The reason the colonists fought for independence

It appears as though the colonists fought for independence for the same reason the troops are fighting in Iraq: to keep King George in power. Just in time for Independence Day (the holiday, not the movie) Raw Story via the National Journal reports that Dubya admits he had directed Darth Cheney to use classified info to not only defend his administration but to also go out of his way to discredit Joseph Wilson while doing so.

But Bush told investigators that he was unaware that Cheney had directed I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, to covertly leak the classified information to the media instead of releasing it to the public after undergoing the formal governmental declassification processes. [National Journal]

Why, then, wouldn't Cheney have gone through the official declassification process to "get the word out"? Why would the Shrub make a huge stink about how awful the leak was and state the perpetrator(s) would be punished to the fullest extent of the law instead of admitting he'd given the order to declassify the info? Last but not least, why would Libby lie to the grand jury about the circumstances? The answers to those questions are pretty obvious. Information can be declassified, under Bush Executive Order 13292, based on the President's (of Vice President's) assertion that declassification and disclosure of the information was necessary because the [administration's belief that] public's need to know the information far outweighed the need to keep the information secret. The decision on a matter such as this is made that the discretion of the POTUS/VPOTUS. Ultimatley, the administrtaion obviously decided that the information about Plame needed to publicized in the name of public interest but the information as to how and why that information was relayed publicly needed to remain classified. It's good to be King. . .


Tags:Valerie Plame; politics; The Bushevik Revolution; we're America, we own the world; BBA; conservatism; media; Downing Street Memorandum; Dick Cheney; media; Lewis Scooter "Leaky" Libby; Iraq

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pretending to sleep through the storms

I'm sure after hiding out during yet another round of storms last night, the dysfunctional duo was very glad to wake up to a sunny day (and less flooded back yard) today.

Tag: dog blogging

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Charity is only OK if it advances orthodox Christian principles

Talk about moral relativism! Charitable donations aren't always a good thing as a matter of fact, some are the work of the devil according to the Christian orthodoxy.

Well what did I expect after the fundies started railing that voting is downright unAmerican/unPatriotic if you don't vote for a Repubevangelical.

Tags: politics; religion; charity; fundamentalism; christianity; conservatism; Warren Buffet; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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not so Starry, Starry day

Star Jones may have managed to keep the method of her drastic weight loss secret, but her not so secret plans to leave The Yentas View were confirmed during this morning's episode of the televised coffee klatsch. On her departure, Jones didn't say what her career plans are but commented

“I’m not sure what the future holds,” she said. “But I’m absolutely sure who holds the future.”

Anyone want to guess that Jones, a Court TV alum, will try to hit up another Court TV alum for a position at MSNBC*?

* say no Dan, just say no!

Tags: Star Jones

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Oops, he did it again

My old buddy Rush may have just screwed up a deal on prescription drug fraud in a desparate attempt to get laid. It appears as though "Mr. send the drug users up the river" was detained at Pam Beach International airport the other day with some contraband Viagra. According to Limbaugh's attorney:

Limbaugh’s doctor had prescribed the Viagra, but it was “labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes"

I don't know why he'd be ashamed of having the prescription - heck, Bob Dole did ads for the stuff. Maybe he was just trying to hide his non-marital sexcapades from the Christian Conservative ditto-heads.

Tags: rush limbaugh; prescription drugs

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Mo money, mo money, mo money

Courtesy of Raw Story comes the news that what the queers lack in sheer number they more than make up in purchase power as gay buying power is expected to top a trillion by 2012.

"The purchasing power of the GLBT community is estimated today to be a massive $641 billion, with projections reaching $1 trillion by 2012. Add in the buying power of the millions of family members and friends who show fierce allegiance to fair- minded corporations, and you get a message that no company can afford to ignore: equality is good for business," said Jody M. Huckaby, executive director of the more than 200,000-member organization.

"This economic clout and product loyalty is only going to grow. We are here to give the business world this wake-up call and to help companies compete."

So tell me, what's a "Christian" capitalist to do? I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Daddy Dobson tells us. . .

Tags: politics; religion; capitalism; gay; fundamentalism; conservatism

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How about a living wage?

The minimum wage in the US has been set at $5.15/hr since 1997. In that time, Congress has voted to give themselves a raise 9 times which have totaled more than 3 times a 40-hour/week FT salary of the minimum wage earner. In contrast, the $10,700 a minimum wage worker earns for a full year of 40-hour work weeks is $5,000 less than the official poverty line for a family of 3.

To put this into perspective, Senator Rick Santorum not only had to suck it up and let his wife do some work not related to keeping his house and raising his children to add another much needed $4,000/month to his then measly $162K/year salary but he also admits to occasionally accepting a bit of financial help from his retired parents to help keep the family from debtors prison (maybe he should pretend to be a resident of FL instead PA in order to keep the homestead if he has to file for bankruptcy).

It's well past time for a raise in the minimum wage. Senator Kennedy has recently introduced an ammendment to raise the minimum wage to $7.25/hr (that's still barely over $15K/year) and a vote on the matter could happen as soon as this Wednesday.

c/o AFL-CIO E-Activist

We’re coming down to the wire. The Senate is expected to vote on a minimum wage increase this week, but opponents may try to block it with phony proposals that actually hurt workers. Meanwhile, the Republican House leadership has refused to schedule a vote even though an increase to $7.25 an hour won a solid majority vote in committee. We have fought long and hard to give America’s low-wage workers a raise. What happens depends on your action now.

Please contact your U.S. senators and representative to vote to increase the minimum wage and reject any amendments to the legislation that would hurt workers.

For more information, please check out the following:

Raising the Minimum Wage is a Matter of Fairness

Minimum Wage Showdown this Week

Let Justice Roll


Tags: minimum wage; Poverty; economics; Politics

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Another day, another email from the AFA complaining about intolerant people firing folks for no good reason

When 18-year old Crystal Plotner, who the rink owners say was one of their top 10 employees, casually mentioned she was planning to move in with her boyfriend to her bosses, they implored her to check out their church and re-consider her sinful plans. When she refused to do either, they fired her sinful little ass for violation of their moral turpitude clause. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised when I saw the email I received from the AFA's Don Wildmon, wildly complaining about intolerant employers firing good people for no good reason. I saw the subject line of the e-mail and thought it's about time such a fine, Christian organization took up the cause of a great employee like Crystal who wasn't going around preaching against [traditional] marriage at the rink, telling rink patrons about how she was living in sin, or doing anything in a public forum that could make her employers look kinda shady. Then I opened it and found out my friend Don is only concerned about firing people who go out of their way to impugn others (provided the person who was fired is a "Christian" and the people being impugned don't even meet Anne Coulter's liberal definition of Christian.

