Wanna See My Vacay Pictures?

This is going to be a very short post. Or not.

I just got back from my sojourn on the east coast and I am completely wiped out. The kids have officially moved to their temporary quarters and I am sitting here relishing the silence. Not that I'm not a great fan of chaos, but....

Staying with my family on the Island is always good medicine. We don't have to do special stuff; we just get to be. I always laugh so much when I'm with them, never mind that my cousin Tracey Simon is a stand up comic. She's funny in regular conversation. Staying with Ellis and Tracey is always a hoot. 

The beach was fantastic. See those boats in the background? That's the reason we have supply chain issues. They cannot get into port to unload. They are sitting out there in a tidy little line waiting their turn to sail into the docks of New York.'

Yes, there was ample pastrami, but the best was from the Lido Deli and picked up with the Mallomars Fairy. Talk about catching up! Like it's been a lifetime since the last time I saw her at her sister's wedding (I was a bridesmaid) and she was just a kid! 

Dinner with my grad school buddy Diz who has stayed in the business that is show and her husband was perfection. Just to talk real theater...the nuts and bolts kind...makes me remember who I am underneath the words: I am forever a director and damn proud of it. 

Despite the semi-cold and cloudy Friday morning, I sat on the sand at the water's edge with my cousin Perdie discussing all things consequential and trivial. See, I was sitting on the beach with my kid cuz just talking. That was worth the trip right there. 

Took the Long Island Railroad into Penn with my cousin Ellis-the-train-expert and managed to see the new Moynihan Station. Lovely...but brief. Thank goodness for Ellis's aid in shlepping the damn suitcase, wheels be damned! Even in a cab, it was close. But off to Connecticut I went to see my friend Wendy. Don't tell her, but it was really to sit in her hot tub and watch for meteors. Oh, and eat. Lots of great eating.

And visiting. We had a lovely lunch with my friend Lynn at a lovely Ukrainian spot: The Good News Restaurant. It was the first time we ever managed to have lunch together and now that we're both retired, I sure hope not the last! 

On the friend front, I finally met my editor, Gail, in person. She's been my second set of eyes on Tuesday mornings for about 9 years, and while we do talk on the phone, this was a first hug. I didn't tell her I was coming, so I got to surprise her. The look on her face was priceless. I was over the moon to finally see her in person. She has been the voice of reason when my thoughts were muddy. She is a wonderful friend and terrific copy editor. I cannot imagine doing this without her....and now I'm gonna sit back and wait for her to complain about the picture. I think it's lovely, Gail!

One of the highlights was discovering The New England Accordion Museum in Canaan, CT. Mr. Ramunni was a delight. Considering I have three cousins who play accordion, and any number of friends who used to play accordion, this was a heck of an education. If you are ever in the area, stop by, and if you're really nice, Mr. Ramunni will play for you. His passion for the instrument is contagious; if you're ever in Canaan, CT, be sure to stop there. It's a total hoot.

I also managed to see two things that were bucket worthy. 

We were in Sandy Hook, and we saw the new school that has been built over the site of the old elementary school. It's very beautiful and fitting that it's over the same spot: a sort of phoenix rising from the ashes. I could not take a picture. I just couldn't.

The other bucket list item was the Guthrie Center. Anyone of a certain age cherishes that perennial Thanksgiving earworm:

Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the Restaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the Church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and Fasha the dog. 

No Thanksgiving is ever truly complete without at least one awful rendition of Alice's Restaurant Massacree, and lord knows, I've heard many of them. 

I cannot say enough about staying with my friend Wendy. Her house is magnificent, her pool is to die for, and her skills as a tour guide around western Connecticut are unparalleled. It's not enough that the area is stunningly beautiful, but her explanations of who, what, where and when are amazing. She's a human catalogue of information and I am in awe of her. That and her effortless ability to navigate back roads. Man, I would be sooooo lost!

