George Bush , Why Are You Such a Stupid Rich Guy?

Dear Mr. President,

I believe in the First Amendment. Ergo, I am about to tell you how I feel.

Ya know, Mr. President, simply put you are not half there man your father was when President. I am sorry to be insulting, but you have disappointed me at every turn. Your dad gave you a baseball team and an oil company that you didn't run so well, did you? And he gave you first Texas and then our entire country to run, and what will your legacy be?

Right now you are holding a press conference. Why? And more importantly, how can you believe current events as you tell it?

The real estate market is crumbling everywhere, inflation has arrived and recession is settling in. More people every day go without jobs, food, or even a place to live...and where you COULD HAVE extended unemployment benefits, you chose to throw a few pieces of silver our way and THAT is your solution?

Our jobs are disappearing, our jobs are going to other countries. greedy corporate CEOs are getting richer, while the numbers of working poor grows larger every day. The gap between the haves and have nots is growing. The top 2% get richer and the rest of us get poorer.

You are using new math with regard to rising fuel costs. Explain again how higher gas prices will spur more investment in ethanol?

And when the energy questions get too tough, you fall back to familiar prattle: terrorism and Al Quaida.

When the questions get too tough you babble snappishly at reporters.

I am an American tired of pabulum. I am also frightened because no Presidential candidate for '08 appears to stand out definitively as "the next choice" for me the average voter. Yes, they are trying, or should I say everyone but McCain is trying, but no one has caused me to have an "Aha this is it" moment.

You have our troops whom I support, and our military whom I support in a war that can't be won, nor can I understand it. Our soldiers are dying. For what? A global struggle for what? The last word?

Come on. Isn't it time to just stop the dumbing down of America? We are supposed to show you respect for your esteemed office in our country, but President Bush, do you respect us? The average American?

You are as out of touch as the other stupid rich people in this country. You think if you throw the peasants a few sheaves of wheat and a handful of pennies it will make it all better?

News flash: it won't.

The only lack of leadership and understanding is coming from the Oval Office. Sir, with all due respect, you just don't get it, and I am wondering if you ever did? Look to our own shores, Mr. President, our country is crumbling and the founding fathers are turning in their graves.


Bush Blames Congress for Not Passing Foreclosure, Gas Bills
The President Says Congress Is Not Sending Him Bills That He Can Sign
By JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press Writer
April 29, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Tuesday that Congress is blocking his proposals to deal with high gas prices and dragging its feet on other issues to address the nation's sagging economy.....But, he said, he favored longer-term fixes, such as encouraging new oil production in the United States and the building of new refineries.

"It's a tough time for our economy," Bush said at a Rose Garden news conference. "Across our country, many Americans are understandably anxious about issues affecting their pocketbook, from gas and food prices to mortgage and tuition bills......

UPI: Bush: 'These are tough times'
Published: April 29, 2008 at 10:47 AM

WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush said Tuesday it doesn't matter whether you call the current economic situation a recession.

"These are tough times," Bush told a Rose Garden news conference. "Words on how to define the economy do not reflect the anxiety average people feel. … Economists can argue over terminology. These are difficult times."

Canadian Press: U.S. president to hold news conference on U.S. economic problems

Texas Hold 'Em: What To Do About That Polygamist Sect?

Egads! Who knew that HBO's "Big Love" would be like a real Magic 8 Ball? Who knew that this real polygamist sect in Texas would be "truth is stranger than fiction"?

Who knew that lurking on a ranch was a puppy mill for humans? Seriously, how gross is this? How is this religion? Is being a pedophile and a pimp sacred? So many of these young girls are pregnant. A lot of these kids know nothing of the world around them, let alone what their last names are.

And what about this odd garb the women wear? The prairie wear? And the subservience to men? Have none them got any free will at all? Or are they so brainwashed by years of abuse they don't know any better?


You know, those who are adults on this compound should know better on some level. They should take the kids away and they should be adopted by families across the country who can't have children of their own....these kids deserve a better life, they need to see a God that doesn't condone pedophilia, they deserve a future that has a future. This sect isn't about religious beliefs, it's about filthy dirty pedophilia and needs to be disbanded.

The hell with those brainwashed women crying for their kids. A mother's job is to protect her children, not to pimp out their young virgin daughters to a bunch of men before they have barely had their first menstrual periods. And then these girls are pregnant when they should be playing with barbies still?

updated 10:22 p.m. EDT, Mon April 28, 2008
CPS: Half of sect's teen girls have been pregnant

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- More than half the teenage girls taken from a polygamist compound in west Texas have children or are pregnant, state officials said Monday.

A total of 53 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 are in state custody after a raid 3 1/2 weeks ago at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Of those girls, 31 either have children or are pregnant, said Child Protective Services spokesman Darrell Azar. He didn't specify how many are pregnant.

