Open Thread – Defender of the Realm
Coming tomorrow are photos and a writeup for the funeral held today for Ted Stevens. I tried to get everything ready tonight, but the blinking nods have set in, and it’s not going to happen until I get some sleep first. I’ll also be recapping the event tomorrow on The Shannyn Moore Show. Our regular segment, Thursdays in the Mud, will have an extra hour tomorrow! State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Hollis French will be Shannyn’s guest from 11-noon Alaska time, and then I’ll be on with Shannyn from noon to 2pm. You can stream the show at kudo1080.com
And, there was also an interesting incident that derailed my blogging for part of the evening. Imagine the scene if you will – me sitting here in my blogging uniform (pajamas) and suddenlyI hear a sound that makes my blood run cold. It’s a shrieking, screaming, wailing noise that is almost otherworldly. It is loud and sustained and it’s coming from right outside the front door. I have no idea what’s going on, but I know it’s not good. I wonder if there’s some animal becoming someone’s dinner. I know rabbits can actually make loud noises and I think maybe a lynx has nabbed one in the driveway. But this is a bigger and louder noise than I think a rabbit can make. I get up to investigate and I see the dog bed is empty.
I remember I’d let the dog out about 20 minutes before. The screaming continues, and I run to the door at top speed, full of dread, thinking that surely this is it. Buf the dog has met her end at the claws and teeth of a bear. She’s been known to nip a bear on its posterior, so it’s entirely possible. I throw the door open, heart pounding, expecting to see my dog being eaten before my eyes, and not sure exactly what I’ll do at that point. Frying pan? Gun? My mind is racing.
To my relief, there’s Buf… all in one piece, but hackles up and looking twice her normal size. It has been her making this ungodly noise. And about 8 feet in front of her, and 15 feet from my door I see what she’s shrieking at. A wolf. A huge wolf. It’s like the most beautiful wolf you see on postcards, and wolf calendars. And it looks like it weighs 150 pounds – a gorgeous mottled grey, with a giant puffy tail. It’s looking at Buf with mild curiosity but seems pretty unfazed.
I call to Buf, who comes tearing up the three steps, on to the porch and is half way in the door when she stops. She makes eye contact with me, freezes, and then turns around and charges back outside after the wolf. I don’t know what must have been going through her mind, but I holler her name as loud as I can and say “NO!” Luckily she listens to me and dashes in the house and back to the dog bed, shaking like a leaf. I resisted the urge to see if I could get a picture, or see the wolf again, and I kneeled down to comfort the terrified. What came next was 20 minutes of whining, weeping, “buf-ing” and licking my arms.
As of now, all is well and our heroine is fast asleep on the dog bed, while her wild cousin has disappeared into parts unknown with a story to tell.
This one’s definitely a first. I’ve seen all sorts of critters in the driveway – black and brown bears, moose, lynx, coyotes, rabbits, porcupines, ermine… but this was a new one. I have to admit feeling a little unsettled, but also quite thrilled to see such an amazing animal so close without having to leave the comfort of my home, or my pajamas.
If it ever comes back I’ll try to snap a picture, but for now you’ll just have to imagine the picture in your mind.
And yes… Buf the Brave got her favorite treat – a slice of cheese, and a whole lot of extra love to say thanks for defending the fort and those who live here!
Wow. Great story. Glad pup is OK!
Was it the wolf calling you? Or you dog?
Oh, geez, another cheese dog. We have 3 of them. They cost me a pound of American a week. Plus leftovers, 25 ilbs of doh food, endless hours of protective barking, growling and howling, 1/2 of our bed, all of our furniture and a few other things. Yet, somehow, their still worth it.
Good job Buf.
One just has to wonder what that wolf was thinking though? With all that screaming he probably thought Buf had been shot.
Wow, lots of typos there, sorry, just started my first cup of coffee (and I stll finger type
Yay Buf!
I’d love to wake up to a beautiful wolf in the drive. But it seems I’m just destined to see
the groundhog running past the azaleas after he’s eaten tomatoes out of the garden.
BUF! I hardly recognize her without Sharpie eyebrows.
I’m so glad she’s OK. The re-cap was great. It’s like she came dashing in thinking “someone really should do something about THAT THING – oh – that’s my job” and turned around.
…”– oh – that’s my job” and turned around. …
I know – right? That was the best part of the story.
Loved it AKM!!
It certainly shows how much your dog loves you!
Oh. My. Goodness!
Sitting here covered in goosebumps, hearing it and seeing it all unfold in my mind’s eye…
Buf the Brave…and obedient, also, too, praises be. Whew!
Got my heart rate right on up there this morning, which is a good thing. As much as I rested up and relaxed this summer vacation, the Houseboat Hootenanny (actually the 9 hours car ride each way with just 3 days hooting) and the first week of school (no students yet) is kicking my…. Haven’t been in the pool in a week, and I’m Really Missing it. Saturday, if the rain subsides, will be a pool day instead of a pajama day.
Feel like some crispy ancient rock’n'roller who should have gone into training before the comeback tour… my strength is good, but I’ve gotta build some stamina and endurance to survive another challenging year at school.
Littlebird leaves for college in the morning, mama and daddy are preparing to move from their home in the woods into a duplex in a retirement community (still a little shaky from the midnight electrical fire on the houseboat…no one hurt, damage contained to a closet, except for smoke throughout…but that’s a tale for later when I have more time…) Making preparations for Jewish New Year and High Holy Days. Rain, rain, and more rain. Shrimp season opened in the Gulf, but I’m still not convinced the water’s safe…
and so it goes.
