Excused Lame

The Kindness of Strangers

2009-07-04T12:09:00.003-04:00

Thursday was a very rough day for our household. Poor Titan! I didn't think that his age, condition, and general aversion to travel boded well for his making it down to Texas and, sadly, he died along the way and not peacefully.

If something good came of this tragedy, it was seeing how well perfect strangers went out of their way to help us in any way they could. When Prudence let me know the air conditioner went out in the car, I called a Honda dealership near Jackson, Mississippi and explained that my wife was traveling with three heavily-coated dogs and no AC. The gentleman I spoke to said to come on in and they could look at the situation.

When Titan began to fail, it seemed like the whole service department mobilized itself to help. A couple of the ladies held Lacey and Silver while Prudence tried to revive Titan. When it was clear that veterinary intervention was necessary, a driver - who was terrified of dogs - drove her and the three Borzoi to a nearby clinic.

At the vet's, while Prudence and the vet were putting Titan to sleep, two technicians were checking over a nervous and trembling Lacey and Silver to make sure that they themselves weren't overheated. Apart from the euthanasia and disposal, they waived any further charges.

Meanwhile, the service department was doing everything it could to get Prudence and the girls back on the road. Someone rushed across town to get a needed part and the technicians worked past closing time to get the car repaired. They then delivered the van - chilled to Antarctic temperatures - to the vet's office so that the sadly depleted party could continue on their way.

Sure, lots of people are rude and unhelpful. But I've traveled quite a bit around this great nation - I've spent a night in every state but Hawaii - and for the most part I've found nothing but kindness, helpfulness and friendliness among my fellow citizens. On Thursday, even in tragedy, we saw a ray of comfort.

The Glorious Fourth

2009-07-04T09:58:00.002-04:00

Happy Independence Day! The United States: for all its faults, for me the most dear.

And let us not forget one of the grievances in the Declaration of Independence:

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

Remember, when our multitude of new Czars need the money, you'll be rich enough.

Goodbye to a Good Guy

2009-07-02T19:17:00.004-04:00

Titan died this afternoon.

Prudence was driving him, Lacey and Silver down from Cincinnati to Houston. They reached Mississippi when the air conditioner in the van went out, punctured by a foreign object. Prudence stopped, got ice and a cooler, opened all the windows and continued down to Jackson and a Honda dealership to have the AC repaired.

While she was there, Titan's larynx became paralyzed. He began choking and, despite Prudence's frantic attempts to massage it into relaxing, he got worse and worse. The dealership rushed her and the dogs to a nearby vet, where Titan was euthanized in her arms. We knew that he was an old dog and wouldn't last much longer, but we're saddened that he didn't go from this world peacefully.

Titan finished his championship as a puppy at the age of 11 months, very rare in a slow-maturing breed like Borzoi. He, and not Lacey, was destined to be our special for campaigning but a foot injury suffered in a coursing event left him with a very slight limp. He was retired to stud duties, which he performed with gusto, earning him the name of "The Love Dog." Two of his children are group winners.

Rest well, big guy. Don't go chasing all the girls at the Rainbow Bridge.

Ch. Soyara's Titan of Blackmoor JC

April 14, 1998-July 2, 2009

An Idiot Speaks

2009-07-01T21:01:00.007-04:00

Silly expatriate Gwyneth Paltrow disses her native country once more:

In a new interview which is sure to irk her best friend Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow has criticised Americans for allowing their Blackberries to interfere with family life.

Hailing her 'second home' of Spain for putting family first, Gwyneth complains her native New Yorkers are too concerned with their work to fully immerse themselves in their family.

Her comments come a year after her close friend Madonna admitted she sleeps with her Blackberry beside her.

Gwyneth compared Spanish culture to American during a recent interview she conducted in fluent Spanish.

In a new interview which is sure to irk her American fans, Gwyneth belittles her native country's 223 years of history compared to the older nation of Spain.

The Oscar winner fell in love with the country when she spent a month living with a family in Talavera de la Reina in central Spain when she was 15.

