Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

How about an Introduction Topic?

I just thought I would throw this out there so we could introduce ourselves or re-introduce ourselves in this new joint.

I’m donnamarie.  Always have been, wherever I’ve posted.  

I’m in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and I’m a former Chicagoan.  Chicago has NOTHING on corruption in politics as compared to Florida.  It’s very disheartening.

I was semi-political all my adult years but never got really involved or aware until the illegal wiretapping began to leak out about 7 years ago or so.  I was outraged.


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 137 Comments

137 comments

  1. Mets102

    I post as Mets in most places, although at one site I do post under my Hebrew name of Reuven.  Been a political junkie since I was a little kid and I’m a proud member of the Electable Wing of the Democratic Party.

  2. JanF

    Unabashed liberal living in the unabashedly liberal bastion of Madison WI. Focused on taking back our state in 2014 when Gov. Napoleon BonaWalker is up for reelection.

    Pragmatic Progressive, supporting electing more and better Democrats with the emphasis on the More. When we have FDR era Democratic majorities in Congress, we can think about the “better”.

    From bubbanomics, FDRs majorities:


    FDR’s Senate and House: (D) (R) — (D) (R)

    73rd     1933-1935     59     36     –     313     117    

    74th     1935-1937     69     25     –     322     103    

    75th     1937-1939     75     17     –     333     89

    76th     1939-1941     69     23     –     262     169

    77th     1941-1943     66     28     –     267     162

    78th     1943-1945     57     38     –     222     209

    Obama’s


    Obama’s Senate and House: (D) (R) — (D) (R)

    111th     2009-2011     56-58,40-42   257     178    

    112th     2011-2013     51     47     193     242    

    113th     2013-2015     53     45     –     201     234

    Interested in local politics, national politics, climate change, the environment.

    And posting funny pictures of cats and dogs and critters. 😉

  3. Noor B

    Proud momma of a Groenendael Belgian shepherd, pony-wanting lefty living in the Teapublican-dominated 1st Congressional District in Maryland (HTF did I wind up here!), nouveau-pauvre, over-educated, opinionated, pacifist married to a Navy vet and totally unrepentant about any of it.

  4. Nurse Kelley

    I’m a retired RN from Texas, living waaay up on Pikes Peak for the past ten years – 8,000 feet above sea level. I’m 64 and have blonde hair, but I blame all my lapses on the altitude. I’m ashamed to say I have the most conservative congressman serving today, Doug Lamborn – CO(5), but I helped turn my new state blue. I’m quite liberal, but I know what it takes to move things alone, hence our current Sen. Michael Bennet.

    I’m interested in almost anything that hurts the disabled, the poor, the elderly, the disenfranchised, and the uninsured. I want everyone to have the right to do what I did: get married, fuck it up, and get divorced. I want global warming to be a chapter in the history books for my grandson, not his generation’s sword of Damocles.

  5. pittiepat

    Nurse Kelley and I decamped from Houston in 2000 but earlier in 2012 my family strong-armed me into moving closer to them.  (Getting older and creakier by the day).  It’s great having scads of family around but I sure miss my best buddy of 40+ years.  Columbia is a purple zone in an unfortunately conservative area of Mid-Missouri..  It’s a smallish city of about 110,000 plus 35,000 Univ. of Mo. students.  Amazingly, the city provides a plethora of services that would embarrass many larger cities.  There is so much to do, unrelated to University activities, that one is spoiled for choice at which event to attend.  Good times.

  6. kirbybruno

    Kris works too. :). Chicagoland. Stay homewithy the kids mom that drinks and swears. Sometimes I  sub which causes me to drink and swear more. Just kidding! Lover of glitter, all things that sparkle and shoes. Dead serious.

    I am very interested in the environment, food policy, and getting kids to realize that they can and need to make an impact if they want a planet that is habitable.

    I am with jan, in that I think it is very important to do what we can to elect more and better democrats, and not sacrifice the more for the better.

    Thanks for providing a place to talk about “progress through politics”.  ðŸ™‚

  7. fogiv

    on the toobz, i am sexy and rich.  i once lifted a bus off a nun while defending a village of children from a swarm of dragons — with nothing but a glass of lemonade and a spatula.  also, i am the smartest person alive.  i can hit a curveball almost as well as mickey mantle could.  i use lots of lowercase because because i’m as clever as e.e. cummings.  all your alphabets are belong to me.  i’m just that frakking cool.  

