Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Afghanistan: Where we bleed lives and money

WSJ 6/28/10: "More than $3 billion in cash has been openly flown out of Kabul International Airport in the last three years, a sum so large that US investigators believe top Afghan officials and their associates are sending billions of diverted US aid and logistics dollars and drug money to financial safe havens abroad."

As Riley astutely noted the irony yesterday: Americans are dying in Afghanistan to save Americans from dying in the US. Now it has come to light that the same people who are killing our soldiers are also stealing our money to the tune of billions of dollars.

Bosco stared at me in utter amazement when I read him the article. He wondered if these Afghan officials had any ties to the terrorists killing Americans and to the drug lords supplying dope to our young people. He wondered if it was possible that the terrorists were double dipping---stealing our billions of dollars and earning money for doping us. In a perverse fashion, if this is true, we are funding the murder of our soldiers. Riley gave Bosco a seriously sad look.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Why are we there?

Riley watches the news with me each day. This evening, out of the blue, she blurted out, what is this Afghanistan place everyone keeps talking about? Is this place where those huge skinny afghan dogs come from or where they have a lot of those blankets I love to snuggle on, she asked? Upon hearing this, Bosco rolled his eyes. I told her that Afghanistan is a country where Americans soldiers are fighting. Fighting why, she asked? I explained that President Obama decided that we need to get rid of terrorists who might come here and kill Americans. She wanted to know if American soldiers get killed over there when they fight. I told her that 1139 soldiers from the US alone have been killed there. She gave me a perplexed look. What? I asked. You're saying that Americans go there to get killed so that they don't get killed here, she asked. I was about to answer her but I stopped and thought, out of the mouths of dogs.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

True love and morning breath

Canine fidelity and love, so unconditional. What proves this better than a dog who goes nose to nose with you first thing in the morning just like Riley did this morning.

When Riley is ready for me to start the morning, she will come to my side of the bed and put her snout where my face is and stay there. Thinking that the noxious fumes of my morning breath will send her scurrying away, I breathe, mouth open into her nose. Does she yelp in disgust? Does she jolt away in horror like any human would? Not my girl. She gives me the gentlest of licks right on my mouth.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Investing in oil not yet spilled

Bosco has been diligently following the oil spill news. Whenever he heard the news about the oil-soaked water animals, the miles and miles of polluted water and beaches his distress was obvious. Naturally he was perplexed when he heard the news that federal Judge Martin Feldman had overturned President Obama's ban on offshore drilling. Bosco shook his head in double take fashion, in true disbelief. What's up with that dude, he wondered. The Gulf is drowning in oil with no end in sight. What does that judge not get, he asked. I suggested that his decision might have something to do with the fact that the judge had financial interests in the oil industry.

What a pity then, that there is no such thing as a having financial interest in the health of sealife, Bosco said sadly.

The Bees

Riley has notified us that we have a bee autobahn running through our backyard. All day long the bees zip through the yard straight to the pond. They fill up and zip back out the same way they came. It is a two-way autobahn with no collisions reported so far. The bees fly in both directions at a high rate of speed.. Weighted down with water, their speed out is a bit slower than their speed in.

We may have the autobahn, noted Bosco, but who has the hive?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Stealth

You can take the dog out of the wild but you cannot take the wild out of the dog. Case in point. I looked over and saw Riley moving ever so slowly in prowl like fashion towards the food source she had her eyes on. Slowly, slowly ever so stealthily she moved. Closer, closer. She heard Bosco, causing her to reflexively stop in her tracks. Bosco lay down. Riley turned back, eyes returning to food source. Moving slowly, carefully so as not to arouse suspicion, she makes it to Bosco's food bowl. EMPTY.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Good versus evil

Bosco could not help but notice that some really bad acts were being done by people who were religious. That observation got him to contemplating good versus evil, God versus the devil. He began to wonder if perhaps the devil had created religious fanatics to trick the rest of humanity. What do you mean I asked him. Take for instance Muslim terrorists, he offered. They keep talking about how they are killing people all over the world for God. It looks to me like that is exactly what the devil would have them do if he had control. Look at the uber religious Ashkenazi Jews in Israel. They refuse to allow their daughters to be in the same class with Sephardic girls. That sounds to me to be the kind of bigotry the devil would would teach in his religious school. Look at all those celibate priests who molested children. Their superiors just moved them to different churches. Who but the devil could think of such an ingenious way to spread evil? Then look at the not so religious humans. Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist. They may not like what the fanatics are doing to hijack their religions, but they tolerate it. They turn a blind eye. Now if that is not the devil's work what is it?