Speaking in Spanish, she said: 'When I was 15, I went to a small town outside Talavera de la Reina and I had the most wonderful experience. It really changed my life.

'Spain became a second home. It is so different from the United States. It seemed to have a history, and the buildings are years and years and years old.
'Here in the United States an old building is about 17 (years old), and over there it's from 500 B.C., it's incredible.

Oh the poor United States! It's only had its stupid Constitution since 1787, while Spain's historic constitutional monarchy stretches back to 1975.

But wait, there's more:

'Also, the way people live over there. They seem to enjoy life a little bit more. They aren't running around as much as in New York. They enjoy time with the family. They don't always have their Blackberries on.'

With 18.1% unemployment, of course, many Spaniards have a lot of time to spend with their families. Apart from this, there are other places in the United States besides Los Angeles and New York. In some of them, people actually relax and spend time with their families too. Perhaps she should visit them sometime. But I doubt that Miss Paltrow, the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and director Bruce Paltrow, knows those Americans except as insignificant insects her bodyguards push out of the way for her.

This isn't the first time that Fishstick has complained to the foreign press that her fellow citizens aren't to her taste. In 2006 she told a Portugese newspaper that "I don't fit into the bad side of American psychology. The British are much more intelligent and civilized than the Americans. I love the English lifestyle. I'm not as capitalistic as America." She later backtracked, but said, "I always say in America, people live to work and in Europe, people work to live," revealing more ignorance about anyone outside her select milieu.

Well, at the age of 36, Miss Paltrow is past her shelf life as a Hollywood actress. She'll have plenty of time to relax in her Iberian paradise. Enjoy yourself, Gwynnie. Don't call us and we'll forget about you.

The World Suddenly Gets Quieter

2009-06-28T16:22:00.000-04:00

Billy Mays is dead at the age of 50.

The Horse, the Saddle, the Man

2009-06-25T19:25:00.003-04:00

A sad and avoidable tragedy:

Seven high-priced show dogs, including one of the top Akitas in the country, are dead after being left by their handler for several hours in a hot van in Jefferson County.

Police say Mary Wild, a 24-year-old woman who was caring for the dogs, left them in a cargo van early Monday and went to bed after returning from a dog show in Iowa.

The dogs likely died of heat stroke, a veterinarian said, although autopsies are pending. The purebreds included three golden retrievers, a dalmation, a Siberian Husky, a Malamute and the top-ranked Akita
named Jersey.

"I’ve never seen such a horrific act in my lifetime," said Dr. Laura Ivan, the veterinarian in House Springs whose office Wild brought the dogs to on Monday. Ivan is now caring for the lone surviving dog. "This was not intentional, but a horrible, tragic accident."

Wild, who is paid to handle the dogs at shows, did not return repeated phone and email messages from the Post-Dispatch requesting comment. She told police that, after returning from her Iowa road trip, she started to transfer the dogs in kennels into the garage of a home on Kroeck Drive in Arnold. But it was so hot, she later told police, that she instead decided to leave them in their portable kennels in the van.

She told police she put six electric fans in the van to keep the dogs cool. She also left a door open to the van and the van’s windows partly open, said Capt. Ralph Brown of the Jefferson County sheriff’s office. The van was apparently parked in the driveway, Brown said.

She left them in the van about 1 a.m. Monday and went inside the home to sleep. She told police that, three hours later, she went outside to check on the dogs. They were fine, she told police. Then, about 6:30
a.m., all eight dogs were in distress. She found five of the dogs breathing, but not responsive. The other three were clearly in distress, but could at least raise their heads.

She tried reviving the dogs, by hosing them down, then took them to a veterinarian in House Springs. Only one of the eight survived.

I've traveled enough with dogs to know never to leave them in a van, even with fans, when it's hot. Indeed, when we stop for the evening, whatever crates, food and equipment the dogs may need are moved into a comfortable and secure place, most often a motel room. The dogs are then exercised before they're put up. Only then do we attend to our own needs.

The lateness of the hour, the exhaustion that might be felt, the apparent safety of a situation can't be an excuse for not looking after the welfare of the dogs first. Negligence, "an error in judgment, a lack of common sense" in this case, led to tragedy.

Sad, and Sad, but...

2009-06-25T18:52:00.003-04:00

Farah Fawcett died today, a long anticipated event after her long illness. The term "icon" is badly overused nowadays, but in her case it's quite apt.

Much more suddenly, Michael Jackson died this afternoon, apparently from cardiac arrest at the age of 50. I may not be the only one to think that it may have been merciful.

Jackson the musical talent died many years ago; the husk of the mortal form decayed into financial distress and increasingly bizarre appearance and behavior. A "comeback" tour was planned for this summer; it probably would have been pathetic.

We make the mistake of thinking that performers like Judy Garland, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson were taken from this world too soon. Really, they lived too long. Dead, they are or will be more valuable commodities than if they had survived.

Update: Well, now I'm hearing on CNN speculation that like with Garland and Elvis, pharmaceuticals may have been involved.

Sad News

2009-06-16T22:06:00.003-04:00

Dorothy Nickles, the great and apparently ageless and tireless all-rounder AKC judge, passed away this afternoon at the age of 99.

My lovely bride spoke with her at a show just a couple of years ago. Miss Nickles was complaining that she didn't have enough judging assignments to keep herself busy. Another time, a fat, loudmouthed steward was complaining that her knees hurt. Dorothy, well into her 90s and having spent all day on her feet, snapped, "Oh, just get them operated on!"

Quite a woman. Quite a life. Try to get some rest, Dorothy.

That Can't-Do Spirit

2009-06-14T10:20:00.002-04:00

A plan is being bruited to knock down portions of cities in the Rust Belt:

The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature.

Local politicians believe the city must contract by as much as 40 per cent, concentrating the dwindling population and local services into a more viable area.

The radical experiment is the brainchild of Dan Kildee, treasurer of Genesee County, which includes Flint.

Having outlined his strategy to Barack Obama during the election campaign, Mr Kildee has now been approached by the US government and a group of charities who want him to apply what he has learnt to the rest of the country.

Mr Kildee said he will concentrate on 50 cities, identified in a recent study by the Brookings Institution, an influential Washington think-tank, as potentially needing to shrink substantially to cope with their declining fortunes.

Most are former industrial cities in the "rust belt" of America's Mid-West and North East. They include Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Memphis.

In Detroit, shattered by the woes of the US car industry, there are already plans to split it into a collection of small urban centres separated from each other by countryside.

"The real question is not whether these cities shrink – we're all shrinking – but whether we let it happen in a destructive or sustainable way," said Mr Kildee. "Decline is a fact of life in Flint. Resisting it is like resisting gravity."

I lived in Houston in the mid-1980's when it was devastated by the collapse in oil prices with all the attendant ecomonic problems: high unemployment, negative equity in housing, migration to other cities. Yet the political leadership of the city didn't give up then and hasn't given up now. Even with the present recession, driving around I see construction projects, new businesses, commericial vehicles on the roads, trains carrying goods to and fro. The region didn't give up then and isn't surrendering now.

Really, if Mr. Kildee wants to raze dilapidated portions of these cities, he could always start with the political classes whose policies have led to their continuing depressed estate.

The Future of Our Past

2009-06-04T19:15:00.004-04:00

I came across this lovely site, featuring magazines from years long ago. As I'm a sucker for old articles about the cutting edge of future technology, the ones from Modern Mechanix, Popular Science and Popular Mechanics are a particular delight.

One thing I noticed: they really had a thing for death rays back in the '30s:

Popular Science, February, 1940

Modern Mechanix, October, 1936

Modern Mechanix, August, 1935

Modern Mechanix, August, 1936

Modern Mechanix, September, 1934

Dopey Letter of the Day

2009-06-03T07:14:00.005-04:00

Where else but the New York Times?

