Author: Old Man With Candy

A year passes like nothing. I can’t decide whether to be snarky or maudlin. OK, I’ll be maudlin and save snarky for the links. In any case… we all had a lot of fun in 2018. The Glibertariat is an assortment of intelligent, foul, irreverent, rebellious, supportive, caring, indifferent, kind, and thoroughly engaging individuals. SP and I were lucky enough over the past year to have several of you pass through our area and to actively travel and meet a bunch more of you (as well as a lot of my old friends from the Hit & Run days, who are now SP’s friends as well). And I seriously cannot imagine a more fun group of people. Thank you, from the bottom of our black libertarian hearts, for making our comments section the nightmare that Virginia Postrel always warned us about.

And of course, this will be our last New Years in Illinois. There’s not much we’ll miss about the place, other than the propinquity of cheese curds. But most of all, we’ll miss hanging out with an old friend from HyR days, Swiss Servator. If it’s not evident from his postings and the hard work he does to keep this site fun, he is the finest human being SP and I have ever known. Intellectually, physically, and morally, he’s on the six sigma tail of the human distribution, and it’s been a real privilege to spend time with him and to be able to call him our friend. Other than a missing kidney, we just can’t find a single flaw in him. We’re honored to know the guy.

/maudlin

Oh, and while we’re at it, we wanted to thank our resident Romanian for turning us on to Feteasca Neagra- we had a bottle of a very slightly off-dry version made with carbonic maceration with our pizza last night, and it was an absolutely delightful pairing. Cheap and cheerful, and 11.5% alcohol makes it easy to drink.

Birthdays today include burdened white man Rudyard Kipling; ultimate (((leftist))) Sandy Koufax, whose last game I got to watch (Orioles won); Americana music pioneer John Hartford; multi-talented singer/songwriter/producer/bassist Felix Pappalardi; multi-faceted STEVE SMITH; funny woman and Simpsons discoverer Tracey Ullman; and expert at the most boring game in the world (and also apparently expert at the most interesting game in the world) Tiger Woods.

On to the news.

Surprise, surprise, cops are deadly and incompetent idiots. Back in the ’60s, there used to be a joke that, “If you don’t like cops, when you’re in trouble, call a hippie.” I can think of many hippies that would have actually been useful.

My old home town has famously gone down the toilet. And news flash: it’s not coming back.

And speaking of Baltimore, it’s not even safe to fly there.

Qu’ils mangent de la brioche. Or roast pig stuffed with truffles and foie gras.

When assholes interact, expect that it will be the latest racial outrage. Even if it’s just assholes being assholes and lawyers being lawyers. Which is not mutually exclusive.

Occasional Cortex does her best to imitate Trump. If I were dictator for a day, I’d send a fleet of B-2s to bomb Twitter out of existence. But I’m not, so all I can do is marvel at the attention paid to dimwits.

TRUMP WANTS YOUR CHILDREN TO DIE!!!!!

Everything is bigger in Texas. Including at least one vagina.

One more piece of data to indicate that Alice Cooper is the greatest living rocker– at least as a person. “I want my shows to take you as far away as possible from politics. It’s supposed to be an escape from the world we’re living in. And you know the next president is going to be worse than Trump, right?”

Team Blue begins throwing elbows and body checks. So once again, we’ll be faced with no good alternatives. Nice job!

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. And of course, the cynic in me notes that the “coordinators” of the last caravan faded away when there were no more news stories and fat donations. I’m sure Team Blue will fix the horrifically awful immigration syste… HAHAHAHA, I knew I couldn’t keep a straight face. Or maybe it’s the Jews.

Apparently, it was a slow news day.

And the last Old Guy Music of the year, featuring birthday boy Felix Pappalardi, whose death was Florida Man worthy, but who left an amazing musical legacy. Here’s a terrific cover of a Jack Bruce song, where Felix’s vocals just absolutely sell it.

We have snow outside. Not much, but a dusting. I warned the Wonder Dog that she may not see much more of that. This confused her, but when she heard that Swiss was going to visit her soon to say goodbye, all she could think was, “PIZZA!!!!” To be fair, I’ll miss the snow and the cold as much as she does. And Swiss, maybe more.

