Saying goodbye -- for now: good news update

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Friday March 29, 2013 · 9:12 AM PDT

2013/03/29 · 09:12

Willson Fancy Dancing Bear was born, son of Spirit, in my bed on December 9, 1998. He was one of seven pups who declared early on that he wanted to be my dog by leaving his litter mates to lie by my feet. I think he might have been the returning soul of my cat, Cream Puff who had gotten me to keep him rather than his litter mates in precisely the same way. The color of the two was the same, and there was also a strange love of blueberry muffins that they shared. Bear's mother was a Siberian Husky/Shepherd mix and his father, Max, a roving dog about town, was Siberian Husky/Tervurian as best I can tell. Bear looks like a small, more refined Leonberger.

Yes, I write in present tense as Bear is still with me but I fear, not for long. We have an appointment with his Veterinarian this afternoon and the vet will tell me if any medication will give Bear some more good days or if it is time to help him leave his failing body. Today, he struggles terribly to walk and holds his head slightly to one side. He is still responsive and interested in what is going on around him and followed me into the kitchen when I went to make myself some breakfast. I held him up to keep him from falling as we made it back to my bedroom. He's lying on the floor beside me as I write this.

SusanL143

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Friday December 14, 2012 · 2:22 PM PST

2012/12/14 · 14:22

Here is a website that shows the particulars of your state's gun laws. If you are planning to talk to legislators about gun control in your state, looking at specifics here is a very good place to start.
It is set to show my state, New Hampshire's gun law score but it is easy enough to switch to see the laws where you live. Here is the site:

http://www.bradycampaign.org/...

If you look at the national map on the site, you'll see that both Connecticut and New Jersey, home of the shooter -- the states involved in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. This shows why we need national gun laws as a tough gun law in one state doesn't mean much if you can go to a state like my home state of NH and buy as many guns of any type you want without any restrictions whatsoever.

SusanL143

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Monday August 06, 2012 · 6:32 AM PDT

2012/08/06 · 06:32

I've been asked to give the main speech this Thursday at an Obama for America house party in New Ipswich, NH -- the most heavily GOP area in the State. I expect an audience to include both Democratic faithful, undecideds, and Tea Party fanatics (is that redundant?) I thought putting together this speech would be easy. Yet, when I settled down to order my thoughts for the speech, I find myself at sea. Ive too much to say, especially considering my need to deal with the diversity of listeners, to fit into the 10 minutes more or less I think I can talk without losing my audience. I do have some ideas but they've yet to jell. Tell me what you'd say if you had this chance or at least what you think I shouldn't leave out. What would you say?

SusanL143

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Monday December 13, 2010 · 8:30 AM PST

2010/12/13 · 08:30

Those who love the Tea Party philosophy have taken over the state government of NH. We still have a Democratic (sort of) governor but he is rendered almost powerless by the veto-proof majority of new incoming Republicans. Those GOP majority members have the Executive Council also. The EC in NH has approval power over every appointment by the Governor and every budget item. Anything these folks want to do, they can do with no one to stop them.

And what they want to do is totally frightening. Bills filed already on gencourt.state.nh.us/ns/ indicate they want to reject all Federal funding for health care, schools, Medicaid, etc. by rejecting any need to follow Federal regulations. They want to eliminate state aid to schools and hand out education vouchers rather than turn over tax money to public schools. Overturning equal marriage rights is a given. They also want to end any programs that work towards energy conservation or clean air. Before I go into more of the horror of these bills and the consequences to those who live here, I'd like to talk for a bit about how this happened. More over the fold --

SusanL143

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Thursday December 09, 2010 · 10:45 AM PST

2010/12/09 · 10:45

From Democracy for America:

From CNN only hours ago:

Defying President Obama, House Democrats voted Thursday not to bring up the tax package that he negotiated with Republicans in its current form.

"This message today is very simple: That in the form that it was negotiated, it is not acceptable to the House Democratic caucus. It's as simple as that," said Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen.

