Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Feb. 21st through Feb. 27th

February 21, 2016 JanF Community 140

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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41 Comments

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

    It is 33 degrees in Madison WI, on its way up to 38. Cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    Have a great day, all y’alls!!

  2. Good Sunday morning, Meese! It’s cloudy and 48 F. here in NoVa, going up to 53 F. later with heavy rain. At least it’s not snow. Happy to report the snowbanks are gradually melting away.

    Well, well! Had to skip the shouting preacher channel at this hour, so turned on another network news station and learned that Hillary had “squeaked by” Sanders in Nevada. “Squeaked”? If BS had won, the five-point spread would be described as a “blowout.” Regrettably, I don’t have to look very far to find evidence of woman-hatred in general and Hillary-hatred in particular—it’s right under my nose. Also, Jill Filipovic (sp.?) at the NYT came out and said what I’ve said all along: all the people saying, “Oh, yes, I want a woman president, just not this woman” are lying. Any woman, not just Hillary, would be subject to the verbal crucifixion she is undergoing now.

    No surprise about The Trumpet, but mild surprise that Rubot tied with the Ayatollah. Probably people think Rubot can stop The Trumpet and that he would be acceptable. To my mind, he’s just as evil as the Ayatollah, but less open about it.

    Breakfast now, and later today we’re off to babysit Mr. Newbaby while his parents go out for a celebratory lunch: Elder Son started a new job last week and today is DIL’s birthday. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and Beyond!

    • Excellent First Report on the primary/caucus results from last night! Indeed, the “just not this woman” is a convenient fig leaf. There is no woman waiting in the wings with the depth and breadth of experience that Hillary Clinton will bring to the presidency, no one as vetted … nor anyone with the organization and connections needed to run a national campaign. The time is now.

      I want Donald Trump to win the Republican Primary. I want to see the pretzels that establishment Republicans twist themselves into in order to justify their vote for someone clearly unsuited to be president – heck! – clearly unsuited to even be in polite company. Exit polls show that the god people voted for the guy who wants to kill innocent civilians because of their religion! In November, Republicans will have a choice: vote for your party or your country.

    • Thanks for that heads up! That was an excellent article by Jill Filipovic:

      “[In business settings], managers would remark that they wanted “more women” and proceed to reject qualified candidates. (Similar dynamics took place with minority candidates.) There were always reasons — not the right cultural fit, not the right experience, a phenomenon of unintentional sexism now well documented in controlled studies. I watched as men with little or irrelevant experience were hired and promoted, because they had such great ideas, or they fit in better. “We want a woman,” the conclusion seemed to be, “just not this woman.”

      Watching a primary election in which an eminently qualified woman long assumed to be a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination faces a serious challenge from an older white guy with exciting ideas, many women my age and older hear something familiar, and personal, in the now-common refrain about Hillary Clinton: “I want a woman president, just not this woman president.”

      She thinks young women will come around. I hope she is right.

  3. Once again, MSNBC has that disgusting overgrown frat guy on. CNN is talking to Trump. Local news it is. I watched a great show last night on the James Webb telescope & the ones that led up to it (Hubble, Spitzer). I tweeted about it — and one of the people in charge of it tweeted back, twice!

    and omg — Richard Garriott just re-tweeted me! I replied to this:

    Richard Garriott ‏@RichardGarriott

    I listen to & learn from respectful opposing opinions on everything from design to politics. Try to communicate respect too. #moderatesunite

    and said:

    Becky ‏@beckythecyclist

    @RichardGarriott The moment the yelling starts, I’m out. Passion is 1 thing, bulldozing anothr. I’m not a moderate, but I speak respectfully

    Wow. I got a like & re-tweet from Richard Garriott. Ok, got to do something about these goosebumps.

  4. Good morning, 36 and partly cloudy in Bellingham. Our family birthday party was very fun yesterday. Making pizzas and cooking them on the out door grill was a tasty group effort and we even had a break from the rain.

    I haven’t baked very much since needing to avoid gluten, so finding the Cup 4 Cup flour is a treat for me. The Chocolate Fudge Pecan Cake from my well used Grandma Rose cookbook was our favorite birthday cake for so many years, and the gf version I baked yesterday was just as we remembered, yay!

