Libertarian Vegan

In what appears to be a victory for those who actually support liberty in action as well as word, the Missouri Information Analysis Center completely retracted their report that said supporters of Ron Paul and other third party candidates were potential domestic terrorists.

Initially the state offered an official apology to Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin, but now they done what they should have initially.

In an email to supporters, John Tate, President of Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty , wrote:

Faced with an overwhelming public outcry, Missouri officials quickly started backpedaling, removing references to Ron Paul and Campaign for Liberty.

Then, just hours before Dr. Paul’s plane touched down in St. Louis to lead our Celebration of Freedom rally Friday night, the Missouri Highway Patrol officially retracted the entire offending document.

The Missouri Highway Patrol will be performing an investigation into the origin of the report.  Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder has even called for the suspension of the Director of Public Safety until those responsible have been identified.

Well, very good.  We shall have to see what comes of this.  Surely this is not the only report out there to make such claims, just one that happened to make it to the public.

Postmaster General John Potter appeared before a House subcommittee this past week to ask Congress for money.  Without it, he said, the United States Postal Service will run out of money before the year is out.

“We are facing losses of historic proportion,” Potter declared. “Our situation is critical.”

Last year the USPS was $2.8 billion in debt, and the first quarter of this fiscal year (October - December) showed a $384 million loss.

Subcommittee chairman Stephen F. Lynch, (D-Mass) said, “With the Postal Service facing budget shortfalls the subcommittee will consider a number of options to restore financial stability and examine ways for the Postal Service to continue to operate without cutting services.”

The fact of the matter is, the USPS is a real monopoly.  Unlike Microsoft and others that trust-busters have gone after in the past, a real monopoly can only exist when it is enforced by law, which is the case with the Post Office.

Congress outlawed private mail delivery in cities in 1825, and gave the USPS a monopoly on first-class letters and third-class items such as magazines, catalogs, and junk mail.  Some 184 years later, it still has monopoly status.  Private carries such as UPS and FedEx have shown the benefits of competition while the USPS has continually raised postage rates since 1958.

Yet here it is, begging for a taxpayer-funded bailout, when it should really have its monopoly status revoked.  True monopolies are inefficient, bad for consumers, and bad for freedom.

In 1844 Lysander Spooner proceeded to set up the American Letter Mail Company, going into direct competition with the USPS.  He argued that the Constitution said Congress could “carry the mail” but not prevent others from doing so.  He delivered letters between Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore for five cents.  Meanwhile, the USPS charged 18 3/4 cents between Boston and New York.

His was the first private interstate post office, (and it was rather successful), which brought great anger from Congress.  Threatened with jail, Spooner gave up the business, but clearly showed up the Post Office and Congress.

Let the Spooner’s of the country compete.  Anyone who has had to wait in line at the Post Office knows there has to be a better way.

Sources: Cybercast News Service - Postal Service Asks Congress for Bailout March 25, 2009

Wired - Stop the U.S. Mail! February 2005

Athol Daily News - Stamp-ing Around May 4, 1977

A new study shows that crabs do in fact feel pain, and that they also retain a memory of it.  Results of the study, undertaken by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast in UK, are published in the journal Animal Behavior.

In the study, hermit crabs received shocks through wires attached to their bellies.  The ones who were shocked left their shells behind in search of a new painfree home.  The ones who were not shocked did not move.  Conclusion?  Shocking hermit crabs “is unpleasant for them.”

In another test, a shock just below the threshold that caused them to abandon their shells was administered, and they were then offered new shells.  While both shocked and non-shocked crabs inspected the new shell, shocked ones were much more likely to move into the new shell.

Researcher Bob Elwood explained, “We know from previous research that they can detect harmful stimuli and withdraw from the source of the stimuli but that could be a simple reflex without the inner ‘feeling’ of unpleasantness that we associate with pain.  This research demonstrates that it is not a simple reflex but that crabs trade-off their need for a quality shell with the need to avoid the harmful stimulus.”

Elwood undertook a study in 2007 where acetic acid was administered to the antennae of prawns.  The acid irritated them, and after a local anesthetic was applied, they would stop rubbing their antennae.

So…if crabs can feel pain, what does that say about the common practice of boiling them alive?

