Category: Commentary and Contemplation

Brodie waits in the car...stuck in traffic

Brodie ponders which dog gets into the White House

Published on by Lucas Pam2 Comments

I became curious about the lucky dogs that have lived in the The White House…lots of them..some more famous than others… for a host of different reasons that had nothing to do with the dog and everything to do with the folks who occupied the “People’s House.”  So…I began my research…My source was dog time.com that lists dogs owned by presidents that resided in the White House…beginning with John Adams all the way through Barack Obama…lots of furry friends… all flavors and sizes…an impressive list I must say.  We dogs have established quite a track record for residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…racing up and down the formal staircase…laying under the desk in the Oval Office…lounging under the Portico of the West Wing…leaving steaming dumps on the lawn for Secret Service folks to manage…

So…which dog(s) will be next…well the Lady has two dogs…Tally, a toy-poodle mix and Maisie, a curly mix.  Mr. T has a Labrador retriever, Spinee, who underwent extensive surgery this past summer…yes…Spinee has shared his medical records.

Now… you could always add this variable to your voting criteria…Which dog do I want to see in The People’s House?!

Remember the write-in information I researched for you???… well…consider this..do you know how to spell golden retriever? (i before e except after c)… I’m just saying…

 

Brodie barks: Write in ballots for DUCK & gives the states that take write ins.

Brodie barks: Write in “DUCK” for President

Published on by Lucas Pam2 Comments

According to the latest on the Internet…43 states allow a Write in Ballot for the President of the USA.  Which 7 don’t?…Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota.

Per Bloomberg…most States require a candidate to register, however; Vermont, Wyoming, Oregon, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Iowa, Delaware, and Alabama do not require registration.

Thirty-five states require that a write-in candidate must submit some form of affidavit and, sometimes, a filing fee at least one month before the election. In North Carolina, these candidates must circulate a petition. Then their names are posted on a list at the polling place, though not on the official ballot. Other write-in votes become trash.

So, my best golden treats are going to “Duck for President”…and why not?!! Duck has a clean bill (ha) of health…he has no funny money anywhere…(He has no money.)…he has no body/company/bird/in his pocket…(He has no pockets or political feathers on his body.)…he’s a possible alternative to those who refuse to cast their vote for either the donkey or elephant candidate…I understand…and if Mr. J or Mrs. Green don’t work either…then practice writing “DUCK” in preparation for voting day.

First debate coming up this Monday, September 26…hold the pate & foie gras.

“A Fresh Bill on Capitol Hill…Duck for President” by  Doreen Cronin is a wonderful teaching tool for lower school students.  Ms. Cronin additionally wrote Click, Clack, Moo…Cows that Type.

Stylized photo of Brodie the Golden Retriever

Brodie hunts down political speak

Published on by Lucas Pam4 Comments

My golden self devotes time to expanding my vocabulary.  This requires my ears and hearing ready and open…and my dog brain engaged to learn.  So…I heard this the other day on a major network “scurrilous lies….”I had no idea what this “s-word” meant, so I went to Webster’s.  Scurrilous means “making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation.”  What an epiphany I had…this handy adjective clearly describes political antics of today.  So…then I looked up the antonym for this “s-word” and found polite, clean and decent.  It’s never too late to change it up.

Let’s all, everybody… go for the paradigm shift in politics by changing our political conversations and behaviors…thereby rendering this “s-word” obsolete.

Ears up.

Golden Brodie sniffs about the "claw backs" in this presidential campaign

Brodie sniffs out “the claw back”

Published on by Lucas Pam9 Comments

I enjoy the political rhetoric as it heightens and tightens…accuses and abuses…pivots and swirls…yes this is quite an arena of huffers and puffers…who remain ready to blow this presidential campaign…this loaded march…a fast march carrying a heavy load… from here to where and back.

My golden ears keep hearing about both candidates having the need to “claw back” this and that…getting something back with great difficulty.  Ok…let me spin this another way…I feel qualified, as I have four clawed paws and I understand how they work.

There are typically 319-321 bones that make up the skeleton of a dog with seven bones in the front paws and six in the back.  My dog paws have 5 different components: Claws, Digital paws, Metacarpal pad, Dewclaw, and Carpal pad…all of which serve me well. Now we find the political candidates needing claws to take back something that’s not easily done.  The way this works for me is the following:  someone trims my claws on a monthly basis… so I don’t have sharp and long nails that I could use to dig up something, scratch something, somebody or a fellow dog/cat, harm the hardwood floors, etc.  So…I am cared for in such a way as to not make it possible to claw back anything…I am relieved of these unwanted situation.

My golden self suggests that both candidates frequently trim their nails and carefully choose their words.

 

 

 

Brodie fills up his bucket

Published on by Lucas Pam15 Comments

A few days ago there was a political conversation about a basket being filled up with “deplorables.”  I’d like to change-up that conversation…spin it positively for the Lady…after all we all make mistakes and we all say things that we wish we could take back…so here goes…

Golden Brodie encourages political donkeys & elephants to read a book about kindness.
Golden Brodie encourages political donkeys & elephants to read a book about kindness.

