Milestone

 Well, today, for myself, I hit a mile stone. For the first time since the knee replacement, I have once again hit 10,000 steps. When you stop to consider that by the time the knee replacement actually rolled around, I was finding it difficult to hit 4000 steps. It had gotten that bad. But...today, 10,000 steps, and there is no pain. 

I just thought that was something lost and gone forever. It will always seem miraculous to me. 

Yesterday: 

Actual crowd size may vary. 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-flack-steven-cheung-defies-empty-bleachers-with-wild-parade-estimate/

No Kings

 I was afraid to hope, really. It was bucketing down the rain. The DAR had scheduled at competing event at General Warren Park to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his courageous death at Bunker Hill. 

(Ironic, innit? People who proudly trace their lineage back to a Revolutionary war soldier and their triumph over a king, trying to mute the voices of people speaking up against a man who fancies himself the king...)

But we put on our rain jackets and grabbed our umbrella. Tim took his giant taco and I took my "Ain't no faux king way!" sign, and we went to the courthouse. We were a few minutes early, but people were already starting to gather, which was encouraging. 

It continued to pour even as people continued to show up. There were 130-140 people who showed up. 

Some funny signs: 

'Don't make me repeat myself --- (signed) History'

'Keep it down over there. We're trying to hold a riot here.'

'I'm here because I love my grand children.'

A woman wore a taco costume. 

One fellow marched right in the street waving a 'F--- Trump flag', which got a large truck excited. He did a burn out in front of the protesters, smoking his tires, his rear end sliding sideways on the rain slicked roads.  License plate ZTR 6509 is probably regaling anyone who will listen about how the libtards jumped out of his way in terror. No one was terrorized. Everyone held their ground. It was a lot of noise but no real danger. 

The thing that I loved the very most was all the cars going by. We got a lot of honking horns. Some people were not brave enough to honk, but they gave surreptitious clenched fists or thumbs up. A car full of elderly ladies circled the block 3 times to honk and wave and cheer us on. People driving business vehicles who could not honk sat quietly at the light watching and smiling and giving approving signals. The MAGA truck did not show up with his big flags and his outrage. 

We are home now. Dry now. 

News of the day: 

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5350734-trump-ice-hotel-agriculture-restaurant-raids/

Despite the change, ICE has not changed anything. 

There's this: 

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/14/us/minnesota-shootings

One of the pardoned proud boys posted that people should shoot at the protesters. "If you take a couple out, the rest will leave quickly, I guarantee it." 

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/shoot-a-couple-the-rest-will-flee-far-right-extremists-stoke-fear-as-no-kings-protest-gains-momentum/articleshow/121848923.cms?from=mdr

There you have it, people. 'Merica. 

Old and New

 I read a post that surprised me this morning. A man was stopped driving through town last night for a burned out license plate lamp. The interesting thing was that this was in the middle of town, and it was not the town police that stopped him. It was a state trooper. While he said that the officer was polite, he was giving the car a very thorough once over with a flashlight. He is an older gentleman, and he was alone. 

For those of you who do not know how it works, State Troopers monitor state roads and the areas outside towns. Towns have their own police force who handle things inside the towns. 

If State Troopers are providing back up for the city police, this is very interesting. Why is an extra police presence required? It is reported that an ICE vehicle was at a local park. The newspaper reported that Homeland Security is in town.  

So...even out here in the boonies, we are not free from this. 

Glad we are protesting Saturday. So glad.

I made my sign today. After thinking about Gigi's remark that a picture may confuse people, I decided she was right. My sign simply says, in great sparkly letters, "Ain't no faux king way". Tim has a giant taco emblazoned with 'TACO KING'. He will wear his stand with Ukraine shirt, I will wear my 'In a world where you can be anything, be kind'. 

I had PT today, and there was a retired therapist there. He was such a hoot. He took a gander at my scar, and immediately pulled his pant leg up to display his. He had a knee replacement in March. We scandalized the poor aide when we began discussing the bottles of narcotics we both left the hospital with and never used. I mentioned that my husband was watching 'El Chapo' on Netflix and I thought he'd probably learned enough to traffic them for us. 

I actually was afraid that I'd screwed my knee up helping Tim with the tin yesterday. The nerve running down the outside of my leg was making my toes feel very strange. I wasn't sure if I should even try PT today, but I went and figured that I'd leave the decision up to them. They are very practical. They listened. I said, "I wasn't sure whether to try to walk it off, or whether to rest it, so I decided to err on the side of caution. I went to bed with a good book and a heating pad." 

