Wednesday.  A bit of fog so far.  Cooler temps predicted.  We finally got out to do our shopping but much later than usual because the heavy rain lasted till mid morning.  We found some nice cherries so I will pit some for our cereal this morning and the rest for freezing.  Don't have much planned for the garden.  But walking by the rose yesterday was a joy as I caught a whiff of the rose scent.  The survivor is doing very well.

Minor rant coming:  I don't know about anyone else but I am really tired of idiot politicos (and others) who say or write something racist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted and then bleat that they aren't racist, sexist or otherwise bigoted as if that excuses their idiocy.  The Superintendent for Public Instruction of Arizona provides a new example of this strain of stupidity.  He was intentionally offensive and dishonest--otherwise he wouldn't have published that blog under a pseudonym.  The story brings to mind a cute, possibly apocryphal, story I read a bit ago.  A man standing in line at a supermarket was pissed off by a woman in front of him talking on a cell phone in a language he didn't know.  He aggressively confronted her and said, "This is America.  If you want to speak Spanish go back to Mexico.  Otherwise speak English."  The startled woman responded,  "Excuse me??"  whereupon the repeated what he has said in a louder voice.  She snapped back, "I was speaking Navajo.  If you want to speak English, go back to England,"  paid for her groceries and left.

After reading about Repthuglican hysteria over "voter fraud" and their attempts to make voting far more restrictive and difficult for Damnocrat voters.  (I am equal opportunity skeptic.)  Through all those articles, news reports and such over several years I have yet to read about real voter fraud--until now.  Evidently a health insurance executive has been charged with vote fraud for voting a dozen times (in his own name and two other names) during the 2011 and 2012 elections.  The juicy part--he voted for Republican Scott Walker and other Republican candidates.  It looks like the focus of concerns over who is committing vote fraud has been focused in the wrong direction.

I seem to remember a bit in the Bible about criticizing the "mote" in someone's eye while ignoring the "beam" in your own.  But I have noted that Bible thumpers are rather selective about what parts they hold to.  Case in point--political speech and activism.  Fine for me, not for thee.  Jesus quite rightly called such people hypocrites (Matthew 7:5).  And there isn't a religion existing that isn't engaged in politics.

I really have to wonder where Texas Governor Rick Perry learned his history.  He warns of a "trail of tears" if the Federal government doesn't act on the problem of unaccompanied children coming into the US along the southern border.  As I understand it the "trail of tears" resulted when the Federal government did act and forcibly removed the Cherokee from their lands (much coveted by whites) in Georgia marching the tribe to Oklahoma territory.  The route was littered with thousands of Cherokee who died along the way from starvation, disease, and exhaustion.  Worse, then-President Jackson acted inspire of a Supreme Court ruling that such action was unConstitutional challenging the court to enforce their ruling.  These aren't parallel events.  Those kids aren't being driven through the desert by troops under the control of the U.S. government.  But, reading the article, I have to wonder at the reporters who don't recognize the phrase either and take it as a witty description of an unfolding tragedy.  Are we so focused on and mired in the present that we see neither the past in all its complexity nor the possible futures?  Something else I have noticed in all the hot air (and ink) expelled over this issue: everyone talks about what the pundits think draws these kids here and nothing about the conditions in their homelands which are driving them here.