Well, I had a few posts planned in the Baron’s absence, and I may yet do them. The times are too strange not to at least remark on the oddities – and sadly, the ugliness – in passing. But those must wait.
Any essays are in abeyance for a while as I keep our cat company. She seems to be dying. Perhaps she is dying. She lies in cool spots and seems drained of all energy. There is no food I can find that interests her for very long. She seems to be drinking water, and if I put out a little raw egg she laps up a bit of that. Each time the “laps” of nourishment are fewer. I can’t tell if she drinks any water, but her litter box is unused…
Her main interest seems to be in finding new cool spots where she can rest. My heart understands that impulse very well. I think she’d like to be outside as she often chooses to lie by the front door, but she’d be easy pickings for whatever hunting dog came through the yard…so inside she must stay.
I will be checking for comments from time to time during this vigil with Lulu…
Meanwhile, I noticed a commenter mentioned John Loftus in a recent thread.
Here is his wiki; and here is the wiki for his work with the Intelligence Summit. Of course, you have to vet any Wikipedia information about conservative sites and work. As I recall, Trevor Loudon has started an alternative but I don’t have time to search for it. If anyone has information, could you please leave it in the comments?
The Intelligence Summit has some interesting essays. Scroll down to see what they’ve collected on Diana West’s book and the firestorm it has created on the not-so-new Authoritarian Right. In addition to reading the essays in her defense, notice those appearing there who have not spoken up on her behalf. There is a great deal to be learned from silences.
As Jolie Rouge said recently, “Would have thought freethinking folks do not need authoritative reading lists from conservative central”. I would’ve thought so, too, but we know what happens when the Authorities pronounce verboten on particular works and authors or voiced opinions, even on descriptive ideas. Our experience at Gates of Vienna is a proof of that particular blood pudding, i.e., the notion that merely talking about an idea is to perform some kind of magik that makes the idea real. Platonists, they’re not; thus their lists of forbidden words and cordoned-off ideas can only grow.
But look at it this way: since we were made Untouchables for daring to notice events that scare the Bigs – and more importantly those worthies who fund them – it falls to such as we to defend those the Authoritarian Right would silence…if they but could. Many of them (and their funders) are ex-Lefties who became so totally Righties that at first glance it would appear they’ve traveled one hundred eighty degrees in the other direction from their former socialist totalitarian creeds. In fact, they’ve made a very good living talking about how far they’ve come. But the reality is this: all they did was to circle ‘round to their beginnings, never actually moving out in a straight path. It became a trip of convenience, and at some point, under duress, it was ever so easy to return to what one knows by heart, even when doing so means a regression to using the brutal tactics of the ideologies memorized in one’s youth.
In other words, they may have fallen (or jumped) from the tree of Communism, but as it turns out they decided to stay in its cooling shade, resting on the roots, failing to see the serpent lying in wait.
Back to my vigil with Lulu…
Re Lulu, get the vet to check her out, her kidney may be failing, how old is she, sometimes all you can do is let them know you’re there by stroking and softly talking, they find it so comforting because they love us so.
The nearest vet is an hour away and she couldn’t take the trip. She’s 13 or 14. I can’t even clean her up, it bothers her to be touched – even when she was well I had to do it carefully. Sick, she finds it unbearable & becomes painfully agitated. Or at least it’s painful to watch or be the cause of any further agitation.
I think she’s moving to the next stage: quiet when unconscious (or whatever that state is) and restless, moaning when ‘awake’. Shallow breathing.
I wish she’d waited till the Baron was home again. Things are more difficult borne by oneself.
Hi Dymph. GOV seems a bit unstable on the web right now — it took about 6 tries to load this page. I hope it’s not another DOS attack. Oh well, if it is then it just indicates that somebody feels they can’t engage with GOV in an open discussion and would rather simply take you out. In other words, they have ceded that they have no answer to what GOV presents. You know you’re above the target when …
I’m writing to express solidarity in your vigil. My old (17 yrs), dog-like and very faithful orange marmalade cat Archimedes (“Archie”) passed away only a few weeks ago after a years-long convalescence partly alleviated by drugs to combat his hyperthyroidism. Finally a massive cancerous tumor in his gut took the last fight from this warrior, but he went down living life to the fullest, basking in the sunshine every day, and always staggering to his feet when I would check on him, rubbing up against my hand. Archie was a fixture in our family in the way “old yeller” dogs are said to be. Cats seem aloof to those who don’t understand them. When my wife was dying of cancer a few years ago she came home from the hospital one afternoon. Completely drained, she retired to our bed for a couple of hours’ nap. Archie sensed her distress and jumped up and lay down beside her. Rather than napping, he gazed intently at her as she slept, and gently rested on paw on her arm. He kept a watchful eye on anyone who came near. 17 years is a good run for a cat, but I still miss the old guy. We happen to have a dog-free environment in which Archie could roam. One solution for Lulu might be a high perch like a rooftop nest, or a sunroom with screened windows for air. Archie took to sleeping in the garage at night in a box. Cats instinctively hide when they know they are seriously ill, because they know they are vulnerable. But they love fresh air and sunshine. If you have a garage you can open to the air without creating an open invitation to neighbourhood dogs, you might find Lulu prefers that spot. Take a cushion for yourself and a coffee, lots of H2O for her, and a laptop, and you and her are ready to see that valley through together. My rule for Archie was, when he is unable to rise, or vocally or visibly in too much pain to have any enjoyment of life, it’s time for the last trip to the vet. When the time came, I knew it. I’ll be thinking/praying for you.
Good for you folks. Cats are horribly under-appreciated animals, and I’m glad one is letting one go her way in a modicum of comfort.
Wishes for Lulu.
Just lost one.
So sorry to hear about Lulu dying while the Baron is away Dymphna.
Lost one a year ago, first thing we noticed was he was becoming light, then he started to have bad breath and eventually became lethargic, at that point I knew what was going to happen. He wasn’t eating enough,he was just laying around most of the time and he had a multitude of problems like cat seizures, face infection, seized muscles, making messes in weird places, etc. We had to put him down, It was a dreadful thing to have to do, but looking back it was the best choice for me and for him.