Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: May 14th through May 20th

May 13, 2017 JanF Community 80

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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  • Link to Page 1 of Comments is here.

40 Comments

  1. Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …

    It is 73 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 77. Chance of thunderstorms all day. Yesterday there were deadly tornadoes in northern Wisconsin but they stayed well clear of us. I was watching it on the radar and it was an amazingly intense storm.

    I am going to stay away from the news for a few hours – yesterday I had an overload. As someone pointed out later in the day, the tRump mess that we started out with was three scandals ago but the time evening hit! It is a constant Barrage of Bad and I hope that someone in Congress steps up and we get a handle on the investigations. I don’t see how Republicans investigating themselves is going to work out well.

    The good news is that Trey Gowdy and John Cornyn are out as potential FBI directors and the Judge Garland suggestion was finally put to rest (do they think we are idiots?!!). In my mind the best bet is to keep the acting director until the investigation into the tRump campaign is completed. No one will be served by turning the confirmation hearing into another investigation.

    Right now the focus has to be on the ACA repeal. If the ACA is repealed and all the revenue used to fund it turned back as tax cuts, we will never be able to re-pass comprehensive healthcare protection in America. It took 60 Senators to do it in 2009 and there is no electoral map that will give us that kind of majority again. And there will be no one in the Oval Office at least until January 2021 who will sign any bill that would raise taxes even if we win Congress in 2018. Whatever happens with the shitgibbon happens but our enemy is Republicans – President Trump or President Pence or President Ryan or President Hatch.

    See all y’all later!

  2. Wednesday morning
    I’m celebrating along with folks from NOLA as another monument to racism, slavery and injustice bites the dust

    • Did you see that the Louisiana legislature just introduced a bill to block any further “desecration” of their monuments to racism? I hope that the governor vetoes it if it gets to his desk. The institutionalized glorification of the Confederacy needs to stop. If people want to celebrate the owning of other people or white supremacy, they can do it privately, but JHC, the government should not be party to it.

      • those statues are being removed after a long process with heavy public involvement – I don’t remember the details but the mayor was on Joy Reid’s show & described it, the racist snowflakes had their chance to be heard

        This is just another case if a state lege being fond of “local control” except when progress.

        • Like in Missouri where the state legislature is repealing St. Louis’ minimum wage law? Or in Wisconsin where locals want to retain control over their groundwater but big $ interests got a state-wide high-capacity well override?

    • By the way, here is some hopeful news related to Sessions’ sentencing guidelines:

      A bipartisan group of lawmakers are pushing back against Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ order last week directing federal prosecutors to charge defendants with the most serious crimes possible.

      Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) have reintroduced the Justice Safety Valve Act in response to the drastic shift from Obama-era guidelines, which urged prosecutors to crack down on violent criminals and leaders of drug cartels while being more lenient with non-violent, low-level drug offenders.

      The legislation unveiled Tuesday gives federal judges the ability to impose sentences below the mandatory minimums when appropriate.

      Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) introduced a companion bill in the House.

      They had consensus before the Senate went nuclear on itself in 2015. I understand the Koch brothers are actually in favor of this – maybe it has a chance.

  3. Good morning, Moosekind. It’s another beautiful day and it’s going to be HOT! Current temp. is 70 F., going up to 93 F. later.

    After four doses of the antibiotic, my throat feels better but the lack of sleep owing to coughing is taking a toll. Also continue to have a low-grade fever. Hoping that after I go back to bed this morning I’ll wake up perky enough to get a haircut and do some grocery shopping—not that I feel like doing it.

    We all feel exhausted from the constant barrage of news from the White House. Joy Reid said on Twitter that she put her phone down for 20 minutes and when she came back, MORE hell had broken loose! It’s hard to tear oneself away from Twitter, but I should read actual books today as I can’t do anything else. Just started Baptist’s The Half Has Not Been Told and Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl. Just as well I don’t feel like eating—both are gut-churning.

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!

    • {{{Diana}}} – Healing Energy and don’t look at the news. Check it once a day either in the afternoon long enough before dinner so you can eat or in the evening long enough before bed time so you can sleep and get it all at once instead of being repeatedly slammed over the course of the day. moar {{{HUGS}}} and Healing Energy.

  4. Light rain this morning — I set my plants out to get free water. Got a doc appointment this afternoon (just routine annual) and hope to see my friend. And either today or tomorrow I need to talk to someone about my tax stuff. I think I’m just gonna walk in to an H&R Block. My boys are touring & people are posting from shows, this is a new one with the 1st song I heard of theirs, that wrapped itself around my spine & pulled me to them.

