Signal Wave

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Well. Apparently all of the photos I take with my cell phone are too large to upload here. That seems odd, but what do I know about the wonderful world of cell phone technology? (Very little).

I wanted to focus on life this week, since I had to focus on death last week. We put in our garden, and I would have liked to share the photos with all of you. Maybe I'll figure it out later and put it into another OT.

We have put in tomatoes (cherries, because slicers are hard to grow in FL), herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, but no thyme--instead we have a couple types of basil), Okinawa spinach (a new one for me), a couple of kinds of squash (zukes in particular, as we're going to make zucchini noodles out of them!), lemon grass (Prudence the dog loves this, which may become a problem), ginger, and, well, a whole variety of other things. Also six blueberry bushes!

I am the Sweet Potato Mama, as I love to get vibrant new slips off of grocery store potatoes and turn them into plants. A few years ago, before we bought the house, I carefully nurtured a sweet potato slip of particular vitality in a pot all through the winter. That became Mike the Sweet Potato, a plant pet from whom I've gotten a lot of progeny (Son of Mike; Daughter of Mike--both sadly fallen to an ant infestation in the whiskey barrel which was their home). Mike is just awesome; he was down to sticks this winter and I feared I'd lost him, but he is, like June, bustin' out all over! So we have Mighty Mike, who could take a whole garden box up himself, and several slips of what I assume is the same variety as Mike, since they all came from grocery store sweet potatoes.

I just love sweet potatoes. Nutritious and forgiving. They are one of the few things that don't mind the extreme heat of a Florida summer. Not that we've gotten any of that lately. It's still cool in late April--haven't seen that too many times.

Anyways--I'm sorry, guys, that I wasn't able to *show* you my garden. I really wanted to. Sad Apparently any image over 2 MB is verboten. Not sure what's up with that.

Tomorrow morning (Monday, April 19th), I'm getting my second Pfizer shot. I have no idea how it's gonna hit me, so I'm not making any plans for the week. If I have a bad reaction, I'll put a note into this OT to let y'all know I won't be around on Tuesday; hopefully I'll just be sleepy, but here.

Blessings of Spring on all of you!

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If I recall correctly you need to size the image down to 500 pixels on the longer side to upload for posting on this site. Not sure if touch screen size on a phone screen relates to pixels in image size.
I use a photo editing software on a computer to downsize images.
I see you got the second pfizer vax yesterday.
If your reaction isn't too bad you may be able to add the garden photo(s) to the post today.
Good luck.
april_snow.JPG

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8 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@jbob

So far, apart from fatigue and a little soreness and stiffness where I got the shot, I'm not experiencing anything. Maybe a little foggy in the mind.

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6 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

enhydra lutris's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal
apologize profusely for my sense of humor but you just handed me a straight line that demands one of my favorite Dorothy Parker ripostes:

Maybe a little foggy in the mind.

Ahem; How can you tell?

be well and have a good one

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6 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@enhydra lutris

The "little bit foggy" has now become "really quite foggy indeed." I just took about a half hour to make myself a cup of tea and take out the garbage. Mostly, I think, because I kept forgetting what I was doing and talking to the dogs. Sort of like being stoned, but different.

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4 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Raggedy Ann's picture

Congratulations on putting in your garden! Such a labor of love! I, too, am a sweet potato fan. Got a single serving in the freezer waiting for me.

Enjoy the day! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Raggedy Ann

Maybe someday we can get together over a nice slice of sweet potato pie. Smile

I also love West African stews that feature them (or something similar). Actually, I've been craving West African stews for some time.

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6 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

just fine (a pineapple that the previous tenants put in. They were from Ohio, and apparently had the idea that, since it does not snow in North Florida, it must share the climate of the Pacific Islands!)

But the uploader still refused to upload the others. I tried resizing and it didn't help, probably because the problem is with the amount of data, not how it's displayed.

I'll try to figure out the problem after I'm through with the vaccination process, and see if I can do it right--plenty of people here upload their photos, so if I ask around, I can probably figure out what I'm doing wrong.

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5 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal
must be 1 Megabyte or less or our uploader will reject them. We have limited storage space that would be quickly eaten up if we allowed larger image size.

Resize until you're at or under the limit.

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5 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@JtC

I will try again later. Surely, I can figure this out.

(I often say that in relation to digital technology these days).

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3 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

if you download the image file from your camera, then send it to your email program, it will downsize the pic to small, medium, large. Then you can post it in a smaller format. Has worked for me. Good luck!

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@QMS

Maybe webmail won't provide the resize option.

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3 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

A small female cat showed up in my yard. Very frightened. The only thing I had in the house for her to eat was a piece of rib eye. Within 3 minutes of eating, she was in my lap, playing, then curling up to nap.
After networking, I will take her to a cat rescuer, pay for her vet care, and she will be transported to a large cat rescue charity in Wisconsin.
I have had little interaction with cats. I was in my 50s when my cat allergies vanished. This little doll is the sweetest, funniest, most loving cat I have ever been around.
I simply cannot have a pet, as my lifestyle and location just do not permit. I have an outside cat at my office that has been around for about 12 years. There are days when I do not see her, other days when she comes in the office to do a walk through. I pay people to feed and water her in my absence. Here at home, I am surrounded by wolves, foxes, and coyotes. She would not be safe here.
Anyway, we deliver her to the local point person.
Best of luck on your second jab.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

this line says volumes?

The only thing I had in the house for her to eat was a piece of rib eye.

be well and have a good one

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6 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@on the cusp

Great story. You did well by the kitty.

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4 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Lookout's picture

You know why people say congrats? Cause they can't spell congradjulations.

We sure find joy in ours. We grow two beds of sweet potatoes, and have a couple of potatoes going for slips right now. Going to be 30 something Thursday AM so little 'maters are still inside.

Have a good one!

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7 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout
Some years ago I bought a flat from WalMart, marked down. Georgia Jet IIRC.
They did not grow well in my clay soil but loosened it nicely and were pretty plants.
The tubers were only finger size but very tasty. Of course they did not overwinter here and I never found them again anywhere. Probably were routed to IL in error and that's why they were marked down.
Did a good job loosening the soil, were pretty, and tasted good.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Lookout @Lookout

My mom's potatoes are sprouting. We didn't think they would. It's a little tricky, I think, growing potatoes in FL. I've actually had trouble, on more than one occasion, growing any root vegetables in FL, except for turnips, for some reason. And sweet potatoes, of course!

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4 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

magiamma's picture

Taters. Must plant more this year. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Gardens not only provide food they provide sanity. Heh. Lol

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@magiamma

A cool story from my hometown:

https://www.alligator.org/article/2021/04/black-garden-network

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2 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

gulfgal98's picture

The whole pandemic process has brought me down so now I am writing down one positive thought and one thought of gratitude each day in a small notebook I have. We'll see where this takes me, but it cannot hurt.

Today, I have one big thing to be grateful for. This coming weekend is my birthday but hub and I do not do birthday, Christmas, or anniversary gifts. However this morning he presented me with what he called an early birthday gift --- a new computer! I am so excited to have a computer that actually works. My old one had a myriad of problems, but the most annoying was it would start scrolling if I was not continually using it and I would have to continually reboot. Now I have a beautiful HP computer that actually works along with being just beautiful. And I feel so very grateful!

I had both shots of the Moderna vaccine, the second of which was in late Feb. My husband had a mild reaction of fatigue and light brain fog, but I fared well until five days after the second dose. That is when I broke out with the "Moderna arm." My upper arm broke out in a very itchy, welted rash that was hot to touch. It reminded me of poison ivy. There were no other symptoms associated with the rash. so it was simply an annoying inconvenience. In my case, the rash took two weeks to completely disappear. In most cases the time is much less.

I hope you are faring well, CTMS.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@gulfgal98

I've found it very hard to balance positivity and accuracy, honesty, critical thought, etc. I don't feel I want to let go of either.

When stuck in a weird spot like this, (mentally I mean), I believe in just trying different things till you find a clear path in a direction that a)you haven't gone before, and/or b)leads to better ways of being. So I think your journaling is probably, at least, a good start.

I hope this is coming out clearly, because I'm getting foggier by the moment!

Anyway, I'm really glad you have a new computer.

It's good to "see" you!

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3 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

enhydra lutris's picture

@gulfgal98

they always brighten the day a bit.

be well and jhave a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

nad your garden and all that today. Glad that you got your second shot over and done with as well.

I have been sicker than shit for a few days now, so my mood matches our cool grey overcast weather, but I have something on the gardening front.

JtC is right about the photos. I use an open source editing package named GIMP for GNU Image Manipulation Program or somesuch. I just resize stuff down until I finally get below I megabyte and there you is. That's a lot of work and I'm lazy, so I just upload them to Flickr and use their embed tool to grab the first size option that is no greater than 400px on either side and paste it right into my post or comment. This, for example, was originally 5472 by 3 thousand something, but one of the default choices is 400 x 267 and it provides all of the code to just plop it in here

Redbud4921

So I just got a new camera and spare battery. The battery is 1 & 5/8 by 1 & 3/8 by 1/2. It was in a logo imprinted box that was 3 & 1/2 by 1 & 3/8 by 2 & 3/8. It shipped along with a standard size SDHC memory card which was excessively packaged but still small because memory cards are quite small. They came, from Illinois, in a box that was 11 x 7 x 6 and padded out with pillow packs and bubble wrap. WAT. also WTF. Sheesh.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@enhydra lutris

Not to pry; feel free to ignore my questions if you like!

I hope you feel better soon.

I have never used Flickr, but will try it at the earliest opportunity. Maybe that will be next week's OT. I've got a ton of photos sitting on my hard drive.

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4 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

enhydra lutris's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

we have no clue. Whatever it is, it hits me in waves I'll be ok but lethargic with no appetite and then I'll be totally wiped out with a fever of 101 - 102, nap or sleep a while and then back to lethargic with no fever. Lungs are loaded up, but I'm somewhat susceptible to that anyway.

