Anthony Marr's CARE-7 tour blog #11
Santa Ana, Southern California
I'm now writing from the beautiful acreage property in Santa Ana of Julie and Steve Meskell, where I will be staying until May 5 before leaving for Las Vegas,
whose closest neighbor is a red-tailed hawk and her white-headed chick in a nest in a Ponderosa pine.
Well, this won't be a light-hearted blog to write.
When Anthony Damiano and I were driving/riding down from Monterey to LA (see blog #7), while passing Santa Barbara, I looked to the sea, and saw no less than 7 oil rigs well within sight of land, i.e. about 10 miles.
I said, "If any of these blows, that'd be it for the gorgeous California coast, and the elephant seals." Anthony is extremely proud and fond of the southwest Florida coast and beaches, on one of which his parents' house is situated. I thought, "Same for those rigs in the Gulf of Mexico." Lo and behold, within five days, one of them did blow.
The devastating news of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill originating from the April 22 explosion and sinking of the British Petroleum (laughably self-nicknamed "Beyond Petroleum" for years) oil rig Deepwater Horizon. Chronologically:
April 22, Thursday: The Deepwater Horizon sank. Authorities said that the 1-x-5-mile sheen was from the original explosion, and that no oil was leaking from the well.
April 23, Friday: The Coast Guard ended search for the missing, and said that skimmers, containment booms and aircraft with dispersants were ready to move on to the spill.
April 24, Saturday: The Coast Guard said that 42,000 gallons a day of oil was leaking from the well. The spill had then expanded to 20-x-20-mile area, and that storms were hampering the cleanup effort.
April 25, Sunday: Attempts were made to cut off the flow of oil from the well by means of robotic submarine. By then the spill had lengthened to 30 miles. BP sent a second rig to drill a relief well, while sperm whales were sighted in the spill area.
April 26, Monday: Attempts to shut off the well with robotic submarines failed, but continuing. Meanwhile, the spill had expanded to an almost 50-x-40-mile area, and had moved to within 30 miles from the Louisiana coast.
April 27, Tuesday: The Coast Guard announced plan to burn off the spill, which had lengthened to over 60 miles and moved to within 23 miles of the Louisiana coast.
April 28, Wednesday: A controlled burn was done. The estimate of spill rate had increased to 5,000 barrels (155,000 gallons) a day - 5X BP's original announced estimate.
April 29, Thursday: The spill area had lengthened to well over 100 miles, as patches of oil sheen had begun to appear at the mouth of the Mississippi River, while attempts to shut off the well continued to fail. BP estimated that attempts to shut off the well might take up to 3 months.
April 30, Friday: The storms had continued unabated, and the spill area had lengthened to well over 150 miles. The first observed animal victim - a Northern gannett with its beak covered in thick oil - was observed.
Day before yesterday, April 29, Thursday, Cathy took me out for a visit to her favorite beach with her two Great Danes, and treated me to a dinner and rounded out the evening with the 7:30 showing of the movie Avatar, which I had not yet seen, and proved dazzling, magnificent as well as meaningful. While waiting for the movie to begin, I called Anthony D, and he tearfully told me that the west coast of Florida, which he adores, could be hit by the spill within 3 days. After the show, I called him and offered to fly him home so that he could participate in any needed effort to protect his beloved beach and its animal denizens, amongst which he made a special mention of the manatee.
"Drill baby drill", Sarah Palin? WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO F___, I mean, DRILL YOURSELF?!
Unfortunately, the notion of Anthony D's going home was not purely due to the spill. For several days now, we've been discussing the foreseeable consequence that he might have to leave the tour due to insufficient funding. My commitment to him was that any donation will go to him first up to about $900 a month to cover his mortgage and bills, and only after that would I begin to pay off my credit card debt incurred from launching the tour. Although I had paid him the $990 on April 10 from the donations accumulated over the previous 2 months in our IDA account, this could sustain him only to about mid-May. As of the beginning of the tour, the donations have not amounted to even a small percentage of what would be needed to sustain the tour itself on an ongoing basis. We have been forced to conclude that at this rate, without funding infusion, the tour would be financially sustainable only if it is executed by me solo. Anthony had made two offers to leave the tour for its sake thus far, but up to yesterday, I had twice declined.
