Nika and Noah with no interlopers around
Ah, the dog park. At this time of year, when the snowbirds have been arriving in droves and the polo people are descending for the season, the park is filled with unfamiliar dogs of all shapes, sizes and temperaments.
There’s Cruiser, the Burmese Mountain dog, 100 pounds of fur and sociability, who races into the park and greets everyone in exactly the same way. She instantly flops onto her back, usually landing on your feet, and offers her tummy for a rub, a scratch, then is off and running toward the next person. She instantly flops over on her back, offering her tummy for a rub, a scratch. But her type is less common among the new dogs.
A Rhodesian Ridgeback, a young, intact male who arrives at the park in a electric cart. The scuttlebutt is that his owner, associated with the polo industry, is a snob. His dog isn’t a snob, but he’s certainly a troublemaker. He’s constantly mounting other dogs, fights break out, and the owner always blames the other dog and its owner.
Ivan, a huge Doberman male, also intact, is aptly named (Ivan the terrible!). He scopes out the other dogs, then dashes straight for his target, barking ferociously. Gender doesn’t seem to matter to him. He is equally aggressive and rude and when dogs protest his attempts to mount them, fights break out.
This evening, so many new dogs romped through the middle park, where we usually hang out, that we moved to the far end, where there’s a mountain of dirt and large pipes that seem to fascinate dogs. Pretty soon, a pair of black and white pugs invaded the area, interlopers. They don’t intimidate through their size, but they are fierce little things, yappers and snappers that lunged at Noah and Nika to keep them away from the pipes, then tried to steal their Frisbee and orange ball.
In terms of personalities, these new dogs don’t mix too well with the regular crowd. Most of the regulars have known each other for several years and their differences have long been resolved. I wish I could say the same for the 112th Congress. With the deadline of December 31 looming for the “fiscal cliff,” things don’t look too promising.
On the 31st, emergency unemployment compensation for millions of Americans will expire. Also due to expire: the Bush-era tax cuts and the start of $1 trillion in spending cuts that Congress mandated in 2011 in a deal to raise the debt ceiling. During that fiscal cliff, the Republicans let the deadline come and go and the standoff resulted in Moody’s downgrading the U.S. credit rating. They’re up to their same tricks this time. They’re like Ivan the Doberman, bullies who scope out their targets, then zoom in on them.
Ivan and his faction fight for the millionaires, whose numbers have multiplied since the Bush era tax cuts. Raise taxes on couples who make more than $250,000? No way. They proposed hiking taxes only for people who make over a million bucks a years. Keep in mind that a billionaire like Romney paid only 15 percent in taxes, while most middle class Americans pay 25 percent or more.
Also, FICA – the tax that goes to Social Security – is supposed to rise by two percent as well. This rise impacts the poor and middle class because the threshold is $110,000 (set to rise to $113,700 in 2013). Anything an individual earns beyond that is FICA-free. Seniors will be hurt by the cuts to what Medicare pays doctors, which means fewer doctors will accept Medicare patients
This maneuver is similar to the sneaky way the pair of pugs kept stealing the Frisbee and the ball. It wasn’t a game to them; it was warfare.
For the larger picture, though, these Republican tricks are like the behavior of the aggressive Ridgeback who rides to the park every day in his human’s electric cart. While his human stands off by himself, talking on his cell phone, the dog wreaks havoc. Ha-ha, you poor suckers. Go over the cliff. What do I care. The tax code, like the Republican Party and its mouthpiece, Fox News, favors the wealthy and corporations.
Take a look at this Forbes article – for how the top 20 U.S. corporations fared taxwise.
When the interlopers became so numerous they outnumbered the regulars, we called it quits at the park. Nika and Noah were happy to leave. Unfortunately, the EXIT strategy isn’t an option for taxpayers – unless you don’t mind having the IRS breathing down your neck and threatening to impound your salary, home, and anything else you own. And in the event that you deem the Internal Revenue Service way down on your list of formidable government agencies, think twice. The IRS did in Al Capone.
However, at the dog park, as with the looming fiscal cliff, there’s a high note. The interloper will eventually go back home and if we go over the cliff, the Pentagon budget will be drastically cut. Now that can’t be a bad thing.
Snowbirds? More like swarm of locusts!
One of my favorite lessons from my political science courses in college was “the tragedy of the commons.” When a few people take from the commons more than they should, it destroys it for everyone. That’s what locusts do…and the Republican Party!
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I think ” A Day At The Dogpark ” would make a good syndicated cartoon strip,if you knew a good cartoonist.
I think a lot of people could relate to this.
I think you’re right, Daz.My nephew is a tattoo artist. Maybe I’ll talk to him about this! Or even Megan. She’s a good artist, but not sure about cartoons.
Re:
“My nephew is a tattoo artist…”
That’s weird,because I did my latest post
https://brizdazz.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/the-d-is-silentanother-coldman-sync.html
in response to Alan and Bill’s latest episode of “Always Record” in which there is a large part devoted to tattoos and the wisdom of having one on your skin.
OK this is going to be a year in which synchros proliferate!
I used to have a Great Pyrenees named Buddy. He was so strong that I was the only member of the family who could walk him. I had to use a horse lead as a leash. He would just run away from anyone else. One day a loose German Shepherd came up to us and challenged him, getting in his space and growling. Buddy took a paw and slapped the other dog in the face. The Shepherd rolled over several times from the blow. Buddy didn’t even make a sound. Whe was too dignified.
He was great with children. He let toddlers ride on his back and even let one or two of them chin themselves on his jaw. He even let the cat sleep on his back.
