Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: July 24th through July 30th

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.

45 Comments

  1. Back at work. Sigh. Loved the speeches last night — of course Michelle Obama’s was the best. And Cory Booker. Wonder what he’s doing in 2024? I had no idea Dan Malloy was learning disabled, that was an interesting speech. I’m hoping the rude children chill some today, booing Elijah Cummings was…….

    brain is playing Hallelujah Here She Comes

  2. Hi Meese.

    Went to sleep after Elizabeth Warren, so cannot comment on the Bernie slot.
    What I loved even more than the speeches – was the portrait of what this country is – as opposed to what the Republicans portrayed.

    This was my America in living color!

    • Apparently the Sanders delegates booed Bernie Sanders, a not unexpected turn of events: a movement built on anger and stoked by unicornism is not going to be swayed by logic. Here is Paul Waldman reminding us about who they are (in case it wasn’t obvious from the sight of Susan Sarandon when they were panning the crowds):

      “The Democratic Party isn’t being torn apart from the inside; it’s being attacked from the outside. … If it seems strange to you that leftists would be protesting not the candidate who wants to deport 11 million people, ban Muslims from entering the country and roll back civil rights gains for gay Americans, but the candidate who wants to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, expand Social Security and enact universal child care, well, that would only mean that you’re unfamiliar with leftist politics. For a certain kind of activist on the left, the real enemy is never the right; it’s always the liberals who are insufficiently committed to their brand of revolution.”

      “… what unites the holdouts is their self-absorption and complete inability to distinguish between political action that makes you feel good and political action that actually accomplishes anything real. These are the kind of people who think that giant puppets are the key to creating lasting social change.”

  3. Heavy-duty attack of sinusitis yesterday, stopped being able to breath through my nose every time I laid down and swallowed gunk every time I sat up. So I stayed up to the end. Bernie built that mob scene and the almost smirk he had on his face as the bros were yelling, “Ber-nie” made me want to slap him. The speech was way too long for my taste but as somebody on El Mito’s live blog pointed out, he did have to build the case. He certainly couldn’t have come out and said, “Hey guys, it’s politics. Would you have voted for me if I’d said Hillary and I agree on 93% of everything, she’s actually better than I am on minority'(including women’s) issues and guns, and the only thing I think she needs prodding on is income inequality?” More truthful of course but they’d probably have stormed the stage if he had. I really want to see the “sign-off” speakers for the next three days but I’m not sure about staying up that late, darn it.

    We got rain yesterday – one site said 3″ which we definitely can use – and looks like we may have rain every afternoon for the rest of the month. I just reached 405 KWHs for the month yesterday. The likelihood of attaining 500 for July 2016 is in the slim to none category. Sigh. Hope things are cool enough that I don’t end up paying an electric bill this year. I have no idea whether or not the fact that I’m online most evenings and at least half the weekend since I got my laptop (and usually run it plugged in) is drawing down enough to make a significant difference. When I had the desktop it was in the living room which is fine for the cats but either too hot or too cold for me so I didn’t get online much at all from home.

    Oh well. Got some GAs I need to get entered into the system, presupposing the pre-entering stuff I did yesterday managed to get through the approval chain. Also the couple of end of July Payrolls I entered yesterday because we only just got the funding straightened out. Good thing I actually did the more ticklish parts yesterday as my brain isn’t functioning well today. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  4. Morning all! I ordered an HDML cable, it was only about $6, so not too bad – it should get here today, along with my new monitor so I will be back in my two monitor setup on the new machine. Moved the old, smaller second monitor over to the table with the old machine, so it will be set up for me to use it for word processing when I teach again, or do other things. I looked into Office for Windows 10 for the new machine, but holy moly $150! I can get it for much cheaper at our University bookstore, but that requires me to drive over onto main campus, blech. Still, probably worth it.

    I watched most of the convention yesterday on the direct YouTube channel on my computer screen – followed along with Twitter, and it worked out fine, I highly recommend the direct channel rather than the cable news with their commentary. I was so enraged at the rudeness of the Bernie Brats chanting through Elijah Cummings and others that I couldn’t face going into WOW last night to raid with my team, half of whom, at least, are Bernie people. So I made an excuse on our guild website, and just focused on the convention, and I’m glad I did.

