A Sense of Transition

I guess my day was somewhat productive, albeit not as productive as I would have liked.  Did a couple of minor chores this morning, then off to the OC to help with the Friday deliveries -- we do not have that much meat, but plenty of bread and probably enough produce.  Funny; I am not sure as to the crowd we will have tomorrow -- after the record the first week, things have been more normal (albeit still Bidenomics-related elevated, ahem), so if that holds... it shouldn't be too bad.  And, usually, we are not open between Christmas and New Year's, so... the word might not be out.  On the other hand...people are hurting, everyone else's counts are up, and I suspect that people still want free crap.  I did tell next month's manager that aside from our parish duty, I will not be there the rest of the month, and he laughed.  While things have not been that bad, it has still been...busy.

In the afternoon, I started a seven-layer jello for a family fest and did some more light cleaning.  I got a call from the bathroom contractor -- they start Monday, and among the advice I was given was to take off all the stuff from the adjoining walls, which is actually pretty good advice (as I had not thought of it). I guess this really is it, and I am looking forward to it!  I hope it will be done by the end of the month, and then -- once it is paid off -- we move on to windows.

I also got some progress done on cleaning off the movie list.  I watched a documentary -- "The Silence of Others" -- about the efforts to undo Spain's "Pact of Forgetting" and bring those responsible for murder, torture, etc., to justice.  I can see why it was passed in the 70s, but now... it seems less good.  Also,. we tend to forget that, say, unlike Hitler (who was elected, if you will), Franco took power by a coup and overthrew the democratically elected regime.  Being anti-Communist in the aftermath of WWII helped, ahem, if you get my drift about forgetting, but...it is not exactly a bright spot in the history of US foreign policy.  Later on I opted for some lighter fare and watched "The Arrested Development Documentary," which was humorously reflective; I mean, I liked the show, which probably explains why so few others enjoyed it.

Cutting the Deficit Is Easy—It’s Just Unpopular - WSJ
I don't know; I would think that the surge in interest rates was caused in part by all this debt -- we had to offer notes at higher rates to get people to buy them, and the debt service -- getting larger -- makes it more difficult to spend more in the future.  Certainly there are plenty of people in the US who are seeing this now, and while it may not be politically expedient, I think now is the time where the message just might have a bit more reception...

Israelis See Chance to Remake Middle East in War’s Wake - WSJ
This would be a good thing, but I will believe it when I see it...

Holiday Sales Reveal a Split in Consumer Spending - WSJ
Quite true; I think this explains quite a bit -- the oddities of consumer confidence, our surge in food pantry visits, why the mall was crowded (South Park is in an oasis of affluence, and GOPism, oddly, snark), and why people -- some of them -- are still spending, despite high interest rates.  And with a "new" GOP President...well, happy days are here again!