Poisoned Pet Food Maker Flips You Off

According to an article in the Canada Free Press, after Menu Foods sold poisoned pet foods that sickened and killed people's pets, they went from being sorry to harassing grieving pet parents who filed lawsuits.

The pet food company that recalled 60 million cans of contaminated dog and cat food repeatedly made harassing phone calls to pet owners who had lawyers and said they didn't want to talk, even after a judge ordered the firm to leave them alone, court records show." (USA TODAY May 26, 2007). "Lawyers from six firms representing clients who claim their pets were harmed by Menu's pet food asked a federal judge in New Jersey Wednesday to stop Menu from "bullying" people who had called the company since the recall was announced March 16, according to their court filing.

Menu Food's CEO had earlier issued a heartfelt apology:

Our hearts go out to many thousands of pet owners across Canada and the U.S. for their losses and worry," Paul Henderson, president and CEO OF Menu Foods said on March 23

I guess they're only sorry until they have to demonstrate some real regret.

Moralee had the following reaction to the whole thing:

Keep Up the Non-Faith

I've always wondered if my non-belief would hold up in the face of death and I got pretty close to finding out the answer last January when I was transported via ambulance to the emergency room of a Catholic hospital.

After I was diagnosed with a heart rhythm disorder in the ER, the nurse took me up to my room on the cardiac ward. Although I was lying on a guerney, I couldn't miss seeing all the religious art on the walls during the transport. My room was decorated with a huge wooden crucifix, and although when asked my religious preference in the ER, I'd clearly stated "none", they sent a chaplin to my room.

I was on oxygen, hooked up to a heart monitor and there was a flurry of activity around me as nurses drew more blood and an ultrasound technician took images of my heart and I was regularly swallowing meds even though I had no clue what they were doing for me or whether I was going to survive the night.

I'm happy to report that I still wasn't tempted to talk to invisible people in the sky. I'm even happier to report that my heart problem was later repaired through surgery and I'm in really good health again.

My surgery was performed at Stanford University where the art was secular and they believed me when I told them I had no religious preference. Instead of being visited by a chaplain there, I was visited by a volunteer who offered a music CD.

Our local Catholic hospital is big on suffering. They post crucifixes in all the rooms and in the past they posted a sign in the ER stating that they don't prescribe pain-relieving medications. They got sued by a patient and were forced to remove the sign, but I'm fairly certain the policy is still in place, you can see the evidence in the images of the cross in each patient's room and in the hallways. They even have a huge nativity scene in the lobby.

Atheist Blog Roll

For your reading pleasure, please examine the right side of this blog (scroll down if necessary) and click on some links from the atheist blog roll.

Mojoey of Deep Thoughts invited me to join and sent instructions, forcing me to confront my fear of all things technical and java script-y. If I failed, Mojoey would realize that I'm not smart enough to be an atheist. If I succeeded, this blog would be welcomed into the atheist blog roll.

I spent the afternoon at the Land of the Medicine Buddha in Soquel (California) and, I have to tell you, I'm liking Tibetan Buddhism a whole lot. We went there to enjoy the serenity, the hiking trails and for a massage. I was delighted to discover that our masseuse was a woman and a lama and I wanted to ask her a lot of questions, but had to force myself to let her go to her next project.

My encounters with Buddhism and Buddhists always leave me wanting more. They are so different from those proselytizing groups. You just know that if they have to work so hard to sell their religion to you, it's not worth buying and no one is pushing Buddhism on anyone.

Diary of a Christian Terrorist

Another follower of The Prince of Peace advocates murder. This one is a student an Jerry Falwell's Liberty "University" and reveals that Christian fundamentalists can be as fanatical as Muslim fundamentalists.

This character reveals the inner musings of a member of the Christian Taliban:

"Christians, we have been given life after death and we should help others receive it and not sit here in our big buildings and sing to ourselves so we can go home and feel good about ourselves," Uhl writes. "Christians, fear of death, fear of death. The fear of death shows you don't believe."

Read more at AlterNet.

Mandatory Religion

A representative of the Christian Taliban wants atheists in America "stomped out". This call to violence was made by a follower of the "The Prince of Peace" and was printed in the "Letters to the editor" section of a newspaper in Alaska:

"The United States is based on having freedom of religion, speech, etc., which means you can believe in God in any way you want (Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, etc.) but you must believe.

The writer failed to mention any mandatory non-Christian religions so I assume that this brilliant legal analysis was probably written by a graduate of Pat Robertson's law school and she will soon be employed in the U.S. Justice Department.

See the rest here.

Thanks to Alec for sending the link.

Warning: Nutro Max Dry Dog Food

Nutro claims their dry dog food products are safe, but many pets are ill and dying after eating Nutro Max dry dog food. The FDA isn't responding to complaints.

Read more here.

Surrender Monkeys

Dada has a flag for those @%*#! Democrats who are too spineless to stop the retarded cowboy's war in Iraq.

Chicken with Attitude

You might have to click on this picture to view it full size and to read the sign. The caution sign is for Isis, a Rhode Island Red hen, who is either full of attitude or who suffers from a mental illness. She's very demanding and when she doesn't get what she wants, she screams in exasperation.

Hummingbird Family

Crowded hummingbird nest. Photo by D.K.

About hummingbird nests:

A hummingbird's nest consists of small pieces of soft plant fibers, spider silk that is used to weave the fibers and attach the nest to a small twig, some fluffy plant down for lining, and small bits of lichen or moss for exterior decor that will serve as a superb camouflage. With just these few simple materials, the female hummingbird cleverly builds a cup-shaped nest about the size of a walnut. When the nest is finished it will barely be discernable, as it will actually look more like the small knots that are often seen on tree limbs. After the female lays her eggs, she then incubates them until they hatch, which usually takes about 16 days.

Farewell to Falwell

While the media polishes Jerry Falwell's biography, I'll remember him as a smug, holier-than-thou spewer of hate - more political that spiritual, more self-righteous than insightful and more divisive than uniting.

His high profile on 24-hour news programs provided him with a public forum in which he became a leader of knuckle-dragging idiots, too stupid to think rationally and too slack-jawed to know any better.

If I were a Christian, I'd be ashamed to be associated with people like that. In an interview with Shambala Sun, Alice Walker shared her insights about Christianity:

"I love Jesus; I think Jesus was wonderful. However, I think he has been distorted terribly. I want to see the wizardry of Jesus restored. I want to feel his dancing quality and his joyfulness. It's a terrible thing that they have left him in that tortured, naked condition, which is bound to frighten most children. Just imagine if he were depicted like the Buddha. I love the way the Buddha goes through all his changes and he's basically very happy. Suffering is not the end-all in life. It is a part of it, and then we rise above it, we work through it, we transform it. Jesus did that."

Jerry Falwell is gone and the world is a lighter place in his absence.