Left Take - Front Page

Now Beck Has Done It!

spiral115 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:40:14 GMT

I called his Red Phone! Don't ask me how I got the number, just know I have sources. Can you believe this outrage? I am about to spit I am so mad. Well I guess you can just call me NERGAL!

Watch the video VERY closely. How did he know about this blog? The folks on it? Just how powerful is Fox?!!!

Stupid evil Beck!

Who is your favorite current political leader?

leftake — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:11:40 GMT

Who's your favorite current political leader? (i.e., still alive)

Barack Obama? Howard Dean? Hillary Clinton? Al Franken?

Go ahead, speak your piece.

"Who has two thumbs and knows the biggest asshat in Alaska!?"

leftake — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:08:50 GMT

That is the winner, in the latest $20.10 caption contest!

Thanks and $20.10 to Left Taker, "SNEWCOMBMARCH"

$20.10 Caption Contest! The Finalists! Vote below for the winner!

leftake — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:46:35 GMT

Okay, your humble editor/Fearless Leader has gone through the list, and through a combination of votes by Left Takers, and... my gut reaction, I've chosen the final fourteen (since this is the first one by vote, I erred on the side of more candidates).

"Well I'll be gosh-darned Sarah, you really can see Russia!"
"So... when is the crowd going to be here..?"
"Sarah, that isn't Russia... That's Rush Limbaugh."
(Both thinking) "Oh thank God we lost! I couldn't put up with THAT ass-hole for the next 4 years!"
"He-e-e-y, Mac-a-rena!"
"how 'bout a big round of applause for all the 'creative' spelling on the homemade signs you real Americans brought with ya today..."
"Put your thumbs back, John! You're letting the hot air out!"
"Who has two thumbs and knows the biggest asshat in Alaska!?"
Fonzie and Pinky Tuscadaro, celebrate their 50th anniversary!
patty CAKE, patty CAKE...
"Let's see Boris and Natasha get that moose and squirrel now!
"If you're crappy and ya know it clap your hands!"
Clapping like trained seals: "Arp! Arp! Arp! Arp! Arp!"
"Oh, crap, I washed my hands. What are the three things we believe in again?"

Check them out below (click "join the discussion" to see the poll), cast your vote, and... whichever one has the highest percent by Wednesday at 5pm eastern is the winner!

(p.s. - feel free to leave more captions below as comments, but only the top 14 being voted on are the potential winners)

Pivotal moments in history changed by the actions of 1

LawandEng — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:55:37 GMT

The citizens of the country were in turmoil. "The President is a socialist" they cried. A large group of protesters formed to demonstrate around the county.

"We need to take back the country and follow the Constitution" were the slogans used by some of the most affluent New York investors. They had lost a fortune in investments and were convinced that the country was headed in a hopeless direction of Socialism.

They saw the rapid demise of all they had built up.Something must be done...

You may think that this was a description of the "Tea Baggers" and the harsh words were for President Obama. Well, think again. The President is Franklin Roosevelt and the time is during the Great Depression.

Roosevelt had just begun execution of a program called the "New Deal". The "Tea Baggers" of that time were called the American Liberty League and they had actually more in mind than just protesting. What they had in mind was a coup d'etat, a forceful overthrow of the US Government.

So some of the wealthiest men in the country along with the help of a large group of investment bankers held a secret meeting in New York to organize and bankroll this devious plan. They then appointed a go-between messenger, Gerald McGuire, of the American Liberty League, to enlist the help of a U.S. Marine Major General by the name of Smedley Butler to gain control and lead the military.

They claimed that they already had control of the newspaper publications and also had immediate access to 3 million dollars to start the coup and up to 300 million if it was needed.

That was a huge amount of money in the 1930's!

Smedley Butler wasn't just any sort of General. He had been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal from both the Army and the Navy. He was also one of only 20 people to receive the Marines Brevet Medal and one of only a handful to twice, let me repeat that, twice receive the Medal of Honor. A national hero if there ever was one.

Initially Gerald McGuire approached the General saying he was from the Committee for a Sound US Dollar, a organization determined to force Roosevelt back to the Gold Standard. He implied that the organization had the support of several political leaders and was bankrolled by the country's most affluent individuals and corporate leaders.

After several meetings with Smedley not showing any interest whatsoever, McGuire dropped all pretenses and at a restaurant meeting laid it all on the line. McGuire indicated that he had the support of key industrial figures and that he would like General Butler to lead a force of 500,000 disgruntled Veterans. They misson was to overthrow the US government.

The president and other existing US leadership would keep their positions but the General was to become the secretary of the Office for General Affairs and decisions were to be given to him as to the new formed government.

General Butler expressed interest in this so he joined with the group. After some months of planning, the time for action was now. In the autumn of 1934, General Butler called a press meeting to discuss matters of grave importance. But when the press meeting occurred, he didn't demand the surrender of the US Government. Instead he related to the reporters the details of the plot, complete with names and dates.

He had been just playing along with the conspirators all this time!

General Butler had also enlisted the help of a undercover reporter by the name of Paul French who was keeping a detailed record of the plot. After the startling press meeting, Paul French and the General were called before the House Un-American Activities Committee for a full accounting.

After their testimony and also testimony from James Zandt, National Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, who also had been approached to lead 500,000 veterans on a march on Washington, the HUAC concluded that there was compelling evidence of a coup plot.

They stated that there was no doubt that certain persons had made an attempt to establish new governmental control in this country. Suddenly all the newspapers ran stories as to a "plot without plotters" and ridiculed that US corporate leaders could participate in such "Rabble Rousing" behavior.

The governments action was of complete inaction. Criminal charges were brought against no one and the collection of listed people in the report were immediately excused from ever testifying. In addition, the go-between, Gerald Mcguire died suddenly 1 month after the report was made public. But the plan had been stopped abruptly even before a shot was fired.

Who knows what might have happened if it wasn't for the actions of one man, General Smedley Butler, who by the way was also known as the "Fighting Quaker". He also became famous for his book "War is a Racket" and a speech he gave in 1933. Here is a excerpt from that speech...

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

$20.10 Caption Contest! McCain and Palin

leftake — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:44:33 GMT

It's caption contest time! $20.10 for the best caption!

But... we're going to try something new, per the suggestion of Left Take ~~members~~ member "Faultguy" -- a two-step contest:

1) Give your best captions right now, and... on Monday the 8th, we'll choose the top 8. These will be deterimined on the basis of who has the most "4" ratings, but... your humble editor reserves the right to choose a few extra, on the basis of merit and your humble editor's whim.

2) The top ones will then be put up to a vote. Just the top ones, using that dandy polling feature we've got.

3) Top vote getter by Wednesday the 10th, at 5pm, is the winner!

Got it? No? Don't worry, just crack your knuckles, grab your keyboards, and... give it your best shot.

Roll Call! Who are you?

leftake — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:06:51 GMT

Hey, this is something they do periodically over at Daily Kos. A roll call, to let people know a little more about you. We did this once, but... per a suggestion from a Left Taker, we're going to keep this one up in a permanent place. Or at least until we do another one. So... if you're game, add a comment with the following (or whatever parts of it you feel comfortable with)

- Your Age
- Your Gender
- Your town, city, state of residence
- The college or university you attended or graduated from (if any)
- Your occupation
- A favorite site, besides Left Take

I'll start...

Generations... part 3 (2010 - 2035)

LawandEng — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:02:37 GMT

Just to shake things up a bit and for general discussion, I decided to post part 3 of Generations. Hmmmm, could get interesting!

For this peek into the future, we require the talents of Nostradamus Engineer. Unfortunately, he communicated two versions of his vision. Typical!

Version 1 must have been from the dark side of his vision because it is exceptionally bleak. Chaos and entropy seem to be the only indicator.

Version 2 presents a future of hope and potiential where humanity rises above. I think that Nostradamus Engineer must have had his coffee by then.

So that is what was left with the LawAndEng, both versions and no clue how to make sense of it all. Let the readers comments begin...

2010 - 2035 The Lord of the Flies version

Continuation of oil based energy consumption like it is an unlimited tap increases prices and risk for future drilling. The general public is unwilling to change their habits for any reason even during this shortage crisis. We will elect politicians that will keep us supplied on the oil teat at all costs, not forcing us to make the hard decisions needed to wean off.

As shortages increase, enviromental and pollution regulations are "put on the back burner". Drilling is allowed on previously preserved lands, national parks, and offshore coastlines.

There is continued shifting of our manufacturing base overseas to several countries that are willing to destroy their environment and undermine their workers so that they can get a slice of that perceived "pie". Countries such as China continue building new coal plants at an unbelievable rate and have created air pollution so bad that it is causing major health issues for entire cities. As this country claws its way to the disposable lifestyle that America has, they will be driving more cars and using more of "our" resources such as oil.

Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalism is increasing at a rapid rate. In this ironic twist of fate, we will be in direct competition for resources because of a monster that we created. Resource wars break out for stakes of mineral deposits, justified by false flag pretenses along with organized cyber-guerilla warfare attacks of computer controlled infrastructure.

When pressure becomes unbearable on the population due to increased shortages and expenses involved, conservative right wing blather will constantly remind us about the "good ole days". Christian fundamentalism will continue to gather strength as people seek answers for difficult problems and don't want to hear complicated answers. It will also play a significant role because of the rising American Moralism / Imperialism allowing for justification to exploit the resources of the planet because of "Manifest Destiny" reasoning. This drives radical polices based on apocalyptic "end of the world" views that justify wars because of Christian ideas about "End Times".

More and more of these "Tea Party" groups and militias will grow because the general public's anxiety, fear, and hate. Survialism and military covenants will grow rapidly along with increased purchasing of rations and small arms. Groups based on hatred of targeted groups such as the KKK, Posse Comitatus, etc, renew in strength.

As U.S. policies become increasing erratic, self centered, and threatening, the other nations including the E.U. will disengage from thinking of America as the world superpower. Investments made from manufacturing profits by other nations will be gradually pulled from the US economy, causing interest rates for government borrowing and debt interest servicing to skyrocket.

Eventually, the Oil Commodities will disconnect from the dollar exchange rates in favor of some other currency. This causes a economy crash equal in size to the great depression but with absolutely no way of climbing out because production of tangible goods have all but left the country.

An ever widening gap between the top 10 percent of the wealth and the rest of the US population grows. Private security firms become increasing used to safeguard gated islands of wealth while public funding for police decreases. Corporations of security and black-ops for hire will become big business, similar to BlackWater, because of need to circumvent the laws and rules of military engagement.

A new age of feudalism develops where the castle is the megacorporation and the paycheck to paycheck employee is the neo-indentured servant.

Unfortunately, in the end, it is the pig head on the post.

2010 - 2035 The age of Enlightenment version

As various countries establish increased manufacturing bases that increase the need for oil/coal, prices are driven up by speculation and availability. Increased research and development, especially in countries that require oil imports but do not have investments in the pipelines and refinery infrastructure, creates promising developments in new energy creation and storage methods. Media conglomerations like Robert Murdoch start losing huge profits because of exponential increases in alternative media choices, bandwidth, and customer choice.

Efforts to regulate internet content and bottle up the profit models are futile and met with defeat. Social networking creates virtual "hives" of political viewpoints, decreasing the power of the old 2 party Republican / Democrat machines in the U.S. Because of personification by communication from these "hives", populations of remote countries become increasing hard to exploit, displace, or even kill because of this communication "light" exposing injustices of humanity. When you can see and talk to people across the world, they are no longer just remote dehumanized "objects" on the 6 o'clock news. The general population of the U.S. may be politically lazy and ignorant but for the most part, all do have a sense of fairness. They know when something is innatelly wrong.

Climate changes make people increasing aware of environmental problems in spite of campaigns of "Global Warming deniers" setup by industry. People know what they see and feel, especially the changes in weather patterns. Increasing social pressure forces companies to think green with sustainable methods without waste.

Research breakthroughs by several European countries in Fuel Cell energy systems allow for the complete change in energy delivery models. No longer is the central power creation and energy grid system viable. On site energy creation and storage changes by this new system, severely reduces oil consumption and the big oil infrastructure.

