My daylong struggles to fix the last post forced me to finally give up that effort. I took a brief interlude to go out for a flu shot today, but when I came back, the same problems still remained. The blog deities just kept on blocking and harassing me, continuing to do so with impunity and at every conceivable turn. So now they have won. I have simply surrendered. I'm just not sure quite what they have wanted, so it's been a lot of trial and error, mostly error, right here on my part. But that's all over now. Let's simply move on.

First, let's just briefly review the timeline leading to Tennessee's attempts to execute Christa Pike, the very first woman scheduled to be executed in that state in over 200 years. Back in January1995, more than 30 years ago, Pike, then age 18, had killed Colleen Slemmer, considering her to be a romantic rival--just killed her outright by hitting her on the head with a chunk of asphalt. Her accomplice boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was only age 17 at the time. Because of his age, Shipp was sentenced to life in prison and might eventually be released, though not any time soon. His next parole hearing is in October 2031, five years from now. Since his incarceration, Shipp has converted to Islam and wears a black skull cap and a flowing white beard. You can easily find his current image in the mainstream press, while I am still being blocked from using it here. The same now with Pike, but fairly soon both of their images will be readily available everywhere. Meanwhile, readers can certainly find those images for themselves.

After her original arrest back in 1996, Pike had been sentenced to death, then was kept in solitary confinement for more than 20 years until 2024, when a legal challenge allowed her to associate with other prisoners. Her escape plan back in 2012, concocted then with a prison guard, had been thwarted, so he was removed from his position, but she still remained in solitary for years after that.

Soon after being allowed to associate with other prisoners, just recently in 2024, Pike was accused of trying to strangle another inmate with a sash, but the actual circumstances are murky. Pike had argued that she was only trying to protect another prisoner, so she was not returned to solitary, but neither was she exonerated.

After exhausting all her appeals, Pike's death sentence was finally allowed to proceed, with the family of her victim, Colleen Slemmer, right there in the death chamber when she was given 2 supposedly lethal injections, but she still survived. Now the governor has suspended all executions in Tennessee at least until the end of the year.

Wash. Post, Florida executes inmate with same method used in botched case

Apparently, lethal injections can still work; it seems to be a question of hitting a vein not just tissue. (The executioner in Tennessee apparently has had a history of botched executions, fortunately for Pike so far.)

Better yet would be a moratorium on all executions everywhere, including here in the US. Norway has done it, even with their notorious serial killer, who has never been executed despite being responsible for so many deaths. He is on indefinite solitary confinement that keeps on being extended, with his food being delivered through a portal without any human contact.

Even better would be an elimination of the death penalty altogether, which would then give us all a chance to focus our attention elsewhere, as I plan to start doing here right now.

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Wash. Post, After heated hearing, judge orders Trump officials to testify about tree removal

Too late to stop it now, as numerous trees have already been cut down to smooth the way for Trump's future DC golf outings, which he apparently plans to continue enjoying in the nation's capital, even after his presidential term ends. He probably wants to stick around DC, even if no longer in office, to look over the shoulder and comment publicly on what Republican officer holders are doing there. He apparently has no plans to actually retire.

Willfully and deliberately ignoring the judge's orders not to remove them, the trees have already been cut down as per Mr. Trump's own commands to local workers. Now that the trees are all gone, what can the judge do then, since Donald Trump is actually the US president? Put him in jail? If she even tried to do that, Trump would simply exonerate himself.

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Like plunging a stick into a wasp nest just to see the result, Donald Trump now has found out what might actually happen after he had decided to bomb Iran for no reason. There actually was a reason, after all, to postpone his pal Netanyahu's corruption trial, which, in fact, has now been deferred. Have we forgotten all about that? Trump would really like to exit the Iran war, but he doesn't know just how. The war was very easy to start, just drop a few bombs and send in some missiles, but now is proving to be quite hard to actually end. Mr. Trump just doesn't seem to have found a way to end the hostilities. Nor is Iran calling "uncle" and so the war still continues.

Here us one of the longest wars in history, The Reconquista (711–1492). Lasting 781 years, this was a series of campaigns by successive Christian kings in the Iberian Peninsula launched to reclaim territory from Muslim rulers. Let's hope the Iran war doesn't last nearly that long.

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Wash. Post, Trump posts a made-up quote from Denzel Washington praising him

Can citizens trust Donald Trump to always tell the truth? Readers already know the answer.

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Pope Leo has just had surgery to remove a cancerous lung nodule. He is now in recovery.

Reuters' photo

People: At age 194, Jonathan the tortoise offers clues to longevity, study says

The research found a subset of Jonathan’s genes remained remarkably stable despite his age.

My own son Jonathan, bearing the same name, says maybe this tortoise is a very distance relative related to him from the Jurassic period.

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“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust” is apparently not in the Bible, but is often invoked at Christian burial ceremonies.

