Our Compass

Editors’ Note: What do you think and with whom do you agree? I support the school, freedom of religion should not guarantee protections for those whose beliefs harm others, especially when they are in opposition to a stated, ethical purpose in an interactive, trusting atmosphere, as deemed important by counseling. In the other view, however, as my brilliant co-editor has pointed out, a school should not have the right to expel a person over her refusal to do something against her religion, much like a medical university expelling a medical student because he refused to perform vivisection against his moral principles in order to pass a class. Hm. Interesting point. What do YOU think?

Fox News

A federal judge has ruled in favor of a public university that removed a Christian student from its graduate program in school counseling over her belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. Monday’s ruling, according to Julea Ward’s attorneys, could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views.

“It’s a very dangerous precedent,” Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told FOX News Radio. “The ruling doesn’t say that explicitly, but that’s what is going to happen.”

U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh dismissed Ward’s lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University. She was removed from the school’s counseling program last year because she refused to counsel homosexual clients.

The university contended she violated school policy and the American Counseling Association code of ethics.

“Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs,” said ADF senior counsel David French. “To reach its decision, the court had to do something that’s never been done in federal court: uphold an extremely broad and vague university speech code.”

Eastern Michigan University hailed the decision.

“We are pleased that the court has upheld our position in this matter,” EMU spokesman Walter Kraft said in a written statement. “Julea Ward was not discriminated against because of her religion. To the contrary, Eastern Michigan is deeply committed to the education of our students and welcomes individuals from diverse backgrounds into our community.”

In his 48-page opinion, Judge Steeh said the university had a rational basis for adopting the ACA Code of Ethics.

“Furthermore, the university had a rational basis for requiring students to counsel clients without imposing their personal values,” he wrote in a portion of his ruling posted by The Detroit News. “In the case of Ms. Ward, the university determined that she would never change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs – including homosexual relationships.”

Ward’s attorneys claim the university told her she would only be allowed to remain in the program if she went through a “remediation” program so that she could “see the error of her ways” and change her belief system about homosexuality.

The case is similar to a lawsuit the ADF filed against Augusta State University in Georgia. Counseling student Jennifer Keeton was allegedly told to stop sharing her Christian beliefs in order to graduate.

Keeton’s lawsuit alleged that she was told to undergo a reeducation program and attend “diversity sensitivity training.”

University officials declined to comment on specifics of the lawsuit but released a statement to FOX News that said Augusta State does not discriminate on the basis of students’ moral, religious, political or personal beliefs.

Tedesco said both cases should be a warning to Christians attending public colleges and universities.

“Public universities are imposing the ideological stances of private groups on their students,” he said. “If you don’t comply, you will be kicked out. It’s scary stuff and it’s not a difficult thing to see what’s coming down the pike.”

The Alliance Defense Fund told FOX News it will appeal the ruling.

By Debbie Coffey
The PPJ Gazette

“Meanwhile, the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management is rounding up our wild horses with a vengeance because there’s “not enough water for them to drink.” (A horse only drinks about 10-15 gallons of water a day.) It seems that DOI Secretary Ken Salazar has spent all of his time envisioning the “new direction” with his Wild Horse and Burro Initiative, which will take our wild horses off their federally protected lands and use taxpayer money to put them on preserves.”

Just one mine in Nevada (Barrick Gold’s Goldstrike Mine) has pumped over 383 BILLION gallons of water from an aquifer. (and that was a 2005 statistic, so it’s much more than that by now) According to a New York Times article by Kirk Johnson, nearly 10 million gallons of water a day is draining away from the driest state in the nation.

To make one gold wedding band, about 20 tons of earth must be excavated.

Large scale open-pit mining takes millions of gallons of water, mostly to dilute the cyanide used to soak the ore and separate its microscopic bits of gold. About 20 of Nevada’s major gold mines may not last much longer than 2015, but that’s when the biggest problems will begin. The vast pits they leave behind will create a deficit in the aquifer, and scientists estimate it could take 200 years or more to replenish the groundwater.

When these mines close, about 40 pits, from Goldstrike’s Betze-Post to smaller mines like Newmont’s Lone Tree, will start to fill with water. These artificial lakes will store an estimated 500 billion gallons or more of water. This sounds good, BUT in the hot desert sun, the water will constantly evaporate, and for every gallon of evaporation, the lakes will draw another gallon from the aquifer beneath them. They will be sucking water from the aquifer forever. Some lakes are expected to be poisonous (laced with arsenic and selenium) and others may have metal and acid concentrations toxic to fish.

Read more…

CNN

Catalonia became the first Spanish mainland region to ban bullfighting after its parliament voted Wednesday to outlaw the tradition on animal cruelty grounds.

The vote was 68 in favor and 55 against, with nine abstentions.

Those who see the ancient tradition as animal cruelty were ecstatic about the vote, celebrating in the street outside parliament. Fans of bullfighting said the decision, however, does not mean it will disappear from other regions in Spain.

Some analysts have said Catalan nationalism — including the desire by some in the region for independence from Spain — played a part in the vote. The upcoming regional elections for parliament later this year may have also had a role.

Bullfighting is an ancient tradition in Spain, and fans say it combines culture, ceremony and artistry. Opponents, however, consider it animal cruelty.

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Read more…

AFTER MAKING TELEPHONE CALLS, PLEASE FOLLOW THREE STEPS BELOW

CALL WHITE HOUSE COMMENT LINE NOW
GIVE YOUR OPINION OF BLM, SALAZAR AND WILD HORSE DECIMATION
WHITE HOUSE COMMENT LINE IS (202) 456-1111
PLEASE FRY THE PHONE LINES

IMMEDIATE, CALL HARRY REID, HE WANTS PHONE CALLS ONLY…..NO EMAILS, NO FAXES. AND PLEASE BE POLITE, HE IS ON THE HORSE’S SIDE! HE HAS THE POWER, HE IS SENATE MAJORITY LEADER, TELL HIM TO Stop BLM roundups of wild horses; and get HR503 out of Homeland Security subcommittee where it is buried

He maintains three Nevada offices, in Las Vegas, Reno, and Carson City. Please locate the office closest to you. If you need to contact him directly, please go here.

Carson City
600 East William Street, #302
Carson City, NV 89701
Phone: 775-882-7343 / Fax: 775-883-1980

Las Vegas
Lloyd D. George Building
333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 8016
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Phone: 702-388-5020 / Fax: 702-388-5030

Reno
Bruce R. Thompson Courthouse and Federal Building
400 South Virginia Street, Suite 902
Reno, NV 89501
Phone: 775-686-5750 / Fax: 775-686-5757

Rural Nevada Outreach Contact
Matt Tuma
Phone: 775-686-5750 / Fax: 775-686-5757

Washington
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3542 / Fax: 202-224-7327
Toll Free for Nevadans: 1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343) -Restricted to calls originating from area codes 775 and 702

Reid Newsroom
Sen. Reid’s Nevada Press Office 202-224-9521 (for inquiries from Nevada media).
Senate Democratic Communications Center 202-224-2939

Three requests, please click on each:

1. Mail SAMPLE LETTER
2. Submit COMMENTS VIA BLM WEFORM
3. Send AUTOMATIC LETTER

In Defense of Animals
Obama Administration Asks For Public Comments on Reforming Wild Horse Program and Refuses To Accept Public Comments Via Email – Please Mail Your Letter Today! Every Letter Counts!

Despite the Obama Administration’s claims that it wants to encourage greater public participation in government, this Administration is creating obstacles for Americans to submit comments on the Wild Horse & Burro program. The Department of Interior released its “Wild Horse & Burro Strategy Development Document” which outlines the Obama Administration’s direction for the program.

Instead of making it easier for Americans to submit comments, President Obama’s Interior Secretary has actually eliminated the public’s ability to submit comments via the traditional e-mail and fax methods – we are forced to submit comments in one of two ways: (1) U.S. postal service or (2) online using a cumbersome and unreliable software program. We have received numerous complaints that people using this online software have had their comments deleted and lost. In Defense of Animals submitted a complaint to the White House about this blatant contradiction, but the White House has been nonresponsive.

Therefore, we urge you to download and sign the letter (click here for letter) –  or you may copy/paste from below – you can write additional comments at the bottom of the letter and be sure to sign any local organizations you may represent. The address to mail the letter is on the top of that letter you’ll download.

Public comments must be received by August 3, 2010 – so please be sure to print the letter, sign and mail it today. Don’t delay – please don’t let the Interior Department’s attempt to thwart public participation in this important comment period succeed.

SAMPLE LETTER COURTESY OF IDA, COPY, PASTE INTO DOCUMENT, PRINT, MAIL

Wild Horse & Burro Strategy Document
BLM Washington Office
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665
Washington DC 20240

July , 2010

To Whom It Concerns:

Following are my comments on the Department of Interior’s “Wild Horse & Burro Strategy Development Document.” As per the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) announcement on June 14, 2010 in Denver, Colorado, these comments are being submitted via the BLM’s Washington office. The Denver meeting was touted as a means to open public dialogue on the BLM’s management of the Wild Horse and Burro Program, yet since that meeting there has been no response to the overwhelming public opposition to the Bureau’s actions. If the BLM is sincere in its desire to work with the public, a moratorium on roundups must be effectuated in order to develop a sustainable program that manages horses and burros on the range.

I am disappointed with the Obama Administration’s policy of pursuing the same ill-conceived Bush-Administration policies that remove wild horses from our public lands at an unprecedented pace. Despite Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s admission that this policy is unsustainable, the Administration is in the process of removing 6,000 additional wild horses and burros before the end of October 2010. This Administration has conducted little to no management of wild horses and burros on the range and has consistently rounded up, removed and warehoused horses at the expense of taxpayers and wild horses. As a result, for the first time in history, there are more wild horses warehoused in government holding facilities than free on the range. Below are my comments on the Strategy Document.

TOPIC: Treasured Herds

Every herd is treasured; I oppose how the BLM is interpreting the term because it involves manipulation and micromanagement. Congress already determined that every herd is treasured.

TOPIC: Preserves

– I urge an immediate moratorium on roundups to prevent creating need for more preserves.

– Preserves must not replace on-the-range management and should only be used to phase out long- and short-term holding.

– I support using the authority the BLM always had to re-establish horses in zeroed-out HAs and HMAs.

– I support commitment to not killing horses deemed “excess” and “unadoptable.”

– Preserves should only be located in western states.

– Preserves must strive to maintain the social integrity of wild horse herds, allowing horses to live in more natural conditions instead of the current imposition of domestic conditions on horses who are still designated as “wild” under the law.

– Support private-public partnerships, but BLM must immediately pursue Soldier Meadows, Winecup Gamble, Madeleine Pickens and similar proposal now on the table to reduce long- and short-term holding.

TOPIC: Sustainable Herds

– The concept of sustainable herds is based on the arbitrary AML system which is based on unfair allocation practices and incomplete, faulty range data by BLM’s own admission.

– I urge an immediate moratorium on roundups until a sustainable, solid plan is established.

– Only if proven necessary, I support fertility control with caveats.

– I oppose castration and spaying of horses and non-reproducing herds on the range.

– I oppose utilizing sex ratios to manage herds.

– I support increasing available forage through livestock allotment conversion to wild horses.

TOPIC: Adoptions

– I oppose reducing adoption requirements.

– Adoption programs should not be modified to accommodate financial incentives.

– I support exceptions can be made for international adoption only with bonafide humane association with authority to guarantee well being of horses.

– I oppose BLM’s double standard of care requirements for adopters and short-term facilities.

TOPIC: Animal Welfare

– BLM must have complete transparency; I strongly object to the lack of transparency and support equal opportunity for all to participate – not only those invited by the BML, but for all public members to participate in internal BLM meetings, public observations and be given access to information.

– Interested members of the public must be allowed at all aspects of range monitoring, aerial counts, roundups and all holding facilities – must not be limited to specific individuals or organizations – must be representational and fair.

TOPIC: Science and Research

– Currently the BLM does not have the science or research needed to manage this program; BLM acknowledges it’s lacking in this area.

– All gathering of information/data (i.e. census, etc) must be done with independent public observers or utilizing video technology to provide documentation to the public.

– A National Academy of Science (NAS) report must make a fresh and comprehensive review of the foundation of the BLM’s program – beginning with the scientific/legal basis for the establishment of Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs), the utilization of on-the-range management options, the environmental assessment process, operations of BLM as a whole and by field office, etc.

This Strategy Document is based on a flawed foundation given that the Salazar initiative does not represent the fundamental reform that is needed. While I agree with portions of the initiative, it is premature to forward to Congress. Actions speak louder than words. BLM talks about change, but actions suggest business as usual:

o 6,000 horses scheduled for roundup and removal before the end of October. Deepening the fiscal black hole.

o Proposals on the table offering a new direction and cost-effective solutions. Bob Abbey invites proposals from the public then ignores them.

o National office talks reform; field offices continue business as usual policies.

I urge the BLM to immediately place a moratorium on roundups and schedule public hearings to create a program that protects and manages horses on the range, rather than warehousing them in government holding facilities.

Sincerely,

________________________________________________________

(first and last name & Organization)

_________________________________________________________

(complete mailing address)

HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS TO THE BLM IN YOUR OWN WORDS
Courtesy Madeleine Pickens

The BLM is only accepting public input until August 3, 2010, on the proposal (called a Strategy Development Document) that it will use to develop a long-term plan. It intends to submit the plan to Congress this fall.

Please take a moment to submit your comments in your own words. Here are a few points to make:

• The BLM must place an immediate moratorium on removing horses from the range except in emergency situations (i.e. severe droughts and other natural catastrophes)
• It’s time for the BLM to initiate an aggressive sterilization program using immunocontraception [link] to stabilize and manage wild horse herds in a humane, effective, cost-beneficial manner.
• The BLM must honor its previous commitment to care for these animals and work with organizations and agencies to develop humane, sustainable programs for managing these animals on the range and in holding centers.
• Viable populations of wild horses and burros should be allowed to roam free on our public lands, and if need be, managed using humane, long-term, cost-beneficial methods, such as immunocontraception.

How to submit your comments:

The BLM is only accepting comments via a form on its website. It will take a few steps to submit your comments, but it is essential that your voice be heard. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the planning document » https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/lup/4900/13613/13852/default.jsp?projectName=Wild+Horse+and+Burro+Strategy+Development+Document

2. Click on this text (in blue) near the top center of the page: “Click Here to Submit Comments.”

3. A new page will open (for me – SR – this was actually a “collapsed” page in a different browser window, I had to minimize all other windows to see, and the scrolling function must be used to navigate).

OR

Click HERE if the above does not work

Type your comments in the text box (you can ignore the Selected Content and Comment Title sections).
When you’re finished, click “Add Comment”

4. The page will appear again.

The text box will be blank, but the “Comments” section at the bottom will show the number “1” under “Comment id.”
Click the “Next” button on the bottom right.

