Watch Your Pets

I felt relief upon learning that canned pet foods were on the list of those to be avoided during this crisis in the food supply. My cats, Frank Sinatra and Sammie Dee, mainly eat dry food – and a by-prescription-only dry food at that.

Now, the federal Food and Drug Administration is saying that the pet foods to avoid may include dry food. So now I am carefully scrutinizing not just the labels of the food, but also watching my cats like a hawk, so to speak. They are definitely not lethargic; they chase each other through the house as always; they like water but don’t seem to be drinking any more than usual; and I haven’t seen any unusual vomiting or any diarrhea. I read the label on a bag of their food and did not find wheat or wheat gluten or additives that include ethoxyquine or propylene glycol. Their brand does include the additives BHT and BHA and one expert on a television show this morning said when perusing labels, look for them.

To learn if your pet food is on the list of brands to be avoided for now, call Menu Foods, which distributes products sold under a variety of names: 1-866-895-2708 or go to the Website: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/. Also check the Hills Pet Nutrition Inc., which has recalled one of its prescription products for cats: http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/hills303_07.html

My cats consume a different prescription product than the one Hills is recalling. According to wire services: "Hills Pet Nutrition is recalling all Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food, which contained wheat gluten from the same supplier used by Menu Foods - the Canadian company that has recalled 60 million cans and packets made between December and March. No other Hill's Prescription Diet or Science Diet products are affected, said the company, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co."

Also check the FDA site: www.fda.gov

I appreciate what one retailer, Waggin' Tails, whose products I use (Yes, I spoil my cats with all sorts of gadgets and other comforts!), said in an e-mail blast to its customers: "For over 12 years, we have devoted ourselves to the health and well-being of your pets. Our philosophy is quite simple here. Menu Foods produced toxic food. Without specific information that clearly identifies the problem and assures us that the problem is isolated to just the foods on the recall list, we do not feel safe offering anything produced in their facilities. We will continue to update you as new information is available. Again, we extend our deepest sympathy for anyone with a dog or cat affected by this event. We invite any questions to us at info@waggintails.com"


Let’s be careful out there!

Rev. Jackson Likes Barack Obama

After some Blacks in prominent positions have raised questions about Sen. Obama’s bonafides as the candidate Black voters should embrace as THEIR candidate, the most visible leader in the civil rights community ended speculation about where he stands.

On Thursday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. told the Association Press, "He has my vote."

Among Blacks, that endorsement may go far. But we are a multifaceted people with multiple interests. When Jackson sought the presidency in 1984 and 1988, Black pride was a great part of his appeal. But we are past that. Now Obama’s positions must be weighed against those of others who are campaigning for the nominations of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Boys Choir of Harlem Founder Dies

Walter Turnbull, whose vision and passion led to the creation of the renowned Boys Choir of Harlem, but whose artistic and personal ego led him to remain in charge of the choir to its detriment in recent years, died a few hours ago.

This is how the news was reported locally in New York City by New York 1 News:
http://www.ny1news.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=67985

Rest in peace.

We'll make assessments later. Check out my posting at www.bet.com.

My First Colonoscopy

I'd postposed this procedure twice, but finally got it done yesterday. And, now as with all new converts, I am proselytizing.

Get yourself tested to determine if you are at risk of various colo-rectal problems, including cancer. Check out this informative Web site:

http://www.webmd.com/colorectal-cancer/Colonoscopy-16695

Other than making up your mind to have the exam, the hardest part is prepping the day before, when you drink a fluid designed to, shall we say, "clean out your system." Then there's no eating until after the exam the next day. The procedure was relatively brief and very much painless as I was admnistered a sedative intravenously.

I'll do this again in five years.

This “Blood” Cherokee vs “Black Cherokee Freedmen” Issue Won’t Go Away

The Cherokee Nation, that rump group of Native Americans who are more proud of their White heritage than their Black heritage, voted to expel Blacks from the nation. That means they have to share $$$$ coming to the tribe via US government and gaming enterprises, with fewer people.

Among the many who have spoken up about this is the Congressional Black Caucus, which, according to the Associated Press, is asking the federal government “to weigh in on the legality of a vote by the Cherokee Nation earlier this month to revoke citizenship from descendants of former tribal slaves."

This from the AP: "Saying they were 'shocked and outraged,' more than two dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus signed a letter to the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs questioning the 'validity, legality, as well as the morality' of the March 3 vote.

"'The black descendant Cherokees can trace their Native American heritage back in many cases for more than a century,' said Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.). 'They are legally a part of the Cherokee Nation through history, precedent, blood and treaty obligations.'”

Read what Mike Shelton, a member of the state legislature in Oklahama, says about how the Cherokee Nation is marching on the wrong trail: http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/opinion/local_story_070192128.html





50 Shots; Black Man Dead

This has been disturbing from the first, when Sean Bell, a young man literally hours away from his wedding ceremony in November, was gunned down by five cops who for some reason thought he was something other than a young man leaving a strip joint with friends on the eve of his wedding.

Apparently three cops have been indicted on charges of manslaughter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/nyregion/17grand.html?hp

This won't be official until Monday. But officials -- elected and appointed and self-appointed --have been encourgaging US to be cool, to chill, to not go mau-mauing no matter what the results.

OK. But let's also put ourselves in the shoes of cops on the beat in a bad neighborhood trying to make the nabe safe for all of US. This is not an easy issue, is it?

St. Patrick's Day

The united states of us requires effort.

I have heard so many people say that they have no knowledge of what St. Patrick’s Day is all about except that it involves Irish people and drunkenness. There is much more to St. Patrick’s Day than that.

I have heard so many people say that they know nothing about Black History Month because they are not Black. Or they don't understand Chinese New Year because they are not Chinese. Or they ignore Columbus Day because they are not Italian.

I have heard so many people presume that Thanksgiving is about turkeys and football, but don’t realize the religious base for it. Or don’t see a commonality of purpose in celebrating Thanksgiving and Kwanzaa or Easter and Passover.

If the US in the United States are to truly be that, we need to reach beyond our limited concepts of from whence we’ve come. Even if that means rejecting some of that which our parents or teachers have burdened us with.

I have heard too many people say that Christianity is Catholicism and that’s it. As a good and faithful Baptist, I try to explain Protestants to them.

I make a point of expressing my Irishness this time of the year and using the opportunity of the holiday to generate discussions – in pubs no less! – about the connections between Blacks and Irish in this country. The Irish were considered the “niggers” of the British empire and then, after a few decades here, considered themselves to be White. Google the Draft Riots for a start. A lot of people of Irish backgrounds ended up in the antebellum South and a lot of us are their descendants, whether acknowledged or not.

In this nation, with all our resources, there is no excuse for not knowing more about our neighbors and workplace colleagues.

I am proudly Irish this weekend – and am preparing to cook my corn beef-and-cabbage luncheon for friends of any hue and religiosity – after an Irish breakfast at one of the nearby firehouses in Harlem.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!