Greetings Earthlings. It was hard to believe, after years of fear and loathing (and enough surrealism to embarrass Kafka) we finally wrested the Legislative branch away from the evil forces of fascism......in theory. We still have to seat all the Dems who won their elections. On January 3, 2027 Repugnican Speaker of the House and anti-Christ choirboy from Hell, Mike Johnson is mandated by Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution to do the right thing. He said in the past he will not. After the total drubbing the Repugs took during the election he changed his tune? Really? What about other MAGA die hards? Stay tuned. Our new State Rep, Lora Wondolowski returns to the show as we celebrate her victory and look toward the future. As always, we will try to entertain you with this week's Fool-on-the-Hill, Those Whose Brains Were small and way more but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Screwed by a worm?
Let's open with Who Left the Door Open because why not! The Very Blue Tsunami has so shook up the political landscape in the U.S. that everything you knew to be true last week has been turned upside down and all our loose change turned into real change that came pouring out onto the stage. The Theater of the Absurd has been presented with a whole new script and one of the lead villains may be the worst of illegal immigrants, Elon Musk. We heard this on a wicked podcast recently: ".. back to him coming over, I think it was 1995, enrolled in Stanford on a student visa, never went to Stanford for five or six years, worked, which means you're working in this country illegally. And then [he had] the audacity to speak about deporting immigrants and investigating [Ilhan] Omar at the same time, you have this person involved in our government who's making billions of dollars." That was in response to the co-host's opener: "The New Republic is reporting Musk invested $736 million in the second Trump administration and got back $16.3 billion, a return of 2,200%. He made off with $16 billion of taxpayer money. And this is the political party that has the audacity to say that immigrants are taking your money without properly identifying the main immigrant that is taking your money." These two women absolutely smoked Elon throughout. Can the richest fascists on Earth do time? Will he flee home to South Africa? Will they send him back? Time will tell.
This week it is Fools-on-the-Hill for all those fascists fools disguised as Republicans who took a well deserved beating last week. Whether it was outright corruption, MAGA madness, or ongoing epic bullshit, The Atlantic summed it up this way: "Across America, a blue wave has crested deep into red territory, washing through many of President Trump’s formerly safe spaces, endangering his preferred candidates and putting his presidency—and his broader MAGA coalition—at risk of a historic collapse." More than one observer called it an "Extinction level event" and given how miserable their record in biodiversity is that term seems justifiable. You've all read or listened to the post-election speculation as to what led to the Blue Beating, be it economic, civil rights, the war on Iran and its cover-up, AI support, corruption, all that we have linked to in past shows and more, way more. But the foolishness (and fascist bullshit) became too much to bear. On November 3 critical mass was achieved. Many a MAGA fool will be looking for a new job and/or lawyering up for a new year. That said, some of these fools are busy trying to sneak through S. 5653, the so-called Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act while the Dems are busy celebrating. We're told "if the Senate doesn't stop it now, the aftermath will be devastating". We must ACT NOW to stop this bullshit bill AND please spread the word far & wide!
Time for our Doublespeak of the Week. Guess who "called himself "the No. 1 environmental president since Teddy Roosevelt? That would be His Malignancy The Mad King (#NoKings). Nevermind back "In February, nine leading national organizations issued a joint statement calling Trump the "worst president for our environment in our history." Obviously you don't need "leading" environmental groups to tell you what Enviro Show listeners already know. As for "the No.1", the present occupant in the White House might qualify for the No.1 bullshit artist since Charles Ponzi (who actually was running a close 2nd to Adolf Hitler).
OK, Their Brains Were Small and They Died refers to the dinosaurs of old but given the present circumstances we'd say today that "Their Brains ARE small and They Lost........a Lot. Yo Repugs, it's game over for your lot. This historic defeat might even be the end of your Party. Let's hope so and speaking of history let's do the numbers: The first black woman gov of Georgia in history; the first black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction?, the First Native American female governor in history; the First Muslim U.S. senator in history; the First openly gay male U.S. senator in history; and the first transgender legislator ever in Alabama (of all places!). One guy who even dropped out of the race in September for health reasons was elected, prompting late night host Jimmie Kimmel to say the Repugs were so hated they'd rather elect a guy on a ventilator. Some of those MAGA loses also made history: "For the first time in nearly a century, Kansas has elected a Democrat to the US Senate with Adam Hamilton ending 31 consecutive Republican election victories in the state." (1) "Texas is another state that has faced an unexpectedly strong blue wave: the state has a Democrat senator for the first time in 38 years, and the party will also control the state's House of Representatives for the first time in 24 years." (2) And speaking of dinosaurs, this from Indivisible: "Now Democrats must choose a Senate leader who can meet this moment and lead that fight. It’s hard to fathom the Chuck Schumer of the past two years being the man for the job. Join us in urging Senate Democrats to demand new leadership and refuse to go along with a Schumer coronation. Just one more dino who needs to go. This "Secretary of War" man-child is a danger to the nation. We think you'll agree. Go HERE.
