Jun 252026
 

I have been saying for years (OK, only a few years – but definitely more than two) that the Russian people are a population who would (and in fact, historically did) say to marauding Vikings, “Gee, you guys seem to be really good at organization. Why don’t you stick around and be our government?” That sounds like suckers pretty gullible to me. And the Vikings – at least some of them – did do just that. And when, if ever, since that time, when has Russia had any form f governmen which was not autocratic? The Russian Revolution in the 19 teens was not really even supposed to do that, and it didn’t. (In hindsight, I suspect that was largely due to the fact it was intended to be, and was, an economic revolution, and paid no attention to the possible forms of government it would establish – only to the form of government – heredity monarchy unrestrained by a constitution – it was replacing.) This is fresh in my mind just now after having watched a Substack video with Jacob Kaaesbo (one of Malcolm Nance’s co=hosts) and John Sipher , mostly regarding Ukraine’s war against Russia. Here’s a link to that conversation and a little picture showing how to find the Transcript – it does require scrolling down, but only about half a page.

It’s nice to have a little good news which is political in nature during the week – especially from a court.

The judge above called out the DHS. The former Reagan official cited here calls out the Supreme Court. Both desperately need reform – but both, sadly, will have to wait until we have the other two branches functioning again.

I’m not crazy about the reasons why this dude started this program – but at least he appears to be capable of learning from experience and changing his mind. As long as he keeps that mind open to new evidence, I wish his progress with it only the best.

This kind of goes with the previous piece, since both are about housing – and/or the lack of it. There is too much going on to try to cut down to 3 today.

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Jun 222026
 

Yesterday, it was just a Sunday – and I still managed to not get everything done. But Trinette coming by helped.

I assume the regime will do things like this in every state where they think they can get away with it. I wish they didn’t thinkt hey can get away with it in the “Mother of Presidents” state – but they clearly do. Grrrrr.

This from John Pavlovitz has nothing to do with faith – it’s pure fact. The only thing he leaves out (so recent when he wrote that he probably hadn’t seen it) is that now the Apricot Antichrist is blaming the algae on deranged radical left vandalism.

If you are a fan of Ken Harbaugh, do yourself a favor – grab a hanky and listen to this interview he gave Steve Schmidt about the article he wrote for The Atlantic (Steve provided a gift link to it). And if you’re not a fan of Harbaugh, but you are a fan of Ukraine – you too.

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May 142026
 

Yesterday, My inbox was packed with Substack videos. I didn’t watch every one, but I did watch more than usual. Besifes Malcolm Nance’s “warcast” (he’s back to calling it “warcast” since the “cease fire” has been broken, but it still contains a lot of geopolitics), there was a video from Vicky Ward Inveastigates with Adam Klasfeld with her part filned in the Epstein Files Museum which is currently in New York City but will be traveling throughout the nation. And the one from the Brennan Center with a NYU professor whose book on the Constitution was just released. It took up a lot of my time but I would have missed a lot if I had skipped any one of them.

This is just the first of five stories in a single email from Dean Blundell. It is the longest (sorry) and the most scary (sorry) of the five, and IMO the most consequential. It doesn’t necessarily require politicians and/or elected officials to bring about 1984. It can be done by private businesses.

From POGO. Everything with the Orange Oligarch is transactional – even if the only thing he gets out of it is screwing people. After all, that is near and dear to what in someone else would be a heart.

I can’t say I was surprised by this, although I didn’t know the actual numbers.

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Mar 102026
 

Yesterday, unsurprisingly, I slept late – but nowhere near the latest I have ever slept. I watched a Substack video about the Halkbank case – a scandal likely to go under the radar, since it pales in comparison to Epstein, but which is, as Adam puts it, “not irrelevant to” the Iran war. There will be more news on Wednesday. And today is the special election to replace MTG. And I received my first Ukrinform newsletter. I’d love to share more than the following tidbit, but (I suspect on account of the time difference) I’m not finding the ones in the newsletter that I’d love to share on line. But this is a bombshell for us Americans who can’t or don’t follow European politics much: on April 12, there is an election in Hungary – and Germany expects Orban to lose big time.

I hardly even know what to say about this. Regardless whether this is out of malice or just boneheaded stupidity (my money’s on malice, but some stupidity seems almost inevitable) there should be massive numbers of Courts Martial on account of it. It’s My Lai on steroids.

So many deaths, so much wrongful detention, it’s easy to forget that there are other ways that fascist governments can abuse their people, whether citizens or not. Joyce Vance writes about some judges who are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore about federal “law enforcement” failing to return personal belongings of wrongly detained people. At least one points out that when those belongings include form of identification, they are made vulnerable to more wrongful detention. How long have I been saying that sure, carry papers, but don’t carry originals, carry copies – certified and/or notarized copies, but copies. I’m Joanne Dixon, not Jeane Dixon, but you don’t need supernatural powers to have seen this coming.

Not every one of the protest photos here shows a sign so good it could be a meme – but some do, and a few have more than one. Since March 28 is coming up, I thought I’d share.

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Mar 072026
 

Yesterday, it snowed here. It was predicted – for about a fifth of an inch – it looks more like a half inch to me – but that’s just looking out the window. I didn’t measure it. The video today is long – about 48 minutes – but the subject is so huge, I don’t know how it could have been much shorter I won’t get upset if people choose to skip it. Just keep the title in the back of your mind.

