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Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Oct. 26 to Nov. 1

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Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings diaries 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.

In lieu of daily check-ins, which have gone on hiatus, Welcomings diaries will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning) and then, if necessary due to a large number of comments, again on Wednesday or Thursday to close out the week. To find the diaries, 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?

…


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 107 Comments

107 comments

  2. JanF

    It turns out that the boy who shot his classmates in Washington State did NOT commit suicide. A social studies teacher tried to disarm him and he shot himself in the neck.

    “He tried either reloading or tried aiming at her. She tried moving his hand away and he tried shooting and shot himself in the neck,” student Erick Cervantes tells KIRO. “She heard the gunshots first and she came in running through the door, right next to it,” he said.

    The woman’s identity remains unclear; police called her a cafeteria worker, a detail KIRO also reported. But the station says after it showed Cervantes a series of images, he identified the woman as social studies teacher Megan Silberberger, who is reportedly in her first year at the school.”

    NPR

    I don’t know the legalities involved but why aren’t parents who leave weapons where kids can access them either charged criminally or civilly? If a person has a pet boa constrictor that gets loose and kills someone, they are held liable. Why not with guns?  

  3. DeniseVelez

    It’s a beautiful morning out here on the tip of Long Island.

    Enjoying nature, and the smell of the sea.  We’re getting on the road towards home at around noonish – 5 hour drive ahead of us.  

  4. anotherdemocrat

    90s yesterday & today – I’m happy to still be wearing sandals, but this is a bit ridiculous

    Had a good long night’s sleep. Eating breakfast, watching Up. Cooking after church this afternoon – breakfast greens & a Vietnamese noodle dish. Have a great day, everyone!

  5. Portlaw

    sun. Am about to look in the news for something that won’t depress me. Hope the news is good in your parts of the world.

  6. princesspat

    Lots of wet leaves outside my window this morning.Seems like we went from summer to soggy and missed the sunny fall days I so enjoy.

    Unless plans change again we’re driving to Edmonds to meet the new grand puppy this afternoon. We had hoped to take Heide so the dogs could meet too but it appears Heide has hiking plans with her Bellingham pack!

  7. bfitzinAR

    sunny (but with shade/angle of sun only getting 4-5 KWH per day now).  Had to explain FOIA to a fellow JP (she was appointed after someone moved out of district so didn’t the training) when we ran across each other in a coffee shop this morning.  No, we can’t talk about the “slash and burn” budget the LieberDem is proposing.  Wish we could.  Gave her the thing I’m working on for after the election – feel a little funny about letting it out of my hands and also that could also be an FOIA ethics breech – I don’t think it is as I wasn’t trying to convince her to vote one way or the other but…  Anyway, I’m going to have it written, polished, all the numbers I need, and down to 2 minutes when I do it.

    Hope the weekend was good to everybody.  {{{HUGS}}}

  8. Portlaw

    Science edged closer on Sunday to showing that an antioxidant in chocolate appears to improve some memory skills that people lose with age.

    In a small study in the journal Nature Neuroscience, healthy people, ages 50 to 69, who drank a mixture high in antioxidants called cocoa flavanols for three months performed better on a memory test than people who drank a low-flavanol mixture.

    On average, the improvement of high-flavanol drinkers meant they performed like people two to three decades younger on the study’s memory task, said Dr. Scott A. Small, a neurologist at Columbia University Medical Center and the study’s senior author. They performed about 25 percent better than the low-flavanol group.

    the down side is


    But unless you are stocking up for Halloween, do not rush to buy Milky Way or Snickers bars. To consume the high-flavanol group’s daily dose of epicatechin, 138 milligrams, would take eating at least 300 grams of dark chocolate a day – about seven average-sized bars. Or possibly about 100 grams of baking chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder, but concentrations vary widely depending on the processing. Milk chocolate has most epicatechin processed out of it.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/us/a-bite-to-remember-chocolate-is-shown-to-aid-memory.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C{%221%22%3A%22RI%3A11%22}&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C{%221%22%3A%22RI%3A11%22}

  9. JanF

    It is 50 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 73. Forecast calls for partly cloudy skies. We had a very short but extremely loud line of storms come through this morning at about 1:10am. I am expecting that it will make me crabby today. Or it could just be Monday. The older I get, the more I long for one more weekend day … one just for me!

