"Chicago is up in the house!"/"He's never nipped at anybody but he barks and growls"/"I wanna be your dog"...

... "Everyone left is from Chicago"/"It's the love-in of a lifetime"/"People are going to be really embarrassed some day to look back and realize that they had joined in on something that was really a mistake and they chose the wrong side and that they joined it with such fervor"/"Did you ever do that when you were young?"



All this video was recorded yesterday... except the flashback. (That was originally blogged on February 17th.)

And here's the NYT article on "self-compassion" that I talk about in the car.

Meade got into the Capitol for the Governor's speech and, afterward, shot this video...

... which I edited:



0:00 — in the Assembly chamber
0:37 — in the rotunda, a Democratic legislator slips on a pile of peace signs
1:14 — a woman has a dog in the Capitol, and the vibration is freaking her out
2:12 — our Assemblyman Brett Hulsey calls it the "Budget Despair Bill"
2:35 — "Oh, oh, freedom..."
3:16 — "Which door do I go out if I don't want to be replaced?"
4:06 — "Is there a door I can go out where someone else won't come in because I went out?"
4:35 — boombox duct taped to a stand made of cross-country skis
5:06 — Meade inquires about a child labeled "planted troublemaker"
5:21 — folkie guy plays "When the Ship Comes In"
6:26 — the folkie switches to rap
7:50 — "I'll be growin' food with all my friends and we'll be livin' on a big farm somewhere."

There's a man with a sign that reads "Egypt, Libya/Madison, Wisconsin/Civil Unrest Is Best" and a lady with a doggie.

There's some NSFW language at the 50 second point. Meade took this video yesterday at the big protest march:

Politically active dogs.

Here are 2 union activist dogs, from the demonstrations at the Wisconsin state capitol today and yesterday:





And... from last April's Tea Party rally at the state capitol, here's a Tea Party dog:

"About 10,000 stray dogs are planning to destroy the government in Bishkek."

A headline (via David Bernstein). Once the idea of revolution is in the air, who knows where it might spread? The question is, how do dogs plan? Do they use Twitter? Don't be too quick to say no. Remember: On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.

"The average person thinks... this body is made of cigarettes and coffees and cakes and pies and doughnuts and french fries."

Jack LaLanne. The Good Lord Above has taken his wonderful body back, after 96 years of trying to talk us into get in shape.

“People thought I was a charlatan and a nut,” he remembered. “The doctors were against me — they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks and they would lose their sex drive.”

Lots more Jack LaLanne video here. Here's one you probably don't need. And here he is with his dog Happy ("Right in the mouth with the foot he's putting"):

You remember this dog.

You saw her in many posts, back in 2009, when I sojourned in Cincinnati and lived, for a time, in a little love nest with Meade. She was the dog next door, but Meade borrowed her and took her on many adventures, chasing deer, encountering skunks, and fending off coyotes. Her name was Holly, and I've made a tag to collect the 20+ posts with pictures of her.



She died yesterday.

"I do not own a dog and never have, but I do own a television, and from the evidence it emits..."

"... the whole danged species needs to go on a lengthy timeout."

By "species," you do mean human being, right?

"Jackie the Hitler Saluting Dog Really Pissed Off the Nazis."

"The documents reveal that three German ministries became involved in the investigation of a Finnish pharmaceutical magnate, Tor Borg, and his dog Jackie, over reports that the dog was trained to ... [respond] to the command 'Hitler' by raising its paw."

I can't find video of the dog, but here's Hitler's reaction:

"Retire early, unless some interesting project is underway on the computer. Rise at 3am."

It's the New Year's Eve plan of one of our very favorite commenters, rhhardin. He continues:

Chinese folk song I just put up; having recorded it in 1998 off Radio Taiwan.

Maybe somebody knows the recording, I was thinking. YouTube goes everywhere, unless they've banned it.

It's been through four transcodings, as well as being off shortwave in the first place; but the original has a nice bass line. Video is of transcoding 3 from real audio to mp3. Transcoding from mp3 to wmv was still to come.

Beats Rufus Wainwright.

I featured Rufus in the post where rh comments. He continues:

I may set the backyard bird microphone to record the midnight gunshots before bed, though, if the wind is quiet and the grain elevators shut down for a while.

The shots last for about a half hour; and some guy always starts five minutes early. The clocks are not good out here.

Dogs respond.

It's the Ohio way.

We look forward to the gunshots recording, to more information about "At the Faraway Place - Love Song of the Plain" by Zai Na Yao Yuan De Di Fang, and to all the other recordings and photographs that rh might bestow upon us in the coming year, capturing the mystic essence of Ohio.

What Tucker Carlson said about Michael Vick.

