Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Nov. 22nd through Nov. 28th

November 22, 2015 JanF Community 125

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?

…

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.

42 Comments

  1. Good morning, Motley Meese! The week begins …

    It is 12 degrees in Madison WI, on its way up to 25. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    Have a great day, all y’alls!!

  2. Good morning Meese. Was up most of the night unable to sleep which is rare for me. I think I’m suffering from hate overload.
    Am still in bed but have to get up and start my day,and check the news…hard to do much on this mobile
    Need coffee!

  3. The news is pretty much the same plus the Democrat won the gubernatorial election in Louisiana, not much of a surprise. People thinking that Democrats have turned a corner in the South, however, need to get a grip on themselves. In Louisiana, there are never conclusions to draw … their politics is whacky. But it is great news for the 250,000 people who will be included in the Medicaid expansion that the new governor will sign up for. Maybe people from Kentucky will move there since those folks voted to kill Medicaid for their neighbors.

    An interesting analysis by Alec MacGillis at ProPublica suggests that the rural whites voting for Republicans are not so much voting against inner-city blacks (there are not many in Kentucky) as they are voting against their neighbors who are on the dole. David Atkins at WaMo weighs in on the MacGillis article:

    Ultimately, though, there may be little Democrats can do to win over these surburban and rural white voters. Their shift to the GOP has been overwhelming, and if they’re willing to throw their friends and neighbors under the political bus there’s not all that much to be done. We can excuse it with economic, religious and social analysis, but at the end of the day that approach to life and ethics is usually described with negative moral language designed to invoke shame. Urban voters and minority communities don’t share this dog-eat-dog moral value system, and their numbers are growing. A more powerfully aggressive progressive politics and economic egalitarianism would likely help, but ultimately the solution may simply be a matter of waiting for demographic change and limiting the impact of gerrymandering designed to artificially increase the influence of these voters.

    Both articles are thought provoking. The “they are voting against their own economic best interests” is actually that those who need the safety nets aren’t voting at all … and those who are are voting because of their moral outrage at moochers in their own communities.

  4. The president held a presser in KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia this morning (this morning for us, anyway). I caught some of it on Twitter and I am looking for video and transcript.

    Here is a bit from ABC News:

    ““We do not succumb to fear,” Obama said during a news conference closing out the final leg of his nine-day, three-nation trip overseas. “The most powerful tool we have to fight ISIL is to say that we’re not afraid. To not elevate them and to somehow buy into their fantasy that they’re doing something important.”

    “I think it is absolutely vital for every country, every leader to send a signal that the viciousness of a handful of killers does not stop the world from doing vital business,” he said. The president also decried news headlines that sought to label the recently-deceased ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, as a “mastermind.” “He’s not a mastermind,” Obama said. “He found a few other vicious people, got [his] hands on some fairly conventional weapons, and sadly, it turns out if you’re willing to die, you can kill a lot of people.”

    “Our way of life is stronger. We have more to offer. We represent 99.9 percent of humanity and that’s why we should be confident that we will win.” ”

  5. I hope he holds a big press conference when he gets back – not that the crazies will listen since they believe he is a Muslim – but maybe some sane indies will hear what he has to say.

    • Well, the last time he held a presser, one of the White House reporters asked “why can’t we kill these bastards??” Sigh. How can you reach the American people when it is filtered through people who lack any understanding of the world and, really, the nature of the enemy?

  6. Good morning, Moosylvania! Windy and cold in NoVa with a white film of cloud covering the blue sky.

    Pleased that Edwards won over Vitter; not pleased that the local rag has a hit piece on Secretary Clinton and former president Bill Clinton this morning. They are referring to her as “a husband-and-wife team” running for POTUS. [Huge sigh.] The concept of a woman running for POTUS is too much for their tiny, reptilian brains.

    Just want to forget it all for a while. Need to make breakfast, have coffee, and get back to writing my story. Only a couple more scenes to write! Denise, hope you’ll have time to give it a quick glance before I go live with it. It’s not going to be very long.

    A good day to all at the Pond!

    • I will be happy to – just let me know when you are going to be done and when you will send.

    • You’re right, Diana. The “husband-and-wife team” is simply a variation of the “women are the property of their husbands” coverture laws. Hillary cannot possibly be president on her own without her husband. Sigh. His help could not possibly be merely support for her … it is his way to get a 3rd term. Sigh again.

