Thursday, March 03, 2016

Flowers?

Here's how our flowers are so far…


14 comments:

  1. We have the power! But my is running a bit low; time to hit the sack. But here is a science story:

    Mars volcanoes spewed billion billion tonnes of lava, causing surface to swivel around
    [Click]


    --Alan

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  2. In fact my energy was running so low I couldn't even type "energy." Or proofread, maybe. But this morning I'm doing better (says he with a cup of coffee to hand). This morning I noted a THIRD neologism derived from the name of he-who-should-not-be-named-here!

    First we had "Trumpenstein." Then we had "Frankentrump." (Both slanders on the creator of the unfortunate creature of Mary Shelley's story, and by extension the creature himself.) Now we have "the GOP's Trumpmare."

    And I see in the NY Times that Democratic primary turnout is much lower so far this year than in the previous contested election (2008). They attribute it to HRC being either an unexciting candidate or the presumed winner. GOP turnout is UP. From politicalwire.com:

    New York Times: “Democratic turnout has fallen drastically since 2008, the last time the party had a contested primary, with roughly three million fewer Democrats voting in the 15 states that held caucuses or primaries through Tuesday, according to unofficial election results. It declined in virtually every state, dropping by roughly 50 percent in states like Minnesota and Texas. In Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia, the number of Democrats voting decreased by roughly a third.”

    “The fall-off in Democratic primary turnout — which often reveals whether a candidate is exciting voters and attracting them to the polls — reached deeply into some of the core groups of voters Mrs. Clinton must not only win in November, but turn out in large numbers. It stands in sharp contrast to the flood of energized new voters showing up at the polls to vote for Donald J. Trump in the Republican contest.”

    -Alan

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    1. Well, yes it is pretty darn scary stuff!

      I found myself *gasp!* agreeing with Mitt Romney today, then humbled by Jane Sanders' response to Mitt Romney's remarks:
      ""I think Mitt Romney achieved his goal, in terms of bringing up all the issues that concern a number of the people that listen to him. I listened to what John McCain had to say. On the other hand, that is the establishment telling the people not to support a candidate. So, that's a question. I mean, we're fighting that on the Democratic side. The establishment has been on our opponent's side for quite some time," said Jane Sanders."

      BTW, in the area of linguistics, I am intrigued that you speak of having a cup of coffee "to hand" rather than "in hand" as we say here. Ah, dialects! Love it!

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    2. Hmmmm... I am quite sure "to hand" is an affectation I acquired I know not where or when. I'm not sure what expression I would have used when young--maybe "at hand." Definitely I would have said "make yourself at home," but was long ago taken by the expression "make yourself to home," which I think is a midwesternism--something a bit quaint, perhaps, and therefore friendlier. (That might have come from a movie.) For much the same reasons I use "goodwife" (actually "good wife") and more rarely "helpmeet" for my better half; I am not sure if I have ever heard anyone else use the words, which are certainly archaic.

      The mainstream media seems to be going berserk talking up HRC and panning Bernie. These days one truly wonders how much effect that will have; their political power seems much less than it was in 2004.

      --Alan

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  3. I've been surprised there has been no mention of upcoming primaries/caucuses, and am even more surprised now that I see we're only two days from the Kansas and Nebraska caucuses and the Louisiana primary. The Main caucuses on Sunday. Tuesday sees primaries in Michigan and Mississippi. The 15th is huge, with primaries on Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio. Hiliary theoretically could pretty much clinch the nomination there if she manages to do well everywhere (which she hasn't to date).

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  4. Yes, Bill. It seems only some states are interesting to the media. Besides, they've pretty much crowned HRC already, so everything else is just "also" primaries and caucuses. Heh.

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    1. All the more opportunity for them to be gobsmacked...(fingers crossed).

      --Alan

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    2. All the more opportunity for them to be gobsmacked...(fingers crossed).

      --Alan

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  5. CNN today: "Bryan Pagliano, a former Clinton staffer who helped set up her private email server, has accepted an immunity offer from the FBI and the Justice Department to provide an interview to investigators."

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    1. If everything is lily white, why does anyone need immunity?

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    2. Perhaps the young (I assume) man simply set up a computer as asked, not knowing anything about the potential ramifications, and is now very apprehensive about being involved.

      Alan

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    3. Well, check out this article on the subject. Apparently it is now officially a criminal investigation.

      http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/obamas-justice-department-gave-bernie-sanders-presidency_b_9372012.html

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