Saturday, May 19, 2007

Some decent journalism, at last

When the protest against Ontario's BS-L started, we couldn't get arrested, never mind any informed press. Massachusetts is lucking out.

The Boston Globe has a good editorial that's anti-BSL, read it here.

And Blue Dog State has its finger on the BS being spread by animal rights activists. Read it here. ^5 to Caveat for leading me to Blue Dog State.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Journalism, or creative writing? You tell me.

The journalism surrounding two roaming dogs in Toronto has me howling with laughter. Read the Toronto Sun's article here, and the CityTV report here. They're penny-dreadful quality.

"Salivating, with its teeth out". I have a mental image of a dog pulling out its dentures. What was this dog, the Hound of Lansdowne and Dundas? Check out the picture of the dog...to me, that's a mutt, not a Rottie or a "pit bull". Could be a Rottie/lab mix; labs are notorious for their prey drive, which would account for the dead cats.

For reasons unknown to me, CityTV ran a poll on "should pit bulls be banned" with a story about roaming mixed-breed dogs, and sneakily split the "no" vote into three sections while leaving the "yes" vote as one. We noticed. We are not amused.

Think about how safe our society really is, when a roaming dog draws headlines, brings out the police and causes lockdown of a school. I'm more concerned about the roaming pedophiles, psychopaths, sociopaths, rapists, junkies, drug dealers and lousy drivers.

I'm fascinated by how the dogs morphed from Rottweilers to Rottweiler mixes to "pit bulls" over the course of a day. Geneticists should be flocking to the city to study the one dog that was captured, to see how it changed breeds.

There is no evidence that there were two dogs...that the dog(s) killed the cats....or of any bite or attack on humans.

The dog they captured seems to have been exhibiting fear and stress, typical reactions of a dog accustomed to a small environment (probably kept in a backyard) and suddenly loose in a large, unfamiliar environment. Typical dog behaviour, manipulated for the sake of an article and misinforming the public which does not, for the most part, understand dog behaviour.

I think certain aspects deserved ink and didn't get it.

The cat owners deserve a swift kick in their nether regions for being stupid and letting their cats roam. Cats left outdoors usually live short, brutal lives; the end of these cats' lives prove it. Cats do not belong outdoors.

The dog owners deserve a swift kick in their nether regions for being stupid and letting their dogs roam. The owner's stupidity will probably result in the one captured dog being euthanized.

Once again, humans are at fault, the cats paid with their lives and the dog(s) will die. And there's nothing to stop the stupid humans from getting more cats or dogs.

But boy oh boy, I bet sales of the Sun went up. Why else would they use "pit bull" in a headline about roaming mutts? Media hysteria sells.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Hooray for the Towson Times!

The Townson Times in Maryland, USA published a great editorial, full of common sense (which is not so common anymore). Worth the time it takes to read it...and to take heart that common sense hasn't fled the planet.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Let Toronto city council know you're mad as h**l and not going to take it anymore!

If you're as mad as Albert Finney in Network, sign this petition.
Toronto City Council has to change its spendthrift ways.


Monday, May 14, 2007

Like a bad meal, Peta's baaaack.....

Exactly how many staff writers does Peta have? I guess $29 million buys quite a few scribes. $29 million doesn't seem to buy an animal shelter, though, because Peta doesn't have one. I've seen some reports that Peta has one heck of a big freezer and a crematorium, though.

Peta has been tub-thumping its agenda of "banning breeding" in several publications lately. The sudden flurry of Peta quotes makes me think of cockroaches coming out of the walls after dark. Think this through, boys and girls...what happens when not a single animal is allowed to breed? In one generation, a species is eradicated. And that is Peta's goal - to eliminate pet ownership. It uses the tools of mandatory spay/neuter and breed-specific legislation for its own purpose, to advance its mandate of eliminating domestic animals.

One Petaphile claims to have been "rescuing" pit bulls. Gee, I wonder if those dogs were "rescued" just like the adoptable animals - dogs, puppies, cats and kittens - killed by Peta employees and thrown into dumpsters.

If anyone gives a single cent to Peta or gives it any public support, that person is working towards Peta's hidden agenda of eradicating domestic animals.

Mayor Miller riding a rocking horse winner?

I can hear the whispers from the walls of City Hall now...."there must be more money, there must be more money". Who's the rocking horse destined to provide the money Mayor Miller and the profligate city council need to keep Toronto afloat? Who else but the individual taxpayer. Not a word about saving money, examining the City's spending habits, looking at expenditures and cutting back. Only talk about more taxes. City council makes me think of an army of wild-eyed children frantically riding their rocking horses..."there must be more money, there must be more money".
Read an online version of The Rocking Horse Winner to understand what I mean.