I will not miss birthdays, however. And today’s include the inventor of vulcanization, Charles Goodyear; air force pioneer, rebel, and namesake of my favorite airport to fly out of from here, Billy Mitchell; actual Russian collaborator Klaus Fuchs; nutbag but influential pseudo-historian Cheikh Anta Diop; TV icon Mary Tyler Moore; former owner of George Costanza’s car, Jon Voight; funny drunk Paula Poundstone; and Savior of Chicago Theo Epstein.

Nor will I miss links (hmmm, that suggests a theme…). And here they are.

In case you think the ELECTION WAS STOLEN! thing was Team Blue only, I’m here to remind you that it’s a general Team fashion these days.

Speaking of which, I wonder if the citizens of this district would be justified in withholding any tax remittances to the federal government until their representation is restored.

I don’t hear it, but maybe this week’s flavor of stupid Internet craze will amuse you.

Maps are sexist, mmmkay?

Here’s the thing about Chicago: everything is tied up in graft. Big things, small things, EVERYTHING.   Oh, and our yoots will steal anything.

Another casualty of Trump’s war on journalism. At least that’s my predicted spin.

More synthetic outrage over a likely accurate observation. Chicago is a food town, but its Chinatown is a sad joke, and it’s impossible to get first-rate regional Chinese food here. You’re not going to convince me that St. Louis or Tulsa or Cleveland will be any better.

Things in parts of the Middle East are just getting better and better. At least the parts we’re not bombing.

Where’s Heroic Mulatto when we need him?

What is it about restaurant workers and receipts? At least this one doesn’t LOOK like a clear hoax.

If you’re a Philadelphia cop, getting a beej in your car while you’re on duty won’t raise eyebrows. But if you say the wrong word… well… it’s more outrageous than shooting dogs.

I blame climate change. Because reasons.

I will indulge in my Quote of the Day from my very favorite poet.

No matter how nearly perfect an Almost Perfect State may be, it is not nearly enough perfect unless the individuals who compose it can, somewhere between death and birth, have a perfectly corking time for a few years. The most wonderful governmental system in the world does not attract us, as a system; we are after a system that scarcely knows it is a system; the great thing is to have the largest number of individuals as happy as may be, for a little while at least, some time before they die.

Old Guy Music! And all I can say is that Matt Lorenz is a genius.

IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE! FESTIVUS!!!!

And I’m starting the day with a warm glow, partially due to some excellent home-made limoncello, and partially due to watching a delightful upset last night. If New Orleans will cooperate by putting away the Steelers today, all will be well in the universe.

Auspicious birthdays today include ancestor of quarterbacks and imaginative scrivener Joseph Smith; superb cartoonist and master of simple black lines Otto Soglow; brilliant and flawed trumpeter Chet Baker; Spinal Tap stalwart Harry Shearer; guitar master and twang bar king Adrian Belew; Sloopy’s dreamy hero and former Chicago Bear Jim Harbaugh; and Mr. War Boner himself, Bill Kristol.

On to news.

Yet another Obama holdover quits in protest of winding down a war his former boss dragged us into. This is my shocked face.

One more reason to be grateful that this mess of evil, corruption, and incompetence didn’t end up being the Commander-in-Chief. 

This is a preview of our inevitable next step in law enforcement and policing. Saves money compared with incarceration. I wish I were joking.

TSA will take a back seat to no-one. Or maybe to everyone. Why is this news? Then again, why does an oppressive and useless agency somehow escape populist wrath? In a just society, there would be uniformed agents dangling from lampposts.

A viral news story with clickbait videos turns out to be a fake. I am astonished, truly astonished. Inconceivable!

This is a sad story, but inspiring to see people’s good works. I’m sure, somehow, the outcome is Trump’s fault.

What’s even stupider than paying attention to trump’s brain lint? Paying attention to the brain lint of entertainers and athletes.

Is there nothing that Climate Change® can’t do? Popcorn at the ready.

Quest Diagnostics sees a potential problem in their business model and reacts accordingly. If there were ever a company I would like to see die, this would be number one on my list.

This is a dumb story, but I’m linking it because the photo will delight Swiss.

Old Guy Music features, inevitably, today’s birthday boy, demonstrating that as great as he is on guitar, his vocals and songwriting are in that same class.

