The Back and That Man

Greetings.  Yesterday was a veeeery long day.  We had an appointment with the Tucson Orthopedic PA.  He really could not say anything without an MRI, which we had done after the appointment.  We got the results on the portal, basically Jim's spine is a hot mess of osteophytes and osteophyte complexes, stenosis, arthritis, and badness.  The PA called this morning.  The compression fracture at L1 is old.  Because it is old, and there is no edema, Medicare will not pay for any work done on this vertebra.  I'm very unhappy about this.  The PA wonders if L3 is the actual bad guy in terms of Jim's leg pain.  Here is a good portrayal of what nerve goes where.  So, yes, L3 could be the villain.  He's proposing an RF nerve ablation.  It will stop the nerve from transmitting pain to the brain for 6 to 18 months.  Then you can do it again.  It's a very short recovery time, and this is something Dr. Holt does a lot.  They first shoot anesthesia into the area and see if the pain stops.  If it does, they the nuke the nerve.  So, that's where we are at the moment.  We need to get some relief, Jim is still unable to walk for any distance so we're not getting weight bearing exercise.  For those of you 60 and up, I can not stress the importance of weight bearing.  We sort of blew it over the years because we were on bikes all the time, which is worthless for bone formation.  

The sages in the yard are putting out an anemic bloom.  Some of the plants in Tucson are just covered in purple.  It's ok, fewer petals to fall in the rocks.

The mountain lion has not been heard from again.  We did have a coyote in the back yard a few days ago.  There's a game trail in the upper back yard, I guess he likes to come through and smell things.  So far, no javelinas or deer have been seen, but there is a good sized pile of deer poop close to the house.

So, 47 did a whirl wind tour of Asia.  While there he did his little dance after deplaning in Malaysia.  He once again claimed he settled the dispute between Cambodia and Thailand.  On twitter, we see this: Xi bitch slapped Trump in front of the world correcting Trump that he did not broker peace between Thailand and Cambodia and that it was indeed China.  While 47 was there, China agreed to buy the same amount of soybeans that they always do. And in exchange, Trump gave them access to the most valuable technology humanity has ever created.  He's going to sell them Nvidia chips, which are crucial to AI.  We're doomed.  Here is a NYT gift article on how negotiations went.  Sources say foreign dignitaries are now referring to Donald Trump as president-shit-his-pants, a playful and endearing nickname for the US president’s repeated soiling of himself during official trips.  I can not be any more embarrassed to be a US citizen.

 

47 has replaced Rear Admiral Kurt J. Rothenhaus as chief of naval research with a DOGE person.  She knows nothing.  This is a slap to the admiral, the service, and all of us.  Read all about it.  47 has been going on about wanting aircraft carriers to go back to steam catapults.  The electromagnetic catapults had issues early on with launching and recovering air craft.  The problems are worked out, rate of launch and recovery is better, they can launch drones with the systems, and it's not as violent to the airplanes when they launch.  It works, it's in place.  The current class of  carriers under construction is built around the electromagnetic system, just as the A10 Warthogs were built around their cannons.  But no, he wants future boats to go back to steam.  But, he does know more about catapults than anyone.  Anyway, we wonder if putting the DOGE person in that position is in order to facilitate the going back to steam.

 

MS Word now has an AI grammar checker installed.  It does not know the correct use of less vs. fewer.  How much money is being spent on this crap?   

 

Later, this may or may not be true, it's from facebook.

 

Too Much Nature

Last night, while reading in bed, this is what we heard.  It started out in the back yard, and then the sound traveled away.  It was a mountain lion.  I did not know they sounded like this.  This is a better youtube, play this one.

The Yard and That Man

Yesterday we worked in the back yard a little.  Last year when we were here, nothing was growing in the yard.  This year, we had several of these.  They were difficult to remove. 

