Edited: Athenian Abroad kindly pointed out that I referred back to the previous “the sky is falling” report by the NEA, which was issued in 2002. The latest report can be accessed here.

The National Endowment for the Arts is supposed to promote the arts, of course, so one is unsurprised to find them arguing that people need to, you know, spend more time doing artsy things. Especially those damn philistine kids with their PSPs and their Intertubes.

What’s unfortunate is that their advocacy piece is being taken as objective proof that “Americans don’t read.”

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The cat seemed a little scruffier than usual last night, but as I was pretty tired from a three-hour drive and dealing with a very sick Kid Peligro, I didn’t pay that much attention. Today I took a closer look and noticed that the left side of his face was about twice the size of the right side, plus aforementioned sluggishness. Luckily the vet lives just down the road. Unluckily, as we suspected, the problem was an abscess requiring immediate surgery.

Total cost of surgery, anesthesia, surgical tubing, collar, medicines that we have to administer over the next three days, etc. etc.: over $800.

“As long as we have him under anesthesia, do you want to go ahead and have his teeth cleaning done?”

Oh sure, why not. What’s another $65 when you’re paying enough money to buy a whole new cat, perhaps one not stupid enough to get into fights with other cats half his age.

I spent another $25 on the way home to buy three big bags of potting soil, and dragged it along with months’ worth of dead leaves in mounds along the bottom edge of the fence. If he wants to sneak out and pick fights with the locals again, he’s damn well going to have to work for it.

 

Read the whole post over at Bitch Ph.D., but it’s Mr. B for the win:

Well, sir, let me tell you. I was in the military for twelve years, and the government provided *my* health care. And it was first rate.

The sky’s gone out

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Jan 042008
 

Those of you who live “back East” and have been buried under snow can feel a little Schadenfreude this week. Remember all that rain California had on back order? It showed up.

We had heavy, Midwest-quality rainstorms, yesterday and particularly today. Trees, branches and power lines down all over; work was closed for today because our power was out, except of course for us poor suckers who had court appearances, since San Francisco Superior Court was very much not closed. Bridges and portions of highways were, though, making for some exciting navigation. (Detour signs? Those would have just blown away, right?) For once, I didn’t feel like I should roll my eyes at Californians at their ZOMG! WATER FROM THE SKY! reaction.

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