We’re just soooo excited. Tonight is Festivus Eve!!! I’ve got my list of grievances prepared and I’ve checked it twice. We set up our pole. I’ve been exercising like crazy so as not to embarrass myself at the Feats of Strength. And we’re preparing vegetarian meatloaf, which kills two birds with one stone (sorry, “feeds two birds with one scone”). It’s going to be a Festivus miracle tonight! Just to keep my idle hands busy until then… here’s some links. Yes, I’m doing these as an excuse to avoid packing chores.

Oh wait, first it’s the birthday list. And one anniversary of note- the Embargo Act of 1807, proof that even brilliant men get stupid ideas, and the stupid idea of restricting trade as a retaliatory measure never ends well. And this particular stupid idea has cropped up again and again, with always the same results. Actual birthdays include composer and Zappa influence Edgard Varese; Vladimir Fock, he of the eponymous Hartree-Fock self consistent field methods; ideal mom and fluent speaker of jive Barbara Billingsley; and Princess Bride expert Ted Cruz.

And now the news.

Team Blue handwringing over ending two of the numerous Bush-Obama wars continues apace. If we had done the right thing and elected Clinton, by god we’d be making our wars bigger, better, and more numerous! We would be preserving our national honor!

The free vacation for a small subset of Federal employees begins. And they will, of course, concentrate on things that will inconvenience people in the highest profile way as well as tell stories to tug at your heartstrings, assuming you have a heart and have zero memory of every other goddamn shutdown which ended with everyone getting a pile of back pay. At least this time, the news media are calling it a “partial shutdown,” so there’s been some progress.

Every asshole incident is racial. Welcome to 2018.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. But I will admit that the last 5 weeks have been entertaining and encouraging.

The Ginsburg Ghoul Watch continues. I’m already laying in a stock of popcorn.

This upsets me because it greatly narrows my window.

If the Postal Service collapses, where will psycho killers find useful employment?

Wait a minute, you mean the New York Times might be intellectually dishonest and transparently partisan? Where’s my fainting couch?

Europe once again teaches us that we need to be more like them in their notions of tolerance and sophistication.

More reasons why I didn’t bother deleting my account, I just… left.

One more example of how courts are constitution-free zones.

Old Guy Music today features a brilliantly talented friend of ours who is decidedly not old. The lyrics were particularly resonant with us this week. But we WILL get all the way to Arizona.

How do I top SP’s announcement from yesterday? I can’t, any more so than I can top her formatting. So fuck it, since I’m the equivalent of the Shabbos Goy for the actual goyim who run links on weekdays, let’s just get to the (vegetarian and kosher) meat of the post.

Auspicious birthdays today include Jack Russell, of the eponymous dogs; ventriloquist extraordinaire, Paul Winchell; true genius and sorta-libertarianish Frank Zappa; stunning mentalist Max Maven; and one of SP’s favorites, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

The House voted to continue tax-money-wasting boondoggles, with Trump’s favorite one included. There’s at least one reliably principled vote against.

This is what I would call a good start. And of course, cue the concern trolling. Now appoint a non-interventionist but strong defense guy who will support getting us the fuck out of Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen… and put resources toward actual national defense. What amazes me, or maybe doesn’t amaze me, is the sudden rush of pro-war sentiment from the Left, which reads exactly like the excuses for Vietnam. Sigh. I remember the days when I was a liberal, and that included opposing wars of choice.

What’s worse than the naming of highways to “honor” dead authoritarian big-government pieces of shit like Ronald Reagan or Lyndon Johnson? Naming them after alive authoritarian big-government pieces of shit like Barack Obama.

SP and I feel partially responsible for this.

Could it be… could it be… SATAN?

One thing I’ve warned many people over the years: never piss off a chemistry major. It will not end well.

The thing that amazes me about this story is that people still have photos developed.

What happens when STEVE SMITH uses ancestry.com? THIS.

The irony, IT BURNS!

There are things which, for me, surpasses all understanding.

Old Man music has no choice today. The “video” actually starts with a minute of Latex Solar Beef (with vocals by The Turtles), then segues into Willie. Zappa shreds his way through some insane guitar solos with his very distinctive tone and phrasing. And then bonus fuzz box and wah wah in Part 2.  If you love electric guitar, you need to hear these.

Well, it’s another goyishe shabbat, so the poor Jew is stuck doing the work. And because news declines in interest even faster than dead fish, there’s an ephemeral vibe. None of this will be remembered a week from now. This elates and depresses me simultaneously.

