Sylvia's Soapbox - Duncan the great white Hunter

Wildebeest hunt bags a Congressman
By Sylvia Hampton

Our congressman Duncan Hunter (R-52nd district) is leaving his congressional
seat to his son. Sort of an inheritance or royalty passed on to the next generation
like in England. Since Duncan D. Hunter, the son, has the same name his election
should be like shooting fish in a barrel. But before Hunter senior leaves that
throne he hoped to squeeze in a great overseas exotic hunting trip paid for
by the taxpayers. To do that the trip needs to be official government business.
Like feeding the starving! That should do it! Oh, darn. Looks like that won’t
work out, thanks to those big blabber mouths at the Embassy in Chad. As they
say in the comic books, “Foiled again!”

Hunter actually had his
staff contact the U.S. Embassy in Chad to schedule a visit in order to (are
you sitting down?) hunt and kill wildebeest and give the meat to the 230,000
starving refugees from Darfur who have spilled over the border. The embassy
staff had the painful job of informing the congressman’s
office that there are no wildebeest in Chad and furthermore hunting them is
not allowed. The State Department told them that the embassy "welcomes
Congressman Hunter's interest in food assistance to Darfur refugees in Chad …..and
would encourage the congressman to time his visit to coincide with an already
scheduled food distribution." The embassy was, however, willing to make
the necessary arrangements for Hunter to watch a food distribution in a camp.
They said, “Regarding the Congressman's desire to hunt wildebeest and
distribute the cured meat to refugees, wildebeest are not present in Chad." If
there were any in Chad they would be in a no-hunting wildlife refuge. The Government
of Chad does not permit the hunting of large mammals.

Gee, that doesn’t
sound like fun at all. So Hunter has to go elsewhere to hunt. Evidently he
is really interested in a private hunting trip. Perhaps he can find a place
to hunt wild game with Dick Cheney where the animals are caged and then released
to run in front of the “hunters” so it
is quick and easy, like fish in a barrel. They are busy men, after all.

If
the apple doesn’t “fall far from the tree,” we can expect
the next Duncan Hunter to be as ill-informed and arrogant as his father. So
I plan to vote for Mike Lumpkin, the retired Navy Seal who is not interested
in hunting wildebeest on the taxpayers’ dime for the sport of it. Lumpkin,
a 43 year old Democrat is a retired Navy commander who served 21 years as a
SEAL and a military liaison in Congress. It is time for a change for the better.
No more hunters.

Sylvia Hampton is a community activist inducted
into the San Diego County Women’s Hall of fame for 2008 for her work
in the fields of healthcare reform, social justice  and reproductive health.  She
is the past president of the League of Women Voters of San Diego County and
served on President Nixon’s Title X Family Planning Council.  Her
monthly Community Forum column is published in the Rancho Bernardo Sun, Diamond
Gateway Signature, and her “Soapbox” in the East County Magazine.

Opinions are Sylvia’s alone and not to be interpreted as the
policies of the League of Women Voters.