Here I’ve been deluding myself into thinking that my best and highest use is as a public servant. I thought I was a good prosecutor and professor, and a decent legal analyst. It turns out, the chickens have known my best and highest use all along. I’m a really, really good perch for baby chicks.
Oh yeah. You’ve been imprinted in their brains so you are their Mama chicken-human(chicman?). As well as your legal expertise you are serving a superior position in the coop. Keep on keeping on Mrs. Vance.
Hey… my cat book will be out next titled, “Katz on Cats and Other Animal Tails.” Last year I fostered a robin fledgling for 8 days. I would take him out of his cage and try and get him to fly away but he or she just wanted to perch on my shoulder. I lost him on the 8th day because I didn’t warm my enclosed porch with my kerosene heater. I’ve never gotten over my failure but I will try again. I got pretty damn good at dangling worms over his beak all day long. Next time I’ll succeed.
I've always preferred the phrasing, 'Dogs have family, cats have staff.' That's been my experience with my dogs anyway. Tho having, in retirement, gone over to the feline side of the Force, I find my cats are family too in their own way.
I love my two boy cats, Max and Angel. They are from the same litter and thus, they are brothers. My partner and I are definitely their mothers and they are so cute and funny. I find them to be every bit as interesting, relational and smart as my late female standard poodle, Tallulah, who was amazing. She lived to just short of her 16th birthday. I still miss her. It is wonderful to have animals adopt you as their people. It is, for me, one of the secrets to a happy life.
I know how you feel, BIll. I have four, a feral mom (now completely tame) 🐈⬛ and her three big babies, now almost a year. They rejected my “homemade food”. At least they Vote Blue! 😂 Have a Happy Fourth!
When I began making wet food, I had to ease very slowly now they lick the plates clean. I will soon start a YouTube blog on how to make cat food. I can only make up to 30 lbs at a time and it lasts two weeks. It’s 100% meat, it’s cheaper than any factory bought food. It’s chicken thighs sourced from either Costco or BJs. Try feeding them a little at a time. Maybe open catnutrition.org and watch Dr Lisa Pierson. I’m faithful follower and I want to spread the gospel. Cheers. I don’t do fireworks I know how these things terrify wildlife. Cheers nonetheless.
Oooh Bill, I need your recipe for cat food! Will most def check out catnutrition.org. Thank you for the suggestion.
A couple of years ago a starving and pregnant cat, barely out of kittenhood herself, turned up on our front porch asking for help.
Of course our enclosed back porch became the maternity ward, where Little Mama birthed her three enchanting kittens. Her fur babies stayed with us until we could get them their first veterinarian check ups and vaccinations. The kittens now live with their new families. And Little Mama became a sleek beauty living a life of luxury with sunny windows, enough food to eat, warm laps and chin scratches in perpetuity. In return she gave us comfort and sanity during the terrible trump years.
And 3 are feral and 2 of them I’ve had for 12 years and they remain feral. But I don’t mind. Two years ago I heard something in my driveway at 6 AM on a cold December morning. It was an almost newborn kitty and I rushed him inside and eye drop fed him now he thinks I am his mother.
I love that you responded about the cat food….I only gave them homemade chicken and innards, boiled, no salt, nicely chopped up for them for the first few months. Mother Billie was so thin and messed up when she came to our bungalow in India (where we all live) I gave her tuna and diluted yogurt to get her ready for her birth. She put on weight, her skin and fur got cleared up and we were in great shape. Kittens are born in mid-July and when they are weaned, I started them on commercial cat food and homemade, white meat chicken and innards. Soon they would only eat Drools or Kitty Yums. I have watched great YouTube videos on preparing and freezing good food. I finally gave up and they are happy and healthy. I’ve had cats all my life, so I am confident they will live long and healthy lives, as long as a stray dog or poisonous snake doesn’t get them!
Spread the word, Bill! I discovered Dr. Pierson's catinfo.org website many years ago after switching our cats to raw food. All of our cats have since passed away at elderly ages(16-21+), but I share that website with people who have cats, often. I will check out the 'sister' website and share it as well.