The house itself is partly made from the reclaimed parts of a barn that was original to the property. This is dawn as taken from my bed. It was breathtaking. Each morning I awoke to some feat of nature happening outside that window. And I will tell you waking up at dawn was worth it. It's a whole 'nother level of peace. That the remnants of the barn make up large portions of the house blend old and new into a welcoming and almost dream-like experience. For the record, the kitchen is pretty cool.

Floating in an infinity pool was a whole new experience. Magic. Seriously. We soaked in the hot tub end while we waited for the Perseids meteor shower to commence, but clouds got in the way. Not that I cared much; the hot tub in the pitch dark or night was a spiritual experience

 

And no discussion about my sojourn in Connecticut would be complete without mention of Fergus. Yes, he is as fluffy as he looks, and at 18 weeks, he already knows how to turn on the charm. This guy is one fun puppy.

The journey ended in Boston, where I got to talk politics with Luke, a fine Coast Guard officer, lawyer, and son of Minnesota Minda. What a joy to sip a Guinness with a kid who's not such a kid anymore. We sat outside at a tavern and talked about all the problems of the real world. He actually knows about these things from the other side and it was a delightful hour. 

Equally delightful was dinner at Petit Robert where the food was as good as the show going on around us. Two of the most handsome men I've ever seen, deep in their Arabic conversation at the table next to us, totally ignoring the three women preening, making eyes, and generally sending out "take me" signals to the two guys. It was the best floor show in town.

The adventure ended on Sunday morning with me sprawled on the pavement in front of the Prudential Center because I cannot walk and laugh at the same time. My Apple watch asked me if I was okay, (I was,) and then asked me for more information. The correct answer? 

I've fallen and I can get up. 

Yes, I've got a couple of bruises and a scraped knee, but I am just fine.(And no, I'm not posting a picture of either the bruises or the knee, thank you very much.)

All in all, it was a great two weeks away. I am grateful to my cousins and friends who made this a great adventure. If I learned nothing else, I learned that I need to go east more often. Say what you will, you skeptics; it's still home. 

The WP's Tip o'the Week

Cherish your family and friends. 

Visit as often as you can, talk on the phone when you can't.

Having people that know you well is a good thing. 

Stuff I Didn’t Wanna Think About

I was planning on a completely different blog today, but real life has gotten in the way.

My cousin Perdie asked if I would write about the anniversary of the Sbarro bombing in Jerusalem. If you don't remember the Sbarro bombing that took place on August 9th, 2001, this is the short version:

The Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing, also called the Sbarro massacre, was a Palestinian terrorist attack on a pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem, on 9 August 2001, in which 15 civilians were killed, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and 130 wounded. 

The pregnant woman, Judith Greenbaum, was American. From the larger Wiki article:

They arrived just before 2:00 pm, when the restaurant was filled with customers, "dozens of women, children and babies", and pedestrian traffic outside was at its peak. Tamimi departed before Al-Masri, thought to be carrying a rigged guitar case or wearing an explosive belt weighing 5 to 10 kilograms, containing explosives, nails, nuts and bolts, detonated his bomb.          

(You can read the full account here.)

In the end, 15 were dead, one, Chana Nachenberg, an American, was left in a vegetative state that persisted for over 20 years, and 130 were injured. Seven of the dead were children. The homicide bomber also died. 

The woman who planned the bombing, Ahlam Tamimi was freed in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange and now lives in Jordan. Because she orchestrated the murder of 2 US citizens, Malki Roth and Judith Greenbaum in the bombing, she remains on the FBI Most Wanted List; attempts to extradite her have failed. She loves to talk about the fantastic success of the Sbarro bombing. In an interview on Al-Aqsa TV on 12 July 2012 (as translated by MEMRI,) she said:

Afterwards, when I took the bus, the Palestinians around Damascus Gate [in Jerusalem] were all smiling. You could sense that everybody was happy. When I got on the bus, nobody knew that it was me who had led [the suicide bomber to the target]... I was feeling quite strange, because I had left [the bomber] 'Izz Al-Din behind, but inside the bus, they were all congratulating one another. They didn't even know one another, yet they were exchanging greetings...While I was sitting on the bus, the driver turned on the radio. But first, let me tell you about the gradual rise in the number of casualties. While I was on the bus and everybody was congratulating one another...

