Clouds and the Government

It was windy and cold today, then a wall of clouds started moving in.  We decided to bail on riding, too windy, and hike.  The light was pretty good.  Towards the end, heading back to the house, the temperature dropped and it started to smell like rain.  Fortunately, we were home when it got here, about 15 minutes after.  It's good to hike, we need weight bearing.  We're both having dexascans soon to find out how bad things are.  I've had osteopenia for years, but it's been stable.  I am hoping for that.

So, out in the desert....  This is a happy prickly pear.  Most of them look like death, but this guy is hanging on.

The mountains looked lovely with the clouds.

Yesterday Dear Leader had a North Korean style cabinet meeting, where each member discussed what their department was working on, and then discussed the wonderfulness of 47.  I believe it was Puppy Killer Noem who congratulated him on keeping the hurricanes at bay this past season.  Rubio was in the midst of praising 47 for his peace efforts, sitting right next to 47, who went to sleep.  He slept a lot through the meeting.  He's got another giant bandage on his hand and makeup to cover up what's there.  The current theory is that he's receiving Leqembi (lecanemab) which is a medication for early Alzheimer's disease that works by lowering beta-amyloid in the brain to reduce cognitive and functional decline.  It's an intravenous infusion or subcutaneous injection, so that could be what's up with the hand.  I think they should give him more.

At the end of the love fest, 47 declared that all Somalians, and Ilhan Omar in particular, are garbage and he wants them out of the country.  Unfortunately for him, most of the Somali population in Minnesota are citizens.  Since when does a president call people garbage?  Must be projection.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau is in the NATO meeting, winning hearts and minds  Today he slammed European NATO allies for prioritizing their own defense industry over American arms suppliers, according to three NATO diplomats.  It's the first time in 20 years that the SecState did not attend. 

CEO of War Hegseth had a bad day.  The Inspector General reported that his use of Signal to discuss an upcoming raid did put soldiers' lives at risk.  Hegseth is still maintaining that it was a perfect call.  He has also thrown Rear Admiral Bradley who ordered the second strike on the burning boat, killing two men, under the bus.  Hegseth is maintaining he never gave the order to kill them all, contradicting earlier statements.  Hopefully, this will encourage people in the military to not accept illegal orders, no one will have their backs.

So, the wheels continue to come off this country.  We were great once, and now we're not. 

However, here is the raccoon who broke into a Virginia liquor store, broke a bunch of bottles of booze, got drunk and passed out in the restroom.

 

Sunset in the USA

We had another good sunset last night.  We were a little late getting out the door with the cell phone cameras, but it was still impressive.

I don't know how many of you are following the Ukraine/Witkoff/Putin/47 saga, but it's finally making its way out of the shadows.  PhilipsObrien has an excellent synopsis of much of the whole sordid tale.  Even better, he included a gift link to the Wall Street Journal article that brought the corruption out into the open.  Basically, it boils down to 47 is throwing Ukraine under the bus so that he and Putin can do deals and make money and screw the rest of the planet.  It's all on Europe now, no one else is coming to save them.

That's it, that's all I have to say.

 

One Holiday Over and High Crimes

Thanksgiving was successful.  The chicken was perfectly cooked, keeping the temperature a little bit lower on the grill was good.  We did forget to open the can of cranberry jelly, maybe next year.

This is our new tray to transport the chicken to the grill and back.  We got it at Home Goods, it's nice, heavy melamine.  It was funny, it wouldn't fit in the refrigerator sideways, we had to empty a shelf on the door and slide it in long ways.  It's very festive.

 Last night there was a pretty good sunset.

Today we did Christmas prep.  It was short and sweet.  The tiny Christmas tree is up, and we put wreaths on the security door.  They are also festive. 

This was on the front of the Washington Post today.  This, right here, is a war crime.  Our Secretary of Defense is a war criminal.  So is his chain of command that carried out the order.   There were two survivors in the water, and he ordered another strike to kill them.

