aubie_ocean

Well...last post was me just joining in on the whole show that is happening in states...

Other than that hope everyone's week has been going well!

Ekua

Thank you for the new thread

Inaguration day....excited, nervous....and relieved. For the world, human rights, and for simple decency. And how sad Trump is breaking an 100 or so year old tradition by not welcomning Joe and Jill to the White House. Disgraceful. I remember watching the Obama's and how wondeful they were welcoming Trump and how hard that must have been after all the digusting things Trump said about them, but they did it with dignity and grace. Trump said they were 'marvellous' during his speech - I think that's the only truth he's spoken in 4 years.

It'll take years to undo all the damage though, - but guess it's a step forward! And how wonderful for Kamala Harris - the first female, Black, South Asian American vice president. Wonderful for little girls and boys to aspire to and realise they can achieve their dreams.

Hating online teaching It's so hard to keep it fun for the wee ones. And I get so frustrated with parents helping too much - spelling words etc. I can hear them in the lesson! I keep asking them to stop, saying what they are doing is actually detrimental to their childs development etc....but still, i'm getting perfect writing back with sounds the kids haven't even learned yet!

aubie_ocean

I watched the inauguration and was just so happy to be part of a historical moment again!

I still remember when Obama was first sworn in and saying...omg this is historical, and now to see the first female, Black, South Asian American vice president be sworn in, it gave me goosebumps!!!

Aww poor Ekua, it sounds like the parents also want to impress you with what THEY might know? Like it's more for them, than for the kids?

Ekua

I know me too!! It was very late here (I am 12 hours ahead!) but I watched until just after Biden and Harris were inagurated. How amazing was Lady Gaga? Her voice is so powerful! And I loved J-LO saying 'liberty and justice for all' in Spanish!! John Legend was also incredible! And I loved Garth Brooks. And Amanda Gorman. Her poem was so powerful. And the Foo Fighters, Springsteen...it was wonderfully done given the cirumstances. And Tom Hanks!

It was just so lovely to hear a President give a speech that wasn't about attacking anyone, wasn't being raciat, xenophobic etc etc but actually speaking in proper sentences and sounding eloqent and like a leader.

And Harris. Amazing. After 4 years of old white men it's refreshing to see diversity. And so very much needed.

My friends and I were having dinner together, and we watched Trump leave. Again - no one wearing masks, when he was spewing his goodbye lies to his supporters, no social distancing, masks...but at the inaguration everyone was. Why has it become so political? So disturbing! What's worse he's expressed no sympathy for the 400,000 dead from covid. Not once. And taken no responsibility for the absolute disaster of a response by his administration.

Yes Aubie it's so frustrating. I know they're just trying to help, but it's doing the opposite. We have sent a video explaining and we are having an online workshop with them, so hopefully that will help.

I have just found out I need root canal treatment and I am so scared!!

aubie_ocean

The whole thing was just done so classy and entertaining it was great!

Oh no a root canal?? Ouch!!!

I have my sister's cat this weekend. My poor brother had to put his cat down the other day. So sad i can't even be with him to just keep him company. I hate this virus!!!

podmom

Ugg root canal.. it doesn't hurt Ekua it is just a long time with your mouth open

I hope you don't have to do the online school much longer!

I kind of feel like I do online school ( kinda) when I face Time with Margot. We spend from 1/2 hr or more and I show her toys....play with them...read books...play hide and seek with stuffed animals...oh I can't even explain but it takes a lot of energy and creative stuff to keep a 2 1/2 year old engaged on the phone. I would so much rather be with her in person but it is better then nothing and it is a help to Emily for a bit of the day.

SO we had a covid scare. Liz and family decided to go to Turks n Caicos and take advantage of 70% off all inclusive at Beaches. All but Grace had to get a covid test. I was there for 3 days helping with the kids while Liz was getting ready as well as home schooling. So this past Wednesday she got her result and it was positive! They /we are so so careful it was a shock. SO I had to leave ( decided to come to Ocean City in case I might have gotten it so as not to infect podad…. I'm still in OC) Liz went right out and got another test....no one else tested positive. This all happened the same time the CDC came out saying many testing sites have the threshold too sensitive 35 instead of 40...now they announce this ( I've been reading about that for months) anyway second test negative and after serious deliberation they left today. Hopefully they stay covid free and test negative in a few days because they can't leave if they test positive. I am going back to PA tomorrow and I'll get a test Monday to make sure I'm ok because I was to see Emily and Margot this week but we need to be ultra sure I am not exposed since she is pregnant. As we all are I'm so sick of this virus!

Ekua

I am so nervous Podmom! Thank you....I hope it's not too awful...I just hate the noise, the drilling....ugh!!

I hope we are back in school in the next week or so; everything else is open so I don't see how they can justify it....

Aw Aubie i'm sorry So sad.

podmom

Unless you search for news you won’t see this .....Biden’s halting of the natural gas pipeline between Canada and the US is not popular with many people and especially with native Americans and the Canadian prime minister as well as many Canadians. You can search that it is all over the news about the Canadian Prime Minister but not about the Native Americans. Here is a letter from the Ute Nation to the present secretary of the interior....this you have to search hard for because much news that is not popular doesn’t make it easy to find .


Created: 22 January 2021

Tribal members from the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation came out yesterday opposed to the Biden Administration's 60-day leasing and permitting ban. The letter below was sent to acting Secretary of the Interior, Scott de la Vega.

Dear Acting Secretary de la Vega,

The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation respectfully requests that you immediately amend Order No. 3395 to provide an exception for energy permits and approvals on Indian lands. The Ute Indian Tribe and other energy producing tribes rely on energy development to fund our governments and provide services to our members.

Your order is a direct attack on our economy, sovereignty, and our right to self-determination. Indian lands are not federal public lands. Any action on our lands and interests can only be taken after effective tribal consultation.

Order No. 3395 violates the United States treaty and trust responsibilities to the Ute Indian Tribe and violates important principles of tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Your order was also issued in violation our government-to-government relationship, Executive Order No. 13175 on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, and Interior’s own Policy on Consultation with Tribal Governments.

The Order must be withdrawn or amended to comply with Federal law and policies. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Luke Duncan, Chairman

Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee


Since it is obviously ok here to state one’s opinions about ones views on political things I have views myself ( and forgive me I am breaking a giant rule that I have for myself to not bring politics to the happy place where we escape the real world a little )but I’m very disturbed about this pipeline decision ... This is not my opinion on the personality of a politician but on policy that affects the daily lives of the Americans people. This pipeline policy is one that I and many people view with deep concern. ( one of Biden’s executive orders is to cancel the continuation of the building of the natural gas pipeline between Canada and the US in case you don’t know what I am referring to ).If you think it will help the environment think again. Now gas and oil will be moved on trucks and put on railroads. This is a much larger carbon footprint than the pipeline which has no carbon footprint ( which has been proven by studies done by the government to have no negative impact on the environment) and is more dangerous to local populations as the trucks and trains pass through small cities and communities where accidents have and will happen. Tens of thousands of jobs were lost in a day when that bill was signed. When Biden was campaigning he said he would t do this , he wanted the union members votes. The price of gasoline for cars and heating homes will rise significantly which hurts the poor not the rich they can afford it. To me it is virtue signaling and pandering to the base that harms and does no good.

I am posting this afraid to upset people. But there’s so much going on that I think is harmful and this one is easy to explain and defend. So I hope it will be read with an open mind. As I’ve said many times on FF I don’t trust politicians ... I think power corrupts and I am deeply concerned for my country so please forgive me for this intrusion into lala land but upon all the reading I’ve done here of the universal approval of the new political party in control I felt a need to show that nothing is perfect and the duty of the Press is to report on those in power fairly and keep the reins of power from exercising control in the dark. Trumps ego was so giant and throbbing that he couldn’t shut up so he was constantly blathering to the press and the press hated him so much that they were constantly reporting on every nuance of every decision or blather that he did and the vast majority of the coverage was negative. I saw a very different tone through the campaign on Biden and now as the new president is in office. As I’ve stated before the press is now either left or right and not neutral in my opinion. One has to really try to find plain reporting without opinion. To me that’s the most disturbing thing besides the power of Twitter Facebook and Google that is happening. The division in America is now so volatile and strident that I am afraid for freedom and democracy. For moderates like me who can see validity of differing views from both sides of the political spectrum there is a no man’s land. It’s a lonely place.

Ekua

This has been all over the major news networks; I don’t think you need to search for it. And just because I support a particular party doesn’t mean I agree with every decision. Definitely not

However, there are Native Americans and organisations happy it’s being postponed. They have been fighting to stop it for years. That is just as valid as those wanting it to happen. You only posted one side of the argument There’s equal support on both sides. It’s a grey area. And not one I have a strong opinion on as I’ve not researched it enough.

Trump was hated for a reason. Our First Minister has stated he is not welcome in Scotland...I support that. His lies, hatred and incitement of violence caused the divide.

I can’t sleep as I am so nervous about my root canal treatment tomorrow (I know I’m being a wuss and a bit ridiculous but I absolutely hate the dentist. The noise!!! And I think I have an infected spider bite on my knee - gross!)

Other than that I had a lovely weekend exploring China Town here in Bangkok. Such a cool place. We stayed in a 1930’s style hotel which was beautiful....except for the long corridors which reminded me of The Shining! We went on an electric scooter tour. Lots of fun!

How was everyone’s weekend?

podmom

Ekua I was petrified to get my cataracts done and the anticipation was way worse then the actual procedure. It will be in the past soon and that will be a happy day

Regarding giving both sides of the spectrum I didn't think the other side needed much support here

I know the Dakota part ( the Dakota pipeline) of pipeline had a lot of news some time ago with Native Americans protesting it big time and for months. I am not sure about the other Native Americans views in the other states. I'll check into that.

We can set an example of calm communication here of hot button issues ….well this probably isn't super hot button but it is calm

podmom

just spent a lot of time searching Google..... I searched pg after pg and did see lots of articles about Native Americans and some Canada tribes protesting the pipeline and a few new ones where the Native Americans support this move by Biden but I couldn't find a single article ...not even that letter I posted. Got me interested to have a little experiment about the Google algorithms. I've read a lot about that recently and a few years ago an in depth really scary article about that in The Atlantic magazine which is a very left wing magazine BTW just so you know I really like to get all points of view . So it was good for me to be reminded how deeply upset many Native Americans were/are upset about this issue so thanks Ekua for setting me on this search

Anyway so I used duckduckgo for the first time to see if I got any different results. On pg one there were some of the same articles I read on Google but also on pg one was this article https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...-xl-pipeline-/

Washington Times is more conservative then NYTs but it is one of the top few papers in the country. Not represented one time on Google come to think of it neither was The Wall Street Journal which I would imagine have written something on this issue over these many years. I'm sure you have a point of view on Big Tech Ekua at this moment in time Big tech seems to support left agenda but I think everyone should be concerned to have so much power in so few peoples hands.

SO I need to pack up and leave and I'm tired of all this reality

Ekua

Hmm Podmom it's funny that you've been silent on the many awful policies of the Trump administration, but only a few days into a new one you come out guns firing!



Thank you....it needs to be done but still...i'm a wee scardey cat!

aubie_ocean

Such a lousy month for cats. Just found out my friend had to put her cat down this weekend too.

I know not many cat lovers here, but yeah, just too sad.

They were both so cute. My brother's cat had a extra toe, so his paws were so cute and his face looked like a teddy bear, oddly enough.

And my friend's cat...we almost lost him one year and remember having to search for him all over Toronto only to find him hiding under a box beside their front door!

MyrnaLynne

Losing a pet - dog or cat - is always very sad. Sorry about the cats Aubie. My son recently lost his dog very suddenly - and his wife rushed out and got a tiny poodle puppy! He has his hands full now! But his heart is happier.

Mr ML always gets SUPER worried about dental or medical stuff, and then afterwards he said "Why was I so worried; it's over already." I hope that will be your experience Ekua. I don't think they do a root canal unless the tooth is already dead, so it shouldn't be too bad (easy for me to say!) HUGS! LOL about the hotel being like 'The Shining' - that would be spooky!

I thought the argument against pipelines is - they always leak (like flat roofs on houses) so there is the environmental danger. But yes, we need oil and gas to run US (and Canada) too. I didn't know the business ate the Utes and their gas/oil business. I think with that new Native American person in the government, she will be looking out for fair treatment for all the tribes (I hope).

I thought the whole Inauguration business was lovely and tasteful and a lot of fun, and it's such a relief to know serious people are getting to work at the business of governing, who actually have a clue what they are doing, and aren't trying to turn it into a 'profitable business' or an oligarchy, but rather a well/smoothly run democratic country. Four years of Trump was like putting a 5-year-old behind the wheel! Scary and a very bad idea.

You are going great remote grandma stuff Podmom and that COVID scare was.. scary. I can't believe they took off to Turks and Caicos (traveling during the pandemic, I mean) but I hope they have a wonderful time there and stay safe. We're still afraid to eat in a restaurant, although we grocery shop (in masks) while my brother in CA orders the food and has it put in the trunk/avoids going into the store at all.

I'm worried about the new COVID mutations - the UK one, the S. African one, and one in ?Brazil - sigh. It's all just so complicated! Hoping we can get the vaccine shots sooner than later, but things aren't going to settle down (back to no masks, back to crowds) for a very long time, I think. It is a pity this medical issue was so politicized and people have so many crazy ideas (don't get me started on the QAnon nutjobs).

Ekua

Very much agree with you MyrnaLynne! regarding the inaguration and other stuff. The young woman who read the poem was amazing. Such a talent. And so nice to see the little clip with Obama, Bush and Clinton. I remember in Michelle Obama's book (and Barack's new one) she talked about how kind and wonderful the Bush's were during the transition, and the Bush daughters took charge of the Obama girls even though they were so much younger than them. So sad that didn't happen this time.

And you were right about the root canal! The dentist was so lovely and really helped me relax. It wasn't painful at all (only thing it's going to hurt is my bank balance! ), just a little uncomfortable. I just hate the drilling noise!!

So sad about the cats Aubie

The virus is spreading because people are still travelling. Borders need to be closed for a month or so and things will get better....until then not much will change.