"The Salacious Sins Of Sister Cuthberta"

Sisters Cuthberta (Rachel Rycerz) and Andalucia (Kristarae Flores).

Big Idea Theater in Sacramento has been presenting a variety of one act plays.  On Valentine's Day I went to see "Now Are You Afraid of Me?," a drama about dealing with legacy of an Alaskan murderer, and "The Salacious Sins Of Sister Cuthberta," a touching story about two nuns and a cat in 16th Century France.

"The Salacious Sins Of Sister Cuthberta" was a strange experience for me.  I had repeatedly run lines with Rachel, and so I was very familiar with the dialogue, particularly Sister Andalucia's lines.  Still, I had been delivering the lines "flat."  In the show, the lines were energized with emotion, so it was a completely different experience altogether!

Excellent show!

RIP, Jesse Jackson

Farewell Jesse Jackson, who mounted presidential runs based on his experience in the Civil Rights movement. 

 I recall seeing Jackson once. His presidential campaign came to the University of Arizona in Tucson in April, 1984. I waited outside Centennial Hall with the crowd. We expected his motorcade shortly. There was a nervous energy in the crowd I didn't like. This looked a setup for an assassination. 

Twenty feet away, at the front of the crowd, a photographer with a fancy camera took pictures. Suddenly, the motorcade began arriving. The photographer calmly set his camera onto the pavement, turned left, and slugged the man standing next to him. Boom! Unexpected chaos in the front line! 

 Jackson's limousine pulled up at that instant, the door opened, and he stepped out. Guards blithely ushered him into the auditorium. Apparently unexpected chaos is quite expected in those circles. In seconds, the tense moment was over. We entered the hall and watched Jackson give his speech.

Arguing With A MAGA Chud

Because arguments on the Internet these days seem too bloodless and intellectual, I present to you this guy (starting at 1:08, from the weekly protest at Howe and Arden Blvds. in Sacramento, CA, on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2026).

 

My "Von Dutch" Karaoke Project

I've been trying to learn this Charli XCX song, maybe for karaoke some day. I need a bit more, panache maybe....

 

Back at The Montessori School Again

Smiling cap.

It's been about three months since I've been at the Montessori school.  I got sick around November 8th, and the cough lingered.  Then there were the holidays, and anti-ICE activities.  So, when I finally returned, enough time had passed that I had forgotten the names of many of the students.  Time to recommit the names to memory!

In the last two weeks I've assisted in a lower-elementary class.  Nice kids.  I spent time checking in-class work, asking some to rewrite backward fives and threes.  I listened to them sound out words, and trip over the many English words where that method doesn't work very well: words like "who."

One boy in the class seemed unusually boisterous while walking in the line heading to lunch.  He liked my smiling cap, so he quickly grabbed it, and held it for a keep-away game.  Another slightly-less boisterous student pretended to help me retrieve the cap but actually wanted the cap for himself. So, we had a lot of fun with the cap.

At lunch, the boisterous boy kept lunging at me to garb the cap.  The other assistants seemed troubled by what first appeared to be an assault on an adult.  It was OK, though.  It's just how we roll.  I swear, I'm just as much an instigator of trouble as the kids sometimes.

I amused the kids by gobbling like a turkey, which I do, in part, by shaking my jowls.  The kids try to imitate me, but can't, because they aren't old enough to have jowls.

So noisy at lunch!  A group of boys were collecting banana peels and grinding them in the floor between the lunch tables and next to the wall, to create a micro-environment where it was impossible to walk without slipping onto the floor.  I collected the peels and foiled the project.

At lunch, I analyzed the play structure, trying to forecast the motives and moves of about 25 kids, to interject to foil rough play and help them avoid injuries.  It's hard, though.  For example there's one kid blocking the narrow entry to the slide.  He had a friend helping him.  Then there's another kid determined to break through the blockade and go down the slide.  He has confederates too. Then there are kids glued onto the slide itself and trying to peel each other off of it.  Not surprisingly, several kids ended up with banged knees.

Then I was diverted by another kid.  This kid is unusually focused and wants to play only in a Star-Wars-like fashion - light sabers, clone technology, force fields, lasers, and all the other assorted weaponry, etc. Because of the strict Star-Wars focus, however, this kid often has trouble finding playmates and seems lonely.  So I play.  I have to remember that even though the kid is to all appearances a girl, he identifies as male.  Easy to make faux pas.

Back in class, the boisterous boy wanted to show me his favorite classroom activity.  He jammed a pencil tip into an eraser, then broke off the tip.  He did the same with a number of pencils, collecting the lead from all the pencil tips.  I found this activity irritating, since someone will have to sharpen the pencils again.  "What is the point?" I asked.  "To gather the pencil leads and grind them into a powder!" the kid replied.  "But then what?" I answered.  No good answer here.  Some people may be incorrigible.

Good times!

RIP, Robert Duvall

Rest in Peace, Robert Duvall. So many excellent movies! 

My favorite movie of his was the one for which he won the Best Actor Academy Award in 1984, "Tender Mercies." Best movie ever!

 

Thursday Evening at the Camp for Justice

A week had passed, so Thursday evening it was time to check in once again on the good folks protesting ICE at the Camp for Justice, at the John Moss Federal Building in downtown Sacramento. 

A week ago, Sac PD took the tipi that had been erected at the John Moss Building. A tent (that some called a yurt) was quickly erected in its place. Then sometime in the last week, the yurt too was removed, leaving open space for a variety of memorials. 

Evenings at the Camp for Justice are a real demonstration of community. People have been bringing food to share. There is fine conversation and occasional bits of music. Very peaceful, when ICE is quiet.

   

Music of the spheres, on Thursday evening, February 12, 2026.

 

The tipi at the John Moss Building on the evening of February 3, 2026, The Sac PD took the tipi on Thursday morning, February 5, 2026.

The yurt, the replacement for the tipi, on February 5, 2026. The yurt didn't last very long.

Stay cute.

Chalk drawings!

RIP, Nancy Shappell

RIP, Nancy Shappell, Bruce Warren's sister, who spent many years in North Dakota as a USDA scientist, but passed away in Virginia. Obituary.

The Testament of Ann Lee

Almost forgot to mention, I saw this film (around January 17, 2026). Kind of a peculiarity of a movie; dark and textured. Still, I'm reminded of my history professor from UNM days, Ferenc Szasz, who was a specialist on Protestant sects in 19th-Century America. This movie was meant for him! 

An interesting thing is that the credits list mostly Hungarians. Some of the scenes were filmed in Scandinavia (Sweden, I think). I didn't realize American religious sects were of such interest to Europeans!

   

The music and choreography are quite remarkable!

 

An Acknowledgement

Just a brief note honoring Coco, dancer and instructor at Rancho Cordova's "Ballet Studio." She is just an amazing inspiration! We students generally approximate ballet. Coco can actually DO ballet! We all admire her and are lucky to have her as an example!

John Moss Tipi

On Tuesday, I visited the anti-ICE encampment at the John Moss Federal Building in Sacramento. I was amazed by the Tipi. There is a mix of Native American symbols and anti-ICE messages on it now. There are many more handprints on it than before, many apparently coming from the (at least 1,000) student protesters who came by here on January 30th.

I like the commemorative bear.  No one in Sacramento has gotten bear-maced more often..
 

Albuquerque Camp

Camp, as in Susan Sontag, which depends on serious intent.

The amazing “hidden” sand dunes of Albuquerque, New Mexico
byu/Dull-Pianist-6777 inAlbuquerque

Memorial Service For Prentice Blankenship - February 2, 2026

I didn't know Prentice very well.  I knew his daughter Lisa Holder and grandchildren Katherine and Lexi, however, when they were involved in the Young Performer's Theater at Davis Musical Theatre Company (DMTC) from the years 2006-8.  Prentice appeared in just one show, "Camelot," in 2007.  So, when Prentice died at age 96, and much of the family returned from Oregon for the services, I wanted to wish them well.

