This and That Miscellany

Our family moved to Gainesville, Florida in July of 1961; Dad had retired after 22 years in the Navy, was going to get a teaching degree at the University of Florida  using the GI Bill, and I had just turned 5 years old.  Dad wanted to live in "a place where I never have to shovel snow again," and he had been stationed at Vero Beach and at Whiting Field, near Pensacola.  I spent my school years, except the summers, in Gainesville, and I also attended the University of Florida after graduation from high school.  We lived in the south east section of Gainesville, a relatively poor section of town, outside the city limits.  We were friends with people of all colors, races, and religion.  We frequently traveled to the island of Cedar Key, in Levy County, in the Gulf of Mexico.  I had no idea we were going through what would have been the town of Rosewood, were it still standing.  In 1982, information about Rosewood and the horrific racial injustice that happened there became common knowledge.  Today, I was saddened by reading a newspaper article about the last house in Rosewood, and I am wondering what it's fate might be....   Please read this article.  I wish I had the means to purchase, keep, and develop this building and the land around it, for the sake of all people who have had to withstand injustice - including the current owner.  Her story, too, is heart-rending...    http://www.tampabay.com/data/2018/06/06/the-last-house-in-rosewood/

  Justify, the newly honored Triple Crown Champion, has returned to Churchill Downs and seems to have no ill effects from such a compacted major schedule.  He ran in his first race 112 days before he won the Belmont, and won the 13th Triple Crown in 100 years.  He will appear for racing fans on Saturday, June 16, in the paddock and on the track.  Then he will travel back to Santa Anita, his home base.
   And I had to laugh out loud at  an owner of another horse in the Belmont Stakes, who claimed that Justify's stablemate, who is not even owned by the same people, was sent out to "run interference" for the big chestnut.  Restoring Hope bolted at the start, under jockey Florent Geroux, went wide on the first turn and then moved back closer to the rail.  He finished 8th.  The horse usually runs back in the middle of the field and then runs in the later stages. 

  And the orange turkey in the White House seems to loose more marbles every day...  First the G7 Summit, where he wanted his pal Vladi reinstated, and then refusing to agree to the final compact.  Then he insults all of the members, except Abe of Japan, and tries to belittle and beat down Justin Trudeau of Canada.  He leaves early to go to Singapore to met with Kim Jong Un, where he gives the North Korean dictator everything he wants, and gets nothing in return for our country.  Stopping the US-South Korea war games is a significant concession to Kim, and to receive in return only a promise of a "complete" denuclearization - rather than the complete, verifiable, and irreversible kind to which the current administration has been referring in the entire lead-up to this summit - is NOT enough, in the immediate term.
Not to mention two of the orange majesty's comments in a news conference about the meeting: 
1:  "Honestly, I think he's going to do these things.  I may be wrong, I mean I may stand before you in six months and say, hey, I was wrong - I don't know that I'll ever admit that, but I'll find some kind of an excuse."
2:  "As an example, they have great beaches.  You see that whenever they're exploding their cannons into the ocean, right?  I said, "Boy, look at that view.  Wouldn't that make a great condo?"  And I explained, I said, instead of doing that you could have the best hotels in the world right there.  Think of it from a real estate perspective.  You have South Korea, you have China, and they own the land in the middle.  How bad is that, right?  It's great." 

Foot In Mouth - Washington DC's Current Outbreak

I was amazed the other day, June 5th, when the spokesperson for the US State Department was trying to emphasize how close the US is with Germany's government, and she cited D-Day.  Since she was hired by the 45th Administration straight from "Fox and Friends," I guess I should have expected such stupidity.
   The President insisted on standing in front of the Marine Chorus while they sang "The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America" - but he did not know the words to either song, and just appeared more stupid than usual.  At the same event, which was originally set up to congratulate the Philadelphia Eagles football team for winning the Super Bowl, 6 months ago, he had to bus in aides from Congress to make the crowd look like a crowd.  That was because the day before the event, he un-invited the football team from participating.  What was even better was that a white man in the crowd knelt in support of the football players during the singing of the National Anthem.
  And Sarah Suckabee Panders really made me laugh out loud when she stated that she, herself, has more credibility than the national and world-wide press organizations.
  Did you see (the Crypt Keeper) Smelly Ann Conway call 45 the "President in Cheese" in an interview?  She quickly corrected herself and secondly called him the President in Chief...  Which makes me really wonder why is "the President in Chief" a term?  Why those particular words?   Doesn't the term "President" already connote the meaning of leader, chief, head, etc?
   Anyway, enough of my nonsense - there's more than enough in Washington with Mueller's Special Counsel investigation, and Rudy Giuliani's three-ring circus stunts and interviews....  With 19 indictments and 5 guilty pleas, I think there is a heck of a lot that 45, Manafort and Cohen have tried to sweep under the rug.

