Kitten update #8 (and something about puppies)

His good side, to save you the shock

Whiskers is home. He looks kind of bad-- mostly because they shaved that side of his face. I knew they'd probably need to do so.

But he's in good spirits and playful-- if a little clumsy. He seems very happy to be home with his humans. He hasn't ever (since I've known him) been able to see out of his right eye anyway, so not having it isn't going to be an issue.

They neutered him (I told them they could, if they thought it was advisable) at the same time they took out his eye, but I forgot to ask about the hernia, so they didn't fix that yet. That means there's still one more surgery in his future. Still, he's getting there!

Thank you for all your support as I try to do my best for this little guy!

  
  >> If you don't mind, share his GoFundMe.

All the parts of his story, here: Original, first update, second update, third update, fourth update, fifth update, sixth update, seventh update.

              PS: I've actually rescued more puppies over the years than kittens, even though I prefer cats. Shocking, I know! 

I once raised an entire litter of boxers after the mother died a couple of days after they were born. That was interesting. Those guys were fat, destructive, and numerous. OK, so there were only 5 of them, but it seemed like a lot more sometimes. But they were all healthy, so that was easy. I raised them until they were weaned and gave them back to the people their mom had belonged to. They kept one of the pups; the one they had named "Number Five".

I also once raised a puppy of indeterminate breed that was brought into the pet store I worked in. It was a newborn with a still wet umbilical cord that was already the size of a half-grown guinea pig. The person said they watched a dog cross their yard, squat and have a puppy, and keep going. So they picked it up and wanted to know how to raise it, but then decided it was easier to leave it with the pushover at the pet store. That one became a big dog with a HUGE appetite-- I found a home for him after he was weaned (too long after, I think), but they said he ran away the very next day and they never saw him again. I regret that mistake. 

Anyway, just in case you thought I only rescue kittens...

A police officer is someone who commits the unethical act of legislation enforcement, just like a rapist is someone who commits the unethical act of rape. Opposing those who commit unethical acts isn't being collectivist and is in no way similar to racism.

What it is vs. what people believe it is

Exhibit A

Whether or not what social media corporations are doing these days to those they disagree with counts in your book as "censorship", most of those affected negatively by it feel that it is. And they are reacting to what they feel-- as humans usually do.

Whether or not you believe social media corporations and other corporations are "private companies" or "private property", a growing number of people no longer see them that way. And people are reacting to what they see, not how others define things.

So, whether people are right or wrong, they are going to go with the assumption that they are right. They will act on this assumption. Even if you believe they are wrong, and even if you are 100% correct, you'd better get ready anyway. Your definitions (or mine) aren't going to persuade them out of what they see and feel.

Interesting times.

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Kitten update #7

Whiskers went to the vet this afternoon. As expected, the eye has to go. He is going in first thing tomorrow to have the offending eye removed. 

My daughter is kind of upset about this, but understands it's what he needs. I'm kind of the same way.

I'll post another update sometime after the surgery.

   >> If you don't mind, share his GoFundMe.

All the parts of his story, here: Original, first update, second update, third update, fourth update, fifth update, sixth update.

I'm not afraid of the current political/economic/social situation, but I definitely feel a looming sense of unease.

Ending the "worker shortage"

Do you want to solve the "worker shortage" problem? Then stop making it unnecessarily difficult to work for you.

No, I'm not saying you shouldn't expect people to do the work you hired them to do, I'm saying you shouldn't try to control them beyond what is necessary to do the work.

That means no sexual molestation/urine fetish called "drug testing". If someone is at work and you think they seem impaired or unable to do the job-- for whatever reason-- fire them. You have the right to do that, but to demand a sample of their fluids to see what they might have done when they weren't working for you is an indication that you don't respect their boundaries. You're a terrible boss.

Along the same lines: Don't demand they get vaccinated against a new cold virus. Send them home or fire them if they get sick. Firing them would demonstrate to everyone what a jerk you are, but you have that right.

