Open Thread — Frozen Beauty
Anchorage has been exceptionally beautiful this last week as the frost makes the mundane look magnificent! Surprisingly, it hasn’t been too cold (about 20 degrees) so I walked around my yard yesterday in the bright sunshine and took pictures of various plants. This is one of my Alaska Hardy rose bushes looking almost gem-encrusted!
Good news…I got some of my seed catalogs in the mail! Now y’all know what I’ll be doing this weekend!
That’s lovely. I’m no longer equipped for 20. 🙂 I’ll enjoy it afar.
Oops! I meant to post this on its own but accidentally put it in a thread about McCain. Pardon my indulgence for posting it again, but I thought it was too important to get lost in the wrong place:
* * * * * * *
What a wonderful legacy for a child whose life was cut down too soon.
Christina continues to make a difference in people’s lives. Her organs were donated and have already saved the life of one child. Parents who could make the decision to donate organs in the midst of losing their child in such a horrific way are indeed special people themselves.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/13/20110113arizona-shootings-christina-green-organs.html
I got something SO beautiful in my inbox from Congressman Dennis Kucinich, I’m copying it entire:
“We are one as we pay tribute to Congresswoman Giffords and all of the other victims of violence in Tucson. Our gathering reflects the truth of America’s first motto, which is above this chamber, E Pluribus Unum: out of many, we are one. It is vital that we acknowledge our oneness, not just as a Congress, but as a nation and as a world. In that appreciation for oneness we find human sympathy, compassion and love.
It is an awareness of the imperative of human unity which can bring us to the threshold of understanding our power to bring an end to the violence which is consuming our loved ones.
It is an awareness of the imperative of human unity which can help us to create a new America, where the omnipresence of violence is understood as a challenge to be met, not as an unyielding truth of the human condition to be accepted.
Our hearts are open now as we recognize the victims. So let us be open to a new direction where we in this nation can take an organized approach to deal with the causes of violence, not just the effects.
We are one with our sister Congresswoman Giffords and all the other victims. Let us continue to be one with each other as we struggle to bring light to this moment of darkness.”
What else would one expect from a vegan often-presidential-candidate who runs on a peace platform, and, if elected, would institute a Department of Peace?
Sorry. I should have mentioned this is a transcript from the floor of the House.
Before I say goodnight, Linda and Shaynon, you are gems! Thank you so much for minding the store and taking good care of AKM and her Mudpups! She and her family are in my thoughts.
I think McCain should have said something about his “running” mate a long time ago. He was responible for bringing her out into the political arena.
…and keeping her there. he would not admit he made a mistake.
Headline over at HP that says that photos have surfaced that show the shooter holding his gun, wearing nothing but a red g-string. Red people! Definitely a Republican! (How many trolls do you think will read this and fail to see that I’m joking unless I put this note in parentheses).
Honestly, though, gun + red g-string + MALE does bring several members of the GOP to mind, and not in a pleasant way. Although I don’t think Vitter’s diaper was red, as for the rest, well, I will try to cleanse the palate of my mind.
And speaking of that stuff — come on Wikileaks! What do you have on Rupert M? That would have been far more interesting than the diplomatic cables, maybe even some journalistic prizes. Bring it on already!
Really, I have got to get off of the internet for the day!
Sex and violence…isn’t that what she sells? Not that I blame her….
I bet the father is not the kind of dad we would all want.
TX SMR, thanks alot. You owe me brainbleach stat! What’s-a-matta-u? Get some sleep. Jeez.
Right you are TX SMR Maybe wiki leaks could find those lost emails from palin to others that seem to be so hard to find
This is an excellent dissection of Palin’s speech–I have actually learned more from this piece than many others that I have read.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47588.html
That was good – the art of distraction and deflection laid bare.
My bad…I have accused Sarah Palin of never saying she was sorry but Esquire Magazine has cataloged every time she did use the word last year. Enjoy a quick read:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/14/our-tribute-to-sarah-palins-america_n_809273.html
Oops, wrong link at 34:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/sarah-palin-sorry-011311?click=main_sr
I could not watch her show and could hardly make it through this video but you might enjoy some of Palin’s “awesome” remarks as well as a whole lot of “oh my gosh” quips:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/14/our-tribute-to-sarah-palins-america_n_809273.html
That I think is the only link that you have posted that I didn’t enjoy. My eardrums are in denial. Does she ever shut up? 🙂
And OMG you are on a blinder today – thank you for all the great links you have posted.
I could only listen to half of it, her voice is so grating!
Screech… nails on chalkboard…..SCREEEEEECH.
Whew. Yikes and ouch.
Too good not to share…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2011/01/14/GR2011011404545.html?hpid=topnews
Good one.
like many others i didn’t see John McCain at the memorial the other night (i only had eyes for POTUS and FLOTUS) but Wonkettes has a picture up and it is a doozy. poor auld sod. he is pissed and pissy.
http://wonkette.com/435105/john-mccain-attends-memorial-to-death-stare-at-obama
Wow…quite an unflattering (but realistic) image of the senior senator from Arizona.
Never dreamed I’d wade in to defend Sen. McCain, but he WAS a friend of my father’s, so here goes. When Senator McCain came into the arena, he was acknowledged by the crowd and did get some applause. He looked incredibly tired and dazed. He had just returned that day from a Latin America tour, and I am sure he was exhausted. I have heard from people closer to him that he was incredibly shocked and taken aback by the shootings. He has since been in to visit the survivors and their families, as well as with Congresswoman Giffords. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt here, and think that he must be dismayed at the turn the country has taken, and that he is ashamed of at least one of the people whose speech has poisoned the well of public discourse.
Sure would be nice, though, if the good senator would come out and publicly call for everyone to tone it down a knotch. To me, his deafening silence indicates he is in agreement with those who see nothing wrong with cross-hairs, blood libel, reload!, and other such rhetoric. beth.
i am sure the senator did what he thought was right as regards the injured. he does look very angry but as you say it may well be that he is ashamed of some of his colleagues and embarrassed at the speech given by his former running mate.
i am glad you went and happy that everything went so well. you gave a stellar report and i thank you.
