My 3 Favorite Sacramento Chiropractors

Once in a while I like to just give a shout out to my favorite providers in Sacramento.  Here are my 3 favorite Chiropractors--all for different reasons:

1) Dr. Jeff Keon,  Touch Chiropractic Address: 2025 Hurley Way #110, Sacramento, CA 95825 Phone: (916) 487-3007 http://www.touchchiro.com/

Dr. Jeff is the most conventional style of chiropractor of the 3 that I'm recommending.  He's very friendly.  He's very smart.  He doesn't try to get you to come when it wouldn't benefit you.  In addition to backs and necks, he's good at feet and knees.  

2) Dr. Richard Belli Spectrum Applied Kinesiology  Address: 1840 Avondale Ave # 1, Sacramento, CA 95825

Phone: (916) 482-4150  

 http://spectrumak.com/ 

I see Dr. Belli when in addition to a back or neck issue, I feel out of sorts.  Dr. Belli does muscle testing and recommends particular supplements that really seem to bring my energy current.  He also has a speciality in chiropractic neurology.  He is a super brainiac, always educating myself.  A lot of people see him for sleep issues although he wasn't able to help my husband.

3) Dr. Dina Keon. Touch Chiropractic Address: 2025 Hurley Way #110, Sacramento, CA 95825  Phone: (916) 487 1197 http://www.touchchiro.com/ 

Dr. Dina does Network chiropractic which is a much gentler version of it that relies on your body's ability to fall into place with coaxing.  You lie on a massage table with your face in a cradle for a while and she does things that subtly encourage your spine back into place.  Dr. Dina is a fabulous person.  She helped one of our family members immensely several years ago.  I have seen her work wonders.  

California Legislature Getting Serious about Affordable Housing?

Although they're not going to let you live in this nice big house with fancy statues on it, the legislators who work inside it finally seem to be getting somewhat serious about affordable housing in the State of California.   

It well-established that the huge growth of the California economy in this recovery period has exacerbated rather than ameliorated the housing crisis.  As it closes out the first half of its 2-year legislative session, soon to head into the generous 4-month fall recess, the legislature is finally closing in on a package of bills that could generate some $20 billion to spur housing development in the central core of cities.

Historically when the legislature starts to talk affordable housing, a couple of things happen.  First, they use it as an excuse to bend environmental regulations.  Apparently it's fine for developers to build housing that doesn't hurt our air, water, soil or habitat but when they can sell it for market rate but when its time for affordable housing, these guys who make bazillions off of building unaffordable housing the rest of the time try to use the need for affordability as an excuse to weaken the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA (known only as "See-Kwa").  

"This time of year I have to be on constant CEQA watch" one vigilant pro-environment lobbyist has quipped crassly (channelling his inner Veep writer), "they could eviscerate it while I'm taking a dump after lunch." 

I haven't heard any particular rumors of CEQA gutting getting inserted in these housing bills this year, but very much wanted to use that quote.  Actually a law passed last year by the voters will make it harder for sneaky last minute shenanigans in the capitol--legislators now have to put any amendments in print for a certain amount of time before enacting them, allowing legislators and constituents time to read the amendments before they are voted on, imagine that!

The other thing that also seems to happen when affordable housing legislation passes is that any big money created ends up being a subsidy to the developer industry--essentially paying them to build it.  I'd like to see us find a way to make building affordable housing the price of land speculation in California going forward. 

Anyway, I'm hopeful, given the authors, that this package of bills will be closer to the mark.  I particularly like the sound of Senate Bill 2 by Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego -- who represents the district I grew up in).  According to the Sacramento Bee, "SB 2 would establish a new recording fee on real estate transactions, ranging from $75 to $225. It would provide an annual source of revenue to fund affordable housing for low-income and homeless people."  

Naturally, some legislators balk at this fee claiming that it will hurt middle class people.  But might it be that the vast majority of real estate transactions in this state benefit the upper eschelon?  Sure I'd rather tax the developers than I would any middle class home sellers, but this may be the most viable option to create a real revenue stream and it will mostly hit the wealthy if its done right.

