LIKE FREDDY KRUGER, I'M BACK!

I was without the use of my computer for a few days due to what turned out to be a router gone bad and since replaced. A computer geek---a very nice guy--came over and diagnosed the problem and got me going again. I was going through terrible withdrawal symptoms and especially dreading the accumulation of mail which would be generated by several days of not being able to check mail. It was not so bad as I anticipated and did not take long to clear the 95% of junk which I did not want or need. In any case, I'm back in business at the same old stand...

A few miscellaneous and unrelated observations during this period of absence in no particular order:

(1) It isn't bad enough that Obama has continual problems with the recalcitrant Republicans but now must deal with backlash among the liberal Democrats. Wake up, guys: something is better than nothing, and the compromised tax deal is about as good as you'll get under the current poisonous political climate. Compromises never satisfy everyone, but in politics they make this imperfect world go round. The President is trying to salvage what is possible, and the impossible is just that!

(2) Cam Newton wins the Heisman, to nobody's surprise. He is a superb athlete, and the N.F.L. must be drooling. Whether he will end up keeping the Heisman is another story. I do find it a bit incredulous that he personally knew nothing about the financial shenanigans and proposed selling of his talent. Perhaps he still believes in the tooth fairy.

(3) The baseball salary sweepstakes is off like a rocket with the Red Sox making major moves and hitting, for them, new financial heights. Then we have the Cliff Lee bidding war between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees--- stay tuned, it's getting interesting. I'm glad the Yanks finally signed up their captain, Derek Jeter; it would have been sacrilege for him to finish his illustrious career elsewhere. And even my beloved Cincinnati Reds signed a long-term deal with their young and talented Jay Bruce.

(4) The Health Care issue is about to come front and center, and this should be a long and bloody war. I read that it is projected that medical care could in thirty years or less be 40% of the federal budget if medical costs continue on the same upwards spiral. Will someone step forward and face the facts and get the ball rolling to start remedial action? And then we have Social Security and tax reform with which to deal. Whoa, Nellie, as the old sportcaster Keith Jackson would say.

(5) In the meantime, education in America , in spite of the efforts of Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education, is on the back burner, while our kids rank 14th in language, 17th in math and 24th in science in international testing. How do we plan to compete if this trend continues?

(6) Could you believe the rioting by the students in England? From the French, I expect running into the streets, throwing bombs and burning autos---but the usually well-mannered Brits? The times, they are a-changing. British students were shocked by a triple increase in tuitions, and they let it be known, as Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall can attest.

That's it for now. I must get my mind back to the holiday preparations and the arrival of three of our four children and spouses plus four of my six grandchildren. This will be hectic but wonderful. I hope you are in good holiday spirits and ready for Santa.