I noted yesterday that it was Descartes who first popularized the argument that we could eat animals because they don’t have a soul, and without a soul, they can’t feel pain.  Before Descartes, meat-eating was justified on a scriptual level - God said it was okay.

Once people began to question religion during the Enlightenment, the ethics of eating meat were trickier.  John Reynolds, criticising the deists, said that if men dismissed scripture, then they should be vegetarian.  If the Bible was an invention, then it would be necessary to “let the Butcher’s Trade be cashier’d from off the Face of the Earth; let the Shambles be converted into Fruiterer’s Shops, and Herb-Markets…[and] have done with their Ragous, with their Fricassies, and Hashes, made of broken Limbs of dismember’d Brother Animals.”(1725)

Sorry Descartes.

As an interesting note, most of the early Western vegetarians found their beliefs in the Bible as well.  They saw that Adam and Eve lived in harmony with the animals, eating a herbivorous diet.  So, they figured, a return to this paradise must involve a vegetarian diet.

Sources: Live Science - Boiling Mad:Crabs Feel Pain March 27, 2009

Stuart, Tristram.  The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times, 2006.

According to the results of a new federal study, published in last Monday’s Archive of Internal Medicine , eating red meat increases your chances of death.  (Who knew, right?)  The study, which is the largest ever of its kind, studied over half a million men and women.

Researchers state that eating the equivalent of a quarter-pound hamburger a day over ten years gave men a 22% higher risk of dying from cancer and a 27% higher risk of dying from heart disease.  For women the results were a 20% higher risk of death from cancer and a 50% higher risk of death from heart disease.

This was in comparison with people who ate 5 oz of red meat a day, I would like to know the figures compared to those who do not eat meat at all.  The study does not address this.

For as much as people complain about high health care costs, they rarely complain about the lack of responsibility they take for their own health.  If you stay healthier, you will have fewer health care costs, simple as that.  So where does Descartes come into this?

Interestingly, he was the first to give meat-eaters a non-Biblical justification for eating flesh.  It was his belief that animals did not have souls, that they were purely matter, and matter could not think, so matter could not feel pain and experience suffering.  To him, animals were machines, nothing more.   Meat-eaters ran with this idea, ignoring the common-sense fact that animals do feel pain.

And yet, Descartes himself was a vegetarian -  for health reasons.  He saw the body (animal and human) as a mechanism and found meat did not agree with the human mechanism.  The human mechanism, with its soul, did feel pain and suffering, and key to the long life of this machine was a vegetable based diet.

Meanwhile, back in 2009, studies continue to prove Decartes right on this point.  The lack of animal pain however….yeah.

For your punk rock fans, check out Propagandhi’s recent release, “Supporting Caste.”  It includes a great song relative to this discussion entitled “Human(e) Meat.”  Listen to it on their myspace page. 

Also check out vegetarian death metal band Cattle Decapitation - essentially everything they’ve done has to do with treating humans how we treat animals.  It’s great, great stuff.

Sources: Yahoo News - Study:Lots of red meat increases mortality risk March 23, 2009

Stuart, Tristram.  The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times.  2006

The Missouri Department of Public Safety issued an apology on Monday to Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin after the backlash from a report from the Missouri Information Analysis Center that listed supporters of the three as potential domestic terrorists.

In the formal apology, Dept. of Public Safety Director John Britt said:

Portions of that report may be easily construed by readers as offensive to supporters of certain political candidates or to those candidates themselves. I regret that those comments were ultimately included in the final report issued by the MIAC.

Unfortunately, in the course of preparing this report, some regrettable information was included in the report on militia groups in Missouri.  While the intent of the report was only to identify certain traits that are sometimes shared by members of militia organizations, this report is too easily misinterpreted as suggesting that militia members may be identified by no other indicator than support for a particular candidate or political organization.

I have ordered that the offending report be edited to excise all reference to Ron Paul, Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin.

The three former Presidential candidates had sent a joint letter to Missouri officials requesting the information be removed, and hinting at legal action if it was not.

Hooray! I’m no longer a potential domestic terrorist for supporting politicians who believe the Constitution is actually the law of the land!  Rejoice friends of freedom, rejoice.

Read the whole apology HERE .

In a positive step toward more open and accountable government, Attorney General Eric Holder issued new Freedom of Information Act guidelines for federal agencies and departments.   The new guidelines advocate “a presumption of disclosure” and implement the Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act, which President Obama signed his first day if office.

