Without an 11th-hour solution, a shutdown is coming, I guess. We can thank the Republican “freedom” caucus and Kevin McCarthy’s way-less-than-stellar turn at the helm. The ridiculousness continues, and people are gonna be hurting for no reasons other than stupidity, miscalculation, and cold-heartedness.

They want people to suffer.

How does the UAW get away with thinking that a 46% pay increase—even over 4 years—is fair? AND.. being paid for 40 hours while working 32?! That doesn’t sound like anything but greed and entitlement to me. Magical, wish-list thinking.

They must know they’d be feeding the cycle— that their wage increase will translate to higher prices for the consumer. Seems they could be making a good living and benefiting from company profits without perpetuating the spiral of higher costs. I know—you have to start high, but there must be a sweeter spot than 46%. Shawn Fain and his allies appear confident in their bargaining position. But they have big eyes and greedy hearts and an inflated sense of themselves and their indispensible nature.

The companies have every right to manage their profits—not so the CEOs and others can pocket more while the workers struggle to get by, but so the companies have capital to invest in infrastructure and the needed move to vehicles with a smaller carbon footprint.

Isn’t it conceivable that the Big 3 autoworkers with their insanely cushy contract could be happily cranking out vehicles that no one should buy? Or will that never be the case, because we all like new stuff on a regular basis, even if we don’t need it?

Get your act together, everyone, and give us a product that’s actually affordable and sensible, given that fossil fuel burners should be going the way of the Edsel.

With the frequent reporting of nightmare scenarios unfolding on commercial flights, I thought I’d add my more vanilla and pleasant experience of flying American from ABE to MSP, via CLT.

Every flight was on time, every flight except the very last return leg from CLT to ABE was full, with many young children who got antsy at times but were monitored by parents and tolerated and even enjoyed by other passengers. I saw no evidence of short tempers, the crews tended to business but were polite and helpful, and I didn’t lose any luggage.

Two caveats: the weather cooperated along the flight routes (i.e. no delays or cancellations), and I did wear noise-canceling headphones most of the time, which I’ve decided I will never do without- if only because of the constant engine noise in the cabin. Where I can afford to sit, it is a loud environment by nature, so it helps to have the noise-canceling feature—even if it makes me look like I just want to be left alone. It’s not an environment conducive to conversation, anyway.

Truth be told, I’ve always loved the whole airport experience, except for getting through security. I’m still trying to figure out ways to make that go smoother.   

Take away peoples’ religion and you take away their reason for being.

Without faith—legitimate faith, not convenient, for show faith—life is emptiness, because then all you’re left with is fallible humanity, who has proven time and again that it can’t pull itself off a toilet seat.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that Donald Trump has help composing some of his tweets, or whatever they’re called on his platform.

The responses to perceived slights and attacks often sound too cogent, too well-worded, beyond his linguistic capabilities. They reek of inauthenticity and sound like something from the mind of a twisted, high-caliber wordsmith like Stephen Miller.

How easily they crack. How readily they bend toward authoritarianism or even fascism. Not just Trump and DeSantis, but Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, MTG, Ron Johnson, Steve Scalise, Lauren Boebert, Josh Hawley, Stephen Miller and the rest. A true motley crew.

They’ll argue otherwise, with a smart-sounding, albeit angry, convoluted, and wordy mishmash of misdirection. But the bottom line is they have a very different vision for America, and their future looks white.

In a basic way, I don’t see how Bob Menendez is any different than Donald Trump. He should resign and make way for someone who isn’t indicted.

It’s too much to ask of the electorate—to have to put up with a person who has been in legal trouble off and on for years. Just walk away, Bob. Walk away and face the music. Don’t drag the country and the people of New Jersey through another prolonged legal battle as you languish in office.

How can anyone focus on their job when they have this on their plate? It’s just the latest embarrassment in Congress. Add Bob to the list of those who shouldn’t be there.

Politics, sadly, is just a dirty business. It must be really tempting to stray, make concessions, sell your soul. It’s becoming increasingly easy to paint the whole lot of them with broad strokes, to wonder about everyone in Congress– who they are, what they want, how they got there. And why they seem so intent on staying.

Kudos to those who can keep their noses clean, if that’s even possible.

American football is a high-octane sport, rife with huge egos and testosterone-fueled aggression. It is legalized mayhem, a modern-day form of gladiatorial “entertainment,” played in modern-day colosseums by mostly men who run the gamut in physical stature from normal to unearthly.

While I readily admit to enjoying Fall Saturdays more than Sundays, I’ve never quite been able to comprehend that there would be so many people wanting to play the sport at any level. I fully understand the quest for fame and fortune. I understand the reality of lingering post-career injuries, and that one’s playing days can come to a crashing halt in an instant, so it’s not surprising that players and their agents angle for handsome financial compensation. Beyond that, though, I can’t shake the thought that, besides a fascination with Xs and Os, the reason many play is to have an outlet for their outsized competitiveness and anger issues.

The players keep coming, and the fans gladly do the same. It’s big business where the stands are packed with die-hard fans, beautiful people tucked away in their sky boxes, and other deep-pocketed spectators paying outlandish sums who expect to see an afternoon or evening of high-speed collisions interspersed with some flashy artistry, and maybe some bloodshed and a couple of concussive hits.

Many of us live a bit vicariously. And we are very territorial, not that far removed from our ancient ancestors. But I won’t be buying into the whole “football is life” thing anytime soon.

“I voted” stickers. Isn’t this sort of like a smiley face or a star we got on our work in second grade? I guess we never really outgrow the need for a pat on the head.

Seems kind of silly, though, or at least unnecessary– unless you live in a place where people prefer you didn’t vote. Then it becomes more of a badge of honor.

I have no desire to read beyond the headlines.

The Republicans are caricatures, Gru-like without the redemptive aspect, sent to us by uninformed voters hoping for… what? Another government shutdown? An $826 billion defense appropriations bill? Who spends $826 billion just on defense?

The saddest part is that the country is being held hostage by a small band of Republican holdouts with the hilarious label “Freedom Caucus.” Laugh-out-loud, roll-on-the-floor hysterical.

And yet, not funny at all.