I was also motivated by trying to learn the identity of family member Lisa Kelly.  She seemed to know me on Facebook, but I didn't know who see was.  Turns out, Lisa Holder now goes by Lisa Kelly.  I already knew her.  Who knew?

It was nice to see them again after 18 years!

St. Mary's Cemetery. This place is big. It took me forever to find the graveside service.

Reception back at the chapel.  I was amused by the photo collection on the phone of one of the guests.  He is a tow-truck driver for AAA, and he uses his camera to duly record the reasons why vehicles stop running.  For example, photos of an endless series of mangled tires.  One tire had run over a multi-purpose tool.  Plus, tires ripped from their wheels, beltless engines, and  every possible mechanical permutation to stop a vehicle in its tracks.

"California Suite" _ Chautauqua Playhouse - January 31, 2026

Deborah Bromley and Rachel Rycerz in the greeting line after the show.

A good time watching friends on stage!

Thoughts By David Miller (on Facebook)

 When I heard Kash Patel,

and what’s left of his rag tag FBI,

“inside the octagon,”

were going to,

“investigate signal groups in Minneapolis,”

as they have in other cities,

I thought to myself,

“Oh fer cute. This will be interesting. Kash doesn’t know we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

And that’s because I know an OG,

someone who helped organize

“decentralied direct action”

here in Minneapolis

back in the 1990’s.

And I mean EARLY 90’s.

Back when that meant making a zine, getting a button making machine, putting out a newspaper, and helping organize an info shop on the corner next to the puppet studio was, “going big.”

Who is now in at least 8 different signal chat groups, and he can’t keep up.

Has to peer through his readers at the frenzy of activity, notifications pinging like a pinball machine, on his smart phone.

And he smiles, “the kids these days.”

So he’s doing what most people are doing.

Focusing on one or two specific groups.

And letting the rest continue to grow, self-organize, to meet the needs where the needs are.

And holy wow, if that isn’t happening.

There are people in vests waiting at the Whipple Federal Building to pick up those beaten and traumatized, wandering in the woods, the dog park, or miles away down some small county road.

There is the direct action faction, working to develop better ways to deal with Hexacholoroethane gas, and how to turn the moat between them and the masked private army into a hard-to-detect ICE rink, for everyone’s favorite entertainment: ICE on ice.

There are signal groups of carpenters and framers who move into fix the effects of battering rams on doors.

Teams of Tow truck drivers who let protesting masked ICE agents know, “how do I know if this is your car if I can’t see your face.”

Who also help to get the abandoned cars, often left running in the middle of the street, of those who have been taken.

There are crews of medics.

There are the ICE chasers.

The ones who follow the agents from their hotels and staging areas through the neighborhoods. Honking. Whitles out. Documenting. Witnessing.

The legion of drum kit operators and noise makers who keep the occupiers up all night.

And the Brass Solidarity Band keeping the people in a perpetual Mardi Gras of movement, even in our mourning.

An army of immigration attorneys.

And the churches. Oh, so many churches. And synagogues, mosques, and temples. Full of people singing, praying, acting as emergency food shelves, and sanctuary.

And the quiet ones.

The ones who don’t go to the massive marches and general strikes in the streets so their license plates won’t get tracked, or their faces put into biometric data bases.

Who help move the people, bring food, and give direct comfort to those in hiding.

But what Kash and Co. will find is that this isn’t the fringe, isn’t some ultra leftist project.

It’s EVERYONE.

And you may think I’m being hyperbolic.

I’m not.

It’s literally all of Minneapolis and a growing percentage of people in the surrounding suburbs.

Minnesota Public Radio just did a story that estimated that 30,000 people have been trained by UNIDOS and Monarcha to be responders.

Others are putting that number between 80 and 100k.

And those are just the people who got trained who are acting like hubs for others.

It’s soccer Moms, Wine club Moms, Dads who coach basketball down at the park building. It’s eighty year old great grandmothers who marched to stop the Vietnam War, and kids who think this regime is so 6 7.

It’s circles, interlocking circles, built on top of the work of Black Women and BIPOC LGBTQIA during the George Floyd Uprising, but also Anti-Globalization in the early 00’s, lthe student networks doing Central American solidarity in the 1990’s, anti-apartheid work in the 1980’s, anti-Vietnam war work in the 1970’s, the birth of the Amercan Indian Movement on these streets in 1968, and the reverberating legacy of radical unionism from the 1930’s.

It’s all of that, but it’s more.

And it’s that part that’s hard to explain.

Hard to quantify.

There’s something else going on.

People who have felt like the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket, who felt hopeless, despondent, depressed, and disempowered

who are waking up to the fact that we can do something about it.

That we can actually do something to change the course of history.

That these are our neighborhoods.

This is our society.

And this is our Country.

And if they’re going to come for the “ring leaders” to try and stop it,

they’re going to have to come for us all.

Early Bloom

There is an event that happens annually in my back yard. This Japanese plum tree starts to bloom. Generally, the date of first bloom is February 5th. The earliest I’ve seen it bloom is January 31st. This year, it bloomed on the early side, on February 1st. 

First bloom date keeps moving earlier and earlier due to global warming. I thought it might bloom later this year given how foggy December felt so cold, but apparently it wasn’t cold enough to make any dent in the statistics. December 2025 was just the coldest December since 2022. A nothingburger. 

Given the recent lack of rain, and previous rains, rainfall for the season in Sacramento is now exactly normal. We continue drying out.

Chaotic Monday At The John Moss Building

It was a chaotic Monday afternoon, February 2nd, at the ICE Field Office’s 7th Street Gate at Sacramento’s John Moss Building. (I arrived much later, so missed the excitement). 

ICE officers, likely heading home at 3:45 p.m., refused to remove masks (it’s now illegal for officers to wear masks in California) and refused to identify themselves to protesters. The ICE officers relied heavily on support from unmasked DHS officers (basically, their more-experienced babysitters). One protester was tased, bear-maced, and hauled inside. Another protester (praying on the sidewalk) was dragged inside. She was also bear-maced. A third protester escaped. Both of the detained protesters were released. 

It seems to me that ICE is trying to jam open a loophole in SB 627 here and that the confrontation was carefully orchestrated. The ICE officers present were at the end of their shift and presumably heading home. Even though they were still on John Moss grounds they would say they were off duty, and free to wear any masks they pleased. This would explain why the DHS officers weren’t wearing masks and why the protesters weren’t held for long, since there are penalties for false arrest. Meanwhile, the protesters were trying to enforce the law within their limited means. 

This video is sped up.

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A post shared by 916 Eyes On ICE (@916eyesonice)

We Live In Jeffrey Epstein's World

I like history and I like people’s shock to news that Jeffrey Epstein was connected not only with Steve Bannon but to the founding of 4chan. 

Even for the non-conspiratorial, everything’s connected. The President of Columbia was not wrong when he recently said that a cabal of pedophiles running the world from Washington, D.C., was an immediate threat to his country. The cabal is in charge. This is ongoing. Wake up, everyone….

 

@dreamtwist A lot of people seem to not completely comprehend what this means and i get it because there’s a lot! #mememagic #gamergate #2016 ♬ Classic classical gymnopedie solo piano(1034554) - Lyrebirds music

I Wonder If "Melania" Is At The Tower Theater?

 

Sacramento's Howe at Arden Protest - January 31, 2026

The energy and public support were high at Saturday's weekly Howe at Arden anti-ICE protest. The number of people protesting keeps increasing, week over week. I made two counts, of 122 and 114, so roughly 120 people were present and loudly showing their displeasure towards ICE. Last week, we had about 100, the week before, 80, and the week before that, 50. 

