February 8, 2026

Sorry not sorry.

February 3, 2026

She's no Tammy Faye

Criticism and conspiracy theories swirl around Charlie Kirk's widow Erika Kirk. It is her attempt to achieve a successful widow's succession, like Isabel Peron or Mary Bono, that is generating heat. Turning Point's proximity to the bro-sphere will likely clip her wings, thereby making any widow-bashing on the left gratuitous. Some have called out the Widow Kirk's crying as unconvincing and have therefore compared her to Tammy Faye Baker Messner. I find this unfair to the memory of Tammy Faye and dismissive of Tammy Faye's legacy as an LGBTQ+ icon. We remember Tammy Faye's cartoonish makeup, her strange affect, and her marriage to crooked husbands. But Tammy Faye broke out of the fundamentalist mold when Aids raged and the gay community was under attack by many other so-called Christians. Her historical 1985 interview with Steve Pieters, a gay pastor suffering Aids, is still moving and her tears are genuine. Though her approach now seems dated or naiive, she tried to show WWJD (what would Jesus do?). Two years later, Princess Diana publicly held the hand of an Aids patient, a historic moment in the public understanding of Aids transmission. The clip below is 5 minutes of Tammy Faye's culture-changing interview. Please do not hang the Erika albatross around her neck.

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/tammy-faye-bakker-s-groundbreaking-1985-interview-with-aids-patient-121068613697

February 2, 2026

Birdfy and AI

I got one of those Birdfy bird feeders with a camera for Christmas. I am really enjoying it. I've had 60 birds just this morning! My son also bought the AI add-on, which identifies the birds. Part of the fun is finally learning which sparrow is which. And, perversely, part of the fun is being smarter than AI. For example, I am in Cincinnati and AI identified sevrral birds as Anna's hummingbirds. The pictures show the infamous Blurry Birds or LBJ (Little Brown Jobs). As you know, Anna's humming bird lives on the North American West Coast. Yes, it could happen, birds get blown away or transported, but you need more than a blurry picture of a part of a brown bird to document that. As Sagan said, "Extraordinary claims reqire extraordinary evidence." I promise that if I do get a clear photo of that hummingbird (or a UFO), I will post it to DU. 🐦🐦‍⬛🛸👽

January 31, 2026

Need help with Kirk cluelessness

Until he was killed, I don't recall ever hearing of Charlie Kirk. The hoopla following his death seemed unreal to me. Generally, I check the daily online headlines on DU, Huff Post, ABC, NBC, CBS (not anymore), Google News For You (has some local headlines), and Ms-now. Maybe I skipped over stuff about Kirk? Maybe those outlets never featured him? If you had heard of Kirk before his death, what was the source of that news stream? 🤔 What am I missing? 😕

January 29, 2026

The Third Amendment? Call me Cassandra...

ICE is using DHS 'administrative warrants', not warrants signed by any judge in the judiciary, to break into homes to apprehend people they have targeted, potentially due to language or skin color. Meanwhile, some ICE agents have been harassed at places where they intended to use a public bathroom; ICE Barbie was denied access in Chicago. I predict that DHS 'administrative warrants' will soon be approved for agents who want to barge into your home, without your consent, to use your bathroom. The Third Amendment prohibits mandatory housing of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent, but the Constitution is already serving as ICE's toilet paper. Paranoia or second sight; we shall see.

January 27, 2026

Do something.

I don't know what to do, but I am determined to do something. So far, just $ donations. For me, this story of the 10 Irish ladies fighting apartheid was both entertaining and inspiring.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1GdssTQ36B/

January 7, 2026

Disturbed by Rexulti tv commercial

I'm trying to relax after listening to the Jan 6 hearings today. So I am watching "Frasier" on ROKU and this commercial keeps running. It shows a worried family seated around the dinner table with an elderly woman with a blank look on her face. The text runs, "[He] developed agitation that may happen with dementia due to Alzheimer disease. [He] started verbally lashing out, breaking things, wandering at night. These symptoms were a different kind of difficult..." So, folks, if only Rexulti could fix this agitation in the White House.

January 1, 2026

Happy New Year!

Controversial series, but I did love the version of Robert Burn' song.

?si=nOZ7_iOwWGN2ssp8

[The link was corrupted, so I am trying again. Check out this video, "auld lang syne sex in the city version" https://share.google/nQudu7ifYL2FQHzYD]

November 25, 2025

Lost my Wolfie on Saturday

One time I was playing Sinead O'Connor singing "Nothing Compares to You" on my phone. Her voice so clear, so plaintiff. Then Wolfie climbs up on the bed and nudged my face, his abundant whiskers tickling my face. He heard distress and was there comforting me. I shut off the song. I pet him and reassured him. I haven't played that song since. But losing him a couple days ago, I hear the words from that song in my head; "It's been so lonely without you here, Like a bird without a song." He was a stray and I was lucky enough to have him for 14 of his 15 years.

November 23, 2024

Scientific anniversary

100 years today, the news was announced that Edwin Hubble had discovered that the Milky Way was not the only galaxy in the universe.
https://www.alternet.org/milky-way/