May 26, 2018

I was folding towels

this morning that I had washed -- they were beach towels, and some of them I've had for ages!

My 25-year-old son wandered into the room, and I told him, "A few of these beach towels I've had ever since I was a child!'

To which he replied .... in all seriousness .....

"How are they still intact?"

May 26, 2018

Two Realities

The U. S. economy isn't as good as it seems.

"The U.S. economy has a problem. The usual economic bench marks look really good: America in 2018 is enjoying faster growth, low unemployment, record numbers of job openings and a stock market near an all-time high. Yet an alarming number of Americans are still struggling to get by.

In the past week, two reports — a new Federal Reserve survey of more than 12,200 Americans about their finances and a new United Way report on financial hardship — reveal just how unstable life remains for a large number of people. Here's a rundown of the key findings:"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/25/the-alarming-statistics-that-show-the-u-s-economy-isnt-as-good-as-it-seems/?utm_term=.0f3e8306271d

May 26, 2018

I am wondering why

Why is Trump bending over for Chinese telecommunications company ZTE, despite fierce bipartisan opposition from Congress? I have read that this action amounts to something akin to a U.S. bailout of a Chinese company with the U.S. getting very little in return.

If Congress wants to stop this act, they will have to pass a law with a veto-proof majority to stop the Commerce Department from rolling back penalties. Will they stand up to him and pass it? What's Trump's reason for this in the first place?

May 24, 2018

Nick Kristof: 10 Modest Steps to Cut Gun Violence

How many of these would the gun humpers go along with? These are considered modest steps.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/opinion/texas-shooting-guns.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region

May 22, 2018

Corn Bread made with Honey

Yes or No?

May 22, 2018

The GOP War on Families

Cross Posted in Parenting.

Republicans like Paul Ryan bemoan the low birth rate in the United States. He needs to read this piece and then do some explaining.

"A few months ago, Paul Ryan asked Americans to have more children and said he had “done his part” by fathering three. I would argue that “his part’ is creating an America that’s truly family-friendly and he hasn’t done it at all."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/21/hat-looks-good-slug-birth-rates-us-falling-reasons-why-family-policies

May 22, 2018

The GOP War on Families

Republicans like Paul Ryan bemoan the low birth rate in the United States. He needs to read this piece and then do some explaining.

"A few months ago, Paul Ryan asked Americans to have more children and said he had “done his part” by fathering three. I would argue that “his part’ is creating an America that’s truly family-friendly and he hasn’t done it at all."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/21/hat-looks-good-slug-birth-rates-us-falling-reasons-why-family-policies

May 22, 2018

Any "Watership Down" fans out there?

Great article in the NYT about the allure of this enduring epic.

I read it a long, long, time ago, but recently put it back on my reading list to enjoy again.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/t-magazine/watership-down-hampshire-england.html?em_pos=large&emc=edit_bk_20180521&nl=book-review&nlid=74838209edit_bk_20180521&ref=img&te=1

May 22, 2018

See and Spray Robots Fight Weeds

‘SEE AND SPRAY’

"ecoRobotix www.ecorobotix.com/en, developer of the Swiss weeder, believes its design could reduce the amount of herbicide farmers use by 20 times. The company said it is close to signing a financing round with investors and is due to go on the market by early 2019.

Blue River, a Silicon Valley startup bought by U.S. tractor company Deere & Co. for $305 million last year, has also developed a machine using on-board cameras to distinguish weeds from crops and only squirt herbicides where necessary.

Its “See and Spray” weed control machine, which has been tested in U.S. cotton fields, is towed by a tractor and the developers estimate it could cut herbicide use by 90 percent once crops have started growing."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-farming-tech-chemicals-insight/robots-fight-weeds-in-challenge-to-agrochemical-giants-idUSKCN1IN0IK

May 22, 2018

The Banana States of America

From WaPo's Dana Milbank.

Hillary Clinton warns of a “full-fledged crisis in our democracy.” Rex Tillerson, the former secretary of state fired by President Trump, now warns that “American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom.” (Too bad he didn’t say so when he was on the job.)

They are both correct, in a sense, but right now the fear of the United States going totalitarian doesn’t feel quite right. This crowd is too clownish to be Stalinist. Rather, the United States is turning into a banana republic......."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-banana-states-of-america/2018/05/21/6ebee614-5d36-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html?utm_term=.d72b0a5f4fdb