Cats are very good at this. The part that baffles me is how they do it without our knowing. I am allergic to cats, so must avoid them, except when I visit people who have them. For some reason, all cats must lay in my lap. How they get there without my knowing is beyond me. I carry antihistamine just in case.
Remember Konrad Lorentz and his ducks from Psychology 101 in college? Now you are the one being imprinted upon! The chicks absolutely see you as their mother!
I respectfully suggest that you, Joyce, stand so strong as the Mama of the young chickens that no potential “mother-substitute” creature can easily step in as your replacement. You’d need to show a need for assistance. Do chickens collaboratively “mother”? Maybe a scientist who studies chickens and the complexities of the pecking order can help?
If someone told me that by the end of the day I would take seriously what was told to me by a woman with a live chicken on her head, I wouldn’t have believed them. Every day is an adventure.
I needed that humor tonight. They are so dang adorable. So glad that you share your little moments with all of us, puts things in perspective. The state of our so-called leaders is stressful. 🤣🇺🇸thanks again, Joyce, look forward to your thoughts w/your expertise. We are lucky to have you.
Your chicks and chickens are a calming thing for you, but for trump and possibly some of his ilk, their chickens are coming home to roost.
For at least 6.5 yrs most elected Republicans have made a mockery out of serving in Congress and the Senate. They aren't beholden to their voters and working desperately to help them with problems they face. They're too busy kissing up to the most corrupt ex-president in history and enacting revenge when they can. Even while trump basically confesses on tape, they still stand by him. Is it because trump is still controlled by the Russian mob? Maybe. That may be why they fall in behind trump. Otherwise, some would walk away. Look at McCarthy who was forced to apologize today because he spoke the truth yesterday. They're scared of the Russian mob, not that 78 yr old liar/cretin. I dearly hope this all shakes out for the good of us all. We need and deserve a BIG win. Tks, Joyce. Carry on.
Speaking of Rudy, the funniest bit in the Borat movie when he thinks he is about to score with a young woman interviewer. Watch it if you haven’t already. It’s on YouTube.
As to the chicks, I wish I lived next door to Joyce. I love all animals but these guys are beautiful. As a child, I once had a rooster I named Harry after my uncle Harry. For Easter, my parents bestowed two chicks. One soon died and Harry lived into the spring and summer. By and by as the summer passed, I was told that it was time for Harry to go to the farm. I asked why but I was never satisfactory told. Then one day, Harry was gone. I used to ask when we could go and visit Harry but that day never arrived. The answer was sometime soon. I could never understand why I couldn’t visit my friend, Harry. I still think that Harry is out there waiting to see me one day.
I’m a cat rescuer now and I have big plans ahead of me in organizing concerts to save elephants and rhinos from being poached. A few years back, I delivered art to a client in New York and the customer was proud to show me a huge set of elephant ivory tusks decorating his mantle. It was a very dark moment for me staring at these tusks while ruminating that evil existed a chain of evil doers existed that participated in the wonton destruction of a beautiful creature so this man could decorate his mantle. I was inspired to begin writing a song about that dark moment and collaborated with a friend to finish the song and submit it to March for Elephants and Rhinos from Capetown who were having a song contest. Our song won. I’ve now convinced them to experiment with global concerts. The idea is to start with 5 concerts and see where it goes. I don’t know how successful it will be but one of the concerts will be held in Connecticut my home state because up to 75% of all the ivory taken from Africa was sent here for almost 100 years to be fashioned into ivory trinkets and piano keys. We now even have a town named after the industry, Ivoryton, Connecticut. I believe that music can help change the world for the better. Detours happen in life when you least expect them.
It is not clear that Trump will be charged for an established reason or intent for keeping the documents. It seemed Smith was asking questions and looking for possible unexplained financial windfalls at one point.
First: we have no certainty that all the missing documents have been found. I could understand why the feds would keep this a secret. It's not something you want out there. Could this result in further charges? Losing secrets should cause legal jeopardy, no? After all, the guardians of national security would want these back.
