A rare second post . . .

A Rare Second Post

I’m happy to share this because I don’t care what side of the aisle you sit on, this is a fact.

Speaker Mike Johnson this is for you. Concerning Social Security payments, my contributions were made for over 55 years on every salary I received. Those jobs may not have always been the work I wanted to be doing at the time, BUT I always had a job. The Social Security check is now (or soon will be) referred to as a "Federal Benefit Payment?" I'll be part of the one percent to forward this. I am forwarding it because it touches a nerve in me, and I hope it will in you. Please keep passing it on until everyone in our country has read it. The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a "Federal Benefit Payment." This isn't a benefit. It is our money paid out of our earned income! Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too. It totaled 15% of our income before taxes. Congress took our money and used it elsewhere. They forgot (oh yes, they knew) that it was OUR money they were taking. They didn't have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to them. And they didn't pay interest on the debt they assumed. And recently they've told us that the money won't support us for very much longer. And now, to add insult to injury, they're calling it a "benefit", as if we never worked to earn every penny of it. Just because they borrowed the money doesn't mean that our investments were a charity! Let's take a stand. We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare. Demand that our legislators bring some sense into our government. Find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare going for the sake of that 92% of our population who need it. Then call it what it is: Our Earned Retirement Income. 99% of people won't cut and paste this to their timelines. – Tulsa area home-grown-woman posting on Neighborhood, to whom I say “Amen.”

—james

Conditioned learning . . .

It's the Moon's day . . . Green Country forecasts indicate another hot Summer day. Afternoon temperatures are to reach 100º with an index of 105º. Moderate Southerlies are to maintain Sunny skies. There's a cooling trend on the horizon mid week.

Certainty is the dominant addiction of the modern mind. – Maria Popova, “Breaking Free From The Tyranny Of Certainty,” The Marginalian,

The discoverer and author of conditioned learning theory, physiologist Ivan Pavlov was born in 1849 Ryazan, Russia.

And, today is the birthdate of essayist Barbara Harrison, born in 1934 Queens, New York.

The Sermon on the Mount doesn’t teach a list of beliefs to be memorized and recited. Instead, it teaches a way of life that culminates in a call to revolutionary love. This revolutionary love goes far beyond conventional love – the love that distinguishes between us and them, brother and other, or friend and enemy. Instead, we are called to an unconditional, nondiscriminatory love that includes even the enemy. Before you check the box declaring yourself “Christian,” consider: Are you walking this path, learning its lessons? Is this what your church teaches?

When ten-percent is too much . . .

Sunday, September 13, 2026. It's Sol's day . . .9 a.m. Morning thunderstorms in GreenCountry are forecasted to clear by afternoon. Moderate Southerlies are to bring mid 90's to TulseyTown for a steamy Summer afternoon. Index forecast is in the low 100's. There's a heat advisory in effect from Noon to sundown.

“All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it.” – H.L. Mencke

Anthropic C.E.O. Dario Amodei calls for A.I. slowdown in a 3,800-word essay.

In the face of greed, averace, and national security, a ten-percent chance is too high. – Robert Reich, “A 10 percent threat of extinction is too high,” A Time for Action, substack, 9.12.26

. . .artificial intelligence is forcing us into the age of real human intelligence. Creative intelligence. Emotional intelligence. Judgment. Taste. Lived experiences. These are things that machines have not figured out how to replicate. And are the very things that we need in order to function in the age of machines . . . ushering in a more genuine side of who we are as human beings. – Vincent Hunt, “What it means to be human in the age of Ai,” Noȇma, online, 9.10.26

When 100% seems about right . . .

What made America “great”in the first place? When was that?– Jeff Krasno, The Middle Way, 9.12.26

We are the leaders we've been waiting for. – Robert Reich, Sunday Thought.

Today is the birthdate of Roald Dahl, born in 1918 Wales. The British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime fighter ace was called "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century.

Short story and influential writer Sherwood Anderson was born today in 1876 Camden, Ohio.

A central figure in the Pop art movement beginning in the 1960s, Robert Indiana was born on this day in 1928, New Castle, Indiana.

And, the “Father of Bluegrass,” Bill Monroe was born on this date in 1911 Rosine, Kentucky.

An American writer speaks out.-- Garrison Keillor, Substack, 9.12.26

Echoing Holly Spaulding: You are so not a forsaker. We are not. And part of our work in this world is to help you honor your gift. Never forsake your work.

This is my letter to the World

This is my letter to the World
That never wrote to Me—
The simple News that Nature told—
With tender Majesty

Her Message is committed
To Hands I cannot see—
For love of Her—Sweet—countrymen—
Judge tenderly—of Me

– Emily Dickenson, “This is my letter to the World” is a poem in the public domain.