the cat has basal cell carcinoma

So the biopsy results came back for my littlest cat who had surgery last Thursday. The growth was a basal cell carcinoma. It is malignant, the vet said, but supposedly it has a low probability of metastasizing. And the vet said the biopsy result said the margins were clean -- meaning no little cancerous cells sliced in half, leaving some behind in Kako. And all we need to do at this pont, per the vet, is "watch it." No chemo. Thank god for that.

She's got about 12 stitches -- doesn't like me checking them -- they are in her left armpit, so it's an awkward spot, and I can tell her left leg has been sore the past few days, because she wasn't jumping up on all her usual perches around the house since I brought her home from the vet, post-surgery, on Friday.
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there is justice... after the fact... and: Chicago shootings map

I mentioned on 8/2 the fucked up death of a 1 year old that wound up in our ER last Friday.

Yesterday I discovered, with grim satisfaction, that the mother of the dead kid and her boyfriend have been charged with first degree murder and child endangerment. A little late for the dead child. But the bonds set for these two scumbags were $900K (mother) and $1.5 mil (boyfriend) pretty much ensure they'll sit in Cook County Jail until their court dates and then go right back to County after their court dates. One can only hope the stories about how prisoners treat those prisoners accused of crimes against children are true.

For the first time ever, I am sorry previous Governor Ryan put a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois; I can't think of two more deserving people than these two.

In other news from the same local outlet, Chicago's July shootings were a "bloodbath" (though not, I suspect, anywhere near as bad as last summer, which was record-breaking).

They've also conveniently provided a map of this summer's shootings. It's quite impressive... in a bad way...

And then there's the recent beating robberies of single men walking alone at night in what is typically considered a "nice" neighborhood, Lincoln Park.

Wave bye-bye to the 2016 Olympics, Chicago! I don't think the Olympic Committee is going to select us for 2016. Sometimes just tells me -- no. No matter what Mayor Daley wants.