Stop Pet Overpopulation

With 80 million households having at least one pet it's shocking that 5-11 million cats and dogs are euthanized each year. These animals are killed because there just isn't enough room in shelters to house them all, and there aren't enough people willing to adopt them. Yet the pet business is booming and breeders, pet stores, and puppy mills continue to churn out animals. fortunately, there are some easy steps that can be taken to reduce the number of unwanted animals, and to provide better care for sheltered animals. All you have to do is be B.A.D.

B.A.D. is an acronym that stands for birth control, adoption and donation. By practicing these three things we can significantly reduce the stray population, reduce the number of animals being bred by pet factories, and improve the quality of life for those animals that are sheltered. Below are a few links to help you help these animals and communities in need.

If you're looking for a pure bred dog, there are several places to check besides breeders and pet stores. Thousands of pure bred dogs end up at the pound or rescue shelters.The American Kennel Club has a list of shelters that specialize in pure bred dogs here.

The Kansas Humane Society has a great website with pictures of some of the animals they have for adoption, but they also have a list of ways you can help support them. This link has information about donating time, money and resources. Did you know that you can donate your aluminum cans to the humane society?

Finally, there is Peta. I realize that for some, these people seem crazy. However, there is plenty of good information on this site, including alerts about local legislation that affects you as a pet owner.
I encourage you to investigate these sites, as well as to post others you find helpful.

And remember, we can all do a lot of good by doing a little B.A.D.

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LeBron Kong?

LeBron James walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder. The bartender looks up from cleaning mugs and says, "Wow, where'd you get that thing?"

The parrot squawks, "From the cover of Vogue, they're everywhere."

A lot is being made of LeBron James on the cover of Vogue. He poses in mid-dribble, growling, and clinging to Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen like... well, like she's a Brazilian supermodel. To some, it's racially insensitive. But why?

There are two claims that the cover is racially insensitive. The first charge is that it perpetuates the stereotype of the violent, angry, black man. The second charge is that the cover is overtly racist, portraying James as King Kong, or a gorilla, holding onto his captive white woman.

When dealing with perceptions, there really is no right or wrong. But it is useful to examine why people see what they do, and why it is different from what someone else sees. For instance, if looking at that picture, you see a black man posing as a gorilla, who is applying the stereotype? Does the photo have anything in it that a reasonable person would associate with primates? There are no bananas, no jungle in the background, and no swings hanging from the air. So what in your brain made you associate gorilla with LeBron James? Is that Vogue's racism at work? Leibovitz's? Lebron's? Or yours?

It reminds me of when Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was released. Some people were upset that a few of the aliens (non-humans)appeared to be stereotypes for Japanese and Jews. Mind you, these were aliens (non-humans) with bug eyes, wings, etc. So how could they represent stereotypes of human ethnic groups? "Well, that one sounds Jewish and he's greedy." So because it sounded the way some viewers percieved a Jew to sound, and acted in a way some viewers percieved a Jew to act, they saw a Jew. Nevermind that the movie took place in a time long, long ago and a place far, far away where there were no Jews.

But instead of recognizing their own racists perceptions, they blamed George Lucas for what they saw. George Lucas has done a lot to harm the world with those last three movies, but I don't think you can blame him for spreading racism or antisemitism across the galaxy. Nor can you blame Leibovitz, James, or Vogue for it. If looking at that cover you see a chest-pounding gorilla ready to rape-- and not one of our most gifted and competitive athletes holding onto a sexy woman, then maybe there is something wrong with your perception...

LeBron James walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder. The bartender looks up from cleaning mugs and says, "Wow, where'd you get that thing?"

"From Africa," James says. "They're everywhere."

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Are Florida and Michigan Red Herrings?

The clamor for a re-vote in Florida and Michigan is growing increasingly loud as the Democrat's nomination continues without a clear winner. Talking heads shoot the word disenfranchise at one another and the smell of hyperbole is thick in the air. But is it all for naught? Do Florida and Michigan really matter? Or is this another example of how little faith the American political system has in the American people?

Florida and Michigan moved their primaries ahead of the schedule set by the Democratic National Committee so that they would play a larger role in selecting the nominee. Why should a state the size of New Hampshire have more weight than a Florida or Michigan? Technically New Hampshire, no matter how early it votes, represents the same number of delegates no matter what. Unfortunately, because state primaries are spread out over almost a year, the primaries are a sort of race. They're like the racing games at the arcade. You have to finish your lap in a certain amount of time to continue, if you don't make it in that time you have to put another quarter in to keep racing. But with the primaries, if you don't finish those first couple of laps in 1st, 2nd or 3rd people stop giving you quarters to finish the race. A candidate who stalls in the first couple of primaries, but would otherwise do well nationally, is left staring at a flashing "GAME OVER" with no quarters to be had. So in that sense, those early states like New Hampshire with 30 delegates do have more say than Michigan and its 156 delegates. They essentially get to pick who the rest of the country votes for.

Understandably, Florida and Michigan didn't like this setup, and probably more states than that. But they were the only ones to defy DNC rules and move up their primaries. Only now their delegates don't count. Whether they should count, have a re-vote, or split the delegates isn't really that important. The real question is will they make a difference? If you look at the numbers, it's easy to see that they won't. Neither candidate has a chance to gain enough delegates need to win the nomination. Because of party rules, this thing is already out of the hands of the voters. Florida and Michigan aren't the only ones being disenfranchised, the entire country is.

