Tis the Season of Politics, Family, Science – and More

Assorted Issues and Observations to Share

Thanksgiving

 I can never think about Thanksgiving without remembering the now iconic column written by journalist/humorist Art Buchwald, explaining the holiday to the French (he was assigned to Paris at the time, with the Herald Tribune). He closed the column with two very true observations – this is the one day of the year almost the entire country eats the same things and – it is the one day of the year Americans eat better than the French.

I made a harvest pie this year for thanksgiving,

Time for a Grab Bag Week

Lots of Odds and Ends in the News & in Our Heads This Week

It is That Time of Year

A lot of things man-made and natural come to the forefront this time of year, and a few extras are up front this year. Let’s take a look. The first three are inexorably linked to each other, the rest, free range.

Lack of Electoral Enthusiasm by Youth and Blacks

This promises to be one of the more unusual and more important midterm elections in many decades. Some polls and pundits indicate that enthusiasm is lower than it might be among young voters and among Black voters

I surely get it that any number of people and groups feel that not enough has been accomplished yet on their agenda priorities and for the nation’s good.

The Subtle and Wonderful Experience of Walking with a Dog

The Effects are as Good on You as They are on the Dog

 

This Blog Gets Happier in a Moment

But first, a couple of necessary sad notes. We received an urgent call this past weekend from a close friend who was about to lose her dog. After a long series of illnesses and related problems, it was time to let Hairy the Corgi go. Never an easy decision, even when it is the right thing at the right time, as this was, but there comes a time when what is best for the dog is to set them free from pain and problems.

Water, Water Everywhere. And Yet, Not a Drop to Spare

Nature is Kicking Our Butt Over Water, with Too Much and Not Enough. It’s Mostly Our Fault

The Term “Our Chickens Have Come to Roost” Sounds Right

I have been thinking about this posting for a few weeks. A good assortment of articles and reflections are being written about all this just now. Many are well worth your time to read, based on what I have been seeing

For our time together today, I thought we might reflect on the extreme opposites that are pounding the world and what their occurring at the same time mean for us all.

Anniversaries are a Fine Time for Reflection – and Celebration

Sharing a Half Century+ of Good Fortune & Lessons Learned

A Moment to Pause, Reflect, Celebrate

Life tends to run along with a steady hum, the everyday sometimes drowning out the special with background noise. Anniversaries, like birthdays, provide a good prompt to stop for a moment, step back, reflect on what is/was/will be, and, hopefully, celebrate.

So it was recently in our household. My bride and I celebrated 55 years as a couple just a few days ago. After dealing with the shock of that number (“55?! How is that high a number possible?”),

A Round of Good News in Medicine, Science, Technology – And Even Politics

Turns Out Some Good People are Doing Some Good Work

Take a Break

We do a lot about politics and governance in this space. You may have noticed that.  How about we detour a bit and look at six encouraging stories in other areas? Well, one is a political story, but it too is a bit of unexpected, good news.

Read on, enjoy, and reflect. We will get back to current events soon enough

 Let’s Get The Political Stories Out Of The Way First

 A Productive Congress! Who Knew?!

The NY Times had a most interesting article a few days ago about how surprisingly effective this Congress has been.

Good Days, Good News

The Last Few Days Show Promise on Many Fronts

Public Perceptions Count

It seemed as though two thought patterns kind of ran through the country over the last few months.

One has been dissatisfaction with Biden, which in turn led to even worse than normal forecasts for the president’s party in the upcoming midterm elections. The other has been a general national grumpiness, post pandemic peak, which we have commented on in this space before. People, in their eagerness for normalcy, are in something of a bad mood generally, and that reflects back on politicians.

About The Week

The Last Week Was Full of Noteworthy Topics. Some Highlights to Look At Closer

Russia and Ukraine: Good News, Bad News

First the bad news. Russia continues to make some progress in its aggression, now occupying about 20% of Ukraine’s Eastern sectors. And it continues a clear policy of terrorizing civilians and destroying communities. Bombing cities can be an acceptable if terrible thing in wars with much at stake, as WWII. But doing so in this conflict is clearly immoral. The list of war crimes and abuse gets ever longer.

But there is good news,

The Week That Was

A Few Less Obvious Reflections on the Past Week

Well, THAT was Quite a Week – We Were Deluged with News

We cannot say the past week was a boring one. A hastily schedule but powerfully executed January 6 Insurrection hearing. Important battlefield changes in Ukraine. A series of disastrous Supreme Court decisions. An historic NATO summit. And more, in every sector .

Today is the Fourth of July. We have much to think about, America. Somethings to celebrate, some things to regret. Let’s briefly observe some of the important side notes to some of these sagas.

Disconnect to Reconnect

We All Need Time and Space to Chill Out. Here are a Couple of My Favorites

Why We Need to Sleep, Dream, and Chill Out

The picture with today’s post is of our beloved lab Lizzie. That girl knew how to relax!

In truth, we don’t know exactly why we need sleep or why we dream, but the evidence is compelling that these states of being have something to do with our ability to recharge and refresh. The same appears to be true for pretty well all creatures, not just humans.

I submit that as important as these things may be,