Last month, I blogged about a series of ads for Hobie Kayaks, aimed at fishermen (“people,” I should say, except all the ads seem to depict men). The gist of the marketing concept is that the kayaks are so quiet that fishermen can stalk and overtake their prey with serial killer-like coldness and precision. Fittingly, shadowy fishermen in fedoras and trench coats are shown choking, knifing and shooting three very terrified fish. Fishermen as stone-cold killers, indeed.

As shocking as I initially found the ads, now I’m starting to wonder whether this is the beginning of a meme.

Take, for example, this ad series from Bass Pro Shops. The general concept actually isn’t all that objectionable; the three print ads are touting Bass Pro Shop’s camp sale with the slogan “Get the family ready. Bass Pro Shops camp sale.” (C’mon, who doesn’t love camping!?)

In the first ad, someone (Dad, presumably) has put some greenery around the toilet, in order to get the family ready to do their biz in the bushes:

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The following is excerpted from the most recent edition of SHARK’s newsletter.

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Tucson Rodeo – Will They Shock Horses This Year? Or Will They Join Other Rodeos and Ban Shocking?

In 2008, SHARK exposed the Tucson Rodeo for shocking horses with 5,000 – 6,000 volts of painful electricity to make them perform.

SHARK filed a complaint requesting a criminal investigation and charges against those responsible, that was filed with the Arizona Department of Agriculture – Animal Services Division.

SHARK received great media coverage of this issue helping to educate many in Arizona about rodeo animal abuse.

In advance of the upcoming rodeo this year, SHARK has sent out two press releases (see below) to the media, the City Council and the Mayor of Tucson requesting their attention and action on this issue.

What You Can Do:

Contact the Mayor and City Council Members and request a ban on shocking the animals in the rodeo like many other rodeos in Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, etc.

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Action Alerts

Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF): DO YOU BELIEVE ANIMALS DESERVE BASIC LEGAL RIGHTS?
“Deprived of legal protection, animals are defenseless against exploitation and abuse by humans. Through the Animal Bill of Rights, the Animal Legal Defense Fund is working to show Congress a groundswell of support for legislation that protects animals and recognizes that, like all sentient beings, animals are entitled to basic legal rights in our society. More than a quarter-million Americans have already signed the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Animal Bill of Rights. Sign on your support and speak out to your lawmakers today!”

CREDO Action: Tell Attorney General Holder: Karl Rove must testify.
“On February 23, Karl Rove was supposed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in accordance with a Congressional subpoena. But Rove didn’t show up. Again. [...] Sign this petition today to tell Attorney General Eric Holder take swift action to compel Karl Rove to comply with Congressional subpoenas. The American people deserve better than smoke and mirrors – we deserve the truth.”

DawnWatch: Chimp attack drives Captive Primate Safety Act — 2/26/09
“I have been off DawnWatch for a few weeks and am so glad to be back. During the time I was in the Midwest, and then playing catch-up, we all heard about the attack of a chimpanzee named Travis on a woman named Charla Nash. The woman lost most of her face, including both eyes. Travis, an adolescent male who had been a television star as a toddler, was shot dead. He was cremated yesterday.”

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Please Contact Your U.S. Senators And Ask Them To Support The Captive Primate Safety Act
“The recent incident in which a woman was severely mauled by a pet chimpanzee and the chimp was shot and killed is just one example of how dangerous primates can be. We can’t undo the damage, but we can take action to prevent these situations and protect primates who belong in the wild – not in the pet trade.”

Indict Bush Now: Demand the indictment of Bush & Co. for their criminal CIA programs!
“We are urging all IndictBushNow members to send an email immediately to your elected officials (it only takes a second), telling them that Bush administration officials broke the law when they promoted a system of torture, secret prisons, and extraordinary renditions. Like millions of other people in the United States, we insist that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and other high officials be indicted and prosecuted for their criminal actions.”

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Action Alerts

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Ask President Obama to let human rights groups independently examine conditions at Guantánamo Bay.
“In a report issued this week, the Pentagon concluded that the conditions at the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay meet the humanitarian standards of the Geneva Conventions. After all the years of torture, indefinite detention and lawlessness, the Pentagon’s conclusions, based on its own say-so, are hard to believe. An independent review of the conditions at Guantánamo is essential as we work to restore our reputation in the world. Ask President Obama to allow the ACLU and other human rights groups to independently review conditions at Guantánamo Bay.”

