Rabbit

NORFOLK, Va. -- If Vice President Al Gore advocated killing rabbits to see if women were pregnant and called it a step forward for science, we'd all think he'd gone 'round the bend.We don't need to do that sort of thing anymore, we'd say. We have better, kinder ways. But Mr. Gore is calling for an equally senseless animal-bashing by pushing a scientifically flawed testing program, in which thousands of chemicals that have been on the market for years will be retested on animals.Mr. Gore and some friends in the Environmental Protection Agency started out claiming a "vacuum" of information on these substances.

In a recent commentary on reducing gun violence, former Baltimore City Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III demonstrated a need to "go back to school" concerning the Second Amendment ("What must be done," Dec. 26). Mr. Bealefeld's education could begin by re-reading two seminal documents regarding the Second Amendment: The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the U.S. Supreme Court Decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. If he had acquainted himself with the facts, he would not have made the statement he made.

Think for a moment of a rabbit.Not just any rabbit. Think of a tall, gray rabbit who wears white gloves and walks around on his hind legs. He is a cocky creature who chomps a carrot the way W. C. Fields bit into his cigars: confidently. He opens every encounter with these smart-alecky words:"What's up, Doc?"Now imagine this cheeky rabbit on a 32-cent U.S. States postage stamp. Does that thought cheer you? Does it make you sick? Do you ask yourself what kind of abomination the U.S. Postal Service will contrive next?

The Carroll Hospital Center Auxiliary will host the sixth annual White Rabbit Fun Day on Saturday, Sept. 8, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the hospital's Dixon Building parking lot, Stoner Avenue, Westminster. The day will feature entertainment, children's activities, food and a flea market. Spaces for craft vendors and flea market available; $25. Call 410-871-7280.

Abbey Burger Bistro figured 300 pounds of kangaroo would be enough to last a month. But customers ordered their way through that supply in just about two weeks. Abbey 's general manager Jon Taylor general manager told me that kangaroo, currently the "meat of the month" on the restaurant's "build a burger" menu, has a sweet taste that his customers are enjoying. It's a lean meat, too. Kangaroo will advance to the regular menu, Taylor, says if he can be sure of a regular supply.

Love and butterflies are the innocent motifs floating above a swamp of anger, darkness, daring and occasional stupidity in five new works of fiction this fall. Though these books are widely dissimilar, they do share characteristics. Butterflies are a strong motif in two, used to wildly different effect, while love, or the lack thereof, pervades the rest. John Updike is back with more of his character Rabbit Angstrom, who's dead but continues to have a profound effect on the people he left behind.

Rabbits are an increasingly popular pet, a relatively low-maintenance animal that's quiet, affectionate and playful.The big news in rabbits is that they needn't be banished to an outdoor hutch. "House rabbit" proponents say they make wonderful indoor pets for both children and adults.But knowledge lags behind popularity. A couple weeks ago I got a call from a woman who wanted to know if her son's bunny was expecting. Seems the parents bought two litter-mates as tiny babies, brother and sister, and put them together in a cage.

Vader probably decided yesterday he'd rather take a bite out of a rabbit than a bite out of crime.About 3 a.m., the would-be police dog was walking with his handler, Montgomery County Officer Timothy Carroll, in a park in the 14900 block of Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, when he apparently decided that police work just was not for him.Although he was on a 20-foot leash, Vader "bolted from the handler and was last seen chasing a rabbit" into the woods,...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- The rabbit slowed at the three-quarter pole. The Cat was passed by The Dog. The Dog chased The Bull. The Bull outran The Rabbit, The Cat and The Dog.Nobody beats The Bull.That, in a nutshell, is the story of the $725,000 Travers Stakes, the 125-year-old Midsummer Derby that ended in a photo finish here yesterday and left Holy Bull the undisputed leader in American thoroughbred racing.Before 46,395 at Saratoga Race Course, Holy Bull held off a spectacular late charge by Maryland-bred underdog Concern, nipped him by a neck with his final stride and perhaps silenced his last critics.

Jake Gyllenhaal, who looks like Tobey Maguire's loonier brother, has run through a spate of oddball roles, such as the title character in Bubble Boy and the Holden Caulfield wannabe in The Good Girl. None is weirder than the lead in Donnie Darko, a troubled suburban teen-ager visited by a demonic, human-sized rabbit named Frank. Premiering theatrically in Baltimore today at the Charles months after hitting the DVD racks, this 2001 picture has gained a wide cult following - it ranks 88 on the Internet Movie Database list of the top 250 films.