This and That

The wind began to blow yesterday afternoon around 2 o'clock, and it's still blowing.  The National Weather Service station here says we'll have sustained winds of 25 to 40 mph all day, with gusts of 45 to 75 mph.  We still have snow and ice from the two snowfalls (more than 10 days ago) in our parking lot, and snow is clearly visible on the Flatirons and Front Range.  And in the last few days, the high temperatures have been in the 50s and 60s.  So it seems incredible to also read that we are under a Red Flag warning for extremely high danger of fire...  Current temperature says 34 degrees, humidity is 23%, and the wind is blowing at 25 mph.  It's a day that weather means I'll stay inside....
 
   Almost finished with Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen.  I had to look up the story about Ed Watson and Belle Starr to see what was "really" what.  Ed was a sharecropper on Indian lands he leased from Belle Starr.  At a dance, she refused to take the floor with Ed.  He had been drinking and was angered by her refusal, according to witnesses.  She was found dead the next day.  Ed Watson was arrested, but, as there was only circumstantial evidence against him he was tried and acquitted.  He left, returning to Florida soon after his acquittal.

  I think that the 45th President is not sleeping well...  It seems that Special Investigator Robert Mueller's team is getting closer to naming him as a defendant each day...

  Had my taxes done by AARP-IRS volunteers at the Boulder Senior Center on Thursday.  I don't owe anything to either the federal or state government, but I'm not getting back either.  Since my birthday is in June, I'll have to wait for another 2 years before I can apply to the City and County, and get my food tax refund.  Last year they paid back $62; this year it's $83...  Since I need a crown for a dead tooth, and it's going to cost $700, it would've been nice to get a little bit of cash back!

  Still working away on my family tree, and my room-mate, Beatrice's.  I'm lucky that there are so many church and tax records for most of my family.  I have to admit that I've divided my family tree into three parts, not four.  That's due to the scarcity of Swedish records for my mother's paternal side.  I have over 4,000 entries for my father's paternal Nocks family; and I have over 2,000 for his maternal Lancaster/Mobley/Washburn side.  I have about 1,500 for my mother's family, in entirety...
   For Beatrice, I started with her parents names, her maternal grandmother, and her paternal grandfather's names.  As they are African American, and the families were slaves on plantations in Louisiana, I am very happy to have found more than 1,100 hundred relatives so far.  Her second-great-grandfather was the son of the plantation owner, and I have been able to trace the owner's family back to the late 1500s in Europe.  But we're still stuck at her grandfather Bell - we don't know his parents' names, and I've found 12 different Henry Bells that were born around the same time and near the right place....  I'll continue to look, and hope to have a break-through.

 

Arm Teachers in American Schools?

A majority of Americans, according to a nation-wide poll, want to ban the sale of assault-style pistols and rifles to the general public.  Assault-type weapons are not needed for hunting game, nuisance creatures (such as coyotes or wolves, according to some folks), or for any normal situation.  I can easily see SWAT team members and soldiers having a use for an assault weapon.  I can easily agree that a few ex-soldiers, such as marksmen and snipers, could get a special permit to own and fire such a weapon.  BUT a normal, everyday American has no use, or need for, an assault weapon.
   The person in the Oval Office of the White House is in complete disagreement with me.  He thinks having more guns available to more people will make an end to these horrific killing rampages.  His Secretary of Education stated that we need more armed teachers to defend students from the attacks of grizzly bears inside classrooms.  The latest killings, at a high school in Florida, have sent young people into marches and protests.  It's sad to realize that the Columbine High School shootings took place almost 20 years ago, and this country is still gun crazy.  Mass shootings at schools, universities, clubs, cinemas, and music venues have become a sickening stream.
   Having been a teacher, at multiple grade levels, I can honestly say that I would never want to be carrying a weapon at a school, in a class room, or even have one locked in a "safe" in my room.  Too many things can simply go wrong.  There are too many distractions in a class room with 25 to 35 students.  And students these days know how to pick a key lock; they can easily record (on a ubiquitous phone) the opening of a safe and learn the combination; and what if a person with an assault rifle attacks?  What kind of weapon is the teacher supposed to have?  A simple pistol versus an assault rifle?  If the teacher doesn't accidentally kill a student and gets a shot off at the assailant, the teacher is dead meat in a second or so, thanks to the fire power and automatic firing of the assailant's weapon.  I simply do not believe that arming teachers is any answer at all.
   We need to ban the sale of all assault weapons to the general public.  We need to ban bump stocks.  People should not be able to buy any gun at a gun show.  We need to have a very tight and strict background check set up nationally.  The background check should include a mental health examination, and a look at any/all previous complaints against the person made to any law enforcement agencies.  If a person has a record of spousal abuse, endangerment of children or family members, threats against other people for perceived or real reasons, or any conviction for physical or mental abuse, that person should be denied the purchase of any type of weapon.
   Maybe my viewpoint is a bit strong....  But I stand behind it.
 

"45" Memes

Now 45 Wants A Yuuuge Military Parade

America has known for years that the man currently in the Oval Office is a complete egotistical narcissist.  It was well known that he wanted the military to "show their might" in his Inauguration parade, which didn't happen.  He sees news feeds of military parades in North Korea and Russia - and wants his own.  Going to France for Bastille Day, he saw a large military parade celebrating unity - unity of the French people, and unity with other nations (a group of United States military men, from each service, marched as a single unit).
   In January, the orange nut told the Pentagon that he wants a military parade, bigger than the Bastille Day parade in France, to honor the people who serve in our military.  The man wants it to happen on Memorial Day, or on July 4; his military leaders would prefer it happen on Veterans Day.  He wants the parade to contain marching units of military folk, bands, tanks, missile launchers - the whole shebang....
   Now, we just avoided another government shut-down, even though 45 wanted it to happen.  Our national budget for the rest of the year still hasn't been approved.  The tax bill that 45 fought for will cause us to have more than $1.3 trillion of debt. - And the idiot wants a foolish parade...  He wants it to follow the Inauguration parade route, down Pennsylvania Avenue, passing, of course, the International Hotel that bears his name.
   Has he thought of the cost of such a parade?  Transporting the troops and gear and machines?  Has he thought about the treads of 70-ton tanks ripping up the pavement in downtown Washington?  Has he thought of anything at all, except himself?  And, of course, he didn't have to serve in the military because he had bone spurs in his heels... Got five draft deferments.....    Hmmmmmmmm.

  For an excellent read and viewpoint on this parade, please see the Washington Post article:   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/07/why-trumps-military-parade-wont-be-like-the-one-in-france/?utm_term=.818e1cbb7765  

Day 366 of 45 in Office

Let's see...   Unemployment is down to 4.1% nation-wide.  The stock market is riding a huge high.  The entire government of the United States of America is closed down.  The US Government is closed because it has no money to spend; because the Congress could not, and/or would not, approve an operating budget for the fiscal year - it has been running on temporary extensions, but they have ended.
   So....  A Republican President, who has a majority of Republicans in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, cannot get a budget approved?  What has happened to the man who claimed, "I, alone, can do it!"?  Where is his self-acclaimed business acuity in the art of making a deal?  What has happened to his "Make America Great Again" rhetoric?  It seems as if all he wants to do is play golf at his privately owned clubs, eat fast food, and canoodle with pornographic stars....
  He is a lying, thieving, cheat - but that's not new.   When Barack Obama was President, 48% of the world held the US in high esteem, and thought our promises would be kept.  In the single year that 45 has been in the White House, our national trustworthiness has dropped to 30%.  We are now ranked behind Germany and China, and barely ahead of Russia....  I should not be surprised at all.

On the other hand, today and tomorrow, there will be, and have been Women's Marches, as there was the day after 45's Inauguration.  I took my roommate into downtown Denver and dropped her off at the March's staging area, at the Civic Center Park in front of the State Capitol Building.  On the way there, circling the Park, and on my return drive home, I counted over 3,000 people...  The Denver Post reported over 150,000 people participated.  And the crowds in other cities looked comparable... As a sex, we rock!! 
   Remember this year's theme  POWER AT THE POLLS!

This & That

The orange-painted idiot made me upset again with his "shit hole countries" comment, so I've stayed away from the blog.  Then the accidental Ballistic Missiles Incoming message in Hawaii on Saturday was frightening, with the White House comment that it was a normal drill for the state, a hateful follow-up.  -  I must say that I am looking forward to Steve Bannon giving testimony to the Intelligence committee, and to Mueller...
 
     My cats are fine and dandy, and I'm currently watching over (taking care of) Pip and Squeak.  They get two meals each day that are served in two separate servings - both girls had intestinal blockages requiring surgery when they were less than a year old.  So they get a mixture of canned food, cooked squash, and water for the first course of each meal, followed by a heaping tablespoon of dry food.  They also get L-Lysine every other day mixed into the wet morning meal.  They are both very loving kitties, and greet me at the door, pawing at the glass each time I arrive.  They make me feel good.

    In genealogy, I've been cleaning up  and placing "standardized" dates and places into the family tree on the Family Search website....  I've spent two days working on straightening out one set of cousins.   In Virginia, between 1860 and 1920, births were reported to the city, county, state, and voting district the parents lived in.  A lot of the children, while having a birth date recorded, were also marked "sex unknown;"  someone has gone through those birth registrations and entered both a boy and girl baby to the family, without checking to see whose birth date matches the registration.  It's a bit frustrating, but I also feel good about getting the records set straight.  (As in, no, this couple did not have 23 kids, they had 12 - eleven of the entries were over-zealous double and triple entries...)
   I'm working on my family tree at the moment, because I know and recognize the names easily.  When I'm working on Beatrice's tree, I get frustrated because of several factors - the spelling of  French Creole names is very arbitrary, and I needed a respite from trying to imagine any and every way a name could be spelled.  I looked a long time for the parents of a lady named Lorinda Cadie (according to her husband's death certificate); I found that her father's first name was Toussan, or a variant thereof.  I finally found her parents, whose last name was spelled Cadet, by looking up the first name Toussaint, with a guesstimated birth date, in and around the Parish where the girl was born. 
   It's always a learning experience when doing the family tree - I've discovered several more Beebe family and Quillen family connections in my clean-up efforts - and also found that we are related to the Captain Timothy Hill family, which I didn't know before....

Picture This, If You Will... Part 2

   When 45 returned to his senses, he asked, "Where are my clothes?  I need my clothes."
   His response was, "No.  You do not need clothing for any reason."
   "I need to cover myself - for decency."
   A tinkling laugh shook through his cellular structure.  "No.  You have no decency."
   - _ -
 
   "Where is my hair!?!?," 45 suddenly asks, having run his hands over his head.
   "You have none.  You need none."
   45 mutters, "Well, at least it will grow back..."
   "No.  We have removed all of your so-called 'hair' follicles.  We find those eruptions from your pebbly and porous skin...    Ummm - disgusting."
   "You think hair is disgusting?  What do you look like?  What kind of m-monster - or thing - are you?"
   "Petty little man.  You would not survive seeing me.  I am all."
   - _ -

   "Where am I?"
   "You are here."
   "Where is 'here'?"
   "You have not the knowledge to understand, 45."
   "How long are you going to keep me here - wherever this is?"
   "Until the end."
   "The end?  The end of what?"
   "Until the end.  The end of time, as we know it.  The end of existence.  The end of being."
   "Listen to me.  I don't know who put you up to this.  I don't know who you are.  Someone - some...enemy of mine - must have paid you to do this.  I will pay you triple - no, wait - make that four times the amount this other person paid you - to let me go.  Just let me go - no questions asked.  No trouble for you in the future.  Just let me go now."
    The keeper's amusement nearly knocks him over, flowing through his body.  
   "What the hell...?"
   "You are very predictable, and therefore, quite amusing, 45."
   - _ -

   "I'm hungry.  Do I live on air here?"
   "No.  You have fresh water to slake your thirst at hand.  I will see that a meal is prepared."
   "I'm very hungry.   I want a 16-ounce sirloin steak, no bone, well-done.  I want a large pile of home-made fries, with plenty of salt.  I want chocolate cake with chocolate icing for dessert.  And do not forget the bottle of ketchup - I need that for both the steak and the fries."
   Within a few minutes, a small bright blue panel opens next to the table built into the wall.  A small tray appears, with two bowls.  Forty-five begins to sputter with rage as he looks at the tray.
   "Just what the hell is this... shit?"
   "You are grossly obese, 45.  You have been placed on a vegan diet while you are here.  Perhaps, once you reach your best weight, you may once again partake of your favorite foods."
   " I won't eat that... stuff."
   "That is entirely up to you, 45.   I would think that roughly cut oatmeal would bring back nice childhood memories of your Mother.  Of course, this is made with almond milk.  Doesn't the fresh fruit look inviting?  Strawberries, bananas, orange slices, kiwis, and grapes.  It looks good to me."
   "I hate that crap.  I won't eat it."
   "It will be available to you until your next meal time."
   "When is that?"
   "When I decide, 45."

 

New Arrival - 45

As a graduate of the New York Military Academy (high school)

Look at his left hand!  Feeling up Ivanka, in public, in the 1980s.

Reading the book he wrote for his grandchildren on Air Force One -

Winners Aren't Losers

And the magical flying carpet is about to take off!

USS Fitzgerald - and Appointees

So the President, who has consistently Tweeted his thoughts, even after the White House Press Staff has stated that 45's Tweets are "official Presidential statements," has now stated that "I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director!  Witch Hunt"  Hunh.
   Yesterday afternoon in Colorado, but early Saturday morning in the sea off Japan, a Phillipine  container ship collided with the USS Fitzgerald, a 505-foot US Navy missile destroyer.  It looks like the container ship has some buckling of the port bow, but a large section on the starboard of the Fitzgerald was crushed, and the hull is breached under the waterline.  The bilge pumps have been running continuously since the collision, but the ship is listing due to water weight.  The Commanding Officer was air-lifted off the ship and is receiving treatment in Japan.  Multiple sailors are injured, but we have no list of the men, or their injuries.  Two other sailors have been air-lifted from the ship.  The worst part is that seven sailors are missing.  So far, none have been found.  I think that one of my biggest problems with this is that the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief, did not say a word about this yesterday - it wasn't until 1 hour ago (almost 18 hours after the accident) that he decided to mention it - on Twitter, of course - "Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families. Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance."
   The Japanese Navy has sent one of their ships to aid and support the USS Fitzgerald, along with two tug boats to help guide and support the stricken vessel.  Another US destroyer is on it's way to assist the ship, also.  But one of the biggest problems is that there could be no calls for assistance to the US Japanese Ambassador, nor to the US Navy Secretary - because neither one currently exists.  The positions exist in the government ranks, but no one has been named or nominated to fill those two positions by the current President.  So the US Navy families must just sit on their hands and wait for reports to be vetted and finally released to the world at large.  This stinks for any military family, period.
   Before 45 became President by taking his Oath of Office on 20 January 2017, he was aware that he needed to appoint 558 people for key positions that require the confirmation of the US Senate.  To date, 42  positions have been confirmed.  He has nominated 94 others, and has stated that he wants, but not actually nominated, 7 others.  415 key positions have not been mentioned by the President, and all offices are empty, because he has not yet seen fit to nominate people.  More details on this may be found at:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/database/

   If you dislike the sitting President, and have an outrageous sense of humor, I suggest you visit Randy Rainbow's page on Facebook - and especially watch and enjoy his music videos...
 

Bits and Pieces

We pulled our mail in Friday afternoon about 15 minutes after it was delivered.  There was only one piece, addressed to me, and it was from the company we rent our apartment from.  I opened the envelope, turned the oddly folded piece of letter-sized paper over, and my eyes were assaulted by the word "URGENT!" that covered the width of the paper.  There was a letter under it, stating that the company had not received our paper-work to renew our lease and they were giving us a warning before we would have to pay a penalty fee.  We received our letter inviting us to renew on May 6, and we filled out all 25 pages of information and signed and dated it that day.  On Monday, May 8th, we took the paperwork directly to the office and turned it in to the receptionist at the main desk.  She wanted me to fill out four more questions (yes/no answers) that I hadn't marked, because the questions began with, "If you are a student...", which I had marked No.  I called and left several messages Friday afternoon, and Beatrice sent an e-mail. A few minutes ago, I called and got the lady who sent the letter, and for whom I left two messages on Friday.  I stated my name and asked if they had found my paperwork, and she said, "Of course, it's here on my desk."  I ten asked if she needed anything else.  She said we need to give her copies of our 2017 forecast Social Security Statements.  I have made copies of both and we will shortly be delivering them - and asking for a receipt from the reception desk.
   Having listened to a certain man for the past few weeks, I have decided that my hero is now Clinton Watts.  I like the way he moves, thinks before answering questions, and his snarky, sly sense of humor.  Having seen him testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, and hearing his opinions on multiple news shows, has shown me a man of erudition and thoughtfulness.  I loved his, "Follow the trail of dead Russians" comment, and I also felt for his "Nobody has my back covered" statement.  I would, and will, cover his back at any moment - even though I am not a trained agent....
   The noose seems to be tightening around the 45th Administration's Russian collusionists...  Mike Flynn looks to take a big fall; and having Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus return very early from the first international trip seems odd - of course, Steve Bannon looked as if he expected every Saudi citizen was going to try to kill him. And the two "top ladies" would not wear head scarves in honor of the Saudi's beliefs...  And I can't believe the moron was upset that he couldn't land his helicopter on top of a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Firing James Comey was one of the worst things the orange idiot could have done; let's see what Bob Mueller does to him.  And the nut job just told an Israeli conference that he had "just returned from a trip to the Middle East"......  He really has NO brain.

Off For a While & The Preakness

The Preakness Stakes will be run Saturday at Old Hilltop, Pimilico Racecourse, outside of Baltimore, Maryland.  Always Dreaming will be facing horses from the Kentucky Derby, as well as several new, and fresher, horses.  I wish him well this Saturday.

  I am just so completely amazed and disturbed by the actions of the current President of the United States that I feel the need for a break from my blog - otherwise, it would be full of angst.  The way the elected leader of our country is acting is completely idiotic; he speaks without thinking of consequences and he lies out of both sides of his mouth.  He makes me ill.  I get up every day and wonder what the stupid bigoted child has done this time.  I'm headed back to my psychiatrist and therapist, thanks to him and his administration.

