Here’s some interesting bits appearing in a newspaper or website near you.
SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to repeal a state law that requires animal shelters to hold stray dogs and cats for up to six days before killing them. Instead, there would be a three-day requirement for strays. Other animals, including birds, hamsters, potbellied pigs, rabbits, snakes and turtles, could be killed immediately.
Schwarzenegger has told the state Legislature that the changes could save local governments that operate shelters up to $14 million. An estimated 600,000 dogs and cats are put to death each year in California, including 34,000 in Los Angeles alone.
The waiting period has caused overcrowding and forced some shelters to kill off animals simply to make room for new ones, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance. “Because of space limitations, the shelters are being forced to euthanize animals who are otherwise highly adoptable immediately after the holding time,” Palmer said.
Despite Schwarzenegger’s huge popularity, some political observers think the proposal will meet stiff resistance. “There is no organized constituency of cats and dogs, but certainly the pet owners of America will find this reprehensible,” said Barbara O’Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento.
“Cats and dogs are like mom and apple pie,” she said. “Don’t mess with the pets. Most people prefer them to other people.” The 1998 law is named for former state Sen. Tom Hayden, who said the governor’s proposal “will inflict heartbreak on a lot of owners and people in the animal adoption world.”
Isn’t that nice? Now instead of The Teminator or The Gobenator he can be called The Exterminator. I think people will resist this. Probably not a great move for the Gov. Perhaps he should have announced a few other programs to save money before this one? You know, worked up to it and all. Oh well, the cat’s out of the bag now I guess.
In other news. Having watched President Clinton being interviewed and also having just finished his book, I was waiting for this:
LONDON (AP) — Monica Lewinsky said Bill Clinton is a “revisionist of history” who lied about their relationship in his new memoir, according to a British newspaper. In an interview with The Daily Mail, Lewinsky called the former president’s account of their relationship dishonest and said he has missed an opportunity to undo some of the damage their entanglement caused her.
“He could have made it right with the book,” the newspaper quoted her as saying. “But he hasn’t. He is a revisionist of history. He has lied.” Lewinsky, now 30, the former White House intern whose affair with Clinton led to his impeachment (see fact box), said his description of their relationship in his just-published “My Life” made it sound like the dalliance came only at her initiative and was purely physical.
“I really didn’t expect him to go into detail about our relationship” in the memoir, she said. “But if he had and he’d done it honestly, I wouldn’t have minded. … I did though at least expect him to correct the false statements he made when he was trying to protect the presidency.
“Instead, he talked about it as though I had laid it all out there for the taking. I was the buffet and he just couldn’t resist the dessert,” she was quoted as saying. “That’s not how it was. This was a mutual relationship, mutual on all levels, right from the way it started and all the way through. … I don’t accept that he had to completely desecrate my character.”
Clinton wrote that his affair with Lewinsky revealed “the darkest part of my inner life” and led to his temporary banishment from the White House bedroom. He said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that he became involved with Lewinsky “for the worst possible reason. Just because I could.”
The Daily Mail said it interviewed Lewinsky, who lives in New York, at an undisclosed U.S. location. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a question about whether it paid Lewinsky for the interview, a common practice in the British press.
Hmmm. The Daily Mail. If it was a newspaper that was a tad bit more respectable and also didn’t pay people for interviews I might give it a little more creedence. But really. I feel like Monica is a little jealous that President Clinton is getting so much attention again. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the last thing she wants is attention. Having never been in that position before I can only guess what it must be like.
I know a few people that could be considered “famous” and some like attention and some don’t. However, they all chose to put themselves in the limelite. Monica didn’t. So for that, I do feel sorry for her. But if you hate the attention so much, why speak out now? Just let it go. Everyone already has their opinions of the things that happened and nothing is going to change that. And if it did make a few people think differently about you, who cares? Let it go. Try to move on with your life. That’s the best thing you can do. Really.
Even as I write it I realize that it won’t happen. At least I tried to reason with her. I hope she finally gets the life she wants. I really do.
Ok, no more talk of Monica or Clinton. Now what are we going to talk about? I’ll get back to you on that one.
Later.
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