I strongly suspect that this is why Admiral Holsey resigned. The law of the sea says anyone who has been sunk/shipwrecked is entitled to assistance. Once the boat was sunk, the Geneva convention says they have no capacity to fight. The killing of the two men holding onto flaming wreckage is a war crime, straight up murder.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is currently being held at the ICC in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity for doing the EXACT SAME THING that Trump/Hegseth are doing now: Summarily executing alleged drug traffickers without due process.  

This must be why they're so upset about the Seditious Six reminding the military that they should not follow illegal orders. 

Today 47 made it clear that he is ready and willing to give Putin Crimea and all the current Russian occupied land in Ukraine.   Europe and Ukraine have not signed on for this.

Here is a tip for fractious family gatherings.

 

Other than this, I have nothing else to say.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you have an excellent day, however you choose to spend it.  We, boring couple that we are, will be riding the bikes and later spatchcocking a chicken to cook on the grill.  Braver people than we also spatchcock turkeys.  They must have big scissors to get the back bone out, and a huge cooking surface.  

 

More Nature

Greetings mellow humans.  The rain has moved out of the area, today was bright sunshine, with slightly cold air.  We got out on the bikes wearing a chest bandana and vests.  We went earlier than I would have liked because there was another trip to Safeway (of course) to pickup a prescription.  While we were there we bought a chicken which Jim will spatchcock on Thanksgiving.  

This is a photo from the web of a prickly pear with cochineal scales.

This is our prickly pear after I tried to remove the material before I knew what it was.  See the red smear on the paddle?  It looked like it was bleeding.

This is the tooth brush I used.  More blood.
 

From the internet we learn the following.  Cochineal scales appear as white, cottony masses on prickly pear cactus and can be controlled by physical removal and insecticidal sprays. First, use a strong stream of water to dislodge the insects and their protective covering. Then, for more persistent pests, apply insecticidal soap or rubbing alcohol to the infected areas.  

Carmine red is a vivid, deep red color that has a purplish tint, used in pigments for paints, inks, and cosmetics. It is also a food dye known as E120, made from the crushed bodies of female cochineal insects that live on cacti.  The dye is in things like Fruit Loops, Skittles, and other weirdly red food products.

Too much nature!  I used the garden hose and was able to remove all of the white downy looking stuff.  I suspect this will be ongoing because it's difficult to get all of them.  They're not good for the plant, they're sap suckers, there are yellowed areas where they were living.

My canvases arrived.  Here we have the entry way wall.  The canvas is covering up a picture hanger and nail that was painted over and is now stuck to the wall forever.  I don't see it anymore, and am no longer bothered by it.

There was a sunset three days ago.  

 And finally, there is this.

 
Despite 47 continuing to insist grocery prices are down, eggs are $7.99 a dozen.  That's it!  That's all I have.

More Malfeasance and Stupid

While I went to the local dollar store, Jim boiled vinegar in the tea kettle, my stainless steel pot, and then boiled the bathroom sink aerators in vinegar.  I think I know how a pickle feels.  There are so many minerals in the water, that the aerators grow fuzzy green rings.  I'm guessing that's copper, but I don't know that.  Don't they look nice now, all shiny.

Welp, Rubio done got thrown under the 47 bus.  If this sentence makes no sense read my post from yesterday regarding the press conference held by Senator Rounds and more.  It's at the bottom of the post.

Here is an excellent substack from Philips Obrien which discusses what's happening.  It's not good.

From Tom Joseph: Rubio told Senators on a conf call that the 28 point Ukraine plan Trump was pumping was a Russian “wish list.” When Rubio realized he was exposing Trump, Vance & Witkoff as incompetent and worse, he reversed and said it was US authored with input from Russia and Ukraine. These people are completely over their head and corrupt. The only concession Putin should receive is being able to choose between receiving the needle or electric chair. 

