Ah, the comment about Neuticles. People might not know what Neuticles are. Neuticles are artificial dog balls. New-Testicles. But why not call a spade a spade? They're artificial dog nuts. 

Buck looked up at me with a puzzled expression- his Bloodhound look of worry and concern.

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Friends,

The board of the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project (ORSCP) has applied to the City of Olympia for recognition of formal sister city status between Olympia and Rafah, Palestine. The City Council will make a decision on the matter at the end of February.

 

We are asking for your help to support this exciting new phase in the relationship between our two communities.

You can help in any of the following ways:

• Add your name to the list of ORSCP supporters. Just send me a note at JohnHarvey@Comcast.net.
• Ask the appropriate civic, religious, and business organizations to which you belong to endorse ORSCP and notify me whenthe endorsement is authorized. Or send the name of your organization and I will contact them.
• Write a short letter of support to the the Olympia City Council citycouncil@ci.olympia.wa.us telling them how great ORSCP is and that you support an official sister city connection with Rafah. Please cc your letter to me. Letters can be short and simple. One paragraph or even one sentence is enough. The important thing is that the city hears from you.
• Visit your friends on the City Council on any Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 900 Plum Street, during Public Communications time. (It’s easy!) It only takes a few moments to encourage the council to support Olympia-Rafah official status.

Some of our current supporters are:

• Thurston County League of Women Voters
• Sister Cities International
• Veterans For Peace, Olympia Chapter
• Friends of Sabeel - North America
• Al Bushra, Arab American Roman Catholic Community
• Senator Karen Fraser, Washington State Senate - 22nd Legislative District, Olympia, WA
• Rep. Brendan Williams, Washington State House of Representatives, 22nd Legislative District, Olympia, WA
• Rep. Sam Hunt, Washington State House of Representatives, Olympia, WA
• Rev. John VanEenwyk, PhD., Director, International Trauma Treatment Program. Olympia, WA
• The Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani, Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem
• The Rev. Canon David James, PhD., Rector, St. John's Episcopal Church, Olympia, Wa
• The Rev. Msgr. Labib Kobti, PhD., Pastor, St. Thomas More Catholic Church, San Francisco, CA. Member, Order of the Holy Sepulcher. Founder of Al-Bushra.
• The Rev. Arthur Vaeni, Minister, Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Olympia, WA
• The Rev. Canon Richard Toll, Director, Friends of Sabeel-North America, OR
• Cindy and Craig Corrie, The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, Olympia, WA
• David Hyde, Professor of Sociology, South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia, WA

Thank you for you support. It has been our great pleasure to work with the community and we look forward to representing the city of Olympia as an official sister city.

On behalf of the the ORSCP Board of Directors,

John Harvey

Wow it's hard to log in here. I almost gave up but here I am.

In the interest of disclosure I am not a woman, nor have I founded a major religion or philosophical society. I am a longtime Olympia inhabitant and have been reading Olyblog for a few months.

I started work for a locally owned global company this year. I don't get paid much but I love the job. I've never had a problem with a boss or co-worker. I get lots of little perks and extras. My issue is health insurance.

My job offers a health and dental plan. It's actually a really good deal unless you want to add a spouse or child. Under normal circumstances my portion for just myself would be affordable. However I have one big massive debt and other responsibilities in my personal life so I chose to not get insurance. I don't get sick much anyway.

That worked until I was informed insurance was mandatory. My only options for getting a waiver was to already be covered somewhere else or be a Christian Scientist. I got out the calculator and saw red numbers and negatives in my immediate future. I called the SHIBA hotline and was informed the company had the legal right to do this.

I met with my HR rep who explained it wasn't the company, it was the insurance, and that if I didn't have any convictions against this idea I could be a Christian Scientist this year. Well, why not? Nobody is really going to investigate me, I could just be a Christian Scientist on Christmas and Easter, at weddings and funerals. When I'm faking things I like to be a little bit informed so I'm reading up on CS and will be submitting an application online soon. I may even visit the reading room on 4th Ave.

If my fiscal situation is better next year I'll convert and sign up for insurance.

 

Okay, okay, I give up. This story out of our fair (foggy) Olympia is all over the place and I suppose we might as well confront it head on. Maybe then we can get a leash on it, I know this is ruff, but I don't think it can be muzzled now that it is out of the kennel.

If dog-loving lawmakers prevail, Fido could soon be sidling up to bar stools around Washington state.

My personal vote would be No, no dogs allowed in bars unless they are working dogs. I am fine however with dog establishments built to shelter and water dogs while their owners drink. After the recent storms we surely have lots of free bark around that could be efficiently used for doggie rest stops.

No matter what, I don't think we can tackle this canine question without a few dog & bar jokes under our belt:

A three legged dog walks into a bar and says, "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw..."

A man walks into a pub and sits down next to a man with a dog at his feet. "Does your dog bite?"
"No."
A few minutes later the dog takes a huge chunk out of his leg.
"I thought you said your dog didn't bite!" the man says indignantly.
"That's not my dog."

A dog walks into a bar. He hops up on a bar stool and says, "How about a free drink for the talking dog?" The bartender says, "Sure, the toilet's down the hall."

I don't suppose there are many other OlyBloggers who were around here when Al Rosellini was Governor  (1957-1965). He kept sheep on the lawn of the Governor's mansion. When my little brother, who was a toddler at the time, got lost at the Puyallup Fair, we became frantic. But then we saw him somehow towering over the crowd. He was on Gov. Rosellini's shoulders, who told us, "I knew someone would spot him up here!" We have a few other stories about Big Al, but I'll parcel them out later.

The combined 5 terms of Rosellini and Evans (1957-1977) remain as a high point in government activism in Washington.

Happy birthday Big Al!