I spent some time a few weeks ago in southwest England’s Cornwall, arriving on the Great British Railway to Bodmin Parkway Station. Tiny, and complete an adorable coffee and cocktail bar, the station sits just four miles from the Duchy of Cornwall. Or, as the locals call it, “Will & Kate’s new place.”

Since it was created, the Prince of Wales has formally overseen the Duchy of Cornwall; Prince Charles ran it for Queen Elizabeth, Prince William is in charge for King Charles. The revenue from the estate is used to fund the public, private, and charitable activities of the Duke of Cornwall, and his immediate family.

Back in the day, Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother together made many a private voyage to Cornwall on Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia, and it was no secret that their favorite spot was St. Mawes on the southwest coast.

Princes William and Harry instead went all-in, early, on Rock, in northern Cornwall, as their preferred place. Locals still share circa ‘90s stories of the princes’ Friday evening helicopter landings on a local church field. With William and Harry then popping up just minutes later at the Rock Sailing Club— for pints on the porch— with their fellow “Loafered Londoners”. Many in this mix were Old Etonians— just like William and Harry.

Separately Prince William had his “Stag Do” here, which included a surfing outing at Polzeath Beach, a short walk from Rock.

Rock is blessed with some really great spots, with incredible views.

The Mariners Public House is one of these places, where the menu evokes merry Old England gone gastro pub. “The Rock Chip Butty”, for example, brings back memories of ‘90s visits to my then-boyfriend-now-husband at Cambridge. Paired with Porthilly oysters to start (harvested 1,000 feet away), and a sticky toffee pudding to share at the end, one simply can’t go wrong.

I also popped up to Port Isaac, home of the overwhelmingly popular British TV series Doc Martin. The final episode of this ten season series was broadcast in the U.K. on Christmas Night 2022.

Having tea with a friend, here in the harbor, felt like melting straight into Britbox.

Port Isaac is also quite famous for The Fisherman’s Friends, a group of fisherman and lifeboatmen who, in the ‘90s, formed a folk singing group with a penchant for sea shanties. The 2019 film The Fisherman’s Friends spotlights their incredible story, and became a global film phenomenon.

Yet everything was not all sweetness and light in Cornwall, since they are now shattered- gutted really- by the U.S. invasion of Iran.

They are now panicked for their own spouses, siblings, and grown children. And pray that the U.K will not be swept up into a war that- in their opinion- their country was far too smart, to ever start.

Located four hours southwest of London by train, or by car— in southernmost England— Cornwall runs three hundred miles top to bottom. The county of Cornwall is considered to be largely politically conservative; and while it contains pockets of pronounced prosperity, overall Cornwall is quite poor. As such, Britain’s Labour Party worries about the possibility of Cornwall aligning someday behind the likes of a Nigel Farage, a prominent British right-wing populist politician, broadcaster, and key architect of the 2016 Brexit referendum.

So it’s like Pennsylvania. Just prettier. (You can read my piece about campaigning for the 2024 Kamala Harris/Tim Walz Presidential Campaign in Pennsylvania here).

During my time in Cornwall, the U.S. invasion of Iran came up constantly in conversation. I apologized for my country in all of these chats with the locals, with the gracious Brits always responding: “Maria, it’s not your fault.”

You are completely correct, I thought privately. All of this is entirely the fault of the 77 million Americans who voted for him in 2024.

To quote George Orwell, “To see what is front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” In Cornwall, they very accurately see certain Americans for exactly who they are- and, they struggle, against the troubling reality of what they see.

During our drive back down to Rock from Port Isaac, my friend suddenly blurted out: “How could the U.S. Catholics vote for him? This has all— from the start— quite simply been about right vs wrong, good vs evil. Can they not see that?”

This, from an English mother of four, who self-describes as “a far right Catholic.” One who makes an annual mission trip to France to care for the terminally ill.

This same friend then shared her upset over the Republican lead Paramount Bros. merger.

I, in turn, provided her with other developments. Such as the Republican’s fever dream SAVE Act, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in February, and is now up for a vote in the Senate. The Save Act’s passage could disqualify tens of millions of American women- U.S. citizens all - from being able to vote in this November’s (critical) U.S. mid-term Elections.

Stunned, she stared at me, and said: “What kind of person — and what kind of man — could ever vote for him?”

I had another memorable chat. This time with a “Loafered Londoner,” a gentleman whose political views likely skew Conservative, who made the following, unsolicited, comment to me:

“If I were living in America, and learned that one of my best mates voted for him, I would have to distance myself from that friendship. For my mate’s shocking absence of judgement, and lack of humanity.”

As the U.S.’ toxic mess now spews even further outward, Cornwall holds its collective breath: for American military members could soon be sent off to war in the Middle East, for these same service members’ families, for the U.S. economy, for the global economy, for the safety and security of every country.

I told my friend, the Cornish mother of four, that way too many Trump-voters around me will, no doubt, soon start to say: “I didn’t vote for him.”

When we all know they did.

She nodded knowingly and said:

“Whether they continue to admit it to the rest of you— or not— they did what they did. They will never be able to outrun the consequences of their actions, since these stains on their souls are indelible.”

Thoughts following the NO KINGS protests this past weekend:

More than 8 million Americans marched in 3,300 “NO KINGS” protests across the country on March 28, 2026. Participants were diverse; in age, background and, increasingly, political party. This NO KINGS protest is now the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history.

If you have not yet marched in a NO KINGS protest, it begs the question: what, exactly, are you waiting for?

“Life shrinks, or expands, according to one’s courage.”

- Anaïs Nin

The following piece was published on March 17, 2026 by , an American former Christian youth pastor and author, known for his social and political writings.

“How Will This End for MAGA Americans? The Same Way It Did For Nazi Germans: Feigned Ignorance.

As horrifying and sad as it is watching the worst inhumanity of the past repeating itself in the place we call home, it does allow us to look back and get some idea as to where we’re likely headed.

For students of History, the last two years here in America have been one long experience of Déjà vu of the worst kind: a growing assemblage of governmental red flag overreach, incendiary rhetoric designed to dehumanize an entire segment of the population, a steady failure of both systems and sanity, and the mass delusion of otherwise reasonable people who gladly enabled a fragile lunatic’s sickening rise.

For those of us fortunate enough not to have had our brains rotted and our souls devoured by the decade-long death cult of an orange imbecile here in America, we’ve endeavored to understand how people around us succumbed to a hollow ruse that either intelligence or empathy should have seen through.

We’ve repeatedly beaten our heads against the wall trying (and failing) to find new ways to reach into the stupor of their blind adoration and pull them into moral clarity, none of which proved successful.

And, we’ve attempted to predict just when (if ever) they would awaken from this ten-year racist fever-dream and come to terms with the multitude of horrors they’ve co-authored with their votes and their undying allegiance.

If recent history is any indication, we’d better not hold our breath.

Last night, I found myself tumbling down a YouTube rabbit hole of archival footage of the end of World War II recorded by the U.S. Air Force’s First Motion Picture Unit for a series of films code-named Special Film Project 186. There were heartbreaking scenes of the unthinkable barbarianism of the Nazis, vivid inventories of the human, cultural, and emotional toll of Hitler’s reign, and the stories of German leaders, soldiers, and citizens as they reckoned with the end of a twelve-year-long parade of abject brutality.

One particular video detailing the liberation of the concentration camp at Dachau stopped me dead in my tracks, because suddenly, I could see what’s coming here.

Near the end of the clip, the narrator quoted German author Erich Kästner, who wrote in his diary on May 5, 1945, about his country and its people:

Depression is turning into irritability. Everyone is making someone else responsible. And everyone is excluding just one person from this blame: themselves.

Erich Kästner continued: Why are people irritable? Did they actually believe the deception? Did they really confuse the outrageous rhetoric with facts? No one can be that stupid. Now, they are pretending to be surprised. In other words, they would rather be thought of as a complete idiot than as a scoundrel.

This is where MAGA Americans are headed in the (hopefully near) future when Trump has his bunker moment or reaches his political demise: not the admission of culpability for the suffering, or the grieving and repentance such ownership requires, but feigned ignorance.

They will pretend not to have heard the rest of us over the last decade as we labored relentlessly to rouse them awake with facts and data that they stridently rejected.

They will claim no recollection of the nearly infinite occasions we passionately appealed to a reason and decency that were nowhere to be found within them.

And they will plead innocence in the hopes that we will somehow believe that they were misled, duped, and swindled, instead of correctly concluding that they’d abandoned their humanity in the presence of a moral bottom feeder whose prejudices, phobias, and grievances matched their own.

When justice finally arrives (as it always does for tyrants and despots); when Trump’s legion of atrocities can no longer be contained within heavily redacted files, buried beneath Fox News fluff pieces, or explained away by their wildest mental gymnastics, then, they will fire off one last, desperate salvo: denial.

One day soon, just as the Germans Erich Kästner wrote about eighty years ago, MAGA Americans will hope to be thought of as gullible idiots rather than complicit enablers. They will seek exoneration in the name of having been fooled, attempting to rewrite the story of one last time and hope the rest of us will let them.

