shorthand for hate

Last night a fat blond woman at a McCain rally told McCain that she doesn't trust Barrack Obama. Barrack Obama is a bad man. Barrack Obama is an ARAB. Did she mean, an Arab, someone from an Arabic country, or did she really mean Arab, shorthand for someone different than her who she's learned to be afraid of, to demonize, blame and hate?
Yesterday someone sent me an article about a horse whose leg was ripped off by a pit bull. Did they really mean pit bull, like my pit bull Riley, or did they just mean pit bull, shorthand for mean, vicious dog? Maybe the dog that attacked the horse was a pit bull, or, as is often the case, maybe it was similar to a pit, maybe it was convenient to call it a pit because we all know what that word means.

don't insult my dog!

Last night Sarah Palin (sp?) said she is like a pit bull with lipstick. I beg your pardon. My pit bull is good-hearted, sweet-tempered and trustworthy. My dog is nothing like you, lady.

that will be one ticket to Orlanda

Today I was talking to Julie the automated voice of Amtrak. I was sitting beside the window where my trusty dog, Riley, stands to keep an eye on the sidewalk. I found out that when Riley barks, it sounds like he says, "Orlando, Florida." And what is your destination, asked the machine named Julie, just as a black lab walked past. "Oh," said Julie. "Orlando, Florida."

Ohio City Attorney not an idiot

Whitehall attorney says pit bull legislation unconstitutional

(by Dianne Garrett, Staff Writer - April 12, 2008)

Whitehall City Council members were barking at each other April 8 over a proposed ordinance to ban pit that the city attorney declared unconstitutional.
After reviewing the Ohio Attorney General's opinion on the issue, as well as the Ohio Supreme Court decisions, City Attorney Mike Shannon said that he believed the proposal to be unconstitutional because it does not provide for an appeals process.
"Whether or not a dog is a pit bull is a completely separate issue from whether or not a particular pit bull is vicious," Shannon said. "As such, I believe the ordinance you have sponsored is unconstitutional as it does not provide for an appeals board to hear appeals on whether dogs (other than pit bulls) are dangerous and/or vicious, or appeals on whether or not a particular dog is a pit bull."
....Spotting a pit bull can be difficult, Councilman Bob Bailey said. He was given a poster that had a photo of 20 dogs that looked like pit bulls, but only one was actually the breed.
Mayor John Wolfe ..... questioned if an attempt would be made later on to rid dogs breed by breed every time there is a complaint about a certain kind of dog. "We will go through this each time."

(thanks to Jody Preis for passing this along)

learning to be a pet

My daughter says that everyone in the world has seen the news about some of the dogs rescued from Michael Vics dog fighting/dog torturing operation, but I want to put it here anyway. First the above photograph of one of the dogs and his current owner and also this link.

free and not neurotic in Mexico

My home town has just passed an ordinance saying you can't tie your dog outside a public building. You can't ride your bike to the store with your dog-- my dog Riley's favorite thing to do- and leave him outside while you run in for a green pepper. For crying out loud. I was in Mexico last month, in a little town called La Manzanilla. Even though a local vet periodically rounds up the local dogs and spays/neuters them, there are dogs everywhere. I love it. They are free and not neurotic. A nice pitbull lived on the next block. I meant to take her picture and put it here, but I didn't, so here's Riley instead.

Riley and his little friend