Welcome to November.

We didn't get many kids out trick-or-treating last night.  Yesterday was very wet and a few towns around us postponed all the Halloween festivities till today.  Ours was not one.  The system that gave Texas and points south some serious flooding is sending high winds our way and more rain.  But the temps should stay in the 50s for the next week so no snow is likely.  I am glad I got the last of the necessary garden work done before the rain hit.  I won't need to water anything for a while now.

I got busy and went through a part of my closet yesterday.  I gathered a large bag of clothes I hadn't worn in well over a year.  I am always amazed at how long I hold on to things.  May finish off today.

We noticed something interesting about the coverage of the expiration of the emergency increase in food stamp allotments instituted in the depths of the Great Recession four years ago.  All of the stories we have seen noted the cuts but made sure to mention the "temporary" nature of the increase.  Contrast that respect for facts (the cut of a temporary increase) with the lack of respect for the facts of the "increase" in the payroll tax a while back which reflected the end of a temporary tax "holiday."  I guess some temporary measures are less temporary than others.

This is an interesting study which links home ownership to high levels of unemployment.  For years, especially after WWII, home ownership was desirable.  Pundits preached it as a way to create a stable society and financial interests touted the economic boost that came with home owning.  As long as we had an expanding economy and jobs were readily available no one saw any possible downside to homeownership.  Now the values of stability and rampant consumerism are clashing with a new economic/social/political reality.  They want a mobile labor force that can rapidly shift to new geographical areas quickly--not possible if the workers own property they can't readily liquidate.  It is interesting how quickly conditions can change.  George W. was touting the "ownership" society to very end of his presidency.

I am constantly amazed at the idiotic intolerance I see in our society.  Hallmark has been hit with protests over a new Christmas ornament.  The ornament is a replica of the tacky holiday sweaters with a slightly modified version of an old carol: "don we now our fun apparel."  Most people would know the original lyrics said "gay" not "fun."  But gays are insulted.  What a load of crap!!  The news this morning carried a story about a school in Chicago that demanded a boy who dressed up as Jesus remove his costume.  They said they banned all costumes that might be thought offensive to someone.  They changed their mind after the boy's mother protested (and after the news media got the story).  I see more and more of these stories about thin-skinned, spineless, and/or intolerant idiots