October 14

 Welcome to half past October. Evidently today is Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day. As usual didn't do anything to "celebrate." I am surprised that I didn't see any reminders. I don't know if there were any parades but they would have been overshadowed by the Chicago Marathon yesterday.

No wonder Trump and Musk are such good buddies. It's all about the grift. A "free" star-link internet service he says he is accelerating for disaster hit regions comes with a big cost: $400 star-link starter kit and, after thirty days, an automatic shift from a free service to a $120/month subscription. Such generosity!! (Sarcasm alert)

Pissed Off Thoughts: the news today said that the administration is sending an advanced "defense system" with its missiles to Israel and, evidently, U.S. troops will be sent also. Israel seems to have been able to create a wasteland in Gaza without more U.S. weaponry. It seems to be able to attack putative Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, suspected remnants of Hamas in the rubble of Gaza, perceived enemy commanders in Tehran and Houthi enemies in Yemen without more U.S. weapons. Or U.S. personnel whose "mission" isn't at all clear. It is past time for our government to stop being the world's arms merchant.

October 10

 Good morning. We have another sunny and dry day predicted. I checked the gardens and didn't find anything needing water. The cooler temps help with that. I cleaned out one of the vegetation in one of my buckets yesterday--not a hard thing because it was growth from the seeds the birds scattered. I plan to put a layer of newspaper over the soil to prevent any hard rain from splashing the soil out. I have several in mind to clear but I will wait till late next week because the paving work continues and trash pickup is a bit hindered. Next week we should be able to put the large tote out for collection. 

With Hurricane Martin leaving a mess and the mess left by Hurricane Helene not yet cleaned up some of the commentators on the news/talk shows are starting to talk about insurance--as in what the claims will be. I have seen estimates of damage ranging up to  $150+BILLION. The insurance industry has been under stress for more than a decade. Companies have been leaving states with very expensive risks and states have been trying to either force them to stay or backstopping the insurance premiums for customers. This article goes into the tactics companies are using to stem their losses while ensuring their shareholders get a return on their investments. De Santis in Florida pushed a "reform" of insurance and property laws that have limited company liability and made it more difficult for their customers to sue to enforce the policies. More than 20 years ago I noticed that the insurance industry along with several other big industries were quietly taking actions to mitigate the cost of climate change for themselves while politicians and pundits on the right insisted climate change was a hoax. However, the number of multibillion dollar weather and other disasters is rising. This article notes 19 confirmed such events this year alone before Martin and Helene visited our shores. I did a quick and dirty search for information on the costs per year and found an interesting graph which shows that the costs have increased astronomically over the last 15 years. I wonder how long before this whole country will be uninsurable.

October 9

 Still dark out here with a bit of light appearing in the sky. We are recovering from two days of doctors' appointments--especially yesterday which began very early to accommodate an 8:30 appointment. Although the session itself didn't last very long getting there meant being wake and moving sooner than normal. We like slow and gradual not fast and immediate.

Right now we aren't going anywhere until the paving of the street at the back of the building and a couple of connecting streets is finished. Monday we went out an saw NO PARKING  signs "by police order" while the paving is done. Our designated parking area borders the street and everyone was supposed to move their cars. Some didn't and will not be able to get out until the job is finished--maybe tomorrow. It was amazing to see the cars lining the front street. We have about two dozen four-plex units with most having two cars attached to each. Streets nearby also had cars from our complex lining the curbs. We were lucky to get a close spot which was still open when we got back from the appointment.

Don't think I am complaining. About four years ago we complained to our landlords that we were dodging Volkswagen-eating potholes. After trying to get the city to repave then they hired a paving company to repair the worst affected areas directly in front of their buildings. The repairs were breaking down and potholes had become a problem again. But this time the city came through. For the last fifteen years or so we have had a couple of very capable Republican mayors and their administrations have made infrastructure improvements a priority. Streets we had long complained about have been repaired over time with the politicians actively informing people of where the money was coming from and being spent. These Republicans are the ONLY Republicans I have voted for and will vote for this time around.

