One night farmer Brown,
Was takin' the air,
Locked up the barnyard
With the greatest of care
Down in the henhouse
Somethin' stirred
When he shouted "Who's there?"
This is what he heard:

There ain't nobody here but us chickens
There ain't nobody here at all
So calm yourself,
And stop your fuss
There ain't nobody here but us
We chickens tryin' to sleep,
And you butt in
And hobble, hobble hobble hobble
With your chin

There ain't nobody here but us chickens
There ain't nobody here at all
You're stompin' around
And shakin' the ground,
You're kickin' up an awful dust
We chicken's tryin' to sleep
And you butt in
And hobble, hobble hobble hobble
It's a sin

Tomorrow
Is a busy day
We got things to do
We got eggs to lay
We got ground to dig
And worms to scratch
It takes a lot of settin'
Gettin' chicks to hatch

There ain't nobody here but us chickens
There ain't nobody here at all
So quiet yourself,
And stop your fuss
There ain't nobody here but us
Kindly point that gun,
The other way
And hobble, hobble hobble off and
Hit the hay

Tomorrow
Is a busy day
We got things to do
We got eggs to lay
We got ground to dig
And worms to scratch
It takes a lot of settin'
Gettin' chicks to hatch

There ain't nobody here but us chickens
There ain't nobody here at all
So quiet yourself,
And stop your fuss
There ain't nobody here but us
Kindly point that gun,
The other way
And hobble, hobble hobble of and
Hit the hay

"Hey boss man
What do ya say?"

It's easy pickens,
Ain't nobody here but us chickens

While on the one hand, I hate the omnipotent democratic majority of the California system, I do have to say I appreciate that California continues to be one of the fews states that really puts into effect the idea of Federalism letting each state be a "laboratory". And as much as I hate Prop 8 and the like, I think Calfornian's tendency for popular referendum needs to be view in light of the fact that they have a legislature that is by its own design uncompetitive and stagnant and therefore rarely particularly representative on any given issue.

As for the leg-room-for-chickens prop, I think it's rather silly and will no doubt be harmful to California industry. As much as I love my two pugs, and as much as I know they love me, at the end of the day "animal rights" is an oxymoron. We don't have rights because we feel, we have rights because we think. Because we are capable of understanding and respecting not just "mine", but also "yours". Regardless of your personal scruples about animal cruelty (and I assure you I probably share them), from a libertarian perspective animals must be treated as property.

I like something Penn Jillette pointed out once (he was no doubt not the first): If animals did have rights, they'd all be in prison!

In the same vein, I have to recommend the latest efforts of David Byrne and Brian Eno, Everything that Happens will Happen Today. It's an uplifting and quirky, gospel and electronica (weird combo, but it works) inspired album. I had the pleasure of seeing Byrne play live recently in Chicago, and he's still an outstanding performer. In addition to the new stuff, he played some great stuff from Fear of Music and Remain in Light (one of the best rock albums ever, IMHO).

ARCraig: "... at the end of the day "animal rights" is an oxymoron. We don't have rights because we feel, we have rights because we think. Because we are capable of understanding and respecting not just "mine", but also "yours". Regardless of your personal scruples about animal cruelty (and I assure you I probably share them), from a libertarian perspective animals must be treated as property."

The citizens of California are sovereign, and can pass any law that is constitutional. If a requisite majority of the voters believe that farm animals are entitled to leg room, and if such a law is constitutional, the requisite majority of the voters are entitled to have their way.

Then, opponents of mandatory leg room for animals are entitled to put up a repeal initiative on the ballot and attempt to convince a requisite majority of the voters to vote to repeal. Welcome to democracy. Get used to it. California is a constitutional democracy, not a libertocracy.

As for rights: religious people believe, as JFK said in his inaugural, "the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God." This makes great oratory, but in reality, rights exist because we declare and agree that they exist. Numerous Supreme Court cases declared rights into existence. Legislation can declare rights into or out of existence. So can ballot initiatives in states such as California that have them. As a result of Prop 2, California farm animals now have leg room rights. Get used to it.

Animal rights is not any sort of oxymoron. Not all rights require the exact same underlying basis: just because it makes no sense to grant a one year old a right to vote does not mean that it's senseless to grant it a right against being abused. We grant rights based on consideration of moral interests. And, essentially, only those who simply refuse to consider the subject or make up elaborate nonsensical theologies can deny that animals have some moral interests. Exactly what those are, and how those interests are best served by this or that right is a matter of legitimate debate. But I don't think mild laws that demand mildly humane improvements are really a big deal, even if they raise the cost of meat. Laws against you dumping factory runoff into my drinking water raises the cost of factory operation. But sometimes its a good thing when the actual costs of something are reflected in the price.