When that happens, we’ll need to preserve history and their participation accurately, so that if this terrible bit of History repeats itself in the future, the good people who bear witness in those days will make sure no one forgets- or lets them off the hook.”

-All above copied verbatim from ’s piece published March 17, 2026.

Critical Next Steps For Everyone:

Pay attention right now to the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act”. Since its passage would certainly help Trump, and his voters, in their efforts to try to steal the upcoming Mid-Term elections.

The SAVE Act passed in the (morally bankrupt) U.S. House of Representatives on February 11, 2026, and is up for a vote in the Senate. The SAVE Act puts much at risk, for so many- to include women who changed their names after marriage. A woman whose last name does not match the name on her original birth certificate, and other documentation, could be disqualified this fall from voting.

The SAVE Act could also make null and void one’s Marriage License, as a valid form of ID, for proof of name.

The details of the SAVE Act remain very much in play, with nothing settled in writing yet.

Making now the time to beat these people to the punch.

I stopped by my local Board of Elections Office yesterday, with my original birth certificate, New York State Driver’s License, and U.S. Passport all in hand, plus proof of both names, and residence (I brought a utility bill, and a bank statement).

I asked to remove my married name- from my name as it appears on my New York State Voter Registration-which right now includes both my maiden name, and my married name. I asked to make my name- as it appears on my New York State Voter Registration- now identically match my name as it appears on the rest of my state and federal identification.

It turns out the only thing I needed was my Driver’s License, and to fill out a simple form. And while I made this important change in-person, you can request to have the same form sent to you by mail (to fill out, and mail back).

The time is now, for you to take action to preserve your rights. From men right now working to strip them from you.

Separate, but horrific, food for thought is the reality is that (too) many American women are married to men who voted for this. Project 2025 was right before everyone’s eyes in the lead-up to the November 2024 Election.

Calling to mind ’s piece above- no Republican voter can say “they did not know this could happen”. And because these Republican voters could not break themselves away from voting for him (again), the voting rights of tens of millions of women are now at stake.

These men who voted for him in 2024 claim to love their wives, daughters, mothers. They might. But deep down, they obviously don’t like or respect them.

Please read my piece from April 2025- warning about the SAVE Act- here.

Paris-based entrepreneur , and author of the best-selling and much beloved The Paris Ingredient, recently posted the image above, with a heading that read, “I know there is a saying ‘if these walls could talk’…But imagine if cutlery could talk? Especially those that have overheard French dinner parties for decades…”

I was struck by the idea. And commented, “What a divine concept. And seriously!” Jane’s response to me: “One day we will have lunch, and will give that set of cutlery something to talk about!”

I look forward to lunch with Jane (obviously). Until then, I know someone else whose cutlery must have stories to tell.

That person is Oliver Woodhead, gentleman about Paris, stealth unofficial British Ambassador, and owner/founder of L’Entente, Le British Brasserie. I profiled L’Entente last year in: “A Recipe for Diplomacy with Paris Restauranteur Oliver Woodhead.” L’Entente is named for L’Entente Cordiale — a 1904 diplomatic agreement forged between England and France in the lead-up to World War I.

If building community is a way of keeping faith with the world, Oliver has epically prevailed. In replicating the best of British cuisine, in the heart of Paris, Oliver has — intentionally or not — elevated relations between the U.K. and France since 2018.

In the last eight years, L’Entente developed quite the following, including former French President François Hollande and the British Ambassador to France. The restaurant’s storied dining room witnessed big name fashion players like legendary fashion journalist Suzy Menkes, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Petar Petrov, , , TyLynn Nguyen, Katie Grand, Charlotte Stockdale, and British Vogue’s Sarah Harris.

I was invited to stop by one sunny morning in April 2024 for a pre-open, pre-lunch visit. It felt like crashing a fabulous cast party.

At 10:00 am, the place was popping, complete with an array of journalists: a food critic, a techno-pop music reporter, a culture writer all lined up at the bar, drinking coffee and tea served by Oliver. Produce partners paraded through, with the freshest and most carefully selected ingredients that they personally presented to Oliver and his chef. Add to that local friends who simply stopped by to say hi to Oliver on their way to work. The sense of connection felt like something which would have been perfectly normal in the ‘90s.

Oliver had of course begun the day much earlier than the rest of us by going on BBC Radio as “Their Man in Paris.” As the sun rose in both countries, and all of England sipped tea at the kitchen table, Oliver updated everyone back home on the state of preparations in Paris, in the lead up to the Summer Olympics. Plus anything else going on in Paris.

In his 1759 novel Candide, French philosopher Voltaire famously wrote, “Il faut cultiver notre jardin,” which means “we must cultivate our garden.” Oliver has done this existentially.

My first visit to L’Entente took place with my husband on a sleepy Sunday night in Paris in November 2019, months before the whole world shut down. We sat at the bar, and I still remember the squash soup we shared. It was as warm, cosy, and delicious as the setting.

There were other visits, and one of the most memorable was with my daughter Margaux. She loved L’Entente too. For the divine design, the gorgeous service, and of course the melt in your mouth everything. And, of course, the vibe, which felt like being in on a really special dinner party.

L’Entente is a masterclass in do-it-yourself diplomacy, with Oliver presiding as Ambassador-at-Large presiding, forging friendships, building alliances, connecting through commonality, and trading in some juicy gossip as well no doubt.

Can you imagine the conversations the cutlery at L’Entente has overheard in the past eight years? Inquiring minds must wonder.

Last week, I received a text from Oliver with the news that L’Entente’s existence has run its course. I have no doubt Oliver’s next act will be stellar. But losing L’Entente — in this dour moment in global relations — feels like a blow.

To my Paris-based readers, L’Entente’s last day is Wednesday March 4.

If you do pop by, please raise a glass to Oliver’s incredible accomplishments.

And also make a toast to him, from me.

L’Entente, Le British Brasserie:

13 rue Monsigny, 75002 Paris, +33 1 47 42 92 35

When I was 22 and lived in Paris in the 90s, the women around me were, of course, incredibly stylish. And had their own uniform. As I hopped the Saint-Paul Metro in the Marais, headed to my office, I noticed that the women around me on these weekday mornings (my age and older) all wore a trench coat, over their equally chic work looks.

On the weekends, they wore the same coat. Now paired with the perfect jean, scarf, and shoe; ballet flat, block heel, flat loafer, or boot.

Pulled off with aplomb, the trench coat reflects that quality of inner refinement, which derives through discernment, which emanates out of introspection. In this exercise, you cannot just copycat your best friend. Pulling it off requires self-knowledge.

So the Intrepid and Smart Could Fight Fascists:

A brief history of the Trench Coat per British Vogue: The brands Burberry and Aquascutum are both credited with creating the trench coat, which was worn by British soldiers in World War I.

During, and after the war, foreign soldiers and civilians, began wearing the trench coat — for its patriotic associations; “intrepid men”, and “smart women”.

The trench coat also appears in iconic film moments — Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, for example. As Rick Blaine, pillar of the Nazi resistance.

The Trench Coat Today

I have three in my own arsenal, to include the dramatic piece below by Paris-based designer Lutz Huelle. If I were in the market for another one, I might consider this coat by Marc Jacobs. Or in vintage world, perhaps this Prada piece. (FYI, items bought on re-sale sites usually cannot be returned if they don’t fit).

Your Coat Is Your Calling Card

I propose we channel the trench coat’s “intrepid and smart” qualities for our own purposes. As we stand up for U.S. Democracy, against our own, modern- now homegrown- fascists.

We can each put our own stamp on the trench coat, as we: run for local or larger office; volunteer for a state or national (Democratic Party) campaign; show up to tutor under-resourced students; volunteer at a food bank, or shelter. Or take a moment, to stop, and give money and a meal— to a homeless person/immigrant family sitting on a street corner.

We must each act as the individual antidote to the evil unleashed, ongoing, by so many around us. To include, of course, the 77 million Americans who, 15 months ago, voted for this Republican regime. These voters embody the absolute worst of us, and are the antithesis of “intrepid and smart”.

The rest of us — in stark contrast — must daily reflect the very best of our American ideals. Through an unshakeable commitment to kindness, generosity of the soul, and celebration of human decency.

Win we will. Through the power of style. So suit up, show up — and be the change we desperately, right now, need.

Some “Calling Card” Favorites:

Thoughts on Next Steps:

How about volunteering behind Governor Kathy Hochul, and donating to her campaign too, as she fights hard- every day-to keep ICE out of New York?

I just joined Governor Hochul’s re-election campaign as a volunteer, and you can too. The campaign’s Volunteer Membership form is here.

Also, how about volunteering and/or donating to Dr. Annie Andrews’ Senate Campaign, as she takes on Senator Lindsey Graham in the mid-term elections?

A pediatrician, Dr. Annie Andrews is running in the critical state of South Carolina — which, thanks to this Republican regime, is now (among other things) a measles outbreak hot spot. Please click here to donate, and learn more, about Dr. Annie Andrews, and her campaign.

