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David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

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David McElroy

Just a performance: actors and politicians have a lot in common

By David McElroy · July 17, 2011

When you see an actor in a movie or on a TV show, you know that the person is acting. You don’t expect that the lines he says reflect what he is in real life. What you probably don’t know is that you should assume the same thing about politicians.

I was reminded of this earlier today when a frustrated friend sent me a link to a story about a married Republican state legislator in Ohio who was found drunk with a young stripper and charged with DUI. The legislator is Rep. Robert Mecklenborg, who has a history of backing strong “family values” legislation that plays well with the GOP voter base. My friend is originally from Germany, and she gets frustrated with American politics at time. Her comment today:

“This is sad. Why are some thinking they are so above the standards they impose on others?”

I don’t get outraged by these incidents and haven’t in years. It hadn’t really occurred to me until today why that’s true. The people who are outraged at such hypocrisy assume that the things politicians say represent something about what they really believe and think. I know better. I know that the delivery of their lines on a political stage has almost nothing to do with how they live their lives.

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THE McELROY ZOO: Meet Molly, the cat who was ‘returned to sender’

By David McElroy · July 17, 2011

Molly and her sister showed up outside my house — along with their mother — several years ago. I don’t know where they were from, but they were all skittish enough that I assume the mother was a stray. One day, the mother cat disappeared, leaving just two bewildered kittens mewing on my porch.

 The picture on the top of the three to the right is the only one I have of the kittens with their mother, because I couldn’t get close enough to get anything better than this. When she disappeared, I didn’t know what to do, because the kittens wouldn’t even let me get close to them. Unfortunately, it was the time of year that it was starting to get cold outside. (You’ll notice a Halloween pumpkin at the bottom of the picture with their mother.)

I started feeding the kittens quickly, but I really started to get concerned when the mother didn’t return for several days. On the night when it was going to be the first freeze of the season around here, I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to try to catch them.

I’d like to say it was easy, but it was very difficult. I was able to lure them with food. I grabbed one of them while she was eating, but the other took off. (They look so much alike that I don’t know now which I caught first.) After a lot of luring and stealth, I caught the second one, but I ended up bloodied by pretty little teeth and claws.

The two kittens were pretty much identical except for the width of the white strip on their noses. Molly has a wide white vertical strip. Her sister, Bessie, has a narrow vertical strip. They were both small, but their mother was tiny, too. Even as adults, Molly and Bessie weigh only 5 pounds each.

I expected to find homes for them quickly and be out of the business of fostering kittens. After all, I already had enough of my own. I certainly wasn’t going to take it two more.

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Why should kids OR adults need state permission to sell lemonade?

By David McElroy · July 16, 2011

It’s a story that always produces outrage. Police see a couple of kids with a lemonade stand and shut them down because they don’t have a business license. The news stories make it clear that the police are jerks and that the poor kids are being victimized. Readers and viewers are outraged. Then we wait until the next time it happens and do the same story all over again.

The latest example of the predictable story is in Georgia. A couple of girls opened a lemonade stand to raise money to finance a trip to a theme park. Police shut them down because they didn’t have business licenses that would have cost $180 for the year. People are outraged. Again.

I have sympathy for the kids. I really do. But what I’d like to know is why stories such as this don’t remind us of the flip side. Obviously, it’s unreasonable to think that kids should have to have a city’s permission to sell lemonade, but isn’t it just as obvious that nobody should need government permission to conduct business? The only people whose permission you should need are your customers — and they vote with their purchases.

I’m glad that stories such as this one get attention, but I wish people would draw a different lesson. It’s not that kids need to be exempt from draconian, stupid laws. It’s that the draconian, stupid laws need to go away.

