As promised, Ten On… returns this week after taking a week off. And I begin with an item I would have thought everyone would love…until I read about the controversy.

1. FIDO FLAP: There’s a cute little puppy on a police poster card designed to educate the public about a new non-emergency number that is available. Said puppy is sitting on a police officer’s cap and next to a yellow telephone. If you like puppies, you’d love the ad (even if you wonder what the puppy has to do with anything). But there is controversy brewing. Muslims apparently consider dogs to be unclean animals, and some say they are offended by the ad. (A hatred of dogs would preclude me from ever becoming Muslim.) Actually, offended doesn’t quite do it: some say they are actually outraged. Seriously. It’s a puppy. Sitting on a hat. By the way, if you’re still wondering why the puppy was used, the article goes on to explain that it is a police dog-to-be that has become something of a local celebrity in the area. That, at least, explains a little about why they’d use the puppy at all.

2. THE OTHER DIRECTION: Like me, Mrs. L is tired of hearing people calling for the drinking age to be lowered to 18. If you’re of that age, you’ll be horrified to learn what she’d recommend. If you’re a bit older and wiser, you’ll likely agree with what she has to say.

3. THEY’RE SERIOUS ABOUT THE DOG THING: I found this mention from February of a 70-year-old man being sentenced to four months in prison and 30 lashes for walking his dog in public in Iran. It goes back to item #1 and Muslims considering dogs to be ritually unclean. Morality laws forbid a dog owner from walking a dog in public. Here’s what I don’t understand: if dogs are so reprehensible, why does the law stop at walking a dog in public? Why can you own one at all? Even if you only ever keep it indoors and walk it in a fully-enclosed backyard so your neighbors don’t see it, why would they allow you to own one, anyway?

4. DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE: Finally, a politician who puts his mouth where his own personal commitment is! Texas State Rep. Warren Chisum is pushing a bill that would require a two-year wait for divorce for couples who refuse to sek marriage counseling. It’s nice to see a law designed to rescue the institution from the mediocre track record all of those man-woman couplings have created through history. It’s even nicer to see that the person pushing such a bill isn’t accused of signaling for sex in an airport restroom or being a client of a high-priced madam. Chisum, in fact, is just a few months away from celebrating his 51st wedding anniversary. Maybe…just maybe…he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to staying together.

5. AS EXPECTED…: Since tomorrow is July 4th, a major day for fireworks; and since I work in television, I would be remiss if I didn’t show you a watermelon being blown up by fireworks to demonstrate how dangerous these little fire sticks are. From two angles, yet. Enjoy. (And please do not try this at home.)

6. GONE TO THE DOGS: I return to an earlier topic, but this time at Baptists’ expense. Ever hear the one about the Baptist dog?

7. JUST SO YOU KNOW: Why, yes, it did offend me that the previous link did not contain proper capitalization at the start of each sentence. The joke was surely not written by e.e. cummings, or even E.E. Cummings, so there was no reason for such laziness in transcribing it for the web. While I choose to be offended — and only long enough to finish typing this item — I do not choose to allow myself to become full-on outraged. But maybe that’s just me. In any case, I’m over it now.

8. WHAT’S ON ‘EM?: Here’s a figure that seems too outrageous to even be accurate: 12,000 laptop computers are lost each week in the nation’s airports. Twelve thousand per week!! And only about 30% of those who lose their laptops ever recover them. It begs a question: what is on these missing desktops, particularly those being transported by businessmen? Are there more security risks out there than we realize? It certainly seems like a danger for our private information, but then again, since many such losses are never even reported, I guess we’ll never know for sure.

9. NOT ADDING UP: Dave Moulton recently asked some questions about bicycle helmets and safety at his terrific Bike Blog. Ninety-six percent of those who responded feel that helmets offer at least some protection in an accident; of that number, 18% say they think helmets actually save lives. Yet of the same group of people who voted, 86% say helmets should be a personal choice and not mandated by law. Being “free to choose” is one thing, but if you’ve ever walked into a hospital’s intensive care unit to find a family member lying in a near coma after falling from a bike and suffering massive head trauma, you might wonder why there’s such a disconnect between the belief that helmets do good things and that they shouldn’t be required wear. Not that I’d wish such an experience on anyone. But as someone who has seen what a lack of helmet can accomplish, I can’t understand why people wouldn’t want the protection.

10. BYE BYE, BOZO: Children of all ages are mourning the death of actor Larry Harmon, who died at age 83.  Name doesn’t ring a bell? His character will:  Harmon played Bozo the Clown for 52 years.  His wife says he was the love of her life and that he was the perfect one to play the clown:  “He was the most optimistic man I ever met. He always saw a bright side; he always had something good to say about everybody.”  What I somehow missed was a 2004 controversy that resulted in the Clown Hall of Fame (I am not making this up!) took down a plaque honoring the actor.  Read here to find out why.  R.I.P., Larry, and thanks for entertaining the clown in all of us.

That’s my 10. Do you have 10 of your own?