NLG Condemns Israeli Massacre of Gazans

Today's NLG press release:

The National Lawyers Guild Condemns Illegal Israeli Massacre of over 300 Gazans, Calls for Ceasefire and Urges Participation in Protests
Monday, December 29, 2008, 01:57 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, December 29, 2008
Contact: Marjorie Cohn, NLG President, marjorie@tjsl.edu; 619-374-6923
Radhika Sainath, NLG Free Gaza Committee, radhika.sainath@gmail.com; 917-669-6903

New York. The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) condemns Israel's massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip which has left over 300 dead and 1,400 wounded, with the tolls mounting. The Israeli Air Force dropped more than 100 bombs in dozens of locations throughout the Gaza Strip as children left school on Saturday. The dead include men, women and children in school uniforms.

"International law forbids the targeting of civilians," said Radhika Sainath, a civil rights attorney and member of the Free Gaza Committee of the NLG. "Israel must comply with laws of war and the Fourth Geneva Convention." Today's massacre marks an escalation of Israel's two-year blockade of the Strip which has deprived 1.5 million Palestinians of necessary food, medicine, fuel and other necessities. In November 2008, the United Nations stated that it had run out of food to feed over 750,000 needy Gazans.

Israel claims that the attack is in response to Palestinian rocket fire, which caused no recent Israeli deaths and few injuries. However, Israel's "rolling bombardment" and impending ground invasion is grossly disproportionate in light of the minimal damage caused by Palestinian rockets. “The law of war prohibits collective punishment and the targeting of a civilian population disproportionate to military necessity. Israel has flouted both these prohibitions, that follow its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and its sealing of Gaza, subjecting Gazans to near starvation,” said Marjorie Cohn, NLG president and a professor of international law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. “The Human Rights and Security Assistance Act mandates that the United States cease all military aid to Israel, which has engaged in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”

Israeli military spokesman Avi Benayahu stated that the Israeli bombardment of Gaza was "only just the beginning," showing utter contempt for international norms and the lives of innocent Palestinians. The Guild calls on the entire international community, and the United States in particular, to demand an end to Israel's blockade of the Occupied Territories and its murderous assault on the Palestinian people. We urge everyone to join in the demonstrations planned across the country in opposition to this latest attack on the rule of law by Israel and we call on both sides to immediately reinstate the cease fire.

Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.

A listing of planned demonstrations and protests in the USA can be found on the NLG site below the press release, here.

Elements of Christmas 2008

Christmas is special to me even though I'm an atheist and wasn't raised in a religious family. My parents were Protestant by default, in a vague kind of way. When I was little, a magical Santa came every year to bring presents. As an adult I view the story of Jesus as a myth and I focus on the aspects of Peace, Hope, and Joy.

This year I was happy to hear The Chipmunks' song again, and the weirdly dark Grinch tune. I like the playfully sexy Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt, too. (Sadly, she passed away on the 25th at age 81.) I love the traditional songs as well. About the only ones I truly dislike are Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, and Something's Stuck Up in the Chimney  (which turns out to be Santa, in case you're lucky enough not to have heard this one). At last I found a version of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus that I actually do like, by John Mellencamp! Mostly I listened (for free) to Slacker.com's Seasonal genre, a wonderful source for music of all kinds.

And this year I played with ElfYourself, "brought to you by OfficeMax," where you could "Turn friends and family into dancing elves!" It was produced by JibJab, which has done some memorable political send-ups. To me at least, the ElfYourself dance videos were hilarious! JCPenney's department store offered a cyberspace punishment for any man not giving his lover JCP diamonds: The Doghouse. The offender's photo could be posted on this handy site.

I appreciate the classic movie It's a Wonderful Life as much as anyone but don't feel the need to see it every December. Instead I enjoyed the warmhearted comedy Elf for the second year. Buddy (Will Ferrell) is a human raised as an elf at the North Pole who goes to New York to find his real dad. An overgrown misfit of an elf, he stands out among other adult humans as much for his childlike sense of wonder as for his bumbling style. The quirky musician Leon Redbone also adds to this movie's charms.

