Big Brother's Little Puppet

The evangelicals claim they're doing god's work. They are doing their own. If it weren't for people prolonging Terri's life by artificial means, she'd have starved to death 15 years ago. Death is part of god's order. At this point, Terri is a puppet in the hands of ruthless politicians eager to keep their constituency happy. If dogs had a vote, these guys would be tossing meat from the congressional steps. They claim to be pro-life, but what they really are is pro-evangelical voter. If they actually were "pro-life", they'd direct their energy towards ending the war on Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people have died since the US invasion. The number increases daily, yet these bleeding hearts spend their time rescuing a mascot. Even the President butted in. Bush claims he prefers to "err on the side of life" but he's a liar. He's merely playing to the choir.

It's all smoke and mirrors, like the gay marriage hysteria the right-wingers whipped up during the election. What is a very private affair is being used to distract us from real issues at hand such as Bush's attempt to invade the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, his plan to plunder Social Security and direct working American's paycheck to his buddies on Wall Street. The hawks would like nothing more than for us to forget about all the people being slaughtered in Iraq and the mushrooming debt they have stuck us with. The Republicans used to be about limiting government but now that they are in power they are working feverishly to expand the biggest, most invasive, expensive government in history. They are very dangerous men.

Speciesism and Terri Schiavo

This issue over Terri Schiavo has gotten way out of hand. President Bush has butted in; angry women slap duct tape on their mouths and picket and senators who should have their mouths taped shut strong arm the government to intervene. It's an alarming misuse of political power, speciesism and religious hypocracy. Forget that even Jesus said, "What you do unto the least of them you do unto Me". After the reporters are gone, these self-appointed defenders of a human vegetable peal off the tape, go home and eat flesh without batting a teary eye.

If they want to speak up for those that don't have a voice, speak up for the millions of animals and birds who are daily being stabbed, sliced and dismembered with they're still alive. Or demand that government stop killing innocent, able-bodied Iraqi women by the tens of thousands, women who know they are alive, women who have families to care for.

The irony is that Terri was an anorexic who starved herself to the point of death. That's why she is hopelessly brain damaged. Very sad. Very ironic. But it happened 15 years ago. Instead of trying to make her a poster child for right to life issues, why not simply share the story of her anorexia? Brains don't grow back but Terri's example could help others afflicted with eating disorders but her parents are way too selfish and self-righteous to tell the whole truth aboutTerri's condition.

Freedom's just another word for Alternative Energy

I am heartsick that congress has moved another step closer to sanctioning oil drilling in Alaska. We need to be free from oil. Cleaner, alternate technologies have been around for years but they still aren't available commercially. Why?

People minimize the environmental cost of ransacking the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last pristine wilderness areas on earth. They say drilling techniques have improved. Unfortunately, one of the laws of human nature is, "if it can be fucked it up, we will fuck it up." Okay. Nature will make the balance without consulting us humans. The prospect of drilling makes the Teamsters happy. Fair enough, but in spite of that, ANWAR's drop in bucket would only supply the state of Texas with oil for 9 years and that's without sharing with the rest of us. And it would do nothing to curb escalating gas prices, just like invading Iraq did nothing to keep fuel costs down. Remember when they told us it would?

Some say the issue is "oil shipping route independence." They point out that bringing oil to the West Coast from the north could save us a few trips through the Panama Canal. Nice sentiment but shipping route independence is not real independence. It's another fantasy. It doesn't matter which direction oil comes from. Using oil is the problem. Using oil deepens our already crippling dependency on oil. We must devote our attention, talent, time and resources towards developing alternative forms of energy.



Get real. Freedom in the twenty-first century will have to include freedom from oil.

Tucked in

It takes a little imagination to see the forest for the trees but you can do it if you try.

Trees in Birdland

I bought some cheapass trees and am planting them in the bird park. They will be big enough for the birds to enjoy in about 5 or 10 years. I did get the holes dug today though so things are moving right along. Maybe tomorrow I'll actually get them planted. They're going to be lovely.

Hey, while the trees are growing you've got time to run over and check out the Fifth Annual Bloggies. They were just announced today.

Sad story

I found this story at Animal Writings. It's very sad but instructional and one I think well worth the discomfort of reading it. It illustrates the little known side of elephant life.

Tyke never had a normal life. In the wild, she would be part of a close-knit herd. She would walk by her mother's side until well into her teens. The herd would be her family. She and the other members of the herd would eat, play, and take baths together, and protect each other from danger. They would roam over hundreds of acres of varied terrain, and sleep under African skies. When she got older, she would share in the child-rearing and have a calf of her own.

But Tyke never experienced any of that. She was trapped and taken away from her family when she was a baby. She was shipped to the circus. There, she was confined to a concrete room and beaten over and over, to break her spirit. Circus trainers hit her repeatedly with a sharp metal "bullhook," which made her cry out in pain. They struck her in her most sensitive areas: behind her ears, on top of her toes, in back of her knees, and around her anus. They wanted to hurt her and frighten her so she would be obedient.

She spent most of her time in chains, doing nothing. Her bones ached from no exercise. Her diet was monotonous. She stood in filth and excrement. She was deprived of every aspect of normal elephant life. She hated it.

She was in the Hawthorn circus, which had a track record of animal cruelty violations. In 1988, according to USDA documents, Tyke was beaten in public to the point where she was "screaming and bending down on three legs to avoid being hit." The trainer said he was "disciplining" her. By April of 1993, she had had enough. She tried to escape during a circus performance. She didn't make it. In July she tried to escape again; she was unsuccessful. Hawthorne should have retired her right then and there, as she was an obvious threat to the public. But they didn't.

For the next year she performed in the circus and lived in a barren concrete barn, chained, between shows. The bullhook beatings continued. Her life stank. She vacillated between terror and boredom. She was not really an elephant.

In August of 1994 Tyke reached a breaking point. She had been in the circus nearly 20 years. She was tired of being beaten, whipped, and kicked. She could no longer take the pain and the confinement. She was angry and wanted to be free. At an afternoon performance at the Neal Blaidsell Center in Honolulu, it all came to a head.

At some point during the show, she veered from the script. Circus staff tried to beat her back, but no bullhook or whip could stop the rage that had been building inside her for two decades. She crushed her trainer, Allen Campbell. She attacked two other people. She panicked the crowd. She ran into the streets. It was rush hour. She was disoriented and no idea where she was. She charged at bystanders and smashed cars as she made her way through several city blocks. Onlookers screamed. The police were called out and started shooting at Tyke with rifles.

She slowly fell over, then awkwardly stood back up. The police kept firing. Her head swayed, and her legs buckled. She got up again. The spray of bullets continued. She rocked her head violently from side to side. Her legs gave way once more. She was on her knees and could not right herself. Her eyes were fully open and confused. The shooting went on for several more seconds. Finally, she fell, very slowly, onto her side.

This was Tyke's final performance. The price of freedom from the circus was steep. She was shot 87 times.

For a few elephants, their circus life has a happy ending.