Tom Coburn is fast becoming my pick for Douchebag of the Week.

See, for example, minute 2:30 of this Daily Show clip:
 

 
Coburn’s complaints re: CAFE standards: “What if you want to drive a gas hog? You don’t have the right any longer in this country to spend your money to drive a gas hog?”

Yes! And should I be struck with the desire to toss a barrel of arsenic in my pond, who is the government to tell me I can’t? It’s MY arsenic and MY pond, goddammit, and my grandfather fought and died in WWII so that AMERICA THE FREE would remain FREE from this sort of BIG GOVERNMENT FASCISM.

What’s better/worse, Coburn defends the “right” of individuals to pollute and consume to excess while also working to strip women of the right to bodily autonomy and privacy. He opposes abortion even in cases of rape and supports the death penalty for medical doctors who perform abortions. (Nor does he care to reduce the need for abortion by increasing the availability of and access to contraception.)

In Tom Coburn’s mind, a person has a greater “right” to decide what car to drive, than a person woman* has to decide whether or not she will lend her body and organs to another being – a potential being, which in its early stages exists as a tiny clump of cells – for nine months.

Car purchase > Bodily integrity

Seriously, what a douche.

(more…)

Updated, 5/28/09:

Sigh. As feared, the measure made it through the House. The new law won’t be implemented until February 2010, however.

————————

While the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009 is a piece of legislation I most definitely support, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced an rider to the bill which would allow visitors to openly carry loaded firearms in our national parks (as well as battlefields, national monuments and historic sites).

The bill passed the Senate yesterday, with an overwhelming majority: 90 yes votes to just 5 no votes. The rider was left intact, with a vote of 67-29.

CNN’s Brianna Keilar explains:
 

 

A number of environmental groups oppose the rider, fearing that it will make national parks less safe for human visitors and non-human inhabitants alike.

(more…)

(Just as I began to write this post, my middle furkid Peedee vomited up his breakfast – vegetarian kibble, natch. As is usually the case, he did so in the office, the floor of which is made of this weird textured faux pebble material that’s impossible to clean. In contrast, the rest of my home’s flooring is either concrete or tile, and couldn’t be easier to clean off. He’s got a gift, that one.

Anyhow, Peedee’s timing is fortuitous, as he so aptly manifested my feelings on Earth Day – or rather, on the half-assed lip service engaged in on Earth Day by the bulk of its Western human residents – through such a simple, biological, involuntary act. And yes, I am feeling a tad grumpy today, thanks for asking.)
 

 
As a vegan and environmentalist, it’s really hard to get excited over Earth Day when most of the mainstream environmental groups and media outlets – Earth Day Network, The Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Protection Agency, Tree Hugger, et al – don’t so much as mention vegetarianism and/or veganism as a means to combating climate change, deforestation, the loss of biological diversity, pollution, water scarcity, disease, hunger, poverty, etc.

While these groups encourage “activists” to drive fuel efficient vehicles, switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, and use cloth bags when shopping, a meat- and/or dairy-free diet hardly ever make the list – and, when they do, it’s usually in a highly diluted form, such as “eat less meat” or “go meatless one day of the week.” Bleh.

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Irreplaceable Wild – info [at] irreplaceablewild.org
Date: Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 4:43 PM
Subject: Send us your photo

Irreplaceable Alert: YOU can be part of the exhibit!

Take Part in a Photo Petition to Congress

Looking for a new way to get involved and help support wildlife at risk from global warming? Join the Irreplaceable Photo Petition!

We will be turning photos of YOU (caring members of the public) into a collective mosaic of a polar bear, the iconic image of wildlife struggling in a warming world, and presenting it to Congress to bring attention to this important cause.

Your photo can help support at-risk wildlife and be part of the Irreplaceable exhibit!

* Want to participate? Send (email) us your photo here: photomosaic [at] irreplaceablewild.org! (Make sure to include your name and state in the email).

The Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World campaign is dedicated to educating policymakers and the public about the impacts of global warming on wildlife through the beauty and power of images, combined with the inspiration and knowledge from science, religion, and conservation law.

Over the last year, the exhibit has traveled all over the country, and thousands of you have been inspired by these stunning photographs to take action and get involved.

