Milestone...

Shiloh has been incredibly good with the kittens, to the point where she seeminly walks on eggshells when she's around them (admittedly, Hana has been encouraging such behavior). Lately, I've noticed Shiloh has started paying more attention to the kittens, including licking them, and the little furballs seem to enjoy the attention.

This morning, when I put down Shiloh's morning meal, the huskiest member of the quadruplets proceeded, with not so much as a muttered "excuse me," to clamper up the side of the feeder and plop down into the middle of Shiloh's dish. Fortunately, Shiloh is not one of those dogs that's into "resource guarding," so her reaction was to back off a step or two and give the intruder one of those looks that clearly asks "What's up with you?"

This is the first time any of the kittens have evinced a specific desire to chow down on anything other than mother's milk (for a while, soon after birth, Hana was putting away about a half pound of raw meat a day to keep the milk factory going). So, I took a handful of kitty food, put it in a dish, and assembled the troops for chow call.

If Shiloh is not a "resource guarder," then the same is not true for the kitten who scampered into Shiloh's bowl. This particular little feline proceeded, with much growling, to cover as much of the kitty food as she could with her body, leaving only small areas where her siblings could nibble away. I intervened a couple of times, pulling the big kitten out of the bowl to let everyone else have a chance at the grub.

When all the food was gone, I put water in the bowl, and was surprised by the amazement the kittens expressed over this new consumable liquid. They each bent over the surface, stuck their noses in the water, then jerked upright, sitting back on their haunches, tongues moving furiously over their noses. Then they bent into the water again, with the same reaction.

By the third time, they had acquired whatever knack is required to handle liquids, and settled down to lap up the liquid in the manner in which we are accustomed to seeing cats drink. They learn fast, the little blighters.

Work is pouring in, and I have not had an opportunity to even look at the document I'm supposed to fill in for my new, improved background security check (which is why I've asked to postpone a related activity scheduled for tomorrow).

Lunch date today! (So I suppose I should go get ready.)

Cheers...

Mission creep...

Something called the "Travel Promotion Act" was passed by Congress, the Senate voting 79-19 in favor of the bill.

The legislation directs the Department of Homeland Security to collect $10 from foreign citizens who visit the United States under the visa waiver program, which lets people from three dozen or so countries come to the US without having to get a visa first, provided they register online with the DHS before showing up here.

Do you see the "mission creep" here?

The "Department of Homeland Security" is supposed to be protecting the country against terrorism threats. Now, that "mission" has been expanded to the collection of money to, of all things, promote travel to the United States.

The monies collected certainly represent a tidy windfall for the travel industry, but I can't help but wonder: Has the threat of terrorism against the United States so abated that the DHS can now be blithely "repurposed" for what amounts to corporate welfare?

I wouldn't be surprised to see two effects from this corporate-welfarist idiocy: (1) reduced travel to the United States, as folks seesawing between vacationing in the US and any other country not intent on collecting a sawbuck per head just to get in choose to go somewhere else, and (2) increased hassle and expense for US travelers to other countries, as those countries impose tit-for-tat fees and/or other requirements, like having to get a visa (always a fun activity).

With antics like this, you'd almost think Congress wants to prolong the recession!

Cheers...