Riley looked up and asked, will it be okay for me to kill one of rabbits In the neighborhood if I say that God told me to do it?

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Priorities

Riley glanced over at Bosco who was sitting with a pensive look. She asked him what he was thinking about. He told her that he had just finished reading an NY Times article. The article said that NY city spent $59,877 per special education student in NY City versus $17,696 for the average student. I was just wondering, he said, what would happen if the city spent $59,877 on the average student? Now it was Riley's turn to look pensive. I wonder, she said, how many chews that could buy?

Saturday, June 19, 2010

This smell is a no brainer for a dog

Dogs are known for their incredible sense of smell. They sniff rocks, grass, trees, and the poop of dogs and other animals. Apparently, they get information from whatever it is they are smelling. Some smells are no brainers for them, or so Bosco says. Take the recent migration of neo Nazis, Klu Klux Klan and various other mongrel groups into southern Arizona. Bosco wants it to be known that he is no mongrel hater, being a mongrel of the canine variety himself. However, he made it very clear that he was not happy about these human packs. What, I, asked him, bothers him about these groups? He said it's all about pollution. He said that their malodorousness has the pollutive potential for infecting the air we all breathe. I thought about this and SB 1070. I have to admit his analysis has the smell of truth.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Canine flotilla

With all the news about the blockade in the Gaza Strip, Bosco has decided it is time to bring attention to the plight of dogs over there. His sources in in Gaza have told him that Hamas is withholding the necessary supply of food to keep it's canine population fed. Hamas is, of course denying this since attention to the plight of dogs would diminish the perception that animal rights lovers around the world have of Hamas.

I asked Bosco if he has a game plan. He said he is sure he can get the immediate support of PETA and Mairead Corrigan, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. He envisions ships laden with dog food, biscuits and rawhide chews protected by Ms. Corrigan and PETA. I told him that I understand why PETA would want to get involved, but why Corrigan? He was looking at me as if to say don't you know anything, when Riley chirped in with, "She fights for the underdog. Get it, underDOG."

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Republican spill

Bosco and Riley were watching the news when they heard Texas Senator Barton apologize to the big oil company that caused the catastrophe in the Gulf. When Riley heard his statement about BP being the victim of a $20 billion shakedown, she turned to Bosco and asked him if the senator was a bought man. Bosco looked her straight in the eye and said,"Duh'" with attitude.

Black and nonblack

Here we go. More proof that hatred spreads like the BP uncorked spigot in the Gulf of Mexico, defiling everything in its path. It's not that this household doesn't have enough issues to contend with. Now we have discord based on color.

It started when Bosco found out that religious light skinned Ashkenazim in Israel refuse to allow their their daughters to mix with religious darker skinned Sephardic females in school. Now Bosco is refusing to stay in the same room with Riley because of the color of her fur. When she tries to enter the room he is in, he gives her his warning growl, which causes her to quickly retreat.

We told Bosco that his behavior only demeans him and that there is no place for bigotry in this house. Bosco understood and apologized to Riley. Unfortunately, the religious Ashkenazi Jews haven't demonstrated the emotional or intellectual capacity that our Bosco has.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The Small People Brouhaha

Bosco and Riley were watching the news when they suddenly turned to look at each other when they heard that victims of the BP oil catastrophe were offended because a Swedish guy called them small people. They live with a foreign guy so they know that these foreigners don't always say it just right. They agreed that we need to give these foreign people a break,especially if they mean well.

rules of engagement

Bosco and I were walking down the hallway the other when suddenly we heard Riley running towards us from the kitchen. She rounded the corner from the famiiy room into the den, saw us and began to quickly put on the brakes. Putting on the brakes meant she hunkered down onto her hind legs and slid towards us. Then the front legs went into first gear which sent her into a rapid four-legged scramble towards Bosco. Bosco, sensing a collision, began to growl, got his rear legs in gear and headed head first into Riley, causing her to flip and Bosco to slide sideways along the floor and then into a four-legged scramble to regain an upright position. Assuming this was romp time with Bosco, Riley made a swift upright recovery and raced her way back to Bosco. Using her playful growl, she bounced her way around Bosco trying to engage him. Bosco plopped himself down on the rug. Poor Riley.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

World cup soccer game England vs. U.S.