"It shows you a pretty distinct pattern, that it was pretty pervasive," he said.

State officials took custody of all 463 children at the ranch controlled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, saying a pattern of teen girls forced into underage "spiritual" marriages and sex with much older men created an unsafe environment for the sect's children.

Under Texas law, children under the age of 17 generally cannot consent to sex with an adult. A girl can get married with parental permission at 16, but none of these girls is believed to have a legal marriage under state law.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Polygamist compound is far from pleasant
By MICHELLE ROBERTS, AP

ELDORADO, Texas -- Until the raid on their compound last week, the woman and girls of the Yearning for Zion Ranch spent their days caring for its many children, tilling gardens, and quilting, dressed in pioneer-style dresses sewn by their own hands.

But it was no idyllic recreation of 19th-century prairie life, authorities say. Since last week, they have interviewed members of the polygamist sect looking for evidence that girls younger than 16 were forced into marriages with older men.

Five miles (eight kilometers) off the highway, beyond a double gate, the group's members live lives that are isolated even for the scruffy West Texas prairie. Their 1,700-acre (690- hectare) ranch is like its own city, with a gleaming temple, doctor's office, school and even factories.

"Once you go into the compound, you don't ever leave it," said Carolyn Jessop, who was one of the wives of the alleged leader of the Eldorado complex, but who left the sect before it began moving to Texas in 2004.

By Monday, state authorities had taken legal custody of 401 children

FOXNEWS.COM HOME > U.S.
Lawyer Claims Two Polygamist Sect Children Remain Unaccounted For
Sunday, April 27, 2008

An attorney claimed two boys taken by authorities in a raid on a Texas polygamist compound earlier this month are unaccounted for.

The lawyer representing two mothers from the compound said the boys aren't on any of the state's placement lists. Child welfare officials told a Corpus Christi newspaper that no children have been lost, but parent-child relationships are difficult to determine.

Austrian House of Horrors

Ugh...there are NO words...a few passing thoughts: Austrians still know how to burn people? How did neighbors NOT think all these mysteriously appearing children was not just a little bit odd?

BBC News: Austria stunned by sex abuse case

Austrian media express shock and dismay at the horrific details of alleged child abuse and imprisonment in a quiet provincial town.

The Amstetten case, in which a man allegedly imprisoned his daughter and abused her sexually for 24 years, has gripped the nation.

Austrian psychologists say the children allegedly born in the cellar and believed to have been held captive with their mother are most likely severely traumatised.

"After this case it will be impossible to carry on with business as usual," writes Petra Stuiber in Austria's Der Standard daily.

"An entire nation must ask itself what is going fundamentally wrong."

"Martyrdom in the House of Horror," says the front-page headline in Austria's Kronen Zeitung.

"How can it happen here?" asks Austria's Die Presse daily.

Neighbours quoted by Die Presse say the family shut itself off so much that some people, who had lived in the same street a long time, thought the "old man" might even have died.

Such a lifestyle was unusual in a community where most neighbours knew each other, the paper reports.

The suspect, identified only as Josef F, is alleged to have imprisoned his daughter in the cellar in 1984, when she was aged 18. Police say they believe she bore him seven children, one of whom died - but DNA tests should confirm that.

CNN Father admits raping daughter, holding her captive

Daily Mail: Pictured: Inside the cellar where father locked daughter for 24 years and repeatedly raped her
Last updated at 12:33pm on 28th April 2008

A 73-year-old man has confessed to holding his daughter captive in his cellar for nearly 24 years and fathering seven children by her, it was revealed today.

Josef Fritzl is said to have told Austrian police he imprisoned his daughter, Elisabeth, for more than two decades and raped her repeatedly, according to CNN.

"He has now said that he locked up his daughter for 24 years and that he alone fathered her seven children and that he locked them up in the cellar," said Franz Polzer, head of the criminal investigations unit in the province of Lower Austria.

He also believed to have told detectives that one of the children he fathered was a twin who died. It was further reported that he disposed of the dead baby's body by burning it in an oven.


Detectives will interview six surviving children to corroborate the alleged abuse at the house in Austria.

Woooowwww.....Wachovia? Who Knew?

Wow....this weekend the news broke of a HUGE settlement on the part of one of the nation's largest banks for questionable practices:

Wachovia to pay up to $144 mln to settle probe
Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:05am EDT

By John Poirier

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wachovia Bank agreed to pay as much as $144 million to settle allegations it failed to help consumers who fell prey to schemes operated by telemarketers that maintained accounts at the bank, regulators said on Friday.

