(I feel like such a Jewish mom when I'm posting things like that. I always want to open them with an "OK, I'm going to be a Jewish-mommy for a second here...". Only, in Israel, since most moms are Jewish, we call it "Polish mom". And then we have to explain how it shouldn't have anything to do with the question of where your mother lived before coming to Israel.)

She's come a long way, but I love the caption accompanying this article's picture.

I need to watch this on C-Span today. I wonder if it will be like when the tobacco executives sat in front of congress and said, "What? We didn't KNOW tobacco was dangerous and addictive!"

These guys may just say, "What? Hurricanes! We had to shut down refineries! It's not a crime to make a lot of money in this country!"

From Wired:

Crazy Curse of the Cats?
It's undeniably true that a scratched-up sofa can push a pet owner to the limits of sanity. But psychiatrist Dr. Fuller Torrey is investigating a possible link between cats and schizophrenia that's a bit more direct, The New York Daily News reports. Torrey says schizophrenics are more likely to have curled up with a feline friend during childhood, and theorizes that spores of the feline parasite Toxoplasma gondii -- present in cat droppings and swallowed or inhaled by pet owners -- could be the culprit. "My wife thinks I'm probably ultimately going to be assassinated by (cat lovers)," Torrey said, while pointing out that almost all animals carry "transmissible agents" that could affect humans. Bad kitty!

That's interesting, tommyrot. I'm a big fan of Dr. Fuller Torrey's work. He's really respected in the mental health community. Although cat lovers may hate his guts now.

I've been trying to resist posting something like "Good night, Perkins. Good post. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill block you in the morning". I failed.

Hee.

Like Beth and JZ, I am happy about the election results, though not the election and its costs.

That's interesting, tommyrot. I'm a big fan of Dr. Fuller Torrey's work. He's really respected in the mental health community. Although cat lovers may hate his guts now.

Doesn't surprise me given that cats are just incredibly toxic to humans in so many ways.

It does give a whole new explanation for crazy cat ladies.

given that cats are just incredibly toxic to humans in so many ways.

The little snuggy-boos!

Good morning. Hey, looks like it's my turn for the dizzy spells. I wonder if I can blame my cat?

Torrey says schizophrenics are more likely to have curled up with a feline friend during childhood, and theorizes that spores of the feline parasite Toxoplasma gondii -- present in cat droppings and swallowed or inhaled by pet owners -- could be the culprit.

You know, I know it's just a newspaper reporting the gist of a scientific study and all, but you'd think that they would at least mention the whole "well, we're pretty sure there's a genetic component to schizophrenia too" side of things. Because I am sure a newspaper can come up with a way to say "diathesis-stress model" in a conversational way.

Not just because of how irritating it would be if quasi-informed readers went on an hysterical panic about cat butts causing mental illness, but because if we can isolate a stressor that kicks off incidence, then we might be able to create targeted preventive measures. So, not All Cat Butts Exiled Forthwith, but, test the cats in at-risk households for toxoplasmosis (or whatever it might end up being).