A Tale Of Two Towns

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

For squirrels, that is.

This is the story of two small towns. Although on opposite ends of this great country, these two rural communities have at least one thing in common: both have annual celebrations that involve squirrels. However, the celebrations are as different as night and day or, in this case, as different as life and death.

Longview, Washington Celebrates Squirrels

Longview, a town in southern Washington, on the Columbia River, loves its squirrels. Back in 1963, a local businessman, Amos Peters, watched a squirrel get run over by a car while crossing the street to visit the feeder that he and his coworkers had erected. Grief stricken, Mr. Peters designed and had built, at his own expense, a squirrel walkway, the Nutty Narrows Bridge, which to this day spans one of the busier streets in Longview.

In 2011 a group of local leaders decided to honor the late Mr. Peters' legacy with an annual squirrel celebration, the Longview Squirrel Fest. The festival features a parade, local and out-of-town craft and food vendors, family activities and contests, musical entertainment, and fireworks. All of this just to honor squirrels, and to raise funds for the construction of additional squirrel bridges, one to be built each year, to keep the fuzzy friends safe.

Holley, New York Celebrates Death

Holley, NY, an upstate community near the city of Rochester, definitely does not love its squirrels. Each February Holley residents' thoughts turn to this:

For no apparent reason, the town has, for the last six years, held an annual fund raising event sponsored by the local fire department, in which local residents--adults and children--compete to kill as many squirrels as possible. The seventh annual "Hazzard County Squirrel Slam" will offer cash prizes up to $200, in adult and youth categories, to those who kill the most and the largest squirrels on February 16. There is also a drawing to give away several guns, including an AR-15 assault rifle. Scores of squirrels will be killed, not for food, but simply for "entertainment." Many more will be injured, maimed, and left to die slowly and in pain.

It's hard to imagine what could be so different about these two towns, what could make one town seek to embrace, protect, and celebrate its squirrel population, while the other takes pleasure in causing pain, suffering, and death among its squirrels. On the surface they both seem like mainstream, working-class American towns the likes of which can be found throughout the United States. I suppose if we look deep enough we could uncover some demographic, economic, and social differences that would explain this vast gulf between the attitudes and outlooks of these communities.

I think I speak for a lot of Americans when I say that if I had to decide which of these communities to settle in, the decision to me would be clear: the town that embraces life or the one that embraces death;  compassion or suffering; comfort or pain; light or darkness.

Please help bring an end to the Hazzard County Squirrel Slam. There are currently three petitions that you can sign to make your voice heard against this event. You can sign them here, and here, and here. There is also a Facebook page where you can find more information on ways to protest this event and similar killing contests. You can also write to the Holley Fire Department, using the "contact us" link on the left side of the home page.

Senator Coburn Scapegoats Robo-Squirrel

Last spring I introduced readers to Robo-Squirrel, a biorobotic squirrel designed and built by researches at the University of California San Diego to study interactions between California ground squirrels and their biggest predator, the rattlesnake. Robo-Squirrel has helped research scientists and students at the university gain valuable insights into how the squirrels ward off attacks by the snakes using tail flagging and thermoregulation, or heating of the tail by adjusting blood flow.

Robo-Squirrel

Now Robo-Squirrel is under attack! US Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahomo) is using the robotic squirrel as an example of wasted federal tax money. The project that Robo-Squirrel was a part of was funded with a grand of $325,000 from the National Science Foundation, which is a federally funded agency. Apparently Senator Coburn thinks of any federal money spent on scientific research for anything other than new weapons for the military as being a waste.

Of course, I'm sure that the Senator was aware that the words "robotic squirrel" would get the attention of the press when he was looking for a project to scapegoat. I'm sure that nowhere in his press release did he mention the benefits of what this research has added to our knowledge of predator-prey interactions, of how species evolve adaptations to help them avoid becoming another species' dinner (but of course I'm sure the Senator, being a Republican, doesn't believe in evolution anyway).

And I'm also sure that Senator Coburn didn't mention that most of the grant money didn't go directly to the building of the robotic squirrel, but was instead used to fund the inclusion of both undergraduate and graduate students in the project. But then again, developing future scientists isn't something that the anti-science Republican party would be concerned with.

GOP Candidates' Positions on Squirrel Issues

Newt Gingrich: Concerned that free handouts of nuts and acorns is creating a "culture of dependence" among the bushy-tailed rodents, Newt Gingrich has advocated putting young squirrels to work cleaning and making repairs on the houses, yards and patios of the wealthy.

...and make sure you don't miss a spot!

