Burton Cowed Again
Dear Bay Weekly:
Bill Burton’s column “The Ethical Case Against Soymilk” (Nov. 27, Vol. X, No. 48] tries to paint an idyllic picture of the life of a dairy cow by forgetting to mention the many terrible cruelties involved. He does not mention, for example, that these cows are impregnated every year, only to have their calves taken away from them shortly after birth to be raised for veal. Not only is the traumatic nature of the separation of mother from child obvious to anyone who has witnessed it, the calf’s fate of deprivation and mistreatment in the notoriously cruel veal industry is widely known.
The use of hormones to make the cows give unnatural amounts of milk and the many detrimental health effects also weren’t mentioned. Neither was the fact that dairy cows are spent from such treatment in just a fraction of their normal lifespan, then sent to slaughter just like any raised for their meat.
Let’s be honest about it. This treatment would be a felony in Maryland if inflicted on a cat or dog. It’s just as cruel when done to a dairy cow. Virtually every organization concerned with animal welfare points out the cruel practices of the dairy industry. If you don’t want to support cruelty, a tall glass of soy milk will do your conscience and your body good.
— Noam Mohr, Columbia
When Feds Say One Thing and State Another, What’s a County to Do?
Dear Bay Weekly:
What should be our direction in dealing with wars, the economy and taxation policy?
The Feds say:
A). Dramatically increase deficit spending with the principal rationale of financing the wars on terrorism and Iraq. (This at a time when deficit spending and the public debt is at the highest level in history.)
B). Reduce revenues by dramatic reduction in taxes; e.g., estate taxes and stock dividends. (That is, reduce taxes for those most able to pay. Rationale: provide economic prosperity.)
Under the above scenario, the next two years promise to be an exciting time in our nation’s history.
If you are astounded by the logic of the Fed’s solutions, perhaps the answers proposed by the states will be equally discomfiting. Our state leaders say we will have to reduce spending and services and increase taxes.
Does the reader note any inconsistency, either glaring or subtle, between the solutions offered by national and state leaders? But then, the last thing the public expects is for politicians to be consistent. Right?
That brings us to this writer’s bottom line. Should Anne Arundel County follow the example of the national leadership, state leadership or some combination thereof: What say you?
— Bill D. Burlison: County Councilman District 4, Odenton
Editor’s note: Bill Burlison, a politician all his working life, has served in federal government as a congressman from Missouri. A Democrat, he was reelected to the Anne Arundel County Council in November.
Department of Corrections
In “The Pageants of Christmas” [Dec., 5, Vol. X, No. 49], two errors were made in describing The Nutcracker as danced in Calvert County. Abigail Francisco remained the artistic director of the 11th annual production, but this year’s producer was Abigail Francisco School of Classical Ballet, not the Chesapeake Ballet Company, the producer for the first decade.
Additionally, the photograph at the top of page 8 showed a rehearsal of Francisco’s troupe, not Maryland Ballet Theatre.
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