Joe Biden for President

All the Sunday morning talking heads show were abuzz about this NY Times story that Vice President Joseph Biden may after all run for President. In a normal year he would already be running and be the front runner. But this is not a normal year when the guy that finished second in the GOP primary last time, Rick Santorum (R-VA), is an afterthought and a guy that shoots from the lip, Donald Trump, is leading the pack.

Most of the "experts" said this shows how weak Hillary is because Bernie Sanders is drawing crowds and she is just another scandal away from imploding. I think Hillary will probably live through any real or imagined controversy as she has proved to be one tough cookie.

I've read many comparisons to past campaigns that say things like this will  be like 1968 when Gene McCarthy (Sanders) knocked President Johnson  out of the race only to have his VP Hubert Humphrey pick up the pieces after RFK was murdered to win the nomination and came close to sparing us from Nixon. Well things have changed since 1968 because of early filing deadlines for the primaries and it would be almost impossible to mount a campaign after Iowa and New Hampshire vote. 

So if Joe Biden is going to make a run he has to decide very soon.

I actually love the guy and think he would be a great President as does my pal Omeed. In 1988 I was working for his campaign in New Hampshire until the Dukakis campaign was able to torpedo him over the Neil Kinnock thing.



 

Quincy turns 5 today

I'm not really big on  birthdays as I was born on my sister's 5th birthday and she has not forgiven me til this day. But John Quincy Adams wants to celebrate by chewing up stuff and digging holes. Chris Matthews (Tweety) of Hardball ended our argument on what to name him when he mentioned JQA. His predecessors were Hubert Horatio "Humphrey" and Michael Gorbachev "Gorby."

When we brought him home the cat wasn't thrilled at first but Ptolomey has since made his peace.

He figured out how to dig holes and still does. I can't believe I actually have to buy dirt to fill them in.

The Q likes to dig when it rains.

We nursed him when he wasn't well.

And put up with the destructive streaks.

He helps with yard work.

He is our big affectionate,clumsy Golden Retriever.

Humphrey

RIP 2002-2008





This is a pet blogging post that I didn't think I would have write for several years. Yesterday started off as a normal Sunday. I got up early to watch the talking heads shows, made coffee and let the dog out to chase the squirrels in the yard. Later in the day I had an errand to run down the street so I took Humphrey for his walk. When we got home I took off his harness and went into the kitchen to work on my honey do list when he let out a loud yelp. We both ran to the living room to find him on the floor and he stopped breathing a minute later. He showed no signs of being sick and our vet said there is almost no way to find out why a healthy 6 year old dog would just drop dead. This brings back a flood of memories of friends and family members who were taken before their time. It's reminder to cherish every day that you walk this earth.

A friend sent this:




He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea.


He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being: by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him.(I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.)


When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive.
When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile.
When I am happy, he is joy unbounded.
When I am a fool, he ignores it.When I succeed, he brags.
Without him, I am only another man.
With him,I am all-powerful.
He is loyalty itself.
He has taught me the meaning of devotion.
With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace.
He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.
His head on my knee can heal my human hurts.
His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things.
He has promised to wait for me...whenever...wherever--in case I need him.
And I expect I will--as I always have.
He is just my dog.

The fall foliage is so beautiful

I think it is a pain in the ass.


I spent the afternoon raking leaves which is one of my least favorite yard jobs, second only to cleaning out the gutters. After doing the initial poop patrol I kept discovering more output from our Golden Retriever shit machine as I raked.


When I was a hotel manager in Boston, October was always our best month because of the leaf peepers. Some people should get a life.


After gathering the leaves in a pile I brought out my trusty Toro mulching mower and chopped them up.




There are more leaves on the way.

Pet Blogging

I haven't done one of these in a while.

My blog buddy Dana sent his daughter off to college and replaced her with a cat so now he is asking for some help coming up with a name.

Common Sense Political Thought

I was busily typing away at the computer, minding everyone else’s my own business, when Mrs Pico arrived home from work at about 9:00 this evening; in her arms she had a dark grey male, six-week-old kitten, with white paws. Said kitten has yet to be named, so I’m asking everybody to contribute a name suggestion for said kitten. The winner will get a free subscription to Common Sense Political Thought.

I'm in:

Please don’t name him whiskers or socks.

I like political/historical names.

