d o g . d a y

michael vick. there's a topic about which i have yet to speak.

of course, plenty of other people have said their piece. there's a spoof blog.post by the reverend al sharpton, and most recently, a defense of vick's actions proposed by whoopi goldberg.

do we live in an age where personal responsibility has fallen by the wayside? as a student of the legal system, i find it disturbing that personal responsibility is being discarded in favor of social blame. i understand that environmental factors do, in truth, carry a lot of weight when it comes to shaping an individual.

but never, ever, is cruelty permitted by environment. otherwise, we might as well give a free pass to nazi germany [their economy was in shambles!], the klu klux klan [their social norms were being destroyed!], and terrorism [they're being oppressed by western culture!].

hate to break it y'all: i don't buy it.

o n . d o g s

get one.

that's all the advice that i have, currently, for anyone entering a stressful situation - mcat preparation, law school round one or round deux, your first real job...

take care to make it a breed that can handle a little alone time. and adopt. i'm not sure i can really stress that point enough. mixed-breeds are overall healthier, more sociable, and less apt to be aggressive.

that's just a fact.

but i, the owner of a supposedly purely-bred golden retriever, am pro-adoption of any dog, pure-bred or mongrel.

there is nothing at all more calming at the end of the day than a good tail-wagging greeting and dog breath.

and the sound of your dog snoring at night? priceless lullaby.

your blood pressure, and a lucky canine from the shelter, will thank you.

various and sundry.

the rain has made its point. i would appreciate it if we could get a few more days of enjoyable spring weather before pollen-storm 2007 begins in earnest.

happiness really is a warm puppy. and on that note, feed your dogs raw food. or, if you don't want to feed raw food for whatever reason [ kashrut, mess, money ], find a suitable primarily natural dog food that uses meat as its first or second ingredient. the dog food recall has really underscored the bond between man and beast - and doesn't your beast deserve the best?

the german chancellor merkel has demanded that the palestinians recognize israel as a state. that's all well and good, and i'm sure the israeli public appreciates the gesture. however, support coming from germany, while strong and again much-appreciated, is undercut by this sense in the arab community that germany is only acting out of deeply-felt guilt. the whole situation has been exacerbated by the iranian hostage crisis.

we need someone like france to take a strong stand for israel. because surely the french can appreciate having the enemy in your midst. and if that fails, the french can always pretend they had no idea of their government's official "stance." they're good at that.