Bill O’Reilly’s statements exemplify the zealotry that infects too many in the anti-abortion movement, as well as highlight why President Obama’s call for finding common ground on abortion is so misguided.
I would remind the president that this country already found common ground on abortion in 1973, when the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade. That compromise is between the right of individuals to determine their own reproductive destinies and the interests of the state. It is settled law for all but the most determined opponents.
The simple truth that the president must realize is that these zealots don’t want common ground on abortion: they are committed and determined to end reproductive freedom in all its forms.
Deborah J. Glick
New York Assemblywoman, 66th Dist.
New York

Is it not amazing that when Muslim lunatics commit heinous and brutal acts of terrorism all the Goodthinkers tell us not to generalize, Islam is a religion of peace, nothing to worry about here, no siree, but when a domestic white, male lunatic commits a heinous and brutal act of terrorism against a "progressive" symbol, no extrapolation is too tortured for these same Goodthinkers to smear their opponents?

Nightmare Journey

2009-06-02T20:21:00.001-04:00

My lovely bride and I are in the process of relocating. I am in our new house near Houston (about which more in the future) while she’s in our old house in Ohio. The work we had to do on the old place is nearly finished, but before we are able put it on the market we had to get the dogs relocated, the reason we’re reluctantly holding two houses right now.

So we were faced with the problem of transporting 20 large, heavily coated Borzoi - plus Talker, the Whippet and Fluffy, the cat (God, what a name!) - from Ohio to Texas. Shuttling the dogs down didn’t seem realistic; the best thing, we decided, was to get them all down at once. This, we felt, would be most efficient and less expensive than the alternatives.

We settled on using a horse-transportation company to assist us. They move horses from one end of the country to another; why not our dogs? We made arrangements with one and were led to believe that they would provide an enclosed air-conditioned semi trailer to transport the dogs comfortably. My lovely bride asked for them to come the week of May 25th, most preferably Wednesday the 27th. We also sent them a picture of eleven of the dogs lined up in their crates, to give them an idea of their size.

Our plans were this: The three oldest dogs – Lacey, Silver and Titan – would be staying with my lovely bride in Ohio until the household goods were transported. Titan would be boarded at the vet’s because of his age and poor tolerance for long-distance travel. Lacey and Silver would ride to Texas (their native state) with my lovely bride in the minivan and return with her to Ohio. Stanley, a poor traveler, would also ride in a crate in the minivan. I would be taking Fluffy (God, what a name!) and whatever dog-related items in the (non-air-conditioned) conversion van. The remainder of the dogs would be riding in the (we supposed) air-conditioned trailer.

Three days beforehand, the transportation firm called to tell us that they would be arriving on Monday the 25th. This wouldn’t do from our end, as the vet was coming out that day to inoculate the whole crew of four-legged creatures. They said that they wouldn’t come out on the 27th as we requested and that they would be fulfilling their end of the contract if they came on Monday. My lovely bride, a skilled negotiator, bargained for Tuesday the 26th. Unfortunately, this was also the day that workmen would be coming to remove the asbestos from some of the old ductwork.

On Tuesday, the asbestos-removing workmen and the transportation truck arrived at nearly the same time. To our horror, the transportation firm sent us not the air-conditioned trailer we’d been led to believe we’d be provided but an ordinary goose-neck open-slatted horse trailer, still liberally garnished with old straw and horse manure. The bloody thing wouldn’t fit through our gate and had to be parked in a neighbor’s driveway a hundred yards down the road, requiring us to shuttle the dogs’ wire crates and the dogs down there.

First things first, the house dogs had to be gotten out before the asbestos removal could begin. Then my lovely bride and I slogged away at gradually moving crates and dogs down the road to the trailer and getting them loaded. The driver insisted on balancing the load, so they had to go on the two sides of the trailer. Unfortunately, the trailer was too narrow for any walkway between the crates on one side and those on the other. My lovely bride finally got them all fitted in, but to get to some of the dogs, others would have to be removed and their crates lifted out of the way. Needless to say, we prayed there wouldn’t be any emergencies.

