They've politicized Social Security

 Last week I received a rare letter from the Social Security Administration.

From the same agency which I entrust my life's savings from years of working and sending money to be refunded when I retire...

Photo of the email as received, and I copied the text directly from the email with added red type for the political campaign messages.

This weekend, America celebrates its 250^th birthday. For over 90 of those years, Social Security has provided financial freedom for America's seniors. President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration are not only protecting Social Security, but we are providing meaningful and immediate relief to older Americans who have spent decades contributing to our nation's economy.

Just last year, on July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. This historic legislation included a tax cut that allows Americans 65 and older to keep more of their hard-earned Social Security benefits. Thanks to President Trump, over 35 million American seniors received an average of $7,500 in relief this tax season.

If you did not take advantage of the President's signature tax cut for seniors, I encourage you to review eligibility requirements through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website for next year's tax filing season.

Under the leadership of President Trump, we are protecting and strengthening Social Security while providing world-class customer service:

• In SSA field offices, we've reduced wait times by 30 percent;

• On the phone, we've answered calls 75 percent faster;

• We're meeting the needs of seniors in the digital age with 24/7 access to online my Social Security accounts;

• We've increased the number of personal my Social Security accounts to over 100 million users and have processed over 100 million more transactions this year;

• For disability claimants, we have reduced processing times by 25 percent; and

• Our efforts to prioritize efficiency, streamline our processes, and decrease wait times are saving Americans time while delivering the highest quality service.

Put simply, America's seniors are winning! I'm honored to be in your service.

Happy 250^th birthday, America!

Frank J. Bisignano
Commissioner
Social Security Administration

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The Red Ink is mine, just in case you miss the political campaign statements, many of which are borderline false. (I will leave it to others to give corrections.)

This is crass campaigning on a legitimate government business agency. Isn't that illegal? Would the IRS allow it? Or the Veterans Bureau? 

I'm just sick! 

And angry!

And something beautiful to just show that the universe does offer beauty still!

Colorado columbine, aquilegia caerulea taken by a very good photographer.

My two memes delayed and combined

 For Saturday's Critters...a bit late to the table due to the holiday!

Some photos of my 3 sons and myself (with curls and a bandana) and my ex-daughter-in-law.

Not sure which grandbaby is shown here, but likely William. The kittens are Tiny Patches, Garfield and probably their mom, Patches.

Sharing with Saturday's critters!

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And for Sepia Saturday...another favorite meme that I sometimes contribute to...usually a day early, and seldom on topic...

How about free art?

A clay puzzle piece, size 14 x 22 inches. Backed permanently on a piece of board...it is rather heavy and ready to hang...with a wire attached on the back. This is more or less the true color.

But I don't want it any more. And so I gave it to the local thrift store Kiwanis.

I meet the theme of this week on Sepia Saturday by having a sepia art work in clay. Sepia, I tell you! Sepia!

In everyone's life, at some time,

our inner fire goes out. 

It is then burst into flame 

by an encounter with 

another human being. 

We should all be thankful 

for those people who 

rekindle the inner spirit.

Albert Schweitzer

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.

 -Victor Hugo, novelist and dramatist (1802-1885)

Savor moments big and small,

Let worries go then watch them fall.

With open heart, dear grateful soul,

In every breath let joy unfold.

                      blogger Cloudia 

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Climate Change notes:

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re already well into a hot summer - and Reuters just launched Climate Monitor, an interactive globe showing how much hotter (or colder) today’s temperature is compared to what was typical on that date between 1961 and 1990.
 
I spent a few minutes on the site. Where I live in Dallas: 4.7 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s 2.6C) above normal this past week. Toronto, Ontario, my hometown: 19.6F or 11C degrees above normal. 11C above normal is incredible to me, and in case you didn’t know, Toronto’s one of the World Cup cities with an outdoor stadium! That stopped me in my tracks.

Yesterday, Philadelphia cancelled their 250 year celebration parade as the heat index soared to 118F, and in DC, temperatures 22F above normal led to the closing of the Great American Fair on the Mall.
 
This week, take just a minute and look up your city. Look up where your parents live, where your kids go to camp, or somewhere currently experiencing a heat emergency. And don’t stop there. Talk about it! Share what you find out — not as a lecture, but as a conversation starter: “Did you know it’s 6 degrees warmer than normal here right now? I just found this tool that shows you in real time.” 
 
Abstract statistics about global average temperatures are easy to dismiss. But when someone sees that their hometown is running 8 degrees hotter than usual, or that the town where their grandchildren live is having its warmest July on record, it hits differently. Climate change stops being a headline and feels personal. 

Thanks  Katharine Heyhoe

Fighting for freedom

  

Continental Army’s North Carolina Brigade marching through Philadelphia on Aug. 25, 1777

This is a great drawing of the American Revolution, showing women and children in the wagon, taking their parts in the conflict.

This 250 year long experiment in democracy by a republic called the United States of America is not doing so well at this time.

Whether it shall long endure has become a question in many people's minds. In the months until the November election there are strange and awful possibilities to be thrown at the world from the current authoritarian clown.

We shall see...

Me visiting my second son and his family in Atlanta for the Fourth sometime in the  early 2000s. This year he and his family will be in Philadelphia at a World Cup Soccer game!

The frequent and well populated demonstrations show that many many Americans are opposed to the actions coming from the White House.

What is the United States of America? See Rebecca Solnit's article in The Guardian.

that article link is worth reading!

Independence Eve

 This is the beginning of the celebration  of this 250 year experiment, which has abjectly failed in the last 2 years. But then again there were more than a third of us who didn't bother to vote in the presidential election that got us into this situation...

Of course the experiment which our "forefathers" envisioned didn't include people of color. But with amendments available to the constitution, there have been efforts to rectify that shortsightedness. Unfortunately the laws don't govern day to day bigoted people. They may attempt to, but too many people just blatantly ignore the law, including those who make changes to laws.

This was actually published before the War with Iran in 2026.

Lest we forget!

Heartbreak and hope are not mutually exclusive. We can be angry and sad and filled with longing for something we cannot have, and simultaneously we can be grateful for what we’ve got — aware, for reasons we’d never choose, of what really matters and what doesn’t.

LENNON FLOWERS