Nightingale

This year, I got a 3% cost of living and a 5.6% raise. And a 10% cut due to furloughs, so I didn't quite break even.

whites use drugs just as much as anyone else - why aren't they imprisoned at the same rate? Because white offenders are more likely to acquire their drugs differently than black offenders... Police focus "on inner city areas where drug use and sales are more likely to take place in open-air drug markets" (source: drugpolicy.org)... so, minorities are more likely to use methods to acquire their drugs that draw the attention of police. A person-to-person marijuana or meth transaction in a suburban area is far less likely to attract attention. Also, white offenders are more likely to use powder cocaine rather than "crack" cocaine, and "five grams of crack cocaine (about a thimble full) yields a five year mandatory minimum sentence, while it takes 500 grams of powder cocaine to trigger the same five year sentence." (drugpolicy.org). So, the types of drugs that white offenders typically abuse carry shorter sentences The justification for this is typically that some types of drugs contribute to urban blight, such as crack cocaine or meth, while others less so (prescription drugs, marijuana, powder cocaine). I can't say how accurate that assessment is. The police tend to focus their attention on high crime areas, whether those crimes are drugs, graffiti, burglaries, rapes, or murders. A high crime area tends to be high in most/all of these crimes, and it also tends to be a place with a high population of immigrants or minorities, largely due to the lower cost of living. So, while suburban Orange County may have as much of a drug problem on paper as inner city LA, law enforcement is focusing on inner city LA because drugs are not the only crime happening there. (in parts of OC, graffiti makes the news!) Personally, I think we should just legalize the stuff and stop arresting people for being stupid. Plus, we could use the tax dollars.

I don't mind people sharing their religion. I usually enjoy hearing about it, provided it's non-confrontational. I just don't like it when it's forced or legislated.

Just to put things in perspective, IIRC, Greek/Roman mythology had strong followers for about 5000 years, and Egyptian mythology for about 4000 (perhaps longer, as the pre-dynastic period did not keep records nearly as well as the Old Kingdom). So, in comparison, a 2000 year old religion is still relatively young.

Every time mine's done that, it's been the battery. Sounds like you checked that, though, so I'm out of ideas beyond buy another clicker and try that before replacing system parts.

Unless you're talking about a different Shane Bonifay, I'd want to meet him to meet his brother. There's just something inherently awesome about landing the first 1080. But no, I don't think it's the same girl. The noses look different.

I think many children of international adoption have difficulties because they're adopted as toddlers to teenagers, not as babies. They've started to bond with their carers, and then that's snatched away and they're expected to rebond with an entirely new family that may not even speak their language. Many foreign countries do not allow infants to be adopted internationally, keeping them for sometimes a year or two, to give citizens a chance to adopt. I understand this, but when the children aren't adopted locally, it's difficult on the child. There will always be older kids looking for families due to being orphans, financial issues, etc. I admire people that adopt them. I don't know that I could do that. It seems to me that children and parents grow at the same rate... when they're babies, all you have to worry about is keeping them clean, fed, and healthy. Often, that is overwhelming to new parents. Then, they start crawling and walking, and you have to worry about clean, fed, healthy, and out of trouble. As they grow, the "out of trouble" aspect becomes more and more difficult. It seems like parenting a child or pre-teen without going through everything that comes before is like trying to read a novel when you haven't learned the alphabet. The learning curve is so much steeper, because there's so much you need to know, and you need to know it Right Now. I was adopted a few days after I was born. My birth mother insisted that I go straight to my family and not linger in social services for months like some babies. She picked (from files... birth mothers then were not allowed to meet the family) my parents from the files of parents who had completed everything, all the paperwork, homestudies, etc, and were ready to adopt in order to make the transfer as speedy as possible. My parents had only been in the system a few months, and they'd been told it might be years, so you can imagine their surprise when told "We have a baby girl for you, you can pick her up tomorrow!" (there was much freaking out and running to Sears and buying half the store because they had no idea what they'd need!) I wonder why foreign adoption can't happen the same way? Get the background checks and home studies out of the way, so that when someone travels to a country to meet children and pick up their child, the child can be as young as possible? Give the citizens of the country who are ready to adopt a first chance for a couple weeks, and if nobody steps up, let the little one go to their family as soon as possible. I understand that what I'm describing is ideal, and not every child can be adopted as an infant, but those that can be should be, and there needs to be a lot more support for children and parents when the children are adopted at an older age. I do wonder why the mother in this case chose to adopt an older child from a foreign country rather than be a foster parent here. I know our system in California at least makes it very easy to adopt eligible children if you are already fostering them, and will even pay most of the costs to allow you to do so. I think that an older child should have a chance to get to know their new family more than the few hours/days they get in a foreign adoption, so there are no surprises on either side. The foster system has much more support than an adoption, where once the kid is legally yours, you're mostly on your own. Sorry about writing a book here... being an adoptee, this is a subject that matters to me.