Ditto today’s birthdays, a delightful mix of heroism and villainy. Starting with hero Ludwig van Beethoven (without whom Schroeder and Alex would be NOTHING!); popular fraud (though some claim dupe) Margaret Mead; one of my great childhood inspirations and favorite novelist Arthur C. Clarke; money-grubber and supreme merchant of dishonesty Morris Dees; darling of baseball card collectors, Billy “Fuck Face” Ripken; and beloved football great William “The Refrigerator” Perry.

The news awaits us. Let’s not disappoint it.

Chipotle comes to India.

Eleven people have died after eating rice that had likely been contaminated with a toxic substance at a Hindu temple ceremony, a health official said Saturday. Another 29 people were critically ill and undergoing emergency treatment across various hospitals in Mysore, a city in the state of Karnataka. The patients were being treated for vomiting, diarrhoea and respiratory distress.

According to the police, devotees had gathered in large numbers at the Kicchukatti Maramma temple for the consecration ceremony on Friday, after which rice was served as a sanctified offering. Murugappa, a devotee who was present at the temple, said they were offered tomato rice and flavoured water. “A foul smell was emanating from the food, but those at the head of the queue consumed the food nonetheless,” he was quoted as saying by the NDTV news network. “A little while later they started vomiting and frothing at the mouth.”

Hmm, I’m thinking of making biryani for dinner tonight. What could go wrong?

In 2019, Congress will be too busy investigating Trump to get anything done. Trump will be too busy dealing with investigations to get anything done. I call this a win.

The mounting inquiries are building into a cascade of legal challenges that threaten to dominate Trump’s third year in the White House. In a few weeks, Democrats will take over in the House and pursue their own investigations into all of the above – and more. House Democrats may eventually seek to impeach Trump. But, for now, removing him from office appears unlikely: It would require the support of two-thirds of the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans.

However, there has been one immediate impact on a president accustomed to dictating the country’s news cycles but who now struggles to keep up with them: Trump has been forced to spend his political capital – and that of his party – on his defense. As the bad news has rolled in, the president has cut back his public schedule. He spent more time than usual in his official residence this week, with more than two dozen hours of unstructured “executive time,” said a person familiar with his schedule.

Get my popcorn ready.

A suitable replacement for John Conyers celebrates the legacy of the Adjacent Jew Haters.

[Congresschimp-elect Rashida] Tlaib will fill the seat formerly occupied by Democratic Rep. John Conyers, who left office last year amid accusations of sexual misconduct. She ran unopposed in the general election following her August primary win in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.

Following that win, Tlaib appeared at a celebration rally where she was draped in a Palestinian flag and her mother broke out in ululation, a high-pitched vocal sound many Middle Eastern women make in celebration.

Oh man, there may not be enough popcorn.

Chicagoans really do have fun.

[Tinley Park v]illage officials are considering ways to regulate short-term home rentals after a recent wedding party at one such house featured drummers and bagpipers, as well as a horse being paraded down the street, according to a police report.

There were no arrests or charges lodged, but the incident report noted 40 cars in the cul-de-sac parked haphazardly, with some blocking fire hydrants as well as a livestock trailer that was partly obstructing the street. Party attendees left without further incident after police arrived, according to the report.

Two observations: if a woman says she’s been fantasizing about her dream wedding since she was a little girl… RUN. And the sure way to avoid neighbor complaints about loud partiesd is to invite them.

Many people voted against Hillary Clinton because of her Obama-like irresistible urges to mire us in every shit-ass conflict in the Middle East that she can. Trump has done soooo much better.

President Donald Trump indicated in March that the troops would be brought home once the battle is won, and the latest military push to eject the group from its final pocket of territory recently got underway. In September, however, the administration switched course, saying the troops will stay in Syria pending an overall settlement to the Syrian war and with a new mission: to act as a bulwark against Iran’s expanding influence.

The Pentagon does not say how many troops are there. Officially, they number 503, but earlier this year an official let slip that the true number may be closer to 4,000.

Repeat after me: the only difference between Team Red and Team Blue is the color of their ties.

I hope you’re sitting down. This is going to be the most shocking thing you’ve ever heard. Prepared? OK… here goes: Lizzy Warren isn’t an Indian.

“As a country, we need to stop pretending that the same doors open for everyone, because they don’t,” she said during a commencement speech at Morgan State University in Baltimore, according to the Washington Post.

