Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Jan. 20th through Jan. 26th

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?

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.

  • Page One of Comments is HERE!
     
  • Page Two of Comments is HERE!
     
  • Page Three of Comments is HERE!
     

43 Comments

  1. Good rainy Thor’s Day, Meese! Although the rain has stopped now, both rain and wind were blowing in full force this morning at a quarter to six when I tried to take Beagle Boy out for a business meeting. He was simply not having it, refused to budge! He hates rain with a passion.

    Currently the temperature in Ashburn is 54 F., going up to 55 F. before it starts dropping again. Might have to get the boy out for his walkies before that happens.

    Went to see “Fahrenheit 11/9” yesterday. It was very disturbing, not the least because it showed the utter fiasco of Election Night 2016, when our hearts plummeted into our boots and stayed there. It was painful to watch. Then of course, old Michael had to castigate Hillary for accepting a handsome speaking fee from Goldman Sachs. Why is it okay for a great big old hairy may-yun to get a whopping fee for speaking, but not for a woman? She’s supposed to volunteer her time and talent because having anything to do with money is unladylike? Faugh!

    Anyway, this morning I woke up to a post that suggested Putie is behind the shutdown. Why do I have so little difficulty believing this? I’ll tell you why: the past two years have been so abnormal that I can now, like the character in Alice in Wonderland, believe six impossible things before breakfast.

    Please excuse me for not getting excited that yet another aging white male thinks he can be prez. After 246 years of white males, it’s time for a change. And with a name like that…unfortunately, there will be people who refuse to pronounce it correctly (Buddha-judge), and verbal havoc will ensue.

    Hoping to get some work done this morning. In the meantime, back at the ranch, the coffee has merrily dripped into the pot and the blueberry-pecan bran muffins are right out of the oven. Time for breakfast!

    Wishing all a good day to all, with impending tax refunds, rain to melt the ice and snow, and contemplation of beautiful primroses!

    • Pete Impossibletoremberhowtospelllastname is not an aging white male except insofar as everyone ages from the time they are born. :) He is a millennial and barely qualifies for the age limit for president (37 years old, I think). But he is the mayor of a college town in a red state that he would not even carry in a presidential election. I think he is smart, I thought he would make a good DNC chief, and I also think he needs to run for Indiana governor before he runs for president. It is easy to say “let’s come together” when you run primary campaigns in blue states – show us how you campaign in your own red state so we can see who you are willing to throw under the bus to get elected.

      • As the resident Pete Buttigieg fan, I don’t really disagree with any of this. Maybe it’s because I’ve been following him for years, or maybe it’s a Midwestern bias, but I do want to see more of him at a national level…someday. He’s so damn smart that it would be a shame if Dems lost him back to the hedge fund wilderness. I could easily see him at HUD, but he’s also clearly ambitious, so who knows if a Cabinet position would hold any appeal for him.

        • Let me say that I’m tired of these people wanting to start at the top. Yes, by all means start out by winning elections at lower levels—state legislator, state senator, governor, Congress. There are all these people with raging egos—the Starbucks guy, Bloomberg, Moulton—just everyone wants to be president whether they’re qualified or not.

          Look at what eight years in the Oval Office does to people, though. Regard the “before and after” photos of Obama and Clinton. It really is not such a great position to be in.

        • I saw the interview last night & was very impressed. We really have great field, I could vote for any of them (besides Bernie & Uncle Joe). I am truly undecided, though obviously excited about both Texans.

  2. Good morning meese, it’s currently 35 degrees with a high of 61 today. I’m up early to get Belle ready for her vet visit this morning (she needs to have gabapentin with her breakfast 3 hours before the visit so she’s calm enough) and will spend a bit of time with her after we come back from the vet before going to work.

    Good day to one and all!

    • {{{basket}}} – skritches & Healing Energy to Belle. {{{HUGS}}} & Healing Energy to you.

  3. Good morning, 38, cloudy and still very dark in Bellingham. I’m awake earlier today and seem to have some energy so let’s hope it lasts. I would like to replace the winter arrangements on the porches with some spring bulbs. The laurel hedge is starting to grow and the new camellia we planted in the pot on the upper patio is starting to bloom so it’s time to do more than just contemplate my primroses!

