I have had quite a few people asking about the Scmooze.

She is 4 months old as of Sunday and weighs more than 20 pounds!

She’s a handful in other ways as well.

Her molars are coming in, so her teeth are bugging her and she’s still pretty bitey and squirmy.

Puppy class resumed this week and she was awful. Wouldn’t pay attention. She forgot everything we’d been working on.  It didn’t help that there’s a Golden Lab puppy who does everything perfectly.

But she has learnt some tricks.  She rings a bell at the back door to go out…A helpful tip if your dog doesn’t bark alot

Here’s the latest picture-

Also, if you love Dandy Dinmont Terriers, the ones with the huge brown eyes, there’s an exhibition tomorrow afternoon at Harbourfront complete with cuddle parlour.  Dinmont lovers are worried about this breed dying out. It’s the oldest of the terrier breeds.

Check it out, because Dandy Dinmonts are gentle and don’t shed, so they are  great if you have allergic kids.

Have a great weekend.

Mary Ellen Beninger

If John McCain hoped to add spark to the Republican campaign to counter Barak Obama’s allure,  he’s done that in spades.

The blogosphere is abuzz with Palin’s pick.  Can you be a feminist and a member of the National Rifle Association? Should a mother with a special needs child stay home or take on a major political challenge? What does the pregnancy of her teenaged daughter say about her parenting?

Those are interesting questions and we may get some answers from Palin herself tonight.  Or not.  It seems to be that feminism has morphed from a political cause to an individual choice. That one size does not fit all. That women can be whatever they want, even contradictory, just like men.

The questions about Palin are especially interesting because they weren’t asked this forcefully or publically about John Edwards, who ran for President while his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. (He has since admitted adultery, making his choices even more suspect and narcissistic.)

Palin’s Democratic counterpart Joe Biden held onto his Senate seat after his wife and child were killed in a car crash and he had two young sons back in Scranton.  Nobody asked why he didn’t give up his seat and tend to his knitting.

One columnist asked what would happen if Palin turned out to be a great Vice President but an awful mother? And whether we would pose that question if the GOP pick was named Sam not Sarah.

Palin’s selection has re-ignited the Mommy War debate and the age old question of whether a woman can have it all. I doubt it. I know I can’t.  But maybe those of us less adept at multi-tasking are jealous of someone who appears to have the knack. Women, after all, can be their own worst critics.

I will be watching tonight to get some sense of Palin as a Vice-Presidential candidate, as a woman, as a mother and as a possible role model for modern feminism.

I doubt anyone can fill all those roles properly, but that could just be Schaedenfreud talking.

Mary Ellen Beninger

Shame on the bloggers who claimed the 17 year old was really the mother of the Palin’s son, the one with Downs Syndrome.

Shame on all of the big city folk suggesting this was a sign family values are a sham. We don’t live in Alaska, where families are big and winters are long. But teenaged pregnancy is a reality everywhere. In fact, 30% of mothers in America are teenagers.

Congratulations to Barak Obama for asserting candidates’ families are off limits and reminding Palin critics his mother was 18 when she gave birth.

As for the merits of the Palin pick, it remains to be seen if she can rise to the occasion and manage to sound credible on the campaign trail and during a debate with Senate veteran Joe Biden.

Palin was never the pick because the Republicans thought she would attract disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters….they live in two different policy worlds and to suggest a woman would vote for someone just because they are a woman demeans all women.

Palin was picked because John McCain needed somebody to beef up his bona fides with hardcore Republicans, who don’t trust him.

It has worked in the short term. Ten million dollars was donated to the GOP since the Vice Presidential nominee was announced and there is actually enthusiasm for the ticket that was lacking before. Let’s not forget, when the Republicans rally their base they can win elections.

As for Canadian politics, today’s surveys show Prime Minister Harper could be on the cusp of forming a majority government. That could be why he’s so insistant on a fall election. It could also be a ploy to try and bankrupt the Liberals,  who are deeply in debt and really can’t afford a national campaign. If they lose, Stephane Dion is toast and they’d have to hold another expensive leadership convention. Still, an election is a gamble for Harper, especially with the listeria outbreak and questions about their handling of food and product safety.

Mary Ellen Beninger

Whether or not Obama can live up to his rhetoric; Whether or not he can afford to pay for the long list of promises at a time when the U.S is mired in debt; Whether John McCain’s heroic time in the Hanoi Hilton trumps his ties to 8 years of dismal Republican rule-none of that ultimately matters.

