Text The Times.

I’m angry, our system is supposed to work for us, but it doesn’t! I’m tired of being told that elected officials are supposed to represent their constituents, and watching their persistent inaction and failure. One of the interesting features of English language is the labels that are provided for groups of animals… perhaps the pride of lions or murder of crows are familiar to you. Few know that a group of jellyfish are called a smack. Sadly, so many American politicians are spineless, my comparison is the best I can do to capture my moral outrage at their immoral inaction. [ Editor’s Note: I get your frustrations. I really do, but the thing is, politics in the United States has become such a game of finger pointing and blame laying that there’s really nowhere for a real policyminded politician to get a foothold. It’s all about party politics, and both sides are just as bad about it, so I’m talking about Democrats and Republicans alike. And it’s only getting worse as the Donald Trumps and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezes of the world are pulling their platforms so far to the right and to the left, all the while adopting a “ you’re either 100 percent with me or you’re 100 percent against me” atti-tude that centrists and moderates are forced to sacrifice their willingness to cooperate in order to stay politically relevant. What this country really needs is someone who is not “ spineless,” as you put it, who will stand up for the middle]

*** Glad to see someone is finally doing something about all the junky yards in the county. I’m all for rural living and not being as tight with codes and such but there’s got to be a standard of decency and draw the line somewhere. [ Editor’s Note: I’m very much a fan of your choice of words there. I’m going to adopt the phrase “ standard of decency” and use it whenever I can, because I think that’s what’s missing from a lot of different facets of society these days. Imagine what political discussions or personal relationships or social media posts would look like if everyone just adopted a reasonable “ standard of decency” in their thoughts and actions.

Now, to specifically address your comments, yes, there is a more laid back approach to what’s OK out in the sticks, but you’re right. That doesn’t mean just let the junk pile up and turn your property into a trash heap]

Here’s what everyone is talking about this week: