Demon Doggie Euthanized in Texas

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Elaine Buchhorn’s son found an eleven-week-old puppy, a Dachshund-Chihuahua mix, near their San Antonio area apartment building several weeks ago.  Ms. Buchhorn, an animal lover who has rescued dogs in the past, took the pup to a veterinarian to make sure that he was well and safe to be around her other two dogs and her two-year-old granddaughter.  The vet gave the little fellow a clean bill of health.  The puppy turned out to be quite sociable.

She named the new arrival “Baby George.”

Ms. Buchhorn eventually had to turn Baby George over to the New Branfels Humane Society shelter because her apartment house had a limit of two dogs per unit.  She was hopeful that the shelter would be able to find an adoptive home for the little mutt.  As she left the little dog at the shelter, she made a request that they contact her before euthanizing it – should that become necessary.  She said that if problems developed, she would reclaim the little dog and find a home for him herself.

That was October 11^th.  Ms. Buchhorn said that she called the shelter daily to check on Baby George, and no one ever expressed any concerns to her regarding the puppy.  Yet, they had concerns.  The pup apparently snapped at someone at the shelter, an act which prevented the organization, per its policies, from even placing him up for adoption.  The little dog was euthanized on October 14^th.

The shelter’s Facebook page referred to Baby George as having “unknown demons.”

A complaint has been filed with the New Braunfels Police Department by another area resident who said, “A puppy doesn’t turn at 11-weeks-old.  He hasn’t turned into anything because he is still becoming a dog.  He is still playing.  If he does get a little aggressive, you use a low, firm voice and say ‘no.’   You don’t kill him.”

Elaine Buchhorn is also considering filing a lawsuit over the death of Baby George.

Another Texas Shining Star

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Not every Texas politician is as mean-spirited as Rick Perry or as egomaniacal and ruthless as Ted Cruz.   A few, admittedly a rare few, have hearts and brains which they aren’t afraid to put to use for the benefit of the rest of society – and not just the privileged elite.

The late governor, Ann Richards, was a shining star in the Lone Star state.  Molly Ivins, a journalist and good friend of Governor Richards, never ran for political office, but she was a constant burr under the saddle blankets of many Texas elected officials.   The governor and the reporter never got any warm fuzzies from the good ole boys who made up the political power base of Texas.

Wendy Davis, a state senator from Fort Worth, stood up to the Texas political elite when she staged an 11-hour filibuster in order to block a vote on a draconian anti-abortion bill this past summer.  Her effort helped to run the clock out on the legislative session, forcing Governor Perry to call a second special session so that he could impose his fundamentalist religious views on the state.  Senator Davis is now running for governor of the Lone Star state.

A pair of young Hispanic twin brothers are also rising stars in Texas politics.  Julian Castro is the Mayor of San Antonio and was the keynote speaker at last year’s Democratic National Convention.  His brother, Joaquin Castro, is a former member of the Texas legislature and it now a first-term congressman.

Senator Davis and both Castro brothers are graduates of Harvard Law School.  All three are emblematic of a fresh breeze blowing through Texas politics.

Today that breeze got a little stronger when a Bexar County (San Antonio) Court-at-Law judge, Carlo Key, announced that he is leaving the Republican Party and will run for re-election as a Democrat.  Actually, Judge Key said that the Republican Party had left him.

In making his announcement, Judge Key lamented, “I cannot tolerate a political party that demeans Texans based on their sexual orientation, the color of their skin, or their economic status.”  The judge added, “For too long the Republican Party has been at war with itself.  Rational Republican beliefs have given way to ideological character assassination.  Pragmatism and principle have been overtaken by pettiness and bigotry.” 

He also took a swipe at the recent GOP government shutdown.  Judge Key said, “I cannot place my name on the ballot of the political party that is proud to destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of federal workers over the vain attempt to repeal a law that would provide health care for millions of people throughout our country.”

Judge Key declared, “My principles have led me to the Democratic Party, and my only hope is that more people of principle will follow me.”

Amen to that, Judge Key.  Amen.