Following the non-binding vote of the Democratic Caucus, Reuters newswire just reported this breaking news:

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not bring President Barack Obama's current proposed tax plan up for a vote in her chamber, an aide said on Thursday.

The aide said Pelosi would require changes be made to the measure that most of her fellow House Democrats formally opposed by approving a resolution of opposition to it. The aide said: "She (Pelosi) will honor the resolution."

Poll

62 votes Show Results

The decision today to not go along with "the deal" makes me

62 votes Vote Now!

The decision today to not go along with "the deal" makes me

Relieved

42 votes

Angry

6 votes

Worried

8 votes

Confused

1 vote

Pieless

5 votes

Obama Needs a New Priority

SusanL143

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday November 12, 2010 · 8:19 AM PST

2010/11/12 · 08:19

Jed Lewison, in his front page Kos story this morning brought this to my attention:

President Obama, this morning:
"My number-one priority is making sure that we make the middle-class tax cuts permanent, that we give certainty to the 98 percent of Americans who are affected by those tax breaks," Obama said.

If this is Obama's actual priority, I am dismayed. It means that the same endless obstruction by the GOP and the Blue Dogs that prevented the ending of the tax cuts for the rich being passed before the election will now continue on into the seating of the new Congress.

Obama needs to change his number one priority to ending the tax cuts for the rich.

Update: I noticed, after I posted this diary that there is a diary on the recommended list that speaks to the issue of why letting all tax cuts expire is a good thing. My diary does overlap with that excellent diary but my emphasis on wishing Obama to rethink his priority does offer something in addition to that diarist's thoughts.
More over the fold

Poll

21 votes Show Results

Should we end all existing temporary tax cuts?

21 votes Vote Now!

Should we end all existing temporary tax cuts?

Hell yes. I don't pay taxes anyway since I lost my job or retired

2 votes

Heck no. I need that money to keep from going under

3 votes

F**k no. I'm wealthy and I need that money to get a new jet

2 votes

Yes. I'll never end up paying more and I'm tired of the rich getting richer

8 votes

No. The rich deserve to be richer

1 vote

Yes. It just makes good sense.

5 votes

Plum pie with cream

0 votes

Apple pie

0 votes

Bill Clinton asked me to tell you this

SusanL143

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Monday November 01, 2010 · 9:40 AM PDT

2010/11/01 · 09:40

I went to see Bill Clinton speak at the Community College in Nashua, NH yesterday. He still has all of his old magic. He spoke for an hour, without notes, and gave a devastating analysis of the Republican race in NH and then the nation. He says that the difference between the parties comes down to facts and ideas. The GOP misrepresents the facts and their ideas are ideas that don't work.

He also asked everyone in the audience to get this word out to everyone who goes to college. I think it includes all the parents who have kids in school and voters who contemplate returning to school. The word is that under the GOP plan for the nation college tuition will be raised by an average of 20% immediately. Another part of the GOP plan is to repeal the Obama protections for students in the student loan program.

More of what students need to know over the fold, plus the secret the GOP doesn't want you to know about bank bailouts.

SusanL143

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Thursday September 23, 2010 · 9:11 AM PDT

2010/09/23 · 09:11

I was at the Hillsborough, NH County Fair on September 12. I was there to work in the Hillsborough County Democrats booth at the fair and ask for some votes as I was running for County Register of Deeds with a primary to take place in two days. When the crowds would thin (often, as this was a small fair) I'd walk through the building, asking others in other booths for their votes as I would then continue on to watch events at the Fair. At one booth, selling homemade wood and wrought iron objects, the large man told me,

I don't vote for Democrats -- I'm a Baptist.

Why?

I asked.

Democrats are in favor of two mortal sins. They want legal abortion and they support gays getting married. Both those positions make it a sin to vote for a Democrat

Maybe I should have just walked away. For certain, I knew I wasn't going to get this person's vote. But I just couldn't resist responding.

My response and the discussion continues over the fold.

