Women's Protest

After six years of protests, women are once again taking to the streets in nearly 30 Polish cities, including Poznan. The date is not random – it coincides with the sixth anniversary of the Constitutional Tribunal's ruling, after which abortion regulations were tightened.

 

The campaign was initiated by the Gdańsk-based Widzialne Foundation, with the involvement of other women's rights organisations, and organisers describe them as the largest protests of this kind in two years.

Demonstrations were scheduled 6 p.m. in Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, Kraków, Wrocław and Szczecin, among other locations, with one planned for the Polish embassy in London at 7 p.m. local time.

"Your stools, our bodies" — this is just one of the slogans that could be seen today on the billboards

Those demanding liberalization of abortion law took to the streets of Poznań to express their disappointment with the government's stance.

“Our body is the home of the child that grows in it. But in your body is not our body, you have no right to decide about it. Plus, why is the role of a father excluded? The child is also his.”

IMHO

Benedict Arnold (January 14, 1741– June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. In the later part of the war, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army and placed in command of the American Legion. He led British forces in battle against the army which he had once commanded, and his name became synonymous with treason and betrayal of the United States.^--Wiki

 

 ^{Donald J. Trump}

In political discourse, critics, political opponents, and some legal scholars use the term rhetorically to describe actions they believe subverted the Constitution, undermined national security, or placed personal interests over allegiance to the nation.

The main arguments raised by those who describe Donald Trump in these terms fall into several key areas:

1. Events Surrounding January 6 and the 2020 Election

Critics argue that efforts to overturn a certified democratic election constituted a fundamental betrayal of his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the U.S. Constitution. Specific points often cited include:

• Subverting the Peaceful Transfer of Power: Attempting to block Congress's certification of electoral votes.

• Pressuring Election Officials: Pressuring state officials and the Department of Justice to alter or delay election results.

• Incitement of the Capitol Attack: Encouraging supporters to march to the U.S. Capitol, which led to the January 6 attack, an event described by critics and political opponents as an insurrection.

2. Handling of Classified Documents

Following his first presidency, Trump was indicted under the Espionage Act for retaining sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and allegedly obstructing efforts to retrieve them.

• National Security Risks: Opponents argue that holding highly classified national defense materials in unsecured locations exposed critical state secrets to potential foreign access.

• Alleged Disclosures: Reports of sharing sensitive intelligence with unauthorized individuals raised concerns over disregard for national security protocols.

3. Stance on Foreign Intelligence and Adversaries

Throughout his political career, critics argued that Trump sided with foreign autocrats over U.S. interests and national intelligence agencies:

The 2018 Helsinki Summit: Publicly siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence agency conclusions regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election.

• Rhetoric on Alliances: Repeated criticism of traditional democratic alliances, such as NATO, alongside praised relationships with authoritarian leaders (e.g., in Russia, Hungary, and North Korea).

4. The 2019 Ukraine Pressures (First Impeachment)

Trump’s first impeachment stemmed from allegations that he withheld congressionally mandated military aid to Ukraine while asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate a political rival, Joe Biden. Critics argued this leveraged U.S. foreign policy and national security assets for personal political gain.

 

Voting is not just a civic duty.

Voting is no longer just a civic duty; it is an urgent imperative. 

The 60 Minutes broadcast featuring Lesley Stahl investigating FBI raids and ballot/voter record seizures aired on Sunday, October 18, 2026. The Story: Titled "Election officials describe impacts of federal actions on voting, the segment examined federal actions and probes surrounding state election infrastructure. 

The federal government threatened state election administrators with criminal prosecution or jail time if they did not turn over sensitive voter registration data or if they certified certain mail-in ballots. 

Ballot Box Seizures: The segment highlighted an FBI raid on a Fulton County, Georgia election facility (which occurred on January 28, 2026), during which armed agents executed a federal search warrant to seize over 600 boxes of 2020 election records and ballots. 

The situation regarding the ballot seizures featured in the segment has not been resolved, it remains an active and ongoing controversy. 

Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett stated during the broadcast that local officials still do not know where the seized ballots and records are located or what the Justice Department/FBI did with them. Agents executed a valid criminal search warrant, leaving local authorities with no legal recourse to block the raid. 

