And here we are again, with Congressional hearings about another Republican attempt to steal a presidential election.

I remember hearing just one broadcast news story about a break-in at Dem headquarters in DC right after the burglars were caught. I also remember thinking (naively as it turned out), "Wow. This is big. How will it affect the election?"

But that was it. No more news stories about it that day or the next. Hushed up. Until months later (after the election), when a few stories trickled out but were mostly ignored.

Not until the Congressional hearings did the country realize what was going on inside the Nixon administration regarding the Watergate break-in. Even then, we did not get the full story because Nixon resigned, was pardoned, and all further investigations stopped.

This time, we cannot let the perpetrators and co-conspirators get off so easily. Dig up every bit of information and evidence. Prosecute them. If that had been done 50 years ago, we might not be where we are today.

See pic in post #1 below.

Stirewalt strongly resembles Hoss Cartwright (Dan Blocker) from Bonanza?

I kept waiting for him to put on a cowboy hat and ride out of the room on a horse.

Like most cats, Ember loves looking out the window, especially in spring and summer when there is more going on. I have an upper floor apartment with a view for several blocks.

As soon as the sun comes up in the morning, Ember is on the window sill, checking for any changes that might have happened overnight. But this morning, there was a thick fog, blocking out everything except a building across the street, which looked weirdly like it was floating since the ground below it and sky above it were not visible.

Poor Ember looked startled at the scene. She stretched her neck forward as if she could not believe her eyes. I gave her some reassuring scritches, a kiss on the head, and a hug. Told her it would be "all right" later. She knows that the words "all right" mean nothing to get alarmed about. But I think she felt cheated. She jumped down to the floor and has not looked out since.

It is starting to clear up now. Once it does, I expect she'll be back at her window post.

DNA analysis of remains of 13 year old reveals a Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father. This is the first time that a first generation hybrid, with 50/50 DNA has been found.

The article suggests that part of the reason that Neanderthals and Denisovans no longer exist is that they were absorbed into the Sapiens population through interbreeding rather than due to disease or inter species fighting.

According to the article, everywhere in Asia and among Native Americans there is less than 1% Denisovan DNA. There is 5% Denisovan DNA in Papua New Guinea and among Aboriginal Australians.

One Denisovan legacy is a mutatin of gene EPAS1 that makes it easier for the body to access oxygen. This gene is found in 90% of Tibetans and 9% of Han Chinese.

I wonder if that gene variant accounts for the Native people of Peru where the people lived in the Andes Mountains and the Inca Empire used runners to carry messages at those mountain heights.

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-neandertal-mother-denisovan-fathernewly-sequenced-genome.html

I have been thinking about showing support for gun control by wearing an armband every day to mourn all the people killed by firearms, especially in mass shootings, in the US.

A plain orange armband, or one with a message on it, like "Stop the killings." Or, "Stop the insanity."

Initially I thought of black armbands as a traditional color for mourning, but since orange is the choice for gun control support, then orange armbands would convey the message.

An armband can be worn daily, while an orange shirt is not likely daily wear.

The point is to keep the symbol visible so that people do not forget, and to show politicians how much support for gun control there is. It would not take the place of action, but would be supplemental to working for change. A reminder to people to vote out the politicians who refuse to take action.

(NOTE: This was edited to choose orange instead of my original thought of black for mourning.)

It is as relevant today as it was then.

Get Together, by The Youngbloods.