    IRL, i’m a middle aged middle income family man.  married to the love of my life, and together we’ve got four boys ranging from 15 to 4 — straight A students all save the little one (who may be smarter than all of us together).  for money, i’m an archaeologist (no nazis, whips, dinosaurs, or gold); obama is my boss (w/ salazar betwixt).

    i love love love music.  i have way too many guitars. and banjos.  and ukuleles.  and stuff.  yes, i have an accordion.  so fucking what?  i paint and draw some, when i can.  almost never.  i read constantly.  i am festooned with tattoos depicting everything from skulls and snakes to the riemann hypothesis.  i love french toast.

    Photobucket

    i’m liberal. and/or progressive.  sometimes neither.  at one point or another i disagree with just about everyone, most often with myself.  i use lots of lowercase because i do lots of ‘technical’ writing for work, and i find the laziness luxurious.  shine on, shift key, shine on.

    my uid here is 42.  29 of the preceding OG moose herd are my sockpuppets.

    or are they?

    i am art.

    i am glad you all are here.

    Photobucket

  8. SallyCat

    Grew up a Goldwater Republican mostly in Utah, with family moves through most of the Western US. Former MP during the Vietnam years. Have serious issues with organized religion but am very accepting of others that believe.

    Hot buttons…child abuse, domestic violence, rape as a war crime. Active on issues of the environment, economic social justice, animal activist, mostly wolves of the Western US.

    Live just north of SF and have since the early 1970s. This is my adopted home and love it. Active in the outdoors….kayaking, hiking, camping…with photography tossed in to keep it interesting.

    Thanks for the welcome…looking forward to participating and getting to know more about others.

  9. Floja Roja

    who you all met back during the boycott. I think I did a diary back then. Or do you call them posts now, too?

    I live in L.A. wedged in between Hollywood and Silver Lake, chock full o’hipsters, but it has everything you need if you are insane like me and don’t have a car (I can’t tan or swim either, so I make a great Californian). My ‘hood even has two cheese shops. TWO! It’s the best.

    I live in a 20’s courtyard apartment with two kittens and a one eyed cat. I am gainfully employed. I currently post a daily diary on the GOS called The Morning F Bomb, filled with art and music and lots of hovers.

  11. janicket

    First message board identity — at the Straight Dope and some of its offshoots:  EddyTeddyFreddy

    Here and at a number of other mostly political blogs and boards:  J/janicket

    At my own blog, Notes From Exurbia, and a few other blogs on Blogger, Never Ben Better

    In meatspace:  a soon-to-be-64-year-old Massachusetts woman, WASP in heritage, liberal in outlook, addicted to the well-written word, horses, cats, and the quiet charms of my North Shore home.

  12. Paradise50

    …I’m running to be a delegate to the Democratic Party of the State of California for Assembly District 3.

    I was part of OFA the last two election cycles.

    I’ve donated money to several Democrats the past two election cycles.

    I was working for Jim Reed (D) the last two election cycles (US House).  He lost by 12 points in 2008 and 16 points in 2012.  Such is life for a Democrat in Northern California in rural areas.

    I had cancer and a brutal treatment that consumed the bulk of 2012.

    I’m a business owner with two employees.

    I have been on my own since I was 17.  I paid for all my rent, food, schooling,  housing, health insurance, retirement…everything my whole life.

    I should be a Republican they tell me.  I’m an adamant Progressive.  Always have been…always will be.

    I have very little tolerance for complainers.  I have very little tolerance for pocket Einsteins, deceives, manipulators and embellishers of the honest truth.

    Exaggerators are funny aren’t they?  I far and away prefer true intrinsic effort vs. blather and divisive separators…

  13. Wee Mama

    So it turns out that my username is still on file – who knew?

    Don’t know what to say – I’ve been around the blogophere for nigh on ten years. Times are, the orange satan gets more satanic than usual and it’s very good to see familiar old face and friends in a calmer place. Hi, all!

