Open Thread – Tipsy Sunset
I love where I live. Every day, I get to drive past this view, and it’s never the same twice. It’s like looking at a huge ever-changing watercolor painting every day. No matter how grey or gloomy or foggy it gets, it’s still amazing. The combination of clouds, sun, sky, ice, and mud are infinite. This afternoon I snapped this crooked shot just before the sun came down under that thick black cloud layer. The Inlet is full of ice which gives the whole picture an added dimension. One of these days, I’ll grab my tripod and drive down all the way so I can get a proper shot. But for now, here’s my “drive by.”
Stay warm, Northeast Mudpups! It was sunny and 40s today- lots of snow in our mountains, just a few straggling reminders down here. 😉
Love the photo, as always. Not only does our AKM have a gift, she IS a gift — to us. One that keeps on giving.
Voted for the Kokhanok school, and will continue to do so daily till voting ends.
It’s going down to 5 degrees F. tonight, with wind chills below zero. More snow in a few days (unsure which day; weather predicting is tricky with island groups, and except for the Bronx, which is on the mainland, my city qualifies).
Health and peace to all (and though a local team is playing, I don’t give a flying duck who wins the playoffs).
How beautiful! Thanks for a lovely photo. And we have another grey day with some drizzle that’s trying to be rain. I shouldn’t complain – yesterday was sunny for most of the middle of the day and quite warm for January.
“quite warm for January”
Can’t quite say that about western NY!
We are now at -1 and will go down to -7 overnight with wind chills from -10 to -20 tonight and tomorrow morning. You know it’s been a cold month when we’re excited about hitting the 20s later this week!
Love that picture!
Here’s the flip side of not covering $P :
Why we can’t ignore Palin :
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/23/937536/-Why-we-cant-say-goodbye-to-Sarah-Palin
*** Palin is an embarrassment to the Republican Party, but it is not an embarrassment Republicans should be allowed to outrun or to forget. This is a party that has proudly embraced ignorance, bigotry, corporatism, and empty slogans, and Palin is the result of their efforts to appeal to the ugliest fears and instincts of their base. The Republican Party created Palin; she is the perfect and pure representation of its policies. ****
Some good points are made.
Interesting link. Thanks.
Like. x1000 – thanks BuffaloGal.
AKM, I know you have said you won’t “take the pledge” to ignore a certain celebrity for a month, but I just want to point out that you could if you wanted to. If you just covered local politics and nature writing, and included your photos of your majestic state, you could fill a post a day for a month easily. Frankly, most of us wouldn’t miss the pork. Not campaigning, just sayin’.
As Andrew Sullivan said, “No surrender.”
Palin’s advisors would just love it if her critics ignored her for awhile. Why?…..because a substantial segment of the public have rather short memories. She could reinvent herself during the lull, and come out later with a new persona.
The only time to ignore Palin is when she’s no longer a threat to either our political process or our political debate.
It’s really easy for folks who don’t want to hear about Palin anymore: don’t read blogs or media articles about her. The rest of us will continue the righteous fight for the soul of our country. Dramatic statement? I don’t think so…….I, for one, haven’t forgotten how disastrously her “death panel” lie affected the health care reform debate, and how it ultimately attenuated the potential of reform when the HCR bill finally passed.
Thanks, Lee323. We need to be reminded to never, ever, turn your back on anything, anyone, that’s out to do you harm. Always be aware of their whereabouts and movements, and, as the old saying goes: keep your powder dry.
Having no wish to be involved in a controversy, this will be my last comment on the February moratorium or not. Truthfully, I do not see how our discussing SP ad infinitum mitigated, in any way, her impact on the ‘death panel’ issue. Given today’s technology, no amount of reinventing can thoroughly hide the persona that SP has already put out there, and IMO SHE could in fact use a whole lot of reinventing. Frankly, It would be very easy to not read blogs about her if related comments did not spring up all over the place, even when the topic does not start out with her in sight. Nevertheless, blogging is a communal activity, so unlike the ex-governor, I’ll sit down and shut up.
Amen and Hallelujah!
and all that lingo about fanning and faving and all that too!
and not about you sitting down either…
As in, Never turn your back on a grizzly?
Here is a great article from a small business point of view by Inc. Magazine on what’s it really like to live in a Social Democracy.
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110201/in-norway-start-ups-say-ja-to-socialism_pagen_2.html
“In addition to regulatory stability, Flo pointed to a number of other advantages his company enjoys in Norway. Although personal taxes on entrepreneurs are high, the tax rate on corporate profits is low—28 percent, compared with an average of about 40 percent in combined federal and state taxes in the U.S. A less generous depreciation schedule and higher payroll taxes in Norway more than make up for that difference—Norwegian companies pay 14.1 percent of the entirety of an employee’s salary, compared with 7.65 percent of the first $106,800 in the U.S.—but that money pays for benefits such as health care and retirement plans. “There’s no big difference in cost,” Flo says. In fact, his company makes more money, after taxes, on items sold in Norway than it does on those sold in its California shop.”
Lot’s of meaty talking points in this long article. Hit the “Print” button and it will all be on one page.
From the article:
“It makes me laugh,” he says. “Americans don’t understand that you can’t have a functioning economy if people aren’t healthy.”
Bingo.
If more Americans knew how socialism actually worked, they would want it here. When you add up all the taxes we pay, it is equal to European rates, but we get much less.
Imagine the shift if we had a Euro-style health care policy. So many people would switch jobs, or start a business that can’t do that now. We are all hostage to our jobs for health insurance.
Beautiful! Thank you. Just the kind of ‘painting’ I like – one in which the elements are identifiable. 😉
Open Thread musing…
The lingering smell of a just-blown-out wooden match — one of life’s little pleasures. beth.
Especially when it’s been used to light birthday candles on a chocolate cake! 🙂
Did somebody mention chocolate?
Yup. Also known as The Most Important Food Group.
Open thread, so No Offense to da Bears’ fans,
but I’m feeling so fly…like a cheesehead!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZXcP5HJ8zo
Go Pack Go!
*waving to ToesintheSand and other fellow cheeseheads*
The Brits have hit the nail on the head:
“If Glenn Beck were here today I would say to him: “Glenn Beck, you are a bigot. You bring shame to your country, not because you lack balance, but because you are an unthinking buffoon. Rupert Murdoch tolerates you because you are his useful idiot.”
British Parliament Member Tom Watson, during a discussion on anti-semitism in the media. A great read over on huffpo this morning.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/21/british-mp-tom-watson-to-_n_812379.html?ir=Politics
Hurray! three cheers to Tom Watson’s sentiments!
“Useful idiot,” so true; Koch Brothers are funding so many of these. I signed the petition to repeal the ruling where corporations are given equal status with real people as far as funding political activities.
Let’s hope that this is the first of many rational moments out of Washington:
John McCain praises Obama:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/23/ftn/main7274843.shtml?tag=stack
It could be that the tragedy in Arizona and the President’s beautiful speech, especially when juxtaposed with Palin’s, did a lot to change the dialogue of many.
Well, some of what he said is reasonable, which is at least an improvement. But the way he words it irritates me. The reason so many progressives were frustrated with President Obama in the first two years was that he kept trying to have everything be a bipartisan effort. When it was clear that the Republicans were having none of it, he gave in to some of their talking points. But McCain says something about he hopes he’ll be more willing to be bipartisan. Argh.
I think the tone from some of the repubs has changed, but not from their leadership. Boehner and McConnell are still spewing the same old rhetoric – our way or they won’t play. Well, we’ll just have to see.
Good points.
A great picture. Ain’t life grand!
Now, another quiz (I know, I know. Most students hate pop quizzes, but I loved them!) Remember, this goes on our Permanent Record and may be hacked and posted by wikileaks when you run for political office. 🙂
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0123/How-much-do-you-know-about-the-State-of-the-Union-speeches-A-quiz/shortest-state-of-the-union-address
How beautiful!
I love that you share pictures with us, thanks!!!
So it’s a new day full of possibilities.
Want to make a difference?
Reposting from Thursday when JuneauMissesAnchorage says:
“I don’t know if anyone has posted this or not: http://www.samsung.com/solvefortomorrow. The school in Kokhanok is competing for a million dollar grant and a trip to New York City. They’re one of ten finalists and are competing against some really wealthy schools. They created a video about math and science in their community. The decision of who wins is based partly on public voting, and I thought the power of Mudflats might help them out a bit.”
When so many things seem beyond us, or out of our control (cough SCOTUS cough), isn’t it encouraging to know that we DO have the power to make a difference? These young people are sharing math and science in their community. You can vote up to 5X/day.
and also, too….
GO PACKERS!
(Praise cheeses!)
L’Chaim! To Life!
thatcrowwoman
Voted! Thanks for the link.
It was tough, though, because there were so many worthy entries. Love seeing opportunities for children to excel. Wish we put as much emphasis on being top scholars as we do on top atheletes.
Absolutely lovely! I must admit that I have deceived myself into believing it is a nice warm beach though (o:
Afraid you have to go elsewhere for a nice warm beach. Even in the summer.
Big Star, the Alex Chilton (Boxtops) group that inspired R.E.M. has a song called Watch The Sunrise. In fact, I just popped the CD into the computer drive and am listening. The sun rises every day, we have to take the time to watch and wonder.
Also have been watching a woodpecker back and forth to the bird feeder six inches outside the kitchen window. That’s when one of the squirrels isn’t hanging from and hogging it!
Watch the Sunrise!
Simply beautiful!
The reason we live here. Nice shot.
And also the reason I want to move there!