“I’m not a person of color,” she continued. “And I haven’t lived your life or experienced anything like the subtle prejudice, or more overt harm, that you may have experienced just because of the color of your skin.”

Where is my fainting couch? Is there NOTHING a person can count on these days?

Old Guy Music! Normally, dinosaur get-togethers bore and annoy me. And this is probably boring and annoying, but… as a teenager, I loved Jethro Tull and King Crimson. So this pairing, unimaginable at that time, just gave me the flutters.

After a week of frustrating burial in large-company bureaucracy (year end means HR nightmares and much cursing of Workday), the Old Man emerges to throw links to the Glibertariat. Sorry, these will be news and not collections of titty pics of highly photoshopped and siliconed duck-lipped millennials. Others will no doubt step into the breach.

Today’s notable birthdays include brilliant physicist Freeman Dyson (whom everyone should read about- a true iconoclast, and one of the two most egregious snubs for a Nobel, the other being Henry Eyring); funnyman Tim Conway (SP and I saw his one-man show a few years ago and were in awe of his talent); Max Yasgur of Woodstock fame; and biophysicist and Nobelist Maurice Wilkins, whose work in X-ray diffraction was the key to elucidating the famed double helix structure of DNA.

To the news.

Of course, the biggest news was the inverse of the Ninth Circuit ruling Obamacare, as she stands, to be unconstitutional.

The case against the ACA was brought by 20 Republican state attorneys general and governors, as well as two individuals. It revolves around Congress effectively eliminating the individual mandate penalty by reducing it to $0 as part of the 2017 tax cut bill. The mandate requires nearly all Americans to get health insurance or pay a penalty.
The Republican coalition, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is arguing that the change rendered the mandate itself unconstitutional. The states say that the voiding of the penalty, which takes effect next year, removes the legal underpinning the Supreme Court relied upon when it upheld the law in 2012 under Congress’ tax power.

I can only wonder what contortions Bush-souvenir John Roberts will undertake to preserve this insane government overreach. But I have confidence that he’s a smart guy who will creatively figure out another way to screw us.

Australian animals are weirder than we can imagine. And likely going extinct, as befits creatures created by Yahweh after finishing a six pack of Foster’s.

It sports a green mohican, fleshy finger-like growths under its chin and can breathe through its genitals. Gill-like organs within its cloaca – an orifice used by reptiles for excretion and mating – enable it to stay underwater for up to three days.

So basically, Warty.

In sports news, Minnesodans may have had enough.

“For Sale: Lightly used $1,000,000,000 stadium. Occupant has been a team that only has success in breaking the hearts of the fans. Long history of collecting talent with no ideas on how to use them. Included: $84 million QB who can’t win against teams with winning records, and is 0-7 on MNF. A league record! All reasonable offers considered. Will even entertain ideas to convert to a homeless shelter, as there is a greater chance of one of those folk becoming a success.”

A picture of a dumpster fire was also added to the listing.

It’s a good thing those folks are so polite; this could have been much worse.

Remember this the next time WebDom posts her Vegan School.

There are several causes of hidden hunger in developed countries. The consumption of cheap, energy dense, nutritionally poor and heavily processed foods, particularly by poorer members of society, is a major factor. Even when fresh produce is consumed, there appears to be fewer micronutrients available than was once the case. This is due to issues such as soil health, caused by poor agricultural management and climate change.

The rapidly growing trend of veganism is likely to become another major contributor to hidden hunger in the developed world.

Climate Change and veganism- threats to our existence.

I left my heart in San Francisco…

The flight took the organ on ice from a courier at Sacramento International Airport bound for Seattle where the heart’s valve tissue was set to be used. But like a mishandled bag, the heart was mistakenly kept on the connecting flight to Dallas instead of being taken out of the cargo hold.

Trust me, if this were United or American, that thing would still be there, rotting away.

It amazes me that after a faith-healer is exposed as a fraud (which they all are), nothing really changes. But let him squeeze a titty,and #metoo hell breaks loose.

“This case of John of God is really emblematic because he’s someone who is known internationally,” said Carolina Vicentin, one of the co-founders of the Brazilian feminist magazine AzMina. “But this type of thing is not unusual. The problem is that women are deterred from making accusations.”
Consulted by Brazilian presidents and lauded by international celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Faria established himself as the country’s pre-eminent healer, offering surgery to the sick guided only by spirits. The medium visited [President Michel] Temer in hospital last year, while former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sought his assistance during his treatment for cancer.

