Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Mar. 19th through Mar. 25th

March 18, 2017 JanF Community 157

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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Quick Links to Past Comments
– Comments Page 1 is here.
– Comments Page 2 is here.
– Comments Page 3 is here.

36 Comments

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

    Morning low of 25 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 48. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast.

    Have a great day, all y’alls!!

  2. Good morning, Meeses.

    High of 55 today. Now with added sunshine!

    Have a wonderful day.

  3. Good morning Meese
    Waiting for the breakfast buffet to open here in the hotel in VA. Then will head out for the long schlep home. Should get in by about 7pm tonight. I am beginning to hate traveling.
    Have a good day all.

    • Safe travels, Dee! I used to like traveling when I was younger but I have gotten older, travel has gotten more complicated, and my recovery time is longer. Now, if I don’t have at least 3 days on a trip where I am not traveling, I am out of sorts for a week.

      Will you be tending your Sunday morning diary?

    • Found on the Internets: Walking in black folks’ shoes

      How often have your heard someone say, “If only you could walk in my shoes, you’d understand what I am faced with”? How about, “Try walking a mile in my shoes.” All of the recent outrage expressed by those decrying the racism of Donald Trump, his minions, and various and sundry loudly bigoted Republicans like Iowa Rep. Steve King is nothing new to anyone who has survived being black in America for the last few generations.

      I lived through Jim Crow. I went to movie theaters for “coloreds” or had to sit in the balcony of those that catered to both white and black people. These were the shoes I walked in—but not by choice. Being black robbed me of options.

      There were some white individuals who made a decision to take a walk in my shoes, if only briefly. Sure, they could take them off again, and continue along a white road. But they did not stand idly by and accept Jim Crow, as so many others did. They tried to make a difference. They tried to see and experience the world though the lens of the black American experience, and then share that point of view with other white people, hoping to awaken empathy and inspire action to change the stagnant status quo. One of those white people was Ray Sprigle, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

      And Yas, being a good peep …

      Yasuragi Mar 19 · 08:05:57 AM
      This is not a tip jar.

      Denise is on the road, and tried to post from her phone (yet), but she’ll be can.

      and

      Yasuragi Mar 19 · 08:06:39 AM
      That was totally incoherent: she’s on the road, tried to post, but can’t… Will do so as soon as she’s able.

      :) Dee did check in shortly after that.

    • {{{Denise}}} – have a good breakfast and a safe trip home. Hope you accomplished what you went for. (And I agree – down and back pretty much sux)

  4. I hope this backfires bigly on the Republicans …

    The [anti-Manchin] ad, put out by the Senate Leadership Fund, splices together a slew of clips of Manchin voicing support for former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign.

    I am not sure how “lashing” a candidate to Hillary Clinton works when the nation is suffering a huge case of buyers remorse, even West Virginians who voted for tRump by 42 points. There is no fig leaf big enough to hide this …

  5. Good morning, Meese! Droplets of something white are falling in NoVa at the moment. They won’t stick, the ground is too warm. Otherwise, it’s a dismal grey day that encourages one to stay inside. Right now it’s 35 F., going up to 49 F. later.

    Feel thoroughly disheartened by the proposed “budget,” the fact that Thing is spending all our tax dollars on his weekly Florida vacations, the amount we’re paying so Melania can stay away from him, and so forth. I need a day of not thinking about it much, so will do that.

    Will be child-minding Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (not all day, thank Goddess), so will enjoy my time off until then. If only one’s newest grandson liked one! The only thing that cheers me up is that he doesn’t like his other grandmother either. Oh, well, if he takes a nap at least that’ll make the time go by pleasantly.

    Wishing a good Sunday to all!

    • How can someone not like their grandmother??!!? Do you bring treats, babies like treats? :)

      I spent too much time last week worrying about things I cannot change and my projects are now behind. We are already into the waning of March and the list of things that need to be done this month is growing rather than shrinking.

      Next week will be the nomination hearing for Neil Gorsucks for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States, a seat that was stolen from the duly elected Democratic president. I will not watch it – I know what he will say, what Republicans will say, and what Democrats will say. I only hope that our caucus rejects him and makes the Republicans have to decide whether or not they will finish the job Mitch McConnell started and jettison what is left of the Senate’s institutions by nuking the SCOTUS filibuster. I am betting they will – a party willing to destroy America’s standing in the world for a tax cut for the wealthiest .1% has no interest in preserving institutions, even their own.

      On Thursday, the House will vote on RepubliCare. My guess is that they will suspend the rules until they scare every last Republican into voting for it – there is too much riding on it to do otherwise. When they were voting on Medicare Part D back in the 00s, the vote was extended from 15 minutes to 3 hours so that members could be strongarmed into voting for it. Now they don’t have earmarks to buy votes but they have something more powerful: the threat of being primaried. We will see if that threat overrides the threat of losing in the general election when angry constituents, shut out of town halls, turn on them in the voting booth. The bill needs to be blocked in the House – if it gets passed there, there is little hope that Senate Republicans will prove to be the conscience of their party (see above).