    I can’t get my news feeds because something is making my computer unresponsive. I accidentally clicked “ok” on an error message on Firefox yesterday and I think instead of giving me the chance to stop ad scripts, it automatically waits some set period of time, one that is much too long. I don’t mind the ads (well, I do, but I understand the need for them) but I wish the ad makers would work together so that their products did not clash. Having 4 copies of the flash plug-in running is not necessary.

    Back later! If I get sucked into a vortex of busyness, have a great day!

  10. Diana in NoVa

    Flew back from San Antonio yesterday to a beautiful day here. Looking at the distant Blue Ridge mountains, the red-gold-brown of the tree canopy, and the still-green grass as the plane skidded to a landing, made me feel so happy.

    But it was a wonderful family reunion in San Antonio this weekend, too! We, ah, never left the hotel so I didn’t notice the heat. We’d already done the River Walk and the Alamo on two previous visits so felt free to concentrate on family, especially as we had to leave at 0-dark-thirty on Sunday morning. I Got On the first flight, poor hubby had to wait until 11:45 a.m. for the next one. At least he was able to have breakfast at the airport, which I wasn’t.

    With no baby care today, I’m having a mammo this morning and meeting two of my Circle sisters for lunch. Hubby will not go to work but stay quietly at home recovering from his cold.

    Feeling discouraged because I think The Woman Comstock is going to win the 10th Congressional District in spite of the fact that she’s “Transvaginal Probe Barbie.” Yes, she voted for it! Traitor. Altogether I feel very discouraged this a.m., although I generally feel that way after goggling at The WaPo. Perhaps things aren’t as bad as The Washington Poop makes them appear.

    A good day to all and let’s hope there’s some good news somewhere!

  11. DeniseVelez

    have a film crew on the way here – they are doing a documentary on black/latino activism so have to go grab a bite to eat and get ready for them to arrive.

    Have a good Monday Meese.

  12. anotherdemocrat

    70s – or so they say – by the weekend (Saturday morning, my ungodly hour workout, I’ll need long sleeves, the low is supposed to be in the mid-50s)

    Ahhhh, Monday. Insane traffic even at 6am. Some delusional person decided to clean out the fridge, so the food I had counted on for 1 of this week’s meals is gone, also my apparently terrifying cheese and mustard. Yay, Monday.

    Neck is still really stiff. I have a coupon from a neighborhood massage school, so I’ll call for an appointment.

    Earworm: Yahweh. At least it’s an energetic song. Eating healthy breakfast of kale, tempeh & quinoa. Monday has to get better from here, right? Hey, at least I have Bono’s voice in my head, things could be worse.

  14. bfitzinAR

    front moving in but the rain is scheduled for overnight with sunshine (and lower temps) during the day tomorrow.  I think I’ll get over 150 KWHs for the month – less than half what I got in August – but it won’t be much more.  Back to QC tonight.  Not looking forward to it.  Messed up my night’s sleep – not unusual, having QC usually does.  Not as bad as anotherdemocrat’s but not good, especially as consistently as it’s been.  Oh well, counting down – my term is theoretically up on 12/31 but actually not up until my successor takes the oath of office – so probably 1/5/15.  (By AR law if something, C.C. forbid, happened to my successor between the election and 1/5/15, I would still be in office until I resigned and the QC declared a vacancy for the new governor to fill.)  {{{HUGS}}}

  15. princesspat

    We enjoyed our day in Edmonds with our daughter’s family and meeting the new grand puppy, but we got home later than planned and I woke up with just enough time to go the pool this morning.