In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we repeat WBUR's recent news titled "Vineyard Wind, the country's largest offshore wind project, is fully up and running." After a bumpy start this wind power effort "reached full commercial operations, further strengthening New England's energy supply," Craig Gilvarg, a Vineyard Wind spokesperson, wrote in an email to WBUR. The news comes just hours after another offshore wind project in the region, Revolution Wind, announced it had reached full power. And it means that as New England heads into winter, it has significantly more clean energy on the grid than in years past." Think of it as yet another defeat for His Malignancy's war against wind. And this: "The Cybertruck’s Death Is Actually Great News for EVs. Tesla’s biggest failure is the second massive EV to get the axe within the last year, while smaller vehicles are proliferating. It could be a huge benefit for the US battery supply chain." And another well deserved blow for Elon. Finally, it's time for A New Green Deal or Green New Deal 2.0
Our Critter of the Week is the Humpback Whale. According to Marine Sanctuary "Adult humpback whales can reach sizes of 43 to 52 feet long and weigh up to 80,000 pounds, with females generally growing to be larger than males. Their bodies are mostly black with varying amounts of white on their pectoral fins, bellies, and tail flukes....Their tail flukes can reach widths of up to 18 feet and their pectoral fins can grow to be nearly just as long. Since each tail fluke is distinct like our fingerprints, experts can use these features to identify individual animals. Inside their mouths are baleen plates, made of keratin like our hair and nails, used to filter their prey from sea water." Our friends at the Center for Biological Diversity tell us "At least 31 whales have been seen entangled in fishing gear off the East Coast already this year", the majority of them were Humpbacks. The past decade has been deadly for whales and sea turtles, with at least 335 whale entanglements recorded off the Northeast and mid-Atlantic between 2017 and 2026. These numbers only reflect instances when a whale is seen actively entangled....Traditionally, fishing pots have long lines connected to a buoy that can wrap around whales and sea turtles’ flippers and in some cases anchor the animals in place. Pop-up fishing gear eliminates these entanglement-prone lines by recalling buoys to the surface only when fishermen are ready to collect the pots." You can support a bill on entanglement HERE.
Finally, our Quote of the Week regarding our recent victory over fascism:
“A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religions, cultures, regions or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends.”
― - 33rd vice president of the United States, serving from 1941 to 1945, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
After our conversation with Lora it's on to The Bus Stop Billboard :
First Here's Indivisible Northampton — Swing Left Western Mass's complete daily listing of all the pro-democracy events in WMass: https://in-slwm.org/wp-content/uploads/Calendar/cal.html. If you're looking for an easy weekday way to jump into the climate movement, you'll love the State House Stand Out! We gather at the Massachusetts State House in Boston between 10 am and 2 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Volunteers stand together for 2-hour "shifts," either outside or inside depending on weather, and talk with visitors and State House staff about the Climate Crisis. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3 – 4pm.: Indivisible's What's the Plan with Leah and Ezra. Go HERE. Fridays, 1:30 to 3pm: De-ICE Hanscom Airfield Stand Outs, Hanscom Rotary, Lincoln, MA. Go HERE. ALSO:
Friday July 24, 4 to 5pm. Indivisible West Quabbin's Wisdom Way Bridge Visibility Brigade Rte I-91 every 4th Friday. Overpass standout located on Wisdom Way, Greenfield, MA. For more information or to sign up go to Mobilize or contact westquabbinindivisible@gmail.com . Saturdays, 11am to 1pm: No Fear w/Street Theatre, Burlington ICE Facility, Burlington Mall Rd. @ District Ave., Burlington, MA Go HERE
IndivisibleNorthampton.org upcoming actions.