Hey Mag the Mick, thank you ever so much for your boots on the ground report of the event! Reports like those really help to up the ‘I-feel-like-I’m-there’ ante. I really appreciated yours. Thanks, again.
No love from me. He Choose “her” and inflicted an un-vetted wound on our nation. May he twist in the hollow winds of his soul.
I think we can all hope all take stock of what is said and how it is said..I really don’t think anyone would have wanted what happened to happen at least I hope not.
Everyone! You must click the link and read the comments!! Classic Wonkette.
In McCain’s defense, it’s not like hardly anyone even noticed he was there.
Funny as H3// comments too and also:
* Sorry Johnny, but you’ve got FIVE AND A HALF YEARS of watching Barrack as your President.
* He’s sending telepathic “get off my lawn” to Barry.
* Wow, now that’s a text book side-eye..
*McCain’s there representing the Westboro Baptists!
When I saw clips of the end of the memorial, they showed the President greeting and hugging many of the dignitaries, family members and people who helped. There was a quick flash of him approaching someone who partially turned away but was sort of forced into a very awkward and distant embrace. I didn’t get a good look at who it was, but it sure looked like McCain to me.
Whoever it was, it was very obvious that he had seen the President but didn’t want to embrace him.
What a wonderful legacy for a child whose life was cut down too soon.
Christina continues to make a difference in people’s lives. Her organs were donated and have already saved the life of one child. Parents who could make the decision to donate organs in the midst of losing their child in such a horrific way are indeed special people themselves.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/13/20110113arizona-shootings-christina-green-organs.html
Holy cow flops!
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/01/sarah-palin-to-speak-at-gun-co.html
Sarah Palin to speak at gun convention
By Emi Kolawole
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Safari Club International (SCI) gun convention on Jan. 29. According to the organization’s Web site, the event is sold out.
(there’s more…)
The last paragraph: “The SCI convention will also feature comedian Larry The Cable Guy, The Marshall Tucker Band, Pure Praire League, Elvis impersonator Matt Lewis, NASCAR team owner Richard Childress and conservative commentator Michael Reagan.”
Enough said.
Well, everybody loves Elvis impersonators!
OMG—–I remember when I read about Sarah and the Wasilla church she attended. She was present when they were collecting money for “Jews for Jesus” campaign. She was present at this meeting. Dont’ know if it is still on the internet, but read about it when she was on the Rep. ticket for VP.
I think that her fans in Israel need to see the real nature of this woman. She has no interest in their religion; her only interest in Israel actually works against the interests of Israelis.
Israel’s conservative government has worked hand and hand for years with Evangelical conservatives. they are playing a dangerous game with their people’s lives. they know very well what the Apostolic Church has in mind but like the Republicans they believe they can control Hagee and his partners as they seek Armageddon to destroy us all. we now know that Israel cannot control these people. no one can.
For dog lovers out there, particularly those of you in Alaska, there are a whole bunch of dogs that need your help. A sad tale.
http://www.adn.com/2011/01/11/1643786/dogs-in-horrible-condition-jam.html##ixzz1AmWBDhdh
They are looking for donations of everything from blankets, to food, to Qtips
I wish I could adopt them all!
I know what you mean but since I can’t adopt, I’ll do what I can.
I heard on the radio this morning that Alaska Mill and Feed in Anchorage is selling bags of Science Diet Dog food for $29.99 and will transport them out to the Shelter that is taking care of the dogs.
OMG——
REF: OMG @ 16
It’ll be interesting to see how this all unfolds re: Bristol’s brand-new paid-in-cash Arizona house. We all speculated that she’d bought it so her Mama Grizz could have a base from which to launch her presidential campaign…I wonder how the majority of Arizonans are viewing the Cross-Hair Cutsie-Poo, now? beth.
Interesting indeed. I know the Palins are worshiped by many in the state but not all are blind to them. Even some who liked her before are taking another look and aren’t too impressed with what they see. Perhaps McCain’s campaign person (her name escapes me right now) was right in that Palin will destroy herself politically with little help from others.
Nicole Wallace. The GOP are giving “that Alaskan one” all the MSM and lipgloss rope she needs.
Thanks and I love your analogy.
Hmmm. This makes me wonder what will happen if SP establishes residence in AZ. How will it affect her family’s Permanent Fund dividends?
Maybe that’s why the house is in Bristol’s name, and the house paid for in cash. But, Bristol could be collecting for both she and Tripp.
The plot thickens!
The people of Wasilla, Wikileaks, the Feds or the IRS might thin the gravy train to a thin gruel.
What? It could happen. (please, please happen / –praying virtual hands)
Yesterday, no, maybe the day before, someone copied a tweet from Bristol Palin’s tweet page that the AZ house was intended to be the launch pad for the presidential campaign announcement expected to commence in Spring 2011. I suspect those plans may be revised.
I watched a funny movie last night “The Proposal” with Sandra Bullock. Part of it took place in Sitka Alaska. It looked so beautiful.
To those of you Alaskans up there who saw that movie, was it actually filmed in Sitka?
No, it was filmed in Rockport, Maine:
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Film-The-Proposal—or-Rockport–MA-posing-as-Sitka–Alaska
It was filmed in Maine. Here is a link with some great photos of Sitka. I commercial fished around there and it is a beautiful area.
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=sitka+alaska&cp=7&wrapid=tljp1295046969465010&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=0dswTaXlMYqCsQP9yNTYBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CC0QsAQwAQ&biw=1276&bih=803
Sorry to disappoint you, it was filmed in Maine. And the boat they used to get back and forth to town would never work here. It was an open boat. It rains all the time in Sitka. They would have a boat with an enclosed wheelhouse and covered storage.
The real Sitka is very beautiful.
Funny cartoon.
http://blogs.ajc.com/mike-luckovich/2011/01/13/114-mike-luckovich-on-sarah-palin/
Two new (and very good) articles in the new Vanity Fair about the rabid right and its mouthpieces.
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/01/dont-blame-sarah-palin-just-stop-paying-attention.html
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/02/wolcott-201102
The 2nd one is particularly biting and hugely funny but sadly true.
quote from VF Wolcott’s article.
…”As America enters the downward slope of empire—its debt mounting, the disparity between wealthy and poor continuing to chasm, the environmental ravages becoming irreversible, high unemployment becoming the cruel norm—the Richie Riches have a vested interest in misdirecting people by blaming the powerless for the sins of the powerful. Incoherence isn’t a bug in Beck’s software program, it’s the primary directive…
“That is what the Tea Party, Fox, etc is all about: keeping people from thinking straight. The idea is to play on people’s emotions: fear, hate, racism, xenophobia, just to keep them from doing the math. The Teabaggers, Beck, [Gingrich] and Fox [News] are often criticized for not making any sense This is not a failure of communication or an error on their part, that is the object of the exercise: to make rational thought difficult or impossible due to emotional overload.”
Oh how true. Stifle debate and discussion by making everything emotional. It means you cannot open you mouth. Fear is very powerful.
First time I talked to a lawyer friend, I was crying like a fool until he said, “Get it out, then deal with the facts.” Sobered my cry-babyness up in a half second.
The Becks, LimburgerCheeses, O’Really?’s and others who will remain nameless, seem to apply to the emotions of fear with no regard to logic, commonsense even… just fear.
Well color me liberal, cause I don’t eat, watch or live fear tainted reality.
Well color me liberal cause MY tears are real, Don’t need VicksBeckRub. (beck loser)
Well color me liberal because “I Have A Dream, That One day this nation…….
AlaskaDisastaNo Gravatar says:
January 14, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Two new (and very good) articles in the new Vanity Fair about the rabid right and its mouthpieces.
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/01/dont-blame-sarah-palin-just-stop-paying-attention.html
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/02/wolcott-201102
From the second article a new name for the grifter half governor, “Snowflake Snooki”!
Priceless!
DD
I said goodbye to the Beck website yesterday. I took it as a personal mission to post there and try to interject some reality, and have been hanging out there for a year. I was always respectful, and tried to stick to facts. I also used up way too much energy. It’s possible to just get sucked into something like that–it’s like beating your head against a wall. Two comments here finally convinced me to give it up. Laurie wrote, “How much damage can a sociopath do while I take a night off?” Then someone had a comment about wrestling with pigs and how the pigs enjoy it but you just get dirty. What were the exact words? It sounded like something Mark Twain would have said. Anway, I’m otta’ there and will use my energy supporting the President and listening to you smart people instead. I love to read your posts.
Smart move. Let’s give the “pigs” some time alone.
IMO…$arah Palin, Limbaugh, Faux News and the legions of Tea Party lunatics are nothing more than a giant collective bowel movement who need to be flushed down the bowl from whence they came.
would make a great graphic, flyinureye.
Hi Auni-
I had actuually paraphrase the quote here a couple of nights ago. It goes something like-
When you wrestle with pigs, the pigs love it and you just end up getting dirty 🙂
It’s probably not the exact way the saying goes, but I always try to remember it when I find myself bogged down in ugly discussions with intolerant people.
I have decided to try to use my energy in more positive ways than getting sucked down to the “pig slop”, if you will. Good luck to you as well!
I lived for a time in a small town out on the high desert. There was a lot of folk wisdom floating around. My favorite: never get in a stinking match with a skunk.
Durn good advice!
LOL.
anui, I feel your frustrations. There are many sources of information and also many sources of Mis-information cloaked in volatileemotion. Personally I don’t follow “news” that makes me physically sick. Just follow your gut instinct.
Brave of you to quit Beck, I understand he is quite the charmer.
My favorite Mark Twain piggy quote is, “Never try to teach a pig to sing, it wastes your time and annoys the pig.”
I got an email today from Chuitna Citizens Coalition, asking for letters to the editor (with addresses for all the relevant Alaska newspapers).
I’m a New Yorker, so I doubt they’d even publish me, but I’m writing anyway. I don’t want to copy their (long) email and end up in moderation, so I’ll just ask you to visit their website at:
http://www.chuitna.org and take the appropriate action there.
Linda, I love your crystalline rosebush! Enjoy your seed catalog, and thanks for doing such a stellar job in AKM’s absence.
Love, health, and peace to all.
p.s. No one’s out of the woods yet on the coal issue. Rainforest Action Network is (a) thanking Lisa Jackson for refusing to permit the Spruce Mine and (b) asking us to contact our congresscritters and senators to ask them to co-sponsor a bill protecting the clean water act. They’re at:
http://www.ran.org
We cannot make more fresh water, and that is what we need to make our elected representatives understand.
Thinking back the Tp says they want their country back but they also seem to want to destroy our nations mountains with the coal mining,strip mining ruining streams our nature preserves.All these things are supposed to be left for our children ,grandchildren,great grandchildren yet the TP and the GOP want to destroy our seas.our water ways and our air.Seems like taking back our country will destroy what makes it great!!!!
I was at the taping of “Moore Up North” last night. This show should be broadcast this weekend. The panel was Hollis French (state senate), Lindsey Holmes (state representative), and Lesil McGuire (state senate).
French spoke out strongly against the Chuitna coal strip-mining proposal. All three on the panel spoke against the Pebble mine.
Salmon for future generations is better than shipping coal to China.
Thanks Linda for the great picutre. I have to get with you on Hardy Alaskan roses. I so miss roses!
Like so many others I have gotten some seed catalogs and am going NUTS!!
