Sunday Mailbag

A lot of the letters that might have otherwise run here will appear during the week as we thoroughly examine last week's elections.

Politics: Church and State

P.H. in Orlando, FL, writes: Seems to me that the very doctrine of Separation of "Church" and State has been highjacked thanks to the recent dominance of one particular religion—Christianity.

About 20 years ago, I had a scientist (dual citizenship, U.S. and Pakistan) on my R&D team that I deployed to Bangalore, India. As the assignment I gave him was for 14 weeks, he wanted to know if he could take his spouse (another equally brilliant scientist). He would pay her airfare if I could arrange short-term accommodation for them both. They were both observant Sunni Muslims.

He explained to me that the apartment that I would rent would need to be within walking distance of a local police station, as he would need to check in there each Saturday morning as a foreign-born citizen of Islamic faith. And this is from a country (India) that has had a history of electing for national high office Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, etc. leaders for almost a century. That nation has also done something we in the United States have never done—elect a woman as national leader (both India and Pakistan have done so!).

London has a Muslim Mayor. (Sadiq Aman Khan)

New York, soon to be. (Zohran Mamdani)

Virginia, soon to be a female Muslim lieutenant governor. (Ghazala Hashmi)

I think the most lastingly evil stain upon the discord/accord in the public squares is the "us vs. them" tropes of fascism. Hitler shot himself to death 80 years ago, but the irrational waves of anger and resentment continue to echo through the generations, including religious bigotry—misdirected, as all bigotry will be.

History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes. I do hope when Donald Trump is off the scene we can get back to normality, accord, and normal, rational dialog. How long that will take is up to all of us. Let's hope that is does not take another 80 years.

I am confident that it will not, primarily due to 21st century communications technology giving us all a leg up, so to speak, to awareness when we peer over the fence from our own backyards into our neighbors' backyards. The last couple of weeks have certainly given me optimism. I was just awestruck by the sheer number of young people (i.e., under 30) standing in lines this week to cast a vote for either a person, or a procedure.

Let's hope so for my biracial children, and J.D. Vance's as well, and Trump's Jewish grandchildren, and the 90% of humanity who don't get to live in a full democracy (i.e., untainted by widespread corruption, and free of authoritarian tendencies).

Politics: This Week in TrumpWorld

C.C. in Seattle, WA, writes: I'm writing to express my strong support for expanding access to GLP-1 medications and dual agonists like Zepbound. These treatments are often misunderstood, with harmful narratives suggesting they're a form of "cheating" or that weight loss is simply a matter of willpower.

In my case, these medications were essential in overcoming postprandial hypoglycemia and insulin resistance conditions exacerbated by years of restrictive dieting, intermittent fasting, and intense workouts. Despite being an Olympic-level swimmer, triathlete, and Grand Prix Dressage rider, I was gaining weight uncontrollably while training 2 hours a day and consuming fewer than 1,300 calories.

According to Dr. Emily Cooper's Diabesity Institute, around 70% of Northern Europeans are genetically predisposed to insulin resistance—a major contributor to obesity, heart disease, fatty liver disease, and Alzheimer's. These are not lifestyle failures; they are medical conditions.

I'm fortunate to have excellent insurance that covers the full cost of my medication, but even then, the process is burdensome, requiring frequent and complex prior authorizations. Many patients aren't as lucky—either due to lack of coverage or providers unfamiliar with the approval process.

After 3 years, these medications have helped me regain metabolic balance. I sincerely hope that all patients, regardless of income, can access these life-changing treatments when medically appropriate.

---

P.A. in Redwood City, CA, writes: I think that your item on the gutting of federal cybersecurity assistance to state and local governments misses a big point. Yes, hacking by Russian or China or Iran is a concern... but what about hacking by the Republicans? If there is a Republican plan to steal local elections next year through hacking, wouldn't gutting the cybersecurity assistance help in a big way? It's true that there is no evidence that this happened in this year's elections, but the stakes for next year are much greater. If I were planning something for the next election, I certainly wouldn't tip my hand by taking action this year.

---

G.M. in New York City, NY, writes: The GOP has a notable history of election fraud (on top of their endemic election rigging), and of deliberately creating hackable voting machines (see: Diebold). And of course, Donald Trump's lifelong habit is see crime/commit crime. So it would be entirely worth suspecting that Trump/Project 2025's main intent in ending federal cybersecurity aid for the localities is not as much deliberately leaving the states and localities vulnerable to foreign (Russian) hackers, but instead to make them more vulnerable to Republican hackers. He's got a midterm election to steal, after all.

