Nothing is Ever Black and White

Hello My Dear Friends! I have received countless emails saying 'PoKitty, there is so much craziness going on right now, when are you going to weigh in on the madness'? Well, my dear friends, there are many reasons. first, let's start with the insanity in Ferguson, Missouri. I haven't weighed in because I don't know what happened there. No one does. I do know what didn't happen. Does anyone really believe that a young police officer, with a spotless record, just decided to gun down an unarmed teenager in the street? Unfortunately, with the bias and unprofessional coverage of the media, which has degraded into a bunch of wannabes trying to make a name for themselves, there will never be "justice" in Ferguson. Regardless of how the facts unfold, one thing is for sure, there will be no winners in Ferguson. This incident has irrevocably divided this town. I fear it's just the beginning of much ugliness to come. This is what happens when you remove Lady Liberty's blindfold. When justice isn't blind, it's unjust. But this, my dear friends, is the world we live in. Do you recognize these names: James Whitehead, Christopher Cervini or Dillon Taylor? No? I'm not surprised. On August 11th of this year 20-year old Dillon Taylor was shot and killed outside of a 7-11 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was an unarmed white man who was shot dead by a black police officer. I must have missed the President and Attorney General commenting on that case. Christopher Cervini was shot dead by a man in Greece, NY, last year. The shooter said Cervini was acting "suspiciously".  The shooter, Roderick Scoot was a "neighborhood watchman". He was acquitted, claiming he feared for his life. Cervini was an unarmed 16-year old. I think you can guess the racial make up. Finally, 28-year old James Whitehead was a Veteran who had recently returned from war. Whitehead was unarmed and sitting in his truck after a verbal altercation over a car part when he was shot dead by an off duty police officer. The officer says he fatally shot Whitehead because he used a racial slur. The officer was removed from the force but no charges were ever brought against him. He is now suing to get his job back. Another unarmed white man shot dead by a black police officer. Why no media coverage? Why no justice? This is what happens when "justice" isn't blind. This is what happens when the facts take a backseat and race becomes the focal point. When you're more focused on the "who" instead of the "what" there is no justice and there never will be peace.
Po

WTF People!

Hello My Dear Friends. I have returned from hiatus only to find that, once again, all heck has broken loose! I can't leave you people alone for a minute, can I? Let me start with the "ALS Bucket Challenge". As you know, the captor did it. I did not! If someone dumped a bucket of ice water over my head they would have died! I'm all for raising awareness of a terrible disease like ALS. The Bucket Challenge was a brilliant marketing scheme BUT (yes there is a but) it's not charity, it's extortion. I, like many of you, only have so much money to give to organizations in need. I am not fond of being "forced" to support an organization by being "called out" by someone else. In this world of instant attention through social media, declining a "call out" looks bad. It's embarrassing. The captor was "called out" both on Farcebook and on the radio. Kind of hard to say no, don't you think? It's not that we don't find ALS an important cause, it's that we like to quietly support organizations that are important to us personally, not organizations that use public humiliation as a marketing tool. ALS isn't the first organization to do this. The March of Dimes, with their "Jail and Bail" fundraiser is another pet peeve of mine. The captor gets called every year with "Someone you know has chosen you to be jailed...". With all due respect, no one I know would volunteer the captor to fund raise for your organization. It is incredibly presumptuous to assume that, just because you know my name, I would be willing to solicit funds from my friends and family on your behalf. Again, I'm not saying that MOD is not a worthy cause, I'm saying that I prefer to choose my own charities, not have them chosen for me by someone else. If that makes me a bad cat then so be it. If you need my help, contact me privately and ask for it. If I can help, I will. Don't call me out publicly and ask for something. It's rude. Okay! I feel better.
Now, on to beef! There is a move across Europe, and you can bet it's headed here, to put an "emissions" tax on beef because, according to a new study, beef cattle are bad for the environment! Now, without getting into all of the details, the study says beef cattle need more land and water than other food animals and they produce more "greenhouse gases". They say adding a new tax to beef will obviously raise the price, making it more difficult for people to afford, thus leading them to eat more vegetables. Are you FREAKING kidding me? First of all, have you seen the price of fresh vegetables? More importantly, these "scientists" who study these things are just plain goofy. Correct me if I'm wrong but cows have been around for a long time, right? I'm pretty sure we didn't invent the cow. Therefore, they can't be all that harmful to the environment or we'd all be dead all ready. This leads me to believe there is an ulterior motive to this study. Could it be another push by the food police to control what we eat? Where will this end. First, the First Lady tries to ban cookies, cakes and brownies from school bake sales. Now you want to take away our burgers? Are you people crazy! Stop this insanity! Stop this war on deliciousness! I don't like turkey burgers. I don't like tofu. I will NOT substitute a veggie burger for my hamburger! Look at this:

I love it in all of it's fatty, greasy goodness! You can't take that away from me. NEVER! Out of my cold, dead paws people. Out of my cold, dead paws!