A public official in Maryland has been fired by the Republican governor because he merely expressed his personal beliefs and the teaching of his church that homosexuality is immoral. Robert Smith was fired from his position on the Metro board by Gov. Robert Ehrlich, Jr. after a homosexual complained. Gov. Ehrlich said he is intolerant to any view that opposes the full social acceptance of homosexual behavior and its promotion in government. He said Smith's comments were "highly inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. They are in direct conflict to my administration's commitment to...tolerance." Gov. Ehrlich contradicted his own statement! He is promoting tolerance toward homosexual practice while being intolerant to Smith's Christian beliefs and the teaching of his church.

Smith, it seems, went on a local cable talk show to espouse his views that homosexuals live a life of sexual deviancy. He not only offended other Metro Board members by these public statements, he also ticked off openly gay board member DC councilman Jim Graham, who called for his resignation. According to Wildmon's email

Addressing his views on homosexual marriage, Smith said: "Homosexual behavior, in my view, is deviant. I'm a Roman Catholic. The comments I make in public outside of my [Metro board job] I'm entitled to make." His personal beliefs, he said, have "absolutely nothing to do with running trains and buses and have not affected my actions or decisions on this board."

Smith responded to a speaker who said homosexuals do not want the government interfering in their sex life. "That's fine, that's fine," Smith said. "But that doesn't mean that government should proffer a special place of entitlement within the laws of the United States for persons of sexual deviancy."

Smith said he has always supported the transit agency's policy against all forms of discrimination. Asked if he planned to apologize to Metro board member Jim Graham, an open homosexual who called for Smith's firing, Smith replied: "I didn't make the comments to Mr. Graham...I'm sorry he feels that way. I don't agree that his lifestyle is an appropriate way to lead one's life."

Smith was fired not because he wasn't doing a good job. He was fired not because of his practice, but because of his thinking! He was fired because he held different beliefs. So much for tolerance! If this firing stands, it means that any Christian who states publicly that homosexual practice is morally wrong does so at the risk of being fired.

The only thing is, based on Smith's own account of the cable show, it sounds as though he was on the show as Metro Board Member Robert Smith discussing local government issues, not as a private citizen (if anyone has footage, I'd like to see how he was billed). I guess the point is, Wildmon is OK with firing someone for doing something he thinks is wrong but broadcasting public accusations based on Christian beliefs doesn't count. I wonder if the AFA will take up the cause for the next BYU professor fired for taking a stance of equality in marriage, after all that person is only thinking and expressing their personal views.

Tags: politics; religion; you've got a hypocrite in; marriage; gay; fundamentalism; conservatism; wizzing on some old document

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Annie Get Your Gun

In an email interview Anne "I can't define what Christianity is, but I know it when I see it" Coulter has gone on to show yet another example of her religiously correct moral superiority by implying that anyone who has served their time in the US military during wartime but don't support the war in Iraq should be killed.

"After harmlessly dismissing former Ambassador Joseph Wilson as the "World's most intensely private exhibitionist," she said of Rep. John Murtha, the hawkish ex-Marine and now antiwar congressman: "The reason soldiers invented 'fragging.'" [Editor & Publisher]

I wonder if her next step will be to say amnesty should be granted to insurgents who have attacked/killed US troops in Iraq because those injured and killed were flaming liberals who deserved to be attacked for not supporting our troops in Iraq. After all, those who serve in and survive the Iraq war may be the next group of un-Patriotic ingrates that speak out against the Repubevangelical Empire.


Tags: anne coulter; politics; Iraq War; Bush Administration; Honor; conservatism

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The liberals don't support the troops?

It seems as though the yellow-bellied, un-American, terrorist-lovin' liberals - you know, the ones who the Patriotic folks at Faux News constantly deride as not supporting the troops by claiming we should not be at war in Iraq, aren't alone in the terrorist-supporting activities. The Republicans have proven yet again that the only time an American life matters to them is when they can wave their nice flag while beating their chests about how they value life. Raw Story reports

Five Republican Senators today took to the chamber floor invoking Nelson Mandela, the Confederacy, and even the Japenese to defend an Iraqi government plan to grant amnesty for insurgents who have attacked United States troops, or civilians

Yup, it was those of us who voted against the shrub and demanded Rummy, et al provide our military with appropriate supplies who show contempt for the troops.

Tags: politics; Iraq War; Bush Administration; Foreign Policy; BBA; Downing Street Memorandum; Honor; conservatism

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No Mo Po

Danny-boy's first major act as GM at MSNBC was to axe the Povich's. So far it looks like moving behind the scenes was a really good move for Abrams.




Tags: Connie Chung; Maury Povich; Dan Abrams

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PA House TO'd that Senate's version of bigotry bill let's some sinners have rights

There's a fire brewing between Pennsylvania law-makers as the PA Senate passed a version of the state's No Mo Marriage constitutional amendment that *gasp* allows municipalities to recognize and grant rights to people living in sin by registering as domestic partners. The lone dissenter in the senate, Jane Orie (R-Allegheny), decried the senate version for "defeating the purpose" of the amendment by not making it clear that traditional marriage is the only acceptable for people in a relationship to have any legal rights or responsibilities for adults in a romantic relationship, and that municipalities that recognize domestic partnerships undermine the safety of children and threaten to destroy the institution of marriage. After all, if two adults can register as domestic partnership the state no longer has the privelege of preventing people living in sin from obtaining benefits from companies that offer benefits to domestic partners.

Advocates for the original amendment language accused the Senate committee of trying to derail the bill.

"Members who voted for the bill as amended must have had the intent to kill the marriage protection amendment," said Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which defines its mission as strengthening families by restoring traditional values to public life. [Inky]

The only way to prevent further erosion of the sanctity of marriage is to ensure no relationship or living arrangement that is similar to the traditional marriage (two adults living together and, possibly, even having/raising children) are reminded of how they are destroying society by not engaging in acceptable traditional marriage. Based on this thinking, even the House's version of the amendment doesn't quite go far enough to really protect marriage. After all, if people can enjoy a relationship that includes any of the benefits of a tradiional marriage, the institution of marriage is undermined. To be true to their goal of protecting marriage, PA lawmakers need to bring back anti cohabitation and fornication laws, complete with legal penalties against lawbreakers, as well as make other ways to prevent couples to "live in sin" or reap other benefits (sex, having children, etc.) that should be limited to heterosexual couples joined in an acceptable religious ceremony.