---

B.T. in Kansas City, MO, writes: I think that photo of Donald Trump just standing there as a bunch of people rush to the fainting man's aid says even more than his reaction being "so wooden, so soulless"—it really shows how old and frail he looks. I've been purposefully avoiding most video coverage of him since his re-election (and, honestly, way before that), but that photo shows how strikingly he has aged just 10 months into his second term. To me, the photo also conveys that he's not all there in the head, as he's not even glancing as to what's happening behind him, which you think he would want to know, as he survived an assassination attempt. Granted, it's just one still image in a long moment, but I really hope a lot people see this and realize there's something not right with him. The right-wing blogosphere/eX-Twitter users have this weird obsession of displaying Trump as super macho and fit, so this may help shatter that illusion, at least for a few people with some semblance of sanity left in them.

---

G.B. in Kailua, HI, writes: One potential explanation you didn't mention was further evidence of his cognitive decline. This was a totally unexpected and out of context event—something that would take significant cognitive processing to actually comprehend. Instead, we saw him stare blankly and seemingly uncomprehendingly at what was transpiring, and then turn 90 degrees and stare off into space. I'm wondering if there was a second person in that room who Dr. Oz needed to evaluate.

---

P.C. in Vero Beach, FL, writes: I saw this as a contrast to the guy passing out in Trump's presser; very instructive when you compare the two:

---

D.T.P. in Jersey City, NJ, writes: I feel like an underemphasized point of comparison to Trump standing there while a person is having a medical crisis is how Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) interrupted her victory speech to make sure someone who fainted behind her was being taken care of:

---

W.R.S. in Tucson, AZ, writes: T.W. in Norfolk wrote in about how ICE is appropriating Lord of the Rings references to recruit. T.W. correctly commented that Tolkien and his estate would be appalled by this usage. I noticed that the image accompanying the reference was from the movies. But to me it brought to mind "The Scouring of the Shire," a chapter from Return of the King that didn't make it into the films. In that chapter, Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Sam return to the Shire to find that Saruman has turned their once pastoral paradise into an industrial nightmarescape. (For those who haven't read it, Saruman doesn't die at Orthanc in the books. He is allowed to live, and goes on to commit more mischief until his own cruelty is ultimately his undoing). Saruman accomplishes this, in part, by forcing local law enforcement (Hobbits) to act as his agents. Most of these young Hobbits had joined up wanting to protect their homes with good intentions, and were now being made to act against their own kin.

Whoever made that advertisement has clearly NOT read the books, or didn't understand them. The way ICE is being used right now bears much more resemblance to Saruman's scheme than to the heroic actions of Merry, Pippin, et al. Indeed, being paranoid about strangers from foreign lands is typically shown to be a weakness that Sauron or Saruman can exploit in the books. The Breelanders are suspicious of the Rangers (who actually protect them from greater threats). The divisions between elves and dwarves are a barrier that the Fellowship must overcome to work together. The Council of Elrond works hard to ensure that the Fellowship has representatives of all the free peoples of Middle Earth. Talk about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

---

S.W. in San Jose, CA, writes: You wrote: "Many Democrats hate Trump with the blazing heat of 1,000 suns."

Many Democrats hate Trump with the blazing heat of 1,000 a billion suns.

Fixed that for you.

Politics: The Shutdown

M.G. in Portland, OR, writes: People keep talking about insurance premiums like this is the reason the shutdown is ongoing. I think this is fundamentally wrong. To me the key detail is that the House is out of session and out of town. If this was about insurance, there'd be no reason for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) NOT to keep the House in session to work on negotiations. Even if just as a purely performative measure, people would see the GOP there, trying to resolve the differences that led to the shutdown. Just like every previous shutdown in my life to date. (I think at least. I was a bit wee to recall the ones during Ronald Reagan's administration.)

So this appears to be purely about the Epstein files to me. That's the reason the House is out and the GOP is not actually offering anything other than clean continuing resolutions. They need to keep the House out of session or Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) gets seated, the discharge petition gets signed, and the GOP electeds have to choose between Dear Leader and the base. (Decency seems to have left them years ago, so that's not in play here.)

Given that, I feel like it's very likely this shutdown just won't end until that dam breaks one way or the other. Trump clearly believes his base will abandon him when it's revealed that he's a pederast and I think the stuff we're seeing around Venezuela is also related to that. Trump needs leverage badly and a state of war would do that and Venezuela is the perfect sacrifice since administrations from both parties have been down on it and the American public has a long history of turning a blind eye to otherwise evil machinations by our government in all parts of the Americas that aren't the U.S. or Canada.

---

J.A. in Manchester, NH, writes: I'm finding myself completely baffled at the refusal of Republicans to reopen the government by agreeing to extend the ACA credits for a year. This is a gift-wrapped off ramp. Especially when one takes into consideration that the blue team earned some serious political capital Tuesday night. Did Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Mike Johnson somehow miss the object lesson? Do they have some kind of insight that the rest of us lack? Because to my knowledge, the only Republican who had any success Tuesday night was Bruce Blakeman in New York on Long Island. The rest of them didn't just lose... they got their collective asses handed to them.