And this would be why they were difficult.  The brown things are part of a root.  It's quite a long root and it goes up in to the very back of the yard.  We don't know the point of origin, or what it was.  I suspect this will be an on going project of removal.

Google search does not know what they are.  

This is a fairy duster.  They're nice looking plants. 

 While in Asia, President Trump told reporters he had an MRI during his recent trip to Walter Reed: “I did. I got an MRI. It was perfect…I gave you the full results. We had an MRI, and the machine, you know, the whole thing, and it was perfect.”  He went on to discuss taking the Montreal Cognitive Test and how well he had done, much better than either AOC or Jasmine Crockett could do.  He then followed up with, "I put the star in the star hole. A lot of people can't do that. They try to put it in the hexagon hole. But I put it in the star hole, and it only took me three attempts. I'd like to see AOC do that."  

Three attempts to put the star shaped object into the star shaped hole.  That's just sad. 

Adam Cochran posted this:  Trump is 6 months from his last physical (and last MRI). He is 3 months from his disappearance on labor day. -6 month MRIs are used to monitor severe progressions of Alzheimer’s or Vascular Dementia. -3 month follow-ups are used after a stroke. No non-serious condition requires anyone to get a 6 month MRI. The Presidents currently disclosed conditions do not merit a 6 month MRI. So the question is: -Stroke, dementia, or Alzheimer’s?

The man is seriously deranged.  How much longer are the republicans going to let this continue?

 

Today in extinction:

 

 

So that's what's shaking today.

Settling In and Other Stuff

Greetings mellow humans.  I think the great settling in to the house has completed.  There was the veeerry  expensive trip to Costco and a less expensive trip to Safeway.  Yesterday we finally cleaned the floors.  Dust here is different than other dust, I should get a photo of it.  Anyway, I have a bagless vacuum cleaner with HEPA filters which has to be field stripped and washed every time it's used for any length of time.  I'm giving serious thought to getting something else.  So, to mitigate that, there is a dust mop.  It's good, it gets up a lot of fuzz and dust prior to vacuuming, so there is less field stripping.  We also changed the furnace filters yesterday.  Next time, we're going to try it with only one ladder.  Getting the eight footer in the house is too hard.  Since the vacuum created by the running air conditioner will hold up a filter, two people don't have to be involved in this.

So, we are now clean and the larder is full.

The trichocereus surprised us by blooming again.  We saw it in June and did not expect to see it again.  And yet, here is it.  This was yesterday in full sun.

This morning, with me providing shade so it's not so washed out.

We finally got a decent ride in this morning.  It's so demoralizing how fast one loses fitness!  Jim has been off the bike since early September because of the leg pain, I was riding and rowing downstairs, but it's not the same.  Anyway, we did hill repeats and now we are tired.

The two worthless PAs in Spokane we saw for the leg pain, were worthless.  Neither of them ordered images of the spine.  New xrays ordered by the AZ GP reveal there is an age indeterminate compressed fracture at L1 with 25% anterior height loss..  Hopefully this will not require a full on spinal fusion (90 day recovery) and can be fixed with Kyphoplasty, for which hopefully Medicare will provide coverage.

Kyphoplasty is a variation of a vertebroplasty which attempts to restore the height and angle of kyphosis of a fractured vertebra (of certain types), followed by its stabilization using injected bone cement. The procedure typically includes the use of a small balloon that is inflated in the vertebral body to create a void within the cancellous bone prior to cement delivery. Once the void is created, the procedure continues in a similar manner as a vertebroplasty, but the bone cement is typically delivered directly into the newly created void. 

I can only think about this for short periods of time, it just weirds me out too much. 

Go here, and listen to Mark Cuban talk about how bad the Pharmacy Benefit Manager system is.  It's very bad. 

47 was asked if he would need a declaration of war to continue bombing small boats in the Caribbean Sea, or eventually to invade Venezuela.  This is what he said.  “I don't think we're gonna ask for a declaration of war. I think we're just gonna kill people. Okay? We're gonna kill them. They're gonna be, like, dead.”  Always the erudite speaker, he is.