Consumer’s Union: The Banks are at it Again!
“Several major banks just hiked interest rates and fees on our credit cards, turning a blind eye to the millions of Americans struggling with the collapsing economy and higher unemployment. The Federal Reserve Board passed a new rule to prevent these sudden rate hikes, but it won’t go into effect until the middle of 2010. How many times before then will we get slugged with higher rates and fees just so the banks who got billions in taxpayer bailouts can increase their profits? The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee just reintroduced his bill to put an end to these abuses, saying, “Mark my words: in the coming months, they will end.” Other bills also have been introduced to crack down on these abuses. Let’s help make it happen now. Tell Congress we can’t afford to wait until mid-2010 for credit card reform!”

Deep Roots: HB1468 passes, needs your help in senate
“House Bill 1468, known as the Puppy Mill Bill, passed the Indiana House last week in a landslide vote of 81 to 14! Thank you to everyone that contacted their representative. This vote would not have been nearly as successful without you. The bill has now entered the Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters. Because of the great success of the bill in the House, the pro-breeding lobby (including Indiana Farm Bureau, Pet Breeders Association and the Amish puppy millers) has begun to meet in great numbers to try to kill this bill in the committee. It is vital that animal lovers contact the members of this committee to let them know that you support HB 1468 and to encourage them to do the same.”

Defenders of Wildlife: Speak Out for Polar Bears and Other Imperiled Wildlife
“Before leaving office, the Bush/Cheney Administration rammed through a regulatory change to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that threatens efforts to save polar bears, wolves, manatees and nearly 1,400 other species from extinction. The House of Representatives has passed an omnibus spending bill with provisions that would enable the Obama Administration to overturn this 11th-hour assault on vital protections for imperiled wildlife. Unfortunately, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski — backed by her Governor, Sarah Palin — and others in the Senate are now working furiously to strip these provisions from the Senate’s version of the omnibus bill.”

Free Press: Open Up the Radio Dial Now
“Congress must pass the Local Community Radio Act. This important Act will open our airwaves to more low power FM radio stations across the country, and bring diversity of news, views and music to your radio dial. Sign the petition below. Your elected officials need to know that the public supports LPFM!”

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Seriously, this video may very well prove to be the ten most enjoyable minutes of your day. He should totally do a blog tour – I could use an attack veg*n like Onision ’round these parts.
 

 
Hat tip, Elaine.

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and every dog needs a guardian like Mickey Rourke.

Check it – here’s Mickey Rourke’s acceptance speech from The Independent Spirit Awards. As with his Golden Globes acceptance speech, Rourke gives a shout-out to his dogs – and chokes at the mention of Loki, his recently departed friend and companion of eighteen years. Loki passed on February 16th, reportedly in Rourke’s arms.
 

 
In case y’all can’t view the video, here’s the part of the speech where Rourke mentions Loki:

You know, I’ve just gotten thousands of letters and shit from my – people, strangers, people that know me – about my dog that died six days ago. Loki, Loki – [pause] – this is for you, baby. [laughs]

Apropos my previous post, Rourke’s Wiki entry also notes,

He is well-known as a pet fancier, particularly fond of small-breed dogs. A spay/neuter advocate, Rourke participated in a protest outside of a pet shop in 2007 and has done a public service announcement for PETA.

His first little dog was reportedly a gift from his second wife. Though Rourke’s dogs are generally referred to as “chihuahuas,” some are not pure-bred. Loki, his most-publicized dog whom he described as “the love of my life,” was a chihuahua-terrier mix.

If any of Rourke’s dogs were bred, it appears to have been either unintentional or not something he’d do again.

Which means I can blub without ambivalence. Which I did, when the husband told me of Loki’s death. At least she had a good life; so many other dogs don’t.

If you’d like you send Rourke your condolences, try the guest book on his official site, www.uniquelyrourke.com. There, you’ll also find an announcement about Loki’s passing, as well as some photos of Loki with her human.

For snail mail, check out Rourke’s listing on fanmail.biz.

(h/t, ecorazzi)

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Hat tip to Ryan at the Veg Blog for this retro ’50s style educational film/PSA, produced by COK and currently airing on MTV:
 

 
The post title comes from a commenter on You Tube; happily, the comments thread is decidedly positive as of this writing.

