I was reading my handy little pocket Constitution today, (thank you B J Lawson), and thought I would compose a post concerning this marvelous document. Lets begin with the following:

Article I - The Legislative Branch / Section 8 - Powers of Congress

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Now I'm no scholar of constitutional law, but is there any need for constitutional law anyway? Was the document not written in simple language, for the common man to be able to read and feel secure with his natural rights? It's true, in some ways the generations of the founding period were better educated than those today. No, there weren't public schools for all, but most, even farmers isolated from much of society, owned and read books written during the age of enlightenment, and Greek classics, books which led to the thought which created the mindset of revolution and liberty. No, A degree and years of study led by, most likely biased, professors, isn't needed to read and understand the US Constitution; You need simply to read the words as written, and with a little study of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers, along with understanding of word meanings during the period, you should be able to understand the meaning of the document well.

You will surely note from the above section, Power is granted to Congress, and then powers are enumerated. Obviously, these enumerated powers, define the intended role of Congress, and as well, limit the authority of Congress. The "general Welfare" clause is one of the most controversial clause's contained within this section. Not the "good and welfare" clause, as John Conyers, a member of Congress, who is supposed to vote on law, based on the Constitution, assumes it to be. Perhaps he should first learn what the document actually says and means. What does this clause mean? As Congress and the courts now interpret it, it includes any legislation which can be construed in some way to be for the general welfare of the people? Or perhaps should it be read, as pertaining to the general welfare, based on the enumerated powers listed after the clause. To begin maybe we should see how welfare was defined around this period? Webster says, "Exemption from any unusual evil or calamity; the enjoyment of peace and prosperity, or the ordinary blessings of society and civil government" (Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828).

James Madison, the father of the Constitution said “With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.” Madison also is quoted, "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce." Another Madison quote of 1792 reads "If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare, and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every State, county and parish and pay them out of their public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union; they may assume the provision of the poor; they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post-roads; in short, every thing, from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police, would be thrown under the power of Congress... Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature of the limited Government established by the people of America." Madison in Federalist No. 41 "...it will be proper to review the several powers conferred on the government of the Union; and that this may be the more conveniently done they may be reduced into different classes as they relate to the following different objects: 1. Security against foreign danger; 2. Regulation of the intercourse with foreign nations; 3. Maintenance of harmony and proper intercourse among the States; 4. Certain miscellaneous objects of general utility; 5. Restraint of the States from certain injurious acts; 6. Provisions for giving due efficacy to all these powers." and later "For what purpose could the enumeration of particular powers be inserted, if these and all others were meant to be included in the preceding general power?" Perhaps Madison's draft of the 9th Amendment should have been used "The exceptions here or elsewhere in the constitution, made in favor of particular rights, shall not be so construed as to diminish the just importance of other rights retained by the people; or as to enlarge the powers delegated by the constitution; but either as actual limitations of such powers, or as inserted merely for greater caution."

In Federalist No. 83, Alexander Hamilton said: ...The plan of the [constitutional] convention declares that the power of Congress…shall extend to certain enumerated cases. This specification of particulars evidently excludes all pretension to a general legislative authority, because an affirmative grant of special powers would be absurd, as well as useless, if a general authority was intended..."

Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William Johnson, 1823, said "The capital and leading object of the Constitution was to leave with the States all authorities which respected their own citizens only and to transfer to the United States those which respected citizens of foreign or other States; to make us several as to ourselves, but one as to all others. In the latter case, then, constructions should lean to the general jurisdiction if the words will bear it, and in favor of the States in the former if possible to be so construed." Another Jefferson quote in the Draft Kentucky Resolutions, 1798 "The construction applied... to those parts of the Constitution of the United States which delegate to Congress a power "to lay and collect taxes, duties, imports, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States," and "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested by the Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof," goes to the destruction of all limits prescribed to [the General Government's] power by the Constitution... Words meant by the instrument to be subsidiary only to the execution of limited powers ought not to be construed as themselves to give unlimited powers, nor a part to be so taken as to destroy the whole residue of that instrument." Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William Branch Giles, 1825 "Aided by a little sophistry on the words "general welfare," [the federal branch claim] a right to do not only the acts to effect that which are specifically enumerated and permitted, but whatsoever they shall think or pretend will be for the general welfare." Thomas Jefferson in his Opinion on National Bank, 1791. "They are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose. To consider the latter phrase not as describing the purpose of the first, but as giving a distinct and independent power to do any act they please which might be for the good of the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless. It would reduce the whole instrument to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and, as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please... Certainly no such universal power was meant to be given them. It was intended to lace them up straitly within the enumerated powers and those without which, as means, these powers could not be carried into effect." Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Albert Gallatin, 1817, "Our tenet ever was... that Congress had not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but were restrained to those specifically enumerated, and that, as it was never meant that they should provide for that welfare but by the exercise of the enumerated powers, so it could not have been meant they should raise money for purposes which the enumeration did not place under their action; consequently, that the specification of powers is a limitation of the purposes for which they may raise money." Thomas Jefferson to Spencer Roane, 1815. "I hope our courts will never countenance the sweeping pretensions which have been set up under the words 'general defence and public welfare.' These words only express the motives which induced the Convention to give to the ordinary legislature certain specified powers which they enumerate, and which they thought might be trusted to the ordinary legislature, and not to give them the unspecified also; or why any specification? They could not be so awkward in language as to mean, as we say, 'all and some.' And should this construction prevail, all limits to the federal government are done away."
Even after the founding period, the spirit was still alive for some time; Davey Crocket while serving as a member of Congress supposedly made a speech concerning a bill providing money to a naval officers widow, containing the following "I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money.

