The feminists and celebrities who rightfully held up signs calling for the release of the Boko Haram hostages should be calling for the release of the Israeli young women still being held by Hamas. The fact that they are not is disgraceful

Finished reading The Moonstone (1868) by Wilkie Collins a novel about a yellow diamond that adorns the statue of the Hindu God of the Moon. A British army officer while in India steals the gem, killing the Hindu priests guarding it. One of the priests warns the soldier he will pay for his crime. The soldier takes the gem to England and it turns out the diamond is a curse and then it goes missing. The Moonstone has been called the first British Detective novel. It's long but I enjoyed it

What has happened in the last few weeks on college campuses, people ripping down posters of hostages, blaming Israel and no condemnation of Hamas has reminded me that while I loathe Trump and fear the far right, the far left is no answer either. I always knew this of course but now I know it deeply.

In the nearly 48-hours since the militant Palestinian terror group Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel, former Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have not said a word - Daily Mail

Why this silence from Obama and Bill Clinton? They have people who could write something quick expressing support for the Israeli people.

Bill Clinton and Obama can see on CNN the horrific videos of the innocent hostages & have said nothing and it's becoming disgraceful

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?" - Rabbi Hillel

Started watching Gunsmoke reruns, the early years when it was still a half hour show and I can wee why millions tuned in each week back in the 1950's and early 60's. Dodge City was a violent town but Marshall Matt Dillon, Deputy Chester Goode, Miss Kitty and Doc Adams were family to each other and that's what makes the show so great..
A talented cast and good writing as well.

Gunsmoke is a nice sabbatical from what's going on right now in the news.

What us wrong with Trump? All he had to do is wish people a Happy Rosh Hashannah. But he had to tack on his own nastiness and grievances and make it all about himself.. We have to defeat him in 2024. Our democracy and certainly our sanity depend on it.

Just finished watching The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence starring John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Vera Miles. It's a Western but it doesn't end the way you think it's going to. The ending leaves you with alot to think about. Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne are always good but I was also very impressed with Vera Miles. She was a very talented and interesting actress and I am going to llook out for more films she is in.

Trump will be on Meet The Press tomorrow. It makes me mad because Trump will just talk over the interviewer and say what he wants to say. And even if the reporter is relentless they will feel they have to be professional even though Trump deserves none of it.

What needs to happen in an interview is to ask questions that get Trump angry. Keep asking him about Putin and Kim Jung and stay on that for the whole interview if you have to. Don't let him dodge.

How often does El Nino occur?

"Typically every 2 to 7 years and the conditions last for 7 to 9 months" - Country Living

Thank you to the magazine Country Living. I live I Florida and need to know more about the environment and had no clue what El Nino is and I am no scientist. But at least now thanks to Country Living and NOAA I have a basic definition and wanted to share the info.

More about El Nino:

""In the US the strongest effects from El Nino happen in the late fall and winter according to NOAA. The northern parts of the US and Canada can expect to see drier and warmer conditions that can cause drought and wildfires but the southern US and Gulf Coast regions can see wetter conditions that can lead to flooding. El Nino can supress hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean but increase the likelihood of hurricanes in the Pacific basin" - Country Living

Hurricane season & keep hearing about El Nino? What is it?

"El Nino is a climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean & under normal conditions trade winds blow west along the equator taking warm water from South America to Asia. To replace the warm water, cold water rises from the depths - a process called upswelling"

"El Nino is a change in that typical pattern. During El Nino the trade winds weaken and the warm winds are pushed towards the west coast of the US and South America" - Country Living

DO NOT DISGARD YOUR PRIOR JOURNALS. REREAD THEM AND RIP OUT THOSE PAGES WHERE YOU WORRY THAT A FAMILY MEMBER MIGHT BE HURT IF THEY WERE TO READ YOUR DIARY

BUT KEEP THE REMAINDER OF YOUR DARY AND CONTINUE TO READ IT. YOU WILL LEARN SO MUCH ABOUT YOURSELF IN YOUR PRIOR JOURNALS AND WHAT TO DO AND NOT DO IN THE FUTURE.

You know who seems to have dropped out of the news? Kari Lake. Haven't heard about her in awhile and that's a good thing.

Has anyone read Such Kindness by Andre Dubus III? I am halfway through and it's a brilliant novel. The main character Tom Lowe is also the narrator and so how you feel about him will effect your feelings about the book. I'll be frank I know Tom has had alot of bad luck and I empathize but I am not bonding with him yet.. I hope that will change by the time I get to the end. Would be curious what others who have read the novel think.

What I have learned is that a talented reader on Audible can enhance a book, make it even better.

But a bad reader on Audible who reads in a droning bored and weary voice can absolutely ruin the book and often those readers are the authors themselves who wrote very good books, bestsellers even, but insisted they do their own narration on Audible.

The mug shots today of Trump's co-defendents is quite something. I never thought we would get here. I assumed only the low level capital rioters would face accountability and I was even discounting the indictments until Georgia.

Trump cannot pardon himself out of Georgia and what makes these mug shots so important is that should Trump be reelected they are a reminder to anyone else who enters the White House and does the bidding of a dishonest President, that this could happen to you

I no longer feel DeSantis would be an improvement over Trump. The final straw is the story out of NH where DeSantis told a gathering that on day one he would start "slitting throats". He didn't mean it literally but in his rhetoric he continously shows how much rage is in him.

And where does the rage come from? To my knowledge he hasn't had a hard life. He's had a good life & yet the meaness is always just under the surface

I loathe Trump but DeSantis would be an equal disaster as President

"I discovered that he, the author at once of my existence and of its unspeakable torments, dared to hope for happiness; that while he accumulated wretchedness and despair upon me he sought his own enjoyment in feelings and passions from the indulgence of which I was forever barred" - Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

It's such a powerful book, a classic well worth your time.

"Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has not been seen in public since June 24, appears to be in a decidedly perilous limbo .. “He is in St Petersburg. Or maybe this morning he would travel to Moscow elsewhere,”Lukashenko said in response to a question from CNN. “But he is not on the territory of Belarus now.” -CNN

Why Prigozhin did the foolish thing he did, trying to head to Moscow with his tanks and Wagner Group I do not understand. Knowing Putin what was he thinking?