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Last week, I started reading Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson’s The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals. Well, not so much “reading” as “listening to the audiobook.” (Hey, how else am I supposed to occupy myself while I clean the house?) I read Masson’s When Elephants Weep a long time ago – back when I was a newbie vegetarian – and enjoyed it immensely. I figured I’d like The Pig Who Sang to the Moon as well, and so far, so good.

Masson structured the book so that each chapter covers a different species of farmed animals: pigs, chickens, sheep, goats, cows and ducks, in that order. He juxtaposes information about the animals’ emotional lives – thoughts, feelings, sentience, capacity for joy and sorrow, etc. – with the brutal reality for the vast majority of these “owned” animals. Treated like milk and meat machines, dehumanized and objectified, their individuality obscured and their needs ignored, farmed animals suffer the worst of humanity’s whims and wants.

Though I’m only about a third of the way in, a theme which keeps resurfacing is the extra-special abuses (the collective) we mete out to the female members of the species. With brutal precision, farmers routinely turn the reproductive systems of female animals against them, finding newer and more callous ways in which to exploit them as science and technology allow. This isn’t to suggest that males don’t suffer as well – they do. But their suffering isn’t as prolonged or extensive as that of their female counterparts; veal calves, for example, are tortured for sixteen weeks and then, “mercifully,” (relatively speaking) slaughtered. Their sisters, meanwhile, are exploited as baby and milk machines for three to four years, after which they become ground beef. First, their babies and their babies’ food is stolen from them; and, finally, their lives are snatched away as well.

By the mere fact of their sex, sows, hens, ewes, does, nannies, cows and heifers – not to mention mares, bitches, jennies, jills, etc. – are ripe for especially brutal and prolonged exploitation. Oftentimes, this involves a constant cycle of pregnancy, birth, nursing and baby-napping, culminating with the female’s own death when she’s no longer able to breed or “produce” to her “owner’s” satisfaction.

Certainly, we recognize that the theft of a mother’s child is an atrocity when the victims are human mothers and children. At the same time, we argue that non-human animals deserve no rights because they are mere brutes, “lesser” beings, ruled by instinct and instinct alone. Yet, what is the drive to reproduce and parent if not an evolutionary instinct? And if we follow the popular line of reasoning – i.e., animals are creatures of instinct – does it not stand to reason that the maternal instinct is especially powerful in non-human animals?

100 million pigs are birthed, raised and slaughtered for “pork” annually – just in the United States. 100 million piglets are stolen from their mothers. Mothers who, without a doubt, grieve for their disappeared babies. These poor mothers are forced to relive the trauma over and over, as each new litter is stolen from them. This is what I mean when I say that a female’s – a mother’s – suffering must surely be the most painful to bear.

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Action Alerts

American Rights at Work: Take Action: Demand Justice for Florida’s Farmworkers
“For decades, Florida’s farmworkers have faced terrible abuses and brutal exploitation. Workers earn sub-poverty wages, work 60-70 hours per week, and are denied the basic right to form a union to negotiate for better wages and working conditions. Some have even been chained to poles, locked inside trucks, beaten, and robbed of their pay. Yet for decades, Florida’s governors have turned a blind eye to this abuse. Take a stand for Florida’s farmworkers: demand that Governor Crist end worker abuse in the Sunshine State.”

Amnesty International: Opening the Door to Truth
“Our chance to learn from, fix and never repeat the policies that brought us torture, illegal detention, Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib is passing us by. President Obama has already issued orders to close Guantanamo Bay and end torture. Though the orders are a major step in the right direction, they don’t tell us how the world’s most powerful democracy chose to renounce human rights and the rule of law. Show Washington that the public wants our nation to take responsibility for past mistakes and that we do have the stomach for a full investigation. We’re working directly with a group of champions in Congress and will ask them to take your comments, and read them aloud on the floor of the Senate and House.”

National Wildlife Federation (NWF): Urge Congress to Pass Strong Climate Legislation in 2009
“The science debate is over. Global warming is the most serious threat to wildlife and the natural resources we all depend on. Now is the time to cap the harmful emissions that cause global warming and invest in renewable technologies that will protect wildlife and restore our natural world. Please edit and send the message below to your Members of Congress, asking them to pass strong climate legislation that caps global warming pollution in 2009.”

