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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Good morning, Motley Meese! The week begins …
It is 4 degrees in Madison WI, on its way up to 21. Snow expected later this afternoon.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Start at about 33 minutes for the president’s remarks.
Transcript: Remarks by the President on the Passing of the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
I sincerely hope we can stop the Republican obstruction:
Shared the aforementioned post of yours on Facebook, Jan, despite vowing to swear off FB. I’ve been pretty good, though. :)
Brrrr. It is currently 8 below zero here in Saugerties. The wind chill makes it even worse.
Happy Valentine’s Day and Frederick Douglass’ Birthday.
Did not watch the R debate.
Spent yesterday morning watching Moral March in Raleigh.
Seeya later.
I did not watch the debate either and followed it on Twitter for about 10 minutes and got bored. Same old same old. Apparently it “descended into chaos” making me wonder how that was news. At least this week they did not have the backstage traffic jam.
I spent the evening reading Tweets and commentary about the Supreme Court. I won’t say anything about Scalia – he’s dead and, really, his record speaks for itself. But I will (and did!) weigh in on the Republican’s promise to block any President Obama nominee. I sincerely hope this comes back and bites them in the butt. Already at least one case may now go in our favor, the union case in California that will end up a 4-4 tie now with the 9th Circuit’s favorable ruling left intact. But it will likely also stop action on the 5th Circuit’s clinic closing case, the DAPA/DACA case and Evenwel.
This next election is so vitally important. When we had the Senate we had the confirmations – a nomination that does not even get a hearing is not a very useful power except as an election year issue. I hope that is enough to get people to the polls.
It will be interesting to watch and see how POTUS plays this. :)
I have seen a few options. One is to nominate someone who is so obviously qualified that the Republicans can’t possibly reject him without looking foolish. Another is to nominate an older person, like a Richard Posner from the 7th Circuit, a Reagan appointee who has “seen the light”, someone who would be more of a place holder until the political equation changed. Another is to try to scare the Republicans by reminding them that when the Senate flips back to Democratic control (hopefully in 2017) that they will kill the filibuster for SCOTUS permanently. If you recall, when Harry Reid nuked the nomination filibuster, he kept the one for Supreme Court nominations intact. If they refuse to advise and consent, they don’t deserve to have the courtesy of the minority filibuster when they become the minority.
Of those options, I would hope for the first but would settle for the second. I don’t think this group looks far enough into the future to be worried about what a Democratic Senate might do. One of their presidential candidates, Ted Cruz, is convinced that 24 million evangelical Christians stayed home in 2012 because Mitt Romney was not conservative enough. A party that deluded has completely lost its grip on reality.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
Happy Valentine’s Day, all! It’s 7 F. on a sunny morning here in NoVa, going up to a giant 29 F. later. Today and tomorrow look like good days to stay home.
Was absolutely stunned by the news yesterday. I’ll follow Jan’s lead and not speak ill of the dead as I have nothing good to say.
The idea of a SITTING PRESIDENT not being able to nominate whomever he pleases because the Rethugs plan to obstruct him is anathema! As Jan pointed out, the American people elected Obama in 2012 and he is still the president!
I hope there is some way to get around this. I hate Republicans. I really, really hate them.
I was shocked as well, Diana. I was puttering around on the Internets, reading a post in a pro-Hillary group I follow when someone commented about replacing Scalia. I thought it was a hypothetical but the way it was worded gave me pause. So I went to Twitter and holy mackeral!
I watched MSNBC for a while then turned it off when the “he was such a brilliant man … this is great loss” tributes came on. No and no.
I didn’t watch the debate but I did find this video posted by ThinkProgress of an incredible exchange between Trump and Cruz. Spend 97 seconds of your life watching this and tell me who on earth would find the people on this stage appealing.
From Politico …
Uh, dear Goddess yes, when my hubby and I found ourselves CHEERING Trump’s statements (as above), we decided to turn off the telly and go to sleep!