She went on to say: 

I admit that I was a bit disappointed, because I had hoped for a larger toll. Yet when they said "three dead," I said: 'Allah be praised'...Two minutes later, they said on the radio that the number had increased to five. I wanted to hide my smile, but I just couldn't. Allah be praised, it was great. As the number of dead kept increasing, the passengers were applauding.

Dozens of women, children, and babies. This woman targeted women, children, and babies.

At the time, both Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing. 

For the past few days, Israel has been targeting Gaza with air attacks. Operation Breaking Dawn is targeting the leadership of Islamic Jihad. In return, there is retaliation from inside Gaza. During one of those rocket barrages, one misfired and took out a civilian camp. 

This is radar tracking of the barrage of rockets fired by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in Gaza last night.

As per the IDF:

This shows the site where the rocket landed—a place where Palestinian civilians, including children, were killed by a misfired rocket. 

If you read the time stamps, and look at the firing patterns, you can see Palestinian targeting went right over their own people. This is the risk you take when you use your population as human shields. I get that no military operation is perfect and civilian casualties happen, but firing missiles over refugee and housing camps is a recipe for disaster and cannot be laid at the foot of the enemy.

The intrinsic, inherent evil of doing that also points to the depravity of homicide bombers attacking women and children in restaurants. Is no life sacred? Not even the lives of your own people?

In her own words, Tamimi proudly tells the world that murdering women and children is an acceptable action. One can stretch that to include the women and children of Gaza who are to be sacrificed on the altar of their own military hubris. Palestinian missile misfiring is not exactly an unknown event, given the rudimentary composition of their weaponry. 

In 2021, the summary of a BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,081, June 27, 2021 stated:

Much of the coverage and commentary surrounding the fighting in May between Hamas and Israel has focused on numbers, especially the much larger number of Palestinians than Israelis killed. The number of deaths is actually very low for such an intense conflict, a testament to Israel’s Iron Dome and civil defense systems, and its use of precision weapons and warnings aimed at minimizing Palestinian civilian deaths. Of course, Hamas aims to kill as many Israeli civilians as possible, but its rockets place both Israelis and Palestinians in peril, because many of those rockets—in this case 680—misfire and explode inside Gaza. The death and destruction caused is, of course, usually blamed on Israel. The question addressed here is how many Palestinians are likely to have been killed by these errant Palestinian rockets in May. The estimate arrived at is 91, amounting to 36% of the alleged Palestinian death toll. 

[BESA, the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University, is a non-partisan, independent think tank devoted to stability issues surrounding Israel and the Middle East.] 

It's very popular to accuse Israel of war crimes. It's equally popular to publish photos of victims who are either posing or the photo is demonstrated to be from someplace else entirely. Blame is always convenient for the haters. You know the UN et al is gonna try to pin this latest missile launch on Israel. 

But demand a bragging terrorist face up to crimes against humanity? Ha. Tamimi's case for extradition began on July 15, 2013 when the DoJ filed criminal charges against her for "conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against US nationals outside the US resulting in death." The Jordanian courts ruled she could not be extradited because the Jordanian Parliament had not yet ratified the extradition treaty.

When American citizens are languishing in foreign jails, why waste time on this? When the Ukraine is being bombed daily with less than surgical strikes, why pay much attention to Operation Breaking Dawn? And why should we be surprised or perturbed at the blame-game name-calling?

Let me tell you why: because if we don't care, we are inhuman. If we stop caring about justice, we are inhuman. If we stop caring about all citizens in Israel and in Palestine, we are inhuman. If we stand around saying "meh" at the name calling, we have lost all shred of decency. 

I have my doubts Tamami will ever be extradited, just as I doubt anyone associated with the execution of Adnan Khashoggi will ever be extradited.  But to stop caring is not an option. The act of not caring about Brittney Griner and other Americans in Russian jails is to give Russia tacit permission to keep snatching American citizens on trumped up charges. 

