To start off, here’s a collection of political comedy clips (beware jdubhub, it’s political!) from 2008, thanks to Tina Brown’s “The Daily Beast”, one of my favorite reads:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/big-fat-story/2008-12-28/the-best-political-comedy-of-2008/#

But what’s the deal with Papa Obama? First he takes his daughters to see imprisoned dolphins perform tricks for the public in Hawaii this weekend, and then for lunch he eats the catch of fishermen who often use nets that also ensnare dolphins (a tuna melt!). What exactly is he trying to teach Malia and Sasha, anyway? That it’s OK to enslave highly intelligent mammals and force-train them to entertain humans, and that it’s somehow cool to round out your family expedition by consuming the very fish that is often carelessly caught in nets along with dolphins, who are in the wrong place at the wrong time, and are often killed?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/27/obamas-catch-dolphin-show_n_153654.html

Barack Obama of all people should understand, growing up near the ocean in Hawaii and Indonesia, that marine parks are nothing more or less than maximum security prisons for marine animals. But sadly, he does not.

Killer whales (orcas) and dolphins are highly social animals who travel in family groups (pods) for their entire lives. The process of capturing orcas and dolphins is highly traumatic for the pod and often results in the deaths of some members. They travel a great distance every day in the ocean, but can only swim the length of the tank (about 24 feet) and back in captivity. Their use of echolocation in the wild, which requires a large area, becomes very problematic in a tank, and captive dolphins have been known to become mentally unbalanced from not being able to employ it properly. The training that they are forced to undergo can cause them great frustration and lead to ulcers. Chemicals added to the tank water can seriously damage eyes and skin or kill them. Seals and sea lions, also popular attractions at these parks, also suffer greatly. The life span of dolphins and other marine animals is much shorter in captivity.

If you want to learn more about the cruelty of marine parks and interactive programs using marine animals, please read PETA’s excellent, concise fact sheet, complete with footnotes and a bibliography:

http://www.peta.org/factsheet/files/FactsheetDisplay.asp?ID=63

Lastly, although David Childs was clearly writing tongue-in-cheek in his “Daily Gazette” op-ed about how the cash-strapped state of New York can save some money by following the example of others, I found myself sort of admiring Governor Blagojevich of Illinois for doing something right (exchanging soy products for meat, dairy and eggs in state prisons), albeit for the wrong reasons. I should add that I can’t imagine why eating soy could ever be a “health issue”, except to those who believe its consumption is bad for your health:

Illinois’ notorious Gov. Rod Blagojevich offers another cost-cutting idea. In repaying contributions from a grain company, it is alleged he changed the menu in prisons from meat entrees to soy products — soy cheese, soy scrambled eggs, soy burgers and soy coffee. Health issues ensued, among them hunger strikes . . . Yet, think of the savings if New York followed this lead in not only prisons but also for school lunches. It might even double as an obesity buster. (Note from veghead: sounds like a fantastic idea to me!)

For the complete article, click here:

http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/dec/28/1228_childs/