Thank you, Senator Atkins and other Democrats for attempting to tackle this absolutely vital issue in California--long overdue.

Help Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones Creatively Take On Oil, Gas and Coal Industries

Looks like twelve Oil, Gas and Coal state Attorneys General are threatening to sue California State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones if he does not stop asking the insurance companies he regulates about their investments in oil, gas and coal.

Dave Jones

Commissioner Jones gets to ask insurers to reveal their investments because its his job to make sure that insurers are making solid investments and don't end up with "stranded assets" (Stranded Assets could also make a nice spin-off to The Americans Russian spy tv series, but as usual, I digress).

As the country swirls with massive flooding in Texas, fires in California and other ravages of climate change, it strikes me that, even if these fossil fuel industries are never "stranded" and continue to be profitable investments,  by accelerating the rate of climate change through releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, these industries massively increase the risk that property and casualty insurers will default on coverage. How can insurers possibly make good on their promises when "water bombs" are dropping from the sky on major population centers?  And if insurers default on their coverage, its a good bet that taxpayers will be left to pay the tab.  Who else is going to make sure that people have places to live?   This connection alone makes it the insurance commissioner's business in my book (although granted I have no clue what the actual legal scope of his authority is--I know that Dave Jones knows though, he's a super smart lawyer).

In addition to getting their political minions to threaten Jones with a lawsuit, these insurers and polluting industries apparently have obtained a hostile amendment to California State Senate Bill 488 which would, if enacted, stop the Insurance Commissioner's office from surveying insurers about climate risks.

If you're a California voter, you can help stop this effort by signing this petition-- Remove Oil Gas and Coal Industry Amendment to SB 488.  I signed it and I'm proud of our Insurance Commissioner.

5 Snouts Up for An Inconvenient Sequel with Houston on my mind

(:)(:)(:)(:)(:) for An Inconvenient Sequel watched tonight with Houston on my mind. Although I wanted to see this film, I had low expectations. After all, you can only take so much Al Gore (I tried to write a clever quip about not avoiding movies with too much blood and "gore," but it couldn't get it off the ground), and the first film, An Inconvenient Truth, while certainly impactful, was less than exciting.

An Inconvenient Sequel, however, I found to be quite moving, inspiring, dramatic, and at times humorous.  The filmmakers really knew what they were doing and put together a powerful piece that really uses the power of film to give us the emotional intensity of what's at stake: this is the biggest disaster film of all time, the survival of the human race is at stake, we are marching against time and only Al Gore (and millions of other people working to beat the clock) can save us from extinction.  Throw in the backdrop of Paris in the Paris Climate Conference and a dramatic deal put together by Gore and John Kerry to bring along India, and you've got yourself a real movie.

The film also hauntingly (but subtly) reminds us that only the Supreme Court stood between us and having had (former Vice President) Al Gore as president instead of George W. Bush.   Although I have grieved that election many times, it wasn't until I was watching this film that I got a palpable sense of how different history might have been had we the voters not had that election stolen from us.  

Would 911 have succeeded the way it did for Al Qaida under President Al Gore?  Could President Gore have much more quickly reduced our reliance on fossil fuels?  How quickly could that have turned around the changes we are experiencing in the environmental climate?  (to say nothing of the tectonic political climate changes we have experienced over the past 10 years)

In practically every single clip of Gore presenting his "slide show" (which has gotten a lot more exciting btw), he tells his live audience of some climate change aided disaster that is happening live as they spoke, showing pictures of drought, fire and especially flood devastation all over the world, in Miami, in the Philippines, including the devastating floods in Houston of April, 2016.  

The live audience watching the film gasped audibly many times watching people rescue person after person from terrifying disasters, all of thinking of the devastation that is being experienced right now again in Houston again, only a little more than a year later.  As Vice President Gore expressed his love and compassion for people after people after people who lost their homes, their family and their livelihoods to increasingly disastrous floods, he cracked open our hearts and our minds reminding us that it is always the poorest among us that are hardest hit by every one of these "natural" disasters.

