Fish or Families?

What right does Sean Hannity have to say that preserving the life of the delta smelt is less important than the farmers whose water pumps were shut down to preserve this endangered fish?

I sympathize with the farmers, I really do. The farms are their livelihood, they have families to provide for. I understand that and it’s very sad. But — the arrogance human beings. Paraphrasing, “It’s stupid to shut down the water pumps over a two inch fish.” The two inch fish is a living, breathing creature. What right do we have to sacrifice the life of this fish for our own needs?

It’s not just this fish though. This kind of arrogance is everywhere. Sure, we’ll shoot the cows full of hormones, so what if it deforms them and causes them pain? It will mean more milk and more money in our pockets and that’s what’s important! Sure, we’ll let these chickens suffer so Americans can have an omelet for breakfast. Why should we sacrifice something we enjoy eating just to save a few birds? And so on, and so on. Why should we care about any life on this planet but our own?

I used to be a meat eater and a dairy consumer. And yes, there are times I miss steak or chicken or cheese, but then I think of what has to happen in order for my palate to be satiated. It’s just not worth it to me. My life is no more and no less important than any other living creature on this earth. That’s what Buddhism has taught me, that’s what life has taught me.

And no, I’m not a card-carrying member of PETA. I don’t berate people I know for eating meat and dairy. It’s a personal choice. But again, what angers me is this idea that humans can do whatever they want just for their own needs and pleasure and it’s okay. Doesn’t matter who or what has to pay the price as long as we get what we want.

I think it does matter, even if the creature paying that price is a two-inch fish.

No Nukes?

I have a couple of things I would like to discuss on this fine Saturday morning.

There were several violations of American rights at the G-2o Summit, not the least of which was military police kidnapping a protester.

http://www.infowars.com/military-police-kidnap-g20-protester-shove-him-into-unmarked-car/

What is happening in this country?  I thought that American citizens have the right to protest?  As the article above states, is this Nazi Germany or the United States of America in 2009?  And why is this not what every American is talking about?  Why aren’t more media outlets reporting what’s going on?  Why isn’t this story of the violation of American rights the lead story on every news broadcast?  Oh…that’s right…Americans would rather hear about MacKenzie Phillips f***ing her father than about their rights being violated.  How silly of me to forget that!

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Iran and nuclear weapons.  Well, there is one good thing about this — at least now we have a President who can properly pronounce the word “nuclear.”  (See, every cloud really does have a silver lining).

In all seriousness, this story scares me for a few reasons.  One — this could be another WMD situation.  Is Iran really constructing nuclear weapons or is this an excuse to invade the country?  I have a feeling if we go to war with Iran it’s going to be very bad, much worse than Iraq and Afghanistan.

Or, are they using this a diversion to keep the American people from focusing on something else that might be going on?  Something very, very bad.

And, on the off-chase that Iran really does have nuclear weapons — could we be on the verge of nuclear war?  Scenes from “The Day After,” “Threads,” and “Testament” keep flashing through my mind (all brilliant films by the way.  They should all be required viewing for anyone in power who has access to nuclear weapons — along with any stories and the most graphic of pictures from Hiroshima and Nagasaki).  Could this be the prelude to World War III?  Is this the end of the world as we know it?  I don’t mind admitting, I’m very frightened.

American Made Genocide

This week I was doing some reading about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  As I read these stories on the internet during some downtime at work, tears came to my eyes.  Why was this okay?  Why was this justfied?  Fine, we were at war.  But how could we drop those bombs that killed all those innocent people?  And survivors and their descendants still feel the effects of the bombings today.

But we were the great, victorious Americans!  We should be proud that we wiped out the Japs, right?

It’s disgusting.  It’s vile.  I am so filled with anger about this.  I cannot conceive how the government at that time thought this was okay.  No one was ever held accountable for this because we were the “good guys.”  Well, if that’s how the “good guys” act then I want no parts of that.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki was an example of genocide, at least that’s what I think.  The same thing is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan right now.  Obama will stand there at the Holocaust memorial and say “Never again;” in the meantime our troops are slaughtering civilians, women and children, in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And for what?  Because of greed, pure and simple.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I am NOT proud to be an American and I DO NOT support the government, this war, or the troops.  It is an absolute atrocity what is going on and what we have done in the past.  There is no excuse for any of it and I don’t see that anybody is going to even attempt to make this right any time soon.

My heart breaks for all the victims of all the genocides that have ever happened and that continue to happen.  They are innocent victims and none of them deserve what has happened.

Eight Years Ago

Yesterday was the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  I still choose to call them terrorist attacks even though I believe it was an inside job; a terrorist doesn’t have to be a foreigner.  In this case, the terrorists are our own government.

Charlie Sheen (yes, that Charlie Sheen) is very passionate about making the truth of the attacks known.  He would like President Obama to address this issue and investigate what really happened.  He wrote a letter to Obama asking to meet with him…but was turned down.  I guess politicians only have time for celebrities that will simply support them and won’t question them.

There was a documentary on the National Geographic channel last week in which Truthers presented evidence they believe proves that 9/11 was an inside job.  Then they showed experts who did tests and refuted these claims.  The documentary was obviously biased against Truthers, but I expected that.  I don’t think any worldwide, well known organization is going to come out and say that 9/11 was an inside job.  It’s too risky.  That’s why I have to praise Charlie Sheen for what he is trying to do…he’s a mainstream actor with a successful movie career and television show.  It could be risky for him to “come out” as a Truther, but he’s been brave enough to do this and I give him a lot of credit for trying to spread the truth.

It makes me both angry and sad that the lives of the American people are so disposable to the government.  Almost 3000 people died on 9/11/01 and for what?  So Bush could start a war…so his popularity would skyrocket…for more power, more oil, more money.  It’s such an atrocity and my heart goes out to all the families who lost loved ones that day.

I hope that as time goes on more and more people will seek the truth about what happened on 9/11/01 and that someday the true perpetrators of this horrible crime will be brought to justice.

Welcome

Hello all and welcome to my new and improved blog!

I would like to use this blog to explore the truth of what is going on in the world.  I believe that in my previous incarnation of this blog, I was a bit too combatant and angry.  As my husband pointed out to me, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and nobody wants to be yelled at.

So, new approach.  I know there are dozens of other blogs like this, but I would still like to add my voice to the many out there.  And I am not writing this blog to make anyone feel stupid or wrong, I simply wish to give anyone who reads it something to think about.

If you are reading this, I hope that you will get something out of my words here.  I hope that what I write will make you think.  And I hope that I will be able to spread the truth to anyone who visits my little corner of the internet.