The word "God" does not appear anywhere in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The Declaration of Independence references a "creator" and more specifically "Nature's God". It's a beautiful, eloquent document, but it's not law. It predates the Constitution by over a decade, and after months of debate, the framers of our constitution chose not to reference a deity of any kind. That says a lot to me.

REI Outlet. It's online, and I know the REI Stores carry Patagonia. Not sure about the other brands.

You can look at MacBooks and see if you like what you see. There are Apple stores all over SoCal. They even offer classes to teach you how to use them. And, they sell the home version of MS Office, too, and will even install it for you if you ask. Honestly, for the first few weeks, a Mac will frustrate you. The interface is just familiar enough to make you forget it's different until you're going to click something and it isn't where you expect. And after those few weeks, when you're used to it, it's wonderful. PCs aren't bad if you know what you're doing and know how to fix them when they break. I own a few PCs. I used to build them until I decided that was too much effort. However, I think that overall, they're more of a struggle than an asset, particularly for a casual user. If you need something highly customizable and don't mind spending a lot of time tweaking to get what you want, or you play a lot of games that aren't World of Warcraft or other Blizzard games, get a PC. If you just need it to work to run your email, browsing, etc, get a Mac. I bought an Apple because I thought it was fun and would be good for school. I kept going back to Apple because their customer service is phenomenal. There's just something that's really awesome about having somewhere you can go, ask questions, and have people there who are paid to do nothing but answer them. If I'm having a problem or have a question about the computer or programs, I go online, make an appointment with the Apple "Genius Bar" in my local store, show up, and have someone who is dedicated to helping me. Free. I like that they stand by their product rather than just shipping it to you and leaving you to figure it out by yourself. As for your speed problem, you can also look into internet through your cable or satellite TV company. Overall, I've had better luck with DSL. Any of those services will allow you to plug in a wireless router and have wireless internet (please, get someone to set the router up for you and secure it properly. Otherwise, all your neighbors will be using your network). Dial up isn't going to give you close to DSL speed. Check with your phone company or tv provider and see if they offer bundling services, which make it much cheaper when you get Phone and DSL, Cable and Cable Modem, or Sat TV and Sat Internet. I pay about $20 more for my DSL bundled with my phone service.

Or you can get the proper tools and talk to people who show or groom poodles and learn to do it yourself. I groom my dog... he looked a bit silly the first few times, but I've got the hang of it now. The tools were a bit of an investment, but far less than paying for grooming over a year or two. Papillons are pretty easy to groom, though... they just need a trim every so often. If you're not going to show a poodle, you can just keep them in a "puppy cut" where the hair is all one length, which is a lot simpler to maintain.

1. Knowing your home situation, take a walk through a shelter and see if a dog calls to you. Your lifestyle and environment is suitable for many different breeds, and you may find one that has the bulldog look and a great personality. 2. Call around to breed rescues nationally and see if one will waive their home visit requirement (if they have one). 3. Go to a reputable breeder. If you do, you WILL get a dog with championship lines, because good breeders don't breed dogs without those lines. You can get a "pet quality" pup for far less than a show quality pup (and most breeders won't part with those anyway unless they know you very well). All "pet quality" means is that the dog is not up to breed standard for some reason (too big, too small, stature not quite perfect, markings not quite perfect, etc) and a good breeder will tell you why the dog is pet quality rather than show quality so you can make an informed decision. "Papers" are not so much the issue as any dog that is purebred (no matter how far from breed standard they are) can be papered. "Papers" are something backyard breeders who breed without any regard to bettering the breed, the dogs' genetics or health use to legitimize themselves. If you see "AKC Registered Bulldogs" advertized, run. A good breeder will register their dogs and won't advertise it because it's assumed. The dogs MUST be papered because the dogs are shown. Do not bother going through a breeder unless you are willing to pay a lot for it, because the good ones tend to charge quite a bit (around the $1200 you quoted, or more), and the bad ones are much cheaper because they aren't in the breeding/showing business, they're in the puppy selling business. Hope that helps!