Let's Stop Guessing What Voters Want and Need--Progressives Should Challenge Centrist Democrats even in "Tight" districts

It is not only the Republican Party that is out of touch with reality.  Democratic leaders are too.  If they weren't, a Democrat would be in the White House today.  End of story.   Party due to Bernie Sanders' leadership, younger progressive voters are starting to take on some of the mythology.  One of the most prevalent myths in the Democratic party is that the only way to win a "tight" district (which means a rare district in which the registration between Democrats and Republicans is relatively evenly split) is to run a Republican-Lite--A centrist Democrat who roughly aligns with Republican voters but is just less scary and vitriolic.  

This myth is layered on top of an even more pernicious myth: most voters, generally, are more conservative than we think not less conservative.  So, the wise move politically is always move right, move right, move right--right?  

Right Wing

Wrong.  A study done by Vanderbilt University found that there is "a striking conservative bias in politicians' perceptions."  The study found, "Conservative politicians systematically believe their constituents are more conservative than they actually are by more than 20 percentage points on average, and liberal politicians also typically overestimate their constituents’ conservatism by several percentage points."  Link to Vanderbilt Study

When an upset like the Presidential election happens, you would think it would be time for the losing party's leaders to re-examine their basic assumptions and find out what their constituents ACTUALLY want rather than what they fantasize that they want.   To the me the energy and excitement generated by Bernie Sanders, even though he didn't win the primary shows that this is what voters actually want.  I could be wrong of course, but that's what I believe.  I think a candidate with Bernie's beliefs and tenacity who brushes his or her hair could electrify voters at any level. 

That's why I'm excited that the organization called Our Revolution is running progressive candidates in local and state races all over the country. I just donated to it.  You can do the same.   Click Here to Donate to Our Revolution.  My guess is that even in these tight districts, an exciting progressive may be the better bet to energize Democrats and attract independents who are want someone who is not part of the status quo.  I also do not see a lot of point in Democrats "winning" the House of Representatives if the Democrats who are elected do not vote like Democrats.  

Day 26 of Consecutive Daily Blogging

So after years of blogging sporadically (which is really misleading because it much more publishing than actually happened.  The truth is I blogged 4 times in 2016; I blogged once--ONCE--in 2015; I blogged 17 times in 2014.  The last time I blogged reliably was 2007 when I blogged 125 times.  Like that.), earlier this year (nay, this lifetime) I formulated a strong intention to blog daily.  At the beginning of June I even made a commitment to myself to do it, like starting that day.  And then I waited 2 months and, in a monthlong vacation from leading the Center for Spiritual Living, Davis, I actually did it.

And this is day 26 of consecutive daily blogging.  People ask me "Sara, why daily?"  And some ask me, "why blog?"  And many more ask me, "who are you again and why are you quoting me on the internet? And do you actually really have any people asking you that? Shut up, really?  You do?" Okay, maybe not "people," maybe "person."  Maybe "person" asked me one of those questions and another person asked me the other question and nobody asked me that last question.

But really, these are questions that need to be asked of me.  As far as I can tell I have 4 readers at this point: (1) my husband, (2) Mark Stell, (3) Russ Haan and possibly John Brown (not the abolitionist, the friend). Maybe my friend Lisa from high school.  So not even really 4.  Years ago a bunch of people said they'd like to receive my blog and signed up to receive it.  Most of those people have long since changed their email addresses from AOL and Yahoo to Gmail (the top reason they changed? they no longer have to receive my blog).  So, with almost no one reading it, it does beg the question, why write it?

Well, as any of my 3.5 readers know from reading my post the other day on Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, the dance with creativity is a dance in its own right.  It does not have to be for profit.  It does not have to have a purpose.  Hell, it does not have to even be appreciated by anybody other than Creativity and the co-creator (in this case, me).  And so I could tell you all this stuff about how I'm such a hot stuff writer and how every time I write every day I get "discovered" by someone and they want to publish me and all this other stuff about why I want to blog every day, but none of it would the true reason.

