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My apologies for this blog’s two-month hiatus. Everything I’d wanted to write about was delayed by a series of doctors’ exams. It now appears that I’ve been consuming too much potassium, which over time could be bad for the kidneys. Then came the “bomb cyclone,” as weathermen called last month’s storm system. It repeatedly blacked out Mitchell cabin and created distractions such as downed limbs. One medium-sized branch cracked a wooden front step, which is nothing compared to the damage to some of my neighbors’ properties.

Point Reyes Arabian Adventures

Two neighboring families on Campolindo Road had trees drop in their yards while a shed at Point Reyes Arabian Adventures horseback riding  just around the corner was crushed when a huge cypress fell. Luckily the damage was limited to a couple of wheelbarrows in the shed. A similarly large tree fell on the Wells Fargo property downtown in Point Reyes Station but fortunately did not hit the bank.

Other homes and buildings in West Marin were not so lucky, with Bolinas suffering some of the worst damage from falling trees while neighboring Stinson Beach endured widespread harm to homes and docks when the high winds drove waves ashore. As a tragic bookend two weeks after the storm, at the northern end of the Marin coast near the mouth of Tomales Bay, a kayaker disappeared in the waves and presumably drowned.

The chaos could be a metaphor for America’s political craziness. Donald Trump’s repeated lies that he won the 2020 presidential election seemed the height of the nuttiness until New York Congressman George Santos raised the bar. As the British newspaper The Guardian reported:

“Santos has temporarily withdrawn from two House committees, to which he was appointed by party leaders, despite a spiraling scandal over his largely made-up résumé, bizarre past behavior and campaign finance filings….

“Earlier this month, the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, appointed Santos to the committees on small business and science, space and technology. The speaker did so despite confirming that a member of [the campaign] staff for Santos pretended to be McCarthy’s chief of staff while seeking campaign donations.”

But that was hardly the biggest news of Santos’ first month in Congress.

George Santos

“Found to have largely fabricated his educational and professional résumé, Santos has denied or deflected reports about past conduct, including an alleged fraud of a homeless veteran seeking medical care for his dog and appearances as a drag queen in Brazil, where he is also being investigated over alleged use of a stolen checkbook.

“Santos is under local, state and federal investigation in the US. Last week it emerged that the congressman, who has also been known as Anthony Devolder, faces a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice over campaign-finance filings that have prompted questions about the source of his [sudden] wealth and a possible link to a Russian oligarch.

“Santos’ [congressional] district party and other New York Republicans have been joined by New York and national Democrats in calling for Santos to quit. Polling in [his] district shows that nearly 80 percent of voters there now think he should do so.”

In an interview with OAN,  a friendly right-wing network, Santos said this week, “From now on, anything and everything is gonna be above-board. It’s largely been above-board.. .”

All this makes me wish that life would return to normal. Or are severe storms and increasingly dishonest politicians the new norm?