Kingfisher Cove

Here, Kitty Kitty

On Saturday, my BFF, Helen and her hubs, Ron, came to Harstine after their Thanksgiving visit to Helen’s mom’s in Puyallup to spend the day and the night with us. Shortly after they arrived, we headed over to the Wild Felid Advocacy Center here on the island. It’s a wild cat sanctuary and John and I had known of its existence but had never been there before. We learned about it from our neighbors, who go fairly often when their grandkids are visiting, only about 15 minutes from our house. So this was the first time for all of us, and we weren’t sure what to expect (other than our neighbors had told us that it was very cool!)

AND IT WAS!

I was afraid it was mostly bobcats in cages, but it was so much more than that. (Yes, they did have quite a few bobcats, and they were beautiful). I was so impressed with the habitat structures and the spaces they had to exercise or hide from the elements (including “warm rocks” in their enclosures). It’s a non-profit, operated solely from donations and admissions, and run exclusively by obviously very dedicated volunteers. We were beyond impressed!

 

 

Here is a good example of the grounds. As you can see, it’s pretty and well-maintained and peaceful (except when you hear one of the cougars calling for us in the distance. That wasn’t especially “peaceful” but certainly intriguing!)

We weren’t allowed to take photos, and I was really disappointed about that! Oh, to have gotten a selfie with all of us in front of the tigers! Or Harley the cougar! Such a bummer. So I grabbed some pictures from their website to post here. And yes, we saw ALL of these wonderful creatures, and more!

This is one of the tigers—there were two, both female, named Hannah and Suri. They came right up to the fence and it was clear how much they knew and liked our guide (who actually lives on site and he was GREAT!) The tiger we saw at the San Diego Zoo was lovely, too, but he was pretty far away from the people. THIS was up close and personal and I was over the moon.

Seeing those tigers was probably the highlight, but as cat lovers, we were all so emotionally blubbery over ALL of the cats. This guy below is Turbo the Leopard. The guide explained that he is—by far—the most intelligent of all the cats. He’s clever, sneaky, manipulative, and always watchful, taking in his surroundings and constantly processing and assessing. It takes a minimum of 5 volunteers to manage the protocol of cleaning his enclosure or handling him when they need to because, well, he’s really really smart. Isn’t he gorgeous?

This is Harley, one of the cougars, and he’s also a character. While we were there, he watched us for a while as we walked around his enclosure, and then fast as lightning he rushed out and hopped on top of a platform to get closer and peer at us. Stunningly beautiful. THE SIZE OF HIS PAWS.

This was one of the caracals, something I wasn’t familiar with, but man-oh-man were they sleek and gorgeous! They had several of them, too.

And finally, one of the bobcats. They look kind of like a house cat (with a short tail), but they are BIG. And it’s obvious how wild they are because they pace back and forth over and over again. Basically a feral cat on steroids.

We asked a lot of questions. Local restaurants donate their excess raw meat. They go through many, many pounds of it every day. Some of the cats had been either owned by individuals who died or other sanctuaries who went out of business. Or, they were USED by corporations for marketing and photo shoots and then they didn’t want them anymore, or couldn’t deal with them anymore. (Grrr). They were all raised by and accustomed to humans and so they cannot be released into the wild. One of the bobcats HAD been released and came to the sanctuary all beat up and injured. (People are so stupid). We really got the impression that they were healthy, comfortable, engaged, and also loved!

It poured down rain while we were there (and I mean poured), and other than a background feeling of annoyance, it really didn’t matter. (Well, maybe with the exception of John because he’d forgotten a hat for his bald head…) We were so engrossed, so caught up in the amazeballs of the experience, that the annoyance of our immediate environment just wasn’t a factor. We all fell in love.

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Such a fun time. The Harstine community center is right next to the cat sanctuary and they were having a holiday bazar so we stopped in there for a bit. (Bought a couple of fun things, including a Harstine Island 2017 calendar with lovely photos, and a Christmas décor thingy with a KINGFISHER! Score!) Came home and snacked, drank wine, then later had a casual dinner of yakisoba and Asian cucumber salad. As usual, whenever Helen and Ron come to visit—whenever anybody comes to visit—it was a whirlwind! Blink and it’s done.

I Love Charles Blow of NYT!

“Let me tell you here where I stand on your “I hope we can all get along” plea: Never.

