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.