We cannot stop caring about Ukraine, nor can we stop caring about Palestinian missiles trained on Israeli civilian targets. The perpetrators must never be given tacit permission to continue bombing civilian populations and silence IS consent.

And shrugging our collective shoulders at the blame-game name-calling political poison ads from both sides allows it to continue. It is NOT okay. And more than ever, it's tacit permission to continue the screed.

The WP’s Tip o’ the Week

Do not give in to despair.

Be like the Ukrainians....fight, fight, fight! 

Lonely sits the city once great with people!

I have escaped! 

I have temporarily sought refuge on the outwash plain of my favorite forked-ended island where it's hot and sticky and feels just about right. We don't need no stinkin' air conditioning!

Yeah, it was a little plane, but I gotta admit, I have no idea how the flight was; I fell asleep before we finished backing up and I really didn't wake up until we landed. I missed the traditional waving as I fly over the cemetery. I never miss flying over the cemetery. I think I was tired. It was a pretty busy few days getting ready to split the scene for two weeks while the kiddies camped out at my house. I think they'll have fun...mostly because we have a pool and this weather makes having a pool a pretty big plus.

But before I left town, I went to be part of the first in-person audience for CHUTZPOD, a podcast with Josh Malina and Rabbi Shira Stutman. They are well paired and well suited. I'd listened to them before, but being in the audience for their first one was actually pretty fun. Their intention is to talk Torah, specifically the parashat ha'shevuah, the section of Torah read in a synagogue on Shabbat morning, but they incorporate events of interest into the conversation. So it was no surprise when the chat turned to the January 6th hearing. And something was said that I found not merely interesting, but rather surprisingly insightful.

Okay, they were talking about Jewish holiday cycle and why Tisha b'Av, the 9th of Av,  is different. It's really a second level major holiday. Shabbat, of course, is every seven days, and occupies its own space.  First tier consists of the Days of Awe: Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, followed by the second tier with the three pilgrimage festivals: Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot.  Everything else comes after that. Tisha b'Av, however, sorta stands on its own. It's unique in a whole bunch of ways in that it commemorates the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem, and it is said, somewhat apocryphally, that many other tragedies befell the Jewish people on that date, including the start of the Spanish Inquisition. So they kept talking about how to celebrate Tisha b'Av...and frankly, I took issue with the word celebrate. 

Celebrating death and destruction seems antithetical to me. It's a day of sadness, mourning, and ultimately, hope. But that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about how one commemorates a day of sadness and despair, like Tisha b'Av or January 6th.

Yes. January 6th. Like November 22nd, or December 7th, January 6th was a watershed moment in American history. Was it an insurrection? Was it a protest march? What exactly was it? Semantics matter here. IF it was a successful insurrection and they had succeeded in taking the Capitol, then those people would have celebrated. But if you view it as a watershed moment in the history of this country that could have gone either way, then you're probably not gonna celebrate it. That's what had me stymied: how do we label the events of January 6th?

In talking about Tisha b'Av, one is really marking the destruction of two Temples. That's the genesis of the fast day. One cannot ignore the reasons for those destructions; they are two very different reasons:

Why was the First Temple destroyed? Because of three evils in it: idolatry, sexual immorality and bloodshed . . . But why was the Second Temple destroyed, seeing that during the time it stood people occupied themselves with Torah, with observance of precepts, and with the practice of charity? Because during the time it stood, hatred without rightful cause prevailed. This is to teach you that hatred without rightful cause is deemed as grave as all the three sins of idolatry, sexual immorality and bloodshed together.

Babylonian Talmud Book III: Yoma 9b
circa 500 CE

Hold that thought.

When Malina and Stutman talked about January 6th, they proposed calling it a National Day of Reckoning. I kinda like that title. I also like the questions they posed about how we see ourselves when we are the other. Any civil separation is going to cause the perception of the enemy to morph into something unexpected. Is the recognition of the destruction about the loss of a physical space...or is it really about the internal fracturing of a community? Is the absence of that physical space more or less important than retaining that physical space under any and all circumstances?

