DawnWatch: Palin provides vital opportunities for animal friendly letters 9/4/08

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--- On Thu, 9/4/08, DawnWatch <news wrote:

 

DawnWatch <newsDawnWatch: Palin provides vital opportunities for animal friendly letters 9/4/08fortheanimalsDate: Thursday, September 4, 2008, 11:44 AM

 

Please write your paper TODAY while she's still "hot". I use that term very loosely. The news this week is the Republican Convention, and the animal news is thechoice of Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate. Before I write any furtheron that issue, I need to stress that DawnWatch is entirely non partisan. Ifyou've read Thanking the Monkey you know of my commitment to non partisananimal activism. It would be unfair to the animals for their advocates toalienate half of the human population. And in Thanking the Monkey, I explainthat the somewhat common assumption that animal advocacy is a left wing issue isfalse. Democrat voting records are better on animal issues overall, but theexceptions are shining. Republicans John Ensign of Nevada, and Christopher Shaysof Connecticut are just two of those current outstanding exceptions. And formerSenator Robert Smith of New

Hampshire, an ultra right wing conservative, is theonly person to date to speak passionately against vivisection on the SenateFloor.Perhaps most notably, one of the finest books ever written on animal protectionis "Dominion: The Power of Man, The Suffering of Animals, and The Call toMercy." It is by Matthew Scully, who worked as a senior speechwriter forGeorge W Bush, penning the book on his off hours. Scully sees his compassion,or mercy, for animals, and his vegan lifestyle, as perfectly in line with hisCatholic conservative values. For those who equate hunting with Republicanism, here are some of MatthewScully's words on hunting, as he responds to Jack London's idea of how aman with a gun must seem to a wolf:"Such terrifying powers we possess, but what a sorry lot of gods some menare. And the worst of it is not the cruelty but the arrogance, the sheer hubrisof those who bring

only violence and fear into the animal world, as if it neededany more of either. Their lives entail enough frights and tribulations withoutthe modern fire-makers, now armed with perfected, inescapable weapons, traipsingalong for more fun and thrills at their expense even as so many of them dieaway. It is out fellow creatures' lot in the universe, the place assignedthem in creation, to be completely at our mercy, the fiercest wolf or tigerdefenseless against the most cowardly man. And to me it has always seemed notonly ungenerous and shabby but a kind of supreme snobbery to deal cavalierlywith them, as if their little share of the earth's happiness and grief wereinconsequential, meaningless, beneath a man's attention, trumped by any andall designs he might have on them, however base, irrational or wicked." (p9).In an extraordinary twist of fate, Scully was selected to write SarahPalin's speech,

which aired last night. Let us hope that in the timeScully and Palin spent together working on the speech, he began to influence herthinking. I hope every Republican on this list will urge her to read his book! I write that because unfortunately Palin's history on animal issues isdisturbing. Bad animal stances are hardly a Republican monopoly. I think most ofus remember watching John Kerry walk out of the woods swinging dead ducks as heattempted to woo the NRA. And many of us were disturbed to hear Hillary Clintonspeak glowingly of her childhood duck hunting days. Obama also supports therights of hunters, though thankfully he has said outright that he does not huntso we need not fear similar spectacles from him.Indeed, Obama's record on animal issues is better than most. I have spokento him personally and found a keen awareness of and interest in the connectionbetween the

livestock industry and global warming. And as a senator, long beforehe was in the presidential race, he posed for photos for an anti puppy millbook. Yet animal issues are hardly at the forefront of Obama's campaign --he is no vegan Kucinich.While McCain has some environmental policies that would kill billions ofanimals living in the wild, his history of leadership in the discussion ofcampaign finance reform is pertinent. In Thanking the Monkey I argue thatcampaign finance reform could be the number one animal rights issue --that's because of the democracy-decimating strength of the farm andbiomedical lobbies. I also discuss single issue voting. That's how the National RifleAssociation keeps its power. Candidates know that a percentage of folks largeenough to swing an election will vote entirely based on a candidate's gunposition. The animals will be better off when our movement has