    Some of the most moving moments were the “ordinary people” who spoke, especially the little girl who was featured in an ad Hillary did some months ago, taken when she was in a town hall type meeting out west. This little girl got up and spoke from the heart about how worried she was her parents would be deported, and started to cry – Hillary said “come here, baby”, and put her arms around her, said to let her, Hillary, do the worrying, and she just had to be brave and was being brave. It’s one of the most affecting ads I’ve seen, and last night that little girl and her mom were up on the stage – I said in twitter that if the Bernie brats boo a little girl, I was going to have to go up there and kick some ass (someone in Twitter responded “Do it!” lol). Fortunately, they had the decency to keep their mouths shut, and Anastasia and her mom were so wonderful and touching. Astrid Silva, who followed them, the young Dreamer, was extremely impressive as well – I see a future Latina political powerhouse in that young woman. Also extremely impressive was the young disabled woman, who is a disability activist so not I guess an “ordinary” person, but still, very impressive.

    I loved almost all the speeches – the labor leaders were extremely powerful, one after the other, going after Trump and lauding Hillary. The Collins twin brothers were also great – I knew Jason Collins was the first professional athlete in a major sport to come out as gay, but I didn’t know he had first come out to the Clinton family to get their council on his way forward. That’s a real tribute IMO. I personally loved Corey Booker, I thought he was great.

    Three highlights for me though – first, Al Franken – he is STILL funny, very effective, he was just great. Second, when he teamed with Sarah Silverman, an ardent Bernie supporter who now supports Hillary, to introduce Paul Simon to sing, and Sarah broke script to say “And I have to say, to the Bernie or Bust people….you’re being ridiculous!”, it was SO GREAT! Brought the house down!

    And finally, Michelle Obama’s speech – what can I say that has not already been said, it was wonderful! She took down Donald Trump throughout the speech without mentioning him by name. It was moving and her strong, emotional support for Hillary was just galvanizing. She is so fabulous, I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do with the rest of her life now that her girls are leaving the nest – she may have had enough of political life after the last 20 years or so, but I know she will do something important and meaningful.

    I thought Warren was OK, a bit low energy – and I did not listen to Bernie, I don’t ever want to hear his voice again. But by all accounts, he gave a very strong speech and did what he had to do to tell his troops in no uncertain terms that Trump MUST be stopped (hear that Susan Sarandon?) and the only way to stop him is to put Hillary in the White House. The problem is, of course, that his troops have made it clear they won’t listen to him or anybody – I read that one of them actually said, after the rally in the afternoon when he tried to get them to support Hillary to no avail, “It’s like he’s given us 3 Mountain Dews and now expects us to go to bed! Not going to happen!” So, they’re petulant teens and he’s not their real dad, apparently – perfect. I did read that the bad behavior in the hall was a very small number of jerks in the California delegation – I am convinced that the convention organizers turned down the microphones in that section after the first hour of disruptions, because I didn’t hear the chanting or booing nearly as loud as the evening went on. But I fear what they will do during the nomination today – I don’t know if their credentials could be withdrawn or something, but these people are not Democrats. I read that Bernie’s folks did nothing to vet the people wanting to be Bernie delegates, so it’s clear to me that these people have no affiliation to our party and just want to throw a series of tantrums to embarrass the party that they hate. ugh.

    Nonetheless, it was a great viewing experience yesterday, and I will do it again today, keeping my fingers crossed that something has been done to muzzle the loudmouths.

    Ok, everyone have a great day!

    • Excellent summary!! Just remember that not all Sanders supporters are being jerks – about 90% of them will vote for Hillary in November. From what I gleaned from the coverage, most of the rudeness came from the California delegation egged on by Susan Sarandon. I am hoping that after the roll call vote today that they all go home and let the rest of us enjoy the speakers. I love that our party is so diverse and so inclusive.

      $6 for a cable? Wow, 3 or 4 years ago they were $25. Glad to see that they came down in price.

    • Bernie had never been to a party convention, didn’t know the rules, and damn-sure didn’t know what to look for in a delegate much less how to instruct them in appropriate behavior. Apparently his campaign looked for who hated Hillary the most in their delegate pool. I’ve said before they never were Bernie supporters, they were and are Hillary haters and Bernie just happened to be the anti-Hillary this time around. But yes, a small number of people being very obnoxious. We all hope they’ll just go home once the vote is taken and Hillary is, as she’s been for some time now, the winner. If not, well, they’re still a small number of people being obnoxious and cutting their mike is probably what will happen.