Yesterday, I sent out a funding appeal on to the internet as follows:
"Dear friends in compassion: As you know, the 40-states-in-7-months Compassion for Animals Road Expedition #7 (CARE-7 tour), being executed by myself and Anthony Damiano, started on April 1. It has become apparent to us that in spite of our vigorous activities, several of which have garnered the desired media coverage (see www.HomoSapiensSaveYourEarth.blogspot.com), one important aspect of the tour has fallen way short. Perhaps due to the economic downturn, the amount of donations, on which we depend from day to day, has proven insufficient to financially sustain the tour, which could lead to Anthony D losing his house and I to accumulated mountainous credit card debts at 19% interest. This has led us to the inescapable conclusion that either Anthony D may have to leave the tour, or that I may have to end the tour altogether, unless we could raise upwards of $5000 within weeks. Therefore, I'm writing this funding appeal in hopes of forestalling the premature termination of the tour. Please pass it on far and wide. // For anyone wishing to make a donation, please write me an email at Anthony-Marr@HOPE-CARE.org and AnthonyMarr@gmail.com stating that you wish to donate, and to what amount, and I will reply within hours with specific instructions as to how to do so. Any other way may lead to the donation going astray. Thank you for your support thus far. Hopefully, the tour will proceed to its proper conclusion. // Yours for the animals, our children and the planet. - Anthony Marr."
Within minutes, we received heart warming responses such as: "We're on it!" (Marla Stormwolf-Patty); "I just posted ye message Anthony on the bulletins,we will make this work. Too many peeps are expecting ye in my part of the country!" (Irish Cornaire); "Hi Anthony and Anthony, you are deeply loved for all the compassion and awareness you share with our planet - you are changing stubborn minds and awakening the sleeping masses, helping animals survive human greed and unspeakable brutality. // I know in my heart that all your struggles will be rewarded on a high spiritual plane, where your soul shall receive the kind of joy and light only God can deliver. // I am posting a blog with your letter of outreach to my myspace, facebook and other networking sources. If I could - I'd pay for your entire trip but I hope a small donation will express my support. // It would be totally awesome, totally totally great if we could find a vegan sponsor to cover at least some of your costs. Most individuals struggle to make ends meet these days, so an organization or a company that promotes veganism and animal protection would be a good sponsor. Food/lodging/gas are your main expenses. // If $5,000 is what G.A.H.C. needs to sustain the CARE-7 tour - figure we need only 250 people to donate $20 each, or only 100 people to donate $50 each to reach this goal. That's a piece of cake! // Wishing love, safety and unforgettable joyous experiences to you both on your long journey for the cause." (Eve Love Cher) Unfortunately, the financial ball has not rolled much, if at all, for 48 hours. So, I booked Anthony D a ticket from LAX to Sarasota FL for May 3rd with my credit card to the tune of $300.
One thing he intends to do back in Florida is to begin the process of applying for 501C3 status for GAHC, as well as to continue helping with organizing the rest of the tour. He will be going to the AR Conference in Washington DC in mid-July.
Back on April 25, a young hunter named Mike William wrote me on the Global Anti-Hunting Coalition site in FaceBook, accompanied by 3 hunting pics. Following is our conversation:
Mike Williams April 24 at 9:04pm
if i have affended u then u have made my day
Mike Williams April 25 at 8:55am
I will be glad to debate aginst ure dumb anti hunting crap. You will never get ride of hunting. It is a God givein right. I have huntrd and fished ever since I have been old enough to hold a gun or cast a fishing pole. Nothing you say can change me. If you do get rid of hunting you will have to catch me because I aint never going to stop.
Anthony Marr April 25 at 9:00am
You are not good enough for debate. All you are is a bully, and I bet you are a bully at school, if you go to school at all.
Mike Williams April 25 at 9:12am
Let me tell you something. I happen to go to Anson New Technology high school, they teach us how to debate and lots of different skills that are important in a career field. Do not tell me I can not do something, because ill do it better than someone like you could. To be it sounds like your scared to go up aginst me because you know that I can tell you as many reasons as you want to here about why hunting is not wrong and all you can come up with is killing the animanl. By the way I do feel sorry for the animals I kill.
Anthony Marr April 25 at 9:29am
I feel sorry for YOU.
Mike Williams April 25 at 9:32am
I told you that you couldent come up with anything. I want to know when you are going to hold a debate in NC.
Anthony Marr April 25 at 10:06am
No NJ hunter has dared to step up to the plate.
Mike Williams April 25 at 10:13am
I will step up to the plate for North carolina.
Anthony Marr April 25 at 10:24am
I'm not a bully. I don't bash kids.
Mike Williams April 25 at 10:25am
what are you trying to say?
Mike Williams April 30 at 9:50pm
Mr. Marr, I know that you do not want to debate aginst me, because you think that I am not good enough to debate yet. I understand and respect that but I do not need a high level of education to debate aginst you about hunting. I have learnd to debate in school and I am defending what I belive in. afrom my understanding your vidoe on youtubr.com, says any hunter that is not scared to debate aginst you can any where and time that you are willing. I appolygize for not being professinol the first time. Please email me back. Thank you, Michael Earl Williams Jr.
I appolige for miss spellings I couldent get spell check to work.
Anthony Marr April 30 at 11:26pm
Dear Mike, thank you for your letter. I'm sorry for giving you the impression that I was being condescending on account of your age. I admire your courage and your belief in your own cause. You don't need correct spelling to project yourself as a serious and determined young man. Now that you have won my respect, I will accept your counter challenge to a debate. What I now suggest is that you arrange a debate against me at your school in an auditorium setting, to be moderated by one of your teachers. The only problem is that I will be in New Jersey in July and early August, when your school will be out of session, and come September, I will have moved west on to Ohio. But it is not impossible for me to come back to NJ for the occasion. If you could arrange for a large audience, I would be please to debate you, and further more, I will invite TV into the auditorium to broadcast our respective messages to the world. If you could meet these conditions, please let me know. Your friend, Anthony.
We'll see what this will bring.
A happy surprise this morning. I received a phone call from Alex Pacheco, co-founder of PETA from way back when, and who is "coming out of retirement" to head his new [600 million Stray Dogs Need You] project. He and his org are working on implementing a new birth control pill for stray dogs, just one of which could render the female dog infertile for life, as well as her offspring, with no ill side effect. He said that eventually, it could be applied to cats, rabbits and even deer, the last being of course right up my alley. And the stray dogs too, since while I was in India I've seen so many thousands of them with my own eyes, most just skin and bone, and nursing 10 ill-nourished pups right in street corners, with no one caring for them, and some stoning them. Alex himself said that India will be the first place for field application. I'm all for it.
Tomorrow, we will be doing a Funeral Motorcade for the Fallen Animals in Orange County at 3 pm, followed by a veg potluck at 5, and my [Homo Sapiens! SAVE YOUR EARTH!] talk at 6, which has proven life-changing for all who have taken it to heart. On Monday, I will drive Anthony D at 5 am to LAX airport for his 8 am flight home. May 5 I will be driving to Las Vegas for a media/speaking event hosted by the famous vegan Chef Mayra. And after that, Arizona. Without Anthony D, sadly, I may have to leave my motorcycle here in California.
More later, everyone!
Anthony Marr, Founder and President
Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE)
Global Anti-Hunting Coalition (GAHC)
Anthony-Marr@HOPE-CARE.org
www.HOPE-CARE.org
www.MySpace.com/AnthonyMarr
www.YouTube.com/AnthonyMarr
www.myspace.com/Anti-Hunting_Coalition
www.facebook.com/Anthony.Marr.001
www.facebook.com/Global_Anti-Hunting_Coalition
www.HomoSapiensSaveYourEarth.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com (search for “Anthony Marr Heal Our Planet Earth”)
www.ARConference.org
5 comments:
I remembered a poem I wrote as a child on a Tiger and wanted to share it.
The Tiger
Once on a very very scary night
I heard a tiger nowhere in sight!
And then, I heard him coming closer--
I was so frightened I stood still as a poser---
Then all of a sudden, I saw him jump!
I ran as fast as I could, but I tripped over a bump.
And then he got me!
He killed me so fast there was nothing to see.
Lots of luck on your tour.
Hahaha Mike made it to your blogger hahhaaaaaaaaaaaaa! You should let him know because he be so excited running to his mom going "look Anthony Marr put me on his blog, AWESOME" LOL.
I cannot watch the oil spill anymore, it just gets to be too much. We should get a bucket of that gunk and pour it over the head of "drill baby drill" Sarah Palin.
Obviously the hunter needs to do more research.
Humans are not instinctively carnivores, it's a learned condition. 'Meat' producers promote and have promoted via media to make a dollar and it cost more to buy than average vegetables do. Promoting meat despite the obvious studies on animals showing that they do feel pain. All for the sake of greed.
If vegetables were promoted as much as meat would he debating this at all?
Human teeth would be more like dog's teeth that tear otherwise.
Our fangs are for eating and cracking nuts. Researching he would find this out.
p.s. If you have high cholesterol a physcian may tell you to stop eating meat and cheese. Meat has cholesterol. If high cholesterol is not familial, meat is the source usually.
you know what is one of my wish, take a group of hunters, put them into a closed area, and iniatite the hunt of the most intersting animal in this world, human, and with this show how feel hunting animal, and put later they head over my Kamagra trophy room.
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