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 (usually Saturday night with a Sunday date). 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 Tuesday morning, Meese! The sun is rising mistily behind the woods under a clear, pale blue winter sky. Although a lot of snow has dropped off the bare trees, there’s still plenty of it around.
Had lots of trouble with the Internet this morning, which drove me to fury. I expect everything to work all the time unless there is war, insurrection, an earthquake, or other such disaster. However, we’re back up and running now.
Still beside myself because of the shutdown, thinking of all the people who are suffering because without a paycheck they cannot buy their food or medicine or pay for their living quarters. HOW did we get to this stage? Thing is ruining this country! Can it ever be restored? And my Goddess, we can’t wait until 2020 for the government to reopen! We could all be dead by then from contaminated water and food. I wish someone would arrest McTurtle.
Well, that’s this morning’s rant. Planning to work on a couple of articles this morning and I have another interview to conduct this afternoon. As for the book, I have reluctantly concluded that neither India nor Kashmir will do as a setting for Chapter 19. Even my horoscope this morning agrees: “Turning an imaginative thought into reality could be challenging, even for you.”
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
LOL at “even for you”!! How dare they? :)
Love your rant! Made me think of this:
Excellent tweet!
Good morning, Meesefolk; 28 and headed all the way up to 32. The grey has returned, and there’s a light fog too. It looks like we might get some snow this weekend along with some really, really cold temperatures, so I’ll need to plan a weekend of stay-at-home activities, which suits me just fine.
In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t matter a bit, but seeing the piles of cold fast food (purchased by Individual 1 out of his own pocket, we’ve been [proudly?] informed) for the Clemson players says more than was probably intended. Does this mean the WH chef is furloughed or just sidelined once again? Is that what we are all to aspire to, while oligarchs enjoy whatever-they-want? Is this the food equivalent of throwing paper towels to the folks in PR? I’m not going to lose any sleep over this particular embarrassment, but it does provide a strong contrast with the menus served by the Obamas. It’s certainly a reminder that you can’t buy class.
Good day to and for all!
I hope that the young men from Clemson – and anyone who witnessed that – see the evidence that wealth and white male privilege do not automatically mean class. Even if the chef is furloughed (I doubt it) you can order real meals from restaurants in the DC area and have them delivered – there are entire new industries built on that premise. A lot of the mockery was about the fast food but in my opinion the real grossness was that the food items were still in their paper wrappers and not under any kind of heat lamp; I am sure they were globs of coagulated fat by the time they were consumed. And it is pretty rude to assume that any college kids want to eat that crap much less elite athletes. I am no longer embarrassed by what Individual 1 does and am just counting the days to when he gets off my TV screen and Internet news feed.
When I feel a twinge of embarrassment, I hope that the tRumpsters in my family are feeling the same thing. But they’re not. Most of the time it’s because owning the libs is all they care about, but I’d love to know how they spin this (I’m not going to contact any of them to find out). I suppose they’d say it’s an example of his generosity while the Dems are “playing in PR” or doing nothing to end the shutdown they’ve caused by prioritizing “illegals” over Real Americans . They’re so divorced from reality at this point that it’s anybody’s guess.
Good morning, 41 and will be sunny in Deer Harbor, Wa. We arrived on Sunday afternoon and are starting to feel rested. We used to stay here on the boat, but our cabin on the hill overlooking the marina is more comfortable! RonK went for a hike with his camera yesterday while i enjoyed the hot tub on the deck. Then we drove across the island to Eastsound, which was totally foggy. The bookstore we used to go to is still there, and the “new” coffee area made it even more inviting.
Ron’s got another hike planned for today and I’m going to keep reading Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming. My daughter listen to the book and loved the experience, but I’m just reading and loving doing so. It’s good to be in her world again.
Best wishes to all.
That sounds so blissful, princesspat! I’m vicariously enjoying it with you and Ron!
48 with high of 52 and drizzling. Today is going to be a long day.
