Tiger dogs

OK, not really, but this golden retriever has begun nursing three white tiger cubs at the Safari Zoological Park in Kansas.


AP story here.

Apparently this has happened before. In May 2007, a dog at the Jinan Paomaling Wild Animal World in China nursed her puppy along with three tigers cubs who were rejected by their mother.

And now *you're* under investigation for clicking here

The New Jersey Office of Legislative Services has placed filters on all legislative computers since finding kiddie porn on Assemblyman Neil Cohen's office computer last week.

The result?

That's a screenshot from a statehouse computer. Now anyone in the statehouse trying to read about Cohen can't -- the new filters block out any Web site with the keyword "porn."

Yum.

The water at Santa Monica beaches is filled with fecal bacteria, according to a new study. L.A. County beaches have the highest level of fecal bacteria in the state, and Santa Monica has some of the highest levels in the county, according to the study. The part of the beach by the pier exceeds state standards by 52 percent. Other Santa Monica beaches range from 4 percent (by Strand Street) up to 39 percent (Santa Monica Canyon).

From the L.A. Times:

Samples were taken from nearly three-quarters of California's public beaches from April through October 2007. Monitors collected most samples from ankle-deep water at least once a week at sites near storm drains or other contamination sources. Across California, these contained unhealthful levels of enterococcus, total coliform and fecal coliform bacteria -- found in human and animal waste -- 7% of the time, down from 12% the previous year.

Just thought you should know.

Maybe he thought it was Obama in the next stall

An Obama campaign button that was intended to show Obama alongside Larry LaRocco, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Idaho, mistakenly used a photo of Larry Craig instead. (AP story here)

They were apparently produced by a commercial firm that makes campaign memorabilia, and not the campaign.

But still. I want.

Keep reading...

I've been trying to figure out how to begin this post without driving away everyone who reads this besides Lisa. As you might have guessed, I didn't come up with any good ideas. But do me a favor and stick with it beyond the opening sentence you're about to see -- despite the requisite explanatory opener, you should be amused.

A prominent education policy blogger who calls herself Eduwonkette sent a public records request to the press guy for the New York Education Department. Eduwonkette is well-respected within the education policy world and also known for being a bit of a nudge.

So the press guy, David Cantor, responded to her request with this:

I've thought about it and decided i don't want to give out information to someone asking anonymously.

I'm sure you'll have no difficulty finding what you need.

In response, another education blogger, posted a public public records request. The dude's actually pretty funny.

I understand the concern you expressed to Eduwonkette, the inimitable - if anonymous - education blogger, regarding the data’s availability. After all, we can’t be sure that Ms. Eduwonkette is an American citizen [and thus a member of the “public”], let alone a New York State resident.

You need not worry about my identity or my citizenship.

And whereas I appreciate such earnest gatekeeping, undoubtedly in the interests of our State’s security and well-being ........ click for the post in its entirety.

A few more Mattie pictures

So Mattie's favorite spot to hang out is on the shelf under the coffee table. I think she likes it because it's relatively cool under there (especially since the AC has been broken)...

Sometimes she hangs out all the way under the table...

On this day she tired herself out playing and I looked down to see her completely wrapped around the leg of the table.
Look closely and you'll see her tongue is sticking out...
Apparently slightly disturbed by all the picture-taking...
Chasing after the shoelace...

Maybe if I lick at it?

Must... get... the shoelace....

So close!

This, by the way, is my absolute favorite.
And, success.

So that's Mattie. She's pretty great. She still hasn't learned that her tail is attached to her body and one day I saw attack her back leg because she'd apparently forgotten that she was using it to scratch her ear. She gets confused easily.

We was taught good

I do what I can

I spent all day yesterday trying to track down information about this bank robbery, and eventually hit a brick wall. Got hung up on repeatedly by the police, who eventually stopped answering the phone when I called. Got brushed off by the FBI. And got ignored by the U.S. Marshal.

So I wrote this:

The U.S. Marshals Service didn't have more specific details about Monday's robbery and referred those questions to the Edison Police Department. Edison police referred questions to the FBI, who referred questions back to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Fun.

Ahh, Texas

The Texas Board of Ed has approved the establishment of bible classes in public high schools. The guidelines call for the classes to focus on history and not promote or disparage any particular religion, but here's the catch...