Lots of plans, ideas and ‘wants’ 🙂
Now with some space under ‘high tunnels’, greenhouses without heat, I am so excited to be facing spring and maybe LOTS of fresh things to eat!!
Hi Mudpups,
I woke up this morning with AKM on my mind – don’t know why. I trust she is enjoying the warmth and fellowship of being with family and friends, and that together they are all eveloped with as much peace as is possible during this time.
i know what you are saying Vyccan. this is a tough time.
You’ve got to watch this clip showing the “beautiful tea party movement” (at least that’s what Palin called it). You can judge for yourselves but I think I know what your reactions will be (same as mine):
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/37897_Rep._Bob_Filner_and_the_Madness_of_the_Tea_Party
I saw that the other night and it was really quite scary that they actually take it that far. I had no idea when we were in San Diego last year that they were such extreme people there.
There are lots of these kinds all over CA. I’ve almost been run off the road on 101 more than once for my Obama sticker. Last election I didn’t have any stickers on my car since I travel on 101 a lot. We rarely have “traffic” so I don’t need trouble from a nut.
I think the next district over is Mr. Issa’s wingnut central territory. And further north around Bakersfield (oil wells and big ag with undocumented workers) we have Kevin McCarthy who ran unopposed by any Dem. We do have lots of pockets of Wing Nuttery.
Sorry to hear that, bumper stickers can bring out the crazies.. Take care on the road, don’t mess with crazy.. not worth it. Those bullies are mentally sick.
This is funny…in the swearing in ceremony for Oklahoma’s new governor (that was held outside in bitingly cold temperatures), the new governor was to swear that she would “support, obey and defend” the state and US constitutions. She said instead that she would “support, obey and offend”.
I really don’t hold her accountable because she’s a Palin pick because it was an obvious slip of the tongue and, sadly, something that I can see myself doing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/13/mary-fallin-offend-constitution_n_808826.html
I often say, the coldest I have ever been and the hottest I have ever been was in Oklahoma City. The cold was on a ramp at the airport with the weather close to zero and the wind chill being 20-30 below. The hot was a summer day at 108 degrees and the wind was even hot. I felt like I could not breathe.
So, the new Oklahoma governor gets a pass from me.
It was bound to happen…one of the shooting victims blames the usual suspects:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47620.html
ruh roh.
IMO, Rush/Fox et al tell lies-by-opinion that scare people. A nine-year-old knows that frightening folks with falsehoods is wrong. Lest they forget, there’s a commandment regarding the bearing of false witness. Perhaps we could tax pants-on-fire opinions-to-incite-hate speech. I see two possible positive outcomes:
A. Murdoch pays off the national debt
B. Murdoch hushes up
No H8. No fear. Fox off.
exactly. you are a grnius
i’m a gurgi?!!! oh noes.
even better – in the AKM tradition
Reinstate the Fair Doctrine that St. Ronnie abolished.
A monopoly of (corporate owned and paid for bobbleheads) opinion in what is printed in newspapers and SCREAMED in our “news” programs is horseSH*T.
What does monopoly of newspapers and broadcasts remind y’all of?
Guys is a realist when he says that Loughner was just exercising his 2nd Amendment rights.
Around the globe, the consensus seems to be the same:
“The Austrailian”
“President Barack Obama’s poise pins Sarah Palin as political pariah”
“Few days have underlined so clearly the contrast between a President and his pretender. By breaking her silence on Thursday, the day Mr Obama addressed the grieving people of Tucson, Ms Palin sought to write herself into his storyline. But did she do so in such a way as to harm her political prospects forever?
“Mr Obama spoke movingly of reconciliation, not blame, of America as a family that should speak among itself “in a way that heals, not a way that wounds”.
“Ms Palin spoke angrily of blame and “blood libel”, defending the perpetuation of angry rhetoric even after the tragedy in Tucson.”
http://politico-junkie.blogspot.com/2011/01/australia-reacts-to-president-obamas.html
dear Pups Mag the Mick gave us a great boots on the ground on the previous Arizona-Memorial thread.
i am afraid many will have missed it. Mag did a great job. i hope you who haven’t seen it will like it as much as i did.
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mag the mickNo Gravatar says:
January 13, 2011 at 4:10 PM
I left Bisbee at 9:30 AM and made it to Tucson about 2 hours later where I met up with Susan, a coworker, and her partner Veira. We hopped a city bus and got to the U of A campus around noon where we joined a rapidly growing throng outside the McKale Basketball Arena. Campus police, Secret Service, the Tucson Police Department, and the US Marhslls were very much in evidence. Despite having a huge crowd on hand, they were all decent and courteous. We were pretty much sequestered in an open area outside the arena, where we could leave if we wished, but could not come back. By 1:00 that afternon, the announcement was made that the crowd was already at stadium capacity, and that anyone arriving on campus past that point would not be able to get in. We were closely packed in amongst thousands of others, with no room to sit down. I had expected porta-johns and food vendors, but there were none to be had. Despite this and the afternon sun, it was a remarkably good-natured crowd. The people immeidately around us all shared whatever food we’d all brought in, and I saw nothing but patience, kindness and forebearance amongst the many people there. Veira was born and raised in Beirut, and if I’m ever banished to a desert island, she’s the person I’d want as my companion. She was fearless in approaching and talking to anyone in uniform and ferriting out information. Without really seeming to, she had us and a small group of people around us positioned so that when the gates finally opened at 4:00, we were all amongst the first twenty or so to get in. Although things had seemed somewhat unorganized and unstructured before, the entry and security proceedures were very well-organized and thorough. The proceedure was almost identical to going through security at an airport, minus the x-ray scans. Once in, Veira unerringly found us seats in the stands that we agreed were the best in the house. We were seated in the first row of the first section above the reserved seats for Arizona political figures, and we had an unrestricted view of the podium and were right above the entry where the dignitaries came through. Members of the Arizona House and Senate and various political luminaries were right in front of us and I got to greet and shake hands with one of my heroes, former Arizona AG Terry Goddard. Before the event started I made my way to the top of the arena to wait in line for the bathroom, which I hand’t used since 11;00 that morning. But when