You may want to give her until Monday before getting too upset. Remember, she may be dealing with an entire litter with parvo.

Thats because most people working for rescue organizations are working for free and need funding to come in to help pay for food, medical care, facilities for the not-yet-adopted dogs. I would have no problem paying that money to help out other animals and people at rescue organizations. This is not directed at you, I'm just saying...I would rather pay several hundred for a rescue dog than several hundred for a breeder dog. I wouldn't have minded paying several hundred for the dog. I was objecting to several hundred PLUS the cost of flying someone into town and paying for their hotel room just so they could look at the house and put me on their eligible list. That's insane.

A good breeder will test for these conditions and not breed dogs that have them. They will also bring in dogs from other areas to increase genetic diversity in their breeding program. This is another reason to select a reputable breeder that shows their dogs, because dogs with genetic conditions do not do well in the show ring, and in many cases, the genetic testing is required by the AKC or their kennel club. You just can't show a dog with skin diseases, respiratory disorders, or eye problems. With a backyard breeder, yes, you are at quite a risk for your dog to develop the genetic conditions common to the breed. A puppy mill dog is probably more at risk, because the dogs tend to be inbred, which increases the likelihood of recessive genetic diseases.

I appreciate a certain level of requirements (though, I have not personally seen or read about any "making adoption difficult"). I_have_however read about breeders with such home inspection and meeting personally requirements. Ironically, I think those are the better or "reputable" breeders. Yes, but the breeder was willing to work with me on things (a home inspection prior to meeting the dog wasn't feasable, as she was out of state and when she was in state to interview me, I was in the process of buying my home), and the rescues were not. One non-local rescue actually asked me to fly a volunteer out and put them up in a hotel room so they could personally inspect my home to be considered for a dog. And on top of that they wanted several hundred for the dog. Ouch. That's insane. I even offered references from my family vet, and it was a no-go. If a local rescue has the breed you want, that's the way to go. I had way too much trouble with the rescues that weren't in my area. They made it not worth the hassle. Rescues, like breeders, need to balance the needs of the animal with the needs of the future owner and recognize that bending sometimes is in the best interest of the animal.

Fullerton's nice. Lots of live music in the bars and coffeehouses, and some good bands have come out of OC (No Doubt, Lit, Offspring, Rage Against the Machine, Social Distortion, Sugar Ray), and of course, the Fender guitar was created in Fullerton. Jeremy from Lit can be seen regularly at the SlideBar Cafe downtown. If you want to be close to downtown LA for more indie music type concerts as well as the Hollywood Bowl, there's Silver Lake, Santa Monica, Westchester, Manhattan Beach, Culver City, Redondo Beach. La Mirada is a decent suburb and about in the middle between LA and Fullerton, drive-time wise.

No, the breeder would not have euthanized him. LOL, it never occurred to me to look for a dog on DZ.com. I will definitely keep your offer in mind when I have room for another dog. Most rescues require meeting with the rescue personally and sometimes having a home inspection, though, which is why the rescue here referred me to a breeder when they couldn't help me. This goes to what a previous poster was saying about rescues being too strict in their rehoming requirements and making adoption difficult. And yes, my cat is king of the house. The dog knows that wherever he happens to be in the pack hierarchy, anything that has claws and hisses totally outranks him and will whup his ass on occasion just to remind him of his place. And remember, there's more ways to save homeless pets than just adopting one.

