Keep Track of How Your Legislators Vote
Here's How (as of 10/1/17)
To see how your senators and representatives vote (or have voted in the past) on key issues, go to govtrack.us. There you can enter your address (if you're not sure who represents you} and the site will provide the appropriate politicians' names and links to their voting records. You can then access a wealth of information, including 1) the record of their votes on bills 2) positions on ongoing issues; 3) ratings they receive from various interest groups, and 4) sources of their funding. A summary of each of the bills in question is also available. If you're happy with  their "yeas" and "nays," give them your vote. If not, take a look at their challengers. Vote, and let your conscience, not your party, be your guide.

For Your Information (FYI)
Occasionally, tidbits pop up that are newsworthy in their own right, shed light on a little-known aspect of a current issue or challenge us to think. These are the kinds of things that will appear on the pages in the drop-down FYI menu from time to time--most recent items first, if all goes as planned, a year per page unless and until that becomes too unwieldy. 

​Just added on 12/6/17 is the "Recommended Reading" page. There you'll find links to articles that strike me as particularly pithy and often timely as well.

With White House intrigue that gives us more to think about than a Garrison Keillor satire wrapped in a Lee Child who-done-it, there's way too much to keep up with these days. Not having a staff of hundreds (actually, it's just me), I lack the resources to verify all the facts independently so I'll always give the source and often links to sites where you can find more detail.

Meanwhile, there are a few topics that don't get much serious press right now, and I hope some of you will share your factoids, experience, and thoughts on these questions (and others) for posting on the "My Turn" page. Here are a couple of topics that need attention:
  • How much longer will we have to wait for passenger protections from the airlines?
    • It was my unhappy lot to be seated right in front of a bathroom at the rear of an airliner not long ago. With two restrooms for about 150 people (!), I was treated to a steady stream of visitors trying not to lurch into my seat as they waited their turn,  then to the aroma you can imagine emanating from the overused facilities. You'll notice I haven't even mentioned leg room designed for the average 10-year-old and charges for the common practice of taking along some luggage and for the privilege of selecting your seat. The airlines have mastered the art of charging more and more for less and less. 
  • ​How are we going to reign in the exorbitant costs of higher education with its resultant student loan debt?
    • ​I graduated from college with a grand total of $500 in student debt, and that I owed to my parents. They had helped me through my first two years, but by my own choice I put myself through the last two by working at a job I loved. I have a friend who put himself through four years of undergrad and the first two years of law school with earnings from a summer job and "pick-up work" (whatever came his way) during the school year. There's no way kids can do that today. Some of them are graduating with $100,000 in student debt; that's five times more than I paid for my first house. There's something not right about that.  Actually, there's a lot not right about that.​​
Please take note of the date on each of the posted items in the drop-down menu. Because this site is concerned with subjects that play out in the chaos of politics, what is posted today may change tomorrow. Reader beware!