Second: not knowing why Trump did this allows his enablers to dismiss the importance of this case and minimize the dangers inherent. Sort of: no harm, no foul, and then continue their political victimhood narrative. Is it possible Smith could still be investigating and bring further charges? Are there reasons he wouldn't want to?
I just hope he gets held accountable for what is missing, though it may be daunting trying to prove he had the missing items without credible witnesses.
Again I ask: Doesn't it seem like there should be an inventory sheet saying how many of which supersecret invasion plans are in the "Office of Strategic Angles For Logistics" which are in the "Spray Tan and Ketchup" box.
Believe me!! I am not bashing the lovelies at National Archives.
Thank you, Joyce, for sharing your chicken family with us. It’s another reminder that life goes on as the drama connected to tfg and his buddies like Rudy, continue to be surprising as well as predictable. TFG gets free publicity 24 hours a day with his revelations and lies. And we are privileged to see Justice in action with your commentary and expertise. Gratitude.
You always manage to add tremendous clarity as well as give us wonderful moments with the chicks. I don’t know how you do it all between your writing, podcast and appearances on so many shows (in fact, I’m watching you on Lawrence right now.) keep up the good work – I love watching you and all the legal nerds – Neal, Andrew, Barbara, Kim, and the wonderful Jill, wine banks. You manage to instill sanity in the world of chaos.
I relate to your chicks. In many ways your column, Civil Discourse has been my "safe perch" every morning. I find you have a clear and calming way of tackling the complicated matters our country faces. I thank you for it.
Thanks for starting things off with that adorable video. Your son did real good! Also, thank you for your definition of “proffer”. I heard it all day but didn’t quite get the gist of its meaning.
In the case of Rudy, I’d say he’s between a rock and a hard place.
The federal judicial system seems to work quite well for the high value law breakers. Rudy was at the very heart of all these schemes to steal the election and now he's trying to leverage that to a potential get out of jail disposition. You steal some food and you go to prison. You attempt to steal an election, subvert the constitution and help foment an insurrection and you potentially get a sweetheart deal.
I wonder what real value a crazy guy like Rudy can bring to the trial? cross examination of him could be a disaster for the prosecution as he could revert to form and screw everything up--hard to trust a nutcase like him!
He can tie all the others like Eastman; Powell, Brannon, Stone and countless others into their roles in the various schemes they were hatching along with Trump to overturn the election. I think they all should be indicted and let a jury decide their guilt or innocence.
I woukd think they will go really carefully with him as a Govt witness inasmuch as he is emotionally unstable and a consummate liar. He also couldn’t be controlled on cross examination as he could low up everything he testified to on direct! But will be interesting won’t it?
Loved the video. Obviously, the chicks recognize you as their Mom!
They do seem to see me that way!
Oh yeah. You’ve been imprinted in their brains so you are their Mama chicken-human(chicman?). As well as your legal expertise you are serving a superior position in the coop. Keep on keeping on Mrs. Vance.
And my 7 cats seem to think of me as what? The dude that puts 7 plates of homemade food out every morning whether I want to or not.
I tell myself my cats love me because otherwise I could not go on doing this everyday 😂
Hey… my cat book will be out next titled, “Katz on Cats and Other Animal Tails.” Last year I fostered a robin fledgling for 8 days. I would take him out of his cage and try and get him to fly away but he or she just wanted to perch on my shoulder. I lost him on the 8th day because I didn’t warm my enclosed porch with my kerosene heater. I’ve never gotten over my failure but I will try again. I got pretty damn good at dangling worms over his beak all day long. Next time I’ll succeed.
Bill, you are the robin’s mother, too! How wonderful!
Will definitely look for your book!! Keep us pasted.
dogs have owners, cats have staff...
I've always preferred the phrasing, 'Dogs have family, cats have staff.' That's been my experience with my dogs anyway. Tho having, in retirement, gone over to the feline side of the Force, I find my cats are family too in their own way.
Yeah family says it better - owners? No so much. And cats are just CATS - in other words - they are what they want to be!
I love my two boy cats, Max and Angel. They are from the same litter and thus, they are brothers. My partner and I are definitely their mothers and they are so cute and funny. I find them to be every bit as interesting, relational and smart as my late female standard poodle, Tallulah, who was amazing. She lived to just short of her 16th birthday. I still miss her. It is wonderful to have animals adopt you as their people. It is, for me, one of the secrets to a happy life.
Cats pick their masters, not the other way around IMHO....
I know how you feel, BIll. I have four, a feral mom (now completely tame) 🐈⬛ and her three big babies, now almost a year. They rejected my “homemade food”. At least they Vote Blue! 😂 Have a Happy Fourth!
When I began making wet food, I had to ease very slowly now they lick the plates clean. I will soon start a YouTube blog on how to make cat food. I can only make up to 30 lbs at a time and it lasts two weeks. It’s 100% meat, it’s cheaper than any factory bought food. It’s chicken thighs sourced from either Costco or BJs. Try feeding them a little at a time. Maybe open catnutrition.org and watch Dr Lisa Pierson. I’m faithful follower and I want to spread the gospel. Cheers. I don’t do fireworks I know how these things terrify wildlife. Cheers nonetheless.
Oooh Bill, I need your recipe for cat food! Will most def check out catnutrition.org. Thank you for the suggestion.
A couple of years ago a starving and pregnant cat, barely out of kittenhood herself, turned up on our front porch asking for help.
Of course our enclosed back porch became the maternity ward, where Little Mama birthed her three enchanting kittens. Her fur babies stayed with us until we could get them their first veterinarian check ups and vaccinations. The kittens now live with their new families. And Little Mama became a sleek beauty living a life of luxury with sunny windows, enough food to eat, warm laps and chin scratches in perpetuity. In return she gave us comfort and sanity during the terrible trump years.
And 3 are feral and 2 of them I’ve had for 12 years and they remain feral. But I don’t mind. Two years ago I heard something in my driveway at 6 AM on a cold December morning. It was an almost newborn kitty and I rushed him inside and eye drop fed him now he thinks I am his mother.
You ARE his mother, silly!
I''ll bet your kitties are you initial audience for the songs you write and your wonderful guitar pickin', before you put them up on YouTube.
Do let us know when your book comes out. :)
I love that you responded about the cat food….I only gave them homemade chicken and innards, boiled, no salt, nicely chopped up for them for the first few months. Mother Billie was so thin and messed up when she came to our bungalow in India (where we all live) I gave her tuna and diluted yogurt to get her ready for her birth. She put on weight, her skin and fur got cleared up and we were in great shape. Kittens are born in mid-July and when they are weaned, I started them on commercial cat food and homemade, white meat chicken and innards. Soon they would only eat Drools or Kitty Yums. I have watched great YouTube videos on preparing and freezing good food. I finally gave up and they are happy and healthy. I’ve had cats all my life, so I am confident they will live long and healthy lives, as long as a stray dog or poisonous snake doesn’t get them!
Spread the word, Bill! I discovered Dr. Pierson's catinfo.org website many years ago after switching our cats to raw food. All of our cats have since passed away at elderly ages(16-21+), but I share that website with people who have cats, often. I will check out the 'sister' website and share it as well.
Seven? Wow! I am owned by 2 former feral kitties. Homemade chicken, etc. Best that can be said is they think of me as their "noble drone!"
Bill Katz: Yeah, that's cats for you! Or is it, "Katz for you"!
Cats are very good at this. The part that baffles me is how they do it without our knowing. I am allergic to cats, so must avoid them, except when I visit people who have them. For some reason, all cats must lay in my lap. How they get there without my knowing is beyond me. I carry antihistamine just in case.
It seems that cats want most to be right next to the person who is allergic to them!! I’ve seen it time and again.
Of course. You have to ask? Kneel slave 😼!