The holiday season provided ample opportunities to see friends. And with it came the chance to again scour their essence. For any sense of inner shame; against the cruelty we witness in Minneapolis, and the U.S.’s actions in Venezuela.

And to take a temperature check, in the lead up to the rather ridiculous situation we now find ourselves in regarding Greenland — one which (decent) Americans, Greenlanders, and the rest of the world see as terrifying. If Trump ultimately, irrationally, attacks Greenland (stay tuned!), it will destroy NATO and in so doing turn France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Greenland — and Canada! — into enemies, forced to stand up against us.

Yet these double/triple Trump voters still seem not to lose even one wink of sleep. Over any of it. Instead they appear to refuse to compute.

In chatting with them, one now senses a piece missing inside: a moral and ethical hole. Don’t reference “current events” — it makes them obviously uncomfortable. The better strategy with them, these days, is to keep every encounter, every conversation, super surface-y.

The way to create connection with these friends? Just ask them where they’re going next on vacation. Sun or ski? You’ll get an earful — they’re always soon to depart. Like luxury leisure is now their job. “We’re off to Aspen!” Might as well live in denial in style. Tone deaf does not begin to describe.

Also for your own sanity, I advise not bringing up their favorite subject, which is an (imagined) extra-preferential tax break they’re convinced Trump will still bestow upon them. It allows them (in their own minds) to attach a noble quality to their decision to vote for him (again), a year ago.

To support this decision, they will cite some (imaginary) benefit to “their family’s bank account”. As their overriding priority. Over the health, safety, and well-being of untold tens of millions of people around the world.

And, the threats that America’s brave men and women in uniform now face.

Our democracy requires that we each value paying attention to what is happening around us. That we observe with a discerning eye. That we take it upon ourselves to call balls and strikes- in real time- behind truth. And that we declare ourselves the umpire when we witness lies, and injustice, especially when it is inflicted on the least among us.

This is our responsibility as Americans.

None among us is immune from upholding the U.S. Constitution and the ideals of those who came before us, who sacrificed so much- for our freedom.

There is an ages old Cherokee parable called the Tale of Two Wolves, and it goes like this:

One evening, an elderly Cherokee Brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealously, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

The grandson thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather:

Which wolf wins?

The Old Cherokee simply replied, “the one that you feed.”

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The way out in this moment is to turn our societal attention inward: to feed the wolf, to feed the individual and collective soul; with ideas, optimism, love, compassion, and possibility.

And to commit to protect- and care for- not just our own family members, but the strangers among us too. To publicly stand up behind the rights and freedoms of all, for humans of different colors, religions, backgrounds, and immigration statuses.

When Trump and his GOP regime ultimately crash the U.S. dollar (he told us he will, you can read Harvard’s Kennedy School’s outline of the things here), when he once and for all tanks the stock market, turns the U.S. Treasury Market illiquid, obliterates the American economy (Andrew Ross Sorkin in his book 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History- and How it Shattered a Nation shares so many parallels), and causes contagion within the entire global economy… at that point, will these Trump voters “wake up”?

Will they finally see themselves as completely complicit? And feel shame?

I doubt it.

Against the coming AI revolution, I would argue the robots have already taken control. It happened when 47 million Americans traded away their human souls on November 5, 2024. Their inner light now appears dimmed, as they walk among us; mere shells of the more fully formed humans who we (thought we) knew.

The Jesuit order of priests stresses the concept of free will, articulated by Luis de Molina, who in his writings emphasizes libertarian free will and the genuine ability to choose between alternatives. With God’s grace cooperating, but not coercing.

For the Jesuits though, free will does not mean “free ride.” Actions have consequences. In voting for this Republican regime, these Americans made a choice. They knew what they were doing, and they did it anyway.

The fallout from their votes is existential for the rest of us. With, perhaps, eternal effects to come for them.

What can we do now? I believe the way forward is to societally double down on our individual and collective humanity; by turning empathy, humility, and self-awareness into our superpower. As the antidote to the existence of the tech bro billionaires, who model morally bankrupt behavior, daily, for the next generation.

So, on that note, far fewer computer science majors, please!

If we want to uphold and protect democracy, we must encourage deeper engagement in the humanities in the next generation. In the arts, foreign languages, history, government, literature, poetry, music, philosophy, etc. To feed well the wolf, and ones’ soul. To understand why one must never lose the latter.

And don’t worry, Gen Z students, you will get a job! Since you will so stand out from the crowd! For your ability to write beautifully, think creatively, read the minds of the other humans in the room, see trouble coming, and brilliantly bridge divides. All because you decided to study philosophy (or English, history, art, whatever) and made the choice to expand your horizons, develop discernment, and sharpen your own human perspective.

A computer will replace you, if you let it. You will lose your soul, if you trade it away.

Instead we must feed our hearts, and minds with love and kindness; as we strive and survive — to ultimately humanly thrive.

Because “Life Is A Banquet” indeed.

Yet, Trump voters, you insist on continuing to feed the wrong wolf. Most notably through your silence.

Perhaps Tolstoy was right, when he said:

“The wicked become even worse, when they are tolerated.”

As the story goes, in 1966, Nan Kempner — Swan extraordinaire and seminal social X-ray — arrived with the legendary American sportswear designer Bill Blass as her date— to dine at New York’s La Côte Basque.

Or was it the 21 Club? Or Le Cirque? There remains some confusion in the re-telling. But I have always believed it was La Côte Basque.

No matter. What all of New York society can agree on is that Nan Kempner, on the arm of Bill Blass, was rejected at the door. Because in 1966, women “who wished to be seated at their table,” were forbidden from wearing pants.

And our Nan was wearing pants. And not just any old pair of pants. Instead she arrived, top-to-toe, in the avant-garde Le Smoking by Yves Saint Laurent.

When informed at the front door that she could not come in — since she was wearing pants — Nan simply removed them, declared her “top half” now a dress, et le voilà, Madame Kempner was delivered to her table, by an ashen Maître d’hôtel.

It was one heck of a stylish strike for women’s rights. Thrown down by one of le plus ultra of American establishment types. And a Republican no less.

What a GOP contrast in studies to today, against the cowardice and conformity that we see on full display by the Fox & Friends — and fans — crew. We’re forced to watch them waddle around Washington, D.C., kitted out in Tuckernuck, as sartorial clones of one another, united in their daily distortion of truth, their hourly assaults on the U.S. Constitution, and gleeful commitment to ending human decency. It’s hard to tell them apart, perhaps by design.

But I digress.

Who was Nan Kempner?

“There is no such thing as a chic American woman. The look is always too contrived, it doesn’t come naturally. The one exception is Nan Kempner.” — Diana Vreeland

Born Nan Field Schlesinger in San Francisco, Kempner was the only child within a wealthy Jewish family. Her father, Albert “Speed” Schlesinger, who owned the largest car dealership in California, reportedly told his daughter, “You’ll never make it on your face, so you’d better be interesting.” So Kempner started collecting couture clothing when she was a young woman living in San Francisco.

After marrying Thomas Lenox Kempner in 1952, Nan raised three children. And then evolved into a permanent presence at Studio 54, had her portrait painted by Andy Warhol, and almost never missed an Yves Saint Laurent catwalk for 55 years (she did miss one, the year her father died).

When she died from emphysema on July 3, 2005, aged 74, Nan Kempner owned one of the foremost private fashion couture collections in the country, featuring classic designers such as Mainbocher and her favorite designers Yves Saint Laurent and Bill Blass. And over the course of 30 years, she helped raise more than $75,000,000 for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Two months after her passing, her family held a memorial service in her honor at the auction house Christie’s, with more than 500 in attendance.

Then, in December 2006, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute exhibited “Nan Kempner: American Chic”, showcasing selections from her couture collection.

In 2007, the exhibition was displayed at San Francisco’s De Young Museum from June 16 to November 11. Much of the collection went to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, including Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, and the house of Christian Dior.

Recalling her pre-eminent position in New York, it was said at the time: “an invitation to Nan’s famous Sunday-night spaghetti dinners has always been unturndownable, partly because you never know who might turn up (at her exquisitely decorated apartment at 79th Street & Park Avenue). Princess Di? Nancy Reagan? Well, hello, my darling.”

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What is Le Smoking?

From Le Musee Yves Saint Laurent in Paris:

“In his Autumn-Winter 1966 collection, Yves Saint Laurent introduced his most iconic piece: the tuxedo. This garment, which was meant to be worn in a smoking room to protect one’s clothing from the smell of cigars, was reserved only for men.

Saint Laurent’s tuxedo, however, was not an exact copy of the men’s tuxedo. He used the same codes but adapted it to the female body.

For a woman, the tuxedo is an indispensable garment in which she will always feel in style, for it is a stylish garment and not a fashionable garment.

Fashions fade, style is eternal.

Yves Saint Laurent’s tuxedo proved too ahead of its time and was initially snubbed by his haute couture clientele. Only one was sold.

Paradoxically, the Saint Laurent rive gauche version was a success. The label’s younger clientele was quick to purchase it, making the tuxedo a classic.

Saint Laurent would go on to include it in each of his collections, until his last one in 2002.”

