Actually, I don’t know why the caged chicken clucks. But Brad Pitt does.
Pitt lashed out at retail giant Costco last week, saying they are laying an egg with their treatment of the chickens that supply their stores with our favorite breakfast food. He alleges that Costco buys eggs laid by chickens who spend all of their short lives crammed into little cages.
The Hunky McHunkster threatened to stop shopping at Costco if they don’t take immediate steps to address this issue. When reminded by a flunky that their household doesn’t actually shop at Costco, as each of his 23 mansions is stocked via goodie baskets home delivered by Dean & DeLuca, Brad responded, “that’s not the point.”
Pitt joined fellow humanitarians – oops, no, I meant poultritarians – Ryan Gosling and Bill Maher in calling for action now. Fans weren’t surprised to hear that Gosling is concerned about this issue since geese and chickens are so near one another on the food chain.
Industry insiders say this may be just the tip of the Chicken-gate iceberg. A Costco boycott may be next. As animal rights activists rightly point out, even those of us who are meat-eaters have a moral obligation to ensure animals are not tortured.
In other news this week, a film surfaced which shows a Planned Parenthood director discussing the aftermarket parts side of the abortion industry while enjoying a large Caesar salad and a glass of Pinot Noir. She explained that docs must be very careful when performing the procedure. It’s OK to crush the rest of the merchandise, but in the competitive business of unborn baby parts, end users want the choice bits kept intact.
Some critics have said that, regardless of where you stand on the abortion issue, such a callous, matter-of-fact commentary ought to be disturbing to any person possessing even the merest shred of feeling. Other critics have remarked that a chilled Chardonnay or a nice Sauvignon Blanc would have been a better choice with that salad.
In a you-tell-me-if-it’s-related story, parents shared an ultrasound video showing their unborn baby clapping. They freely admit the video was edited because they thought it would be cute to make it look like the baby was clapping along to their singing. The fact remains that the blob of fetal tissue that they refer to as “their baby” was clapping. In utero. At only 14 weeks gestation.
While interest in Chicken-gate is high and is almost certain to escalate among elites in Hollywood and the media, their response to these non-poultry-related news items was a collective shoulder-shrug accompanied by a bored, “meh.”
Peg-o-Leg's Ramblings 
In 2015, meh is considered an acceptable response to just about anything.
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So true – it’s an all-purpose response.
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I have to admit, I thought the clapping fetus was pretty cute. Of course, I might have nightmares about it now…
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No nightmares, please!
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Without going on about the right to have an abortion being guaranteed by the Supreme Court, without going on about the fact that most abortions take place somewhere UNDER 12 weeks of gestation – most even earlier – without going on about any of the pro-choice, not pro-abortion thing – you know that there are two sides to the story of Planned Parenthood?
“This time the lie was that Planned Parenthood was selling fetal tissue from abortions, which is illegal. It was a lie, a total lie. The video showed an interview with a doctor explaining how Planned Parenthood, with patient consent, donates fetal tissue to medical research for things like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. ”
Inform yourself, please, Peg, before you spread lies.
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I am informed. I realize that abortion is legal, and I didn’t accuse them of selling the fetuses for profit – I don’t know if that is true or not. What I said is that the cold, matter-of-fact way that Planned Parenthood doctor was discussing their practice of crushing some parts of the unborn baby while keeping others whole was disturbing, at least to me.
If you don’t think it is, then we must agree to disagree.
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I strongly disagree – because what you call an “unborn baby” is at maximum as big as your thumb and feels no pain at that stage of development. But the even stronger disagreement is: Nobody of the pro-choicers is forcing anybody to have an abortion, that is why they call themselves pro-choice. Those who do not want an abortion may be happy having children. The pro-lifers on the other hand destroy lives of the born. Should the born not come first? Not even mentioning that the organisation behind the attack against Planned Parenthood is AGAINST CONTRACEPTION, TOO – oh the irony.
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If I may jump in here…..first of all I whole heartedly agree with Pegoleg. While abortion is legal, I, too, find it deeply disturbing to discuss the process of extracting a fetus so as to keep the “valuable” parts intact as these doctors have. These discussions have a morbid clinical antiseptic quality in their tone and deserve more legitimate concern over the accoutrements of laying hens. Destroy the lives of the born?The lives of the born have a choice. Methinks thou dost protest too much at her irony.
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And to Peg…..with regards to the picture of Brad….as a friend of mine would say “whoohoodles” 😉
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“whoohoodles”? I think I can use that.
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I couldn’t remember how to spell Hotcha Boogie or is it Hot Cha Boogie?
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Who let Brad into the hen house? That’s a yolk, son. Sorry that’s all I got after returning home after vacation. My brain is scrambled.
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ha! Scrambled brains with a bit of hot sauce, anyone?
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I sense the prodding hand of Angelina behind ChickenGate. Perhaps buoyed by her success with “Unbroken”, she’s forging ahead, sniffing out new documentary options with this faux concern about chickens. Will Brad and Angie really deny their brood (pardon the pun) scrambled eggs on a Sunday morning, just to be politically correct? I think not…I’m loving your news coverage lately, Peg – you’ve kicked Google News to the curb with your wit and timely take on things.
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Why, oh why, do celebrities provide such good fodder for our discussions? They really ARE different from the rest of us.
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“Other critics have remarked that a chilled Chardonnay or a nice Sauvignon Blanc would have been a better choice with that salad.”
Nonsense. Red wine goes with everything. However, I hope she at least had the decency to have an Oregon Pinot Noir.
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I am not familiar with the Oregon Pinot Noir – have I been missing out?
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Just a personal taste thing – I have found that I enjoy Oregon Pinot Noirs then those produced most other places.
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I like me some Pinot Noir – putting Oregon’s on my to-try list, thanks!
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Have you ever had the Paisano wine from Carlo Rossi? That was my dad’s favorite.
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Never have. Do you have to BE a paisano to like it?
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Haha! No, my dad was German, and he loved that wine!
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I’m more of a Reisling person, myself. Your taste buds may vary…
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I like a good Riesling as well. I have noticed when it’s hot out, I tend to drink a lot more when I go with a white. I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing…
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When it’s hot, I prefer some juice mixed with Malibu Rum! 🙂
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Also, Riesling goes well with Gosling, at least phonetically. 🙂
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True. But don’t you think he’d prefer Grey Goose?
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Lots to ponder here, well outside the questions of wine!
I was between ten and eleven weeks pregnant when I had what they call a “threatened abortion,” which some are (understandably) pushing to call a “threatened miscarriage.” I was at the hospital for hours before a grim-faced sonographer heard some of the terror in my voice and realized I didn’t actually know my baby–though she called him a fetus–was fine. She rolled the screen toward me and I wept when saw a tiny figure spinning and waving.
They cautioned that though all was well at that moment, chances were 50/50 the fetus would stop moving within the next 24 hours.
Whatever I thought before was gone then.
I am pro-choice, but not on an “it’s not life” basis. Whomever causes not to be one life eradicates not only that life, or life potential, but all life that could have existed from it. I don’t say that to condemn, but to say that knowledge should be (and is, usually) weighed carefully in a decision.
I too have scratched my head at certain seemingly contradictory positions. I suppose I’ll keep on scratching as long as I am still capable of doing so … often about my own contradictions.
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So much of life doesn’t fit in neat little boxes, does it Deb? I think it’s important for ALL of us to keep scratching our heads and pondering life’s questions.
(I’m glad everything turned out OK for you!)
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♡ Me, too. My plans would have led to much less sweetness overall than did God’s.
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I don’t think I’ll join in on any of the weightier discussions going on here, I’ll just admire the Brad picture. Is that ok?
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Are you kidding? That’s why I put that up there – hubba hubba!
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I wish my BMI was the same as his!
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Ha!
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Some people believe that life starts with conception. Others believe it doesn’t start until birth. I believe I’ll have another drink.
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Good call.
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This would be really funny if it were so true; which actually makes it realy sad.
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*really
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Everyone has their causes to support, and that’s a good thing, right? But our celebrities seem to only jump on bandwagons that support the popular stance on the newest, coolest issues. I guess I can’t blame them – people are dumped on with a ton of bricks if they don’t agree with popular culture.
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Interesting end-twist to your reflection on the import media outlets give to “celebrity” causes and their opinions. I really don’t give a flip what pseudo-celebrities, and most stars think, and truly wish their opinions were not always foisted on John Q. Public ad naseum.
That’s also why I don’t discuss religion, politics or other highly divided topics as a general rule. Sharing knowledge is one thing, trying to convert someone is usually futile.
The only person I can change is myself.
To foster civility in the world, sometimes the best thing to do is to agree to disagree.
And then have a beverage as Al wisely said. Amen. 🙂
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I agree. I appreciate that celebrities have and are entitled to spout their opinions, but I’m kind of tired of hearing them. Just because somebody has a lovely voice or a hot body – why do we really care what they think? At least not any more than the average schmo on the street?
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It would be nice if we had those nice family farms, I used to imagine as a kid. A sweet, older lady, calls each chicken by name. They each have their own little nest in a giant, walk-in coop. The lady tosses feed to them out in the yard, during the day, and tucks them in at night, while a big, fluffy farm dog protects them , incase a fox comes around. In the background can be heard the soft strings of fiddle playing “Turkey In The Straw”.
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That sounds so lovely. I wonder if that version was ever reality? Certainly more so than today’s huge operations.
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I think I got that image in my mind from cartoons!
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That’s the scene right before Elmer Fudd comes over the horizon, gun in hand and hope springing ever eternal, albeit pointlessly, that today he will bag that wascally wabbit.
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When will he realize that Bugs already knows and it doesn’t matter if we’re vewwy, vewwy qwiet?
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I was amused by the chick-gate situation, until abortion came into it. Abortions are murder, and I cringe at the millions of lives that have been lost since Roe v Wade.
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This may have not been my smoothest topic transition, and for that jarring change I do apologize.
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You probably know I’m vegan. I don’t eat eggs and I certainly don’t eat chickens. I don’t want them cooped up all of their lives in cages, either. It makes me sad to think about it. But why is Brad thinking about it? Doesn’t he have, like, 15 adopted children? Wait. What’s wrong with me? I’d be looking for something to get me the hell away from that family, too. After he reads your blog, I’m sure he’ll speak out against the classless abortion-comment-wrong-wine thing and clapping fetuses. The man is obviously desperate…
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That’s right – I forgot that are vegan, Lorna. I’m not dissing the man for speaking out for what he believes in, it just seems so predictably trendy to me. I guess I should just be glad when ANYone takes a stand for anything but their own self-interest.
Not that I think his stand is in any way against his own self-interest. In fact, it seems rather self-serving because he gets full marks as a nice guy – who wouldn’t be against cruelty to animals, at least in theory?
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If it’s cruelty to animals he wants to fight, he can do way more than pick on Costco for their eggs. Trust me, any farm animal or wild animal hunted for something humans find valuable or threatening needs Hunky McHunkerson on their side to speak up!
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I think Brad and Angelina should adopt some chickens and let them roam freely in their spacious mansions and adjacent ground. That would be putting his chicken where his mouth is.
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Haha! I would so looooove to see that. “and if I’m elected president, I promise a chicken in every….jacuzzi?”
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The fetus was clapping because he/she enjoyed my rendition of the old joke about the chicken and the egg. As for Brad Pitt, everyone knows he’s an expert on the shortcomings of factory farming …and nuclear physics. Luckily for Costco, they stopped selling particle accelerators years ago.
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That was a really forward-thinking business decision on their part. Whew!
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Since Brad is so interested in their company, Costco is considering getting into the ethnic orphan market.
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Ha! I always thought it was only a matter of time before we bought EVERYthing there.
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Wow! I’m unsure what I’m more impressed by: the courage you showed in taking a highly volatile topic and addressing it with both intelligence and humor, or your ability to make it work so seamlessly. Well done!
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Thanks so much – I appreciate the kind words.
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poultritarians (giggles)
What else can be said about that.
While pro choice, and it’s a personal decision thing, both films ( even if a set-up) were very disturbing. First, there should be a signed consent form by each woman approving the use of discarded tissue/fetus/baby (pick your poison, I’n not getting into that.) for any purpose by the provider -with specific terms like heart, lungs…instead of globs of leftover stuff you don’t want any more. Legal consent with no claims later of misunderstanding what is being harvested and that it is being sold.
Second, it’s always been said PP’s main concern was for health and well being of the woman/mother. Changing procedures/altering position of what’s to be removed to make sure the provider doesn’t squash/destroy sold merchandise doesn’t sound like putting the woman first. In fact those actions may be against federal law.
So disappointed in this group. And pretty darn disturbed by the idea of secret harvesting/selling and the casualness of their people.
Chickens. Simple is so much easier.
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Chickens ARE much simpler, aren’t they? Let’s just talk about those.
And I made that edit as requested – let me know if I jazzed anything up.
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🙂 Thanks. Too distracted here between 2 dogs very bored being in the house but at 98 degrees, it’s too hot to be outside, trying to do laundry/clean house (that’s joke) and read blogs. Only sensible thing to do is to drop doing laundry and cleaning.
That was a masterpiece of a post (I’ve kept it zipped how I felt about that whole mess up until now. Probably should have just stayed with that)
Chickens however are always a winner! Thanks again Have a great weekend
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I’d like to offer you a thoughtful comment about how one can’t really debate when the soul enters the fetus but then all I could think about was those ridiculous abs in that photo. I get the feeling Brad walks around with his shirt hanging open like that all the time. Such a show-off.
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If I had half his muscle-tone, I would too, and if I had him anywhere near me I would INSIST that he walk around half-naked at all times. Because, yeah.
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I make no bones where I stand. Your transition was interesting, Brad and Angelina should put their money where their mouths are…I would buy their eggs.
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I would buy their eggs, too, if they didn’t wind up costing $1 each, which is what I suspect would happen.
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I suspect they would be far more than that.
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Damn.
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