Southern Fried Cruelty

Go chickens, escape!!! (I'm rooting for the chickens)

As the world's population continues to explode, one of the many losers in this madness are domestic farm animals. In the old days, animals lived on family farms and had a decent quality of life, until their turn came to become protein for a family.

Now, today, we've vastly increased our population, with 300 million in the United States alone. There is no way we could even have space to allow all the animals we need to feed us, to roam freely. Rather, we have resorted to massive factory farms. If you are an animal, life in these farms is not fun, and in fact, it's brutal.

Now, what an irony. Let's think about the Holocaust, the Soviet Gulags, the Cambodian Killing Fields, the Armenian Genocide, and the many other examples of when humans slaughtered each other in the most horrible circumstances. And now we are doing the very same thing to our farm animals??? These are the animals that give us protein and life. We should show our appreciation and love for these animals by giving them a quality life why they are here. But we don't. Rather, we buy chicken at fast food joints and support a nasty and inhumane industry.

IF FARMERS TREATED THEIR CATS AND DOGS LIKE THEY TREAT THEIR BROILER CHICKENS, THEY WOULD BE IN JAIL.

Now, this post is not a plug for vegetarianism or veganism. All I'm asking is that we all greatly reduce our meat intake. By doing so, we can downsize industrial agriculture, and perhaps give some farm animals a better life. And when we do purchase meat, it should only be "free range." Now, there is controversy about just how much more humane "free-range" farming is, but it DEFINITELY makes life a little better for the animals.

When you think about it, it is really sick how we are exploding our human population by mass producing animal flesh, and treating those animals like concentration camp prisoners. It seems like the Christians would lead the charge into ending factory farming, but their voices are silent. Folks like PETA are perceived as radicals and simply ignored. So, WHO IS STANDING UP THE FREAKING CHICKENS???????

I admit that I enjoy eating out, and I often have to since I'm regularly on the run. Here are some non-meat options that I enjoy:

• Garden burger sub sandwich.
• BK Veggie burger at Burger King.
• Black Bean Burger at Chilis.
• Spinach or refried bean burritos at your favorite Mexican restaurant.
• Veggies and rice at your favorite Chinese place.

Also, I would suggest eating more fish, provided it's not contiminated with mercury. And get it while you can, before the oceans are fished out. The fish usually have a pretty good life until the net gets them.

Now, I have great respect for vegetarians and vegans — keep doing what you are doing. This message is directed to all you voracious American meat-eaters. You DON'T have to eat meat at every meal or every day. Just make meat the exception, and try other options and substitutes. Let's just try to downsize the nasty meat industry.

Of course, as I always point out, none of this will work unless we stabilize human population. So, as I often say, "Stop at Two."

It would really be a dream to see the old family farms popping up again.

The Goose

A Pope and a Coke

Okay, I had to read it twice. The Pope is touring Africa this week and aboard his Pope Plane he says that condoms are not the answer to the AIDS epidemic in Africa, and can make the problem worse. WHAT???

So, the Pope wants to condemn the entire African continent to this horrible disease called AIDS. My uncle died of AIDS, and I can assure everyone that the last days of an AIDS victim are horrible beyond belief.

This comes from a fellow activist friend of mine:

You know what stuns me about this article is that the Pope said that the Catholic Church is the largest provider of HIV health care. If he would drop the prohibition against condoms and allowed the use of a HIV killing spermicide, HIV cases would drop dramatically. His stance on this makes no sense! I work as a hospice nurse and I can tell you that patients with terminal HIV suffer horribly. He could do a great deal more to enhance the Church’s “compassion.”

And not to mention Africa's exploding population, which is condemning millions to abject poverty. So, what the Pope suggests is a "responsible and moral attitude toward sex" to fight the disease. Yeah that's nice, but what happens to the people who do not comply with the Catholic church's sense of hyper-morality? Oh yeah, they get punished. They had it coming to them, just like those poor alter boys.

Then, later this week ....

After reading about the executives from AIG, I've realized that business executives are so locked in their little worlds that they have no idea how stupid they sound when they talk to the press. Enter Coke Chairman Neville Isdell. In trying to boost their environmental image, he wants to make more clean water available to the world. You mean Coke's going green? Hell no, he's just looking out for his own self interest.

