The good news is that South Carolina’s Republican governor, Nikki Haley, took a shot at fellow Republican Donald Trump in her response to the State of the Union speech; the bad news is that she apparently knows no American history. Her seeming courage in protesting Trump’s anti-immigrant politics also is diminished by the fact that she is herself the daughter of immigrants. Her parents are from India, not the Mexico of Trump’s demons, but the skin color is similar – and not white enough for The Donald.  Read More 

With thanks to those of you who have inquired, Hubby is recovering from two heart valve replacements and complications in his lungs. He was in Tampa’s VA Hospital, most of it in ICU, from December 23 to January 6. As was the case when was there in September, the medical staff took good care of him -- but the VA administration remains terrible, especially on caretaker issues such as scheduling, parking, and food availability. Food sales in particular could make an actual profit, and I can only conclude that its executives are clueless. They also think that wives have no lives.  Read More 

This is going to be a gripe fest. If you don’t want to read any negativity, please turn the page.


My older brother long has said that he would cheerfully return to the simpler times of the 1950s and 1960s when we were kids. I disagree and remind him that because I was born female, I know that the fifties were not fair – and my friends who are racial minorities or gay or otherwise outcasts back then certainly do not want to return to those “happy days.”  Read More