I'm Back With - Miscellany - Tonight

Well, Pony Penning is over for 2017 - the major part, anyway.  Fall round-up will be October 13 and 14th, when folks who purchased younger foals will return to pick them up, and the veterinarian will give everyone another quick check-up.  I don't how how much money the raffle tickets for King Neptune brought in, but the 62 foals sold (including the ten designated Buy Backs)  brought in $209,900.  It was also reported that other items auctioned - art, photographs, arts and crafts, T-shirts, etc. - brought in another $3,300.  Pony Penning was successful this year.
    I have up-dated the previous post with the auctioned foals information twice; today it was to add the 24 names that the youngsters have been given by their new owners. Still waiting to hear what the CLG decides to name their colt and filly, as well as a few other Buy Backs.  The names of purchased and removed foals are slowly percolating through Chincoteague Pony lovers.   I'll post them as I learn of them.
    One of the dogs that I care for crossed over the Rainbow Bridge Monday evening.  I'm pretty sure her owner had her put down.  She was a delightful 12-year-old mutt, named Tess.  She bounded like a gazelle, and pounced like a fox on prey.  She began having seizures around Christmas.  The owner believes in holistic medicine and would not put the dog on "normal" seizure medication until 8 weeks ago.  The medication made the dog unsteady on her feet, gave her a tremendous appetite, and caused her to drool excessively when sleeping.  The dog had good days and bad days, and was slowly getting adjusted to the medication.  The owner's daughter and I have been the dog's most active care-givers, as the owner has been "home" only six weeks since Christmas.  I was notified by a Facebook posting that the dog had "left us."  I will miss that happy, romping, black girl for a long, long time.  Goodbye, Tessa.
    I laughed out loud today when I read the news that officials on the University of Colorado campus here in Boulder sent Tweet and e-mail alerts to all students that a "rare" and "extremely dangerous" badger had been seen on campus.  A number was given to call in sightings, and students were told to avoid the badger at all costs....   What a laugh!   If a badger is protecting its' young, or if it's cornered, will fight to protect itself (or its' young).  It does not rampage about, causing mayhem wherever it goes.  When the Department of Wildlife was contacted about the message, they laughed.   Badgers are usually seen a little farther north and west, on the edges of Estes Park, and in the Rocky Mountain National Forest.  They are somewhat unusual around Boulder, but CU sure made a fuss over nothing.
 
    OK - I'm going back to politics for the moment.   Since I started this blog, I have had comments made in many foreign languages.  If it's a language I recognize, I translate it.  But when I last worked in Washington, DC, for the EPA, I was still getting weekly visits from FBI agents to view my folder of "odd/unusual" comments.  Once I began this blog, I hate to say it, but I routinely delete any comments written to me in Cyrillic or a Middle Eastern language. Since spring and summer of 2016, I have had an upswing in the number of comments in those languages.  So I was interested in learning about Russian bots and how they grab certain words and send "disinformation" to the writer. - I wrote a blog on this s few months ago.
    Today a friend, and several of his colleagues, who have worked for the US government in the past in the area of cyber security, have opened a new website called Hamilton 68.  It does not show the response on the internet - but it shows how the bots, implemented by Russia and their comrades, react to words on Twitter.   If you ever use Twitter, look at this site!   Once you get there, there is a button for first-time users that explains pretty much anything you want to know - the site can be viewed at: http://dashboard.securingdemocracy.org   I highly recommend at least one visit - the information is mind-boggling.

