Coup d’état


“Most of wars or military coups or
invasions are done in the name
of democracy against democracy.”
Eduardo Galeano

After Wednesday’s attempt by gansta-Trump and his gang members to perform a coup d’état, I ask myself, how did this happen? I’m shocked, but not really that surprised.

On numerous occasions we were warned by Mary Trump about the possible attempts that her uncle would partake to stay as President. We ignored all the telltale signs of his maniacal personality and mental instability. Point of fact, we have been living in Trump’s world for the last four years.

As I watched the takeover of the Capital Building, I felt like I was watching a 2021 bad version of Diehard the movie. But, there was one thought that crossed my mind as I watched the violence unfold and witnessed government officials huddled and petrified on the floor of the Senate room. How apropos that some of these representatives, who had looked away at the violence when 20 first-graders were shot to pieces at Sandy Hook Elementary School, were now experiencing what thousands of our children felt when they were in lockdown after an active shooter was at their school.

These same representatives looked away from the Coronavirus which has killed over 373,584 US citizens as of January 7, 2021. They looked away when it came to helping Americans who lost family members, medical insurance and jobs. They looked away when BLM supporters marched throughout the country for equality. They looked away from senseless violence and death in this country.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
vetos 2019 bill to expand background
checks for gun purchases.

For the last five years, Trump has endorsed violence against political enemies and to anyone who was not as he perceived, on his side. In each case, his Republicans/followers never blamed Trump for his insidious behavior. Instead, they took refuge using the Second Amendment. When Trump inspired violence would  occur, these same Republicans would go on to say, this is the price of our freedom. Truth be told, many of Trump’s government appointees, celebrity backers and business associates are guilty of giving oxygen to his fire.

It’s a well-known fact, that people never change until they experience something personal to themselves. It took a coup d’état by our own President and his gangster followers to wake people up. What’s disturbing, is some still support the President as I write this post.

While we all watched in horror Wednesday, we were not the only ones watching. The entire world was watching along with us. As a country and as its people, we have humiliated and embarrassed ourselves, to say the least, by what this country has become. Let’s face it people, this is us. This is America. This is what we’ve become. But, I believe we have reached that tipping point where change for the better begins.

January 6, 2021s insurgence was an absolute first for this country in over two centuries. We cannot cast-off that it was a legitimate attempt to overthrow our democratic voting system.

It all began after news broke that the two democratic candidates had won the Senate runoff races in Georgia. Early Wednesday morning after that news broke, a pro-Trump rally in front of the White House by Trump and his supporters was taking place. Trump incited his followers to march to the Capital in protest. Meanwhile, as Vice President Pence was presiding in the chamber over the electoral final count, Trump follower’s broke windows and stormed the Capital, causing numerous deaths, damage, violence as well as terrorizing police. These rioters were brazened enough to actually break into the Senate chambers, congressional members offices, while taking selfies and stealing laptops, government documents and souvenirs. The aftermath left five people dead and many injured, mostly law enforcement.

The overall scene from yesterday, was a legitimate coup attempt by Trump and his supporters. The power of the Presidency is the power to inspire and/or to incite. There is no denying that Trump has been inciting violence with his lies and talk of conspiracy about the 2020 election process. The buck begins and ends with Trump and his Republican enablers. Not to mention the police who fled the scene when the rioters broke into the Capital building. All these people should be punished and  held accountable for their actions and lack of actions.

The big question today is, what is going to be done to these criminals and most importantly their leader, President Trump?

There is talk by our leaders both democrats and some republicans, to immediately remove Trump from office using the 25th Amendment or by impeachment. He only has 12 more days in office. But, as we’ve seen in the past, he can do a great deal of damage to this country in less than 24 hours.

In this Blogaholic’s point of view, I say enough is enough, is enough! To prevent Trump from inflicting any more deaths and damage to this country, we must not only remove him from office, but also try him as a criminal. This country has sufficient evidence on his blood-stained hands to convict him as well as remove his title as the 45th President.

The US Law reads: For a seditious conspiracy or Coup d’état charge to be affected, a crime need only be planned if two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

Twenty years sounds like an extremely tolerant sentence for Trump and his gang members. Some countries would behead a leader who instigated such a Coup d’état.

Shine On

NOTE: I’m not a big fan of Mary Trump, but her insights into her Uncle Donald are chilling.

Reboot Button

“I realized for the first time in my life:
there is nothing but mystery in the world,
how it hides behind the fabric of our poor,
browbeat days shining brightly,
and we don’t know it.”
Sue Monk Kidd

We’ve all overcome so much, and instead of dwelling on 2020, let’s reflect on what we can carry forward into 2021. I believe that reflecting on the past helps us to reshape our future.

The top ten takeaways froM 2020

10.      We are not in control of our lives. If you’re a control freak, this was a challenging past year. We’ve learned to become more malleable about life.

  9.      Experiences in our lives were redesigned. We became creative using Zoom and other means to stay connected. This allowed us more time to reflect on ourselves and our lives and what we want and need to accomplish.

  8.      Friendships and relationships. We became more aware of the strong and weak relationships in our lives.  The deeper and more intimate long-term relationships grew stronger and richer.

  7.      Family dynamics. Home schooling and working from home changed how we interacted. Some couples who had been separated by work because one of them traveled or worked long hours were thrust into discussing their problems in their relationships. This forced people to work-out their problems or come to the realization that their relationships were over.

