Recall Albright’s warning In her 2018 book “Fascism: A Warning”, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright wrote President Donald Trump was “the first anti-democratic president in modern history.” She saw this already in his first term, before he really got going in his assaults on d emocratic norms and principles in Trump II. After comparing many of Trump’s actions to how fascists came to power in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, Albright offered this warning: “Americans have so much faith in the resilience of our democratic institutions that we will ignore for too long the incremental erosion that is taking place in them (and) we will proceed merrily along until one morning we open our eyes, draw back the curtains, and find ourselves in a quasi-fascist state.” Time has proven her foresight to be correct. In 2025 Trump has doubled down on disdain for the Constitution. Ruling largely by executive order decrees, he pursues unchecked power, bypassing and even actively defying both Congress and the courts. He directs government to censor information for the citizenry so it conforms to his views. He has militarized policing and advocates criminalizing legitimate dissent. He has pushed to narrow voting rights and curtail citizens’ liberties. He regularly attacks the free press. He orders his Justice Department to engage in political retribution. He exploits his office for personal profit. These are all classic tactics of authoritarian regimes. Meanwhile MAGA loyalists and the majority of Republicans maintain unquestioning devotion to Trump. In blithe apathy, they shrug off his many abuses of power. As Albright predicted might happen, they ignore the erosion in our institutions and “proceed merrily along.” So it is that we find ourselves today in exactly the state Albright warned of. The question is: Will enough people realize this and correct our course before it’s too late? Ken Burrows Colorado Springs    ‘Friendship is the wine of life’ Oh, Tannenbaum. For a long time, I chose not to decorate a Christmas tree. I was stationed in some far-flung parts of the world where trees were just not possible. Or I associated the holiday with the passing of someone special and holiday décor seemed inappropriate. After I married Gary, holidays came alive and a Christmas tree was just what we both wanted. It started small with a Norfolk pine from the local grocer with ribbons I tied from velvet. Then we experienced Germany at Christmas. The essence of Christmas hit us both! We needed a tree to match. So, the “wine tree” came to be. It started with a few glass ornaments that resembled grape clusters. I searched for ornaments in the colors of vino —dark burgundies, deep golds, and crisp pale yellows. I purchased some sage green ornaments from a local décor store going out of business. A friend pointed out that these ornaments were the color of cat pee. I challenged him as he had never owned a cat. He retracted and said they really looked like Mountain Dew. Okay, that’s a beverage and they stayed on the tree. Now the tree includes gold and red ornaments from military assignments around the world and beautiful hand-blown globes from my siblings in North Carolina. There are a dozen glass rainbow trout and a few ornaments from grandkids. But perhaps the most significant is a small ornament, in beautiful calligraphy, that states “friendship is the wine of life”. Carrol Harvey Woodland Park ...read more read less