I don't know if it's modesty or just didn't seem lady-like to her

But I for one think it's one classy thing for a woman to have done for her country during World War II:

Hoo-rah! Bea Arthur was a truck-driving Marine: Documents say actress served her country during WW II, but she denied it in 2001

Bea Arthur served up the jokes, making America laugh for decades on TV – but, as it turns out, the late actress also served her country in the Marine Corps during her youth.

According to TheSmokingGun.com, the “Maude” and “The Golden Girls” star served for 30 months starting in 1943. She reportedly was a member of the Women’s Reserve and worked as a truck driver and typist.

Good riddance

2 Marines disciplined over puppy-tossing video, one of whom--Lance Cpl. David Motari--is being kicked out entirely over the incident. Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion is also being punished, but his punishment was not released. My grandfather was a Marine at Iwo Jima. That is the type of legacy that the Marines want to leave--not of callous wingnuts who think tossing a puppy off a cliff is good fun and then are stupid enough to post a video about it.

Don't get me started on what should happen to these men

Puppy-Throwing Video Raises Many Hackles

There's a lot of debate over the authenticity of the video, but in it a man appears to show the camera a black-and-white puppy, talks about how cute it is, then throws it off a cliff, saying that it was a mean thing to do. The video has (thankfully) been removed by YouTube. A name mentioned in the video may be the person shown throwing the dog to its supposed death. Even if the dog were already dead (it didn't move in the video) or if it were somehow faked (the yelping of the dog did not diminish as it got further from the recorder as it should have), it is sick. Really sick. And if it's true, then I think the person (and the cameraman, for that matter) should be prosecuted to the fullest. Oh, hell, I think they should be flung off cliffs, but that's not going to happen. But they shouldn't be allowed to remain in the Marine Corps, and they should serve time for their actions.

Then there's a local story (it'll only be up for 7 days...the Herald-Leader makes stories pay-per-article after that time, which is just annoying):

Alford plea in kitten drowning: Professor gets $500 Fine, No Jail Time

Bill Fountain, a horticulture professor at the University of Kentucky claims that he thought his neighbour's five-month old kitten, which he'd trapped, was a raccoon, and he drowned it because it attacked him. What rubbish. Granted the man's professional focus is plants, but he had to have taken at least basic biology to become a horticulturalist and I think anyone who has should be able to tell a kitten from a raccoon, don't you? And although he supposedly passed a polygraph, I find it interesting that several other cats in the neighbourhood were known to have disappeared--including another cat belonging to the same neigbhour. An Alfred plea is one where a person does not admit guilt but does admit that there is enough evidence to convict. This man should not be working for the university. He shouldn't be around animals or other people for that matter. Again, animal cruelty is sick--and if a person mistreats animals, there's a good chance he or she will abuse a person, too. Think of serial killers who as children tortured or killed animals, like Jeffrey Dahmer.

I'm also disappointed that the Kentucky Kernel does not appear to have covered this story when it first broke or the plea entry. At least Fountain's name doesn't come up online when you search their site.

Here's the original story as posted on Topix, appearing in the Herald-Leader on September 10th.

Man drowns neighbor's kitten in barrel, says he was attacked

Oh, these stories just make me so angry.

A feel-good story

Family Adopts Slain Marine's Dog Partner

Lex, a German Shepherd, was injured in the same mortar attack that took the life of his handler, Dustin Lee. Now Lee's family has been granted a first-time waiver to allow them to adopt the 8-year-old dog, releasing him from service two years ahead of schedule.

It can't bring their son and brother back, but I think it helps them deal with their grief to know his companion is with them.