Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings posts give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.
Welcomings will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning). To find the posts, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).
The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.
So … what’s going on in your part of Moosylvania?
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NOTE: The comments page will now split off after 20 or so left margin comments with the most recent comments on the current page. To see the older comments, scroll to the bottom of the page and use the link.
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Good morning Meese.
64 here in the Catskills going up to 87. Have to head out today to get new eyeglasses – and am bummed about the weather tomorrow – we have rain and thunderstorms – tomorrow is our annual women’s gathering – held at a friends house nearby – women of all ages attend – the original group are women who were in the movement in NYC during late 60’s early 70’s. Has expanded to multiple generations each year – I look forward to meeting the young women who are just getting their feet wet in activism.
The group is mixed – age, ethnicity and sexual identity.
Rain will not stop the show – we’ll just have to stay indoors but will miss our pool volleyball game
This is not the most inspiring election for young people – there are no transformational figures in the race and much of the next three months will be spent pumping up support for the sure and steady candidate over the horribly unsuited destroyer of civilization. I would like them to appreciate slow and steady but I realize that is coming from my old lady view of the world – not revolutionary but evolutionary. Democrats, we are told, must fall in love with their candidates. Maybe another 4-8 years of progress will demonstrate the value of slow and steady? It is up to us to talk it up … remind people of the bad old days, point out that these are better days and ask for their help to keep getting better and better to achieve the best possible.
Is the young lady we met at NN going to attend? She seemed very interested that night. Have fun and moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meese! Friday …
It is 70 degrees in Madison, on its way up to 79. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Relatively quiet political day yesterday – the president held a presser and I will post it when the transcript is released to the public. He thinks Donald Trump is ridiculous!! In that he is right there with 65% of the American people. The latest polls show that Trump has 1-2% of the black vote. Let’s see: Cornel West, Ben Carson, Clarence Thomas, Omarosa – is that 1%? The margin of error is +- 3 so it could be .0000000001%. Trump will be in Green Bay today, Pence will be somewhere in Wisconsin, and Tim Kaine will be in Milwaukee.
Interesting poll shows that most young white voters think that Hillary Clinton is a criminal. I wonder where they got that idea from?!? That same poll showed that neither party resonates with youth but that the Democratic Party is seen favorably by youth of color. We need to do a better job of showing people how working within the Democratic Party is the best way to bring change. As to the white youth, I hope as they grow older they realize that the old man with the Wall Street obsession who pretended to want to clean up politics actually got down in the muck to discredit his opponent with right-wing lies.
See all y’all later!
still trying to figure out who is covering this on tv/cable
May I say how much it ticks me off that they keep harping on her not giving press conferences? Her last one looked like a witch trial, why would she do that again? She gives lots of interviews one on one with talking heads all across the spectrum. That she doesn’t do it with all of them screaming rude questions at her to show who has the biggest, er, bludgeon is not a character flaw.
CSPAN will be covering it, Dee:
Hillary Clinton Remarks Washington, D.C.
Thank you Sis. Was over at C-Span and got caught up watching a discussion with AG Loretta Lynch
Policing and Race Relations Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Education Secretary John King, and others spoke about the Dallas police killings and the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
In the video:
Looks like a great lineup! I put the video up in a tab to view later.
I wish Joy-Ann Reid did not work for MSNBC. I follow her on Twitter (she always has great news links and insight) but I cannot bring myself to turn my TV to MSNBC because I am more likely to see Joe Scarborough or Mark Halperin or Chris Matthews or berner Chris Hayes or Ann Coulter as I am to see anyone who I agree with.
Her show on weekend mornings is great! And I’ve never seen any of those people on it. She did have a Trump apologist on last weekend but every time she lied, Joy shut her down.
I do too – she’s really good – I can rarely bring myself to tune in – enjoy following her on twitter
I echo everyone else on Joy’s weekend show – she always has interesting guests, very diverse and knowledgable folks, and she does not allow the right wingers/Trump defenders she has to have on to show the other side to get away with anything. She just shuts them down – it’s a joy to watch.
This Samantha Bee video about the Sanders deadenders will remind you that Republicans do NOT have a lock on stoopid. Although I question if some of these people are really Democrats:
The punchline: “Hey, BernieBros! It might be time to drop the ‘Bernie’.” Indeed.
I was having a conversation with a disappointed Sanders supporter who couldn’t bring herself to watch any part of the convention. I mentioned how the convention was the most racially diverse gathering ever and how proud I was to be a Democrat. I suggested that if Sanders had done more teaching about the Democratic Party and its long history of standing up for civil rights and womens rights and reproductive rights, he might have done better with people of color and women. But he wasn’t a Democrat, for one thing, and he isn’t a teacher – he screamed about his pet issues and made them supersede issues of justice and institutional racism and abortion rights. And that selfishness has left us with a bunch of kids thinking that yelling “lock her up” is activism. :(
I was actually asleep when my alarm went off! That hasn’t happened in….forever. I lifted weights last night, but I don’t think that is the reason, because I’ve done that before & it didn’t help. Anyway, felt great doing deadlifts & stiff. There’s this wall shoulder thing that I hate, because my shoulder flexibility is, um, nonexistent.
