Coffee and Provocation

• New Ethical Breeding Magazine:
  Ryan O'Meara is cranking out a new publication for ethical dog breeders. When I first heard of it, I thought it was a joke -- a nice cover with blank pages, perhaps? But no, Ryan is dead serious in improving the health of dogs, and he thinks there are enough ethical dog breeders out there to support such a publication. I hope he is right, and I salute his efforts.
  
  
• Roadside Justice:
  North Carolina has put up a roadside marker commemorating the thousands of people sterilized "by choice or coercion" under the state eugenics program which, believe it or not, was in effect until 1973 (1973!). How's that relate to dogs? Sadly, quite directly. Read >> The Eugenics Man and the Kennel Club on this blog.
  
  
• Veterinarians Finally Speak Out About the Obvious:
  For more than 50 years, veterinarians have stood by in silence while the Kennel Club has saluted dogs that are defective by design. And why should veterinarians speak out? After all, nothing improves the bottom line in a veterinarian's office more than a waiting room full of teacup dogs with dental problems, dysplasic shepherds, and pugs with bulging eyes. And so, I note here something quite unusual: a veterinary article that talks about the health problems of bulldogs. Now, it should be noted that this article came out AFTER the Kennel Club itself admitted there were very serious problems with the breed, and so I do not think this piece can yet be count as a true "profile in courage." Let's see if this is a "one and done" kind of thing, or whether we are going to see more articles about defective breeds and breeding . That is surely needed, isn't it?!
  
  
• The Amazing Treat Machine:
  The Amazing Treat Machine is made of cardboard, which means it would last about 15 seconds with my terriers. That said, it's very low cost ($15), an interesting idea, and making one out of solid wood would not be that tough ...
  
  
• Say What?
  I know a dog man from the U.K. who sounds like this fellow. I have to stare at the ground and give it all just to tease out a few intelligible words when he start up, but it does get easier in time.
  


• World's Record Largemouth Bass Caught in Japan:
  The title sums it up: 22 pounds 5 ounces and certified, beating the previous record from Kentucky by one ounce (a record which has stood for 77 years). The race for the world's largest Largemouth Bass may not be over yet, howevr; a 25-pound bass was reportedly netted earlier this year from the same Japanese lake.
  


• Natural Gimps:
  Why do so many frogs have three legs? It's not due to pollution, as previously speculated. It turns out the leg stubs of tadpoles are bitten off by various species of dragonfly nymph. It's a completely natural phenomenon.
  
  
• Sarah Palin Is Over:
  God's gift to the Democratic Party has announced she will be resigning as Governor of Alaska, not even completing one term. Is she pregnant again? Is her 14-year old daughter pregnant? Was she one of Governor Mark Sanford's many lovers? Is she doing this because Levi Johnson has promised to write a "tell all book?" Or is she just a serial quitter (remember, she quit her last job)? Who know! One version of "the scoop" is that she is about to be Federally indicted for stealing money from (... wait for it ... ) an earmark she got for the Wasilla hockey rink sports complex back when she was mayor of that tiny little town. Allegedly, she and Tod worked with the contractor to divert money and materials from the sports complex to build their own little house on the Tundra, ala Ted Stevens. And yes, we have written about Sarah's klepto problems before. See >> Sarah: It's Not About the Shoes. All I can say is this: Please, please run for president Sarah. Now that Michael Jackson is dead, we need the entertainment.
  


• Red State Update
  It turns out that red states lead in divorce, teen pregnancy and online porn. Just a coincidence, I am sure.
  


• The Washington Post as Pimp
  As unbelievable as its sounds, The Washington Post has been trying to pimp out both its reporters and the Obama Administration. After a health care lobbyist got a come-on letter asking for $25,00 to $250,000 to get access to Washington Post parties and events where he or she could rub shoulders with Obama Administration officials and Washington Post health care reporters and editors, the paper has tried to scurry backwards and cancel, cancel, cancel, while denying everything. Too late! The secret is out: The top management at The Washington Post thinks their reporters are street whores high priced call-girls. The White House, apparently, had no idea (and neither, we are told, did the reporters). The Washington Post's excuse: We are losing millions of dollars a month on the newspaper and have to do something. Right. And whores have to pay rent.
  


• A Storm Barrier for Coastal Louisiana
  The Louisiana coast is under constant threat from storms and hurricanes. What to do? The folks at Popular Mechanics suggest making the Gulf Coast America's "bamboo belt." Not only will bamboo create massive amounts of fiber, but it will stop storm surge like a wall of rock while slowing soil erosion and providing a cash crop. Sounds like genius to me!
  
  
• Slowing Population to Help People and the Planet
  It was a bevy of billionaries: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, George Soros, David Rockefeller, Michael Bloomberg, Ted Turner, and Oprah Winfrey all met recently to discuss what their philanthropy could do to slow world population growth. At least they have properly identified the root of so many of the world's problems! And yes, that includes the biggest threat to hunting in America.
  


• Is Cloning a Moa Next?
  The tallest bird that ever lived was the 12-14 foot tall Moa of New Zealand, which disappeared before 1400 AD. All in all, there were 11 species of Moa, ranging from 40 to 600 pounds. Early settlement sites in New Zealand are littered with Moa bones suggesting they were a favorite food of pre-European settlers. Now Scientists have retrieved DNA from 2,500-year-old Moa feathers. What caused the Moa to go extinct? As I have noted in the past, it was human population growth.
  
  
• Black Widow Spiders Are Evil
  Over at Cabinet of Wonders, Healther McDougal has a nice piece on black widow spiders which are the evil little creature I blame for the death of my great dog Sailor.
  


• Maybe the Label is Organic?
  I have always known that "organic" was more sales hype than sound science. Now, it turns out that the term "organic" may mean a great deal less than most people think.
  


• The Roots of California's Fiscal Mess
  How did California get into its current fiscal mess? Simple: Proposition 13 back in 1978. Prop 13 was a clever Republican bit of chicanery that capped property taxes. The result: a $5 billion dollar state surplus evaporated overnight, with services and education funds quickly slashed to the bone. California has been sliding straight into the toilet ever since.