For some of us, life is getting better and better.  To begin, the  Hamas released two American hostages  from the Chicago area, Judith Raanan and her 17-year old daughter Natalie, said to be for humanitarian reasons.  One reason was because the mother was in poor health.  She looked well in the photo on the left. Three strikes, and Rep. Jim Jordan is out as House speaker.  He lost more votes again.  Of course, this means life is getting better for people like me, not Republicans, who have been clueless for 17 days, and continue so.  A next vote might occur next Tuesday.  There is now a smorgasbord of potential applicants, who need to announce so before Monday.  They are all floundering and angry at each other.  Oh, they also were told to blame the Democrats for this sorry condition of their body, for all of them, plus only 8 House Republicans, caused this stalemate. Yesterday, I reported that former legal advisor to Donald Trump, Sidney Powell, worked out a plea deal with Georgia offic

  On this nostalgic Tuesday, I return to our first Diamond Princess cruise that was close to starting the   Covid Pandemic.  As you know if you read this blog, two weeks from today we again board the Diamond Princess for a 9-day cruise around Japan. But first, just one news flash.  The U.S. House of Representative remained paralyzed when Congressman  Jim Jordan lost the vote today to become speaker .  In a way, this was embarrassing, for he walked unto the floor with a sense of confidence, but was rebuffed by 20 Republicans who voted for someone else.  Democrats all voted for Hakeem Jeffries, who beat Jordan, 212-200.  But with no majority vote of 217 or more, no winner.  Next vote will come at 11AM on Wednesday.  I said yesterday there was no way he could prevail, and GOP sources today said that opposition to Jordan could actually grow in future votes.  I still think that Kevin McCarthy will ultimately return to the speakership, with unofficial cooperation from Democrats, effectively,

For the past couple of weeks I've only provided the views of others regarding endangered Israel and the House speaker debacle.  Today, I provide my opinion, beginning with the Israel-Hamas War, with more questions and no solutions: Pressures are building, and Israel is in its worst position since the  Yom Kippur War  a half a century ago.  That period was crucial for the survival of humanity, for involved were the western powers against the Arab nations, plus the Soviet Union, and even China and North Korea.   While the world survived this game of intense brinksmanship, one fallout was the sudden increase of petroleum prices, for the result was the  First Energy Crisis .  Interestingly enough, Iran was a non-player in this war. Here is the situation at this moment (which could anytime change): Israel is torn about when and how to invade the Gaza Strip. The 199 hostages make decisions difficult. There are around  40,000 Hamas military terrorists  in a Gaza Strip population of 2.3, m