First off, an apology to any miserable creature out there who needs a daily fix of CTBlue, should any such creature there be. Friday we made our annual pilgrimage to the beautiful state of Vermont, and blogging will be sparse, sporadic and, perhaps, non-political for the duration of our vacation.
Speaking of blogging, I have felt that my performance has not been up to snuff recently, and I think Paul Krugman may have put his finger on the problem today. As he note, there is one overriding issue in this country at the moment, at once the source of all our problems and the impediment to solving any of them, but there’s only so much you can say about the GOP.
In the short run the point is that Republican leaders are about to reap the whirlwind, because they haven’t had the courage to tell the base that Obamacare is here to stay, that the sequester is in fact intolerable, and that in general they have at least for now lost the war over the shape of American society. As a result, we’re looking at many drama-filled months, with a high probability of government shutdowns and even debt defaults.
Over the longer run the point is that one of America’s two major political parties has basically gone off the deep end; policy content aside, a sane party doesn’t hold dozens of votes declaring its intention to repeal a law that everyone knows will stay on the books regardless. And since that party continues to hold substantial blocking power, we are looking at a country that’s increasingly ungovernable.
The trouble is that it’s hard to give this issue anything like the amount of coverage it deserves on substantive grounds without repeating oneself. So I do try to mix it up. But neither you nor I should forget that the madness of the GOP is the central issue of our time.
(via Chaos Looms – NYTimes.com)
So true. How many different ways are there to express outrage at the Republican Party and its media enablers, who treat its dysfunctions as if they were all normal behavior?
But as I started out saying, this isn’t my problem for a while. Right now I’m enjoying absolutely wonderful (if bizarre-sunshine one minute, rain the next, but nice and cool throughout) weather here in the Green Mountains.
So, here’s a few pictures. This is in Plymouth, a stone’s throw from the former home of one of the worst presidents ever (don’t worry George, he wasn’t anywhere near as bad as you), Calvin Coolidge. We weren’t there to honor Cal, we were there for a free breakfast, courtesy of the inn we stayed at Friday night.
Today we paid a visit to the Vermont Museum of Mining and Minerals in Grafton, VT., a one room affair maintained by a dedicated rock fanatic. (Not talking about music here, we’re talking rocks). I don’t know the story behind this sculpture, but I thought it was sort of neat.
Yesterday, also, we stopped at an incredible roadside eatery called Chef Brad’s Crazy Side Diner, great food at great prices.
While we waited for four food to be cooked we stepped around the food truck and made this fellow’s acquaintance:
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