  6. Had a pretty lazy day yesterday. Just groceries & some gardening. I got one of those seed packet packages at Target & planted them. I don’t know if they’ll take, but we’ll see. Watered my basil & mint, may separate one of the basils into 2 pots. But -— mmmm, basil.

    Thank you, Chuck Berry, for inventing rock & roll.

  7. 60 heading for 75 and sunny – only reason I’m online yet is my washing machine is still running – soon as it finishes, I need to go hang out the clothes. After that, more coffee and a muffin – and put the pork loin in the crock pot.

    The Evils ones are doing Evil and their base loves it. Fortunately we outnumber them so we will eventually get back the power and thus the ability to undo what they’re doing and move a few paces forward. Like the Little Red Hen (and her chicks) we will have to do it ourselves. The Evil Base already believes that the good healthcare they’ve got and have had for several years is actually GOP/Trump/Ryan/don’tCare – and when they lose it they will happily blame President Obama for somehow taking it away. It doesn’t matter what the Evil Ones do – the Evil Base believes that anything that hurts minorities is good for them and anything that helps minorities is bad for them. You can’t show them facts because they don’t believe anything contrary to their Faith-Based Evil. And of course nothing is good enough for the Extreme Left. So we overtly block, covertly organize to take back Congress, and do all the good we can in the mean time.

    Washer is about to shut down. I’ll visit Michael’s Breakfast and do my DK stuff after I’ve hung the clothes. Bright the day and wind to thy wings, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  8. Good morning, 36 and partly sunny in Bellingham. I think (crossing fingers and toes) I have a relaxing day ahead……sure hope so! I spent yesterday morning at the clinic and lab sorting out my coumadin level, which was no fun. Then I went to see Beauty and the Beast with my dil, her mom, and Ava, and that was fun! Today’s plan is to resume my sewing project and tend to the laundry.

    Danny Westneat, at the Seattle Times……

    ‘Move fast and break things’ is no motto for running a country

    “Move fast and break things” makes perfect sense where it was invented, in software development. But it’s a ruinous motto for many other jobs. Like truck driver. Or nuclear plant operator. And definitely anyone running a country.

  9. Good morning, meeses! Monday …

    It is 39 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 54. Mostly cloudy skies this morning giving way to sunny skies this afternoon.

    Happy Spring and Blessed Ostara!! The vernal equinox is today at 5:28pm CDT. Have some baby goats!

    Springing into Spring – No Kidding!

    Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has promised to fight the Neil Gorsucks nomination with every tool available to him. When I found out the nominee was writing “torture is just fine” memos for George W. Bush, I was aghast that anyone from that era would be rewarded with anything but prison time. We can’t forget what those people did – and we can’t allow those who set aside decency for partisanship to be the final arbiters of our laws.

    Busy day here – see all y’all later!

  10. Good Monday Morning Meese

    I’m exhausted from travelling so am going to take it easy today. Glad to be home.

    • {{{Denise}}} – glad you made it home safe and sound. Naps are good. Maybe visit the Village and RonK’s environmental posts – and of course JanF’s Ostara celebration – here and the Pootie diary at DK in between and otherwise ignore the World for a bit.

  11. Good morning, Meeses.

    Current Weather in MPLS/St Paul: 44 and “feels like” 37. The “feels like” part of the forecast has thankfully entered a benign range, so I’ll leave that out going forward.

  12. Good morning, Meese! It’s a beautiful day here in NoVa, current temp. 34 F., going up to 56 F. later. Have to leave here at 11:20 a.m. to get to Arlington in time to walk to the house where Mr. Toddler is being cared for. Then we’ll walk home, I hope. Hope he doesn’t scream this time at the sight of a wild-haired old lady coming to take him away from the nanny! Last time he scweamed so much that my poor, beleaguered son in his basement home office worriedly asked his boss, “Can you hear that?” They were on a conference call.

    Debating how much I can get done before I have to leave. Would like to make an Old English Pear Pie and call my senators to tell them not to confirm Gorsucks.

    Feel as if I’m in CrazyLand with the laziest POTUS ever! And to think I used to think that about Dubya, who didn’t like to read briefings longer than one page, demanded everyone be on time for meetings, demanded to be addressed as “Mr. Prez-dint,” and ended his work day at 5 p.m. I care not that his image is being rehabbed, I still despise him and always will.

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and happy Ostara!

  13. We are having way too warm weather. It should be in the 50s in the morning & it’s nearly 70. I’m wearing sandals, which makes me happy but afraid. What will July be like?

    Leaving work early for a follow up with my eye doc. There’s the lunch walking group and I may walk after work. I was listening to Snow Patrol in the car. This song is really fun.