What matters is that any American child can grow up to be president and that was underlined when Hillary Clinton-a woman-threw her support behind the Obama campaign.

I do worry some nut will try to make history by assasinating Obama which is why it’s reassuring that Joe Biden is his running mate.  I have a soft spot for Biden, a really nice guy with a long history in the U.S Senate who is so proud of his family he literally bursts his buttons.

Of all the speeches at the Democratic convention, his touched me as the most sincere and the least partisan.

Hillary was gracious in defeat, though I have trouble buying she isn’t already plotting her next move. I personally think she would do better staying in the Senate where she seems to have an appetite for donkey work and isn’t the same polarizing figure.

Bill Clinton’s speech was good. There was no sign of the petulant, angry man we saw flashes of on the campaign trail.

As for Barak Obama’s big speech, it was good. Not great. Not the soaring promise exhibited 45 years earlier by Martin Luther King Junior. But it wasn’t supposed to be. It was supposed to be partisan and tough and it was. But flawlessly delivered by a man who can work a crowd.

John McCain has his work cut out for him equalling those heights at next week’s Republican convention. It’s not just his lack of oratory, it’s the fact he has to run on the Bush record.

And adding insult to injury is Gustaf, the tropical storm that could regain hurricane status and is threatening New Orleans. I would argue that is the saddest legacy of the Bush administration-the inability or unwillingness to rebuild one of America’s most valuable cities. 

No one seems willing to make the hard choices needed regarding the size and shape of the future city, meaning some people are rebuilding in the same flood plains destroyed 3 years ago. Even if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages to rebuild all the levees they will only withstand a 100 year storm.

For centuries experts have been saying it was folly to build on the low lands, especially with the protective wetlands destroyed and Lake Ponchatrain sitting atop the city waiting to drain south if it spots the smallest opening.

I remember being in New Orleans a few years ago, before Katrina, and seeing a freighter go by above my head.

For New Orleans to survive and flourish it would take a miracle of engineering. Or maybe just a miracle.

Mary Ellen Beninger

I will have to reschedule this around future holidays.

Just my luck.  The only naturally thin part of my body is my cornea.

My eyebrows are the only naturally blonde hair on my body.

 The only naturally straight hair are my eyelashes. 

God laughed.

***

Kudos to the Chinese for a spectacular Summer Olympics. We shouldn’t be surprised.  The government doesn’t have to worry about expropriating land, health and safety, unions or working workers till they literally drop. There is one estimate these games cost 70 Billion dollars to stage!

Good luck to Vancouver, who has to host the next Winter games in 2010 and London who has to host the next Summer games in 2012. The bar has been set so high, there’s little chance either will be able to measure up.

Mary Ellen Beninger

The local councillor lost her cool and told a constituent to “shut up” at a public briefing.

And Mayor David Miller actually resumed his family vacation in Vancouver instead of staying in town to address public meetings and understandable concerns about safety.

It isn’t enough to leave this to bureaucrats or blame the provincial government for their lack of oversight. He should be on the ground, making sure displaced residents have answers and aid.

Both should buy a copy of Rudy Giulliani’s book. The former New York mayor was text book perfect in the days after the attacks on 9-11.

Contrast Mayor David Miller’s reaction to that of Bob Leek.

He’s the district fire chief who collapsed and died at the scene of Sunday’s explosion. He wasn’t supposed to be working that day. He was supposed to be starting his long-delayed vacation. But he showed up to deliver a piece of needed equipment and stayed on to help his colleagues and the community.

Shame on the public servants who didn’t follow his example and who won’t be in town for his funeral this morning.

Mary Ellen Beninger

9-11 a

Schmooze is a happy puppy, unafraid of anything, including Michelle Butterly’s St. Bernard puppy

She launched herself at Lilly Belle who was very patient with the biting and wrestling.

Michelle has some pictures to post.

***

I was glad to have last week off so I could watch the Olympics and the opening ceremonies in Beijing.

While speechless, I was not surprised. This was a coming out party for China and they were understandably proud of their past, and their future.

As for the local sour grapes expressed by those upset Toronto didn’t get to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, seriously…does anyone believe for an instant we would have spent that kind of money or invested that kind of meticulous planning?

