WAS THIS DOG OUTVOTED? The politics of pets (Shutterstock).

In Case You Were Wondering Dept. The conduct of men and women in our armed forces is governed by the Universal Code of Military Justice. It says that no one in uniform is required to obey an unlawful order.

The oath I took stated – in part – that I vowed to “support and defend the Constitution” and “and obey the lawful orders of the President of the United States.”

An unlawful order, whether it comes from a Democratic president or Republican president, is no order at all. We now return you to Retorts’ usual silliness.

Reigning Cats and Dogs Dept: At Tuesday’s meeting of the Huntington Beach City Council there was a lot of interest in the idea of a dog voting.

That wasn’t quite what happened, but it got me thinking. What or whom would a dog – or a cat –vote for? And could they do any worse than some people in this world?
Dogs are pack animals. Domestic dogs are close to their owners, whom we might characterize as “government.’ They tend to want more and more from their “government,” but are somewhat grateful.

Cats are more individualistic. They may receive food and shelter from people, but don’t really want to take orders from “government” and aren’t especially grateful for its “benefits.”

Dogs accept their collars as signs of connections to their home. They will go meekly (usually) to the vet or groomer. Cats don’t care for collars very readily and as for a trip to the vet … have you ever been able to stuff a feline into a “cat carrier” without much effort and several nasty scratches?

As for political independents, I’m thinking goldfish. They don’t have a lot of choices and don’t get a lot of attention. On the other hand, it looks peaceful in that bowl.