Turning to cold reality, I got my white Christmas, plus a numbing 3° high and enough ice to disable my car for a few days just before the holiday. My ice melt product had no effect when I sprinkled it on the sidewalk. Kids no doubt cheered the school closings! Much of the nation experienced similar weather.

Rev. Fred Phelps, the man who loves to hate, made it into the public eye once again by telling us that believing in Santa Claus is a ticket to Hell for our kids. Phelps is known for picketing the funerals of gays. Is he mentally ill? And James Dobson's Focus on the Family organization made a list to tell us who was naughty and who was nice so we'd all know which merchants to patronize. The criterion? Did they say "Merry Christmas," or did they forget about Jesus and instead say "Happy Holidays"? Seriously!

Overspending and materialism is wrong at Christmas -- or anytime. Children only want more and more if you always indulge them, and will grow into adults who mindlessly consume goods without gaining emotional fulfillment. Those who were raised frugally can be brainwashed by advertising. The entertaining movie What Would Jesus Buy?, which features The Church of Stop Shopping and warns of the coming Shopocalypse, makes this point well.
 
Every Christmas brings to mind for me a certain passage in the famous children's book, Little House on the Prairie. The author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, based it on her own pioneer life. Little Mary and Laura are ecstatic with their gifts, all of which were in their stockings hung from the fireplace. Each of them receives a tin cup, a peppermint stick, a tiny heart-shaped cake, and a new penny.

I tend to see December 25th as anti-climactic, something of a letdown after all the long, fantasy-laden buildup. Anymore it is a quiet day for me. There is no tree in my house because my dog and cat would demolish it. I feel a bit guilty after that 12 ounce bottle of eggnog with an incredible 750 calories. My holiday is unworthy of the artist Norman Rockwell, or printmakers Currier & Ives, and I can feel really low at times. Yet I know that I'm more fortunate than a great many others. And so my spirits rebound in spite of the frequently frigid weather and the too short hours of daylight. Which is the reason for this holiday, after all.

W's Nightmare Before Christmas

From Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films --

The Bush administration isn't about to let democracy or the will of the people stop them from further ruining this country before they leave office. Knowing he can't get his long list of favors to his Republican cronies through Congress, Bush is doing a last minute end-run, jamming as many rules through the executive branch as he can during his waning days in power. These so-called "midnight regulations" will allow factories to pollute more, further restrict women's access to abortion services, cut off aid to needy families in the middle of a recession, and much more -- all without Congress' oversight or approval. It's wrong, it's antidemocratic, but, sadly, it's legal.

Greenwald recommends the Rolling Stone article, Bush's Final F.U.

This Brave New Films video is a parody of The Night Before Christmas, combining a touch of humor and a serious message. Send friends a link to SantaBush.com to use as an informational, Christmasy e-card.

Santa Claus Is Watchin' You!

. . . Consider yourself warned! This is a humorous music video of a Ray Stevens Christmas song.

Prop 8 -- The Musical

In California a month ago, the majority of the people who went to the polls voted in favor of Proposition 8, a ban on gay marriage. I see it as discrimination, and would have voted against it had I been a resident there.

Some famous names in show business have made a clever, three minute musical to protest the ban. Conceived and written by Marc Shaiman (playing piano), it is a cyberspace hit. The performers include Jack Black (as Jesus), John C. Reilly, Neil Patrick Harris, Kathy Najimy, and Margaret Cho. Enjoy!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Xmas Lolcat

A colorful holiday photo from ICANHASCHEEZBURGER.COM -- see the kitten?