That's why I specifically mentioned in my above post that we need to educate the public on responsible breeding practices to help reduce the homeless pet population. (and responsible pet ownership! Buying a dog on a whim in a parking lot is not a responsible thing to do.) PetCo and PetSmart have done a lot to educate the public about puppy mills and promote rescue adoptions. I'd like to see other pet stores follow suit, and adopt a campaign not only to educate about the puppy mills, but to educate about the problems of "backyard breeding". And to answer your above question, the backyard breeders and puppy mills are largely breeding for profit. Most backyard breeders do it once or twice and figure out that it costs more than it pays, particularly if there are pregnancy complications or they have trouble selling the puppies. However, in their once or twice breeding, they've probably contributed to the pet problem, because in general, they won't take their dogs back to keep them out of a shelter, don't sell them spayed/neutered, don't interview the future owners, don't breed with good temperament in mind, and don't screen for diseases. If you're not buying a dog with a champion pedigree, you're better off saving your money and getting a shelter dog or rescue dog of the same breed. You're taking the same chances with a backyard breeder as you would a rescue, you won't be encouraging backyard breeding, and you'll have the support of the rescue if there are any problems. And if I didn't get my dog from a good breeder, I wouldn't have one right now. I knew I wanted a papillon, and the pap rescue had a three year waiting list of people wanting them. They're not a very common breed, and I wanted that breed specifically. Honestly, I was not too worried about contributing to the homeless papillon population, given the exhaustive list of people wanting one. I made a donation to the rescue to help with their work, and contacted several papillon breeders that were referred to me by the rescue, which was a great resource. Also, there is a difference between "extreme expectations", which are not good for anyone, and simply doing a lot of breed research and selecting the one that is most appropriate to your lifestyle. Both you and the dog will be happier that way. Don't buy a Siberian Husky if you want a lapdog, and don't buy a yorkie or papillon if you want a dog that will run marathons with you. All breeds are not the same, and too many people buy a dog because they're such a cute puppy and they have no idea whether the needs of the dog match the needs of the person.

This term "reputable breeder" is used often in these threads. What defines a "reputable breeder" as opposed to the backyard breeder or any other and what percentage of breeders do_you_believe fall into the "reputable" category? "Reputable" breeder or not, there is plenty of information out there supporting rescue/adoption as the best means to reduce pet overpopulation and the status quo of homeless & unwanted pets being euthanized and/or inhumanely killed. Edit: From those in favor of purchasing pets from a store or breeder: A. Is pet overpopulation a concern of yours? B. If so, what strategy do you support to reduce the status quo of homeless and unwanted pets being euthanized and/or inhumanely killed? It would be silly for me to take the time to debate rescue vs. purchase with A. Someone who is not concerned, nor likely to be or B. Someone who does not have a valid alternative strategy to support. A reputable breeder: 1. SHOWS THEIR DOGS. This shows they accept criticism of their breeding program from the community and allow their dogs to be publicly compared to the breed standard. They know their breed and can discuss the characteristics of the breed at length. 2. DOES NOT BREED RANDOMLY JUST TO MAKE PUPPIES. They breed dogs that have proved themselves in the show ring to ensure that the dogs conform to breed standard and do not have genetic problems. 3. PERFORMS GENETIC TESTING ON THEIR DOGS. Good breeders will not breed a dog without finding out if that dog has a genetic condition, and they will not breed a dog who does. 4. MEETS THE PEOPLE BUYING DOGS. For a good breeder, the dogs are their passion and they want to make sure they go to good homes where they will be treated well. If the people aren't right for the dog, they don't get the dog. Period. 5. REQUIRES A CONTRACT. A good breeder will want to make sure that any dog they sell doesn't end up in a shelter. The contract will require that the dog returns to them in the event the owner cannot care for the dog. 6. SPAYS AND NEUTERS. A good breeder will make sure that any dog sold as a pet is spayed/neutered prior to going to its new home. 7. IS OPEN ABOUT THEIR PROGRAM. A good breeder will let you visit and inspect their facilities. 8. WILL GUARANTEE THE HEALTH OF THE DOG IN WRITING. Good breeders stand by their dogs and will accept returns of sick dogs so they can be properly cared for, and/or assist the new owners in obtaining care. 9. FOLLOWS UP! They will call new owners to see how the pups are doing, offer advice and always be available if there is ever a problem with the dog. If the dog develops any problems, they want to know about it! Pet overpopulation is very much a concern. What people often fail to realize is that many times, people who get a dog from a breeder would not get a dog from a rescue or shelter at that point in time, so the dog is not "taking a home away" from a shelter dog. As for dealing with overpopulation, there are many things that can be done: 1. support local low cost spay/neuter programs. 2. donate your time or money to rescue organizations promoting pet adoption. (www.bestfriends.org is a good place to start!) 3. volunteer at shelters to help lower costs. 4. SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR OWN PETS! 5. Foster an animal in need of a home. 6. NEVER EVER PURCHASE A CAT OR DOG FROM A PET STORE. Don't support irresponsible breeding. 7. Support education programs about spaying and neutering, and help educate the pet community about responsible breeding practices and how to avoid puppy mills and irresponsible breeders. There are far too many irresponsible breeders. I couldn't possibly give you a percentage, because most of them breed randomly in their backyard and don't do anything with the dog community, so they are very hard to track. Many of these breeders will have one or two litters and realize it's more trouble and cost than it's worth and stop breeding. Others operate puppy mills and provide dogs to the pet store industry. However, bad breeders are easy to avoid if you educate yourself, and if everyone stopped buying their puppies, that part of the industry would disappear. A reputable breeder is easy to find, but they won't go looking for you (good breeders usually don't need to advertise beyond maintaining a website... you won't find them in the newspaper or the ads section of Dog Fancy). Go to a dog show. They will be there, and usually happy to talk to you when they're not getting ready for their event. If they won't have puppies available anytime soon, they will happily refer you to someone who is actively breeding so you can get on their wait list. And they're happy to chat your ear off about their breed. If there aren't any dog shows near you, check the websites of the dog shows and find out which dogs are doing well. The name of the kennel is included in the name of the dog. You can then google the breeder and usually find all the information you need to contact them on their website.

