It's an old and obvious pattern. An unpopular president – failing on the economy and losing his grip on power at home – decides to launch a war for regime change abroad. The American people don’t want to “run” a foreign country while our leaders fail to improve life in this one.
And saving the best for last, Secretary of State Marco Rubio does not answer George Stephanopoulos’s twice-asked question, “What is the legal authority for the United States to be running Venezuela?”
Reading is, as RIF‘s name states quite clearly, fundamental.
Reading is also “a subversive act” according to Lt. Governor-elect Ghazala Hashmi in an interview with Shenandoah, a literary magazine out of Washington and Lee University.
Reading has been and continues to be an act of learning about others, seeing the world through others alike and different, and actively seeking out information and perspectives.
What you just said about literature being reserved for the elite—I think you and I probably share the perspective that reading is a subversive act. It is an act that has historically been forbidden to so many different communities. I’m coincidentally reading Percival Everett’s James right now; it’s such a powerful retelling of Huck Finn’s story. But it [reading] is subversive, and I try to always share with my students how powerful the act of reading is, and how dangerous it is, and that’s why the educated elite try to keep it out of the hands of the “commoners.” Women were in particular forbidden to read, and any person of lower classes. I wanted my students to understand the immense power of literacy, and that’s something that we can never take for granted. And we see it now with the banning of books across the country.
How will you be subversive in 2026? Here are some book ideas to get you started:
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life by Barbara J. Fields and Karen E. Fields
Members of Northumberland County Dems (ahem, Northumberland County Democratic Committee) will be voting Thursday, December 18 to fill four seats, each with a two-year term, on the Executive Board.
Before we can vote, though, people need to step up and volunteer to serve in one of the four elected positions: NCDC Chair, Events Vice Chair, Administrative Vice Chair, and Communications Vice Chair.
NCDC Chair: the minimum duties of the chair are to nominate Democratic candidates to the Northumberland County Electoral Board, verify party affiliation of volunteers for election poll workers, and pay DPVA dues. Everything else I have done is optional and at the discretion of the Chair and the Vice Chairs. My goal has been to see what the committee can do, not just what it has done. We did a lot.
Events Vice Chair: Events Vice Chair will plan, organize and conduct NCDC events utilizing volunteer support as available. Candidate events, fundraisers, merchandise sales, election day tents, and others can also be delegated to volunteers who wish to participate. Events Vice Chair will coordinate with the Communications Vice Chair to ensure media, social media, and other marketing will amplify NCDC activities.
Administrative Vice Chair: The Administrative Vice Chair will be responsible for managing accounts, managing the members lists, the ActBlue account, the welcome table at meetings and the PO Box. These tasks can be delegated to volunteers to split the work as subsections of Administrative Vice Chair responsibilities.
Communications Vice Chair: This role will manage Facebook page and group as well as the NCDC website; assist with news releases announcing NCDC meetings and meeting results as well as any other communications, media, or marketing efforts by the NCDC; and support events by the Events Vice Chair. This work can be delegated to volunteer subsections to split work and magnify results. Susie Cambria, for instance, currently volunteers to manage the NCDC web presence and social media.
You’ve likely noticed the slimmed down number of elected positions. . . The bylaws were updated in September with an eye toward managing the committee with a more realistic number of volunteers. Members approved the updated bylaws in October.
The pared down positions, from 10 to four, eliminated much of the peripheral, extra tasks, that did not add value to our committee.
We need YOU to volunteer and support our local Democratic Committee.
Attend the Thursday, December 18 meeting to vote for new elected leadership and much more! Join us at 6:00 pm for the meet and greet. The meeting starts at 6:30 pm meeting. At Northumberland Public Library (7204 Northumberland Hwy/Rte 360, Heathsville).
NNK Dems stickers (perfect for cars, trucks, boats, trailers, jet skis, kayaks, canoes) and t-shirts are the perfect last-minute stocking stuffer your family members and friends need!
Both are available from Northumberland County Dems at the final regular meeting of the year, Thursday, December 18, 6p at Northumberland Public Library (7204 Northumberland Hwy/Rte 360, Heathsville).
On Friday, November 21 at 4:30 pm, you will have the chance to meet one or more of the Democratic primary candidates for the First Congressional District (CD1), the seat currently occupied by Rob Wittman (R).
Thanks to Stacie and Jim Hendrickson (Heathsville), Clair and Richard Salkowski (Heathsville), and Charlotte Hawlings (Lancaster), Salaam Bhatti, Shannon Taylor, and Melvin Tull will be on the Northern Neck to learn more about what you want for the district.
The meet and greets cap a NNK-filled day. NCDC president Jim Hendrickson has organized a tour of Northumberland County to help them understand our community better. Candidates will visit Omega Protein for a briefing and plant tour, receive a regional agriculture briefing at Haynie Farms, and will visit the Kilmarnock Free Clinic to learn about healthcare challenges in the area.
We are the ambassadors for our community.
Now is your chance to influence a primary candidate and the 2026 congressional election.