They were glad to hear that I'd decided to be cautious. I said, "Don't get used to it." The consensus was that I could have taken a short walk just to see how it affected my leg. If it got better, well...great. If it got worse, I could always just stop and do the heat. Likewise, I could do the PT and if I felt things getting aggravated, just stop. 

So that's what I did. There was no aggravation. I even went for a walk tonight, just a short one, no more than a mile. 

Tim and I went to our favorite discount grocery store. You honestly cannot tell what you will find there. On the drive there, I said, "Remind me. I need to pick up dishwasher soap. We should try out that dishwasher." 

When we got there, I found a box of those pods for $13.80. I was standing there studying the box when Tim walked up. I said, "You know, I don't even know how much this stuff costs. I haven't bought dishwasher soap for 30 years." Looking closer, I noted that it had 115 pods in it, which would work out to less than 13¢ a load.  I said, "For just you and I, I imagine this would probably come close to a years' worth of pods." I can't imagine we'd be running the dishwasher more than once every two or three days. (All you dishwasher people feel free to weigh in on this.) 

Anyways, good news is that we were not skunked. Buying it in a regular store would have cost us $27.95. 

So...that was today. 

I'm really enjoying the book "Return to Nab's End". It's quite a glimpse of a different time and place, as seen through the eyes of a 16 year old boy. For some reason, the voice of it reminds me of Weaver and Tasker. Sensible, enduring, practical. 

Talking of a different time and place, Tim and I realized we graduated from high school 50 years ago. Crazy to think about.  

Another crazy thing to think about? How about that Air India crash? One lone survivor, a British national from Leicester. His name is Viswash Kumar Ramesh. He has no idea what happened. The theory is that the plane broke apart, and he was thrown free from the plane before it exploded upon impact. Sadly he lost his brother in the crash. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/world/asia/viswash-kumar-ramesh-air-india-survivor.html

Another Working Day

 I've got my sign. 

HE'S A FAUX KING JOKE!

We got two roofs tinned. I stayed on the ground and I did not carry the sheets of tin by myself. It was too windy, and I was afraid that a gust of wind would catch an 11 foot piece of tin, knock me off balance and twist my knee. So Tim told me he needed me to haul sheets of tin to him. I told him I needed him to carry the other end. It went okay, but I'm taking a break tonight and reading The Return to Nab End. 

Here's a funny story. I was at the GoodWill shopping for nice curtain rods. I found a very nice wooden one, unopened, in store packaging which would work for the guest bedroom. It was $2.99. I also took a look at cereal bowls. Remember that box of dishes that I fell in love with and bought because 1) they were $5 and 2) they maaaaaaaatched....?

(Yeah. I feel stupid every time I say it out loud)

Anyways, the set came with plates in three different sizes. Probably 30 or more. But there were no bowls. So when I go to thrift stores, I look for nice bowls that will coordinate with those plates, and I've found five of them. (Turns out I've got a good eye for this sort of thing, something that I never knew about myself). So...anyways, I walked over to the dishware and took a look. I found one nice bowl that I thought would work. It had the same contour as the two bowls I'd found previously and the color would coordinate with the plates. I picked it up and headed to the register. Imagine my surprise to find (only after I got to the register!) that the one bowl was $7.99! One cereal bowl. 

I didn't buy it. 

I'm sure you're not surprised.

We had to stop at the post office to mail something off, and so on the spur of the moment, I said, "Do you mind if we stop at the thrift store here just to look for cereal bowls?" It is not a store that we often go to, so Tim didn't mind. I found just what I was looking for. 4 nice bowls for $2. 

(And they maaaaaaaaaatched...)

Off to bed to read my book.

One Day

 I had a good PT session today.  At this point, my only difficulty would be stairs. I walk up and down a flight of stairs at least once a day. After years of stepping and pegging, I have to remind myself to walk alternating feet. Going upstairs is okay. Not great, but I can do it. Coming downstairs is a bit more of a struggle. I have to hold on to the railing and force myself to do it. So. I brought that up at the session today, and as Boud suggested, I asked about leg weights. 

"Sure," Paul said. "We can add weights," and so he did, just two pounds. We did quite a stair workout today, and by the time that I left, I felt that I had worked. 

The PT said, "Did you move any couches this week?" 

