In an essay I've just seen at The New Yorker,  A Hundred Classics to Get Me Through a Hundred Days of Trump, Jill Lepore describes what she calls her "doomscrolling methadone," the way she used to get through Trump's Hundred Days. it sounds as if Lepore merely stumbled on the technique. I'm still jealous as I wonder why I didn't think of that. I've got a couple of things in my library that I could put to good use in the coming months, A Year with Rumi, A Year with Kafka, Day by Day with Emerson.

Now listening to Bedrich Smetana, Quartet No. 1, From my Life on Sirius XM. Quite an effective foil to recording my thoughts on the morning's news. I haven't listened to this piece in a long time, and it very effectively moved me to a much more settled place. Will return to this soon I think. I wish I could suggest that the White House play this music and selections like it. (I remember when President Obama shared some pretty interesting playlists of his music choices. This might be an effective way for the current resident to build some understanding and communication in the country. Certainly better than just declaring that everything the government does is evil and wasteful.)

When I tuned in earlier I heard the end of a Mendelssohn piece, Christus, I think. I mean to track that down later.

Got sidetracked this morning when I stumbled across an old note, a quotation from George Eliot—

Let us refuse to accept as moral any political leader who should allow his conduct in relation to great issues to be determined by egoistic passion.