One heck of a 48th wedding anniversary celebration

[Note: Apparently, the only way to format a simple post these days is to use HTML, which I don't know. Excuse me, Google, but I'm a blogger, not a coder. I've always tended toward long-format writing, which is why I'm here, not on Bluesky. But now, Google is making it impossible to publish any post that's more than one paragraph long, and I don't appreciate it.]

Update: Okay, I'm trying some basic HTML that I just picked up on an internet search: < and /p and > to make a paragraph, < and br and > to create a blank line between paragrahs. Skip the "and," of course.

I met my husband at the local dermatologist office, where they were following up on a growth that they'd carved off and sent for biopsy a couple of weeks ago, and we were supposed to go directly from there to our anniversary dinner. Not so fast. It turned out that the growth was a basal cell carcinoma--skin cancer. Should they remove it right away, or wait a week or two? I said, "Just get it over with," thereby giving new meaning to the saying, "Take it off, take it all off.) 🙂

Forty-five minutes, some local anesthesia, some surgical carving by the dermatologist, and some self-dissolving stitches and a surgical dressing later, we were finally off to a very fine dinner at ye friendly not-so-local glatt kosher Japanese restaurant to which our son had taken us for Mother's Day. A short stop afterward at the kosher bakery near the restaurant worked well for my husband, but the only gluten-free cookies they sell were not available due to the hot weather--all the chocolate in and on the cookies would have melted after five minutes out of the refrigerator case. Oh, well.

We hopped back on the subway and walked home from our station, stopping off to buy my first cherries of the year (my annual anniversary treat). We watched some dumb movie on the tv. Then our son informed us that it was time to turn on the news, and this was what we saw.

~Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's press conference and hand-cuffed, but was later released.

~A judge handed control of the California National Guard back to the governor of California. [Update: Naturally, this ruling was appealed and has been stayed. A hearing is currently scheduled for Tuesday.]

~Israel attacked Iran.

We go out for an anniversary dinner, but first, my husband has a cancerous skin growth removed, and then, we find out that the news has gone nuts while we weren't looking.

It wasn't exactly the celebration that we would have wanted, but that's the way life is, these days.

Jews, "You do not debate whether it’s “really” hate when your people are being hunted"

[Copied from Facebook--apologies for the formatting, or the lack thereof.) I am Black. I am Jewish. I work in the field of hate crimes not only as a professional who responds to incidents, builds coalitions, and educates others but as someone who has lived their reality. I carry it in my skin. In my breath. In my children’s safety plans. I don’t need a white paper to define what I already feel in my blood and bones. I know what hate looks like. When Black people are murdered in Buffalo while grocery shopping, we do not sit in circles wondering whether we can really call it racism. We do not write op-eds asking for nuance. We do not entertain long think-pieces parsing whether it might have been just a tragedy or mental health-related. No. We say: this was a racist, anti-Black hate crime. Because it was. But as a Jew, I have learned that our community doesn’t always offer that same clarity or solidarity when the hate targets us. In D.C., two people employed by a Jewish organization, working for peace were executed outside a Jewish building. It is clear to me and to so many others: this was a hate crime. A Jew-hating hate crime. Call it what it is: antisemitism. Then on Sunday, as Jews around the world prepared to receive Torah once again on Shavuot, I began receiving messages from friends in Boulder Molotov cocktails were thrown at people standing in peaceful protest rallying for the return of hostages in Gaza. Every Sunday, in the rain, in the cold, in the fatigue of waiting, these people have shown up. Most of them are Jewish. They are showing up as Jews. Not to make a political statement. To bring our people home. To bring all hostages home. Some are not even Jewish. But their gathering is marked, labeled, targeted as a Jewish event. The attacker? He didn’t run. He didn’t try to escape. He told police he had been planning this for over a year. The only reason he used a Molotov cocktail instead of a gun? He couldn’t legally get one. But don’t miss this: he stayed. He told us why he did it. And still within our Jewish community I hear the same questions: Was it really antisemitism? Should we say that out loud? Will it alienate people? Is it too complicated? Let me be clear: it was antisemitism. Full stop. And now, here is my letter. Dear Jewish Community, I write this as one of you. I write this as someone who brings their whole self Black, Jewish, queer, mother, community protector to this moment. I am tired. Not because the work is hard (it is). But because some of the hardest parts aren’t out there. They are in here with us. I am tired of watching us question our right to name our own pain. I am tired of watching us defer, debate, dilute, or delay calling out antisemitism because we are afraid it will make us look too aligned with the “wrong people.” I am tired of watching us abandon the moral clarity we say we had during the civil rights movement clarity we claim as legacy, but fail to live. Because if we had learned anything from the Black community we so often say we stood beside, we would have learned this: you do not let others define your trauma, your liberation, or your language. You do not water down your truth just because it is inconvenient for others to swallow. You do not debate whether it’s “really” hate when your people are being hunted in synagogues, at schools, in kosher supermarkets, outside community centers, or at a park You do not wait for the perfect words that will make everyone else comfortable while your children are crying in fear. Let me say this plainly: when people target Jews for being Jewish, it is antisemitism. You do not need to know how they feel about Zionism. You do not need to ask what their politics were. You do not need to confirm their interfaith relationships. You need to listen to your gut, your history, your ancestors and name the thing that is happening to us. We say never again. But I fear some of us think that means never offending others in the process of protecting ourselves. To that, I say: we must love ourselves more than we fear backlash. So I ask you, my community: will you say it with me? This was antisemitism. And it is enough. Stop debating it. Start naming it. With love and with fire, Iola

What to Do When ICE Confronts You

I apologize for the formatting--I don't know what Google has done to Blogger.com, but it's impossible to copy and paste from Facebook or anywhere else.[New paragraph ¶ ]When the ICEman Cometh – What to Do When ICE Confronts You[New paragraph ¶ ] by We the People Defend[New paragraph ¶ ] Whether you are a natural-born U.S. citizen, a naturalized U.S. citizen, a green card holder, or some other status, it’s important to be prepared in case you are challenged, detained, or even taken into custody, by ICE, CBP, or some other law enforcement agency. (ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, CBP stands for Customs and Border Protection.)[New paragraph ¶ ] At the end of this page is a downloadable and printable card to carry on your phone and in your wallet.[Sorry, can't copy.][New paragraph ¶ ] Being Prepared Before Anything Happens [New paragraph ¶ ] First, always carry a form of official identification on you which demonstrates your right to be in the United States. If your license or government identification card is one of the Real ID ones, great! If not, also carry a copy of the first page of your passport or a copy of your birth certificate, so long as your place of birth is the United States. Make sure they are copies, and that the originals are stored somewhere safe. (If you were born outside the United States do not carry paperwork that shows your place of birth.) [New paragraph ¶ ] Also be sure that your mobile phone and other mobile devices require a pin or password to unlock them. ICE, CBP, and other law enforcement agents cannot order you to unlock your phone without a warrant. [New paragraph ¶ ] Turn on the ‘share my location’ option on your phone and share it with a trusted partner or family member. This way if you suddenly go silent they will be able to determine your last location. In fact, even if you are taken into custody and the agents take your phone, because they will be unable to unlock it (if they don’t have a warrant), your phone may give a clue as to where you have been taken. [New paragraph ¶ ][ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] Next if you are a natural born U.S. citizen [New paragraph ¶ ][ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] If you are a natural born U.S. citizen your Real ID, or other ID plus something demonstrating that you were born in the United States should be sufficient. Remember to carry a copy, not the original, of your birth certificate or identification page of your passport. If you were NOT born in the United States [New paragraph ¶ ][ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] If you were not born in the United States, regardless of what your status is otherwise, the first thing we recommend is to create a relationship with a local immigration attorney if you don’t already have one! If you had one at one time, don’t rely on that; contact them now and make sure that they are still practicing, and that they remember you, and would be available to you in the event that ICE hassles you or worse. Here are two resources to find an immigration attorney in your area: [New paragraph ¶ ][ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] National Immigration Project attorney search [New paragraph ¶ ][ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] The American Immigration Lawyers Association attorney search [New paragraph ¶ ][ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] Carry your attorney’s phone number with you at all times, but also do your best to memorize your attorney’s phone number, in case you find yourself in a situation where you have to call your attorney from a detention center phone, not your own mobile phone. [New paragraph ¶ ] Carry your proof of status (green card, lawful resident, asylum status, refugee status, TPS, valid visa, asylum application, proof of immigration court case or immigration appeal) with you at all times! [New paragraph ¶ ][ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] If You are Confronted by ICE or Other Agency [New paragraph ¶ ][ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] First, remain calm, and polite. This is not the time to get belligerent, to shout about your rights, or to fight.[ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] Ask whether they are with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or a police agency. ICE and CBP agents are not the police, even if they identify themselves as “police”, which is why it’s important to ask them.[ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] After politely answering their questions, and showing your proof of citizenship or other status, ask them “Am I free to leave?” They will either say “yes”, in which case leave, or they will say “no”.[ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] If they say that you are not free to leave, politely ask them why. At that point, tell them that you need to call your attorney. Do NOT answer any questions from that point forward. If they ask you questions, politely and quietly tell them “I am invoking my right to remain silent.” No matter how many times they ask you something, respond only with “I am invoking my right to remain silent, and I want to call my attorney.” If they ask you to unlock your phone tell them that that your attorney has advised you to only do so with a warrant, and ask them if they have a warrant. If they say yes, ask them to let you read it (not just to ‘see’ it, but to be able to read it, so they can’t just flash some piece of paper in front of you and claim that it is a warrant).[ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] Call your attorney at your earliest opportunity. In the unlikely situation that they allow you to make that call on the spot, from your mobile phone, try to do so with your back to them and immediately lock your phone again, so that they can’t use your making the call as an opportunity to access what is on your phone. Remember, always be polite. It may gall you to do so, but it’s in your own best interest.[ ¶ ] [ ¶ ] P.S. Please join us at We the People Defend dot org; we're empowering citizen warriors to help defend and take back our democracy without ever having to leave your house, using the internet and our telephones!

Call it what it is--genocide by non-military means

My congressperson, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has stated that the current reconcilation bill, if passed, will not only force millions of people off of Medicaid--it will also prohibit them from applying for coverage by the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). Apparently, people who are poor (and especially those with pre-existing conditions) and are on Medicaid because they can't afford any other insurance (and/or aren't eligible for any other insurance) are just going to be left to die so that rich people can get more tax breaks. 😡 In addition, people who are poor are going to be deprived of food assistance--Congress is trying to cut down on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) benefits. The Trump regime and the Republican Party are trying to do to the poor of the United States exactly what they did to the poor of Africa by terminating the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) --kill them by taking away their health care and food. You don't need bombs, weapons, or concentration camps to commit genocide against the poor. I've already written to my senators, and hope you will also do so. This is not the time for "thoughts and prayers"--this is the time to "get in good trouble," to quote the late Representative John Lewis. I hope I'll see many folks from the New York City metropolitan area at the June 14th NO KINGS protest at Bryant Park.

My blog, my rules--I'm laying down the law

I've now been blogging here for over 20 years, so maybe I haven't mentioned this lately and it's time that I did--I pride myself on running a civil blog, and insist that all comments be written in respectful language. If you wish to disagree with anything I've posted, feel free to say so in the comments section--I believe in freedom of speech. That said, I won't tolerate being insulted on my own blog, not will I allow any commenter to insult another commenter on my blog. There's no reason to be disagreeable just because you disagree. Note that I went back to my Saturday, April 26, 2025 post, "They're using our own money to rob us," deleted the offending comment, and reposted an edited version that omits the insulting language while retaining the substance of the comment. You're forewarned: If you wish to comment on my blog, derech aretz, comment courtesy, isn't just nice, it's a requirement.