Dear Readers,
This month many people will be trying to do something to celebrate Earth Day. There is one thing everyone could do each day, which would have a dramatic effect in improving the environment and save the lives of billions of living beings every year.
You could go vegan!
It is estimated that each year over one billion land animals are killed in the United States and over 60 billion worldwide. That doesn't include sea life. If just you alone go vegan you can save approximately 50 lives per year from having to be raised for slaughter and about 2,600 over your lifetime.
It takes a tremendous amount of energy, grain and water to produce a pound of meat. It takes approximately 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef and only 25 gallons to produce a serving of rice or grains. The majority of corn and soy grown each year goes to feed cows, pigs and chickens but could be feeding people if meat consumption is eliminated.
I know everyone is not going to quit eating meat today but every person that goes vegan makes a difference. You can be that difference by going vegan.
Chris Vaughn
Dear Source,
Possibly due to editorial oversight, the April 11, 2013, issue of The Source contains some material not related to Molly Ringwald.
That Jack Elliott
Dear Rep. Walden,
Every day as my 8-year-old grandson leaves for school, he carries a freshly released hug and the words "I love you" fresh in his ears. There is a third thing. A short, simple prayer: "Please, just let him come home." Before Newtown, there were only the first two. Now, the third seems to be the most important. I won't forget Newtown anytime soon.
No constitutional right is absolute. There are restrictions on First Amendment rights of speech, press and religion; restrictions on Fourth Amendment rights regarding search and seizure. Yet, as I listen to Wayne LaPierre and his ilk, their argument is against any restriction on Second Amendment rights—an argument absurd on its face. Should anyone have free access to mustard gas or rocket grenades? What nonsense. LaPierre would never argue that First or Fourth Amendment rights be absolute, never advocate incitement to riot or slander be protected by free speech.
The NRA receives two-thirds of its funding from the gun industry. LaPierre receives 100 percent of his $1.2 million salary from the NRA, two-thirds coming from the same gun industry. His loyalty resides there. We've all seen the myriad polls showing a large majority of NRA members favoring background checks (84 percent), straw-buyer crackdowns (73 percent), and magazine capacity limits (66 percent). LaPierre adamantly opposes it all. His loyalty is clear. Where is yours?
You know the proposed measures currently discussed do not infringe on the Second Amendment any more than the "crowded theater" doctrine infringes on the First. The gun lobby, with its front man LaPierre, has concocted a fetid stew. Genuine character shuns the stench. Background checks, a straw-buyer crackdown, and magazine limits are all supported by your constituents. Refusal to recognize that is admitting gun lobby servitude.
In the end, Wayne LaPierre has shown himself to be a buffoon at odds with his own words. He testified before Congress favoring universal background checks and now says they are government overreach. For him, the Second Amendment is merely a convenient cudgel for the sole purpose of shilling for the gun industry. In public he squeals incessantly about individual rights. In the shadows he accepts his ample pay from an industry unconcerned with my grandson's right to survive his childhood.
Government that disregards its people's wishes surrenders its relevance. LaPierre has chosen avarice over his own constituents. I encourage you to choose otherwise.
Jonathan Davidson
