The Choices We Make
Posted on June 24, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 49 Comments
I was going to write an entry on the extreme irony of James Dobson accusing Barack Obama of distorting the Bible for political purposes, but upon further reflection, I decided I’d much rather post a pretty picture of my dog. So, here you go.
History, I think, will vindicate this as the correct choice at this juncture.
Go, dog, go!
Is he running for office? I, for one, welcome our canine masters.
She. And no, she is steadfastly apolitical, although I suspect someone running on the “Steak For Dogs Every Night” platform might get her vote.
The dog is by far smarter, and better looking than the hippocrite you were considering to write about.
Nice shot! You caught the light. Looks like he (she?) is about to madly chase tail.
Excellent choice and remarkably, she makes more sense than Dobson ever could, merely by being a dog.
Come to think of it, put her on the ballot, I’d probably vote for her.
Love those snow capped peaks in the distance. The Ohio Mountains are so nice this time of year!
Anteater-thing! Yay!!
I swear, every time you post these pictures of cloud-filled Ohio skies and giant swathes of open land, I think, “Hey, maybe that wouldn’t be a bad place to live after all…”
But then I remember the lack of In-N-Out and come to my senses.
I agree that history will eventually reward your wise decision.
Good for you. Never give those attention whores what they so desperately want.
Just like a liberal, having the dog look off to the LEFT side of the picture. Why do you hate America, John Scalzi? [/sarcasm]
That is a pretty picture of Kodi.
“What is that thing attached to my ass?”
Regarding what Dobson and Obama and George Carlin say:
First Amendment Acrostic Sonnet
by
Jonathan Vos Post
Copyright (c) 2008 by Emerald City Publishing
CONGRESS, sexual or otherwise.
‘SHALL’ has greater force than Will.
MAKE, and the maker is a poet.
NO — what part of ‘No” escapes your eyes?
LAW . . . of Euclid, law of science, still
ABRIDGING the red flag of disguise.
THE “absurd and immature antic”
FREEDOM, degrees of freedom
OF ‘copyright, defamation, privacy’
SPEECH is obscene when well, when you know it
OR theft, when the black flag is piracy.
OF “false, scandalous and malicious”, frantic
THE life or death, whose freedom is mooted
PRESS ‘enter’ and be executed.
0830-0925
24 Jan 2008
Altadena, CA
But then I remember the lack of In-N-Out and come to my senses.
I’m pretty sure that people in Ohio have sex.
There’s a logical link: the stuff that comes out of the tail end of the dog and Dobson’s mouth is the same.
Personally I wouldn’t choose what state I live in based on the presence of lack thereof of a particular fast-food chain, but I am impressed that they pay their employees starting at $10/hr. So if I am ever in a locale that has one, I might try one of their burgers, to support their better treatment of labor. I suspect their burgers aren’t any healthier, tho, than other fast food chains.
James Dobson makes my Irony Meter go to eleven.
The photo of your dog was definitely the wiser choice.
I think you hit the entire color spectrum with that one. I am impressed! (And Kobi’s one good looking dog.)
How does In-N-Out have a wiki page WITHOUT a picture of their burger?
This is MUCH better than giving Dobson any extra air/net time.
Kodi looks great!
John Scalzi @ 2:
She. And no, she is steadfastly apolitical, although I suspect someone running on the “Steak For Dogs Every Night” platform might get her vote.
Does she check under your desk for probabilistic steak?
http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2007/05/many_worlds_many_treats.php
TransDutch, In-N-Out is known for their commitment to treating employees well. In marked contrast to nominally Christian Dobson, the Christian owners of the (purely family-owned) restaurant chain actually seem to follow the tenants of the Christian faith.
And while I’m no burger person (what with the vegetarianism and all), I do know that they use ingredients that are far fresher than most chain fast-food restaurants. I do like their grilled cheese and may have to try it Animal Style next time.
I think I know what I’m having for dinner tonight…
I for one applaud the continued posting the dogs over political idiots and felines, the canines have been far under represented. But please keep the Big Ideas Coming!
Those clouds are damn near perfect, John. And for the life of me, I can’t recall what breed Kodi is.
She looks quite surprised to find that she has a tail… was it a birthday gift?
“I think he’s deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own world view, his own confused theology”
WOW, is he projecting, or what?
-michael
D.Paul @ 23: Kodi is an Akita
Kodi looks gorgeous here, glowing in the light. Since I’ve read elsewhere on your site about the debuts of LC and Zeus (and have noted a couple of cryptic comments about Ghaghghee), I’m wondering where and when you acquired Kodi. Did she also just turn up on your doorstep, or did you actively decide to go out and get a dog?