I said, "Good lord, no! You took such a fit about it the last time, I figured that I wouldn't. But did you ever see those people all harnessed up and pulling semi trucks...I was tempted..." 

He laughed. "Well, at least that truck has wheels on it." 

I said, "You just are not getting it. The couch was on sale AND it matched. You didn't expect me to walk away from that, did ya?" 

I got some grocery shopping done, bought cat food, and came back home. I kept myself busy and on my feet. This evening we had a grandson's ball game, and then I asked to be dropped off a mile from home and got an evening walk in. I'll have 7500 steps in before bedtime. Not a huge number, but every day, that number increases. Very satisfying. 

We've had some pretty fierce weather around us. Tornado touchdowns west of us and north east of us. Flooding in Cuba New York caused it to be declared a state of emergency. (You may not realize that Cuba New York is where Laura Ingalls Wilder's pa was raised.) We got nothing but heavy rain and thunderstorms. It is still coolish here and I am hopeful that at some point, we will get a summer. On a positive note, I haven't had to water the gardens. 

Something to remember: 

Escalation.

 This is the light for the kitchen that we got off from Marketplace for $25. I really like it, and the best part is that the lights aim where you need the light, so the counter tops are perfectly lit. So that's my happy for today. We are polyurethaning the trim boards to frame the windows and hope to get that done tomorrow morning before the rain starts again. 

I also walked over two miles today. What a joy it is to be able to do that with no pain. 

Now...

This is a long post, so all of you unhappy with political posts need to click off now. 

From Senator Chris Murphy who sent out this report from the Senate Floor: Last night in the Senate, something really important happened. Republicans forced us to debate their billionaire bailout budget framework. We started voting at 6 PM because they knew doing it in the dark of night would minimize media coverage. And they do not want the American people to see how blatant their handover of our government to the billionaire class is. 

So I wanted to explain what happened last night and what we did to fight back. The apex of Republicans' plan to turn over our government to their wealthy cronies is a giant tax cut for billionaires and corporations. And they plan to pay for it with cuts to programs that working people rely on. Popular and necessary programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP, are all being targeted. In order to pass the tax cut, Republicans have to go through a series of procedural steps. Last night, they took the first step which requires them to pass an outline of their plan, but with it, any senator can offer as many amendments as we want. So my Democratic colleagues and I did just that. 

Now, we knew that Republicans would largely unanimously oppose them, but we had two objectives here. One, Republicans were forced to put their opinion on record -- many for the first time -- on the most corrupt parts of Trump and Musk's agenda. Two, as I've been saying, I am going to make every process and procedure as slow and as painful as possible for as long as my colleagues choose to ignore the constitutional crisis happening right before our eyes. 

So what did we propose? We proposed no tax cuts for anyone who makes a billion dollars a year. We made them vote on weather or not Elon Musk and DOGE should have limitless access to American's personal data. We made them vote on whether to protect IVF and to require insurers to cover it. Every single amendment Democrats proposed was shot down. On almost every single amendment, Republicans universally opposed it. Every Republican voted against our proposal to prevent more tax cuts for Billionaires. The corruption and theft is happening in the open here. 

The whol game for Republicans is taking your money and giving it to the wealthiest corporations and billionaires -- even if it means kicking your parents out of a nursing home or turning off Medicaid for the poorest children. They know what they are doing is deeply unpopular. They are offering a tax cut to the most wealthy that is 850 times larger than what they are offering working people. Oh. And by the way, any tax cuts for working people are going to be washed out by higher costs for basic necessities, like health care and food. It's a fundamental injustice. 

Thanks to your pressure and support, many of my Democratic colleagues have joined my effort to do everything we can do to make sure they cannot destroy democracy and steal your money in the dark of the night. We are being loud about what is happening. I'm going to continue to grind the gears of Congress down as much as possible to make it harder and slower to get away with this corruption. That's why the votes lasted until nearly 5AM. 

This is a five-alarm fire. I don't think we have two years to plan and fight back. I think we have months. It's still in our power to stop the destruction of our democracy with mass mobilization and effective opposition from elected officials. So we can't miss any opportunity to take advantage to put the Republicans on the record and to shine a light on what is happening. You have a role to play in this as well. I need you to amplify what is happening, support the leaders who are fighting for you to make sure they can continue speaking truth to power against Musk and Trump's billionaire cronies, and  show up and rallies and town halls. Use every tool at your disposal to send a message loud and clear about how you expect my colleagues to lead and fight in this moment. 