Okay, just watched it, and what I’d like to say would not achieve the Moose standards of politeness.
THAT in the White House?
No. No, no, and no.
Morning all! Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s chilly here but sunny and nice. I made a chicken, mushroom and bacon pie last night – I’ve been threatening to make it for weeks, finally just did it, the recipe was pretty simple. The hardest part was translating British recipe terms into American (I decided a “rasher of bacon” was a strip of thick bacon). It is delicious! although the filling didn’t really “gel” enough, a bit too much chicken stock I think – but it’s definitely edible. I made one big one this time, next time I’m going to make 4 one or two servings ones so I can freeze a couple, unbaked and give them to my friend Amy who is working far too hard as Associate Dean and has Parkinson’s to boot, so she has no energy to cook anything decent for herself when she gets home.
I didn’t hear the news about Scalia right away because I was cooking and then watching the finale of “the Expanse” that I had recorded (it’s a GREAT sci fi show) – Amy called me and just said “Scalia’s dead!” in this stunned tone of voice. I think for lawyers and legal academics like her and me, the impact was a bit different, because we spend so much time reading SC opinions, you feel like you get to know them a bit. She actually said “I know he was awful, but I’m a bit sad.” I am not sad a bit, although I do hope his death won’t have hit Justice Ginsburg too hard – she and her late husband were opera buddies with Scalia and his wife, and they were friends. I have no hesitation in speaking ill of Scalia, but I won’t here.
The Republicans are now in huge quandary – do they obstruct an Obama nomination on the assumption they’ll have a win in November, but risk then facing a Clinton nomination (or much less likely, a Sanders nomination)? I saw someone on Twitter say last night:”Just keep whispering ‘Justice Barack Obama’ into the wind and scare the Republicans into not obstructing.” lol And for the Democrats, well, the stakes simply couldn’t be higher for the fall elections – we MUST make up some ground in the Senate and of COURSE we MUST take the White House. This is our first chance to shift the ideological balance of the Court in a generation and we won’t get another one any time soon – Roberts, Alito, Thomas are all younger than 70, and Kennedy, while older, is the swing vote that occasionally gives us a good ruling (gay marriage e.g.) but as often as not goes with the conservatives. I personally think McConnell will try to obstruct until after the election, and then if the Dems win, he has to go along either with Obama’s pick or the next President [hopefully] Clinton’s pick – he won’t like either one, but the Court cannot function very long in deadlock.
I followed the Republican show last night on Twitter and it sounds like it was wild – that clip gives a taste, I guess, of the nuttiness. Seriously, it’s politics as game show crossed with an episode of Jersey Shore or the Kardashian shows – it’s hard to understand what anyone sees in that when looking for a future President. Good golly.
Ok, off to peruse the web, see what’s happening – have a great day everyone! Stay warm, Denise!
I can see using “Justice Obama” as a scare tactic but that would not be the best place for him. Of course we want him everywhere, fixing government!! But a personality that large needs to be giving big speeches, energizing the next generation of Democrats, helping to find good candidates, supporting and promoting green energy initiatives, reminding people about Africa and the poor in Third World Countries.
I don’t know what the Republicans will do. I found a few good articles (posted in the comments in my mini-rant on the front page) suggesting some unintended consequences from, for example, letting all the rulings from the 9th Circuit control laws in Arizona and other western states … as well as the DC Circuit. Let’s see what happens when they are confronted with an actual nominee, who I am certain will be highly qualified and who will likely already have been vetted.
Georgie, will you share the recipe for that delicious-sounding chicken, bacon, and mushroom pie some time? Dearly Beloved, born and brought up in Britain, would love it!
I would like to be known as red valley girl and be able to post here.
Done! Welcome to the Moose Pond, red valley girl!!
Watch for your password in your Inbox. It will come from wordpress at motleymoose dot net.