"I’m Christian. I’ve made mistakes. I believe fervently in second chances. Michael Vick killed dogs in a heartless and cruel way. I think, firstly, he should have been executed for that. The idea the president of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs is beyond the pale."

Obama opines on Michael Vick's being given a second chance.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie described the phone call he received from the President:

"He said, 'So many people who serve time never get a fair second chance,' " said Lurie, who did not indicate when the call occurred. "He said, 'It's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail.' And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall.''

How inspiring is the return of Michael Vick? Will it hearten those who are attempting to return to society after serving time and make the rest of us more likely to welcome them back? Or will it make us more likely to think cynically that the rich and famous get special exceptions from the rules? Does Vick make the field look more level or less level?

IN THE COMMENTS: Meade (adopting the commenting style of Trooper York) wrote:

"Pot had helped, spreading genital herpes; maybe a little felony conspiracy in interstate commerce/aid of unlawful animal fighting venture when you could afford it."

- Dreams from My Blotter: A Short Memoir by Barrrk "OokieRonMexico" Obama (2010), pp. 93–94.

Rialby said...

"They talk about me like a dog" - BHO

I guess talking about him like a dog is better than what Michael Vick might do... pick him up by his tail, swing him around and smash his head against a cinder block wall.

Hmmm. You know, I've never gotten the impression Obama had much affection for Bo.

"When I thought my dogs and I were having deep, meaningful conversations, I knew it was time to get out of the house."

"And I needed the money."

Michael Vick: "I would love to have another dog."

"My entire life I grew up with a pet in my house. The last few years were the first that I haven't had one. My daughter is used to it, my son is used to it. It's just different. I feel bad for them and the entire situation, what I did. It could be part of my rehabilitation process showing people I do care about animals sincerely and genuinely... Whatever animal I'd have would live a happy life.... I know that."

Would you let Vick get a dog?
	Yes, people can change and dogs can help them change.
	Yes, the important thing is the transformation of a human being, and a dog is a means to an end.
	Yes. He served his sentence, and he's earned a fresh start.
	No. He was released on condition that he not get a dog. That's it.
	No. He tortured and killed dogs. All dogs are forever entitled to be free of him.
	No. It's an important deterrent to others to see that Vick can never have a dog.
	Yes, but only because of the kids. Kids are more important than dogs.
pollcode.com free polls

Kackel Dackel!

A German toy: The Pooping Dachsund.

(Via The Weekly Standard.)

"Funny, only a few months ago [Obama] said his opponents talk about him like a dog."

"Now he is talking about himself, like a dog, but of the blue variety."

Sissy on "sissy."

Yesterday, I had a problem with Rush Limbaugh using the word "sissy" over and over again to express his feelings about Julian Assange. That, understandably, caught the attention of Sissy Willis. Because she's a Sissy but not a sissy, she did not react with I Feel Bad About My Name: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman. She wrote to riff on something I said in my listening-to-Rush-Limbaugh video:

"To say men are being like women when you want to say they're being cowardly and weak — I don't like it ... Also, some chickification is a good thing. Women have a lot to offer. Think about it."

Sissy says she's been saying it for a while: "postmodern, identity-politics 'feminism'" is not the same thing as "feminization." And that makes me want to remind Rush and everyone else that there are many different manifestations of the feminine. You have something in mind when you say "chickification" or "feminization." I get it. But if you want to be able to criticize the forms of the feminine that you loathe, don't sweep all women into a stereotype. If you do, you are, ironically, acting like a cartoon of a radical feminist — a woman who thinks of men as sexist brutes.

Now, I know that Rush Limbaugh isn't a sexist. I listen to the show. I know he doesn't think women are all alike, and I think he loves women. He's first in line to promote the women who embrace conservatism. That's his thing: He loves conservatism. He's enthusiastic about conservative women in politics and critical of those who try to drag down Sarah Palin (and, for example, Christine O'Donnell). He does the thing that I do: He points it out when a liberal says something about a female conservative that liberals would call sexist if it were said about a female liberal. He notices — as I do — the way liberals expect women to be liberal and discipline us harshly when we are not.

Also, Rush isn't exactly the model of stereotypical masculinity. And I'm not just referring to the fact that he hasn't kept his body in optimum shape over the years. I'm talking about the hours of show time he's spent telling us about the details of his wedding. The times he's admitted getting emotional over some movie. And just yesterday, he went on and on about his pets. He's got 2 dogs and a cat. And the dogs are because of his wife. When he was living alone, he was living alone with a cat. A pussy!

Why did the NYC cops single out this woman?

Too many excessively cute doggies?

"We should unite together to establish a Dog Party to fight for our rights."

"If anyone’s dog is taken away we should demonstrate."

Obama is like Bush.

Lets his dog walk him.