President Franklin Pierce in a veto message in 1854 said, "I shall not discuss at length the question of power sometimes claimed for the General Government under the clause of the eighth section of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power "to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States," because if it has not already been settled upon sound reason and authority it never will be. I take the received and just construction of that article, as if written to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises in order to pay the debts and in order to provide for the common defense and general welfare. It is not a substantive general power to provide for the welfare of the United States, but is a limitation on the grant of power to raise money by taxes, duties, and imposts. If it were otherwise, all the rest of the Constitution, consisting of carefully enumerated and cautiously guarded grants of specific powers, would have been useless, if not delusive. It would be impossible in that view to escape from the conclusion that these were inserted only to mislead for the present, and, instead of enlightening and defining the pathway of the future, to involve its action in the mazes of doubtful construction. Such a conclusion the character of the men who framed that sacred instrument will never permit us to form. Indeed, to suppose it susceptible of any other construction would be to consign all the rights of the States and of the people of the States to the mere discretion of Congress, and thus to clothe the Federal Government with authority to control the sovereign States, by which they would have been dwarfed into provinces or departments and all sovereignty vested in an absolute consolidated central power, against which the spirit of liberty has so often and in so many countries struggled in vain. In my judgment you can not by tributes to humanity make any adequate compensation for the wrong you would inflict by removing the sources of power and political action from those who are to be thereby affected. If the time shall ever arrive when, for an object appealing, however strongly, to our sympathies, the dignity of the States shall bow to the dictation of Congress by conforming their legislation thereto, when the power and majesty and honor of those who created shall become subordinate to the thing of their creation, I but feebly utter my apprehensions when I express my firm conviction that we shall see "the beginning of the end."

President Grover Cleveland in 1887 vetoing a bill providing for drought relief, "I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevelent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadfastly resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people.”...
“The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve thier fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood.”

These are simply a few examples, of which there are many, which make clear the intended role of the federal government, limited and defined. We have almost certainly passed beyond the point from which we can ever return to the constitutional government intended and contracted with the people, without another revolution and re-organization. If all of the unconstitutional laws were to be struck down at once, society would be in disarray. However, we do need to make incremental changes to reduce the power of the federal government over our lives and liberty. If government needs to be kept at it's current levels, transfer power to the states where possible, and where constitutionally it should be. At the state level, move power to the counties when possible, and in the counties move it to the local level. Bring the power back closer to the people, where it can be more closely monitored and checked when it becomes abusive. Educate yourself. Don't rely on being taught by others who will bring a certain bias to any information passed on, but learn for yourself; There is a vast amount of information available. Learn what liberty truly means, liberty in it's classical sense as understood by the founders, and ask yourself, how much liberty has be usurped from the individual. We have become serfs to a bloated bureaucracy which controls or legislates almost every activity in our lives. This is not being free. With the massive spending programs and expansion of the federal bureaucracy in the last several years, which you have allowed by your silence, you have either mortgaged the future of your children and grandchildren to an even higher level of servitude than you have experienced, or began the downfall of the great experiment called The United States of America. Unconstitutional entitlement programs are un-fundable at this point, wars are continually waged which have little to do with our sovereign security, federal departments are ruling over every minute detail f your lives, and revenues will never be able to keep up. President’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has already began speaking of doubling tax revenues as a short term fix, without drastic cuts. The International Monetary Fund in July, basically stated that the US is bankrupt and can not meet it's financial obligations as currently organized; Either massive tax increases or massive cuts in spending need to be accomplished to possibly recover from the current debt and unfunded liabilities. Is this the world you wish to leave to your children? Life is going to be rough any direction we take, but the time has come to pay the bill. Vote wisely, not just this year, not just in 2012, but for the remainder of your lives. The time for apathy has past, learn the history, learn the problems, and learn how we can begin to restore America!

Amendment 9: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 10: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

“Government is instituted to protect property of every sort.... This being the end of government, that alone is not a just government which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own.… That is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, where the property which a man has in his personal safety and personal liberty is violated by arbitrary seizures of one class of citizens for the service of the rest.” (James Madison, The Complete Madison, p. 267.)

The Art of Racing In The Rain

The story returns to Sydney for the moment. All is well. She's older for sure. She's slower and weaker, but she still has a good life (I believe). A former client from work, who has become a friend, loaned me her copy of "The Art of Racing In The Rain", giving it rave reviews. She knows me as a dog lover of course, as we often talked about Sydney while I was working for them. They also are dog lovers, with a beautiful Golden Retriever, who goes by the name of Tatry, who became my friend too. In fact, we had worked for them years ago, when Tatry was a little girl, so we have a history. It's odd. Sometimes I associate jobs I have worked on by the dogs who reside there, more so than the people.

I could say that I thought this was the greatest book ever, but that would not be true. I personally did not think the story flowed very well at times, and personally I would have focused more on the life of the dog, but as I said, I often remember the dogs more favorably than the people I meet, so I'm probably not the best judge. The beginning of the book had me hooked for sure; "Gestures are all I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature. And while I occasionally step over the line into the world of the melodramatic, it is what I must do in order to communicate clearly and effectively."....."And that's why I'm here now waiting for Denny to come home - he should be here soon - lying on the cool tiles of the kitchen floor in a puddle of my own urine. I'm old. And while I'm very capable of getting older, that's not the way I want to go out." Wow! I'm not a dog, and yes, I do have a tendency to credit dogs with human emotions, so to me, this really put me in the dog's mind and set my mind for the rest of the story. Unfortunately, for me, the story didn't live up to it's beginning. I think if the book could have been longer, and explored the story more thoroughly, it would have worked, but the brevity made it seem like filler to me, bridging the beginning and ending of the book, but not as well as it could have. The ending, like the beginning, was worth reading the book, which by the way, is a quick easy read anyway. "I force myself to wag my tail, and I really shouldn't have, because the wagging jostles my bladder and I feel warm droplets of urine splash my feet. "It's okay, boy," he says. "I've got it." He cleans up my mess and tears me a piece of pancake. I take it in my mouth, but I can't chew it, I can't taste it. It sits on my tongue limply until it finally falls out of my mouth and onto the floor....I don't want to force him to take me on a one-way visit to the vet. He loves me so much. The worst thing I could possibly do to Denny is make him hurt me....he reaches down out of instinct; we've been together so long...The touch of a man. My legs buckle and I fall.... He turns off the fire under the frying pan. He places his hand over my heart. The beating that he feels, if he feels anything at all, is not strong."
How many times have I laid down with Sydney, my head on her chest, listening to her heart murmur? Will she go in a similar fashion, slowly growing weaker, all the while trying to please me, until her body finally fails? The selfish part of me hopes so. I don't relish the thought of having to make the decision that her life is no longer worth living. Today, she is doing well. No she can't run like she used to, a slow trot is the most to be expected. Her hearing is questionable, though she does seem to hear things she wants to. Fortunately, she does seem to still see well, and her sense of smell is still there. Medication has seemed to alleviate a lot of her joint pains, and she doesn't seem to struggle when getting up as much any more, and she still has a lot of love to give and certainly much more to receive. I doubt she has these fabulous thoughts in her head, it's actually preposterous, but I'll keep my fantasies anyway. She can dream of being reincarnated as a human, and I will continue my dream of being reincarnated as a dog.

Would I recommend the book? Absolutely. If you made it through this post, or any of my posts for that matter, you probably have an affinity for our canine friends, and if that is the case, you will enjoy the book.

Murphy's arrival

Murphy had a long day! When I first began looking at dogs that the Rat Terrier rescue, New Rattitude, had available for adoption, I was looking at Gizmo, if you remember, from a previous post. He was located in Morganton, NC, 150 miles away, which at the time, I thought was a good distance to travel. The rescue group does look for volunteers to drive parts of the route though, and if possible, no one needs drive more than approximately 70 miles. However, when we decided on Oslo (now Murphy), he was located near Atlanta, Ga, or around 360 miles away. Quite a ride for the little guy I'm sure.

We finalized the adoption of Murphy, the week before we were scheduled for our beach vacation, so the foster family kept him until we returned. They were able to schedule transport for the following Thursday, with me making the final pickup in Concord, just over 100 miles away. So, around 3;30, I began my journey to pick up the dog, I'd never met. I, being me, arrived ahead of schedule, and the person driving the leg prior was only slightly late, and Murphy and I met for the first time, outside a McDonalds in Concord, NC. The drive home was much better with the company for sure. We arrived home around 8:30, and Murphy was allowed to explore his new yard for a while, then introduced to Sydney outside. Things went better than I expected with this initial introduction. Then we moved inside, and though Sydney obviously didn't want this stranger in her house, there were no serious confrontations, just a bit of growling, which again, was a bit of a pleasant surprise. Then, my first unpleasant experience occurred. I assumed that Murphy hadn't been fed since the morning, and he was used to eating twice a day, so I decided to give him his quarter cup of food, in his shiny new bowl. I've seen dogs who gulp their food, but never a 15 pound little guy who tries to eat it all in one bite. The choking was the part that really concerned me, but he managed to get in all in, and down, and it stayed. Then outside again to do the necessary things dogs need to do after eating. It had been a long day for him, and only slightly shorter for me, after working almost a full day, then driving 200 plus miles, so Murphy was escorted into his new crate, with it's new bed, and settled in for the night, and I soon after, do the same, but on an old mattress, and of course with no bars separating me from the rest of the world. Tomorrow, Murphy's entrance to our lives can begin in earnest.

A new addition!

Meet Murphy! So where is Oslo, you ask? One and the same in fact. When he came home he didn't respond to Oslo any more than "hey you", so one morning I happened to look down and for some reason he just looked like a Murphy, so Murphy he became and Murphy he is.