Tags: politics; religion; you've got a hypocrite in; marriage; gay; fundamentalism; conservatism; wizzing on some old document

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Crawford outs FDA irregularity

Former FDA head Lester Crawford has testified that the agency's intended response to Barr's prescription-to-OTC switch application for Plan B (emergency contraception) was not to deny the switch to allow sales of the drug without a prescription to females 17 and older.

Former FDA commissioner Lester Crawford, in a sworn statement, said he had reserved the right to decide whether to loosen the sales restrictions on the prescription-only emergency contraceptive pills. His account of that unusual and perhaps unprecedented move, given in a deposition over a lawsuit against the FDA, confirmed earlier testimony given by two senior agency officials who said he'd shut them out of the decision-making process.

But Crawford said his Aug. 26, 2005, announcement that the agency was delaying its decision on Plan B wasn't a move toward denying over-the-counter sales. Instead, it was a bid for time to work out how to enforce restricting nonprescription sales to women 17 and older. Girls 16 and younger would still need a prescription. [Guardian]

Barr had suggested a "behind the counter" plan for the drug - a plan similar to that applied to cigarettes which, based on Crawford's assertion that the FDA was just trying to work out an acceptable plan, should have been acceptable to the agency. Instead they delayed any decision to work out something different since a girl under the age of 17 could possibly get access to the drug without a prescription if they accepted the behind the counter suggestion by Barr. Interestingly, it's always "possible" for someone who doesn't have a prescription for a medication to get access to and use it (even children), so this argument holds less water than a colander.

Mark McClellan is next in the queue for a deposition on the issue. In the meantime, science and common sense continue to take a back seat to religious hystrionics.

Tags: health care; contraception; reproductive rights; fundamentalism; FDA; Plan B

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Religious-induced ignorance still trumps science when it comes to women

Last night on 60 Minutes, they re-ran their story on how Repubevangelical FDA advisory appointee David "sodomy is best when perfomed without consent" Hager helped prevent a decision to approve OTC availability of Barr's Plan B emergency contraceptive. Women, including rape victims, are still being denied access to Plan B with a valid prescription for no other reason than the fact the religious right continues to mislabel the drug, which prevents the ovulation necessary for conception to occur, as an abortifacient. There are three evide points that really need serious consideration when the self-appointed arbiters of morality unneccesarily make the inacurate claim that Plan B induces abortions:

• If ovulation does not occur, an egg can not be fertilized and pregnancy (even if you define it as conception instead of implantation) does not occur.
• There is no evidence or logical reason to believe, let alone assert, that the drug causes expulsion of an implanted embryo when pregnancy has been established.
• The claim that Plan B, in the case that ovulation and conception occur, prevents implantation into the endometrial lining has come about because chronic use of hormonal contraception can lead to thining of the endometrial lining which helps decrease the heaviness and/or duration of menses.
  
• Please note the operative words are "chronic use" and "can."
  
• All women using hormonal contraception on a regular basis do not have thiniing of the endometrial lining; quite a few do not and those who have gotten pregnant while using hormonal contraception do not necessarily suffer spontaneous abortion related to contraceptive use.
  
• Plan B is not a chronic use drug - it's a drug that will be used on relatively rare occasion.

We are past due the time when our Representatives finally take positive action to ensure that women have access to emergency contraception, especially those already traumatized by rape.

C/O NARAL Pro-Choice America

Improve health-care services for rape survivors

We need your help to make sure women who’ve been raped get the chance to prevent pregnancy. please contact your US Representative to make this a Federal requirement for hospitals receiving US funds.

Send a message to your members of Congress today to help pass the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act (“CARE”: S.1264/H.R.2928).

This bill would ensure that survivors of sexual assault are offered the “morning-after” pill in the emergency room. The morning-after pill, also known as emergency contraception or EC, prevents pregnancy after sex or sexual assault. Improved access to the morning-after pill could prevent 88 percent – approximately 22,000 – of pregnancies that occur as a result of rape.

For more information, please check out FP's post at Weekly Action Coalition.

Tags: health care; contraception; reproductive rights; fundamentalism; FDA; Plan B; rape

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Premature Ejaculation

It looks like the preznit shot his fundamentalist wad a little too early this year as the so urgent he hasn't spoken about it since the last election Marriage Protection Amendment appears to have stalled in the Senate. The pro-bigotry brigade in the Senate only managed to garner 49 of the 60 votes needed to pass a procedural motion to even have a vote on the measure.


Tags: politics; religion; marriage; gay; fundamentalism; conservatism; wizzing on some old document

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welcome to pennsyltucky

So much for addressing important issues like property tax reform or disclosure about lobbying, Pennsyltucky lawmakers have decided that ensuring those damn 'mos don't undermine the sanctity and wholesomeness of "traditional" (that'd be heterosexual) marriages is the top priority. The state House voted 136-61 to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman the other day - the state Senate is expected to take up the measure at the end of the month. The amendment that was approved by the House reads:

Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this Commonwealth, and neither the Commonwealth nor any of its political subdivisions shall create or recognize a legal status identical or substantially equivalent to that of marriage for unmarried individuals.

Those voting for the measure should be ashamed of themselves, not only for their overt support of bigotry but also for ignoring the fact that a marriage license is nothing more than a legal document that provides the couple with legal rights and binds them to legal responsibilities towards one another. There is no requirement that any religious official, church or even society at large accept or condone any relationship for it to be valid.

If the requirement for a marriage license were in any way linked to the government's/society's endorsement of a marriage (or any relationship, for that matter) we, as a society, should be allowed to vote on the acceptability of each couple's petition to marry as well as any request to end a marriage. Otherwise, we should stay out of any private relationship between consulting adults that does not directly impact us or can not be shown (supported with unbiased documentation) to pose a substantial threat to those involved and/or society at large. Homosexuality and gay marriage are not the reason we have such a high divorce rate, straight people are. If anybody has been shown to undermine the sanctity of marriage as an institution and the "traditional American family", it's those who've been directly involved in the destruction of their own families.


Tags: politics; religion; you've got a hypocrite in; marriage; gay; fundamentalism; conservatism; wizzing on some old document

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Well, I can't really define irony...

Doing his best Winona Ryder impression, WH press secretary Tony Snow indicated that King George considers the Marriage Protection Amendment a civil rights issue but then couldn't explain what civil rights are. In a follow-up to today's WH briefing, it was confirmed that "civil rights" are defined as: the rights afforded to Repubevangelicals by the Christotheocracy and those very rights are violated whenever gay people are afforded the same rights to execute a mutually exclusive legal contract with one another as heterosexual people.


