October 25

 We had several surrounding areas that posted their first frosts of the fall. We were near that but not quite yet. We might get rain later and it is mostly cloudy today. Nothing much on the agenda today: needlework, cooking a pot of great northern beans and ham, and (later) cutting Mom's birthday cake. I got a carrot cake and promised her I wouldn't try to put 94 candles on it. Right now we are waiting for the cornbread muffins to finish baking before eating supper.

Not many things worth commenting on but one is this post by Heather Cox Richardson. She notes that the AWOL Speaker of the House has extended their PAID vacation for at least another week while the funds to pay SNAP benefits runs out. I saw an angry quip on Facebook which said that the military and government workers should be paid during the shutdown but NOT the members of the House and Senate. I agree.

But as I read the piece I had the same thoughts I usually have reading about SNAP, ACA subsidies, Medicare and other programs Republicans love to threaten. If we had a truly just economic system people wouldn't need those benefits. That so many people rely on those benefits is a sad commentary on our Capitalist system. I remember pundits who pointed out during the Great Recession when Walmart workers were going to food banks and applying for SNAP that those workers earned so little they QUALIFIED for supports for the POOR even though they had jobs. And Walmart encouraged its workers to apply until the news got hold of the story and they quickly came out all disapproving and denying. I think they even fired a few of the workers who were interviewed. Capitalism has become a system that pays subsistence wages to the people who do the work which allows those at the top to live lavishly and the system is propped up by the society through taxes funding the subsidies that keep the workers body and soul together.

Richardson goes beyond the discussion over the ACA subsidies the Democrats are focused on and drills down into a basic philosophical difference between the two Parties and it is well worth reading all of the post.

This post from CORBIN TRENT AND AMERICA'S UNDOING had me giggling from the beginning--not because it was funny but I had to giggle or swear. I am trying to break myself of swearing so much. As a culture we have indeed convinced ourselves that cost equals value. I would add that in addition to cost we have been suckered by the notion that the more functions something has (whether you need them or they work well or not) the better. I have a flip phone and even that has more functionality than I need. Also we have been sold the fable that new is better. The latest model has more features so it must be better. About five years ago we gave up on the programable automatic coffee makers because we had to replace them about every three or four years. The plastic degraded with the heat and the tubing became clogged with mineral deposits. The first problem wasn't fixable and I could have cured the second by buying distilled water. Or buying a line cleaner to remove the sediments. But both are additional expenses on top of the cost of the machine. Now I use a pour through system and heat the water in a steel camping coffee pot on the stove. I clean the pot every week by leaving diluted white vinegar in it over night. I always keep vinegar on hand because it is so useful in cleaning generally. Often simple and cheap are better.