Here’s hoping your day is pleasant and productive.
L’Shalom,
thatcrowwoman
{{{{{Buf the WonderBeast}}}}}
Best of days to all!
My sympathies on your first week back at school. I always find myself needing naps on the first few days back with my little munchkins!
My school calendar starts and ends later in the year than many other places so I have a new student orientation tonight and a scheduling meeting on Monday (a major retirement incentive in our district announced in mid-july has thrown our staffing, and therefore our scheduling, into a supreme tizzy). Our first official day is on Sep 1st and the kiddos start back on the 2nd so, if the morning staff meetings finish on time, we only get one half of a paid work day to get set up for the year…not even close to enough!
And so, as always, I’ll be heading in to unpack and do bulletin boards the last week of August, during my last week of ‘vacation’. Lots of people who complain about how much teachers get paid don’t realize that most spend lots of their own time and money getting their rooms ready long before the kids arrive and long before they’re actually ‘on the clock’. Good thing the kids are so cute!
My exciting afternoon will be spent cutting out balloons for the building’s birthday bulletin board…such a wild life I lead!
Enjoy the rest of your day and send Littlebird off to college with our good wishes!
I know people forget how many teachers spend their own money and time on school supplies that the schools won’t supply and should. I know once when My grandson had a book sale at school and failed to tell us his teacher gave him money to buy a book he liked. I grew up when teachers took us home for dinner ect so it is hugs to all teachers IMO
The wolf would have been neat to watch from a distance.Good thing Buf knows better than to chase Our dogs don’t know enough not to chase coyotes and they are much bigger than them.
I just got the creepiest thought. Maybe Buf is a Republican? After all, the rant your pooch did on the porch sounded a whole lot like one of Sarah Palins speeches.
Buf a Repubican???? Bite your tongue!!
Woman! Wash your mouth out with soap!!! Of course, Buf has been known to nip a grizzly in the bum so she does have progressive chops!
I know what I wanted to say. “Like her human companion AKM, Buf the Dog has been known to nip ‘Mama Grizzlies’ on the posterior.”
Would that make him a re’pup’lican? Ok, couldn’t help myself.
Quite the story, thank you.
wow glad everybody was OK in the end and i hope the wolf stays as far away from humans as possible
Buf the Beautiful and Brave, we salute and thank you! Keeping AKM and wonderful husband safe is a noble role to have! We are grateful all turned out well.
Wonderful writing, AKM.
Not so wonderful (for Sarah) is the headline on HuffPo right now, as I write to you. Hehe. Love it, love it – has to do with Sarah’s encouragement of Dr. L. Haven’t read the article yet, but just seeing the headline is enough to start my day. Hoping the article goes well. (Oh, yes, I am a bad, bad, evil person to take delight in the slow meltdown of SP. What’s worse – is that I am not ashamed about it. hehe)
The article is better than the headline!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/18/sarah-palin-supports-dr-laura_n_687148.html
I ain’t goin’ here.
http://i.imgur.com/6iN2O.jpg
No small wonder. Is this a sign in Austin?
er – what kind of dances are “Krumping” and “Pop-locking?” Do I even want to know?
May be showing my age, but I can do the others (except jitterbug – never could get my feet to do what they needed to do fast enough somehow).
I’m not sure where that’s at. All I found was that picture. But Austin has plenty of dancin’ , and then some.
Hmmmm…makes you wonder where that sign was posted.
Who’d want to?!!
This is great…Hollywood Gossip slams Palin’s intelligence:
http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2010/08/sarah-palin-defends-dr-laura-schlessinger-does-not-understand-us/
What an amazing story. So glad Buf is okay. Makes finding pieces of lizards the cats have found seem like child’s play.
Fantastic! We all know Sarah loves being a celebrity. If the gossip rags are putting her down – ooooeeee, that must sting.
Loved the first line in Hollywood Gossip’s post:
“Sarah Palin is really unintelligent for a major political figure.”
Funny, Dr. Laura didn’t think much of McCain’s choice of running mate back in 2008. She said:
I’m stunned – couldn’t the Republican Party find one competent female with adult children to run for Vice President with McCain? I realize his advisors probably didn’t want a “mature” woman, as the Democrats keep harping on his age. But really, what kind of role model is a woman whose fifth child was recently born with a serious issue, Down Syndrome, and then goes back to the job of Governor within days of the birth?
http://www.drlaurablog.com/2008/09/02/sarah-palin-and-motherhood
I know what you mean about that screaming, crying un godly, noise.
I am so glad that ours is not a wolf.
Max, our 15 year old cat has decided this year to protect us from… bunnies. Yes cute little bunnies.
4 times this summer he has caught, killed and ate bunnies, bringing their remains to our deck for us to admire. The screams they make are horrible and by the time we hear them it is too late.
It has been a sad summer and I don’t know why he is doing this. He is also averaging a bird a week.
We also have a woodchuck which he ignores. Also ignores the ducks that land on our lawn.
But he loves his baby bunnies.
A bell on Max’s collar would save a lot of bunnies and birds.
The bell would also allow kitty more hunting time, wear him out, and save bunnies.
Tried that.
He is the Houdini of collars.
“Max, our 15 year old cat has decided this year to protect us fromâ�¦ bunnies. Yes cute little bunnies.
4 times this summer he has caught, killed and ate bunnies, bringing their remains to our deck for us to admire. The screams they make are horrible and by the time we hear them it is too late.
It has been a sad summer and I donâ��t know why he is doing this. He is also averaging a bird a week.”
That’s not protection, that’s his way of criticizing your lack of weight gain. He’s trying to provide for his family.
I’m sticking with that explanation. Bells on cats are well-nigh useless, they go low and can keep their backs level, letting all the motion come through their legs. Kind of like watching jockeys!
Hurrah for the Mighty Buf! And hooray for hearing “mom” shouting “NO!” when she headed back outside.
As for a picture, your words painted a very detailed one already! Buf earned every single cuddle and croon.
So glad it all ended well.
Agreed! I feel like I just watched a scene from an heroic film…video and sound. I hope Buf has a calm and happy day today.
This little gem will not surprise too many mudpups but it may just open the eyes of Fox fans that we all might know:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0810/A_contribution_from_Fox_not_News_Corp.html?showall
Hooray for that pup! Buf is a super-hero dog (dawg), and I am glad she did such a good job!
I don’t think that Sarah Palin will understand this article (after all there are a lot of words used–words that are not in the official Palin dictionary):
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2010/08/18/129275433/laura-schlessinger-gets-back-the-first-amendment-rights-she-always-had
Another interesting Dunn post…this time to music:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-dunn/rocker-sheryl-crow-record_b_687281.html
What a brave dog that Buf is!!! So glad she got her well-earned rewards – cheese and hugs!
Years ago my cat used to enjoy watching the muskrat (named Sam since I didn’t know if it was a he or a she!) that lived in my yard. She would run from window to window, following the little critter around the property. One day, I was reading on the couch when the cat started flying back and forth down the hall from bedroom to living room, tail and back all puffed up and hissing as she went. When I looked out the window, I saw that the obnoxious neighborhood orange tabby was stalking our dear Sam. I ran outside and chased the tabby away, saving Sam from a potentially fatal encounter. The cat immediately calmed down, although she did spend the rest of the afternoon closely watching the muskrat to make sure nothing else happened to her little buddy!
The wolf used Buf to bring you to the door. Buf figured it out before you. Gooood dog. Masters can be trained…
Wow, glad Buf is all right! After all our trips up there, the wolf is one of the few Alaskan critters we have neither seen nor heard. Are they often seen right in Anchorage? I didn’t think so.
Buf was terrific to try to defend you and your house after being so frightened. Buf also was using you as back-up. What a team. What an adventure. Terrific to read.
Sweet Buf! Give her extra TLC from her mudpup friends. I can’t imagine how scary it was for you, AKM, to hear her howls and growls. Sometimes my little shi-tzu cries in her sleep and hearing her in distress, even though I know it’s a dream, is awful. Extra hugs to all our furry friends today, for they take such good care of us.
So glad Buf’s doing well. And you, AKM, also too.
I was reading the first two paragraphs with bated breath … whew … so glad Buf is okay. After what happened to Celtic Diva’s little pup, you had me scared.
Oddly enough, I’d feel happier to see a wolf out back than a bear.
Remember the chapter in Frank Dufresne’s No Room for Bears about the wolves defending their den from the grizzly with cubs?
One morning I could hear wolves howling on the ridge behind our house. I wish that would happen more often. Alas, local goons with trap lines take a sad toll on our wolves, I suspect.
My cousin counts wolves in Yellowstone, near Mammoth Hot Springs and in the north-eastern portion of the park. He said when the wolves were re-introduced, they kept mainly to the park. But nowadays they tend to go outside the park, and are subject to hunters and poachers. When they seek prey though, they can be very patient and… relentless. Here’s hoping Buf stays close to the house… and the wolf moves on down the road.
And of course, Juneau’s late celebrity wolf, Romeo, loved to frolic with dogs. His friendliness is probably what made it so easy for the local skunk to shoot him.
Ah Buf. A good dog in the goodest doggiest sense.
Buff the beautiful, too!
The “List of the Dead” -names of those who have died after taser shocks- kept at truthnottasers reached No. 500 yesterday with the death of Martin Harrison, 50, in hospital after being stunnd twice in a fight with jailers, days after he was arrested for drunken driving.
I salute Flyinureye for creating a graphic about the out-of-control use of tasers, partly to mark this dreadful milestone. http://flyinureye.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/569/
I think that the taser could be a useful police weapon- but lets stop calling it a “tool” and train police that it is dangerous.
Tasers are supposed to be used instead of GUNS, meaning, when brute force for self protection is needed, not just to punish unruly people or those who are just not “cooperating.”
I am fearful of the rise of the police state.
Another media blog reloads with Palin hypocrisy:
http://www.mediaite.com/online/sarah-palin-supports-dr-laura-in-n-word-controversy-wants-her-to-reload/
That picture of Buf is just so precious! Sweet baby! I’m just so glad that she’s OK and that the magnificent wolf was unperturbed by Buf’s defense. Phew…great story.
Is Sarah losing it or what? Whatever burr is under her saddle is bringing her down, and I’m so grateful!
Buf was very lucky in my opinion. Down here in Arizona, coyotes regularly dine on dogs who are household pets. Henceforth, may I suggest you keep an eye on the dog because it is a good bet that wolf will be back, now that he/she knows there is a possible meal at your house.
That also happens here often in the winter in Illinois. It happened to the pug across the street from us two winters ago… and now, each winter, they trot through our back and side yards looking for MY little “Teddybear” pup (1/2 Bichon, 1/2 shih tzu). We see their tracks in the snow.