  5. After checking my twitter feed this morning, news – I have to give Bernie credit, he is visiting the state delegations this morning telling them to cut the crap and support Hillary – he told the CA delegation, which apparently is where the 10-20 worst jerks are, that “it’s easy to boo, it won’t be easy to look your children in the face if Trump wins”. Good for Bernie, trying to do the right thing here, and I hope it will have some effect tonight.

    And here is a wonderful – albeit extremely profane so if you don’t want to read the F-bomb, don’t click the link – imagined talk from Hillary today:

    https://medium.com/@shitHRCcantsay/let-me-remind-you-fuckers-who-i-am-e6e8b297fe47#.tq0zugjol

  6. Good morning, 62 and partly sunny in Bellingham. Once again, I’m slow to wake up today, but I am savoring the rosy glow of Mrs. Obama’s speech. I love hearing her words and watching her charming. competent delivery. The grand girls and I watched the earlier part of the convention as we were sewing yesterday so it was easy to just talk about issues and satisfying to know they are paying attention.

    I set the last of the estate paperwork aside last month because I just needed some emotional distance, but I need to finish my part so I hope I can find my focus today and remember what I need to do.

    • Awesome! Trump is a national emergency. I hope that there are enough people whose brains have not been rotted by right-wing talkers and left-wing demagogues to see that and get out and VOTE for Hillary Clinton.

    • She’s “not much of a Hillary fan”? Hillary’s long record of public service, support for women’s rights, support for children isn’t enough to…oh, never mind.

      I’m not buying this “lesser of two evils” crap. I am PROUD that I voted for her in the Potomac Primary in 2008 and in the primary this time around. I cannot wait to vote for the most qualified candidate in the last 50 years in November!

  7. Good morning, meese! Wednesday …

    It is 66 degrees in Madison on its way up to 86. Sunny skies with a chance of thunderstorms.

    I am exhausted!! The nominating process seems to have taken forever but here is the result:

    I could not stay up to watch the end (I put Bill Clinton’s speech in the Day Two post comments to watch later) and missed this live. The nominating speeches and Mothers of the Movement are there as well.

    I loved the roll call! My favorite moment was the 102 year old woman from Arizona nominating Hillary Clinton. She is in this montage video with a few other people we know:

    Even bernt-enders can’t harsh my buzz today. By the way, you wonder if any of them even “got” the Dean Scream – history is not one of their strong points.

    See all y’all later!

    • So exhausted by 9 p.m. we had to go upstairs but we will by Goddess watch everything we missed last night this afternoon. I asked Dearly to DVR it all because I especially did not want to miss Bill’s speech.

      Dinner tonight is Cold, Pickles, and Mash, so we can watch all afternoon—after we take Miss Pink Cheeks home.

      • I have the whole thing on DVR also and hope to either watch it on my TV or from my computer.

  8. Good morning Meese. Watched the entire day2 of the convention. loved the roll call – so many great moments – oldsters and youngsters, the amazing diversity of representation – was elated to see Native Americans in the delegations.

    So thankful that I watched on C-Span – just read reports on the pun-idiocy displayed on cable news.

    • CSPAN or the DNCC live stream – pundit free! Saves a lot of damage to dental work. ;)

    • USA Today noted the historic nature of the convention: Black women take over top spots for Democratic convention

      PHILADELPHIA — Three black women are running the Democratic National Convention this week, taking charge of the top jobs that keep the massive gathering on schedule and, as much as possible, on message. [….]

      Brazile, who was already the committee’s vice chair of voter registration and participation, addressed the convention Tuesday night.

      “I sat at the back of the bus at a time when America wasn’t yet as great as it could be,” she said in a rousing speech to the packed hall. “As long as she (Hillary Clinton) is in charge, we’re never going back, and that’s why I’m with her.”

      Brazile is joined this week by Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, who is serving as convention chairman, and the Rev. Leah Daughtry, a Washington D.C. pastor who is reprising her 2008 role as the convention’s CEO.

      Convention officials could not say definitively if this is the first time that three African American women have held the top three convention spots, but they said they could not remember another time that it has happened.

      “When Democrats say ‘We the people,’ we mean all the people,” said Daughtry, speaking Monday during the first night of the convention. “All the people regardless of race, color, creed or ethnicity…We know that our diversity is not our problem. It is our promise.” […]

      “It is absolutely progress for women, and specifically women of color, to have a critical mass in key positions of power,” said Nichola Gutgold, professor of communication at Pennsylvania State University and the author of numerous books on women and the presidency. “Research shows that when we see people in power who have not historically held positions of power, it paves the way … for more.”