The Egyptians worshiped cats so our guy is named Ptolemy. Ptolemy was General in the army of Alexander the Great who declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt after Alexander’s death and founded a dynasty that lasted until Cleopatra VII had a fling with Julius Caesar.

My last one was Idira Gandhi. The only explanation for it was she was too pretty to call Margaret Thatcher.

Our Golden Retriever is named Humphrey after the Vice President. Although Mrs. G disputes that and claims the name came from the Disney cartoons. My last guy was called Gorby because when I was living in England I spotted a tabloid that nicknamed Mikhail Gorbachev that just after he came to power. I said to myself…that doesn’t sound like the name of a President, it sounds like the name of a dog. So I got a dog and named him Gorby.

Pharaoh is not a bad name for a male cat or use a name of one of the Pharaohs.

Cheops

Seti

Ramesses

A list is here:

http://www.touregypt.net/kings.htm

Winding down

We are getting ready for the dog's vacation so I won't be posting much for the next few days. Let me know what I'm missing in the comments. I will program some time delayed posts while we are away.





Lighthouse-Sunny Days 1972

Grow your own

.

With high price of gas driving the cost of just about everything up, especially food, I've noticed that more people are planting vegetable gardens. We also decided to give it a try. The problem is everytime I start digging in the back yard I run into buried ashes and garbage that is not ideal soil for plants. So Mrs. G headed to the O'Malia Greenhouse and came back with some tomato plants in pots. Now we are looking forward to the fresh red fruit without the worry of Samonella

since the FDA has been so politicised as the rest of the government over the last 7 years that we can't count on the agency to protect the food supply.

.

This is a family effort as we see Humphrey offering to water one of the tomato plants.

Happy Birthday Boys

Humphrey was born Feb. 9, 2002 and by dog standards he is getting to be an old man. His snout has some grey but he has all the energy of a puppy. He is my second dog and he was trained quicker than the last one because I learned from my mistakes. The only behavior problem we have is that he is too friendly with people that come into the house. When we are touring the neighborhood he could care less about people, he checks his p-mail and allows someone passing by to pat him on the head but he want's to get to park.

We also celebrate Ptolomey's birthday today because we don't know when he was born. Ptolomey found us during the baseball playoffs in 2002 and when we took him to the vet he said he was 7 or 8 months old. So we roll it up into one day.

Saturday pet blogging

How to keep cool.

Saturday pet blogging

Stinky Dog



Last week's adventure involved Humphrey trying to make friends with a skunk. The skunk was having none of it and expressed his displeasure in the usual way. This happened at 1AM on Friday which required the dog to spend the rest of the night outside much to his chagrin. Forget tomato juice this mixture of peroxide, baking soda and dish soap works much better. But nothing eliminates the smell totally it just takes time to wear off. When I gave him the bath he didn't act like I was going to kill him like he usually does. A week later after a second bath and new collar he doesn't stink anymore.

Ptolemy thought the whole thing was pretty funny.

Other pet blogs this week got exotic. Northern Girl gives us a view of life on the farm with cats, dogs, goats and horses with the added bonus of the wheat harvest. Patricia has been feeding stray cats and box turtles.

Saturday pet blogging

Ptolemy's chair

It used to be my chair until I rocked it back and forth one too many times yelling at the TV during a Penn State game and broke a weld. I resisted replacing it just like I won't get rid of a favorite shirt with a bunch of holes in it. But Mrs G's Mom bought me a new recliner for Christmas because they both wanted it out of the house. So we installed the new piece of furniture and put my old friend off to the side until the junk hauler would come and get it. Then the cat decided he liked it and lays on it all the time. Now I'm told we can't get rid of it because it's Ptolemy's favorite which is OK by me because it occupies the space we usually put the Christmas tree. Humphrey is indifferent.

I'm told that Kevin Drum started this pet picture thing with FRIDAY CATBLOGGING. The Bassets are actually standing up this week and Fred was framed.

Saturday pet blogging

Humphrey had a good vacation. At left he is checking out some lovely filth at Lake Gerar in Rehoboth Beach. Then he had to rest up after spending the morning chasing ducks and romping around. He is our second Golden and arriving at the name was a subject of long negotiation in the Gort household. Some of the choices shot down were Sputnik and Fillmore but Mrs G came up with Humphrey. David will be happy to know that he is named after our 38th Vice President although she had this Humphrey in mind.

Other pet blogs this week include Ol' Froth's photos of the whole menagerie and Daddy Democrat says goodbye to an old friend.