I keep a baseball bat and a boat air horn right next to the door we let him out of, on his chain. And yes, I am quite willing to bash a coyotes brains out if he’s got my little man in his mouth!! Yeah, it’s a pain in the tushie putting him out on a lead, but I know, for a fact that they know he’s here, and are waiting for us to leave him out for too long one night… BTW, the air horn is to alert the neighbors if we see coyotes in the vicinity…
A wonderful story! I can easily imagine the wolf’s behavior because I had friends who have one. They work with wildlife and this one could not go back to the wild. He is a beautiful animal. He frequently gets that amused, puzzled look of “whats all the fuss about”? His people frequently remind us he will always be a wild animal. I sure wouldn’t want to see him decide his “pack” was threatened. He is always leashed, or otherwise contained but there is no way they could hold him if he decided otherwise.
Good girl, Buf!!! But please, don’t scare us again like that!
Leery of Washington, Alaska Feasts on Its Dollars
Mr. Gatto, 72 and wiry, smiles and shakes his head: “I’ll give the federal government credit: they sure give us a ton of money. For every $1 we give them in taxes for highways, they give us back $5.76.”
He points to a new federally financed highway, stretching toward distant spruce trees. “Man, beautiful, right?”
Alaskans tend to live with their contradictions in these recessionary times. No place benefits more from federal largess than this state, where the Republican governor decries “intrusive” federal policies, officials sue to overturn the health care legislation and Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, voted against the stimulus bill.
PALMER, Alaska — Backed by a blue row of saw-toothed mountain peaks, the Republican state lawmaker Carl Gatto finds himself on a fine roll.
Multimedia
Roll it back, he says, roll back this entire socialistic experiment in federal hegemony. Give us control of our land, let us drill and mine, and please don’t let a few belugas get in the way of a perfectly good bridge.
“I’ve introduced legislation to roll back the federal government,” he says. “They don’t have solutions; they just have taxes.”
And what of the federal stimulus, from which Alaska receives the most money per capita in the nation? Would he reject it?
Although its unemployment rate sits at just 7.9 percent, about two percentage points below the national rate, Alaska has received $3,145 per capita in federal stimulus dollars, the most in the nation, according to figures compiled by Pro Publica, an investigative Web site. Nevada, by contrast, has an unemployment rate north of 14 percent and has received $1,034 per capita in recovery aid. Florida’s jobless rate is 11.4 percent, and the state has obtained $914 per capita.
Alaska has budget woes, and, more perilously, oil production is slumping. But its problems are not mortal; the ax falls on new police headquarters and replacement Zamboni blades rather than on teachers and libraries. The state avoided the unemployment devastation visited on the Lower 48 in part because federal dollars support a third of Alaskan jobs, according to a university study.
Read more here;
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/business/19stimulus.html?_r=2
poorly written article…
and Gatto is a pill…
a dip…
a brat.
Is much more complicated than this…
It always astounds me that some folks seem to feel compelled to compare “Alaska dollars” to, say, “Nevada dollars” as if a dollar in the one state bought the same amount of goods/services as it does in the other. The extreme climate and vast distances of Alaska, alone, would indicate such a one-to-one comparison to Nevada (or to any other state, for that matter) is bogus from the git-go.
When I hear these fantastic figures thrown around as ‘proof’ of how much more money one state (ahem: AK) gets over another, I (now) automatically ask myself the questions: “But how much do people living anywhere in State A pay, on average, for a gallon of fresh, never frozen 1% milk? And the people in State B — no matter where they live in the state, what is the average they’d pay for that same gallon of fresh, never frozen 1%?”
I’d hazard a guess that a person in Nevada could purchase a gallon of fresh, never frozen 1% milk anywhere in the state –no matter how far they were from a major city or what time of the year it was — and pay, at most, a $4.00 ‘difference’ between any two locations (the ‘markup’ to recoup the merchant’s expenditures in getting it to the destination.) What would the mark up have to be for the same milk going to some remote village in AK? In February? Bet’cha it’d be waaaaaaaay more than 4-bucks! I’d guess that the average cost to/for Alaskans for that milk [remember, this is average cost -- by *location*, 24/7...365] would be at least half again as much as it would for a Nevadan.
Yeah, Alaskans might *get* ‘good money,’ but they have to *pay* ‘good money’, too. I think they just stay in the state for ‘fringe benefits’ like clean air, wide open spaces, wolves and moose in the backyard, whack-o politicians, …
beth.
BTW — AKans scattered across the state in cities, town, and villages: What do you pay, on average, for a gallon of fresh, never frozen 1% milk where you live? For me, here in a medium-sized town in the SE, it’s averaged $3.20 for the past 18-months. b.
Beth- I never buy fresh… old habit from days power was so iffy for so long…
Powdered and never make more than a quart.
When my son was a child, town ran out of milk weekly before the barge got in …
Now the big deal is that stores can fly in fresh 3 times a week
And Gatto is a pill and this is a poorly written article… sucky , really.
Just a funny little Sarah Palin song parody for today…
Sunny song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubvYQxTXO3U
SARAH
(sung to the Bobby Hebb song “Sunny”)
Sarah, you sunk the knife into ol’ John McCain
Sarah, since then you’ve been riding the crazy train
Now your sane days are gone, and your Fox days are here
You’re number one at spreading fear
Sarah, why do you have no clue?
Sarah, selling that Tea Party Kool-Aid
Funny, how they bought your “death panel” charade
Signed for a fee, books at the mall
“Such a steal” you told them all
Money just for you, girl that’s true
Sarah, we’ve seen your untruths on the TV
Sarah, misconstruing facts from A to Z
Crib-note hand universally panned
You’re as misinformed as Michele Bachmann
Sarah, why do you have no clue?