Today 47 signed something that declares that "nursing is not a profession."  I wonder how all the Republican nurses are feeling about this.  It appears that the categories of work that were de-professionalized were the mandatory reporters of child abuse.  Thanks Maebeme for commenting last post.

Could I please leave the country now?

Ride, Rain and Malfeasance

Today has been interesting.  First, Jim could not open Facebook, or see the content of any of his emails on Yahoo or Gmail.  Isn't that weird?  Other things were fine, but no mail could be seen.  As it turned out, the laptop had downloaded an upgrade, and wanted Jim to restart. Generally, a download does not break things.  Meanwhile, I placed an order with Walmart, then they cancelled it with no explanation.  I ordered it again, they cancelled it again.  Then I got an email, telling me to change my password.  What the heck?  I guess I'll try again tomorrow.  I hate going in Walmart, just hate it.  Bring stuff to my car!

 

This morning was dark and gloomy.  Then the sun came out, it was nice.  After a bowl of Cheerios we got on the bikes and did the hill route. On the way out we saw a box with three wreaths on it.  The lady that lives there was giving them away, she can no longer hang them.  Her name is Irna, she grew up in Germany and remembers the aftermath of Hitler.  She has a no-kings/resist sign in her front window.  We chatted briefly about the importance of not giving in to autocrats or following illegal orders.

 

Now we will have a Christmas decoration.

 Five minutes after we got home, it started raining.  We have had a series of squalls go through, we were very happy about the timing of the ride. Several hours later, it's very dark and still raining.  Earlier there were some sun breaks, but now we are socked in.

What am I outraged about today, you wonder.  Well, there is this.

Please note that these degrees are largely held by women.

What's left?  This is just stupid.  Audiologists are now required to have a Au.D.  Good luck financing that without loans.

Then there was this.

These are the people he wants to execute.  Their crime was in reminding the members of the military that they can and should refuse an illegal order as stated in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  Perhaps an order like blowing up people in the Caribbean with no due process.
 

Other than this, I have nothing to add.

OK, I have one more thing.  This is reporting by Nick Schifrin of a press conference held today.  The short version is, the "peace plan" was a Russian wish list.  That's it, no US involvement in its writing.

After talking to Senator Rubio, Senator Rounds announced that the 28 point plan was a Russian document, not a US document.   
Rounds reported "Secretary Rubio did make a phone call to us this afternoon. I think he made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives. It is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan. It is a proposal that was received. And as an intermediary, we have made arrangements to share it. And we did not release it. It was leaked. It was not released by our members or our representatives... This is an opportunity to receive it and that it has been utilized and delivered to the Ukrainians, and that they will have an opportunity to respond. And in doing so, you now have one side being presented and the opportunity for the other side to respond."  
Senator Angus King said "The leaked 28-point plan, which, according to Secretary Rubio,  is not of the administration's position--it is essentially the wish list of the Russians."

Senator Rounds confirms that the 28 point plan was delivered to Steve Witkoff.  Further,  "This was a proposal which was received by someone who has identified and they believed to be representing Russia in this proposal. It was given to Steve Witkoff."

And Senator Rounds says there are no threats to cut off American weapons or intelligence: "With regard to the discussion that there would be threats of items taken... information being withheld and so forth-- Secretary Rubio did say that he was not aware of any of that." 

 So what is this crap that 47 has been spewing about Ukraine has to roll over or the US abandons them?  And who told Secretary Driscoll to present this to the Ukrainians with a deadline?

Here is the presser if you want to watch. 

Hike and Ukraine

Wednesday night it rained pigs and chickens.  There was thunder and lightning in the dark.  During the night, it rained a lot. Thursday the streets were wet, so there was no riding.  It gets the bikes dirty, we hate that.  Once again we hiked.  It's going well, we're walking faster.  The air after it rains is amazing.  Most of the time, we're looking through dust and haze, when it rains the air is clean.  We took pictures.

 

Another very dead cactus.

