Beware of annoyed cats

Greetings.

Jewish date: 26 ’Iyyar 5769.

Today’s holiday: Day 41 of the ‘Omer.

Today’s quasi-holidays: Weights and Measures Day, Eliza Doolittle Day.

Worthy causes of the day: “Stop Starbucks”, “WHAT HAPPENED TO OBAMA'S
ENERGY PLAN?”, “Loaded weapons in our National Parks? Your action is needed today!”, “Tell Republicans to Stop Their Conspiracy Theories!”

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Fall TV cheat sheet: What's in? What's out?”: Cupid, Reaper, and Kings have all been canceled. On the bright side, this gives me three less things to worry about. And I have to repeat, Reaper is no big loss. It may be amusing, but the premise is so incredibly stupid that I have gained an appreciation for how well the premise-botched Buffy the Vampire Slayer was.
   
2. “The Ten Commandments: An interesting insight into the cold war”: This is an historically-based review of The Ten Commandments, with the history both in terms of the setting the story is supposed to take place in and the setting the movie was actually made in. I had not considered that there might be a Cold War aspect to this film.
   
3. More religious persecution: “In Iraq, an exodus of Christians”, “Pakistan's religious minorities report violence”, “An armed band kidnap a Christian teacher in Kirkuk”, “Chinese lawyers say they were beaten, detained”,
   
4. “Should Universal Health Care Cover Faith Healing?”: The answer is “no”, since it does not work.
5. “AA is Faith-Based, Not Evidence-Based”: Apparently Alcoholics Anonymous does not work either, plus courts mandating it is a violation of separation of church and state. The criticism that Alcoholics Anonymous encourages a weak sort of repentance that avoids the penitent taking the responsibility to change his/her ways is a valid one.
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Netanyahu Must Find the Metal to Resist Obama’s Pressure”: For the record, I did not expect Obama to be any more a real friend of Israel than any of the past several presidents the United States has had. Nor did I suspect McCain would be any better on this issue.
  
• “Mixed Feelings ”
  
• “Elderly Who Forget Age Remember Better”
  
• “Peace With Syria (1994)” and “Obama's Failure”
  
• “Komodo dragon kills with venom, not bacteria”
  
• “Are Your "Secret Questions" Too Easily Answered?”
  
• “Ball and chain to force children to study”
  

Today’s weird thing is “Advanced Cat Yodeling”.

Enjoy, share the weirdness, and consider whether you really want to annoy your cat.

Aaron