This is a supplement to the daily “Chalet of the Two Spies” video update on the war in Iran. It’s no surprise to me. I don’t personally remember World War II (I was born before VJ Day, but only by days), but I remember Korea, and Vietnam, and Desert Storm, and I think it’s safe to say that all wars are subject to Hofstadter’s law (“Everything takes longer than you think it will, even after you have considered Hofstadter’s law.”) Doug and I went to the same high school – I graduated just before he moved to town when his father became a professor at Stanford. But I did meet him at the high school bridge club, which I kept attending because I was not good enough at it to play by tournament rules, which the university club required. (I never got terribly good.) I only have something like 3/8 of a master point.)

I can’t believe that there is anyone who reads here who has not noticed this happening. But Robert Reich says “All this has happened so suddenly that most Americans still haven’t noticed,” and he’s sadly probably correct, which means there are a lot of people who need to learn this. Please share it if you can.

Oh, good grief. WTF next? Will Ukraine ever catch a break? Certainly not from our country in the clutches of the Mango Monster. Ukrinform is on Substack, so I subscribed to it. One more new email every day, but we’ll never learn stuff like this from American media.

BREAKING: Sheldon Whitehouse Details Report On Alleged Ties Between Epstein, Trump, And Russia

Cat

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Dec 052025
 

Yesterday, another grand jury declined to indict Tish James. And in Colorado, a train derailed Wednesday night. All survived. Also – WRT thr cartoon – or whatever you want to call it – it is based on the phrase “Elf on the shelf” only different.

Heaven only knows how this will work out (and no one there will tell me). But I am glad the discussion is happening. (I have read recently that there is something in tattoo ink which gets into the bloodstream and does damage. Even if that includes brain damage – I haven’t gone beyond the headlines – that would be no excuse for Petey.)

This from Democratic Underground IMO demonstrates far more than just PTSD. There is deep resentment of betrayal here. The Russian Army is being run in ways we have never run our military, and Ukraine still doesn’t. I’m sure they think it makes soldiers “tougher.” In one way it probably does – but not in the way they think.

There are other sources for this story on the arrest of the alleged pipe bomber. I looked for the story at Law & Crime, even searched there, but they don’t yet have it (do not look there if you are prone to nausea). I just picked Joyce Vance for legal information, particularly in view of “this Justice Department.” I got that, and also some speculation on the length of time it took and the spin put on it. I am willing to believe that there may have been one or a group of agents in the FBI who deliberately sat on it, against the wishes of the rest of the bureau and of the administration. I am not willing to believe that the administration sat on it.

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Sep 232025
 

Yesterday was reasonably calm and quiet. I still don’t have speakers, but they are on order, and the videos I need to watch to choose from for here all have CC, and I know they are on the way and that I will get emails on their progress. I still don’t have full lighting in the kitchen, but I have an appointment for an electrician to come Thursday, and that’s OK. If they didn’t have an appointment before then, they are booked up, which probably means people like and/or trust them. I made some progress on a sweater I’ve been working on what seems like forever – I think I’ve mentioned it – the one with the yoke and sleeves using ladder yarn. But I’m down to the bottom ribbing, which is the finishing.

Completely off all topics, but too funny not to share.  Wonkette had a story about the rapture (apparently many cultists believe it will happen today In a comment, a reader referred to a quote from someone’s supposed vision “I saw Jesus on his throne.” The response was, “So many times I have heard, ‘Jesus Christ, close the door when you are taking a shit.’  I had no idea.”

IIRC, Denis Elliott of Politizoom is a veteran of longer service and higher rank and a MOS closer to battle than I had. So, though I don’t always agree with him, I take this thesis seriously. And I think we should all be aware.

Democracy Docket is not a publication I subscribe to. But when I got this news in an email from the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, a link to the news was not included (they are amicus curiae and requesting donations to help), I did a search and found one. And I didn’t want to wait until Sunday.

This from The Root breaks my heart. Because it is so true. I have written before, though it must be a bunch of years ago, about how even in majority black/all black nations, colorism is so strong that snake oil producers can make a living selling heaven-knows-what’s-in-them” medications” “guaranteed” to lighten the skin of a baby while it is in the womb. And in the same newsletter as this article, there was one about the first international beauty pageant for trans women, and how it was won by an American, and how she is being shunned and dissed by all the other contestants.

Belle NATO

Cat nanny

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Sep 022025
 

Yesterday, Trinette didn’t feel she was safe to come over, but is pretty sure she will by Wednesday evening. I sent her a Jacquie Lawson card with a recipe for chicken soup. I did get a little knitting done – not a whole lot, but enough to get me finished with a yarn that was dragging me down (a ladder yarn to be precise). I’ll be finishing the garment with a normal worsted yarn which is mostly recycled fibers (I am guessing mostly acrylic.)

As Robert Reich points out, nothing here is any reason for complacency. But they are reasons for hanging in there and fighting as much as we individually can.

There are several topics in this The F* News article, but the main one, the first one, is public health – and those of us who live in blue states can all be grateful for the news here. Those of us in red states … your nearest blue state may be a good place to look for vaccines.

I threw this in as a sort of extra, because it made me so angry. The Mango Moron is not smart enough to know about the 30-day minimum himself – so some veteran must have broken his (or her) oath and told him.

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