Birds Cancelled, DC Speech, PewPewJew Interview
Here's the latest dispatch.
Good after,
For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.
If you’re just discovering my musings, here’s a backgrounder and make sure we’re connected on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Quick Thoughts of the Week
A week and a half in, I’ve been easing into my new role at Independent Women’s Forum well. Lots of letters and blogs. Read the latest at our Center for Energy and Conservation.
Tuesday’s election results in Virginia were a buzzkill. “Non-partisan” redistricting didn’t work in our favor, the Democrats were organized, and a certain someone discouraged Republicans from giving Governor Youngkin a trifecta. But the results could have been worse, all things considered. Hello gridlock…
Country singer Lainey Wilson, arguably one of the hardest working musicians out there, is having a great week. After scoring multiple wins at the CMA Awards, she locked in two GRAMMY Award nominations today.
I spoke at American University in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday on how conservation is conservative. I have one more stop on my fall 2023 “Conservation is Conservative” speaking tour next week at the University of Houston on November 14th.
And a THANK YOU to every veteran who has valiantly served our country and Semper Fi/Happy Birthday to the U.S. Marine Corps. Your service doesn’t go unnoticed!
The Crazy Campaign to ‘Decolonize’ Birds
The American Ornithological Society (AOS), a group born out of the 2016 merger between the American Ornithologists' Union and the Cooper Ornithological Society, announced on November 1st its Council is renaming birds like the Cooper’s Hawk, Wilson’s warbler, Wilson’s snipe, and Audubon's shearwater, for example, to “more descriptive monikers” that don’t affect scientific names. Why? The AOS is committed to changing English-language names of birds and names that have been deemed “offensive and exclusionary.”
“There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today,” AOS president Colleen Handel said. “We need a much more inclusive and engaging scientific process that focuses attention on the unique features and beauty of the birds themselves. Everyone who loves and cares about birds should be able to enjoy and study them freely.”
“These patterns of underrepresentation continue due to accumulated disparities in material wealth and other capital, coupled with rules established by groups in power that undervalue marginalized groups who are judged by those rules,” the group continued. “The result of these barriers is that, by the time full-fledged scientists have arrived at an opportunity to name newly described species and wish to recognize their colleagues, many demographics are scarcely represented. Also, substantial inequities in the process of naming birds relate to differences in wealth, power, and scientific capacity among countries.”
This effort was born out of a petition from a group called Bird Names for Birds. It, unsurprisingly, attributes these longstanding “offensive” names to colonialism when “(primarily) European countries subjugated, exploited, and populated territories held by non-white peoples.”
American University Speech - November 8th, 2023
The second stop on my fall 2023 “Conservation is Conservative” tour, took place at American University on Wednesday. It was first time I officially spoke at a D.C. university. Thank you Ella Yard, Kaitlyn Corsarie & Network of enlightened Women at AU for hosting me on campus this week. And kudos to CFACT, Students for Liberty, & others for sponsoring too.
Next up: last Conservation is Conservative talk of fall 2023 at University of Houston next week.
NEW: Interview with Yehuda Remer of PewPew Jew
I finally brought Yehuda Remer on District of Conservation and we had a great conversation about his story, why he's for the Second Amendment, why American Jews incline to gun control and if the October 7th attacks on Israel are changing their views, why Israel should deregulate gun ownership like the U.S., and how to be an effective advocate.
Fellowship Opportunities for Winter 2024
For freedom-minded women, I encourage you to apply for IWF’s Visiting Fellowship. Applications are due December 1st, 2023.
And if you’re a young professional aged 18 to 35 and want to jumpstart your media career/improve upon your skills, apply for the Young Voices Contributor Program due November 30th, 2023.
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—Gabriella