Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: July 10th through July 16th

July 10, 2016 JanF Community 128

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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41 Comments

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

    Morning low of 63 in Madison WI, on its way up to 81. Mainly sunny skies are in the forecast.

    Have a great day, all y’alls!!

  2. The attorney for the cop who murdered Phil Castile in Minnesota spoke out on behalf of his client and said that the “display of a gun” led to the shooting. That does not match with the eye-witness account so I wonder what is going on. The officer and his partner had been on the police force for 4 years and both were named “best in their graduating class”. Yikes! Minnesota State-Mankato may want to review their curriculum if the “best in class” means racially profiling and then killing a non-dangerous suspect. Apparently the car was not pulled over for the tail light but because the driver “matched” the description of a suspect in a holdup who also had a “wide set nose”. Good lord! That seems like permission to pull over just about every black person.

    • The “wide set nose” bit was being defended by bigots on twitter/fb – grrrrrrrrrrrrr

  3. The president held a press conference yesterday in Poland.

    As painful as this week has been, I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested. Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged by the inexcusable attacks on police, whether it’s in Dallas or anyplace else.

    That includes protestors. It includes family members who have grave concerns about police conduct, and they have said that this is unacceptable. There’s no division there. And Americans of all races and all backgrounds are also rightly saddened and angered about the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and about the larger, persistent problem of African Americans and Latinos being treated differently in our criminal justice system.

    So there is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion about next steps. But there’s unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate. This is not who we want to be as Americans. And that serves as the basis for us being able to move forward in a constructive and positive way.

    So we cannot let the actions of a few define all of us. The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas, he’s no more representative of African Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans, or the shooter in Orlando or San Bernardino were representative of Muslim Americans. They don’t speak for us. That’s not who we are.

    Transcript: Remarks by President Obama at Press Conference After NATO Summit

  4. Good morning Meese

    Trying to get up to speed on overnight happenings – following protest events.

    Having coffee – trying to get woke.

    Tried to find something to make me laugh.

    This did.

    Gotta get something to eat and get ready for Sunday morning conversations – talking about Scopes Monkey trial and anti-evolution stance of today’s Republicans

    • Ha! Perfect Sarandon depiction. I saw her crying on Twitter about how “her” Democratic Party had been ruined by “rich people”. Of course, rich “her” supported Ralph Nader in 2000 so I am not sure she can claim the party. I certainly don’t claim her!

      The whole platform committee thing yesterday stepped on my last nerve. After blessed quiet, all of a sudden Nina Turner, Cornel West and BernieBros were showing up in my Twtter feed again!! It was irritating to see them claiming that the new platform reflects “their” revolution and not the work that President Obama has done over the last 7.5 years to transform the party and set the stage for the next president. In the long rung, it does not really matter: candidates don’t run on party platforms, they run on their own platforms informed by the wishes of the party faithful. The key thing is to keep the platform general enough so that you don’t create the opportunity for Republicans to target the platform in campaign ads. I think they mostly did that.

  5. Watching Le Tour, got beans cooking (cheap nutritious dinner when I add greens & tomatoes with chiles — and top with avocado). One of the past champions abandoned today. He had been in a crash on the 1st & 3rd days, and rode today with a fever. It’s over 100 today, in the Spanish/Andorran mountains — imagine riding 2 or 3 hours, on mountains, with road rash all over your shoulder, arm & hip, and a fever.

    Al Sharpton showed Bobby Kennedy’s speech from the night Dr. King was killed. Sad how it could — and should, be given today.

    I woke up with my Scottish friends’ song playing in my head

    Surrender now my love it’s
    Time to fall in love it’s
    Time to be what we should be

    they’re really quite good

  6. A story about Serena Williams and her Grand Slam victory included a video of her reciting a Maya Angelou poem “Still I Rise”. I can’t find an embeddable video but it is at the link. The words of the poem are set to images of her life, her performance on the court and her celebrations. The poem:

    You may write me down in history
    With your bitter, twisted lies,
    You may trod me in the very dirt
    But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

    Just like moons and like suns,
    With the certainty of tides,
    Just like hopes springing high,
    Still I’ll rise.

    Out of the huts of history’s shame
    I rise
    Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
    I rise
    I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
    Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

    Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
    I rise
    Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
    I rise
    Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
    I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
    I rise
    I rise
    I rise.

    (bolding mine)

    It is worth a click.