The truth is that the reason I want to blog every day is that when I am writing publicly every day (and have a commitment to do so), I am dancing with Creativity.  And in the contract that I have with Creativity (these thoughts are greatly informed by Elizabeth Gilbert's book), I do my part which is blogging every day and Creativity does its part which is giving me ideas.

And boy does it give me ideas!  I get them in the shower.  I get them when I'm driving.  I get them when I'm reading the paper.  All the time.  Except when I brag in my blog at how many ideas I get, then I get bubkis*  See there?  You shouldn't have asked.

*Noun[edit]

bupkis

1. Absolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.

   We searched for hours and found bupkis.

   Etymology[edit]

   Borrowing from Yiddish באָבקעס‏ (bobkes), plural of באָבקע‏ (bobke, “goat or sheep dropping”), from באָב‏ (bob, “bean”) +‎ ־קע‏ (-ke), from Proto-Slavic*bobъ.

Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Partially Eclipsed Sun. Goodnight Partially Learned Lessons...

Before we all forget that the moon nearly blocked out all of the sun this past Monday (at least in my part of California), I'd like to report some spiritual lessons learned from it (you can tell I haven't preached all month, I'm starting to need to)

• The sun is actually always there.  It's there at night.  It's there during the day.  It's there during a total and partial eclipse.  (Would you, could you, with a fox? I would not, could not with a fox.  But I digress)

This is the same with the Great Spirit.  It is always there, no matter whether I see it or feel it or not.  No matter whether I look directly at it or not.  It is there.

I may not always perceive its warmth or its light, but that does not mean that its not there.

Spirit always yes.  Which means I have free choice.  I can choose to use special glasses to look at the sun, or I can choose to look directly at it and have a headache for 3 days and possibly damaged retinas for life.

Guess which one I did?

• 
  

We Are All Great Grandchildren of the Confederacy and the Slavocracy and our Heritage belongs in Museums not Public Squares

With the monuments to Confederate "heroes" tumbling down this past week (after years of protests) and great grandchildren of key figures either applauding it or being okay with it (despite our president's condemnation of those long overdue removals), it strikes me that we are all great grandchildren of the Confederacy and the Slavocracy that it fought to preserve.  And most of us are quite clear that there is a massive difference between people who fought for our independence from England and people who fought to destroy the union rather than give up their way of life--which relied upon the institution of slavery.

Some of us, quite literally, like me (and other white and African-American people), are direct descendants of people who enslaved others.  And there are many others who are descendants of people who benefitted financially from slavery (as did many northern investors and business people).  And then there are the rest of us who simply as Americans live with this as our common heritage/baggage/legacy.

The events in Charlottesville hit very close to home for me as one branch of my family recently held a family reunion in Shepherdstown, WV near the family crossroads between that and Harpers Ferry, WV.  One of our direct ancestors there owned a farm there upon which enslaved people worked and lived.  I find that I cannot bring myself to say that anyone "owned" someone else, because although it was a legal reality,  it was always a violation of spiritual law and therefore an impossibility in my eyes.  Even though this ancestor lived in (West) Virginia, which didn't secede from the union, he chose to fight for the Confederacy.   When the war ended, he lost the farm (and his unpaid bound workers were emancipated, of course).

When President Trump questions the removal of these monuments to Confederate "heroes," he is clearly being intentionally divisive and playing on the fact that so many of us, especially his voter base, are descended from the Confederacy (which many abolitionists accurately identified as "the Slavocracy").  He is counting on us identifying with our ancestors and feeling personally attacked by these actions.

Well, I can't speak for anybody but myself, but I personally feel relieved by the actions of removing these monuments.  Yes, these are my ancestors (none of them "heroes," but rank and file); and yes, I am still interested in who they were and what they did; and yes I still want to know my cousins; but no, I do not find it appropriate to celebrate them in the public square.   Having Confederate statues in the public square is just a sanitized version of having statues of African-American people being lynched, whipped, terrorized, raped and murdered in the public square.  I can't imagine many who would want the latter, although it would certainly be a more honest representation of the horrific reality than Scarlett O'Hara with her hoop skirts and mint juleps.