Pacific Environment: Urge the Obama Administration to Protect Whales from Bush’s Final Assault
“Tell the Obama Administration to protect thousands of whales and dolphins from the Bush Administration’s last-minute barrage of attacks. If these midnight rules are not revised, the Navy will be allowed to flood our oceans with mid-frequency active sonar — without putting essential safeguards in place — and to harass marine mammals more than 10 million times along the Eastern Seaboard, the Gulf of Mexico, California and Hawaii.”

PETA: Support the Captive Primate Safety Act
“Eight days after a chimpanzee kept as a “pet” attacked and critically injured a Connecticut woman, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 80, the Captive Primate Safety Act, which prohibits interstate and foreign commerce in primates for the pet trade. [...] The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration. Please contact your two U.S. senators to urge them to support the Captive Primate Safety Act and do all that they can to pass this important legislation.”

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Action Alerts

Animal Rights @ Change .org: Dancing Star Sanctuary: Have the Rescuers Become Unnecessary Killers?
Please read about the misuse of funds at the Dancing Star Sanctuary in California, and then write to the California Attorney General’s office and IRS in order to request that they open an investigation. Additional information can be found in the post’s comments thread.

Animals Australia: Demand an End to Duck Shooting
“The VIC government—against scientific advice and the advice of its own Department of Sustainability and Environment—has announced that it will permit a recreational duck shooting season this year. This decision is reprehensible. Duck shooting has been acknowledged as a cruel, unsustainable ‘blood sport’ and has been banned in Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. Despite this, the Victorian government has given shooters a green light to further decimate remaining waterbird populations in the state. Victoria is in its 13th year of drought and waterbird numbers in Eastern Australia have dropped by 82% over the past two decades. [...] Please join us and other Australians to express your outrage to the Victorian Environment Minister, Gavin Jennings, and call on him to ban duck shooting immediately.”

Born Free USA: You Can End the “Pet” Primate Trade
“Just moments ago the United States House of Representatives passed the Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. 80) by an overwhelming vote of 323-95. This legislation, championed by Born Free USA, prohibits the import, export, and interstate commerce in nonhuman primates if they are going to be kept as “pets.” The swift House action comes in the wake of the Travis the chimpanzee tragedy in Connecticut, where a pet chimpanzee attacked a 55-year-old woman and was shot by police as a result. Now, you can help us ensure swift action in the US Senate so the bill becomes the law of the land this year.”

CREDO Action: Tell the Power Companies: Invest In Clean Power, Not Coal
“Major power companies and their supporters in Washington are telling Americans that coal is the future of affordable energy. But acid rain, increased greenhouse gas emissions, dangerous coal mining, mercury pollution, increased asthma and human health problems, and serious groundwater pollution are costs that no one can afford. There simply is no such thing as ‘clean coal.’”

Earthjustice: Protect America’s Waters — The Clean Water Restoration Act
“Since passed by Congress in 1972, the Clean Water Act has protected our nation’s lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands from unregulated pollution and destruction. Today, however—because of two Supreme Court rulings—many water bodies are being denied the Act’s protections against pollution. [...] Act now to ensure revitalized protections for our national waters. Ask your members of Congress to serve as original cosponsors of the Clean Water Restoration Act this Congress.”

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Or, a sab is a cat is a dog is a wife.

“Sabbing” really came into its own in the mid-1970s after enjoying some favorable publicity in the British media. “Sabs” [...] disrupted the hunt by laying false scents, wiring up gates to slow down the hunt’s progress, and setting off fireworks in woods to scare the foxes away. Some sabs developed an amazing expertise with a hunting horn and even succeeded in gaining control of the pack from the hunt master.

Hunters, of course, retaliated by attacking sabs. In 1976 the Joint Master of the Essex Union Foxhunt was widely quoted as saying, “Horsewhipping a hunt saboteur is rather like beating a wife – they’re both private matters.”

Excerpted from Kim Stallwood’s “A Personal Overview of Direct Action in the United Kingdom and the United States.”

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Namely, the veg*n language police at Create For Animal Rights (they’re the good cops to my cranky cop, natch):
 

 
The comic strip, entitled “PIGS AREN’T SEXIST,” is an anti-speciesist language lesson in three acts:

In panel one, two stick figures discuss Howard Stern’s misogyny as a cuddly little porcine looks on. Stick Figure One says to Stick Figure Two, “Howard Stern is so sexist!” To which Stick Figure Two replies, “He’s such a pig!”