  6. Good afternoon Meese – sorry to be late – got caught up in stuff and then had to babysit my fp diary at orange.

    Haven’t even had a chance to look at the news yet, except I did read the Filipovic piece this morning. I agree with her analysis.

    I hope those of you who were nail-biting about NV are now at rest ;)

    • From the looks of things, we may need a few more wins before we can declare the primary season over. ;) I am somewhat shocked because I always thought that Democrats were the reality-based party and I am seeing a lot of denial. Maybe it is because there are so many non-Democrats who are Berners or because many of them have been working on this particular burn since 1972. With all the talk about the “winner take all” rules for Republicans and our “undemocratic thumb on the scale” Super Delegates, it was a good chance to talk to Democrats about the McGovern Rule, a series of changes put in place to avoid this:

      We may not like the arcane delegate assignment the Democratic Party uses but everyone but the most pure would agree that 1972 should be avoided at all costs.

      • Far Right and Far Left sort of meet at the other side of the circle. And this particular group of Far Left is not knowledgeable about – or accepting of – much of anything that happened before they left for college apparently.

    • It was a very good diary – as usual. I don’t think S.C. managed to get onto the ballot in TX – I don’t remember, but that’s kind of the point. If she’d been there I’m pretty sure I’d have remembered. But yes, somebody has to be the first to try because that creates the path for others to walk. Barack Obama walked and Hillary is walking the path she created. And somebody has to be the first to win – Obama now, please goddess Hillary Clinton in November – which then widens and smooths the path for others to follow.

  7. Started the day at 65, still 65, think we’re going to end the day at 65 – overcast but enough sunshine I’ll at least get as much generated as I use (even on a Sunday which, since it’s my cooking and cleaning day, is my highest use day). Hillary folks over at GOS are celebrating and we’ve gotten a couple of nice Bernie people dropping by to congratulate. Of course we’ve also got a bunch of trolls (including one young fool who not only admits he’s a troll he’s proud of it – seems to think bringing the Dem Party down is the way to get the Green Party up – sigh) but overall, we’re happy and relieved more than anything else. Thankfully at the Moose Pond we can be happy and relieved without worrying about trolls. Anyway, hope everyone is having a lovely day. {{{HUGS}}}

  8. Just posted my very first tweet in response to Dee’s retweeting of a horrific video of Susan Sarandon getting in Delores Huerta’s face and lecturing her on the Evils of Hillary like she’s a 5 year old. She’s always been one of my favorite actresses, but I’ve completely lost all respect for her – even if she didn’t know who she was speaking to, she was being abusively arrogant to an elderly lady. Unbelievable.

    • “Google it, Dolores!!!! How can you not know that the most important thing in the world is GMOs and Monsanto???!!?? Forget your phony ‘racial justice’ and ‘economic justice’ issues!! And could you see that I have an extra towel for my room?”

      What is your Twitter handle, Geordie? I looked at the replies on Dee’s retweet and did not see any that looked like they might be you.

      • AuntSophie is my Twitter handle. I’m glad to see, checking over there now, that the Sarandon berating of Delores Huerta is being widely condemned – but of course the Bernie people are asking for an apology from Huerta. When pigs fly, guys, seriously. As someone on Twitter said, the only thing Sarandon should have been asking Huerta for was her autograph.

        • Eeek!!! You’re an egg!!!

          You should upload an avatar as soon as you have time. Eggs are widely mocked across Twittersylvania; it identifies you as a newbie and people will have less respect for your opinions even though it can often simply mean “I don’t know how to change my avatar”. ;)

          I am following you now so please behave!!

  9. Good morning, meese! Monday …

    It is 30 degrees in Madison on its way up to 39. Cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    John Kerry is saying that agreement on a provisional cease fire in Syria has been reached and could begin in a few days. In pope news, Francis calls on Catholic politicians to abolish the death penalty and Catholic Trump voters rationalize the disconnect with Papal teachings:

    “I agree with the pope as far as being a true Christian, you accept everybody,” said Paul Nappi, 65, outside Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Brooklyn, New York. “I happen to like Trump but I don’t know if he’s literally about building walls or that’s just a figure of speech.”.

    Good lord, man, have you not been listening!??!!

    In probably the most incredible act of self-unawareness, Fox News’ Chris Wallace called out Hillary Clinton for not wanting to appear on his show. She’s a Democrat! Why would she appear on the Republican Party’s propaganda channel? Sheesh.

