Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Oct. 18th through Oct. 24th

October 18, 2015 JanF Community 147

Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings posts give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.

Welcomings will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning). To find the posts, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).

The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.

So … what’s going on in your part of Moosylvania?

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NOTE: The comments page will now split off after 20 or so left margin comments with the most recent comments on the current page. To see the older comments, scroll to the bottom of the page and use the link.

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57 Comments

  1. A toasty 48 here in Saugerties NY. Spending the day writing – my Sunday orange deadline has been changed so have to finish things a day earlier.

    Off to hit the keyboard – have a good day folks

    • I am sending you some of our warm air! Our current 57 degrees is perfect, btw.

      I have been importing the old moose archives and it is interesting seeing all the familiar names. I came across a post by Cedwyn and it made me sad. :(

  2. 57 when I came in this morning heading for 80 and sunny again which is good. Generating electricity – really starting around noon because of the oak tree shading the east-side panels – but generating. Starting Friday we’ve got some decent rain chances which is really good – the ground is rock hard right now and Beaver Lake is 35% full (not to worry – “full” is an inch short of flood levels and we’re actually almost 5% higher than we’ve been for the last 5 years, but still…) so that’s still a good thing even though it will severely restrict electricity generation. No classes again today so I should be able to wrap up some of my monthly budgetary stuff and maybe even get ready for Payroll.

    Delighted with the Canadian election – and if Canadians actually watch John Oliver I’d bet he IS the reason the Liberal Party got a clear majority. Now if the kid can live up to his dad (I really feel sorry for kids in that position) or even do better Canada will once again be a shining example of what America set out to be but hasn’t gotten there yet.

    Hope everybody’s Tuesday is calm and productive and any/all of our travelers stay safe. {{{HUGS}}}

  3. Good morning, 54 and cloudy in Bellingham today. Reading about Canadian elections this morning makes me think about Bellingham’s snowboarding and bar culture. We are just 17 miles south of the Canadian border so given the new prime minister’s age and his time spent in Vancouver, BC I’ve a feeling there might be local tales to tell. Regardless, Trudeau’s election and the success of the Liberal party is very satisfying.

    And I need to stop thinking abut how young he seems and how old I feel!

  4. Morning all. Oh Canada! indeed! Great result! A Canadian friend compared Trudeau over Harper to say Kerry over Bush – not the best candidate you’d want but still an infinite improvement. Thanks for that John Oliver clip, that was hilarious!

    I am still holding out hope that Biden doesn’t embarrass himself by entering the race – if he does, it’s an exercise in pure ego gratification as far as I’m concerned.

    Saw the Star Wars trailer on line – it actually gave me goosebumps!

    Have a great day everyone!

    • Funny Biden Tweet of the day …

      Brian Beutler @brianbeutler

      Someone who knows Biden insisting that within 24 to 48 hours it’ll be Wednesday or possibly early Thursday.

      They have calendars and clocks!!

    • Here is a long, wonkish article with some really good reasons that Joe Biden should not run.

      The only group that wants Biden to run, because he is fun to cover, is the press. That is why they are looking for a sign, any sign, that he will run.

  6. Good morning, meese! Wednesday … (feels like Thursday)

    It is 56 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 75. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    So the big news is that Paul Ryan has agreed to become speaker but only if all the Republican factions unite behind him and the rules committee disallows the Motion to Vacate during his tenure. Essentially, he agrees to run only if he will win … and members can never remove him. Yikes! I think he needs a dictionary explaining the meaning of “leadership”. Oh, and he won’t fundraise for or campaign with House members (he likes his weekends at home!), something that other Speakers have done to help their caucus and, also, help solidify their power. So in a nutshell: elect me permanently and if the Freedom Caucus’ deep pocket sponsors find someone to primary you, I can’t help. Several Tweeting Pundits suggested that Ryan was really saying “I can’t make it appear as though I won’t put the party over my personal preferences so here is a speakership offer so filled with poison pills it will never be acceptable. I tried!”.

    They have until Friday to accept his “gracious” offer.

    Joe Biden. Sigh. Someone pointed out that his approval ratings were actually underwater until his latest family tragedy. My guess is that they would go back underwater if he enters the race at this point, with his Bushian rewriting of history and his kumbaya “let’s make deals with Republicans” campaign platform. Been there, done that.

    See all y’alls later!

  7. A balmy 52 here today.

    Someone pointed out that Joe Biden was in the Senate for a very long time – back to the days when relationships were collegial. He probably had a lot of friendly relationships across the isle. In his head – he could return to those days – except that isn’t the current toxic reality, and his being white and male and “an old friend” won’t immunize him from slimy attack.

    Looking for some “good news” – and found this story ( my news feed looks for black genealogy/history)

    Delaware Governor to Pardon Man Who Helped Slaves Escape

    Not even the threat of being sold into slavery could stop Samuel Burris, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, from helping slaves to freedom in the 19th century.

    A free black man, Burris was caught helping a slave try to escape from Delaware in 1847. After Burris was tried and found guilty of enticing slaves to escape, part of his sentence was that he be sold into slavery for seven years. Instead, a Pennsylvania anti-slavery society raised the money to purchase him and set him free. And Burris went right back to helping slaves escape.

    Now, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell has decided to posthumously pardon Burris for that long ago conviction, according to two people who have sought that step.

    Be back later – time to make more coffee

    • That is EXACTLY Biden’s problem. The Senate is no longer collegial … was he not paying attention when Mitch McConnell said that the main goal of his Senate caucus was to make Barack Obama a one-term president? Has he ever met Tom Cotton or Ted Cruz? He is engaging in unicornism and that should disqualify him, case closed. He is an old Senate battlehorse and the old Senate is gone.

      That is a good news story from Delaware! The heros of the Underground Railroad do not get enough recognition for the work they did and the danger they put themselves in. A story like that is a great reminder. I was glad to see that the Tennessee county that wanted to raise the Confederate battle flag was voted down. The stars and bars are probably the most unambiguous symbol of racism … glorifying a war that was fought to keep humans enslaved. It deserves no official honor. If anyone wants to quibble with that, tell me why a bunch of people from Oregon, a place that did not even exist during the Civil War, were waving the rebel flag at a protest of the president’s visit a few weeks ago.

      I am glad that the history is being shared because we can’t ignore the gaping wound that has been festering for over a century and a half … we need to expose it to sunlight and disinfect it if we are ever going to heal it.

    • Great news, Denise! I’m glad that Burris escaped being sold into slavery and continued his work of helping slaves escape. Thanks for sharing this.

  8. Morning all – I’m here about 5 hours earlier than normal, couldn’t sleep last night, so I’ve been kind of up since 2AM, which I will pay for later in the day. Oh well, irregular hours is one of things that retirement is good for – I can take a nap later if need be, after I straighten up the house for my cleaners who come today.

    I cannot imagine that the Teapugs will keep any “pledge” they make to Ryan, if they agree to any of this at all. I mean, what’s he going to do to them if they break their word? Their constituents certainly won’t care. And omg Joe Biden – please, Joe, don’t run – the very first story I saw yesterday about him was something about “Biden changes story about involvement in Bin Laden raid”. He would just be constantly jumped on, and for naught – I can’t figure out where he thinks his support would come from.

    Going back up to the 80’s here for the next 10 days or so – I’m really tired of it, I’m ready for some cool weather. Maybe next month.

    Have a great day everyone!

    • I was up way too early also. The wind was such that the train track that is about a mile away sounded like it was in my backyard and I could not get back to sleep after a train horn blasted in my ear just after 1am. I don’t have the advantage of retirement but I do allow myself a nap in the early afternoon if I am tired.

      My opinion is that Ryan knows they won’t take his deal and that is why enforcing the agreement is not a concern. I am not sure what the end-game is, though. The House still needs a Speaker and the only solution I see is that Boehner stays on (he does not need to be elected). But that does not solve the crisis that will occur in January 2017 when, without a speaker, the House is shut down.

  9. Good morning, everyone! It’s 48 F. here in NoVa, going up to 68 F. today. The sunlight is just beginning to gild the treetops as I write.

    What a news morning: Trump predominates in the polls, Jebby is way down, and The Vampire says he might take the post of Speaker of the House? I can just see his agenda now of cutting Social Security and Medicare in half and completely gutting women’s rights and the Voters’ Rights Restoration Act. Paul, just stay home on the weekends and keep on going to the gym. You’d be an even bigger disaster than Orange Face.

    Here on the home front, we’ve been married 48 years today. No time to celebrate this year—we have another busy day of housework ahead. The photographer was put off until 2:30 this afternoon. The house goes on the market tomorrow. There will be an “Open House” on Sunday. We had our health and financial interviews at Ashby Ponds yesterday. They need a few more papers. And by the way, I found the family trust documents lurking under a pile of clothes in the closet! Iss that not a grand thing now? Yes, because the lawyer’s office told me they don’t keep executed copies of trusts, only the bare, unsigned forms. Gulp! From now on those documents will repose in the safe.

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and Beyond!

    • Happy Anniversary!!! I hope that after you settle into your new place you carve out some time for a deferred celebration!

    • Happy Anniversary! I’m working under the assumption you are happy about it or you wouldn’t have brought it up. :) Sometimes a celebration can be just a look and a hug – you’ve got time for that. Glad you found your trust documents – and yeah, in the safe is a very good idea. Have fun with the photograher.

      • Ha, bfitz! I often tell Dearly Beloved that marrying him was the best day’s work I ever did. We complement each other—he’s so mellow, I’m so hasty. Anyway, I hope we’ll be married for many more years! He’s 85 now—I plan to look after him so well he’ll be around until he’s 116.

        Have a good Woden’s Day!

    • 48 busy years! We will find a way to celebrate 48 years together at the end of November…..last year a quiet lunch together was all we had energy to enjoy.

      As always, best wishes to your and your family.

  10. Walked again – 1.52 miles. Only 3 1/2 bursts of running – the last one, 30 seconds in, my lungs said quite firmly “no more”.

    Earworm is Miracle of Joey Ramone I love the little acoustic break (“all the stolen voices will someday be returned”) followed by the guitar BOOM.

    I’m taking tomorrow off. Got to get bloodwork done before my doc appointment next week & I hate coming in late & hunting for parking, so I’m just going to take the day.

    Eating breakfast – a potato/okra recipe from Thug Kitchen (foul-mouthed vegans, man can they cook), drinking tea.

  11. 58 as I was coming to work heading for 80 in Fay., AR this Woden’s Day – more or less sunny but still serious rain chances for Friday & Saturday which is good.

    My older son called just before I started dinner last night to invite me out for my birthday, so I not only had a lovely apple walnut crisp (with whipped cream) that I ate far too much of, I also got a lovely Greek salad in the company of my son, his wife, and his youngest son. (The older boy was at a band contest. Can’t win a band contest without the 1st chair clarinet :) – they got take out for him, knowing he’d be starving when he got home.) Classes are back in session so already much noisier than the last two days – but my desk is almost clear so we’re good.

    Hope everyone’s appropriately caffeinated for the day and life goes well. {{{HUGS}}}

  12. Good morning, 50 and cloudy in Bellingham. Leaves continue to fall, my sewing project is inching along, and it’s another go to the pool morning. My life is pleasantly boring!

    I know independent pharmacies across the country are closing, but this one is close to home as it’s been “our” pharmacy for 37 years. I will miss them……

    Fairhaven Pharmacy closing after 126 years in business

    Fairhaven Pharmacy, a landmark local business that has been around for 126 years, is closing its doors.

    Longtime owner Rob Johansen announced he was retiring and made Tuesday, Oct. 20, the last day of business for the pharmacy, which is at 1115 Harris Ave. Johansen, 68, has been a pharmacist there for 45 years, having owned the business since 1991. He had been looking for a younger pharmacist to potentially take over the business, but was unsuccessful.

    “Financially it is almost impossible to run an independent pharmacy,” because of the way the health care system currently operates, he said. “It’s a frustrating field to be in right now.”

    • So many “local” and “independent” things are closing. The economies of scale are simply too much to overcome and unless you are willing to give your life over to your small business, it is impossible in many cases to compete. For a pharmacy, a massive corporate infrastructure, IT and human, to handle claims and multiple prescribers PLUS keeping up with drugs is a necessity.

      I hope you found a suitable replacement. I get most of my drugs at Costco.

      • Not so much the “economics of scale” as the tax breaks/subsidies/loopholes for the mega corporations. I’ve watched that with local restaurants v. chains – also family farms v. corporate agribusiness.

        • Well, there is a lot of money spent on business infrastructure that can’t be economically replicated at the mom and pop level. Accounting software, claims processing databases, you name it. Most small businesses use family “labor” and that means long hours and little time to regen. So corporate welfare aside, it is a steep climb.

          • True – and something as necessary as advertising puts the thumb on the scale for the Big Guys. But then any startup is a steep climb and most of them don’t make it. The really sad thing is to see the established ones going down because nobody’s willing to take the “hand off”

    • I ran out of WaPo clicks for the month (I have been a reader!!). I will go see if someone has it summarized. I heard that he is not giving up his kumbaya theme. Too bad, because that makes him look like Joe Chump. I hope he doesn’t blather too much about that … it is DLC, Third Way, No Labels nonsense and it sets an impossibly high bar for any of our candidates. Barack Obama was dissed from the right and the left for appealing to bipartisanship. Every time he reached his hand out, he was either handed a pile of feces or had it slapped away.