I heard a huge roar of applause, I went back to my seat, to find that the crowd had been cheering the arrival of the two surgeons who treated the shooting victims. That was such a great reflection of the whole evening – we needed heroes and we had them right at hand. The thousands of people there were very, very grateful to these two doctors, and not afraid to let it show. It was that way every time various luminaries showed up. County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik got a standing ovation as he entered. Homeland Security head (and former AZ Gov.) Janet Napolitano was greeted by cheers, cries of “Welcome home” and one solitary shout of “Please stay here with us!” We were moved and overjoyed to see former Supreme Court Justice (and old AZ gal) Sandra Day O’Conner, Eric Holder, FBI head Robert Meuller, and Nancy Pelosi, who made a very sudued entrance. Jon Kyl, John McCain, and Jan Brewer were also greeted, and if the applause was somewhat more subdued and less exuberant, at least they got it. As we waited, the huge crowd was uniformly pleasant, respectful, and happy. There was a bit of a rock concert air as we cheered the arriving guests, but at the same time, it felt totally fitting. When the Obamas entered the stadium, along with Gifford’s husband Mark Kelly and the young intern, Dan Hernandez, whose initial actions right after the shooting probably saved Gifford’s life, the applause and cheering was deafening. Both Napolitano and Holder started out by reading scripture. Napolitano read the gorgeous words from Isaiah about justice: how every valley shall be exhalted and the crooked made straight. Holder read from Corinthians, about how mercy and help shall come and the world will be changed. It was a dignified and reverent start to the proceedings. Dan Hernandez made a brief speech in which he emphatically denied being a hero, and the big hug he received afterward fromm Michelle Obama was incredibly touching. Throughout the event, Mark Kelly sat between Janet Napolitano and Michelle. Janet kept her arm around him, and Michelle held his hand. That old NASA astronaut seemed to have no trouble being amongst strong women! Most of you heard or watched President Obama’s speech, so I won’t try to repeat it here. He is an incredible orator. It was like he struck a personal note with everyone there – very direct and to-the-point – while at the same time, being moving and inspiring on a very large scale. We were all on our feet for most of it, cheering so hard that it probably prolonged his time at the lectern by many minutes. He spoke movingly, eloquently about each person who was killed. He or his aides did a wonderful job in researching, because it was though he knew each of the victims. He spoke especially at length about the 9-year-old girl, how she wanted to be the first woman to play major-league baseball, and for an instant, every person there could directly feel her loss. I took away two of his points; one was that we couldn’t banish evil from the world, but that we could live our personal lives with kindness, valor and love. The second point was that from here on out, whenever we engage in political rhetoric or discussion, we must do so in a way that honors the lives of the people we lost. Something profound was going on in that place: it felt like healing and understanding were just flowing amongst everyone there. I think we not only witnessed a major speech from an oratorical master, but that in some way, we were all acknowledged and healed in our hearts just in being there.
The two-hour drive in, the four-hour wait on my feet in hot sun and a big crowd, the going without food, water or a bathroom – all were worth it the moment the President opened his mouth. I am awed, overwhelmed, and deeply moved, and am going to reflect on this for a long time.
Reply
Thank you for sharing that with us.
OMG i cried like a newborn baby when the president spoke. i regretted the nasty rhetoric out of my mouth even though my being mean to people like Limpballs and uh. dang!! i meant Limbaugh and his ilk, even though what i say about them doesn’t hurt them in any way, it does change me in subtle ways. so from now on i shall try to be nicer. sorry about the spelling of your name there Limpbag, uh. limbog……..
No worries…you had it right at Limpballs
One is allowed to be angry! For damned good reasons, but we need to take a deeeeep breath and temper our hearts and then our language.
One cannot ignore our feelings but we can control how we express it. (LimpburgerGasbag)
… and call HorseSh*t! when ye sees it and hears it and smells it. Call it! Then vote.
First & foremost — two links to start the day, lovely lovely song:
http://lynnrockets.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/tuesday-night-music-byte-25/
and
Fantastic letter from the First Lady to parents everywhere:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/01/13/132913550/after-tragedy-an-open-letter-to-parents-from-michelle-obama
And I wish that people would not write about the yukky not really governor person in terms of the White House. She was mayor of a horrible little town in AK (I lived there so I get to say that) for a little while and did a crappy job. She was one of the worst, if not THE worst, governors that AK has ever had, and since I was born & raised & lived most of my first 35 years there, I do know that. And since she didn’t finish her job, she is not a former governor, she is a quitter. To be a governor you actually have to do the job, she did not do that. Writers/journalists/etc need to quit writing about her and relating it somehow to the White House — not okay! Write about her awfulness, okay, but just in terms of what an awful citizen of the US she is. That’s all.
And since I totally harshed my mellow as relates to the fabulous loving links that I provided, it must be time for me to do something loving elsewhere… Balance.
Michelle Obama is incredibly thoughtful and eloquent in her remarks. America has every right to be proud of its first lady.
I adore our First Lady.
We are so blessed.
I wasn’t that warm to the Obamas during the primary runs but the more I listened to him, the more I liked him.
The fact that he was so in love with his wife caught my heart…
Now that I learn more and hear more and see what they can do, so gracefully, with such strength, strength of character, well, I am so proud of our President and First Lady Obama.
I truly believe that the USA is going forward because of being lucky enough to have the Obamas. If we had gotten anyone else, I am sure America would be deep in anarchy at the moment.
thanks TX SMR. loved listening to the song. left a message on his blog.
and you know i adore the first lady. as for you and me and everyone; we need balance. we need to understand that crazed individuals can and do make us feel unbalanced and sour our lives. so it is a good thing to back away from crazy for a bit.
the president and his lady went to Arizona this week and while they were grieving themselves over these senseless deaths they just by their presence and a stunning speech by Mr. Obama brought a little healing to a very sad nation.
