Quotes from Golda Meir on two successive days. There are many more bits of wisdom from her, but this will do it for awhile. She should probably get more notice than she does.
This morning I got hungry for some real news and analysis but gave up trying to find it online. Every "news" outlet has an agenda that they increasingly make no effort to disguise. The right is no better than the left; they're equally biased.
So I went looking for data to help me figure some things out on my own.
- Only 25% of Americans take the mortgage interest deduction (MID) on their taxes.
- Only 35% of Americans itemize, and of those that do only 79% take the MID.
- The group that does not take the MID includes, of course, everyone who rents.
So should we eliminate the MID? The housing lobby (builders, construction unions, realtors...) vigorously oppose its elimination, but if it had that big an impact wouldn't it be more widely used than it is? If we did eliminate the MID how much could everyone's tax rate drop?
Hmmmm.
Temps are dropping, winds are increasing, rain is gonna start. We're headed into the first extended weather pattern of the season. By late tomorrow we'll have highs in the upper 40's, winds at about 15 mph, and rainfall throughout the day.
That means outside tasks should be completed today unless they can wait until early next week. The barns will be OK if my trenches work to keep the water out. With only two goats in each of the two barns the straw doesn't need replacing as often. Marta will bring Dolly and Fabio over next week so the weaning barn will need cleaning more frequently, but it's small.
I'm building a second compost bin adjacent to the first. It's too full and too difficult to turn, so I'll just put everything now in it over into the second one, turning it upside down in the process. Then we can start over filling the first. Yesterday I got the 4x4's set, and today I'll put on the sides and make that transfer.
Pam agrees that we have not one, but two Rhode Island Red roosters. We have NO need for two, never mind three roosters! They consume feed with no return on investment, and RIR roosters are notoriously mean. The question is how I catch them to dispatch them. Separating them from the flock of 11 is almost impossible. Going into their pen produces a noisy feathered chaos.
I *think* the solution is to go into the coop after dark when they've all roosted for the night and hope that one or both of the boys is on the perch closest to the door. If I can snag them the deed is virtually done. I'd go from there to the stump where the ax awaits.
I could use my 9mm, but killing a chicken with a gun is harder than it sounds because their bodies are so much bigger than the areas where a wound would prove fatal. And a 9mm to kill a juvenile rooster seems both juvenile and like...overkill.
For the last several days we've had a colony of ladybugs - a dozen or so - huddled together above the window in our bathroom. I meant to get a picture of the group this morning and forgot. Came home from the coffee shop and could tell by the smell of bleach that Pam had cleaned the bathroom. Then she told me, "I set the ladybugs free." Yep, she opened the (screenless) window and shooed them out.
Except I don't think she set them free. I'm pretty sure she sent them to their doom. I figure they came into the bathroom through the edge of the window that doesn't close tightly because it was a warm place to spend the winter, and if, wherever they went, they're not dead by now they will be by tomorrow morning after temps in the low 40's and rain.
My wife the murderess.
I just entered a sweepstakes, something I'm usually too pessimistic (or cynical) to do. But this one...!
Mecum Auto Auctions is my favorite car auction company and they're giving away a free trip to their Kissimmee, FL auction in January of next year AND $20,000 to spend buying a car.
God wants me to win this.
Given the number of men losing their jobs over accusations of sexual misconduct of one sort or another it may be time to factor the phenomenon into the monthly jobs report. I'm thinking about hiring an agent to field the calls I expect to get to about movie and TV roles. NPR is looking for a new CEO, the military has a shortage of officers, and the media is looking for political pundits.
Anybody else have the feeling we're just getting started?
Oddly, the one guy who seems to be immune sits in the oval office.
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