January 26th, 2026. The World Outside is Madness.

Politics and ranting below. Shoveling snow above! This is mostly an attempt to show how much snow I've moved! It LOOKS like I'm kinda plowed out but that's just a weird bare patch next to my car because a snowplow driver Lives in the alley off to the right of the photo. He plowed the alley and part of that block before lifting his plow to get out of the neighbourhood. Hrm.

I don't know what to say about Minneapolis. It's not romanticized enough how much effort cops are supposed to go through to avoid injury to the public - or even to criminals. Because it's their job to BRING people TO justice, not to dispense it. They are supposed to be responsible for people in their custody, and responsible TO those NOT in their custody and everything I see shows me we shouldn't be conflating ICE with "law enforcement" at all. Watching the video of the shooting of Alex Pretti (something I hadn't meant to do - thanks autoplay) shows the absolute dogpile onto a man who a) clearly wasn't a threat and b) especially wasn't a threat a half-dozen men in body armour piled on top of him. But the telling thing, just as with the shooting of Renee Good, is the RESPONSE to the shooting by those involved.  

Sun going down on the snow in Catonsville. It's magic hour!

I'll hopefully NEVER be in a tense stand off with a gun pointed at me ever again. It's terrifying. I'll DEFINITELY never be in the position of being a cop trying to do my job and responding desperately as the situation spirals out of control. I can't actually speak to that, and feel that people who do are overstepping what needs to be said. I could never know what's going through the head of an officer who's standing in front of a car when it starts moving. I can't know what's in the mind of a half dozen officers piled on top of a struggling man when someone yells "he's gotta gun!"

Kristen and I are beautiful people, but we're not feathery or thin. The fact that we can Legolas around on TOP of the snow just goes to show how thick the ice is on TOP of it all!

But I can sure as Hell judge them for letting things get that out of control. I can judge Trump and his lackeys for making absolutely stupid and unproven statements about the shootings before any investigation can be conducted. I can be disgusted by it all. 

Some people got no place to be. And I respect that.

I see a lot of "there's stupid people on both sides" and how this is just like when Biden or Obama was in office and "it's just that cause Trump's a Republican we have an issue with it". The false equivalency there is beyond reprehensible. The lies and spin being spun are repulsive. The horror of police shootings are magnified with ICE because they are faceless and have no clear chain of custody or of purpose. 

And damn it. I Love snowflakes... and ICE. Fucking stop using my words.