5. Fill in your personal information and click “Next.”

6. Review your submission, and click “Submit” at the bottom right. A “Submission Successful” page will appear.

*I had to do it twice to get mine in, it is not a user-friendly webform whatsoever so please ask if you have any troubles, or share what happened in a comment if you would. Thank you. SR

After you’ve printed, signed and mailed the letter above, please click here to tell the White House that we oppose the Administration’s move to make submitting public comments more difficult by refusing to accept comments via e-mail and fax.

FYI, from Catherine Ritlaw

BLM missing > 2,000 mustangs?

After allowing for the deaths, the BLM should still have 36,073 horses in holding facilities but they are reporting only 33,791 on the June 2010 holding facility chart. “Where are the 2,282 horses that are missing from BLM’s accounting of the horses in holding facilities?” asked EWA vice president, Valerie James-Patton.

The GAO report states that BLM is not required to report the number of deaths in long term holding facilities, but if 2,282 horses have died there in just a nine month period, there’s a much larger problem taking place in BLM’s wild horse facilities than just what paper work reveals, certainly much more than what BLM is willing to tell.

“How can we have any confidence in BLM’s estimates of the wild horse population when they can’t even count the number of horses in their pens?” asked EWA’s president, John Holland.

By Marti Oakley

As republished from
The PPJ Gazette

A big Stinkfly award goes to Ken Salazar!

Ken Salazar, quite possibly one of the most insidious characters to occupy an appointed federal office since maybe, Donald Rumsfeld, has just topped his own high measure of malfeasance. Heading up what has become notorious for being one of the most grossly mismanaged agencies of the federal government, the Department of the Interior (DoI), Salazar has set into motion some of the worst plans and policies ever implemented by the DoI. Among these policies is the eradication and zeroing out of herds of wild horses and burros all supposedly protected under the 1971 Wild Horse & Burro act.

Its unfortunate that the 1971 Act contained no provisions allowing for the protection of the herds from the BLM, itself. The BLM represents the most formidable threat not only to the wild herds, but also to the environment and biodiversity as well.

Salazar, in an attempt to stifle public comments objecting to the felonious actions of his agencies’ personnel, and even in spite of at least three court rulings finding the BLM at fault, and orders for them to cease and desist in their rounding up and terrorizing, even to the point of death in some cases, the wild horses, has now refused to accept emails or faxes on the federal register or at his agency that oppose his policies.

The only thing King Salazar will accept now for commenting is either snail mail…..which is immediately put into file 13 (trash), or the use of what has been intentionally rigged to be a non-functioning in-house system for commenting on his government site. Emails are a no-no.

Faxes are off limits now for one very important reason; faxes must be kept on file for at least seven years for public viewing. Because they are a traceable and identifiable, time-stamped and recorded communication, they cannot be destroyed and neither can the recipient claim they were not received. Can’t have that. That would actually provide a record of the opposition to King Salazar’s big plans.

Read more…

By Nathan J. Winograd

As simulposted with No Kill Blog

For the last several months, I’ve been like a little kid, bursting to tell a very exciting secret. Today, thankfully, I can let the cat out of the proverbial bag: This morning, the Governor of Delaware signed into law the most sweeping, progressive companion animal protection legislation in the United States. The law was modeled on the No Kill Advocacy Center’s Companion Animal Protection Act and spearheaded by the non-profit No Kill shelter Faithful Friends, in Wilmington, Delaware.

Like Oreo’s Law sought to do, the Delaware Companion Animal Protection Act mandates collaboration between shelters and rescue groups. A shelter cannot kill an animal if a rescue group is willing to save that animal’s life. But that is just the beginning. It also makes convenience killing illegal—shelters can no longer kill an animal when there are available cages or the animals can share a cage or kennel with another one. Specifically, the Delaware CAPA states:

Animal shelters shall ensure that the following conditions are met before an animal is euthanized:

(i) The holding period for the animal required by this chapter is expired;

(ii) There are no empty cages, kennels, or other living environments in the shelter that are suitable for the animal;

(iii) The animal cannot share a cage or kennel with appropriately sized primary living space with another animal;

(iv) A foster home is not available;

(v) Organizations on the registry developed pursuant to §8003(d) are not willing to accept the animal; and

(vi) The animal care/control manager certifies that the above conditions are met and that he/she has no other reasonable alternative.

Read more…

Previous article HERE

From WHOA! Protect Girls from Genital Mutilation

One form of self-created harm that obstructs and hinders the society’s ability to develop is female genital mutilation (FGM) which aims to damage the genitalia of girls by cutting off their clitoris and labia. It aims to control girls and women and hinder them from developing a self-contained sexuality.

Female genital mutilation is not an “exotic issue”: Today, FGM is one of the most systematic and widespread mistreatment and violation of childrens’ rights worldwide. Every year, more than three million victims are submitted to this violence on the African continent alone. Those victims from Yemen, the united Arab Emirates, Iraq and Iran, Indonesia and Malaysia have even to be added.

The extent of FGM might be hard to believe: Up to 90 % of a country´s or a region´s female children (e.g., in Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Gambia, Sierra Leone, etc.) are victimized by genital mutilations. The vast majority of the victims is physically and mentally damaged and traumatised for life. We have to assume that today, more than 200 million victims exist worldwide.

Read more…

IMMEDIATE – Please sign and send automatic letter: http://www.unleashed.org.au/take_action/ban-bullfighting-in-catalonia/

From Animals Australia Unleashed

No country is without it’s troubling traditions. And for Spain, bullfighting is definitely one of those cultural dark spots.

Every year, thousands of bulls are forced into arenas to be tortured and killed for entertainment. Once the ‘fight’ begins the animals are taunted while men on horses stab spears into their back. This torture goes on untill the bull collapses from exhaustion or blood loss. Then the ‘matador’ deals the final blow with a sword to the heart or neck.

Fortunately this cruel and bloody ‘sport’ may soon come to an end in the Spanish region of Catalonia. On Wednesday, 28 July the Catalonian Parliament will decide whether to ban bullfighting. We need your URGENT help to send a message to the Catalonian Parliament that the rest of the world supports a ban on bullfighting.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Warning, disturbing images!

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The Guardian

Female circumcision will be inflicted on up to 2,000 British schoolgirls during the summer holidays – leaving brutal physical and emotional scars. Yet there have been no prosecutions against the practice.

Like any 12-year-old, Jamelia was excited at the prospect of a plane journey and a long summer holiday in the sun. An avid reader, she had filled her suitcases with books and was reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when her mother came for her. “She said, ‘You know it’s going to be today?’ I didn’t know exactly what it would entail but I knew something was going to be cut. I was made to believe it was genuinely part of our religion.”

She went on: “I came to the living room and there were loads of women. I later found out it was to hold me down, they bring lots of women to hold the girl down. I thought I was going to be brave so I didn’t really need that. I just lay down and I remember looking at the ceiling and staring at the fan.

“I don’t remember screaming, I remember the ridiculous amount of pain, I remember the blood everywhere, one of the maids, I actually saw her pick up the bit of flesh that they cut away ’cause she was mopping up the blood. There was blood everywhere.”

Some 500 to 2,000 British schoolgirls will be genitally mutilated over the summer holidays. Some will be taken abroad, others will be “cut” or circumcised and sewn closed here in the UK by women already living here or who are flown in and brought to “cutting parties” for a few girls at a time in a cost-saving exercise.

Read more…

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Pregnant horses spontaneously aborting, foals not managing to keep up when chased, horses dropping and dying due to exhaustion running from danger … Welcome to the “humane” side of America. Tell Obama that Salazar needs to be replaced, the blood of innocent horses is on his hands, it’s time to clean up.  This is NOT what you voted for, this is not what you consider logical, ethical, or necessary.

PLEASE SIGN, FROM CATHERINE RITLAW:
http://animals.change.org/petitions/view/blm_and_wild_horse_roundups