Kos Katalogue: Jewelry and something to put it in, all made with love

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Friday July 12, 2013 · 3:00 PM PDT

2013/07/12 · 15:00

The Kos Katalogue is a wonderful thing. Here are our fellow Kossacks of many and varied artistic and crafty persuasions presenting their works for your eye and your buy, all spread before you in the greatest cornucopia we can bring together as a group.

It's not too early to start holiday shopping, and it's not too early to set aside something special as a birthday gift for someone who has a holiday-time birthday and often gets his or her gifts for the holiday and the birthday combined into one. As someone with a mid-December birthday, I can go through all the ways that this hurts us and pisses us off, but this is not the place for that. This diary is the place for jewelry made by Kossacks.

You're a wonderful person, and so are the people you know. You deserve to celebrate yourself, and one great way to do this is to ornament yourself. This is true whether you are male or female. There are selections herein that aren't just for women. And, of course, there are lots of things for women, too.

Please make sure you hotlist the mothership diary with all Kos Katalogue offerings so you're two short clicks away from delights made by members of our community for each other.

Kitsap River

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Wednesday May 29, 2013 · 5:57 PM PDT

2013/05/29 · 17:57

May 30 am update: I got a call from Amanda (Vetwife) this morning. The goal of $2500 has been not only met, but surpassed significantly; we've raised nearly $3000 for their family, coming in at $2987. You guys are outstanding. She is overjoyed; so many of the things she'd had to go into the hole for, like her own father's funeral and medications no longer being covered, have now been dealt with and they have a degree of breathing room.

I'm going to ask now, if any Kossacks live near her or can get there and cover themselves completely in getting there, staying there, and getting back, I think she could use a hand from time to time, especially now with her coughing her head off from environmental allergies (likely to Corexit dumped by BP). Please send her a Kosmail or email if you can help out.

Thank you, all of you who have helped or will help. You've done a mitzvah!

This is a fundraising diary. If you don't like this kind of diary, please stop reading now. If you choose to comment, please be kind. If you aren't, beware; some of my family have sharp wits and tongues and trolls will not be spared.

Thank you, Republicans. Thank you ever so much for the sequester. Thank you for cutting the amount of money this nation spends on her disabled veterans. Because of it, beloved Kossack Vetwife and her 100% disabled Vietnam veteran husband had to pawn their wedding rings.

Their 23rd anniversary took place May 3. For this anniversary, their fingers were bare. I strongly suspect they couldn't celebrate by doing anything special together. This is not right.

Kitsap River

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Saturday April 20, 2013 · 12:03 PM PDT

2013/04/20 · 12:03

The state of California's legislature has just approved a bill, SB140, which would take $24 million collected by the state's Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) system, a system through which every sale or transfer of a gun in the state must go, and transfer these funds to the state's Department of Justice to accomplish at least a start on clearing the backlog of confiscations of guns which were legally obtained by the gun owner at the time the sale or transfer took place but which are now illegal for that person to have due to a criminal record (30% of said owners), report of mental illness by a qualified professional (30%), having a restraining order against them (20%) or having an outstanding warrant for his or her arrest (quoted by HuffPo as "a small percentage"). Given that that last category was cited as a small percentage, there are obviously other categories of individual who, at this point, own guns illegally. It is expected to take at least three years to clear the backlog. Using twice-weekly sweeps without a warrant, authorities have seized over 10,000 illegal guns in the past five years.

I am interested in getting the community's input on this. Let's have a discussion. Is this a brilliant idea? An abysmal one? A sensible way to get guns away from people who lost the right to own them or a violation of rights? And why?

One thing that does bother me is that a person who cooperates with the sweep is then liable for arrest under suspicion of illegally owning a weapon, which would seem to me to make it less likely that a given person will cooperate. As the sweeps are conducted without warrants, what inducement is there for people to cooperate, and how could this be addressed?

The bill, authored by Senator Mark Leno, returns to the Senate briefly for amendments which are expected to be non-controversial, then heads to Governor Jerry Brown's desk for his signature. If he signs it, the bill takes effect immediately.

Our Living Community Treasures: Sara R and winglion

Kitsap River

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Friday April 12, 2013 · 5:38 PM PDT

2013/04/12 · 17:38

In Japan, top masters of intangible cultural assets such as traditional arts are sometimes designated Living National Treasures. It is a rarely-bestowed honor; since 1955, a mere 97 people in the fields of traditional arts, music and dance have been so designated, and only 92 people in the fields of traditional crafts have been honored. Being designated a Living National Treasure comes with an annual stipend of 2 million yen.

We of Daily Kos are not a nation, but we are a community, and we are fortunate enough to have our own Living Community Treasures. The first of which I am aware is Bill in Portland Maine, who graces the front page five days a week with Cheers & Jeers. For some years now, he has been supported in this by members of the Cheers & Jeers community, who ensure that he has enough to continue making Cheers & Jeers his work.

I propose that we recognize, honor, and support our beloved Community Quilters, Sara R and her sister winglion, as Living Community Treasures as well. I'm swiping peregrine kate's idea of yesterday and continuing the pledge drive for them, striving to get community members to pledge monthly contributions totaling 100 "shares" at $5 per share. We're more than halfway to the goal of $500 per month (though I'd love to see us surpass that), with pledges of $295 per month so far, and we can hopefully meet or, even better, surpass that this evening.

Kitsap River

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Monday March 18, 2013 · 5:00 PM PDT

2013/03/18 · 17:00

Welcome, fellow travelers on the grief journey, and a special welcome to anyone who is new to The Grieving Room. We meet every Monday evening. Whether your loss is recent or many years ago, whether you have lost a person or a pet, or even if the person you are "mourning" is still alive ("pre-grief" can be a very lonely and confusing time) you can come to this diary and process your grief in whatever way works for you. You don't have to respond directly to anything written in the diary: share whatever you need to share. We can't solve each other's problems, but we can be a sounding board and a place of connection.

We are getting tired of needing to post farewell diaries for four-leggeds. This makes the fourth in less than a year. We are, of course, heartsick.

Last May, 2012, Charles and I lost our cat Pest. His brother Tom remained (and remains) alive and well, but without the brother he'd been with since birth, he was desperately lonely. In June, we went to the Humane Society from which we'd adopted the boys, hoping to adopt a pair of kittens, but they didn't have any. Instead, one of their volunteers, on hearing about Tom, recommended that we adopt an adult female cat, not too old, and recommended one cat in particular. That cat was a soft, long-haired gray surrendered by her owner due to the owner's ill health, who is now named Daenerys, Dany (we pronounce it "Danny") for short, and who is currently asleep on our bed.

But there was a near-constant loud meowing coming from one crate out in the main room, and I had to go see what all the hollering was about. A small black puss was yelling her head off, demanding that someone come over and pay her some attention, or at the least, just come over. I decided we needed to see and meet both cats, the black and the grey. We wound up taking both home with us that afternoon. The black one was quickly renamed Vyonne after one of my Dungeons & Dragons characters, a drow assassin.

Kitsap River

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Saturday February 23, 2013 · 3:31 PM PST

2013/02/23 · 15:31

Ever since the day Mitt Romney was filmed saying "Corporations are people, my friend", you've known this was coming. If corporations are people under the law of the land, some Republican legislator or another was bound to work to give them the franchise. That legislator is Montana state representative Steve Lavin (R-Kalispell), and his HB 486 would give any corporation owning land in a particular municipality the right to vote in municipal elections.

The corporation would officially designate one person who could cast a single vote on the corporation's behalf (in addition to his own vote, assuming he is a voter in the municipality) in any municipal election except a school board election.

According to Raw Story, the bill was tabled almost immediately on its introduction and is unlikely to come to a vote, but at least in one state legislator's mind, the idea of corporations being treated just like people (except for being sentenced to death, jailed, breathing, or being limited in political financial influence) is no longer unthinkable.

Bill follows below.

Kitsap River

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Monday February 11, 2013 · 5:00 PM PST

2013/02/11 · 17:00

We've all seen it when we talk about climate chaos, our planet in peril, the Keystone XL Pipeline and the massive carbon bomb that the fossil fools would love to rocket through our aquifers and into our atmosphere: people's eyes glaze over. We talk about 350, Copenhagen, the failed Kyoto protocol, the melting ice sheets, and we can see it when minds shut off and ears close. It's too big for a lot of folks. It's too far away. It's not happening in their back yards.

I'm here to bring it down a little bit, to take the discussion in a micro direction for a monent or two, and say, "Yes, this is in all of our back yards, because here's what's happening in mine". Instead of focusing on the planet as a whole, come with me to a little bit of the planet 300'x600' in size, where my house is.

Let's start with my neighbor who ought not to be awake at this time. For the last week, he's been outside my window every night, singing to me.

Kitsap River

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Sunday January 13, 2013 · 12:24 AM PST

2013/01/13 · 00:24

A developer known as KimberyDeiss produces Android apps to change a user's photo in specific ways, apps which are available free at Google Play. Titles include "Make Me Frankenstein", "Make Me Old", and "Make Me Punk", among others. These aren't the only changes that a user can make to his or her photo, however; there are also apps called "Make Me Indian" (by which they mean Native American, not from the subcontinent of India) and "Make Me Asian". Each of these latter two transforms the user's photograph into one of a man with racist, stereotypical elements: a "Fu Man Chu" mustache, slanted, narrowed eyes, yellow skin (about as jaundiced as I've seen on a kidney patient), and a conical woven straw hat in the case of "Make Me Asian", and a hipster headband, widened nose, feather, and "war paint" under the eyes in the case of "Make Me Indian".

They really are as bad as they sound. Here, see for yourself. The image on the left is the original image, the one in the center is as transformed by "Make Me Asian", and the rightmost is as transformed by "Make Me Indian".

To Amazon's credit, neither of these racist titles is available in their Android app store, nor are any other apps by this developer. The apps are available on Google Play, the largest and the default source for Android apps, on a site called Lisisoft, and on another called Appbrain. Their availability on Google Play is the most troubling, since it is so ubiquitous and installed on all Android devices. Read More

TTFN. Catch you later.

Kitsap River

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Sunday December 16, 2012 · 3:17 AM PST

2012/12/16 · 03:17

There's a huge emotional undertow in this community right now. I can certainly understand why; the events that have taken place recently have affected us all greatly. I don't know that we could call ourselves human if they didn't.

This community is my home, perhaps even as much as the place I've chosen to live is my home. The connections of family and community are very much here for me. But there's something really ugly going on in the overreactions of people on all sides of the gun discussion. I've been told by two different people that my life is worth less than others'. I've seen a comment where the author discussed "putting a gun to the heads" of other Kossacks for standing up for what they deem is an important civil liberty. I've seen posts calling other progressives "gun grabbers" and worse (some have even gone full Godwin); I've seen posts accusing other progressives of using their guns for masturbation. I've seen photos of dead children used for political purposes. I've seen recommendations from quite a few that others' civil rights, especially the 4th Amendment, be taken from them becayse of what they believe. I've even seen what feels like front pagers' demonization of particular brands of guns because the Newtown mass murderer of small children used those particular brands.

Kitsap River

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

Wednesday December 05, 2012 · 5:56 PM PST

2012/12/05 · 17:56

I made a vow long ago: until everyone in Washington state, where we live, had the right to marry the person they loved without regard to the sex or sexes of the couple, I would not refer to a certain person as my husband, only as my partner, and my partner agreed with this as well. This was a solidarity move with my community, the LGBTQ community, as the letter in that acronym that describes me is B. I am an out and proud bisexual woman whose partner is a man.

That certain person is Kossack Charles CurtisStanley. Family and friends, meet my ~~partner~~ husband Charles.

For nine and a half years, since we were handfasted on August 9, 2003, we have kept our vow. For nearly 9 years, since January 31, 2004, we have legally been husband and wife. We have refused to use those terms until our state had full marriage equality.

About 50 minutes ago, Governor Christine Gregoire signed Referendum 74,the referendum that anti-marriage groups got onto the ballot to repeal the law passed by the Leguslature and signed by the Governor that brought marriage equality to Washington. Voters voted to approve the referendum to keep marriage equality the law of the state, or to disapprove to repeal the marriage equality law. The referendum and full equality forces won at the ballot box, and tomorrow, county clerks all over the state will start issuing marriage licenses.

So for the first time on Daily Kos, maybe for the first time anywhere, I'm going to shout it from the rooftop:

CHARLES CURTISSTANLEY IS MY HUSBAND, at long last.

And both of us, husband and wife, send our wishes for a lifetime of married happiness to all the same-sex couples who will start picking up their marriage licenses tomorrow, and to all the opposite-sex couples who waited in solidarity by whatever means.

Selecting a replacement Senator, part 1

Kitsap River

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Tuesday December 04, 2012 · 12:27 PM PST

2012/12/04 · 12:27

Washington state's 26th Legislative District is the singlemost swing district in the state. It's a slightly Republican-leaning district (R+0) in which two of our three state legislators - the state Senator and one of the two state Representatives - are Democratic. Our state Senator just won election to Washington's 6th Congressional District, replacing the retiring Norm Dicks. This diary series will chronicle the process to replace him from the insider's viewpoint of an elected Precinct Committee Officer who will be voting by signed official ballot on the selection of his replacement in the state Senate.

I'm the elected Precinct Committee Officer, the lowest rank of Democratic Party elected official in Washington state, for a precinct in south Kitsap County, half of Washington's 26th Legislative District (LD), the most swing district in the state. The state is entirely vote-by-mail, and elections aren't certified as final this year until December 6, two days from now. Since our current state Senator, Derek Kilmer, won his bid to be elected to the US House of Representatives from Washington's 6th Congressional Distrct last month to replace retiring longterm Congressman Norm Dicks, he is widely expected to resign his seat on the 6th or shortly thereafter.

When a sitting legislator or elected government official at any level resigns his or her seat or otherwise cannot serve the remainder of his or her term, there is a defined process to replace that person. If more than a short period of time will pass before the term expires, there will, at some point, be a special election, but before that happens, a person will be appointed to fill that seat. In this series, I propose to present an inside view of the process as it occurs.

Kitsap River

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Tuesday November 20, 2012 · 5:37 PM PST

2012/11/20 · 17:37

For the third time in six months, we have had to help a beloved four-legged walk on and cross the Rainbow Bridge. First, in May, it was our cat Huck, more frequently known as Pest, to cancer. Then in July, it was Raven's brother Quinn, again to cancer. Now, today, it was Raven, our beloved puppy (always a pup, even at 7 1/2), and it may have been - probably was - cancer yet again, this time either a stroke or a brain tumor that took our girl from us but left her body behind, still going through the motions but with no dog home.

Warning: this will be pic-heavy.

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Kos Katalogue: Jewelry and something to put it in, all made with love

Major Update: Over $3000 Raised! No One Should Have To Pawn Their Wedding Rings, especially Vetwife.

CA leg. passes bill approving $24 million to confiscate illegally-owned guns

Our Living Community Treasures: Sara R and winglion

The Grieving Room--Vyonne, my little purring puss: a farewell

Montana State Rep. Introduces Bill Giving Corporations a Vote

The Frog in the Boiling Water is Singing Outside My Window - Climate Change in a Microcosm

Instant racism for your Android device

TTFN. Catch you later.

Esteemed fellow Kossacks, meet my HUSBAND.

Selecting a replacement Senator, part 1

Fly free, Raven