Well, the State of the Union is done. It went pretty much as I expected. Over enthusiastic applause from Democrats but at (mostly) appropriate places: all of the (narrowly) bi-partisan bills passed, at Biden's calls to "finish the job," etc. The childish behavior of the "usual suspects" though, according to reports, the Republican leaders asked for decorum and respect. We haven't had much of that for the last almost 20 years.
I found the "man on the street" interviews conducted in various states prior to the speech interesting. Most reinforced the impression I have had that many people at my level of the economy (working class, or retired, or fixed income) simply aren't seeing much or any improvement in the economy. Some of that is because some of the legislation either hasn't been in place long enough, or hasn't gone into effect yet, or had a limited effect (like the cap on insulin for medicare recipients but not for diabetics who have private insurance). Unfortunately, our only real choices are to vote for a Democrat or a Republican or risk throwing our votes to a third party with little or no chance of winning. The high levels of inflation have shredded what ever income increases some have gained. But even that ballyhooed $15/hour target for an income floor won't cover basic expenses in most areas. Think about this: my mother and I each get about $1100/month from Social Security and our rent is $700/month. If we were new renters here it would be $1300/month. Either way neither of us could afford to live here by ourselves. Since 2019, rents here have doubled. At the same time food, electricity, and utilities have also risen significantly. I can sympathize with those who feel their conditions haven't improved and may have declined. But then I remember how little the Republicans under The Former Guy did for us and how much they did for the top 1%. To reformulate an old saying "From those who have little much is required; to those who have much, more will be given"
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Robert Reich takes on the often heard phrase: everything will work out in the end. As he notes, the sentiment has various forms but they all promise that if we patiently wait good things will come. He points out the flaw in the sentiment: it can easily slide into a passive fatalism. It takes human choice and activism out of the equation.
I am doing my best to ignore the "investigative" hearings the House of (Un)Representatives are putting on. I have heard quite enough quite enough of Hunter Biden's laptop and have no desire to see his "dick pics." I have had enough of the Republican Pity Party and frankly wish Marjorie Whatever Her Name Is Now and Lauren Bobert would get a long term case of laryngitis. I really, really resent the money that will be spent on meaningless performances of their "rage." Someone called this the "Seinfeld Congress." I think that is much too generous. Seinfeld was the show "about nothing" and didn't pretend to be anything else. The Repthuglicans are pretending to be about something important that is undefined as well as insignificant. Insignificant except for the price tag.
A couple of stories are covering Seymour Hirsch's story on his substack which puts out a theory of how and who the Nordstream pipeline was destroyed. (I'll let anyone interested in pursuing the story do their own Google search.) I am not all that interested in the who and the how. The results to date underline a thought I have had for some time: countries should source their essential commodities from nearby, preferably from within their own borders and learn to live within their means. We have gotten too used to having essential goods shipped from distant places. However, that only works when we have a stable global order that allows a relatively seamless transfer of those goods and the payments for them. Right now that isn't working so seamlessly and isn't all that stable.
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