The Master of Miss Precious "Purr"-fect

That's it----ENOUGH!!!!!  I turned off Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" show on MSNBC about four minutes into it.  He had just referred to Obama's announcement of the anticipated timetable for the pull-out of combat troops in Iraq as "bushian."  That's the end---Chris Mathews and Keith were about as unprofessional and biased as reporters covering the primary and national campaign as I can recall.  And Barack Obama was their MAN!!!!!  Now Keith compares him to George W Bush?!?!?!?!?!?!?!  

When are GE and NBC going to get rid of this pompous a-hole and hire Ben Affleck and Olbermann's cat, Miss Precious Perfect, to fill this time-slot so we'd at least get some real humor from it????  And the Pirate Dogs would howl at the cat...........

And on the subject of over-reaching, this week the Congress of the United States passed a law forbidding the ownership of primates as pets, a reaction to the chimpanzee attack in Stamford CT.  Don't we have some real problems confronting these august bodies?

 And I think this was a bi-partisan vote, too.....

Of Note

Just a little item across the bottom of the screen on MSNBC this morning----Hershey is going to make the Peppermint Patty into the Peppermint Pastelillo.  The company is shutting down the P.P. production facility in PA and moving the operation to Mexico.  Oh well, what the hell, it's only 300 additional jobs lost in PA.  Just the type of responsible corporate behavior that will assist in lessening the pain of the current recession.  So let's keep saving the banks and other corporations with taxpayer dollars.  I'm not naive enough to argue that businesses shouldn't make decisions based on the interests of their shareholders and in the interest of maximising profits.  But a little social responsibility must enter into the calculations.  WE really DO NOT need more layoffs!!!!  Let's nationalize the banks, set up a couple of "bad banks" to dispose of the toxic assets, then return the banks to the marketplace where they must sink or swim.  Same with the auto industry---let them present a viable survival plan or let them sink.  The President is working very hard---too bad a bunch of politicians and corporate executives think this is still a game.  And the middle class is the loser.

Twilight of the Gods

Kronos, the Titan, begat Zeus in Greek mythology. The Roman version had Saturnus fathering Jupiter. The titan father, the head of the gods, the son.
So GM begat Saturn to change the way it did business. Gone were the crippling, profit-sucking union contracts. A whole new philosophy of management was the key to the future---GM would show it could compete with those upstart Japanese: Toyota, Nissan (nee Datsun), and Honda. The future would be operations like Saturn.
Fast forward to 2009---Saturn regurgitates recycled Opal products. GM succumbed to the high profit low future gas guzzling GMC Sierras, Hummers, Escalades. GM needs to re-organize and present a viable business plan to the US government before the end of February to keep its loan package and attempt to qualify for future taxpayer largess.
Let it GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The plan as announced this week jettisons its once shining star, Saturn. It also includes the sale of Saab, once a company noted for its technological innovation. It will make Pontiac--maker of some of the greatest cars GM ever produced (Grand Prix, G T O, Firebird Trans-Am)-- a sub-brand of one of the remaining marques---Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. At least those inefficient beasts with a moniker that reminds one of a slang term for fellatio (Hummer) is consigned to the garbage heap. That's only one right out of eight. Given that track record, what are this corporation's chances of survival? Slim and none is overly optimistic. Let GM go bankrupt. A little more short term pain will benefit us in the long run if the management sees this type of reorganization as saving this company and making it a viable concern for the 21st century.
It was once said that what was good for GM is good for the US. No longer. As Captain Kirk said in the Star Trek episode "Who mourns for Adonais", humans have outgrown the need for gods. Or corporations that believe they are gods.
So mourn for Saturnus and the company named for that Titan which might once have been the competitive rebirth of the American auto industry. And feel sorry for all those workers who need to be retrained. Hopefully the government will do what's right--allow a poorly run corporation without the management vision to right itself fail as the market dictates and then use the government's fiscal clout to absorb the losses and redirect the efforts of these workers into productive and sustainable occupations.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

When John Lennon penned that song, he was accused of using code for an acid trip--Lysergic Acid Dithylamide--LSD.  It used to be the best way to fly, certainly better and with less hassle than today.   The Establishment, back in the 60's and 70's, were terrified of the psychedelic and alleged mind-altering effects of acid, as it was called.  Jerry Rubin and Abby Hoffmann, leaders of the Youth International Party (Yippies) threatened to taint the public drinking water supply system with the drug to get the Establishment to become enlightened and free, or at least to loosen up and maybe enjoy a colorful diversion.  The government actually put troops around reservoirs to guard against this heinous act.