Because we have a political system with delegates, superdelegates, and an electoral college the vote of the common citizen means very little. Don't believe me? Ask Al Gore. Ask the next nominee of the Democrat Party. The next nominee might have the most votes, but believe me, that's not how he/she will be chosen. It could just as easily go the other way. How would they do it and remain "democratic"? Let's say Hillary wins the nomination without the most votes. She would have done so because the superdelegates all magically decided to vote for her, giving her the nomination. That's what those superdelegates are for, to ensure that the will of the party can override the will of the people.

That's not to say your vote doesn't count. It counts in the sense that the more a candidate has, the longer that candidate can stay in the race. But party elders are ultimately the ones who decide which candidate crosses the finish line first.

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Keep Your Lead, China! I've Brought My Own

China has been getting a lot of heat again, this time for its military reaction to the protests in Tibet. Tibetans have used the Beijing Olympics as a springboard for their campaign, not of independence, but to say "Hey, quit being such an asshole" in their nomadic-mountain-folk-Buddhist way. China knew this was going to happen.

The Olympics presented a golden opportunity for Tibetans to get some media attention after about a decade of neglect (where the hell did you go Beastie Boys?) Conversely, it gave China a chance to show that it wasn't so bad, it wasn't trying to breed Tibetan's out of existence by importing ethnic Chinese into the region. And so, to the concerns and criticisms leveled by the Tibetan protesters, China's released this carefully crafted response: "Fuck you!" Fuck you in the form of thousands of troops occupying Lhasa, hundreds of arrests, and many dead.

So they've got that going for them.

To be honest, I was afraid the Tibetans weren't going to get their five minutes. Before the protests, there was a lot of talk that this was going to be the Darfur Olympics. Everyone was going to protest and boycott the Beijing Olympics because China has been sucking oil out of a troubled region for the past eight years. Nevermind the people that have been killed, displaced, and oppressed for more than fifty years.

And nevermind China's other issues with human rights, pollution, and puppy murders. Recently China made the point to call America's human rights record into question. America has a terribly high prison population, among other things wrong with the country, but it doesn't negate China's record. Like the estimated 10,000 people executed each year (NYTIMES). I say estimated, because China doesn't really release those numbers, so it's up to different watchdog groups to figure out. I imagine it's easy to keep a low prison population when death is the punishment for most crimes. Can you imagine being executed for downloading an mp3? Some people should for the crap they listen to, but that's neither here nor there.

To add to the injustice, the executed's family are charged for the cost of the execution. On the face of it, this doesn't sound like a bad idea, particularly for a communist country. After all, the bullet isn't free. It's the People's Bullet. Why should the People have to pay for something to the benefit of the individual?

My questions is, can you bring your own bullet? I don't need anything fancy. There's no need to use uranium tipped, armor piercing, hollow point, gold jacketed .50 cal rounds. At the same time, I don't want a .22 bullet bouncing around in my skull, destroying as many brain functions as possible without killing me. Blow my head off with a plain-jane .45 and I'll be happy. Better yet, here's a steak knife from my kitchen drawer. Let me have an open casket funeral and reduce the financial burden on my family.

If China wants to improve its image and salvage a little dignity for the Olympics (while polluting the world, exploiting and oppressing millions, and executing thousands) the least it can do is kill people with their own cutlery.

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In Times of Crisis, Thumbs Make Tasty and Nutritious Treat

Stranded in the frozen wastes of North Dakota, on a frigid February morning, Michael Strenclaw thought his last days were here. At the tail end of a fourteen hour bread delivery trip, Michael's truck hit a patch of black iceand spun into a station wagon, killing the family of six inside. Michael's vehicle flew off the road and was engulfed in a snow drift. The snowy tomb prevented any doors from being opened, and obscured all signs of the vehicle. Lost, hypothermic, snow blind and starving Michael knew that his only hope of survival was to consume as much food as he could to generate body heat. But what do you do when your own body is the only food available?

"At first it was hard," Michael says. "But I just thought about those people dead on the street. I saw a kid in the front seat. He was probably 8. He'd probably taste ok." And with that image in his mind, Michael set out to save himself, by eating himself. Creating tiny tourniquets around his thumbs, Michael deadened all sensation to them by cutting off circulation. Every five minutes he would take a test nibble until finally there was no pain. But just because there was no pain, doesn't mean there was no flavor.

"Oh, my god! They were delicious!" Michael claims. "Seriously, I didn't have to put anyting on them at all. I just bit into them. At that point, because of the cold and lack of blood, they were pretty firm, so it was like biting into an apple. Only a meat apple." Three days later, rescuers discovered tracks leading to a large snow drift. There they found Michael on a bed of wonderbread loaves, chewing away on his right big toe.

How could Michael survive so long on so little flesh, and his own flesh at that? The thumbs are believed to be ultra-dense fat repositories. Despite their size, thumbs can contain up to 80% of a body's caloric reserve. This is why many diets and exercise plans fail, as thumb fat is the hardest to lose.

Even though Michael crippled himself to survive, he is thankful to be alive. He gives credit to the family he murdered on the road for saving his life. Had it not been for their mangled remains, he doubts he could have summoned the appetite to autocannibalize himself.

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