Happy Pi Day

The rescue bill passed Congress, and Biden signed it. Such a relief to have that finished at last, with no more delay. Not everything we wanted in the bill, but a solid package to help people recover. Congress can try again for the minimum wage increase and other stuff. I hope they finish voting on other nominations soon, including the board of the Post Office so we can oust DeJoy.

Meanwhile, the Oprah interview was much discussed this week so I recorded the rerun to watch it. Very informative, though I was annoyed by the editing; Oprah seemed to cut off Meghan from fully explaining some issues, such as titles and how she and Harry intended to just be junior members of royalty working part-time, but when money and security was cutoff, they had to make other plans. I can certainly understand her concerns about protection for her child.

There are still some skeptics who insist that Meghan is a liar, and that this scandal is just stupid soap opera, just meaningless trivial gossip. But that ignores the implications about racism and mental health; the interview is certainly more substantive than Republicans' recent faux outrages about cancel culture. Just because Meghan married into the royalty doesn't mean she was born privileged, and it doesn't exclude her from being wounded by the severe, constant attacks by the press making her into a villain. It also seems strange that the royalty would not at least fact-check some disinformation or allow her contact with friends who could have helped her not feel so isolated. Did they think that defending her reputation was somehow beneath the dignity of royalty? And why not allow her to go to a hospital or see a therapist when she was suicidal? Human resources said, "We can't help you because you're not a paid employee"? How is she not a paid employee of the firm if she and Harry are expected to go on global tours and media events on behalf of the Crown? Is that not work, and didn't they receive taxpayer funds? Policies need to change at the very least.