      I am glad he is not running. It will be interesting to see what happens to the polls; the conventional wisdom is that most of his support was coming from Hillary’s natural constituency rather than Bernie’s.

        • The transcript will take longer. :)

          Listening now ….

          I like that he is talking about the Obama legacy and saying he will defend it.

      • I am glad that I had been warned about his Hillary-dissing. Why did he need to do that? To show what Could Have Been, If Only Personal Tragedy Had Not Intervened? Meh.

        Ed Kilgore didn’t miss that … but was worried that he had missed the key part:

        “…after hearing him yet again implicitly criticize Clinton’s ‘enemies’ reference to Republicans, and being distracted for a few crucial seconds, I didn’t hear the critical ‘withdrawal’ sentence and for a while wondered if the mystery was going to be continued.”

        The largest group of people unhappy about the Biden withdrawal are the beltway press corps.

        • That was mostly his only excuse for running and if he had run would have been really his only “weapon” against her. I personally think President Obama leaned on him – and part of the reason the President was really quiet and low-keyed about it. Turn the man loose on the anti-Cancer campaign. It’s where his head and heart are and he might even manage to get some of those Rs he thinks he could have worked with to help him with it. That might ease the blow to his vanity. Hillary isn’t going to clobber him over it at this point (although she might have had to if he’d actually run, and run on that).

          • Yes, the anti-cancer campaign will be a good use of his time. Maybe after he gets over his pique about missing out on the presidency (and how he would surely be able to convince Republicans to be reasonable people), he will settle back into his Uncle Joe role, friend and confidant of President Obama. I don’t much like the Joe Biden I have seen over the past few days and the less said, the better, I think.

          • The last few days have reminded me of why I’ve never voted for Joe in a primary. But he’s been a very good Veep. And I truly believe his BFD on the signing of the ACA was the start of the turnaround in opinion about it – with regular folks of both parties.

  14. Wow, I go back to bed for a few hours and I miss all the big news! First, Happy Anniversary Diana and Happy Birthday bfitz! I turned 64 last December, it’s not so bad, except when you stop to say “were the Beatles really singing about ME?!” lol

    What a relief about Biden – that whole notion of his running smacked of vanity and hubris and I’m glad he didn’t give in to it. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the President were the one to convince him not to do it, for the sake of the party.

    • Thanks and hope you had a good nap. I’ve lived alone for the last 11 years except for one spectacularly unsuccessful trial with a roommate so the Beatles song really doesn’t apply to me. (Unless I’m supposed to be talking to my cats. LOL)

      As to Biden, that’s my thought – President Obama leaned on him to not do it, both for the sake of the Party, his family, and actually the whole country. Hillary’s playing a long game – helping with down-ballot races that we won’t see the benefit from at the federal level until at least 2020 – but it’s a long game that’s needed. Hillary’s also committed to continuing and expanding on what President Obama has done. Joe needs to stay out of the way on that.

  15. Good morning, meese! Thursday …

    It is 47 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 64. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    So Joe is out. Paul Ryan is apparently in? It is difficult to keep up with it since he made all sorts of conditions which the Freedumb Caucus said were non-starters, yet he claims now that he has their support. Hmmm. And I wonder if someone should tell him that the “Hastert Rule” is probably not something you should say you will continue. Sexual abuse of boys and millions spent, breaking federal banking laws, covering it up … maybe not a role model. But maybe a very good symbol of the corrupt, hypocritical Republican Congress.

    Today is the emailghazi interrogation of Secretary Clinton. I am going to put up a post to track the goings on. There is literally no one, including Republicans, who think this is not a partisan witch hunt.

    See all y’alls later!

  16. Good morning, Moosekind, and happy Thor’s Day! It’s completely dark here at half-past five, 48 F., going up to 78 F. today. Woke up MUCH too early so am now wondering what to do with myself. If I had the sense Goddess gave a goat, I’d start writing but I’m too befogged as yet.

    Great news about Biden! Not sure what’s going to happen with the Vampire (Ryan). Started having nightmares about a Ryan-Cruz ticket one day—Vampire and Vampiris. GOS is still a poison-pit of Hillary hate, I notice. Glad to find sanity and serenity here at the Pond!