For a little background on why I'm coming back to the blog today. Well, Murphy and Sydney were left alone in the house, without him being confined to a crate, for a little more than an hour today, and I came back to both of them uninjured, and nothing in the house disturbed (at least as far as I was able to tell. Sometimes the evidence takes a while to surface.) That is reason one, I'm a proud Papa. A second reason is that a friend loaned me "The Art of Racing In The Rain" to read, and I finished it Saturday. Now, honestly, I'm a little disappointed with the book. Yes, it was great, yes, it make me cry (and not a whimper, but a sob out loud torrent, but there were other factors which added to that I'm sure), but I didn't think the story was a good as it could have been. Regardless, it did make me especially aware of my canine family, so after a little crying on Sydney's shoulder, I thought I should write a little about her new little brother. Before I continue, the factor which added the emotional impact on me while I finished up the book, was that a friend, in fact a distant cousin, was involved in an auto collision on Friday and one of her children lost her life, so yes, tears were already just below the surface and the book set them free.

It's been a sad weekend, many tears have been shed, and many people are devastated, but Murphy is home, he's settled in, and was a big boy today, and I'm so proud. The book is a good read, and if you have the opportunity, read it, regardless of my opinion. The beginning will hook you, and if you are a real dog lover, the end will break your heart yet give you joy at the same time. Now, I need to get the book I really want to read, "A Big Little Life". More introduction of Murphy to come, and more of his and his sister's life to live and experience.

A new addition?

It's taken a little while to get around to posting about our newest family member. I believe when I last posted we were considering Palmer, a local rescue. That sadly was not to be, though I understand that Palmer was adopted and I hope all is going well for him.


This is Gizmo. Gizmo, also didn't join our family, but I was actually in the process of adopting him. He was found through a rescue group, New Rattitude Rat Terrier Rescue, and we were serious about adopting him, as he met most of the criteria I was looking for; to some extent at least. However, as the conversations and descriptions continued, it appeared that he might be too high energy for Sydney. The rescue group listened to my concerns and found another who they believed would suit Sydney better, Oslo, a 4 year or so old, who had grown out of much of his puppy behavior. Gizmo, like Palmer, has also been adopted. Yea!

A New Companion?

I drive into the driveway and something is different. I unlock the door, turn off the alarm, and walk through the house. Empty. Alone. To many this may be the normal course of arriving back home at the end of the day, but after fourteen years with a dog to greet you, every day, without exception, this is a scenario I dread with every ounce of my being. Part of it is habit, or just familiarity, but much of it is love, plain and simple.

I've been considering the possibility of adopting another dog for a few years now. A few times a bit more seriously than others, but never seriously enough to make it happen. I will, without a doubt, be devastated when Sydney is gone. Her death itself will be difficult, but the truly hard part will be the loss of that daily companionship which becomes so comfortable and familiar over such a long period of time. Over the years, the interactions have changed. When she was younger and had to stay outside during the days, I left for work early because I could not deal with being the one who was last to leave and having to look at that pitiful expression of loneliness and abject depression which would come over her face when she knew she was going to be left alone. During that time, I was often the first to arrive home though, and was greeted with the most wondrous shows of affection you can imagine. In her later years, now that she remains indoors when the rest of the pack is away, she frequently watches from the window as we leave, and occasionally is waiting there when we return, but even if she isn't at the window, you still receive that special welcome, that only a dog can provide, once she knows you have returned. It is this, this companionship, this loyalty, this bond between species that some of us develop, which transforms these canines from pets to true family members, much like children or siblings to those of us who develop this bond, which will be unbearable.

Back to the thought of a new companion. I have a few criteria which I deem somewhat important if we do get another dog. Sydney doesn't have a dog odor and is catlike in her grooming and cleanliness habits, which makes a Whippet or Italian Greyhound, maybe even a Basenji or Ibizan Hound. Low shedding would be nice and of the above this includes only the Italian Greyhound and Ibizan Hound or Pharaoh Hound, but other low shedders I like are German Wirehaired Pointers and Bichon Frise, but the Bichon will require extensive grooming on a regular basis. Anther consideration is the ability to be alone during the day alone. This one is a guess to some extent, and obviously training plays a big role, but Golden Retrievers are one of the few I would reliably trust to be non-destructive.



Short version: Anggie found a dog at a local shelter, who appeared similar in appearance to Sydney when she was young. I stopped to see him on Thursday, immediately liked him, (the same would probably be true of a third there though to be honest), and decided we needed to consider him. It is now Saturday, and we just returned from a visit with Sydney. This was the first time I saw him out of his kennel and he is a fine looking dog, 11 months old (they estimate), and very sweet and slightly submissive, but not fearful. We all gathered together in a fenced in area to socialize, and things began well. The necessary sniffing occurred and he wasn't overly aggressive, which tends to set Sydney off immediately. And off leash he, Palmer, tried to socialize with Sydney at first, but she pretty much ignored him. As time passed, Sydney was making an obvious attempt to avoid Palmer and I tried to get the two of them together, but every time he would come near, she would move away. I was able to get them together on two occasions as time passed and the first time she snapped at him and he was obviously frightened and moved away; The second time I decided to end the meeting. Could they get along? I wish I knew. I really did like him and believe he would make a great pet. It sounds like he may have some separation issues, but we may run into that with any dog we get, but his overall temperament seemed very sweet and playful. This is probably more so bad timing than anything else, as we have already planned our vacation for only one dog, and I don't know that we can accommodate another with our current plans. That and the fact that work will not allow me to take time away at the moment to facilitate any training and adjustment issues. I'm sad, for sure, as Palmer seemed to be a good match that time and patience could have made work with our family, but for now, it's probably best for us as well as him, to not make this decision to adopt him, and hope he finds another great home and loving family to live with.

