Jul 20
The Center for Consumer Freedom did one thing right: they chose a name that sounds respectable. “The Center” is less think-tanky than, say “The Institute,” but still very official-sounding. “for,” which is positive. Better to say what you’re for than…
There are two issues in the Animal Experimentation debate: It is moral (or not) It is essential for medical research (or not) If you’re talking to someone who believes we have special, superior status among the animals on Earth, the…
In The Sunday Times (Britain), Daniel Foggo reports that an undercover investigation has led to the uncovering of what has been described as the “canine killing fields.” It turns out that one man, David Smith, and his father before him,…
In this morning’s New York Times, Sharon Waxman reports (in At One Paper, All Tension is Local) that there is major upheaval (e.g., walk-outs an even an employee rally) regarding choices made by the owner of The Santa Barbara News-Press,…
Like everyone else, I saw Cesar Millan, THE DOG WHISPERER, on Oprah. And I’ve seen him work his magic a couple of times on his television show. Some of it looked a bit violent, and the submission techniques often seemed…
In “Sting Launched to Catch Alligator Feeders” (AP, 7/15/06), Brian Skoloff reports that Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has set up a three-day sting in Broward County to catch alligator feeders and punish them (by fine and up to…
Manatees (factsheet here) have been de-listed in Florida and are no longer considered “endangered.” Now, they are “threatened.” As a linguist, this is fascinating to me. I immediately wonder, who has something to gain by downgrading the status of the…
Jul 13
Countdown with Keith Olbermann did something no other news program has done, according to my informal research (i.e., I watched a lot of TV news this week to monitor the coverage). He was the only person to mention that at…
Calculating your ecological footprint can be depressing business, particularly if you live in a large house in suburban South Florida, your nearest family member lives 1,400 miles away, and you have some Northern California peeps. Practically the only thing I…
Jul 10
I love Al Gore, compact flourescent bulbs, and my electric lawn mower. And when my Saab lease ends in December and I get my Hybrid Toyota Highlander, I’m sure I’ll love that too. (Re: Not getting a Prius–I’ve got two…
On my morning run I saw a rabbit that had been flattened, cartoon style. Remarkably, there was no blood, no guts, and the only thing mildly disturbing was that his eyeball was missing. What ordinarily happens is: vultures come to…
“Greyhound Track Needs Openness” is the title that Florida’s Sun-Sentinel gave my letter, which looks a lot like yesterday’s post. No wait, it’s almost verbatim. Mary Martin Jupiter Posted July 8 2006 Re Thursday’s article, “Activists want racetracks to report…
Embarrassingly, Florida operates more greyhound race tracks (16) than any other state. This is a huge business for the state, yet the state doesn’t require injuries to be reported. As yesterday’s article in Florida’s Sun-Sentinel states (“Activists want racetracks to…
Dr. Jeffrey S. Mogil, a neuroscientist at McGill University, has made a stunning discovery about mice: they are capable of empathy. (See coverage here in the “Health” section of the New York Times, or here, in Science Daily.) Usually, people…
Topic: Nobody’s perfect, and perfection isn’t the goal. However, non-vegans and non-environmentalists are very quick to point out when you’re doing something that opposes your deeply-held belief. In fact, they thrive on discovering your inconsistencies so they can call you…
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