As amazing as it seems, or perhaps simply because it does not surprise me at all, here is a list of breeds that you now cannot own, or get insurance if you own, or if you own your freedoms are severely limited:
"The information here comes from the Responsible Dog Owners Of The Western States (RDOWS) , which has just updated the list of breeds that have been banned or restricted in the U.S." (Side bar, since a lot of you won't bother to visit the link, I'm going to paste the meat of why this is happening into this post. You think it can't happen to you because you own a chiuhuahua or some overpriced mutt...you are wrong.)
Here's what is happening:
Breed bans - an outright ban on owning a specific breed of dog
Breed-specific sterilization - owners are forced to spay or neuter animal
Breed-specific measures that include mandatory registration in a database similar to a sex offender database, forced microchipping, forced containment or signage
Breed-specific insurance requirements - forces owners to obtain the unobtainable "vicious" breed insurance - in reality this forces owners to surrender dogs or move
Weight or size restrictions - banning dogs over an arbitrarily determined weight or size - as in Fairfield, Iowa where all dogs over 100 lbs are banned (St. Bernard, Irish Wolfhound, Great Dane, etc.)
BTW - your insurance company is happily waiting in the background too - waiting to exclude coverage of your dog, waiting to drop your policy, or waiting to outrageously raise your rates.
And because I know you are anxious here's the list of breeds so DANGEROUS so UNCONTROLLABLE, so completely ROTTEN to the core they must be banned...*drum roll*
1. AIREDALE TERRIER
2. AKBASH
3. AKITA
4. ALAPAHA BLUE BLOOD BULLDOG
5. ALASKAN MALAMUTE
6. ALSATIAN SHEPHERD
7. AMERICAN BULLDOG
8. AMERICAN HUSKY
9. AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER
10. AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER
11. AMERICAN WOLFDOG
12. ANATOLIAN SHEPHERD
13. ARIKARA DOG
14. AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG
15. AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD
16. BELGIAN MALINOIS
17. BELGIAN SHEEPDOG
18. BELGIAN TURVUREN
19. BLUE HEELER
20. BOERBUL
21. BORZOI
22. BOSTON TERRIER
23. BOUVIER DES FLANDRES
24. BOXER
25. BULLDOG
26. BULL TERRIER
27. BULL MASTIFF
28. CANE CORSO
29. CATAHOULA LEOPARD DOG
30. CAUCASIAN SHEPHERD
31. CHINESE SHAR PEI 3
32. CHOW-CHOW
33. COLORADO DOG
34. DOBERMAN PINSCHER
35. DOGO DE ARGENTINO
36. DOGUE DE BORDEAUX
37. ENGLISH MASTIFFS
38. ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL
39. ESKIMO DOG
40. ESTRELA MOUNTAIN DOG
41. FILA BRASILIERO
42. FOX TERRIER
43. FRENCH BULLDOG
44. GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG
45. GOLDEN RETRIEVER
46. GREENLAND HUSKY
47. GREAT DANE
48. GREAT PYRANEES
49. ITALIAN MASTIFF
50. KANGAL DOG
51. KEESHOND
52. KOMONDOR
53. KOTEZEBUE HUSKY
54. KUVAZ
55. LABRADOR RETRIEVER
56. LEONBERGER
57. MASTIFF
58. NEOPOLITAN MASTIFF
59. NEWFOUNDLAND
60. OTTERHOUND
61. PRESA DE CANARIO
62. PRESA DE MALLORQUIN
63. PUG
64. ROTTWEILER
65. SAARLOOS WOLFHOND
66. SAINT BERNARD
67. SAMOYED
68. SCOTTISH DEERHOUND
69. SIBERIAN HUSKY
70. SPANISH MASTIFF
71. STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER
72. TIMBER SHEPHERD
73. TOSA INU
74. TUNDRA SHEPHERD
75. WOLF SPITZ
Did you notice that you don't recognize over half the breeds on this list? Yeah because there are like 5 of them in the whole country! Did you notice that the pug, the Frenchie and everyone's favorite the Labrador Retriever made it to the list? Yeah...because it's not just pit bulls and Rotties anymore. There is a quote that I've always thought goes well with this situation although it orginally was not about dogs but I'm going to close with it anyway...but before I do. Let this be a lesson to you. The politicians that ban breeds are overwhelmingly Liberal Democrats. (You can look that up.) Yes there are Republicans too but the percentage of Repubs doing this is very small. Liberals like to say they are open minded and don't want to tell anyone what they can and cannot do, but then they go and do something like this. Be mindful of who you vote for people. If there is a dog curled up at your feet while you read this, remember that the sum total of politics in this country is NOT the Iraq war, healthcare and abortion on demand. There are other issues. Make sure you know where your guy stands before you vote.