The primary focus of the segment was on how these federal raids, subpoenas, and pressure campaigns are impacting public trust and official operations ahead of upcoming elections. That, by itself, would be a victory for the administration. 

Lesley Stahl highlighted polling showing that only half of Americans expect the upcoming midterm elections to be "free and fair". 

Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett explained that high-profile FBI raids on election facilities create a psychological effect: when voters see federal agents, search warrants, and armed raids, they naturally assume "something must be wrong there," even if past official audits proved otherwise. 

Now, election officials in California are being threatened. 

Our country doesn't just need our votes; it is crying out for them. The stakes in this election are higher than at any point in our history. If you believe in the good America has brought to our lives and to the world, staying on the sidelines is not an option. We must show up, mobilize, and drive this Blue Wave all the way through November 3rd!

Protest & De Nata visit.

Another day for a No Kings protest. I hope they are successful in getting many people to vote early. That seems to be the main idea of the protest. 

In Albania, the protest is on its fourth day, and they are calling for the entire administration to resign. It's not a protest that will last 2 to 3 hours or even 1 day. It will continue until they get the administration out. That, to me, seems like a more logical reason for a protest. Why is it that in America, the protests last for 1 or 2 hours, maybe 1 day, and do not continue day after day after day with demands? 

There are only 16 days left until the November 3rd election. I think the real danger will occur after the voting is all accounted for. For sure, if the Democrats do succeed in taking back the House or the Senate, Trump will stop at nothing to call it a fraud or to take every election to court, delaying the installation of the individual who won. The question is: how long will the American people put up with this? Hasn't it gone on long enough 

It was a nice enough day to take Joan out and go to the Portuguese pastry shop for a first visit. Inside is a small area for sitting with tables and chairs. Outside, there is a small sitting area, also with maybe six to seven tables. The little round pastries they serve were very good, very tasty, and the coffee was also good. However, for a person using a wheelchair, it is rather difficult to get into. The outdoors have more access with a little ramp for a chair to go up, but even that presents a problem. Personally, I did not like either the chairs or the tables. The chairs are not comfortable, and the tabletop is not a solid piece of wood or marble or anything solid. It is mainly a series of strips of wood put together with spaces in between. If you drop your knife, your fork, or your spoon, it's very easy for it to fall onto the floor. 

Autumn& De Nata

Autumn isn't over yet. Another nice day to sit in the park observing people. Solacz Park is the nicest park in Poznań.  It isn't the biggest park because that honor goes to Citadella Park. Part of the reason that part is so large is because of the cemeteries that it has within it, both for English, Polish, and Russian soldiers. At the south entrance to Citadella, after climbing many stairs, there's a tall obelisk there. When we first moved here many years ago, at the top of the obelisk stood a red star. A few years later, that star was taken down because it was a symbol of communist Russia.

I've discovered a new pastry shop in our area that we're going to have to try, maybe tomorrow or Sunday. It's a Portuguese pastry shop. De Nata is a café located in Poznań's Jeżyce district, at ul. Wawrzyniaka 19. It specializes in Portuguese pastries, particularly pastel de nata, available in various flavors such as classic, chocolate, and raspberry. Freshly brewed coffee accompanies the sweets. The interior features beautiful tiles, creating a cozy atmosphere.  

It is a café inspired by traditional Portuguese pastry shops, where pastel de nata takes center stage, a crisp, creamy tart served in several unique flavor variations. They are baked fresh daily and taste best with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. The interior features Portuguese tiles and warm tones, creating a cozy, sunny atmosphere. In summer, a small outdoor garden opens up, perfect for an espresso, something sweet, and a chat with a friend.

Home & Ukraine

A day at home. Paige was here, and I asked her how Joan was doing with the steps exercise. She said she stopped them because Joan's balance was so bad that she was afraid to continue. I need to add some balance exercises.

In another 16 days, it will be time to be in Golina. I hope I can make that trip this year. I also hope the weather will be good enough to take Joan. It has been too many years since we were last there for that important day.