I've never had a good handle on the flu anyway. "Well, are your muscles sore?" Wow, what a question, when are they not? I've clearly lived my life all wrong., so I copied down this list:

Fever or chills sporadic
• Cough sporadic
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing off and on but History of same
• Fatigue (tiredness) some to massive
• Sore throat NO
• Runny or stuffy nose ever since I was about 8 years old
• Muscle pain or body aches yes, some chronic
• Headache Not Yet

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@enhydra lutris @enhydra lutris
works to clear lungs - allium family - better than garlic - has some additional stuff in it

1 T chopped w whatever - I use banana but each to their own - must be raw - every six hours for 1.5 days - or thee x per day for two days

cannot hurt you and may help - a number of folks that have tried my suggestion said it worked really well

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@enhydra lutris

oxygen level? Might be a good thing to check and keep an eye on.

Sounds like the flu, though it depends, I guess, on how long it's been going on.

Rest *a lot*.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

enhydra lutris's picture

microgreens, inside in the garage. The only thing you can harvest repeatedly is pea sprouts, or so I am given to understand. I planted some and they're coming up, and soon I can plant some more in the same growing station and just keep them going for weeks on end. At the same time I started some (perpetual) spinach chard 3 pots with 3 seeds each and several of them are coming up. They will eventually go to one of the raised beds.

But, meanwhile, scattered some ground cover from a Renee's Garden scatter can last winter and some white clover in one particular raised bed, and when it got to the appropriate height, turned it under. We went on vacation, and some of it had come back up by the time we got back -- Austrian Winter Peas. Darned if the shoots aren't pretty tasty, so Until I need the space, I can work on them.

be well and have a good one

Austrian Winter Peas.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@enhydra lutris

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5 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

that's an instant classic!

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enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

Give peas a chance

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4 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@QMS

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0 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

lotlizard's picture

software projects, and was also feeling somewhat out of kilter for a week after receiving the first Covid shot (AstraZeneca) here in Dresden. Glad to see everyone at c99 getting swept up in the spring feeling of renewed, returning, abundant life.

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mimi's picture

@lotlizard
you had perhaps a covid related incidence and were sick. Janis b was worrying about you.

NOw I only can say what a great work project you are involved with. Kudos.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@lotlizard

So glad to "see" you. Thanks for stopping by!

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

studentofearth's picture

growing last year. Very expensive to buy slips and pay shipping, plus the arrived before ground was warm, promptly began molding. No harvest. Did manage to save a small plant, started 5 slips water one is still alive. The organic, sweet potatoes from grocery store to grow slips molded. I think the house too kept cold.

I am seeing hope, will keep trying. Mike the Sweet Potato has obviously survived a few winters. perhaps I could keep a master plant in the plant room over winter. Do tubers need to be harvested from Mike or just let the above ground foliage keep growing? How are the slips produced? Cut stem and grow roots in water, then to soil? Soil layering of stems from Mike and separating after rooting? If I simply keep a large enough plant through winter and successfully have plants for next year season will consider it a success.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

enhydra lutris's picture

@studentofearth

ever had any luck with was the ocarina

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

studentofearth's picture

@enhydra lutris [video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx7vkwaGVh8]

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4 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@studentofearth

I am seeing hope, will keep trying. Mike the Sweet Potato has obviously survived a few winters.

Well, he has, but they were Florida winters. Also, Mike is in a pot, so I drag him into the garden shed every time there's a serious freeze. I don't know how he'll do in the ground, but I intend to put a tarp over him if it goes below 30.

Do tubers need to be harvested from Mike or just let the above ground foliage keep growing?

I've just let Mike keep growing. I don't know if that's right or wrong, but he's still with us, and vital, for what that's worth.

How are the slips produced? Cut stem and grow roots in water, then to soil? Soil layering of stems from Mike and separating after rooting?

Well, originally I got Mike out of a vibrantly sprouting grocery store sweet potato. I believe you are supposed to wait until the slips (sprouts coming out of the sweet potato) get to a certain length, and wait for them to have at least one real leaf. Then you gently twist them at the point where the slip meets the potato. After that, I put them in water to see if they sprout roots. When they have enough roots (subjective) and have gotten big enough, I put them into small pots. From there it's just transplanting.

As for getting slips from Mike, well, it can work the same way if you get one of Mike's tubers, which I guess is the easiest way, though I think you can clip bits off the plant and root them in water too.

If I simply keep a large enough plant through winter and successfully have plants for next year season will consider it a success.

Good luck!

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

enhydra lutris's picture

Don't like Potlucks ?

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

Whoot. Step in right direction.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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enhydra lutris's picture

Don't like Potlucks ?

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris As opposed to my rib eye, mister?

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

Some things are close, or great in a different way for different uses. I was just stunned by that line, nothing to feed the poor gato but ribeye and I think Damn. here's a woman with a fridge and freezer full of ribeye, not even any burger, wow.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris A good cat deserves the best!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981