Jennifer Harman and Cat Condo Conversions

[Content Disclosure: Big Felines 68%, Small Kitties 22%, Charity 33%, Poker 7%, SPCA 89%]

My good friend Matty is in town again and as is our ritual, we met in front of the MGM Lion Habitat and then went over to the SPCA Shelter to visit the Cat Condos. Our first surprise was that Gino and Belladonna were the afternoon residents at MGM. We actually got to meet and touch those two about a year ago when they were tiny cubs. Here is a picture of me with Belladonna, she is about 150 pounds heavier now.


After visiting with the big kitties, Matt and I went over the the SPCA No-Kill shelter and were horribly disappointed to discover the Cat Condos were closed for renovation. My fault, I know they have to completely redo that section of the shelter every year or so and I just didn't think to check the website. We did manage to run into some of the great staff and were told that these are hard times for many pet owners with the financial crisis and in particular the ever mounting foreclosures in the area. Many more pet owners have had to surrender their pets because of lost homes and pet restrictions on their new residences. But on the bright side, we also were told that the SPCA is able to handle this influx of animals mostly because of the money raised this past year by the Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament.

So here is another hats off to Jennifer and all those who volunteered their time and energy to that worthy project. And once more a reminder that you can make a donation to the SPCA No-Kill Shelter right here. And details of next year's charity event will be posted as soon as we have them.

White Racial Politics

[Content Disclosure: 78% Politics; 59% Race; 0% Poker]

After every election we hear about which "groups" put which candidate over the top. Or which groups "won" the election for someone or another. Well there is one group that doesn't get talked about much in this manner, that would be the white voters. Caucasian has been the majority or at least the presumed majority in the United States for as long as any one alive today can remember. Clearly, the times they are a changin'.

Deep down many people were concerned that quiet racism would, if not elect John McCain, at least make the election close enough for everyone to notice. Many feared the quiet voter who did not respond to the pre-election polls or even lied about their little white secret. The fear was that once in the voting booth, they would always and forever pull the white lever.

Well, it didn't happen...... or did it?

Among all white voters in the 2008 Presidential election the tally is: Obama 43% McCain 55%.

Whether you are a glass of milk half empty or half full type of person, there is other good or bad news.

The 43% of white voters is the highest the democratic candidate for president has gotten in over twenty years. So it may be less about color and more about conservative leanings. Not to dismiss reactionary voting against change as having a racial component.

The better news. When you drop out white voters over 65 years of age; Obama wins the white vote. It does seem that the younger you are, the less likely you will fear or dislike someone based on melatonin levels.