I have a bucket and I strive to fill it up everyday.  I fill up my bucket through being respectful to others, by being a responsible golden dog and by caring for others and their lives.  See…each day I strive to fill up my bucket (my heart, my beliefs) with kindness..I become a “Bucket filler” and I glow golden.  Folks that choose to bully and hurt others, be a name caller…those folks are “Bucket Dippers”…folks that engage in taking from others…taking and being hurtful.  Which one do you live up to???? ….a filler upper or a bad dipper?

So…all of you donkeys and elephants out there…consider reading this book to help you get started.  And don’t get turned off because it’s a kids book…there is great wisdom in these pages.

“Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids” by Carol McCloud.

Golden Brodie yips political satire at 3rd party candidate for president 2016

Brodie’s Political Quiz: What is Aleppo?

Published on by Lucas Pam4 Comments

Answer this question if you can…background first …today a third-party candidate/Libertarian  candidate…running for the Office of the President of the United States…if you know his name…you get some points for that one…because the press has given little show time to this man/former governor…anyway…when asked…this candidate… on a major televised network…he got the question…there was a moment of silence and then an honest confession of not knowing.  All reporters, stations, the whole reporting world jumped all over this fellow.

So…let’s see if you know: What is Aleppo? Hint…It is not a variety of dog food (I thought that was the answer…OK..OK…my bad.) and it is not a thing, an object or a do-dad or a whatamacallit.  Ticktock, ticktock…  And the answer is: Aleppo is a major Syrian city.  Google it.  Perhaps we could all benefit from understanding Aleppo and its struggles and its global implications.  I’ve learned from this man today who did not know the answer…a man who told the truth…I’m thanking him now …he raised my golden curiosity and as a result I am more informed.

Golden Retriever Brodie yelps political satire on the presidential candidates 2016

Brodie turns up allergic again..this time to nuts!?

Published on by Lucas Pam14 Comments

Six days ago I had a reaction to political shenanigans that resulted in very irritating hives.  Done with that…But no…this morning my golden dog body had an allergic reaction to nuts…that’s right nuts…nuts baked into these political cakes we’ve been yelping about.

Totally my fault…totally…I went for the cake…just sitting there…snatched the political cake and who knew…there were nuts…so many different kinds and types of nut-cases in that cake that I needed a Benadryl.  Dogs are especially allergic to nuts and the only type of nut, according to Internet research that dogs can eat are Hazel Nuts. (But… avoid them as they can cause a dog to choke.) The nuts I consumed in that political cake had different proper names…no Hazel in there…but names familiar to you.

Be golden in your thoughts and don’t work the table and don’t “take the cake.”  Don’t expect disclaimers or warnings.

 

Brodie never misses an opportunity to share his golden thoughts

Brodie howls “presidential debates”

Published on by Lucas Pam5 Comments

On your mark, get set…watch the presidential debates.  Don’t give up on this horse race until somebody crosses the November finish line.  Two favorites…a seasoned political mare wearing blue, a never been in the political world wild stallion sporting red… both at the gate along with two long shots…an independent entry in gold silks and a green & progressive entry in green silks. So don’t tune out…tune in and get ready to pick your winner… forget the place & show…it’s winner take all.  Take the polls with a few grains of salt.  If you ever took a course in simple statistics you understand how the survey process works and that the management of data can reach about any outcome…the larger the sample, the smaller the margin of error…with a 4 percent margin of error…see that sounds good…but trust yourself and the information you have gathered.

My golden ears and eyes are open to this horse race as they make the turn to the finish and my racing form waits ready for the following dates:

Presidential debates 2016 dates:

Monday, Sept. 26

Sunday, Oct. 9

Wednesday, Oct. 19

 

 

Golden Brodie yaps about politics being "baked into the cake"

Brodie yaps about “baked into the cake”

Published on by Lucas PamLeave a comment

Short and golden remarks…You hear this often in the written and oral press…”Is it baked in the cake?”…or “It’s bake into the cake.”
According to Urban Dictionary, “baked into the cake” refers to “a situation that is so involved and interwoven which is basically impossible to be fully extricated.” So in other words, there is so much controversy swirling on both sides of this presidential campaign…that both have left a “trail of cakes” so wide and long that Americans could gorge on these political party pastries until the elephants, donkeys and others come to vote…or not.

The key word here is “extricated”…meaning to release or to remove or to extract or to free…think of the issues and you decide what’s in that cake that’s going nowhere.

Golden Retriever Brodie breaks out into political satire hives

Brodie breaks out in hives

Published on by Lucas Pam10 Comments

I had no idea what was happening to me.  There came this itch that I had to scratch…an itch that could not be relieved.  Scratching lead to more scratching…followed by an oatmeal bath…followed by popping a few Benadryl. Nothing brought relief… And then and only then…when I was able to isolate the reason(s) for this sudden on-set of misery…did I finally embrace relief.

So what was the diagnosis?!…Viewing extreme political antics and rhetoric backing up into bleach washed “e-mails that even God cannot view”, resulted in my extreme case of politically enhanced hives, vengeful hives, that my golden self could not overcome…shirk off…deny…Now I know how to avoid these hives.  1) Limit political reading to credible resources (still seeking a reliable pill with limited side effects to take for this.) 2) Conduct my own research. 3) Refrain from political conversations during dinner and socializing times.

In closing, hope you never suffer this like I did… beware… we have a long way to go in this 2016 race to the White House.  Stay healthy…