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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– Page One of Comments is HERE!
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Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …
Morning low of 73 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 91. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Sunday Meese
57 going up to 89 here in NYS.
Was up too late last night – trying to “get woke” with more coffee.
Thanks, Dee. I suppose it will take a Dem-majority Congress and Senate to do anything about PR. Sigh.
Yes, and someone with a beating heart sitting in the Oval Office. We are unlikely to have a veto-proof majority in either house of Congress. So much damage being done while we run out the clock on the Trump/Pence regime. :(
Sadly – I think you are correct
Good morning, Meese. Partly cloudy here in Ashburn, with a current temp. of 70 F., going up to 90 F. later. I’d better go for my walk before it gets too much hotter!
We had a wonderful day yesterday with the family: the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. The children fished at Fisherman’s Pond but didn’t catch anything. A tent of sorts was provided so we oldsters could watch the fishers while sitting in the shade. Everyone filled up on hot dogs and chips.
Afterwards everyone came back to our flat for ice cream or cake roll. In the evening after dinner, Dearly and I went to the theater a few yards across the parking lot to see “The Post.” Must say it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen! I especially loved the ending. Did you all see it?
Today is the Father’s Day buffet, so after that we’ll probably just vege. Two exciting things arrived in the mail–The Black History Coloring Book of Entrepreneurs from Urban Intellectuals, and a child-sized sofa that folds out into a bed for sleepovers. The coloring book, in addition to showing the best-known people of modern times, includes black entrepreneurs I’ve never heard of: Damond John, Aliko Dangote, and Dr. Patricia Bath, to name a few.
The child-sized sofa has a pale tan background white giraffes scattered over it. Wonder if the person who made it was kinda snockered, because the curved back of the sofa is off-center. Never mind, the children won’t notice.
Still so appalled by the “rip the child away from its parents” policy that I don’t know what to do. Yes, we can all vote blue in November, but what can we do NOW?
Check out https://www.raicestexas.org/ – Aji posted the link. This is the home page. {{{Diana}}}
Thank you, dear one. Just donated a bit.
There were a couple of showers yesterday, more rain expected today. My lavender plant just won’t get happy, water or no water (I read an article that said they hate too much water so last week I didn’t, it didn’t perk up then; nor has it since I stuck it out in the rain yesterday). Today: church then putting together next week’s breakfast & lunch.
I’m embarrassed that Sessions is a Methodist — on Politics Nation, they said he’s a Sunday School teacher. Here’s Colbert on that. “I don’t think God picked you because I don’t worship Vladimir Putin.” He also goes on to the rest of that verse, that’s about loving your neighbor & love does no harm.
Good morning, 65 and sunny in Bellingham. RonK has been out and about with his camera but I’m just waking up and finding my coffee.
We have a low key dad’s day planned with some time in the garden and barbecuing with our sons tonight. I’m so grateful for my family and so heartsick for the families being destroyed by the evil ones with the power to do so.
Best wishes to all on this sunny Sunday.
ya know, I hate it when Moose unlogs me between a preview and a post & I’ve forgotten to copy it first. sigh. Depending on which weather widget I look at, either 78 with 79% humidity or 82 with 72% humidity. Either way, sticky and uncomfortable. But still better than having the A/C on. My hands hurt enough. They don’t need any help. Got right on 20 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 305 so trucking right along. Household chores are done. I’d meant to skip baking this week and eat yogurt instead – but I just can’t face that much yogurt. 😁😁😁 So I’ve got cinnamon-vanilla-apple cider-almond butter muffins to intersperse with the yogurt for this week and next. Got a smoked chicken deboned and in the fridge for protein. Got a fresh green bean salad made and will shortly steam some more veggies for a mixed veggie salad for alternates. I’ve got prepared coffee in the fridge to drink iced. By tomorrow I won’t have to turn on any heat generating device at all for the week. 👍👍👍
The evils of our society are being shown “on the big screen” now – there is no avoiding them. Those who didn’t know have no excuse for not knowing now. Natives and POC are telling white folks that this is not only nothing new, it is also not the past. It’s an on-going evil, a feature not a bug, of the “dominant culture” bent on genocide of any/everyone not white. And some who are white. It was/is/always will be sickening. And Evil. The 2016 election really was a choice between Good and Evil – and while I take solace in knowing that more people voted for Good (and another lot would have if they could have), that does not help the 10s of thousands dead in Puerto Rico (and their families) and it doesn’t do a single God-Damned, Goddess-Blessed thing to help the thousands of kids torn from their families. Torn from their families, herded into concentration camps, abused, some of them sold to sex rings, some of them dead. (Dead is a whole lot of what Nazis do to infants.) I’m floundering. There are places to send money and I have sent/will send some – but that’s not enough. I don’t know what else I personally can do. So I pray. I channel Healing Energy to the hurting ones. And keep looking.
