Tuesday, June 23, 2015

I'm going hog wild . . .

No posts for 6 months, now you can't shut me up.

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 Does ‘Jurassic World’ remind you of ‘Blackfish’? How a dinosaur movie tackled animal rights. By Emily Yahr

This article compares the treatment of these dinosaurs to the treatment of captive Orcas. 
Think about it!

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Sunday, June 21, 2015

This isn't my Public Shtick, but...

  I grew up in central Florida in the 50s and 60s, and God love 'em, my parents were racists. They hated JFK, MLK, and LBJ. They adored Lucinda, our black housekeeper for nearly two decades. Daddy called crying when she died. 

The article that motivated me to write this out-of-purview post is below. It coupled with the outlandish, offensive, bigoted statement about Mexicans by "The Donald" --a national embarrassment and Republican presidential candidate, makes it impossible for me to stay quiet. Besides, I've been there, done that.

It didn't take a college education or a graduate degree for me to recognize how wrong my parents were. It took a 1963 bus ride. My moment of insight is on my website: 
A Vote for Lucinda --if you're interested.


Some of you may be thinking I should just stick to my little animal stories, but the belief that we have the God-given right to lord our superiority over even the smallest, most defenseless of other species is what I write about. It stems from exactly the same mind(less) set as racism. It's called speciesism--the belief that the human race is superior to other species, and that exploitation of animals for the advantage of humans is justified.  Encarta ® World English Dictionary ©

I think following article is important to consider. I hope you feel the same. And to my readers in Europe, Asia, South America, and especially in Mexico, we won't actually elect The Donald, or Ted Cruz. I'm almost positive.

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 Anti-intellectualism Is Killing America | Psychology Today

"In considering the senseless loss of nine lives in Charleston, of course racism jumps out as the main issue. But isn’t ignorance at the root of racism? And it’s true that the bloodshed is a reflection of America's violent, gun-crazed culture, but it is only our aversion to reason as a society that has allowed violence to define the culture. Rational public policy, including policies that allow reasonable restraints on gun access, simply isn't possible without an informed, engaged, and rationally thinking public." 
For the entire article...

Thursday, June 18, 2015

If Corporations are People . . .

File picture of chimpanzees at a zoo in Sydney

 A judge in New York has issued a writ of habeas corpus in a case brought by animal rights activists on behalf of two chimpanzees.

Personhood could end this.


I haven't done a post in six months. It's certainly not because I had nothing to say or there weren't animal abuses going on, or good news to report. I've been working on a couple of projects. One, of course, is How to Speak Dolphin, my new novel about an non-verbal autistic child and a captive dolphin. It's out now and available in bookstores--especially your local independent bookstore. 

 I guess this post is part ad for HTSD, so I might as well add that the e-book version of Dolphin Sky, which I rewrote a year or so ago, is on sale through Kobo, Nook, Kindle, and iBook.

My other excuse: I've been researching my first attempt at writing historical fiction. When I returned from a research trip to Texas, Cory, my 16 year old cat, was blind. She coped far better than I did, but every moment of the rest of her life became precious. She spent the next seven months on a pillow in a desk drawer at my elbow as I wrote. She died May 21st. I suppose her decline and loss has made it hard for me to feel strongly about anything else.  

I have a new favorite quote. From MC Davis
 "I can't change people your age," he says, "but give me a fourth-grader."

 Chimpanzee before his wedding at a zoo in Hefei in China