REGROUPING: The Morning After the Day Before (A Joint Post with kenosha Marge & American Lassie (GG Will Be Posting Separately) (UPDATED 2X)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

As I  write this it’s 6 pm Mountain Time.  I was out this afternoon for an appointment at the heart doctor with my mother. Miraculously, we didn’t have to wait 6 hours; we were out in about 2!  Wouldn’t you know it, I got  home and put on RETRO and “The Manchurian Candidate” was just ending.  Rudy Giuliani had left a very late phone message on my answering machine.  I had gotten a call in the early afternoon from John McCain himself and yesterday I had received two call from the McCain campaign and one from the NM GOP. The Obamacrats had left a doorknob hanger on my gate while we were gone. That Black Panthers business in Philly has ticked me off.

I noticed when I took my dogs out at 5:30 for their walk that sometime during the day, someone ate the dog food I had left by the wall.  We don’t have many dogwalkers around here, so I’m hoping it’s the little stray. Perhaps we’re going to get another “November miracle” again this year!  (See yesterday’s post, Today, A Stress-Free Post! What Could Be Better Than a TRUE Story About a November MIRACLE DOG!! (With Pics) .

Now, as I write this, I don’t know a thing about the election. I’ve been avoiding all contact all day, except for brief interludes of Rush and Sean. My new friends?  Amazing, isn’t it??

And frankly, I may not know until tomorrow. I’m exhausted. I need to go to bed!  The stress has really gotten to me! I’ve been eating TUMS like candy and I NEVER need to take TUMS!

That being said, I have already composed my thoughts on the future.  It’s going to be a time of regrouping. However, there are certain truisms that apply, no matter what the outcome. They are:

1) No matter who wins, we all have to go into “hawk mode,” as in WATCHING LIKE A HAWK.

2) Not being a Republican, that means watching McCain like a hawk on “our issues.”

3) Not being an Obama supporter, that means the same thing.  He doesn’t get off the hook because of the “D” after his name.  We’ve been on him this long, we can’t let him get off easy if he takes control.

4) Not being a Democrat anymore…well, I want to be able to support SOME party! Which means we have to not only WATCH the Democratic officeholders and Party, we have to start making noise to try to get them back to being a party we all can recognize. That means keeping up a strong PUMA movement!  I heard callers on the Rush and Sean shows that sounded like PUMAs to me…and it was good to hear them!

5) And finally, the subject of Hillary Clinton. Lady Lynn Rothschild was on Greta last night (Monday) and she was quite blunt about Hillary Clinton. Friend or no, she said Hillary should be thinking about how she is going to explain why she decided to work so hard for Obama. Those are not my words, those are Rothschild’s.  She even brought up how Ted Kennedy didn’t support Carter  in 1980 on principle. (Maybe it wasn’t just principle, but that’s not the issue now.)  Rothschild clearly felt that Kennedy’s refusal showed a lot more guts, for whatever reason he did it, than what Hillary Clinton displayed.  I’m on the same page with Lynn Rothschild on this one.

Now I can’t speak at the moment for anyone else who blogs here. However, kenosha Marge sent me her thoughts on both possible outcomes of the election.  I’m just going to post both of her little essays regardless of whether I actually find out who won tonight.  She writes so well and I just enjoy reading her!!

Grail Guardian and American Lassie may have something cooking and if they send along their thoughts, they will be posted.  But for now, this “PUMA Dame” is going to the kitchen to make dinner and then I may sit through the Western on TMC.  I never watch Westerns, but I’m in the mood for a simple morality play tonight without any modern-day contraptions making noise.  I’m into horses, dust, and ladies in fancy hats tonight. Ironically, the movie is called “Decisoin at Sundown.”   I guess I can’t TOTALLY escape what’s going on even while watching a 1957 movie!

Now, onto kenosha Marge…

The Morning After the Day Before

~~By kenosha Marge

McCain/Palin wins:

I knew that no matter how the election ended I would still be angry. I knew I would be angry because I don’t like being lied to, bullied or treated in a condescending manner.

I watched this election cycle in dismay. I ended up voting Republican for the first time in my life. I believe with all my heart that the Democratic Party is corrupt and they will never have my loyalty or my support again . I will vote for and support certain Democratic candidates but not the Democratic Party. Ever!

There is one villain that has emerged that should be hated by all people that care about democracy. That villain is the media.

If you think a biased media is fine as long as they are biased in favor of your beliefs, your candidate and your party, congratulations you are a partisan and not a patriot.