  14. raina

    different name/s elsewhere. Not gonna mention it here because you know there are gawkers. I don’t like having my personal ID all over the internets. Anyone wanna friend me on FB PM me on GOS, and you’ll learn my name. A few kossacks have become my FB friends. I hate spam, so you don’t have to worry about me spamming your wall or your FB mailbox. I only post on my wall or the newsfeed, unless something particular may be pertinent to a certain individual.

    I’m a Florida native now living near San Antonio. I like doing all kinds of crafts and talking about food.

  15. Adept2u

    Photobucket

    That’s my grandboy hoodie up It’s been a while since I put a pic up of him hard to believe he’s almost a year old.

    I came storming onto the internet and Daily Kos when Hillary Clinton decided she wouldn’t attend the Rev. Wright’s church.  The issues surrounding that joint are over there.  I’m a bleeding heart liberal from the old school now that I’m someones grandfather I used to just love to blog until I actually figured how much work I put into them and thought heck twitter is way more fun.  The Moose however is different we’re mellow and it’s nice to see more people

  16. princesspat

    I live in the PNW, but I grew up on a ranch in southern Nevada, where I was free to ride my favorite horse….princesspat…..wherever I wanted to explore. Hence the screen name. I love to read real books, I garden in the rain, mess around with branches and flowers and call them bouquets, collect antiques, love dogs, and thanks to my internet friends, my family, and a lot of physical therapy my recovery from Blood Clot Hell is well underway.

    My politics are progressive, and my environmental concerns are deep. Thanks for a welcome place to learn, grow and discuss the important and fun issues of our lives.

    John Fullbright with Jimmy LaFave “Moving”


  17. GollyMissMolly

    I live near Madison WI and work there. The environment is my vocation and my job. I’m not much of a diary or post writer, mostly comments and lurking late in the evening because I cannot get sucked in at work. I served 9 years on a local school board, which taught me about the practical needs of politics. I am very happy to have met so many friends at the place we have all mostly left now…

  18. jlms qkw

    salt lake city, utah, for the last 15 years.

    grew up in iowa, parents from ohio.

    single mom, 11yo son, 9yo daughter, and 2 pooties.  one on my lap right now, not kneading #yay

    looking for a decent 30-hour a week job.  want to stay in this neighborhood for the kids . . .

    quilt, knit, wanted to learn to weave (got pregnant finally) so now i write.  

    i was politically aware, but everything changed for me the night of the 2000 elections, and i was about 3 weeks pregnant.  

  19. Kysen

    I said I was going to bed, but, I fibbed.

    I am a chronic Lurker…both here and over at the GOS. If I am going to be seen it is most likely to be on the BKos Porch where I’m always confident I’ll find good company and good learnin’.

    Middle aged, married, 3 four-leggers (of the Woozle sort) for children, Virginia resident (but grew up on one of the Sea Islands off the coast of SC), and lifelong liberal from an entire family of Yellow Dog Dems.

    I can get cheeky at times…and am willing to accept a smack on the nose now and again for my antics (both on the blogs and in the flesh). Know that I always mean well…even if my snark sometimes misfires.

    I love the Moose…it is absolutely my blog home. I’ve not found a better bunch of folks anywhere else in all the space of cyberdom.

    Someone a long time ago commented that…”if BKos is The Porch…then the Moose is The Jacuzzi”. I totally agree with that…well, unless Spiff is present…then I’d be really suspicious of the bubbles.  /grin

  20. trs

    I’m trs, married to iriti (it really is that important over on the GCS). We has one Kidlet, who is now 16 and driving. I’ve been a bad influence on her – she’s taken up carpentry. I’m a photographer and woodworker who has to work for a living doing something else – currently, I’m a maintenance man for our community.

    I’m thinking about posting some of my photography. Haven’t done that in a while…

  21. DeniseVelez

    or Denise or Neci or Deoliver47 and a Moose.  I’m up early in the morning east coast time (usually around 4:30 AM) cause of the roosters and my dogs. (live on a small farm)

    Am 65, a militant black woman who speaks Spanish and has a foot in several ethnic/religious communities. I’m a Democrat by choice, a socialist at heart, and most of my r-l focus is on local politics (town and county level)

    I teach women’s studies and anthropology at a state university nearby here in Hudson Valley NY as an adjunct (wage slave)

    Am giggling this morning cause while browsing the tubes found a pic of myself from 1971 as an “unidentified woman” at a conference in Florida which I attended with Kathleen Cleaver (from my Panther days)

    Thought I’d share

    Ahhhhh to be young again 🙂

    Photobucket

    (Damn ‘fros were big back in the day)

    I like coffee, and chocolate.

