Some interesting news first from the New York Times this morning. Pope Leo XIV cast a mail-in ballot in his home state of Illinois.  Have you voted yet?  The mid-terms are three days away. Obamacare premiums will rise by 13 percent next year , hitting middle-income people already struggling with health care costs.  19 million Americans will thusly suffer. Tech company stocks tumbled, some by double digits , as investors fretted about whether their A.I. spending spree is paying off. The war with Iran has been very lucrative for U.S. oil companies, which nearly tripled their annual profit as consumers faced higher prices for gas and other fuel. Over $130 Billion: More than 50 major U.S. oil and gas producers and refiners collectively earned over $130 billion in net income during the six-month period from April through September 2026. [ 1 ] This from Google AI:  U.S. consumers have paid a staggering $147.7 billion to $160 billion in extra gasoline and diesel...

Today is Halloween.   Exactly a year ago,  we boarded the Diamond Princess in the Port of Yokohama.  I remember it so well because I had an opportunity to wear my Halloween pants I had recently purchased at Savers for $3.  I was planning to bring it on this cruise to wear tonight.  However, I couldn't find it. Exactly two years ago, or on 31October2022, my posting was titled  HALLOWEEN 2022 .  To quote from that article: As you must know by now, today is Halloween, a tradition supposedly originated with the ancient Celtic   festival of Samhain   2000 years or so years ago, when bonfires were lit and people wore costumes.   This celebration first came to the U.S.in the 1840's when Irish immigrants escaped their potato famine.  Coincidentally, there is an Irish practice where going door-to-door to collect soul cakes and offerings for dead relatives was traditional.  Failure to supply a treat could result in some practic...

What is happening in the House of Representatives only draws comments of clown show and idiots.  Looks like no Speaker until next week.  Bipartisan solution?  On top of all that, former speaker Kevin McCarthy publicly blamed President Joe Biden's climate policy for catalyzing the Hamas attack.  Huh???   Read this . The  Arab World  is of course supporting pro-Palestinian protests, such as the one in Baghdad, Iran to the right.  Of course  Europe  had some of this, and police in Paris used teargas and water cannons to break up the banned rally.  However, there was also a sizable, but peaceful, gathering around Times Square in New York City.   Only in America . Israel is in a pickle.  They almost surely will expand their ground incursion into the Gaza Strip, but, as  The Atlantic  reported, Israel is  Walking into a Trap . You can't root out a terrorist group that runs the country. Israel has warned ...