Book Review from Rick’s Library: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Enough Already!: America’s Breaking Point with the U.S. Congress

Congress is historically dysfunctional right now — by nearly every measurable standard, from shutdown length to laws passed to member departures.  Supporting links 1.      Americans, Frustration with Congress and the Elections [https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/179477/americans-frustration-congress-elections.aspx] [GALLUP] 2.      House retirement wave signals deep institutional frustration [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/house-retirement-wave-signals-deep-institutional-frustration/] [Brookings] 3.      Every 50 Years, America Falls Apart. Then Celebrates Anyway [https://imperfectunion.substack.com/p/every-50-years-america-falls-apart] [Imperfect Union] 4.      Congressional frustration fuels record exodus [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAnLQ5Pzu6o] [YouTube] 5.      250th Birthday, Dissatisfaction With Democracy Is Widespread [https://www.pew.org/en/trust/archive/winter-2026/as-the-us-approaches-its-250th-birthday-there-is-broad-dissatisfaction-with-democracy] [PEW Research] 6.      War Powers Resolution [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution] [Wikipedia] Contact That's Life, I Swear * Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/]  * Twitter at @RedPhantom [https://twitter.com/RedPhantom]  * Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/rickbarron.bsky.social]  * Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Episode Review * Submit on Apple Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thats-life-i-swear/id1619171495] * Submit on That's Life, I Swear website [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/reviews/new/] Other topics? * Do you have topics of interest you'd like to hear for future podcasts? Please email us  [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Interviews * Contact me here https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/], if you wish to be a guest for a interview on a topic of interest Listen to podcast audios * Apple https://apple.co/3MAFxhb [https://t.co/HlcVW65x0k] * Spotify https://spoti.fi/3xCzww4 [https://t.co/z1Rs04Tibb] * My Website: https://bit.ly/39CE9MB [https://t.co/RKkUPaBJpf] Other * Music and/or Sound Effects are cour...

My Wife and I Had a Plan, and Then

Learn how you can plan your life with precision—and still lose control of the outcome. What you never lose is how you respond.  Supporting links 1.      Alzheimer [https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers] [Alzheimer’s Association] 2.      Home Care Options [https://www.agingcare.com/lp/bp-homecare?campaignid=20108844850&adgroupid=148918222757&keyword=caretaker+cost&testid=bpv1d&affiliateid=C2B76E5B-BB2D-4F62-B5F2-60F00A57E756&opt=true&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20108844850&gbraid=0AAAAADN5sR6ki89f3V5bD7FvxU19wlZuD&gclid=CjwKCAiAlrXJBhBAEiwA-5pgws_Q-ydoQHZzSzC0TWJEFz1D5UvqpTMPb6H4fhJdamirq2UKRmGfARoCQBwQAvD_BwE&experiment_id=22030301281&variation_id=22040540416] [Aging Care]  Searching for Medicare Related Options? [https://www.aarp.org/membership/benefits/campaigns/medicare-eligible-options/?cid=USEM-Health-2B2-Google-109-100923&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20615952200&gbraid=0AAAAAqfFjILsAIlnyKM8ZSJb9QgFhZcK4&gclid=CjwKCAiAlrXJBhBAEiwA-5pgwnTwNEwk7z_WEno_tPNTQ1LtvFr4RlOyw2Bx3l8zBcGKiBBWfijuPxoCzbwQAvD_BwE] [AARP]  Contact That's Life, I Swear * Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/]  * Twitter at @RedPhantom [https://twitter.com/RedPhantom]  * Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/rickbarron.bsky.social]  * Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Episode Review * Submit on Apple Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thats-life-i-swear/id1619171495] * Submit on That's Life, I Swear website [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/reviews/new/] Other topics? * Do you have topics of interest you'd like to hear for future podcasts? Please email us  [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Interviews * Contact me here https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/], if you wish to be a guest for a interview on a topic of interest Listen to podcast audios * Apple https://apple.co/3MAFxhb [https://t.co/HlcVW65x0k] * Spotify https://spoti.fi/3xCzww4 [https://t.co/z1Rs04Tibb] * My Website: https://bit.ly/39CE9MB [https://t.co/RKkUPaBJpf] Other * Music and/or Sound Effects are cour...

