[Vision2020] Animal Abusers, Welcome to Red Idaho!

[heirdoug at netscape.net]

Bruce,

I just have to wonder if there is any direct correlation between the 
topic below and the teaching Mr. Gier espouses with respect to the 
human baby inside a mother not being a true person worthy of dignity. 
Or Mr. Gier's teaching that animals are the same as humans. Both of 
which he gleaned from the materialistic teaching of Darwinism.

Ideas have consequences!

Here is a book that might bring some of this to light: "FROM DARWIN TO 
HITLER: EVOLUTIONARY ETHICS, EUGENICS, AND RACISM IN GERMANY by Richard 
Weikart"

lemeno, Doug

----- Original Message -----
>From: Bruce and Jean Livingston jeanlivingston at turbonet.com
>To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>
>Subject: [Vision2020] Animal Abusers, Welcome to Red Idaho!
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
>
>I have an interesting anecdotal nugget that cannot be statistically
>validated to necessarily have any significance, but it still is
>"interesting."
>
>One of the things I do in my work with death row inmates is to 
investigate
>their lives, looking for reasons how they came to be the person they 
are and
>perhaps find evidence that could have been presented to a jury that 
would
>have convinced a jury to sentence the murderer to life in prison 
instead of
>death.
>
>Obviously, a common thread in these cases is a violent family 
background.
>All too typically, the murderer's childhood is replete with stories of
>violence, with the seeming consequence that the child grows up
>de-senstitized to violence, and becomes violent. The violence that we
>usually think about is domestic violence and sex abuse, with the child
>experiencing the violence personally as both an observer and the 
recipient.
>Dad beats mom brutally in front of the children a lot, or beats the 
children
>themselves, or uncle Jimmy sodomizes little Joey, repeatedly, etc. etc.
>
>But the interesting anecdote that Saundra's "animal abuser" tag line
>prompted for me was this surprising anecdotal fact: In more than half 
of
>the death penalty mitigation investigations that I have conducted, as 
a
>child the eventual murderer experienced the "murder" of an animal that 
was
>his pet by violent means at the hands of a close relative, usually 
"Dad."
>For example, I am talking about angrily smashing the pet dog's head 
with a
>booted foot in the kitchen, or killing the family cat by wringing it's 
head
>off, or most gruesomely, beating a horse to death with a hammer, for 
not
>going onto the trailer easily (and then refusing to put it out of its 
misery
>and letting it linger, moaning, for two days, when any other horse in 
the
>family outfitting business would be mercifully shot if it broke a leg).
>
>I cannot verify that animal abuse leads to violence in humans that 
observe
>it, but the surprising frequency of this sort of conduct in the lives 
of
>death row inmates when they were young children gives me great pause.
>
>Bruce Livingston
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Saundra Lund" <sslund at adelphia.net>
>To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Sent: Friday, November 17, 2006 1:38 PM
>Subject: [Vision2020] Animal Abusers, Welcome to Red Idaho!
>
> Visionaries,
>
> The first time I posted about this issue back in September 2004, 
Idaho was
> one of only nine states in our great nation that lacked a felony 
animal
> cruelty statute.
>
> I think it's time to revisit this issue because in the time since, the
> situation has gotten worse instead of improving :-( At this point, 
Idaho
> remains one of only ***four*** states that still lacks a felony animal
> cruelty statute.
>
> My understanding is that Rep. Tom Trail has been working to fix this
> travesty. To date, he's been unsuccessful, and I'm hoping he will 
provide
> us with his comments and the current status.
>
> Why should you care?
>
> For one thing, as appropriate laws and penalties are enforced 
elsewhere,
> Idaho becomes a more and more attractive place for those law breakers 
to
> come.
>
> For the last 25 years, the link between animal abuse and domestic 
violence
> (child abuse, spouse abuse, elder abuse) has been recognized. As long 
as
> we
> allow Idaho to continue to be a haven for animal abusers, we create an
> environment that's more dangerous for ***all*** Idahoans.
>
> Are you sick of watching your neighbor leave his/her animals outside
> without
> adequate food/water/shelter? Well, too bad for you -- not to mention 
for
> the animals -- because Idaho lacks adequate definitions and standards 
of
> *basic* care :-(
>
> And, let's say you witness a person abusing his/her animal and do the
> right
> thing by reporting it. And, the offender is convicted, even though 
it's
> just a misdemeanor. You've saved the animal from a wretched existence,
> right? Wrong! Idaho law does NOT provide for forfeiture of abused
> animals,
> so right back to the abuser the animal goes :-(
>
> Idaho law also fails to provide for restrictions on the future 
ownership
> or
> possession of animals following conviction. So, Harry or Mary could 
beat
> their dog, be convicted, burn their cat alive, be convicted, starve 
their
> horse, be convicted, etc., etc., etc.
>
> "But, only a crazy person would do that," you might say. Maybe, maybe 
not
> .
> . . but we'll never know because Idaho law also fails to provide for
> mental
> health evaluations or counseling for those convicted of animal abuse.
>
> No matter what kind of growth you advocate, you'd better hope our
> legislature -- and our local authorities -- start making things right 
with
> respect to animal laws because the situation will only worsen. It will
> continue to hit us in the pocketbooks because there's a financial 
aspect
> to
> our woefully inadequate laws: Idaho law doesn't provide for adequate 
cost
> mitigation provisions (i.e., cost of care bonds, reimbursement of 
costs,
> restitution) for impounded animals.
>
> While some of these and other inadequacies need to be resolved at the
> state
> level, there's plenty of room for improvement locally. The City of 
Moscow
> had just such an opportunity a year or so ago, yet the then-City 
Council
> took a pass on addressing these very real problems. We should 
advocate
> for
> our Mayor and current Council Members to show the wisdom of local
> improvement *now* rather than waiting until it costs us even more 
money .
> .
> . and suffering.
>
>
> JMHO,
> Saundra Lund
> Moscow, ID
>
> The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people 
to do
> nothing.
> - Edmund Burke
>
> ***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2006, Saundra 
Lund.
> Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020 
forum
> without the express written permission of the author.*****
>
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