Tags: The Boy Blunder; marriage; gay; ; conservatism; wizzing on some old document

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Missing Monday

8-year old Robert Sample, Jr has been missing since yesterday afternoon when he left Frankford home with $20 to go to a local store at Penn and Sellers Streets. Sample, who left his home on the 1300 block of Adams Ave. around 2pm, has gone off on his own before, but never for more than a few hours. He knows how to ride SEPTA and may have taken the bus to locate a friend named Jamir who recently moved from the neighborhood.



Robert is 4 feet tall and weighs about 65 pound s and was wearing a red shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers when he was last seen, If you have see (or have seen) the boy please contact the Philadelphia police.



UPDATE: Robert has been located with relatives in West Philly. (h/t to the lovely and talented Albert)



16-year old Ashley Nicole Brown was last seen in Apollo, Pennsylvania on May 17, 2006. Ashley, who answers to the nickname Sissy, is 5'2" and weighs about 98 pounds. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, a pierced nose and multiple ear piercings. She is considered an endangered runaway and may still be in Western PA. If you have any information on her disappearance or current whereabouts, please contact the Washington Township Police Department at 724-727-3410, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)


Tags: missing person; Pennsylvania

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Marriage Protection Amendment is Dubya's way of being altruistic towards gays

In response to all the cynicism surrounding the election year resurfacing of the Marriage Protection Amendment, the boy blunder spoke out to reaffrim his committment to protecting the almost obliterated institution of marriage while explaining that the sudden new push for the amendment was, in fact, to protect gays as much as marriage [emphasis added]

Bush said that it was necessary to keep the debate over gay marriage from spilling over into prejudice. 'As this debate goes forward, we must remember that every American deserves to be treated with tolerance, respect and dignity,' he added. [Guardian UK]

Enacting the amendment will, in fact, stop any debate over gay marriage since it will ensure that, while gay people can't get married to their chosen partner, it will ensure everyone has equal protection under the constitution as it does not prevent gay people from marrying altogether or even marrying each other (provided the partners are of the opposite sex). Of course, once life-couselor Richard Cohen completes his task of "hugging the gay away", American society will be safe from any 'mo threats.


Tags: The Boy Blunder; marriage; gay; ; conservatism; wizzing on some old document

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A Congressional Candidate Who Really Supports Traditional Family Values

Speaking of little Ricky's support for only heterosexual relationships and how, as the Senator from VA says, we need the Marriage Protection Amendment to end the extreme "harm" beings done by the obviously un-Christian act of treating people "nicely", we now have additional evidence of the exquisite nature of the moral superiority of Republican "pro-family" politicos. Californian Republican congressional candidate Jim Galley has been running on Repubevangelical "pro-traditional family" platform. Unlike many men, Galley has shown no signs of commitmment issues and is a huge supporter of marriage - provided the marriage is between a man and a woman, of course. Like many "traditional family" Republican politicians, he's even made that sacred, life-long, committment to marriage twice. While his two marriages don't, exactly make him the uber-traditional marriage supporter like Newt Gingrich or Rush Limbaugh, he has added to his "traditional" only credibility by comitting bigamy. Yes, it appears as though Galley was so eager to ensure women without husbands didn't end up marrying other women (as would be forced upon them if America doesn't protect marriage from the gays), he married his second wife, Beth, in 1982 while he was still married to Mrs. Terry Galley. Beth Galley divorced him in 1990 after accusing him of spousal abuse and filing a restraining order against him. He's also been accused of defaulting on child support payments to his first wife.

For his own part, 50-year old Galley, writes the concurrent marriages off as a youthful indiscretion noting he thought the divorce from his first wife was final. He also explained that his second wife trumped up charges for the restraining order to get him out of the house and that he only defaulted on the child support payments for a few months. Still, you can't help but think that Galley is such a beautiful example of how right Rick Santorum is when he points out that homosexuality is what's destroying the superb traditional moral fiber of the great American tapestry. I just wonder if the girl pictured next to Galley (above) is what stands in the way of my dream of a happy hetero (and life-long) marriage to the traditionalist.

Tags: Rick "I just can stop from thinking about beastiality" Santorum; marriage; gay; California; conservatism; Jim "Hot Het Man" Galley; wizzing on some old document

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Could Senator Santorum be right?

More evidence the "traditional" family is healthier and definitely superior to non-traditional families.


Tags: sexual molestation; conservatism

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Holy Amsterdam Batman

Batwoman is a dike! Does this mean Ben Affleck will be donning the batsuit next?

















Tags: Batwoman; gay; Ben Affleck

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So I did as the AFA requested. . .sort of

Donald Wildmon, Grand Poobah of the AFA, urged me to contact my senators about the plan to take a wiz on the US Constitution and enact the mis-named "Marriage Protection Amendment", so I did. By way of the AFA web-site, I sent emails to that guy who doesn't really qualify for PA state residency and Arlen Specter to let them know how utterly disgusted I am with the idea of this amendment that isn't doing anything to protect the institution of marriage:

Regardless of your religious or personal views on homosexuality, the purpose of the marriage protection amendment is institutionalized bigotry no less based on hate-mongering and irrational fear than the old miscegination laws. The sanctity of a relationship between can not be undermined by the status of a relationship of others; it is the duty of those within the couple to make and continue to keep their bond sacred.

Using the US Constitution, the very document that protects the religious
freedoms of all Americans, to codify and impose the religious and personal views of a sector of the population on the entire population is an abomination. There are much more important issues that need to be
addressed in this country that will not be addressed as long as the
religious right and the Republican party continue to focus on their quest
to make the US a "Christian" Country.

Today, I received a reply from Rick "Coverture is the bomb" Santorum. Sadly, it was a canned response in which he proudly proclaimed how this amendment will save marriage and protect children from the dangers posed by families that are not "traditional". Shockingly, based on his response, I'm not sure how this amendment will protect marriage, let alone children, as he claims in his email to me

I believe that redefining marriage sends a message to the next generation that children do not need mothers and fathers, and alternative family forms are just as good as traditional families. Furthermore, I cannot think of anything more vital to the preservation of our society than encouraging traditional marriage in which children are raised by a mother and a father.

This statement implies that a "traditional family" (defined as a family headed up by a married couple limited to that comprised by one man and one woman) is, by default, a superior family "form" just by the nature of the arrangement. While I, personally, do believe that the ideal family is comprised by a man and a woman in a stable, committed, monogamous relationship raising their children in a warm, secure, positive and nurturing environment, I am under no illusion that any marriage based on a "traditional" heterosexual relationship meets my definition of ideal (or even acceptable) purely based on the fact the family is headed up by a heterosexual couple. "Traditional" is no guarantee of appropriate involvement and support for a child from both his/her father and mother. Additionally, non-"traditional" is no sure sign of sub-standard parenting or quality of life.

