Introduction

Observations of the Day

Until recently, my writing outlet came through posting comments and links about various subjects on Facebook. However, a couple of months back I decided to leave Facebook because of a lack of trust in the people in charge and because of the lack of transparency as to how posted comments were viewed and/or censored.  Since then I've been looking for another outlet. And, recent when a paper newsletter I was subscribing to converted to Substack (i.e. Jim Hightower's "Lowdown"), my positive experience with it suggested this might be the right place for me.

The name "Commets from the Oort Cloud" is meant to suggest both the randomness of my expected publications and (hopefully) a certain amount of similarity to comets' visible characteristics (i.e. much more light than heat). The misspelling of "comets" as "Commets" is intended to convey that my writings are something between a comment and a comet.  Okay, maybe a bit too cute,

My interests are eclectic, so describing what I will write about is impossible.  Perhaps the best predictor of my interests is the fact that I am no longer middle-age and have been retired from the paid workforce for about a decade.  As such I have the time and inclination to read about and form opinions on a broad set of subjects.  My biases are to economic and political subjects, though–no doubt–I will have commentary on personal events in my life, like caregiving experiences that are a routine part of this time in life.  My politics are democratic, but a decade of non-partisan volunteer work with wonderful tea party and libertarian grassroots state leaders in Missouri have certainly rubbed some of the sharp edges off my political viewpoints.

Publications are delivered via email "subscriptions".  One can unsubscribe at any time to keep me from littering one's inbox.  There is a link at the bottom of each email that automates unsubscribing.  If you choose to share my scribblings with others by forwarding one of my emails (a lovely gesture done by clicking the “Share” button) they can then subscribe under their own email address.  All the subscriptions to "Commets…" are free of charge.

Note that "Commets…" and any comments you choose to post are visible not just to the subscriptions list, but also potentially to a larger pubic through the Substack website.