The bank, the country's fourth largest, agreed to pay $18.9 million as part of a consent order, including a $10 million civil penalty and $8.9 million for consumer education programs, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The OCC said bank officials were aware of what was going on as well as profits for the bank, but failed to take quick action.

Then this news over drug money hits today:

Dealbooks NY Tomes:Wachovia Probed in Drug Money Investigation
April 28, 2008, 6:52 am

Wachovia is being investigated by federal prosecutors as part of an inquiry into alleged laundering of drug proceeds by Mexican and Colombian money-transfer companies, The Wall Street Journal reported.

An unidentified official of Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia, the country’s fourth largest banking firm, told the newspaper that the company is cooperating with the investigation.

A Wachovia spokeswoman, however, declined to tell Reuters whether the company was being investigated.

“Wachovia does not comment on the status or existence of government investigations,” she told the news service, adding that Wachovia maintains a strong anti-laundering program.

Wachovia part of probe into Latin drug money: report
Sat Apr 26, 2008 1:43pm EDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wachovia Corp (WB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is being investigated by federal prosecutors as part of a probe into alleged laundering of drug proceeds by Mexican and Colombian money-transfer companies, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Wooooowwwwwwwww....what can blue do for you?

Posted on Tue, Apr. 15Construction, charity projects on track
CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK CKIRKPATRICK@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM

The city On South Tryon Street, the rumble of trucks and towering cranes tell of Wachovia Corp.'s years of success and influence.

But with the banking Goliath reeling from plunging profits, what becomes of the 48-story, $880 million tower under construction and its hundreds of construction workers? What of the company's various public projects connected to the tower and uptown, including a $150 million museum and arts complex nearby?

What about the future of Charlotte as a thriving bank town?

"I sense concern, but I have not heard alarm," said Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber. "People see that the cranes have not stopped moving and that Wachovia is sinking more investment into the ground."

The bank said Monday the Wachovia Corporate Center and surrounding museum projects will move forward unaffected. And it said philanthropic commitments to Charlotte and the region are unchanged. The bank stressed that it was financially sound and that its move to secure billions in extra capital has made it stronger.

"The tower represents the fact that we will continue to grow as a company and need space," chief financial officer Tom Wurtz said.

Still, the recent news is ominous as the national mortgage and housing crisis continues to undermine the economy and deliver blows to Charlotte's banking industry, including billions in writedowns and layoffs from Wachovia and Bank of America Corp. the past year.

And then there is this: and entire forum devoted to Wachovia - not very flattering either:

Indeed.com:Wachovia Forum

Onto other things... We are an area with many problems

The primary may be over, but as an area we have many issues: a faltering real estate market, gas prices no one can afford, and a homeless problem that cannot be ignored.

Like homelessness. Check this out:

Letters: The panhandlers & the homeless
Philadelphia Daily News

AS A CENTER City resident for almost 40 years, I have seen waves of beggars and the homeless who populate our downtown streets swell and ebb over time.
On the night of April 16, while Philadelphia was enjoying its most spectacular spotlight in recent times, hosting the Democratic debate at the Constitution Center, the number of those unfortunate individuals who beg for money on the streets of downtown was never more apparent.

In my walk from 18th Street to Broad down Walnut Street, Philadelphia's Fifth Avenue, I faced the unpleasant and disheartening task of brushing off nine sad human tragedies who either saddled up and walked with me or sat with outstretched hands holding cups from makeshift cardboard homes on corners smack in the middle of pedestrian traffic......The weather is getting nicer and more people will be on our streets. This means more people in search of a nice evening on the town, more people begging and more revulsion from their intended targets.

Other cities have laws that are enforceable and still humane. We should be the model of a safe and vibrant downtown.

Philadelphia Keeps Homeless 'Cafes' Open Into the Spring
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

PHILADELPHIA — The nights are warmer, but homeless people are still spending nights in three all-night drop-in centers started as cold-weather havens in Philadelphia.

A recent trip to Philadelphia showed homelessness everywhere. Along with the mentally ill homeless, as the weather improves, the seasonal gypsy homeless will return to our area. Much like what is depicted fictionally in the "Riches", the Travellers will soon be back.

Check out:

"Gypsies" in the United States

You will find them in your communties in suburbia seeking odd jobs and on the streets of Philadelphia looking like neatly attired and not so dirty panhandlers.

Read about the Travellers in the UK in this article:

Our view of house and home allows no place for Travellers
Ignored in the 'land grab' hysteria is how we have criminalised the way of life of Britain's most deprived ethnic group
Libby Brooks The Guardian, Thursday April 3 2008

Patrick lives in a house that doesn't feel like a home. With his wife Siobhan and the unmarried four of their six children, he rents a neat semi in an ugly part of Essex. But if the kids go out on the street, nobody will play with them. Patrick has trouble getting served in the local pub. And when Siobhan goes to the shops, she gets that look. It's like a prison, he says. "We need freedom, and our family around us. They don't want us here, but we don't want to be here either."

