10/4/2026

 Sunday, October 4, 2026

1931 Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould debuted

2023 Kevin McCarthy became the first Speaker of the House of Representatives to be removed from office after fellow Republican hardliners  voted for his ouster

2025  Day 7 of the last 8 as an inpatient at Zablocki VA Medical Center

In bed at 9, up at 6:35; 126/76/67 133 201.2; 53/45/66/51, sunny

Morning meds at 10 a.m.   Entresto at 7:15 a.m. and p.m.  I missed my evening heart med again last night.  Ugh.  I was hardly able to walk to the bathroom this morning when I got up - lower back ferkrimpter.  Lower weight this morning probably attributable to small breakfasts and dinner yesterday, and no lunch.  

The Cornell Rape Case is the lead story in today's Sunday New York Times.  Seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity were accused of participation, in one manner or another, in the gang rape and/or sexual abuse of Jane Doe, a female Cornell student.  Chi Phi is a social fraternity, one of the oldest in the US.  The Cornell chapter is as old as Cornell itself, established in 1968.  

The story made me wonder about the identities of all the students involved, not just their names, but their backgrounds.  How did they get to be students at Cornell, which has an undergraduate acceptance rate of only 8.4%?  What were their majors and career goals?  Were any "legacy admissions"?  Did any or all of them 'come from money'?  Who were these elites, la creme de la creme of America's college students?  How many were Tom Buchanan of The Great Gatsby and how many were Richard Papen of The Secret History?   How did Jane Doe happen to know and seek out Matthew Ingalls, whom she sought at the fateful Chi Phi party?  Is Matthew related to Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House novels? to John James Ingalls, a former resident pro tem of the US Senate?  

Cornell reports that about 1/3 of its students belong to one of about 50 Greek chapters on campus, with Chi Phi being the oldest.  Where did it rank in number of applicants, or "rushes"?  How exclusive it among the fraternities?  What were or are the relationships between Greeks and non-Greeks like on campus?   

So many questions come to mind.

Am I the only person who is reminded of the charges against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by Dr. Christine Blasey, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick?  And to recall that Kavanaugh came from a highly privileged background, including Mater Dei Catholic elementary school, Georgetown Prep high school, and Yale?  Not surprising, I suppose, that I think of Gatsby and The Secret History when I think about the Cornell case.

Sarah left for her mother's house and then to Madison about 2 this afternoon.  She flies back to Germany on Tuesday.  Her 57th birthday is Thursday.