  I'll be back in a few days.....

Oooooooo My.....

Oh my scars and freckles!  I have become a cable news junkie!  I got up early yesterday morning and took the bus to care for Pip and Squeak; then I took the bus back home.  By then, it was 8:30, and Bea and I walked the four blocks down to Turley's Kitchen and had breakfast, then walked back home.  We then sat down and made our shopping list for the rest of the month, and set out in Christina's borrowed car.  First we headed to Longmont to do shopping at both Sam's Club and the regular Wal-Mart  - then home, each of us making 6 trips upstairs loaded down with boxes and shopping bags.  We got that put away, then went to McGuckin's Hardware, the Neighborhood Market, and finally Safeway.  Got home and brought that stuff upstairs and put away.  By then it was time to go back to take care of Pip and Squeak; I used Christina's car for that second trip to see the cats.  Then home again - to eat supper and be glued to MSNBC's news and political coverage, until I checked the incoming flight schedule for Denver International, and left the house at 10:30 to go pick up Christina from the airport.  Back home and in bed at 1:30 this morning....  Then Pip and Squeak first thing this morning, again.
   I do not like the fake President, who won a fake election with the help of Russia and Putin.  I hate his guts and am afraid that, at any moment, he might start a nuclear war because he is so completely maniacal and narcissistic.  However, I must say, quite honestly, that because of hos Presidency, I now know a heck of a lot more about our government and exactly how it is supposed to work.  I have done a lot of research that I never thought about before regarding the checks and balances of our governing system, and the precise wording of the United States Constitution, its' amendments, and clauses.  Thanks to the ineptitude of this administration, I now understand our government much better than before.
    I was completely amazed by the firing of FBI Director Comey.  And now the Deputy Attorney General has stated that he is not happy that the White House attributes it's decision to fire Comey to his internal Department of Justice memo.  Apparently, the tiny-handed tangerine tyrant still believes that he is the COO and owner of the United States of America, and that this far-flung nation can be controlled by a 70-year-old fat man with orange skin and Big Bird colored hair.  He is a complete and total joke.  The United States, once a great nation, is now the laughing stock of the universe.  -  All because the Electoral College did NOT do it's job.
   And one last, laughable item -   45 fired Comey on Tuesday night.  Wednesday, he hosted the Russian Foreign Minister and the Russian Ambassador inside the Oval Office.  He did not allow any journalists inside for the meeting, except TASS, the Russian government newspaper.  TASS immediately shared their photos with news agencies around the world - and then the President lost his cool (not that I've ever believed he had any) and claimed that "the Russians lied to us."  What a hoot! - I mean, think about it - here he is, hosting the Russian Ambassador,privately - the man whose connections with Paul Manafort, Mike Flynn, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions caused them to be (a) recused and/or (b) fired....  
    The stupid bigot is totally crazy.

Here and There

I know that I have been well-trained by "my pets."  They cry, I wake up.  They walk across me, I wake up.  If the weather is nice, they go to the balcony door and I open it for them; when they come back inside, I close the door behind them.  Our first apartment in Boulder faced east, and since the east wall was 80% glass, the cats awoke with the sun.  That meant that I awoke then, also.  We've been in the new apartment 22 months; the windows face west and south, but the cats (and I) still get up at daybreak.
  My roommate, Beatrice, grew up with dogs, not cats.  She has always been a night owl, sleeping in until 10 a.m. or noon.  She moved in 21 months ago - and she is now an early riser - thanks to my cats.  Nedi has decided that "Auntie Bea" is his person.  He sings to her when he believes she should get up in the morning, and, should she close her bedroom and/or bathroom door, for any reason, she will receive an operatic comment.  I awoke at 6:05 this morning; Nedi went into Bea's room and sang her awake at 6:25.  I had already opened the balcony curtains and blinds, fed the cats, and cleaned the litter boxes.  Nedi, however, wanted Beatrice out in the living room, where she would praise, pet and scratch him.  She has learned that he is extremely persistent.  She is now an early riser, too.
   The last word I got from Chincoteague is that there were twelve foals on Assateague - but two of them have yet to be photographed.  Reports are that May's Grand Slam and Dream Catcher have foaled on the north end of the island, but no photos as yet.
   This Saturday is another planned March against 45 - this one is to raise awareness of, and support for the scientists who believe in the evidence of, Climate Change.  So far, the Marches in Denver have had pretty good weather - cold or warm - but the current forecast for this Saturday is for snow.
   In the years since Franklin Delano Roosevelt made his Fireside Chat radio broadcast regarding his "first hundred days in office" Presidents of the United States have been graded, fairly or not, on their individual achievements since then.  FDR had introduced and pushed through the New Deal, Social Security, and the WPA.  The circus peanut, so far, has signed a bunch of executive orders and is dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency.  More than 80% of appointed positions remain unfilled.  He hasn't held up his end of his campaign promises.  He reeks of lies and under-the-table payments.  He needs to be booted out the White House and Washington.
   In the Kentucky Derby, less than two weeks away, one of the thoroughbred racing prognosticators has said that the following horses make up his "Derby dozen favorites:"  Always Dreaming, Irish War Cry, Gunnevera, Classic Empire, McCraken, J Boys Echo, Hence, Practical Joke, Girvin, Gormley, Battalion Runner, and Irap.
   I hope the rest of your week is great!

