I can't believe it's not a democracy!

Labour is reacting....will the democrats?

City bonuses under threat of windfall tax. The answer, sadly, is no. They won't even try.

I'm taking a late train tomorrow night for

the Thanksgiving holiday.  Turns out most of the earlier trains were sold out.  Oh well.  In any event, posting will be light through the weekend. 

I hope that everyone has a lovely, restful holiday. 

The holiday season (bit me O'Reilly) is approaching.

And in an attempt to get my shit in gear, I'm going down to S. Jersey to get some shopping done and maybe wrap a gift or two.  Every year I swear I will get this done early.  Every year I am left trying to get things done at the last minute.  Maybe this year will be different?  Yeah, I know.  

Hope you all have a restful, yet productive, weekend. 

Well, I had a lovely time until this a.m.

Woke up with a raging sinus headache.  They are similar to, but not as intense as, migraines.  So I missed my train, as I gulped down a few cold tablets and crawled back into bed.  I finally made it to the train station 5 hours later, but feeling much better.  As much as I dislike the winter, I'm ready for it.  The shifts in temperature and humidity play havoc with my sinuses.  Fortunately I only get these headaches about once every year or so, but they suck when they occur.  I think tonight is going to be an early to bed night. 

And try to avoid the coughing hordes when you are out.  Seems like everyone on the train had a cold, and with this being an early flu season (damn you, swine flu), well, prevention is the best medicine.  Stay well.  

Wow. Less than a year ago I was thanking everyone

for coming and visit and getting my page views to 100,000.  Today, well, I just hit 200,000.  Thanks you guys.  I know I haven't been blogging as steadily, but I think we all have had our fill of daily soul draining stories on what passes for politics in this country.  Sure, I'll do the occasional political post now, but it is occasional.  But throw a story about a preacher caught exposing himself or a politician snagged trying to pay an undercover cop $20 for the opportunity to blow him....I am so there.  

So thanks again.  Ironically, I will thank you and disappear for a few days.  Halloween is Saturday and I'd rather not experience my block as an open air urinal again, so I am leaving tomorrow night for S. Jersey.  I have more ship memorabilia to catalog and I may join my sister-in-law in ferrying the girls around for free candy on Saturday. 

Hope you all have a fabulous Halloween.  

I'm back.

I had a really relaxing week off.  The weather was horrible, so my time was spent reading, watching good and bad tv, eating and resting.  Just perfect.  And I've started to catalog some ship memorabilia my uncle left me over 20 years ago (yeah, I took my time, but now the deck plans and brochures, etc., are over 50 years old and, presumably, more valuable).  So, anyone know anything about selling ocean liner memorabilia?  I have to do some research.  No one piece is worth a lot, but my uncle saved everything, and the deck plans, etc. are n the original envelopes.  Let's just say I only made it through one box.  It's a start. 

Hope you all had a lovely week and weekend.  

And birthday season continues...

I'm off to South Jersey once again.  This time there are two birthdays: my Aunt Mary's and mine.  My brother is making a turkey dinner tomorrow night--I think I am charged with making (or buying) the cake.  I'm the baker in the family (by default) and I don't get the chance to do it in my tiny New York City apartment, so no tears for me.  That said, I am looking forward to a relatively relaxing weekend. 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend filled with rest and relaxation.  

Why don't I feel reassured?

Bernanke says recession is "very likely" over. Well let's see, commercial real estate is starting to go into a tail spin, unemployment is at close to 10% (actually much higher if you include people who no longer get unemployment benefits and/or have stopped looking) and jobs are being cut where I work....and are likely to continue. Reminds me of the saying about the difference between a depression and a recession. Namely, it's a recession if your neighbor is laid off. It's a depression if you are laid off. And let's face facts, laid off means fired, because I don't think that any of these jobs are coming back ever. Just another Tuesday.

It's the beginning of birthday season, so I will be away this weekend.

Posting will be light to nonexistent, as I trek to south Jersey to pay homage to my brother and nephew (birthdays on the 13th and 14th).  Then I return to celebrate my friend John's birthday on the 15th.   And there are at least seven birthdays to follow over the next five weeks.  No doubt about it, folks had to find something to occupy them during those cold winter nights.  And they did.

Have a lovely weekend. 

So I was chatting with a friend about the state of political affairs....

Long and short, I've had enough with paying the kind of attention that I've been paying to the political discourse.  The republicans are crazy, the democrats complicit.  In fairness, the only decent politicians out there are democrats, but they are constantly being stomped on or ignored by the democratic leadership.  Think about it.  There are over 80 members of the Progressive Caucus, yet Rahm tries to pressure them to cave on a strong public option while supporting the 50+ members of the Blue Dog Caucus, some of whom were formerly republicans who changed parties.  Why?  The same reason this White House worked out a sweetheart deal with big pharm.  It's all about the money.  

To that end, I don't think I can spend as much time on this blog focusing on something I cannot change.  If, as a result of the health care reform fiasco, or the continued refusal to investigate torture and the other crimes of the Bush administration, or the escalation of the Afghanistan "war," or whatever, if we see a call to form a real third party?  Well, I'm there.  Assuming, as I do, that that will not happen (no matter how much I wish it would), then I will have to relegate my blogging to naughty preachers and politicians caught offering an undercover cop $20 to blow him.  It's about balance.  I need some.