If you think misogyny is wrong when it is used against a liberal woman but fine when it is used against a conservative woman, congratulations you’re a partisan not a feminist. Misogyny is wrong. Period.

If you believe that a biased, misogynistic media is what we should have in this country, congratulations you are a part of the problem that women who fight for equality must face. You are not liberal and you are not a feminist. You are one of those Fauxgressives or one of those Liberal Women that believe only liberal women can be called feminists.

I find satisfaction in knowing that in spite of the shenanigans from the Democratic Party and the corrupt bias of the media that John McCain will be our next president. I find satisfaction in that because I respect John McCain and like and respect Sarah Palin. I believe him to be a man of honor who will do the best he can for the country he loves and I believe that she will be a fresh breeze in Washington D.C.

I also believe that the media will continue to savage her. But since they have no longer have any credibility the only people who will pay any attention to them will be women-hating men and the self-hating women who all ready hate her. No surprise in any of that.

I believe that John McCain loves his country and will be an honorable president. I believe that Sarah Palin’s incredible energy will be put to good use. I wish them luck and I wish them well.

The Morning After the Day Before

Obama wins:

I knew that no matter how the election ended I would still be angry. I knew I would be angry because I don’t like being lied to, bullied or treated in a condescending manner.

I watched this election cycle in dismay. I ended up voting Republican for the first time in my life. I believe with all my heart that the Democratic Party is corrupt and they will never have my loyalty or my support again. I will vote for and support certain Democratic candidates but not the Democratic Party.

There is one villain that has emerged that should be hated by all people that care about democracy. That villain is the media.

If you think a biased media is fine as long as they are biased in favor of your beliefs, your candidate and your party, congratulations you are a partisan and not a patriot.

If you think misogyny is wrong when it is used against a liberal woman but fine when it is used against a conservative woman, congratulations you’re a partisan not a feminist. Misogyny is wrong. Period.

If you believe that a biased, misogynistic media is what we should have in this country, congratulations you are a part of the problem that women who fight for equality must face. You are not liberal and you are not a feminist. You are one of those Fauxgressives or one of those Liberal Women that believe only liberal women can be called feminists.

For 8 long years I have often said, “don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for that clown. Now I have at least 4 years to look forward to saying the same.

I can also look forward once again to not believing one word that comes out of the President’s mouth. I can look forward to changing channels the minute the President or the Vice-President appear. I will not listen to nor believe the State of the Union speeches.

I will not wish him/them well. I don’t like cheats and crooks. I don’t support cheats and crooks. I don’t want my country represented by cheats and crooks.

I will how ever look forward to saying, “I told you so”, every time some Obamacrat voices disappointment. I did tell them so, over and over again. That will be about the only satisfaction I will get out of seeing Obama in the White House. Otherwise just one more presidential term where some putz in the Oval Office doesn’t speak for me and doesn’t represent me. You would think I would be used to it by now. You would think we all would be used to it by now.

UPDATE

Well, nothing is going to change for me…it’s like the continuation of Bush…I won’t listen to one word coming out of the FRAUD’s mouth in the future.  But we will open OURS…

~~

UPDATE 2

~~By American Lassie who rose off her sick-bed to email me this before the election was called….

Right now I’m brain dead.  I agree about “hawks”. No matter who gets elected tonight they need to be kept under close scrutiny.  If it’s Obama we will be worried about our liberty, our privacy and our safety.  The Farrakhan troops showing up at polling places in Philly scares me to death.  If they are this brazen now God help us if he wins.  I don’t agree with all of John McCain’s policies but he is our only salvation right now.  I fear for our country on so many levels tonight.  I feel the world is watching our election to see if we are going to be fair game for our enemies to move in while so many people are divided.  Call me “Cassandra” but I am frightened.  I don’t know what else to say at this point.  One of the main things we need to work on as soon as possible is to solidify our base.  If we can’t clean up the Democratic Party I don’t want any part of it.  Third parties don’t seem to be too viable.  I wonder how many people feel the way I do?  Like I’m lost in space without a tether.  This transition period is going to be difficult whether it is McCain or Obama.   There is all that bail-out money out there, and it doesn’t seem to be going where it should.  There is also the indecision as to whether to bail out the auto industry, and Pelosi wants another large booster, refund, or whatever she calls it.  We are already so in debt to China and the deficit just keeps growing.  This is one thing you could mention – our huge deficit and our foreign debt.  And while I think we are expected, as human beings, to be compassionate towards those less fortunate, Mr. “Spread The Wealth” is going to bankrupt us all with his tax policies.  I am just an average American getting by like so many others who find that there is less and less disposable income in my pocket each month that I wonder if there is any light at the end of this tunnel. The energy costs have risen so that by the time you heat your home and pay your taxes the average family is lucky to have anything left over to put food on the table.  And he wants to bankrupt the coal companies which would make our energy costs that much higher.  Forgive me for running on this way.  I think my medication has taken over what little brain I had left.  After the results are in tonight and we know which way we are going maybe I will be a little less anxious.  That is, if it is settled tonight.  If it is a close tally we are in for a fight. (Or a takeover).

***

We may slow down on our posting over the next couple of days as the dust settles and we catch our wind.  As of now, we have no plans to retire gracefully.

Today, A Stress-Free Post! What Could Be Better Than a TRUE Story About a November MIRACLE DOG!! (With Pics)

Today, IA is a “safe-haven,” a place for heartwarming thoughts, inspiration, and love!  We will NOT ALLOW any negative thoughts about the campaign or the election intrude on this shelter from the media hysteria today. It is a place of comfort being provided for all PUMAs today!

Let me take you back EXACTLY 6 years ago to November 4, 2002.  It was the day before Election Day that year, an off-year, of course, from Presidential politics.  The weather here in Southern New Mexico had been getting very cold at night for a few weeks.  It was the time for everyone to start getting cozy as the sun set. It became a very special day….

Toro and Tico, both chihuahuas,  were happily ruling the roost here. We had adopted Tico in February of 2002 as a companion for Toro, who had come with us from New Jersey to New Mexico a couple of years before. Everything was proceeding nicely, except for one thing.

I had had back surgery two years before in 2000 and had spent Thanksgiving in the hospital. It went smoothly, but recovery was slow.  Two years later in October 2002, I was still in severe pain, drugged to the gills, hardly moving and depressed.

Over the summer my mother, who was doing the dog walking, started talking about a little black dog that was roaming the neighborhood.  As I tried to walk down the block, I would run into neighbors who also reported on the little dog.  One woman told me she thought he slept on a house porch on another street…that turned out to be untrue.  Another woman told me he would drink from her bird bath. Yet another neighbor told me he was in his garage sitting on a stool cleaning his car wheels when the dog came into the garage. The man reached for him and fell off the stool…and the little dog ran off.

The reports kept coming. Finally, I called Animal Control, only to be told that they had been trying to catch the little guy for 8 months. Cages, traps…they couldn’t get him. Doing the math that October, I figured he had been “on the road” since February. That means he had been without a home through the cold spring, the extremely hot summer, and now was heading into another season of cold nights.

He was seen in the arroyo, near the highway and under cars.  In fact, a man a block away told me he was sleeping some nights under his mothballed Corvette.  New construction was starting next door to our house and I began seeing him resting underneath the construction trailer. Occasionally, I saw him with other strays, but he was usually alone.

One day as we were driving out of the development I saw a man sitting on an electrical box with a big dog biscuit in his hand.  I stopped the car and asked him what was going on.  He told me that he was trying to feed the little dog. Just then, at the corner, we saw him. He was licking the sidewalk. He ran off when I approached the spot…and I saw that he had been licking a smashed egg that had dried. Then, a few days later, my mother saw him in the middle of main street out of the development in the morning during the rush hour…he appeared confused and cars had stopped but he managed to escape unharmed.

Something snapped right then. I knew I couldn’t let this little guy continue like this. It was getting bitterly cold at night as we headed into the last couple of weeks of October. My mother said he was limping.  I was afraid a coyote would catch him if he was down in the arroyo. Something had to be done. He actually began trailing after my mother and our two clannish chis, who took an immediate dislike to him!

I noticed that he seemed to come down our street in the morning and the late afternoon. I got some food and water and put it down near our front wall that was next to the lot next to us where the new house was going up.  That was in the morning. It was gone almost immediately.

I then moved the food and water bowls to the end of our driveway. And then a short way up the side of the driveway.  He’d come by around 4 o’clock every day. I got into the routine of getting up early and putting out the food in the morning at around 6 AM.  Sometimes he’d come down the street from the direction of the arroyo around that time and would eat. Other times he would come from the opposite direction, from the  main road.

This went on for about a week. Then, I started opening the garage door and placing the food just outside the lip of the garage.  Sometimes I’d leave a treat.  One day I left tuna fish in the morning. He ate it, but when I left it in the afternoon, he skipped it. Not a tuna fan, apparently!

