Moo is a quirky little kitty.

He is fascinated by the bath tub. Whenever someone takes a bath he sits on the edge of the bath and peers in. He seems equally attracted and repelled by the water - absolutely hates it if any water splashes on his paws, but can't bring himself to back away. A couple of weeks ago the inevitable happened. He got careless and fell in. He was most indignant, but, next evening, he was back, keeping the girls company while they bathed.

He also hates to eat alone. If we're out, he'll wait till we get back, then lead us to his food, wait till we sit down on the floor next to him and start stroking him, and only then will he eat his food, purring like mad. This is why, after Bobby and I got home from our date night tonight, I was forced to spend ten minutes lying on the girls' bedroom floor stroking Moo while he ate his midnight snack.

His name, by the way, is short for Moomintroll. If you haven't read the Moomin Family books by Tove Jansson, you should. They are delightful.

Less delightful is this compelling and frightening article from this month's Atlantic Monthly. It's written by Richard A. Clarke, and is in the form of a report from 2011, looking back on the ten years since 9/11. It's a grim outline of a possible future for America - a future filled with terrorism and consequent restrictions on civil liberties. The article ends by saying that there's still some hope, still some time for the current administration to avert this scenario. I hope that's true.