   Two other political items, and I'll be quiet for the night.  My jaw dropped tonight when I heard that the current President wants to have the Commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, Army General John Nicholson, fired by his Pentagon Generals.  He stated, "We aren't winning."  And went on to ask why we haven't demanded a share of the $1 trillion in mineral wealth that Afghanistan owns for "US aid and assistance."  After the President left the meeting, a shouting match was overheard between Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist, and H. R. McMaster, the White House National Security Adviser.  - But then I remembered that the President had said something along those lines during his campaign....   I had no idea that America expected Afghanistan to pay us for a war against ISIL and the Taliban waged in their own country.
    The other thing is the new immigration laws and limits that the 45th Administration wants to impose.  Not only does this group want to ban all immigrants of Muslim faith, they now want to decrease the number of legal immigrants each year.  The new immigration laws they are calling for will limit legal immigration by 50% over a period of 10 years by reducing the number of relatives allowed to join families later.  They will cut refugee numbers to 50,000 people per year.  They will end the diversity visa lottery that currently allows 50,000 from under-represented countries to receive a green card.  And they will most highly favor those immigrants who speak English, have skills to raise the economy, and who can financially support themselves and their families upon arrival in the United States.
    In a televised news conference today, White House adviser Stephen Miller was presenting the above outlines to an array of reporters, when Jim Acosta, a CNN representative, quoted the first few lines from the poem on the base of the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island in New York City's harbor: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..."
* The Statue of Liberty, actually named Liberty Enlightening the World, was a gift from the country of France to help us remember their assistance during the Revolutionary War.  Edouard de Laboulaye, a French political thinker and an abolitionist, proposed the idea of the statue - and made certain that a broken shackle and chain were placed at her right foot to show that America had broken the shackles of oppression and tyranny.  American people raised the money for the shipping of the gigantic statue for more than 6 years, and she was unveiled and dedicated on Thursday, 28 October 1886. *
    After Acosta spoke those lines, Miller stated, "The poem you were referring to was added later. It's not actually part of the original Statue of Liberty."  Miller went on to say that the statue is a "symbol of American liberty lighting the world" and suggested that it had little to do with immigrants of any kind.  This has caused a huge amount of protests today.
  *While waiting for the statue to be assembled in New York harbor, writers and authors asked Emma Lazarus, a poet and descendant of Jewish immigrants, to write a sonnet that would be sold at auction to raise money for the gigantic pedestal that was needed for the statue to rest upon.  Emma Lazarus wrote "The New Colossus" on 2 November 1883 inspired by the plight of immigrants and refugees, and her own experiences in New York City.  The poem appeared in The New York Times and in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World.  Lazarus died in 1887 and her poem was forgotten.
    In 1901, Georgina Schuler, a friend of Emma's, found a book containing the poem, and began an effort to resurrect the work, have it inscribed on a plaque, and placed on the statue's pedestal.  The sonnet reads:

  "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore."

I hope all of you have a wonderful August!

My Political Stance

Donald Trump frightens me.  I do not want him to be the President of the United States of America.  For as long as I can remember, his name has always been joined with over-blown drama, bigotry, bankruptcies, divorces, company buy-outs followed by collapses, and a type of blow-hard blasphemy that is amazing.  He has never impressed me on any level.  He openly admits that he uses tax and bankruptcy laws to escape debt and start anew.  He has been married multiple times to women who are not American born or bred.  He has quite a few children, and seems to be disgustingly sexually attracted to his own daughters.  He makes outrageous inaccurate statements and laughs them off.  Trump denigrates anyone who is not Caucasian male of European descent.  He treats women and racial minorities as people to be kicked in the teeth when they agree with him; and if those people do not agree with his statements, then he calls them names with a lot of profanity thrown in.
   This man seems to be a small-minded simple bigot, who should never have been allowed media coverage - for anything.  He sees himself as Mister America or Uncle Sam.  As a white female, I see him as Simon Legree.  If I had my way, I'd never hear his name, nor see him or hear him, ever again.  This man is making America the laughing stock of the world.  His Grand Old Party leaders need to put a barbed choke-chain collar around his neck and make him behave in a sensible manner.  But - I forgot - he is the Donald Trump, and feels he is above all laws of this earth.
   Heaven help us if he is elected.

Day of the Dead; Credentials

Today is All Saints' Day, or the Day of the Dead, according to your up-bringing. It was first celebrated sometime in the fourth century as the Feast of the Martyrs... Any and all nameless and unknown people who died for their belief in Christianity... Today, you can buy candy skulls to eat at select eateries throughout the world. How odd.

I picked up my Poll Watcher credentials from the Campaign for Change headquarters this morning. In a way, it was scary - one did not have to have proof of identity, one just walked in, pulled a paper with your name on it out of a file folder, and walked out. Anybody could have gone in and taken anyone's credentials. It was creepy.

Maybe it's just a mood I'm in from meeting a college kid dressed as Fred Flintstone at 6 a.m. - he was still so drunk he didn't know how to get to his place after partying. I finally got him to give me his address and I walked him home - and left him pounding on the door, as he didn't have anything on under his "shirt" to carry his key in. Oooooh, boy....

