Let this sink in a minute

Via Instapundit at Business Insider a "Beautiful Visualization Of Nobel Prizes By Country Since 1901.

It is beautiful, isn't it?

Suggestions for further reading:

Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. Edward R. Tufte. Graphic Press, Cheshire, Connecticut. 1997.

Sign, Image, Symbol. Gyorgy Kepes, ed. George Braziller, New York. 1966.

The Great Books Foundation Set One Volume Four: Aristotle, The Federalist Papers, Adam Smith. Great a Books Foundation, Chicago. 1966.

Foundations of Liberty: Independent Study Materials. Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University.

Our Wonder World: A Library of Knowledge in Ten Volumes Volume Two Invention and Industry. Howard Benjamin Grose, ed. Geo. L. Shuman & Co., Chicago and Boston. 1914.

Being a Boy. Charles Dudley Warner. Hard Press at Amazon. Offprint originally copyright date 1877.

"... with shows, games, sports, guns, bells..." What? GUNS??

I'm working on a little project-- yes, I know, I should be ironing-- and I ran across this from John Adams to his wife, Abigail: 

I am apt to believe that this day will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward.

Brings to mind the phrase, "and by right ought to be..." doesn't it?

[from Mary E. Hazeltine. Judith K. Sollenberger, ed. Anniversaries and Holidays: A Calendar of Days and How to Observe Them Second Edition, Completely Revised. American Library Association, Chicago. 1965.]

 

Saturday Supper

Carrot Casserole I about to go into the oven

Daughter C made the best fire. Ever.

We used our imaginations.

And we did some 'hands-on' projects

Yes. That is broccoli raab you see in there. As we were enjoying our salads, A. Leland commented that he'd never eaten flowers before. OMG. The range of topics with which I disagree with A. Leland is vast. But I always thought we could agree that broccoli is a flower.

Photos of food below

It's Plain & Obvious. Duh.

The plain and obvious Meaning of the Words Freedom and Liberty, in common Speech, is Power, Opportunity, or Advantage, that any one has, to do as he pleases. Or in other Words, his being free from Hindrance or Impediment to the Way of doing, or conducting in any Respect, as he wills. And the contrary to Liberty, whatever Name we call that by, is a Person's being hinder'd or unable to conduct as he will, or being necessitated to do otherwise.

(Emphases in original; From "Concerning the Notion of Liberty, and of Moral Agency" by Jonathan Edwards [from the "Treatise on the Freedom of the Will," 1754] in Selections from Early American Writers 1607-1800, William B. Cairns, ed., The Macmillan Company, New York, 1912.)

Freedom and Liberty. 

My Opinion of You, Sir, Has Changed

Last January a fellow named Jonathan Jarvis gave a public address at State. We went. Here's what I had to say about the talk and Jarvis.

"National Parks and American Values: A Field Guide"

The National Park Service is nearing its centennial! Look forward between now and 2016 to a massive advertising campaign targeting young Americans-- seems the kids from the cities just aren't going to our National Parks in droves as they once did. If that trend continues, it would spell disaster for Retailers of Gear. Remember the ads with the talking baby giving investment advise? That's from the same Madison Avenue Advertising Firm that the National Parks Service contracted to get those kids to our parks and learn a little American History and perk up sales at R.E.I.* 

~~

I don't think that was supposed to be the take-away message from Director Jonathan Jarvis' public talk at State this evening, but that's some of what I heard.  

It was a well-attended presentation. And in all seriousness, it did focus on American Values. One small quibble-- I don't think the sense of "happiness" in the good Ol' Declaration had as much to do with "fun" as Jarvis does. But he got Freedom & Liberty right! And he loves him some history! 

The discussion was good. He struck me as extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of his agency, which is, you know, something a good executive officer should be. I suspect he comes by it naturally, having climbed the Ranger ladder.  And he with only a lowly Bachelors Degree. (To be fair, he has an "honorary" Ph.D. from his alma mater.) 

My Libertarian Brain is still thinking about what I think about a National Parks Service.

More here.

How could I have been so gullible as to have assumed the Director of the National Parks Service was a director rather than just another political hack sheeple doing as he's commanded? Shame on me.

This spectacle has turned from disgraceful to frightening.  

And now... off to the book sale!

If it weren't so late, I'd fire off a few rounds

Via Instapundit: 

GUN RIGHTS: Kerry to sign UN arms treaty.

Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to sign an arms trade treaty opposed by the Senate and the gun lobby as early as Wednesday, and Republicans aren’t happy about it.
Kerry’s plan to sign the treaty on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week has sparked immediate criticism from GOP opponents. “This treaty is already dead in the water in the Senate, and they know it,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services. “The Administration is wasting precious time trying to sign away our laws to the global community and unelected U.N. bureaucrats.”
A majority of Senators oppose the treaty because it covers small arms, making ratification impossible in the short term.

