dairy cows have it the worst

Law school is really taking a toll on The Colonic. My apologies. Hopefully, I'll get into a better swing of things.

Before I hit the books, I thought I would clear up the air about dairy cows.

There is a belief that dairy is a happy-cow sort of product. No killing, just milk extraction. Actually, dairy cows have it the worst. I like PETA's explanation of the double-whammy that dairy cows face:

Cows on dairy factory farms often spend years in intensive confinement, forced to stand in feces- and urine-soaked mud as they’re repeatedly impregnated and pushed to produce huge amounts of milk that strain their bodies.Eventually, their bodies give out from the strain, and their “thank you” is to be loaded on a truck and sold for slaughter.

…Our investigator witnessed lame cows struggling to stand and walk as they were herded to the milking machines; cows who could not stand on their own being kicked, jabbed in the spine with a blade, and electro-shocked; and dying cows who were denied even a mercy killing to relieve their pain.

Ethical treatment of animals aside, this is a repulsive breeding ground for bacteria and other health disasters.

Delicious.

*A note about PETA: I only support PETA in it's undercover footage and a small handful of publicity stunts (pregnant women in pig cages was awesome). Their ads are generally either sexist, transphobic, weightist, or some humiliate some other minority.

Boxer & Kerry drop a climate bill

Finally, we're making some moves (and riiighttt before the Power Shift Regional Summits, no less).

I don't have time to get too crazy right now, but here is a quick summary:

"Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act," comes in at 821 pages, starting with a mandate by 2020 to curb the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels. It omits many details, leaving negotiations with Democrats and Republican moderates to fill in the blanks.

But the measure offers specifics on several critical issues, ranging from incentives for natural gas and nuclear power to how Congress can promote tree planting and sustainable farming practices as alternative compliance options for industry.

The bill's sponsors also sought to change the legislative lingo surrounding the bill, dropping references to "cap and trade." Instead, Boxer and Kerry released a summary of their bill that labeled greenhouse gas trading provisions as a "Pollution Reduction and Investment" program. Boxer also touted a proposal allocating emission allowances that is aimed at fiscal conservatives who think past climate proposals cost too much.

"The bill does not add one penny to the deficit," Boxer said. "We're very excited about that." full article

coal company settles lawsuit regarding toxic mine

I've been posting a lot about coal mining, its contamination of water, and public health. Finally, some relief:

A coalition of environmental groups emerged victorious today when Patriot Coal agreed to test a new way to remove selenium from coal mine run-off.

The West Virginia-based coal company agreed to the deal to settle a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy which made allegations that the company had violated the Clean Water Act.

The company will test a reverse osmosis process that could cost up to $350,000 and also agreed to pay the environmental groups’ legal fees and a $50,000 fine. By striking the deal, they bought themselves more time to make the change; they now have until April 5th, 2010, nearly a full year extension. full article

Power Shift regional summits

If you've been missing Power Shift because it has been too difficult to travel to DC, check out the regional Power Shift summits. I'll be hitting up the Virginia summit.

speaking of renewable energy going nowhere fast...

Here's an uplifting (sarcasm for upsetting) piece from the New York Times regarding this week's global meeting of world leaders and their discussion on climate change:

The negotiations for a new international agreement to curb emissions of greenhouse gases have stalled, making an agreement in Copenhagen by December difficult.

...In speech after speech, presidents and prime ministers of countries large and small spoke with soaring promises about the importance of confronting the problem for future generations. But when it came down to the nuts-and-bolts promises of what they were prepared to do in the next decade, experts and analysts were disappointed that there were no bold new proposals, particularly from the United States. full article

Senate Dems do something for the environment

Since I have yet to post my official blog on my opinions about health care reform dominating political discourse and the public forum--putting the environment on the back burner--suffice it to say that I am happy to hear (small) moves are still happening (slowly, and without visibility).

CREDO recently had a call-to-action because:

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has proposed an amendment to EPA's fiscal 2010 spending bill that would strip EPA of the ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants and polluting industries.

I know. Imagine my anger. But now CREDO has shut the campaign down because Senate Democrats were able to prevent it from hitting the floor. woot woot.

states can sue utilities over emissions

A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit gave 8 states (California, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin) the green light in their law suit against several large coal-burning facilities (American Electric Power, Southern Corporation, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Xcel Energy and Cinergy Corporation).

The states allege that the emissions of the defendants are creating a public nuisance due to emissions contributing to climate change.

What's the big picture? States can sue utility companies over emissions. Woot woot. With that thought, I gladly go to torts class. Read the full article.

This will be a great case to follow.

DNC governing body gets first trans member

I've been thinking that The Colonic needs to include some more positive news. Well, here it is--positive news:

The Democratic National Committee voted last week to welcome a transgender woman to its ranks, the first time that a major U.S. political party has appointed an openly transgender person to its national governing body.

Transgender activist Barbra Casbar Siperstein, president of the New Jersey Stonewall Democrats, a statewide LGBT organization, was among six new LGBT people nominated Sept. 7 by DNC Chair and Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine for at-large seats on the 447-member DNC.

The six LGBT nominees were among 75 at-large DNC nominees that the full DNC approved Sept. 11 during a meeting in Austin, Texas. The additions bring the total number of LGBT people sitting on the DNC to 25, up from 15 in 2008, and boost the membership of the DNC’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Americans Caucus to its highest level since the party officially recognized the caucus in 1998. full article

Sara Bareilles repping the LGBT cause

Sara Bareilles is dropping a new album, and repping the cause:

Bareilles is scheduled to perform October 26 at New York's Feinstein's at Lowes Regency. The event is a benefit for Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund, which aims to further gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender activism, and Broadway Impact, a grassroots organization that supports marriage equality. full article

REPEAL DOMA NOW

DOMA repeal introduced. Take action here.

call in for a clean climate

Call your Senators today and tell them to pass a strong clean energy bill. Take action here.

House Dems and the Respect for Marriage Act

Great news: House Democrats are taking on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which reserves marriage for "heterosexual" couples.

Representatives Jerrold Nadler, Tammy Baldwin and Jared Polis appeared along with same-sex marriage advocates at a Tuesday morning news conference to announce the introduction of the bill, called the Respect for Marriage Act. full article

The bill already has 90 co-sponsors.

Point of clarification: I included "heterosexual" in quotation marks because the term really isn't so straight forward. If marriage is between a "man" and a "woman," that doesn't really say much in terms of biology versus gender performance/identity. In other words, if I am a trans woman whose life partner is a woman, unless I have changed my legal gender status, my relationship can operate as "man" and "wife" legally--although not so much on an everyday basis. Alternatively, if I am a trans man married to a woman, and have changed my legal gender status, I can function as "heterosexual"--but if I have not changed my legal status, I cannot function as "heterosexual," despite the fact that I pass as "hetero-" with my partner.

If I am in a same-sex female partnership, but my partner has a male gender identity, this nuances the discussion of "male" and "female" because my partner identifies as male, while being biologically female.

Clearly, I can enumerate many different scenarios. My point is, and I constantly revisit this on my blog, it is not enough to say female/male "sex" or "gender." Social conservatism insists on a specific relationship between a certain set of genitals, and a certain gender performance, i.e. biological vagina and feminine gender identity (as opposed to biological vagina and masculine gender identity); it does not allow for mix and match.

The Colonic, on the other hand, does allow for mixing and matching. So when I hear "heterosexual," there is more at hand.