The East Wing of the White House is now completely destroyed.  The cost estimates continue to increase at $50M a leap.   

The back yard a few days ago.

 So, that's what's happening here.

OK, here is what's happening in the Inland Empire.

 

 

Unpacking and Bad News

I have to wonder what we were thinking when we bought this much rotini, prior to leaving for Spokane.  It must have been a really awesome sale.
 

Today all clothing is in drawers or on hangars.  We found some edible food so we have not had to leave the house today.  Note to self, shredded cheese does not survive six months in the freezer.  We had to throw all of that out.  There's a geriatric pizza that we're hoping will still be good for dinner.  One of these days the diet will have to be improved.  All counter tops are clear, and the visual chaos has been tamed.

Hungary's oil refinery in Százhalombatta, 27 kilometres from Budapest was on fire tonight. This refinery processes oil from Russia. According to Hungarian news outlets, the entire facility may temporarily shut down after the fire.  Since Ukraine bombed most of Russia's refineries, crude oil has been shipped to other countries.  A refinery in Romania processing for Russia also been bombed.  I suppose after awhile, no one will sign on to do that.  It's a lovely photo.

Two 47 appointed judges on the 9th circuit have ruled that 47 can send federalized troops to Portland.  They based this on a ruling made based on an event that occurred in 1786.  This reminds me of Alito doing away with Roe based on an English man's writing from the 1700s.  Oddly enough, Clarence Thomas recently said there is no such thing as settled law.  I guess it's only settled when they like it.

“The President federalized the militia to ensure that the law could be fully enforced ... Shays’s Rebellion … occurred during the Articles of Confederation period,” the affirming judges wrote. “General Washington feared that American republicanism might fail as the ‘mobbers’ tried ‘to shut down courts’ and attacked government officials who ‘earnestly [sought] to obey [and enforce] the laws that the people themselves had authorized.’ This episode left an indelible mark on the Founders. They designed the Constitution to provide a Union that could safeguard the lives of law-abiding Americans trying to enforce the nation’s laws the next time a Shays’s Rebellion arose.”

In her dissent, Judge Graber dispelled any such notions.

“Those rebellions shared several salient characteristics, including a large number of participants relative to the population and to available law enforcement, a wide geographic scope, evident organization and leadership, widespread use of arms, intense ferocity, and the creation of extreme difficulty restoring control by means of ordinary law enforcement,” she wrote. “What occurred in Portland differed in every dimension. As already noted, there is no evidence of organization or leadership, widespread use of arms, ferocity, or difficulty exerting control by ordinary means.”

The ninth circuit leans liberal, so when the case is heard in front of the entire circuit, this may be over turned.   The article on the subject is here.

In other terrible news, the ICE weapons budget is expanding rapidly.  They will now have access to guided missile war heads, as well as chemical weapons.  I guess they're planning on killing us all.  There is more to be read here. 

Work on the ballroom has begun.  This is what's happening at the East Wing of the White House.  When asked about it, the Historic Preservation Society said they had heard nothing from the Administration.  Some sort of review had been scheduled for September 4.  

This is today.

That's it.  That's enough for one day.

 

Back in Tucson

We are back in the Arizona house.  

It took 90 minutes on the phone to get the internet working.  This after being assured that it would be ready and waiting for our return.  So I guess this will be a twice a year call, to get the house that was on vacation hold back online.  In the year of our Lord 2025, it just does not seem like it should be this difficult.  

Anyway, we're here, we're tired and my feet hurt from being on tile.  

It was a tough day for the bugs.

 

The Marine Celebration Had a Short Round

Remember when the administration decided that Governor Newsom was over reacting when he closed I5 during the firing of live ammunition over the freeway?  This is a cut and paste from the New York Times.