Republicans should push a non-ratification vote in the Senate now, and get Democrats from swing states on record. And we need to push, instead, for the international human right to be armed.

This does not portend well. But I am optimistic. 

Well I'll Be Danged!

I alluded to the corset maker just this morning (at 8:52 central time).

There Ought To Be No Law

By  Michael Walsh

September 13, 2013 11:01 AM

The weasel word is, of course, “legitimate,” so that would leave out Tom Paine and the other illegitimate rabble-rousers who fomented the American Revolution.

Let Us Review

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

Dear Diane,

Your job description does not include doling out special privileges or defining 'the press.'

Sincerely,

A Citizen

~~

A pamphleteer corset maker once observed, "These are the times that try men's souls." 'Course, that was back in the crappy olden days, before the World Wide Web.

Re-writing History.

This, Dear Friends, is why one does not rely solely on the World Wide Web for factual information. This is why one has books. 

I thought today would be a fine day to do a little reading at lunchtime and as I take some breaks from the ever-so-satisfying task of cleaning the workshop. And so I searched for "MLK I have a Dream." One of the top hits was from historywired.si.edu. I didn't stop to ask what university "SI" is, but I did give some credence to the .edu extension. Here's the content of King's speech at SI.

I had seen reference to and read portions of King's speech earlier this week. I did not read those portions at si.edu. I checked another site-- archieves.gov-- and downloaded the pdf. Sure enough, those missing portions were there. But just to be on the safe side, I checked a crappy old book, too. (A Documentary History of the United States, Seventh Edition. Richard D. Herrner. 2002.) And what do you know? Those portions were there, too.

SI has done some re-writing.

"It would be fatal for the nation ... ."

 The version on the right is the typewritten version held by the US Archieves which is word-for-word the text of the speech in the book. Comparing the two versions side by side we do not see word-for-word agreement. First, the word "Negro" appears nowhere in the SI version. Next, read the sentences beginning, "It wold be fatal" (the two are approximately across from one another). There are words added in the SI transcript. 

 

"... bright days of Justice emerge."

It's bright days-- plural on the right, and singluar on the left.

But that's not the worst of it. 

Re-writing history, three paragraphs at a time.

This isn't tinkering with style-- singular for plural. This isn't color-washed editing-- omitting "Negro." This is re-writing history.

And there's more!

"... unearned suffering is redemptive."

That sentence has been edited out in the SI version. 

Look also at the editing and re-phrasing leading up to "... I still have a dream."

Most interestingly, though, is the substitution of modern for Northern. 

Go back to the slums and ghettos of our Northern modern cities,

I must say, all of this really bothered me. Read the whole, real, speech. It's good. Who the hell at what .edu university thinks he/she can take the liberty to re-write King's speech? 

Historywired.si.edu is the Smithonian Institute:

Welcome to the Smithsonian Institution's HistoryWired: A few of our favorite things. This experimental site introduces visitors to some of the three million objects held by the National Museum of American History, Behring Center. 

With less than five percent of our vast and diverse collection on public display in our exhibit halls, we hope that Web sites like this will bring many more of our treasures into public view. The initial 450 objects, selected by curators from across the Museum, include famous, unusual, and everyday items with interesting stories to tell. They are not intended to be representative of the Museum's entire collection.

Design and navigation for HistoryWired were generously provided by SmartMoney.com using its Map of the Market technology.

Background

HistoryWired can be likened to a private tour through the Museum storage areas. Visitors select the objects that interest them; curators explain the items' significance. Like an actual tour at the Museum, information is presented conversationally and is backed by the impeccable scholarship of Smithsonian curators. And, like a real museum experience, visitors can share with others their enthusiasm (or lack thereof) about what they see and learn.

And there you have it. The impeccable scholars work hard to re-write history so you don't have to.

_ _ _ _ _ . . _ _ _ . . . _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ . . . . . . . . . . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . . _ _ _ . . . . _ _ _ _ _ _ . .

What bulls*&^. From my phone company. 

How do we use information?

Information is collected whenever you use our products and services. From this information, we can do things like enhance the network, address problems and manage your services.

Here are details about two new programs, including privacy choices that you can make now and change any time you like.

Program One: "External Marketing & Analytics Reports"

We will make reports available to businesses to help them serve their customers better.

How is it my phone company's job to help businesses by collecting information about me? And why aren't I getting PAID to help my phone company help businesses collect marketing data?