Why I support B. J. Lawson for Congress

I'm a Republican. I come from a family of "yellow dog" Democrats, who I'm sure have looked upon me with contempt at times, and if I am to be honest, I've looked at them in a similar light. From my perspective, I believe my occasional contempt toward my Democrat family is somewhat deserved, as we share many of the same values, and the party I have supported is the one which most closely, or at least at one time, supports these values, where as the one they have long supported seems to favor much legislation which is in opposition to their values and morals. Go figure why people vote the way they do. Why did I become a Republican? Truly, I don't know. I can remember being in elementary school and we, the class, participated in a mock election. I voted for Nixon. In hindsight, maybe not the best choice, but it shows that I had this conservative frame of mind early on. My first real election, I voted for Ronald Reagan, one of the greater Presidents in modern history, and this has been followed by Republicans who were far from being good Presidents, but still likely better than the alternatives. It does show that their has been a very bad decline in the quality of candidates though, and this in large part due to the party itself, and in whom they, the leadership of the party, have supported. For several election cycles, it has seemed that the choice is this bad candidate or the other worse candidate. Some choice. There have been, and are good candidates for both Executive and Legislative offices, but for many years these individuals have been overlooked, and the worst of the worst are the ones who receive the nomination. So, I still say I am a Republican, and I am still registered as such, but my disillusion has steadily grown, in direct relation to my self education, and today I am a different type of Republican. In fact, I'm sure I would most accurately be described as a Libertarian, but I'm not ready to make that an official status. I still have hope that the Republican Party can evolve to a more constitutional and liberty minded platform, and there are quality candidates campaigning under the Republican umbrella, but time will tell whether they will receive support from the powers that be, or will be overshadowed by the party's had picked choices, who follow the status quo, meaning the continuation of federal growth. Today's Republican Party, is in fact conservative, at least it is if your definition of conservative is moderation, as they do tend to desire the growth of government, at a somewhat slower, or more moderate pace than the Democrat Party, but desire of growth they have none the less.

I believe in a Constitutional federal government, meaning the federal government described and intended in the Constitution of the United States. All of the mystical interpretations of various clauses, and selected quotations supporting a more active role of the federal government are in my opinion, clearly not what was intended by the founders of this nation. Isn't it more logical to assume that the equally valid quotations supporting the type of government set forth clearly within the wording of the Constitution, without any abstract interpretation, but instead relying on the words as written, is the intended function and more importantly, limitation of the federal government? An even superficial study of the American Revolution, and the founding of the Nation, will show that the colonists had a deep mistrust of government abuse, and much of the writing of the time, especially that which motivated the American colonists, involved the philosophy of liberty and natural law, which is the most compelling evidence that the intended federal government was to be limited in scope and function, with a defined number of functions allotted to it, and those being the ones that only a "federal" government could accomplish. Article 1: Section 8, clearly spells out the powers delegated to the US Congress, and Article 1: Section 10, clearly states the powers prohibited of the states, therefore it follows that those powers not specifically delegated to Congress, nor prohibited of the States, in fact belong solely to the states or the people. In fact, to be clear that there was no misunderstanding, The 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution, say this very same thing. How is that so hard to comprehend?

So, this brings us to the subject of this post, Dr. B. J. Lawson. If we were to design a candidate, with a primary consideration in their makeup, being a honest and faithful interpretation and a real expectation of having them follow the US Constitution as the supreme law, we would come up with someone very much like, if not in fact, B. J. Lawson. He, is known, both during this election and the prior one in 2008, for handing out pocket sized copies of the US Constitution. If we were to select another quality; What about a true understanding and deep love of liberty? I'm all for that, and once more, B. J. Lawson would fit the description perfectly. There is for sure, a general lack of understanding of the philosophical and political concept of liberty, in this nation. Sure people understand the general meaning of the word, but have never really thought about it in depth, to really understand the concept on a more philosophical level. The Libertarian Party itself, is often criticized on grounds which true supporters of liberty would accept as the the only correct position. That is the thing with the concept of liberty; You can't pick and choose which aspect of liberty is acceptable and which one isn't. Either you are pro liberty or anti liberty. Of course some liberty must be restricted, or else there is anarchy, and that is the reason that governments are instituted in the first place, to protect the individual and society from lawlessness which would occur with unlimited liberty. A certain amount of liberty is surrendered for the sake of society, but only enough for society to remain cohesive and for the protection of an individual's rights and that of their property. Other than this minimum, liberty should remain an individuals right, just as any other natural right. Too many people erroneously believe that their expectation of morality, of right and wrong, allows them and society to infringe on another individual's right to liberty, but in doing so, liberty is lost, and every little piece of liberty wrongly taken, makes the next usurpation that much easier to perpetrate, and the loss that much easier to accept, until liberty becomes a difficult to understand concept. That, unfortunately is where we have been heading for a long time.

to be continued.......

Let's call it a wish list!

