I guess Pat Powers just can't get over using false fears about animal rights activists as a prod for his political agenda. In glorious Newspeak, Powers seeks support for a ban on paid petition circulators by saying that animal rights groups like the Right-dreaded HSUS are going to come threaten South Dakota agriculture with ballot measures. "They were active in pushing to make animal cruelty a felony in South Dakota," Powers says, "and now that they’ve got their foot in the door, it’s not going to end there."
Powers is lying... again. Follow his link on the discussion of making animal cruelty a felony in South Dakota. It opens a statement from the Human Society of the United States which cheers the passage of 2014's Senate Bill 46, the legislation that ended South Dakota's status as the only state not treating animal cruelty as a felony. HSUS says they "strongly supported" SB 46. They don't say they were "active" in "pushing" the bill, as Powers alleges. They never testified in favor of it. Recall who did support SB 46:
Presented by Dustin Oedenkoven, State Veterinarian
Proponents:
- Trudy Wastweet, Dept of Agriculture
- Lorin Pankratz, SD Pork Producers & SD Soybean Association
- Michael Held, SD Farm Bureau
- Paul Dennert, Farmers Union
- Gary Sandborn, self, Madison
- Margo Northrup, SD Livestock Markets
- Brenda Forman, SD Association of Cooperatives, SD Cattlemen's Association, SD Ag Unity, SD Dairy Production & SD Stockgrowers
- Shari Kosel, SD FACT, Lead [Senate Agriculture and Natural resources Committee, minutes, 2014.02.11]
SB 46 got and needed no push from the HSUS. It had the support of major state agencies and ag organizations. It passed the Republican Senate unanimously and the House easily. The Big Ag and Republicans supported was tougher than the 2013 animal-cruelty legislation proposed by SD FACT , a South Dakota, non-HSUS group. Our animal cruelty felony law is not a sign that we need to gird ourselves for an attack by out-state animal rights activists. If anything, it's a sign that even Republicans and Big Ag recognize that Pat Powers is full of crap.
When SD FACT launched its push for animal-cruelty laws in South Dakota, Powers rolled in his filthy falsehood with all the glee of a baby discovering the contents of its diaper. Why would Powers keep rolling in this lie? I'll have the analysis on the true political objective of his fear-mongering coming up in a separate post!
So let's reward DWC by adding links to PP's site!
We still have to document, understand, and refute the errors of our opponents. I'd go have this conversation under the original DWC post, but Powers's long-standing banning of my comments makes open discussion there impossible. (Note to readers: I have not banned Powers from commenting on this site. He simply declines to do so.)
When those FACT people rolled out their bills that got killed it was because they only wanted speciesism for dogs and cats and horses. It was a badly written bill and left companion pigs, gerbils and ferrets out.
Maybe Powers is afraid he will get caught beating his dog when he feels the need to abuse something that can't defend itself.
Grudz, how about dwarf hamsters? Are they covered? Is anyone thinking about them?
My hamster, Greta Garbo, deserves as much love as any dog, cat or pig on this planet! So did her predecessors, Gina Lollabridgida and Vera Wang.
Speciesism indeed!!!
I am in favor of Armenian dwarf hamsters being covered.
Thank you Grudz. I thank you, VeraWang and Gina Lollabridgida thank you from their graves, and Greta Garbo thanks you. You are a Hero!