  14. my boys on NPR this morning

    http://www.npr.org/2017/03/20/520443744/u2-on-the-joshua-tree-a-lasting-ode-to-a-divided-america?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=rock

    If the Declaration of Independence is like the liner notes of America, we’re like annoying fans that follow politicians into the bathroom and say, “But it says here, ‘We pledge our sacred honor.’ What’s that about?” And people suffer us talking about America because we love it so much. Rather arrogantly, we don’t think you own it. We think America is an idea that belongs to people who need it most.

  15. Happy Ostara, Meeses. 67 just before dawn, heading into the mid 80s and clear today. I’ve got my PV system website back and it didn’t lose any data – 232 KWHs for the month at the moment and probably another 15 by shutdown this evening. Tomorrow a front is moving in, so start the day pretty the same, but clouding up and temps drops after dark – Wednesday should be “normal” Spring weather. My cherry tree is leafing out. There are a few flowers, mostly too high for me to get to, but once the leaves start coming that’s it for the flowers. If I get any cherries (fruit I can reach), it will be only a handful. I think it’s less the “late” frosts than just not enough chilling hours. Cherries are “good” to zone 4 and don’t do well in zone 7. When I planted the tree we were still in zone 6. My, the (not particularly good) changes a decade can made.

    Need to call Womack, Boozman, and Cotton and give them my thoughts on GOPdon’tCare and Gorsux – not that they care what I think. Need to think up something to get actual attention on my community needs stuff at DK. Some folks still read it, but most folks scroll down to get to the “real” comments. Any act of love and kindness is Resistance when what you are resisting is Hate.

    Soloing but it’s quiet so far. Spring Break means the students and most of the faculty are gone. Staff gets Friday off but a lot of staff, like the other one in this office, take vacation time. Still, gotta get to work. Bright the day and wind to thy wings, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  16. Good morning, 37 and mostly clear in Bellingham. I’m so used to rain and grey skies the sunshine is surprisingly bright.

    Spring is a visual delight in the PNW…….

  18. It’s partly cloudy and 64 degrees here in Costa Mesa, CA. Reading various tweets about the Comey hearing.

    • I listened to part of the hearing. Pretty amazing that the Russians wanted tRump because he was anti-NATO and comfortable with Russian intervention in Ukraine and Republicans were just fine with that. I think that “party over country” will be carved on the tombstone of the Gross Old Party.

  19. Good Tuesday Morning Meese

    Yawn – still tired and have to head out tomorrow to Lehigh Univ. in PA. Good news is that they are driving me there and back home

    Blessings for Rev. Barber – and Moral Mondays – keeping the pressure on sociopath Ryan

    Need coffee!

    • The Republicans are scrambling around, trying to find votes for their craptastic ACA repeal. Ryan stuck a “manager’s amendment” into the bill (something that bypasses all the committees and the CBO) that “authorizes” the Senate to put $75 billion of extra assistance in for premium subsidies. So he is asking his members to vote on a pig in a poke along with the actual pig of a bill. Deals are being cut to get the more moderate New York Republican Congressmembers to vote for it. I think that “New York Republican Congressmembers” should worry that they will soon become a relic. They are the ones who will be swept out in 2018 and if they vote for this bill, it will be self-immolation.

      I will go retweet you!!

      • Thanks for the retweet :)
        I saw that amendment that they have thrown out there to try to rope in NY Rs from upstate – one of them is Faso – who now represents my area – I’m still pissed that all the young “leftists” in the district didn’t bother to vote to keep him from winning – they were so wrapped up in Bernie-fog and anti-Hillary mode. So damn stupid.

  20. Good morning, meese! Tuesday …

    It is 30 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 43. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. Yesterday we got into the low 60s, the furnace was shut off and the windows were open. The outside smells good!

    I felt like I was drinking from a firehose following the news yesterday. The House Intelligence Committee hearing was interesting to follow. I listened to some of it while I was working and then “watched” it via Tweets later. The most incredible moment was when one of the Congressmen read a @POTUS tweet that claimed that Comey and Rogers had said their was no Russian interference in our election and asked them if that was true. The discomfort was palpable, the effort to not call the Republican president a liar was herculean, but Comey had to go on the record that the Tweet was “not true”. 2017! JHC, I am not sure how we survive.

    I have refused to listen to my NPR news station since the election but the Gorsucks hearing leaked over to my classical music station and, while running errands, I heard them trying to humanize a guy who wants to destroy the advances of women, minorities, justice, workers rights, environmental protections – and who would be sitting in a seat created by Mitch McConnell after he removed the Advice and Consent clause from the constitution (Scott Lemieux calls Gorsucks “the man the president who was installed by the FBI and the 19th century slave power chose”). I hope that he is stopped. That will always be the Merrick Garland seat and I think it needs to be kept open for the next legitimately elected president.

    See all y’all later!

    • NPR news is kiss-ass suck up to Repubs – perhaps they think doing so will save them from being totally cut. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

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