Good Sunday, everyone.  Mild temperatures and sun for a while today.  But high winds and rain later.  We are back into our winter mode of planning our shopping and errands for the week.  During the summer we split our shopping to coincide with the days our farm markets are open (or when our preferred vendors are at the markets) and, secondarily, with an eye to the weather.  In the winter our primary concern is is the weather--we plan our shopping around snow storms and other nasty weather.

Post election comment:  I am truly sick of the self-serving calls from both sides of the aisle (but primarily from the Repthuglicans) for all sides to 'rise above politics' and craft a scheme to keep us from falling off the 'fiscal cliff.'  I have to ask them to define what the define 'rising above politics.'  How can anyone rise above politics when the whole issue is political?  And how do you rise above politics when a significant number of politicians seem to believe that their political notions were handed down by Christ as addenda to the Sermon on the Mount?

On that 'fiscal cliff' thing:  perhaps they should just ignore it until the new Congress comes in.  That Congress could then deal with it without the current panic and, perhaps, more thoughtfully.  I am not persuaded by the claim of how much it will cost the various groups whose budget will be cut or whose taxes will go up.  After all, Congress has pass retroactive tax cuts before and can easily enough put back the funds selectively.  Nor am I persuaded by the hysterical screeching about the economy going 'back' into recession.  If government (at all levels) curtails spending and no other segment of the economy increases spending, the GDP will decline.  If governments don't have the revenues to meet all of its expenses, it must either reduce expenses (see above) or it must increase those revenues or it must borrow increasing its debt.  Increasing revenues means increasing how much people and companies pay in taxes which reduces how much they have to spend (see above).  Increasing neither revenue nor reducing expenditures means debt which (now that they aren't driving the bus) the Repthuglicans are shitting their pants about, means the government will be spending more on debt servicing and eventually will have less to spend on anything else.  Funny isn't it how the attitudes changed.  Once upon a time, debt didn't  matter.  Now it  is next to heresy.  It all depends on who is in the White House.  I think we are going to have a very slow economy (if not an out right recession) no matter what we do and the only question is whether we want to pull off the bandage slow or fast.  A train wreck is a train wreck whether it is fast or slow.

Found the link to this on Crooks&Liars.  Two words: OH SHIT!! And yes, I am screaming.

Another irritation in the (s)news this morning:  Ex-Illinois Governor and now convicted inmate in Colorado Rod Blogojevich will have a new prison job soon--moving from kitchen duty to the library.  Nice, but--what in the hell makes this news??  Why spend any time at all on it??

I notice that the news of the aftermath of Sandy and the nor'easter is disappearing.  Most of what I get now are blog posts and op-ed pieces.  But, if this piece is anything to go by, the efforts to get the area up again is falling woefully short.