Sandra in Sydney:

   I am offended. As a companion to members of the family, again I find the honorable species Mustelidae subjected to unwarranted ridicule and derision.

Ferrets, otters, fishers, sables, mink, martens, badgers and wolverines, as well as the species namesake, the weasel, are all gravely disparaged by comparison of their character to that of human lawyers, politicians, accountants (particularly, tax CPAs), used car salesmen, and the like. These animals, while having traits which we humans find curious or even, in some cases, objectionable, have done quite nicely throughout their history on this planet, and have, in at least one notable circumstance, been of remarkable value to our clan.

It is suggested that the ferret was originally domesticated by the ancient Egyptians as a guard for their grain stocks. As you may recall, the Pharaohs considered the common housecat to be a demi-god. They also had an economy that was based on grain harvested from the Nile delta. It is clear that you can't ask your local god to do servile work in controlling the rodent population that invades the granaries. So, . . . the Egyptians did the next best thing, they domesticated an animal exceptionally well-suited to keeping the mice under control, . . . . the ferret.

Aside from allowing one of the longest continuous forms of government in human history to rise and flourish, the weasel clan has been recognized and revered in other forums. Even among American institutions of higher learning, two members of the family are held in the hogest esteem. The University of Wisconsin holds dear to the Badger and the University of Michigan to the Wolverine.

In the future, I would ask for consideration of the fact that to compare a weasel (or any of its kin) to, for instance, a politician (of any stripe), is an insult to the weasel.