Another sunny day and the temperatures should make us feel like summer is still here. The longer forecast predicts 90s for Sunday through Wednesday next week. Damn--I had hoped cooler temperatures would continue. Luckily we don't have anything which would take us out of the house. I got outside to sweep the patio and water the remaining plants. I also used the power setting on the watering wand to clear a lot of the detritus I couldn't reach with the broom.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has pushed almost everything else off the news on this side of the Atlantic. And "assassination" is appropriate or perhaps "murder." We do so like to soften harsh realities--like the rising number of violent acts in this country. I'll be honest: I had only heard the name before yesterday. I knew he was a MAGA activist but I couldn't have associated his name with a specific idea or political argument. I doubt very much I would have been terribly interested in anything he had to say. I am 45 years older than he was--he was 31. I am female and, as you can see from my use of pronouns, he was male. But, and this is the key point, I don't know who murdered him (I won't soften this by using the passive voice) I DO NOT SUPPORT KILLING ANYONE BECAUSE OF A POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. I can remember times when I thought that a political situation might be greatly improved if we "had several funerals" of some of the stubborn old farts involved. BUT I NEVER THOUGHT ANYONE SHOULD ACTIVELY KILL THEM. Each such act takes us further on the road to barbarism.

A couple of news/commentary segments were interestingly juxtaposed yesterday. One talked about a book, THE BARN which I haven't read, about the Emmett Till murder in 1955. His mother's decision to have an open casket funeral showed the world the consequences of our American apartheid and helped create the political environment leading to the passage of the CIVIL RIGHTS ACT and the VOTING RIGHTS ACT. But the next discussed what little was known about Charlie Kirk's murder (which was damned little) and segued to a list of acts of political violence over the last few years. The commentators referred to several fringe groups like Qanon, and others I hadn't even heard of but who, finding the present unpalatable, want to erase the last 80 years or so. In other words, they want to go back to 1955. I don't remember the 1950s because, having entered this world in 1949, I was way too young. But I do have memories from later times. I remember that my mother, for much of her life, couldn't get a credit card or bank account in her own name. I remember a friend who had a long running struggle with the IRS because they insisted on listing her husband as "head of household" and issuing refund checks in his name. He contributed almost nothing to their income and getting him to fork over the money was an added insult. I remember women I knew who couldn't get a mortgage on their own without a MALE cosigner. So, as you can guess, I HAVE NO DESIRE TO GO BACK TO THE 1950S. When "conservative" pundits talk about increasing social stability by getting rid of no-fault divorce, or celebrate employment statistics showing a drop in women's participation because the back to the office pressures make child care problematic, or when the current administration dismisses capable women in favor of less capable men (usually white men), I am infuriated. I remember all too well being shuffled into home economics classes when I would rather have taken wood working or auto mechanics shop--but those were for boys. Few people asked girls what they wanted to be when they grew up when I was young. Our only options were teacher (until we married and became pregnant), nurses or secretaries. Boys had the world. I have too many memories of the past to want to go back.

A blogger I often read has a regular segment "Words and Phrases we could do without." I would like to add one that has popped up fairly frequently over the last few years: "This isn't who we are." Well all too often this (what ever it is) is exactly who "we" are--and a lot of us wish otherwise.

Today is the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that have scared us as a society. A lot of the news and blogs focused the memories. I remember where I was that day. When the first tower was hit I was in my car driving to my first class in paralegal studies of the day and listening to the radio. I don't think I really reacted to the news which sounded too horrific to be true. The second plane hit the other tower during the break between classes and when we weren't in class we spent the time glued to the TV. I had the sense of being somewhat separate from the rest of the people watching. One student who was a bit further along than I was in the program vowed she would not take a job in a Chicago high rise. I didn't say anything but I thought the response was as bizarre since a similar attack hitting skyscrapers in an inland city was minimal. As it turned out no further such attacks took place. The event still has a surreal feel to it.