Satire: G.W. Bush Library Museum

This is an excerpt from The George W. Bush Library / A Tribute to Incompetence, by Allen L. Roland --

A highlight of the museum will be the ROOMS OF DECEIT, which include:

1. The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
2. The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you can't remember anything.
3. The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don't have to even show up.
4. The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they don't let you in.
5. The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they don't let you out.
6. The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room (which no one has been able to find).
7. The Iraq War Room. After you complete your first tour, they make you go back for a second, third, fourth, and sometimes fifth, tour.
8. The Dick Cheney Room, in the famous undisclosed location, complete with shooting gallery.
9. Plans also include: The K-Street Project Gift Shop -- where you can buy (or just steal) an election.
10. The Airport Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite Republican Senators.
11. Last, but not least, there will be an entire floor devoted to a 7/8 scale model of the President's ego.

Of course, there will be an autographed copy of My Pet Goat, which is in a climate-controlled, laser beam protected, heatproof, shatterproof case.

To highlight the President's only positive accomplishments, the museum will have an electron microscope available to help you locate them. Good luck.

Karma for Coulter

Yesterday I came across some news on the web about Ann Coulter, the gangly, six-foot, incendiary-tongued right-wing pundit and author. Seems she has fallen and broken her jaw and must have have it wired shut.

Those of us on the political left can't help but feel that in a sense this is her comeuppance from the universe for her innumerable vitriolic remarks hurled at liberals and many others. Coulter has a new book coming out at the end of December, which needless to say bashes Democrats and President-Elect Obama. She must be champing at the bit, figuratively, at least, to make the rounds promoting her latest. Not to mention the strain of being forced to spend the Thanksgiving holiday all but mute. (Frankly, she doesn't look like she'll care about missing the feasting.) And then her 47th birthday is the eighth of December.

Coulter's statements have often seemed to be nothing less than prosecutable libel or slander, but, possessing a law degree, she wouldn't likely make herself vulnerable to a serious lawsuit. She has earned her fortune, and stays in the heady limelight, through her moonstruck rantings. Coulter is the darling of the right-wingers, saying what they may not dare to. For example:

• God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'
• It would be a much better country if women did not vote. That is simply a fact.
• Liberals love America like O.J. loved Nicole.
• I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much... how do we know their husbands weren't planning to divorce these harpies? Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they'd better hurry up and appear in Playboy.

This last statement was written about four 9/11 widows.

So all I would say to Ann Coulter is -- I've never seen you so appealing, and silence has never been so golden.

Although I believe she still has the use of her hands, for writing. . .

How Low Can We Go?

The writer H.L. Mencken remarked, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people." Showman P.T. Barnum supposedly quipped, "There’s a sucker born every minute."

I use these quotations to voice my opinion of two new products sold online, The Beerbelly, and The WineRack. Maybe I am the last in the nation to hear about them, but today they did come to my attention, and I had to search them out on the internet just because they sounded so, umm, god-awful.

I hate to think that I am possibly helping to advertise them, but here are brief descriptions. The Beerbelly is a "sling" worn over the stomach which has a "bladder" to hold 80 oz. of beer. The sellers claim that when a shirt is over this, the user will merely appear to be a man with a fat, fleshy, beer belly. The beer is sucked through tubing.

The WineRack is similar but for women, so it hides 25 oz. of an alcoholic beverage inside a bra, also giving the wearer a larger bust size in the bargain.

I wonder how many of these will be under Christmas trees this year? Just what the alcoholic and the underage drinker were needing! They are advertised as being great for sneaking beer into concerts, parties, sporting events, and movies. So will paunchy males and busty females now have to submit to searches for beer bladders and tubing? Even worse, I heard about these products on Air America Radio, and a writer was relating how he successfully wore a Beerbelly device to board a plane while researching just how secure our airports really are.

In regard to these fine examples of American ingenuity, I have to wonder -- does Homer Simpson know about these yet?

Vampires for Good Christian Girls

The new vampire movie Twilight is earning big bucks. I might like it, but I'm content to wait till Redbox offers it as a dollar rental. It's said to be romantic and pretty bloodless, and I generally avoid movies that do have blood and violence. Except for the occasional zombie flick. Or vampire flick. . . How can you make a real vampire story without it being bloody, anyway?

