1/19/25

 Sunday, January 19, 2025

D+74

1970 Eight Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands said there should be room in the church for both married priests and celibate priests

1984 The California Supreme Court rejected the request of quadriplegic Elizabeth Bouvia's to starve herself to death in a public hospital

2021 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China was committing genocide in its repression of Uighurs and other Muslim people

2025 Israel - Hamas ceasefire cames nto effect with the Palestinian death toll at 46,800 

In bed at 8:50, awake at 3:40, and up at 3:55.   The 4 a.m. temperature is 6° and the wind chill is -10°.   At 10:30, it is down to 2° and a wind chill of -13°.

Prednisone, day 250, 5.0 mg. + 2.5 mg., day 12.   5.0 mg. prednisone at 7 a.m, wondering whether this is a mistake and whether I take 5 mg. earllier and failed to write it down in this journal entry.  Have I just started the day with 10 mg. of this steroid and screwed up the regimen I've been maintaining for almost two weeks?  My absent-mindedness or forgetfulness is a real problem.  So is my incomprehension in reading and occasional confusion.  Am I into dementia?  Am I catastrophizing or just facing facts?  Good pilots learn to 'trust your instruments.'  Can I trust my jounal entries?  No entries, no pills.  Or did I just forget to make an entry?  Old age.

The Last Day of the Biden Era.  Or has his time on the world stage been too short to call an "era"?  Will the next significant news we hear of him be his illness or death, or perhaps his sinking into dementia?  Is it not ineable that if he lives 4 more years, we will be hearing news of his physical and mental condition and imaging him being in that condtion in the White House?

Now that he's given his valedictories at the State Departmentm, in the Oval Office, and in his softball interview with Lawrence O'Donnell, what am I to think of him?  I don't know when I first started to dislike the man, or why.  Was it as far back as his firstr presidential run in 1987-88, when he was exposed as a liar and a plagiarist?  Was it when he had hair transplants?  Was it the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings in '91?  Was it the slow process of growing sooo weary of his folksy schtick:  "Look, folks," "My Dad used to tell me, 'Joey . . ." "My Mom used to say," "I'm not fooling," "Here's the deal," "That's not hyperbole," "I'm serious," "Not a joke," "My word as a Biden," "C'mon, man," and his escape from his many meanderings, non sequiturs, misstatements, and mental lapses "Anyway. . ."   Whenever it occurred, at some point I came to understand that Biden is an old-fashioned, Irish-politician bullshit artist, skilled and willing to make stuff up as he spoke and uttering it as truth.  He could be a flagrant liar, like claiming to have earned 3 degrees in college, having graduated in the top half of his law school classs, having been awarded a scholarship to law school, etc.

In any event, what I will most remember him for was providing Danld Trump a second term in the White House, much like Ruth Bader Ginsberg who, by refusing to step aside in her old age, is remembered for giving us Donald Trump's 3rd Supreme Court appointment Amy Coney Barrett.  We'll never know whether another Democratic candidate, someone other than Kamala Harris and with more time to campaign, would have beaten Trump in the 2024 election.  Biden made that impossible by insisting on running for reelection at age 81 and refusing to step aside even when most in his own party wanted him te.  There is an article in yesterday's NYTimes titled "How Biden’s Inner Circle Protected a Faltering President" by Katie Rogers, Adam Entous, Maggie Haberman, and Charlie Savage.  It relates how Biden's family (especially wife Jill and son Hunter) and his staff took steps to prevent the public from seeing how his age had diminished Biden's physical vigor and mental sharpness.  It's hard for me to feel any sympathy for any of them knowing what was at stake in the 2024 election., namely the fate of the government and people of the United States, and indeed the fate of the world.  Pretecting precious Joey Biden's inflated ego was never more important than the rest of the country's and the world's safety and welfare.  Shame on all of them.  Instead of going out as a hero (of sorts) with many commendible accomplishments, Biden leaves office as a goat, and not a GOAT.

Geri rested a lot today thanks to the hydrocodone medication.  Sue has been keeping track of her medications and getting up in the middle of the night to keep her on schedule with each med.  One would think she is a registered nurse.  I'm so grateful that she is here to help.

Text to ASC:  I’m wishing you a very good birthday and a very good year ahead.  For me, moving past 83 and clearly into the mid-80s has been a time of increased reflection about all I have to be thankful for and living with regrets for my too-many failings and weaknesses, especially for people I’ve hurt.  Before I kick the bucket, I want you to know how grateful I am to you for all you have given me over all the years we have shared and how much I regret and apologize for every hurt I have caused you.