Wednesday, August 19, 2009

A Cat's Eye View


Baxter here. Good Lord, when will my Female Human learn not to make Stupid Remarks on how she has such "Peace of Mind" lately. You would think she would Learn that just Jinxes her. A few days after she posted That Bit of Sentimental Drivel, she and the other Human were up in the Adirondacks at That Cabin of theirs and got a Phone Call that the Female Human's Aunt had hurt herself by Falling. She's OK but Once Again my Female Human has been very Tied Up this Week taking Care of Things for her Aunt.

On the Plus Side for ME (which of course, is the Most Important Thing), the Humans are spending this Weekend at Home for a change instead of going to That Cabin.

So, here I am, finally Blogging again. And may I say, it's About Time! I was overdue to Blog and was not Given the Opportunity until now.

Well, I don't even know where to start. All this Ruckus about the Health Care System is driving me up the Wall. On one hand, of course, it would be Nice if everyone had Health Care. I am certainly very Lucky that my Humans take me to the Vet when I need it and can afford to Pay for Me. There are plenty of Pets that don't have the Opportunities I have and I've seen that they don't live as long or as Well as Pets that get regular Care. I'm sure that is true for Humans too.

But I am becoming Very Concerned that the Way this has been handled has not been Ideal. I really thought the new President would be better at this than he has been. There have been too many Rumors that were allowed to get Out of Control, and not enough Pushback on those who are spreading them. Despite efforts to get the Truth Out, the rumors continue to spread and are Poisoning the Discussion.

And on top of that, Fellow Democrats aren't even all pulling for this. And then the Latest Thing is there has been a lot of Confusion over whether or not the "Public Option" is Dead or Alive!

This could really be a Bad Thing for President Obama; his Popularity is waning in a lot of places because of this Mess. If You want to read a Lot about the Subject, please go over to Watergate Summer. Enigma4Ever has been keeping track of this All Along and has done a Much Better Job of it than my Human or I can do. Not to be all Gloom and Doom - there are some Encouraging Signs out there - Barney Frank has really Pushed Back on the Protesters at his Town Hall meetings and now President Obama is Hosting a Forum (See Enigma's site for details). Maybe things can still Turn Around.

Onward to another subject - Fuel Efficient Cars!

In my Web Surfing, I just saw a video on CNN.com about the World's Cheapest Car. It's the Tata Nano, made in India - but soon coming to Europe and ultimately, the U.S. Here is the video about it:

Apparently the Base Model sells for $2,500 without the Amenities that the American Humans have come to Expect in a Car. It has a Manual Transmission, no Air Conditioning or Power Anything at that price. (Of course, for about $3,500 you could Have It All). It gets 50 miles per gallon and they're going to come out with a Diesel too.

Since the smallest cars in America still sell for Big Car Prices, if the Nano comes here, it will Revolutionize the Industry. For instance, the Smart Car starts at almost $12,000. And a Mini Cooper is even more, starting at nearly $19,000. Let's all keep our eyes on this one! For that price, even Gas Guzzling Die-Hard SUV Owners might be willing to shell out $3,500 on a Nano for at least driving Locally. This could be Good News for our Environment.

You may Wonder why a Cat would be so interested in Cars. But You have to Understand that I have Little to Do all day except stare out the Window. And I Notice Cars. They have become a Hobby of Mine. After all, One must keep Busy.

Of course, a News Roundup wouldn't be Complete without mentioning the release of the Lockerbie bomber. This was Way Before My Time, but my Humans remember when Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, back in 1988. Apparently the Perpetrator, who had been Serving a life sentence, is being released on compassionate grounds because he has Terminal Cancer. Some feel this is Terrible because his Victims didn't get to live out their lives with their Families. On the Other Hand, it depends on whether the purpose of Jail is Revenge or Deterrence. If the Latter, it is probably OK to let him out as he is Unlikely to do More Harm. If it's Revenge, that's a Whole Other Story. What do You All think about this?

Goodness Me, I'm being rather Too Serious today. When I Blog, I usually like to Post a few more Lighthearted Items. How about ending with this, from I Can Has Cheezburger? It pretty much Sums Up How my Female Human and I Feel Lately about the Political Scene!

funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Till Next Time, have a Great Week and don't forget to Share your Catnip. We can All Use Some!

13 comments:

Bee said...

I don't really know what to think about letting the Lockerbie bomber go, Bax. I'm torn on that one. Part of me says that I feel badly for the families, but it has been 21 years, and maybe it's time to put the past where it belongs. People die, in one way or the other, that's all any of us are assured of from the moment we are born, is that we will die. Very few get to pick how, where and when. Then part of me says "screw it, fry him!"

I dunno.

Fran said...

Hey Baxter~ You are one smart cat!
The health care situation better get whipped into shape or it will fall apart.
The 2 legged ones need to make a ruckus too.
The nut jobs are freaking out with lies....
those who are passionate about health care might do well to grab some pitchforks & torches & take to the streets.
The people need to demand their politicians stop stuffing their pockets with Wealthcare money...
and do something for the people. Oh! and of course there must be a way to pay for it all, so I strongly recommend cutting the War budgets.

