28 March—There always has to be a scapegoat. For Hitler and his henchmen it was the Jews. For Trump and his toadies it’s the foreigners. It looks like the shameless American tyrant’s masked goon squads are still illegally—i.e., without judicial warrants—pulling in foreigners for trumped up reasons like saying things the tyrant doesn’t like or just because they’re foreigners.

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And Connecticut is again or still scapegoating black bears for being bears when the problems they’re accused of causing are really caused by people. The Connecticut General Assembly, egged on by DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes (taking a break from her crusade to ban gasoline-powered everything) and blood-thirsty hunters, is once again considering legislation to permit bear hunting. And the rationale for killing black bears is every bit as cockeyed as the one for deporting non-citizens.

The anti-bear legislation, which is supported by all the local pols, deserves to fail again.

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Legislation that deserves to pass but probably will fail again would ban declawing of cats. Known on veterinary bills as onychectomy (from the Greek for nail excision), it actually is a surgical procedure to amputate the last bone of each toe, to which the claw is attached.

Feline onychectomy is unnecessary and cruel. Incessant scratching is a natural behavior for cats. That’s why you put scratching posts all over the house. And how would you like to have the ends of all the toes of both feet or all the fingers of both hands amputated? There’s no justification at all for the inhumane procedure, which can cause cats to suffer permanent lameness and nerve damage, as well as depression and other problems.

The American Veterinary Medical Association discourages declawing cats except when medically necessary but doesn’t outright prohibit member veterinarians from doing the dirty.

The Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association, on the other hand, makes it clear that elective partial digital amputation is unacceptable. Yet the CVMA’s current president, Michelle Forella (with a practice in Bolton), testified against the legislation, claiming, inter alia, that “this is not the place for the government to be making health care decisions.” Michelle’s slick website nevertheless tells us, “Dr. Forella demonstrates unwavering commitment to providing the best patient care and maintaining the highest standards. Forella gets especially excited about wounds, pain management, and complicated anesthesia.” Obviously.

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And last, a few questions about the front-page saga of the 32-year-old stepson who allegedly was held prisoner by his father and stepmother in her Waterbury house for 20 years. Evidently the man’s father died last year, but while the old man was alive his allegedly imprisoned son worked with him in the garden or backyard from time to time. Was the son chained or shackled? And was he gagged or otherwise incapable of shouting out to neighbors to help him?

And the alleged victim’s 9-by-13-foot room with a barrel bolt on the outside of the door must have had a window because the poor guy was able to count passing cars. So why couldn’t he have taken advantage of the window in some way? He had the presence of mind to start a fire in order to attract attention, after all.

Just wondering . . .