Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Dec. 6th through Dec. 12th

December 6, 2015 JanF Community 124

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.

…

57 Comments

  1. Morning all, early for me! Diana, major hugs to you, that’s an awful procedure, glad you survived it ok!

    Before I even looked at those pieces discussed yesterday, about “taking a dive” if Clinton is the nominee, I knew that the authors HAD to be upper middle class white men who would have a lot to write about under a Trump presidency but not much personally at risk. It’s of course very different for all the rest of us – the MAJORITY of the country – women, people of color, poor and working people, disabled people, old people. We all have a LOT to lose under Republican hegemony, as do billions of people around the world who are threatened by Daesh, climate change, and poverty. I can’t believe even those two jerks have forgotten what Ed Kilgore so eloquently points out – if people like him had been less self-indulgent in 2000 with their votes, we would not have had Bush in the White House, the US in Iraq and thousands of Iraqis and Americans dead or maimed. Jan, a truly epic and wonderful rant on why we vote for Democrats – spot on!

    And now for another government shutdown – I long for the days when grownups actually ran the Congress.

    Have a great day everyone!

    • I am not sure the Republican Party has any adults. The last person who realized that you can’t shut down government to force the president to sign a bill lost his speakership. Paul Ryan pretends to be the reasonable face of the GOP but he is the author of some of the most inhuman and inhumane budgets in American history. That he is being called a RINO is tasty Schadenfreude indeed.

      I think one of the reasons I thought that the frustrated ones from the GOS had gravitated to Salon is because that is its demographic – cat ladies and Dee’s heroic pushback aside, 75% of the bloggers there are white males who make more than the median income. They don’t need the safety net (yet) and so they plan to “ride out” the dystopia that will be created by Republican policies. Meh to them, as we say here at the Moose.

    • Yup. I loathe pompous purists who pontificate from the safety of their privilege. :)
      The “p” words seem to be appropriate to describe them – I have others in mind – but will refrain from posting them.

  2. The last time there was a government shutdown, a new grandchild was the result. My daughter-in-law works for what RWNJs refer to as the “fed’rul guvmint.”

    Have already got as many grandchildren as I can cope with right now, so I hope there is NO shutdown! It’s not good for anyone, including old ladies with novels to write.

  3. I think Diana’s right, the weather prognosticators are on drugs or something – overnight low was supposed to be 40. It was 32 and we had “soft” frost to scrape this morning. At least it’s clear and heading up for mid 60s. Jan, love your “vote Democrat” rant. Living where I do some folks wonder why I’m active – even why I bother to vote. Don’t know if they’re just young or what. I donate to local candidates, of whom I used t be one, anybody courageous to run on the Dem ticket no matter how hopeless, and candidates in other states who will try to do what I want done and will definitely help us get control of Congressional leadership back. Which we desperately need to do to stop these shutdowns and other crap the elite’s attack dogs are so happy to pull on us.

    Diana, glad you came through the medical crud OK. I basically avoid doctors like the plague unless it’s something like an animal bite that’s “festering” or a minor something or other that needs to be excised. And if said doctor’s personal eyeballs and ears (OK, I’ll grant the stethoscope) can’t tell us what’s wrong, too bad. I’ll either survive or I won’t but they’re not slicing, dicing, or whatevering my body. Period.

    Hope everyone comes through today and the week without any further aggravation. {{{HUGS}}}

  4. Good morning, 47 and cloudy in Bellingham and thanks to the wind and rain against my windows last night I tossed and turned all night so my brain is sleepy and foggy today. I think I’d best pass on the pool and use the little energy I’ve got to deal with more of the Christmas list and get some bills paid.

    Feeling overwhelmed with Christmas and dismayed with our national politics is making me grumpy so I’ll be looking for an antidote soon!

    • Music is once again working it’s magic……


      Pink Martini’s Joy To The World: A Holiday Spectacular

      The hour-long program includes songs from Pink Martini’s holiday album Joy To The World, as well as new holiday arrangements. The host of NPR’s All Things Considered and longtime Pink Martini guest vocalist Ari Shapiro emcees and performs alongside bandleader Thomas Lauderdale and lead singers China Forbes and Storm Large. Additional guests include The von Trapps, Cantor Ida Rae Cahana and the Pacific Youth Choir.

