Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Jan. 7th through Jan. 13th

January 6, 2018 JanF Community 104

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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– Page One of Comments is HERE!
 
– Page Two of Comments is HERE!
 

35 Comments

  1. Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …

    It is 30 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 43. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. Rain tonight into tomorrow and then Friday we go back into the deep freeze. At least we get a little break.

    Whoda thunk that Dianne Feinstein would be the face of the Resistance? Obviously she was not amused by Chuck Assley doing an end around her and showing that his loyalty will always lie with his party and never with the truth.

    I hope that Senate Democrats are not sucked into the latest Faux Pivot trap that Trump is laying for them. There will be no “loving solution” to the DACA impasse – we need to stop this nonsense now and not let it go past the January 19th deadline. The House plan, which was unveiled after the TrumpTV Show, is only temporary and truly draconian. No temporary measures, we need to hold out for permanent protections. In fact, we need to come back with a deal that includes permanent protections for Salvadorian refuges in any deal.

    Busy day here. See all y’all later!

  3. Slept in — fitfully but that’s still nice. Orange diary will auto-post at 9. Watching Stephanie Ruhle, there’s much fire about the transcript & dossier. There’s a former Reagan/Bush dude saying how awful this is. If you’d said back then that any of their people would be reasonable & patriotic in a political crisis, I’d have thought you were crazy. Not posting a music link since there’s music in the diary.

    So sad for California. They just can’t catch a break.

  4. Good morning, Moosekind! The Australians were on this computer for a couple of hours this morning, printing out boarding passes and baggage claim stuff, so I could not get on until now.

    At the moment it’s very cloudy in NoVa, 29 F. currently, going up to 42 F. later. Thank goodness for a little break from the cold, we’re low on firewood.

    Absolutely reeling from an early morning read on the Orange site. Did any of you see Elizabeth C. McLaughlin’s synopsis of The Dossier? So glad that Dianne Feinstein, whom I’ve discounted as a real progressive until now, released the copy of the testimony! I am staggered by what I’ve read.

    Of course the complicit NYT will ignore the report, and the WaPo isn’t much better.

    We’re all going out to dinner tonight at Elder Son’s house. Going to take it easy today and catch up on correspondence.

    Wishing a peaceful day to all at the Pond and Beyond—by the way, was glad to see the detente, even if small and temporary, between South and North Korea.

  5. 39 at dawn, 43 now, heading for 57 today and more-or-less sunny. Gonna stay in the 50s until about noon tomorrow then drop like a rock back into winter. Got 5 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 55.7 – definitely need to do some catching up if I’m going to make 200 or over for the month. We shall see what we shall see.

    Proud of DiFi yesterday. Much more in line with the DiFi who was San Francisco’s mayor back when I lived there. A progressive is a person who tries to make progress. She’s always been one, she just didn’t always think we could make that progress as fast as we thought we could make it. Evil Ones being Evil. Nothing new there. I don’t trust mad king donald’s word that the sun rises in the east. Either decent deal or no deal. But my heart twists in knots about shutdown. I’ve got money stashed back right now so if my Social Security check is late because there’s nobody to process the direct deposit, I’ll be OK. But so many do not. It’s really easy to say “well, sacrifices must be made” if you aren’t the one doing the sacrificing. Sigh.

    Need to find a PCP – seems to be a rule of my Advantage plan that I have one. Wouldn’t hurt to see if anything new has come up on chronic sinusitis or Raynaud’s – those are my main problems that diet doesn’t seem to deal with. The celiac of course is diet specific. I ‘spoze it would help if I trusted doctors further than I could throw a Clydesdale. But I don’t. Oh well. Off to make phone calls, check the DK Village, check twitter, and get some coffee. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  7. Good morning, 43 and cloudy in Bellingham. I’m finally getting better, yay! This has been a miserable flue so I’m very relieved it’s going away, and very surprised RonK hasn’t gotten sick. Virus germs have been exploding around me!

    Lots of laundry and left over Christmas is waiting downstairs but Sue, my young energetic 2 x’s a month house keeper, will be here soon so I’ll stay quiet until she arrives.

    Hope it’s a good day for all.

    • {{{princesspat}}} – moar Healing Energy and yes, waiting quietly until help arrives is a very good idea. :) moar {{{HUGS}}}

  8. Good morning, meeses! Thursday …

    It is 37 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 43. Temperatures will begin dropping at noon and a wintry mix is expected later this afternoon into the evening. Tomorrow it will be 18!!