Meanwhile: Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky began his visit to Brussels on Thursday, Oct. 15, by meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. During the meeting, he urged continued allied deliveries of ballistic missile interceptors and F-16 ammunition, as Russia continues its strikes on energy and civilian infrastructure despite US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire push. According to Zelensky, Russia has launched nearly 1,000 drones since Wednesday, Oct. 14, amid Starlink restrictions that further strained Kyiv-Washington diplomacy.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the EU must increase funding for Ukraine as Kyiv faces a major budget shortfall in 2027. EU leaders are discussing additional support amid intensified Russian attacks, while calls grow to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine. Belgium remains opposed to the proposal.

Merz pushed back against any attempt by the United States to try to get Europe to hand over some of the money as part of Washington’s peace negotiations with Moscow.

“These are assets that are frozen in Europe, and they should remain frozen in Europe. This is our business, and we will decide on it,” he said.

RESIST!!!

Thanks to Trump/Musk, Ukraine has been denied access to the Starlink satellite that gave them early warning of incoming ballistic missiles. Ukrainians have no chance to take shelter. Their military has no defense against them. They have no idea where the Russian army is moving against them. Men, women, and children are dying because of Musk/Trump. We sit here, safely writing posts about how terrible it all is, but what have we done in the last 18 months to stop the dissolution of democracy in our own country?

Have your calls, emails, protests stopped ANYTHING? ICE continues murdering people, healthcare is taken away from many, and our Supreme Court is as corrupt as the “President”. He has used the presidency to enrich himself by 5 billion dollars, started a war with Iran, severely weakened our military, alienated every ally we had, become a laughing stock to every world leader, destroyed the Department of Education, and threatened everyone who stands against him.

If he succeeds in the midterms, what will be left of the real America?

What will you do when they come for you?

All you need is LOVE.

Once upon a time in my life, God put the most beautiful woman in front of my eyes that I have ever seen. It wasn't just physical beauty, although her eyes were the color of a clear blue sky with the sun shining, and there wasn't a cloud anywhere. It wasn't just her eyes that attracted me to her so much. The more I talked with her, the more I understood just how intelligent she was. She could talk about almost any subject, like science, religion, cooking, clothing, housing, anything. It didn't take long to realize after our first meeting that I would fall in love with her and love her for the rest of my life. I knew some things about science, and more about religion, because I had taken a course on religions of the world at DePaul University. Of course, my specialty was in music because that was my purpose at the university. It was probably the only thing I had more knowledge of than she did.

When she was diagnosed 6 years ago with frontal lobe and vascular dementia, I didn't have much knowledge about that disease, but I knew it wasn't good. After doing a lot of research about dementia, I knew what the end result would be.

 I've tried hard over the last six years to take as good care of her as possible. For a couple of years, there wasn't much change during that time. That has changed.

 According to the Mayo Clinic, there are five stages of dementia. Going by their calculations, I would say Joan is in stage 4.      

4. Moderate Dementia

• Confusion deepens, memory loss increases, and individuals require assistance with daily personal care.

• Key signs include difficulty dressing appropriately, trouble managing personal hygiene, confusion regarding time or location, sleep disturbances, wandering, and behavioral or personality shifts.

  Only someone who takes care of a person with dementia can know how this makes me feel. It has definitely affected my own health. My only prayer is that I live long enough to take care of Joan. After that, I would be happy to leave with her. 

Rare

   

Picture-Daughter, Karen, with Illinois Governor.

 

A rare occasion-------REPUBLICAN Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick is actively trying to block purchases of Russian diesel and petroleum imports.

On this issue, he deserves credit.

Key Details of the Legislative Effort

The Bill: Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), co-chair of the House Ukraine Caucus, announced the drafting of bipartisan legislation titled the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Objective: The bill aims to prohibit and block all purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products, directly challenging agreements to allow Russian diesel fuel into U.S. and global markets.
Kyiv Post
Strategy: Fitzpatrick announced plans to force a vote directly on the House floor using a discharge petition—a procedural move that bypasses committee review and House leadership.
LIGA.net
Key Co-Sponsors & Rationale: Co-sponsored alongside lawmakers such as Representative Don Bacon (R-NE), supporters argue that purchasing Russian diesel provides funding for Moscow's war effort against Ukraine and projects weakness on the international stage.

Russia?

