WTF-Beta

there was a warbler singing in our woods early this morning. heavenly sound. like a canary.

@wtg said in Bloomscrolling--what's in bloom where you are?:

What a magnificent tree!

It's a wisteria vine! I love those!

ICE expansion is my biggest concern, too.

with all that oak woodwork the interior is more Craftsman than Prairie, yet the owners put 1940s/50s furniture in there. It is definitely NOT midcentury modern. I think they are confused. Having said that, I love the kitchen, especially the aqua tiled backsplash over the stove.

Lovely house. Just needs more privacy from the neighbors.

so overdone and pretentious. I want a house to be cozy.

@wtg said in A pretty little camp:

That’s a sweet house and I love the property. The stream is to die for.

Propane refrigerator. Interesting!

the camp i was caretaking in Maine years ago had a propane refrigerator and propane wall sconces for lighting. i loved how quiet it was. once you've lived off grid the electric noises in a conventional home can drive you bats.

oh god that is perfect for me. mr pique can visit once a month.

We are binging Younger too. Writing is hilarious. Really well paced. Lots for me to like--NYC, publishing world, hot guys... Great escapist entertainment.

Considering how swiftly things turned around--one minute the House didn't have the votes, the next minute they did--you have to wonder what exactly Trump did or said to twist their arms. It must have been pretty intimidating. He's a mob boss, so maybe they feared for their lives?

The loss of Medicaid funding is getting a lot of press, but what really scares me is the unbelievable infusion of cash into ICE. Our country is becoming unrecognizable. We're becoming a place where people are disappeared because of their political views. I have started asking myself every day if I need to wipe clean my internet presence entirely. And every day, so far, I decide that I am going to keep speaking out no matter what.

Today it was reported that a Mexican immigrant was picked up by local police and ICE in our small town. It was a case of mistaken identity, but then ICE decided they want him anyway. Unbelievably, our mayor--who is himself a Liberian refugee--after he went down to the jail to find out what was going on, told reporters: "What are you going to do? Times have changed." Unreal and infuriating.

There's a local public protest at noon tomorrow. I'm worried that we're going to start having the kind of abductions here in Helena that have been in the news in many other parts of the country.

Why? Just why? The guy they took is a father of four young children, works a steady job, is married to an American citizen.

And how soon until they come after people like me--American citizens who are outspoken about this lawless administration? It seems to me that isn't so far off.

The idea that any of those lands will make anybody a dime on timber is laughable. It's a federal boondoggle and will cost taxpayers a ton. Google my piece "The Mismanagement of the National Forests"

And a gentleman. He interviewed me on his "Listening to America" program after my first Atlantic Monthly piece came out. He was as kind, generous, and thoughtful in person as he appears on screen. And, best makeup job of my life. The Atlantic got mash notes sent for me after that broadcast. I am very sad at this news.

I find it interesting that all the headlines I've seen and heard use the caveat "Trump said." That means news organizations haven't yet independently verified the bombings.

deep breath

Gosh it doesn't seem premature to me at all. I'm not seeing where the levers are to turn this disaster around. I'm going to protests. I'm sharing information. I'm having conversations with my neighbors who voted for Trump. I'm signing up for phone banking to defeat the horrible bill before Congress. I'll continue to do whatever I can. But I'm sorry to report that I'm not seeing how we turn this around.

To me, the handwriting is on the wall. The oligarchs have pulled off their hijack, which has been in the works for 60 years. Read the book "Democracy in Chains". We aren't Houdini.

I fully expect I'm going to have to implement my own Plan B. Not what I want, but to me it ain't lookin' good.

I think my reply made it very clear that I in no way think that only Jews in America are affected. But I can't speak to your experience or anyone else's--only my own. To express mine is not to say yours is invalid.

I'll try to be clearer: I am not saying this woman gets a pass because she is Jewish. I am just explaining how that experience makes me hyper aware of these situations. As your experience makes you very aware also. And I am not saying I would leave the USA because I am Jewish and feel therefore I am more of a target than other people. At the moment, I see no reason to believe that I'm a bigger target than any other ethnic or targeted group. And certainly the queer community is a target. Let's have solidarity on that. I am not comparing risk. I think all of us are at serious risk, except for the very wealthy.

I just didn't take her very public statements the way you did. I took them as something she felt she should do, to warn others, knowing full well not everyone can leave as she did (which she acknowleges). I'm sure if she had advice, suggestions, or help to offer, she would have offered them. Don't you think giving as public a warning as possible about the danger we are in is an important thing to do? Don't you think leaving publicly is a strong and important statment to make that brings attention to what we are facing?

I do.

Not everyone wants to stay and fight. If I had young children, I sure as hell would be turning over every rock to see how I could get them out of here. Don't you think people who can save themselves should do so, even if others can't?

I do.

Also, comparing your experience as gay in America to my experience as a Jew in America is to make what point, exactly? This is not a competition. FWIW, there are many people in my family who are both Jewish AND gay. Many, many kinds of people are at risk right now, not just Jews and gays. I was speaking to my experience as a Jew, and how the culture I was raised in creates a hyper-awareness of this kind of danger. That experience in no way negates or erases yours, which is just as legitimate and real.

Sorry, I can't agree. I think most Americans are still pretty much asleep. I find in myself the desire to look away, and I'm sure most people would rather not face what we are up against. These people do not have a responsibility to provide advice or suggestions. They are sounding a warning, and IMO, that is public service enough.

Even though I would love to be able to just up and move to Canada with a nice job waiting for me, as they did, the fact that I can't does not make me resent them or begrudge them their choices. I think what they did was smart, and I think being very public about it was also a very responsible thing to do. If they had just quietly disappeared it would not raise awareness. Raising awareness is one thing they can do as a public service, so I admire them for that.

They are not required to sacrifice themselves just because not everyone can leave.

I love that windblown and wild English garden type of garden. Especially with lots of roses.

Our tiger lilies are about to bloom. Our yellow rambling roses are about done. The deep purple clematis is making a fine show. Still waiting for my pink antique damask roses to bloom--tons of buds swelling, but no flowers yet. Maybe they need food? We have lots of blue flax blooming, too. I still have so much weeding to finish so I can get my annual seeds in before it is too late. The tomato bed is ready--just have to wait for the winter weather to pass.

We're getting snow above 5,000 ft. Winter storm warning for Glacier National Park. This is why I never plant the tomatoes before the solstice and I'm also glad I haven't yet washed and put away the winter horse blankets.

This morning we have super fresh air from all the heavy rains we've had the past two nights and a brisk, cold wind out of the north. So invigorating! I love getting up early on June mornings like this one and going out to feed. It's so very Montana.

I also have Merlin. It's great! IDed a yellow warbler, a song I didn't recognize, while hiking along the river.

@Jodi said in Hit and Run last night--fine but annoyed:

We have always gone through our insurance, they eventually get the money from the other person’s insurance (if they have it). At least that’s what has happened for us. We got a refund on our deductible several months after the taxicab hit us in Seattle, once they got all the money from the taxicab company.

good to know. if i ever am in this unfortunate position again, I will ask about that. But in my case, since it was very clear who was at fault, I can get reimbursed from the other driver's insurance in way I can't from my own. I'm expecting to get a fairly decent monetary settlement that goes well beyond reimbursement for out of pocket expenses. We'll see...