Past is but shadow, drifting where time cannot hold— breathe what now unfolds. Each dawn, a self reborn new, each thought, a door opening.

Today’s lunch from this old geezer’s kitchen: a seaside medley! Wild rice topped with shrimp, scallops, & calamari, paired with a crisp garden salad—lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, blackberries, and a drizzle of balsamic. Healthy, colorful, and surprisingly satisfying for something so simple.

“Nothing can be traded if the price is compromising of your character.” — Massimo Pigliucci In U.S. politics, too many trade integrity for influence—truth for tribe. This reminder cuts deep: when power outranks principle, democracy erodes. Character, not calculation, must again guide our leaders.

“Without the freedom to criticize, there is no true praise.” — Georges Brassens In today’s U.S. politics, dissent is too often seen as disloyalty and praise as proof of allegiance. True democracy thrives on honest critique—without it, even patriotism becomes hollow performance.

Before I arise, breath drifts through an open mind — nothing to be done. Morning light simply enters, and I follow where it leads.

President Donald Trump has long wielded sharp rhetoric as a political weapon — who can forget “Crooked Hillary” Clinton or “Sleepy Joe” Biden? — but in his second term, the president’s language and that of his top aides has taken an even darker turn.

Critical thinking is one of the most important aspects of being human, according to Stoicism. So why are we handing it over to a machine? | Brigid Delaney www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“When I think of all the things I’ve said, I envy the mute.” — Seneca Words, once spoken, can’t be recalled. Temperance reminds us: silence is strength. Pause before speaking—reflection often says more than words ever could.

Must watch video. Not just Pritzker but also military leaders speak to the potential perils ... www.youtube.com/live/-aRKOlv...

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington, D.C.–based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party.

This morning, I was hit in the face by a baton. I’m going to have a pretty gnarly bruise but we need to remember why this is happening: Trump and ICE are rounding up our neighbors, treating them as subhuman, and shipping them off to labor camps in foreign countries. It has to end.

Make it make sense. [Cartoon by Adam Zyglis]

“If you fast forward 10 or 15 years,” Powell said, “there will be regions of the country where you can’t get a mortgage, there won’t be ATMs, banks won’t have branches, and things like that.” www.commondreams.org/news/bank-re...

An excellent read ahead of tomorrow's #NoKings www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/why-i-have...

“The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.”—Voltaire True wisdom begins with humility. The deeper we explore, the more we realize how vast the unknown is. Each discovery reminds us: knowledge expands, but certainty contracts—and that’s how learning truly begins.

New previews of the ACA marketplace show jaw-dropping premium hikes—some plans more than quadrupling in cost. GOP-led cuts to insurance subsidies may force over 20 million Americans to pay way more just to stay insured. Read how lives are being disrupted—and what’s at stake.

On the eve of No Kings Day, Bowie’s words feel prophetic. He saw how worship turns to ruin—how belief becomes branding, how power seduces truth. His songs still tell us: turn and face the strange, question idols, and guard the light within. #NoKingsDay #Bowie

Ted Cruz says a bill he's introduced in Congress will allow the DOJ to "prosecute" those who "fund" No Kings protests, claiming they could turn into "riots." Data shows that past protests have been virtually all peaceful despite millions of participants.

#OnThisDay 16 October 1847: English novelist Charlotte Brontë (under the pseudonym Currer Bell) published Jane Eyre, which became a classic noted for giving new truthfulness to the Victorian novel.

“It is, after all, hard to know what to choose when you aren’t really sure what you want.” — William B. Irvine Clarity precedes wisdom. When we don’t know our true desires, choices drift. Pause today to ask: what do I really want? Align actions with purpose—so life unfolds by design, not default.

Vice President JD Vance dismissed the messages as a “college group chat” and did not condemn them, breaking with other Republicans.

Today's lunch from this old geezer’s kitchen — crisp romaine & spinach, cucumber, radish, tomato, carrot, raspberries, blackberries, golden berries, & slivers of cold roast pork loin. Dressed simply with olive oil and 18-year aged balsamic — proof that balance & color can nourish both eye & spirit.