The Lockerbie bomber.
He killed 243 passengers.
He killed an additional 16 crew members
He killed an additional 11 innocent bystanders in the area.

All together he killed 270 people.
Personally, I think when a person does such a thing intentionally to so many people, they really should not be allowed to roam free again.

I feel like HE made that choice.
When someone can allow themselves to commit mass murder, I really don't want to give them another chance to do any more harm again.
His family can visit him in jail.

About the car!
I traded in my clunker (yep did a clunker deal), for a "sipper". A Toypta Matrix.
Wow!!! That baby runs & runs on a tank of gas.
It gets double the mileage of the old beast.
I am lovin it.

I like affordable.... but it HAS to be safe. Safety is a huge deal in my book.
The Nano will kick butt.... because once again GM misses the boat.... in a thrashed economy.... they file for bankruptcy but then announce they will be rolling out the electric Volt-- for $40,000!!!!

We are in a recession or depression or some damned financial vortex of some sort. The average folks will not be able to afford those cars.

I am beginning to wonder if theiri job applications ask the question:
Are you completely out of touch with reality???
If they answer yes, they are hired & promoted to high positions.

Hooray for E @ Watergate Summer on top of all things Health care related.
I can;t believe the way it has disintegrated into this sideshow bickerfest.

Enough to make you.... sick!

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I hope your human's aunt is better.

This health care ruckus is so upsetting. I find it hard to believe people can be so . . . oh, obstinate in refusing to listen or discuss things.

Chris Dashiell said...

I come here for a dose of kitty energy, and you don't disappoint!

Christopher said...

There's a lot of blame to go around on the White House's failure to get healthcare done.

As I said on Facebook, Wordpress and Salon, President Obama's first mistake was letting this thing drag out through August and not demand Congress vote BEFORE they recessed. Once the 24 hour news cycle was unleashed, there was no hope the president could regain control on the issue.

The other inexplicable thing is Mr. Obama's bizarre need to be liked: he's suffering from a bad case of Sally Field-itis when he needs a big dose of Lyndon B. Johnson. Someone (Michelle?) needs to sit his "O"-Ness down and explain to him that he's no longer a U.S. Senator. He doesn't need to reach out to the GOP and their minions like Sen. Chuck Grassley.

If President Obama fucks this up and passes healthcare reform without the public option (I preferred Single-Payer) then he's going to have a Herculean task explaining to the American voters why he deserves to be reelected in 2012.

Randal Graves said...

Cats would make better politicians than the current group of DC clowns.

Mauigirl said...

Mauigirl here, responding for Baxter. He's sleeping at the moment but wants you to know he Appreciates all your Comments.

Bee, I agree, Baxter and I have the same mixture of emotions about this.

Fran, it was definitely a heinous act. And now that he got a hero's welcome it's even worse. Re: your Matrix, so glad you like it. Our neighbor has one and I keep thinking it looks very cute and practical. I may be in the market for a new car too; will have to check it out.

Ruth, thanks, my aunt is feeling better. I share your frustration about the obstinacy. I think it's completely political; the GOP just wants to defeat Obama in anything he attempts.

Chris, Baxter is happy he was able to satisfy!

Christopher, I'm afraid you're right - he is blowing this by trying too hard to be bipartisan. No one would blame him for giving up that effort - it is obvious that the other side is to blame for the partisanship. He needs to accomplish his goals and get stuff done that he promised US. The heck with the other side at this point.

Randal, I couldn't agree more!

themom said...

I agree completely with Randall. Love the cats...attitude and all.

As for the Lockerbie bomber...I honestly believe there is something more behind this move than just the humanitarian aspect. Was their a swap of some sort? Did it suit somenefarious Scottish purpose? I'd love to know.

Stay well Baxter, can't wait for your next installment.

Liz Hinds said...

Hi Baxter, wise words from you again.

I think it was the compassionate and right thing to do to release the bomber to die with his family but I regret the hero's welcome he received. But that is a Libyan problem and nothing to do with the decision of the Scottish government. All I most sincerely hope is that the decision was not a political one. I would like to believe it wasn't but there have been so many scandals that i feel no politicians or anyone to do with politics can be trusted any more.

Anonymous said...

Our winning system will make you hundreds, even thousands on casino!
[URL=http://durakoff.net/gforum/link/online%20casino%20gambling/2_gambling2.html][IMG]http://durakoff.net/gforum/imggforum/online%20casino%20gambling/2_gambling2.png[/IMG][/URL]
[url=http://foixaqd.741.com/index.html]digoxin side effects [/url]

Anonymous said...

http://pointdevue.ma/forum/index.php?topic=207719.new#new pictures of bikini wax styles http://www.powercursor.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2910#2910 best bikini pics http://furniturecontent.net/whfa_forum/index.php?topic=20251.new#new tee bikini http://www.whohitmycar.com/index.php?topic=732.new#new bikini nightclub http://oddsprofit.com/index.php?topic=58405.new#new french bikini models

Anonymous said...

Just popping in to say nice site.

about sports said...

These type of articles keeps the users interest in the website, and keep on sharing more ... good luck.

সিগারেটের ক্ষতিকারক