I previously wrote about the coyotes that sometimes lounge in my backyard. I see them and they see me. We regard each other from a distance and then go about our ways.

 

I think they keep the gophers and other rodents in check. Maybe they view me as a potential meal opportunity - not me, just my refuse.

 

Smithsonian recently came out with an article ("City Slinkers") about why the coyote has moved beyond its traditional range (Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi) to the east and west coasts. It's a very interesting read for those of you who are mindful of environmental issues and the effects of human intervention on species, plant and animal.

 

http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/march/phenomena.htm 

City Slinkers

Why are coyotes, those cunning denizens of the plains and rural west, moving into urban centers like Chicago and Washington, D.C.?

Ken Ferebee was one of the first to notice. He's a National Park Service biologist assigned to Rock Creek Park, a 1,755-acre swath of woods, ball fields and picnic areas in the heart of Washington, D.C. Since 2004, he'd observed that deer killed by cars  were mysteriously being dragged away, and he’d heard strange yips and yowls. Then, a year ago, he saw a coyote dart across a road just after dawn.

The coyote, that cunning canine of wide-open spaces, has come to the nation's capital. And to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities. In fact, coyotes have spread to every corner of the United States, shifting their behaviors to fit new habitats and spurring researchers to cope with a worrisome new kind of carnivore: the urban coyote.

 

I just got my first subscription to Real Simple magazine. It's one of those magazines devoted to simplifying your life - and making money from the simplicity movement.

The magazine arrived - nearly a half pound of simplicity in my lap, with approximately 3/4s of the magazine devoted to ads. Very simple, indeed.

If you really want to pursue a simpler life, check out Seeds of Simplicity. It recently merged with Simple Living to become Simple Living America. Check them out at www.simpleliving.net.  

It is amazing what you discover when you read between the lines of life, so to speak.

Take my name as an example. When you include my middle name (which is NOT for public consumption or my personal humiliation), out comes a fascinating phrase:

A kinder, lethal homo.

Yup, that's me to a tee.

Or try:

The mild, anal hooker.

Or:

Ho Ho! mad, neat killer

It's as though they know me.

Anagramgenius.com used to generate quite a number of these anagrams, but I guess you have to pay if you want more than one nowadays.

The new federal law on bankruptcy takes effect shortly - or has it already happened? Does it matter?

I'm sure the credit card companies are happy. They can now collect on all those debts they helped create by giving people credit cards who had no business getting them in the first place.

Take, for example, my nephews (who shall remain nameless). He received one of those card offers. Most likely it dropped in his lap because he was attending college. Shortly thereafter, he had himself a card.

Credit card companies, as I recall, have a fascination with college students. And college graduates. I remember when I was in college. Lots of offers, but I didn't apply for any cards. I just didn't have the money to pay for them. But I did get them AFTER college. Boy, did I get them.

I remember racking up quite a bit of debt. A couple of thousand dollars, in fact. I recall mentioning my debt it to a classmate who scoffed and informed me that I was quite frugal compared to most of our peers. He had $10,000 or more in credit card debt. Yikes!

But back to my nephew.

With little or no sense of the implications, and like many teenagers or young 20-somethings, he used his new credit card with gusto. And he paid his debts with much less gusto. In fact, he didn't pay his bills at all.

The credit card company would call him frequently, meaing they called my parents' house where he lived. My father usually answered the phone, and nearly always gave this credit card representatives a bad time.

"You want to speak to ____?" he'd ask. "He's not here right now." That's the extent of what Dad usually said. He has never been one to waste words, especially on a collection effort.

Dad never offered - and still doesn't offer - to take messages. He just couldn't be bothered. Besides, the callers could always call back.

Invariably, the credit card representative would take a very serious tone and inform my father that my nephew had not paid his bill. Blah, blah, blah. Somehow, I think they expected my father to take their call seriously. Dad is not in the least bit interested in the worries of a America's financial titans.

"What? You are telling me you gave my grandson a credit card? Boy, you people must really be stupid to do that.

