And because this one never gets old

Dogs in Elk (with pumpkin illustrations)

Somehow I missed the beet pulp story.

Thank you all for the ~ma. I wish I was around more often these days, but it's heartwarming to know that I have people who just get it. I can't adequately express how much I love and appreciate you all.

My sister's still living near Detroit and even though none of her family is directly involved in the industry, any further blows to the Big Three(ish) will strike them, too.

Exactly. Michigan is already suffering. A collapse of one of the Detroit 3 will cripple the state. It will turn into a vast wasteland of abandoned homes, boarded up shops and tumbleweeds down Woodward Avenue. Let's not even talk about Ohio and Indiana.

Maria, I suspected the Senate Republicans were going to dig their heels in over the bailout. I watched some of the precedural votes in the House and they were drawing their line in the sand then.

We knew they were, and no matter how much we tried to make them understand just exactly how many people would be affected by a collapse, the Repubs focused in on corporate jets and union v. non-union pay parity.

Hell, the first talking point for opponents of an aid package is as follows:

1. This is the democrats first opportunity to payoff organized labor after the election. This is a precursor to card check and other items. Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it.

If this isn't about breaking the union, I don't know what is.

What these jackholes don't realize is that crippling the Detroit 3 and making them and the UAW pay for any perceived or real sins of the past is only going to harm their precious non-union import plant workers in Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Many of the suppliers to GM, Ford and Chrysler are the EXACT SAME SUPPLIERS to BMW, VW, Toyota and Honda. When the suppliers go belly up because Detroit went belly up, where the hell do they think the import manufacturers are going to get parts? I vote for pulling them out of Shelby, Corker and McConnell's asses one by painful one.

The car died again, in traffic,

Damn. I'm sorry. Car replacement~ma to you both.

Hey, Teppy. I hope the back returns to its normal pain-free state ASAP.

Continued shoulder~ma to Hil.

ita, thanks. I hope the shoulder and neck pain has abated.

Good stuff: DH gave me a pep talk yesterday afternoon that was kick-ass. I didn't know he had it in him. Made me cry, in a good way.

Kristin, I am still vibing hard for you and Zoe. This year hasn't been easy on any of you, and I certainly hope the rest of it is quiet as it slinks its way out the door.

I hurt myself holding back the laughter on the dogs in elk.

My nephew is still the cutest!

But he's getting a new name. Long story short -- my SIL had a very horribly difficult pregancy follwed by a horribly difficult labor (she was overdue, fell going to the doctor, was admitted to be induced, that didn't work and finally had a C section that wasn't easy either nearly 72 hours later, she couldn't eat during that, then a nurse was all pushy about fillingout the birth certificate)... um...maybe that's not such a short story.

Anyway, there was a rushed feeling and now he's name will be changed. Nothing drastic, he's going to be Evander. Which I like, others in the family aren't so sure about. But as mom said "He's the sweetest, most precious being to ever walk this-- breath this air, and whatever we call him doesn't change that."

What was his name before? Poor SIL - what a horrid story.

Hi everyone! I just caught up on 200+ posts. Frisco is asleep, Ellie is playing games on her computer, and Joe is at a work-thing. My brother and family were supposed to arrive tonight but there was some kind of small explosion with smoke and insulation on their plane so they had to make an emergency landing a few minutes after take-off. They are all fine and my brother negotiated first class seats down here and back so it's all good.

So, uh, yo. 'Sup?

Hi Steph. It's been a busy week for us. Wallybee's parents left on Tuesday. It's been good having them around. Wallybee's missing them, of course. We went to my office Christmas party last night. Traffic was demented, we were an hour late, but the restaurant was so slow with dinner that it didn't really matter. I'm generally antisocial enough to dislike the Christmas parties, but this time around I was seated with the rest of my team, so it went better. Work's been busy this week, changes in my reporting structure mean I'm trying to get more active say in some things, but I'm getting some results. Oh, and we had another ultrasound (it's a boy! Wallybee is not yet convinced, she thought it'd be a girl).

I'm sorry your back's causing you trouble again. I hope it resolves itself soon.

Have you checked out a platypus lately?

They're fair game for a comedy skit, but they're actually extremely well adapted to their environment. (My favourite touch is the electroreceptors in their extremely sensitive bill. Echidnas have ém too, they need to keep their nose snotty and wet to get the benefit.) There's a semi-aqatic marsupial in South America (the yapok) with an airtight pouch, but there's not a one in Australia, because the platypus is already outperforming in that niche.

I consider them the ultimate DIS-proof (is that a word?) of "Intelligent Design." Intelligent, my ass.

Check. Backs, evidence against ID. Asses, evidence for.

Yikes, Stephanie. I'm glad everyone is fine.

{{{Kristin, ND, and Zoe}}} So much ~ma.

Good thing: I went to my cousin's today and hung out with her twin baby boys (8 weeks old). They are so cute! I took a picture of them all cocooned and in their carseats. Will upload from phone and show you the cuteness!

ETA: Photographic evidence of twin cuteness! [link]

Stephanie -- it's Evan. Which I think we'll still call him, although Mom is thinking of calling him Van.