Baby It's Cold Outside...

Brrrr...

Damn!  It's 10:40 a.m. and it is ONLY 22 degrees F outside!  The thermometer needs to be calibrated!

And, it's snowing....  The greyhounds don't want to go out.  They're curled up into tiny balls and occupying the warmest places they can find.

Nampa burrowed in a comforter on the bed

So, since everyone is as snug as a bug in a rug, I've only one thing left to say....

Lyricist Sammy Cahn & Composer Jule Styne, July 1945

Ripple Effects

Everyone knows that if you toss a pebble into a pond, ripples extend outward from where it hit the water.  Other possible changes brought about by that pebble can include frightened fish from the pebble's descent; a splash from the pebble hitting the still surface of the pond; or a bird frightened by the plunk, the sound of the pebble hitting the water.  We know that our actions also affect others, ripples ever extending outwards. It is change enacted through a single and simple act...  the ripple effect.

The Democrats in Congress enacted what is erroneously called the Affordable Healthcare Act aka Obamacare. There isn't anything 'affordable' about it and it has cost many people.  The blame for Obamacare lies strictly on the shoulders of the Democrats as not a single Republican voted for it.  Nancy Pelosi's now famous comment, "You have to vote for it to see what's in it" resonates with her disdain for those people who voiced concerns about the act, those who wanted to read the massive bill before its passage.  But, no....  the Democrats rammed it through.

One PROMISE that people heard a lot from the White House, from the President's own lips was, "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.  If you like your doctor, you can keep him."  We Americans have been hearing him say that for years, at least since 2009. Other highly ranked Democrats continually supported his statement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that Obamacare "means making sure you can keep your
family's doctor or keep your health care plan if you like it."

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told Americans, including those who were happily insured, "we are going to put in any legislation considered by the House and Senate the protection that you, as an individual, keep the health insurance you have, if that is what you want."

Harry Reid

And, let's not forget that Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray said: "If you like what you have today, that will be what you have when this legislation is passed."

They lied.  All of them.  Lies & fabrications...  An empty promise but one heck of a sales pitch and boy were Americans sold a bridge in the middle of the desert.

Now, the ripple effects from those lies and from the passage of the bill are being felt by one & all.  Here are some of the act's side effects.

1. Millions of people have lost their INDIVIDUAL health care plans, plans that they liked.  This number doesn't include those millions of people who are going to lose their insurance when the business mandates kick in AFTER the 2014 mid-term elections.
2. Obamacare taxes, mandates, regulations, and indirect costs on small- and medium-size businesses are directly impacting whether or not businesses can expand and hire. CBO Director Doug Elmendorf testified before the House Budget Committee that Obamacare will result in an estimated 800,000 fewer U.S. jobs. A survey of small to medium sized businesses, which was conducted by the US Chamber of Commerce showed that many businesses are already seeing increasing health care costs and, to cope, 31% of franchise and 12% of non-franchise businesses have reduced worker hours, a full year before the employer mandate goes into effect.
3. Health plans offered by colleges have been severely affected.  As of today, 9 New Jersey schools saw the cost of the health care plans they offered to students triple.  Students at Bowie State in Maryland saw the cost of their health care policies go from $100 to $1800 for two semesters. This is an increase of about 1500%.  Bowie State has dropped the plan.  Many colleges finding  have stopped offering health care policies to their students.
4. Obamacare adds 18 million people to Medicaid and it is estimated that by 2019, more than 80 million people will be on Medicaid. Taxpayers, who are already strapped by rising costs of essential goods will be footing the bill. 
5. Nearly 25% of ALL SENIORS rely on Medicare Advantage. Obamacare makes such deep cuts to the M.A. program, $455 Billion, that 50% of those seniors, who are currently covered, will lose their coverage. Where is that $455 billion going?  It's going to pay for Obamacare. 