  7. Was trying to find exit polls for the Edwards win in Louisiana – wondering what the black voter turnout was – since AA’s are 30% of the state population. Even though Edwards is a conservative Dem – anything is better than Vitter.

    Am having a good time reading the comment section (heh) on a Times Picayune piece from back in October – something I haven’t done since Katrina.

    Some hard core Republicans decided to go fishing – not able to pull the lever for Vitter, and refusing to vote for a Democrat.

    Seeya later (maybe)
    Depends on how much time I spend commenting at orange.

    • I am sure there is a lot to comment on there! I accidentally followed a link in my Twitter feed that looked interesting and it turned out to be a DK piece that was pro-Hillary. It had 245 comments and I thought “wow, how could a piece about a candidate’s promotion of a good government energy program draw so many comments?” Ha!!! It was The Wrong Candidate promoting the program!! Yikes, it is like “Hillary Clinton” is a trigger phrase for folks.

      Edwards is very conservative but if he wants to give 225,000 Louisianans access to health care, I am not going to quibble. I am not a Christian but I strongly agree with the instructions given by their Christ to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and care for the sick. Here is an excellent Colbert video where a variation of that phrase is included in the punchline:

      See you later!

  8. It is really cold here — in the 30s. Totally freaky. I didn’t turn on the heat last night, but I may today. (it is 67 in my apartment, even with the heat off, so I’m fine) Or get out my big quilt that my grandmother made.

    Done cooking for the short work week. So this afternoon, I mapped out a 6 mile walk in my neighborhood. To make up for cutting yesterday’s short. And I need to clear space on my dvr.

  9. Burnt Orange Report has a post by Lloyd Doggett explaining that vote:

    here’s what I wrote in response:
    Votes like this one are doing exactly what the Daesh bastards want. They want us to make the refugees feel unwelcome, to push them away. The refugees are vetted for 18 months to 2 years, they’re interviewed by many different agencies….. When the President vetoes this awful bill, please come back to the side of humatity & compassion and do not vote to override.

    This vote has been discussed far & wide. A friend of a friend read your post on your page, and she has something really insightful to say:

    So. He makes eminent sense. But he missed the point. He focused on assuring Americans. For our security we need to reassure Muslims. Otherwise we aid and abet the continued relevance of violent movements and give them recruitment material. That is why PBO’s administration is refusing to sign on to this. Yes, it’s a meaningless bill that will have unforeseen and potentially dangerous consequences. At the very least it will extend the fight.

    Please, please reconsider this vote. You are better than this. This bill was dumb – playing into Daesh’s hands, and uncompassionate. I know you are neither.

      • THIS!!

        For our security we need to reassure Muslims.

        Exactly. I read an article that interviewed mothers in the Molenbeek neighborhood in Brussels begging authorities to stop their anti-Muslim rhetoric because it is alienating their youth. We play right into the hands of Daesh when we make it a Crusade.

        The cowardly Democrats were led by pants wetter Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) who used to lead the DCCC. Where do they get these guys? David Atkins at WaMo on Steve Israel’s “shortsighted panic”:

        Those 47 Democrats acted purely out of fear of electoral consequences in November if they voted no. And why? Because former DCCC chair Steve Israel and an unnamed senior colleague told them to be afraid:

        In several meetings, Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) presented fellow Democrats with polling data showing that lawmakers who didn’t support tighter restrictions would be in the sharp minority. […] A second senior Democrat warned of the electoral consequences of opposing the bill during a meeting of Democratic whips, who are charged with corralling votes on a given issue. This Democrat told the room that the bill “doesn’t hurt the refugee process, so put a certification stamp at the bottom and move on,” according to a lawmaker who was present. “Don’t let this non-issue become a battering ram against Democrats.”

        That all sounds reasonable until you consider that 1) both the White House and the GOP believe that HR4038 has a far more chilling effect than a simple certification stamp; and 2) Steve Israel and his unnamed colleague are basing electoral projections for next year on polling conducted this week, on an issue that is very new and poorly understood by the American people.

        You can play all the “if the election were held today” games but the election is NOT being held today. And you are an idiot if you think this vote will inoculate you from being “soft on terrorism”. If they can’t use your name in the ads, they will just use “Democrats voted against keeping you safe!!”. Same thing. All you did was embarrass yourself by making common cause with the Trump-wing of the Republican Party. Meh.

    • I’m so suprised at Doggett – I worked for Cong. J.J. Pickle who held that Austin seat before him for many years (not on his personal staff, committee when he was the subcommittee on Social Security chairman), and I knew a bit about Doggett from Pickle’s staff. I would have thought better of him. Perhaps he’ll come around – if the Austin area can’t support reasonable views on this issue, no place in Texas can, alas.

