The First Amendment says I've no choice in whether random people turn up on my doorstep to sell me things. But it does not mean I have to accept you parking your truck in my driveway without leave and then being disrespected on my own doorstep... :(
Somehow I think my gentle jokes comparing winter life in more temperate southern climes might have provoked some karmic backlash from my northern cousins!
Finally getting a chance to see Alex working hard with dignity and the right sort of pride at his Chick Fil-A in Garner today was quite a blessing. Meeting Miss Gena was even more of one! :)
Ever have a person at the checkout till grab your phone and start swiping through your apps? Neither had I...until tonight! :(
After a week of pouring my soul into some very harrowing posts, what's been said about 2024 is all that needs being said. I can only hope that we can hang together as a nation in 2025...
Just in time for Christmas...yet another stealth payment processing price increase by Intuit that was discovered after the fact and smells of a certain villain's deal tactics. :(
President Carter showed that even though he was only allowed one term in the nation's highest office, it's what he did with the next 44 years that truly made him the Obi-Wan amongst modern chief executives!
He was bound and determined to move heaven and earth to live up to S Truett Cathy's dictum of "my pleasure". He succeeded better than one could have ever imagined... :)
Some Christmas messages are really easy to write and just flow from the keyboard. Others haunt your dreams for days. Three guesses and the first two don't count as to how the composition of this year's message went... :)
We'd never get away with it now but back in 1978, a beloved grandmother and eight year-old me teamed up on a poor unsuspecting Chrysler dealership in the Kansas City metro area with a Hungarian haggling thrashing they wouldn't soon forget! :)
Sometimes inspiration can come from seemingly mundane coincidences. The 9th anniversary of my father's passing and my 9th year on Earth will do nicely... :)
Why am I getting a bill for using the toll road when I have a transponder and an account with NC Quick Pass? It turns out that the letter "O" I thought was in my personalised number plate I've had for decades is actually a zero "0". Interesting!
There's nothing like a wonderful turkey feast to share on Thanksgiving Day. For my first two years living in Florida, Thanksgiving involved the "Drive of Shame" to Publix to save the day...
Thanksgiving comes a day early thanks to Mom and Meghann being at a bit of loose ends and a turkey that's just begging to be the guest of honour at dinner... :)
Right Said Fred could have been singing Fortitude's praises...those red leaves are absolutely captivating! Enjoy them while they last which won't be long now... :)
Now we're starting to see some proper fall colours... :)
Just when you thought we'd gotten past the stupidity of the legacy of HB2, Reps Mace and Greene want to ban an incoming transgender colleague from using the women's washroom. But even though Congress exempts itself from many of the laws it passes, the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended) would suggest the Speaker's announced policy may well be illegal.
If you've done some töltött káposzta (Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage), you may as well use the rest of the cabbage for this exceptionally cheap but very tasty companion meal! :)
We occasionally take requests for dinner and Nicholas had a real winner of a suggestion… töltött káposzta (Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage). It may not be the most pretty dish but be our guest with this staple of Magyar comfort food!
A trolley full of detergent, a busted knee, and a bit of Russian language for flavouring...and that's before getting to the checkout till where there would be doubts on whether I'd get the gift cards for the items I'd purchased. Fortunately, a wonderful lead comes round and honours the deal with no fuss or hassle...a very welcome surprise indeed! :)
A purple ballot in the most purple state in the nation and yet former Rep David Lewis (and convicted felon!) gets his dream US House delegation that was hyper-partisan gerrymandered to send a 10-4 Republican delegation to Washington. :(
For those who despair that their vote for president was worthless, come along as I describe just how much fun living in one of the "swing states" that decided the 2024 election isn't with all of the political advertising bombarding us nearly 24/7! :(
It's one thing to complain about the problems and deficiencies of the recent Presidential election campaign of 2024. In a time where those of us who love the Constitution and democracy may feel at the mercy of soul-crushing despair...what can we the people do? It turns out that we've got the capacity to resist the worst of Trump's policies. The question will be if we have the courage to continue to fight...
A majority of our country's voters has chosen to return a known misogynistic, xenophobic and racist convicted felon with authoritarian tendencies and desires to the White House for another four years to pursue a stated policy of revenge and retribution upon what he views as an "enemy within". There were so many deal-breakers that should have instantly disqualified his candidacy much less his election but he's proven to be a master of selling fear of immigrants and a competent woman who respects the Constitution to gain political power. Hopefully the self-interest of the ultra-wealthy that bought him another four years and the certainty that he'll never face true accountability for his actions will be enough to prevent Mr Trump from actually enacting his most horrific policy proposals. In the mean time, we must stick together more than ever before in spite of the forces that wish to divide and conquer us and begin the hard work to bring our country back from the abyss that currently yawns wide before it. :(
With honour and respect for all who served, we give thanks this day and really every day for those who have served and sacrificed so that the rest of us may have the freedoms so many in the world can only dream of. That spirit of selfless service in the defence of democracy and the Constitution for the good of the American people is needed now more than ever.