More than 200 rabbits were seized from a Calvert County rescue because of poor living conditions, police said Thursday. A veterinarian, accompanying the Calvert County Sheriff's Office, determined that 43 rabbits were healthy enough to stay at the Bunny Magic Rabbit Rescue and Wildlife Rehabilitation in the 1300 block of Tongue Cove Lane in Lusby, police said. The veterinarian examined the rabbits and determined that 222 needed further medical care. A woman who answered the phone at the rescue Thursday said she had no comment.

State health officials are warning Marylanders that baby rabbits, turtles, chicks, ducklings and other animals popular around the Easter holiday can spread salmonella and other harmful bacteria to people. Since September 2001, six people in Maryland have contracted bacterial infections from baby turtles, or those with shells less than four inches wide, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Five of the cases required hospitalizations. U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules don't allow the sale of baby turtles, but in three of the cases the turtles were bought from a neighborhood baby turtle vendor.

Who's ready to leave the white sandy beaches of Lake Malawi? I wouldn't mind hanging out there for a few days, but this show insists on traveling around the entire world, so it's off to Copenhagen, Denmark, for the first time in Race history. The Malawi-Denmark air travel corridor isn't that popular, so production has secured flights for the teams. However, they are allowed to try for something better. For reasons that I blinked and missed, Marcus and Amani do not try for something better.

It's 3:37 p.m., and 2-year-old Hattie's right leg is covered in melted SpongeBob SquarePants. She came by the cartoon-shaped ice cream less than 10 minutes before at a roving stand near the intersection of Mount Royal and Lafayette avenues. Hattie hadn't eaten much when the treat puddled in her lap, devoured by the sun's mid-80s heat. Behind her in a two-kid stroller, her brother Will, 4, was doing a bit better with his ice cream sandwich, as were their cousins, Zeb and Fiona, ages 3 and 5, respectively, who were stumbling alongside their mother and aunt.

Abbey Burger Bistro figured 300 pounds of kangaroo would be enough to last a month. But customers ordered their way through that supply in just about two weeks. Abbey 's general manager Jon Taylor general manager told me that kangaroo, currently the "meat of the month" on the restaurant's "build a burger" menu, has a sweet taste that his customers are enjoying. It's a lean meat, too. Kangaroo will advance to the regular menu, Taylor, says if he can be sure of a regular supply.

It’s a strange day to be a Kid Cudi fan. With the release of “Perfect is the Word,” the Cleveland rapper has officially taken the ill-advised route of ditching hip-hop for droning, dreary rock ‘n’ roll. Cudi’s fascination with rock is nothing new (his best song, “Pursuit of Happiness,” features MGMT and Ratatat, while “Erase Me” is built around cheesy Weezer guitars), but “Perfect is the Word” is an entirely different, ultimately ugly beast. Along with producer Dot Da Genius, Cudder is fronting a rock project titled 2 Be Continuum (clearly the music isn’t the only problem)

The most captivating movie-comedy team today consists of a doughy, provincial Brit named Wallace and his wily, agile dog, Gromit. They may be made of plasticine - clay mixed with oil and pigment - but their creator, Nick Park, and his co-director on Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Steve Box, mold them into alternately outrageous and beguiling expressions of courage, panic, frustration and devotion. Over the course of three Oscar-honored shorts (A Grand Day Out was nominated, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave won)

As a little girl, Ellen Marie Roche's ever-expanding menagerie came to include a goat, a lamb, chickens, guinea pigs and two horses. She could hardly wait to join 4-H, and she quickly immersed herself in raising and showing rabbits. In no time, she was tending to 100 bunnies in cages lining the dirt-floor basement of her family's farmhouse. Her father laughs softly at the animal tales. How she helped deliver a lamb and then brought it home for the two of them to bottle feed every four hours.

A Columbia family with 78 rabbits running free in their townhouse lost them to Howard County Animal Control officers Tuesday, but county police said the animals are in good shape and some can be adopted immediately. Police said an anonymous caller directed Animal Control officers to the home in the 5800 block of Barnwood Place near Howard County General Hospital. The caller said animals were living in poor conditions inside a house. They found and removed 64 rabbits that were in good condition but were running free in the home occupied by a 46-year old woman and her 18-year old son, who voluntarily surrendered them.

Bay Theatre Company brings big magic to its small stage in its production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy "Harvey." A rotating set moves action back and forth between the Dowd family home and the waiting room of Chumley's Rest Sanitarium, where the audience just might sense the presence of an invisible, 6-foot-tall rabbit on stage. For the first time in its eight-year history, Bay Theatre is presenting a family show during the holiday season. In the program notes, director Rick Wade notes that when author Mary Chase "wrote this during World War II, she was reminding us that letting our fantasies and dreams take hold can make anxieties more bearable."