    Abhor racism, sexism and ‘phobisms and concentrate a lot of my writing/blogging efforts towards building cross-cultural understanding, or “bridge-building”.  

    Have been involved in leftie politics since I was a kid.  Grew up in a multi-racial family as a red diaper baby.

    Have 3 dogs, 2 cats and a husband who is a mental health professional by day and an Afro-Latin drummer by night and on weekends. No kids but a score of godchildren and adopted fictive kin.

    I Love Hugs.

     

  22. ceriboo

    I’m ceriboo/Sherry and I like to play with bits of fluff and strings. I’m a handspinner/lousy knitter and I sell yarn online although I won’t post the link here ’cause I don’t know if that’s cool. We are graciously allowed to live in the same house with two fluffmonster pooties who are Siberian Forest cats, but only on the condition that we serve their every whim. I’ll probably bore you to tears with pictures of them once I figure out how to post. I don’t diary much – I’m lucky to be able to put two cogent sentences together most days.

    Thanks for the welcome and for letting us in the door!

  23. HappyinVT

    Live in Vermont about as far north as you can get without dipping a toe in Canada.  Grew up in Ohio, joined the navy and ended up in Georgia (the state) and Mississippi (the backwater).  Katrina chased me north (Irene reminded me that nowhere is safe).

    Got two pooties who are usually my reason for getting up in the morning.  I work for a newspaper and hate it.  And when in doubt always assume, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that I am joking.

  24. sricki

    started blogging heavily on MyDD during the primaries. Hillary supporter turned Obama supporter. Came over here with the original herd. Tend to disappear and reappear at random. Have spent a good bit of time on DKos, but mostly reading and lurking.

    Proud liberal from an uber-conservative Southern home.

    Glad to see you all here, welcome!

  25. nomandates

    I’m a Texas Democrat who began blogging at DKos in July 2011 and have written diaries there for The Inoculation Project and Obama Nightly News; mined for Election Diary Rescue; and founded the New Diarists group. I have enjoyed the Black Kos and J Town communities, among others.

    Before W’s presidency, I would have described myself as an Independent. I attribute that now to a range of circumstances that combined to make me more ignorant than I would ever have hoped to be.

    I’m definitely a rookie when it comes to politics. I voted for the first time in a primary in 2008 and was elected an Obama precinct delegate. This year, I became a precinct chair as well as secretary for my Senate district. I also worked on a local election campaign for the first time.

    I’m blogging to hang out with like-minded folks and to learn how to be an effective political activist to elect more and better Democrats.

    I like what I’ve seen of the Motley Moose community thus far. I won’t usually be around until the evenings, so I may be lurking for the most part.

  26. plf515

    Who am I?

    Well…..

    I’m a 53 year old man with a wife and two kids.

    I’m a learning disabled adult with a PhD (in psychometrics).

    I’m a statistician.

    I’m a lifelong political activist (started working in campaigns at age 9; wrote a letter to Nixon at age 12:

    Dear Mr. President,

    You are a disgrace to your office and you should resign.

    (I got a reply, too “Your comments have been duly noted”)

    My heart and soul are at the far left wing of the Democratic party, but my feet are firmly planted in reality.

  27. Born in NOLA

    Long-time orange lurker, completely unknown.

    I was born in New Orleans, moved to NYC out of college and lived there for almost forty years before moving back to Louisiana. My mother was a Kennedy Democrat and I’m proud to claim that heritage. I’m deeply liberal, but also a firm believer in being practical, doing the best one can at any given time.

    I may not comment much but I felt I had to say how happy I am to see so many familiar names and to find everyone so relaxed, so at ease.

  28. lulu57

    I feel like I am back from the dead. Not dead, just resting 🙂

    I like food. A lot.

    Oh yeah, I am a retired English teacher and antiques dealer from Sonoma County, CA (via Marin and SF), but currently live in Maryland with the mister and a very fluffy bossy Balinese cat named Tallulah.

