getcher grist ecard here!

Call be an eco-grouch, but I’m finding it hard to get into the Earth Day spirit this year. I woke up feeling a bit ambivalent; caught a bit of Living with Ed during breakfast, and then discovered that HGTV’s airing a slate of “green” programming all day. Crank level rose. “Ooooo, if I’m near the teevee at 6, I can watch some yuppie couple shop for an ‘environmentally friendly’ vacation home (Um, is there such a thing? Doesn’t the sheer wastefulness of owning a second home trump the recycled cork floors?) in Hawaii.” Like, O-M-F-G. (That one’s for you, Mike Galanos. Your fainting couch should be arriving via Fed-fucking-Ex any day now.)

Time for work. While shuffling some files around and otherwise procrastinating, caught this blog post over at The Boiling Point.

If I see one more article about a gazillion pieces of fancy overpriced “organic” or “recycled” designer crap we can cram into our lives to pretend we’re doing something significant to save the planet, I’m going to shoot some (organic!?) steam out my ears.

With every Earth Day there comes a flood of special newspaper and magazine “Green Issues,” all generally pushing the same deluded feel-good idea that if only we replaced non-green products with slightly more green products, we’d really Make a Big Difference and Save the Planet. We don’t really need to change our consumer culture or hold corporate polluters accountable or enact sweeping and drastic environmental legislation–we just need to change our lightbulbs and wear organic cotton T-shirts. [...]

Anyway, here’s the thing: buying more fancy stuff you don’t need (no matter how organic or recycled it is) is fundamentally an anti-green act. If you replace your perfectly good couch with some fancy organic or more sustainably produced designer creation, that does not mean you are saving the planet. It means you are buying a nice couch that is slightly less destructive than another couch. You’re still consuming, and you’re still creating waste. You are not a hero, and you are not an activist, you’re just a less destructive shopper.

And shopping is not a substitute for action. Buying a red sweatshirt or red iPod that donates 1% of its profits to a poorly-run AIDS charity that spends all its money advertising red sweatshirts or red iPods is not real action for change. A lot of this feel-good, do-nothing shopping as “activism” (ActivismTM) crap is just an excuse to give yourself an excuse to BUY MORE CRAP YOU DON’T need.

Ambivalence clear now.

(More below the fold…)

Send some doggy kisses and good wishes Rennie’s way; she’s at the vet’s today, having a cracked tooth extracted. This is the Year of the Dentist at the Garbato-Brady house; Shane & I had a bunch of work done, Peedee & Jayne just had a cleaning and scaling a few weeks ago, and next week Kaylee is slated to have three more teeth extracted – in additional to the six she had yanked last year.

Anyway, it’s mighty lonely round here without my little ladybug to follow me around. Even the four other little buggers can’t compensate – methinks they miss her too. (Either that, or they’re all afraid they might be the next to disappear.) Except for Peedee, who has a bit of a sibling rivalry thing with Ren. He seems to be enjoying the extra attention and snuggles. “Animals don’t have emotions,” my ass.

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Tagged: my furbabies dog canine pet companion animal rat terrier O-Ren flickr photos

Say it with me now: Awwwweeeee!

ME WANTS!!!!!1!!!1 ME WANTS NOW!!!!!1!!!1

Because CNN apparently does not allow embedding of “their” videos (Zum, iReports, anyone? Not really “theirs”!), you’ll have to go to CNN to experience the cuteness. Here’s a direct link. Which I could only retrieve by emailing the video to myself. Seriously, WTF CNN? Even Comedy Central has hopped onto the embedding bandwagon. It’s 2008, for dogsake.

(Crossposted from.)

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare video cnn dog canine sheep pet companion animal ethology animal behavior animal emotions love interspecies bonding animal rescue

Y’all might remember that I reviewed Mark Hawthorne’s Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism a few months ago. How I raved and raved?

Well, PETA is giving away five copies of the book. (I know, I know, five copies doesn’t make for good odds, but still.) You can enter to win here. Deadline is May 9 – my birthday!

G’luck.

(Crossposted from.)

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare contests peta people for the ethical treatment of animals mark hawthorne striking at the roots books activism

Via Human Rights First — and the many members who responded to their call for Lettermen-style top ten submissions. Video here.

Top Ten Signs We Finally Have an Anti-Torture President

10. The President goes waterskiing instead of waterboarding.

—Jill – Redding, Connecticut

9. Grand opening of the “Sandals Guantanamo Bay Beach Resort”.

—James – South Orange, New Jersey

8. “Stress Positions” are only for Corporate CEOs, and the phrase “torture memo” refers only to long, painfully boring email sent by superiors.

—Janis – Sunland, California and Megan – Rohnert Park, California

7. “Enhanced interrogation techniques” now defined as ordinary techniques filmed in HD.

—Megan – Rohnert Park, California

6. The phrase “Extraordinary Rendition” now used to describe American Idol performances.

—Joseph – San Diego, California

5. Jack Bauer starts acting more like his brother, Eddie.

—Travis and Benjamin – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

4. “Secret detention” means not telling your parents you had detention.

—James – South Orange, New Jersey

3. Calling Geneva Conventions “quaint” now seen as quaint.

—Megan – Rohnert Park, California

2. “I can finally stop wearing my ‘Who Would Jesus Torture?’ bracelet.”

—Sarah – New York, New York

1. Superman no longer having to fight for truth, justice and the Canadian way.

—Edward – Los Angeles, California

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Tagged: human rights first torture war on terra george. w. bush 2008 elections top ten

Not that such a sign would have prevented NOPD from murdering Jax, but I do recommend that all animal guardians post something similar on their premises. The ASPCA offers free “in case of emergency, rescue my pet” stickers, and they’re readily available elsewhere for a small fee. (It’s probably a good idea to post one at every entrance to your home.) And if you leave your animals outdoors in a fenced area, a “beware of dog” or “do not open gate” sign is a good idea, too. We got ours from signswithanattitude.com, and have one posted on each set of gate doors.

Not that these babies will fuck anyone up…more likely they’ll make a mad dash for freedom and chase a bird right down the street. The hawks are circling for Rennie, methinks.

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Tagged: lol lolz my furbabies dachshund wiener dog rat terrier Jack Russell terrier Ralphie Peedee O-Ren Kaylee Jayne signs signage dog canine pet companion animal

(Crossposted, without comentary, here.)

Sigh. Over the years, I’ve posted about countless injustices perpetrated against animals and the earth at easyVegan.info. So few of them make their way over here, because…well, because there are so. fucking. many. of them. Each case is as brutal as the next…routine abuses on factory farms, puppy mills, circuses, etc., etc. etc., all dismissed as “business as usual”; the abandonment of companion animals en masse in the wake of war, natural disasters and the mortgage crisis; seals clubbed to death for their fur, wolves shot from the air to “protect” cattle, “poultry” suffocated in the midst of bird flu scares. It’s fucking endless. Each issue is so fucking heartbreaking that, taken as a whole, a particular story has to be damn near crushing before I feel like posting on it over here, on my non-AR blog. Jax’s murder is such a story.

On April 14, New Orleans Police Officers were responding to a (false, it turns out) burglary alarm in the Lakeview neighborhood. While canvassing the area, they invaded the home of Jax and Scarlett, two Doberman Pinschers. They pumped eight bullets into 4-year-old Jax, with the justification that he lunged at them first. Problem is, Jax had recently undergone spinal surgery; his vet testified that it would have been impossible for Jax to “lunge” at anyone.

Neighbors called Jax’s guardian, Dr. Patrick Coleman, who rushed home to find Jax dying in his backyard. Rather than aid in CPR, the NOPD officers ordered Coleman to “restrain” Jax’s sister Scarlett – again, in their own fucking home. Scarlett was terrified, cowering in the corner of her home, watching her companion die. Jax bled to death while the officers allegedly laughed and snickered. And then, rather than call another set of officers to investigate the incident, the officers involved in the shooting collected all the evidence themselves. Coverup, anyone? (Not that a coverup is especially necessary; animal abuse is like rape in that the perpetrators are very rarely bought to justice. Animals and women, disposable objects in a disposable society. Men hate you and your dog.)

I very rarely get emotional while reading and posting about animal issues; I try to disassociate a bit, otherwise I think I might be crippled by the sorrow and helplessness. Not just in regards to animal issues, but especially in regards to animal issues – in the “Oppression Olympics”, non-human animals win, paws down. For all my silly beliefs about who should have which rights, I most often get mocked for my support of animal liberation causes. I mean, pffft. You think allegedly “liberal” men disdain feminists, GLBT allies, anti-racists, et. al.? Try being an animal advocate in liberal circles. Even members of the other marginalized groups don’t get – don’t want to see – how their own oppression is linked to that of animals.

But I started blubbering like a baby when I read this one. I have five dogs and a cat, all of whom are loved like children by their otherwise childfree parents. They’re my babies. I’d do anything to protect them, to keep them safe and happy. And so did Dr. Coleman, even installing an alarm system to look after his Jax and Scarlett when he couldn’t. And it was that alarm system that brought the officers who murdered (yes, murdered) Jax. It hurts my heart to think what that must feel like.

