February 13, 2009
Greets and Huggers. Posted the evening of February 13, 2009. Susan tells me men are different. She claims our plumbing is more regular. Like clockwork. We make “throne time” a ritual. Perhaps so. I have a habit of keeping things I want to read in the “throne room” … and read them. As a result she claims there must be some type of symbiotic link between the nerves in my rear end and the nerves in my eyes in order for both to work properly. This is probably true because there are days when the nerves get crossed and I come down with “Video-rectitus” … everything I look at turns to poop!!
One of the stepping stones in the formation of any intimate relationship … is negotiating bathroom etiquette. As adult individuals most of us consider this room in our house THE bastion of our privacy. However, once becoming “we” … and moving into a common space … a complex series of negotiations about the use of that space come into play. Read that to mean, if you are male … gratefully accept whatever space she lets you have. This is especially true in the bathroom. This series of negotiations is commonly know as “housebreaking”. The signs of a successful negotiation? When you feel comfortable leaving the bathroom door open when in use AND there is room left over for your reading materials. Course, once you have children, to a 2 or 3 year old, there is no such thing as “privacy”.
This morning, I was sitting on the “library” reading the Kansas City Star and “Sassy“, (one of our really old rescues from a nasty shelter in Topeka), wandered in and licked my leg. Dogs have no sense of privacy either, (how could they … they greet eachother by sniffing each others butts!) I picked her up … she licked my hand and I scratched her back, scritched her tummy … and talked to her. I put her down and she curled up at my feet and dozed off. She was content. So was I. Seems the older I get, the less “things” I need to be content. Perhaps with age, you learn the difference between “want” and “need”. And it goes without saying, that at some point, most of us also learn the difference between love and lust. Unfortunately for some, it is too late and they are locked into a relationship where the pain of staying is equal to the pain of leaving. So they stay.
BBC NEWS – Smokers would quit for pets’ sake. “Smokers are more likely to kick the habit to safeguard their pet’s health than their own, US researchers say. A survey of 3,300 pet owners found 28% of those who smoked would try to quit when told about the effects of passive smoking on their pets.” If second smoke is harmful to people, then no doubt, second hand smoke is harmful to your pets: “There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets,” MacAllister said. “Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, as well as lung cancer in birds.” No doubt the reason kill shelters don’t allow smoking on their premises.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) – Stray dogs being killed in Baghdad. “The shotgun blast rips into the stray dog’s midsection, sending it tumbling over and over. Agonizing yelps echo through the streets as it tries to reach and bite at the gaping wound. Minutes later, the dog is dead. A few miles away, a puppy eats a piece of poisoned meat. Its body starts to twitch and spasm as the toxins kick in. It dies within 15 minutes. The two strays were among the thousands that roam the streets of Baghdad. Authorities have been killing them since November, trying to prevent the spread of disease and attacks on residents.” And also in Baghdad: 35 women, children killed near Iraq festival. “A female suicide bomber detonated in a crowd of primarily women and children on their way to a religious festival Friday, killing at least 35 people and wounding 45 others, an Interior Ministry official said … The suicide attack took place about noon between the towns of Iskandariyah and Mussayib, south of the capital, Baghdad, as hundreds of thousands of Shia pilgrims are making their way to Karbala for Arbaeen, one of the holiest Shia events.”
LOS ANGELES – Police Investigate Death Threats Against Octuplets’ Mom. “The mother of octuplets has taken her six older children and gone into hiding, according to her publicist. The 33-year-old mother lives with her children at her parents home in Whittier. But Nadya Suleman’s publicist says she has moved to an �undisclosed location� because of death threats and hateful phone calls and emails. Some of the threats reportedly involved people threatening to rip out her uterus and put her in a wood chipper.” Ripping out her uterus I can understand … but stuffing her in a wood chipper? A picture was taken the week before she delivered: I always felt pregnant women have a certain “glow” … in this case, the Coast Guard could have hired her as a lighthouse. As a footnote, it will cost the State of California over a million dollars in medical services provided and the fertility doctor who implanted 8 embryos faces losing his license. And for what? So this waste of skin could “mother” 14 children? She could/should have opened a “Day Care”!!
