Elli Lester Roushanzamir

I work as an elder and hospice caregiver, which I am oddly passionate about. I can love on them shamelessly and no one complains about my codependence. It's a win-win situation. Many of my caregiving colleagues complain about the repetitive questions and, sometimes reactions, of the elderly, especially when those patients happen to read the newspaper, especially with the current downward spiral of our country — as if these people haven't lived through enough horror... I love my dementia peeps, but sometimes wonder if there's a Guinness Book World Record for how many times an hour a dementia patient can repeat the same question — it's got to be in the hundreds. At least with small children, they ask different questions. Dementia patients will get stuck on one short question and ask it until you can interrupt their train(carousel) of thought and successfully redirect their attention. That carousel is pretty manic sometimes. A couple days ago, I picked up my mail from the post office and drove over to the nursing home to take (let's call her "Miss Daisy") Miss Daisy out for a drive. Before we took off on our road trip, to the end of The Road and back, in our landlocked little town (Juneau, Alaska), I set my copy of The Onion down in front of her. Over our two-hour excursion, tiny Miss Daisy read that front page at least a dozen times and each time she would snicker, giggle, and guffaw, then put it down on the dash board and, a minute later, discover it anew. I think it was the best afternoon of my life. We don't often hear them laugh and when they do, it's the sweetest thing you've ever heard. ... Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the really important work all of you do. You make the world a better place.

I got permission to share this, and I'm extremely grateful for that.

The Onion got this letter from one of our subscribers in Alaska. She works with dementia patients and decided to leave a copy in the car for each one.

This email made my year. Read it and you'll see what I mean. People are good.

It’s like the Middle Ages are back.

Here is an example of a Queen, wanting a King, to be a Pope.

Holy Roman Empire 2.0

Falco – ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ 26 April 1986 My memory of the night is hazy. However, I’m pretty sure I was at a college party where as a party piece someone stood by the fireplace, propped their elbow on the mantelpiece i…

Eine kleine Popmusik. Number one in Ireland this week in April 1986: Falco with the splendid 'Rock Me Amadeus' irishnumberones.com/2022/02/26/f...

Alexis Herman, 1947-2025 Friends,

open.substack.com/pub/robertre...

Raskin: We even have the right to call the president deranged for crashing our economy, destroying $6 trillion of wealth and turning our 401(k) Into a 201 (K). And the press has the right to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico.

💙 DC never disappoints. #handsoff

These are the signs of the times — as demonstrated in today’s Hands Off!

WE ARE THE OPPOSITION!!

100,000+ people marched at the #HandsOff rally in New York!

found Art/fabulous

With Deportations, Trump Steps Closer to Showdown With Judicial Branch “Oopsie … Too late,” El Salvador’s president said, mocking a court order that deportation flights to his country turn back to the United States. Top administration officials thanked him.

It’s almost funny but actually shocking how MAGA spent all week trying to justify the detention of Mahmoud Khalil with BS ‘he’s Hamas’ accusations but then goes & deports Dr Rasha Alawieh, a Brown uni professor & doctor specializing in kidney transplant patients without any reasons given whatsoever!

Meanwhile over on the other place, rightwing free speech warriors (this guy is a former DeSantis campaign staffer) are calling for me to be denaturalized and deported because they don’t like my political speech. This is what fascism and racism looks like, folks.

Shame

Yesterday’s film and today’s film:
#Lilies
#QueerFilm
#bobdylan
#cinemaverite

Recommend both & would be interested in your thoughts

Blumenthal: "What world is he living in? It is not only contrary to the facts and the truth but utterly despicable. A disgusting betrayal of a country that has bled and fought and died for freedom ... the president's surrender is pathetic and weak."

I’m George Takei and I approve of this message.

Strawberries and cream, brought to you by Raphaelle Peale, first American still-life painter. He was born on this day in 1774.

Plus mint

🌈💜☮️

Precisely 🌈💜☮️

The forge of Vulcan, 1585. Curiously specialized in housewares. But Cupid is working away too, for Valentine's Day. And with a fine pet dog, because it's by Jacopo Bassano. Today is his day

Photo according #TonyRoberts 2/7/25 NYT Obit

…and the last sentence screams out for more context (for me, at least—?.)🌩️

We told you they would come for veterans. We told you they would come for community care.

⚫️🔴Yay🔴⚫️Congratulations to you & alto to EMST/Grady/UGA

Gutting USAID threatens billions of dollars for U.S. farms, businesses U.S. businesses that sold goods and services to USAID are in limbo, including American farms dealing in rice, wheat and soybeans.

US farmers sold $2 billion of food to USAID. Not any more.

- US farmers provided 41% of food delivered by USAID
- $340M of purchases/shipments are now paused. Over 680,000 tonnes.
- Food stranded in Houston
- Aid stopped in transit.

The world’s poor starving, food rotting & US farmers screwed.

(Before reading your caption) I was
Struck by the beauty of this drawing, mesmerized by Sir John More’s eyes (beckoning from centuries past; just a bit frightening)

KOSMA - the Kids Off Social Media Act - is a bad, bad bill. We need education and regulation, not bans.

We need to rein in the technocratic oligarchs and demand transparency for their products. Make the world better, not less.

Elias van den Broeck tries some fruit & oysters along with the flowers. Looks good! Lemon peel curled around the wine glass is also a nice touch. Today is his day.