Patrick and his family are Travellers, members of the most aggressively disenfranchised ethnic minority in Britain today. When their previous site was closed down by the council two years ago, with no other pitches in the area free, they had little choice but to move into bricks and mortar. And, like most of their community, their experience of settled life has not been a happy one.

If Gypsies and Travellers are discussed in the mainstream the debate normally revolves around dirt, disruption and deviance. Last week, much tabloid schadenfreude greeted the revelation that a group of Gypsies had illegally set up camp on land in Warwickshire, close to the country home of David Mills, the estranged husband of Olympics minister Tessa Jowell. It was considered poetic justice, since Jowell had evicted a large encampment in east London last year to make way for the games....The twin forces of Nimby and Nimto (not in my term of office) accelerate the cycle of marginalisation.....With the credit crunch and the mortgage meltdown, the idea of home has become more resonant than ever before. To own your bricks and mortar has become an absolute of achieving adulthood, which is perhaps why the settled community finds the culture of Gypsies and Travellers anathema, something that can only be greeted with derision. Paradoxically, though, it is Patrick and Tracie's notion of community - having extended family close and constantly available - that we mourn the loss of.

Other things:

"Scam in Progress"

Travellers


Look, these who are called gypsies have brought us many good things like fabulous music. But this petty crime thing is another story, right?

Judges in 2 Counties Say No To Paolino - PA17 Voters Should Too

Just Say No To Lisa Paolino For State Senate. That's my opinion. Here is a woman who is a sitting local elected official and has been for a number of years. One would think that would make her politically saavy instead of politically pathetic. First there was the carwash coupon debacle which found it's way out at the same time that Fire Chief got upset, now there is a new and really horrible problem: Fradulent ballots were mailed out in two counties!PA Watercooler.com image

To some this may be typical election hi jinx, but to ME, a Pennsylvanian who wants the cesspool in Harrisburg changed NOT maintained, well then it's time to send Lisa back to Radnor. And how will Radnor Township deal with these judges' opinions? Will this raise a red flag of ethics as behavior unacceptable in an elected official? Or will they ignore it as they do most anything else that is remotely uncomfortable?

Connie Williams was the real deal in female politicians and elected officials. Think of her as that terrific Oscar gown. Don't elect a cheap runway knock off. It's pretty much that simple.

Shame on you Lisa Paolino for making an even larger mockery out of Republican Politics then the national guys.

Inside Today's Bulletin
Paolino's Sample Ballots Forbidden By Judge
By: Bradley Vasoli, The Bulletin
04/21/2008

Media - Lisa Paolino's state Senate campaign received a legal blow as Delaware County Judge Joseph Cronin on Saturday prohibited continued distribution of her sample ballot her opponent says confuses primary voters....Ms. Paolino's campaign mailed thousands of her pieces to Republicans in Delaware County and equivalent ones in Montgomery County in recent days. Montgomery County Judge Richard J. Hodgson on Friday issued a similar ruling to that of Judge Cronin, finding that the sample ballots she mailed out in Montgomery County could mislead voters to conclude the Montgomery County Republican Committee (MCRC) endorsed her when in fact it endorsed Mr. Rogers.

Judge rules in Rogers’ favor in 17th Senate race
Republican candidate gets injunction prohibiting opponent from distributing sample ballots.
By Kathleen Carey kcarey@delcotimes.com


GOP alleges voter deception
Heated contest spills into Montgomery County court
By MARGARET GIBBONS , Times Herald Staff

Judge blocks a candidate's 'official' GOP sample ballot
By Derrick Nunnally

Inquirer Staff Writer

Guess I can't get that discounted car wash now?

OH NO!

GrassRootsPA Gets Good Scoop:

RELEASE: ROGERS CAMPAIGN CALLS ON STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE TO INVESTIGATE PAOLINO’S ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN TACTICS

Car Wash Coupons Feature Paolino’s Picture and Campaign Information; Former D.A. Bruce Castor Joins in Call for AG to Investigate; If Convicted, Paolino Would be Ineligible to Serve in State Senate

(Ardmore, PA) – Endorsed Republican Lance Rogers, running in the 17th state senate district, is calling on the state Attorney General’s office to investigate a violation of Pennsylvania state law engineered by Lisa Paolino’s state senate campaign. The Bryn Mawr Car Wash’s cash value coupons, including saving $50 on a “Complete Detail,” appear on the back of Paolino’s campaign literature. It is illegal to offer a cash incentive to induce or influence a vote in Pennsylvania.

