First of all, I'm not a pundit, or a professional media-watcher. I just got an email from the White House stating that only 4 percent of Americans have a high opinion of Congress. I'm not surprised. I've said for years we should throw the whole lot of them out.

What it fails to mention is that our President's approval rating has hovered around 40 percent for his entire term. Is over half the country wrong? I think not.

When we clean house, we should do a thorough job.

A Totally Unexpected Result

Not everyone will agree with this. That's OK. One of the beautiful things about bring American is that it's fine to disagree.

I've noticed a very surprising side-effect from the Trump Presidency. It illustrated, in very real terms, that anyone can become President. At my last count, 14 Democrats and 2 Republicans were running. That's the most I can recall.

I'm encouraged by the diversity of the Democratic field. The fact that Trump, a non-politician, won shows that the old saying is, in fact, true. The coming campaign is shaping up to be the most fun in years.

Make sure you pay attention, and vote!

Our President

   There are a few things I want to say.

I don't like Donald Trump. I didn't like his business decisions. I thought many of his ventures were colossal failures. I didn't vote for him, and never will.

He hasn't been the complete disaster some expected. His handling of the economy has been better than I thought it would be.

His habit of self-promotion is one thing I don't like at all. I always felt that you do your best, and let your actions speak for themselves.

His treatment of women leaves much to be desired. The fact that he is on his third marriage says all I need about his view of the contract.

As the head of the Executive Branch, he leads one of the three co-equal branches of our government. Ideally, his power is limited by the other two branches. We'll see how well that works after the next election.

No matter what happens, no matter how bad he is, it's only a four-year term. Look at history. We have had some very sub-standard people as President. We, and the country, will be fine.

Summit Reaction

I just watched a report on the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. I don't like The Donald, and never have. I would not, however, start using the word "Treason" to describe his performance. I think we need a little history.

Obama was criticized for appearing weak in his actions towards Russia. George W. Bush, when Putin was elected. said, "I can work with this guy." Honestly, I don't think Trump is the problem. I just think Putin is that good.

Bush, Obama, and Trump have all been played.

More Brewing

Do you like ginger ale? Do you like doing and making things for yourself? Then you'll love this.

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup dried ginger

¼ cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled, your preference)

1 tbsp molasses

1.5-2 cup white sugar

1/8 tsp yeast nutrient

1 gal water (approx.)

1 pkt yeast

DIRECTIONS

Place 1 qt water, ginger, molasses, and ½ cup sugar in pot or pan, and heat gently to a low boil. Boil for 15 minutes.

While the boil goes on, add yeast nutrient, lemon juice, remaining sugar, and 1 qt water to a 1 gallon jug (plastic or glass).

When the boil is done, place the pot in a cold water bath, and cool below 110 degrees.

Add this to the 1 gal. jug, and add water to bring it to a gallon.

Add yeast, and seal with an airlock. Wait one week, or more (until bubbles stop appearing, and beer begins to clear).

Gather 5 bottles (with tops), of 750 ml to 1 liter, and divide your ginger beer evenly amongst them.

Add ½ tsp white sugar to each bottle, and seal tightly.

Wait one week for the bottles to carbonate, and enjoy.

Options – If you have brown sugar, you can use brown sugar instead of the white sugar and molasses.

There are several options for an airlock. There are airlocks available that fit into a drilled stopper. You can also use a balloon with a hole pierced.

I used dry ginger powder, because that’s what I have. You can also use fresh ginger. Just peel it, grate it, and double the amount used.

Again, I used yeast nutrient, because I had some. You can also use 1 tsp of cream of tartar, or 3 raisins. The idea is to provide the yeast with needed trace elements.

Your choice of yeast is up to you. Standard bread yeast works fine. You could also use any variety of brewing yeast, for beer or wine.

Apparently, I'm A Minority

I was originally going to post this on Twitter, but I have too much to say, and I don't do well with character limits.

I've been looking at some national polls, and I was surprised to learn that most people approve of the job President Trump is doing. I'm not in that group.

I want to be fair. I'm also not part of the firebrand anti-Trump brigade. My view is that he won, fair and square. For better or worse, he is My President. He hasn't even finished the first year of a four-year term. He is not a politician. I feel he needs some time to learn his way around. At this point I would give him an "Incomplete".

For those of you who like everything he's done, I'm NOT on your side. I do not approve of his actions on taxes, healthcare, immigration, or terrorism. I don't like his speeches, or mannerisms. I simply don't like him, period.

That said, I do not think Mrs. Clinton would have been an improvement.

On the one hand, i am very interested to see how this will all ply out. On the other, I want, as much as possible, to stay in control of my own life.

I would welcome any reasonable discussion, without name-calling. You can comment below, or you can reach me at joseph2501@att.net.

Veteran's Day, 2017

It's way too easy to slap a frame on a random photo. When my son, Joe, told me, long ago, that he wanted to join the National Guard, it was just after 9/11. I said that I though it was an honorable thing to do, but I hoped he realized we lived in a different world, and we didn't know what the future might bring. His answer should be engraved somewhere. He replied that he knew what might come, but he thought it was important. I have tears in my eyes as I write this. Joe, you're my hero