Exactly! Most good breeders don't breed for profit. They breed to show dogs and try to improve the breed. Unless they're a puppy mill or manage to win Westminster, they're probably not making money or breeding full time. A good breeder will show their dogs and will be happy to show you the entire pedigree of your dog, the genetic tests, and their breeding facilities. They control who their dogs go to and will never, ever sell to a pet store.

A reputable breeder would have taken the dog straight to the vet. Good breeders take responsibility for the lives they help create. They also make sure that none of their dogs ever end up in a shelter by letting the new owners know that the dog is welcome back to the breeder if the owner can't take care of it for any reason. They do genetic testing on their animals to make sure that no genetic disease is passed to the puppies, and will spay or neuter any dog that has a genetic condition or is otherwise unsuitable for breeding. I got my dog from a breeder... he was a show dog, and his adult teeth came in and showed a genetic problem. Nothing life or health threatening, just cosmetic. The breeder not only pulled him from the breeding program and fixed him, but she spent literally thousands at a doggie dentist to fix his teeth. To get the dog, I had to go through an interview where she grilled me to make sure that I would be a good fit for this specific dog. My next dog will probably be a rescue. For my first one, I wanted one that had all the genetic testing done (my cat had died of a genetic disease, and I didn't want to go through that again), and I'd just fallen in love with the papillon breed. He is a wonderful dog, exactly what I wanted, and I couldn't ask for better. To help with the homeless pet problem, I donate regularly to www.bestfriends.org. They're a fantastic organization! My next pet will be one of their rescues.

1. Last I checked, most doctors are not federal employees, so this would be irrelevant. 2. States and the federal government do have statutes prohibiting discrimination, but most if not all do not include "political affilliation" as a protected status. For example, in California the protected statuses for employment are gender, race, age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status, pregnancy, disability, or other protected status under state or federal law (for example, whistleblowers, etc...). 3. In another post, you ramble on about "fiduciary duty" saying "Just as a lawyer can't just drop a client w/o great cause, a doctor has a sort of duty to see a patient with ongoing issues unless there is cause; political difference is not recognized as cause. Of course the client can fire the doc or lawyer whenever he/she wants, but it's a 1-way street." And you're quite wrong. "According to American Medical Association policy on terminating the physician-patient relationship, physicians do have an obligation to support continuity of care for their patients. They have the option of withdrawing, but they cannot do so without letting the patient or any of the patient's relatives responsible for care know far enough in advance so there is time to find another physician." So, as long as the patient is given sufficient notice to allow the patient to find a new physician, a physician can drop a patient.

Why would you consider a boycott of Prop 8 contributers tacky? It makes sense to financially support companies who, if they make political contributions, do so to match your ideals. There are many companies to choose from, and it's at the core of capitalism to vote with your dollar if you don't like a company's business practices. That said, a sign on the doctor's door about politics is tacky. Posting a neutral letter to his patients inside his office detailing how the bill would affect his practice and their health care prior to the adoption of the bill might have been more appropriate. Education is always better than alienation.

No, the kid got his surgery. The parents just couldn't convince an outside third party to pay for it.