I do believe that law-abiding citizens have a right to own and bear arms, if they're sane. This murderer had been reported to campus police on multiple occasions, one instructor had refused to teach him after he lowered her class enrollment from 70 to 7, creeping out the other students with his graphic, violent writing and taking inappropriate photos of other students. The instructor who was giving him private instruction had worked out a special signal with an assistant so the assistant would know when to call the police.

I noted earlier that the only time I've ever lived in any house with a gun was when my older brother brought several back from Vietnam. He was clearly suffering from PTSD, and slept with a loaded gun under his pistol. If we went past his bedroom in the night, to get to our bedroom or to go to the bathroom, he'd lurch up with the gun, pointed at us. If he'd killed one of us, it would have been accidental--he was asleep half the time, and the rest of the time was so traumatized that it really wouldn't have been his fault. It would have been a case of the gun, not him, being the killer. Those mentally ill people who are prone to violence, suicidal or directed outward, should simply not be allowed to own guns. If someone is seeing a psychiatrist or licensed counselor who has reason to believe that patient could commit a violent act, that should go on whatever records system is used for background checks for gun dealers.

I'm have exceptional hearing, allowing me to easily hear such high frequency sounds as Blackburnian Warblers and fluorescent bulbs. And I hate the color of many of the fluorescent bulbs (though that is improving). LED is the wave of the future (fluorescent bulbs contain mercury among other toxins and need to be disposed of properly), but right now all the bulbs in my house are fluorescent, and the final ones to be changed have been in place for months. My husband did buy them--he actually likes shopping, which I hate--but making this change was based on a commitment we both have to the environment.

It's very easy for people to talk about "saving the earth"--a bit trickier when it comes down to making even small changes in our daily lives. This article gave some real, albeit depressing, insights into real people's decision-making processes and willingness or unwillingness to make small sacrifices for the environment. Ultimately, male and female, we're ALL going to have to be more committed to cleaning up this little planet or our children and our children's children, male and female, are going to pay for our selfishness.

I rescued a stray cat that had been living (quite meagerly) on what birds it could catch in my daughter's town, 800 miles from my home. This cat, who had taken out the local population of Carolina Wrens, was still vastly undernourished. These wrens weigh about 1/3 ounce each--it would take nine of them to weigh what the contents of a single small can of Fancy Feast weighs, and much of the birds' weight is nutrition-less feathers. An adult American Robin weighs less than 3 ounces. And in summer taking out a couple of adult robins also takes out their nestlings, who will starve. As a former bird rehabber, I've seen what outdoor cats do to bluebirds and robins and baby cardinals and Chipping Sparrows and all manner of birds--even with treatment, birds attacked by cats virtually ALWAYS die from infections from puncture wounds. Bird lungs are located on their backs, and a single scratch goes straight to the lungs. Cats are predators, but they're NOT natural predators in that they're subsidized by us, and so although outdoor cats have greatly shortened life expectancies, they are still not subject to the same forces as natural predators, and so cats can be far more numerous in an area than any natural predators could be and survive. So cats take out a disproportionate number of birds. Sure, birds are killed by windows and pesticides and powerlines and communications towers and automobiles, too. But in my mind, that means we need to be more, not less, protective of them when we can.

Also, cats that toy with birds are more likely to carry toxoplasmosis, which is horribly dangerous for pregnant women and newborns. Outdoor cats defecate in children's sandboxes, subjecting them to this disease. So please, please do not let this cat go outdoors.

The cat I drove 800 miles with is a wonder--sweet-tempered, grateful to have a home, a fun and pleasant companion. Over my adult life, I've taken in 5 strays like this, and all have been simply wonderful pets. And that's why I truly believe that if this cat of yours doesn't respond to behavioral therapy or drugs or anything, you should put it down. Not because you've failed, but because there are millions of cats out there that badly need homes, and many will die horrible deaths as you spend the coming years spending your financial and emotional resources on one cat who sounds miserable anyway and is making you miserable. Having this one humanely euthanized and then taking in another cat who deserves a happy life every bit as much as this cat did seems to me to provide the greater good all around.

Actually, you WERE using proper cat psychology. When I brought home my most recent cat, we already had one cat. The two of them had to work out their dominance hierarchy just as you did with your cat. It sounds like you were no rougher with him than my cats were with each other--it's their way of communicating and settling their pecking order. Sounds like you did a great job.