Judge Key was joined at the news conference where he made his announcement by future President Joaquin Castro.

Fun with Dick and Liz

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Liz Cheney, Darth Vader’s evil spawn, wants to be a United States Senator so badly that she is challenging an incumbent (and conservative) Republican senator who has done nothing to earn either her or the GOP’s ire.  Some might see that as being a bit overly-ambitious, or at least impolite.  But hey, she is a Cheney, after all, and if she wants to become a senator, Mike Enzi should just be a gentleman and get the hell out of her way.

Predictably, Ms. Cheney, the consummate Washington insider, is running as a Washington outsider.  (Being a disgusted on-looker hankering to clean up Congress is currently all the rage in tea-bagger land.)   As she crouches and takes aim from beyond the circled wagons, she is validated to an extent because some of the saner Republicans (probably an oxymoron) have stepped forward to defend and endorse Senator Enzi. 

Snarling Lizzie has begun referring to these traitors to the Cult of Darth, people like John McCain and Olympia Snowe, as “liberal” Republicans.  Okay, maybe Olympia Snowe was blessed with a brain at birth, but to call John McCain a liberal is rolling-on-the-floor laughable!  If McCain ever displayed any liberal tendencies back here in Arizona, Joe Arpaio would lock him up and throw away the key!

(Would John McCain’s prison guards in Hanoi have regarded him as a liberal?  Would Dick Cheney, sitting safely at home with multiple deferments during the Vietnam War, have dared to call the Navy fighter pilot a liberal?  McCain, a liberal?  The mind boggles!)

Stand your ground, Lizzie, sling that mud and take no prisoners.    Never shirk from your duties to the Inquisition, and keep a healthy supply of silver bullets and wooden stakes handy because liberals are out there – they really do exist!  Spend all of the cash that your Daddy’s cronies can muster in your Holy War against reason.     Your doomed crusade and all of its attendant craziness is good for the economy of Wyoming and makes wonderful fodder for the late-night comics – and it can’t be hurting the Democratic Party, either!

You go, girl!

Monday's Poetry: "Super Heroes"

by Pa Rock
Poetry Appreciator

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a send-up of old sci-fi B-movies, was written by Richard O'Brien and first appeared on the London stage on June 16th, 1973 - a little over forty years ago.  By 1975 the play had migrated to Broadway where it only ran for forty-five performances, but that same year the play was given new life as a movie.  The film version starred Tim Curry as the cross-dressing, gender-bending, mad scientist (Dr. Frank N. Furter) who led his two unexpected house guests, Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon (Brad and Janet) on a merry chase one very rainy night.

Others in the cast included Meatloaf, Little Nell, and the aforementioned scriptwriter, Richard O'Brien.

The following year, 1976, several U.S. theatres began running The Rocky Horror Picture Show in special midnight showings, and soon audience members began showing up dressed as characters in the movie and singing and acting along with the movie..  The rest, as they say, is history.  The Rocky Horror Picture Show is still doing its midnight run at some U.S. movie houses, making it the longest running theatrical release in film history.

"Super Heroes," a poem by Richard O'Brien that was written for the play, is recited by various characters at various places, across the performance.   Some of the characters are extra-terrestial, and the poem is their take on the insignificance of humans.


Super Heroes
by Richard O'Brien

"I've done a lot
God knows I've tried
To find the truth
I've even lied
But all I know
Is down inside

I'm bleeding

And super heroes
Come to feast
To taste the flesh
Not yet deceased
And all I know
Is still the beast

Is feeding.

And crawling on the planets face
Some insects called the human race
Lost in time
And lost in space
And meaning."

America's Mayor Heads to the Senate

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

The Republican Party lost something more than just the shutdown and budget battle last week - and its dignity.  In addition to all of that self-inflicted humiliation, the Grand Old Party also lost the U.S. Senate race in New Jersey.  And while that loss really wasn't much of a surprise (Republicans last won a senate seat in New Jersey in 1972), the deliciousness of this particular loss is that the seat was won by one of the country's most active, aggressive, and best known office holders, Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

Spoiler Alert:  I am a big fan of Mayor Booker's!

