Having been awake since my usual 4:30-ish, I’ve had plenty of time to catch up on yesterday’s atrocities. Honestly, I must confess that even for an avid reader and news junkie with politics as my favorite spectator sport, this may be a bit too much even for me.
So, a couple of things stand out besides the horror of our entire country being embarrassed at the UN. The earlier spectacle du jour in Arizona gave me shudders when I heard speaker after speaker extol the language which has been used to denigrate many people and things. One item in particular stands out to me, when JD Vance said he wanted the country to get back to a one-income family situation. I realize he meant that the price of goods has skyrocketed; however, I wonder whether he would be all right with that one income being earned by his wife? Would he then stay home and do all the necessary domestic chores to keep the household functioning? Forgive me if I feel a little snarky this morning.
I do have something interesting to pass on, in terns of good news. I recently had to give up driving (and then I sold my car which was a bittersweet parting). Anyway, yesterday I thought about the fact that I am a Triple A member, and I called to cancel. Interestingly, while it will no longer renew, I am still completely covered until May of next year because the service goes with the body, not the vehicle. I can still make use of all the travel advice etc. that they offer. And indeed if I am a passenger with someone else and we get into an accident, I can call Triple A to respond. Now that’s a company that deserves some kudos.
And another thing to be extremely grateful for today is that it is raining again. We had some yesterday too, so the earth is very grateful. I enjoy my morning walkies with galoshes and brolly, while the moisture improves my complexion. Finding joy in small moments.
But there is one other rant I have from my morning reading. It seems that YouTube has restored privileges to some posters who had been barred for spreading untruths about Covid and elections. The House Judiciary Committee had subpoenaed the Company for information on this subject quite some time ago (I have not researched the entire origin story). This reply letter to Chairman Jim Jordan dated September 23, 2025, is available for viewing, and of course I had to read it. It basically gives free rein to anything the people on its platform want to post While it seems a good thing to champion free speech, I was taken aback in particular by Items number 18 and 19, which I will quote verbatim here:
On key issues of medical content, YouTube policies continued to evolve in line with a dynamic environment. Health authorities have changed their guidance over time and Alphabet’s policies have evolved as well. YouTube’scurrent approach allows a wide range of content regarding COVID-19 and elections. While the reliance on health authorities in this context was well-intentioned, the Company recognizes it should never come at the expense of public debate on these important issues.
YouTube continues to enable a diversity of perspectives and believes creators should be able to openly debate political ideas on the platform. In June 2023, YouTube sunsetted a policy to allow for discussion of possible widespread fraud, errors, or glitches in the 2020 and other past U.S. Presidential elections.
I urge everyone to read this letter in full and think about its ramifications. I would be interested to learn exactly who got de-platformed for misinformation when YouTube had policies in place concerning COVID and election integrity. And have their views changed any since then? Probably not, I’m guessing. Where did they go to spread the lies when they lost this platform? Anyway, I definitely have better things to do with my time today than point out the juxtaposition of the internet, rampant guns, and lonely young men.
I will end with another quote, this time from my daily calendar and attributed to British poet John Dryden:
For all the happiness mankind can gain
Is not in pleasure, but in rest from pain . . .
RESIST ALWAYS
TTFN
The luxury of having “time to catch up on yesterday’s atrocities.” Are we not blessed?