  5. Good morning, meese! Thursday …

    It is 44 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 54 degrees. Mostly cloudy skies and wind is in the forecast. Highs in the upper 40s for the next few days.

    I was busy putting up a palate cleanser for the “ugliness that is bubbling up” right now, the presidents commemoration of the 13th Amendment, the abolition of slavery.

    President Obama: “Our freedom is bound up with the freedom of others”

    The president took some whacks at the Republican frontrunner, calling him ugly, harsh, loud and rude. At least that’s what I got from it. :) Actually, talking about slavery and Jim Crow and injustice will probably unleash cries about “politicizing the 13th Amendment”. Heh! It is a good speech and I recommend you watch (or read) it.

    See all y’alls later!

    • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – The 2016 candidate has more in common with the terrorist group than he does with America

      Webster defines terrorism as “the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal; the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.”

      If violence can be an abstraction — and it can; that’s what a threat is — the Trump campaign meets this definition. Thus, Trump is ISIS’s greatest triumph…

      [Trump’s supporters] are impervious to facts or truth because their (understandable) frustration and anger at partisan greed and incompetence have fatigued them out of critical thinking. Like deranged newscaster Howard Beale in Network, they are mad as hell and they aren’t going to take it anymore. To express their outrage, they have rallied around a so-called “outsider” with no political experience, no detailed policies, and whacky ideas that subvert the very Constitution that he would be required to swear to uphold. Electing him would be like asking the clown at a child’s birthday party to start juggling chainsaws.

  7. Good morning, Moosekind! It’s 36 F. now, going up to—gasp!—60 F. today! The streets look wet and it must be from pre-dawn fog because there hasn’t been any rain. Anyway, it’s going to be a fair day, unlike yesterday. Wednesday was cold, foggy, and gray all day, which reminded me of my visit to England 50 years ago. It was just like that in March.

    This has been the warmest December I can remember! As a rule there’s a little snowfall in early December, just enough to ruin people’s Christmas parties as many people here refuse to drive if a single flake has fallen. (If you could see how people drive in this area, you’d understand why.)

    The woodman is coming to our house this morning with a load of firewood. Wonder whether we’ll need it? My husband is taking my car in for a checkup, which is good. This will remove the temptation to run around town, so I can stay home and write. Ideas for next month’s Fiction Cafe story, “The Looming of Bastet,” are beginning to coalesce, and I need to work on Long, Long Way to Run as well.

    Wishing a good day to all and hoping that nothing terrible will happen anywhere!

    • In a report of flooding in the Pacific Northwest (I hope our princesspat is safe!) this photo cracked me up:

      Maybe Pope Francis can use this image to get his peeps interested in addressing climate change: “Save the baby Jesus!!”. ;)

      Would you have time for a wordie consultation at some point? As you saw, I am in the process of building a new feature, a sub-blog that lets me, personally, react to news items in a ranty way; not quite Rude Pundit or Wonkette but with more of an edge than just news reporting. I have tentatively called it Moose Musings with a tag line of “Motley blogiating by Moose JanF”. But I want something more all-purpose and I am not in love with the category name or the tag line. First, they are not really musings – more rants at this point although I think I might muse occasionally, too. I thought about “bellowing” but I think that is perhaps only something that male moose do (that and grunting which is definitely not what I am trying to achieve) … the babies bleat which is a little too docile sounding to me. If we embrace the unisex nature of Motley Moose (and our mooscot), a Moose bellow would probably be okay … I am pretty sure it is not a mating call which is also definitely not what I am trying to achieve.

      Anyway, I would like to brainstorm with you and other wordies who gather here.

      • How about “Moosylvania Rants” as a name? It has the virtue of being true and by making it site rather than person specific we can all join in, even if we can’t initiate. (I know – we would anyway. heh.)

        • Or “Righteous Rants”? Oh, no, that would make it sound as if you were a member of the Insane Party. I’ll “think on’t,” as the Bard might have said.