Sarah, soon we’ll wipe that smile right off your face
Sarah, thank you, thank you for lacking all style and grace
You’re a dark bad natured liar
Preaching to a brain-dead choir
Funny but its true, yes, you are screwed
Sarah, you’re an unloved wife that’s filled with rage
Sarah, the G.O.P. should really, really keep you caged
Cuz you might shoot your gun as your brain slips a gear
And blast someone that you hold dear
Sarah, yes it’s true, you are screwed
You are screwed
You are screwed
You are screwed
lol AKM. Buff was waiting for you to come out as her back up. I’m so glad she listened to you, good little Buff.
Egg Recall List Expands after Salmonella Outbreak; States Added
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail?entry_id=70464
“Wright County Egg, of Galt, Iowa, is owned by by Jack DeCoster. The NY Times reports that Wright County Eggs has “had run – ins with regulators over poor or unsafe working conditions, environmental violations, the harassment of workers, and the hiring of illegal immigrants.”
and people want less regulations….amazing!!!
I buy my eggs from the farmer’s market and I don’t have recall problems!
I’d rather refer to myself as a Tough Buf instead of a Palin Mama Grizzly, any day !
( Can’t get the imagined sound of Buf’s shrieking out of my head. BrrRRrrrr.)
Took a day off from Palin yesterday to deal with work piles. Didn’t hear about her Dr. Laura support tweets until this morning. She’s officially rounding the bend. I’m firmly convinced that the only run she’ll make for 2012 will be a faux effort. She’ll make enough fuss to get the media jumping over the notion and then something scripted will happen to cause her to drop out, allowing her to play the victim and stay in the news and on the speaking circuit. There is no possible way that she can launch a real run anymore. Not to say she can’t still do damage but my prediction is that the bid for the White House is out of the question. ( Is Vegas taking bets on this yet??)
Didn’t someone calculate that one of the “Laura-reload” tweets was written/send *during* the time of the Stevens funeral? Or is that just an intertubes rumor?
I, too, think she’s a tactical ‘diversion’ about now, Buffalogal –a diversion with the R powers-that-be’s full blessings…no one is paying *any* attention to the other Rs out there. She’ll victim-out ‘long about a year, year-and-a-half from now, and the one the R strategists *really* back, will slide right on in… beth.
A precious picture of Buf. Give her an extra pat from me.
What a wonderful story–what a brave and loyal dog you have! To dash in and then realize the threat was still there and go back out–courage. (And it’s good that you got her back inside).
I’m imagining a bemused wolf.
I was looking at the picture and wondering, with that elegant head, if Buf has some greyhound in her.
Good point! She has greyhound ears, too with that lovely longish nose. My big boy is part Greyhound but it’s all in the body and only the ears on his big, German Shephardish looking head. When he was young, he was pretty darn funny looking with his long gangly legs, huge chest, tiny waist and big ol’ head! But of course now he’s one of the most handsome dogs on the planet (along with all other male dogs bonded with mudpups).
We heart Buf the Beauty Mutt.
Wow. Buf is tough! May I suggest you give her a good sized chunk of Beemster goat gouda? That’s the best stuff in the world and is contributing mightily to my development of posterior “fluffiness”. Ahem.
I don’t know where this properly belongs, but here goes:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/19/AR2010081903292.html
Very good article about the history of intolerance. We need to remember and not let it happen again.
So glad Buf is ok and most importantly listened to you to get in the house…how scary! Now that I have a dog of my own, I can’t imagine what you must have felt!
Good Girl, Buf!!!
A little apres-lunch treat:
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/outrage-over-plans-to-build-library-next-to-sarah-palin-201008193017/
Enjoy! (and take a look around at the rest of the site – it’s sumpin’ else!)
So glad I stopped to read this one. Very funny! Thanks!!!
My dogs get that way (sorta) when they spot a squirrel in their backyard.
My brave doggie met the black wolf that lived at the glacier in Juneau. She thought it was a big dog until she bumped noses with it, then she scampered back to me hair up and tail down! My courageous protector hid behind me until the great big black ‘dog’ was out of sight.
$P’s latest twittering :
*** SarahPalinUSA Pelosi’s investigation of Harry Reid&Howard Dean&others who oppose Ground Zero Mosque will be enlightening,we’re sure.(Note to AP: GZM term) ***
So Pelosi said we should know who is funding the building of the mosque but should also know who is funding the mosque opposition movement. Ok – that sounds reasonable to me.
****
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday morning called for “transparency” in the funding behind a planned Islamic community center and mosque being built blocks from ground zero. But she also said there should be similar openness about the money behind conservative attacks aimed at thwarting the project.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41204.html#ixzz0x4kTID00 ***
But instead of noting that there should be a look at both sides, $P sees an attack. I figure she should have it twisted in to something sinister in a few hours.
I’d say a bad case of chronic verbal diarrhea
Wilted word salad with the special house dressing: hot guano vinaigrette
BIG nose smooch for Buf. Wish I could send her cheese thru the website for being such a brave girl.
Ooooh this is interesting, Steele is called upon to smack down Palin:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/beltway-beast/black-republican-sarah-palin-doesnt-speak-for-us/?cid=hp:mainpromo1
Ooh. This will be fun to watch. Wonder if Steele will brave up enough to do this.
