Thoughts for the Day, November 3, 2025: Day 34 with no end in sight. A World Series for the ages. A dud by the Lions
Day 34 and no end in sight.
This will be a big week as federal employees will now miss their second paycheck since the lack of government shutdown on October 1. Air traffic controllers are missing work at a much higher rate than normal and who could blame them. If the shutdown goes past day 35, it will set the record for the longest in U.S. history.
In the meantime, the House is still not in session and Democratic Senators are asking for President Trump to get involved in negotiations with them to open the government.
Per the WSJ, Democratic senators again urged President Trump to get involved directly in talks to end the government shutdown as the impasse entered a crucial week, with the lapse set to become the longest ever while pain for American households and travelers is deepening.
Lawmakers indicated late last week that they were finally making progress on talks to reopen the government and begin discussions about how to address expiring enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to leave millions of Americans with sharply higher health-insurance bills. Democrats, who have repeatedly blocked a GOP measure to reopen the government, have made talks on healthcare a condition for voting to end the shutdown.
Some travelers experienced abnormally long delays on Sunday as a result of staffing shortages at major airports. Flights into Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed over three hours on average, according to Federal Aviation Administration data. People flying out of Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport were warned that wait times could exceed 90 minutes.
Congress, do your fricking job!!!!!!
SNAP: Where is the concern for those in need? Where is empathy?
Per the NY Times: The Trump administration opted against using its full stable of available funds — totaling into the billions of dollars — to sustain the nation’s largest anti-hunger program. As a result, eligible households may receive only half as much in benefits compared with their usual amounts, officials said.
The Trump administration will send partial payments this month to the roughly 42 million Americans who receive food stamps, offering only a temporary and limited reprieve to low-income families as the federal shutdown approaches its sixth week.
The government revealed its plans in a set of court filings on Monday, just days after two judges found fault in the administration’s initial refusal to fund those benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, starting this month.
From The Guardian: The Guardian wanted to know how important Snap was to the approximately 42 million people enrolled in the program. Many of those who responded to our callout were elderly, or out of the workforce because of significant mental of physical health issues, and worried that a cutoff of the benefit would send their lives into a tailspin.
“I am housebound because I need a couple of spinal cord surgeries so this is really gonna hurt me because I cannot work, and thereby earn money to put food on the table,,,I guess I’m lazy, or maybe I’m waste, fraud and abuse.” said Taras Stratelak, a retiree in southern California.
Wisconsin resident Betty Standridge, 56, said she had been hospitalized for a month, and was relying on Snap to afford pricier groceries that she now would have to go without. “Losing my Snap benefits means I will not be able to replenish my food for the month, therefore I will do without things like fresh produce, milk, eggs,” she said.
Donna Lynn, a disabled veteran in Missouri, said a cutoff of benefits would force her into making tough choices. “It comes down to paying for my medications and my bills or buying food for myself and for my animals. So I pay for my medications and bills and get what food I can for my animals, Aad if I have money left over, then I will eat.” “This is how the government treats their veterans – it’s very sad.”
Zachariah Kushner, a disabled 36-year-old living in Charleston, West Virginia, put the consequences of a benefit cut succinctly: “I won’t be able to buy food! What do you expect?” This is my Quote of the Day
Why does it take a judge to force this administration to take care of our own citizens and show empathy for those in need? This is my Question of the Day
Let’s talk about Sports
Dodgers vs Blue Jays: This was a World Series for the ages. It was the longest ever played as it relates to innings played. Seventy four innings, the equivalent of 8 games plus two additional innings were required for this seven game series, including the last game that lasted 11 innings.
After pitching seven innings in game six, Dodger pitcher Yamamoto, game into the ninth inning of game seven with the bases loaded and one out of a tied game and somehow got out of the inning unscathed. He then finished the 10th and eleventh inning to wrap up the win for the Dodgers on an inning ending double play with the tying run on third for the Blue Jays. The Dodgers semi-intentionally walked the previous batter to set up a possible double play with Alejandro Kirk coming to bat. Kirk is the slowest runner in baseball, but he is also an excellent hitter. It was a gutsy decision by Dodger Manager Dave Roberts and it paid off as Kirk grounded into a double play. The Dodgers are the first to repeat since the Yankees at the turn of the century.
I feel bad for the Blue Jays and their fans. They were two outs away from winning the game in regulation when light hitting Miguel Rojas hit a game tying home run. Up until the home run, Rojas had only one hit in the WS. Because of his poor hitting Rojas did not play in four of the WS games.
See my Video of the Day
Lions: Rather than watching the Lions’ game on Sunday, I chose to get in one of the last rounds of golf for the season. We were listening to the game on the radio, and the odor from the Lions’ performance was coming through the speaker. It was clear the Lions were not ready to play in spite of having two weeks to prepare for the game. They had no answer for former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy or for the Vikings defense. I made an excellent choice on how I spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Northern Michigan.
MSU football: The Spartans took the lead against Minnesota on a touchdown with less than two minutes to go. A victory on the road looked eminent. But then three penalties by “Sparty” allowed the Gophers to go down the field and tie the game in regulation. The Gophers won the game in OT with a touchdown after holding the Spartans to a field goal.
On the fatal drive at the end of regulation, the Spartans kicked the ball out of bounds following their touchdown giving the Gophers the ball at the 35-yard line. During the Gophers game tying drive, the Spartans committed two 15-yard penalties, one for grabbing a facemask and the other for pass interference.
Earlier in the game, the Spartans missed a 22-yard field goal, which never should have happened. Rather than running the ball up the middle of the field and kicking the field goal from the center of the field, they had to kick it from a very poor angle from the right hashmark, which made the kick much more difficult than it should have been. This is a coaching problem.
I do not see how head coach Jonathon Smith will be coaching the Spartans next season.
College basketball begins tonight: College basketball is my favorite sport season next to the Detroit Tigers. The season begins tonight with MSU taking on Colgate and Michigan taking on Oakland.
It will be tough to match last year’s season when MSU won the Men’s B1G regular season championship (M finished second) and Michigan won the B1G Tournament, with both teams advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.
Five and a half months of college basketball gets me excited.
Quote of the Day: Zachariah Kushner, a disabled 36-year-old living in Charleston, West Virginia, put the consequences of a SNAP benefit cut succinctly: “I won’t be able to buy food! What do you expect?”
Orchid of the Day: Detroit Tiger second year catcher Dillon Dingler for winning his first of what will be many more Gold Gloves as the best defensive catcher in the American League.
Onion of the Day: The MLB Hall of Fame Veterans Committee for excluding former Detroit Tiger Lou Whitiker from the coming year’s Hall of Fame ballot. Whitaker has significant better credentials for the HofF than many of the existing players who have been inducted, including his double play partner HofF member Alan Trammel. It is a travesty that Whitiker is not in the MLB Hall of Fame.
Question of the Day: Why does it take a judge to force this administration to take care of our own citizens and show empathy for those in need?
Lyrics of the Day: The lunatic is on the grass. The lunatic is on the grass
Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs. Got to keep the loonies on the path
The lunatic is in the hall. The lunatics are in my hall. The paper holds their folded faces to the floor. And every day the paper boy brings more.
And if the dam breaks open many years too soon. And if there is no room upon the hill. And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too.
Lyrics of the Day for October 30, 2025. We Built this City by Starship
Video of the Day: Dodgers vs. Blue Jays Game 7 Highlights 🔥 World Series on FOX
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