Post 300: sleepyheads and their morning routine

We got up early today, about 1:30 or so. By “we”, of course, I mean “they” – Andy and Dougy – got up early, then tormented me till I got up. The boys wanted to be fed early! I made them wait till 2:30, and, I assure you, no cats got substantially scrawnier for the extra hour’s wait!

I made myself some coffee and waffles for breakfast, then watched the news after feeding the cats.

Andy climbed on his favorite morning perch beside me on the end table.

Andy resting on back_edited-1

Dougy whined and moaned about something. I asked him, per morning ritual, “What’s the matter, Dougy? Timmy in the well…again?!” (It’s one of two jokes the cats and I have. The other is when I say “woof-woof” to them. You have to be there…!)

I, of course, knew what was on Dougy’s mind: he wanted to play “feather toy”! After a bit more teasing, I pulled out his toy, and Dougy bounced and rolled around, tearing up the front room catching, chewing, mauling his favorite toy. Andy doesn’t get it. Oddly enough, he doesn’t get involved in play until well into the game.

By 5:30, I was sick of “Morning Joe” and Joe Scarborough. I decided to roast some coffee beans. I sat on my bed, under the fire alarm, because I’ve had problems with fire alarm hyper-sensitivity. Roasting coffee beans produces enough smoke it sets off the alarm! In Winter, anyway. In Summer, I can open windows and doors, turn on the vent fan, and usually avoid the alarm.

Andy saw me on the edge of my bed, broom at ready to push the reset button on the alarm. He thought I was going back to bed and acted like that wasn’t agreeable with him. He looked stressed by the fact I was on my bed! This may be a response going back to a year ago when I spent lots of time in bed because of illness. The boys would bring their toys into my bedroom and leave them by my bed while I slept. I’m still touched by the thought of it.

Anyway, the alarm went off, the boys ran helter skelter, I punched the reset button, but my roasted coffee bean supply is assured for four or five more days.

I returned to the front room to watch a little Home and Gardens programming before dealing with this post and all of the e-mails piled up in my account. I fell asleep.

When I woke up three hours (I think) later, Andy’d nested in the clothes dryer, and Dougy’d snuggled up in the top one of the stacked cat carriers by the recliner. We’d all took a morning nap!

I like my cats when they just wake up. They wake up happy and sweet. Dougy’s always up for ear rubs and chins scratches, so it’s no big deal he wakes up sweet. Even Andy, my little cynical cat, wakes up forgetting he’d rather not be scratched on his tummy, something he truly likes if he’d just let himself indulge in the pleasure.

I’m more like Andy. As long as no one expects too much of me until I sort out being awake, I’m happy when I wake, too.

Joe, you sanctimonious lala…!

Grrrr! I’m at it again.

Some days, I want to take Joe Scarborough aside and…!

Earlier this week, I sent my Congressman a message, which is the subject of the last post, “Dear Adrian”. No, I haven’t had any response from my Congressman. Unlike Joe, I realize and accept the possibility his staff is buried in messages from constituents, and, though his response record stinks and I might not get one under any circumstance, it is greatly possible (if he responds), it will be late. You know, like the people trying to deal with the huge response to the Affordable Care Act inquiries.

Joe, well, I best better shut my trap. I’m really upset with you just now.

“Morning Joe”

I make the mistake of starting my day with “Morning Joe” on MSNBC. “Joe” is Joe Scarborough, an articulate former Congressman who’s inclined to talk over his guests and his co-host, Mika Brzezinski. There are times I’d like to reach through the television screen and choke him!

He does, however, represent a rational conservatism, whether I agree with him on many topics or not. I feel I can listen to what he has to say and hear a legitimate conservative point of view, not some Ted Cruz anarchist crap.

Mika and Joe

Recently, for whatever reasons, he seems not to be there on set as much or else he participates in the first segment from some location other than the studio from which “Morning Joe” originates.

On the days Joe isn’t there, hosts and guests speak in complete sentences, try not to step on each other’s points by talking over each other. There is no loud talk, no interruptions of the news when Mika reads it, no need to reach through the screen to choke somebody. You know who!

One needs to hear all sides of an argument, not just the ones that match one’s closely held prejudices….that’s where Joe comes in.

To my amazement, Mika actually is articulate, is a great moderator of the discussions, and she smiles! On days Joe’s in studio talking over her, she frequently doesn’t get to complete a thought, and she has a nearly show-long scowl on her face… even though she is close enough to reach over and choke Joe in person, something I sit there urging her to do since I can’t reach through the television set.

On days Joe appears from another studio, he participates, of course, because he is articulate and has fully formed opinions on the news of the day. Not to say he’s infallible, of course, but he, at least, isn’t an ideologue like so many on Fox News are. (I find Shep Smith and Chris Wallace usually are watchable, professional journalists; the rest leave me reaching through the television set to choke them…!)

Also, on the days Joe appears from another studio, he is less likely to step on other people’s comments by talking over them. Those days are more meaningful, as I actually can hear what everyone says – I have total deafness in my right rear, and some hearing loss in my left, so this over-talking makes listening difficult to impossible. On those days, though Joe is more subdued, I actually like him. Closed Captioning helps, but isn’t the whole answer for me.

I note that Joe Scarborough is my conservative of choice because he presents an argument rather than proclaims an opinion as a fact. You might call him the Chris Matthews of Conservativism. (Cheap shot! Cheap shot! I love you, too, Chris! But you do walk over other people’s comments.)

Where I live, in Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District, people sent to Congress tend always to be Republicans who get around 70% or more of the popular vote. The district isn’t red, it’s screeching scarlet!

I also note that I watch most of the MSNBC political and news programs in the afternoon and evening. They tend to be liberal, as charged, though they are honest about their biases, unlike Fox, where they routinely parade Republican Party propaganda as news, with the exception (in my opinion) of Chris Wallace and Shep Smith.

All I ask of newscasters and pundits: honest arguments based on credible facts. That and a desire for Joe to shut up and listen more to Mika and his guests rather than risk me reaching through the television set to choke him!

I didn’t intend to write a review of a television show today or get political. It occurred to me, however, during today’s dose of “Morning Joe”, that a lot of my upset about the Obamacare defunding/debt ceiling mess originates with this start to my day. That and the fact that Joe Scarborough irritates me when he talks over guests before my morning joe kicks in.

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Incidentally, it was reported on the news that 26% of all Texans are without health insurance. What about that Senator Cruz? Wouldn’t working to correct deficiencies in the Affordable Care Act make more sense to your constituents than you working to deny them access to some form of affordable health insurance?

Just asking, sir. Maybe you’d even look presidential if you worked for the people instead of self-aggrandizement. Nevermind. It’s too late for you now.