Like the internet destroyed the Music Industry profit model, this system destroys the oil and coal industry because they cannot create enough profit to continue.

With the need not to protect or take our "National Interests" from distant lands, the money used for the military starts to dry up some, freeing up large amounts of capitol for infrastructure, education, and renewal. Because of the complete reversal of distribution models, wealth is not accumulated in such a grossly unproportional mode.

House Job Bill Passes

Libertas — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:05:29 GMT

Ok, so I know a lot of people have doubts about the job bill doing much good. I say to them, it's better than nothing. And really it is. They predict 250,000 jobs will become available because of this bill if the Senate passes it. That's way better than no new jobs at all.

Some of them feel that it's too puny of a jobs bill and that it won't generate enough new jobs. It's hard for me to imagine a bill that would create a huge amount of jobs that they would all agree on. The one thing I can see is limiting job outsourcing to other countries. Make the companies open more factories in the U.S. and give people jobs. I know it would also make me feel less guilty buying items made in places like China and Taiwan.

Anyway, with this bill, at least they're starting the process of creating new jobs. They have a long way to go.

What do you guys think would increase jobs besides getting rid of minimum wage? I don't want that discussion to start all over again.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1969885,00.html

Googling for Wisdom

leftake — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:26:35 GMT

Googling for Wisdom:

"Jim Bunning" + "True American Hero" = 254 results
"Jim Bunning" + "Batshit insane" = 674 results

Discuss.

Caption contest coming...

leftake — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:47:48 GMT

Looking for a picture as we speak.

On a side note, I'm actually writing you from a train. Amtrak has wifi on this route from NYC to DC.

That's actually kinda cool. Though I wonder... what took them so long?

A Mad TeaBaggers party.

LawandEng — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:00:08 GMT

"Oh how nice, a tea party! This is so lovely, may I sit down?" Alice said.

"Yes, do" said the Angry Teabagger, "Hear some whine"

"Hear some wine? Don't you mean drink some wine?" asked Alice

"Shut up and go away!" shouted the Teabagger. "We don't won't yur kind here!"

"But you did invite me, and I am so tired and thirsty" Alice said "Ever since I swallowed that big blue pill in November, dear me, I have been running around like crazy but I don't seem to be getting anywhere."

Just then the Dormouse, who had been as silent as could be, chimed in...

"Health Care, Health Care, skedeedle skedaddle"

"Up the creek without a paddle"

"Socialism, Nihilism, Capitalist Whore"

"Grandma is going out the door!"

"Oh be quiet" Screamed the Rabbit. "That's not true"

"Oh you be quiet" yelled the Angry Teabagger "Every since you came back from that ed-u-ca-shun you have been nothing but socialist shill".

The rabbit got so angry that his ears pointed down and his eyes squinted. "I don't think that Grandma is...."

Suddenly the Dormouse shouted....

"Deficits, Immigrants, Nazis, and Taints"

....

"SHUT UP!!" Everybody screamed

"Oh please" cried Alice "Stop with this arguing! Could I have some tea or water or anything?"

"Oh my! Where are my manners? Here have some tea and biscuits." Said the TeaBagger.

"Yes, where are our manners? said both the Dormouse and the Rabbit in unison.

"Oh thank you, thank you" shouted Alice. "My, this tea is very good. But, if I may, could I have just a little more butter with my biscuit? It seems a bit dry."

"But that is not butter silly girl!" exclaimed the Teabagger "That is margin, and we only need 10 percent to make it a meal"

"But that doesn't really make it proper nourishment for a sitting of tea?" Alice bemoaned. Her stomach was growling and churning. "How can you expect to get anywhere with that?"

"Yes, Yes, 10 percent well covers the biscuit and since we know it to be true, it is true" exclaimed the Rabbit. "As a matter of fact, I have been selling these biscuits to the farmers market with great satisfaction. They buy a whole wagon of my biscuits at a time!" said the Rabbit.

But suddenly he was sad. His face looked like his bubble just popped.

