Happy New Year!! pic.twitter.com/JIRcObORmm
— ???? [nZk] (@sawano_nZk) January 1, 2023
According to the Spousal Unit (who has a Level One Proficiency certificate in Japanese), the message is the standard Japanese New Year’s Day greeting:
Make it a good one. #HappyNewYear2023 pic.twitter.com/jKYwv9ESn6
— KAMALA NATION (@KamalaNation) January 1, 2023
52 years of tradition for my f-i-l. 98 years when you add on his father. 49 bells (the largest almost 4 tonnes) in Cobh Cathedral banging out Auld Lang Syne, and this year the Ukrainian national anthem in solidarity with our European family. Where else would you be! pic.twitter.com/RlEAMZ2S3G
— Des Cunningham (@DeadlyHen) January 1, 2023
NEW: @POTUS will hit the road this week, one day after new GOP House is sworn in. He'll travel to Kentucky, and be joined by @LeaderMcConnell (!), to tout infrastructure project.
Trip signals a WH message focus on implementation and bipartisanship in 2023
— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) January 1, 2023
Kudos to the White House communications team:
Happy New Year, folks.
I think it’s going to be a great year.
Why? Because we get to start implementing a lot of the things we passed last year.
Here are some things that are kicking in at this very moment ??
And hey — you can bookmark it if you’re out celebrating.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 1, 2023
We’re putting the brakes on how high and how fast Big Pharma can raise drug prices. Starting right now, if they raise prices faster than inflation, they’ll face big penalties.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 1, 2023
Starting right now, you can get tax credits to install more energy efficient appliances for your house. Electric ovens, solar panels, heat pumps: you name it.
Save money while fighting climate change.
Want to learn more? Head over to https://t.co/uUmMVlZcbs.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 1, 2023
If you’re in the market for a car, you can now get a tax credit to buy a new or used electric vehicle. And if you get an EV, you can mute my social media posts about gas prices.
Here are the EV models currently eligible for new vehicle tax credits: https://t.co/rF5wXSF5DF
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 1, 2023
There’s more — across the country you'll see us building new bridges, cleaning lead pipes, and getting folks online. You'll see tons of good-paying manufacturing and construction jobs open up. We’re just getting started.
Here’s to 2023, and the work we’re going to do together.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 1, 2023
On The Road – Albatrossity – Tarangire National Park – 2
lowtechcyclist
Hmmm…new tax credits for solar panels? This might be the year we get them installed on our roof.
raven
Do we wonder why the Rose Parade and Game are today?
Baud
I’d imagine KY’s Dem governor will be there too.
OzarkHillbilly
Boy, the comments on those Biden tweets…
“Waaaahhh, where’s my rainbow farting gold, shitting magic pony you never promised me???”
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: If I know my elected GOP’s, they might well show up to take credit for the KY infrastructure spending too.
Geminid
I think the Infrastrucure bill has been very much undervalued. Perhaps the circumstances of its passage had something to do with this. But with a Republican majority in the House, few new initiatives are in prospect, while many of the Infrastruture projects are still starting. I expect we’ll hear a lot more about Infrastructure bill projects. Same with the Inflation Reduction Act initiatives.
The administration’s theme this year will be implementation and more implementation; Democrats delivering for the American people while radical Republicans fight with our neighbors and themselves.
David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch
One of these year end messages is not like the other:
NotMax
Several things new to streaming which may be worth a glance.
A Netflix original, premiered January 1, Kaleidoscope. Non-linear eight episode heist tale. First and last episodes watchable in that configuration; the other six can be watched in any order
A Prime original, January 6, The Rig. Mysterious hoodoo on a North Seas oil platform.
A Tubi original, January 6, Good Wife’s Guide to Murder. Woman creator of a vlog of the same name is primary suspect in her husband’s demise, searches for culprit. (No trailer found yet, presuming it’s a limited series and not a single film.)
Quinerly
Hold up in Flag in the storm. Looking like I 40 has opened back up early this AM. Velcro doggie JoJo holding up well in this tiny room after a day of rain and snow and prior 3 days of rain in a tiny camper cabin in Cottonwood. He does need to run and stretch his legs. We hope to start heading east around 10.
Baud
@Geminid:
I abhor the idea of lose-now-to-win-later, but if there were ever a chance of it working, it would be the current situation.
Baud
@Quinerly:
Have a safe drive.
Quinerly
@Baud: thanks! We had about 4 more days of traveling planned, but it’s time to wrap this up. I’m hoping to hit Silver City, NM area and scoot over to Phoenix from there late February. This has been a fun 2 weeks. JoJo has really matured in the last 6 months. Much easier trip with him.
Geminid
@Quinerly: It’s good you folks got rain. Some of the desert might be a little green now. I hope you and the pup have a safe and happy trip home. It must be different driving east to New Mexio.
OzarkHillbilly
I see this a lot on twitter and some people actually think it is a brilliant take down. “You’re not one of the cool kids, nobody likes you.” Yeah, they reached their peak of social maturity when they were a sophomore in HS.
Geminid
@Baud: There are silver linings to the midterm cloud. A narrow House majority might have been problematic for the House Democratic Caucus. They stood united for the most part this past Congress, but that was never a certainty and it took a lot of work that we did not notice because it was successful.
Now Captain Jeffries and Lieutenants Clark and Aguilar will conduct their shake-down cruise with less at stake. That will be good training for 2025, when I believe Democrats will again be a majority in the House.
Quinerly
@Geminid: you are right about the driving east part. I “caught” myself as I was typing. The other thing is seeing the I 40 signs in Flag saying “Los Angeles” and “Albuquerque.” Startled me initially. Also, lots of this has to do with not being on an interstate in two weeks. I have done back roads and BIA since Grants on the first day.
SFAW
Good to see all those “Hey! Look what we’re doing for you!” tweets from the President. Now if only the MSM would pay attention.