28 and gray in Fay., AR – although it’s lighter than it has been and trying to get lighter still. We never got above freezing yesterday and I’m not sure we will today. We generated just under 2 KWHs yesterday bringing the m-t-d to just under 60 – it’s just over 60 now and the day is enough lighter than it’s been the last 3 that this morning’s driblet of .78 KWH is more than the entirety of the 11th. Progress.
Worried about my online family. Not that it helps much. At least I’m not seeing it helping much. But as long as they can keep on keepin’ on, I can keep on Channeling and praying and lighting “purposed” candles. The Universe has got to get tired of doing bad things to good people soon, right? As my online family, so the nation. sigh. Keepin’ on keepin’ on.
My schedule is now set – every morning except Friday with occasional extra hours in the afternoon when there are lunch/afternoon meetings. So I need to get back to work. Once I get some more coffee. Healing Energy to everybody everywhere shaped to their need. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
I’m still getting up early. My body still thinks this sucks. It rained yesterday. It rained on my way to work. It’s supposedly to rain again. Doesn’t the weather understand I’m a SoCal and too much rain and I’ll melt the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s 59 degrees here in Costa Mesa with more rain coming any minute. Yes I understand we really need the rain. I like rain. I don’t like driving in rain. SoCal driver’s solution to rain is to drive faster so they can get home sooner and out of the rain. Those in live in rain & snow areas can see the flaw in this plan. Along with my hand and wrist (thank you car accident from 2013) I end up driving in the rain with 1 1/2 hands on the wheel. Not my ideal. Sorry for being such a grouch. I’ll feel better and behave much nicer with some tylenol in me.
I understand about the weather. When we have as many as 3 or 4 days in a row of non-sunny weather, Austinites get grouchy. It’s just…..wrong. Sending happy, sunny thoughts.
OMG, Mvgal, hope you’ll feel better soon! What a bummer. Yes, people do drive too fast in the rain. They do in the snow, too, which is why we ended up with several dead in Virginia from the latest snowstorm. They never learn.
Sending Healing Energy pulsing through the hand and wrist to help with the pain in the rain – a pain I’m all too familiar with myself. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 28 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 27. Sunny skies (finally) are in the forecast but they arrive with some pretty cold air.
The #TrumpShutdown (really the #RepublicanSenateShutdown) is finally getting the attention of corporate America. Growth this quarter – because of taking tens of billions of dollars out of the economy – will likely be 0 or even a contraction. “Government shutdowns are easy to win” will go right under “Trade wars are easy to win” in the history books under “What happens when you elect a stupid man in order to ‘shake things up’.” Have you been shaken enough, trumpsters? Mitch McConnell said there are no circumstances under which he would allow a vote to override a presidential veto so if Individual 1 is not given some kind of cover for changing his mind and re-opening the government, it will go on until a group that has the right to strike shuts down something that Republican Senators care about (it won’t be people going hungry, btw) and they override McConnell. Airline pilots? We’re looking at you.
Yesterday, freshman Congresspersons and House members from districts that voted for Trump were invited to the White House for lunch in an effort to split the caucus. No one went, not a single member, despite Nancy Pelosi encouraging them to go (to see for themselves what a literal piece of crap Trump is). They are now going to invite the Problem Solvers Cacas and see if they will bite but since most of those are Republicans it would not be enough to break our coalition. We keep sending bills to the Senate, the Senate keeps refusing to bring them up for a vote and that will be how it plays out until people in states with Republican Senators lean on their members.
My to-do list seems to be getting longer instead of shorter as end-of-year projects seem to beget more end-of-year projects while client project work is ongoing. I always forget how many elements are involved in flipping the business calendar from one year to the next. Fortunately I have a good reminder system so nothing it getting lost – it is just annoying to still be buried in piles of papers halfway through January.
See all y’all later!
Wednesday Meese. A toasty 25 here in Saugerties NY, going up to 40.
Puerto Rico.
No ones first trip should be to Iowa! I hate hate hate that sucking up to the whitest white people in the country is the first test of a 2020 candidate. Steve King did not fall out of a tree, he has a strong following in Iowa and racism hides just beneath the surface of even those who claim to be “woke.” I know because Wisconsin is a lot like Iowa and I see it all the time. Being “anti-racist” is only okay as long as it is convenient.