These reports will contain anonymous information about our customers, such as how they use our products and services. The identity of individual customers is removed, and the information is used in a group, or aggregate, format.

Yeah. Right.

For example, we might provide reports to retailers about the number of wireless devices in or near their store locations by time of day and day of week, together with the device users' collective information like ages and gender.

Collective. There you go.

This might allow a retailer in your neighborhood to learn more about local consumers as a group, but not about anyone individually, to improve its service.

Again. How it it my phone company's job to do this? Let the freaking business look out the danged window if it wants to know the composition of the folk loitering around gazing at their iNavels.

You can choose to have your anonymous information excluded from these reports - things like wireless location information, U-verse® information, and website browsing or mobile application usage. Please visit ____ .

Program Two: Relevant Advertising including "Wireless Location Characteristics"

Relevant advertising from [my phone company] uses information from a variety of sources to help deliver online and mobile ads that you might find useful. We're currently creating a new "wireless location characteristic" that will help us use local geography as a factor in delivering ads. This doesn't mean you'll get more ads. It means that the ads that you do get from [my phone company] may be more suited to your interests.

Location characteristics are types of locations - like "movie theaters." People who live in a particular geographic area might appear to be very interested in movies, thanks to collective information that shows wireless devices from that area are often located in the vicinity of movie theaters. We might create a "movies" characteristic for that area, and deliver movie ads to the people who live there.

Gosh dangit. PEOPLE WHO LIVE AROUND MOVIE THEATERS ALREADY KNOW WHAT'S PLAYING.

Personal information is not shared with advertisers,

_ _ _ . . .   . . _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _   . . .   . . . .   . .   _ _ _

but if you don't want to receive this type of ad from us, you have that choice.

Hey. Phone Company. I'm not that stupid.

Just so You Know

Via Instapundit.com linking to Patterico's Pontifications: 

Senators are questioning whether the National Security Agency collected bulk data on more than just Americans’ phone records, such as firearm and book purchases.

I'd seen the bit about the gun registry the other day and thought, "But of course." But this was the first mention of BOOKS I'd seen.

Patterico links to The Washington Free Beacon: 

The senators noted that the federal government’s authority under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act is broad and rife with potential for abuse. Among the senators’ concerns was whether the NSA’s bulk data harvesting program could be used to construct a gun registry or violate other privacy laws.

“It can be used to collect information on credit card purchases, pharmacy records, library records, firearm sales records, financial information, and a range of other sensitive subjects,” the senators wrote. “And the bulk collection authority could potentially be used to supersede bans on maintaining gun owner databases, or laws protecting the privacy of medical records, financial records, and records of book and movie purchases.”

[my emphasis]

Just so you know, Mr./Ms-Low-Man-On-The-Totem-Pole-Who's-Tasked-With-Following-My-Little-Blog, this coming Monday is the first Monday of the month. That's the once-a-month day the Public Library in Starkvegas has its book sale. I'll be there. I'll be especially interested purchasing crappy old books pertaining to American and English history, as well as those containing practical information such as how to properly tar and feather folks.

Since I'll be paying cash for my crappy old book purchases, it will be somewhat difficult for you to know just what books I'll add to by crappy old library. So, just so you know, I'll file a post with details. I appreciate that you must have a lot of little blogs to follow so just check back at your convenience. 
~~

The more I read about the Grievances, the more I appreciate how pissed off the Colonists must have been.

A Little Duck Tape + Some American Ingenuity =

No one is watching me.

H/t Glenn Reynolds at instapundit.com who linked to Michael S. Malone's The All Seeing Eyes in Forbes. Here's the excerpt Reynolds shares (top of the screen, above): 

The other day, my college age son quietly went around the house and put electricians tape over the camera lenses on the displays of all our home computers. I laughed when I discovered what he had done. . .then paused: after all, it wouldn’t be that hard for someone to remotely turn that camera on and secretly watch me and my family. I left the tape on. This is what it has come to. The revelations of recent days about the NSA being able to spy on the phone calls of millions of everyday Americans, without warrant, in search of a few possible terrorists has made everyone just a little more paranoid – and a little less trusting of the benign nature of our Federal government. The reality is that we may not yet be paranoid enough.

Though, as this is The South, Miss M & I put a Southern spin on this high-tech counter-surveillance technique

That's right. We used camo over blaze orange Duck Tape.

Pass It On

That's what you thought you thought, George. We knew better.

Tip of the ballcap to Mr. Big Food's Dad!

freedom. Freedom! FREEDOM!!

And now, for a nap. Because exercising all that freedom is hard work.

