Letters to the Editor
MacK..
Published Letters: 477 Editor's Choice: 49
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A new Enlightenment
[Read the article: America is not Bush]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have to agree with Blumenthal's comments on the founding fathers. Yes they were in many respects corrupt, at least by modern standards -- but they also were firmly figures of the "Enlightenment," especially Jefferson, Franklin and Adams, not to mention Paine et al.
What Bush, Bin Laden, the Wahabis and the evangelical wing of the Republican party, as well as fundamantalists in general all share is that they are intellectually and doctrinally opposed to the principles of the enlightenment. Fundamentalists require us to substitute reason, science, and rationality with a mindless and unquestioning adherence to what they see as tradition and the received word of god, as interpreted by the fundamentalists; for realistically, fundamentalists stand for irrationality, superstition, and tyranny -- so long as it's their specific brand. They also share a taste for moral posturing that is at odds with the reality of their conduct.
It is this that has caused the US' star to sink; for almost two centuries the US was not just a country, it was a symbol, a talisman to the world of what an enlightened society could be. Rightly or wrongly, in the 18th, 19th and first three quarters of the the 20th century the world looked at the United States as a special place. If you want an idea of how the world saw the US, listen to the Neil Diamond song Coming to America -- it may be hokey, it may not even be accurate, but that is what America was to so many people.
What is horrifying is that the cynical bastards who wrecked America all wear their morality on their sleeve, they do Bible study in the morning, they drip the words of Jesus, the condemn the sinner William Jefferson Clinton, and behind the scenes they line their pockets, look after their friends, and justify torture.
Rebuilding the reputation of the US means rediscovering real morality, real principle. It measn judging people by what they do, it means politicians who when asked in debate about their religious faith have the nerve to tell the reporter "that's none of your damn business." It means being again a country that can prosecute an amoral SOB like Nixon, and George Walker Bush. It means electing a President again that the French might name a Paris Metro station after, like FDR.
One last comment -- I always want to get a bumper sticker made that simply says: "Read your Bible, Matthew 6:5"
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."
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Gwool, Gwool, Gwool
[Read the article: Sarkozy and his model wife]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Then your ass should be one big bruise.
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Feral kittens become feral cats
[Read the article: I hate my cat!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have been there and done that, or rather my brother and I did that to our parents several times through childhood -- aunts and cousins have also done this.
Many major cities have tribes of feral cats -- in fact the cat poems of TS Elliot and the show Cats were inspired by Elliot's local tribe of feral cats. London has a few, Dublin a notable one on the south side of Trinity College, Rome another ancient set (for some reason that probably has to do with Darwinian genetic success ferals tend towards black and white.) The thing with feral cats is that they live for generations that way, and the one that are successful tend to be, well, the most wild. Feral cats get killed all the time -- they eat their young and they breed at a rate that make rabbits look like monks. In the wild they live for 2-4 years, 5 at the outside.
The problem with feral cats is that they, and their kittens, are essentially wild animals. People think, because they look just like domestic cats that they are really cute domestic moggies, and probably if you tested the DNA they are -- but they are not. No-one I know has successfully domesticated a feral cat, at best they have achieved a modus vivendi, which usually involves a cat flap and the freedom to go out (and kill wildlife.) The stories you hear of people doing so are about people taking in stray domestic cats or the kittens of stray cats.
I do not think any amount of effort is going to solve your problem. Ferals are aggressively territorial, they need to be to survive, they are tough little bstrds and they tend to attack all sorts of things.
Two pieces of advice you are getting are wrong -- not to let the cat out -- sorry, if this is a feral cat, being cooped up will drive it nuts -- though letting it out will probably eventually get it killed (and all you know is that it does not come home one day). Spaying the cat (assuming you have not) will not solve the problem, just moderate it; the cats behavior is largely hardwired by the time it is a year old (quick point, when you see a male-kitten or puppy start to get too territorial, have its nuts off right away, later only moderates the territoriality, but often cannot undo the worst aspects.)
I do not think this cat is particularly unhappy, nor is it happy, it is just doing what a feral cat does. You need to decide if you can live with this. What I can tell you is that no-one will adopt this cat and if you bring it to a shelter they will probably eventually have to put it down -- especially as it could not be put in a room with domestic cats.