[Though I don't suppose there are many Puma concolor couguar left in Virginia]
Supposedly there are plenty of bears hereabouts.
In the barn we are sleeping in, there are three goats, a pig, and a shedload of ducks and chickens sleeping in the next door room. And some peacocks outside. A puma round these here parts would have a feast. In almost heaven West Virginia, you can rent a renovated barn, and when you arrive, it’s still being used as a barn.
Like it!
I would think the biggest wild cat actually in Virginia is the Bobcat. Out West it would be a different matter.
Black bears are fine unless you accidentally surprise one. You would be very lucky/unlucky to see any, especially if you aren't wandering off into the boonies.
IanB2 - Since you are in West Virginia, and this is a politics site (most of the time), you may be interested in this from the 2006 Almanac of American Politics:
'In April 2000 the Clinton administration came out against a ban on mountaintop mining, but for stricter regulation; Al Gore was caught in the middle between environmentalists who supported it and West Virginia's all-Democratic congressional delegation which opposed it. George W. Bush, spotting an opening quickly, came out in favor of mountaintop mining and called for increased federal support of clean coal technology; he said the Clinton administration "fears coal" and managed to mention coal in one of the presidential debates. Bush's support of coal and his opposition to gun control enabled him to carry West Virginia 52%-46% -- a stunning upset in a state that hadn't voted for a Republican in a open presidential race since 1928. Its five electoral votes were crucial: Without them, it would not have mattered who won Florida.' (p. 1783)
(Mountaintop mining became a hot issue in 2000 because of a judge's decision -- which was reversed by an appeals court in April 2001.)
It seems that before 2000 was mostly a Dem, occasionally swing, state, owing to its unionised workforce, yet since 2000 has become safe Rep?
The upper reaches of the Potomac. The Shenandoah, despite the song, is mostly in (east) Virginia.
North Branch OR South Branch of the Potomoc? The former is boundary between WVa and Maryland.
North fork, South Branch
In Britain, we’d give all these bits of stream different names, but maybe you Americans were running out of names to copylift by then? And there weren’t any natives around to ask.
Re: stream branches & forks, pretty commmon nomenclature in Appalachia.
IF you have the chance, check out two reasonably near-by things to check out, Dolly Sods and Spurch Knob.
Also not tooooo far from Harpers Ferry and Blue Ridge Summit, the later right on the PA side of Mason-Dixon line, and also birthplace of the Duchess of Windsor.
IanB2 said: "It seems that before 2000 was mostly a Dem, occasionally swing, state, owing to its unionised workforce, yet since 2000 has become safe Rep?" Pretty much right. After the Civil War it was Republican; the Depression and unionized mine workers made it Democratic until Bush helped shift it in 2000, and it has been Republican ever since.
You can see this last as part of a national trend, the retreat of the Democratic Party from rural areas.
Which has been counterbalanced by the retreat of Republicans from "silk stocking" districts in urban areas. For an example of that, see the list of San Francisco mayors, Republicans for decades, until 1964. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_San_Francisco
"Kirstie Allsopp last night spoke of her outrage after she was quizzed by social services for allowing her 15-year-old son to go Interrailing across Europe.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal how, in an extraordinary intervention, a social worker contacted the TV presenter to inform her that a file had been opened after child protection concerns were raised over her youngest child, Oscar.
To the 52-year-old's fury, the social worker demanded to know what 'safeguards' had been put in place when she allowed Oscar to travel for three weeks on the continent alongside a 16-year-old friend. "
We don’t know the full details, but I think that Alsopp and the council have both behaved properly.
The council is obliged by law to open an investigation on a complaint. So long as they didn’t take any action they don’t appear to have done anything wrong.
The issue is that someone took it on themselves to make a malicious complaint based on a tweet by a celebrity about her legitimate parenting choices. There should be a higher barrier to triggering a case
When it takes a minimum, at absolute incredibly lucky best, six weeks for a social worker to undertake a care assessment of someone who is in major health difficulties and is waiting for social care support as in OT equipment or care workers coming to get them to the toilet is is fucking ridiculous they have time for this shit.
They have a legal obligation
I hope it was a text, a ten minute phone call and 20 minutes of paperwork…
IanB2 - Since you are in West Virginia, and this is a politics site (most of the time), you may be interested in this from the 2006 Almanac of American Politics:
'In April 2000 the Clinton administration came out against a ban on mountaintop mining, but for stricter regulation; Al Gore was caught in the middle between environmentalists who supported it and West Virginia's all-Democratic congressional delegation which opposed it. George W. Bush, spotting an opening quickly, came out in favor of mountaintop mining and called for increased federal support of clean coal technology; he said the Clinton administration "fears coal" and managed to mention coal in one of the presidential debates. Bush's support of coal and his opposition to gun control enabled him to carry West Virginia 52%-46% -- a stunning upset in a state that hadn't voted for a Republican in a open presidential race since 1928. Its five electoral votes were crucial: Without them, it would not have mattered who won Florida.' (p. 1783)
(Mountaintop mining became a hot issue in 2000 because of a judge's decision -- which was reversed by an appeals court in April 2001.)
The Rwanda policy was an ill thought out gimmick from start to finish. The fact that the Tories little helpers in the media have continued to defend the indefensible is a sign that Tory politics remains deeply serious even after the shellacking they received on July 4th.
On the Appalachia & West Virginia theme, something to check out is O Winston Link’s photographic chronicle of the end of steam on the Norfolk and Western Railway. The photographs are amazing, mainly taken at night with industrial scale lighting rigs but Link was showing much more than the end of steam, it was about the end of an American way of life. The culture wars are round the corner and nothing will ever be the same again.
The Rwanda policy was an ill thought out gimmick from start to finish. The fact that the Tories little helpers in the media have continued to defend the indefensible is a sign that Tory politics remains deeply serious even after the shellacking they received on July 4th.
Comments
I would think the biggest wild cat actually in Virginia is the Bobcat. Out West it would be a different matter.
Black bears are fine unless you accidentally surprise one. You would be very lucky/unlucky to see any, especially if you aren't wandering off into the boonies.
IF you have the chance, check out two reasonably near-by things to check out, Dolly Sods and Spurch Knob.
Also not tooooo far from Harpers Ferry and Blue Ridge Summit, the later right on the PA side of Mason-Dixon line, and also birthplace of the Duchess of Windsor.
You can see this last as part of a national trend, the retreat of the Democratic Party from rural areas.
Which has been counterbalanced by the retreat of Republicans from "silk stocking" districts in urban areas. For an example of that, see the list of San Francisco mayors, Republicans for decades, until 1964.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_San_Francisco
I find much to admire in the career of the last Republican mayor, George Christopher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Christopher_(mayor)
Government officials drew up a communications plan demanding civilians were protected and aid allowed to get in despite Tories pushing through the Safety of Rwanda Act
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rwanda-war-plan-drawn-up-33507936
I hope it was a text, a ten minute phone call and 20 minutes of paperwork…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4geznqv7d9o
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountaintop_removal_mining
Which candidate do Americans think would be more likely to lower the costs of...
Health care: 44% Harris vs. 34% Trump (+10 Harris)
Housing: 40% Harris vs. 36% Trump (+4 Harris)
Food: 39% Harris vs. 38% Trump (+1 Harris)
https://x.com/YouGovAmerica/status/1825543202545217956
It is an amazing body of work.
Hotshot Eastbound: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/49823
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