In a statement, Holder declared:

 By restoring the presumption of disclosure that is at the heart of the Freedom of Information Act, we are making a critical change that will restore the public’s ability to access information in a timely manner. The American people have the right to information about their government’s activities, and these new guidelines will ensure they are able to obtain that information under principles of openness and transparency.

In stark contrast, an October 12, 2001 memo by then Attorney General John Ashcroft informed federal departments:

Any discretionary decision by your agency to disclose information protected under the FOIA should be made only after full and deliberate consideration of the institutional, commercial, and personal privacy interests that could be implicated by disclosure of the information…

Under these rules, secrecy reigned supreme.  Ashcroft said he would use the Justice Department to defend any denial of a FOIA request if it could be legally justified.   Holder’s new guidelines say an agency “should not withhold records merely because it can demonstrate, as a technical matter, that the records fall within the scope of a FOIA exemption.”

An open government is an accountable and responsible government.  The new FOIA guidelines are a great step in that direction.

Sources: USA Today - Holder rescinds Ashcroft-era FOIA guidelines
March 19, 2009

Ars Technica - New FOIA rules official - let the data flood begin March 20, 2009

A February 20 report from the Missouri Information Analysis Center entitled “The Modern Militia Movement” purports to be a document meant to help law enforcement identify militia members/domestic terrorists.

Just what are some of the signs to watch out for?

“Political Paraphernalia: Militia members most commonly associate with 3rd party political groups.  It is not uncommon for militia members to display Constitutional Party, Campaign for Liberty, or Libertarian material.  These members are usually supporters of former Presidential Candidate: Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr.”

You can see the full report HERE.

The three former presidential candidates have sent a letter to Missouri officials protesting the report.

Sadly a day does not go by without countless stories about animal cruelty from all over the United States.  I occasionally recount them here to reinforce the fact that there is not excuse for such behavior, and yet most of us reinforce animal cruelty through our chosen diets.

Lake City, Florida - Four teens, none of which are old enough to even drive a car, are in custody after stealing five dogs from the Lake City Humane Society, throwing one off a bridge.  One of the boys in custody admitted to throwing the dog off the 21 foot high bridge, killing it.  One of the dogs is unaccounted for, but the rest are back safely in the shelter.

Ossipee, New Hampshire - Dale Bozzio, rock star and playboy bunny has been convicted of animal cruelty after authorities found 12 cats in her house last year that had to be euthanized.  Bozzie was the frontwoman of 80s band Missing Persons and also performed with Frank Zappa.

Waynesboro, Virginia - Authorities seized 34 horses and ponies belonging to Tory Allen Garrett, many of which were severely malnourished.   He was charged with animal cruelty after a business associate of his took an emaciated pony to a veterinarian.

Statesville, North Carolina - Jennifer Lytton faces 1 misdemeanor count of assault on a child under 12, one felony animal cruelty count, and 2 misdemeanor counts of instigating animal cruelty.  Her daughter told one of her teachers that her mom put out a cigarette on her nose.  When authorities showed up at her house to investigate, they found a dog skeleton in the backyard, along with 2 malnourished pit bulls.

Det. Sgt. Bill Hamby explained the connection between animal and human abuse cases - “It’s almost to the point where if you can do that to an animal, you may be able to do that to an adult.  You kind of dehumanize the adult, bringing him down to the animal’s level.”

I was rereading Henry David Thoreau’s Walden today, and here are a few things that he had to say about our relationship to animals.  (Remember, he is writing this in the 1840s) -

“No humane being past the thoughtless age of boyhood, will wantonly murder any creature which holds its life by the same tenure that he does. (pg 144)

“I have found myself repeatedly, of late years, that I cannot fish without failing a little in self-respect…there is something essentially unclean about this diet and all flesh…” (pg. 145)

“I believe that every man who has ever been earnest to preserve his higher or poetic faculties in the best condition has been particularly inclined to abstain from animal food, and from much food of any kind.” (pg. 146)

“Is it not a reproach that man is a carnivorous animal?  True, he can and does live, in a great measure, by preying on other animals; but this is a miserable way…he will be regarded as a benefactor of his race who shall teach man to confine himself to a more innocent and wholesome diet…I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals…” (pg. 147)

Somehow I think the wise Mr. Thoreau would have some issues with our current diet.  The fact that the U.S. alone slaughters billions of animals a year, without any reason beyond desire, sadly does not quite live up to his expectations.

