Tag Archives: News

Lady Justice Prevailed With a GUILTY Verdict On All Counts

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I don’t often write about political issues, but this is big news.

Have you heard?

On May 30th 2024, a jury of citizens in the state of New York convicted a former President of thirty-four felony counts.

There has been a full scale political assault on Lady Justice these past few years, but she’s still standing, proud and resolute.

In my opinion, the true crime is whatever the orange turd did to steal the election from Hilllary Clinton in 2016. He should have never been elected President.

I was a bit worried that the jury wouldn’t understand their task, but they did.

From the New York Times:

Donald J. Trump was convicted on Thursday of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 presidential campaign, capping an extraordinary trial that tested the resilience of the American justice system and will reverberate into November’s election.

From BBC News, here’s exactly how it happened when the jury returned to the courtroom with a verdict:

The judge walked into the courtroom shortly after 4:00 pm, and said he planned to dismiss the jury for the day in a half hour. Then he left to talk to them.

Passing the time, Mr Trump and his lead attorney, Todd Blanche, huddled together at the defence table laughing. They looked like old friends sharing a good joke – and Mr Trump’s shoulders even shook in a rare display of mirth.

But then, as time passed, the judge still had not returned.

A few minutes later, Justice Merchan arrived in a swoop of black robes, his face inscrutable.

The jury, he said, had a note. And a verdict. They had taken extra time to fill out required paperwork, but they were ready.

The atmosphere shifted. The only noise was the sound of reporters frantically typing.

“All rise,” a court officer said suddenly. “Jury entering”.

One by one, the twelve walked past Trump who rose along with the rest of the courtroom for their entrance.

Justice Merchan, in the same even tone he used throughout the trial, asked the jury to confirm they had a verdict.

They had, the foreperson said.

The first guilty verdict landed – the next 33 added a crushing weight.

Silent and still at the defence table, Trump kept his lips pursed as his lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove on either side of him, glanced sternly toward the judge.

As each juror verbally confirmed the decision to convict him, Trump turned his head in their direction and followed their faces one by one as they answered.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Trump with 34 counts of falsification of business records. He was guilty on all counts.

Prosecutors said that with Trump’s approval, his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay silent just before his 2016 presidential run about an alleged sexual encounter. Trump then was accused of approving a fraudulent scheme to disguise the reimbursement to Cohen as legal expenses.

He pleaded not guilty and has denied having sex with Ms. Daniels.

On Thursday, Trump’s pursed expression remained unchanged after the verdict was read and his attorneys pleaded with the judge for acquittal, claiming Mr Trump’s former fixer had committed perjury with his damning testimony on the stand.

Denied, Justice Merchan said.

Can he still run for president?

Yes. The US Constitution sets out relatively few eligibility requirements for presidential candidates: they must be at least 35, be a “natural born” US citizen and have lived in the US for at least fourteen years. There are no rules blocking candidates with criminal records.

What could Trump’s sentence be?

Trump has been free on bail throughout the trial and this did not change after the verdict was read on Thursday.

The judge will have several factors to consider in sentencing, including Trump’s age. The sentence could involve a fine, probation or supervision, or possibly prison time.

The more pressing matter to discuss is how messed up this country is, how his cult of hatred attracted so many disturbed followers — and how we can make sure this never happens again.

It’s really scary to consider that millions of Americans were being brainwashed by a reality-TV host.

Do they need to be deprogrammed? Can they be deprogrammed?

From Vanity Fair, Steven Hassan, a former Moonie turned cult expert and author of The Cult of Trump, says the process will require not only empathy and individual family involvement but a wholesale change in how social media and information systems separate fact from dangerous fictions. “I would put undue influence or mind control as the number-two most important thing that we address for the planet,” he says. “Because otherwise authoritarianism, using social media, is a threat.”

At the end of the day, Lady Justice might be slightly tattered, but this time she was able to rally and stand for truth. We need more of this.