  7. Good morning, 58 and raining in Bellingham. We got the new canvas and pad on my sewing room work table yesterday so my part of the redo is done and my grand girls sewing projects can proceed tomorrow. I’m going to take my time with the fabric sorting/donating as it’s easier on my brain and my knees to just do a little at a time.

    No GOT this Sunday, so no excuse to eat lemon cake for dessert! Geordie, do you read Myles McNutt’s writing re GOT? I enjoy his book readers perspective.

    Season Finale: Game of Thrones – “The Winds of Winter”

    • Thanks for the link – interesting read. I totally disagree with him on Battle of the Bastards, but some interesting observations. I too am a book reader, but I’m kind of tired of the book readers’ superiority about how the the show has “dumbed down” Martin’s narratives. I’m probably an exception, but I got really tired of Martin’s meandering in the last two books, bringing in what seemed like hundreds of characters to essentially wander around while leaving a wonderful character like Brienne literally hanging in Book 3. I prefer the show runners’ streamlining and refocusing on fewer main characters, which I feel they HAD to do to keep a TV audience emotionally involved – prose and film are simply too different as media to take the same tack in narrative, imo. I’m also curious that he didn’t discuss at all Lady Mormont, my and it seems everyone’s favorite character this season – she provided a wonderful narrative focus for the ‘King of the North” evolution in the last episode.

      I think he’s totally correct that the show is preparing the audience for the end, as it must – Martin doesn’t have to do that, we don’t know when he’s actually going to end the books, if ever. I don’t see that as a criticism of the show, I see it as a necessary evolution. I guess the writer does too, sort of, but it’s definitely damning with faint praise.

      Anyway, just a few thoughts – thanks for the article, good read!

      • Apparently reading about GOT is my new hobby, so it’s fun to share. I found the endless meandering in the books tiresome as well. It’s going to be interesting to see how the story telling on the show evolves with fewer characters to feature.

  8. 70 at dawn so I opened the house again. Had to close up by 9 though. Felt really strange not to be baking this morning but I wasn’t sure how the muffins would travel/keep so I didn’t. GF toast instead, then GF nut butter sandwiches for breakfast until I get back from NN. I’m already packed (except the carrots and the ice pack in the little chest) – travel nerves, I haz dem. :)

    Everybody except the RWNJs are agreed that the gun violence and systemic racism are wrong and must stop. Next step is figuring out how to stop it – which as Hillary and President Obama and Rev. Barber and Marian Wright Edelman AND… agree means first listening to each other, especially the folks who are the victims of these systemic issues. How to, can do, will do, doing, did – and every step of the way fighting RWNJ backlash, and every step of the way mourning for those who have died and those who will continue to die until we get it done. But it will get done. It will.

    Take care, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  9. well, that was weird – I wrote a whole long post and when I tried to post it, I was logged out of the site. very weird.

    Here’s the condensed version:

    — Very, very, very hot here. Too hot. Way hot.
    — Tired of 2016 already and we haven’t even hit the conventions yet.
    — Local police need some training, some firings, and some consequences for bad behavior. And in return, assault weapons and armor piercing bullets need to be banned to protect good police doing their jobs, as in Dallas.
    –This new Pokemon game where you walk around and capture little digital beasties located in real world places sounds intriguing and weird – but since I can’t walk very well, not really feasible for me.

    OK, that’s it, hopefully this will post this time – back to the Walking Dead marathon, just to give me perspective on the horrible events of the week: at least so far, we have avoided the zombie invasion apocalypse! Everyone have a great day!

    • Norm Stamper, a former Seattle police Chief has an interesting perspective…..


      Time for a ‘tectonic shift’ in policing, says former Seattle chief

      “Feelings will get you killed, kid,” was the advice Stamper heard as a young cop. He describes how he has come to believe that level-headed compassion and empathy are necessary skills for police, enabling them to de-escalate threats and form good relationships with the community.

      Stamper invites the reader to empathize with police officers, who face significant uncertainty and stress with inadequate support and training. How, he asks, can we expect police to model empathy and compassion under stress if they do not receive compassionate guidance and collaborative communication from their “paramilitary” higher-ups?

  10. Melissa at BNR:

    “During a press conference in Poland, President Obama was asked to address what he imagined his legacy would be on racial justice. He said he will leave that to the historians, but spoke about what he has tried to do, speaking with a voice that is true.