While one may find non-traditional families objectionable for personal/religious reasons there is no evidence that children raised in traditional families are, by default, any healthier than those raised in non-traditional families (let alone those headed by a gay couple). As a society interested in protecting an extremely vulnerable group within our population, we have an obligation to support any and all family types in an effort to maximize the stability, security and overall health of the environment in which our children are raised. Stripping away freedoms via an amendment to the constitution and enacting legislation to prevent consent adults who are not already legally bound to another by a mutually exclusive marriage contract from obtaining a legal contract of marriage with each other purely because they are of the same gender does neither improves the overall health of our society nor affects the stability or sanctity of the "traditional family".

I think it is wrong for the government to legitimize the concept that children do not need mothers and fathers.

And yet, he doesn't explain or supply supporting documentation/evidence how preventing gay couples from obtaining a marriage license has or will (further) erode parental involvement in the lives of their off-spring. Do those supporting this amendment also plan to:

1. Remove children from all families in which both the child's father and mother are not available to provide the child with the support and guidance (s)he needs and foster/adopt out that child to an acceptable traditional environment?
   
2. Force all pregnant women who are single to marry a man to be a father to her child if she does not agree to terminate her parental rights to ensure the child is adopted by a more suitable traditional couple?
3. Require traditional couples raising children to provide an approvable parental involvement plan and hold them accountable to ensure they live and raised their child(ren) in accordance with this?
   
4. What about widows with minor children, are those families less legitimate until a suitable re-marriage takes place?

Those who sponsor this amendment seem to be under the impression that all traditional families are comprised of adults who provide children the maternal and/or paternal support that child needs. I think we call all agree that what matters most is that children are raised by stable, loving, responsible and nurturing parents. One parent meeting that definition or two parents of the same sex who meet that definition are far superior to parents who do not.

Santorum also saw fit to remind me that

There is an abundance of research and literature supporting a healthy marriage's positive effect on children. Children that are a product of a healthy marriage are less likely to be poor, less likely to fail at school, and less likely to have an emotional behavioral problem requiring psychiatric treatment.

but then goes on to ignore the fact that there is no legitimate research that supports the ihis implication that heterosexual couples necessarily have healthier marriages/relationships than gay couples. I've asked him to supply evidence that children raised in a healthy gay (equivalent to) marriage do not benefit from the same positive effect that children raised in a healthy traditional marriage. I'll let you know if he does.

Tags: santorum; marriage; gay; parenthood; conservatism

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Something different

Thom from Societas has been living and working in Dakar, Senegal for some time now, so I was excited when he sent some news that the 10,000 Girls project he and his students having been working on was ready to be unveiled. The purpose was to create a self-sustaining organization run by the very girls that are being provided with educational and work opportunities the program hopes to offer. Please check it out and, if you like what you see, donate.

Tags: Africa; Senegal; empowerment; education; feminism

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Missing Monday - sad follow up from August

I forgot to post for Missing Monday and, two seconds ago, just remembered that this is the first Monday of the month when I heard the announcement on the news that the body of Taneke Daniels has been identified. Daniels, the mother of 3 boys, was last seen leaving her boyfriend's house 12 May 2005. My heart goes out to her mother, sons and the rest of her friends and family.


Tags: Missing Persons;Taneke Daniels; Philadelphia

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Why it's called the penal system

Usually, when an innocent child is killed in the cross-fire of gang/drug/other criminal warfare, the murderers at least pretend to be sorry they killed someone other than the person they were trying to kill. In Philadephia, however, we have our own new brand of useless sacks of shit who not only don't even feign remorse, the curse the child they murdered, the child's family and one of the murderers even promised to "haunt" the boy's family until his final appeal. You see, Kareem Johnson and Kennell Spady feel their actions of shooting and killing 10-year old Faheem Thomas-Childs outside North Philadelphia's T.M. Peirce Elementary School on Feb. 11, 2004 was perfectly justifiable, as was the injury to another bystander - a crossing guard who was shot in the leg, since they were in the midst of a gun-fight with a rival drug gang in which over 90 bullets were fired. Society needs to understand that when decide to shoot it out, it's everyone else's responsibility to avoid their chosen battle location.

Johnson and Spady were found guilty of first degree murder, a charge for which they each received life sentences. They also received and additional 2 years for shooting the crossing guard. Their defense attorney's argued the extra two years were vengeful because

Johnson, one of seven children, never knew his mother until he ran into her on a street one day. Spady was a product of his environment, which consisted of drugs, guns and violence. [Inky]

This, of course, means they shouldn't be punished so harshly because they're victims of society whose lives matter. . .apparently as much, if not more, than those they hurt. The only thing more disturbing than the words of 22-year old Charles Johnson in response to the victim impact statement, is the lack of respect for life, law and common decency shown by his supporters

"You don't give a f- about my life, and I don't give a f- about his life... F- him," Johnson proclaimed.

The words provoked some supporters. "Love you, Nell! Love you, Reem!" two girls shouted before being ejected. [Inky]

Rehabilitation, when possible, is a great thing but even those who are rehabilitable have to pay an appropriate penalty for their crimes. Johnson & Spady have shown a most exceptional lack of respect for the lives of others, why they're so shocked others aren't particularly concerned that the rest of their lives will be spent in jail is beyond me.


Tags: murder

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Nearer My G-d to Thee

If you've ever been to DC you know the only thing worse than the traffic is the parking. Over the years, on practice has been overlooked by police but has been drawing the ire of many residents: double-parking in front of churches. With the increase in neighbor complaints, the DC planned to start enforcing the law this year - beginning with warnings starting this week-end and graduating to real tickets starting in July. The idea of finally enforcing laws against double-parking (at least near churches) is getting another look-see due to complaints by church-goers who held a rally to fight what they claim is an infringement on their religious rights. Apparently, car-pooling, using public transit or walking to church from a distance is an abomination to G-d, whereas as double-parking just tickles His fancy. . .


Tags: religious rights; permission to break the law in the name of religion

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G-d Bless David Englin

Just stopping by to pick up the Dynamic Duo (who are getting a long famously) to start training for the 3-day. While my training partners were finishing up their supper, I did my standard checking out of Pam's House Blend to find a wonderful piece & interview with Virginia Delegate David Englin. Englin spoke up prior to the vote on Virginia's idiotic Marriage Amendment to point out what every clear thinking, rational human being knows: the biggest threat to marriage comes from those within the marriage and that the sanctity of somebody's marriage is not affected by the relationships/marital state of those outside that marriage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this resolution. I'm not going to talk about same-sex marriage. I'm no fool -- although others might make a different judgement about a freshman delegate rising in this chamber on the third day of session. But I understand that on the issue of marriage, I'm in the minority, perhaps even in my own caucus. I also sleep very well at night knowing that at some point in the future of this great Commonwealth, those of us of my opinion will be judged to have been on the right side of history. But let's for a moment forget about the question of same-sex marriage, because this amendment addresses much more than that. We need to be clear and honest: This amendment also outlaws civil unions and domestic partnerships and other similar private legal arrangements.

