Back in the Saddle

We returned last night from 11 days of vacation in England, so normal posting will resume as soon as I have had a chance to catch up on the news. In particular, I need to figure out how the Democrats plan to impeach President Trump on the ground that he used his own money as consideration for a nondisclosure agreement with Stormy Danials (and, I take it, one other woman). That could take a while.

Meanwhile, just two observations about our time abroad. First, we were in England during a time of political crisis. Prime Minister May suffered a severe repudiation by the House of Commons as her government was held in contempt, and it appears likely that the Brexit plan she has negotiated with the EU will go down to defeat next week, with consequences that at this point are unknown. These are serious matters–infinitely more serious than Trump’s relationship with Stormy Daniels–and the newspapers were hysterical. And yet, in the conversations we had with Brits–or overheard, for that matter–politics was almost entirely absent. I suspect that a foreign visitor to the U.S. would likewise find that the American people are not convulsed by the doings of Bob Mueller and the Democrats.

Second, the English seem to celebrate Christmas, at least publicly, as enthusiastically as we Americans do, if not more so. London is decked out for the season, and the big hotels and many other businesses are beautifully decorated. This is a random street:

A more major shopping street:

The Ritz Hotel:

A giant snow globe at the Savoy:

I keep hearing that Christianity is dying in Europe. Maybe so, but Christmas is thriving, at least in the U.K.

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