If the Republicans think that they can bully the Democrats into accepting the "clean" CR so they can finish eviscerating the ACA, then they're even more ham-fisted than I originally thought.

The Democrats took the capital they earned on Tuesday night and used it in, at least in my opinion, a very savvy way. Rejecting that out of hand when the constituencies of Republicans are getting hurt directly tells me the red team either doesn't care about the midterms or (and I'm not sure they're this stupid, but I may be wrong), they don't plan on having elections until the President leaves office.

---

J.L. in Los Angeles, CA, writes: I just don't get it, but the cognitive dissonance from the right appears to be unshakable. Case in point: My very conservative friend (yes, liberals are still allowed to have conservative friends) lives in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, with a wife and four children—all teenagers or nearly teenagers. He makes enough to support the family, but his wife supplements their income with her high school teacher's salary.

Last week, my friend's wife received a letter from her school district. Due to the increasing cost of healthcare, starting in January her take-home salary (which has insurance automatically withheld) will decrease to $100/week. Let me say that again: A full-time high school teacher working not only inside the classroom but also at home grading papers and preparing lesson plans, meeting with parents and administrators, answering e-mails, helping students during office hours, and a host of other soul-crushing tasks, will be taking home just $20/day for her troubles.

Obviously, this was a huge emotional hit to both my friend and his wife, and so he did what any good American would do in such a situation: He complained to anyone who would listen. This did NOT include the school board nor the governor nor any of his elected government representatives, but it did include me.

"So," I said, trying to sound more sympathetic than smug, "Does this change your mind about the Democrats? After all, they're demanding that Republicans restore the Obamacare subsidies that will directly impact your wife's paycheck."

His response has made me lose whatever hope I had left that the right might come out of their denialist stupor: "Yeah, so they can pay for healthcare for illegals! That's not a good reason to shut down the entire government for a month!"

"Dude, they're only trying to lower YOUR cost for healthcare. You just saw your wife's paycheck get reduced to almost nothing. Restoring Obamacare subsidies would literally be money in your family's pocket!"

"Obamacare is a scam," he replied, with the same certainty as if he'd said, "Grass is green" or "Donald Trump is brilliant."

"Seriously?" I asked. "Even now that the ACA has helped Americans afford health insurance for more than a decade?"

"It helps too many people, so it costs too much. America can't afford to be that generous anymore. We have to have some kind of cut-off. We can't insure everyone. We don't want to be Canada, where you have to wait a year to go to a hospital if you have a heart attack. Obamacare needs to be replaced with something that makes more financial sense."

The reason my friend and I remain amicable is because, at this point in our "debates," I usually just give up. I didn't used to. Years ago, we'd continue on endlessly, sometimes for hours, just arguing and not convincing the other of anything beyond that we were obviously talking to a gullible, brainwashed idiot. So now I usually just move on to another topic.

"Well," I said, "I hope things work out one way or the other for you, my friend." But inside my head, I was marveling at how something that was so obvious to me—he should be rooting for the Democrats to restore ACA healthcare subsidies—was buried under tribalism, misinformation, and partisan stubbornness.

---

A.G. in Scranton, PA, writes: Flights being canceled, food benefits cut off, mass layoffs... this is going to be either so much fun to witness as it snowballs out of control, or else it will be Weimar Republic 2: The Revenge of Fegelein.

When people can't travel around Thanksgiving that means the highways become even more overburdened, fuel prices will skyrocket because more people choose to drive to Aunt Marie's place in Mechanicsburg, and oh my G-d when those food prices hit home and when the unemployed people who go to Thanksgiving start arguing with the Trumpy, racist uncle brigade?

Do we keep a guillotine in the Smithsonian, perchance? I think we might need one sooner rather than later.

The risk, of course, is economic collapses cause people to support whoever promises to feed their empty stomachs by whatever means necessary. The excess population better watch out.

Soylent Woke is DEI hires! You're eating Black people!

---

M.M. in Cary, NC, writes: I have a little game I play when I'm out for Chinese food. I ask the fortune cookie a question before I open it and then see how it answers.

Tonight I asked it, "How long will the shutdown last?"

It answered, "July brings good opportunities!"

Politics: The Democrats

E.D. in Saddle Brook, NJ, writes: I have to object strongly to this statement from (V): "Democrats hated Joe Manchin although he voted with the Democrats much of the time. Are they better off with Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV), who votes with the Democrats 0% of the time?"

Joe Manchin did not vote with the Democrats most of the time because he agreed with them. He voted with them because the first thing Chuck Schumer would do on any vote was go ask Joe Manchin how he was going to vote. If Manchin said he'd vote against it, Schumer usually wouldn't bother bringing it to a vote. Your voting record will look amazing if you're the one deciding what gets brought to a vote.