"What is the matter?" said Alice

"Well", said the Rabbit, "They never eat them, they just sell them again"

"I'm sure that they just love the taste of your biscuits." Alice said sympathetically.

The Dormouse suddenly piped in with..

"Deragotives, derivatives, hedge your bets"

"Money, profits, gross, and nets"

"Nest eggs, rainy days, come to pass"

"Everybody bend over and take it up the.."

"SHUT UP!!" They again shouted.

Suddenly trumpets started to blast a most distressful racket.

"Oh my" said the Angry Teabagger "You are going to have to hide! Quickly!!"

"Hide? Why? I just got here. And besides I haven't finished my tea and my biscuit or margin or whatever you have called it" Alice cried.

"But you don't want to be here when they show up" said the Rabbit "THEY can be very nasty and loud"

"LOUD!" said the Teabagger.

"AND NASTY!" said the Dormouse

"But who are they?" Alice said "Why should I be afraid?"

"They are the town hall Bezerkers" said the Rabbit

"Yes, the BEZERKERS!" shouted the Teabagger "We have quite a few of those already in my family. Momma says its cause of the damn dating site we all use, E-Cousins"

"Well, what makes them so terrible? Surely they would like a spot of tea as well. Invite them over and we can have a pleasant conversation."

"Are you insane?" shouted the Teabagger. "The Bezerkers do not have a conversation like you or me. Their language is not vowels or constants for it is the language of loud or soft voices. The words are meant to carry the tones of loud or soft and are used to express different shades of anger"

"Surely you do not mean that if I whispered cat it would mean something different than if I shouted cat" Alice inquired

"Precisely, have you taken classes in the language of Bezerking?" questioned the Angry Teabagger

"No I have not! Anything else that I may be informed about in this peculiar language?" said Alice

"Well, the louder the words, the more credibility that it has." said the Teabagger

This was so confusing that Alice burst into tears and buried her face in her hands.

"I am not following you in the least bit and feel that I must be going home." Alice bluntly stated "I have completely wasted my time here! Furthermore, everyone here is a complete moron!"

There was nothing but silence after that. Alice looked around to see that nobody was at the table except the silent dormouse.

Suddenly one of the Bezerkers arrived to begin the meeting. He was carrying a sign that showed..."Keep Gubenmint out of our lives"

"Excuse me", said Alice in almost a whisper, "I think you may have something wrong with your sign."

"And just who are you? A LIBERAL?" scream the Bezerker "and what gives you the right to..."

Alice burst into tears again, leaped from her chair, and ran away as fast as she could.

"Ahhh, see when you honestly debate them" the Bezerker screamed, "they always shrink away.".

The Dormouse started with his musical stylings..

"Filibuster, filibuster, Repug hell"

"Incompetence, arrogance, Liberty bell"

"Beliefs, Corruption, partisan smell"

"Politics or Hate, no way to tell"

"Taunting Jim Bunning" - Now a Facebook Page

leftake — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:31:43 GMT

Jim Bunning is a major-league asshole who is singlehandedly holding up unemployment benefits for millions.

He also appears to be quite insane. So hey... here's your chance to taunt him.

That's right, we've created a Facebook page, just for taunting Senator Bunning.

"Taunting Jim Bunning"

5 minutes old, and we've already got a few dozen taunts. Pop by, and leave your own.

Or, feel free to leave your taunt right here, in good old Left Take territory.

Discuss. And taunt.

"Taunting Jim Bunning"

The road to hell is paved with red herrings.

LawandEng — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:29:15 GMT

After reading a recent posting, from a very wise "FaceFriend", about the news of politicians trying to pass into law a requirement for drug testing if receiving public assistance, my rant urge became too strong to not write.

I have viewed some of the crap out there like NotWithMyMoney, blahblah, etc .

How is it even possible for Republicans to be concerned about this? Have they not been informed of the present state of the country right now?

Folks, we are fighting wars on 2 fronts, the economy is in shambles that may take decades to get out of, the general public has just been taken for the biggest heist ever by Wall Street, and our manufacturing base is being exported to whichever country will sacrifice their enviroment and health the most. Did you know that about 25% of the pollution hanging over California right now has been traced to China?

The previous administration allowed the use of the techniques that we EXECUTED the Japanese in WWII for as War Crimes. They basically gutted the Dept of Justice from investigating any social injustice. Not one person has gone to prison for that whole 8 year madness. Remember those Haliburton non-bid contracts for infrastructure that didn't get built? Blackwater mercenaries?

Okay, say that drug testing is an important issue. Skipping the fact that it is applied to only the group that probably doesn't have 10 lobbyist working for them at the Capitol, what are the issues that are raised by this and what is hoped to be gained by this?

Let us list the possibilities..

We may be able to save money by not having to give it to people on drugs.

If they were concerned with saving money, they would scream about pork barrel projects like $1.4 billion welfare for an alternative jet engine for the Joint Strike Fighter that the military has repeatedly officially stated that they don't want. How about $1.9 million for the Pleasure Beach water taxi service project. There is a very long list of items so it can't be about saving money or applying government money fairly.

By not giving them money, it may make them change their life choices and improve their lives.

If they were concerned about that, they would offer rehabilitation and education services so that they would have a chance. Education is the key.

Drugs are bad, okay.

Just the bad drugs are bad okay. Drugs produced by companies that eliminate shifty eye syndrome are okay. Existing drugs that are acceptable like smoking or drinking that do more damage than all of that "tested for" drugs are fine. But if testing was a concern, they would do it for everyone that gets public money, including teachers, politicians, police, firefighters, even those pricks on Wall Street who got TARP. But that would complicate things, applying testing equally.

What it really is....
This is a Red Herring issue, used as something to divert attention away from the more complicated issues that aren't solved with a 5 second sound bite. This to them is one of those screaming black and white issues that raises emotions from the Rush Limbaugh group and allows easy remembrance for the people that cannot make up their own mind and have to tune into AM talk radio to learn what a opinion is or what opinion they should have. They are too lazy to look up the actual facts or research an issue so they turn to a cigar chomping drug addict for their answers. (Is that irony? I get confused ever since that Alanis Morrisette song).

For those 5 minute attention span people that gloss over the important stuff, seek easy solutions to complicated issues, and are easily mis-directed by "Red Herring" issues of the day, here is something to read so that you can make up your mind.

Unemployment went up to 10 percent today as the gradual decay of the manufacturing base...Britneys VahJayJay...drug testing for persons receiving public assistance.

Crime is on the increase especially in the urban areas due to decreased funding and lack... Saying Happy Holidays not Merry Christmas.... intelligent design taught in schools.

Divorce rates continue to climb as family stress conditions....Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve.....Ban gay marriage to save the sanctity of the marriage.

See how easy that works.....look, a chicken!...send me all your money.

PETA- What Does it Really Mean?

spiral115 — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:38:01 GMT

People Executing and Trashing Animals

So we have all heard of PETA. You know those nice vegetarians who have whacky ad campaigns and dress up as packages of beef. They do it all to protect Fluffy and Spot and chickens and circus animals. They just want us to be nice. Well at least they just want us to be nice to animals. No harm no foul, right?

Well let's take a look at PETA and see what they are REALLY all about.

The following story is from This is True dated 17 July 2005. It is Copyright 2005 Randy Cassingham, all rights reserved, and reprinted here with permission:

"Ethical" Defined

After more than 100 dead dogs were dumped in a trash dumpster over four weeks, police in Ahoskie, N.C., kept an eye on the trash receptacle behind a supermarket. Sure enough, a van drove up and officers watched the occupants throw in heavy plastic bags. They detained the two people in the van and found 18 dead dogs in plastic bags in the dumpster, including puppies; 13 more dead dogs were still in the van. Police say the van is registered to the headquarters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the two occupants, Andrew B. Cook, 24, and Adria Joy Hinkle, 27, identified themselves as PETA employees. An autopsy performed on one of the dogs found it was healthy before it was killed. Police say PETA has been picking up the animals -- alive -- from North Carolina animal shelters, promising to find them good homes. Cook and Hinkle have been charged with 62 felony counts of animal cruelty. In response to the arrests PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said it's against the group's policy for employees to dump animals in the trash, but "that for some animals in North Carolina, there is no kinder option than euthanasia." (Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald) ...Oops, my mistake: that's "Playing God" Defined.