I commented a couple of times on the changes we noticed in the lawn signs this election cycle. This piece from Patheos reflects what we have seen: a decrease in the number of signs for the presidential candidates. Yesterday we noticed a couple of new Harris/Walz signs and I noticed a number lawns sporting signs supporting local democrats but not including Harris/Walz. I have no idea of how people are planning to vote but far fewer are announcing their preferences by way of yard signs.

October 7

 Sunny today. I watered the gardens yesterday so the plants should be good for a couple of days. The weather forecast predicts moderate temperatures (low 70s) so that will help. I also did a bit of sweeping and moved a couple of my 5-gal planters. Still deciding what to take out and how to cull my pots. Over the last few years I have made changes that make upkeep easier but I still want to change the arrangements to make more room around the air conditioner and around the pot that has the bird feeder anchored in it. Birds are messy feeders and I want to be able to sweep up their leavings more easily. We'll see what happens. I have always found reducing garden spaces difficult but I don't have the energy I did even five years ago.

Dan Moynahan has a post on CAN WE STILL GOVERN which hits the story I have been following lately: the lies around the Federal Government's response to Hurricane Helene. It really irritates me that they call that shit "misinformation." It is outright LIES. A long time ago Supreme Court Justice said that freedom of speech did not cover "yelling fire in a crowded theater. That was refined by a later court ruling to prohibit speech that directly incites violence. Some of what Moynahan points to is incitement to just such violence. But I would say speech which impede the actions of emergency workers or which encourages people to take action which are potentially harmful, to themselves or others, should also be outside Constitutional protections.

Robert Reich published an interesting article titled HOW DID THE GOP BECOME THE PARTY OF CRANKS, CRACKPOTS, AND FRUITCAKES? He says it all. No need for my comment.

Stray thought: as we drive around we notice the lawn signs. In 2020, we saw a lot of Trump/Pence signs and nearly as many Biden/Harris signs. This year we have seen very few signs for any of the presidential candidates but significantly more for Harris/Walz. Only a couple for Trump/Vance. The paucity of yard signs might indicate people are simply not that engaged. However, a large number of people are putting out yard signs but they are for the down ballot candidates without any for the top of the ticket. I wonder how many of those voters will vote but only for the candidates below the presidential level which they plan to leave blank.

I have seen several headlines on early voting and out of curiosity checked on my state. Early, in person voting begins tomorrow (October 8) here. Absentee ballots can be re quested as late as October 28. That is really nice. Also, our system now allows a person to cast an in person ballot at any precinct in the area. We plan to do our usual and visit the polling place in a local church that is only two blocks away.

Robert Lipsyte writes on GROWING OLD IN THE AGE (AND THAT IS THE APPROPRIATE WORD) OF TRUMP. 

Sunny today but the forecast is for falling temps. I will have to water the gardens a bit and the meteorologists say we won't get any significant rain for the next week. We are looking at a busy week with two doctors' appointments and a trip to the license bureau to renew the car registration.

So Trump went back to Butler, Ohio. I saw about a half hour of his rally. I got the feeling that his handlers told him that Harris is mopping the floor with him with her hopeful rhetoric and he needs to tone down the gloom and doom. Unfortunately I came across as totally faked. The man is not at all authentic unless he is spewing out grievance. At least the start I saw didn't disintegrate into the usual pity party. I don't know if that came later because I switched the channel.

So the Oklahoma Secretary of Education put out a contract for bid. He mandates that a Bible will be in every classroom and all teachers are to "teach from the Bible," what ever the hell that means. Will students learn math in terms of "cubits" or "shekels?" Will they learn meteorology or physics by studying the Red Sea crossing in Exodus? The details of the bid are interesting. The Bibles must 1) be the "authorized" (by whom) King James Translation, 2) must include the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Pledge of Allegiance, and 3) must be leather bound. My, my--does any one else notice how nicely tailored that list is? It is the Trump Bible which comes in at $60/a piece. Takes care of two birds with one stone: force feeds students Christianity while filling Trumps pockets.

Found this article first thing this morning. I thought from early on that the Israeli aim, what ever they said, was vengeance pure and simple. And they weren't interested in distinguishing between Hamas and "civilians." And though the passages of the Bible cited in the article seem heavily weighted in the "vengeance is mine saith the Lord" I remember all too well the preachers reminding their flocks that He acts through men. Unfortunately, our government in recognizing the "justice" of Israel's cause have failed to recognize the lust for vengeance that has overtaken the thirst for justice. In a sense they have erased the difference between the two words. And we, through our government, are shackled to vengeance whether we want to be or not.