In panel two, the sad-looking pig protests, “Hey! I resent that!”

In panel three, the lil’ pig despairs, “I am soooo much more likable than Howard Stern!”

Why, yes you are, little piglet. Yes you are.

In other words, and apropos of my previous comments on the New York Post/Sean Delonas Obama/chimp cartoon, it’s inherently speciesist to insult a human animal by referencing a non-human animal as the point of comparison. While such aspersions can sometimes be sexist, racist or otherwise marginalizing to human group x, they almost always serve to Other and deride the non-human animal point of reference – as is illustrated above.

Don’t our non-human brothers and sisters deserve better? Think before you speak, peoples!

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Proceed with caution: Moderate spoilers ahead. Specifically, I’ll be discussing Sayid’s flashbacks in the Season 3 episode “Enter 77″ (3×11). There may also be a few small spoilers through Season 4, but none for Season 5 – promise! (Although the external links may lead to more current spoilers.)

The husband and I became Losties rather late in the game. We picked up Season 1 on DVD on a whim during the writer’s strike last winter; within the first five minutes of the pilot episode, we were hooked.

Lately, I’ve taken to consuming pop culture with a more critical eye. I’ve always been somewhat sensitive to how women are portrayed in the media; increasingly, I’ve consciously tried to expand my “circle of compassion” vis-à-vis pop culture to other marginalized groups, including non-human animals. While animal welfare issues rarely surface on Lost, one episode in particular has stuck with me – “Enter 77″ (3×11), a Sayid-centric episode.

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Action Alerts

Amnesty International: Investigate misuse of US weapons in Gaza and stop arms transfers to Israel
“Amnesty International researchers came across many US made white phosphorus artillery carrier shells, and fragments of other US produced weapons, throughout Gaza. We consider the repeated use of white phosphorus in densely-populated civilian areas a form of indiscriminate attack, and amounts to a war crime. Since 2001, the USA has been by far the major supplier of conventional arms to Israel, including government to government as well as private commercial sales. In addition to this trade, the USA has provided large funding each year for Israel to procure arms despite US legislation that restricts such aid to consistently gross human rights violators. Call for a US government investigation into Israel’s potential misuse of US made weapons in Gaza.”

Farm Sanctuary: Is Compassion on Your Kid’s Menu?
“The Child Nutrition Act is the foundation for food policy in our schools. This year, Congress will reauthorize the law, providing us a tremendous opportunity to bring more vegan options to schoolchildren around the country. [...] Urge your federal senators and representative to support more plant-based choices in the programs administered under the Child Nutrition Act. Specifically, ask that non-dairy milk, such as soy or rice milk, be easily available to school children.”

Farm Sanctuary: Isn’t it time for Illinois dairy farmers to stop cutting cows’ tails off?
“Many large-scale dairy producers routinely cut off a large portion of their cows’ tails. A bill has been introduced by Sen. Antonio Munoz to ban the cruel and unnecessary practice of tail-docking in Illinois, but the industry is pressuring your state senators to oppose the measure. Your voice is needed! [...] Don’t let industrial farm lobbyists defeat this modest but important reform. Contact your state senator today urging them to support SB 1336!”

Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF): Support the Captive Primate Safety Act
“There are an estimated 15,000 monkeys and other primates in private hands in the United States. Sadly, many primates kept as pets end up abused or neglected. Often acquired as infants, as they grow they can become too strong and aggressive to handle. The Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. 80) prohibits interstate and foreign commerce in primates as pets. Please make a brief, polite phone call to your U.S. Representative to urge support for H.R. 80, the Captive Primate Safety Act and do all they can to pass this important legislation.”

Media Matters: Willful Denial
“Last week, The Washington Post ran a column by George Will that misused data and distorted statements by climate experts to suggest that human-caused global warming is not occurring. Despite the widespread outcry about Will’s climate misinformation, the Post has refused to correct the record. Now we need your help — to demand that The Washington Post run a correction.”

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Now for a much-needed (over)dose of cuteness. Behold! Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary’s Valentine Piglets!