While it’s wonderful that his “career” fleecing and killing the gullible and stupid may be ending, it’s shitty that this is the only sort of thing that can accomplish that laudable end.

I may end up having to do a Jewsday about this. Vegetarianism, science, and rabbis, all rolled into one.

Lab-grown meat has sparked a debate among rabbis in Israel about whether cell-cultured is the same as conventional meat and should fall under the same guidelines for keeping kosher. “There is a disagreement about it and there is a conversation. Also, definitely, there are new questions about lab-meat,” says Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, an expert on kosher tradition and bioethics.

Whenever someone says “there is a conversation,” you know they mean “monologue.”

Old Guy Music today features another birthday boy- the great and innovative big band leader Stan Kenton. And some really creepy dancing.

I cannot believe that we’re entering the last stages of the football season. And the end of the year. Tempus is fugiting at an alarming rate, and we’re already preparing our “Best of 2018” lists. And speaking of lists, today’s birthdays include anarchist and proto-libertarian Peter Kropotkin;  physical chemist Fritz Haber; brilliant character actress and all-around decent human Margaret Hamilton; one of my favorite chemists, William “The Colonel” Lipscomb, who seemed to bring magic to every field he touched; and actor John Malkovich, subject of one of my favorite movies.

And on to the news.

The French once again show their solidarity with the Palestinians by engaging in riots and destruction as weekend activities.

From all corners of the country, French protesters — the vast majority of them men — came by the thousands in trains, buses and cars. But once together in the capital, the most concrete thing they shared was simply fury. Fury at President Emmanuel Macron. At taxes. At jobs that don’t pay the bills. At politicians they accuse of stuffing their own pockets. At the elite. At banks. At ‘the system.’ At life in general.

Don’t forget fury at McDonalds and Coca Cola! And love for Jerry Lewis!

Interestingly, the upheaval appears to be spreading to neighboring countries.

Belgian police fired tear gas and water cannons at yellow-vested protesters calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Charles Michel after they tried to breach a riot barricade, as the movement that started in France made its mark Saturday in Belgium and the Netherlands. The reasons for the protests are not entirely clear. Neither Belgium nor the Netherlands has proposed a hike in fuel tax — the catalyst for the massive and destructive demonstrations in France in recent weeks. Instead, protesters appeared to hail at least in part from a populist movement that is angry at government policy in general and what it sees as the widening gulf between mainstream politicians and the voters who put them in power. Some in Belgium appeared intent only on confronting police.

“Our children are hard-working people but they have to pay taxes everywhere. You can’t get housing anymore. It is not going well in Dutch society,” [protester] Ieneke said. “The social welfare net we grew up with is gone,” she said.

“The government is not there for the people. It is there to protect its own interests,” she said.

Smart lady, that Ieneke.

And while we’re on the subject of international chaos, in South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa says to Robert Mugabe, “Hold mah beer!”

The country’s National Assembly approved a proposal to change the constitution to make the so-called reforms legal in a vote of 183 to 77. This paves the way for land to be taken from farmers without giving any kind of compensation. Economic Freedom Fighters MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi argued land grabs must go ahead as she declared: “Your time is up, white people”.

I used to travel to South Africa on the regular, so I’m particularly saddened by how a vibrant country which was overcoming a legacy of actual racism has consciously decided to spin down the toilet. I’m guessing that my last trip there was my last trip there, and it’s time to stock up on Pinotage before that disappears as well.

I can’t say much about this story beyond, “There’s some things that even STEVE SMITH won’t rape.

This one will bring a smile to SP’s face.

A dog that survived the catastrophic wildfire in Northern California apparently protected the ruins of his home for almost a month until his owner returned. Madison was there waiting when Andrea Gaylord was allowed back to check on her burned property in Paradise this week.

Gaylord told news station ABC10 she couldn’t ask for a better animal. “Imagine the loyalty of hanging in in the worst of circumstances and being here waiting,” she said. “Their instinctual job is to watch the flocks and we’re part of them,” Gaylord said about her dogs. “It’s a comforting feeling.”

Since we own a dog which is a related breed with similar instincts and origins, we can absolutely imagine her doing the same thing. Good dog, Madison!

Old Guy Music. Of course. And this is a ballad of the original victim of #metoo, written and performed by a brilliantly clever and funny guy.