Today is World Naked Gardening Day!

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The first Saturday in May is World Naked Gardening Day.

We’re encouraged to wear NOTHING but a sunhat and sunscreen, to pick up a trowel or a rake, and seed and weed au naturale.

Why garden naked? Our culture needs to move toward a healthy sense of both body acceptance and our relation to the natural environment. Gardening naked is not only a simple joy, it reminds us–even if only for those few sunkissed minutes–that we can be honest with who we are as humans and as part of this planet. and that’s also a definitely NOT ME, whether it’s “world wide” or “worldwide”! Curated from https://naturisteducation.org/wngd/

Today, you’ll find me in the garden, fully clothed, planting peas and beans and mixed leafy greens.

However, if YOU choose to celebrate in your birthday suit, DO NOT send pics!

Enjoy!

Festival of Lights | Happy Hanukkah! | Chag Sameach 🕎 

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Tonight’s the first night of Hanukkah and Hello Kitty reminds us to let our light shine!

Our Jewish Festival of Lights lasts for eight days and nights in honor of a 2,000-year-old miracle in which light won out over darkness.

During Hanukkah 1931, Rachel Posner, wife of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner, took this photo of the family Hanukkah menorah from the window ledge of the family home looking out on to the building across the road decorated with Nazi flags.

While it’s definitely a time for serious reflection, it’s also all about fun with latkes, gold coins, dreidels, lots of presents, and this iconic song by Adam Sandler:

Last year’s post about Hanukkah has a lot more info about the historical significance https://enchantedseashells.com/2022/12/19/whats-hanukkah-all-about/

Crime in Carlsbad: Guns, a Samurai Sword, and SWAT

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What the heck is going on here?

Sunday morning….

Carlsbad police arrested a 33-year-old man at a motel Sunday after he brandished a samurai sword at paramedics responding to an unrelated medical emergency.

Police were dispatched around 9:40 a.m. Sunday to the Carlsbad Village Inn, at 1006 Carlsbad Village Drive, according to the police.

Officers tried to make contact with the man, identified as Eliot Rauk of Lomita, through the door of his motel room. Rauk yelled through the door, threatening to kill approaching officers and brandished a handgun, seen through the motel room window. 

Some areas of the motel were evacuated, with the Carlsbad SWAT team responding shortly afterward.

Rauk barricaded himself in the motel room for several hours while the police department’s Crisis Negotiation Team attempted to contact him by phone.

At 2:36 that afternoon, after police reached him, Rauk exited his room and was safely taken into custody.

After a thorough search of the room, authorities found a samurai sword and a semiautomatic handgun.

Rauk was transported to Tri-City Hospital for a medical evaluation and will be booked into Vista Jail on suspicion of making terrorist threats, unlawfully brandishing a weapon, and threats of violence against a police officer.

Two days before that, on Friday…

There was a shooting on the street in Carlsbad, which is a rare occurrence. I mean, this is a little beach town, not LA or Chicago.

An Oceanside man was arrested after shooting at a police officer during a traffic stop.

An officer with the Carlsbad Police Department stopped the driver for multiple traffic violations Friday night on Madison Street and Oak Avenue.

As the officer approached the vehicle, the driver pulled out a handgun and fired at least one round at the officer, police said.

“The officer immediately sought cover from the gunfire and returned fire with his service weapon,” the department said in a news release.

The suspect, later identified as 25-year-old Oceanside resident Patrick Harold Doherty, drove south about one-eighth of a block before stopping.

The officer called for additional units and a high-risk vehicle stop was conducted when more officers arrived, including a field supervisor and a police dog. The suspect complied with police and was apprehended several minutes later without further incident.

“Neither the suspect nor the officer was struck by gunfire. However, several rounds struck the suspect’s vehicle,” police said. “During a visual inspection of the van at the scene, a ghost-gun type handgun was seen on the driver’s side floorboard.”