    “More than anything, what I hope is that my voice has tried to get all of us, as Americans, to understand the difficult legacy of race; to encourage people to listen to each other; to recognize that the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and discrimination didn’t suddenly vanish with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, or the Voting Rights Act, or the election of Barack Obama; that things have gotten better, substantially better, but that we’ve still got a lot more work to do… We plant seeds, and somebody else maybe sits under the shade of the tree that we planted.”

    “It is, of course, one of the bitterest circumstances of President Obama’s presidency that systemic and relentlessly expressed racism has created enormous difficulties for him in being able to speak as frankly and passionately about racial injustice as he certainly would have liked.”

    (WATCH: President Obama’s Moving Words on Planting Seeds of Justice | BNR)
    http://bluenationreview.com/obamas-moving-words-on-planting-seeds-of-justice/

  11. Good morning, meese! Monday …

    It is 73 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 88. The forecast calls for mostly sunny skies. Storms on Wednesday will cool us down a little.

    I am trying to process what has happened and what is happening. A photo from the Louisiana protests went viral yesterday and speaks volumes:

    Someone on Twitter said that it looked like the young woman being arrested was magical and hoped she was. I agree!

    I need some help sorting out the value of the protests. Some of the things I am seeing are not peaceful. For example, the shutting down of the interstate in Minneapolis endangers lives – what if you were trying to get a loved one to the hospital for an emergency? A police officer was hit by a block thrown from an overpass and has a broken vertabrae, 20 others were injured. Hundreds of people are being thrown in jail and that is NOT a good place for them – two words: Sandra Bland. Certainly John Lewis’ protests were violent but that violence all came from authority, not the protesters. Can one draw a line and who should draw that line?

    President Obama will be going to Dallas tomorrow to speak at a memorial service for the murdered police officers. Joe Biden will go with him and they will be joined by former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush. There will not be a speech on violence or race in that venue, nor should there be. But there will be another speech and sadly it is likely to be impressive and moving and filled with wisdom and hope just like the speech in Charleston. And then it will be largely forgotten. The problems we are having now are the same problems we have been having since John Lewis got his head bashed in. But the difference now is that everyone is armed and a traffic stop turns into a homicide and a protest turns into a gun battle. I will watch and read and see if there is any glimmer of hope, something to point the way out of this mess. One thing I do know: the stakes for this next election could not be higher. We need to find a way to get a Congress that represents the will of the people, not the interests of the gun lobby.

    See all y’all later!

    • Just a few random thoughts on protest:

      The nature of non-violent protests varies – sit-ins, marches, blocking traffic, boycotts, fasting, …depends. Marching across the bridge in Selma blocked traffic. ACT-up staged die-ins and lie-ins in traffic in NYC During the Young Lords East Harlem garbage protests – we piled garbage that Sanitation Dept refused to pick up – in the streets, blocking traffic.

      I’ve been in each type. I remember surrounding the Pentagon in Vietnam War protest days – (side note: there were some witches there chanting to levitate it ) and we were all arrested and taken to a stadium. I’ve been on marches where mounted police attacked.

      Most of the protests I was a part of – we had marshals – to “police” ourselves. That prevented provocateurs from causing mayhem. I watched some of that type of madness occur with Occupy.

      Personally – I was not a fan of the type of protest where you lie down, cover your head and let cops/civilians beat on you and spit on you. That was part of the ideological split in the civil rights movement between SNCC and SCLC and the BPP.

      • I saw some of that discussion over the weekend on Twitter with folks saying that the John Lewis type protest where you let your head get kicked in is stupid. Maybe it was right for that time and wrong for this one? I did not realize that it was a source of friction in the civil rights movement but now that you mention it, it makes sense.

        Certainly standing in front of the governor’s mansion with a sign or two is not going to get much attention. But what kind of attention brings change? In Wisconsin in 2011, we had 100,000 people gather peacefully at the state capitol and it made no difference – the Republicans started dismantling our government and, because people could not be bothered to vote in 2014, the Republicans got to double down in 2015. We need activism to reach to the ballot box or we will keep doing the same thing over and over again with nothing changing.

        What do you think folks should be doing?

        • I think all of the tactics are viable – depending on the situation.

          Perhaps when the 100,000 people went to the capitol – if they had laid down and refused to leave – it might have been even more powerful.

          I agree about the ballot box – one of my major critiques of certain young people movements is that they are actively discouraging voting.