A 155-millimeter shell fired during a live-fire demonstration for the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton on Saturday prematurely detonated, dropping fragments of the shell on a California Highway Patrol vehicle and motorcycle that were part of Vice President JD Vance’s protective detail, according to a patrol report.

The exercise — which the report said was expected to include the firing of approximately 60 155-millimeter shells — was terminated after the round prematurely exploded, the patrol said. Patrol officers checked the interstate for shell fragments but found none, and declared it clear before reopening it to vehicular traffic at 2:20 p.m. 

The decision to fire live artillery shells from the oceanfront training area was described as unusual by an active-duty Marine artillery officer and a former Marine artillery noncommissioned officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared reprisal. Those Marines said the only howitzer training they had previously observed at Camp Pendleton had taken place at approved artillery ranges on the main side of base, east of the interstate, which they said were a much safer option for training.

Vance had no comment when asked about this.  

Jim just sent me this article.  It's not paywalled and is a good, factual read. 

Spanish Fork, Utah to Bullhead City, Arizona

 Oi!  It was another long day in the car.  Today was a good drive day.  For about the first half of the drive there was very little traffic, roads were good, and traffic was moving between 80 and 90 mph.  It looks a lot like this for a long time in Utah.

After awhile the route hits the red rock area of the state which is a gorgeous area.  

We've been on the road for awhile.  There were eleven years in an RV, then moving to AZ, then to Spokane, then the second house in AZ.  We drove a lot.  One of the things we've noticed is the proliferation of distribution centers.  They didn't use to be everywhere.  This is what occupies a lot of space in Las Vegas.  The same is true for Phoenix.  There are a lot of these.

After Las Vegas, US95, has been repaved.  It's now a glorious piece of road.

The desert south of Las Vegas is ugly desert.  It's not like the Sonoran Desert at all.  IMHO it's only good for one thing, which is solar panels.  There are many installed, but there is still a lot of empty land that could be used for clean energy.  One of the things people like to do out there is ride ATVs, and other motorized stuff.  Why this is fun is beyond me.  They're out there riding around in circles on empty land, raising mass quantities of dirt and dust.  Solar panels would be a much better use.

We are back at the Holiday Inn and Suites.  It's still a nice hotel. However, we booked a suite, which was bad.  There were more living space and outlets, but the bathroom vanity is very small.  So, don't do that again.  Our first stop was at the dollar store where I got four more pairs of socks for about $5.  They're good, very little seam across the toes.  Dinner came from Safeway, we got two Indian food microwave dinners that actually were not bad.  The best part was they weren't a rotisserie chicken.

Tomorrow we'll be in Tucson, and happy we are about that. 

Butte, Montana to Spanish Fork, Utah

Oi!  It has been a day!  It's a long drive, 465 miles.  This is how the day started out, really cold and it snowed, and it turned to ice.  Of course we forgot the big ice scraper and snow brush.  Jim was out there his cane trying to get a little patch cleared so he could see.

 
The drive from Butte to Idaho Falls is a whole lot of nothing.  There is nothing to look at.  It's like this.

Except there is this.  Every time we drive through Idaho Falls we see this building and wonder what is that.  It's the corporate head quarters of Melaleuca, a wellness company.  They manufacture and sell over 400 products.  The company was founded in 1985, and is one of the largest privately held companies in America, with over $2B in annual revenue.  So now we know.

There was a lot of construction, several new bridges are being done.  There was a lot of diverted traffic.

But the best was from Ogden with about 40 miles of stop and go traffic, lot's of stop.  We were very nearly rear ended.  The car behind us slammed on his brakes and ended up in the breakdown lane next to the jersey barrier.  We were literally window to window when he stopped.  That would have been so bad if he had hit us.  

We're back at the Hampton Inn and we have yet another rotisserie chicken and a bag of salad for dinner.  Lunch tomorrow will be chicken sandwiches in the car. 