Doherty was booked into Vista Jail on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer, felony resisting, assault with a firearm on a police officer, and an outstanding arrest warrant for driving under the influence.

It seems like there’s no way to live without violence; it’s all around…in small towns, big cities, and other countries like Ukraine and Israel and Gaza.

It’s sad and scary to feel unsafe; how depressing.

(Info curated from Google.)

seriously

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The world is going through some serious things, all very painful, all tragic.

One of my favorite aunts died yesterday, in her sleep. She was ninety-one years old and had a hard time coping with the death of her loving husband and a subsequent stroke. She was simply tired of being alive, even less after her youngest son recently died of cancer. Last week, her entire family (on the east coast) gathered by her side for her birthday but they said it was as if she was already transitioning, already thinning the veil between here and there or nowhere.

This Mary Oliver quote from her poem, “Invitation”, really says it all:
It is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world

It could mean something.
It could mean everything.

Remembering September 11, 2001 | Twenty-Two Years Later

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I woke up this morning to a glorious blood-red sky.

It was about 6:30 or so, and I realized what day it was.

This was about the same time, twenty-two years ago, that I had taken my first sip of coffee and turned on the news to learn that the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center had been crashed into by hijacked jets.

I woke up my son and while we huddled together watching TV, there were other reported terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and a crash in Pennsylvania.

The September 11 attacks of 2001 caused the deaths of nearly 3000 victims and nineteen hijackers. Thousands more were injured and long-term health effects have arisen as a consequence of the attacks.

This sky is a poignant reminder of that tragic day.

William James Collins is an American poet who served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003.

The Names is his poem about 9/11.


Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner --
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart. -- Billy Collins

To Love and Be Loved

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The greatest thing you'll ever learn 
Is just to love
And be loved in return.

I just learned the most incredibly interesting backstory about “Nature Boy”, Nat King Cole’s first big hit.

George Alexander Aberle (1908-1995), known as eden ahbez, was a songwriter and recording artist of the 1940s to 1970s, known to friends simply as ahbe.

In the late 40s, there was a rumor that there was a sort of hermit, disenchanted and disillusioned with the world, living in California in a cave under one of the Ls in the Hollywood sign.

No one really cared about this strange man until one night in 1947, he entered backstage at the Lincoln Theater in Los Angeles where Nat King Cole was playing. The man said he had something for Cole and he gave whatever he had to Cole’s manager.

Later, Cole tracked him down in New York City [no explanation about how he got from LA to NYC]. When Cole asked him where he was staying, the man declared he was staying at the best hotel in New York – outside, literally, in Central Park.

He said his name was eden ahbez (spelled all in lower-case letters). The song he gave Cole was titled “Nature Boy.” It became Cole’s first big hit, and was soon covered by other artists through the years; Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, and Lady Gaga.

The media went crazy about the mysterious man who handed Nat King Cole one of the biggest hits. Everyone tried to find out more about him.

What little they found was that he was once an orphan who never stayed at one place very long, living in various foster homes. He explained he just never fit in and was always searching for something.

“They say he wandered very far…Very far, over land and sea…”

They found out he would hop freight trains and walked across country several times, subsisting solely on raw fruits and vegetables.

“A little shy and sad of eye…But very wise was he…”

ahbez would eventually get his message out when the hippie movement began, with other artists such as Donovan, Grace Slick, and the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson sought him out. He also wrote songs for Eartha Kitt and had another song recorded by Sam Cooke.

IIn 1974, ahbez was reported to be living in the Los Angeles suburb of Sunland. He owned a record label named Sunland Records, recording under the name “Eden Abba.” From the late 1980s until his death, ahbez worked closely with Joe Romersa, an engineer/drummer in Los Angeles. The master tapes, photos, and final works of eden ahbez are in Romersa’s possession.

Ahbez died in 1995 at the age of 86, of injuries sustained in a car accident.