This is our old house, the one I refer to as Ten Star.  It was a great house, but it got too much setting sun, really really hot in the afternoon.  This is my pride and joy bougainvillea.  It was bigger when I was caring for it.  They don't cover it when it's going to go below freezing.

Today was cold and gloomy.  We went grocery shopping.  The refrigerator was empty, it was just sad.  We went to Costco, that was dumb.  It's almost Thanksgiving, and they were all out buying turkeys and pie.  At Safeway we bought enough food so that we don't have to get back into a store until after the big day.  So, no more going to the north end of town until after Christmas.

 

The tragically empty refrigerator.
 

We all know about the peace deal that the US is proposing.  It's bad, really bad.  This is a quote from a substack written by Philips Obrien.  This is the most salient paragraph.  It's a short read, and worth your time.

Trump wants a peace deal that rewards Putin and punishes Ukraine. He wants a peace deal with no European input and which he can impose on Ukraine. He wants to get back to business with Putin as soon as possible and start making money. In sum, he does not care about democracy or freedom, indeed Trump wants to punish both. He wants to work with and reward a dictatorship—and now, finally, the media must acknowledge that.  

Here is the "peace plan" proposed by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, dictated to them by Putin.

1. Ukraine's sovereignty to be reconfirmed.

2. There will be a total and complete comprehensive non-aggression agreement between Russia, Ukraine and Europe. All ambiguities of the last 30 years will be considered resolved.

3. There will be the expectation that Russia will not invade its neighbours and NATO will not expand further.

4. A dialogue between Russia and NATO, moderated by the United States, will convene to address all security concerns and create a de-escalatory environment to ensure global security and increase the opportunities for connectivity and future economic opportunity.

5. Ukraine will receive robust security guarantees.

6. The size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be capped at 600,000.

7. Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO, and NATO agrees to pass in its bylaws not to accept Ukraine at any point in the future.

8. NATO agrees not to station any troops in Ukraine.

9. European fighter jets will be stationed in Poland.

10. The U.S. guarantee:

a. The U.S. to receive compensation for the guarantee;

b. If Ukraine invades Russia, it forfeits the guarantee;

c. If Russia invades Ukraine, in addition to a robust coordinated military response, all global sanctions will be restored and recognition for the new territory and all other benefits from this agreement will be withdrawn;

d. If Ukraine fires a missile at Moscow or St. Petersburg then, the security guarantee will be considered null and void.

11. Ukraine is eligible for EU membership and will get short-term preferred market access to the European market while this issue is being evaluated.

12. Robust Global Redevelopment Package for Ukraine including but not limited to:

a. Creation of Ukraine Development Fund to invest in high-growth industries including technology, data centers, and AI efforts.

b. The United States will partner with Ukraine to jointly restore, grow, modernize, and operate Ukraine's gas infrastructure, which includes its pipelines and storage facilities.

c. A joint effort to redevelop areas impacted by the war to restore, redevelop and modernize cities and residential areas.

d. Infrastructure development.

e. Mineral and natural resource extraction.

f. A special financing package will be developed by The World Bank to provide financing to accelerate these efforts.

13. Russia to be re-integrated into the global economy:

a. Sanction relief will be discussed and agreed upon in phases and on a case-by-case basis.

b. The United States will enter into a long-term Economic Co-operation Agreement to pursue mutual development in the areas of energy, natural resources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data centers, rare earth metal projects in the Arctic as well as other mutually beneficial corporate opportunities.

c. Russia to be invited back into the G8.

14. Frozen funds will be used as follows:

$100 billion of the frozen Russian funds will be invested in a US-led effort to reconstruct and invest in Ukraine. The US will receive 50% of the profits from this venture. Europe will match this $100 billion contribution to increase the investment available to rebuild Ukraine. The European funds that are frozen will be released. The balance of the frozen Russian funds will be invested in a separate US-Russia investment vehicle that will pursue joint United States Russia projects in areas to be defined. This fund will aim to strengthen the relationship and increase joint interests to build a strong motivation not to return to conflict.

15. A joint US-Russian Security taskforce will be established to promote and enforce compliance with all of the provisions of this agreement.

16. Russia will legislatively enshrine a non-aggression policy towards Europe and Ukraine.

17. The United States and Russia will agree to extend nuclear non-proliferation control treaties, including the START I Treaty.

18. Ukraine agrees to be a non-nuclear state under the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons).

19. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will be restarted under supervision of the IAEA, and the produced power shall be equitably in a 50-50 split between Russia and Ukraine.

20. Both countries commit to education programs in schools and throughout their society that promotes the understanding and tolerance of different cultures and eliminates racism and bias:

a. Ukraine will adopt EU rules of religious tolerance and the protection of linguistic minorities.

b. Both countries agree to repeal all discriminatory measures and guarantee the rights of Ukrainian and Russian media and education.

c. All Nazi ideology or activity should be renounced and forbidden.

21. Territories:

a. Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk to be recognized De-Facto as Russian, including by the United States.

b. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be frozen at the contact line, which would mean a De-Facto recognition at the contact line.

c. Russia to give up other agreed upon territories they control outside of the five regions

d. Ukrainian forces will withdraw from the part of Donetsk region that they currently control, and this withdrawal area will be considered a neutral demilitarized buffer zone, internationally recognized as territory belonging to the Russian Federation. Russian forces will not enter this demilitarized zone.

22. Once future territorial arrangements have been agreed, both the Russian Federation and Ukraine undertake not to change these arrangements by force. Any security guarantees will not apply in the event of a breach of this obligation.

23. Russia shall not obstruct Ukraine's use of the Dnieper River for purposes of commercial activities and agreements will be reached for grain shipments to move freely through the Black Sea.

24. A humanitarian committee will be established to resolve open issues:

a. All remaining prisoners and bodies will be exchanged on the principle of 'all for all'.

b. All civilian detainees and hostages will be returned, including children.

c. There will be a family reunification program

d. Provisions will be made to address the suffering of victims from the conflict.

25. Ukraine to hold elections in 100 days.

26. All parties involved in this conflict will receive full amnesty for wartime actions during the war and agree not to pursue claims or further settle grievances.

27. This agreement will be legally binding. Its implementation will be monitored and guaranteed by a Board of Peace, Chaired by President Donald J. Trump. There will be penalties for violation.

28. Upon all sides agreeing to this memorandum, a ceasefire will be immediately effective upon both parties withdrawing to the agreed upon points for the implementation of the agreement to begin.

 

This is a terrible plan.  It requires Ukraine to give up territory.  It dictates actions to Poland, NATO and the EU.  It requires Ukraine to rely on the US for security.  We are terrible allies, we've proved that over and over.  This plan sucks and everybody knows it.  47 is saying if they don't accept it, the US will cut off intelligence and money.  It's time for Europe to quit clutching their pearls and step up.  They need to remember that when Russia invades Ukraine after they break the peace, all that Ukrainian technology and know-how will be pointed at them. 

 

This is a sad day. 

 

 

Ride and Sunset

It was a cloudy, windy day today.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so possibly it was a front moving through.  Meteorologists used to talk about fronts, high and low pressure, and what was causing the weather.  No more, now they're all heavily made up dunderheads that know nothing.  Anyway, it did cool off.  Today is the first day since we got back that we wore long pants in the house.

We went for a bike ride wearing arm warmers.  Also the first time for that.  It was a nice ride, especially with the wind behind us.  The clouds were pretty good.

We saw this flower at the top of the hill.  It's a desert rose mallow (Hibiscus coulteri), and is native to this area.

This is a banana yucca (Yucca baccata) and is also native to the area.  They're a fairly unattractive plant, but look at the bloom they produce.

Here is a close up.

There was a sunset tonight.  We don't have the unobstructed view to the west that we had when we lived on Ten Star, I think we may start driving to a high point when a sunset is likely.  This one wasn't too bad.