Meanwhile, let us not let the president's words distract us from noticing and responding to the president's actions.   For example, President Trump has all but announced that he is planning to pardon Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the middle of a live legal proceeding to determine his punishment for proven systematic police brutality towards Latinos or perceived immigrants.  This unprecedented intervention, if it happens, would reinforce a message to all police departments that they can (continue to) engage in systematic violations of civil rights and possibly face no repercussions.  

Our country has a long history of allowing, condoning, papering over and even celebrating outrageous and indefensible acts against people of color such as the institution of slavery, genocide of Native Americans and the ongoing voter suppression, school to prison pipeline and police brutality.   This legacy hangs over all of us, poisoning our ability to come together to solve other issues which threaten our common humanity, like climate change, universal health care, homelessness and increased poverty.  

I don't think African-Americans have ever forgotten that this is our heritage.  What is happening today is that white people are waking up to this nightmare, that has been our collective reality, and feeling it.  It is time for white people to come together to begin to creatively engage in a call for real and meaningful public reparations.  Until that happens, the actions of our great grandparents will continue to haunt us in the public square.

The Coconut on T Street for takeout only

With its super fresh tasting ingredients, perfectly organized menu, best Thai food in Sacramento plus brown rice that is so much better than rice anywhere that people stop in just to buy rice, this has been, until recently, my favorite newer restaurant in town (especially since its a short walk from my house in downtown Sacramento).   But the last three times I went there, the service was such that I can now only recommend it for takeout.

Time 1: kitchen lost all our orders, food took 45 minutes to arrive (I thought it a fluke due to some computer malfunction).

Time 2: orders arrived at very different times, making for an awkward meal.

Time 3: Out of a party of 4, the 4th entree arrived 10-15 minutes after the other 3 and only after getting up out of our seats to find a waiter to ask.

In fact, all 3 service incidents required getting up out of my seat to physically locate a waiter to ask to go to the kitchen and check.  It seemed that otherwise, they wouldn't have done so.

I would order takeout, give them a good long time and enjoy at home.

ALERT: Ideas have a shelf life and a mind of their own--act on them or they move on

Another mid-read book report from me.  Finally reading Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love).  It's a delightful read about how ideas really work.  Here's some of the things I've learned from it:

1.  Each idea is its own free floating entity looking for collaborators
2.  In order for ideas to present themselves to us, we need to be looking for them, open to them, moving slow enough to notice them
3.  If we decide to collaborate with an idea, we enter into a contract with it
4.  In that contract we agree to work hard, and do whatever it takes to bring that idea into fruition
5.  The idea has no interest in our fame, fortune or success--we might end up with fame, fortune or success or total ruin, the idea is interested in the idea.
6.  The idea is not interested in our "helping people," the idea is interested in becoming a reality.  We might help people.  We might not.  The idea does not care. [not sure I agree with this entirely, although there are a lot of ideas that harm a lot of people so I guess it makes sense]
7.  We don't need to give up our day job to enter into a contract with an idea.
8.  We don't need to borrow $100,000 to get a Masters of Fine Arts to enter into contract with an idea.
9.  We don't need to have any special credentials whatsoever to enter into a contract with an idea.
10.  If we don't actually fully our contract in a timely fashion, working "like a farmer" (as Gilbert, the child of hardworking farmers continually says), the idea will move on.  It has no loyalty to us.
11.  It may even be presenting itself to more than one person at a time (some ideas are a bit slutty--my word, not hers).

Okay, this is what I've gleaned so far.  This makes sense to me.  I'll keep reading.

Here Comes the Sun -- The Sara Nichols Post Eclipse Unrehearsed Show

Just the right amount of fun today with neighbors watching the 70% eclipse in Sacramento, CA outside, laughing, enjoying. An intuitive thought told me to wear black and that turned out to provide an opportunity to see the eclipse crescents projected by the sun onto my own dress-----wild!!