I'm Naming Names: 56 of Them to Be Exact

56 Traitors

From Independence Day, 2012:

At The Volokh Conspiracy, Randy Barnett annotates the Declaration of Independence. His concise (e.g. doesn't take much time to at least skim through and come back to tomorrow when you have more time) article begins:

When reading the Declaration, it is worth keeping in mind two very important facts. The Declaration constituted high treason against the Crown and every person who signed it would be executed as traitors should they be caught by the British. Second, the Declaration was considered to be a legal document by which the revolutionaries justified their actions, and explained why they were not truly traitors. It represented, as it were, a literal indictment of the Crown and Parliament, in the very same way that criminals are now publicly indicted for their alleged crimes by grand juries representing “the People.”

But to justify a revolution, it was not thought to be enough that officials of the government of England, the Parliament, or even the sovereign himself had violated the rights of the people. No government is perfect; all governments violate rights. This was well known. So the Americans had to allege more than mere violations of rights. They had to allege nothing short of a criminal conspiracy to violate their rights systematically. Hence, the famous reference to “a long train of abuses and usurpations” and the list that follows. In some cases, these specific complaints account for provisions eventually included in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

It ends: 

The assumption of natural rights expressed in the Declaration of Independence can be summed up by the following proposition:  “first comes rights, then comes government.”  According to this view: (1) the rights of individuals do not originate with any government, but preexist its formation;  (2) The protection of these rights is the first duty of government; and (3) Even after government is formed, these rights provide a standard by which its performance is measured and, in extreme cases, its systemic failure to protect rights — or its systematice violation of rights — can justify its alteration or abolition; (4) At least some of these rights are so fundamental that they are “inalienable,” meaning they are so intimately connected to one’s nature as a human being that they cannot be transferred to another even if one consents to do so.  This is powerful stuff.

[my emphases]

 I would emphasize different words today.

Who were these guys-- these 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress? And how were their lives changed by becoming Traitors? Here are a few tidbits from The Founders' Almanac: A Practical Guide to the Notable Events, Greatest Leaders & Most Eloquent Words of the American Founders, Matthew Spalding, ed., The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., 2002.

• Franklin, at 70, was the oldest; Thomas Lynch Jr. from South Carolina, 27, the youngest
• Eighteen were merchants, 14 farmers, four doctors, 22 lawyers, nine judges, one active clergyman
• Seventeen served in the military during the Revolution
• Five were captured by the British
• One, Thomas McKean of Delaware, wrote that he was "hunted like a fox by the enemy-- compelled to remove my family five times in a few months... "
• Two of Abraham Clark's sons were captured. John Witherspoon's son was killed at the Battle of Germantown
• Eleven had their homes and properties destroyed
• Francis Lewis' wife was taken prisoner
• John Hart died while fleeing capture

Here are the 56 Traitors, by name (links all go to Wikipedia):

• New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
• Massachusetts: Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
• Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
• Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
• New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
• New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
• Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
• Delaware: George Read, Caesar Rodney, Thomas McKean
• Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
• Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
• North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
• South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
• Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

I Was Just Saying "Good night" to Rocky,

when Daughter C walked in and caught me saying, "Good night" to Rocky.

Rocky's spending the night in the Front Room. Mr. Big Food, Missy & I will be back here in the back.

We started the day with waffles.

Some people were eating breakfast at about the same time of days others were eating lunch, but it worked out.

And after we ate,

we did some things

that make us happy.

I liked this exchange.

I made note of it.

Here's what was going on before:

Mr. Bow Tie was wantin' to shoot Max's gun.

Oh. There's a trick.

That's why when you zoom in on the first photo, it's so cool.

Look at the way they hand off that loaded sidearm.

And then they tie dyed and Kyle did his chore and tie dyed and then we ate.

Burgers either provolone or.... pepper jack cheese, hot dogs, two different kinds and I can't remember the distinction. Potato Salad (vegan). Leftover Slaw. And a whole lot of condiments. I'd forgotten about the radish relish from last year. It's good on a dog. Hot dog.

The last couple of weeks have been good for the dogs. Thank you for your patience and indulgences.

Good night, Rocky!

Unacceptable

Via Instapundit.com:

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? The Government Wants A Backdoor Into Your Communications. “According to the New York Times, President Obama is ‘on the verge of backing’ a proposal by the FBI to introduce legislation dramatically expanding the reach of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA. CALEA forces telephone companies to provide backdoors to the government so that it can spy on users after obtaining court approval, and was expanded in 2006 to reach Internet technologies like VoIP. The new proposal reportedly allows the FBI to listen in on any conversation online, regardless of the technology used, by mandating engineers build “backdoors” into communications software.”