Charles Hughes Smith posted a pretty good overview of our current social/political mess.  I would add a couple of comments. Those at the top of the social/political/financial pyramid do have a "kick the can down the road" mentality--in other words, business as usual. But they also have a selective view of what constitutes a crisis. They may see inflation as a problem but not extreme weather, obesity but not our food supply system. And when they do recognize a problem they always see someone else as the villain of the crisis. Inflation is all because of THOSE workers who want wage increases never thinking that when wages go up prices do too. Obesity would not be a problem if THOSE glutinous idiots simply stopped stuffing themselves but the powers-that-be never consider how industrial food production has engineered their products 1) addictive, 2) contain maximum fat, salt, sweeteners, and 3) minimally nutritious. They also fail to see how the various crises are interconnected and exacerbate each other. Simply kicking the can down the road doesn't help when the interconnected crises eat away the road.

October 3

 Good morning on this sunny day. We expect mild temps in the mid 70s and no rain. I am debating when I should unhook the garden hose for the season. Average first frost here is about October 15 and a good freeze could come before the end of the month. However, I have seen seasons where we didn't get a hard freeze until January. I should cut back some of the petunias and take down the sunflowers. Both are pretty well done for the year. It is time to consider what to plant next year.

Erin Brockovich has a long post today on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. She covers some concerns that the news (even the Weather Channel) coverage doesn't mention much at all: the pollution the comes from industrial site being flooded. Considering the scope of the devastation recovery will be a very long term project. Some of those areas and people will never recover.

Stray thought: I watched a part of a "conversation" last night that included a couple of committed Trump supporters. One had broken with Trump after Jan. 6 but has now returned because, in his opinion, the Biden Administration's policies were so damaging to the country he was "forced" to pivot back to Trump. He remarked that once the Republican Party regained power they could return the focus to policy. That struck me as odd because they seem to be ditching their principles which support their policies in the pursuit of power. Without the principles the policies are ephemeral and I doubt they can regain the principles after they have gained power. That pundit is like the man who sells his soul to the devil expecting the bill will never come due.

October 1

Welcome to October.  Only three months left in this year and only one and a few days before the election. We had errands to run this morning so I am only now getting to my reading. The Vice Presidential debate goes on tonight. I don't know whether we will watch. 

Right now the news is covering the Iranian missile attack on Israel which isn't really surprising after the leader of their ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah, was killed during Israeli bombing over the last few days. And Israel is sending ground troops into southern Lebanon. I don't expect this to end any time soon no matter how you define "end." 

First news this morning involved the longshoremen's strike at the ports on the East Coast and Gulf. Most of the stories seem to balance the workers' demands against the consumers of the goods being shipped into the ports. The increasing use of automatic against the kids Christmas gifs. One of the reports said the employer's offers included a really big pay bump over the six years the proposed agreement would run. But I rather sympathize with the workers because what good does that increased pay do you when automation takes the job away. Another story claimed that the shipping companies made a huge profit during the pandemic but little of that windfall fell to the workers. We'll see what happens.

This piece by Meaghan Ward on Medium is interesting. Some teenagers are refusing to go to school. And, according to the author, refusing to "participate in life. I have heard of similar situations in Japan and China. It was bad enough in China that the government tried to wage a propaganda campaign against the trend. The really interesting comments came at the end of the article. Asked what the kids will do if they don't go to school, what work will they be able to get, one mother said she thought her daughter has watched how hard she work and how little she got for the work--and has decided she wants none of it. When I was young, more years ago than I care to think, I was assured hard work would let me get ahead in life. Working hard in school would lead to a good job which would pay for a good life. By the 1990s or so, I summed up where that philosophy had gotten me: working my self to death to barely survive. By the time I retired thirteen years ago I modified that: working my self to death to not survive at all. I wasn't surprised when a lot of workers took early retirements (when they could) during the recession of 2007-9. I wasn't surprised when those who could did the same during the pandemic or jumped at arrangements for working from home. They decided to step off the treadmill.