I look over the list and if I've got family in some of those states, you bet I'm calling.

I do visit them, and I always worry about them, and some of them are seriously worried about potential loss of Medicaid. Have a sister in Ohio, for example, and nieces in Maine and Arizona.

They'll usually ask for zip codes. I give my relatives' ones, because after all, when I visit, I stay with them.

One more thing - and this of course applies more to unruly Dems: IF YOU DONATED TO THEIR CAMPAIGNS, seems to me you have a right to weigh in. That makes you a constituent of a different type. As I once told Heidi Heitkamp's office in North Dakota when I called about some issue - true, I don't live in North Dakota. But she was VERY happy to take my California money when she was running for the Senate. She didn't turn it down OR send it back because it came from outside North Dakota, or because I wasn't a direct constituent. Therefore, as her underwriter and bankroller, she is definitely going to hear from me now.

Btw - I joined our local Indivisible group and I know well that they advocate keeping your activism to your own local reps. And by all means, DO! But I see reasons why your speaking up to reps in other states should not necessarily be 100% ruled out. After all, if your aging dad or your brother and his family live elsewhere, you absolutely have a stake in their wellbeing and their rights and in this case, health care (!) - even if you yourself don't live in their state.

Just an update as we await Megyn's fourth attempt to get it right...

I was scanning through the July 3rd edition of "In Touch" - my guilty-pleasure pop culture/gossip magazine. An article titled "Matt: Megyn Is a Disaster!" with Matt Later reportedly outraged about Kelly's Alex Jones debacle last Sunday. One unnamed NBC colleague is quoted as saying: "Matt thinks this interview gave a platform to an individual who peddles conspiracy theories about dead children. It's a stunt that Megyn would have gotten away with when she was at Fox News, but this is NBC."

Not surprised. I haven't seen anywhere that part of her deal was to have her producer(s) come with her when she jumped networks. So I bet this was her idea. I bet she thought an Alex Jones interview would have been red hot and controversial as all-get-out, and the talk of the town. I bet she thought it would get stratospheric ratings and let her plant her flag at NBC. She is, after all, their 17+MILLION-Dollar-Baby, so stand back, everyone.

But as we know, it was an EPIC fail. And this quote explained it all, basically that you can take Megyn Kelly out of Fox News, but you can't take Fox News out of Megyn Kelly. She indeed could have "gotten away with" a feature on Alex Jones on Pox Noise! That audience gobbles up white meat like Alex Jones and many if not most of his followers actually believe that stuff, even long after it's been disproved. That audience slants so far to the so-called "right" that it falls all the way over! He lets them get in touch with their inner demons of aggrieved outrage, and makes it okay to indulge in it. All that stuff you're not supposed to do or say in polite company? Screw all that. All that berserk conspiracy stuff he spouts - he's just yowling because he can.

It's only after 7pm out here as I write this. We won't know how this show fared in the ratings til tomorrow.

LOL!!!

Just as Shelley Duvall was born to play Olive Oyl,

Looks like Jared was born to be Alfred E. Newman!

Very Nice, DFW! A lovely tribute to a magnificent woman.

Lucky, you are! And congrats to her!

And how, The Wielding Truth!

We MUST try to make everybody aware and active. Just imagine if we had all our forces out there, VOTING? What if everybody turned up and used their power and their voice? There are more of us than there are of the other tribe. We are literally invincible - but only IF we get off our asses and vote!!! We can't even dream of winning if we don't even bother to show up - for whatever lame-ass excuse is presented.

And I just see gobs and gobs of sexism:

This smack talk against Nancy Pelosi.
The silencing of Elizabeth Warren (and yet she persisted. DEAL with it).
The repeated interruption of Kamala Harris. TWO weeks in a row, TWO different hearings in a row.
The constant grousing against Susan Rice. Blame her for EVERYTHING, for Pete's Sake.
The silencing of Sally Yates. Tell 'em something they don't like because it's your job to tell the truth, and BOOM, you're fired.
The disgusting abuse, disrespect, and flat-out racist insults thrown at Michelle Obama - ragging about her hair when she wore it natural; likening her to Angela Davis in a derogatory way, etc.
The mean-spirited attacks on then-adolescent Chelsea Clinton (limbaugh repeatedly referred to her as the "White House dog&quot .
And of course EVERYTHING done to, said against, and lied about Hillary.

Every time an affront was leveled against Kamala Harris at both those hearings, I found myself mumbling "you better mind your manners and watch your ass, dude. She's liable to be PRESIDENT someday."

And yes, Nancy Pelosi was a remarkably effective Speaker. She never brought anything up to a vote unless she knew it would pass. Never had embarrassments handed to her by repeated miscalculations like John Boehner did, or like Paul Ryan does. She got stuff done and ran that House like a military commander. NOTHING got past her or snuck up on her. And she got the Affordable Care Act DONE. Period. End of story.

Yeah, this is a really good point about showing actual visual size.

Help your viewers get a good idea of how big the object is. That makes a big difference, especially in wearables like accessories or jewelry, furniture, tools, toys, quilts, tea towels, and gewgaws. Photos of the object alone don't give you true size.

If you're making small things like jewelry items, make sure you photograph each one with a penny sitting close by. For scale. Use rulers or yardsticks for larger items. Get a friend to model something of personal adornment that you've created. So you can see how long the necklace is when you're wearing it and where it hits you in front; or how well that new piece of living room decor might actually fit in an area where you're looking for a unique accent piece; would your tool drawer have room for the new experimental tool; would the baby quilt be big enough for the baby - for longer than maybe the first six months; how long the shawl really is and would it go all the way around you with plenty of room to spare for a nice roomy fit; how big is that hand-painted pitcher, considering the purposes you might have in mind for it; the size of the wreath, because it's for an important occasion and needs to be larger and more prominent; stuff like that. It's all so the viewer can compare.

Longtime "artsy-fartsy" here: nature crafter, kids' craft teacher, recycling crafter, polymer clay artist, and beader, plus a few odds 'n' end.

Hey furtheradu, the pinecone/seed pod Christmas wreaths I make for gifts, using all the amazing stuff that falls from neighborhood trees year 'round, never fail to please. I bet you could create some STUNNING "Spirit Wreaths" for faith-based occasions or significant moments.

People like hand-made/hand-crafted. It means you, or your lucky gift recipient, will not see a whole bunch of the exact same, mass-produced stuff out there all the time.

The best part is - ideas are popping up from everywhere. Like here, from you.

Etsy is a great idea! They have loads of hand-crafted items, of every imaginable kind!

People are really creative on there. You could get lost, just roaming around and exploring different shops. "Let's see - I'm into handmade quilts..." "...looking for a baby present with some real heart..." "saw a woman wearing this neat turquoise necklace. Wonder what there is?" "Gardening accents?" It's fascinating! Just go look around. A hundred-and-one million gift ideas to buy or try making. That's a really great idea, Blue_Roses!

furtheradu, sounds like an ideal place to show off your wares. "Spirit Gifts" - is a TERRIFIC title for your shop! The way you've written about it here would work there as part of your self-introduction. Just go look around and you'll get a sense of it. Please keep us posted as to what you want to do.

Nailed it again, Nance.