The big stories these past couple of weeks have involved wayward whales and beauty pageant contestants, defiant lesbians, determined mothers and a family of pink flamingos - and not necessarily in that order.
Topping the human interest catagory was a story that didn’t involve humans, not really any way. A couple of whales, a mother and child, somehow lost their way, and while on their migratory path toward northerly waters, the two found themselves, litterally, up shit creek, or worse for a whale, in the fresh waters of the Sacramento River. Like George Bush and his ilk, they were caught under the scrutiny of the world and floundering in relatively shallow waters. Not since Humphrey the whale has the species received such acclaim. Named by a high government official, Delta and Dawn, this mother and child pair were oohed and awed by well-wishing animal lovers all over the world . Wounded by boat propellers and seeming as though there was something tragic amiss with Mother Nature - again - we all stood by gawking at our tv sets, waiting, praying that the whales would find their way back to the Pacific Ocean.
Was it the effect of global warming? Was this an omen of sorts for the doomsday pessimists who delight, seemingly, in misery and certain cataclysmic prophesy? Was this a tell-tale sign, the way ward misdirected whales and their plight, that the World really is coming to a glorious end?
And just as everyone had prepared themselves for the worse, Delta and Dawn found what every good-hearted individual seeks - freedom. On the subject of freedom and endings, both happy and sad, another infamous determined mother figure, Cindy Sheehan, called it quits in her non-stop efforts to stop the war in Iraq. Like Delta, the mother whale, who was in pursuit of the free ocean waters, Sheehan has become the face of the anti-war movement. Unlike Delta, the baby whale, however, who survived, Sheehan’s son died while ”serving his country” in Iraq. Since the loss of her son, Sheehan has been relentless in her pursuit of peace, even to the point of purchasing land in Crawford, Texas, adjascent to George Bush’s ranch, which provided a legal and visible place for anti-war protestors to assemble.
During the past four years, Sheehan has been villified by many Republicans, even called “un-patriotic”, in spite of the fact she lost her son, an individual who lost his life for their cause. There was talk that Sheehan would win the Nobel Peace Prize and after exhausting herself and being called names by the right wing media (Fox Netword and the likes of O’Reilly), finally, like Delta and Dawn, this brave woman has called it quits with the well deserved position, alas, a place in calmer waters, out of politics and anti-war protest events.
Another brave woman-mother-activist, Rosie O’Donnel, quit her stint on the popular day time talk show, “The View.” With outspoken and determined might, O’Donnel made bold indictments about the realities of the Iraq War and the nature of war in general. When she recently posed the rhetorical question, “Who are the terrorists?” right-winger talk show hosts made desperate attempt to manipulate/alter the thesis of O’Donnel’s point - that all war is terror. Fox Channel pundits tried in vane to twist O’Donnel’s message, proclaiming falsely that she was somehow anti-American, another Hanoi Jane.
In truth, O’Donnel’s statement was simple:
655,000 Iraqi people have been killed in this “ocupation”, including innocent women and children
Most of the Iraqi citizens killed were/are not terrorists
Iraq was/is a soveriegn country
The United States has invaded, gone to war with a nation that doesn’t even have an army
O’Donnel went on to illustrate her point: “…If we were being attacked, bombed, our family members being 
killed by another country that decided to invade us and to establish an on-going occupation, our infrastructure totally destroyed, we would view this hostile invasion as the act of terrorism…” When the “View” co-host, Republican Elizebeth H., did not come to the defense of her supposed friend, O”Donnel, during media interviews and the debate was trivialized and made into a Jerry Springer-like moment on the “View” with split screen effect, O’Donnel had had enough. Like the wayward whales, like Cindy Sheehan, Rosie removed herself from the rat race, opting for, momentarily, calmer, less turbulent waters. But like the whales in search of freedom, O’Donnel’s pressence was made around the world, a statement about peace heard loud and clear around the globe.
While women of firm determination made bold statements about peace by quitting, a Miss Universe pageant contestant made a statement, too, about the symbolic place held these days by the USA. As Miss USA prominaded across the stage in bathing suit and high heeled shoes, she slipped and fell flat on her arse. Like the country this girl represented - almighty, grander than grande, and without humility (during the current adminstration) - she fell on her butt, just as America has fallen for the time being. In spite of the slip, the pageant contestant defied her situation and was included in the five finalists. When ”Miss USA” was announced, she was booed by the audience, illustrating the disgust felt for our country during this day and age. At that moment, perhaps, the beauty contestant might have preferred making a whale-like escape to calmer waters.
On a lighter note, it was reported on the Free Speech Cable Network, “Gay USA,” that a gay couple of pink flamingo birds had adopted a motherless baby pink flamingo, which further illustrates that despite Jerry Falwell-type homophobes who proclaim that “God hates fags,” that alas, they were/are wrong. Homosexuality is - like it or not - a vital, normal, thriving - portion of God’s unlimited Universe.
Meanwhile, gas prices are continuing to - (using Geroge Bush’s favorite word as of late) - surge. Everybody’s looking for something, including the whales, but if only they could afford the gas to get there!
This hasn’t stopped the gluttony, however: Americans still pile into their mini-vans, and in spite of the $3.30 per gallon (and higher in some places) cost for fuel, these gas hogs are doing their part for the war effort by placing “I SUPPORT GEORGE BUSH AND THE TROOPS” bumper stickers in prominent spots on the behinds of their massive gas-guzzling vehicles, where they drive off enmasse - not dissimilar to the instinctual migratory pattern of the grey whale - to local Walmart Stores to purchase a surplus of items from workers who make bottom-of-the-barrel wages. Somehow, these mini-van drivers manage to feel self righteous, ”patriotic” they call it, due only to the fact they’ve placed a pro-Bush/Cheney stricker on their vehicle. But never mind - these kinds of “highly patriotic” folks rush home and receive their education as they click on The Fox Channel where they receive their wealth of knowledge and news - fair and balanced…..he he he…
I think the whales were far smarter, and with a sense of direction.