“How long, pray, would a man hunt giraffes if he could?  Snipes and woodcocks also may afford rare sport, but I trust it would be nobler game to shoot one’s self.” (pg. 217)

Cheers!

Last Friday Congressman Dennis Kucinich sent a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Charrman Edolphus Towns requesting an immediate investigation into allegations that the Bush/Cheney White House ran an “executive assassination ring.”

The allegations of such a ring were made by investigative reporter Seymore Hersh while speaking to an audience at the University of Minnesota.  Hersh informed the audience about the Joint Special Operations Command, which he said is, “An executive assassination ring essentially.”

In his letter Kucinich writes:

Mr. Hersh made the allegation before an audience at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday, March 10, 2009. He stated, ‘Under President Bush’s authority, they’ve been going into countries, not talking to the ambassador or the CIA station chief, and finding people on a list and executing them and leaving… It is a special wing of our special operations community that is set up independently. They do not report to anybody, except in the Bush-Cheney days, they reported directly to the Cheney office. . .Congress has no oversight of it.’

If true, these operations violate longstanding U.S. policy regarding covert actions and illegally bypass Congressional oversight…

Hersh is within a year or more of releasing a book that is said to include evidence of this allegation. However, we cannot wait a year or more to establish the truth.

Most reports have framed the story to indicate that the Joint Special Operations Command was a product of the Bush/Cheney White House, but it has been around for decades.

According to Global Security.org :

JSOC was established in 1980 and is located at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina and at nearby Fort Bragg, NC. JSOC is a joint headquarters designed to study special operations requirements and techniques; ensure interoperability and equipment standardization; plan and conduct joint special operations exercises and training; and develop joint special operations tactics.

Although JSOC’s stated purpose is to provide a unified command structure for conducting joint special operations and exercises, it is widely reported that JSOC is actually the command responsible for conducting US counter-terrorism (CT) operations. JSOC is reported to command the US military’s Special Missions Units (SMUs). These SMUs are tasked with conducting CT operations, strike operations, reconnaissance in denied areas, and special intelligence missions.

Later, the site goes on to say, “In January 2005 a small group of commandos deployed to support security at the Presidential inauguration. Theye were deployed under a secret counterterrorism program named Power Geyser.”

Hmmm…secret commando teams operating within the U.S.? I think that would be enough to warrant a congressional investigation, and yet….

Sources: Congressman Dennis J.Kucinich - Kucinich Requests Investigation into “Executive Assassination Ring” March 16, 2009

Propaganda Matrix - Cheney “Assassination Unit” Still Active Under Obama, Including Domestically March 14, 2009

This past week USA Today reported the U.S. Terrorist watch list reached 1 million entries, a 32% increase since 2007.  The figures were released by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence after requests from the newspaper.

Officials point out that the one million entries do not represent 1 million people, but rather about 400,000.  The list often uses multiple entries for an individual for various name spellings and other information.

However, that one million entries remains after the terrorist center removed some 33,000 entries from the list last year, and it is unclear how many individuals that included.

To find yourself on the list you have to be nominated by an agent of the FBI, NSA or other federal agency.  The nomination moves to the FBI’s Terrorist Review and Examination Unit and, if considered a potential or known terrorist, your name is sent on to the Terrorist Screening Center and the watch list.  But what is a potential terrorist?  The feds have never specified.

So who has been found to be on the list?  Some notables include:

* U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy

* Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)

* A number of the 9/11 hijackers years after they were dead

* Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom

According to the Department of Homeland Security, in the past two years, 51,000 people have filed for redress, claiming they were wrongly included on the list.  The majority of these were not actually found on the list, but were misidentified, having similar names to those on the list.

Since 2005, 830 redress requests have found the individual on the list and 150 (18%) of those were ultimately removed.

Can such a huge list, which has clearly made huge mistakes in the past and most likely continues to today, really be an effective tool?   Before 9/11 there were less than 20 names on the list, and now there are 400,000.

Sources: USA Today - Terrorist watch list hits 1 million March 11, 2009.

How stuff works - How to Land on the Government Watch List