          On an historical note – John Lewis was one of the fiery ones (from SNCC) The speech he was going to deliver at the March on Washington was censored – he had to give a toned down version.

  12. Good morning Meese.

    I’m up and making preparations for my altar – flowers, candles and fruit. Today is my initiation birthday – number 18.

    Have to also begin my packing/prep to head out to Netroots Nation on Wednesday – I see the weather in St. Louis will be quite hot, and mostly rainy – though I always freeze on planes and in convention places which are over air-conditioned so I have to figure out ways to deal with both.

    On a different note:

    Don’t know if anyone posted this – my friend Yas sent me a link.

    This is so funny – Democrats and Republicans may be at war – but in Utah – they can agree on one thing – Hamilton!

    What happens when you put politically opposed policy wonks in the same car? Is there anything they can agree on?

    Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hamilton cast, congrats on your success on Broadway and at the Tony Awards! We are thrilled you are bringing the show to Salt Lake City in its first run! Thank you! You have a group of Super Fans awaiting your arrival.

    In the Car:
    Speaker Greg Hughes, R
    Mayor Ben McAdams, D
    Senator Jim Dabakis, D
    Representative Kim Coleman, R
    Representative Ken Ivory, R

    • Happy Initiation Birthday! You are quite young. :)

      One thing about St. Louis is that the weather is unpredictable. Major fronts seem to glide through the region bringing rain or shine, hot or cold – often the same day. Are you in the convention hotel? If so, that will hopefully keep you out of the elements unless you choose to venture outdoors.

      Are you running any panels this year?

      • Not running any panels – I’ll be participating in the Daily Kos one.
        “The Daily Kos Caucus at NN16 will be on Friday, July 15 from 1 to 2:15 pm.”

        I’m at the Holiday Inn which seems to be right across the street from the Convention Center.
        Am planning to go see the Dred and Harriet Scott statue in front of the Old Courthouse where the Dred Scott decision was handed down (writing about it for Sunday) – and to see if I can get to Ferguson.

        • I’m also going to be at the Holiday Inn – and I’m driving a rental car. It’s at your convenience or maybe we could visit Ferguson together?

          • That would be wonderful
            Lets do it

            Sending you a kos mail with my mobile number

            Dee

  13. 80 degrees at 6am, how depressing. Yesterday’s sermon in the Jesus Was A Feminist series was on the Samaratan woman at the well. Our associate pastor tied it to today’s events by talking about how Jesus saw her as a person, and how Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and all of the Dallas police officers deserved to be seen as people, too. I hugged the officer who is our crossing guard, he is such a good guy.

    Anyway, Monday. Tea. Oatmeal.

  14. Good morning, Moosekind! It is fair and beautiful here in NoVa with low humidity. Current temp. is 66 F., going up to 86 F.Waiting for Younger Son to drop off Miss Pink Cheeks so I can drive her to camp, after which I’ll go to the gym. Overdid it on the carbs yesterday.

    Couldn’t check in yesterday because of having to cook Sunday breakfast, then watching the Formula I race, then responding to comments on my Food and Whine diary at DK Wellness Group. Anotherdemocrat, it was good to see you there. Bfitz, you’re mentioned in the diary!

    Never seem to get a minute to do anything nowadays, but really hope to get back to writing this week. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and Beyond!

  16. 70 at dawn and a night cool breeze so opened the house again. Trying to wrap stuff up at work before leaving in the morning. I’ll be hit and miss posting until I get back. Bright the Day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

    • You’re bringing your laptop, right? You can leave us comments to read in the mornings. :)

      • First I have to figure out how to get onto a wifi not my own. And yes, I’m that gormless. :)

        I’m not sure about the morning I’m supposed to be there at 7:45, but the others should definitely be late enough for me to check in before I head over to the convention center.

        • When you turn on your laptop, it will tell you about wireless networks within range – you just have to pick the one you want to connect to and it does the rest for you. I would hope that your hotel has one (you will find out when you check-in) and probably the NN has one. Ask for help! Netroots has “net” in it and there will be plenty of people there who can help you connect.

          Have fun! I really enjoyed my time at NN12 where I met many of the people who I spent time online with.

  17. Good morning, 58 and cloudy in Bellingham. The grand girls will be here soon so we’ll have a busy day. Ron will take them to Padilla Bay Reserve this morning, and I’ll sew with them this afternoon.