Bits and Pieces

I was in a pretty glum mood yesterday after finding Maggie's remains.  I had to go back to the neighborhood and walk the dogs who live next door in the afternoon, and managed to get a word with Maggie's owner.  She was cremated by the Humane Society last night.  The folks who own the dogs were flying back in from California last night, and I was half-way to the airport when I realized that I didn't have my cell phone with me.  The flight was due to land at 7:15, so at 7:35 I started making drives through the arrival gates - and I saw them on the third trip around.
   I slept in this morning, and when I arose and checked my e-mail I found that a full grown deer had been killed and almost entirely eaten in the yard next to where I found Maggie's remains.  The owners had called the Wildlife Department, who removed what was left, but told the owners that it looked as if a pack of coyotes had attacked and consumed the deer, since there was so little left.  So I immediately sent out a notification to all the neighbors in the area to be alert - especially if they have smaller pets, small children, or grandchildren visiting.  Especially since Maggie was grabbed in the middle of the afternoon...
   It's cloudy out and rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.  We've had temperatures in the 70s, and I've been wearing shorts instead of jeans.  I need to wrestle the honeysuckle and it's huge pot back inside, and off the balcony.  Saturday is Earth Day and the March for Science in Denver - and the high is forecast as 53 degrees.  That will be quite a change!
   Sad news from Chincoteague Island, Virginia.  Yesterday morning, Delbert "Cigar" Daisey, passed away at the age of 89 years.  Cigar was a renowned decoy carver, and one of his ducks was highlighted by the National Geographic magazine in 1980.  Cigar was one of the few old-time Teaguers left on the island - as a young man he made his living as a fisherman, hunter, and guide.  He known widely for his sense of humor, and he was mentioned in Marguerite Henry's book Misty of Chincoteague which made the island famous.  He will be greatly missed by all.
   I'm amazed that the circus peanut is still in the Oval Office.  The men in Congress need to put on their big-boy trousers and act against the Cheeto-colored cretin.  He breaks US laws daily, he lies constantly,  and he is causing the United States to lose credibility around the world.  The tiny-handed tyrant needs to go!  I have to admit that I really laughed outright, when it was announced earlier this week, that when 45 was posturing and saying that that there was a huge Navy armada steaming on it's way to Korea - the armada (which doesn't run on steam) was headed in the opposite direction toward Australia...  That person is the biggest joke and blowhard to ever appear in Washington.  Sheeesh!!!

President 45 Is A Joke

The man living in the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, the District of Columbia, is the world's biggest joke.  He acts like a petulant two-year-old child.  Nothing is ever his fault - he always blames someone else for anything other than an excellent outcome. He expects praise for doing the logical, socially correct thing.  He demands praise and exultation when he claims the fruits of someone else's work and planning.  He blatantly lies and makes conflicting statements and expects the entire population of our country to believe his lies.  He libels other people.  He pouts and rants and raves if his feelings are "hurt" because someone else tells the truth and produces evidence.  The child-man is dangerous to our country, or freedom, and our way of life.  He needs to be impeached and imprisoned - and sent to work in a chain gang for either a railroad bed, or a new road bed.  He should not be allowed to stay in a highly comfortable prison with scheduled meals, scheduled outings, television, telephones, computers, etc. He should have no rights, except to be fed and clothed.  He needs to be forced to do manual labor, and be allowed to read books and write letters only.  The man is a monster.  He is not my President.  -  In my opinion.

