Constitution Day

I took a different way to work yesterday, and I saw a lawn sign in big bold, red, white, and blue letters that stated THE CONSTITUTION MATTERS. I nodded my assent and then remembered that today is Constitution Day. What perfect timing!

In 1787, two-hundred thirty-nine years ago today, the US Constitution was signed which signified the start of our government. We. The. People.

We.

The.

PEOPLE.

In order to form a more perfect union… We know we’re not there yet, but I still have hope. I still have optimism. Even with yesterday’s announcement that the current president will close the national monument of another president, with his calling a congresswoman dumb, with his irrational diatribes and unprofessional screeds, his cognitive decline apparent to anyone with eyes, ears, and soul. He has tried to destroy our country by destroying our government and the symbols we hold dear, that we cherish, and hope to continue for our children and the children of others who come here looking for a better life.

Today of all days, we need to remember the words of our Constitution, a parchment paper that was meant to be a living document, changing with the times and the advancements, of technology, of understanding, of eliminating discrimination, racism, antisemitism, and bigotry. Were those things written into the preamble of the Constitution or its first ten amendments? Not really, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t intended.

Just like a child grows into an adult, the Constitution is meant to grow as our country grows., It is meant to move forward, not backward. Ever onward.

Spend some time today with the Constitution.

Start with this video:

Then read the Constitution. I have a pocket one – it’s not very long, but it is filled with intention and hope and yes, dreams for us all.

For us all.

We the people.

We.

Gloria Steinem, Icon and Trailblazer (1934-2026)

The last couple of weeks have a been a reminder that our heroes and icons are getting older, and there is nothing we can do about that: Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and now Gloria Steinem.

Gloria Steinem was more than an icon though; she was a pioneer. A pioneer for women’s rights, women’s equality, reproduction, civil rights, and more.

I can’t imagine anyone alive today who doesn’t know her name. Of course, I haven’t agreed with each of her positions, but that takes nothing away from everything she did to make not only the world better, but life better for me and my daughter. I can’t possibly list all of her accomplishments, and so I would encourage you to look her up on your own. Read a book about her. Read a book that she authored. Watch her videos.

I was privileged to share the world with someone of her stature even for this short time.

Gloria Steinem at a women’s conference held at the LBJ Library on Nov. 9, 1975. Public Domain.

AP News Obituary

Photo Credit: Noam Galai/Wireimage. January 21, 2017.

Election Connection – Say His Name

Pierre Damas Bel

TW: suicide, racism, fascism

Election Connection – Just Real Quick…

There are hundreds if not thousands of things to criticize the Trump Administration, the Republican Congress, and the Supreme Court about. Seriously. But people, could we get a grip and focus on prioritizing some of them?

I’m talking about the newly vacant Senate seats in South Carolina and almost in Kentucky.

Stephen Colbert is not running for it. He doesn’t live in South Carolina. He doesn’t want the job. There is a perfectly good candidate running right now – Dr. Annie Andrews. Donate and vote for her.
Stop talking about the suggestion that Graham’s sister be appointed to fill out his term. This is a normal suggestion when a congressperson dies in office. This is something that is done. For anyone saying she has no experience as a politician, I thought that was what we wanted from those running for Congress – outsiders?
He’s wearing jeans…..STFU – people wear street clothes in rehab. That’s the least of the questions.
Stop talking about if it’s AI or not AI – you know the picture I’m talking about. If McConnell won’t meet anyone in person, call the special election, and let him call you out on it. Personally, I think he died.
Follow and support Marc Elias and Democracy Docket.

Randolph Mantooth (1945-2026)

This is the link to the Hollywood Reporter obituary of Randolph Mantooth, who died on Thursday at the age of 80.

A sad day for those of us who grew up with him and Kevin Tighe who played Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto, respectively on the hit television show, Emergency!.

I still hum the music when I’m backing my car into the driveway.

When the show came out, there were only a handful of paramedics. The show was practically a public service announcement for recruitment. The profession was so unknown when Randy was told his role would be as a paramedic, his question was, “what the hell is a paramedic?”

Decades later, we all know how crucial those paramedics and EMTs are in an emergency and the show was integral in expanding that reach. Mantooth and Tighe continued to support the fire service and the LA Fire Museum over the years.

We introduced my oldest son, then three or four years old, to the show in reruns when he was obsessed with fire trucks and fire fighters. He dressed up as one for Halloween when he was four. He visited fire stations wherever we traveled including his uncle’s fire station on Long Island. He even went to college for fire protection/safety and became a volunteer fire fighter and an EMT during and after college. Emergency was a favorite show of his.

A few years ago, he was in California for a training session for his job, and he visited the Los Angeles Fire Museum, and got himself a Squad 51 t-shirt.

Part of the museum’s statement is below:

From Los Angeles County Fire Museum

Thank you Randy for your friendship! You will be sorely missed.

To Randy’s wife Kristen and Randy’s family. We are here for you all and want to thank you for sharing Randy with us and the world.
We are so very sorry for your loss.

The Museum will be accepting condolence cards for the family. If you would like to send a card please send to the Museum’s shop address at:

LA County Fire Museum
9834 Flora Vista St
Bellflower Calif 90706

KMG 365

Election Connection – This Week

Let’s start with the obvious:

Is Mitch McConnell dead? Alive? Somewhere in the middle? I spoke to him for 20 minutes and he said to me, and I quote, “As a doornail.”

Should Thomas Massie be appointed as interim Senator? SPOILERS: NO FUCKING WAY

Being against pedophiles doesn’t make anyone a progressive. Thomas Massie is a ridiculously conservative Republican who likes raw milk and taking governmental services away from the people who need it, and let’s not get into his views on the second amendment.

Not to mention that Kentucky changed the law to prohibit the Democratic governor from appointing anyone. He should call a special election and force TPTB to prove that McConnell is living and recovering. Am I the only one who feels as though Tom Kean of New Jersey was a trial balloon for something like this?

Graham Platner – Misunderstood or Nazi Rapist? Our panel of experts from a diner in Iowa weighs in on Maine’s disaster of a progressive

Vote blue no matter who is null and void when the candidate is a rapist with a Nazi tattoo, neither of which he apologizes for, not that an apology wipes away the heinous actions. We are Democrats. We don’t vote for rapists or Nazis. Ever. If that means Susan Collins gets another term, so be it. Fuck Nazis is the minimum.

The DSA is not a friend of the Democratic party. They don’t even claim to be Democrats. Stop giving them our money.

Did an Olympian athlete vandalize the reflecting pool at the Washington Mall or is Trump the fool that drove his motorcade over the national monument and then hired substandard contractors to fix something that wasn’t broken before the POTUS broke it himself? CNN investigates. Ha! No, they’re not.

If they can’t blame it on Joe Biden, they don’t report it.

Is Jew-hate the new summer trend or have we seen this before?

And how do we protect ourselves and our kids?

Also see previous DSA comments.

A group of friends spends the day on an island. The one Black man doesn’t come home. Am I the only white person seeing this? It sure feels like it.

Tragic and heartbreaking doesn’t begin to cover it.

Subscribe and follow me for more hot takes and follow and support (with money if you can):

Mark Elias and Democracy Docket – he and his team is the only one keeping our voting rights afloat – the Supreme Court certainly isn’t.

Heather Cox Richardson

Brian Tyler Cohen

Travel – Barack Obama Presidential Library

In my lifetime, there has never been anybody like President Barack Obama. His very presidency was symbolic, and I feel privileged to have witnessed it. His presidential library opens today in Chicago, Illinois. Choosing Juneteenth I’m sure was no accident, and since it’s a federal holiday, today would be a good time to take a few days off, head to Chicago and visit the library of the first Black President.

Visit the website for a look back at the Obama Presidency Timeline.

Visit the library and Obama Presidential Campus in person:

The library is located on a 19.3 acre campus on the South Side of Chicago in historic Jackson Park. Directions.

There are many things to do there that do not cost admission:

Original works of art
Gardens and plazas, including the Women’s Garden, the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden, and the John Lewis Plaza.
Nature walks
Playground
Newest branch of the Chicago Public Library
Cafe, Restaurant, and Picnic Area plus a store.

There will be programs and tours throughout the year that may require registration or tickets. Sign up for their newsletter here.

Admission to the museum is about $30 for adults for timed tickets or walk the grounds; the campus is open daily, free of charge.

Plan your visit here.

Travel – Grant Cottage

Frederick Douglass Remembers Ulysses S. Grant

Tomorrow, in commemoration of Juneteenth, historical interpreter Nathan M. Richardson brings his portrayal of abolitionist Frederick Douglass to Grant Cottage in Wilton, New York in a conversation about Ulysses S. Grant.

I visited the cottage a few years ago, and it was hands down the best historical site tour I’ve ever been on. I am looking forward to this event, which will be held tomorrow, from 1 to 2pm.

All Grant Cottage programs are free and open to the public and donations are greatly appreciated.

Directions:

From the South:
Take the Adirondack Northway (I-87) north to exit 16 toward Ballard Rd/Wilton/Corinth.
Turn left ojnto Ballard Rd. (CR-33) toward Wilton/Corinth.
Go for about 1 1/2 miles.
Continue on Corinth Mountain Rd (CR-33).
Turn right onto Parkhurst Rd. Continue on Mt. McGregor Rd. The cottage is almost two miles.
GPS address: 1000 Mt. McGregor Rd., Wilton, NY 12831

See you there!

Anne Frank

I grew up in a Jewish household in a Jewish neighborhood visiting grandmothers and cousins and observing holidays with the typical complaints of a child with too much energy to sit still and do nothing while the parents were at temple. We were often told to quiet it down while all of the kids were doing their best (or not so best) in the temple parking lot. I can still feel the heat on my face that came up from the asphalt even on these early fall days. These were my formative years. I lived this way in Queens, New York until I was ten, almost eleven when we moved to Long Island, which was different as night was to day.

While we moved east, my cousins moved south to Florida, and while we wrote often, we were bereft [th] of each other’s company which had been constant practically since I was born. My grandmother was their aunt, and my Bubbe (great-grandmother) was their grandmother. My new neighborhood was more diverse than Bayside’s Oakland Gardens, although our immediate neighbor was Jewish and he had a mixed accent of Eastern European and the Yiddish language. We traveled into Queens to see my grandmother, and into the Bronx to visit my uncle.

Friday Food – An Inspiration

Strawberry Festivals

While I know something of Native American culture, in writing my current book, I’ve discovered so much more, and it excites and inspires me. June is an important month in the Native American calendar, especially for the Haudenosaunee, as it is the season of strawberries. In addition to the three sisters (corn, beans, and squash), strawberries are a significant part of the culture, food source, and creation story. They are the first fruits of spring, and a leader of the berries. They are singled out for thanksgiving in the welcoming address before ceremonies.

Strawberries are sweet and tart, red and juicy. They can be enjoyed on their own or in other foods, mixed into salads, pureed into ice cream or yogurt, sat atop cakes or baked right in. They are refreshing and if you’re lucky, plentiful in June.

There are two Strawberry Festivals that you should know about happening in the next few weeks:

The 33rd Annual Strawberry Festival at the Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community west of Fonda, New York on Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28, and

The 11th Annual Kahnawa:ke Strawberry Food Fest just over the border in Kahnawake, Quebec, in southern Canada on Saturday, June 20, 2026.

Both events are filled with strawberry goodness, Haudenosaunee Mohawk culture, Native music and dancers, and much more! Check their flyers and websites for admission prices.

If you are in Fonda, stop by up the road and visit the St. Kateri Tekakwitha: National Shrine & Historic Site, celebrating the 350th anniversary of St. Kateri’s baptism on the site. She is the first North American Native Saint canonized by the Catholic Church.

If you decide on Kahnawake, don’t forget your passport for the border! You can also visit the Canadian National Shrine for St. Kateri where her relics are entombed. Contact the Kahnawake Tourism also to set up a tour of the village which sits on the St. Lawrence Seaway.