 |
| WINTRY MORN |
 |
| SHOWY MOUNTAIN ASH BERRIES |
There are several “showy mountain ash” trees on the corner of First and Manypenny that have retained their berries and are beautiful covered with snow.
These trees are a native species or sub-species, Sorbus decora, They are my favorite mountain ash for shape, structure and fruit characteristics.
Buddy continues to be a true joy in our household. He is a bit of a knuckle head but will eventually learn to sit. He has “come” and “stay” down pretty well, which is rather backwards, but so what.
Political commentary: Congress and the Administration are equally guilty, in my estimation, for not passing a deficit reduction bill but just kicking it down the road again. Particularly galling to Joan and myself, being (sort of) retired is the granting of an exemption from the Medicare and Social Security payroll taxes again. Both these funds are going bankrupt, and withholding contributions will only make them go under more quickly. All the while, we have not received cost of living increases in our Social Security checks for several years, while continuing to pay hundreds of dollars a month into Medicare Part B, which is also going up. We have paid into SS all our working lives, and into Medicare since 1965. We paid our dues, which were never invested. What those who now are getting a “break” don’t realize, is that they will only get paid out of SS proportionate to what they have paid in, and now they will be three years behind in their contributions to their own retirement fund. All this is slight of hand of the most egregious sort, perpetuated by a government of swindlers, and accepted by citizens that can at best be called naive. What all this actually amounts to is the tacit acceptance by all concerned that these programs, which have been nothing but government cookie jars, are indeed “Ponzie schemes.” Which reminds me of the joke the Russian Communist proletariat used to tell on themselves: ‘We pretend to work, and they pretend to pay us."
No comments:
Post a Comment