Neighbors lent me their eclipse glasses asking that I please return them within 28 years in time for the next eclipse viewing in Sacramento, CA.  Setting a calendar reminder for 2045.

How to Play The Name Game, or Celebrity Advanced Edition

One of the my favorite parlor games just got more fun. 

In the version I learned years ago, you write names of famous people on scraps of paper and throw them in a hat.  You break into teams.  1 person from each team gets 90 seconds to convey to his teammates who the celebrities are without using their names.  If the name is "Chris Rock," you say "this is a famous African-American comedian, he recently hosted the Oscars which was controversial..." and people guess Chris Rock.    And then you draw "Phil Mickelson," who apparently is one of the most famous golfers of all time but I don't know anything about golf, so I can't say "this is a white famous golfer."  So I say, his first name is the same as my uncle who recently died and his last name kind of rhymes with my last name except it sounds Swedish and someone says "Phil Nicholson" and then someone else who has heard of Phil Mickelson says "Phil Mickelson."  Like that.

But now it turns out there's an "Advanced Edition."  And the quotes of course are because they parlor games don't come in a box (yet), they are just fun games that people make up and play.  Which is a lot of what I like about them.

In "the Advanced Edition" of "Celebrity" or "the Name Game" -- you do a second round where you act each name out using no words (and people can guess partly because they know what the universe of names is).  And then in the 3rd round, you just do 1 word for each person and they guess it.

Now if this blog had any readers, someone would write in and say, "hey you have the second and third rounds reversed."  And indeed, my friend Sunny told me it the opposite way and my son Nick told me it was more fun to do charades first and 1 word clue second.

When I played it with my old college friends we added a fourth round where you just share all the names telepathically.  Actually, we didn't play that round, but we talked about it.

Ever Wonder How Actual "Curators" Feel about Everyone else's Curations?

Starbucks is "curating" snacks for you.  Really?  Has it come to this?  Let's look at this word a bit (see below).  First definition: a member of the clergy engaged as an assistant to a vicar (hmmm, actually I need to get me one of those).  No, not the noun, silly, the verb below, to "select, organize and look after the items in a collection or exhibition" -- for my entire life this has been the definition of "to curate" -- curating is for art and is done by pros.

Now-a-days, people are "curating" a lot of other things (as evidenced by definition 3 of the verb one below): Youtube videos and book ideas and, you don't have wait for it, snacks.  Did we really need to repurpose this special word?  Couldn't it have stayed with art and we could have made do with "chosen?"  I guess not.  I guess that' why I curated this rant for you...

cu·rate¹

ˈkyo͝orət,ˈkyo͝oˌrāt/

noun

noun: curate; plural noun: curates

1. a member of the clergy engaged as assistant to a vicar, rector, or parish priest.

   • archaic

     a minister with pastoral responsibility.

cu·rate²

ˌkyo͝oˈrāt,ˈkyo͝oˌrāt/

verb

verb: curate; 3rd person present: curates; past tense: curated; past participle: curated; gerund or present participle: curating

1. select, organize, and look after the items in (a collection or exhibition).

   "both exhibitions are curated by the museum's director"

   • select the performers or performances that will feature in (an arts event or program).

     "in past years the festival has been curated by the likes of David Bowie"
   • select, organize, and present (online content, merchandise, information, etc.), typically using professional or expert knowledge.

10 People Across Spectrum Speak Out with Love and Leadership

Our president continues continues to be a fascinating gift from Spirit who inspires Americans across the political spectrum to a greatness we didn't know we had.   Yesterday the Daily 202 -- a wonderful news collection of The Washington Post-- pulled together 10 inspiring voices for us to listen to instead of the president's.  Daily 202: Trump has Failed to Offer Moral Leadership--these 10 people are filling the void
 The rest of this piece is all quotes from that article--and those 10 people.  I urge you to subscribe (free) to the Daily 202 and get an email every weekday with a great analysis and collection of the days news.

