Monday evening roundup

When conservative areas come to terms with the fact that they benefit from federal spending.

Don't f* up your kids by micromanaging their eating.

First of all, Mrs. Merz was an amazing human being. Second, this is awesome:

To Mrs. Merz, rhinos — far from being the stupid, aggressive, ill-tempered sorts many suppose — were, in her words, beautiful and elegant. She blamed their bellicosity on their poor eyesight, leading them to charge first and ask questions later. She found that rhinos have a sense of humor and that they communicate by altering their breathing rhythms. She read them Shakespeare to soothe them.

Samia, an orphan rhino whom she raised from babyhood, even crawled into bed with Mrs. Merz — not entirely to her delight. Samia would follow her around like a dog, even after leaving Mrs. Merz’s immediate care and returning to the reserve, where she mated and had her own calf. If Mrs. Merz fell, Samia would extend her tail to help her up.

Did you catch that? She read Shakespeare, to rhinos.

In other large animal news, check out Lily Tomlin's work with elephants. And then feast your eyes on some spring baby animal pictures.