    I am, for the moment, in Humboldt County, CA, because my mom broke her hip and I am taking care of her. Be home soon and can settle in better. Been a Democrat all my life, was raised by beatniks and union organizers. Lovely people, really 🙂

    Thanks for having this nice purple place to hang out in!

  29. asimbagirl

    Let’s see…..

    I’m a liberal living in Oceanside, CA – which means my congresscritter is Darrell Issa. So a) that sucks and b) idiots are thick on the ground where I live. Which leads me to c) OMG do I love my fellow liberal friends on the internet!!!

    In addition to politics, I’m passionate about my family – husband, daughter (Okay, I’ll cop to being ambivalent about her sometimes. She is 15, and thus to be survived), and zoo. The zoo consists of a 14 year old dog, 17 year old Norwegian Forest cat, and 13 year old domestic short hair who has diabetes. (and who is sleeping on my left arm RIGHT NOW.) Oh, and I LOVE to cook.

    Thanks for letting me join the party. 🙂

  30. Regina in a sears kit house

    I tried to post last night, but I was too new.

    Just opening the gate to say it’s good to see everyone, and appreciate the calm feel here. Love the name: went to Moose Junction and saw Moose, Meeses, Mooses, a year ago, with friends. North of Jackson Hole and on the  way to Yellowstone National Park. It was early Sept., males, females and partially grown calves were fattening up on stream willow. They were there the whole week , so we saw them many times fairly close.

    I am a native Oregon born person so in love with my state. I have never not called it home even when I worked a year at a time away, esp. in the SW.

    But I have been residing amidst pear orchards, which are heavily sprayed with petrochemical based pesticides and  herbicides. I already have an immune messing set of infections and tests reveal that those chemicals are in me and making matters worse. My DH and I were told that we had to relocate. So we are currently resting at Redmond, WA. Can’t say I like it, but one of my important docs is there.

    We are pulling another trailer load up I5, after a week at home. Oh how I miss my home.

    I am newish to politics but have become as avid about it as I have become a fan of pro bicycling. Progressive, socialist, democratic.

    Looking for a home on this planet.

    Very worried about climate, ecology, environment: love them.

    We are going to DC on the 20 for the second in a series of visits to our Infectious Disease md. Will there be a meet up there? GOS? Would love to be at the inauguration on the mall.

    Do writers who cross post  say they post both at DKos and here? Or just put up the original and then post here and participate in both threads?

    This may have been asked already but I’m learning.

    Oh, and as Nurse Kelley already knows, I am really awful about FB. Even my personal one. I go there maybe once every two months. This will be easier for me, and I know who the people are. I had so many friend requests as Regina, and I didn’t know half of them, so I just stepped back.

    I wrote last night and the post didn’t take, that inspite of our personal struggles and the state of the nation and the world, we do seek and experience joy. I am not sure how we do it, but we do.

    I have always been a seeker and hopefully an agent of creating beauty.

    I wish everyone a good, blessed and joyful New Year.

  31. Moozmuse

    Expat (Germany) originally from the SF Bay Area. Lifelong Dem who woke up to the horrific state of US politics when W was (s)elected. I was teaching English at the time, and my students wanted to know what was going on – so I educated myself in civics again, and discovered blogs a couple of years into the process.

    Wandered into Moose country in 2011 during the boycott, but am  not an active blogger, tend to lurk and read. I’m sorry to say I didn’t get very involved here, and not at all once the boycott ended, but like many others, the faction wars – which I never participate in – have definitely soured me once again on DK, so here I am again. So thrilled to see so many good people here, and am looking forward to spending more time here, as my working life allows.

  32. Moozmuse

    My work keeps me very busy, and I’m a voracious reader, so I end up not writing all that much. And since translating involves writing, I guess I’ve often had enough at the end of the workday :P. Plus there’s something motivating about being paid for it! Speaking of which, I’d better get back to it, or no moose food on the table for me and kitty, who would be very put out.

    I will definitely be hanging the antlers here a bit more frequently, though!

  33. Avila

    that was my name when i signed up at a blog almost 9 years ago.  outmarried the name, outgrew the blog.  Alexa to my friends.  

    can this be real?  i haven’t seen some of you for well, years, and am entirely blissed out to see so many i’ve missed and thought of and wished i knew how to find.

    thank you x1 zillion for this place of sanctuary.

