across the street from my office building; and as we were contemplating the menu, we heard a bit of commotion surrounding the arrival of a group of patrons.
Looking toward the restaurant entrance, my daughter said, “Mom, that man looks awfully familiar. Isn’t he someone famous?” And as I followed her gaze, I immediately recognized none other than the . . . well, not so much famous as infamous . . . Manuel Noriega. He was not yet the ruler of his country, but was nevertheless surrounded by his cadre of bodyguards, all in full military dress.
The Madison, Washington, D.C.
And that sighting is one of the things I miss most about Washington: the accidental encounters with the famous, and sometimes the notorious.
Like the day in December of 1960, when I was seated on a bus on my way to work, stopped at a red light at Wisconsin Avenue and M Street in the historic Georgetown neighborhood. As I sat gazing out the window, a car stopped alongside the bus — most unusually for December, a convertible with its top down. And in the front passenger seat sat John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the newly-elected (but not yet inaugurated) 35th President of the United States, whose home was just a few blocks away on N Street. The driver and two men in the rear seat were no doubt his new Secret Service contingent.
The “Camelot” ears
Coincidentally, I once also observed his brother Ted Kennedy leaving his home on another Georgetown street.
And during the years I worked in the Washington Harbour complex — also in Georgetown — Nancy Pelosi was our neighbor, occupying a penthouse apartment in the building adjoining our offices.
Washington Harbour Complex
I could also claim to have had lunch with George Will, though we were seated at different tables and never spoke. And dinner with Barbara Bush, then First Lady, at a Chinese restaurant in suburban Virginia — again, at separate tables.
Peking Gourmet Inn, Falls Church, Virginia
There were others over the years, including sightings in the audience at the Kennedy Center and other D.C. venues during my decades of theater-going and restaurant-hopping. But those were different times — the 1960s through the ‘90s — before the JFK assassination, and before 9-11 happened. Security wasn’t as tight, people were more relaxed, and celebrities, including politicians, were to be seen everywhere in the nation’s capital.
As the song says, “those were the days, my friend” . . . and I miss them terribly. But I consider myself fortunate to have lived through the most interesting of times in the most interesting of places. And to still have my memories.
A friend of mine — a retired federal intelligence officer — just announced that the non-fiction book he has been writing since . . . well, almost forever . . . is being published for release in April. The book is of average length, about 300 pages, and was completed some time ago. But because of the nature of his previous employment, and the security issues surrounding the subject matter of his story, it required government approval.
That took seven long, frustrating years, during which I believe most people would have thrown in the towel. But not my friend.
And his success has me thinking about the rewards of patience and perseverance. Another author — the late, great Maya Angelou — was herself an expert on the subject of rising above difficulties, and had this to say:
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
That’s good advice for anyone. And for me, with inspiration from Ms. Angelou and from my good friend, it may be just the kick in the pants I need to get back to my own unfinished manuscript.
There’s never an idle moment in the Feenstra household, even on vacation with the family . . . and apparently, time is money. Because in the middle of a video broadcast from his in-laws’ home in Ontario, Canada, Arend Feenstra found time on Wednesday to plug yet another sponsor: this time, a countertop water filtration system. We were treated to a hands-on demonstration, complete with a link to the company’s website (not shown here). Ah, the busy life of a Russian celebrity.
Commercial Break
And when he wasn’t touting the product du jour, he was busy checking out the family’s motor home in preparation for their upcoming trip to the southeastern United States.
The Feenstra Home on Wheels
Some of my questions about that trip were answered when he showed us a map of the lower 48, indicating which of the states the family had already visited (roughly half), and which ones they hope to check out after the holidays. It looks as though they’ll be coming my way. I’d invite them to stop by for lunch, but I’m afraid I don’t have a big enough table.
U.S. Travel History
The interior is already fitted out with sleeping space for everyone, but — as with most motor homes — just one bathroom. That would be my worst nightmare . . . but they’ve made it work before, and I’m confident they’ll do it again.
Spacious . . . but for ten people?
There was also time for Arend and son Wesley to install some updated hanging lights in the in-laws’ new home. (You may remember that they had just sold their farm and were preparing to move last April when Anneesa was visiting.)
Arend and Wes: Wearing their electrician hats
The finished product – very nice
And meanwhile, the younger kids were busy just being kids . . . as well they should be.
Now, that’s how you enjoy a vacation!
Thus ends another day in the lives of Russia’s Canadian goodwill ambassadors from Nizhny Novgorod . . . or whatever they consider themselves.
At least while they’re in North America, they don’t have to worry about their broadcasts falling victim to Russia’s war on the media.
The Blog About Everything … and Sometimes Nothing 