  10. Gosh, anotherdemocrat, it’s that cold in Austin? Daughter-who-lives-there is flying up to visit tomorrow. She and her fiance will stay with his parents, who live not far away from our place. So our cold weather won’t be quite such a shock as it might have been!

    I’m so old…does anyone besides me remember that November 22 was the day President Kennedy was assassinated? Sad, sad day for this country and for the world. He had the makings of a good president, I think, although his private life left a great deal to be desired.

    • people do remember – my facebook & twitter are full of pictures of him

      it’s 36 degrees in town, so not a freeze, but wow cold (for us, that is)

    • I remember – I was in 6th grade in Friendswood, TX. Reading and Spelling class when we got the news he’d been shot. P.E. when we got the news he’d died. Standing/milling around confused and upset as our teachers ignored us, many of them crying. Some of the students were crying too. Not so much for the president and his family as being terrified that without JFK the Russians would put those missiles right back in Cuba. (The Houston area is within missile range and the number and kinds of air-raid drills we had made a real impression on our psyches.) I was sad for Jackie and the kids – but mostly for my own mother who thought the world of JFK.

  11. Good morning, 29 and lightly cloudy in Bellingham. I’ve got a busy day ahead if I follow my list, but if I stay cozy with another cup of coffee the day will be quite manageable! Outdoor lights are going up all over the neighborhood, a welcome sight given the early darkness. I would like a string of pine cone lights on the tree by the barbecue but that means I will have to go buy some….one more item on that list!

    This morning’s computer update was by Samsung, installing a W10 brightness patch. I had been noticing a bright glare on the screen so the softer grey/white is a welcome fix.

  12. Morning all – it’s a little cooler here, but we’ll be back near 80 by Thanksgiving, ugh – I really, really wish I could move back to the PNW. Figuring out if I can do that will be a project for 2016.

    I remember exactly where I was when I learned of Pres. Kennedy’s assassination – on my way into gym class in 7th grade. I remember the deep gloom of the next several days – but I also remember one of my teachers (this was in Nashville where I grew up) discussing the ‘interesting” aftermath there might be, as if it was a dip in the stock market. Lots of white people in the South didn’t mourn Kennedy.

    I am so sickened by this debate over the refugees – the Washington Post is saying Stephen Colbert is too liberal for late night, as evidenced by what he’s said on his show about the refugee situation and other things, and that he has to “even it up” to get his viewership up. Poppycock – I watch Stephen BECAUSE of things like that, and I bet right wingers will never watch him, no matter what he does. Ugh – the Post is not asking for moves to the center, the media is pushing for all out moves to the right. I refuse to believe that’s where most of the country is, but the power of the media to convince them that’s where they should be can’t be underestimated.

    I love George R.R. Martin, author of the Game of Thrones novels and many other things, in large part because he is such a fierce and outspoken progressive liberal – here’s a link to his blog post at his own blog where he eloquently made the case for admitting Syrian refugees.
    http://grrm.livejournal.com/455639.html

    The first comment is a negative one, but there are far more posts agreeing with him further down. What’s painful to me is several commenters agreeing with him and saying he’s “brave” to say it publicly – WHY should someone in THIS COUNTRY have to be brave to say the right thing?

    On a lighter note, I’ve been listening to Adele’s new music the last couple of days – I’ve been a fan since I first heard her (I had no idea who she was back then) in 2008 on Saturday Night Live, and was struck not just by the quality of her voice, but of her singing. She has something of a jazz singer’s way with phrasing, not surprising since Ella Fitzgerald and other great jazz singers were among those she listened to as she was teaching herself to sing as a teenager. I’ve also seen some interviews with her, and she’s a woman who’s comfortable in her own skin, who doesn’t care if people think she weighs too much, and is blunt and unpretentious. She has something of that British “blue eyed soul” of my youth, too – and she writes her own music – very talented young woman.

    Everyone have a great day – at least the nominal Democrat won in Louisiana, that’s something, anyway.

    • Thanks for the GRRM link Geordie……

      Re: Surprised…
      Real lives are at stake. The lives of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees driven from their homes by war. Many of them women and children. That’s the whole point. There’s a moral imperative here.