Mayor Booker is a forty-four year old dynamo.  He is well known on Twitter where constituents routinely send him tweets about street lights being out, garbage not being picked up on schedule, or other mundane city matters.  He receives those tweets, responds, and gets the problems taken care of - often the same day.

One journalist recently referred to Cory Booker as being the "Chuck Norris" of U.S. Mayors, something that Norris, the cranky old conservative, probably wouldn't appreciate.  Booker gets things done, often in dramatic fashion.  A journalist tweeted him last winter about a dog that had been out on the street all day and was freezing.  The mayor showed up in person, picked the dog up and carried him to a waiting (and warm) police car, and then confronted the dog's owners about the need for treating their pets humanely.

During Hurricane Sandy, Booker opened up his home to the community, allowing displaced neighbors to come in and watch DVDs while they charged their phones, dried off, and got warm.  He even had food brought in to feed those who were hungry.  The mayor had a blizzard-line established on Twitter during a winter snow siege, and made personal deliveries to city residents who couldn't get out of their homes.  One young mother opened the door to find the mayor standing on her stoop with a much appreciated box of diapers.

Late last year the mayor took part in a SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) challenge in which he vowed to link arms with those in impoverished circumstances by spending a week living on thirty-three dollar's worth of food.  He spent most of his money on beans - and broadcast his trials and tribulations (and hunger pangs) over social media.

Last April Mayor Booker made national news when he rushed into a neighbor's burning home, pulled a woman out of bed, and carried her to safety.

He's everywhere!  He's everywhere!

And tonight he will be performing several same-sex marriages just after the clock tolls midnight and gay marriage becomes legal in the state of New Jersey.

Cory Booker has truly been America's mayor - and soon he will be a member of the United States Senate where he is certain to shake things up - in a good way - and the country can't help but be better for it!

Congratulations Senator-Elect Booker.  You, sir, are an inspiration to us all!

The 39 Steps

by Pa Rock
Theatre Fan

The 39 Steps, a lively drama about love and intrigue in pre-World War II Europe, is currently being staged at the Phoenix Theatre.  The play, based on an old Hitchcock movie, is action-packed and fun - but certainly not what I was expecting.  I entered the theatre with the assumption that I was about to have a relaxing evening watching a British mystery set in an old manor house - something that could have been leisurely penned by the late Agatha Christie.  What I encountered was a play that was more in sync with Greater Tuna than it was to The Mousetrap.

The 39 Steps features four very good actors who spend the entire play racing through costume changes and doffing an array of different hats as they assume the roles of dozens of varied characters.  It does contain an element of mystery, but the story is overwhelmed by snappy one-liners and a never-ending stream of sight gags.

I sat next to two Sweet Old Babes who are regulars at the Phoenix Theatre.  During the intermission one asked me if I was enjoying the play.  I replied with a non-committal "It's okay."  The one making the enquiry told me that she liked it, but that her friend did not.  The other lady then chirped in with, "I am not enjoying it at all."

I think that she, like myself, would have been more comfortable spending an evening with Dame Agatha.  But theatre should do more than make people comfortable - and The 39 Steps leaves comfort in the dust!

I enjoyed it, but one viewing was plenty.

Ann Coulter and the Practice of Medicine

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

I did quite a bit of research before choosing a physician when I returned from Japan last year.  The doctor that I ultimately selected had a good education from a school that I respected, positive comments on the Internet from medical consumers, a convenient location, and a calm, reassuring manner.  Following a year of various medical dealings with this doctor, I have had only positive things to say about him.

Until now.

Yesterday in his exam room I was confronted with a computer-designed political poster   It contained a quote by right-wing extremist Ann Coulter in which the book-huckster said that Democrats had caused the government shutdown because they didn’t want to have to use Obamacare for themselves and members of their staffs.

The statement was a lie – which is par for Ann Coulter – but more than that, it should have never been put on display in a doctor’s exam room.  By the time a patient reaches the exam room, as I had, he is fairly committed to treatment and does not feel free to jeopardize his health and safety by openly questioning the doctor’s sanity or moral character.

