I think one could best describe the weekend that just passed as “Somewhat wild and wooly.” I wish I could say my little spot on the planet was like I’ve said many times this summer, but I can’t. We had some of the worst weather we’ve seen here all summer long. By the time I went to bed last night my rain gauge had recorded nearly two and three-quarters inches of rain this weekend. And this darned weather isn’t over yet. I guess tomorrow is going to be relatively O.K., but then the unsettled stuff remains right through next weekend. At least that’s what the weather folk are saying right now. The weather radar, though, seems to indicate we in southern Maine are relatively clear today, at least for the next several hours.
I hadn’t kept up with the NFL practice sessions, perhaps because the Brett Favre controversy in Green Bay has dominated the football news. I was totally caught off guard last night to find a pre-season Sunday Night Football game on Ch. 6. It was the annual Hall of Fame game from Canton, Ohio. I should have known about it. I’ll blame my missing it on age. I think I’m old enough now for that to work. I didn’t watch the whole game as I never do watch whole night games in any sport. The exception to that might be if the Gators are in a national championship game. But I did enjoy that part of the game I saw. Washington, incidentally, beat the Manning-less Indianapolis.
And one of my favorite sports series is underway. The New England States and Mid-Atlantic States Round Robin Little League championships, already in progress, will be televised on NESN beginning Wednesday at 11 AM. These televised prelims are part of the road to the Little League World Championships later this month. I haven’t checked yet, but I think ESPN carries the games once they get into regional championship rounds. I’ll be watching as many as I can. The newest Red Sox player, Jason Bay, incidentally, played in the Little League World championship series when he was 11 years old.
The Congressional Republicans held their moment of glory last Friday afternoon when many House Republicans remained in the chamber after the Democrats recessed for the month by just one vote. They had not made any headway into developing an energy policy for the U.S. designed to help us break away from foreign dominance. The protesters were generally ignored by the news media, both Friday and through the weekend.
But what have they done since that Friday protest? I haven’t seen any indication they did anything except beat their chests a little Friday and then went home. Have they attempted to energize the Republican base? Have they been on television this weekend protesting the lack of action by the Democrats? Whatever they did was something I must have missed. It turned out to be an opening designed for looks only. It appears the short-lived protest ended almost faster than it began.
Over the weekend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she would block any and all attempts to allow oil drilling. What about that September expiration date of the congressional ban on drilling? Pelosi says an extension to the ban will be included in the upcoming federal spending/budget bill.
So once again the Democrats are demonstrating they really don’t care about this energy crisis which is causing extreme hardships in just about every nook of the American economy. There are times when I think Americans like the punishment. After all, they will return this do-nothing Congress to power in November.
Of course our Republican Senate candidate, Susan Collins, is working hard for our benefit. She joined two Democrats to sponsor a ban on lighters that look like toys. That, of course, is far more important than working to solve the energy crisis.
GiM
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