Creek Bodies, the President, & Foals

The body found along Coal Creek trail the other day has been identified - a 42-year-old woman committed suicide with a hand gun beside the public pathway.  ...And I just observed a man and a woman change their clothing while standing (partially) behind a pine tree beside a Goose Creek Pathway, which is less than 50 yards away from my window....  Interesting.  They have packed up their backpacks and roll-along over-night suitcases and are proceeding southeast on foot...
   It appears that "45's" Art of the Deal came back to bite him in the rear.  He promised the first thing he would do was "repeal Obamacare" and he said he'd do it on day one of his administration.  Yesterday was day 64, and they had to call off the vote to repeal Obamacare because they could not get enough Republicans to vote yes to pass it - his own party!  That just tickles me.
    Last Monday, it was announced in an Open Congressional hearing that Obama did NOT order any wire-tapping or surveillance of the new administration, no matter what 45 claims.  I really believe that 45 and his cronies have completely forgotten that President Obama was/is a Constitutional lawyer, taught Constitutional law, and knows very well what he was, and is, doing.
   And all of 45's cronies just seem to sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand quagmire of Russian ties, Russian money payments, Russian collusion, and the Bank of Cyprus'  and the Deutsche Bank's money laundering of Russian rubles.  Then there are the huge monetary ties that 45, his companies and his family, have with the Bank of China.  Do we have an American President?  Or do we have a Sino-Russ President?
   We still have only two foals born so far on Assateague - Anne Bonny had a red and white pinto girl, and Sweetheart had a buckskin and white pinto boy; the father of both is Legacy, who is a buckskin pinto.  Captain Debbie Ritter caused a stir the other day by posting a photo of Ace and Mayli near Black Duck Drain - and there was a small, dark creature near Mayli, the mare.  She titled the photo, "New Foal?" which sent some pony-watchers into fits. They believed they had spent three hours watching the mare and stallion and had never seen the "foal."  As soon as I looked at the photo I laughed aloud - the "foal" is a Sika deer, or miniature Japanese elk - I could tell by the nose, immediately.  But, people see what they want to see.....
 

I'm So Lazy...

Things have been going on in the world, and I've just been so lazy that I didn't care...  I just returned from having Mercedes cut my hair - and I do mean cut.  It had grown out, over the past three years to almost reach my waist.  It's now about three inches long on top, and about an inch long on the back...  Looks pretty much like it used to look.  Short.
    I went into the market the other day to pick up a few items, and I was trying to decide between ham steak and chicken breast.  I saw a tray of sausage that had been shaped into a laughing pig's head and body.  I laughed and made a comment to the meat manager that it was very cute - and if it wasn't made with peppers, I'd purchase some.  The manager assured me that the peppers were very mild, and actually gave me a half-pound at no charge.  I made half of the amount into seven small patties and cooked them this morning.  I ate one-quarter of one patty, and it took an hour for the fire in my mouth to die down...  Very mild, my mucking boots!  Beatrice ate a whole one, and said it was more than enough.  The uncooked portion, and the other 5 and 3/4 patties are wrapped separately and in the refrigerator.  Maybe my sister or nephew would like them...
   Well, I'm still frightened by the power that "45" has.  At least Flynn has stepped down, and Pudzer had the sense to excuse himself.  I'm still amazed (and dismayed) that the other Cabinet appointees have been confirmed, so far.  DeVos is still astounding me with her idiocy as the Secretary of Education.  Pruitt frankly scares the hell out of me as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.  With Rex Tillerson as the Secretary of State, Mnuchin as Secretary of the Treasury, and Jeff Sessions at Attorney General, it seems as if almost all the evil genies are out of the bottle.  I have to say that I do think that Linda McMahon is a good choice for the Small Business Administration - if she keeps politics out of her office.  The others are all just as scary, just as racist as can be possibly imagined.
   I'm also laughing at the Town Hall meetings being held (or not held) across the country.  In Melfa, Virginia (on the Eastern Shore, in my old home area), a ten-year-old girl asked her State Representative, "Why isn't the President honest?"   She prefaced this by saying she had been taught to be honest by her parents, and that she really liked honest people.  Then she asked her question...  The Representative had to say that he didn't know why the President isn't honest, but that he would always be honest with his constituents.  It was a great moment.
    I'm still recovering from my swollen lips episode - taking an antihistamine every night before bed, and my lips sometimes tingle and burn.  Rosie seems to be doing well...  Her hindquarters are getting weaker - she'll be 15 next month, which is pretty incredible for an Irish Setter - but last night she got up six times without assistance while I was with her.  Of course, at her age, she has good days and bad days.
  Surfer Princess, my Chincoteague filly, has migrated with her best buddy, Badabing, from the north end of Assateague down to the south end.  Workers have not found any broken fences, so the two girls have either jumped everything, or gone around the ends, out into the waters...  Hopefully she'll stay put on the north end after the Spring Round-up.  She was born and raised on the southern end, and keeps going back there - but  her her full brother, Riptide, is the main stallion in the south, and that's the herd she's attached to.  Can't let her stay with her brother!   Her dam, meanwhile, seems very happy with Hoppy, the big bay stallion on the north end...