From the beginning of your political career, you have had to also deal with life-shattering personal tragedy.

Not once, but twice. First, when you lost your wife and daughter to a horrendous car crash just as you won your first Senate seat and then to lose your son Beau while in office as Vice President.

Throughout your campaign, your empathy is what has resonated with the American people. They saw something special in you — a warm, confident dignity.

You didn’t put anyone down, make fun of anyone, or grab anyone by a part of their body. …

Politics

The United States Capitol was assaulted by rioters on January 6th — apparently at the behest of the president — now ex-president, Donald Trump. The insurrection inflicted trauma upon our country that many are still processing — like a violent crime.

Less than three weeks later, we are left wondering if there are enough Republican Senators to convict Trump in the Senate trial. It is outrageous that it is a challenge to find seventeen GOP senators to declare the twice-impeached former president guilty of inciting an insurrection. Something they all witnessed firsthand and, in some cases, were in extreme danger.

Seventeen votes should not be difficult to achieve, and yet it is. It is disgusting that the Republican party has become so jaded and so burdened by fealty to the despicable Donald Trump that they tolerate his behavior and give him a pass. …

Editor’s Picks

I have selected four stories as editor’s picks from all of the writers who recently published on ILLUMINATION. Thank you for writing — and we are delighted to share your work!

With all of the political discourse in the United States — and the upcoming Presidential Inauguration next week, today’s stories are themed around Politics.

In Is There Hope For America? Suvi Helena — an immigrant from Finland, writes about the current political and social situation in the United States. …

Editor’s Picks

One of the most rewarding tasks of being an editor is having the pleasure of selecting articles to amplify in my daily editor’s picks column.

Today the theme is Business. Without further adieu, here goes:

Lily Colman-Goff gives us an excellent account of her experience, creating a WordPress blog in How Easy Is It To Create A Blog On WordPress? Lily takes the reader through what she did right and what didn’t go so well. If you are looking to set up your blog, this is a great place to start.

In How To Find Time To Start A Business When Working Full-Time, Ewan McBride gives some fantastic advice to everyone out there who is working hard to get a business off the ground while maintaining a full-time job. Since the pandemic — the numbers are growing. …

Why the hell is there a special on KNIVES sold by a massive Trump megadonor’s company when we are on high-security alert?

I don’t understand why knives would go on special this week with heightened security concerns.

The moment I saw my email that was sent just after Trump was impeached for the second time, I thought, “Why are they promoting knives this week?” Then, when I researched Trump donors who could be behind the insurrection, the Uihlein family name (owner of Uline) came up.

I’ll let you decide if this is a coincidence or not, dear reader.

Here is the email I received on January 13th from Uline:

Editor’s Picks

When someone sits down to write an article on Medium or, more specifically, on ILLUMINATION, they hope to reach a larger audience who will enjoy their work. I hope with today’s writing that I am amplifying the work of the writers featured and perhaps introducing you to them.

The first article selected, An Exploration of Evermore by Taylor Swift by Eliza Wright, gives an in-depth analysis of Taylor Swift’s newest album. I am a huge fan of Ms. Swift and loved the article. …

Whenever I publish an article, I have no idea how it will be received. It was only a subject I wanted to write about or because I was curious or both. With my article that went viral, it was a follow up to an initial article responding to my curiosity — Why are we so fascinated with murder? I wanted to know why the Watts family murders’ story was number one on Netflix within a week of its release.

That first article was “curated” or, as it is said now, “distributed” by Medium on October 5. Here it is.

Two weeks after I published the first article, I found a significant amount of information about the Watts case that was not included in the Netflix documentary. The material led to a better understanding of why the murders happened and the underlying conditions contributing to what could only be described as an ugly and toxic family situation. This second article went viral — but not for two months. …

I could hear the sound of him walking as he drew nearer. There was the distinct sound of his cane hitting the floor as he ambled down the hallway. The sound in my mind meant fear was coming. The scary person. His cane was forewarning the arrival of the person who takes away the peace.

My boss was unpredictable and easily angered. Anything could cause him to break into a temper tantrum of epic proportions. Other times he was charming — but that could change like the wind.

I once heard him on the phone with the Mercedes dealership — and it was terrifying. He was not getting his way. I wanted to dive under my desk, thinking I’d be safer. I seriously thought that something was going to come flying through the door. He had activated my fight or flight response, and I felt the adrenaline coursing through my veins. A migraine followed within a few hours — because that’s what always happens after an episode like that. …