    • I am not 100% sure why the MSM needs everyone to be right-wing:

      … the Post is not asking for moves to the center, the media is pushing for all out moves to the right. I refuse to believe that’s where most of the country is, but the power of the media to convince them that’s where they should be can’t be underestimated.

      Certainly it makes the debate more lively when one side is bat-guano crazy and the other side is not only sensible but incredulous that the right-wing is spouting that nonsense. And lively debates sell newspapers. But, really, what commercial enterprise would want to do business in an environment where there is no functioning government? It is why the establishment GOP is desperate to take down Trump because while they want to deregulate and cut taxes they probably don’t really want to burn it all down.

      • They are owned by 6 major corporations with somewhat interlocking directorates. The MSM will be right wing until that is broken up as only those who are willing to spout the RWNJ line will be hired (or kept if they step out of line).

  13. 19 at sunrise, 47 now (1520 CST) on this mostly sunny day in Fay., AR – can’t think of anything polite to say about the “nativists” in America so I guess I’ll leave it at that. Hope everyone is having a good day/good start to Thanksgiving week. {{{HUGS}}}

  14. Good morning, meese! Monday …

    It is 24 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 38. Mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    I am not sure why law enforcement, or the State of Texas, thinks it is a good idea for it to be legal for a person to be carrying a rifle on a sidewalk while wearing a mask. Our country is truly insane. From the “anti-CAIR” rally in Irving TX :

    A dozen armed protesters rallied outside the Islamic Center of Irving, Texas on Saturday, calling for an end to the “Islamization of America” in response to rumors about Syrian refugees and Sharia court.

    Protest organizer David Wright told the Dallas Morning News that the weapons were mainly for “self-protection,” but noted that “we do want to show force. We’re not sitting ducks.” […]

    “We don’t want people to think we’re out to kill people or shoot people,” he told The News. However, he added, “It would be ridiculous to protest Islam without defending ourselves.”

    Well, lookie there!! A Cruz for President sign!!! What a complete shock.

    In New Hampshire, Trump still leads the field but surprisingly, Romney would thump him 31% to 15%. Is Romney the GOP’s ace in the hole? What isn’t surprising is that “terrorism” is the number one issue of NH Republicans. It must be awful to be a Republican and live in constant fear. And to live in New Hampshire and have your state overrun by idiots!!!

    See all y’alls later!

    • Horrified by the masked assholes with guns – I keep thinking “there ought to be a law” and then remember – duh – that this is legal.

      Headed off to school – last class before the holiday – I doubt many students will even show up – most are already headed home or to where ever they are headed.
      Have a good day folks!

    • opposite side of the spectrum from those asshats – a mosque in Pflugerville (northern suburb of Austin) was vandalized last week; on Saturday, 200 people showed up to rally in support of them

      and you may have seen this story – a 7 year old boy who had been saving up for an iPad, instead donated his saved money to the mosque (and of course someone bought him the iPad)
      http://abcnews.go.com/US/year-boy-donates-money-piggy-bank-mosque-vandalized/story?id=35291105

      • I saw one of those stories. There is good news because there are good people. The aholes get the press. President Obama asked the media to be a little more helpful with how they report things in his presser yesterday.

    • They don’t need to see the face. Just the color of the skin. His hands are very clearly white. That’s all they need to know.

  15. Good morning, Meese! It’s 27 frosty degrees in NoVa, going up to 44 F. on a cold but lovely day. Plans are to write, bake Citrus Honey Teacakes, and do laundry. Oh, and go to the doctor. Have an appointment at 1:30.

    Watched slack-jawed as The Trumpet proclaimed he saw people cheering in Jersey City as the twin towers tumbled down in 2001. The mayor of Jersey City says no such thing happened and the police back him up. The Trumpet is now at 42% in the polls.

    Seems as if “Idiocracy” is HERE! Ugh. Well, I’m going to concentrate on the personal for a while. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and Beyond. BTW, had a look at GOS yesterday and the Hillary Hate is worse than ever. Ugh.

  16. It froze! It’s actually freezing in Austin. Brrrr! I looked up the predicted weather for Orlando for the week of Dec. 6, and…. I might want a light sweater for evening, but highs in the 70s. Yay!

    I looked at why Joe Scarborough is trending on Twitter… and it’s for the totally expected reason.