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I just watched a lovely moonrise going on right ov I just watched a lovely moonrise going on right over sunset. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
It was rainy for much of the day Saturday, but the It was rainy for much of the day Saturday, but the skies started clearing just enough before sunset to display a nice display of colors in the sky near my house. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
I just remembered that I shot a couple of frames o I just remembered that I shot a couple of frames of the horizon just after sunset Friday evening. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
This was the beautiful scene that I saw driving ho This was the beautiful scene that I saw driving home about an hour ago just before sunset. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
This was right at sunset Wednesday around 7 p.m. T This was right at sunset Wednesday around 7 p.m. This spot is about a mile from my house. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
I like it that we’re getting back to the time of I like it that we’re getting back to the time of year when sunsets happen when I’m in a better position to take photos of them. This was a minute or two before sunset Monday evening. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
The moon looks lovely and bright out here tonight The moon looks lovely and bright out here tonight beneath the bare branches of the winter trees. #nature #naturephotography #sky #birmingham #alabama
It’s been cloudy for much of the day in Birmingh It’s been cloudy for much of the day in Birmingham, but the sunshine’s color was trying to break through the clouds right at sunset. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
It’s been cloudy in Birmingham for much of the d It’s been cloudy in Birmingham for much of the day, but the sun came shining through late Wednesday afternoon just before sunset. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
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Alex poses in an office window late Friday night. Alex poses in an office window late Friday night. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama #caturdayeve
I just got home and Thomas agreed to put up with m I just got home and Thomas agreed to put up with me for a minute or two. But he was quickly done with the indignity of interacting with a mere human. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama #caturdayeve
Alex has decided to stay home and sleep instead of Alex has decided to stay home and sleep instead of going to the office with me this afternoon. I think he’s making a wise decision. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
Thomas has the high ground just before midnight as Thomas has the high ground just before midnight as he keeps watch to see when Alex launches his latest attack. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
The grass of the back yard was cut while I was awa The grass of the back yard was cut while I was away this afternoon and Lucy was happy to find a nice, clean lawn to relax on when I arrived home. #dog #dogs #dogstagram #dogsofinstagram #cute #cutedog #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #instadog #ilovedogs #birmingham #alabama
It’s about 2 a.m. and Alex is camped out next to It’s about 2 a.m. and Alex is camped out next to the door between the office and the bedroom. He’s waiting for Thomas to step through the door — and then he pounces at him, starting another round of their late-night chases. They both seem to love it. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
I think the only reason Thomas is still awake is t I think the only reason Thomas is still awake is that he’s keeping an eye out for sneak attacks from Alex, which often happen without warning at this time of the night. It’s dangerous around here. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
My feline friends are in their evening spots at ho My feline friends are in their evening spots at home to wait for me to turn the car into the driveway, which is right outside these two windows. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
This is the look that Lucy gave me when I told her This is the look that Lucy gave me when I told her that she had to go back inside so I could leave the house for some more work. I don’t think she was ready. #dog #dogs #dogstagram #dogsofinstagram #cute #cutedog #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #instadog #ilovedogs #birmingham #alabama
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On a live awards show Sunday night, one man made a joke about a female celebrity. The husband of the celebrity was offended and hit the man who made the joke. Or maybe it was staged for entertainment. Who knows? Who cares? Social media is full of discussion — and even arguments — about this idiocy today. This baffles me. Let’s assume for a moment that the event happened as reported. People have been having such idiotic fights ever since there have been humans. Half the bars in the world see such brief dustups regularly. It simply doesn’t matter. The fact that so many people believe they need to talk about this — or even need to have opinions about it — is more evidence of the bizarre media brainwashing that convinces many to care passionately about brain-dead trivia. Your life will be happier and saner if you focus on yourself, your family and your friends, not on whatever scripted (or spontaneous) bilge that the media wants to pipe into your home.

I’m in the middle of migrating this website to new servers this week. This means you might encounter some unexpected behavior until I get all the bugs worked out. Clicking on my links (including this one) might cause your browser to give you the message that it’s a site without a current security certificate. It’s not actually unsafe, but there’s something which isn’t yet set up for the security certificate. I apologize for any such errors you might encounter while the process is going on. If you notice any problems with content which didn’t migrate properly, I would appreciate you letting me know the details at davidmcelroy@mac.com. Thanks for your patience.

I often wonder what animals think when they look at us and consider the society we’ve created. Yes, I know this is fanciful and unrealistic, but what if they could? Would they be astounded at how we treat each other? Would they be disgusted by the ugliness and pettiness which fill so many of our daily interactions? The truth is that I’m feeling pretty disgusted with humanity tonight. I made the mistake of reading some online interactions that I should have avoided — and it sickened me. The people involved appeared to be vile and stupid and arrogant. I wish I could pretend they’re a tiny minority, but I know better. It’s times such as this when I most need to escape much of “civilization” and disconnect from their world. If humans are going to be worthy of “ruling this planet,” we have a lot of growth to do. And I fear that growth is nowhere in sight. So my buddy Thomas, above, and all of his friends would be right to judge us harshly — and to think, “Why do you folks get to be in charge?”

I should have expected this, but I honestly didn’t. The article I wrote last week about disagreements over treatment for autistic children brought me angry emails. You could almost call it “hate mail.” Of the five emails about it so far, two have been to tell me that I’m wrong to even listen to critics of the most popular therapy for autistic children — and the other three tell me I’m wrong for not condemning the treatment as the “obvious” abuse it is. If you read the article, you know I didn’t take a position on the issue, because I simply don’t know enough to have an opinion. But by talking about the issue, I stepped into a heated controversy. The emails from the two sides convinced me of nothing. But they did give me even more empathy for the unfortunate parents who have to figure out for themselves where the truth lies for their children.

Have you ever had what you thought was a new idea — and then discovered that “old you” had the same idea years ago? I had that experience tonight. And it’s been wonderful. I came up with an idea tonight for a very short satirical film that would be a promotion for a fictitious college. The point is to make the college promote — as good things — everything which is actually terrible about most modern colleges. Then I remembered a fake college that I invented back when I was in college. I had created student recruitment brochures and various newsletters back then, so I decided to call my “new” college by the same name I’d invented years ago: Ochita College. As I searched my computer for any old material I might still have about Ochita from the past, I discovered an email I sent to someone in 2009 — outlining essentially the same idea which I came up with tonight. Since I didn’t remember writing that, it felt like magic. So my next film project just might be this one instead. If all goes well, you might soon see “Ochita College: Your Future Starts Here.” This should be fun.

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