  5. Temps are going to be pretty much the same as yesterday but it’s overcast and we’ve already gotten one light spate of rain this morning. So what if the rain wasn’t suppose to get here until Friday. Global Warming is your friend, right? (NOT!) So we’re sitting at 256 KWHs for the month to date right now and I’m not holding my breath for making it to 260 today. Hoping, but not counting on it.

    With every new OMGHOF coming out of DC I mostly just think “Hillary warned you” and go on about my business – which at the moment other than calls to my Senators is community needs at DK. (Got another match for Fineena that when met will cover all the moving expenses and at least renew her car tags.) We can only start from where we are. We can only do what’s at hand to do. If I were in the Charlotte, NC area I’d help Fineena move. If I were in the Taos, NM area I’d help Aji paint and bring meals so she wouldn’t have to cook. I’m not so I get The Word out where I can, then look around for something else Resistance-y to do.

    Gotta lotta stuff at work that has to be done today. Payroll runs Friday and everything needs to be entered so it can go through the approval chains tomorrow. Some grants are ending this month, some next month, and we’ve got to get them “expensed out” before they do. End of fiscal year is next month and we’ve got to get our “hard budget” expensed out before it does. Ain’t we got fun? But I’m still going to visit the Moose Village post first. Bright the day and wind to thy wings, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

    • you’ll like this (from 2 science fiction writers I follow on twitter)

  6. Good morning, 48 and cloudy in Bellingham. The furnace is on, I need lamp lite to see my keyboard, and my toes are cold……so much for spring in the PNW!

    I’m going to the pool this morning and will putter around in my sewing room this afternoon. Then some silly fun as it’s grand puppy Heide’s birthday today and we’ll have dinner with her (and our son) at their house tonight. And now I’m thinking of how to bake a suitable cake for the humans as well as the dog :)

    Life does go on regardless of the tRumpian mess we find ourselves enduring.

    • We had to put the air conditioning on Tuesday and Wednesday (at least during the day). Tomorrow, we may have to put the furnace back on as we go into the 40s overnight!

      This morning’s scan of the news shows that people on the right are unhappy about the Special Counsel and that is good news (finally) in the tRumpian mess we are enduring. Of course, the Angry Apricot could fire him – and Rosenstein – but I think those firings would be the bridge too far for the handful of Republican Senators who still believe in the Constitution. We shall see!

  7. Thursday – and I’m exhausted – was up way too late watching the train wrecks unfold.
    Headed off to school for final final exam – then paper grading.
    66 degrees here going up to 94!

    • The heat wave hitting the East is unprecedented! Try to stay cool.

      I had a hard time shutting down Twitter last night because there was so much positive news for our side. I get the feeling that the New York Times and the Washington Post are in a duel for “Paper of Record” – that would be good for small d democracy. I will never forgive the New York Times for handing the presidency to tRump (if he resigns, the line of succession is awful) but it is good to see journalism back in vogue.

      • Agree – though I got really pissed at NYT – I did continue to read Charles Blow.

  8. Good morning, meese! Thursday …

    It is 63 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 66. Mostly cloudy with the possibility of a thunderstorm. Last night a couple lines of nasty storms swept through Wisconsin – the first one missed us but the second one pounded us just before midnight.

    Another day, another firehose of news. A special counsel has been appointed to oversee the Trump-Russia investigation and “any other matters”, House Republican leaders caught on tape last year acknowledging the Trump-Russia connection and saying it was “just fine” if a president was “owned by” Russia as long as he would sign their legislation, tRump disrespects the graduating cadets at the Coast Guard Academy by whining about people being mean to him, and Sheriff David Clarke, being sued for letting a baby die in his jail and letting a man die of thirst for withholding water, will be given a “community engagement” job at Homeland Security. The orange shitgibbon did not Tweet yesterday, suggesting that his lawyers have finally convinced him of the gravity of his situation.

    Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will be meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee this morning. I am sure Senators will have some questions for him! Republican Senators were extremely unhappy about the appointment of the special counsel because now they can’t control the investigation. Sad for them, good for us.

    See all y’all later!

  9. I never wish ill on anyone and generally refrain from celebrating someone’s death (out of respect for those who – inexplicably! – loved them) but I think it is okay to say that I hope that the vortex sucking Roger Ailes’ soul to “hell” drags the modern Republican Party – a party he helped create – with it.

    And this!

  10. 70-something at dawn heading for mid 80s (I’d bet higher but that’s what the weather widget says) and the sun came out yesterday to the tune of 20 KWHs (month to date is 276). Hoping for the same or better today. Rain chances are shifting all over the place but we’re definitely supposed to get some Saturday (poor Farmers Market people – this has been a lousy Spring for them, flooding what they’re trying to grow and rain on the market where they’re trying to sell whatever they’ve managed to save) along with a temp drop. Not much of a day drop, from 80s to 70s, but the overnights are dropping from the 70s to the 40s and I’m quite happy with that.