A LOT of healing, Bubbles…!
Thanks for the link to the song. It’s one of my favorites. It always brings tears to my eyes as I remember those four men and what they did for our country. And the most poignant thing for me is that I was privileged to live through the years of three of them. I remember the first time I heard the new version of the song with Bobby added. It’s perfect – and so are the images and the words in the video. Well done.
The MSM has become:
A.) — TMZ wanna-be
B.)– The Enquirer (enquirering minds wanna know)
C.)– K street’s dream portal-disposable-mouth.
D.)– All of the above.
I had ideas about the MSM to post, then saw Bubbles post of yesterday’s Mag the Mick’s description of the service: I was intrigued because his description of the lovely, polite and wonderful people was so different than the media’s (through the $Palin filter, assuredly) portrayal of Arizonians.
I think the MSM is lost; in the realm of electronic instant information the fastest to publish the mostest gets all the money. Standards and values are hard to hold onto in this environment of Becks and Limpbaughs. Not to mention celebripols.
I think the Anchorage Daily News has to have a separate $Palin section in order to maintain any journalistic standard because she is mostly a celebrity and they need the income that she generates when people come to the paper because of her latest gaff. ADN can’t afford to ignore her or anger her but she’s not really a newsmaker either.
So my vote is “D” all of the above.
Linda, lovely picture! Thank you.
Uh Oh…Palin has admitted to reading USA Today…she’s not going to like this column:
“By going public with her charged “blood libel” defense on the very day that the people of Tucson, and many in the nation, were focusing on memorial services for the victims, Palin came across as so thin-skinned, so obsessed with her critics, and so self-involved, that it turned not into the defense she might have intended, but an unsettling glimpse on how she would handle political attacks and crises in the White House. Imagine if Barack Obama were as obsessed with answering the “birthers” who continue to froth on, despite contrary evidence, that he wasn’t born in this country.
“Pundits and ideologues are one thing. They live to interject. But people who think they can and should be president can prove it best by not taking the bait of their most rabid accusers, certainly not when it would intercede on more consequential things for the country. For a little while longer, Palin could have conceded the field to the real victims. Instead, she played victim again, further demonstrating why she is the most polarizing figure in American politics.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2011-01-14-raasch14_ST_N.htm
Can we stick a fork in her and call her done yet? Gawd she looks so petty to me. Small minds, smaller ideas.
pass the cranberry sauce Merrycricket that turkey is done!
While the country mourned a 9 year old girl, Palin was making a video and asking, “How does my hair look? Is this lip gloss okay?”
Nothing new to Alaskans who witnessed her focussing on her critics while Governor. She even quit because she didn’t like criticism. She can’t deal with criticism- or even ignore it. She gives credence to it by her overblown reaction to it. Finally, she is being seen for what she is nationally. The vast majority will get sick of her, just as most of Alaskans are.
” Funny they fancy themselves the smart set. They sound like a bunch of classical music critics waxing poetic about a hen that has been taught how to peck out a few tunes on a piano.” —
comments from NRO, regarding Faux and “That Vile-speaking-Thing” or “quitter-pants-dollah-whore,” for the so inclined..
oops… Vile-screeching-Thing. My bad.
I like “quitter-pants-dollah-whore” – that’s exactly what she has turned out to be.
What a beautiful photo!
♫♪☼
(That’s supposed to be music and sunshine–not music and cog in a gigantic wheel!)
Cute!
I join you in thanking Linda for a beautiful start to our day! I thank you for the smile you just generated for me.
i also join you in saying thank you to Linda. that is one gorgeous blooming ice flower. hugs also to all mudpups.
Ice-Flower! I love it! Thx to Bubbles and Linda! Even if I can’t soak up the seed catalogs.
I have been pouring over my seed catalogs and trying to find ways to expand the gardens.
I find myself still loving my flowers, but my interest in vegetables has exploded, especially the heirloom ones. I find it fascinating, that I can grow the same veggies that were grown a 100+ years ago and I love the names!
Why have lawn when you can have a garden?
Exactly! A garden – flower or vegetable – is so much more interesting and rewarding than an expanse of grass, regardless of how pretty it may be.
I just got my Seeds of Change catalog and will be spending hours pouring over it, dreaming dreams of warmer days, tastier foods, beautiful colors and textures – and fragrances. Of course, the reality always comes down to hot, humid summers filled with hungry mosquitoes who see me as their all-you-can-eat buffet, but that’s not what matters. It is in the anticipation, the planning, the dreaming, that joy lies. There will be beauty, nutrition and satisfaction, but it is in the beginnings that excitement thrives.
Happy catalog surfing to everyone. Warmer days and happy planting are mere weeks away now!
Got my seeds of change catalog too! My oldest son and his wife gave me a gift card for World Market and I used it to buy 3 lovely sets of wind chimes. I put them up to keep the neighbors bad vibes away. Last night I brought home a gallon of pale yellow paint called picnic sun. I am going to paint the living room with it. Happy Friday one and all.
I bought my house at the end of winter last year – all the inside walls are yellow, a pale but bright buttercreme. It is just lovely – even if I am not a “yellow person” I have enjoyed living in this color.
i love flowers. when i Merry cricket and i were together at Christmas i got a chance to see pictures of her plants. she is making a beautiful garden for herself. the plants she has chosen are simply lovely and hope she will send me some photos of her flowers next summer.
When I first bought my house, the backyard was all scraggly grass except for five small shrubs around the perimeter. I have since pulled out turf all over the back, side and front yards and planted shrubs and flowers. I also put a vegetable garden near the fence in the back. The pool was taken down and replaced with a circular flower garden.
During the time I was first replacing turf with shrubs, flowers and vegetables, my neighbor (who was having health problems) was planting grass in what had been flower beds and an enormous vegetable bed in his yard. At the time, I decided that we were balancing each other out. He has since moved and I’ve continued adding new beds to my property so I think the non-grass is winning!