    Finn (the new dog) is still tentative about meeting new people, but he has a serious leash aggression issue to resolve. Considering his journey through the humane society and foster care network though he is doing very well. We’ve found a good trainer to help them deal with walking him safely. He shyly gave me little licks all afternoon, layed by my feet at dinner, let me feed him, etc. He trembles easily so he’s still fearful but he’s trying. I took him the fleece dog bed and a favorite blankie my old dog loved and he rewarded me by snuggling right in.

  16. DeniseVelez

    Film crew yesterday turned out to be one documentary filmmaker – and I did the interview out in the studio/barn, so no disruption in my house.  

    He is making a film about the original “Rainbow Coalition” created by Fred Hampton, which included the Black Panthers, Young Lords (Puerto Ricans), Patriot Party (poor whites) and Brown Berets (Chicanos)

    The interview went well, except for background rooster noise 🙂

    Headed to school today – will be lecturing about “women in politics” and hoping to inspire the students to go vote on Tuesday – and to consider becoming involved in the political process in the future.

    Am highlighting Wendy Davis(TX), Lucy Flores (NV), Sandra Fluke(CA), Ayanna Pressley (Boston City Council) Cecilia Tkaczyk (NY Senate)

    and featuring an organization:

    VoteRunLead

    https://voterunlead.org/

  17. JanF

    I am not really late. When I arrived at the purple pond the Soapblox server was stressed out and I got a “Whoops … check back later” notice. This will probably happen frequently as we get closer to election day. We share our server with a bunch of other progressive political blogs and there is a lot of excitement for this election.

    WordPress just sent me an email about a GOTV project they are sponsoring in partnership with the Pew Charitable Trusts. I blogged about it here. They gave me a cool widget that lets me put an “I Voted” button on my blog!!

    Anyway, it is 53 degrees here in Madison and that will be the high as the temperature drops throughout the day. I am okay with that … ready for autumn.

    The overnight news made me laugh out loud several times. First, creepy Governor Bully of NJ mansplainin’ to the nurse that he arrested and detained that she should be grateful to NJ officials because she was “obviously ill” and they are taking care of her. Wonkette has the scoop.

    But more delightful, Scott Walker burned through $26 million and found out that money can’t buy him love! People still want to fire him and he is left whining and begging for moar money.

    After a certain point, money pumped into ads has no effect on an election. Money pumped into GOTV, yes. And Walker has all the votes he will get and no amount of money or appearances by “stars” like Chris Christie will help. I haz spoken.

    Today, our Democratic President Obama will be in Milwaukee speaking at North Division High School, a high school in the inner city. He will be encouraging Milwaukee and Wisconsin voters to vote for Mary Burke, a Democrat running for governor. He will be greeted by enthusiastic crowds in a state where he won by 12 points in 2008 and 7 points in 2012 and which elected a Democratic Senator in 2012. Gubernatorial elections are statewide races and you can’t gerrymander a win for a statewide race … unless you institute a poll tax. In the one bright spot from the SCOTUS pre-election rulings, no poll tax this year for Wisconsin.

    See all y’all later. And remember: do NOT read the polling … every election is still winnable when we get out the vote.  

  18. Diana in NoVa

    I hate all these temperature jumps. Thank Goddess we go back to real time on Saturday night!

    Fled here to the Moose Pond because I can’t stand the sound of Republican shills on “Good Morning Merrycar” gloating about the Republican takeover. (Psst–the election is NEXT week, George and Jonathan.) I’d rather listen to roosters!

    Much more of Rethug gloating and I’ll have to move to Tibet.

    Oh, well. Unable to stand any more absence from my grandchildren I stopped by their house yesterday for a few minutes to hug and kiss. Baby Pink Cheeks is losing the thick dark hair he was born with. Despite being half-Chinese his dark hair is gold-tipped, making it look as if someone put blond highlights in his hair in an excess of enthusiasm.

    Will today be the day we finally get around to putting up the Halloween decorations in the front garden? (Note to self: next year, don’t travel the weekend before Halloween.)