Eating breakfast, drinking tea. Brain is playing Snow Patrol at me. (happy, poppy music)
We’ve got some clouds moving in, darn it. Rain chances are slim, heat index is still way up there, so this is doing nothing but decreasing my electricity generation. Last year August averaged 18 KWHs a day (533 total) and this August started out well – averaging just under 20 KWHs a day – but if August turns into what July did, well I was down 70 KWHs 2016 over 2015 production. A Pootie Peep sent me a camera – I got it in yesterday’s mail – and thus far I have figured out (with the help of the annotated “quick guide” she included) how to insert the battery, charge the battery (just top it off, it was new), insert the memory chip, and take some pictures. Tonight I’ll work on finding them again (the album or whatever they call it) and seeing if I can figure out how to connect the camera to my laptop and save some of them to my hard drive with the ultimate goal of them ending up in a Pootie diary. :)
Last night somebody at GOS posted a diary about an interesting incident at one of Hillary’s events – a PETA-type animal rights group apparently charged towards the stage. The video shows Secret Service practically coming out of the woodwork – all large and male but exceeding diverse as to race – with one very large Black dude coming up to Hillary, putting his arm around her, saying, “It’s OK, Keep talking” as the rest sort of spread out over the stage. She stayed calm, if very still, then started talking again and even turned the thing against Trump – said the protesters where apparently there to protest Trump as he and his sons have killed a lot of animals and thanked them for pointing it out. I’d love to see the entire rally but that’s all that was in the tweet the diary was based on. I don’t even know where she was. But talk about CoC material!
Now to get back to the work I should have done Monday but didn’t have all the information or approvals for. Hopefully no more roadblocks, I’ve got 3 projects with deadlines within 3 (working) days of each other and the first is next Friday. And I’ve got two more projects that will be hitting the week after next, right on top of the deadlines for two of the ones I’d hoped to have gotten off my plate Monday. sigh. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
I think Hillary was in Las Vegas. I saw a photo of a Trump rally and it showed his security guys and I thought about the amazing professionalism it would take to be willing to stand in harms way to protect a person you might possibly disagree with and who wants you and your loved ones to die — and die quickly.
My daily candle includes prayers for the continued success of the Secret Service in keeping all of our politicians, and their families, safe.
(What’s a CoC?)
Good morning, 61 and sunny in Bellingham. Another quiet sleepy morning, followed by another busy day. I’ll go to the pool soon, Erica and her family will start packing their car for their trip home, and our fun family week will end with inglorious piles of laundry……at her home and here!
We enjoyed dinner on the patio last night, grilling bratwurst and sharing pictures of the day’s adventure at Mt Baker. I had the quiet day I needed but watching the video Jan posted from yesterday’s link makes me realize that a light weight wheel chair might be a future option for my arthritic knees.
Good idea about the wheelchair! That guy got around pretty well and it looks like there are a lot of accessible trails.
Morning all! This heat! Reminds me of a PGA golfer being interviewed about a PGA Championship being played that year in August, in Oklahoma, and he referred to the venue as “today, at Face of the Sun Country Club” because they were playing in 100 degree temps. That’s what it feels like this time of year here.
I love that video snippet of Hillary and her Secret Service agents – the interaction between her and the guy who looked to be the agent in charge was really wonderful. They clearly respect her and she trusts them, and I felt better about her safety watching that – and of course, her calm reaction was a demonstration of her fitness to be CIC.
There’s a blistering op ed this morning in the NYTimes from a retired CIA official – deputy director and acting director, over 30 years with the CIA and not a member of either party, endorsing Hillary and saying flatly Trump is a danger to national security. He thinks Putin has “recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.” He also calls him out for attacking Muslims, saying “many Muslim Americans play critical roles in protecting our country, including the man, whom I cannot identify, who ran the C.I.A.’s Counterterrorism Center for nearly a decade and who I believe is most responsible for keeping America safe since the Sept. 11 attacks.” As they say on Twitter, he ‘ethered” Trump.
I’m not sure what we can do about young white people’s attitudes toward Hillary – they of course were more drawn to grandiose but empty promises from Bernie and are susceptible to claims of corruption about Hillary, given that’s all they’ve heard about her all their lives, reinforced by the Sanders campaign. I simply can’t ever forgive the Sanders people for what they did to undermine Hillary.
Ok, everyone have a great day!
The good news is that the young will not be young forever and the set of millennials coming of age in 2018 and 2020 will not be poisoned by Sanders and his unicornism. But this was a good wakeup call for us olds to remember to frame things in a way that young people will care about: “Hands off our Medicare!!” is probably not going to do much to energize an ordinary 20-year old. We need to address their issues as well and point out the benefits of good government, slow and steady progress, and staying the course. Zzzzzzzzzz.
Hillary’s speech today in DC
Thanks! I caught the end of it live (the presser) and was sad that they felt the need to ask about emails and likeability. People don’t care about the emails … there is a barbarian at the gates … and the likeablity questions are starting to sound like abuse.
I can’t wait to watch the speech!
