Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Puppies


20 comments:

  1. I really miss having a dog, but right now we have three extremely neurotic cats. I don't know why. They were rescues, the two along with their mother. And they were never feral but they act as if they were. We've had them for about 11 years and Boo, the big boy still hisses at me if I get within 3 feet of him. All I ever see of his sister, Spooky, is a gray streak as she races away at top speed any time she sees me. Their mom, Emma, is a tiny bit more normal, but she's not looking like she feels well these days. Anyway, bringing a dog into the house would ignite a firestorm of cat crazy.

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    1. Wow, Susan. I can't imagine living 11 years with a cat who hisses at me! Has that cat ever warmed up to anyone? The streak is less surprising, as we've had a few skittish ones. But you have to wonder what their early days were like. How old were they when they came to you? I'm guessing you have about 5 more years before you can have a dog.

      One of our cats arrived all skittish and wouldn't let anyone hold her or touch her belly. But 6 years later she would lay belly up in front of the wood stove and not flinch if we stepped over her. She became very attached to me, too. Most cats are people-oriented...like to be with "the pack." So sad yours are ornery.

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    2. My brother took in the pregnant mother. She had 5, but 1 died. My brother kept two kittens and we took mama and two babies. They are quite affection with the brother who lives with us, but Son #2 and I? Nope. Never.

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  2. Incase you missed it late last night:

    listener11/14/2016 11:20:00 PM
    So, there it is. In keeping with this HORRIBLE political season:

    The National Nurse legislation is not going to pass this session. Instead, the staff of the bill's chief sponsor (Sen. Merkley) has told Bernie's staff that they need to do another revision and will see about reintroducing it next session.

    After 12 YEARS of rewrites and fine tunings on this bill, which requires no appropriation, this new turning seems to me little more than a stall tactic. I find I am left with little faith in the legislative system to bring this worthy, bipartisan bill to fruition.

    I’m heartbroken. Truly, I don’t even know what is left to say. I have no faith in the coming Administration, and anticipate no priority for healthcare legislation and support for nurses. So, I do not see how the bill could possibly fare well going forward.

    I’m not sure I even want our precious bill and hard effort dirtied by being passed by that Administration and signed by that hand. We fought the good fight and the system itself is the problem. The more I read the Constitution and see what the Founders intended, the more I recognise how warped and rotten our governing system has become.

    I am so immensely proud of all that Nurse Teri and the Advocacy Team crafted, offered and worked for!! It is still good and wise and right. The time we are in makes it impossible. But it doesn’t make what we did wrong...!

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  3. Reposting this also:

    As of last Friday, Howard is no longer affiliated with DFA. Jim is still there.

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  4. A few items for your delectation, garnered over a cup of coffee..
    Alan

    President-elect Donald Trump’s transition operation “plunged into disarray on Tuesday with the abrupt resignation of Mike Rogers, who had handled national security matters, the second shake-up in a week on a team that has not yet begun to execute the daunting task of taking over the government,” the New York Times reports.
    “Gov. Mike Pence took the helm of the effort on Friday after Mr. Trump unceremoniously removed Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who had been preparing with Obama administration officials for months to put the complex transition process into motion. Now the effort is frozen, senior White House officials say, because Mr. Pence has yet to sign legally required paperwork to allow his team to begin collaborating with President Obama’s aides on the handover.”
    ================================
    Two sources close to Mike Rogers, who was ousted from the Trump transition team, told NBC News that he had been the victim of what one called a “Stalinesque purge,” from the transition of people close to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who left Friday. It was unclear which other aides close to Christie had also been forced out.
    ===============================
    Indianapolis Star: “Now that the presidential campaign and most of the furor over Hillary Clinton’s email scandal are behind us, the Pence administration is going to court to argue for its own brand of email secrecy. The administration is fighting to conceal the contents of an email sent to Gov. Mike Pence by a political ally. That email is being sought by a prominent Democratic labor lawyer who says he wants to expose waste in the Republican administration.”
    “But legal experts fear the stakes may be much higher than mere politics because the decision could remove a judicial branch check on executive power and limit a citizen’s right to know what the government is doing and how it spends taxpayer dollars.
    =======================================
    Editorial from talkingpointsmemo.com:
    The Chaos Begins [Click]

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  5. A warmer alternative to Canada:

    "Costa Rica's government is very stable. In fact, Costa Rica is considered the most stable country in Central America and even in all of Latin America. Costa Rica is a constitutional democratic republic and abolished its army in 1949, allocating the national defense budget to education and health care." They even have a multi-party political system.

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    1. Phil and I talked about moving to Costa Rica...

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  6. The comparisons between Hitler and Trump that some people have been making, are at least arguably unfair to Hitler. For one thing, Trump seems incompetent to take over so much as a schnitzel stand. For another, he was a decorated war veteran, and his WWI decorations for valor and for wounds in combat were the only ones he ever wore, which I take as a sign of respect for veterans that Trump obviously does not share. Hitler also studied military science seriously, albeit informally, during the war.

    By way of extenuation for his behavior, Hitler evidently suffered from tertiary [AKA neurological] syphilis. That led met to wonder if Trump might suffer from a roughly similar infection. Syphilis would be most unlikely; how about something from household pets? The first thing that came to (my) mind was Toxoplasmosis [Click] “…researchers found a link between the parasite and Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED), a psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent, impulsive, problematic outbursts of verbal or physical aggression that are disproportionate to the situations that trigger them.” Interesting…

    Alan

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    1. "For another, he was a decorated war veteran.." should read:
      "For another, Hitler was a decorated war veteran..."

      Alan

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    2. Got it.

      Is toxaplasmosis the one you get from kitty litter? The description you give of IED sounds like my mother....as well as Trump. Both of them also turn on a dime and say one moment the exact opposite of what they said a moment before. That makes living with Mum difficult. I shudder to think what a president with such - what to call it? behavior? disorder? - will be like!

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    3. Yes, toxoplasmosis is transmitted through contact with contaminated cat feces. In most humans it has no symptoms, but in some there are symptoms of body aches, swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, and fatigue. In people with weakened immune systems, it could also bring on confusion, poor coordination, seizures and more.
      You bear a lot, Cat. I am impressed with your own clarity and wisdom in the circumstances. ♥

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    4. My mother became extremely difficult in her later years. Enough said.

      Alan

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  7. Bernie garnered 5.7% of the vote in Vermont. Pretty good for the guy who said plainly, "Do not vote for me."

    http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2016/11/15/bernie-sanders-wins-18000-vt-votes/93897044/

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    1. It will take several weeks to get all the ballots counted in California, and I think the write-ins will be the last to be tallied; I will let you know how it turns out here.

      --Alan

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  8. listener, tell Teri, I'm so sorry! She's surely fought the good fight, and so have you! Bummer!

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    1. Thanks, puddle!!

      Turns out there's some misinformation in the mix. Teri is working on it in Oregon and I may be talking with Bernie's people on Thursday. One of the bill's main sponsors is irate and looking into it. But, geesh, talk about a cliffhanger!!

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    2. I don't understand why a bill that has bipartisan support can't get passed. Not to make light, but it reminds me of the Schoolhouse Rock explanation of a bill:

      I'm Just A Bill - Click

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    3. It only has nearly 100 cosponsors. I guess they're waiting until all the members of Congress sign on individually. Heh.

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