    We had to leave the house for two hours yesterday while the photographer was here. The realtors did a good job staging it and actually I don’t recognize it as being our house. It looks so different! Think I’ll go have a cup of tea and read the WaPo. Back later to see how everyone’s doing. Jan, I’ll be interested to see the thread you put up about Benghaaaazi!

    • My post is more a recap of where we are but it includes a link to a scathing report by an investigative reporter from Newsweek.

      Here you go: Emailghazipalooza starring Trey Gowdy, Partisan Hack

      As you know, I don’t pretend to be undecided about my candidate and most of us here support Hillary Clinton’s candidacy as opposed to the majority at the GOS who are pro-Bernie. But here, we respect everyone who has a respectful opinion. I will point out important differences because we do have a primary going on but I will also point out where Democratic Party principles are held by all of our candidates (I can say that now because Jim Webb dropped out).

      By the way, did you see Martin O’Malley’s nasty comment after Joe Biden said he would not run? “His generation is overly represented”. JHC!! After the debate, I thought he had a good chance of ending up in a cabinet post in the new Democratic administration. After that crack, I am less inclined to want him anywhere near the levers of power. We have too many olds!??!

  17. 53 headed up to 73 here in Saugerties – the weather flip flops are messing me up.

    Headed off to school today – sleepy – since the dogs got me up at 2:30 AM to go out.

    Belated Birthday wishes for bfitz, and anniversary ones for Diana

    Will miss all the “Hillary fighting the good fight against the R-mob” – so will check in here later for the recap.

  18. Morning all! I will be checking in here to watch as much of the live stream as I can stand, and to get the latest updates on how the Republicans are exposing themselves.

    Dee, that’s a badge of honor, gettring called out by a white conservative on your terrific diary, congratulations! lol

    Diana, it sounds like you guys are in great shape in terms of downsizing and cleaning up – keeping my fingers crossed that you guys get a great, early offer on the house!

    It’s cloudy and a bit warm here this morning – looks like rain, which is ok, we’ve had a glorious few dry days, we can take it.

    Have a great day everyone!

    • Thanks, Geordie! We buried St. Joseph in the proper way yesterday and I recited the prayer with feeling (even choked up at the end). I’m Pagan, but magic is magic, whether you call it a prayer or a spell.

  19. Also today, the president will be vetoing the Defense Authorization Bill in a veto ceremony(!) at the White House at 3:45pm Eastern. He has said repeatedly that he would not sign any budget bill that included sequester levels and wants to avoid the repeat of the 2013 budget where the Department of Homeland Security was a separate bill so that it could become a political football.

    The veto of the National Defense Authorization Act is an extraordinary use of one of the president’s most powerful executive tools. While the White House had problems with some of the bill’s provisions, Obama’s main objection is that the bill uses a budget gimmick to increase defense spending without increasing domestic spending first. The president wants Congress to lift the automatic budget caps known as sequestration included in a 2011 budget agreement.[…]

    The 2016 bill passed with large bipartisan majorities: 270-156 in the House and 70-27 in the Senate. The House would need 20 additional votes to override the veto. […]

    “The Republicans are right that this is extraordinary, but it’s also extraordinary times and conditions. And the veto is an extraordinary power,” said George Krause, a political science professor at the University of Pittsburgh who’s studied how presidents use veto threats in budget negotiations.

    Obama is trying to avoid a situation like last year, when Republicans passed a spending bill for every department but Homeland Security — which Republicans held up in an unsuccessful effort to turn back Obama’s executive actions delaying deportations.

    “Obama has a record of coming out of these events pretty successfully, where usually Congress gets blamed,” Krause said. “He feels like he;s playing with house money. He doesn’t have much to lose, and he has a powerful institutional tool at his disposal.”

    The White House has scheduled the veto for 3:45 p.m. and — in another unusual step — has invited reporters and photographers to witness his signing of the veto message.

    I will get a video and transcript up when they are available, or when I get online tomorrow morning.

  20. Slept in, went to get my blood drawn 1st thing, now eating breakfast & watching Covert Affairs instead of the hearings. I want to see something where the heroine literally kicks ass & the bad guys lose (at least eventually). Also, Chris Gorham is quite cute. I am flipping back & forth to the hearings. Who is the congresswoman behind Hillary, on the left with the braided hair?

    Earworm is U2’s Bad, the intro is my alarm sound.

    • I don’t know. I had to google to find out that the man behind her to the right (as viewed) is her attorney David Kendall.

      Rep. Cummings opening statement was a good ass-kicking. Hillary did a good job, too.

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