or a training collar. When I was little, this was how I was taught to do it; however, I have since come to realize that fear/pain based discipline is not only somewhat lazy, but it is not the way that I would ever want one of my dogs to relate to me. I would never spank my son, and I don't use those methods on my dogs.

Likewise, I put debarking in the same category as de-clawing of cats. My mother uses an apt analogy for the latter; she says that it would be the human equivalent of cutting fingers off at the first knuckle. My vet wholeheartedly agrees with her. These are extreme measures that are taken by people that are more concerned with convenience than their animal companion.

I do find it disconcerting that your trainer uses these methods. When my mother started training her German Wirehair, she had the most awesome trainer. He was a young guy, and used newer methods, but I was really amazed at how often he would relate the dog's behavior to the breed with clever work arounds for each dog's idiosyncrasies. It was also pretty fun to watch.

It's also cute that you call your doggie the Vegan Beagle.

It is relating to the issue of whether or not the national anthem should be sung in languages other than english, and as a language completely independent of english, ASL is an apt comparison to make.

Having two close friends who are sign interpreters professionally, I can tell you that one need not be "disabled" as you put it, in order to use it. It is a language of its own accord, unrelated to english in many ways--own system of grammar, etc.--and the community that uses it has a culture that is very divergent from mainstream American culture. In fact, many of its members would consider it to have a culture all its own.

The parallel seems logically consistent.

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Issues.htm

http://www.optruth.org/index.php?option=co...

http://www.patriotproject.com/index.php?op...

There is really a lot of information out there on the topic of how the reupublicans "support" our troops and veterans.

my personal thought on this matter is that it is unfair to Hitler's *victims* to use this comparison lightly. Likening another to him, or even invoking his name in this manner, breeds the lightness and familiarity of such frequent and common exposure. If one is to point out a fallacy--do it directly. Why spice it up? The fact that talk show hosts would converse in this manner should demonstrate why it is uncivil.

Secondly, bringing Hitler into civilized debate is a fallacy in itself. Unless one is using this method in a close parallel that warrants it--i.e. a political leader whose policies lead to a large number of deaths, who uses blatant propaganda, who heads a fascist regime, etc. etc.--than it is being used as a faulty emotional appeal, meaning that it is designed to evoke strong emotions in the listeners/readers that aren't really about the topic at hand. Not only is it fallacious, but it shows a lack of reason and skill in the one who invokes it.

he can't help but spend it. Look at how in debt most of us are.

And if the worker invests that money--isn't that the same thing as a wealthy person investing it?

The only difference between trickle down and trickle up is the end result: trickle down gives wealthy people not only more than their share, but they also get to retain control of that share and thereby everything else.

especially that god didn't create gays as they are, that they equate homosexuality with pedophilia. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME. Gays do not prey on children in order to recruit.

And beside the sheer illness which this person's comments fill me with--they make me sad. Sad because she is spewing hatred on a minority which doesn't deserve it, for no other reason than because she can. And even more, sad because the ultimate victims of her comments are children.

Many children could be adopted by loving couples in stable family environments and removed from the foster system but won't be because of hatred. The hatred of this "christian" person and those like her, who are in search of a wedge issue.

This turns my stomach.

kinds of discussions. You seem to be working from the statistical one. Just because women are over-represented, numerically, in this situation does not give them any more social power. The latter refers to the other use of minority, meaning a group with a lack of representation in the ruling power structure.

Women will stop being a "minority" when they are given equal pay, equal career opportunities, and equal representation--among other things.

After all, women have always been the numerical majority in society, and that hasn't done much for their share of the power structure. Nor will this achieve any more for Latinos as their numbers rise, because in the end it is still the rich, white, male, old-money numerical minority that control most things.

The PETA people are marketing geniuses, and YES, I can back that up!!

(I know that this is a little long, but bear with me for a bit. 

For the last couple of days, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the last round of PETA bashing in the lounge. Specifically, this round began regarding the formula one and “milk is a racist beverage” issue. It is the later point that has kept me so interested, because even though I knew that *most* ethnic groups have high rates of lactose intolerance—with the exception of those of Northern European ancestry—I was convinced that there was more to it than that.

PETA press releases often include statements like the one regarding racist milk. They often make outlandish and sometimes seeming inflammatory statements like this one, and usually many people just add it to their record of kookiness. Why would any sane person say such a thing?

Well, there seems to be a method to their madness. Firstly, such statements are more likely to get publicity and word of mouth. Secondly, and more importantly, there will be those that do their homework. Whether these individuals are out to refute or support PETA, their research cannot help but be an eye opening experience. I would like to think that I am one of those individuals that must investigate everything. Regardless whether I agree or disagree, I have to see the evidence with my own two eyes, and sometimes I may even change my mind. That’s what I did with the racist milk statement.

PETA’s statement comes back to the health issues that milk causes and the fact that milk is not a healthy diet choice. We are brainwashed by the dairy industry to think otherwise, but the fact is that milk has been linked to so many health issues that it is hard to even list them all—and most people are unaware of it! Such illnesses include: Heart disease, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, infertility, MS, , Crohn’s Disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, ,muscle cramps, Constipation, food allergies, allergies , headaches, ADHD, arthritis, anemia, asthma, increased risks of colds and sinus infection, increased risk of strep throat, increases in ear infections and tonsillitis, colic, Chronic fatigue, may foster appendicitis and other infections, suppression of immune system, suppression of respiratory system…and on and on. And when you take into account that African Americans and Latinos suffer from many of these problems in higher ratios than do whites, and that these groups are more often found in lower income areas and without health insurance, it comes down to the fact that our society is foisting a diet on them that causes illness and death. I would call that racist—what do you think?

Now in the end, PETA’s comment about milk being a racist beverage led me not only to agree with their position, but I’ve also found out how unhealthy it actually is. We are all familiar with the animal rights reasons for giving up dairy products, and I was slowly moving in that direction, but I’ve now decided that I’ll immediately cut dairy out of my diet. I also found good evidence that it won’t hurt my son either! So people may think that PETA is a group full of kooks and fascist animal loving crazies, but that doesn’t affect the end result of their endeavors. In the end, it is all about the animals, and our culture is slowly but surely moving in the PETA direction. 

Here are some good links that I found:

General: http://www.pcrm.org/health/Info_on_Veg_Die...

More in depth: http://members.tripod.com/~josquin/milk.ht...

Many resources on milk and effects: http://www.nomilk.com /