    Dug out an old Samhain ritual from my files as I’m “conducting” Friday night; now all I need is a broom, a Goddess candle, and a picture of the departed.

    Hope all the Purple Pond people will have a good day!

  19. anotherdemocrat

    though they swear by the weekend we’ll have lows in the 50s

    Stayed up late to see Wendy Davis on the Daily Show. Ironic, because I just finished reading the section of Newsfail where they talk about how it isn’t really great that so many of us consider them a news source (the whole false equivalency thing). Oh – y’all should read Newsfail — and if you do podcasts, listen to Citizen Radio. They’re our kind of people.

    Earworm is the gorgeous – no, really, you should listen if you haven’t – Song For Someone which is way too slow & mellow for this time of day. Trying really hard to switch it to California, which I also love & is energetic enough to keep me awake. And I love the lyrics, especially the 2nd verse: …… I’ve seen for myself

    There’s no end to grief

    That’s how I know

    That’s how I know

    And why I need to know that there is no end to love

    All I know and all I need to know is there is no end to love”

    Anyway, happy Tuesday. Oh – and today’s google doodle is pretty cool. Especially given that yesterday in Twitter, I saw a picture of Halloween candy that had stickers on with anti-vaccination propaganda. Yes, anti-vacc stickers on candy. So now I’m going to play some U2 in my head & be in a happier place.

  20. bfitzinAR

    in October/before the election.  Meeting went until almost 8 last night.  I think the LieberDem may have overstepped in her teaparty-esque zeal to “save” the County by cutting it to death.  Not only did we preserve the County Attorney position (rather than outsourcing) by an 8-6 vote, R JPs spoke out against her desire to micromanage the departments (which she has no more idea of how to do than Horsefeather’s Andy would), her cuts to the Road Dept, and her extreme cuts to to the Grants Administrator  – and the more she complains that we are ignoring or discounting all her hours of work or that we’re wasting days refuting her ideas (apparently anytime we do the research to fact check her claims we are “wasting days on one issue” to refute her claims).  I really hope she has overstepped, not just for this budget but for the health of the County after I leave.  Anyway, tonight’s meeting is canceled while the Committee Chair meets with each of the dept heads about how to get the extra 20% cuts a majority of the Court thinks we need to deal with projected lower revenue for 2015 over the 30% cuts the departments did all by themselves without being asked.  It’s finally dawned on some of the Rs – not all of course and not the LieberDem – that continually insulting the department heads and County employees is not the way to get them to help when we’re on short grass.  So.  Mostly a quiet day at work today (I think) and no QC until Thursday.  {{{HUGS}}}

  21. princesspat

    My old maple trees are finally wearing their fall colors and a nice brisk breeze is blowing through the garden. By the end of the day it will feel much less soggy outside.

    I have enough fabric to make one more tablecloth for my SIL’s Halloween House so I’ll sew that today, pick up Emma from school and take her to ballet, mail the Halloween cards to the grand kids (with a treat), and a new book to Sophia, who continues to make excellent progress with reading. The story in the book is about a young girl walking the neighborhood with her grand mother while collecting, identifying, and pressing leaves. It’s beautifully illustrated and simply written so I know she’ll enjoy it. Wish I could give it to her in person.

    So that’s how I’m coping with election and medical news blues. Sometimes a busy and rewarding personal life is necessary to counter all the big picture worries!

  23. JanF

    It is 43 degrees in Madison WI with an expected high of 47. Cloudy skies in the forecast.

    I did a quick scan of the news and it pretty much matches what I saw last night when I was couchpotatoing: supply rocket blew up, Chris Christie is still an ass, harsh words from the leader of an ally nation, Georgia courts won’t intervene in the missing registration brouhaha, Gov. Brownback (R) of Kansas realized his dream of privatizing Medicaid (who thought that waiver was a good idea?) and to the surprise of no thinking human started kicking people off when his don’t-need-no-stinkin-taxes budget fell apart. If he is not punished in this world, he will surely have a lot of explaining to do in the next.

