Laughing people around wheelchair
Military, politicians, politics, Republicans, true crime, Trump

My thoughts on the proposed “live-streamed” execution…

The AI image was a challenge for this post.

It was all over the news yesterday that Pete Hegseth announced that there has been a date set for former Major Nidal Hasan’s execution. It will be on December 3, 2026, at 1:00 PM. And, according to Hegseth, the spectacle will be live-streamed, so we can all witness the gore. 🙄

I well remember Hasan and his crimes. On November 5, 2009, Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, stormed Fort Hood and murdered 13 service members, one of whom was pregnant. 32 people were injured. Hasan himself was rendered paraplegic when he was shot by a law enforcement officer.

At the time of Hasan’s crimes, Bill and I had just moved to the Atlanta, Georgia area, after our first stint living in Germany. Bill was still in the Army, and on the glide path toward his retirement in 2014. I was saddened, sickened, and disgusted by Hasan’s actions, although looking back on it, and recognizing what has happened since 2009, I have an inkling of how and why he went off the rails.

Understanding why Hasan lost his shit doesn’t excuse his actions, of course. I have mentioned many times that I think the death penalty should be reserved for mass murderers.

Hasan would certainly qualify for the mass murderer designation, although I have no hankering to see him die. It doesn’t give me any pleasure or relief to contemplate it. I don’t feel less safe with Hasan in the world. He’s not any more dangerous than Trump and his cronies, are. 🤬

I wouldn’t put Hasan in the same league as I would Timothy McVeigh, or John Allen Muhammad. I don’t think Hasan would kill again, given the opportunity. But I could be wrong about that, I guess. I think anyone has the ability to kill under certain circumstances.

Of course Hasan had to be punished for his crimes. And since he killed and wounded so many people, maybe the death penalty is entirely appropriate for him. It still really sickens me to think of people rejoicing in the idea of his execution by firing squad being public, live-streamed on television. I’m glad it’s not likely that I’ll be in the United States to watch it, not that I think I would willingly tune in.

Things are getting scarier and more gruesome by the day. Every day, there’s new outrage, and more proof that the Republican Party has lost its grip and is desperately trying to maintain a hold on our country. I fear there is going to be a violent uprising, if things don’t start to turn around soon. There could even be another civil war.

One more thing… Bill brought this up yesterday. When Hasan committed his crimes, he was likely assuming he would be killed. If he died promoting and protecting his Muslim faith, he might have been regarded a hero or a martyr. Maybe he would be in paradise. But he wasn’t killed that day, so paradise was denied.

Ultimately, Hasan will be killed by the United States federal government, which may have the same effect in the eyes of his brethren. This could be very dangerous and even disastrous for our country, especially given that Trump has been warring with Iran.

But it’s also a sign that Trump is extremely desperate to turn the country into an authoritarian regime. Public executions go on in countries where people are not free– like North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Afghanistan. They are a mark of dictatorships. They are meant to shock, intimidate, and normalize violence at the pleasure of the government.

The one element of comfort I have is that Trump has dementia and other major health problems. He is also 80 years old… and he will die himself, at some point soon. Enough is enough.

Today, we will leave Krakow, and head to Dresden for the last part of our vacation… another city where there’s been a lot of political violence…

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royals, tourism, travel

One more night in Poland…

I probably should just focus on our vacation, which has really been fabulous. We did finally get some rain in the afternoon, which Bill and I spent pub crawling. In retrospect, maybe we shouldn’t have done that… the weather was so beautiful and warm yesterday. Today, it’s going to be colder. I might even have to break out my sweater.

We will be heading to Dresden tomorrow. Bill and I have been to Dresden before, back in 2008. We are going to stay in the same hotel this time, for another three nights. Then, we’ll head home, and I’ll get back into my travel blog for awhile.

Bill has lots of conferences to deal with over the next few months, so this might be the last travel we do for awhile. He might even have to go back to Turkey over our anniversary. 🙄 But I can’t complain too much, I guess. We have had a great time over here. I still can’t believe how much travel I’ve done. It was never a life goal of mine.

One nice thing that has happened is that I seem to be almost totally healed of my mosquito bites. That’s been a real plague this year.