Mitt Romney: The former Massachusetts governor's campaign has been plagued by scandal after reports surfaced that Romney hired immigrant landscapers at minimum wage to trap all of the squirrels on his estate, and then drove them to the Canadian border strapped to the top of his car, where the squirrels were sold to pharmaceutical companies for drug testing. Romney has stated that the squirrels were not mistreated, that they were making an official visit to Canada to study the country's public health care system, and that they actually enjoyed the ride.

Rick Santorum: Has gone on record as opposing the legal recognition of "alternative squirrel lifestyles," stating that the rise of such perversion is responsible for the drastic decline in "traditional" mating for life between one male and one female squirrel.

What we do in our own tree, is our own business!

Ron Paul: Enjoys catching squirrels with his bare hands and eating them raw.

Family Pet Cat Killed As Political Intimidation

This is just about as ugly as it gets.

Ken Aden is running as a Democrat for Congress in Arkansas' third district. Recently his campaign manager, Jacob Burris, returned home from a short outing with his children to find their pet cat, a Siamese mix, dead on their front doorstep with the word "liberal" painted across its body. The cat's head was bashed in so severely that one eye was hanging out of the socket. Burris' five year old son was the first to find the cat. Here is what he saw:

This kind of action is, in Aden's words, "unconscionable... part of the worst of humanity." Aden's race with Republican incumbent Steve Womack has been "tense," although Aden said he does not think Womack's campaign is directly responsible for this horrific crime. But it is all too typical of the kind of political climate that we live in today, and especially the kind of threatening and sometimes violent rhetoric tossed around by the right, that can easily inspire despicable acts of terrorism and intimidation like this.

An innocent cat, a family pet that had nothing to do with a political campaign, lost its life, and Mr. Burris' children lost a beloved pet in the ugliest, most traumatizing way imaginable, because of some ignorant cowardly yahoo's desire to scare and intimidate a political opponent.

PETA is reportedly offering a $5000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible for this crime. The blog Blue Arkansas is speaking out against this terrorist act, on behalf of the Aden campaign and Mr. Burris and his family, and is asking for campaign donations for Aden's progressive congressional campaign.

Saying "NO" To Hatred

The following is the text of an online petition that I created, asking the NC Family Policy Council to apologize for and renounce its hateful and violent imagery targeting gays and lesbians. Please read the petition, and if you agree, follow this link to sign. Thank you.

To: The North Carolina Family Policy Council


We the undersigned are disturbed and angry at the violent and hateful image that you have included in the Winter 2012 issue of your organization's magazine, Family North Carolina. The photograph--which depicts a bride and groom, standing in a field, with the crosshairs of a rifle superimposed over them, as if a sniper is taking aim at the couple--accompanies an article arguing in favor of an amendment to the North Carolina Constitution that would define marriage as being between and man and a woman, and outlaw same-sex marriage. The implication is that proponents of marriage equality, and specifically gay and lesbian couples, have the intention of harming heterosexual married couples. The intent is clearly to incite fear and hatred of gays and lesbians.

We believe that civil, respectful discourse and argument are a healthy and necessary part of living in a democratic society. However, regardless of which side of this issue you are on, discourse that incites hatred, fear, and violence is unhealthy and destructive, and should be avoided.

We are asking that your organization apologize for the violent imagery in your magazine, and disavow the use of imagery or language that is designed to incite hatred and fear in future publications and statements.

Thank you for your time and attention.

This is the photograph that I mentioned in the petition:

Why Are the Unemployed Not Speaking Out?

I have not written on this for a while, which means that I may be as guilty as anyone of complacency on this issue, despite the fact that I am one of those unemployed Americans struggling to find a job.

This article looks at some of the reasons that the unemployed in the US are not making a more noticeable protest, in spite of their massive numbers. Among the reasons, the changing perception of the reasons for unemployment, and the general loss of sympathy for organized labor in the United States. Unemployment is increasingly viewed as the result of the workers' failure to acquire the skills and education needed to find work, rather than the failure of business and the government to create the favorable conditions and demand needed for hiring workers. Furthermore, labor unions are now seen as ineffective, inefficient, and corrupt.

The article puts much of the blame for the passivity of the American people toward the unemployment crisis on President Obama, for not taking stronger and more immediate action to address this problem. And I do agree that the American Jobs Act is a positive but halfhearted measure that, if passed, would provide some relief but not nearly what is needed to truly address and resolve the crisis.

But I think much more blame needs to be focused on the failure of the media to sufficiently critique the deceptive rhetoric coming from the right wing on this issue. The Republican Party and the Tea Party movement, controlled by their Wall Street handlers, continue to insist, without a shred of rational evidence, that the unemployment rate can only be brought down through lower taxes on the already undertaxed wealthy and corporations, and reductions in public spending and regulations, when in fact these measures have been shown over and over to have exactly the opposite effect.

