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The Cats of My Lap in the Alentejo Shed

David mentioned to me the other day that I had broken one the cardinal sins of the internet, in that I had mentioned my cats in a post and had not provided pictures of them.

I introduced Black Momma and Touriga in my last post. These are the matriarchs of the tribe.  Next in seniority is Fleabag. Fleabag holds a special place in my heart. His mother Touriga sought sanctuary in the house after a particularly loud and vicious fight during my first weeks here. She arrived meowing on the doorstep with this tiny little scrap of a kitten audibly begging to be let in.

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The Dustbin Mother

It really makes me a happier person to see that in a world full of mothers like the Octomom and mothers trying to commit suicide publicly, and even the most obnoxious mother I have ever seen, there are mothers who not only take care of their own children but also reach out and take care of other children — children who have been abandoned and left for dead. They do it because it is the right thing to do, not because the panopticonic camera will be following them wherever they go, snapping photographs of them as they wander through airports and go grocery shopping and pick up their dry cleaning.

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Should Parenting Require Licensing?

There is no screening process involved in becoming a parent — all it takes is two people, not even necessarily in a relationship, and a sexual act that can take as little as a couple of minutes. From the act, nine or so months pass and a baby is born — and then you can get champion mothers like the one I recently observed on the train, yelling at her child while at the same time mostly ignoring her and listening to music on headphones and looking anywhere but the direction of her child.

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Wyclef Tells Brad and Angie to Adopt Haitian Babies

We know New Orleans still needs all the help we can offer. Despite this, celebrities are still coming up with new and improved ways to try to help out the devastated nation of Haiti. Wyclef Jean, for example, recently appealed to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to adopt a baby from Haiti.

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International Deaf Child Adoption Crises

Finding suitable homes for disabled children is a tough scheme to accomplish via legal adoption and one would think countries would work extra hard to find suitable and loving parents willing to adopt these special kids to save them from institutional lonesomeness and abuse.

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Cascading Teen Violence and the Kindergarten Monster

Duke University put research to the notion that a negative environment shapes children into violent teens.  Does that study augment the argument for — Infant Criminals, Bad Seeds and Guilty Ovum — or does it press the idea to the curb?  It is possible some children are predestined to form a criminal mind no matter how they were raised?

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