Rabbi Stutman also pointed out the importance of horizontal memory. The idea that we are standing on the shoulders of others is probably overlooked way too much. We do stand on the accomplishments of others; it becomes our responsibility to not simply protect the base, but to insure upward growth. 

Since We, the People have indeed fractured the pedestal of civic community all by ourselves, admitting to and recognizing we are living in a time of fomented hatred means we cannot turn away or pretend damage has not been done. We have an obligation to shore up the base as we reach for the sky. The Book of Lamentations, read on Tisha b'Av, opens with great sadness: Lonely sits the city once great with people! I suspect this will be an all too familiar phrase. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Shabbat outranks all holidays except Yom Kippur...therefore

Tisha b'Av observed begins at sundown, August 6th 

and ends Sunday, August 7th at sundown.

If that also just happens to be your 41st birthday, bummer.

Have an easy fast and break it with ice cream and cake. 

I'm Blowing Town, So I Voted For ELIZABETH LAMIN Today.

So, due to circumstances happily beyond my control, I am being temporarily evicted from my domicile. Happily? Yes. Seems some people I know are having a remodel that includes demolition and they need a place for a couple o'weeks until their temporary quarters are ready. Happily? Deliriously happily. First, I found a really cute little cabin to hide out in over in Wisconsin, but then I figured it was way too close to home. It would be too easy to pop in and out, and I really didn't wanna do that. So I made a couple of calls and voilà! I am going home for something other than a funeral or unveiling. 

This means serious time on my beach and eating way too much kosher pastrami, half-sours, and coleslaw washed down with just a bisseleh Dr. Brown's Cream Soda. There might even be some real Chinese food involved. Yeah, there will be the requisite cemetery visit, but this time, I'll have time to see friends. Maybe even a late night diner run with a French fry (cannot tolerate those any more, but I do love 'em) or a little rice pudding. Everything I don't get to eat here. In moderation, of course. Sure.

So, it also happens that I will be away on Primary Day in Minnesota and that's an important event this year. There are choices to be made on August 9th. One of the most important is for our county attorney. Elizabeth Lamin is running, and while that might seem like a very small race, it's an important one for Dakota County. Although Angie Craig (DFL) is our congressperson, this county is still rather rural and leans right. Elizabeth, an immigrant herself, is a champion for social justice. From her website:

After working in a battered women’s organization helping survivors of domestic violence to navigate the legal system, Elizabeth decided to go to law school and pursue a career in the criminal justice system to ensure victim safety. 

Elizabeth has been a frontline prosecutor for over sixteen years handling thousands of criminal cases and trying complex homicides, shootings, assaults, and other serious felonies, and has come to realize that many aspects of the criminal justice system do not increase community safety and are not economically sustainable. Elizabeth is currently leading a coordinated response with law enforcement, community members, religious community leaders, and youth outreach workers to proactively work with youth involved in committing auto thefts by providing services such as mentoring and mental health resources as well as developing a strong communal moral message against committing crimes. In addition, over the past several years Elizabeth worked with victims and their families who have been victims of crimes to form restorative justice circles to help communities heal.

These are all attributes I want in a county attorney. All politics are truly local. People vote for a candidate because they want to believe that candidate will improve their life. We are a very diverse county; we need someone who recognizes that and sees that diversity as a strength.  

Voting isn't really a right as much as it is a privilege. January 6th, 2021 saw an attack on that privilege, and I'm not talking about the insurrectionists at the Capitol Building that day. I'm talking about the guy who had been elected and certified president in 2016 despite the closeness (much closer than 2016) of that race. The opposition conceded, just like Al Gore did back in 2000 in order to assure the peaceful transfer of power. Both Clinton and Gore undeniably won in actual votes counted, but lost in the electoral college.  But that's how our system works. Or how it's supposed to work.

I take voting seriously. As did Ziggy. Not voting in this family is NOT an option. Our tradition of sticking I VOTED stickers, each tagged with the election year, is a tradition I continue in my house. I like it. It's a daily reminder that I have a civic obligation to voice my opinion even when it's not the most popular opinion out there. 