There I sat, shirt off and completely vulnerable, as a man who apparently had issues with the idea of affordable healthcare for everyone examined the cyst on my back, decided on a medication, and chose a surgeon to remove the mini-volcano.    I suddenly had serious reservations about my physician’s judgment, but felt trapped in the process and unable to run for the door. 

(Yes, I understand and support the First Amendment.   But when a doctor posts his political views on the wall in his inner-sanctum, at eye-level directly in front of the exam table, I start to have concerns.  Are these treatments and follow-up recommendations about my health or his wealth?      Can I trust the judgment of someone who regards Ann Coulter as a competent authority on anything?  He has a legitimate right to express his political opinions, but, by being my physician, he also holds a power position that puts me at a disadvantage in being able to openly rebut with my opinions.)

So I took the prescription and the referral – and then ran for the door, telling the receptionist as I made my exit that I was very offended by the poster. 

And now?

 Now, to mangle a quote by John McCain, it will be a very cold day in Gila Bend, Arizona, before I go back to that medical provider.  Maybe I can make it through the next few months without the need of medical services, but, if not, I will definitely take my business elsewhere.  That’s how I will express my opinion.

A Million Madisons and a Jillion Jaydens

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Perhaps one of the most important responsibilities that parents have is naming their children – placing monikers on these tiny new arrivals that will identify and help to define them as unique individuals for decades to come.    Sometimes the parents pay homage to themselves or their parents by passing along proper names that have served the family well in the past – while hoping like hell that the honored off-spring don’t grow up to sully the prized appellations.  Other times they give their children new names, ones that they hope will be unique enough to raise them above their more commonly named peers as they navigate their paths through life.

Special names make special people.

Unfortunately for these little special people, the uncommon quickly becomes as common as fleas in a kennel as more and more parents choose the same distinctive names.  Currently most screaming little girls in airports and other public places seem to be named Madison, and most out-of-control little boys are often identified by their yelling parents as Jayden.   That’s just the way it is.   I’ve flown with dozens of them.  

The Social Security Administration maintains a list of the most popular baby names for the preceding year on its website (www.socialsecurity.gov).    Last year’s most common names for baby boys were (from first to tenth):  Jacob, Mason, Ethan, Noah, William, Liam, Jayden, Michael, Alexander, and Aiden.  Little girls were most apt to be named (again, from first to tenth):  Sophia, Emma, Isabella, Olivia, Ava, Emily, Abigail, Mia, Madison, and Elizabeth.

Some of those arise with popular culture (Jacob and Isabella from the “Twilight” movies, for instance), while others seem to bubble up into favor throughout history.  My children had great-grandparents named Sophia and Alexander.   Elizabeth and Michael also seem to have held up well over the centuries.

Those names, the ones listed by the Social Security Administration, are pulled from applications for social security cards and represent names actually given to infants.   Another website called Nameberry tallies names that are researched by prospective parents.  Curiously, they list thirty names (male, female, and gender-neutral) that have been researched more than any others so far in 2013 – with none of the thirty matching any on the Social Security’s list of names that are actually attached to infants.

The Nameberry top ten for girls are:  Imogen, Charlotte, Harper, Eleanor, Amelia, Evelyn, Isla, Violet, Penelope, and Cora.  The boys include:  Asher, Finn, Declan, Atticus, James, Oliver, Henry, Emmett, Owen, and Django.  The top unisex names are:  Rowan, Quinn, Kai, Sawyer, Avery, Charlie, North, Elliot, Finley, and Emerson.

(I personally think Django could be unisex, but I didn't get a vote.)

The rush for the ever-elusive original names will also continue as parents strive to insure that their children will be special – at least in name – and those special names will go on to impact lives and culture into the distant future.

Some might argue, of course, that selecting a name is really all about the parent and not the child at all.  Naming babies throws our markers into the future – and says much more about those choosing the names than it does those who are shackled with the legal labels.

But who am I to judge and point fingers.  I’m just a guy named Rocky – now isn’t that special!