Mmmm, Barbecue!

Q: Why does PETA hate fur more than leather?
A: It's safer to harass elderly rich women than motorcycle gangs.

Now I know what I'm doing tomorrow. It's "Eat an Animal for PETA day!"

A number of years ago, before this whole Internet thing really got going, a guy I know registered the domain name "peta.org". PETA here stands for "People Eating Tasty Animals". He put up a page with links to resources for hunting, fishing, animal husbandry, fur, etc, etc. The response was, err, interesting. Turns out that a lot of PETA types are just as stupid and vicious as the critters they're protecting. PETA sued and the courts went with the money and loud voices to give the domain to PETA.

Once,I was talkikng with a woman who was doing medical research at the National Institutes of Health. She wouldn't say exactly what her research was, but it involved killing large numbers of rats. She told about a confrontation with an "animal rights" protester:

Protester:

By killing those innocent animals, you are ruining your Karma. Maybe you'll be a rat in a medical experiment in a future life!

Researcher:

But the rats have to work out their own karma! Perhaps some of those rats have been trapped on the Wheel of Karma since their part in the Black Death. We're helping their spiritual progression!

Protester:

?????

In my opinion, PETA is a reasonably good idea gone horribly wrong. There have been organizations devoted to fighting "cruelty to animals" for over 150 years. Most of them are reasonably sensible. PETA makes the whole bunch look like idiots.