Dogs and Man's Evolution

It has been said that you can tell a lot about a person by the company he keeps. Come along with me for an adventure concerning that idea. Step back and wonder about two animals who seem to have survived for millions of years. Our adventure takes us to, of all things, a dog show. Do you know that these humans we are considering seem to have kept dogs near them for as long as they started to become dog-like and human-like?
Come on, now, what could have been some of the circumstances for that speedy looking Greyhound to be a friend of man? Another dog with lop ears and obviously no speed-deamon called a Treeing Walker is on a bench nearby next to a red dog called an Irish setter. So many strange creatures to have followed the development of this strangest creature of them all called Homo sapiens. Do you suppose some of the humans migrated from the African forests to flat plains taking dog-like creatures with them.
It is said these human creatures were hunter-gatherers and the speedy dogs were helpful in running down game like rabbits and hares that both the human and the dog could eat. How about that lop eared hound they call a Treeing Walker? What use could that creature be in helping to feed the hunter? Well suppose that dog could trail eatable creatures until the food climbed a tree and the dog sat barking up the tree until the human-like creature arrived to harvest that crop. But the red setter doesn't bark much and only finds game to point at and not to attempt to catch? Perhaps our hunter-gatherer ancestor went hunting with that dog, how would the dog help? Imagine those so called bird dogs would point out the game hiding in the vegetation so the hunter could approach close enough to dispatch the bird before it flew away.
OK but how about those smallish white muscular looking dogs, how could the human use such a creature that obviously couldn't run fast? If the humans that spread out hunting for a source of food found themselves in an area with many creatures like bears that were difficult for the human-like creature to subdue, what type dog-like partner would be best for hunting them? With the Treeing Walker to trail the bear and the Bull Terrier to fearlessly attack the bear could be the difference in survival for both the dogs and master.
Then when we consider the many strange breeds of dogs we have to wonder about some such as the Yorkshire terrier for example. It seems to me even before recorded time the human animal was breeding dogs for other than utilitarian use and these perhaps may be called, like car license plates, vanity breeds. All the traits in all breeds that can be helpful to man are found in the Timber Woolf and genetic studies indicate that the Chihuahua and the Great Dane are both related to the Woolf and to each other. Since all creatures seem to change during millions of years, what the predecessors of the Woolf was like would be interesting to know.
So,having come this far I see more questions than those answered among which is why we are such a violent animal and then why we are such peaceable animals at other times. To survive in the environment that we can surmise existed during the domestication of humans required us to be ruthless insofar as we were hunters and shouldn't we all carry such traits in our genes? But the affection, love and devotion we show with our dog pets with bonding as well as with our offspring tend to bring out the peace-loving side of many of us. That conflict has to work its way through evolution and may the better of the two survive as the result of reasoning and not blind luck.

Birth Control

At a holiday gathering recently my son who was born in 1950 remarked that in his lifetime the world's population had doubled in size. Isn't it wonderful how fertile and productive we humans are? I am reminded of the problem with rabbits where the bunnies ate everything planted until the humans devised a plan of rabbit control. A rabbit control day was declared and hundreds of us gathered with about half with shot guns. The people made a huge circle and at a signal slowly walked toward the center. When close enough at another signal those with guns turned and backed in and as the rabbits ran out between the members of the circle the gunners had a wonderful time killing rabbits. What will one day happen to the over population of humans? Is it possible that before the world population is approaching too many those excessive ones will have to be eliminated? Is it possible that we humans may come to our senses soon and practice birth control before we have to eliminate fellow humans. It comes to mind that those who are against abortion for example are in favor of young children dieing of starvation. Also those against abortion favor unwanted children. It is the unwanted children who enter schools so ill prepared that they can never aspire to the level of education necessary for even a lowly lifelong job. These are the members of gangs in all our major cities and of the red necks who take on any cause and scream about no Holocaust and down with Catholics, Jews and blacks. An unwanted child is one of the saddest creatures on earth and those against abortions are the parents of the unwanted children. We who think of the future should get behind birth control the world over to save ourselves if for no other reason. This is such a great problem it seems remarkable that thinking humans don't respond to the obvious. I suspect those who would accept jobs in a mercenary army as so any have done in Afghanistan and Pakistan, thousands, were unwanted children who will one day be available to enforce enemies to challenge our Democracy.