Every best wish, 

US Senator Chris Patrick Murphy.

In LA: 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/trump-los-angeles-immigration-protests-rcna211695

You need to understand that the governor has not authorized this and that the action has escalated the violence. We have the right to protest and the protests were, according to the police, non-violent. 

Understand also that he has made it clear that he is prepared to send military troops to wherever the protests are happening "if he deems it necessary". This is martial law. This is the military being used against its own citizens. 

I close with the wisdom of Robert Reich:

Friends,

What is our moral responsibility as citizens of the United States when the President of the United States moves to deploy thousands of American soldiers against us?

Trump signed a memo late yesterday ordering 2,000 members of the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles County after federal immigration agents in riot gear squared off with hundreds of protesters for a second consecutive day.

Trump’s action is extreme although technically legal. Governor Gavin Newsom did not call in the Guard. Title 10 of the United States Code allows a president to federalize the National Guard units of states to suppress “any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.”

In a presidential memo, Trump said, “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

Last night, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy active-duty Marines in Los Angeles:

"The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil. A dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK. Under President Trump, violence and destruction against federal agents and federal facilities will NOT be tolerated," he continued. "It's COMMON SENSE."

Why is Trump doing this, and why now?

Because Trump can’t stand to be humiliated — as he has been in the last two weeks. By senate Republicans refusal to quickly enact his so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. By Xi Jinping’s refusal to back down on trade (and restrict shipments of China’s rare earths, which American industry depends on). By the federal courts pushing back against his immigration policy. And, now, by insults and smears from the richest person in the world, who has a larger social media following than does Trump.

So what does Trump do when he’s humiliated? He deflects public attention. Like any bully, he tries to find another way to display his power — especially over people who are powerless, such as immigrants. Especially over people whom he doesn’t consider “his” people, such as Californians.

He has despised California since the 2016 election when the state overwhelmingly voted against him.

And what better Ground Zero for him to try out his police state than Los Angeles — a city teaming with immigrants, with Hollywood celebrities who demonize him, and wealthy moguls who despise him?

He is calling out the National Guard to provoke violence. As Governor Newsom said, “that move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”

Trump wants to escalate tensions. He wants a replay of the violence that occurred in the wake of the George Floyd murder — riots, mayhem, and destruction that allow him to escalate his police state further — imposing curfews, closing down parts of Los Angeles, perhaps seeking to subdue the entire state. And beyond.

Please do not give him this. Don’t fall into his trap.

We cannot be silent in the face of Trump’s dictatorial move. Silence is acquiescence. We must be brave in resisting him. But we must not succumb to violence.

What is needed is peaceful civil disobedience. Americans locking arms to protect those who need protection. Americans sitting in the way of armored cars. Americans singing and chanting in the face of the Americans whom Trump is drafting into his handmade civil war.

Americans who do not attempt to strike back, but who do what many of us did during the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements — peacefully but unambiguously reject tyranny. To be brave and non-violent in the face of tyranny, to be strong and restrained, to resist with our hearts filled with anger but not succumb to that anger — is terribly difficult. But Martin Luther King Jr. taught us its importance, and George Lewis taught us how.

A humiliated Trump is the most dangerous Trump. He has manufactured this entire crisis. But he will overreach. He already has. And this overreach will ultimately be his undoing.

As long as we keep our heads.

May we look back on this hellish time and feel proud of what we did.

Be strong. Be safe. Hug your loved ones.

Saturday

 Today, Tim wanted to work on his shed for all his things that must be kept forever and ever until he dies and the kids throw it out. It is interesting to note that he's found quite a bit of stuff that belongs to me that we need to be getting rid of, because we are downsizing and we can't take it all. 

Just a thing that I noticed. 

I stayed home. I've been pretty slack on household duties since the knee surgery, and so I wanted some time to catch up. I got laundry done and vacuumed and dusted. I do know that I still have one area of difficulty to work on: going up and down stairs. About the sixth trip to the basement, my knee was feeling it. 

Today: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/al-qaeda-leader-in-yemen-threatens-trump-musk-over-gaza-war-there-are-no-redlines/

Next week is the No Kings Protest. I'm trying to come up with sign ideas. Of course, there is the obligatory "Rejecting kings since 1776". I need to make one more sign. Suggestions welcome.