Fascist State?

Fascism: a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition. 

Last week I covered a world history class, and the above poster was on the wall in the classroom. 

The term fascism has been bandied about a lot as of late with regards to our government. Have we gone full fascism? According to that dictionary definition, no. But, we are headed that way. Especially if those in charge get their way. 

I mean, if you look, you can see all the awful things that are happening: 

• ICE Violence Is Fueled by Misogyny and White Nationalism
• Holocaust Memorial Museum quietly changed content after Trump returned to office
• Donald Trump and the Deconstruction of America
• Wormy Food, Intimidating Guards, Sick Kids: Inside ICE’s Only Family Detention Center
• Worms in food, poor medical care, lights on 24/7: Families tell of life in Texas detention center
• Trump Admin Confirms 91 Wrongful Deportations of Asylum Seekers
• Fear Is the Goal: Trump’s anti-immigration push is backed by intense propaganda for a reason.
• ICE agents seen 'terrorizing' woman and child at SFO, Calif. senator says
• Hiding out with an immigrant family in ICE-occupied Memphis
• Musk Endorsed White Nationalism And the silence is deafening
• Is empathy a sin? Some conservative Christians argue it can be
• Immigrant truck drivers were supposed to get their licenses back. Why California’s DMV is stalling

Enough. For today. There's more, if you look. 

I'm so tired of living in interesting times.

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Eldest Nephew Models His Sweater

It was July in Ohio. I asked my brother, his wife, and their children what they wanted for Christmas. Eldest nephew (after a reminder from his mom) asked for a heavy winter sweater in forest green. Okay, then. 

The last Thursday of the year I do a recap post, "This year in 13 posts", and every year I link to a post of a major knit/crochet project. But that post rarely is more than a post-of-the-week on the in-the-minute of where the project is. So, since April, I might as well let newer visitors get a better idea of the full picture.

I found a pattern on Knitty: When Harry Met Lucy. Heavy winter sweater means cables to me, and cables are easy enough. Cleared with eldest nephew, I ordered the yarn, and waited. 

For new visitors, my brother has five kids. On the blog their names are niece (who is now 24), eldest nephew (who is 20), middle nephew (15), and the twins (who will be 13 on V-day).

I started the project at the end of July. I had hoped to get the back finished by the end of August, but work... (I started the school year in a vacant art class, so I got kinda busy the last couple weeks of August and into September.) 

While I wanted to have the sweater done in time for Christmas, well, nope. I had the front and back done, but I had just started the first sleeve. 

The family came to visit, so I showed eldest nephew where the sweater was. I'm not sure if he was disappointed it wasn't finished as he spent the first couple days of that trip (the day I saw him was his birthday) with a miserable cold. But I had warned him it might not be done in time. 

In February, with one sleeve done and one in progress, I planned to get the thing done in time to mail it along with my brother's birthday gift. (Brother's birthday was the end of March. Last Monday, to be precise.) 

I just barely made it. 

I mailed the package the Thursday before. It arrived ON my brother's birthday. Phew. 

And the main purpose of this post? Would you like to see the sweater ON eldest nephew? 

All done. And delivered. Just in time for spring. 

Now it's time to start the sweater that sister-in-law requested. For last Christmas. Sigh. 

Have you ever gotten a late Christmas gift? (Not March late, necessarily.) Anyone started for this coming Christmas? (Yes, I know it's eight months away.) 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

The sweater's previous posts:

• 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
• Plot Twist
• Not Worth the Effort
• Sleeve Progress
• Continuing Sleeve One
• Sleeve Two!
• Continuing Sleeve Two
• Setting a Deadline
• Almost There
• How I Keep Track
• Some Assembly Required
• Missed Winter
• Seamingly On Track
• Just the Collar
• And That's All She Knitted

Duck, Duck, Goose

Duck.

Duck.

GOOSE!

I don't normally post on Saturdays, (and I'm normally not online on Saturdays), but for the A to Z Challenge I check in with a quick picture. So, while planning for D, I thought "duck", because we have dozens of ducks that live in the complex. 

So, I went to take pictures of said ducks last Friday only to find that all the ducks had disappeared. Poof. Gone. 

Considering the timing, I suspect that they're nesting someplace, and in the next week or so, there'll be way more ducks because they'll have ducklings. 

On Sunday while walking the dog, I found a few ducks out and about. Phew. Notice, males. And the pictures aren't great. Usually the fowl creatures are underfoot, but not then. But that's good enough for me. 

Do you see ducks near where you live? Got any critters that are just always underfoot?

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

College Orientation

Wednesday. Twelfth grade English. 

I unlocked the door to the classroom, and I walked in to find the teacher there. She was just getting ready to leave. She'd be on campus reading essays (as they do once a quarter). So, while she said I could call if I needed her, it'd be unlikely as counselors and administrators from the nearby Cerritos College would be in class to help the kiddos register for classes. 

I do love a day where outside presenters are there to take over the class. 

First period. As the kiddos were arriving, an entourage of eleven arrived to present. Cerritos College is one of the local community colleges. I'm not sure of details, but the local high schoolers can get reduced (or free) cost tuition if they meet certain qualifications. (Being a local recent grad is the main one.) 