“This is a very troubling allegation. Soliciting votes in exchange for something of value is unseemly and perhaps illegal,” said former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor. “A referral to the prosecuting authorities would be warranted in my view.”



In addition to a prohibition on exchanging votes for something of monetary value, Pennsylvania election law prohibits corporations from contributing directly or indirectly to political campaigns

And if that wasn't bad enough...there is the petite bijoux concerning the
1st amendment...never a good platform for a politician to turn into a bully pulpit...

....anyway, it's almost as fun as this thing I found which looks like an ad for the Ann Coulter Dating Service:

This is Why Surgeons Don't Operate On Themselves

Honestly, this babe needs Midol. What a dumb ass ad. Guess she wrote it herself? Ah yes, another fine example of "change".....

It's O.K. To Say NO To Paolino?

After receiving a comment to this blog, I decided it needs it's own post....like the commenter said, it would make a nifty sign. It's pretty funny...mebbe this cartoon should join it? Anyway, here it is LOL:

IT'S O.K. TO SAY "NO"
JUST SAY NO TO:
LISA PAOLINO FOR STATE SENATE ON APRIL 22, 2008

HARRISBURG DESERVES BETTER!

(HUGS FROM VOTERS WHO KNOW BETTER
NOT PAID FOR OR PROMPTED BY ELECTION COMMITTEES)

Anyway, the message is simple and totally allowed...of course if signs like this popped up they would be stolen like crazy....

Hosed Down But Good:Paolino Supporter Hears From Upset Fire Chief

I featured a story that is unfortunately true about a fire chief who wants his image off a political candidate's literature (if you can call it that - it's more like drivel having now seen some of it).

If you recall, the Chief was upset because his face appeared in Lisa Paolino mailers sent to voters' homes. Because he was seen with her, and wasn't endorsing her, he felt it had implied endorsement as well as showed disrespect to firefighter, emergency responders, and 9/11.

He said (and I quote):

I have proudly served as a volunteer firefighter for 36 years. I have served as the Chief of the Penn Wynne-Overbrook Hill Fire Company for the last 7. As Chief, it has been my honor to lead a group of dedicated men and women who selflessly serve their community. Perhaps for a politician like you, the event memorialized in the photograph you hijacked was unmemorable. For me it was not. This image was taken at a memorial for the 343 firefighters whom lost their lives on September 11, 2001. It is truly heartbreaking that a politician would exploit this national tragedy to advance her political ambitions -- all for a good "photo op". Your conduct tells me all I need to know about your lack of respect and lack of understanding of the daily sacrifices made by volunteer firefighters, police, paramedics, and other first responders. Your campaign literature says what you want us to believe, but your conduct, in politicizing this memorial, has shown me the truth about you. You are unworthy of our support.

Well, the Chief discovered a comment not to his liking in a pimp the candidate article written by an enetertainment critic in the CityPaper - someone named "Research101" :

April 12th 2008 12:18 AM (1 day ago) | Posted by: Research101Is it just me or does anyone else find the recent comments and accusations
by Chief Fallon to be nothing but a purely underhanded and politically motivated
slanderous attack on Lisa Paolino?

Here is how the Chief responded, and might I just say, if I ever need rescuing, I hope it's a fireman like this:

April 12th 2008 11:45 PM (10 hours ago) | Posted by: John Fallon
Research 101
I do not support Lisa Paolino, and the use of my picture in her campaign literature has led many people to infer, incorrectly, that I do.

That is a very simple issue. If this picture has been in the public domain for a number of years, I would have no way to know that. This was the first time it was sent to MY HOME on a political flier. In fact, until that arrived at my house, I really hadn't given much thought to Ms. Paolino, or her campaign. I do not now, nor have I ever lived in Radnor Township. However, I do know Mr. Rogers, who is not only the Township Commissioner for the Ward in which my fire company (Penn Wynne, I am not associated with the Bryn Mawr Fire Company) is located and the Chair of the Lower Merion Commssioner's Fire Committee.

Now, if you you would like to discuss "slanderous attack" perhaps we can read over those things that you just wrote about me, and the tone in which they were phrased.

Hmmmm.....

Kisses To Eliot! Dig Client Number 9

So funny I can't stand it....where would we be if politicians didn't make jackasses out of themselves?

Is This A Write-In Candidate?

Would You Vote For This Guy?

So Suffragette!

Honestly! What fun! Well worth a read! Check this from PF ( PhillyFuture for you web luddites)- this is so suffragette, isn't it?

