Strange Issue number one: Last week, Congressional Democrats came together to save Republican Mike Johnson’s speakership after the hard right GOP bomb throwers, MTG et al, threatened to kick him out because he didn’t do their bidding.

Under the current rules, one member can request a vote to unseat the speaker. But the GOP has a paper-thin margin of control, and a Democrat or two could control the vote. And the Dems pledged to do just that. Yes, you read it right. The Dems pledged to bail out the GOP speaker.

In a Congress that has sometimes resembled a circus clown car, where every special interest group has its caucus, have we seen the formation of a new leadership group? Should we call it the grown-up caucus?

Number Two: On Thursday, as I started the laundry, MSNBC, the lefty leader, and Fox, their counterpart on the right, were both decrying student protesters.

That is right. Both outlets took the same position.

Even Rev. Al Sharpton (no stranger to protest marches himself) said the protesters were no longer trying to shine a light on a cause. He said the protests had ceased from plugging a heartfelt cause to shining a light on themselves.

Both outlets praised the NYC/LA cops who dismantled the protest camps and slow-walked the protesters into the Paddy Wagon. Everyone has a camera, and the cops know it, and they did their job as pros with very little if any, violence. No truncheons, no guns, just quiet intimidating force that worked.

Now, I am sure some other police departments were a bit tougher on the protesters around the nation, but the response by the NYC/LA cops did not involve violence.

Number three: The Biden Justice Department is taking baby steps to legalize pot. Last week, the AG moved to downgrade weed to a lower category.

While this is not the end of federal criminalization of a drug that many states, including Maine, have already moved to the mainstream, it kicks off a process that will permit the industry to use the banking system.

Most importantly, the move will allow legitimate researchers to study the product.

Will they validate claims that weed has a positive effect on some medical conditions? No one knows. But this is a significant shift in how the federal government views the safety and use of marijuana. And the Biden bunch hopes it will yield a few votes. Do you think?

The Sunday chat shows trotted out their usual recap of the week’s news, but the ABC version showed an interesting polling result. They claimed much of the electorate has an unfavorable opinion of both candidates.

According to ABC, while 51% of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of President Biden, 58% had an unfavorable opinion of former President Trump.

The polling is all an attempt to predict the eventual election outcome. But, dear friends, it is still early. The conventions are three months away. And we can expect to be hammered with unknown bombshells that will muddy up a contest that is already up to its ears in slime.

Meanwhile, inflation is still digging into our family pocketbook.

Grocery prices are high, and it looks like the prices charged at our local restaurants are up from last season.

With McDonald’s hitting you up for nearly $20 for a burger, fries and a coke, it is no surprise that my favorite local outdoor burger joint, Dunton’s Doghouse, has followed suit.

Dunton’s is one of the few places in the world that refuse to take credit cards, as the credit card fees cut into their slim bottom line.

But, my dear friends who are not from away, did you ever think you would ever see an ATM standing tall at Dunton’s?

While meditating on the local economy, I note more than a few summer business owners are looking for workers.

Boothbay Harbor held its annual town meeting over the weekend and only a handful of citizens showed up to vote on the budget. It is the one time we all get a chance to ask questions of town officials in an open public forum.

But, on the school budget front, the anti-folks who lost their battle to defeat the recent $30 million school bond referendum are seeking a mulligan. Will they be successful? Who knows, but they are a persistent bunch.

While they battle over the details of the school bond issue, Stephanie Hawke, a board member who fought to keep the costs down, was elected again to the CSD board.

“I didn’t want to run again, but no one from Boothbay Harbor stepped up, so I ran so our town was represented,” she said Saturday.

Good for her.