"In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." -- Martin Niemoller
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Let's talk about race
I was googling something else and ran across this study which has absolutely shook me to the core. One, I didn't know anyone was doing this research. Two, I didn't know this would be the result. And three, I'm horrified by the duality of the sterotypes found by this research. The text of the full article can be found here:
http://www.adl.org/misc/american_attitudes_towards_chinese.asp
The study findings included these gems from the American people:
Findings included:
A significant minority, 25%, of Americans indicated strong negative attitudes and stereotypes towards Chinese Americans.
23% of Americans are uncomfortable voting for an Asian American to be President of the United States. This is in contrast to 15% compared with an African American candidate, 14% compared with a woman candidate and 11% compared with a Jewish candidate.
24% of Americans would not approve of inter-marriage with an Asian American. This number is lower than that compared to an African American (34%), but higher than a Hispanic (21%) and a Jew (16%).
7% of Americans would not want to work for an Asian American CEO. This is in contrast to 4% for an African American, 3% for a woman and 4% for a Jew.
OK, first of all, 25% of the Americans they talked to indicated strong negative attitudes and sterotypes towards Chinese Americans? Are they serious? That's horrible. I don't delude myself, we all have prejudices, yes even YOU Mr and Mrs Liberal Elite...we all have them. But 25%??? That seems outrageously high to me. Makes me wonder though where they sampled from...where they farmed this information. I would like to see the demographics on this study to see who these "Americans" are. I mean, were the people sampled all from some rural population or a mix from all over the country and all socio-economic backgrounds? In any event, this statistic shocks me.
If you read the whole article it doesn't get any better. The sentiments seem to be "Once a communist always a communist." I wonder if they (the responders) feel the same way about Cubans and people from the Eastern Block? China is a communist country, but if you spend any time at all with the Chinese, you'll find they are overwhelmingly a Capitalist society. Even their Communism is colored over with Capitalism. The only vestiges of Communism I see in China is their tight reign on demonstrators and information transfer but that is a symptom of Communism. And for what it's worth, I don't think democracy would work in China. It's too big and too much of the population is uneducated.
That's right, Democracy requires a certian amount of literacy and at least a soupcon of education although our country seems to be limping by even though I'm convinced that like they say on South Park, "one 1/4 of Americans are retarded" if not by the numbers retarded they are retarded by their won stupidity and lack of passion to understand and make things better. Anyway, although Communism isn't the answer for China, I don't know what is. Perhaps a beneveolent dictator or go back to a royalty based system. The Chinese certainly need more freedoms and more civil rights, but without being literate and much of the huge country being rural and without even basic services like electricity and heat, there isn't really a way to get them out to vote so the rural populations would be under represented in any Democratic society and that might make their plight even worse. But I digress...
I don't know People, read the study and then look inside yourself. It's about time people stop being so worried about intermarriage (except religious intermarriage where that causes trouble) but objecting to a marriage based upon the amount of melanine in a person's skin...that's just stupid. We all know PLENTY of same race couples that shouldn't be married to each other, let alone anyone else! Race is NOT a filter for marriage. And I say that even with my own prejudices!
One final word on prejudice. We all have prejudice. No matter how open minded we are. There is some group that we don't like or expect certain things from based upon previous experience or learned response. ALL of us. Its not something to be proud of certainly, but I think the move in this country has been to make prejudice such a bad thing that no one is willing to talk about them and by making the subject verbotten, we have made it so very powerful. I admit to having some personal prejudices...the big one for me in the past has largely been dispelled because I was able to explore it and learn the truth, and even see the ugly truth for what it was. Because of that, I've been able to let it go. The new one is in place firmly, because of almost daily doses of fear delivered by the world news. I'm scared of Muslims of Middle Eastern extraction. I'm not proud of it. I hate that I feel this way, but there it is. But here's the thing, I don't know ONE person, not ONE Muslim of Middle Eastern extraction and I think that's the source of prejudice, limited exposure to that group, the one group we hold our prejudices against, keeps the myth alive and the truth from being found.
Seek out your fears, confront them in the light, and see that in the end, we are all just people. We all have prejudice. We all love our children and our mothers. We eat, we celebrate, and we grieve. This is a lesson I'm trying hard to put into practice with my fear of Muslims...but it's not exactly easy here in the Second Circle of Hell I'm living. But maybe I can do something proactive and put my money where my mouth is...I'll report later.
http://www.adl.org/misc/american_attitudes_towards_chinese.asp
The study findings included these gems from the American people:
Findings included:
A significant minority, 25%, of Americans indicated strong negative attitudes and stereotypes towards Chinese Americans.
23% of Americans are uncomfortable voting for an Asian American to be President of the United States. This is in contrast to 15% compared with an African American candidate, 14% compared with a woman candidate and 11% compared with a Jewish candidate.
24% of Americans would not approve of inter-marriage with an Asian American. This number is lower than that compared to an African American (34%), but higher than a Hispanic (21%) and a Jew (16%).
7% of Americans would not want to work for an Asian American CEO. This is in contrast to 4% for an African American, 3% for a woman and 4% for a Jew.
OK, first of all, 25% of the Americans they talked to indicated strong negative attitudes and sterotypes towards Chinese Americans? Are they serious? That's horrible. I don't delude myself, we all have prejudices, yes even YOU Mr and Mrs Liberal Elite...we all have them. But 25%??? That seems outrageously high to me. Makes me wonder though where they sampled from...where they farmed this information. I would like to see the demographics on this study to see who these "Americans" are. I mean, were the people sampled all from some rural population or a mix from all over the country and all socio-economic backgrounds? In any event, this statistic shocks me.
If you read the whole article it doesn't get any better. The sentiments seem to be "Once a communist always a communist." I wonder if they (the responders) feel the same way about Cubans and people from the Eastern Block? China is a communist country, but if you spend any time at all with the Chinese, you'll find they are overwhelmingly a Capitalist society. Even their Communism is colored over with Capitalism. The only vestiges of Communism I see in China is their tight reign on demonstrators and information transfer but that is a symptom of Communism. And for what it's worth, I don't think democracy would work in China. It's too big and too much of the population is uneducated.
That's right, Democracy requires a certian amount of literacy and at least a soupcon of education although our country seems to be limping by even though I'm convinced that like they say on South Park, "one 1/4 of Americans are retarded" if not by the numbers retarded they are retarded by their won stupidity and lack of passion to understand and make things better. Anyway, although Communism isn't the answer for China, I don't know what is. Perhaps a beneveolent dictator or go back to a royalty based system. The Chinese certainly need more freedoms and more civil rights, but without being literate and much of the huge country being rural and without even basic services like electricity and heat, there isn't really a way to get them out to vote so the rural populations would be under represented in any Democratic society and that might make their plight even worse. But I digress...
I don't know People, read the study and then look inside yourself. It's about time people stop being so worried about intermarriage (except religious intermarriage where that causes trouble) but objecting to a marriage based upon the amount of melanine in a person's skin...that's just stupid. We all know PLENTY of same race couples that shouldn't be married to each other, let alone anyone else! Race is NOT a filter for marriage. And I say that even with my own prejudices!
One final word on prejudice. We all have prejudice. No matter how open minded we are. There is some group that we don't like or expect certain things from based upon previous experience or learned response. ALL of us. Its not something to be proud of certainly, but I think the move in this country has been to make prejudice such a bad thing that no one is willing to talk about them and by making the subject verbotten, we have made it so very powerful. I admit to having some personal prejudices...the big one for me in the past has largely been dispelled because I was able to explore it and learn the truth, and even see the ugly truth for what it was. Because of that, I've been able to let it go. The new one is in place firmly, because of almost daily doses of fear delivered by the world news. I'm scared of Muslims of Middle Eastern extraction. I'm not proud of it. I hate that I feel this way, but there it is. But here's the thing, I don't know ONE person, not ONE Muslim of Middle Eastern extraction and I think that's the source of prejudice, limited exposure to that group, the one group we hold our prejudices against, keeps the myth alive and the truth from being found.
Seek out your fears, confront them in the light, and see that in the end, we are all just people. We all have prejudice. We all love our children and our mothers. We eat, we celebrate, and we grieve. This is a lesson I'm trying hard to put into practice with my fear of Muslims...but it's not exactly easy here in the Second Circle of Hell I'm living. But maybe I can do something proactive and put my money where my mouth is...I'll report later.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Contentious Thought
I've long been looking for an outlet for all the various thoughts of a socio-political nature that bounce around in my head. Now that I've been blogging for a bit and getting better at it, I thought I'd see how this goes. Would be nice if someone would read this blog but we'll see soon enough if that comes to pass.
Welcome to my contentious thoughts!
Temptabo
Welcome to my contentious thoughts!
Temptabo
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