Things looking up at meat counter
Rep. Stefanik votes with Democrats on same-sex marriage
By Ken Tingley
It was a shocking development considering it happened at the supermarket.
We are meat eaters in my house, at least as long as we can afford it. So the prime cuts have been in short supply in recent months.
I’m sure you’ve noticed, too.
That was until this week when what to my wondering eyes did appear but two pounds of affordable boneless New York Sirloin in the meat case. It was Christmas in July with sirloin at $3.99 a pound.
Last week I noticed chicken was cheaper and hamburger had come down, too. We’ve come a long way since the middle of the pandemic when many of our favorite products were unavailable and we all feared we would run out of bathroom tissue.
So I’m hoping that maybe we’ve turned a corner.
Maybe we will all take a breath and maybe steak will be back on the table more often.
Maybe the grocery and gas bills will come down, too.
But here’s a more important reminder.
We as Americans are spoiled. The past decade has been a time of almost non-existent inflation, gas prices have been stable and the stock market has been a rollercoaster that rarely ever comes down. Many of you may already be thinking of retiring at 50.
We were hit hard by the coronavirus and responded in record time with vaccinations that have made the majority of us safer.
Yeah, we’ve hit a bump in the road economically, and life has been a little bit more of a struggle, but this is still a rich country with more to offer than any other country in the world, even if you have to pay $5 a gallon for gas.
Hey, remember you bought that gas guzzler. If you didn’t know this day was coming, it is your own fault.
When my wife and I were married in 1982, the economy was in tough shape. We don’t remember it that way though. The memories are fond. We remember eating out once a week at the local rib joint in Oneonta and still managing to put away a few dollars each week even though she couldn’t get a job. It was only later that we found out we lived through a brutal inflation with spiraling inflation. We didn’t know any better.
So here is another big thing to consider. If you want a job, you’ve got your choice. Sure, not all of them are great jobs and most are not careers, but job-wise this is the land of opportunity like never before. You could get two or three jobs if you wanted them.
Back in 1982, there we’re hardly any jobs. People were frustrated. They felt helpless.
That is not the case this time around.
We hear a lot about how divided we are. We hear a lot about the two different countries we live in. Many of us find that discouraging and considering how the political leadership continues to fuel that divide, we should feel that way.
But we should not be filled with despair.
This is a rich country filled with opportunity. That’s why people are lining up at the border. They want what we have.
Remember that the next time you go to the supermarket.
And make sure to stop at the meat counter before the sirloin is all gone.
Hope for Stefanik?
Rep. Elise Stefanik joined with 46 of her Republican colleagues on Tuesday to vote for the “Respect for Marriage Act.”
Yeah, it was kind of shocking.
Essentially, HR 8404 confirmed that you have the right to marry whoever you want whether that is a man or woman, white or black. You would have thought that would have been unanimous. You would think we didn’t need a law for that anymore.
But 157 members of the House - all Republicans - voted against it.
They voted not to allow you to marry who you want to marry. That is frightening.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise were among the Republican leadership who voted against the bill.
A Gallup Poll a year ago found that nearly 70 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage. Republicans should pay attention to polls like that. It appears Rep. Stefanik did.
But here is the thing about her vote.
We all know that our congresswoman is prolific on social media, yet in the hours after the vote, she did not breathlessly scream about protecting same-sex marriage.
Instead, she went back to tweeting about the baby formula shortage, Hunter Biden’s misdeeds, the need for an Amtrak train from Albany to Montreal - its actually shorter to drive there on the Northway - and inflation.
Nothing on protecting the rights of many of her local constituents.
She’s not bragging about that vote, but at least she did the right thing.
All-Star game
I’ve always loved the Major League Baseball All-Star game. I’ve been lucky enough to cover two of them as a sportswriter - Montreal in 1982 and Cincinnati in 1988.
For me, the best part is not the game, but the player introductions. I never get tired of watching them.
Seeing the game in Dodger Stadium also reminded me that is another stadium for the bucket list. I’ve got to plan a trip there soon.
Stefanik response
Loved this tweet from Casey Seiler which goes to the heart of Rep. Stefanik’s utter refusal to interact with her constituents through the local news media.
I suspect Rep. Stefanik would vote against the First Amendment if she had a chance.
Tweets of the Day
. . . and the mortgage rate on our first house was 13% in 1982!
It seems everywhere I go, people are hiring.