Everything the Democrats did during Joe Biden's time in office was massively watered down because they had to limit it to what Manchin would vote for. The Democrats lost power because they didn't do enough when they had control. "People don't think we do enough, so we should aim to do less" is never going to be an effective strategy—it's going to be a death spiral.

The Democrats need to think bigger and aim higher. They need to be shouting all the good they'll do. Building your image around "I am like my opponent, but slightly less bad" doesn't help you—but it does make it easier to vote for the guy who goes all-in on being awful and is proud of it.

---

E.D. in East Lansing, MI, writes: Since there's been some discussion on the site about why Pete Buttigieg isn't running for Michigan's open Senate seat or governorship, I just wanted to add a bit of local perspective. When he was officially exploring a run for the Senate seat, I heard a lot of conversations in which people felt that he is too new to Michigan to run for either of those spots. Obviously, he has super-legitimate family reasons for living here, and we're happy to have him! However, there was fear that he might get written off as a carpetbagger because a lot of people don't think of him as a Michigander yet. Of course, I don't know how legitimate those fears are, and I'd very happily vote for him for either role. My point is just that there are valid reasons for him not to run other than an unrealistic gamble on running for president. Especially in a swing state where the fear of winning the primary and then losing the general election is very real.

---

B.R.D. in Columbus, OH, writes: I was interested in your perceptions about Kamala Harris's possible run for the presidency, and I understand what you mean about its futile quality. But I hope she does run, and debate, and stick with it as long as she can for this reason: I want her to become the next Attorney General of the United States. No matter what Democrat wins the White House in 2028 (and yes, I am assuming that will happen—we have an incredibly strong bench, with many well-qualified candidates, and I think people are awake enough to combat all the barriers being thrown up in our way), I want that person to choose (and perhaps even openly campaign about wanting to do so) Kamala Harris for the Attorney General position. I want her to do what she does best, prosecute. I want her to set the wheels in motion to indict and convict all the people who have committed, as far as I am concerned, treason against the United States. From the president (if he still lives at that point) on down. She would be tenacious in that role, and her being named the Attorney General would send a clear message.

If running for president does anything to plant that seed in the hearts and minds of other candidates and the U.S. people, I am all for it.

Politics: Nancy Pelosi Exits...

T.J.R. in Metuchen, NJ, writes: You wrote: "Is Nancy Pelosi the most powerful, and the most important, woman in the history of American politics?" I say nay, nay, a thousand times nay! Nancy Pelosi is one of the greatest/most powerful people in American history, be they male or female! My respect/admiration for her knows no bound! Godspeed great warrior! God bless her soul!

(Hyperbolic, moi? I say nay, nay, a nonillion times nay!)

P.S.: In case it wasn't obvious, I love, respect and admire Nancy Pelosi. Just wanted to make that clear...

---

K.S. in Harrisburg, PA, writes: In your discussion of whether Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful woman in the history of American politics, you also mentioned other powerful women in this country's history. Pelosi and these women had a major impact on enacting legislation or running the government, but what will the impact be in 100 years? You left out the women who are responsible for enfranchising over half of U.S. citizens and whose impact is stronger now than 105 years ago when the Nineteenth Amendment was passed: suffragettes. True, it wasn't just one woman, but a case could be made that Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B Anthony, Alice Paul and other suffragettes had more impact on this country than any of the women you mentioned, including Rep. Pelosi.

---

R.L.D. in Sundance, WY, writes: I noticed that you focused on legislative and executive offices in your list of the potentially most powerful and important women in U.S. history, and was surprised that you didn't include Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sandra Day O'Connor or any of the other women on the court.

---

J.M. in Sewickley, PA, writes: Maybe Edith Wilson? Perhaps she should be on your list?

---

F.D. in Davis, CA, writes: Don't know if you saw this, but it has to be one of the most unexpected sentiments from one of the most unexpected people ever:

I will praise Nancy Pelosi. She had an incredible career for her party. I served under her speakership in my first term in Congress and I'm very impressed at her ability to get things done. I wish we could get things done for our party like Nancy Pelosi was able to deliver for her party.

That was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), on CNN.

---

P.Y. in Watertown, MA, writes: Maybe Nancy Pelosi was amazing, but good lord I think it's pathetic that she had to wait until 85 to retire. Don't these olds have a life and family or even a non-political hobby?! Doesn't she have a husband and kids and grandkids to spend time with? Don't these ancient politicians have anything better to do than wallow in their self-importance: "Oh no the country will fall apart if I don't cling to power for as long as possible!"

No doubt that's what Pelosi, McTurtle, Grassley, Bernie, and all the others think as they drift to sleep every night: "I'm so important, I'm so important... I'm... so... zzzzzz."

Politics: ...And So Does Dick Cheney

K.H. in Golden, CO, writes: In your item about Dick Cheney's death, I feel you left out an extremely important part of his legacy: He was more or less responsible for the one and only time in U.S. history (to date) where torture was used and perceived as a necessary and effective means of achieving our foreign policy agenda.

No administration before or since openly embraced torture as a means to an end. Referring to it as "enhanced interrogation" was a flimsy cover. (Note: that is not to say no administration before or since ever did it, just that they did not/do not do it openly.) It certainly appeared this policy decision was mostly due to Cheney, and somewhat Donald Rumsfeld, though George W. Bush is culpable since we all know where the buck stops. Cheney openly embraced it in an interview with Sean Hannity. It's also my opinion that the policy is a disgrace to our nation's legacy. John McCain certainly seemed to think so, as did Chuck Hagel and to a lesser extent Lindsey Graham. Dianne Feinstein led the charge to investigate and have it exposed for what it was.

I hope some future administration denounces it.

---

K.C. in West Islip, NY, writes: While reading an article about the death of former VPOTUS and "should have been" war criminal Dick Cheney, I had to take pause for a second when I got to this statement from Alex Jones: "Whereas I don't really like to ever celebrate anybody's death, this is just another bellwether sign of the old evil neocon globalist establishment dying and passing away... He's burning in hell, in my opinion."

And again, for this statement from "George Santos": "Dick Cheney will meet his maker and will have lots of explaining to do. I wish his family well all things considered, but I haven't and won't ever shed a tear for a war criminal of his ilk."

Politics does, indeed, make strange bedfellows and it positively blows my mind that I would ever agree with Jones or "Santos," but here we are.

---

G.L. in Chicago, IL, writes: Regarding Dick Cheney's death: As our society seems to have decided that the death of a powerful person must exterminate our right to speak honestly about them, we have nothing left to do but bow our heads... and wave.

---

F.L. in Allen, TX, writes: To paraphrase Clarence Darrow, I have never wished ill on any person, but I've read many an obituary with great satisfaction. This man's soul was covered in crude oil.

All Politics Is Local

D.K. in Chicago, IL, writes: In your item "Chuy Garcia to Retire (or, This Is How They Do It in Chicago)," there are a few clarifications to be made.

First, you wrote that the Puerto Rican community is more centrist than the Mexican-American community. It is actually the opposite. The Puerto-Rican community (which is mostly on the northwest side of Chicago) is more liberal, as there are far more Democratic Socialists from the north and northwest side "hipster" areas than from the south and southwest side Mexican-American neighborhoods. This may be partially due to Mexican religious practice being more conservative.

Second, after the 2020 census, the Hispanic population in Illinois increased enough to have a second Latino-majority congressional district. As a result, the aggressively gerrymandered old district (known as the "earmuff district") was split into two Latino-majority districts. Chuy Garcia continued to represent the south/southwest-side-based district, and the north/northwest-side district (in which I now reside) elected Delia Ramirez (who at the time was considered to be an addition to "the Squad"). So, the Puerto Rican voters are not a major factor in the current district represented by Chuy Garcia.

(V) & (Z) respond: Ah! We were working from an article in the Chicago Sun-Times. It wasn't that old, but apparently it was old enough to be wrong.

---

D.R. in Chicago, IL, writes: A little bit of history about the creation of the gerrymandered 4th Congressional District of Chicago.

This intentionally Latino district was created at the urging of Republican governor Jim Thompson and Democratic mayor Harold Washington. After decades and decades of the Cubs', White Sox', Bears', and Bulls' lack of success, politics in Chicago emerged as a major spectator sport. And to Chicago's credit, as evidenced by the friendship of the Republican Governor and the Democratic Mayor, Chicago has produced bipartisan competition at its best.

---

T.J. in London, England, UK, writes: One of my more niche opinions is that the states controlling the administration and rules for federal elections is the root cause for pretty much all of the problems with elections in the U.S., and I've gathered dozens if not hundreds of individual examples for this over the years.

However reading the story about Chuy Garcia's retirement and discovering that the filing deadline for Congress in Illinois is a full year before the election—i.e., half of the actual term length—that's insane!

---

R.B. in Mill Creek, WA, writes: Your story of Chuy Garcia setting up his chosen successor to have no competition by filing at the last second reminded me of the same situation that happened with a Seattle judge's race in 1990. A very popular judge, Barbara Yanick, who had been in office for 17 years, drew no opponent. But then, her husband filed to run minutes before the deadline. Judge Yanick announced the next day she had cancer and was withdrawing, leaving her husband as the only registered candidate.

A young lawyer, Judith Hightower, then launched a write-in campaign based on the obviously undemocratic move. The elections rules said that a write-in candidate needed to get 5% of the primary votes to be on the general election ballot. Hightower got that and then went on to win the general election. She just recently retired after 35 years on the bench. It was the only time I ever voted for a write-in.