The story of the piglets’ origins is a sad one, which I’d rather not delve into for fear of negating the cuteness factor*; suffice to say that their story runs counter to popular, romanticized conceptions about “sustainable meat,” “small/backyard/diy farming” and the like**. Luckily, Nemo, Eva, Pinky and Wally survived their first days on earth, and in time made their way to the good folks at Woodstock FAS. Here, they’ve found permanent sanctuary – until, of course, a pig lover (read: not eater!) whisks them away to their new home, for a lifetime of piggy snuggles and belly rubs.

Bonus cuteness: Kisses from Dylan the Cow!

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Action Alerts

American Bird Conservancy: Help Stop Bird Kills at Communications Towers
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that up to 50 million birds are killed each year because of lighted communications towers! Scientists have shown that — especially during bad weather conditions — migrating birds become disoriented and trapped by the halo of light surrounding towers that use steady-burning illumination. The birds circle endlessly until they either collide with the structure, each other, or simply fall dead from sheer exhaustion. [...] Simple steps can be taken to prevent these needless deaths, but for over ten years, the FCC (the government agency that licenses towers) has been dragging its feet in implementing them, despite repeated appeals by American Bird Conservancy, Audubon, and Defenders of Wildlife, as well as independent scientists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and even a federal court order.”

Bitch Magazine: Friday Health Question: Going Vegan or Going Crazy?
Bitch magazine blogger Lisa Factora-Borchers is trying her pan at a vegan diet, but is finding it rather expensive. She wonders “…as I contemplate someday having a family, is veganism realistic with little ones who may be picky eaters? How economically affordable is natural and organic for a growing family? What are the ways to eat, cook, live well on reasonable budget? Is going vegan worth it? What’s your advice about going vegan? What pushed you to veganism? What’s your story?” Drop by and giver her your two cents!

Human Rights First: Is Obama backing Bush’s secret policies?
“How the U.S treats victims of government abuse is among the most important symbols of our respect for human rights. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has adopted a dangerous legal position that was used by the Bush Administration to shield policies of official cruelty, torture, and secret prisons for 7 years. The House and Senate have proposed a bill called the State Secret Protection Act that provides for a more transparent process that involves judicial review of victims’ torture claims but still protects sensitive national security information.” Note: You can view the House version of the bill here; the Senate version, here.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Support Federal Bill To Stop Horses From Being Sent To Slaughter
“The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 (H.R. 503) is back on the legislative calendar. Please help pass this measure to ban the possession, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering or receiving of a horse or horseflesh for human consumption.”

National Wildlife Federation (NWF): Hold Your Members of Congress Accountable for their Green Recovery Legislation Vote
“Thanks to tens of thousands of wildlife champions, Congress got the message to vote for economic stimulus legislation that protects wildlife and restores our natural world. Signed into law on February 17, 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide tens of billions of dollars for clean energy investments, conservation advances and green jobs.”

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This series of retro ’50s monster movie poster adverts for the SciFi Channel has little to do with animal advocacy – but why let a lil’ thing like that stop me from putting an animal-friendly spin on ‘em?

Each “poster” depicts an iconic movie monster recoiling in horror as a human invades his space:

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Action Alerts

ACORN: Tell Congress: Keep Families in their Homes
“The foreclosure problem lies at the very heart of our economic crisis. If we do not take any action, there will be between 8 and 9 million foreclosures in the next four years, leaving millions of families without homes or hope. ACORN and people like you have joined hundreds of men and women in 24 cities ready to stand up and stop families from being kicked out of their own homes. President Obama has outlined a comprehensive $75 biliion plan to address the foreclosure crisis and we need to make sure it doesn’t get watered down in Congress.”

Color of Change: Not a joke – Hold the New York Post accountable
“The New York Post recently published the political cartoon shown here, depicting two white police officers standing over the carcass of a bullet-riddled chimpanzee, with the animal representing the author of the stimulus package. The decision to run this cartoon was irresponsible at best, and hurtful and malicious at worst. It seems unthinkable that an editor of a newspaper would not understand the history of Black folks being depicted as monkeys and apes or the recent spate of death threats against President Obama. Worse, when confronted, Post editor Col Allan dismissed people’s concerns as baseless. Join us in demanding that The Post issue an apology for the decision and their callousness, and fire the editor who allowed this cartoon to go to print.”

Kelly’s note: Please also explain that Delonas’s cartoon is speciesist as well as racist, and displays extreme insensitivity by making Travis’s tragic death into the butt of a joke. Feel free to paraphrase yesterday’s post, if you’d like.

Defenders of Wildlife: Save Sea Turtles from Reckless Fishing Practices
“Bottom longline fishing in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of imperiled sea turtles. Snagged by razor sharp hooks on fishing lines that span anywhere from four to nine nautical miles, loggerhead and other threatened and endangered sea turtles are drowning and dying right now in the Gulf of Mexico. Please help us save the lives of threatened and endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. Fill out the form below to encourage the National Marine Fisheries Service to immediately close the bottom longline fishery in order to save sea turtles.”

Oceana: Tell Canada to Protect Sea Turtles
“America’s neighbor to the north is falling down on the job of protecting sea turtles, and we need your help to change its ways. Every year, an estimated 1200 loggerheads are caught in the Canadian pelagic longline fishery. That’s a daily average of more than four sea turtles that are wounded by fishing gear in just this one fishery. Fortunately, a government committee will meet soon to discuss the fishery, so please let them know that the survival of sea turtles is in their hands.”

PETA: Urge the Olympic Committee to Help End the Canadian Seal Slaughter
“All eyes are on Canada as it prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. This extra attention will bring increased scrutiny and comes with the added responsibility of setting a positive example for the world. That’s why we are calling on the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee to help stop the Canadian seal slaughter.”

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Update, 2/20/09: The New York Post offered a half-assed apology for the Delonas cartoon today; by “half-assed,” I mean of the “we’re sorry if we hurt your delicate feefees” variety.

Naturally, the “apology” only addresses the racial aspects of the cartoon, while completely overlooking the speciesism inherent in comparing marginalized human group x to marginalized animal species y as a means of insult – and in mocking chimpanzee Travis’s needless and tragic death.

If you’d like, you can comment on the “apology” here, or submit a letter to the editor here.

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The above cartoon ran in today’s issue of The New York Post.

In one tidy little panel, cartoonist Sean Delonas – and, in printing and defending such trash, The New York Post – happily wallows in a toxic pool of racism and speciesism.

Here, President Obama is likened to Travis, a captive chimpanzee and former “animal actor,” who escaped from his “house” and attacked his “owner’s” friend on Monday. He was later shot and killed by police.

In bestializing Obama, Delonas engages in both racism and speciesism. Comparing people of color to nonhuman animals – particularly primates, such as chimps and monkeys – is a familiar, age-old racist meme. Denying the humanity of people of color – again, by likening them to nonhuman animals, which are presumably “sub-human,” “lesser beings,” “wild” incapable of intelligent thought or emotion, etc. – was used to justify slavery and segregation, and is still employed as a rationalization for current social inequities such as the disproportionately high rates of poverty, hunger and incarceration among people of color.

These comparisons are also speciesist, inasmuch as they rely upon and reinforce our (collective) stereotypes and prejudices re: nonhuman animals, as well as our utter lack of regard for their sentience and interests. Just as the above cartoon derides Obama by tying him to Travis, it also vilifies Travis (and, by extension, chimpanzees) for being “stupid,” “wild” and “vicious” – “less than.” To add insult to injury, Delonas turns Travis’s tragic death into the butt of a joke. (This didn’t have to happen: Travis should have been living in a sanctuary, with his own kind, not in the residential home of an elderly woman.)

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While searching the internets for the latest “meat-as-sex” Burger King commercial (BK’s Burger Shots, natch), I stumbled upon this SNL parody of BK’s “Whopper Virgins” series. I’m fairly certain that SNL is poking fun at BK for devising such an absurd and culturally insensitive campaign, but with varying levels of success.
 

 
Take, for example, the man who tried to run away with the Whoppers: “This food could feed my village for a month!” Here, Western excess as exemplified by Burger King is the butt of the joke, as opposed to the impoverished villager himself.

Other “subjects” seem puzzled; they’ve never seen a burger before, so they’re unsure what to do with it. The “Whopper as a hat” bit is deliberately over the top, but in trying to poke fun at BK’s idiotic PR stunt, SNL also mocks (unintentionally?) “those silly foreigners.” Or perhaps SNL means to imply that the BK “researchers” are the stooges, seemingly for expecting such behavior from the uncivilized heathens to begin with?

I only wish SNL had aimed their axe at the root of the problem, namely, the conflating of “meat” with sex, and “meat”-eating with masculinity.

Your thoughts?

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