My seed catalogs have started arriving in the mail so I’d better get busy!
snow blue sparkles…my favourite colours!
Still below freezing in NW Florida, and no snow (more’s the pity, I say) but the pipes haven’t frozen and the little Jotul is hard at work warming hearth and home, so I count many blessings this morning.
Thank you for posting in AKM’s absence, Linda, and enjoy your seed catalog sweet dreams. I look forward to seeing your garden unfold again this year. Would you like some merry-gold seeds saved from my garden? They make large clumping plants with either yellow or orange flowers…planted amongst the tomatoes, they keep pests away, and the flowers are so cheerful…
Off to work on a sunny Friday…see if I can learn something in my library today!
L’Shalom,
thatcrowwoman
Thank you for sharing the words of prayers and songs with Mudpuppies. I am sure you know Mi Sheberach, a beautiful prayer for healing:
May the One who blessed our ancestors —
Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah —
bless and heal the one who is ill: Gabrielle,
daughter of the Giffords.
May the Holy Blessed One
overflow with compassion upon him/her,
to restore him/her,
to heal him/her,
to strengthen him/her,
to enliven him/her.
The One will send him/her, speedily,
a complete healing —
healing of the soul and healing of the body —
along with all the ill,
among the people of Israel and all humankind,
soon,
speedily,
without delay,
and let us all say: Amen!
What a lovely picture! Thank you. We are having a heat wave in our part of Illinois. It is already 25*, and we have hopes of above-freezing temps today! We have not seen Orson, the Great Horned Owl who lives in our huge old Grandfather oak in two weeks. He hasn’t eaten his morning chicken liver, either. I am hoping he decided to check in to a motel during the cold snap, but I pretty much doubt it.
Across the pond it may not be snowing any more but it is raining thoughtful prose:
“Either Palin’s speechwriters are as dumb as she is — which cannot be ruled out, as they are presumably part-responsible for the blood libel debacle — or she is incapable of demonstrating intellect beyond just a random collection of patriotic homilies and gun images.
“Palin has never understood the worth of words beyond superficial rabble-rousing and, faced with a genuine tragedy and three days to consider it, she gave a speech solely devoted to saving her own miserable skin.”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1347028/Sarah-Palin–blood-libel–Arizona-shooting-politics-new-lexicon-hate.html#ixzz1B0gMIIQG
I suspect that she thinks that G.I. Joe comic books are applicable to foreign policy, personally.
I bet another part of her foreign policy is ‘kickin’ ass and takin’ names!’ That seems more in line with $arah…
I had never heard of BL before this. My first reaction was that blood was not a good word choice. When I found out what it meant I was shocked until I realized it is a Dog Whistle to her Fundies.
I sure hope this can start to shine a light on who her backers are and what they have as their agendas mean if they “take the country back”.
IMO she used “blood-libel” in ignorance, but if not, I agree that it was a dog whistle to that Mary Glazier group who grooms her.
If it was used in ignorance then I believe she was going for the concept of blood-guiltiness.
Remember the parapet built into the second house at the Wasilla compound? In biblical scripture one is told to build a parapet on the house to prevent “bloodguiltiness” in case someone should die as a result of your actions [Deuteronomy 22:8].
To me, it means she knew she was going to be accused of violence some day as a result of her violent rhetoric. Building the parapet on the house is magical thinking, establishing all wrongs are reversed because she followed the instructions in the scripture.
In other words, she knows the blood is on her hands. She knows she’s going down for it, too.
Either that or she’s accusing herself of killing babies.
That’s beautiful! And I’m so glad that you have the snow and ours is gone. It’s warmer, well, sort of, and raining. Snow is lovely, but I prefer the rain. Odd, I know.
That why you and I are Washingtonians. I, too, was very glad to see the snow go. It is 50 out in my little portion of the 4th corner of the lower 48.
Isn’t that funny? First half of my life spent in Washington, second half I’ve lived in Alaska. Since August 2009 spent so much time back in WA trying to help my elderly folks with end-of-life issues and wow! has Washington changed. I was soooo glad to get back to Alaska. Can’t really put my finger on it.
Snow! put your finger on it and tell it you missed it!
I love the snow, Dreamgirl! You are right! And the intelligent people (not Palins and Millers!!).
I want some good new snow – mine got rotten in the last warm-up.
Love a good new snow! Like a good spring rain… it has such purity. Hope springs eternal.
My Shep-husky Lurves the snow… she becomes a snow-bunny-acrobat and I just melt. (in a good way)
This is an interesting column about Palin and the Jews:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/13/sarah-palins-jewish-problem_n_808854.html
OMG, you are amazing. It is as if you are reading my mind!
Either you post an article that I also read and was excited about or you post a link to an article that I find, upon reading it, to be exciting and worthy. When I see your moniker, I know that I will always find something thought provoking or echoing my own interests.
Of course, the downside is that you usually “beat me to the punch,” but, hey, that’s kind of fun, and it’s not a contest – it’s a meeting of the minds. I am really glad you are out there and contributing fabulous links because, if I have not already read about something I know you will direct me to something worth reading!
Of course, you are not the only one who does this, but you are the one who seems most consistently to root out the best of the best. Thank you.
This particular article is one that I recommend everyone read because it lays out why we shouldn’t try to ignore Sarah Palin.
We are all experiencing some degree of “Sarah burn-out or fatigue” because she somehow manages to insert herself into every news cycle, and she always seems to be outrageous and able to spin us up about something. However, the article which you link to here is one that re-energizes our focus and reminds us why it is so important to keep ourselves alert to the danger she represents.
It is when we let our guard down, when we write her off that she (and others like her) are the most dangerous. We do not have to hate her, but we do have to stay informed and aware. The one thing about Sarah Palin that seems to be true is that when it seems most improbable that she can survive or thrive, she does.