Twilight is based on a hugely popular series of novels geared toward teen girls. I understand that the novels are "moral" in that they have no sex scenes. That's fine -- sexuality and soft porn is pushed onto us from every direction these days, and I find it worrisome to consider how it may be affecting children and young teens. It's good that there are current books and movies available without graphic sexual content, so that young people who aren't ready for the subject can steer clear of it, and others will discover that a story can indeed be riveting without it.

But perhaps the author of Twilight is actually peddling abstinence only. In my view Christianity is way too interested in our sex lives, and has convinced legions of devoted followers that sex before marriage is a sin. That's a very personal decision, I feel, and I also believe that it's an unrealistic promise to exact from a young person who is biologically imbued with a burning urge to mate and procreate. Planned Parenthood is around for just this reason.

On Slate.com, one of the women bloggers suggested an interesting analogy. But first let me quote from Wikipedia:

True Love Waits (TLW) is an international Christian group that promotes sexual abstinence outside of marriage for teenagers and college students. . . created in April, 1993. . . In addition, they promote sexual purity, which encompasses not only abstaining from intercourse before marriage, but also abstaining from sexual thoughts, sexual touching, pornography, and actions that are known to lead to sexual arousal.

-- And now the Slate blog post:

THE XX FACTOR: Slate Women Blog About Politics, Etc. . .

True Love Waits (for a Vampire)
Posted Monday, November 24, 2008 10:23 AM By Hanna Rosin

I know none of you are 13-year-old girls, but did any of you see Twilight this weekend? It's a movie about vampire love based on the Harry Potter-for-girls blockbuster series by Stephenie Meyer, a Mormon mom. I loved it, but what struck me most is how much it's an advertisement for the True Love Waits movement. High-schooler Bella Swan falls in love with Edward Cullen, who it turns out is a vampire. He thirsts for her blood, gives her desperate yearning looks. But he controls himself. He is part of a clan of "vegetarian" vampires who have taught themselves to live on animal blood and pass in the human world. In one amazing erotic scene, he shows up in her bedroom and says he will kiss her if she holds really, really still, because if she moves he won't be able to control himself. (By which he means kill her.) They kiss once, and then spend the night talking and snuggling in her room. The problem the True Love Waits movement could never solve is how to get teens to stop after one kiss. This is why the movement failed, except among a small minority of the super committed, who saved even the first kiss until after marriage. The answer, which never seems to have occurred to conservative Christians, is to date a vampire.

A Deluded Republican

This is a piece that can easily be found on the internet. I think it makes its point well.

Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican

by John Gray of Cincinnati, Ohio, July 2004

Joe gets up at 6 AM to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good, clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.

All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance; now Joe gets it, too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. Joe takes his morning shower, reaching for his shampoo; his bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree-hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker's compensation or unemployment check, because some liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It's noontime; Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC [FDIC?] because some liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.

Joe is home from work; he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to Dad's; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmer's Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republicans would still be sitting in the dark.)

He is happy to see his dad, who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

After his visit with Dad, he gets back in his car for the ride home. He turns on a radio talk show; the host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn't tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.) Joe agrees. "We don't need those 'big government' liberals ruining our lives; after all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

Change and Hope!

Dare I say it? It looks like Barack Obama will be our next president! Hurray!!! I have never followed an election this closely in my life, and America desperately needs a leader with the intelligence, the vision, and the compassion which George W. Bush has totally lacked. This brought a smile to my face:

November 4, 2008

McCain aides see 'no path to victory'
Posted: 10:23 PM ET

From CNN Correspondent Dana Bash

(CNN) – Two senior aides to John McCain see "no path to victory," given the night's results so far. The two advisors, who were crunching numbers for the Republican contender, were responding to a question via e-mail from CNN's Dana Bash, who has been covering the McCain campaign. The aides asked not to [be] named because the campaign is not commenting on internal discussions. Three states that went Republican in 2004 have gone for Democrat Barack Obama, according to CNN projections — Iowa, New Mexico and Ohio.

Vote for a Better America

A Slate V cartoon:

Steal the Election Once, Shame on Me, Steal it Twice. . .

This is an e-mail I received from Florida Congressman Robert Wexler:

I saw it with my own eyes: The Bush and GOP machine stole the 2000 election and the presidency in Florida (not to mention Ohio in 2004) and the results have been catastrophic for our nation and the world.

Don't take my word for it - read the dissent of Supreme Court Justices Stevens, Breyer and Ginsberg in the absurd legal decision of Bush v. Gore: "Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law."

Back in 2000, in Florida, I witnessed the votes of World War II veterans thrown away and GOP thugs bully the Miami Dade elections office into stopping a recount. I swore to myself that never again would the votes of Americans be thrown away and replaced by the votes of appointed judges. Following the 2000 election, I spent 7 years fighting to remove the DIEBOLD electronic machines from Florida and to install a voter verified paper trail which we accomplished last year.

I have bad news: They are trying again to silence our votes.

Most people associate the 2000 election with paper "chads" and the Supreme Court's tragic decision. Yet the voter suppression in 2000 went way beyond not counting votes – from illegal roadblocks near minority precincts to the complete purging of legitimate voters from the rolls through what is called "voter caging "– the practice of using databases to improperly delete voters.

Now, we are seeing signs of voter caging again in both Michigan and Florida.

In Michigan, the state is using a list of foreclosures to purge voters (many of which are still legitimate voters in their districts).

In Florida, my home state, the Republican led Supervisor of Elections is aggressively applying a new law designed to limit voter fraud by summarily deleting voters who might have – as part of a clerical error – a different driver's license or social security number than was put in the database.

If legitimate, legal voters are denied access to the voting booth – we risk a repeat of 2000, in multiple states.

We must remain vigilant, not just in defense of our economy, but in defense of our rights as Americans.

I am working with my colleagues in Congress to call attention to this matter, but I encourage you to contact your state elections supervisor and demand that they allow every person who claims to be a legitimate voter to submit a provisional ballot. [Greg Palast, Thom Hartmann, and others believe this is ineffective. -BD, Blogger]

There is a system in every state to deal with provisional ballots – to verify their legitimacy after the fact.

Voter caging is a threat to our (already challenged) democratic principals. Please join me and pass this email along to spread the word.

If you have not already signed up at www.wexlerforcongress.com, and would like to be on this list, please sign up today.

Sincerely,
Congressman Robert Wexler

DONATE

Paid for by "Wexler for Congress"
PO Box 810669 Boca Raton, FL 33481

Looks Good, But Obama Needs Us!

Those of us who can't stand the thought of a President McCain and a Vice President Palin must all turn out to vote, or the right-wing with their dirty tricks will claw their way into office even if Obama and Biden are the true winners! We need a landslide to be safe. Stay informed; check at the site at the top right to make sure you can vote; and fight it out rather than settling for a provisional ballot (sometimes called a placebo ballot).

"Steal Back Your Vote," the Movie (Preview)

From muckraker extraordinaire Greg Palast and the esteemed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. -- a 15 minute preview of his upcoming 40 minute documentary on vote stealing. This may be happening again with our 2008 election.


Steal Back Your Vote! from Greg Palast on Vimeo.

Also see:

• STEAL BACK YOUR VOTE! downloadable comic book to make sure your vote will be counted. A donation of any amount is requested.
• Rolling Stone: It's Already Stolen

"Uncaged -- YES on Prop 2"

Clever and catchy musical cartoon from the Humane Society makes a serious point that isn't too grim to watch. (See the preceding post for further information.)

California's Prop 2: Vote Yes, for the farm animals

The Humane Society is asking for donations to pay to run the ad below which tells Californians to support Proposition 2. Only about a month remains before our country votes for our next president, and in California, Prop 2 will be on the ballot as well. Factory farm animals all across the USA should be allowed this little improvement in their sad lives. The Humane Society says:

We wouldn't force our pets to live in filthy, cramped cages for their whole lives, and we shouldn't force farm animals to endure such misery, either.

. . . if Prop 2 passes in California, it will lead to more humane farming practices across the nation.

. . . Prop 2 is a modest measure that simply allows animals in factory farms the ability to move and stretch their limbs.

We don't think it's too much to ask, but the factory farming industry is peddling propaganda and scare tactics about Prop 2's supposed burden on egg factory farmers -- when even industry economists concede that production costs will increase less than a penny per egg.

____________________________________

Paid for by Yes on Prop. 2 - Californians for Humane Farms, sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States and Farm Sanctuary (major funders), and other animal protection groups, family farmers, veterinarians, and public health professionals.

YesonProp2.com

_______________________

"Fun with John and Sarah"

Thanks to Slate.com for this charming political satire in the form of a children's book. (If you believe that John McCain's daughter actually wrote this, I've got an icy bridge to nowhere to sell you!)

Not Just Meat!

Before they were meat they were animals. Animals capable of feeling pain. And these animals were confined in shockingly tiny cages, called gestation crates (photo above), and tended by sadists. PETA has video evidence of it.

This was life at a factory farm in Iowa for hogs and baby pigs -- a life of beatings, eye gouging, and rape. And more. Frankly, the text stories were enough for me to deal with, but as I've said, there is video, too.

In my own life I have been focusing on my too-skimpy budget, my relationship, my friend's troubles, the presidential campaign. To much of the public this outrage is almost a non-story, since we all have our personal issues to handle, and this country's economic tribulations now hang over our heads every day and dominate the news, along with the 2008 campaign. Still, I say we are lesser beings if we don't face this and correct it.

Pain is pain, whether you were born a human or a pig. Suffering and pain are not felt exclusively by people. Pigs are more intelligent than dogs, according to scientists, although intelligence shouldn't enter into it. . . except for the lack of it in these (criminal) workers.

A smaller, family-owned farm -- as opposed to the large-scale, corporate-owned "factory farm" -- is no picnic, either, for livestock during their brief time on this earth. Pigs must endure having their tails cut off, and castration for the males, without the benefit of painkillers. Later they are trucked to the slaughterhouse -- or call it the meatpackers or the packing plant if you want to sound nicer -- and it may be a long ride of many hours, with the animals overcrowded and unable to lie down to rest. And the end is often brutal rather than quick and painless.

What if this were your cat or dog? They are comparable animals. Farm children in the 4-H organization in fact often raise a single animal from the time it is a baby, lavishing it with the best of care, grooming it, coming to love it, treating it almost as a pet. And I'm sure the animal bonds with the child as well, probably feeling love for him or her in its own way. When this very privileged animal is grown, it's taken to compete at the local fair, then sold there at auction, to be slaughtered for meat. I can't see this as being good for the animal or the child.

These abusive factory farm, or hog plant, workers are depraved, angry individuals. I wouldn't trust them around children, either. In my opinion such an extremely spartan, congested environment cultivates callousness toward animals. In these operations money trumps all. Is it any wonder that some of us refuse to eat meat?

• PETA's story can be found here: Undercover Investigation Reveals Hormel Supplier's Abuse of Mother Pigs and Piglets


• MSNBC featured the story by AP: Undercover video shows workers abusing pigs

Also see:

• Humane Society's Factory Farming Campaign


• Rolling Stone magazine's Boss Hog revealing "Pork's Dirty Secret: The nation's top hog producer is also one of America's worst polluters" (Dec. 2006)

And for those who can handle viewing it, a graphic video expose' showing the terrible plight of various livestock animals. WARNING: Video begins playing immediately.

• PETA's Meet Your Meat
  

Obituary for a 3-Year-Old: Eight Belles

A three-year-old was sacrificed to Mammon, the god of wealth, on Saturday. She ran her heart out and nearly won, at the price of her life. At the Kentucky Derby's wire she had two broken legs and had to be destroyed. Eight Belles died for our sins.

