All the News that fits

 Wasn't that the "tag line" for Rolling Stone Magazine?  I stopped reading them in the late 1980s'   I gave up my subscription when I had my daughter.  They had become less relevant to my daily life and I subscribed to Parents  and other child-friendly magazines, although I DID subscribe to "George" ( remember THAT, I found it well written and entertaining.  I was sorry when it folded)   I currently receive Newsletters from my Union, which I scan, AARP magazines and Westways.  I just renewed Vanity Fair and I have a pile of Smithsonian Magazines that I keep "meaning to read" but am way behind.   I was thinking this morning about taking a day off, shutting myself in my bedroom and just reading and napping.  AHH sounds good.  It won't HAPPEN mind you, but it's a goal.

I was thinking about two news events this week.  I am not watching the Olympics, which is unusual for me, but the time difference and the huge amount of work I have these days has made it impossible.  we see the results on social media and NBC is doing a piss-poor job of coverage, the usual single minded American-centric reporting, and while I AGREE we need to support our athletes, when we are not in contention, they SHOULD show some of the other Gold medal competitions.   After all the symbol is FIVE interlocked rings, not one ring to rule them all.

I applaud the courage of Simone Biles, who was able to place her own health above the  "need" of people who demanded she perform for them.   If she had a broken arm or a broken leg, would we be yelling that she should "suck it up " ( Remember Keri Strug, who was forced by her coach to perform in pain?   She was hailed as 'courageous" when in fact, she was just a scared teenager who was pressured by someone who was a bully who needed HER victory to enhance HIS status.  He was and is a pig)  The stigma of issues with mental health are still there and we do not seem to accept that is is the same as any other health condition and not a weakness.  My own medical provider is guilty of this.  When I get a message, reminding me of my appointment, They leave out the name of the doctor of what office she is with.  THEY are perpetuating the stereotype that caring for your mental well-being is somehow shameful and needs to be hidden. It shouldn't.  I applaud Biles and Naomi Osaka for their openness regarding their mental health and the fact that they are doing something to heal.  Both young women are wonderful role models.

I was looking at the Senate today and wondering if the sudden push by the Republican Party to pass the infrastructure bill is meant to take the focus of the January 6 commission.  We ALL saw what happened, if we were watching the news.  The fact that the Former guy says they were "hugging and kissing the police is a travesty.  If he thinks what went on was "hugging and kissing, that goes a LONG way to explaining why he is divorced. Twice.   I am looking forward to the testimony of others.  I was crying when I heard the police officers and ashamed to hear the Rethuglican branch of their party call them "crisis actors"  They are POLICE OFFICES  Please do not wave your "back the Badge" banner in my face, if THIS is how you act when they are not doing what you want them to do. And whatever is in the Kool-aid that they serve at those committee meetings that makes every Republican forget how they were cowering  in fear in a secret hold somewhere in the building while Trump's Tourists hunted for them in the halls must be some powerful stuff.  Mike Pence is the worst.  They would have HUNG him if they had gotten hold of him, but there he is, licking Trump's boots.

I am heartened by Adam Kinzinger.  He put Country before Party.  It may be the end of his career, IF the current Republican Ruling class has it's way. Although I do not agree with most of their platform- WHEN THEY HAVE ONE ( they currently only have slogans and advertising) I believe we need both sides of the coin to have an effective government.  The current Republican Party is being run by the Mean Kids from your Junior High School.

Thursday musings

I am not going to bore everyone with daily reports of my progress toward getting healthy   There is NOTHING worse than a convert to anything, as my Dad used to say; and while I don't consider myself a "convert" in any way, shape or form, I am on this journey to get better.  I am not really denying myself stuff- life is far to short to do that and I didn't sign up to be a Monk.  I am making better choices and decisions about my day to day doings.

I am about to get on the bike.  The new scale arrived yesterday, so it is my baseline, BUT I have lost four pounds from my last dr visit.  I didn't gain it all at once, so I am not going to lose it all at once.  Slow and steady wins the race.

I saw in the news The Former Guy "plans" to sue Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.   Yeah He PLANS it.  Want to bet he thinks he can settle out of court?  I think the "discovery" portion of the trial , the documentation as to WHY he was banned is going to be fascinating.  One of his minders needs to tell him the truth.  Can you imagine what they might be able to prove in court to provide backup for his banning? 

I think he is so used to suing small companies and having them settle that he doesn't realize they have  more money than he does and more lawyers as well.  It's going to be interesting if the courts even let him proceed with his claim.

I subscribe to the brilliant Heather Cox Richardson's blog "Letters from an American"   She has quite an extensive knowledge of history and politics and she lays it on the line.  On July 5, she said something that resonated

Biden recalled that the United States of America was based not on religion or hereditary monarchy, but on an idea: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all people are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights—among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We have never lived up to that ideal, of course, but we have never abandoned it, either. Those principles, he said, “continue to animate us, and they remind us what, at our best, we as Americans believe: We, Americans—we believe in honesty and decency, in treating everyone with dignity and respect, giving everyone a fair shot, demonizing no one, giving hate no safe harbor, and leaving no one behind.”

I love the quote that we have never lived up to, but never abandoned the ideal that we are all created equal.  Yes, I know  and acknowledge we have a long way to go before that is true, but we have to hope and strive for it.  Probably not in my lifetime, but maybe in my grandkids time.  

Remaining hopeful and working toward a goal, whether it is racial equality or losing a few pounds is something  on my mind this morning.

Morning and I have a fuzzy brain

 For once, I was "sleeping good" as my Dad used to say, when the alarm went off.  I am trying to get up earlier, to work on my stationary bike and collect my thoughts.  I have to lose about 10% of my weight before they can do the knee surgery and I am woefully out of shape.  I blame pandemic laziness.  If I were still working in an office, I would be walking more, which frankly is the best exercise for someone with my health issues.  Alas not, and for a long time, I did not really venture out of the apartment.  So now, I am paying for it.  

We bought a new scale.  The old one was depressing me, until we realized it was massively inaccurate.  You could get on it and get off and step back on and have gained five pounds.  To be honest, it's not a people scale and I think it was not able to adjust to movement.  It's probably fine for its original purpose, weighing packages.  The new scale arrives today and I start over with "weigh-ins"  

UGH.

Like most women I have a lifelong dread of weighing in and as I have gotten older have avoided doing so- which is probably why I weigh as much as I do.  Denial is not just a river in Egypt.  Still the workout regimen I have for myself is challenging but not killing me.  I think I am losing weight, Chris thinks I am losing weight ( and he would be able to tell more than I would) but we will see when the new scale arrives.   I am going about 5K a day at least on my stationary bike and trying to make 10,000 steps a day all told.  As I am still at home, that is an issue, but we walked yesterday, my "bad" knee screaming in pain.  I think it will get better as I train those muscles as well.

Chris signed up for "Noom" and he is using the program.  I am just cooking the program and following his diet.  Is that cheating?  Should I be paying for the Noom advice?  I don't think so since I don't use the service and am just doing the cooking and shopping for the family.  I could be wrong.

I've gotta jump on the bike.  I read my Kindle while I am biking, more motion than sweat at this point although I keep a steady pace.  I have to work today. Wearing myself out before the day begins would not be my best idea.