Let's review:

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

And:

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probably cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

And just for fun:

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage other retained by the people.

II, III, V, VI, VII, VIII, and X here. 

Reading List (Updated)

You may have heard that some federal government agents of our employees have taken an interest in what United States citizens we-- their employers-- are reading. Here's my partial list, in case anyone's interested.

Good Lord! I missed one!

The Founders' Almanac: A Practical Guide to the Notable Events, Greatest Leaders & Most Eloquent Words of the American Founders, Matthew Spalding, ed., The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., 2002.

Added: It's worse than I'd feared. It appears I've missed cataloging an entire shelf-- a shelf that contains nothing but crappy old books about US history. 

Hummm. I wonder how I might implement a system of checks and balances into my book cataloging system?

UPDATE: Problem fixed. I wonder how many other crappy old books will speak up an let me know I missed them?

 

This Is Shameful

From Guns.com

Even though Chicago is the site of many world-class museums, the city currently prohibits some firearms from being displayed, even as historical artifacts. One city alderman however introduced an ordinance on Wednesday to lift that ban, allowing museums to properly display these pieces of history.

Edward Burke, one of Chicago’s most powerful city alderman and a history buff himself, explained that he recently discovered an anomaly in the city’s code. “Museums are caught in a dilemma that if they have in their collections artifacts that can be defined as firearms, even though there’s historical significance to the memento, they can’t be registered in the city and can’t be displayed.”

If passed, according to Burke, the ordinance will allow “institutions to display unloaded firearms that often accompany uniforms and other historical artifacts.”

CEO and President of the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago, Kenneth Clarke points out that although the city is allowed to display firearms that are pre-circa 1898, that leaves out a significant amount – over 100 years – of valuable history, history that both Chicago residents and other visitors to the museum are missing out on.

Clarke explains, “It’s about preserving the stories of citizen soldiers from World War II, World War I … who have served our country.”

Alderman Burke agrees and uses the example of a World War II soldier’s family who donated his gun to the museum in March. Major General William P. Levine was one of the first American soldiers to liberate the concentration camp of Dachau during World War II. Following Levine’s death, his family donated his gun to the museum, a German Walther PP which was given to him during the war. Only under the current laws, the museum is not allowed to display such a piece of history.

[My emphasis.] Sorry, the embedded links didn't copy. The full story is here.

Mr. Big Food and I once went to Dachau. Once was enough to last a lifetime.

"The main part of the exhibition begins with documents illustrating the seizure of power by the Nazis on January 30, 1933. ... Disease and medical experiments in the camp infirmary conclude the first part of the exhibition."

"On March 22, 1933, the first German concentration camp was set up near Dachau on the grounds of a former ammunition factory. Political opponents, Jews, clergymen and so-called 'undesirable elements' were to be isolated here as enemies of the National-Socialist regime. ... According to files of the International Tracing Service, 31,591 prisoners died in the Dachau concentration camp. An additional number of a few thousand prisoners who had not been registered at all, were killed by shooting."

"The mortality rate among prisoners increased rapidly. The crematory constructed outside the prisoners' compound in 1940 proved too small. ... Upon orders of the ... (SS-Economic-Administrative Main Office) in Berlin a gas chamber was installed. This gas chamber, camouflaged as a shower room, was not used. The prisoners selected for 'gassing' were transported from Dachau... . Approximately 6000 Russian prisoners of war were executed on the .. . (rifle range)."

A United States citizen soldier used his gun to help end this. His gun-- and the free lives it represents-- is not welcome in Chicago.

Shameful. 
~~

And now... to fix another simply delicious supper and then sort through some Zane Grey novels.

Clean Bill of Health | Updated. Shoud be "spat" not "spit"

Well. That was exciting!

I was just getting ready to recall events of the day-- notably, two trips to the vet, a careful reading of Chapter 7, and Mr. Big Food's phone interview with someone from CNN regarding guns and 2A, when Missy asked to go out one last time.  I tied her out (it's dark).  I brushed my teeth, spit spat, opened the door, and Missy was nowhere to be seen.

I did see a busted up cinder block. 

As a rational agent, Missy chose to come back to the house when I called, rather than spend the night outside tethered to half of a cinder block. Smart Dog.

Rocky is a great dog. He aims to please. He's very sociable. He is, is fact, a pretty mellow dog. As I write, he's belly up on the bed. The fact that the Vet Folks don't recognize that they are strangers to Rocky, and don't appreciate that Rocky's natural response to strangers/stress is fear, and that he manifests fear by growling, is no reason to castrate him and put him on doggy Prozac for 6 months. 

That's just not going to happen.

They both have a clean bill. No worms. 

Ain't Life Good?