OK, folks, darkness has already fallen, so this post will be uploaded right now, before I go to bed, just in case it might disappear by the next morning.

I don't see my book titles being mentioned here any more, but if any reader can give me feedback on that, I would appreciate it.

Seen below is fall foliage in our own yard here in Berkeley Springs, followed by other images from the local Octoberfest celebration being held over this Columbus Day weekend. The days are still warm now with cool nights. We haven't turned our heat on yet, nor have we needed air conditioning this summer at all. It's really a rather comfortable climate here and right now is quite a lovely time of year.

Flowers abound in the center of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, our home town.

Here below are booths from Octoberfest now set up along Main Street.

Our celebration of Oktoberfest here in Berkeley Springs included experiencing a sudden power outage all over town on the evening of October 11, when so many visitors were here over the long Columbus Day (Indigenous People's Day) weekend. My son came home briefly from his work at the Coolfont Hotel, which was also in the dark, to bring me a flashlight.

Below, here is another local Halloween yard display.

Although we have been celebrating Columbus Day this weekend, Norway's Leif Erickson was actually here first.

AI Overview

Leif Erikson is most famous for being the first European to set foot on the North American continent, arriving around the year 1000 CE—nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. He was from the original territory that then became Norway.

“Leif Erikson Discovering America,” by Norwegian artist Christian Krohg.

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Alas, measles is still surging here in the US.

These graphics show how bad it has gotten https://apnews.com/article/measles-is-surging-in-the-us-these-graphics-show-how-bad-it-has-gotten-000001a1220ad818afebf28af3c30000?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=share The U.S. is enduring its worst year for measles since 1991. Since the beginning of last year, large outbreaks have been reported in several states, including Texas, Utah, South Carolina and, now, Pennsylvania.

RFK Jr. might point out that if children and even older unvaccinated people actually survive measles now, they will then be immune for life. I myself am immune, having suffered that illness and several others as a child before vaccines were available. But not everyone actually survives, or may only survive with lifelong problems. I feel fortunate to have reached age 88 without any major health problems attributable to common childhood illnesses that I contracted before vaccines were available. We had been quarantined with all those illnesses, isolated at home with warning signs posted on our front window. My own kids were all fully vaccinated, of course.

Wash. Post, Sixth person who had measles has died in Pennsylvania, local coroner says

Not everyone actually survives measles and other childhood illnesses. Resumption of regular childhood vaccinations would have prevented those deaths and any subsequent disability among survivors. Even folks who cannot be vaccinated themselves can be protected by "herd immunity." Measles had been eradicated in the US until RFK Jr. came on the scene. Now measles and other former childhood illnesses are back again with a vengeance.

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Wash, Post, ‘Furious’ judge halts tree removal, demands answers on Trump’s D.C. golf plan

The judge lambasted the administration for ignoring her repeated pleas not to continue work on the historic East Potomac course: “There’s no excuse for this.” Government lawyers said about 430 trees were removed.

Donald Trump certainly likes golf and apparently plans to keep on playing golf in DC even when his presidential term is up. He does not seem to be particularly concerned with saving trees. His local golf game is much more important and he'd still like to keep his heavy hand on the operation of the government, even should he no longer have any formal role.

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Saudi Arabia intercepts three missiles as capital’s international airport remains closed after deadly Houthi attacks

Wash. Post, Saudi Arabia vows retaliation against Houthis after airport strike kills at least 12

People gather outside a metro station on the road to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 10, 2026.

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Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, center below, takes part in a flower laying ceremony during a commemoration on 15 years after the terrorist attack in which 77 people died in 2011, on July 22, 2026.

Norway's mass murderer. who shall remain nameless and is not being depicted here, is under indefinite solitary confinement, expressing no remorse whatsoever while still espousing Nazi ideology. He has no contact with other humans, with his food being delivered through a portal.

Christa does not seem to have been rehabilitated even after her many years inprison as when she had a disputed with another inmate, she had tried to strangle her.

Politics & Policy

Hegseth says public can watch Fort Hood shooter's execution.

Is that really something that many people will want to witness? Perhaps yes, just like they used to gather around the noose, firing squad, or guillotine of old.

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Here's a tragedy that has occurred in my former DC neighborhood, where I'd lived for more than 50 years.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed “deep sadness” over the sudden death of Talib Shakir,

Shakir, 50, was killed in a deadly electric scooter collision evening of Friday, October 9, 2026. He was a prominent city official who served as the director of the Mayor's Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA).

The Incident

Location: The crash occurred just before 7:00 p.m. at the intersection of 8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE on Capitol Hill.

Details: Shakir was operating an e-scooter when he collided with a female rider on a second scooter. When D.C. police arrived, Shakir was found unconscious and not breathing.

Outcome: Both riders were rushed to a local hospital, where Shakir was pronounced dead. The second rider had sustained injuries but she was treated and released.