    Aside from my community needs stuff, at the moment my part of The Resistance appears to be to remind people to breathe. Step away from Twitter or whatever media tracker you use. Breathe. Eat something nutritious and hydrate. Breathe. Read or watch or listen to something totally not political. Breathe. Get some sleep. Breathe. It won’t do anybody any good, from yourself to our “Stronger Together” team, if you fall out from adrenal exhaustion before we even get to the battle field.

    Soloing again and lots of stuff to do, but at least I got all the May Payroll (except hourly) entered and submitted yesterday. Most of the June, too. Hopefully everyone on hourly will get me their hours tomorrow morning because hourly payroll runs after 5 tomorrow – so I have to get it entered, submitted, and through the approval chain before I leave work tomorrow. But that’s another day. Today I have purchasing and budget stuff to deal with. So I’ll take a quick look in the Moose Village, make sure everything’s OK in the DK Village, and get to work. Bright the day and wind to thy wings, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  11. More storms expected today — didn’t get my plants thoroughly watered yesterday, so I’m listening for the start of it to get them set out. Didn’t go to H& R Block yesterday, have to today. Same for visiting my friend. Had Democratic club meeting — nice to talk about normal things like park facilities (yes, of course we also talked about the special counsel appointment, just the focus of the meeting was parks). And I got 2 AIDS Ride donations. So Roger Ailes is dead. Won’t speak ill. Someone loved him, I’m sure.

    Playing sweet, comforting Ordinary Love in my head.

  12. Good morning, 53 and cloudy in Bellingham. Heide’s birthday dinner was fun last night, but with about 12 people and 5 dogs it was busy. And at a critical moment the sink drain plugged so we had a quick plumbing mess to clean up. I brought all the dirty dishes home with me, filled the dishwasher, and went to bed. Our son will deal with the plugged pipe today.

    I’m on news overload this morning but I don’t want the pace to slow. The sooner tRump is gone the better for all of us.

    Have a good day!

    • “Republicans in Disarray” Twitter is my favorite Twitter!

      Anything that distracts the Unified Republican Government from unifying around policies that will kill us all is a good thing. While they are running around covering their asses we will be organizing and winning special elections and finding candidates to beat them in November 2017 and November 2018.

      Here: Democrats take first steps of 50-state strategy

      National Democrats are taking the first, modest steps toward their promised 50-state strategy, lending help to state and local parties as they try to harness opposition to President Donald Trump and the Republican monopoly in Washington.

      Dubbing the effort “Resistance Summer,” the Democratic National Committee plans to distribute about $1 million — with promises of more later — through a matching grant program for local Democrats to organize voters. It’s the party’s first concrete expansion plan since Tom Perez took over as chairman, and party leaders bill it as a recognition they must do more to get actual votes out of the anti-Trump groundswell.

      The amount is a fraction of the billions spent nationwide each election cycle and shows what the party is up against alongside liberal grassroots organizations and even a new political organization, Onward Together, by 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

      Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, Perez’s opponent for chair and now his top deputy, said the intent is to help local Democrats manage everything from rallies, town halls and neighborhood meetings to registration drives and voter database improvements.

      “We’re asking them to engage neighbors not just in this whole mess about Trump … but on what kind of vision we have for our country,” Ellison said, adding that he and Perez are talking regularly to many of the independent groups on the left.

      Initial recipients include Arizona, Massachusetts, Michigan, Kansas and South Dakota. Those states span the spectrum of Democratic fortunes: Massachusetts is a liberal bastion; Michigan is a presidential battleground; Arizona is nearing swing-state status; Kansas and South Dakota are Republican strongholds.

      Resist – at the ballot box!

  13. this thread, if you need a good laugh

  14. Good morning, meeses! Friday …

    It is 43 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 48. Showers are in the forecast.

    So Paul Ryan knew that there were potential problems with the ACA repeal bill and has not sent it to the Senate yet. Turns out that under reconciliation you have to have a CBO score to verify the savings. The House may have to vote on it again! Given the town hall rebukes many House members received, I wonder how their re-vote will go. It is possible that Republicans simply made another show vote – just like the 51 repeals votes from 2011 to 2016 – and may have sacrificed their seats for nothing. I know for a fact that “I voted for it before I voted against it” does not resonate with voters.

    Mike Pence is scrambling to prove that he was too much of a dolt to realize that being a foreign lobbyist was disqualifying for the job of National Security Advisor. So the defense from the tRump administration is: “I was just joking” and “I was too stupid to know what was going on”. Good luck with that.