  34. blue jersey mom

    I am blue jersey mom. In my day job, I am an archaeologist. I work at a big university in NYC, and I live in central NJ. I have done archaeological fieldwork in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Egypt, Armenia, and India, as well as many parts of the US (NY, NJ, PA, and HI). I hope to go to Turkey this summer. I have also worked on materials from Iran and Uzbekistan. I have been politically active my entire life. I spent 6 years as an elected member of the Hopewell Valley Regional School Board, and I am currently a member (commissioner, actually) on the Hopewell Township Historic Preservation Commission. I am the mother of three adult sons, ages 28, 26, and 20. My husband, aka blue jersey dad, is a retirde US National Park archaeologist.

  35. dear occupant

    have always pushed the lever for Democrats but i’m easing into a more collectivist/socialist frame of mind these days.

    ex smart ass New Yorker living in polite and clean Chicago and have begun planning to spend more time on the 100 acre farm my wife and her brother inherited in Indiana ex painter turned writer wanna’ be or wanna’ be writer, the craft has become my latest obsession, among many. had to take a break as i struggled to recover from West Nile i got in August, fully recovered now.

    am married 10 years to the best partner EVAH and a very proud father of a beautiful 12 year old girl by my first marriage. think creatively and tend to be a corner dweller if and when i get dragged to a party. seem to have much more to say online than i do in public.

    in meatspace i’m an observer and an emotional sponge, maybe even perceptive.like to live simply, am a bridge mender and can often see both sides of an issue. prefer to seek common ground than find faultlines.

    thank you all for this soft landing. it’s starting to feel like home already.

  36. LeftOverFlowerChild

    Glad to be here. Glad to see so many names I know. I’m more of a lurker and occasional diarist in the world of orange crazy and pie. (Everything goes better with pie, even orange crazy.)

    I live in Texas, I’ve been a disability advocate for many years as I have a child with fairly serious disability issues. Working with advocate groups hell bent on improving the care and quality of life for people with disabilities is my calling. I enjoy reading and researching various components of the disability movement, in particular the early history and creation of laws meant to protect and integrate the world in which disabled people live in.

    Right now I’ve been sidelined with my own health issues, but hey, “have cell phone and laptop will stay in the rumble” is my mantra these days.

    I do a lot of fiber related crafting–Quilting, spinning, knitting, crocheting–I’ve taken up bobbin lace recently. A new challenge! I guess when it comes to activities I’m pretty much so a town dwelling homesteader lol…Gardening, canning…All kinds of stuff.

    So, happy to be here, look forward to reading and learning from my fellow moose…

  37. remembrance

    finding a home of sorts on the GOS. Lately I’ve been in read and lurker mode, which means I can’t focus well enough to construct written words from thoughts so remaining quiet has been my preference lately. When I do post, my diaries are not political but more experiential and personal; incorporating my cultural heritage (Jewish), family (husband, daughter, parents in mid 70’s), pootie (Sasha), and art in some mixture that seems interesting to me and hopefully to readers.

    I really miss the community we shared on the GOS so I am pleased that so many of you are here.

    My focus in life is my family, TLOâ„¢ stands for The Little One and she’s 8, the creatures that she loves and I love too. I have a part time job which has presently given me the hives. My husband is Glen The Plumber, he taught me that shit flows downhill. I”m grateful for that lesson.  

  38. Lori Challinor

    Lori.  I’m KibbutzAmiad at Kos.  Used to post at Eschaton as well.  I am a pootie person, work at a library, attend DePaul in Chicago (live in the suburbs), and am a socialist type liberal.

    I have a blog: http://justiceforwill.wordpres…  which is about my fight for justice for persons with disabilities generally and the person I loved most specifically.

    I look forward to the Moose!

  39. FrugalGranny

    It’s wonderful to see all of you here. I’m FrugalGranny here and at the GOS. When it comes to politics, I’m mostly content to lurk and read. I started out as an Eisenhower Republican and now I’m a proud lefty.

    In real life (and at FB) my name is Julie Satchel and I live in San Francisco, though I grew up in the desert. My husband and I are the proud parents of two pooties. I have a son living in IA. I’m 51 and spend as much time as possible running around the area with camera, though I don’t claim to be a photographer. I just like taking pictures.

    Hugs to everyone! It’s nice to see you all again.  

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