Our dog adoption is on hold. We were to have brought Peanut and Wiggles home yesterday morning, but the couple who have them called to say Wiggles was sick and they were taking her to the vet. They called later in the day to say she’d been tested for valley fever but that it’d be a few days before results are known. We said we still want them, and that if Wiggles does have valley fever we’d treat her for it, as we have with Mr. B. That’s basically where we stand at the moment. We hope to hear more today.
We’ve been worried the couple who have the dogs don’t really want to give them up, and I suppose it’s possible they’re unconsciously looking for excuses not to. Hope that isn’t the case, but if it is, there’s nothing we can do about it. I blame myself for jinxing things by going public with the adoption news before the dogs were actually living with us.
So it’s a reprieve for Mister B, who’s enjoying a rare rainy morning with us, safely indoors and dry as thunder rumbles all around.
It’s been a while since I’ve shared hot takes from my inner reactionary. At the risk of alienating what few friends and readers I have, here are some fresh ones.
I’m not joining the why-don’t-billionaires-end-world-hunger-instead-of-going-to-space chorus. Even if Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos were to donate all their money to the homeless and hungry, every cent of it, they could probably only shelter and feed the needy citizens of one medium-sized country for four days, maybe a week. Then they’d be broke and the homeless and hungry would be homeless and hungry again. This is a problem for governments and societies to address, not wealthy individuals. Of course taxing individual and corporate wealth would have to be part of any such program, so in no way am I letting Branson, Musk, and Bezos off the hook.
Anti-sex cardboard beds in Tokyo’s Olympic Village. True or false? I went with false at first; on reflection I’m leaning toward true.
Majority of Covid Misinformation Came from 12 People, Report Finds. I’m not surprised. When an all-new Honda Goldwing came out in 2001, I bought one. I joined an online Honda forum and became alarmed after reading a flood of dire warnings and horror stories about defects in the new Wing. Eventually, a reporter for a motorcycle magazine traced all the bad press to two disgruntled owners. I’m happy to report that my Wing, and all other Wings of that model year I know about, turned out to be trouble-free.
Before we give too much credit to General Milley for protecting us from Trump’s authoritarian impulses, we should ask ourselves what he would have done had Trump actually ordered military forces to do something unconstitutional. I’m not at all sure he would have put his career on the line to stop it. What did he and other senior military leaders do during the insurrection of January 6th, when Trump’s Pentagon appointees refused to activate troops to help the Capitol Police? Nothing, that’s what.
Re yesterday’s near-riot between pro- and anti-transgender rights demonstrators in Los Angeles: I side with the women in the viral video that kicked everything off: they should never have to share women’s locker rooms, dressing rooms, spas, and restrooms with non-GRS* transgender women. Yes, it’s possible the video was a Project Veritas-style provocation; that there was in fact no transgender woman waving her penis around in the locker room, as some have pointed out — but if such things do happen in women’s spaces, I’m against it. I hope this does not mean I’m anti-transgender. Living is choosing and choices have consequences. Being transgender doesn’t exempt you from them.
*GRS: gender reassignment surgery.