The Crossing - 2

 Dear Friends,

We have now been on the Queen Mary 2 for a few days and are settling in to a routine.  The ship is huge so exploring is a never ending possibility.  We took a behind the scenes tour the other day.  It was three hours long, and we visited many spaces normally not available to guests.  There were many highlights.  Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take photos.

I was the navigator on an ammunition ship rearming ships ranging from destroyers to aircraft carriers off the coast of Vietnam during the Vietnam war.  In addition to my navigator duties and standing watches as the officer of the deck, I was in charge of conning (directing) the ship (speed, direction, etc.) during rearming.  We would stream alongside at 12 knots with pulley system that carried pallets of bombs across the gap between us. So, I was particularly interested in the bridge (the place from which the ship is operated).  There are many differences between now (a modern up-to-date ocean liner) and then (an old Navy ammunition ship).  It is amazing the advances in the last 50+ years.

In my day, we had a helm where one of the quartermasters (they were the enlisted men who worked for the navigator) would steer the ship in accordance with the orders given by the officer of the deck.  Now they have a guy sitting in what looks like a large chair that computer gamers use who uses a joy stick or touches some buttons.  

Of course the navigation is all electronic - touch a button and you know where you are.  I used to locate us by measuring the angle to stars in the morning and evening as well as the angle of sun local noon and use dead reckoning in between.  All the calculations were done manually based on a several volume set of tables.  

As for maneuvering the ship.  We had one engine and one rudder.  The Queen Mary 2 has no rudder but does have four propellers aft that can swivel 360 degrees as well as bow thrusters.  Despite its size, they can actually move it sideways, and they have glass floors so they can see down to the water at the side of the ship.  It was all quite impressive.  

Another highlight was the medical facility which is staffed by 9 caregivers including two doctors.  They do not do surgery but can do virtually anything else.  We are currently out of helicopter range, but I feel very confident that I would be well cared for if something happened.

The engineering facilities control the engines and everything else.  The entire ship is run by electricity created by the steam turbines with the steam being created by burning diesel fuels of different grades depending on local regulations.  Extra heat from other operations is also used to help produce steam.  They make water by desalination as well as recovery of used water on board.  There are around 4,000 people on board so it is a town.

In the old days, the bridge would call down to the engine room to tell them how fast to go, etc.  Now the bridge just pushes a button and the engines respond without any further human interaction.  The engineering space can do it, if the bridge's method doesn't work and the engine room can do it if both of those systems fail.  Once again, I was left feeling very comfortable that these guys know what they are doing.

The Queen Mary 2 has a couple of anchors and an incredible amount of really big chain.  They are all controlled by giant winches as are the mooring lines which are also huge.  The mooring lines are made of a new man made material that is very strong and does not stretch.  Historically hemp and polyethylene lines would stretch which meant if they broke all hell broke loose and crew members would get hurt badly.  We were told that if these new lines break they make a loud noise but don't snap around all over the place.

Needless to say the kitchens and storage areas are huge.  Imagine feeding 4,000 people for at least a week.  The Queen Mary 2 mainly provisions in Southampton, its homeport.  So some things are kept frozen on board for many weeks.  It is another very impressive operation.  The food will be the discussion for its own post.

It was quite a tour, and at the end we got a glass of champagne and some beautiful snacks.

There are so many things to do on the ship that you cannot even think of doing all of them.  In truth you would not want to do some of them, and not all of them are exactly as advertised.  Here is a photo of the program of events for one day.

The Queen Mary 2 has the largest onboard library at sea today.  There are also very nice places to sit, read, etc.  As I pursued the shelves the first book that caught my eye was about the Titanic.

Wandering around the ship is a great pastime.  There is a giant atrium with beautiful fresh flowers.

We got our own concierge.  There were always some fresh fruit, small sandwiches, treats, coffee and tea in addition to the very helpful concierge.

There are two gala evenings when everybody is asked to get all dressed up.  One was a black and white theme and the other was a masquerade ball.  Here are some pictures of our group from the black and white gala.

And some from the masquerade gala.

Of course, there can be outside activities as well.  Given that once we left New York it has been cool, high in the 50s to low 60s, and windy, a combination of actual wind and the wind because we are moving at 24-26 knots.  So far none of us has gone swimming, but who knows a we approach England the temperature will rise.  Also except for the first 1.5 days it has been some combination of cloudy and foggy with occasional rain.  For the adventuresome, there is an exterior elevator.

Our main activity is walking around the deck.  Three laps is a mile so it is rather boring, particularly for those of us who walk because we are supposed to and need to do something about the number of calories we are consuming daily.  In the picture you can see the fog and the calm seas, but you can't hear the fog horn going off every couple of minutes.

Today the actual wind was low and was partially offsetting the wind caused by the movement of the ship so there was not much relative wind.  Consequently, the crew put the cushions on the deck chairs, but few people were taking advantage of them.

There have been reports of whale sightings, but all I have seen was a big container ship.  The picture was from a couple of days ago when the fog was not so dense.

I will write one more post about the Queen Mary 2 focused on the food which is incredible, but that is for another day.