Good morning, 47 and raining in Bellingham. We enjoyed more Valentine fun yesterday, delivering primroses to our son’s porches, and cards and treats to the grand girls. But my plans for several arrangements changed to just one for our son’s dining room table…..one was fun, more that one was making me tired!
With the national news coverage of the R debates, the Dem’s worrisome primary, and now the changes on the SCOTUS it’s easy to overlook what’s happening at the state and local level. Reliably blue Wa State is very close to giving control of both the house and senate to the R’s. The choices the voters make re presidential candidates will have a bigger impact at the state level than they may realize.
GOP’s big Olympia dreams hang by a comb-over
From Norbrook’s blog: Civics 101: The Elections You Missed – The States
So true, Jan. It starts with the states.
Very true. Local governments – city and county – are divisions of and subordinate to the state government. What we can tax and how much we can tax is determined by the state government. State governments can override local initiatives. (We’ve had 3 LGBT-equal rights laws passed at the city level, 2 were overturned by the “scary bathroom” propaganda special elections but the last was overturned by the state legislature – we won’t get this back until either the Fed – SCOTUS – overrules the state or we get a progressive legislature which will be long after Hell freezes over.)
Thank you Hillary for working the down-ballot races!
I am sure that the SCOTUS confirmation battle will be another reason to see Treasonous Tom Cotton’s face in my newsfeed. That makes me sad. We will fix our 2010 low turnout election Senator problem this year. You will have to wait until 2020.
I know. The best we can hope for, and it’s not good, is to get rid of Boozman (R, Wal-Mart). Getting rid of Cotton is going to take a miracle before 2020 and possibly then, too.
Actually, unless you have a way to remove a sitting senator, or Hillary Clinton’s Justice Department indicts him for treason, you have no way to get rid of him until 2020. But I don’t see how Arkansas goes blue in our lifetimes so he will likely be there forever. I just hope that as the Republican minority becomes increasingly irrelevant, his frightening face ends up in my newsfeeds less frequently.
There’s always that. While I doubt he’s been transporting drugs across state lines, we did get rid of a city counselor that way once. As to seeing him less frequently, don’t count on it. He’ll just get more outrageous to keep in the spotlight.
36 and drizzling in Fay., AR – Also can’t think of anything good to say about Scalia so won’t say anything. I like the “Justice Barack Obama” whisper campaign to get the Rs to confirm President Obama’s appointment. Actually, I love it. :) Hillary pretty much said, “Barack Obama is president of the United States until January 20, 2017. Deal with it.” But I guess it’s going to come down to a question of whether or not there are ANY sane Rs in the Senate, especially ones who aren’t up for re-election this year.
it took 5 hours but I’m done, this may have been the hardest of my 5 1/2 Marathons
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb189/BeckyHelton/d29a1485-7b99-4f5e-9472-58e34855bee6_zpsktgkjz1y.jpg
Wonderful! Congratulations and well done!
Good evening all! Thank you for letting me join your gang!
It’s in the 20’s here, a bit breezy. We’ve gotten a few inches of snow, so R, S, the dog, and I all went sledding in the back yard. It was great fun, and a welcome respite from the swirling thoughts over the last 24 hours.
I don’t know why the behavior of republicans shocks me anymore. I’m really not a stupid girl. lol.
Howdy, red valley girl! You may have noticed that it is a little quiet around here in the evening. Ha! More than a little. We are mostly early birds, except for Geordie who is retired and princesspat who is a west coaster. But we will leave you brilliant comments to read and enjoy when you stop by … and promise to read yours. :)
thanks, JanF. :)
Where are you, Red Valley Girl? Welcome to Moosylvania!
I’m in the Midwest – my name comes from the Red Valley of SW South Dakota, adjoining Wind cave National Park, in the Black Hills which is my favorite place on earth. I will post a pic as soon as i figure out how. lol.
Welcome to the Moose Pond. Republicans stopped shocking me years ago. Depress, yes. Shock, no. But then I grew up in TX and currently live in AR. We’ve always had the Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton types – they just didn’t manage to get this high in government between FDR and W. Bush.
