January 5, 2026Monday, January 5, 2026

Just a thought… A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together. [Margaret Atwood]

Yesterday I saw a New Year’s-ish meme come into my emails with cheery inspiration for the year ahead. And my first thought was: REALLY??? Not today, girl. Not today. I usually enjoy these and sometimes share them on my sites. But we are reading the room and it is dark.

The world order is in the process of being tossed out like last year’s holiday detritus. The America that people thought they knew, after a long and bright and loud season, is now that tired, dried-out Christmas tree with a few sad bits of glitter still clinging to its browned branches, just waiting to be hauled off and chipped into something unrecognisable.

Today we continue to awaken from the mist of the shattered holiday peace, and the very real threat to all we as Canadians hold dear. There’s no sugar coating these burnt cookies. What happened in Venezuela is all about oil. If it was democracy, the US would have instated the rightful winner of the most recent election, not Maduro’s VP. Mexico has already been mentioned by the Mango Mussolini as the next target, with a side of Cuba, Colombia, Iran, Greenland and Canada thrown in for fetid measure.

I turn my thoughts to the stoics and wonder what we can do to protect ourselves. Well, the first thing is not turning off the news. That is, as someone said, “privilege disguised as wisdom.” It’s the “oh, I don’t do politics” people that got #47 in for a second time (if indeed he won it legitimately). Re-electing Trump has been as if the Titanic hit the iceberg, then backed up and hit it again. (I didn’t come up with that, but it fits.) And we’re the folks in the lifeboats paddling madly to get out of the suck when the big ship of democracy goes down. People cheerily say, “Oh, wait ’til the midterms.” Friend, there was never going to be another election. That’s the plan. He and his evil cadre are in the midst of a true dictatorship fueled by awful polling numbers, a full-on pedophilia scandal at the highest ranks and the fifth anniversary of Jan 6^th.

So, how to cope? There’s the question. We’re all in this lifeboat together and you’ll need a brighter bulb than I to be the lighthouse. In this case, we turn to our elected leader, whose response on Saturday was cautious, measured and heavy on the importance of following the rules. I choose to believe in the man we elected for these extraordinary times; if not in his particular set of skills, then in his ability to be a diplomat, and to surround himself with the wisest of women and men, and to listen to them.

The voices we must NOT heed are those of the trolls, bots, and foreign-funded influencers showing up in every feed in increasing numbers. Do your due diligence: watch for AI messaging (especially fake videos). Do not forward anything you have not personally verified. Do not respond to single-digit-follower accounts with no picture, a fake name and a bunch of numbers, who are telling you what you know to be wrong. The enemy is here, breaking down our borders and building supporters for Trump within our country.

This is who you’re arguing with online, by the way.

You and I may not be military fighting age, but we can be vigilant and careful and call out FAKE! when we see it. If someone you know and love sends you something that is false, answer them. Tell them it’s wrong. Yes, it can feel awkward, but don’t let them spread it to others who are more gullible than you. WE have to stop it. You. Me. Lisa and I will have details on how to spot a fake in this Thursday’s Ep 159 of Gracefully and Frankly.

Canadians made “Elbows Up” a national call of unity in 2025. It proves we are capable of so much more, we grandmothers and ordinary citizens, than they are, with their walls of phones and computers sending out disinformation.

Be aware. Be loud. And be unafraid to call it out when you see it. Our Canada is worth fighting for, even if these are not traits for which we are usually known.

Look, I know this isn’t the type of journal you normally hear from me, but we need to be reminded that inspiration can come in heeding bad examples and doing the opposite. It won’t come by closing one’s eyes, unless it’s to meditate and ask for peace within and strength throughout. Stand up now, my friend. Be loud and be heard. Trolls and Trumpers be damned.