Well, aren't we happy about the results of the elections yesterday. It wasn't a clean sweep for Democrats but they did extremely well. Americans are weary of and rejecting the extremism and downright meanness of MAGA and the Republican party but according to Marjorie Taylor Green, republicans lost because they weren't extreme enough and republicans are too nice...talk about a disconnect from reality. Now democrats need to build on this momentum for the 2024 elections.
Instead of devoting whole posts to the political malfeasance of the group trying to force minority rule I think I'm going to just insert things as I come across them into ordinary posts. Unless of course I'm particularly inspired. So we'll see how that goes and here's today's item:
Trump and his MAGAts go on about how Biden is destroying this country and yet House republicans have introduced “a bill to cut more than 64% from [the budget for] Amtrak, as well as other significant parts of the country’s passenger rail system. Most of the cuts would come from the heavily traveled northeast corridor, which carries about 800,000 people a day and serves the region that produces about 20% of the country’s gross domestic product...In contrast, President Biden today announced $16.4 billion in railroad investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in the northeast corridor. It will rebuild century-old tunnels and bridges and upgrade tracks, power systems, signals, stations, and other infrastructure, enabling higher speeds on the route and cutting delays.” - from Heather Cox Richardson's newsletter Nov. 6. So once again republicans show how little they care about our infrastructure and the lives of ordinary Americans by devastating the budget for a system that people depend on to get where they need to go safely. They also voted to reduce the Transportation Secretary's pay to $1.
I'll probably put the political item at the bottom in future but I wanted to lead with the election results.
Last weekend I spent more time over at the shop adding to the trash pile and salvaging two metal shelving units that had been in the back storage area against the outside wall where the roof leaks and so they were very dirty and rusty. I sprayed them with Ospho to arrest the rusting and then used all my various leftover cans of spray paint to repaint them. Once I got all four (had already moved two) away from the wall I could access the crates and containers of all the clear textured glass from small pieces
to nearly full sheets plus some colored glass, bevels of all shapes and sizes, and all the glass jewels and lenses leftover from our commission architectural carved glass business. The jewels and lenses will go to a friend in Colorado but all the rest I posted on FB free for the taking. Two women showed up on Monday and between the two of them they hauled everything away plus the big crate and the ball mill and a box of craft use cookie cutters. Woo hoo!
Yesterday I cleared and rearranged the garage to accommodate bringing the plumerias and other tender potted plants in for the winter. Believe me when I tell you all that clear space was filled with recycling, a lawnmower, trimmer, leaf blower, chain saw, heavy extension cord and other boxes of miscellanea.
Seen in the yard...the pink trumpet flower shrubby viney thing has outdone itself this late summer/fall despite the horrid heat and drought of summer.
The mist flower is blooming and slowly spreading.
I happened to notice the pink penta had been chewed to within an inch of its life and further investigation exposed this, the caterpillar of a tersa sphinx moth.
Rummaging through a viney leafy ground cover for fallen pecans I uncovered this beautiful southern leopard frog. It sat motionless...if I don't move she can't see me. Usually this guy leaps away before I even get sight of it.
The monarchs are starting to migrate through.
I saw very few butterflies this summer and so far the mass migration of over 20 different butterflies has not made an appearance like it did last year.
And Cat, totally owning the place.
Aside from loving the election results and Biden funding the ne corridor on which most of my neighbors commute to work, other good news is: coming in here to see a sphinx moth caterpillar and a beautiful frog. Great pictures, thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a funky looking caterpillar! And I was almost too excited to go to sleep last night. Ha!
ReplyDeleteYay sanity, may it please return!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous frog and butterfly. National Geographic eat your heart out.
I was so happy to learn yesterday's election results. Could there be a light at the end of this tunnel? Maybe?
ReplyDeleteAt this point I am grateful for any signs of intelligence from American voters.
ReplyDeleteYou've done good work in clearing-away! I know that must feel so good.
That frog is gorgeous.
So glad there were so many great wins for democracy, and Democrats. OHIO got the constitutional amendment to provide women's choice on abortions! And I'm so glad I read Biden's infrastructure efforts before the crazy House did their's...which probably wont pass in the Senate anyway, I hope. Great to see nature in your garden/yard. Good for you clearing out all that no longer needed stuff! Whew.
ReplyDeleteKat and Kitty look like siblings.
ReplyDeleteYes, the election results were gratifying. Marjorie Taylor Green is another piece of work.
That's quite an interesting amphibian. One I have never seen. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt always seemed to me that the ultimate aim of the Republicans, like that of UK Tories, was to re-create some dimly remembered (and highly selective) Golden Era in their country's history. Where people spoke politely in long sentences, ate soup without slurping and wore clothes that were not allowed to get dirty. But without giving up the advantages of gas-guzzling V8s, the ephemera of bitcoins and the attractions of offshore banking.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble is this Golden Era never existed. What the more piratical GOPS really want is a return to nature red in tooth and claw with fatal confrontations between men wearing stetsons having just drunk bourbon (albeit in a very crude distillation) from the bottle in a bar. Except that these historo-GOPS see themselves as the only guys carrying assault rifles.with the control permanently switched to Continuous.
There is a glimmer of hope it seems. The pollsters are not always right! It’s still a cause for great sadness that in a nation of 330 millions, the choice is between Biden and Trump. Surely the country could have done better.
ReplyDeleteGood job getting so much stuff cleared out! That must feel amazing. I wish we could see the sphinx moth after it pupates!
ReplyDeleteThe Republicans love to punish the (heavily Democratic) Northeast Corridor in any way they can.
MAGATs don't get it, that crap that is coming out of the house will be DOA in the Senate, not to mention a Biden veto. The message from Tuesday night's election results was pretty clear but they are not listening. As you no doubt saw, the House Judiciary Committee is issuing supboenas to Hunter and James Biden in their never ending quest to find something, anything , the just might, maybe, possibly, find something that Joe Biden did when he was a private citizen that they can try to impeach him for. What bullshit!
ReplyDelete"Subpoenas"
ReplyDeleteSeeing as how Gym Jordan set precedent on ignoring subpoenas, I don't know why any of the Bidens would show up. This is just harassment and an attempt to bankrupt Hunter. Victor Shi on twitter posted some astonishingly good numbers on Gen Z turnout to vote. It would be nice if CNN and MSNBC could see their way clear to talking about Biden's wins instead of doing their usual "why this is bad for Biden no matter what it is."
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, I'd forgotten about Ospho. That's exactly what I need to pre-treat a couple of iron plant holders before repainting them. Of course, projects like that are on hold for the time being. I've got the time right now, because it's raining, but it's not painting weather -- because it's raining. I must say, that glass you showed is remarkably pretty. The color is great.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching the Monarch migration for several days now. They're becoming more numerous. Having an 'office' that lets me watch butterflies and dragonflies is the best!