      Another black woman, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, also stepped in to help convention organizers at the last minute when she banged the gavel to officially begin the convention Monday.

      Mayor Rawlings-Blake did a great job. Her steady demeanor during the roll call – crisp, efficient – was exactly what we needed. I kept holding my breath waiting for a BernieOrBuster to scream “Vote for Stein!”. Other than the Hawaii berner, using the microphone to blather about revolutions, it was pretty calm.

      • Oh well – the Berners had their moment in the spotlight – while the votes rolled in for Hill.

    • We watched C-Span too, Denise. Honestly, I can’t believe MSNBC has deteriorated so badly!

      Apparently the network is now owned by a Republican’t. (Can’t ever show approval or enthusiasm anything the Democratic party does.)

      • Their faux-liberalism has been grating on me for some time. It has bothered others

        In truth, the label of “liberal news network” has always struck me as a bit precocious when applied to MSNBC. This is the channel on which the conservative Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman who spent much of the late 1990s chasing Bill Clinton’s libido as it ambled along Pennsylvania Avenue, has hosted a three-hour morning show for the last nine years (and had hosted an evening show, “Scarborough Country,” for four years before that). This is the network that let Pat Buchanan pollute its airwaves for a decade, only letting him go near the end of President Obama’s first term. This is the network that fired Phil Donahue over his outspoken opposition to the Iraq War.

        • Yes, I am done with it. I will NEVER watch a TV channel that puts Ann Coulter on as “balance”. Bridge too far.

  9. Good Woden’s Day morning, Moosekind! If only it would rain, rain, rain! Everything is dry, dead, and brown. I’ve lost enthusiasm for gardening. Didn’t even water yesterday. It’s 78 F. now in NoVa, going up to 86 F., and very humid. Partly cloudy skies.

    We watched the roll call yesterday. LOVED it! At first when Vermont passed on relaying its vote count I thought I’d faint, but then they came back and Bernie gave his delegates to Hillary. So much for the “disunity.” I somewhat understand how his followers felt because I was so passionate about Howard Dean—to this day I drink my morning tea out of an enormous mug that has “In an arranged marriage with John Kerry, still in love with Howard Dean” painted on its side—but we’re past primary season now.

    We’ve had a lot of ferrying to do as Miss PC’s art camp is from 10 to 3 and we had to take the truck in for maintenance yesterday in addition to doing everything else, etc., etc. Hope today will be an easier day and I’ll actually get to do something I want. Acupuncture at 3, gym before that, and then home to watch what I missed last night.

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

  10. Did a really hard workout last night. You’d think that would mean sleep. Ha! Got home from the gym in time to watch the Mothers of the Movement, and Cecile. Both made me cry. I knew Cecile when she lived here, so I was so proud; and then the thing about her mom — made me laugh & cry. I stayed up late (for me) to see Big Dog’s speech. Loved it. He stuck to the personal, which was just perfect

    Anyway, today — between being sore & not sleeping, only job is to remain upright. Using City of Blinding Lights to keep myself awake.

    Oh — our weather — we got rain yesterday & more today, so it is downright cool. No 100s, and driving in this morning was an almost chilly 75.

  11. Rain moved in yesterday afternoon – 2-day total just over 4″ – and cooled things down a bit. Actually turned the A/C off when I got home from work (not that it was actually on when I got in, but I didn’t want it kicking on while I was still wet and it never got warm enough to turn it back on). Just as well. Got just over 12 KWHs yesterday, just over 7 the day before and sitting on 418 for the month at the moment and overcast. Definitely not going to make July 2015’s 561 KWHs and in fact not entirely sure we’ll get to 500.

    Jan, thank you so much for the C-Span link. Stayed up for Bill’s speech – I love listening to him talking about Hillary. :) And while I’m sick and tired of Bernie and the Berners taking credit for everything Hillary already had in her platform before he even got into the race, I will give him credit for his class act yesterday in moving all his votes to Hillary. (Well, more than that – I so didn’t expect it I was screaming “Ber-nie” and crying when he did it.) I honestly have never understood how anybody could even try, much less succeed, to portray Hillary as cold, cruel, blood-thirsty, and evil. The best I can come up with is psychological projection. Hopefully last night, filled with personal stories from people Hillary helped – and remembered the next time they met – at least put a dent in the mass myth.