We are riding an exponential upswing in protest participation. Nothing is harder to sustain than exponential growth, especially with something so morally-serious as protesting, but here we are! We aren't even the fastest-growing protest group. Apparently the group at Sunrise and Greenback in Citrus Heights had 112 participants on Saturday. The week before, they had 50. That's explosive growth! 

I also visited the brand-new protest group at the Fulton Target, at Fulton and Alta Arden. Maybe 15 participants at first outing. 

New groups are nucleating across California and the country, and finding their own success. I'm curious about the Sunrise Gold River group. A new group, an offshoot from our Howe at Arden group, starts protesting in Santa Rosa tomorrow. 

I'm sorry I missed the big student protest at the State Capitol and at the John Moss Federal Building on Friday. This protest was amazing, the pinnacle of coordinated success, with more than a thousand student participants (according to the Sacramento Bee), from dozens of schools, and apparently arriving on light rail in two large waves. 

It is difficult to arrange large protests, especially with young people, who have to consciously-step outside their bubbles of conventional thinking. The students execute joint action with their peers and they do not readily forget what they did. The anti-ICE students join previous generations of protesters, such as Civil Rights, Vietnam, Iraq, and Occupy protesters, We all fight together in common cause.

 

Dog Park

Last Thursday, January 29th, I walked Jasper to the auto repair place, to collect my car, and then across the street to the dog park, where we met many dogs, including this little staring doggie, who protectively blocked me from getting anywhere close to his master.

Speaking To The Sacramento City Council

Prepared to speak on Item 14 at the Sacramento City Council on strengthening Sanctuary City provisions in Sacramento.

Here I go!

 

Singing "Resilience" in Advance of Sacramento City Council Meeting - January 27, 2026

 

Hypocrisy of the Right Regarding Arms

@westmoreland_pops The silence of 2A advocates is deafening! #minnesota #law #secondamendment #freedom #thebackforty ♬ original sound - Will Westmoreland

These Are Our Sacramento Protesters!

Favorable coverage, with video:

Outside the John Moss Federal Building, demonstrators participated in one of many anti-ICE protests occurring across the country. The scene was filled with the sounds of flags waving, cars honking, and people chanting.

Allen O'Brien, an anti-ICE protester, said, "If I had one giant ask of the whole country, my biggest one personally...if we can't abolish ICE yet, we need to abolish for-profit detention centers."

When asked what they would say to the Trump administration, a protester named Faygo responded, "Abolish ICE."

Jayden Crandall, another anti-ICE protester, said, "I want to come out here to stand for my community, because everyone around me is so important to me and I think that even people with the opposing views, for me, I still want to fight for it because I love everyone around me, and I want everyone to be free to live in a life that they want to pursue."

..."ICE has killed a US citizen and I feel so heartbroken that we've been so divided by fake lines that divide this land that we've come to kill each other," Crandall said.

When asked if there was anything positive about ICE, Amanda M. said, "No. I believe that ICE has not functioned correctly since its inception."

Thomas O'Brien, another protester, said, "No child should be afraid to go to school. No family should be afraid to go to a house of worship. No person should be afraid to go to the hospital. So until everybody can go about their lives, unafraid, that's what we're going to be out here for."

A Visitor's Tale

It was a quiet Monday evening at Camp for Justice, but at one point a visitor arrived to tell us a compelling tale. The visitor had been at this very location on November 4, 2025, when several ICE agents came out of the pedestrian gate, out to where protesters had gathered. The agents then began addressing the protesters, like "We understand that you have the right to protest outside this facility, etc." Suddenly the agents tackled several protesters and dragged them into the John Moss Federal Building. 

The agents proceeded to ask the visitor what he characterized as a series of "the dumbest questions ever," including who was paying him to protest. He could hear them talking on the phone to a superior about their video of the arrest, which they characterized as unclear and blurry and perhaps unsuitable as evidence. The visitor began loudly complaining about his ankle, slightly-injured when the ICE agents tackled him, which he played up under the circumstances. He threatened to sue ICE. He was taken to a hospital for medical assistance and presented with a citation, which he signed with "Fuck ICE." Several hours after his arrest he was released. 

