Going through the logs on my blog, checking search terms.
Clearly, my most popular post is still (depressingly) this one
The search terms run the gamut from “Dolphin pictures” to “cute pictures of dolphins”
And recently, the disturbing “More pitchers of dolphins”
Guessing Green Peace would take issue with that one.
Also in the search log: “david dodenhoff + stanford”
Seems that one takes you to an old article that sparked a mini (very mini) global warming debate
While waiting to drop off the little stray at the Spay & Neuter clinic, the underwire in my bra popped out and stabbed me. That should have been a clue.
Tried to stop at the Chase Bank at 19th Ave & Northern, but they had apparently just been robbed. Building wrapped in caution tape, police cars, crime response unit, TV news crew.
Tried to stop at the Chase Bank at Christown. As I turned onto Bethany Home, a firetruck came barreling towards me ~ responding to a big accident in front of the mall.
Wrong clothes, wrong place, wrong time. Not real excited to see what is coming next….
While looking for the owner of this sweet little stray, I have spent a lot of time on Craigslist’s Lost & Found pages. So sad to see how many pets are lost, and how heartbroken the families are. Many of the ads mention collars but no tags, much like this guy who had a collar on with no info whatsoever.
Please, people, at the very least get ID tags for your pets. Even better, get them microchipped, as well. Any vet will scan for a chip if you ask them (if you’ve found a stray for instance) and all animal welfare organizations, like the Arizona Humane Society, will scan any strays they take in.
The best price I found for chipping locally is at AZ Spay & Neuter Clinic, well worth $30 to make sure you get your friend back.
(UPDATE: Some of you have been directed here looking for an article on legal issues. While I feel there is certainly a case to be made that NEA spending is not Constitutionally legal, I doubt that is what you had in mind. I recommend this article to satisfy your legal curiosity and to beg the question, When did this nation of laws become instead a nation of regulations?)
I asked previously about what government programs you were afraid to lose in the ongoing budget battles I got a bit of feedback elsewhere (the downside of social media, fewer blog comments) but no real discussion.
I’ll start with one of my pet grievances:
Why do we have a National Endowment for the Arts?
I have nothing against art (some of my best friends are artists), but I cannot fathom why it was decided that the government should be in the art business. Not only in the financing of art, but in deciding what, in fact, passes for art – and what is worth “buying”
The human desire for beauty is undeniable and well documented. As is the practice of wealthy patrons supporting the work of artists they believed in. Private citizens making a personal decision about what they felt worthy of production.
Government has no business collecting tax dollars in order to distribute them to artists. No more than they would be right in distributing those dollars to dog groomers or window washers. There is zero Constitutional justification and no ‘public need’.
The annual NEA budget has been hovering around the $150 million mark (their request for 2012 is a mere $146,255,000) I realize that $150 million is a drop in the bucket when we are facing deficits in the trillions, but (to paraphrase) “A hundred million here, a hundred million there, pretty soon you’re talking about real money”
The beauty of a sub $200 million program like this, though, is how easy it would be to transition it to the private sector. You artsy-farsty types think public art is so important, put your money where your mouth is. Let’s put the NEA on a deadline; six months from now, the funding will no longer come from the federal government. In that time, superstars & supermodels should be able to pony up enough cash to ensure it’s continued existence – and find someone trustworthy and good with money to oversee it.
Heck, if they still want it to be a collective effort, why not set aside a percentage of their union dues and box office receipts? That way they could feel good about the work they are doing now paving the way for those still trying to get their break.
Warren Buffett thinks his contribution to the federal budget is too low, this is his chance. He could write a check tomorrow that would keep roadways and parks dripping with art installations for decades.
And we would be a baby step closer to reigning in the unnecessary spending by our government.
Random fortune from a cookie I found on my desk:
You have a heart of goldI was wandering the aisles of a local dollar store, looking for parts for projects I never have time to finish 
Also shopping that day were a woman and her…grandchild? Seemed like a big age difference, but I am guessing.
This is how their visit went:
*crash*
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
A few more steps, *crunch*
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
A bit farther, *crinkle*
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
Over and over, all around the store. Step, step, step – *crinkle, crunch, crash, boom*
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch nuthin?”
“yaa”
I wanted to go up to her and say, “Lady, he clearly knows you said it – perhaps you should explain what it MEANS!”
We have been incorporating pumpkin puree* in the critters’ food for a while now.
It originally started because the new kitten has odor ‘issues’. I know part of that was just her age (kittens have notoriously smelly poop LOL) and part, I assume, was her early feral life. Hoping that a bit of extra fiber would help her digest, I started adding a spoonful to her food every morning.