SusanL143

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Sunday July 04, 2010 · 5:37 PM PDT

2010/07/04 · 17:37

I really didn't want to go today. It was supposed to be in the 90s, which is extremely hot for our corner of New Hampshire. The parade was in Amherst, NH and I had told the Hodes for Senate Campaign that I would march with them a few days ago. Well, the definition of integrity in my book is doing what you said you would do even though your feelings have changed since you said it. So I went.

Poll

31 votes Show Results

What did you do for the Fourth?

31 votes Vote Now!

What did you do for the Fourth?

Went to a parade

1 vote

Marched in a parade

3 votes

Went to a bar-b-que

2 votes

Stayed home

14 votes

Watched fireworks

6 votes

Shot off fireworks

0 votes

Watched TV

2 votes

Slept

1 vote

Went to work as usual

1 vote

Ate pie

1 vote

Breaking: No news about Teabaggers

SusanL143

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 22, 2010 · 10:15 AM PDT

2010/03/22 · 10:15

The mass media today carried headlines about passing Healthcare reform and its implications on people in various health care situations. Despite efforts by Teabaggers to capture the spin and headlines, they were virtually ignored in every media outlet. Tea Party leaders were dazed and confused by this lack of news. "But. But. But. The Mass media has always reported every breath we took and every word we screamed,"

SusanL143

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 08, 2010 · 11:22 AM PST

2010/03/08 · 11:22

If it passes, it will be a mess

seems to be a new catch praise among those opposing health care reform.
What bothers me the most is that those whom I heard say it aren't Republicans but Independents who should know better. Only last night, I heard it said once again to me, this time by an old farmer who had kindly offered to advise me on raising chicks from the hatchery. The other person who said it was a young, newlywed paramedic whose mother-in-law is a friend of mine and who is practically a poster person for the need for health care reform. All statements that health care is already a mess and fixing it won't make things worse but better fall off them like water off a duck's back.

Poll

80 votes Show Results

If HCR was modified the way we wanted, we'd want

80 votes Vote Now!

If HCR was modified the way we wanted, we'd want

Medicare buy-in for all

51 votes

Gradual introduction of increasing those who could buy in to Medicare

9 votes

Public Option as a separate agency from Medicare

6 votes

Just pass the Senate Bill now and lets get on with it and fix it later

6 votes

Pie in the face for the health care lobbyists at the Ritz

8 votes

Bush was better than Obama

SusanL143

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday January 22, 2010 · 11:15 AM PST

2010/01/22 · 11:15

Before you throw donuts at my head, I don't mean morally or philosophically. I mean he did a better job getting his programs through Congress than Obama has. The Republicans never -- I mean never -- had the majority that the Democrats presently have, even with Brown now winning a GOP Senate seat in Massachusetts. They still rammed through law after law and appointment after appointment proposed by Bush through Congress and into national policy, disastrous policy although it proved to be. So what is the problem here. Why is Obama a toothless tiger compared to Bush? I think the answer lies in the selection of Rahm Emmanuel as Whitehouse Chief of Staff.

Poll

129 votes Show Results

How do we get back on track

129 votes Vote Now!

How do we get back on track

Retire Rahm Emmanuel

23 votes

Emmanuel has done an excellent job -- keep him

8 votes

Put Dean back in charge of the Democratic National Committee

31 votes

Give Dean the job of Chief of Staff

30 votes

We never got off track

8 votes

Massachusetts results had nothing to do with what is happening in DC

4 votes

Massachusetts results had a great deal to do with DC

8 votes

Isn't part of party leadership's job to see that we run strong candidates?

4 votes

Pie with nuts.

13 votes

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Saying goodbye -- for now: good news update

Gun laws, my state and yours

What Would You Say for Obama?

Don't Let This Happen to You

House decides to not vote on Tax deal.

Obama Needs a New Priority

Bill Clinton asked me to tell you this

"I don't vote for Democrats -- I'm a Baptist"

Parading on the 4th of July

Breaking: No news about Teabaggers

If it passes, it will be a mess

Bush was better than Obama