    Soloing this morning and have HR stuff to deal with – starting to enter the new GAs for Fall. At least I’ve got all but one of the new faculty entered. The last one is international and we’re waiting on the visa approval. Dee, SUNY would never hire this way – she has to be paid too much (like what you ought to be getting – just over $5K per class). So much for the myth of hiring on the H1B visa to stiff labor. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

    • The tribute Sanders’ brother Larry made was a beautiful moment. I was not as thrilled with the last votes of the convention being heralded as something wonderful that Bernie Sanders did. News headlines: “Sanders shows his big spirit by asking for unity. Oh by the way a woman was nominated to be president of the United States by a major party”. But I will get over it as long has he goes away. :)

      I was thinking about the pictures of Hillary with children when I woke up this morning. That, more than anything else, is what softens her and makes her seem more than “likeable enough”. She is genuine in her delight in children … and they like her too!

      • RW Conspiracy against Hillary put in place even before the Arkansas Project started against Bill is still going strong. If there is ever positive coverage of Hillary in the media it will be grudging or by accident. And like you, I really hope Bernie just goes away.

        Hillary and children are just so beautiful. As much as I’ve never understood the anti-Hillary stuff, I really have never understood it from anyone who has ever seen her with kids.

        • Bill Clinton said this about the attacks last night (I finally got a chance to watch his speech) and we need to remind people about it over and over:

          A real change maker is a real threat so your only option is to create a cartoon.

          We’ve seen them do it to President Obama so it should not surprise us.

          • Those of us who lived in AR in the 1980s saw them already doing it to Hillary. That Advocacy for Children and Families she started? The press said Hillary was trying to destroy the nuclear family and was going to take everybody’s kids and put them in state-run orphanages.

  12. Good morning, 63 and mostly sunny in Bellingham. I’ve got a busy day ahead with an annual exam with the vascular surgeon this morning and the grand girls for more sewing this afternoon. When the extensive blood clots were discovered 5 yrs ago she warned me the residual damage to my circulation system would mean ongoing pain and swelling and that the daily maintenance required to stay healthy and active would be challenging. I don’t expect any changes, but some encouragement and perhaps some additional management advice will be most welcome.

    I watched the convention yesterday while sewing scarves for my daughters etsy site…..the scarves were tedious but the convention was so rewarding and moving. I stayed up too late but it was worth it.

  13. Good Thursday mornin’ Meese.
    Too much to process this morning and I have to finish my writing chores.

    Will be back when done.
    Looking forward to Hill’s speech!

    • I put a few videos up in the comments and have a few more I want to include after I get some early morning projects done.

      I stayed up until the end but I have to say that I was flagging by the time the president spoke. I will have to revisit his speech and will probably put up a separate post on it once the transcript is released. It didn’t make me cry, like Michelle Obama’s did, but anyone not moved to action to do everything possible to elect Hillary Clinton either has no beating heart or is a faux Democrat.

      Speaking of faux Democrats, I hate hate hate that people in the audience are shouting over the speakers who they disagree with! It reminded me of those at NN12 who were booing New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for not jailing banksters. Just shut up, puristas!! You may not think that National Security is important but there are millions of people out there hiding under their beds because of the fear drummed up by the Republicans. If they think that Democrats are not serious about protecting them and defeating Daesh, they will embrace the orange-faced demagogue. What happened to listening politely? Poor Admiral Hutson had no idea what was going on in the audience. He had an important speech that went after Donald Trump’s unsuitability to be president and the clips from it will be unusable. :(

  14. Good morning, meese! Thursday …

    It is 70 degrees in Madison on its way up to 77. Chance of thunderstorms in the forecast.

    Exciting night at the DNC last night! Great speeches by President Obama (brilliant as usual) and Joe Biden (on fire!!). Mayor Bloomberg went after Donald Trump – like him or hate him, his endorsement will resonate with business leaders who need to be reminded that Trump is more charlatan than businessman. Every vote for Hillary adds to her mandate to get things done. Selected videos are in the comments of the DNCC post. Please browse the DNCC archives for more videos including stories from Flint Michigan (we haven’t forgotten) and those harmed by gun violence including Gabby Giffords.