    I have gathered a few things from President Obama’s GOTV rally for Mary Burke last night and will load them into a diary.

    See all y’alls later!  

  24. anotherdemocrat

    Still sandal weather here, but they’re revising the weekend temps down – 1 weather guy said 49 Saturday morning. I may need gloves for my ungodly hour workout. (ok, not really, but wow that sounds cold)

    Large amounts of valerian, kava and melatonin have me sleeping sort of ok. What’s weord – even on the days I do give up & get out of bed before 5, I still can’t seem to leave the house before 6. I want to get here really early & walk up the last hill on February’s course 3 or 4 times – it’s right outside my parking garage, so that would be handy. Today, I’m walking after work.

    Earworm: The Miracle of Joey Ramone, loud & energetic enough to keep me awake.

  25. Portlaw

    remedy is self pity  Fortunately I have a large stock of that on hand. The news could be better. Hope it’s a good day for all.

  26. bfitzinAR

    at least I’ve generated over 150 KWHs this month – might make 170 but seriously doubt I’ll hit 175 as I’m averaging just over 4.5 on a sunny day right now.  No QC tonight so I’ll get another quiet and pleasant evening in front of the fire with kittehs.  And try not to get my tummy in knots over tomorrow night’s meeting before I get there.  The ability to think ahead can sometimes be a curse.  sigh.  But it’s still Wednesday and so I’ll try to pull my head back to now – and deal with now stuff of which I actually have plenty 🙂  {{{HUGS}}}

  27. princesspat

    This video repeats the view of my old maple trees outside my window this morning. I love watching the seasons change in those trees.

    Yesterday’s list continues for today. Progress was disrupted by naps!

  28. JanF

    It is 36 degrees in Madison on its way up to 53. Partly cloudy skies with a chance for rain later in the day.

    I am glad that I swore off polls because otherwise the ones that rolled across my newsfeed yesterday, particularly the Marquette Poll on the Wisconsin governors race, might have been discouraging. I know that pollsters have all sorts of tricks they use to make sure that people aren’t lying to them but I am not sure I believe that the 93% of polled Republicans in the Marquette Poll are telling the truth that they are absolutely positively going to vote. When you compare it to the 82% of Democrats who say the same thing, it seems a bit high. However, “likely to vote” only means someone told a pollster that they were going to vote which is different from “I voted”. Today, tomorrow and next Tuesday are when people will vote … the vote “registered” by the guy sitting on his couch talking on the phone doesn’t count. 🙂

    The other thing that makes me question the veracity of the GOPers in the poll is that Scott Walker is running around like a chicken with its head cut off, crying about the national party not giving him enough money (after he blew through over $26 million). AND he found a disgruntled ex-Trek (as in fired) employee who happens to be the Republican Party chair in Jefferson County spouting nonsense about Mary Burke being fired by her family company. That is the kind of opp-research rolled out by a panicked campaign — stuff you know is bs but you hope convinces voters to change their minds — not a campaign that feels that they have the election in the bag.

    The only polls that matter are the ones where they count the votes.

    See all y’alls later!!

     

  30. Diana in NoVa

    Looks cloudy this morning and if the drops outside on my windowpane are to be believed, we had a shower last night.

    Well, well, the Rethugs are already measuring the curtains and choosing carpets for the new offices they’ll have after the “takeover”! Barf. I wish I could believe that people had better sense than to vote Rethug. Wish I didn’t think that “Transvaginal Barbie” is going to win her race for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. Her opponent, for whom I plan to vote, has run a lackluster campaign.

    Well, at least I’ve lined up some Mac tuition for Saturday morning. Going to meet the guy at a nearby Starbucks. I’ve already e-mailed a list of things that are driving me berserk about the Mac.

    Today I’ll get two hours to myself, as Dearly Beloved plans to take Baby Pink Cheeks out for a visit. That’ll give me time to rummage through the garage for some of the ritual tools I left there in a box. Luckily I found a good ritual to reuse, but it does require a lot of props.

