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We’re addicted to House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey as a scheming United States Congressman. Quick pegs: Evil West Wing, Game of Thrones in DC, Richard III (a Spacey specialty). Never play nice people again, Kevin, we don’t buy it. Robin Wright is terrific; every time we see her we want to punch Sean Penn in the face.

Yeah it’s a remake of a British series and the Brit original is better blah blah blah. But House of Cards is more than an addictive series. It didn’t originate on TV or cable; it’s produced by Netflix. The delivery system now produces its own content. We’re seeing the beginning of a great shift here.

Read House of Cards and the Decline of Cable in the New Yorker.

We’re glad the Polo Club is enlightened enough not to round up the stray cats on the premises and throw them in the river or worse. Okay, they’re looking for homes for the kitties. If you have room in your houses for a(nother) feline, please adopt.

But if the Polo Club were really enlightened and serious about promoting the humane treatment of animals, they would have their resident cats spayed/neutered and then put them back where they found them. Spaying/neutering keeps the cats from breeding, improves their quality of life, and modifies their behavior so they don’t mark their territory (i.e. pee on stuff).

They do this in Disneyland, and it keeps the rat population under control. They do this in Bel-Air Village (See our column from last year, The Compassionate Cat Catchers). Surely the Manila Polo Club can defray the costs, or find member cat ladies who will. Their kitchens should have enough food to feed the feline residents.

You cannot treat stray cats and dogs like a pest problem—throw them out, end of story. You find a way to coexist peacefully. They have as much right to live there as you do. Yes, there are costs and some inconvenience, Tough. This is the price of being a human being: you look after the animals.

Listen to our conversation with Fil-American author Lysley Tenorio, author of the story collection Monstress.

Podcast season 2, episode 1 is now available for streaming and downloading.

Speaking of American authors visiting the Philippines, did you read that Wall Street Journal piece on Palawan and Boracay? We just realized it was written by Wells Tower, author of the story collection Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned. We’re surprised that the guy who wrote that badass story of Viking marauders cleaving skulls was defeated by balut. Not badass.