protest

PETA vs. CEI: A Surprisingly Amiable Exchange of Ideas

by Michelle Minton on October 22, 2010 · 1 comment

in Agriculture, Bureaucrash, Culture, Energy, Environment, Global Warming, Nanny State, Personal Liberty, Sanctimony

Yesterday, the DCist reported that PETA planned a protest outside of the Capital Grille, a meat-centric restaurant here in the nation’s capital.

The point, according to the organization’s press release, is to convince folks that “meat is not green” by showing that the meat and dairy industries contribute to global warming because cows release methane gas into the atmosphere thereby compounding greenhouse gases.

Despite recently released reports that suggest cow-methane production is much less than previously estimated, and that not only cows, but also other animals, marshlands, and anything decomposing produces methane gases, the PETA folks decide to target meat-eaters. Why?

The reason PETA chose meat-eaters as their target is because they are an animal protection group-not a world protection group. The mission of their organization is to prevent animal killing, abuse, and exploitation. They simply latched onto the global warming angle as way to promote their agenda.

CEI staged a counter rally nearby and we were prepared for a shouting match, but to PETA’s credit, they were pretty accepting of our presence. Of course, they may have been a little shy to get in any altercation considering they only had three people and we had about seven folks. We had signs expressing the deliciousness of meat while they had a person dressed as a cow and pamphlets appealing to individuals to consider giving up meat.

While their arguments made it pretty clear that PETA is more concerned with animals than the welfare of humanity, their appeals to the individual to voluntarily change their behavior on an individual level are acceptable and fine way to try and “change the world” and as far as we could tell they weren’t petitioning governments to get involved and prevent the production of meat or consumption of energy as other environmentalists groups do.

Our counter rally, which was more of a pro-meat/pro-humanity rally, seemed to receive a much more enthusiastic reception from passers-by as we handed out Enjoy Capitalism stickers and free sticks of beef jerky.

In the end people love meat and the industrialized production and shipping of meat has substantially improved the quality of life and nutrition for people around the world. Sorry cows.

November 5th March on the Capitol Against Government Takeover of Healthcare

by Richard Morrison on November 5, 2009

in Video, Zeitgeist

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrErshmvP0M 285 234]

Tea Parties Should be More than Anti-Tax

by Michelle Minton on April 13, 2009 · 1 comment

in Culture, Features, Zeitgeist

You undoubtedly have heard that on April 15th many Americans will participate in Tax Day “Tea Parties,” a reference to the colonial tea parties that occurred in 18th century America. The protests have been widely covered by a broad range of media outlets.

The sentiment behind modern tea parties isn’t clear; it is varied. Some attending the protests want lower taxes, or to show their objection to the ways taxes are being used, some are there to object to the very idea of involuntary taxes all together and other protesters object to bailouts.

Like the original tea party modern tax day rallies should NOT be about taxes. Americans should protest the philosophy that led to high taxes, bailouts, and government waste; namely the presumption that government has a right to interfere in our economic lives at all. We should protest the presumption that government has the right to do anything other than protect the individual liberty of American citizens.

In 1773 The Tea Act gave special privileges to the East India Company that allowed it to sell tea at lower rates than all other companies, saving the company from economic ruin (a bailout 18th century style). Colonists refused the tea, turning away ships and in the case of Boston, destroying it. Why? Because Bostonians in the 18th century recognized the danger of such abuses of government power even though it provided a cheaper product in the short term. They rejected the tea on principle and it is that principle we should stand on today.

The American government seems to be mirroring the 18th century British government; applying discriminatory taxes on businesses, products, and citizens, using appropriated money to prop up preferred companies and failing to protect the freedom of individuals to pursue their own happiness. All the while those in power implicitly and explicitly in some cases attack capitalism, the only system under which individual rights are supreme. It is this attack on free markets and individual rights that citizens must oppose.

In the last two centuries Americans have forgotten that the only proper function of government should be to protect our individual rights which include the right to property, freedom from foreign and domestic force, and freedom to pursue happiness as we define it–not the happiness a governing body or society allows us to pursue.

It is time to remind the public that a government of the people and for the people must be constantly checked by the people. As Samuel Adams said

“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks”

If you want to participate in a tea party in your neighborhood you can find out more here

LibertyWeek 32: FCC Don’t Tread on Me

by Richard Morrison on March 5, 2009

in CEI Projects, Podcast

Your hosts Richard Morrison and Cord Blomquist bring you Episode 32 of the LibertyWeek podcast with special guest Sam Kazman and surprise guest co-host Jeremy Lott. We start by looking into the possible future of the Federal Communications Commission with nominee Julius Genachowski about to ascend to the chairmanship, and then take another stroll through the New Great Depression with high-level financial talks between unpopular British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and über-popular President Barack Obama. Oregonian brewers fight a proposed fifteen cents a pint tax in Beer News, and the Lady Madoff tries to stash away tens of millions from the feds in this edition of Scandal Watch. We hit our stride with an interview with CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman and his tales of the icy global warming rally staged earlier this week here in Washington, D.C. Finally, a little belt-tightening Olympic News from the USOC.

Listen here!