September 9

 Another sunny and cool day. Temperatures should max out in the mid 70s. We have a doctor's appointment for mom so my reading will be broken up. I got a nice stretch of stitching done this morning. I usually try to spend two or three hours in the morning doing some form of needlework. Yesterday I got a couple of rows on the Bavarian stitch baby blanket. It is large enough that a couple of rows is a lot of work. Day before I got several rows done on the Tunisian stitch blanket after I took out about three rows because of a mistake changing colors. Several days ago I pulled out all the work on the original blanket because I couldn't make the color changes work out right. Decided to do something simpler and review the process. It seems to be working well now. I am getting a "housekeeping" bug and will tackle a junk drawer in my small rolling storage container. Every now and then I simply have to straighten sup such areas. I usually find items I simply forgot I have.

I am spending less and less time with the news because after hearing the same BS for the second time I simply want to throw something at the TV. I give the BBC new a bit more time simply because it is somewhat different. The whole Jeffrey Epstein mess only got a simply 30 second statement. The news reader made a passing comment when covering the argument some European governments have concerning the Gaza tragedy: when is genocide actually genocide?. Some of the more "legalistic" politicians insist that Israel isn't committing genocide because no court that has jurisdiction has ruled its actions are genocide. Others look at the devastation and deaths and say, like I do, if it quacks and walks like a duck it is a damned duck. It looks like genocide therefore it is genocide. Ah, well, neither side is any closer to persuading Israel to change course.

Bill Astore has some thoughts on the matter from a slightly different perspective. I had another thought. We have come to associate THE HOLOCAUST with the Nazi efforts to exterminate European Jews. Yes, 6 million Jewish victims is a horrendous number. However, another 6 million other Europeans were also slaughtered: the German "useless eaters" (frail elderly, chronically ill, mentally ill), the Romany (aka, Gypsies), Slavs. homosexuals. I can agree with the sentiment expressed in the slogan "Never Again" but it shouldn't be applied only to one group. It can't be "no genocide for me but mass death for thee."

Chris Armitage on MEDIUM describes "soft secession" as an answer to increasing Federal intrusion into states. Some time ago I said that the U.S. is at a crossroads. Will it continue to be a "federal" system" which divides powers between a national government, state governments, and the people? Or Will it become a truly national government where states are merely administrative divisions with power only to enact what is dictated by the national government?