Same to you!

I wish I could think of someone today who might run 4 president &be able to unite disparate groups in the way FDR did,minus the "foreign-market oriented corporations," who r, imo, incapable of thinking about any interests except their own bottom line.Only 1 I can think of is Mamdani & he can't run.

I have always focused on the benefits that came out of the New Deal & either never knew or have forgotten how much hatred & violence it produced among those who hated the idea of equal opportunity, but reading about it makes me hopeful we might get out of this horror show b/c we've been here before.

Greg Grandin's book America, América compares Northern&Southern hemispheres when it comes to human rights suggesting that greed&racism motivated the founding fathers more in the North.But FDR was an exception and the greedy and racist tried to defeat him by accusing him of communism. Sound Familiar?

If you're interested in dogs and/or art,take a look at Thomas Laquer's The Dog's Gaze. It's just delightful--and who couldn't use a little delight these days--not so much 4 the interpretations but 2 understand the many different ways artists have used dogs to evoke different responses in the viewer.

And I speak from experience.

Mine too.

If you see this, post a bird.

Greg Grandin's America,América makes fascinating but depressing reading.Mean spirited racism and hatred of otherness continuously steered U.S. history.Even Lincoln wanted to ship Black people to another country!But Latin America consistently gave birth to figures who dreamed of wiping out racism.

Reading about two poets who were highly political, Thomas McGrath and George Starbuck and wondering where our poets of war are, not just the literal war, but the figurative one we are caught up in. Is anyone except Springsteen writing to take a stand these days? This one's from Starbuck on Vietnam.

Posting this-2/8/26 Yahoo news-b/c 30 yrs ago my mom didn't get to the hospital on time b/c my dad insisted pain in her back couldn't be a heart attack.Well,if u are a woman,it very well could.This has been known for maybe 40 yrs but the pain in the chest or arm, the male model, is the one promoted.

A Billy Collins poem to momentarily bring some cheer to those of us worried sick about what will happen next. I think you don't have to be dog lover to enjoy it, although I don't understand how anyone could NOT be a dog lover. @anodynesix.bsky.social For Cassie

A poem I happened to find by chance while I was cleaning out my files. Seems to me it applies to all of us right now, not just to desperate mother cats trying to save those they love from danger.

You won't regret it. Benny and Polly wish you all the best.

I thought this was a fitting reply, given the truth of your post.

Same to you in return.

The only thing better than living with one cat is living with two (although I'm also of the opinion that a dog or two is a huge help when it comes to surviving in the miserable world of today)

I don't agree and I think the jury's judgement will not stand upon appeal. I understand that is not your opinion.I hate to use AI but this is still the way to list what the different bases for appeal are.You may prove right, but there are. reasons why you may not.We'll see what happens upon appeal.

We have 2 new kittens too & a dog just learning to live with them. The photo makes them look angelic but they are the worst behaved cats we have ever had.They race through the kitchen and leap on the counters like its Cat Olympics time. Love the picture of your dog cozying up to the new kitten.

New Haven Connecticut today, crowd is triple, maybe quadruple the size of previous demonstrations

While I was trying to clean out some of my files, I came across this Ferlinghetti poem. It was written in 2007, when people like me thought that George W Bush was the worst thing that could happen to the country. But it's even more apt now than it was when it was written.

Two new arrivals in our household. A wonderful addition in a time when every happy moment counts double because the world is so awful. Photo epitomizes their personalities. He embraces the world without fear; she is always wondering if there is a cabinet nearby to hide in if danger lurks.

Google is telling me this is a cast off Cicada skin. I have never ever seen one of these in Connecticut. That's all I need a Cicada plague. Are they showing up anywhere else that is unusual?

The need to assert one's individuality through not wearing a mask is pathetic.Your comment reminds me of Whitman's,"I Think I Could Turn and Live with Animals."You probably know it, but I'm posting the lines I like for the pleasure of re-reading them, except for the last 2 lines, which I don't get.

The whole essay is excellent but this paragraph, in particular. nails why Gaza is the death knell for the West's claim to moral authority.

In these terrible days, I think about this quote from Lillian Hellman & I'm telling myself I refuse to be one of those who stand & watch, but each new onslaught ratchets up my fear of retribution.Anyone have tips for what they do when they hesitate about signing a petition, going to a protest, etc.?

The author really nails it.The text describes how centrist Democrats have rallied again the election of Mamdani instead of endorsing him.

Why do so many lifelong Democrats not seem to know what havoc Clinton wrought, from gutting welfare, expanding the prison population,paving the way for the deportations of today, and promoting the weakening of mortgage requirements that was the stimulus for the 2008 crash. It infuriates me. (Vox)

I am going to put this aside to read on a day when things are looking a little better because I know it will make me start balling.But thanks for posting.I hope you can get a dog soon. It won't be Kirby, but it will make the world a little brighter. I'd be nuts if I didn't have Alma to calm me down.

Great, so you have 2 now, right. I wish I could have 2,but the one I have makes my husband's life miserable barking at him when he gets near her turf on the 2nd floor,I don't dare mention it.This is her in the heat wave of two days ago. I've tried to instill her with a sense of decorum but no dice.