    Time to find some coffee so I can stay awake until it gets light outside my window. Best wishes to all.

  4. Well, 23 isn’t warm but it’s warmer than yesterday – and it’s sunny! That makes all the difference as to how everybody feels. We did get a bit over 4 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is a bit over 105 – not good, we’re still 26 short of what the 2.5K system did in January 2015 – but better. Better will have to do until we can get to good.

    I’m glad the Dem candidates are highlighting Puerto Rico. Even if it’s a political ploy for some folks, it still gets Puerto Rico in the news – and insures something will be done as soon as we get the power to do it. And other than the things that are specific to Puerto Rico (like the dept Congress jacked up for them) any systemic change that benefits Puerto Rico should benefit all poor, Indigenous, and natural disaster victims. Which I’d call a serious win-win-win. Meanwhile individuals who are friends of mine are still getting neglected at best, shafted at worst. And America’s medical/healthcare system is designed to kill for fun and profit. (I wish people would quit using M4A to mean Universal Comprehensive Affordable Health Care. Not only is it misleading because Medicare most certainly NOT universal nor comprehensive and it’s only affordable compared to private insurance, but using that phrase is what will allow the Rs to give us more of the same just called M4A.) Truly until the medical industry becomes a health care system people – mostly women, BIPOC, & especially women BIPOC – will keep dying from medical negligence.

    I’m at work but only half day today so I’d best get back to it. Well, coffee first. Healing Energy to everybody everywhere shaped to their needs. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

    • I have cringed at the term “Medicare for All” ever since it was introduced. It is TERRIBLE messaging because it opens it up to scare tactics much like what led to the 2010 shellacking where old people were tricked into thinking that the ACA would take away their Medicare. Call it Universal Health Care or the Public Option but JHC, don’t give Republicans the bludgeon to kill off our party!!

      M4A is not that popular – most Democrats want to build on the ACA – so don’t die on an altar of purity for no reason.

      • I Tweeted this out with a comment, got a predictable response, responded with this – & got dead silence.

        Recognize that everyone's entitled to comprehensive universal healthcare – and quit making some kind of magic mantra about Medicare which is neither. & while we're at it, work on the *care* part. No more not Dxing until it's too fucking late like w/ my momma.— bfitzinAR (@bfitzinAR) January 24, 2019

        https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  5. Good morning, Meesefolk; 35 when I got up, and the temperature has been dropping steadily ever since; we’ll stay in the 20s today, but then our highs will be in the teens for the foreseeable future. My weather app is helpfully informing me that the conditions for golfing are very poor, in case anyone is wondering.

    I did watch Kamala on Rachel last night and was very impressed. Her passion really shone through, as did the fact that she’s bloody smart. I like smart…a lot. I want to look at a candidate and feel like I have a lot of catching up to do before I can even come close to their level. Sure, I could have had a beer with George Bush, and I might even have enjoyed the storytelling of Reagan at a cocktail party, but that doesn’t mean I ever thought they should be president. I want to feel like a student who is soaking it all in. Oddly, Elizabeth Warren, despite her years teaching at Harvard, doesn’t make me feel that way. Her pitch sounds unchanged and rehearsed, like a TED talk that was given 10 years ago and has been on a loop ever since. For her sake, I hope her retail politics are better than her television appearances. As I survey the field of the announced and the considering, I can’t see anyone that is going to usurp Sen. Harris as my #1. For a non-early adopter, it’s a strange feeling!

    Good day to and for all!

    • This is my feeling as well. Warren is smart but in a very scripted way.

      like a TED talk that was given 10 years ago and has been on a loop ever since.

  6. Friday Meese
    31 degrees here in the Catskills, going up to 34.

    Tammy Duckworth

    PR

    • It’s shameful, Denise! When we finally get a Democratic President and Senate…

      Heard that the other Rethug Senators were screaming at McTurtle yesterday during the Senate luncheon. So glad those fat cats don’t have to go hungry.