6.        Our pets were the ultimate winners in 2020. We interacted more with them, petted them more and loved on them more.  In a sense, they became our “emotional support” animals.

 5.       Self-care became a priority. So many never had time or just kept putting off time for themselves. We came to the realization, if we are always running on empty and don’t take time and care for ourselves, it can affect us not only emotionally but physically. Getting in touch with our needs. Going for a short walk. Taking a relaxing bath. Shutting off the news for a few days. These small things can make a big difference in our quality of life.

 4.       The law of attraction. I’m not referring to sexual attraction. This law of attraction has to do with your attitude and outlook. If you’re negative, complaining and angry, chances are that’s what you’re going to receive from others. If you want kindness, love and good things in your life, you have to put out that energy.

 3.       Gratitude for what’s good. There are many little things in life to be grateful about. Be thankful you are not sitting in hours of traffic every day, now that you are working from home. Taking the time each day to thank people in your family, tribe or community. Nothing puts a smile on someone’s face as a simple thank you.

 2.       Offering grace to others. Millions of people went without this past year, died alone, suffered, lost loved ones. Listening and not talking when someone is sharing their hardships. Tom Hanks has a great acronym I try to live by: “WAIT” which stands for, why am I talking?

 1.       Never stop learning. We had more time in 2020 to read, learn a new skill, watch new content and even learn how to cook. We grew emotionally, intellectually and physically.

As we reset to live joyful, purposeful and intent-driven lives, let’s learn from our past and just hit that reboot button.

 Shine On

Getting Started



“The secret of getting ahead
is getting started.”

Happy 2021 New Year all you fellow Blogaholics.

I’m confident all of us agree, we’re glad to see 2020 in our rearview mirror. My first post of 2020 I ended with a quote from Billy Wilder.  He once said, “It’s easy to know the right thing to do after something has happened, but it’s hard to predict the future. Hindsight is 20/20 vision.”

Little did I realize what 2020 would have in store for the world. If I had any hindsight, I would’ve had a larger stash of toilet paper.

Hopefully, going into this new year, we all will allow ourselves to be more compassionate, give more unconditional love, not take our friends and family for granted and be better listeners as well as experience life to its fullest.

I have put together my 2021 goals, and because 2020 was such a nightmare, I plan to be diligent reaching as many of my goals as possible. I can see clearly now, the first and most important step to reaching any goal is, getting started.

Shine On

2020 Merry Christmas



“And above all, watch with glittering eyes
the whole world around you
because the greatest secrets are hidden
in the most unlikely places.
Those who don’t believe
in magic will never find it.”
Roald Dahl

Shine On

Backstory of Beef Wellington



“The only thing I am afraid of is fear.”
Arthur Wellesley

You’ve got to take your hat off to the 1st Duke of Wellington. Not only did the feisty Irishman vanquish Napoleon, he twice became prime minister and lend his name to the infamous Wellington boot as well as giving us the delicious Beef Wellington to remember him by.

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley was born in Dublin, May 1, 1769 into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family. At age 12, he was sent to school at Eton in England. His father’s death that same year threw the family into financial turmoil. Arthur’s mother withdrew him from Eton to be schooled in Belgium and France. She saw such little promise in her son that she felt the military was the best career choice for him. In 1787 at age 18, he was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army.

An outstanding British soldier and statesman, he was one of the most important military and political leaders of 19th-century Britain. Rising to prominence as a general during the Peninsular campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, he was promoted to the rank of field marshal after leading the allied forces to victory against the French Empire at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813.

Following Napoleon’s exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a dukedom. During the 1815 Hundred Days War, he commanded the allied army, which together with a Prussian Army under Blücher, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. His battle record is exemplary; he ultimately participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career.

Wellesley died from a stroke on 14 September 1852. On his death, he was once again hailed as the hero of Waterloo. Queen Victoria even described him as ‘the greatest man this country ever produced’. He was given a state funeral in London and was laid to rest in St Paul’s Cathedral, next to Britain’s other military heroes.

So, how does all this history relate to Beef Wellington? Well, it seems the Duke of Wellington was quite indifferent to food. However, he did love a dish of beef, mushrooms, truffles, Madeira wine, and pâté cooked in pastry. The Duke loved this dish so much, it had to be served at every dinner. Therefore, his chefs named the dish in his honor.  Some also speculate the dish was named after him because the fillet of beef, wrapped in puff pastry finished product looks like a highly polished Wellington riding boot.

Beef Wellington, like many other dishes, has a debatable story of origin. Many different experts cite England, France, Ireland, and even Africa as the possible birthplace for the dish. Although, several contend that France is the most likely origin for the dish since wrapping meat in pastry is a technique that has been practiced in France for a long time, even before the dish became popular.

This tenderloin of beef in puffed pastry was first made famous in the USA by the TV chef, Julia Child. Her cook book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking was immensely popular in the USA. She presented a version of the well-known French fillet of beef in crust, which she entitled, Filet of Beef Wellington on TV in her New Year’s Day 1965 show.

Thanks to the success of Childs’ Beef Wellington show, the dish became hugely popular in North American social circles and was repeated in a large number of magazines and cookbooks, including the very influential, White House Cookbook.

To Americans, unaccustomed to the English idea of meat in pastry, Beef Wellington must have seemed like quite an exotic dish. It can be an intimidating and complicated dish to put together. But, thanks to cooking shows and YouTube, anyone with a desire to cook this fancy feast can put together a beautiful and tasty Beef Wellington.

Shine On