' Tuesday, November 4, 2025
1958 Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was crowned as Pope John XXIII
1979 500 Iranian students loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini seized the US Embassy in Tehran
1989 Alexanderplatz demonstrations for political reforms drew over half a million people in East Berlin, a significant event that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall
2008 Barack Obama became the first African-American to be elected President of the United States, defeating John McCain
In bed by 9, up at 5:50. Woke up feeling slightly nauseous. And my ankle area is slightly painful. 39°, wind chill 30°, high of 58°, partly cloudy day ahead.
Med, etc. Morning meds at 4:30 p.m. I failed to take the meds this morning because of no food intake plus an appointment with PCP at the VA this morning. The appointment processes 92 meetings with PCP, blood draw, chest x-ray, and pharmacy. took 2 hours. I ate CBH and 2 basted eggs when I got home and took a nap, then the meds.
Dick Cheney has died at 84. De mortis nil nice bonum. Cheney was born on January 30, 1941, almost 7 months before I was born. He was either a very good man or a very bad man, depending on your point of view. He described himself as 'the Darth Vader' of the first George W. Bush administration. He was and is widely believed to have fraudulently led the United States to the disastrous invasion of Iraq in 2003. He was the force behind America's abandonment of the Rule of Law in its so-called War on Terror: warrantless surveillance, illegal 'renditions' and detentions, 'enhanced interrogation' a/k/a torture of prisoners, secret "dark" prisons in foreign countries out of reach of American courts and law, Guantanamo, etc. On the plus side, I suspect that he honestly believed that his disregard of legal restraints in the War on Terror was required to protect the nation and its people, a form of the end justifies the means. It's easy today to take issue with his decisions, especially the use of torture and endless imprisonment without charges in Guantanamo, but it's a case of "vas you dere, Charlie?" I also note that as a leading 'neocon', and as a Secretary of Defense, he was aggressive in employing U.S. military forces, though he was a draft dodger during the Vietnam War, with 5 draft deferments. I wonder now whether Cheney's acts during the first Bush administration marked a turning point for the Republican Party and for the nation, whether it set the stage for Donald Trump, especially in this second regime. Or was it the Iran-Contra scandal in Reagan's administration? Or the multiple crimes during Nixon's presidency? Or are Republicans just like most of us, in favor of the Rule of Law so long as it doesn't hurt us too much? On the other hand, Cheney fought against the rise of Donald Trump, who places himself über alles.
Congestive heart failure? Fluid overload? Is my heart wearing out, losing its muscle strength? That's what my PCP thinks may be happening, or having happened. I was surprised to hear concern over my heart for the first time in my medical history. Perhaps it's nothing, or some temporary abnormality. If not, it may put to the test my oft-repeated desire or at least willingness to 'get(ting) it over with.' I've been in bad shape the last couple of days, and the EMG on my neck didn't help. Tomorrow is a 'free day,' before appointments with Deena, the lymphedema specialist, and with the Infectious Disease specialist on Thursday morning. When I feel lousy, I'm really out of it. When I feel good, I'm really with it. A yo-yo.
New sidewalk tomorrow. Finally.
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