          • Definitely not “righteous”!!

            bfitz, I was more thinking of something for me specifically, although others could use it. I have been itching to write quick takes on the news … something I read or hear that I have a reaction to (for example, Antonin Scalia’s racist remarks yesterday). Kind of like what I do with my check-in comments but in post form where I can take a little more time, put up a fun image and use disrespectful words, at times, plus add some news links later in the day. Then I can check-in more quickly and then get on with my work day but satisfy my urge to blather.

            For example, here is yesterday’s rant:

            And now I see that putting the category in the title is redundantly redundant, so that solves one of my problems (I don’t need to brand the post itself, something that bothered me because it is limiting and reminded me of “rules” I didn’t like at another place I blogged at). Maybe I can try “Moose Megaphone” and have the tagline be “Motley moosings, meanderings, miff-ings, and mehs” maybe?

          • Sometimes I just put the need for some words out on the universe (and in Moosylvania) and they show up later in the day. :)

            Thanks for the brainstorming!!

    • This week is supposed to break a bunch of December warmth records. But I’d bet you’ll still want the firewood. I didn’t start using my woodstove as early as usual (mid September) but I’ve definitely been using it almost nightly since mid October. The “Looming of Bastet”? Is there weaving involved?

      • Heh, bfitz—no, although I did wonder whether that title might be interpreted that way. This is looming in the sense of presenting a threatening or menacing presence. The story was inspired by Denise’s late cat, Pombajira.

        • I thought it might be that – Charlie staring at me from the top of the refrigerator when his food bowl is empty or Cloud peering at me when I’m on the floor doing my pelvic exercises is the more friendly view, but yeah, cats loom. On the other hand (you can tell I’m a Libra, right) weaving Bastet into human consciousness also works. :)

  8. Hi Meeses – it’s 55 heading for almost 70 in Fay., AR. It’s supposed to be sunny. I don’t think anybody told the clouds that they were supposed to be somewhere else. Made for a glorious sunrise, but I’m really glad I reached 76 KWHs yesterday (that was my total for December 2014) because unless these clouds bugger off I’ll be surprised if I get enough power to take me over 80 today.

    Haven’t checked much of any news – why should I, it’s the same as it was yesterday – so I’m not foaming at the mouth about anything at the moment. Will read President Obama’s speech when I get a chance. Holding the good thought for safe, comfortable, and well-provisioned for everybody. {{{HUGS}}}

  9. Sorry to be late – just came up for air – typing madly to make deadline for Sunday – phew – finished – now I can relax.

    Glad to see Ali’s speaking out is getting a lot of press coverage.

  10. Good morning, 44 and raining in Bellingham. We are on the edge of the PNW storms so it’s just wet but no flooding. And the wind was quiet last night so I slept long and well.

    I saw my Dr. yesterday (renewing a handicapped parking permit now requires a prescription) and we decided the exhaustion I’ve been struggling with will improve with daily naps. So that’s my plan!

  11. Morning all, just a short check in this morning. It’s too warm here, too, we’ll be 15-20 degrees above normal this weekend, apparently. boooooh

    I loved both Ali’s and Kareem’s statements – so eloquent and perfect in reaction to Trump’s insane brayings. Clown juggling jigsaws is a perfect description of what a Trump presidency would be like.

    Off to do errands, catch you all later!

  12. Hi! I crashed the iPad so all I had while at Disney was my phone. Had a great time. The 2 days that we didn’t have her friend to push a chair, we sprung for the electric ones. And our days would have been much shorter otherwise. We went to Epcot, which was great. Then the 2 parts of the Happy Potter park, which was perfect. Just exactly like the village & the school would look. They have ride like you’re riding a broomstick through chasing a dragon & quiddich match, and one like the break in & escape from Gringott’s. They are pretty thrilling. We also did a Spiderman ride, which was loads of fun. And yesterday we went to the Star Wars part of the Disney park. Just amazing. I can’t wait. I’m also totally exhausted.

    • We’ve missed you, anotherdemocrat, and hoped you were having fun on your vacation! I even developed two earworms of my own—“Flashdance” and Karen Carpenter’s “On Top of the World.”