Ohhh la la ! This is front page news for me! Well Karl and other esteemed PhillyFuture Citizen Editors, it appears you are correct: media does look at stories and opinions posted here. Case in point? The ever so fabulous moi has gotten her first media blog mention...in a puff piece for the Lois of 2008, the don't- hate-me-because-I-am-beautifully-calculating candidate for PA State Senate in the 17th District, Lisa let-me-kiss your-babies Paolino. Can we entertain the possibility that as a candidate, or even as a social "light", she just might be NOCD? [Translation? Not Our Class, Darling]

While I am thrilled at the mention, I have to say cosmetic enhancements are not enough for the average voter (except to scare them)...well maybe in parts of Delaware County it's de rigueur, as I hear well, Radnor is different? In Radnor, if they dislike a politician, I hear they only whisper it because there is an ordinance and potential public stoning if you aren't all happy to be conforming to the norm?

( Read entire post HERE )

Riggghhhht....tell me another good one

Yep. Election season turns some female politicians into a cross between Mother Theresa, Mother Earth, and Wonder Woman. Not to be picky, but how exactly did those tot lots and micro parks come to pass? Was it just altruism and hard work? And holding the line on taxes? Where? And preserving the American College? Give me a break. Sell State Stores? Riggghhhhtttt....where's her position on REAL Women's issues? Her position on garbage and recycling? Enviromental positions? Honestly, I can't see for the spin and fluff cycle here.....the funniest thing? An unretouched photograph! Oy vey! Those wrinkles around the eyes? Terrible!

Oprah + Main Line Animal Rescue = PERFECT TOGETHER

Puppy Mills: The reality (courtesy of Main Line Animal Rescue)

Last Friday, dog lovers from our area tuned into Oprah, even those of us who are not regular Oprah aficionados. Why? Because Bill Smith, a leader in dog rescue and founder of Main Line Animal Rescue, did a daring thing:

He posted a billboard:

Oprah, a known dog lover, noticed, and did a show on on Main Line Animal Rescue and Puppy Mills. (The show also included a tear jerking, amazing tribute to her dog Sophie who passed away)

Here is what she said:

Just before Sophie passed away, Oprah—and thousands of drivers—saw a billboard just off the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago that read, "Oprah: Do a show on puppy mills. The dogs need you."

The man behind the billboard is Bill Smith, founder of Main Line Animal Rescue. Every year, Bill and several volunteers rescue hundreds of abused, unwanted or abandoned animals, rehabilitate them and adopt them out to families. Many of the animals Bill rescues come from puppy mills, which he describes as places where bad breeders care more about the profit they make from puppies than the health or welfare of the animals. He says the dogs in puppy mills face deplorable conditions including inbreeding, minimal or no vet care, limited shelter and overcrowded cages.

"We were so frustrated … and no one seemed to be helping them," Bill tells Oprah. "I know that you're a huge animal lover. I just thought that you would be able to spread the word and educate a lot of people."

The billboard certainly worked. "It is my belief that when you actually see this, America, with your own eyes," Oprah says, "that you are not going stand for it."

Amen, Oprah....and shame on people like who have been web dripping with drivel like "Oprah After Breeders Says American Sporting Dog Alliance "

It's all very convenient in my mind, because some breeders do not like Puppy Lemon Laws, and feel it interferes in their business practices. To them I say, if you are doing everything above board, why do you worry? Why do you have to worry? The point of animal advocacy is to raise awareness, and these selfless dog rescuers can do their part, but the rest of us must do ours as well - one thing is to push Gov. Ed Rendell and PA to enforce the laws on the books.

Another post I discovered from KC DOG BLOG says:

More follow-up Oprah
Caveat has an excellent post today. Some words from John Yates of the American Sporting Dog Alliance.

The post is pretty long - -but well worth the read. It asks a lot of the tough questions that weren't gotten into on the show.

I've noted that overall, I was a fan of the program. I think it created awareness of a problem that many of us have known about for way too long. However, it wasn't an in-depth, ask the hard questions sort of report. Yates' comments are.

I did find parts of this post from the aforementioned John Yates pretty darn offensive when he says:

Dog Owners’ Oprah Alert by JOHN YATES The American Sporting Dog Alliance http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org Dog owners might be in for another bashing on Friday, when ultra-liberal talk show host Oprah Winfrey does a special program on “puppy mills.” Winfrey’s star reporter, Lisa Ling, went undercover in commercial breeding kennels to do an expose on the pet store trade. Although the commercial trade in pet store puppies has nothing to do with the vast majority of dog owners and breeders, sensationalistic news coverage tars us with the same brush. To the liberal animal rights mindset, all breeders are either “puppy mills” or “backyard breeders,” and this always translates into more laws that harm only the innocent. Moreover, the hidden agenda of the animal rights movement is the ultimate elimination of animal ownership, and their strategy is to pick us off one group at a time....On Friday, we can expect a thumping with no opportunity to defend ourselves. The Winfrey/Ling style of journalism is to exploit highly emotional topics and sensationalize them to twang the heartstrings of a predominantly middle class audience of liberals who are looking for the next “do-gooder” cause to embrace. It looks like saving the whales or feeding starving people in Somalia aren’t fashionable this year. Pity the poor whales. Pity the poor Somali refugees. And pity the poor dog owners!