I don’t have a lot more to write about right now, other than the usual shit I rant about when I’m not traveling… Oh, I did get called a “bitch” this morning… 🤣

That was on a post I saw about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, and their daughter, Lilibet. They were holding her up for yet another picture of the back of her head. My comment was, “Give the child her privacy.” Lots of people liked that.

A couple of days ago, some woman agreed with me, albeit in a much ruder way about the “Harkles”. I wrote, “I know. It’s very annoying.”

This morning, I woke up to see some rando woman calling me, and the other lady, “bitches”. I just blocked her without comment. If your first instinct online is to namecall and verbally attack total strangers who are commenting on a public figure, you probably aren’t mature enough to be Facebooking. 🙄

I don’t like Meghan Markle. I find her very hypocritical, and she seems to want things both ways, which makes me think she’s incredibly entitled. Every time I turn around, I see pictures of her and Harry, with the backs of her children’s heads. She complained about privacy and the paparazzi. If that’s how she feels, I don’t see why I should care about her or her kids. I don’t hate the kids… I just think that if she wants privacy, she should claim it, and stop using the kids for clicks and cash, while claiming that she gets no privacy. 🤷‍♀️

She seems to be trying very hard to “be somebody”, and that involves shoving herself down everyone’s throats. We don’t see Sophie, Prince Edward’s wife, doing this kind of stupid shit. She lives a private, albeit privileged, lifestyle. She’s classy. Meghan Markle is just annoying and tacky. Just my view. And since she’s a public figure, I can say that. She volunteered to be a public figure, after all… even if she thinks she should be one entirely on her terms.

Anyway… that’s enough from me today. Perhaps we’ll see more of Krakow today. I do know I want to buy some art, if I can find some.

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ideas, tourism, travel

We are now in a palatial apartment in Krakow…

Featured photo is one of the last I took in Slovakia. What a beautiful place!

We took the slow way from Slovakia to Poland yesterday, and arrived here in the late afternoon. We hit some traffic, so the last half hour or so of our drive was a bit frustrating. And the time period before we got to the city was also frustrating, because Bill really had to pee. We ended up stopping at this little town that reminded me a lot of Freudenstadt, near where we used to live, in Jettingen. It had a cute little square, with a fountain, and I could see a church steeple in the distance.

Bill found a parking spot and was about to get a ticket for parking, when a lady who was pulling out rolled down her window and started saying something to me in rapid fire Polish. She handed me a ticket that have just over an hour on it. Welcome to Poland!

Cake saves the day! I liked Bill’s peanut cake even more than what I had.

We ended up going into a cafe, which blessedly had a toilet. Then we had Americanos (coffee) and a couple of delicious chocolate pastries. Since we didn’t manage to stop for lunch, this was perfect! When we got back on the road, we noticed there was a McDonalds 2 kilometers away. So, if Bill had stayed on the road, we could have gone there. But it was just as well that we went to that cute cafe!

I’ll write more about this, and in much more detail, when I write my travel blog about this particular adventure. But it was a really nice moment in our trip. Actually, crossing into Poland was interesting. We went from the wild, beautiful, rural Slovakian countryside into a place where it’s clear there’s more money.

The rooftops were suddenly peaked, and the houses looked like they were carved from the huge tree trunks. So many of them were ornately carved. The area we drove through was pretty touristy, though, and overloaded with stuff, while being short on parking. So we kept going, hence Bill’s potty emergency!

One of the less ornate houses I saw, yesterday…

We are staying in a beautiful apartment over a great restaurant. The bed is also a lot nicer, which is a real blessing. Yes, it’s costing significantly more, but it’s totally worth it to my old joints and bones, even if it’s all covered with fat. 🫩

Anyway… I don’t have any specific rantings for today, and I am eager to see Krakow. Gonna get dressed and venture out for awhile. Have a good Thursday!

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Justice scale, gavel, and folded red, white, and blue flag
law, Tennessee, true crime

So now, Christa Pike is awake and talking…

Good morning, blog fans. I am sitting here in my nightie, getting ready to get dressed and pack up so we can move on to Poland. I woke up to the news that Christa Pike has awakened from her coma and is now talking.