A New Army

This is an elaboration on a previous thought. It seems to me that throughout history armies with killing in mind have really accomplished little. On the other hand there may be another way only tried in a very limited way and that is a peace army with no arms and ammunition other than arms with which to embrace old and new friends. It might go like this. Where we now have military locations in over 700 locations of our earth, gradually replace our military with unarmed teachers to attempt to help those desiring help in education. Each outpost would address the needs of the surrounding area such as a need of education. There would be peaceful military bases in our country that would send teachers to fill the need. For example a school house is needed. A mason would be assigned the teaching position of teaching locals how to construct a suitable school house for the situation. Perhaps a teacher of brick building would be necessary before the idea could proceed. So teachers would teach locals how to make bricks and another teacher would teach locals how to lay up the bricks an build a school house. For the need of radio repairing could result in a trade school specializing in teaching radio repair providing a qualified student to go to the area of need and give a course of radio repair to locals to teach the subject to those who are in need of that ability. Granted the logistics may seen over whelming but we put men on the moon and a space station high in the sky and working out the needs of such a worldwide education system is just the thing we are good at. But think of the good in so many ways. Here at home institutions of teaching could be earmarked as qualified to prepare the man and woman power for teaching any subject in demand by any need on earth and when in action the friends made would be emissaries of good will and therefore peace. Countries who decline the offer would see the advantages and eventually accept the free offering making more friends. Friends are less likely to become enemies and the results might be world peace. One hard and fast rule would be no teaching of religion or conducting espionage in any form. Such an army should not be a political tool. In conclusion think about it. Never has an army of do gooders ever been tried other than our Peace Corps and that has made nothing but friends. It has been on such a limited basis but so far proof of the pudding is that it has been a resounding success. Think of how much less expensive to have such an army to make peace rather than war. I say, let's start a movement in that direction. Where there is a need of interpretors our students could be assigned to study conversational language in a country with a need after which to be able to teach teachers of a given specialty. Here too is a job creation idea as a secondary pluss. Graduallly military uniforms would be replaced by civilian dress in the over 700 locations. Read, "Nemesis" by Chalmers Johnson before it is too late.

A New Idea re Therapies

Here are the ideas developed leading up to the new idea at the conclusion.
1. Man is a running creature and for Long distances. 2. Runners are healthier than non-runners. 3. Runners have little or none of some debilitating problems of non-runners. 4. Exercises from other activities than running do not have the favorable effect that running has. 5. Of the exercise while running the brain is jolted slightly with each stride. 6. The jolting releases one or more chemicals such as endorphins responsible for the better health in humans who run than in non-running humans. 7. The new idea is when a health problem that rarely occurs in runners is diagnosed in non-runners could instigating running as a therapy be helpful? 8. Should running as a therapy be tried on human conditions that have no identified cause? MS, ALS and Parkinson's come to mind as well as breast cancer in women and Alzheimer's that are less common in runners? The weaknesses in that thinking are, 1. The jolting of the brain may not be related to the better health of the runners. 2. Is there a chemical cause for better health in runners? 3.How can members of the human medical profession be alerted to the new idea that has a potential for saving misery and worse in humans?

One Reason for the Economic Downturn

One cause is so evident and virtually never mentioned it is a caution. It was pure and simple a conspiracy that had to be recognized by all the money players. It went like this:We will put up the cash to purchase mortgages and encourage bank loan officers to get the money out regardless of any ability to make payments. We, the crooks will gather the loans we purchase and sell stock based on the value of the total group we call the Star Properties Corp. or something like that. We will pay 15% interest on such groups of mortgages and do it until there is a huge amount of investment that we pocket and run. Billions are in off shore banks and suddenly those who invested heavily in the 15% interest had no inkling that the crooks were minding the office.No doubt those who were left to regulate were making the 15% and who wants to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs? It could be that those banks who were in on the scheme did not invest in the bundled mortgages so you and I can assume that those banks,were, 1. Part of the ripoff or 2. The only honest bankers on the scene. Can't honest bankers get together and admit that is the scheme whether or not they were knowledgeable and suggest how we can get to the bottom of such a devastating scheme? Good Lord, we put people in jail who shop lift. I usually do not believe in capitol punishment but if we insist the punishment fit the crime as in Gilbert and Sullivan then they should be eliminated as the least punishment of that crime.Could the truth be that our legislators have reason not to investigate or to have investigators who are compromised? I am reminded of a chess pool. How about you?

Get the Military Off Our Backs

Bill Moyers commentated that the most important book he had read recently is C. Johnson's "Nemesis." That was enough for me to buy a used copy from the Internet. If for nothing else than a reference book naming names and deeds that had somehow eluded me in the past while reading and viewing the media this book is important. Did you know you and I have over 700 military installations scattered over the globe? Put yourself in the other fellows shoes. How would you like military uniformed personnel wandering around your neighborhoods? Representatives of any other country? Would you accept them as a friendly gesture? All told the author estimates we, you and I, have a thousand properties outside our country. Among my friends including legislators I happen to know only people who talk peace and helpfulness for others and love. Most publications are full of that kind of information. We think of ourselves as a peaceful nation but in reality we have a world-wide reputation of the opposite. For shame. It's one thing to carry a big stick but to constantly shake it in faces all over the world is not in the best interest of all excepting the military industrial complex. There are places where it is "cute" to show our strength but we would be better off most in most places to show the feelings of most of us by our employees wearing anything but military costumes. I have mentioned a solution in a previous blog in the proven success of our Peace Corps. There is a proven good will effort that only needs implementation. First, get the military uniforms out of our foreign properties. Second gradually replace military personnel with our representatives who will offer to help those who can benefit by the education. All subjects that we can provide to improve the lives of others and without charge could be offered. Teaching English might be high on the list. Locals could teach their language on location to visiting students of our land. We have the agricultural part of such education well established by past Peace Corps workers and using that success,utilizing the principal, "Do unto others as they would be done to," provide teachers in the desired subjects. You must appreciate that by doing good to others also does good for ourselves. It is actually not a new way of thinking as most people I know agree right now. It is a new way of demonstrating the true values of we the people all over the globe. I urged Mrs. Obama to take this plan on as a First Lady project. Would that she would.