And I RT stuff hoping the signal boost will help. Which I need to get back to. And maybe take a walk before it gets any warmer. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
I’m floundering, too but reading your Reminder post in the OS daily helps. Do you have a program like Text Edit? I started composing comments that I want to think about in Text Edit so if I lose the blog or internet I don’t lose the comment.
{{{njm}}} So good to see you here! I’m glad my Reminder is helping. I might but I really don’t know. WordPress logs us out on a regular basis and if I’m keeping track and know I’m getting close I copy my comment before I hit preview so I’ve got it saved and can just paste it back in – but if I’ve lost track… I should just do it regularly. Too lazy or something. 😁 moar {{{HUGS}}}
{{{bfitz}}} I try to lurk daily for good info, moments of sanity, and to hear your voice. :-) It must be “something” because no one could call you lazy.
Thank you – it’s mostly that while I can type fairly well (at least as far as comments & tweets go) using the mouse takes different muscles in my hand and they hurt. But my hand-eye coordination also sux so not using the mouse is too drive-me-up-the-wall frustrating to not use the mouse. Minimizing mouse clicks is my sometimes not very good solution. 😁
So very glad that you do drop by. 💖💖💖 {{{HUGS}}}
Bfitz,you are the most organized person I’ve ever heard of! Hope you won’t suffer too much because of the humidity.
{{{Diana}}} – I did grow up in Houston without A/C. I think my body’s reverting or something. 😂😂😂
One tip: if you lose the comment on preview (because it says you are not logged in) you can sometimes click Page Back on your browser and recover what you typed.
I used to have unpostable comments a couple times a week but that seems to have cleared up, at least on Firefox. I still do the right-click Select-All right-click Copy before I preview or post – I think it may ward away the gremlins. :)
Sometimes the Page Back works, sometimes (like yesterday) it doesn’t. I really should just copy everything I do – I didn’t know about the right click select all – highlighting everything “by hand” is sometimes an issue for me – I will try that. Thanks. {{{HUGS}}}
Annnnnnd – it works! 😁👍👍👍
Good morning, meeses! Monday …
It is 81 degrees at 4:30 in the morning. What is this – Houston!??! The expected daytime high is 82 with a line of thunderstorms moving through and cooling things down. Tomorrow the high will be 72. I am not looking forward to my electric bill next month.
I was watching the migrant crisis unfold on Twitter yesterday horrified by the stories. One woman had her child taken away and then hours later was released and deported back to Guatemala. She was required to leave without her son! So what happens to him? No one in this heartless administration cares.
I was also horrified by the press. No, Washington Post, Melania did not take a “brave stand against her husband’s policies” – she spewed the company line: “so sad, Democrats need to fix this thing they caused.” They changed the headline but the URL is forever: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/06/17/melania-trump-takes-a-brave-stand-against-her-husbands-policies. They should be embarrassed. Twitter would have none of their bs, by the way. Laura Bush weighed in and said that the zero-tolerance policy announced by the Trump administration was immoral:
Now that’s a brave stand, especially considering that a majority of Republicans are in favor of the policy.
The Democratic Senators – except Manchin – signed onto Diane Feinstein’s bill to halt the family separation policy. It is an exercise in futility, Republican Senators will not break with their leader – even Susan Collins, the supposed moderate, agrees with the policy of trying to deter migrants by inflicting unspeakable cruelty on them. But at least we are on the record for being on the side of decency. It will be interesting to see if that matters when people go to the polls in November. Paul Ryan will be allowing votes on two immigration bills this week. Neither will solve the problem and neither are likely to get many Democratic votes because one is the Stephen Miller White Supremacist Manifesto Act and the other is filled with poison pills. If Democratic leaders think that enough of the pills are simply placebos to soothe the nativist base of the Republican Party, Democrats might be able to vote for it with the hopes of undoing the worst of it when we regain the presidency in 2021. It will be an interesting week.
See all y’all later!
Monday Meese
Am keyboard pounding – trying to post the news of massive planned cuts in PR which will close community health clinics – no reporting on this in the English Press – want to get it up early – will bbl.
I’ll watch for it!
It is up
tipped, rec’d shared, tweeted
Tweeted & RT’d your tweet.
My church is working on a response to the camps, we’re Methodists so there has to be planning and preferably a committee, but they said yesterday to expect word soon. This makes me sick.
Weather here: so sticky this morning I had to use the a/c in the car on the way in. I usually drive with the windows down, especially in the mornings. But it’s so humid — it wasn’t raining but the windshield was getting too wet to see through just from humid air. Rain over the next three days — highs only 88ish, so today should be the worst. Yeah, first world problems.
Today’s song: American Soul — I wish these words still applied
had to post something to bring a smile:
Uh—Ghouliani is urging Thing to pardon Manny.