Spokane to Butte, Montana

Today was one of the two short days.  The next two days will be long days.  It was an easy drive, not a lot of traffic, the big trucks were mostly well behaved.  It's cold in Butte, snow flurries are in the forecast.

We are back at the Hampton Inn.  It's a nice hotel, this is where we always stay.  This is an old post about Butte.  

I have had what I believe is a packing fail.  There are two pairs of bike shoes, two pairs of Hokas, a pair of Sketchers step ins, and a new pair of Oofos sandals.  Rather than  keep them in boxes, I put them in shoe bags and then in a garbage bag.  I think that solution required more space than keeping them in boxes.  Although, maybe not, the space saver bags are sitting on hiking shoe boxes and are just about touching the ceiling of the car.  This is something to ponder for next year.  It's a heavy bag, and apparently has squashed my kitchen box.  Shoes are the work of the devil.

I have photos.  This is from this morning, in the early sunlight.  It puts yellow on the trees.

The trip, I'm not sure where any of them were taken.  It was overcast most of the day.  When the sun would come out the trees were brilliant.

Tomorrow is No Kings, we'll be driving.  Those of you that go, I salute you for the effort.

Going South

We're up and out tomorrow for Tucson.  It's out of the 100's so we are happy about that.  Long term weather forecasts (which are frequently wrong) says the El Nina that is forming will give us a dry warm winter.  I'm happy about the warm, but rain would be good.  There was rain recently, caused by the remnants of two Pacific hurricanes, which had the rivers running bank to bank.  There were several swift water rescues because people are stupid.

I guess we're ready.  Today was load the car day.  

About half of those space saver bags are inflating ever so slowly.  I've about decided just to replace them on an annual basis.  I don't think they are all that durable.  That Home Goods bag is an excellent container for light weight stuff that takes up space.  It was $2.  Cheap luggage for all.  

We used to have a flock of about 10 turkeys, then they picked up more members and were 20, Jim saw them today and there were 25 traveling together.  I really like seeing them, it's like watching dinosaurs.

Fall is here, we had frost on the lawn this morning.  The trees are once again, refusing to shed their leaves.

Yesterday, 47 put forth an idea to intermittently shut down Interstate 5 north of San Diego Friday and Saturday.  That's one of, if not the, busiest highways in the country.  California traffic is legendary.  Think about closing freeways, how about fire trucks, ambulances, and George Q Public just trying to get to work.  Why did he want to do this?  He wanted the Navy to fire missiles into Camp Pendleton and hit their live fire range.  Think about this.  Live fire directed at the continental US.  Anyway, today they took back the freeway closures.  I have not seen anything about the missile plan, hopefully it is off, as well.

Peace in Middle East is over.  Hamas will not give up their weapons, 47 is threatening to go in and kill them.  So much for the Peace President.

All media outlets except OAN have turned in their credentials at the Pentagon.  They would not accept the restrictions Hegseth wanted to impose on access.  I'm impressed that even Fox wouldn't do it.  So, the current Pentagon press corp consists of The Federalist, the Epoch Times, OAN, Turkish newspaper Akşam, Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency, two Turkish freelancers, an Afghan freelancer, an Australian newspaper, AWPS News, the India Globe and a blog called USA Journal Korea.  There you go. 

The invasion of blue cities is on going.  The unidentified masked men continue to dump people out of their wheel chairs, put their knees on the necks of 15 year olds, and in general behave like the scum that they are. 

I like this a lot.

 

Packing and Extinction

It's late afternoon.  It has rained a lot.  This is radar from this morning.

It's been dry for so long, it's sort of surreal to see this much rain.  The blue (snow) is where we will be heading.  But, we have all wheel drive, they plow the freeways, it will be fine.  It's cold and damp.  I'd like the other pleasant fall back, please.

