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From www.beachimpeach.org
"I had looked forward to poking fun tonight but in light of this week’s tragedy at Virginia Tech, I decided not to try to be funny." -- Dubya, who can't be funny after 33 violent deaths
"Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be here somewhere. Nope, no weapons over there. Maybe under here." -- Dubya, yukking it up in March 2004, after sending 700 soldiers to an early grave
(Thanks, Bart.)
Someone posted this quote on the volunteer bulletin board at the SPCA. I find it exceptionally appropriate:
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mohandas Gandhi
Animal-cruelty laws and punishment in the U.S. have been getting stricter over the years, thanks to the tireless efforts of groups like the ASPCA and local SPCA chapters. I applaud them for their work and would hug each and every one of their staff members if I could.
When you consider the fact that people who are abusive to animals typically do not distinguish between cruelty to animals and cruelty to people*, they should be punished equally for crimes against both. Especially when you consider that (1) some of the most notorious serial killers in recent years had an often lengthy history of violence against animals--Jeffrey Dahmer killed his neighbors' pets, "Son of Sam" David Berkowtiz shot his neighbor's Labrador retriever, Albert DeSalvo (the "Boston Strangler") shot arrows into boxes of trapped cats and dogs--and (2) the death of a pet can affect as many "survivors" as the death of a child or other loved one; why should their lives count for less because they are not human? They feel pain just as intensely as humans do and their owners suffer an enormous loss when their pets are treated cruelly.
Obviously, I have quite a bit to say about this matter (imagine that!). I do not appreciate the stigma that people who prefer animals to babies or children are insensitive, callous freaks of nature. I try to see all living things as equally deserving of basic rights such as safety and security. The right to be regarded as something of value is sadly limited to humans in most parts of the world and I would jump at the chance to change that, in whatever little way I can.
* In 85% of the households where domestic violence occurs, an animal is also abused. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Office of Public Engagement, 2004.)
"I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened, though, is that it has been taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d’etat imaginable. And those now in charge of the federal government are upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography, plus not-so-closeted white supremacists, aka "Christians," and plus, most frighteningly, psychopathic personalities." -- Kurt Vonnegut, January 2003
My friend James wrote a lovely and fitting tribute to one of his literary heroes.
One of the myriad reasons I enjoy living in San Francisco is that events such as Bring Your Own Big Wheel are planned and executed with no other motive than the pursuit of good, clean F-U-N.
Click here to watch an amusing YouTube clip of the event.
Also, I think you'll enjoy checking out some excellent photos taken that sunny day. I only wish I'd heard about the event before it took place (why didn't I know about this?!) and could have trudged up the hill, a few blocks up from my apartment, to check out the zany scene first-hand.
Update: Oops! Apparently, the photos I linked to were from last year's race (and there were, oh... 5 or 6 gazillion more people this year!). Please point your little mousy thing and click here, here or here to see some of this year's colorful photos.
Dear blog, how I’ve neglected you! But if you only knew what my life has been like these past few weeks, I’m sure you’d understand.
We had a lovely, low-key Passover that included the three essential ingredients for any successful family gathering: much food, much wine and much laughter. We ate matzah and brisket. We skipped around in the Haggadah (fast-forwarding to the good parts, if you will). We enjoyed non-Manischevitz swill. We celebrated my brother’s birthday with key lime cheesecake, which, thankfully, he ate all by himself. (This particular confection did not appeal to me, and not because it wasn’t kosher for Passover.) In the morning, we ate matzah brei and our version of Israeli salad. In fact, we did little else but eat for two days. Ah, Jewish holidays—how we love you!
School keeps me inordinately busy and I am very much looking forward to the culmination of another challenging semester. I have some decisions to make regarding my summer plans, which I hope will include a trip to Israel and some time to relax before beginning my final semester in August. I am amazed at how quickly my time as a student has passed—even though some weeks have dragged along at a infant’s pace, the months and years have raced by.
As always, my mind is a jumble of thoughts (good and bad), plans, feelings, ideas and plenty of cow dung in between, keeping everything warm and sticky. I'm incapable of quieting it, most of the time. It’s like that car alarm that no one ventures outside to silence; the one that pierces the otherwise peaceful night and makes sleep impossible.
The sudden passing of a friend’s father last week has me preoccupied with thoughts of death and fear of losing someone dear to me in such an abrupt way. I fully recognize how lucky I am to have reached the age of 35 without suffering the death of someone so close to me that my daily life is altered by their loss. That’s not to say I haven’t lost loved ones—I’m just incredibly fortunate that the wonderful people I hold most dear in my life are still here.
I recently read an excellent article about poisoned Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko that disturbed me greatly and has reawakened an uneasy awareness of the horrors men are capable of perpetrating against others. Recent news stories about people burning Jewish synagogues in New York absolutely horrify me. More and more friends having children (I have as many friends with kids as without) and books I've seen on the subject have me contemplating my own feelings about parenthood, while the coming end of this phase of my education forces me to seriously consider what the future holds. I realize none of these thoughts are unique to me, but my way of deliberating and sorting through them is truly my own, whether effective or not.
Meanwhile, I’m jumping on a plane yet again--very excited to see family and friends in NYC. Luckily for me, I can always count on my east-coast loved ones to bolster the spirit and urge me forward on my journey.