This Is Racism

A couple weeks back I was doing my (now) usual of railing against how ICE is an evil entity hell-bent on kidnapping people and sending them to horrible places (either concentration camps or to detention centers... well, those are the same thing), and I got a comment that they were after criminals, and... 

I'm going to leave off debating whether or not they're going after criminals (they're not), because what gets to me is what they're doing with these (mostly innocent) people they're taking. No due process. No trial. Just shipping them off to... concentration camps. 

The whole thing is evil. And it bothers me no end. 

It all boils down to white supremacy. That's what this is. They don't want "brown people" here, and that's what this is all about... 

Mark Kelly: "We have a president who doesn't understand the Constitution, who installed an unqualified secretary of defense. I cannot think of a secretary of defense in the history of our country that is less qualified than Pete Hegseth. He should've been fired after Signal-gate."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 30, 2025 at 6:31 AM

That's why I love stories like this: How 200 New Yorkers Foiled an ICE Raid Before It Even Began.

And most of this is really not legal: DOJ Says Noem Made Final Decision on El Salvador Removals in Breach of Court Order

If this is about removing criminals, why are so many children getting caught up in it?: ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record.

They're not going after criminals: College Student Is Deported During Trip Home for Thanksgiving

But it does not matter what I (or anyone else) says. Those who are supporting this regime are enjoying this. They're for the cruelty. And you won't convince me that those who have excuses for this stuff are anything other than on the side of the concentration camps. 

This is destroying the U.S.: America’s Formula for Greatness Is Under Threat

Plot Twist

I finally finished the front of the sweater...

Yay! 

But I've still got quite a few steps to do before it's complete. (Like, sleeves.) The next step was to knit the ribbing at the bottom. (Why we're doing it this way? Designers have their reasons.) 

That part didn't take nearly as long as I expected. I started with the back...

And then on Saturday I completed the front...

And so I'm just about done...

All I have to do is bind off. It's called a tubular bind off. And I just looked it up...

Turns out I'm very familiar with this. It's called grafting or Kitchener stitch. 

Let's just say that we are not on the best of terms. 

(I understand the directions. I've attempted the stitch. It makes perfect sense. But when I attempt it... It just does not work for me. There's no good reason for this.)

So, now I'm debating. I know some very good stretchy bind offs. Do I attempt the grafting? Or do I do a different bind off? 

I will have made a decision by next week. I may attempt the grafting and see how it goes. If it doesn't (which is likely), I can always rip it back and just do a stretchy bind off. 

This is what I get for not reading ahead on the pattern. Sigh. 

Well, at least there's progress. I'm getting there. 

Sweater Tracking:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back
• Missed Deadline
• Distractions from Knitting
• A Month Late
• Inching Along
• Tracking the Growth
• Weekly Sweater Update
• Moving Right Along
• Good Progress
• Almost to the Interesting Part

Cheese or Dessert

It's the day after Thanksgiving (here in the U.S.), otherwise known as Black Friday. No school for me (so my school experiences from last week will appear next week), so that means summer schedule, and that means quiz. 

This one is fun. Is it a cheese, or is it a dessert? 

Cheese or Dessert

While I knew quite a few of these, I did not know all of them. I got 22 out of 25 or 88%. I made a couple good guesses, and I made a couple not-so-good ones, so that total is higher than what I actually knew. 

Take a shot, and let me know how you did in the comments. Good luck.

13 Netflix Christmas Movies

It is Thanksgiving here in the U.S. (and I have the week off, so my subbing stories have been saved for next week), and I have been trying to think of a good topic for today's list. (This is a Thursday 13.) Then it hit me. Tomorrow is Black Friday and the start of the holiday buying season. Why not a Christmas theme? 

So, today, I went on Netflix, searched "Christmas" and listed the first 13 movies to pop up. Descriptions by IMDb. Snark by me. (Believe it or not, I really do like some of these types of movies. But I can't take some of these descriptions seriously.) 

1. Jingle Bell Heist 

At the height of the holiday season, two strangers team up to rob one of London's most famous department stores while accidentally falling in love. It really worries me that this is the first thing that pops up for my search. What does Netflix know about me? Why would they think this is what I'd enjoy?

2. My Secret Santa 

Taylor disguises as Santa at a resort to fund her daughter's ski lessons. Working with the charming manager Matthew, she finds holiday cheer and a chance at love amidst challenges. I do not think I'd enjoy this one. I can just see this being all sorts of awkward. 

3. The Night my Dad Saved Christmas 2

When Santa vanishes during a chaotic Christmas, a quirky actor tries to replace him. A father, his teen son and special friends must rescue Santa to save Christmas. Two? You mean to tell me that this is a sequel? They made one already and it was popular enough to justify a second installment? 