Good morning red valley girl!
Good morning, meese! Monday …
It is 16 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 30. Cloudy skies are in the forecast. We might see the 40s by the end of the week but it will be accompanied by rain. I am getting a little sick of the snowbanks (which are now icebanks after months of freezing) and it is time for the crocuses to bloom!
I am officially SCOTUSed out. I guess in my wildest most cynical imagination I could not envision that the Republicans would simply tell the president that he had no right to appoint a justice to fill a vacancy. Essentially, they are telling the American people that their votes expire after 3 years. The last hope, blue/purple state endangered first-term Republicans up for re-election, was snuffed out when soon-to-be-former Senator Kelly Ayotte said she would join the majority and block all nominees. Good riddance. I hope we win in a landslide, take back the Senate, Chuck Schumer kills the entire judicial filibuster once and for all and we get Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s ideological twin on the Supreme Court.
We get a week’s rest from politics as there are no debates and no voting until Saturday in Nevada. Secretary Clinton has added a “call and response” to her stump speech to remind voters that an economic theory is not the solution to everything:
Excellent framing (especially “theory” which highlights “unproven” “never tested”. p.s. You might tighten up that last “call” … it runs a little long. :)
Busy morning … see all y’all later!
Good morning, Moosekind, and happy (false) George Washington’s birthday, I suppose. Who’d have thought George Washington existed 200 years ago so mattresses could be sold on this movable “President’s Day”? It’s snowing here in NoVa, and we already have a couple of inches on the ground. I do wish Dearly Beloved wouldn’t go to work today. He works a few hours at the airport every Monday for Travelers’ Aid. People have been asked to stay off the streets unless they really have to drive.
I’m totally sick of the Rethugs and their little plan to deny our president the responsibilities of his office. I wrote to the WaPo and both my (DINO) senators, pointing out that President Obama is president until January 2017. Not that my voice will do any good. If only all the Rethug senators would come down with norovirus so just Dem senators would confirm the new Supreme Court nominee! Speaking of which, I have my doubts about Sri Srinavasan. He apparently was part of a Bush administration or was nominated by one of them or something. Would he be sound on women’s rights? Don’t think so.
It is more than time to get on with writing my March story. Will be back later.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and beyond!
I slept surprisingly badly last night. You’d think getting up at 3:30am, walking for 5 hours, then staying up till 10 for the after party would ensure sleeping like a log. Sigh.
Watching the news & eating a light breakfast because I have a massage at 10. Maybe I’ll sleep then. It is still way too warm for February — I turned on the a/c last night. It’s shorts weather, and it still hasn’t rained this year.
Morning all! Cool here but we’re back to spring weather here I guess for the week.
Sri Srinivasan was in the Solicitor General’s office under Bush, and clerked for Sandra Day O’Connor, and was basically a corporate lawyer for a big law firm O’Melveny and Myers – so that all looks pretty Republican. However, he also served in the SG’s office under Obama, from 2011 until Obama appointed him to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in 2013. AND he did pro bono work for the Gore campaign during the whole election mess in 2000, so THAT looks Democratic. He seems to be widely expected to be the nominee, although there are other names in the mix too, assuming the President wants to nominate someone the Republicans have no real argument to present for voting against.
I’m contributing a bit to Hillary’s campaign today, following Scan’s lead of a “Madame President’s Day” money bomb for Hillary. I can’t give as much as I would like to, until I get my tax and Medicare premium stuff straightened out, but a flow of small donations I figure is a good thing too.
Have a great day everyone!
Another name being floated is a more reliable left leaning judge, Paul Watford from the Ninth Circuit (that will make right-wing heads asplode!!). He is an Obama appointee who was confirmed in 2012 by a vote of 61 to 34 including 9 Republicans. Since he was so recently vetted, a good case might be made that he is SCOTUS-ready, like Judge Srinivasan. One of my offline peeps was frustrated by the notion that a lawyer who worked for a firm that has corporate clients is permanently disqualified. Srinivasan came from one of the top tier law schools and the big firms gobble those people up. There is not a lot of information about his ideology but I suspect that President Obama knows. Ted Cruz claimed him as a “friend” during his confirmation hearing in 2013 so that certain would give one pause.