Now it’s your turn to become part of the exhibit! We need thousands of people to donate their personal photographs to a unique “photo petition,” which will be delivered to our policymakers asking them to take steps to protect wildlife imperiled by global warming. The finished mosaic will be presented in May to Congress in Washington, DC, and displayed on the Irreplaceable website.

Thanks for your support, and your photos!

-Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World
www.irreplaceablewild.org

(more…)

My tubes are clogged with veg*n videos, so rather than post each separately, behold this handy dandy video roundup!

Via Mary at Animal Person, Blinders: The Movie is now available online, in its entirety. I’m fairly certain it’s the full documentary, anyway; with a running time of 50 minutes, I haven’t yet had a chance to watch the whole film. Tonight, maybe, while the Mr. records his podcast.
 

 
Mary urges us to watch and circulate the video; please do!

Next up: those charlatans at the Humane Society of the United States. Even as they profit off the publicity that comes from their admirable dogfighting raids and rescues,
 

 
the HSUS actively campaigns to have these rescued dogs murdered. What a warped idea of “rescue,” eh?

(more…)

Via the Center for Food Safety:

Are you concerned about Factory Farms? Do you live near a Factory Farm, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFOs)? Are you concerned about the animal waste at animal feeding operations such as those located near your home? Did you know they commonly generate toxic gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide? Are you concerned about the negative impact that such toxic releases may have on your health and that of your family? Do you ever smell odors? Suffer health effects? Are you concerned about the farmer workers’ exposures while working in CAFOs? Do you think these agricultural operations should have to supply regulators and emergency state and local responders with their pollution information?

The Center for Food Safety has just become a party to an important lawsuit challenging a midnight rule change by the outgoing Bush Administration exempting CAFOs from our pollution laws. CFS needs your help!

Please respond ASAP to the True Food Network if you are interested in this issue and want to help in this important case. We need TFN members that:

* Live within a few miles of a CAFO or more than one, especially a small or medium size one
* Spend time outside in their yard, walking in their neighborhood, etc..

If you live near a CAFO and would consider speaking to us about our lawsuit, please email us at office [at] centerforfoodsafety.org with “CAFO” in the subject line.

——————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts center for food safety true food network cafo factory farms factory farming pollution epa lawsuit environment class action lawsuit meat food farmed animals

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Dec 24, 2008 12:08 AM
Subject: Part 1/ UPDATES: OCT-DEC 2008

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

PART 1: OCT – DEC 2008 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES
YEAR END WRAP UP – Victories * Setbacks * Progress For Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/

PART 1: KC UPDATES / OCT – DEC 2008

1. Donna Karan Announces Fur-Free 2009 Lines
2. Dragged Pit Bull Is Healing And Soon Adoptable
3. Cat Killing Boyfriend Walks Free
4. Records Show Big Industry Planned AETA All Along
5. Obama Picks: The Good & The Not So Good
6. L.A. Assistant Fire Chief Charged In Karley’s Killing
7. Netherlands Ban Products Made Of Cape Fur Seals
8. Prempro Maker, Wyeth, Pays For Fake Articles
9. Report On Hallmark/Westland Downer Scandal
10. Eddie Lama’s Oasis Sanctuary Closes
11. Michael Vick: Early Release & Back To NFL?

PART 2: KC UPDATES / OCT – DEC 2008
RESEND PART #2 TO ME: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net

12. Hero’s Plan To Save Wild Horses Moves Forward
13. Until Export Is Banned, More Horses Killed
14. Rodeo “Horse Tripping” Outlawed In Phoenix
15. Houston: Biggest Dogfight Bust In U.S. History
16. Activists Vow To Overturn Navy’s Use Of Sonar
17. Oxford Univ. Lab To Use Thousands Of Animals
18. Prop 2 Passes For Calif. Farmed Animals
19. EU Proposal To Ban Great Apes In Experiments
20. Ringling Bros. Big Fat Federal Lawsuit
21. Alaska Whales: 1 vs. Gov. Sarah Palin: 0

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Dec 19, 2008 3:29 PM
Subject: Exit Strategy: The Rush To Ruin Everything

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

December 2008, BUSH EXIT STRATEGY:
The Rush To Ruin Everything — For Animals & Environment

While preparing Kinship Circle’s year-end UPDATES, I found so many zero-hour assaults upon animals/environment — I opted to send this laundry list solo. A quote from a St. Louis Post Dispatch Op-Ed piece sums up the onslaught: www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/2889001

“Now, as the president’s last term winds to a close, the administration has embarked on a fast-paced anti-regulatory spree… No longer is there even any attempt to disguise its anti-environmental actions with such Orwellian labels as ‘Clear Skies’ and ‘Healthy Forests.’”