    Ezra Klein, at Vox….

    HILLARY
    WHY THE CLINTON AMERICA SEES ISN’T THE CLINTON COLLEAGUES KNOW

    Let’s stop and state the obvious: There are gender dynamics at play here.

    We ran a lot of elections in the United States before we let women vote in them. You do not need to assert any grand patriarchal conspiracy to suggest that a process developed by men, dominated by men, and, until relatively late in American life, limited to men might subtly favor traits that are particularly prevalent in men.

    Talking over listening, perhaps.

    • I just finished reading that article! Young Ezra is being Ezra’ish and Young’ish but some of the historical background and her quotes make it worthwhile reading.

      I think that trying to explain the differences between male and female politicians is a difficult task for even a seasoned political analyst but impossible for someone who was born in 1984.

  18. Good day all – just a quick check in before I head out to get my teeth cleaned and do some errands. Hoping I don’t expire from heat exhaustion walking to and from my car out there, it’s horrible.

    I’m appalled at police behavior in Baton Rouge – arresting people for no cause at all, dragging people out of a private home where they had permission to be so they could then arrest them on the street, all the while dressed like they were dodging bullets in Iraq. It was disgusting, SS-like behavior, and the BR police department needs to be called to account for it.

    I may try to post some thoughts on protests later – for now, have a great day everyone.

  19. The president just posted this:

    Last week’s tragedies in Dallas, Falcon Heights, and Baton Rouge shook our conscience and left us with more questions than answers. It’s a week that laid bare some of our country’s toughest, most uncomfortable challenges.

    But I reject the idea that these issues are somehow too big for us — that America is too divided to find common ground. As I’ve said, I know that we can honor the incredible courage and service of our police officers — and also recognize the racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system. There’s no contradiction there. And if we are going to come together to solve these problems, we have to understand that. So we’ll have to talk to each other. We’ll have to listen to each other. And we’ll have to see each other as equal parts of the American family.

    That’s why on Wednesday, I’ll host a conversation at the White House to discuss how we can move forward together. We’ll hear from individuals from around the country — civil rights activists, law enforcement, academics, mayors, and more — about ways we can both keep people safe and ensure justice for all Americans. Because progress is possible. That’s what we’ve seen through my Administration’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing — and so we’ll share solutions from communities that have already found ways to build trust and reduce disparities.

    Going forward, I want to hear ideas from even more Americans about how we can address these challenges together as one nation. That means you. Whether you’re a police officer working to keep our communities safe, an activist marching and organizing, or anyone else, you can share your story and ideas here: go.wh.gov/VDPvKz. I hope you do — because that’s one way we can find common purpose and together, we can build a better America.

  20. Good morning, meese! Tuesday …

    It is 77 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 86 – with a heat index of 106! Storms this morning then hot and muggy.

    Lots going on today. At 10am Eastern, Attorney General Loretta Lynch will appear before the House Committee on Finding Something ANYTHING to Damage the Democratic Party’s Nominee (on CSPAN). At 11am Eastern, there is a Hillary Clinton / Bernie Sanders joint campaign rally in New Hampshire (on CSPAN). At noon Eastern, the president will deliver remarks at an interfaith memorial service for the fallen officers in Dallas. It will be on CSPAN and also carried live at WhiteHouse.gov/live (there is no link to the specific event yet). I will probably watch the Lynch testimony and pass on the Hillary event. I really really REALLY do not like Bernie Sanders – his voice, his face, his gestures, his disrespect for our president and our party and our nominee. I am not sure yet about the Dallas event. Dallas+presidents bothers me on a visceral level plus I am not much into the godtalk. I understand it comforts people to hear the president invoke their god but it always serves to remind me about the majority religion’s intolerance towards religious diversity. So sue me!

    The president wrote an article for JAMA about the Affordable Care Act and adding a public option to it. He is queuing up an issue for Democrats to run on. A lot has been written about the 2014 midterm and that we lost because our candidates were running away from the ACA rather than embracing it. I am not sure I buy all of that – I think we were due for a major realignment as the red states got redder as they embraced the politics of butthurt white people increasingly angry every time they noticed that we had a black president. But running on something popular in 2016, when our coalition is paying attention and voting, just might help us get Congress back or at least make enough gains in the House that the Republican leadership will be forced to cut deals.

    See all y’all later!

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