    Hope everyone will have a good day!

  31. anotherdemocrat

    I walked this morning! According to my iPod, I am faster than Ussain Bolt, doing 5 minute miles for 30 minutes. My phone, otoh, has a more realistic 21:26 minutes per mile pace. (or maybe it thinks I’m Mirinda Carafree, who was picking up speed at the end of the Ironman race a couple of weeks ago – after swimming 2.5 miles, biking 112 & running a marathon, she was speeding up at the end of the marathon, for the 2nd year in a row) I may walk more this evening, since I have my shoes & heart rate monitor. The last hill of the race is right outside my building, I should walk it a couple of times after work.

    I was up at 20 till 5. Sigh. I have super strong tea & some energy drink I got at Wheatsville – some natural energy thing, I hope it helps.

    Today’s goal is to remain upright as long as possible.

  32. Portlaw

    a fast look at the news and someone was saying that both Dems and Reps are lurching to the left and supporting Social Security and Medicare. I always thought those were issues firmly in the center! Hope the electorate is lurching way to the left.

  33. bfitzinAR

    59 in the house this morning so the furnace went on for the 1st time this winter season.  I wouldn’t have turned it on except I’ve got QC tonight and won’t get home in time to fire up the wood stove before bedtime.  Got freeze warnings for the next couple of nights.  Winter is a’ comin’ in.

    QC could be bad or just indifferent.  The likelihood of good is slim to none.  We’re pretty much going to wrap up the Budget tonight.  The next QC (11/3) will be County Services and Public Works standing committees, then the 11/10 marathon (due to 11/11 being a Fed/State/County holiday) QC will be personnel, courts & jails, finance and the final for the year (we hope) 2015 Budget committees.  The finance committee part of this marathon will set millage as well.  We will see if austerity or sanity will prevail regarding the need for more revenue while the State hits us for $2.7 million a year in under-reimbursed State prisoners in our County jail.  Then finally the Full Quorum Court meeting 11/20 to formally pass the millage (only chance) and the Budget (which could go until December but hopefully won’t).  There you have my QC for November. 🙂  Oh and {{{HUGS}}}

  34. princesspat

    I’ve finally got all the beds changed to flannel sheets, so laundry tops today’s to do list. I’d best deal with all the mail and bills I’ve stashed in the later basket as well, and buy some Halloween candy because Oct is nearly over.

    Now that we have voted I’m even more ready for this endless election to be over as well. The state Senate race has generated nonstop nasty adds and I fear the R candidate will be re elected. It’s an important vote as Governor Inslee  is in the same position as President Obama. The R’s are using their legislative power to block his more progressive and environmentally realistic agenda.

  35. JanF

    It is 35 degrees on this frightfully cold Halloween morning. Expected high of 39 with blustery winds to ring out the old and ring in the new.

    Trick or treaters will be tricking and treating from 5pm to 7pm; our doorbell will be disconnected and we will be in the basement watching a movie. I am over trick or treating and one less house handing out sugary treats is actually good for the universe. 🙂

    Blessed Samhain to those who will celebrate the new year tonight into tomorrow! A song:



    Samhain, Samhain, let the ritual begin,

    We call upon our sacred ancestors to come in

    Samhain, Samhain, we call upon our kin,

    We call upon our dear departed loved ones to come in

    The Veil between the worlds is thin

    Our hearts reach cross the sea of time

    To bring our loved ones in

    Samhain, Samhain we honor all our kin

    We honor those who’ve gone before

    As the Great Wheel turns again

    Samhain, Samhain we call upon our kin

    We call upon our Sacred Ancestors to come in

    Samhain, Samhain we call them to come in

    We call upon our dear departed loved ones to come in

    And remember, do NOT pay attention to the polling … get to the polls!

    This is the last day of October so it will be busy. See all y’all later  

  37. Portlaw

    Blessed Samhain to all and thanks for greetings.

