LIVI'S GOTCHA DAY

Happy Gotcha Day to my sister, Livi! She's been with us for one year. Unlike most other new pets, Livi seemed to fit in and know she belonged here from the start; and everyone gets along with her. She is a good sister to all!

Tonight, we'll celebrate with Frosty Paws and a new toy (an AKC goose - shhhh, don't tell!).

JUST WONDERING...

From Mockingbird's Medley:

So if John McCain is a war hero for bombing a third world nation that never even attacked us, did the anti-aircraft battery that shot him down at least get a unit citation?

IF I ONLY HAD A BRAIN...

DAZED & CONFUSED

Some interesting clips of smooth operator John McAncient.... (Warning: this video can be quite painful to watch!)

STORM FOLLOW-UP

As promised a week ago, here are some pix of my mommas' yard (the first two) and some others in our area.
Lots of trees were down, lots of power poles and power lines, lots of phone lines. Miraculously, no serious injuries.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

From The Peace Train:
"John McCain practically dared Barack Obama to go to Iraq, and he did, with a vengeance. He has been on a world tour, going to three key areas Iraq and Afghanistan, where US troops are fighting; to Europe, location of America’s principal allies; and the Middle East, where America has a fundamental commitment to Israel and to regional peace. By most accounts, the trip has been a huge success. Obama has seemed presidential, and has been treated as a world leader in world capitals. Media coverage has been very positive and extensive, and he has not made any serious mistakes that could undermine his foreign policy credentials.
"If the McCain camp expected an Obama trip overseas would highlight the Democratic candidate's inexperience in foreign policy, the strategy may have backfired. From Kabul to Baghdad, and now onto Jordan, Israel, Britain, France and Germany, Barack Obama's first international trip since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee is being covered by the media like a world tour for a popularly elected leader. There is no preparation for the position of President of the United States. We have already proven that a man (GW Bush) with absolutely no preparation at all, a man who ducked his National Guard duty in 1972, whose closest encounter with team sports was "cheerleader," who bankrupted four oil companies, cannot speak coherently without a teleprompter or back stage prompter via earphone, can be president.
"Now some worry that Barak Obama, an articulate man with brains and ability, who actually cuts a presidential appearance and can speak of national concerns on the world stage without a staged, hand-picked audience, isn't up to the job."

FREECYCLE IT

By Sally Deneen, from TheDailyGreen:
"Let’s say you have a perfectly good fish tank or swing set or computer you no longer want, but it’s too much of a hassle to drag it to a thrift store – where it may be turned away, anyway.
A fun way to find new homes for stuff is posting your items at Freecycle.org, a grassroots, volunteer-driven Internet movement committed to the notion that one person's trash is another person's treasure. Think of it as an on-line message center that connects people who want to get rid of stuff with those who can use it. Members of the free web site can give and receive items for free.
"It’s a "free cycle" of giving, which keeps good things out of landfills, reduces waste and saves resources. Begun in 2003 when Deron Beal sent out an e-mail announcing the Freecycle Network to about 30 or 40 friends and a handful of nonprofit organizations in Tucson, the Arizona-based nonprofit organization since has spread around the world. So far, there are more than 4,000 local Freecycle Network groups (reachable via Freecycle.org). Among rules: All items must be completely free with no strings attached. No illegal or adult-themed materials are allowed.
"No item is too big or too small to post at Freecycle. Offerings have included comforters, beds, mattresses, a 10-year-old glider rocker that rocks smoothly but its arm joints are broken, a working dryer, clothing of all kinds, a satellite dish, Halloween costumes, jogging strollers, file cabinets, computer stuff, picture frames, vases, kids’ stuff, an avocado green refrigerator that must be picked up the next day, coupons for infant formula… You get the idea. Imagine if all of that ended up at the dump. The network estimates that it’s daily keeping more than 300 tons of stuff out of landfills.
"If you’re in the market for an item, you can browse the listings or tell the community what you’re seeking. You never know what people have tucked in the attic. You sure can’t beat free! "

WE IS BACK!

After five days with no power, and seven days with no internet connection (Grrrrrr!), we is back from the dark ages. Pix of some downed trees to follow.

SPEAK UP!

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." ~ Martin Niemoeller, German Protestant Clergyman

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF POLITICS 2008

Despite the seriousness of the coming election, JibJab nails the quirkier aspects of the campaign... and life.

