My meeting with Condoleezza

As I mentioned last week, I have been engaged in talks with Condoleezza Rice. The secretary of state told me that President Bush was "extremely concerned" about Pug Life's efforts to enrich rawhide. Yet for all her apparent concern, she offered remarkably little to persuade me to give up this program. As a starting point for these talks, I suggested that the White House cede Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California for the formation of Pugistan. But she would not bite.

Over the weekend, we traveled to Oklahoma, where my good friend and business partner Rabbi Jake joined in the talks. I thought it important to get a schnauzer perspective on this issue. Well, the rabbi and I both agreed that this rawhide-enrichment program holds too much promise for dogkind to simply quit now. I told Ms. Rice in no uncertain terms that we would not be cowed by her threats or deterred by her efforts to deprive the world's canines. I always suspected that she was a cat person.