Pulling off Le Smoking requires putting one’s own stamp on it. The silhouette of the pant leg, the choice of shoe, the selection of the shirt underneath (or the decision to forgo), plus one’s choice of accessories such as jewelry, pocket square, etc. All demand thought.

In 1966, Nan Kempner understood fashion’s ability to make an immediate impact, shift thinking, and bring about change.

She understood refinement as resistance, elegance as advocacy, and inclusion as always impeccable.

Nan Kempner reminds us that the pillars of great style are courage, conviction, and confidence; that individual thinking is everything; and that those who express their thoughts, through constructive action, are well remembered.

Happy 60th birthday to Le Smoking. Your magical powers are much needed — now, more than ever.

Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist.

She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning fifty years.

Against the indescribable horrors we see inflicted on us in America in this moment- some important thoughts from this other-worldly artist:

Human Family

I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.

I’ve sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I’ve seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I’ve not seen any two
who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,
we weep on England’s moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we’re the same.

I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

-Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

Project 2026:

“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise!”

- Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

The following piece was published on December 31, 2025 by , an American former Christian youth pastor and author, known for his social and political writings.

It is copied and pasted- verbatim- below:

“Most Trump Supporters Aren’t Stupid, and That’s the Most Terrifying Thing.

Ignorance is not a compelling argument at this point.

We’ve all heard the theories for the past ten years: people still supporting Donald Trump are somehow victims of the partisan media and the Evangelical alternate reality that they’ve been raised in and are still captives of. They’re continually surrounded by fake news and carefully curated false stories, and so they aren’t bad people they just aren’t seeing what we are seeing, and we need to be more understanding.

This just isn’t acceptable anymore.

There simply isn’t a sufficient excuse for being an adult so sheltered from facts and so truth-deprived that you can’t see Trump’s complete sociopathy and you can’t discern the existential threat he and his party are to this nation.

These people aren’t being asked to dig beneath some complex, brilliantly crafted ruse perpetrated by Conservative media and religious conglomerates working in concert; they’re being asked to see what’s in front of them and respond with something resembling working humanity.

If you can simply read Trump’s own social media feed and not be fully disgusted to the point of vomiting, you either aren’t a reasonable human being or you are willingly choosing to engage in an hourly regimen of wild intellectual and theological gymnastics in order to avoid a reality that makes you uncomfortable, and to intentionally avoid some really vile stuff that no one is even attempting to conceal anymore.

I’m fully convinced that the lion’s share of people still supporting Donald Trump know he is a reprehensible human being, guilty of both high crimes against this nation and sexual violence against women and young girls, but they simply can’t admit to themselves or anyone else that they made a mistake, and so they are tripling down while the world burns.

They’re not stupid; they’re just willing to let America die on the alter of their pride, which may be far worse.

Being an adult means being responsible for ferreting out what is real and what isn’t, for making good decisions with the available information, and being willing to change an opinion in light of new data. This is what we demand from our children, isn’t it? We only let their ignorance be an excuse for so long, and then we remove that option because we expect them to be smarter than that at some point. And if we realize that they are smart enough to know better, then it becomes an indictment of their character.

If grown men and women aren’t willing or able to sift information and choose wisely because of their media choices, their circle of friends, or their mental effort, the result is the same: they are enabling and protecting reprehensible behavior that places people in great danger.

If Fox News creates your reality, you’re going to be hateful toward lots of people. You’re going to be afraid of Muslims, LGBTQ people, immigrants, people of color, refugees- and on and on and on. And if you’ve been on the planet for a few decades, you should have developed the critical thinking not to allow a network that brokers in fantasy and fiction to be your baseline for truth. That’s a you problem.

If the Evangelical Right defines for you what it means to be a Christian, your Christianity is going to look nothing like the actual teachings of Christ. It’s going to be an angry, violent thing devoid of compassion and gentleness. That isn’t your preacher’s fault and it isn’t Franklin Graham’s fault and it isn’t the Devil’s fault. As a thinking Christian who supposedly reads the words of Jesus and reflects on them regularly, you should see through the sham in a hot minute and soundly reject it.

If the brazen, unapologetic racism and xenophobia and misogyny on display right now is too subtle for your sensibilities, and if Nazis marching through town squares and supremacist politicians and election interference fall beneath your radar, you either intentionally have your head in the sand, or it isn’t on straight to begin with- and either is a problem.

Many of my white Evangelical friends supporting Trump aren’t as much stupid or unaware as they are cowardly. They held their noses in 2016, voted in anger or haste or error, and then quickly got out of the politics business, choosing to escape the consequences of their decision on other people. So Fox News and the Conservative Christian Church have become convenient places of sanctuary for people with privilege wanting to hide from the results of their vote.

Again, they aren’t unaware of reality; they’re just opting out of it altogether. If it is stupidity, the affliction is highly selective, extremely localized, and very convenient, allowing them to retain their tribal affiliations despite the harm they are doing.

And worse than all of this, of course, is the possibility that the people who voted for him are neither ignorant, uninformed, or misled, but fully cognizant of the implications of their partnership.

It’s time we stopped giving adult human beings the benefit of the doubt, simply because we think they’re not smart enough not to be fooled by religious shysters, fake news peddlers, and political snake oil salesmen. If that is true, then they’re also not smart or mentally stable enough to be presented with objective data or compelling arguments and to filter them responsibly. They are, practically speaking, unreachable with rational measures.

I’m tired of having to treat people like children when they aren’t capable or willing to see what even a child can see, what my children can see. They know hatred and bullying and dehumanization without needing to read a think piece or do online research or unpack layers of religion and history.

I’m over justifying bigotry and racism and the horrible stuff happening in the country, and giving people who perpetuate it a pass because they supposedly don’t realize they’re supporting a monster when most of the watching world seems to get it.

In a time when information is available at our fingertips and when conversation, study, and exploration are limitless, I’m through excusing supposed adults for not being able to make a decision that is based in reality, simply because they’re in some hateful, self-righteous, nationalistic bubble. That’s their fault, not ours.

I don’t hate these people, but I’m also not going to coddle them and encourage their ignorance anymore, because lots of people are injured when that happens.

Sooner or later, we adults all have to own our past sins and previous stupidity- and choose to be wiser.

Thoughts for 2026:

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The late vicomtesse blazed her own trail – in style and in life.

MARTIN

JAN 03, 2026

The last queen of Paris is gone. Jacqueline de Ribes, the vicomtesse and style icon of several decades, died this week at the age of 96. For years, her homes and her immaculately bedecked figure were the focus of major magazine spreads and envious chatter, her good taste oozing from every slick image. And yet it wasn’t the couture or silk upholstery that made her stand apart in a sea of wealthy socialites.

It’s easy to talk about taste in terms of money, what one can afford functioning as a sort of barometer for where one lands on that spectrum. But taste is really about values and principles. That’s why it can’t be bought. When it becomes finely honed, it extends directly to the heart of who we are.

If you look at Jacqueline through the years, it quickly becomes clear that she looked exactly like herself in every way, at every turn. At some point, the clothes she wore stopped being Yves Saint Laurent and Dior creations and transmuted themselves into Jacqueline originals. It was impossible to imagine anyone else wearing them, let alone looking as exquisite.

And then there was Jaqueline herself. You can’t ignore that nose with its unapologetic dorsal hump. In a time when such a feature is considered an issue to be fixed, the act of highlighting it in nearly every photograph – a profile shot was her bread and butter, something Avedon and all the greats knew – feels like an act of elegant rebellion the caliber of which I’ve rarely witnessed, a saber sheathed in velvet.

The truth is, the most arrestingly beautiful people aren’t born that way. They become that way through their thoughts and actions. As Anjelica Huston once so rightly proclaimed, as one ages, “you get the face you deserve.” Jacqueline’s face was a faceted gem, every angle chiseled in sharp relief, each element unusual yet utterly harmonious in composition. The most advanced AI or most experienced plastic surgeon could never conceive of such a structure.

Tired of being an avatar for other people’s work, she eventually became a designer in her own right. Jacqueline’s extensive experience as a client and collaborator was a training ground for her professional third act. Unrelenting health issues forced her to shutter the business in 1995 after a twelve-year run despite its commercial success. Her public appearances dwindled in the following years, but she remained a fixture of elite Parisian circles and on the moodboards of countless designers. Perhaps more than anything, her death marks the end of an epoch, a time when a certain kind of glamour and individuality were worth aspiring to. That’s something worth grieving all on its own.

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Thoughts for 2026:

Subscribe here to ’s “No Sale”.

I promise you, it always delivers. Incredible insider’s insight and perspective; in a moment when our world needs it the most.

C’est la vie, c’est la guerre.

Mais en ce moment, c’est aussi une question du style.

As we face 2026 head on, each of us must see ourselves as members of the modern Resistance- standing up for human decency, and behind American Democracy.

As such, I propose that we all agree to see:

• Soft diplomacy as a superpower which each of us must daily practice

• Style as its language

• Cultural curiousness as its currency

• And that air of sartorial flair, and international savoir faire…

…as the markers through which we identify ourselves to the world- and to each other.

Separately, yet related, I think often of a quote from (whose own mother was a member of the WWII Resistance and survived a German extermination camp): “Glamour is shine, polish, mystery…it adds a fascinating appeal and a magical touch to individuals or situations.”

It is important that we sartorially, starkly stand out — from the Fox & Friends crew, from the “nouveau authoritarians” crawling all around us, from the tracksuit-clad tech billionaires, and- for sure- from the Trump voters themselves.

Why? So we know each other- when we see each other. Ours, you see, is instead, an infinitely elevated game.

Residing and resisting within our ranks; internationalists, men and women of languages, letters, accomplishment, substance, style, and reason. Advocates for others writ-large, deeply informed, always immersed in fact.

Each one exuding a certain je ne sais quoi. Emanating out of concern for others, and an uncommon quality of grace.

So we will also need language through which we communicate to each other; to signal high or low, friend or foe.

As such let’s channel The French Resistance during World War II. And for this modern always non-violent alliance, I propose we commit to create our own codes through:

1. Fashion as Foreign Affairs:

Fashion can quickly shape perspective, build bridges between countries and cultures, and plant critical seeds of influence into the individual and collective consciousness. Fashion always looks forward. And, in doing so, it creates the future.

2. Elegance as Advocacy

If you can captivate a room through poise, polish, and personal presence- then you can make an impact anywhere, and on a grand scale. The secret to elevating any room is to focus on others, and as little as possible on oneself.

3. Refinement is Resistance

Every form of agency we do not use, is agency that we lose. To cultivate, elevate, and operate at the top of one’s own game is the only way to meet this moment. Each of us is a work in progress. So to double down on becoming ones best self is right now only everything.

Thoughts for 2026:

“No one gives you power. You have to take it from them.”

- Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita, The U.S. House of Representatives and Congresswoman from California.

What I’m reading this week:

The New York Times’ Obituary: “Jacqueline de Ribes, Tastemaker and Fashion Avatar, Dies at 96“ by Ruth La Ferla.

The U.S. Congress has left town. Gone home.

The Republican-led House and Senate adjourned four days ago, until 2026, with no plan in place to keep the soon-to-expire healthcare subsidies that support, and preserve, President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.

Which means that 22 million Americans might soon be unable to afford their healthcare.

The costs for which will rise exponentially next month, and make health insurance unaffordable for, again, 22 million Americans. For example, a $495.32 monthly premium could jump to $2,168.68 a month. This is budget-busting stuff, as so many increasingly, barely, make ends meet.

To date, just four Republicans have sided with Democrats to continue these healthcare subsidy extensions, which were put in place by the Democrats during the Biden Administration in 2021. Also 3 out of 4 people soon to be affected live in states that Trump won.

So if you don’t care that this is what 22 million Americans face as the holidays approach — since they might soon live just one medical event away from financial (and emotional) ruin — then you are quite likely a monster.

You’re a Mean One, G.O.P. You are the Grinch.

Taking everything you can, from as many as you can.

“You’re a rotter, [G.O.P.].

You’re the king of sinful sots!

Your heart’s a dead tomato splotched with moldy purple spots [G.O.P.].

Your soul is an appalling dump heap, overflowing

With the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable,

mangled up in tangled knots!”

Against these developments, and Republican-masterminded evil dropped on us, daily and ongoing, an important reminder:

“Your political views aren’t just opinions. They reveal your values, your capacity for empathy, and the way you view other human beings.

They show what you notice, and what you choose to ignore.

They show the fears you inherited, the biases you never questioned- and the limits of the world you imagine for others.

They show who you instinctively protect, and who you’re comfortable overlooking.

In the end it’s not about sides at all.

It’s about who you believe deserves care, and who you quietly leave behind.

And the part people rarely admit is this…

Your politics expose the limits of your imagination, long before they expose the limits of your intelligence.”

- Warpaint Journal

In the end, you’ll see — we will win.

Project 2026 kicks off in 9 days. So rest up.

And register here, to do your own important part.

Share Refinement is Resistance

What I’m reading this week:

’s December 20, 2025. A glimpse into this no good, very-bad past week for Democracy. In these here United States.

Timely thoughts:

A gift to The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) right now would make an important impact.

Established in 1911, USCRI is a non-governmental, not-for-profit international organization which provides legal & health services to refugees, unaccompanied migrating children, trafficking survivors, and other immigrants- in all 50 states, in the U.S.

In the spirit of Christmas…organizations like this one will need our individual, and collective, support. Now more than ever.

As our bus exited I-78 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, there was sudden silence.

It was October 2024. Looking out, all we could see were Trump 2024 signs, a sea of flags (American, Trump, and Confederate), and assorted shrines to the Republican candidate for president. They were everywhere: on front lawns, in storefront windows, on lamp posts, and outside police stations, as we continued on to Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s election field office in Reading, PA.

Visiting northeast Pennsylvania during that time felt like personally starring in a horror movie, cast as the out-of-towner who warns the locals that an evil swamp creature is coming for them. Where, in the end, no one listens.

For geographic context, Taylor Swift was born in Reading, and grew up on a nearby Christmas tree farm. In November 2009, Taylor shared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that one of her chores on the farm as a child was to collect praying mantis egg sacs from the Douglas fir trees, so they didn’t hatch in people’s homes and ruin someone’s Christmas. (Food for thought, as the holidays approach.) The Swifts then moved from Reading to Nashville, Tennessee with 13-year-old Taylor’s music career in mind.

In addition to Reading and West Reading, I traveled to Wilkes-Barre, Plains Township, Pottsville, Shenandoah, and Coatesville during those final months of the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz presidential campaign. This piece in The New York Times perfectly captures just some of what I saw.

The schedules for these bus journeys were always the same. Depart New York at 7:30 am, drive 3-4 hours to that day’s destination, confirm individual assignments at the field office, knock doors (usually on foot) from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Then meet back at the local field office, report back in with the (paid) campaign staff, and board buses for the ride back to The Big Apple.

We packed our own breakfast, lunch, and dinner for these sixteen hour days — and ate on the run. We were careful not to waste even one minute, as we worked to get out the vote, in these towns and small cities.

“Are you from New York?” a group of women in their late 20s asked me outside a bar, on a beautiful October day in West Reading.

“Because we really like your coat,” continued one of the women. Her name was Kate.

Since the Trump 2024 campaign bizarrely never organized any kind of “ground game” in Pennsylvania, the locals knew anyone door knocking for the presidential campaign was a Democrat. Likely from New York or Washington, D.C., and in town just for the day.

I introduced myself to these women, asked if they had voted yet, and also asked if they might support Kamala. They reported that they had all early voted for Kamala, and for every other Democrat on the ballot too.

I asked if their families might also support. Kate answered. She shared that her mother was a long time Democrat, who had already early voted for Kamala. Kate’s father voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 — which, according to Kate, had put some very serious strain on her parents’ marriage in recent years.

So in the lead up to 2024, Kate’s mother matter of factly told her husband, “You say you love me. You say you love our daughter. It’s time to prove that you now also, actually, like us.”

Kate’s mother also told her husband that if he voted for Trump 2024, she would not divorce him. But she would wake up every morning for the rest of their lives, and some (not so small) part of her would hate him. At which point there would be nothing he could do to fix it, since the election would be over.

Kate then shared that a few days after her mom’s chat, Kate’s father had called, asking her to come home. When she walked in the house, she found her father and two voting age younger brothers sitting at the family’s dining room table, completing their mail-in ballots. When they finished filling them out, they held them up so Kate and her mother could see that each one of them had voted for Kamala.

Her father and brothers sealed their ballots, handed them to Kate, and asked her to immediately deliver them to their local polling station. Kate told me she felt proud and hopeful. For her family, for Pennsylvania, and for our country, too.

I had lots of conversations with women on the trail. Many were afraid to open the door, some would only speak to us through an open window, so the neighbors couldn’t see them. Others would barely crack open the front door, to whisper that they would vote for Kamala.

The campaign warned us about “outing” women who might have secretly registered as a Democrat. Because we only knocked on the doors of registered Democrats — whose names were on the lists provided to us by the campaign — our showing up at their house could accidentally spill their secret.

And, boy, did we meet many an angry “man of the family” as we canvassed. They would open the front door on the family’s behalf, declare their wife/daughter/mother “unable” to speak to us, and then slam said door in our face. We always worried about the women who were inside, especially since there was no one to call for help, if they needed it.

In West Reading, my canvassing partner Susan and I found ourselves on a deserted street, when a white pick up truck suddenly sped past us. It had an enormous American flag affixed, and “I Like Big Girls” written in large type on the back window. It proceeded to circle around us- over and over. To scare us into abandoning our work.

When Susan asked if we should call the police, I responded that this might be the sheriff’s brother, or even the (off-duty) sheriff himself. We finished our work.

In Plains Township, outside Wilkes-Barre, an absolutely incensed neighbor drove at my canvassing partner Tim, out of nowhere, in his giant white pickup truck with Trump 2024 flag affixed. His giant truck missed Tim by about two feet.