The comforting thought of a gray prison cell forever is perhaps unsustainable.
Yeah, but the states he committed crimes in will also prosecute. And if he’s pardoned, he’s admitting guilt.
Good Moon Day morning, Meese! It’s about to be a very hot day here in Ashburn, with a current temperature of 70 F., going up to 94 F. The day has got off to a very slow start because I slept later than usual.
I was freaking out last night when I heard reports of tornadoes around Madison, thinking Jan might be affected, but apparently that didn’t happen. Very glad!
Well, so the Dems are going to use the cruelty at the border as a campaign issue. GOOD. I hope they show lots of ads featuring the crying babies and stunned-looking children in cages. Gods, I can’t believe what’s happening in this country! And the Rethugs are too cowardly to protest! I hope Twitter FRIES them all.
If Hubby and I can drag ourselves out of doors today, we might get our passport pictures taken. Both our passports expire this summer. It’s hard to believe that 10 years ago, when they became effective, there were no Miss Pink Cheeks, no Mr. Preschooler, no Mr. Toddler, and no great-nephew who’s an honorary grandchild.
Dee, I will go to L’Orange right now to read, tip, rec, and share your diary about PR.
Hoping it will be a good day for all of us and a bad day for all the king’s horses, all the king’s men, and Humpty-Trumpty.
P. S. Anyone know how long it takes to Fed Ex a double cheeseburger with bacon and fries cooked in lard to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
A tornado touched down Saturday night in an empty field about 20 miles north of here in Columbia County and knocked some trees over. It was a bit alarming! We did get a text message alert around the same time but it was for flash flood warnings – that area had 4 inches of rain in about an hour and a half. Yikes!
They are not “cages”, Diana, but “fencing” which happens to be on 4 sides and on the top of a “holding area” – or so says Fox News. :(
Fox, they look like cages to me. :)
Both weather widgets say 74, one says humidity 80%, the other 89% (I think I believe the latter) and heading for upper 80s. Sunny at the moment. Got 19.3 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 323.5 – 600 was never likely but it’s getting into the not possible category. Still, we’re trucking along. When I finally give up and turn on the A/C, tripling my electricity use, I will have enough in the sock to cover it.
Deplorables being deplorable. Anybody who thinks they can be “shamed” into doing the right thing has not been paying attention. The party is Genocide On Purpose and the folks in it always have been. Jim Jeffords showed the way in 2001 – anybody who had a heart, soul, or conscience left the Rs – only KKK and nazis left. Still floundering, still praying. (I really don’t like that word – prayer – but it does have the benefit of only 6 characters & on twitter that’s sometimes important. And the words that I think convey more what I mean probably don’t. Words used for Faith things seem to be very much in line with what you grew up with and I haven’t met anybody ever who was raised the way my momma raised me in Faith.) Anyway, doing what I can think of to do. My bloody congresscritters are Deplorables. I hope we can boot some of them, but not likely. Definitely not likely in my district (AR-03) although I will of course work for the Dem who’s running once he sets up an office.
Gonna go take my walk while the temps are still under 80. Hate to close the doors – largest inflow of cooler air – but not gonna leave them open while I’m gone (sings chorus of “Those Were the Days” – & yes I know I am very lucky to have ever lived in a time or place where it was OK to leave the main, not screen, doors unlocked & open while you were gone). Holding everybody in my heart. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
We apologize for the inconvenience! You are seeing this message because your site has recently been targeted by attackers attempting to gain access to your WordPress Dashboard. In order to protect your site your WordPress Login page has been temporarily disabled.
Unfortunately, you will be unable to login to the Dashboard until the block expires.
Jan, this is the message I just got. Help?
DoReMI
Never mind…
Thanks for reporting this! I have never seen that message and I am wondering where it came from. I have several protective tools on the site and it could have come from any of them – or it could have been a way to try to scam you personally. I am going to do a little research on it.
Did you change your password after you received the message or simply wait out the block?
I didn’t change my password; I just waited it out. And I didn’t even think about checking other WP sites…I’ll have to remember that next time.
It turns out that message comes from our hosting firm when they detect a brute force attack on the site. Rather than try to fend off the attackers, they shut down access and let the attacks essentially bounce off. Most hackers will give up and move on to an easier target. If the attack came at around 10am Eastern, I wouldn’t have noticed it because I was already off the Internet.
The documentation indicates that the block lasts 20 minutes but if it lasts longer that means it has re-triggered.
Did you have messages from any other WordPress sites you use?
Good morning, Meesefolk; finally logged in after a bump in the road with Word Press. Jan, I give you full credit and high praise for dealing with the intricacies of WP. Somehow, I think it shouldn’t be intricate, but from what I see from the outside looking in, it does appear that they give you more than enough issues to deal with. Thank you for doing so.
I continue to ponder what there is I can do about the human rights crimes being perpetuated by this administration and their collaborators. I live less than 40 minutes from a “port of entry” and have thought of organizing a picket there, but I’m not sure that’s anything more than a feel-good activity, and a one-day picket seems especially meaningless. Still exploring other options; apparently MI is one of the states that takes in a lot of the unaccompanied minors, but I’m struggling to find verification of that and/or any information about where they might be going.
And now it’s time to get back to work…it was 81 when I got up this morning with an expected high of 88. On days like this, I don’t mind being in my air-conditioned office in the least, before returning to my un-air-conditioned home. (We do have a window unit in our bedroom, so it’s not altogether miserable.)
Good morning, 65 and sunny in Bellingham. Yesterday was fun with family, food and gardening but my knees need to recover. I’m going to the pool soon so the warm water will help. Then I need to tend to my desk before I’m distracted by being outdoors.
Best wishes to all.
Good news for VA10, Diana!!!
Whoo-hoo, Lulu!
and
Whoa-ha, Lola!
Glad to hear it. Thanks, Jan!
Today is Juneteenth
Thank you for the reminder, Dee!
Good Juneteenth morning Meese
73 going up to 83 here in NYS.
Have to see the eye surgeon today to get fitted for my cataract lenses.
Will also get the date for my surgery
Posted a link on twitter to some Juneteenth history I wrote about last year – can’t do a special diary today
Puerto Rico
I hope you can get an early date for surgery – I know you have been waiting a while. Will you be getting the lenses that let you avoid reading glasses or the standard ones? I can see the advantage of not needing any glasses but I heard that they can give you a halo effect at night. I think with vision you can get used to anything but I would be hesitant to lock in a permanent “flaw”. I am right behind you for cataract surgery – first I have to wait until Medicare will pay for it which means I have to wait until I am on Medicare to get an exam. I get new eyeglasses every year to keep up with the changes but the optometrist said there is not a lot more he can do to sharpen my vision.
I don’t want the lenses that are “combo” Have heard a lot of problematic things about them.
Hoping for an early date too – fingers crossed
For Goddess’ sake, what will happen to the children?
Cue the hypocrisy of the people who claim to be “Pro-life”
{{{Denise}}} – Healing Energy and holding the Good Thought on the various steps to you getting your vision back. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meeses!
It is 63 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 68. The forecast calls for light rain and showers all day. There was a nasty line of storms that moved through the state yesterday in a pattern I have never seen. A thin horizontal line right along the WI-IL state line that moved to the east and then exploded right when it got to the lake. We got some dark skies from the popup storms that hit the rest of the state. The northern counties got more rain which they don’t need. I hope they appreciate that voting for a governor with a slavish devotion to the white supremacist in the White House is the reason why there are not enough National Guard troops to help them recover from their storms. The National Guard is in Texas snatching babies from brown people to give Stephen Miller the pleasure he apparently can’t feel unless someone is suffering.
I will be watching to see what Congress does about the family separation crisis and any evidence that there is a beating heart left in any member of the Republican Party. The Ted Cruz “fix” is nothing of the sort, by the way. It says no family separation but requires that all asylum claims be resolved in 14 days. That means that any request that requires investigation or collaboration or is more complicated than some will be rubberstamped DENIED in order to clear the docket. That means our borders are effectively shut to people escaping oppression. I followed the Sanders-Nielsen presser on Twitter and it was embarrassing that they have positions of power in our government. The reason no one knows where the girls and babies are is because they won’t show photos of them. The administration is pushing propaganda – a plan to show all migrant children as young boys to scare the Fox News viewers into thinking that the CBP is stopping gang members from coming into the country. That keeps the base riled up – the 57% of Republicans who are fine with family separation. I weep for our country and what it has become. It is not enough to beat Republicans at the ballot box – the defeat has to be enough to crush their party into dust so that it cannot rise again.
The Supreme Court punted on partisan gerrymandering, claiming that persons who were denied fair representation lacked standing. It means that we will have to beat the gerrymander by getting out the vote in 2018 and the critical 2020 election where state legislatures that decide redistricting will be locked in. We can take some comfort from the fact that they did not rule against fair maps, just not for them.
I am going to ignore new news because it is too depressing. Two headlines on the NY Times morning newsletter that hit my Inbox: “As Europe’s Liberal Order Splinters, Trump Wields an Ax” and “How the Koch Brothers are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country”. :( :(
See all y’all later!
(Glumly) Things don’t go better with Koch.
Are Charles and David ever going to pop their clogs, or are they vampires? Does anyone ever see them before 1 p.m.? Have they ever been seen consuming food?
I think they’re vampires and will live forever unless they’re transported to a lonely crossroads at midnight by persons with a stake in the business.