Dead Pigeons, Mad Cows, and the
Death of an American Way of Life
By JAMES SPEED
STAFF WRITER
JKSSI6I @PSU.EDU
Inside the bag was a dead pigeon
Sarah Speed had brought home
from a pigeon shoot. She told me
that the pigeon had died in her
arms after she had tried to rescue
it from this so called "sport."
Speed is the Pennsylvania state
director for the Humane Society
of the United States. She holds a
Bachelor's degree in American
Literature from the University of
California at Los Angeles and a
law degree from the University
of San Diego, School of Law. In
law school, Speed concentrated
on public interest law and was
president of the Student Animal
Legal Defense Fund. Observing
pigeon shoots is just one of the
many tasks she performs under
this title, "I am a Jack of all
trades...if there is any animal
issue in Pennsylvania I am the
first person to respond to it."
So what exactly is a pigeon
shoot? "It is essentially target
CLIMATE CHANGE: A liberal fantasy?
Continued from page 8
warming can be directly linked
to a state of grand maximum, or a
particularly active sunspot cycle.
Because sunspots deflect cosmic
rays that penetrate Earth, an
increase in solar activity would
inhibit ions from forming in the
lower atmosphere. These ions
are vital to cloud cover, and thus,
their absence is consistent with
less global cloud cover. Hence,
the reflectivity of the planet
decreases, as it absorbs more of
the sun's ultraviolet rays, in turn
contributing to higher global
temperatures.
As of last year the sun began to
wane from its solar maximum,
characterized on planet Earth
by a more severe winter. Much
like the one North America just
experienced.
practice using live pigeons."
She goes on to say that this is
"irresponsible, unethical, and
something most hunters do not
condone." The pigeons are often
trapped illegally in New York
City, transferred across state
lines, penned up for several days
without food or water, only to be
released in front of a barrage of
bird shot. The original point of
pigeon shoots was that pigeons
have a very erratic flight pattern
and are therefore hard to hit;
however, Speed says "when the
cage opens the birds rarely fly
out, they usually just flop around
on the ground until they are shot."
HSUS has offered to supply these
shoots with clay pigeons but
have not been taken up on that
offer. "From witnessing several
of these shoots, I think that clays
are too difficult for most of these
shooters, because they actually
go into the air," Speed says
cynically.
While in Law School, Speed
researched and lobbied for State
Senate Bill 353, which allowed
owners to include their pets on
restraining orders to prevent
violence towards animals, often
Misconception number two: a
warmer planet is synonymous
with a cataclysmic apocalypse
and the end of civilization as we
know it.
The global warming movement
has indoctrinated the general
public to believe that a mild
warming of the planet is
undeniably harmful to everyone
and everything thriving in
our ecosystem. However, this
couldn't be further from the
truth.
Carbon dioxide is essential
for plant nourishment, and it
allows for plants during times
of drought to remain hearty and
stave off death. The agricultural
implications of a modest warming
stand to benefit both humans
and animals alike. Economics
professor Robert 0. Mendelsohn
of the Yale School of Forestry &
perpetrated in domestic violence
situations. The bill was sponsored
by California State Senator Sheila
Kuehl, and passed through the
legislature the first session it was
introduced. State Senate Bill 353
was signed into law by Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger in
August of 2007.
I asked Speed how becoming
involved in animal welfare has
impacted her life. She said that
since she started becoming aware
of how much animal cruelty
goes on in the meat industry
she had to become a vegan. A
vegan is someone who does not
eat or use any animal products,
including milk, cheese, eggs and
meat. "I try to live a cruelty
free lifestyle," she says, "...the
most horrific cruelty that animals
face is the animals we raise to
eat." In the last fifty years we
have seen a "mass exodus" of
the family farm. Animals have
gone from being humanely
raised and slaughtered on locally
owned farms to becoming a
gross product run through an
assembly line for sheer profit by
large corporations. Sarah warns
that this is not only horrific for
Environmental Studies contends
that agricultural development
in Canada, Russia, Northern
Europe, and Mongolia will
thrive; much like throughout the
medieval warming period.
Furthermore, economic studies
indicate that increases in carbon
dioxide emissions are beneficial
to the gross national product and
the standard of living for many
countries, thus fostering the
exponential growth in human
population and technological
advances, characteristic of the
20th century.
Misconception number three:
Earth's climate is completely
understood; therefore, we can
precisely predict the effects that
warming and cooling have on
global sea levels.
The climate is an intricately
fashioned web of both internal
the animals but also detrimental
to our environment. Confined
Animal Feed • Operations,
specifically battery cage hen
facilities, are responsible -for
up to twenty-five percent of the
methane gases attacking our
ozone. Perhaps even worse is that
the small farmer cannot compete
with these corporations and thus
goes out of business or sells out
to the corporations. According to
Speed, it is truly the death of an
American way of life.
Speed does not believe that
eating meat is unethical, but she
does believe that you should do
your research and find out exactly
where your food comes from
and how it was handled. That is
being responsible and ethical.
She states that the United States
Department of Agriculture is
failing the American public. The
USDA decided not to intervene
in the Mad Cow scare we had
a while back until there was a
reported case in humans. By
that time Japan and Europe had
already banned all importation
of U.S. meat, as it had not been
tested for Mad Cow. Then
the USDA threatened criminal
and external forces. Science
cannot and should not ignore
these external factors (e.g.
solar activity, cosmic rays,
and volcanic activity) when
hypothesizing about the future
of the human race as it relates to
carbon emissions.
Now, these misconceptions are
not absolutes. However, neither
are the alarmists' supposed
truths that the mainstream media
immediately digests as fact and
inevitability.
So how does this environmental
pressure group relate to the
advancement of authoritarian
socialistic policies and
abhorrence towards capitalism?
Well it is simple and self-evident;
control through taxation and
regulation in the name of saving
the planet.
Obama's cap-and-trade proposal
sanctions on a U.S. company
who wanted to set up a mad cow
test site, at their own expense,
so that they could export their
meat to Japan. "Criminal
sanctions, because the USDA
is so consumed with protecting
the industry, their finances, and
their image that they are willing
to put the health of the consumer
at risk." •
The Humane Society of the
United States is a lot more than
just puppies and kitties. They
strive for the humane treatment
of all animals, even those raised
for slaughter. The amount of
meat Americans consume per
capita has risen sharply in the
past fifty years. This is due
to the convenience and low
prices created by factory farms;
however, this convenience comes
at a price. If you want to learn
more visit www. hsus.org.
Sarah Speed is married to The
Capital Times staff writer James
Speed
intends to tax carbon emitting
businesses to the tune of $645.7
billion appreciated by 2019.
That is an additional $645.7
billion generated in tax revenue,
removed froth * the private
sector and distributed by the
government for clean energy
projects and discretionary usage
as it pleases.
It's no secret that the global
warming movement is nothing
more than socialism disguised
as preserving God's green
earth for the sake of humanity.
It's the amalgam of displaced
communists, authoritarian
politicians, and those who
have a knack for redistributing
wealth. Saving the planet is this
supposed objective of this policy,
but its achievement comes at the
expense of individual liberty and
economic prosperity.