September 8, 2011 – Daily Brief

Cougars in Valencia… duh. Haven’t you been to Glen Ivy???? (or, the more simple would be… haven’t you been on Rockwell Canyon???)

Why is it important to Petz to know what American (or not) Muslims are doing to remember 9/11? If they were to publicly announce how they were honoring the thousands of lives lost on that tragic day, including many Muslims lives, would that change the mind of many who believe being Muslim means you believe in terrorism and the killing of innocent people? http://islam.about.com/od/terrorism/a/Muslim-Victims-Of-9-11-Attack.htm “For example, the mother and other family members of American Airlines flight #11 passenger, Rahma Salie, were barred from traveling to her memorial service. Her mother, Haleema, said, “I would like everyone to know that she was a Muslim, she is a Muslim and we are victims too, of this tragic incident.”” I don’t believe that an announcement in the newspaper about how the Muslim community is honoring those who died on that day, would cause anyone who is ignorant or hateful towards this religion, would change their minds about them.

Petz, you and I have had this discussion before and lvogel covered some of what we discussed in the above post but I will entertain you for a quick minute. Tomorrow I will be on Joe Messina’s show discussing 9/11 from an American Muslim’s perspective. Other than that, there are a MULTITUDE of events scheduled by the Muslim community in Southern California. They involve everything from interfaith work to feeding the poor to ceremonies honoring those who gave their lives. If you want, I can Facebook you a Group that you can Friend and see the many different community activities we are involved in both this weekend and throughout the year.

The NY Times article is chilling and so disturbing on so many levels. The wound is still so fresh.

Yes, there are mountain lions/cougars in “North” Valencia, as well as Saugus and Canyon Country, says my friend who volunteers at the “big cat” sanctuary called Shambala. She says that the mountain lions are coming down into suburbanized areas in search of water, because by now the water sources up in the mountains are very dry from the summer heat. Her neighborhood, which I won’t disclose at her request, had a female mountain and cubs in residence earlier this year, in a very steep, tree covered common area. Mom and the cubs could come down and drink water at the HOA’s green grassy flat areas which are sprinklered. That same common area has sheltered mother coyotes and pups for years, but obviously the female mountain lion was the superior predator, so the coyote moms moved elsewhere this year. My son bought a house with a lush bush and tree covered backyard which had been vacant for 6 months. When he and his wife held their “house warming party” all of us were standing in the family room, looking at the back yard, when a bobcat casually strolled across the top of the fence! A very kind man I knew 10 years ago, who was an animal control officer working out of Castaic told me that he had to leave a phone call because he had an emergency “Meals on Wheels” situation. When I asked what that was, he quickly said “Mountain lion waiting at school bus stop in a canyon in Castaic”. The bottom line is that if you have a cat who lives outside, the cat is prey and you cannot do anything about the risk except keep the cat inside. Similarly a small to medium sized dog who is fenced in yard is potential prey for a mountain lion, if you are anywhere near a wild open space. If you let the dog go in the yard to do their business, stand there and watch over them. Don’t leave them to fend for themselves. The same is true for small children playing in a yard backing up to wild lands, however so small the open space. Santa Clarita is at the edge of a vast wilderness, and that will never change. Instead, people have to adapt.

Petz urges Talkers to listen to The Real Side with Joe Messina this afternoon as he speaks with Perez. KHTS 1220 AM 2-3 PM