The Daily 202, 8/18/17 10 People that are Filling the Void:

As Trump continues to dig in his heels and becomes increasingly isolated, Bush yesterday released a joint statement with his father, George H.W. Bush, from Kennebunkport. “America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms,” they said. “As we pray for Charlottesville, we are reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city’s most prominent citizen in the Declaration of Independence: we are all created equal and endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights. We know these truths to be everlasting because we have seen the decency and greatness of our country.”

Constance:

Van Jones interviewed an activist named Constance in Nashville yesterday as part of his “We Rise Against Hate” tour. She was injured in Charlottesville on Saturday and is afraid to give her last name for fear of retaliation.

“The hate that I saw on Saturday is something that I’ve never ever seen before, or that I have felt before,” Constance said. “One of [the Nazis] told me ‘I really wish I could lynch you’ and blew me a kiss.”

Recounting what it was like to be hit by the car when it plowed into the crowd, she said: “I’ll never forget the sounds … First I heard the car hitting people. Bam, bam, bam, bam, and then I heard the screaming. I don’t remember getting struck, but I remember landing on the ground. And I remember hearing people saying get up, get up, he’s putting it in reverse.”

Jones told her, “You would be forgiven for saying ‘I’ve done my part for justice and I’m going to let someone else go and carry this fight forward.’ Is that your view?”

“Absolutely not,” she replied. “I love this country too much.”

Susan Bro:

The mother of Heather Heyer gave an extraordinarily touching eulogy about her slain daughter during a memorial service in Charlottesville yesterday.

“They tried to kill my child to shut her up, but guess what, you just magnified her,” said Bro, sparking a standing ovation that lasted nearly a minute and a half.

More than that, it was a call to action for the 32-year-old’s life to not be lost in vain. “I have aged 10 years in the last week,” Bro said. After struggling up the stairs to the podium, she urged everyone watching to fight against intolerance “as Heather would do.”

“I’d rather have my child, but by golly if I got to give her up, we’re going to make it count,” she said.

“Moments later, as the service ended, Bro implored a protester in the audience to stop her critical comments about President Trump by asking the woman to be respectful of her daughter. The woman, who called Heyer a hero, complied, and there were no other outbursts,” Ellie Silverman, Arelis R. Hernández and Steve Hendrix report from Charlottesville. “In her remarks at the service, Bro described a determined, argumentative and passionate woman who made an impact on her community despite never going to college. She implored those who wished to honor Heyer to pay attention to social events in the way that her daughter had taught her and others to do. Citing a Facebook post of Heyer’s, Bro said: ‘If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.’”

David Shulkin:

The Veterans Affairs secretary, a holdover from the Obama administration, said yesterday that he is “outraged” by what he saw from neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville. “Shulkin, who is Jewish, spoke to reporters and said that although he serves Trump, he does not speak for him,” Dan Lamothe reports.

“I do feel like as an American and as a member of the Cabinet, that I can speak for my own personal opinions on this, and I am outraged by the behavior that I have seen with the Nazis and the white supremacists,” Shulkin said. “I am outraged on the use of violence — to be able to put one’s ideals, and force them upon others.”

Shulkin said it is “a dishonor to our country’s veterans for the Nazis and the white supremacists to go unchallenged, and that we all have to speak up about this as Americans.” He then quoted the famous poem by Protestant pastor Martin Niemöller that begins, “First they came for the Socialists.”

“I strongly believe that, and I believe that history teaches us that if we don’t do that, we’re going to get ourselves down a road that isn’t consistent with what America stands for,” Shulkin said. He added that “staying silent on these issues is not acceptable,” and that he will continue to speak up for things that he believes are important.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff:

The commanders of each service branch of the military, who normally steer clear of anything that has even a whiff of politics, have each spoken out strongly against racism this week.

