Friday Potpourri: 15 November 2024

Something Different from the Regular Friday Humor Column

I am still hearing from people that they have “despair”. In case you missed it yesterday, click here for political things you can do NOW, because action ALWAYS feels better than despair.

I was looking for humor that could cheer people up, and aside from making fun of Matt Gaetz and Tulsi Gabbard, and asking if Marjorie Taylor Greene would be nominated for Secretary of Education, no one seems concentrated on humor right now. If you’ve got something funny, PLEASE leave it in the comments so we can all laugh.

Instead, I’m going to tell you about Niall Harbison. He’s a hero of mine. Back in 2021, he almost died, and to recover, he started jogging around Koh Samui, Thailand, where he lives. He saw all these street dogs, many in very bad situations, and he wanted to help. Since then, he has led efforts to save, treat medically, feed and sterilize as many dogs as possible. So far this year, he and his team have:

• Served 264,000 meals

• Sterilized 33,568 dogs

• Provided serious medical treatment to 58 dogs at his organization’s facility (not including more basic care for many more dogs who can stay where they are)

• Adopted out 33 dogs

You can read all about Niall, his team, and their work here. Especially look at the stories of the dogs they have saved; those stories will warm your heart.

I love dogs. I love my dogs. I love other people’s dogs. I love dogs I haven’t met yet.

In certain ways, I’d like to be dog-like. Full of love. Thrilled if someone throws a ball I can go get. Happy to be fed, petted, and just plain loved in return. Dogs are guileless. They’re loyal, and most of them have an uncanny sense of who is a good person and a bad person.

While I understand there are also cat people, and dog-and-cat-people, I subscribe to this:

We can’t all be Niall, but there are things that we can do that will both help animals, and simultaneously make us remember our humanity.

Dogs and cats are sentient beings¹. Too many of them spend way too much time in shelters. Even if you cannot adopt, you can visit a shelter and play with an animal, help to socialize them, take a dog for a walk. Shelter animals need human contact, and shelters are normally underfunded, and lacking enough staffers.

Isolation is a tool of the Rethuglicans, and other fascist regimes. But some people aren’t currently up to being amoungst the other humans. You can go to a shelter where the animals will appreciate your attention. You barely need to talk, just look into their eyes. Sit with them. Pet them. You won’t be sorry.

Go this weekend! For a lot of people, weekends are hard. After spending 3 months out every weekend canvassing, etc., there’s a re-entry period back to the day-to-day of errands and housework and whatever we do when we’re not working an election.

So, you may well have time to find a shelter. As always, if you need help, let me know where you are, and I’ll hook you up!

And remember, this is downtime - here in Pennsylvania petition season opens on 23 January 2025. I don’t keep track of the other states, but I’ll find out if YOU are interested in running where you are, just reach out.

That’s it for today — see you Sunday.

1. I will not debate this. Don’t even try.