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TUESDAY 6 OCTOBER 2026 LIFE NOTES: It’s one of those barometric pressure mornings. There is pressure behind my eyes and my joints hurt everywhere. Great. It has just started sprinkling and we still can’t get Sam (the youngest of the rescue cats) inside. I never saw a cat so unbothered by rain. We’ve got our fruit/yogurt smoothies for breakfast. Wonderful, strawberries, blueberries, frozen bananas, vanilla and vanilla Greek yogurt from Sams. Delicious. Trump is suggesting at a rally last night that… Read more: (no title)

1, 2 OCTOBER 2026 BOOKS of Interest: Ancient Rome Powell, Lindsay (2023) Marcus Agrippa: Right-Hand Man of Caesar Augustus. Harris, Robert (2026) Agrippa: a Novel of Ancient Rome’s Descent into Dictatorship. (Harris is the very best). Reinhold, Mayer (1933) Marcus Agrippa: A Biography. 2 October 2026 News Shorts · Failed execution in Tennessee. Christa Pike survived two doses of lethal injection drugs. This is the second failed execution in Tennessee this year. “What happened to Christa Pike Can be attributed to… Read more: life and news notes.

MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 It’s a lovely morning, finally we have cool breezes. I can hear the Monday Morning Mexies outside, so there must not be an ICE raid this week. Bastards. I haven’t checked my Facebook this morning. Last week, it was filled with warnings and lamentations from one woman whose husband had been taken to Folkston where there is the nearest private prison. Article: Said, Summer and Anat Peled (9/27/26) “Egypt warned Netanyahu…” The Wall Street Journal. LIFE AND… Read more: NETANYAHU KNEw

SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMER 2026 Well, it’s a mercifully cool morning. The measles death count is increasing. Pennsylvania is asking for assistance from the CDC and largely getting obstruction. The cats are already outside. Aside from napping, their absolute favorite thing to do is to explore their yard. We’ve never really had a problem with one of them straying off the property before Sam. Everything is before Sam. We don’t even know where Sam goes. He’s like another cat when he’s outside,… Read more: (no title)

Friday 25 September 2026 News Notes I can’t even begin to compete with Charlie Pierce to summarize his writing. He has two articles in Esquire you should think about reading: “Trump’s Latest Deal with Belarus Sure Smells like Shit,” and “Trump’s Bizarre Reaction to the Ebola News.” Some Suggested Books Torbati, Yeanen. “Stolen Revolution.” Mueenuddin, Daniyal. “This is Where the Serpent Lives.” Rivera Gaza, Cristina. “Autobiography of Cotton.” TRUMP AUTHORITARIANISM: IMMIGRATION Ingram, Julia (9/25/26) “ICE wasted millions…” CBS News. LIFE AND… Read more: (no title)

Monday 21 September 2026 NEWS SHORTS LIFE AND NEWS NOTES · On the last day of parliamentary elections in Russia, Ukraine pulled off a major drone attack including on Moscow (MSNow). Drones hit one of the country’s largest oil refineries (Daily Beast). · ICE officer shoots another man in Austin (The Texas Tribune). The man was making a DoorDash delivery (Austin American-Statesman). · CNN, MSNOW and Politico are suing White House over blocked access (Axois). · World leaders meet at UN… Read more: Life and News notes 21 September 2026

Sunday 20 September 2026 LIFE NOTES RUSSIA LIFE AND NEWS NOTES · Putin has declared that war veterans should form the “leadership cadre” of the Russian future. He has created a program to fast track them into senior political and corporate positions. Polling indicates support for the war against Ukraine, but polling is notoriously inaccurate in Russia, and supporting the war is not supporting the effects of the war on daily life. The point of all this is to “build a… Read more: (no title)

Saturday 19 September 2026 News Note Shorts LIFE AND NEWS NOTES · Demonstration at the Kennedy Centre over concern that Trump is determined to tear it down. · CNN AND MS NOW denied access to White House. There is precedent that the president cannot deny access to the White House based on perspective, but he can deny press conferences completely. But, Donald Trump would die in a day if he were denied access to the press. He lives and breathes off… Read more: Trump and the press

Thursday 17 September 2026 I don’t know where September went. It’s half over. I can hear the train whistle in the background, about a mile away. About the same distance it was from our house when I was growing up. It’s the same old train whistle too, just the same, familiar noise. My daddy used to complain that the train whistle kept him up all night. I don’t know how many times it went through town in a day or a… Read more: (no title)

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN OVEREDUCATED, CHILDLESS OLD CAT LADY, BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK Tuesday 8 September 2026 The most important new story of the day, according to my opinion, is that Benjamin Netanyahu was given explicit advanced warning of an attack on October 7. Not only did he refrain from doing anything about it, he failed to notify his military and others high up in his cabinet that an attack was… Read more: NETANYAHU KNEW

Sunday 13 September 2026 NEWS SHORTS LIFE AND NEWS NOTES · Federal Court rules there is no constitutional right to safe drinking water (Capital B, 9/13/26). · Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claim new attacks on Saudi Arabia (AP, 9/13/26). · Yemen hits back against Houthis as Saudi shutdown limits oil flow (NBC, 9/13/26). · Saudi Arabia has few options as it faces mounting threats from Iran and its allies (AP, 9/12/26). · Saudi’s shut down oil pipeline (9/12/26, Reuters). · U.S.… Read more: NEWS SHORTS, ISRAEL