"You deserve what you get."

Dad's remarks usually shocked the callers. In fact, he usually made them laugh. Even as they laughed, they tried to convince my father that it was important to talk to my nephew. It still didn't work.

"Boy, you guys are really dumb. You should have never given him a credit card."

You may recall hearing about Sally Baron who died in 2002 and whose family asked, in lieu of flowers, that funds be given to anyone working to defeat George Bush.

Apparently, this woman would sit watching the news and scream "whistle ass!" every time he appeared. The story got quite a bit of national coverage. (I've pasted in a summary of the story below.)

In that same vein, an obituary recently appeared in the Chicago Tribune:


I thank my friend, Rodney, for passing this one along.

---------------------------------
SALLY BARON

"She'd always watch CNN, C-SPAN, and you know, she'd just swear at the TV and say 'Oh, Bush, he's such a whistle ass!' She'd just get so mad," Bettilyon said."

These are the words of Maureen Bettilyon, whose mother, Sally Baron, died on August 18 at the age of 71. When asked what if there was a cause to which people could contribute in Sally's honor, her children decided to include these words in her obituary:

"Memorials in her honor can be made to any organization working for the removal of President Bush."

"She thought he was a liar," Baron's daughter, Maureen Bettilyon, said. "I think his personality, just standing there with that smirk on his face, and acting like he's this holy Christian, that's what really got her."

According to John Nichols of the Capital Times: "The wife of a miner who was injured in a pit accident, she raised six kids in a world our inherited and selected president could never imagine. Sally Baron's kids say she did not like the way Bush smirked when he spoke. Considering that he did not even win the most votes in the 2000 election, her thinking went, he could have been more humble."

The New York Times reports that the richest U.S. Americans' income rose signficantly in 2003, while the rest of us actually saw our incomes drop a bit.

After falling for two years, the share of income going to the richest slice of Americans - the top tenth of 1 percent - grew significantly in 2003 while the share going to 99 percent of Americans fell, tax data released yesterday showed.

At the same time, the effective income tax rates paid by the top tenth of 1 percent fell sharply, declining at more than 10 times the rate reduction for middle-class taxpayers, the new report, by the Internal Revenue Service, showed.

Overall incomes rose by 2.7 percent in 2003, compared with the previous year, the I.R.S. said. A quarter of this increase went to the top tenth of 1 percent, the 129,000 taxpayers with reported incomes of $1.3 million or more, an analysis of the data showed.

Prof. Edward N. Wolff, a New York University economist who studies wealth, contended that the data could be tied to stock market gains in 2003 and a sharp rise in the pay of chief executives while most workers' pay was barely keeping up with inflation.

Here's the kicker:

Other data show that among major world economies, the United States in recent years has had the third-greatest disparity in incomes between the very top and everyone else. Only Mexico and Russia, among major economies, have greater disparity.

Why do I feel sick to my stomach?

I've mentioned the Unitarian Jihad before, but I am continually reminded of my calling to the cause.

If you are not sure whether or not you should read their manifesto, I offer a quote from it below. I think it summarizes their beliefs (or lack thereof) quite nicely.


I urge you to read the full manifesto. 

If you agree, you are welcome to join the Chaparral Chapter of the Unitarian Jihad. You may choose your own name or you ask the chapter coordinator (we do not have a president or chair, but a revolving weekly leadership processes that focuses primarily on momentarily coordination for the greater good) to choose one for you.

WE ARE,

THE UNITARIAN JIHAD - Chaparral Chapter
Sister Sniper’s Gun of Serenity
Sister Flaming Molotov Cocktail of Joy
Brother Pipe Bomb of Peace
Sister Smart Bomb of Personal Enlightenment
Sister Stealth Bomber of the Expanding Consciousness
Sister Plastic Explosive of Virgin Radiance
Brother Flaming Sword of Healing
Sister Pearl-Handled Dagger of Forgiveness

Sincerely,

Brother Tomahawk Missile of Reconciliation



PS  A personalized Unitarian Jihadist name is yours for the asking.