“Are pet owners, activists and business owners increasingly at odds over how we acquire our pets?” asks a recent article on the website Patch.com

Philosophy instructor Greg Ealick wondered if “the increasing hostility we see in pet rearing is an echo of the increasing hostility in child rearing.”

The column, “Have ‘Mommy Wars’ Given Way to ‘Pet Wars?’” appeared on the website on February 3.  It is part of a series of posts examining the morality behind how we get our pets.

Don’t say it to loudly or you’ll spook it away, but an economic recovery may be on the horizon.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment fell to 8.3% and January saw the addition of 243,000 jobs in the U.S.

Unemployment has declined by .8% since August indicating a slow but steady recovery in the job market. Don’t break out the champagne yet because a definitive end to the nation’s financial woes is not clearly in sight.

But if this trend continues, then by election time in November, unemployment could be in the 7% range, the first time since the recession hit.

Of course, that is a big “IF”…