    As for the shitgibbon, the narrative is set – most Americans believe that Comey was fired because he was getting too close on the Russian investigation and most of them think that the firing was wrong. You can’t unring that bell and sputtery news conferences (“believe me!”) and complaints of “witch-hunts” are not going to change anyone’s mind. I am glad he is leaving town for a week. If he ticks off Saudi Arabia and Israel, I really don’t give a damn. They chose him, they can live with their decisions.

    See all y’all later!

    • Ha! I just saw that!! For some reason the image on your Tweet is not showing. Here is what was displayed on FBI headquarters (from another Tweet):

      You know, that “consent of the governed” thing might turn out to be the fly in the Republican’s ointment. Someone on Twitter pointed out that tRump had the support of 46% of those who were allowed to vote. You can’t claim a mandate or “the will of the people” when you start from that point. He has been stuck at 38% for 4 days now in the Gallup tracking poll.

      • Trump has no mandate. I’m tired of hearing it – from him and from stupid reporters.

        I wonder if Gallup tracking will ever show him below 30 – his crazy supporters don’t seem to give a damn about anything he does.

        • I think the floor is about 36% based on numbers I have seen of his “core supporters”, the one’s who he claimed could see him shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and still vote for him. So 38% is already within the margin of error for that. It is frightening to think that one out of every three people in our country are that awful.

  16. I realize that with the focus in Trump Russia – a lot of other news is spinning past us. This WaPo piece is disturbing – the international HIV/AIDS community has fought hard over the years to make headway and now – the gains we’ve made are going to be crushed by Trump

  17. Back to work. Short day, I’m leaving at 4 for a memorial service for my friend who died back on the 1st. She was amazing, y’all would have liked her. The memorial is Mardi Gras themed, so I wore a purple shirt & will be changing into a green skirt & I brought beads to wear. Texted my friend in the hospital yesterday, never heard back. Playing U2 really, really loud in my head.

  18. Good morning, Meese. Another hot, beautiful day here—temp. at 9:25 a.m. is 73 F., going up to 90 F. later. Yesterday it was 91 F., a record-breaker at Dulles Airport, and after dinner a powerful, violent thunderstorm swept through. Luckily the electricity stayed on.

    Yesterday, tired of lying in bed and moaning, I got up and made the beds, did some grocery shopping, and bought some plants. Then I had to go back to bed, I ached so much. Got up again for dinner but had to retire shortly after 9 p.m. The penicillin derivative is doing its work (along with unpleasant side effects), but I just emailed my doctor about the cough. It’s keeping me, Dearly Beloved, our lodger, and our lodger’s child, awake at night. The OTC cough medicine I bought was the strongest available but it’s not doing the job.

    Ugh, enough about that. Lying in bed, as I seem to spend most of my time doing nowadays, I’m in serious danger of becoming addicted to Twitter. I’ve even picked up some followers. It’s weird, because I never say anything original or interesting—mostly I just retweet.

    Dear Goddess Freya and any others who may be listening, PULEEZE give us a peaceful weekend without any major disastrous news! Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and Beyond.

  19. Front moved in overnight – started raining about midnight and has been at it off and on since then. We’ve gotten .8″ rain thus far and they’re putting out Flash Flood warnings again. The temps have started to drop but are still in the 60s. Might stay there if it doesn’t clear off, might go up to 80 if it does. Only need another 6 KWHs to reach 300 for the month and we could achieve that with 3 hours of clear sunshine this afternoon.

    Hope for a bit of quiet while pvl45 is out of the country making enemies of our allies. At least they know he’s an idiot and aren’t wasting time trying to pretend otherwise. So many HOF diaries at DK Fineena’s fundraiser diary yesterday fell off the sidebar in 40 minutes flat. She wrote/posted an update last night and picked up a little more, but she’s still $331 from making the $750 match that will cover the moving expenses and at least get her NC car tags. Maybe from a money-making, click-baiting perspective DK5 is a success, but from practically any other perspective it sux. Oh well. We’ll keep on keepin’ on in that respect, too.

    Trying to sort out the mess on my desk. Yesterday I was mining the piles for anything I could actually do. Now I need to mine the new piles for anything I can actually do. Hourly Payroll runs tonight so the hours have to be entered and submitted by noon. Of course I have to have the hours first. Monthly payroll (including summer pay) runs next week – I think I’ve got that taken care of. I think. End of fiscal year stuff is coming thick and fast but they keep not giving me the cost centers I need to deal with it. So. I’ll check the Moose Village then start digging again. Bright the day and wind to thy wings, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  20. Good morning, 54 and partly sunny in Bellingham. I slept late and to my surprise woke up to see sun shining on the garden, making all the soft green leaves look lovely against the blue sky. I had to stop and just gaze out the window. But now the clouds are drifting over the sun again, and I’m late for the pool.

    Have a good day everyone!

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