Good morning, meese! Saturday …
It is 63 degrees in Madison on its way up to 79. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
I was discouraged by the quality of the questions at Hillary’s presser yesterday. Some were excellent but too many of them could have come from the White House press gotcha gaggle. I guess I expected it would be young energetic black and Latino reporters asking smart questions that would allow the candidate to explain a policy position. Instead, we get the hateful Ed O’Keefe from WaPo asking her why people hate her. Melissa McEwan from Shakesville said it better than I could in a tweet storm she storified in a post. Here is part of it:
And of course emails. Another thing that has the WaPo chewing on her like she is a dog bone, their “reporters” turning the same story into “new” stories with different headlines to keep it in the news – and Tweet it out over and over again. No. One. Cares.
Vulgar Talking Yam Donald Trump is still vulgar and still talking to white Yamerica. Charlie Pierce is as sick of the Republicans pretending that this “happened” to them as I am:
Busy morning here. I need to get a few things done before we head out to one of our state parks as the last gasp of summer before youth fall sports takes our Saturdays away.
See all y’all later!
An explanation of why sunflowers appear to be following the sun – only the young plants do it:
Good morning, Moosekind! Cloudy here in NoVa, with rain and thunderstorms expected. Have a lovely day of weeding and fridge cleaning ahead of me.
Visited here late at night yesterday but my comments have disappeared. Faugh! Denise, I hope it really doesn’t rain at your annual celebration. Your account of it last year inspired me to write a story about it—really enjoyed writing that one!
Didn’t get here yesterday because of my crazy schedule, which included cooking a Full English for my husband and Miss Pink Cheeks, driving her to camp, running back to frost the banana cake with black walnut frosting, diving into a change of clothes plus makeup, and then driving 20-odd miles to the retirement community in Springfield, VA. Two of my ex-circle sisters live there now. We had a grand reunion—hadn’t seen them for a while—and after a delicious lunch in the restaurant we chatted until 4!
We tried to watch the “Parade of Nations” but were so annoyed but the commercials every 5 minutes and the stupidity of the NBC crew that we just recorded it and went up to bed. We’ll fast forward through the commercials and inane chat to see the parade. I owe emails to people, so will try to catch up with that also.
I’m done with “summer fun.” Want cooler weather and for things to calm down. Wishing all a good day!
Sorry your comment got lost!
I watched part of the opening ceremonies then got frustrated. The President’s Weekly Address was about the Olympics and I left my crabbiness about the hypocrisy of the “glory” of sport there. It is big money and has not been about the best athletes or honest competition for a long time.
http://motleymoose.net/2016/08/06/4008/weekly-address-president-obama-representing-the-best-of-america-in-the-summer-olympics/
One of the NBC commentators discussed the slaves arriving from Africa like he was hosting the Travel Channel. :(
We will probably watch the soccer and some of the running events.
Skies are grey – rain expected right around the time I leave for the gathering – oh well.
Look forward to the story Lady D.
Slept in, if I re-join my training group, this is the last Saturday till February I get to do that. Today I’m going to clean house, buy groceries & maybe squeeze in a workout. We’ve had our 17th 100 degree day, more 100s for the whole weekend. sigh.
Good morning, 60 and partly sunny in Bellingham. My house is “empty quiet” this morning, a different feeling from “everyone is sleeping quiet.” Ron just left for the gym, Erica and her family are safely home, and I’ll soon be doing laundry and finishing my book.
The next chapter begins with this intriguing sentence, “Gather close, and let us speak of nasty little shits.” Erickson’s writing in this book is quite philosophical but his intriguing mix of characters and fantasy creates entertaining yet thoughtful reading. Needless to say the vulgar yam comes easily to mind!
Afternoon, Meeses. Clouds moved in last evening and are still with us. Yesterday at noon I had generated almost 10 KWHs for the day. Today at noon it’s just under 2. Sigh. Just hoping it will actually rain and I won’t have to water tomorrow.
I just got back from the Grand Opening of the Dem Party HQ for this election cycle. By Fayetteville standards it’s a bit of a drive – about 20 minutes – in Springdale, the adjoining town north of us. Way too “plain vanilla” considering the sizable Hispanic and Marshallese populations we have in Springdale. One local candidate is Hispanic and I think maybe 3 of the folks attending. Last election cycle the Black Dems and the Hispanic Dems were much more visible, but apparently the State-level party treated the Black/Latina woman who was the driving force behind both like crap and she stepped down with the predictable results. I’m hoping we can get them going and back again, but let’s just say that even if I had the time, which I don’t, I’m in the wrong demographic to do it. Holding the good thought that Irvin Camacho manages to do it as part of his campaign strategy. Everybody is pretty upbeat and energetic. While up here we have a greater than 10% deficit compared to the Rs, state-wide it’s only 6% – so we are seriously working on (or at this point seriously planning to work on) registration for the next 60 days and GOTV thereafter. If we can just get that 6% from the folks who usually don’t vote to the polls this year, we might even be able to flip AR! Not saying it’s likely, it’s not, but 6% is possible.
Hope everybody’s day is productive, whatever that happens to mean for each of you. Bright the day. {{{HUGS}}}