    I woke up at 3:34, and never really went back to sleep. I dozed a little, but not the good sleep. Ugh.

    head is playing Disappear, I listened to a lot of INXS yesterday, it was the anniversary of Hutchence’s death. I really wish I had a time machine,

  17. 32 at dawn 48 now on this sunny Monday in Fay., AR Can’t seem to get my thoughts to line up enough to make sense of what I’m needing to do this morning. Maybe more coffee will help. I hope. Everybody have a good day and I’ll try to check back later. {{{HUGS}}}

    • I needed extra caffeine; maybe it is just one of those Mondays! When does your Thanksgiving vacation start, bfitz? Kids here are out Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

      • I think you’re right about the caffeine. Classes are only today and tomorrow, so the students will be off W-F. The offices however will be open Wednesday – and we had to wait until last Friday before Guv A**hole condescended to give us this Friday – so we get Thursday and Friday.

  18. Morning all! It’s chilly here this morning, finally – beautiful and clear, and finally some fall temperatures! 49 degrees now, going up to the low 60’s – that’s pretty much winter weather for us, and a welcome break from the heat for me anyway. Back up to near 80 by Thanksgiving Day though.

    It’s so dispiriting to see demagoguery riding high with Trump and the rest of the Klowns – but even worse to see things like that masked gun toting demonstration. The paranoia and craziness is pervading the entire spectrum of the populace – a narrow slice, I hope, but still, it’s driving the conversation. I stopped my newspaper subscription years ago, mostly because our local paper is so bad (the saying I was told me I move here was “Don’t ask me, I read the Gainesville Sun.” lol) but now I’m really glad I’m not reading it.

    Have a great day everyone.

    • I would like to give up my print newspaper because it is filled with right-wing nuttery but it is the best source for local sports including Badger sports not covered in any other papers. I could probably get it online but by the end of the day I don’t want to be looking at a screen.

      I don’t know what will become of us, a country willing to listen to The Donald and, worse, agreeing with him. I still don’t know what his end game is. Yes, he would like to be president because of the power and the perqs. But does he really believe the stuff he is saying or has he simply figured out what people want to hear? I hope that the primaries help sort things out a little bit so we get a better sense of whether people really have fallen off the deep end or if they are just flirting with the megalomaniacal hatemonger as a sort of primal scream.

  19. Good morning, 35 and cloudy in Bellingham. My day is starting later than usual thanks to a fun evening at The Frog last night…….three singer/songwriters and amazing guitar players. For the musicians sake I wish the crowd had been larger, but for us it was an intimate evening of music.

    I enjoyed this story in the Seattle Times re the new Nutcracker production. I constructed ballet costumes for about 18 years and I’ll never forget making 30 dance-able mouse costumes. This time of year was so busy…..yards of tutu tulle in my sewing room.

    How to make reindeer fly — and other secrets of ‘Nutcracker’ artists

    Pacific Northwest Ballet’s new production of “The Nutcracker,” designed by children’s book author/illustrator Ian Falconer (“Olivia”), required a village of local artisans, craftspeople, carpenters, painters and animators. Here are five of them, each of whom can look up at the stage on opening night, Nov. 27, and have the satisfaction of thinking, “I made that.”

  20. Good morning, meese! Tuesday …

    It is 26 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 38. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    Finally, some good new for women’s reproductive rights: 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds District Judge William Conley in his ruling striking the admitting privileges requirement. From Judge Conley’s ruling in August 2013:

    “… the admitting privileges requirement remains a solution in search of a problem.”

    “Even if there were some evidence that the admitting privileges requirement would actually further women’s health, any benefit is greatly outweighed by the burdens caused by increased travel, decreased access and, at least for some women, the denial of an in-state option for abortion services.”

    Judge Posner from the 7th Circuit:

    “Until and unless Roe v. Wade is overruled by the Supreme Court, a statute likely to restrict access to abortion with no offsetting medical benefit cannot be held to be within the enacting state’s constitutional authority,” Judge Richard Posner wrote for the panel.”

    Finally, the TRAP laws are being seen for what they are: attempts to deny legal medical procedures on the flimsiest of excuses with the end goal of making legal abortions impossible to get in America. The Supreme Court will hear an appeal of the 5th Circuit’s affirmation of the Texas law with the ridiculous admitting requirement this term. The 7th Circuit joins several other circuits which questioned the bogus “medical benefit” argument ALEC devised for states that wanted to effectively eliminate abortion rights.

    Posner was a Reagan appointee who has since seen the light; he was joined by David Hamilton, an Obama appointee. Judge Conley was also an Obama appointee. Elections matter because it is not just the Supreme Court, it is the district courts and the appellate courts.

    See all y’alls later!!

Comments are closed.