As criminal as it has been over the past eight years, the Bush Administration has not been bad enough for five well-financed and influential industry groups. This week, the American Petroleum Institute, National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Mining Association and American Iron and Steel Institute sued the Bush Interior Department over a rule to protect the polar bear that they say unfairly singles out operations in Alaska for their contribution to global warming.
By this point, you should be saying, "What the hell?" First question: "You mean the Bush Interior Department believes global warming exists?" Second question: "Considering the Bush Interior Department, and all the other departments of this administration, do the bidding of industry at the expense of individuals (except the richest ones), the environment, and the animals God created, how did they slip up this time?" But the biggest question is, "A Bush Administration department is interested in protecting the polar bear?" Well, not really. Only in Alaska, where they want to drill on the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.
Quoting from the Associated Press article about this development: "The Bush administration has made clear that it did not want the bear to become a tool of environmentalists seeking to regulate gases blamed for global warming. It exempted projects in all states but Alaska from undergoing reviews. The groups call the 'Alaska Gap' unlawful.'"
I only agree with the money-grubbing bastards in the five groups on one thing. Things should not be different for Alaska. No state should be exempted. The rest of the country should be subjected to at least the same requirements as Alaska.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Keep your feline babies indoors!
It hurt my heart.
Today, totally by surprise, we were contacted by a neighbor who was trying to find a home for an apparently abandoned cat. He reminded us of our first baby, Kafka, who was black and white like this sweet guy. We decided to give it a try, even though we were concerned that he might never be accepted by our current baby.
First stop - the vet. We have a feline daughter, and it wouldn't do for her to be exposed to any harmful viruses. On the way, my special person drove, and I sat in the back seat with the carrier that contained the new arrival in our lives. We discussed names. None seemed to click. Because he was black and white, my special person said, "We could call him 'Barack.'" Wow! That seemed so great, considering his symbolic coloring, the timing of our finding him - or him finding us - and his warm and friendly but noble bearing.
Bad news. Little Barack had feline AIDS. We couldn't take him back home; he could infect our baby girl or other cats. Our vet was angry that someone would let this beautiful cat run free . . . and this is what happens. The vet offered to board him without charge for two weeks, during which time he would try to connect Barack with someone who didn't have a cat who might adopt him. It's doubtful that will happen. I had bonded with Barack and so had my special person. We stood in the vet's examining room and cried.
I'm furious, and it's a good thing I don't know who the guilty party is. To ignorant people, letting a cat run free may seem like the right thing to do. But they're very susceptible to a lot of potentially fatal injuries and diseases.
Keep your cat(s) indoors. And give her, him or them all the love you can possibly give. Spoil them as much as you possibly can. It's your job.
Today, totally by surprise, we were contacted by a neighbor who was trying to find a home for an apparently abandoned cat. He reminded us of our first baby, Kafka, who was black and white like this sweet guy. We decided to give it a try, even though we were concerned that he might never be accepted by our current baby.
First stop - the vet. We have a feline daughter, and it wouldn't do for her to be exposed to any harmful viruses. On the way, my special person drove, and I sat in the back seat with the carrier that contained the new arrival in our lives. We discussed names. None seemed to click. Because he was black and white, my special person said, "We could call him 'Barack.'" Wow! That seemed so great, considering his symbolic coloring, the timing of our finding him - or him finding us - and his warm and friendly but noble bearing.
Bad news. Little Barack had feline AIDS. We couldn't take him back home; he could infect our baby girl or other cats. Our vet was angry that someone would let this beautiful cat run free . . . and this is what happens. The vet offered to board him without charge for two weeks, during which time he would try to connect Barack with someone who didn't have a cat who might adopt him. It's doubtful that will happen. I had bonded with Barack and so had my special person. We stood in the vet's examining room and cried.
I'm furious, and it's a good thing I don't know who the guilty party is. To ignorant people, letting a cat run free may seem like the right thing to do. But they're very susceptible to a lot of potentially fatal injuries and diseases.
Keep your cat(s) indoors. And give her, him or them all the love you can possibly give. Spoil them as much as you possibly can. It's your job.
The Ice Princess cometh
Cindy McCain . . . the Ice Princess. Dare to look into that laser vision, and you will be flash-frozen and summarily shattered into a billion jagged pieces of crystalline shards.