4. Champagne Problems

An executive travels to France to secure the acquisition of a renowned champagne brand before Christmas, but her plans are upended when she falls into a whirlwind romance with a charming Parisian - only to discover he's the founder's son. The roommates watched this one the other day. I made dinner in the kitchen while it was on. I think I've seen enough.

5. Last Christmas

Kate is a young woman subscribed to bad decisions. Working as an elf in a year-round Christmas store is not good for the wannabe singer. However, she meets Tom there. Her life takes a new turn--that seems too good to be true. Not a bad premise. Maybe this would be a good one to knit to.

6. Christmas with the Kranks

With their daughter Blair away in Peru, Luther and Nora Krank decide to skip Christmas altogether until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they must celebrate it at the last minute. Ah, finally one I recognize. I haven't seen it, but this one has been around for a while (starring people you know). 

7. A Merry Little Ex-Mas

A separated couple tries celebrating one last Christmas together with their kids before their divorce. However, the husband's new girlfriend joins the festivities, causing tension and chaos during the holidays. Oh no, I know exactly how this one is going to go, and I haven't seen a bit of it.

8. The Christmas Chronicles

The story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about. With Kurt Russel as Santa. Maybe...

9. A Sprinkle of Christmas

Libby, an up-and-coming baker, has opened up her storefront business just in time for the Christmas season. Trying to get everything off the ground, she finds herself in a heated anonymous online feud with Peter, an A-List actor, after (hiding his real identity) he gives the bakery a scathing review. At the same time, in real life, Libby takes on a game-changing side-gig: catering cake and confections for Peter's brother's high profile holiday engagement party. Neither realize they're already in a fight with each other. I worry when IMDb doesn't have it's own description for this. 

10. No Sleep 'Til Christmas

A bartender and a businesswoman find that they have only one thing in common: insomnia. Oh no. Interesting title, and the description is interesting... But I think I should stay far away from this one. 

11. Marry Christmas

After finding love, the Wright Brothers (Joey and Matthew Lawrence) unwittingly schedule weddings for the same day. A sibling rivalry ensues for the right to wed their brides on Christmas. That title is making me cringe. 

12. Klaus

A simple act of kindness always sparks another, even in a frozen, faraway place. When Smeerensburg's new postman, Jesper, befriends toymaker Klaus, their gifts melt an age-old feud and deliver a sleigh full of holiday traditions. Animated. Maybe. Doesn't look terrible. 

13. Our Little Secret

Two resentful exes must awkwardly spend Christmas together after they learn that their new partners are siblings. Interesting setup. Could be okay. But I doubt I'm going to risk it. 

Scheduling Ahead

My normal blogging routine is to write my blog posts on Sunday. I may get a post or two done ahead of that, but for the week, I have things finalized on Sunday. 

Except this week. (I took a lazy Sunday and read all day. It was nice.)

I am writing this on Tuesday. I am going to schedule this to post Wednesday. 

If you're on Blogger, you probably already know how to do this. When you open up a new post, "Published on" is right there in the Post settings sidebar. 

If it's not open, just click on the arrow. (It's usually open when you open a new post.)

"Automatic" will be selected, and the date and time will be the current date and time. As you can see above, I've clicked on "Set date and time". Then I selected the date on the calendar thingy. (If you want to go ahead months, use the little arrows next to the month and year at the top.)

Once you've selected the date, you can select the time. (You can select the time first.) Just click on the time, and a wheel with all the hour and half hour times will pop up. (You can type in a time instead.) 

And that's it. Type in your post as normal, and then hit "Publish". 

It'll show on your posts screen as "Scheduled" with the day it's scheduled to go live. And that's it. It's ready to go. 

Now I need to go and get Thursday's post ready... 

The Redistricting Fight

On election day, California voters had one thing on the ballot, redistricting. Because of what they did in Texas. And then Texas' redistricting got overturned in court. For now. We'll see what happens when the case gets to SCOTUS. 

In case you haven't been following, today I'm posting a video with one of the lawyers explaining what's happening. It is over 30 minutes long, but it has some interesting bits. (It also has the requisite "like and follow" bits as well as a couple ads.)

Some good things are happening. More bad things, but sometimes it'd good to hear about what's going right. 

Sidetracked

Last week I did make some progress on eldest nephew's sweater, but when it was time to find a take-along project for my Saturday out, I realized I couldn't take it. 

I have about two and a half inches before it's time to start the neckline, and that's something I'd rather puzzle out at home. (Yes, I have a pattern. But I've been knitting straight for a while. Reading and binding off and counting happens now, and I need to be able to focus.) 

So, time to pull out the beanie...

Not too far from finishing this one. If I focused on it this week, I'd probably finish it. But, I want to focus on the sweater neckline. (What the beanie will look like finished, different colorway.) 

I rather like the double yellow band. I'm glad I left the error. 

The beanie posts:

• The Next Projects
• Observable, Perhaps
• Well Travelled