I fell in love with animals as a young child, and my greatest passion was reserved for horses. It was an obsession for me when I was young. I used to regret that I was born too late for the heyday of real "horsepower," but when I matured a little I realized that humankind's mechanization was a blessing for the horse. In this country, at least, the horse no longer had to be a slave to those who only wanted his speed or strength and didn't respect him as a living creature with value beyond dollars and cents.

Or so I thought in my innocence. When we're young we think in terms of black and white. Today's sport of horseracing, dubbed "The Sport of Kings," indeed boasts horse lovers as owners, riders, trainers, spectators, bettors, etc. But the poor creature is commonly sacrificed at the altar of Mammon. A colt of good bloodlines costs a bundle, and with great good luck, may become a champion who repays that many times over. He is pampered with the best of care, but by age two -- far before maturity at age 4 or 6, with bones yet to reach their strongest -- the twin demands of speed and weight bearing are loaded onto him.

There is an old saying among horsemen, "No foot, no horse." A running horse at certain points has all his considerable weight upon just one foot, and a broken leg is not such an uncommon thing with a youngster running at top speed with a weight upon his back. And with a large quadruped who can't adopt a new means of locomotion, recovery is protracted and dicey, and may be deemed an expense not worth taking. The champion thoroughbred Barbaro had the best, most advanced veterinary care money could buy, and plenty of time, but one broken leg from a race still claimed his life in the end. Two broken legs are a definite death sentence.

It is such a sad thing in this supposedly enlightened age that we take beautiful animals that are advanced enough to find joy in life, and callously use them up and dispose of them for our entertainment and monetary gain, and all this while they are still youngsters! Horses have benefitted our human civilization for many centuries, and this is how we repay them. When will humanity learn? It took us so many lifetimes to come to the realization that humans are not the only ones capable of feeling pain. But advanced thinkers like Leonardo da Vinci saw the light.

In the time of horse-drawn carriages and plows in England, Anna Sewell wrote a sensitive book from one horse's point of view, and it can still teach us compassion today. "Black Beauty" tells of horses suffering docked (amputated) tails, useless to flick away biting flies, and carriage horses with their heads and necks held relentlessly high with harness straps, so the poor animals couldn't use them for balance when walking or trotting, as nature intended, and no doubt their necks must have ached terribly. All in the name of fashion, or convenience.

As any human should be able to see, we still have far to go in learning to respect the other animals who also live on this planet. I refuse to believe that they were all "put here" just to benefit us, and therefore we may use them any way we see fit. We humans must outgrow that heartless notion. It is childish, cruel, and egocentric, and has done great harm to other species and to this planet in general.

Regard for others is a hallmark of maturity, and although, relatively speaking, our human species is still a youthful one, surely we have been on this earth long enough to have learned that lesson. I don't believe that the other animals (yes, humans are animals, too!) were put here to serve us and die for us. Eight Belles died for human greed, though she was a higher animal capable of feeling pleasure and pain. When will we learn?

Mark Twain: The War-Prayer

"O Lord, our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sport of the sun-flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen."

In accordance with Twain's request, this was published after his death.

Animal Bill of Rights

[Note: This is from the Animal Legal Defense Fund. You can sign this by clicking on the title below to go to the petition on their site.]

A Petition to the United States Congress

I, the undersigned American citizen, believe that animals, like all sentient beings, are entitled to basic legal rights in our society. Deprived of legal protection, animals are defenseless against exploitation and abuse by humans. As no such rights now exist, I urge you to pass legislation in support of the following basic rights for animals:

• THE RIGHT of animals to be free from exploitation, cruelty, neglect and abuse.
  
• THE RIGHT of laboratory animals not to be used in cruel or unnecessary experiments.
  
• THE RIGHT of farm animals to an environment that satisfies their basic physical and psychological needs.
  
• THE RIGHT of companion animals to a healthy diet, protective shelter, and adequate medical care.
  
• THE RIGHT of wildlife to a natural habitat, ecologically sufficient to a normal existence and self-sustaining species population.
  
• THE RIGHT of animals to have their interests represented in court and safeguarded by the law of the land.