Cancelled Coverage as of Nov 14, 2013
Article at Wall Street Journal

Obamacare is an unmitigated disaster.  The dysfunctional portal with its lack of security to our most personal information is only the 1st symptom.  It is a sinking ship and the rats are abandoning it in an act of self-preservation.  Remember who those rats are the next time they run for re-election.

The Last Dog on Earth...

This short story was written at least 7-10  years ago. Thankfully, someone found a copy of it!  Sadly, no one has any idea as to who wrote it to give credit.

With the USDA / APHIS run around of Congress regarding the Animal Welfare Act, this is where we are heading. The anti-animal asses are working towards the abolishment of animal ownership & companionship. Make no mistake about it.  They are masters of incrementalization, like an apex predator, preying on the weak and those they've split off from the herd, the divided.

As animal lovers, we need to set aside our differences, if we want to continue to have animals gracing our lives.

Elaine

---

They were at the door. Her little dog was growling softly. She tried to hush the sound. She knew what they wanted. She felt as though her heart was being ripped from her chest. She had managed to hide her little friend for years.

She shared her food and bed with her. She had bought her on the black market. It had cost her dearly but it was worth it.

She had been so alone. Nothing to love her or for her to love in return. Her children had grown up and forgotten her. Her husband had died two years before she found Sweetie. Sweetie had been a tiny black and tan ball of fur showing her Yorkshire Terrier background. Of course, she knew that Sweetie could not have been purebred. There had been no purebred dogs for years. There were few dogs since the breeders had been slowly and methodically beaten down.

When this first started, everyone sat back and said they could not possibly be the breeders they were talking about. After all, they loved their dogs and they were not "puppy mills". They would never let themselves be overloaded with dogs. Some of them did not get overloaded nor did they breed more than a litter or two a year. They were smug and secure in that only the puppy mills were being raided.

The raids were relentless. They would take place in one state then another. The dog raiders got smarter with every raid. They learned about warrants, the court system, the law in different states and they used whatever means they could to eliminate the breeders of dogs. Some people thought the raiders were dog lovers trying to save the poor mistreated puppies.

HSUS is NOT law enforcement, contrary
to what they would have you believe.

Some of them were dog lovers, at first. The well-meaning rescue groups were used. The American Kennel Club was used. They would revoke the rights of the breeder who was raided. Kennel clubs were infiltrated and destroyed from within. The very fiber of the dog world was silently unraveled one string at a time.

Everyone would rise to arms against every breeder raided. Saying things like that terrible person mistreated those poor dogs; that person had too many dogs; and that person is crazy. If the truth were not provoking enough they would lie and say that person should die. They campaigned by e-mail, petitioned the courts, and used political pull. Even when common sense would tell them that they did not know the facts or circumstances, they persist.

They would see fat happy tail wagging dogs and would say abused dogs. They no longer believed their own eyes. The dogs tried to tell the truth but no one could hear them. True, there were cases of abuse, beaten, starved, and sick animals, at first. Then the tide shifted. Good honest dog loving people started to being raided. Any reason was used. Dogs were taken and the owners refused rights to reclaim their dogs. The raiders started to narrow the number of dogs which were in violation. Any person with a dog became a target. Dog grooming became a thing of the past.

SWAT raid on dog breeder

Veterinarian services were performed out of back rooms under the dark of night until there were no veterinarians. Dog shows had long disappeared along with the American Kennel Club. Children were told tales of the days when every boy had a dog to run with through fields.

The stories of " Old Shep"," O'Yeller", "Call of the Wild"," Lassie" and all those wonderful stories which would bring tears to the eyes of grown men were being forgotten except by a few.

But she remembered as a little girl the small dog who loved her, followed her everywhere, and gave her comfort like no one on earth could give. She just had to find her that special warmth, the grateful lick-kiss, something that loved her unconditionally and a reason for getting up in the morning. She found Sweetie.

Now they were at her door to take the life that she cherished. The warm little black and tan 3- pound body that loved her as much as she loved it. And there was no one to stop them. The old lady with the last dog on earth lay down with her face to the wall.