There's an interesting little item over at Newsmax about a place called Ocean Haven.
Their homepage gives a few clues about their location:
"Ocean Haven is located on the Central Oregon Coast just 8 miles south of the village of Yachats & 30 miles south of Newport with Oregon Coast Aquarium, Yaquina Lighthouse & Bird Refuge. 5 miles north, within the Siuslaw National Forest, are Cape Perpetua’s Old Growth Forest with Spotted Owls, Marble Murelets, Spouting Horn & Devil’s Churn. 7 miles south are the Sea Lion Caves & Heceta Head Lighthouse. 18 miles south are the Oregon Dunes & the town of Florence."
Sounds pretty idyllic, eh? A great get-away place where all the wonders of the sea and shore can be enjoyed in a pristine setting.
Now let's have a look at their Practices page. It begins with this pronouncement:
WE WELCOME DIVERSITY Respecting the interdependence & diversity of all nature loving species.
Yay, diversity! Everyone can enjoy the natural wonders that Ocean Haven has to offer!
Oh, wait a minute. What was that about "all nature loving species"? Hmm, now let's see what and who are banned:
NO SMOKERSFor health, safety and conservation concerns, Ocean Haven is unable to accommodate smokers. Cigarette buts represent the largest concentration of beach litter. Ocean fish & birds are endangered from the ingestion of the plastic filters.
Well, if they want to ban smoking on the premises I can certainly understand that. But, should the rule be "no smoking", not "no smokers"? I guess they'd rather just ban an entire "underclass" of people rather than give smokers a little area on a patio somewhere.
NO OPEN FIRES
NO BEACH FIRES * NO BBQ * NO CANDLES * NO INCENSE.
No campfires? Okay. But, ferkrisakes, what's a rustic retreat without incense?!
NO PETSOcean Haven offers pet allergen free rooms. The surrounding area is home to marine & coastal wildlife which is disturbed by the presence of dogs.
NO VISITORS
We charge for all persons on premises, regardless of age or length of visit.
RUGGED & RURAL
Be practical & wear sturdy shoes, bring wind & rain gear & non-perishable foods. We provide beach boots & hiking sticks.
I suppose all that is reasonable. But, what's up with this now?:
NATURE FRIENDLY
Nature-friendly cleaning & maintenance. Committed to limiting human impact on nature. No Hummers, No RVs, No Bush Voters (due to his environmental destructive policies e.g.; nonparticipation in Kyoto Treaty, The Clear Skies Act, continuation of naval sonar in marine mammal habitats...) For more information, see the Advocacy Page
Well, they mention Hummers but no other SUVs. I guess a Ford F-250 is okay.
But, no Bush voters?! Over 60 million people are banned from visiting Ocean Haven because they voted for Bush?!
Of course, the ban is impossible to enforce and is there simply as a way for them to throw in some issue advocacy for flavor. (I mean, is anyone going to try to make reservations and, when asked if they voted for Bush, say "Oh, darn it, you got me! I was hoping you'd forget to ask..."?) But let's look at those reasons:
"Nonparticipation in Kyoto Treaty". While President Bush certainly opposes the Kyoto Treaty as an economically destructive policy, only the Congress can ratify a treaty, and Kyoto went down in the Senate by a vote of, I believe, 93-0. Shouldn't all voters of all the Senators who voted it down be banned, as well?
And, for that matter, didn't John Kerry vote against it? Did he support ratifying Kyoto during the campaign? I don't think so, so why aren't Kerry voters banned, too?
"continuation of naval sonar in marine mammal habitats." Did this issue come up the campaign? I don't recall Kerry clamoring for a ban on the use of sonar. So, why do they "ban" only Bush voters?
It's because they're like most wackos. They live in a two-dimentional world where they think we have in a two-party system and it's one party too many. Fooels!
Okay, one other item from the Practices page:
RELAX & RETREATNo Room Phones * No Internet * No Television
Office phone & message service. Local calls free.
Quiet Hours: 9 PM to 9 AM
Now THAT I like!!!
Posted by Tuning Spork at March 13, 2005 06:27 PM