You are an aberration and abomination who is willing to do and say anything — no matter whom it aligns you with and whom it hurts — to satisfy your ambitions.

I don’t believe you care much at all about this country or your party or the American people. I believe that the only thing you care about is self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment. Your strongest allegiance is to your own cupidity.

I also believe that much of your campaign was an act of psychological projection, as we are now learning that many of the things you slammed Clinton for are things of which you may actually be guilty.

You slammed Clinton for destroying emails, then Newsweek reported last month that your companies “destroyed emails in defiance of court orders.” …You slammed Clinton about conflicts of interest while she was secretary of state, and now your possible conflicts of interest are popping up like mushrooms in a marsh.

You are a fraud and a charlatan. Yes, you will be president, but you will not get any breaks just because one branch of your forked tongue is silver.”

Example #4,879 that Trump is Aiming for Dictatorship

Historically, despots have used 7 techniques to destroy the independence of the media:

1. Berate the media. Yesterday Trump called two-dozen TV news anchors and executives to the Trump Tower – including Lester Holt, Charlie Rose, George Stephanopoulos, and Wolf Blitzer -- to chew them out about their reporting during the election.
2. Blacklist media that criticize them. Trump has maintained a blacklist of news outlets to which he has refused to grant event credentials. This morning he cancelled a meeting with the New York Times.
3. Turn the public against the media. Trump refers to journalists as “dishonest,” “disgusting” and “scum.” He tweets that the New York Times has lost “thousands of subscribers because of their very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the ‘Trump phenomena.’” (The Times says it added 41,000 net paid subscriptions in the week after the election.)
4. Threaten the media. Trump says he’ll “open up our libel laws, so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money.”
5. Block media access. Trump hasn’t had a news conference since July. He has blocked the media from traveling with him, or knowing whom he’s meeting with. (His phone call last week with Putin was first reported by the Kremlin.)
6. Establish their own alternative controlled media. Trump sends messages through Alt-Right Breitbart News and Fox News.
7. Bypass the media and communicate with the public directly. Trump uses tweets and videos. The word “media” comes from “intermediate” between newsmakers and the public. Trump wants to eliminate the media.

A free and independent media is essential to a democracy. Even before he’s sworn in, Trump is out to destroy that freedom and independence. – Robert Reich

Pay Attention

"The Holocaust did not begin with killing; it began with words."

Also? Re-read “1984”

 

Post-truth = lying

Fake news = propaganda

Alt-right = white supremacy

Prevent double-speak.

Use the correct words.

 

No Words.

Also, how many president-elects “settled” a lawsuit for fraud (Trump “University”) for $25 MILLION? (Which he’ll get to write off on his taxes). And has 75 more lawsuits lined up against him?

And people were concerned about Hillary’s nothing-burger emails?

What a corrupt pig.

I listened and I watched; now you get to

I listened as they called my President a Muslim.

I listened as they called him and his family a pack of monkeys.

I listened as they said he wasn’t born here.

I watched as they blocked every single path to progress that they could.

I saw the pictures they posted of him as Hitler. (Irony, much?)

I watched them shut down the government and hurt the entire nation twice.

I watched them turn their backs on every opportunity to open worthwhile dialogue.

I watched them say that they would not even listen to any choice for Supreme Court no matter who the nominee was.

I listened as they openly said that they will oppose him at ever turn.

I watched as they did just that.

I listened.

I watched.

I paid attention.

Now, I’m being called on to be tolerant; to wait and see.

To move forward.

To denounce protesters.

To “get over it.”

To accept this…

I will not.

I will do my part to make sure this great American mistake becomes the embarrassing footnote of our history that it deserves to be.

I will do this as quickly as possible every chance I get.

I will do my part to limit the damage that this man can do to my country.

I will watch his every move and point out every single mistake and misdeed in a loud and proud voice.

I will let you know in a loud voice every time this man backs away from a promise he made to the people who voted for him.

The ones who sold their souls and prayed for him to win.

I will do this so that they never forget.

And they will hear me.

They will see it in my eyes when I look at them.

They will hear it in my voice when I talk to them.

They will know who they are.

They will know that I know what they are.

Do not call for my tolerance. I’ve tolerated all I can.

Now it is their turn to tolerate ridicule.

