Animals, Justice, Politics, Things That Tick Me Off

Puppies vs Corporations

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw), Guest Blogger

In just the latest example of corporations taking over the reins of government, the Missouri State Senate has decided that the voters of Missouri are stupid. Last fall, the voters approved a referendum that placed restrictions on the countless puppy mills in the state to ensure humane and healthy conditions were enforced by state regulators. Of course, the tea party lobbied against the passage of the referendum and since the Republicans gained a majority in the State Senate, a new bill was passed in the Missouri Senate to over ride the will of the people in the fall referendum and remove the safeguards that were approved directly by the voters!

“The heated campaign last fall over Missouri’s Proposition B may have been for naught. Before the voter-approved standards on dog breeding can take effect, the Missouri Legislature is poised to repeal them. Saying the new requirements would put the dog breeding industry out of business, the state Senate voted 20-14 on Thursday for a wholesale rewrite. On the cutting room floor: rules limiting kennels to 50 breeding dogs and requiring annual hands-on veterinary exams and larger, ground-level cages with access to the outdoors. Instead, veterinarians would do walk-through inspections at least twice a year and provide exercise plans for dogs. Dogs could be confined in stacked cages so long as they had solid surfaces to lie on.” St. Louis Today

If the State legislature in Missouri is successful in over turning the direct will of the voters, they will have succeeded in gutting the entire referendum process. One of the Senators who voted for the repeal came from a district that actually voted in favor of stricter guidelines in the referendum. “The key votes were cast by four senators who voted to repeal Prop B even though their constituents had backed it. They were Republican Sens. Scott Rupp of Wentzville, Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph and Bob Dixon of Springfield, and Democrat Victor Callahan of Independence. Schaaf said in an interview that voters in his northwestern Missouri district misunderstood Prop B’s ramifications. He said the Senate bill takes a more “balanced” approach that will meet voters’ goals. ‘”What they were really concerned with was that dogs get good treatment,” Schaaf said. “I don’t believe people in my district wanted to put every dog breeder out of business.”’ Of course, the Senators are claiming that since none of the 1,400 puppy mills in Missouri currently meet the referendum standards that it will put them all out of business. In light of the countless problems with the dog breeding industry in Missouri, maybe some of those breeders needed to be put out of business.

That is the logic at work here. The Senators claim that they know better than their own voters and that their own constituents “misunderstood” the referendum language!  Of course, the referendum was passed in order to bring the puppy mill industry into compliance with humane standards and to make sure every puppy is healthy. “Kathy Warnick, president of the Humane Society of Missouri, said the Senate bill reverts to “bare subsistence standards,” including tiny cages where dogs can barely turn around. Animals are suffering in licensed facilities, not just unlicensed ones, she said. On Wednesday, her group released a report showing that nine of the “Dirty Dozen” kennels the group identified last year are still operating — and still had violations in their most recent USDA inspections. The reports cited emaciated dogs, some with open sores and some found shivering in 9-degree weather.”

Is it just me or has the arrogance of power just exploded in the faces of Missouri’s voters? We have seen examples in the recent past of State legislatures grabbing for more power at the expense of the voters and the State Constitutions. Wisconsin and Michigan come to mind. Here in Missouri, the voters just got a pat on the head from their kindly masters and were told right to their face, that the State legislature knows best!  I think these out of control legislators need a sharp pull on the leash by these voters to protect their own interests and the health of breeding dogs and puppies. Do they have no shame?  Bad Senators!

Additional Sources: Kansas City Star; TalkingPointsMemo

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, Guest Blogger

19 thoughts on “Puppies vs Corporations”

  1. This is not the only place this is happening. In Montana, the voters have passed a referendum – not once – but TWICE – outlawing the practice of cyanide leach-heap mining processing for gold mines in this state. As you can well imagine, the contamination to ground and surface water is a gigantic mess from this.

    The current Republican controlled legislature is currently trying to pass a bill to nullify this.

    In the City/County of Missoula, an ordinance was passed by the City Council outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual identity in housing and jobs.

    This same state legislature is also attempting to overturn this local ordinance as well.

    WTF? How do we stop this crap? At the state level, hopefully our Democrat Governor will veto all this stupid legislation, but I fear for our state and lots of others if we (all of us) don’t take back control of our state-houses and such from these nut-jobs!

  3. I have happily left Missouri. But what does this tell you? That the Tea Party’s vision for Missouri prosperity is a thriving puppy mill industry.

    Groan…

  5. Raff,

    Thanks for the heads-up. As a dog lover I’m disgusted by Mizzou ReThugs.

    The more troubling part is the “voter nullification” of a legal right. Will the same pols now use the excuse that the “voters didn’t understand” when re-election time arrives?

    “Sir, you’ve been defeated, the opposition got more votes.”

    “Nonsense son, the voters misunderstoon how to vote, I’ve been elected and given a mandate by the people!”

  6. rafflaw,

    “Stamford, I understand, but I thought the GOP would have cared more about their dogs than the rest of us humans! My bad!”

    They tie their dogs to the roofs of their cars! Just ask Mittens Romney!!

  7. Stamford, I understand, but I thought the GOP would have cared more about their dogs than the rest of us humans! My bad! 🙂

  8. Come on, rafflaw. Puppies? The GOP has made it exceedingly clear that they don’t give a sh*t about humans. Well, at least those who make signficantly less than their monied benefactors. To think they care about the inhumane treatment of puppies is very naive of you. You certainly don’t expect them to regulate the puppy mills, do you? That’s government interference in private enterprise! Puppies be damned!

    I’m disappointed in you, counselor! 😀

  10. But if they try to recall the people responsible for overruling the referendum you will learn that the candidates in favor of the referendum might not want to outlaw abortion, might not want to give handguns to psychopaths, and probably want to tax the good citizens of Missouri. Game over, man.

    We demand we get our government services (which, of course, _I_ don’t need) for free dammit. Everything else is window dressing.

  11. Puppies health and well fair doesn’t matter as ;long as the breeders make a profit.

    Larry Kudlow says on teevee the earthquake in Japan has higher human costs than finacial…and we can all be grateful for that. He’s since tweeted he didn’t mean it like that. “Didn’t mean to say it on live TV”, he didn’t say.

  13. rafflaw,

    It appears to be something other, or more,than, arrogance. There is a growing belief that the republicans have become enamored of Talibanesgue ways … and are well off the reservation. (mixing metaphors R Me)

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