Remember Konrad Lorentz and his ducks from Psychology 101 in college? Now you are the one being imprinted upon! The chicks absolutely see you as their mother!
I respectfully suggest that you, Joyce, stand so strong as the Mama of the young chickens that no potential “mother-substitute” creature can easily step in as your replacement. You’d need to show a need for assistance. Do chickens collaboratively “mother”? Maybe a scientist who studies chickens and the complexities of the pecking order can help?
Joyce, your chickens came home to roost! Now let's hope that Donald Trump's are in the process of doing that ...metaphorically, at least.
Amen!
Good one. And absolutely!
If someone told me that by the end of the day I would take seriously what was told to me by a woman with a live chicken on her head, I wouldn’t have believed them. Every day is an adventure.
I try to have serious opinions without being too serious of a person.
I needed that humor tonight. They are so dang adorable. So glad that you share your little moments with all of us, puts things in perspective. The state of our so-called leaders is stressful. 🤣🇺🇸thanks again, Joyce, look forward to your thoughts w/your expertise. We are lucky to have you.
Your chicks and chickens are a calming thing for you, but for trump and possibly some of his ilk, their chickens are coming home to roost.
For at least 6.5 yrs most elected Republicans have made a mockery out of serving in Congress and the Senate. They aren't beholden to their voters and working desperately to help them with problems they face. They're too busy kissing up to the most corrupt ex-president in history and enacting revenge when they can. Even while trump basically confesses on tape, they still stand by him. Is it because trump is still controlled by the Russian mob? Maybe. That may be why they fall in behind trump. Otherwise, some would walk away. Look at McCarthy who was forced to apologize today because he spoke the truth yesterday. They're scared of the Russian mob, not that 78 yr old liar/cretin. I dearly hope this all shakes out for the good of us all. We need and deserve a BIG win. Tks, Joyce. Carry on.
As always, I have such gratitude for your work. Thank you for sharing your expertise and wisdom!
Joyce, I was grateful to see you with the not so little ones anymore. You looked almost as young and adorable as they did.
Side note; Giuliani going in, proffer or not, and telling the TRUTH! You've got to be kidding.
Maybe he's started taking his meds for dementia.
Might help him considerably
Amusing, Steve, but I'm not buying it.
Those pills don't mix well with alcohol.
😂 Great comment Fern; just snorted my morning coffee all over myself 😂
Thank you, Claudia. I cannot wait to do the same, minus the snorting, but I may do that, too! ☕☕☕
I assume guys like Rudy have been living on designer drugs for decades, alcohol or not.
He's sure a hot mess.
Speaking of Rudy, the funniest bit in the Borat movie when he thinks he is about to score with a young woman interviewer. Watch it if you haven’t already. It’s on YouTube.
As to the chicks, I wish I lived next door to Joyce. I love all animals but these guys are beautiful. As a child, I once had a rooster I named Harry after my uncle Harry. For Easter, my parents bestowed two chicks. One soon died and Harry lived into the spring and summer. By and by as the summer passed, I was told that it was time for Harry to go to the farm. I asked why but I was never satisfactory told. Then one day, Harry was gone. I used to ask when we could go and visit Harry but that day never arrived. The answer was sometime soon. I could never understand why I couldn’t visit my friend, Harry. I still think that Harry is out there waiting to see me one day.
I’m a cat rescuer now and I have big plans ahead of me in organizing concerts to save elephants and rhinos from being poached. A few years back, I delivered art to a client in New York and the customer was proud to show me a huge set of elephant ivory tusks decorating his mantle. It was a very dark moment for me staring at these tusks while ruminating that evil existed a chain of evil doers existed that participated in the wonton destruction of a beautiful creature so this man could decorate his mantle. I was inspired to begin writing a song about that dark moment and collaborated with a friend to finish the song and submit it to March for Elephants and Rhinos from Capetown who were having a song contest. Our song won. I’ve now convinced them to experiment with global concerts. The idea is to start with 5 concerts and see where it goes. I don’t know how successful it will be but one of the concerts will be held in Connecticut my home state because up to 75% of all the ivory taken from Africa was sent here for almost 100 years to be fashioned into ivory trinkets and piano keys. We now even have a town named after the industry, Ivoryton, Connecticut. I believe that music can help change the world for the better. Detours happen in life when you least expect them.