We are at the point in the year where the seniors are just about done. And so, the community college is ready to welcome them. 

In previous classes, they had gone through the application process, and they had done the FAFSA. This day the counselors and such were there to explain things like getting into a program that would give them priority registration and how to register for classes. They made sure they could access the college's student portal and that they had their new student ID numbers. 

Not all of the kiddos are going to go to that college. There are several community colleges in the area. (Off the top of my head, I know of Long Beach, Goldenwest, Fullerton, and Cypress. I just did a Google search, and found something like seventeen.) Some are going to universities (we also have a few of those in the area). Some may be joining the military. Others might already have jobs or apprenticeships lined up. And others might not have any plans yet. 

But, as it is close, and many will go, they found it worked better to just do an orientation for them in their high school. Very convenient, that. 

I wish I had had something like this when I started college. I don't know if the kiddos realize how nice this is for this transition for them. 

It made for an easy day for me. My biggest challenge was staying awake. 

But it was a little bittersweet. I've had many of these kiddos in various classes over the last several years. They're growing up. And they'll be leaving. 

Did you go to college? If your high school had done something like this, would you have been more likely to (if you did not)? 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Behaved Well, Actually

While I was happy to work, I kind of was dreading the day. 

Friday. Eighth grade science. 

Science is my jam, but eighth graders... My tag for days with the eighth graders (8RE) is code for "eighth graders are evil". Because they can be. 

And then... 

They went and surprised me. 

The day's assignment was an animal adaptations project. They picked an animal. Then they were to find three adaptations that help the critter survive... 

Student: Can I pick a unicorn?

Me: No mythical creatures, please.

They were to draw a picture. Write about three of the critter's adaptations. Illustrate the critter's closest relative. And they had the whole period to do this. 

And you know what? They actually did the work. 

(Well, mostly. I had a couple kiddos who played more than they worked. But that happens everyday. It would have been weird if I didn't have a couple of those kiddos.) 

There was a good selection of animals picked. They went from axolotls to sharks to sloths to horses. Orson had a meltdown until I calmed him by mentioning different animals he could pick. And most of them finished or nearly finished the project in class. 

Now, can all my days with the eighth graders be like that? Please? 

If you could do a project on a mythical creature, which one would you pick? I think I'd go with a dragon. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

African-American Studies

Tuesday. AP African-American Studies. 

Welcome to April and the first day of the A to Z blogging challenge. When I say that the letter of the day sometimes just falls into my lap, this is what I mean. African-American Studies? Really? 

Last week was a light week. I only had Wednesday scheduled. Monday's assignment popped up at 5 in the morning. Tuesday's popped up at about 7 PM the night before. Which was strange. Usually assignments pop up during the school day or in the middle of the night. But hey, I went to bed knowing I'd have a job the next day, so I was fine with it. 

I got to the classroom. After turning on the lights, I headed for the teacher's podium. Nope. Headed back to his desk. Nope. 

There was a knock on the door. 

I made my way through the desks to the door to find a teacher waiting for me. She had a paper in her hand. 

"I was just looking for that," I told her. 

The day's lesson plans. 

Teachers will sometimes email their plans to one of their teacher friends. Who will then print them out and bring them to us subs. We do love having the lesson plans. 

It was going to be a pretty easy day. AP or advanced placement is a class students take to earn college credit. That is, they get the college credit if they pass the AP test at the beginning of May. The class of mostly seniors and some juniors had online work to complete. (It was phrased "independent projects".) 

Okay, then. 

For the second class of the day, I did my usual introduction, stating that maybe the teacher wasn't feeling well. 

A student: "Jury duty". 

Ah. 

Suddenly the timing of the call the night before made sense. 

In Los Angeles County, one must call in after 7 PM every night of the week one is assigned jury duty. One is told either, "call back tomorrow" or "report tomorrow". (I've done this a few times, so I'm familiar.) 

While I never wish a teacher ill (or stuck on jury duty), I do appreciate having work for the day. 

Have you ever served on a jury? Does African-American Studies sound like a class you would have liked to take in high school? 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

How Many?

The other day I had an exchange with someone who actually still supports the regime. (When I expressed my views, she didn't trust my facts because I follow "the fake news". Deep sigh.) I said something about the fact that we now have concentration camps and those in charge are committing atrocities. 

Her response? It's not actually that bad. 

Um... 

And so, a few days later I had this thought. What if there was a website somewhere keeping a tally? Of those who have died as a direct result of this regime? 

How many have died in ICE custody? (Like this guy.) How many have died as a result of the gutting of USAID? How many have died of measles? How many have died in the attacks on other countries? How many have been openly just killed? 

I'm sure this number is way higher than people think. 

I do not know how to even begin to compile such stats. And I do not have the skills to create the website (although that part I could probably figure out). 

But I think it's something we need. A tally. That is updated regularly. Supported by facts. 

Some still won't believe it, but we somehow need to bear witness. Keep track. 

I hope for a reckoning someday. Until then, I want a list of everything. So we don't forget. 

(After I wrote all this, I stumbled upon an article that basically says the killing of people is a feature, not a bug: Our nation is quickly being destroyed by “necropolitics.")