So today---- Picture yourself on the Washington Metro/With auto execs and lobbyists there/Someone is speaking/He's asking for money/A liar with lots of black hair...

Or is it the Senator he appointed who told the Illinois legislature he didn't get involved with Blago fundraising, there was no "pay for play", he deserved the appointment did Mr Burris and he was honest and clean and on and on and on and on...

OR---Picture yourself with a job in California/Where the State is cutting out benefits/You feel you're safe after all it's a state job/Then along comes a Senator/Wanting state jobs cut...How about those CA Republicans??  First they get a slew of cuts to Medi-Cal, unemployment and health benefits as part of the "budget deal"then they refuse to vote for this devil's bargain because there aren't any job reductions in state agencies like the ones in private industry!!!  

Does anyone out there think that maybe the Yippies really pulled off that injection of LSD into all the drinking water sources and the reaction is just delayed and we are all on an acid trip right now??  Anyone got a better explanation for this lunacy????

I remember purple snow and really neat color wheels. I much prefer those visions to the ones in my checkbook, 401-k statements, and savings account rates.  What, after all, is the purpose of government but to provide some safety net and some recourse for the average citizen after the markets fail?

  Oh Lucy, why hast thou forsaken us?????

Pour Quoi????

An old friend asked me in our last phone conversation "So what's with this Pirate Dog thing? Where's that come from?"

Well, it's what they are, collectively.  Each has a unique story and their biographies have appeared earlier on this blog.  These dogs are each a misfit in their own way.  But as a refresher.....

The Captain was purchased from a Cock-a-poo "breeder (wink-wink)" in NH.  Mostly this person was some unskilled lady who thought breeding dogs a lucrative and easy profession.  So 'Roid came to us with some severe genetic issues.  As she has matured, she's evolved from being a Cock-a-poo with bad knees to a splay-footed chow hound who haunts the kitchen looking for handouts and sits leaning against the base cabinets with one of her rear legs jutting out at a 90-degree angle from her haunches.  She needs at least a 10-foot running start to jump onto the bed, which is a successful operation about 47.6% of the time.

Now the First Mate came to us from a shelter in NH.  Her official biography lists her as a rescue from a kill shelter in Ohio where she was imprisoned as an unclaimed stray.  And she still exhibits symptoms of the low self-esteem that can be produced by such mental trauma as being stranded and unclaimed by one's own family.  Leny meets her dad at the door each evening with a ball or chip-turk firmly between her teeth.  And such a ruckus---singing, whingeing, barking---all kinds of attention getting behaviors as would be expected from a traumatized and neglected child who has found a safe haven but insists on pushing the limits of her new found acceptance.

The Lookout is a NM native.  She was rescued from the local kill shelter.  She was surrendered from a town slightly west of here.  There was no official reason given for the placement of the dog there but we suspect it was "small dog syndrome"---she has a tendency to express herself with growling and threatening body language.  All of us have had occasion to be terrified of Weets when she gets in these moods.  It might also have had to do with her predilection for relieving herself on the dry floors inside when it's raining or wet outside.  Of course, a Schnauzer-Chihuahua mix that channels her maternal grandmother might also give one pause.....

So these three individuals, each with their own style and baggage have found a home together on the High Plains and a place of safety in the crate they've named the CPS Nargle.  A worthy crew joined by their circumstances and belief that being a Pirate Dog has benefits far beyond we poor humans' comprehension

After all, no self-respecting canine would ever name a pet extermination center a kill SHELTER.  To quote Captain 'Roid, "Talk about your basic oxymoron....."

How the Captain got her Name

First there was Red Rachel, later sister to Blue Leafy.  Leafy had to be put down because of the BIG C.  Rachel then despaired of her world and took a nosedive into one of those big Highway Dept. dump trucks.  Devastated, we searched for another dog.

We went to a shelter a couple of towns to the West.  There was a beagle-sized being there who sort of looked like, maybe, wishfully, hopefully, a Golden Retriever puppy.  But we wanted to check out another shelter by the Seacoast.  So off we went.  That first dog played on our minds and there wasn't anything we liked at the other shelter so we hastened west across NH to the original shelter, pulling up about 7 minutes before closing and announced we'd take the beagle cross.  Of course the volunteers there were just thrilled to have to do an hour or so of paperwork.....But we took her home.

Turned out the dog had been returned from a failed adoption the previous day.  And she didn't have any Golden in her--- just about everything else!!!  She was part Beagle, German Shepherd, Collie, and Lab.  She had a tannish-reddish coat and wasn't very big.  As a matter of fact, she remained on the small side her entire life---beagle-sized.