    Am going to Carnegie Hall to hear Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony tonight in honor of many things including, of course, Mahler.

  38. Diana in NoVa

    with rain predicted for later this evening. Thanks for the music, JanF and Denise! Tonight I will be using several tracks from Loreena McKennitt’s “Parallel Dreams” album for our ritual.

    This is probably the last Samhain ritual we’ll have. We have only four members in our Circle and two of them will be moving to a retirement community some time next year, very likely. Geographical and time constraints will break us up.

    The news is the same as yesterday: the Rethugs are still gloating, I still feel depressed abut politics, and our climate zone is getting ready for winter. One weird thing: years ago I planted white chrysanthemums and purple chrysanthemums in the backyard. Now they’ve come up white, purple, and yellow! Do these flowers change color just because they feel like it? At any rate, I’ll be using a little posy of them to signify Earth at our ritual.

    Wishing everyone in Moosylvania a blessed Samhain if they are of the Pagan persuasion, or a Happy Halloween if they follow a different path.

  39. anotherdemocrat

    Happy Halloween! Blessed Samhain! I’m being Hermione again. It’s easy, and when I don’t have the robe & hat on, a super low-key “costume” – aka white shirt & dark pants. Of course, I’ve never seen Hermione in sandals but it is still too warm for real shoes.

    Having a small breakfast of a half sandwich & an apple, because later there will be breakfast tacos. And it just hit me that I’m wearing a white shirt. That by 10 am will have salsa on it, pretty much guaranteed. Sigh. Well, if I wear my robe to the party & zip it up, at least the salsa will be on the black robe.

    Earworm: California. Bouncy & energetic. Odd lyrics for a song on an album called “Songs of Innocence”. But suitable for a day when we think about our loved ones who are on the Other Side. “…… I’ve seen for myself

    There’s no end to grief

    That’s how I know

    That’s how I know

    And why I need to know that there is no end to love

    All I know and all I need to know is there is no end to love”

    Does make me wonder, if this is innocence, what kind of songs will be in “experience”? I know what they’ll write for “ascendance” – songs like “Yahweh” & “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. Just – if Innocence is this dark & deep, Experience should be a trip.

    Anyway, hope everyone has fun today.

  40. anotherdemocrat

    Tweet of the day:

    Dava Tyson retweeted

    Scott Karasick™ ‏@GuileOfTheGods 1h1 hour ago

    If you’re not allowed to show a school ID to vote, then don’t claim voter ID laws are made to prevent voter fraud. It’s to prevent voters.

  41. bfitzinAR

    then head down to mid 20s – definite freeze warning, maybe hard freeze.  Not exactly trick-or-treating weather but could be worse.  I usually don’t get many and they mostly come early because they are little kids – who are very happy with the quarters I give them instead of candy. 🙂

    Last night was mixed – we have more money than we thought we were going to have for next year, but that’s partly predicated on not spending as much for the rest of this year, we’ve more or less passed the budget with an average of 50% cuts in operating and maintenance and no capital expenses at all – with the knowledge that when (not if, when) the departments run out of money they will have to come back to the Court and ask for it, but have yet to talk about the possibility of raises or even bonuses for all these folks who are supposed to be making bricks without straw next year.  If everything goes well, the last Budget Committee meeting will be 11/10 – at which time I’ll bring up raising the millage (which probably will not happen) as the only time we can change millage is at the November QC meeting (11/20 this year).

    Got greeted this morning with a forwarded HOF email from a sweet, very manipulable, good-christian cousin about End of Free Speech and Religion in Houston because supposedly the Mayor (gay, female, Dem) has subpoenaed sermons from supposedly every pastor in Houston to supposedly check for mentions of gays, lesbians, etc.  Funny thing is, when I google it, her HOF thing she forwarded to me is the only one that comes up.  I’ve sent her an email asking for corroborating sources.  (I’d love to see a copy of the announcement from the Mayor’s office.)  Since I doubt there are any, I doubt I’ll hear back from her.  But I thought I’d mention it here just in case any of you know anything about it.  (I also mentioned I wouldn’t go there on the freedom of religion as I personally (well, through DK & MM but I didn’t tell her that) non-Christians being denied their freedom of religion by Christians.)  {{{HUGS}}}

  42. princesspat

    We’ve had the annual Halloween discussion, and despite my suggestions the big pumpkin wants to stay home, eat pizza, pass out candy, and hide the Snickers Bars. So, bowing to tradition, we will.

    Thanks for the music…..listening is a nice way to begin my day.

  44. JanF

    It is 25 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 44 … sunny skies in the forecast.

    I scanned the news and it is indeed silly season. Mary Landrieu is being called out by the Republican Party for suggesting that “the South has not always been the friendliest place for African-Americans.” – the same Republican Party that developed the Southern Strategy to peel off the South by ginning up racial animus, the same Republican Party that ran the Willie Horton ad, the same Republican Party that, given the opening by the Supreme Court, chose to immediately put in place voting restrictions to disenfranchise people of color. They are demanding an apology in their best Foghorn Leghorn impressions. The only apology she should make is for not pointing it out sooner.

    In other news, I am discouraged about the last minute dirty tricks and sliming because it is so unfair. Here’s the problem with those tactics … there is not enough time to react without looking freaked out because, for crying out loud, the natural reaction is “where the hell did that come from?”. And even if they are illegal tactics and even criminal activities: you can’t undo an election. As we saw in New Hampshire a few election cycles ago, the guys who jammed the voter help hotlines on election day got a fine and a deferred jail sentence … and their candidate won. I don’t know what the answer is because a call for decency and fairness would fall on deaf ears when it is directed at those who are not decent and who have sworn to win by any means.

    I don’t want to leave my peeps depressed so here are two positive things: a Maine judge rejected the Ebolinsane arguments of Paul LePage and Chris Christie, President Obama is getting feisty and told a crowd in Rhode Island that Obamacare is here to stay no matter what happens with the Senate, and poor Sam Brownback, who is still waiting for tax cuts to increase prosperity was hit with a news of another revenue shortfall (for October) … just in time to remind Kansas voters of the empty promise of trickle down.

    See all y’alls later!!

  45. DeniseVelez

    Dem phone banking.

    Sadly polling does not look good for Sean Eldridge (NY-19)

    or Cecilia Tkaczyk (NY-46)  – but we are fighting to GOTV.

    I wish I wasn’t surrounded by so many red-state upstate R’s.

     

  46. Diana in NoVa

    We’re staying cosily in bed until the almond croissants get good and brown in the oven. Slept longer than usual because I was so tired!

    Last night’s ritual went well except that I forgot to bring the altar cloth. However, the Circle sisters who were hosting provided an orange tablecloth, so that was OK.

    At 10 this morning I’ll be meeting a guy at the local Starbucks whom I’ve hired off Craig’s List to explain the mysteries of Mac software to me. It’s driving me berserk not to be able to file documents neatly in subfolders, and not to be able to attach documents to e-mails.

    Hope everyone will have a good day! Unable to do anything for the election this year except urge the eight voters in my family to vote. Sending around an e-mail tomorrow.

    Have a good Saturday, all!

  48. anotherdemocrat

    I knew my lungs hate cold, but that 1st cold workout tells me that my lungs hate cold. I’m wheezy. Not sure how far I walked, maybe 4-ish miles, because my phone decided not to record & my iPod still thinks I’m Ussain Bolt. Or whoever it will be who 1st does a 2 hour marathon.

    Been home for a while, watching Melissa Harris Perry. Still cold. Deciding whether to take a nap or go do some campaign work. I’m really sleepy.

  49. princesspat

    I hope the lower temperature will encourage the leaves to fall because the trees are still full and the gutters need to be cleaned. I don’t want to have it done twice but with so much rain they need to function.

    It was a quiet Halloween compared to years past so we have candy left over…no need to hide some for later!

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