the-hermit.jpgNow that it’s light enough to see, I’m seeing some snow on the grass out back. It must be part of my Wisconsin genes, but it doesn’t look too out of place. The bedroom was positively toasty this morning, though I dropped the thermostat to 64 last night. This portends well for winter. Which, btw, doesn’t start for more than two months. On the other hand, what we call winter (the winter solstice) was considered the mid-point of winter for the Druids. You’d know that if you lived in Hartland.

Anyway, the good news is that we can now have a proper Indian Summer. Which if liberals are elected will soon be called “Warmer Weather Following the First Frost As In the American English Version of British All-Hallows summer, French été de la Saint-Martin (feast day Nov. 11), Colloquial St. Luke’s Summer (or Little Summer) But Named By the Brutal White Conquerors and Slaughterers of the Indigenous American Residents”.

There’s not much in this morning’s paper of a local nature worthy of note:

  • Wigderson’s column opposes the death penalty amendment on November’s ballot. I must say that I’m surprised the we agree on this one.
  • Medical Associates is offering drive-up flu shots. When I got my flu shot last year they wouldn’t let me leave for 15-20 minutes to see whether I would pass out or not. Now I can drive away and pass out? That doesn’t seem like a good idea. These shots hurt like the dickens and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
  • Waukesha is going to annex the swamp land south of town. Done deal, you can book it.
  • UW’s Marching Band is on probation. Not to sound like the old fogey I am but in my day, the UW-LaX Marching Chiefs took seven busses on road trips with one bus designated as the “party bus”. The level of depravity (wanton drunkenness and Bacchanalian licentiousness just short of an orgy – and you all thought being in the band was geeky) reached on that bus during one trip to a Vikings game earned us a similar rebuke.
  • Finally, the major congressional candidates for the Fifth Congressional District met at a forum in Brookfield unattended by me because I was sitting here watching the Ghost Hunters marathon. By the way, good season premier last night. I’m still going to vote for Sensenbrenner, BUT (and that is a big “but”) as someone who worked for Social Security for too long, Kennedy’s proposals are the correct way to go if you want to preserve Social Security. Sensenbrenner’s position, “to raise the return on the billions of dollars that are in the Social Security trust fund.” is nonsense. There is no money in any of the trust funds, there are only iou’s from Congress who took the money to spend on other stuff. Two possibilities: first that the congressman is unaware of reality, second that he was pandering to the old folks.
  • One other thing: in the announcement by the government about heating costs the other day I heard something I couldn’t believe. Did you know we import coal from Australia and South America?