If the person doesn't clean themselves and is making people sick by how they look or smell, that affects job performance.  If they are rude to others and drive away business or make their cow-orkers miserable, that matters. If they are so incompetent that they endanger life and limb-- even if they aren't on drugs-- that person needs to go away. Some things matter, but a lot of what makes it hard to find good employees doesn't.

It's the same as the old silliness of (mainly) the past of not hiring a person based on the color they dyed their hair, the length of their hair, their visible tattoos, or anything else that's irrelevant to the job. If you want to have trouble finding good employees, then continue down that path. But, if not, the solution is in your hands.

The last "normal job" I held was burdened by bad management. They treated employees badly and took advantage of them, and fired hard workers for silly reasons, and then moaned that everyone in the area was too lazy to work. (Even though they had hired and rehired everyone around, even after firing them or driving them away-- the available jobs were as limited as the available bodies to fill those jobs.) When I pointed out that the evidence didn't support their claim, that there was an obvious problem they weren't acknowledging, they shut up about it. I'm sure their opinion didn't change, though.

This doesn't mean everyone is suited to hire. If the person preaches "seize the means of production", giving them the job is not a smart hiring decision. Such a philosophy is relevant-- it's a warning sign. I would say there are other signs that warn that the person will likely be more trouble than they could possibly be worth-- there are warning signs all over the place, such as social media bios. Believing in "microaggressions" and other w0ke nonsense being a big one. You are free to take the chance, though.

The deal-breaker for me, as a potential employee, is selling out your employees to government, on any basis. Yes, I know, government bribes you to do so, and threatens to punish you if the bribes don't work. Still, you really don't have the right to do that, "private business" or not.

The "worker shortage" could be ended overnight, but you'd have to be courageous enough to do the right thing. Fewer and fewer are that brave anymore.

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Kitten update #6

Trying to get acquainted with The Chinch

Whiskers is doing good... except for that right eye. 

A week and a half ago it looked like it was going to heal up just fine, then it suddenly got worse again. Possibly even worse than it had been since that first couple of weeks. Yes, I'm discouraged.

Last Monday he went to the vet because of his eye, and because he'd had some blood in his stool over the weekend. She was a little surprised that his eye had gotten so bad again, and said (again) that it may have to be removed. I had been so happy when it seemed like that was to be avoided.

A dose of wormer seems to have cleared up the bloody stool problem.

Tomorrow he goes back to the vet to see what they say now. I'm hoping it's not too bad, but I don't want him suffering from that bad eye longer than necessary. If it needs to come out, it needs to come out.

Thanks for putting up with these kitten updates. He's important to me.

>> If you don't mind, share his GFM.

All the parts of his story, here: Original, first update, second update, third update, fourth update, fifth update.

Government not a moral guide

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 11, 2021)

As rational thinkers since at least the time of François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, have pointed out, it's dangerous to be right when those with power are wrong. This is because it's always dangerous to disagree with anyone who suffers from the delusion that they have the right-- or some imaginary political authority-- to force you to act as they believe you must. Especially when they reserve the power to punish those who disagree.

Just look what happened to the organizers, members, and supporters of The White Rose resistance group in Nazi Germany. They acted with no guarantee their sacrifice would make a difference. Some of them died gruesome deaths at the hands of government employees, while others were cruelly imprisoned. The only "wrong" they committed was being right and exposing the wrongness of the National Socialist government. They were heroes who deserve to be remembered.

We are quickly sliding into an era in American history where you may face similar choices; where this awareness influences your every decision. Will you choose to disagree with those who have the power to hurt you for thinking for yourself, or will you cave in and go along?

Whether government is issuing mask mandates and vaccine passports, criminalizing certain guns or gun parts, or even looking for excuses to regulate a plant the public has already told them to leave alone, government is consistently on the wrong side of a great many issues.