To summarize, Isdell is part of a group that wants President Obama to appoint a water czar and spend $1 billion a year to finance new clean water projects and programs.

Hello? The problem is an exploding world population. That's probably a good thing for Isdell — it means more Coke drinkers. And, yes, Coca-Cola Co. uses a LOT of water in their beverage businesses. So, I doubt they really care about human suffering — they just want a market.

Here are some chilling facts provided by the World Health Organization:

Nearly 885 million people around the Planet do not have access to safe drinking water today, and 2.5 billon don't have access to water for basic sanitation.

And rather than addressing our serious global population problem, corporations have created yet another "think tank" that is trying to tell us that the answer is JUST SPEND MORE MONEY TO MAKE MORE CLEAN WATER for the billions of ever multiplying people.

How about, instead, we work to stabilize world population, so that communities will not outgrow their local water supplies? Naw, the corporations wouldn't like that. They believe that population can grow infinately. And they want to sell those infinite billions COKE PRODUCTS.

Give me a break.

The Meaning of Life

I live with this constant, horrible guilt because I feed off the Growth Machine just like most other people. I suck at the nipples of the Eternal Growing Empire, and I try to justify that in my mind, and I really just wish I could be free.

But I need money to buy gasoline and food, and those two items keep me going so that I can earn money to buy, yeah, more gasoline and food. So, the vast majority of us just live on this Planet for the sake of just being here, and every day we consume and slowly suck the Earth dry, and we multiply for our own gratification, without really thinking why we multiply.

So, then I'm suddenly stuck with this question that never goes away: What is the meaning of life? And some will tell me to "glorify God," which is a religious buzzword that no one can explain, exactly, but I guess it means to make God happy. So, God, I HOPE I'VE MADE YOU HAPPY!

Others will say my purpose is to perpetuate the species, and if you study evolution long enough you know the second phase is to get your young to reproductive age. And maybe the third reason for existing is to provide wisdom for my young, or to teach them compassion by caring for some old farty invalid.

And then you have to ask, what is the goal of humankind? Well, I always figured we'd just work out our problems, create utopia, and then colonize the Universe. In another 100,000 years there will be TRILLIONS of us all over the galaxy, and then onto neighboring galaxies. But somewhere else another species has the same idea, and in a few hundred thousand years we'll clash and wipe each other out.

More realistically, we can look around and tell what will happen to the human species — extinction. Yes, we've ended the line for thousand of species who are gone forever, thanks to our reckless destruction of the Earth. So, we think we're special and that we are destined to survive, but that's probably not true at all. The greatest mistake we ever made was to somehow think we are better than cockroaches.

So, you can define the meaning of life a hundred different ways, but I think the simple goal is to make things better. But if we keep making things better and reach Nirvana, then we humans will grow soft, for it is adversity that helps us to grow and evolve. So, the reality is that we are stuck in a total no win situation. Billions of dollars and hundreds of labor hours are spent trying to defeat cancer, and for what reason? And it's the bitterest of ironies that most of the cancers are caused by our lifestyles and by the thousands of chemicals that are released into the atmosphere in our effort to make life more comfortable. We just end up killing ourselves trying to achieve ultimate comfort. That's fucking nuts.

I really don't have the answers other than to say that from what I've seen so far, EVERYTHING in this world is totally screwed up, and I have no idea if it HAS to be that way or not. If everything were UNSCREWED then we'd probably just find another way to screw ourselves up.

So, half of me is totally disgusted with this world, and with people who are in a self-destruct mode, and have no idea that with their cars, and big house, and big families, they are actually killing themselves in an ignoble, ignorant suicide. And, the other half of me agrees with the first half, so I'm of the unanimous opinion that humanity is a totally dysfunctional species. We may very well find that the heyday of our existence was 300,000 years ago when we ran carelessly and playfully in the African savanna.