      Have always wanted to visit the Harry Potter park. Perhaps my older granddaughter and I will go together some day. She was such an aficionado that she asked me to get the British versions of the books, and after I sent them to her, she emailed me to ask the meaning of the words “pub” and “hoovering.”

      Glad you’re back!

  13. Good morning, meese! Friday …

    It is 40 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 46. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    It is interesting to me how different media outlets present the same news. The Oklahoma City cop who raped over a dozen vulnerable women, targeted because no one would care about them or believe them, was convicted of 18 counts of “rape, sexual battery and other offenses” that could land him in prison for 260 years. One media outlet featured “former” prominently in its coverage and buried deep in the story that he was fired for his misconduct while on duty. Nothing to see here, FORMER cop … we hardly knew him!! Sexual misconduct by on-duty police is a widespread problem and what is most surprising is that the victims came forward at all.

    It turns out that what most sensible people have been saying all along, that Trump’s Muslim ban is popular with Republicans not with ordinary Americans, is true: From NBC/WSJ poll

    Nearly six-in-10 Americans oppose Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposal to bar Muslims from entering the United States.

    Republicans love the idea but look at the Independents! It is a PRIMARY winning strategy but there is no path to general election victory there. That same poll showed that Muslims are more popular than Trump!!

    Finally, the poll shows that Americans, by a 2-to-1 margin, have a favorable opinion of Muslims — 59 percent positive to 29 percent negative – which is relatively stable on a question dating back to 2002.

    Oops!!

    The government will probably shut down next week because the differences are too great to bridge. One party wants to use the budget process to score points against their political enemies and the president will have none of it. The Republicans agreed to a budget and now seem unable to agree among themselves to drop the riders that will make the omnibus appropriations bill impossible to pass. President Obama was willing to sign an extension of a few days to wrap things up (the extension to Wednesday) but has no interest in kicking this budget into 2016.

    See all y’all later!

    • Yes, Twitter was not happy last night about the Holtzclaw conviction “reporting” (I “watched” it come in live). It was not on any of my newsfeeds … I had to Google to find it.

      Editorial in the Toronto Star:

      To the newcomers from Syria: Welcome to Canada

      Welcome to Canada.

      Ahlan wa sahlan.

      You’re with family now.

      And your presence among us makes our Christmas season of peace and joy just that much brighter.

      The people of Toronto are honoured to greet the very first group of 25,000 Syrians who will be arriving in this country in the next few months, and who have chosen to make a new life here. It’s been a long trek, but you are no longer refugees. Your days of being strangers in a strange land are over.

      You are permanent residents of Canada now, with all the rights and protections and possibilities that confers.

      You’ll find the place a little bigger than Damascus or Aleppo, and a whole lot chillier. But friendly for all that. We’re a city that cherishes its diversity; it’s our strength. Canadians have been watching your country being torn apart, and know that you’ve been through a terrifying, heartbreaking nightmare. But that is behind you now. And we’re eager to help you get a fresh start.

      By the way, don’t be fooled by the gentle weather. You’ll need those parkas, mittens and boots before very long. And the kids will need skis, snowboards, ice skates and toboggans, too. We don’t endure winter. We throw ourselves into it.

      And while you’ll find plenty of folks who speak Arabic, we have our own dialect that you may hear on the streets. Our city, Toronto, is pronounced Tronna. The hockey team is the Leafs (or Buds), not the Maple Leaves. The Red Rocket is our transit system. The local term for a loser is hoser. We’re cheezed when someone annoys us. We make a Timmy’s run to buy a coffee. And we end every sentence with, eh.

      So that’s pretty much it for now, eh.

      Welcome home.

      I imagine that they, and all of Canada, are cheezed at that hoser, Donald Trump … eh?

      • Ha, Jan! I remember in my Dueser (“Due South” fan) days, approaching the Canadian Embassy on their national day, 1 July, to say hi to the Mountie in full red dress uniform posted outside. A young employee at the Embassy chatted nicely with my friend and me, telling us what fun it was to skate down the frozen river in Ottawa in the winter and afterwards enjoy “bear claws” and beer.

