Hope you all have a good Thursday.  Ours is starting out cool and damp.  We had rain overnight and some areas have it now.  More expected later in the evening.

We got the front door windows and the front windows cleaned, the curtains washed and put back up, the venetian blinds scrubbed, and a start on dusting done yesterday.  That pretty much exhausted our energy and left both of us ruefully remembering when we would have thoroughly cleaned the entire apartment in a single day.  We will tackle the rest a bit at a time.  We need to do laundry today so more spring cleaning is put off till tomorrow.

On the garden front--nothing much happening.  I transplanted the pot of lemon thyme into a larger pot.  It badly needed more room.  I need to bring in another pot for the bee balm.  Our average last frost date is around May 15th and I get the feeling that I might not be putting much outside till then.  The first rose is putting out branches and leaves while the second is slowly waking up.  If I get a couple of reasonably warm and dry days I need to get a couple of things done in the gardens before I can move them into their permanent homes.

Now for something in the "cute, but--" file by way of Naked Capitalism.  I agree with Yves--my cats would never have taken the table over my hands petting them continuously.  After all, I had no other reason for existing in their universe.

Our local TV news readers are asking a silly question: who would vandalize the Easter display featuring a humongous poster of Jesus.  (Note: it is an annual display put up by a private group for nine days starting Good Friday.)  My answer: the same kind of assholes who would vandalize mosques and synagogs--as happened a few months ago.

I have seen a couple of other stories about this topic over the last week.  I didn't link to them but it is interesting that older couples are responding to the economy in the same way that the younger cohorts are--moving in with their parents.  As with so many other aspects of life, Mom and I seem to be ahead of the trends.  We moved in together because that way we could both be comfortable.  And it saved my ass through about six years of under- and un-employment before I finally decided to take social security.  Now we are back where we were before that rough stretch--more comfortable than we would be by ourselves.  The old system of rampant individualism isn't working anymore.  It may be time to go back to a more "communal" style where families live close and help each other.  However, if the responses of the family featured is any indication, that won't be happening any time soon.

My initial response to reading this is pretty much unprintable.  The kleptocracy is definitely alive and well.  We no longer have a legal system that applies to rich, middling, and poor alike holding all to the same standards.

Now I wonder why this item didn't make the news.  While the middle and lower income groups in the US have fared badly compared to similar groups in other countries our wealthiest citizens have done well in that comparison.

Accurate assessment.

As I read the Archdruid Report I thought of the old quote from Euripides:  Those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad.  I have thought for sometime that the US (collectively) has been of the rails.

This is sweeeeet!!!!!