Oregon | Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

Will this senseless murder of a species never end? What the hell is wrong with Oregon?

From Defenders of Wildlife:

“It’s a heartbreaking world we live in when even a pair of weeks-old wolf pups aren’t safe. We’re enraged at these senseless killings of wolf pups just barely out of their dens. We know you haven’t given up hope that we can save the wildlife who need us most. These wolves are counting on us – and we can’t do this alone.”

Our ability to fight back depends on US. Please donate.

Rep. Peter DeFazio or Oregon released the following statement in response to a report that the State shot and killed two wolf pups on Sunday.

“The state of Oregon killed two 3-month-old wolf pups under the irrational premise that it would somehow lessen the food needs of the pack. Wolf pups are no threat to livestock,” said Rep. DeFazio. “Nearly 80 years after a federal extermination campaign nearly wiped out the species, I will not sit by and allow the reimplementation of cruel, inhumane, and unscientific policies that degrade local ecosystems. I have called on Interior Secretary Haaland to expeditiously relist the Gray Wolf under the Endangered Species Act to prevent their likely extinction.”

In July, Rep. DeFazio led a bipartisan group of 85 representatives in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland urging her to reconsider the decision to delist the Gray Wolf under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Members emphasized the support of over 400 scientists in calling for federal protections for wolves, citing new state laws allowing for hunting practices that have resulted in the killing of hundreds of wolves in the span of a few months – threatening the species’ survival. The Members also stressed that decimating the wolf population would be detrimental to local ecosystems. Full text of the letter can be found here.

DONATE NOW:

Today is the last day to make your urgent gift to protect vulnerable species that we love!

Wolf Protection Fund Fundraiser by Defenders of Wildlife:

https://www.facebook.com/donate/398988634982355/10159819700603756/

My grandfather was a rabbi; although he had already emigrated from Hungary at the the turn of the century, my mom assured me that it most definitely COULD happen again and we should never forget

From The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

On November 9–10, 1938, the Nazis staged vicious pogroms—state sanctioned, anti-Jewish riots—against the Jewish community of Germany.

These came to be known as Kristallnacht (now commonly translated as “Night of Broken Glass”), a reference to the untold numbers of broken windows of synagogues, Jewish-owned stores, community centers, and homes plundered and destroyed during the pogroms.

Encouraged by the Nazi regime, the rioters burned or destroyed 267 synagogues, vandalized or looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, and killed at least 91 Jewish people.

They also damaged many Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes as police and fire brigades stood aside. Kristallnacht was a turning point in history. The pogroms marked an intensification of Nazi anti-Jewish policy that would culminate in the Holocaust—the systematic, state-sponsored murder of Jews.

My brother sent me an email and I got his permission to reprint it as a post. It’s brief but powerful and reminded me that we must always be vigilant against hatred.

This week my wife and I went to the Oregon Holocaust Memorial. We had an intense and unsettling experience. The memorial is in a hilly wooded park near downtown. We started off in a European town square setting, a cozy stone bench. Everything was covered in leaves from the trees around it. We noticed a doll (sculpture) had been left behind on the bench. As we walked down the cobblestone path other items had been left. The cobblestones gradually turned into railroad ties. The path ends at a large curved stone structure with the story of the Holocaust. It has powerful quotes from some of Oregon‘s Holocaust survivors. The structure rests on a huge boulder that covers dirt from each of the death camps. On the back of the structure are names of some Jews who died in the Holocaust and their Oregon relatives. The names are engraved on shiny black stone. As I walked along reading the names I could see my own image reflected in the stone. We’ve been wanting to visit this memorial for years, but kept putting it off. For me, part of being a Jew is finding the courage to walk around while carrying a heavy load of vulnerability and grief inside. State sponsored anti-Semitism “could” happen here. It probably won’t. But if it does, I won’t go passively to the camps. We all have developed ways of coping that work for us.

Laughing and crying
You know it’s the same release
–Joni Mitchell

Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
–Dylan Thomas