No, we had Kodi from before we moved to Ohio. We bought her from a breeder. She’s AKC registered and everything.
Do pure breed dogs dream of filet mignon?
Has anyone considered that perhaps the tail is equally surprised? Or the vexing question of which version of steak under the desk are we going to teach? Kodi-tail’s, or Kodi-head’s?
I think she’s just checking to see if she’s being followed by some silly LOLCat caption.
Actually, I would like to see you write as really nasty rant about the Dobson crowd. I am sure it would be great. So next time you are in the mood ….
You know, if you won’t comment on distorting god, you should at least distort dog.
I’d much rather post a pretty picture of my dog.
You know, it really is a pretty dog.
And even if it weren’t: James Dobson doesn’t love you unconditionally. James Dobson isn’t always happy to see you. James Dobson is not happy just to sit on the couch next to you for the entire Bears game and let you run your hands through his hair. Ask me how I know!
I, for one would rather see your dog as well. Dogs can be trained to not leave poop lying about in inconvenient places for others to step in by accident. I have my doubts about Mr. Dobson.
Also, it is cute when a dog licks your face. For shame Mr. Dobson!
Kerry@27: Thanks. I’m not so good with the dog breeds. They all just sort of translate to “cute” to me.
I still say Kodi is thinking: “Is that James Dobson over there? Because if it is, I’m going to go bite him.”
– yeff
Kodi-tail’s, or Kodi-head’s?
Scalzi has already written a whole book about Kodi*’s Tail**. For balance he should do a post about Kodi’s Head. He could at least explain what happened to the bear she got it from.
* Or “Zoe” as he calls her to fool those of us who have to look up roman a clef on wikipedia.
** Or “Tale” as he euphemistically calls it.
Well, I suppose every other blogger on the net has already given their two cents worth about Dr. Dobson’s idiocy, so…
Hooray for dogs!
The Wonderful Kodi is always appropriate. Not ranting about idiot god-botherers is always easier on the blood pressure.
Win-win.
Member,
Kodi Appreciation Society
Honestly, a pox on both their houses. Dobson for being Dobson, and Obama for trying to out-christian the christians.
I can’t wait until this election is over.
John, that’s a beautiful picture. Sometime I will write up the story of the years my brother was in a Boy Scout troop with Dobson’s son, but it would make me angry to do it tonight, and I’d rather enjoy your dog too.
Kodi or Dobson. There was a choice?
BTW, caught a bit of what Dobson had to say about what Obama had to say two years ago on the evening news. My first question was, “James, you’re still not under conservatorship?”
Yeah, I saw that article and my brain almost exploded.
Dear John,
While I hate to be the one to break this to you, someone’s got to do it. Here are a few facts about your so called “Dog”.
1. Your daughter quite obviously got one over on you.
2. Your wife is definitely in on this one.
3. You have failed your D20 ‘Spot disguise’ check (repeatedly) and thus failed to notice that it’s a Freaking Pony in a dog suit.
Not that I really blame Athena in all this. After all, what proper young lady doesn’t want a pony of her own? This state of affairs might have continued indefinitely had it not been for that single slip up involving the picture of Kodi with your daughter nearby in the frame. Unlike the overwhelming majority of pictures of Kodi posted here (like the one in your current post) with no really good sense of scale, that picture made it apparent that Kodi is in fact a pony or a small horse. (The food and veterinary bills should be a dead give-away. Let me guess, your wife handles those for Kodi instead of you…) I’m just saying, if you notice ‘bails of hay’ on the household bills anywhere, now is the time to start getting suspicous. But if anyone asks, you didn’t hear it from me.
Ah, yes, the ‘yellow-dog’ Democrats. One of the high points of my membership in the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society has been the time my wife and I brought a stuffed yellow dog to the meeting and nominated it for president. If there were any justice in this world, it would have won, too.
John – What a pretty picture it is of a pretty dog! You are one lucky man to have such a beautiful dog, who obviously loves you. She does go to you when she’s scared of thunderstorms, after all, and tramps around outside for the taking of pictures.
I love my cat, but I miss my dog, Tristan. (sniff) He was a Manchester Terrier – they look like un-altered Dobermans who weigh about 20 – 25 lbs. (or what min-pins *wish* they were) They are basically big dogs in small bodies. He was quite the gentleman, and everybody liked him.
John – you have Kodi groomed for the summer, right? That’s why her head looks so much bigger! (eureka!)
If she was in full coat, her body would look that much bigger!
(woo hoo! – i got it!)