OzarkHillbilly
One house, two people and some rare flightless birds: welcome to Mana Island
Time unfurls differently on this treasured wildlife haven, half an hour from the coast of New Zealand’s north island
It’s a quick read, and a good one.
Phylllis
Last day of Winter break; enjoying a leisurely breakfast of bacon, eggs, & toast. Gonna do a bit of tidying up here in a bit and then be a lump on the sofa for the rest of the day to prepare for my final stretch of 116 work days until retirement.
Hope everyone has a great start to the New Year!
lowtechcyclist
@Geminid:
The problem is the Senate, where there are essentially zero prospects for the Dems to win any new seats next year, and an overwhelming likelihood that they finally lose Manchin’s seat to start off with.
Might make the next Congress pretty low-stakes for Jeffries etc. as well.
Meanwhile, the world is warming, and while last year’s legislation was a surprisingly good start, more needs to be done.
MattF
I’ll note that both WaPo and NYT start off the year with front-page articles about Elise Stefanik. Both reveal that she’s… very ambitious.
mali muso
@lowtechcyclist: Yeah, we have been toying with the idea of installing solar panels for years, but every time we have looked into it, the cost of installation is nowhere near the savings expected for our energy costs for some 10+ years. This may be the year though. If not the panels, maybe some of the other energy efficiency credits.
@Phylllis: Also enjoying the last day before our J-term starts tomorrow. Good luck to you on the home stretch towards retirement! (jealous)
Geminid
@lowtechcyclist: Problems as far as the eye can see!
kalakal
@OzarkHillbilly: Good read, thanks for pointing it out
OzarkHillbilly
Same here. I am currently toying with the idea of a battery/solar combo for power outages. I wonder if the solar credits would apply to that. I would so like to get away from using a generator. I hate that noise.
lowtechcyclist
@Phylllis: Here’s to upcoming retirements! Sounds like you’re entering the life of leisure late June-ish. My wife is retiring at the end of April, and the decision to do so has been good for her mental health. I’ll be hanging in there until the end of the year, but still: tomorrow will be the last January 3rd that I will ever work!
Geminid
@MattF: There is a lot of ambition in that House caucus. But it’s individual ambition. The collective ambition is compromised by differing goals, and the internal stresses mirror those of the larger party. This is the first time the Republicans have had the majority since 2018, and it will likely be the last this decade I think.
Ken
@David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch: I read that Charles’ first Honors List has some nominations that can be seen as a poke at the Conservatives. Then again with something like a thousand people, there’s undoubtedly something for everyone.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
Ocotillo
My first reaction to Joe going on the road and joining Mitch Mc to tout the infrastructure bill was “Why?!?” Then I thought for a second it probably hurts Mitch with the howler monkeys more than it helps him with normies, so as Obama said, please proceed.
Phylllis
@mali muso: @lowtechcyclist: Official last day is 6/30. My mental health has steadily improved throughout the school year. I’ve already turned over the bulk of my work to the coordinator I hired (with the expectation that she will take my job when I leave).
i’ve had no fucks left to give for awhile now. Will mainly have to work on keeping my internal monologue these last few months…internal.
Layer8Problem
@MattF: I’m not seeing the Post‘s Stefanik story, but I read the Times‘ article despite my delicate constitution. It’s a portrait of someone with no moral center, whose principles shift with her perception of what the current winning team is. I don’t see how it ends well for her, unless she or her backers of the moment can successfully bury her opportunistic shifts of values and allies. Who wants to work with someone who is prepared at the slightest turn of the breeze to say “sorry, you’ve outlived your usefulness to me” and toss you out of the boat? If she doesn’t manage to land a Secretary of Fascism position in a future Republican administration’s cabinet she’ll end up a bitter, ineffectual backbencher after whatever GQP restructuring takes place.
MattF
@Layer8Problem: Hmm, I messed up in some way about the WaPo story. Here’s a gifted link to the article I saw, dated ten days ago.
Betty Cracker
@MattF: I read one of those profiles (The Times, I think), and Stefanik comes across as a completely amoral shape-shifter who will say anything and step over anyone to get power. So, pretty accurate!
I did wonder briefly if a similar profile would be written about a man who did the exact same thing Stefanik did — there are many examples of them, including Kevin McCarthy. Beltway reporters, including those who are women, tend to treat men who act that way as laudably ambitious and women as power-hungry shrews when the shoe is actually one-size-fits-all.
indycat32
The possum is back this morning. Should I chase it away or let it eat
ETA: I don’t want to risk it making itself at home on/in my roof or garage
Nelle
@Layer8Problem: My daughter was at high school with Stefanik’s husband. Apparently, the surprise is that he isn’t the ambitious one out front, but otherwise, they sound like a match.
OzarkHillbilly
@indycat32: Can you afford to feed it?
eta: after reading your eta, I would say get a live trap and relocate it. That will take care of your worry anyway
indycat32
@OzarkHillbilly: Yes, assuming they don’t eat any more than a cat would.
Geminid
@indycat32: That possum should be able to make it without your catfood. They are industrious little beasts.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Betty Cracker: Adam Schiff tells some story about how he and McCarthy were working on something, and McCarthy told the press that Schiff agreed with him on something that he didn’t. When Schiff confronted McCarthy, McCarthy said, “You know how it is. Everybody does that.” That’s how they see the world
indycat32
@Geminid: True, but a pan of dry cat food is so much more convenient than having to scavenge for food.
frosty
@Quinerly: I’ve always liked it when I see the first sign for Los Angeles. It’s like there’s a different world and it’s close. Same feeling on I-95 with the first sign for NYC.
Safe travels!
Amir Khalid
@Ken:
I’d like to see Keef Richards finally get a knighthood.
indycat32
@OzarkHillbilly: There are rules: it must be euthanized or released on private property with the permission of the owner. DNR recommends killing it which I don’t want to do.