Wow…

I read that she’s being heavily guarded, and is handcuffed and shackled to her bed. She’s still a prisoner, and considered a “death row” inmate. But after they tried to execute her last week, she survived, and they had to save her life. 😒

Personally, I think they should commute her sentence to life without parole. I’m sure I’m not alone. The bloodthirsty types who enjoy the drama and spectacle of an execution will probably clamor for another attempt. If Governor Lee is smart, he won’t try another lethal injection. I suppose that would mean they will need another method, which might mean they’ll have to have legislative action to approve one. It won’t surprise me if Tennessee gets a firing squad.

I doubt Governor Lee will commute Pike’s sentence, but I do think it’s the right thing to do. Especially if they don’t use a different method to end her life. She has already proven that her concerns about lethal injection, in her case, were on point. I think trying that again really would be cruel and unusual punishment.

But, as I have repeatedly stated in this blog, I don’t think killing Christa Pike in 2026 for something she did in 1995 is justifiable. I don’t like giving criminals a platform. A year ago, I didn’t know who Pike was. If they had simply let her live her days out in prison, I wouldn’t know who she is today. A lot of money would be saved, too.

Also… based on what I’ve read, it doesn’t seem to me that Pike is a monster. When she was 18, she was abusing drugs, and recovering from an extremely hellish and horrific childhood. No one stood up for her, when she was a child, trying to survive being molested and raped.

Yes, she did a wicked thing… and she deserves punishment for her crime. And yes, a lot of people grow up being abused and don’t murder people. Based on what I’ve read, though, especially among the misogynistic males out there in Internetland, there are MANY people who are capable of murder, given the “right” circumstances and a certain amount of rage… especially if the rage is augmented by drugs, adolescent hormones, and immaturity.

I feel like a lot of men, especially, are outraged by Pike. It’s as if it really bothers them that a woman could kill in such a violent way. They expect that from men. When a woman does it, it seems especially egregious to a certain class of men, and really inflames their innate hatred of women. You can see it in any comment section about this case. The men are hungry for watching Pike die… and the same ones screaming about her failed execution, also scream about abortions and demand the death penalty for women who have them.

Anyway… we’ll see what happens. The midterms might affect this situation, given the heated political landscape the US is in right now. In any case, Christa Pike has given us new legal and medical precedents. She’s crossed a frontier… and no matter what, she’ll go down in history. So I guess there’s that. 🤷‍♀️ But again… if they’d just given her life in prison, she would have died a “nobody”, which I think is a lot more appropriate for murderers.

I guess I’d better close this post and get dressed. We’ve got some traveling to do.

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musings, travel

Slovakia sure is stunning…

Yesterday, after I wrote my blog post, Bill and I visited Lake Strbske Pleso. It’s not a large lake, but it is very pretty and surrounded by trees and a few hotels. It’s about two miles to walk around it, which we did. I got lots of pictures. At the end, my thighs were jelly, because I am so totally out of shape. One thing that was good about living in Jettingen, back in the day, was that I took longer walks with the dogs and stayed in better physical condition.

I feel like the pandemic kind of took the wind of our sails. We used to love doing active stuff, and while I might not have ever been athletic, I was pretty active. Now, I just can’t be arsed. Unfortunately, it shows in all too many ways. But, at least I can enjoy the beautiful views… and the very heavy food.

After our walk and a big lunch, we came back to the apartment. Bill went out to find a few items for breakfast today and tomorrow. I stayed behind and wound up taking a nap. I slept better when I napped than I have been sleeping on the IKEA beds, here and in the Czech Republic.

I did really need the nap, by the way. I was sitting there, nodding off, while I waited for Bill. I think later today, we’re going to go see if we can check out the town. Maybe we’ll find some art or stuff for the grandkids.

This area is very beautiful and natural… and it’s been helping me keep perspective during this weird time in our history. Slovakia has come a long way since I first visited in 1997. I think I’d like to come back here and see more of this country. Fall is definitely a great time to do it, too.

Next week, I’ll be starting a great travel blog series. I can tell. Again… it’s so nice to have a change of scenery, and a reason to pry myself away from the screens and just enjoy the world. I really am very fortunate… at least at this point in time.

Tomorrow, we’re heading to Krakow, Poland.

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