Mayor of Alaska village walks on four paws – CNN.com

Posted on by

 

Mayor of Alaska village walks on four paws – CNN.com.

Stubbs the cat has been mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, for 15 years, since he was a kitten.

Not many mayors in the United States enjoy belly rubs from their constituents. Then again, most mayors don’t prance around town naked and curl up for naps in front of local businesses.

For 15 years, Stubbs the cat has held the top office in Talkeetna, Alaska. And his approval ratings have never been higher.

“He doesn’t raise our taxes — we have no sales tax. He doesn’t interfere with business. He’s honest,” said Lauri Stec, manager of Nagley’s General Store, which doubles as the mayor’s office.

Stubbs may be the only mayor in the country who rose to office asan infant.

“He was in a box full of kittens in the front of the store, and (the owners) were giving them away,” Stec said. She picked “Stubbs” because he had no tail.

Soon afterward, residents weren’t happy with any of the human candidates in the upcoming mayoral election and voted for Stubbs as a write-in candidate. The kitten won.

Because Talkeetna is a “historical district,” the mayoral post is more symbolic than functional, said Andi Manning, president of the Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce. So most residents are fine with a four-legged feline running the show.

Mayor Stubbs of Talkeetna, Alaska, drinks water with catnip from a wine glass.
Mayor Stubbs of Talkeetna, Alaska, drinks water with catnip from a wine glass.

But the power, apparently, has gotten to Stubbs’ furry head.

“All throughout the day I have to take care of the mayor. He’s very demanding,” said Skye Farrar, a clerk at Nagley’s. “He meowed and meowed and meowed and demanded to be picked up and put on the counter. And he demanded to be taken away from the tourists. Then he had his long, afternoon nap.”

In addition, the mayor will only drink water from a wine glass that has catnip in it, Stec added.

But most everyone is willing to put up with the mayor’s high-maintenance lifestyle, especially because he’s a big tourist attraction for the community of about 800 human beings.

Manning said the mayor frequently draws dozens of tourists who are en route to other Alaska destinations such as Mount McKinley.

And as of late Monday night, the Mayor Stubbs Facebook page had well over 6,000 subscribers.

But Stubbs remains true to his community, often showing up in local businesses — albeit unexpectedly.

“When my building burned down in 2002, he was the last to come out of it,” said Todd Basilone, owner of Mountain High Pizza Pie in Talkeetna. “He’s always in the restaurant. Stubbs wanders into every place in town.”

Even though dogs run loose and outnumber people in Talkeetna, he said, the canines seem to respect Stubbs’ authority.

“I’ve never seen a dog mess with him,” Basilone said.

Though the mayor generally receives positive reviews for his laissez-faire politics, he is guilty of frequently sleeping on the job.

“His biggest political rivals would be other local businesses that would hate that he comes over and takes a nap and leaves fur everywhere. They aren’t big fans of him,” Farrar said.”We usually say, ‘You have to deal with it. He runs the town.’”

 

About these ads

“If Only I Had Teeth Down There!” | Mama’s Health Blog

Posted on by

“If Only I Had Teeth Down There!” | Mama’s Health Blog.

Rapex Condom

Rapex Condom

Call it provocative, call it medieval, whatever you call it aside from self-defense classes, self-imposed curfews and bodyguards it has to be one of the most progressive devices created to help prevent the rape of women. Invented by South African doctor Dr. Sonnet Ehlers after treating a rape victim who said, “If only I had teeth down there,” the female condom dubbed “Rapex” is being readied for distribution after 20 years of research.

“According to Dr. Ehlers “As soon as the man puts his penis in the woman’s vagina the condom catches it. The “teeth” of the condom then penetrates his skin and causes severe pain. The man will have to go to a hospital to have the condom removed,” she said. It will also collect the rapist’s DNA.”

30,000 of these condoms are being distributed in South African in various cities where the World Cup games are being played. South Africa has one of highest incidences of rape in the world.

While some think it increases a woman’s feeling of vulnerability, one could argue that women walk in the world and shape their lives around knowing their vulnerabilities. Others argue that the device is medieval, “Yes, my device may be a medieval,” Dr. Ehlers says, “but it’s for a medieval deed that has been around for decades,” she said. “I believe something’s got to be done … and this will make some men rethink before they assault a woman.”