The Ice Princess' frigid stare will transform the lava from Hawaiian volcanoes into glaciers. This could be good news for the polar bears . . . the one potential positive in a vast ocean of Republican negatives for the environment.
The Ice Princess, shielded from reality by mind-boggling billions of U.S. dollars, shielding the old man too . . . the android former "maverick" who sold his soul to the devil on a convention stage in 2004, and sealed the deal with a kiss. Did he and Bush the Devil lock tongues? Was the Devil's forked tongue plunged down the old man's throat, piercing his ancient larnyx and infecting it with extreme right-wing orthodoxy?
Ask the trophy . . . the silent Ice Princess. She will not tell. She will only stare, her ice-hot laser vision surgically severing your carotid artery.
The Ice Princess' frigid stare will transform the lava from Hawaiian volcanoes into glaciers. This could be good news for the polar bears . . . the one potential positive in a vast ocean of Republican negatives for the environment.
The Ice Princess, shielded from reality by mind-boggling billions of U.S. dollars, shielding the old man too . . . the android former "maverick" who sold his soul to the devil on a convention stage in 2004, and sealed the deal with a kiss. Did he and Bush the Devil lock tongues? Was the Devil's forked tongue plunged down the old man's throat, piercing his ancient larnyx and infecting it with extreme right-wing orthodoxy?
Ask the trophy . . . the silent Ice Princess. She will not tell. She will only stare, her ice-hot laser vision surgically severing your carotid artery.
Friday, August 29, 2008
History and inspiration
"Awesome." It's a word that's used a lot, often without any underlying meaning. Last night, as I witnessed a long-overdue historic event for our country, I was reminded of the true meaning and power of that adjective. Barack's acceptance speech was amazing, inspired AND inspiring, and - yes - AWESOME!
In my lifetime, I don't recall hearing a speech that stirred me more . . . since I watched John Fitzgerald Kennedy speak after taking the oath of office on that cold January day in 1961 ("A new generation . . . Ask not what your country can do for you . . .") and, of course, watched Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver the address Barack invoked last night - perhaps the greatest oratorical tribute to peace and unity ever made, at least in the Western tongue. (My favorite passage: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Amen.)
As awesome as it was, I can't wait to hear Barack's inspirational message upon taking his oath of office as President of the United States. It WILL happen. It HAS to happen. We must MAKE it happen! I feel we're on the brink of losing the social, financial and diplomatic progress that this country has made in my lifetime . . . and we've been taken to that brink in just the last eight years. The neoconservative agents of repression and regression have been hard at work, both within and supported by the George W. Bush Administration, in their systematic plan to turn back these gains. And, incredibly and regrettably, they have been very successful with their relentless "scorched earth" (figuratively and literally) agenda.
I'm sending more money to Barack today, and I'm going to do everything I can to try to persuade everyone I can to vote for him and to influence others to do so. I know some of you must feel as passionately as I do about this, so I'm "preaching to the choir." But I had to get my rush of emotions translated to words as best I could while the fire burned its hottest.
YES, WE CAN!
In my lifetime, I don't recall hearing a speech that stirred me more . . . since I watched John Fitzgerald Kennedy speak after taking the oath of office on that cold January day in 1961 ("A new generation . . . Ask not what your country can do for you . . .") and, of course, watched Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver the address Barack invoked last night - perhaps the greatest oratorical tribute to peace and unity ever made, at least in the Western tongue. (My favorite passage: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Amen.)
As awesome as it was, I can't wait to hear Barack's inspirational message upon taking his oath of office as President of the United States. It WILL happen. It HAS to happen. We must MAKE it happen! I feel we're on the brink of losing the social, financial and diplomatic progress that this country has made in my lifetime . . . and we've been taken to that brink in just the last eight years. The neoconservative agents of repression and regression have been hard at work, both within and supported by the George W. Bush Administration, in their systematic plan to turn back these gains. And, incredibly and regrettably, they have been very successful with their relentless "scorched earth" (figuratively and literally) agenda.
I'm sending more money to Barack today, and I'm going to do everything I can to try to persuade everyone I can to vote for him and to influence others to do so. I know some of you must feel as passionately as I do about this, so I'm "preaching to the choir." But I had to get my rush of emotions translated to words as best I could while the fire burned its hottest.
YES, WE CAN!
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