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal

The Crossing - 1

 Dear Friends,

We are taking a break from real life to fulfill a bucket list item as we approach our 80th birthdays.  We are crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2, the only remaining ocean liner purpose built to cross the Atlantic.  We will go from New York to Southampton.  It takes 7 days.  We will then go by EuroStar to Paris for a few days before returning home by air.

On Tuesday, we flew from Minneapolis to New York. 

 

Upon landing in New York we went to our hotel in Brooklyn. Then had a nice dinner with relatives.  On Wednesday morning we took a Lyft to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to begin the embarkation process.

Fortunately, we had priority boarding so it was not very crowded when we arrived.  The process was quite easy and fast.

Before we knew it, we were actually boarding the Queen Mary 2.

Upon boarding, we stepped back in time.  

Our room was much larger than I had imagined, and it was well stocked for a welcome party.

After a glass of champagne with our friends with whom we are traveling, we had some lunch.  As we approached 4:00 pm, we headed outside where it was a beautiful day.  We could watch all the activity on the river as well as the various sites along the way.  Here are the others in our group.

Our berth was right across the river from Governors Island.

Beyond Governors Island is Ellis Island.

There were many great views of lower Manhattan.

We could look back at the Brooklyn Bridge.

Or forward to the Verrazzano Bridge,

Of course, the Statue of Liberty was a real highlight.  

Once underway, as we approached the Verrazzano Bridge, we could see more activity.  This ferry wanted a closer look.

If we had taken a straight line to the Verrazzano Bridge, these two anchored ships would have been run over.

It is not everybody that gets a bon voyage sendoff from a rainbow.

Once out under the bridge, we went to the bow.  

And the stern

But even before we were completely out of the sight of land, who knew there would be an oil rig.

Before long all we could see was ocean.  As you can see, it was a beautiful day.

That is all for today.

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal

Project 2029 - 6 Childcare

 Dear Friends, 

The cost of childcare and early childhood education is a major concern for American working families. The cost to the family for pre-kindergarten childcare in the United States is dramatically higher than in other developed countries.  The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a study of full-time center-based care for singe and couple households with two children aged 2 and 3 where the household makes 67% of the average wage.  

According to that study the net cost to the parent(s) for such childcare in the United States is between 20% and 32% of the average wage.  At the other end of the spectrum is Canada where the net cost to the parent(s) is between -2% and 11%.  The OECD average is between 6% and 10%.  By comparison, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that childcare is affordable if it costs no more than 7% of a family’s income, which means that in the US we are paying 3 to 5 times what DHS says is affordable.

 

World Data recently published a report entitled: “US Childcare Cost Statistics 2026 | Prices, States & Facts” 

In that report it summarizes the status of US childcare as follows:

 

These facts collectively paint a picture of a childcare system in the United States that is failing on every dimension at once: too expensive for families, too underpaid for workers, and too scarce in the communities that need it most. The gap between the HHS 7% affordability benchmark and the 20%+ that families actually spend is not a small discrepancy — it represents a systemic market failure that policymakers have discussed for decades but never meaningfully resolved. What is particularly striking in the 2026 data is how the crisis has crossed an emotional and behavioral threshold: families are now reporting that childcare costs are directly shaping decisions about whether to have children at all, not merely how many to have. With nearly half of all U.S. census tracts qualifying as childcare deserts and the workforce paid wages in the bottom 5% of all U.S. occupations, supply and demand are both broken — and they are broken together.

 

We in the United States have made a policy choice to permit a failed early childhood education and care program to exist in the richest country in the world.  Generally, early childhood education and care (ECEC), is defined as the development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs by persons outside the family from birth to the age of about 8 years.  The US spends less than 0.5% of GDP on ECEC.  The EU and the OECD recommend spending 1.0%, more than twice what the US spends. Iceland, France and the Nordic countries spend at least 1.0%.  See here and here.

There many, many reasons to prioritize ECEC.  A 2025 OECD report entitled, “Why G20 countries should prioritise quality early childhood education” summarizes those reasons as follows:

 

High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) lays the foundation for lifelong learning. Children who attend well-designed early learning programmes are more likely to succeed in school, reach higher levels of education and find rewarding employment. ECEC also offers a unique window to develop key capabilities such as curiosity, empathy, creativity and other social and emotional skills. These are essential in the 21st century and often evolve into lasting personality traits…

The benefits of high-quality ECEC extend well beyond the individual. More educated populations are associated with stronger workforces, greater innovation and improved social cohesion. High-quality ECEC also supports broader labour market participation by enabling parents to work, contributing to a larger workforce and reducing the risk of children living in poverty. It strengthens children’s readiness for school and boosts labour market outcomes – thus having the potential to contribute to a fairer society. In short, ECEC is an investment that produces huge social and economic dividends.

 

While the US does provide public K-12 education (in some jurisdiction pre-K-12), the quality and the funding are determined by the states and local jurisdictions.  Less than 10% of the funding comes from the federal government.  

 

All American working families and their children deserve high-quality free childcare and education from birth through high school.  Clearly, one of the policies that the Democrats must include in their Project 2029 is to dramatically increase the government subsidies for early childhood education and care and K-12 education to achieve the goal of free high-quality childcare from birth to pre-K and free high-quality education from pre-K through high school. 

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal