Mitt Romney Tortures Animals

From Time magazine:

PETA does not have a position on Romney's candidacy
per se, but Newkirk called the incident "a lesson in cruelty that was ... wrong
for [his children] to witness...Thinking of the wind, the weather, the speed,
the vulnerability, the isolation on the roof, it is commonsense that any dog
who's under extreme stress might show that stress by losing control of his
bowels: that alone should have been sufficient indication that the dog was,
basically, being tortured." Romney, of course, has expressed support for the use
of "enhanced interrogation" techniques when it comes to terrorists; his campaign
refused to comment about the treatment of his dog.

Ok, he's not catching squirrels and lighting their tails on fire, but he straps his dog's animal carrier to the roof of his car for a TWELVE HOUR DRIVE from Boston to Ontario... And jokes about having to clean excrement from the roof and windows! He literally scares the shit out of his dog... Can there be ANY justifiable, spinnable response to this from the Romney camp? The dog is so terrified he loses complete control of his bowels-- cause he's whipping down the highway at speeds of 65+mph, all alone in a little plastic box wobbling on top of a car?? The press jumps all over Britney Spears when she held her child in her lap while driving (which was indeed a careless and dangerous thing to do,) I hope Romney gets the same treatment!

Germany Defense Ministry bars Tom Cruise

No, Tom Cruise is not a terrorist, but I think he is technically a victim of religious discrimination:

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- Germany has barred the
makers of a movie about a plot to kill Adolf Hitler from filming at German
military sites because its star Tom Cruise is a Scientologist, the Defense
Ministry said on Monday.
Cruise, also one of the film's producers, is a
member of the Church of Scientology which the German government does not
recognize as a church. Berlin says it masquerades as a religion to make money, a
charge Scientology leaders reject.
The decision drew a sharp response from
Cruise's film producing partner, Paula Wagner, chief executive of United Artists
Entertainment, who said Cruise's "personal beliefs have absolutely no bearing on
the movie's plot, themes or content."
The U.S. actor will portray Colonel
Claus von Stauffenberg, leader of the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the
Nazi dictator in July 1944 with a bomb hidden in a briefcase.
Defense
Ministry spokesman Harald Kammerbauer said the film makers "will not be allowed
to film at German military sites if Count Stauffenberg is played by Tom Cruise,
who has publicly professed to being a member of the Scientology cult."

Interesting... Now in my experience reading Scientologist literature and speaking with practicing Scientologists, the money emphasis has given me the feeling that this group is one of the more exploitative Religions... All accounts that I've heard refer to paid Scientology instruction, as opposed to free bible study groups, open pagan potlucks, etc.

Even if he is a part of a "Cult," I have a problem with a country's Defense Ministry barring an individual from working as an actor on site because of their religion... They cite their desire for an accurate portrayal of the film's protagonist, but of course such reasoning wouldn't have been used if Cruise was playing Hitler! (No, only REAL Nazi's can play him!) Both Tom Cruise and Scientology creep me out for many reasons, but I still don't like this....

Why Wiccans Have to Suck It Up and Realize "Harm None" Includes Diet

That's right, I said it!

Yes, I am aware that many in the Wiccan community like to believe that Wicca is a design-your-own mix-and-match hodgepodge spirituality that has no "dogma." Because dogma is of Western Religions and therefore evil. You're Wiccan as long as you believe in the duality of Deity and the Wheel of the Year, blah blah blah.

Sure you are still Wiccan if you eat meat and dairy and all that-- but are you a "good" Wiccan? Are you a Wiccan living your Wiccan path according to what the tenets of what being Wiccan means? Before you start, don't send me emails asking how dare I judge other Wiccans, who I am to say who is a "good" Wiccan, whatever. Please listen first:

Being "religious," having a "spiritual tradition," walking the Wiccan "path" all mean the same thing. People coming out of bad experiences in Catholicism, Christianity, Judaism, etc, can be wary of initiating this sort of dialogue into Wicca because it brings up bad memories of Judgement and Hellfire. The difference between what I'm suggesting and what occurs in those religions is that Wiccans should "judge" or evaluate themselves, instead of being judged by their community.

In evaluating themselves and their diet choices, Wiccans must ask themselves if they are truly doing everything they can to reduce Harm. I can absolutely understand how people who work long hours and overtime, or single parents, full time students who work full time and plenty of other situations will make it difficult if not impossible to educate oneself on complete nutrition overhaul.

But what about those that have the time, energy and resources and accuse me of being too dogmatic for Wicca? Or cite gods and goddesses of the hunt and say it's part of the natural cycle to eat meat, as long as it's in moderation? "In moderation" is the most abused prepositional phrase in Inanna's gift of language. Would anyone say that using IV drugs is okay in moderation? Haha, I doubt it. But just like I wouldn't judge someone addicted to IV drug use, I'm not going to say those addicted to meat and dairy are horrible people either, but they are putting themselves at huge personal risk and causing Harm to themselves. But everyone knows that and I'm not here to preach.

Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.
That's part of the longer poem, The Celtic Wiccan Rede. I'm not Celtic, and I think this poem can get silly in parts, there's still great stuff in it. Fairly take and fairly give... If the same plot of land can sustain healthfully TWENTY vegans or ONE omnivore, is that really taking fairly? Or is that willfully contributing to a preventable imbalance of Nature? The argument that "even vegans have to kill, and therefore Harm for food, so just giving up animals is pointless!" is silly against this fact, and it's really grasping at straws. If there was something you could do to lessen inevitable Harm, you have to ask yourself why you wouldn't do it.

So, while Wiccans who won't stop eating animal products are of course, still Wiccan, they are going against the tenets of what Wicca is if they are aware of the implications on humanity and the environment (you know, the body of The Goddess,) and this is one inconsistancy they may choose to work on in the future. Catholics who use birth control are still Catholic and good human beings, but are going against teachings.

It's hard to forego animal products, as it is a physiological addiction, and addictions are terrifying to overcome.

Summer Solstice: The Holiday of Fire & Water

Noc Kupały, Henryk Siemiradzki, 1880's

This evening at sunset kicks off Noc Kupały, the Polish holiday of Fire & Water, also known to Westerners as the Summer Solstice. (Water and Fire/Sun being seen as the fundamental manifestation of the life force, Water being Female, and Fire/Sun being Male.) Since the Catholic Church arrived in Poland in the tenth century, their tireless attempts at eradicating the festivals (changing the name from Kupała's Night, to Noc Swietojanska, Saint John's Night) ultimately failed. It is celebrated in Poland to this day with bonfires, fireworks, music and dancing.



The Goddess Kupała, Wojciech Gerson, 1897


Kupała is the Goddess of herbs, sorcery and sex. Also known as the Water Mother, she is associated with trees, herbs and flowers. During this magickal night, people bathe themselves in lakes and rivers to revitalize their youth, health, and fertility. Men test their strength and courage by jumping through the bonfires, (perhaps after having a good amount of Krupnick, Honey Vodka?) While the men are running around, the women take the time to gather flowers and herbs to make a wianek, wreath, to adorn their heads. Rose and Rue are native plants with ancient and varied meanings, and ancient Mediterranean traders most likely brought the Rosemary that came to symbolize fidelity, remembrance and love. To this day women will wear their flower wreaths, then float them in rivers and lakes (Rzucanie Wiankow), with or without candles affixed to them.

Other traditions include the men's search for the mythical fern Kwiat Paproci. Though usually barren, this fern allegedly flowers on the shortest night of the year. It will of course bring riches and wish fulfillment to whichever man is brave and righteous enough to discover it. While searching for this mythical fern, if he happens to return with the wianek of the unmarried woman of his choice, they would then be officially betrothed. (Perhaps this is where the experience of first sexual intercourse became known as defloration, lol?)

What it means to be a Leftist...

I found this video of Dr. Cornel West addressing a panel at the 2007 Left Forum in New York in March, and I thought this might be a good introduction to a new blog...

"What does it really mean to be a leftist in the early part of the 21st century? What are we really talking about? And I can just be very candid with you. It means to have a certain kind of temperament, to
make certain kinds of political and ethical choices, and to exercise certain analytical focuses in targeting on the catastrophic and the monstrous, the scandalous, the traumatic, that are often hidden and concealed in the deodorized and manicured discourses of the mainstream. That's what it means to be a leftist. So let's just be clear about it.

So that if you are concerned about structural violence, if you’re concerned about exploitation at the workplace, if you're concerned about institutionalized contempt against gay brothers and lesbian
sisters, if you're concerned about organized hatred against peoples of color, if you're concerned about a subordination of women, that's not cheap PC chitchat; that is a calling that you're willing to fight against and try to understand the sources of that social misery at the structural and institutional level and at the existential and the personal level. That's what it means, in part, to be a leftist.

That's why we choose to be certain kinds of human beings. That's why it's a calling, not a career. It's a vocation, not a profession. That's why you see these veterans still here year after year after year, because they are convinced they don't want to live in a world and they don't want to be human in such a way that they don't exercise their intellectual
and political and social and cultural resources in some way to leave the world just a little better than it was when they entered. That's, in part, what it means to be a leftist."

I was so struck by these words, I copied them into my BoS. I've always subscribed to the more Starhawk-flavor of politically active Paganism/Goddess Spirituality, and Dr. West's words help explain why. I choose to be a certain kind of human being, a politically/socially conscious, vegan, Wiccan, Feminist Woman human being, and I certainly cannot be human in a way that ignores my resources.