Recently there was a ceremony for Paul Ryan, the ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, as his portrait was unveiled in Congress. Ryan touted his leadership in passing what he labeled his “white whale”—the 2017 Republican tax cut. Kevin McCarthy spoke and said, incredibly, that he had only wished more people had listened to Ryan’s concern about the national debt. Of course, that debt soared when Ryan was Speaker and Republicans controlled not only both Houses of Congress but also the Presidency. Part of the reason was that tax cut. Ahab’s white whale took his leg. Ryan’s white whale, tax “reform” that helped the really rich become even richer, ate up revenue and regurgitated a bigger debt. But, even so, some will praise him because he mouthed concerns about the debt. Of course, his plan was to abolish social security as we know it and to defund or slash programs for those who are not even a little bit rich.

Ryan concluded with stirring words: “Only in America would it be possible for a kid from Janesville to go from an intern to the Speaker of the House.” And I wondered how many countries have a Janesville. And how many have a Speaker of the House.

His Only-in-America speech, however, does not apply to everyone. Ryan did not mention that his path was aided by being born into a prominent, wealthy Wisconsin family.

Am I the only one who sees a strong resemblance between Hunter Biden and Aaron Rodgers?

After an extensive scientific survey on my walk to the greenmarket, I have concluded that a couple holding hands in my diverse neighborhood most likely consists of two white women.

Conservatives proclaim that there are only two sexes. Shouldn’t they say that a married male and female is a bisexual couple?

Heterosexuality is defined as attraction to the “opposite” sex. Are male and female really opposite to each other? Help me list all the ways men and women are alike and are different. Which list is longer?

On your “different” list did you say that men can walk by a shoe store without stopping to examine what is in the window?

New York City is planning to charge drivers for entering parts of Manhattan. A headline said, “Congestion Pricing May Give Break to Poor Drivers.” And I wondered why good drivers should have to pay more.

Walking the sidewalk cluttered with strollers and dogs in front of the greenmarket vendors, I heard a young couple behind me. She: “Maybe we could get a dog that you could take care of.” Long pause. He: “I was sort of thinking about that.” Another long pause. He: “But I thought we should be simplifying.” She: “When would a dog be simplifying?” I stopped to buy ramps, and the pair walked on.

The spouse, the NBP, and I were discussing the plight of our neighbors, a married couple. He has dementia, and she, after much anguish, placed him in a memory care facility. Things were fine for a while, but he became violent, had to be restrained, moved to a hospital, and sedated. This has been taking a heavy toll on his wife. I said that if such dementia ever happened to me, they should find a way to kill me. I said that I knew that this would be hard but that is what they should do. The NBP’s face was blank. The spouse looked thoughtful and then said, “That might not be so hard.”