This past Tuesday was primary election day in Missouri and there were several heated contests as well as a healthcare proposition to ponder at the voting booth. The biggest race was the Republican race for 7th district congressman. From a field of 7 candidates, one was the winner by a wide margin and will now face a “former Republican turned Democrat who says he is really an Independent” in November. If he’ll guarantee me that switch to the “I” column in Congress, he may get my vote. I’m a bit tired of partisan politics.
The Show-Me state voters also gave a resounding hands-down to national healthcare reform. The vote can’t really change the federal law but can guide our state lawmakers and national representatives on how the voters in Missouri feel about the issue.
I love watching the election returns on TV – I just don’t care for national elections when the media starts making predictions when the polls are still open in the western states. Let the voters decide first, then you can start in with calling out the winners and losers when it’s official! And my suggestion to citizens is this: get out and vote or keep your mouth shut and don’t complain!
This morning’s paper brought news that the public libraries in Camden, NJ will be forced to close by the end of the year due to budget cuts. The idea of a community not having a public library is so sad as I’ve always thought the whole concept of a public library as being one of the most ingenious ideas ever. Let’s hope a not-for-profit organization like Rotary or Kiwanis can step in and help keep the doors open in at least one location there.
Even more alarming is the fact that East St. Louis, IL has to lay off a significant portion of their police force for those same budget issues. I find it hard to believe that tax revenues and other government income can’t provide for what is truly necessary – but because people have become adjusted to Big Brother supplying all their needs, government dollars are stretched to the breaking point. Perhaps we need to get back to the basics – such as personal responsibility and what are the differences between needs and wants. Just a thought………
This week at Casa Brown, we’ve again had a busy schedule. Burl has played plenty of golf and in his “free time” has helped with a building project at the home of one of our church members. I joined him for golf on Friday night when they had the Couples Scramble but my guilty pleasures came from going to the gym and riding my bike. I did enjoy dinner on Monday night at Haruno where I got to feast on the 417 Restaurant Month special – I chose seaweed salad, split the jalapeno tuna tempura appetizer with friend Belinda, chose the sushi entrée (and brought half of it home) and then we shared the red bean ice cream. So very tasty – and all for $20. Tonight we’re trying Doe’s Eat Place to see what we’ll get for $20 there.
I also bought some yarn (like I needed more!) for a sweater for me and for a couple of Christmas gifts so have been working hard on finishing the sweater that’s already on my needles. Here’s hoping it fits!
And I read two books – “Oprah” by Kitty Kelley was so-so and I speed-read a large portion of it. The book confirmed a lot of my impressions of this superstar – not all of them favorable although I admire her rise to fame from humble beginnings. The other was “The Lion” by Nelson DeMille which easily earned an “A” from me – I love the FBI vs. terrorist theme and the sarcastic main character was fabulous.
Today we got in an early morning ride to Rockaway Beach with friends Dave and JoAnn who are visiting from Phoenix. I wanted to get their take on the Arizona immigration law but talking about our grandkids and planning motorcycle trips while we’re there next winter took precedence!
Gotta run – the pool just called and is waiting for me!