Bless the chicks for that wonderful chick who is Joyce Vance. Best Sister In Law 🏛️ ever 💕🌿
As a little side note is the documents case.
It is not clear that Trump will be charged for an established reason or intent for keeping the documents. It seemed Smith was asking questions and looking for possible unexplained financial windfalls at one point.
First: we have no certainty that all the missing documents have been found. I could understand why the feds would keep this a secret. It's not something you want out there. Could this result in further charges? Losing secrets should cause legal jeopardy, no? After all, the guardians of national security would want these back.
Second: not knowing why Trump did this allows his enablers to dismiss the importance of this case and minimize the dangers inherent. Sort of: no harm, no foul, and then continue their political victimhood narrative. Is it possible Smith could still be investigating and bring further charges? Are there reasons he wouldn't want to?
The WaPo had a story yesterday speculating that there may be more papers at Bedminster.
Yes, saw that.
Thanks for sharing it.
I just hope he gets held accountable for what is missing, though it may be daunting trying to prove he had the missing items without credible witnesses.
Again I ask: Doesn't it seem like there should be an inventory sheet saying how many of which supersecret invasion plans are in the "Office of Strategic Angles For Logistics" which are in the "Spray Tan and Ketchup" box.
Believe me!! I am not bashing the lovelies at National Archives.
Face it, Joyce, those chicks love you. Why worry about the stuffy old hens when they have you?
Thank you, Joyce, for sharing your chicken family with us. It’s another reminder that life goes on as the drama connected to tfg and his buddies like Rudy, continue to be surprising as well as predictable. TFG gets free publicity 24 hours a day with his revelations and lies. And we are privileged to see Justice in action with your commentary and expertise. Gratitude.
You always manage to add tremendous clarity as well as give us wonderful moments with the chicks. I don’t know how you do it all between your writing, podcast and appearances on so many shows (in fact, I’m watching you on Lawrence right now.) keep up the good work – I love watching you and all the legal nerds – Neal, Andrew, Barbara, Kim, and the wonderful Jill, wine banks. You manage to instill sanity in the world of chaos.
It's a good time to be a legal nerd! I can remember when they used to make fun of us, especially the appellate wonks like Neal and me!
I relate to your chicks. In many ways your column, Civil Discourse has been my "safe perch" every morning. I find you have a clear and calming way of tackling the complicated matters our country faces. I thank you for it.
I love this. Thank you!
Thanks for starting things off with that adorable video. Your son did real good! Also, thank you for your definition of “proffer”. I heard it all day but didn’t quite get the gist of its meaning.
In the case of Rudy, I’d say he’s between a rock and a hard place.
The federal judicial system seems to work quite well for the high value law breakers. Rudy was at the very heart of all these schemes to steal the election and now he's trying to leverage that to a potential get out of jail disposition. You steal some food and you go to prison. You attempt to steal an election, subvert the constitution and help foment an insurrection and you potentially get a sweetheart deal.
I wonder what real value a crazy guy like Rudy can bring to the trial? cross examination of him could be a disaster for the prosecution as he could revert to form and screw everything up--hard to trust a nutcase like him!
He can tie all the others like Eastman; Powell, Brannon, Stone and countless others into their roles in the various schemes they were hatching along with Trump to overturn the election. I think they all should be indicted and let a jury decide their guilt or innocence.
That’s good for us, Ira! Let him “screw everything up”! I think Jack Smith is “allowing” dump to hang himself. More idiocy from Rudy can only help!
I woukd think they will go really carefully with him as a Govt witness inasmuch as he is emotionally unstable and a consummate liar. He also couldn’t be controlled on cross examination as he could low up everything he testified to on direct! But will be interesting won’t it?
He’s a drunk along with everything else.