She proved to be an outstanding animal and we named her Hannah.  She was loyal and great with family members.  But she hated strangers.  One of our son's friends never could get into the house without a frenzy of growling, barking, and gnashing of teeth from Hannah.  Unless he got down on his knees so he'd be HER size---then there would be peace.

We had some very good friends and we'd alternate dinner and a movie/video at each other's houses on a semi-regular basis.  The hosts provided the movie and dinner;  the guests, dessert and wine.  Well T's specialty was carrot cake---absolutely scrumptious.  But something about it stimulated Hannah.  The dog would just stand in the kitchen pointing at the carrot cake on the counter.  God Himself couldn't help any cat or other creature who strayed by and got between Hannah and that cake dish.....

So what's all this got to do with the Captain? Well might you ask-----It was Hannah who gave the Captain her moniker. My wife liked Hannah but the dog was a little too aggressive and growly for her taste.  She longed for a dog with the mild temperament of Pete, the Cocker she grew up with.  So one summer's day after school was out and I was at work, she drove to a town north of us after responding to an ad in the newspaper.  There she met a woman who bred Cock-a-poos.  She found a curly-haired black bundle and wrote a check for the dog.  She brought it home and christened it Emma.  Now it being around the time that Dodge had decided to re-introduce America to the Hemi engine, everyone was talking about "Yeah, it's got a Hemi."  So it wasn't much of a stretch to nickname Emma "Hemi".  

Now Hannah, the  famously infamous "tan dog", took some exception to this simpering puppy following her around and generally being, in Hannah's opinion, obnoxious.  So, by simply adding a couple of syllables to  her nickname of "Hemi" that described an ailment of the posterior, Hannah changed it all and Emma became "The 'Roid".  Soon after this renaming, Hannah succumbed to the BIG C and Emma was able to assert herself a little.  But it took the adoption of Leny, the move to NM, and the acquisition of the final Pirate Dog, Weets, to enable her to become the Captain.

And the rest is blog-istory.............. 

Westminster

Can you believe it??  This is the winner of the 2009 Westminster Dog Show which just concluded:

This is Stump, a Sussex Spaniel called out of retirement at 10 years old to suffer humiliation at the whims of its owner and handlers.  Poor animal probably lives in a crate and then has to perform on demand.

Real dogs don't do the Westminster Kennel Club.  We do real things, like growling:

And of course, pirating:

So next time you think about dog shows, remember there's show dogs and real dogs.  After all, I was an unwanted stray from Ohio and my crate's a Canine Pirate Ship.  I wouldn't trade the Nargle for all the "best of breeds" in NYC.  Besides, why weren't there any Sharpradors entered??

Love you all,

Leny

(with help from our Dad)

Sometimes you gotta sing....

"Here we go loop-da-loop/ Here we go loop-da-li...."  So it's OK for the new Secretary of the Treasury to "forget" a tax obligation but the nominee for the Dept. of Health has to quit??  Isn't that a little bass-ackwards or is it a message about how much health care reform is really gonna cost?

"Oh happy day/Oh happy day...."  Took Barack Obama 2 weeks to say "I screwed up."  We NEVER heard that from W in 8 YEARS!!!!!  And if one were to compile a hierarchy of mistakes, I believe the Iraq War, opening Guantanamo, eroding our constitutional rights, giving no-bid multi-million dollar contracts to cronies and business associates, allowing the recession/depression to begin---any of these rank higher than appointing Tom Daschle and Timothy Geithner to the cabinet.

"Yo soy un hombre sincero/De donde creche la palma..." The Pirate Dogs and I still think we got it right on 11/4/2008.  I find the honesty emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave so refreshing.........And, unfortunately, so different from any of the predecessors in the Oval Office the last 30 or so years.

O M G

Mom,

How could you?????????

We poor Pirate Dogs, treated like the lines from the Jim Morrison song When the Music's Over---we feel like the Earth,"our fair sister/ravaged and plundered and ripped her and bit her/..and dragged her down."

Our dear mommy did this to us!!!!!  Sure, we may have needed haircuts but THIS??????  Does this look like Pirate Dogs?????????????

Imagine dressing like this in the Crow's Nest!!!!!

And I sure don't feel like a Pirate Captain!!!!!

But we still love you anyway, Mom. 

 Just don't let that nasty cousin Esmerelda see us like this!!!!!  We know Auntie Bucksnort put you up to the bows!!!