With Christmas Day just two weeks away, it’s time to make lists and check them twice, determining who’s been naughty or nice, as the 1930s song says.  It’s been a chaotic year for our nation and its residents, with more naughty than nice in the news. Traditionally, the naughty will find lumps of coal in their stockings but, given Mr. Trump’s fondness for fossil fuels, he’d probably relish that designation, so I’ve decided to revert to HISSES and KISSES (the chocolate kind) for this year’s list.

• HISSES, too many to count, to Donald Trump and his administration, his unqualified and incompetent cabinet, and his race to the bottom for this country.  The crudeness, crassness, denigration, and corruption began with his inauguration screed on January 20, and has multiplied through presidential pardons, ICE raids, and attacks on the legal system to this very day.

• KISSES to the millions of peaceful protesters who showed up for “No Kings” Day and other community events in large jurisdictions and small ones, exercising their First Amendment rights and shining a bright light on preserving democratic values.

• KISSES to voters in Virginia who elected Abigail Spanberger as the Commonwealth’s first female governor and flipped 13 seats in the House of Delegates.  Voters rejected the right-wing statewide candidates who campaigned on fear and division.  The challenge now is restraint by the new governor and legislature as Virginia’s economy has been affected demonstrably by federal government budget cuts and firings. 

• HISSES to drivers who fail to heed stop signs on our neighborhood streets.  Some drivers slow down but about half sail through without care, according to my own informal count.  Hisses also to drivers who fail to use their turn signals.  Sometimes they are the same ones who miss the stop signs.

• KISSES to Fairfax County which received a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2025 Municipal Equality Index.  As diversity, equity and inclusion are under attack by the Trump administration, the One Fairfax Policy, adopted while I still was on the Board of Supervisors, exemplifies steady, intentional efforts to make a real difference in the lives of county employees and residents.

• KISSES to the Mason District Police Station officers who, each year, collect, wrap and distribute toys to needy children in Mason District neighborhoods.  Additionally, they collect and distribute new pajamas and slippers for children to help them stay warm on winter nights.  Other police districts have similar activities that serve the community, and they all deserve KISSES for the extra effort.

• HISSES and KISSES to The Washington Post newspaper. Their reporting is first-rate, but the reorientation of their print edition sections removes the ease of reading that regular subscribers enjoyed for decades. KISSES also to the print and non-print journalists, especially the female journalists, who continue to ask tough and pointed questions despite continual denigration and misogyny by Mr. Trump. 

• KISSES, for now, to the James Madison University football team, which earned a spot in the College Football Playoffs.  The #12 Dukes will play my beloved #5 Oregon Ducks on December 20 in Eugene.  Oregon’s Autzen Stadium seats 60,000 vs. JMU’s Bridgeforth Stadium, which seats just 25,000, so it will be loud!  Depending on the results of the game, KISSES could turn into HISSES, but Oregon has a 20-point edge going in.

•  Finally, KISSES to Nick Benton and the FCNP staff for maintaining a terrific local newspaper, focusing on community and commentary, open to many points of view.  Local newspapers help strengthen community ties in a way no social media can, and that’s worthy of celebration!