The interesting thing to me was the visitor was able to show us on his phone a compelling video of the arrest, taken by someone else. The video once resided on TikTok (and apparently Instagram as well) but was removed from social media. Apparently the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has enough pull with the social media platforms to censor anything that it deems provocative. Something to know! We can't see everything on social media that we need to see. 

What works best when in taken into ICE custody? Be the loudest squeakiest wheel ever! Stoic, silent compliance is a BAD idea! Welcome to 1984!

The Sacramento Bee Interviews Scott

The Sacramento Bee interviews Scott:

A man who was assaulted two weeks ago while protesting outside the federal building where Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates in Sacramento continued to demonstrate Sunday, the day after the killing of a second Minneapolis protester. 

“We’re losing all of our constitutional rights,” Scott Stauffer said about the killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti.

Getting To Know One Another

Here's my sign from early November: "Who Murders Fishermen? Bad Guys, That's Who!"

Becoming a member of the protesting class has meant meeting a variety of new people.  It also has meant that these new people get to meet me too.  Last summer, the average age of protesters was fairly old - forties through sixties - and relatively easy to meet.  These days, however, the average age is much younger - in the twenties. So, the affability gap between me and the average protester has grown over time, simply because of age and different lived experiences.

The initial impression I make on people seems to be that of a dotty old guy.  Hoka wicasa described the process.  Paraphrasing him: "I asked someone 'Who is that old guy with the signs?' The other person replied, "Oh, he's a protester from way back.'"  Hoka wicasa then had a question for me.  "I saw that sign you had, and I didn't understand it.  I want to ask you: Do you have a problem with fish?"  I laughed, and replied, "Yes! Have you ever seen fish? Those big eyes, those open mouths! OMG!"

The problem, of course, is that it's hard to keep up with forced march of the fascist Trump Administration.  My sign was on the cutting edge of politics early in November, 2025, when fishing boats were being attacked off the coast of Venezuela and Columbia.  Now, late in January, 2026, two-and-a-half months later, my sign is just a confusing, cringey relic from the remote past.  So it goes.

Last night, milling in the dark on 7th Street, Scott had to corral dotty old me a couple of times. because I was wandering too far from the group.  These predatory ICE beasts deliberately target the weakest members of the protester herd, and that could be me under the right circumstances.  When the four ICE thugs opened the pedestrian gate, protesters retreated.  Not me: I stood my ground and tried to engage them in conversation, as I had earlier conversed with the more-amiable Sac PD cops.  Maybe a bad idea, but you've got to face your fears.

Most of the protesters on 7th Street wore black clothes and had black face coverings.  I could appreciate their reasons for doing so, but I had decided last summer to be as public as possible and not use face coverings unless absolutely necessary.  A young man approached me in the dark and said this was the time and place when face coverings were a good idea.  He might have been right!  He had a spare face mask, which he gave me.  We talked, and he described his Instagram page and prepper mentality.  He was prepared to disappear if the heat got too hot, and vanish overseas.  Under those circumstances I might be a sitting duck.  That's what happens to dotty old people.

A local fascist with the handle "Matthew916" wandered on the fringe of the group doing his TikTok Live for his Placer County friends as we shouted out insults.  He retreated to where the Sac PD cops were. Little coward.

ICEy nights in downtown Sacramento in January.

Signs From The Sacramento Resistance

John Moss Federal Building in downtown Sacramento, where ICE has their field headquarters and where there is a makeshift jail.

Across the street from the John Moss Federal Building is a monument dedicated to Greek immigrants to the U.S.

The pipes are leaking at St. Joseph's Cemetery. I bet ICE is to blame.

Protesters gathered at the John Moss Federal Building on January 24, 2026.

Tommy and Allen arrive to help set the world right.