Those who are right on any of these topics are walking on dangerous ground.

Of course, disagreeing with government doesn't automatically make you right, either. Government does generally frown upon most of us committing murder, after all. Murder is only ignored when looking the other way promotes government power, such as when government employees, acting in support of government power, kill someone who hasn't bought into the lie enthusiastically enough.

This is why the only measure that matters is whether an act violates the life, liberty, or property of another, not whether or not something is legal. The problem is, there can be legitimate disagreement on whether an act violates anyone. You make your choice and accept the consequences.

If you get your moral or ethical guidance from government, you're not a good person. If you mistake politicians for role models you're headed for disaster. If you comply or turn a blind eye to government wrongs, you are part of the problem.

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I might have been convinced to get one vaccination. Maybe even one that required two doses. But not one that looks on track to "need" a never-ending series of boosters... for a virus I'm not worried about.

Being thankful for small advantages

Lately, I've had an unfamiliar gut feeling: I'm glad my house is physically in Texas. Barely, but that's enough, plus it allows an escape route if such becomes necessary. And my parents' house could be a literal "half way house" since they are half as far from the state line as I am.

No, Texas isn't perfect. It has too many strange legislative notions based on authoritarian ideas of what is religiously correct. Some of those are downright horrible with regards to liberty. None of them are deal-breakers for me, even though I oppose them on behalf of those they target.

And far too many people here are still burdened with the delusion that cops are good guys. They may be in for a rude awakening in the near future.

I still think the government-centric parts of Austin (and every other town) need to be wiped off the map or scooped up and ditched off the coast of Massachusetts. Above water or submerged, I don't care much either way.

But, at least Texas has quasi-Constitutional carry and no mask mandates. And so far, no vaccine passports. It's not everything but it's better than so many other places. Even though the Texas government has always caved in to its federal feral masters in DC, at least the idea of secession has never quite died out here among the population. Yes, individual secession from every political entity is even better. Baby steps...

I think this may be an OK place to ride out whatever comes. If only there weren't that issue with water being so scarce!

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The terrorist attacks of 20 years ago were followed closely by much worse terrorist attacks committed by the U.S. government against Americans using the other terrorist attacks as justification. And they've only escalated since then.

Twenty years of constant terrorism

Twenty years? 

What a long strange trip it's been.

How much that particular year changed my life!

I was living in a strange new place I didn't like, where I didn't really know anyone, where I found myself without the ability to pursue any of my favorite activities, when I realized my newish marriage, which was the reason for all the above, was in the process of imploding in spectacular fashion, and then September 11th happened and gave me three months of paid vacation to dedicate to the pursuit of happiness (or decadence).

That topsy-turvy time in my life changed me in more ways than I can count. It wasn't pleasant while I was going through it (not most of it, anyway) but I guess it "built character". 

The terrorist attacks were also a turning point for me. It was when I truly began to see the U.S. government for the terrorist organization that it is, and I have never forgiven it... and I never will. The September 11th terrorist attacks were followed by 20 years-- so far-- of terrorist attacks by the U.S. government on your liberty and natural rights!

All-in-all, I'm still kind of grateful for that whole era-- personally-- while acknowledging it would have been far better if the US feral government hadn't caused "9/11" to happen in the first place with its nasty policies abroad, and if it hadn't decided to pursue a policy of terrorism against the American population forever afterward.

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Do your own research. Or don't.

Scott Adams frequently says that "you can't do your own research-- no one can; it's not a thing". He tends to claim that this is one of the most stupid things anyone can say. Well...

That depends on how you use the word "research".

I'll agree that most people are not good at doing their own research. 

Googling a topic isn't research. Not even if you go far down that rabbit hole. It can give you a starting place, but it isn't research. Maybe it can even help you discover the research others have done, but why should you trust them?

If you can't do your own research, then neither can scientists. Either humans can do research, or they can't. This doesn't mean that they are all good at it.