LIAR, LIAR

From ThePoliticalCat:

"How many flip-flops has John McCaincient made? Anybody know? Yes, hello? Wanna take a guess? Sixty-one is the current count, folks. Yup, that's right. SIXTY-ONE flip-flops. You can bet his good buddies in the mainstream media haven't covered more than a handful. Alternet details them. No peeking, now! See if you can assemble your own list before you go over there to look. Complete with links and cute Godzilla pitchers. Enjoy!"

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY, MORRY!

We'll be celebrating my brother Morry's Gotcha Day this weekend. We'll have treats (sugar-free for me), and he will get a toy and extra hugs and belly rubs!
All this for a doggy who started out as a stray in Chicago. He was then transferred to the QCAWC, a no-kill shelter in northwestern Illinois. My momma saw his picture on their web site; they called him a Corgi-Chow-mix. (He certainly has the short legs of us Corgis, and the big, orange-red fur of the Chow-Chows.) His bio said that he should not be around any other dogs or cats.
Welp, my momma visited him, and he seemed to be a "sweetheart;" but she could tell that he became very riled up when he saw other dogs. So my momma decided to bring me to meet and visit him; she also brought a pocket full of treats. Within 15 minutes, we were able to be eating our treats side by side. I think he could tell I'm alpha to every doggy I ever meet.
Momma took me out there two or three more times until she decided he was ready to bring home.
It took a while for him to get use to Rya and Jordan; he spent quite a bit of time on a leash, at first, getting corrected when he was getting agressive. But finally, he understood that he would get his food and his treats, and get loved even when the other dogs were nearby.
Now, he's the official watch doggy of the family. His favorite spot is on the living room couch, watching the front yard and the street, making sure that no other dogs, cats, or squirrels walk past without a warning.

WORLD'S DUMBEST PERSON?

From Dispatches from the Culture Wars:
"Found this via Pam's House Blend, which got it from Blogger Interrupted. This clueless woman from Medina, Ohio got on local TV saying that she thinks Obama is an "Arab" - not a Muslim, mind you, an Arab. So this guy from Blogger Interrupted found the woman and talked to her, not once but twice. He showed her information that Obama is, in fact, a Christian and that he has nothing at all to do with the Arab world and you have to watch her babble idiotically to justify it. "Video below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxOSO07QDNU
"But the sad fact is that this is not the dumbest person alive; this is about par for the course. She's pretty much an average American - utterly ignorant, entirely incapable of thinking rationally or honestly and blissfully unaware of either of those things. This is the person you run into at the grocery store every day. They may be perfectly nice people, but they are perfect examples of virulent ignorance. "

DAY CARE FUN

The original crumbdropper, aka Peanut, loves the day care she attends. She has friends there, and they do a lot of fun things. In this warm weather, they have been having fun in the pool.
Ah, to be a young Corgi boy again!


















(Thanks to Boogers, Kisses and Spilled Milk for the great photos!)

JOHN McCAIN'S FAMILY VALUES

From Badtux the Snarky Penguin:

"When he came home from Vietnam to find that his wife was disabled, John McCain divorced her and married an heiress twenty years his junior. H. Ross Perot, who paid Carol McCain's medical bills all those years ago while McCain was a POW, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel – even by the standards of modern politics.
"'McCain is the classic opportunist. He’s always reaching for attention and glory," he said.
"'After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history.'"

Republican family values, yessiree.

BARACKNOPHOBIA

If you missed this fun piece on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, watch it here now:

GORE ENDORSES OBAMA

From Al Gore's endorsement:
"From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States.
"Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges -- including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis. Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America."

DIABETES Part 6

Welp, my mommas had me to the doctor last week, for a blood test. We got the results this week; I have to get 15 units of insulin, two times per day. That's up from 12.5 units a couple of months ago.
My momma was surprised, because I had not been having any noticable problems. She hopes that I will stay at this new level for a while.

THE McCAIN BUSH CHALLENGE QUIZ

AND THE WINNER IS...

Obama-man has changed the course of American history. He has clinched the Democratic nomination, crossing the critical delegate mark, becoming the first African-American nominee for President. Woo Hoo!
From the text of Obama's prepared remarks at his June 3 rally in St.Paul: "Sixteen months have passed since we first stood together on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Thousands of miles have been traveled. Millions of voices have been heard. And because of what you said - because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States."