  7. Good morning, meeses! Friday …

    It is -9 in Madison with an expected daytime high of 0. Mainly sunny skies are in the forecast. This weather will be here for two days then we will have snow on Sunday followed by even colder temperatures, double digit below overnight and daytime highs below zero.

    I watched the Senate votes yesterday and it was instructive that the vote for the clean Continuing Resolution attracted more votes than the bill that included the terrible changes to immigration policy that Stephen Miller inserted into the wall bill. Mike Lee objected because he said he had been promised that the bill would be debated and that amendments could be made. McConnell refused – he wanted the Jared Kushner bill to be voted on intact (probably knowing that Individual 1 would reject any changes). Tom Cotton voted against it because it was not cruel enough to brown people. Six Republicans, two of whom will be former Senators after the 2020 election, voted to reopen the government in the clean CR bill. When I shut down my news feed for the night, there was talk of a bipartisan group of Senators working on a compromise that would reopen government but it has no hope to pass until the Republican Senators decide that they will send a bill to their president and dare him to veto it – and then assert their Article I prerogative and override his veto.

    It sounds like there will be some Mueller news today. I can’t get excited about it because even if it was an indictment of Donald J. Trump it would not move Republicans to block his destruction of our democracy. And that thought is so disheartening I really want to put that moment off as long as possible.

    See all y’all later!

  8. Warmer morning, cooler day. Weird. Didn’t need hat & gloves this morning, but this is about as warm as it’s gonna get. Threw together a diary last night, we’ll see if it gets any attention – auto=posting at the orange place at 7. Meanwhile, overnight oats & tea. I’ve left work early both days I worked this week. My cough is minimal during the day but at night it wakes me up. Maybe my tea is strong enough today to keep me awake all day.

    • That’s weird about the cough, another. Hope it’ll go away so you can get some decent sleep. There’s a big article in this morning’s WaPo about the importance of sleep and how the lack thereof is downright dangerous.

      • my supervisor & I were talking about this cold – we have both been sick, as have others here – and we’ve both had the “can’t sleep for coughing” thing, it sucks

    • Dry cough or productive cough? If it’s a dry cough this may not be a cold. That sounds very much like acid reflux. Especially combined with the tummy upset you’ve had lately. (& you know perfectly well I’m not gonna say to see your doctor about it. I will say don’t eat or be online for at least 2 and preferably 3 hours before you get horizontal.) Healing Energy & lots of {{{HUGS}}}

        • Well, I won’t say “good” because it isn’t, but at least you’ve got a better chance of getting over this. Acid Reflux can be managed but it doesn’t go away. Do you have a recliner so you can try sleeping more or less upright? That might help. More Healing Energy.

  9. Good lovely Friday morning, Moosekind!

    “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day…”

    Yes! Roger Stone has been arrested! And there may be more arrests later today.

    Here in NoVa, it’s definitely cloudy with a current temperature of 32 F., going up to 37 F. No one has mentioned rain.

    Managed to finish the profile of the AP resident who teaches karate here at the Home for the Aged. This guy is a living refutation of the theory that the old can’t learn anything new: after beginning his study of karate at age 68 he achieved his first black belt at 75 and his second at 78! Wow. I’m writing the profile from the perspective of his helping others to master the discipline and artistry of karate—do not want to simply regurgitate the articles that have already appeared in the local press.

    Mr. Paw Patrol is coming for a sleepover tonight. Still trying to work out why the grandchildren look on staying with us as such a treat. Possibly it’s because Grandma is too weak-willed to say “no” to any demands for applesauce, yogurt drink, Roblox on the iPad, and so on.

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond. The ancient Chinese curse is coming true: “May you live in interesting times.” I just wish the damned interesting times weren’t inflicting such pain on the innocent.