Tuesday November 10, 7–8pm. Beyond the Ballot: Making Your Voice Count in Federal Rulemaking—Part One. Zoom Webinar.
What role does the public actually play when federal agencies make decisions about environmental regulations? As environmental policies continue to evolve, understanding how to participate in the federal rule making process is more important than ever. Go HERE.
Thursday November 12, 12pm to 1pm. Rally to stop private jet expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere! Hear from great speakers, hold signs and banners, sing songs, make noise and let the Governor and others who hold the power to cancel the expansion see that – after three years – we still care more about preserving a livable climate more than the profits to be made from unleashing thousands of additional private luxury jet flights over Massachusetts. To keep that momentum and call out the reckless intentions of the project’s proponents we will gather for a one-hour rally in Boston’s financial district. More details about the agenda will be shared between now and then. The exact location will be kept under wraps until a week before the rally and will be shared with participants who fill out this RSVP form. Check the RSVP form often to keep up with the latest information.
Saturday, November 14, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. Rain Date: Sunday, November 15, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. Western Mass Towns for a Responsible Grid will be protesting at Eversource's Hadley office to voice our opposition to their plans for dramatically and unnecessarily widening the clearcut of the transmission line Right of Way throughout our region. Please join us to make yourselves heard and send a clear message to them. Across the street from Eversource’s work center, 55 Russell Street (Route 9), Hadley, MA 01035. Our Message: No Eversource Clearcut for Profit print out this sign (fill in your town) OR make your own, preferably with that same message on at least one side. More details and "day of" instructions - including parking suggestions can be found here.
Saturday November 14, 1 to 4:30pm. There will be 3 one hour workshops at the Wendell Meeting house part of a full day of Do It Now. Paul Richmond will be doing a talk on the writing process and the importance of writing. Tony Vacca with be doing a hands on percussion. John Sheldon will be creating the experience of creating on the spot with his music. There is then a show at 7:00 Of a new story I wrote with John and Tony creating the atmosphere In the Do It Now style. There is talk of possible snow. We will be there unless it’s a big storm. All info and tickets here https://wendellmeetinghouse.
Sunday November 15, 2-4pm. Celebrate & Strategize with Indivisible Northampton. Let's gather and celebrate with the joy that our hard work over these past 2 years has earned us, AND start the planning for our newer, bluer future! We'll take some time to savor our accomplishments, talk about what it all means, and then dive into the priorities that WE want to set for both the next 2 months and the next 2 years. Register HERE.
Wednesday November 18, 3-4:30pm. Pre-Harvest Forest Tour. DCR Foresters will be leading a tour of a prepared mulching/mowing of small trees and brush area, discussing forest management techniques, providing a view of the trees designated for treatment, and explaining how operations will take place. The tour culminates a public process that included public meetings and a written comment period. The tour will be conducted rain or shine. Attendees are encouraged to dress for the weather and to wear sturdy shoes. Walking within this project area may be difficult due to fallen trees, rocks and other obstacles. For additional information about the tour and DCR forest management on State Forests, Parks, and Reservations, please contact Tom Brulé, Management Forestry Program Supervisor, at 413-545-3891.
Thursday November 19, 6pm. All are welcome to come learn the science on today’s wireless radiation health risks, and walk away with excellent resources to help you stay connected and protected TODAY! You’ll also discover why we don’t know, and actions taking place in the courts and legislatures to transition to safer technology. Register HERE.
Thursday November 19, 7- 9 pm. Wired to Steal – A Book Launch and Talk. Wired to Steal is a powerful blend of investigative narrative, history, and behavioral neuroscience. Cutting through and dismantling propaganda, it exposes how the ruling classes of settler colonial projects hijack the human brain’s fear circuitry, systems of addiction, empathy pathways, and identity mechanisms to make oppression feel normal, even righteous. All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 399 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01301
Thursday November 19, 7 – 8pm. Beyond the Ballot: Getting Congress to Listen—Part Two. Zoom Meeting. Have you ever contacted your member of Congress and wondered whether your message actually made a difference? Congressional offices receive thousands of emails, letters, and phone calls, but what happens to those messages once they arrive, and how can constituents make their concerns heard? Join us for an inside look at how congressional offices process constituent communications and what makes public outreach more effective. Go HERE.
Once again, congrats for beating MAGA at the polls & listen to your Mother!
