ballpoint

Just a little update on the situation with my son because some of you have been pretty concerned. Thank you for that. He's taken going to jail pretty hard. He's refusing all food, he's swearing and screaming and is highly unpleasant with anyone who comes near him. He's graffitied the walls and is refusing to wear clothes. As a family we're pretty united in our decision never to play Monopoly with him ever again

I once spent 10 days in the ICU of an upcountry public hospital here. They saved my life. The care I received was excellent, and, if I compare it with my brother's tale of his recent experience in an Australian public hospital, far better than he got. I've also had stays in three different upcountry private hospitals - including one for an operation, and was very happy with the way I was treated in those too.

I'm devastated. I tried to use Pen15 as a password, but my computer said it isn't long enough.

I just watched a BBC report showing dozens of his followers waving the US flag and chanting U S A as he arrived at Mar-a-largo, where he'll be staying for his court appearance. How do these people reconcile their show of patriotism with the fact that he's essentially on trial for treason - possessing classified documents that could seriously have a detrimental effect on the security of the country, and its allies, should they be viewed by the wrong people? The fact that he continues to cozy up to at least some of those "wrong" people only exacerbates the situation. My conclusion is that some refuse to believe it - even if it's pointed out in court beyond reasonable doubt they'll continue denying it, like many do after a huge tragedy in their lives, they're that far down the rabbit hole. And the rest don't care. They know the emperor has no clothes, but they'll support anyone who helps push their agenda and warped values. No matter the consequences to the country. John Bolton, not someone I usually agree with, shows honour in this CNN clip, which is where the following screenshot comes from, laying out in pretty blunt terms one of the accusations in the inditement. If this proves to be true then it's not just Americans who need to be horrified by his actions, but citizens of every Western, democratic nation. You may choose to argue that he legally or illegally had these documents - though the case for "legally" is pretty thin, but there can be no argument over whether it was right, and prudent, for him to do so. What purpose did it serve? What were his intentions when he took them to Mar-a-largo and tried to hide the fact that he had them?

As per my previous post, I'll wait till incontrovertible proof of this, so far whistle in the dark, comes out before condemning the man, but should it do so then I will condemn him. However, wouldn't it be funny if the two main candidates for next year's presidential election are running their campaigns from the same prison cell?

Someone forgot to top up the diesel generator that powers them.

Looking at it from a different angle, it wouldn't be so bad if this, so far unproven and unsubstantiated allegation from a right wing senator and reported by a right wing "news" channel on an increasingly white wing (auto-corrected, but I think I'll leave it as it is) social media site, is true. Unlike a certain other party, the Democrats are bigger than the man. Do the crime, face the consequences. At least it would mean there would be a fresh(er) candidate from them for the election. Who knows, Kamala might prove to be a great president when she's promoted to the job, and hand DeSantis's rear to him on a plate next year.

I finally solved the problem of the breaker always tripping...