(Wiki has a lot more info about him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_ahbez
Info curated from https://www.facebook.com/sunsetblvdrecordsstory of eden ahbez)

It’s a crazy story but a hauntingly beautiful song!

Nature Boy
There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far
Very far
Over land and sea

A little shy
And sad of eye
But very wise was he

And then one day
One magic day he passed my way
And while we spoken of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me

The greatest thing
You’ll ever learn
Is just to love
And be loved in return

And then one day
One magic day he passed my way
And while we spoken of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me

The greatest thing you’ll ever learn
Is just to love
And be loved
In return

Hurricane Hilary is Coming!

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A West Coast hurricane?

Crazy, right?

But look at the graphic because we in SoCal are in the CONE!!!

That’s all anyone is talking about around here.

The storm’s path will bring it across the Baja California peninsula into the southwestern United States over the weekend and into Monday.

Regardless of Hilary’s exact track, we’ll be on the lookout for excessive rain, flash flooding, and high surf.

The National Weather Service has issued a Day 3 high risk of excessive rainfall, up to seven inches in the desert and about three inches here on the coast.

Hurricane Hilary grew rapidly to Category 4 strength off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Friday and could reach Southern California as the first tropical storm there in 84 years.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hilary had sustained winds near 145 mph and was expected to continue its rapid intensification through Friday before starting to weaken.

It will nevertheless still be a hurricane when it approaches Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Saturday night and will approach Southern California on Sunday as a tropical storm. It will potentially cause “significant and rare impacts” including extensive flooding.

However, if the hurricane tracks just a bit differently, it will cause more extensive and significant coastal damage. Winds are expected to be 50-ish mph with 70 mph gusts.

No tropical storm has made landfall in Southern California since Sept. 25, 1939, and reaching far into the past, the only known hurricane to make actual contact was near San Diego in 1858 with 73 mph winds.

I guess it’s time to batten down the hatches. I’ve been doing some prep out in the garden like removing umbrellas, wind chimes, and any deck furniture light enough to be blown around. Tomorrow I’ll clear out the ditch up on the hill that’s full of debris so it’ll flow if there’s any accumulated rain and not flood the backyard. I have plenty of candles if the power goes out and my cell is always charged.

Knowing me, I’ll want to go for a walk to the beach in the rain, but I’m also aware that’s not a great idea.

The one and only time I experienced a hurricane was about twenty years ago when I visited my son and DIL who were in school on the east coast. We huddled together when the power went out and the house was shaking off its foundation from the strong winds. The next morning we went for a walk and surveyed the damage; trees down, electrical wires dangling and sparking, and debris everywhere. After that, we drove to the beach to look at the surf. Another memorable event with those guys, that’s for sure!

Departure From The Norm

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This post is a departure from what I usually write about because I just spent a few minutes gazing at this mindblowing optical illusion and I was totally freaked out, so I need to ask…

Does this work for everybody? The brain is a wondrous thing…

Schroeder stairs is an optical illusion, a two-dimensional drawing which may be perceived either as a drawing of a staircase leading from left to right downwards or the same staircase only turned upside down, a classical example of perspective reversal in psychology of perception. It’s named after the German natural scientist, Heinrich G. F. Schröder, who published it in 1858.

Unforgettable

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As I was writing this post, I learned that we lost Sinead O'Connor, another one-of-a-kind talent. "Nothing Compares to You" can't be surpassed, whether she sang it or Prince did. There's so much that could be said about Sinead's tragic life, but I'll just honor her music and not dwell on the other stuff.

Since Tony Bennett died last week, I’ve been listening to a lot of the old standards by the great ones: Sinatra and Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole.

I don’t know how I missed the news, but I didn’t realize that Natalie Cole died several years ago.

Her voice was magical.

Natalie carried on her dad’s incredible legacy with an enormous gift of her own. She died at the age of sixty-five from idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension which led to heart failure after she received a kidney transplant in 2009.

I always loved this bittersweet duet. They’re both unforgettable.

One of Natalie’s top ten hits: