CD-ROM Aktief 1995 #3/CDA3.iso/survival/pp940925.txt

Text File | 1994-10-05 | 9.4 KB | 193 lines

Putting People First / September 25, 1994
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Washington Report

FROM THE TRENCHES

by Kathleen Marquardt
Chairman, Putting People First

...A weekly opinion column about the struggle against "animal rights" and
   eco-extremists.

Copyright@1994 Putting People First
Permission to reproduce this column is freely granted on the condition that
credit is given to Putting People First.

Putting People First is a nonprofit organization of citizens who believe in
western civilization; that we need to return to common sense in man's
relationship with his fellow man; and that public policy should be based on
science and rationality, not emotionalism.

Putting People First
PO Box 1707
Helena, Montana 59624
[phone]
Fax [phone]

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                               BABBITT REDUX

Things have been a bit quiet on the Babbitt front lately.  Being human,
we have a tendency to read something, get mad, and then let it flow from
our minds as it is replaced by other outrages.  So to rekindle a little
rage in the minds of men (which, of course, means women too) and keep
you focused on the fight, I would like to go over parts of The Honorable
Bruce Babbitt's recent address to the Humane Society of the United
States.

     (For those who came in late, Bruce Babbitt is President Clinton's
Secretary of the Interior and chief soldier of the "War on the West."
The Humane Society of the United States, despite its name, does not
maintain a single animal shelter, but is a leading propagandist of the
extreme animal rights movement.)

     "I grew up in a rural tradition which, for all of its strengths,
was uniquely thoughtless in the treatment of animals and the extent to
which the human spirit and human compassion is a factor in our
relationship with the rest of Creation."  Mr. Babbitt may have been
thoughtless in his treatment of animals, but most of us who grew up in
the west have the deepest respect for animals and have always treated
them humanely.  I know it has been said thousands of times but it bears
repeating - people  who work with animals (such as ranchers and farmers)
care about their animals, they do not abuse or mistreat them.

     "I come here today to see if I can explain why I think there is a
great convergence taking place between the work of The Humane Society of
the United States - its traditional function of animal protection,
widening and broadening to a larger view of Creation that says that
cruelty to animals comes in many forms (in traditional forms and in the
thoughtless destruction of habitat, the extinction of species, the
presence of man, and mankind's expansion at the expense of Creation) -
and the environmental movement."  Go back and read that statement again.
Our "traditional" use of animals is abuse?  According to Mr. Babbitt it
is.  "The presence of man" in itself is cruelty to animals, according to
Babbitt.  Must we all go out and slit our throats in order to not be
cruel to animals?

     "Ultimately there isn't a chance of persuading people,
civilizations, and countries to take biodiversity seriously unless they
first understand, from the depths of the human spirit, the need to
relate to Creation, to be sensitive to the realities of suffering and
mistreatment, and to have a larger, holistic, spiritual view of what
Creation is about."  Obviously, Mr. Babbitt sees man as do the New Age
environmentalists - according to Alston Chase -as "at best a part of an
interconnected whole and at worst as the temple destroyers who
sacrilized nature."

     "A nice example of that was an initiative to ban steel-jaw traps in
my state of Arizona.  Ten years ago the initiative would have had a very
narrow constituency.  But it came in the context of broad support from
the entire environmental movement with a deep understanding that a
society that can allow animals to innocently get caught in steel traps
and die an agonizing death under the desert sun can't possibly have the
spiritual strength to deal with all of the issues of habitat,
biodiversity, and living thoughtfully on the land."  First, Babbitt uses
the big lie about the steel-jaw trap - that animals die a slow,
agonized death when caught.  In reality, the animals are held by the
trap until the trapper gets there (usually within 12 to 24 hours).
While ailing, almost all animals go to sleep, they are not in pain, they
are not agonized, they are just caught and held in one place.

