…for the Pledges For Pets Telethon on Fox 31 Sunday from 12 Noon-5P.

May I say what will power it takes to give the puppy back?  It’s not for the faint-hearted.

Thanks for any help you can give.  We need to promote and support responsible pet ownership in this country, and the Dumb Friends League leads the way in our community.  Their commitment is wonderous.  They do it for people and they do it for animals.  They ROCK.

PUPPY CAM!

…especially for people who wouldn’t miss knowing that there are tigers in the wild…

“What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.”

Chief Seattle

My family are all from the British Isles by way of Canada, so some people thing my Corgy obsession is Queen-driven.  It’s really not, but that fact that Elizabeth the II loves Corgis doesn’t HURT.

Just LOOOK at ‘em…

I watched a documentary last night on the History Channel about San Tsu’s Art of War and how the principals have applied to various battles.  One important principal is this:  War is a means to and end, not an end in itself.  When nations get caught up in the emotions of war, it becomes an end in itself.   San Tsu was opposed to this because it’s wasteful.  Tragedy and waste of resources don’t improve human life.  That’s why it works to “Pull a Gandhi”… or an MLK.  But it’s a move that only a true world-class bad ass can pull off.

When it comes to conflict in certain middle eastern regions, I always wondered which side it’s gonna be.  Whether interests of the Western world in the area have exacerbated the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is up to bigger brains than mine.   But I do believe it’s going to take a real BRAIN to end the conflict.  Blowing up Mecca wouldn’t really help-it would probably just result in even more massive destruction.

So, who’s it gonna be?  Who’s gonna do the truly difficult thing and decide to stop fighting with violence and start fighting with a strategic understanding of the other side and what will make them stop? 

This quote is from MLK:  “Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate,”

I’ll add one thing:  that someone is going to have to be a world-class bad ass.  That’s what Gandhi, Dr. King and Jesus all had in common.  Not just the understanding of What Must Be Done, but also the sheer bravery  to actually get it done.  Each knew they would die for it, and saw that as a necessary part of the equation.  To oppose hatred AND do whatever is necessary to end conflict, you’ve got to be a master strategist and a total bad ass.

Extraordinarily high-functioning humans with these attributes tend to surface now and then.  I’m grateful we had MLK.  And I’m hoping there will be another in my lifetime.

…but here’s a pic from friends in Iowa…

I have a strange relationship with the American/Japanese conflict.

My Dad was stationed in Japan and was scheduled for the battle of Kyushu.  Beyond the history books, I’ve learned from my Dad that massive fatalities were expected in that battle.  In fact, he and others scheduled for that battle, as he tells it, were very clear about one thing: everybody was going to die.

Then, we dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Then, my father got to go home.  He dissappeared into the northern Maine wilderness after graduating from the game warden academy, became fluent in Quebecois and became an infamous tracker, hated among poachers  north and south of the border.

Then he met my Mom. 

My Dad survived ridiculous dangers in the northern wilderness and a very tough Depression childhood, but he also survived the war because we dropped those bombs.

Therefore, the bombs are one reason that I EXIST.

Weird, huh?

History is more complex than most people, especially people who are being very emotional, would like.

…to the person who took my wallet to Lost and Found at the Elvis Cinemas on 64th and Sheridan after 3PM Sunday:

My mom e-mailed me last week to say she was going hunting for a week, so I wished her luck with this idea for a Christmas decoration:

I’m actually a HICK more than a redneck, but the humor translates beautifully.