Squirrel Appreciation Day: Saturday, January 21

MoonHowler

 

Are we psychic or what?  I just picked up the post, only to learn that today has been declared Squirrel Appreciation Day.  According to the Washington Post:

Saturday is Squirrel Appreciation Day. You may find the middle of winter an odd time of year for such a day, but think about it: Unlike some other mammals I could name (I’m thinking of you, lazy bears),
squirrels don’t hibernate. They’re out there 24/7, living la vida squirrela: climbing trees, foraging for nuts, chittering, trying to get into your attic, getting flattened by steel-belted radials.

In fact, come Jan. 21 — Squirrel Appreciation Day — they are probably running low on food. They could use a paw up. That’s exactly what Richard “Thor” Thorington — the Smithsonian’s squirrel expert — is going to give them.

“We’re going to celebrate tomorrow,” he told me.

How? “By putting out extra sunflower seeds.”

Thor is also scattering cobs of dried corn, a squirrel favorite, outside his Bethesda home. Peanuts would be another treat. (Squirrels have also been known to eat baby sparrows, but those are hard to find at the
This sequined squirrel is ready for the Squirrel Appreciation Day party, if there were such a thing. (Katherine Frey – The Washington Post) store this time of year. Or any time of year.)

The scientist said squirrel behavior can change during the chilly months of winter. Many squirrels will move out of their leaf nests — those balls you see high in the branches — and try to find a hollowed-out tree.

“You can stuff a lot of leaves in a hollow tree and have a nice warm place,” Thor said. “I’ve always wondered how waterproof leaf nests were. ”

So there you have it.  Squirrels love sunflower seeds and peanuts.  The ones in my yard turn their noses up at corn cobs and just leave them on the ground.  If I don’t set out good enough food, they go next door to where pickin’s are better. 

 

Colbert Cain Rally: Serious message using comedy

MoonHowler

Stephen Colbert kept Joe Scarborough in stitches Friday morning as he prepared for his rally with former presidential candidate, Herman Cain. Colbert is using comedy to illustrate the very serious and destructive nature of the Super Pacs which seem to have taken over the election process with little or no accountability. According to the Washington Post:

Calling himself the “Martin Luther King of corporation civil rights,” Colbert said that in a time maybe not everyone in the audience could remember — two years ago — corporations were sadly limited in the amount of money they could pour into political campaigns.

But that changed, he said, when “five courageous justices” on the Supreme Court ruled in the 2010 Citizens United decision that “corporations are people,” that people are entitled to free speech, that free speech equals money and that corporations should thus be entitled to dump as much money as they like into the political water table, provided they don’t coordinate with the campaigns they’re funding.

It’s the super PACs that are funding the flood of negative ads that the candidates all say they hate, even though the Citizens United decision was widely praised by Republicans.

Then Colbert asked the crowd, which included people of all ages and political persuasions, to send a message about super PACs by voting for Cain, who is still on the ballot here, though he suspended his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. And, somehow, both Republicans and Democrats were charmed.

and…

The event — dubbed the “Rock Me Like a Herman Cain South Cain-olina Primary” — began with a gospel rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” with Colbert harmonizing, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the crowd shouting, “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”

 

 

Colbert sends a very serious message. Hopefully Americans will rise up and grab back their own influence over elections. Super PACs seemed to take everyone by surprise.  Any strong feelings on super PACs?  Perhaps this is an area for common ground.  So far, the Republicans have been more manipulated by Super PACs than Democrats.