You don't need millions of stolen dollars to do research. In fact, that only guarantees you'll "discover" whatever it takes to keep those stolen dollars coming your way. You don't need million-dollar laboratories or libraries of obscure papers that are off-limits to the common people. Those might help in the same way Google could help, but unless you're good at doing research they are wasted.

You don't need a specific educational degree to do your own research. Someone who has jumped through the hoops to get a degree might still be able to think independently enough to do research, but these days that's fairly unlikely. Research takes intelligence, not schooling.

Yes, you can do your own research. It's not easy and most people don't. But to claim that no one can... that's either ignorant or dishonest.

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I triggered the bad guys... again

F-book is lying to you. I know, this isn't news. 

But I didn't promote "unapproved COVID-19 treatments". And WHO is part of the UN, a completely non-credible source.

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Those poor mild-statists

I think many mild-statists-- "normal" people who just want to keep believing political government is necessary or even good-- are desperate to find ways to keep justifying the state when it is so obviously failing them at every turn.

Discussing a perennial failure of the roads around here (one specific spot in particular) with one such person, I noticed an absolute unwillingness to admit that government control of the roads might not be the best idea. In spite of this person just complaining about how government was the cause of the problem they were talking about.

I see the same with people who still want to see cops as the good guys in spite of mountains of evidence to the contrary. You know these people-- some of them are gun owners who fly a Gadsden flag alongside a Coward's Swastika, not seeing the absurdity of their conflicting beliefs.

I still wonder whether the guy who wrote to scold me for warning readers of my newspaper column that inflation was coming can admit to himself yet that I was right. Probably not. He probably still sees no rising prices.

This doesn't even include the folks who imagine you can fix everything by v*ting in a "better" crop of political criminals to replace the ones currently committing acts of terrorism from Washington DC, state capitols, or city hall.

These poor mild-statists are so determined to keep believing in the State that they'll lie to themselves-- and to you-- to keep from recognizing the truth. How much longer will this burning house of cards let them keep their delusion? If they pretend hard enough, maybe they can keep themselves from seeing the truth indefinitely.

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NM mask mandate update

I've been mostly driving east from my house for business, deeper into Texas, ever since New Mexico's nutcase governor reimposed indoor mask mandates for everyone. She obviously prefers superstition to science. 

I mentioned earlier that compliance wasn't universal, but I'm done with masks so when given the choice I'll avoid conflict.

But the bank I visit most often is west of my house, in NM, and I needed to go there today.

On the front door of the bank was a sign announcing that the governor requires masks to be worn indoors, by everyone, regardless of vaccination status. The bank's sign didn't say anything about them requiring masks, just a factual statement about what the governor declared. I noted the political criminal's wishes and went on with my life. I didn't put on a mask.

Inside, the only other customer was also not wearing a mask. Both tellers had masks-- under their chins, not covering either their mouth or nose, The one other bank employee I saw was wearing a mask.

Again, mask compliance isn't high. This ends when enough of us refuse to play along.

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Don't automatically assume you know why someone is a statist. There are many reasons someone might be a statist. Some are statists because they are evil, some are cowards, some are lazy, or dumb, or misinformed, or greedy, etc., or some combination of those not-so-wonderful traits. You probably don't know exactly why any specific individual is, though.

Iverfiction

The Big Lie, part ??

The "news" story about how rural Oklahoma hospitals were turning away gunshot victims because of all the Ivermectin overdose cases-- "horse dewormer", LOL-- was obviously a lie from the beginning.

Rural areas don't have many gunshot victims. We aren't like Chicago or the other anti-gun places. A gunshot victim around here is news because it's rare. Now, just over the state line, in the town big enough to have a "bad part of town", it does happen every couple of months or so.

