Stupidity Trumps Compassion

Why would anyone take a dog out of a loving home where it was well cared for? Mutts and Moms, a non-profit organization that rescues dogs from Los Angeles City and County shelters, did just that. After Ellen DeGeneres adopted a dog from the organization, she discovered that the dog was not acclimating well to the other animals in the house. She did the responsible thing and took it upon herself to find this dog a good home. She gave the dog to her hairdresser, whose two children adored the dog.

The owner of Mutts and Moms, Marina Batkis, came into the home with police and forcibly removed the dog from the new home. Why? Mutts and Moms has a policy of not allowing families with children younger than 14 to adopt small dogs. The stylist's kids are 11 and 12. Additionally, the adoption contract does not allow DeGeneres to find the dog another home.

The children are upset, as they loved the dog. DeGeneres broke down and cried on her television show, bringing Batkis' stupidity to the attention of the world.

So instead of being in a good home, the dog is now back with the agency. Batkis stated through an attorney that she is not going to give them back the dog. She said doesn't think this is the type of family that should have the dog, and feels she is being bullied by DeGeneres.

Batkis should be ashamed of herself. She has put her idea of a good home for dogs ahead of the real thing. I, and many others, recommend never adopting through this organization. Go directly to the shelters and adopt a pet who needs it.

Anti-War Activists Resort To Name Calling

Things are getting out of hand when people can't tell fact from opinion. When General Petraeus testified in front of Congress, he gave the facts about what has been happening in Iraq. Moveon.org accused him of lying because his facts didn't support their opinions. It couldn't that their opinion is incorrect, Petraeus must have lied. An editorial in the New York Times did the same thing. Facts are facts.

With no evidence to back up their claims, and no way to support their own argument, anti-war activists have resorted to name calling to try to discredit General Petraeus. If you don't agree with the war, that's fine. One of the great things about this country is we're allowed to disagree with our leaders. But if you have to resort to name calling instead of intelligent debate, you've already lost.

Outlawing Reincarnation

In the movie "Dead Again," Robin Williams has a line where he points out "a lot more people believe in past lives than don't." The Chinese government is trying to change that. China has banned Buddhist monks from reincarnating without state permission.

According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation."

The stupidity of this act is mind-blowing. Forgetting the ethical dilemma of legislating one's beliefs, how do you prove someone did something illegally when you can't prove it was done in the first place? This blatant attempt by the Chinese government to choose who the next Dalai Lama will be violates both human rights and common sense. Maybe the Chinese government should spend less time trying to oppress its citizens and more time stopping their businesses from shipping poisonous items all over the world.

Why Can't PETA Read?

PETA is adding a new argument to their arsenal. The group, who tries to convince people that being a vegetarian is the only proper way to be, is now arguing that eating meat is causing global warming. Where did this argument come from? The source is a November 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The problem is it appears that no one at PETA actually read the whole report.

The report states that the livestock industry creates more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined. That's apparently where the PETA folks stopped reading. The rest of the report goes into the various ways that the industry can reduce their emissions, as well as ways to utilize those gases for power. Captured methane gas is a growing source of energy which not only keeps the greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, but cut down on fossil fuels. The main source for this methane is currently the livestock industry.

They also fail to read the conclusion which states, "Livestock products are a welcome addition to the diets of many poor and under- or malnourished people who frequently suffer from protein and vitamin deficiencies as well as from lack of important trace minerals. Children in particular have shown to benefit greatly in terms of physical and mental health when modest amounts of milk, meat or eggs are added to their diets, as shown by long-term research carried out in Kenya (Neumann, 2003)."

So according to the report that PETA is using, it is NOT advised for people to cut meat out of their diets, and certainly not advisable to consume a vegan diet.

Maybe there's a correlation between PETA's preferred diet and a lack of reading skills.

Bush 32, Congress 18

Democrats swept into office last November stating they had a mandate for a change. They pointed to President Bush's low approval ratings and said they needed to take charge. Since they entered office Bush's approval rating is up to 32% while their own is down to 18%.

Congress promised more than they could ever have delivered and failed miserably. Now, the American people are telling them they don't have a mandate, they have the lowest approval rating in history.

And how does this bode for those presidential candidates? How can we lend any credibility to promises by Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Dodd, etc. when they have failed so miserably at the jobs they were elected to do.

Of course the Democrats point squarely to the Republicans, saying they are obstructing the Democrats. It takes two to tango. Neither side has wanted to work with the other, but it was the Democrats who stood to lose the most. Now, the Democratic leadership is figuring out how to spin what it is expected to be a positive report on Iraq into more doom and gloom.

If Congress wants its approval ratings to go up, they need to start listening to the people of America and not to the vocal minority of idiots that are holding the parties hostage.

Wackos vs Terrorists

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the fight that has to be seen to be believed: the wackos of PETA vs the terrorists of Hamas. The Hamas-run television station ran a video of a man in a bee suit abusing animals. PETA to the rescue. The organization is writing letters.

First of all, do you really think writing letters to a terrorist organization is even remotely likely to accomplish anything.

Second of all, this same television station has been instructing children to martyr themselves and blow people up, but that's okay with PETA. No outrage over instructing kids to commit murder, but harm an animal and they're up in arms.

