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author

Swamp in the winter, pretty! Some brief info on your hed gif:

https://open.substack.com/pub/martiniambassador/p/the-red-maple-swamp-trail

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Mar 7Liked by Martini Glambassador

Beautiful places, beautiful pictures. Swamps are wonderful.

https://substack.com/profile/671070-paulomatic/note/c-51126656?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=edsu

Local swamps in the spring.

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author

Lovely!

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We were down in Falmouth on the Cape (Cod, of course) visiting a friend of Mrs. Mild, and her son. We stayed at the Palmer House: very tiny turret room (the bed took up most of the room); yummy breakfasts; owned by a gay couple (one was very chatty, as innkeepers can be); and a ginormous Leonburger dog named Brody. Check out their website for pictures of their giant goofy beast:

https://www.palmerhouseinn.com/

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author

I considered staying at Palmer House when I last visited with my husband, but we at the time we were able to stay at a friend's place. But I do think I will stay there one day. Especially now since you've clued me in to Brody!

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Just watch out for the overly chatty innkeeper, you may never get out the door.

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Spoiler: the Overly Chatty Innkeeper is the murderer!

Oh, that's not what we're playing?

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Watch out if someone from Cabot Cove is staying down the hall....

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Or if someone named Barnaby moves in...

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Mar 7Liked by Martini Glambassador

looks cold and damp, but still pretty!

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Mar 7Liked by Martini Glambassador

I've been to *all* the hiking trails on the Cape. Red Maple Swamp is beautiful and a nice respite from touristy areas. That bench at the Fort Hill area is my favorite spot on the Cape now that I can't walk very far. Thanks for the photos.

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Mar 7·edited Mar 7Liked by Martini Glambassador

Dang, that looked familiar for a reason! We’ve been going to the outer Cape for 18 years, and the last dozen in North Truro.

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Mar 7Liked by Martini Glambassador

That is simply a gorgeous tree.

My Druid ancestry runs strong within me. I have always had an affinity for trees. A part of me firmly believes those silent guardians are sentient.

At the moment I'm not convinced we're terribly popular with a few of them.

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author

I keep upblipping your comment and it keeps disappearing. I think the tree spirits are involved in online shenanigans.

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Mar 7·edited Mar 7Liked by Martini Glambassador

We are mostly on the Cape for off-season soccer tournaments. We visited as a family once during the summer season and it was too many people and impossible to go out for meals, etc. - we mostly ate at our rental with foods from the grocery store.

If I'd known you were there (and for anyone else who ever visits), there was an Italian restaurant that my daughter and I went where I had the absolutely best HOMEMADE pasta dish I've ever had in my life: spinach cappelletti at Gerardi's Cafe in South Yarmouth.

It's too far to drive for a meal, but I have legitimately considered it.

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Darn it. I had guessed the Wellfleet Audubon - it's pretty too.

Hope you re-charged and had fun.

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founding
Mar 7Liked by Martini Glambassador

Off season, the Cape is so peaceful and pretty. Growing up, my parents usually took us places off season because, cheaper! I have an appreciation for beachy places in the winter.

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Mar 7Liked by Martini Glambassador

Now THAT is a hazy shade of winter.

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Mar 7Liked by Rebecca Schoenkopf, Martini Glambassador

Swamp in the winter....

Fire in disguise.

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I had the same song in my head!

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Me also!

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founding
Mar 7Liked by Rebecca Schoenkopf

I've been both Wonkette and TPM since the beginning.

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Mar 7Liked by Rebecca Schoenkopf

Can we keep Ahnuld? Since he got done being Governator he's mostly just talking about how to not have your body fall apart as an Old by doing some light exercise and I feel like that's a valuable contribution to me, a person who is going to be an Old one day.

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I intend to treat the State of the Union Address the same as I do all podcasts and pivots-to-video, I won;t listen to it. I prefer to read transcripts.

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This is my favorite news outlet.

Awkward.

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Marsha Blackburn still doesn't want teh geighs to have internet. Maybe she'll feel differently when (if??) she sobers up.

The lead Republican sponsor of KOSA, Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, has previously not been shy about pointing to KOSA as part of her agenda of “protecting minor children from the transgender [sic] in this culture & that influence.”

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2024/03/07/opinion-kosa/

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Our county election people are requesting I work the presidential primary in our state next month. Will plastering myself with Wonkette temporary tattoos violate that 'politicking within 100 feet' rule? We'll find out!

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Who can object to a lovely black cat?