It’s estimated China is spending about 30 Billion dollars on the games.  And that doesn’t take into account the ability of an all-power government to expropriate land and resources as needed, or the fact the Chinese labourer works for a pittance compared to Canadians and health and safety standards can be non-existant.

We couldn’t compete with that type of monetary and national committment, but then nobody could…not since the days of ancient Rome or Egypt.

Perhaps it’s time to choose a couple of permanent sites for the Games, one for summer, one for winter…..and stop this silly quadrenial competition for hosting duties.

Mary Ellen Beninger

 The answers are “soon” and “yes”.

She can be sweet as pie one day and then a terror the next. It may have something to do with growth spurts. We are starting puppy classes and I can’t wait. Scholars in Collars is the name of the school and they were great when I needed help with Sponge years ago. I remember one puppy class where she was out of control and they put her in the bathroom for a time out.

They don’t believe in any physical intimidation unlike the Dog Whisperer who says you should dominate your dog by leaning on them in a submissive position.

It hasn’t worked on my bitey Bull Terrier. Neither has ignoring her or time outs  or grabbing her jowls.

She takes all that as a challenge and a game, and things escalate. Thank goodness I have a crate so both of us can take a break.

My trainers think you can affect bad behaviour by diverting the animal’s attention and then rewarding them for their new positive focus. Like everything that sounds simple, it’s hard to do.

We have next week off, so we will be working very hard on the nipping and house training.  There are still the occasional lapses.

 Schmooze is perfectly named and wants to meet every strange person and strange dog.  Her boyfriend is a 6 year old golden lab called “Cooper” (not after Mike).  She ran him ragged. (Again, not Mike)

Next week, she will meet Michelle Butterly’s St Bernard puppy and we promise to post those pictures.

Have a good long Caribana weekend.

Mary Ellen Beninger

The Schmooze is doing pretty well, but she has to go to the bathroom alot and that means sleeping in 2 hour stretches,  if you’re lucky.

I am still working really hard on the nipping.

She’s a terrier, so she’s naturally mouthy but it’s the one characteristic I hate and especially upsetting when you have a puppy who will grow up to be a strong English Bull Terrier. We’ve been trying different toys to distract her and alot of discipline. Hopefully the penny will drop soon, before she’s bitten holes in more of my shorts.

***

I was quite amused by the fuss made over the cover of The New Yorker magazine showing Barak Obama in muslim dress and his wife sporting a machine gun. The whole point of the article was to dispell the silly myths about the Democratic Presidential nominee-in-waiting.

This is part and parcel of the problem the press has with Obama. Some say they are being too easy on him but anything negative can be taken as racist.

Even the producers of the Letterman show say they can’t find anything funny to say about Obama and hope he selects a comedy-rich running mate.

Jon Stewart made a joke about Obama a week or so ago and the audience didn’t respond so Stewart reminded them, “It’s okay to laugh at Obama.”

Nobody really has yet…and I wonder if the same would have been true if Hillary Clinton was the nominee. Would comedians be as willing to tip toe around allegations of sexism as they are around allegations of racism? And whatever happened to freedom of speech anyway?

Just wondering…..

Mary Ellen Beninger

That won’t last, but as long as it does, I am enjoying having a portable dog. It makes it easier to get down stairs when somebody really has to do their business.

So far, so good.

She knows her name and is dragging the leash around the house so soon we should be walking. 

Just 2 minor accidents indoors, and that’s because we didn’t get to the door on time.

And a breakthru today. The Schmooze only whined non-stop for 15 minutes when she was put in her crate.

I am dreaming of when I can sleep thru the night. (Don’t I sound like a sleep-deprived new mom?)

****

The Christie Brinkley divorce is making tabloid headlines in New York.  I can’t believe her husband cheated on her 35 times!

At first when I heard about his infidelity, I had a moment of schodenfreud. You know, when you think “Hah! Even super models don’t have a perfect life”.

Then I got worried, and wondered if she couldn’t keep her husband interested what hope did average women like me have?

But I am heartened by a new study that found when you are in love you aren’t interested in other people; in fact, you are visually repelled when shown pictures of attractive potential mates.

I think that’s true. 

My husband doesn’t notice when women are flirting with him.

I usually inform him after the fact, like when the woman moves to another country.

Whether love is blind or he’s completely oblivious…I win.

Mary Ellen Beninger