In Shenandoah, the campaign gave us a driver. His name was Andy, he held a position with the City of Pottsville’s Democratic Committee, and he knew the area well. Outside certain houses, Andy left the car engine running- and facing in the direction of our exit. Getaway style. In case someone came at us with a gun.

On these trips, my fellow volunteers compared notes about their other recent campaign visits to Pennsylvania. To include in areas south of Allentown, where they described their conversations with locals as “politically concerning”— for their racist undertones.

Fast forward to 2025, and Pennsylvanians now experience the consequences of their 2024 Republican Party support, as they face amplified concerns about losing their jobs, keeping food on the table, and keeping their families healthy. The bottom appears to be falling out, all around them.

Food wholesaler United Natural Foods, located in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, announced layoffs of more than 700 jobs in June. These layoffs have been attributed to tariffs imposed by this Republican regime. And it’s coming home to roost in those affluent areas south of Allentown too. Where layoffs took place at Mack Truck in Macungie, Pennsylvania, just days after Trump’s “Independence Day” April tariffs were announced.

Pennsylvania now finds itself in the top ten worst states to find a job — ranked number seven — according to a recent study conducted and published by WalletHub.

And the horrors continue to escalate, as this Republican regime does everything it can to end SNAP food assistance, and eliminate government subsidies that allow families to keep their healthcare. Rural American hospitals now struggle just to survive- against Republican cuts to Medicaid.

The Trump Administration has eliminated life-saving safety nets in places like Reading, West Reading, Wilkes-Barre, Plains Township, Pottsville, Shenandoah, and Coatesville.

So now Democrats must work that much harder — for Pennsylvanians, and our fellow Americans. We must all roll up our sleeves to get these communities, and others, the help they need. We all deserve access to food, healthcare, and employment; respect from others for our individual differences; and a government by, for, and of the people.

We must build back better. And finally put this long, national, nightmare behind us. You can register here to get involved.

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Ruth Reichl, Take Me Away!

The bus rides back to New York were so quiet, as we all processed what we had just seen and experienced. To distract, I would mentally drop myself into an alternate universe of “internationalists” — after a day spent in these isolationist battle grounds— thanks to Ruth Reichl’s The Paris Novel.

It was the perfect escape during these drives back, and it captures the magic that can happen when you place your faith in strangers.

The Paris Novel breaks down borders, bridges alliances, and celebrates French perspective through fashion, food, literature, history, and old world refinement. It’s like a Disney movie for worldly adults, complete with a happy ending.

“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”:

John Berendt’s best selling novel Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil alludes to the hoodoo concept that a window of time exists for “good magic” (11:30 pm to midnight) and a separate one for “evil magic” (midnight to 12:30 am). They are two different portals.

The 2024 and 2025 U.S. elections embodied the concept, as windows for progress (or the opposite), that opened, and then closed.

Last week, we witnessed “green shoots” behind democracy with Gavin Newsom’s sweeping election victory approving the redistricting ballot measure in California, representing “a new moment” for the Democratic Party. “Clarity, conviction, purpose, energy. On our toes, not on our heels. A resurgent Democratic Party, and it’s a party that understands what’s at stake for our democracy,” Newsom said.

And Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill both prevailed — former Washington, D.C. roommates now making history — with Spanberger elected as Virginia’s first female Governor, and Sherrill now the first Democratic woman elected Governor of New Jersey. That, plus every county in both Virginia and New Jersey moved blue.

I thought about Kate in West Reading, and her mom. And how they might be feeling about things.

And as I look ahead to the hard work we have ahead of us, behind our democracy and human decency, I’m reminded of a quote from former Republican Congressman Adam Kingzinger of Ohio: “History is recording your name.”

What I’m reading/listening to this week:

The Atlantic’s David Frum on “MAGA’s politicized stupidity” on his podcast, The David Frum Show.

“Politicized stupidity is a kind of aggressive ‘not getting the point’ by people who are otherwise perfectly capable of ‘getting the point’.

Genuine stupidity is a misfortune, and is distributed by God.

But the politicized stupidity is chosen.”

“Time Tested Beauty Tips.

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others…”

The above passage is from Audrey Hepburn’s favorite poem by Sam Levenson. It was recited at her 1993 funeral in Tolochenaz, Switzerland.

Coming Up Next Week:

“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. U.S. political moments 2024 vs 2025.

is an Author, Pastor, Activist, and Storyteller.

I have copied his Instagram comments from yesterday, and posted them verbatim below. It feels like they capture the situation in America, right now.

“The last decade in America has been an unrelenting funeral.

For over ten years now, we’ve all stepped into the day knowing we would face the death of people we love.

However, it would not be their physical passing that we would bear witness to and mourn over, but the dying of the people we once believed them to be; it would be the grieving over the still-living.

As a substantial segment of this nation has found itself swallowed up by a carefully curated mass delusion, we’ve watched in disbelief as our parents, siblings, neighbors, co-workers, and church friends have fallen into the cultic pull of an amoral, intellectually-fetal, needy, narcissistic man-child.

Little by little, in incendiary social media diatribes, in explosive outbursts at holiday gatherings, in offhand remarks over lunch, and in facepalm-inducing text exchanges, we’ve lost them- or at least the version of them we used to know; the one where they were compassionate and loving and decent.

And these people whom we share homes and blood and memories with haven’t just died to us in the hundreds of thousands of moments of consequence when they turned away and said nothing; moments where the inhumanity and illegality and cruelty would have compelled any human being with a fully functioning soul to raise their voices.

Many times it has been their lack of words that has been the fatal blow to our image of them.

Because of these seemingly never-ending relational deaths, we’ve mourned the loss of our families, of lifelong friends, of our social circles, of our church families, of our communities, and it has been spirit-crushing.

And in these very moments, many of us are experiencing the unthinkable death of America.

It’s happening as masked thugs rip mothers from carpool lines, knock old men from bicycles, and tear gas teenage girls. It’s happening as terrified, half-naked children are being zip-tied by cosplaying soldiers.

It’s happening as armies of unidentified goons smash out car windows and shoot family dogs and drive women’s heads into the pavement.

It’s happening as people are being kidnapped from their places of business and houses of worship, without probable cause or due process or legal representation.

It’s happening as law-abiding, tax-paying, community-enriching human beings are being deported or disappeared, whisked away to human dog kennels, foreign prisons, or God knows where.

And the America we thought we lived in is dying as millions of people we share this nation with ignore it, or allow it, or approve it.

What ICE is doing right now is nothing short of an open declaration of war on everything good that this nation has aspired to, the best of our forebears intentions, the personal liberties and collective freedoms our ancestors fought, and died, to defend.

There is no “both-siding” this moral filth in our midst, no spinning of the grotesque story to make it at all defensible, no alternative take that justifies the Government-sanctioned inhumanity being visited upon our nation.

You’re either with the masked mercenaries or you’re on the right side of history, period. You either oppose fascism or you enable it. You either believe in the sanctity of life, or you don’t.

This Administration’s violent weaponizing of ICE is a test of American’s tolerance for dehumanization, for illegal Government overreach, for brutality against the most vulnerable among us- and millions of those who call this place home are failing that test.

They are failing it by enlisting in this modern wannabe Gestapo, donning masks, and terrorizing their neighbors.

They are failing it by scrolling away from the horrifying videos and gut-wrenching stories, because they lack the courage to confront the violence- or because they secretly support it.

They are failing it by clinging to their myopic political tribalism instead of the beleaguered, disparate humanity they share this nation with.

They are failing it by betraying both faith and country by doing nothing to stop the most brazen, most vicious, most dehumanizing assault on America by its leadership since the Civil War.

This is a stark line in the sand for all of us.

The good people of this nation cannot allow what ICE is doing go unopposed. We cannot be found gutless or voiceless now, or we will deserve the fascist nation we will quickly call home.

And we can no longer make excuses for the people we know and love, who are showing us with heartbreaking clarity, who they are.

If the people we live with, socialize with, and work alongside will not stand against the authoritarianism at our doorsteps, and worse, if they partner with it, they do not deserve relational proximity to us.

Those collaborating with, and supporting, ICE must be made into pariahs, wherever good people gather. History demands it.

We may have to attend the funeral of relationships with people we once respected, but it’s better than being complicit in the death of this nation.

This is a test of our individual and collective humanity America.

May we not fail.”

I would add that you either voted for this. Or you voted behind the exact opposite.

All of us have taken an inventory along the way. Of who did what, and why.

Each of us must stand up. No Kings Protests will take place this weekend in 2,500 U.S. cities, and in solidarity in cities around the world.

You can register at indivisible.org, or on mobilize.us

If you actually believe “whatsoever you do, to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me”- then you had better take some very public immediate next steps.

No excuses.

I was struck by “The Barroom Confession: A Fictional Republican Admits Why He Bows to Trump” published, last week on Substack, by former Republican United States Congressman from Ohio .

Adam Kinzinger is now the founder of Country1st.com. I am sharing with you his piece, verbatim, copied below.

