every now and again the sun shines

OK, I was mostly planning on venting on this blog but I find that I need to share a good thing. I work with a rescue and foster young shy dogs until we can find them good homes. I recently had one little girl that was really shy, she would run and cry when you reached for her. But I brought her around and found a REALLY nice family for her. However, they were so nice they didn't know how to show her their strengths, so she ran from them and hid for a full 24 hrs. They were having a really hard time, trying to give her space. I went over and explained to them that giving her space was actually positive reinforcement for her hiding. What they needed to do was get her on a leash, keep her near them, give her lots of love and build her confidence in herself as well as them. I poked a stick at them today for an update and this is what I got:

Kate! I was going to call you this week to let you know how well things are going. So far: She's visited the vet, my Mom's house, had an evening walk/carry down Santana Row (lots of attention from sidewalk diners), had her first leash walk, gained a few pounds, and graciously hosted the 2 corgi's who are our house guests (all three growling at first but now playing nicely). She's stuck like glue to me yet still charges sideways if I approach her walking. She's come so far and I expect will be even further along by nightfall. Tonight we're taking her to Princeton (Half moon bay) for dinner out and a walk on the beach. Spoiled? You bet! But still adhering to the Nothing is Free program. I'll call you later in the week. P.S. She sits on command now and doesn't even think about the food bowl going down on the floor until she's sitting. Your advise was so good!

I love updates like this.

Ugly Americans

Are we really so naive that we didn't think our own soldiers were capable of the horrible acts that are coming forward from Iraq? If Americans are capable of beating a transexual American teenager to death, gang raping young girls, killing each other on the streets over "territory" or burning swastikas into the garage doors of Jews or Blacks in our own country why would we ever think terrible acts would not happen during a foreign war against people that follow a different religion? If we are so intolerant of differences at home, why would anyone think we would be tolerant somewhere else? I know there are good people over there fighting for the right reasons, but it was ignorant of us to think there would not be horrific acts carried out by at least some of our own soldiers. And I just love hearing the occasional justification in street interviews that "you know they're doing it to us too" as though that always makes it right. My guess is that if that person were there they would jump right in.

I'm also amazed that our government and military really thinks we are so gullible that we would believe there was no involvement from "higher ups". There may not be anything written down, but the fact that these soldiers had enough freedom and time to carry out these acts says someone was at least looking the other way, which is consent.

We are suppose to rise above our baser human tendencies and strive to be more than we are. We should all know the basics of right and wrong by the time we are old enough to serve in the armed forces. We should be able to control our urges to act in such uncivilized ways. Saying they do it to us is no justification. We are not there to do as they do, we are there to show a better way, a kinder way, a more civilized way if we are to believe what the government tells us.

So, even if the "higher ups" were supposedly not involved in these atrocities, where the hell were they while they were going on? Who was responsible for leading these troops? Who did they report to? Why did these "higher ups" NOT know what their troops were up to? Things like this do not happen in a vacuum. People knew and chose to let it go on, possibly even supporting it outright but certainly endorsing it by inaction.

Spin it how you like, we got caught doing just what someone should have known at least a few of us would do.

eyes on the road...

not on your mascara, not on the morning paper, and not on the accident on the other side of the road. I can't believe there is all of this controversy over cell phone use in cars and no one is doing squat about the makeup ladies, the paper boys and the multitude of lookyloos. I know there are plenty of people that can't walk and chew gum at the same time, let alone talk and drive. But what I see most morning is so much worse. In my short 17 miles to work I saw a woman on the freeway, in the fast lane, driving the rate of traffic which was about 50mph, with her visor mirror down using both hands to apply her mascara. How exactly do you drive and avoid causing an accident that way? We were all just lucky that she didn't need to respond to anything until her more important task was done. Then there was the electician van on the expressway which evidently had an urgent need to catch up on the daily newspaper, and not while we were stopped at a light - which is bad enough since they never see the light turn green. He was actually using both hands to hold the paper in front of the wheel as he drove and read. (I actually honked at that guy and told him to put the fucking paper down and drive. I'll get myself shot someday probably.) This is not multitasking, people. Driving is multitasking. You control the momentum of your vehicle, the direction of your vehicle, you watch other vehicles, you listen for emergency vehicles, you watch for children and pets that move suddenly and unpredictably, and you pay attention to those around you.

I heard on the news yesterday that there is a bill being proposed that would make it a traffic offense to be caught changing the station on the radio, talking to a pet or child in the car, or using your phone. First offense will be a $35 fine. I would have hoped we wouldn't have to get so specific about what you can't do when driving. I would have hoped driving while distacted and not having your eyes on the road and your vehicle under your immediate control would have been enough - God knows cops take enough liberties as it is why not that as well, but that is a whole 'nother rant. Now it seems that we will list what you can't do. What that means to me is that none of the people I encountered today will pay a fine for their actions because some lawyer will challenge the law based on what isn't listed outright.

I am not some stick in the mud fuddy duddy that drives just below the limit to make sure I'm safe. I do stupid things sometimes when I shouldn't but come on people!! Get your collective heads out of your asses and get your eyes on the task at hand, driving your cars.

gas protests

I got an email forwarded today asking me to not buy gas on Weds, May 19, to stick it to the oil companies for charging us so much. Here is an excerpt from it:

BUY NO GAS ON MAY 19th!!
DON'T BUY GAS ON MAY 19TH IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF GASOLINE FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE
OIL COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES. AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OF OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL COMPANIES.

I just had to reply to the sender, and we went back and forth a few times with this being my final answer:

Why do people not get that this will not make a difference?! They may not get their 4.6 billion tomorrow but if you still drive they will get it today or Thursday and they don't care if they don't see it tomorrow - 2.3 billion additional on their books for Tuesday and Thursday looks just the same at the end of the month. The only way to really impact their profit is to say nobody drive Weds - then your consumption goes down, you buy less, they make less. I don't need gas tomorrow anyway so I automatically play along by default but do you see that since you need gas today you are simply giving them their money early? Or if you wait until Thursday to fill up you give it to them a day later?

I'm all for taking action for something you believe in, but make it an action that will have results. And think it through when someone sends you something instead of just jumping on the bandwagon. I am not a genius, so it should be easy for the average person to figure out that no reduction in consumption means no reduction in profit.

killed the cat

Evidently we had a young mountain lion wander into town in Palo Alto yesterday, and after a day long search where they found the young cat up a tree, chased there by a black lab, they decided he was such a threat that they couldn't wait for the tranq gun and so shot him fromthe tree. And he was such a serious threat that when he fell from the tree he tried to hide. I heard kids on KGO this morning saying they could have found another way. Evidently kids are the only ones that still try to find a compassionate solution in a crisis.