Eclipsing the Moon

Bow had a nice day yesterday. It was not too hot and not too cold. And although there were a few sprinkles, he was able to go out and spend lots of time playing and relaxing out of doors.

When Bow goes outside, he checks everything out.

He displays at the dogs and plays with Leo. After getting plenty of exercise, he sits down and relaxes

A little later, he stands up on the bench and looks over the fence to see the view beyond into the neighbors's field.

And then gradually he relaxes and bends his knees...

... and takes a seat on the edge of the bench rim.

And after sitting there for a while, he decides maybe it would be nice to relax even more and lie down.

And he lowers himself down very carefully, until he is lying on the rim of the back rest of the bench.

And there he relaxes for over an hour, before he decides to go back in.

Now, the bench was not designed with this use in mind, but this is the use that Bow puts it to. Many things in life are like that. We need to understand that it is not our intentions towards others that will come to fruition, but things have a way of working themselves out based on choices that others make for themselves.

Yesterday,  my interview with Julia Hanna about the painting of the Liberian chimpanzees came out:

http://mystories.sweetbeariesart.com/2015/09/27/the-painting-of-the-liberian-chimpanzees/

In it I discuss the consequences to chimpanzees from possibly "well meaning" legislation. The consequences of trying to "liberate" someone are not always what was intended by the people who draft laws. On Labor Day, for instance, the labor movement congratulated itself for having stamped out child labor in sweatshops. They showed the faces of smiling children. But they did not discuss the fact that none of the clothes we buy in American stores today are actually manufactured in America. They did not say that the consequence of the law was that all those sweatshops were moved overseas. They did not talk about the Panic of 1819 and how bailing out the textile manufacturers led to those sweatshops in the first place, or how Americans used to make their own clothes at home before the corporate entity with its limited liability became widespread.

Because all of that is complicated and would require thought. And people just like to look at pictures of children with smiling faces. Today, Animal Rights activists are still crowing over their victory about getting US Fish and Wildlife to classify domesticated chimpanzees in the United States as an endangered species and not allowing them to travel from state to state. They think it is a great idea, and it will prevent medical research from being conducted on chimpanzees, even though US Fish and Wildlife actually left a very big loophole, allowing medical research to be conducted on chimpanzees if chimpanzees are the ideal subject for such research. All the researchers have to do is apply for a fishing permit from Fish and Wildlife and show the need. Yesterday, an article was published in a major paper citing such a need:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/protecting-apes-could-backfire.html?_r=1

What if they can show that research on captive chimps for diseases such as Ebola and AIDs can benefit chimpanzees in the wild (as well as... humans)? Then you will have those permits to conduct medical research on chimps, but no chimp will be allowed to go from Missouri to Hollywood to star in a film or live with a new family. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. 

Last night was the night of the blood moon eclipse. I do not have a very good camera, though, so my moon was eclipsed by leaves.

Let's not lose sight of what's important. Getting rid of suffering is not something that you accomplish by legislating against suffering. It's accomplished by repealing laws that make it impossible for people to live free, making their own decisions.

Sometimes a bench is most comfortable when used not in the manner intended by the manufacturer. And each person knows what is best for himself.