In his author's notes section, Cassingham had more to say about this story:

The more I learn about PETA, the less I think of them. The story of them killing animals isn't even unusual. According to PETA's own filings, in 2004 PETA killed 86.3 percent of the animals entrusted to its care -- a number that's rising, not falling. Meanwhile, the SPCA in PETA's home town (Norfolk, Va.) was able to find loving homes for 73 percent of the animals put in its care. A shortage of funds? Nope: last year PETA took in $29 million in tax-exempt donations. It simply has other priorities for the funds, like funding terrorism (yes, really). But don't take my word for it: I got my figures from http://www.PETAkillsAnimals.com -- and they have copies of PETA's state and federal filings to back it up. The bottom line: if you donate money to PETA because you think they care for and about animals, you need to think some more. PETA literally yells and screams about how others "kill animals" but this is how they operate? Pathetic.

And you know what I wonder? PETA's official count of animals they kill is 86.3 percent. But if they're going around picking up animals, killing them while they drive around and not even giving them a chance to be adopted, and then destroying the evidence by dumping the bodies in the trash, are those deaths being reported? My guess: no. While 86.3 percent is awful, the actual number is probably much, much higher. How dare they lecture anyone about the "ethical" treatment of animals!

(This is True is a weekly column featuring weird-but-true news stories from around the world, and has been published since 1994. Click the link for info about free subscriptions.)

This is the tip of the iceberg. PETA has a history of histrionics. They yell and scream and point fingers and condemn. Yet, as we see in the previous story, there is little "ethical" about PETA. Let's start chipping away and see what else we can find.

From:
http://blog.mises.org/archives...

Committing Crimes to Punish Crimes
February 4, 2005 8:29 PM by S.M. Oliva (Archive)
Nicholas Provenzo, chairman of the Center for the Advancement of Capitalism, an Objectivist think tank (where I was once a senior fellow) offers this endorsement of a seemingly non-Objectivist position:
The Center for Consumer Freedom is running a petition calling for on the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of the "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals."
Despite its deceptively warm-and-fuzzy public image, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has donated over $150,000 to criminal activists -- including those jailed for arson, burglary, and even attempted murder. In 2001, PETA donated $1,500 to the North American Earth Liberation Front, a criminal organization that the FBI classifies as "domestic terrorists." And since 2000, rank-and-file PETA activists have been arrested over 80 times for breaking various laws during PETA protests. Charges included felony obstruction of government property, criminal mischief, assaulting a cabinet official, felony vandalism, performing obscene acts in public, destruction of federal property, and burglary.

And from http://www.consumerfreedom.net...

PETA: Proud To Support Terror
"PETA doesn't let political correctness get in the way of a good ad campaign," The Virginian-Pilot reports, but now, consumer freedom advocates are using the animal rights fringe group's own words and actions in response. "There is even a push to revoke PETA's tax-exempt status because of a contribution it made to" the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).
At a congressional hearing in February, The Virginian-Pilot continues, "an FBI official testified that 'special-interest extremism,' including actions by animal-rights activists, has now become 'the most dangerous domestic terrorist threat to the country.' James Jarboe, head of the FBI's Domestic Terrorism Section, testified that the Earth Liberation Front and its sister organization, the Animal Liberation Front, had committed more than 600 criminal acts, causing more than $43 million in damage, since 1996."
ELF has been called "the largest and most active U.S.-based terrorist group" by the FBI, and along with ALF commits arson, sets off time bombs and incendiary devices, destroys research facilities, runs online eco-terror "training camps," and much more.
PETA gave ELF $1,500 to "support their program activities." Says congressional staffer Joshua Penry: "Remarkably, [PETA is] proud of the fact that they've given to ELF. They're either terribly naive or out-and-out arrogant."

and from http://www.freerepublic.com/fo...