“The Barroom Confession: A Fictional Republican Congressman Admits Why He Bows to Trump:

A behind-the-scenes dialogue on cowardice, complicity, and why standing up gets easier once you take the first step.

Fictional, But All Too Real.

What follows is fiction. A composite conversation, imagined in a dimly lit bar. But if you’ve spent time in Washington, you’ll recognize the voices.

The excuses are real, the fear is real, and the cowardice is real…

At the Bar with a Congressman

The bar was quiet, the jukebox soft, the air heavy with stale beer. Across from me sat a Republican congressman I’ve known for years. Not one of the flamethrowers. Not one of the conspiracy-mongers. The kind who once talked about fiscal responsibility, free markets, America’s role in the world. The kind who when you hear his name you say oh, he’s still in?’

He stared at his drink, not at me. ‘Adam’, he finally said, ‘it’s just too hard. Look what happened to you. Look what happened to Liz [Cheney]. You stood up and the party threw you out. What do you think would happen to me?’

I leaned back. I’ve heard this song before. ‘That’s your defense? That your career matters more than the oath you swore?’

He flinched but said nothing. So I pressed.

‘Did you ever imagine you’d be okay with mass deportations without trial? That you’d be silent as we vote with Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela in the U.N.? That you’d sit stone faced while Trump threatened Canada, Greenland, and Panama? That you’d help drive India into the arms of Russia and China? And January 6 — my God, you were there. You saw the mob. And now you’re voting to investigate the investigators, to turn blame on people who tried to stop it. Tell me, when you first ran, was this your idea of public service?’

He finally looked up, his eyes tired. ‘It’s complicated.’

‘No’, I said, leaning in closer. ‘It feels hard at first. I know. I lived it. I made the choice. I knew what it would cost me, mostly- my seat, my standing, maybe even my safety. But I chose to do the right thing anyway. Not out of bravery but out of duty. I’m one representative of 700,000 people, a solemn position. And you know what? After the first step, it gets easier. Because once you stand up, you remember who you are. Yes, there’s sacrifice. But there are plenty of jobs in America that require less. They will hire you. If you’re in Congress, you have a duty to be brave.’

He looked away. His shoulders sagged, as if the weight of his excuses had finally crushed him.

‘You think history will spare you?’ I asked. ‘That someday your grandkids will read ‘Grandpa knew better, but it was too hard? That won’t be the footnote. That will be the headline. You’ll be remembered as the man who knew the truth, and was too weak to act on it.’

He whispered, ‘You don’t understand. The voters…they’re his now. The base doesn’t want independence. They want loyalty. If I go against him, I’m finished.’

I shook my head. ‘I do understand. Better than you. Because I lived it. I made the choice you’re too scared to make. And yes, it cost me- but I’d make the same choice again. Because at the end of the day, I still have my integrity.

Each day still weighs heavy, but I know the heavier weight is carrying around shame and cowardice.

But, integrity always remains. Can you say the same?’

He didn’t answer. He just sat there, hunched over an empty glass, pitiful and broken.

It won’t be long till he tries to go on FoxNews or Newsmax to get some praise, a temporary hit of crack to numb the pain. It will only leave him feeling more broken and empty, more in need of another ‘hit’, more empty after, and the cycle continues.

When I walked into the night, I realized the truth: the difference between us wasn't Trump, or politics, or even the base. It was duty. I chose to do mine, as did many others no longer in office.

He chose to do nothing. And history won’t forget the difference.”

RiR Editor’s Note- Me Again:

Trumpers, it’s thanks entirely to you — that people who behave like the one above, are still in office. Without you, there is no “them”.

Without you, and without “them”- there absolutely is no “him”. Long after “he” is gone, what the rest of us will remember is you.

You are an abject failure: as citizen, voter, and member of humanity.

Coming soon:

“Everything You Need to Know, I Learned at Vogue: Core Curriculum”.

Anna Wintour, and everyone around her, dialed daily, into a higher, and less visible, frequency.

They saw, felt, and filtered through the world differently. You can too.

To be continued!

U.S. Residents, if you want your Congressperson to vote “Yes” to release the Epstein files- then call your Congressperson.

U.S. Congress: 202.225.3121

Their office will answer.

Ask to speak with your individual Congressperson’s office.

If you feel strongly behind this critical issue, then speak up NOW.

ROBERT REICH

Why I can’t retire

ROBERT REICH

AUG 29, 2025

Friends,

Yesterday I heard from an old friend who urged me to slow down. “You’re overdoing it, Bob,” he said. “A new book. Movie. Substack. Videos. You’re pushing 80, for crying out loud. What are you trying to prove?”

I told him I’m not trying to prove anything.

He warned me I was going to harm my health.

Rubbish.

I’m not going to play golf or lie in a hammock and sip mint juleps. That’s not me.

Besides, there’s no way I’ll retire as long as a raving sociopath sits in the Oval Office and destroys everything I believe in.

Trump is 10 days older than I am. If he can cause as much mayhem as he does every day, the least I can do is make a bit of good trouble every day.

We’re in a national emergency. I want you to have the facts, arguments, and analyses you need to take an active role against the Trump regime.

Your active role can be no more than sharing my posts with your friends and colleagues — so they have the facts, arguments, and analyses they need to effectively resist.

Or inviting your conservative Uncle Bob to see the film The Last Class, about my final semester of teaching my large undergraduate “Wealth & Poverty” course at UC Berkeley. Or sending him a copy of my memoir, Coming Up Short.

I want you and everyone else to know that it’s impossible to appease a tyrant like Trump — because tyrants always see appeasement as a sign of weakness and will demand even more.

That taking over American cities with federal troops for no reason threatens the very foundations of our free society.

That abducting people — off the street or from their places of work or courthouses or even their homes, without giving them any reasons or an opportunity to object — violates the basic tenets of America.

That Trump’s vision of civil rights and rejection of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” is nothing more than white rights and white supremacy.

I want you to see the larger pattern here — how all these connect to Trump’s white Christian male nationalism.

But there’s more. I also want to give you the strength and reassurance to get through this nightmare without drowning in denial or despair.

In other words: I write and post every day, and have written a new book and been the subject of a movie, because the stakes are so damn high.

F*ck retirement. I do all this because I believe in you. I believe in your values. In your thoughtfulness. In your determination to leave this nation and this world a better place than they were before Trump.

I believe that together we will get through this and we will prevail.

Refinement is Resistance Editor’s Note:

Every word, and every image above, has been copied and pasted verbatim from Robert Reich’s piece “Why I Can’t Retire” on Substack.

What I’m Reading This Week

, “Sunday Thought: Why Trump is Doomed”. Further critical food for thought- behind “things”.

I spent last weekend in Washington, D.C., which is now infested with ICE.

The National Guard suddenly occupies the city, and carries guns, as military tanks roll around outside Union Station, just steps from the U.S. Capitol.

Since my most recent visit to our nation’s capital in mid-June, mysterious and tall barrier fencing has been additionally installed, in all kinds of places- to include a new outer band, which entirely circles The White House. Public access is effectively cut off to places like Lafayette Square, and the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue.

All super creepy. And none of it feels “temporary.”

A shocking number of people here accept the idea of turning D.C. into a police state. To “finally make the city safe.” (It doesn’t matter that violent crime has been decreasing nationwide for the last two years, to include in Washington, D.C., and all without such extreme intervention.)

The question is- for whom is all of this actually being done? Is it for the thousands of school children and their teachers, who pour in every day from all over America, to walk the city’s streets without incident, and visit places like The National Archives? So they can view the original U.S. Constitution for themselves- before it, too, is declared off-limits?

Or, is all of it happening just so the GOP can take credit for solving an overblown issue- to assume more power for the regime, in the process?

Only those who allow themselves to be mind-controlled by dog whistles from the societal gutter that is Fox News, and other platforms of their ilk, think this military presence on the streets of Washington, D.C. is in any way merited.

I used to attribute support of “him”, in those around me, to a willing stupidity. A lack of critical thought, or engagement- of any kind- with others different from themselves. Or perhaps from being so morally “un-formed”, that they somehow did not know better.

I have come to see that, all along, these voters knew exactly what they were doing. They like having him think for them. He makes them feel safe and cared for, which in turn, makes them feel important- and special. As such, he is (frighteningly) firmly enmeshed in their identity.

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They also completely get that without them, there is no him.

In service to him, they will not let go. Soon or ever. Some of this stems out of their fear of others, who are; of a different race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, immigration status, or socio-economic background.

Anyone who doesn’t look like them, or think exactly like them, apparently poses a threat to their very existence- at least according to Fox News, and other alt-right thinkers.

So, when he is finally gone, we can’t forget about those who allowed this to happen. What the rest of us will remember is “them” — these voters, and the shame they have brought, and continue to bring, to this country.

In this great sorting of humanity, it’s critical that we stand up right now against what they do. And everything else they plan to do. One does not want to get lumped in with them, into the same space, in this life.

One also does not want to find themself existing, in the same place as them, after that.

These military installments are, for the moment, entirely performative. The regime is “responding” to a crisis that quite simply does not actually exist. That will be the case, until of course, they create a crisis.

