Cliff Notes, Free From Therapy, and Moving Toward Authoritarianism

Cliff has learned to turn light switches on and off and control the dimmer switch from his perch atop his highchair. In the few weeks he's been walking, he's become very fast on his feet, no longer walking like he's inebriated but with purpose to his steps. It's been so much fun watching him grow and become himself. Rachel and Drew occasionally send us videos and photos of Cliff throughout the week, and they always bring smiles to our faces.

We had fun with friends a few nights ago using ChatGPT to make our own personal action figures (a social media craze I wasn't aware of). Our results! Use the script in my Instagram post to make your own. Part of the fun was the wait for the program to render the result, which usually took a few minutes, and then the laughter that followed. 

I was released from physical therapy for my knee three weeks ago today after being a regular there for ten months (most of those months were for pre-hab ahead of my surgery). My doctor also gave me the green light to resume my life and activities, and he said there's no need for additional follow-ups. I still have much rehab ahead of me, but I've got it from here forward.

I'm becoming more active each week. I rode outdoors last weekend for the first time since before surgery. My knee feels fine under a moderate load, but anything more than moderate causes me to immediately back off. I'm still unable to pedal out of the saddle, something typically done when cycling up steeper climbs. I will have to do better about salting in more off days in my schedule where I allow my legs to recover. Yesterday and today are off days for me as I've been overdoing my activities, and one day of rest isn't enough for now.

Tammy and I went to the Capitol in St. Paul via the light rail a couple of Saturdays ago to join 25,000 others to protest Trump's administration and their trashing of our essential agencies and institutions. When we reached the Capitol, our rail car was packed beyond capacity, with many others joining the demonstration. We feel it's important to add our presence to these events while they're still allowed—but even when they try to stop us, and they will, we'll still be showing up. I guarantee it. 

We've crossed the Rubicon into that of a lawless society with Trump's administration—most notably when Trump pardoned 1600 January 6th, 2021, insurrectionists and freed them from prison, referring to them as hostages while sending a clear message that if you perpetrate violence on his behalf, he's got your back. He now stands in defiance of a SCOTUS ruling that he return an innocent man from a hell-hole of an El Salvadoran prison that he was illegally sent to by Trump—a county he's been granted asylum from out of fear for his life. Trump is refusing to have him returned even though he was here legally, is married to a U.S. citizen, and has three children, one of which is autistic, say nothing of the SCOTUS ruling. 

Once Trump ignores a ruling by SCOTUS, where does that leave us? Key to the foundation of our form of democracy are the three equal branches of government that ensure a system of checks and balances essential for our government to function as it should. If Trump goes rogue and ignores the judiciary (he's already effectively neutered the legislative branch), we're no longer a democracy. There's no other way to say it. That begs the question: Does our 2nd Amendment right have a role to play in how we respond to a tyrant? As Tucker Carlson was so fond of saying, I'm only asking the question. 

The only realistic pressure we can bring to bear is our numbers—numbers so significant that elected officials, even in heavily gerrymandered districts, won't be able to ignore them. The threat of being primaried will pale compared to the threat of people voting them out. That's why protest marches/rallies are now as crucial as ever. If you care about keeping this grand experiment of ours alive for your children and grandchildren, please join us and make yourself heard. Use your voice while you still can because the last thing you'll want on your mind if we lose our democracy is that you were quiet as it all was shattered. That's not something I'd like to live with. 

If you limit yourself to conservative media sites, what I'm saying here will sound like hyperbole. It's not. Please become informed and involved. It's much easier to lose your freedoms than to get them back. Be sure of that.

For those who care, the Constitution is still missing from the White House website, having been removed in the first hours of Trump's presidency. 

Letters from an American

That's all I've got.