Musings December 6

Jim Clyburn says of Jim DeMint (re his resignation):  I think that Jim DeMint is a very principled guy.  I’ve never agreed with any of his principles, but he’s a very principled guy.

Funniest thing I’ve seen:  Sen McCaskill conducting the Senate and saying “whiplash,” over Sen McConnell’s decision to filibuster his own bill.

Showing my age?  “Back in my day, we had nine planets.”

Too sad, truly sad:  the British nurse who committed suicide after being pranked by some Australian pretending to be the queen inquiring after her daughter-in-law at hospital.

 A while ago I posted this message on facebook for Ed Shultz:  Ed, I see that the Michigan legislature is passing so-called "right-to-work" law, and the gov will sign it. What can be done nationally about this? If the US congress passes EFCA, would that nullify individual states’ right-to-work laws?  [what do you think, gentle reader]

Think outside the quadrilateral parallelogram.

What is “teh” and what is “meh” and how do you pronounce them?  And when do you use them?

If you know someone with twin babies, there are cute toddler tee-shirts and snap-suits in the Wireless catalog, labeled “Thing 1” and “Thing 2.”

Also in Wireless catalog:  Redneck wine glass—a small Ball Mason canning jar perched on time of a stem, complete with metal cap.

How can they speak of not only raising the age of eligibility for Social Security, but raising the age of eligibility for Medicare?  CEO of Blankfein daring to say:  “Social Security was never meant to provide for [living high on the hog] 30 years of retirement after working only 25 years.”  Of course, Blankfein has something like $9 million to retire on.  Hmmm, now let’s see.  Indeed, since I spent 21 years of my adult life as a stay-at-home mom, I only worked for about 34 years, make that 31-1/2, taking out the time I spent in college to earn a degree to get a better job.  And based on the longevity of my parents, I could indeed collect SS and be eligible for Medicare for 30 or so years.  Hang your head in shame, Windy, you greedy sponger.  That said, my own argument is that if anything, they should be lowering the age for SS and Medicare eligibility, to get older people out of the workforce and make room for younger workers.  As it is, many older workers are out-of-work, out-of-income, not contributing to SS or Medicare, subsisting on unemployment until it runs out, or food-stamps, Medicaid, and the like, and are the ones who will be out of work the longest, perhaps never finding work again, least able to ever make the same income they made before, and losing those valuable years that would normally enable them to contribute the most to their social security and therefore earn the most possible in retirement.  Bummer.  But what does Congress care?  They do not need to rely on SS or Medicare; they can sneer at the people who do.

End of the day:  A drippy, cloudy, chilly day.  An oddly comfortable feeling as I re-enter the house at dusk, having shut up the poultry, including the recalcitrant guineas who often end up on the barn roof or in the trees and will not even be enticed by their favorite white millet to come into the barn; having put out grain for the ducks and watched the little brown duck come up with them to the barn to eat—why do I think she is so sweet?  Just a little brown duck, a stray mallard that showed up on the pond about a week ago, and now keeps company with my ducks, I have to keep my distance so as not to fright her.  What a thrill to see her making herself at home.  And then, having hauled a final wheelbarrow load of firewood into the house.  Oh, and having earlier spent a lovely couple of hours at brunch with some friends.  And now, for a light supper in front of the fire, watch a little tv, catch up on some email, and read a while before bedtime.  All the while surrounded by my cats and dogs.  What more could one ask?