Brittany


Pharaoh Hound


Basenji


Whippet


Italian Greyhound


English Foxhound


American Foxhound


Carolina Dog


German Shorthaired Pointer


Akita


Golden Retriever


Rhodesian Ridgeback




Rat Terrier/Feist

About A Dog (Part 7)

It's amazing how your position on things can change and evolve. As I said, fourteen years ago, we decided to get an outside dog that went from a full time outside dog, to a part time inside, most time outside dog, to a most time inside part time outside dog, to a day outside, night inside dog, to a mostly indoor dog today. More so, I went from believing that a dog doesn't belong inside with the humans to feeling that this is the most normal thing in the world.

Having this extraordinary dog in our life required another accommodation on our part. When my wife and I married, we lived in the manufactured home that she owned at the time, planning to eventually build our own home. The photo in part 5 of About A Dog is that abode. Having these plans, we decided to not take vacations during this period and save for the house we hoped to build. Marrying later in life, I had saved up a little money, and living below our means allowed us to save fairly quickly, and we began construction in '99, moving in in 2000. Now that the major saving was done, vacations began entering our thought process. By 2000, we had adjusted in many ways to Sydney's quirks, and the accommodations we had to make in our lives to have her be a part of the family. Vacations were going to be one of these accommodations. I believe we did take a long weekend vacation to the mountains early on, and left her in her fenced in lot, and everyone survived, but by 2000, we knew the reality that she either had to be kenneled, stay with someone we knew or simply go with us. We chose the latter, and all of our vacations are planned for dog friendly locations, with dog friendly accommodations. I imagine it has been less than ideal at times for the rest of the family, but it has been important to include our special needs family member, so that is what we've done. No we haven't been to any exotic locations, and part of me regrets that we were unable, but we have enjoyed a fair variety of locations. We've visited Norfolk, VA and Williamsburg, We've visited North Myrtle Beach, Oak Island, Duck, and this year will be vacationing in Kitty Hawk. We have vacationed in the Smoky Mountains also several times, with many places to explore for young boys and a dog. In reality, the biggest disadvantage has been mealtime. Obviously, everyone can't pile into the car and head to a restaurant to eat, so we typically get takeout to bring back to where we are staying, or in later years, take turns staying with the dog. Myself, I think it's been the correct thing to do, and have no regrets. Sure, things could have been different, perhaps even better, but then again, perhaps not. All of those precious moments shared with the last member who was added to our family... I think she needed to be included, and we had adventures we likely wouldn't have had if she weren't included. Maybe it's best to just look at this journey, as choices made. We made the choice to get a dog. We made the choice to let this dog enter our hearts in a special way and become a true member of the family. We chose to accept this dog grudgingly for all of her faults, but looking back, it's clear she accepted a lot of faults in us too, unquestioningly and loved us without reservation. Did we make accommodations in our lives to allow this? Sure. Was it worth it? Without a doubt. Sydney has been, and is a part of my family, and more important, the friend I could always depend on. I wouldn't change a thing. The good in this relationship between man and dog, has far exceeded the bad.

About A Dog (Part 6)

Yes she is accurately and affectionately known as Houdini. There were more escapes, more destruction and more frustrations, but time and growing love made every problem seem smaller and every success more rewarding. We went back to underground fencing, several different variations, but we succeeded in keeping her safe from harm, with a little luck on the few escapes which occurred later.

Now, Sydney is a senior. At fourteen plus years, who knows how much more time she has with us. I'll never be prepared for that day, but I believe that she has had a great life, and will go knowing she was loved. Some time back, her behavior was totally bizarre, more bizarre than normal. She was up at all hours of the night, restless, and seemed frightened. We didn't know what to do, and didn't seek veterinarian advice. In fact, I don't honestly believe that the vet. always has the right answers. Sydney has had a problem with fatty deposits and some growths for several years now. The vet. has been less than helpful in this, other than confirming that they were almost surely benign, and this has almost surely been true as she has survived for this long. Being a sight hound (again our best guess, Whippet), she doesn't tolerate anesthesia well, so even when young and healthy it is a risk, but at her age, any surgery involving anesthesia could be a death sentence, so I have ruled that out as an option. We will never know for sure, but believe that Sydney's odd behavior was brought on because she was losing her hearing. What, if anything she hears now, is questionably. She is easy to startle, can't roam freely because she doesn't respond when called, but she is now a much more settled dog. For the last year or more, Sydney has been left inside all day. She sleeps much, but often she can be found looking out of the window, apparently content just viewing the world without as much interaction. The fear of thunder has apparently left with the ability to hear it, and other than the increased barking, there is nothing to complain of, other than the inevitable which approaches too fast.