As I write this, the libertarian douchebag and I are hunting around for alarm systems right now for that very purpose. We live in a small town that hasn’t seen a murder in dog knows how long, and break-ins are rare. Yet I hate leaving the animals alone; what if there’s a fire? Who will rescue the dogs? Four-legged children aren’t exactly a top priority in an emergency situation. There are some heroic firefighters who might risk their own lives for those of Ralphie, Peedee, O-Ren, Kaylee, Jayne and Ozzy, but I wouldn’t bet their lives on it.

And yet Jax was shot, murdered in his own backyard. On his own property. In his home. I get the fear that so-called “dangerous” breeds engender in some people (“bigots” would be the proper term…if dogs were given human consideration, that is), but Jax was on his own fucking property. Certainly a dog should be safe in his own backyard?

By the by, this isn’t the first dog shooting scandal to hit New Orleans. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, St. Bernard Parish Deputy Sheriff Mike Minton and Sergeant Clifford “Chip” Englande were videotaped shooting companion animals whose guardians had been forced – sometimes at gunpoint – to leave them behind. Charges against both have been dismissed. This is not be to confused with another case, in which companion animals left (supposedly in safety) in four schools elementary in St. Bernard Parish were gunned down, execution style. The case(s?) is still open.

If you’d like to learn more – and I hope you do – all of the relevant alerts are available on easyVegan.info. Search for “St. Bernard Parish“.

Please also email NOPD, Mayor Nagin, etc., and demand that Jax’s killers are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that measures are put in place to stop such an atrocity from happening again. Jax, Scarlett and their father deserve as much. This was a needless, senseless killing. A tragedy. And it could happen to any one of us, our animals, our children, our family.

And then put down that burger, because the cow you’re eating had a family, too.

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Update, 4/18/08:

After doing some further research on the case – because, as I mentioned at Elaine’s place, I can’t stop blubbering about it – I want to correct two mistakes, one minor, one not so much.

The officers fired eight shots at Jax, but according to his vet, only four hit their mark. Minor quibble.

Now for the more significant correction. The shooting apparently started in Dr. Coleman’s fenced backyard, where the officers first found Jax and Scarlett. Once the officers started firing bullets at the dogs, they ran into the house through the dog door. The officers either followed the dogs inside, into their home, their refuge, and kept pumping bullets into poor Jax, or somehow fired into the house from outdoors, as shell casings and/or bullets were allegedly found inside the home as well as out.

When Dr. Coleman arrived on the scene, he found Jax crumpled in a corner of his home (the living room?; in any case, not the backyard as I previously stated), bleeding to death beside a terrified Scarlett. It’s unclear from the new reports whether the officers were inside the home when Dr. Coleman arrived, or if they followed him inside. In any case, it’s at this point that the officers prevented Dr. Coleman from performing CPR in order to “restrain” Scarlett.

Which begs several questions: if they were so freaking scared of Jax and/or Scarlett, why follow them inside, into their own home, into a confined space? Likewise, if Scarlett was acting in a threatening manner while Dr. Coleman was trying to save Jax, why not just leave the fucking house instead of pester the no doubt hysterical and otherwise occupied Dr. Coleman? I mean, even if Dr. Coleman’s efforts to save Jax were futile, couldn’t you at least let the poor man be with his beloved companion in his final moments?

Heartless fucking monsters. How I wish I knew their names, because they need to be slurred far and wide.

As far as I can tell, the incident is under investigation – but not the shooting, just the officers’ conduct (coverup) afterwards. Whether this was a “justified” shooting or a clear case of animal abuse is not even up for discussion. Which means we have to make it an issue.

(More below the fold…)

One of my least favorite things about presidential elections – aside from the bitter partisanship, the misogyny and racism, the fear of additional conservative Supreme Court Justices, and the loss of my very personhood, of course – is all the dogdamn pandering to the redneck hunting lobby. (C’mon, like anyone took this seriously. Pffft!)

This cycle, it’s Hillary who’s selling out her humanity for the “sportsmen’s” murderer’s vote. Clinton’s comments of this morning, made in response to Obama’s comments of April 6, are what set me off, but in searching for the exact quote on teh internets, I found quite a few references to her Duck Hunter days. (See, I can condemn the misogyny directed at Hillary without blindly throwing her my vagina vote. Nay, nay, nay boiz!)

Here’s Clinton on February 18:

“I’ve hunted. My father taught me how to shoot,” she told a crowd at the Labor Temple in rural northern Wisconsin. “I remember standing in the cold water. It was so cold, you know, at first light. I was with a bunch of my friends, all men.

“And they all were playing a trick on me, and said, ‘We’re not going to shoot, you shoot,’ ’cause you know what they wanted to do. They wanted to embarrass me.

“So the pressure was on. So I shot, and I shot a banded duck.”

Awww! Isn’t that special. I think I’ll vote for her, because she’s snuffed out at least one life in the name of sport. She’ll be perfect to take over the war in Iraq!

(More below the fold…)

Or perhaps we’re just of the same mind, seeing as we both have cooters and all.

Either way, I’m not alone in sensing some overt misogyny in all this Hillary bashing:

Dana Lossia, a 29-year-old labor lawyer in Brooklyn, describes herself as a “pretty big Obama supporter. ” She worked for a year at Michelle Obama’s Public Allies Chicago, where she met Barack a few times. She called him “the most inspiring, amazing person, a different kind of politician.” Of Hillary Clinton, whom Lossia supported in her Senate runs, Lossia said, “I just think she’s acted badly during this campaign.”

And yet, as Lossia wrote in a recent e-mail, “I’ve been really bothered by what I perceive as sexism [among some male Obama supporters] and have spent hours defending [Clinton] … A lot of guys just can’t stand Hillary, and it’s the intensity of their irritation with her that disturbs me more than their devotion to Obama.”

I tried explaining this to the libertarian douchebag the other night, and it devolved into a three-hour argument. Which is part of the reason I’m henceforth referring to him as “the libertarian douchebag” rather than “Shane”. (Ahem.)

Rebecca Traister writes,

I began reporting this story in part because, as a 32-year-old woman who is more liberal than either candidate, and who was quite torn until Super Tuesday, I had found myself increasingly defensive of Clinton in the face of the Obama worship that rules the mostly white, liberal, well-educated circles in which I work and travel. I was confused by the saucer-eyed, unquestioning devotion shown by my formerly cynical cohorts, especially when it was accompanied, as it often was, by a sharp renunciation of Hillary Clinton, whose policies are so similar to her opponent’s. I was horrified by the frequent proclamations that if Obama did not win the nomination, his supporters would abstain from voting in the general election, or even vote for John McCain. [...]

One of my closest girlfriends, an Obama voter, told me of a drink she’d had with a politically progressive man who made a series of legitimate complaints about Clinton’s policies before adding that when he hears the senator’s voice, he’s overcome by an urge to punch her in the face.

Yeah, no misogyny there. You bitches be crazy, yo!

Go read the whole thing, then skip on over to Shakespeare’s Sister for a great piece by Kate, detailing the many ways in which Obama is Not! A! Fucking! Progressive!

I went out of my way not to watch CNN’s dreadful Compassion Forum last night, but the one clip I did see rerun today was a question on when life begins.

First up is Obama; the CNN reruns apparently represent his answer in its entirety, judging from the transcripts:

MEACHAM: Senator, do you personally believe that life begins at conception? And if not, when does it begin?

OBAMA: This is something that I have not, I think, come to a firm resolution on. I think it’s very hard to know what that means, when life begins. Is it when a cell separates? Is it when the soul stirs? So I don’t presume to know the answer to that question. What I know, as I’ve said before, is that there is something extraordinarily powerful about potential life and that that has a moral weight to it that we take into consideration when we’re having these debates.

Bah. I am not impressed. At best, his answer sounds like pandering; however, given what the man has said about the anti-choice position (see Kate’s piece, linked above), Obama sounds like he’s willing to trade women’s bodily autonomy for moderate support come general election time. And beyond, Dog help us. Shudder.

Now for Clinton, whose explanation is much longer. Consequently, the CNN clip I saw only included the first two-three paragraphs, below.

(More below the fold…)

The L libertarian douchebag, that is.

That’s him, getting his podcast on. The first two episodes went by the name of The Libertarian Douchebag, but he and his co-host changed it to The Libertarian Dime when it proved difficult to book guests on a show called The Libertarian Douchebag. Personally, I think The Libertarian Dime is a bit cheesy – makes me think of shadowy ’50s figures smoking cigars and flitting around in fedoras. Whatevs.

He’s been at it a month and already he and Jonathan managed to book an actual guest – Glenn Nielsen, the State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Missouri. I don’t know if that speaks to the success of Shane’s podcast, or the desperation of the Libertarian Party of Missouri. I’m betting the latter. But hey, I give him props either way.

So, go have a listen. From what Shane reports, Glenn wasn’t as big an L as we’d thought he’d be. No Ron Paul botting to be found in the interview.

If you find yourself cringing at anything my husband says, just remember that I’m still working on him. I got him to embrace animal rights inside of two years, and he’s been vegan as long as I have. He’ll be a liberal douchebag someday.

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Tagged: libertarian libertarian douchebag the libertarian dime podcast politics lol lolz