Reaction to Story 6. in book Floating off the Page

The title of this article is "Why the Girl Scouts Sing the Blues." It was written in October of 1993. The main dilemma for the Girl Scouts and many other camps and similar organizations is that the American Society for Composers, Authors & Publishers has informed camps nationwide that they must pay a licensed fee to use any of the more than four million copyrighted songs written or published by Ascap's 68,000 members. "Those who sing or play but don't pay, Ascap warns, may be violating the law." The company even warned that they will sue camps and organizations that do not comply. The only song that was mentioned in the article that was not on the list was Kumbaya, however songs that include God Bless America, Edelweiss and Ring Around the Rosie are copyrighted. Ascap warns that if you do not know if the song is part of the copyrighted list, do not sing it. Even the song "Happy Birthday" is included. Ascap believes that if restaurants, bars, clubs and stores already pay fees to use copyrighted music, camps should too, even if they are non-profit.
I am remembering back to when I went to day camp when I was very young and recall sitting in groups or around a campfire and singing popular songs. I would suppose that my camp, which is affiliated with the YMCA, paid a fee to Ascap. I agree with Ascap, even though naturally I at first found it to be a bit strict, I understand that the individuals that write these songs deserve their royalties! They create such popular songs, therefore they should be rewarded a salary without question. It is difficult to explain to children why they cannot sing songs, but I feel that they should be told specifically why and not "walk around the bush" instead. The organizations should just pay the fee so as not be responsible for copyright infringement.

Reaction to Story 8. in book Floating off the Page

The title of the article is: "Ruff! Ruff! Ruffage! Here, Rover, Have a Nice Bean Sprout!" It was written in October of 1993. This article took me by surprise. Even though I have heard of particular dog food brands that include small portions of vegetables and certain vitamins in the diet, I have never heard of dogs or cats becoming vegetarians. This article is quite peculiar and striking in all respects. When I first thought of this article, I immediately thought of my two Persian cats at home. Though they are two brothers and act completely different, I find that they are attracted to foods that are not considered part of a regular feline diet. For example, Puffy likes to eat cream cheese only off bagels, whipped cream, butter and eggs. Tigger on the other hand enjoys eating broccoli, but other than that he is very "nutritious" as my family and I like to refer to him as. There regular diet consists of fancy feast and standard hard cat food and dental diet balls. When I was younger, I had met a very energetic cat that oddly enough enjoyed eating potato chips and would eat them off your plate.
This article seemed to have mixed views in regards to a vegetarian diet for a natural carnivore. Some cases have reported their pet to feel more energetic and healthy where as some veterinarians were very skeptical. One veterinarian stated that "Dogs and cats are naturally carnivores and that [they] feel we do not have the right to impose [their] will on another creature." I agree, it is not like they are venturing to the produce section of the grocery store and choosing to buy carrots and beans instead of fish and steak. Another issue I saw was that many pet owners actually have to feed their dog or cat "beano" because they become very gassy and it is hard for them to digest their food. In my opinion, that right there would be a significant reason to stop feeding your animals no meat. The cost for some pets owners have been as much as $450 a month to maintain a vegetarian for their pets. Just because you may be a vegetarian, does not mean your pet has to become one. I understand the underlying motive but I feel what those individuals are doing is only troubling the circumstance. Cats and dogs should stick to their carnivorous diet.