About A Dog (Part 5)

Houdini. After the frightening event of the escape and disappearance, we needed to try something new. My wife's brother had a crate, one of the plastic ones, probably for a large dog, but it was available to borrow, and this we did. We decided to leave her inside the house, contained within the crate while we were gone for the day. Sydney had obviously never been housebroken. I suppose another confession is due though, regarding that. I said that Sydney was an outside dog. In reality, she was able to come into our home. I'm not sure how early this occurred, and it really wasn't my intention at the beginning, but she was able to come inside while we were at home. She went outside to eat, and still spent the days and nights outside, but she did spend time inside with us. So, she wasn't fully housebroken, but she had been inside enough to understand than she needed to go out to do what was necessary. Add to this the fact that she was probably six months old when we got her and even older at this point, so in reality, housebreaking wasn't much of an issue. There were a couple of early accidents, but she quickly learned, and it was really an easy process. Like the underground fence, the crating worked well at first. Off to work and school each day, arrive home, let the dog out of the crate, for the happy greeting and outside to do what was needed. All was well again, and the worry was gone. However, like everything with this unusual animal, who by the way, we later learned, has separation anxiety and as we always knew, a desperate fear of thunder, things didn't go well for too long. Little by little, there was evidence of chewing on the crate. Minor, for sure, but not a promising sign. No, she didn't eventually chew her way free, she managed to force her way through the door. So off I go to find a better crate. I purchased an all wire metal model, collapsible for storage and transport, which turned out, once again, not to be the smartest move on my part. The new crate worked well, no way to chew out of this one, and the door latched more securely, but it's amazing what a smart, determined dog can do. Somehow, Houdini managed to get leverage inside this crate and collapse it enough to create a space at the door to escape from.

Was it during the crating period? I'm not sure. Maybe it was after and we decided that she was fine inside the house during the day without the crate. Whenever it happened, one day I arrived home to quite a surprise. The door to our bedroom was shut, but a nice hole was chewed in the carpet on the outside, and into the floor below it. I was livid! But of course this wasn't the full extent. There was a closet door open, the closet which contained my one and only suit, and the floor of this closet was covered with the remains of clothing, including this only suit. I'm not proud. I was angry. I grabbed a rifle. Grabbed the evil dog, and carried her into the field behind our home. My saving grace, was my wife, driving up at that very moment. I don't know for sure how I would feel at this moment if that travesty had not been prevented, but I do now know that I would have missed so much love from my friend, whom I would protect at any cost today. As background, let me explain. I grew up the son of a beef farmer, with a brother-in-law who occasionally took me hunting. So, I have always been comfortable with guns, and killing animals used to not be an issue with me. In fact, when I was in my mid teens, we had a severe problem with feral dogs chasing the cows, some of these cows worth a thousand dollars or more, so my cousin and I were tasked with killing off as many of these dogs as possible, which we did, effectively in fact. Enough said. Now, I eat meat, purchased meat, but if I was hungry enough, I would go out and kill something to provide food for my family, but I don't hunt neither for sport nor food. I have developed this affinity for animals, and the thought of killing anything is not something I would relish. I don't meant to disparage hunters, those who make clean effective kills, but those who wound an animal who suffers in agony before eventually subcombing to death, do not garner a lot of respect.

My wife arrived home at the right time. I didn't do the wrong thing. And Houdini survived to torment, infuriate, inspire and build within me a love that may not have happened, had that moment not occurred.

About A Dog (Part 4)

I tried to remember the sequence of various events, but over a period of fourteen years, and many different occurrences, it's difficult to remember exactly what happened when, and which event preceded another. Let me simply say that Sydney, in her younger years, came to be known as Houdini. Early on it was assumed that she could simply be contained in a simple fenced in enclosure. Digging her way to freedom proved that as a total fallacy in logic.

I remember at some early point, and perhaps immediately following the enclosure idea, I purchased an underground fence system. For any who do not know, this is simply a system with a wire buried in the ground, defining the perimeter of confinement, together with a receiver which broadcasts a radio signal through the wire and a receiver collar which converts this signal to a mild shock. I say mild, but if like me, you have ever had the misfortune to receive a shock from one of these devices, they don't actually feel all that mild. (And this from one who used to be an electrician and frequently received shocks from 110 volt electrical circuits). So, I installed this system, spent a week or so training Sydney to the location of the boundary, and the consequence of trying to cross it. She took to the training pretty well, always was a ready and quick learner. We were set. We had a new system of confinement, Sydney now had the run of the entire yard, and though I was a little worried, the training had looked promising. Great! Things went well, and the system worked as advertised. We went to work and school every day, and Sydney was waiting for us every day when we arrived home, safe and sound. The one problem, was that this dog was simply too smart for her own good. The receiver collar didn't simply deliver a shock, but gave a warning sound a few feet before the area where the shock was delivered. It didn't take Sydney much time at all to discover this fact, so she would get proceed to a location where the collar would beep, and drain the battery, so eventually I was coming home to find a totally drained battery, one which previously had lasted for a week before needing charging. Did I realize what was happening? No. Simply thought the battery was defective, so I replaced the collar, but the problem kept occurring, and it took me some time to discover what was actually going on. I charged the collar every night, and life went on as usual. Then one day we came home, and Sydney was nowhere to be found, She had apparently drained the battery early enough that she realized that she could roam at her leisure. Now we had problems.