Cool & foggy, 50ish & supposed to stay that way all day. Yesterday was exhausting, I really had forgotten how loud & busy work is — in only 3 extra days off. Glad next week is short also. Tired brain is playing Wild Horses at me very loudly.
What are you holding back
I know you’ve wild horses enough inside of you
(Stop holding back)
Now’s not the time to learn
Serenity, it’s gone to red from blue
(Stop holding back)
Good Woden’s Day, Meese, and a gray and gloomy one it is, too. Haven’t heard anything about Weather Happening Today, because I refuse to turn on the TV until noon, by which time the presenters have sobered up from whatever they put in their early morning coffee. Right now in Ashburn it’s 21 F., going up to a balmy 40 F. Well, it’s winter, right?
Still upset about the sh*tdown. That’s what I’ve taken to calling it in my head. (The inside of my head is very rude.)
Still in my dressing-gown, enjoying Dearly’s excellent coffee. He’s gone to the eye doctor. I have some projects to work on this morning. Yesterday I did some research regarding the country of residence for the Queen of Tarts, but came up with very little. Turkey is out, too dangerous. Morocco is a possibility. Just for kicks, I Googled “Queen of Tarts” and found a pastry shop in Dublin! Yikes! No Tart would voluntarily live in Ireland, a country that despises sex.
Oh, well, enough of such silliness. Yesterday a interviewed a woman who is nearly 90 years old. Like yrs truly, she’s so liberal she can hardly get to sleep at night for fear of missing some new development. As a young woman in New York City in the 1940s and 1950s she was discriminated against because she’s Jewish. I listened, appalled. Was even more appalled (here my white privilege is showing) when she said it’s just something Jews learn to live with, as I suppose black people do every minute of every day in the USA, and as women do from birth to death. Women are reminded of their second-class status with every breath they take.
Which is why I want an all-woman ticket for 2020. Yes, I do like the thought of a Harris-Castro ticket, but Harris-Klobuchar, Harris-Killibrand, or Harris and another woman would get me off my assets and out the door to work for their election.
Wishing everyone in Mooseland a good, non-disturbing day.
Did I leave it too late to click the “Edit” button? It’s not working for me. Anyway, it should be “I interviewed,” not “a interviewed”!
Will you be talking to that woman again? I am getting confused by the claims that somehow Democrats are anti-Semites and that balances how Republicans are racist. When did that happen and how does that reconcile to what I thought of most Jewish people – that they are pretty strong Democrats and have been for many generations?
I think it’s the same gaslighters who keep saying it’s the Dems who are racists – based on the pre-Civil Rights Act/Southern Strategy party alignments.
I’ll be seeing her at the Progressives’ Luncheon on Friday (“Progressives” being Ashby Ponds’ name for Democrats). This woman is a very strong Democrat and also organizes current affairs discussions. As far as I can tell, many, if not all Jewish people are Democrats. I can ask her, if you like.
Good morning, Meesefolk; 28 with a high of 28 today, but more importantly, we may get a peek at the sun this afternoon. It’s not much, but I’ll take it.`
It looks like I’ll be burying my head in the sand for awhile; I’m on some new meds for all the sinus issues I have going on, and it results in vivid dreams. But I’ve discovered that the dreams seem to be driven by whatever I was last doing/watching/reading before I go to bed, so I’ve had to start avoiding late night news/Twitter/history books if I want to avoid nightmares. It’s not foolproof, but it helps. Last night I made cupcakes before going to bed, and I dreamt I was living in Candyland…surreal, yes, but at least not a nightmare. I’m going to be glad when I’m done with this course of medicine!
Good day to and for all!
Good morning, 43 and mostly clear in Deer Harbor, Wa. Rain is forecast for the rest of the week so we’re going to drive around the island and visit the places we used to stay today. The territorial view from Mt Constitution is best seen on a clear day. I hope the old farm house at Doe Bay and the towering cedar tree is still there. Today will be a memory filled day!
