What a blow; Jonathan Gruber is not all bad. In one sense, he’s actually very good and quite unusual. As the New York Times reported, he has eight parrots which he obviously adores. “And his wife, Andrea, volunteers at a bird rescue center.”
Just like your host, who is owned by one little green gremlin and recognizes the need to look after others like him.
Gruber takes his kid to Van Halen concerts, which shows he is quite discerning on the musical front too.
Complexity …
China, Environmentalism & Animal Rights, Regulation, Socialism
Yesterday came the news that the Chinese allegedly hacked into the U.S. Postal Service computers, “compromising information about more than 800,000 workers.” Who cares? The real question is why does the dread USPS “employ” 800,000 people? The United States Postal Service should employ one person in charge of … dissolving this bureaucratic blight. No computers; no hacking.
Today we hear that Obama, dressed in Mao garb, has committed Americans ” to “reducing carbon emissions by 26-28 percent,” while agreeing that China will begin to cut back its carbon emissions in … 2030.
Media Matters excoriates conservatives for questioning the deal, but did not appear to question the facts just stated.
As part of the new agreement, Obama announced that the U.S. would move much faster in cutting pollution, with a goal to reduce emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels. Xi, whose country’s emissions are still growing as it builds new coal plants, didn’t commit to cut emissions by a specific amount. Rather, he set a target for China’s emissions to peak by 2030, or earlier if possible.
If you’re a well cared for parrot—or a bird in fine feather, like raw-food eater the gorgeous Carol Alt, 53—this is what you should be fed. OK, I cheated a bit by adding “bad” treats such as corn on the cob, pasta and granola (carbs all). But you get the gist. (Click to enlarge.)
Medley of raw fruits and vegetables:
Assorted berries and raw pumpkin seed:
Environmentalism & Animal Rights, Human Accomplishment, Journalism, Morality
“We love them for being like us. … But then we find ourselves unprepared for the challenges.” So wrote Chuck Bergman on the plight and paradox of parrots. The article quoted is “No-Fly Zone: Denied Their Natural Habits, Millions of Pet Parrots Lead Bleak, Lonely Lives.” It appeared in All Animals magazine, published by the Humane Society of the United States.
An academic, writer, photographer and conservationist, Chuck’s pieces about parrots are, well, achingly beautiful. (Next, read “The World’s Smartest Birds, Set Free,” at Slate.com.)
Here is hoping that Chuck puts that epistolary passion for parrots to work in the cause of Bob and Carol Dawson’s parrot paradise: “Macaw Rescue and Sanctuary.” I’ve written a short blog post about the sanctuary that Bob and Carol Dawson built. A feature about this haven—where it is well and truly about the birds—would be wonderful.
