Smell Our Dairy Air!

The State of Wisconsin is known as "Americas Dairyland" - their license plates say so. Well the good folks at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) want to change that...

June 29, 2009

The Honorable Jim Doyle
Governor of Wisconsin

Dear Governor Doyle:

On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our thousands of members and supporters across Wisconsin, I am writing to ask you to endorse an alternative to the ubiquitous "America's Dairyland" license plate out of respect for the many Wisconsinites who do not wish to support animal abuse on factory farms. Instead of the "America's Dairyland" slogan with the quaint barn in the background, we'd like to see a new license plate that reads, "Wisconsin: America's Cow Hell" and has a more realistic image, perhaps depicting sick cows in a cramped, filthy factory-farm shed...

The letter goes on (and on and on). You have to give Ingrid Newkirk credit here for having huevos. Either that or a seriously warped sense of humor. Either way....

Seriously - does Ingrid really think that she stands a snowball's chance of getting this done?

This is why PeTA, as an animal rights or welfare organization, is worthless. They have (to use a TV term) jumped the shark. They long ago quit being about taking care of animals which is why they are irrelevant. Which in turn leads them to pull stunts like this that are designed to do one thing only - get attention.

Great work Ingrid.

Why People Loathe PETA

Way back in the day, I once was a member of People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals. I bought into the public perception that they were an animal "welfare" organization. It was not until I got on their mailing lists that I saw what their real agenda was and I quickly left the organization. I have commented about some of the more radical aspects of their agenda in the past. Today's PeTA story though - shows that the organization has lost all connection with reality if a free country.

An update on Michael Vick:

1) He is still in federal custody (scheduled for release July 21).
2) He is still under suspension from the N.F.L.; Roger Goodell is not commenting on his possible reinstatement.
3) The Falcons are still trying to trade this contract rights.
4) He is still disgraced, his actions impossible to defend.

The only bright side for Vick may be a PETA campaign that could be overplaying its hand.

PETA is demanding that Vick be barred from the league unless he has a brain scan to prove he’s not a psychopath. It has written a letter to Goodell to press its case and is urging supporters to write e-mails to Goodell.

Excuse me, Ms. Newkirk (for those that don't know Ingrid Newkirk is one of the co-founders of PeTA) but who are YOU to be demanding that Mr. Vick be barred from his employment in this manner. Under the rule of law, he has been tried and convicted of the crimes he was accused of. Once he has served his sentence, he has every right to live and work where he wants to as any other convicted felon. It is not your place to say what comes next for Mr. Vick - it is the courts and his employer.

Maybe when you quit killing over 95% of the animals that are put in your care, people will start listening to you again, but until then come back to reality - a reality where the rule of law applies to everyone!

Kid Rock Hearts PeTA

At least that is the gist of this article.

Kid Rock has hit out at animal rights advocates - insisting their campaigns will never stop him from wearing fur.

The All Summer Long hitmaker is known for his love of hunting and frequently wears lavish fur coats during his performances.

Reports even suggested his refusal to give up his fur-packed wardrobe was one of the reasons his marriage to animal rights activist Pamela Anderson ended in divorce in 2006. (ed - gee ya think?????)

And the star insists he has no desire to give up his love of animal skins - warning that he's willing to "go to war" with animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

He tells Britain's Mail on Sunday, "I want to go to war with PETA. My biggest extravagance is fur coats - I've got every kind of animal in my wardrobe."

The rocker also slams PETA's activism tactics - which have included throwing red paint on fur-wearing stars - and urges the group to try the same protest with him.

He adds: "I'm just willing the animal rights protesters to chuck some red paint on me.

"I understand people's problems with it but to throw paint on someone is just wrong. They do it to little Hollywood actresses who can't defend themselves."

I certainly can not argue with Kid Rock's final comments. I heard about a story where multiple PeTA protesters accost some 70 year old lady in Madison one time. Half a dozen of the surrounded her, tauting her and finally throwing red paint in her face and the front of her coat before police came in to her defense (I was too far away from the action at the time). Yet if I were to walk down the street in my gray fox jacket (usually on the arm of the 6'2" Logical Husband) they would go scurrying to the other side of the street! Brave Sir Robin ran away...

I have to admit, I have not been a huge Kid Rock fan in the past, but I just might have to re-introduce myself to his music. Anyone who shares my feelings about the terrorists at PeTA can't be all bad....

ALF/PETA Strike Again

Over the weekend, several thousand mink were released from a Kaysville mink ranch. Today, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) paid terrorist group the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) took credit for the release.

In a communique posted on the group's Web site and sent to Utah news-media outlets, the ALF said three members were behind the "liberation" of the minks.

"On releasing about 10,000 mink we found and destroyed all breeding records. We also vandalized the trucks and various forms of equipment, including destroying the electrical fence and cutting about a hundred holes in the fence's perimeter," the group said. "Don't let the animals be destroyed so their skin can be worn by some rich (expletive). There is nothing glamorous about wearing an animal's carcass."