I can't remember exactly how early in Sydney's time with us that this event happened, but remember the event pretty clearly. We were at home, life was taking its normal course, and I heard one of the most horrible sounds, a screech of tires, followed by a dog yelping. Fear! Sydney was nowhere to be found, but my wife's family, who live across the road from us, heard this also and saw her running onto their property. So we began the search. The teary, nauseating search for what I knew was an injured and possibly near death loved one. We searched everywhere. Well, I suppose that is absurd, but we did look for a long time, to no avail. Eventually reality set in with the darkness and we were forced to give up. Devastation. By this point, even though this was "just a dog" and simply "an outside dog" Sydney was an important part of our family, and we were distraught. Sleep came slowly and fitfully that night. Sometime during the night, my wife's brother called, Sydney had ended up at his house and was bedded down in his field, so off we go to see how bad the damage was. She appeared unhurt, externally at least, so we brought her back home, She had this odd cough though, and we were worried about internal damage, but it was the middle of the night, and nothing could be done. I say that based on the way I felt at the time. Years later, I would wake the vet at any hour, find an emergency clinic at any distance, and do anything I could to save this friend, but my mind and soul had still not fully evolved at that time. So we babied her, listened and worried through the night, but by morning, you could never guess that anything ever happened.

About A Dog (Part 3)

So we did it. We adopted a dog. A dog which would stay outside, like dogs do. The shelter, not knowing of course what breed she was, told me that they believed that Sydney, her new name, maybe her first and only name, was an Australian Shepherd mix, thus the moniker, Sydney. Yes, aren't I imaginative? We, at the time, didn't have a computer, I didn't even have a clue how to use a computer, so there wasn't this wealth of readily available information at my fingertips to see how accurate this assumption was. I will admit that her coloring did have that Australian Shepherd look.

My wife, in her infinite wisdom, thought that having a kitten, again, readily available from irresponsible owners, would be a good idea also, so we had a kitten to go along with our approximate six month old puppy. Things started out well, or as well as I reasonably expected. A simple, chicken wire enclosure was hastily constructed to contain the dog at night and while we were away, and other than the whining at night, things went fairly well, with the few expected escapes. Sadly, the kitten didn't fare very well. Sydney from the beginning treated the cat much like a play toy, and one Sunday morning while my wife and the kids were at church, I found the play had gotten a bit too rough, and the poor kitten had suffered an early demise. The body was quickly removed, before everyone returned home, and the story of the runaway kitten was born.

When Sydney was first seen by her veterinarian, the vet. commented that she believed that Sydney was predominately a Whippet, and as I was grudgingly dragged into the computer age, this seemed likely to me also, not just because of appearance, but later comparison of know behavior. Whippet's, by the way, are sight hounds which were bred to catch small prey, so the kitten incident was something to be expected, had we been more aware. Many other small animals have suffered similar fates in our yard over the years, one of the most amazing, a rabbit which was chased down on a fresh two foot snowfall. Yes, Whippet indeed.
(Continued)

About A Dog (Part 2)

Yes, I admit it. I lied. When I adopted Sydney, they asked and required that she be allowed access to our home, especially when it was particularly hot or cold, and I said she would, but never intended to live up to that agreement. She was a dog, and a dog belonged outside, just look at nature and the ancestor, the wolf.



Back to my story. As I worked every day in Chapel Hill, I decided to stop at the animal shelter and see what dogs they might have available for adoption. I think all of the dogs I had growing up were mutts, either strays that appeared and stayed, or those given away from irresponsible owners who let their un-spayed dogs breed at will, and always had a new litter roaming around. So, I stopped by the shelter, and looked at what was available. Plenty were available unfortunately, and I know that many who were there likely died soon after I had made my choice. I came upon this very beautiful merle blue colored dog, who was desperate for attention (this should have been a warning), and spent several minutes with her in her enclosure. I wasn't completely sold, but was certainly interested. As I tried to leave, this poor little creature whined and whimpered, so I immediately re-entered and calmed her down. The clues were certainly staring me in the face, but I was too ignorant to realize what was in store. Eventually, I was able to tear myself away, but the decision had been made. I knew this dog was coming home with me, it was simply a matter of letting the rest of the family know, and completing the legal arrangement for adoption.
(Continued)

About A Dog

Sydney. That is her name; The dog who stars in the above video. To the uninformed, Sidney is nothing special, just another mixed breed who was saved from an early death at the animal shelter. But to me, she is far more. She is family.

Sydney's story, at least as far as our family is concerned, began many years ago, and it hurts me to think how long ago, because it is a reminder of how little time she has remaining with us. It all began in 1996. As far as we know she was born at the beginning of that year, and for whatever reason, ended up at the Orange Co., animal shelter in July of '96 when I had decided that a dog would go well with our new family. New to me at least; The children were from the previous marriage of my wife, but as of February of '95, we, the four of us, were family. The thought of a dog for the kids to grow up with was something natural, for one who had grown up with and had them for pets most of his life. Of course, this was a different philosophy of dog and man, than has evolved with Sydney. My intention was to have a dog, you know the typical country outside dog, who greets you when you arrive home, and is there to play with when you are spending time outdoors, and this was the role Sydney was to fulfill in our family. A pet. Little did I know how wrong this would be. Continued......

First Attempt

So, being the trend setter that I am, I'm going to, well perhaps I will, Blog a bit, letting all of these random thoughts which flow through my mind, find their way to yours. Of course, that is if anyone finds their way here and reads this, which isn't very likely in all honesty. So I'll just talk to myself here and find a likeminded audience. I imagine I'll talk a lot about politics, followed closely by dogs. Considering how I feel about the average politician, the dogs will be in the posts with the more happy tone as they are the more intelligent and worthwhile creature. Later...