The Goose

Lessons Learned from a Dying Mother

As Mother America begins her collapse I hope some good will come out of this ordeal. My hope is that through the social breakdown, chaos, violence, and hunger that somewhere along the way we will regain our sense of community. This is something we Americans lost. We stopped being good neighbors not only in our subdivisions, but also on a global scale. We became so self-absorbed with the immediate gratifications of ourselves and family, that we forgot about everyone else. And what you see now is the result.

In the New Society that rises from the ashes, I hope that people will slow down, become more loving and caring, and gain their value in life through the sheer joy of existence, instead of material junk. I hope that people will learn to listen to one another and help one another.

I sincerely hope that in the New Society common sense will take the place of politics, and that rationalism will replace religion. I'm sick and tired of the political bickering that's all around me. We arrange the deck chairs while the great ship sinks. As for religion, it has outlived its usefulness. Christianity, for example, was supposed to unite people under the holy banner of Jesus Christ, yet there are 38,000 Christian denominations around the world, so something has gone terribly wrong. All religion really does is create one more barrier that divides people and causes conflict.

In regards to politics, we need to stop arguing and start working together as a team. Listen to your opponents. If your opposition makes a good case, accept it, and don't be a slave to your political party. If your opponents are worthy of respect, then respect them. Always remain civil. When I read the comments on the various online forums, I see that civil discourse has gone down the toilet. Hiding behind the protective veil of the Internet, people show themselves to be really disgusting with their sick and evil comments. Honestly, I often wonder if humanity is worth saving.

Get to know your neighbors and all the people around you. Participate in community events. Become a giver and not a taker. Help others unconditionally — don't do it to earn brownie points upstairs, but rather do it because it's the RIGHT thing to do.

Do not take up arms against your human brothers and sisters — your real enemies are the old men in the capitals who ordered you to march. Love one another.

Anyway, the video below is powerful, and provides tips for how to live and survive after the collapse of Mother America. Enjoy.

Don't Be A Nothingness

As a citizen of the Earth, each of us has four basic responsibilities. For those of us in the developed world we have the added responsibility of helping our brothers and sisters in the developing world.

The four basic responsibilities include:

1) Do Not Over-Reproduce. If your family size is more than two, you are taking resources from other people and the natural world. You are simply feeding a voracious and destructive economic machine with cheap labor. You are putting more drivers on our congested highways. You are encouraging the destruction of more rain forests, which must be destroyed to expand agriculture. You are doing nothing to help the long-term sustainability of your Planet.

2) Adopt a Simple Lifestyle. Buying a house or car that's larger than you need, and buying a lot of junk, is really selfish and indulgent. It's okay to be comfortable, but to waste resources and live excessively is an abomination. Even if you are wealthy, you can still live sensibly and invest in eco-friendly technologies.

3) Give Elbow Grease For Change. Everyone has a responsibility to help make the world better. Religious proselytizing doesn't count, and accomplishes nothing. What this does mean is working for environmental and social causes that will help achieve long-term sustainability. You can do this either as a volunteer, employee, or entrepreneur. Whether it's working at a homeless shelter or participating in a stream cleanup, EVERYONE has a responsibility to do SOMETHING.

4) Become An Advocate For Change. This is similar to #3, except that you are gently pushing an institution to do the right thing, such as a government or corporation. This is done by writing letters, attending public hearings, participating in demonstrations, etc. What you are doing is pushing for policies that will make the world BETTER. If we all do nothing, the usual special interest groups that only care about immediate profit will continue to have their way. What we must work for is social justice, animal rights, environmental stewardship, and other just causes.

If you do no none of the items above, then you are just nothingness. You are just one of millions of humans that simply consume resources and make no contribution to the betterment of the Earth and humankind. You are either a neutral element, like nitrogen, or you are a detriment. If you are hedonistic and only get your pleasure from self gratification, well, enjoy it while you can.

And to simplify all of the above, remember the famous Boy Scout rule: "Leave your campsite in as good or in better condition than how you found it." If we can apply this rule to the Earth, and if everyone followed it, we would achieve long-term sustainability.

The Goose

Goose Nonnegotiables

I, The Goose, state that the following positions are essential to long-term sustainability and to the integrity of the human community. I will never retreat one micron from any of these positions:

Women's Rights
A woman must always be treated 100% equal to a man. There are no exceptions to this rule. Religions, cultures, and traditions are no excuse for treating a woman any less than a male. If you are in a church group that says you can hold any job except a senior leadership position, get out of there. Don't buy into this crap about a "woman's role." It's a lie.

Gay Rights
Gays must be treated with 100% equality to non-gays, and this includes marriage, partner benefits, etc... At this time, the Religious Right is using gays as the "enemy of choice" to unify their base. Don't buy into their crap. Gays are overwhelmingly peaceful people that have lives like everyone else. Targeting them as something wrong or bad is a total fabrication. Are gays moral? Of course they are, and I EXPECT everyone to be moral, regardless of their sexual orientation. In other words, the whole gay issue is a complete non issue.

Human Dignity
All humans are completely equal, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, economic class, sexual preference, nationality, etc... Labels placed on a person mean nothing — the only thing that matters is what is in a person's heart.

Animal Rights
A human being is no better than any other animal. By that, I'm saying that the million-plus species we share the Planet with should be RESPECTED and not EXPLOITED. Human decisions should always take animal life into consideration. Yes, it's okay to occasionally eat them, albeit reverently and respectfully, and be thankful for the protein they give you.

Religion Is Inherently Bad
Yes, religions do good works, but so do many secular charitable organizations. The "good" is greatly overstated. In fact, most religious resources go into self-perpetuation of social clubs that are unified by unproven dogma. Religion forces humans to believe in the unproven, stifles questioning and dissent, and forces conformity, robbing the individual of free thought and skepticism. If you don't believe that religion is bad, study the history of Easter Island and other failed civilizations — their theology only became the vise that ultimately crushed them. All religions were invented by MEN (sorry, not women) and emerged from ancient astrological worship. Christianity is simply an evolved religion that was mainly created by the Egyptians and borrowed by the Hebrews. The Greeks sprinkled it with their intellectualism and the Romans used it to unify their empire. And like magic, after a few hundred years, you have one generally crappy religion that basically makes no sense, and has little historical or archeological backing. If you don't believe me, study the Dead Sea scrolls and read books on the origins of your religion. If you think you are angering God by researching the history of your religion, then you've lost your ability to think.

Individual Responsibility & Advocacy
All humans have a personal responsibility to reduce their impact on the Earth. This is done in two ways: by reducing consumption and reducing family size, preferably to one or two children. Those of us in the developed world have a higher responsibility. We must end our addiction to materialism and adopt a simplistic lifestyle. Trust me, no one cares about how much crap you own, and no one is impressed. Owning a lot of crap will NEVER bring you happiness. If buying crap gives you a jolt, find another way to get your high. Secondly, those of us in the developed world must advocate for more equality for those in the Third World. We should provide education, micro loans, and give infrastructure grants to the developing nations. MOST IMPORTANTLY, we must ensure that funds are available to provide universal access to family planning services. Most well-meaning aid organizations focus on the immediate relief of the world's starving and extremely poor citizens, and fail to appreciate the fact that family planning is the NUMBER ONE thing that can help the developing world in the long-term.

Free Trade
Free trade promotes the exchange of ideas and encourages peace. Free trade must always be FAIR trade and should not be manipulated by a handful of multinational corporations. Free trade should be for the PEOPLE and not for soulless, parasitic companies.

Immigration/Migration
Free movement should be a basic human right. Having said that, I believe that there should be "People Areas" and "Nature Areas." Humans do not have the right to rape and plunder every last square inch of the Earth.

Earthian First
My allegiance is always to my Planet first and then to my country. A country is merely a political unit organized for administrative efficiency. Borders mean nothing to nature. And all humans are one world community. Every man is my brother, every female is my sister, and every animal is my pet.

Peacemaking
Just because violence is built into our culture and maybe even our genetics doesn't make it right. It is essential for humanity to evolve beyond violence. More nations are getting nuclear weapons and ultimately the technology and material will permeate to rogue terrorist groups. So, really, we don't have a choice but to pursue world peace and the eradication of nuclear weapons. Do you really want to get goosed? The Goose sure doesn't.