Engendering such a scenario will provide “justification” for them to double down on their control over this country. Given the “right” situation, this administration and their allies, will fill these barricaded rings- around The White House and elsewhere- with armed ICE agents, the National Guard, police, and tanks. To “protect” the administration so it never has to leave. So he never has to leave.

What we now see on full display, everyday, is the US military being maneuvered against its own people. Trumpers, you voted for this — against everything the humanly decent stand for: which is the protection of all people, and their rights.

So much for a party that wants to shrink government. Instead, the GOP has unilaterally amplified the presence of the federal government in ways that our country’s founders- even in their worst nightmare scenarios- likely never imagined.

The citizens of Brazil immediately rose up against facism in 2023, and in 2024 South Korea prevailed, within days, against a declaration of Martial Law.

Americans must right now to do the same.

What can you do? Well, for starters stop being silent. Suit up, show up, and speak up. In real time, against what you see happening. Call out the evil, and the insanity, that lives and breathes right now around each one of us.

Then volunteer for a campaign. Run for office. Organize in your own community. Speak out on social media. Start your own Substack.

Just do something. Now.

It will feel scary to hold others around you accountable for their actions.

But if you don’t do it- who will?

“It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”

- Madeleine Albright (1937-2022), Former United States Secretary of State, National Security Council member, diplomat, political scientist, and Georgetown University professor.

What I’m reading this week:

, and : For their day-to-day coverage as residents of Washington, D.C., and now independent reporters and opinion writers. Their Instagram accounts are all also an excellent follow.

When I worked at Bergdorf Goodman in the ‘90s, the store’s chicest women would dip back into New York to see us right about now, to put sartorial plans in place, with the first Tuesday in September top-of-mind.

Their visits were selective, reflective, and productive. As each imagined in their heads a silent starting gun. As did every New Yorker, since it fired every year at the crack of dawn the day after Labor Day. This marked the start of Manhattan’s season of accomplishment, which was referred to by date. This year, it’ll be called “September 2nd.”

This was a moment for which Manhattan’s movers and shakers knew they would need to be dressed. Suit up and show up.

Which required advance planning. To have some great looks lined up for any day that could include: the school drop off, morning meetings in the office, that Lincoln Center lunch to benefit The New York City Ballet (where they would see everyone), followed by a wrap-up back in the office.

A separate capsule collection called for a few fun, perhaps colorful, numbers. To see them through the rounds of cocktail and dinner parties on New York’s philanthropic social scene.

An aimless life of lunch and tennis at the club was not for these women. They had other things to do, places to be, plans already in progress. So when they shopped, they styled themselves to close the deal, land the gift, or launch something new and ideally societally important.

They weren’t just putting an outfit together. They were preparing for anything, with complete aplomb.

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In the 1990s, magazines and newspapers — Vogue, The New York Times, and The New York Times Magazine — dedicated swaths of editorial space to “being ready,” pages and pages featuring sharply tailored “go anywhere” suits and slyly “deconstructed ones” (i.e. a perfect cashmere top paired with luxurious and beautifully cut trousers).

And shoes, always amazing shoes!

There was also an unfortunate American idea of “dressing for your age”, which proliferated. Likely dreamt up by someone insecure. And judgy.

nailed these weird dictates in her piece last week on The Creative Pragmatist. In it, she turns “How to Dress at Every Age” brilliantly on its own head.

Amy also (intentionally or accidentally) underscores the French idea of freeing oneself from trends. If it looks good on you, then wear it. If it doesn’t, then don’t.

The French just FYI feel equally strongly (in my experience) on the subject of hem lengths. If you can’t pull off the micro-mini at 25, don’t attempt. If you can slay a micro-mini at age 70, portez-le. Bien sûr!

I love ’s modern re-thinking of things in the grid above. It demonstrates the idea of dressing according to personal intention, not outside dictates. Separately, Amy’s mood board below beautifully reflects the essence of her own brand Tibi.

Per my thoughts last week on The Death of Discernment, inner intention reflected outward is the foundation of great style, which requires assigning substance and context to one’s own wardrobe. What will this piece “contribute” to my closet? Will it help me to accomplish something?

Then there is also the question of what to wear for the fall “protest season” ahead. (Which was so not a thing in the 90s? What with that peace and prosperity we all enjoyed back then?)

I like the idea of having everyone dress up for political marches. My Marc Jacobs vintage long navy peacoat with dramatic black faux fur trim, for example, has made many a wintery-mix glamorous march of its own in the past nine years, behind Democracy.

Finally, it’s critical that those of us on the side of human decency see each room we walk into, meeting we attend, reception and/or dinner invitation we accept, as a space into which we must drop our own unique power.

We must bring with us into that room the exact opposite of the ugliness we witness within this GOP regime — and its voters- as they give themselves permission to now act out their very worst impulses.

We must repel their efforts. As the literal antidote to their evil energy.

As such we must instead, and very much by design, cast a glow of intention over each room we enter.

Behind liberty, justice, and the inalienable rights of all.

It will require courage. And the power of style.

What I’m Reading This Week:

’s is an eyes on September total keeper. She brings her usual depth of kindness and insight to Back to School with Fannie Flagg, of “Match Game” fame circa eons ago.

’s “25 lessons I learned in my first 25 years as a New Yorker.” It’s chock-full of excellent advice for staying “chic and safe” — and human — in this horrific American moment.

’s thoughts in “Lessons from the Paris Pause: What Paris taught me about taking ‘la pause’- in whatever form I can”. A philosophical look inward, as we prepare for La Rentrée.

Apologies for my absence, as I return after a holiday in the U.K.

While I was away from the U.S. — and the nightmare that is our political daily existence here — I thought a lot about the importance of discernment.

The Brits and the Europeans thankfully still hold the concept in high esteem. But America, at least in this moment, feels like it is losing sight of an important idea.

Discernment is critical to understanding the complexities of the world around us, making wise decisions, and distinguishing between right and wrong. It equips us to filter through culture to then self-educate, and elevate, into the very best version of ourselves.

Social discernment is comprehending the very real agendas that operate in others, and putting advance plans in place to navigate them. It is being able to think critically, creatively, and constructively, to further societal progress- while standing up to those who seek to impede it.

Discernment values originality of thought. It is the foundation of human decency, and American Democracy, which are both guided by an agreed upon set of principles. Grace, elegance, and refinement are its by-products, as well as the pillars of international diplomacy. (Grace, elegance, and refinement are also key ingredients for great personal style.)

Discernment equips us to accurately assess the depth of character (or complete lack thereof) in those around us. To judge people not by their current social station, but instead by their individual integrity, their world view, and their empathy for others.

Anyone who voted for this U.S. Republican regime last November completely outed themselves as residing in the gutter on said social spectrum. As monster, group thinker, or most likely some combination of both.

In America, many are outsourcing, or completely ignoring, the critical role of personal discernment — in the arts, fashion, culture, decency, and politics — giving power instead to computer algorithms, and to a separate but related (and very dangerous) quality of human group think.

So perhaps this is the moment to reflect on the role of discernment. As Trump takes over Washington D.C.’s police force, as ChatGPT-5 continues to displace crucial key thinkers from their jobs, and as social media algorithms dumb down societal taste levels.

Discernment requires that we see ourselves as daily works in progress, who constantly calibrate against what the world serves up.

I fear that the more we flatten our culture and politics, the less likely we’ll be able to achieve a right-now-much-needed higher level of social, cultural, and political sophistication and awareness.

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Now, U.K. bits and bobs.

London called. With time there spent on the front and back ends, to include visits to The Cow, The Wolseley, Colbert, The Duke of Wellington, The Orange Hotel, and other long time favorites, for meet ups with my daughter, and her English friends from Cambridge, where she is a third year, studying History of Art.

Then it was off to the north to meet the rest of our group (who joined by way of the Oasis concert in Manchester) for some hiking, and a two night pub stay at The Hare & Hounds.

Then it was off to Cornwall for two weeks. Some highlights:

Four Boys: Rock, Cornwall

Four Boys is a restaurant which serves up delicious seafood just steps from the beach in Rock, Cornwall, where many an Old Etonian’s summer house can be found. On the menu, I highly recommend the Cornish crab farfalle!

The Padstow Studio: Padstow, Cornwall

A contemporary art gallery, divine beyond description. Located on Duke Street, The Padstow Studio was founded in 2006 as a living, working, and exhibition space by British artist of note Sarah Adams. Like no place else is how I would describe a visit to The Padstow Studio, for the incredible beauty of its interior space, and its art installations.

The Drang Gallery: Padstow, Cornwall

A contemporary fine art gallery located in Padstow Harbour, featuring works by artists to include among others: Banksy, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Ann Carrington, Martha Freud, and Andy Warhol.

Paul Ainsworth at No6: Padstow, Cornwall

A sublime interior design inspired townhouse — and Michelin Star restaurant — located just steps from The Padstow Studio. No6 serves up modern British food, with a focus on locally sourced Cornish produce.

Coming Soon!

Am working on the next installment of Refinement is Resistance, post holiday! Please stay tuned!