Montana Representative Wants All Pit Bulls in the State Killed

Photo courtesy of www.downtownpet.com

Robyn Driscoll, a Democrat who represents the 51^st District, has introduced a bill that would authorize the state sanctioned killing of all pit bulls in the state.  If the bill is made into law, any person who owns a pit bull will have to surrender their dog(s) for euthanasia within 10 days. If a person who has a pit bull refuses to cooperate under this scenario, any officer can obtain a search warrant to seize the dog(s).

As a person whose pets are like her children, I cannot imagine anything more horrible.At the risk of sounding too cliched, dogs become a threat when they are not raised, trained, and cared for properly. Any animal can bite, and any animal can turn vicious. Be it a pit bull, a shi tzu, a snake, or a parakeet, any animal that is kept as a pet has the potential to strike out at a human or another pet.

The National Canine Research Council reports that between 1965 and 2008, there were 3 fatalities in Montana from dog bites.  Yes, 3 in 43 years.  In 2005 alone, just one year in Montana, 1,400 people died from smoking and 251 in traffic accidents.  (Maybe Driscoll should work to protect Montanans from smoking and second hand cigarette smoke or negligent or drunk drivers; that would at least be something useful.)

The NCRC notes, “All the dogs involved … were …not spayed or neutered….All three cases involved unsupervised children left alone in a yard with unfamiliar dogs (2 cases) or the child wandering off and encountering an unfamiliar, chained dog (1 case).

source: Animal Law Coalition

Neville - Photo courtesy of the Animal Farm Foundation

Neville is a beautiful pit bull who was rescued from Canada after breed-specific legislation (BSL) forced him into a shelter. He is now a happy, healthy, and much loved bomb-sniffing dog in United States. Read his story here.

Dogs are not designer bags. It is unfair and shortsighted to single out one breed simply because it looks a certain way. You can help to put a stop to this unfair, cruel legislation. Contact Robin Driscoll and other legislators and remind them that BSL is misguided and wrong!

• Robyn Driscoll, (406) 534-4874, rdriscoll@peoplepc.com

• Contact the House Local Government Committee by calling Joe Kolman, 406-444-9280

• Find Montana legislators and email, fax or call them and urge them to say no to H.B. 191.  Here is the fax number for the House: 406-444-4825

If you aren’t sure what to write, just remember, be respectful, don’t insult the person you are writing to, and always be sure to proofread. If you still aren’t sure, feel free to copy and paste what I sent. Try to add your own thoughts, though.

Dear Ms. Driscoll:

I am writing to express my concern over the unfair breed specific legislation that you have introduced in Montana. Breed specific legislation is, at best, shortsighted. Proposing to kill all of the pit bulls in the state is cruel and inhumane.

Please, take the time to learn more about the breed that you are working to eradicate in name of misguided fear. No animal should be punished for ignorance or because it has an irresponsible and/or incompetent owner.

Thank you for your time.

A Star is Born

Damon Weaver is a fifth grade student from Florida with big dreams.  The 10 year old wants nothing more than to interview president-elect Barack Obama during inauguration week.

Damon, one of thousands of reporters who are trying to get an interview with Mr. Obama, was denied press credentials. That decision isn’t enough to make him give up, though.

With the help and guidance of his teacher, Brian Zimmerman, Damon has landed some major interviews while trying to win over the powers-that-be in Obama’s transition team.

His interview with vice president-elect Joe Biden (his homeboy) has been viewed over 385,000 times on youtube, and he also sat down for one-on-one chats with Dwayne Wade and Sean Marion from the Miami Heat. Both basketball superstars agreed to shoot a few hoops with the president-elect, but neither of them is willing to let him win to score Damon an interview.

Damon will be in Washington, D.C. for the entire inauguration week, and he has offered a final plea to his hero. Check it out below.

Damon has given interviews to CNN and MSNBC, so it is highly unlikely that president-elect Obama hasn’t seen him on television. I can’t imagine how anyone could deny this kid an interview. He is absolutely adorable! It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks.

My prediction? President-elect Obama will see Damon’s pleas and grant him the interview. This kid is going to be a star one day.

Good Luck, Damon!

Jesus Camp. Uh, yeah…

Last night, I caught a documentary I had been wanting to see on A&E. (I know, who thought A&E showed actual documentaries anymore?) The film was called Jesus Camp. It is about a summer camp called “Kids on Fire” for Pentecostal children in North Dakota. I was shocked at the absolute brainwashing and indoctrination that goes on in these camps and in these kids’ homes. The pastor, Becky Fischer, says, “I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Palestine, Pakistan and all those different places,” Fisher said. “Because, excuse me, we have the truth.” Because that has worked so well for them, or what?

There is nothing Christ like about brainwashing children to force them to believe in your radical religion. I find religious fundamentalism dangerous and frightening, and these people are the perfect example of why.

My mother and I had a conversation about this just a few weeks ago. It seems to me that some religions prey on the vulnerable, weak and impressionable – particularly people who are lacking something in their personal lives and have a hole to fill.  This particular group preys on children.

The Documentary follows three particular children–Levi, Victoria and Rachael. Levi is the young mega-church pastor in the making, Victoria is the dancer who prefers heavy-metal Christian rock and avoids “dancing for the flesh.” Rachael is the strangest of the three, who witnesses to complete strangers on the street. There is a scene at the very end – after approaching three black men in a park, she walked away and said “I think they were Muslim.” Jesus Camp must have taught her how to decipher a person’s religion by looking at him!

Throughout the film, Becky Fischer and others claim that they have no political motivations. Then, towards the end, they dragged out the life size cardboard cutout of old G. Dubya. They kids prayed and actually spoke in tongues over it in the hopes of influencing Bush to elect a judge who would overturn Roe v. Wade. Soon after, another preacher came in to talk to the kids about abortion, and they each got their own little plastic fetus. No political undertones in that. No doubt it was made by a five year old in a sweatshop in China. How very Christian of them.

Some of my favorite highlights:

• The “Pledge of Allegiance” (And I use that term very loosely)
• The speaking in tongues.
• Harry Potter should be put to death!
• The Nestle water to “cleanse” the evil little sinners.
• The G.W. cardboard cutout.
• The plastic fetuses.
• Ted Haggard bashing homosexuals (Yes, that would be Ted “secret gay sex and crystal meth” Haggard)

The film is a frightening example of how people, children in particular, are being brainwashed by these right-wing, evangelical cults. At the end, the pastor, Becky, says that liberals ought to be shaking in their collective boots. Well she’s got that right. This movement is frightening, and it seems to be growing at an alarming pace.
Here is a video with the highlights from the film. Check it out:

These kids are so impressionable, and clearly willing to do anything to please their parents and the other adults who are running the show. How is this any different from David Koresh or Jim Jones? Simple – it’s not. This is abuse. If those adults told the kids to”drink the kool-aid,” I believe that they would do it.

So, if you have seen the film or even read about it, what are your thoughts?