BUSH ADMIN’S ANTI-ANIMAL LAUNDRY LIST:

1. BLM To Sheep: We Like Roads Better Than You
2. Bush To Penguins: Get A Life, But Not On Our Dime
3. Hack Job: Endangered Species Act Stripped Top To Bottom
4. EPA Says Factory Farms Don’t Have To Report Poop
5. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Turns Its Back On Polar Bears
6. FDA Was Just Kidding About Ban On Animal Antibiotics
7. Snowmobiles In Yellowstone National Park – Let Em’ Rip!
8. Goodbye Flowing Streams, Hello Coal Mine Blasters
9. Drill Baby, Drill!
10. Ask Incoming Obama Team For A Swift Repair Job

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Stop Mountaintop Removal – info [at] stopmountaintopremoval.org
Date: Nov 21, 2008 11:02 AM
Subject: Time to Thank our Supporters

Already more than 2,000 miles of streams in Appalachia have been buried by mountaintop removal mining, yet as one of its last assaults on environmental protections, the Bush Administration is poised to finalize a rule that would allow thousands more streams and valleys to be buried by waste.

Instead of standing by and allowing the stream buffer zone to be taken away, Kentucky Governor Steven Beshear, along with Representatives Ben Chandler and John Yarmuth, and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen stepped in and have sent letters to the EPA objecting to this rule change.

Please call and thank Governor Beshear and Governor Bredesen for voicing their concerns about this rule, which would allow coal companies to dump their massive piles of waste directly into streams.

For years, federal agencies have looked the other way as the coal industry has been allowed to blast away the tops of mountains to reach thin seams of coal. Already, mountaintop removal mining has flattened more than 500,000 acres and permanently buried 2,000 miles of streams, destroying sources that feed drinking water. These actions were taken in defiance of the existing Stream Buffer Zone Rule. Now, the Federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) wants to legalize this destruction. But the U.S.EPA must give its approval for the change in rules to become law.

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 2:27 PM
Subject: Part 1/ UPDATES: AUG-OCT 2008

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

PART 1: KC UPDATES / AUG – OCT 2008
Victories * Setbacks * Progress For Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/

PART 1: KC UPDATES / AUG- OCT 2008
1. Dogfighting Don’s First Day In Louisiana Court
2. Ringling Goes To Federal Trial October 20, 2008?
3. Dog Poisoner Gets 30 Jail Days + Counseling
4. HSUS Sues United Egg Producers
5. Bush Admin Objects, But Polar Bears Get Habitat
6. Our Visit To The Vice Prez Debate, St. Louis, MO
7. After AETA: Another Law To Silence Activists
8. Prop 2 Looks Good As Nov. 4 Elections Approach
9. Bush Admin VS. Gray Wolves: GOP Losing
10. Politics Trumps Mercy: Still No Downer Ban

PART 2: KC UPDATES / AUG – OCT 2008
PLEASE RESEND ME PART #2: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
11. Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Obama
12. Police Sgt. Acquitted In Dog’s Death In Locked Car
13. Who Dumped HLS Animal Killers Lately?
14. Shooting Mayor’s Dogs Is “Justified.” Huh?
15. Freedom For Unlawfully Jailed Austrian Activists
16. 8 Little Lambs Left A Lab – To Live At A Sanctuary
17. New Development Proves: IAMS Kills
18. Nepal Bans Monkey Export To Research Labs
19. Korea to Classify Dogs as Livestock
20. NJ: Landmark Legal Victory For Farm Animals
21. EU Proposes Total Ban On Some Seal Goods
22. Calif. Law Bans Slaughter Of Downers
23. Hits & Misses For Animals

RE: 10/10/08: Don’t Let Soldiers Kill Beloved Dog In Iraq

NO ANSWERS YET, BUT SEE: Puppy love denied by U.S. army rules

cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/10/14/7080146-ap.html

(more…)