that power. Yet,I also argue that a compassionate world view is not species specific, and cannotleave out humans. So I acknowledge the strong case for taking all of acandidate's stances into account when casting a vote.Those are the reasons why DawnWatch will never take a Republican or Democraticstance, and will never tell you for whom you should vote.But in the current election we have an unusual media opportunity to make theanimals' voices heard. While most of the population are not vegetarian andmay not rate animal issues at the top of their agenda, numerous polls have shownthat the vast majority of Americans do care about kindness to animals. They backanimal welfare and environmental protection laws and are against egregiouscruelty. Sarah Palin has so far shown a level of hostility to animal intereststhat is well outside the norm. Her presence on the ticket therefore gives us thechance to

let it be known that such a stance matters, and that to most people,both Democrat and Republican, it is a negative.You can learn the details of her stances on various websites. The Defenders ofWildlife site may be the most comprehensive. It tells us, "As Governor,Sarah Palin has championed aerial hunting of wolves and bears" and itincludes distressing video of aerial wolf shootings. About whales it tells us,"Governor Palin opposes the listing of the Cook Inlet beluga whales, citingthe listing as a threat to oil and gas development, despite their geneticuniqueness and the fact that their numbers have decreased from 1,300 in the1980s to about 350 today. And it reminds us that Palin opposes listing the PolarBear as endangered:"Governor Palin has actively opposed the listing of the polar bear despitethe fact that Alaska's top marine mammal biologists agreed with the federalscientists who believed

the bear should be listed." (You can read her ownwords about that in a New York Times op-ed she wrote, published January 5, 2008-- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/05/opinion/05palin.html Thanks to MichaelOswald for that link.) The Defenders of Wildlife information and video is online at http://tinyurl.com/6objq8Her animal unfriendly policies are unfortunately not that unusual amongstcandidates. What is unusual is the strong tone of antipathy towards animalprotection. Sarah Palin's parents are reported to have a bumper sticker thatreads, "Vegetarian: Old Indian word for bad hunter." That's thekind of joke many of us would find funny, if it weren't coming from folkswhose living room is strung and hung with heads and carcasses. The Palinpictures say as much as her policies. You'll find some on the web pageversion of this alert at www.DawnWatch.com/Palin.htm. They include photos

ofPalin's parents watching television in a living room decorated like achild's worst nightmare, one of Sarah Palin on her office couch with a deadgrizzly skin and head draped next to her, one of her speaking at a podium whiledecked out in fur, and a shocking photo of her and a very young girl (herdaughter?) with a bloodied caribou they have just shot.Again, DawnWatch will never tell you how to vote in this, or any, election.There are great arguments for single issue voting on behalf of the animals, butmy greatest hope is that the rights of animals become an issue of significantpublic importance, and therefore part of public policy as such -- not that theytrump all other issues. We therefore must not waste this extraordinary opportunity to bring the animalsinto the public conversation. Every single newspaper across the US now has newsof Sarah Palin, so now is the time for every newspaper to

include letters to theeditor letting it be known that to compassionate Republicans and Democratsalike, a cavalier attitude towards the slaughter of animals and the decimationof species is unacceptable. We owe it to the animals to push animal protectiononto the platforms of both political parties and to make it clear to candidateson both sides that their stance on animal issues is part of what shows us theirmoral standing. Regardless of her party, Palin's wardrobe, decor, andpolicies give us the perfect opportunity. Letters from Republicans will packthe most punch. Your letters are the most likely to be published in your local paper. Somesmall papers publish close to 100 percent of the letters they receive. Soplease, take a moment to speak up for the animals. It is time they got a voiceduring the election media frenzy. If you have any trouble finding the correct email address for a letter

to youreditor, ask me for help. Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending aletter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to bepublished. And please avoid using comments or phrases from sample letters oralerts. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.Yours and the animals',Karen Dawn(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in themedia and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You canlearn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You mayforward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch inthe title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwardsDawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signingup. It is free.)Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to

read reviews of Karen Dawn's newbook, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals” andwatch the fun celebrity studded promo video.To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php