Kay
Why not…43 gazillion! Nothing like made up numbers. I was on team “schools should open” but I’m embarrased by the hacks and clowns on the team. Yuck. I want nothing to do with these people. They discredit my position.
Here’s the real point of the invented number in the headline:
Woke. They’re battling The Woke. Again. A huge cadre of people are paid to spend every work day writing screeds battling woke. They contribute nothing else. They’ve devoted their lives to attacking 22 year old social workers and kindergarten teachers who make 40k a year.
CliosFanBoy
Any updates from Cafe Press on calendar pages??
MattF
@Betty Cracker: Also, women may be described as ‘nasty’, but not men. Unless they have an unusual odor.
Baud
@Kay:
Or as little as $5, less than the cost of a frappachino.
Baud
@MattF:
I’ve described men as nasty, but it is probably used more against women.
JMG
@Kay: There is and always has been in human history a very good living to be made in telling parents and/or grandparents that the answer to the question, “why don’t the young ones like me?” has nothing to do with them.
Quinerly
@frosty: thanks!
Quinerly
@Amir Khalid: me too.
Kay
@Baud:
lol
The whole thing is bullshit and you can spot the lie in the first three paragraphs where they tell us CA scores dropped 6% in math while “some states” dropped as much as 10%. One of the states who dropped 10%?
Florida:
They didn’t actually find any correlation between how long schools were closed in a partiuclar area and test score drops. It was all over the map. Kids were harmed in the pandemic but they haven’t been able to tie the level of harm to whether schools were open or not. But no matter! They’re just steaming ahead with the narrative!
BruceFromOhio
@OzarkHillbilly: As I read these, that was my first thought: who’s day is going to be ruined by competent governance and engaged leadership accomplishing positive outcomes?
No raining on my parade! Taking these wins and enjoying them while I can :) Was interested to see the Tesla models along with all other EV manufacturers made the list of tax incentives. It will still be a few years before it’s time to trade up for a Chevy Bolt or something similar, in the interim I hope as many as possible take advantage of the incentive.
OzarkHillbilly
@indycat32: Rules schmules… Some rules are made to be broken.
Gravenstone
Ooh, Hiroyuki Sawano in the opening tweet. Good morning, indeed!
Geminid
Politico put up an article a couple hours ago titled, “Inside the Jan. 6 committee’s massive new evidence trove.”
Link (maybe):
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/02/jan-6-committee-files-trump-evidence-00076004
artem1s
@indycat32: don’t feed it unless you want 10-12 more every year hanging around for handouts. they are prolific breeders. one of them will eventually take up residence under your porch or garage. why wouldn’t they move their den closer to a source of easy food? and they bite and carry numerous diseases dangerous to humans and pets such as TB and rabies.
BruceFromOhio
@Phylllis: Yay! Counting ’em down! Your journey is most inspirational! Just parted ways with a long-running manager who retired effective 12/30, and he was all smiles every day in his home stretch.
citizen dave
Unless he has changed his mind, I believe Keith Richards has a different view than Mick of honors coming from the Royals: https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1644015/mick-jagger-rolling-stones-keith-richards-queen-elizabeth-knighthood-royal-celebrity-spt
The guitarist refused to accept a C.B.E., which was not much of a shock to the public as he had previously said he’d never expected to get one as “they knew I’d tell them where they could put it.”
Speaking to the BBC after Sir Mick was knighted, Richards joked: “It was a shoddy award. I wouldn’t let that family near me with a sharp stick, let alone a sword.”
Nicole
@lowtechcyclist:
Man, talk about a way to lift your mood the entire year- “This (fill in the date) is the last one I will ever work!”
BruceFromOhio
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
If only they would do that with jumping off high places, or sticking sharp metal objects in power outlets. C’mon, Kevin, everybody does that.
Geminid
@Geminid: This morning’s Politico Playbook leads with their latest scoops on the Speaker vote. It sounds like Republicans are struggling with a very rancorous Rubik’s Cube.
mrmoshpotato
@indycat32:
I read that “Should I chase it away or eat it?”
BruceFromOhio
@Kay:
Well, it is the NY Post. That’s their shtick, no?
jonas
@Layer8Problem: Stefanik has simply lost it, going from being a bright young “pragmatic” conservative to a shameless Trump remora who recently endorsed Hitler-admiring bestiality porn enthusiast Carl Paladino for a western NY congressional seat in just a few short years. But Republican voters see such shamelessness as a feature, not a bug, in their candidates, so she’ll be around for a while, I’m sure. (See too Santos, George)
frosty
To all you incipient retirees: Get a copy of The Retirement Maze. Raven recommended it a year or so before I retired and it really helped – I changed a couple of decisions and it’s been for the best. Among other things, we rethought moving farther away from our kids, I stayed part-time with my company, and we’ve tried harder than pre-retirement to stay in touch with friends (not easy for introverts!).
Congratulations! This January will be three years for me. We’re doing a lot of traveling, I can sleep as late as I want, and best of all, NO MORE TIMESHEETS EVERY WEEK!
Nicole
@Kay:
And never mind that the more we study it, the more data supports that the biggest indicator of future success at work is how well an individual can get along with other people. Which is what “woke” social-emotional curriculum is all about, which I’m sure they’d also gladly jettison. That’s an argument for in-person schooling- with a strong social-emotional curriculum, in-person teaches how to get along with other people in a way remote just can’t, but that’s not the learning loss they’re creating panic about. (It’s math. It’s always math. I know several parents who simultaneously complain that their kids’ math isn’t challenging enough AND that it’s too complicated for them to be able to help their kids with their homework and it just makes me want to throw things, but that’s not getting along well with others behavior so I don’t throw things.)
Barbara
@indycat32: My SIL adopted a possum. It mostly sleeps and likely won’t live more than two years. She also keeps geese. She cannot get veterinary care for it in Virginia — the vet would be legally required to alert animal control, which would euthanize it. I would try to keep food away. Possums are amazingly industrious.
frosty
The weasel words are the tell that it’s all made up. TFG uses them all the time.
I’m mostly surprised they didn’t say “as much as XX or more”. My 7th grade math teacher spent a day on numbers in advertising. Her point on this one is that the number is meaningless, anything lower or higher meets the definition.
ETA: Your main point is also good. Yeah, they want schools open, but only to teach the way they want to. There’s a group of “Parental Control” Republicans going after our school board in November. I’m going to have to go knock on doors again, I guess.
Another Scott
@Geminid:
RollCall’s piece from 12/30 makes it sound like it’s impossible to square the circle. Boo hoo for the GQPers.
With any luck, and with hard, focused work by sensible people, they won’t have the majority for long. We have to keep our eyes on the prize.
Cheers,
Scott.
indycat32
@artem1s: That had not occurred to me. Because I fed one tortie and her kitten two years ago I’m currently feeding 9 cats and now a possum has decided to take up residence. No good deed …
Ken
One of those Lament Configuration ones, where when you solve it a bunch of sex- and violence-obsessed weirdos emerge and make your existence a living hell? Sounds about right.
evodevo
@artem1s: Yes, I agree totally…if it is female, it will bring its next litter to the yard to feed, and if a friend’s experience is any indicator, it will try to break into the garage or house eventually, doing a LOT of damage. Get rid of it NOW to avoid problems in the future…
Barbara
@jonas: Ditto for Nikki Haley, Kelly whatshername from Georgia and lots of other people who recognize crazy but hate being out of power even more. I think the correct term is sociopath.
Another Scott
@frosty: Thanks for the pointer.
Enjoy!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Nicole:
I am exhibit A of the inverse proof.
mrmoshpotato
@Ken: Hahaha!
Ken
I saw recently that it’s a majority of the Representatives voting, not an absolute majority of the chamber. If that’s true and if enough Republicans go off in a huff*, the Democrats could choose the speaker.
* Or a minute and a huff, thank you, Groucho.
Suzanne
@Quinerly: I’ve been enjoying your updates from your trip.
One weird memory came up for me this weekend, though. On the same day you got to Flag, I was reminded that it was on that day six years ago that I took my Spawns up to Flag for what was intended to be a day of snow fun. Instead I half-severed and broke my finger and spent most of the day in urgent care getting stitched and splinted.
And then I was a dumbass and drove home to Phoenix and the numbing stuff wore off right as we rolled back into town and it sucked.
oatler
@Quinerly:
I live in Cottonwood and it seems more than half my neighborhood is “tiny camper cabins” including people next door. That might be you I see ambling to Circle K.
Fake Irishman
@OzarkHillbilly:
Battery systems are covered by the credit if they are connected to a solar project, as are preparation costs: so if you have to replace your roof to put solar on it, that’s part of the project and is eligible for 30 percent.
indycat32
@evodevo: I guess I’ll have it removed . I’ve had raccoons in my attic 3 times over the years and it wasn’t cheap. I wonder how they’ll trap the possum and not any of the 9 cats.
Fake Irishman
@Fake Irishman:
and those other credits are great too: this year one of my goals is to replace my water heater with a heat pump model.
Kay
@frosty:
Volunteering on school races is really rewarding, IMO. We split our district into sections using “voterfile” which is just the publicly available voter list kept by the Sec of State. My job was “east side mothers” (the east side is the lower income neighborhoods). It was fun talking to them. On election day we were doing one last round and passed a woman I had spoken to previously, leaving her house – she said “I’m going!” (meaning to vote). I guess she thought I had returned to nag her, specifically :)
Kay
lowtechcyclist
@Kay:
Not that the NY Post is much worse than the MSM in going full speed ahead with the narrative, regardless of what the facts showed.
The pandemic was a Big Fucking Deal, regardless of how different places responded to it. A million Americans died, and probably millions are still dealing with its effects. And who knows how many kids lost one or both parents?
I was on Team Delay Graduation A Year. Can’t speak for the places that kept the schools open, but it was pretty obvious that (a) remote learning in 2020-2021, even with a full summer to prepare for it, wasn’t likely to be as effective as in-class, and (b) whatever remote learning took place in March through June 2020 should have been written off as a loss. Teachers did the best they could, but nobody was ready for this.
For schools that did remote learning, 2020-2021 school year should have been spent (a) reinforcing what the kids had learned during the in-class part of the 2019-2020 school year, (b) teaching the curriculum from March 2020 through the end of the school year as if for the first time (and taking more time to do so because remote learning isn’t as effective as in-class), and (c) giving them a head start on what would have been the 2020-21 school year in the absence of the pandemic, but would now have become the 2021-22 school year.
Then they could have gone back to school in the fall of 2021 a year behind where they would have been, but well prepared for being where they were.
But it just seems like schools regarded falling a year behind as The Worst Thing Ever, even if it’s happening to everyone at once so what difference does it make?
Betty Cracker
@Nicole: The DeSantis people specifically went after textbooks that had “social-emotional learning” content, though most of their rhetoric focused on CRT and anything that acknowledges the existence of LGBTQ people. I assume that’s because their hard-right base has already been taught to hate the latter two topics and wouldn’t be able to pick social-emotional learning concepts out of a lineup. I read a detailed review (at the Miami Herald, I think) of what got certain math textbooks blackballed, and it was the most anodyne stuff imaginable.
Omnes Omnibus
@Amir Khalid: He has said he would never accept one.
kalakal
@indycat32: The biggest problem I’ve had with possums is that on occasion they’ve crawled under the house to die.
You don’t notice it until it’s well ripe you smell it.
Clearing it up is not an experience I can recommend
RL
Possums don’t carry rabies, eat their weight in ticks and fleas, and are generally good for your environment.
https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/opossums-can-be-good-neighbors-and-despite-the-myth-they-dont-carry-rabies/article_ae6db646-dbe2-11ea-bbd6-0b01f9e87359.amp.html
Nicole
@Betty Cracker: Ugh, that is so depressing. Like, the GOP actively want the next generation to grow up to angry and ready to pick a fight over their own innate low self-esteem.
I compare my kid’s school experience with mine (back in the 1980s, when they didn’t know much about social-emotional learning) and it’s night and day. Living through Lord of the Flies in school doesn’t make you tough as an adult; it makes you sad and lonely and anxious.
Kay
@lowtechcyclist:
I’m really interested in how kids were harmed! I assumed it was school closures but that appears to be wrong because kids in areas where schools were open (in some cases) did worse than kids in areas where schools were closed. I think it should be studied! But they’re discrediting the whole inquiry with this “28 trillion” bullshit that leads into a slam on unions. I’m not on this team. They’re gross hacks.
I know kids suffered. My own (very social) kid suffered. The juveniles I represent CRASHED. Without “school” as a safe, consistent, orderly place where people were keeping an eye on them they just had nothing. Whatever thin community threads were holding them upright disappeared. But we’re not going to learn anything about what happened with this “antiwoke” bullshit smeared all over everything.
Another Scott
@Ken: That’s my understanding too, but the unstated reporting isn’t that the Democrats can take it if the GQPers don’t get their act together. So, I assume that it’s effectively impossible (though Team Blue might act as kingmakers if things get bad enough). I guess it’s because there has to be agreement on the Rules before there’s agreement on a vote for the Speaker, and the GQPers will not give Democrats any say on the Rules…
We’ll see!
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
mrmoshpotato
@Nicole:
Agreed.
kalakal
@Phylllis: Good for you!
I’ve got 2yrs & 9 months to go but did get some interesting news last week.
The city had a ridiculous period for vesting for the pension. Basically I would vest 1 month before I’m 65. Change jobs, retire early etc no pension just a lump sum of contributions. Being governmental it doesn’t pay into Social so I was stuck*.
They have halved the vesting period! I can now move/retire etc and still get the pension at 65, also am covered if they decide to make cut backs. A great mental relief.
* I will get the UK pension for what it’s worth but not till I’m 67
Scout211
@indycat32:
I second OzarkHillbilly’s recommendation. Live animal traps are not expensive. You can buy them at places like Lowe’s, Tractor Supply and many pet supply stores. The only thing you need to make sure of is your state and county regulations for removing and relocating wild animals. Cat food would (obviously) be good bait.
We have opossums out here sneaking into our chicken coop trying to steal eggs from the lower nest boxes. We usually let it go. It’s kind of funny when the opossums try to steal the fake eggs and leave them on the coop floor when the critters realize they are not edible.
Alison Rose
Bunch of good things starting now in California too, including:
SB 62 by Senator María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) ends the garment industry’s practice of piece-rate compensation and expands fashion brands’ liability for unpaid wages.
SB 16 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) expands public access to police misconduct records related to unreasonable or excessive use of force, discriminatory or prejudiced behavior and other misconduct.
AB 338 by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) allows the placement of a monument in Capitol Park honoring Sacramento-area tribes, replacing the sculpture of missionary Junipero Serra.
AB 855 by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) removes Columbus Day as a judicial holiday and replaces it with Native American Day in September.
AB 600 by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) ensures that crimes targeting people due to their immigration status are considered a hate crime.
Betty Cracker
@Nicole: Trying to mold voters into the current GOP’s likeness, I guess. Sounds like you and I had similar experiences as parents — I was also pleased to see that schools had made progress since my Lord of the Flies stint in the 80s. The people in charge here now want to roll all of that back. I don’t know if they’ll succeed or not, but it’s maddening that they’re putting so much money and effort into it when there are so many REAL problems that need to be addressed. Educators not only have to deal with the fallout of a traumatic pandemic, they have to deal with Christopher Rufo’s insecurities and paranoia too? It’s a goddamn farce.
Amir Khalid
@Omnes Omnibus:
Keef was more than a bit resentful about Mick getting a knighthood, so I take his claim that he doesn’t want one himself with a grain of salt.
kalakal
@Nicole:
I couldn’t agree more, I went to an English Public School. So did the characters in Lord of the Fleas*
*English Public School humour
Phylllis
@frosty: Thanks for the reminder. Been meaning to get that.
Barbara
@Kay: Woke is just the newest euphemism for signaling your disdain at the idea of caring about people who aren’t white.
Regarding the lack of correlation between length of school closure and performance — it’s like they cannot fathom that some other aspect of the pandemic might have been harmful to kids.
CliosFanBoy
@frosty: Thanks. My wife read it before retirement back in 2020. Her agency also makes all those nearing retirement take a weeklong class to prepare. She loves retirement and I am joining her in May. My university is offering a generous buyout as they gut faculty and staff so I took it.
Nicole
@Kay:
You’re right; that was the real damage. My kid’s school did, I thought, a pretty good job with the remote curriculum, but there was no real way to ensure kids were there for it and I know my kid reported to me classmates who seldom showed up or who fell asleep on camera. But that speaks to larger societal and economic issues that the GOP definitely does not want to address other than, “bad parents!”
lowtechcyclist
@Fake Irishman:
That’s good to know! Having that battery would be a big plus in the winter especially, so it could power the heat pump in the evening after the sun had gone down.
Though come to think of it, BGE does net metering, although last time I checked, you had to specifically ask about it; they do their best to hide the fact that they will do it. Still, there’d be a lot to be said for having a battery for when the power goes out, as has been happening more often here lately.