I have come to think of her as a chronic disease – always there, always annoying, always with the potential to destroy us. There is no cure for chronic disease just as there is no cure for willful ignorance, arrogance, or cruelty. Those things have been with us since we came into being. When they flare, as in chronic disease, you simply have to deal with them as best you can so you aren’t overcome or done-in by them.
We just have to keep treating the symptoms, trying to stay on top of it, staying active and not letting her get us down. We cannot ignore her, but we can manage how much she affects our lives through awareness and containment. She is a pain, she is a danger and has the potential to destroy our lives as we know them, but if we acknowledge that, if we keep researching into the root cause of the “disease and discomfort,” we can not only survive, we can be the ones who thrive instead of her. We can manage and subdue the aggravation and threat. We can overcome the pain and avoid the madness that comes with crippling pain or fear.
Anyone who has lived with chronic pain or with someone who suffers chronic pain, understands the necessity of accepting it and working around and through it. Sarah is sort of like that – you can’t ignore her because she keeps popping back up, but you can limit how much damage she does through active awareness and proactive management.
Anyway, thanks for your constant vigilance and interest. You add value to my day and depth to my understanding by sharing these links and commenting upon them. I guess I owe that thanks to all the mudpups/mudflatters. You are making a difference, a positive difference. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words and beautifully written post. You have a wonderful way of describing things that are important to us and of putting things like Palin’s strange political prominence into understandable form.
I have come to see you two as sort of a tag team for spot on comments!!
“The one thing about Sarah Palin that seems to be true is that when it seems most improbable that she can survive or thrive, she does.”
That was well said and very important – quite possibly why she scares me so much – as egregious as she behaves she could turn it around again and get elected.
Palin and her kkkooky Xtians scare the crap out of me.. Separation of Church and State …are practically sacred words to me. Now………it would seem that God, Inc. is the corporate/religion of evangelical/fundamentalists of all kinds….no room for gods’ love in that stuff…and the socialism of caring for gods’ creatures? Forget about it! Stewards of the land??? Forget about it! Palin is like fright night…not because of herself…but because of her baggage..her uber-creepy followers….and what she inspires in THEM.
this is amazing. posted it on my face book page. this is scary! this is the real Palin Agenda and this order are the real money men. no wonder Palin won’t back down. won’t go away ever.
she is the pretty (?) face of true evil and madness.
I have longed believed that Palin is just the spokesmodel for a segment of society that wants to force their beliefs and ways upon us. Ever notice how they like to deny that our Constitution gives us Freedom from religion.
Or her statement yesterday that we easily could trade our freedoms for security post-9-11, when in fact, it was Republicans Bush-Cheney who enacted the Patriot Act, then got it re-enacted!!
I read this last night and it reminded me that we had read similar things back in 2008. This attitude, belief, is probably the reason I won’t vote for any candidate who claims to be an evangelical Christian. They have taken parts of the Bible completely out of context and have added in their own strange views that are so far from anything I have learned from reading and studying the Bible. I think it makes it even worse that there are some Jewish conservatives who still support her. I’m sure they have no idea what she really believes. They are taking her support on a surface level instead of trying to figure out why she’s so much on their side. If they thought about it for half a second I would think they’d be suspicious enough to do a little research on their own – and they wouldn’t like what they find. I don’t think they would be so impressed with her once they learn that they are just a means to her end goals – goals that don’t really include them.
I think part of the reason the MSM hasn’t said much about this is because they don’t want to go down the path of delving into someone’s religious beliefs – that opens the door for them to be criticized for being anti-religion or whatever, so I can’t blame them.
We all need to pay close attention to people like Palin who keep trying to insert themselves into a political office.
Didn’t she try to say during her run for Mayor that the other person was a Jewish person,seems I read that along with him having to show a marriage license because his wife kept her own name.As we all saw during the general she sure knows how to get people riled up about little or nothing.
She didn’t try to say it, she said both of those things. Neither of which had ANY bearing WHATSOEVER on whether the gentleman could do the job or not.
In addition, he may have been her opponent at the time, he AND his wife had been her friends BEFORE her run for mayor.
Former Wasilla Mayor John Stein says he mentored Palin during her 1994 run for City Council. Then she decided to challenge him and run for Mayor. “Things got very ugly,’ Naomi Tigner, a friend of the Steins, told Salon.com. “Sarah became very mean-spirited.” Palin allies suggested she would he “Wasilla’s first Christian mayor,” even though Stein is Protestant. Palin allies also whispered that Stein and his wife – who hadn’t taken his name – were not legally wed. “We actually had to produce our marriage certificate,’ Stein said. His wife died in 2005 without ever reconciling with Palin. “I had a hand in creating Sarah, but in the end she blew me out of the water,” Stein told Salon. “Sarah’s on a mission, she’s an opportunist.”
That story is just so awful, I hope it is mentioned in both of the books that are coming out about her.
She has always been a terrible person.
I wonder if Palin care about the Palestinians at all…or is that part of her gods’ plan??
Wow. Let’s hope that many someones from the internet and print world pick up and run with that one.
I mean…wow.
I already find the woman scary, but this makes her scarier yet. I didn’t know that was possible anymore!
Hope everyone will leave a few comments over at HP. It’s important that people begin to learn who the real Scarah is and what she is about. Comments will keep this post up for more to read.
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing it with the lower 48. And thanks for your insightful posts in AKM’s absence
Four degrees at slipstream’s house. But I’m getting over two hours of sunshine a day! Yaaaayyy!
Well, I got a lot more sun than you did, but the official temp in my hometown was 2.5 degrees. No, I’m not in AK, but GA, for heaven’s sake!
Good grief, we are having a heat wave up north in New Jersey compared to you. It’s supposed to reach 29 today. Woohoo!
Supposed to be 70 here, so I imagine that temps in the east will be up in a few days.
I miss the snow!
The upside to all the fog. Nice shot!