New Shoes in the Rain

Happy Monday, everyone.  Had a hectic weekend of hockey, yard work and a choral performance by our middle granddaughter last night.  I've been thinking a lot, as many others have, about the state of things in this country and where we can and should and must go from here.  The question is "how?" I say that because we're right at a year from the Congressional midterm elections, which will most likely shift the balance of power away from Republicans.  But that's a long time to keep stacking one misery onto another for that period. And remember, the end of the federal government shutdown is only temporary, we get to endure this same process in January! So I think the "how" has to be one thing: We the People! My granddaughter's chorale performance was with a youth orchestra and their finale was a premiere performance of a lengthy piece with that title.  Stirring and patriotic. But the answer was in that title.  We all keep saying that Congress needs to d...

Good Thursday morning to you.  In my case it’s getaway day, as I have been traveling overnight for the past few days.  Looking forward to getting home later today. As of last night, our federal government is now reopened.  Is everything fixed?  Not so much.  The bill that the Senate passed did not include any provision for extending the COVID-era subsidies that benefited many recipients of health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.  It also contained, hidden within the text, a separate provision for settlement payments of some astronomical money to senators whose were surveilled in an investigation of foreign influence on our lawmakers. That’s how it is now, you know.  If someone in government is investigated and that investigation leads to no criminal charges, people are entitled to some sort of compensation from the government.  Starting at the top, it seems. So, will SNAP benefits again be fully funded and available?  We don’t know ...

Good Monday afternoon, friends.  Appreciate you stopping by. Kind of an interesting point in the year where we are now.  Baseball is over until next spring, although the World Series and several of the playoff series were quite exciting.  And my Cincinnati Reds qualified for the first round, losing two in a row to the eventual World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.  They have a great team, as do the Toronto Blue Jays.  Well done to both teams! Professional and college football are sort of hovering in place right now.  The postseason isn't here yet but the season is not at all new anymore for either level.  And yet it's still hard to tell which teams will identify themselves as the best in their particular divisions. Professional hockey is now underway for about a month, and so far there are defined "good" and "not good" teams.  Luckily the team I support, the Colorado Avalanche, are "good," at least for now! Basketball is just getting started profess...