My personal voting history is heavily influenced by social justice. I believe social justice doesn't just happen; you need advocates and elected officials willing to go to the distance for those who cannot advocate for themselves, no matter what the reason. 

I've written a fair amount about this very issue, as well as the importance of voting. So today's repeat episode is one that I think sorely underestimated the trouble we would ultimately be in. Read it....and some of you will weep:

We ARE All Bozos On This Bus...and there's no getting off.

Depending on where I am next Monday night, you may or may not get much of an episode from me. We shall see. But not to worry, I'll left a trail of breadcrumbs and will find my way back to the keyboard. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Traveling on public/mass transit?

Do everyone a favor: wear a mask.

Hiatus Report #2: I'm trying to keep my revulsion to a minimum.

Last week was the best kinda week ever...in spite of blowing up the lap top. Non-stop partying that began Sunday night dinner with cousins and friends, and ended on Friday afternoon with my little canasta group making a luncheon for me. I had more fun than I've had in a very long time. And for the record, the mug was from my much, much older brother. 

This week, however, is shaping up to be almost as horrifying as the last few were in these here United states. The hearings continue, and if I was skeptical about them before, I am a true believer that broadcasting them is the absolute right thing to do. People have to be able to see and hear some of this. 

And if you think for one New York minute I believe those Secret Service texts just happened to get erased in an upgrade, I have a bridge I'd like to show you in Brooklyn. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....today's horror includes Ted Cruz leading the charge which, I suspect, is the ultimate repeal of the 14th Amendment which states: (highlights are mine.)

AMENDMENT XIV

Section 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Well, the repeal of Roe v. Wade deprives women of the right to life and liberty, and certain equal protection under the law. But the language is necessarily vague, because what this does is repeals slavery with a very broad stroke. It protects any citizen of the United States  pursuing liberty... and in there is the right to love the person you love.

However, Ted Cruz doesn't see it that way. In his podcast, he states:

Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation's history. Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states. We saw states before Obergefell, some states were moving to allow gay marriage, other states were moving to allow civil partnerships. There were different standards that the states were adopting...The way the Constitution set up for you to advance that position is [to] convince your fellow citizens that if you succeeded in convincing your fellow citizens, then your state would change the laws to reflect those views. In Obergefell, the court said, 'No, we know better than you guys do, and now every state must, must sanction and permit gay marriage. I think that decision was clearly wrong when it was decided. It was the court overreaching.

Spoken like a true Son of the Confederacy. I guess the courts were overreaching in abolishing slavery as well. 

But that's not the whole 14th Amendment. There's some really great stuff in there that, if repealed, would serve the GOP magnificently:

Section 2.

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3.

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4.

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5.

The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

 See what I mean? I predict they are gonna go after the whole 14th. Wait for it. 

And while we're on the subject, a couple of months ago, I wrote the following:

An eleven- or twelve-year old girl is raped. She is impregnated by a man involuntarily. That child then must bear a child despite the damage it will do to her body. The man, however, retains his penis and balls.... so theoretically, he can do it again when his 90 days in jail are up. If he even goes to jail at all. 

Well, it happened in Ohio. Except her doctor had the wherewithal to send her to Indiana where an abortion could be performed. And still, some GOP crazies pushed to have her forced to carry the baby to term. A 10-year old.  I am gobsmacked for a response to the brutality directed at that child. 

Here's the link to my original post. In Case You've Not Thought This Through...

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Across the nation, temperatures are going to be brutal. 

Do what you must to stay hydrated and stay safe.

Don't Pour Iced Tea on Your Laptop...and other random thoughts.

David the Geek Guy

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm supposed to be on hiatus for the rest of the month, posting only select episodes and a few pithy comments. 

However....and isn't there always a however?

In a stroke of genius, I knocked over a glass iced tea and hit my kitchen laptop in the process, thereby effectively killing it. Granted, it was slowly shuffling off its e-coils, and I had already been surreptitiously (lest it find out what I was doing, thereby hurting its feelings) looking for a replacement.

