Putting People First / September 25, 1994 ========================================= Washington Report FROM THE TRENCHES by Kathleen Marquardt Chairman, Putting People First ...A weekly opinion column about the struggle against "animal rights" and eco-extremists. Copyright@1994 Putting People First Permission to reproduce this column is freely granted on the condition that credit is given to Putting People First. Putting People First is a nonprofit organization of citizens who believe in western civilization; that we need to return to common sense in man's relationship with his fellow man; and that public policy should be based on science and rationality, not emotionalism. Putting People First PO Box 1707 Helena, Montana 59624 (406) 442-5700 Fax (406) 449-0942 ===================================================================== BABBITT REDUX Things have been a bit quiet on the Babbitt front lately. Being human, we have a tendency to read something, get mad, and then let it flow from our minds as it is replaced by other outrages. So to rekindle a little rage in the minds of men (which, of course, means women too) and keep you focused on the fight, I would like to go over parts of The Honorable Bruce Babbitt's recent address to the Humane Society of the United States. (For those who came in late, Bruce Babbitt is President Clinton's Secretary of the Interior and chief soldier of the "War on the West." The Humane Society of the United States, despite its name, does not maintain a single animal shelter, but is a leading propagandist of the extreme animal rights movement.) "I grew up in a rural tradition which, for all of its strengths, was uniquely thoughtless in the treatment of animals and the extent to which the human spirit and human compassion is a factor in our relationship with the rest of Creation." Mr. Babbitt may have been thoughtless in his treatment of animals, but most of us who grew up in the west have the deepest respect for animals and have always treated them humanely. I know it has been said thousands of times but it bears repeating - people who work with animals (such as ranchers and farmers) care about their animals, they do not abuse or mistreat them. "I come here today to see if I can explain why I think there is a great convergence taking place between the work of The Humane Society of the United States - its traditional function of animal protection, widening and broadening to a larger view of Creation that says that cruelty to animals comes in many forms (in traditional forms and in the thoughtless destruction of habitat, the extinction of species, the presence of man, and mankind's expansion at the expense of Creation) - and the environmental movement." Go back and read that statement again. Our "traditional" use of animals is abuse? According to Mr. Babbitt it is. "The presence of man" in itself is cruelty to animals, according to Babbitt. Must we all go out and slit our throats in order to not be cruel to animals? "Ultimately there isn't a chance of persuading people, civilizations, and countries to take biodiversity seriously unless they first understand, from the depths of the human spirit, the need to relate to Creation, to be sensitive to the realities of suffering and mistreatment, and to have a larger, holistic, spiritual view of what Creation is about." Obviously, Mr. Babbitt sees man as do the New Age environmentalists - according to Alston Chase -as "at best a part of an interconnected whole and at worst as the temple destroyers who sacrilized nature." "A nice example of that was an initiative to ban steel-jaw traps in my state of Arizona. Ten years ago the initiative would have had a very narrow constituency. But it came in the context of broad support from the entire environmental movement with a deep understanding that a society that can allow animals to innocently get caught in steel traps and die an agonizing death under the desert sun can't possibly have the spiritual strength to deal with all of the issues of habitat, biodiversity, and living thoughtfully on the land." First, Babbitt uses the big lie about the steel-jaw trap - that animals die a slow, agonized death when caught. In reality, the animals are held by the trap until the trapper gets there (usually within 12 to 24 hours). While ailing, almost all animals go to sleep, they are not in pain, they are not agonized, they are just caught and held in one place. Next, notice the reference to "spiritual" again. In today's politically correct culture, Jews, Christians, and Muslims must never even think of mixing their religion with politics, yet time and again Babbitt, the Greens, and animal rights proselyters are preaching their kind of spirituality. Are we living under a double standard? Religion is only okay if it lowers man to the level of animals, the environment, or below? Talking about the Endangered Species Act, Babbitt says, "The imprint of the human species can't just metastasize endlessly across the land; it has to be concentrated thoughtfully, and a lot of space has to be left free of human interference because there are other requisites if you believe in the intertwined and interconnected web of Creation and the beauty of evolutionary diversity." He uses the loaded word "metastasize" to imprint in our minds that humans are a cancer on this earth, reminding us of the words of Ingrid Nekirk, head of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,"We humans have grown like a cancer, we're the biggest blight on the face of the earth." So we humans are to be "concentrated" into the cities and the rest of the country is to be left to the animals and the environment. Who is going to decide where man can and cannot go? Mr. Babbitt and his band of animal rights environmentalists? "Wetlands are the most biologically diverse and richest habitat on the entire planet. ... The wetlands law says that the requisites of biodiversity and the need to live in harmony on this planet require that we pass a law restricting the rights, even of private landowners,..." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you read it right: "restricting the rights, even of private landowners." Secretary Babbitt concludes with this sentiment, "We must protect those laws and at the same time start to think even more broadly about how we preserve space on this planet. The problem is a land-use- planning issue, an environmental issue, and a spiritual issue." Yes, "preserve" (meaning little or no human use) versus "conserve" is indeed one of the issues here. Similarly, "land-use-planning" means trampling on private property rights and, again we are hit with the "spiritual" aspects of the environmental and animal rights movements. Every once in a while we need to review the positions of key government officials. We get busy and move on to other things, which is understandable, but we must not forget. We must not forget that Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt is one of those who have declared a War on the West. To counter that war, we must know our enemies, reading their speeches gives us good ammunition. KATHLEEN MARQUARDT TO HOST NATIONAL CALL-IN RADIO TALK SHOW Putting People First has announced plans to complement its North American FAX network with a daily live call-in radio talk show called Grassroots Radio. Hosted by Kathleen Marquardt, it will reach a wide afternoon commuter audience, including many who never read our news and comments about animal rights and Green extremism. Distributed over Talk America Radio Network in Boston, Grassroots Radio will be available for local station pickup from three communications satellites. It will air live Monday through Friday from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Eastern time, or may be rebroadcast on tape delay. It will go on-air in late October. This will be the first daily talk show to regularly address the issues of animal rights and Green extremism. Grassroots Radio will expand this scope to cover a full range of commentary on social and political issues of the day. Most shows will feature a guest interview with listener call-in on an 800-number, other days will be set aside entirely for listener discussion. All shows will include Kathleen's trademark style of listener involvement in public policy by letters, phone calls, or FAX, thus the name, Grassroots Radio. We need your help to make Grassroots Radio a success. we must expand our affiliate base to reach a large audience and we must raise funds to pay for satellite time. Here's what we need you to do: * Urge your local AM radio stations to carry Grassroots Radio. If your organization has members or clients in different areas, please ask them to contact their stations too. Urban and rural - we need them all. * Dedicate some of your advertising budget to Grassroots Radio. We will have a listenership that's knowledgeable and sympathetic to you, and Kathleen will be dealing with issues that complement your message. * Give Putting People First a grant to help it pay for the research staff, technical equipment, and other costs necessary to support Grassroots Radio and our FAX network. For advertising, grant, and affiliation information contact Harry Black, Putting People First, 406/442-5700, FAX 406/449-0942.