I must admit I had not paid close attention to Palin's claims of being a crack shot and experienced hunter. I don't belong to PETA, as my vegetarian friend does, but I certainly have never understood why anyone would mistreat or kill animals. "What is Obama's stance on cruelty to animals?" I asked her.
She directed me to this article from the Jan. 16, 2008 edition of Time Magazine. I copy it here for your information.
(HENDERSON, Nev.) — Democrat Barack Obama says he won't just be a president for the American people, but the animals too.
"What about animal rights?" a woman shouted out during the candidate's town hall meeting outside Las Vegas Wednesday after he discussed issues that relate more to humans, like war, health care and the economy.
Obama responded that he cares about animal rights very much, "not only because I have a 9-year-old and 6-year-old who want a dog." He said he sponsored a bill to prevent horse slaughter in the Illinois state Senate and has been repeatedly endorsed by the Humane Society.
"I think how we treat our animals reflects how we treat each other," he said. "And it's very important that we have a president who is mindful of the cruelty that is perpetrated on animals."
I wonder if my Republican neighbor knows this. He's a member of PETA, too. He must be terribly conflicted.
After I got off the phone, I decided to do a little digging for myself. (What did we do before Google?) Here's what I found:
Palin kills moose, eviscerates them herself, has put a bounty on wolf hunting, supports aerial hunting of wolves by trophy seekers, calls herself a free market capitalist while giving state money to support cattle concentration camps, and has sued to have polar bears removed from the endangered species list.
And on their eco-system?
She cancelled a wind farm project from the budget while putting in a half billion for oil companies, etc.
1 comment:
I was a vegetarian for 20- some-odd years. I still don't like the idea of eating animals, but I think that we need some animal protein to stay healthy. I would have to be awfully hungry before I would shoot a moose, a deer, or even a squirrel for food, but I can't criticize those who do because I don't hesitate to pick up those conveniently wrapped pieces of meat at the supermarket. Ms. Palin is certainly open to criticism on other grounds, but since I made a huge pot of beef stew to feed my family this week, I can't criticize her for shooting a moose. (I would hope she would do it in the most humane way possible, i.e., that she would kill the poor creature quickly.) If she didn't make use of the meat, I would have a major problem with her hunting.
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