    Powerful ad:

    Morgan Freeman appeared on CNN with Don Lemon who asked “Do you think Hillary Clinton has a trust issue?” His reply: “Not with me she doesn’t.”

    See all y’all later!

    • I just finished reading the transcript from an NPR story about slave women being used in medical experiments. Dr. J. Marion Sims, the “Father of Modern Gynecology” is lauded but his accolades rested on his ability to use slave women to experiment on – without anesthesia:

      GAMBLE: These women were property. These women could not consent. These women also had value to the slaveholders for production and reproduction – how much work they could do in the field, how many enslaved children they could produce. And by having these fistulas, they could not continue with childbirth and also have difficulty working.

      […]

      VEDANTAM: Were the surgeries that he was performing on them performed without anesthesia?

      GAMBLE: They were performed without anesthesia. There was a belief at the time that black people did not feel pain in the same way. They were not vulnerable to pain, especially black women.

      I guess it should not have surprised me that slaves were used in medical experiments but it did.

      • Double whammy – black and women. Even after anesthesia was invented, it wasn’t given to women “in childbirth” because the bible said women are supposed to bear in pain.

        And never be surprised at the evil done slaves – especially slave women. If there is a depth to the evil Men do, slave women are there having it done to them.

    • I LOVE that video – Dee, I posted a link to it in the shoutbox at our guild website, hope people take a look. It is pure joy.

  11. Just sent an e-mail to my HR office about early voting. There will be a “mobile voting” (1-day location, they have tons of them, at offices, grocery stores, senior centers, etc) location in the building next door today. I’m wearing an “I voted” sticker every day this week.

    earworm is Desert Of Our Love, from my darlings. It’s a b-side, or maybe wasn’t even that — I never heard it till my brother got my the Joshua Tree 25th Anniversary deluxe re-release with bonus material (that has many of my favorite U2 songs….. apparently I never like the popular ones best)

  12. Good morning, Moosekind, it’s 40 F. now on a cloudy, dampish morning, going up to 50 F. later on. Have been lying in bed watching what passes for news and reading a novel.

    Feeling wearied by the primaries and the hatred. Hope I can keep myself from reading useless threads at GOS today and accomplish something worthwhile.

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and Beyond!

  13. Morning all! It’s really a perfectly beautiful day here in north Florida, I cannot lie – it’s like San Diego weather, only greener outside.

    I’m still shaking my head over the whole Delores Huerta incident – but I’m going to try to focus on the positive about Hillary’s campaign, and ignore the rest of the static. I feel good about having already voted for her via mail for Florida’s primary. I need to find the campaign office around here somewhere to see about getting a yard sign.

    Phone calls to make today, my least favorite thing in the world – that’s why I’m terrible at phone banking, I just can’t stand cold calling people. But I may make myself do it for Hillary if we need to in the fall.

    Have a great day everyone!

  14. 42 at dawn heading for 60 and sunny this 4th (but not last – heh) Monday in February. Dipping back into a more winterish mode tonight and later this week. But the redbuds are out in front of one of the buildings on campus and I’ve got daffs both budding and blooming around my yard.

    What online stuff I’ll be doing today will be here and either in HNV or (later) the Pootie diary at GOS. Ain’t safe no place else. Enjoy the sunshine (presupposing you have it) and HUGS.

  15. Good morning, 39 and cloudy in Bellingham. It’s so nice to see a more “spring like” light outside my window this morning. The hydrangeas are all budding, and tulips and daffodils and blooming, so the deer are visiting the garden every night now. I’ll see what they munched when I go to the pool this morning.

    I took a day off from worrying about the Dem primary yesterday, but I can feel the tension building again this morning. It’s going to be a long 8 months until Nov, but reading articles about the delegate math helps.

    Delegate Count Leaving Bernie Sanders With Steep Climb

    • This ticks me off, from Tad Devine:

      “The Clintons can get a delegate lead quicker than we can, and they have a way to gut out the delegate fight,” said Tad Devine, a senior adviser to Mr. Sanders. “We have to turn victories in state after state into big momentum that can change the numbers.”