Whether or not mass media has too much influence on how we see the world is a debate that hit home yesterday when Riley turned the World Cup Soccer Games into a metaphor for the Gulf catastrophe.

This all started when, watching the national news this past week, she was made aware that there is an itty bitty American Revolution thing going on between England and the US over this ecological catastrophe in the Gulf.

Yesterday, while watching the US-England match, Riley kept calling the team from England the BP team and the US team Louisiana. She was sure the game was over when "BP" scored. She went nuts when the "Louisiana" team scored due to a BP fumble. Bosco rolled his eyes and muttered, "Whatever."

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Sleep disorder

Riley is saying that she must have sleep apnea. I keep telling her that sleep apnea is not her problem.

Riley is thinking of a political run.

Rara glanced at the paper this morning and saw a WSJ article about an unknown guy in South Carolina who won the democratic primary simply by paying a filing fee. Now she is insisting that she wants to run for public office. She correctly pointed out that, unlike that guy, she was never charged with felony obscenity and has never taken a nickel in unemployment benefits.
Baba smirkingly asked her for what office she thinks she's qualified. Without missing a beat, she said she intends to run for the Republican Party primaries against Jan Brewer. She feels she can also get Sarah Palin's support by getting Bosco to bite a few people working in the neighborhood who happen to look like illegal immigrants.

Oil concerns

Baby and Rara saw their heron on the news last night. The poor heron was caked in oil from the BP oil gushers. They now want to know how far from the oil they are. They're refusing to go to the lake for a walk.

New sleep position

Riley has a new sleep position. She lies next to my side of the bed and puts only her head under the bed. She's very well hidden from danger this way.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Sad news

Saw the father and mother quails this morning sans chicks. I think the babies got the chicks. So sad. The babies don't appear bothered by this.

Meet the stars

Here are pictures of Bosco and Riley. The stars of this blog.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

How does she manage to sleep in that position?

She sat on the sofa with her front legs hanging over the armrest. Slowly her head drooped slightly forward as her eyes closed. There she fell asleep.

Dog Nirvana

I love giving Riley a bath. Actually, it is not the bath, but the brush out that I love. As I gently run the brush down her throat, she slowly lifts her head, with nose pointed skyward, stands perfectly still and closes her eyes as she enters bliss. Watching her I cannot help but laugh. She does not react. She is in another realm savoring the moment. If only I could get there as simply and easily.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

I hope it wasn't a baby quail

Riley , the hunter, was at it again this evening. There she was in the middle of the lawn eating something. I checked it out and it was a baby bird. It looked more like a newborn bird than a young quail. I hope I'm right.

The rabbit is definitely a risk taker. This afternoon it was sitting next to the pond, a straight shot away from the doggie door.

You gave her people food

You gave her people food, dad said.
A bit. How can you tell? I asked.
She smells, he said.
Smells? Her breath? I asked.
No, she hasn't stopped farting all evening, he complained.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The rabbit barely gets away

I went out to light the grill for dinner. The babies followed me. Suddenly I hear scrambling and rush of pebbles. The babies are on the tail of the intrepid rabbit. Just barely, the rabbit managed to slip under the gate. Got to think of name for this game.

The poor bird

Looked outside. Saw Riley eating something next to the waterfall.
Went outside to see. Dead bird. Fresh kill. It had not been there a bit earlier when I did poop patrol.

The rabbit

Cute little gray brown rabbit was on our lawn early this morning, eating grass close to the patio. I was wondering when one of the dogs would notice it and go peeling out of the doggie door. The rabbit stopped eating and hopped to the back of the yard behind the rocks of the waterfall. Bosco walked out of his doggie door. He stood on the patio, looked at the lawn, turned around and walked back in the house.