I ran over to Best Buy in Eagan. David the Geek Guy was really nice even thought he had to pronounce my beloved box D.O.A. But when I asked about the hard drive, he happily popped it out (yeah, it had a hard drive,) had it checked out, and pronounced the sucker intact (thank G-d.) I picked a new box, decided with the sale price, I would get the extra-special tech support and have them move the old hard drive files onto the new box. I took said new box back to David and he said he would take care of the rest. He did. And instead of having to wait until Thursday to pick up the new machine, he called me four hours later to tell me it was done. I ran over there lickety-split.

Other than wasting way too much time to install Chrome, I am up and running with all my old programs. I am ecstatic. Even Microsoft knew who I was on the first try. I was very impressed.

But I was more impressed with David the Geek Guy. Nice, competent, helpful...a veritable Boy Scout of a kid. Best Buy, if you're listening, keep the guy around if you can. He instills confidence in the process, not something that happens very often these days. Thanks also go to my friend Bill who dropped what he was doing to come over to Best Buy to help me evaluate laptops. Thankfully this is Prime/Anti-Prime week and the Dell 15.6 I liked at $509 was now $399. A clear win all the way around....except now I have to get used to a new keyboard. Feh! Always the worst part. 

So, back to the hiatus part.  For the next few weeks, I'll be posting some old episodes that I think are worth revisiting. The first, The Second Amendment ~ Stuff You Might Not Know, was first published on July 23, 2012. I think it's worth re-reading. 

Did you know there are two versions of the second amendment?

This is the version that was passed by the Congress:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

And this is the one that was ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

A real "eats shoots and leaves" moment, eh? Well, it’s worse than just bad punctuation.

As conceded by the Supreme Court, there is a direct link between the Second Amendment and the English Bill of Rights of 1689, which protects the rights of Protestants from disarmament by the Crown. Their text reads as follows: 

"That the Subjects which are Protestants may have Arms for their Defence suitable to their Conditions and as allowed by Law."

Charleville American Revolutionary War Musket

Lacking the phrase, “as allowed by law,” our version seems to circumvent the ability of Congress (or anyone else for that matter) to make a determination about what the law permits...and by extension, makes the passage of any law restricting guns a matter of constitutionality. So, there is actually no law that can be made (according to the NRA) that can limit the ownership of any gun. 

In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), SCOTUS ruled that it was absolutely okay to own a gun unconnected to a militia, and said gun could be used for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. It was the first SCOTUS ruling that considered the Second Amendment to be protecting an individual right.

Since day one, however, there has been debate over the intent of the Amendment, and whether or not firearm type was limited to the scope of a militia. SCOTUS has never defined the meaning of the word arms, and subsequently any attempt to limit the type of firearms permitted has become a constitutional debate.

What has been omitted from the debate is common sense.

Lots of people have permits for and legally own handguns. Some people feel safer having one in the house, and they are supposed to be trained in the use and storage of such a weapon. One does not leave one’s Glock lying about on the kitchen table for the kids to play with or take to school for show and tell.

Hunting guns are supposed to be used for sport and when not in use, I do believe they are supposed to be kept in locked storage. And lots of people participate in other marksmen-type events like skeet, decathlon and pentathlon safely and without incident.

But show me where in this country one needs to own a couple of Uzis, AK-47s, and a few customized M-16s thrown in for good measure? Does one need to ever stock thousands of rounds of armor piercing ammo for afore mentioned weapons?

         National Priorities       © 2012, Steven G. Artley, ARTLEY CARTOONS 

It’s time to give up our delusions of frontierness; them days are long gone. Even in our most rural communities, there is not a single reason on the planet for ANYONE in the United States to own an assault rifle. Guns and ammo are not the same as laundry detergent and a 12-pack of toilet paper. You cannot point an empty cardboard spindle at someone and shoot them with Charmin'. We put warning labels on everything, but we still let people walk out of gun swap meets without so much as a name verification. How does New York City ban giant sodas and too much salt in your fries....but cannot stop assault weapon ownership?