We have heard from the other side that this constitutional amendment is necessary to protect conventional marriage. I am blessed with a beautiful and brilliant wife who is the love of my life. In June, Shayna and I will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, and I would fight with every ounce of my strength anything that would threaten my marriage. So I would like to know, how exactly civil unions and domestic partnerships and other similar arrangements threaten my marriage?

We have heard from the other side that this amendment will protect families. Shayna and I are blessed with a strong and bright six-year-old son, Caleb, and we have a strong family. My friend the gentleman from Rockingham County, Delegate Lohr, and I have discussed how we come from different backgrounds and different parts of this great Commonwealth, yet we share a deep and abiding commitment to our families. I want nothing more than to protect my family. I spent 12 years wearing the uniform of the United States Air Force to protect my family. I've been in harm's way to protect my family. So I would like to know, how exactly do civil unions and domestic partnerships and other similar arrangements threaten my family? Because if they do, I will be the first one to stand up and fight, because nobody better threaten my family.

Go read the interview at Pam's place.

Go support Englin.

Tags: marriage; gay; politics; shoving religion down the throats of those who disagree with the religious right

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AFA lends new meaning to the phrase "saving time"

Another day, another farcockteh email from Daddy Dobson's minions. Today's big issue is yet another example of the war on religion (the only religion that matters being fundamental Christianity) and this time the assault comes courtesy of the evil secularization of the dating method. Yes, the AFA fears that Jesus is taking a beating by the Kentucky Board of Education's voting to use the terms BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) in lieu of making reference to a year relative to their Lord:

Dear ol cranky,

The Kentucky Board of Education has voted to take the first step in redefining how America dates time. The board voted to include a new secular system of dating the calendar, BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era), and added it to the BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, Latin for "in the year of our Lord") method.

The new secular system of time dating will appear in the curriculum and other materials used by Kentucky educators. This new system is already being included in textbooks across the nation.

The new method will replace the birth of Christ as the dividing point in history. For example, the new system would change 2006 AD (Anno Domini) to 2006 CE (Common Era).

It also opens the door for the ACLU to find a liberal activist judge who will forcefully remove the use of BC and AD. The ACLU types will claim that the use of BC and AD are a violation of the First Amendment because it dates history based on the birth of Christ.

Please forward this poll to your friends and family!
Take Action

Results of the poll will be shared with members of Congress.

Should Congress pass a law making BC/AD the official method of dating time?

Cast your vote. Give us your opinion!

Sincerely,

Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

P.S. Please forward this e-mail message to your family and friends!

I've forwarded the e-mail message, but I'm guessing my friends and family won't have any better luck getting their survey results saved than I've had. I'm sure they'll gladly provide Congress with their enriched/skewed survey results.

Tags: AFA - making sure we all know this is a Christian country; Christian; religious freedom; religious tolerance

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forensic vagina inspectors

In its war against abortion, El Salvador deploys forensic vagina inspectors to the front line to determine if a woman has had an abortion. Sadly, that's not even the most frightening part of Jack Hitt's "Pro-Life Nation" in last week's NYT. Based on the planned continued Christification of the US by the Repubevangelicals, it's only a matter of time before we hear that job description being developed for a special unit of the FBI.

The only thing those who marry religious fundamentalism/orthodoxy to politics despise more than the fact there are people in this country who disagree with their religio-political views is the fact that those "non-believers" have the audacity not to at least pretend to agree with them by flaunting the fact we will not live in accordance with fundamentalist/orthodox religious dictate. It must be sad being very "religious" when your faith is so insecure that it can easily be shaken by the presence of those who don't share your beliefs.

Tags:abortion; Reproductive Rights; christianity; Christianity

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Oops they did it again

My first experience with an SPCA was a great one, I was 11 and we came home from the Lahaska SPCA with the most wonderful dog, an Aussie Shepherd- Collie mix, in the world. I'd always been a sucker for animals, strays and rescues in particular, and the fact that SPCAs were there to help these animals was a gret comfort to me. My opinion of SPCAs started to shift when I picked up Dudley from the SPCA in Chester County, realized his problems were significantly worse than they'd told me and the folks there were not only unwilling to help me find out who the couple who'd returned him used as a trainer so I didn't have to start out from scratch with a new trainer, they refused to answer any of the vet's questions about him. My opinion of the organization kept going down when, a couple of years ago, I read about abusive treatment of animals at Chicago SPCAs and how the DelCo (PA) SPCA euthanized a cat whose owners had left multiple messages trying to locate their missing cat this past February. When SPCA workers realized they'd never cross checked the messages with the animals on site, the SPCA workers lied and said the animal was euthanized because she bit an employee and sent it's head to the state lab for testing. Two employees were fired and the DelCo SPCA vowed it would hold all strays 72 hours and cross check all messages to prevent a repeat incident.

A little over two months later, Margaret Reynard found out her beloved cat was euthanized after a 24 hour stay at the shelter:

On Wednesday, Reynard came to the shelter looking for Keecha, who had not been seen since Tuesday. She was told that all animals were held for 72 hours and to check back every day for the next three days.

The family came in three times on Thursday, only to be called that evening and told Keecha had been put down the day before.

SPCA records say the 8-year-old cat was killed because it was "feral."

The records do not have a manager's signature or the time and date of the euthanasia. The initials of at least four employees who checked messages and lost-and-found reports and looked for microchip identification appear in the records.

The last time stamp is 12:36 p.m., about two hours before Reynard visited the shelter.

"A really serious and unfortunate mistake was made at the shelter," SPCA board member Rick Beeman said yesterday. He said the new policy on euthanasia was not followed and that the shelter was conducting an investigation. "It shows we have a long way to go; it is not just a case of instituting new policy." [Inky]

Around the country, a multitude of people bust their hump trying to reconnect missing pets withe their owners and/or find a new home for animals in need. They give a search more than 24 hours and they do cross check messages so no animal is euthanized unnecessarily. The DelCo SPCA and any other organization that thinks euthanizing an animal before even trying to locate its owner or finding someone to foster or adopt it has lost their moral compass (to say the least).

In addition to highlighting the need to pay close attention to the actions and policies of shelters that euthanized animals, this incident highlights the need to microchip your pet. Both AVID and HOMEAGAIN manufacture implantable microchips that can be used to ID and return your missing pet to you. Dudley already had his AVID implanted when I adopted him, Dyna got her HOMEAGAIN when I took her to the vet on Thursday.