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If you need a reason to be optimistic, consider the giant gift NC MAGAs just gave Dems with Robinson as the gubernatorial candidate. He will help flip the the state blue giving Biden's electoral college map a huge boost.

https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/like-marjorie-taylor-greene-on-steroids?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2

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Todays' Bizarro comic might be a good summary of our year.

https://substack.com/profile/156971130-justdontsaydittos/note/c-51140343

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That sure describes Moscow Mike.

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Mar 7·edited Mar 8

The Supreme Court needs to answer as to whether trying to steal an election and stealing documents are “official acts” before it can determine how much immunity a president has for “official acts.”

But it looks like they’d rather skip that question.

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I don't think I even know enough curse words to convey my feelings about that.

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Today's Bizarro comic might be a snapshot of our times.

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author
Mar 7·edited Mar 7Author

About the NY subway story. I am fearful when I ride mass transit. Because I have been harassed on the subway/buses in the past year and half way too many times. And these incidents were scary, some traumatizing. I have been called homophobic slurs several times by angry people, I have been spat at, threatened with violence and trapped on a subway car with a knife wielding man, TWICE!

BTW none of those incidents were reported to police. If you ain't bleeding you just keep moving on. I fear the incident that does bring blood. NYC is a traumatized city, covid fucked us HARD and we all were expected to just go back to normal. How do you treat a city for PTSD?

But you know what would not have helped in any of the things I've dealt with? Bag checks and the National Guard. Number one, they aren't on the trains. Number two they're deployed to busy areas, know where this shit happens? Not busy areas. And bag checks are the dumbest shit and most likely to be abused by cops thing they could do. The men with knives, they had them in their pockets.

It's all a show.

I want to feel safe on mass transit but this is not the way!

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Mar 7Liked by ziggywiggy

Why bag checks? I mean is there a real reason, like an uptick in bomb threats or something? or is it performative fear mongering?

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author

Performative.

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I envision a lot of racial and mental health profiling. 'Hey crazy guy, what you got in your bag ?'. I don't live there or experience anything like that. Any suggestions for what would work?

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author
Mar 7·edited Mar 7Author

It's not a simple problem. But from personal experience most encounters were with someone who appeared to have mental health issues, substance abuse problems or was just really stressed out. Focus on those issues that are at the heart of it, with help not arrests. The bigots are a separate issue, emboldened by what they see on the front page of the New York Post, etc. They seem to look for anyone who is in the group of current targets and aim their anger at them.

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Mar 7Liked by ziggywiggy

Sigh. This is so fucked up. And I'm sorry you have had to put up with this kind of bullshit. Maybe carry pepper spray?

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author

I've thought about it but I usually focus on escape not defense, I've talked my way out of scary shit, but I am getting really tired of being on heightened alert just to ride the subway. I've lived in NYC for forty years but I have been thinking about leaving for a couple years now. Too expensive, too stressful and the friends that held me here have long since moved out of the area.

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Mar 8Liked by ziggywiggy

Move out to the island with me! There's plenty of room out here on the unfashionable side of the east end!

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Mar 7Liked by ziggywiggy

I could totally understand wanting a change. Nothing is ever easy. Sigh. Our failed experiment with trickle down has pretty well screwed civil society. Now if we can just please change course, FFS!

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Re the Atlantic article -- where would I be better off? Anti-Semitism isn't bad in Israel, but I prefer to live in a democracy.

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Israel is a democracy. Just because we don't like the results of the last election doesn't mean it isnt a democracy.

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Being able to vote doesn't make it a democracy. To me, democracy means a government representative of the people. Israel's parliamentary system is such that in order to make a coalition government, a minority party as to make significant concessions to a small party. Netanyahu's government does not represent a majority of Israelis.

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Katie Porter and Barbara Lee… and Adam Schiff, don’t forget that the house is also losing Adam as he replaces Diane.

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At least his House seat will probably remain blue.

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unlike Katie's

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I feel a little better after seeing the primary results. If the Democrats unite behind Dave Min, they can win. They aggregated more votes than the Republican.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/05/us/elections/results-california-us-house-47-primary.html

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So if the SCrOTUS decides the narrow question of whether or not a preznut can break the law while faithfully seeing the laws are executed Defendant PAB will claim he was officially acting as preznut because he was preznut so all good, ngghghgh? Judge Chutkin will say "Naw mang, insurrection is not official act." This will be appealed and around and around we go where it stops, well, we have a sort of idea when it will stop. sometime after January 21, 2025.

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You're right, we're fucked.

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Mar 7Liked by Rebecca Schoenkopf

I'm not reading about Johnny Depp and Prince Bonesaw either, but not at all surprised they get along.

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