2026 Midterm Elections: Votes Counted…Maybe

Learn how Trump’s biggest threat may not be winning more votes in the 2026 midterm elections; it may be exploiting loopholes, fear, and institutional weakness to cling to power. Supporting links 1.      Article I, Section 5 [https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-1/section-5/] [Constitution Annotated] 2.      The Constitution Line By Line with Senator Mike Lee: Article I, Section 5 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5luez9yW84] [YouTube] 3.      Trump signals plan to interfere in midterm elections [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-signals-plan-to-interfere-in-midterm-elections-floats-voting-twice/ar-AA22rB3Q] [MSN] 4.      Midterm ‘blue wave’ could block Trump’s agenda [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/28/midterms-democrats-house-senate] [The Guardian] Contact That's Life, I Swear * Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/]  * Twitter at @RedPhantom [https://twitter.com/RedPhantom]  * Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/rickbarron.bsky.social]  * Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Episode Review * Submit on Apple Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thats-life-i-swear/id1619171495] * Submit on That's Life, I Swear website [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/reviews/new/] Other topics? * Do you have topics of interest you'd like to hear for future podcasts? Please email us  [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Interviews * Contact me here https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/], if you wish to be a guest for a interview on a topic of interest Listen to podcast audios * Apple https://apple.co/3MAFxhb [https://t.co/HlcVW65x0k] * Spotify https://spoti.fi/3xCzww4 [https://t.co/z1Rs04Tibb] * My Website: https://bit.ly/39CE9MB [https://t.co/RKkUPaBJpf] Other * Music and/or Sound Effects are cour...

3D Printing Paradise: How Tech Is Saving Our Environment and Surfboards

Learn how the most powerful innovations frequently emerge not from abstract problem-solving but from personal experiences of frustration or failure.      Supporting links 1.      Swellcycle [https://swellcyclesurfboards.com/] [Website] 2.      Swellcycle [https://www.instagram.com/swellcycle.surfboards/?hl=en] [Instagram] 3.      Patricio Guerrero [https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricio-guerrero-862b8072/] LinkedIn] Contact That's Life, I Swear * Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/]  * Twitter at @RedPhantom [https://twitter.com/RedPhantom]  * Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/rickbarron.bsky.social]  * Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Episode Review * Submit on Apple Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thats-life-i-swear/id1619171495] * Submit on That's Life, I Swear website [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/reviews/new/] Other topics? * Do you have topics of interest you'd like to hear for future podcasts? Please email us  [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Interviews * Contact me here https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/], if you wish to be a guest for a interview on a topic of interest Listen to podcast audios * Apple https://apple.co/3MAFxhb [https://t.co/HlcVW65x0k] * Spotify https://spoti.fi/3xCzww4 [https://t.co/z1Rs04Tibb] * My Website: https://bit.ly/39CE9MB [https://t.co/RKkUPaBJpf] Other * Music and/or Sound Effects are cour...

Scaling Back after a Divorce

The story doesn't romanticize divorce, but it doesn't flatten it into pure hardship either. There's grief, adjustment, and — eventually — something that's genuinely your own. Supporting links 1.      The Divorce Planner [https://www.thedivorceplanner.net/post/the-real-cost-of-divorce-how-to-budget-for-your-post-divorce-life] [Website] 2.      How To Move on After Divorce [https://www.marriage.com/advice/divorce/moving-on-after-divorce/] [Marriage.com] 3.      Life After Divorce: How You Can Start Again [https://health.clevelandclinic.org/life-after-divorce] [Cleveland Clinic] Contact That's Life, I Swear * Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/]  * Twitter at @RedPhantom [https://twitter.com/RedPhantom]  * Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/rickbarron.bsky.social]  * Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Episode Review * Submit on Apple Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thats-life-i-swear/id1619171495] * Submit on That's Life, I Swear website [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/reviews/new/] Other topics? * Do you have topics of interest you'd like to hear for future podcasts? Please email us  [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/] Interviews * Contact me here https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ [https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/], if you wish to be a guest for a interview on a topic of interest Listen to podcast audios * Apple https://apple.co/3MAFxhb [https://t.co/HlcVW65x0k] * Spotify https://spoti.fi/3xCzww4 [https://t.co/z1Rs04Tibb] * My Website: https://bit.ly/39CE9MB [https://t.co/RKkUPaBJpf] Other * Music and/or Sound Effects are cour...