Good girl, Buf! I’ll be that was a surprise to her – it’s not nearly as common for our domestics to run into wolves around home territory as bears. Very unusual! For a dog, a wolf would be a more serious predator since they are not as likely to be chased off as a bear and are much more likely to go for a kill than leave peacefully.
However as gruesome as that can sound (there have been many wolf attacks on dogs in AK and elsewhere) they can also do just the opposite and befriend or mate with a domestic dog. Juneau had its own celebrity black wolf named Romeo, who often played with dogs visiting the Mendenhall Glacier area. He was beloved here, and when he disappeared last fall the community was deeply saddened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H98D23Eb9Ow
I’m in tears watching this video. I miss Romeo.
Buf – you did the right thing, girl! Romeos are far and few inbetween! You go Buf!
The video is a little shaky, but it brings tears to my eyes to know that Romeo is now gone. Likely shot by poachers who were caught red handed with a black wolf hide. These poachers have denied it is Romeo because they know the wrath of an entire community is ready to come down on their heads. There is no doubt in many minds that they killed our beloved black wolf.
Now we have Teh Crazy getting their knickers in a knot about evil clothing colors…
“Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle once partook in a campaign against a local high school’s use of black football jerseys, arguing that the dark color was ungodly and wicked”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/19/sharron-angle-campaigned-_n_687510.html
* * * * * *
Wingnut blogger Pam Geller has uncovered a terrifying plot by President Obama and members of his administration to send secret coded messages to SEIU via…purple ties!!! Oh, the horror of it! Thank goodness she was able to expose this insidious plot!!!
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201003260057
Dang. Just when I thought it was safe to drink while on the computer (Jaws theme song, anyone?)…I’m still snickering over the “color purple” article, and the comments are even better. Better to laugh than bang my head on the desk over the lack of any rational thoughts coming from these people.
Thanks (heh heh).
A bit more on Romeo (and Buf – don’t read this because it’s not the usual story!)
http://www.newsminer.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Juneau+residents+considered+black+wolf-+Romeo-+a+-friend-+%20&id=7804925
Way to go Buf! We in the burbs don’t see wolves, but our neighborhood often has coyotes trotting down the streets, foxes leaping over fences, and peregrins hanging out on roof tops. Keeps the squirrels, rabbits, and pigeons under control.
Sending a pound of virtual cheese your way…
Dogs really get excited over other dogs in their territory, particularly those wild ones. But that one was a really big dog!! Glad Buf finally came in. Good dog, Buf.
Looking forward to your personalized wrap-up.
Wow…if this doesn’t whittle the values of the current Republican party down to their disgusting, slimy, infectious core, I don’t know what does.
There was a new video posted on the Republican Party of Minnesota’s fifty-sixth Senate district’s website contrasting Republican and Democratic women, featuring sexy photos of conservative women and ugly, unflattering photos of Democratic women.
“Following a montage of images hyping the Republican looks, the music transitions to Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out?” before distorted snapshots of House Speaker Nancy Pelsoi, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Rosie O’Donnell’s head photoshopped onto 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s body flash across the screen.”
The video was posted on the LOCAL REPUBLICAN PARTY’S WEBSITE. It has since been removed but not before it was uploaded to Youtube. This was not the act of a teen hacker trying to make the Repubs look foolish. This was created and posted by the party’s webmaster who thought it was funny!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/19/post_495_n_686587.html
I am glad that someone captured that video before it disappeared completely because we all need to know what republicans value. Yes, indeed, the GOP is proud of their women’s ability to wear swim suits, wink at the camera, strut their stuff, smile girlishly…why they’re so proud of the way that their women look that they are willing to spend $150,000 on clothes for a VP candidate (in hopes that her looks will distract everyone from her empty head.).
Is that all you have got, GOP? Pathetic!
So glad Buf and you and the wolf are all OK. Buf’s renewed courage at protecting hearth and home reminds me of our cocker spaniel when I was little. Timmy was never braver at protecting us all from other dogs wandering through the neighborhood than when he saw my mom standing at the window or on the porch. And of course, once he came in the house, he was highly praised for his bravery.
Buf has the sweetest face. Whenever I see her, I realize how much I miss having a pet.
Wolves are beautiful. But there is something in their eyes that reminds us they are wild, even though they can look so much like man’s best friends.
Wow, I can’t imagine coming face to face with a wolf. I’m glad Buf was ok. We occasionally get a fox running through our yard in the morning and Irish Buf goes ballistic. My only experience of our dog shaking like a leaf was her first Halloween with us, the noise of the firecrackers terrified her. We had to cuddle her for hours and take her to bed with us. She also likes cheese….Brie with a little whine.
Thanks for posting the videos of Romeo, Martha.
OMG, you are doing trojan work in the links department….all great stuff!
Yep…too much time on my hands today
It is appreciated.
She’s off again.
http://www.facebook.com/notes/sarah-palin/defending-the-fight-to-cast-off-a-conservatives-shackles/420627348434
TODD……HER MEDS!
$P continues her Dr. Laura crap via Facebook:
http://is.gd/epdCx
She also decides to square off with those folks that thought Laura’s use of the word “shackles”, on Larry King, was inappropriate, in context of the n-word situation. A$$hat decides to go to town by repeating the word “shackles” throughout the rant. Her snark is in high gear. She must’ve really hated not have attention at the funeral.