    • The few occasions I wish I was able…I can’t rec or tip but I tweeted it out. {{{HUGS}}}

  10. Celebrating Roger Stone arrest!

  11. It’s 18 feels like 11 and mostly sunny right now in Fay., AR – although it’s clouding up to the west. I hope we can get some decent generation before the sun and clouds meet. Yesterday we generated 8.8 KWHs and with this morning’s driblet we’re at 115 for the m-t-d. We need another 16 to meet the 2.5K’s generation in 2015. sigh. That a 60% more powerful system is struggling reach that goal tells you just how cloudy it’s been so far this year. Actually since last July – it’s not been this bad but the generation of the last 7 months (except Nov which was a hair better) has been lower than since I got the 4K system.

    I hope the ropes we’re grabbing to hang onto until we can get rid of #45 & the Deplorables are strong enough. We pragmatic progressive Dems are doing our best to braid those ropes – Very strong together – so we can save more people while we do that. Unfortunately we’ve got supposed Dems who keep trying to cut those ropes as “establishment” or “corporatist” or anything they can think up to keep the Rs in power and kill more people. Extreme Left = Extreme Right. Because I’m still working, even if only part time, I can throw out a few lines to a few people – folks, individuals I know, the system should be helping and instead is hurting. As well as some organizations who are helping and a few politicians who are our ground troops in this war against fascism.

    I got milk this morning, have grilled the next month’s worth of breakfast sausages, and now need coffee. I’ll do some more online stuff before I meet with a friend this afternoon (yes, at a coffee shop – it’s too cold for ice cream. LOL) Healing Energy to everybody everywhere shaped to their need. Or Good Vibes or prayers or whatever phrase folks are comfortable with. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  12. Good morning, Meesefolk; I didn’t check the temperature when I got up this morning, because I didn’t want to start the day depressed. ;D It’s 14 now which is about as warm as we can expect for the day. Like Jan, I’m looking at the temps for next week, and they all have minus signs in front of the number. That’s a clear indicator that I need to start thinking about meals for next week that are either comfort food or require the use of the oven or both.

    The best part of today’s Roger Stone news for me is that we’re one step higher on the criminal ladder. People in a position to know always said that we would see the low-level cogs swept up first, and then the indictments would continue reaching higher and higher. I suspect there is at least one more interim step before we start seeing Kushner or a junior Trump named; I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Pence will be indicted at some point too. As for the big Cheetoh? I’m beginning to think he’ll implode if we see Jared or Eric or Don Jr. indicted. I’m not actually worried about the nuclear codes at that point, although trashing the West Wing or the WH is a distinct possibility. Whether a mental meltdown would lead to a 25th Amendment invocation or action by Congressional Republicans remains an open question, but I think self-preservation would kick in at that point. That’s the scenario I’m going with, for today at least.

    Good day to and for all!

      • I’m leaning towards homemade mac ‘n cheese. And maybe ribs, since those cook for hours. Possibly a roast chicken…bottom line, it’s lunch time, and I could come up with a list of foods a mile long. I’d better eat my lunch first, and then think about my grocery list!

  13. Good morning meese, 43 with high of 64. Woot!

    I spent the night with one cat (Belle) under the duvet and another (Noname) on top of it, so didn’t get a whole lot of sleep. I think coffee is called for!

    • {{{basket}}} – but I bet you were warm! LOL. Absolutely coffee is called for. Healing Energy and moar {{{HUGS}}}

  14. Good day, 45 and cloudy in Bellingham. I’m at the interesting stage of life when my “kids” are all officially reaching middle age, and as my dil says, their warranties are expiring :) Our oldest daughter had a planned but major surgery last week and yesterday our oldest son’s dental appointment turned into a 5 hr ordeal. They are both doing fine, but my anxiety level is stuck on high. I didn’t sleep very well last night and tried to make up for it this morning so I’m slow starting my day.

    The national news is happening regardless and I’m just along for the ride today. Best wishes to all.

  15. Saturday Meese. 16 degrees here in the Catskills – going up to 34.

    Without daily help from newpioneer – Bobby Neary, I couldn’t fulfill my promise to cover Puerto Rico. Onomastic posted a diary yesterday at DKos asking the community to send him support.

    Life, home, food: Everything is riding on this for our newpioneer in Puerto Rico.
    Please show him some love, and if you can – send something.