This is probably the only time I've sided with PETA on anything, because you can't root for evil, but you can root for stupidity.

Imus Should Have Said Money Grubbing

Kia Vaughn is suing Don Imus. As the collective sound of people asking "who" settles down, I'll explain that Kia Vaughn is one of the Rutgers women's basketball team who was referred to as "nappy headed hos" by Don Imus back in April. At the time, I defended Don Imus' right to free speech. Now I say not only does he have the right to free speech, he should have called her stupid and money grubbing.

"This is a lawsuit in order to restore the good name and reputation of my client, Kia Vaughn," said her attorney, Richard Ancowitz, in an interview with ABC News. How was her reputation damaged when no one knew her name? If she had kept her mouth shut, she would have suffered no damage. Now, people know she is a lawsuit-happy idiot. If her ego is so fragile that a comment that didn't call her by name from a shock jock she didn't know caused her damage, deal with that in therapy, not the courts.

Of course Vaughn isn't the only idiot clogging up the courts. Leroy Greer sent his girlfriend flowers, and is suing 1-800-flowers because they told his wife. Customer service followed up on a sale, and his wife saw the note. If he was stupid enough to cheat on his wife, and give 1-800-flowers his home address, that's not the court's problems.

Judge Roy Pearson has refused to let sleeping dogs lie. This is the moron who sued the dry cleaners for $54 million because they lost his pants. After losing the lawsuit, he stands to lose his job as well. But this wasn't enough for him. He has filed a notice of appeal. And this after the dry cleaners dropped their countersuit so that the whole matter could be closed.

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," Shakespeare, Henry VI.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

I've come to expect stupidity from Washington DC. After all, politicians say more stupid things than anyone else. But House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) took the bobby prize for his comment that a good report on Iraq from General Petraeus would be "a problem."

How can a good report be a problem? Apparently, Clyburn thinks we should fail in our endeavors in Iraq. It seems he wants reality to mold itself to his preconceived notions.

Of course stupidity isn't limited to politicians. Let's not forget the lawyers.

Apple is being sued because the battery in the iPhone cannot be removed by the owner. Upon realizing this Jose Trujillo, rather than just returning it, decided to sue and seek class action status for his lawsuit. His lawyer, whose court filings border on the ludicrous and have been widely disparaged in the media, apparently can't spell or read. The filings read as though they were written by an elementary school student and the basic premises of the lawsuit aren't even close to real.

People need to realize that just because you want something to be true, doesn't make it so.

The pot Continues to Call the Kettle...

Almost one month ago, Al Sharpton went on a tirade about Don Imus' comments. Maybe he should learn to keep his mouth shut. On Monday, Sharpton was up to his old tricks stating, "those of us who believe in God" will defeat Mitt Romney.

"It was a very unfortunate and un-American thing to say," Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and current presidential candidate, said. "I think it was a bigoted statement and I have no interest in seeing bigoted statements about my faith or anyone else's faith put into the public discourse."

Sharpton has claimed that he wasn't saying that Romney didn't believe in God, but the statement speaks for himself. So where is the clamoring for him to lose his radio show?

"Cocaine" Fights For Shelf Space

Cocaine is the latest beverage to cash in on the energy drink craze. Produced by Las Vegas-based Redux Beverages, the drink has stirred up controversy with its choice of name. It has already been forced off the shelves in Connecticut, Illinois and Texas. It is also under investigation by the FDA.

"Our goal is to literally flush Cocaine down the drain across the nation," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who announced Monday that Redux Beverages has agreed to stop selling the drink in Connecticut. "Our main complaint about Cocaine is its name and marketing strategy seeking to glorify illegal drug use and exploit the allure of marketing 'speed in a can,' as it called the product."

Those of you familiar with columns in various Connecticut Newspapers will know that I usually feel that anything Richard Blumenthal is against is probably a good idea. Here's what else Blumenthal said.

"...selling Cocaine in a can and appealing to children as the so-called legal alternative violated our consumer protection laws, even if they are properly licensed."

Read that again so you know you read it right. Blumenthal is fighting this drink because it promotes itself as "a legal alternative." Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't our elected officials supposed to be supporting legal alternatives to our kids taking drugs. Redux has stated that the energy drink has no drugs in it, the name is simply a marketing ploy. As an energy drink, I don't know that it could be considered healthy, but it's certainly healthier than drugs. This isn't even the first drink to name itself after cocaine. You might be familiar with the other one, Coca Cola. Are we going to force them off the shelves now too? (By the way, for evidence that Coca Cola is also named for Cocaine, the Coca Cola Company is considering a lawsuit against Redux for trademark infringement over the name.)

These so-called consumer protectors basically feel that the American public is too stupid to tell the difference between a drug and an energy drink. Redux Beverages has announced that it will re-release the drink under a new name and label. Keep an eye out for it and judge it on whether or not it tastes good and gives you an energy boost.

To register a complaint about the government again interfering in the lives of the public, write to the attorney generals who are behind this:

Richard Blumenthal
Office of the Attorney General

55 Elm Street

Hartford, CT 06106

and

Lisa Madigan
100 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601