While I don’t believe one thing will prevent rape, I do believe in having an arsenal from which to choose. What do you think?

Someone hand me my mace, my brass knuckles and my Rapex condom. It’s eleven at night and we need a loaf of bread!

- Aunt B

 

Citing drought, Wyoming governor seeks disaster declaration Cattle News – Editorial, Grain & Cattle Markets, Current Stories

Posted on by

Citing drought, Wyoming governor seeks disaster declaration Cattle News – Editorial, Grain & Cattle Markets, Current Stories.

Wyoming’s governor, citing drought conditions, has asked for a federal disaster declaration after dwindling runoff from meager winter snowpack combined with an especially dry spring and early summer hit ranchers hard, his office said on Friday.

The request, if successful, could help farmers qualify for federal assistance based on poor grass and hay production that has driven many to sell off cattle in the face of persistent dry weather.

“Wyoming farmers and ranchers are struggling to work through serious impacts caused by drought,” Governor Matt Mead said in a statement announcing the request for all but a single county.

Though Wyoming’s nickname is the Cowboy State and it was largely settled by ranchers, agriculture now accounts for a small fraction – less than 5 percent – of Wyoming’s energy-driven economy, with coal and natural gas production dwarfing all other industries.

But in a state where nearly half the land is publicly owned, farmers and ranchers play a key role in preserving Wyoming’s open spaces and supporting its abundant wildlife, indirectly boosting the state’s second-ranking industry of tourism.

Statewide, ranchers have lost about half of their pasture grass and hay production on non-irrigated lands this year, and producers in affected areas were “really struggling,” said Doug Miyamoto, deputy director for the Wyoming Department of Agriculture.

“It’s scary, because you don’t have the production to even feed your animals,” said Krista Macy, whose family has been farming and raising cattle for 100 years north of Pine Bluffs, in southwestern Wyoming, near the Nebraska state line.

Miyamoto said the southern part of Wyoming was suffering the most from lack of spring rain.

“There has been a lot of liquidation of cattle this year in Wyoming based on how far behind we were on precipitation,” Miyamoto said.

Data compiled by the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, shows that more than two thirds of the topsoil in Wyoming was now rated as either too dry for normal plant growth or too dry for any growth or seed germination.

Though federal disaster assistance may help drought-stricken Wyoming ranchers in the short run, bouncing back after such a dry year can be tough over the long term, both financially and emotionally, Macy said.

Moving cows between pastures as grass dies and hauling water as springs dry up is about all some ranchers can do, she said.

“That’s the hardest part, to watch your animals suffer,” she said. “They’re your world.”

Tightrope master Nik Wallenda walks Niagara Falls – YouTube

Posted on by

Tightrope master Nik Wallenda walks Niagara Falls – YouTube.

Broken Scrotum

Posted on by

A woman named Jill stood up at her church’s Testimony Meeting one Sunday morning, took the microphone from one of the church ushers, and bared her soul to the enrapt congregation:

“I want to tell you about the awful accident that my husband, Jim, has suffered this past month. He was riding his Harley, lost control, ran off the highway and hit a tree. He was rushed to the hospital, and could have died, but thank the Lord, all he suffered was a broken scrotum.” The congregation gasped in horror. The men in the congregation were obviously uneasy and writhed in their seats.

“Jim has been in terrible pain all month since the accident. He has trouble breathing. He has trouble swallowing his food. He can hardly lift anything, he’s in so much pain, and he has missed work because of it. He can’t lift our children up to hold them and give them the personal love that they need. Worst of all, we can no longer cuddle and have intimate relations. He is in constant pain, a pain so terrible that our love life has all but slipped away into oblivion.

I would like to ask you all in the congregation to pray for Jim, and pray for us, that his broken scrotum will soon heal and be as good as new. A dull murmur erupted within the congregation as the full impact of this terrible accident sank in, and the men in the congregation were visibly shaken up with the thought that, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

Then, as the murmuring settled down, a lone figure stood up in midst of the congregation, worked his way up to the pulpit, obviously in pain, adjusted the microphone to his liking, then leaned over and said to the congregation: “My name is Jim, and I have only one word for my wife, Jill. That word is: sternum.