A campaign against dog owners and breeders has become the latest fashionable cause for the glitz and glitter crowd of celebrities.....I think we can do it, if we get off of our butts and actually do it. There are hundreds of thousands of people who breed dogs because they love them – show dogs, performing dogs, hunting dogs, obedience dogs, field trial dogs, companion dogs and just plain dogs. In addition, there are millions of dog owners who love their animals and thank breeders for doing the fine job that they know we do in improving temperament, genetic soundness, utility, beauty and health. If we join together in this, we can be a formidable force. My thoughts are that a boycott of Winfrey’s advertisers would be the most effective strategy. If several hundred thousand dog owners and breeders were to contact advertisers on the Oprah show and refuse to buy any of their products, they would be forced to take notice...The American Sporting Dog Alliance is asking all dog owners and breeders to watch the Oprah Show on Friday and form your own opinions. Then, if she does the kind of hatchet job we expect, please bombard her with emails expressing your displeasure.

John Yates, you are totally missing the point and have your own selfish motives no doubt. No one is targeting responsible dog owners and dog breeders. And lemme ask John Yates a question: Can you sleep at night with the tactics that you and your pals are taking: because fess up, you aren't just targeting Oprah, are you? Is it not true that your little robots are also targeting the selfless volunteers at Main Line Animal Rescue with vitriolic e-mails, etc? What are you so afraid of? That Main Line Rescue is actually doing something? See this is why so many bad breeders still can remain in business - because of have to be right or die types like these sporting dog alliance folks. And that dear readers is bull sheit.

I think people everywhere should boycott the American Sporting Dog Alliance for their selfish, obstreperous behavior, and how would THEY feel?

Of course, two wrongs don't make a right, so IGNORE those people and look at the big picture: there are pets in crisis all over this country and they are in as sorry shape as some of our nation's children.

For other interesting posts on irresponsible breeders, etc, check out these two from Philly Future:

ANOTHER PA Dog Breeder violates Puppy Lemon Laws....

Update on a dog post....

And read this:

Posted on Fri, Apr 4, 2008
Main Line Animal Rescue watches Oprah appearance
By Laurie Perini, lperini@phoenixvillenews.com

PHOENIXVILLE — Many of Main Line Animal Rescue’s 85 volunteers were crowded in two rooms at the shelter to watch “Oprah” on Friday.

While many of them might be avid Oprah watchers, they gathered because Oprah featured Main Line Animal Rescue and founder William Smith on a show about puppy mills.

“It was a great show,” said Smith. “I think it turned out really well. It will educate people not only about puppy mills but about euthanasia.”

The show explained that many dogs in shelters must be euthanized because there is not enough room for them or they cannot be placed in homes. It also stressed the importance of getting pets spayed or neutered.

Main Line Animal Rescue volunteers got together with snacks and drinks and sat attentively whenever Oprah came back from commercials.

There was applause, combined gasps and even some members who had to turn away when the show focused on the dogs being euthanized.

Throughout the program, some volunteers were fielding phone calls from people who were watching the show and wanted more information.

The volunteers help make Main Line Animal Rescue a success, with one of the highest placement rates in the United States at 99 percent.

and

Stu Bykofsky: Local guy coaxed Oprah into show attacking puppy mills
By Stu Bykofsky
Philadelphia Daily News
Daily News Columnist

IF OPRAH CAN DO for Fido what she's done for some authors and Barack Obama, dog lovers will wag their tails. They were drooling in anticipation of Oprah's show last Friday.
Oprah's endorsement turns books you never heard of into best-sellers, and transforms lagging presidential hopefuls into odds-on contenders.

As a onetime TV columnist, then gossip columnist, I know that most celebrities are empty-headed clowns who don't have the humility to thank their lucky stars for making them winners in life's lotto.

Oprah is among the exceptions, and when America's most influential woman pushes an issue, Americans respond.

On her Friday show, a teary-eyed Oprah condemned puppy mills, the bitter betrayal of "man's best friend." The canine horror houses are located mostly in Oklahoma, Missouri - and the Puppy Mill Capital of the East, picturesque Lancaster County.

Given that Oprah is a dog lover - her coddled canines live better than you or I - she came late to the anti-puppy-mill party and only after a very public "invitation" by Bill Smith.