    Republicans in disarray! Apparently the Senate victory in Alabama thinning the majority to a single vote plus a Pence may make it impossible for Republicans to pass a budget resolution this year. What that means (I think) is that there will not likely be sweeping legislation including taking more whacks at the ACA and defunding Medicaid and Medicare. More House retirements – a record 31 including 9 committee chairmen – puts us closer to regaining the House. The House will be a firewall (if you recall, winning it back in 2006 did not force Bush to end the Iraq War or do anything, really) but the Senate has power on its own which makes it imperative that we don’t lose seats there and maybe pick up one or two. The current still-cares-about-the-rule-of-law federal judiciary – which right now is our only protection against the worst damage a Trump administration can do – is being replaced with incompetent political hacks. We need to stop that bleeding.

    My plan to avoid “Trump is a dotard” news is working well and cuts down on a lot of reading. It is old news and there is really no solution for it. His incompetence and unfitness for office is a motivator but we need to run on a Democratic Party vision for the future, not an anti-Trump vision. We likely have him for 3 more years – unless the Big Macs and 5-lb charbroiled steaks get to him first – and we need to build our states and a solid congressional majority.

    See all y’all later!

    • Absolutely we need to run on our Dem platform – this is what we stand for, this is why you should vote FOR us. It really never works to run a “we’re not him” – just depresses the turnout which we need to win anything. Congress is our firewall until we can get a Dem back in the White House. Yeah, taking Congress in 2006 didn’t get us out of Iraq – but it stopped W from privatizing Social Security and since here we are fighting that battle again,..

      Always a good idea not to follow mad king donald. With repetition madness become normal – we must always hang onto the fact that it’s not. Which is so much easier if we’re not following him. {{{HUGS}}}

  9. Thursday Meese.
    I hope my internet company gets their shit together today. Yesterday we had outages every hour.
    It’s out this morning so I’m here via mobile which makes it hard for me to embed any tweets.
    Hope you all have a good day

    • Let me go see what you might have wanted to embed and put them here for you. I use TweetCaster as my mobile Twitter App and there is no “embed code” on it which I found frustrating. But I discovered that if I open the Tweet in a web page (using the Permalink) the tweet has the embed code on its pulldown menu!

      • Thanks Jan – I’m back online for the moment – managed to throw together a quick post at Orange – since I saw no mention of this

        • I saw that lawmaker mentioned yesterday on Twitter as part of the “Shadow Government”, Puerto Ricans who come to Washington DC to make sure that their island is not forgotten. Incredibly important work right now, certainly.

  10. As my baby finishes up her senior year in high school and starts planning her college career, this tweet by Charles Blow really hit home (I think “were I am” was intended to be “where I am”).

    Many of the responses were quite excellent. I was put off by one of the replies (by a man, which was not surprising) suggesting that it is the thread of DNA. No. I share no DNA with my daughter and our connection is strong because is a bond of love. DNA is bullcrap, just another way to put one’s patriarchal rights over our shared humanity. Women don’t seem to have that problem as often.

    • I replied to that one saying something along the line of “know what you mean. except my kids are 40-somethings” :)

      While it’s true these are kids I carried and birthed 40-odd years ago, I definitely know what you mean. The only bond is that of love. What that guy with his DNA stuff was talking about was possession. (And why there are so many “religious” laws against adultery – for women. Men gotta be sure their sons actually are their sons. Also why matrilineal tracks through a hard to fake connection. heh)

  11. Good gray Thor’s Day morning, Meese. Can’t make out whether the streets are damp from melting snow or a pre-dawn shower, but never mind. Current temp. is 38 F., going up to 56 F.

    Completely exhausted from an on-the-go few days with our house guests, who departed before 5 a.m. by Lyft. They’re now on their way to New York to catch a plane to Beijing this afternoon, thence from Beijing back to Melbourne, where they live. It’s an awful way to travel but Air China was half the price of Virgin Airlines, so they didn’t have much choice.

    Have been riveted by the Steele dossier, the discussion of which I’ve been following as much as possible. Do we really expect Thing to be POTUS for three more years? I was hoping Mueller Time would end that. Would like Thing to spend more time with his family, who will be in prison with him.

    Don’t know how I’m going to drag myself to the gym and pick up Miss Pink Cheeks this afternoon, but life goes on.

    Wishing all a good day.