Other than that, I have not too much to say about anything.

Smoke Detectors and a Hike

Greetings fellow members of Biosphere One. 

Last Thursday one of the smoke alarms started chirping.  We had a 9 volt battery on hand, and so we replaced it.  I ordered another pair of 9 volts because we figured the other one would go off.  We particularly did not want that to happen over the summer while we're gone.  So, we replaced that battery as well.  Night before last, the smoke detector with the brand new battery went off at 2am.  I guess they're old and this is their way of telling us it's time.  So, we went out and bought two smoke detectors intending to install them where the old ones had been on the wall.  Nope.  You can't do that. 

Battery-operated alarms are not designed for junction box installation.  Air currents around junction boxes can prevent smoke from reaching the sensing chamber and prevent the unit from alarming. Only AC powered units are intended for installation over junction boxes.  Installing battery-operated detectors over electrical junction boxes may also lead to nuisance alarms or chirps.

It was such a good idea, the 10 year smoke alarms don't need yearly battery replacements.  They just sit there and wait for a fire.   The paint under one of the detectors is intact, we'll put a blank cover plate over the box, and we won't look there.  The other one was painted around, and has left a large ugly missing area of paint.  Of course, it's the only wall color we don't have a paint code for, so we're going to hang art over it.  We'll be leaving three pieces of art when we leave this place, which are covering up various problems, two of which were caused by the previous owner.

Today, for the first time since we got here, we hiked.  It was only 70 minutes, but there was a fair amount of up down.   It started out cloudy, got better, and then it rained on us.  

This cactus has a lot going on at the top of his head.  I'll be surprised if any of those become arms.

Sun on a mountain.

Very dead saguaro.

View out in the distance.

It was a good hike.  Jim did well, his previous hip/thigh pain did not manifest.  My left hip is still a pain, but it's not any worse than it was, so I guess I will be happy with that. 

Here is the canvas art that's coming to hide flaws on the walls.  One is to cover a painted over picture hanger, and the other is the aforementioned paint mess from the removed smoke detector. 

Tomorrow is the dermatologist for Jim, and blood work for both of us in advance of the yearly physicals.

47 has decided to have the DOJ investigate Democrats and their affiliation with Epstein.  The current theory is that they think if there is an open investigation, the files can not be released.  That may be true, but it will give Bill Clinton access to all materials under discovery.

So, that's what's shaking in Ye Olde Pueblo.
 

Landscaping and Sin

Well, there is peace in the valley once again.  The landscapers arrived bright and early, bringing boulders and rock.  Those guys are so strong, one man was pushing the boulders out of the trailer.  Here are a few pictures.

Here we are, delivering the small rock.

They're big rocks.

The one on the right wouldn't balance, so they shoved a rock  under it to keep it upright.  You can't see it from the street.  It's bad to plant anything under a mesquite tree.  They drop stuff and then the homeowner has to dig it out of the plantings.  Boulders will be much easier to maintain.

We had a front yard rock refresh.  It looks good and will last a few years.  This is what we do in the desert.  Only golf courses can afford to plant grass and keep it alive.  Plus, it's a sin of the first order to waste drinking water on a useless mono-culture.

Above is yet another mesquite.  It does not drip as much debris as the one on the right side of the yard (facing the house).

This is what our tax dollars are paying for.  This was posted by DHS.  There is an article about the whack memes that are coming out of the current administration.  In it they refer to the posts as "4-chan shit."  They're right.

Last night someone took this aurora photo.  It was on the neighborhood face book page, but I don't know where it was taken.  It's a pretty photo.  I think it's photo-shopped some.

Jim just took this from the driveway.  Sunsets don't get really colorful until December, but it's pretty good.

I could go on, talking about Megyn Kelly saying that sex with 15 year old girls really isn't all that bad, or the Epstein emails that show him colluding with Russia, or 47 spending hours in Epstein's house with a child.  But I won't.