Finally, after six hours on an increasingly hot day, we got underway on our 1200 mile trip. Despite having some 2000 pounds of dogs and their associated crates, the trailer was underweight and bounced badly on an uneven road. Dutch and Ilya, who were riding in the very back, were particularly badly shaken and Dutch had stress diarrhea. At a stop some 100 miles down the road, we found that almost everyone’s water had either sloshed out of their buckets or had dirt and straw floating in it. We had thought that the 50 gallons of water we brought with us would be more than enough, but between the heat, the stress and the ride, the poor dogs were going through it at a prodigious rate.

We got to Memphis at about 11:00 PM. My lovely bride and I got everyone exercised, took Lacey, Silver and Belle to the motel room with us and fell into bed for a couple of hours. At 4:00, we got up and did some rearranging of dogs and equipment to empty out the rear of the trailer to the extent possible. Dutch and Ilya were crated in my van, where they could ride less uncomfortably, and Faith and Belle went with my lovely bride, who now had five dogs with her. At 6:00 AM, we all departed.

The drive from Memphis to Houston, down through Mississippi and through Louisiana, seemed to take forever and the day got hotter and hotter. At a rest stop, we exercised the dogs and soaked everyone to the skin with water from a hose outlet before reloading them. Finally, after 7:00 PM, we arrived at our destination south of Houston. This time, the driver was able to get his rig through the gate and we unloaded the dogs and their crates as quickly as possible into their temporary home, the garage.

Within a couple of hours, Ilya fell very ill. Had not my lovely and very perceptive bride not noticed the symptoms immediately, poor Ilya would have gone past the point of no return. Luckily I had made contact with a vet clinic before the move and even more luckily they had a vet on call. We rushed Ilya to the clinic, where he was very expensively treated for a life-threatening disorder. He’s now convalescing here and, God willing, should make a full recovery.

A terrible, depressing, expensive experience. Never, never will we do anything like this again. But it’s over. The other dogs are settling in well and enjoying their new homestead. Within the month, the household goods (mercifully inanimate), my lovely bride, and the three remaining dogs will make their way down to Stately Hlatky Manor South. And, after seven months, we’ll all be a family again.

Public, Servant

2009-04-30T20:01:00.001-04:00

That Federal officials responsible for the famous New York fly-over told local officials not to release the information is, I think, typical of what has become a much more prevalent attitude among local, state and Federal governments: one which basically says, "Screw you. We’ll do what we want." The government increasingly sees the public at best as a source of revenue, more often as a nuisance to be ignored or vilified.

Who’s going to pay for the bailouts and the massive porkulus bill passed by Democrats in Congress? Oh, don’t worry, we’re told. It’ll just be "the rich." Which reminds me of the Soviet-era joke: a rabbit is caught trying to flee over the border. He’s asked why by border guards. "Because I’ve heard they’re going to castrate all the camels." The guards scoff, "But you’re a rabbit." To which the rabbit replies, "Just try telling them different when they say you’re a camel!" So don’t worry: when they come to need the money, you’ll be rich enough.

There’s this story. The District of Columbia is fining people for parking their cars in their driveways, considered privately maintained but publically owned property. Why? The city needs the money. If you want to park your car in your driveway, you have to get a lease from the city.

When the Kelo decision was handed down a few years ago, the New York Times applauded it on the grounds that the city of New London needed the tax revenues from redevelopment more than the owners needed the property.

What’s more, you bastards, how dare you object to having your taxes raised! Have you ever noticed that when a corporation screws up, it’s the result of greed and indifference to the public, but when government screws up, it’s because they don’t have enough of your money? The poor dears!

The old saying about the Habsburg empire was that it was despotism tempered by incompetence. Our glorious radiant future seems to be incompetence compounded by voraciousness.

Get Yours Now!