    This video stuck out for a few reasons: one, her story: “Kristen Kavanaugh is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a former Marine Corps Captain who deployed to Iraq. She later co-founded the Military Acceptance Project, a California-based social justice organization dedicated to promoting acceptance of marginalized populations within the military.” Two, her strong endorsement of Hillary as Commander-in-Chief and dismissal of Donald Trump:

    And this quote:

    “This election is not just about Donald Trump’s judgement – it is about our own. Our nation, our world cannot afford for us to get this wrong.”

    Indeed.

    I stayed up until The Hug so I am exhausted. See all y’all later!

  15. Good Thor’s Day morning, Meese! It’s a fair morning here in NoVa, with rain expected this afternoon. I hope this isn’t a tease and that Goddess is kind enough to actually give us this rain. It’s 75 F. now, going up to 90 F. later. So tired of this heat but it’s July—whatcha gonna do?

    Fell asleep in a chair last night during Bloomberg’s speech, so will have to catch up with everything later. Thank Goddess for the DVR, is all I can say.

    Just watched a 7-minute video on FB in which Political Granddaughter came out as bisexual. She talked so fast (probably from nervousness) during the video that it was a little hard to follow. Luckily for her she is living in Seattle at the moment, and that’s a much more liberal place than her home state of Texas. I hope in my lifetime to see the word “straight,” as applied to sexuality, banished in favor of “het.” To me, “straight” implies that others are devious or crooked.

    Oh, well, that’s enough from me for the moment. Hoping to actually stay up and watch Hillary tonight, even if I have to break training and have a cup of caffeinated tea after dinner. Back later.

  16. Morning all! Up late, but woke up a few hours later and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I’m up now, will probably nap later.

    What a DNC!!!! I have to say, I totally loved the Big Dog’s speech Tuesday night – it was absolutely in the tradition of First Spouse speeches (I’m thinking about Michelle’s speech in 2008 showing us Barack the father), but with a Bill Clinton mastery of rhetoric. He showed us who Hillary really is and then so effectively challenged us to contrast that with the caricature the right has created over the years – “cartoons are easily absorbed”. I loved that line. The only person who comes close to him as a speaker is of course President Obama, who was simply astounding last night. Not just the masterful and whole-hearted support for Hillary, but the way he both diminished Trump and at the same time accurately tagged him as outside the American (and also Republican and conservative) tradition – “We don’t look to be ruled” was just a magnificent line. I simply loved the way he talked about Hillary, “the woman in the arena” – and when Hillary came out on stage at the end and the two embraced, it was simply heartstopping. It really struck me that the two Republicans on MSNBC’s panel, when I checked in there a few minutes after the speech, were clearly gobsmacked and effusive in their praise.

    So many wonderful moments last night – the Orlando mom, supported by her murdered son’s friends, speaking so bravely, just like the Mothers of the Movement the night before – such strength and grace out of such pain; Gabby Giffords, so much more recovered than the last time I heard her, so that we caught a glimpse of the delightful person she is and see what a bright political career was interrupted when she was shot; Bloomberg, who I cordially despise, but who was so effective at dismissing Trump as essentially a con man, and who made the case for Republicans to put country over party, and Independents to vote against Trump even if they don’t agree with Hillary on very much; Biden who was just galvanizing; and on and on. Kaine’s speech got off to a slow and rocky start, but I thought he picked up steam as he went along.

    But now can I rant about Bernie and the Bernt-enders for a minute? I am so sick of every speaker having to cow-tow to the tender feelings of the Berners – I despise Sanders, as I have since I lived in Vermont in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and I despise his cult following, who masqueraded as Democrats to get entry into our party’s process, and have proceeded to do their level best to trash our convention. The behavior has been outrageous: chanting through Elijah Cummings on Monday and Leon Panetta last night (drowning out Panetta’s attack on Trump’s outrageous call yesterday for Russia to hack Hillary and State Dept. e-mail servers), trying to interrupt other speakers, invading the press tent yesterday to complain about Nina Turner not being one of the nominators for Sanders on Tuesday when it was Sanders who told her no (even tho he blamed the Clinton campaign, the coward).

    I want to celebrate Hillary as our first woman nominee – and it’s sad to me that in the game, WOW, I spend so much time in, and in our guild that Dee and I love, there are so many Bernie folks that I feel stifled and unable to express my joy when I talk to people in the chat box or in our voice chat when I’m in raid or hanging out. It’s making me not want to even sign in – I’m hoping the Berners in our guild will get behind Hillary, but it’s hard to even talk about openly. Oh well, time heals I hope.

    All right, I’m going to stay awake for a few hours and then nap for a while, so I can fully enjoy tonight’s history making moments! Everyone have a great day!

    • I hope I can get a nap in today! Yesterday turned out to be more hectic than I expected and it cut into my nap time.

      This is a theme we saw starting to get developed last week when Hillary introduced Tim Kaine … now President Obama:

      “We don’t look to be ruled”

      When people say that Trump will be a Hitleresque dictator, it is easy to poo-poo as hyperbole. But the “he is not the king of me!” – after he has said time and time again that we should just leave everything up to him (with no specifics) – has the chance to be a “sticky” message.

      I hate that our joy has to be muted and that the bern has to be fed rather then doused but a united Democratic Party is needed. In the early evening of November 8th, we can express our joy with abandon!

    • One other thing that dawned on me when I was watching the Barack Obama intro video. After listening to Joe Biden’s speech and then seeing Barack Obama handling the tasks of the presidency, it dared the viewer to imagine Donald Trump in those places – in the cabinet room, in the situation room, working with Congress, comforting families – it is an impossible thing to do. The contrasts need to be drawn over and over and over again. Maybe the Republicans don’t want to imagine President Hillary Clinton in those images either but they are in complete denial if they put Donald Trump in those situations and feel comfortable.

    • Agree with you on every word. We’re starting to refer to that obnoxious group of clueless spoiled brats as “Busters” over in the Hillary diaries at GOS because they don’t really support Bernie, he’s just the anti-Hillary. They certainly aren’t following his lead or instructions about behavior at the convention. But I really hate the smug smile on Bernie’s face every time somebody – up to and including POTUS – thanks him or references him as having done something wonderful even as the Busters keep trying to disrupt. But if it’s the price we have to pay – part of the do everything the guy does but backwards and in heels routine – to get Hillary into the White House, well, I don’t like it but I’m willing to pay it. And of course these will be the “Hillary suxers” starting 11/9, even if they shut up temporarily between now and 11/8. sigh.

  17. I stayed up super late (for me) to watch all of Obama’s speech. Wow. Such a fantastic man, he has done so much for our country. And Joe. Man, I’m going to miss him — but Tim Kaine was reminding me of him somewhat.

    And of course I loved that they used a U2 song for Obama to walk out to. That was the beginning of City of Blinding Lights. Funny how no artists have issued cease & desist requests this week with our convention…. Of course, this is the song stuck in my head: Fight Song

    • Our convention probably asks for permission from artists – and many of them support our candidates!

      Tim Kaine will grow on us. He is Joe Biden without the Anita Hill baggage and he has an excellent resume. You could see him warming up when he started going after Trump’s failure to disclose his tax returns.

      “The Fight Song” never fails to energize me; it is a perfect Hillary for President song.

  18. Hey Meeses – weather is pretty much the same – cloudy and may or may not actually rain. Just under 430 KWHs for the month. sigh. Oh, and hot. Heat index in the 100s at least. Don’t know if the brain fuzziness is residual sinusitis, the drugs I’m using to combat it, or the fact I’ve been going to bed a couple of hours later than usual for the last 3 nights, but my brain is definitely fuzzy. Hope nothing comes up today that requires messing with numbers. At this point I’d have a 50-50 chance of mucking it up. However, nothing actually scheduled so should be OK.

    I’m mostly enjoying the Dem Convention. The Busters are irritating as snot and Bernie’s smirk every time he’s mentioned – and he’s mentioned by every Dem notable – makes me want to slap him, but that’s pretty much it for the negatives. The personal stories are touching/tear inducing, the speeches are positive and heartening, the music is energizing. And a little objective voice in the back of my head sort of chuckles that it’s obvious we have many more producers/directors/actors/entertainers on our team because it’s also damn-good theater! I think I actually convinced two young Black women to register and vote yesterday. After telling them a whole lot of stuff they didn’t know – from Hillary history to the Mothers of the Movement (I was flabbergasted they didn’t know anything about them) – I used a combination of stats (POC in AR + registered Dems in AR) to point out that all we had to do to flip the state is get 6% of folks like them who don’t vote to actually get out and vote. (And pointed out that not only was it rather imperative for their own futures, they sort of owed it to the folks who’d died to get them the right.) My good deed for the day before leaving the office.

    Not entirely sure what I need to get to, but I know I need to get to something. :) Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

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