TODAY! Bette’s Holiday Happy Hour with Dr. Michael MacKay on Where We Need to Pressure Biden
Bette members—please register for our Tuesday Happy Hour, noon Pacific, with geopolitical analyst Dr. Michael MacKay on where we apply pressure on Biden while also toasting to the holidays. BYOEN!
***Bette members will find the registration link below the paywall. To join our community Speakeasy and Happy Hour events, please take out a membership and support independent investigative journalism in a time of grave deception.***
Bette’s Calendar at a glance — note new date for Nancy MacLean:
Tuesday, Dec. 17, noon PT — Bette’s Holiday Happy Hour with special guest geopolitical analyst Dr. Michael MacKay, with a crash course lesson in Russian campaigns to help us know where to apply immediate pressure on the Biden administration. Also BYOEN! Bring Your Own Egg Nog to make a toast to the holidays and togetherness.
DATE UPDATE Sunday, Jan. 12, 4 pm PT — Author Dr. Nancy MacLean joins Bette’s Speakeasy to discuss US Resistance efforts and her updated version of Democracy In Chains.
Next event starts in three+ hours. Each event is open to all levels of membership. To join our monthly Founder’s Day events, please upgrade your subscription to Founding Member — you can choose any amount above a full annual membership.
“Nothing is keeping Biden from acting. He has a duty to defend the United States. It is actually his first duty.”—Dr. Michael MacKay, geopolitical analyst
Greetings! I received a thoughtful note from a Bette member who asked why I call our Tuesday Happy Hour when there is so much to despair about. I explained that when I launched our weekly Happy Hour two years ago, I chose the title, because I could see how much grief members of our community were in — the loss of loved ones to MAGA, the unreality media was pushing, the fear of the fascist creep. So I launched our Happy Hour as a weekly self-care wellness session for global newsies. It was a way for people to not feel alone, and I always felt my spirit lifted after we meet.
I kept the title, because after the election of November 5, I was at a friends home and he told me a lesson from Dalton Trumbo: “You still have to have a happy life.”
I now feel that is duty. Yes, I will work and fight on, but I will strive for happiness in my day to life, regardless of what the cabal of liars, thieves, and criminals pull. Despair is the enemy of action.
In the two years since we launched our weekly wellness sessions for global newsies, I have used the hour to put important guests in front of our community — knowledge is power, and we are powerful.
Today, geopolitical analyst Dr. Michael MacKay is our guest. He joined RadPod this week for an important interview reviewing the first decade of World War III, which he believes began on February 20, 2014, when Russia invaded Ukraine. For those who are not yet members, I always make sure you have free access to the information so please watch our interview here:
New members: you will find registration links for community events by scrolling all the way to the bottom below the paywall. I often update our community with information and event details on these invitations, but if you just want to register, always simply scroll to the very bottom of post.
Bring some egg nog if you plan to join us today, as I will make a toast to the power of community and to the holidays. May peace on earth occur in our lifetimes.
Here is the event info. Please join us:
TODAY: Tuesday’s Holiday Happy Hour with Dr. Michael MacKay, 12/17, noon Pacific:
Bio: Michael Mackay has a doctorate in political philosophy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has been engaged with Ukraine’s civil society since the renewal of independence, working as a university lecturer, the director of an Internet access project and an election observer. Since the Revolution of Dignity and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Michael has been chronicling the war on Twitter at mhmck and now on Bluesky at michaelmackay.
His latest interview with RadPod will be available this week, but here is a preview of what we need to tell President Biden we want him to do now:
“On what could Biden do? Very easily, right now, he could say the United States supports the immediate admission of Ukraine to NATO. Simple, other countries have done it. So United States supports the immediate admission of Ukraine to NATO. You know, forget all this, you know, Membership Action Program. No, that's for peace time. Admit Ukraine the same way West Germany, a divided country, was admitted in 1956 — the way that Turkey and Greece were admitted together, even though neither one of them really qualified at the time.
“Second, all restrictions on the use of weapons are lifted. It's up to the armed forces of Ukraine to decide how best to defend their country. Third, the Russian Federation is a terrorist state, or if the law currently says you have to call it a state sponsor of terrorism, fine, you do that. Okay? Congress has already passed many measures to say, ‘Do that.’ So, stroke of a pen, he could do that. There you go. There's three quick things he could do that would make a massive difference, because they would carry other countries along and make a huge difference.
“Russia is banking on — they're, engaged in a massive offensive right now — and they're going all out paying no attention to their losses until January 20, because they're betting everything that Trump will surrender Ukraine for them now, however unrealistic that may be, that is what they're thinking. And so they're sacrificing between 1,000 and 1,500 men every day, killed or seriously wounded. You know, equipment just incredible losses. And they're gaining a couple 100 meters here and there every day. Because you can't hold out against that. But Russia can't continue it forever.”—Dr. Michael Mackay on RadPod Ep121
Dr. MacKay has unfailingly documented Russia’s invasion of Ukraine daily for a decade, and he has been invaluable to my work. Here are a few key reports where he is featured:
Like many people we have met along the way, he rose to the occasion of delivering news from his unique perspective of having been in Ukraine at historic election moments, while also offering the deep perspective necessary. America is just one among many countries targeted by Russia, which also ran or is running hybrid warfare in Chechnya, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, UK, Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Venezuela, and Syria.
I will be writing more on this for Hot Type in coming days…
In the words of Nobel Peace Laureate journalist Maria Ressa:
“First, they came for the journalists, we don’t know what happened next.”
Writers matter. History matters.
In solidarity, reality, truth, and unity,
Heidi xo
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Begin each day with a grateful heart.
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REGISTER HERE FOR OUR EVENT WITH DR. MICHAEL MACKAY AND YOU CAN ALSO PREREGISTER FOR OUR JANUARY 12 EVENT WITH DR. NANCY MACLEAN:
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