        I expect everyone knows that Tim Horton’s is where you get coffee and doughnuts.

      • Am going to relax for a few hours and play some WoW – and will congratulate my Canadian gaming friends for having a government that is doing the correct thing.

      • That welcome made me cry. And a big knot in my stomach just unraveled. Oh, how I wish my own country would live up to it’s ideals like that, but even so – there is a safe place. It exists. It’s real. (And it always was “follow the Pole Star” wasn’t it?) More than hope or fantasy. Home.

  15. Good morning, Moosekind! It’s 42 F. here on a cloudy morning in NoVa, going up to 63 F. later. Just saw reports of horrific weather in the Pacific Northwest. Hope our princesspat is all right!

    Confined to home yesterday without a car because Dearly took it in to get it seen to, I made good progress on several writing projects. Have got to get on the ball today—Christmas is two weeks from now! Have to finish the Yule newsletter, incorporate a few photos in it, and send it out. As we have relatives on three continents, I decided several years ago to stop posting Christmas cards to anyone who had a computer. Now they get a Christmas newsletter by email, which is really more fun because I can put photos of the grandchildren in it.

    Wishing everyone in Moosylvania a good day!

  16. Watching the news, today’s agenda is to go to the Genius Bar & get the iPad working then go for a long walk.

    Here’s a link to a pic from Epcot, at the giant tea set:

  17. Morning all! I totally love that Muslims generally are more popular with Americans than Trump – hopefully that helps convey to the world that we’re not ALL insane here. The Toronto Star editorial message to the Syrian refugees is simply lovely.

    Tim Horton was, I think, a big hocky star in Canada decades ago – and it is the biggest chain, like Howard Johnson’s sort of, in Canada. Alas, it was bought last year by Burger King, but I hope no changes are being made. In the Canadian detective series I love, by Louise Penny, that features a French-Canadian police detective Gamache, they are always stopping at Timmy’s for a “double-double” which is I think a size of coffee but I’m not totally sure. Now that Canada has a new PM in Trudeau, I wish even more strongly that I could move there, but that’s probably not in the cards at my age.

    Have a great day everyone!

    • I googled the immigration rules after Trudeau won the election a few months ago and there is really no path for retired people unless they are independently wealthy (that would NOT be me). They are looking for folks who will start businesses and contribute to the engine of the economy. We would be ineligible for their health care and would not have access to Medicare providers – so while living in a country that rejects hatred and embraces our common humanity would probably be good for our health, that is not practical as health care. ;) We will just have to stay here and make our country one we can be proud of.

      Seeing the photos of the prime minister greeting the refugees at the airport made me think about how President Barack Obama would love to do that in our country. That he is denied that, because the haters at Fox News and right-wing talk have poisoned the hearts of so many, is incredibly sad. Hey, we have a wonderful leader too! The problem is that he has been demonized and anyone he embraces would be demonized as well. :(

  18. 37 at dawn but already 62 on its way to 70 in Fay., AR. Was foggy and overcast as I came in this morning but it seems to be burning off. Hope so as I have the chimney guys coming this afternoon and will be walking home around 2 – 1st time in weeks – and would like the promised nice weather to do it in. :)

    Aside from the fact that Canada probably wouldn’t take me at my age and income, my kids and grandkids are here (well, Fayetteville and Austin). And my hands and feet are having problems with cold which makes moving north a bad idea. But I love the sanity and just plain humanity that Canada is showing and wish I could be part of it, since our country is obviously not going to any time soon.

    Hope the day and weekend are pleasant for all. {{{HUGS}}}

  19. Good morning, 47 and cloudy in Bellingham today. We are on the edge of the PNW wind and rain storm, so it’s just wet and here. The wind has been noisy at night but it’s calm and quiet now.

    I’m woefully behind with Christmas this year so today will be busy getting gifts together and mailed to my Oregon grand girl and her family. I’ve found a perfect book for her, but her main gift and her birthday gift are eluding me. Her birthday is on Christmas Eve so it’s important to do both.

    • One of my grandsons’ birthday is 12/22 – I give him money. That way he has cash to buy his mom and dad their Xmas presents. :)

Comments are closed.