Po

Don't Read This. It's Depressing.

Hello My Dear Friends! You don't take direction very well, do you? I say 'don't read this' and here you are. Well rebel child, you've been warned.  As many of you know, the Captor lost her Mama a few months ago. I, personally, was literally ripped from the teat of my Mama at the tender age of 8 weeks and swept away to this Godforsaken prison! But, that's my cross to bear. This is about the Captor, who, by the way, was the one who kidnapped me! Sorry. I can't help myself. I'm bitter. I admit it. Anyway, I sat with the Captor today as she was missing her Mama. Grieving, like anything else, is a process. We've all heard about the "7 stages of grief". No two people grieve the same but, if I had to guess, I would put the Captor at Stage 4, depression and reflection. Grief is a strange emotion. It's not like anger, where you can scream it out. Grief comes in waves. You never know what is going to trigger it or what your physical response to it will be. Sometimes it's tears, sometimes it's physical pain, sometimes it's just an overwhelming feeling of emptiness. You can't help but wonder when it is going to end but, at the same time, you're afraid to let it go. It seems like moving on would somehow be unfair; a betrayal of sorts. It isn't, I know, but we can rarely control such feelings. Well meaning friends and loved ones offer comfort by saying things will get better. Of course they will. But that doesn't really help right now. It's funny how your mind wanders to once forgotten places. Long gone memories of childhood return as vividly as yesterday's front page. It's comforting and incredibly sad at the same time. That's grief, I guess. It's a mash up of emotions that you can't separate or control. It's happy memories clouded by despair. It's a stream of 'what if's' and 'I wish I had's'. It's a feeling of helplessness, knowing things can't be changed but still wanting so badly to change them. It's frustration and confusion. It's a nagging feeling that you've forgotten to do something and then remembering that there's no need to do it anymore. It's regret. You think about all of the times you were "just too busy" with your own life to make time for them. You think of all of the excuses you made to get out of going back home because you just "weren't in the mood". Now, you think about what you would give to have that time back. You think about how you would get annoyed by hearing the same stories over and over again, and what you would give now to hear those stories one more time. It's inconceivable. How does life slip by so quickly? Hours turn into days; days into years. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the minutia of life that we lose sight of what makes life worth living. Someone said once that you can judge a good life by how many people loved you. I think that's a pretty good gauge. I'm going to think about that more often. Well, you've hung around this long so here's the kicker. Do you know what brought all this on today? Zucchini. Yup. Zucchini. Who remembers a loved one with summer squash? The Captor, that's who. I can't explain it, I can just say it's better than cabbage. No one remembers a loved one with cabbage. Do they?
Po

It's a Mad, Mad World!

Hello My Dear Friends! I apologize for my laziness lately. It's been a while since I've been able to sit down and collect my thoughts to share with you. It's no surprise that, in my absence, the world has once again gone mad! Where to begin? Let's start with the Ex-Im Bank. The what? You're going to be hearing a lot about this in the coming months. The Export-Import Bank, simply put, redirects your Federal Tax Dollars to foreign entities so they can purchase American made products overseas. It's charter with the U.S. Government is set to expire at the end of September and a political fight over extending it is brewing. Who benefits from the work of the Ex-Im Bank? Well, lately the biggest beneficiaries have been Boeing, Enron and General Electric. All companies, as you know, that are in dire need of taxpayer support. Last year the Ex-Im Bank backed $34.7 billion in exports. In the 2nd quarter of this year, Boeing reported a 52% increase in profits or $1.65 Billion. That's one quarter's profits. I'm just saying.....
The Government announced this week that the economy continues to improve and that inflation has been kept in check. I can only assume that the Government hasn't been to a grocery store this year! Now, I realize that there is a very complicated, incomprehensible formula to gauge "inflation". I, being a simple Cat, don't understand all of the math. I do, however, understand that the cost of food has doubled, gas prices are ridiculously high, energy costs have skyrocketed and taxes are out of control. I'd call that inflation. Apparently, none of those factors play in to the inflation rate. Oh well, then I guess things are great!
It's been reported this week that folks in Colorado are using their EBT (welfare) cards to buy weed! I, for one, am shocked! Who could have seen this coming? The Government wants to add marijuana parlors to the list of places where you can not withdraw cash on your EBT card, along with casinos and liquor stores. Brilliant! That should fix the problem. They'll never think to stop by the 7-11 on their way to the weed store and grab their cash! Why don't we try this instead. Since all major retailers, grocery stores and service providers accept EBT cards as payment, how about stopping cash withdrawals all together? Has it not crossed anyone's mind that the only reason to make a cash withdrawal on an EBT card is to purchase something you're not supposed to? Look, I have no problem helping people in need, BUT, people in need of weed are not really on my radar!
With the "crisis" on the border continuing, wars raging in the Middle East, and Russia on a rampage, our U.S Congress has made a decision. They're taking their 5 week summer vacation as scheduled! LOL! A well earned rest from all of the stress of doing nothing for so long! Whew! I feel better.
Po

Hey, People Make Mistakes!

