Circle Time // 6.11.26

My lettuce bouquet, a review on this social-media hit book, a classic rom-com rec, pet hospice and PPD for fathers.

Circle Time is our weekly huddle / digest every Thursdays, in which I share the things bringing me joy, current events to stay informed, recommendations, and thought starters!

June is going to be a very social month, with more in-person work event commitments than I typically can manage to attend, but there are some I couldn’t say no to— wish me and my body luck to hang in there this month!

We’ve got a pretty packed issue today, so let’s get to it:

• Has this section become a mere excuse to show off things from the garden? Pretty much, let me live. This week, please ooh and ahh over my baby tomatoes beginning to emerge, the blue flax flowers from seeds I sowed last year that I thought were a dud but surprised me by popping up this year, and this native eight-spotted forester moth that showed up with her orange boots with the fur.

• With the joy of a bridesmaid catching a bouquet, I present my romaine and Korean red leaf lettuce bounty!

• USDA confirms 2 more screwworm cases in Texas.

• Ms. Rachel visited Delaney Hall, to spend time with the children of the families with family members being held inside the detention center. She’s truly the Mr. Rogers of our time, and her advocacy for children everywhere is a gift.

• Speaking of Delaney Hall, here are the updates:

  • Gov. Sherrill was finally allowed access for a visit on Monday, but it was limited by the employees and she was not allowed to see the full facility. She announced a $12M increase (now total $20M) for detainees legal service funds and rapid response for proper due process and representation, something that most detainees haven’t received (many haven’t had a habeas corpus hearing).

  • Most of the 300 hunger strikers inside the facility have stopped about a week ago. The momentum of protestors has slowed outside. Congress members will continue oversight visits to push on the federal front.

• Trump blames Iran for downing of a U.S. helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz and is vowing to retaliate.

• Trump administration wants Medicaid recipients to prove they can’t work every six months, yet another step in their eugenics crusade. Medicaid recipients aged 19-64 need to document 80 hours of work / community service / training per month— this requirement will cause about 5-10 million people to lose their coverage by 2028.

  • People with chronic illnesses whose ability to work often fluctuates, will fall through the cracks and become uninsured at a time when they most need care. Via a doctor interviewed for Politico: “Having a work requirement for patients with cancer, frail or not, puts them in a precarious position. Sometimes they can’t keep a job because of their illness and if they lose their job and their coverage, then Stage 1 becomes Stage 4.”

• Another eugenics crusade move: RFK Jr. is trying to implement federal access Americans medical records, for clues on autism and vaccines.

• Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expires tomorrow. Reauthorizing this has been complicated by Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte to Director of National Intelligence—this law allows agencies including the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.

• Election updates

  • LA Mayoral race: head for THE HILLS, Spencer Pratt is out!! Incumbent Karen Bass and progressive Dem candidate Nithya Raman advance to the general.

  • California Governor’s race: Xavier Becerra is confirmed to advance, with Steve Hilton (R) in second with Tom Steyer in third by about 2.5 points.

    • National Republicans are already crying election fraud because they don’t know how mail-in ballots are counted in CA (this is a great breakdown explaining the process) and that California is largely… blue.

    • After being pressed in an interview on his claims of election fraud in CA, Trump had a tantrum and stormed out.

  • House Reps losing their current jobs and future jobs: Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) both failed to advance to the South Carolina gubernatorial primary runoff, Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) lost their gubernatorial primaries, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) lost his attorney general primary,

    Reps. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) and Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) didn’t make it to the runoff in their respective Senate races.

  • Maine’s Senate race: it’ll be Platner vs. Collins. Former Governor Janet Mills dropped her bid to be the Dem candidate, and Platner is a controversial figure. Hailed by progressives for his policies and stances, is wielding the authentic reformed persona, an unfortunate Reddit history, had a Nazi tattoo that he claims he wasn’t aware of the symbolism of (and has since gotten another tattoo to cover it up), extramarital sexual text messages, and claims of unsettling behavior from women he has dated in the past (caveat that one of the women cited in the article is a GOP chaos agent), and there are concerns he’ll be another Fetterman. Alas, he is the Dem candidate for a Senate seat that needs flipping, should we have hope of reining in fascism.

• A couple L’s for Trump: a judge ruled that the Kennedy Center removes his name, and he was booed so loudly at the NBA playoffs, where the Knicks lost their first game of the playoffs (perhaps due to Butternut Bonespurs’s opposite of Midas touch).

One of my biggest gripes about most passionfruit products is that it’s mixed with mango and/or some other tropical fruit,