Stay Vigilant

Just because McCain and Palin lost this time around doesn't mean we can let our guard down. Whether we are environmentalists, animal rights activists, or simply supporters of democracy, we have to remain vigilant. Especially about Sarah Palin and the possibility that this woman will return in 2012.

Americans are a skittish bunch. It doesn't take much to turn us. And the Bushies and Palinites are still here. They will simply scurry off to their think tanks and Fox News. But they are waiting for their opportunity to come back and wreak their havoc. We have to make sure we don't give them the chance.

I don't expect Barack Obama to be a god. He'll make decisions I don't support (like off-shore oil drilling), but we dodged a BIG BULLET this time around.

I hope to keep an eye on our wolf-killing Sarah. I fear she'll be back.

Sick Prank with Dead Bear Cub

This is not just stupid, but sick.

And don't forget that a bear cub was shot, not by the kids, but by some other monster.

Authorities said Tuesday that a student prank, not a political statement, was the motivation for dumping a dead bear cub draped in Barack Obama signs on a North Carolina campus earlier this week.

They found a bear cub that had been shot in the head, grabbed it, took political signs "at random" to cover the bleeding, then decided to leave it at the base of a statue on campus.

No political motivation either, huh?

I am so proud of being human.

No Posts Today

Can't blog...digesting VP debate.

Sarah Palin Scares Me

I'll be honest. I was never planning on voting for John McCain in the first place. But I wasn't freaked out about this election the way I am now. I thought that if we could survive 8 years of w, we could survive 4 years of McCain. He couldn't be worse.

Then he picked this woman. And the more I learn, the worse it gets.

NOW, I'm freaked out.

I can't tell if she's a true fanatic or an opportunist that acts like a fanatic. But fanatical behavior is fanatical behavior no matter what. And all I see in this woman is cruelty and callousness that puts Dick Cheney to shame.

Don't get me wrong, Cheney is a dark, cruel man. But, for the purposes of this blog, 1) his attention never completely turned to wildlife and the environment and 2) he is a smart man that knew how to play his cards.

I believe Palin will happily support Cheney's inhumane policies on torture and attacking other countries. When it comes to wildlife and the environment (to which I'll limit myself in this post) I think she will also have a strong motivation to continue and EXPAND her Alaska policies. I believe she will be an even MORE anti-environmental voice in the White House. If fact, I believe she'll be a passionate advocate because it will be an opportunity to punish the "liberals" who challenged her and called her a "redneck." I also believe that there will be absolutely no thought behind any of her behavior. Anyone who challenged w's environmental policies as too liberal is a true hater of anything she can't eat or kill for fur. Sorry, but it's how I feel.

Palin truly shows that you shouldn't support a woman because she's a woman. The traditional (some say stereotypical) qualities of compassion, cooperation, empathy, and intuition are missing. She represents a part of the American society that fears everything and wants to turn back the clock. Keep women in their place and remember to hunt and kill the wolves and any other animal that gets in their way. The woods are a scary place and must be cut down and tamed.

She is the worst America has to offer and she scares the hell out of me.

Why Palin?

The following is not necessarily representative of ALL of Critter News. Just me.

Why has John McCain chosen Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, as a running mate? This may not seem like an animal issue, but it is. For me, I've been deluged for months by Defenders of Wildlife material about Alaska's heartless treatment of wolves. Treatment headed by this woman's administration.

Now, she's a Vice-Presidential candidate. Yikes! If McCain gets elected, then I can see the future of the Endangered Species Act, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Agriculture, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, etc. A big F-U to animals.... worthy of George W. Bush himself.

But why Palin? She is the former mayor of a town with about 7,000 people (I grew up in a town of about 3,300 people. It's ballooned to 5,000 now. There's not much difference between that and 7,000. In other words, there ain't too much happening in a town of that size! I know!) She's been governor of Alaska for about two years, a world of its own with about half a million people, half of which may be subsistence hunters for all I know. Again, a woman who has been not been challenged with issues surrounding the lower 48 states. A small-town mayor running a small-town state.

She is so not qualified. So, why Palin?

She's a woman and she comes from oil. Her husband is in the oil business and she can advocate the gutting of ANWR.

Oh, and she's a cute woman and she'll appeal to the Hillary voters.

I didn't vote for Hillary, but I'm a feminist. Generally, feminists don't lean towards cute ex-beauty queens. They like Janet Reno and Madeline Albright types. Not much to look at, but a hell of a brain.

I hope that the scrutiny of Palin will do something about Alaska's unfair and cruel treatment of wolves. A couple of urban colleagues had this honest reaction when I filled them in. "Man, that's COLD!"

It is cold. And brutal. And unnecessary.

Let's hope Sarah doesn't make it to the White House. Let's hope McCain is just crazy...and not crazy like a fox.

Obama Disappoints with Support of Off-Shore Drilling

What can I say? I'm disappointed in him.

Bush Lifts Executive Ban on Off-Shore Drilling

Screw Bush.

The move will have no practical effect unless Congress acts, too. Both executive and legislative bans must be lifted before offshore exploration can happen....

The president's direct link between record gas prices and offshore drilling glossed over a key point. Even if Congress agreed, the exploration for oil would take years to produce real results. It is not projected to reduce gas prices in the short term. Even the White House routinely emphasizes there is no quick fix.

That did not stop Bush from building his case around today's prices at the pump.

He said every extra dollar that families must spend on gas is one they could be using to put food on their table or to send a child to school. The American people, he said, are now "waiting to see what the Congress will do."

The White House says that acting now on a long-term solution would send a serious signal to the market that more oil supply will be coming on line. That, in turn, could ease oil prices, advocates say. Business groups and many Republican lawmakers applauded the move to expand the energy supply in the U.S.

Democrats were unmoved.

"The Bush plan is a hoax," responded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence."

We'll see where this ends up. I have a feeling the Dems will cave. That's what they do best.

Bush and McCain Say "F*&* U" to the Oceans

Dubya came out this week in support of John McCain's call for "environmentally friendy" offshore oil drilling.

President George W Bush has called on Congress to end a 27-year ban on drilling for oil in US coastal waters, to reduce dependence on imports.

Mr Bush said existing restrictions on offshore drilling were "outdated and counter-productive".

His move comes as US consumers are calling for action to tackle high oil prices that have pushed prices at the pump to more than $4 (£2) a gallon....

Republican John McCain favours offshore oil drilling, whereas his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, opposes it.

At least McCain is opposed to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but how long will that position last?