Uplifting Movies

J.G. in San Francisco, CA, writes: When thinking about uplifting films, one of the first movies to pop into my head was Tom McCarthy's The Station Agent from 2003. I'm not sure it belongs in the top 10, but it's really good and is not that well known as far as I can tell. For those of you who search for and watch movies based on actors, this was Peter Dinklange's second film and his breakout role.

---

G.N. in Albuquerque, NM, writes: Couldn't agree more about A League of Their Own. I can't get through the end song—"This Used to Be My Playground"—without tears and if it was possible I would have sat there for one of those old-timers' games that they showed at the end. Madonna has never really sung that song live at any concert though apparently not too long ago she did a snippet. I can completely imagine her doing it at some farewell tour in the future (though if one waits too long, well... you know) but that's the best song she has ever written in my opinion.

---

O.Z.H. in Dubai, UAE, writes: My favorite moment in Glory was when the white soldiers start shouting "Give 'em hell, 54!" Gives me goosebumps every time.

---

B.C. in Walpole, ME, writes: Not to complain, but in your lists of best movies of various categories, you consistently underrate The Best Years of Our Lives. Go see it again. It MUST be on the top ten list of uplifting movies. Every scene in that movie is a brilliant little movie of its own. The character development is unparalleled. Great story telling. Best war film. Best score. Best casting. Best directing. Best camera work. The more you see it, the more you appreciate its brilliance.

---

M.M. in El Paso, TX, writes: Maybe it's because I am so sports-oriented, but I would include Remember the Titans, Rudy (even though I always root against Notre Dame), and Hoosiers.

---

K.C. in West Islip, NY, writes: By far the most uplifting movie for me is Apollo 13. Like Milk, also based on a true story, we see perseverance in the face of imminent danger (inevitable death, in this case) and a "do what you have to do to survive" attitude. As a high school teacher, I shudder to think what my students would do in a similar situation. Probably give up and go watch mindless TikToks in their last moments. But the concept of "failure is not an option" is something everyone should adhere to.

I was very disappointed to see that Jim Lovell's death flew under the radar. Maybe it's because at the time of his death, I was out of town for a few days and didn't see any tributes to him. But when I found out he had passed a full month after it actually happened, I was heartbroken for a man I'd never met and who wasn't even remotely from my generation. Apollo 13 beautifully encapsulates the nature of what people can do when all hope seems lost. In my astronomy classes, our last unit is always about the Space Race and what we were able to accomplish in the 1960's and 1970's. We watch Apollo 13 and discuss what Lovell, Haise and Swigert, as well as every single person on the ground, pulled off when the choice was literally to get busy living or get busy dying (great call on Shawshank Redemption, by the way). Their feat was nothing short of brilliant. It has to go down as easily the most uplifting movie. It shows that you don't have to just roll over and accept things as they are and that you can always, always find a solution to even the most dire problems... a concept everyone should take to heart.

---

J.M. in Bellevue, WA, writes: Breaking Away started my lifelong addiction to cycling.

---

C.S. in Tucson, AZ, writes: I had to sit in the theater for some long, uncomfortable moments at the end of Saving Private Ryan. The dying request (command?) for Private Ryan to live an honorable life worthy of the sacrifices of others hit me with unexpected force. All of us should do our utmost to acknowledge the opportunities that came our way because of those who gave their all.

---

J.B. in Winchester, England, UK, writes: My first time in writing in but your prompt came just as I had some spare time and was thinking of watching a film. I would recommend The Dish, an Australian film about the first moon landing. In my opinion, it captures the wonder of the event while being laugh-out-loud funny. Also, as a cheat since it's the film of a Broadway performance, Come From Away, which never fails to leave me feeling more optimistic about humans, along with particularly admiring Canadians.

---

K.H. in Albuquerque, NM, writes: I can almost guarantee I won't be the only person to suggest Chariots of Fire, but perhaps I'm the first.

---

J.B. in Shawano, WI, writes: In our current political climate it would be sacrilege to not mention two of director Frank Capra's many great movies, primarily for their uplifting of the common man: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Meet John Doe. No satire detected and great cinematic therapy to say the least.

---

D.R. in Chicago, IL, writes: I will add the Steven Spielberg film Amistad.

More TV Themes

G.W. in Oxnard, CA, writes: S.E.Z. in New Haven writes "When it comes to TV music, the theme song written by Vonda Shepard for Ally McBeal is another theme song that expresses the spirit of its show without incorporating the show's name. Shepard appeared in almost every episode of Ally McBeal and has a whole string of music credits for the show. And the music was an integral part of the show's stories."