2009-04-28T13:02:00.002-04:00

"The National Collector's Mint has created a commemorative to honor the first 100 days in office of our historic new President! This non-monetary, specially-commissioned, privately-minted proof is 42 mm in diameter, dwarfing every United States circulating coin ever minted! It's clad in 71 mg of .999 Pure Silver and proof-struck to produce the frosted images and mirror-like background so treasured by collectors. The obverse features a venerable portrait of President Obama struck over a background of the Stars and Stripes with the words with which He inspired a nation: 'I won.' You'll be amazed at the crispness with which the edges of His teleprompter are captured! The reverse features Air Force One soaring above the Statue of Liberty. The detail is so stunning that you can see fleeing New Yorkers in the streets below! Authorized by the White House Military Office and benefitting the Committee to Re-elect His Oneship, it's available only from National Collector's Mint for $19.95. Limit five per purchase. Order now!"

You Got the Wrong Guy Here!

2009-04-23T17:35:00.003-04:00

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Dan Simpson writes that embattled Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switch parties. James Taranto does his usual skillful job eviscerating Simpson's arguments, but this was striking to me:

The first time I met Mr. Specter was in 1974 as the state department desk officer for Rhodesia. The Nixon administration was trying to repeal the Byrd Amendment, which had America importing chrome from Rhodesia in opposition to most of the rest of the world.

Mr. Specter was representing a steel state and was not inclined to vote on the issue with the Republican president. I was told before seeing him that he was hard-minded and sometimes short-tempered. Nonetheless, he heard out the State Department argument, made no commitment and eventually avoided a vote. But he was fair and did not take the obvious position automatically. He was judicious.

Just one leetle problem. Pennsylvania's senators in 1974 were Hugh Scott and Richard Schweiker. I dunno. Maybe to Mr. Simpson all Republicans look alike.

A Bad Day for Baseball

2009-04-13T18:16:00.003-04:00

Harry Kalas, Voice of the Phillies since 1971, is dead at 73. He collapsed in the broadcast booth before today's game against the Nationals. What better place to go than at the ballpark?

And news has just come through that Mark "The Bird" Fidrych died today in an accident on his farm in Massachusetts. He was 54.

Who is Sitting in That Empty Chair?

2009-02-24T06:13:00.004-05:00

Mark Kleiman is unhappy that Norm Coleman persists in his election bid:

If I were a Minnesotan, I think I'd be pretty angry about the way that Norm Coleman and his friends in the national Republican Party have deprived the state of half its representation in the Senate.

Sadly, for the moment, the North Star State lacks two solons sticking their trotters into the slop trough.

Sad, but not unprecedented. The last decade of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th saw a sizable number of occasions when a state had only one senator due to the failure of the legislature to elect anyone:

53rd Congress: Wyoming
54th Congress: Delaware
55th Congress: Oregon
56th Congress: California, Delaware, Montana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Utah
57th Congress: Delaware, Nebraska
59th Congress: Delaware

Delaware was a particularly egregious case. In the 57th Congress, Delaware had no senators at all. Philadelphia gas magnate J. Edward Addicks, who controlled a bloc of Delaware's legislators known as "Union Republicans," wanted to be one of the state's senators but lacked to votes to put him through. However he controlled enough votes to prevent anyone from the "Regular Republican" faction from being elected. Eventually, a compromise was reached and at the very end of the Congress, L. Heisler Ball of the Regular Republicans and J. Frank Allee of the Union Republicans became Delaware's senators.

It was antics like this that led to the 17th Amendment. Still, a state can be left in effect without a senator through illness; nothing forces a senator to resign. Most recently, Tim Johnson of South Dakota was absent from the Senate for 10 months due to a stroke, but returned and was re-elected in 2008.

Some never did, though. Karl Mundt of South Dakota suffered a stroke in 1969 that left him incapacitated. Loath to give up the opportunity for enhanced pension benefits, his wife ran his office until his term expired in 1973. Charles McNary of Oregon and Clair Engle of California were felled by brain tumors that left them incapable of functioning effectively.

