ByeDon

Illustration: Vasco Gargalo

FPNL Zoom Meeting: The American Chestnut

On Thursday, November 5, 2020, at 7:30 pm, Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands will hold its annual meeting and program. Following a brief business meeting, Mike Aucott (Rutgers Ph.D. in environmental science) will give an illustrated presentation on the American chestnut tree that once stood as a symbol of American strength, resilience, and beauty. Learn about the American chestnut's glorious past, its grievous near-annihilation by blight, and the passionate movement to re-establish its place in our forests.

Mike Aucott is a retired research scientist for the NJ Department of Environmental Protection who has been hooked on chestnut trees since the 5th grade. He is currently coordinating the management of 20 orchards, totaling over 5000 second-generation hybrid chestnut trees as part of an American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) breeding program. He is also a member of the Hopewell Environmental Commission and has helped organize plantings of over 250 American chestnuts in Hopewell Township.

The meeting will take place online. If you plan on attending, please RSVP to karen.e.linder@gmail.com. The meeting link is available on the FPNL website.

Illustration: "Gathering Chestnuts," by J.W. Lauderbach, from The Art Journal of 1878

KGA Zoom Meeting: Deer-Resistant Native Plants

On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, at 7:30 pm, Kingston Greenways Association will hold its annual meeting and talk. After a short business meeting, Rachel Mackow of Wild Ridge Plants will present a program on Deer-Resistant Native Plants. Of necessity, this will be a virtual event on Zoom, and it is open to all. The meeting link is on the KGA website, however, if you do plan on attending, please RSVP to tari@kingstongreenways.org.

Rachel Mackow is an owner of Wild Ridge Plants, which is dedicated to the restoration of native plant communities that sustain and engage both people and wildlife. She manages the nursery operation on the farm at Wild Ridge and creates stewardship plans based on her knowledge of restoration practices and invasive species management. She enjoys helping people reconnect to plants and self-reliance through teaching foraging skills, herbal practice, and traditional plant uses.

Formed in 1998, Kingston Greenways Association aims to establish a permanent greenbelt around the village of Kingston consisting of natural environments, recreational parkland, agricultural and horticultural land, wetlands, streams and ponds, and sites of historical interest. The Association further aims to preserve and create connections of green among these for walking, jogging, bicycling and horseback riding. It also hopes to promote understanding of our local region through study and education, and to provide oversight and advocacy for open space in the Kingston area.

Photo: Rachel Mackow

VOTE

Icons

"Icons," by Bob Staake, next week's cover of The New Yorker. 

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court, died on Friday, at the age of eighty-seven. Ginsburg spent nearly three decades on the country's highest bench, and five decades as a tireless scholar, teacher, and advocate of equality. To commemorate her, the artist Bob Staake said, he 'needed to think of a graphic metaphor that embodied Ginsburg's life and legacy.' He wanted something that was 'honest and no-nonsense,' like Ginsburg, and he landed on her lace collar, a symbol not just of Ginsburg but, in Staake's drawing, of women everywhere."

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

1933 – 2020

"My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

Unprecedented

From The Lincoln Project

John Lewis | Opinion

John Lewis, the civil rights leader and congressman who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral. It was published today in The New York Times.

While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

continue here at The New York Times

Failure

From The Lincoln Project:

We could have won, but our "wartime" president surrendered.

John Lewis

John Lewis

1940 – 2020

"We were beaten, we were tear-gassed. I thought I was going to die on this bridge. But somehow and some way, God almighty helped me here. We cannot give up now. We cannot give in. We must keep the faith, keep our eyes on the prize."

How to Cognitive

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

Learn. Their. Names.

Mitch McConnell

Lindsey Graham

Thom Tillis

Cory Gardner

Martha McSally

Ted Cruz

Joni Ernst

Marco Rubio

Susan Collins

John Cornyn

Jim Inhofe

Mike Rounds

Steve Daines

Tom Cotton

From The Lincoln Project

How to Mask

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

Fellow Traveler

From The Lincoln Project:

American soldiers' lives are in danger and Trump has done nothing to stop it.

Add "America First" to the laundry list of scams Trump has sold in his life. It's clearly Trump first, Russia second, and America last.

How to Second Term

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

How a President Leads

From The Lincoln Project:

Biden is the clear choice when it comes to compassionate and decent leadership. In a battle of heart, mind, and character Joe Biden wins by a landslide. We need to ensure that's reflected in the vote this November.

Slow the Testing Down?!

From The Lincoln Project:

During the biggest health crisis of this generation, Trump asked his officials to slow down the one thing that could keep us safe: testing.

Tulsa

From The Lincoln Project:

Trump's rally in Tulsa on the weekend of Juneteenth proves what we already knew: he's the largest super spreader of division and hatred we've seen in generations.

Say Their Names

An early look at next week's New Yorker cover, "Say Their Names," by Kadir Nelson.

George Floyd

Ahmaud Arbery

Tony McDade

Trayvon Martin

Laquan McDonald

Freddie Gray

Eric Garner

Aiyana Stanley-Jones

Botham Jean

Michael Brown

Sandra Bland

Yvette Smith

Alton Sterling

David McAtee

Walter Scott

Breonna Taylor

Tamir Rice

Philando Castile

Stephon Clark

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Medgar Evers

Malcolm X

March From Selma

Rosa Parks

Emmett Till

Rodney King

Tulsa Race Massacre

The Unnamed

Gordon

How to Real Estate

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

How to Water

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

Crowds

From The Lincoln Project

How to Lobster

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

How to Bunker

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

How to Bible

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

Princeton For Black Lives

                                                                                   Photo: Suzanne Merias

In memory of George Floyd and in solidarity with Black lives everywhere, this evening Princeton joined cities and towns all over the country in a peaceful protest.

Messages From Local Police

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

This Week

From The Lincoln Project:

Welcome to this week. Nearly 90,000 American lives have been lost. The virus is still spreading. And Donald Trump continues to deny and deflect, failing the people he was elected to serve.

A Study in Leadership

Video from Atlantic Studios, The Atlantic

Americans, as a rule, rarely compare themselves with other countries, so convinced are we that our system is superior, that our politicians are better, that our democracy is the fairest and most robust in the world. But watch this video and ask yourself: Is this the kind of leadership you expect from a superpower? Does this make you feel confident in our future? Or is this man a warning signal, a blinking red light, a screaming siren telling all of us, and all of the world, that something about our political system has gone profoundly awry?

 — Anne Applebaum, from A Study in Leadership, The Atlantic

Smart People Wear Masks

Be smart like Professor Einstein.

Shower the People

James Taylor and contestants from season 18 of The Voice reunited for a special remote performance of "Shower the People."

Mourning in America

From The Lincoln Project:

Donald Trump's failed presidency has left the nation weaker, sicker, and teetering on the verge of a new Great Depression.