I think one encounter and your interlopers would definitely left him behind.
Now I’m going to have to look for a pic of a great pyrenees! What a terrific story.
Writing about the Fiscal Cliff,I did a post yesterday
https://brizdazz.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/gibbs-sons-apocalypto.html
on my blog about another SYNC Book 2 author,Richard Arrowsmith,where I mentioned the Bee Gee’s old home at Redcliffe burning down.
Of course,if you go over a fiscal cliff you would be in the red,so I thought a fire gutted house at Redcliffe wasn’t really a good omen at the present time.
It’s one of those labyrinth posts for the Synchead community ,so you might get lost in it Trish,but there is some gems in there that you may find interesting.
I also thought that the Bee Gee’s song “Staying Alive” was appropriate considering we have survived what some where predicting to be the end of the world on Dec 21st.-)
Great! I’ll check it out.
Re:
“Ivan, a huge Doberman male, also intact, is aptly named (Ivan the terrible!). He scopes out the other dogs, then dashes straight for his target, barking ferociously. Gender doesn’t seem to matter to him. He is equally aggressive and rude and when dogs protest his attempts to mount them, fights break out.”
I was laughing to myself when I was reading this part,as at the Swedish furniture store I used to work for I had a boss named Ivan,the most arrogant Canadian you would probably ever meet in your life,and he behaved exactly like this Doberman…although I don’t know much about the ‘attempts to mount’ part,as I’m glad to report he never tried that one on me…but I guess in the end he was one of the dogs who f#@%ed me over bigtime .-)
And just about everybody would call him ‘Ivan the terrible’ behind his back.
Great name for an abusive boss! Synchro!
Love your dog park stories.
Don’t like your snowbird story, how rude!! I’ve seen it all over on our many travels, I just don’t understand how people can be so rude. I guess they feel like, so what?! I’ll be leaving soon.
I was really disappointed but not surprised that Obama went on vacation. He doesn’t seem to think this is a big problem. I don’t feel much urgency on his part. All I know is that my husband works 24/7 especially during a crisis. When hurricane Sandy hit I didn’t see him for 4 days because he was dealing with 2 Gov.s and Unions trying to get the NY harbor open to allow the gas barges in, and dealing with Fuel Tanker drivers getting attacked etc.
You also can’t just tax our way out of this mess. Everyone in Washington should be at work. They have the cushiest jobs, lets start by taking away so many of their lifetime perks!!!
If your hub was working 24/7 after Sandy, then you would think the congress should be doing the same to avoid the fiscal cliff. They’ll just vote themselves another pay raise.
Just want to say I was only joking about “divorcing” my hubby. Been married far too long for that! 🙂 We’re simply on completely different pages politically and that will never change, so I avoid the issues with him. Agree with Mike about our Prez….as do many, many of the folks I hear discussing his departure during a time of crisis that has the potential to impact the economy of the entire world. Yes, it was Christmas. However, his job, like the job of a physician, is to be where he is needed in an emergency. Thumbs down to him on this. And to ALL those Washington folks who left empty seats in suich a time! Fingers crossed about this heck of an impending mess.
Ah the dog park! Love it.
What I don’t understand is that, according to UK press, if this Fiscal Cliff isn’t sorted by the end of the year the US could go into recession again. Then how come it’s only now that the President flies back from his holiday? Surely he should have been working on this all along, as it sounds very serious. And not just for the US.
If the country does go into recession then it’ll become like a tidal wave affecting countries worldwide … this could lead to dramatic financial problems ahead. Could this perhaps be part of the ‘changes’ predicted by many following 21st December?
You’re right, Mike. A lot of economists are predicting a slide back into a recession if no deal is reached. Last time, Obama was backed into a corner: to get extended unemployment benefits, he caved on tax cuts for the wealthy.
Good post and analogy, as always. My hubby and I had a vigorous discussion last nite about the fiscal cliff business. If I had been married less than almost a half-century, I would consider divorcing this Republican man. Sometimes I think he’s not quite all there in the head. And he’s the Rhodesian Ridgeback. Nothing the Dems do please him, and everything the Repugs do is fine. I’ve withdrawn to a speechless space with him re politics and this horrific mess. There’s no way for me to comprehend his thinking, so I’ve simply decided to not enter a conversation with him about these matters. The snowbirds….ahhhh yes! They descend upon the Nation’s Oldest City in large hordes because they own thousands of condos here, and are hostile and demanding. One can always recognize them because they totally lack the typical southern hospitality, never say ‘hello’, or smile at a stranger, and project the attitude that they literally own our little town and all its wonders. Please, no offense intended to our northern friends here on the blog. These snowbirds are a different breed entirely! Such is life…..
That’s too bad that your hub doesn’t see the repub agenda for what it is: class warfare. If he collects social security or is on medicare, he can blame the repubs when his check and benefits are drastically cut.
Robert Reich, Clinton’s Secretary of Labor wrote an editorial in the Huffington Post saying let the Republicans send the country over the cliff. The New Congress can retroactively change things back. He says it would unmask the Republican radicals for what they are.
Republicans do not represent their constituancy. They are only looking out for the people who pay their bribes. Boehner tried to get a compromise going, but the rank and file do not care what the voters want. They are not the ones with the money.
Hey Ray, great to see you! I think Reich is brilliant. Too bad he’s not obama’s secretary of labor!
I always enjoy your trips to the dog park. My sister writes to me about her disgust with the way the snowbirds in her Florida area seem to think they are entitled and push the people who live there all the time to the background. She walks her dog and doesn’t go to dog parks, but I suspect there are the same kinds of dogs and owners there, too. Love your analogy.