New FBI Smoking Guns Point To PETA
Center For Consumer Freedom (animalscam.com) ^ | March 08, 2006 | NA
Posted on Fri Mar 10 16:00:57 2006 by neverdem
In December the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) made a big public splash by unveiling documents obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under a Freedom of Information Act request. At the time, the ACLU released only a few dozen pages from its FBI treasure trove, selected to bolster its case that the federal government was spying on groups including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) despite what it called "a lack of evidence" that PETA was "engaging in or supporting violent action." But during the past few weeks, the ACLU's website has been quietly updated to include more than 200 additional pages of the FBI's files on PETA. And this new material indicates a solid connection between PETA and the animal-rights movement's violent underbelly.
The complete set of pages, finally available on the ACLU's website (look for a link titled "Full set of PETA documents"), includes some disclosures that PETA will not be happy about -- and which indicate that the FBI knows exactly what it's doing.
If you don't relish the thought of wading through 227 pages of heavily redacted FBI files, we've collected the most interesting material on our AnimalScam.com website. Click here to read the FBI's conclusions that (among other things) PETA recruits interns from overseas for "the sole purpose of committing criminal acts." One witness interviewed by the FBI (whom other sources have indicated was a former long-term PETA employee) also told the feds that PETA was formed as a cover for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).

These stories do not even go into the small incidents of personal terror and destruction of private property that PETA carries out daily. I took my daughters to the circus only to be accosted by PETA representatives telling my children how cruelly the circus treats elephants. I told them to leave us alone and they just shouted over us. Then there are all the people the assault with buckets of paint. This is the destruction of private property.

You would imagine that since they routinely destroy animals that they barely make any money, right?
Well let's take a look at a page from their own web site:

http://www.peta.org/annual-rev...

For 2009 they took in total revenue of $34,568,954.00 ( a mere pittance!)
and $1.5 million in free advertising was donated.

Seems like for these astronomical earnings, they wouldn't need to troll for animals to euthanize and dump in public waste receptacles. Hmmmm...something seems fishy.

Obviously these devoted people wouldn't take a penny for such noble efforts to save the animals now would they? Well let's look at how much PETA workers make:

Thirty-two percent of PETA's dedicated staff earn only $14,383 to $29,999, 44 percent earn $29,000 to $39,999, and only the remaining 24 percent make more than $39,999. Our president, Ingrid E. Newkirk, earned $36,997 during the fiscal year ending July 31, 2009.

Especially by today's standards, I'd say the PETA folks are doing OK. I guess they can afford all of those high priced vegan delicacies they are trying to ram down our throats. 25% of their employees make make $40,000+!!! Wow. This scam almost puts televangelism to shame!

You might think that they would waive a salary and let the organization use the money to save more animals. I guess Joey PETA needed a new iPhone.

All right, all right at least they are fighting the good fight where scientific animal testing is concerned! Right?! Right? right?

Well no.

http://wildcat.arizona.edu/2.2...
http://scienceandresearch.home...

The fact is there are certain types of testing that cannot be done without the use of animals. Well, they could be done and then we could have products reaching our counters and pharmacies that might kill people.

So in my opinion PETA is and/or supports domestic terrorism. They are hypocrites. They are sensationalists profiting off the deaths of the animals they claim to protect.

Look, I like animals. I believe in evolution and know we are all cousins. I also believe that like some of our cousins we are omnivores. I like eating cousin cow. Cousin wolf might eat me if a hungry pack came across me in the wilderness. It's all good. We all taste good to somebody. Do we need to be cruel to animals? No. Should we attempt to kill them as quickly as possible before eating them. Yes. Are animals as important to me as people? Well some are more important than some people. For example if a one ton weight were hanging above a roaches head and a one ton weight were hanging over Dick Cheney's head... Well you get the idea.

I believe that PETA should lose its tax exempt status. I believe they do more harm than good. To me they are as despicable as many other hate groups in the country that we condemn. Fact is they hate their fellow humans. Well, at least the meat eaters.

So that's my take on PETA. Now I am going to go pet my cat and tell it it is a little schmoogie woogie cutie!

Further Reading:
http://www.fumento.com/fumento...
http://skepacabra.wordpress.co...
http://valley-animal.50megs.co...