Now if you only get information from uber-liberal media sources like Mother Jones or Media Matters, you might have the impression that the Koch brothers (pronounced "Coke" like the soft drink) are probably the most powerful and corrupting influence out there, when it comes to the really big money in politics. Right? No, you would actually be wrong. Wait a minute -- even if the Kochs are not the absolute biggest individual political donors on the list, they must at least be in the top 10, correct? Nope. Not even close. But hold on now -- when Rolling Stone magazine suggested these e-e-e-vil brothers are trying to "buy up our political system" with ill-gotten profits of their "toxic empire," there must be some truth to those allegations, or their printed accusations would constitute libel, wouldn't it? Maybe. I'm not a lawyer. Nor do I play one on television. But if I'm reading the definition of libel correctly from the dictionary, perhaps a lawsuit looms in the magazine's near future. So, if not even in the top 10, where exactly on the list of big money donors do the Koch brothers fall? Well, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website published by the Center for Responsive Politics, Charles and David Koch rank 59th out of the top 100 political donors with donations of slightly more than $20 million dollars from 1989-2014. According to that same list, the largest single political donor is ActBlue, which alone donated over $100 million dollars more than the Koch brothers. Unsurprisingly, given their name, 99 percent of ActBlue's $121 million in total … [Read more...]
The entrapment of Todd Gurley
When media reports were published claiming the man accusing UGA running back Todd Gurley of accepting improper payment to autograph sports memorabilia had hired an attorney, my initial reaction to the story was one of surprise. The first, most obvious question that popped into my head was this: Why does the guy who allegedly entrapped Gurley need an attorney? It turns out that apparently by accusing Gurley, this person has tacitly admitted violating a Georgia law passed in 2003 that would make him legally liable for damages incurred by the University of Georgia through his deliberate causing of recruiting or regulation violations to occur. Now the conventional wisdom of pundits in the media currently seems to be that Gurley may have played his last game for the University of Georgia. However, I'm not convinced that #3 won't be suited up again next week for the Dawgs fairly soon, perhaps even as soon as next weekend against Arkansas. The rationale for my thinking is simply this: unless there is a smoking gun like video of money changing hands or cashed checks showing a direct payment of cash by the accuser to the accused, how will the NCAA justify giving Gurley more than a one game suspension, considering how similar recent cases have been handled? Reports in the media have emphatically indicated that the video allegedly showing Gurley autographing merchandise does not show any money changing hands. These reports suggest it is only the word of one accuser described as disgruntled and unscrupulous versus the best player in college football, Todd Gurley. And … [Read more...]
The reward for fostering a dog
The very first short story I wrote about animal rescue and fostering dogs was about Trooper, a little yellow dog once struck by a car and left for dead. He became one of the many animals my wife and I fostered during our tenure with the Humane Society of Forsyth County, when he had recovered well enough to leave the veterinary hospital. Whenever someone says that they couldn't foster a dog or cat because they are afraid of becoming too attached, I often think of Trooper. My wife and I would have loved to have kept him, but he was a very desirable dog that proved easy to place in the perfect "forever" home where he wouldn't have to compete with the pack for attention. Trooper is the reason why my book was named Always a Next One: true stories of dog fostering. If we had adopted him, we couldn't have fostered Bessie the Basset Hound or any of the other dogs that followed Trooper. Only by helping good dogs like Trooper and Bessie go to the right homes, perfect homes for them, were we able to help save even more animals. It was easy to become attached to the fosters, and not as easy to let them go. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. We fostered Pancho for over a year before the perfect home for him came along. I grew very attached to him. Unlike Trooper, Pancho had people issues and wouldn't easily fit into just any home. When the perfect home for him finally came along, it would have been wrong for me to keep Pancho. If we hadn't let go of Pancho, we might not have had space for Trooper during his recovery. There was a great reward for having that … [Read more...]
Support Your LOCAL Humane Society
Yesterday was allegedly celebrated as "National Dog Day," so I posted a succession of photos on Facebook of pack members, past and present. Having written the book shown on the left, it shouldn't be a secret that I love animals. My dogs are all spoiled rotten, and they should be. All of them were rescued. Once upon a time, every one of our dogs and even the cat were homeless strays or abandoned, surrendered by former owners: purebred German Shepherds, a Dalmatian...and this list especially includes Blossom, the Maine Coon cat. In return, our pack have rewarded us with their stories. The majority of them came through our connections with our favorite "local" Humane Society, the Humane Society of Forsyth County. Lisa and I volunteered for that organization over a number of years fostering animals, working at adoption events, walking dogs at the shelter, helping raise funds, and doing anything we could that would save another life. The HSFC operates as a no-kill animal shelter, but has limited capacity. Please don't confuse the local Humane Society for animal control. When no kennel space or foster homes are available, animals to be surrendered must be turned away. In my opinion, no domesticated animal should ever be unwanted. For that reason, animal activists like my wife and me put magnets on our cars that preach messages like "Adopt, don't shop." Adoption from a shelter is a win/win situation, and even cheaper than taking a free dog from a neighbor. Don't believe me? Listen to this real world example: Sheba the German Shepherd was given to me as a "free" puppy -- but the … [Read more...]
Amazing Gracie’s terrible ordeal
In my book Always a Next One, I shared the story of how my wife and I came to rescue Gracie, a skittish little Norwegian Elk Hound pursued by a dedicated group of animal rescue volunteers for more than a month before someone finally caught up to her. Today, I'm going to tell you the story of an even more harrowing rescue attempt that happened only yesterday. This is Amazing Gracie. As this picture suggests, she's not a very big dog, perhaps slightly overweight for her size at around forty pounds. Of course, every member of our pack is special in their own right. But Gracie has endeared herself to the point she is the only dog in the pack with more than one nickname. She's also the baby of the pack. Depending on the circumstances, she has been called my sunshine because she brightens my day, our little butter bean because of her somewhat rotund body, the Chupacabra because of her feigned aggression at mealtime, and she's even been called snicker doodle, for some strange reason -- by me. I can't begin to explain how or why those words occasionally come out of my mouth when I'm talking to Gracie, so I won't even try. However, her whole body wiggles with joy when I say her name. How could anyone not love a dog that looks like a little grey German Shepherd and acts like she loves them with every fiber of her being? How could I help feeling a little more protective of her than I would, say, of a ninety pound German Shepherd who would eat you if you posed a threat to me, or my family? Compared to the mighty Ox or big, ferocious-sounding Shiloh, Gracie … [Read more...]
