Bush names Barney Attorney General
22 May 2007 by Adam Tan
Seeking to draw a line under a burgeoning corruption scandal at the Department of Justice, President Bush yesterday announced he was nominating his dog Barney to replace Alberto Gonzales as attorney general. It is believed to be the first time that a mammal in the genus canis has been nominated to fill a cabinet position.

"President Bush has every confidence that Barney will be loyal, trustworthy, and brave," said spokeswoman Dana Perino. She praised Barney's ability to carry out vital tasks for the president, such as "fetching his slippers and the morning paper." Perino brushed aside a reporter's question concerning Barney's legal qualifications, noting that Barney had played a critical behind-the-scenes role in many of the administration's most important legal controversies. "Barney's support of military tribunals was crucial to persuading the Pentagon to adopt the idea," said a dog close to the White House, who spoke to DeadBrain on condition of anonymity.

Reaction to the move came largely along partisan lines. "I believe Barney can restore trust, decency, and the heart-warming love of man's best friend to the Justice Department," said Arlen Specter, a Republican Senator from Pennsylvania. Most Democrats were scathing. "Bush has simply replaced one lapdog with another," declared Henry Waxman, a California representative.

However, some Democrats were more cautious for fear of alienating the nation's dog owners. "I eagerly await learning Barney's opinions on the critical legal issues our country confronts," said Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton, the leading Democratic presidential aspirant. "I plan to judge him on his views, not his species."

Questions about Barney's judgement have already begun to surface. An amateur video recently posted on YouTube shows Barney aggressively chasing and eventually treeing a cat, apparently on Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. In an exclusive interview with DeadBrain, the cat (named Ginger) asserted that Barney's actions were "unprovoked, unwelcome, and just plain rude". A spokesdog for Barney asserted that the events in the video "have been taken out of context".

Meanwhile, the Bush administration is contemplating action to force YouTube to take down the video. While moderates in the White House are advocating a measured response, Vice President Dick Cheney is reportedly pressing for "a campaign of arbitrary arrest and detention, followed by the carpet bombing of selected targets in Iran". It remains unclear whether Cheney's position will prevail, but a third American carrier group is reportedly steaming toward the Persian Gulf.

Meaning

Raining very heavily.

Origin

This is an interesting phrase in that, although there's no definitive origin, there are several speculative derivations. Before we get to those, lets get some of the incorrect suggestions out of the way.

The phrase seems isn't related to the well-known antipathy between dogs and cats, which is made word in the phrase 'fight like cat and dog'. Aside from the presence of cat and dog in the phrase, there's nothing at all to connect their fighting with raining.

Nor is the phrase in any sense literal, i.e. recording the fact that cats and dogs fell from the sky. Numbers of small creatures, of the size of frogs or fish, do occasionally get carried skywards in freak weather. That must happen to individual dogs or cats from time to time too, but there's no record of groups of them being scooped up in that way. Not that we'd need meteorological record for that - it's plainly implausible.

In fact, 'raining cats and dogs' only makes sense figuratively and the explanations below that attempt to link the phrase to felines, canines and weather seem rather feeble.

Here goes though - take your pick:

1. It comes from mythology. Witches, who often took the form of their familiars - cats, are supposed to have ridden the wind. Dogs and wolves were attendants to Odin, the god of storms and sailors associated them with rain. Well, some evidence would be nice. There doesn't appear to be any to support this notion.

2. Cats and dogs were supposed to be washed from roofs during heavy weather. This is a widely repeated tale. It got a lease of life with the message "Life in the 1500s", which began circulating on the Internet in 1999. Here's the relevant part of that:

I'll describe their houses a little. You've heard of thatch roofs, well that's all they were. Thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. They were the only place for the little animals to get warm. So all the pets; dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, bugs, all lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery so sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Thus the saying, "it's raining cats and dogs."

This is nonsense of course. It hardly needs debunking, but, lest there be any doubt...

Dogs lived in thatched roofs? No, of course they didn't. Even accepting that mad idea, for them to have slipped off when it rained they would have needed to be on the outside - hardly the place an animal would head for to shelter from bad weather.

3. The phrase is supposed to have originated in England in the 17th century when city streets were filthy and heavy rain would occasionally carry along dead animals.

The idea that seeing dead cats and dogs floating by in storms would cause people to coin this phrase is just about believable. People may not have actually thought the animals had come from the sky, but might have made up the phrase to suit the occasion.

4. Another suggestion is that it comes from a version of the French word, catadoupe, meaning waterfall.

Well, again. No evidence. If the phrase were 'raining cats' or if there also existed a French word, dogadoupe we might be going somewhere with this one. As there isn't let's pass this by.

Returning to facts rather than idle speculation, we do know that the phrase was in use in a modified form in 1653, when Richard Brome's The City Wit, has the line:

"It shall raine ... Dogs and Polecats".

Polecats aren't cats as such but the jump between them in linguistic rather than veterinary terms isn't large.

In a form more like the current version it appears in Jonathan Swift’s A Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation in 1738:

"I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs".

More likely than any of the versions given above is that this is just a nice descriptive turn of phrase, which doesn't relate to any particular event or practise.

There's a similar phrase originating from the North of England - 'raining stair-rods'. No one has gone to the effort of speculating that this is from mythic reports of stairs being carried into the air in storms and falling on gullible peasants. Its just a rather good vivid phrase giving a graphic impression of heavy rain.

Another similar phrase is 'raining like pitchforks', the first known reference of which is D. Humphreys' Yankey in England, 1815:

"I'll be even with you, if it rains pitchforks - tines downwards."

As it’s so miserable out I thought I would post some pics for you. I’m not sure if Funky has already posted these but never mind. These were taken a coupe of weeks ago at Stoke Bruene

Me Jenna Meg

Mmmmm! They look tasty says Megan

Sea dog well canal god then.

Ms Funky finds someone to chops to. What’s new there then?

I have been tagged by Funky... Grrrrrr. Twat!! So here goes:-

“Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.”

1... I am wonderful

2... I LOVE cats (for lunch)

3... I have been married a year

4... I have twenty seven kids

5... I am getting bored with this

6... I have got bored with this

7... Zzzzzzzzzz.

Hi Fans. I bet you thought that it's about time I had my own space, I know I do. I will post in the future as and when old misery lets me.
Today has been quite good really, TWO walks and a visit from the kids. I can only put up with them for so long then go and hide my sorry ass under the table. Jen and Megan have far more stamina than I do, after all I am four you know!

I earned a few Markies for getting Funky out of a jam this evening. I'm always willing to help where I can. Anyway how was I to know the threadbare bit of sacking was a coveted carpet? If that's the best Persia can do no wonder Iran is in such a state.

I'm off now but will be back soon with my news as it happens.

Bye for now
Baxter xxxx