  12. Slept in & hit snooze twice. Watching Stephanie Ruhle, she…rules. Got a late night donation, so I’m adding music to the diary. Weather is upside down today — warmest at noon then falling to the 40s. I’m going to the gym today, indoors because the cedar pollen is through the roof. Talking with Apple support on Twitter because the new U2 album isn’t on my iPod. I’ve had really good experiences with getting help just through Twitter. Going to have a veggie burger for lunch & my new favorite dinner of artichoke-jalapeno frito pie for dinner (it’s a Texas thing, original recipe: open a single serve bag of Fritos, scoop in some chili, add onions & cheese, eat — obviously I’m not having that one, but a local grocery chain has different versions & I love the veg one)

  13. 56 and going to stay that way until about noon and then start dropping, sharply after sundown. Overcast-ish at the moment but the sun is trying to come through. Got 8.17 KWHs yesterday – best for month & year so far :) – and m-t-d is 63.66 so slowly catching up. Of course it’s going to be cloudy for the next couple of days again. sigh.

    Twitter is a time suck but I’m trying to RT as much “good stuff” as I can. Including the AIDS ride, Aji’s/Wings’ jewelry, & anything Puerto Rico I catch. Things move so quickly on twitter I know I’m missing a lot – but I’m not going to monitor it 24/7! Worried about a bunch of folks on the DK needs list and a few who should be but aren’t. Worried doesn’t help but I can’t help it. It’s in my DNA. :)

    Gonna borrow my friend’s garden wagon and try to schlep as much of the firewood the guy down the street promised me but hasn’t delivered before the temps start dropping. We’re not going to get back into the 50s for 10 days & I don’t think what I have will last that long. So need to git. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  14. Morning, Meeses! We’re expecting a high of 50 today, so the melt is in full swing. Of course, by tomorrow, we’re expected to be back in the low 30s, and the weekend will be in the teens. Basically what this means for me is that if I want to get the newly-revealed puppy “piles” scooped, I need to do it tonight…in the dark. This isn’t exactly the best strategy, but it’s the only option I have (that doesn’t include waiting until spring)!

    It appears this was incompetence more than corruption, but this is horrible:

  15. Good morning meese. 49 with a high of 55 and cloudy, but no rain in forecast until Monday. I think I’m getting and staying sick from stress but this work problem (kinda like the travel claims bfitz used to handle) needs to be over and solved by next week.

    • {{{basket}}} – much Healing Energy – and now is the time to take very good care of yourself. Eat – and healthful stuff, please :) – stay hydrated, add some vitamin C and maybe other supplements, and try to get some real, restful, sleep. Holding the Good Thought for your work problem. And more Healing Energy. and {{{HUGS}}}

  16. Good morning, 38 and raining in Bellingham. I’m still in flue recovery mode, so I do something and then need a nap to recover. Oh well, I don’t have any deadlines to meet I’ll nap as needed :)

    Hope it’s a good day for all.

    • {{{princesspat}}} – napping is good. Especially if you’re managing to get some “deep” (non-REM, stage 3) sleep as that’s when your body does its best healing. Lots of Healing Energy. and moar {{{HUGS}}}

  17. Good morning, meeses! Friday …

    It is 12 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 18. Sunny skies are in the forecast. We did not get the predicted major winter weather event yesterday. No word yet on whether or not the freezing of yesterday’s rain will cause problems on the roadways or if they were successfully treated. Parking lots and sidewalks might be a problem.

    The headline on my local rag this morning is “Brash remark labeled ‘racist’“. Yes, labeled racist by any sentient being. I guess “brash” is what you use when “deplorable” won’t fit in the headline – or when the paper joins the chorus of those saying “this is just how Trump talks, he is an entertainer not a politician.”

    The bottom line is that there will be no DACA deal because Trump is obviously digging in his heels, egged on by the white supremacists in his White House and in Congress. And, really, as long as Trump invites Tom Cotton into the meetings where adults are trying to craft humanitarian legislation there can be no success. I despise these people.

    See all y’all later!

  18. Friday Meese
    We are having a heat wave – it is 46 degrees here in Saugerties NY!

    Going up to 56. Then tomorrow we have snow. Oh well.

    When reports of Trump puke came out – against immigrants from Africa and Haiti – I immediately thought of our northern neighbors in Canda – and this woman

    Black Kos returns this evening from winter break.
    Bravo to the Mayor of London

    In Puerto Rico – today is day 114.

  19. Very moving comment from Anderson Cooper

  20. Good morning, Meese. It’s 61 F. outside under cloudy skies—this warm, wet, gray morning reminds me of spring. However, it won’t last. The high today will be 65 F. before we plummet to 30 F. some time tomorrow.

    A night from hell is dragging me down this morning. Slept just fine from 10 to 3, had to get up at 3, have been unable to go back to sleep ever since.

    My eyes have popped from outrage at what he did yesterday. Isn’t it deplorable how, when we say “he,” we all know exactly who we’re talking about?

    Have a lot to do today although I’m still sore from yesterday’s weight-lifting. Wishing all a good day.

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