We packed this morning.  Despite our best efforts we still have five space saver bags, and there will be a garbage bag with shoes and bike helmets.  I think this year I'm going to institute a daily diary of what we actually wore, so we know what to pack.  We still have more packed than we need, especially Jim.  Kidding, just kidding.  Anyway, I think it's harder this year than last.  I'm not sure if that's due to my overwhelming malaise due to the destruction of our country, or because I'm a year older.  Also, we bought clothes last year at Walmart for yard work, and those are traveling back to AZ, adding to the load.  I bought men's shorts and pants and I love them, they have pockets.  Women's pants are dead to me. 

47 has traveled to Israel to celebrate the peace plan he claims to have brokered.  At present, Hamas and members of the Dughmush clan are shooting each other.  Our fake president's response was, "they’re keeping order since 2M are returning home to Gaza, it’ll be all alright."  Maybe the amount of weapons Hamas has on hand should have been sorted beforehand.  BBC article here.

The inflatable animal count in Portland continues to grow.  There is a blow up squirrel that is an excellent dancer.  So far no animals have been harmed.

Yesterday, the Slender Billed Curlew was declared extinct.  Before the announcement, I'd never heard of the species.  It's making me very sad that they're gone, and they won't be back.  Way to go humans.

 So, on that happy note, I will return to my packing.

The Week in Review

Up until recently, we've had a bog standard beautiful fall.  Spokane is good at doing fall.  There were many days like this.  

The red twig dogwoods were happy and exuberant.
 

 Now they look like this.  They're just sad, weighed down by the rain, and starting to lose their leaves.  Sad.

It looks like we're leaving for Tucson either Friday or Saturday.  It's going to be cold and snowy in Butte, which is kind of a bummer.  All the drugs, covid tests and contact lenses will have to be schlepped into the room.  I am making a concerted effort to lighten the load of what comes inside at night.  Jim's hip is better, and I would like to keep it that way. The thought is that going through Salt Lake on a weekend will be less trying than driving through their eternal rush hour.

The administration has been busy putting their ignorance on display.

From RFK Jr there is:  There are many other confirmations -- there are two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. It’s highly likely because they are given Tylenol.  This is so stupid it makes my head hurt.  He followed up with:  There is no proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof.  Science does not make proof, science discovers what is there.  That's it.  No making proof, ever.  He's so clueless, I wonder if he's brain damaged.

A reporter asked  the Nobel Chair, "Why didn’t Trump win the Nobel Peace Prize?" He responded, "The award only goes to people of courage and integrity."  I love that.

From Covid-land we learn:  The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and American Heart Association now classify prior COVID-19 as an independent cardiovascular risk factor, recommending long-term monitoring (e.g., ECG, echo, MRI) for (a)symptomatic patients. So, in addition to high blood pressure, bad cholesterol and the usual, having had covid is a risk factor for your heart.  Please make a note of this.

Also, remember how they told you that kids would be fine catching Covid early in the pandemic?  Now long covid is the number one chronic illness in children.  I think it used to be asthma, but don't quote me on this.

 

If you have not had your shingles vaccines, you should go do that.

A large, new study tracked older adults who had received the shingles vaccination and received promising results. The scientists report that those who received a shingles vaccine shot were at a definitive health advantage over the control group.

They were less likely to receive a new dementia diagnosis during the next seven years. The analysis made use of a policy quirk to compare people born just before and after a vaccine eligibility cutoff in 2013. This helped separate cause from coincidence.

The article is here.  It's in plain English and is an interesting read. Since my brother died of or with early onset Alzheimers at age 63, after having it for 10 years or so, I'm pretty happy about this finding.  Neither one of us experienced the debilitating effects of the shot that so many people report.

The climate scientists have their hair on fire about how warm the Pacific ocean is, and how much ice melting is occurring.  Now there is this: Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate,” scientists have found, raising fears that future global warming predictions may have been underestimated.  You can read about it here.

Portland and Chicago remain under siege by the administration, Memphis is, as well.  There is a No Kings protest on the 18th, I wonder how ICE, and the other agencies will respond to this. 