Kathleen
@Baud: They’ll be in Covington right across the river from Cincy. I hope some Ohio people are there like our mayor Aftab Pureval. And apropos of nothing I have a huge crush on Andy Beshear. That man really loves Kentucky and its people.
Omnes Omnibus
@Amir Khalid: I don’t know. He and Mick seem to have taken different views of their troubles with the British establishment in the ’60s. Mick wanted in to prove that he had beaten them and Keith wanted to reject the system entirely. At least that was Keith expressed view in his autobiography.
indycat32
@Scout211: I have traps. I am the queen of kitten trapping. I do not want to deal with a very large opossum. I’ll leave that to the pros.
Ivan X
@lowtechcyclist: We got em installed (we happened to have a perfect roof side for it, very exposed to sun but not visible from street or to neighbors). I can’t tell you how much joy it brings when we get negative electric bills.
Jeffro
For those considering solar panels:
SO worth it!
On the flip side, I am now thinking about getting an induction range put in, in place of our current gas range.
Nicole
@Betty Cracker:
There was an op-ed in the Miami Herald, I think it was, this past week by some concerned right-wing writer about how the current generation is too coddled. No stats to back anything up, of course, just a general feeling that kids won’t grow up to be independent if we don’t let them suffer.
It makes me crazy. They rewrite the older generations’ childhoods as some kind of idyllic boot camp for real life, when, in fact, oodles of us were anxious, depressed, sad, and did NOT learn how to function as adults. Who grew up to be the kind of people who pull guns on another person over a parking space (I am thinking here of a specific person who is, thankfully, no longer in my life).
We know better now and we’re trying to do better and it’s crazy making to see people thinking that how we grew up was superior. It wasn’t. It really wasn’t. I think a lot of us turned out okay in spite of our childhoods, not because of them.
Jeffro
@frosty: is it the one by Rob Pascale? There are actually four different “retirement maze” books that pop up on Amazon
CliosFanBoy
@indycat32: Tell you cats it’s a BIG mouse?? :)
https://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2006/05/22
Nicole
@kalakal:
Heh. :) Yeah, kids can be absolutely awful to each other without guidance on how not to be. I’ve watched a friend of my son’s, who switched schools after 4th grade, become a kinder, nicer person after a few years in a different school culture.
And while I absolutely envy my kid’s different school experience, I do not for one second resent it. I’m grateful.
MattF
@Jeffro: I’m considering an induction range. My current electric range + microwave works but is wearing out at critical points, like e.g., the microwave door handle which is now taped to the microwave door. I can foresee the microwave door breaking in an unfixable way, so replacement of the range + microwave is looming in the future. Induction ranges work if your pots and pans are magnetizable, but refrigerator magnets aren’t strong enough to make a definitive test for that. Just another small nagging issue.
ETA: No gas in my condo, so it’s gotta be electric.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
About that carillon tweet.
Where my wife and I went to school, there was a very fine music school (which she attended) and a carillon on top of the music school.
For some reason despite all the very fine musicians available, playing of the carillon every hour was reserved to members of a particular fraternity. “Hey Jude” was a particular favorite of whoever was playing the carillon during that era.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@kalakal:
There was a movie a few years ago about A. A. Milne developing the idea of Winnie the Pooh based on the toys of his son Christopher. What it did to Christopher, including leading to relentless bullying at school that scarred him for life, left me feeling very sad.
danielx
@Layer8Problem:
Well, she does appear to adhere to TFG’s style pretty closely. It worked for him for a while, until it didn’t. It does get hard to recruit.
Brachiator
@Nicole:
This is an old, ongoing tradition which must be respected.
Ultimately, the kids are alright.
Baud
@Brachiator:
Φύγε από το γρασίδι μου.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Brachiator: I know it’s human nature, but it still surprised me when my generation, the Boomers, the veterans of the “never trust anyone over 30” message, started spouting this crap about how kids and adults used to get along so well and how idyllic life in the 60s was.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Nicole: I’ve been sick, and yesterday, I lay on the couch watching “Marry Me” on Prime. There was one scene where middle schoolers were in a math competition, and a kid on one team harassed a kid who was struggling for an answer. I wanted the judge to stop things right there and tell the harasser’s coach to get his team in order. Kids shouldn’t have to put up with that kind of thing, not while adults are around anyway. After all, what is the goal here? Learning math, sure. But also learning how to compete without being jerks.
RevRick
My daughter gave me a subscription to Storyworth for Christmas. This involves writing a response to weekly questions that will be collected in book form at the end of the year. Kind of a guided autobiography, which, I suppose, will provide memories for my granddaughter.
I also just started a three-month stint of filling the pulpit at Trinity Great Swamp UCC as they search for a new pastor. And to maintain my standing as an ordained minister, even though I’m retired, I have joined a discussion group, which is currently reading “The Cross in the Midst of Creation”.
This will keep me off the streets.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
So got up early (quitting time was 12am at the Home) to see the B-2 flyover for the Rose Parade, NO B-2 this year but two B-1B’s. I WANT MY MONEY BACK!
I did get some shots with the phone camera since I don’t have a lens for the Sony with any reach beyond 70mm(until next week).
Brachiator
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Problem is, of course, that some Boomers didn’t imagine what life might be like for themselves after age 30.
Crankiness can sneak up on the best of us.
raven
@frosty: Glad it was some help!
Baud
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
The kids today will do the same thing when they are old.
brendancalling
@Phylllis: not sure what area of education you work in, but I go back to the high school tomorrow. I was texting with a colleague yesterday, and told her that the vacation break gave me the time I needed to think—and that I’ve decided to resign when the school year is up. She responded “you too?”
So, from one resignee to another, happy new year and I hope you find (or have found) a great new position!
Brachiator
@Baud:
Ha! Or get out of my olive grove!
WhatsMyNym
That says it all.
brendancalling
@indycat32: aw, leave it alone. They eat deer ticks (which helps prevent lime) and they don’t get rabies, so they can’t hurt you.
OldDave
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Sorry about the B-2, but I think they are not flying at the moment.
Barbara
@Nicole: I say this without reservation: even though my family was dysfunctional as hell, everything around us was set up for the benefit of kids — new public schools, small class size, cheap college tuition, “run around” spaces to play. Maybe the last of these was the most consequential. I’m sorry getting old can be full of hurt and regret for some people but it isn’t any kid’s fault. Go find a school that could use some volunteers.
And I realize that not everyone had the same experience but many people did.
UncleEbeneezer
@Nicole: They are afraid that their kids will form solidarity with marginalized groups and act/vote accordingly. I come from a family of GOP-leaning, Libertarian, BothSides fanatics who considered themselves “Free Thinkers.” Where you were only “free” to think things like: Taxes R Slavery, Government Is the Problem, Don’t Tread On Me, No Restrictions on Guns etc. The thing that would really upset them is when you dared to embrace Liberalism, Feminism, Diversity, etc. You were NOT free to explore that sort of thinking. Heather McGhee’s “The Sum of Us” chronicles the history pretty well. The fact of the matter is that all the anti-woke people simply want tp protect existing hierarchies that keep white, straight, christian, men at the top. Feminism, Anti-Racism, Gender Studies, Science, contextualized history etc., are all threats to the order that they cannot abide.
indycat32
@brendancalling: and if it’s pregnant? Or has possum friends? I’m surprised it came out during the day. If it had stayed nocturnal there would be nothing for it to eat.
UncleEbeneezer
@Brachiator: It’s a convenient argument to justify austerity and denial of any sort of public policies that might help those people (poor, Black, women, LGBTQ people etc.)
stinger
@Phylllis:
Congrats on your upcoming retirement!
frosty
@Jeffro:
Yes, that’s the one, by Parscale. I should reread it and see how well I’m doing. I liked the part about friends, something like “those who make a plan to see their friends stay in touch with around sixty people. Those who don’t may only keep track of thirty-five.”
First reaction: Who has 35 friends????
Second reaction: Get out a piece of paper and pencil and start writing down names. I had 37 from work, about 38 others. Between Zooms, reunions, lunches, and Happy Hours I’ve seen about 40 since I retired. The pandemic threw a real wrench into my plans. I’ve kept up with a core group from work though, which has been a nice surprise.
Brachiator
A few more complaints about young people
And here’s a good one…
Some things never change.
Jeffro
@frosty: very cool, thank you!
J R in WV
@Brachiator:
Sounds like most of my female friends! One applied for a job with the Gas company, and when interviewed was told “We don’t hire women for these outdoor jobs!” Blunt and truthful, led to a discrimination settlement which allowed them to buy their first farm.
Which was 8 creek crossings up a terrible road.
They sold that place to buy a place next door to our farm, best friends for 40+ years. So many of our female friends drink, ride horses astride, swear, etc, etc. Times have changed, eh, wot!?!
WaterGirl
@brendancalling: Leaving the teaching profession? Or leaving that position?
Phylllis
@brendancalling: I’m in K-12 administration–I handle the federal programs. I work in a small, rural, 98% poverty district. Our district has taken a big hit with retirements over the past couple of years, and I hear through the grapevine there will be another wave this year. The teacher shortage is hitting us particularly hard, as there is nothing to draw people to the county
ETA: As for post-retirement plans, hubby and I have several trips already planned. I’ve looked into volunteering with the local hospital system, and several colleagues in other districts have already asked about my coming in for some consulting work.
Layer8Problem
@Baud: “Φύγε από το γρασίδι μου.”
<Golf clap />
Another Scott
@Nicole: There was a great Twitter thread of newspaper stories/opinion pieces about how coddled the youngs are a while back. I posted it here. Needless to say, the griping is as old as time.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Brachiator: I remember learning on a historical tour that Race Street here in Philadelphia got its name from the young 18th-century hoodlums who would race their horses down that street, much to the annoyance of the town elders.
Barbara
@Brachiator: And then there are people like David Bowie, who told an interviewer that being old made him the kind of person he had always wanted to be. Maybe it’s easier when you had great success as a young person. I think most complaints about young people are a form of grieving.
Jeffro
@brendancalling:
@Phylllis:
school divisions in Virginia in all areas (urban, suburban, rural) are getting hit quite hard by the teacher shortage
there’s such a huge gap between what teachers are paid and what other similarly-educated professionals get paid. plus childcare is super-expensive – it’s not really worth it to teach and see most all of your net pay go to your kids’ daycare. plus working conditions are really, really tough.
smart states will ramp up their teacher pay dramatically. really smart states will do that AND advertise online/nationally that they did it.
Another Scott
@Barbara: +1
Maud Muller
Cheers,
Scott.
Bill Arnold
@Kay:
There is an elephant in the room that people are willfully trying to ignore. SARS-CoV-2 infections cause cognitive/brain damage directly (no consensus how, yet), including in at least adults and teenagers, and possibly in younger children. It is possible, for example, that there is a tighter correlation between test score drops and community COVID-19 case rates than with school closure/remote learning and COVID-19 case rates. To be clear, I expect that both have had a large effect on learning, in very different ways.
I expect that most scientists do not want to publish a study even just suggesting this in the discussion section, because they and their families would be attacked.
There’s also a recent study about suicide rates among school-age children dropping during school closures, and resuming to baseline (or above) after reopenings. This is also in opposition to the RW narratives. (I have not closely read said study and so will not vouch for it.)
Miss Bianca
@Barbara:
Wow, that’s a great insight. Copying and keeping for future reference.