The insistence of the main stream media on presenting this bogus right-wing argument as a valid point of view that deserves full consideration, has left the unemployed, who are the victims of this very strategy, divided and unsure about what and who they should be protesting.

The Occupy movement has helped enormously to bring more attention to the general problems of wealth inequality and corporate and Wall Street corruption. But the movement has been short on specific demands and policy suggestions. In the early days of Occupy Wall Street, it looked like it might develop a close link with organized labor. But, mysteriously, little evidence has been seen lately of this partnership.

Given the harsh messages coming from the right, the halfhearted measures proposed by the Democrats, the vague messages from the Occupy movement, the absence of an effective and popular organized labor movement, and the all-consuming anxiety that is part of the lives of the long-term jobless, it seems likely that many if not most of the unemployed in America feel that they have been pretty much forgotten.

That's how I feel.

That needs to change.

Hey Newt!

Thanks for the advice, but I don't need you to tell me to take a bath. I can see to my personal hygiene without your help.

As for getting a job, yes, I very much need and want a job. Too bad your friends on Wall Street and the GOP ravaged the economy back in 2008 and cost the country more than 8 million jobs, including mine, and have obstructed every proposal to create jobs that has been put forth since then.

I know you understand this, but of course you are one of those who are profiting from this sorry state of affairs. So you will go on helping to perpetuate the myth that if we just let you and your buddies in the one percent grab more and more, that it will eventually trickle down to the rest of us. Sure, we've been waiting for years for this to happen, like dogs cowering under your banquet table waiting for you to throw us a few scraps to fight over.

Yet, when we finally get tired of waiting and cowering, and take to the streets to let you know, because it's the only means we have to be heard, you just sneer at us and tell us to "get a job" and "take a bath."

This is the response from the man who considers himself the scholar of the conservative movement? This is the level of compassion and understanding from the man who aspires to be the leader of the most powerful nation on earth?

Mr. Gingrich, you have absolutely no clue about the lives of ordinary people in the United States. You have no business lecturing anybody about morality. And you have a lot of nerve deriding the cares and concerns of the people who are suffering because of the greed, selfishness and lack of ethics of you and your cronies.

Mr. Gingrich, I hope you are enjoying your last moment in the spotlight. Rest assured, before you know it, this campaign will be over and you will be no more than a sad footnote in the history books. Here's a little reminder of your "glory days" to comfort you:

"Get a job! Take a bath!"

More Coverage of Police Violence Against Occupy Oakland

Continuing with the topic from the last post, the New York Times is following the story from Oakland. The coverage includes more videos and other evidence of police use of projectiles and explosives against protesters, which the Oakland Police Department is denying.

Video From Occupy Oakland

This video clip shows protesters trying to come to the aid of Scott Olsen, who was struck in the head by a police "projectile" and suffered a skull fracture. He is not in the hospital listed in serious but stable condition. When a group of protesters tries to help Mr. Olsen, police standing behind a barricade nearby toss an incendiary device into the group, which explodes, causing the group to scatter. According to news reports Olsen is an Iraq war veteran and member of Veterans for Peace.




The Guardian, a British newspaper, is running frequent updates on this situation, as police crack down violently on the protest group in Oakland.

Rick Perry Wants To Widen the Income Gap

Rick Perry's proposed flat tax plan would, not surprisingly, provide large tax breaks for those in the highest income brackets. This is clear in an analysis provided by the New York Times Economix Blog. Here is the chart summarizing the effects on taxes paid by different income groups:

The last column on the right is the taxes paid or refund under the current system. The next column to the left is for Perry's 20 percent flat tax plan. The blue shaded figures are the most advantageous plan for each income group. For every household type, the highest income group fares best with the Perry plan.

What is most disturbing is Perry's answer when asked about the increase in income inequality that his tax plan would create: "I don't care about that." In other words, he isn't even going to go through the motions of pretending to care about poor and working-class families.

Surreal Herman Cain Ad Creeps Me Out

This is one of the weirdest and creepiest political advertisements I've ever seen. The narrator, Cain's chief of staff Mark Block, gives his spiel for Cain... and then takes a drag on a cigarette(?!) He also looks sort of like he's lurking furtively in a corner behind some building, like maybe he's stalking someone. I don't know who came up with this, but I don't see how it's supposed to help Herman Cain's campaign. Of course, I guess this is no nuttier than that 9-9-9 tax plan.

The Tea Party vs Occupy Wall Street

I would add to this...

Tea Party: Planned, organized, and funded by the Koch Brothers and Corporate America

Occupy Wall Street: Planned, organized, and maintained by the American people!