Otherwise, if it happens, it's probably either a bad guy who got shot by an intended victim (in which case, "Did you learn anything?"), and the story is soon forgotten because no one really cares, or it is someone who was stupid enough to call the cops, who then came and shot the caller (again: "Did you learn anything?") in which case the story will be memory-holed to protect the reputation of the Blue Line Gang.

It's not surprising that people who live in dystopian s##tholes would automatically believe something like this without skepticism. It reflects the world they've made for themselves that they live in every day. And they want to force this life on you, too.

But the Oklahoma story? Anyone with any sense knew it was fake before the retraction-- there was a retraction, right?

The delight shown by Branch Covidians over anyone who might suffer for not being sufficiently Of The Body is sick. It is literally, no joking, a cult.

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Crunch!

Don't worry. Not me.

A couple of days ago I was sitting in the car, kitten-sitting while everyone else was in the mall, when I heard a loud car-crunching sound. I looked behind me to see a car partially up on the curb, its front corner against a brick wall. 

The parking lot curved around the front of the mall, the driver hadn't curved enough. She drove the passenger side of her car (I hope it was hers) over the curb and into a brick wall that separated a dumpster accessway from the sidewalk. 

I watched as she backed off the curb, turned on her hazard lights, and got out for a walk-around to see the damage. The passenger-side headlight was freed from the shattered grill, the fender and that corner of the hood were crumpled, and lots of debris was falling off the car. She looked at it for a minute, looked resigned and confused, then got back in her car and slowly drove off.

Who knows why she drove into the wall. Surely she was distracted. Texting? Something else?

But, remember that these people are out there. All around you. They will not be responsible, so it is your responsibility to watch for them. 

My mindset when I drive, bike, or walk is that every other car or pedestrian is a wind-up robot with no conscious control whatsoever. Just a mindless object moving randomly and if an accident is to be avoided, it's completely up to me. So far that has served me pretty well.

I'm not saying I can't ever be distracted, but that by making that my default mindset, I've been able to avoid problems most of the time. I know how easy it is to get distracted by something. 

I'm not going to get caught thinking it's someone else's responsibility to not run into me.

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Government has no right to mandates

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 4, 2021)

New Mexico's government may be flirting with Covid 19 mandates again. Did you think government would just step aside when it became obvious it keeps doing pointless things?

I will not accept this "new normal" of endlessly recurring threats of mask mandates, shutdowns, and lockdowns. You do what you want, but I'm not going to accept going backward.

I hope businesses don't get targeted this time. I feel bad for business owners forced to choose between betraying their customers by enforcing the state's illegitimate mandates or risking punishment from the state.

Yes, an individual business owner has every right to require masks or even proof of vaccination, but I have the right to shop elsewhere. Which I will. I will not support those who help government violate people. The new Jim Crow era can't be allowed to stand.

I was more forgiving last year. Even though no one has the right to impose mask mandates or shutdowns, there were many unknowns in the beginning. But not now. At some point, the people have to say "I will not comply", whether it's as a customer or as a business owner.

Government is not your boss, you are its boss-- if you choose to employ it. Recent history has shown government doesn't accept this situation, but that's just how it is.

If enough people simply refuse to comply, government has to back down. It's how the worst aspects of alcohol prohibition came to an end in 1933-- there simply wasn't enough compliance, and even juries refused to convict scofflaws. In the case of mask mandates and shutdowns, there isn't a constitutional amendment nor even legislation, backing it up. You aren't in the wrong if you refuse to comply.

I don't care if you want to wear a mask. I do care if you force others-- even children-- to do so. I don't care if you accept an experimental vaccine which doesn't prevent the illness and doesn't prevent the vaccinated from spreading the illness. I do care if you demand others take the needle.

I understand that the vaccine may make the symptoms less severe which might reduce the risk of complications and hospitalization. However, I also understand no one can have the right or the imaginary political authority to force this vaccine-- if it can honestly be called a vaccine-- on others.

The mandates will end for good when enough people say "No, I won't".

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