Hello My Dear Friends. Can you believe how so many people go nuts these days over simple human error? Take the CDC for example. Yes, a group of highly paid scientists "forgot" to inactivate a deadly strain of Anthrax before shipping it to a lower lab. It's not like they shipped it in a Ziplock bag! Oh wait, yes they did! That's right. Highly "trained" scientists, tasked with keeping us safe from deadly strains of Anthrax, Smallpox, and other nefarious diseases, took a deadly strain of Anthrax, popped it in a plastic bag, and shipped it to another lab where those unsuspecting workers were exposed to it. Yikes! In their defense, they say the "didn't know the strain was dangerous". Really? Isn't that kind of your job? I know Anthrax is dangerous and I'm not a scientist. So the CDC had one little lapse in judgement, why make a federal case out of it? Well, because, as it turns out, it wasn't one little lapse. While investigating the Anthrax "lapse" investigators discovered that the same brain trust had also accidentally cross contaminated a relatively safe strain of the flu with a potentially deadly strain of the virus! These, as you know, are the same people who send the materials to the companies that create our flu vaccines. That's a bit of a concern, don't you think? Investigators also found things like Smallpox and Anthrax stored in unlocked refrigerators. Those investigators, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found, what they called "an alarming series of failures" and a "general lack of workers following safety protocols". CDC execs say workers may need more training. Gee, ya think? If these scientists can't distinguish between "deadly" and "inactive" strains of a virus, should they really be allowed to handle this stuff? May I suggest this method:

It seems to work pretty well for everyone else. Just trying to help here.

Po

WFT! I've Been Violated!

Hello My Dear Friends! Please brace yourself because I have a horrifying tale to tell. It all started quite innocently. My personal physician, Dr. Rae Clark came by the prison for my check up. That's right, my personal physician makes house calls. I do not travel. I hate the car. Anyway, Dr. Clark came by to see me and I endured the usual poking and prodding. And then, while the Dumb Captor (Kathy) was away, the Mean Captor (Mike), well, agreed to this......

My Worst Day Ever

I am devastated! Why, people, Why? The Doctor and her evil assistant SHAVED me! SHAVED ME! By the time the Dumb Captor got home, it was too late. The carnage had already begun. She was stunned. I know this would not have happened if she were home. My "Enemy List" grew extensively yesterday. They will pay for this torture. I am the laughing stock of the prison I once ruled. I may never recover.

Pray for me People. This is the worst day of my life!
Po

NIMBY!

Hello My Dear Friends! You've all heard the expression "Not In My Backyard". Well, it looks like we're about to get a chance to live it. By "we", I mean ME! As you know, the Government is looking for new places to stash the thousands of illegal immigrants pouring over our unprotected or under-protected southern border. The Feds are now looking to move about 200 unaccompanied minors from Central America to a vacant convent owned by the Sisters of Saint Francis. That particular convent happens to be about 8 blocks from my house! I happen to know that there are four vacant school buildings in Washington, D.C. Why not move the little angels there? As a matter of fact, the Government currently owns 77,000 empty or nearly empty buildings, costing taxpayers $1.7 Billion a year! Why not house these future tax burdens in one of those structures? Why move them to a residential neighborhood in Syracuse, NY? I'll tell you why. Because they can. Now, our President is asking for $3.7 billion to "address this crisis". Are you kidding me? Here's an idea. Instead of loading them into buses and shipping them to unwitting small town neighborhoods, load them into buses and send them back to where they came from! Look, I'm not anti-immigration. My grandparents were immigrants. Legal Immigrants. I'm all for legal immigration. What's happening now is tantamount to an invasion. It needs to stop. So, today, the President went to Texas. Not to visit the border. To raise money for democratic candidates. He's not getting within 500 miles of the border. So, in the midst of the "crisis" the President decides to ask for billions of dollars but can't find the time to actually visit the devastated area. Classy. That's leadership at it's finest. The President also says that republican requests to finally complete the "Mexican Border Fence" are ridiculous. The President says fences don't keep people out. It makes one wonder why, then, there is a fence around the White House. Why do we build fences around airports? Why do we build fences at all? I guess they're just pretty. So, as the Presidents skips around the country raising money and Congress sits on it's collective ass and does nothing, I guess I'll just roll out the welcome mat for my 200 new neighbors!
Po