Nicole
So many interesting thoughts on kids and education in this thread! I just cannot grasp people’s unwillingness to recognize that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t “better” in the good old days. Like people who insist “well, I got spanked and I turned out fine.” Maybe you didn’t, because you don’t know what “fine” actually looks like. I thought I had handled the assorted traumas of my childhood very well, right up until the point I stopped eating in college (god bless my college offering 15 weeks of free talk therapy to students; I took FULL advantage of that and boy was it helpful).
NotMax
@MattF
Take it you’ve never watched much, if any, of the Dobie Gillis TV series. Filthy rich Mrs. Osborne is partial to, dependent on the circumstance, describing her son, her late husband and/or also deceased father-in-law with precisely that term.
:)
Steeplejack
@Quinerly:
My RWNJ brother posted a picture on Facebook of snow in Prescott. He is hoping to drive back to Las Vegas today.
kalakal
@Barbara:
So very true. Also jealousy
Quinerly
@Steeplejack: heading home to Santa Fe. Sneaking up on Gallup.
Brachiator
@kalakal:
RE: I think most complaints about young people are a form of grieving.
Young people are young and stupid. They are supposed to be young and stupid.
StringOnAStick
We contracted to have $10k of insulation improvements a few months ago, and they are so backed up it won’t happen until the first of March; I had no idea we could be getting a tax credit for it so I’m quite pleased. The scary gas range is going to be replaced by an induction version too, and that is also on the tax credit list. I used to prefer gas cooking until I saw some research on what they do to the indoor air quality if you don’t have a vented hood, and ours sits in the center of the roof structure so it would take a 15′ vent system just to get into the attic.
kalakal
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
It’s a terribly sad story.
If anyone ever inadvertantly set a child up for bullying it was Millais and his grandson. His painting “Bubbles” was incredibly famous as it was used as a soap advert for decades
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbles_(painting)
The subject William James, later Admiral Sir, must have gone through hell as a kid. In the Navy he was known as “Sir Bubbles”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James_(Royal_Navy_officer,_born_1881)
dnfree
@mali muso:
We live in Illinois and put on solar panels in 2021. Got a state credit and a federal credit and paid for the rest. So far we only pay for electricity in December, January, and February. Otherwise there’s a connection fee every month of about $14. ComEd (electric company here) limits the amount of projected solar output for a year to 110% of your average usage for a year, so you can’t add panels beyond that.
A couple of things to consider: 1) condition of your roof (we had a new roof in 2021 because of hail damage); 2) choice of contractor (SunRun in particular I think is questionable because it’s almost like a pyramid scheme, lots of salespeople.
Also, consider length of time you expect to be in your home. We’re older, and have read articles about how buyers don’t want to be obligated to payments, so that’s why we just paid up front. We might or might not ever recoup our cost, so we’re considering any balance as our contribution to the environment.
James E Powell
@lowtechcyclist:
I refuse to accept this. We & everybody who thinks like us need to do what needs to be done.
James E Powell
@brendancalling:
Me too!
CaseyL
@Nicole:
Vitally important points. I’ve noticed an interesting thing about RWers: They keep going on about how good they are to their family and neighbors, and lash out at people who live in urban areas for not having the same kind of close personal network. “Why, we even care about those coloreds down the road, and the two queer fellas across the street!”
It’s a tribalist mentality: only be good to you and yours; everyone else is an enemy.
You can “be good to” members of the Other, as long as they’re in your close personal circle. But not the Others you don’t know personally; in fact, it’s open season on them.
On the urban side, cities change a lot, neighborhoods change a lot, new people always moving in. You have to able to deal gracefully with that, having constant contact with people who are not like you being present in your daily life. Living next door, going to the same schools, public events, grocery stores. People whose affiliations you do NOT know at a glance, whose kids did NOT go to school with your kids, whose parents were NOT in the same fraternity/sorority.
But more important than that: Living in an urban setting means that individuals cannot possibly take care of all the needs of the people also living in the city. Some kind of public infrastructure is an absolute necessity. And after a few generations, urban people internalize that, accept it as normal and desirable, and continue to support it politically.
In the boondocks, that’s simply not the case. There is rarely any social infrastructure (not dependent on, say, a church). People come together and take care of one another because they jolly well have to: there is no one else. And after a few generations, rural people internalize that, accept it as normal, and resent the idea there’s another way.
The Right wants to destroy the social constructs that support cities, because they want to destroy the internalized acceptance of people-not-like-me AND the internalized expectation of public infrastructure that serves everyone, including the not-like-mes. They want everyone to have a rural mindset, even people who don’t live in rural areas.
Kay
@kalakal:
Zoomers are odd ducks though. Over Christmas break we had my youngest and his GF visit for a couple of days. One night they wander into the living room- other people are there, including guests- and start to rearrange the furniture in one part of the room so they have two chairs close together with a table between, talking to each other the whole time (they have to really HAUL the chairs, they’re heavy, so it’s a ruckus) then turn on the tv and watch some weird you tube video. Just like no one else is there. My husband was “what IS that?”
I say that they remind me of friendly dogs with their heads cocked when you give them a direction. Not mean or malicious, just curious and goofy.
kalakal
@Kay: How very odd. I think I’d have echoed your husband. The only zoomers I have real experience are my nephews. They’re very likeable but I think I have novelty value for them as I don’t see them very often living a ocean away as I do
Matt McIrvin
@CaseyL: The religious right wants social infrastructure to be dependent on churches because they like the social control implied by that. One of the main reasons they oppose government social-welfare programs is that they see them as eroding church and family authority by providing alternate means to get help.
RaflW
Going on the road and touting bipartisanship with McConnell is brilliant. Most of the lunatic right now hates McC, viewing him as a squish. Biden is amplifying that schism while at least making a token gesture to the still bipartisan-obsessed pundit-press class. And actually reaching normal voters, who do want solutions, and at least will tell pollsters they prefer some “R” involvement (though that’s not crucial to their approval).
Biden is, as we know, a very smart and experienced pol.