Here’s a bit of it for those who would rather not put themselves through the ick of going to her actual page:
*** I, and obviously many others, have been “shackled” too by people who play games with false accusations, threats, frivolous lawsuits, misreporting, etc., in an effort to silence those with whom they disagree. That’s why I tend to defend people who call it like they see it while others stop at nothing to shut them up. I learned this valuable lesson when the partisan obstructionists in my state tried to shackle, bankrupt, and destroy my family and supporters, and my record, with endless frivolous litigation when I returned from the Vice Presidential campaign trail. In order to shake off the shackles they wanted to paralyze us with, I handed the reins to another, much like Dr. Laura is doing, so that these obstructionists who hated a Commonsense Conservative agenda wouldn’t win. I didn’t retreat; I reloaded in order to fight for what is right on a fairer battlefield. So, more power to someone with good intentions who refuses to be shackled by their detractors when they are falsely accused of being racist.***
So she likes people who calls it like they see it? So Rahm must be a soul-mate because he always calls things as he sees them…and Nancy Pelosi, since she calls things as she sees them…and Al Sharpton who is calling her as he sees her….(see post at 64)
As to the Dr L thing and racist remarks….Dr L is responsible for what she said. I have only read about it and do not listen to her show. It sounds as if she has some deep seated issues, of which insensitivity to all women is at the top of the list. She SHOULD quit. Anyone who does not understand how offensive she is (on more levels than the obvious one) is blind and deaf.
That being said, I am not sure that the Queen of Quit is smart enough or sensitive enough to have even a partial clue of what she is talking about or how she is perceived. Someone who grew up in lily white neighborhoods and has never been subjected to anything remotely intercultural (except, perhaps, some Native Alaskan issues–and I am sure that she has very little grasp of even those), has no understanding whatsoever of the huge issues and history involved in racism or bias. She has obviously been exposed to sexism but has learned nothing from it except how to use her looks to get what she wants (wrong lesson Sarah). I wonder if she has any grasp on what racism really is? I wonder if she knows what a race riot looks like and what the causes are (inequality, poverty, bias, anger)? She obviously cannot comprehend that the playing field is NOT level in this country. I am relatively sure that she does not know what it means to lose your friends of another race (at the age of 12) because both sides were mercilessly taunted with honkey-lover or n-lover and the ultimate fear of being beaten to a pulp in the schoolyard. She has obviously never taken a class on African-American History, or Native-American History, or Asian-American History, or Hispanic-American History, etc.. She knows nothing and sees nothing but her own sense of fame and fortune and the opportunity to hear the sound of her own voice screeching.
She has the right to spout off her nonsense because of the 1rst ammendment. As does Dr. L. We have the right to call her on it every time. If she and Dr L lose sponsors and supporters because of their words, too bad, boo hoo.
We see her for what she is….an ignorant putz who speaks of what she knows not. The problem is that her words inflame people who know exactly what racism is and espouse it FOR REAL every day. They twist it and spin it and use it as a weapon to keep their brothers and sisters down. The fear “the other” because they fell threatened.
That is why I want her gagged and her fingers taped together with duct tape. But oh so much better would be to watch the meltdown when no one cares about anything that she has to say. To hear that she is howling and stamping her polished little toes in a back room somewhere and everyone else has earplugs in saying “nothing you say or do has any importance or relevance whatsoever in our lives”.
This one was just waiting to happen:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/beltway-beast/al-sharpton-slams-palin-over-n-word-flap/?cid=hp:mainpromo1
Schooling Sarah Palin on the True Meaning of Feminism
http://www.politicususa.com/en/schooling-sarah-palin
Needs to viral!
I am reposting this from yesterday as I posted it late/early last night/this morning. My response to her FB rant on feminism:
LoveMydogs says:
August 19, 2010 at 12:55 AMDear Sarah Palin,
BITE ME!
You ARE NOT my sister. You will NEVER be my sister. Just because you have ovaries and have chosen to use them freely and then chose to ignore your responsibilities to the outcome of that use, you are NOT my sister. Do NOT call me sister. I find it incredibly offensive. We do not share the same genes. We do not share the same heart. We do not share the same ideas on anything that I can think of. You are NOT about equality (for men or women), you are not about freedom of choice, or religion, or even of thought. You are not about peace and goodwill. You are not about truth and justice for all. You are not about dignity and respect. You are not about caregiving or caretaking of ANYTHING in your life. You are not even really about LIFE.
Just because you are promoting republican women in this election cycle (except for oh…maybe someone named Lisa???) does not make you a feminist. It is NOT about skirts and makeup and ovaries. It is not about mysogeny (?). It is not about how many women can win. It is about the thoughts inside your head and heart. Since you have nothing but wind between your ears, what flows from your sneering lips is nothing but talking points put there by white MEN.
DO NOT call me sister. You are NOT MY sister. You are a waste of my oxygen. Kindly STFU and try as hard as you can (I know it is hard for you dear) to think before your thumbs move. And be so kind as to remove me from your Christmas card list. I am your enemy, not of your kind. Get it? Now go away.
LoveMydogs couldn’t have said it any better. I agree wholeheartedly
yeah – this really, REALLY needs to be picked up by the
Emily People and their – “$arah Palin Doens’t Speak for Me” campaign
OUTRAGE OVER PLANS TO BUILD LIBRARY NEXT TO SARAH PALIN
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/outrage-over-plans-to-build-library-next-to-sarah-palin-201008193017/
Keep this one going!
I love books and reading and I am deeply OFFENDED! Library next to Sarah Palin?!?! Sacrilege, darlings, sacrilege.
The one comforting thought is that we all know she’d never even recognize one.
Oh, sorry, I forgot about the one she tried to get those terrible, awful, horrible, no-good books removed from. Probably hasn’t been in one since!
LOL – I love this one. Leave it to the Brits to make the point in such a funny way.
Dammit, another site I have to go look at. Have you no pity?
And that was such a comprehensive takedown.
It ceases to be a joke when the President has to explain AGAIN what he has said all along – that he is in fact, a Christian.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#38731550
But here is the thing – WHY should it matter? A person’s religious beliefs is their own business. It’s their personal choice. Plus – to be the President of the United States means you uphold the rights of ALL Americans for religious freedom. He’s already shown that he understands this perfectly with how he handled the Cordoba House issue. So why are these horrible right-wing people continuing to lie about him? Don’t they have anything else? They can’t engage this administration on a policy level? They gotta resort to these kinds of low life political tactics? I guess the answer is a resounding YES on all counts. Pathetic.
That has become their standard way of doing business, and unfortunately it seems to work. I am always astounded that it does – I guess I’m just too optimistic about people. I like to assume the best rather than the worst. The repubs have been proving me wrong constantly. Very disappointing.
And yes – I thought the same thing. I have no doubt that President Obama is a Christian, but it shouldn’t matter. It shouldn’t even come up in the discussion with any of our political leaders.
Palin really honestly isn’t qualified to hold high office:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/palin-in-february-wed-be-appalled-if-public-figure-used-n-word.php?ref=fpa
Dr. Laura resigned voluntarily – so she’s wrong already that liberals forced her out. Sponsors pulling their ads from her show is an economic consequence of free speech. Free speech doesn’t mean free from consequence – it means free from government intervention. If Dr. Laura wants to have a rant on her show – she is free to do that. But others are also free to exercise their outrage at said rant.
When Rahm used the R word – he was forced to apologise because of a public outcry. When Rush used to the word several times in reference to the same group of people that Rahm did – Palin excused it as satire. She either doesn’t know what satire is or she’s a lying hypocrite. I vote for the latter.
When Muslims want to build a place of worship on private property, Palin freaks out and tells them not to. But Christians have churches all over Oklahoma City – and Timothy McVeigh was a christian and he killed a whole lot of people there – not a peep from Palin about that. So again – hypocrite.
It’s too easy – she just sets herself up every single time.
Touche’ – Just like shooting fish in a barrel… or wolves from an airplane, as the case may be….
It’s late here but I want to say something that has always bugged me. What woman agrees to the nomination to be the VP of the USA having given birth to a DS child a few months earlier and who also has a teenager expecting a child. I’m sorry but I just can’t get my head around that.
I don’t believe SP ever got a degree. I don’t believe a lot of the blarney that has been spun about SP and her family and her birth history.
And to top it all, I really don’t believe a word about 9/11!
Me, too, Irishgirl — I really have trouble with her acceptance of the VP running-mate offer when she had so much on her plate already. Stuff on her plate that any *other* woman would have put as *absolute* FIRST PRIORITY *above* her own needs and wants and ego.
The corker for me, though, was when questions were first raised about the parentage of her youngest child.
Instead of handling it with dignity; instead of giving ‘the look’ to the person(s) asking and freezing them in their exceedingly-rude tracks; instead of *honestly* and *truly* expressing rightful indignation that *anyone* would suggest he wasn’t her child; instead of appealing to all mothers (and fathers) to demand this sexist line of questioning be stopped immediately because of the offensiveness of it, what does Wonder-$arah do? She says: “This baby is mine; it couldn’t possibly be Bristol’s…Bristol is 5-months pregnant!” [or words very similar, if not exact.]
Sure, we would’ve all found out Bristol was unmarried and “in the family way” soon enough, but for her own mother to purposefully and blatantly use her as primary {if not only!} ‘defense’ *against* people questioning who the real mother of the baby was? Sweet Yeezuss! Talk about *high* tacky!
She threw her own daughter under the bus, with that one. That was the *first* thing I’ll never, ever, be able to forgive $P for — using her daughter, in-your-face exposing! her daughter’s pregnancy, so she could save her own arse; using Bristol’s pregnancy so she wouldn’t be questioned, anymore, about her youngest child. *That* is the moment I *knew* – without a doubt – she was a most vile, dangerous, mean, vindictive, deep-soul-ugly beeyotch. beth.
That was the moment for me too, Beth. From then on, it was all downhill. She could never recover from that!
But that is just me!
Well , I for one can get behind this movement.
Women March Topless For the Legal Right to Go Topless
http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/men-wear-bras-so-women-can-go-topless/19590056
Cudos to Buf for bravery. Surely something more glamorous than a bit of cheese as a reward for doggy heroism. I mean, we’re talking 16 oz sirloin veeeeeery rare, with bone in.
Speaking of cool dogs (and Buf – you are one of the most coolest!) – this is a bittersweet time of year for us humans with winter not far away (Alaskans have to kind of skip fall because it either doesn’t look like fall much, or it’s way too short). But for dogs? They are happy to be on the planet no matter what time of year it is, and for sled dogs, the upcoming winter is the best of all!
http://rogueskennel.com/blog/?p=670
1. Fabulous alt-text.
2. Slightly weird to see one wolf, isn’t it? Correct me if I’m wrong.
3. Brave Buf. No doubt about where her pack is.
MY PRAYERS FOR HIS FAMILY MEMBERS!
AKM– I hope you’ll push the story about how Sarah Pay-lin and Todd slithered out the back door immediately after Ted’s funeral was over.
That says boat loads about how poorly the Quitter is regarded in Alaska, eh? And how awkward and uncomfortable Pay-lin is around ‘real’ Alaskans.