2025-10-06: Public speakers were out in force today at the Richardson Texas City Council meeting to speak on behalf of Marwan Marouf, a community leader from Richardson, TX, who was detained by ICE on Sep 22, 2025, while dropping his son at school. His detention coincided with the denial of his green card application, which cites decade-old accusations of providing "material support" to the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) through his volunteer work and nominal donations in the 1990s.
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| From 2025 06 01 Puebla |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in Puebla, Mexico, along a (mostly) pedestrian avenue known for its wealth of candy stores. It's Calle de los Dulces.
"Footsteps slow themselves
when sweetness fills the senses.
Commerce yields to joy."
— h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2025 06 01 Puebla |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on the road into Puebla, Mexico. Above us was an elevated lane dedicated to bicycles. Really. I can't say what the usage is or the economics of doing it this way, but it sure looks cool. According to PedalPowerTouring.com, "Puebla definitely outdoes itself by adding a bike-path and propping it up high in the sky, about one or two stories over the car traffick. Not only do we get to enjoy stress-free riding, we also get a great view!"
"Stress-free bike riding,
a phrase rare as quiet streets,
made literal here."
— h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2025 05 30 Mexico City |
Today's photo-of-the-day was from Real del Barro, a restaurant in Mexico City. It's where we were served an appetizer of ground up grassphoppers on a small, flat taco shell. That's all I remember.
Bonus photos are after the jump.
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| From 2025 05 30 Mexico City |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on a street in Mexico City. Whether it's called tacos al pastor, or shawarma, or döner kebab, it's delicious.
"Spinning spit of pork,
thin slices fall like petals,
tortillas wait warm."
— h/t ChatGPT
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Netflix
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On airplane
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On airplane
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Peacock
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| From 2025 05 30 Mexico City |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in Mexico City. It shows a tent city set up by teachers on strike against the government. Everything was quiet and peaceful when we walked freely in the area, but writing of the striking teachers, a report in The New York Times said, "The 100,000-strong group's demands include doubling teacher salaries and appealing pension and education laws they deem harmful. Earlier this week, the group paralyzed traffic along one of Mexico City's most emblematic avenues, and Mexican journalists reported that they were assaulted by protesting union members outside the National Palace in the old city center."
"Banners speak of pay
of years promised, years withheld.
Hope stitched into seams."
— h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2025 05 30 Mexico City |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in a major shopping street in central Mexico City, La Avenida Francisco I. Madero.
Another photo, of Calle de Fray Pedro de Gante, is after the jump.
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On airplane
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HBO Max
The Richardson City Council directed the City Manager to draft a City Charter amendment that would require a council member who announces their candidacy for another office to immediately resign from the City Council. The amendment, if passed by voters in May, would apply retroactively, meaning that Council Member Dan Barrios, who is running for Congress, would automatically be removed from office.
Can they do this? Setting aside the retroactive nature of the amendment, they can. ("A home-rule city with two-year terms may provide in its charter that a mayor or council member who becomes a candidate for another office automatically vacates the current office." — Attorney General Opinion No. GA-02 17.)
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HBO Max
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In theatres
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| From 2025 05 30 Mexico City |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in Sanborns Madero in cental Mexico City. According to Gemini, "Sanborns Madero in Mexico City is the iconic, historic first location of the Sanborns chain, nestled inside the stunning blue-tiled Casa de los Azulejos (House of Tiles) on Madero Street, offering traditional Mexican food like Enchiladas Suizas, a classic department store experience, and a glimpse into history with its beautiful architecture and murals, making it a must-visit landmark in the Centro Histórico."
"A café, a store,
a museum of habits
still alive, still strong."
— h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2025 05 30 Mexico City |
Welcome to Mexico City. Our first photo-of-the-day in Mexico was taken at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. According to Wikipedia, it is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico. The exhibition halls surround a courtyard with a fountain featuring a huge concrete umbrella supported by a single pillar.
"Under umbrella,
many worlds stand side by side,
still speaking softly."
— h/t ChatGPT
I used to think (a long, long time ago) that America was exceptional. That it couldn't happen here, where "it" was some atrocity or another that was perpetrated by another country in another time and place. Then I had to acknowledge that there were just too many exceptions to hold that naive thinking. Today I read two things that bring that point home, from two different eras in history.
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