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Westminster Kennel Club Show Is Here

I’m on my way to New York City today for the 144th Westminster Kennel Club dog show. For the past few years, the competition included dogs who had not yet earned their championship, but this year, it is once again a champions-only show. This year, the group and best in show judging will still be at the Garden, but because of renovations at the Piers, breed judging will be Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, instead of just Monday and Tuesday. Sunday will be hounds and herding, Monday will be terriers, toys and non-sporting breeds, and Tuesday will be working and sporting groups. I’ll ...

Birds Can Have Peculiar Courtship Patterns

Sitting at my table, I’m delighted to see the red-belly pecking away at the suet. It’s always a male so I presume it’s the same one who visits me day after day. His red belly seems very obvious now, in wintertime. There were certainly many days when I wondered about the name — perhaps it’s only that the red-headed had already been used. Where’s his mate, I wondered. I already knew that flickers tend to mate for life, only take separate winter vacations. Is that the story for my red-belly as well? Two articles from Living Bird have been sitting on my desk. The first, ...

Thinking About ‘Heart Month’

I think of February as “Heart Month.” Everywhere you look will see hearts these days. Although the red, white, and pink hearts have little to do with heart function, they are a great reminder to be kind to one of the larger organs of our body, the heart. The jury is still out on whether a plant-based diet or a diet including animal fat is best for you. It depends on your way of thinking. Personally, I favor a diet that includes all of the food groups. If it was good enough for our ancestors, it is good enough for us. That being said, life today is different than it was years ...

Ridiculous Laws Restrict Freedom

A law in South Carolina bans playing pinball if you’re under 18. That’s just one of America’s many ridiculous laws restricting freedom. “There is a role for the government in keeping people safe from actual criminals, people who commit murder, robbery,” says Rafael Mangual, a “tough-on-crime” guy at the Manhattan Institute. “But a lot of laws don’t keep people safe,” he says. “There’s a federal prohibition on walking a dog on a leash longer than six feet on federal property. It is a jailable offense.” Three hundred thousand federal criminal offenses are on ...

The American Dream Made Its Way Back

If you watched the State of the Union address Tuesday night, then there’s no denying President Donald Trump is delivering a broad spectrum of victories for the American people. Don’t let power-obsessed Democrats or the fake news media fool you. On the jobs front, the Trump administration has created almost 7 million to date — including 500,000 manufacturing jobs — ushering in a blue-collar boom where wages are growing faster for workers than managers, shrinking the income inequality gap. The latest blowout jobs report reflects a golden age of prosperity. “Private ...

The Good Life: Suicide: Can We Prevent It?

People in the social services field are focusing attention and spending taxpayer money on “suicide prevention.” Pardon my Libertarian contrariness, but ... Why? If a rational adult chooses to end his/her life via a well thought-out decision, why should government or government-funded agencies interfere? I am not talking about the drunk/drugged zombie whose “I’m gonna kill myself!” screams and actions cause frantic responses by family, friends, police, ambulance crews, etc., out of all proportion to the screamer’s real motive: “Hey, look at me! I need help!” or ...