      “The Clintons” aren’t running for president – Hillary Clinton is – and he is using that framing because he wants to make this a referendum on Bill Clinton’s presidency. Good luck with that. Democrats aren’t as stupid as Tad “I advised Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry” Devine thinks we are. Meh. He must have learned math at the knee of Karl Rove, he certainly frames things as if he is a right-winger with his focus on her email server and speech transcripts. What next, bringing up Benghaziiiiii?

  17. Good morning, meese! Tuesday …

    It is 31 degrees in Madison on its way up to 43. Cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    Tonight the Republicans hold their caucus in Nevada. The GOP establishment has moved all of their hopes and dreams (and cash) to Marco Rubio now that Jeb! is done. This will be a test of the power of the endorsement. It did not do Jeb Bush any good but it may have been too much to overcome the Bush name and what some are calling a shift of power to the “Make America White Again” wing of the party. The battle for second place is a side show because 2nd or 3rd it does not matter – the next guy knocked out will NOT be Trump and the votes of either Cruz or Rubio will not slide from one to the other: many will end up going to Trump. The Republicans have some serious chickens coming home to roost from deploying the Southern Strategy and letting the Othering extend to ethnic and religious minorities as well.

    And John Kasich is still a Neanderthal along with every other Republican governor who want to endanger the health of poor women.

    See all y’all later!

  18. I just saw this video from Vox. THIS is what we need to gear up to fight against:

    The rise of Donald Trump is a terrifying moment in American politics

    Most people feel shame when they’re exposed as liars, when they’re seen as uninformed, when their behavior is thought cruel, when respected figures in their party condemn their actions, when experts dismiss their proposals, when they are mocked and booed and protested.

    Trump doesn’t. He has the reality television star’s ability to operate entirely without shame, and that permits him to operate entirely without restraint.

    Exactly. He can’t be shamed and therefore has nothing to stop him from doing what he wants, when he wants, damn the consequences.

    • But—as much as I despise Trump for being a vulgar, vicious buffoon, the fact that he doesn’t care what other people think is occasionally bubble-shattering! That moment when he called out Jebby for 9/11, saying that Dubya did NOT keep us safe because 9/11 happened on his watch, was absolutely riveting. So was Trump’s true statement that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. There weren’t. To my knowledge, no soi-disant Republican had EVER publicly stated that.

      Trump isn’t beholden to the RNC or hundreds of small donors so he can say what he likes. The thought of his ever being president and representing this country to the world makes my stomach sink right to my toes. However, I get a huge kick when one of his barbs lands in the right place.

  19. Good Tiu’s Day morning, Moosekind! Wonder what the god of battles will wreak in Nevada today? The Cruz missile seems to be going down and that’s nothing but good. I wouldn’t put anything past that guy.

    Raining heavily here in Northern Virginia this morning, so I’ll drive the little girl next door to school. Last night the thick cloud cover prevented our seeing the Snow Moon. It’s a good thing I don’t attach a lot of importance to esbats, because I’d never get to celebrate them here in foggy old DC.

    I see that we may be getting some new Meese in Moosylvania. That’s great! I love it here at the Moose Pond. It’s fun to catch a glimpse of Moose lives all over the country: princesspat in the Pacific Northwest, with her flower garden and sewing projects; Jan in the Midwest, masterminding the Moose as well as her work, and cheering her daughter’s sporting events; Denise shivering in Saugerties in the winter, trying to keep warm while she blogs and walks the dogs; Geordie teaching a college class and enjoying the warmth in Florida, anotherdemocrat valiantly trying to do a walk in Austin despite 90+ temperatures, bfitz in Arkansas keeping track of her electricity generator and whipping up delicious-sounding food on the weekends! Love reading about it.

    Finished the March short story yesterday. It’s now cooling on the hard drive. I’ll look at it later this week to make the final tweaks. Now, on to the April short story, plus Political Granddaughter’s birthday story in April, and the last chapter of Long, Long Way to Run. Will I EVER finish that novella? Stay tuned and have a good day!

  20. Not a single thought in my head this morning. I’ve been at my desk for 45 minutes, and not a thought. My head is playing Hozier’s Someone New. And that’s really all that’s going on in there.

    I need to lower my cholesterol, so I’ve got to start going to the gym & lifting weights. Also bought a bottle of red wine & looking for ways to eat more red & purple vegetables.

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