 

 

More on the Siege

This is funny.  Our demented president claims all of the shop windows are boarded up in Portland, fires are everywhere, and they're going to get to the bottom of who is running Antifa.  Meanwhile, there is this.

Dearest Mildred, with the hip thrusts of a 1000 cartoon raccoons, we are surrounded at the Battle of Portland. IPA's have since run dry. The roar of dinosaurs in the distance. I fear we cannot maintain the front much longer. I so long to be back at the Texas Roadhouse with you. 

 Go here if you want to watch the video.

Meanwhile in Chicago, snipers on building roofs are shooting priests in the head with rubber bullets, or pepper spraying them from three feet away.   

The only violence is government created. 

 

The Recent Awfulness in Review

Here is a recap of some recent awfulness.

This is what's shaking in 47land.  Steven Miller has been positioning to have the 82nd Airborne Division sent to Portland.  Let's think about this.  The 82nd is the quick reaction force for hot-spots abroad.  And yet, there is a desire to send them to Portland.  This is insane.  One really does wonder what the end game is here.  

Based on leaked text messages from early October 2025, an aide to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller discussed the possibility of sending the 82nd Airborne Division to Portland, Oregon

. The conversation, which involved officials from the Trump administration, revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had considered deploying the elite unit to the city but was concerned about potential backlash. 

Here are the key details from the leaked messages:

• The leaker: Anthony Salisbury, a top deputy to Stephen Miller, was observed sending messages via the Signal app in a public place in Minnesota.  (Note that they're using Signal again, my theory it's an attempt to avoid records of the conversations.)
• The recipients: Salisbury was reportedly communicating with other high-level Trump administration officials, including Patrick Weaver, an adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
• The content: The texts discussed the potential deployment of the 82nd Airborne to Portland in response to protests. Weaver indicated that Hegseth preferred to use the National Guard due to the public relations risk of sending an active-duty combat unit like the 82nd Airborne to an American city. Weaver also noted that Hegseth would want an explicit order from President Trump to provide "top cover" in case the situation went "sideways".
• The outcome: The administration ultimately did not deploy the 82nd Airborne. Instead, 200 federalized National Guard troops were sent to Portland. The state of Oregon and the City of Portland have since filed lawsuits to block this deployment.   

This story originated on the Minnesota Star Tribune.  It's paywalled, but if you give them your email, they'll let you read it.

For those unfamiliar with the 82nd, there is this.

The 82nd Airborne Division, or "All Americans," is an elite, active-duty airborne infantry division of the United States Army, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Its primary mission is joint forcible entry operations, meaning it can rapidly deploy, parachute in, and secure objectives globally within 18 hours of notification to support U.S. national interests. The division was constituted in 1917 for World War I and gained its "All American" nickname and patch from its initial members from all 48 states.  

Key Characteristics & Mission. 

Rapid Deployment: T

he division is designed for immediate response, capable of strategic deployment to anywhere in the world. 

 Forcible Entry:

It specializes in forcible entry parachute assaults, a hallmark of its operations. 

Who is the enemy here? 

This past week there was an incident of an ICE guy getting caught in traffic.  His solution was to tear gas the entire street.  People were vomiting on the sidewalks, an infant was severely hurt.  In another occupied city, a woman waved at the occupying forces and said hi, their response was to throw a flash bang into her car.  There is video of both events, so I don't think it's urban legend.  The question I always have, is why does the administration hate us so much?  Why does Ross Vought want to destroy the government? 

Here is a Guardian article about Justice Katanji Brown Jackson.  I feel so badly for her, she got the job of a life time, and now is working with the six most corrupt justices ever.  She's warning us, but honestly, with those 6 people on the court, I don't know what can be done about any of this.  They are rubber stamping anything 47 asks for, with no discussion.  

The Guardian also has an article up about how close the US came to leaving NATO in 2016.  We are a feckless ally.