As for the death threats? California has adopted a mild form of the Castle Doctrine. On August 28, 2008, Missouri adopted the “Castle Doctrine/Law“. “563.041. 1. A person may, subject to the limitations of subsection 2, use physical force upon another person when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes it necessary to prevent what he or she reasonably believes to be the commission or attempted commission by such person of stealing, property damage or tampering in any degree.“ Think about it. That is a subjective, not objective test. At the extreme end, theoretically, you can now shoot some kid toilet papering your house. It will be interesting to see how case law will flesh, or perhaps, flush out the law
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) – Push to make porn star a senator no stunt, fan says. “Fans of porn star Stormy Daniels are drafting her to run for the U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana now held by Republican Sen. David Vitter. And it’s no racy gimmick, they say. The Draft Stormy Web site says that “2010 presents the Pelican State with the opportunity to start with a clean slate — to elect a representative that we can be proud of, who will work tirelessly, and who will challenge the status quo. We at the Draft Stormy campaign feel that Baton Rouge native Stormy Daniels is best suited to fulfill these duties.” You know, there is a kind of poetic justice to this. Why not a porn star? She is honest and up front about what she does for a living, (and reportedly would have to take a pay cut to serve). Somehow, I find the idea refreshing … a politician who would admit she screws people for a living. I’d vote for her.
And talking about screwing people for a living? BBC NEWS – Madoff’s wife ‘withdrew millions’. “The wife of US financier Bernard Madoff withdrew more than $15m from an account shortly before he was put under house arrest, US prosecutors say. Ruth Madoff withdrew $10m on 10 December, the day before his arrest, having earlier withdrawn $5.5m in late November, prosecutors said.” Only goes to prove, behind every successful man stands … a good woman, (if she’s carrying 15.5 million dollars … all the better). No doubt this will be fodder for “Jewish Mother - Jewish Mother” jokes.
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Bad economy forcing immigrants to reconsider U.S. “Pedro Pablo slowly folds up his American flag blanket and stuffs it in his duffel bag. With it goes his American dream. “I left my family and lost four years with them. I will ask them to forgive me,” he said. Pablo is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who came to the United States to support his wife and five sons back home. When he arrived, construction jobs were plentiful. Over the last year, he says, he’s worked three days. Across the United States, tens of thousands of immigrants — those here legally and illegally — are facing a similar dilemma: Do they continue to search for jobs in a struggling U.S. economy or return home to an even bleaker economic situation?” Why would they go home to an even “bleaker economic situation?” For the most part, in most of our America, “poor” people live better that the lower middle class in other countries. The middle and upper middle class in others. I will be curious to see how President Obama will deal with the illegal alien issue … and yes, illegal alien … they are only undocumented workers when they are working.
Sitting here editing these Ramblings, Willie asleep at my feet and my ‘Lil Buddy asleep in the other chair, (you can see some of their pictures in an album I posted on my “facebook” page). All is well at Ft. Timmerman. Discovered this week that there are differences between pellets for our pellet stove. “Biomass” pellets, at $4.00 a 40 pound bag do not burn as efficiently as “hardwood” pellets, at $4.38 a bag. I am testing now to see which would work better for us. Without a doubt, there is a certain satisfaction in not burning natural gas … and instead burning a renewable resource … course, I wish someone would invent a “biomass”, (dog poop) into methane converter. The “biomass” at FT Timmerman, if converted to methane, could probably heat half of the homes in Holden!! The 7 Bells 501(c)(3) application went out in the mail last Monday. We will see how that plays out. Having said that, it is time to post these Ramblings and gently suggest a pray of thanks for the blessings in your life, as I say a pray of thanks for God’s tender mercy to me: Susan. And a prayer for Bob Sig and the safe and soon return of our men and women in uniform, (care to join me?) Be and sleep well, the best there is, is out covering your back, so you can. If my post offends, I apologize – that is not my intent. As always …
A Warm Brotherly Hug
Karl (the dumb old country lawyer from Holden, Missouri … and the “Editorial Staff”, Willie, Karly, my ‘Lil Buddy … and Dinker, the copy boy!)