Vonda Shepard's song "Searchin' My Soul" was not written for the show. It was written for one of her prior albums. Shepard found out that she was going to be in the cast when she showed up for a meeting about using the song for the show and the wardrobe lady asked to measure her for costumes. Several of the songs used in the show were her original songs, but mostly she did covers of old songs. The music was either Ally's inner voice or related to the storyline of the episode.

---

S.S. in West Hollywood, CA, writes: I'm more than a little surprised nobody has yet mentioned the Friends theme and opening credits. It was a cultural phenomenon for more than a decade that in many ways continues to today. There's probably no one on the planet who wouldn't instantly recognize it. For me, memories of friends, relationships and feelings from that time in my life still come flooding back every time I hear it.

Unrelated, it was a real shock to see S.E.Z. in New Haven mention Who Wants to Be a Superhero? because I produced season two. I'm flattered anyone remembers it. Right now I'm looking at the prop "SUPRHERO" license plate from the show that's sitting on my bookshelf. (BTW, the show is available for purchase on Amazon Prime, and if you're really committed, the DVD set is available on Amazon.)

---

S.S. in Athens, OH, writes: B.W. in Oakland notes that the theme from Mission: Impossible has an unusual 5/4 time signature. I call B.W.'s Mission: Impossible and raise one The Mod Squad, whose theme starts in 6/4, follows with an alternation between 6/8 and 7/8, then switches to 4/4 punctuated by 6/8-7/8 and 6/8-7/8-6/8 breaks.

It's hard to wrap one's head around the fact that the composer, Earle Hagen, was also the composer (and performer!) of the theme from The Andy Griffith Show.

Accessible Games

J.W.H. in Somerville, NJ, writes: I forwarded some of the entries from the recent thread on accessible games to a colleague who specializes in working with people with disabilities, and particularly the vision-impaired. He told me he had written a post on accessible video gaming, and leisure activities for the blind more generally, which might be interesting to those following the thread: "Leisure Activities When Blind."

The Sporting Life

R.E.M. in Brooklyn, NY, writes: (V) and I went to the same trade school, but by the time I went, they did have a football team (then Club, now Division III). I went to one game, because I thought it would be a shame not to have a college football experience (little did I know then that I'd be going to many Division I-A games at the university where I studied law). Anyway, MIT has IMHO the best football cheer ever:

e to the x, dx du
e to the u, du
Cosine, secant, tangent, sine
3.14159
Goooooooooooooooo Tech!

---

J.M. in Markleeville, CA, writes: (A)'s school does have a sports tradition. It's horse shows. When the Kelloggs deeded the property to California, one of the conditions was the campus maintain a line of Arabian horses. These horses and their riders compete against other schools. My daughter is one of the coaches at CPP. Go Billy Bronco.

---

B.J.L. in Ann Arbor, MI, writes: Wilt Chamberlain benefited from playing on some pretty good teams; it helps to have better teammates. To think about what Pete Maravich could have done if he wasn't stuck with the New Orleans Jazz. He was an amazing player.

I'm also a sucker for lesser sports, and while it's hard to have "seasons" in lesser sports, I did want to point out Taisto Miettinen, a Finnish generalist runner who seemed to leverage every opportunity to engage in other sports that used running or skiing as a related foundation. He is a 7-time winner of The World Wife Carrying championships, carrying two different women to the finish line over his illustrious career. I'm not sure there's a season for wife carrying. He also won the Finnish gold medal in snowshoe running 5 times, all in the early 2010s.

---

J.K. in Freehold, NJ, writes: If you consider horse racing to be a major sport, there are two that should be considered:

Thoroughbred Racing: Secretariat, 1973. Triple Crown winner, broke the stakes records in the Belmont and Preakness.

Harness Racing: Niatross, 1980. Triple Crown winner, victorious in 24 of 26 starts; also broke the harness racing world record by an amazing 3 seconds with a time of 1:49.1.

---

R.C. in Des Moines, IA, writes: As to your one of your "What If?" athletes, Tom Brady's success was a function of the team he played for (and he was the most important part of that championship puzzle) and largely predicated on his maniacal work ethic and his dedication to nutrition and training (his quack supplements business notwithstanding).

His work ethic would have been the same in the 1970s/1980s, but his access to modern nutrition and training techniques would have been severely limited compared to today's standards. I think a player of his intelligence would have been able to deal with the defenses of the time, but he surely would have played far fewer seasons because, as you intimated, he'd have been regularly subjected to severe physical punishment. And his success would also have largely depended on which team drafted him. As a late-round pick that every single team passed over multiple times, it's very difficult to guess which team would have taken him in the 70s or 80s. Maybe he gets picked by Bill Walsh of the 49ers, like Walsh took Joe Montana in the third round. Or maybe Brady gets picked by a team like the Saints or the Buccaneers, the two worst teams in the 70s. Either way, no way does he win seven Super Bowls if he played in that earlier era.