It makes me furious that Orange Head has made a deal with Putin to buy its diesel fuel. That money will buy more arms to kill Ukrainians. It's bad enough that the U.S. government is killing its own citizens; now they are in bed with Russia. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

A staggering sell-out of Ukraine by President Donald Trump, with the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announcing a license to allow Russia to sell diesel to the US and on global markets.

This comes in a week when Russia launched brutal attacks on Ukraine, which saw over 70 Ukrainian civilians killed by Russian missile strikes.

Trump is obviously desperate for prices at the pump to drop before midterms, but given the success of recent Ukrainian deep strike drone attacks on Russian refineries and shortages at home in Russia, I question whether Russia can meet the export volumes. Russia has moved from a diesel exporter to an importer in recent months.

President Zelensky responded in a furious post this evening, calling out Trump’s weakness. I would expect Ukraine to now step up deep strike drone attacks against Russian refineries and energy infrastructure. Source: Kyiv Post

Inea.

Let me tell you about yesterday's installation. The man from Inea arrived on time, at 2:00 PM.

That, in itself, was somewhat of a shock that he was on time. He came in, took a look at our setup, and proceeded to install the new router. When he was done, we were able to get all the channels of the Polish TV network. That was fine. However. I noticed at the bottom where the application icons were. I was not able to connect with them. I told him about it; he told me what to do, and he left. 

 I followed his instructions, and each time I did, nothing worked. Of course, that only made me angrier. After several tries, I put John's sandals on, put her in the car, and drove to Inea. Inside, I told the man what had happened and that I was pissed off about it. He told me that I had to set up the connection to the internet by using the password at the bottom of the router. He even showed me a picture of the bottom of the internet router, making it easier for me to find. 

Back at home, I found the password, entered it, and it said, "Cannot connect." I tried it two more times. Each time, it said the same thing: "Cannot connect to the internet." By that time, my nerves were on edge, and I called my friend Pawel, who's a genius at fixing problems for me. Over the phone, he tried to help me correct the problem, but after three or four tries, he decided to actually come to our house and fix this problem for me. Now, Pawel lives on the other side of Poznań, so it's not like he just lives right around the corner from us like he used to. I can't tell you how happy I was to see him again. It seems like the only time we see each other is when I have a problem with one of my computers or, today, with the TV.

 He came in, saw the problems I was having, and within 10 minutes, the whole thing was fixed. I had made a previous offer to pay for him to take an Uber taxi to our house and back home with him, but he declined to accept any payment. When he was done, we set a tentative time to meet next Tuesday at his place, without the computers, without the TV problems, and just talk about normal things for a change. 

I'm Back.

 Last Thursday, as I was writing my blog, my router stopped working.

The next day, I took it to my provider, Inea, to get a new one. When our previous provider's router had problems, they just gave me a new one.

Inea doesn't do that. They said they could email their tech department at another location and try to fix it remotely. The problem was it just wouldn't even turn on. The other option was to sign a new contract, and an installer would come to our flat. I asked how soon, but again I would have to wait for a phone call telling me when. I opted for the new contract, which actually saved me 500 PLN.

Two hours later, they called and said the installer would come on Wednesday, October 7, between 2 and 3 PM. So, for the last five days, I haven't been able to do much on the internet. 

 

Fortunately, my cell provider is different, so I was able to send a few messages. I'm not adept at using the phone, so my messages have all been very short. Today is the day I returned to the net.

 

The last 5 days, the weather has been great for being outside. I took Joan out every day.

 

Today, I did a little preparation for what might be Poland’s near future: war with Russia. I won’t stay here and put Joan’s life in danger.

 

I went to our bank and withdrew enough cash to sustain us elsewhere if necessary. I put it in another location that I could have quick access to. It may sound a little paranoid, but with Putin as the adversary, you never know what will be next. He has already threatened the UK, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Moldova, Romania, Sweden, and Lithuania. Only time will tell what the future holds for the world.

 

Evacuation routes have already been sent to us by the U.S. Embassy. The quickest route would be to Berlin or Frankfort, Germany, but I am sure the roads will be packed to the Polish border crossing points.

Not my fault.

 No posts until Wednesday. Oct. 7. My router is broken and will not be replaced until Wednesday.