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| My happy place |
Once upon a time I had a boyfriend in Berkeley and spent a significant amount of time there. We split up over 50 years ago and even though we've stayed in touch, I've not been back to No Cal since. We met up for lunch...but instead of two 20-something hippie types, we now grey-haired 70-somethings who couldn't stop laughing about the way we once were. After lunch, we went in search of our old house on Colusa Avenue and actually found it. And while all the other houses around it are beautifully, impeccably restored to their early 20th century glory, our house looked exactly the same: unkempt, untended, and pathetically the same. Quelle tragédie!
This was part of my paternal extended family, the Minnesota part. There was great food, great conversation, great family sweatshirts, and lots of free-flowing laughs. The shul was Reform, there was guitar playing involved, and the service was lovely. Coley, the bar mitzvah boy, delivered a terrific d'var Torah describing how Jacob, on his deathbed, provided his sons and grandsons with a living will. Using his great-grandfather's living will as his touchstone, he talked about the importance of relaying our own ethics and beliefs to our children and grandchildren. I know had his great-grandfather, the indomitable Bud Sweet, been there to hear Coley, he woulda bust his buttons with justifiable pride.
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| Shari & Dave's Vineyard |
As I write this, I’m sitting on Amtrak's Coast Starlight train heading towards Los Angeles. Due to the torrential rains, we had a lengthy delay after we left Oakland. We were parked for almost two hours south of San Jose due to high tides and flooding on the tracks farther down the line. And even though it’s not raining now, the clouds hang low and there’s a lot of standing water along the tracks. Fields we passed are very, very muddy and I wonder if they will be able to salvage whatever was originally planted. But far more disturbing were the number of homeless encampments along the tracks Some were clearly in use, others with rubbish and tarp piles. Occasionally, I saw cars packed with stuff sitting near tarp-tents. Did the cars run? Not a clue. Perhaps they were simply another form of shelter from the rain. Encampments continued intermittently along the route, each one more derelict and heart-wrenching than the last.
I'll be spending this week wandering around to Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Ojai. With luck I'll get to sit on a beach to watch surfers. On Friday, there's a rental car with my name on it and I'm driving myself to Palm Springs for some more visiting and writing.
Okay, enough with the travelogue.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the news is becoming increasingly dire. President Felon has kidnapped the president and first lady of Venezuela. He also announced we’re going to run Venezuela until the new government can be put in place. Once upon a time, he also announced that he was gonna run versa until a new government could be put in place. Does anybody suspect this is some sort of colonial expansionism run amok? And speaking of colonialism, did you happen to catch the interim president of Venezuela? During a speech flanked by some of her supporters Rodríguez blamed Israel. From i24 News:
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, on Sunday accused Israel of orchestrating the U.S. operation that led to the arrest of ousted leader Nicolás Maduro, describing the move as a “Zionist attack” against the country.Speaking in a televised address alongside senior figures from the ruling establishment, Rodríguez claimed that Israel was responsible for what she characterized as foreign aggression against Venezuela.
Really? Maybe they really are all drug lords in Venezuela and she is self-medicating before speaking to the press. That's the most rational explanation I can come up with.
At the same time, I am concerned about the message it sends to Russia, China, and Iran. This "righteous" expansion can easily telegraph a go-ahead to those countries. It's hard to sanction them when this is monkey see/monkey do. And now, Greenland is up front once again. Can you say lebenstraum, boys and girls?
And if that's not enough to get you're sails swinging back and forth, try this from that shining example of terminal cupidity and arrogance, the uniquely unqualified Secretary of Illegal Military Posturing Pete Hogshead who is now varfing schmutz on Captain Mark Kelly. Which, if you think about it, can be considered a) totally ridiculous, b) incredibly ignorant of the Constitution, c) highly inappropriate since Kelly only reiterated what the Constitution says d) all of the above. Go with "d" on this one. Senator Kelly did nothing but cite the law. If you need a better understand the absurdity of all this, read the NPR transcript Illegal orders' and the investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly of the panel discussion from November 25th, 2025. For his part, Senator Kelly posted the following rebuttal:
Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution — including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that. My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head — all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder. Generations of servicemembers have made these same patriotic sacrifices for this country, earning the respect, appreciation, and rank they deserve. Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that. If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it. I will fight this with everything I’ve got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government
I find the most recent announcements out of Washington DC more than a little creepy. Never mind Secretary of Doom, Hogshead trying to demote Mark Kelly from his retired rank of captain. He’s already thrown out anybody who isn’t straight from the military thereby weakening our military significantly without ever explaining what his endgame is. I imagine it’s the same end game President Felon is playing. That’s assuming President Felon is capable of doing much more than just stand there. But I’m not even sure who’s running the country anymore and I don’t think anybody else is either. It doesn’t really matter how many polls, The Washington Post publishes or anybody else’s for that matter it’s clear the American public disagrees with his latest international intervention. That said, I really don’t think that’s gonna stop him from doing more damage.
I don’t have a whole lot to say about Mamdani at the moment mostly because he’s not my mayor. But I can tell you that his repeal of certain policies that had been established in the previous administration dealing with BDS and other antisemitic/anti-Zionist actions will turn the Jews of Brooklyn, including my cousin Perdie, into targets. Mamdani's tacit acceptance of those changes position may not sound like he's saying it’s OK to go after Jews, but there’s a a very quiet implication that it is gonna be OK. This turns every Jew into an acceptable target, and none of us should be okay with that. It's all subtle, but these policy revisions bear watching
In a totally understandable move, Tim Walz has stepped away from running for governor of Minnesota. I happen to like Tim Walz and if you think for one New York minute that he has been lax or ignoring the fraud investigations in regard to Medicare, Medicaid, and COVID relief haven’t been going on for several years, you have another think coming. The problem is that no matter how much investigating goes on, it has to be done right and it has to be prosecuted without imperfection. There is no room for error or miscalculation in this process; it must be scrupulously handled, and above reproach or the whole thing falls apart. The feds however, don’t investigate, they just run their mouths. They are interested only. is blaming a state that stands on its own values. Anything the fed can do to undermine due process in a blue state, they will do. I just hope that governor Walz uses the next year carefully as the AG's office continues to prosecute the fraudsters with iron clad cases.
And just to be clear, I am not in favor of Senator Klobuchar running in his stead. I think she needs to be our senator, not our governor.
Train travel ain't perfect,
