So where have I been the past 3 days? For one, I've been helping my son-in-law clearing trees where his house will sit. More on that in the future.
And, I've been grandson sitting. His regular watcher--my ex--is still recovering from knee surgery.

Plus, I've submerged myself during my "free" time reading.

So, I have two recommendations I strongly urge you to read.
1) "The Jefferson Project", by Thor Duffin. It's a novel, but with some fascinating ideas about how to tranform our nation into a working democracy (instead of what we currently have--party warfare). 5 stars.

2) "That Used To Be Us", by Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum. "How America fell behind in the world it invented and how we can come back". They analyze the four challenges we face--globalization, the revolution in information technology, the nation's chronic deficits, and our pattern of excessive energy consumption.
It blasts our school failures, political stalemates, our resistance to change, and everything else that is the cause of our impending collapse as the most powerful and influential country on earth.
The big surprise is their solution!! I'm still stunned.