Tags: SPCA; pets; rescue organizations

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Dr. Suess tackles Passover (by proxy)

Somehow, I don't think this was the version of the Four Questions the recited at before the "Last Supper"

Dr. Seuss' Four Questions

Why is it only
on Passover night
we never know how
to do anything right?
We don't eat our meals
in the regular ways,
the ways that we do
on all other days.
'Cause on all other nights
we may eat
all kinds of wonderful
good bready treats,
like big purple pizza
that tastes like a pickle,
crumbly crackers
and pink pumpernickel,
sassafras sandwich
and tiger* on rye,
fifty felafels in pita,
fresh-fried,
with peanut-butter
and tangerine sauce
spread onto each side
up-and-down, then across,
and toasted whole-wheat bread
with liver and ducks,
and crumpets and dumplings,
and bagels and lox,
and doughnuts with one hole
and doughnuts with four,
and cake with six layers
and windows and doors.
Yes--
on all other nights
we eat all kinds of bread,
but tonight of all nights
we munch matzo instead.
And on all other nights
we devour
vegetables, green things,
and bushes and flowers,
lettuce that's leafy
and candy-striped spinach,
fresh silly celery
(Have more when you're finished!)
cabbage that's flown
from the jungles of Glome
by a polka-dot bird
who can't find his way home,
daisies and roses
and inside-out grass
and artichoke hearts
that are simply first class!
Sixty asparagus tips
served in glasses
with anchovy sauce
and some sticky molasses--
But on Passover night
you would never consider
eating an herb
that wasn't all bitter.
And on all other nights
you would probably flip
if anyone asked you
how often you dip.
On some days I only dip
one Bup-Bup egg
in a teaspoon of vinegar
mixed with nutmeg,
but sometimes we take
more than ten thousand tails
of the Yakkity-birds
that are hunted in Wales,
and dip them in vats
full of Mumbegum juice.
Then we feed them to Harold,
our six-legged moose.
Or we don't dip at all!
We don't ask your advice.
So why on this night
do we have to dip twice?
And on all other nights
we can sit as we please,
on our heads, on our elbows,
our backs or our knees,
or hang by our toes
from the tail of a Glump,
or on top of a camel
with one or two humps,
with our foot on the table,
our nose on the floor,
with one ear in the window
and one out the door,
doing somersaults
over the greasy k'nishes
or dancing a jig
without breaking the dishes.
Yes--
on all other nights
you sit nicely when dining--
So why on this night
must it all be reclining?
[Professor Eliezer Segal]

[*caveat: tigers are not Kosher and can't be eaten according to halacha]

Tags:Pesach aka Passover; Judaism

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Yet another liberal conspiracy against religion

How many times do they have to tell us? You'd think we'd understand by now: if it's not in the bible it didn't happen and this is not in the bible!

Tags:evolution; Science; religion; creationism

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AFA panties in a wad because Ford fears gay boycott more than boycott by Christotheocrats

If they can't make homosexuality illegal, the Christotheocrats will just find another way to make people pretend to be like them. The latest from Daddy Dobson's Bigotry Brigade:

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has denied a request by Ford Motor Company to keep a shareholder resolution forbidding Ford to promote homosexual marriage off the agenda at their upcoming shareholders meeting.
One of the reasons cited by Ford in their request to omit the resolution was that they feared they would be boycotted by the homosexuals. Over 20 pro-family groups have called for a boycott of Ford because of Ford's support for homosexual marriage.

Ford reported that during the month of March their sales dropped 5% when compared to the same period last year. Ford did not mention the boycott when announcing the sales drop.

The resolution requests "that Ford Motor Company amend its written equal employment opportunity policy to exclude any reference to privacy issues related to sexual interests, activities or orientation." The resolution, which Ford strongly opposes, would force Ford to stop promotion of homosexual marriage and other homosexual activities. American Family Association asked Ford in January to remain neutral in the cultural battle involving homosexual marriage. Ford refused and sided with groups promoting homosexual marriage.

Ford told the SEC that removing its pro-homosexual policy would hurt recruitment efforts to hire more homosexuals. It was homosexual activists in high positions who forced Ford to renege on an agreement with AFA to stop promoting the homosexual lifestyle. Ford said that failing to specifically seek out more homosexuals would "have a material adverse impact on the marketing and sale of company products." (In other words, Ford fears a boycott by homosexuals.)

Ford's logic in asking the SEC to omit the resolution is interesting. Ford fears a boycott by angry homosexuals more than they fear a boycott by pro-family groups. Even though Ford fears the homosexual groups, they want to continue to support them.

Ford rightly fears a boycott from angry people with significant purchase power and, like any business looking at their bottom line, will capitulate to those who can do the most damage to that bottom line. Who do you think buys more new vehicles over a lifetime?

I have to say I'm dismayed that the SEC would support the requirement that a company be forced to have a shareholder vote on a resolution that could potentially require a company to violate the privacy and allow individuals to take punitive action against only a certain group of employees based on information unrelated to their jobs/job performance. I highly doubt the SEC would force any public company to have a vote on a resolution that would require excluding any reference to privacy issues related to voting records, religion, etc.

Write to the SEC:
Christopher Cox, Chairman
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20549-021
Primary Phone: 202-551-3830
E-Mail: Christopher Cox, Securities and Exchange Commission
Tags: AFA - the new breed of Christian hypocrites; Ford; gay; Christian

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Bush keeps one promise

King George actually kept a promise. He said he'd get to the bottom of the Plamegate leak debacle and he finally did. Of course, he was at the bottom of the WH plumbing problem - admitting he declassified information for political gain

"I thought it was important for people to get a better sense of what I was saying in my speeches," Bush said, answering a question from an audience member at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. "And I felt I could do so without jeopardizing ongoing intelligence matters."

Bush said he had authorized the release of the documents because some Americans questioned his reasons for going to war.

"So I wanted people to see the truth," he said. "And I thought it made sense for people to see the truth." [CNN]

Well, we see the truth all right. He continued to push discredited information about the Niger Uranium sale, went out of his way to try to discredit and get revenge against a critic by outing his wife's status in the CIA and continued to lie about it for the past few years. Of course, none of that compares to lying about a blowjob - does it.