After a few days, I set up a folding chair. I put the food down outside the garage, but sat in the chair.  He was tentative, but he was hungry, so he ate but he left immediately.  Then, he got to the point where he ate but would take a treat and bury it across the street.  Then he started sitting in the driveway in the sun for awhile.  All this time I sat quietly and talked to him.

When he wanted more, he would stand by the dish. I calmly got up and went inside and brought out more food.  He would dart away, but return and eat.

One morning I didn’t see him around. Worried, I got myself down to the corner and called, “Sweet-ie”!  Down the hill he came and he followed me home.   This became a ritual over the next few days. One day, he didn’t return at 4 P.M. and I was worried that something had happened to him.  Not only was he limping, but I could see that he had patches on his coat. He seemed tired and run down.  I thought he was ready to get picked up.

By this time I had moved the food bowls into the garage a few feet away from where I sat.  On Saturday, November 2, I moved the bowl right next to me.  He ate without a problem.  But the next day, he didn’t show up in the morning and I was panicked.  Had I waited too long? Had he wanted me to pick him up but had given up on me because I hadn’t moved then? Was he hurt? Or worse?

On Monday, November 4, I set up the chair and the food and went down to the corner. I called “Sweet-tie” but he didn’t come! Upset, I turned to go home…and there he was , coming toward me down the sidewalk from the other direction!

I sat in the chair, and he came up right next to me.  Before he took a bite, I quickly scooped him up and ran into the house! I had set up a baby gate so that he would stay in the kitchen. Toro and Tico, the clannish chihuahuas, were going nuts.  The little black dog jumped over the gate and promptly deposited a gift under the piano bench.  I put a halter on him and put him outside and he immediately went over the wall! I fished him up and knew I couldn’t take my eyes off him for a second!

Things settled down as I took him for a walk. He did fine. And then we came home and he went to sleep on the couch. That night and for several nights after, he howled at the back door. But during the day he slept like he hadn’t slept in a long while.  He was under the covers, warm, well-fed and safe.

I scheduled a vet appointment to have his limp and skin checked out. In the meantime, I called the no-kill shelter, Safe Haven, but they had no room for him.  A man in the neighborhood who had tried to catch him once and failed said he wanted him…but he went out to work everyday. I couldn’t see the little guy thrown into a yard…he’d get away somehow.  And I refused to bring him to the shelter because I figured he’d be adopted…but would wind up roaming again! He could jump any wall and walk it with ease!

I wasn’t really sure what he was, but the vet confirmed he was a fairly big miniature pinscher!  His limp was going to be fine and we got started on clearing up his skin.  The vet thought he was about a year old.  Still not sure what to do with him at the “logical” level of thinking, I scheduled an appointment to get him fixed.  Of course, by the time he went in for that a week or so later, my heart had made the decision. We were going to keep him!  Toro and Tico weren’t too happy about it, either!

What to name him?  We went through a couple of names until I looked at him and commented that since he had roamed everywhere around the development, he was really a “city slicker.”  The name stuck–from then on he was SLICKER (Slick for short)!

Then came the problem of walking him! My mother couldn’t handle all three, so I took charge of Slicker. I started to walk, painfully, down the block with him.  At the corner we started getting into some hilliness.  Slick wanted to go there, so we’d go a short distance. Everyday I’d huff and puff a short way up that low grade hill.  Gradually, the huffing and puffing disappeared and my weak leg and back started to get stronger. Soon, I could walk up that hill!!

As I started walking with Slick, my energy came back and I started doing more. Instead of sitting around in pain and depression, I as now getting out and about. My little MIRACLE DOG had restored my interest in life and had started healing me, physically and mentally!

Six years later, Slick and I are celebrating our anniversary together tomorrow, November 4th. No matter what happens on Election Day, we’ll be happy about being together!  Toro and Tico have made an uneasy peace with “the intruder” and Slick has matured into the most loving, appreciative dog one could hope for!

Now, you won’t believe this, but a week or so ago I saw a little black and white dog with something draped around him/her in the street. I stopped the car, but he ran way down the road.  A couple of days ago, a neighbor about a block away told me he had seen the little dog and what he was dragging along was a plastic bag with ties that had been caught on his neck! The little dog probably got tangled up while searching for food in the bag that was set out on garbage day. I’m keeping an eye out to see if he comes this way again…

So what have I done? Yesterday I put out a bowl of water and a bowl of food near the wall at the side of the driveway near the sidewalk. Maybe it’s time for another November miracle…in more ways than one!

****

Here are some pictures of my darling, sweet boy…SLICKER!

And waiting for another November miracle….