The kits are outside seeing what trouble they can get into. CU is playing at Texas A&M today, so there are no crowds in the backyard to contend with. The squirrels have been pillaging the nuts as soon as I put them out - 30 minutes later there are no signs of nuts having been out. Tons of sparrows, finches, and chickadees are visiting the feeders, as well as a few pigeons cleaning up the ground - and the crows and ravens sit on the privacy fence and occasionally dive-bomb Lovey. It's a pretty much a normal fall day - other than the fact that it'll be over 75 degrees today... but we're expecting a cold front just in time for Election Day, so highs will be in the 50s.

All Hallow's Eve

I received a phone call from Grand Junction at 9:55 last night; it was from the Democratic Party informing me that I am to work at my Precinct, 101, as a Poll Watcher from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., and that I need to pick up my credentials (certifications and verifications) from the Boulder Obama headquarters on Saturday. If Obama wins, I guess I can say that I participated for the party out in the field.... I haven't been able to find out whom the Obama crew put in charge of the precinct - so I'll hopefully find out on Saturday.

The kits are back inside at the moment - CU has an away game tomorrow, but the company just drove through the backyard to pump out the Porta-Potties that are installed for the crowds on home game days. Lovey and Banichi are fascinated by loud noises and always want to investigate them, but, luckily, they have enough sense to be afraid of large things that move. They are leery of small things that squeal, too - several afternoons each week there are three small girls (I would guess aged between 7 and 3) that run around in the backyard and scream and squeal. As soon as either kit hears this crew out and about, they retire indoors.

It was a beautiful morning for a walk - the leaves are falling, there are still a few bright spots of color, it was in the 40s, and not windy. I did my usual 5+ miles and, since I've been with Smiley and Silver recently, I was not winded at all - even though my quads were sore. Birds are feasting at both feeders and the squirrels have made several forays for nuts so far. I'm planning on staying at home and reading tonight - don't think I'll venture to the Pearl Street Mall for the Naked Pumpkin Run. I haven't had anyone come to the door on Halloween night so far, but I do have a small bag of candy, just in case.

Originally, jack-o-lanterns were carved from turnips. Think how small and intricate the carving must have been - or did they just cut a couple of slits in the sides and shove a small candle in?

I am pooped!

Silver and Smiley certainly have a high energy level - We walked/jogged for 90 minutes this morning and I'll take them to Kathy and Jim's this afternoon for free play in their backyard. Then we'll take another walk before dinner. I know I'll have lost weight by the time their Mom returns tomorrow afternoon. I was the middle of a sandwich again last night, which was fine with me. Smiley didn't snore as much last night, but she kept having "running dreams" and was twitching a good deal. Silver is just a big, quiet love.

The kits were extremely happy to see me, as usual. Lovey is sitting at the base of the aspen tree/s by the fence and one of the smaller squirrels is cussing her out loudly. Banichi has come back inside and is taking another few bites of his favorite crunchy food. Since I got home later than I usually get up, the squirrels had raided the sunflower feeder, so I had to refill it when I got home today; I also topped off the no-waste seed and put out the peanuts.

The Democratic County Headquarters got hold of me yesterday, and I'll be in a poll-watchers class tonight from 6 to 8, so I will be registered and approved by the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
The newspaper reports that 25% of registered voters in Boulder County have already voted early - either by mail-in ballot (like me) or at one of the open early polls.

And, something to look forward to, maybe (?), is the 10th Annual Boulder Naked Pumpkin Run
on Friday, Halloween, night. Right now I can't remember if it's on Pearl Street or on Broadway - but I can look it up if I really care. I will be back home after 1 tomorrow to be with my kits and continue my genealogy research... Unless something comes up, I'll be here until the 22nd of November when I begin 8 solid weeks of house/pet-sitting. Take care of yourselves!

Freezing this morning

I waited until it warmed up to 25 degrees to take my morning walk today, and while Boulder itself had no snow yesterday, the high peaks are certainly covered! Banichi is talking to himself while he plays in the dressing room and Lovey is sitting on top of the cat tree watching Gimpy through the window. I did open the patio door to fill the feeders and put out peanuts, but the kits came right back inside with me. I think they need to get used to the idea that winter is coming!