Be aware, make no mistake about it, every single thing that goes wrong in our country from this day forward is now Trump’s fault.

You Own It

If you’re an avid reader, as I am, you’ll know exactly what I mean that Sauron, Voldemort, Biff, President Snow, Police Inspector Javer, and Nurse Ratched are all about to take over the White House. If you’re not a reader, I’ll just bet you voted for Trump.

Trump doesn’t read. If it wasn’t so horrifying, it would almost be amusing to imagine him reading the hundreds of pages of briefings he’ll receive Every. Single. Night. He won’t. He will remain willingly unknowledgeable throughout his “reign.” The cosmic drop in I.Q. from Pres. Obama is astronomical.

As a friend of mine said, I do not believe that everyone who voted for Trump is a racist. I do believe, however, that everyone who voted for Trump is EITHER a racist OR a person for whom racism is not a deal-breaker. This is also true if you substitute in other words for “racism,” like misogyny, anti-semitism, and homophobia.

It’s dark in America right now. The majority of the voters did not vote for Trump. And yet…here we are.

The republican party has irrevocably relinquished their claim on being “the party of Lincoln.” They are now the party of Trump. And I’m speaking to those who voted for him: You own it.

And we will call you out on it every step of the way.

The Day After

He is not my president. This is not my country.

 

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is election day. I’m feeling reasonably confident that tomorrow night I’ll be celebrating our FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT EVER!!!! Holding back the over-the-moon glee until we know for sure.

Mostly? I’m a stressed mess. This has been the longest, most godawful, ugly, bizarre, INSANE election I’ve ever known, by a million-fold. It Blows. My. Mind. that Donald Trump was the republican nominee. Never in history has there been such an unqualified, unfit, racist, misogynistic, fascist, narcissistic, sociopathic, despicable pig to represent a major political party in our country.

Now, I would have never voted for any republican candidate, because I don’t agree or relate with virtually any of the GOP policies. I believe that the middle class establishes the health of our economy and if they can’t afford to live in the economy, we have no economy. I believe in minority rights, LGBT rights, and women’s rights, including the right to birth control and abortion. I support facts, like the science behind climate change. I believe in reasonable gun control and background checks. I believe—strongly—in the separation of church and state. None of the initial GOP candidates believed in any of those things, so I would have never been supportive of any of them.

But there has never been anybody like Donald Trump. Zero experience in public office; zero understanding of how government or the constitution works; zero knowledge of how the world works. And on top of that, the worst character ever. Caught on audio bragging about “grabbing women by the pussy.” Managed to not pay taxes for 18 years playing the loophole game for real estate millionaires. Filing for bankruptcy numerous times (to escape paying those taxes). Refusing to disclose his tax returns. Erratic and undisciplined and vengeful. Lying incessantly. He is a pathological liar, noted by Politifact as lying 71% of the time! The New York Times published over 280 people and entities that he has brutally insulted. Not paying his contractors or pollsters. And insulting women beyond the pale.

If someone were to write a novel or a screenplay about Trump, they would have been summarily rejected because that character would be too over the top, impossible, too despicable, not based in reality.

But a lot of people think he’s A-OK. The KKK loves him. His horrific character has invited the worst racists in the country to emerge from under their rocks and raise their middle fingers to the sky without fear of reprisal. He has unleashed the worst of the worst.

I have Absolutely. No. Respect. for anybody who would support such a monster.

I am proud to be on the right side of history, and I know I have the company of the most intelligent, savvy, warm-hearted, top-notch people who view our country and what constitutes the best leaders the same way as I do.

“I'm so frightened I'm nearly shivering. The rest of my life, of my country's life, rests in the hands not only of good, educated, informed, tolerant, kind people - and don't you ever doubt that America is full of those, not for a moment - but in the hands of people who base their lives on an ancient book few of them have ever actually read and even fewer have actually understood; who see anyone and everyone unlike them in any way as enemies; who cannot tell the difference between truth and fiction, and do not care to learn; who are frightened of the future they cannot control and seek to escape to a past that never existed.” – Joshua Ellis

I know my mom would have been horrified this election season with Trump. Oh, I wish I could share with her tomorrow night the joy of electing not only the first woman president, but a truly qualified and exceptional character as president, in Hillary Clinton.

We would wear pantsuits and toast Manhattans!