I’m grateful there is trash pickup service at the top of my driveway, and for the generosity of neighbors, and for the beautiful view when I took the garbage up. I was grateful to learn last night that Sen. Van Hollen was able to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia after all. His success “revealed the absurdity of the administration’s claim that they couldn’t do anything to reverse their mistake. He broke through the gulag’s fake shroud of mystery,” commented my friend Ted. Abrego Garcia is a symbol of thousands of other innocent victims among the more than 100,000 people the regime claims to have deported since the inauguration. 60 Minutes reported on a young gay makeup artist, a legal asylum seeker in the US, who was also illegally sent to El Salvador. Andry Hernandez Romero fled Venezuela because he was in danger as an out gay man. Imagine what he’s being subjected to in the mega-prison. A U.S. born citizen was arrested and jailed for crossing from Georgia into Florida despite his birth certificate being authenticated. This is just the beginning, if we the people don’t make it stop.

There’s another national day of protest tomorrow, despite rumors that the regime is set to actively target some of the organizations mobilizing these mass demonstrations, including Indivisible. AP reports that the regime says anyone who hasn’t committed a crime is safe, yet in the next breath quotes Musk as condemning Indivisible as “criminals.” Doublespeak. Indivisible has been discussing contingency plans with attorneys and other activist groups in the event that any of them are charged with crimes.

It’s even more important for me to balance the so-called news with deep truths from wise elders, so I listened to this interview with Brother David Steindl-Rast on “How to Be Grateful in Every Moment (But Not for Everything).” He has been through a lot, seen a lot of chaos and suffering in his 98 years, and still, he reminds us, in every moment we can find some gratefulness, if only for this breath. I was keenly grateful for my breath frequently today, as it came more easily than it has for awhile. Maybe the snow knocked down some of the airborne allergens.