From an AP story:

Mark Chancey, associate professor in religious studies at Southern Methodist University, has studied Bible classes already offered in about 25 districts for the Texas Freedom Network.

The study found most of the courses were explicitly devotional with almost exclusively Christian, usually Protestant, perspectives.

It also found that most were taught by teachers with no academic training in biblical, religious or theological studies and who were not familiar with the issues of separation of church and state.

"Some classes promote creation science. Some classes denigrate Judaism. Some classes explicitly encourage students to convert to Christianity or to adopt Christian devotional practices," Chancey said. "This is all well documented, and the board knows it."

Of course, since the guidelines mandate that the classes deal only with history and literature and don't favor one religion, it's going to be hard to argue the classes, as defined in the guidelines, are unconstitutional...

OK, I won't post again until I have something entertaining to write... seriously.

A rare follow-up

In case you were wondering, the D.C. Council voted unanimously yesterday to pass the emergency handgun legislation I wrote about a couple of days ago.

Nothing new beyond what I've already written, but here's the story if you're interested.

Please wait at the door while I unlock, assemble and load my handgun

In response to the Supreme Court decision on the D.C. handgun ban, the mayor's office has proposed new legislation creating an exemption for self-defense within the home. Residents still wouldn't be able to keep a loaded handgun in their nightstand drawer, but the assembled/loaded gun would be permitted in the instance of an "immediate danger."

From SCOTUSblog:

That provision, officials told reporters, was meant to allow a handgun owner to get the gun and load it — for example, if a burglar were at the door. It would not allow the gun to be loaded or assembled or unlocked at all times it remained in the home.

Officials said they expected that this provision might be challenged in court by gun rights groups or individuals, on the theory that it is too restrictive and would not allow practical access to a working gun in an emergency.

In order to transport the handgun within the District (without a license to carry), you would have to unload it and carry it "securely wrapped in a package, with the package visible in plain view." I have questions:

First, do they mean the package must be "in plain view" or that the unloaded gun must be visible?
In the case of the latter, would a Ziploc baggie count as "secure" wrapping?
And finally, does this mean we're going to start seeing people wandering the streets with their little handguns in big Ziploc baggies? I hope so.

Wait, you can still see me even when I'm covering my eyes like this?

I woke up this morning to the sound of my cell phone. It was 6:56 a.m., according to my call log, and for some reason I answered the call.

It was the early editor, calling to say police had received a report that someone had jumped off the Victory Bridge and that the executive editor (whom I later found out was calling from the comfort of his own home) wanted me to go out there.

So I threw on some clothes and stumbled my way to the Perth Amboy/Sayreville border, a location where I routinely get lost. I got lost.

About 45 minutes later, I was driving over the bridge and saw the melange of police cars pulled over to the side. Initially I pulled over to the shoulder, but thought better of it and figured I'd park on the other side of the bridge and walk back up. I didn't consider how long the bridge is across.

So I pulled over at the turnoff, parked, and started walking back over the bridge. The bridge is a causeway with an incline, so it comes to a peak in the middle. The cops were at the peak.

I was muttering as I trudged my way up the bridge. It was 7 a.m. and I should have still been in bed with my cats, but instead I was walking up this stupid bridge to a bunch of cops who were just gonna tell me that they would try to have a press release by the end of the day and they couldn't give me any information now -- blah, blah; grumble, grumble; I hate my life, I hate my life; good thing I wore these shoes and not heels or something; grrr, grrrr; damn everything, etc., etc., etc. Why can't I see the cops anyway? Where'd they go? Did they leave? No, I would have seen them driving past me if they left. Oh I guess I can't see them because they're at the top of the hill and I'm at the bottom. Blah, blah. Grumble, grumble. Damn everything, etc., etc., etc.

I got to the top of the bridge and approached the cops.

"Did you have a good walk?" they said, laughing.

It occurred to me quickly: Just because I couldn't see them didn't mean they couldn't see me.

"You were watching me the whole time I walked, huh?" I asked.

"Yup."

In fact, it may have helped. They seemed to feel badly for the crazy grumbling girl who was trudging her way up the bridge at 7:30 a.m. Initially they gave me the, "The press officer will be in at about 2 today" line, but then they all looked at each other and this wave of sympathy seemed to come over them. They gave me the info they had *and* a ride back to my car.