The founder and head of 10-year-old Main Line Animal Rescue, in Chester Springs, Smith in February spent $10,000 of a donor's money to put up an anti-puppy-mill billboard near Oprah's studio. It pictured a cute dog pleading: "Oprah - please do a show on puppy mills; the dogs need you."

Friday, the dog's wish came true.

An animal protector for 25 years, the 46-year-old Smith makes countless trips to Pennsylvania Dutch country to talk puppy-mill owners out of sick and old dogs, which would otherwise be shot. For most of these breeders, dogs are a cash crop, like cabbage or corn.

Please support groups like Main Line Animal Rescue and the ASPCA in their efforts to combat dog abusers in this country.

Our pets are members of our family, not merely a furry accessory or a cash crop! Speaking of cash crop, read this from PACashCrop:

We all know puppy mills are bad. Factory farms where thousands of breeding dogs are kept in cages slightly larger than their own bodies. Underfed dogs feeding an industry of corruption and greed. Instead of walking on grass, they stand a lifetime on stretched wire flooring in cramp rabbit hutches. Instead of collars or bandannas, they wear rusted livestock clips in their ears or chains with USDA tags embedded in their necks. Undeserving of a name after eight years of service, a breeding female is often led into a dark cornfield and killed once she can no longer produce her young for market. Puppies who fail to sell often share the same fate. Unable to compete with the newest litters of seven week olds, they are destroyed at five or six or seven months of age. These little "left-over" puppies who grow too fast and lose their ability to bring in the top prices.

The factory farming of man's best friend is an ugly business. Each step of the process is harsh, inhumane and unspeakably cruel. The "extermination" of retired breeding dogs and unsold puppies is horrendous to anyone who loves dogs, and yet in Pennsylvania, it is perfectly legal. Dogs are "agricultural products" in our fair state and can be destroyed like any other livestock once they fail to turn a profit. Purchase a puppy bred in one of Pennsylvania's infamous puppy mills and you are supporting this inhumane practice. You are contributing to the cruelty. Remember, ninety-nine percent of the dogs sold in pet stores come from puppy mills.

Again, support the ASPCA, and groups like Main Line Rescue.

Bill Smith, you are my hero, and the hero to many others like me. Thank you for your courage.

OUCH! 9/11 is a Somber Memorial So Say You Are Sorry, Please.

Wow. Some surfers returned from their morning jaunt on the web and sent me this:

Fire Chief John Fallon is not very happy with Lisa Paolino right now.

Apparently, he is pissed over a photo on campaign literature.

So anyway, I have read this scathing letter, and I am going to provide the links so you all can judge yourselves. Maybe this guy has no beef legally since it was probably a photo taken in a public place, but if someone sent me a letter like this, I would totally say I was sorry and do as he asked.

These firemen and police keep us safe, and they lost a lot of their own on 9/11...so it is understandable that they would not want a somber reminder and show of respect to be pimped out in campaign literature or whatever, right?

File under "ouch" page 1 and "ouch" page 2

I have proudly served as a volunteer firefighter for 36 years. I have served as the Chief of the Penn Wynne-Overbrook Hill Fire Company for the last 7. As Chief, it has been my honor to lead a group of dedicated men and women who selflessly serve their community. Perhaps for a politician like you, the event memorialized in the photograph you hijacked was unmemorable. For me it was not. This image was taken at a memorial for the 343 firefighters whom lost their lives on September 11, 2001. It is truly heartbreaking that a politician would exploit this national tragedy to advance her political ambitions -- all for a good "photo op". Your conduct tells me all I need to know about your lack of respect and lack of understanding of the daily sacrifices made by volunteer firefighters, police, paramedics, and other first responders. Your campaign literature says what you want us to believe, but your conduct, in politicizing this memorial, has shown me the truth about you. You are unworthy of our support.

Missing Campaign Lawn Signs Already?

That being said, isn't it funny how lawn signs just disappear in Radnor Township? And Haverford Township? And over past Norristown? The Prom Queen's signs are left unmolested, yet her competition for the primary as well as Daylin Leach signs have mysteriously disappeared from the landscape?

Here's the 411: Stealing lawns signs is bush league petty predictable politics (as in if you can't whine your way into office, please chose from the following alternatives). It goes against one of our basic rights: freedom of expression, and I am fairly sure there is something else written somewhere about freedom of choice in elections. You have choices for public office, and a certain campaign needs to stop stealing lawn signs! No one can prove it.....yet, but ummm, you might want to be careful touching them from now on.... Let's try and be a grown up...there is more than enough room for more then just one candidate's lawn signs....and the rather large ones with the photos on them? They are just so tacky.

Here is a sign which were photographed prior to reported disappearance that is one of those that have definitely gone missing(and it would be nice if they found there way back to where they were?):