Missy is our first queen, which means she was the first cat in our breeding program to have a litter.

Since then, all of our other breeder cats have had one litter (in fact, all at the same time!). Missy has done nothing. She should have one litter per year, or even every eight months, but she just hasn't been interested. She went into heat once, but Xerxes was still a little bit young and couldn't handle her (she's a big girl).

Corinne and I started calling her "muffy" a few days ago. That's a reference to a joke that queens that stop having babies are destined for the earmuff factory.

Think she'll take the hint? It's been 18 months since her last litter was born... she'd better figure it out soon (although her fur is incredibly silky-soft, so I wouldn't mind a new pair of earmuffs this Winter).

Brian Carnell posted an article he called, "Free Speech Should Feel Good!". Near the beginning, he quotes a student (originally quoted in the Washington Post):

It hurts that people hate you because of your view...

I have to disagree with this. In fact, I feel exactly the opposite. It seems to me that there are only two valid reasons to "hate" anyone: their views/beliefs, and their actions.

There are lots of reasons that people hate, of course, with prejudice being the one that's most often discussed in the media. The problem with prejudice is that it's irrational, it's hatred of a class of people simply for existing.

I'm not trying to encourage hatred. There are beliefs and actions that are worth hating, but I prefer to promote something worth loving rather than demote something worth hating.

Some hatred is valid. I'd rather have someone hate me -- no, in fact I espect some people to hate me -- for what I believe and stand for than for being tall, or smart, or having freckles or a warped sense of humor.

I wouldn't be surprised if some people hate the very idea that some hate is justified.

If you'd like to discuss this, I'm listening!