---

L.S. in Greensboro, NC, writes: Your comments on Tom Brady and Frank Thomas hawking questionable supplements brings up to me by far the most embarrassing of all.

Every time I turn on the TV, I see the United States Ambassador to the nation of Israel hawking a quack sleep aid. It makes me ashamed to be an American. If there is one small sliver of a silver lining it is that it gives an emphatic answer to this question to the Trump administration: "Do you have no shame?" Clearly the answer is an emphatic "No!"

Gallimaufry

S.R. in Chicago, IL, writes: Long-time reader here. I just wanted to express my disappointment at your inclusion of a comment from reader S.O.S. in Madison, who refers to Trump as a "dotard." This is clearly an ableist comment, playing on the word "retard," and it has no place on a website like yours. Referring to anyone this way is disgusting, and amplifying this message and making it seem "normal" is wrong. Of all the comments you receive, why would you choose that one?

I hope you'll reconsider including such shameful language on your website in the future.

(V) & (Z) respond: First, it is a reference to Kim-Jong Un, who used that term to refer to Trump during one of their spats. Second, the word "dotard" predates the word "retard" by over a century, with the first documented usage being in The Canterbury Tales. Third, "dotard" and "retard" may have similar spellings, but they are linguistically unrelated. "Dotard" derives from the Middle English "dote," and "retard" derives from the French word "retarder."

---

B.C. in Walpole, ME, writes: On Wednesday, you wrote: "We'll be back to more normal order tomorrow." I found that my students absolutely thrived on structure, order, course predictability, and that the best way to improve the course after that was to have some occasional breaks from regular order. Electoral-Vote.com has done well with that—normal order, plus occasional breaks.

On Thursday, (V) wrote: "The Post's takeaways are pretty feeble—just repeating the election results." I think that pretty much sums up what I've seen at the WP the last six months. It's abandoning its core subscribers to find some imaginary right-of-center readership that likes a tepid approach. They've still got some great reporting, but for how much longer?

(V) also wrote: "Republicans will redouble their efforts to rig the 2026 election since they can't get the most votes." Here we are now: Newt Gingrich's divisiveness + Karl Rove's we can win with our votes alone + Fox News and social media propaganda campaigns + Mitch McConnell's and the House's "We'll oppose all Democratic legislation and only support what we can pass ourselves" + Trump's "Anyone who is not with me 100% is my enemy." The only way they can advance Project 2025 is by making sure fewer people vote. Especially non-white people who are, of course, "very low-IQ individuals."

(V) further wrote: "If the Supreme Court kills the rest of the Voting Rights Act, at least half a dozen states in the South are going to dismember all of their majority-minority House districts, which could net another 5-10 seats for the Republicans." The South will Sink Again! Politics by race: What happens when the white people are no longer a majority?

Oh, and one reads so few sentences anymore that in the same phrase reference both Bad Bunny and Charles Martel. Some weeks, one searches the entire Internet in vain for such a reference. Thanks.

By the way, in addition to regular order, I found last week's mailbag and this week's Q&A especially interesting and helpful.

---

E.S. in Maine, NY, writes: Just a quick note about your headline puzzle. I'm really glad you have something that brings you joy and helps fight off the burnout. Continue to ignore the readers who want you to get rid of it, they can choose not to have a puzzle on their own web site.

When you started that feature, I did not pay attention to them, then once I quickly "got" one puzzle, it was not long before it was the first thing I look at on your site each Friday morning.

This last Friday, nothing stood out as a idea for the puzzle and I do have a life so I left it to later... maybe. Well, by later in the day more pressing things were my concern, not that I was doing anything more than wait for the phone to ring. At 11:11 Saturday morning, our daughter gave birth to Justin, in Toronto:

All doing well, and back to the puzzle first thing this Friday. Pic is Day 5.

(V) & (Z) respond: Congratulations to you and your family!

---

R.C. in Eagleville, PA, writes: Like (Z), I was an early player of Magic: The Gathering and also like (Z), I sold my collection. I sold the cards to help pay for my daughter's wedding. An artist friend painted a large copy of my favorite card, this softened the blow of selling the collection. I no longer have my collection but I do have Magic on my wall:

Final Words

R.B. in Cleveland, OH, writes: From Franklin Roosevelt's final public address to the American people: "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith."

If you have suggestions for this feature, please send them along.

---

If you wish to contact us, please use one of these addresses. For the first two, please include your initials and city.

• questions@electoral-vote.com    For questions about politics, civics, history, etc. to be answered on a Saturday
• comments@electoral-vote.com   For "letters to the editor" for possible publication on a Sunday
• corrections@electoral-vote.com To tell us about typos or factual errors we should fix
• items@electoral-vote.com            For general suggestions, ideas, etc.

To download a poster about the site to hang up, please click here.

---

Email a link to a friend.

---The Votemaster and Zenger