Best wishes to all.
It’s 40 and overcast today in Fay., AR – might get up to 50. Might also clear off. Which would be nice. It did yesterday – cleared off early enough and stayed cleared off long enough to generate 8.46 KWHs, the highest so far this year, and the m-t-d is 67.8 – nowhere near on track but we have some time yet. Not sure even 180 is technically possible at this time of year, but there’s half the month left and we shall see what we shall see.
My schedule is mostly set – M-Th 8-1 with extra as needed. We’re in the last week of open registration, all our classes are full (as usual), so I’m doing a lot of overriding kids into closed classes. Which is normal this time of year. That’s what I’ve mostly been doing all morning. Taking a breather to check in (& then get coffee) – until the next override request comes in. Politically speaking I really wish we’d quite mining the Senate for our presidential candidates. This is purely responding to MSM propaganda memes and the ride they’re taking us on does not have a decent much less good destination. That said, a Harris-Castro ticket sounds good to me. I’d prefer Harris in the Senate for 30 years rather than the White House for 8 (or 4 if the fascist-owned media can manage it) – but she’d do a very good job as president.
Holding the Good Thought/sending Good Vibes to Aji (among a bunch of other folks) as she’s finally getting the imagining done to see if they can figure out what almost killed her starting 14 months ago. An answer would be nice. An easily-treated answer would be wonderful. Healing Energy to everybody everywhere shaped to their needs. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
I know we have had this conversation in the past but I really want to try to understand why Kamala Harris as a permanent Senator is more attractive than a President Kamala Harris. Would “Barack Obama being a Senator for 30 years” be better than 8 years of President Barack Obama? A presidency is not just a one and done 8 year gig as seen by how Barack Obama is handling his post-presidency. You have the freedom to invest time in all sorts of projects to benefit the country after your term ends. To me she has the leadership skills to be president and that many of those skills are wasted in the Senate much as Barack Obama’s were. There you are one of 100, the presidency is singular and the post presidency includes only a handful of living persons.
I do believe that Elizabeth Warren is better suited to the Senate – she is a policy wonk – and that the darling of the left, Sherrod Brown, should not consider turning his Senate seat over to Mike DeWine to pick someone to replace him. He may be the only person who can win a Senate seat in Ohio and his leaving permanently moving it to the Republican side is not a good tradeoff. There is nothing Brown brings to the table that someone else doesn’t unless it is his white maleness (I am not convinced that he would even win Ohio – or that it is a prize any longer). I am not ready to believe that we can’t get a woman – and a woman of color – elected next year.
I believe that “one of 100” is being too dismissive of both the importance of the Senate in general and the individual Senators in particular. The skills of a Kamala Harris running Judiciary (among other committees) and interrogating presidential appointments are quite needed there and always will be, however long we might actually have her in the Senate. Dems are not interchangeable game pieces. Each brings a set of skills and a lifetime of experience. Another Dem, appointed or elected, to replace her will not have her skillset nor her life experiences. Yes, she would be an excellent president and it’s entirely possible that she will be an excellent president. But we will sorely miss her abilities in the Senate once she leaves it for whatever reason.
I totally agree that some folks, like EW or SB, are best suited to where they are. For whatever reason. And that others are more versatile and can play many roles. But pulling really good people from the Senate to run for president is basically reducing the Senators to interchangeable parts, saying it doesn’t matter who holds the seat as long as said person is a Dem. As to Barack Obama staying in the Senate, well, we didn’t walk that path so we cannot know whether it would have been a better thing. He was a good president, possibly a better president than he was a Senator. Either way it bothers me greatly that Congress in general and the Senate in particular has been reduced to 2nd class instead of its constitutional co-equal status.
