Activism Across America

Thumbs down to Chino Latino, a trendy fusion restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota for serving an endangered species as food.

Marlin was once king of the oceans, as big as many sharks, the fish was the nemesis, as powerful as Moby Dick, in Earnest Hemmingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Sadly, there aren’t big marlins like that any more. They’ve all been fished, and sold off by a lot of greedy old men, the owners of industrial fishing operations and seafood merchandising networks.

Marlin populations are down to 90 percent of what they once were - if that.

And so what does Chino Latino do? They help fund the extermination of the marlin by offering it up on their menu… calling the dish The Great Marlin Jerk Off.

“Everyone is a winner with our blue ribbon jerk spiced marlin grilled atop a bed of jasmine rice with coconut cream sauce and a refreshing mango salsa” says the Chino Latino menu. But, no, not everyone is a winner. The marlin certainly isn’t a winner. It’s been reduced from a Hemmingway’s noble character to a joke about masturbation.

And please… by the time that marlin reaches Minnesota, it isn’t even fresh. Something else that ought to make that marlin rather unpalatable is the fact that, because marlins are a top ocean predator, marlin flesh is filled with mercury. Mmmmm…. yummy heavy metals.

You can do something about this grave insult perpetrated by Chino Latino. Don’t go eat at Chino Latino… and spread the word. When people ask you why you won’t go with them to that restaurant, point them to the web site of Take Marlin Off The Menu.

Al Franken likes to depict himself as a well-informed, straight-talking kind of guy. Franken says that if he is elected to the United States Senate, he will stand up for the rights of voters in Minnesota.

So why is it, then, that Al Franken refuses to take a position on the FISA Amendments Act?

Go ahead and search through Al Franken’s Senate campaign web site. Search the news. Search the blogs. Nowhere does Al Franken even mention the FISA Amendments Act.

This proposed law threatens to take away Americans’ constitutional rights, and to destroy the system of checks and balances that keeps our democracy alive. The FISA Amendments Act represents one of the worst policies of George W. Bush - spying on millions of Americans without a search warrant or any other form of judicial control. The FISA Amendments Act is corrupt to the core.

So, why won’t Al Franken take a stand? Has Franken been too lazy to bother to read the FISA Amendments Act, or is he just too afraid to condemn this latest abuse from the politicians of fear?

In Minneapolis, ObamaWorks volunteers are being called upon to “wear your Obama gear and come help serve the community,” in order to help prepare for and volunteer at the Powderhorn Park May Day Festival (I believe that the parade and festival will actually be on May 5th, not on May 1st).

Obama supporters will be have the chance to help out at art booths, doing stage coordination, or serving as block hosts for the parade. Sure, they will be wearing buttons showing support for Barack Obama for President, but that’s about it for the campaigning. They’ll be working for the parade and only campaigning in as much as they show that Obama supporters are people who are willing to help out their neighbors.

That seems like a very mature, responsible approach for Obama supporters to take.

For more information, check out the community service page from Katie McGee over at Barack Obama’s official campaign web site.