Senile decay kept Carter Glass of Virginia away from the Senate from 1942 until his death in 1946, but he remained Virginia's senior Senator despite calls he step down. In Robert Caro's words:

Democrat Carter Glass of Virgina had ascended to the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee in 1932, when he was seventy-four. During the 1940s, Glass was very ill - had been very ill for years, sequestered in a suite in the Mayflower Hotel that always had a guard at the door. He had not even appeared on Capitol Hill since 1942. By 1945, there were even suggestions that perhaps Glass, then eighty-seven, should resign. But, as [Allen] Drury reported, "from the guarded suite...through whose doors no outsider has passed in many months to see what lies within, has come the usual answer. Mrs. Glass has replied for the Senator. The suggestion will not be considered."

Through all this, the Republic hasn't been well served but it has survived. And so it will be here. I myself don't think Norm Coleman stands a chance, but I also don't want to enshrine the view of the New York Times that every vote should be counted until the Democrat comes out on top, at which point everything has to stop.

Our Own Stumpistic Story

2009-02-11T20:26:00.004-05:00

We ourselves had a slightly paler version of Stump's saga. Our Miss Lacey, after a distinguished specials career, was felled by a near-fatal case of pyometria in September, 2005. She was only just saved by our own perceptiveness (she didn't want her dinner that evening) and skilled surgery at County Animal Hospital in Mason, Ohio.

As she had to be spayed, Lacey could no longer be shown; only intact dogs are eligible for AKC shows. There is one exception: a spayed or neutered dog can be shown in the Veterans classes at an independent specialty. We entered Lacey in Veterans at the 2006 Borzoi Club of America National Specialty for one last show. She was first in the 7-10 year old Veteran Bitch class, then went on to Best in Specialty Show under sighthound judge Espen Engh, her 269th and sweetest Best of Breed win.

Westminster 2009

2009-02-11T20:10:00.005-05:00

Stump (Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee), a Sussex Spaniel handled by Scott Sommer, won the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club dog show under judge Sari Brewster Tietjen. At 10 years old, Stump became the oldest dog ever to win Westminster, coming out of retirement for one last appearance.

Well done, Stump. Well done, Scott. And well done, the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University, whose vets pulled Stump through a near fatal illness in 2005. Need a good vet? Get an Aggie!

That Bailout Plan in Full

2009-02-10T18:54:00.004-05:00

1) Spend lots of money

2) Er...

3) That's it.

Dopey Letter of the Day

2009-02-10T05:39:00.002-05:00

Where else but in the New York Times?

President Obama is letting bipartisanship stand in the way of what’s best for America.

We need a still-larger stimulus package, not one pared down to obtain the votes of a recalcitrant Republican minority that has already spurned cooperation.

We need to increase immediate aid to the unemployed and the poor and to the states, not dilute the stimulus to placate the party whose bankrupt philosophy got us into this mess.

Emphasizing once more the failed conservative theory that tax cuts cure all ills to buy support from Republicans is unnecessary and dangerous.

It is time to reject the antidemocratic notion that a Republican Senate minority has the right to veto legislation that is supported by the president and by a majority of each house of Congress.

If we need to get rid of the filibuster to avoid economic collapse, so be it. But compromise with rule-or-ruin Republicans for the sake of “unity” is a sad mistake.

Remember the days of "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism"? Naaah, neither do I.

Is the Past in Our Future?

2009-01-29T20:24:00.003-05:00

The political and economic autopsy of a nation. There's this:

Very few... are prepared to enter politics... This is not due to the lack of public spirit, but to the personal abuse to which candidates are subjected and to the feeling that, if elected, they would be suspected of being associated with corrupt dealings. A certain number... have been ready to embark on a political career, but the professional classes generally have not responded. "Politics" have come to be regarded as an unclean thing which no self-respecting man should touch; the very word "politician" is virtually a term of abuse which carries with it a suggestion of crookedness and sharp practice.

And this:

The simple-minded electorate were visited every few years by rival politicians, who, in the desire to secure election, were accustomed to make the wildest promises involving increased public expenditure in the constituency and the satisfaction of all the cherished desires of the inhabitants... The country was thus exposed to the evils of paternalism in its most extreme form. The people, instead of being trained to independence and self-reliance, became increasingly dependent on those who were placed in authority; instead of being trained to think in terms of the national interest, they were encouraged to think only of the interests of their own district. Even within a district... there was no public spirit; in the struggle to secure a decent living, the average man sought only his personal advantage. The Government was looked upon as the universal provider, and it was thought to be the duty of the Member for the constituency to see that there was an ever-increasing flow of public money... The people were in fact taught to look to the Government for everything and to do as little as possible to provide for their own requirements.

And this:

Unfortunately, the benefits... were almost wholly discounted, as we shall show, by a reckless disregard of the dictates of financial prudence. The 12 years... during none of which was the budget balanced, were characterised by an outflow of public funds on a scale as ruinous as it was unprecedented, fostered by a continuous stream of willing lenders. Easy money... was looked for and was deemed in part to have arrived. In the prevailing optimism, the resources of the Exchequer were believed to be limitless. The public debt... was in 12 years more than doubled; its assets dissipated by improvident administration; the people misled into the acceptance of false standards; and the country sunk in waste and extravagance. The onset of the world depression found [it] with no reserves,... its credit exhausted. At the first wind of adversity, its elaborate pretensions collapsed like a house of cards. The glowing visions of a new Utopia were dispelled with cruel suddenness by the cold realities of national insolvency, and today a disillusioned and bewildered people, deprived in many parts of the country of all hope of earning a livelihood, are haunted by the grim spectres of pauperism and starvation.

Sound like the events of today? Actually these excerpts are from the Amulree Report of 1933, a Royal investigation into the catastrophic state into which the Dominion of Newfoundland had fallen.

As an independent nation, Newfoundland never recovered from the Great Depression. Great Britian took it into receivership during the rest of the 1930's. Almost defenseless at the outbreak of World War II, it was as much as occupied by the U.S. and Canada. After the war, in a controversial plebiscite, its citizens opted to become a province of Canada.

The Poor Dears!

2009-01-28T18:53:00.003-05:00

Looks like the new hope-n-changey environment has deflated one artistic balloon:

No theatrical event of 2008 captured the political mood of the country quite like the Public Theater’s hit revival of the Vietnam-era rock musical “Hair” in Central Park last summer. Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain were sparring daily about whether to withdraw troops from Iraq; “Hair” and its antiwar anthems gave voice not only to the anger that many people felt about the 2003 invasion, but also to the hopes that many of them had invested in Mr. Obama.

He is President Obama now, and soon both he and the country will come to a reckoning point in Iraq, as his administration prepares to withdraw tens of thousands of troops over the next 16 months. And the New York theater world is reflecting that national moment, just as the Public did with “Hair,” by mounting several significant productions this winter and spring that wrestle with themes of war, its legacy, and responsibility and accountability.

But will theatergoers continue to be interested in issues raised by war? Given Americans’ exhaustion with the war in Iraq, and the departure of President Bush, not to mention the nation’s dire economic landscape, will there be a demand for war plays? Once again, “Hair” may prove to be a reflection of a national mood: the producers are transferring it to Broadway in early March, and they have had difficulty lining up investors to cover costs (a deepening recession is, of course, also a factor). Will audiences stay away?

Now that the departure of President Bush from the scene has deprived the monochromatically independent playwrights of their primary target, perhaps they will turn to never-before-explored facets of the human comedy for inspiration, such as:

- The soul-deadening nature of suburbia
- How hard it is to be an urban gay
- Middle-class couples and their empty marriages
- The all-embracing evil of corporations
- Child-molesting clerics (preferably Catholic)
- The wisdom and insight imparted by the homeless, drunks and minorities
- The horror visited upon sensitive intellectuals by Midwest and Southern Republicans

Another Loud-Mouthed American Tourist

2009-01-28T18:27:00.000-05:00

Headline: "Biden to Attend Munich Security Conference"

We'd Better Get Used to It

2009-01-28T18:23:00.001-05:00

Headline: "Biden Apologizes Over Roberts Joke"