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Some folks have asked about our mailing address here:

3 Bayonet Court, Berkeley Springs, WV. 25411

I recently got a surprise phone call from my younger sister Betty. Her family doesn't have email; they are completelty off the grid, which actually has some benefits. No junk postal mail, no spam, no invasive emails, no ads, and no threats--complete privacy, in fact, almost as if they don't exist.

A friend commented on my adverse reaction to leaving my DC house: "I am not surprised that leaving your house on Capitol Hill was such a psychological shock and threw you for a loop. What a fabulous house and you obviously put a lot of effort and thought into period furnishings and also filling it with mementos from your travels."

Yes, I really still miss my DC home and all my good friends and neighbors there, but at age 87, I'm now committed to starting a new life with my son right here in rural W Va.

To make matters worse after my departure from my DC house, a toilet there was left running, so my water bill skyrocketed. The water company alerted me recently by email of excessive water usage. How did that happen? What other damage could be done by workmen with keys or by potential buyers coming in to see the house and also using the bathroom? Someone had left a toilet running. I've since had all the water turned off inside.

Just now outside our rural home in W Va., I saw 9 wild geese of various hues (much like these below).

They all came swooping down, then started waddling nonchalantly around our yard, pecking at the ground. I stood there just mesmerized when, suddenly, whoosh, they rose all together and were gone.

JUST IN: Tornado Watch in effect for D.C. area

By ARLnow.com

A tornado warning for our region of W Va. came in on Friday afternoon. We went out for a drive despite the dark thunder clouds and pouring rain. Few other cars were on the road. The weather here in May has been much cooler than usual.

DC’s largest high school, formerly known as Woodrow Wilson High School, which my own kids attended under the old name, is now Jackson-Reed High School. That change went into effect 2 years ago following calls to remove the former president’s name, arguing that he represented a racist legacy. Community members cited Wilson’s discriminatory policies toward black residents in Northwest Washington, where the high school is located. So what name do my kids use now for the school on their resumes? Actually both.

A friend has responded: A side note: Between 2004 and 2007 when I was a grad student at American University (while working as a Spanish teacher at bi-lingual Bancroft ES in Mt. Pleasant), I had a couple of evening classes that were held at Woodrow Wilson HS, I suppose for lack of available classroom space on the AU campus, some 10 or so blocks away.

My own high school is one you've never heard of, Gimnasio Femenino, in Bogotá, Colombia, a city of almost 8 million people, located at an elevation of 8,661 feet. Another city I've lived in, Denver, the "Mile-High City", is some 5,280 ft. above sea level.

As you might have guessed from its name, my own high school was an all-girls' school. After finishing there at age 16, I went on to college in California, where I graduated cum laude from UC/Berkeley with a BA and an MA and also met my late former husband of 24 years, but that's another story. My adopted son Jonathan, living with me now, was actually born in Bogotá.

I tend to think of our lives as being on a rollercoaster, with ups and downs and unexpected turns, followed by brief periods of calm before the next surprise. We do have some control, but really not very much at all. We just go along for the ride.

Judge spares Trump from massive DOGE lawsuit — leaving Elon Musk holding the bag for

‘unauthorized role’ TACO, an acronym that stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” was coined by

Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong. It has since become a favorite among stockbrokers. Simply put, the
the tongue-in-cheek term describes how markets dip on President Trump’s tariff threats, only to rebound
when he inevitably reverses course.

CBS News: During an Oval Office send-off Friday marking the end of his formal role with the Trump

administration, Elon Musk lashed out when asked about a New York Times report alleging he was a

frequent user of the drug ketamine during the 2024 campaign.

"The New York Times, is that the same publication that got a Pulitzer Prize for false reporting on the

Russiagate?" Musk asked while standing alongside President Trump, "Let's move on."

(There are even rumors of a subsequent physical brawl.)

Musk's remarks came on the same day that the Times reported he had used ketamine as often as once a

day in 2024. Musk has told people he took ketamine so frequently that it affected his bladder, and he has

also used ecstasy and magic mushrooms.

A member of my own family with some experience with ketamine said of Musk, "Yeah, he's definitely a

ketamine addict."

Poll: How tariffs are tanking Trump’s approval rating A new Yahoo News/YouGov survey finds that 54% of

Americans now disapprove of the president’s job performance — and even more think he’s ‘gone too far’ on trade.

In a post on X, former President Joe Biden shared a message about his recent prostate cancer diagnosis alongside
a photo of himself with his wife, former first lady Dr. Jill Biden, and their cat Willow.
(He's stolen our dog Wiilow's name!)

World Boxing: Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif must undergo a gender test. The Algerian fighter who won as a female amid controversy at the Paris Olympics will undergo a blood test for gender before competing again.

The presence of a Y chromosome usually indicates that someone is male. All humans apparently start out in the womb as female before differentiating. There are also rare feminine-appearing and female-identified adults with a Y chromosome. Is this Olympic boxer one of them?

When 2 women marry, as in the photo above, one usually wears male attire. But when 2 men marry, both wear suits.

US court won't lift judge's block on Trump's government overhaul

Donald Trump is the president, not a king or dictator with unchecked power.

NY Times,

Trump Officials Deported Another Man Despite Court Order

An appeals panel ordered officials not to deport a 31-year-old to El Salvador. It happened anyway. The government blamed “administrative errors.”

No effort has been made to remedy such "administrative errors" by bringing back someone wrongly deported.

Trump seems to enjoy being deliberately cruel and causing anguish, something not normally expected of an elected official. He simply ignores rules and laws, considering himself above the law.

US judge blocks Trump from invalidating 5,000 Venezuelans' legal documents

Wash, Post, Israeli troops kill over 30 near U.S. aid site in Gaza, health officials say

Over 170 were wounded heading to a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid point, the Health Ministry said. Israel’s military said it was “unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire.”

Isn't the purpose of IDF fire to actually injure and kill people?

More white South Africans arrive in the US under a new refugee program

While Mr. Trmp has closed off most US immigration, he's made an exception for white South

Africans, declaring them to be a besieged minority.

My late father was born in Alberta, where separatist rumblings have been heard lately, as also has happened in Quebec. But it is unlikely that most Albertans would really want to leave Canada, just as most folks in Quebec would opt to stay if actually pressed on the issue. Besides, where would they go? Joining the USA certainly doesn't look like an enticing prospect these days with the very impulsive and mercurial Donald Trump at the helm for 4 more years.

It would be wonderful to go back again to Copán, Honduras. My father did archeological work there in 1940 when I was only 2. We rode into the area then on horseback; I rode with my dad, my baby brother with our mother. That journey is one of my earliest memories.

I still feel amazed whenever I visit Copán. I've been there many times.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14761843/New-DNA-analysis-uncovers-shocking-clues-Maya-civilizations-mysterious-collapse.html

I've been active with Amnesty International for more than 50 years, and was even awarded a commenorative plaque, though after my recent move, who know where it is now? My belongings here in W Va. are still in disarray.

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Amnesty International USA: You’re Invited: Urgent Legal Analysis on Genocide in Gaza

How did Israel, initially the victim of a surprise attack that garnered worldwide sympathy, end up as a villain now in the court of world opinion? It was not happenstance. Lately, the Israeli government and military forces have been acting with complete impunity, killing and wounding civilians, commiting deliberate abuses against women and children in Gaza, all without facing any apparent pushback from the US government. On the contrary, our country under Trump keeps supplying Israel with the lethal means to carry out its ongoing genocide.

Wash, Post, Europe’s leaders are scolding Israel over Gaza, but will they go further?