What really got to me was the "justification" that one of the spokespeople for the group gave for doing what the did. On KSL radio, the spokesperson said (in response to the comment that their actions were DIRECTLY responsible for the deaths of many mink) that while it was regretable that several hundred died on the highway it was worth it because these animals were "wild" and "it's not like they will starve or die from dehydration" as a result of their actions. That was about the time that I almost drove off of the road! These animals were born and bred in captivity and have absolutely no survival instinct at all! The mink have never had to fend for themselves, never had to forage for food or to hide from predators like coyotes and mountain cats! But ALF never let little things like facts or common sense stop them from releasing domestic animals to their impending doom. They certainly never let something stupid like reality get in the way of ideology!

There is a reason why ALF has earned it's classification (from the FBI) as a "terrorist" organization. I have no doubt that the mink that they terrorized will testify to that fact.

PETA - Domestic Terrorists

The Deseret Morning News had a story Saturday about a case of vandalism at a local restaurant that appears to have been committed by local animal "rights" groups.

The FBI is apparently investigating acts of vandalism and violence at one of Salt Lake City's poshest restaurants, which has been a target of animal rights activists.
A picture window at the Metropolitan restaurant was smashed. The
restaurant's owner said red paint has been thrown at the building, a gas main was damaged and a server was also punched in the face during a confrontation on New Year's Eve.
Metropolitan owner Karen Olson told the Deseret Morning News she was questioned by FBI agents about the vandalism.

The Metropolitan had apparently been targeted for serving foie gras - something that apparently had already been pulled from the menu.

The Metropolitan no longer serves foie gras, the fatty liver of ducks or geese. Olson took it off the menu after protests. Other restaurants have done the same, some because of polite requests by animal rights activists who wrote letters; others because of protests outside their buildings.

The FBI suspects that the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is responsible for the vandalism. The FBI considers ALF a "domestic terrorist group" because of their penchant to advocate violence to their targets - usually researchers looking for things like cancer and AIDS cures.

While the vandalism does bother me, what bothered me the most was the attitude from the AR supporters that this kind of behavior is somehow acceptable if it helps their cause.

"The protesters, including me, were made aware of these acts because police told us about them when we would subsequently show up to protest," said Jeremy Beckham, who has protested outside the restaurant...Beckham is with Utah Primate
Freedom, which has sparked a legal debate as the Salt Lake County Council sought to ban their demonstrations outside the homes of University of Utah scientists who participate in animal research. A conditional ban has been approved.
In his e-mail to the Deseret Morning News, he said the oppression of animals is "no less serious or atrocious than the oppression of humans."
"Their suffering is indistinguishable from our own and heaps of suffering are being thrown on them for the most trivial of human desires and profit," he wrote. "Once you see it that way, it's almost not impossible to view the ALF as a sort of
modern-day Underground Railroad."

This is the thing that has always gotten me about the animal rights movement - their total disregard for human suffering. You see - to this folks animals are more important - more valuable than people are.

Sorry Jeremy - these primates are not "indistinguishable" from humans. If they were they would not be living in treetops, they would have built cities and universities and written sonatas and sonets and made all the other myriad of accomplishments that human civilization has. While I am not OK with hurting animals for the sake of "entertainment" (bear baiting or cock fighting for example) I am perfectly fine with the medical research that is done today because so much has been done to make sure that the animals are not suffering needlessly during the trials!

But what about the "screams" that come from the animals any time a researcher approaches them you ask. I ask how do you know those are "screams"? You have avowed not to "use" animals so you don't know that there are different types of noises that animals make in different situations. Take (for example) the crazed puppy Jack. His noise is to bark. When he barks he could be asking to go outside, he could be scared or he could be protecting his "sheep" (humans). Unless you have lived with him for a while you would not know which was which! For all you know those "screams" could be calls of greeting or looking for attention! YOU JUST DON'T KNOW because you do not live with the animal day in and day out to know what it's needs are.

And that my friends is why PETA and it's ilk are rapidly losing the public relations war in America. Until they start valuing human life as much as they value animal life, they will be considered to be the terrorists that they are.

PETA vs. Al Gore

Just a quick glimpse into the mindset of the folks at PETA. It's just another reason why I so love them.

"This morning, PETA sent a letter to former vice president Al Gore explaining to him that the best way to fight global warming is to go vegetarian and offering to cook him faux “fried chicken” as an introduction to meat-free meals. In its letter, PETA points out that Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth—which starkly outlines the potentially catastrophic effects of global warming and just won the Academy Award for “Best Documentary”—has failed to address the fact that the meat industry is the largest contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions."

This group is a totalarian group. You are not a good enough ______ until you are walking lockstep with their philosophy. There is no such thing (according to PETA) as a good pet owner. You can't be a good environmentalist if you eat meat, you are not a good enough PERSON if you wear or use animals in any way! Their website says it all...

"PETA believes that animals have rights and deserve to have their best interests taken into consideration, regardless of whether they are useful to humans. Like you, they are capable of suffering and have an interest in leading their own lives; therefore, they are not ours to use—for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation, or any other reason." (emphasis mine)

Which is why any anti-cruelty legislation that has the PETA stamp of approval on it (like H.F. 1046 and S.F. 121) should be looked at with more than just a critical eye.