Enough Politics for Today

Sylvie and Pan (Grandpuppies)

I cannot even deal with politics today. I’m aware of what’s going on, and I caught up on a few short news podcasts this evening so that will have to do for now.

From what I gathered, eight Democratic Senators voted to pass the continuing resolution (CR) so the government could reopen, with the promise that ACA government subsidies would later be voted on for extension. Of course, that still has to make its way through the House—and through Forty-Seven.

At this point, Mike Johnson has said the House will not vote on extending the subsidies. Meanwhile, Forty-Seven has declared that insurance companies are greedy (the man should know greed - he’s one of the greediest people walking the earth) and wants to give Americans money to purchase health insurance on the open market. It’s obvious to me that (1) Forty-Seven doesn’t understand health insurance, and (2) his plan might as well be “Medicare for All,” as Bernie Sanders has said.

The only bright spot in all this is that as part of the CR deal, there will be no more layoffs of government workers until the measure expires in late January 2026. Those who were laid off illegally during the shutdown will be reinstated (one less case for the courts to handle) and all furloughed workers will be paid for the time they missed. (Traditionally, that’s been the case, but Forty-Seven just wanted to be mean because he is a mean, mean, mean man.)

Oh, and one more good note: the SNAP program will be fully funded for 2026. That was part of the package the eight Democrats voted for late last night.

Still, this battle over affordable healthcare for Americans is far from over. When we reach the end of December and nothing has been resolved, we can almost guarantee another government shutdown in 2026 and Forty-Seven will likely play power-crazy again and threaten SNAP.

Okay, enough politics for today.

Our grandpups, Pan and Sylvie, are staying with us this week while Megan, Jeremy, and the kids are on vacation. I spent part of the day playing with Oliver while Megan and Jeremy finished packing. Thankfully, the drive home from dropping them off at the airport was smooth, hardly any traffic at all. Still, I’m exhausted. I may not have fully recovered from the 13½ hours of baby time yesterday!

And finally, a quick shoutout to my cousin Eleanor: I hope you’re feeling better soon! Sending lots of positive energy your way.