It soon became obvious that she viewed it as a treat, as do all the other critters. Our ritual now involves me pulling the can out of the fridge, which gets her excitedly purring and squeaking at my feet as I mix it into her dry food. She then sits up like a Meerkat to lick the spoon. As I carry the bowl to her crate, she runs ahead and climbs on top (the only place she can go that the other cats can’t, the little monkey) so she can have first dibs. Bubblegum settles into the crate below to wait his turn – when she has had her fill, I put the bowl down there for him to snarf on. When he gets done, he leaves and Lizzy jumps up to finish it off.
In the mean time, I give each of the dogs a bit from the spoon. Just for a bit of variety, I made them some frozen treats with yogurt, pumpkin & peanut butter – those are a huge hit with both boys.
I have also heard that, in aiding digestion, pumpkin helps reduce hair balls. That would be a huge hit with me.
So far, the effect on Gypsy has been a much less offensive litter box and less stench in general. I don’t know yet whether it has had any effect on the older cats & their hair balls. I have no ‘solid’ evidence of what it may or may not be doing for the dogs – but I assume a little healthy fiber could only be a good thing. And all of them think I’m spoiling them.
Who’d have guessed a can of orange mush could make so many of us happy 
* 100% pure pumpkin only; not pie filling, no sugar or spices added
(Sorry for the odd post, but several folks had asked about it, so figured I would share here)
Once again, a story about ridiculous government over-reach. Where are all the Hollywood Libs, the Greenies like Ed Begley, to protect these folks?
Are we really at a point that we allow the government to drive people out of their homes because they aren’t consuming power generated by the state? Are we really to believe that a man who has lived in the middle of nowhere, a full 10 miles from his closest neighbor, has generated nuisance complaints? Perhaps Quentin Tarantino, who used the man’s church in his Kill Bill movies, could step up and get these people some help.
All they want to do is continue to live on the property they own.
I once again read some simpleton quote the standard, “How can Pro-Lifers be for the death penalty? Is life sacred or not?” screed. So ridiculous, so wrong – and so completely not comparable.
No, I don’t believe the taking of an innocent life by an individual who finds that life “inconvenient” to be on a level field with a society choosing to enact the most severe punishment on an adult who has been found guilty of committing a crime so heinous it requires the harshest sentence.
You want to equate children to criminals, lets make it more fitting.
“How can those pro-abortion folks not be in favor of lethal injection for every person arrested for a criminal offense that might result in a prison term? What with over-crowding & budget cuts, any additional prisoners would be terribly inconvenient for us”
I find criminals very unwanted. Sure, being arrested doesn’t mean they are guilty; but they certainly aren’t as innocent as those babies are.
UPDATE: How about this – you have to wait to perform an abortion just as long as it generally takes to carry out a typical death sentence, with appeals & such. After 20 or so years, if you still feel that child deserves to die, you get him or her to accompany you to a clinic where a ‘doctor’ will perform one of these so-called “humane” procedures.
Some people have messaged me and they somehow missed that I am CLEARLY illustrating an absurd argument by being absurd. I am certainly not calling for lethal injection kits in every police cruiser. I do, in fact, believe in due process, something that (as Phineas points out) those prisoners on death row have had – and those babies have not.
As a payroll service, we are often harassed by collection agencies looking for our “employees” I have often wondered about the legality of that, and what our rights are as far as getting them to stop – because it is really freaking annoying.
Lately, we are being harassed regarding former employees. There has to be some way to stop that – they are relentless and obnoxious.
Anyone with insight into the practices of collection agencies that can give me some pointers?
Found this in a comment stream on Google+
Complete regurgitation of inaccurate MSM talking points.
The democrats have given in over and over again to the Republicans, arguably placing the country in the situation it is today, and it’s come to a point that one more concession to the Republicans is enough to destroy the middle class, and redefine the lower class.
I find it appalling that the people, GOP especially, that were elected to represent the people of your country, that were elected to do what was best for your country, and were elected to make your country the great place that it is so often claimed to be are willing to viciously screw 99% of the citizens over for a chance to be in a better position come 2012.
Concessions need to be made on both sides, and a middle ground needs to be established that benefits the most possible people, not just the top 1%.
Hope his answer doesn’t count for too much of his grade – cause it is a big FAIL.
The budget battle drags on in D.C.
Obama is calling together congressional leaders to work on a compromise.
Spending cuts seem unlikely, tax increases seem assured.
Basic economics (which few people seem to grasp these days) dictate that you shouldn’t buy what you can’t afford.
So, those of you wringing your hands and gnashing your teeth over potential program cuts:
- What is it you are afraid to see the government STOP buying?
- What program or programs do you believe need to be off limits?
- Why do you think those programs are necessary?
- Why do you feel they should be funded by taxpayers?
Convince me that your pet cause doesn’t fall under “discretionary spending”.