The chief of Naval Operations:

The Commandant of the Marine Corps:

The Army chief of staff:

The Air Force chief of staff:

The chief of the National Guard Bureau:

Rabbi Emeritus Haskel Lookstein: The rabbi who oversaw Ivanka Trump’s conversion to Judaism sent a letter last night to his congregation condemning Trump’s statements about Charlottesville. Writing along with two other rabbis, he said: “We are appalled by this resurgence of bigotry and anti-Semitism, and the renewed vigor of the neo-Nazis, KKK, and alt-right. … While we avoid politics, we are deeply troubled by the moral equivalency and equivocation President Trump has offered in his response to this act of violence.” “Lookstein was close enough to the Trump family that last year he was invited to speak to the Republican National Convention,” Yashar Ali writes for New York Magazine. “He initially planned to give an invocation but later dropped out after outcry from the Modern Orthodox community and other groups.” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.): The Senate’s lone African American Republican said history has shown the nation typically sees the president as a part of the nation's moral high ground. From the Charleston Post and Courier’s write-up of an interview with him yesterday: “Because of that, voters typically give deference to the objectives of the administration, he said. But he added that Trump's answers equalizing the roles of the supremacist groups and the protesters have left the president weakened on the moral leadership front. ‘There is no doubt the last couple of days complicates this administration's moral authority,’ Scott said … “Scott said the issue is simple: ‘We do not support in any way, shape or form any group that thinks they are superior, or any folks who are looking to divide this nation into smaller groups.’ … Scott further pointed out that Trump's rhetoric has not been clear enough on the denouncement of hate groups. That includes trying to equate protesters ‘with the extreme elements who are responsible for the death of an American citizen.’ By drawing a ‘moral equivalency’ between the white supremacists and counter-protesters, Scott said, ‘I think you are either missing four centuries of history in this nation or you are trying to make something what it’s not.’” “When the administration speaks in a way that seems to cause confusion in ways I vehemently disagree, I’m going to speak out against the words of the administration,” Scott added. John Brennan: The former CIA director wrote a letter to Wolf Blitzer, which he allowed to be published, after the CNN anchor noted on his show after Trump’s news conference that he had lost all four grandparents to the evils of Nazism. “I just want to extend my sympathies not only for their deaths but also to you and your family — and countless others — for the pain inflicted today by the despicable words of Donald Trump,” Brennan wrote. “Mr. Trump's words, and the beliefs they reflect, are a national disgrace, and all Americans of conscience need to repudiate his ugly and dangerous comments. If allowed to continue along this senseless path, Mr. Trump will do lasting harm to American society and to our standing in the world. By his words and his actions, Mr. Trump is putting our national security and our collective futures at grave risk.” António Guterres: The secretary general of the United Nations issued a veiled but unmistakable criticism of Trump during a news conference yesterday, saying that racism is “poisoning our societies” and imploring all leaders to reject intolerance. “The U.N. chief was asked about Trump’s remarks in response to the racially charged violence in Charlottesville … and while Guterres said he does not comment on individual leaders, his criticism of Trump was nonetheless plain,” Anne Gearan reports. “Racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or Islamophobia are … poisoning our societies,” Guterres said. “And it is absolutely essential for us all to stand up against them everywhere and every time. … To condemn all forms of irrationality that undermine those values is essential, at the present moment, be it in the United States or everywhere else in the world. Unfortunately, these demons are appearing a little bit everywhere.” Kenneth C. Frazier: It took courage for Merck’s chief executive to resign from Trump's manufacturing councilon Monday. In so doing, he gave cover for others to follow. In a statement, one of the few African American CEOs in the Fortune 500 said he had to step down as “a matter of personal conscience.” “America's leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal,” he said. “I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism. … Our country's strength stems from its diversity and the contributions made by men and women of different faiths, races, sexual orientations and political beliefs.” Other chief executives who have spoken out against Trump have seen their stocks fall when Trump inevitably retaliated, so it was a risky move. Indeed, with an hour after Frazier’s statement was first issued, Trump attacked Merck on Twitter for its “RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!” He followed up that night with another criticism of the company.