Friday, October 31, 2008

Prosecute "pit bull" breeder Floyd Boudreaux all over again?
Dream on, babycakes.
Civil rights don't matter to animal rights extremists
Following the speedy acquittal of Floyd and Guy Boudreaux on dogfighting charges two weeks ago, and as BDS reader The Philosophical Pit Bull points out, the internet is crawling with copies of petitions and form letters addressed to assorted Louisiana officials.
It seems some people have a problem with acquittals based on insufficient evidence. HSUS promised them a conviction, and they want one. One way or another, the extremists want to see blood.
Better interpretations of evidence
For example, Easy Vegan says:
This case needs to be reopened, with a better interpretation of the evidence, so that Floyd and Guy Boudreaux are prosecuted to the fullest extent under Louisiana animal fighting and cruelty laws. Anything less is a grave miscarriage of justice.
Easy Vegan would have preferred a lynching. There is no such thing as "better" interpretations of evidence, and its double jeopardy that's a grave miscarriage of justice. Its a constitutional thingie.
HSUS and its underlings took their best shot at the Boudreaux family, and guess what? The judge promptly threw the case out.
No do-overs allowed, and Easy Vegan doesn't get to re-write the Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution protects us all from repeated prosecutions on the same charges, based on the same (non) evidence. Even Easy Vegan nutcases enjoy the protections of the Fifth Amendment.
Coincidentally, the Fifth Amendment is also what guarantees us due process of the law.
Due process is what was denied Floyd Boudreaux when his dogs were seized, and immediately slaughtered, by the Louisiana SPCA. The dogs were destroyed long, long before Floyd Boudreaux had his day in court.
Is Easy Vegan above the law?
Because animal extremists sure seem to believe the law doesn't pertain to them.
Take Animal Charity in Youngstown, Ohio. Smartdogs' Weblog has an excellent discussion of the actions of a couple of "humane law" agents and their boss, who apparently believed that illegal search and seizures are justifiable because "its all about the dogs".
The law says otherwise.
Tammy Grimes thought she was above the law when she authorized herself to steal a dog, and refused to surrender it when she got caught.
The dog died in Tammy's care.
After she was convicted of theft and receiving stolen property, Tammy's groupies started a letter-writing campaign, asking for her to be pardoned. They thought Tammy was above the law, too.
But Grimes was sentenced accordingly.
One nation. Liberty and justice for all.
We are all innocent until proven guilty in this country. We have the right to a fair trial. We are protected from illegal searches and seizures of our property.
Whackjob vigilantes cannot appoint themselves judge, jury and executioner, and expect to be pardoned.
Animal rights extremists have little use for the Bill of Rights. Civil rights are mostly inconvenient details that gum up the machinery and slow down the killing salvation of animals.
"Its all about the animals" is a phrase that allows zealots to brush past atrocities like the way Floyd Boudreaux's dogs were seized and killed. I don't know how they sleep at night.
Stuff like this could give Humane Society of the United States a bad name. Couldn't it?

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Pit Bull breeder Floyd Boudreaux Acquitted of Dogfighting Charges HSUS's fly-by "evidence" leaves judge unimpressed Phantom probable cause, bogus search warrant During Boudreaux's long-delayed trial on dogfighting charges, Louisiana State Trooper Jacob Dickinson testified that the search warrant used to raid Boudreaux's property, and seize and kill his dogs, was based on what he saw as he flew over Boudreaux's property. Dickinson testified that he saw treadmills and a "dogfighting pit" on the Boudreaux property from his perch high above, in a helicopter supplied by U. S. Customs, part of the Department of Homeland Security. HSUS led the charge against 70 year old Floyd Boudreaux The 2005 raid was carried out in coordination with the Humane Society of the United States, working with the Louisiana SPCA. HSUS supplied five investigators and animal handlers to assist in the raid. Wayne Pacelle proudly highlighted HSUS's role: The arrest of Floyd Boudreaux should strike a devastating blow to the underground world of dog fighting. . .The HSUS is proud to work with Louisiana State Police, Louisiana SPCA and federal agents to disable Boudreaux's operation. Uh, Wayne?

When Floyd Boudreaux finally got his day in court, the charges were quickly dismissed.

There was no evidence that a crime had been committed.

Phantom treadmills, phantom "dogfighting pit" When the cops arrived at the home of the Boudreaux family, they didn't find any treadmills. No fighting pit. The prosecution could not produce a single witnesses able to testify to the presence of treadmills, or fighting pits on the premises.

To this day, the HSUS website insists that treadmills were found on the property. But court testimony says differently. No evidence of illegal wagering on dogfights was produced by the prosecution. The dastardly break sticks confiscated during the raid did not appear to have been used.

They did find "pit bulls", though.

Dead dogs tell no tales Floyd Boudreaux's dogs were killed by the Louisiana SPCA within 24 hours of the raid, according to testimony given in court.

All of them. Even the puppies. The veterinarian that examined the dogs before they were killed acknowledged that the injuries she noted on some dogs could have been caused by something other the dogfighting. Why kill all those dogs? What was the rush? Was it because Boudreaux didn't have the cash Michael Vick had? Was it because there was no money to be made in allowing the Boudreaux dogs to live? The dogs should have been the prime evidence in a dogfighting prosecution. Instead, they disappeared forever. Before any questions could be asked. No evidence. No case. No lawful prosecution. Back in the day, when Boudreaux was raided and his dogs were killed, HSUS's Dogfight Czar John Goodwin's joy knew no bounds. "Today marks the day the 'don of dogfighting' has come down. This man is legendary in the dog fighting world," said John Goodwin, deputy manager for animal fighting issues with the Humane Society's national office. "... This man has been on our radar a long time."

HSUS and LA SPCA on the radar screen

Floyd Boudreaux's dogs are all dead. His money is gone. His family has been through hell.

Its not easy to stand up to the Humane Society of the United States and its cronies, but Floyd and his family were vindicated today.

Let's hope the Boudreaux family succeeds in settling a few scores, too.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Vick and Dogfighting: HSUS Media Machine Won't Quit HSUS makes shit up, then serves it to the public HSUS must have called in a few favors in order to convince USA Today to run a "news" item that was syndicated across the country. The Fight to Save Urban Youth is an animal extremist wet dream. HSUS wants to save "urban youths"? Let's just take a look at that concept. Shall we? Humane racism: Urban youths are the usual victims dogfighting villains Drug dealers. Criminals. Gang members. Status symbol seekers. Translation? Young black men. Or maybe young Hispanic men, depending on where you live. Not people from the 'burbs. Definitely not the lily-white constituents of the HSUS. Play it again, Wayne Pacelle. Ya gotta give HSUS major snaps for staying on message, though. HSUS' long history of trashinng the reputations of non-white, non-middle class dog owners and targeting them for discrimination goes way back. Consider HSUS's manipulation of events in Louisville, Kentucky. In June 2006, when HSUS Regional Coordinator Pam Rogers wrote to the Metro Louisville City Council to recommend breed specific legislation and the mandatory surgical sterilization of "pit bulls" she attempted to justify stripping people of their dogs by commenting: [pit bulls] are also the dogs of choice for drug dealers, gang members, and anyone else who is looking for a dog to be a status symbol. That's pretty much what HSUS spokesperson Tio Hardiman had to say in the USA today article: Kids get drawn in at an early age, says Hardiman, motivated by the "glamorization" of dogfighting by rap and hip-hop music and by neighborhood values that prize machismo. Its almost exactly what New York City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. will regurgitate every chance he gets. And make no mistake, Vallone bases his political career on getting "pit bulls" -- and their delinquent non-white owners -- the hell out of New York City. Vallone doesn't know much about "pit bulls" and he cares even less. But scape-goating young people of color? Oooh, baby.

Backdoor racism plays really well in some parts of New York, and the beauty of it all is that "urban youths" are already pariahs. Pit bull owners in general are easy pickings. But poor, black, young pit bull owners? They're defenseless. Color and money. Status symbols okay for kings of Spain, not okay for "urban youths" Hardiman and HSUS make a big fuss about dogs as "status symbols." As if those sly inner city youths held a monopoly on using dogs as status symbols, or for penis enhancement. Which is it? Does HSUS have a problem with status symbols. . .or skin color? Profiling "urban youths" based on fake statistics. Fake information. Fake news.

Every single one of the "experts" USA Today quoted in their article traces back to HSUS and its acolytes. HSUS controls the conversation. HSUS controls the "news". The USA Today article's primary source, HSUS client Tio Hardiman, invented the number of poor black and Hispanic kids involved in dogfighting -- There are at least 100,000 young kids fighting their dogs under the radar in America," estimates Chicago-based anti-violence advocate Tio Hardiman, who built his estimate on conversations with young dogfighters and authorities. . . Hardiman's analysis is based principally on "data" supplied by gangbanging, drug-dealing criminal black kids, apparently.

Count on Hardiman's wild guess, repeated over and over in follow up news coverage, to become another fake fact in the animal extremist repertoire. Fake facts lead to an artificial crisis According to HSUS and USA Today, dogfighting is all around us. . . .large numbers of youngsters are conducting street dogfights "in almost every urban inner city," and the numbers are growing . . .

Yikes! The threat is everywhere. HSUS Dogfight Czar John Goodwin startled New Yorkers with "news" that New York is the "dogfighting capital of the country." Gee. Who knew?

Not the ASPCA, which is headquartered in New York City and is charged with the enforcement of anti-dogfighting laws there.

Organized dog fighting in New York City does not appear to be prevalent, and the ASPCA rarely sees arrests for such activity. . .Currently, there are no reliable statistics . . . This is an underground, illegal activity so it is almost impossible to get accurate information about its prevalence.

Throw dinner at the wall. Go after what sticks.

This is a media war. Facts don't matter. HSUS isn't worried about the inconsistencies. It isn't worried about the truth.

HSUS sure as hell isn't worried about the well-being of "pit bulls" or "urban youths."

Any advancement in HSUS' ability to seize and kill dogs is a good thing, as far as they're concerned. Michael Vick had enough money to cover the expense of "rehabilitation" and even perpetual confinement rescue, if necessary, for his dogs.

Inner city youths don't. Their dogs will suffer and die by the hands of the impounding agencies that "saved" them.

And that's what the goal is here. One generation and out.

Pit bulls belonging to "inner city youths" first. The rest will follow.