I think in a different time the Senate was important. At this point in history, Mitch McConnell has turned it into the House of Representatives with 6 year terms instead of 2 year terms. He controls the legislature and the caucus and there is no individual power like there used to be – as committee chair or as an individual member. Kamala Harris would have to wait until everyone died before she would be chair of the Judiciary Committee and as delightful as her smackdowns of right-wing judges and nominees are, there are others to pick up that slack (Al Franken was great at it – Amy Klobuchar does good job). Maybe she will end up staying in the Senate but in my mind she has none of the flaws that many of the other putative presidential candidates have and we urgently need a strong, compelling candidate to win in 2020.
Are Senators interchangeable? Not completely. But I am convinced that California would not elect a bad Democratic Senator.
The duties of the Senate have not changed just because the procedures have. And we’ll never have committee chairs if we don’t leave people in the Senate long enough to get seniority. All the “she’s great, let’s run her for president” comments have been responses to her doing an absolutely stellar job of her Senatorial duties in the Senate. A reaction that still puzzles me. She’s doing an absolutely stellar job where she is and I want her to keep doing it. While another Dem Senator would probably be a good Senator, the odds of them being that good a Senator at that particular part of Senatorial duties are not good. And that particular set of Senatorial duties is very important right now and for the foreseeable future.
But if she runs, as apparently she’s going to, I will support her.
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 25 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 32. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.
That some Democrats in the House wanted “someone else” to be Speaker besides Nancy Pelosi simply underscores how ignorant they are. It is clear why she is demonized by Republicans – she knows how power works and she is not afraid to use it. Postponing the State of the Union until after the shutdown ends – and inviting Individual 1 to submit it in writing as an alternative – was brilliant. There is no doubt that the entire speech would have been a diatribe against Democrats in Congress and she saved her caucus from being subjected to that firehose of lies – in their own House! – while upping the shutdown stakes. tRump lives for the spotlight and she just turned off the biggest one of the year.
I have been catching snippets of the Barr confirmation hearing and it is apparent that another Trump nominee has convinced Democrats that his loyalty will be to the Constitution and not his party and his president. Meh. The tell is that he refuses to agree to release the entire Mueller report. I guess you have to give him points for honesty – he would be lying if he did agree – but Democrats in the House are going to have to put together a plan to get the report on the people’s behalf before it is shredded.
A longtime HUD official has resigned over the way that the housing agency has been handling disaster assistance specifically Puerto Rico.
“Corrected misinformation transmitted to the president”? That would require removing Fox News from the White House cable package and taking Sean Hannity off speed-dial on tRump’s phone!
I am of two minds about career federal officials leaving the administration. On the one hand, I want the best possible people in place to mitigate the damage being done. On the other hand, it is unfair to expect people to have to work in the worst possible conditions for the worst people. I hope we can survive until January 20, 2021. And goddess save us if the Republicans allow the Russians to ratfk the 2020 election to keep their president in place.
See all y’all later!
Thursday Meese
17 degrees here in Saugerties NY. Keeping an eye on big winter storm headed this way.
There cannot have been a more vile president in U. S. history than Thing. Andrew Jackson was a scumbag and I’ve heard bad things about Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation aside. Thing is the nadir, the cesspit of white maleness.
First of 2 warm days — 70s, then a plunge over the weekend but at least now they’re saying it isn’t going to freeze. Work is really busy, and we have a meeting this morning. So there’s a productive hour lost. Was going to walk before work, but since it’s supposed to be sunny & 70 today, I’ll walk after work. Listening to Snow Patrol’s Wow. I love the chorus:
Say the first thing that
Comes into your mind when you see me
If it looks like it works and it feels like it works
Then it works
With the sun on your face
All these worries will soon disappear
Just follow me now
Good Thor’s Day morning, Moosekind. We’re expecting stormy weather late this evening with a nasty commute tomorrow. Sunday looks even worse, but for some Monday is a federal holiday, so that may mitigate the impacts. Currently it’s 34 F., going up to 36 F., and the sky is overcast.
Tomorrow will begin for me in a most unwelcome fashion as I have to fast tonight for a blood withdrawal in the morning. Been eating steel-cut oats every day in the hope of getting a good cholesterol result. We’ll see.
Still sick about the sh*tdown, still deeply loathing Thing, still not sure what’s going to happen. This morning we’ll take the oatmeal cookies I baked yesterday to our DIL, then we’ll do some grocery shopping in advance of the weather. There’s an all-floors party for our building this afternoon from 3 to 5, but it my Communications Committee meeting is from 3 to 4. I’ll stop by the party for the last hour because for one reason or another I haven’t been to the last two gatherings.
The weather has ruined my out-of-building lunch plans this week. Darling Niece couldn’t make it yesterday and Sunday is looking not very nice at all, so that meeting will have to be deferred. Very minor problems compared to what other people are going through. Oh, how I hope we can take back the White House and the Senate!
Wishing a nice quiet day to all at the Pond.
Good morning, Meesefolk; 16 and 19 and 21 when I got up this morning (several times…restless night) with a high of 28 expected. The storm headed our way looks like it will be mostly skirting south, which bums me out a bit. Kiddo will probably be getting about 8″ of snow, while we are currently in the 1-3″ band. I’ll probably be happy when the reality of the wind and cold sinks in, but at the moment, I’d rather be with Kiddo or Denise for their snow. I’ve always said that I like winter, but until this year, I never realized how much I enjoy snow.
Sen. Gillibrand was on Rachel last night, and I was quite impressed. She’s not my first choice, but she did move up quite a bit in my personal rankings. One question I have about all the announced and will-probably-announce candidates is about foreign policy. Did we lose our foreign policy experience when we lost Hillary? How does one gain that experience when Dems are not in the WH? Is State Department experience necessary, or is it gained elsewhere? Does it even matter if the presidential candidate has that experience? These are all questions I’m pondering, with no clear answers yet. But they are questions that are important to me, so I’ll be listening closely to the candidates to hear what they have to say.
Good day to and for all!
There’s a reason why we kept saying Hillary was the most qualified person to ever run for president – FA experience was just one of the reasons. Most presidential candidates/presidents don’t have it and either choose their SoS wisely or eff up mightily. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 44 and partly sunny at Deer Harbor. Yesterday’s exploring was fun, and yes the old cedar tree is still presiding over the hill leading down from the farm house to the beach, and the farm house is still be lived in and looks cared for.
Memories!……especially the one of son #2 bailing out of our packed to the top VW Bus as we arrived for a 2 week stay, running to the tree, grabbing the rope swing, falling off, and breaking his arm. We tossed everything out of the van, and off I went with his arm on a pillow to find a Dr. somewhere on the island. He was in 2nd grade (I think) and by the end of our stay the cast was held together with sand and duct tape!
The wind was freezing cold on Mt Constitution so we didn’t stay long, but it was good to see the the old CC stone work and the territorial view again.
We’re going to just stay here today. Ron’s editing his Nooksack series for a local monthly newspaper, and I’ve got a new book to read. Best wishes to all.
Welp, it’s 44 feels like 38 and drizzling. We got 2.7 KWHs yesterday and will be doing well to get the same today. sigh. The m-t-d is 70.6 – doubling it would get us just over the 131 produced in January 2014 with the 2.5K system. And there is a distinct possibility that I’ll end up paying to buy back the electricity SWEPCO took from me at the end of October. Which pisses me off. Oh well. I live in corporate-owned AR and I refuse to cut down the trees in my front yard (even if the city would let me and they might not – we’re a “Tree City” and proud of it). It won’t be by much if it happens.
The national situation sux and will until we get the power to make it less so. That means both halves of Congress – we’ve got some leverage with the House alone but obviously not enough to even end the shutdown. At least my Social Security was deposited yesterday. Since I’m working most of my Social Security is going into my savings account. My TIAA-Cref dropped by 7.9% last quarter. Fortunately I’ve never counted on that for anything but emergencies and house maintenance as needed. Meanwhile folks who are dear to me, in “real” life and on the internet, are hurting – so I pray/Channel as best I can and send a little grocery money as best I can.
Need more coffee then back to work. Faculty meeting today so I’ve been running copies all morning as well as enrolling more students into closed classes. Healing Energy to everybody everywhere shaped to their needs. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}