Good morning, everyone. It is sunny for now but we are expecting storms later this morning and, possibly this afternoon. Even with that we also expect temps in the low 90s. We were going to do our shopping but will put that off till tomorrow when it will be cooler. Kuma, of course, is not happy at all because he is inside and it isn't even 7:30 am.

We caught the Good Morning America segment, short and superficial as it was, on the budget 'negotiations' this morning. That is in quotations because I don't see how you can call the process a negotiation when each side is basically holding a loaded gun to the others' heads. The reporter listed all of the nasty consequences of failing to raise the debt ceiling: no military pay checks, no social security checks, downgraded credit rating and a significant drop in the stock market. The problem I see is that the hardliners on each side (but especially on the Repthuglican side) would not mind seeing the whole system go down in flames because, although they may be hurt, everyone else would be hurt more.

And there is something incredibly obscene about the notion, recently expressed by Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah), that those who have little should be eviscerated while those who have much don't even get a pin prick. And yes, Kay, I know that many military families earn so little that they qualify for food stamps as do many on Social Security. The 2009 poverty level for a family of four was a bit over $22k/year. For a single person under 65 it was a bit over $11k/year or right around $930 per month. The average monthly Social Security check, in April of this year, was $1177. Note that was the average--meaning a whole lot of recipients got less, often a lot less.

Oh, HELL!! The rain has come and with it some high winds. I just rushed out and picked up my sunflowers which have been blown over. They are sitting just inside the door now . I am cringing while trying not to look at what is happening in the gardens. I will definitely have some repair work tomorrow. I could have left off the watering this morning--we have rivers running down the street.

An interesting little segment on the morning local news involved 'apple picking.' No, we don't have local apples ripe and ready to pick. Rather, that is now the term for a particular crime wave--stealing iPods, iPhones and other smart phones. That crime is on the increase on the mass transit lines.

To Anonymous: I don't mind discussing my ideas and considering why you think I am wrong. However, I don't allow any anonymous comments. Nor do I permit any comments that contain links to any commercial products. Normally, I would allow any comment with an identified source which is not abusive or an ad in disguise.

Well, it is still overcast but the rain has stopped for now and the wind has died down. Hope it stays that way. I put the sunflowers back on the patio in a more protected, I hope, spot. Also saw a couple of broken tomato branches. I will have to trim them tomorrow.

And now, after two hours when we had no internet or cable probably the result of the storms that come through this morning, I am back on and trying to get through my blog roll. And we have sun again.