The world’s governments are falling far short of their goal to tackle forest destruction by the end of the decade, according to a key annual report published Monday. www.commondreams.org/news/forest-...

#OnThisDay 14 October 1066: At the Battle of Hastings King Harold II of England was killed and his army defeated by the invading forces of William, duke of Normandy, in the Norman Conquest, establishing Normans as rulers of England.

In Hindu philosophy, life moves through four āśramas—student, householder, forest dweller, and renunciate. This poem arises from the space between the last two, where striving softens into stillness and peace is found not in doing, but in simply being. #Poetry #FreeVerse #Ashrama

Today's Lunch from the Old Geezer’s Kitchen 🥔🥕🍄 Simple, hearty fare: roast pork loin with baby potatoes, caramelized onions, carrot, mushrooms, and sweet peppers — finished with a dab of red currant jelly. Because comfort doesn’t have to be complicated. #OldGeezersKitchen

“It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.” — Seneca True strength lies not in muscle or fortune but in mindset. Train your thoughts, master your reactions, and no storm can shake you. The resilient mind is the one that remains free. #Stoicism

I had forgotten what a joy it is to journal with my M1000. Till around 2002 this was my everyday pen, then I retired from corporate life and set it aside. Now happily rediscovering how smooth, how juicy it is. #fountainpens

“How much better it is to be wronged than to do wrong.” — Socrates Integrity outlasts injury. Retaliation may soothe pride, but it corrodes the soul. Justice means holding to our principles, even when others don’t. Choose fairness over revenge; your response defines who you are. #Stoicism

Written in the cadence and fury of Ginsberg’s Howl, this piece responds to the unraveling of our democratic and moral fabric—authoritarian ambition, the assault on truth, the glorification of cruelty, and the twisting of human hope into machinery of despair. #Poetry #Democracy #Truth #HopeInDarkness

#OnThisDay 11 October 1929: James Cash Penney opened a store in Milford, Delaware, later becoming the nationwide company, JCPenney.

Congratulations to new Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado for her courageous struggle to bring democracy to Venezuela.

“Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower knew that harmony demands fairness—truth, integrity, and courage in public life. When leaders trade justice for power, peace dies first. #Stoicism

“While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us” — Benjamin Franklin As Franklin reminds us, peace and strength come from within—our thoughts, emotions, and choices. Focus on what’s yours to guide, not what’s beyond your reach. #Stoicism

Yes! Justice served! The judge said she saw "no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois," and allowing troops into Chicago "will only add fuel to the fire that the defendants themselves have started." www.commondreams.org/news/nationa...

Lunch from the Old Geezer’s Kitchen: tuna, rice, and a salad so virtuous even Seneca would nod approvingly. Simplicity on a plate—discipline disguised as lunch.

#OnThisDay 9 October 1936: The Hoover Dam (originally Boulder Dam) began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles, when its first generator began producing power.

"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." From Edgar Allan Poe's Eleonora.

More bad news on top of your bad news on top of worse news that somewhat already happened just now on top of the paradox of convenience at the cost of privacy but beyond our personal control

Begin each day as if it were your last; you’ll not waste it. — Epictetus (short) #Stoicism #DailyStoicThoughts #Mindfulness

#OnThisDay 8 October 1988: Finishing a 741-week stay, Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon makes its final appearance (of its initial run) on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Selling over 45 million copies worldwide, one of the best-selling albums in history.

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw Shaw reminds us: Each choice, each act of courage, shapes who we become. The Stoic doesn’t wait for meaning to appear—they create it through intention, discipline, and daily action. #Stoicism

“While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us” — Benjamin Franklin Franklin reminds us: inner mastery is true freedom. Calm, clarity, and courage begin where control ends. #Stoicism

If Graff is right, the U.S. has moved past democratic backsliding into constitutional free-fall—democracy in form, hollow in substance.i.e. Executive autocracy. Like Hungary, its survival now rests on whether courts, states, and civil society can still defend law against an openly defiant executive.

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