That's it, that's all I've got for now.  

 

X-Rays and the End

We had ground fog this morning.  It doesn't last long, I was lucky to get this photo before it burned off. 

Today Jim went to an actual imaging place, with real radiologists.  They took about 6 X-Rays of hips and back.  So, it will probably be Monday or Tuesday before we know anything.  The PCP in Arizona ordered them, she is the best doctor we have ever had.

While the government is shut down, this is what the 47 team is up to.  Go here and play the video they posted.  It looks like Russ Vought is now fully in charge of gutting the country.  The song they've plagiarized is by Blue Oyster Cult.

47 is MIA again, not seen in the flesh since Tuesday. 

 

Stress and Stupid

It appears that we may be leaving early for Tucson, we've been defeated by the awfulness of medical care in Spokane.  Jim's hip has gotten very painful and shows no signs of improving.  This is really a pisser, at 79 he really does not need another three month recovery period from something.  Washington is an enlightened state, particularly the Insurance Commissioner.  We currently have a high deductible G medicare supplement which has low premiums.  But if you go in the hospital, however, there is a $2200 deductible.  However, due to enlightenment, one can change to a low deductible G at any time and use the new policy the following month.  Then there is a very low deductible, but high premium.  So, there is that to keep in mind.  There is also open enrollment for Medicare starting October 15, and we are leaving October 17 unless things change.  No pressure there.  I hate the thought of permanent residence in Tucson because AZ is not an enlightened state. They also charge up the wazoo for car registration and they have state income tax.  So all of this is occupying my neurotransmitters and draining my serotonin.  This is all a long winded prelude to me saying posting may be light.

Yesterday I cut back the hydrangeas.  I hate doing that, I feel like I'm cutting their arms off.  They had a banner summer and put out much foliage as well as flowers.  All gone now.  I think if I left them alone, they would become huge plants.

We're not moving around much, so photos of anything interesting are hard to come by.  

The government continues on its way to hell in a hand basket.  Yesterday's address to the Generals was just pathetic.  Pete Hegseth was particularly pathetic.  By using grooming standards, he's getting rid of Black men who can't shave closely.  He declared that all military would be held to "male standards" with physical fitness tests twice a year.  This is an attempt to get rid of the women.  

Much was made of being "war fighters" and ultimate lethality.  During his 1 hour address to the troops, 47 said that the focus of the military would transition to  fighting "the enemy within."  That would be us.  He went further to say that cities should be used as military training grounds.

The fact that wars have evolved past hand to hand combat and into autonomous drones has completely escaped Hegsth's notice.  Russia, unfortunately, has developed a Shaheed drone that can hit moving objects in the dark.  They hit a Ukrainian locomotive which derailed and stopped the whole train.  Ukraine will copy this, but it will take time.  Meanwhile, Ukraine is developing underwater drones that are big and fast.  People will always be required, but not like before.  

The government is shut down.  Things will be different when it starts back up.  Brian Allen posted this, "The shutdown wasn’t a glitch—it was the plan. As soon as the government shuts down, Trump’s allies like Russ Vought gain extraordinary power to terminate, restructure, and defund entire agencies without going through Congress. That’s why they wanted it. They’re not “negotiating,” they’re executing a purge."  So, stand by to be amazed.

Secretary of the Treasury Bessent orchestrated a $20B bail out of Argentina, and in return, the Argentines  removed their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price, and sold a bunch of soybeans to China, at a time when the US would normally be selling to China. Soy prices  are dropping further because of it. This gives China more leverage on us.  What master manipulators are the cabinet members.

There's more, there's always more.  

I know everybody hates the sound of 47's voice, so do I.  However, watch a little bit of toddlers lip syncing part of  47's terrible UN speech.  It's just adorable.  It's not very long, mute if you can't stand it, but watch until the end when they throw bottles of milk at him. 

That's it, that's all I've got. 

This is from Truth Social today (10/2).