Saturday 12 September 2026 CLINTON Good for Hillary Clinton, talking about the government lying about the air quality after 9/11. She’s on Morning Joe. Who was responsible for that? Giuliani? Good grief, what a pleasure it is to hear somebody talk who sounds like they know what they are talking about. She could have been president. CUBA The Washington Examiner (9/8/26) is advocating the “extraction method” (what the U.S. did to Maduro) for Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega. The reporter makes an… Read more: (no title)

Friday 11 September 2026 Continuation of: Eldar, Shlomi (9/8/26) “Revealed: Netanyahu received an explicit warning days before October 7. He didn’t brief Israel’s security chiefs.” Haaretz. After direct warnings from Sinwar about an attack on Israel, and no response from Israel, the Emirati decided to hold a 45-minute conversation with the Prime Minister himself. A similar call was made by the Egyptian intelligence chief, Gen. Abbas Kamel, who warned Netanyahu of “something unusual, a terrifying operation” about to be launched by… Read more: NETANYAHU KNEW

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN OVEREDUCATED, CHILDLESS OLD CAT LADY, BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK Tuesday 8 September 2026 The most important new story of the day, according to my opinion, is that Benjamin Netanyahu was given explicit advanced warning of an attack on October 7. Not only did he refrain from doing anything about it. He failed to notify his military and others high up in his cabinet that an attack was… Read more: NETANYAHU KNEW

MONDAY 7 SEPTEMER 2026 UKRAINE “Nobody will win.” Zelensky adviser warns of mutual destruction if war with Russia continues. The Guardian. Ukraine war briefing: Zelensky links Russian strikes on Kyiv airports to US envoys’ visit. The Guardian. Ukrainian intel agencies in Kyiv firefight: What happened and why? Aljazeera How Ukraine created would-leading prostheses amid the chaos of war. New Scientist Ukraine war briefing: Zelensky calls air true as Kushner and Witkoff head for Kyiv via Moscow. The Guardian. How escalating attacks… Read more: NEWS NOTES WORTH READING

Thursday 3 September 2026 LIFE NOTES It is horribly muggy outside, muggy and hot. There’s a mist over the marsh but you can still see the travelers (that’s what I’ve taken to calling them) across the marsh, headlights passing by. Errol Flynn is hunkered down on top of the piano looking out over the back yard, the birds, the live oaks and the squirrels. Cool Mustard, our largest orangey, is hunkered down on the daybed with me in the library. That’s… Read more: Thursday

Thursday 3 September 2026 LIFE NOTES It is horribly muggy outside, muggy and hot. There’s a mist over the marsh but you can still see the travelers (that’s what I’ve taken to calling them) across the marsh, headlights passing by. Errol Flynn is hunkered down on top of the piano looking out over the back yard, the birds, the live oaks and the squirrels. Cool Mustard, our largest orangey, is hunkered down on the daybed with me in the library. That’s… Read more: (no title)

Wednesday 2 September 2026 ARTICLE: Popli, Nik ( ) “As Democratic socialists gain ground, Republicans rejoice.” Time Magazine. · The membership of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has surged past 120,000. Members have toppled establishment-backed candidates all over the country. · “Bernie Sanders made democratic socialism legible to billions of Americans; AOC gave it a younger national face; Mandani demonstrated that a socialist could defeat the democratic establishment, govern a major city and then help elect more socialists behind him.… Read more: THE DEMOCRATS, THE DSA, JIMMY CARTER AND GAUGUIN

Saturday, Sunday 29-30 August 2026 ARTICLE: Hastings, Rob (3/27/26) “My life inside Putin’s war machine – and why I defected.” The I Paper. LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN ELDERLY, CHILDLESS, OVER-EDUCATED CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK · Igor Salikov’s life is in danger because he defected to the West. But, after witnessing the depravity of Vladimir Putin’s military, including the Wagner mercenary group, he feels compelled to reveal his experiences. ·… Read more: 10 WAYS AMERICA IS WEAKER.

Saturday, Sunday 29-30 August 2026 ARTICLE: Hastings, Rob (3/27/26) “My life inside Putin’s war machine – and why I defected.” The I Paper. LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN ELDERLY, CHILDLESS, OVER-EDUCATED CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK · Igor Salikov’s life is in danger because he defected to the West. But, after witnessing the depravity of Vladimir Putin’s military, including the Wagner mercenary group, he feels compelled to reveal his experiences. ·… Read more: How America is Weaker

“Israel has electionsscheduled for the fall. It will be the first such vote since Netanyahu presided over the biggest security catastrophe in recent Israeli history: the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, that killed nearly 1,200 people. The Israeli public has not yet had an opportunity to hold him accountable for this failure. (Netanyahu himself has never accepted responsibility.) It is also the first Israeli election in a few cycles where the country’s Arab parties will run together. The so-called Joint… Read more: WHY NETANYAHU CHOSE NOW

Friday 28 August 2026 UKRAINE: Former Defense Minister Fedorov LIFE AND NEWS NOTES · The Kremlin is using remarks made by ousted Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov to allege that Kyiv is consumed by intensifying political infighting. · Fedorov told Reuters that Ukraine appeared to be losing the war against Russia. He complained about engrained corruption and patronage networks. · Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “the Kyiv regime is collapsing from within.” ARTICLE: Strupczewski, Jan (8/27/26) “Four EU countries… Read more: (no title)