And the winner is… Carlee:
The 5-year-old female with the soft eyes and gliding gait won best in show, beating a popular Norfolk terrier, a champion bloodhound and a wobbling Pekingese.
Me? I was hoping for the Great Pyrenees.
This story Jurors Reject Zoloft Defense in Murders breaks my heart. Okay, so if you are not going to accept the Zoloft defense as “viable”–then why not look at why this child (12 years old is a child) was on Zoloft to begin with? And why not look at why he was strangling the other kid on the playground? Clearly, there was something not right with this child whether he was on Zoloft or not.
But Zoloft does have the potential to make one act/feel a certain way. THAT IS WHAT IT IS FOR. And sometimes this backfires and causes suicidal tendencies, which I have witnessed in friends.
Was it right that this child killed his grandparents? Of course not. But why did he do it is the question these jurors should have asked themselves and why do they consider him an adult?
I’m sure it’s not easy to be a juror and especially on a case like this one but their decision is preposterous. I’m disgusted.
New at Ink Pot:
A Brief History of Bad Love
Flash Fiction by Chris Bachelder
I’m in love with the image chosen to go with this piece–just perfect!
Anyway, the most exciting thing about last night’s show was that three new breeds were introduced into the AKC. The one that made me cover my head so I wouldn’t have to look at its slobbering jowls (and I love dogs!) was the Neapolitan Mastiff.
if you need help today, you might try Valentine Be Mine!, a site dedicated to “the romantically dysfunctional.”
read all about the massacre: The History of Valentine’s Day
and: Radio station offers free divorce for Valentine’s Day
and let’s not forget this guy: Man Said to Seek Suicide Pacts for Years
The Republican Dictionary, by Katrina vanden Heuvel, is an evocative review of the power of language and spin in regards to, among other things, social security (which I’m guessing will eventually be renamed so that Bush has an easier time enunciating–not that he cares about enunciating):
But here is the really funny thing about the personal/private accounts debate. Not only are they not personal accounts, they’re not private accounts either. They are in fact U.S. government loans. (Bear with me now, because this will only hurt for a moment.) You see, your payroll taxes will still be used to cover the benefits of current retirees, but under Bush’s scheme the government will place a certain “diverted” amount into an account in your name. It sounds like a personal retirement account, but it’s not. It’s a loan. Because if your account does really well (above 3 percent), when you retire the government will deduct the money it lent you (plus 3 percent interest) from your monthly Social Security check leaving you with almost the same amount you would have received under the current system. If your account does really poorly (below 3 percent), you are out of luck. According to Congressional Budget Office, the expected average return will be 3.3 percent, so the net gain will be zero.
Tessa Hadley’s novel, Everything Will Be All Right , is a lovely and compelling book. The narrative spans several decades in the lives of one family—and more specifically, in the lives of the women of the family. Three of the women in particular—Aunt Vera, the groundbreaking teacher; Joyce, the would-be artist; and Zoe, the brilliant scholar—lead us on the journey from post-WWII England to present. What we learn is that as the world around them changes at ever increasing speed, this family stays the same, particularly in their eventual acceptance of each other and in their gravitation to the the center–the women.
Hadley’s writing is clear and often beautiful without being over the top, but the mastery of this novel is her ability to create and maintain characters. They simply live and breathe and stay in the room with the reader long after the book is finished. I was taken with this book from first word to last and would recommend it without reservation.
myfanwy collins 