I am not suggesting all guns be banned….although I wouldn’t exactly be opposed to that idea….but it’s time to stand up to groups like the NRA and demand common sense be allowed back into the conversation. The gun lobby isn’t about hobbyists or hunters or urban dwellers who feel safe with a gun in the flat. That lobby is ultimately about greed, arms dealing, and a willingness to bear hatred toward segments of our population.

It’s time to stop being afraid of the NRA. They are just a group of people who seem to think it’s more important to let anyone own weapons, and by extension, allow a crazy person who owns some of these to shoot up a movie theatre…..or a school…..or a community center….or a Long Island Railroad car…… The list just goes on and on.

We have a big election coming up. Maybe now is the time to demand common sense be restored to the gun debate. There are more of us who want to see assault weapons banned than want to see them protected. We, The People, are the only ones who can demand a halt to the insanity of insufficient gun control.

 ********

For shits and giggles, try this list on for size: List of mass shootings in the United States

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week - 2022

Shinzo Abe was assassinated with a homemade gun this week. 

Madmen will always manage to secure a weapon. 

That doesn't mean we have to make it easy.

Amidst the Fireworks: You can't tell the firecrackers from the live rounds.

The blog I started yesterday has been ash-canned. I have no desire to write about the Declaration or the Preamble or the Bill of Rights. 

Highland Park, Illinois parade knocked that idea right outta me. 

Someone, for pity's sake, explain how Bobby Crimo III managed to not only get his hands on a high-powered rifle, but managed to take up a sniper's position on a roof where he shot flag waving parade-goers like so many sitting ducks. He calls himself Awake the Rapper and his stuff is seen as pretty violent. The Daily Beast describes him this way:

The 22-year-old Illinois man identified as a person of interest in Monday’s parade massacre is an amateur rapper who posted disturbing videos on his YouTube channel, including a crude animation depicting a gunman being killed by police.

In addition to videos filled with violent imagery and mass-shooting fantasy, Robert “Bobby” Crimo last year posted a video on his personal blog of Central Avenue in Highland Park—the main street of the parade route.

If this guy was already posting this stuff, didn't anyone notice? Probably not. I still wanna know about the gun. Legal? Illegal? Background check? I'm guessing I'm not the only one. 

As a marching band mom, I've been at way too many parades to count. I've got the requisite folding chair in a bag for when I wasn't shadowing our marchers. I've sat curbside with Ziggy and other marching band folks to cheer our kids on. NEVER did I EVER worry some sniper with a high powered rifle was gonna pick us off. Town parades were supposed to be about showing up, cheering for the kids in their way-too-hot uniforms. Hearing bands from all different schools was exciting and fun and everyone cheered for each other. 

It's not supposed to be about death.

Spectators said at first everyone thought firecrackers were being set off; it took people going down to realize these were bullets being fired. I would've thought the same thing. 

This past week SCROTUS went after the EPA. Now it's going after our elections. Meanwhile, someone I consider sane and rational asked if I thought there was an ultra-rich cabal who meet in secret meetings to actually run the country. If there is, I'm certain the head of the NRA is a part of it. SCROTUS also went after tribal sovereignty rights in Oklahoma, overturning a whole lotta precedent there. Now, they are set to take up election law. As per the NYTimes:

The case has the potential to affect many aspects of the 2024 election, including by giving the justices power to influence the presidential race if disputes arise over how state courts interpret state election laws.

Honestly, I don't know how much more of this I can keep writing about. 

July 19th, 2022 will mark my entry into the blogosphere 12 years ago. What started out as a blog about being a widow quickly morphed into something else entirely. 12 years, once a week is about 625 episodes. I thought I was done, but apparently I am not. The votes were overwhelmingly in favor of continuing. 

HOWEVER...and isn't there always a HOWEVER...I will be taking a brief kinda sorta hiatus for the next few weeks while I put together a pitch stack for THE POMEGRANATE. I'll post some of my favorite episodes, maybe a few jokes....and possibly a guest writer. I'll be back at the beginning of August, so not to worry. 

Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

BOGCAATJ!

be of good cheer and all that jazz!