Tags:Scooter; Plame; politics; Iraq War; the Bushevick revolution; Foreign Policy; BBA; Downing Street Memorandum; Honor; BBA;conservatism

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PA Governor's Dog Law Advisory Board: power to the puppies puppy millers

Who better to site on the PA Dog Law Advisory Board and make decisions regarding what is and is not acceptable in all matters of breeding and kenneling dogs than Nathan Myer. After all, if you look at the picture to your left you will see one of Myer's one beautiful dogs bred in his Lancaster puppy mill. I received an email the other day from the friend of a friend who does more than her share of rescue work in addition to a full time job that pays the bills (not just her own bills, either). She sent the picture of the lonely carcass along with the following text:

The dog, probably a Dachshund, was examined by a forensics specialist in California for a court case against Myer. The body was found scattered in Myer's cornfield. There were bones everywhere. Myer operates a breeding facility in Lancaster County. He also sits on the Governor's Dog Law Advisory Board, advising the Governor and Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff, on how dogs should be treated in kennels and breeding facilities in PA. Mr. Myer does not deserve to be on this Board if this is the way he treats his own dogs. This poor dog was just one of hundreds of thousands of dogs, used and then discarded, by Lancaster County's mass breeding operations. A breeding female, she never knew love, or kindness, or any degree of comfort. Just an unmourned death, then tossed in a field. Please send this on to your rescue friends and to as many people as you can. Stress that Myer sits on the state's Dog Law Advisory Board. Stress that Myer should be removed from the DLAB. Please contact Dennis Wolff at dwolff@state.pa.us and tell him that dogs in Pennsylvania should not be treated like this.

I'm sure the email she sent to protest Myer's being in the position to enable continued "self" regulation was quite potent, but I'm equally sure it will take more than a few nastygrams to make sure something gets done about it. Please contact Dennis Wolff and/or Ed Rendell to make Pennsylvania safe from the advice of animal husbandry "experts" like Nathan Myer.

Tags: animal cruelty; puppy mill; pennsylvania

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GWU to student: get well and get out

Jordan Knott found himself facing a common dilemma his Sophomore year at George Washington University: depression. Understandable considering that his closest friend, who was originally supposed to be Knott's room-mate that year, killed himself by jumping from the fifth floor of a dorm near the end of the previous school year.

When Knott noticed his depression left him considering suicide, he took action and sought the help he knew he needed before he became a danger to himself or others. Unfortunately for Knott, he made the mistake of voluntarily checking himself in to the nearest hospital in order to receive care from GWU's very on pyshciatrists - the move got him suspended and barred from campus

Within a day and a half of arriving there, he got a letter from a GWU administrator saying his "endangering behavior" violated the code of student conduct. He faced possible suspension and expulsion from school, the letter said, unless he withdrew and deferred the charges while he got treatment. [WaPo]

Apparently, according to GWU's policy, a student doesn't have to actually do something (or even threaten to do something) that could endanger another or themselves, merely admitting experiencing feelings consistent with suicidal ideation and taking appropriate action to ensure you get treatment to prevent you from acting on those feelings automatically makes you an imminent threat. I wonder what the Psych department thinks of the school's actions.

Knott has, understandably, sued the school. On behalf of those students who will now avoid seeking help and, possibly, decompensate to the point of attempting suicide, I hope he wins.

Tags: depression; suicide; college

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You've got a friend puppy mill in Pennsylvania

It's no secret that Pennsylvania is the land of the puppy mill and the epicenter of the breeding industry is in the heart of Amish country - Lancaster, PA - not too far from where I live. With the exception of a couple of fish and a hamster, all of my pets have been rescue. My first dog, an Aussie Shepherd-Collie mix that I had to quit cursing for a year to get, came from the Lahaska SPCA; Barfo the Wonder-kitty came from a cat rescue near Blacksburg, VA; Dudley (aka Tenacious D) was turned into the Chester County SPCA twice before he ended up with me and Dyna (who just met her grandparents yesterday) was a rescue from Hurricane Katrina who spent the better part of her 14 months of life in foster care. If I were interested in obtaining a pure-bred, I know there are more than enough available through rescue organizations that the very thought of going to a breeder is absolutely alien to me. I can't say the same for all of my friends, one friend has driven to Lancaster to get her two bischons another friend has a maltese that came from a breeder. I'm surprised that anyone not planning to show a dog, would go out of their way to get a dog from a puppy mill - especially people who aren't going out of their way to obtain all sorts of additional documentation about the genetic lineage (family medical history) and information about all the behavioral patterns of their dog's ancestors.

Here, in Pennsylvania, we have inadequate laws that are infrequently enforced

Few kennels have been closed permanently, and some — such as the former Puppy Love Kennels in Peach Bottom, which now goes by the name of CC Pets LLC — have been cited repeatedly. Puppy Love owners Joyce and Raymond Stoltzfus last year settled a case with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office after they were sued for selling sick or diseased dogs to 171 customers in seven states. The Stoltzfuses paid $75,000 in fines and are required to provide buyers with proof that dogs are examined by an independent vet at least 15 days before the sale or have the dog examined within two days of the sale. Lancaster Online

In a nutshell, what Pennsylvania needs is breeding/animal sale laws with teeth (logical laws, some of the suggested language in new laws will inadvertently, but negatively impact the ability of kennels offering daycare and boarding services to continue normal, animal conscious, operations) that are actually enforced.

Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed disbanding the 14-member Dog Law advisory boardbecause it has not been proactive enough, and has formed a panel that has recommended giving dog wardens the authority to follow up in cases where kennel licenses have been revoked, having the state inspector general investigate the most egregious violations of the dog law and hiring a special prosecutor to oversee major animal abuse and neglect cases.

Rendell said such a provision would have likely stopped Michael Wolf, a Chester County kennel owner whose license was revoked in 2004 but who continued to operate until last month, when the county SPCA seized his 337 dogs, of which many were sick.

"People say we lay down on kennels, but here they did the right thing, and the guy goes back in business, and we never know about it," Rendell said. "Once we close a kennel, we should go back and do spot checks."

New draft Regulations are available here. For more information about how you can help, please check out the Coalition Against Misery.

Tags: animal cruelty; puppy mill

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Missing Monday

29-year old Billie Jean Trammell-Selferidge has been missing from her Stockton, CA home since March 6th when she went out for a "couple hours" with a woman she had recently met and never returned home. Trammell-Selferidge is 5'3" with blue eyes and long (below the waist), straight, blonde hair. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing blue jeans, a green shirt and a black Raiders jacket.

If you have any information about her disappearance or whereabouts, please contact the Stockton PD at 209-937-8377.



Police are asking for the help of anyone who has information about the 27-year old Amoako Francis who was last seen in his Brooklyn home March 25th. Francis is approximately 5'8", weighs about 180 pounds and has brown hair & eyes. He was last seen wearing a white sweat suit.


If you have any information about his disappearance or whereabouts, please contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Tags: Missing Persons; Missing Monday

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