  16. Was surprised (elated) to see Howard Dean step into the smear campaign being waged against Kamala Harris by the online black misogynist pimp faction (aka Hoteps) – who are being retweeted by Bernie Bros.

    Well done Dr. Dean

    • 28,000 likes and 1,300 retweets for Dr. Dean. I think a lot of people realized that their silence during the attacks on Hillary Clinton in 2016 softened the ground for Individual 1 to “win” the election – it demoralized our base and sent some of our best advocates into hiding for fear of being attacked. We can’t let people define our 2020 candidates using insulting memes. How does a black woman pander to black voters??!!? JHC on a popsicle stick.

    • I blocked Tariq; I wouldn’t have known enough to even consider that if not for Black Kos this week. Thank you!

  17. Good morning, meeses! Saturday …

    It is -20 in Madison with an expected daytime high of 7 above. My yard thermometer, which is a more accurate reflection of MY temperature, says -22. There is no wind yet but it is expected to start picking up later in the day.

    The longest shutdown in our nation’s history is over. Republicans found their breaking point – one that many of us predicted but were not sure when it would arrive – disruption of air travel. You can order people to work without pay, you can even pervert their showing up as “volunteering for a greater good” but the bottom line is that grocery stores will not give you free food, your landlord will not let you live rent-free, and when your mortgage payment is late it ruins your credit forever. Eventually, those working without pay – especially when they see no end in sight – have to weigh an illegal work action versus survival. “Sick-ins” and strikes can result in termination for Air Traffic Controllers and TSA and it is terrible that Republicans put our air travel federal employees in a situation like that. One of the first orders of business has to be to craft legislation – the Don’t Do This Sh*t Again Bill – that has automatic funders for government agencies that kick in when Congress and the White House can’t agree on new budget bills. Fund it at the same level as the previous budget – a budget passed and signed at one point in time – and if the impasse extends up to an election, let the people decide who is not doing their job. Federal workers can’t be treated as political fodder in the battle between two political parties with such radically different views of government. The Trump years are a stress test for our democracy and the cracks exposed by shutdowns show that we need to re-engineer the budgeting process.

    This Roger Stone arrest is a BHD! As one wag pointed out, finally someone will go to jail for Hillary’s emails! I love that the crowd at his arraignment was chanting “Lock Him Up.”

    I have a lot of little things to do that have stacked up this week due to two unexpected projects. Once I get the random scraps of paper sorted into a to-do list, I will check the rest of the news and then post the Fighting Back. Rep. Ted Lieu is giving the weekly address which means that there will be a transcript and video because Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats have a functioning newsroom. :::glaring at you, useless Senate Democrats!:::

    See all y’all later!

      • That’s good news! We need to keep the pressure on our legislators to NOT let this get swept aside now that it is out of the daily news. I know we have a ton of legistlative priorities after 8 years out of power in the House but this one is important. There just might be interest in passing a law like this in the Senate because it allows them to not do their jobs (like the automatic pay raises for Congress – “I didn’t vote to raise my own pay!!”). Labor blogger Erik Loomis weighed in:

        I actually wonder if this might not be the last government shutdown, at least for awhile. Now, I get that this depends on the imbecile in the White House and the most cynical man in the Senate since John C. Calhoun and I am not usually accused of optimism. However, this is both a national and international embarrassment. People are sick of it. They were finally beginning to take the kind of direct action that politicians do not like to see targeted against them. I get that no politician wants to undermine their own control over the levers of power, but it’s become a big problem. And it’s not as if the mechanisms that create these shutdowns goes back forever. I believe it is the Antideficiency Act of 1982 that has unleashed this monster. Yes, I know I am shocked that the Reagan legacy still impacts us negatively today…. Anyway, I am probably too optimistic here, but the House should pass a law that would fix this problem and not allow for future shutdowns.

  18. I did not watch the vulgar talking yam’s concession speech because I can’t watch him and won’t watch him – it is bad enough that I can’t avoid photos of him! This picture taken of his assembled cabinet watching the speech is remarkable. The grim faces, what are they thinking?

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