Mitt Romney is a Hypocrite

Back in 2003, Governor Mitt Romney fought to impose pollution controls on a Massachusetts coal-fired plant that was threatening the health of the surrounding population, even if it meant that the plant would close and jobs would be lost. Here is what the "radical environmentalist" Romney said at the time:

I will not create jobs or hold jobs that kill people. And that plant kills people and PG&E has been given a notice to have it cleaned up by 2004 and they have thumbed their nose at the people of Massachusetts and Salem Harbor by not cleaning it up on time. So we’re saying, clean it up on time, do the job in the community, invest in cleaning technology.

Got that? "I will not create jobs or hold jobs that kill people."

This sounds a little different from the Mitt Romney who has eagerly joined in the Republican frenzy to handcuff or even kill the EPA and weaken the environmental regulations that prevent the pollution of our air and water, pretending that such deregulation will result in jobs creation.

As Paul Krugman has pointed out, deregulation will not help with our jobs crisis. It will only make us "poorer and sicker."

9-9-9? Nein! Nein! Nein!

Paul Krugman posted a chart the other day from the Tax Policy Center summarizing the effect of Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax proposal on  Americans based on their income:

The column to focus on is the last column, which reflects the percentage change in after-tax income for each quintile (20 percent) of the population based on income. The poorest 20 percent of Americans would see their after-tax income reduced by more than 18 percent; the next 20 percent, by more than 15 percent. And by contrast the highest 20 percent income Americans would get an increase of 7.1 percent in their after-tax income.

But Herman Cain says that his plan would not raise taxes on lower- and middle-income Americans. He is either clueless or lying.

Here's Some Real Patriotism For Your Ass...

This is without a doubt one of the most pathetic things I have ever heard.

The Tea Party is now asking small businesses to refuse to hire anyone until the Obama administration stops its "war against business and my country."

Seriously. You can read about it on the Daily Kos.

What kills me is that there are some who have suggested that the Tea Party activists should be a part of Occupy Wall Street. Why would OWS want to be associated with a movement that is so blatantly hateful, not to mention delusional, that they seem bent on destroying the economy and increasing suffering in this country, just to discredit the president and advance their extremist fringe agenda. And then have the gall to call themselves patriots!

Occupy Wall Street is grounded in reality. The Tea Party is, apparently, completely unconnected to anything resembling reality.

Straight But Not Narrow

I saw this cartoon today, and wanted to share it:

I am a heterosexual man, very happily married, and I have never understood what this vague "threat" is that gay marriage is supposed to present to the institution of marriage. Why should I want to deny to anyone else the happiness that I have experienced? The arguments that we hear today against marriage equality are, indeed, strikingly similar to those that the husband and father in the cartoon heard when he fell in love with his wife. And I have no doubt that in the near future, those arguments will sound just as inane and outdated when applied to gay marriage as they did in the past when they were applied to interracial marriage.

Of course, to some of us, they already do.

Occupy Where?

My old hometown, Lubbock, TX, is a city in west Texas of about 200,000 people. My current hometown, Charlotte, is a metropolitan area of over 1 million. Both have active occupy movements. Guess which one is getting more coverage from its local newspaper?

Occupy Lubbock.

From the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. And also this.

For whatever reason the Charlotte Observer has chosen to ignore Occupy Charlotte. Of course it wouldn't have anything to do with a certain bank's corporate headquarters just down the street from the Observer's office. Nah!

One of those "dirty hippies" at Occupy Lubbock

Photographs From Occupy Charlotte March

I took these photos yesterday during the Occupy Charlotte assembly and march on the Bank of America headquarters. It was exciting for Karen and me to finally have a chance to take part in this movement. Although Charlotte, a city not known for its political activism, has not had crowds as large as those in many other big cities, I was impressed by the energy and passion of the people who were there, a crowd that I would guess was about 200-300.

I am disappointed at the lack of coverage by the local media. A google search on Occupy Charlotte this morning found only this story about the difficulty that the occupiers in downtown Charlotte are having finding places to go to the bathroom. Hopefully some local business owner can be found who will open the doors to the occupiers.

This blog post by Sinister is one of the better commentaries that I've read on the occupy movement.

Photographs from yesterday:   

       

                                      

 General Assembly and tents at the Occupy site, Old City Hall

Protest at Bank of America 

The Scene of the Crimes:

Occupy Charlotte

This is a short video that I took this afternoon at the protest at the Bank of America corporate headquarters here in Charlotte. The protesters had marched from the Old City Hall where Occupy Charlotte is camped to BOA. I would estimate there were about 200-300 people there for the peaceful protest. I will post some photos later.

Great Gift For Your Birther Friends!

From the Barack Obama 2012 campaign website:

The Made In the USA Mug!

And you can also have the Vice President keep your drinks cold for you: