Ed Rendell Enlists Puppy Army

Gov. Ed Rendell spoke today at a rally in favor of his puppy mill law, which some legislators are attempting to shoot down because it might cost them (or their donors) money. And the world continues to spin.

The puppy mill law supporters are pulling out all the stops, though, with an army of cute doggies.

Rendell made his comments on Tuesday during a capitol rally attended by dog lovers, when he could get a word in edgewise:

“Each and every one of you have to go to your senators and tell them this is an issue that you’ll vote on! [barking] [cheering] A smart dog as well, right?” The governor was upstaged by his own dog, a golden retriever named Maggie.

That’s funny, because I bet Maggie does better football analysis, too.

Rendell Rallies Supporters of His Puppy Mill Proposal [KYW 1060]
Photo by CavinB, Creative Commons license

Aww, Cutest Protest Ever!

Yesterday, about 100 dog lovers — along with their yawning four-legged friends — protested in Harrisburg yesterday in favor of new legislation against puppy mills. As you may know, the Amish — who I can write anything about because they don’t have the Internet — and other unsavory types run a ton of puppy mills in Pennsylvania. I believe we’re the “Puppy Mill Capital of the East Coast.” (We’re #1! We’re #1!)

“If you’re a breeder that doesn’t give a dog adequate water every day, doesn’t give it food free from toxins, and doesn’t take the dog out of the cage to clean the cage,” said Rep. James Casorio Jr., D-Westmoreland, the bill’s prime sponsor. “We’re coming after you today.”

Meanwhile, inmates in Philadelphia have roughly the same conditions as puppy mills and this protest was covered and the marijuana march much closer to home wasn’t and blah blah blah. Aww, doggies!

Dog Lovers Push For Pa. Puppy Mill Laws [CBS 3]

Leftovers: Historical Marker News!

• The Repent America homophobes have had their petition for a historical marker denied. They actually took the time to write to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and ask for a marker at the spot they were arrested for protesting OutFest in 2004. Do you know how stupid this is? It’s stupider than writing emails to Barbaro. Helpfully, the Philadelphia Gay News article also notes that “[i]n other historical marker news, the sign commemorating the city’s earliest gay rights demonstrations, located on Sixth Street just north of Chestnut, is still mostly blocked from view by a street vendor.” [PGN]

• Moving away from historic historical marker news, John Grogan continues his anti-puppy mill crusade (and probably sells a few extra copies of Marley & Me in the process). But, hey, Philadelphia Will Do is 100 percent against puppy mills, so kudos. And this closing paragraph was fantastic: “Dogs are not people, but they also are not widgets. It’s time for serious reform.” A dog is not a widget, people! [Inky]

• Aww, a whole feature on Pete, the man who thought that The Onion was a real newspaper and that “I’m totally psyched for this abortion!” was a real opinion piece. Thanks, Salon! [Salon]

• Ain’t It Cool News on Lady in the Water: “Lady In The Water is a diarrhoea [sic] splat of storytelling so haphazard, ideas so undernourished, dialogue so banal, and characterization so criminally lifeless that if you’ll be able to lift yourself out of your torpor you will be truly amazed.” Uh oh. Then again, I liked The Village. [AICN via Wookified]

• Rick Santorum sets a state record for Pennsylvania fundraising. They keep records for things like this? Is there a fundraising Hall of Fame somewhere? [AP/Philly.com]

• Award-winning headline writer Peter Mucha reports that the heat wave could hit the high 90s next week. Get new air conditioning filters, people. [Inquirer]

• And, finally, with the Phillies back in action tonight, let’s take a look at the only reason to watch them for the rest of the season: Ryan Howard home runs. Go, Ry-Ho, Go! [HitTracker]