A little piece I read the other day from the book Bourbon For Breakfast.


"Environmentalism, it’s been said, is the ideological luxury of city dwellers in modern life, for anyone who lives outside an urban or suburban environment knows the truth: nature is vicious and cruel and works relentlessly to make the life of man a living Hell.
I was reminded of this when looking at the horrible, bloody gashes on my brother’s domesticated cat, a sweet animal that lives in harmony with his superiors, the human family that owns and cares for him. The violence had been inflicted by another cat, a wild animal that is much bigger and lacks the mirage of conscience that we try to infuse in our pets.
The wild animal arrives at the back porch of this house nestled in the country on the edge of the West Texas desert. When no one is looking, the wild animal terrorizes the domestic cat, stealing food, slashing at his fur and skin, and generally try to rid the world of its competition for survival.
One would think it would be easy enough to kill it, but it is cunning beyond all expectation. I wandered through the mesquite and wild grass looking for him, rifle in hand, but he knew where I was going and hid magnificently. Once I gave up he would appear again as if to taunt me. I would go out with the gun again, and it would start all over.
As my brother and I waited in silence by the reservoir, I noted a skull sitting by the water. Where did this come from? Wild dogs, came the answer. They have been prowling for three months. They target the goats. Three months ago, there were 16 goats, domesticated and happy. Then one day the dogs arrived. At night, they hop the fence and kill them and drag them away. Sometimes they ravaged them to the bone right on the spot, and leave the goat remains to bake in the sun.
Man’s best friend!
The goat herd was down to three. One missing goat made everyone particularly sad. It was undersized, born early, white with brown spots. It was brought close to the house and reared in safety. After several months, it was big enough to care for itself and it was allowed to roam with the others. It only lasted a day, however. It was the first one targeted in the season’s opening massacre. The baby goat was dinner for dogs.
Such problems as this dominate country life. When it’s not dogs and coyotes and wild cats, it’s other varmints such as raccoons and hyenas, not to mention snakes and scorpions. Birds devour the fish in the pond. Turtles compete for food. Then there is the plant life, which is far from harmless to the well being of people. Poison plants and thorny bushes dare us to walk outside areas we have tilled. They choked out new plantings. Then there is the weather, which seems to be constantly conspiring to make our lives mis- erable and foil our plans.
Generally the picture you gain from living in this environment for more than a few days is the very opposite of the “preservationist” outlook you get from environmental propaganda. If we are to survive in this cruel world, the only option is to tame it or kill it. It’s them or us. We hear about the precious and delicate balance of nature, how species help each to thrive in a mystical cycle of being, but all we witness is a “natural” kill-or-be-killed practice that is so awful you can hardly watch.
The cruel competition for survival is not limited to animals. It extends to plants, to all things. And it could easily characterize the actions of people, absent the civilizing institutions of exchange, ownership, and the marketplace the scene of peace in which man uses his reason to create and develop, cooperate and flourish.
And what is war but the very opposite of this impulse, a reversal of reason and an attempt at practicing authentic “environmentalism” in which the choice is to kill or be killed?"

Emmeran has inflicted 10 out of 10 possible damage points to Tojo's butt.

tojo2000 wrote:

Emmeran wrote:

Well Tojo, perhaps you should think twice about leaving the safety of suburbia.

God, you're predictable.  I just posted a short film where chipmunks (or something) get consumed in flames, and somehow this becomes an anti-Tojo rant?

Go find some thread where you can try to become the authority by the fact that you have some military experience.  It will be more fulfilling, since I won't be around for a while.

Relax dude, don't let a little banter get your panties in a wad.