     Next, notice the reference to "spiritual" again.  In today's
politically correct culture, Jews, Christians, and Muslims must never
even think of mixing their religion with politics, yet time and again
Babbitt, the Greens, and animal rights proselyters are preaching their
kind of spirituality.  Are we living under a double standard?   Religion
is only okay if it lowers man to the level of animals, the environment,
or below?

     Talking about the Endangered Species Act, Babbitt says, "The
imprint of the human species can't just metastasize endlessly across the
land; it has to be concentrated thoughtfully, and a lot of space has to
be left free of human interference because there are other requisites if
you believe in the intertwined and interconnected web of Creation and
the beauty of evolutionary diversity."  He uses the loaded word
"metastasize" to imprint in our minds that humans are a cancer on this
earth, reminding us of the words of Ingrid Nekirk, head of People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals,"We humans have grown like a cancer,
we're the biggest blight on the face of the earth."

     So we humans are to be "concentrated" into the cities and the rest
of the country is to be left to the animals and the environment.  Who is
going to decide where man can and cannot go?  Mr. Babbitt and his band
of animal rights environmentalists?

     "Wetlands are the most biologically diverse and richest habitat on
the entire planet. ... The wetlands law says that the requisites of
biodiversity and the need to live in harmony on this planet require that
we pass a law restricting the rights, even of private landowners,..."
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you read it right: "restricting the rights,
even of private landowners."

     Secretary Babbitt concludes with this sentiment, "We must protect
those laws and at the same time start to think even more broadly about
how we preserve space on this planet.  The problem is a land-use-
planning issue, an environmental issue, and a spiritual issue."  Yes,
"preserve" (meaning little or no human use) versus "conserve" is indeed
one of the issues here.  Similarly, "land-use-planning" means trampling
on private property rights and, again we are hit with the "spiritual"
aspects of the environmental and animal rights movements.

     Every once in a while we need to review the positions of key
government officials.  We get busy and move on to other things, which is
understandable, but we must not forget.  We must not forget that
Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt is one of those who have
declared a War on the West.  To counter that war, we must know our
enemies, reading their speeches gives us good ammunition.




     KATHLEEN MARQUARDT TO HOST NATIONAL CALL-IN RADIO TALK SHOW



     Putting People First has announced plans to complement its North
American FAX network with a daily live call-in radio talk show called
Grassroots Radio.  Hosted by Kathleen Marquardt, it will reach a wide
afternoon commuter audience, including many who never read our news
and comments about animal rights and Green extremism.

     Distributed over Talk America Radio Network in Boston, Grassroots
Radio will be available for local station pickup from three
communications satellites.  It will air live Monday through Friday
from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Eastern time, or may be rebroadcast on tape delay.
It will go on-air in late October.

     This will be the first daily talk show to regularly address the
issues of animal rights and Green extremism.  Grassroots Radio will
expand this scope to cover a full range of commentary on social and
political issues of the day.  Most shows will feature a guest
interview with listener call-in on an 800-number, other days will be
set aside entirely for listener discussion.  All shows will include
Kathleen's trademark style of listener involvement in public policy by
letters, phone calls, or FAX, thus the name, Grassroots Radio.

     We need your help to make Grassroots Radio a success. we must
expand our affiliate base to reach a large audience and we must raise
funds to pay for satellite time.  Here's what we need you to do:

* Urge your local AM radio stations to carry Grassroots Radio.  If
your organization has members or clients in different areas, please
ask them to contact their stations too.  Urban and rural - we need
them all.


* Dedicate some of your advertising budget to Grassroots Radio.  We
will have a listenership that's knowledgeable and sympathetic to you,
and Kathleen will be dealing with issues that complement your message.

* Give Putting People First a grant to help it pay for the research
staff, technical equipment, and other costs necessary to support
Grassroots Radio and our FAX network.

     For advertising, grant, and affiliation information contact Harry
Black, Putting People First, 406/442-5700, FAX [phone].