My next pet-sitting job is this Sunday - I'll be with Smiley and Silver for 4 days in northwest Boulder. Their owner is willing to leave me her vehicle, but I had to tell her that I don't drive a stick shift, so she'll drive it to the airport. I now have pet jobs booked through February, as well as working on various genealogies...

Chris Matthews' response to Bill Maher's reply the other day made me laugh out loud!
Chris had asked where the McCain/Palin group got the information to call Obama a socialist and/or a communist. Maher replied that it came from Joe the Plumber's crack. Of course, they were on opposite coasts and their was a time lag between their hearing each other's responses - but I thought Chris was going to choke; then he asked Maher what he meant, and Maher said, "You know about plumbers' and their cracks.... Let's not go there."

Cool air, snow

It was cool and damp last night - we had 90% humidity and 40 degrees. It was the same for my morning walk; but we expect a high in the low 60s, followed by snow tomorrow morning. I'll be heading off to my usual 3 hours at the genealogy library tomorrow - I've found another family that the Devine's married into, but I can't make out what the husband's surname is.... will check it out on Ancestry in the morning.

When I returned from my walk today, I found RedBoa hanging upside down on the sunflower feeder and Gimpy waiting patiently in the peanut chair. I gave Gimpy some nuts and re-filled both feeders, then swept the patio while Gimpy was away burying a peanut. The heater came on while I was sweeping, so since both kits were back inside, I closed the door. Lovey is sitting on the corner of my desk, watching birds and squirrels; Banchi has curled up in the loveseat and is settling down for a morning nap.

Almost all of my favorite football teams, both collegiate and pro, lost this past weekend. I think it's my support - so maybe I'll drop football. The Broncos last night were downright pathetic. I currently have MSNBC on and I'm listening to Barack Obama, live, giving a stump speech from Florida. I really like the way he tells his crowds not to boo, catcall, etc at /or about his opponents and their policies. I wish that the Republicans did the same - each time Gov. Palin speaks, I feel as if she were inciting a lynch mob.

Kits, kids, and politics

As I blogged yesterday, it was a home football game here in Boulder. I got my kits back inside before 11:30, gave them a treat, and settled down to read a new release by Pat McIntosh. Vehicular traffic began in the backyard at noon. By three, the backyard was more than three-quarters full, and several families with kids aged four to twelve were tail-gating directly opposite my patio. I had my window open, but the curtains closed; soon there were youngsters on the patio trying to play with the kits through the door and window.... people outside were making so much noise that the kids couldn't hear Lovey meowing at them through the door, and decided she was hissing at them, so they started banging on the door. I got them to stop. About ten minutes later, I heard a young voice say, "It's a bird house!" There was silence for a few moments (from the kids) and then there were a few strange sounds and one of the kids yelled "Hey!" I peeked out again and two youngsters were using my bird feeders for pinatas, hitting them with plastic baseball bats. That time I went out onto the patio and asked the kids if they were going to pay me for the spilled birdseed - which finally got their parents attention. My patio was placed "out of bounds" for them - of course, they kept coming back and bugging the kits.... so I went out and sat on the patio to keep the kids away from the kits.

I am both happy and surprised to see (and hear) that Gen. Colin Powell has endorsed Barack Obama - he is currently on Meet the Press explaining why he supports Obama and not McCain. I really enjoy listening to Colin Powell... so I'm signing off....

Wet Earlobe

Nikki and I had a wonderfully brisk walk this morning; we saw 3 fox and 8 coyotes in the development. Nikki wanted to chase each and every fox and coyote, so my right shoulder is a little sore from her pulling on her lead. She is very well trained, and if I pull the lead in and keep her "in position" she will heel, sit, top, and stay - but in the mornings, I pretty much give her 30 feet of line and just let her explore and romp. Therefore my sore shoulder is my own fault.

Boris didn't mean to wake me up this morning, but I awoke to my right earlobe being alternately licked and then sucked on.... He was lying curled across my throat, and his purr seemed incredibly loud - but then, his nose was directly over my eardrum... When I first got up this morning, Nikki decided that she would take over my space in the bed; she seemed quite put out that I made her get off the bed and go out into the living room with me.

Banichi and Lovey are both outside on the patio. Yesterday, when I was leaving to visit Rosie and Remy, I had to call the kits inside. The kits were nowhere in sight - Lovey came running from under the fence; she had been visiting the Alumni Homecoming tents, lunch and concert at the Millenium Harvest House. She ran right up to me, and I hugged and praised her and then put her inside and closed the patio door. While I was calling Banichi, she presented me with a concert of her own pitiful meows. When I began to make my second call for 'Nichi-ji, I saw a slight movement out of the left corner of my eye; there was the man... sitting behind the silver-grey bark of a twisted oak in the far corner of the yard. I asked, "Nichi - are you going to make me come to you?" and he sprang out from behind the tree and ran up to my feet. Of course, he promptly dropped down and rolled in the dirt - but I was happy with his response.

I watched the Vice-presidential debate last night with great interest. I tried to watch the debate with an open mind - as if I did not know anything about either Senator Biden or Governor Palin. The first thing I noticed was that Gov. Palin was not answering the questions she was asked; that she seemed awfully "folksy" when speaking directly to the camera; that she never laid out or explained any plans for the government during a McCain-Palin administration. Senator Biden answered the questions; he laid out plans for the Obama-Biden administration; he seemed to be a little stiff at the beginning of the debate, but loosened up during the last half of it.
In looking for a winner, personally, I think Biden made better points and a better over-all impression. It seemed to me that Palin was putting on an act - the "folksy" sayings were a bit too much over the top; the use of "Darn right!" and "Darn it!" made me want to find a pair of socks, a knitting egg, and some wool and my darning hooks; she had certain doctrines of the GOP down pat and recited them well. She did not ramble or have a public melt-down , so I guess she did well. But she did not leave me with the impression that she truly understood what she was saying/parroting - and I still dislike the fact that she did not answer the questions she was asked.

One of My Nine Lives

Jeffrey, my husband, always said I was more cat than human. If so, I lost one of my nine lives yesterday. On my way back to Spike's house, in the little community of Niwot, I just missed being hit by a car. I had left the bus stop at the Diagonal, and was walking east on the north side of Niwot Road. I was walking on the sidewalk; I was wearing a fire-engine red T-shirt, faded jeans, and sneakers; I was highly visible in the sunshine.

I admit I was looking at two bicyclists in the east-bound bike lane; I was not looking specifically at Franklin Street, which I began to cross. I could see with my peripheral vision that the way was clear; I could also hear the approaching sound of a vehicle's tires - but it didn't really concern me, because there was a stop sign on Franklin, before one turns onto Niwot Road. Stupid me! I expected the driver to obey the traffic laws. My eyes were still on the bicyclists on the other side of the road; I stepped into the street and was aware that the vehicle approaching me was slowing. I continued to cross the street, glancing at the on-coming vehicle - it was a large black SUV - that's all that registered. I looked back at the bike riders, continuing to cross Franklin. My brain registered the fact that the SUV was now accelerating, not slowing to stop. I looked over my shoulder, as I was more than half way across the lane, and realized that the driver was not going to stop, was, in fact, speeding up, and that if I didn't throw myself forward, I'd be struck full force by the bumper and grill. I yelled as I threw myself forward. The young blonde driver, wearing sunglasses, opened her mouth in an "O" shape, and hit the gas even harder. I landed just clear of the SUV's tires, on my hands and knees, in the middle of Franklin Street. I looked over my shoulder and watched the blonde drive through a red light to get across the Diagonal, and then run another red to turn towards Boulder.

I have a mild case of road rash and bruises on my knees; my hands were spared because I was carrying a Sunflower grocery bag, and I somehow managed to land with that under my hands.
Talk about an adrenaline rush!! I finally calmed down and started shaking about 8 pm - and the near-accident happened at 4:30. Spike got extra cuddling, snuggling, and loving last night. I head on home to my kits late this morning.

Gov. Palin is appearing at the JeffCo Fairgrounds this morning - the GOP just cancelled the Pancake Breakfast part of it. One local news station is reporting that a mother with a young special needs child arrived at the gates at 4 a.m., so she could get a seat. - Poor misguided creature!

Senator Obama is appearing this afternoon at the state Fairgrounds in Pueblo; tomorrow he'll give a speech at the School of Mines (which I think is in Golden). All I know is that the evening news casts are sponsored by nothing but political commercials right now - and the majority are from 527s (special interests groups). Some are laughable, some are funny, some are downright irritating - but if these folks want to pay for air-time, that's fine with me - I usually press the "Mute" button as soon as they start.