Here is another article supporting the Sri Srinivasin pick. Paul Glastris from Washington Monthly:
If there is a political reason to selection a nominee in order to appeal to a group, check out the Asian population in these various states:
In swing states like Wisconsin, there are likely to one day be more Asians than Hispanics.
Plus 97-0 only 3 years ago would make the Republicans really look craven if they rejected him.
39 heading for 59 and the sun is just breaking through the cloud cover. The weekend was very extreme as far as sunlight/electricity production was concerned. 13.6 KWHs Saturday, 1.3 on Sunday. The SCOTUS issue really points out just how anti-government the Rs are. It’s scary. Like saying “throw us into the void, we don’t need solid ground to stand on” – magical thinking taken to the extreme. But then extreme anything is a bad idea.
Sane Dems in both primary camps at GOS are coming together around “we gotta elect a Dem, vote straight D in November, no matter who is on the ticket, but VOTE.” The not so sane or possibly not Dems at all are doubling down on the “evil Hillary, same as Trump, only Bernie’s revolution can save us” B.S. sigh. When I go over there I go directly to my stream and only visit diaries by people I’m following. And still mostly stay out of the comments. (FYI if you’re interested there’s a money-bomb fund-raiser for Hillary – $28 for Madam President’s Day – going on over there. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/02/15/1485365/-MADAM-PRESIDENT-S-DAY-Starts-Now will take you straight there, if you wish.)
Hope everybody stays safe and comfortable. {{{HUGS}}}
11 degrees here – and my pipes are frozen – so no water – will not be able to even locate where the blockage or damage is till the thaw on Wednesday
Thankfully my tenants house has water – so no damage to well-pump – my husband has hauled in water in buckets to flush with, am heating water on the stove for dishes and bathing
Sigh.
Frozen pipes are such a worry…..I hope they thaw with no damage done. We have a vulnerable north wall where the bathroom pipes are located so when the arctic wind blows I leave water running and heat on in the basement. That usually helps, but not always.
Stay warm!
Dee that is so horrible! Is there anyplace at your school where you could take a shower? Sending warm thoughts your way!
Oh, Denise, what a bummer! Hope your pipes thaw SOON!
Good luck in getting the pipes thawed with no breakage! Definitely great no damage to the well pump!
Good morning, 47 and raining in Bellingham. It’s a busy day, with the pool this morning and more rag doll sewing with Ava this afternoon. Her sister has a cold, so she is happy to be old enough to stay home alone today.
Hello again, Moosekind–
I’m up here in my little office, enjoying the sight of snow falling. The thing is, we don’t really get much snow in Northern Virginia, so this is probably our last sight of it until December or next January. We’re still at the stage of saying, “Oh, look, it’s snowing!” rather than, “Oh, Goddess, not again.”
Our Moose Sister bfitz shared a cheese biscuit recipe on the Roiling Cesspool that used to be GOS, so I’m going to make those for lunch along with tomato soup. Two people on Facebook asked me for the recipe for bfitz’s Cherry-Almond Cupcakes.
Weekend developments on the political front have been utterly fascinating. Wish I could tear myself away. Actually, I do need to tear myself away. Feel deeply thankful that this is, ah, “Presidents’ Day,” and that my sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren are all safely at home instead of out on the roads. There’ve been innumerable accidents and one fatality already since 2 a.m., when the snow began.
Later, everyone!
I had hoped to get some accounting work done but because I can’t mail anything today or go to the bank, I have been in slow motion. I will likely wake up tomorrow morning feeling like I should have been more productive … oh well!
John Oliver on the right to vote … featuring husband of Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch: